The radio theater brings you Alan Ladd, William Demeris, and Marjorie Reynolds in Salty Your Lord. Ladies and gentlemen, we're happy again to present our producer, Mr. William Keeley, who gave you such screen hits as Brother Rat, Valley of the Giants, God's Country and the Woman, Tarad Zone, Each Dawn I Die, and many others. Mr. William Keeley. Greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. We bring you on this stage tonight an exciting drama of the racetrack. Paramount screen hit, Salty O'Rourke. Stard in our cast is a gentleman for whom this theater has great affection. Alan Ladd in his original screen role as Salty. Co-starred with Alan is Bill Demeris, also from the screen cast, and Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara Brooks, the girl whose charm and loveliness melt the hearts of two men who supposedly have hearts above the melting point. It's post-time, and here's the first act. Starring Alan Ladd as Salty O'Rourke, William Demeris Desmitty, and Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara, with James Cardwell as Johnny Kate. It's a chilly, rainy afternoon in Los Angeles. In a deep, dimly-lighted corner of a second-rate cafe, three men discussed the recent death of a mutual acquaintance. Yes, Salty, it certainly was too bad about you, your partner. Jackson was a nice fellow. Yeah, I guess somebody must have had it in from her, Salty. Four bullets in his head. Now, you guys didn't follow me to LA to cry over Jackson. No, you owe me $20,000. Oh, now, wait a minute. Jackson borrowed that dough from you, not me. That's right. And then he skipped town. I never even saw the money. Jackson was your partner. What he does you're responsible for, see? That's what the law says, and I say I want my dough. Or, uh, Elson. Something like that, yeah. Well, I'm broke. Give me a little time. Of course, I say no. Now you know better than that.  OK, I'm giving you 30 days. Hey, tell me something. How are you going to raise $20,000 in 30 days? Well, I, uh, I got a horse in mind. Yes, I'm thinking of buying a racehorse. Good luck, Salty. Come on, babe. You heard him. 30 days. Yeah, I heard him. But, boss, where are you going to raise $20,000? That's what Baxter wanted to know. I don't know, Smitty, but we're starting with my cufflinks. Get him back to the hawk shop. Again? Well, they'll bring enough to buy the horse. Horse? What horse? The Merifax horse, Whipper. Oh, boss, I told you a dozen times. Whipper's great, but there ain't a jockey living that can stay on his back. He's a man either. Well, that's why we can buy us a cheap. As for a jockey, I think maybe Johnny Cates our boy. Have you blown your topper? A horse nobody can ride in a jacket has been bought from every track in the country. Well, it's the best I can do with the tools I've got. Well, promise me one thing, that you won't buy this horse until you find out whether this little crook and rider might not. OK, got any ideas where Johnny Cates might be right now? Yeah. Do you want it? All right, then get going with these cufflinks we're on our way. Here he is, Salty. Here's the little punk.  Oh, a copper, huh? No, I'm no copper. Then what's the idea of going around scaring people? I found him inside there, boys. Him and a couple of blondes playing the slot machines for nickels. Johnny, my name's Salty O'Rourke. What do you want? What's that you're eating? Show him the barker. Any objections? Plenty. Then give me a cigar. I don't have a cigar.  Now, do you boys mind if I get in on this elevating discussion? I asked you what it's all about, didn't I? How'd you like to be a jockey again, Johnny? Come again? My jockey and my partner. I'm the owner, Smithy. Here's the trainer, and you do the booting. We work together, live together, when the Dellington Handicap together. $50,000. Roll over, mister. To win a race like that, it takes a pretty first pig. Oh, I got the pig all I needs of the boy. Well, what's the hitch? You wouldn't be coming to me if you were to me. Oh, it's this horse we got. He eats jockeys. You can't ride him, it's no deal. The Beatles don't live what I can't ride. But they won't let me near a track in the state, see? Some beef about a crooked race. I was innocent as a baby. Oh, never mind that. I can get your license. You've got a brother, haven't you? Yeah, Buck and Brooklyn. Yeah, and he's 17 years old named Timothy. A regular information group. And you're 21. You're wrong. 22. Well, there's nothing to it. All you do is write for Timothy's first certificate, and that's that.  OK.  I got him in a ranch in San Diego. We'll take a look at him tonight. That, uh, that right, Smithy? That's right. Say around 1130. What do you mean, 1130? Don't worry, kid. He don't mind running in the dark. I don't get this at all. OK, Smithy, I guess the boy wants a... Oh, relax, will you? What have I got to lose? Oh, that's better. Oh, uh, Smithy, you want to make a phone call, don't you? Yeah, yeah. I guess I better. Sure you want to go through with this, boss?  What'd the watchman say? Just like he said when I found him. Oh, I guess everything is OK. I gave him 10 bucks and he disappeared. Still in all, I... Stop worrying, will you? The brawl's settled. He's settled? Only I think that... Hey, what a layout. Why don't you tell me this here's the crust you stable? Will you pipe down? Huh? What's the matter?  What's everybody whispering for? Oh, uh, we just don't want to wake up the other horse's kid. Huh? Oh, oh. Well, this is Whipper. Great horse. Great. Bring him around, Smithy. What am I trying to do? You get over there, you thick-headed beetle. Come on, now. Watch it, Smithy. I'm making him dizzy. Well, what do you think he's doing to me? Get down and back.  What's him and the horse supposed to be doing? Oh, uh, oh, Smithy, just, just playing. He loves horses. All right, kid. Come on, take them. Give me a shovel, Roark. All right. Watch it, Smithy. OK? OK. I just take a couple of turns in the practice track there. I, uh, I want to see how you handle it. And remember, this snag's got a mind of his own. I'm the guy that's going to change it. Let him go. All right, Whipper.  Come on, come on. Close me, why don't you?  Tough, eh? Well, I'm tough, too. Come on, get over here and run. Come on, now. Let's go. This way, I said. This way. Look at that bang-tail go. And that kid. Look at him. Look at him. All right, bring him in, kid. Bring him in. Well, how did you do it? That horse is a man killer. I just talked to him. Man to man. You talked to him? Yes. He says everything's going to be OK. Well, what do you know? A talking horse. OK, Smitty, take him back to his stall. We'll stop by later and buy him. Buy him? Don't you already own this snag? I had to see if you could ride him, didn't I? Holy cow, let's get out of here. Well, how do you like the bungalow, kid? Yeah, no complaints. Well, this is home sweet home till after the Delington handicapped. You mean it's our eyes, boss? Yeah, I just saw the real estate man downtown. Oh, uh, Johnny, I stopped by the track, too. I saw the racing secretary. I thought we settled all that yesterday. Well, everything's OK. There's just a little matter of going to school. Going to where? School, that birth certificate says you're 17. And the state law says you got to go till you're 18. Oh, they're wasting their time. The horses I ride don't read nor write. They got a schoolhouse right at the track. All underage jockeys go there. But if you want a ride, that's where you're going. I got all the education I need. I ain't going to overdo it. Now, look, it's three weeks before the handicapped. Are you going to kick aside a bundle of dough just because you don't want to go to school? I ain't gone. OK. OK, toss it in the gutter. One third of 50 grand. Over $16,000.  Well, come on, Sviti. Let's go get dinner. What about me? Well, it's up to you. OK, OK. I'll case the joint in the morning. If I like it, maybe I'll try it for a couple of days. Well, that's better. Here you are, junior. Have a cigar. This is France and England in 1700. Come in. Yes, young man? Where can I find a dame that runs this brain coop? I miss Brooks. And if you don't mind, I'm not a dame.  What did you want to see me for? Oh, you asked me that a minute ago and I'd have been stuck. But now I can think of a lot of things. That's enough of your impudence. What do you want? It ain't what I want, sister. I'm Timothy Kate and they hung a school wrap on me.  Sit down.  Well, what do you think I'm angling for, Toots? That settles it. Get out. Don't get sore, sister. Get out. You're expelled. Well, what do you know? A new track record. In and out of school in two minutes. So long, fellas. I still don't understand what you're beefing about, boss. You don't understand. I sent you out to buy a whipper and you come back with two horses.  You didn't have to take him, did you? He'll eat more than a whipper.  How about Friday?  All right, all right. Tell Mac to stop walking him. He's level to get all out of breath. If he don't keep moving, he'll sit down. Hey, Mac, that's enough of railery. Put him next to whipper. Sure, Smitty. Oh, now look. The kid. Hey, you, why aren't you in school? I've been looking for you. They sprung me. Sprung you? Yeah. She don't want me to teach her. You'd think I was rat poison. Why doesn't she want you? I don't know. That's what I get for acting like a gentleman instead of being myself.  Well, no school teacher's going to blow our chances. All right, what's her name? Miss Snooks or something. Well, whatever her name is, she's going to get my number one pitch in quick. Find out when school's out, Smitty. You and I are calling on a teacher. Must have made a mistake. I'm looking for Miss Snooks. I'm the only teacher here. My name is Brooks. Oh, then you're the one who expelled Timothy Kate. Yes, I did. Are you his father? Oh. No, but Smitty here, I mean, Mr. Smith, he's Timothy's godfather. You sure you're the teacher we're looking for? Yes, why? Oh, nothing except for the way Timothy spoke.  Well, no, not exactly. Just what did Timothy do that made you throw him out? He was insolent, impudent, and disrupted my entire class. Oh, Miss Brooks, I'd hate to see you make a mistake that might be on your conscience the rest of your life. Mistake? Yes, right now, this boy is on his way up. He's supporting an invalid mother and two little sisters. One of them works at a church. If you make a wrong decision at this point, well, you're liable to ruin his entire life. Well, I'm supporting a mother, too. What's going to happen to her if the board discharges me for inefficiency? Well, you see, Mr. Smith, the old law of self-preservation, no matter who else it hurts. I wish you wouldn't put it that way. You know, it's a funny thing, Miss Brooks, but 20 years ago, a school teacher just like you had to make a decision. And if she hadn't made the right one, well, I wouldn't be where I am today. Well, maybe I should make some concession. Oh, thank you, Miss Brooks. I'll see that you see her the first thing in the morning. Oh, I didn't say you could come back. I'll think it over. Why can't you think it over now? I'm sorry. That's my decision. Oh, certainly. Well, thank you very much for your time. Goodbye, Miss Brooks. Good afternoon. That beautiful doll like that. And what a disposition. I'm not through here. Huh? I'm making another pitch tonight. I got her a dress off that letter on her desk, and she made a crack about having a mother, didn't she? What more do I need? That's a stubborn tomato, salty. Even you can't stick to the harshest media I'll handle the things. Oh, good evening, Miss Brooks. Surprise to see me. Well, I thought you'd come in. I've only a minute. I'm afraid I must have seemed terribly insistent this morning, besides I took up a lot of your time, and, well, here's just a little trinket. A present? For me? Well, no, you see, it's a sewing basket. I saw it in the window, and it looks so much like the one my dear mother used to have that I, well, I thought your mother might like to have it. That's very sweet of you. Mother? Yes, dear? I'd like you to meet Mr. O'Rourke. He has a present for you. A present for me? How do you do, young man? How do you do? Really nothing. Oh, it's just beautiful. How many men would think it's such a thoughtful present as a sewing basket? Oh, well, thank you very much. My friends consider me very old-fashioned. Oh, well, Mr. O'Rourke is in the horse racing business, aren't you? Oh, it's really just a hobby. My chief interest right now is life insurance. Tell me, when you're at the race track, do you ever bet? Oh, well, that comes pretty close to gambling, Mrs. Brooks. No, my big thrill is trying to win the first prize. How many horses do you have, Mr. O'Rourke? Just a couple at the moment when I'm going on Friday. He is going where? Oh, well, what I meant to say, he's racing on Friday. How would you like to come out and be my guest?  Nonsense, Mother. It will do us good to get out. Mr. O'Rourke, we accept with thanks. Well, splendid. I'll call for you at... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm having a horse running on Friday. No, I just remember when my jacket got in trouble at school today, he won't be eligible. At school, what Barbara can take care of that? Well, no, I'm not so sure. You win, Mr. O'Rourke. We'll give Timothy another chance. Oh, you don't know how happy you're making that boy. Well, I'm probably keeping your people up late. Why do you know it's 9.30? Oh, sometimes we stay up much later. Well, you probably think I'm just a little stick in the mud, but we horsemen like to keep respectable hours. I'll get your hat. Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brooks. And thank you so much for my beautiful presence. Good night, Mr. O'Rourke. Till Friday then. Good night, mother. In just a moment, we'll bring you the second act of Salty O'Rourke, starring Alan Ladd, Marjorie Reynolds, and William Demarest. Mr. William Keely returns to the microphone. Our curtain rises on act two of Salty O'Rourke, starring Alan Ladd in the title role, William Demarest as Smitty, and Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara Brooks, with James Cardwell as Johnny Cate. It's a few minutes later. Johnny Cate, the jockey, is lying in bed, lazily blowing smoke rings at the ceiling. A strange and beautiful smile is on his face as Salty O'Rourke comes in. Hi, O'Rourke. Hey, don't you know that's a dangerous smoking cigar in bed? Oh, it helps me think. What about? Oh, nothing. Smitty just tells me we got a railway set for the eighth race on Friday. Yeah. And I just got you set with Mrs. Brooks. Now, no arguments to hear you go back to school in the morning. Hey, that's great. That's swell. You, uh, you like the idea? Oh, certainly.  I'd say, uh, house chances of making a light touch, Salty. Say, uh, half a seat? 50 bucks. Well, I like to go out once in a while and look at something else besides a horse's neck. Well, what are you subtle for? Uh, 15 hoodies. Here's 10. Are you sure you can spare it? Now get yourself some sleep. Well, just don't let me oversleep, you hear? They go to the post at that school at 8.30, and I ain't going to be late. Hey, Smitty, you better call a vet. I think the kid here has got a fever. Five minutes for outdoor recreation. Class dismissed. Hey, boy, hey, come here. Hey, come on, Kate, we're going to play ball. Wait a minute, wait a minute, huh? All you guys, hey, come here, come here. Why? Look, here we are, out in the nice sunshine. And there she is, cooped up inside. Mrs. Brooks, working for us. Well, do we do anything for her? Do we? I don't get it. Do we ever give Mrs. Brooks anything to show we appreciate it? Oh, what does she want? Well, she could use a lot of things.  Oh, brother. Well, thank her, she feels. She wants to look nice. But how can she on her school teachers grab? Maybe we could take up a collection. Charity? No, no, I got a better idea, if you guys are willing. Sure. Well, I'll buy you a ticket on that horse I'm riding this afternoon, see? One rarely. You ought to be about 15 to one. 15 to one? Oh, that goat? Well, maybe a little more than that. And where do we come in? Well, you guys were riding against me.  And everybody ride like heck and try to catch me. You know, nothing crooked. And it's all for Mrs. Brooks.  Oh, sure. Gee, that's swell, fellas. You make me very happy. Oh, glad to do it. Oh, glad to do it. Oh, glad to do it. Now, listen to me, Johnny. When you get this dog on the track, just walk him to the gate. He's got to save his strength. OK, Smithy. He hasn't got a chance of making him look good. He's not claimed we don't eat. I wouldn't say he ain't got a chance. He felt like man of war when I worked him out. Yeah? Well, don't break out in front of somebody's label to run over you.  Come on, Robert. We'll show him. Where you going to watch, Saltie? Up in the box. Oh, yeah, I forgot. The school teacher and the old lady. Have fun, boys. Most unexpected, mother. It's Railery by Seven Lakes. The lady's now on his second bike. At least one of them are late. They're only in his house right now, and they're moving up. Oh, whether you like it or not, Mr. O'Rourke, I'm going to buy a chance of Railery right now. No, it's too late. You can't. Neither can I. Just don't look back.  Come on, Grandpa. Come on. They're coming down to the left of me now, and Railer will make a pass to the winner circle. Mr. O'Rourke, it's all in there for the numbers. Now, what does that mean? Murder. Railery, $122 to win. And $0.40. Oh, no. I've got a surprise for you. Look. It's a $5 ticket. On Railery's nose. When did you buy that? I didn't buy it. It came with a snow. Here, read it. Dear teacher, if this horse wins, you can buy yourself a new dress.  Doesn't that look like Timothy's handwriting to you? Oh, well, it couldn't be. He knows better than to do a thing like that. Oh, let's go and redeem it. I have a better idea. I'll return it to the boys and let them cash it in for the athletic fund. Well, that's lovely, dear. Oh, well, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You're liable to get the boys in trouble. They didn't do anything dishonest. Oh, no, but the school board might think they did, and that's just as bad. Hey, boss, hey, boss, I got to see you. Oh, excuse me a minute, ladies. Did you see what I saw? Oh, it's worse than that spin. That punk bought a ticket for the school teaching. She's going to turn the money over to the athletic fund. We'll be bad for life. Not if I can get her to spend some of that dough. She'll be a partner, and then she can't squawk. Get on it, boss. Get on it fast. Where are we going now, Salty? I'm driving you home. Your mother might be worried. Oh, it's a wonderful night, and it's been such a wonderful day. Forget it. The races, dinner, a drive in the country. And that new dress you bought? The dress. Why did you do it? Do what? Well, I wasn't going to buy the dress. It was much too expensive. 1975, too expensive. Salty, I saw you pay the sales lady the difference. Oh, oh, I'm sorry. Why did you do that? Because it was the dress you liked. Because I wanted you to have it. Are you going to take it back? No, I should, but I'm not. Well, you had one good idea anyway, about giving the boys a party at the end of the term with the rest of my winnings. Oh, sure. They'd like that better than turning it over for athletics.  Me? Strange? Yes. Why should a man like you be carrying a gun? I'd like. Why do you carry a gun? I'm sorry. I'm getting careless. I didn't think it was noticeable. Salty, I'd like to go home right away. That's where I said I was taking. All right, Johnny, your wife's on her wake up. Who? Oh, you're talking to me? And start explaining.  Can I help her to some crooked jockey shoe me in? And look that dough alone.  I got a lift, don't I? Besides, I told you to bet on him. So you could pull a fix that could have tossed the handicap and 50 Gs right out of the window? Except I wasn't caught, was I? You don't know how close you came. That school teacher friend of yours was going to give the winnings from the ticket you sent her to the athletic fund. So what happened? So I stopped her. Oh, but that was hard. I never seen a dame yet that couldn't use a little extra cash. I've seen you guys. The neighbors can hear you all over the block. All right, listen to me, punk. From now on, you're going to get me an honor shake and start training. And if you're done, I'm getting me a new boy. No, you're not. Yeah, who says so? The talking horse says so. Whipper, the horse nobody else can ride, remember? So why don't you two get out of here? I've got to get my rest. Good night, boys. Come on, Smitty. You're not going to let that saddlemorky take charge, are you?  You can hit him over the head, or you can feed him chloroform that tastes like cream. In this case, I'm using cream. Well, Timothy, I suppose you realize why I'm keeping you after school. Sure, Miss Brooks, but I only whistled because you look so pretty in your new dress. Timothy, why is it that you do a nice thing one minute and spoil it the next by being so ill-behaved? What did I do nice? Oh, this dress, it was very sweet of you. But you must promise never to do it again. Oh, it was nothing. You don't even have to mention it. I know there's a lot of good in you, and I do want to see you amount to something. Say, are you on the level? Of course I am.  I want to help you. If you'll let me. If I'll let you? Oh, listen, Cupcake, you and me are going to make beautiful music together.  Huh? You get out of here. And if you ever say anything like that again, I'll expel you for good. But Miss Brooks, I...  Here, Sharpie. I told you we'd find the kid in a joint like this. Feed it. So this is where you've been all night. Drinking beer. Button it up. All right, take it easy, Smithy. Maybe the boy's got something on his mind. Maybe I have. Not that Model T school teacher again. Don't you talk about her like that. She's swell. Now, wait a minute. You're not stuck on this thing, are you? What if I am? Oh, easy, kid. We're only trying to help you. Well, fix it up so Miss Brooks will talk to me again. OK, but you've got to start doing your part. What do you mean? Well, in the first place, a fine girl like Miss Brooks doesn't go for guys like us. She goes for guys that drink milk, not beer. Go on. Well, in the second place, you've got to train every day. Treat her with respect. Prove to her that you've got a fine, clean-cut character. Then on the far turn, you start making your move, see? That's the Dellington handicap. The girl in 16 grand in your pocket. Don't win it. He's right, kid. I would have thought of it. Go get her on the phone, talk to her. Oh, sure. Sure, partner. The number's Dellington 727. There's a phone back there. What did she say? I told her I had something important to discuss. She said I can come right over. OK, just remember whose side you're pitching on. I have to be nice to her, don't I? Just don't be too nice. Now, how do you know how I have to be? Every time you talk to her, you get your nose in the sling. All right, Smitty, you and Johnny better get back to the bungalow. Now, when you get through talking to her, don't hang around her house. Do you hear? You got a kind of bad habit, Johnny. Give you a full report when I get back. Don't worry, kid. Salty'll put it over for you. He's in with her old lady, too. Even had him to the races. Even picked out that dress from Miss Brooks. What? He picked it. Sure. Smitty, look, you want to run next door and give me a couple of stovies? It's embarrassing when they ask me my age. Here. Forget it, kid. These here will be on me. Thanks, Smitty. Hey, Herman. When that guy comes back, tell him I just disappeared. You don't know where I went. Sure kid, I'll tell him. No, what can be keeping Barbara, Mr. O'Rourke? Well, I hope she's not getting all dressed up. I just thought we'd have a little chat. You can't fool me. This is no place to talk. And anyway, a new dress ought to be taken out. Oh, Mother, the pleasure's all mine. Hello, Salty. What were you two talking about? Oh, Salty was asking me if he could take you out. I said he could. Oh, Mother, you're still... Well, I think it's a very good idea. Now, you two run along. Don't worry about me, dear. Run along. Good night. Good night. Good night, Mom. Hello? Hello, Mrs. Brooks? This is Mrs. Brooks. I'm sorry, but Mrs. Brooks is out for the evening. Oh, say, Mr. O'Rourke ain't around, either, huh? Oh, no. He and my daughter were out for the evening. Well, who's calling, please? Never mind. Is there any message? Yeah.  Oh, Mom! And if he starts looking for his boy, tell him not to buy it. Tell him I'm getting crack-eyed drunk. Goodbye. In just a moment, we'll bring you the third act of Salty O'Rourke, starring Alan Ladd, Marjorie Reynolds, and William Demerest. Here's our producer, Mr. William Keely. We continue with act three of Salty O'Rourke, starring Alan Ladd as the gentleman in question, William Demerest as Smitty, and Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara Brooks, with James Cardwell as Johnny Cate. Johnny Cate is sure that double Salty has double-crossed him with a beautiful Miss Brooks. And while he's drowning his sorrow the only way he knows how, Salty's taken Barbara to a nightclub. True to his promise to Johnny, Salty builds him up to stratostatic heights. Beautiful boy. Loyal, ambitious, clean-cut. And what do you suggest I do about it? Well, you could invite him over to your house, get the knowing about it. But Timothy seems so, well, precocious. Yeah, he is old for his years. But underneath he's just a sweet, lovable kid. All right, I'll invite him over. Now, do you suppose you'd consider asking me to dance? Oh, hello, Rourke. Oh, Baxter, what do you want? I thought you'd be glad to see me. You see, I heard about a long shot that came in, 60 to 1. Sorry, I didn't bet the race. You didn't bet the race? That's right. OK, but the mortgage is still due. And payable after the handicap. You seem pretty sure of winning. Sure, I've got the right eyes. I hope so, Solvee. Yeah, let me up again sometime. Sorry, Barbara. You're in trouble. That's why you carry the gun. Who was that man? Let's talk about it some other time, huh? Solvee, won't you please quit this life you're leading? Fine, what's it to you? You're right. What's it to me?  You in bed yet? I didn't turn in because of the kid's sleep. Well, that's what I've been waiting up to tell you. He, uh, he gave me the slip, boss. Gave you the slip? What do you use for brains? I knew you was going to ask me that. Well, all we can do is that all you've got to say. Oh, that's great. Tomorrow's Saturday. You know whippers running that prep race, and look at the shape you're in. You're drunk, and jockeys that drink.  Look at this, Leroy. You got to lay off on this brook. Oh, why don't you get smart? I was only trying to straighten you out with it. Give me that. I never looked sideways. I don't mind a lie. You better not look at her again, brother. Because I got you right in my pocket, see? I'm the only Buddha that can ride whippers. I can ride him with the range in my teeth, see?  I didn't say anything. I am might. But make one false move with that girl over there. Can you and that nag wind up in the glue factory. It's for you. Yeah? Bring me some ice. My head's killing me.  Get him the ice. Come on. I told you we got to use cream on this cat, it still holds. Come on, Johnny. Wake up. Add a boy, add a boy. How do you feel? Add out of here. Did you have a good night, kid? What's the matter with you, guy? Why, not a thing. Now, if you can stand some good news, I'd just call Miss Brooks. She said she'd be very happy to see you at her house after you worked out whippers. She did? You sure you're on the level? Well, I've always been on the level with you. Oh, boy. Thanks, SOTY.  Oh, my head. Now that you're here, Timothy, let's review your geography. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, later. Miss Brooks. Yes? I got you a little something. Here. In this box, it's a pin. Timothy, it's beautiful. Oh, but you shouldn't spend your money like that. You have your future to think about. I have thought of it. It only upsets me. Why? Someday a girl will come along and you'll be thinking of settling down, having your own home. You should start saving right now. You think so? Well, certainly. You mean if I had, say, 15 grand in a bank, a girl might take a chance with me? Exactly. And I'm a little old fashioned, Timothy. I believe in early marriage. Oh, you don't have to say any more, baby.  You have a funny look in your eye, Timothy. Is there someone? I ain't cracking now, but when I do, you'll be the first to know about it. Say, there's a prep race for the handicapped this afternoon. Me and Ripper's running. Now, Timothy, don't you dare. Oh, no, I was just going to say when we come down that finish line, we'll be thinking about you. Me and Ripper? You'll very sweet. I'll speed everything by a city block.  Now, if I'm going to keep that kid in the right frame of mind for one more week, we've got a beautiful chance of hitting that jackpot. I've got an idea. Look, the night before the handicapped is the jockey's ball. All them punks in school will be trying to take the teacher, see? Now, if you could muscle Johnny into that spot, we'd have a happy character in our hands. How about it? Hey, wait a minute. I think you got something. Hustle down to the winter circle, Smitty. I'm seeing this book right away. Look at him, Watson, boss. But once that Johnny is teaching teacher something. You know, I can't get over the way that kid's been behaving. I'm beginning to believe he's all right. I was even thinking the same thing. Hey, they stopped dancing. Well, are you blaming? Look, he's taking her outside, boss, out in the moonlight. Why, that two-bit little Romeo. Oh, now, easy, boss, easy. That's what we wanted, wasn't it? Well, that's the matter with me. Certainly, it's what we wanted. All right, Timmy. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about that we couldn't talk about inside? Well, first off, have you noticed any change in me, Miss Books? Yes, and I'm very proud of you. Oh, am I glad to hear you say that. It sure makes it easier for me to talk about us, knowing for sure how you feel. About us? Yeah, I, uh, been to the jewelry store again. You know what it is this time? I haven't any idea. Here, an engagement ring. Timothy. Oh, don't stop me now. I, I, I love you, and I'm going to say it. I, I, I want to marry you. Oh, heck, I, I know this is a rotten proposal. Timothy, you're not serious. Serious? Oh, Timothy, I like you very much, but if I've given you the impression that my feelings went any deeper. When you said about me meeting the right girl and saving my dough and getting married, you, you didn't mean us? And then you. Oh, I had no idea you'd listen to her. Is this somebody else? That doesn't make any difference. There is somebody else. It's a ruric, ain't it? Ain't it? Well, what if it is? I knew it. What a lot of fun you must have laughing at me to both of you. No one's been laughing at you. Oh, no. Who was he who's going to laugh last? Boy, what a sucker I've been. What's wrong? Come out here on the terrace.  Oh, now wait a minute. That trick you played on Timothy was the most heartless. How could you do such an unholy thing and make me a partner to it? Would you please tell me what you're talking about? Timothy proposed to me just now, and it's all your fault. Where is he? He's gone. He couldn't stand it when I told him I. When you told him what? Never mind. You must have told him something to drive him away. Well, I guess I did, but I can't tell it to you. You've got to tell me. Everything may depend on it. I told him I was in love with you.  Because I am. Well, at least I was. Now go away and let me alone. Go away. He's a rock's jockey. Send him in, babe, then beat it. OK, go right in, kid. I ain't got much time, Baxter, and I know all about you. Smart kid, what can I do for you? Nothing. I come to your hotel to tell you what I can do for you. You'd like to have whipper in your pocket tomorrow, wouldn't you? Sure, I would. But a job like that's worth more dough than I can afford. Well, this time, money don't count. I don't like a roarick any more than you do. Is that so? Yeah. What horse are you on? Black armor.  We'll put $500 on his nose for me, and we've got a deal. Oh, I can do a little better than that. I'll grand on his nose, and here, say, five Cs for spending money. OK. There's just one thing I don't understand. Oh, well, it goes you dough. $20,000. And how are you going to collect it if whipper don't win? Who cares? If black armor wins, and now I'm pretty sure he's going to, I'll make more off my bets. At the same time, wipe out a guy I don't like. Oh, I see what you mean. Yeah, I see what you mean. But he looked at kid's homies. Pa would have been home all the time. Hello, Johnny. Hi, kid. Boy, are we dumb. We've been checking every saloon in town. We figured you've been hanging one on again. I've got a ride to more, ain't I? Johnny, you're OK. That's for what happened tonight at the dance. Well, all I can say is I'm sorry. Ah, cut out the malarkey.  Oh, now take it easy, kid. She didn't mean a thing to you, huh? Never looked at her sideways, eh?  Eh, I never had an honest shake with you or her. Now listen to me and get this straight. That girl didn't mean a thing to me just like I told you. As a matter of fact, until she blowed me out a couple of hours ago, I didn't even know she was alive. But brother, I know it now.  All I can do is tell you again I'm sorry. And if I were you, I'd concentrate on that 16 grand you're going to pick up tomorrow afternoon. Because girl or no girl, you're still a pretty smart businessman. Well, you sure countin' on me, ain't you? Yes, because I'll have the best horse and the best booter on the track. Maybe you're right. Do you think he's right, Smitty? Well, kid, I'll tell you where to skip it. I'm going to bed. Hey, Mac. Yes, Oldie? Start looking for Smitty. Horse in the paddock and my trainer hasn't even shown up. How am I going to find him in that mob up? Oh, it's OK, Oldie. Smitty's coming. Hey, boss, boss. Where have you been? We're cooked, so I'll be cooked. Why? Baxter's got whipper in his sack and you with it. Johnny sold out to Baxter's, a little thief. Oh, quit running off at the mouth. How do you know? I got a friend at Bellhop, see? He seen him together last night in Baxter's hotel. He heard him. I don't believe him. Baxter's given them 1,500 bucks. That little gypsy's got no loyalty for him.  Aren't we giving him a third of the purse? Where's the kid now? Still in the jockey room. They'll be weighing in about now. Yeah, he ought to be out any minute. There ain't any time to lose. Now where are you going? Stay with whipper, boss. There's somebody in the grandstand. They've got to see. Look where the body is, Miss Brooks. You remember me? Yes. It's about salty, Miss. If he loses this race, you'll never see him again. Then neither will anybody else. What are you talking about? The kid's throwing the race. He's not going to try to win. And if we don't win, salty is as good as dead. Why do you come to me? Because salty is in love with you. In love with me? Oh, please, lady. You've got to believe me. The kid's coming out for the race. I want you to talk to him. Where will I find him? Well, after he leaves the jockey room, he goes to the paddy. I think maybe there's a spot between where you can grab him. Well, I can't stop now. I'm riding in this race. If it's the last thing I do, I've got to make you listen to him, Missy. What's the matter with you? I can't guarantee a winner. You said once you wanted me to be happy. Now you've got your chance to prove it. I love salty. I always will. And if he wins this race, I can get him out of all this forever. But it's up to you, Tim. You will give me that chance, won't you? I'll always remember the nice things you told me last night. And I'll always be grateful and proud of you. No matter what happens on that track, I, for one, will always know that you tried to win with all your might. Hey, hey, you kissed me. Yes, Timmy.  Excuse me, I got to see your horse about a race. All right, kid. Whip is tight as a trough. Just remember, it's a mile and a quarter, and what am I doing trying to tell you how to ride this horse? You're the only one that does know how. Yeah. You've been hearing some talk, salty? A little, but I don't believe it. You'll know soon, though, huh? Yeah, yeah, I'll know soon. Good luck, partner. OK, Whip, let's go.  Take it easy, Smitty. Maybe he's changed his mind. Yeah? Look, I've just been doing some snooping in the jockey room. Here, in the kid's locker, 500 cash. Thanks for getting this, salty. And he's riding you straight to the undertaker. Too late to worry about it. No, yank Whipper out the race. Declare him out. Well, what good would that do? We can't win with him. We can't win without him. Then let's blow out of here while we can. OK, get the car.  OK, boss, I got the car. Let's go. I, uh, I changed my mind. I think I'll just sit here on the bench for a while. You, nuts? Yeah, probably. I'll get over to the bungalow and start packing. Here, go ahead. I'll see you in a little while. Hello, salty. Hello, Bruxy. I followed you out here. I saw you leave. You're not going to watch the race? Oh, we're in the starting gate. No. You never called me Bruxy before. Oh, you're there, and let it go. I never felt this way before. I mean, love, Bruxy. Funny, but it's so. I mean, love, too small. Yeah, but I'm just a guy who found out too late. Why? Tell me, I'll be right to know. Long story, Bruxy won. Just didn't work out. If I'd have won this race, the whole world would have looked different. But you haven't lost yet. Whippa may still win it. Oh, no, he's in a boat ride. Not a chance. Aldi, I know about Timothy, but we mustn't judge him too soon. We mustn't. Bruxy, I'm no good with words unless I'm lying to somebody, but I'm not lying now. I want you to start walking to that gate and go right on through without looking back. This is goodbye. No, it isn't, Aldi. Because where you go, I'll go, too. No, you can't. Someday, when things straighten themselves out, I'll come back. I'm not in trouble.  What are you letting me do? You have no right to talk to me before I raise this, you little man. You've got good horse sense. Because we want what you do. You wouldn't help it if you run away and won this race, could you? Well, what makes you think you can? All right, so don't get the name. We can quit it. Pretty far back. It looks like she's done it. All right, so backstuff, race, close my legs. You've got to get me first, don't you? All right, mister, come on, please. It isn't far back. Come on, let's go. All right, Tomer, it's your second chance. And there goes Whipper. Whipper is now at third place. It's Black Tomer, his friend is at Whipper. They're coming down to third now. It's Black Tomer by one place. His friend is by ahead. And the Whipper is Black Tomer and Whipper is Black Tomer on the outside. Whipper is now going away. It's Whipper and Black Tomer. They're coming down to third place now. What's your name, Decay? Haven't any of you seen him? Sure, Mr. O'Rourke. Timmy just beat it. He what? Yeah, just now. He sure seemed in a hurry. Say, Doc, Baxter's been looking for him, too. Baxter. If you're hurry, Salty, hit it out that way. We're all those cars apart. He knows we're after him, Doc. The little rat, he'll find a car with keys in it and lay him out of here. There he goes now. Oh, where? The doctor in that packard. I just saw him. You come on the other side, babe. I'll come up. What's your hurry, kid? You're not going anywhere. Oh, hello, Doc. That's Whipper. Sure surprised us, isn't he? Dottie! Dottie! It's O'Rourke. It's a break for you, kid. Salty! This way, I've got to give it to you fast. Salty! Where are you going? I'm dropping you off at your house. I've got a debt to clear up. You're going after those men. You're going to take revenge and they'll be more killing. You're nervous and excited, better lie down when you get home. You'll be back for me? Yeah, I'll be back for you. Don't worry, I'll be back. O'Rourke, I've been waiting for you. You're late, aren't you? Yeah, there was an accident at the track fax. I was delayed. Oh, what happened? My jockey's dead. Somebody's merged him. You sure you don't know anything about it? Why should I know anything about it? It's too bad he ran a good race. Yes, he did. For me. All right, let's cut the chatter. You owe me 20 grand. Yeah. Yeah, it's here. This envelope. Thanks. Not going to count it? Uh-uh. You see, if I was to count it, O'Rourke, you might start reaching for a gun. Well, except I don't have a gun. No? No, your pal, Babe, was waiting for me when I stepped out of the elevator. Oh. Yeah, stuck a cannon in my back and searched me. That Babe just hasn't got any manners? No, and neither have I. Let him have it, Babe. Let him have it. Sorry, Baxter, but Babe's detained. Will we do? Cops. Well, that's right, Doc. Get his gun, Johnson. Eh. It's a 38, all right. A 38, huh? Three slugs from a 38 killed that kid this afternoon. Oh, uh, you. You couldn't spare me a couple of minutes alone with this rat, would you? No, it couldn't. I didn't think so. But we might spare you a couple of minutes at the curb. Uh, there's a dame down there, O'Rourke, sitting in your car waiting for you. So this was your idea, huh? Sending for the cops. I had too salty. You might have been killed.  All I understand is some things are meant to be subtle just one way. No one knew that better than Timothy. That's why he won that race for you this afternoon. Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean, Bruxy. But you're right. Some things are meant to be subtle just one way. Hey. Hmm? Would you mind trying that kiss again? Just a size. Boy, let's get out of here, teacher. I've got to catch up on my homework. Return to the kitchen, Paul. Here's an important reminder. Mr. William Tealy returns to the microphone. We leave Salty O'Rourke to catch up on his homework and bring our stars back to the footlights as they are in real life. Alan Ladd, Bill Demerist, and Marjorie Reynolds, who gave us such splendid performances. Well, thank you, Bill. But, you know, we had a good audience. That always makes a difference. Well, it just goes to show the drawing power of a Salty O'Rourke. Incidentally, Alan, I understand your native state made you an Arkansas traveler in honor of your work in Salty. Well, uh, that was before they saw the picture, sir. Now, sir, they'd probably like to see me travel. Now that we're both at Paramount, Alan, it would be fun to make a picture together. Well, I worked on one of your pictures out of Warner, sir. Now you're embarrassing me, Alan. I don't remember it. Don't remember Alan Ladd, Bill? Wait till his fans hear that. Now, just what did you do, Alan? Fell 20 feet from a scaffolding, sir, and broke my neck.  And even then, the director don't notice them. Well, what were you, a stuntman, Alan? No, nothing so exciting. Just a studio carpenter, sir. Say, what is all this, sir, for? Well, uh, you remember, sir, you were my commanding officer in the Air Force. Well, we can forget all about that now, Alan. Thank you, sir, or Bill. Yeah, sounds funny. From a studio grip to stardom, well, that's great work, Alan. I know Bill Demarest and Marjorie both climbed to stardom the hard way, too. Yeah, but with her looks, Marjorie had a head start. And I got to go some to catch up with her. Yes, I see what you mean. Thank you, Bill. Good night. Good night. Good night from all our thanks to you. This is William Keely, saying good night to you from Hollywood.


You know, we've got something green growing, maybe not a planted cover crop, but on probably a third of the entire crop land acres right now. So we're moving that way, but we're trying to find and figure out a way which we did by growing our own cover crop seed to expand it out and keep some money in our pocket too. We believe in it, but with that though, you still have business partners, you still have landlords, you still have agronomists, you still have all these other people. And so we had to figure out how to bring those people with us on a journey, because in some instances, the landlords weren't happy to see something green growing out thereafter. It's a complete paradigm shift of how we're gonna handle the land. And if you're not the land owner, then you have to still appease the landlord. And so it really was a blessing that we only had a few acres in the CSP program because that gave us the opportunity to kind of fine tune a little bit the cover crops and it gave the landlords a chance to see big, at least once that then they all of a sudden say, oh, oh, that's not so bad. And some landlords really love to hunt. And when you get big cover crops, where do they go? There's all kinds of wildlife in there. And so then they started to see, okay, this is a win-win for everybody. So just a lot of patience and it was a lot of time and just God's hand that we hit it big one time and they walked out there and there was all kinds of birds and all of a sudden the light bulb went off that this works and some landlords, we never got convinced of it. They couldn't get over that paradigm shift of you need to be out there with tillage equipment or you don't need to be out there at all. They might've come to the no-till part, but they didn't come to the, let's keep it active, let's keep it alive. And just in that piece of ground, it wasn't one that was in CSP. We put it out there because it was one that probably had been a little bit mistreated over the years and JP and I just tried to brainstorm what can we do to try to butter it, even if we can't have it for 25 years. What can we do to just try to make it a little bit better for next year because we knew we had it for the next year. And so we put it out there and they just shook their heads every day and the cover crops didn't get that big, but the next year when we put soybeans on it, it sure made a little bit of difference. Yeah, we left the cover crops out, they didn't graze them off or anything. So it's a paradigm shift that you have to bring your business partners with too.


scientists and politicians have expressed relief, but also some confusion about the apparent decline in new daily COVID cases across the UK. And to add to the complexity, different models for measuring cases are now giving different indications of whether that decline even took place, or whether it is even taking place right now. Let's run you through the different sources of data on this question. So the one we hear most about is from Public Health England. They're the official statistics people who have tested positive any one day. It's what you hear on the news. It's what the government announced at their briefings. Today, as we stand, there were 29,622 new COVID cases reported in the past 24 hours. That's not a low figure. It's also slightly up from 24,004 days ago. That was the lowest we've had in the last couple of weeks. But as you can see from this graph, it is significantly down from seven days ago. And the seven day average is falling quite sharply. As you can see, they're down 36% on the previous week. We can zoom in a little bit now for good measure on those last couple of days, just so you can see where that dip happened and where we might be having a slight uptick. The benefit of Public Health England data and why we hear so much about it is because it comes in real time. They're also all confirmed cases. There aren't any estimations going on here. There is a downside, though, which is that it can be affected by how many people and especially which people are getting tested. That's where the Office for National Statistics data comes in. We use them a lot on the show. They don't have to account for the number and what type of people are getting tested because it is a representative sample of the population. They go around and test the same group of people and then from that estimate who has COVID-19. It's not at all affected by who is turning up to get tested because they go out and do the testing themselves. That is not looking as rosy. The ONS released a report today and they estimate that in the week ending the 24th of July, one in 65 people in England had COVID-19. That's compared to one in 75 the previous week. Remember, according to PHE, cases peaked on the 15th of July. The ONS at this point are telling us that in the week ending, the 24th of July, cases were still rising. We can have a look through in a bit more detail of that data now. They say, according to the ONS, cases were up in all nations of the UK, apart from Scotland, where cases fell from one in 80 to one in 110. The biggest rise you can see there, the most dramatic rise was in Northern Ireland. Cases there went from one in 170 to one in 65 in a week. That's an enormous rise. Wales fairly steady. They went from one in 210 to one in 160, so rising but fairly gently. As I've said, England risen from one in 75 to one in 65. As I've said, the weakness in that ONS data is that it's a lagging indicator. It could just be that we're waiting for the ONS data to catch up with the PHE data. There is one other tracker of COVID cases or another method for estimating how many cases there currently are. That's done via the Zoey Symptom Tracker app. This isn't supposed to have a time lag. They've modeled case rates on the basis of reported symptoms to their app, which hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded. They don't believe cases to have fallen in line with the NHS dashboard. This is how they are currently modeling cases. As you can see there, PHE shows the cases falling dramatically. As that's happening, Zoey suggests that actually they are remaining stable. Tim Spector runs the Zoey app and in this YouTube Q&A session he explains what he thinks is going on. This sudden drop in confirmed cases that are released by the government every day, it's dropped something like 30% in two days, which is pretty much unheard of in pandemics. And remember this is happening without restrictions, without lockdowns, without some sudden event. So to me it looks a bit fishy. It looks as if there's some other explanation for this other than suddenly the virus has given up. Could be that less young people are getting tested. We're not able easily to get those government figures, but if the proportion of young people being tested is going down and older people is going up, that could explain this change. And we know that a lot of people are concerned about the pandemic. They may not want to get tested because they might be told to self isolate. They might want to be going on holiday or going to concerts etc. And so this could be a potential phenomenon that's upsetting those results. So Tim Spector thinks the fall shown by PHE was fishy, but who should we believe and how should we interpret the different signals being given out by these different data sources? To find out earlier today, I spoke to Alex Crozier, a biomedical researcher at Queen Mary University. There's a number of sources to interpret this case data from and they all use slightly different methodologies. And so therefore it's sort of while it sounds sort of confusing that there's these different scenarios being sort of painted, it does actually make sense that different methodologies and different teams would produce different data. I think when you look at sort of the evidence in totality, it is quite clear that the the fall in cases was true by how much is sort of the key interesting question. But that of course doesn't mean that cases aren't going to go up maybe soon again. There's a number of reasons I think you had really quality on on the other day who gave yes basically summed up how complex the situation is right now and how challenging it is to interpret the case data at the moment. Would there be a point at which you would say oh maybe the public health England data is wrong? And I suppose what I mean by that is at the moment these sources of data don't accord. Would there be a time where you thought oh if the ONS is still saying there is this much COVID in the the community that it must have been because of something like testing that the kind of thing that that Tim Spector is suggesting. The ONS and the react data as well are the most reliable data sources we have because they attempt to take a representative sample of the population but they're of course always on a lag. There's sort of other complications there where you can continue to test positive by PCR for a long time after you've been infected. And so when you're coming down from a peak of an epidemic curve that can influence figures and that has influenced figures which is why I think there's some confusion today as as as to why ONS is saying cases are still going up. But really I think my interpretation of the ONS data is actually that that shows that there was a fall. And certainly so yeah I would say if ONS data is very obviously deep disagreeing with public health England data and on that lag then we could maybe say there's the main causes reduced testing or other other reasons like that. But I think at the moment it is quite clear understandable that cases did fall. It's just that question of how much buy and why really. So when it comes to the public health England data so that's people who went to get tested and tested positive. We have seen a slight uptick in that since midweek. Now the debate I'm seeing on Twitter is between people saying this might just be a blip or this is a new surge a new wave. At what point will we know which one of those it is? Yeah I don't think anyone really knows where exactly it's going to go. Graham medley the chair of sort of the modeling modeling group of sage said you know we're likely to see a number of peaks and troughs over the coming months in case we'll likely stay high and go sort of up and down occasionally. And of course throughout the epidemic even even in sort of the winter ways when cases were going up they they they plateaued and went down for a few days and you know it's very sort of a complex system. Yeah but I think it's too early to say I don't think we're at herd immunity yet and it's too early to say that this growth won't come back or that hospitalizations won't rise again which we saw for the first time in a long time actually plateaued this week which is very good news. So yeah there's certainly a long way to go but it's definitely a good thing that we managed to lift all restrictions on mixing and and not have the sort of disaster sage that that some predicted. That was Alex Crows, you're explaining some of the nuances of the different data sources. Something that's particularly interesting about the ONS that I think is potentially under discussed is that people can test positive for COVID-19 in a while so there's a lag because we don't get the data until a week later just because it takes longer to collect than PHE but also potentially because PHE is measuring new infections and the ONS is measuring who is currently suffering from COVID-19 and as we know you can suffer from that for for a week or so. So we might not see that in the ONS data for a while it's only just now actually it's only in this latest release that the fall in Scotland has become apparent obviously though. Lots of uncertainty as to what's going to come next. The final bit of data we have from these sage studies is casting doubt on the usefulness of perspex screens. So those things you see often appearing in pubs to separate tables under the pretence or ostensibly so that it will stop people passing COVID-19 to one another sage is suggesting potentially that's not very useful at all. They say there is very little data on the effectiveness of screens and barriers at reducing infection transmission from epidemiological modelling or laboratory studies and they do say there is some reason to believe it would prevent the spread of COVID by droplets but not a tool for airborne transmission which we know is very very important and they say that on that front when it comes to airborne transmission it could even be counterproductive. So this is the environmental modelling group on sage. They write there is some epidemiological and mechanistic evidence that suggests that screens could increase risks of aerosol transmission due to blocking changing airflow patterns or creating zones of poor air circulation behind screens. This effect will depend on the local airflow patterns. Aaron if I still have you I think I do. I'm here Michael I'm here. We have on this show talked a lot about how some of the supposed COVID safety measures where people say oh no I've made the pub COVID secure how could I possibly have to close it during a lockdown. We've often said they were mainly fear to this idea of perspex screens which can protect you from COVID-19 which is an airborne disease. Opening the window or opening the door is far more important. How frustrating is it that we're still having this conversation when this should have all happened last summer. There are actually other countries where they are talking much more about ventilation in the United States. This country we're just so so behind on these questions. Yeah it's a really interesting question Michael. I'm speaking to a gentleman I've mentioned this book a few times now Ben Bratton from Navarra FM probably next week and it brings these questions into really sharp relief and I think it does it does ultimately boil down to the fact that we have a political orthodoxy and I don't mean a political class because we could replace all the politicians and you know we could replace them with a bunch of other people from the Tory party the Labour Party they would do the exact same thing. You know we could change the head of the CBI and they would do the same things demand the same things. We have a political orthodoxy which is fundamentally not about solving problems and it's still looking at maximizing liberty not inhibiting the this sort of autonomy and agency of the individual. These quite now anachronistic things these quite anachronistic concerns you know I have a right not to wear a mask for instance it's clearly quite a strange thing. So the book sort of engages with that in a really really interesting way I suppose what you've not mentioned really Michael is vaccine passports and the difference that could make and I suppose that the counter would be well actually we don't need these things we can actually have really poor ventilation we don't need to wear masks you can go to nightclubs we can open up schools you know again clearly lots of kids are going to get sick but the extent to which that will percolate through to wider society is questionable if we have vaccine passports and that does seem a bit of a Hail Mary because nowhere has really trialled that maybe you can correct me but we don't have an example of a society where 5-10% of the population is infected and simultaneously 50-60% of the population is kind of insulated from the problem. That seems to be the Tory position come October November I mean it may be the case I suspect it won't work and I suspect we'll sort of move into a new phase of the problem of the crisis which is things will generally be open hospitals won't be a breaking point but I think you'll see a massive sort of economic drawdown I think you'll still see extensive working from home where possible I think you'll see many many people affected in more precarious work where they can't get sick pay you know incredibly you know precarious living on the bread line and that's going to throw up a bunch of new or different economic political and social concerns and you know again that the left has to be a bit more prepared for that so the question is oh we're going to have another lockdown we need a lockdown I think maybe we need a proper conversation actually about well what's what's what's sick pay going to look like for instance over the next 18 months two years because this probably isn't going to go away and you know we probably will see significant numbers of people dying every day I don't think a lockdown is the solution I don't think it will happen because you know over 50 percent of the public has now been vaccinated about 77 of the working age population those over 18 have had two vaccines so it's super interesting I mean what do you think do you think they're looking at the vaccine passport was the Hail Mary no I don't think they are to be honest I mean for me vaccine passports I'm I'm not particularly incensed about them in either direction I think one argument for them would be that there are some there are some areas which are always going to be unsafe however well you ventilate a nightclub that is still going to be somewhere that's a potential super spread or event because you've got lots of people in a closed space they're shouting they're screaming that's what you want to be there kissing each other that's kind of thing you want to do in a nightclub so for me the only way you could make that a bit safer if we do have surges in the winter is something like like vaccine passports I wouldn't see them as a way to control COVID-19 I'm just seeing them as a potential way to keep nightclubs open do you know what I mean you're upset you're obsessed with nightclubs especially with nightclubs I don't think it goes beyond that but I don't think COVID vaccine passports is what really matters going into this winter I think ventilation is going to be much more important and I think there the issue is that the government just cannot be bothered to invest because it would require a lot of money and we know with you know for example how long it has taken them to take down flammable cladding from buildings which we we all watched kill 70 odd people right it's taken them three years to take that down so can you imagine a government who's taken three years to take that down now managing to implement ventilation in every supermarket shop and school I don't think it should be hard to imagine that I think that's precisely the kind of thing our government should be doing right now there are governments in the world doing that right now but for me I think the government like oh we're not up to that we can't do that and so that's why more people are going to catch COVID this winter than they probably need to and not just COVID as those sage documents said all the other respiratory viruses that are going to be going around this winter because ventilation wouldn't just help us during COVID I'd quite like a society where I'm less likely to get a cold and I'm less likely to get the flu right obviously I'm not I don't want anyone's freedoms to be restricted so I don't get the flu or so I don't get a cold I don't want flu or cold passports for for nightclubs but if we could just install some better ventilation everywhere then that's that's that's all that's all upsides but as I say the government don't want to do that because they're terrified of of investment and intervening in the economy yeah I think the problem is as well Michael that the second you you demonstrate that actually the government and the state can intervene and can do things effectively much more so than the market they are really worried about this and that's one of the reasons why they've not engaged in these kinds of interventions you know the Tories they can't build cycle lanes while the Chinese are building 600 kilometers per hour maglev train systems spanning the whole country so again you know the capacity for western governments to solve problems after last 18 months not particularly good and in Britain in Britain in particular not not not very good at all very unimpressive I think as well for the vaccine passports thing because I think it's boiled down it's become a bit strange so people are saying oh we can't have vaccine passports because you want access to basic goods and services without having to you know submit a form of identity I agree with that argument but clearly clearly we can't open sporting events clearly we shouldn't do it it's deeply responsible I think to open sports stadia to you know even half capacity crowds in the absence of a measure like that that's just that's just my opinion but I can see why you know why you would have those why you'd have those mechanisms there clearly people shouldn't be storing the data and so I would far rather people are able to watch football and submit that document then you know players play to empty stadia for another six months you know your priorities night clubs Michael mine is mine is the premier league in the football pyramid yeah I mean the premier league are are implementing vaccine passports apparently that's what they've said and also I mean I think this the vaccine passport already exists I've actually got it on my phone now the NHS app gives you a I mean I haven't used it yet but it gives you what's it called a QR code I'm not sure exactly how it works but it doesn't doesn't seem like a sort of mind bending development let's go to a comment Leviven with five pounds both double vaccinated spouse tested positive for COVID Wednesday I'm still negative very stressful certainly the opposite of freedom for many god that does sound very stressful the silver lining I know it's you know I know this sounds like an incredibly difficult situation I'm not making light of it but the silver lining is because you are both double vaccinated you would have to be quite unlucky to get seriously or there are still people who are double vaccinated getting seriously ill and you know we have to take that very very seriously but on a personal level I'm avoiding situations where I might catch COVID because it seems one like it will create an enormous inconvenience for me and two I do think it seems helpful if we all take it very slowly and and sensibly now but I'm not as scared of it as I was I was before and I think we will be moving to a situation like that in in the future but all of my solidarity to your COVID positive spouse I hope you get better soon let's go straight on to our next story almost everyone agrees that Britain has a serious housing crisis indeed our Tory government often admits so however nothing ever seems to be done about it and a recent report in the financial times gave us a clue why the FT have revealed that the Conservative parties received almost 18 million pounds in donations from 154 donors with property interests since Boris Johnson became UK Prime Minister two years ago a quarter of the Conservative party income comes from pleasing landlords there was no data available on donations from private renters as you can imagine I'm pretty sure that doesn't make up a large proportion of income for the Conservative party to get an idea of why this matters we can take a look at some of the key donors some of the key individuals involved Anthony Gallagher is a billionaire property tycoon specializing in buying and preparing land plots for residential and commercial development he sold his land business in 2017 for 505 million pounds but then he reinvested the money in the private rental sector according to the FT Gallagher has been the most generous property donor to the Tories since Johnson took office in 2019 he's given 1.5 million pounds through his company county wide developments now you might be wondering well you know what does he get out of this potentially you know if you're if you've invested millions of pounds into the private rental market then you get quite a lot of Tory government also and obviously it's not for me to suggest there was anything transactional here it just so happens that Gallagher received a knighthood in 2020 for services to land development and property he began donating to the Tories as just Tony he's now Sir Tony another big donor was John Stuart Bloor he's the billionaire owner of Bloor homes which is one of the biggest private house builders in the UK he's donated 1.1 million to the Conservative since Boris Johnson took charge as you'd expect as with all of these donors Bloor has denied he wanted any favours in return for that 1.1 million pounds he told the FT I have never met Boris Johnson or spoken to him or his ministers neither have I employed lobbyists we donate money to the Conservative party and charities because we agree with their ethos of aspiration and hope for individuals and children and expect nothing in return for these donations a very very reassuring statement there there are some coincidences which might raise suspicions though we know from an earlier report in the Sunday Times that the timing of these donations is let's say notable that's because earlier this year Bloor donated 150,000 pounds to the Tories two days after a housing minister grave the green light to a Bloor proposal to build hundreds of homes on rural land in Herefordshire Aaron we talked last week about your brilliant piece on some of the effects of the housing crisis on mental health among many other issues this story suggests it won't be resolved anytime soon I mean unbelievable Michael you know between 2005 2015 the Tories fundraised a quarter of a billion pounds 250 million pounds that's the kind of money it took for them to to re-end the political sort of mainstream and former government and nothing's really changed since then and then you compare it to labor right and labor have made huge and of course you'd hope that there's a labor government in order to change housing policies so that we can stop this rat run that so many people are stuck in which is a deeply dysfunctional way to run society and labor you know I saw a funny story being spun by the Times last week about how donors are returning to labor one was Dale Vince from Ecotricity well he donated money under Corbin another was a somebody in the gambling industry but apparently according to Matt Sarp he's not particularly bad he donated money under Corbin and then finally there was a donation from Trevor Chin which I think was in the tens of thousands of pounds so that the ballpark the Tories are in Russian oligarchs property developers people who are absolutely invested in literally Britain's casino economy squeezing the poor and the working class of this country against Trevor Chin giving 20, 30, 40, 50 thousand pounds and what's super interesting is that many people were perfectly happy to fund Keir Starmer to become labor leader but they're not willing i.e. to remove the left from any position of political influence in this country but they're not willing to fund him against the Tories because fundamentally they want things to stay the same and I think you know you have to follow the money in politics and that quote that you just you just read out on air Michael was sickening because it said that we support the Tories because of aspiration for people and for for kids there are 4.3 million people in this country 4.3 million young people children minors who are in poverty 4.3 million it's gone up pretty much every year since the Tories have been in power since 2010 the people who are renting and private accommodation has been going up comparative to home ownership or social housing every year since 2010 ditto rough sleeping would have with of course the exception of the the pandemic and and so you're you're effectively looking at you know corruption in plain sight and clearly the only political alternative clearly you know the whole thing about Corbin or Bernie Sanders and you know you know the the wisdom of crowds and people-powered movement and bringing in money you know this was kind of diminished and mocked by the centrist commentary as if Labour have an alternative as if people like this are going to fund the Labour Party and we're going to start seeing loads of social housing being built or we're going to see greater regulation on HMOs or rent caps of course we aren't so clearly the only political alternative that could take that on which could find funding would have to be from a different source and we've just been dealing with hypnotic centrist zombies Michael for six seven years and it's it's terrifying and in the meantime these people these kinds of donors like this gentleman the Russian oligarchs and you know frankly speaking the parasitic renciers that run Britain's economy in their own interests the not the 1% the 0.1% they're laughing while we have the sort of centrist commentary thinking that they can do what those guys do and at the same time they can sort of you know implement better policy well you can't the reason why we have a broken housing system the reason why the Tories are happy to keep on with that is it's in their interests you know we need to bring people together it's not about dividing people no we need to divide landlords from tenants they don't have the same interests that's not that's not me being nasty and divisive it's a matter of fact a landlord wants high rents a tenant wants cheap rents just as a worker wants different things from a boss you know a boss wants cheap employees and a worker wants high wages they don't have shared interests and sadly we've been stuck in this very strange rhetorical cycle for too long where it's been dominated by like I say centrist zombies but this is why our politics has broken Michael follow the money we're going to continue following the money there was another ft report on the influence of Tory donors on the party a couple of really good reports from the ft this week in this report they reveal that there is a secretive club for major conservative donors known as the advisory board and it has been holding regular meetings and calls with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak the club some of whose members have given at least 250,000 pounds to the party has been developed by Ben Elliott Tory co-chair as a means of connecting major conservative backers with its top figures the club does not appear in party literature but conservative officials confirmed the advisory board occasionally meets with Johnson and Sunak for an update on the political landscape one person briefed on the advisory board's activities said it held monthly meetings or conference calls with either the Prime Minister or the Chancellor some members have used those discussions to call for public spending cuts and lower taxes a donor said the report did speak to some sources who defended the core the Tory co-chair for setting up this advisory group they write supporters of Elliott say the conservatives have long had a leaders group where donors who give 50,000 pounds are offered regular meetings with ministers the advisory board operates at a more rarefied level with some members giving the party five times that amount well placed conservatives say that not everyone on the advisory board has given 250,000 pounds but some had now Aaron the thing that strikes me about this now I think we all you know we knew that people who give 250,000 pounds to the conservative party aren't just doing it out the goodness of their heart because as that property developer said oh because we believe in personal aspiration no we're not that naive right you know that what is happening is that they want influence over government that's why they do it what shocked me about this one those they call them the advisory group right you're at least supposed to maintain the pretense right that we don't take direction from our donors the donors donate to us because we do what they believe but we don't do what we do because they believe it you know we don't take advice from our donors but they've called the group of five-figured owners or six-figured owners the advisory group well it goes on there well it goes back to the thing I said to you Michael between 2005-2015 right the conservatives raise a quarter of a billion pounds it's no coincidence that after 2010 you get austerity and you get a massive growth in inequality between rich and poor you see a direct funding of money and funds from the poorest most vulnerable in society to the wealthiest you see the erosion of of the state infrastructure basically to enrich private corporate interests particularly through outsourcing zero-hours contracts privatizations you see the privatization for instance of you know royal mail you see the Cameron government trying to sell off it sells off for instance uh east coast main line it sells off you know equity in banks those people gave that quarter of a billion pounds the conservative party you know the labor party weren't particularly radical under Blair and Brown Michael but the point is with the rich that it's never it's never enough it's never enough and so they said look we want our lower taxes we don't want to actually fund you know the NHS and their reward was a conservative government from 2010 and shame on them with the liberal democrats which implemented austerity that is a quid pro quo that was a direct transaction of money resources and funds for certain political outcomes right it wasn't an accident if the Tories after 2005 particularly after the financial crisis were saying we're going to increase taxes and we're going to bring things into public ownership they wouldn't be getting that money would they pretty obvious uh and it's pretty obvious why you know millionaires weren't donating to labor and they still aren't but particularly weren't donating to labor when when Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader because there's a transaction going on and I find it supremely odd Michael that the exact same people the literally the exact same people will say on the one hand you get you know everything has a price it's all about you know profit maximization return and investment all these people really cold-hearted ruthless business killers these exact same people say I'm giving tens of millions of pounds or hundreds of thousands of pounds to the political party I don't want anything of return come on we weren't born yesterday and again to return to my previous points Michael about the sort of centrist punditocracy who actually are among the stupidest people in this country if it is willful ignorance then that's a different proposition but I think actually sadly a lot of the time it isn't I think a lot of the time they actually believe what they're saying they are the most naive credulous people imaginable I think the average person recognizes the fact big money donors do these things to get influence to shape outcomes so yes they call it the advisory board but even if they didn't do that Michael we kind of know why why they're doing this and it's the exact same thing you know with trade unions trade unions fund the labor party so that we can get political outcomes which are more advantageous to trade unions and organized labor we should just be open about it and it's not about oh where they're just equally bad no this is good this other thing is bad this other thing is bad a society where Jeff Bezos can have amazon workers pissing and water bottles and he spends the money on a jolly into space is bad a society where we have universal literacy publicly funded healthcare everybody has access to a home a job clean drinking water food this is good this is qualitatively better than that they're not both equally bad I think anybody that says otherwise is it's clearly ridiculous or or is actually just incredibly wealthy and wants to kind of mask the fact they're advancing their own interests two very important groups in politics they're the very rich and powerful people who want to protect their interests and then the credulous people who are willing to go along with it let's go to some comments Rajya Dee with 1999 solidarity with renters so sorry for what landlords are doing to you it's not fair it is not fair I appreciate the solidarity Nikhil Chaun with 20 pounds that's close to right down with predatory landlords down with the property developer rentier capitalist complex I 100% agree should get that on a teacher Callum what with 10 pounds thank you for your careful honest detailed analysis I'm trying to soothe my covid symptoms with an ice cream sundae and tisky sour it's very comforting to know you guys are keeping us informed we've talked about how you know we should have a nuanced perspective to the data and it does seem like cases were falling if we're going to take the very unscientific survey of people who send super chat tisky sour we've got two in seven people have have covid-19 at the moment hopefully it's not as high as that but I hope you get well soon enjoy your sundae and harker it but pariah with five pounds I manage a venue ventilation and UV scrubbing would be a fraction of what government paid many venues to close over locked down by a cultural recovery fund I think that's a very important point I mean I think even with good ventilation to be fair they probably would have to have paid nightclubs to close for a while but the way this has been done is pretty irrational I think the biggest example of this is he out to help out last summer the government gave millions and millions of pounds essentially subsidizing people's meals when what they should have done is given millions and millions of pounds subsidizing those restaurants and caps to get ventilation fixed so that people could go for meals in safety you know people could go to meals without catching covid-19 that would have then benefited us for the rest of the pandemic and also as we were talking about earlier it would benefit us even after the pandemic because who wants to catch airborne viruses whatever they might be if you are enjoying the show hit the like button we're going to go straight to our next story at Navarra media we pride ourselves on being independent of billionaire barons that's because we're funded by our audience we're funded by you we don't have to answer to anyone with particular vested interests it's very different from people who work for the Murdoch press people who work for the sun people who work for the times people who work for talk radio they do know that ultimately their wages being paid by Rupert Murdoch and this is why I think they often lash out at us they lash out at independent journalists who aren't funded by billionaires it happens quite a lot surprisingly and it happened this week this week we got attacked by Oliver Cam he's a leader writer and columnist for the Murdoch owned times on Thursday he tweeted the following Navarra media can say whatever it likes without checking that's the difference between blogging and genuine reporting now I saw that tweet and it piqued my interest someone challenging disputing the editorial standards of Navarra media I wanted to know about it he was sharing an article from the Jewish Chronicle we can take a look at that piece now and so their headline pro-corban journal claimed Starmer agreed quick deal to form to former leaders return this is a reference to a brilliant article we have on our website by Oliver Eagleton it's about the the events which led to Corbyn being suspended from the Labour Party now I'd expected that I have a look at that JC article and there'd be some disputation of what was in that article some sort of claim that what was written there was false that seems to be the implication of what Oliver Cam has said I read that entire Jewish Chronicle article there was nothing all it had the only criticisms it had of the piece was was the following they write according to the article Sir Keir had personally promised his predecessor to share his speech in advance but failed to do so the leaders office has yet to comment on the claims by Mr Eagleton editor of the New Left Review and author of a new book on Sir Keir but the article was met with derision on social media actor Marlon Solomon branded it the comedy revision stage of Navarra media's anti-semitism coverage he posted so Starmer withhold sending him his speech just so Corbyn could walk into the trap of just being Corbyn then he could suspend him filmmaker Oscar Terji branded the article a ridiculous narrative saying it was actually hilarious that they had settled on this story to defend their cult leader's behavior regarding anti-semitism now that's just two tweets from people who are always angry at Navarra media making no factual claim about what was in the article they're just lashing out on Navarra media as they always do these are by the way two very obsessive accounts and Oliver Cam thinks this counts as a cautionary tale I was very confused I pointed this out to Oliver Cam I think this was in I thought there's quite a polite tweet to be honest so I tweeted Cam how is this a cautionary tale in anything we've published a well-sourced article you're sharing an article based on tweets from two obsessive accounts in a newspaper who last week had to pay out damages for publishing something they admitted was entirely untrue that was because of their coverage of Mark Wadsworth now I didn't get a sensible response from Oliver Cam to that instead he put his account on private so no one could see that tweet he just tweeted and no one could see anything he tweeted he locked his account then behind the veil of secrecy now we have to see this from screenshots because obviously we can't see his account once it goes private he goes on to slag off Navarra media now not because of any supposed factual inaccuracy even though they couldn't find any but because of where we live so Oliver Cam writes just protected my tweets comrades and friends to preempt a drearily predictable fusillade from Navarra media denouncing me from the comfort of their bedsits life is short and I've got work to do Aaron I want to bring you in on this we have discussed before Times journalists lashing out at Navarra media on very shaky foundations I mean this is particularly shaky and then ends up just being very unpleasant you're saying we live in bedsits now you can see where I live it's not a bed sit but if it was I wouldn't have any shame about that many people do have to live in bedsits it's what you it's where you live if you're on a low income right actually to be honest not many people can afford to live in a bed sit in London now you nearly always have to share a house with lots of people but anyway the impression he is trying to make there is these people don't have much money so he said one you don't have high editorial standards oh you've called me out because I actually couldn't locate where the editorial standards were wanting now I'm just going to diss you on the basis that you don't have as much money as me Aaron what's going on here what a pathetic little worm Michael Oliver Cam you pathetic little worm first of all like you say we're regulated by impress you people are welcome to dislike Navarra fine it's a free country knock yourself out some people are going to like us some people are going to dislike us it's a well researched piece well written the gentleman's going to write a book with verso books you know it's not just some made up gobbledygook there's serious arguments are being made well researched if you want to find a problem with them like you say Michael when that tweet went out the article went out from the Jewish Chronicle I thought oh god we've got some in accuracy here we're going to have to edit something make a correction okay well let's see and like you said it's just two pranks frankly tweeting about us and they're upset they are obsessives and it had nothing remotely to do the substance of the points being made in the article or even countering them and when this was pointed out to Mr. Cam who is quoting a piece from the Jewish Chronicle which has been subject I think now to four libel settlements it's settled it's given money to people over libel cases in recent years it's been forced by ipso which is regulated by to make nine corrections I think in three years we're regulated at Navarra media by impress which is a higher standard than ipso ipso is effectively a self regulator for the for the print media in this country we're regulated by impress we've had zero corrections in the last three years the Jewish Chronicle have had nine and Oliver Cam because frankly he's an ignorant man but because he's posh because he has money he thinks that he always knows best it's remarkable he was completely found out he was revealed as the ignoramus that he is I mean you just haven't got a leg to stand there for a second though just a blog they're not regulated actually we are regulated to a higher standard and we've had no corrections people said well people don't really care about Navarra media guess what when you're writing articles about John Ware about the labor leaks about trade union general secretaries who subsequently had to resign because of a story we published we're getting lots of correspondence from lawyers you wouldn't be surprised the point is we do things professionally and we haven't fallen short yet we might have to make a correction one day but so far we haven't so we're regulated and of course the moment he was found out Michael this this this cheap smarmy little man had to start making comments about where we live I don't I don't live in a bed sit if I did it wouldn't make the slightest difference in terms of the quality of my opinion or the substance of my character for better or for worse and actually if all of Oliver Cam is any indicator there's somebody who has a presumably he has a nice home who's very well off who's very expensively educated they can be arseholes it doesn't mean that they're particularly intelligent because he was wrong in this instance and he he sort of made a sort of cowardly way out by rather than sort of apologizing or trying to defend his argument just started name calling and it's it's factually inaccurate and also people said you know they're student politics students that live in bed sits as if just you've just said Michael it's it's generally single men on low incomes it's generally single men on low incomes and actually I'm not surprised he used that argument Michael and actually it was in a way it's positive because rather than saying this nonsense or actually in a foreign media they're all posh he's now saying well actually they're all in bed sits they're they're poor idiots I'm not gonna waste my time on them I only waste my time on rich people I bet you do I bet I bet those are the only people you talk to that's why you were very out of touch and a whole bunch of issues I'd rather him say that Michael and where it's a compliment than saying we're we're posh than saying you know we all live in beds it's fine you go knock yourself out Oliver you ignorant small twit Aaron we're going to finish on time today it's a rare occurrence it's been a pleasure as always speaking to you this Friday evening it's been my pleasure Michael I'm very sorry for our audience who've been subjected to the the idiocy of uh Oliver cam I don't think there's a distance as big in the universe as the one the gulf between how smart that guy thinks he is and how stupid he really is I mean it's a it's a big it's like the grand canyon it's a very uh a very true statement to end the show a very a very appropriate way to do so um thank you for watching tonight have a wonderful weekend if you are a regular donator of our media thank you so much you make this all possible if not please do consider going to navaramedia.com forward slash support for now you've been watching tisky sour on navaramedia good night


The United Kingdom has always been a hot spot for immigration. Migrant skills often complement the existing population. Immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes. This isn't actually about immigration as it is about xenophobia. They don't know, just they take headlines from the news.