Joe Rogan recently interviewed Marc Andreessen, and what the tech investing legend told him was enough to make Rogan audibly gasp. Dave Rubin plays the clip of their conversation about right-wing tech entrepreneurs being “debanked” for their political views. “Under current banking regulations, after all the reforms of the last 20 years, there's now a category called a ‘politically exposed person’ — PEP. … You are required by financial regulators to kick [PEPs] out of your bank,” Andreessen said. “What?!” Rogan gasped. “What if you’re politically on the left?” “Well, that’s fine,” Andreessen explained. “So no one on the left gets debanked?” Rogan asked in disbelief. “I have not heard of a single instance of anyone on the left getting debanked,” said Andreessen. He then pointed to David Horowitz as an example of someone who was debanked for being a conservative. “He's pro-Trump. … He's been very anti-Islamic terrorism; he's been very worried about migration — all these things. And they debanked him for that,” said Andreessen, clarifying that being debanked means “you get kicked out of your bank account” and “you can’t do credit card transactions.” “How is that legal?” Rogan asked next. Andreessen explained that while there is an amendment that protects free speech, there isn’t one that prevents the government from pressuring banks to debank the people they don’t like. “The private company banks do it because they're expected to, but the government gets to say, ‘We didn't do it; it was the private company that did it,’ and JPMorgan can decide who they want to have as customers, of course, because they're a private company, and so it's this sleight of hand that happens,” Andreessen told Rogan. “It's a privatized sanctions regime that lets bureaucrats do to American citizens the same thing that we do to Iran.” Andreessen went on to explain that during the Obama administration, certain legal businesses were debanked simply because of the industry they were in. The initiative was called “Operation Choke Point 1.0.” “So if you're running a medical marijuana dispensary in 2012, guess what? You're doing your business all in cash because you literally can't get a bank account; you can't get a Visa terminal; you can't process transactions; you can't do payroll; you can't do direct deposit; you can't get insurance,” he said. “You’ve been sanctioned.” “And then [the Biden] administration extended that concept to apply it to tech founders, crypto founders, and then just generally political opponents,” he added, noting that this initiative is called “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” “We’ve had like 30 founders debanked in the last four years,” he told Rogan, who was flabbergasted, adding that this is why he supported Trump. To hear Dave’s commentary on the debanking scandal, watch the clip above. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A pseudo-court recently fined a small Canadian town and its mayor for refusing in a 3-2 vote to proclaim the month of June "Pride Month" and to hoist the LGBT activists' colors. According to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, a failure to oblige the activist group Borderland Pride constitutes discrimination. Harold McQuaker, a small construction business owner and the mayor of the Township of Emo, Ontario — just north of the Minnesota border — remains defiant, telling the Toronto Sun Monday, "I utterly refuse to pay the $5,000 because that's extortion." McQuaker indicated that the town council, on which he has the deciding vote, will together determine what to do about the $10,000 the court ordered Emo to pay — a sum the Sun indicated is "tougher than most criminals ever receive." "I have a lot of respect for our four councilors," said McQuaker. "We have a special meeting of council, and they will decide that and what to do next. Either pay the fine or appeal it?" 'There's no flags being flown for the straight people.' Following the ruling, Borderland Pride gleefully noted that McQuaker might also have to reimburse taxpayers for the legal fees associated with his years-long defense, which are estimated to total at least six figures. Extra to imposing the monetary penalties for a democratic vote unfavorable to outside radicals, Karen Dawson of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario — a nonjudicial government entity that nonetheless issues judicial-like rulings — also ordered McQuaker and the current chief administrative officer of the township to complete the woke tribunal's re-education program, titled "Human Rights 101," having determined that the Municipal Act of 2001 did not protect council members from liability under the Human Rights Code for supposedly discriminatory actions. After all, McQuaker dared point out during a council meeting that "there's no flag being flown for the other side of the coin. … There's no flags being flown for the straight people." 'We just don't have a flagpole at our town hall.' The so-called eLearning Module of "Human Rights 101" claims that discrimination can be overt, hidden, constructive, and systemic. Apparently, where the tribunal is concerned, perceived offense rather than intent is what actually counts. In other words, someone's anodyne remark or neutral behavior could be discriminatory depending on the interpretation of a thin-skinned ideologue. "I will not pay the $5,000 I have been fined and will not take the training," McQuaker told the Sun. "I did not do anything wrong." "If anybody needs training it's the LGBTQ2+ to quit pushing their weight around and make demands that people can't live with," added McQuaker. Contrary to the regional activist group's suggestion, McQuaker insisted the claims of prejudice are all projection. "I don't hate anybody," said McQuaker. "We just don't have a flagpole at our town hall." 'This is about the unilateral power of an unelected, unaccountable government agency to compel speech.' "I am a husband to my wife for 51 years, father of two, a grandfather of seven and a great grandfather of one," he said. "I consider myself a very reasonable person and a good leader for our community and I would have a lot of support if there was an election." Borderland Pride, ever difficult to please, lashed out at McQuaker over his comments Monday, stating, "What we are seeing is a public temper tantrum from an elected official who has been emboldened by the pattern of attacks on institutions and the rule of law from the political right. It is disturbing, inappropriate, and unlawful." "Mayor McQuaker's comments reflect a flagrant disrespect for the laws governing his public office, and he should withdraw them," continued the activist group. "Mayor McQuaker is further governed by a municipal code of conduct, which requires him to respect the authority of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. He can be sanctioned by the integrity commissioner for failing to do so. We would caution him from engaging in any further misconduct of this nature. It is very clearly beneath the expectations and requirements of his office." Allan Stratton, a gay Canadian playwright who has long engaged in LGBT activism, blasted Borderland Pride in a recent op-ed for the National Post, writing, "This is about the unilateral power of an unelected, unaccountable government agency to compel speech." Stratton noted further that this case demonstrates the pseudo-court has "lost sight of its mission, broke public confidence in its legitimacy and provided a counter-productive example of left-wing authoritarianism." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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We already knew that the next major content update for World of Warcraft, Patch 11.0.7, was due on December 17th. Today, we learn more about what to expect from the newest zone for The War Within expansion, the Siren Isle.

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I’m sorry, I put that thing in what? | Image: Nissan Nissan put out a tutorial video for Ariya owners today that shows how to use a Tesla NACS adapter with the vehicle, and it includes a step completely out of left field: shove a small piece of plastic into your car’s CCS port before you connect the adapter. The Ariya is Nissan’s first EV with a CCS port, and the automaker just activated the vehicle’s ability to connect to Tesla’s vast Supercharger network in October. Other manufacturers have also adopted Tesla’s NACS standard, with companies like Ford and Rivian already shipping adapters to current EV owners. But none of those EVs need you to take a confusing extra step to make the adapter work. As explained in the video, the NACS adapter available through Nissan includes a “plug adapter” that must be installed into the hourglass-shaped cavity between the two DC pins at the bottom before charging at NACS-capable fast charging stations. Nissan assures the viewer that its “simple” and requires no tools. However, you will need to use the adapter it provides or from a US dealership, which may mean other third-party options like the Lectron adapter might not work. (Probably for the best, considering the Lectron adapter was recently recalled.) What’s odd about the Ariya’s charge port is that despite being a standard that works at many CCS-capable fast charging stations, there is some negative hollow space between the two direct current pins at the bottom that isn’t present on most other EVs. The plastic piece that Nissan wants you to stuff into the opening fills in the gap to look more like other CCS ports. We asked Nissan what the purpose of the opening is and why the insert is needed, but have not heard back at time of publication. Nissan’s other EV model is the pioneering Leaf, which uses the all-but-obsolete CHAdeMO standard and probably won’t get some magic adapter to connect to Tesla’s Supercharger network (although there are some CHAdeMO to CCS adapters now). EV ownership is already rife with competing standards, janky software, and fragmented confusion. Somehow, Nissan managed to add another step that leaves customers juggling multiple pieces of plastic just to get their $40,000 electric SUV to operate properly.