AMERICAN ROADS TO WHITE HOUSE WOES The Interpreter's Tale and the President's Paradox

As I traverse the winding path of America's political and social terrain, it's hard not to feel a sense of longing for a more stable tomorrow. Memories of my service days come rushing back, painting a vivid picture of the critical role Iraqi interpreters played, intertwined with stories of loyalty and deceit. We're considering bringing on a former interpreter, now making his mark as a truck driver here in the US, to share the riveting tale of his transition from war-torn Iraq to the highways that fuel our nation's economy. His unique perspective promises to enrich our understanding of the intricate tapestry that is America's backbone, as well as the individuals who keep it thriving.

The episode takes a sober turn as we reflect on a hospital visit that opened my eyes to the stark contrasts in healthcare systems, setting the stage for a broader conversation on American politics and the potential impacts of a Trump comeback. We'll examine the Herculean demands of the presidency and whether Trump's resilience to these stresses sets him apart. The dialogue advances towards the contentious nature of leadership effectiveness and concludes with an enigmatic observation: contrary to his predecessors, Trump's financial journey during his term was anything but lucrative. Join us as we unpack these complex layers, presenting personal anecdotes and political insights that will undoubtedly ignite lively debate and introspection.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

What is going on. This is the objective, jerk. And I'm said jerk, how are you guys doing out there? How are all my draconians? Jerk honing is that works? I hope everybody's well. I hope everyone is Not getting too caught up in the BS that has been dominating the country, america, parts of the world, entertainment, government, everything, just it's all it's it's.

Speaker 1: 0:57

The paradigm is shifting, so just take comfort knowing that it is Starting to go back to normal. As long as nothing evil happens, trump should win and and then that's it. You know the, the crazies, they. They tried, they made a good attempt, but in the end they failed. You know, yes, you got to give them some credit for trying, right, but the retardation that has been plaguing the world for the last five years I Guess a little longer, but it's been mainstream. In the last, since Biden's been president, it's been like mainstream, but before that it was, you know, I don't know. So so, yeah, I don't know, I just kind of I actually don't really have a topic to talk about I just kind of I Don't know. I felt like Saying what I just said pretty much, but that only took two minutes, so I got to come up with the, you know 18 minutes more of BS. I guess I was. I've been talking while messaging on messenger with I Call him a friend, but I have not seen this guy I since 2004.

Speaker 1: 2:35

He was an Iraqi interpreter that we were attached to and he was an awesome interpreter. He Really, you know, I mean we had interpreters that were sold us out. You know that they were. I Was a call, I can't remember the term now, but Guy was out there pacing, trying to get the distances to where we were living at To give to people. So when they were mortaring us because we used to get mortared all the time so then when they mortared us they could hit us right. So we had interpreters like that. But for the most part, I think most interpreters, you know we're we're trying to help. They knew that I mean, yeah, we shouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place. You know, like I said, I remember thinking, you know, once I joined, I joined the army because of 9-11.

Speaker 1: 3:37

I Mean not completely, but it did really kind of push me over the edge. You know, I was always kind of thinking about it. But I remember thinking, like when we were going to Iraq I was like what, why are we coming to Iraq and I was thinking, well, maybe I guess the terrorists are there, maybe that's where they're hiding, and then they're trying to say the weapons of mass destruction were never there, but we were fighting terrorists. But I think us going to Iraq, kind of we, you know we brought them there. They're like oh, there's Americans in Iraq, let's go there and try and kill some. You know what I mean. So so I don't know, but anyway.

Speaker 1: 4:20

So I had some good, awesome, awesome Iraqi people. Actually there was this guy I'm not going to say his name, I don't think it matters really but then I had another guy that was an interpreter at an Iraqi police station that we worked at and he looked and dressed. He looked like he was an American with a tan. You know what I mean. He's an older guy, he looked like some retired guy that you would see like in Florida, and he taught me a lot of the words. So like I used to actually speak, I mean I spoke better Arabic than I do Ilocano or Filipino, you know, because I mean there's not a whole lot to do when you're in another country in the military, during wartime, but I mean, except for you know, doing what you're supposed to do. But so you know, all my free time was either reading books or, you know, I wrote down certain words like you know. Stop, show me your hands, let me see your hands get down, get down things like that, you know. So he told me how to pronounce it and I wrote my book and I practiced and I got pretty good at it with it. You know, every time we had guns on people or whatever, I'd be yelling and, and you know they would comply and it was great, you know. So, anyway, so that guy was, he was an awesome old guy. He's probably not around anymore. And then I remember when I racked a police officer, he was. He was pretty funny, really outgoing. I think he was a good guy. I hope he's doing well. I have no idea, but but anyway.

Speaker 1: 6:00

So there's this guy that was an interpreter, awesome interpreter. He was able to come over to the States afterward and I don't know his entire history. I think about having him on my podcast. I want to have guests, but I go back and forth with it, but if I do, I would really like to have him. So if you're listening to this dude, let me know when it can happen.

Speaker 1: 6:30

I know he's kind of right now he's in a standstill with his, his life, basically I'm not going to get too much into it because it's you know, but anyway, so he comes over the States, at some point in time he gets married, some point in time he gets his license to drive trucks, semi trucks. So he's a trucker. You know, truckers make the country go around. I'm sorry, I keep getting messages. I got to check them, but they do, you know, without, without trucks bringing your food and and all that stuff, and you know, that's that's what makes the world, that's what makes the country run. Without truckers, dude, and there would be no America, you know. And so that's what he did and or that's what he's doing more recently and making a good living. He injured his hand, I don't know how exactly, because we were just messaging and talked to him and he got like a botched surgery. So his, his one hand, is that he can't really use it well, so therefore he can't drive. So therefore he lost his job. So he's stuck waiting to get his hand fixed.

Speaker 1: 8:02

But because of Obamacare and all the BS, it just it takes forever. You know, and I always say it, I understood, I understood, you know people, citizens, american citizens you know they need help with their medical. They need, they need assistance and I get that. But the Obamacare was just like any other liberal policy. It just they didn't think it through and it it was a failure.

Speaker 1: 8:37

You know, I remember before Obamacare I could get an appointment. I was paying, you know, as a family I was paying like $400 a month or whatever for good healthcare for me and my family. If I needed an appointment, I would go. If I needed to go to Urgent Care, you know I could go and whatever. Once Obamacare started, urgent Care was always filled with people with oh my goodness, you know, people that could never go to the doctor, afford it before were now going to Urgent Care for the dumbest things. Oh, my goodness, slivered my finger, could you pull it out? You know what I mean. It was like what? The? This is ridiculous, you know. It's like got it. You know I paid, like I said, a lot of money for medical and I didn't go to the hospital unless it was really needed.

Speaker 1: 9:34

But now so that in turns. So you have all these people making appointments. Now it takes forever for the normal person I don't want to say normal, but the average person like myself to get an appointment. It's like if you want to have free healthcare and do whatever, you need to create a whole separate identity not identity but entity. That's just for the free healthcare and whatever. So that's where they go. So then the people that pay are still getting the service that they're supposed to get and it's not interrupted by all this BS, and then the people can get. You know what I'm saying. That's how they need to do it, or should have done it, but anyway. So he's stuck waiting to get his hand fixed and it takes forever.

Speaker 1: 10:24

You know, I spoke with my mom. I spoke with my mom and all she did was complain about stuff. That's and she's a big. I mean I wouldn't say she's a big liberal. She's definitely has TDS, the Trump derangement syndrome. She hates Trump, but the things that she's complaining about it's like it's all liberal policies, democratic policies and the democratic state that you live not democratic, yeah, democrat, but I didn't say nothing, you know. But it's true, it's just so.

Speaker 1: 11:03

I felt bad for, you know, my friend and I was like dude, come here to the Philippines, you got. If you got money, you can go to hospital, get fixed quick. I mean it's not the, you know, no, it's. I mean it's, it's great they have it's. Just like in the States, you know. The thing is is like you know, if you don't have money, it's they don't. You don't get treated as well, which is kind of unfair. People do get treated, but you know money talks. You know, and I remember when I came to visit here I don't know if I talked about this or not, I probably did, but it's on a pot, it's on an episode that's no longer available.

Speaker 1: 11:44

So when I first came to visit the Philippines, I was riding on a motorcycle which I can ride, a motorcycle I'm just not like you know I have. I'm not the most experienced person on a motorcycle, but I know how I can do it. But this motorcycle that I was trying to ride, he had his clutch no, not as clutch, he had his gears set up a little different and he had I think he did have his clutch adjusted to really take off really fast, you know, for like racing. So I was riding it with my son on the back and it was like I was having problems. First I think I was like, cause I went all the way down to first gear, but it wasn't really first gear or something. He wasn't there to kind of help me figure it out. So it was just like every time I would start to go it would die and it was like what the crap? So I had to, really like, you know, I had to really give it some gas and let off the clutch and it started really fast. And when I got to a turn it was like the same thing and it was like I, I, I don't like I overshot the road and as I was trying to correct it, it's like I'd pull the clutch so it would stop and then I would get back on the road. And then, as I let off again, it was like it was just, it just went too fast. It was just, you know, it had. He did something to it and I was not prepared and or trained or experienced to handle it. And so, you know, we bit it.

Speaker 1: 13:08

It wasn't bad. My son didn't get hurt. I got a little scraped up and I had to get. I had to get some stitches on my elbow. So when I, you know, we went to the hospital and it was like they see me a foreigner and they just basically, oh, get out of the way Filipinos. Here's a foreigner, he's got money and I, you know, I was seen and I got my stitches and everything was like quick, and while there was this Filipino with their kids sitting there waiting, I don't know, I just felt kind of bad. It was just kind of it was. It was kind of surreal, I don't know, but it only cost like 20 or 40 bucks. That's how much it cost me to go to the hospital to get stitches and get some.

Speaker 1: 13:52

You know what do you call it? The antibacterial medicine, so you don't get infections. I never can think of the name of it, but so I was trying to, you know, get my friend, my Iraqi friend, to come here or try and be like, hey, dude, sell it. You know, but you know he's already there, is situated, he's, he's got like two months before his surgery. So hopefully it all works out. But yeah, it's just crazy.

Speaker 1: 14:24

I don't know Trump. He's a B back in office, so bad, even people that are liberal, it's like. So you have the far right, which I'll admit they're. They're crazy people in the far right, and then you have the right and of course they're all for Trump. And then you have the middle, which they're they've over the last four years have slowly kind of been like yeah, biden sucks, we need to get Trump back. Now you're starting to have some pretty far left not the extreme left, not the, the crazy people that are running everything right now, not the, the loonies, but pretty far left people are like secretly, like, yeah, we need Trump back. This is horrible, this ain't working.

Speaker 1: 15:36

And but I've said it before, like I'm, I am scared about something happening to Trump, like either before he's elected, like I don't think they can cheat, like they did before. I think they cheated. I mean there's proof that there was people's ballot stuffing and everything that didn't make a difference. It's hard to really say it could have, I don't know, but if there's evidence of that happening, then it happened. You know, I mean just because they only caught in these two states or whatever doesn't mean it didn't happen in other ways. Everybody talked about how those machines can be hacked. You know it's, it's insane, but anyway. So I'm thinking they can't, they can't cheat the same way they did, and so and they really don't want Trump To be in office because he's just gonna flush them all down the toilet. So I think you know he's either gonna get assassinated. It's gonna be the first president and you know since or an assassination attempt since Reagan and that, or he's just gonna mysteriously die of some kind of heart disease or something. He's gonna get poisoned, or you know what I mean. Something's gonna happen. I'm worried, you know.

Speaker 1: 17:04

It's funny, though, is If you notice how much a Person that becomes president and is in their present, how much they age From the beginning of their presidency till the end. So if a president Runs for four years, see ages you can tell. You can see it. Clinton, obama, bush wasn't as bad. I don't think W Bush, nixon, he aged a lot, but you know that he did. He had eight years. But so when they do the two terms man, you see a big time Obama. He had a full head of black hair. By the end of it was full white and he just looked like he didn't look too good. And I mean the clone that is Biden. I don't know, I don't think it's the original Biden, that was a senator, I don't know who knows. See that. Or he had just a buttload of plastic surgery.

Speaker 1: 18:21

But the only president that didn't age granted, it was only four years, but still presidents age in the four it was Trump, like he didn't age at all man, because he has been Fighting people, making deals, doing Stressful things and whatever since, you know, since he was like in his 20s doing real estate deals and doing whatever. So the presidency is like nothing for him. You know what I mean. And look at he's been, he's. He's not even president and he's still Fighting and getting crap like he is president. You know what I mean. It's like he's still secretly the president in a way.

Speaker 1: 19:01

It's insane and I just think it's kind of funny and it just kind of shows that, see, there's just certain people I think that are natural leaders. Trump is a natural leader. Okay, he's born to be a leader and that's just the way it is, you know, and a lot of times, people that are the best leaders are kind of assholes. Look at Patton, look at what's his notes I will be back. Macarthur, you know they're all kind of arrogant assholes and um, and that's just. You know, because you got to make sometimes you got to make hard decisions. You got to make hard decisions and that's why you kind of need to have that kind of president. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 19:57

That was one of the reasons I voted for him that, in fact, that he wasn't a politician or isn't a politician, I mean, he is now. I guess I hit a key on my keyboard and it stopped recording. So I was blabbing for not too long, but I noticed that it wasn't recording Anyway. So, yeah, so Trump, you know he's like the only president that did not become more wealthy during his presidency. Every president walks out of their presidency with a higher net worth than they were when they went in. It's just look it up, it's fact. So that's you know. That's one of the reasons I voted for him. I can't remember if I already said this just now, but you know, him not being a politician, him already being wealthy and him being like a hard ass were the reasons I voted for him.

Speaker 1: 20:55

You know, a president needs to make hard decisions, tough decisions. I mean look at Obama. He had the most UAV airstrikes than any president, killed a lot of civilians, and I think that weighed on him and that's why he aged as much. One of the reasons he aged as much as he did because he just, you know he was good Obama was, you know, he was very eloquent, he was very charismatic, and but that's kind of about it, though. You know he I think he's the same thing that Biden is, but he was just a better puppet. And so, you know, you got to have a president that is willing to make those tough decisions. You got to have a president that's kind of an asshole, an arrogant asshole. You know I I talked about it before.

Speaker 1: 21:43

I don't know if it was, if it's on one of my episodes, that's available but I had a platoon sergeant that came in because we are platoon sergeant we had the first time I was in Iraq Wait, was it the first time? Yeah, it was the first time and a platoon sergeant. He came in and covered down on our platoon to be our platoon sergeant. This was for like the last two months of our deployment, but I remember the first, when we first got to Iraq was in the green zone and we were in this palace area and we had commandeered a nice palace house building for our company, which we ended up moving not long after. But we were there for maybe a week or something and the bathroom was just, if any of you know. You know the shitter is just 50 gallon drums cut in half, the piece of wood put on it with a hole, and you shit on it and then somebody ends up getting the shit detail burning it which I've done before, which sucked.

Speaker 1: 22:43

If you've seen Jarhead, there you go, or even platoon, they kind of show it too. But anyway, I remember sitting in this bathroom. There's two toilets. I was sitting on one and all of a sudden I think his name was Davis, sergeant Davis comes in and sit. There's no partition, there's no nothing.

Speaker 1: 23:05

So you're sitting there shitting right next to somebody you know and at this point in time I'm like a PFC, private first class or something, and he's a platoon sergeant with a reputation and he's kind of, you know, boisterous and whatever. And we talked a little bit, but it wasn't much, but it was one of the most uncomfortable situations I had and you know, a year later about he ends up becoming our platoon sergeant and I was like, oh my God, this is going to suck, but in fact was awesome. He took no shit. They tried to give our platoon shit details. He was like, no, fuck that, what are you doing that? We'll do this, we'll do that. Like it was the best. I was like, dude, he is awesome, he was great, I mean.

Speaker 1: 23:51

Part of it, I think, was because he was going to retire. So he was like fuck it. But you know I had heard that he was. You know he didn't he, he, he watched out for his own. You know what I mean, and that's that's how I see Trump. That's why I like Trump. So, anyway, that's it. My time is up. I hope you all learned something, enjoyed it, whatever I don't know. But thanks for listening and I'll see you guys next time. Bye, bye.