A Former Political Aide Staged An Attack, Kathy Ireland Goes Fishing, And We Debate Thanksgiving Pies

A light morning vibe doesn’t have to mean shallow. We kick off with a confession about “wig wars” polls and the weird line between playful engagement and click-chasing, then steer toward stories that spark conversation without draining your spirit. That promise gets tested by a jaw-dropping headline: a former political aide allegedly staged her own attack, complete with paid body modification and a frantic call to police. We walk through the reported facts, ask why hoaxes catch fire, and share a simple toolkit for staying curious without getting duped—slow down, verify, and resist the pull of outrage-as-entertainment.

Needing a palate cleanser, we turn to the sea—literally. Kathy Ireland, the supermodel and powerhouse CEO, steps onto a working boat with a commercial fishing license, joining her husband, a retired ER doctor and seasoned fisherman. Beyond the novelty, it’s a story about second acts that are hands-on and humble, where learning beats image and the ocean sets the schedule. We talk reinvention, beginner’s mind, and how craft can be a quieter, more honest kind of ambition.

Then we serve the seasonal showdown: Thanksgiving pies. A new taste test drags a big-box pumpkin pie to the bottom of the rankings, and we use the moment to ask what makes a great slice—balanced spice, velvety texture, a crust that holds its nerve. The debate quickly widens to apple’s caramelized edges, cherry’s bright snap, and pecan’s deep, toasty crunch. We end with a simple invitation to weigh in and to claim the dessert that means home for you.

If you’re craving conversation that keeps your brain awake and your heart light, press play. Subscribe, share with a friend who has strong pie opinions, and tell us: what’s your go-to slice this season?

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Wig Wars And Clickbait Guilt
• 1:13 Steering Toward Lighter Stories
• 1:43 The Staged Attack Case
• 5:34 Why Do This And What Next
• 5:55 Kathy Ireland’s Fishing Pivot
• 8:14 Thanksgiving Pie Debate And Rankings
• 10:14 Favorite Pies And Sign Off

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Well, hello, good morning. Happy Thursday. Okay, y'all, I'm sorry. I've been putting side by side pictures of myself in different wigs and calling them wig wars and getting you to vote on them. And then I realized last night, it's like, oh my gosh, is this what they call? Like uh not clickbaiting, but what is the what's the thing they used to call when you ask a question on Twitter and then you get people to answer? What there was a term for it mining or something? I forget what it's called. I thought, oh my gosh, is that what I'm doing? I hope it's not. I was just doing it for fun. I mean, I'm a real person, I'm not a bot. I was just wanting to do that for fun. Maybe I won't do it anymore. Okay. We need to move on to uh the y'all, there is some awful things happening out there, but we're not talking about that today on the podcast. And I try not to talk about it on the podcast anymore. I used to, I used to bring it up all the time, but now I'm trying to do some light-hearted, fun things that you might like. And so they're hard to find, but this morning I did find a few that we could talk about. All right, here we go. Let's see which one do I want to talk about first? I'm gonna I'm gonna save Supermodel Kathy Ireland for the end. You guys will be happy about this. We're gonna do okay, let's start with this one. So this one is a little dark, but it's crazy. It's a crazy story. And I don't know why it's not getting more um more light out in the media, probably because it's an ex-gop, grand old party, Republican aide, who paid a fetish artist to mutilate her, claimed it was um it was uh an attack. All right, so a former New Jersey Gop aide, Grand Old Party, in case you didn't know what that was stood for, uh, allegedly paid a fetish artist to mutilate her body, had an accomplished scrawl trump whore on her stomach, and then falsely claimed she was violently attacked in what federal prosecutors said was staged political stunt, according to shocking new court documents. Why does she do this? I don't know if the article says why she decided to do this. I don't know. Her name is Natalie Green, she's 26. She was arrested Wednesday and charged with masterminding the violent bogus ambush at Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve on the night of July 23rd. Prosecutor said the accused fraudster claimed three gun-yielding men approached her and a friend on the trail around 1036 p.m. before threatening to shoot her and striking her in the head. So where's the where is the alleged friend? We need to get a con we need to get a hold of their alleged friend, but obviously they've already determined that this lady is not who she says she is or whatever. The suspect said this vic the victi uh the suspect said the fictitious attackers then hog tied her and black and black zip ties, held her down while slashing her face and body, and etched political slurs onto her stomach and back because of her job. Why would she do this? Green, a Rutgers Law student, worked for Republican rep representative Jeff Van Drew. Uh why would two days before the alleged phony assault, Green drove to Pennsylvania and paid a body modification artist. You mean to tell me she is really stupid? You she didn't think this would be found out. Two days later, before the alleged phony assault, Green drove to Pennsylvania and paid a body modification artist. She found on Instagram five hundred dollars to a deliberately carve gruesome wounds into her face, neck, chest, and back and shoulders with a scalpel. Oh the core oh my goodness, this lady is sick. And they have pictures of it in case you want to go over there and look. It's on my X file. The Ocean City resident allegedly provided the artist with a design she wanted gouged into her flesh. On the day of the alleged attack, Green's accomplice frantically called police, claiming she had been singled out by name and violently assaulted, according to the complaint. Officers found the accused con artist in the wooded area just off the trail, hands and feet bound together, her shirt pulled over her head, and the words Trump wore and Van Drew as a racist scribbled in black marker on her horrifically scarred body as she screamed that one of her attackers had a gun. So prosecutor said Green was taken to a hospital where she and her accomplice gave so she has an accomplice. Mm-mm. Um So while Natalie is no longer associated with the Congressman Government Office, our thoughts and prayers are with her and hope she's getting the care she needs. She joined the Congressman. But why would she I want to know why did she do this? Was she fired? Was she jilted? What? She well, she's wacko, I guess that's all we need to know. Alright, going on to the thank Alright, I'm gonna go to I'm gonna go ahead and go to the Kathy Ireland thing. Then we're gonna go to the Thanksgiving article. It's a different Thanksgiving article. Okay, New York Post, men, you will be very happy with this. Supermodel Kathy Ireland launches commercial fishing career, prefers sharks in the ocean over business ones. Kathy Ireland is embarking on a new business venture as she dives into the world of commercial fishing. And there's pictures, so you can go over and see her on her fishing boat. Uh in July, the 62. Can you believe she's 62 years old? Kathy Ireland, supermodel and businesswoman, announced that she had obtained her um open ocean commercial fishing license from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and would be working as a crew member on the Fourth Watch, a vessel captained by her husband, former emergency room physician, Dr. Greg Olson. Wow, during the interview with Fox News Digital, the sports illustrated cover model explained that she had discovered her passion for her new occupation through Olson, her husband. It's pretty wonderful, Ireland said, of becoming a commercial fisherman. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I have. I grew up camping and fishing, she continued. My husband, he's been fishing since he was three years old. Ireland told Fox Digital that Olson spent 40 years as an ER doctor before recently retiring, and for the past two decades, he has balanced both his careers in medicine and commercial fishing. She's I've always wanted to go out with him on the boat. This season, an opportunity opened, and then when the calendar allows, I go out there with them. In her Instagram post, Ireland clarified that she would not be giving up her day job, which is what? Oh, her Ireland is the CEO, founder, and chief designer of her global lifestyle, Kathy Ireland brands, with licenses, products, and services, including fashion, home decor, furniture, health, and wellness. Okay. Well, if you want to go fishing with Kathy, I guess you can go do that. Pretty cool, I think. I think it's damn really cool. Alright, moving on. Last article, here we go. Thanksgiving pies. Which one is the best? That will be the question of the day, by the way. Thanksgiving shoppers should avoid buying this grocery store pumpkin pie at all costs. No, not my beloved pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie. That's probably my favorite during this season. I love pumpkin pie. All right, good old pumpkin pie, just like Walmart used to make. To be clear, the Buy Everything Here Mega Chain does still bake and sell the classic holiday dessert staple. But that doesn't mean everyone thinks it's necessarily that it should. Chow Hound tasted and ranked six store bought pumpkin pies in Walmart's bakeries version finished in dead last. So don't buy your pumpkins pies from Walmart. Goodness. I was in for an unpleasant surprise upon unboxing this particular pumpkin pie. Taster and writer Samuel A. Allenton pinned on the Chow Hound list the tin was slick and oily to the touch, and the pie itself ended up splitting at the center. It was not holding itself together very well. Okay, whatever. But does it taste good? Even worse, Allenton, who went into his tasting with high hopes, after having tried and enjoyed Walmart's Great Value Hearty Beef Pot roast soup, described the eight-inch bland five dollar Thanksgiving pastry as having a strangely sour aftertaste. Oh dear, that's not good. That's not what I want from a dessert. No kidding. Throw this on the list of Walmart products to avoid. Well, there you go. Uh it doesn't uh let's see if I can go. It doesn't really let me see if I can go hide reader and let's see, does it say anything else about any of the other lists that's on there? Um read more. I'm sorry, y'all. I should have been prepared a little bit for this. Read more. Okay, does it list anyone else? That's not what I want from a dessert, blah blah blah. Okay, so there is more to the story, but I'm not gonna finish reading it. That was the main thing. They do list other ones that um well, does it was that the end of the story? That was the end of the story. Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay, so the I've been cry I've been craving pumpkin pie, but not this pumpkin pie, wrote an unsatisfied reviewer. Better stick to the other store bakeries fan favorites like the Marcuside iced lemon loaf cake and leave the pumpkin pie to the pros or for your grandma. Okay, very good. There you go. So that's my question of the day. What is your favorite pie during this season? I know a lot of people love pecan pie. And is it pecan or pecan? I call it, I guess I just say pecan. You I say both sometimes pecan pie, pecan. I think you say pecan pie, it's like posh. But pecan is more like hillbilly that I'm used to. Pecan pie. I don't like pecan pie. I mean, I've eaten it before. I don't I don't particularly care for it. Uh but my favorite, favorite, favorite pie of all time is cherry pie. But then I like apple. I like most every pie except for that, except for pecan pie. My favorite is probably pumpkin though. Okay. But during this season. My all time favorite is cherry pie. Okay, I gotta go. Thanks for listening. Bye.