The Problem With Jon Stewart - The Problem With War: Veterans Day Episode

Episode Date: November 11, 2021

It’s Veterans Day, so we're talking to some vets. Jon is joined by Staff Sergeant Wesley Black, who sadly passed away shortly after this episode was recorded, and Sergeant Isiah James. You may remember them from the Apple TV+ episode we did on burn pits—if you didn’t see it, you really should. Jon also catches up with his friend, Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Israel Del Toro.If you are looking for ways to help, please check out Burn Pits 360. You can also subscribe to our newsletter at theproblem.com.We want to hear from you! Have a question, comment, or criticism? Call our hotline: 212-634-7222CREDITSHosted by: Jon StewartFeaturing, in order of appearance:Isiah James, Israel Del Toro, Rob Christensen, Robby Slowik, Kris Acimovic, Tocarra Mallard, Wesley BlackExecutive Produced by Jon Stewart, Brinda Adhikari, James Dixon, Chris McShane, and Richard PleplerLead Producer: Sophie EricksonProducers: Caity Gray, Robby SlowikAssoc. Producer: Andrea BetanzosSound designer & audio engineer: Miguel Carrascal Senior Digital Producer: Kwame OpamDigital Coordinator: Norma HernandezSupervising Producer: Lorrie BaranekHead Writer: Chelsea DevantezElements Producer: Kenneth HullTalent: Brittany Mehmedovic, Haley Denzak Research: Susan Helvenston, Andy CrystalTheme Music by: Gary Clark Jr.The Problem With Jon Stewart podcast is an Apple TV+ podcast, produced by Busboy Productions.https://apple.co/-JonStewart 

Can you imagine what would happen if LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, what if they let their voice to this cause right now? What if they just tweeted about this shit right now? It would reach people who don't even listen to you. 15 and 16 and 17-year-olds who don't know who fucking John Stuart is. Why don't they care?

If those people were tweeted right now, that shit would make national news right now. Nicki Minaj tweeted about somebody's testicles and that shit was on the news for three weeks. Let me tell you something. It was on the news for three weeks. It was on CNN. That's what the news cares about.

But if the news would come on and just educate instead of in sight, we'd live in a different world. They're interested in views and clicks and engagement and testicles sell. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the podcast. Today is November 11th.

It is Veterans Day. So we have a Veterans Day special program for all of you. Discounts? No, my friends. We will be talking to veterans. There's also a new episode of the Apple TV Plus show. It's about gun control.

And we'll do that on next week's podcast. But today is November 11th. And we'll do that on next week's podcast. But today is all about talking with some veterans. We actually did a TV show on the topic of veterans' health and burn pit exposure. If you haven't watched that episode, there is a link to it in this podcast episode description.

And of course, did a couple of podcast episodes on the topic as well. If you watch the show that we did on burn pits, you actually might remember two of these folks, Wesley Black and Isaiah James. We're getting some updates from them. But first, I'm going to talk to my friend, retired Air Force senior master sergeant.

Oh, I'm exhausted already. Israel Del Toro. His name is Israel Del Toro. But you can barely get to it behind all the other titles he makes you say. I know Ms. DT. He and I have been friends for 15 years. And he is an asshole.

That's not really true, actually. I love him, but I do like to say things like that to him just to see if he gets mad. Are you son of a bitch? You're not wearing any pants? How should you let me get away with that? Hey, man, we're empty nesters. Empty nest means no pants.

That means no pants, no nothing. So we're talking to Israel Del Toro, DT. I've known DT. When did I meet you, DT? In 1955? When? How long have we known each other? I don't know.

I want to say what about maybe 2008? Maybe time frame? Oh, my God. I met DT. Oh, this was such a weird night. I was with Mick Foley, the wrestler. Remember him? DT was there to speak.

It was a USO event. Do you remember how nervous you were? Hell, yeah. I was just kind of starting out. So, you know, I was nervous. I would rather be calling an airstrike downrange in a firefight than at that time being in front of all these guys and giving us speech.

You were saying it was one of your first things because DT was wounded in Afghanistan in what year? December of 2005. December of 2005. You know, I remember you telling me the story about it. You got hit and you were obviously really hurt and wounded and you still like called in an airstrike. Like in your underwear, as you were like wounded.

Yeah. I got hit. I got out of the truck when I was on fire. And luckily one of my teammates helped me out. He helped me to the creek and exchanged myself. The medic was trying to take care of me. And I was like, no, I'm good. I'm good.

You know, all I asked them was to cut off my, we call them ranger panties. You know, there's a little runny shorts. The elastic was burning me. So I actually was trying to get aircraft in but naked. And I was like, what are you saying, man? And then obviously, I mean, grievously wounded in your story is, is remarkable.

You, you ended up, uh, how long did they, did they have to put you in a coma? At that point, they weren't sure. They put me in a coma and they gave me a 15% chance of survival. They didn't know who they were fucking with. They didn't. It's funny.

You know, the doctors told that to my wife and she's like, I know my husband. He's going to be teaching because he's a stubborn asshole. It worked in your favor. But the other side of it is you didn't just survive. You thrived. You become a gold medalist in adaptive sports. I mean, you know, I've, I've followed DT through all his

exploits at the warrior games, you know, competing in shooting and racing and, uh, in the shot put, you're like the world record holder for adaptive sports. And I mean, it's an incredible achievement. A lot of us, you know, especially in the middle tier, a lot of us were athletes. So, you know, when we get out of hospital and we're saying, okay, we're missing limbs.

I was like, am I still going to be able to play sports? And luckily, you know, you know, at least there at, uh, brick art medical center at the center for intrepid, they introduced you to adaptive sports. And, you know, I kind of started, you know, getting into it because I wanted to continue sports. I wanted to one day be able to throw baseball and play catch my son, you know, get back into it, start working out,

get in shape. Cause, you know, I got a smoking hot ass wife and I wanted her to leave me. You know, I got to stay in shape. Right. And you also could have worked on your personality. I mean, that's the other thing is you did work on the physical stuff and you got much stronger, but you're still

kind of a, is, is dick the right word? No, it's, you know what I mean? You know what? I have no problem going over there and beat up a no man. Don't think I won't come down there. I will fly out to Colorado. Let me tell you something about DT. So DT not only has become an adaptive athlete.

He reenlists in the Air Force. A hundred percent. What do you have a hundred percent disability rating? He reenlists in the Air Force and becomes a jump master. A jump master, like out of planes, right? They, they, he creates all these adaptive gadgets so that he can still jump out of planes. And what does he do that?

What does he use that skill for? To throw his friend, to throw his friend out of a plane at 10,000 feet in Colorado. That's how diabolical this man is. He goes, Hey man, we should jump out of plane. Be really cool. I get all swept up in his enthusiasm. He's like, Oh, by the way, don't eat anything that morning.

I'm like, don't eat anything. Breakfast is the most important meal. So we get there and they strap me up and they put me in like a pinto that flies. That was like the smallest plane. Doesn't even have a door. It has like, you would have on like a bread box, like a little handle that lifts up and you climb into it.

And so I get in and I go, DT, what are you doing? He goes, Oh no, man, I'm on the ground. Like, wait, what? They take me up. We jump out of the plane and they spin me around and like, I don't know what it's called. Like some sort of crazy. Hold on.

Hold on. You fund yourself. But he told me to do it. The guy that the instructor goes, do you want to steer yourself? I go, sure. He goes, okay. Yank it like this. So I go boom and immediately throw myself into like a 720.

So now I have to throw up and I have another five minutes before I land. So I just had to sit there. I land in this circle of Air Force jump masters that have all come around to greet me. And before they can like cheer, I vomit for maybe 10 minutes straight. And I look over and DT, he's just like this.

You feel good? Feeling good, buddy? Hey, buddy. Was that fun? Was that good, buddy? Son of a bitch. But you did it. Most people don't do it.

You did it. I did it. I did it for you. I did keep it secret for my family. And I told them afterwards. And I do have to say this though, man, the free fall is really fun. Like that part was kind of exhilarating. The spinning and the vomiting and the just waiting to come down.

Not as fun. Right. But the other stuff, you know, it's funny because, you know, you're expecting, you jump out of a plane. You're going to feel like, you know, you're in a roller coaster. Yeah. But it's not. You're just floating.

It's crazy. But that free fall, and they did it for a while. Like we were, we were plunging for a, for a good longer than I would have thought. But man, that part I love, but the rest of it, I didn't, how many jumps have you made? Total. Yeah.

I got about 200 something. That's crazy. It was, you know, fly jet, call in air strike, which I got to do again. But the last one I thought I'll never be able to do would be jump out of a plane again. Right. And when, you know, the Air Force Academy reached out to me, it's

like, they want me to come to be an instructor and then say, hey, do you want to jump? I was like, hell yeah. And, you know, luckily, you know, I have people that supported me, people that had my back, you know, because you're always going to have the naysayers like, oh, how can you do that? You know, he can't jump out of a plane. I was like, dude, obviously you don't know who I am.

I was like, yeah, you can't. I was like, I'll show you can. And, you know, it was a way to kind of show, you know, other people that sometimes feel like they can't do things. They're like, they see me or see something that I do. And they're like, holy shit, this guy's able to do this. You know, this guy's able to jump out of a plane with no freaking fingers.

So it's, this is our Veterans Day episode. What do you want to say to the country about our veteran community, the way that we interact with our veteran community, how we, how we respond to the issues in the veteran community? You know, what are your thoughts on that? And I better say, I just, I guess it's a day to kind of thank your veteran, but you know, you shouldn't, it shouldn't just be one day, you know, just going up to one is like, man, I

respected what you did or, you know, thank you. And, you know, just simple, like simple things like that means a lot, you know, you know, for me is when I'm just, you know, go get something to eat and I sit down and, you know, sometimes I'm there by myself, sometimes I'm there with my, you know, my wife. And I go to pay my bill and wait yourself until someone just picked this up for you. Little things like that, it's usually not the biggest traffic

and things that you see out there that the guys appreciates the simple things. You know, just saying, hey man, I got your sex means a lot. I get that. Do you think we sometimes get too caught up in like the symbolic shit? You know, sometimes, you know, we kind of need a certain, you know, day to, you know, yes, those days are important.

I got it. But it's just like, But it's the real stuff. It's the on the ground. It's like Valentine's Day, you know, you take your white flowers on Valentine's Day. Are you proposing to me? Hey man, it's the real world.

But you know, when you take flowers to your loved one, when it's not Valentine's Day or your anniversary or birthday. Right. It means you're thinking about it on every day. Every day you got someone's sex. Yeah, every day. For me, I'm not supposed to be here. I should be there.

I should be buried out there with my teammates. So I live every day like it's, it could be my last. So why am I just going to wait one day to tell someone, Hey man, you're my brother, you know, I call you out of the blue. It's like, Hey, what's up, John? Right. You know, call a buddy and say, How are you doing, bro? You know, I do that every day.

I tried. I'm not going to say I'm perfect, but I tried. Yeah, I'm not going to say you're perfect either. You know what? Don't even fucking, don't even try it. I will jump on your back and I will be a backpack and you will never shake me. And you will be done, sir. You'll be like a little spider monkey.

That's exactly right. I'll be a little spider monkey and there's nothing you can do about it. Dude, you know, I love you. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I'm so sorry that you're wrong about everything politically, but that's okay. A lot of people have flaws and that's yours. All right, young man, please send my love to your family. I will.

I'll see you guys soon. Am I going to see you? Are you coming in for a stand-up for heroes? I am. Yeah. And try and dress up this time. Shut the fuck up. I don't need you.

What are you, my grandmother? That's it. I'm dumping out of this call. I've had. Love you, man. Take care. Love you, brother. Take care, DT.

All right, so in honor of Veterans Day, Rob Christiansen, one of our writers, Andy is a veteran and some of the other writers have compiled the best discounts that veterans do get. They might not get the health care and benefits that they've earned or deserve, but they do get some pretty tremendous discounts. So nothing says thank you for your service. More than 5% off apps at Chili's. Yo, it's time for the writers to do a joke off.

In the VA episode, we talked a lot about what veterans don't get, like health care for their cancers. So in the interest of being fair, we're going to talk about some things that veterans do get. I have Robby Slovic. Yo. Takara Mallard. Oh, hey.

And Chris Achimovic. Yes. I'm Rob Christiansen, and I have a list of military shopping discounts. I've compiled some of my favorites, but we're going to start nice and easy, a 30-day gym pass at the UFC gym, but only if you mention the Harley-Davidson military program. Yeah, that's right. Soldiers, bikers, and cage fighters in one place. Do I get to pick a locker or do they stuff me into one of their choice?

I can smell this gym just from reading. Like I can smell it. Harley-Davidson military UFC gym. Is that an offer or just your latest Google search rub? We don't want to talk about my Google searches in public, but it's pretty close, pretty close. It's common knowledge when you outgrow the Pentagon. It's time for the octagon. Oh, yeah.

This is something that I think you don't want to discount on, that you might want to pay full price for. It's a $4,800 breast augmentation. Is this price inflation? Huh? Okay. Hey. You're welcome, everyone.

You're done fighting terrorism, but we're still fighting gravity. Ladies and gentlemen, Joan Rivers. I wish. Oh, here's something I use. 20% off a pubic hair trimmer at Manscaped. Yes. This is a great deal. I cannot overstate the importance of positive attitudes towards male grooming, you guys.

That's progress. Self-care. We're all growing. We are. Yeah, it's 20% off, but you'll use it to take about 80% off. There it is. How about a whole new meaning to Army Rangers securing a landing strip? So I guess now we are shaving Ryan's privates.

Smooth read. What are you saying? One of my favorite military discounts, 50% off one item at Adam and Eve. And that's a sex store? Yeah. What do they got? Sex stuff. 50% off Adam and Eve.

Crazy. I looked at their website and my pants were also 50% off. There it is. Is it one item if it's double-sided? Yes, it is. 50% off. That's perfect for Adam and Eve and Steve. Yes.

Don't forget about Steve. Don't forget about Steve. I'm seeing a lot of butt plugs here. And you know what I'm thinking? Not a lot of people know about the part of the Old Testament where Adam and Eve got like super into butt stuff. We need to talk about it more. Yeah, we need to talk about it more.

You got multiple holes. You got to try to fit some stuff in. You're the first people. They did destroy a whole city over it, as I recall. I got a website. 50% off at active duty, a military-themed gay porn site. I think good. I think good for them.

I think our culture needs more representation of consensual sex in the military. Absolutely. And so it's all military-themed. I wonder, do they have like a full metal jack-off? Okay. The hurt liquor? Okay, here we go. The dirtier dozen?

Do you have some more? Splatoon? The bridge over the river, guys. You couldn't have another one. Doss boot. I don't even need to change that one. Sounds dirty on by itself. Zero dark flirty?

Okay, okay. How about this forest hump? Love it. Yeah, it's just the parts where they let them fuck. Don't ask, do tell. I can't believe no one has said a few good men. You don't have to change that one either. That was perfect.

Written by Aaron Porkin, everybody. Written by Aaron Porkin. Aaron Porkin. You know. Written by who? Porkin wrote a few good men and Porkin is a euphemism for sex. So therefore... That joke is always funnier once you explain it.

That is the rule of comedy. This is why I've been nominated for three explaining awards. All right, here's one. 10% off, escort, radar. What does that sound like to you? Is that a trick question? A place to get a sex worker? Yeah, a person to be your date at a wedding.

Oh, that's a nicer read. That sounds very sweet. And I know that this sounds like a site that would provide something like that for you, but it's actually a site that sells radar that locates cops in your area. Oh, that's less cinematic. And a waste of product. I don't need a radar to locate cops in my area. They're at the ink stop getting bad punisher tattoos.

Is there a good punisher tattoo? No, there actually is not. Well, actually, I have a punisher tattoo. Rob's is pretty good. He got it at the UFC gym. There is a tattoo parlor inside that gym. And that was just a short sample of the endless discounts offered to military veterans. But I think we have enough information to deduce that none of these discounts are better than proper health care.

Here, here. Agreed. True. All right, so Rob has some thoughts on how to thank a vet. So Rob Christensen with his thoughts, how to thank a vet beyond, of course, just the terrific discounts that I think we always offer at least once a year or at other times. People often wonder, what's the best way to thank a veteran? Well, you're in luck because this non combat Air Force vet is here to officially speak for all veterans. Here are some ways to make us feel appreciated.

We want free parking at hotels, 50 bucks a day. And the new day starts at midnight. So you check in at 11pm because you like to drive at night when there's no traffic, then you pay for a second day after one hour. No, no, no, no, no. Heroes don't do that. You're right. Listen, if a veteran orders a martini in your bar and you don't have blue cheese olives, you should just go to the store and buy some blue cheese olives. You're right.

Veterans want women to have speaking roles in the Dune sequel. I'm not even talking Bechtel test, just some lines. You're right. The regulation basketball rim should be nine feet high for veterans. We want a dunk for freedom. You're right. Every veteran should get the chance to star in a Hallmark Christmas movie and bring the spirit of the season back to a big city career person who forgot their roots. You're right.

All dogs should greet all veterans like they just came home from war. You would feel extra appreciated if every dog on the street totally flipped out when they saw us. It doesn't matter if we've never met or there's no way for the dog to tell that I'm a veteran, just train your dogs better. Let's get it done. You're right. Every single veteran in America wants Dana White to give comedian Rob Christiansen two VIP tickets for UFC 269 where Dustin Poirier will beat Charles Oliveira for the lightweight strap. Yes, that is my pick and yes, that is a lock. See, Dana, we're not like other writers' rooms that are full of nerds who hate MMA.

No, we're diverse. You're right. And finally, veterans want health care and benefits for toxic exposure. Obviously, it's our whole first episode and I think I'm contractually obligated to shout out burnpits360.org. Go there, help if you can. And look, I know there are a few big asks on this list. So in the unlikely event that none of this stuff gets done, a great way to thank your local vet is to wish them a very happy Veterans Day. I'm Rob Christiansen and Happy Veterans Day.

Thanks for your service. So we're back. If you watched the television episode on burn pits and the toxic exposures for those who have served men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places, you may remember my next two guests, Army Combat Veteran Isaiah James, who was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq three times and retired Staff Sergeant Wesley Black, who did two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and was diagnosed with stage four terminal colon cancer in 2017 due to toxic exposures. Unfortunately, Wes is going to drop from the call, but we do follow up with him after that. So please make sure to keep listening and here it is. So hey, we're hanging out.

We're talking to Isaiah James and Wes Black. You remember them from the show. I want to start off very quickly. Wes, you're right now, we are talking to you. You're in the hospital right now. Yep, I'm currently at the hospital. Thank you for joining us. I'm sorry that you're where you are today.

No, it is what it is, man. My whole health has changed over the last couple of weeks. I'm actually going into hospice care now. Are you really? Yeah. Oh, fuck. I'm sorry to hear that, Wes. Just the cards I got dealt, man.

I didn't get the ace on the river like I was hoping. That fucking sucks, Wes. I just did what it is, man. How are you holding up like pain-wise and things like that? Pain-wise? I'm doing okay pain-wise. That's the nice thing about modern medicine is that, you know, they can do a really good job of managing the pain aspect.

The mental anguish is more what the problem is, you know, dealing with knowing that every time I look at my son, you know, it could be the last time that I look at him, looking at my wife, you know. Hey, Wes, man, I feel for you and your family, and thank you so much for even taking the time to do the things that you're doing and trying to get it. But Isaiah, you know, this is the kind of shit.

I'm sick of seeing this. I'm sick of visiting friends in hospice, and this is also the reality of war. This is what people face during these times that the rest of the public doesn't seem to understand what Wes and his family are going through, what you're going through, what all of these families are going through.

And we're not being intentional and urgent enough in helping. So you're sick of seeing it. I'm sick of seeing it. Wes is sick of seeing it, but we're just talking in our own echo chamber of pain. What we need to do is make America see it so they can get sick of seeing it. That's the thing.

We need to bring exposure to this issue because after we taped the show, I got so many messages from people saying they didn't even know this was a problem. They had no idea that veterans were going through this and how could our country do this to veterans, and that is the reality of war. It seems like America has unlimited amounts of money

to go to war, but the care and the treatment and everything that comes after, when all these broken soldiers come home, we sacrificed our youth, our mentality, the best years of our life. It happens every generation. Every generation we go to war, you can look back and look at Civil War veterans

trying to get benefits. You can look back at Desert Storm veterans trying to get benefits, Vietnam veterans. It's the same damn thing. So we have a choice. We just ended the longest war we've ever had. So we can decide to lead with diplomacy

and not fight these wars, to never have these things again, or we can decide to pump more money into the defense industry. I can tell you which way we seem to be going. Wes, is there anything, you know, Isaiah and I are going out of D.C. We're going to be trying to keep hammering away

and getting these things done. Is there anything that you want us to relay on your behalf, on your family's behalf, on any of this? I mean, Isaiah, you are such an eloquent speaker, man. Like the way you talk, I just, I can listen to you all day, dude. Thank you, brother.

And I guess the biggest thing is the total cost of war is much greater than sending our soldiers overseas with, you know, $280,000 worth of equipment strapped to them, or her. And the VA is getting better. And I wish that the VA and the Department of Defense,

they would understand that the total cost of war for these veterans to come home is tragic. Ultimately, it's tragic. My son has to grow up without his father. You know, that's not fair to my son. You know, ultimately he has to face the ramifications of my decisions. Talk to me about that decision, Wes,

because that, you know, I've had friends, you know, and visited in hospice and in a similar situation, people that had served. And they never expressed a regret of their decision to serve. You know, they see a problem, they want to fix it. And do you still feel like

you've always been that guy and you are that guy and no regrets? Or how are you feeling? I do, yeah. I am who I am because of my service to not only my country, but my community. I chose to be a firefighter when I left the military.

I chose to serve my community and that's the message that I pass on to my son is serve something greater than yourself. And I would do it all over again without a question. I find that to be an incredible sentiment. Just like I'm standing up for veterans now talking about burn pits. You know, I'm choosing to do this

because I want to stop others from suffering the way that I had to. Yeah, I mean, if people can say, you can't say, but West is talking to us literally from a hospital. And I say, what, you know, as you listen to West talking, same sentiment? I'm the same way.

Yes, I would still serve again. It's just, I don't know. Some people are built for, some people are built and they're gorgeous when they're born. Some people are, you know, mathematical geniuses. Some people just like to serve and help others. And to my detriment, sometimes that's who I am. And that's just, it's weird

because me and West think the same way and so now it's time for America to atone and to have some skin in the game and to actually help these veterans because, frankly, anybody, anybody in government right now, I don't care what side you on, should be goddamn ashamed of yourselves

that we've been having this conversation. These are people who sacrifice the best years of their life, their youth, their mental health. These are the most selfless people in society and they've been thrown to the wayside. And like West said, the VA is getting better. I saw there are people who truly do want to help you but the resources aren't there.

I don't care what anybody says, the resources aren't there. The resources are put somewhere else and I don't know how many times I can say this and I'm so thankful for people like you using your platform to help people like us because without, our voices would be drowned out. I mean, I appreciate that very much

but it's not, you know, I always consider it the least that we can possibly do and I think the problem that you find is you have a system set up that is utterly removed from the needs of the people that it portends to serve and I was going to ask West, but I think we lost him. We lost West. Okay, West, I'm so sorry that we lost him.

There's probably no way to get him back on there, right? All right, so he had to go talk to a doctor. All right, well, let me talk to you, Isaiah, then about this because we're going to go down and we're going to spend a little time down there. You know, I can remember, this is a terrible story but it's the truth. You know, we went down to testify for the 9-11 healthcare bills

and I'm, you know, my friend Louis Alvarez who was sitting next to us and so we testified in the afternoon. That night, Louis went into hospice, liver shutdown. He'd been through chemo, you know, 160 times or some kind of crazy thing and he was like West using his final moments to continue to advocate for others so that no one else would have to go through this.

There's only fucking... I saw. Okay, there's only fucking 14, 15 people on the thing and there's only six people that are sitting in there and two of these guys, Gohmert and Jim Jordan, come in and they get their name tags and they get counted as present for a minute and then they hand back their name tag and they leave.

So I'm obviously completely out of my mind with anger about this situation because, you know, we were invited down there to tell, you know, have these guys tell their stories to amplify their stories and the indifference of this panel was startling and one of the congresspeople, the guy has the balls to say to me,

you've got to understand, you know, the members are very busy, which is basically saying, as we're sitting next to a guy who's spending his last fucking days on this earth advocating so that other people don't have to suffer the way he did, what this congressperson was saying to him was, hey man, my time is valuable. You have to understand, I got a lot of shit going on and it was that disconnect in the room

that made me realize, boy, we've got a road to travel here. Then that's the same disconnect that we're dealing with today. No question. During World War II, everybody had skin in the game. You know, Veterans Day now has become fucking triple stacked pancakes and half off mattresses. I don't need fucking half off of a mattress. I need health care.

I don't care about a rooty, 2D, fresh and fruity. I care that the fact that there's a homeless veteran who's about to kill himself and 22 are dying a day because we don't have the resources. I mean, like I said on the last show, this shit is criminal what we're actually doing to people we, you know, send to fight in our name. If this was in a movie, we would be the bad guys.

We would be the villain. If America saw what America was doing to America's veterans, America would evade America and save Americans veterans from America. And then America would make it illegal to teach that in our schools. So that we don't know that that's actually what's happening. It's an insane thing that this is going on. I'm going to prepare for that. When we go down there, so the thing you're going to hear from the center,

and they're all going to be very polite and they're going to be very nice, but the thing they're going to say that's going to drive you bananas, is you spend this kind of money, you need a pay go. And a pay go is you've got to offset that spending somehow. And what you're going to be thinking in your head is we just spent $6 trillion on 20 years of war with no fucking pay go. And now you're telling a sick veteran, hey man, if you can come up with the money, if you can go through the country's couch in the underneath those cushions

and find yourself a little something, yeah, we'll take care of it. That's the disconnect that continues to haunt all of these meetings. Taking care of this issue is a drop in the bucket. They just passed after 20 years of war, a defense budget that's more than $750 billion. That's who gets out of 20 years of war and gives themselves a bump. Yeah. So the good thing about talking to folks like that is,

I went to graduate school for public policy. So I know how to read a budget. So I know when you're telling me bullshit, you know what I mean? I should have brought you. I literally went to school for public policy. But like you just said, $750 billion. Think about this, John. That's more than the top 10 nations combined.

The top 10 largest nations defense combined. Nine of which, eight of which, excuse me, are allies. The only two that are not allies are Russia and China. So we spend more than all of them put together. So the pay goes bullshit. All we have to do is cancel one contract for general dynamics. And that's $50 billion that we can put into the burn pit registry. Yo, I've said that a million times in those meetings.

We have this thing during this war. It wasn't enough that they were spending, you know, billions every year. Our defense budget right now is over a trillion dollars. You just don't see the other part because not only that, not only is it $750 billion on paper, it's all the contractors and subcontractors and all that stuff. Our defense budget is well over a trillion dollars as it stands right now. Bananas.

And you would actually save money by changing the VA from their adversarial position to just an administration position and then focused on screening and prevention. They would save so much fucking money and so many lives and change the stress of what you guys have to go through to jump through. They audit you guys within an inch of your lives. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has, they failed any audit they've ever gone through

and there's no oversight to any of these guys. Do you realize that the top 20 corporations last year did not pay billions of dollars in taxes? Right. Do you realize there's over two trillion dollars sitting in offshore accounts that aren't taxed? Right. So the money is there.

So if you don't want to touch the defense budget, which is crazy, don't touch the defense budget. Just close every fucking corporate loophole. GDP does not need subsidies. Walmart does not see subsidies. No Fortune 500 company needs subsidies. Just close those loopholes and we could pay for every single program we're talking about with veterans, with free college, with health care,

all that shit. Right. So the money for everybody, not just veterans. Here's the other thing. You know, one of the things people say to me like, yeah, sure, you know, you advocate for veterans. Here's one of the things also that goes along with this. If we can't take care of the people that take care of us,

this is the lowest hanging fruit of a functioning society. We're 1% of the population. 1% of the population. And it's the population that serves to protect the other 99% of the population. And you may disagree with their mission. You may disagree with whatever the foreign policy is that they have to execute. But the truth of the matter is, if we can't take care of them, what chance do the rest of us have?

Very little. Little. We can. We truly can. So the thing is, we have to shake this old tree of all these opals. No question. Our constitution is over 200 years old. Right?

It was written when I was literally human fucking property. Okay? So maybe it's time to look at that document and to say, maybe senators shouldn't have as much power as they have. Maybe this electoral college, which is a vestige of slavery and white supremacy, is kind of bullshit. Maybe all these other rules and laws that were written by men who did not fucking know that we could walk on the moon should not be governing our life 200 years later.

What I say is proposing right now is critical race theory. And obviously that is illegal to speak about on radio and podcasts. So this disclaimer is for the Apple lawyers. Oh, my bad. I didn't. Apparently this podcast can no longer be heard in Florida. I am terribly sorry. And Ron DeSantis, you have my official apology.

Isaiah, I mean, like you couldn't be more fucking dead on. So how do we address this urgent need in a non bureaucratic doublespeak way? Because it's doable. So I always use the example of we found Sodom Hussein hiding in a dirt hole in the middle of Iraq and a country of millions of people. We found Osama bin Laden by using satellites to measure his gate and his shadow from 10,000 miles up in the middle of a bar to bar Pakistan. The shit we're talking about is $50 billion.

And it's literally like just administrating people and screening them for healthcare, which is something that we already do in other ways. But other nations already do it. So we're talking. Well, that's a great point. Other nations already do this. So it's not like we're trying to reinvent the wheel. It's trying to get these people in Congress to understand it.

Our car has no goddamn wheels and people are dying in the backseat while you're telling me that you're going to try to look for tires for it. Other nations have already done this. This is not something new. And that's why it's so infuriating and frustrating is because I can see if we were talking about, you know, six, seven hundred billion dollars for this problem, $20 billion is not a lot of money to throw at a problem like this over five years. The solution is clear and legible.

All you need is the intention and the will. It's possible. I've seen them commit to excellence in these other ways. Why they can't do it for exposures and other illnesses is a question of intention and will. Yes. All right. Isaiah James, I can't wait to go down to DC. We're going to have ourselves a day.

Yes, I will. You know, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help and your wisdom and your insight. And we were talking to West Black as well. Obviously, we always wish West the best and it just reminds us of the heartache of all the other friends that we've lost and so many that have sacrificed so much. And so obviously, you know, we wish West the best and we're always thinking about him and Isaiah, you as well. So we'll talk to you guys later.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thanks to Isaiah and also to West. Unfortunately, as you heard during that, West had to drop out. But the next day, he and I were able to jump on another call. And here's part of that conversation. Here you go. I want to remind everybody, so we're talking to West Black or talking to him yesterday,

but he had a bunch of appointments. West, how often do you now have to like check in with the doctors? Like, is that are you there every day now? Yeah, so I'm actually right now in liver failure. Oh, boy. And my my health is to the point where I'm doing visiting nurse and hospice every every few days. Oh, Jesus.

Yeah. Are you able to spend like any time with some friends with your family, like anything where you can get your mind off it a little bit? Yeah. So I've had family and friends from both the fire department, the military have come up to visit and you know, hung out with me for a few hours at a time. I remember when my buddy Ray was going through this and he was with the fire department for many years and those dudes would not leave him alone.

Yeah. At a certain point, Ray was just like, get out of my house. Yeah. My guys on my fire department were phenomenal through this entire process. It's good. It's a good problem to have is having that family connection, that camaraderie. Yeah. Exactly.

Exactly. I have heard now. I'm not obviously I'm not a physician. I'm not a doctor, but I have heard that the best medicine is Guinness. Is that possibly correct? I would be willing to venture that the best medicine is quite possibly Guinness. Yeah. That under my Calum 40 year.

Exactly. So they better come bearing gifts. Yes. That's all I can say. Yeah. Yeah. And by the way, tell me if like any of this shits too personal or any of that kind of stuff, but you know, that's, that's a tough thing and people are going.

I think they think it's unimaginable. And you know, to hear somebody discuss it rationally when it's such a, you know, it's an irrational thing, what you're facing. Do you say things like, you know, here's some things I want for the future. And is that something like that, that you allow yourself to think about and to face head on? Um, you know, I already have my, my pallbearers picked out. Um, I already have, you know, who I, who I wish to speak at my funeral picked out.

Wow. I'm pretty sure my wife is going to speak at my funeral. She just said, no, she just said, no, I'm not. Is she right there? Can I say hello? Hello. We're sending you the best from over here. Wes, I can't tell you how much, you know, I don't know if you get a sense of this, but

your words on the show were really powerful. And, uh, the response that the groups that are working on the burn pit issue has been phenomenal. That's great. I'm glad cause it was the whole point. You know, I just, I, I, if I can just prevent one other veteran from going through what I've gone through, then, then I've succeeded. You know, we'd been working on this for a while, but over this past year, it kind of, it stagnated

a little bit, you know, the, as things do down in Washington and COVID didn't help cause we couldn't get down there and kind of rattle the cages and all those sorts of things. Your appearance on the show, I really feel like reinvigorated the groups that are working on it. And I can tell you, Isaiah and I are going to be down in Washington and obviously, you know, we would have loved to have you there. And we understand that, uh, you know, physically that's not possible, but I can tell you this for sure that you'll be with us, that your words will be driving us, that we will tell

your story. You've inspired us in a tremendous way and, and we're not going to rest, but it's, it's due to your words and your inspiration. Like you matter. I just want to make sure that you understand that, that you matter and that what you've done is consequential and, and will have an impact. I appreciate that. I first started arguing about burn pit legislation, thinking that I wasn't going to make a

difference. You know, I was just one single voice that how much can a difference can one voice make? Right. And as I've continued down this path, now I'm thinking more of what, what legacy I'm leaving behind for my son and what my son is going to think of me in 10, 12, 15, 25 years, because the last thing I want is for my son to be chewing the same dirt that I did when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope in some small way that my choosing to stand up for what is right will forever

last in his mind of, you know, my dad was a good person because that again, going back to what we were talking about yesterday, I don't regret my service. I regret what my service has done to me. That's, that's unfortunate. Sure. I would do it all over again, but I want to ensure that my sacrifice and what I, how far I moved the ball forward a few inches, a few yards, whatever it was that that success and that accomplishment isn't lost on the next generation.

Right. And it's swung the pendulum the 180 degrees the other way so that now when we get home today, thank you for your service free pancake day at IHOP. You know, thank you for your service free Jimmy's burger is it whatever. Yeah. Well, I understand people try to convey a sense of thanks in whatever way they can. Let's not do it symbolically. Let's do it in a real way.

Yeah. And in the way to do it in a real way is here, let's not have another war. Oh boy, boy, your, your mouth, the God's ears on that one. And John, I, I hope he's listening to what I really do. And as far as your contribution to it, you know, you're bringing light. Do you know what I mean? In the ultimate battle, you're bringing light and your son's going to know that. Exactly.

John is phenomenal. You've led by example, your ability to give back your sacrifice. That's all I ever wanted. I just want my son to know that I was, I was a good person and that I had a happy life with him and his mom up until I, I wasn't there anymore. You know, you know, that doesn't go away brother at all. And I'm, I'm so proud to know you and I'm so glad that we got a chance to, to hear your story and to tell your story.

And when Isaiah and I go down there, you know, that story is going to be at the tip of the tongue and at the forefront of everything that we say. And if there's anything you want us to mention down there, tell me, because I'll, I'll throw it out there with as many curse words as you want me to. No, I just, you know, I guess like, sure, I would love to grab every single politician and shake them by the neck and be like, what the fuck is wrong with you? Like, what are you fucking people doing? Seriously.

Right. But I just, I, I don't know. At the end of the day, they're human and no human is perfect. Right. And I hope, I hope that we can always strive to be better. If we genuinely push ourselves to be better, we can always be better. And I want politicians to know that they have the opportunity right now to be better. Push yourselves to support those who willingly, willingly went and defended this country.

Do not forget their sacrifices. Your grace in this situation and your giving of grace in this situation is even more powerful. And I can't thank you enough, brother. I appreciate that. And I just, I just want to tell you how much your, your words and your appearance have meant to everyone here and everyone who works on the show. And, you know, please, please, please hug your family for us and know that we're thinking about you guys and please keep in touch.

Okay. Yeah, I will. I absolutely will, John. And thank you for giving me this platform, but also giving me the opportunity to, to have a chance to make a difference. You absolutely have. And you take care. We'll talk to you soon.

All right. Unfortunately, I do have to share some sad news after the call with West and Laura. That Sunday night, November 7th, unfortunately, West passed away. And we just hear the podcast. Just, just can't thank him enough for sharing with us in those really difficult moments. And he clearly knew what was ahead of him. And unfortunately, having been through these types of things more than I'd like to, I do know one thing in that these guys just want to know that they mattered.

And, you know, beyond just making sure that their families are going to be okay. They want to know they, the reason I think why they keep fighting for these things is it's, it's how they're wired. And, and they want to feel like their time here mattered, that their service, not just in the armed forces, but just in life meant something. And, and I can say to West how much that is true, that his, his courage and resilience mattered greatly. And, you know, just on a pure, just not even existential level, but just on a practical

level, there's already, because of West's involvement and speaking out about the troubles that he had and, and why he developed the stage four colon cancer. We've already gotten notices on Twitter from soldiers saying, you know, because of that they got a colonoscopy and one individual said they found a cancerous polyp. And, you know, that's West, that's West Black saving a life, even after his is over. So, so Burnpits360, other organizations still working on these things. We send our, our best wishes and, and greatest hopes to West's family. I know that they're surrounded in love, but they're adjusting to life without.

So I'll leave the last word to Isaiah. This is, he was speaking to a group of reporters. This is when we were in DC last week. This is, I think a great example of, of what drives his passion and what drives West's passion and gives you some perspective and context on how someone in their final moments can still be fighting so that others don't have to experience it. To all of our veterans serving here in abroad, just fucking be safe and take care of yourselves. And thank you. We'll be back next week.

My name is Isaiah James. I'm Senior Policy Advisor for the Back Veterans Project. I want to talk about my brother, Sergeant Wesley Black. Sergeant Wesley Black was denied the treatment at the VA that would have caught his cancer early and would have saved his life. Sergeant Wesley Black is not an aberration. Sergeant Wesley Black is millions of veterans across this nation that are denied healthcare and benefits from the very government that they were called to serve.

America on this issue is missing in action. Our Congress on this issue is missing in action. We don't need your goddamn pancakes. We don't need half off mattresses. What we need for you to do, America, is to enact legislation that will take care of those who want in your name. We laid it out for this nation. All we are asking for is give us what you promised us.