and he wrote, America is back. It was a flood of rambling and bad, but the last part is definitely the worst. Our military, our men and women in uniform are not a loaded gun. He can point at anything and everything. And no American service member, I don't care what your politics are, signed up for conquest, conquest. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 490. I am your host, Paul Reikoff. It is Friday, April 10th, and I am coming to you from a hotel room in Los Angeles, California. Yes, I am in La La Land for just about 48 hours, and the weather is 71 and partly cloudy. And it might rain, which seems to only happen when I come to LA, but a cloudy day in LA is still a good day. I'm only here for 48 hours for the real-time show with Bill Maher on HBO Tonight. In just a couple of hours, you should tune in for that, where we're gonna recap a wild week and hopefully have some laughs. And I'm gonna do the same today on a quick Friday burst of a show. Gonna rip through what has been a very, very important and eventful week. Before I do that, today's artist is DMX, the great DMX, because he died five years ago this week. We lost the great DMX, who I will always love for Rough Riders and so much more, but he was a powerhouse, a channeler of anger and energy, and just brought people the thunder that I think we need to bring after this week, because we need a little bark and a little bite like DMX would bring, and I'm gonna bring you that and the five eyes that'll bring you in every single show, independence, integrity, information, inspiration, and impact. This has been a wild week, folks. We're gonna end it with a Friday flurry, fury, flurry, all of that, fury and flurry, because now is a time to stay vigilant. All right, top topic, of course, Iran. Now, I told you it wouldn't last long. The peace, the ceasefire, whatever they wanna call it, it's not lasting long, and he's back at it, and there will be no days off until he's gone. Now today, Trump is warning Iran that the US assault will intensify if a deal is not reached. He's claiming they're gonna have a reset. JD Vance is headed to Pakistan to lead talks with the Iranians, which will be bizarre at best. I wish we had a better representative than JD Vance. I think the much of the country feels like we'd be better off as somebody other than JD Vance, but that's what he's sending, and we gotta hope for the best. And Pakistan is kind of a strange liaison to be hosting these ceasefire talks, but these are strange times. Also, yesterday, Trump posting on Truth Social shockwaves that get sent around the world. He said, there are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hamoos Strait. They better not, and if they are, they better stop now. That was a looming threat that he wrote. Then he wrote another long tweet or Truth Social, saying, all US ships, aircraft, military personnel, with additional ammunition, weapons, anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal persecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded enemy will remain in place in and around Iran until the real agreement, quote, the big, big letters caps is reached. And at the end, he says, there's this really important point. He says, no nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hamoos will be open and safe. In the meantime, our great military is loading up and resting, looking forward actually to its next conquest, to its next conquest. And then he wrote, America is back. It was a flood of rambling and bad, but the last part is definitely the worst. Our military, our men and women in uniform are not a loaded gun. He can point at anything and everything. And no American service member, I don't care what your politics are, signed up for conquest. Conquest, that's what he wrote. That's not what we do. And they're not ready for that and not wanting that in Iran or Cuba or anywhere else. Trump is making us all less safe and more hated by the day. And as I continue to underscore, he's making our troops hated and trusted. Hated more, trusted less by the day. Because he continues to drag down the status of our military by calling them people who want to do conquest and take oil. This is not what the American military does. And every time he says that, he brings us all a little lower. And our enemies, our enemies are celebrating. Our enemies are celebrating. Yeah. All right, sticking with Iran, the wreckage of the war continues to be better understood as the truth emerges. And there's been an important story that's been ricocheting around. Jim Laporta at CBS News and others have written about the fact that army survivors of the deadly attack in Kuwait are disputing depending on account. Saying the unit was unprepared, quote unquote, to defend itself. There was a photograph posted in the tactical operations center where the drone hit, it got blown apart. And troops are speaking out and saying they were totally unprepared. There was no overhead cover, there were no defenses. This is what we knew to be true, but to have troops speaking out bravely reminds me of the early days of the Iraq War when they were talking about having to scrounge for body armor and making hillbilly vehicles was strapped on body armor like we has to do when I was there. And then Don Rumsfeld famously said, you go to war with the army you have. But the reality was when we hit a rock, there was a rush to Baghdad and troops were left unprepared and troops were wounded and killed. And now they've rushed into Iran and troops have been killed and troops have been wounded. So it's unacceptable and unsurprising. Failing to plan is planning to fail. And there's the latest on the human war, the human cost of the war on the American side continues to come out. There's no reliable numbers on the Iranian side, but Jake Epstein and others are reporting that now 381 US service members have been wounded in the Iran war with 344, 90% of them returning to duty as of yesterday, according to SENTCOM folks person, Captain, Navy Captain Tim Hawkins. That's good news, they're returning to duty. Many of these folks may have traumatic brain injuries or concussions. So it often happens when these explosions go off. Three troops are still categorized as seriously wounded and of course, 13 have been killed. But our troops continue to be in the crossfire, 50,000 are in the region. We've got the 82nd Airborne there, we've got the Marines there, we've got lots of special operations. And I think overall, our troops continue to remain cocked and ready, and like everyone else waiting for the next tweet. So our troops especially, given that they did not get enough protection, given that they don't know what's next, given that this war is not supported by most of the American people, need to stay vigilant. We also need to understand that the world has been pushing back. World leaders have spoken out against Trump's engagement in Iran, against his tweets and his language. And Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote something about the ceasefire. He said, the government in Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they showed up with a bucket. This is really, really important because Trump wants to get credit for ending a war that he started. He wants to get credit for opening a straight and Harmouz that he closed, and he wants to get credit for victories that have not been felt by anyone except Pete Hegset. So we're gonna stay focused on that, but the world continues to push back and he has a new target, it's a favorite target of his, NATO. And as I predicted, he's talking about Greenland again. I don't think he's ever gonna give up on that. He is acting like a rapist, and rapists don't know that no means no. He's gonna keep coming. He doesn't believe that he needs to stop, and he's gonna come back to Greenland over and over again, no matter what NATO says, and he posted something else earlier this week that said, NATO wasn't there when we needed them, and they won't be there again if we need them again. Remember Greenland, that big poorly run piece of ice, President DJT. He's talking about the land, not the organization, ICE, but he is again focused on Greenland. He is again attacking NATO. I think he does wanna move away from Iran if he can, but he's stuck, and don't forget, he's considering attacking Cuba. And another enemy is now in his fire. They started a fight with someone that you couldn't possibly imagine in normal times, the Pope. If you haven't heard by now, the Pentagon threatened the Pope after he criticized Trump. That is the headline for the New Republic. The headline is, Pentagon threatened the Pope after he criticized Trump. That's a real headline in 2026, and it's our dark and dangerous reality. Apparently, it was so bad that Pope Leo, who was an American, by the way, changed his plans to travel to the U.S. The United States, according to a blistering report in the Free Press, said that the American representative said the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world, and the Catholic Church had better take it's side. The U.S. officials present at this meeting brought up the Avignon Papacy, a period in the 14th century when the French monarchy bent the Catholic Church into submission, ordering an attack on Pope Boniface that led to his downfall and subsequent death, and forcing the Papacy to relocate from Rome to Avignon, a region inside France. But the Vatican is so alarmed by the Pentagon's warning that Pope Leo, who is an American, and as you may have heard, a Cubs fan, has canceled his plans. They noted that many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon's reference to the Avignon Papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See. This is a real headline. I mean, this is absolutely crazy, and it shows that nothing is off limits to Trump and his minions. There will be no days off. And the Pope is kind of a good version of America to the world, and he posted something this morning that's obviously directed at the White House. He said, God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples. So, P.Dexep has not won the war in Iran, and as he continues to expand his culture war and infuse it with his demented vision of Jesus, he's not gonna win a war against the Pope either. So if you believe God has a plan, the Pope being an American who can hold the line against American radicals in this pivotal moment for America, the world, and the region, and the religion, and all religion is probably part of it. Pope Leo is a voice of reason and peace that is meeting the moment. Thank God. But the Pope is on our side, and he's another example of how we should look for the helpers and of course, stay vigilant. All right, in other news, the battle between Hegzeff and the Pentagon, sorry, the Pentagon Press Corps and the press continues, The New York Times reported yesterday that a federal judge rejected an attempt by the Pentagon to impose a new set of restrictions on journalists, which is good news. Democracy wins on this one, another loss for Hegzeff as we continue to try to protect and guard the free press, which remains under attack from not just the New York Times and CNN, but also places like the Stars and Stripes. All right, it's another reason why, of course, we need to stay vigilant. All right, something I got to touch on. J.D. Vance was in Hungary a lot this week, and that's bad. I think he continues to drive down our popularity around the world, and he was standing with an authoritarian leader, Victor Orban, who is despised by much of the world and is falling into polls even in his home country. My family is from Hungary, so I always keep an eye out there. I'm gonna play a clip from Representative Don Bacon, the moderate Republican from Nebraska, who's been a guest on this show, and I hope he'll declare as independent some lead Republican party, but he's been a voice of reason, and here's what he had to say. My mom's side of the family were Hungarian ancestry, my grandpa's family came from Hungary, and they have a long tradition. In 1956, they revolted against the Soviets. They're very freedom-loving, peace-loving people, but Prime Minister Orban is the most friendly country in Europe to Russia. They've done more to undermine Ukraine and NATO than any other country right now, other than maybe Russia itself, but the most NATO country that has tried to undermine NATO from within. I think it's a crazy, terrible mistake to go into someone else's country and campaign for one of the candidates over the other. We don't want people interfering in our elections. We've seen, where people have tried that, we don't like it. I guarantee you the Hungarians don't like United States going in there and messing with their elections. That's what Russia does, that's what China does. So he said the VP should get the heck out of Hungary and focus on Iran. Well, as I mentioned, my family is from Hungary too, and I actually hope they keep Vance. We don't want them, they can have them, enjoy. Meanwhile, back at home, Hegsef continues to do Hegsef shit, and he's also in the position to audition his war with the press and the Pope and just about everyone. He's also facing an internal war with his secretary of the army, Dan Driscoll, and now it's spilling out. The press has started to cover it. The Hill has a story about the Pentagon, Turf War, Julia Manchester notes that Hegsef is really uncomfortable with anyone who could potentially be outshining him, a Pentagon official said on the condition of anonymity. They cover this, and they said that a single anonymous Pentagon source tells The Hill that they believe they've uncovered proof that Driscoll has become a resistance figure within the Pentagon, not only against Hegsef, but against the president as well. Dan Lamothe asks where the truth is in this new line of attack from anonymous sources, but I think that everybody can see that Hegsef does not like any challenge. And Dan Driscoll is a person who has integrity, who's trusted, who's been rumored as his successor, and may be in the crosshairs for Hegsef for the unperceivable future. Kevin Carroll, a retired army reserve colonel, said Driscoll does not appear to be actively trying to undermine Hegsef's authority or public image. He said, I mean, Hegsef takes care of that himself on a regular basis. This is from a quote in The Hill magazine, which I think is a bullseye. Hegsef knows that Driscoll is more respected than he is. And most of the Pentagon and the world would rather see him as sect death, and it's burning him up badly, badly. So watch this space and stay vigilant. All right, quickly hitting on ice, because I don't wanna pass over that. They continue to run rampant across America, unlawful, unconstitutional, unregulated, everyday more bad shit. And there's an update on the story about the US soldier's wife that was detained that we talked about earlier this week. The New York Times had the update, the newlywed wife of a US soldier who was detained last week at her husband's army base was released on Tuesday, after spending five days at a detention center. After spending five days at a detention center. This is absolutely insane. The kind of story we shouldn't just breeze past. Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank said, I am complete, and I'm ready to serve our country, and it's her country too. It's another example of how ice is going off the rails and is out of control. They're detaining cops and veterans and all kinds of citizens. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention. And I think we need to continue to stay focused on ice, no matter what happens in Iran. Ice is an instrument of Trump's power. And more importantly, they're locking up people that shouldn't be locked up. And it's deeply, deeply unpopular and deeply, deeply un-American. Stay vigilant. All right, other parts of the world quickly. Ukraine continues to meet the moment in amazing and dazzling ways. Today is day 1507 of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And there's breaking news from the Associated Press today that Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahid drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran War. We suspected this was true, but now President Vladimir Zelensky has said in his first public acknowledgement of the operations. It's another reason that Ukraine must be supported. They are a valuable ally, not just in fighting Putin and Russia, but in fighting and protecting our allies in the Middle East. They are long overdue for acceptance into NATO. Their military is incredibly tested, and they may have the most innovative culture in the military on the planet. And they continue to fight and die for freedom. And I wanna highlight a story of two twin brothers that died side by side defending Ukraine. Twin brothers, Sirhi and Oleskir Horobets, were killed on March 17th during combat operations in the Kurson region. In separable since childhood, they served side by side after joining the army. This was from the key post. Their older brother, Yuri, is also a service member, and now suffered the heaviest loss losing both of his younger brothers. They were made loyal comrades and professional soldiers fighting together until their final moments. They're survived by their mother, their brother, their uncle. Oleskir Alexander leaves behind a daughter, a son and his wife. Sirhi leaves behind daughters and his wife. Brothers are dying together in Ukraine, in defense of Ukraine, in defense of freedom, and in defense of democracy. And we must stand with them always. And especially now as we engage in the Middle East and understand the threats are overflowing, and Ukraine can be extremely helpful. But if you wanna support freedom, you wanna support democracy, don't listen to the chatter. You've gotta support Ukraine and help them stay vigilant. All right, let's go to FC real quick. Melania spoke out in a press conference, and I will just say it was bizarre, unexpected. Some may argue they're trying to change the subject, but I'm just gonna flip this out there and say, does she know something's coming? Is she trying to get ahead of something? To ask the survivors to again testify after they've done so much, I think is a deflection. She will continue to face questions, and we will all, I think especially, independents and Democrats and Republicans will continue to demand accountability. I talked to Rokana on the show last week. I asked him if anybody's ever gonna go to jail. Go check out that episode, and of course, stay vigilant. All right, politics quickly. The Republicans are gone, the Democrats are gone. That's why more and more Americans are declaring their independence every day. But are the Dems finally getting their shit together a little bit? There might be some signs that they are focusing on trying to remove Trump or at least slow him down. I challenged Rokana on whether or not he would call for impeachment. He said that he did and he would. Max Cohen is reporting that Hakeem Jeffries has written to Democrats with two big updates. Number one, the War Powers Resolution vote was coming this week, and it did. And Raskin, the influential, Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee will now host a virtual briefing on the administration's accountability in the 25th Amendment. It looks like he's gonna quarterback this. So Raskin is briefing the caucus on the 25th Amendment on Friday. Supporters of the 24th Amendment continue to pile up. And I think that this is not just a fleeting thing. It seems like it's going to be a part of their strategy to try to slow down and remove Trump. They're gonna point back to his threats of annihilating an entire civilization. They're gonna point back to his mental instability. They're gonna point back to his reckless comments around Iran. It is a tool in their toolbox. And I think the important part is, I think impeachment is more popular in this country than people are giving it credit. We will find out in the days to come where the polling sits. But the Dems are sorta getting focused. And they seem to finally be developing a plan. Better late than never. They should also start on a plan for Cuba now and try to get ahead of Trump and his forever war because we know that that could be the next stop on this runaway train. All right, staying with politics. Independent candidates are the future. We are the people's champions. Independence are not just moving the needle. We are the needle. I mean, Los Angeles, we had a great event here last night to support independent veterans of America. Thank you to all of you that came out. We will continue to do events. And we will be rolling out our endorsements in the next couple of days. So stay tuned for that. Because much of this country feels like they're politically homeless. And that includes Joe Rogan. Joe Rogan this week said, quote, I am politically homeless. I've been politically homeless for a long fucking time. Neither one of them make any sense to me. We need a logical centrist government like one, like that like just says, there's a lot of things that we should do to make this country a better place. He is rejecting both parties. He says he's politically homeless. Well, Joe, that means you're one of us. I urge you to continue to speak out. I urge you to come on this show. And I'm happy to come on your show. I think we can have an important conversation and talk about how our independence are the majority. And they are rising up and they want better and they want more and they are ready to take action. And they are always staying vigilant. Stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. All right, finally, in culture, I got a shout out. Something that the Super Mario Brothers Galaxy movie is number one at the box office. It's got kids everywhere excited. My kids and I are going to see it on Saturday. So I have a report on that next week. Also, Project Hill Mary continues to be at the top of the box office. I have not yet seen that with Ryan Gosling. But I want to. And there's another movie called You, Me and Tuscany. That is a bubbly rom-com that I know nothing about. That's at number three. But there is still a chance to take a break from the news and the madness. Go see a movie. Go see Super Mario Brothers. Go see Project Hill Mary, which I think is going to hit a sweet spot, especially with Artemis in the news. More on that in a second. And in sports, the Masters is this weekend. I'm hoping it's not like the Ryder Cup, where so many of the fans embarrassed themselves in America by booing some of the foreign players. But as of today, when I record this on Friday, Rory McElroy is again in lead, roses in second, Day, Reed, and Hatton in the tight one in the top four or five. And that is going to be always something to watch. The Masters captivates the world. Tiger Woods will not be there. But it may be a good escape for you this week. And finally, the NBA regular season will end. It will end on Sunday. The play-in tournament begins next week. And the playoffs happen a week from now. So get excited, folks. There is a lot of reason to be excited about the NBA. It's more exciting than ever. Good luck to my nicks. Good luck to your teams. It will be a break and a bit of joy that we need because joy is a form of resistance. And it will, of course, help us stay vigilant before we get to finally something good. Something good. Oh, something sweet. Feel the fire. All right, something good. Artemis is on their way down. I have talked about Artemis a lot because I think we should. I think they are an example of what's great about America, about what happens when we come together. And they are going to continue to inspire us. Hopefully tonight they will come home safely, coming in at 26,000 miles an hour, and provide a much needed contrast to the world for what Americans are capable of. So when you think about all the hard stuff and you think about the tough times, also think about what is still possible with Artemis. And for the folks that say, hey, you know what? It costs too much money. Artemis cost about $4 billion, which was four days of the war in Iran. I think it was a heck of a return on investment, one that will continue to inspire generations and show us all what's possible. They've shown us all that it's a time to be united, a time where we can still rally around Americans and why it's still a time to stay vigilant. All right, finally, folks. We got a big week coming up next week. I will be back from Los Angeles. I've got Michael Steele coming up next week. We will have Henry Rollins soon. Jeffrey Wright will be there coming up in the next couple of weeks. I also saw my friend Peter Berg, the great director here in Los Angeles. He's working on a Call of Duty movie with Taylor Sheridan, which is gonna be amazing. I'm gonna ask him. I've asked him and hopefully he will be back on the show sometime soon. I'm also gonna ask Bill Maher, who I'll be on with tonight. So tune in to Bill Maher tonight on HBO or watch for the clips on Instagram and everywhere else. Would love your questions, would love your support. I think it's gonna be a great chance for us to talk about this movement and to try to inspire people and offer some light to contrast the heat, because that's what we do around here. So subscribe if you haven't already on YouTube, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Join our Patreon community. Go to independentamericans.us because America is divided, but less and less by the day. Something is happening here and we are working to keep that going, to add light, to contrast, to heat, of all the other political shit out there. So if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, including you, Joe Rogan, this is your show. Because our independent movement, like Artemis, is hoped for the future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, challenging that status quo and fueling a new movement that is there for the politically homeless. And that movement is growing. We're gonna take it to more people tonight on Bill Maher. Hope is the oxygen of democracy. If you liked this episode, this quickfire episode, what I've been putting out, our shorts share it far and wide and invite others to declare their independence. And as we go into the weekend, take a deep breath and stay vigilant, my friends, because internal vigilance is the price of freedom. That's a price that so many are paying in ways big and small. And know you're not alone in your vigilance, we're all vigilant. We've been all vigilant together in this all week. And we will next week as well. I'm your host, Paul Rykov. Thank you for tuning in to The Independent Americans. Today, end all week. I will see you Monday or tonight on Real Time. Until then, happy Friday. Welcome home, Artemis. And stay vigilant, America. Stay vigilant. It's time to grow. Power by Righteous Media.
