[00:00:04] Broadcasting live from atop the Rocky Mountains, the crossroads of the West, you are listening to the Liberty Roundtable Radio Talk Show. Happy to have you along, my fellow Americans. Flamin' Hot is the name of a movie. We're talking about Cheetos, we're talking about TikTok, we're talking about all kinds of interesting tidbits on your radio, ladies and gentlemen, happy to have you along.
[00:00:28] So have you seen the movie Flamin' Hot before? 2023, tells the story of Richard Montez. He started as a janitor or whatever and couldn't really get a job, he was kind of in the hood. Anyway, got out of that, eventually became promoted to senior marketing leadership and everything else, it was about Cheetos. And anyway, the story, as far as I've been told, isn't perfectly told. But it's a fun movie to watch and it does highlight what grit can do for you, for sure.
[00:00:57] And the reason that I bring it up is because alongside that kind of promotion, everybody loves hot Cheetos and hot stuff, right? All right, well now you think of TikTok and you think of the company called Crumble. You know they're the cookie company, right? Now it's called TikTok's Taste Test Tornado. Yeah, TikTok has a tornado taste test, I guess it is. You can go look this up, Liz, if you're a TikToker. And you can check this out.
[00:01:27] Crumble's, they call it the Flamin' Hot Cheetos Cookie. Yeah, this thing ignites flavor frenzy on TikTok. It's crazy town. Crumble's latest innovation, folks. They call it the Flamin' Lime Crunch Cookie. All right? It's inspired by Flamin' Hot Cheetos. That's why I bring up Richard in the movie and all that kind of stuff, right?
[00:01:55] It has TikTok users in a whirlwind of debate about if it's good, if it's not, if it's... Some people are saying it makes me want to puke. Who put this together? Some people are saying, I didn't think this was going to be good, but it's better than I thought. Some people are saying this is phenomenal. Yeah, what is this thing? They say this daring dessert combines a lime sugar cookie. Sounds pretty good, right? But then they add to the top of it spicy cheese crisps toppings.
[00:02:26] And it's really dividing TikTok into lovers and haters. While some claim it's a unique blend of sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors, others say it's a bridge too far. It's just too much for the cookie aisle, you know? As reaction videos go viral, the controversy only adds to the curiosity, making it a must try.
[00:02:54] But now people are saying the cookie's not available anymore. So I don't know if it's over, if you can get one. I don't know, but somebody needs to check it out. Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this. This is important, people. Anyway, it's interesting. I don't know if it's good or not. I haven't tried it, but I find it interesting about it in the world of entertainment, TikTok, whatever. So now we're not even talking about getting rid of TikTok in America.
[00:03:23] That's not even on the table, right? Whatever happened to TikTok and Donald and shutting it down in the United States? Have you even heard a word about that? Right? I don't even know how to respond to this. So it was a law, right? Passed by Congress, right? And Trump just said, no, hold off. I'm going to negotiate this thing.
[00:03:51] And then the time frame came and the time frame came and the time frame came and nothing happened, right? And now I have no idea what's happened to it. Do you? TikTok did not end up shutting down permanently in the United States. It eventually turned into a, quote, forced restructuring rather than a, quote, lasting ban.
[00:04:16] Congress passed the 24 law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, to a vest of its U.S. operation or face a ban. The Supreme Court then upheld the law. TikTok actually went dark for a teeny bit. Then Trump saved it. Then Trump repeatedly delayed it while the negotiation happened. The results came in.
[00:04:42] January 26, TikTok established a new U.S. joint entity that is majority owned by American and allied investors. Oracle, Silver Lake, and others are major investors. Now, I guess the ByteDance folks have a 19.9% minority stakeholdership.
[00:05:12] So as of August 3, 2026, it's operating normally in the United States and it's not scheduled to shut down anymore. There's still controversy because critics are saying, hey, we still have source code being held by ByteDance, which creates national security concerns. Yeah. So who knows what's going on with that thing? But Donald diverted all that. The question is, does the government own any of it?
[00:05:41] That's the next question. I'd have to research all that. Anyway, enough of that. Speaking of that, the Senate now cuts a deal to keep the government open through December the 11th. Okay. So they're going to keep it open through December the 11th. But then what? They're going to debate this right before Christmas like they always do. Then they're going to just load that sucker up with pork and pass it and go home for Christmas. Sell us all out after the November elections and go home for Christmas. It's a disgrace, folks. Don't let them do it.
[00:06:10] But yeah, they say the bipartisan Senate plan, and it's called a continuing resolution, right? Extends existing agency funding. It also adds President Donald Trump administration requests, including money for security and other priorities. So pretty vague, right? The House already passed a, quote, different funding bill on July 21st.
[00:06:35] And then they already went home for their August recess until August 31st. Think about that. They went home on July 21st. And now they're going to be gone until August 31st. These clowns are literally taking a month off after they've been on just so many vacations. It's not even funny. Plus, they took time off when the shutdown happened and they took time off. I mean, these people never work for us. I think there ought to be a class action lawsuit against the whole of Congress over this.
[00:07:04] This is insane. I think it should be led by the President of the United States. Donald, you want to do something good with the people? Sue Congress. Create a class action lawsuit led by the President of the United States defending we the people. And sue Congress and say, you clowns are on vacation more than you work. You guys have all so many reasons to get out of work. It's not even funny. And we the people can't take it anymore. So the House passes a different funding bill from the Senate. The House leaves and goes home for a month.
[00:07:34] Because the Senate bill now differs from the House bill, this isn't even ready for Trump's signature, folks. That's right. The chambers must ultimately pass identical legislation before it can go to the President. So it's not even ready for Trump, folks. Current funding expires September 30th. So they got a while. They'll come back and they'll talk about it. It'll be heavy in the news.
[00:08:04] They'll say we're up against the deadline. The government's about to shut down. You've heard this over and over and over your whole life, haven't you? By golly, the government's going to melt down. We're going to avert a crisis. And then they load that sucker with pork until the cows come home, pass it, sell us down the river, kick the can down the road. It's a disgrace. Yeah. The House bails, man. See, we the people ought to not stand for that. You work for us.
[00:08:34] And I'm telling you right now, you're not going to be on vacation all the time. All right? Anyway, it's a sad deal. And I don't know what's going to happen here, but I know this. In September, they're going to wait until the last minute. It's going to be a big old fiasco. They're going to pass it. Then in December, they're going to be facing the same thing. They'll get through the election cycle. Donald will probably lose because he won't take any of my advice or anybody else's advice to go ahead and do something significant before the elections.
[00:09:01] He'll just, you know, whittle away and complain and lose more support and everything else. And then come Christmas, they'll say, oh, my gosh, we've got to solve this before we take our Christmas holiday, right? And they do this over and over. And why we the people stand for it, I don't know. But I'm telling you this. If they pass this September by September the 30th, that's right before the October surprise time frame and right before the elections, folks.
[00:09:25] And if your legislator goes on vacation and then comes back and passes this full of pork, you need to make them pay at the polls. I don't mean any physical threats, folks. Don't even go there. That's clown show stuff, okay? I'm talking about we politely say you're not going to represent us in Congress because you are derelict in your duty. You're on vacation all the time. You pass bills full of pork. You kick the can down the road. Instead of being fiscally responsible, you need to go.
[00:09:52] We're not going to have you at Christmas time going ahead and kicking the can down the road because you have to before Christmas. The same old, same old, same old. The Republicans promised a different plan. They have not. I'm going to say it again. They have not. I'm going to say it a third time. They have not delivered on the promise. Do you see them spending a lot less money? I don't.
[00:10:19] They just passed a one point whatever $2 trillion fiasco funding for military so we can continue the military industrial complex and continue war. That's all we've done. Well, now we're going to talk about war, shall we? Trump says U.S.-Iran talks are starting. But you know what Iran says? No, they're not. You're not even at the table. It's a fact. We'll talk about it. I'm Sam Bushman.
[00:10:46] This is the one and only Liberty RoundTable Podcast. Bypass the mainstream narrative with Liberty News Radio at LibertyNewsRadio.com. Engage with charismatic hosts live or on demand. We cover the crucial news focused on God, family, and country. News that other networks simply refuse to use.
[00:11:14] Think of LNR as hard-hitting news and podcasts at your fingertips anytime, anywhere. Join us at LibertyNewsRadio.com. Empower your day with the truth because the truth will set you free. LibertyNewsRadio.com. Abby Johnson was once director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas. After a moral crisis, she quit and now she campaigns against what she once endorsed. They implement abortion quotas in all of their clinics. What do you mean, quotas? You have to perform a certain number of abortions every month.
[00:11:44] One of the reasons that I left... Are they explicit about that? Yes. It's in your budget. Right there on the line item. One of the reasons I left Planned Parenthood was because in a budget meeting I was told to double that abortion quota. And for me, as someone who had spoken to the media and had said, you know, we're about reducing the number of abortions. We're about, you know, prevention, all these other services. I was shocked.
[00:12:08] So since you actually worked at a Planned Parenthood, give us some sense of the relative number of abortions. Okay. Abortions, Planned Parenthood provides over 330,000 abortions a year. They are the largest single abortion provider in our country. All right. So this is a very strange story.
[00:12:35] You better not miss the nuances of this piece, ladies and gentlemen. Listen to me carefully. I'm going to break it down for you. Headline. Trump says U.S.-Iran talks are starting again. So we got war bombing on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off. Donald, you know, says something to annihilate them. Then he backs off, backs off, backs off, backs off. Same thing. Are we at war? Are we not? What are we doing? Don't know. Congress doesn't know. Congress confused. Congress trying to rein in Donald.
[00:13:03] But the way he's playing the game, it's very hard to because he doesn't cross the 60 day deadline or whatever that is because you always start and stop and start and stop and whatever. It's very, very confusing to say the least. Right. But now Trump's saying, hey, don't worry. I've kind of pulled back. Why? Because foreign leaders that are our friends have asked me to, he says. These are the foreign leaders that wouldn't go along with you in the war that you criticized, Donald? Those guys? Yeah. So Trump says U.S.-Iran talks are starting.
[00:13:32] But Iran highlights that the U.S. is not at the negotiating table. So let me get this right. The talks start, but Donald's been kicked out of the talks temporarily, permanently. I don't know. President Trump says that he called off planned U.S. strikes because negotiations with Iran begin Monday. I guess that's true, right?
[00:13:59] But Iran is claiming that, well, no negotiations are happening with the United States and none are scheduled. So that's interesting, right? Well, instead, Iran says that it's negotiating with Oman. Is that how you say it? Or Oman? O-M-A-N. I guess it's Oman. Oman. I'm just saying.
[00:14:29] Anyway, it's Oman. Oman. Over management and shipping passage to the Straits of Hermos. Reuters. Reuters. One of the most credible international news reporting services we have is reporting that Tehran's foreign minister is in Iraq. And that a senior source says no talks are happening with the United States.
[00:14:56] That creates, ladies and gentlemen, in my view, a striking diplomatic picture. Washington. Washington. Washington. President Trump. The Trump administration. Whatever you want to call it. The leader of the free world. is not currently at the negotiating table. While other regional governments are directly engaged with Tehran. Iran.
[00:15:25] Now, on one hand, you can say that's a snafu to the oomph degree. The United States, the principal military power involved in the confrontation is outside of the talks that Iran publicly acknowledges that are occurring. That is huge, folks. Okay? Because it really gives Iran power.
[00:15:50] If they hold out long enough, they can eventually dismiss America from the discussion. That's a potentially significant diplomatic win for Iran, ladies and gentlemen. Don't pretend for one second that it's not. Now, Tehran can demonstrate that regional governments are willing to negotiate directly. Which means, who's the warmonger now?
[00:16:15] If we dismiss you, Donald, and get your war faction out of there, you and Ben, Benjamin Netanyahu, who can get you clowns out of here, and we can peacefully negotiate. See, these other countries didn't really want to go along with Trump in the war. Trump criticized them. Now he turns over the negotiations to them. So Iran says, see, we're not the warmongers. It's the U.S. and Israel. The other countries didn't get involved in the war either, and now they're having diplomatic relations, and Trump has been isolated.
[00:16:41] It's also potentially important for Oman to realize that Iraq and other countries who have remained outside the war, they're the ones they're willing to talk to. Rather than Washington exclusively determining what happens, these other countries are able to kind of negotiate here.
[00:17:11] Right? What is the diplomatic process? Right? Trump could still enter talks later. I'm not saying for sure that Trump won't be involved at some point. But rather than Washington exclusively determining the diplomatic process, regional governance may be emerging as the channel for de-escalation
[00:17:40] and negotiations over the Strait of Hermos. Now, here's what's interesting about this. I can criticize Trump and say, hey, it's, you know, bad news for America. And on the national stage, it very well could be taken that way. And I'm sure a lot of people around the world are looking at it that way. Make no mistake about that. However, this could be brilliance on the part of Donald. Listen carefully. This could be brilliance on the part of President Donald J. Trump.
[00:18:10] So I'm not just attacking Trump. I'm saying you can look at it the way I just highlighted it, and it is a big concern. On the other hand, Trump has said, look, your regional governments need to handle this. You guys are closest to it. You guys need to step up with money. You guys need to step up with warriors. You guys need to. And so Trump could be intentionally dismissing himself from these talks. Or creating an environment where they dismiss him and he smiles and says, okay.
[00:18:40] So on the surface, if you don't know what's going on, it looks bad for us. But really, it's an effort for Donald Trump to force those people to take the lead. And if they get negotiations done successfully, then they're starting to manage their own affairs, right? And if they can manage their own affairs, we can back out of that region entirely and save face. And if they don't negotiate it successfully, then Trump can say, see, nobody can work with these hostile clowns. And now you guys have to take the lead in the war.
[00:19:10] So this could be absolute a stroke of genius on the part of President Donald J. Trump. You see, folks, people think I'm here to criticize President Trump and down him at all turns. That's false. It's absolutely not true. The United States, the principal military power involved in the negotiations and the war is setting aside leadership and saying,
[00:19:36] hey, let's let these guys from across the pond that are a lot closer to it negotiate the deal, right? Okay. These countries that have remained outside the war now, once they start negotiating diplomatically, if it goes well, they can do well. Trump can step out, though, and go, hey, these guys are doing such a great job. I've taught them how to negotiate. And now they're doing it. They're doing it. They're successfully following the art of the deal. I taught them how, and they're getting her done. I can back out and let them do it.
[00:20:07] I'm not a world bully. I'm a good guy. And if it goes bad, then Trump can say, see, nobody can work with these guys. A striking diplomatic picture might have an interesting twist that you all haven't thought of, right? So, you know, the principal leaders outside the talks. That may be by design. Right?
[00:20:31] Rather than Washington exclusively determining the diplomatic process, regional governments may be emerging as the immediate channel for de-escalation and negotiations over Hormuz. That could be a stroke of genius by Donald. Don't think it can't. Anyway, I wanted to just lay that out because you can look at it that way. And I know everybody's going to jump on it and say, see, Donald's a clown.
[00:21:00] Don't think so fast. That's true. Think a little more strategic. Think about this chess that we always talk about that Donald Trump plays. He's many moves ahead of the other guys. This could be one of those examples. It really, really could. Trump just says, hey, I'm going to step out here. You guys handle it. If they do great, he can go. See, regional governments are capable. And I'm the one that helped them learn how to do it. I'm going to go down in history as the guy that taught the world how to play peaceful. You know, somehow, sometimes you have to kind of bomb them into submission.
[00:21:29] Now they're a little bit softened up and humble. And now we'll have talks and turn it over to them. Great. Great. And then if it doesn't go well, all you got to do is just be like, I told you these guys, you can't work with them, man. They're bad guys. They're just evil terrorists. It doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter who says it, says it. Right? Anyway, interesting. All right. Before the end of the hour, I got to get to this story because I find this fascinating. It's kind of scary, too. Child's play or early gambling is the question mark. Right?
[00:22:00] Experts are now comparing this Roblox. Do you have your kids play Roblox gaming stuff, Liz? I don't know about this thing. Is that what it's called? Roblox? R-O-B-O-X. Roblox. Anyway, whatever that thing is. They're saying that it, well, the Roblox mechanics are compared to gambling addiction.
[00:22:30] Concerns are rising as Roblox, a popular children's game platform known for its engaging build and explore models. They have, well, they have casino-like mechanics that they're under scrutiny for now. They say experts could prime young users to be future gamblers. The Atlantic has the details in this thing. It highlights features.
[00:22:59] Like loot boxes, limited drop events, they say which resemble gambling techniques. Alarmingly, parents and researchers are observing the behavior. It's akin to an addiction in children and games that have these elements.
[00:23:21] Raising significant questions about the impact on their, quote, psychological development and eventual future behaviors. It's like, wow. Think about that. So you got TikTok that's scary because, man, it could, you know, be backed by the communist Chinese. Don't worry. Americans are involved in the ownership now. We half stole the company from the communist Chinese to save face. Let it roll in America just fine. Don't worry about the addictive behavior as long as the Americans are getting in on that, right?
[00:23:50] Then you have this Roblox company training children to gamble. It's like first shooter video games too, right? They train people to shoot. They train people to gamble. What's happening in our society? You as parents need to keep a finger on this, a thumb on the pulse of what's happening, and make sure this doesn't happen to your children. Whether it's a first shooter game, whether it's TikTok addictions by the communist Chinese, now backed by Americans, or whether it's Roblox.
[00:24:15] And the gambling behaviors and techniques that are inculcated into your children's brains, signing them up for addiction. Addictive foods, addictive games, addictive everything. We better beware because AI is addictive too if you're not very careful. All right. Just thought I'd bring that to your attention. I'm Sam Bushman, ladies and gentlemen. Check out our work at LibertyRoundTable.com on YouTube Rumble. We're everywhere, baby. Spread the word. Share the love. And God save our constitutional republic.