Matt Connarton Unleashed 5-18-23
What's This About?
Okay, bring it off. Hello everybody, welcome, here we go. It's that time again, Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM in glorious downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. Also on Comcast ninety seven. If you're in Manchester and hello to Oliver online listener's across the nation and around the globe. You can go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all your live streaming options, social media links, contact info, show archives, etc. Etc. Today is Thursday May eighteen, two thousand to twenty three, so nice to have you all with me.
And boy, there's some road construction going on right across the street and it's loud, not that the mics can pick it up, and I'm sure as the show goes on, I will notice it less and less. But wow, that's good though it needs to be done. It needs to be done, my friends, it's infrastructure. I do believe our friend easyg Eric Agnet is going to be calling in with is vaunted entertainment report, so I know we're all perpetually on pins and needles when it comes to when it comes to that and he requested a song also that I play at the end of it, which I will play.
I will play. I will honor that. I will honor that. By the way, of course, Uh, this weekend at the Hop Knot, Jasmine Man is going to be performing live on Saturday tonight at the Hop Knot. Of course it's Trivia Night. Of course, every Thursday night they have Trivia Night now. It's hosted by Broderick Lange and it starts at seven pm. If you're going to go, one suggestion, a very strong suggestion, call ahead or reach out to Kenny on social media or the Hop Knot, I should say on social media. Probably best to call ahead because those spots fill up very quickly.
Trivia is a very popular feature there at the Hop Knot when the Brady Sullivan right across the street. And hey, those delicious gourmet pretzels and craft beer. That's not that's not bad either, So there you go. Um. Other than easy ge, we don't really have a guest today. We're gonna be kind of catching up on some news items and taking your calls at six zo three two five six Z seven six zo three two five six Z seven. You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton.
You can email me Matt at matt Connerton dot com, and of course you can interact Endo Pine in the Facebook live chat. Actually I won't give the studio line again right now because I think EASYG will be calling in to do his report at any moment, But as we await him, we will go ahead and say hello to everybody in the Facebook live chat. Oh actually I think this is probably Oh here we go? Wow as actually right on time, EASYG? Is that you? Yes? It is? Whereas what times you playing on Jason Man's phrase At Friday night you said Saturday, They're doing live music Saturdays now at the hop Noot at seven pm?
Oh on cool? Yeah, yes, yes, oh easy ye. Oh go ahead. I think you probably know what I'm going to talk about at the beginning of my offer for here, I have no idea. I can't wait to be surprised now I have to before we get I'm sorry. You're not gonna call me the wrong name, are you like the other Eric did yesterday? No? Can thank you? Can you believe that? Can you believe that he actually our friend? Eric? Pilcher from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who does the does the Classic film review every Friday, and we love and appreciate him very much.
But he actually called the show and slipped and called me the wrong name. He called me John for a split second there. Yeah, he had me mixed up with John Hopwood. It was very hurtful. As long as I don't call you a layer, then all right, right, good one. Um. You know it's almost as though everybody from New Hampshire is just the same to him. It's like, next thing, you know, he'll be calling me Jenny. He did talk to John Hogway, so it's an honest thing. Yes, I know, I know. Yes, he called in to John's television show and then called my show.
Can you believe that? Boy? He's on a fourth block now you I thought it would just be on the three flow. Can you believe that? I don't know. I don't know what goes on over a channel twenty three. Now. I do have a quick story for you before you get to your report, Eric, I had something I didn't even get it. I didn't even get a chance to share this with Jenny. This was this was incredible. Listen to this, so I go to a I go to a certain subshop. I'm not going to say the name of it. It's a national chain, and I go there.
I go there and I order a sub and uh, I like to you know, when I order a sub, if there's an opportunity, I like to request extra tomatoes. I always say. I say, I say to the person, hey, if you can throw a couple of extra tomatoes on there, I would love it. So I go to this sub shop today, right easy, g I go to the subshop and I do the thing. I say, Hey, by the way, if you could throw a couple of extra tomatoes on there, they look fresh, I would love it. Normally that's met with a positive response, but in this particular instance, the guy working behind the counter he leaned in.
He put his finger almost right in my face, and he said, now you listen to meet you, little punk. Your sandwich will have precisely the requisite number of tomatoes and no more. And I couldn't believe it. I was in shock, and I was like, whoa man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. And he said, ah, I've heard about you. You go all over town getting subs, and you always ask for extra tomatoes. Oh, I've heard all about you, and I couldn't believe he was so upset about this. He took it personally and I said to him, I said, well, who's going around talking about me and what I eat and what I put on my sub?
And he said, oh, I'll tell you exactly who I heard it from. His name is Bruce. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're sorry to hear it. Your your a little friend there, You're a little friend there. Bruce ruined my sub. I did not get my extra tomatoes, and I would appreciate it. I would appreciate it if you could politely, because I understand he's intimidating. If you could please ask him not to interfere with my tomatoes.
Oh boy, yeah, it's really none of his business. And I feel like Jenny was in the room. I haven't even mentioned h I haven't even mentioned Bruce recently, and yet I feel like he is still just going around trying to sabotage me at every opportunity. And I have to tell you easy, I resent it. Yeah. So I'm sure Jenny's listening. I'm assuming she's back in town, right, She is back in town. Yes, she arrived back yesterday, so I wanted to give her a shout out to you trying to U do some good in this world.
So I'm sure she'll appreciate it. That absolutely. Yes, Like my friend Peter, Peter Fleming, he'd been going back and forth to to Washington, even hang out with the governor there, and he always tried to do don't do things with people with disabilities. Yes, excellent. You didn't have to do that, you know, but he wanted to try to help out his friends. Well, activism is a wonderful thing. I wish there was a lot more of it in the world. But we all have to look out for each other, or at least we should.
And um, you know what we say, we say, you know, Jenny and my friend Peter and along with it. They didn't have to do it, you know, exactly, Well, somebody else could do it, but hey, she took advantage of going down there. And Peter, you should do a lot of good things and try to, you know, like I said, help buy his buddies and people with disabilities. And I think he did a lot of good. Absolutely. By the way, Jenny is in the chat room and she says thank you. Easy hey, no problem. And uh. Also Jay fed is the chatwoman says I hate Bruce.
Yeah, that's not nice. He shouldn't hate anybody, but I agree, you shouldn't hate anybody, but there are exceptions. Oh yeah, before he started to report the Uh this guy here god Rust's soul and story. You heard about it, superstar building Graham, Yes, shad on Facebook the uh I found it a website and to give him ten bells. Now, if that guy doesn't get ten bells tomorrow night, there's something seriously wrong that guys. Obviously it's a superstar. That guy. I mean, I was an important guy in the world of wrestling, you know, if you don't get ten bells, you know.
I mean Eddie Guerre Will got ten bells and he wasn't superstar like this guy was. Now. Yeah, superstar Billy Graham, well literally it was in his name. Uh. He was a very very big, very big star in his day. He was, you know, world champion. He was kind of um hul Cogan uh to some degree, and also Jesse the Body Ventur both kind of modeled themselves took certain things from a superstar. Billy Graham. He was a big influence on both of them. Yeah, hope those giving me a five seconds. Oh, he was a great star.
They move on to the extorialine he deserves the ten bells. Yeah, w w. Well, who knows. They won't give him a ten bell salute because they tend to reserve that for current stars. But they will they there will be. I'm sure there will be some sort of a package looking back at his career, a retrospective. Yeah, he was a big guy, so you know, the superstar from years ago. They forget about you. I don't think they usually do a ten bell so well, they don't forget about you. I don't think they usually do the ten bell salute though, unless it's somebody current who passed away, because you don't see those very often.
Obviously when Brian Pillman, when Brian Pillman died, they did one, and when Owen Hart died, obviously they did one, and so forth Eddie Guerrero. But these were all current guys. I a feeling when the Hulks are passes someday in the future, he will not begin to ten bells. Well, no, because he's not he's not current, right, and he doesn't you know, get along with when visit man with a whole lowsuits. Unfortunately, I don't want to get into it, but unfortunately the Billy Graham had a made some bad decisions and it's like, but who doesn't you know?
And he paid a price in there with his bad health at the end. You know, you can use imagine anation of stuff he did. He would want to get into it. You know, he's dead now. So he was very open about it as a cautionary tale. He wanted people to know that. He wanted people to be aware that his steroid abuse early in his career led to a lot of his health issues and he was look at a Hogan, he has almost back surgeries and I believe you know, his body was falling apart now he's seven years old because of steroids too.
Well, in Hogan's case, I don't think his back surgeries are the result of the steroids. I think and he's into the double digits. I think with the back surgeries that he's had. Um There have been many interviews over the years I've seen where he says his biggest regret as far as his wrestling career was that the leg drop was his finishing move. Because every night he's landing on his spine in a way that he thinks is what actually still think steroids doing many favors. Oh, very possible, very possible.
We'll we'll probably never know for sure, but yeah, very likely. Well there's they're saying that the of course they weren't testing about that, but he said dig Wards was a big steroid guy in that really probably true because he was winning all those tournaments and then his body's falling apart all these surgeries he's had on it. Of course car Rex has didn't help. But well that car going around because they weren't testing years ago, Melanie in the chat room says. Melanie says in the chat room regarding Hogan, the headbands weren't his biggest regret.
Weird. I always like the headbands. Yeah, it's uh yeah, I'll pay that helps some kind of videos on them. You get to begin the show. I'm super star Billie Ram Yes, absolutely that yeah, oh yeah. When I shared that ten ten bells on the on my Facebook page. So really wants to hear that's like a one minute thirty a second in the video. Oh you did your own ten bells salute? What did you sit there? Don't know? They found the video of him. Oh here, I'm talking like twenty seconds and then you bang bang bang.
Oh I'll be the ten bells right. Oh yeah, I want before we get to report, then only have to shout out to George. You came by and played some of my songs downstairs and a guitar, no singing, just plays guitar. He had a set up thing. I don't know if you know what this is all about, because you're you played a band. He had this little thing on the table. It's like a camera. Okay, I don't know if you Yeah, I think I answer my own question. He's party taking a video of its performance, you know, a small cameras on.
It was like so tiny. I'm not laughing at you. Easy had the other thing on his hand. He kept touching this thing on the hand. Was this had. I don't know what that is. I'll kind of help you, help you play the guitar or I was laughing at something Melanie said in the chat room. He was personally something. He had a little instrument on, a little you know thing around his wrist, and he was touching down for different talent effects. I guess, oh, okay, he is some sort of sampler. Yeah, then he had he know, the thing on the bottom and he pressed on the foot there and he had the speakers.
It was quite a setup. And then he all dressed up to when he had a nice tie on and nice clothes on. So and his name is George of like fifty years he was saying, oh, George is his name? He had George Joe. What's his last name? Does he play out? I don't know. I'm surprised you didn't get that information so you could include him in your entertainment report. I wasn't gonna I was gonna ask him, but he just started set up and then I had to h Yeah, I didn't want chious, I said him he was running light, so I didn't want to bother right.
You didn't want to be that guy where the musician is setting up and there there you are trying to right right, and he probably would have been furious. Let's be honest. You know musicians, and I'm a musician myself, I can say this, musicians are very temperamental. And you know, you start you go asking somebody's name while they're setting up their stuff, they're gonna they're gonna freak out. They're gonna go back to the hotel after the show, and uh, throw furniture out the windows. It's gonna be a whole thing.
Yeah, they're job. Oh that's good. Shout out to George, whoever you are, because we don't know his last name. George is a very common name. It'd be nice if we could give just call him George the guitar Player. Hey, that's kind of snappy. I like it. George the guitar player. Hey, man, you're going to see George the guitar player. Yeah, yeah, you've never met a You've never seen a guitar player named George Teller can buy and player. What about George George Harrison of the Beatles? Oh, yeah, you're right.
I wasn't George Harrison. There's plenty of Georges who played guitar. How dare you? I think you should true try to go if you're ready to go. Dedication. I think I've dedicated this show. Oh well, okay, pretty famous guys. I'm around the way. Easy. You want to know about stock market crashes? COVID nineteen, drive buys, celebrity gossip, Easy, GE's got you entertainment reports stacks? Wow, think nutting butter Jeeke thank baby back. Are you ready for stock? Let's find out ready, let's go mon pens of needles.
Yes, easyg all right, you're gonna dedicated. He's still hanging on, believe or not. Just just uh ella. He's pretty a famous guy. Jimmy Carter one of the oldest living presidents, and he's still hanging on to hospite. Yes, he's been in for a while now almost he's almost a hundred ninety eight. Maybe I think he's like ninety eight. Let's he will make it to one hundred. I think he's ninety eight years old. Yeah, yeah, the shout out to U.
One term president. He was a peanut farmer, I believe, Yes, he was a peanut far good. After he became president, he's done the hospice, not a hospice, but he's done those houses where you build the houses there. He did a lot of great work after his presidency. A lot of people are very dismissive of the Jimmy Carter presidency, and uh, you know, historically people speak about it like it was a failure, and in some ways I would say that's true. But but all the work that he did post presidency, I think really redeemed him in the eyes of a lot of people, to build those houses for the people that need and what do you call that?
Well, there's is it the organization? Is it habitat for humanity? Is that the organization? Yeah? Yeah, he did that for a long time. Oh yeah, oh yeah, yep. I mean I mean actually and not after he became president, not just running it either or just showing up for photo ops, like actually going and helping build. Yeah. Absolutely, no, great man, great man. I mean, you know, uh, say what you want about his presidency, but he's he's a great man, really good guy. Still hanging on and still hanging on.
He beat uh at I think I think he was ninety two when he was diagnosed with cancer and uh, I don't remember the type of cancer. But at ninety two he beat cancer and kept going. I mean that's you know, a very very strong man. Oh yeah, very tough. Yeah, oh definitely. Ruth Bader Ginsberg another example of that. Like she was, she was you know, obviously she ultimately succumbed, but she she beat cancer multiple times at a very old age. It's like, wow, where do you where do you you know? At any at any at any age that's that's uh horrible.
But to be able to do that at such an advanced age is impressive. Alrighty, we want some more, more happier things going on. Good one of your favorite events on May twenty nine. It's a free event, bring your friends and your family at two o'clock. It's a Memorial Day parade, rain and show. And the only thing they won't have it if they cancel it, the year's past. But you know, oh, torrential rain. They can't do that. Torrential rain. Cancel it not pouring, right, and I'll have it. And it's on Um Street right here in Manchester.
And now after like a half an hour parade and after it's thirty minute twenty past thirty minute ceremony, after a veteran's park, you know, the mayor will be there, a couple of dignitaries and bla blah blah bah blah. It's it's something to remind you of the special day. You know, this is not now dogs and hamburgers. So you said, on less there's torrential rain. Let me throw a scenario scenario at you. Uh, there's let's say there's severe hail with a strong wind and then as soon as the hail ends, a volcano erupts in the area.
What happens then with the raid? Yeah, I canceled, I guess okay, yeah, I think that's wise. You got to be prepared for anything in this world. Yeah, definitely, definitely, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got to plenty of those stories over the year, so
it's my time in the year's past. Well, anyways, you might want to check this place out. One of your favorite places, cream Land on Valley Street open eleven am to soon to be open to nine when it comes to the summertimes. So people get their food and ice creamers, all that fun stuff and oh yeah, then when you're done there, you can go over and get your cupcake and queens any cupcakes down. They rode a little bit, but they want another business. Oh they moved so they have two business in one now, so makes it easier for them.
Oh um. Yeah, there's a few places around here that are like that. Now who did they move in with? I forget the name of the place. But they sell all kind of like knick knacks and uh T table cloths, but knick knacks and and what kind of variety of thank you that you wouldn't find anywhere else. Like, you know, stuff you use, the oven mints and all miscellaneous stuff, you wouldn't find it on normal store. You right, that's true. You can't back there. You can't find others anywhere. How to get the cupcakes in there too?
Yeah? Yeah, it's great that, uh, you know that you're able to have a place like that, that you can go where you know there's there, there's cupcakes, and there's oven, mits and knick knacks. I think that you have a few minutes and check that out. It's an interesting little store. I think it is. I dare say the future. Yeah, place where you can go that you get some cupcakes, you get some mits, you get some knick knacks. That's that's what we call a good day. Yeah, it's always good to have a creasy cupcakes are out.
Yes, nothing like nothing like a delicious cupcake on a ninety degree day. Great, great summertime. Now, you said you on your show of vile back you said you can't eat a lot of sugar anymore. No, No, the last time I hate a piece of cake, it went very poorly for me. But I will say this in all sincerity, and I know I kid I kid, but in all sincerity you brought me at least actually I think more than once you did bring me cupcakes from Queen City Cupcake And they are and I can't say, I can't say, yes, they are absolutely delicious.
So I recommend alrighty And then another event coming out real soon there. I've meant a lot of people from the station. May twenty feet Sunday is another family event rain Er, Shine and noontime at Veterans Park. Walking is Hunger Yes, a fundraiser for the shelter and you get a free T shirt and after you're about the walk you have some food for the walkers hot dog, sort of pop, watermelon, you know, chips and cookies and it's only for the people that do the walk right, right. You can't you can't just show up and just partake in the food without having to do.
You have to do the work to enjoy the spoils right. This is another big event coming up the found out there by twentieth on a Saturday, way round in the corner or Manchester Musical a multi colored oral festival featuring a farmer's market in live music at Basical Park at two ninety seven Maple Street eleven am to four another family find free event for all. Here's a lot of music. I've never heard of these bands, but allow him anyways. Cozy Thorne, Sleepyhead, join O, Lafon, Nikki, Defrost Roll, Oh like uh a k Wa Ba Ensemble, Oh on great Food too, Hernados bands?
Uh no? Now will George the guitarist the guitar player be there? Oh? I never know. I kind of doubt it's one on the list. Now. Scott Robinson has a question easy and the chat room, he's asking, what's what's for supper tonight? Eric, I don't. I don't have a I'm hoping for like, I think it might be a turkey burghers and some cattle telling. That sounds good. Uh. And Scott also says in the chat room, Oh, he's calling you Erica. Now. He says, Erica, is this a free event? It sounds fun? How do you feel about that being called Erica?
Uh? That's bother me. You know what he's doing. He's trying to get into your head. He's trying to get into your head for when you guys face off in the ring. He's trying to psych you out by calling you Erica. Yeah, are we going a lot of a lot of events coming up the airport courseman, yeah, I believe it or not. Now every Wednesday at Killington River Shop is no longer happening, son, Oh don't go there on every Wednesday at six o'clock? Why is that no longer happening? Finally over? Oh okay, so thinking give people heads up, you know what it is a big event coming up.
And to believes a still available April Coursman dot com. The Country Crawl Lansdowne Down Massamez is a country fest. I'm a twentieth starts at ten am. Oh, I believe April is gonna be on at one o'clock. It's a paid event. Obviously tickets are available vi P one hundred dollars thirty five general mission. And they gets some big artists or any Bross, Samantha Ray, Morgan, Johnson, Kevin Horne, Matt Madiie, Nick cashy eighties or Lisa Smith, back Roads Country Southern City Band. Now what do you want?
Now? What do you get with the VIP? Do you get a meet and greet? H probably on guessing like the first a second row but probably uh probably didn't really say, but I'm guessing you might be able to meet people, meet and greet backs on undred dollars, you better meet somebody, That's what I say. I say that all the time. Oh yeah, and she's coming back to the goat here in Chester Padio on Mondays see May twenty ninth and twenty six. It's a free event. But don't forget to um uh oh yeah, I don't forget the tip the waitress, waitress, don't forget to be a tip the staff, and to be a donation jars, don't one of a couple of dolls and and throw it into her her jar.
And she's got a wat of events coming up here, she wrote down sort of her Facebook page. He's got more events coming up, but the spring is I mean summer and fall to be announced. Uh. By the way, Yeah, she's gonna be playing the previous event easy with the VIP thing Melanie and in the chat room says I missed all that. Can can you repeat the event info? The event info again? Yeah, yeah, May twentieth, May twenty If he don't schools around here the front page, Oh yeah, at least she crawled landsdown Boston as through his country fest starts at ten I'm stooping on at one am.
I sorry, one pm. Yeah, because take us over going, excuse me, take us our available April coursman dot com in the VP's one hundred dollars and thirty five dollars is general mission. Um okay, now she's asking, now, can you repeat that in a French accent? I don't think so. Now. Oh
fine, he's playing there at one o'clock and as he's gonna drive back to uh the Manchester is he's gonna do a double list today on May twenty, as he's playing the back room brewery cisical I. That's a pre event. And this she's gonna be playing on June fourth or five pm? Oh yeah, I'm sorry. Noontime quote crew always say it's something yeah up in main crew that's where um probably Dion plays. I'm quick man. A gun quit? Say it a gun quit? Right? He's flying up there, you can say a gun quinn and right.
And then she's flying on June fifth at a free event the country. Oh sorry, Courtyard by Mariot and Conquered. I've been there before. A gun quit? Come on, he's playing a six thirty? Are these They busily restaurant tavern. Are these all in a gun quit? Monton Burrow? Oh, Milton Borrow, that's not a gun quit. He's flying all over the places. May twenty fifty's playing at Strafford, Massachusetts, five pm, Independence in a free event. But don't forget to Tippy Waitress, isn't It will be a donation jar at all these events.
Yeah. In May twenty six he's playing the Founder right here in Manchester at six pm event. He's playing on May twenty seven, real busy Letty at four thirty. It's a hoptic in Kentucky Cider Company. And then she's flying May twenty eighth at the River Shop in Killington at noontime in Vermont. Ya gonna happen And uh yeah yeah, bo yays, we'll forget to check out her her new song, a new song, um smoke, smoke and all the platforms. We played that on the show recently. You did, I mean yeah, you did, Yeah, I saw the lady is very busy.
Katie dommins. He's thirty dollars maya thirty, first and six thirty. The songwriters round up ten or fifteen dollars per ticket and it's up in Meredith and oh yeah that coming up this week's he's playing Maya Teas at five o'clock this Friday after work. I mean interest Curier our gallium. Let's take it as a free event. And as he's playing it said impro Visions jazz trio pianist Michael Are not w and it took us at twenty five dollars. What's his name not Wit? Okay Yo, Michael R not Wit? What a fun name?
Aar and old w I t T. If my name was not Wit, I'd be I'd be saying things like I'm not with names outcome. Yeah, these names are kind of confusing, right yes,
oh yeah. And then's on new music is coming from Katie Dommin's called Seasons of Change. It's just going to be mail on May twenty six, all platforms, and she's got four more songs coming, like I said, just lady's busy. And and in May nineties he's playing at the innspro calf and Ashland for sixty eight and obviously that was a free event. Next one's twenties he's playing at six o'clock Sound Riders Round up with Jackie Thurmian and Ali Brodrey. Have you ever seen that lady dress worth a ticket right there is ten to fifteen dollars a ticket.
Melanie says, uh, you mentioned Killington earlier. Melanie says Killington, that's right by me, but I'm not going since you didn't say it in an Italian accent. One boy, and then we'll end up with my pal Amana McCarthy. Oh, she's your pa. I'm working on a new album. He's got the new music coming real soon. You just released hers on Spotify all the platforms. Wrote another song by Smoking Mirrors and Christine needs her. One of her good pals is a Christiano the song. And then I only asked, you've been kind of coy about this, but do you want anybody to vote for the i SS Awards show?
And it's gonna be Atlanta, Georgia on sadd the August feth But you won't say what She's the nominee for one of her buddies, you know. Posted facebookers said, well, Amanda McCarthey will be there too when the Uh yeah, we'll be there at the awards show. But she didn't say what she's nominated for. Her friends nominate for this, this and that. So does she have a new single. When I find out more information, I'll let anybody know. Is there is there what she didn't announce it? But who knows? Is there a new single from her?
Is that what you're saying? No, she's a nominee for the i SS Awards show. If you've made to the Gold level, you know, you make it to the you know the maybe the owner called it the gold the gold level and the other one was silver. I guess it's gonna be in Atlanta, Georgia and Staddy August. If she would nominate for six different awards, but she don't telling everybody what the awards are, I guess I don't know why it was. I don't know why. Once I find out when she wins in August, oh, let everybody know.
I think you need to start working your publicity magic again. I think you need to get in touch with her, and I think you need to say, you know, I got in touch of her, Amanda, her boyfriend, her husband Tom. But you wouldn't say it either. So I guess they're keeping no news good news. Do you do you think they're keeping it a secret from everyone or are they just keeping it a secret from you? And if they're just keeping it a secret from you. Are you bothered by that? No, because he hasn't posted on a Facebook page, So I'm assuming if she knows, and Tom knows, I guess, and probably some friends of hers.
But she hasn't promoted on Facebook, so it's odd that she wouldn't tell you. I mean, you're responsible for a lot of her success. I like to think, I am. I guess. M oh, yeah, we all do, we all do? We all think that? So when I find out more information, I'll I'll let everybody know. But right now I don't. I know. She's probably nominated for something that a friend says he was nominated for stuff. Our parent was being koy about it too. Everyone's being TOOI like the fish. Yeah. So anyways, that's the and am I reported, And like I said, I'll be listening for the song that I recorded place.
Now, why did you uh so before we let you go easy, G? Why did you request this song? We're gonna play it now as a capper to your report. I always did the uh. I always did the the uh, the the post notes, so I thought I played one of our all the songs. So the song is jeep song by Katie Dobbins and does this song have any special meaning for you? Or uh oh no, I like all the songs. Okay, this is one I picked. He has many songs out there, She does have many She has many songs. Yes, there might be some and so it might be something she's not even telling you about.
Keeping secrets like a man. I think Seasons of Change coming up, Season the Radio two coming up. We'll give it a world We'll give it a world radio premiere. Like you say, I don't want to get permission to play songs. People want you to play songs on the radio. That tends to be the case. Yes, people want you to play their songs on the permission. They would love to write those songs. Yes, that is that is true. That is a fen from don't need permission. Yes, that's right. All right, that's enough my gibber jabber.
We'll talk to you later on all right, EASYG. Thank you. Well, that's yes. That is the end of Easyg's jibber jabber and another outstanding entertainment report. I think we learned a lot, but I still can't get him to say a gun quick. So yeah, let's give this a listen. So this is Jeep song by Katie Dobbins. This is the song that EASYG requested that we play at the end of his report, and then we'll we'll show them left to our amazing sponsors, and then we'll come back and we'll get into into some stuff.
There's lots going on today, but here it is. This is jeepsong from the great Katie Dobbins. Wm NH rips the normals. Hey, welcome back everybody. This is Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from these studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM, Inglorious Downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. Also on Comcast ninety seven if you're in Manchester and hello to all of our online listeners across the nation and around the globe. You can go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all of your live streaming options, social media links, contact info, show archives, etc. Et cetera.
It is Thursday May eighteen, twenty twenty three, so nice to have you all with me. The studio line is open six zo three two five zero six zoh seven six zo three two five h six zo seven. You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can email me Matt at matt Connerton dot com and of course you can interact into opine in the Facebook live chat. But it looks like our friend Shannon is on the line. Hello, Hello, Hello, huh said nothing?
Um, what did you call me? I didn't call you anything. I said, how are you in? Friend? Oh? I thought you called me a bad name. Yes, what I thought you called me a bad name? What's on your mind? Shannon? Okay, thank you? I appreciate that. What's on your mind? Um? Last week you had some guys in there. The only, the only, the only song I remember its Engine nine? Oh, Engine nine? Do you remember? Was it this week? Yeah? I remember a song called Engine nine. Uh? That was Oh we were in the studio with you.
Yeah, I can't remember. I can't remember now who the band was last week, last week, at the beginning of this week, it was last week? Yeah, it was probably last week, Engine nine. Let's see who did we have? H you said it ten times? Was it Bees? No? It wasn't Bees Deluxe? Was it? Oh? It was Frankie Boy and the Blues Deluxe. It was Frankie Blues Deluxe Lucid what whoa hey, that's what I heard? What What did you call me? What did you call me? How dare you Blues Deluxe? Blues Deluxe? Now now that time, you really did you?
You just called me something terrible? How dare you? Shannon? My god? No, no, I say what I hear. I'm very Uh, I'm very I'm really losing my hair here. Huh. All right, okay, So on time the title Frankie Boy and the Blues Deluxe. Oh no, I'm sorry Blues Oh no, No, I'm wrong. I'm sorry, Shannon. I'm getting it wrong. It's Blues Express. I'm conflating that band with Bees Deluxe, Frankie Boy and the Blues Express. I apologize. So I didn't even say it correctly to begin with. So, so I apologize to you.
I say to you hashtag Shannon, okay, hashtag we say um. The other thing is the day before that, I believe it was you played a song. I don't know if the band of this song was over something Oberon, Oberon. They are from, yes, from Italy? Yes? Do you recall the name of that one? I don't song. No, I don't remember every question early, Yes, I will do that for you. Yes, I will. Okay, last time you said that you didn't show up on that Monday, Oh my god, oh my god, do you remember? No? Yeah, you you had something to do or whatever, and and Friday because I didn't expect you to play.
Then I said, you know, maybe Monday, and that's when you had one of your best of maybe. Uh maybe. I was afraid if I was here, you were going to call me terrible names. No, I mean that was funny. That didn't have to be blueped out, did it? No? But I said, no, it's fine, okay, because I've heard, I've I've heard worse on WMNH than that frank Frankie Boy and the Blues Express, the Blues Express. Yes, yes, all right, all right, Shannon, how's Jenny. She's good? Goody's said, Ohio, shoot up to home safe.
Yeah, yeah, she's no, she's she's home, she's in the chat room. She's home. She made it home safe and she is a recuper It's been an intense couple of days, very busy couple of days for her. I go into Washington, d C. But she's back, she's all and uh, she feels good. She's just you know she's a little tired obviously. Oh yeah, yeah. But now if I say barucash him, doesn't that mean thank god? I have no idea if varukas all that him? I like that song Volcano girls. Okay, is that what you're saying? Lava lamp?
Lava lamp. We used to have one here. I don't know what happened to it? Was it? M M. I don't know where I heard this. Never mind, it doesn't matter, all right. I was just picture I said lava lamp because I heard something someone I don't even know where. If your cat is all with the petrol, if your cat is looking at a lava lamp with shades on, it's not because the cat namp evidently does not um. I forget what he said. What can actually does? Okay? Um in it? Barrel cats in the wild? H huh. We'll find it and chew it up because it um.
I want to say, uh, not to flex, so to speak, but a word similar to that. It repels things, bugs or something. H yeah, in the wild. Just you know, fun fact, okay, okay, all right, Shannon, I appreciate the call, call anytime. And evidently Eric didn't get my letter. Oh he did him to get down to the mail room. I think Bruce took it. Huh, I think Bruce took his letter. Yeah. Well, I'm sick of writing one way letters. I'm sick of Bruce. Stop writing. I don't blame h all right, okay, ally, Shannon, thank you for the call.
Ye take it easy, by all right, by bye. All right. That was our friend Shannon, And that does open up a line for you. Six z three two five h six zero seven six three two five zero six z seven. Let's see, we'll say a load everybody in the Facebook live chat. And then I do want to talk about the debt limit. I know we talk about the debt limit a lot these days, and some people are probably a little tired of it. I'm tired of I'm tired of worrying about it. But uh, it is uh looming large on the horizon.
We're only a couple of weeks away from June one, which is when Janet Yellen said we would plunge into economic catastrophe. So hopefully we're able to avoid that. But we'll get to that in a moment. But I do want to say, all load everybody in the Facebook live chat, make sure we didn't miss anybody, so Melanie Liberty of course in the chat room. Rondo Favero from the West Coast, California, Hello Ronda. Jenny of course is in there and says, shalom, peeps, let's see. J Fed of course is in the chat room.
Hill Crystal, our friend from the Great State of Illinois, joins us. Hello, Crystal was asking did Bruce get a job at Subway? I don't know, but for some reason, he has some sort of sway over my tomatoes. I just wanted tomatoes, and Bruce Scott in the way as he always does. That guy Scott Robinson of course in the chat room. Hello Scott. Oh, Scott didn't ask anything about the hulkster this time, unless I missed the comment during Easyg's entertainment report. Let's see, I thought I saw somebody else pop in there too.
Oh. Yes, Dave Wally is in the chat room. Dave, I know I have a Facebook message from you. I will respond to you today, I promise. Dave Wally and I went to high school together. Dave is a very very talented musician, and the last time I saw Dave. I think the last time I saw Dave was at when I was working at Strawberries on loudon Road and conquered, and he was in a band called october Sons, and I set up an event where they came and played for a We used to do these CD release parties. We did a release party for the new Pearl Jam album, if I remember correctly, and October Suns came and played.
And also Dave used to make fun of me in high school for being a Kiss fan. And yes, I do remember that, Dave. I remember those conversations. No, I'm just kidding. I will respond you though, sir, And it's wonderful to hear from you now. Dave's a great guy and again a very talented, very talented musician. Um, let's see. Oh Mariam Banish too, she's in the chat room. Hello Miriam. Um, all right, so we should get to the debt limit because I've been mentioning this Lawrence Tribe article. Let me give the studio line one more time six three two five six seven six O three two five six seven.
So the reason I've been mentioning, Dave says, uh, I don't think Jean is a rotten human. Gene Simmons. He calls the show occasionally Jean Simmons of kiss it's a little inside. But if you know, you know, all right. So, a former Trump advisor, Laurence Tribe, who is a constitutional scholar, has been advocating for using the fourteenth Amendment. And as we careen down the road at which the end of the road is a cliff, the fiscal cliff, which we're about to go over a Thelma and Louise style, if the debt limit, this artificially self imposed self destruct mechanism, if the debt limit does not get raised on time.
And by the way, the debt limit, we've actually already passed it a while ago. But then there's an I guess there's enough money left over where the Treasury can resort to what is called extraordinary measures. And around June first, those extraordinary measures will be exhausted, and that's when the country goes into default for the first time in American history, and that will trigger a global economic collapse, and uh, it will be the end of the global economy as we know it. Exciting stuff, is it not?
Would be fascinating to see it all play out, But like I said the other day, it's like a disaster movie. Yeah, it'd be interesting, but you still don't want to you don't want it to actually happen, So hopefully we can avoid it. I'm a little bit more optimistic than I was the other day. I think I had said on the show recently, not to be a downer, but I think i'd said something to the effective. I think our we've arrived at a point where our politics in this country is so polarized and so broken that we might actually willful, willfully destroy America economically because the there's a degree of you know, the polarization, and there's a degree of incompetence in our government that and you know, self interest in all of it.
Of course, that where we may have reached a where it's almost impossible to avoid and there's plenty of blame to go around, you know. Again, I say Biden in my view, and the Democrats are correct in principle, in principle when they say that the House, the Republican controlled House, although barely that's why George Santos is still around, but the Republican controlled House should vote on a clean to pass a clean a debt limit bill and not have anything attached to it. I think they're correct in principle, but not in practice, because in practice you have to negotiate because otherwise we might actually go over that cliff.
So, you know, I mean, I blame. Like I said, there's plenty of blame on both sides. As far as I'm concerned, I blame the Republicans for being willing to hold us all hostage with a gun to our heads metaphorically speaking of course in terms of the economy with because there are some in the House, there are summer House Republicans who actually wanted a fault, who think it would be a good idea. And by the way, Trump in the CNN town hall, he said, yeah, you know, it'll be fine, probably should default.
You know, we'll have a bad day, we'll have a bad week. What's a big deal, right, It's like, whoa, okay, dude, that's completely insane. But I also blame the Democrats because they had opportunities when they were still in control to do something proactive and preemptive on this and actually raise the debt limit then when the Democrats were in control, and do something long term so that this wouldn't be happening now, you know, through things like the Inflation Reduction Act, there's all this new spending, and to have voted on all this new spending, and you know, a lot of it I agree with, has to be done.
It's difficult to argue against infrastructure, but to vote on all this new spending and then somehow it never occurs to anybody. Hey, when the Republicans are in control, you know, they're not going to necessarily be willing to pay for all this new spending that we have voted on in past, So you know, and I get it. I mean, there probably were discussions about it, and probably somebody said, well, you know, we could deal with the debt limit now too, But then we've got to we've got to talk Joe Mansion and Kirsten Cinema talk them into cooperating.
And that's hard. So, you know, so does just doesn't get done. And now we're in this position now. Lawrence Tribe, a former Biden advisor, and I learned this from Sam Cedar's show on YouTube. The Majority report that Lawrence Tribe has been advocating for Biden to use the fourteenth Amendment, which we've again, we've talked about it a lot on the show. It's never been done, never been tried. There are risks could be challenged in court. Is it actually constitutional? It could trigger a constitutional crisis.
The fourteenth Amendment, it's not clear. You know. Basically it says that the country's debts will not be questioned, but that doesn't necessarily mean, you know, I wish the language was more clear. You know, our debts shall not be questioned. Could be interpreted simply as nothing more than yeah, we acknowledge that we racked up this debt, and no one's questioning that. We're just questioning whether we're actually going to pay it or not, or whether we're going to default. You could interpret it that way, or you could interpret it as as some do, as Laurence Tribe apparently is interpreting it and is confident in his interpretation that it means the country simply cannot default.
Our debt cannot be questioned, means that we pay our We're going to pay that debt, and if that means raising the debt limit, then the president can himself unilaterally declare, invoke the fourteenth Amendment and declare that we're raising the debt limit and we will continue to borrow money to pay that debt. Now, what's particularly interesting though about Lawrence tribe's take is it's different than it used to be. In twenty eleven when we went through this during the Biden administration, and that was the first time that I ever really started learning about the debt limit.
I didn't really know that because prior to that, for the most part, it had been a perfunctory thing anyway, regardless of who was president, regardless of who was in power, who had control. You just want it's time to raise a debt limit. You raise the debt limit because you can't, you know, default, that's unacceptable. But twenty eleven was really the first time that I think it was John Bayner. It was either John Bayner or Mitch McConnell, one of them. I forget to which one of these guys to attribute this quote.
But then one of them said it, and the other one agreed with it and said, let's go with that that the debt limit might very well be a hostage worth taking, you know, in terms of trying to negotiate a budget. So that's when this became a thing.
Prior to that, again, it had been relatively perfunctory and it just was something you do. So now it's a thing. But twenty eleven was really the first time it became a thing. And I remember vividly in twenty eleven, not necessarily coincidentally, when I first started this show, because this was my show was originally a podcast when I first started it, and then of course as of April, I've been here at WMNH for six years. But before I did the show on radio, I was doing just streaming a podcast, and that was, you know, one of the first big issues we were tackling on the podcast was the debt limit at that time in the summer of twenty eleven, and I remember being very concerned, and at that time Lawrence Tribe said, no, you cannot use the fourteenth Amendment.
So what I want to do is I want to look at what Lawrence Tribe is saying now versus what he was saying then, and I want to try to figure out what's changed, and it made that the only thing that's really changed is just the sense of desperation because obviously we have to get this done.
Oh, our friend Ron is on the line. We haven't heard from Ron lately. Hey, Ron, how you doing Ron? Did you pocket dial us? I met very good, Thank you. I'll only take a second adio time Matt, when did we begin to occur this debt? And what what was the cause of this debt? Oh, we've always we've been accruing debt. I mean, I don't know when we started running. If you're asking, when did we start running deficits? At least as long as you or I have been alive. I'm sure you know, because the deficit, there's always been some sort of debt.
It's never it's never been a you know, a presidential term when we didn't have a debt. Um, let me see, actually, when did United States? I can find out exactly when did you United States start running a deficit? Like I said, I think at least for as long as you or I have been alive. Um, all right, but let let me let me see here. Though I can find the answer quickly, I can probably find um because I am sorry for interrupting you. No, that's okay, it's act. It's a good question. Now, this says since two thousand and one, but that's not true.
What the hell? What is that? Um? This Investipedia says, uh, since nineteen seventy, so starting in nineteen seventy, but I actually would have thought it would have been even before that. Um, but that's not reason though what um, you know, was it a war? Was it? Uh? I don't know, you know what I mean, I could guess, but I mean i'd like to know the reason where they said, okay, let's just borrow was an interest rates in? I don't know. Oh, Dave Wally in the chat room says he's seen nineteen fifty seven.
Interesting. Okay, yeah, this is a thank you Dave Wally. Yes, yes, yeah, um, and it's uh, it's not just us, by the way, So the most um, most modern industrialized nations run a run a deficit, well run run up debt, you know, deficit of course, the shortfall in the budget, and then the debt just constantly accumulates. You know, We've had times when when we've actually,
um not had a deficit. So for example, during the Clinton administration, we actually ran a surplus. But but that only means we didn't we weren't running a deficit at one point point. But but the debt of course is constantly increasing. Okay, So according to Dave Wally, so we started running a deficit in fifty seven, but it's increased. Uh, it's been on the U been gone up since nineteen eighty one. Oh, Joe Lar is in the chat room too. He says, I found this. Over the past one hundred years, the US federal debt has increased from four hundred eight billion billion with a B in nineteen twenty two to thirty point ninety three trillion that's with a T in twenty twenty two.
Yeah, so it's out of control, and uh, it just keeps going. Well, thank you for your other listeners, because you know, it's something I don't understand, but I try to. Yeah, I mean, it's it's confusing to meet, you know, for someone who's not good at math. I get confused by it all too. That's why I don't. I don't personally really get into that part of it because as someone who struggles with math, I can get in over my head pretty quickly. But but the numbers are astonishing, you know, like like when you look at that, like what Joe Lar posted, you look at those numbers and it's it's it's impossible to even contemplate that much money and all the zeros.
I don't even know how many zeros are on a trillion off the top of my head, I don't even know. But um, yeah, and it is. You know, there are different theories run about whether it matters or not. So, for example, more conservative economists, suppli side economists, you know, will tell you that, look, we we can't you know, we gotta pay this down or eventually it's gonna all just collapse. It's a Ponzi scheme. More liberal minded economists Kenzie and economists, for example, will tell you it really doesn't matter.
You just print more money, it's no big deal. Although there are some on the left like Jank Huger of the Young Turks who says, no, actually, this is all going to collapse eventually. It's all going to fall in on itself, not just in the United States but globally. It's just a matter of when, hopefully not in our lifetimes. So there's a lot of different theories about how much the debt itself actually matters. But it's you know, it's all theory. Economics is theory. All right, Wow, okay, all right, Ron, thank you for thank you for I called my friend all right, by bye?
All right, that was nice. We haven't we haven't heard from Ron in a while. That was good to hear from him. That does open up the line for you. Six Zo three two five six seven six three two five six z seven. Now, so let's look at this. This is from Politico. So former Biden advisor Lawrence Tribe says, just used the fourteenth Amendment. The longtime constitutional scholar said Biden's fear that it will be caught in the courts was misplaced. We got into this a little bit the other day. Um, but we'll we'll explore this further.
You know. Well, actually I think it was yesterday on the show. Sorry the days all run together, I think it was yesterday. I was talking about how you most people who are opposed to the idea seem to be very worried that it would get caught up in the courts, and the Supreme Court ultimately would rule that you can't use the fourteenth Amendment, that the president doesn't have that power, you know, and you'd have a scenario where, you know, obviously we have the three branches of government, so you'd have a scenario where the executive branch decides to do something that the legislative branch objects to and then takes it to the judicial branch, who then says no, the executive branch can't do that, thus creating a potential constitutional crisis.
But the thing is, you know, in order for someone to bring that case, I have to have standing, which means and again I'm not a legal expert or legal scholar of any kind, but as I understand, it's standing meaning you have to be able to show that you are an aggrieved or a harmed party in order to bring that suit. But I suppose if the legislative branch were to say, well, we've been harmed, it would be well, you've done something. You've the executive branch has done something unilaterally that they can't do because the legislative branch controls the wallet, the bank, the purse strings, if you will.
It's kind of like, just as a quick example, some of you might remember, although some of you might not remember this because it came and went very quickly, this particular thing. But during the Trump administration, toward the end, it was post election, you know, Congress was they were going to send out another round of checks, and uh, I don't even what did they end up being three hundred dollars or something? Oh no, I think they ended up being more, but they were I think what they had settled on was three hundred and Trump you know, he was still president at that time.
He said, that's an insult. You know, we're going to send Americans only three hundred dollars while this is dragging on. We going to send them more, which he was right about. But it was like I remember at the time saying, okay, so Trump's right in one sense, Yes, that is an insult. Wow, three hundred dollars. Thanks, that's you know, you only help out a struggling family who's you know, they're trying to pay their rent or their mortgage. You can only help him so much with, you know, three hundred bucks.
So Trump was right in that sense, But on the other hand, it was like, hey, dude, probably should have said something sooner because Trump wasn't than no one from his administration was engaging in any of it. They were just waiting for Congress to decide what they were going to do. And then Trump says, oh, no, I don't like that. But what happened was so Trump then announces one day, just it kind of came out of nowhere. Trump announces I think he had a press conference, or maybe it was just that he just did it in the Oval office, I don't remember, but he announces that he signed.
He's signing an executive order for six hundred dollars checks or nine hundred dollars checks, whatever it was. And he was doing this by executive order, and he was ordering the Treasury to do this, and at the time, everybody was kind of like, well, wait a minute. The president can't just the executive branch, who does not control the money, can't just order the treasury to start sending out checks. That doesn't work. And the reason I said that that particular instance came and went quickly is because Trump made the announcement and then just nothing happened.
But ultimately Congress did end up sending up another round of payments anyway, But the point is, or the Treasury sent them out, I should say, but Congress had to authorize it. But the point is, you know, when it comes to the money, the power of the executive branch is really limited. And of course, you know, a president can do many things by executive order, many of them are questionable. And of course when it comes to executive orders, everyone looks at that through a partisan lens anyway, right, you know, when you have a Republican president, only Democrats get mad about the executive orders.
Republicans are fine with it. And of course he in verse is also true when you have a Democrat in the White House. Only Republicans have a problem with executive orders and democrats are fine with it. So but if this see, we're an uncharted territory if Biden chooses this path, and that's what's a little scary about it. We're an uncharted territory because if he chooses this path, does that mean the Treasury then says, okay, the executive branches said he's invoking the fourteenth Amendment. So I guess we just proceed as normal.
You know what happens. Then again, because this has never been tried, and we did talk about it, I think it was last week on the show. We talked about how the Obama administration did look at this and they were advised by they look at the fourteenth Amendment in twenty eleven and again I think in twenty thirteen, because it came up again in twenty thirteen, but we weren't as close to calamity as we were in twenty eleven. And then the Department of Justice actually said you probably shouldn't do that, and we don't know why, or a Department within the Department of Justice, the OLC.
I think it's called I forget what that stands for. But they said they advised the administration, no, don't use this option. We advise against it. But to this day, no one knows. No one outside knows why the OLC told the administration don't use this option because apparently it's top secret. I mean it might it might be some where on a document at mar Lago or something, but for whatever reason, they don't want the public to know why. They told the administration what the reasoning was. Because if you do a Freedom of Information Act request to try to get that information, it gets denied.
So nobody knows. I mean they know, but nobody else knows. So this is interesting. So I'm very fascinated by this fourteenth Amendment possibility. Here that was a very long wind up. Let's get to what Lawrence Stribe has to say about it. So it says here again, this is from Politico. President Joe Biden made waves Tuesday when he acknowledged he was considering using the fourteenth Amendment to end the debt standoff, before saying he feared it would get caught up in courts. On Wednesday, the politically active constitutional scholar who warned Biden I'm sorry, who warmed Biden to the idea, called the president's concerns misplaced.
Harvard professor Lawrence Stribe said, quote, I don't think there is any litigation to fear, unquote, adding that he hopes Biden realizes a court challenge is not something to worry about. Now, this is a part I'm particularly interested in. So he's arguing Biden can do this and there's no issue. Don't worry about it. It'll be fine, okay. Tribes response to Biden represents his latest effort to try to persuade the president to utilize novel legal arguments as a way through the increasingly thorny debt ceiling standoff.
Tribes push for the fourteenth Amendment first got on Biden's radar visa v a May seven New York Times op ed in which he set the debt ceiling must be ignored in order for the president to execute other laws enacted by Congress. And by the way, again, and we've discussed this too, those who advocate using the fourteenth amendments say that not only they argue that, not only does the executive have the authority to do that, to invoke the amendment, but that that amendment makes the debt ceiling itself, the statute that creates the debt ceiling unconstitutional, so that statute shouldn't exist to begin with.
It directly violates the Constitution. Again, there's a lot of argument around that, but but it is very interesting, it says here Biden expressed openness to the argument at a press conference on Tuesday. I think the openness that he's publicly expressed has been pretty tepid. I wouldn't I don't know how. I don't know if. I don't know if I would call it expressing openness. He kind of from what I've seen. If you ask him about it, he kind of shrugs and says, well, you know, maybe I don't. I don't think so anyway, So, but it says he largely rejected the idea of pursuing the option in the context of the current standoff.
He noted that because the use of the Fourteenth Amendment would be challenged in court, it would spark similar questions around default and potentially market chaos. He added that he was looking at the idea after the current standoff is resolved. Biden said, quote when we get by this, I'm thinking about taking a look at it, unquote. So it sounds like I assume by that he means, and I didn't realize by the way he had said that that particular statement had gotten by me. But that is significant when he said, when we get by this, I'm thinking about taking a look at it.
So it sounds like he's saying, there, if we get this resolved, to get the debt limit raised, everything's fine, everything's good. He will then look at is he saying he'll try to invoke or look at the possibility of invoking the fourteenth Amendment after the debt limit has already been raised, invoking the fourteenth Amendment as a way of doing a way with the statute. Is that what he means. I'm not sure if that's what he means. Tribe, in an interview said that House Republicans who have hinted they would challenge the president's use of the Fourteenth can't sue the president for not violating the Constitution.
He anticipated the Supreme Court would reject such a case. That seems like a sound argument. Actually, So in other words, he's saying, well, if the fourteenth Amendment is unconstitutional, so you have to accept that premise, though, in order to get to what he's saying, you have to accept the premise that the that the debt's limit itself is unconstitutional directly violates the fourteenth. So if you accept the premise, then you can't challenge it in court. It can't be challenged because you can't sue the executive branch for refusing to violate the Constitution.
So that's that's an interesting take, if I understand it correctly, that seems to be what he's saying here. Tribe said, quote, even bending their standing doctrine. I don't know how they or how anyone could find somebody withstanding to sue the President and the Secretary of the Treasury for spending the money that Congress has said they're supposed to spend. What would a court tell them not to spend the money on? Unquote? Biden on Tuesday called Tribe quote a man I have enormous respect for unquote, and someone who advised him for a long time.
Tribe declined to say whether he is speaking with the White House about the fourteenth Amendment concept.
The basis of Tribe's argument is that Congress can't issue laws requiring the executive to spend money and create debt and then also demand a separate dollar limit on that spending. Interesting. Now, that's an interesting argument again, because if yeah, it makes sense put it. Putting it that way, it makes sense. Right. You can't say we're going to spend this money, but we're not going to spend this money that we've already legally committed to spending. I guess that's the argument that I've been making anyway.
But that just puts a little differently the idea of using the fourteenth Amendment, which says the nation's debts shall not be questioned. That's the exact wording of the amendment, shall not be questioned. To continue making payments on spending approved by Congress is garnered increased interest as a nation tips closer to default. That could intensify if and when the current standoff ends, as White House officials have made clear that Biden is serious about exploring it as a means to prevent another's spin around the nation's fiscal drain in the future.
Now, let me stop there for a moment. See that goes back though, to me, that goes back to what I was saying before about how there's no excuse for the Democrats not to have seen this coming and to have already dealt with it when they had control. Role. In other words, getting rid of the damned debt limit to begin with, and then you don't need to worry about using the fourteenth to ignore it in the future. Just get rid of it. Say it's unconstitutional, this is unconstitutional, and we're going to get rid of it, and that's it.
I mean, I understand it wouldn't be that simple. Again, you've got to convince Joe Mansion to go along with it. But that's what they should have done. So Tribe says, quote, the debt limit does not limit debt. It has no positive function whatsoever. It's simply a formula for periodic crises. Unquote. I fully agree. Democrats on Capitol Hill are warm to the idea, but have been skeptical of embracing the escape hatch out of similar concern about a certain court challenge. Senator Dick Durban, Democrat of Illinois, the Democratic whip said, quote, I personally feel that we should test it, but we can't afford to go into a lastment at court battle with the June one deadline.
Unquote, Yeah, exactly. You don't want to. Uh. Look, I mean the reality is you don't want any kind of uncertainty. So even if even if you firmly believe that this is an option that would work and it would actually go very smoothly and all the doubters are all worried about nothing, you still you have to realize you have to remember. And it's a bitter pill to swallow. But even if we avoid economic catastrophe by not raising the debt limit on June first, we're already the the American economy is already being damaged by the uncertainty of it all.
You Uh, there's there's an analysis. I might pull it up. We're gonna we're gonna take a break in a moment, and then we'll come back with our our final segment. But and we're going to continue on this subject because I want to look at I want to look more at what Lawrence Tribe says about this, and I want to contrast it with what he said in the past. But there was an article that I found which um looks at some of how we've probably already damaged the economy because this is see in twenty eleven, for example, And again that's the first instance of this really coming up where I was paying close attention to it.
What ended up happening. We didn't default, of course, but we got close enough where our bond rating was lowered and it did do damage. You know, even flirting with default damages the economy. So just like, just like every time there's a government shutdown, Now, that's not as big of a deal because a government shutdown is not default. A government shutdown is terrible though, because it damages the ECONO it significantly does. It costs the economy a lot of money. Every time there's a government shutdown, people will become desensitized to it because it's been so many of them.
And that's why a lot of people too. Polly data shows most Americans aren't even worried about this. And the only reason I know this for a fact, the only reason most Americans aren't worried about the debt limit is because they become desensitized. And people think that because they don't know it's not the same as a government shutdown. They think, oh, this is just another government shutdown. Whatever. My last a day might last a week, might last a month there, but you know, those state parks will reopen and everything will go on.
It'll be fine. They don't know. They don't know. It will not be fine. If this happens, it will be far from fine, Crystal says in the chat room. Do they ever legislate a goal on how to lessen the debt by paying parts of it off by a certain percentage per year or anything. I remember when Clinton was in office, al Gore found a lot of stupid stuff, like studies on how fast ketchup comes out of the bottle that could be cut. Yeah, unfortunately, you know the way our politics works in this country. These you know, these spending bills always have a lot of pork in them.
Everybody's got to get their their projects in. And not that all those projects are bad. I mean, some of it's stuff that needs to be done. Some of it's related to infrastructure. It's hard to argue against that. Some of it is stuff that creates jobs. But no, I don't think there's much thought to actually lessening the debt anymore. I think, you know Bill Clinton, Look, I had Greg Moore. I haven't talked to him in a long time, actually, but Greg Moore from Americans for Prosperity. He's been on my show and He said that Bill Clinton was the last fiscally conservative president this country's ever had, and he was a Democrat, but he was fiscally conservative.
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It's Georgie started Georgie. Georgie, the George Santo's action figure who simply can't tell the truth, with so many identities to choose from, like NYU graduate, Georgie doing my diploma, Dean, but you don't even go here. I'm putting it on my brosume anyway, Broadway producer Georgie. I proved spider Man turn off the Dark? Didn't that musical fuck? No? Rolleyball, Georgie, have you ever played volleyball? Lady? I invent a bnyballs and grieving Marvin Georgie. My mom died in I'm eleven, Georgie, Come for dinner, but my maide far off, just alive.
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If you're in Manchester and you can go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all your live streaming options, social media links, contact in Folk Show archives, etcetera, etcetera. It is Thursday May eighteen, twenty twenty three. If you'd like to get in with a call, six zo three two five O six Z seven is a number. Six oz three two five oh six ZO seven. You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can email me Matt at Matt Connerton dot com, and of course you can interact and opine in the Facebook live chat.
But the best thing to do so that we can hear and enjoy your Dulca tones is to give us a call at six ZO three two five oh six O seven. I see my dad is in the Facebook live chat. Hello, sir Martin Connerton Joy this. Um, we've been and if you're just joining us, we've been looking at what Lawrence Tribe, constitutional scholar and advisor to former advisor I guess or intermittent over the years, advisor to President Biden about the about the debt limit and what he is saying now regarding the possibility of invoking the fourteenth Amendment to avoid default, and what do you said about it in the past.
And we haven't even gotten to that part yet because it's opinion on this has changed and evolved. Um, we were talking before the before the break about this article from political kind of explains some of what he's uh said about it. We'll we'll pick up with that. Actually, so Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and emeritus constitutional law professor at American University said, if the standoff doesn't end, quote, there is a pretty clear constitutional command unquote to pay debts.
He also acknowledged there is virtually no precedent under the fourteenth Amendment, but the president could be quote in a position where he's going to be forced to choose between either violating the Constitution and violating the laws of the country which require him to pay the bondholders and pay the Social Security recipients unquote. However, Republicans who are looking at the who are looking to use the debt limit to extract cost cutting, are opposed to the idea. Stim Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, quote unconstitutionally, acting without Congress is also not an option unquote.
That's where the constitutional crisis comes in, by the way that we talked about earlier. So on one hand, if you interpret the fourteenth Amendment, which again it's a little vague, it's a little murky, I wish it was more precise. I wish the fourteenth Amendment literally said don't default on the debt idiots or something like that. Probably wouldn't say that exactly, but you know, something to that effect. I wish it was more specific and concise. But like other amendments in the Constitution, there are multiple interpretations that people from different ideological bens will utilize.
But I wish had said that more clearly. So, But if you interpret it to mean that default is not an option, but the Constitution also again establishes that it's up to Congress to decide the fiscal stuff, not the executive branch. It's up to the legislative branch. Then again, if the executive branch is invoking the fourteenth Amendment, does that not violate the Constitution? So there is the crisis potentially, So it says here a Tribe said, he's unclear how the White House could formally Oh this is another problem.
Yeah, yeah, this is a big problem. Actually, this is a big problem. How how does this even work? Because it's never been done, it's never been tested, never been tried. How does this even work where the White House gets to say this is what we're doing, where the president gets to say this is what we're doing. Tribe said, he's unclear how the White House could formally declare it was invoking the fourteenth Amendment as a means of ensuring the country made its payment, but said it would not be a heavy lift.
He said, quote, okay, and this is what I figured. He said, the logistics. Is it an executive order? Is it a directive in the form of a presidential statement? That I haven't worked out and that I'm confident studellery as the President's White House counsel, will be working rather hard on it. If Congress remains were calcitrant and refuses to Budge unquote. So again I guess, I mean somehow he has to you know, yes, to tell the Treasury, right, hey, keep paying those bills. I'm invoking the fourteenth.
But again there is no established protocol process for that because it's never been tried. We are in uncharted territory. Now. The other thing that I wanted to look at, just really out of curiosity more than anything, is I have a political article here from two thousand to eleven July eighth of twenty eleven. Yes, the summer of two thousand and eleven. I remember it well. Not only was that when I originally started the podcast version of Matt Connerton Unleashed. Hard to believe it was that long ago, but that was the summer where I was very anxious, very nervous about where this was all headed.
And now history repeats, except now I'm even more anxious and nervous because now it seems even like the cliff is closer than it's ever been. But I want to look at this. So this is from the summer of twenty eleven. Also for Politico, Lawrence Tribe says no fourteenth Amendment solutions. So let's look at what he said then, so we can contrast it with what he says now, so it says here. One of President Barack Obama's most enthusiastic supporters, Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe, said on Friday, the White House in Congress can't fall back on the fourteenth Amendment to make an end run around the current current debt crisis.
Writing on the New York Times op ed page, Tribe, who once called Obama the best student I ever had, unquote, said the idea that a president can use the fourteenth Amendment to borrow money without regard to Congress provides quote the false hope of the legal answer that obviates the need for a real solution. He went on to say several law professors and senators, and even Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geitner, have suggested that section four of the Fourteenth Amendment, known as the Public Debt Clause, might provide a silver bullet.
This provision states that the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, shall not be questioned. They argue that the Public Debt Clause is sufficient to nullify the ceiling or can be used to permit the president to borrow money without regard to the ceiling unquote. By the way, I have a just a random but very specific memory of um. I remember Tim Geitner vividly. Um he. I remember him appearing at a Q and A session I think at a college. I saw this on c SPAN. Yeah, when I when I still had cable before I caught the chord.
Yes, I'm that much of a political nerd. I would watch c Span occasionally and I saw UM. I saw Tim Geitner at at some Q and A with college students, and he actually saw Obviously, the subject came up because at the time we were in the thick of this, and he, um, excuse me, he actually carried around he opened up his jacket pocket and or he opened his jacket, he reached into the pocket and he pulled out a piece of paper and he was he was carrying around in his pocket a copy of the fourteenth Amendment because he and he explained that the reason he was carrying it around in his jacket is because he was constantly having to show it to people because this was the you know, such a big issue.
So his position was, as Fresury secretary at the time, his position was that no, there's no issue here. It doesn't matter what the what Congress does, the debt limit itself doesn't matter. I've got this And he'd pull out that piece of paper and he'd say, look what does that say? So there's no issue here. That was that was his stick at the time. Melanie that Jarem says, are you okay? Got it cold? I'm fine, Melanie, Yeah, sorry about the cough. My allergies. You know, it's May. Everything's in blue, and I get a little stuffy.
I taken over the counter decongestent. It usually fixes me up for the day, but every once in a while the sneezes creep back in. You should see me first thing in the morning. Though it's a sneeze a thon. Oh it's wonderful, let's see. So. So, his argument at the time, not Tim Geitner's argument, but Lawrence S. Tribe's argument, was was no, you cannot do this again. This was in the summer of twenty eleven. He said his position was that the president has very little authority to borrow money without explicit approval from Congress, especially if Congress forbids it.
Tribe wrote at the time, quote, the Constitution grants only Congress not the president the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States. Nothing in the Fourteenth Amendment or in any other constitutional provision suggests that the president may usurp legislative power to prevent a violation of the Constitution. Moreover, it is well established that the president's power drops to what Justice Robert H. Jackson called its lowest EBB when exercised against the express will of Congress unquote.
So that's what he said was saying in twenty eleven. So again the constitutional crisis. The fourteenth Amendment says the debt will not be questioned, but Tribe was arguing then that the Constitution also says, again, it's the legislative branch who spends the money, and the executive branch has nothing to say about that part. Now, I suppose, and the current article that we looked at didn't really get into it. I'd like to. I need to go back and read the full op ed that he wrote for The New York Times.
I need to look at that, and I'm very curious to read the whole thing. I suppose the argument that he would make now I assume that he makes now, and again I need to I need to read, it would be that invoking the fourteenth it has nothing to do with has nothing to do with spending money. It has to do with borrowing money. So Congress, only Congress can spend the money. Only the legislative branch can spend the money. But who says only the legislative branch can borrow the money if the fourteenth Amendment says the debt has to be paid.
If that is again, if you accept that interpretation, all right, So going back to this again, this is what Laurence Scribe was saying. In twenty eleven, in response to tribes op ed, the Treasury Department took the professor to task and said, Gettner has never suggested the fourteenth Amendment could be used as a way out of the debt crisis. Well, yes, he did. I mean it might have been, he absolutely did. I remember vividly it might have been after this article was written. Though, in fairness so George Madison, the Department's General counsel, said in a letter to the editor of The Times, that Gettner quote has never argued that the fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution allows the president to disregard the statutory debt limit.
Melanie said in the chat room. Was that a sleepover offer? I'll bring ice cream and we can watch horror movies. What Jenny likes ice cream? She won't say no to that. I don't know if she likes horror movies. We've never really watched a horror movie together. Geidner has insisted that quote, Congress has an obligation to ensure we are able to honor our the obligations of the United States unquote. Madison added, he also said, quote, like every previous Secretary of the Treasury who has confronted the question, Secretary Geytner has always viewed the debt limit as a binding legal constraint that can only be raised by Congress.
Unquote. This must have been written. I have to assume this article was written before. It had to be written, before Geitner started going around saying, Hey, look at this, I've got this in my pocket right here, or look had to be right in the Times, Tribe said Obama must compromise with Republicans to reach a deal on the debt ceiling, writing quote, only political courage and compromise coupled with adherence to traditions that call upon Congress to fulfill its unique constitutional duty can avert and impending crisis unquote.
The op ed is not the first time Tribe has taken an indirect shot at his former Pupils administration. In April, he signed a letter in The New York A Review of Books and gave an interview to the Guardian of London decrying the treatment of Wiki Leak's suspect, Bradley Manning. He also trashed now Supreme Court Justice Sony Sotomayor in a twenty two thousand nine letters sent three weeks before her nomination, dubbing her not nearly as smart as she seems to think she is. Okay. Tribe later said he had changed his mind since he has since changed his mind about sodomyer Okay, So anyway, that's the that's the article.
That's what Lawrence Tribe was saying in twenty eleven, So very different from what he says now. I would be curious to know why the change.
Is it simply the direness of the of the situation. All right, let's try to get in one more thing. Oh wow, yeah, we're almost out of time. If you'd like to get in with a quick call, but it will have to be very quick six three two five six seven six three two five six seven. We have talked a great deal on the show about TikTok, the app TikTok, and the potential banning of TikTok in the United States. That was a big you know, a couple of months ago, that was a big story. Kind of I thought it had completely fizzled out and nothing was going to happen, because you know, they had the hearing with the CEO of TikTok and everything, and then just nothing.
It's like, Okay, Congress saw another shiny object and to play with him, that's it. Well, then I see this and this happened today. AP News reports Montana says first in nation TikTok band protects people, TikTok says as their rights. The state of Montana has taken it upon themselves to ban TikTok in Montana, and they're the first state to do it. Says here again, this is from the Ape. Montana became the first state in the US to enact a complete ban on TikTok today yesterday actually, when Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a measure that's more sweeping than any other state's attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.
The measure is scheduled to take effect on January first, twenty twenty four, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok Free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. Cybersecurity experts say it could be difficult to enforce the ban. Quote Oh, this is from Geneforte's statement. Quote, Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.
Unquote. TikTok spokesperson Brooke ober Wetter, that's a fun name. Ober Wetter argued that the law infringes on people's First Amendment rights and is unlawful. She declined to say whether the company will file a lawsuit. Ober Wetter said in a statement, quote, we want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living and fine community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana. Unquote. The American Civil Liberties Union, I'm sorry.
The American Civil Liberties of Montana and net Choice, which is a trade group that counts Google and TikTok as its members, also called the law unconstitutional. Keegan Medrano, policy director of the ACLU of Montana, said the legislature quote trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanas who use the app to express themselves, gather information, and run their small business in the name of anti Chinese sentiment unquote.
We're almost out of time, this is uh. We might we might have to revisit this tomorrow if we have time tomorrow. But let me just say so, the blowback from this so not only obviously are we already seeing a lot of negative reaction to this ban on the grounds of you know, and we talked about it on the show. We talked about it, talked about it months ago or a couple months ago about how you know this, uh, the government actually banning an app that so many millions of people use to communicate and express themselves and so forth.
How that's a big step. That's a big step, and it's a hard sell, you know. And I have said all along, I'm I'm open minded to the arguments. I mean, you know you you say national security to me, I hear that phrase. You know that's something I care deeply about. It's like, okay, you've got my attention. But then you've really got to make your case though. To take a step like this, like actually banning an app, we've never done that. That's that would be a first in American history to actually ban an app that is used to communicate and does that trample on people's rights?
So so we have we have that issue. But the other thing too is and again and we don't have time to get into it in depth. We got to go in a second. But the other thing is enforcement. Is this actually enforceable now? Apparently according to the law, if you already have the TikTok app on your phone, you're not forced to delete it. You can continue to use it. But even if they were to say no, you can't use it, get rid of the app, you know you can't. You can't enforce that. That's the thing. You You couldn't make people remove the app from their phones, even if you wanted to.
And even if the government we're going to start tracking trying to track who's actually using in the State of Montana, who's actually using TikTok on their mobile devices. You can just use a VPN to camouflage yourself and you know, you do whatever you want and no one's the wiser. So you know, I don't know how something like this is even enforceable. So there's that too. There's not only the the First Amendment question about it, but you know, if you can't enforce it, then really what's the point.
And I'm not making any arguments for or against. I'm just offering that up as a question that we should ponder when looking at laws like this. And again, it's a big step. It's not anything to be taken lightly banning a very popular app that people use to communicate and to express themselves. All right, we are out of time. Tomorrow on the show We've Got, of course, as we do every Friday, Eric Pilcher's classic film review and this week, excuse me, this week Eric's review is Superman the Movie, the original Superman film with Christopher Reeves.
That will be That will be the film review, and we have a that'll be in the second hour. In the first hour, we are going to be joined by Ray Coates, a musician from the UK. He's been on the show with us. I think this will be a third or fourth appearance on the show. Raise a very interesting guy and very positive. I like what he does. So he's gonna be skyping in from across the pond as we say so. That will be tomorrow on the show. Excuse me, oh boy, this is probably a good thing we're at the end because my allergies are really starting to kick up.
If you are listening live on Thursday. Coming up next on WMNH, we have Through the Stage Store hosted by the great Rob die On and don't forget to be back bright and early seven am for the Morning show with Peter White. And that's gonna do it for us. For now. I'm gonna leave you with a little bit of Sepsis. My favorite song from Sepsis Eyes of Empathy, and we will leave you with that. If you miss any part of today's show it we'll be up in just a little bit ATWMH radio dot org and on my website Maatt Conerton dot com.
All right, we gotta go. I'll talk to y'all a little bit later. By everybody,
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