Show Notes
Luke Thomas: Kanye West had apologized for his past insanity but Luke says that shouldn't mean too much, because the racism and antisemitism were never actually atoned for. The bigger question is why he gets to headline a tour anyway, and what that says about an era of moral decline where accountability barely factors into anyone's decisions.Luke connects the Kanye question to a broader shift: celebrities are finally speaking out on Israel and Gaza and distancing themselves from it. He points to precedents like John McEnroe refusing to play apartheid South Africa and the Beastie Boys' Tibet activism, and argues that the more social pressure that can be brought against the Israeli lobby, the better, even if some of these celebrities are only doing it for image.The live chat also gets into why Luke no longer engages with the MMA world on politics, a sincere answer to a 30-year-old asking where to start and who to trust, and the news that Canada's government has modeled a response to a potential US invasion. Luke's take on what the Canadian military concluded is worth hearing.Listen to the full conversation over on Luke's Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/Luke Thomas Gets Political is a YouTube channel, a Substack, and a podcast. Subscribe here and turn on notifications so you catch every live chat.Chapters00:00 Has Kanye West Earned Any Grace?01:00 Living In An Era Of Moral Decline02:00 Trump Fosters Vandals And Looters02:20 Celebrities Finally Speaking Out On Gaza03:20 McEnroe, Beastie Boys, And Past Precedent04:15 Why Luke Ignores MMA Politics Now05:00 Where To Start If You Trust Nobody06:45 Canada Is Modeling A US Invasion07:45 How To Tell People This Election Matters
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Luke Thomas discusses on CNN whether Abdul El Sayed trying to prove his masculinity on the right's terms will be effective in generating support.#abdulelsayed #lukethomas #cnn
Luke Thomnas: Pro-Palestinian advocates protested Zohran Mamdani, and Luke thinks they were right to do it. A viewer assumes the protest against the New York City mayor must have been a psyop. Luke lays out why it makes perfect sense.Mamdani made a calculation. He wants to be the model of competent, transparent, affordability-focused governance, and that means playing ball with the system and the power lobbies that come with it. What it does not leave room for is the Palestine advocacy that defined his career before City Hall. City bonds tied to illegal settlements, the counterterrorism unit he pledged to disband, keeping Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner: Luke runs through what was promised and what was dropped, and argues that constituents have every right to make the mayor hear about it. He also explains why he gives Mamdani some grace, pointing to a book that traces how president after president tried to rein in Israel and got hamstrung by the lobby.Then a question from Miami: was Markwayne Mullin right that Mamdani’s comments about ICE were dangerous? Luke walks through the shooting, the agent with a history of phony warrants, the NYPD body cam footage, and why the protests were already happening before the mayor said a word. He closes on why the right is so good at assigning blame and so allergic to taking any.Listen to the full conversation over on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/Subscribe for more political commentary and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next live chat.Chapters00:00 Why Protest Mamdani? Good.00:40 Mamdani’s Calculation: Competence Over Everything02:00 Playing Ball With the Power Lobbies03:00 Bonds, the Counterterror Unit, and Tisch04:00 No Right Way to Be Pro-Palestinian04:45 Presidents Who Got Hamstrung by the Lobby05:45 Politicians Are Employees, Not Heroes06:30 Mullin Says Mamdani’s ICE Comments Are Dangerous07:15 The Agent With the Phony Warrant08:15 Body Cam Footage and Organic Protests09:00 The Right Never Takes Responsibility10:00 What a Spoils System Gets You
Historically, discussing the Israel lobby and its impacts in the United States has come with a variety of challenges. Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt earned enormous blowback in 2007 when they tried to simply argue there was such a thing as the Israel lobby. While now the existence of the loose federation of donors, organizations and activists isn’t necessarily contested, few actually understand how they operate, who funds them and perhaps most importantly, how their efforts influence our lives and government’s priorities.That’s where today’s conversation comes into play.In their latest book, investigative journalist Eli Clifton and political science professor Ian Lustick combine their expertises to explain what they call “the greatest story in geopolitics”, namely, how American domestic and foreign affairs are massively influenced by the Israel lobby, who seek to police our speech and cajole our national security apparatus to back “unpopular, costly and national security-threatening politics.”This book deserves consideration because it illuminates what has long been hidden or poorly understood. Clifton and Lustick chronicle how the lobby came to be and why its aims have changed over time. They also expertly detail how its funding has grown and how those impacts have been felt plus the tactics it uses to deliver for the interests of Israel.Most importantly, they leave us with a warning that the Israel lobby hasn’t merely degraded and frustrated American foreign policy for decades, but now actively seeks to turn their efforts toward the rest of American society, attempting to curtail our freedoms at home.#israel #gaza #lukethomas TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Open01:34 The Israel lobby’s response to the book04:52 Support from the publisher to get the book printed07:00 What is the Israel lobby?11:54 The changing tactics of the lobby15:50 Changes to Israeli society and how that’s influencing U.S. politics21:37 The state and failure of the Israeli left26:39 How the lobby is funded and how that’s changed33:12 How the lobby was changed by Citizens United34:22 Lobby and media coordination aligning against Abdul El Sayed38:00 Israeli support in the Democratic Party47:44 How the lobby has undermined U.S. Presidents51:12 What is the IHRA antisemitism definition?55:24 How this definition is policing speech59:07 What can an average voter do to push back?
Luke Thomas discusses the UFC airing multiple MAGA Inc. ads during their recent UFC Edmonton broadcast.#danawhite #donaldtrump #lukethomas