Transcript
That's why you did jazz hands just now, it's Friday. And we are alive and alive. Yeah, sound alive. Give me just scoffed at being alive. This is Ari the data Queen joined by Anna's Home Matt McCarty and half asleep. Hazelnut rollers know have a live Fully Alive, fully everything's good. I'm just letting you shine just normal. Okay. On today's weekly wrap up we have oh we had their FA meeting this week, like surprised by the sentence you wrote like three minutes ago billionaire made a billion dollars We're gonna have to find out, you're just gonna have to listen to the show. Yeah. Damien why don't you show a story the week? Let's just get right into it. Come on. Wow. You don't even let me like Fade Out the music. I feel like that's very appropriate. Oh, I feel like it's appropriate. I feel like all my stories are kind of very American. That's I'm not sure. I like that. Start at the top. This is my favorite story of the week. This is like perfect for all you data nerds especially woke data nerds specially. I mean this is like I feel like this is the heart of ESG data from my perspective. So this is why I picked this story. I love this story of ESG data, really? I love this Negro League. Statistics will be incorporated into Major League Baseball's historical records on Wednesday. So that just happened two days ago. This mean For any of you people. Who care about sports. This means that this means that this wasn't like that it was. No, this is a, this is big news. If you follow data in sports, if you follow that. And let's not forget that, the kind of the heart of our company started by trying, to emulate something called sabermetrics, which is a way of analyzing baseball stats right from the great. Bill James, he started this in the 70s, but what this really means is that baseball's all-time racist. Ty Cobb, And I say that seriously, are he is a parent shity racist? He he is no longer. The baseball is all-time career, average leader, that's correct. Now it's a man named Josh Gibson. A catcher who played for the Negro League. So anyway, that's the top. That's my first story of the week. They those stats from the Negroes. Because remember, black people couldn't play Major League Baseball until 1947, they were allowed in the league. So those stats are actually now officially part of the lead. Wow, that's cool. It's like she data, it's like adding ESG data to the world. Yes, corporate. I love you, chose this story for that reason. Exactly. Because it's like there. For for 100 years, we've ignored an entire population because we were racists and now when you put them in it turns out they real good. Well, really good at playing baseball and and the subtext, there is that we've celebrated white players who got to play baseball. Not against other black, you know what I mean? Like, we have we celebrated their stats but they weren't really playing against the best players in the country. I mean, so it's odd that we still celebrated that but and separate here. This should have been good list. I mean, all right on my radar at all. How this is a very free flow to me? I don't know. That's why I got. So anybody who uses goes to free flow, analytics.com sign in. It's free, it's just an email. You can see actually the we gave directors batting averages, I mean, they have a batting average, we're doing the same thing. We use a lot of the same Concepts and we think that like you should measure how teams work and actually when we built it, We were careful to make the context Global, right? Like we didn't want to buy us one group over another, we had lots of conversations about, like, how different it is. If you, you know, play in India and that stock market, your director there versus if you plan South Korea and there's a lot of nuance. But we also wanted to say, like, Well, everybody's held to a performance standard. So we need to be able to kind of like represent both. I love that. I love the story. This is great. Next story. Stop, I don't care. No, I know, I know get the, the next story I have actually starting my with three good ones, New York Governor, Kathy hokel to launch Bill, Banning smartphone, smart food, banned you because I can't stop eating. That's the one snack food that I can't stop eating a smart food with the, with the cheddar cheese sponsored. No, no. She's Banning. She. She and I, one of the reasons why I picked this up, because all the Northeast Governor, all the Northeast Governors and Mayors, who do great things are all women. She's Banning. She's launching a built a band smartphone in schools on top of that. She there's another act that she's launching. This is called. Stop addictive feeds exploitation for kids act addressing algorithmic, feeds aimed at kids, so yeah, I'm celebrating this My gosh, I don't know how I feel about this, what I feel awesome about it, except I mean, I love the feel amazing for the moon. Shoot for the moon. Are you have a kid who's, who could actually go to school and learn something? Because I have the opposite experience your dumb kids. Yeah, my, my kids went through a generation where they were somehow allowed to have phones. I don't understand how they're allowed to have phones in school. I don't get it. I would like to go back to like, the candy bar phone. Like, there's a flip phone. That is my phone's just well. I, I do want to say about the story. Can we not with the acronym creation? Why does every thing have to be like what? Every Bill. Yes. So yeah that's true. I didn't really stop addictive feeds exploitation safe for kids. It's really they like this line from Kathy you're not going to profit up the mental health of children in the state of New York. She's talking. Yeah. Yes, I like that. I like that third's. Too good ones. I know are the third happy story. Just really bad for you because you can't get better. I have a third happy story and then they get a little gloomier. Melinda French Gates says, she will donate 1 billion dollars over the next two years on behalf of women and families. Yeah, yeah. So billionaire donating, a bar is a woman. Can you donate a billion to Aries? Go, the reason. Why, the reason why I picked this one is that there was a report that less than 2% of philanthropic giving the United States directly benefits women and girls. So this is a big deal for, I have too many stories this week. The fourth one is back to open AI. I had to touch on this opening. AI CEO, Sam Altman created a culture of psychological abuse, according to former board member Helen toner. I'm just doing this story to tutor on Horne Helen toner, finally speaking out. Basically that why the Board. Got rid of Sam Altman, and if you believe hell on toner, which I do, they had a lot of reason to fire. The dude, one of the highlights of this story is that the board was not informed in advance when chat gbt came out in 2022, they learned about on Twitter of all. Yeah, that's But you tell your board. But by the way, while we're recording this, I just want you, you all to know that I've launched a new product yesterday, and it's really good. I should tell us on Twitter, um, and let me go, let me go quickly because again, too many stories, fifth one, ExxonMobil wins board, vote by wide margin. That's in my last story. Trump has been convicted. I had to throw that one in there because he was. Yeah, wasn't he? Wasn't he was CEO of the country. He's the CEO of the Trump know. Yeah, I guess yeah. We yeah. Okay. So those are my I've a lot too many stories and that there you go. About the Trump conviction. One is interesting. Mostly because it does involve business records and falsifying them, right? So there is a direct implication here if you're like, You know, McDonald's CEO Easterbrook, right? Who has a has a basically, an affair with somebody at work doesn't inform the board, hide it lies about it and then gets fired. You know, if there's a business record somewhere, this could be, you know, conviction now that's it. Setting a precedent, it all that to the Activision guy. Oh, Bobby cotech know. He's busy on call Island right now enjoying his life. Well, you got bought out the other reason why I picked the Trump story is because, as you'll see from my headlining, his headline of the week, it also involves a lot of the same characters that we talk about here on the show repeatedly. I mean, he's not completely divorced from the world that we're constantly talking about. So anyway, all right, so our story of the week options are Negro League. Statistics incorporated into MLB statistics, a bill to ban smartphones in schools in New York. The New York's a big place to ban smartphones in schools. Melinda French Gates, giving a billion dollars. It seems like to women and girls French Gates and you know, Mackenzie Scott have figured out how to give the money. All the boys seem to be like we will give the money eventually and somebody shows me a plan. This this one is like I'll just gonna give the money. It's not that hard. It's a good point map because it's been a terrible week for Samuel Altman which we highlighted last week on the Friday show which is why I'm not going too deep into sin this week. But what really his only response this week was that he was gonna give away half of his money that's his like, yeah, that was he's brilliant green wash. And they also they also did announce their their AI Advisory Board which is Sam Altman. Yeah. Of course, advising the safety of AI. Okay. And so the fourth story is Sam Altman and Helen toner. It's really helpful. It's really helped her Exxon Mobil wins. Number five, and Trump convicted 34 34 34 counts All right, well, you're gonna vote first because that's what you say. First, come on, Ari, you're in the right. You're gonna agree with me and you know what? I'm gonna do it, but I think we started the week list. Week is Helen toner specially because I'm not gonna agree with you. Why do you think I love Helen? She's talking to me. Oh, okay. I'm talking about, you're looking at me. Disagree with me. You're staring at me about Taylor. Was like we are disappointed that Miss toner continues to. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for pointing out. It's my favorite part of this story. Is that is his rebuttal the chair. The current chair of opening, AI. Brett Taylor said I was originally just mentioned, we are disappointed that Ms toner continues to revisit these issues. What kind of what kind of a statement is that though? That's brilliant. That's like, oh this check. Yeah, she still obsessed with us. It feels very much. Like we were just appointed him. His owner continues to revisit these issues sounds a lot. Like can you Please stop talking about just not talk about it. It was great when you didn't continue, not like it's almost a plea. I I'm really torn. Oh, um, in fact, I like so many of these. I'm not sure what to do because I agree with our early. That was a big one. I agree with the Ari that this is a big one mostly because we came out as soon as this happened immediately, the day we were happy. We were almost worried that we we jumped the gun too quickly with her. Absolutely. We thought we thought we were missing something there's some you know like there's something going on that we don't know about. We came out the day. It happened in said this is the letter of the mission and the Mandate of this board, right? Like if you understand this company in the structure this is exactly what they're supposed to do and we're exactly what boards are supposed to do. You don't have a CEO fetish to like run a company. It's not how you don't have to see. It doesn't have to be king. Well it and then and then everything unfolds and then he's back and now Microsoft's observing it and everyone everyone was like oh Capital One over labor and capital wins overboards and all that kind of stuff and Now we're finding out exactly why, which is the guy's a liar. He lied to Scarlett Johansson, which I think is probably what empowered Helen toner to talk now. He's, he lied to the board. He lies when it's expedient, or he doesn't tell the whole truth. I mean, you can't launch chat GPT and not tell the board who's responsible for Public Safety. They launched it publicly. And let's not forget, this is not just Helen toner. One of the other board members of voted to get rid of him. Was illya sutzkever who, who just left the company of like 10 days ago. He was the co-founder with Sam. I mean they they did this together so it's not just Helen here who write, who lost his life. Yeah. But then there's also, I mean, the Trump conviction is the first conviction of a president of the United States of any kind that the Exxon Mobil win America. At least. Yeah. In America. The Exxon Mobil. Win is like a shocking basically. disavow of fiduciary duty, like I, I can't believe that Melinda French Gates like MacKenzie scotting all over the place is pretty amazing know, But I'm going to go with the Negro League statistics. It has nothing to do specifically with like a business thing, but I this is the spirit. It's really, it's what we live for. It's like like it's a new data set about a marginalized group that totally changes the way you look at a sport, right? Like yeah, to me in my mind, it's exactly what we're trying to do with free flow, and I kind of have to just, it's not anybody else's story of the week, but I it's gonna be my, I don't care about baseball and look like the stats. I don't care about baseball since I was like, 12 years old, but, but one of the things I did care about when I was young, was the stats like. Yeah. That's what people like and and at first, I think people were gonna be they're gonna be a lot of angry people, you know, they're gonna be a lot of people on the right. Certainly will think this is too woke and but as you said Matt over time this is gonna settle in and the date it will just be the data. This will just be the stats and people will refer to Josh Gibson as the all-time Leader in career average. Yeah. The seven racists to two are like ripping this right now. Eventually will be that because this is gonna care. Yes. Because this is official data now, it's official stats. So eight years from now, when a kid is opening a book, while watching a baseball game looking at the stats, that's it. It's Josh Gibson. So that, so I love this too. So I'm, this is definitely my, I'm gonna break the tie and go for this one. Yeah. Of course, but no, but wait, but stay tuned Ari because I've vindicate you with my winner of the week with the Helen toner thing, I just gave it away. Oh, foreshadow. But this go to the real good. Yes. This is Gonna Be No One's Gonna think is nearly as good. Well, Jamie just listed, like, five, good things, you know. I'm starting off with the hotline. Hello, Alice. Prevails and anti Dei lawsuit. Hello Alice. This is a DIY Victory this week. Yeah. Hello Alice is funded by the insurance company Progressive and they support small business owners through an online platform aiming to get those businesses more Capital. So, what they got sued over was a program that gave a 10, black owned, small businesses 25,000 dollars. They're suited them for that. Someone bothered suing someone sued them because of reverse discrimination, United States of America, knowing the history of black people in our country, going dating back to you know, 1500 1600, whatever. This is what they're doing about. Well, so there's been a bunch of these wonderful following the relationships. The Supreme Court thing, right? Yeah, yeah. The College of action. Yeah. Right. The reversal or, you know, the controversy over affirmative action and this is this is one of them that happened. The aftermath of that and I got tossed. Yeah, toss it baby. Who tossed this? Where was the stars in Ohio? Okay, Ohio, too, I look, this is bananas that it's even possible because if Progressive wants to give grants to only like slugs it finds out of its offices, it can do that, right? Like I don't I don't understand. Why it would be like what your grounds you're discriminating against. If you set the parameters of a grant and give them, there's no like right to get a grant. It's just a company anger racism. I don't know what it is. Our company is evidence of the fact that there's no right to get a grant. That's all I'm saying. All right, number two. I do have Melinda French Gates. Yes. A lot of her focus is. You know, Reproductive Rights? And the Gates Foundation, right? Yes. Stepping down. Well, they were divorced what several years ago. So I guess it's time. Is this do you think that how much what percentage of this play is in anti-bill play? No, I don't like no. This is pro women and girls. I know it's very good but it's also a little bit like shove it Bill like I mean like his you know he's saying she's a conspiracy theory against Bill. She's the reverse. I love it. I love it. And I picked this headline because I thought it was good. Yeah, FAA won't clear. Bowing to increase, seven, thirty seven, Max production, for several months. I don't know about this or that. I don't know how I feel about this. I don't know about this. Yeah, so on Thursday, the FAA met with Boeing Executives for Quality improvements and what PowerPoint that lasted, I think over three hours, they said over three hours following that meeting all the had a lot to get through, right? They screwed up taking longer. Yeah, I would hope it would take a longer. Following that meeting. The FAA was like, yeah, it's gonna be a while from the FAA said, like, why is the lame duck president Dave Calhoun here? Why do we need you here? Like, what, what are they gonna get rid of you? Like, why are you, what are you doing? Did they send Steve Mullen cop to ask everybody at the FAA who they thought should be CEO? I thought that was the succession plan. You know though, probably more like hey can you hire me before you leave? Yeah, oh that would not be good. I would not like that. All right, these are three, good list, headlines. Hello Alice prevails. Get to the lawsuit is tossed. That's the thing that actually happened. I like that. Melinda French Gates billion dollar donation and FAA, says, Boeing still sucks. He's somehow, can I vote for Negro League stats in this one? Yeah, no. In honor of that, I am gonna I'm gonna take a victory when I see it and I, and I hats off to the people in Ohio for Yes, I mean look it seems small, it's only 10 25,000 grants but it's important. I mean it's important that we talked this bullshit. They came after this, you know, small thing and it made, hello Alice spent countless hours and had to get more money from Progressive to, like, deal with this crap. It's so annoying. So I'm glad that I got talked. It's the it is the most egregious use of like the legal system, right? And it's backed by, you know, that right the first. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, these, these are, I mean, what are we doing? What are we doing? But I I'm not gonna say that one. Oh, even though mostly because I want to tie and I want already to break it bowing doesn't even come close. So I'm gonna go with Melinda French Gates billion, dollar donation. Good one. It's a good one. I mean, I just like, I just like we have now, multiple examples of women, who are, who have either inherited Lots? Of money have lots of money, whatever. Who don't have a problem giving it away. Meanwhile, we have every every white male who gets a billion dollars pledges and then nothing happens for 100. I mean they have donor advise funds, you know. Like they give away some here and some there like Jeff Bezos is fund is giving away some grants, but it's like this slow trickle or they do something stupid, like billion bucks. They buy Twitter and they waste their money, but to make it not. I make it tricky for you. I'm gonna remind you that according to a study less than 2% of philanthropic giving the United States directly benefits women and girls. Yeah, it's not that tricky for you. Send 2% of VC, recipients are female lead team. Yes, less than 15% of all federal spending and health goes to study like female, Bodies and issues and diseases to how you're going to vote for this. How you gonna break the tie? Yeah, well the winner this week for good news is the FAA just can't do that. I'm gonna go with hello Alice? Yeah. Oh I think this is one that I can actually get behind the winner either. One of those. This is actually surprisingly good least week this explains why Finding assholes was hard for me this week. Yeah it was not easy. Well let's see what you got. All right, let's I got three and I don't love them. Well good, I'm not your job. Well, I'm not, I don't feel strongly. So let's go with an oldie but goodie, here's the data. 64% of the voting power. 64% of voting power, that is the only number that is required to put this headline into context and realize, what an asshole. This guy is, here's that line vet ramaswami pushes for BuzzFeed board seats says company has lost its way. Can you explain? Yeah go ahead. So the vet went to the public markets, he opened up his Robin Hood account and saw that like, I can't afford to buy Twitter. I can't afford to buy, you know, meta or any of the fun ones. Yeah, but look at that. BuzzFeed like two bucks, a share. I can buy a lot of that and then I have like access to a media company. He amassed an over 8% stake in BuzzFeed of the Class, A shares. Now, this is where it becomes important. Yeah, there are class B shares Vivek and yeah, Jonah Peretti, the founder of BuzzFeed owns, those shares and and Jonah is a liberal too, right? I mean, am I wrong about that? They own huffpo. But so one of the properties is the most liberal, you know, an existence? Do you think that Vivic understood this? You think he's that dumb that he didn't get this? Like, what's he? That's, that to me is the amazing part because he bought not like an eight point, eight and a half or nine percent. Stake of the company has demanded that they platform Tucker Carlson demanded that they bring in all of viewpoints. Make them the Viewpoint, Center of whatever and is pushing for board seats. Meanwhile, Jonah Peretti is like, you do know how this works, right? I have 64% of the voting power. Did you know, bro? I don't think I did. Yeah. Like you were on our show, that's Are you want to understand things like that? Call us? I mean like I mean now. So now is he bringing Spotlight to do a class shares and how? Oh, I like that. Maybe it'll help us fight the good fight. Yes, Vivek. Come back on the show. Yeah, that's what I don't want to talk to him again, but that's a great idea. I will welcome you. I really you too. Can interview him puts up a shareholder proposal to asking for, you know, single one class, one vote. The other thing I have to ask you was what, what was BuzzFeed way that it lost? What what, what what, what are we trying to? What's the magic, we're trying to recapture click. All right, no. BuzzFeed was top 10 celebrity side of lists for like 10 years but they just shut down, not just. But if a couple years ago whenever it was, they shut down Boosie news. Yes. And just focus on content to your point. I will say this about buz. Beats news. It actually was pretty good journalism. It's and it definitely slanted left, but it was actually pretty. It was, it was, it was good. But you can't make money off a good journalism anymore. It's probably why they should have down. I mean, well, let's In fairness to Vivek. It might have been mediocre journalism because it did like the Steele dossier, you know, like Trump influenced by. Russ did a lot more and more and that was largely discredited and they didn't actually double check anything providers covered that story, but they did a lot more than just that they did other things. But like no one went to BuzzFeed, for news, know because you went to BuzzFeed for celebrity side, boobs, that's what you did. Like, I don't understand so that way that vivica's trying to recover that's like him, it's a Nelson Peltz at Disney. Like, it's like Hydrox to Oreos, like, it's like whatever Vivek can do. Even, I can admit that I'm not a Disney guy, but even I can admit that Disney provide some entertainment value to families. What is Buzzfeed, Provo, what are we doing? I just lists. What are the questions? Honestly, I honestly think like he opened up his Robinhood account and was like I want to be like Elon and Nelson pellets in these big players who are taking on Bob, Iger and Jack Dorsey and they're buying like they're fighting like this good fight, and he went out and he I don't think he realized there were Class B shares. I really don't think so he's out there on the microphone and someone like like I'm sure he got like an email from, you know, Bob monks the progenitor of ISS who was like There. Doing any of this. It doesn't matter. Like it's so dumb ass over here. Dual Clashers. Because this one. Yes, dumbass. Holy Ghost of the week for this one. I would like, no. I honestly would love in a candid moment for him to admit that he screwed. He didn't know, he didn't know. I mean, and then he's gonna sell off the shares. Let's not forget, you got now co-founded strive Asset Management. That's supposed to understand these issues anyway. No no, no. They just vote against women. All right, here's the data next. And I'm gonna caveat this by saying You know, this is like an asshole move and this is kind of like a move towards asshole but really I'm just triggering. Damien Damien is really, really triggered by this and I just want him to go off. All right, here's your data. VP of structured credit, co-head of credit, derivatives marketing microfinance securitization cross assets, structuring these are all jobs that this person has had up until they were head of ESG impact investing group sustainability officer and their latest job ESG, whistleblower? Okay, that's not a job quote. Here's a quote, the purpose. This is a quote, from a LinkedIn post by this person. And I rarely do individual people like this. But quote, the purpose of the corporation is to optimize Financial returns for shareholders while playing by the rules, not to use shareholder money to go on and environmental Crusade. Remember, Group sustainability officer head of ESG impact investing? Yeah, there is no headline. This is just Desiree. Fixler. This is just by the way. Congratulations, once again for the for the anti-esg crowd, using loaded language environmental Crusade. Come on, what are we doing here? So she posted, as long LinkedIn Ranch, she was at a conference ft model say conference rant. I mean, there's there is an ongoing. It's Rance. It's like ongoing. Oh, I see she's not right, I don't pay attention during my feedback, I just fall asleep. I don't get my algorithm but it's like, tweaking me. It's like and I'm not responding to us. So why do they know I hate it so much? Are you reading the post? Yeah, that's why. I mean rest when you don't know, maybe I am. All right so if you don't know who it is, we're talking about Desiree. Fixler was the chief sustainability officer at DWS, which was a Deutsche Bank owned asset manager. They she Actually told German authorities that they were selling funds, that they were claiming where sustainability funds, but did not have any proof of like they did not doing anything to make them sustainability funds. So, she blew the whistle on DWS, that's good, German authorities, raided DWS office and it actually resulted in the CEO getting fired. So the new CEO, she doesn't like it all. She spent the last, you know, two-ish years since since that happened Um, doing talking circuits maybe being blackballed, like from the industry, it's really hard to get a job. Once you've been a whistleblower, so I have no idea. I'm sure she's been under tremendous amount of scrutiny and pressure, and, like people telling her all manner of things. But in the last, maybe two or three, six months, Has spent her time on social media. And this is, I don't know her personally, but and like, I don't know if she's actually an asshole. Basically saying that pressure is the greatest thing and and that everyone in ESG needs to shut up and they need to stop regulating it in Europe because they're killing free markets. Like it's she's playing the ball, she's playing the juvenile. Binary game, which is that capitalism? Is this in ESG, is is socialism. So it's that like, it's just, it's the queen song. Arguing bulshit, here's the quote from her post. She was on a panel at the Ft moral money conference. Our panel was about fostering, Next Generation, sustainability leadership, until a pivoted to political economics. A couple of audience members called for corporations to urgently and socialistic fight climate change. That's the nice clean version of the historical F bombing rant in our session. I viscerally responded by defending free enterprise capitalism in Milton, Friedman's principal. Here we go. Milton Friedman. Yeah, the purpose of the corporation is optimized Financial returns for shareholders while, playing by the rules, not to shareholder money to go on an environmental Crusade. That's not to say that corporations won't transition, but it is up to elected officials, to set industrial policy to decarbonize, or not, and Lobby groups. So, work on both sides, what was the business roundtable's purpose of a corporation about 2019? Where they're basically put their flag into stakeholder capitalism? Suggesting that all these things are part of capitalism and very normal for Quality, they were wrong because she goes on, but the socialistic alarmist, the Earth is dying. Rant's got the Applause, have ESG folks, abandoned capitalism? Or are you a defend the system that pays them and the system that has successfully made the world healthier and wealthier than ever before. Okay, that I mean there's a little bit More to that part of it, though. But this is this is the part that like, like there, you know, there are million responses and people being like, I actually responded to this post because I thought it was funny. Looking, I just said, I said, I think you she wrote socialist and I think I wrote, I think you misspelled scientifically because like there's science behind this, but Damien has really been aggravated by everything. He sees, I just pop up in your feet. That's why I put this in here. It's not just, hey, I'm sorry. I just hate the juvenile like binary arguments were like one thing is white. One thing is black. I just I get triggered because it reminds me of like the George W bush days, where everything was like, good or evil. And if you have to slot into one of these categories not to mention that I I was confused by all of her stupid Rants and her stupid ESG, whistleblower title. But then I realized a couple of days ago, she did a post and she's come. She's basically complaining about Joe Biden's mental faculty. So she's clearly just a stupid. I don't even know what and I don't even know what that's about. Like I don't know why she discrediting herself by saying I just heard a hour and a half. Interview with Joe Biden. There's believe me, there's nothing wrong with this mental faculty, so I don't. Why is Desiree fictionally even saying a thing like that, like what's the points trying to get? This is really I will say this. Yeah. Like I don't know if Desiree fixlers an asshole or not and the same way. If you listen to the show I don't know if Bill Bowie is an asshole or not but I mostly want to Damien to get his chance to talk about this because in like like pre-production meetings and like company meetings, he keeps bringing up. Desiree. Fixed. Look. She's not the level. How much she aggravates him. Yeah, but she's not like Bill Ackman. She's not like Jeffrey song. She's not like I'm not fat aggravated. She did an amazing thing. It took courage to do but it's parlayed itself into I don't know what this is, like Spotlight, ISM, like social career. I don't know what do we doing now? What are we have to be on the side of like you don't have to be like I'm a full blooded capitalist in order to like, you know, still you know, Recognize ESG data matters. I don't actually tweaked by Matt, is that I and I'm showing my age here. I'm tweaked by like this algorithmic world. We live in, where you can kind of game the system of social media. And if you, if you do things that are either extremely positive or negative, you get a lot of attention, there's this. Yes, Matt has a friend. I'm not gonna mention that does this a lot, and it tweaks me because it's just leaning on clickbait bulshit in order to get like a lot of attention and look at works for them, but I just can't believe that this is the world. I was educated to take part in because because all of these discussions are highly nuanced. So this is why I get triggered by Jeffrey sonnenfeld because he just comes out guns. Ablazing saying that, you know, Dave Calhoun is laser focus and the CFO of Norfolk Southern is a great like I just like it's just everything is either like yes or no. That's never. This is why we created these shows and why we do them. So often And because we think these things deserve like kind of constant conversation and attention. Meanwhile, our social media following is about 12 feet. I know 30 people listening. Yeah. Stop trying because I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to play that game. I don't know how to do whatever I say anything that's that's very binary. I always I then caveat it like a paragraph later with like well maybe I'm wrong and then it's a wise thing for you to say though, honestly, Matt because maybe you are wrong. All right, here's your third option. This is an easier option. This is more in line with my normal options. Here's the data, total assets of 377 billion of assets. Assets of which 33 billion is in cash. Versus total assets under management of 352 million total market capitalization, Who agrees with the idea that you should spend some of that 33 billion in cash to crush the 352 million in assets under management is 490.9 billion. So the David versus Goliath ratio here is 0004 to 1. Your headline Exxon, shareholders vote with board on all proxy. Proposals, what you've done that down for me. What were you talking about? So the Exxon vote was a referendum. Basically be like Exxon is shoot a shareholder. It doesn't like are you and follow this release from that loss suit? Yeah, because just jurisdictional but they were International. Um, asking for better scope three targets or more advanced go through targets because they weren't going to hit, you know, Paris agreement, kind of levels is the same kind of ass that's been happening for years. And companies always hated these asks they always say no and investors almost always vote against them but in this case Exxon always hyper aggressive forget that it Wingstop which is reported on this on the proxy countdown show yesterday at Wingstop of all places. Egg, a share, Liverpool asking for greenhouse gas. Emissions report. Talk about these scope three emissions at you're just referring to passed 52% of the boat. So these I take it back. Yeah, it happens everywhere except for what it just saying. It Wingstop, doesn't happen anywhere else, but so they excellent got hyper, aggressive, ensued, Arjuna capital, and follow this. And then Arjuna and follow this retracted, the shareholder proposal but Exxon said no fuck that. We're keeping the lawsuit going because we want to make a point and the point they're making is that the SEC is choose, the liberal and allowing all of these shareholder proposals to get through. So Exxon is using a company with 352 million under under management. Who's got what? Maybe a dozen capital. Okay, our junah Capital, um, 352 million assets under management is what our June of roughly has in the last 13f. So we're talking about strive Asset Management has more assets under management than Arjuna. Does this is not a big company. These are small companies. Okay? and, This vote was seen as sort of a referendum on. Is it okay to sue a shareholder? Whose views you disagree with, who used a perfectly legal process? Yeah. That's essentially it a nutshell, isn't it? Yeah, it's that's it. Like Just because you disagree, they did something legal, you don't like their their Viewpoint, your annoyed with them. So you're gonna sue them. You have an existence and your mechanism is just as powerful as theirs which is that you you have space in your own proxy to you can you can be against that proposal and you can State, why? And that's what you know what? You 99% of time. You're gonna win that anyway, so there you go. And they're complaining that this is a waste of shareholder resources to fight these shared older proposals. Meanwhile they have 33 billion dollars in cash. Was it turning? That they had they had the CEO get paid 25 million last year, right like these costs 50,000 hundred thousand to maybe. We're talking about peanuts for a company like Exxon, I mean, like they had their cleaning lady, like probably makes 50,000 bucks. Not like, picking up this trash. I don't know if you're gonna talk about this, but you pointed out this this morning, not to mention that there was an organization called Boyer Search Boyer research, who is the The Firm that ISS is using as part of their ESG, skeptic plan, right? They filed Euphoria this morning. So, you know, a little bit more about than I do. They filed a letter in support of Exxon, basically saying, yeah. All these these asshole shareholder. Proponents. They're ruining the world, they're ruining capitalism. How dare they they themselves. Proper proposals are at corporations, several corporations, at least nine. At least nine corporations. So what is this is all just again, it's theater, right? It's, it's all it is theater, but it's really, it's, it's, this is a company based in Texas, where Ken packs is using consumer protection laws to go after non-profits who like their where there's no deceptive practices because it's political this is effectively a political statement, a hyper aggressive political statement being made by Exxon about a shareholder. They don't like their opinion. They don't like the ash, they're tired of them. So they're going, hyper aggressive and The vote was happened. Last week we made recommendations on the proxy countdown which you can hear, but the vote was expected to be sort of a referendum on that lawsuit Calpers, came out and said vote against the entire board at Exxon nicer. Illinois, a bunch of large asset owners said. This is not okay, you cannot sue your shareholder and there seemed to be a lot of momentum around this. They could vote somebody out as a result of this. Hyper aggressive act. No, average director for vote was 95% four. Yeah, only one director below 92%. Only one. It's insane. Because it clearly shareholders have like Stockholm syndrome. This is just their show. That's like there's so much board capture. They are so terrified of something like and if you even used our data, if you went to analytics, like common used our data, you would see that at Exxon, The only Direct on the board who bats better than 500 which is your perfectly average director would be batting 500 on earnings. He's a guy who has put there by engine number one, an activist that Exxon didn't like it's karsner. He bought 701, Alexander karsner only four of the 13 directors, bat over 500 for TSR and the CEO of Exxon bats 493 on TSR. So he's averaged. So basically you cited with Hyper aggressive lawsuit, average performance, any bats, a zero and when I say 0, I mean 0.000 on controversies. It is a company that is Rife with problems and this is who you voted for. So you had a good reason to vote against the board in the lawsuit by itself. But if you looked at the data, you had great reasons to vote against them because they underperform. They don't do a good job as a board. What are we doing? And that's why investors. Once again, you are the asshole. Every single week it's going to be the same thing. They can't get it. Right back is dumbass CS of the week. That one Desiree fixler is Damien's asshole a week and then Exxon is my asshole the week. Oh, well. I mean, I just can't get over the most feed thing, too. I'm with you. I love it. So weird. He should come back on the show. I'll talk to him. I just want him to admit it. I just just admit that you don't understand anything. Maybe, maybe we can convince him to go on a crusade against you. Okay, said do a clash of, I think you should go on. You can do it, anyone can do it. It's you, look, I, I pointed out on the proxy content show. Yesterday that there's an anti ESG group that put up a Shirley proposal, the that I support which is basically, they wanted directors to, to show what, how they're spending their time like, like, do they have enough time to actually be good directors at this company. So I think we can come across aisles. We can support each other on the left and right work for change my baby. So, busy is your vote. That's good. You know what? Just because again like she doesn't tweak me like some people. I like, nobody is tweak me recently, like Bill lockman, but Forgot to get to that level? Yeah, I know, I know Bill ackman's not connected to you on LinkedIn. And feel. Ackman has Capital power and his like, he gets like, you know, the the president of Harvard fired. So it's like he's just a complete asshole. But but I just to make it fun just because I can get out of my system because I do agree with you are. I will vote for Desiree fixler. Oh, wow! That sounds know I'm gonna go. It's definitely BuzzFeed. I have nothing against Desiree and her stupid opinions. I just think they're stupid, but I I Can't Get Over You by 8% of a dual-class company and then demand change. That's like the greatest thing why not was he, why, why not go after, you know Spotify, or you know, or or or SnapChat he has 91% of the voting powered Snapchat. Why are you selling yourself short with only 64% of the vot? Again going against the max like find it out. This is so dumb, I love it. Okay, so that's it for me. That was way too long. Let's do something else. Finally, oh no, finally I didn't come across any good headlines. I take one of them have take one of mine. All right, pick one. Well, I read the first one because you're not gonna take the first one. I'm not. All right. Here's the first headline is the week. Inside the Rockefeller Clans, intensifying Feud with Exxon. Okay? You want to know why I like this? Because this is Daddy. Exxon is like founded. They're very company was Standard Oil. Founded by John Rockefeller in 1882. Congratulations on. You his daddy off. I just like that Disney and Mary Trump here. Yeah, it made me smile and take your third one. Okay. So I'll read my second one. Then my second option here is really made me uncomfortable and smile alpacas in Idaho that sentence by itself was like, alpaca that's positive for H5 and one bird flu in another world. First, you know what lots of world's first? I feel like alpacas are the all the ostriches of the mammal world. So maybe they are birds deep down. Well apparently there's also been a third us Farm worker who was infected here was the kicker in the farm. Worker story. This is a quote officials are monitoring about 350 people who may have been exposed. About 220 of them in Michigan alone. So far relatively few Farm Workers about 40 have consented to testing. So they're monitoring. These people and like Trump World right there. Thank you, help ourselves anymore but to fuck our world over by being only 40 of them were like yeah, I can test me to see if I've got it. Like the rest of them were like, get the fuck out moderna. I think is currently working on that vaccine or trying right already there. Yeah, they're doing that already. All right. Ra take. Yeah. This is a good one that I picked from my two options. South Korean men can get a 73, can get 730 dollars to reverse their vasectomies and extreme attempt to increase the birth rate. So, 30 dollars. They don't actually have to have a kid. They just have to reverse of a September me. That's it. Yes, why not pay them to have a child like 20 grand or something? Well, no, because they know that they're all gonna get pregnant accidentally. Oh, okay. Stupid, You see that? That's enough money for me to do it. I don't think it's enough. This might spread to Japan maybe where they're also struggling with this. Well, South Korea is the most expensive country to raise a child in the world. Is that right? Yeah. 4730 is gonna help with what, that's what I said. Like, I looked it up and the rankings for like a from birth to 18 years old. The lifetime cost of raising a child, the average is 252,000 dollars in South Korea, which I think the 7:30 gets you. I mean, like a lot of the way there, like, you're mostly, you got the seven and 30. Well, they can come to Portland. Maine by three lobster rolls with that my headline of the week. Just because these are so these are these are just the people that tweak me the most and it just hang on for the end where listen to the names of their kids. I mean, this is just cracks me up. Donald Trump Elon Musk and Nelson Pelt met for breakfast. Can you imagine that that breakfast? He's like the beginning of where they criticized Joe Biden and brought along their sons, Barron X and Diesel. What does that not say, everything you need to know is The best ESG data of the week, listen to the names of their kids. And those are future board members by the way. No, they're gonna have their, they're gonna be directors over Helen toner somewhere, Barren, X, and Diesel. That's not fair though because like these Nelson peltz's son's name. Matthew not. Oh, it's not diesel. Now, it's not diesel. I think is another kid. Are there kids, right? That's actually their names. Got X and I think Diesel and Barren is Donald Trump. Yeah, pelts did not bring Matthew pellets. He was like, 50 years old. Like he wasn't has like 20 children. Know, that's true. It says. His name is diesel, pelts. It must be grandchild. But Nelson belts brings his son's on the boards with him like Wendy's. He doesn't bring them to breakfast. I just say that this is the number one reason why I am proud to be a part of this company because I'm trying to root out these people out of the out of the corporate directorship world, okay? I don't do the only reason why I work hard at this company is to prevent people named Baron X and Diesel to be board members. That's yeah, I think diesel is like his Nelson belts is Daughter or granddaughter. Married, Beckham's, son, right, child. So I think that's like there's something going on with me. Well, he is a real guy. This is a real person. I don't believe him. I hate everything about it. All right, let's finish up the show where we didn't even vote. That's all we didn't vote. You know what? We don't need to vote. You know what? The way, who won the week? All right. I like it. Yeah, let's go for Alpacas. I have a winner. I'll go first. Helen, toner, won the week. That's it. Nothing else to say there? Helen toner, speaking at last, at a time when Scarlett, Johansson is angry and suing openai, I think it's the perfect time. Everyone's worried and say real thing and I mean on that, no, I I have a variation on that theme. I think the winner of the week is free flow and it's already re Helen toner. I mean, because again, we called this immediately. We were the only ones to call this accurately. We're the only ones on the right side of corporate governance on this one. And yes, the right side of Corporation Now, history, no one was reported last week. Everyone has caught up to our our thought process here. So I think we're the winners of the week. I did I did you tell almost made asshole the week. I found like five media headlines about how, what a corporate governance fuk up. It was it open Ai. And I like, Galloway saying stuff that the, the author at, I think Forbes who writes the the modern board, like column she was writing about how like there are lessons you can learn here like because it's such a fuk up and now every one of them is like we, you know, they were doing their job, it looks like and but no one, no one may a cultist. No one says like, we got it wrong. They're just like, this is the job of board is supposed to do like, like they always thought that. Yeah. Well, I got Nelson, pelts because he lost the Disney proxy fight and yet he made a billion dollars from something like you're, like, sarcastic winners over there. That's a real winner. Billionaire one, a billion dollars, and it, but he had to have breakfast with Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Could you imagine how gross that? Now, he was most upset having breakfast with diesel. You all right, prediction I got a prediction. All right, you go first, I predict that vivica's gonna sell his stake in BuzzFeed and bye for free. Photo media. Oh, we don't love shares. He'll say because they went wrong, we went over. Did we go off? When did we go wrong? All right, we need currently maybe when we had him on the show I don't know. You shouldn't have had me on your show. That's why I'm buying your company. I my prediction is that Toner. I asked Helen toner to join the board of free float. That's my prediction that I will make that request and I and then mine is. Helen toner. Does not join the board? Oh, I'm definitely gonna ask her and she's definitely gonna say no. That's all we got that. Hazelnut Rallis and are the data queen. I'm your anal soulmate already, we are free float, come back next week. Next week, we're around the week after that is gonna be a wonky week because I'm in London. Why are you doing? Oh, London things you can plug next week about your trip to London. And I am going to like a closed door conference with board members and investors to talk about our analytics, no joke. That's what I'm really doing in London and I like leaving my father, by the way, it's a big deal for me Dad, please everybody go down low, the latest episode of the proxy content where you're here, Matt's worst recommendation, in the history of recommendation. It's not my worst and but we'll be back next week. We'll be here on Tuesday on Thursday. We'll have brought rocks and countdown on Friday. We'll drop the week until then goodbye.