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All right, let's get into Friday feedback for the week. You can always email info@david pakman.com if you have anything you'd like to say. We will look at Discord comments, YouTube replies, Reddit posts, and so much more. Let's start today with a message from Facebook where cult leaders says cultists doesn't question their cult leader. Yes, Pacman, by definition, you're a cult. You divert of from facts, you gaslight people. Pacman never explain when it's against his belief. Pacman is cult, period. You know, I know that this doesn't deserve a serious response because it's so unhinged, but one of the things that distinguishes this show from, from the cultish nonsense we see in MAGA is that I tell you I am not the ultimate source of truth. I tell you, fact check me, and sometimes the fact checking finds that I got something wrong. And when I do, I make every effort to correct it right away.
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Cults claim that the leader is the ultimate source of truth. Trump claims to be the ultimate source of truth. I don't do that. And in fact, I would tell you there is no one person, show, media outlet or anything that is the ultimate source of truth. I'm trying to get as close to the truth as I can. Every day you help to keep me accountable, among other processes we have. And that is very much not like a cult. But when Trump tells you, I alone can solve it. I'm, I'm more knowledgeable than the scientists and the pilots and the engineers and, and the doctors and the epidemiologists. And that's starting to sound a little bit like a cult. Big Chungus asked, does hiring an African like Elon Musk count as a DEI hire? You know, I know it's a joke. I know it's a tongue in cheek thing, but what's really interesting about the Trump cabinet in general is that there is a sort of, of affirmative action there.
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Pete Hegseth is not qualified to be Secretary of Defense, but he was given the job despite being unqualified for reasons that have nothing to do with merit. He was on Fox News and said nice things about Donald Trump. It's the epitome of using characteristics other than merit, skill and knowledge for hiring which they claim to be against. But when, when it's Pete Hegseth, I guess it's okay. When it's Tulsi Gabbard, I guess it's okay. That's where we are right now. Far Abbreviations asks, what did David replace his Tesla with? Sir? With Tears in my eyes. I haven't been listening as much recently, but would like to know what you replaced his Tesla with. Many thanks, Mr. Sir. Well, that is absolutely correct. I am completely out of the Tesla world. I'm done. I was an investor in Tesla starting in 2015. I had two different Tesla vehicles, the Model 3 followed by the Model Y.
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I didn't like the build quality. I became increasingly uncomfortable driving a car associated with Elon Musk. Now some people go, oh well, well, you know, what about Volkswagen? Who knows if some of their. The point is Tesla as a brand is Elon Musk. And I just didn't want it anymore. And quite frankly now with all of the other options there's really no need. Whereas at one point if you wanted an electric vehicle with a reasonable range, you had no choice but Tesla. Now you have many options. And I have dipped into Rivian. Rivian where I have not found concerning aspects of to the CEO's beliefs or whatever and so far the car is fantastic. I have to say I like it much better than I liked any of my Teslas. A space penguin asks David, do you check this subreddit? Because it has become overrun with trolls and bad faith actors and it probably isn't good for your show either.
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Like there's hardly any intelligent discussion happening here. The sheer ignorance about how government even works is stunning. The subreddit is practically dead about what is happening right now. And when news is posted, it's just mostly stupid comments and rage bait trolls. Yeah, I checked the subreddit. There's a mix of stuff on there. Any subreddit when it grows to a certain size is going to have a mix of different sorts of content. We source some of it for this segment. We are following it, we have moderators. I think the subreddit is basically fine. Sir. Kai asked, where is David? The show is unwatchable without David. Not because the other commentators are bad. I'm just too used to David's voice that I can't listen to the show without it. Well, I was on vacation and I'm now back. And I know that every time I take a vacation it's very triggering to some, it's very angering to others who say, how dare you take a vacation?
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How dare you. Well, the vacations will continue until the morale improves. No, but I'm back now and I'm so sorry that the show was unwatchable when I was gone. One more message here from cult aiders who says Elon Musk is the smartest person there is. He is almost the most generous and giving person. He is very nice, very fair. I wish the left wing media, especially small timers like the David Pakman show, can stop talking about him, but they can't because Republicans are living rent free inside liberals head. This is another sad day for liberals because Republicans are winning for America. This is great day for Republicans because our economy is on its way to victory. Copart or liberals. You know there's this thing that happens whenever someone is doing stuff and therefore in the news we talk about them and then we are told oh you're obsessed with that person.
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We never talked about Elon Musk until he became relevant to the global and national political sphere. Trump put him inside the Oval Office, so we're talking about it and now he's living rent free in our heads. Sometimes it's called following those who are having an influence. That's what we're doing. Jotham Hastie asks on the subreddit, is David an incrementalist on all political issues? David has said many times he believes in incrementalist approaches to policy changes. I'm curious if he favors that approach for every single issue or if he has ever stated an accelerationist approach would work better for certain things. Normally I would agree with him, but I'm worried incrementalism wouldn't be capable of salvaging whatever is left after this administration. I don't want to be doom and gloom, but the approach could be much more difficult depending on how broken the system in place is.
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So listen, I am not an accelerationist in any area. However, I would. There are many areas in which I would accept incremental improvements, but would also accept bigger improvements. I'll give you an example. The tax code. The tax code is nuts. Would I accept incremental improvements if they are proposed? Of course every year that the tax code can be slightly better as defined by my priorities and values, I would accept it. But if someone came and said here is a broader reorg of the tax code, I would also go for that. I don't call that accelerationism. Here's the key distinction. Incrementalism as opposed to accelerationism means we are better off improving a system than allowing it to be completely destroyed with the idea of rebuilding it from the ground up. Because often the rebuild is worse. People we don't want in power are the ones who do the rebuild.
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Okay, so. So accelerationism. Not good when it's about destroying a system to then rebuild it. When it comes to just improving stuff without allowing it to be destroyed I'm all for bigger improvements rather than smaller ones when we can make them. Sometimes we can only get small improvements and in those cases, I say I will take the small improvements. Hopefully that's clear. James Brown's hair says this is Jenks. Moment of truth. Jenk said the right would abandon Trump when it comes to war. Trump is now on record as saying he will send troops to Gaza to clean it up if this happens and virtually no one on the right protests. Do you think Cenk will admit he was wrong? Great question. I hope he will. I told Cenk Uygur from the Young Turks. I believe that you were being naive when you say, oh, here's what MAGA now wants.
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Here's what MAGA is now willing to do. I don't, I don't think it's, I don't think they're willing to do any of it. We are now seeing Trump already go backwards and a lot of, a lot of the things that he said he would do and run counter to what people like Cenk were saying. I hope Cenk acknowledges, you know what, guys, I was wrong. If he wants to do it on this show, it's absolutely a conversation I welcome. Will it happen? I don't know. I hope Cenk is honest enough to acknowledge it. We've got a fantastic bonus show for you today. We also are down to just four and a half weeks until my forthcoming book, the Echo Machine goes live. Help us get the best possible shot at landing on New York Times bestseller list. I don't know if we will be able to do it.
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I hope we will. It would be a big win for independent media. Preorder the book at David Pakman dotcom slash book. If you want a signed copy, there is one place to get them and it is from Brookline Booksmith. Go to David pakman.com/booksmith. All copies ordered there will be signed. We will see you on the bonus show and I will see you on Monday. Well, I wrote a book.
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After a long journey and a ton of work, I am really thrilled with how it turned out and I hope you'll read it. The book is called the Echo Machine and in a nutshell, it looks at how American politics got so broken, who has already figured out solutions and how we can try to fix it and stop the terror of Trump for the next four years. With Trump winning this election, the Echo Machine couldn't be more relevant. Not only a warning about how we got here, but also about what might be coming and how to prevent the worst outcomes we've got to stay engaged. We need a plan, and that's what the book is about. There's a belief out there that unless you have corporate media behind you, you can't have a successful political book launch, that it's not possible. I think we can prove that wrong.
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Order the Echo Machine today at David pakman.com/echo on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, Kindle, anywhere that books, e books and audio books are sold. You can also call any local bookstore and say, please order me the Echo Machine by David Pakman.
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Wherever you get the book, you'll get.
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The free pre order perks, including the signed book plate. Head to David pakman.com freebookstuff after ordering.