S5 E14 - Give Captain Phillips a Gun - No, a BIGGER Gun

S5 E14 - Give Captain Phillips a Gun - No, a BIGGER Gun

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067245/fan_mail/new] Why Captain Phillips Couldn’t Carry a Gun Today | Arming Merchant Ships in the Strait of Hormuz The episode argues that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces are illegally boarding and seizing merchant ships in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for roughly 20% of the world’s oil, and criticizes diplomatic “negotiation” and sanctions as ineffective responses to piracy. Using the film Captain Phillips and historical examples—armed East Indiamen, the WWII Liberty ship SS Stephen Hopkins, and Jefferson’s response to Barbary pirates—it claims deterrence works when ships can shoot back. The script contends modern commercial crews are left defenseless because regional ports prohibit weapons, making shipboard arms or private security costly and complex. It proposes placing armed guards, specifically U.S. Marines, on every transiting vessel, reviving ship “hard points,” and potentially deploying Phalanx CIWS as a deterrent, arguing defense is not escalation and would stop attacks. 00:00 Captain Phillips Hook 00:33 Iranian Ship Seizures 02:29 Hormuz And Piracy Law 05:35 Why Ships Are Unarmed 07:05 History Of Armed Merchants 09:47 Private Guards Work 11:46 Marines On Every Ship 13:30 Phalanx Deterrent Option 15:58 Answering Objections 19:28 Wrap Up And Takeaway #americanexceptionalism #piracy #terrorism #guncontrol #iran Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

S5 E13 - Mike Duggan, The Last Democrat

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067245/fan_mail/new] Mike Duggan Drops Out: Why Independents Can’t Compete—and What It Signals for Democrats Kevin Travis argues that Michigan swing-state politics reveal a deeper Democratic Party crisis after Detroit ex-mayor Mike Duggan, who left the party in December 2024 and ran for governor as an independent, dropped out despite raising $3.2M (mostly from Michigan donors) and earning 200+ bipartisan endorsements. Travis says Duggan didn’t lose to voters but to a party-finance system that blocks independents, and frames this as evidence of an impending Democratic Party division rather than a routine cycle. He links this to historical party collapses, criticizes Democratic redistricting and DCCC meddling in the 2022 Meijer primary, and claims the party is split between democratic-socialist figures and sidelined or expelled moderates like Fetterman, RFK Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard. He suggests a new center-left governing coalition could emerge. 00:00 Duggan Drops Out 02:19 Who Is Mike Duggan 04:00 Independent Can’t Compete 04:42 Do Parties Collapse 06:33 Parties Die Before 07:24 Canceling Andrew Jackson 10:37 Constitution and Parties 11:13 Redistricting Power Plays 13:36 Meddling in GOP Primaries 16:13 Democrats Already Split 17:36 Moderates Pushed Out 20:12 Fault Lines in GOP 22:38 Back to Duggan’s Lesson 24:23 What Happens Next 24:58 A New Center-Left Party 26:35 Democratic Republican Idea 26:59 Closing Thanks #TheLastDemocrat #MichiganPolitics #MikeDuggan #PerryJohnson #Detroit #Michigan2026 #TulsiGabbard #TheSquad #thetenthman #DemocratCollapse #ThirdParty #PoliticalHomeless #PartySplit #BeyondTwoParties #Fetterman #Mamdani #TulsiGabbard #RFKJr #Squad #BernieSanders #TheTenthMan #KevinTravis #ConnectTheDots #Politics #Podcast #MAGA #DSA #Woke #AmericanPolitics #2026Elections Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

S5 E12 - Animal Lovers - Not Rock Throwers - are Killing the Seals

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067245/fan_mail/new] Rock Thrower vs. Monk Seals: When Animal Love Becomes the Threat Kevin Travis contrasts federal prosecution of Igor Litvinchuk for throwing a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal (missing and causing no injury) with broader failures in conservation and legal proportionality, including a state senator commending a man for beating Litvinchuk. He argues the animal-rights culture prioritizes performative outrage and individual-animal sentiment over species-level conservation, criticizing the naming and quasi-pet treatment of a seal called “Lani” and a “priesthood” that controls information. Travis says monk seals are increasing about 2% per year, while a major documented threat is toxoplasmosis spread by feral cats; yet laws and enforcement protect cats and even de-prioritize penalties for feeding them. He also blames activists who habituate seals to humans, concluding the system punishes solutions, protects problems, and substitutes theater for conservation. 00:00 Rock Throwing Outrage 01:54 Federal Crackdown 04:46 Vigilante Rewarded 06:13 Moral Authority Question 07:05 Naming Wild Animals 10:19 Nature Versus Man 11:49 Species Not Individuals 13:41 Real Threat Revealed 15:57 Cats And Bad Incentives 17:42 Activist Factions Clash 18:40 Habituating The Seal 20:02 Theater Not Conservation 20:53 Closing Thoughts #MonkSeal #LaniTheSeal #igormykhaylovychlytvynchuk #FeralCats #WildlifeConservation #Toxoplasmosis #LanaiCatSanctuary #AmbassadorOfAloha #HumaneHawaii #RichardBissen #MauiMayor #BrentonAwa #HawaiiSenate #TheTenthMan #KevinTravis #ConservativePodcast #TrapNeuterReturn Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

S5 E11 - You Can't Boycott Starbucks Under Socialism

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067245/fan_mail/new] Boycotting Starbucks to End Capitalism? The Contradictions of Socialist Protest | The Tenth Man Kevin Travis argues that boycotts rely on capitalist competition, criticizing Seattle mayor Sarah Nelson’s Starbucks boycott as using capitalism’s tools to protest capitalism. He contrasts outrage over Shell’s windfall profits with little protest against state-owned oil firms like Norway’s Equinor and Mexico’s Pemex, claiming the anger is selective and more about who controls money than profits themselves. He discusses New York mayor Zoran Mamdani’s proposal to tax accumulated home equity, contending socialist programs depend on wealth created under capitalism and rarely involve voluntary collectivism in advocates’ own communities. Using bear-and-salmon and coyote analogies, he claims “nature is capitalist,” says communism destroys prosperity, and argues only under capitalism can people safely denounce the system, while noting capitalism’s real problems and asking “compared to what?” 00:00 Boycotts Need Capitalism 00:50 Protest Paradox Setup 02:11 Seattle Starbucks Boycott 03:38 Oil Profits Selective Outrage 04:59 State Oil Money Trail 06:27 Taxing Home Equity 08:34 Why Not Start a Commune 10:20 Nature Is Capitalist 12:33 Bear Versus Commissar 13:40 Only Capitalism Allows Dissent 14:31 Capitalism Flaws Compared 15:30 Wrap Up And Call To Share  #TheTenthMan #progressives #Capitalism #Socialism #FreeMarkets #ConservativePodcast #PoliticalAnalysis #SaraNelson #StarbucksBoycott #ZohranMamdani #KevinTravis #AntiCapitalism #Communism #Venezuela #SovietUnion #SmallGovernment #MarketEconomy #PodcastersOfX #NewPodcast Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

S5 E10 - Iran, A Juvenile Delinquent Throwing Rocks at Cars

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067245/fan_mail/new] Iran’s “Overpass”: Mining the Strait of Hormuz, Extorting Shipping, and the World’s Double Standard The episode compares teens throwing rocks from highway overpasses—citing fatal cases in Michigan (Kenneth White, 2017), Ohio, and Colorado—to Iran’s deliberate policy of attacking and extorting neutral shipping in the 21-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global seaborne oil and LNG normally passes. It argues Iran has reduced traffic to about 5% of prior levels while charging up to $2 million per vessel and allegedly mining international lanes in violation of longstanding Hague rules, driving oil-price spikes, flight cancellations, and delays in fertilizer and food shipments. The speaker claims the world holds Iran to lower standards than the West, noting a UN statement “asking them to please stop” and a Security Council resolution vetoed by China and Russia, while China imports over 90% of Iran’s illicit oil. The episode contrasts Iran with Singapore’s prosperity and choice to enable commerce rather than threaten it. 00:00 Overpass Double Standard 00:53 Deadly Rock Throwing 03:04 Strait of Hormuz Overpass 04:05 Why It Hits Home 05:27 Tolls and Extortion 06:18 Sea Mines and Decency 09:09 Princess Diana Contrast 10:09 UN Vetoes and Hypocrisy 12:17 Two Ships Two Missions 15:06 Singapore Chooses Good 17:53 China's Complicity 19:10 Back to Michigan Verdict 20:30 Conclusion and Thanks  #TheTenthMan #HormuzCrisis #FreePassage #IranNavy #DoubleStandard #NeutralShipping #IRISDena #Hormuz #LostPotential #TinCanSailor  Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.