Episode 65 · The GaS Digital / Ray Kump Era
Mandalay Ray
Oct 8, 2017 · 1:04:49 · 17 segments, 136 moments indexed
- 1 min
Cold Open: Crisis Mode Announcement
#Tim opens the show declaring they're in "crisis mode" before diving into conspiracy talk.
1moment
- 0:50Tim announces the show is in crisis mode
- 4 min
The Gentrification of Conspiracy Culture
#Tim riffs on how conspiracy theorizing used to be a niche pastime with specialists (aliens, MK Ultra, pedophile cults) and is now mainstream "identity politics," comparing it to rap going mainstream once suburban dads got into it. He mocks Alex Jones for contradicting himself within the same breath, claiming a shooter is both a patsy and an Antifa-inspired Islamic convert, and jokes about Jones name-dropping his access to the president.
9moments
- 0:54Conspiracy culture used to be a great way to make friends, bonding over Bill Hicks and weed until 4 a.m.
- 1:16Everyone had their conspiracy specialty—aliens, pedophile cults, military-industrial complex—like a collection.
- 1:39Now everybody thinks they can get in the game; it's the new identity politics.
- 1:52Tim's been listening to conspiracy shit since Art Bell on terrestrial radio, before Alex Jones was a nobody on Christian networks.
- 2:27Suburban dads got into it; like when your dad knew who Dr. Dre was, you realized rap went mainstream.
- 2:51Tim is fully convinced conspiracy people don't even know what they're saying anymore.
- 3:44Alex Jones's technique is to spew out as many premises as possible and see what sticks, like an open mic comedian working it out.
- 4:04Alex Jones claims he speaks to well-placed military sources and occasionally talks to the president, but the access is no longer exclusive.
- 4:21Anyone can say they talk to the president now—the guy selling Coca-Cola or running a taco stand talks to people on Twitter all day.
- 4 min
Casino Surveillance, 9/11 Skepticism, and See Something Say Something
#Tim explains why he's turned to watching network news for a break from conspiracy overload, then argues casinos already have all the surveillance they need without staging false flags, riffing on hotel chaos at Mandalay Bay and Gary Vee's stoner suitcase-bomb joke. He also dismantles "see something say something" as fear-based social control rather than genuine crime prevention.
8moments
- 5:11Tim argues that the scope of government power makes false flag mass shootings unnecessary to achieve their goals.
- 5:42The false flag conspiracy theory presupposes Americans value their freedom, which Tim says is completely untrue—we're uninformed and disengaged.
- 6:14Tim uses Sheldon Adelson and casino surveillance as a case study: if the government wanted security systems, they could just install them without staging a shooting.
- 6:39Casinos already have the best surveillance in history watching every room—they're checking for card counting and weapons, not running covert operations.
- 7:03Tim argues that checking hotel guests wouldn't reveal someone with guns in a suitcase; Vegas hotels are too hectic and busy for that level of scrutiny.
- 7:40"See something say something" was never about gathering public intelligence—it's about keeping people in a constant state of fear and fascist vigilance.
- 8:04Tim jokes about a Gary Vidas bit where a stoned guy calls in about a suitcase on the street, illustrating the caliber of paranoid people actually making reports.
- 8:34The people calling in are confused, unsure what they're even reporting—they don't know if it's a bag, Jell-O, or anything else.
Sheldon AdelsonGary VidalDavid Muir
- 2 min
Steelmanning the 9/11 and JFK False Flag Framework
#Tim and Ray walk through the actual argument for 9/11 as a false flag (asbestos-filled towers, missing Pentagon trillions, pre-existing Afghanistan invasion plans) and JFK's assassination halting his Vietnam withdrawal and CIA-splintering plans, while noting nobody is actually coming for anyone's guns despite gun-rights paranoia.
7moments
- 9:04Why 9/11 fits a false flag framework: two towers full of asbestos that needed removal anyway, a trillion-dollar demolition operation.
- 9:17Pentagon announces two trillion dollars missing, Rumsfeld trying to figure out where it went while the military is stuck in Cold War thinking.
- 9:38Iraq war plans came in the summer before 9/11; if they wanted regime change, they didn't need to fake something to justify it.
- 10:02Both 9/11 and JFK cases show the world changed drastically; without getting into either one, you could debate the necessity of those events.
- 10:23Project for the New American Century explicitly stated absent a new Pearl Harbor, their plans weren't going to get done.
- 10:38Kennedy was pursuing withdrawal from Vietnam and splintering the CIA into a thousand pieces before he was killed and those plans stopped dead.
- 10:56Tim addresses the standard counterargument: people always say they're trying to get our guns, but nothing's happened since the Brady bill in 1992.
9/11PentagonJohn F. KennedyProject for the New American CenturyDonald RumsfeldBrady BillCIA
- 5 min
Gun Culture, Vegas Buffet Indifference, and Complaining Guests
#Tim argues Americans tolerate government overreach everywhere except guns, mocks armed town-hall protesters defending Confederate statues, and describes Vegas tourists stepping over bodies to get to the buffet and crab legs, plus a bit about entitled hotel guests demanding comps after the shooting.
8moments
- 11:48Tim explains the appeal of gun ownership: the illusion of protection against tyranny or societal collapse, even if most gun advocates aren't actually doing anything about it.
- 12:36The only people showing up with guns are militia types at town halls trying to intimidate officials into keeping Confederate statues.
- 13:04Tim owns shotguns and likes guns, but argues they do more harm than good and should be regulated despite being fun.
- 13:44Passing gun laws that don't work is still important for the country's mental health and image, rather than doing nothing at all.
- 14:42In Vegas right after a mass shooting, people at magic shows are indifferent, more concerned with finding the sword trick and getting crab legs at the buffet.
- 15:25Guests at the Mandalay Bay stepped over bodies to get to the buffet and are now complaining to management about noise and seeking comps.
- 15:50A hotel guest complains about the shooting making noise and disrupting their stay, asking for compensation rather than showing any actual concern.
- 16:07Tim concludes this behavior—complaining, scamming for comps—is just who Americans are as a country.
- 5 min
4chan Sleuths, Michael Ruppert's Death, and Chomsky on Internet Conspiracies
#Tim jokes about becoming "controlled opposition" himself, riffs on the Franklin scandal and Pizzagate as sexy but unsubstantiated angles, recounts the strange death of conspiracy researcher Michael Ruppert, and cites a Chomsky Netflix doc criticizing shallow internet-era conspiracy culture built on tweets and clickbait.
10moments
- 16:27The elite supposedly need to manufacture events to outsmart people, but it's actually 4chan users and Reddit detectives who are the real American heroes.
- 17:00Tim considers retiring from conspiracy discussion because the landscape has become so absurd he and his co-host joked about pivoting to covering Ariana Grande instead.
- 17:11The show itself has become controlled opposition — they're now trapped in the same conspiracy ecosystem they're trying to analyze.
- 18:04Michael Ruppert, who did the actual investigative work on conspiracies, was destroyed by it — he ended up wailing in the desert, eventually shooting himself in the head.
- 19:01Steven Greer's Netflix alien documentary Unacknowledged exists in the same category of conspiracy content as everything else being discussed.
- 19:22Ruppert was an ex-cop who exposed the CIA's involvement in the drug trade and wrote Across the Rubicon about 9/11.
- 19:45Chomsky has spent 50 years talking about conspiracy and power structures, making him genuinely deep on the subject.
- 20:07Chomsky argues that while Russian conspiracies might have something to them, the internet and Reddit phenomenon has made conspiracy theories into loose, sexy soundbites and tweets.
- 20:30Online conspiracies need a clickable angle — Taylor Swift being a monarch cult, for example — because people need something sensational to engage with the material.
- 20:48Tim has been reading this material for a long time and considers himself genuinely deep on conspiracy theory, unlike the casual internet consumers.
Michael RupertNoam ChomskyFranklin scandalAcross the RubiconSteven GreerTaylor SwiftAriana GrandeRuss Baker
- 3 min
How They Became Conspiracy-Literate: From Bush Supporter to Trump Era
#Tim and Ray trace their own political awakenings, from being a teenage Bush supporter who believed in the Iraq War to realizing both parties serve corporate interests, and caution against fetishizing conspiracy theories without being persuaded by actual facts.
10moments
- 21:01Tim read about the CIA as a teenager and went deep with it.
- 21:15He was a Bush supporter during the Iraq War, got it wrong, and later discovered the torture programs.
- 21:44Both major parties became spokesmen for different factions of corporate America.
- 22:08The Boston bombing is suspicious, probably an FBI thing, but not necessarily a false flag.
- 22:27Tim warns against fetishizing conspiracy theories and relying on facts rather than jumping to conclusions.
- 22:58Going straight to Pizzagate or Sandy Hook conspiracies won't persuade anyone to care about real government wrongdoing.
- 23:11Being an adult means not concocting entire worldviews from a little bit of information.
- 23:45People claim occult practices exist and point to similarities between Satanism and Catholicism, but that doesn't mean everyone in power is a Satanist.
- 23:59Most of the worst stuff people discuss is public record, hidden in plain sight.
- 24:14Tim acknowledges there is something weird or fishy about it, but not in the way people automatically assume.
Donald TrumpBoston bombingIraq WarCIAFBICatholicismsatanismFederal Reserve
- 4 min
Vegas Shooting Skepticism vs. Overreach, and the Taco Bell Death Threat Story
#Tim lays out a measured skeptical take on the Las Vegas shooting (early panicked reports, a woman's warning caught on video) while refusing to jump to multiple-shooter conspiracy claims, then digresses into a story about threatening to kill a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut drive-thru worker over missing sauce.
7moments
- 24:27Early reports of multiple shooters on the Vegas strip, potentially a cover-up.
- 25:32Couple at concert warned people 45 minutes before the shooting that they were going to die.
- 26:14Tim has threatened to kill Taco Bell employees at a drive-thru window over missing sauce.
- 26:49The appeal of Taco Bell's jalapeno and avacado ranch sauce combinations.
- 27:20Woman with children had her life threatened because the restaurant left out a sauce.
- 27:48Without customers like Tim, only hipsters from Brooklyn would be left at late-night Taco Bell on Long Island.
- 28:16Taco Bell employees are Tim's control opposition that he needs to treat right.
- 4 min
Tim and Ray watch and react to footage of Trump tossing paper towels to Puerto Rico hurricane victims like a carnival prize and complaining on camera about the disaster relief "throwing our budget out of whack," contrasting it with his North Korea saber-rattling tweet to Rex Tillerson.
11moments
- 28:37Trump claims Puerto Rico 'screwed our budget up' while disaster victims listen.
- 28:48Tim on why constant fear from the news is rational, not a false flag conspiracy.
- 29:06Trump tells Secretary of State via Twitter to stop negotiating with North Korea, we'll handle it.
- 29:34Tim says he would have worked a phone bank for Hillary given how bad this is.
- 30:10Trump throws paper towels to Puerto Ricans like he's won a prize at a carnival, except their entire country is destroyed.
- 30:43Trump's full budget complaint: Puerto Rico has 'thrown our budget a little out of whack' after the hurricane.
- 31:30Tim: no president in American history has mentioned money in a disastrous scenario like this.
- 32:00Mentioning the budget while people have lost everything amounts to guilting them.
- 32:18Trump could have given that diverted money to Lockheed for more helicopters instead of helping Puerto Rico.
- 32:31Trump compares the hurricane to Katrina, says 'nobody's ever seen anything like this.'
- 32:47Tim begins to make another point about Trump's character or behavior.
Puerto RicoRex TillersonHillary ClintonNorth Korea
- 3 min
Trump's Total Lack of Presidential Comfort
#Tim argues Trump lacks any of the folksy, paternal comforting quality past presidents (Reagan, Clinton, Obama, the Bushes) had, comparing his Puerto Rico remarks to Katrina and calling his approach pure bullying meanness with a bit about a lunatic hotel guest wanting a buffet comp.
7moments
- 33:00Trump lacks the presidential ability to comfort people that previous presidents possessed.
- 33:26Reagan, Bush, Clinton all conveyed competence and control; Trump has none of that.
- 33:53In the absence of presidential comfort, Trump is just meanness and bullying.
- 34:20Trump's idea of comfort: telling disaster victims they didn't lose as many people as Hurricane Katrina.
- 34:48Tim thought the presidency was ceremonial until he realized a president can actually do major damage.
- 35:11Hiring someone for a no-show job who instead comes in and shits on everyone's desk reveals the position is more important than expected.
- 35:40Tim assumed Trump would do the bare minimum like pardoning the turkey, not start a race war in the first month.
John McCainReaganBarack ObamaBill ClintonHurricane KatrinaGeorge H. W. BushGeorge W. Bush
- 3 min
The No-Show Job Theory of the Presidency and GOP Infighting
#Tim uses an analogy of a hire for a no-show job who instead "shits on everyone's desk" to describe Trump's disruptive presidency, then he and Ray discuss constant Republican infighting and speculate on why mass shootings and copycat killers have become more common in a media-saturated era.
8moments
- 36:20Trump's Puerto Rico comfort headline exemplifies the absurdity of presidential theater — empty gestures instead of actual leadership.
- 36:46Pence floats GOP leadership challenges in speech, another sign of constant internal Republican Party warfare.
- 37:03GOP infighting mystifies Tim — the party wages war on itself rather than reaching voters.
- 37:30Tim discusses why mass shootings happen more frequently in contemporary society versus historical patterns.
- 37:43Shooters now motivated by wanting to be the biggest mass shooter of all time — a perverse fame-seeking category Tim no longer finds shocking.
- 38:00Correlation between violence and extremist ideology has changed over 15 years of repeated incidents shaped by news coverage.
- 38:11Modern mass shooters function as copycat killers seeking infamous celebrity and zeitgeist participation rather than pure sociopathy.
- 38:254chan post claims connection to shooter, though 4chan routinely manufactures hoaxes and false claims.
- 4 min
The 4chan Vegas Hoax Post and the Limits of the Elite Conspiracy Theory
#Tim reads a viral (possibly fake) 4chan post claiming the Vegas shooting was staged to justify metal detectors benefiting Sheldon Adelson, then argues against a monolithic all-powerful elite, noting historical infighting like the Morgans vs. Rockefellers within the Federal Reserve conspiracy.
9moments
- 38:39Tim reads a 4chan post warning Las Vegas residents to stay inside and avoid large crowds on a specific date.
- 39:01The post describes a 'high incident project' designed to justify new security regulations in casinos.
- 39:34Tim notes the poster claims Michael Chertoff and Sheldon Adelson are connected and will profit from mandatory metal detectors.
- 39:48Tim challenges the conspiracy logic: if elites orchestrated 9/11 and other attacks to justify security, why did security actually decrease over time?
- 40:37The ruling class people talk about aren't a uniform group with shared values, despite their wealth and power.
- 41:18Tim cites historical examples like wars between the Morgans and Rockefellers to illustrate friction within elite institutions.
- 41:45Elites do unite against common enemies and protect each other's position, but they're far more splintered than conspiracy theories suggest.
- 42:04Some offshoots of wealthy people act amorally and may finance unacknowledged black budget projects, either related to aliens or government coups.
- 42:32Trillions of dollars in missing government funds might go to classified projects or could simply be stolen outright.
Michael ChertoffSheldon AdelsonRuss BakerLas VegasNevadaNew York City
- 7 min
DARPA, MK Ultra, and Trauma-Induced Personality Splintering
#Tim brings up Annie Jacobsen's books on DARPA and psychic research, discusses MK Ultra-style trauma-based mind control theories and dissociative personality splintering, and connects it to questions about whether mass shooters like Stephen Paddock or Omar Mateen could have been products of secret programs.
12moments
- 42:58Annie Jacobson wrote a book about DARPA, which most people know little about.
- 43:16DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and studies highly secretive sensitive material.
- 43:33Jacobson's latest book, Phenomenon, discusses DARPA's research into psychics and ESP.
- 43:51Tim argues people don't understand MK-Ultra and similar programs because they don't grasp how they actually work.
- 44:18Trauma-induced personality splintering is the core of monarch programs—inducing trauma to create altered states and controllable personalities.
- 44:58People naturally develop multiple personalities as a coping mechanism under extreme trauma, which can be harnessed deliberately.
- 45:40Fair questions exist about whether mass shooters were experimented on or programmed to be violent through government programs.
- 46:02Tim notes Omar Mateen worked for a defense contractor, and Stephen Paddock worked for Lockheed Martin before the Vegas shooting.
- 47:19Alex Jones taps into a channel of valid information but cynically exploits it for access and credibility.
- 47:57Tim describes listening to Alex Jones at a warehouse job and noticing how he pitches survival products like silver spray and bone broth.
- 48:44The conspiracy content and product sales feed into each other—Jones needs the stupid products to generate revenue.
- 49:27The country needs fewer performers and buffoons; the circus tent is burned out and the tigers are eating everybody.
DARPAAlex JonesMK UltraLockheed MartinAnnie JacobsonMonarch programmingStephen PaddockOmar Mateen+2 more
- 9 min
Alex Jones's Decline into a Cash Grab
#Tim gives a lengthy critique of Alex Jones, arguing he taps into a real channel of information but has been cynically corrupted by fame and turned his show into a nonstop supplement/survival-gear infomercial, tying it into a broader riff about America being full of buffoons and a Roman-collapse metaphor, capped by a bit about a complaining Louis Vuitton sandal-wearing hotel guest.
12moments
- 50:11Tim describes America as collapsing without clear guidance, driven by corrupt interests and personalities.
- 50:43Religion, the church, and state institutions have ceased to function as social adhesive.
- 51:14Tim argues both left-wing Marxists and right-wing agendas are pushing extremes while reasonable people lose ground.
- 51:52Self-interest, not generosity, is the true driving force in American society and leadership.
- 52:28Globalization and increased competition have made people feel threatened and vulnerable, sparking ugliness.
- 52:40The middle class collapse mirrors pre-1950 economic conditions, but people don't understand the historical precedent.
- 53:46Tim notes trillions in Iraq War fraud while the government claims it can't afford Social Security.
- 55:17A socialist redistribution model is inevitable to prevent violent clashes between wealth classes.
- 56:34Leaders like Elon Musk talk about universal basic income but don't actually implement transformational change.
- 57:48Tim performs a bit about stepping in blood at a Las Vegas hotel and demanding a buffet coupon.
- 58:22Society needs either universal income or more mass shooters to force the redistribution question.
- 58:37Tim promotes his tickets for the New York Comedy Festival bus tour.
Adolf HitlerMussoliniThomas SowellBarack ObamaDonald TrumpElon MuskKennedy
- 2 min
Tim runs through his upcoming live dates including Hilarities in Cleveland with Michelle Wolf, Cabot Comedy Club, the Impractical Jokers Cruise, and the New York Comedy Festival double-decker bus tour.
6moments
- 58:41Sign up for tour dates at timdellacomedy.com or the New York Comedy Festival homepage.
- 59:04Tim headlines Hilarities in Cleveland November 11-15 with Michelle Wolf, headlining Wednesday and Sunday.
- 59:20Performing at Cabot Comedy Club in Chicopee, Massachusetts this Saturday, the sixth.
- 59:35Tim will be on the Impractical Jokers Cruise November 1-5, leaving New Orleans for Mexico.
- 59:45New York Comedy Festival includes a double-decker bus tour through NYC with Ray making appearances.
- 59:58Upcoming dates include Magoobies in Baltimore in December and Laugh Boston in January.
Michelle WolfUnpractical Jokers
- 2 min
Tim pitches subscribing to the Gas Digital Network with promo code HELL, name-checking archive episodes (Russ Baker, Who Took Johnny, Lou Pearlman, David Talbot) and other shows on the network like Legion of Skanks and High Society Radio.
6moments
- 1:00:16Tim pitches the Gas Digital Network subscription, noting 65 archived episodes with only the 8 most recent on iTunes free
- 1:00:43Notable paywalled episodes include conversations with Russ Baker on the Bush family, the original Who Took Johnny episode, and Lou Pearlman
- 1:00:57The archive includes episodes with comedians Dan St. Germain, Dan Soder, Bobby Kelly, and Bonnie McFarland, plus historian David Talbot on Allen Dulles
- 1:01:23Subscription through promo code HELL gives 15% off at roughly six dollars a month, includes Legion of Skanks, The Real House Podcast with Nick Mullen, and other shows
- 1:01:58Gas Digital now has a mobile app for easy access across devices
- 1:02:28For those unable to afford the subscription, Tim directs listeners to iTunes free episodes and asks them to subscribe, rate, and recommend the show
GaS DigitalDavid TalbotNick MullenThe Real House PodcastAllen DullesBobby KellyBonnie McFarlaneBush family+8 more
- 2 min
Ray plugs his live show at the Footlight and his Vice Sports show That Happened, followed by shout-outs to Venmo-supporting fans and a joke about Ray at Mandalay Bay doing a Netanyahu bit.
5moments
- 1:02:36Tim announces live show at the Footlight on Columbus Day at 8pm
- 1:02:46Tim plugs his Vice Sports show That Happened, covering sports history and wild events including wife swapping
- 1:03:16Ray does Steven Paddock imitation, imagining him at Mandalay Bay denying responsibility for the shooting
- 1:03:48Shout-out to John Lashnits, a generous fan who sent money via Venmo
- 1:04:09Tim lists other fans: Mike Oscar, Ali, Matt Lajeski
That HappenedVice SportsChris ChaneyJohn LashnitsStephen PaddockFootlightGo90RayKump.com+1 more