Join Dana as she critiques the recent Grammy Awards, discussing the perceived imbalance in media representation and the controversial topics brought forth by artists. From diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions to Beyonce’s latest album award, explore how music and politics intertwine. This episode also covers the major overhaul of the USAID program, addressing financial inefficiencies and the outcry from federal bureaucrats. Tune in for a no-holds-barred conversation on the politics impacting America’s international aid efforts.
What’s your favorite peanut butter chocolate treat? Easy call, right? Well, it might be more of a dilemma after you try the new Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup. It’s a delicious twist on that favorite treat. The Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup is the perfect combination of creamy milk chocolate, delicious peanut butter, and an ooey-gooey chocolatey filling. It’s a completely new kind of Reese’s peanut butter perfection. Shop Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup now at a store near you. Found wherever candy is sold.
SPEAKER 05 :
Dana Lash’s Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 02 :
Audio soundbite three. This is where we get in with some of the other tariffs, though, too. This is what the president had to say. Actually, you know what? I’m going to let’s do two instead of three first. This is audio soundbite two. This is POTUS talking about balancing our trade and specifically related to Mexico, because we’re going to talk about Panama, then Mexico. We’re going to get into all of these countries that the president was targeting with his policies this weekend. Listen.
SPEAKER 08 :
What does the president, what does the president of Mexico need to do for you to win the trade? What are the specifics you want? They have to balance out their trade, number one. They’ve got to stop people from pouring into our country, and we’ve stopped it. They haven’t stopped it. We’ve stopped it. They have to stop people from pouring in, and we have to stop fentanyl, and that includes China. Fentanyl has killed, this year, at least 200,000 people. It’s pouring in from China through Mexico and Canada, and they’ve got to stop it. And if they don’t stop it, the tariffs are going to get worse, a lot worse.
SPEAKER 02 :
25% tariff on all imports coming in across the border. And then you had Mexico’s Claudia Scheinbaum, very Mexican name, had… had promised she was going to come out with her own retaliatory tariffs today. And then now, just like Colombia, nope, cave, it’s done. It’s done. Now they’re going to hammer out a deal. This is New York Times. They were set to take effect already, and they’re going to be put on hold for a month. Mexico has reached a series of agreements with the Trump administration saying that it’s the U.S. is expected to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weaponry into Mexico. So that means no more Fast and Furious ops for DOJ. They said that they’re focusing on security and trade. So here’s my big question. Can we still have guacamole for Super Bowl? Chuck Schumer doesn’t think so. Chuck Schumer, no. And he… can we play this audio? And then I’m going to, I’m this. Yeah. Audio. Somebody seven, because this is the same guy who puts cheese on raw meat and he holds up Corona in a can. Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Play this.
SPEAKER 01 :
Let’s just take Superbowl Sunday. Okay. It’s going to affect beer. Okay. Most of it. Corona here comes from Mexico. Okay. It’s going to affect your guac. Because what is guacamole made of? Avocados.
SPEAKER 02 :
Actually, California avocados have more fruit. Like, you know, the meat in it. They have more flesh. I should thank you. Than avocado flesh. Sidebar, I hate that word. It sounds like a horror film. Like, you hate moist? Like, moist is the word you hate? moist. And flesh is one I don’t like. It’s just weird. Just so odd. So all that for nothing. Achieving vibrant, youthful skin doesn’t have to be complicated. With the power of Native Path Collagen, you can nourish your body from within and enhance not just your skin, but also your hair, your nails. By incorporating Native Path Collagen into your daily routine, you can promote a plump, radiant complexion, reduce signs of aging, and boost your overall vitality. all without any unnecessary fillers or additives. Native Path Collagen has only type 1 and 3 collagen, the most important types, making up 90% of your body’s collagen. No artificial sweeteners, just pure third-party tested goodness. It’s completely flavorless, so you can just add it to about anything, your coffee, your smoothies, oatmeal, or whatever you want. And the best part is that Native Path’s peptides formula makes it more bioavailable so it means your body will absorb it easily start your journey to healthier skin today get native path.com slash dana and stock up on native path collagen and save up to an incredible 45 off plus free shipping every order includes a 365 day money back guarantee don’t miss out head to get native path.com slash dana
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I’m just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we’re now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I’m John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 06 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hardy Fiber Cement Siding handles conditions that can cause damage to vinyl. From fire to hail, Hardy Siding stands tall through it all, helping trade professionals look their best when they recommend Hardy Siding and Trim. See the proof at jameshardy.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
Did you guys watch the Grammys? I mean, I didn’t. A friend of mine did. I didn’t. I didn’t watch the Grammys because I can’t stand the assault on taste and music. And the weird thing is, is that from what I’ve seen of it, they feel like the outlier now. The stuff that I saw, the excerpts that I saw, because they talked about DEI, they talked a little bit about the election, but it seemed like That’s it seemed out of out of fashion. I don’t know how to put it. I was thinking about this the whole time. It seemed like it was out of fashion. You had this audio soundbite 30 Lady Gaga. So boring. Predictable. Go ahead. Sorry, this is 30.
SPEAKER 09 :
That trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don’t get it. This idea that trans people are not invisible. No one said they were. We see them. I mean, dear God, we see them. Okay, we see them from like a mile away. Believe, girl. We see them. From so far away. You couldn’t miss them if you tried. You could still see them in a blacked out room. Okay. This idea that people are invisible. I don’t care what you wanted, how you want to spend your private time and role playing. Just don’t make me go by it as well. And then the whole queer community deserves to be… I don’t know. These are just like words. What the hell does this even mean? Lift up how? What do you mean? You are talking about demos, particularly the trans community that account for less than 1% of the US population and they get 99% of the discussion. That seems to be egregiously unbalanced. Correct? Then you have Alicia Keys, audio sound by 29. DEI is a gift. Yes, racism, she says, is a gift. Listen. Listen.
SPEAKER 09 :
This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices. We’ve seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat. It’s a gift.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we are probably now experiencing a worldwide accessories shortage. Thanks to Alicia Keys. No, DEI is racism. Racism isn’t a gift because DEI incorporates actual people. discrimination in order to determine equal outcomes it’s backwards it’s not a gift the only people who say that are people who either are either like either the clan says that or you don’t know what it is one of the two one of the two and then There was the issue of a country album. Okay, I’m just going to get it out of the way. I don’t think that Beyonce should have won Best Country Album. It’s a specialty album. It’s actually more pop than it is country. Hell, there are a lot of country albums that I wouldn’t necessarily say are country. There’s stuff Casey Musgraves does. I mean, as dumb as she is on politics, she’s not a horrific performer. But there’s some of the tracks that she does that I wouldn’t even necessarily consider to be country. The thing is, though, because there was a lot of discussion over that, and I had friends that were texting me about it last night. The was it a bad album? What a bad album. Jolene was completely I thought it wasn’t the best. It was not the best cover. I thought it could have been a little bit more inspired. I mean, Beyonce can sing. She’s a you know, she’s a good performer. I mean, nobody’s going to take that away. But was this the best country album? Oh, hell no. It wasn’t. But it had to be done because Jay-Z went on a rant last year and was bitching and moaning that his wife didn’t get the best album Grammy, even though she’s got more Grammys than God. You know, she didn’t get the best album Grammy. So they had to. That’s what this was. This was a Band-Aid. That’s exactly what it was. I’m saying it because you guys know it’s true. It’s absolutely true. Doesn’t take anything away from her performance as a performer, but that’s not the best country album. That was a political handout. And I think she even wasn’t expecting it. Gotta say, her partners that help bring you the program, Kel-Tec. They got a new 5.7 they’re coming out with. I know. And I think George Kellgren, have you ever talked to him? So he’s the guy who runs Kel-Tec and he owns and operates it. He innovates everything. Independent of me, one of my kids said he’s literally a mad scientist. He just sits there and comes up with… Things that you didn’t think that you needed until they made it. And then you’re like, yeah, I need this. I’ll talk more about what they have next week because I’m broadcasting from their booth at SHOT Show. But they’re coming out. They got a new 5-7 they’re coming out with and they’re unveiling it at SHOT Show. But this is a Florida-based company, a great all-American story. Whatever you need for firearms, they’ve They invented the concealed compact category. They make some really awesome stuff. And it’s at KelTechWeapons.com. And when you go to their website, see everything that they have, the P-15, the P-11, the P-32, the fold-in half, sub-2Ks, all awesome. But they have a surprise for everybody next week. Visit KelTechWeapons.com. Sign up for their newsletter. Find them on social media. Innovation Performance KelTech. K-E-L-T-E-C. That’s KelTechWeapons.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I’m just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we’re now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I’m John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 06 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 03 :
What you’re hearing is Hardy Fiber Cement Siding living up to its reputation as the siding that handles hail impact with ease. James Hardy knows how important a reputation is, especially when you’re a contractor. That’s why Hardy’s siding withstands severe weather better than vinyl siding, with styles to match its strength. So you can be sure you’re providing your clients with the best. Protect your reputation with exterior products by James Hardy.
SPEAKER 10 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It’s time for Dana’s Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
So that weird rodent predicted the weather. Punxsutawney Phil, the little rodent that they grab and drag out of this hole. And I love how they’re all like, let’s go put our top hats on and go get our wood rat. But they held him up and he saw a shadow. So apparently we have six more weeks of winter. Well, at least, who is it? Bill de Blasio wasn’t there to throw him to the ground and kill him to death. Okay, all the people that turn out for this, it’s actually an amazing thing. I mean, this is the equivalent of tossing a virgin into the volcano. I mean, I love that we have our little traditions, but it’s a wood rat. You know, you’re bringing up a wood rat to see the future. Also, I don’t think he likes being pet. He’s trying to get out of that, the hands of that gentleman with the top hat. He really, really wants to get out of there. Also, the, I don’t know what, this is not exactly a headline. I don’t know how it got in here. It’s a New York Post piece about dogs. And they say that they love their lives more than we love ours.
SPEAKER 10 :
Proven.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, doubtful. fact check the I don’t know all I know is I love my dog my dog loves me and we’re best friends and that’s about it so but they said that I don’t know how they study something like that to make that determination that doesn’t make any sense apparently life on earth oh my gosh I’m so tired of this this is another well I don’t want this headline it’s somebody’s fever dream about their fetish over climate change I don’t give a rat’s ass I don’t care I don’t care so bad I cannot possibly telegraph to you how much I don’t care. Vintage. I know. Vintage car race. Mercedes stream. What is this? Fetches a record 51 million euros at an auction. Ken Martin wins the election as the next chair. I don’t even know who this guy is. But I do know that that one little lady won the vice chair. Or I mean, dude, that David Pig guy, hog guy. Yeah, I got it right the first time. Stick with us. A lot more on the way. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash here with you. We’re at the bottom of this first hour. We’ve been talking about some of the tariff stuff. We still have to get into Doge because Doge is… been pretty spicy and uh made everybody mad everyone was saying that what that elon the way that it was put to me over the weekend everyone is that elon musk was like in wellies wading knee deep into my bank account stealing all my monies i don’t even know where that talking point came from i tried to run that down where the hell did that even come from with the left they’ve been so apoplectic over everything it’s really difficult for me to like run down what they’re actually reacting to So welcome back. Dana Lash with you. Make sure, by the way, go and subscribe over at Substack. I’ve got a doozy of a piece coming out in, oh, maybe 25 minutes. It’s a doozy of a piece. That’s all I know. You’re going to want it because it’s pertinent for our segment next hour. And appreciate all your guys’ nice words and praise because my whole house had the flu. kane and juan are aliens because martians i’m not even looking at you they didn’t get anything i took ivermectin too i told you what i think the difference is i swear to you if you say anything that rhymes with schmobiotics i’m gonna scream and start flinging things okay because you’re paid by them you’re like you’re paid by probiotics like the amnesty caucus in florida is paid by truly that is a is it bald face line how do you say it
SPEAKER 10 :
Is it a bald face lie or is it a bald face lie?
SPEAKER 02 :
I kind of like bald.
SPEAKER 10 :
Is it?
SPEAKER 02 :
I don’t know. It’s probably not right. That’s a bald face lie. Don’t care. I just like saying bald. Like that’s a bald face lie. You’re a bald faced ma’am. I don’t know. So welcome back. I’m a little loopy still recovering from the flu. So it’s like right when you feel good and you have some energy and you don’t know what to do with it. That’s me right now. All right. So the Doge has been slashing. They cut a $50 billion department. That’s the, you had USAID, the, oh, sorry, US Agency for International Development. And the way that it was presented. Hang on. I got to pull up some of these stories for you. Oh, my gosh. It’s Musk’s unprecedented power grab. Oh, Musk is… Musk is… It’s unconstitutional, et cetera, et cetera. He’s basically Satan. Hitler, Hitler, Satan. I mean, it’s, you know, it’s like a buff. The… I mean… They’re gutting it, which they should because that’s where a lot of this NGO funding is coming from. They said that USAID managed over $40 billion of appropriations. Washington Post was trying to say that he shouldn’t have cut it because it amounted to less than 1% of the federal budget. Can I just do a full stop right there? Are we going to nickel and dime ourselves, Siddharth? I don’t care if it’s less than 1% of the U.S. budget. Only in D.C. is $40 billion considered meh. Only in D.C. is that considered not a lot of money. That’s my money. I don’t want my money going towards paying for condoms in foreign countries. I don’t want to be paying for entitlement programs and DEI in other countries, which, yes, this is what this was all facilitating. So, totally fine with this being cut, as anyone should. But don’t let them try to get you… fixated on, well, it’s less than 1% of the budget, so this is really silly that we’re fighting. It’s not silly that we’re fighting over this. In fact, this is exactly one of the things that we should be going back and forth over because this, it’s $40 billion. We need to cut every single bit, whether it’s 40 or 40 billion. Everything. And this is also one of the pillars of the left. This is a way that they’re able to shove through, fund all their stuff. This is one of the legs of the stool, so to speak, that has really empowered the left and has funded the left. A few things with this. I mean, you have the NGOs that we’ve talked about specifically as it relates to issues at the border, whether it’s Catholic Charities, whether it’s another one of these entities, and they get so much taxpayer money, so many taxpayer dollars. And it’s essentially facilitating an invasion of people who are entering illegally, and these NGOs are making fat cash off of it, millions of dollars. So… There’s a reason why you would always have this money flowing through these entities that are acting in contravention of established law. This is part of it. This is one of the legs on the stool that they’re targeting. I mean, this thing, this department, billions and billions of dollars, this entity launders. And you’ve got these organizations that are all at the trough, right? Whether it’s – I mean Bill Kristol was getting – why the hell was Bill Kristol getting paid by USAID? This is the type of stuff I’m talking about. It’s the weirdest thing. But it’s a scam. I mean, he got money from, as an example, he got money from USAID. He was listed as the president of Defending Democracy. That’s an indirect beneficiary of USAID through Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. There’s a whole website now that tracks all the data from this. So these people are all getting… I mean, it’s just funneling taxpayer dollars to individuals that are actually advocating against the republic and advocating against the tenants of the republic and the policies that work best for us. Now it’s getting… Now it’s getting scuttled. It’s kind of shocking that it was able to go along as long as it did. In addition to this, we’ve got… pull this piece up. A friend of mine over at Red State who’s been tracking the talking points going out by this. So you have the USA Director of Employee and Labor Relations, Nick Gottlieb. So this kind of kicked off on Friday because you had 60 officials through that organization that were being placed on leave. And immediately you had these bureaucrats that were trying to fight POTUS on this. He was suspending like 60 of these senior bureaucrats, putting the rat in bureaucrat. And they were trying to get around his executive orders. They said that they, in the statement from the acting administrator, they said they’ve identified several actions within USA that appear to be designed to circumvent the president’s executive orders, mandate for the people. So they shut down their whole thing. And the… When you work for the government, you don’t get the luxury of rebelling against your boss because your boss is the American taxpayer. We think that this shouldn’t exist. You have to leave now. Pack your stuff up in a box. GTFO. Get out. But the fact that we went through all this drama on Friday and I was in my flu haze and I was watching all of this kind of play out, it’s really stunning to me. I was told that was a coup. Is that a coup, Cain? When you have bureaucrats that are entrenched deep within federal government and they’re refusing not only to do their job, but then when they’re told to leave, they refuse to leave. That’s an insurrection.
SPEAKER 10 :
It sure is.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, I was reliably… Dems to rules.
SPEAKER 10 :
I was reliably… I would get a peaceful transfer of power.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don’t get it. Right. The other defense was that it was an independent, almost like an ombudsman agency, which it wasn’t. Do you guys remember Samantha Power under Barack Obama? Okay, she used to run USAID. Remember she got her Vogue spread? Samantha Power got a spread in Vogue. for Melania Trump, that she used to run that agency or that department. I mean, there are a lot of people that have their hands in this cookie jar. The goal of USAID, what have they actually done to safeguard U.S. influence or power? Because all the left is saying, well, USAID is essential. I fail to see where any of that is. Where? We’re supposed to be dealing with aid and development assistance, etc. The goal of that, that’s only been to shuffle taxpayer dollars to leftist entities, leftist projects, and propaganda. That’s all it’s been for. Good riddance. Get out. I’m so happy that it’s gone.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for tuning in to today’s edition of Dana Lash’s Absurd Truth Podcast. If you haven’t already, make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
