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[00:00:00] Okay. Meanwhile, [00:00:02] in cultural news, Kanye West has now [00:00:04] apologized for his anti-semitism in a [00:00:07] full page ad in the Wall Street Journal, [00:00:11] he he basically says what we all [00:00:13] suspected about Kanye and almost ripped [00:00:15] up and down for saying it at the time, [00:00:16] which is that he suffers from bipolar [00:00:18] disorder. And because he's bipolar, he [00:00:19] says crazy things. And when he's on a [00:00:21] manic high, he says things and he can't [00:00:23] be stopped. This has always been my take [00:00:25] on Kanye West anti-semitism. doesn't [00:00:27] justify the anti-semitism, but his [00:00:29] anti-semitism and and his craziness is [00:00:31] significantly more justifiable than that [00:00:33] of his sane followers, people who are [00:00:35] not bipolar, who have decided to follow [00:00:37] him down that primrose path because they [00:00:39] see the clicks and the giggles and all [00:00:40] of it. [00:00:42] Again, whether you choose to forgive [00:00:44] somebody for their actions or not is up [00:00:47] to you. Certainly, I've always felt that [00:00:50] that Kanye West's mental illness, [00:00:53] knowing people who are schizophrenic, [00:00:55] knowing people who are bipolar, when [00:00:57] people are in the throws of this mental [00:00:59] illness, they say and do things that are [00:01:01] are truly unjustifiable, even by them. [00:01:05] That is just a reality of life. And [00:01:07] recognizing that truth doesn't obiate [00:01:09] fighting anti-semitism, obviously. But [00:01:11] again, I actually blame Kanye West a lot [00:01:13] less than all the people who decided to [00:01:14] host him on their podcast and treat him [00:01:16] as a sane and rational human being or [00:01:18] chop out sections of his schizophrenic [00:01:20] nonsense in order to make him appear [00:01:22] more rational to a broader population so [00:01:24] that when he actually started spewing [00:01:26] his Nazi trash, this suddenly seemed [00:01:29] legitimate alongside all of his other [00:01:31] commentary or all the people who decided [00:01:32] that that he had now opened the Overton [00:01:34] window to Nazism enough that they were [00:01:36] then going to capitalize. I blame those [00:01:37] people much more than I blame a bipolar [00:01:39] man who has always suffered with [00:01:42] significant psychic breaks. [00:01:45] Again, I think Kanye is less to blame [00:01:46] for this than a lot of the people [00:01:47] surrounding Kanye, for sure, who [00:01:49] continued to make money off of him and [00:01:50] make clicks off of him and all of the [00:01:52] rest. His statement in the Wall Street [00:01:54] Journal, he says, "Bipolar disorder [00:01:57] comes with its own defense system [00:01:58] denial. When you're manic, you don't [00:02:00] think you're sick. You think everyone [00:02:01] else is overreacting. You feel like [00:02:02] you're seeing the world more clearly [00:02:03] than ever. When in reality, you're [00:02:05] losing your grip entirely. Once people [00:02:07] label you as crazy, you feel as if you [00:02:08] cannot contribute anything meaningful to [00:02:10] the world. It's easy for people to joke [00:02:11] and laugh it off. When in fact, it's a [00:02:13] very serious, debilitating disease you [00:02:15] can die from. According to the WHO in [00:02:17] Cambridge University, people with [00:02:18] bipolar disorder have a life expectancy [00:02:20] shortened by 10 to 15 years on average [00:02:22] and a two to three times higher all-c [00:02:23] cause mortality rate than the general [00:02:25] population. [00:02:27] Said, "The scariest thing about this [00:02:28] disorder is how persuasive it is when it [00:02:30] tells you you don't need help. It makes [00:02:31] you blind, but you're convinced you have [00:02:32] insight. You feel powerful, certain, and [00:02:34] unstoppable. I lost touch with reality. [00:02:36] Things got worse the longer I ignored [00:02:38] the problem. I said and did things I [00:02:40] deeply regret. Some of the people I love [00:02:41] the most, I treated the worst. You [00:02:42] endured fear, confusion, humiliation, [00:02:44] and the exhaustion of trying to love [00:02:46] someone who was at times unrecognizable. [00:02:47] Looking back, I became detached from my [00:02:49] true self. In that fractured state, I [00:02:51] gravitated toward the most destructive [00:02:53] symbol I could find, the swastika, and [00:02:54] even sold t-shirts bearing it. One of [00:02:56] the difficult aspects of having bipolar [00:02:58] type 1 are the disconnected moments, [00:03:00] many of which I still cannot recall, [00:03:01] that lead to poor judgment and reckless [00:03:03] behavior that often times feels like an [00:03:05] out-of- body experience. I regret and am [00:03:07] deeply mortified by my actions in that [00:03:08] state and I'm committed to [00:03:10] accountability, treatment, and [00:03:11] meaningful change. It does not excuse [00:03:13] what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or [00:03:14] anti-semit. I love Jewish people. Again, [00:03:18] bipolar people are bipolar and and [00:03:21] recognizing that reality means that yes, [00:03:23] we should have sympathy for them. I have [00:03:26] zero sympathy for the people who decided [00:03:28] that the worst excesses in which Kanye [00:03:30] West was engaging were somehow [00:03:33] justifiable or good or brilliant [00:03:35] insights. Those people being sane, [00:03:38] cynical, and disgusting. That's the part [00:03:40] that is truly egregious and [00:03:43] unforgivable. Not the ramblings of [00:03:45] somebody who clearly has a mental [00:03:46] disorder and who has admitted as much. [00:03:48] Some of us said this at the time several [00:03:50] years ago. I will point out it's [00:03:52] sometimes difficult to get sleep. You [00:03:54] know, there are a lot of stresses in [00:03:55] life, but you need sleep if you're going [00:03:56] to be there for your family, for your [00:03:58] job, for all the things that are [00:03:59] actually important. Well, that means you [00:04:01] need the right mattress. And finding the [00:04:02] right mattress doesn't have to be [00:04:03] complicated. 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I [00:05:09] don't know why Democrats have decided [00:05:10] that their response to Joe Rogan is an [00:05:12] obnoxious white lady who just says crazy [00:05:14] It's confusing to me. So Jennifer [00:05:16] Welch is apparently the the hot new [00:05:20] thing. I guess hold is Jennifer Welch. I [00:05:23] don't think that any of those [00:05:24] descriptors actually apply. In any case, [00:05:27] here she was yesterday suggesting that [00:05:28] white evangelical Christianity is a [00:05:30] cancer. White evangelical Christianity [00:05:34] is a cancer. These are the worst of our [00:05:39] country. These are the worst people in [00:05:41] our country because they use their [00:05:43] religion in two ways. as a weapon and as [00:05:46] a shield. They weaponize it whenever [00:05:48] they want to and say, "We're on the [00:05:50] moral high ground. You're a lesbian. You [00:05:52] deserve to die. You're a lesbian. The [00:05:54] cops shouldn't have uh revived you. Oh, [00:05:57] your parents are Mexicans and they [00:05:59] brought you over here. Yeah, you should [00:06:01] go to jail and eat worm food." And then [00:06:04] when you call them out on it, oh my god, [00:06:07] they're after the Christians. How dare [00:06:10] they? How dare they? We're so oppressed. [00:06:13] White Christians are so oppressed in [00:06:15] this country. [00:06:16] >> God, these obnoxious. Okay, this is a [00:06:18] great way to win back. Great job, [00:06:19] Democrats. Really excellent stuff. That [00:06:21] that that seems very very rational and [00:06:24] and well articulated. If this is the [00:06:26] direction Democrats want to go, if this [00:06:28] is their their response, which is to I [00:06:30] guess drive harder into the wine [00:06:32] non-moms with this sort of uh with this [00:06:35] sort of appeal, good luck to them. Okay. [00:06:37] Okay, on the economic front, meanwhile, [00:06:40] it turns out that Obamacare is a giant [00:06:42] fail. So, brand new article from the [00:06:45] Wall Street Journal points out that [00:06:47] Obamacare has actually now started to [00:06:49] cost people more than their mortgage. [00:06:52] According to the Wall Street Journal, [00:06:53] millions of Americans are starting to [00:06:54] see their monthly health insurance bills [00:06:56] rise, a new pressure point for a nation [00:06:58] still frustrated with the high cost of [00:06:59] living. Expanded subsidies again for [00:07:01] Obamacare expired on December 31st. Now, [00:07:04] those newly calculated insurance bills [00:07:06] are coming due. Americans are having to [00:07:08] figure out how to pay up or go without. [00:07:11] So Lenny and Mandy Wilson, who are 47 [00:07:12] and live in Charleston, West Virginia, [00:07:14] paid 255 bucks a month last year for a [00:07:16] low-end ACA plan. Last year, they [00:07:19] learned their bill would be going up to [00:07:20] $2,155 [00:07:22] a month. That is a sum nearly triple [00:07:24] their monthly mortgage payment. So great [00:07:26] job Obamacare again, which continues to [00:07:28] have to survive on the basis of federal [00:07:30] subsidies and taxpayer dollars, gigantic [00:07:33] infusions of taxpayer dollars. [00:07:36] Now, will that blow back on Republicans? [00:07:38] Again, this is the beauty of Democratic [00:07:39] programs. When you fail, you simply [00:07:41] blame lack of spending on the [00:07:42] Republicans, which is why you've seen [00:07:45] some Republicans in moderate states call [00:07:47] for a temporary revision of the [00:07:49] subsidies, at least for a year or two, [00:07:51] while other measures are implemented [00:07:52] that bring down costs. That's sort of [00:07:54] the transitional plan here. Suffice it [00:07:57] to say, as always, democratic subsidized [00:08:00] programs end up costing people a [00:08:02] gigantic sum of money. And the only way [00:08:03] out of it is is further subsidization. [00:08:07] That is the only way. [00:08:09] No wonder then that voters feel less and [00:08:13] less secure. [00:08:14] According to a brand new New York Times [00:08:16] Sienna poll asked what they feel is [00:08:19] affordable. It's sort of fascinating. [00:08:22] All of the areas that are most [00:08:24] subsidized by the government are the [00:08:25] areas that are least affordable [00:08:26] according to Americans. That is not a [00:08:28] coincidence because every area of [00:08:30] American life subsidized by the [00:08:32] government, the price has gone up [00:08:33] radically. Education, 58% say [00:08:35] unaffordable. Housing largely subsidized [00:08:38] by the government, 54% say unaffordable. [00:08:41] Healthcare subsidized by the government, [00:08:43] 47% say unaffordable. [00:08:46] When you get to say groceries, 28% say [00:08:49] unaffordable. [00:08:51] Which again, groceries are up because of [00:08:53] inflation, but groceries are plentiful [00:08:55] and you can still get them. And again, [00:08:59] compared to the the sort of cost of food [00:09:02] historically, you can get a lot even [00:09:04] though the the prices are really really [00:09:06] inflated. Transportation, 22% say [00:09:09] unaffordable, [00:09:10] as opposed to 47% who say somewhat [00:09:13] affordable and 28% who say mostly [00:09:15] affordable. So the pressures are all in [00:09:18] the areas that the government has stuck [00:09:19] its grubby fingers into. And the [00:09:21] Democratic solution as always, and this [00:09:23] is the mistake that you see Republicans [00:09:24] making, too, is that government solves [00:09:26] that problem. Government does not solve [00:09:27] that problem. Government creates that [00:09:29] problem. Have a transitional plan to get [00:09:32] the government out of these programs. [00:09:34] Stop in the name of love. Did you like [00:09:36] this clip? Well, you can view more clips [00:09:38] like it by subscribing to the new Ben [00:09:40] Shapiro clips channel down below.