“Let Them Take Out LA?” A Botched Execution, a Cockpit Axe and the Cornell 7:

Tuesday night, October 6. Four guys, four lanes, one shaky Vegas internet connection. Mike Bara hosts from Las Vegas with Dr. Brooks Agnew, “Trail Boss” Steve Doran live from his Arkansas porch with a cigar and the wild boar watch, and yours truly sipping Trail Boss whiskey. The president says “let them take out Los Angeles” at a rally, Tennessee somehow fails to execute a death-row inmate twice, the Army finally sets a firing squad date for the Fort Hood shooter, a co-pilot swings a crash axe in a cockpit headed to Tel Aviv, and the Cornell 7 case lands in the special prosecutor’s lap.

Welcome to Toxically Masculine Tuesday. Each guy’s opinions are his own. This is a roundtable, not a party line, and we do argue. Going after named attackers and ideologies is not a verdict on any religion or people as a class. Allegations aren’t convictions. I date theories. I don’t marry them.

Topics on This Episode of Toxically Masculine Tuesday:

• RIP Barkley. Mike opens with a tribute to his dog, who was put down last week, and thanks everyone who reached out.
• “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” Trump’s Nebraska rally line about Iran and gas prices. Was it a joke, a gaffe, or a clumsy pitch for the war? The White House says he meant a nuclear Iran would have threatened U.S. cities. The panel splits on gas prices: oil companies gouging, war cost, or both?
• Midterm polls vs. reality. Even CNN warns that Midwest polls have underestimated the GOP before. Then everybody puts their reputation on a call for November. I say Democrats win on low turnout and a disillusioned base. Not everyone agrees.
• Quick tour of European unrest: Ireland, France, the UK.
• Christa Pike survives Tennessee’s lethal injection, two doses of it. How does that even happen? Firing squads, catheters vs. needles, and the death penalty debate. The cause of the failure has not been officially determined. Tennessee has paused executions and ordered a review.
• Nidal Hasan, the 2009 Fort Hood shooter, is set for an Army firing squad on Dec. 3. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961. Volunteers, Gary Gilmore memories, and why it took this long.
• FlyDubai Flight 1073: the co-pilot attacked his captain with the cockpit crash axe and put the jet into a dive before he was subdued. The WSJ reports Oman had already pulled him from flying over radical views. I ask how a security failure like this happens during a war. The panel answers with airframe engineering. My questions are questions, not claims. No evidence of a staged event has been presented.
• The Cornell 7: earlier statements vs. the new civil lawsuit, New York’s intoxication-and-consent law, and a special prosecutor. Steve weighs in as a former cop. No one has been criminally charged. All seven deny wrongdoing. The allegations are unproven in any court.

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:51 Welcome & Roll Call: Mike Bara, Brooks Agnew, Blake Walley, Steve Doran
• 04:13 Farewell to Barkley: Mike’s Tribute
• 06:44 “Let Them Take Out LA”: Trump’s Rally Clip
• 09:08 Joke or Gaffe? Gas Prices, Oil Companies & the Iran War
• 12:29 Polls vs. Reality: CNN’s Midwest Polling-Miss Warning
• 18:20 Midterm Calls: Stake Your Reputation
• 21:04 Europe on Edge: Ireland, France, UK
• 22:55 Christa Pike Survives a Botched Lethal Injection
• 29:16 Nidal Hasan: Firing Squad Set for Fort Hood Shooter
• 34:51 FlyDubai Flight 1073: Axe Attack in the Cockpit
• 39:04 Axe, Not Knife: Panel Corrects the TV Coverage
• 41:52 Blake’s Questions: How Did Security Fail?
• 43:57 Pushback: Airframe Stress & the 737 MAX Tail
• 45:05 Signal Gremlins
• 45:43 The Cornell 7: Statements, Consent Law & a Special Prosecutor
• 51:04 The Ex-Cop’s Take: Steve Doran
• 55:36 Early Sign-Off

Sources

Episode VOD: YouTube (Mike Bara 333)

Trump “take out LA / San Diego”: FactCheck.org · PolitiFact · Snopes (White House: he meant a nuclear Iran would have threatened U.S. cities)

Christa Pike: AP · BBC (cause of the failure not officially determined)

Nidal Hasan: Army.mil · AP

FlyDubai 1073: WSJ · Arab News

Cornell 7: TIME · NY Post (no criminal charges; civil suit pending; defendants deny wrongdoing)

About The Author

Blake Walley

Blake Walley is a writer, reporter and producer. An idealist and truth-seeker obsessed with the future. A new media trailblazer and outside-the box-thinker. Former Las Vegas bartender influenced by Gonzo journalism. Inspired, eccentric, and always up for a challenge. Blake has been making waves for over 10 years with his original analysis and creative style.

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