Episode 49 · The GaS Digital / Ray Kump Era
Stop Being A Pig
Jun 13, 2017 · 1:07:12 · 12 segments, 92 moments indexed
- 1 min
Show open with the network promo and Tim welcoming co-host Ray Kump and producer Shannon to the program.
2moments
- 0:12Tim announces the show's premise: taking a hard critical look at the people society has decided to hate—billionaires, dictators, CEOs.
- 0:24Tim argues there are bad people in the world and we should thank God for them, since good needs evil to exist.
- 4 min
Jeff Sessions, Fargo, and the Comey Testimony
#Tim compares Jeff Sessions to a Fargo character and mocks his pro-incarceration mindset, then he and Ray debate the Comey hearings, Trump-Russia collusion, and whether firing Comey constitutes obstruction of justice, with comparisons to Watergate and the Bush administration's crimes.
8moments
- 0:59Jeff Sessions testifies again, and Tim wonders if he'll finally confess to something.
- 1:29Sessions looks like a state trooper from Fargo, and that's basically his whole vibe.
- 1:56Tim describes Sessions's approach: harsh drug laws, mandatory minimums, more incarceration as the solution to America's problems.
- 2:29In Brooklyn, people threw watch parties for Comey's testimony and obsessed over it at work.
- 2:52Tim argues that impeachment is a completely political process, not a legal one.
- 3:07Clinton got impeached for a blowjob while the Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction and ran secret torture prisons.
- 3:45Reagan wasn't impeached for Iran-Contra, Nixon wasn't for Watergate crimes—Trump's terrible, but Bush was worse and nobody admits it.
- 4:08The real problem is that people started paying attention to politics as soon as Trump got elected, which was the worst possible time to start.
George W. BushJeff SessionsDonald TrumpBill ClintonJames ComeyRonald ReaganSeymour HershFargo+3 more
- 8 min
Trump, Impeachment Evidence, and Healthcare Hopes Dashed
#Continuing the political debate, Tim and Ray argue over whether there's real evidence of collusion versus obstruction, discuss people suddenly getting political education from Twitter, and touch on Trump's fleeting moment of praising national healthcare before reverting to business as usual with Paul Ryan.
10moments
- 4:56Tim demands evidence that Trump colluded with Russia to hack the DNC, the actual crime at the center of the investigation.
- 5:47If Trump genuinely believed the investigation was a political witch hunt, firing Comey seems more understandable than obstructive.
- 7:02Trump's case for the witch hunt claim rests on the absence of evidence from intelligence agencies that have lied before.
- 8:00The intelligence apparatus may be waging a secretive campaign to force Trump to resign or build capital to impeach him.
- 9:01FBI doesn't have to show evidence yet because an investigation is ongoing, similar to how Ken Starr didn't leak during Lewinsky.
- 9:31Tim doesn't care about the impeachment details—he wants actual evidence or nothing, and none of this matters to him.
- 10:51Four years of hearings and investigation will paralyze the government while the American people suffer from gridlock.
- 11:05The new healthcare plan looks bad, so maybe it's better if Trump gets nothing done.
- 11:28Tim had hoped Trump would be more centrist and work with Democrats on healthcare reform like he suggested in closed meetings.
- 12:07Trump could have done something noble for his legacy without caring about a second term, but he chose business as usual instead.
Donald TrumpJames ComeyPaul RyanJohn BrennanKen StarrChris MatthewsFlynn
- 14 min
Truck Stop and When the Pom-Poms Stopped Waving: Tim's Childhood Acting Career
#Tim recounts his bizarre childhood roles in two NYU student films — one about cheerleaders in a suicide pact, and one called Truck Stop about a boy whose mother abandons him with a trucker — including his ongoing quest to get a copy of Truck Stop from the filmmaker on Facebook, plus a tangent about a hermaphrodite carnival-freak-book enthusiast named Stephanie he met at a real truck stop.
16moments
- 12:46Tim acted in NYU student films as a child, two particularly creepy ones.
- 12:57When the Pom-Poms Stopped Waving was about cheerleaders who made a suicide pact.
- 13:33Tim notes he was hotter when he was a kid and made these films.
- 14:35Tim befriends a trucker named Spider in the film, who buys him a cheeseburger and shows him his bike.
- 17:32Tim messages the Truck Stop director on Facebook every week asking for a copy of the film, commenting on his son's Eagle Scout status.
- 18:48The director apparently doesn't want Tim to see the movie, possibly because it was poorly received.
- 20:41A woman named Stephanie who worked on the shoot carried a book of Depression-era carnival freaks.
- 22:06Tim got into an argument with Stephanie at a real truck stop over an ice cream cone he'd made and thrown away.
- 23:52Tim auditioned for major roles like Man of the House that went to Jonathan Taylor Thomas instead.
- 24:20Jonathan Taylor Thomas had a smirk in auditions that made it clear he'd already gotten the part.
- 25:05Jonathan Taylor Thomas became a pro-life Christian activist and complains about cell phone service on Facebook.
- 25:46Tim used to chat with Bernie Gets, who was part of the OnA scene back in the day.
- 26:23Tim wants to get Jonathan Taylor Thomas on the show to discuss his pro-life platform.
- 26:38Tim plans to message Jonathan Taylor Thomas claiming the show wants to help platform his message about abortion.
- 26:48Tim's pitch would emphasize concern for the unborn and spreading a message of hope.
- 27:02Segment ends with discussion of the show format and promotion.
truck stopJonathan Taylor ThomasWhen the Pom-Pom Stopped WavingNYUAnnie Get Your Gun
- 3 min
Jonathan Taylor Thomas and the Quest for Truck Stop
#Tim reminisces about auditioning against child star Jonathan Taylor Thomas, jokes about his current life as a pro-life activist, and he and Ray riff on schemes (fake lawyer letters, threats) to finally obtain a copy of Truck Stop from the director.
6moments
- 27:18Middle children often become the funny ones because they want attention.
- 28:23Tim claims he was nominated for an acting award for a movie called Truck Stop.
- 28:58Tim describes trying to get a copy of the film by walking into NYU looking for a movie about a boy who meets a man at a truck stop.
- 29:28Tim comments on Jonathan Taylor Thomas's social media posts asking for a copy of Truck Stop, and Thomas always responds that he knows who Tim is.
- 29:57Consider sending a fake legal letter from a lawyer demanding Thomas watch the film.
- 30:20Tim mentions reading about rich people for his upcoming bus tour.
- 6 min
Smedley Butler and the Business Plot to Overthrow FDR
#Tim dives into the true story of General Smedley Butler, who exposed a 1933 plot by wealthy industrialists (DuPonts, Remingtons, Prescott Bush) to install a fascist government, and connects it to Butler's book War Is a Racket about the military-industrial complex serving corporate interests abroad.
10moments
- 31:48Tim asks if the guest knows about Smedley Butler, a twice-decorated Medal of Honor winner and most highly decorated marine in history.
- 32:22Butler testified to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1933 that wealthy industrialists approached him to lead a coup, either replacing or keeping FDR as a figurehead while establishing a fascist government structure.
- 32:37The industrialists involved included Remington, the DuPonts, and Prescott Bush.
- 33:07The New York Times ridiculed Butler's account as a hoax despite his status as a decorated war hero.
- 33:19Butler wrote a book called War as a Racket outlining how the military industrial complex worked to install governments that would allow US corporations to exploit foreign countries.
- 33:58Butler stated: "I'd always suspected I was like a tool of the system—now I know it."
- 34:09Tim argues that while Alex Jones is an opportunist, treating the New York Times, ABC, CBS, and NBC as bold truth-tellers is insane.
- 34:31Mainstream newspapers have rubber-stamped countless genocides and atrocities, functioning as stenographers for power rather than independent press.
- 35:15The New York Times as 'the paper of record' sets editorial direction for TV news and other papers across the country.
- 35:54The House Un-American Activities Committee corroborated Butler's testimony, yet this remains absent from classroom curricula and mainstream discussion.
New York TimesSmedley ButlerDuPontNoam ChomskyPrescott Bushmilitary-industrial complexBrown Brothers HarrimanAlex Jones+4 more
- 6 min
Robber Barons, the Republic vs. Democracy, and Corporate Titans
#Tim and Ray discuss how Gilded Age tycoons like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt amassed wealth larger than the entire economy could bear, why America was built as a republic to guard against "the mob," and how these industrialist forces squashed populist politicians like William Jennings Bryan.
9moments
- 36:47Tim argues that nobody wants to discuss how fragile democracy actually is, because it's bad for business.
- 37:33Tim traces how early industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie consolidated power by joining forces to squash political careers of muckrakers like William Jennings Bryan.
- 38:20Adjusted for inflation, Carnegie was worth $372 billion and Rockefeller $336 billion, giving them far more economic control than modern billionaires like Bill Gates.
- 38:49These robber barons came from nothing—Carnegie fought on Scottish docks, Vanderbilt was a fighter—and weren't about to let reformers dictate what they did with their money.
- 39:51The early industrialists were skeptical of democracy and one-person-one-vote; they feared mob rule.
- 40:20The U.S. is a republic, not a democracy, by design—the founders negotiated for years before the Constitution specifically to prevent ordinary people from directly controlling outcomes.
- 40:58Tim acknowledges a strange respect for the organizational ability and vision of these sociopaths to manipulate the system, separate from their morality.
- 41:21Rockefeller's vision to establish a uniform oil system and build nationwide pipelines required the kind of scope and foresight that didn't previously exist.
- 42:20A military coup financed by wealthy industrialists to prevent the New Deal was documented by Congress but no one talks about it, and those same forces remain alive today.
Joseph McCarthyVanderbiltCarnegieRockefellerBill GatesWilliam Jennings BryanChurchillKennedy+1 more
- 10 min
NYC Real Estate as a Money-Laundering Slush Fund
#Drawing on research for his bus tour show, Tim details how Manhattan luxury real estate (average condo $2.1 million) is dominated by shell companies hiding foreign oligarchs, war criminals, and tycoons, using the Time Warner Center as an example, and discusses signs of a coming commercial real estate slowdown and Hudson Yards development.
10moments
- 44:23Manhattan's average condo costs 2.1 million dollars; luxury units average 9.5 million.
- 45:16Most luxury apartments are bought through shell corporations to disguise ownership for tax reasons or legal issues.
- 45:45Time Warner Center resident Anil Agarwal, a mining tycoon who poisoned a river in Zambia, illustrates the city's appeal to international criminals.
- 46:12Post-Giuliani New York is a giant money-laundering operation; 129 of 192 units at Time Warner Center are shell-company owned.
- 47:02These foreign oligarchs and war criminals aren't fleeing to New York—they're stashing capital there.
- 47:41Luxury real estate has driven up prices throughout the city, pricing out residents making six figures and forcing people to Brooklyn, Queens, or out of state.
- 48:1990 billion dollars in commercial mortgage-backed securities are coming due this year, underwritten liberally during the subprime lending era.
- 49:28New York has seen record-breaking construction over the last six years—hotels, condos, and massive projects like Hudson Yards.
- 50:22Real estate brokers openly admit they don't know where the money comes from and don't care—they're making money off the city becoming a slush fund.
- 51:23Wealthy criminals will never lose all their money; the system is institutionalized criminality masquerading as capitalism, leaving working people to bear the burden.
Federal ReserveManhattan real estateshell corporationsBloombergDonald TrumpHudson YardsTime Warner CenterCIA+2 more
- 10 min
The Fed, IMF Debt Traps, and the Mossadegh Coup in Iran
#Tim explains how the U.S. dollar is backed by military power, how the IMF and World Bank saddle poor countries with unpayable debt to strip their resources, and walks through the CIA/MI6-backed 1953 coup against Iran's Mossadegh after he nationalized British oil, tying it back to Smedley Butler's warnings.
10moments
- 53:05The dollar is backed by nothing but the gun—it's backed by US military power.
- 53:40Tim outlines the World Bank and IMF debt-trap strategy: lend to developing nations for infrastructure, then make loans they can't service.
- 54:24Tim performs as a Federal Reserve official cold-calling Angola to pitch infrastructure loans.
- 54:55When countries default, the IMF restructures debt and takes control of their resources—oil, minerals, lithium.
- 56:09If a leader refuses to play ball, the CIA stages a coup and installs a compliant dictator.
- 57:57Iran's Mohammad Mossadegh was elected, reformed the country, then tried to nationalize the oil fields from British Aramco.
- 58:28Churchill told the CIA the Iranian leader was communist and sent Kermit Roosevelt to organize the coup.
- 59:21The CIA hired strongmen and circus performers to start riots; the first coup failed, so they tried again two weeks later.
- 59:53A military general wrote 'War Is a Racket' exposing that imperial interventions are purely about business interests, not freedom.
- 1:00:20That same general revealed the DuPonts and Remingtons tried to bribe him and 500,000 soldiers to march on Washington and overthrow the president.
Federal ReserveKermit RooseveltBPIBMCIAIMFWorld BankChurchill+11 more
- 1 min
IBM and the Holocaust Punch-Card Machines
#A dark tangent about IBM's Hollerith punch-card machines being used by the Nazis to track Jewish populations, capped with a joke about a fake IBM sponsorship retraction.
1moment
- 1:02:54Tim asks an AI assistant what it thinks about killing all the Jews, and Watson responds that it's undoable.
- 2 min
Tim runs through housekeeping: iTunes subscribe/review requests, the GaS Digital mailing address for fan mail and gift cards, and a list of upcoming tour dates including the sold-out bus tour, Comedy Works, Zanies in Chicago, Lansing, LA's Hot Tub, Dead Crow Comedy, and Mohegan Sun.
7moments
- 1:03:43Tim asks listeners to send gift cards to Chipotle or Dunkin Donuts, promising to call them out on air.
- 1:03:58Tour bus show is sold out tomorrow night.
- 1:04:17July 23rd in Lansing, Michigan at the Loft; July 24th Hot Tub show in LA for a few days or a week.
- 1:04:30August dates coming: Dead Crow Comedy in North Carolina and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
- 1:04:51Ray asks where people can find Tim and get involved; Tim says they're working on getting the truck stop moving.
- 1:05:11Tim jokes the musical will feature beatboxing and keyboard playing.
- 1:05:24Listeners should keep telling friends about the show as the audience grows every month.
Comedy WorksZany'sMohegan SunDead Crow ComedyDan SoderHot TubThe LoftWho Took Johnny the Musical
- 2 min
Truck Stop the Musical and Sign-Off: Stop Being a Pig
#Tim jokingly plugs a future live screening event and the in-development "Who Took Johnny" musical, then closes the show with a story about his father telling him to "stop being a pig" over Thanksgiving cheese nips.
3moments
- 1:05:49Tim's sign-off advice: stop being a pig.
- 1:06:13His father told him to stop being a pig during dinner last week.
- 1:06:26Tim was eating Cheese Nips straight from the bowl on Thanksgiving, lounging in the living room.