Transcript
Come on, ready, live from your Fidel Castro. Branded ESG, Panini Press. wow, to business pants Friday, show here at December 12th Studios, featuring analyst whole Matt mcgard On today's weekly wrap-up Tech bro, cities Dei in Miami and Cracker Barrel syrup. Yeah. Yeah. our show today is being sponsored by free. I'm really speeding along today. You know, you're like Wanna Get You is being sponsored by free flow analytics and free full, analytics.com. Yeah, both of them. The only platform measuring board power connections and performance for free. They also been a new Available to the public. The scorecard, it's not but it's Really fabulous. Well then why am I the why are we talking about it? Because it's fabulous and we'll Reach Out actually if you want access to it, maybe reach out and maybe we could set something up. I mean it looks like like ESPN style like you can, I'm like, hovering over directors names and their stats are coming up and like it's got their skills like built in. You can see there's still rankings. I actually use it today for Lululemon, which is in the news, and I really wanted to know, believe it or not. I actually did one to know this, the knowledge, the the background knowledge of their directors. I mean, I was like you, like literally like like it's right there, it's fabulous. They're doing good work there. Somebody needs to actually hire them to do something. You know it's not gonna happen. You ready? We want to get this going. Yeah, let's do it because they know you're hungry and hangry then. Well yeah. The other reality is that we recorded a fabulous crossover show this morning with the Shareholder Primacy folks. Yeah, Mike Levin, and Anne Lipton. Like we just next week countdown. There are unbelievable. They're smart people. They are unbelief. I also saw you and Anne both. Quarter than the same story today, responsible investor. Yeah, you and you and Anne, or at least noteworthy. Not, I know. I think I think I I snuck in there. Somehow they were really, they were at the bottom of the barrel for quotes. So, let's start with that story that got you quoted. And I'm just gonna call this. I'm gonna call this three from Trump because all, you know, I don't like my perspective, all the Trump stories are really, it's the same thing. It's a, it's a consolidation of either power government, power, or CEO power. It's all it's all the same aim. Everything he does. You see aim. I just he's an angry old man. Who wants everyone to do what he says that's it. Like, but his name. But his buddies agreed to his buddies at the same. But here the three from Trump, trump orders SCC to review. Proxy advisor rules and ESG rebuke. Man, Trump signs, executive order for single National AI regulation, standard limiting power of states. And Trump says that the Netflix Warner Brothers deal could be a problem as son-in-law Kushner backs. Paramount bid. That's Kushner. And some of his Saudi buddies. Yeah, this is all the Saudi buddies. Yeah. This is the Trump World. The only one I'm Really Gonna focus on here is the one where he ordered the SEC to review proxy advisor rules. So he actually, this is like, you know, who knows what any of this means. I don't know if it's political theater. I don't know what will come of it, but here's from The New York Times. He directed three different agencies to do things to tighten regulation. SEC was ordered to review rules and guidelines regarding the industry including revising or resending any related to Dei and ESG. You know, it's kind of war against women and people of color. That's the thing. Yeah, yeah. The Etsy and the Attorney General were directed to examine State antitrust, investigations into the companies to see if there was a probable link. Between those inquiries and potential violations of federal and to trust. So Anti-Trust of the ISS class Lewis peeps, right? Yep. And then finally, the labor secretary was told to review regulations about the fiduciary duties of proxy advisors and others who advise managers of certain Employee Retirement accounts. So I Am a little confused. Go ahead. None. All of this is just theater, right? Like in the end right, it's theater. It's designed. To put two companies they don't like out of business, that's it. Yeah, right because like when you read, so I read the full order, I read the Atkins, speed correctly, I I ran it through Gemini, and a peered to have proper grammar for the most part. Yeah, they're asking basically, this Trump order is just saying, consider doing a bunch of things. Consider it. We know that consider, it means that they will do those things because these are just, he's just asking people who do what he says to Do what he said which is unusual from the executive branch. Um and and all of it in an said, this on the crossover pod that'll come out next week. All of it is legally spurious right? Like. Yeah, because legal ground for any of this because my dumb the dumb guys point of view here is this and I I will Volunteer to represent the dumb guy. Okay. Yeah, you're putting your hand up for that one. Yeah, my hands always up for that one. Is if I assess in class Lewis are merely making suggestions to vote, right? They're giving you some choices and because the reality is that they don't force you to vote a certain way. Then how could any of this, be how could any of it be legal? It. No one is being forced. It's always a choice. Always, well, not only don't have to In fact, in fact, you could take their recommendations and quite easily just say thank you ISS and I'll just do the opposite. You can do whatever you want as the client. That's correct. Yeah. And you you can ask ISS to only give you what it is. You want. Yeah? What? What if you're a mega person, you're vote against women and people of color, but they are say, effectively that if you are an asset manager, who buys advice from ISS or glass Lewis and then you act on that advice and to different asset manager, all. So, by his advice from my ISS and glass Lewis and acts on that advice. What asset managers are inclusion. They're trying to say that. Which would mean if they both are in New York City and buy pastrami sandwiches at the same Deli, aren't they all? So in collusion like it's absurd, does this mean calling Copernicus is gonna get a job again? I don't think we're gonna go that far. Let's dial it back. The whole thing is really absurd and not real and the only outcome I hope is that someone votes against a director because we said this two years ago, they want to take away your rights to vote, they don't know. Company wants you to vote on anything. They just want to be left alone and this is the very steady move, as you said to consolidation of power, right? That's all it is, right? It's moving power to the, to the CEO and who was normally, who was typically also just the chair and many instances in the United States. So if you're in investor grow a fucking spying and start voting against directors and that is the vote you get and Auditors. I guess everything do not be afraid that your vote is like you like don't tell me you don't have the time. You have we have data sets, covering 200,000 directors, a free flow analytics the Data is out there if you want it. And yeah and you can you can vote algorithmically. You can vote with your own policy, you can build your own policies. That that's the point. So again, things part of this order says that the ISS and glass Lewis regularly, use their power to advance. And prioritize radical politically motivated. Agenda is now We make the point all the time that while, yes, maybe maybe Me, Maybe you maybe were to the left of the political script Spectrum, but the data is nothing. Data. The data is not politically motivated. Yeah, it doesn't Advance, it doesn't do anything, it's just how you use the data, you could very easily, use the data at free flow, analytics.com to push a mega agenda. So so and in of itself is all bulshit. There's the one thing that I think that this order in particular, yeah, says that is real, is they included in here considering the rescission of any rules that advanced quote unquote ESG policies, right? There is a g in ESG. Yeah, that's all the rules. That literally the way, every company is structured, they're suggesting that if you and this already and pointed out in the crossover pod that it in Texas, they already made this a lot if you Actually like look at the ballot of a company that's G. Yeah that might be collusion. That might be about that might be all these things about this. My next story is about CEO moves as an example Lululemon which is in the middle of a succession process because they couldn't come up with one first, right? What if you voted in protest of their bungled CEO? Succession planning process, which is now putting two in terms of Coco CEOs, in place while they search for a replacement? That's a g issue. That's a massive G issue. It's all Gee, right? Like, what the really saying, Is we do not want you to have a voice, have a voice at all, and as Sarah Hahn, the law. Professor at a Brooklyn has said before, what happens in the business world, when we elect Business Leaders in the federal democracies wherever you are, they tend to take the same tricks from the business world and, of course, apply them in the federal democracy. That's all the Doge was right. There's neutering all their agencies. So you're seeing the same thing. This is exactly what's been happening in the business world over 20 years and bye bye. Bye for education. But NPR investors are so feckless. They're so coward cowardly? Or they're they love money but there is no proof. In fact, the proof suggests that engagement with companies and governance are the only things that correlate without comes right? Like when you're talking about pure data, yeah, everything else. There is no correlation. And you can't say causation because nobody actually knows causation. So everyone who says like well prove to me that it causes it you can't either. Like the PE Ratio causes the stock to go up. It's it, there is no causation in which case. Oh, we're really doing is taking off the table. The only thing that investors have that investors have well ignored, they view it as an expense, they viewed as something, they don't want to do, it's too big. It's unwieldy the stewardship teams that these companies. They've got 10,000 portfolio managers in three people who are supposed to evaluate every company in the world for their governance structures. It's nuts. It's the most disheartening part of the entire Trump World really is that this foe. Populism. That is just Consolidating power for very few people, but let's move on. Oh, fine. Fine. That's the three from Trump, but that's the first story of the week. The second one is CEO moves. The two big moves this week Coca-Cola. Names inside her on, Rick Braun a CEO. Over. Placing James Quincey, I'm only putting that out because Quincy will transition to the role of executive chair. Oh, that's another thing story. But I wanted to focus on the other one Lululemon athletica. CEO Calvin McDonald stepping down. Um, part of this story, which is nauseating, is that the, that his 10 years has been criticized by the company's founder, chip Wilson is one of the main shellers. I, I always hate when the the founders stick around and and, and spout say stuff. Yeah, just standing in the back but here's my here's why I wanted to talk about Lululemon because it is my contention, that is time for a woman to take over this company. Well, first, before I get to that, I went to the, the scorecard at free flow and I looked at the boards background knowledge. Here's another one of the problems with this company here, economics and accounting represents 34% mechanical 19% computers and electronics 12%. I mean, sales and marketing is only 5% at a company that sells pointless, you know, like yoga pants and stuff. So, this is already a problem and this is some of the great Insight you can get at free flow analytics but That they could pick from to make this easy for the whole world. So I hope you listening, you did the work for them. Did the here, I hope there was something listening. One of the people that could pick is the next CEO, is one of the interim co-ceos, because this company, they're governance is so crappy that they couldn't even have a succession plan in place. Despite the fact that the founder has been angered to CEO for a while, but that's but CFO Megan Franke. She could be a candidate, right? We've seen a lot of CFOs elevated to CEO role. Here's a possibility. Have a board chair. Uh wait did I get that wrong? Is this a man? Before I even say this out loud, Wait, which which Megan? Marty. Marty morphe. Yeah. Is Marty Morphin a man? You're asking me, I think Marty morph it is a human. Know I'm right. Marty, yeah Martha, Marty morphe, she's the executive chair of Lululemon. She was the CEO of river rock. Partners Airborne CNS. She's a, you know, there's we've seen a lot of chairs going promoted to see CEO recently. That's a perfectly fine Choice, how about another director on their own board, Alison Lonas. She was the former president. And in terms, CEO of UK's net, a Porte group. It's a luxury fashion group. I don't know what the hell they do, but it's perfect, right? And then finally, I always poking around for other CEOs and related fields about Levi Strauss CEO, Michelle Gass I mean Lululemon has its market cap pants, right? It's three times the size of Levi, Strauss. There you go. There's another, there's an outside option right there. I give you. That's it. There's no reason. The next CEO shouldn't be a woman. That's it. That's you. You want to know this is the epic. Epic case study and why the people matter because Cal McDonald clearly cannot do succession planning on his own, right. Like they didn't the board didn't do it. He didn't do it in one and have any plans. Do you know what board Calvin McDonald was on. Tell me Disney. He was on Disney during the Epic. Oh, really. He's off now off the board but he was on it for the cheapest. Leave Igor come back Chapin. Get picked like these skills are apparent. If you screw it up and one place over there, the chance is that, you screw it up somewhere else. It. Hi. It's one of the areas of governance that we cover. The maddens me the most is that they never get blamed for bundling succession. And we've seen how expensive succession is because they're throwing huge packages at Outsiders. Now to bring them in. Sometimes they're these people are staying for like one to two years and they're spending money on the way out money on the way. It's just like it's it's a, it's a nightmare and they don't get any no flex. So let's hope that this proxy season now, that investors don't have Shirley proposals to waste their time, maybe. Yeah. All right. That's reading that's enough. Second Story of the week. There's some big CEO moves, a third. The next the third story I thought I'd just drop this one in there, just because it's just, I just didn't like it Disney. Once you to AI, generate yourself into your favorite Marvel movie. Disney is a investing one billion dollars in open Ai and allowing its characters to be using generated videos. This is what the world is coming to. I guess this is where we're heading, you know, not only did they invest one billion but they also there was another headline that were eagerly said, Google with their Gemini. AI is the biggest copyright infringement in history, right? So they invested open AI for the competitors and went up to the competitor immediately. Meanwhile open AI Outright copyright infringement everywhere, right? Like they stole all sorts of stuff. In fact, there were reports like three years ago that they had groups in Africa who were like, feeding illegal books and like movies to open AI to actually generate, you know, it's a training. So what are you doing? Either like really, you put a billion dollars in? And now, we're gonna go walk around, and we're gonna hear Bob, Iger, says, all sorts of shit about, you know, the other AI companies suck now. Is that what we're going to hear speaking of bungled succession? They also just brought on former Apple CEO, Jeff Williams to the Disney board, who used to be the man that they thought would be the successor to Tim Cook. So, it's a little interesting. Well, Tim Cook is gonna retire are quote to the executive chairperson much. Much like James Quincey at Coca-Cola executive chair is the new retirement because it means you don't have to Like get on shareholder calls anymore. You do get paid the same amount as a CEO and they just like, they just show up to board meetings. What is that? Let's like, it's such a nice gig. That's the third story that we can. Finally the fourth story of the week is one that I've been like, warning everyone about for years. And now it's finally a story unfortunately. So, I had to make note of it Tech, billionaires are starting private cities to escape the United States. This story quotes coinbase CTO Balaji srinivasan who shared his vision for the ultimate exit by tech industry Elite from the failing United States. He said I think it's fair to say in 2025, we have a movement and that movement is the rise of startup societies. A pro corporate anti-government Coalition of tech, magnets, libertarian idealists and neoliberal economic theorists, which actually sounds like the current United States, really right? I mean, isn't that who's in the US? And then the financial times saying that there are already as many they think is 120 of these startups societies going on throughout the world. So remember, I I warned about CEO city states. I kind of joked that the future would be that we would kind of evolved from, you know, these kind of Democratic Society software and societies. And we would quickly kind of, you know, we would get to the point where you would move to a city state controlled by a CEO, right? Or, or magnet. Okay, I should say I read about this guy before. Yes, accidentally, I ended up down some rabbit hole. He's effectively tried to start his own country and he's talked about this since like, the early 2010, like 2013 or something. This is Been his thing. This is also a guy who grew up in Long Island and got three degrees from Stanford like, um, so I don't know exactly if the United States. Yeah, I don't know how the United States failed, you asshole, like, you managing it, unbelieving degrees and become like, unbelievable millionaire or billionaire in this country. Can't do it in other countries right? Like but you're complaining, congratulations on your complaints like the ultimate statement of like destroying stakeholder value everywhere. It's like, these are perfectly happy to use everything to get where they are and then say, it all sucks and I am. And one of the reasons why I picked these last two stories is because time a lot of articles about how Time Magazine picked the person of the year, were these Dopey heads of AI companies, like Jensen, Wayne and Mark. Tom needs to go back. And actually look at the fact that just about everyone, they picked like, went to Stanford isn't the person of the year Stamford. Like, it is technology in Stamford. Yeah, what is happening on that fucking campus that? Everyone who walks off of it, right? Is only interested in. It's the most insular, like palantir's board is all Stanford people. And people who work there are all Stanford people. Why do they only exist with each other? Like they they're the most insular bubble. It's Uber Elites and they're the ones talking about how the elite suck. It is amazing that after all that they still managed to find a Stanford Alum and put her in jail, but of course, it was a woman, Elizabeth Holmes, like, she's the only one who graduate. Okay. But I'm just saying she's from the Stanford, like, ecosphere or whatever, and man, I should call the bro, was fear, or whatever it is Bros. So, they did, they did pick hers. The only Fall Guy for all the nonsense. But anyway, those my four stories of the week. Why don't you weigh in the story of the week has to be I would like to pick Lululemon, yes, succession, because that that's like in our wheelhouse. I'm taking it up for one of those four women. You know what, I am gonna choose that. I'm gonna choose that I am gonna cheat because it's a board skill. Demonstrated our board skills because look, the orders from Trump are pure political theater, right? Like and and every time we choose one of those. Even the one where we're talking about AI regulation, that's a validation of CEO power know. Yeah. But, but it's also not necessarily legal. Like, isn't this? The party of states rights, right? Like, some of it's actually legal, it's just a guy. It's basically an old guy on the biggest port in the world telling everyone to get off his fucking lawn. That's every executive order right now is, it's just that and Disney and the same time. Yeah, yes. Simultaneously. Disney investing in open, AI is just assholes investing in assholes, and it's all the rage and whatever. I don't care about that Tech billionaires. Starting private cities is kind of old news, they've, they've lived know, like, I agree with you. I'm saying like the, the con-vers Nation is old. Sure. Sure. They, they have been trying to start these cities for a really long time. It's in every dystopian fiction novel, which by the way, you know, that the novels that you're basing, your theories on dystopian, right? Like, they weren't Manitoba, they were started opinion. We started off the year with the literal image of a CEO with a chainsaw who was like gleefully, like, you know, cutting out government programs. So that's why I picked the store because this is happening. This is that said who then said, just this week said, that Doge was maybe a little successful and he wouldn't do it again, right? Because he generally seems to suck at the things. He's tries to accomplish. He's not actually that good. He's not like driving up his, the share price of a meme stock. That is Tesla which leaves me with yeah. Go ahead. Just Lululemon. Why and CEO succession because the other. All right, you know, like I just feel like, you know, the CEO succession thing is as we take away shareholder, right? It's like, this is why you need those shareholder rights? That's why you need to pay attention, to who Calvin McDonald is when he's on the Disney board and he sucks succession. Then he goes to, he's the CEO Lululemon, and he sucks there, too. Look, we're surprised I'm gonna be angry if they don't have a woman run this company for a company for a company that sells to women, you know, it's in a year where they've been promoting to CFOs to CEOs. They've been promoting chairs to CEOs. This is if they don't do it, now, then I know that the fix is in. I think they'll have a, she'll be one of a try CEO that are. Let's get over the goods. I have one and it's not super good. Actually, it might be good. But I like it. Anyway, you go, first, cuz you got two. I got two great ones. We've had a, we've had a marvelous run of women winning elections in America. In the last month, we have another one, another incredible one which really just it's a bit mind blown. This is even happening. I hope this is a harbor for what's going to come up and and future us elections. But Eileen Higgins, will be Miami's first ever woman mayor. Yeah, I like that not only that but she beat She beat the son. A nepo baby of the, of the former May. So the she beat Republican, Francis Suarez. Who's the son of the former Miami mayor, which is already. That's already great. Everything's great. And she's the, and, you know, this is a political aside. She is the first Democrat 30 years, but that's not really the point here, but I just want to. I just want to tell you that this is how, this is what it takes for a woman to be in power, in America, unfortunately, because I wanted to just quickly describe their backgrounds Ilene, She's a BS mechanical engineering. And MBA from Cornell, she was the country director of the Peace Corps, and Belize Foreign Service Officer for the US Department of State. She was a Miami-Dade County, Commissioner blah, blah, blah. The other guy was basically a lawyer specializing in corporate, in real estate transactions. The son of the former mayor, Right. I mean what? Yeah, it's nuts. That's good. One at the second one which is also just seems good. I guess until it gets the Supreme Court US court strikes down, unlawful to your point about all of his dumb executive orders. US court strikes down unlawful Trump ban on wind energy projects so they struck down his executive order which was aimed at freezing, new wind energy developments across the country and this, this federal court agreed with 180 saying that the executive order was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law, which is really what what we talked about before with the stuff up, again, the proxy advisors, right? Yeah, it's no longer it's political theater. All right, mine is much simpler. Go ahead, I saw this headline and it made me feel good. Nintendo's 98% staff retention rate means the average employee has been there 15 years. Now look, yeah, go ahead. I mean, I know it's Japan and I know cultural differences and and the way like work, you know. I'm just saying, 98% staff retention at a successful video game company too. Yeah, they make video games, the people people like, staying there enough that the average employee has been there 15 years. Look, here's my point of view on this, and I think it's, it's a different way of covering this CEO pay ratio issue is that the CEO pay ratio is in Japan are notably low, right? Lower than here. No, they're notably low. I mean even compared to like Western Europe and I, you could make the case that That could be part of the high retention rate, I don't know. I mean, it's possible. All I know is that people get a job and they work for that company and their loyal to that company and I don't care what you have to say about Japan and production and issues that they have in Japan. Like we don't have issues here, what they don't have is trillionaires in Japan. Well that's my point is they don't have this blow Hardy CEO who's making like 500 making as much, you know, during his morning Danish and you make all year, he's not famous. You don't read about all his all his like houses and his girlfriend. And so maybe that is part of keeping employees happy, I don't know. It's just saying it. Made me feel good because it's like the thing. You know, the thing, that whatever thing they have going on there, they have not glorified, fetishized, Founders and billionaires that like they fetishize loyalty and retention. Like, I like that. All right, that makes you feel good. Now bring us down. Yeah, let's go to assholes Well. I did something, obviously every Week. A little bit different this week I have. Um I have an honorable mention asshole and I'll do that one first, but then I'm going to read to you just headlines and there's I don't know, Seven Ten twelve of them maybe. Um, and it's a category I'm calling just saying And it's, which person which which dude saying a thing is the bigger asshole. This week. So I think they said so I pick up out of these seven headlines. You're gonna pick out of these headlines. The, the asshole is thing to say this week, just saying, let's do it. But first, let's do the honorable mention the honorable mention for assholes of the week is red pill Apple I do mean Apple the company. Okay? You pulled a story former meta c l o joined apple as new general counsel chief officer. Okay. Chief legal. This is one of those stories that literally no one reads like for us. Yeah, not. There isn't a person that cares about this outside of like other Chief legal officers and us, right? Like that's it. That's the whole world. The chief legal officer at meta that they're talking about is a woman named Jennifer nested. She was at meta from 2019. She actually wasn't a prior appointee of trump. During his first term, Trump 1.0 at the Department of State and had to go through confirmation hearing. So not like a small bit of department store, she was appointed by Trump. She is way back in, in the day, partially credited with drafting the Patriot. Yeah. That now refresh my memory because it was like 2003. That was the ACT where they allowed the US to spy on everybody, right? Like the beginning of the end, was it not the beginning of a was like the palantir? You know, original palantir was the US government, right? Because I always to all my friends who are constantly like hand ringing about the current Administration. I was like oh don't worry about it. It actually most of this was started by Bush. Like yeah, we're just on our trajectory like so, yeah. 25 years old. Don't forget about here. Yeah. Normally this move. No one would pay attention to but we are going from meta, which effectively used data, weaponized data and like user anger. In order to sell advertisements better right, adolescents, she was involved in fighting the antitrust suit against meta and won that suit just one. Yeah. And now she is moving. To Apple where Tim Cook is showing up at every brofist, Trump dinner with musk, and when there's pictures, just playing and musk and and Sachin. Adela and we expected. Yeah. Standing outside like, with around their cars, chatting after dinners, with Trump throwing the same outfit too. Yeah. It's basically Tech Lords just hanging out together. Yeah. They brought in What the the most? Like I wouldn't call her a villain. Right? She's a lawyer, but the maybe one of the most doing marks, she she kind of knows how the system works to get it to functionally spy on everybody else and make it legally. Okay. I mean like, forgive me for not knowing any names because I'm not a Star Wars nerd. But I am Conjuring up an image of those like Star Wars movies where there's a bunch of like Like middle men beneath beneath Emperor. Like, they're just doing the biddings, like, they're just you're keeping the evil empire, moving forward, but this is A company Apple which sold. I mean I got served this advertisement of like these these bird-like cameras from Apple and apple saying like ours, they sell privacy. They destroy like everyone watching you on your phone and stuff, they sell privacy, they are supposed to be the adult in the room. So now Tim Cook is showing up and licking the boot of, you know, he gave him a fucking golden, you know, whatever? Whatever. It's so funny, stupid. Yeah, give me that. They're kissing Trump's ass. They're on. Honorable mention your own mentioned, the meta, Chief legal officer is somehow why some for some reason going over to apple. Yeah, apple is my honorable mention what asshole over there is like, you know what? We need a metis lawyer that's that's what we need. All right, let's play just saying okay. It's just saying. I'm gonna read the headline and you can, why don't we do this? You can rate on his heir to 10 scale, how asshole it is. Let's go. And and then and then we'll see what one first up, do it. This is RJ scouring. I heard this name a lot who is Argus the CEO of rivian. He recently got a mini musk pay package can afford and I want to note something RJ Scourge can afford a secretary. Okay, here's his. Here's by the way. Before we get to the headline. When you say mini musk, payback package, yes. Compared to MUSC it's like, mini, but compared to the rest of the, of the literal Planet. It is obscene. Yeah, it was a billion like see a multi-billion dollar payment and mind you. It wasn't a trillion dollar mind, you selling stupid cars that we've already had on the road, which is how much makes his money. It just seems like everybody who sells a stupid car. Now, go ahead, go ahead. Here's the headline rivian. CEO said self-driving, cars, shouldn't be able to drive, but also run errands for you like a secretary. Okay. Zero to ten how just just get triggered. You know what? Unfortunately it's not going to be as high as you want to be on. This is just I want to start off soft. This is just a five for me because mostly what I'm just thinking about is Why are we descending into this world where we don't do anything ourselves anymore? I'm already angry at my neighbor's and I don't even live in a rich neighborhood but my, I'm angry at some of my neighborhood. My some of my neighbors who the game and buy a rake anymore, like I gotta listen to the sound of these Leaf. Like you like why do things any? Why can't they do things from himself as long as I've known you. What something about leaf? But there's also something nice about running your own errands and and and you know, just like seeing people getting out not like relying, I don't know. I just, I don't like, I don't like how Humanities are sending this way. I don't think I'm excited for for like, to see a car like, pull up and get you a donut somehow. Like I don't need. That was even do. All right. Here's the next one. This is this quote from Joe Lawnsdale. He was a Stanford Graduate. Oh, eight. Yeah palantir. Co-founder. Calls, Elite College undergrads, a loser generation as data reveals rise in students seeking support for Disabilities like ADHD. So this isn't even Alex carb. This is his, this is the co-founder now, they're allergic generation. Let's not let's not forget that. The medical field has just found new ways of diagnosing and they're paying attention to these issues. These issues were always there. Right. So correct. It's not like there are new losers. They're just they're they're taking advantage of a system that is meant to help us, which is what Executives do, right? They take advantage systems, don't they? But I don't understand the link between Elite College undergrad and ADH. What do you say? No College. Undergrads have more either the losers. They're what Alex karp. And Joel on, everyone's a loser, right? And Joe Lawndale you went to fucking Stanford. Yeah. That's an elite college, right? I don't know which is, I mean look these guys are the worst. This is a you know solid seven. The there was also something that written something, Alex karp saying that. he basically wants the He wants to like yeah, come back to it. Okay. All right, here's your next one. This this quote is from Cracker Barrel customers with it, like noting that the average out on this one. Yeah. The average age of a Cracker Barrel customers about 340 years old, right? Like they're, they're ancient. I don't know, goes the headline is, I'm gonna have to give you the quote after this. The headline is Cracker Barrel diners. Are sounding the alarm. Here's what reportedly has them. Furious is this. Here's business God. He's a quote. Yes, it is. Here's a quote from the article one of those customers 73 year old Craig Watkins of Northern California. Told the journal is watch the chains quality fade and wants old Staples and original maple syrup restored. That's expensive. Quote, I want pure Maple, I want pure syrup on pancakes, not that watered-down junk. He said adding that he brings his own maple syrup when he visits Craig, you know, that pure make maple syrup. That's pretty woke, right? Yeah. He sounds like a leftist because it's if it wasn't for the subsidies for the corn industry, we probably wouldn't have that discussing. You wouldn't have it right? Wouldn't be anything. Else, right? Like so you're asking for the woke, maple syrup. I just want to be clear, but how does that treat you like that? A lot of your maple syrup honestly, there are actually a lot of articles on Cracker Barrel this week. It's all a trigger because they're talking about, like, getting more in touch with their Southern Heritage, and NASCAR, and football, and the military. And I'm just, like, wait, isn't that why your company was failing in the first place? Like, no one, none of those people bought your shit. This is the perfect representation of the mess of the political theater that is the anti D anti-esg world because it's all nonsense, right? Because Again, you the company was already failing. So so removing a potentially racist image from the sign which is not. I'm not suggesting the image was racist or not, but I'm just saying, like, getting rid of the Heritage wasn't the problem. Exactly. Thank you, mine wasn't the problem, but here it is. He Craig Watkins is just saying, what do you feel? I don't feel totally triggered by. This is just stupid. I'm gonna give it a three, a three. Oh that's lower than I thought. This stupid thing. Here's Mark, Cuban billionaire talking, he loves billionaire. He's becoming like a mini Jamie Diamond. He's He's always telling you things. Oh, here's the thing he's telling you now just saying, billionaire, Mark Cuban says, so I love that when they says things, if you want to get rich, give things up. Drink water instead of coffee, eat mac and cheese, not McDonald's, save every penny. Yeah, it's like a folksy way of I don't, here's my problem. Mac and cheese is not less expensive than McDonald's. McDonald's is the shittiest. Cheapest thing you can get, isn't it? By the way, I, I just think that's like the wrong. I think that's the wrong perspective on all. And that's not how majority people get rich. Is it? It's also it blames you for eating McDonald's and set of mac and cheese for not being a billionaire, like I don't and I don't know why you're not a billionaire and most reports especially in 2020. I've said that the reason for the increase in like Millionaires and billionaires is because of things like Dopey like things like crypto right crypto but all so like Equity Stakes. Okay. It's not like it's not like not drinking coffee. It's not your, it's not the, it's not not brewing a coffee in the morning and having a couple of water and that's right. He's always trying to be like on the side of like a popular Cuban. I don't look, I would take him over the cars president. I wanted to blowhard CEO but I don't necessarily need him like telling me how to live my life but you know, Oh yeah, I don't I don't hate Mark either. So I'll give it a five. A five. I'm not dealing well here, but I think I'm gonna pick it up. Jim Cramer. CEO sycophant. Yes. There's headline billionaires won't save. You, says, Jim Cramer. They're out for themselves and never apologized for their negativity. I'm glad you picked this one because I actually almost included this includes of the week, because I thought, maybe Jim and I were aligned, but his point is actually a bit more complicated, which is don't listen to their, like Antiquity or anti-market Bluster. And like don't listen to their fear-mongering and like you know, get out of certain stocks and that because really they're just trying to manipulate the market and get richer, right? The trying to like to press the share price so they can buy more of it. I thought he was talking about more from like a Elizabeth Elizabeth Warren's point of view like, no, he's not, he's not, he's not, but he also is, his trade is to talk to CEOs all day and not like his Trail like shit. His he basically goes on his shows and talks about how great CEOs are all the time. Right there must be someone. Remember how there was a kid that used to track Elon musk's jet? Yes. There is there. Someone who is tracked every Kramer Like somewhere, I'm sure trade to see like, if this guy actually knows what he's talking about. He like like the he makes money. I know he makes money, okay. But like, it helps when investing in the stock market, but if you just in like Warren, Buffett used to say, if you just invested in the stock market at the same time, that Jim Cramer started, his show. You'd be making a lot of money too, right? I didn't say he makes more money than the market, does, he makes money? That's what. Yeah, give me a number here again, I don't, this guy has nothing still a five five. Oh yeah, okay. Well let's try this one then Sam Altman. Oh, here we go. Yeah. Who who conveniently forgot that for 10,000 years? 20,000 years? Humans have raised babies. Oh, I know which one we talked about, but this was one of my headline. Yes, I'm gonna cross it off right now. Go ahead. They've done this already. This is the, where's the headline? Yeah. Sam Altman makes his late night debut. He says he can't imagine quote Gearing out how to raise a newborn without chat GPT. Yeah, this is dangerous rhetoric but unfortunately, like we're already on the slippery slope is already here. I this is a nine. First of all, I gotta think this Sam ever heard of a library. Oh, forget a library. I mean, there are there are paid professionals who, who like collect knowledge sources like knowledge that help people make decisions like raising kids, but there are doctors and psychologists who've put out 100s of books about raising children, they're great, they're fantastic. It turns out, you don't even need a book to raise a baby. You make sure you feed it and take care of it. That's like, but I'm just saying, like, this is the this, what is the scariest part of this? Modern AI age, is that? Now we're relying on on these, these, these sources, these, the AI agents that get everything wrong that you don't actually do the reading. It's summarizes things for you. It's just like this is bad. Yeah, but the AI agent. Taking those books and spitting shit out, and they're betting a lot of books writing 6,000 books about raising babies. Also not great. You know the best babies ever. Got raised historically in communities. It was a family. Okay, the community fine, raising a baby and I didn't have to be a community of a mom and a dad taking the somewhere different. You're taking some more saying like I'm looking at for early at where he says he where you get your knowledge is the triple just saying for literally 20,000 years. Yeah, we have raised babies and have human civilization. I agree with you. But the bigger Point here is what the subtext that was Sam is saying, is that is that you can't that we can't accomplish anything if we rely on our own brains. Yeah. Quickly need to move to take out our brains and putting in like some version of a smartphone in your in our skulls. Yeah. That can figure stuff out for us because I can't believe you're only in nine. That's like one. I'm waiting if it's any worse. All right, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go to this one because I just, I want a 10 now. Now, I'm not even worried about. Yeah, all right. Alex karp. Who is clearly desperate to just stay in the headlines? Here's the headline. Palantir. CEO says legalizing war. Crimes would be good for business. Yeah, well, this is not desperate to say in the headlines. This is because the dopest over at New York Times who fetishize CEOs. This is part of the interview from the deal book conference, is it not? This is the I believe. So yeah, this is an interview, he was giving to a New York Times Reporter. This is how nefarious, this this jerk is is that he's gleefully spouting. This stuff off on a stage with the New York Times Reporter, like I mean, loves War, he just loves War. I'm sure that he would say, like I was making a joke Ivy, I'm exaggerating people laughed or whatever but the real estate is no no here's why it's not. I know it's not a joke, he's not gonna say that because in a letter to shareholders this year He quoted a man who argued that the rise of the West was not made possible by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion. But rather by superiority and applying organized violence. Yeah, he loves this. Yeah, that's the Conan Barbarian, you know, Robert E, Howard, like Viewpoint of the world, right? Like and organized violence is the only thing. And at the same time has benefited from a quote, you know, from an elite World and an elite University system. His entire board is from Elite institutions and yet, he's standing on Elite people I guess because he wants to stay friends with the With with the potential Army that he's gonna need of people who didn't go to Elite colleges because Elite people Elite college graduates, don't join the Army. Yeah. So I don't this guy is the worst. This is like a easily a 10. I mean yeah. That okay. Finally. I am glad I skip right to that one Sam and to be fair is probably should be a but go ahead. What do you got? The last one I have is you're not gonna give it to you. You're not gonna care. But Bob, iger's, word, Saladin of his investment. Yeah. Like a genius CEO tell me. This is what this is the headline in the quote in the headline, quote, creativity. Is the new productivity Bob? Iger on why Disney chose to be aggressive, is the new I just want you to think about that. Like just think about, Creativity is the new productivity? What does that mean? What is he saying with that? Well justify spending a billion dollars on open AI on his way out the door mind you. This is the problem with Bob in general. This is why he shouldn't have come back this last time because I think everything this all of this is just exposing the Bob was always been nothing. So he he was good at a time but he clearly can't lead this company into the future is no idea what he's doing. He can't even doesn't even know how to succeed himself but Can I tell you where? I think all this could end up with with having this Ken doll Bob Iger running the company is that you gotta wonder if Trump doesn't let Netflix buy Warner Brothers. Are they going to is Netflix going to swoop in and just, like, by like Disney or something? Or is Apple gonna die? I saw, I saw is that what Bob iger's really doing is he kind of just like destroying the value of this company, kind of, because he's just kind of a now, he's just kind of like an old smiling man and he just says dumb things, an old smiling man, right? Like he just, they still rely on Parks and cruises, and it's like, they're kind of like what they're becoming this Legacy Media company, right? We're making America great again. That means going back to 1983, right? Everything was great. And that's cruises and parks and yeah, sure TV. Right. And the only future facing forward, things that Disney does is like make TV shows about people who seem smart like right? Like Star Wars. I did like this. The Star Wars, what was the that and door? I like that. I'm just saying like but the company itself is still selling like rides on cruise ship like yes it is. Yeah. But you don't understand because creativity is the new creativity is the new product. Activity. I just think people like that is, I don't like you put a microphone in someone's face all the time and intake what they say is Gospel. Like so I hear has been around for a long time in the industry now everybody like when he says stuff, you know, people are I guess paying attention you say, mush mouthy nothing Burgers, right? Like, is that supposed to be wisdom? Did we just take wisdom from that? I don't think Bob should come back this last time. What's your number ruining his legacy? Just give it a seven for Chuckles. All right, so then the clear winner and just saying asshole of the week is Alex. Karp. Yeah. Because really legalizing war crimes because forget about like Samuel and Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Wing. I mean the the true CEO we should be listening the most to unfortunately is Alex karp. He really is the sort of the the embodiment of our current CEO culture, right? Like isn't yeah. There was because it's all bulshit and violence, that's what he is. It's right. It's he's pretending to be against this and that but really he just like to killing people and making money, right? I mean, Not only is I'm I'm not gonna argue with that. Let's go to headlines winners prediction now it's car. Yeah, I'm tired now, good. So we can finish this up, it made my headlines the week, even easier. I have one simple story and I might even I'm gonna play the game, right? Just read the headline. Woman hailed as hero for smashing man's meta. Smart glasses on subway? Yeah, yeah, I love that. I like that. I, I have two. I'm gonna play the game, right? I'm gonna read them verbatim. He's the first one when David Ellison was 13. His billionaire father, Larry brought bought him a plane really, he competed in air shows before leaving it to become a Hollywood executive. Can you, you can pilot a plane that young. He had no idea. I just like that, like the guy who is supposed to be the businessman, taking over water was running a media, Daddy bought him a plane when he was 30 have the, this is ridiculous. Yeah, goes the better one though. Project to resurrect dead, grandmas Sparks controversy, this is pure. You were talking about were you? I think was this show actually talk about science fiction and dystopian novels, this is pure, Philip K dick. I don't know if you ever read Philip K dick but but that's what this is in the 50s that Philip K dick would write and he was basically added on speed and he was like a major speed freak. But this is all he had ever talked about is like he come up with these crazy stories of like, you know, keeping people alive and then in the after world through the technological advances. And we're here. We're now resurrecting dead. Grandma's through technology. It's all it's still being mess, right? I it's all its craziness. You know what? My grandmother wouldn't care one way or the other, because she did, I guess it's fine who won the week. I I added this after you and but I had already thought of it. I'm not just saying this because you said it but we have a we have a double winner this week and mine was Miami shareholders. Oh shareholders. Yeah well Miami residents and oh yeah I had Miami. Right. Who got a incredibly overqualified mayor running against that happen. I don't know. But City, this is the symbol city of trump broke power, right? Everyone to lead the Democrats and the leftist and the wokes behind they were Ken Griffin, Leaf, Chicago. They go to Miami. How did this happen? Where, where the breathless stories about how everyone's Gonna Leave Miami, where they gonna go? So we gotta, we got my Donnie and New York. What do we get? Where they know they're gonna go? They're gonna go to, what's his name, Balaji? Oh right. Yeah, he's gonna go to his, his Country. His new country. Congratulations, Miami amazing. You gotta prediction. Yeah, Lululemon still picks a man. Prediction, that's just sad. All right, here's my prediction and let's get out of here after reading this headline. Cracker Barrel stock drops after hours as chain reports losses from quote unique and ongoing headwinds I predict that Robbie Starbucks, renames, himself, unique, and ongoing, headwinds Starbucks. Oh, kind of like Prince, I prints used to rename himself. I mean, like isn't that doesn't he want to call himself the most unique and ongoing headwinds right now? Yeah, I mean, he really is Right moron. He's probably pissed that he didn't. He wasn't the first one to complain about that, Cracker Barrel sign. I know he lost in that race, that's all we got that. Hazelnut Scotty, we are free float. Next week is our, I think our maybe our last week of shows before the holidays. We might get another show in the Tuesday after but there is a big crossover episode between Cheryl the Primacy next week and proxy countdown. Next week, we're gonna get it on both channels. So go listen to that and go get your data a free flow analytics.com because there is more coming. The scorecards are super cool. There's they're doing stuff, they're not live yet we're getting a preview but it's coming until good.