In a world where misinformation spreads like wildfire, John Rush discusses the importance of fact-checking and media literacy. Listen in as he dissects the process of verifying news and images online, using real-life examples to underscore the necessity of truth in journalism. From viral false narratives to the role of stablecoins in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, this episode is packed with informative discussions that encourage critical thinking. Don’t miss the closing segment where John and his guest, David Strzeski, deliberate on the economic landscape with President Trump’s re-election looming large.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 06 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 14 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did, get a job first. You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 13 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 09 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind? It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, welcome back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Appreciate you all joining. Do we have David Charlie with us or not? If we do, I will get him on the horn and get things rolling. David, welcome. How are you, sir? Oh, hang on. Let me do that again. There we go. David, are you with us? Hey, how we doing? I’m good. How’s David Strzeski today?
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I’m doing fantastic. Probably better than I deserve. But happy new year to you and the listeners here. And, you know, we got some exciting things here in the news.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, we do. You wrote some things the other day about Bank of America using XRP for 100% of its internal transactions. Explain if you would.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sure. So, you know, no question. XRP is a. as a token that Bank of America has been utilizing or did utilize internally. Now, I said 100%. Was it 100% or some amount? I’m not sure. But they were successfully doing it and using it, which is why I consider them actually leaders in this blockchain space. But Bank of America was utilizing it for cross-border transfers. And so this is why they’ve got hundreds of blockchain patents. not just on Ripple, but on other things. And so I think that they’re actually a leader to be watching in this space. But I think if we look at Ripple and understand what has been taking place, I think it’s important to recognize that, you know, a lot of these big names that have been out there and saying, this is the weirdest thing in the world. We’re never going to do crypto. It kind of sounds like the internet in 1993. I’ll never buy anything on that. And here we are with our cell phones in our pocket, kept up to Amazon or something. So the point is, I think that we’re in some early stages, places, and the banks right now are actually quickly… Getting allocated and they are building relationships right now on the ripple network because they recognize where the future is headed So bottom line is it’s not just some passing whim if you would when it comes to some of the Tokens and block chains and so on it’s a reality Absolutely, this is the future when we think about you know money that started out electronic and and then gets adapted to life versus money that started out as paper. Then we figure out how to make it electronic, and then we figure out how to adopt it to life. The system just has a different process, okay? And so I think when we’re looking at the world, we should also understand that this is not just about money. This is about the real world has different things that are going to become tokenized. And so on the Ripple network, you just have the ability to transact in a very efficient way that doesn’t just cut off at 5 p.m. and doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg to send something. It’s very low cost. And so banks recognize this.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, thank you. And thanks for dovetailing on that. I was going to ask, okay, what are the pros to this? And you just mentioned one. What other pros are there?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’ll share something with you right now, and that is, you know, not sharing any specific things, but I’m actually – you know, working on right now an exchange bank. And what is the answer that I have with all these, you know, consultants and conversations about the exchange? Oh, let’s put on the Ripple network. Let’s put on the Ripple network. Let’s put on the Ripple network. You know, so there’s a lot of great networks and good things that are out there. What Ripple has is just a cross-border relationship that was already established. So think about it. If you send money to a different nation, they have different rules and laws and tax codes, et cetera. And so you have to think about the cross-border nature and how to comply with them. This has the ability to do that. And then also you can tokenize assets through things like HBAR or XLM. that will, in my opinion, be utilized to tokenize assets like homes and mortgages and businesses and cars and whatever else. I mean, there’s so many applications here with the future. But some of these coins are going to work. Many of these coins will not work. I believe the utility function of… of Ripple actually has a far greater utility function than Bitcoin, which is not fast, is not used regularly for a bunch of transactions, but I do believe has value and will be seen long term as a historically very strong asset that will probably reach a million dollars or maybe even higher.
SPEAKER 16 :
When you talk about the exchange of all the different cryptos, which, by the way, I think has been one of the drawbacks to them, is it’s almost like you take five different – it’s not almost. You have five different cryptocurrencies, meaning you have five different exchanges based upon their own valuations on a minute-by-minute – and I’m not exaggerating – minute-by-minute basis throughout a 24-hour timeframe versus things like the dollar – and the euro, and the peso, and I can go down the list. And granted, those have changes as well, but not near as volatile and not the same as what you have on the crypto side. So to be able to exchange one to another, and correct me if I’m wrong, David, but in the past, that’s not been done easily, correct?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, yeah. And candidly, this is why stable coins are so important to understand. And so let me just share something. So let’s just say that the U.S. dollar is the standard that the world will continue to work with. And by the way, with Trump coming in and leadership and cuts and everything, yeah, it seems very likely we’ll continue to do that. And if we can get proactive with blockchain and not just allow China to do it, because that was what was going to happen, China was going to be doing all this, then we’ll continue to be the world’s leader. So stablecoin is basically the U.S. dollar one for one. In a coin. So that might be USDC today, which is a coin I use on Coinbase. And so it’s just you put your cash in. Now it’s a one for one exchange. It’s backed up, et cetera. So, you know, don’t quote me on it. Look at your own particulars. But the point is, is that that these that these can be sent as dollars. What Ripple would be is like the railway that the trains run on. OK, it’s like here’s the highway that you can transact things through at a very low cost, very quick. way. And that can be money. That could be things. That could be a lot of things. But what doesn’t work quick is Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s super, super, super slow until it gets connected into the right system and wrapped and whatever else. And then you can do some great stuff with it. But I don’t know that it’s going to be the answer to all of life’s problems in the future. I think that it’s a really important idea. But, you know, I also would mention to you that, you know, Ethereum is an incredibly powerful and important coin that’s out there. And, you know, they have this function. They’re trying to get the function of life figured out for us. And so you’re not going to look at Ethereum as a dollar, quote unquote. You’re going to look at this as more like This is the Internet that gives you the ability for capacity and function and to be able to do these multi-complex transactions and ultimately be able to do it with somebody that you don’t care who they are. Their asset was good. It was peer-to-peer. It was strong and secure. You’re in good shape. um and so i like cardano uh ada is another great uh coin that in my opinion has incredible function and they had been a leader in the thought of of how the world is going to be changing and how things are going to be developing right now but not to say that there’s not great opportunities in bitcoin because it’s actually extremely illiquid and very scarce right now no one sells it they buy it and keep it which means that there’s not a lot of supply floating around And we’re going to take the next 100 plus years to be mining the last 1 million coins out of 21 million possible. So I think that we could actually see a more stable Bitcoin price. But if I can just do simple math for you here, John. It would say if 94% are out there and everyone thinks that one Bitcoin is worth $1 million, let’s just do the simple argument and say, well, that means that one coin right now should be worth $940,000. And if over the next 100 years it’s going to take to mine the next $1 million, well, then that’s not going to have a whole lot of distribution that’s going to be going over the next 100 years. So maybe it does kind of stabilize if you allow it. the price discovery to happen naturally as opposed to the pump and dump things that I’m watching right now happen inside of the ETFs, which is a whole other conversation. So buy on the dips.
SPEAKER 16 :
Got it. Makes total sense. David’s Trzeski Sound Planning Group. David, what’s the best way for folks to follow you?
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I’ve got a lot of things coming out right now, John. So MySPG.com is just a way to get a hold of our firm and different things that are going on. I want to mention also the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2.0. I’ve got a course that I’m writing right now. I’m going to be teaching here for the first time at some local colleges, and I will be putting it out. you know, for others here around the country to be able to observe and be a part of as well. This is an opportunity of a lifetime with President Trump here in extending this. And so maybe we get back and talk about that Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2.0 here next time.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know, I’m anxious to see really quick, before I let you go, what happens next week. Trump gets inaugurated. You and I both know there’ll be lots of action the very next day. I will be shocked if there’s not. I mean, if there’s one thing I can bet on in life and most likely win, and I’m not a betting man, David, is… It’s more of a bet of how many executive orders will happen the day after, a lot of them reversing what’s already been happening in the past. But, you know, how many of them will be signed is really the question. There will be some done the very next day.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know that as well as I. First 100 days are going to be exciting. We’ll see if Russia talks peace. Not saying that it’s a long-term thing or whatever else, but it’s going to be an interesting next 100 days. With new stuff coming out, I think they’re going to be dropping some terrible economic stuff on us, but we’ll also have positive things. So buckle up. I think 2025 is a great opportunity to be alive, but it’s not for the faint of heart at the same time. Big ups, big downs.
SPEAKER 16 :
David, as always, I appreciate you very much. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, pleasure’s mine.
SPEAKER 16 :
You bet, man. Have a great night. David Strzeski, Sound Planning Group. We’ll be right back. Hi-Fi Plumbing and Electrical up next. As I said during the last hour, if you’ve got anything you’ve been putting off you need to address, take care of prior to this storm and the cold weather coming in over the weekend, please give Hi-Fi a call today, 877-WE-HI-5.
SPEAKER 15 :
High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric can install a tankless water heater as soon as today. Tankless water heaters are preferred to tank heaters because they heat the water as you use it, meaning you’ll never run out of hot water again. Tankless water heaters also save you money on energy costs because you’re not constantly heating up that big tank. And because they are so efficient, you will save more money in the long run. High Five customers also enjoy tankless heaters because they take up less physical space in your utility closet or laundry room. These tankless heaters can even add to your home’s resale value. In addition to all these benefits, you can receive incentives and rebates of up to $3,200 from Uncle Sam, so it pays for itself. Find out more about tankless water heaters on the klzradio.com advertisers page and get in touch with Hi-5 for answers to your home questions today.
SPEAKER 17 :
My ceiling is raining because the bathtub just ain’t draining. Go Hi-5 with it. Go Hi-5.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, veteran windows and doors. In fact, Dave was on with me earlier at 3 o’clock, and there’s a new deal for January, 35% off windows with free labor and 45% off entry doors, and that also includes free installation. Call Dave today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
Veteran Windows and Doors never uses gimmicky high-pressure salespeople. In fact, when you work with veterans, you get the owner, Dave Bancroft. Dave will never try to manipulate you or use silly tricks upselling you. Big window companies will show you a heat lamp test that is supposed to impress you. But what does that really tell you about your windows? Other companies omit the pertinent information, and just because the window and door says Provia, it does not mean their products are engineered for Colorado or even anywhere in the U.S. Dave prefers to be the last window and door company you meet with, so he can give you all the information the others fail to reveal. Like the U-Factor, efficiency ratings, and even if it’s Energy Star certified. And of course, don’t forget the tax rebates many people didn’t know they could receive. Just talk to any of Veterans’ previous clients and they will be the first to tell you. Get your high-quality windows and doors without all the gimmicks. Reach Veteran Windows and Doors by going to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, Bruce Simmons, he is a reverse mortgage professor. And you may have somebody in your family where you think, you know, a reverse mortgage might actually be a great idea for so-and-so. And you may have even mentioned it and get some kickback or some pushback. And really the best thing to do is to just get Bruce involved and have him do some of that advising and instruction on how they actually work because he dispels a lot of the myths and things that are out there that, frankly, in a lot of cases just aren’t true. So talk to Bruce today, 303- 467-7821.
SPEAKER 11 :
Your parents still have a mortgage payment weighing on them every month, and our reverse mortgage expert, Bruce Simmons, might be able to help. In many cases, our parents keep paying their mortgage and waiting for the house to finally be paid off when Bruce could potentially get them set up with a reverse mortgage. That would eliminate their principal and interest payment. That can even be true if your parents live in other states where Bruce’s company works, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, and more. A lot of the parents that Bruce works with like to fully involve their families for checks and balances. Bruce will gladly do that, too. And Bruce can also set up a line of credit for your parents for emergencies and unexpected expenses. This is a great way to preserve your parents’ independence and keep them in their own home. while reducing the monthly financial burden on their budget and keeping everyone informed. Give your parents their freedom by contacting Bruce Simmons at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive, this is John Rush.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. There’s an article in CBS News. I think it’s several outlets. I picked this one up on our local news source and it sent me to the main CBS website as well. But as meta abandons fact-checking, here’s how to tell what’s real online. Now, I’m not going to go through their whole analysis because, frankly, some of what they say will probably be true or will be false, I mean. I’m going to give you my way of fact-checking things. And I’ve talked about this some in the past. And I wish more of our side would actually do it. Unfortunately, we tend to look at something and then we see it and we want to believe and or we hope that that’s true or we are so intent on it being true, we’ll go ahead and repost it whether it’s true or not. Let me give you an example. I saw a post yesterday on social media. It was supposedly a house in all of this area of California where everything has been burned to the ground, and yet there’s one single house. It’s a white house with a red roof and some sort of a meme along the lines of, this is what happens to Christians and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. In other words, because a Christian owned that home, the fire skipped all around them. Now, I did everything I possibly could to verify that that image was true. By the way, hoping that it was. I wasn’t against it. I was hoping that it was. So I looked and I searched and I looked and I searched and I even looked, you know, did a backward search of the image. Frankly, I could find not one single source that showed that picture to be true. Not one single source. Now, does that mean that it’s not true? Because I couldn’t find any source that would say. I can’t say that it’s not true, but the chances of it being true are slim. Because as Charlie has taught me over the years, people talk. And if there was, in fact, one home in the midst of all of these that have burned down, what do you think would be making national news every night? That home. And I guarantee you there would be multiple images of this home, all different sides, above, behind, around. You’d be walking through it. You’d have video on it. You’d have interviews of these people that survived the firestorm. And they’re going to give all glory to God because they were Christians and they know that God protected their home. And I’m not exaggerating in what I just said because if, in fact, that had happened, believe me, you’d see it all over the news. It would be coast to coast. Am I right, Charlie? because that’s the kind of things that generate news. So the simple fact that I couldn’t find any other articles or any other picture stating that were the case, I call it false. It’s most likely not true. As much as we all would want to believe it is, it probably isn’t. Now, for all of you listening, I did my own quote-unquote fact-checking in a matter of about two minutes. That’s about all it took, two minutes. And I know some of you are going to come back and say, well, yeah, well, if they don’t want you to see those things, well, of course they’re going to squash it, and why would they want you to see that this Christian home stood for all the reasons I just stated a moment ago? It would already be out there if that, in fact, were true. So reality is, fact-checking isn’t that hard. In a lot of cases, it’s called common sense. And before you repost something thinking it’s the gospel truth, think about it rationally and make that decision prior to reposting. Joe, go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
John, another fake news. There’s a horrible story that’s been picked up by all these hate-rich people, and here’s the meme. It says one billionaire couple owns almost all the water in California.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I saw that, too. It’s wrong.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s not even, John, it’s so close. It’s a Jewish couple. They’re shareholders in a company that owns some water rights, which are less than one-half of 1% of California’s water supply. Less than one-half of 1%.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the dumb comments that follow is, what gives anybody the right to own something we all need? Well, it’s called water rights, and they’ve been around for hundreds of years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, so it’s obvious, but they don’t even take the time to check this out. John, less than one-half of 1% is hardly most of California’s water.
SPEAKER 16 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it’s anti-Semitic because this is a Jewish couple, and they’re accusing them of hoarding the state’s desperately needed water. But, John, you know the old Mark Twain, a lie can be halfway around the world before the truth can tie its shoes? Well, John, I’ve seen this pop up on more than half of the liberal hate-the-rich websites. Mm-hmm. They were so eager to publicize it, they never took the time to fact-check it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and no offense, as guilty as they are of that, our side is as guilty of putting out what I just talked about with the supposed Christian’s home that stood standing among all of the ruins and the fire because God protected it. Yep, no, it’s… And again, Joe, as much as I want that to be true, and I wish it were, it’s just not.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s not. So it’s not limited to any one side, but And just because you read it on the Internet, as Abraham Lincoln said, just because you read it on the Internet doesn’t mean it has to be true.
SPEAKER 16 :
Very true. I mean, and I’m sorry to laugh. I shouldn’t, Joe, because some of these things aren’t laughing matters at all. But, you know, both sides look really bad when you do that. But I, you know my feelings on this, I don’t want our side to do this and look bad because it only takes a few seconds, literally, Joe, as you know, a few seconds to determine if something’s true or not.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I think it took me maybe less than 30 seconds. All I did was I put in the couple’s name, Resnick. California Water, and the first thing I got was both a Fortune and a Yahoo story debunking, you know, the claim, and saying, no, they’re a shareholder in a company that controls… Oh, wait a minute, so Yahoo actually defended them being one of the leftist organizations, you know, one of the news organizations that’s out there, which my point with that, Joe, is if there was any ounce of truth to it, they would be saying so. Correct. So, yes, and then Yahoo was quoting a Fortune article, and then I clicked over to the Fortune article, And they both had detailed, verifiable facts. No, they were a shareholder in a company that owns water rights that are equivalent to less than one-half of 1% of California’s total water supply. So if anybody hears it, it’s fake news.
SPEAKER 16 :
Great example, Joe. Appreciate that. Thank you, Joe, for that. I’ll give you guys some more tips along those lines as well. But bottom line, it’s not hard to fact-check. You don’t need anybody to do it for you. You don’t need Facebook doing it, and supposedly they’re going to stop. But it only takes a few seconds typically to determine if something’s real or not before you hit that, let’s post that to my page or let’s forward that on. And I wish our side did more of that, but we don’t do a good enough job of that in most cases. Golden Eagle Financial is next. working towards your financial future. Al is there to help you do that, suggest things for you, making sure that things are dialed in, meeting with you on a regular basis. And if you haven’t met with your financial advisor in a while, switch and call Al Smith today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 11 :
waiting to invest in your retirement can cost you exponentially but al smith of golden eagle financial can help get you started investing now when you invest early your money has more time to grow as the interest you earn begins to generate its own interest over the years al smith knows that even a small delay can lead to a dramatic difference in the total amount accumulated and every day you wait means you’re missing even more opportunity Starting to save even a few years earlier could mean the difference of hundreds of thousands by the time you enter retirement, even if the same amount is contributed annually. The longer you wait, the more you miss out on the compounding effect of time, making it much harder to catch up. Let Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial help you today by contacting him on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold to individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right. In roofing needs, everybody has them. You guys have commercial property as well. In fact, those of you with commercial property, you need an annual roof inspection done. Give Dave Hart from Roof Savers of Colorado a call today because he can do that for you. 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 01 :
Have you recently received a letter saying that your roof is no longer covered under your insurance due to its age? The insurance industry is changing the face of roof replacements, but we want to ensure that you can keep your roof alive and out of the landfills. With over 4 million square feet treated every week, We here at Roof Savers Colorado strive to maximize the life of your residential or flat roof. Up to 90% of older or damaged roofs do not require a full replacement. Extreme weather conditions here in Colorado lead to the drying, cracking, and granule loss that slowly kills your roof. Dave and his team are here to save it. With the rejuvenation treatment, we can put critical oils that bind your roof together back into the asphalt shingles, adding up to 15 years of life to your existing roof. And it’s 100% people, pet, and plant friendly. For your commercial or flat roof needs, we provide a silicone-based coating with up to 95% UV reflectivity and a 50-year ponding warranty. Call the Roof Savers team today to set a free roof inspection at 303-710-6916 or go to roofsaversco.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
Back to Rush to Reason, presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Waiting on my son Richard. He’s got a couple of things going on here before he calls in, gives us an update on the sports end of thing. We’ve got a couple of car reviews that we will do as well. Back to the fact-checking end of things. Gives me an opportunity to kind of finish up on that particular topic. And you’re going to see and read all sorts of different things on this. And you even saw a statement come out from, or not statement, but there was an interview with Joe Biden over the weekend talking about meta and the fact that they weren’t doing this any longer. And basically, Joe’s unhappy. He thinks they should continue to do it. His feeling was, I’m going to not quote him directly, but basically it’s their responsibility to make sure that things that are out there are accurate. Keep in mind, you also had an interview over the weekend where Zuckerberg was talking about how his staff was yelled at by the White House, literally yelled at by the White House for allowing certain things to be posted. And they had to take him down according to them. Now, I would have told the White House, go pound sand, but… They did, and that was stuff during COVID. So we have definitely had the current administration, that particular party, the Marxists, try to control speech. Fact. Those of you that are on the left that don’t believe me, go look at some of the things I just said. It’s a fact. Sorry. You cannot defend this any longer. It is a fact. You only want the kind of speech you want, not all speech. Gone are the days of people having to figure out what’s real versus not. And for some of you, some of you on the left are saying, well, it’s harder now than ever to try to figure out what’s real and what’s not. Not really. Now, I will say AI has made some of this harder. Some of the pictures and things that are coming out of AI make it very, very real or look very real. But that old saying that when we were kids, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. You can apply that to AI very easily. Because a lot of things just can’t look that good. It’s why a lot of these social media sites, TikTok and so on, use quote-unquote filters when people get on there and they do their little thing, and they use a filter in the process, and they look a lot better than they actually do in real life, and some of them will even show you the difference, and it’s huge. So I get it. There are some situations where it really is hard to determine, is this real or is it CGI-driven? But once again, use common sense. Take a step back, especially when it comes to things that are political of nature that you want to go ahead and forward, or this particular red-roofed house that I mentioned in the last segment. When those things happen, as much as we want them to be true, literally, we want them. Our brain is saying, man, I hope this is true. Man, I hope this is true. You still have to verify, is it? And I feel this is, you know, I get it. Anybody can talk the way they want. And there’s been braggadocious people for years, all the way back to the beginning of time. People have bragged about certain things, overblown certain things, created false images of certain things, false impressions of certain things. I mean, it’s just human nature because people like to lie. So anytime, this is why I think it’s so important for our side to not push things forward that aren’t true as you’re lying when you do. I want you to really think hard about what I just said and let your other folks on social media that you know understand what I just said. When you push forward something on your own social media page that is in fact untrue, You’re lying. Am I right, Charlie? You’re basically lying at that point. You’re agreeing to post something and push it out to your followers, your insiders, and you’re pushing it out as truth. But if it’s not, you’re lying. Plain and simple. So I, especially, given what I do here, I definitely don’t want to push forth anything on any of my social media that can’t be proven to be true. Because, number one, I don’t want to be lying. Nor do I want to be pushing things out that would give wrong impressions, i.e. this house with the red roof that somehow survived the fire. And by the way, if I’m proven to be wrong on that, I’ll eat my words. But I did some searching yesterday and couldn’t see anything along those lines whatsoever. And there’s lots of these that you’ll find. The other thing that I see from time to time is somebody will post something making it sound like it just happened yesterday when it happened eons ago. And it’s just now resurfacing again. Dan and I, my cohort back in the day, went through this back when the burned kid that ran around social media and I think even collected donations because of how badly burned she was. And the reality was she wasn’t burned at all. It was a gag that her dad did by putting basically like bologna all over her face. Ham, sorry, slices of ham all over her face to make it look like she was burned and she wasn’t. I think that’s one of the first experiences that I and Dan had about social media in regards to how those things spread. And, yeah, when you looked at the image at first, it’s like, oh, man, she’s really burned. But when you really studied it for a second and you realized that it was ham placed on her face, it became very apparent it was just ham on her face. And we laugh about that, and I am with Charlie, but that’s how this stuff spreads. And it can spread like wildfire. And again, if we’re the ones spreading it as quote-unquote Christian conservatives, and it’s just not true, how dumb do we look? Where does our credibility go when we do that? And really, I’m speaking near and dear to some listeners, because some of this problem I’ve seen on some of your pages— Maybe you’re listening right now, maybe you’re not, but I’ve seen it on your pages. And I’m not one of those to just speak right out and say this is false. Maybe I should be, but I don’t want to be that guy either. I don’t want to be the quote-unquote fact checker. I want you guys to do this on your own. Now, I will say that some will come on and say, are you really sure this is true? Because I haven’t seen this anywhere but here. The red roof thing yesterday, there was a comment on that particular picture where somebody actually said something to that effect. And I’m glad they did because in that particular case, I don’t think it’s true. So the whole fact-checking thing, it’s going to get bigger as, and again, I think it’s a good thing. I don’t think fact-checking needs to happen, period. I think people need to learn how to do it on their own, and they shouldn’t rely on any social media source to do it for them. You should be able to determine if a story is true or not. I go back to this. I’ve had this conversation before with you all, and I know I’m going to date myself now because younger people will have no idea what I’m talking about. But I remember standing in the checkout line at wherever I was with my mom, Safeway most likely because she used to like shopping at Safeway. We’d be in the line of Safeway or Albertsons, either one, getting ready to check out. And there was always Charlie the National Enquirer that was in the checkout lane at the supermarket. And usually there was on the front of it, you know, a Sasquatch sighting or a UFO or a two-headed this or a two-headed that or some weird thing that made the front page of the National Enquirer. And there used to be two of them, Charlie. There was the Enquirer and one other, and I can’t remember now what the other one was. National Observer. And they were both just outlandish. Oh, and it was the same company. Thank you, Charlie. And just outlandish things. And I know. It was to get you to buy that publication. But at the end of the day, the majority of what was inside that publication was 100% false. And I think a lot of that same thing goes on today just electronically all over social media. So, folks, be careful. Don’t post things that you know aren’t true or that you haven’t verified to be true. Do the fact-checking yourself. Richard, what’s going on?
SPEAKER 07 :
Not too much. I just catch the internet. But yes, especially as much as we want some of this L.A. fire stuff to be, you know, to be true in a way. Right. Of, you know, the incompetence of they’ve got enough incompetence. Right. Let’s not fuel their claims of, you know, misinformation. You know, let’s let’s let Gavin Newsom post the misinformation, which really directs.
SPEAKER 16 :
everyone to his own personal website that then you can donate to act blue like elizabeth warren let’s focus on that right let’s not give them anything else to focus on correct no thank you and there’s lots of misinformation along those lines i won’t get into all of those details all right before we take a quick break come back and do a couple of car reviews broncos are done see you i’ve been done now for a couple of weeks i mean what’s left for the state anything
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, I guess you’ve got the Nuggets and the Avs, which they’re sort of coming in. The Nuggets are getting a little bit better. The Avs made a trade for a goalie a few weeks back, about a month or so ago, I guess now, and he seems to be kind of coming in nicely. So they’re making a push. I guess we’ll see if they get their stuff together here before playoffs. But, yeah, Broncos done yesterday. You’re going to hear lots of stuff that I think the season was a success. You weren’t supposed to make the playoffs. Yes, were you playing a last-place schedule? Yes. Did you only beat… Really, one team with a winning record, which was the Buccaneers all year long, because the Chiefs were playing their B&C team. Yes, you did. But you know what, Dad? You did enough to get into the playoffs. You sort of saw what the big boys do. You played against the Bills, who are every bit as good as the Chiefs and the Ravens and are Super Bowl contenders and all that. And so you saw that. And so I think that there’s no substitute for experience. You said that many times, and in life and coaching and all sorts of things, right? You know, the best experience is experience, right?
SPEAKER 16 :
Best teacher’s experience, yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
You’ve got to actually do it and see it. And, you know, just everything from… Seeing how teams are going to play you, players just play that much harder in the playoffs, right? Because it’s one and done. There’s just a lot of little things that go into it.
SPEAKER 16 :
I think Bo, Nick’s our quarterback. He learned a lot of valuable lessons this year. By the way, I think he’s a good kid. I think he’s got a great future. Is he going to be one of the famous quarterbacks of all time? I don’t know. Richard is too early to tell. I do think that he’s got… the right talent level, and if he’ll just continue to focus on reading things the way that he needs to, keep his chin up, keep being a leader, which, by the way, he’s done a very good job at. I mean, let’s just say this. I would still to this day right now have him over the last guy we had.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, absolutely, and I think you saw that with Russ, to be honest, with the Steelers and losing the game that they did against the Ravens, and they had a similar thing. There was enough to like that from the very first series of several runs to the long touchdown pass to the two-minute drive. And honestly, you’ve got some stuff that you’ve got to worry about, which I will put more on coaching. I think the defense got worn down, but that’s because – Let me put it this way, Dad. Most teams expect to have anywhere from… 60 to 70 plays on offense a game. The Broncos had 43 at all.
SPEAKER 16 :
Half of what they should have, almost.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, two-thirds, right? So they were down 33% from what a normal team should. That’s a lot of extra time that your defense spent on the field, which I think was reflected in the score. So, yep, I think it’ll be a growing thing for them, and I think it’ll be a positive. And the last thing I’ll say before we run a break is, yes, with the Buffs, they’ve been done for a little bit. However, there was some that Deion Sanders may go to the Raiders. There’s now speculation he may go to the Cowboys. I’m pretty confident, Dad, that a lot of that is sort of a leverage, right? And in business, some people are saying, well, he doesn’t need any more leverage. I don’t think you can have too much leverage in business.
SPEAKER 16 :
You can always have more.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right? You can always have more. And so the more teams that he can say are interested, I don’t think he has any desire to go to the pros. I think he wants his sons to make. I know he left the door open this past week to eventually go there, but I think that’s a… a four- or five-year process. So I think he’ll be here. I think it’ll be a matter of time before he gets his new contract, and then we can move on.
SPEAKER 16 :
Last but not least, Coach McCartney, which you all probably saw over the weekend, saw the news of. He passed away with his battle of dementia and Alzheimer’s on Friday night, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. That’s never an easy thing. On the same token, I know exactly what they’re going through, and that’s not fun either.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is not, and I will say he was a great man, he led a lot of young men and a lot of older men to Christ, which ultimately, that’s all that you can do, and honestly, that’s all that you want in the world, and at the same time, he was a great quarterback, or not quarterback, well, he was a quarterback, he was a great coach, and he was the greatest coach, no matter what Prime does, and he did a lot for this university, and he stayed here, and All sorts of things. So, no, it is a big loss, but I am thankful that he was a part of it, and I’m also thankful that, honestly, he’s in a lot better place and in a lot better place physically, obviously, now than what he was. Absolutely. So, yeah, lots of prayers to his family. We know it’s difficult, and obviously we know some of them personally. So, prayers out to them for sure.
SPEAKER 16 :
Absolutely. All right, we’ll be right back. Ridgeline Auto Brokers looking for a new used car. We’ve got you covered. Go to RidgelineAutoBrokers.com.
SPEAKER 12 :
Are you in the market for a reliable car, truck or SUV that won’t break the bank? Does your vehicle need high quality auto repair? Then look no further. Ridgeline Auto Brokers and Legacy Auto Repair specialize in quality used cars that cost between $15,000 and $25,000, making them a great option for first-time drivers or anyone looking for a great deal. At Ridgeline, we pride ourselves on providing a transparent and hassle-free free car buying experience. That’s why we never charge any dealer fees. Plus, all of our vehicles are inspected by our team of ASE certified technicians. You can trust that the car you’re buying is in excellent condition. And remember, we can also service your vehicle after the sale. At Ridgeline, we can take your current vehicle on trade, and we also offer competitive financing options for vehicle purchases and also for vehicle repairs. Ridgeline now has two locations, one in Boulder and now a second location in Fort Collins located at 1101 North College Avenue. Both locations offer full-service auto repair and a host of off-road accessories. Check out all their services at RidgelineAutobrokers.com. Ridgeline, the smart way to buy or service or accessorize your car, truck, or SUV.
SPEAKER 16 :
Affordable Interest Mortgage, 720-895-0500. Call Kirk, get your mortgage set up prior to ever looking at a home. Get that done now, 720-895-0500. Interested in buying a new home?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, the cost may have just gone down. It’s been a seller’s market for years, and buyers are regaining some authority. Want to cut your cost when you buy? Take AIM, Affordable Interest Mortgage, 720-895-0500. Recent changes to buyer’s agent compensation now helps the buyer spend less. Sellers no longer need to raise the price to cover compensation for both sides. Your pre-approval now gives you more control in pricing and compensation. Make sure you work with a knowledgeable mortgage broker that will save you money. Take AIM 720-895-0500. AIM has a team of broker agents willing to negotiate their compensation and save you thousands. They know the new law. They’re experienced and professional. Before you sign with an agent, protect yourself with a real pre-approval letter that puts you in charge. Take AIM. Affordable interest mortgage, 720-895-0500. We have that team willing to work for you. That’s 720-895-0500. Regulated by Dora and MLS, 217-147, equal credit lender.
SPEAKER 06 :
We don’t yell at you. We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. This is part of the week where we stick our drive radio portion in this as well or wear that hat. And, Richard, you’ve given a couple cars here lately. One of these that we’ll most likely replay again on Saturday is the 2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes. So 2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition, Dad, which is a Honda Pilot with a $1,500 appearance package on it. So it changes the appearance. And here’s the deal. That’s not to knock it, because I think that some people will like the Black Edition for what it brings, right? And the different accents and the blacked out, you know, trim packages and trim pieces that it does give you. So that is not a knock. I’m just telling you what it is. So if you know what a Honda Pilot is, I encourage you to check this vehicle out, Dad. And it is It is the same Pilot, Dad, that was introduced back in 2023 and is a fantastic vehicle, especially if you’re looking for kind of that midsize SUV with two full-size rows, right, with that third row as a kid hauler, right? And some people are going to say, oh, those are fit adults. Dad, I don’t think that this car should, right? And this size of car and vehicle in the market and other competitors – They don’t fit full-size adults, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I was able to drive the kids around it, put them in the third row. They fit fine. There’s still a little bit of storage behind the third row, which is great. Again, the model that we had, you can actually take out the center console in the second row, store it kind of in the storage that’s behind the third row, obviously in the trunk space, Dad.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
If you don’t want that, right, and that gives you a little bit more real pass-through, but if you don’t want to do that, you can have a really great storage space in the third row that gives you even more room for groceries and some other things, and so if you’re okay with sort of people kind of sneaking in as you slide the second seat forward, and you don’t need them to sort of pass through the middle of the second row. It gives you the ability to do that. Price-wise, Dad, on the Pilot, starts anywhere from about $41,595 for the Sport Edition to this Black Edition that we drove, which is about $56,130. Fuel economy is $19,025. We were able to average about $21,022. The acceleration and stuff, Dad, this has got a 3.5-liter V6. I believe it’s got a 10-speed automatic transmission, which runs really well. Is this going to blast anyone off the line? Nope, but it’s not meant to be, and I’m not knocking it for that. Relatively quiet on the inside. Got a lot of the creature comfort that you want on the inside. I’m not going to give everything to everyone on that. You can go kind of look for yourself of what you’re looking for. But, Dad, you’ve driven pilots in the past, and you’ve driven the newer one, and it is a great option for that midsize SUV market.
SPEAKER 16 :
Solid vehicle. I get people all the time that ask, you know, I’m looking at this versus that. And this is a particular vehicle that always comes up in the lead, if you would, Richard, just because of its known reliability. By the way, its resale side is always high. I mean, at the end of the day, Richard, it’s a Honda SUV. You can’t go wrong.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, exactly. And Honda, again, lots of reliability, right, Dad? And it’s got great visibility. Yes, at our altitude, what I love a little bit more, there’s some different competitors out there that have got some different engine options, yes. But for the value, Dad, where you’re in the mid-50s, so you’re sub-$60,000, for an all-wheel drive, mind you, this is an all-wheel drive vehicle, it’s really hard to beat. So I would encourage folks… Head to your local Honda dealer, test drive it. And if you’ve got kids, and, Dad, I know this part, next part, you don’t care about, but if you’ve got car seats, folks, I can tell you that car seats will fit in this car, and they fit in relatively well and easily. And I encourage you to go out, put your car seats in these cars, because the last thing you want to do is buy a car, and something doesn’t fit, right? And then you’ve got to figure out what to do there. So encourage folks, check it out. Head to your local Honda dealer. When you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, what is the next vehicle you got to drive? Because we’re a little bit behind for the holidays, so go ahead.
SPEAKER 07 :
A little bit behind, yeah. So a 2025 Volvo V60 T8 all-wheel drive Polestar Engineered. And I kid you not, that is the name. Here’s the deal, folks. This is the Volvo V60, which is, yes, those Volvo station wagons that you still see running around, because even though they may not be popular here, they are back in Europe. And I will say this, Dad, they work great. They may not, depending on your views of them, of your looks, whatever, they work great for storage and all those sorts of things. This is essentially a V60 cross-country, a performance edition. And to tell you the difference, a normal V60, Dad, will go from zero to 60 in about seven seconds. This one, because it’s got some plug-in hybrid technology and it’s part of their Polestar engineered, will go from zero to 60 in about 4.3 seconds. So it really adds the oomph. Obviously, it’s got a plug-in hybrid, which gets you about 40, 45 miles on a charge. You can recharge at home if you’ve got a level two charger in about five hours at the most. And even a plug-in, you can just plug it into the wall with a standard outlet dad and probably charge it in about 12 hours or so. You may be a little bit longer, just kind of depending. But it’s got a two-liter turbocharged battery. And obviously, once you add in the performance piece of it, as far as the interior, Dad, it’s everything that you would expect from Volvo, right? It’s got nice plush seats. I think it’s got yellow seatbelts, part of the Polestar aspect of it. It’s got some really great brakes on it, some fun looks to it. It ran really, really well. This vehicle, Dad, as it sits, is about $73,000, which is about $20,000 more than the normal V60 cross-country. But again, folks… It is a performance-based model, and it’s also a plug-in hybrid in that regard, Dad. In terms of fuel economy, 31 combined, 74 kind of after you factor in some of the electric aspect of it. I will say, Dad, here, this car ran tremendously well. It was really fun to drive. I believe it’s all-wheel drive if I’m not mistaken.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you did say that, yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
And, again, which, again, for our up here data, and obviously we had some snow last week. We’ve got some more snow on the way this coming weekend. It’s definitely something that people value. And, again, like I said, the cargo space, the interior room, For kids, as we just talked about in the last review, second row is going to be a little tight for anything more than a booster seat. I’ll just be 100% honest with you. However, if you are wanting to fit two full-size or four full-size adults, maybe a little bit tight there too, but you could still do it, Dad. Again, just kind of a different size car. But if you’re looking for a fun car. to haul kids around, haul people around, haul some cargo around. This is the car for you, especially if you’re looking for that kind of plug-in E side of things. So for folks that want to learn more, Dad, head to your local Volvo dealer, test drive it. Again, 2025 Volvo V60 T8 all-wheel drive, Polestar engineered. And when you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, I’ll let you go with that, Richard. Appreciate it very much. Up next, Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Before that cold weather hits that Richard just talked about, give them a call if you’ve got any problems at all. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Cub Creek Heating and AC is honest and fair. Hunter of Cub Creek always says he just wants to be able to sleep at night. That’s why they don’t pay their tax based on commission so they avoid incentivizing things like upselling or creating problems that would cost you money. Hunter is thorough and honest. When they come to help with your heating and AC, they start by cleaning your system first because it’s not possible to get good readings on a system that’s dirty, and they want to avoid charging you for unnecessary things. Cub Creek Techs will test your system, determine several options, and present those to you so you can make an educated decision and choose a path forward. That sort of honesty shouldn’t be revolutionary, but unfortunately it is, which is what keeps Hunter of Rheem Certified Pro Partners Cub Creek Heating and AC in business. Find out more about Cub Creek on the klzradio.com advertisers page for a free consultation. Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, up next, Kurt Rogers will join us with our Monday Mortgage Minute, and then Paul Dayton’s going to join us. He is a local author of both Correcting Our Financial Miseducation and Socialism, The Gift That Keeps On Taking. We’ll be right back. Hour 3 is next. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 17 :
I’m a rich guy.
