WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. You know, if you 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:05.360 checked your news feed this week, you probably 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.179 felt like you were just navigating a political 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:09.779 minefield. Oh, absolutely. Moving from these 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:15.160 explosive document dumps to quiet policy sabotage 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:18.129 and then just... unexpected political retirements. 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:20.129 It was incredibly fragmented and that's what 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:23.609 makes today's deep dive so so critical. Our stack 00:00:23.609 --> 00:00:25.629 of sources it really demonstrates two things. 00:00:25.809 --> 00:00:28.609 Okay. First how public trust just erodes when 00:00:28.609 --> 00:00:30.789 information is you know carefully controlled 00:00:30.789 --> 00:00:34.210 and second what happens when policymakers willfully 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:36.450 ignore the long -term consequences. Just for 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:39.630 short -term gain. Exactly. So we're here to really 00:00:39.630 --> 00:00:42.289 extract that lasting signal from all of the noise 00:00:42.289 --> 00:00:44.250 for you. All right let's unpack this and I think 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:46.320 we have to start with the story that just grabbed 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:49.679 everyone's attention. The controversial release 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.880 of the Jeffrey Epstein files. And what's crucial 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.420 to understand right off the bat is that this 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.359 was not a voluntary move by the Department of 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.240 Justice. No. The release of nearly 120 ,000 files, 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:03.380 it was mandated by congressional law and it was 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.060 sponsored by a surprisingly effective bipartisan 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:09.079 team. Yeah. Republican Thomas Massey and Democrat 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.859 Ro Khanna. Right. This was a forced transparency 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:15.680 measure top to bottom. And Almost immediately, 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:18.599 the process itself became the scandal, didn't 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:21.299 it? You had leaders like Attorney General Pam 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:23.459 Bondi basically claiming they didn't have enough 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.879 time. Which is, I mean, come on. Surely the government 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:28.959 knew this order was coming. That's the core issue. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.159 He immediately just denounced the whole thing. 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:35.719 He called it a gross failure to comply with both 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:39.159 the spirit and the letter of the law. And the 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:41.459 excuse that they couldn't vet everything, it 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:43.219 just falls apart when you look at the redactions. 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.439 It suggests deliberate control, not some kind 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.030 of simple oversight. And the numbers. The numbers 00:01:49.030 --> 00:01:52.269 really back that up. I mean, one document, 119 00:01:52.269 --> 00:01:54.969 pages of grand jury testimony. 100 % redacted, 00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:57.010 just a block of black ink. Completely blacked 00:01:57.010 --> 00:01:59.549 out. And in total, what was it? Over 550 pages, 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:02.969 completely scrubbed. Yes. And that far, far exceeds 00:02:02.969 --> 00:02:05.409 any reasonable allowance for protecting victims 00:02:05.409 --> 00:02:08.349 or ongoing cases. So what's fascinating here 00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:11.370 is how clumsy the narrative control was. The 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:14.449 documents and photos that were released, they 00:02:14.449 --> 00:02:17.770 feature Bill Clinton. A lot. Constantly. And 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:20.610 meanwhile, there's this remarkable lack of mentions 00:02:20.610 --> 00:02:23.330 or images of Donald Trump, even though we know 00:02:23.330 --> 00:02:25.629 they had an association. Right. So the sources 00:02:25.629 --> 00:02:28.129 basically concluded this heavy handed attempt 00:02:28.129 --> 00:02:32.169 to downplay Trump's role. It amplified the suspicion 00:02:32.169 --> 00:02:34.669 that the DJ was cooking the books. It made everything 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:37.669 worse. And those suspicions, they went from strong 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:41.610 to, I'd say, completely validated when just after 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:44.169 the files went live, at least 16 photos. Including 00:02:44.169 --> 00:02:46.349 one that reportedly had Donald Trump in it. That 00:02:46.349 --> 00:02:48.189 one specifically. They were suddenly just taken 00:02:48.189 --> 00:02:51.050 down from the website. No explanation. Nothing. 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:53.250 You just don't build public confidence by deleting 00:02:53.250 --> 00:02:54.729 potential evidence in the middle of the night. 00:02:54.770 --> 00:02:56.710 You really don't. And beyond the politics, you 00:02:56.710 --> 00:02:59.370 know, the files did finally confirm years of 00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:01.520 victims' allegations. So there was a measure 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:03.620 of validation there. Especially from Maria Farmer. 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:06.539 Yes, from Maria Farmer. Her claims of reporting 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:09.780 abuse to the FBI years ago, they were shown to 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:11.659 have been just flat out ignored. That's such 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:14.840 a small silver lining in this just massive cloud 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.699 of institutional failure. But the details just 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:21.379 keep coming out, don't they? Celebrities confirmed 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:24.060 in the orbit. Richard Branson, Michael Jackson, 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:26.719 Mick Jagger, Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker. The 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:29.580 list goes on. And the documents themselves, they 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:31.659 shed light on the operation. We saw that photo 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:35.139 of Bill Clinton swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell 00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:39.280 and a third person who was redacted. But the 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.939 most chilling detail. For me, might be that simple 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:45.300 handwritten note released to Epstein. I have 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:47.280 a female for him. For him, the third person. 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:49.680 Yeah. That shifts the focus dramatically, doesn't 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.099 it? Oh, absolutely. It suggests the caller wasn't 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:54.979 just getting people for Epstein. They were taking, 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:57.219 what, special orders for other powerful men. 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.360 It implies a much broader, highly organized network. 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.419 So the whole thing, instead of giving us transparency, 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:05.139 has basically just fueled deeper suspicions of 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:07.539 a cover up. It's a master class in how not to 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:10.080 handle transparency. It shows that when the government 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:12.490 is forced to open its books, it might just try 00:04:12.490 --> 00:04:14.909 to curate a political truth instead of the real 00:04:14.909 --> 00:04:17.470 one. So if that's the danger of controlling information, 00:04:17.829 --> 00:04:19.970 let's shift to what happens when policymakers 00:04:19.970 --> 00:04:23.129 just choose to neglect consequences, starting 00:04:23.129 --> 00:04:25.769 with military policy. Right. And this is alarming. 00:04:25.850 --> 00:04:27.730 We're talking about Secretary of Defense Pete 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:30.829 Hegseth and landmines. He tried to sneak under 00:04:30.829 --> 00:04:34.889 the radar, a plan for the US to just resume unrestricted 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:37.050 use of landmines. And thank goodness the Washington 00:04:37.050 --> 00:04:39.759 Post caught it and exposed the move. The sources 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.490 immediately drew a line from Higseth's a hawkish 00:04:43.490 --> 00:04:45.949 attitude straight back to Curtis LeMay. The Air 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:49.509 Force General. Notorious for his bloodthirsty 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:52.569 approach in World War II in Vietnam. It's not 00:04:52.569 --> 00:04:54.689 a casual comparison. It points to a mentality 00:04:54.689 --> 00:04:57.569 that just prioritizes force over any human cost. 00:04:57.910 --> 00:05:01.490 And the cost is enormous. Land mines are by definition 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:04.149 an uncontrollable weapon. Completely. They're 00:05:04.149 --> 00:05:06.329 hard to map. They pose risks to your own troops. 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:08.649 Sometimes just a temperature change can set one 00:05:08.649 --> 00:05:11.199 off. and they're nearly impossible to clear completely. 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:13.040 And we're still seeing the effects today. Over 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.879 2 ,000 civilian deaths in 2024 alone from mines 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.800 left behind decades ago. And the U .S. has always 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:22.540 been the outlier on this, hasn't it? A huge one. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.500 160 countries signed the 1997 treaty banning 00:05:26.500 --> 00:05:29.279 them. The U .S. did not. But our policy was to 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.360 limit their use, right? Just the Korean border 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.240 mostly. Exactly. But then President Biden authorized 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:37.279 their use in Ukraine, which then prompted Ukraine 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:39.939 to withdraw from the treaty. And now Hegseth 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:42.579 wants to expand their use everywhere. Even raising 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:45.019 the prospect of landmines on the Mexican border. 00:05:45.180 --> 00:05:48.019 It's a shocking idea, a fundamental reversal 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:50.480 that tells the rest of the world that the U .S. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.920 no longer respects even the most basic international 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:57.540 consensus on warfare. And that same kind of neglect 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:00.220 of consequences. Yeah. We're seeing it in domestic 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:03.920 policy, too, specifically health care, the ACA 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.379 cliff. A colossal cliff. Congress went on vacation. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.399 They didn't renew the ACA subsidies. And that 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:12.259 means premiums are set to skyrocket in 2026. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.240 We should probably clarify what we mean by subsidies 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.350 just for a second. Good point. They're basically 00:06:16.350 --> 00:06:18.670 tax credits that lower your premium cost upfront. 00:06:19.370 --> 00:06:21.410 They're what make coverage affordable for millions 00:06:21.410 --> 00:06:24.209 of families. When they vanish, people face the 00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:27.449 full unsubsidized cost, hence the cliff. And 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:29.910 this is made worse by a huge monopoly problem. 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:33.250 Massive. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:37.810 that 146 counties already have only one ACA insurer. 00:06:38.029 --> 00:06:40.689 Just one. And without the subsidies to keep people 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:43.120 enrolled, that number is expected to jump. And 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.540 of course, less competition means higher prices. 00:06:45.779 --> 00:06:47.319 We're already seeing the human cost of this. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:49.759 You look at the Newton family in Teton County, 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:52.500 Wyoming. They're a middle class family. But because 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:55.160 Stacey Newton has chronic leukemia, they're facing 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:59.920 a premium of what is it? $43 ,000 a year for 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:02.740 the cheapest plan from the county's only insurer. 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:06.079 That's a second mortgage. It's completely unsustainable. 00:07:06.259 --> 00:07:08.500 And the solutions being proposed by policymakers 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:12.480 are, well, they're almost farcical. Wyoming officials 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:14.120 are talking about something called bear care. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:16.720 It sounds absurd, but it's a serious proposal. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:19.959 It's a cheap plan that covers emergencies, like 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:21.920 literally a bear attack or a heart attack. But 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.560 not chronic conditions. Exactly. It excludes 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:26.819 the very things that are most expensive for people. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:29.699 Another resident, Margie Lynch, said the cheapest 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:33.240 plan for her alone is $19 ,000 a year with a 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.740 $10 ,000 deductible. That's her mortgage payment. 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:38.660 Right. gone before she even meets the deductible. 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:41.800 These stories, they're guaranteed to become the 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:45.180 defining emotionally charged issue in the 2026 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:48.120 elections. It's a ticking time bomb. And we're 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.839 seeing similar regulatory battles in public health, 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:53.560 aren't we? Under HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:56.779 Jr. Yes, specifically on childhood vaccinations. 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.209 He's moving to drop federal recommendations for 00:08:00.209 --> 00:08:02.829 many of them, citing Denmark as a model for making 00:08:02.829 --> 00:08:04.930 them voluntary. But if you dig into the sources 00:08:04.930 --> 00:08:07.149 on that, the comparison has a critical flaw, 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:10.209 right? A huge one. The Danish system works because 00:08:10.209 --> 00:08:13.329 they have universal, free, easily accessible 00:08:13.329 --> 00:08:16.129 health care. They can afford to rely on treatment 00:08:16.129 --> 00:08:18.550 after an infection because everyone has access 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:21.269 to a doctor. Whereas the US system, especially 00:08:21.269 --> 00:08:23.569 in rural areas where hospitals are closing left 00:08:23.569 --> 00:08:26.000 and right, relies on prevention. Because for 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.139 many, post -infection treatment is either too 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:31.000 far away or too expensive. Taking just one piece 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.460 of the Danish system without the other is a recipe 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:35.639 for epidemics. And it ignores other successful 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:38.279 models, like France or Italy. Who require 11 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:41.600 in 10 vaccines, respectively. Right. And at the 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:44.179 same time, also under Kennedy's department, you 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:47.299 have anti -abortion groups pushing the FDA to 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:50.000 cancel the approval of Mifepristone. The sources 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.970 see this as a purely political move. Completely. 00:08:53.429 --> 00:08:55.570 Major medical groups have all confirmed its safety 00:08:55.570 --> 00:08:58.429 and effectiveness. A ban would force many women 00:08:58.429 --> 00:09:01.350 to carry fetuses to term. It's a political goal, 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:03.929 not a medical one. OK, let's pivot to political 00:09:03.929 --> 00:09:06.769 futures. We had two major career changes this 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:09.929 week, starting with Representative Elise Stefanik. 00:09:10.210 --> 00:09:12.250 Stefanik announced she's dropping a run for governor 00:09:12.250 --> 00:09:14.490 and retiring from Congress at the end of her 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:17.049 term. The reason she gave was family. But the 00:09:17.049 --> 00:09:18.870 political reality, according to the sources, 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:22.190 is a bit starker. Much starker. A Sienna College 00:09:22.190 --> 00:09:25.529 poll had her trailing governor, Hoechle, by 19 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:28.590 points. 49 to 30, that's a blowout. It is, and 00:09:28.590 --> 00:09:31.049 the analysis is clear. Her aggressive pivot to 00:09:31.049 --> 00:09:33.789 the Mad J wing, it secured her very Republican 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:36.649 district, but it made her completely non -viable 00:09:36.649 --> 00:09:38.629 statewide in New York. So what's next for her? 00:09:39.009 --> 00:09:42.179 Probably an executive post if Trump wins. Maybe 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:45.120 that UN ambassador role he offered before, or 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.460 a lucrative career in right -wing media. And 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:50.220 then almost right after that we heard from Senator 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:52.940 Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming. Right. Loomis also 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:55.080 announced she's not seeking re -election, but 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.940 her reason felt, well, genuinely human. Pure 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:00.620 exhaustion. She talked about the travel, right? 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.500 The sheer difficulty of it. Being a senator for 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:07.789 a massive western state, DC to Cheyenne is a 00:10:07.789 --> 00:10:10.370 grueling 10 -hour trip with connections and time 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:12.929 changes. It's a real reminder of the physical 00:10:12.929 --> 00:10:15.309 toll of that job. And all this turnover leads 00:10:15.309 --> 00:10:18.309 us to the post -Trump ABA landscape, especially 00:10:18.309 --> 00:10:21.210 among the younger conservatives. The mood there, 00:10:21.490 --> 00:10:23.549 particularly at events like Turning Point USA, 00:10:23.789 --> 00:10:26.470 is being described in the sources as creeping 00:10:26.470 --> 00:10:29.190 doomerism. Doomerism. Yeah, they're disillusioned. 00:10:29.190 --> 00:10:31.549 They feel Trump isn't delivering on jobs, prices, 00:10:31.809 --> 00:10:35.330 ending wars. Only 13 % of 18 to 29 -year -olds 00:10:35.330 --> 00:10:37.230 think the country is moving in the right direction. 00:10:37.429 --> 00:10:39.110 And that's already causing a split at the top, 00:10:39.190 --> 00:10:41.549 isn't it? Leadership is already looking to 2028. 00:10:41.950 --> 00:10:45.509 They are. Erica Kirk is already endorsing JD 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:50.470 Vance. And Vance? He is walking an incredibly 00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:52.950 tight political tightrope right now. How so? 00:10:53.129 --> 00:10:55.289 He's welcoming these far -right figures like 00:10:55.289 --> 00:10:58.169 Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson under this so 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:01.230 -called big conservative tent, but the strategy 00:11:01.230 --> 00:11:03.490 is creating a lot of friction inside the movement. 00:11:04.129 --> 00:11:06.059 Meanwhile... Trump himself seems to be looking 00:11:06.059 --> 00:11:08.919 past all that, toward his own legacy. These Trump 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:11.379 accounts for newborns. Right, where the government 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:14.200 deposits a thousand dollars. And the goal is 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:16.519 definitely legacy building, not a personal grift. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:18.919 He's pressuring wealthy people and companies 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:22.659 to do it. Michael Dell pledged 6 .25G in... Ray 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:25.700 Dalio, 75 million. But the plan itself is flawed. 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:28.019 The accounts aren't expected to be popular because 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:29.899 the tax benefits just don't stack up against 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:32.519 other savings plans. It's a grand gesture, but 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.840 maybe not an effective policy. We have time for 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.679 a few quick hits before we wrap up. Let's look 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:38.679 at the shifting cannabis landscape, starting 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:40.980 with a surprising user base. Yeah, marijuana 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:43.159 use has surged among Americans 65 and older. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:45.220 It's the fastest growing group. By how much? 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.080 The usage rate went from 0 .3 % in the early 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:52.440 2000s to 10 .0 % by 2024. That's a more than 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.779 30 -fold increase. Wow. So it's boomers carrying 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:57.519 their habits into old age, plus expanded access. 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:00.399 Exactly. And now Trump signed an executive order 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.740 to move cannabis from schedule one to schedule 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:05.279 three. So what does that actually mean? It's 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:08.039 a huge distinction. Schedule log, like heroin, 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:11.039 have no accepted medical use. Moving cannabis 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.620 to schedule third with coding means the government 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:15.919 now officially recognizes it does. So that's 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:18.299 big for taxes and research. Huge for the industry. 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.039 But for the average user, it's largely symbolic. 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.320 It doesn't change its overall illicit status 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.100 federally. Got it. OK, two final quick notes. 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:28.740 First, the TikTok sale. The whole thing was greatly 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:30.779 watered down, bite dance. The original Chinese 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:32.980 firms still retains 20 percent ownership and 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:35.299 critically, they still own and manage the algorithm. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.460 So the original purpose of the law, keeping American 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:40.740 user data out of Chinese hands. It basically 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.480 failed. And finally, a real throwback idea from 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.960 Senator Mike Lee. This is wild. He suggested 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.320 reviving the power of Congress to issue letters 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:53.080 of marquee and reprisal. Which is legal piracy. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.980 Essentially, yes. It's a power in Article 1, 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:59.059 Section 8 of the Constitution. He suggested using 00:12:59.059 --> 00:13:01.639 privateers to intercept Venezuelan drug boats 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:04.320 to avoid direct military involvement. But isn't 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.899 that illegal internationally now? It's globally 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:10.139 frowned upon, and yeah, potentially violates 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:12.899 international law. A constitutional curiosity, 00:13:13.019 --> 00:13:16.399 but not a practical solution. So what does this 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:18.840 all mean? We started with the DJ Stonewalling, 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:20.940 move through landmines, rising health costs. 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:24.559 The theme that really connects all of this is 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:27.480 the neglect of consequence. and the question 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:29.580 of accountability. And if we connect all this 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:32.100 back to your immediate future, the sources are 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.340 really definitive on one thing, that political 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:36.620 inaction on health care costs, especially that 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:39.139 looming ACA premium crisis. The one hitting in 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:41.600 2026. That is guaranteed to become a defining 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.419 emotionally charged election issue. It's a problem 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:46.179 that will force itself into the news and put 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:48.759 immense unavoidable pressure on whichever party 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:50.659 is in power. Which leaves a really important 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:52.460 question for you to think about as you process 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:56.559 this all. If the political price for the DOJ's 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.700 stonewalling on the Epstein files is minimal, 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:01.759 and if these dangerous policies like unrestricted 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:04.399 landmines or medically unsound vaccine changes 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.980 are allowed to stand without real repercussion, 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.240 what does that ultimately say about the enforceability 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.340 of law and the value of consensus both at home 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:15.620 and abroad in today's political environment? 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.039 Something to think about as you continue to navigate 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:18.519 the noise.