The Jason Stapleton Program

We're back! Thanks for sticking with us as we took a week off. Back to the grind again! In Seattle, a bunch of ANTIFA communists associated with Black Lives Matter have laid claim to several city blocks. They're calling it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ. They consider themselves an independent nation that has seceded from the US. And the mayor of Seattle is in full support of them. We'll see how long it lasts. Meanwhile, the "Defund the Police" debate is in full steam across America. On one hand, many advocates claim they don't actually want to defund the police. They just want to reform the police. They want to divert some police funding away into other community ventures, and "defund" is just a good buzzword for the sake of marketing. But then, on the other hand, the New York Times ran a piece entitled, "Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police." It doesn't matter, though. Whether progressives want to abolish the police or just reform them, they've given the rest of us a golden opportunity to create some genuine positive change. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors: Helix Sleep

Join my private FB group ___ After days of chaotic riots, we're finally starting to hear some actual policy proposals. One three-word phrase is picking up steam: defund the police. Now, this is a great chance for liberty-minded people to contribute something positive to the conversation. But first of all, let's be clear. Most of the people saying "defund the police" have no idea what that actually means. They're just saying something that sounds edgy. They're like parrots, repeating what they've been trained to say. However, that can work in our favor. Because "defund the police" sounds a lot like "privatize the police." Take away their public funds and force them to earn their own money. Conservatives, libertarians, and other reasonable, well-meaning people often make the same mistake: they make the perfect the enemy of the good. They spend too much time correcting people who are wrong--which has no persuasive value--and they don't spend nearly enough time affirming what people saying. Because it's a fact that the vast majority of us all want the same things. We want safe, peaceful streets. We want people to be healthy, wealthy, and comfortable. And we want bad cops to be treated like bad cops. So we must start from a position of affirmation and agreement. Once someone knows that we both want the same thing, they'll start to drop their guard. And that's when we can work together to create positive change in the world, rather than just voting for it.

These days, it seems like everybody fancies themselves valiant freedom fighters. They're filling our city streets with protests. They think they're "fighting the power" and "sticking it to the man." But the reality is, they're just revealing their own powerlessness. Freedom isn't something you fight for. It's not something you demand, or beg for, or even die for. Freedom is something you take. It's something you use. And it's always available to you. Lots of people will tell you that you don't have freedom because of some government program, or because of institutionalized racism, or because of welfare cliffs, or because of socialism. But they're wrong. If you don't have freedom, it's because you've chosen not to have freedom. You've enslaved your mind to narratives and systems and ideologies and interests whose lifeblood is your attention. They've persuaded you that your freedom depends upon someone else giving it to you. And you've chosen to believe them. But the funny thing about beliefs is, you can change them whenever you want. In fact, when you change your beliefs, you change your whole world. Opportunities manifest themselves to you. Where before there were closed doors, poverty, and oppression, now there are open doors, wealth, and freedom. You'll realize they were always around you; you just weren't looking for them. If this sounds too woo-woo or too good to be true, it's because you just haven't yet understood the formula for freedom in the modern world. Don't worry: it won't cost you anything but your life. Because freedom's only price is the old toxic beliefs you leave behind when you choose to claim it. When you choose not to identify with your old perspective any longer, all of the old beliefs that made up your identity will fall away from you, and you will experience life as a new person. A free person. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Feetures (Code: STAPLETON)

Join my private FB group American cities are on fire. Looters and rioters are burning churches and destroying businesses, big and small. Last night, they even tried to break through the Secret Service and into the White House. President Trump tweeted that the US will be designating ANTIFA as a terrorist organization. Then he escaped into a bunker for the night. The corporate press will tell you that white supremacists have co-opted otherwise innocent protests of police brutality. Some people will tell you this is a deep state plot. Others will say it's more Russian interference. Still others contend that China wants revenge for Trump pulling out of the WHO and lambasting their treatment of Hong Kong. Who knows which story is true? Perhaps all of them are. The one thing they all have in common, though, is that they're all about one thing: power. We're witnessing the collapse of the American empire. When empires collapse, they splinter. We know this from studying history. Power struggles crop up everywhere as everyone jockeys for their cut of the spoils. Lots of people will preach doom and gloom to you. Fear reigns supreme. There's no doubt that we live in interesting times. But there's no reason for fear; fearful people are easily controlled. Those who seek will find. And those who put aside the distractions and focus on controlling their own lives will find the opportunities they seek. The opportunities are abundant. You just have to start looking for them. All will be well. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Skillshare

Join my private FB group The people who change the world are the people who know how to manipulate emotions. That's not a value statement. It's a statement of fact. All humans make decisions emotionally, then justify them rationally. If you want to change WHAT people think, you must first understand HOW they think. Take the Minnesota riots, for example. That type of mass movement never starts from the ground up, because most people are followers. They're operating according to their conditioning. Someone told them that they're oppressed, and then convinced them that the best way to handle it is by burning down their neighborhood. It's an irrational, emotional response to a perceived problem. The problem may or may not be real. In either case, their response is a product of emotional programming. So the takeaway here is twofold. First, who is programming your emotions?  And second, are you communicating effectively to your target audience? It doesn't matter if it's family, friends, customers, voters, or readers. And the same principles apply whether you're trying to convince your wife to go to your favorite restaurant for dinner, or seeking to persuade your local city council on the merits of a specific policy, or focused on bringing a new product to market. If you're communicating, you're selling. The most powerful people in the world know how to sell. It's time for everyone else to catch up. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Allform

Join my private FB group Remember 2016? At this point, it might as well be 1916. So much has happened since then. The world we live in now is different in so many ways. But apparently it's not too different. 2016 was the year where racial tension in modern America seemed to hit an all-time high. Black Lives Matter dominated every headline, and Colin Kaepernick was in the middle of nuking his NFL career. Every day brought a new case of police brutality, another officer-involved shooting, or more race riots tearing apart American cities. Every day, day after day, we were hammered with relentless, breathless coverage of a brewing race war. You would have been forgiven for thinking we were on the verge of an actual outright war. We probably were. Then those stories disappeared overnight. Suddenly nobody cared about Black Lives Matter anymore. The police brutality didn't stop. The shootings continued. But nobody talked about them. We all talked about Russian election interference for four years. Until now. Now we've suddenly been swamped with stories about race-based violence once again. In 2020. What do 2016 and 2020 have in common? I'll let you think about that; it shouldn't take you long. Friend of the show Michael Malice often points out that there's a difference between a bias and an agenda. Lots of people talk about the bias of the corporate press, but they clearly have an agenda. You can see it just as clearly--perhaps more clearly--in the stories they DON'T cover. Google Duncan Lemp. The corporate press is fighting a war for your attention. Your attention is power. Your attention is money. Who are you going to spend it on? This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Helix Sleep

Join my private FB group Remember how the corporate press spent years breathlessly freaking out about Trump and Russia? It was the only story for month after month after month. All we heard was "quid pro quo." Then Robert Mueller released his report and it all sputtered out into nothing. Now Joe Biden is embroiled in his own quid pro quo scandal. And the corporate press don't want to touch it. They've abandoned any pretense of objectivity, because people care more about partisanship than factual news. Tune in today and we'll give you the details. Also, as a reminder, we're taking a long weekend for Memorial Day. So our next show will be next Wednesday. Enjoy the break and make the most of every day. We sure will be. ;)

Join my private FB group A top WHO official says the second wave of the "pandemic" will be worse than the first. As if they can actually know that! Maybe it will be. Who knows. The problem is, that type of warning is being used to pressure governments into continuing these disastrous lockdown policies. Why? Because lockdowns are disastrous to the local economy, and they make people even more dependent on organizations like… the WHO. How convenient! Meanwhile, economists are now warning of an impending "tidal wave" of delinquent mortgages, surpassing even the Great Recession. That's hardly news. In fact, we've known for a long time that most Americans don't have $1000 to get them through an unexpected emergency. And record millions have lost their jobs due to lockdown over the past several weeks. So of course we will be seeing record numbers of late mortgage payments. All of this so-called "news" is really just fear porn. Scared people are much easier to control. Don't let yourself be led around by the nose. Lean into your fears. You can't be a healthy person if you aren't exposing yourself to risk. There's a whole world of opportunity out there. Don't let someone else's fear stand in the way of your future. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Shippo

Join my private FB group If you haven't heard of Dave Rubin, you might be living under a rock. Dave is a good friend of the show, so it's been awesome watching his career take off over the past few years. We invited him on the show today because he just released his new book. In Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in the Age of Unreason, Dave tells the story of his political evolution from progressive to classical liberal. In fact, his evolution is continuing even today. On this show, he introduces a new term he's trying on for size. We talked about a bunch of stuff, including how he wound up touring with Jordan Peterson, the crazy autoimmune condition that nearly forced him to shut down The Rubin Report, and how to navigate the pitfalls of daring to think and say unapproved things. And of course you can't have any conversation today without discussing the coronavirus. Dave also lives in Los Angeles. And he's getting fed up with the government here. It was bad enough when they were closing beaches and bulldozing sand into skate parks. But now the major of LA is issuing orders commanding everyone to wear masks whenever they're outside. That ain't gonna happen. The response to the so-called pandemic has become a true inflection point. Democratic politicians at all levels have doubled and tripled down on authoritarianism. And most Republicans recognize the political will behind opening things back up. I don't remember the last time it was as fashionable as it is now to publicly champion the idea of liberty and the danger of authoritarian leaders. The world is changing. And it's changing fast. As the show intro says, we live in the greatest period in human history. I'm glad we have people like Dave who are spreading the message of liberty and encouraging people to take control of their own lives. After you listen to this episode, make sure you pick up your own copy of Don't Burn This Book. Just click this link to buy. Also, go follow Dave. You can find him on Twitter at @RubinReport and on YouTube at The Rubin Report. And make sure to visit RubinReport.com so you can check out his new community at Locals, a social media network he created as a "subscription-based community solution that gives power to creators, not platforms." This episode is brought to you by our sponsors: Policy Genius

Click here to download the free training mentioned in today's show. To start off today's show, we're gonna answer another listener question. This one is about time management. It's a good question because the vast majority of people wander their way through life. They have no purpose, and they don't have clear goals, so they have to drag themselves out of bed. And that means they're starting each day reacting to the world. But we're winners. Winners don't react to the world. Winners impose their will upon the world. And that starts with owning your morning. So we'll run through some tips for starting your morning on the right foot. The bulk of our conversation today, however, is focused on the collapse of the lockdown narrative. Stop me if you've heard this before: a major newspaper published a clickbait headline. The internet freaked out. And an hour later they published a "clarification" that wasn't NEARLY as juicy of a headline. On Tuesday, the LA Times ran this headline: L.A. County 'with all certainty' will keep stay-at-home orders in place through July. They were quoting LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, while ignoring that she clarified that the lockdown would be relaxed in stages. The clarification was too late. The damage was done. This entire pandemic hoax has pulled back the curtain. The media and political elite have revealed just how corrupt and incompetent they are. And it's destroying people's lives. If you aren't yet convinced that it's time for you to take control of your life and maximize your own freedom through wealth creation, this isn't the show for you. We're going places. We see the opportunities for greatness, and we're surrounding ourselves with people going in the same direction. Are you coming? This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Skillshare