Transcript
Oh, can we get AI to? Like pipe in some enthusiastic. Sounds good. AI like sound human for us and sound excited about the world. Actually Riverside now has like an AI voice maker. Like a happy maker. Yeah, it's use that live from your ESG, Sad Sack. It's a business pants Friday show here at November 15th Studios, featuring analyst whole Matt mascardi. Yes, yes. Oh my God. On today's weekly wrap up. The government, the federal government is getting its own, Facebook oversight board. Oh, meritocracy is not the name of a new WWF character. Maybe it is, I don't know. WWF, what years was Hulk, Hogan and food. With a 36-month shelf. Life is still bad for you. That it's real and gross. Yeah, that's true. Our show today is being sponsored by free flow analytics.com. The only platform measuring board power connections and performance for free. So I would suggest that if oversight is still important to you, Who, who isn't it important for go to free flow analytics.com? It I don't know, maybe have an upcoming vote at a meeting at a company that you invest in, maybe you are an activist investor, maybe you just care, maybe you just want to have talking points. At your barbecue tonight. Maybe every time you go to the store and buy a roll of paper towel, you want to know who was behind the paper towel. That's a simple as that person. Maybe, if this election, you only want to buy paper towels from companies were women have actual board power, actual power. Oh, that'd be a fascinating way to live. Then you'd never buy a paper towel again. Don't say, well, maybe you don't need paper towels. He ready to get through this? All right, let's yeah. I don't know do this. Honestly. How many weeks of mourning is too many weeks morning? I wanted to know. We've had some some good feedback recently from some of our listeners. I want to know. For those of you look some of our listeners actually might be quite happy. That maybe there, maybe election went in the way they want. They wanted to go. I don't, I don't know. But look, it's possible. But for those of you who are feeling this existential dread, reach out to how are you coping with it? What are you doing? Are doing anything differently? Reading? Different news sources, or are you? What are you doing? Are you paying more attention? Less attention. Are you diving into the data? Are you coping like? Yeah, like how much tea are you drinking? How much whiskey is in that tea? So give us all the detail. What's hard for people like us is that now is the time where we want to give up on everything in the world but we're also at the same time thinking that, maybe it's more important than ever that there is data available to provide oversight of the people who are kind of creepily taking over your Yeah, we might have big changes in store for us because it might be important. I just have to, we might have to, let's get to the free. The weekly wrap up. Did you already play me in the music? I don't know this first headline. I mean, this is like the chickens come home to roost, right? Like these are these are our two sort of most villainous whipping boys up for the over the last two years. Elon Musk and Vivek ramaswamy. Oh yeah one of whom we had on our show we actually had Vivek ramaswamy now not those for those of you in our audience, who have no idea who this man is I don't blame you. He was he ran. He actually ran against Donald Trump for the Republican in the Republican primary. He was kind of a what he was a CEO of some bio farmer companies. Yeah. He so he started off he left Harvard and founded this biopharma company that basically took drugs that didn't get approval or were like dying and he would buy the small portfolio of drugs and then try to resell them what he did. He was raised a lot of investor Capital. Go public. Make sure he still owns 10.8% of the shares of Roy Vivint Sciences. He made sure, he cashed out a tremendous amount of money and the company tanked and basically has not really recovered and then took that money and other things with it. Well, one of the things he's famously done in our world is that he opened, Denia. She company called strive and purported. It calls it an anti issue company even though it's the same. Him, it's actually the same thing, really, but this is part of the new anti-woke anti-e. She mined meld that? Everybody's doing where everything is a gas light. But so this is what he's known for. And then you have Elon Musk. The headline, is that Trump Taps musk and ramaswami to oversee, drastic changes to US Government. So so, they're being tasked essentially to come up with the government's own version of the of the Facebook oversight Group, which is a department of government efficiency. Even the name is a troll. The name met the name is actually an acronym Doge referring to the cryptocurrency that Elon Musk likes. Like, even that is a troll on the American population. This country really thinks like, bro inside jokes. Yes, it's enough to run a country even though most of us, even though most of us were sprinting to get out of Middle School, like it was the best day of our lives in Middle School ended. Actually, You remember Middle School people? It's torturous torturous. So, these two chuckleheads are. Now, I, I suppose being tasked. I don't know what's legal, and what's not legal? They're being tasked to streamline bureaucracy, essentially eliminating jobs and shaving up to a third off of the US's 7 trillion dollar fiscal budget. Now, what they will get away with what they won't get away with what's legal. What's not legal? The idea out there is essentially their entering what's known as founder mode, which is basically like think of uber, right? This is where Uber goes into every region. In jurisdiction, breaks every law known to the world. But get such build such a huge customer base really quickly that the you know that they don't know how to like quit they can't quit Uber. So Uber it's let's say that they break every single law and and once you've looked backwards at the devastation then they say well you should have regulated or stopped us like that. It's not so much that like because I don't think people are going to get hooked on not having say like the Department of Education or defense or the IRS or you know because But there's some, I would hope. Recognition that even if you hate taxes, that road, you have you do like and that money's got to come from some thing, right? But the currently, on the chopping block is basically everything like they and and they're doing it. Musk is, is put up a poll on Twitter and said you, you can pick the things you want to see gone. But only, if you're a Twitter subscriber, I mean us to have an elected voice. With an unelected official it is a is a cash crop that he's actually doing on his own company's website is owned his own app. I mean, even that itself here. So here's the problem. Here's why I mentioned. The Facebook oversight board is that Matt you just alluded to this, there's no real clear understanding of of who has oversight of this. Like As Trump saying it's not an executive brand but he has control over it. We don't know where this Falls, we don't know, we don't know who's overseeing musk and Ramos, we don't know anything it's kind of corporate governance, gone nuts, Derek they're effectively a dual class. Government officials like they nobody knows who's Hannibal for it, everybody's along for the ride. And we're just going to close our eyes and hope that it's not too bad at the other end. And I will say this for, for those of you who are most frightened or upset by these things and I don't think this is actually to make you feel better but this is been going on for a long time. It was it was Ronald Reagan that kind of ushered in the zany error that we're in. He said 1986 the nine most terrifying words in the English language are I'm from the government and I'm here to help. So, concerns have been pushing this idea for a long time. This is not necessarily new, in fact, didn't even Reagan coined. The phrase, make America great again didn't even come up with that. It was make America great. Okay, well, whatever the, but yeah, again just that's the that's just so we're all where this isn't essentially new. It's just it's clown here, it's angry or it's louder. It's it's we were talking and pre-production. I like for those of you who are corporate governance, people or care about the way companies, are you not be listening this this show this crazy know what you are. If you're listening this show. I'm but this is a, you are literally watching the WWE Vince McMahon in real life. This is the way the WWE was sort of like the governance of that company. The way it was treated, the way people were treated like family members, the family members, Is this the sex scandals? The the like jazz hands of entertainment around it, like dual class shares. Yeah. There's no, like, no oversight. This is two dudes and I'm gonna get to this in the asshole. Is who literally have no there, they have no qualifications to do the thing that they just been tasked to do. But it doesn't matter because we're jazzing our way through the next four years. We're just gonna just look over there because there's a massive cash grab happening. When you're not looking by these trolls, these middle school, boy trolls. That's what's happening. the second one maybe is a little bit different tone to this one but still within our within our sphere here. The headline is even Exxon Mobil is horrified by Trump's climate plan. So according to New York Times on CEO, Darren Woods. Warned that withdrawing the United States withdrawing from the Paris agreement, would greatly weaken. Our Global efforts to curb carbon emissions so he's actually pushing Trump to not do that CEO, Darren Woods of Exxon Mobil, get the fuck out of here. You just this is this is the it's not enough the ultimate gas light because things so Darren Woods Exxon Mobil would be doing nothing without shareholder proposal. After shareholder, proposals are for 20 years to get them to report on their emissions to set a missions goals. And this is the same Darren Woods that just sued are June a capital its own shareholder rather than just like, you know, a proposal non-binding vote. Go to go and never pass. They they sued them after the SEC said, it was fine to have that vote. Darren would said, no, I want to send a message to these. Assholes to keep talking about climate change, they sue them crazy. And now he's out there saying, oh no we have to embrace curbing emissions like what what? An asshole. I was an asshole the week. What are the asshole? Here's the quote, from his CEO Darren woods from ExxonMobil. We, we need a global system for managing Global emissions Trump. And his administration have talked about coming back into government, and bringing Common Sense back into government. I think he could take the same approach in this space. So yeah, what, and asshole like, where is the board muzzle him, right? Like, you know, your job is to, like, go. When that guy says, we should sue our shareholder, your job is to say that's stupid. Fucking idea. Don't, you know, that we won't let you, I would say, with out, that element of the story. I would maybe just strug my shoulders here and be like, okay, this guy has a little bit of common sense but that he just sued that's capital for introducing a resolution that essentially. Asked for things like this. Like exactly like it is mind-boggling. It is almost like it's almost like twice in our history now. We've elected Trump and everyone's like whoops. Oops, like wait, we didn't really want to elect him like we don't really want this again on November 15th. We elected him 10 days ago because we know what's coming are. That's the second story. I just move forward. Maybe this maybe this is hopeful to somebody out there. This is getting a lot of press this week. I don't know if this is just making liberals feel good or it's meaningful. Twitter is getting absolutely destroyed as users flee to Rivals, run by people who haven't lost their minds. That's the headline. So blue sky, I guess is the big benefit here? They're the number one app in the Apple App Store. They've seen over a million new users in this week alone and they've grown from 9 million users in September. To 15 million. I also, I, you know, in a related news entities, like the guardian have decided to give up on using X and Twitter. I don't know if any of this is Meaningful or just to make a few people, feel good, but Elon Musk, certainly his benefit of his wealth is better than being. So greatly from the from the upsurge at Tesla that he doesn't need to make money, unfortunately, at Twitter or X. So it's not hurting Elon Musk, but maybe it's destroying the collective voice over their ex and Twitter. Maybe it's I don't know, I don't know what this is doing. Well, I don't know what it's doing except have you. First of all, have you seen Blue Sky? I actually sign up for over the summer and because I'm stupid and don't understand social media in general, I just didn't understand that as well. And I got a different problem. Yeah, exactly like Twitter. Yeah, I mean, like, that's the yeah, but that's it's a decentralized version of Twitter, right? They didn't make they don't they don't hide that fact but it's not just a broadcast to the world. It's not meant to have algorithms that put you in Echo chamber. Just really meant to you're more. You're meant to organically create your own communities, right? Just so we're clear for the thing, I like about blue sky is it's not yo by Elon Musk. Yeah, let's start with that. But the founder is Jack Dorsey. Jack dorsey's, the founder of blue sky. That doesn't make it bad. That doesn't make it good. There's no one who handed Twitter longer involved with Elon Musk and said, Elon Musk is the only light. Do you remember? We have such short memories, Jack. Dorsey was the one who said, Elon musk's the only one who can, you know, save Twitter because he wanted his money. That's what we've learned and, and this is been a total disaster. It's effectively truth, social justice Jack ghastly us. I think we assumed, he meant something philosophical existential. He just, he just meant. He's the only idiot is gonna give me all this money to bail me out of this mess. We seriously need to grow longer beards, and start doing yoga more on on camera and everyone will believe everything we say is holistic and, you know, like meaningful. It's unbelievable. That's the third, big story in the fourth. Big story is a nod to our one of our, the friends of our show. Douglas Chad Doug, just covering his sound governance. Sound governing soundboard, governance their government. They are fabulous. If you need like Governor, you're a company and you like governance. Help. Doug cha is the dude. He's the dude but this this headlines also making the rounds in our world as well. But here's the headline Jamie dimon on not getting a job under Trump quote I have not had a boss in 25 years and I'm not about ready to start amazing. Amazing. Doug, I'm gonna give credit to Doug. Although you know, I I had the same joke in my head but Doug posted it first. I'll LinkedIn and the joke being that corporate governance certainly is a joke. And the us at least it's a scam because clearly he has a boss, it's the board. It's the board. Yeah. But But maybe Jamie is right to point out that that in America, the CEOs are Aristocrats, and the board is really just there to do your bidding, right? That's what we've been saying for a while. The CEO is the quarterback and the board is your your they your offensive line they block for you. So you can get things done, I would call them, maybe the advise you, maybe they advise you on things isn't the board, the GM. And like, whatever. I don't know, whatever back of it, but they're not actually there to provide oversight to provide counterbalance to fire you. They're there to help you get things done. Well, congratulations. Jamie dimon for not having a boss with like 10 11 bosses in a room with him. Like I see firely said the truth about something. That's not the way he intended. You know. He was trying to like a big man. Yeah, but I also like that we have a Jamie Diamond says, we can't go yes without a Jamie Diamond. Says, so win-win for me in fact, that is my story of the week, all right? Wow. Let's just get right to it. I, I you could make a legitimate argument that the other things are significantly more important than this. Well, in the interesting things. Yeah, I mean, we're talking about my asshole was lack of accountability, like accountability is that actually? Yeah, he's admitting it, he doesn't mean to, but that's literally what he's saying the board is pointless. Investors are pointless. I'm My Own Boss. I call the shots and that is how every fucking CEO thinks. And if you're an investor, you should be saying to yourself. That is not correct. Yes, I am. The owner of this company, I elect these people to be your boss. You Are Not Your Own Boss, you have a boss, and your boss is me. And that's what you thinking for. All of you who exist in this ESG sphere, and this corporate governance, fear all you care about the future of America. Don't, don't give up like, like make this. You get angry about stuff like this. I mean you should double down, right? I mean now is the error to actually hold people accountable vote against the board that lets Jamie Diamond. Think that he's the ball. I don't know. Just don't run to Denmark every single board. You the data is free on free for analytics.com, our wonderful sponsor, every single board where the CEO as outsized power on that board are connected to everybody on that board. Or it's very clear there's no independent real independent members on that board like their brothers on the board. Vote against the all because it's not just your fiduciary duty. You're producer Duty includes like, do you have care duty of loyalty and and a good faith, right? You're pretty sure your duty means. They have a boss. It is you, it is your responsibility to find every CEO who thinks they are absolutely unaccountable to anyone. In vote them. The fuck out of the boys. I'm thinking what Matt saying, if the red stars can trade Babe Ruth and you can fire, Jamie diamonds. Are what you're saying? Yeah, 100 Years of a curse. That was a good move. All right, let's see. I hear the music a good list. We only have the, and the best part of good least. This week was, there's only two stories to discuss because this is nothing. Never anything. Good, a lot. Good going on. No, I'll start. I don't know if you saw this but the onion. Of all of all things. The onion the satirical. I love the onion. Yeah, that they bought Alex Jones's Infowars out of bankruptcy. So and this is What they're gonna do is they're essentially gonna get gonna make a parody out of Alex Jones info force him, I mean, he was already seemed like, I mean, that's the problem is, yeah, there's, they can't do anything that isn't already a parody of itself like reality, right? So just just so anyone's clear here, that this is not like, you know, harming the real victims that because the reason why Alex Jones info is in bankruptcy, is because the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims sued the hell out of Alex Jones. But, but the families themselves sanctioned this, they wanted the onion to buy that info Awards, Auto Bankers, so they could make a available as a parody. So this is this is not just the onion acting on its own. So the bad news. Yeah, I was, I was not going to cover this. They won. They won the bid, but the judge a judge has stayed. Purchase I didn't want to. Okay, I saw that this morning I'm hoping that it will clear everything up. There was a there was a few details that the judge wanted to look over. But I'm I'm gonna keep this as a good for now because I'm just praying that this stands. Well, I don't know. Like what on what base is the judges stepping in and saying the auction could have been not handled properly like It doesn't I if it feels like that's only in response to the fact that the onion won right? Like maybe not. Well that's it's not so much like there were other problems, they auctioned off a bunch of stuff. Didn't they like it? They're worried about certain disclosure, but I think everyone who probably bid for the and for worst Paul. He had some disclosure problems. So it looks like it is a targeted attack on the onion winning this. So but I love the story. It's fabulous. But mine might be better. Yeah, can we buy? I think we could buy the new Department of government and efficiency and make it turned into a parody Or is already a parody? I don't I I'm pretty sure it's probably taking. There's some like domain troll out there. Who's got. What's your favorite versions of it? What's my story is Kraft? Heinz, discontinues School Lunchables, okay. Just, you don't even have to go further but I will be honest, I guess you could go further because maybe I am like an elitist snob. I don't even really know what Lunchables are so Lunchables are these little like pre-packaged things of like crackers? Highly processed cheese, highly processed meat, and usually like a cookie. Is it an update of what we used to have? When we were kids at that little package with a little red knife where you smear cheese on crackers? Does it kind of like that? Was that there was that version but it was the version I had growing up was I got crackers out of a container and put them in a different container. I got cheese out of a different container and put it in my lunch. Can you get like ham slice about ham slices and just shove them in there but this was all put together but that's not the problem. The problem was that they gave this to Public Schools all the schools serving this. As a lunch, they were serving this as a lunch box office. Was Public Schools. Okay, and here's this is from the article when the Lunchables were sold to be tailored to meet School. Standards Consumer Reports found that they contained high levels of sodium higher than those found in the same items in the grocery store. As well as potentially troubling levels of phthalates and heavy metals. They've got heavy metal in, it Deli, deli meats are the worst, they said, one of the little lunchable packets. And when I say little, I mean these are like, you know, these are like the size of your face. Like, it's very, it's tiny. It's like a little package, just tiny. I don't think I did as much as a quarter of a child's recommended limit for sodium for the entire day. That, and that little thing and that they were highly processed and have been linked to increase risk of cancers, but they've discontinued School Lunchables. So that feels like a win for schools. Help me out here. How who made this? Decision crafting to me, this decision, the government made this decision crap, you know, it's made the decision. What do we know why? I think they were shame. They were wildly unpopular. That's what the article suggested seem like good news, but the winner, although Yeah, I would say that the winners seems pretty clear to me. That should be the onion buying Alex Jones Infowars, but it hasn't gone through yet. So Canada, right. Winner mine is the winner because it's happened. If I will give you the real one, but also I love children in a new apparently hate children. So um, so that mine is the winner. Let's do asshole. Yes, this sounds like it's gonna be super depressing. Come on, let's do it. All right, no, we already talked a little bit about the first thing. The first asshole of the week is meritocracy. Oh boy. I mean, with this clown car of candidate of cabinet picks is there a meritocracy in the US when they announced that Matt Gates was like, up for attorney general? It was kind of the new just comedy. Now, it's and and the heck, I want to point out the point of strive Asset Management the company, he founded the anti-walk, investor, you the ESG cloaked anti-woke Investment Company was Key their whole talking point. Yeah. And he also screamed about it here on the show too. He said it on our show. He talked about meritocracy, reintroducing. The the concepts of meritocracy in the US as a, as a not. So veiled shot at hiring women and people of color, right? He said, d e, i is the death of meritocracy, right? Elon Musk himself has said the exact same thing. He said Dei is is anti meritocratic and this Administration is clearly just a clown car of, we have a face loyalists, we have a Cable News hosts for the Department of Defense. We have a middle representative who just stepped down because of an Ethics probes about from Florida. He's the new attorney general. Yeah, the reason why? So, Matt Gates stepped down because they were about to release and by stepping down, they can't release the report that released the report still that doesn't exactly represent down. But can we at least agree that? On some level that doesn't represent Merit for the job of the top, lawyer in the investigated for ethics violations, General and underage Services, you know, even in the demented world of like brown people shouldn't have jobs. This isn't Merit meritocracy know I'd say, but I noticed this also this week, just to further the narrative. Ah, Damien. For those of you who don't know, Damien collects every single day, thousands of stories among those stories, somebody has to board appointments because somebody has to care. As we've said, on the show board members are not elected. They are appointed and then effectively steamrolled, right? Like steamrolled, they put them on the board for oftentimes up almost up to a full year which would be 1/7 of of the average term of director. They put them on the board, they pay them, they give them options. They almost get those options fully vested before it even goes to an advisory vote in this because knowing that their shoulders won't be paying attention anyway and are going to be rubber stamping. They literally almost always, we looked at the data and there's like four instances in the last 10 years, where an appointed director got less than 50% of the vote. It rarely ever happened. So they just get shoved in there and they're already working before investors even get to look at it. I saw this head. Line, Felicia Williams, joins Neo, genomics board of directors. This is one of what hundreds of times you capture this. So I gotta say this is one of my now my one of my least favorite categories that I capture because there's so many. There's so many of the board you realize how many and we are capturing things like the YMCA is adding board members, you know, it's interesting. You know, I compiled data. I don't remember for which company, but I was looking at a, there's a new director appointment this week. We not, we're not doing the proxy countdown show this week, but still compiled, a lot of data in case we did the show, but one of the places this guy sits is that on the board of the Juilliard school in Manhattan, New York City, right? And I was like, okay, I'm gonna look at the Juilliard Schools board, and I started to plug in names. And so, our database, Matt, in the first 10 minutes, I found three people in our database who all were on the Julia. I mean, the Juilliard school. I am telling you right now. I am running for crazy profits. Every board member over 4 million nonprofits in the United States. To find matches with directors, at publicly traded companies. And the number of matches, just in the samples are astonishing because you have places like, you know, like I found out, Susan Schwab, you know, Susan Schwab who's a director, who's part of the Boeing three? She was on caterpillar and Boeing at the worst points of caterpillar and Boeing. She's on the, she's the chair of the like foreign National trade Council. Like it's another along with on that board, our company officials from Abby Google. Every major like, you know, Midwestern Corporation. The fact is There's so much sort of graphed here, but we know exists. I have nothing against Felicia Williams. Joining Neo, genomics bored. I have nothing. I don't know, Felicia Williams for anything her bio states. She brings experience as the interim CFO of Macy's. Ostensibly after Macy's. Declared bankruptcy. She's the interim CFO of it. She had experienced at Coca-Cola among some other companies and it struck me that neogenomics is in oncology, a DNA, oncology testing company. Yeah. Which of those skills are merited. Well, it oncology company. This was the right working at Coca-Cola working. Maybe he's gonna say, I'm gonna say cocoa, this is what got me down the Juilliard School rabbit hole because the Juilliard School Board member that was looking into was Jeffrey Campbell who was joining the board of marathon, petroleum Corporation. So we go yeah. Like those two things. Make the next time you're at your kids performance at the jewelry art school. What do you think about who's on the A board of that place. Here's a fun one from our database. This one's from our database. I got every we have knowledge map of every virtually every director is active today. Apple actually tops our list of US large cap companies, where the board as a group, has the the biggest gap between the industry, average knowledge and this board's knowledge. So like as an example right you would expect a bank to have a lot of Finance Bros on the board that just makes sense, right? Well if your bank has no Finance people on the board and every other bank has a lot of Finance people on the board. That seems like it would be a problem. You are you have a different set of knowledge than the industry? Apple is in the technology Hardware industry, Subs industry. The average is obviously computer science. It's like computer people right at Apple, Apple's board, the trillion multi-trillion dollar company Apple. The only one on the board with a computer science background is Tim Cook and that's the CEO and he's the CEO. Apple is the Disney of Technology, right? Like they basically have a board full of people. Land aware know, like be aware. Let's be honest. Companies like Apple. And it's only gonna get worse under the next Trump Administration companies, like apple essentially are sovereign states and and the people they acquire on their boards are basically dignitaries from across the globe. They're not. Experts in computer science and the things they actually sell. So my and my point here is by pointing out apple and Neo genomics, is that we are looking at this Administration coming in as like a clown car of non merited human beings basically loyalists to the CEO of the country, like, who are just crazy. But when you look through the data at corporate boards, this is been the case. Oh, they already forever for all. This is why clown cars? This is why we beg people to pay attention to Executives and board members. Because because forever, there's been an open door at these people in whether they have the Merit or not, and investors actually have a role in deciding whether they stay or not, and investors are passing that everyone's mad all the Democrats or didn't show up to vote at this election, is like 10 million fewer voters or whatever, they should. All be mad at the investors who don't bother. Don't show up to vote, right? That is correct. Well, they were smart, they vote but it's just an automatic. Yes, if you I was looking at it, I looked at a there's a director at H&R Block this week, he had Richard Johnson, he's been on the board since. Oh, come on, his name is Dick Johnson. Yes on the H&R Block but in the board since 2015, right? And and Cheryl was a term in that somehow, they somehow made the objective determination that he is worth 99.5% of their. But why where, what are they seeing about him over? Everyone else that they think is better? How is he so good? Right? What are they listing in his bio? That is telling him this? Like what? I don't even understand that, it's just like, it's crazy to me. The point to me is, you know, the reason why meritocracy is an asshole is because you're being gaslit. If you think there is any, if you think, Matt gaetz in being Attorney General, He's a white man. No, he's a white man. But if you think that is Mary meritocracy, if you think that they're talking about, if you think that's totally insane, which right now the conservatives in America, think that's insane like that even the moderate Republicans are everyone is saying, this is a little insane, isn't it? If you think that's insane? Look around every, you know, the alternative democracy every board and you will find the exact same Insanity year in your out. Investors just say whatever, who cares, but there is no merit. The vet is so full of shit, and Elon is so full of shit. Because elon's own board is Brothers there, how much Merit is there to that? Well, maybe that maybe it's only believe. Maybe that is. What is enabling Trump to win again? Maybe that is, what is enabling directors to get voted in? Would you say 96% of the 96%? Yeah. Is that is what you just said, is that this Attitude of, who cares, who cares? Yeah, right. Which is why we we kind of feverishly work at this every day to compile the data to kind of help you care, right? Like because the who cares thing, the app the apathy around. It is what is what makes this happen right? Is it's what makes everything rubber stamped. So I we have to defeat the apathy somehow think of it this way. every, if you are an investor, Every bit of downside risk. Is made a decision made by a human being somewhere as a decision made by a board saying, here's our five year strategy that we approve. It's a decision made by executive officer saying, yes, spend money on that acquisition. That makes no sense. If you are a regular human being and you don't like consider yourself an investor, Everything you shop for everything. Everywhere you go, all the regulations. The thing that allows you to have like roads and bridges and all that stuff. Those are decisions made by human beings. If you do not care that, the human beings who make those decisions are experts or Merit a position. What the fuck do you care about? Like, there's nothing you should care about more Netflix, the right person, but even the ads on Netflix decision made by a human being. No, without ads, without the care. They don't want the ads. Yeah, well, decision to show you the ads that was a decision by a human being somewhere. All right. You're first asshole is the meritocracy. Number two. Number two eight. K's Got a little Arcane for this one, but okay. I mean the fuk I mean the files it was really a case I like this asshole. Tesla. Did not release an 8K mentioning, the fact that their CEO has been tapped to be a government employee. Well this. Yeah, that's another job. Yeah. Like I read every rag about 8 case, I could find and it says, it's like explicitly in their changes in like, appointments of directors or, you know, resignations. It's all about this stuff. Every event should basically get an 8K Tesla's. The one that's harsh for me because it doesn't test those sort of expose the game of the stock market. I suppose. It's this is not, it's not about a fiduciary duty and care. And it's not about like long-term. It's it's really just about kind of spinning a tale. Like telling us a story that makes you up in a dude up. Yeah. But but that's all I had to say about it because like when I saw the first thing I did not but you know they're not gonna play a disclosure again. This is why the data that you can find for free a free flow. Analytics.com is so important because that's I know it's not their All, but you think the investment, the head of investor relations at Tesla is is feeling any urge to do anything? I don't care what the head of investor relations is thinking the SEC, should say that the president, like the problem, right? It's just taped your CEO to do a job and you didn't disclose that. This is the, this is the conflict of interest to everyone was worried about no one has fought with the SEC, more in the last 20 years than Elon Musk. And of course, their budget is gonna be enforcement, budget is going to be non-existent, right? I mean horse that, I mean, you know, they're probably gonna attempt to completely eliminate the SEC. Let alone cut the budget. Well, I am glad that Vivek was there was rumors. They always up for the sea but now he's just better to you this thing. I don't know. I mean he of your age group posted on LinkedIn. He said there's nothing more appropriate. The head of the department, then the department of government efficiency have two heads. Well, this is like, I want to point out in the story of the week goes. This is what exactly, thank you. Exactly that. Out of all situations, we this is where we find co-ceos. Yeah, I know like the efficiency place is where we have so stupid and the jokes on. That's that's revealing the joke, right? But come on investors demand. A minimum, what you should some investors somewhere torn that I you suit them already file. Another student says, where's the 8K that says the risk of the CEO having a 12th job this time with the US government doing something that is nothing to do with Tesla. For those people who are in our audience and who are investors, are work at companies that may be like vote on these things and care about this stuff and you're on the fence about voting because you think it's too aggressive. You think you're good? Offend people. It even if you don't. Vote somebody out the you you were creating the illusion that you are providing over today that you're there, looking is important more than ever, okay? So even smoke here, just make it look like you're doing it. But this is, but this is important, right? I mean, You you at least have to let them know that we're still here paying attention because if we lose that, then we're losing everything. There is no oversight, there's nothing much Silver Lake. And Scott Galloway got Jack Dorsey fired as the CEO of Twitter because you wanted to move to Africa and he was the CEO of two companies. Elon Musk is now working for the US government and he's got seven other CEO jobs and you can't fucking fire him. You cannot fire him. This is really, we're not dealing with from Tesla's day-to-day operations. What's the point? You don't ever re-entering the next four years were re-entering, the second stage of the shareholder versus stakeholder. Capitalism argument, right? That got that member of The Business Roundtable. Oh, that was 2019, 19. I think, right? And why do we think they even declare that in the first place? What was the, what was the the temperature in the United States? That made them declare that they just thought that there was enough momentum behind stakeholder capitalism that this was the time to to why? Why 18 I? But I think it was it. I'm gonna look it up. Was that was the first president, the Trump. There was a lot of there's a lot of push about income inequality and I remember Jamie dimon who that was just only got Worse. By the way, since they made that declaration. Yeah, FYI. Jamie dimon, who was, then the chair of the Business Roundtable came out and said, 2019, The Barbarians will be at the gate if we don't talk, this is at the world economic Forum, he said The Barbarians will be at the gate if we don't address income inequality and these kinds of issues going forward and then they put out the you know statements about you know the purpose of a corporation. Is it stakeholders? So we know it was it was walls around the it's the Walled Garden around their money by saying, like, oh our purposes stakeholders now. You don't have to, you know, go after us because we make so much money. So we are now is we are removing those walls and saying it was all a joke. Like like no one cares. Any other assholes? Yeah, one more. I know it's a lot. Okay, dude more, yeah. Voting against yourself interest. Well, we've brought this one up several times in the show except that I know. I think I know you're going with this. Yeah, this one's simple. Here's the headline. I saw Traders betting against clean energy, stocks have made 1.3 billion. Since Trump's election betting against clean energy star against clean energy. They're talking about gutting. The EPA, they're talking about removing all of the clean energy stuff from the infrastructure at. How would you hear is like, if you live in a red State? This is, this is the problem. I pulled all the data of from the US Department of energy. The percent increase in clean energy, jobs between 2020 and 2024. And I picked that against the percent of people voting for Trump in this election and you can see the chart in the, in the production notes. It's very, very simple. The red States, all got all the jobs, in fact, the average Trump voting State. That's a state that votes more than 50%, for Trump had 53.6% increase in clean energy jobs. That is job growth over four years. They more than 50% increase in those jobs. The average Harris voting States 23.6% and do we use job growth? Do we know why this is the red State have? Are there are the regulations easier to get by? They pay their workers less, like, do we know why? I mean, if you're Solar Company, there's a lot of sun in them. They're often in the South if you're like, there's a lot of resources there, there's a lot of job forces there. They actually created subsidies to put them there. A lot of companies have manufacturing their already so they just well back on this. There are a lot of reports that this in a nutshell, was the problem with the selection is that it was basically going to be did people care about these new jobs or do they care about the higher prices? And they say they care about the prices. They don't care about the you can't, they got buy stuff with no job. I don't know how to tell you understand that I don't understand that and and looking at the number like West Virginia had an over 300% increase and it is the state that voted second most for Trump was like, that's a wildly Red State these days. I don't understand what you're doing or thinking because when they repeal all this stuff you lose you idiots. Well maybe you should blame, maybe you should blame the coast CEOs at Netflix, because I think Americans are addicted to entertainment antico's. I guess, because of Vivica. I mean, yeah, I'm gonna blame the Cosi EOS of the Department of your wrestling analogy of maybe that's it. Maybe just voters. Just they love the love the show baby. They love the show. All right, so he ate Kay's and voting against self-interest. The voting against self-interest know, that's not the asshole the week. Oh, 8's, it's cute. I like what you're saying there but but This is the week to vote against the mayor. This, yes, right? I'm pretty sure you're not gonna get a better week than this because this does expose the whole game. I mean, if you, if you wanted to hold on to this notion that okay, you know, maybe they're gonna create some kind of methodology, maybe they're gonna prove to us that like, you know, we're picking these people because of these these reasons because they do. They have the best backgrounds. They had the best grades, whatever it is, they the best track records at this. And that that's clearly not what they're doing. The meritocracy is a is again it's not so veiled attempt to say that. We want essentially white people or men. I know it's not white but there was someone who's connected to me on LinkedIn who's a Maga person and like I have some Mega people and people vote for Trump on my you know, LinkedIn connections and their post was This is why we love Trump because he's putting Millennials in positions of power and listed the ages of these people. Uh-huh. That's not a single one is qualified, right? But that's all young. Yes, right. That was that was it and the Biden administration had nobody with, who was young? No, no, we didn't do that analysis. We only did it again, these again. Yeah, yeah. Don't get me going down. That robot hole of like, let's actually, this is where I get upset about Jeffrey sunfield with his op-ed about how much, how great the CEOs are. Just at least, just show me the data. I mean I if that's your contention that I'm actually fine with it but just at least back it up with some data. So I can do that. All right? Yes. Holds the marathon gives us headlines winners predictions. Yeah, come on. I actually have two headlines of the week. I hate to tell you. Oh cheater. I couldn't resist. The first one is just so classic for our world. I just had to include this one. This is from I don't know where this is from business inside her ex's, new CFO. This is the Twitter Twitter. Yes, his new CFO. Received a presidential pardon during Trump's first term. I'm gonna leave that one out there. What did they do? I was in federal prison for I don't even remember something to do with like he fraud lying about iron. I don't remember, I don't know, I was fabulous, I don't care it's just let's just look at how about the second one. I don't know where this fit in the show but I just wanted to talk about it so I shoved it in here. Here's the headline, Google's Gemini chatbot explode at user, calling them staying on the universe and begging them to please die. I want to, I want to read, I want to read with the chat box from Google actually said. So this is a this is actually backed up by chat logs. So this is, this is someone who's having a conversation with a Gemini shopbot to help them complete their homework assignments. So I guess this is like a teenager kids got and this is where the chatbot said again. This is not like this is not research from Twitter, this is backed up by the chat, like says the chat bus said, this is from Google, the company alphabet map. Yeah, company. Yeah. And Larry, the guys who owned quote, this is for you. Human you and only you, you are not special. You are not important and you are not needed. You are a waste of Time and resources, you are burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are staying on the universe. Please die Gemini said please wow. So now are we now, what do we have concerned that? There's no proper oversight at these corporations are a big data we're ever gonna happen. We ever gonna have any concern over anything. I'm the the regular democracy fails. You so, for the next four years, why do you get involved with us and getting involved in the alternative democracy? Yeah, make yourself feel better. Make yourself do something. You've had this long standing point that I love is that. Okay, so alphabet Google is controlled unfortunately, by a couple of dudes, but there's a bunch of directors there who sit on other companies, why don't we vote them out everywhere when he talks it, right? And that's not everywhere. And that's not like, that's not gonna offend anyone or will but who cares. Okay. But I'm just saying like What are we doing? What are we trying to? Not offend? What are we doing now? Look. Yeah, by the way, as you're right to vote the board at alphabet is a stain on the universe. By the way, this was just a tough one. Come on, light me up with your headline of the week. All right, I like this one. Kraft Heinz is a big Kraft. Heinz, we just say you're dipping into the Kraft. Heinz vet a lot this week. Kraft, Heinz must face mac and cheese lawsuit judge rules. Okay come on this is a mac and cheese lawsuit. Can we put the Alex Jones Infowars lost so into this, I would love to together. This one is crafts. It's a class action suit alleging that it defrauded customers by claiming it's macaroni and cheese. Contains no artificial preservatives, that's what they said on the box and it turns out it does contain artificial preservatives. Can you believe it? You mean the dinner that stays in your pantry for 17 years has actually just go bad? It has preserved in it? Yeah. Even after you cook it, you know. I think I win headline is the week. I mean, I find that take the victory. Who won the week, who do you have as a winner? I didn't. I lost steam when I got to this part of the show. So I just said, heads. Oh no shit. Heads. One the week. That's not wrong. I don't, I don't know what to say. I'm losing my ability to have any like, analytical Grace. So, I'm just gonna say, shitheads, oh well, I went with pizza, won the week. Why tell me why pizza? Because they saw two headlines, the first one was Warren, Buffett thinks Pizza is more valuable than iPhones right now. Warren Buffett are genius Oracle, right? Who couldn't endorse a candidate either way? I guess it was hard for him. He is throwing a bunch of money into Domino's, Domino's, he recognizes that he Didn't endorse the candidate that he would have endorsed because he didn't want to the candidate. He doesn't like one. People are eating their feelings and that pizza, and their pizza, and they're afraid to leave their home. So they're having it delivered to them. So they're doing it. They're the commercial or to like you press an emergency button and they just bring a pizza to you wherever you are. Congratulations. Warren Buffett. And second headline, was nearly 260 million Americans could be overweight or obese by 2050, like the news. It was a 20 to win headline mixed with a Warren Buffett, Pizza headline. I feel like that's those pizzas. Definitely winning here. Feels like a gold medal somehow. And do you have a prediction or no predictions for you? I realize, is we get to this part of the show that I pulled an old-fashioned, or the data Queen. I didn't. This is my first no prediction. Oh, let me think of something while you read your prediction. All right. Well then I won't play us out yet. I went since a dip so much in the Kraft. Heinz tub. I want Kraft Heinz again for my prediction. And I think Kraft, Heinz for all of this bad press, they're going to blame board chair. Miguel Patricio whose background outside being X? CEO of Kraft. Heinz includes, get this. I guess this is apropos. But if I were investor, I would think this is not what I want out of my food company. He was um, he was in marketing at Anheuser Busch marketing at kampania. Baby D, baby. Das which is Brazilian Beer Company. He worked in marketing at Philip Morris and he worked at marketing at Coca-Cola. Are you kidding me? Like no wonder why there's a mac and cheese lawsuit because they said artificial preservatives and Lunchables, they lose the Lunchables contract. So my prediction is they're gonna blame him and he gets fired. He gets fired from the board. Here's my prediction. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods. He also joins the the board over there. Oh, I love that. And well, why not? Because there's already a board member from Marathon petroleum. That makes a lot and he decides to he's sues the Chalice. He's all the cellists for playing the cello when they could be playing the violin. What are they doing? What are they? I am yours. We are free float media. This is a free float media production. If you like somebody has to do this, somebody has something to talk about this stuff. You should go get shareholder Primacy if you want to hear what experts think because that's like Lipton. They're like actual experts, Tulane law, professional like jokes over here. Yeah, I know they're not making jokes. They're making real points about real stuff, but otherwise, we're gonna skip practicing countdown this week because no one cares about it. If you do it. Well, people, if you care about you, we'll be back next week. Until then, goodbye.