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Hey everyone here with David French senior writer for the National review we just felt the a video with David here of the prayer you offices and he is on his way to lax to catch a flight back to nashville and so we're gonna keep this Short sweet but we didn't want you guys to meet David today thanks for coming and thanks for having me so first question you just big piece on the rock in National review dwayne Johnson everyone's heard him and I'm a fan I was a fan back with them You know a wrestler is he conservative that's my big question of the deal with the rock well so that the the title of the pieces that rock it's a celebrity that we need and eat yes he's a registered Republican by the point isn't really politics It's the point is this is a guy who's doing celebrity right so another words what you know everybody who's I would say like my agent below is growing up to greater or lesser extent the rock and I've been spelling with the rock's been cooking for a long time I enjoy the people Elbow the people's eyebrow is the people's champion and now is the biggest star in the world maybe me just to give you since the scale he hasn't almost a hundred million more social media followers and all platforms then don't trump does and Comes the King of political social media uh so that's since the scale of the guys are basically with the pieces and says look this guy as I said it's doing he's doing it right how is he doing it right number one in a hyper politicized time When everyone is asking um asking celebrities to fight for social Justice or fight for this cause or that cause or to use their celebrity for some higher purpose what's really refreshing about the rock as he understands he's here to entertain It's okay to have fun and that's a that's one of the things that you know that we all love about Hollywood as we can have fun so sometimes you just gotta grab a mini gun from the ruins of a drone that you just shot down by Having an ambulance into it as he didn't furious seven pick up the mini gun and go shoot down an attack helicopter I just did that yesterday not for social Justice not for individual liberty and constitutional rights but because it's just cool to shoot down an attack helicopter With many guy that's okay that's fun to watch it's fun to see so he does the entertainment portion right in the second thing though is he's an unabashed patriot he he supports troops in the troops and veterans in a way that few celebrity Do I mean he really walks the walk on that everyone the interesting L elements of sort of the legend the rock is a tweeted out the news about some of the blogs death before anyone else knew before the President announced it before the news at least the major news media he knew I've been Latin was gone um because he has this incredible contacts in the military community in part because it's got family there and because of his service to the military over this years and he shows an enormous amount of gratitude fancies one of these few guys that in the face I've been buying this truck and he see the sign some young girls are showing please stop brock he'll stop will take pictures and he's always he seems to delight in the fans love him which a lot of celebrities kind of keep the fans at arms link it's a It's like the fans are bother even though they make all of their work possible and then the last thing is he has a message that's not political but it's partially edified you know if you listen to the rock says at any point time he's talking about like that gear that he sells and all this Uses this phrase blood sweat respect the first two you give the last one you earn and he's always talking about hard work you know one of the things that he talks about a lot is that he would he has for laundry night he had like seven bucks in this Fuck anyone from seven bucks to last Jerry main 65 65 million dollars and so his production companies even called seven bucks productions because of that so essentially what the point is let's not be begging our celebrities to be involved in Politics we've got few things that unite us in this country right now uh and in rock interestingly enough is one of them he's a guy who you know one of my friends the writer the federal list and tweet it out someone There's only two kinds of people in this world those on the doing training 20 20 and filthy terrorist so there's a conservative leader there's a real conservative love for it but then also buzz feed which no one would call conservative in this huge glowing profile of And we kinda need people that in this country that they're not polarizing and that's what that's the reason I said in a nut shell that he was a celebrity we need it was sold off a lot of fun to write about it I kinda have a P actually in rock allergy so I Qualified to write enjoy doing what he gets is that we go to the movies we turn on Tv to be entertained right as arrested for politics yeah it's okay to have fun it's okay go watch a movie and enjoy the movie and uh you know but the other Thing that was he does have a message you know the fast and furious maybe some of the things that a lot of people who don't watch all of them on opening life like I have every one of them opening night um they have an element that just pure escape in This one and this other element that's about family bonds in loyalty and friendship that's in incredibly touching that gives the series a part that if you just watch the Tv commercials about you and get that you know we can talk about the Call day we could launch of you like absolutely so only from rock G two pitch and social Justice yes I'm Super ugly yeah so as many people know the speech and cold supposed to get today She cancelled right especially after left monsters were able to successfully make it impossible for her to speak they're gonna so your thoughts is this just you know another bad example of a conservative not being allowed to speak at berkeley or any College or is this There a very very serious problem this kinda this kinda seems like a special cases well this is a serious problem in part because it's actually not a special case this is the third time there's been a cancellation berkeley because of threats of violence they're As miley and police were there was an actual riot and on the night of the right one person was arrested one we an unbelievable uh David whats had a speech cancel their and now in culture is face this and it's not just uc berkeley Yes yesterday in portland uh parade organizers cancel to pray because the nt fashions people are claiming there gonna rush the parade and drag the fashions that we're gonna be in the parade of the fall of their flip right where the past the County Republican happens that these are the fashion getting track exactly so what what's really distressing about this is it's two things number one that you have a mom that is willing to engage in violence to stop speech that they don't like that by itself is Is a very serious issue but here's what takes that serious issue and makes it that much worse and that is that the law enforcement officials and University officials in berkeley or not willing to use law enforcement to protect liberty But they keep saying that they're gonna what they they're essentially have been doing a standing side unless they view that someone's life is in immediate danger and they even brag that after these may lays in the streets will only a few people have been hurt But here's what they're saying they don't wanna intervening because they don't want to hurt the rioters so think about that that gives the riders up for him that gets the waters the control and streets seconds the rioters control over free speech look Government exist to protect liberty it doesn't exist just to make sure the rioters are safe and everybody say so long and when the censorship happens when they say our main goal is just keeping people safe they're giving these writers Heck where speedo the rule of law has to be imposed on the rule of law means protecting liberty and if you're gonna make the police back off your not protecting liberty it seems a little crazy to me that in 20 17 to say government exists to protect liberty makes you a conservative And right I mean that it just shouldn't been Central to make you and should be a consensus position right I mean but no the very idea just saying government exists to protect liberty some people will be outraged by that because they're single that means protecting hate speech It means protecting the first amendment means protecting the bill of rights and the gun on a police officer hip yes it exists to protect him and to protect the lives of others but that also exist to protect liberty and for that matter the second amendment exist to protect liberty So we're in a dangerous situation here the their element to the left to believe that they could shut down this course through my violence the problem is once you let that genie out of the bottle you can't control the consequences and I would say that in our hyper polar It's time when law enforcement won't impose the rule of law the end result is not gonna be just left is censorship the end result is gonna be simple strife in a very dangerous situation so we have to have the rule of law enforcement berkeley In portland and in claremont colleges anywhere where a little very where we have seen attacks on people uh simply because their speech so I wanna end this with more personal question ship so last decade when you're uh At the head of the foundation for individual rights in education in two thousand five or two yes yeah yeah alright 252 thousand five yeah you joined the us army and you actually were deployed to Iraq yeah the word you are in the Middle Love a great career if a family and then joining the army and going to Iraq yet just I think it's amazing decision an amazing life change because you know maybe walk us through yeah your thoughts during a time yeah you know I was up at Fire an amazing Organization studio doing amazing work in fact in hindsight the best thing I ever did and step down from fire so gradually keep looking of become friends he's great with the few videos with his his tremendous um but some there I'm living in my apartment in Center city philly And and having a Dream career that I remember reading a story this is no five in the Iraq war was going very badly and it was talking about how the army was having trouble Rick meeting is recruiting targets and so it was raging and raising the the recruiting age to third five and I just got really bad and I said to my wife this country is tooth rich and soft to fight a long war and as soon as I said those words I felt this overwhelming sense of conviction I wasn't 35 I was 36 You're above that I was in the I mean physically healthy um you know I have a wife and two kids at the time um we have three but two at the time and but there were guys who are my age and married and with kids who are over there they love their life and Kids any less than I did backed you know they are laying their lives on the line to protect your life so as soon as I said that I had this real sense of conviction and I look at my wife and she knew what I was thinking and she said don't even think about it And I said to her will you know you just pray about it in the next day she went with my son and at the time what's up almost five years old and they're walking by independence Hall and they saw the pave stones have that signatories of the Ocean independence all around their system shoes in the whole area different founding fathers my son was asking about over that and he said to you know who are these people she said well they were um farmers and pastors soldiers Lawyers and shit he you know wasn't getting it she said you know and the event I guess what they always Patriots so he look at me said the next question which is our week Patriots A question that you know hit her really hard and or no he said what is a patriot what is a picture and she she answered with one the best definitions I've ever heard she said the patriot somebody loves this country more than they love themselves and then he Yes are we Patriots and that question like a ton of bricks and she choked up and she said yeah we're Patriots so I didn't know this conversation happen I come I come back home and she's sitting there and she said you got Do it and I said well if I do it I'm gonna volunteer I'm gonna go to Iraq she said you gotta do it so I went to the recruiting station in downtown filling which is you know recruiting guys maybe you don't like for the infantry young guys at the high school missing my name is David French I'm too old I need an age waiver I wanna join the jag corps then no idea what to do with me excepting giving already physical which by a miracle I passed and then us five months later six months later I was a face down in the dirt in Fort Lee Virginia an officer basic H 37 and let's just say that Michael Bay is not gonna do any training montage is of my time affordably uh but I got through it and it was the no I would say one of the best decisions of my Life is that you have to do that well I have no idea about the story with your with your weapons yeah it also when you're as old as I am when I did this you gotta you can't just tell your wife hey later joined the army to so this was a joint decision and and she was with me every step of the way wow so cool alright well thank you so what have you thank you and she is a pleasure to have you that's great to be here thanks for having me see you later everyone
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