Hour two of Rush to Reason features a mix of political commentary, historical reflection, media criticism, and international discussion as John Rush covers several of the hottest conservative topics making headlines.
The hour begins with author Richard Battle discussing the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and the life of Francis Bellamy, the largely forgotten minister who originally wrote the pledge in the late 1800s. The conversation highlights the importance of teaching civics, patriotism, and the meaning of America as a constitutional republic rather than a pure democracy.
John then shifts into commentary on Donald Trump’s latest primary victories, arguing that
00:00:05 Introduction: Life is Scary, Get Used to It
00:17:11 Discussion About California Election System
SPEAKER 13 :
This is Rush to Reason. 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. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, sir. You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 10 :
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 02 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Richard Battle joining us now. Richard, welcome. How are you today?
SPEAKER 17 :
Good afternoon, John. We’re doing great. Thanks for having us back with you.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right. Talk to us. I’m sure I’ll get this last name wrong. Maybe is it Francis Blamme?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I’d call it Bellamy, but I could be wrong also.
SPEAKER 15 :
Bellamy? No, I’m going with what you say. Bellamy. There we go. That works.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, his birthday was Monday, and he had a pretty ordinary life like most of us, but he had lightning strike with providence, and he is the author of our Pledge of Allegiance. And I think his story of his can-do spirit and how that came about is very fascinating.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, you know what? I would be fascinated to know. Let’s hear it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it’s interesting. He, like his father, became a minister in the late 1800s. And he loved the country, loved serving people. And in 1891, he took a job with the youth’s companion magazine part-time to help supplement his income. And the publisher of that magazine in 1888 started a contest. where if people subscribed to the magazine that they would get a free flag, and his goal was to put a flag in every school in the United States. And when Bellamy was there in early 1892, he was assigned to write a pledge that the children could recite in school for the flag. And that was his assignment, which crossed paths with his love for the country and his heart for service.
SPEAKER 15 :
Amazing. And again, we talk about these folks so we don’t forget about them, of course. And the other thing, too, and I’m learning this more and more, Richard, because we learned these things when we were young and in school, but the kids today are not learning these things.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, and I don’t think I ever… Or if I did, I didn’t really care at the time about the person who did it. But what makes it interesting to me is he’s not somebody who’s well-known for a lot of different things over his life. He comes out of obscurity, writes the pledge, and goes back into obscurity for the remainder of his life. And he changed our lives, but he didn’t have a lifetime of accomplishments. And it just goes to show that any of us, if we continue to persist and persevere in the quest for our goals and trying to do good things, we never know when something may happen where we’ll have a disproportionate influence on other people.
SPEAKER 15 :
Are kids today still, are they still saying, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance? Do you know?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I think some are and some aren’t. And part of the bone I have to pick about it is the line where it says we pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the Republic. And we’ve talked about this before, but it bothers me that our leaders rarely, if ever, talk about our Republic. They talk about democracies, and there’s a huge difference between As we’ve talked about, Aristotle said, republics decline into democracies. Democracies degenerate into despotism. And a republic protects the political minority, whereas a democracy basically is one step above mob rule. And so that’s why I think it’s so important for the pledge to be recited by the children and explained why. What’s a republic? how come with democracy what’s the difference yeah yeah it’s not it’s not i pledge allegiance to my flag and to the democracy for which it stands it’s to the republic for which it stands great point yes and so the other interesting thing to me was he was given this assignment and they were trying to have a contest in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering the country. Imagine that. And so they were trying to do the pledge and that celebration to pick up the sales of the subscriptions and the flags and get them into more schools. And Bellamy, like so many people, he waited until the night before the assignment was due to complete it and ended up writing the pledge in one evening, although it’s not the pledge we say today.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, in fact, the pledge changed. Talk about that.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it’s interesting. His pledge said, I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands. One Nation Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All. That was his original pledge, and students started saying it in 1892 and continued. He passed in 1931 before the Pledge of Allegiance became codified, if you will, which it did in 1942. That’s when the Congress made it part of the flag code, so he never got to see the impact of his contribution. And then when Dwight Eisenhower was president, and that’s when they put in God We Trust on the currency, the pledge was last amended to add, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. So it was changed to United States and then adding nation under God at that time.
SPEAKER 15 :
Which was not a bad change, by the way.
SPEAKER 17 :
No, not at all. I think he would have approved. Well, yes, and Dwight Eisenhower isn’t given credit for a lot of things. It’s interesting. He’s treated, and I can remember being a little kid, and my first understanding of Dwight Eisenhower was he was lazy, and all he did was put golf balls down the aisle of his airplane. And so where did I get that from? Some adults had a bad impression of him. But besides what he did in World War II… He did so many things as president, including adding God to the pledge and adding in God we trust to the currency.
SPEAKER 15 :
Awesome. Awesome. Again, the history and the things—I know things I learn every single week, Richard. I think we have listeners that feel the same way that I do. I learn from you every single week, and things that, quite frankly, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t go look up. They’re not things that are just drawn on the tip of my tongue or the top of my head to go look up. So I learn every single week, and it’s a joy every time I hear these things.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, we all do. And the important thing for we as parents and or grandparents is we’ve got to make sure that we’re teaching our kids these things so they can maintain the sovereignty of the country and their freedom and independence. When you and I were in school, the schools were much better about teaching citizenship and civics. and things of this nature, and parents could rely on the schools, but I don’t believe parents can rely on the schools today, and we’ve got to make sure if the schools don’t do it, we do.
SPEAKER 15 :
I agree. It’s that old, you know, how do we pass things down if we don’t know what they are in the first place?
SPEAKER 17 :
That’s exactly true. And so that’s why when I speak or write, I’m speaking not only to parents and grandparents, but hoping that they’ll share that as well. And it’s very gratifying for me when parents and grandparents tell me that they’re sharing things with their kids because we know that will help us going forward as a country.
SPEAKER 15 :
Speaking of sharing, a lot of you will have kids that you know, graduations, open houses, things along those lines. You’re looking for great gifts for those particular individuals. Richard, talk about the books you have on your website.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, the Americans Who Made America series has three books out. The fourth book will come out in July. RichardBattle.com is the website. GoDaddy has been having some problems with the store here this week. So if you have a problem, go to Amazon. All 12 books are there, including audio and Kindle versions also.
SPEAKER 15 :
Richard, as we approach Memorial Day weekend, which we didn’t get much of a chance to talk about that. A lot of this, of course, goes into that as well. But I always remind people that Memorial Day, it’s not Veterans Day. These are folks, families especially, that sacrificed, all gave their lives so that we’d have the freedoms that we have today. And it’s a remembrance of those individuals. And while we’re celebrating, flipping burgers, enjoying ourselves, we cannot forget what those folks did.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, that’s exactly correct, and hopefully everyone will have a great day Monday, but we need to stop and pause and be thankful for those people and all the people before us that have done things to contribute to our freedom, but those people gave the last full measure, as Abraham Lincoln said.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sure did. Richard, as always, I appreciate it greatly. Have a great week. I appreciate you greatly, sir. My pleasure. God bless America. God bless you, Richard. Again, Richard Battle, and it’s richardbattle.com. Golden Eagle, we heard from Al Smith at 3 o’clock. He was in the Health and Wellness Hour. And if you need help when it comes to your future planning, financially speaking, getting to retirement, staying there, having a plan devised just for you, Al can do all of that. He did an interview of late. Tune in to that. We’ll come back right after that. Find Al at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we got Al Smith back with us on KLZ Radio. Al, I heard on a radio show the other day that people could replace their poor-performing annuities with new ones that earn 10% to 12% annually. Is that real?
SPEAKER 02 :
I think it’s an enormous exaggeration. I think there are some occasions where it might be in people’s best interest to replace an older annuity with a newer one, but to promise 10% or 12% returns… there’s only a very small percentage of annuities that have actually earned 10% or 12%. And sometimes unscrupulous people in the financial industry will use illustrations that are projected in the future but have no clear examples of how it has actually occurred in the past.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s probably a big red flag when people give those guarantees, isn’t it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, they don’t usually say it with guarantees, but they make it sound like, oh, for sure, if you have a poor-performing financial product, we can get you one that’s going to pay 10% or 12%, and it’s guaranteed against loss. Well, the guarantee against loss is true, but the 10% to 12% performance, there’s about, I would estimate, maybe a 5% chance of that actually occurring in the future.
SPEAKER 07 :
Wow. So you heard it here, guys. If you really want to know the answer, give Al a call here. And Al, how do folks get in touch with you?
SPEAKER 02 :
You can reach me at my office at 303-744-1128.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. You can also find him on klzradio.com slash money. Al, thanks for coming in today.
SPEAKER 08 :
You’re welcome. 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 through individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 11 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Real quick, before I go to my next topic, Thomas Massey, if you all didn’t notice, was defeated in the primary, which I’m not shocked at. In fact, this part maybe is a little bit shocking. Donald Trump did very well with his endorsements. Hardly losing any. So those that say that the MAGA movement or the folks that are behind Donald Trump have somehow left the party or Donald Trump left the party, there are those individuals even in Colorado that say that, yeah, well, it didn’t show up last night like that. I think those of you that are saying those things probably should do a little reevaluation because, again, that’s not what happened last night. So we’ll continue to see how things go when it comes to some of these endorsements and things that Donald Trump does. But right now he’s on a roll. And Thomas Massey, who, by the way, good riddance. I have no respect. I mean, I have respect for the guy in certain ways with certain things that he believed in, but he was not a team player. Not at all. The Lone Ranger is probably a better way to describe Thomas Massey. And I get it. There’s people out there that love the guy, think he’s awesome, whatever. Good for you. I didn’t care for the guy. I think he was more of a Democrat at times and more of the opposition than he was on our team. Speaking of the opposition, and by the way, he’s a Jew hater as well. So that’s the other reason why I don’t care if he leaves. Speaking of Jew haters, though. I don’t normally do this because I know it gives these individuals money when I watch. But I saw enough comments today on social media about the interview that Victor Marx did with Candace Owens. That, you know, I’m seeing enough of these and some are saying it was awful. Some are saying it was the best thing he ever did. So I’m like, okay. I can’t rely on social media to tell me how well he did, so I guess I better go watch it myself. Now, I didn’t watch the entire interview. I watched probably, well, I don’t know, it’s like an hour and a half long, and I watched a good 50 minutes or so of it. So I watched enough to really get a feeling for, I think, how well Victor did versus how well Candace did. Now, let me just start off and say this. Candace is a real piece of work. Let me just say that. She’s a jerk. Only put a B in front of that. She’s a jerk. Big time. I don’t know why anybody in their right mind would listen to her. And frankly, I don’t know why some of the sponsors even sponsor her. That’s a whole other discussion. But I really don’t know why people follow her and listen to her and do the things with her that they do. How well did Victor Marks do? Honestly, folks, I think he did pretty well. Now, let me just say this really quick. Right now, of all the candidates running in Colorado, From the Democrat side to Republican side, this is everybody. Barb Kirkmeyer, Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx, Greg Lopez. We’ve got Bennett and Weiser, all of them. There’s not – probably the best spoken, I think I said this yesterday with Andy, is probably Scott Bottoms, but none of them are super dynamic speakers, Victor Marks included. Those of you that are huge in the camp of Victor Marks, I mean, guy seems nice, but I’ll just tell you straight up, he’s not a dynamic speaker, not by a long shot. In fact, I will say this. Me, personally, I sometimes have a hard time listening to him. I want to pull the information. It’s like, Victor, just spit it out. Hurry up. Let’s go. Chop, chop. Let’s go. Come on. You’re on camera. You’re on radio. Whatever. Let’s get it on. Let’s go. Come on. Fast. Faster, faster, faster. Now, I get it. That’s me. That’s sort of my style and how I do things and so on. But, I mean, my ears are just dying to hear what the next word is. Spit it out. And I will say this. This is not an attack on him at all. But there are times where he’s not super polished either. There are times I don’t think I am. I’m more polished than he is, and I’m not very polished, grammatically speaking and so on is what I mean. Now, Charlie’s helped me a lot over the years. I’m much better now than I was a decade ago. But, boy, somebody needs to work with Victor on some of his delivery and word choices and so on. And I’m just going to say that straight up. Did he do well with Candace? I think he did because Candace is a jerk. I’ll talk more about that here in a moment. John from Cheyenne, though, is next. Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I heard a couple of days ago on Professor Nez’s channel about the California election and what Jared Poe had said, that he might have to break the glass deal. And the question I got is, apparently in California they do it differently, where the top two primaries go to an election. And so they’re saying what might happen, don’t quote me, you know, that there might be two Republicans. And my question is, well, being that California is such a Democrat state, has there been elections in the past where it’s only been two Democrats that have gotten on the ticket because of their rules?
SPEAKER 15 :
That I do not… I don’t know on that one, John.
SPEAKER 12 :
No Republicans? Yeah, if any of your listeners are out there, because apparently Jared Polz is mad that there’s going to be two Republicans, possibly… and no Democrats, so he’s wanting to go back to a party system for the primary.
SPEAKER 15 :
You’re talking about Newsom in California? Polis is here in Colorado. Are you talking Polis or Newsom?
SPEAKER 12 :
Newsom. Okay, that makes more sense. That’s okay.
SPEAKER 15 :
They’re kind of two peas in a pod, so I can see how you could get them flip-flopped, John. Not a problem. But yeah, I can see where Newsom would be upset about that. Absolutely sure he would be.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, so if any of your listeners know about these two… leading primaries where the other party can’t even get theirs on the voting deal. I’d like to hear more about it.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’ll throw that out there and see if anybody knows that one. I don’t have an answer to, John. I don’t know on that one at all.
SPEAKER 12 :
OK, thank you, sir.
SPEAKER 15 :
You’re very welcome. I appreciate it. Going back to Candace Owens and Victor Marks. And again, as I was reading through social media today, I said I saw some where they said, you know, he did awfully shouldn’t even done the interview. And I had others where it was like, oh, he did awesome, scored a home run. You know, here’s how I would I would label that whole interview with him. And it just depends on which part of the interview you’re talking about, by the way, because it’s a long interview. And he agreed to go a long time. Frankly, just a side note, I wouldn’t have done any of it. She’s a she’s a wackadoodle. And her attack mode, I mean, she’s like an alley cat at times. I wouldn’t go on air with her, period. She is a very ruthless slash what I would call unforgiving host. Now, I will agree with her that she is the host. It’s her program. And there were times where Victor was kind of trying to basically take over the role of host, and even in the very beginning, and she had to correct him on that. And I understand where she’s coming from. So that one I’ll give her a teeny bit of grace, although I think she could have handled that a little bit differently than what she did. And there were times where neither one of them would answer the questions they were asking each other, which sort of drives me crazy. It’s like, okay, just get to the gist of what’s being asked and be done with it. But again, I’m not a fan of Candace Owens at all. I think she is, even when they got to talking about, for example, this is where her and I really differ. I’m not Catholic. You guys all know this. Some of you that are Catholics, fine. You have your belief. I have mine. I believe, like Victor, they got to talking about demons, the casting out, and so on. I am an evangelical. I don’t believe there’s any hierarchy as to who gets to do that and not do that. I know Catholics look at that completely different. That’s not how I see it. That’s not how Victor sees it, but that’s how she sees it. So in her mind— She’s struggling to understand how Victor could even be involved in anything along those lines in the casting out of demons, where, by the way, Scripture is very clear that as long as you’re in tune, you know, spiritually speaking, and you know what to do in the prayer to pray, and you know how to handle things on a spiritual basis, you yourself can do the exact same thing. There is no hierarchy on that. You don’t have to be an ordained minister, in other words, to do that. And I believe in that wholeheartedly. 100 percent. That’s not how Candace, being a Catholic, believes. So she was struggling, I think, to even give Victor some credibility that he’s been involved in some of that. And by the way, no doubt that what he’s done over his life and ministries and so on, no doubt he’s ran into that. I’m sure he has. That one I will give him full credit on. And I’m sure he has been involved in those things. And what he’s saying is very true. I have no doubt about that. None. She really was hard on him in that manner. And she’s wrong, by the way. She’s flat out wrong. And she was not going to back down. And, again, that’s her own faith, and that’s fine. She can believe. And he did finally say that, you know, you can believe the way that you do, but here’s the way I believe, and here’s what I experienced. And, by the way, these were videotaped, and you can watch them if you’d like, and nobody’s hiding anything, and here we go. So, again, I have more to say when it comes to Victor and all of that, and more not the context of what he was saying or the meat of what he was saying, because, again, I don’t think he was wrong in anything that he said. Now, the other thing that I would say where she was trying to pin him constantly all the time on things that she felt like he may have said wrong and always trying to almost like, hey, you know, she was looking for that gotcha moment. constantly and it’s like okay candace i get it you’re trying to find the gotcha moment that’s what you do that’s what your show is all about and so on i will say that of all of the minutes i watched with her and victor i didn’t i didn’t see any gotcha moments Now, there’s a lot of folks out there that think Victor’s lying and he’s not who he seems to be and he’s a charlatan and this, that, and the other. By the way, folks, I’m not in either camp. I’m not for him. I’m not against him. I don’t know him that well. This is probably the only lengthy interview that I’ve really watched. I’m also still under the impression that—how should I say this? I’m still under the impression that as long as Greg Lopez stays in the race, none of this matters anyways. That’s my whole impression. I don’t think it matters. So I’m not spending a ton of time in researching and looking at this candidate, that candidate, and so on, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. So that’s my take on the governor’s race right now here in Colorado. And you guys all know that. I talked about that with Andy yesterday. So, again, I haven’t put a ton of extra time into researching some of the candidates I don’t know very well, i.e. Victor Marks, which I know some of you listening have. I haven’t because even if he wins the primary, as long as Greg is standing in with his particular campaign and he’s on the ballot, it’s not going to matter. And that’s not because I’m a naysayer. It’s just the truth. It’s just the data. It’s just how it’s going to work. But all in all, as I was reading through social media and looking at the responses to Victor Marks and what he did and didn’t do in regards to this particular interview, I didn’t think he did bad. Was it a 10? No. Was it a 1? No. Was it somewhere in between? Was it a solid 6 or 7 even as an interview goes? I think so. I didn’t see anything there. And by the way, again, she’s a professional. She does this all the time. And she’s a tiger. And she’s a jerk, to be honest with you as well. She really is. And is not a very kind individual. Very angry lady, by the way. And I get it. Some of it’s her shtick and what she does and so on. But again, I don’t have any use for Candace Owens. I think she is a Jew hater through and through. She’s a racist, even though she’s a black woman. She is a racist through and through as well. And I just can’t stand her. But I did go ahead and watch that just so I could give an update on what I was reading on social media. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning is next. Make sure you’re dialed in when it comes to your HVAC, especially as we get into this weekend where the heat is turned back up. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Sonny Kutcher joining us now. Young Americans Against Socialism. Sonny, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 09 :
Doing good, doing good. Finally getting some nice summer weather here in L.A. It’s been a little gray and overcast.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, it has been here, too, but I don’t think we’re going to see much in the way of that until the weekend, but that’s okay. We were really, really dry over the winter, so the moisture we’re getting now is much, much needed, and we’ll take it, and I haven’t heard too many people actually complaining about it, and we have nice weather coming. All right, talk to us about Cuba, if you would. Speaking of nice weather, the island where they’re at typically has pretty nice weather, but talk about everything else going on.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, absolutely. So today was the Cuban Independence Day, and Marco Rubio put out a video that I thought was very, you know, right on point. He discussed the embargo, but he also discussed something called the Gaiza, which is actually a military, how would you say, organization where everything that gets sent back through the country, has to pass through that entity. And they actually take, you know, they skim off the top. They have about $18 billion in assets now. They generate revenue three times the government’s entire budget. But of course, none of this ever reaches the Cuban people. And so this is just one example of how the Cuban regime has oppressed their people, has kept their people in the same position, and has really just pillaged all the revenue for themselves, for the political and military elite. And I think that some will say that Trump getting involved in this is, again, it’s not the nationalist thing to do. It’s not America first. But I don’t think that going in there and regime change, we’ve talked about this before, how we feel about regime change. But I think In this type of situation, I mean, when you have a country that’s suffered for so long, I mean, they really do have no help. They have no recourse. They have no way to fight back. It’s been, you know, 60 years. So I think that, you know, Trump at least giving them that hope that, you know, some help is coming, that maybe there is a situation like in Venezuela where there can be change in Cuba.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and again, there’s talk of do they join forces with us? Do they become a state or a territory? Lots of big conversation around that, and I don’t think we’re at that point yet, although I will tell you, Sonny, that if you – and I don’t know this because I’ve never been there, but my gut feeling would be, given everything you’ve just said, talking about Cuba, the people themselves, the fact that they rarely ever see some of the benefits that the quote-unquote leaders see, I would venture to guess that the average Cuban – that loves their country, which we love ours, and I get where they’re coming from there. But I would venture to guess that if they were to ever have a vote whereby they could say, listen, we want to join forces with the United States of America, be that a state, be that a territory, I would be hard-pressed, Sonny, to believe that they wouldn’t in a majority way vote for that.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I mean, I think it’s a really interesting idea. I think they would love that. I mean, I think in a way they could retain, you know, they still retain their own nationalism in a way that.
SPEAKER 15 :
might be a an argument that some people wouldn’t agree with um but which by the way if they kept themselves as a territory that that’s that’s the main difference between a territory and a state if they were a territory and joined us that way which i think by the way would probably be in their best interest if they became a territory they keep all that there’s no issues there right and i think and i think it’s in their best interest as well um
SPEAKER 09 :
Because, I mean, they are truly starting from the bottom if they are to topple the regime. But the problem with those things are – with those regimes is just that there’s always 10 people down the list that are ready to go to be the next dictator. And so that is – that’s truly – an issue. But, you know, we’ll see what happens. I know that Trump is also offering $100 million in food and medicine, but it would have to be distributed directly through, you know, the Catholic Church or certain charities that, I guess, are able to bypass that Gaiza entity. And, you know, it’s interesting. I think that, you know, I also was looking up the embargo again, just to kind of really clarify what it is that what the embargo actually does. and what it prohibits, which is it prohibits American companies and individuals from doing business with Cuba, obviously restricts travel, although I know some people have been able to go and travel there. But it also blocks Cuba from using the U.S. dollar in international transactions, which makes it very difficult for them to do international transactions. It also pressures foreign companies. If they do business with Cuba, they lose access to U.S. markets. It pressures international banks that if they handle Cuban transactions or it passes through to the U.S. dollar, they get sanctioned. So, you know, there are, it really does obviously target the regime. It targets their entire, you know, the entire country itself, whether it’s targeting the people. I mean, indirectly, I would say yes. You know, I don’t believe that the embargo is the sole reason for Cuba’s poverty and the failure of, you know, the regime, of course. That would be insane. And that’s what people like to say. A lot of socials, oh, well, it’s the embargo, it’s the embargo. Well, I thought if communism worked so well, then why would an embargo even matter, right? But at the same time, I do think that it has had a pretty large impact on their country and in some ways has even pushed the dictators and the regime to be, you know, to have even stronger, even wider gap with their people because they are just, you know, even though their transactions are such a small scale, It’s all within that same country and it’s just being recycled through with these elite and they’re just, you know, keeping all the profits. So there’s a lot of factors here, you know, and I hope that this is sort of the, you know, turning a new leaf and maybe a new chapter for seeing Cuba prosper again.
SPEAKER 15 :
Which, again, I venture to guess, I know Cuban Americans, of course, they would love to see that happen. Even the Marco Rubios of the world, of course, would love to see that happen. And I believe that, Sonny, there’s a lot of individuals there on that island that would love to see the same thing. To your point, and you said it very well, the problem with these type of scenarios, regimes, whatever you want to say, to your point, you knock one off and, you know, same things happen in Iran. You knock one off, well, there’s 10 more behind them that want to you know, take over power. So some way you’ve got to figure out how to put the power back to the people and eliminate those particular evil. That’s what it is, the evil individuals that have literally taken over the country and have impoverished the people in doing so. Right now, as you know, Cuba is struggling so bad economically that something has to give, something has to change. And I like Trump’s idea. I also like the fact that that has to be distributed to the people. Otherwise, it ends up in the wrong hands when it’s all said and done. So by the way, he’s not stupid. He understands that full well, Sonny.
SPEAKER 09 :
Definitely, definitely. And I mean, look, well, you know, I feel here I am. We’re in L.A. We are about to gear up for a mayoral race or mayoral election or the runoff election, I should say. And, you know, we have some major, major issues with. thousands of people in the society of LA are living on the street are living in disease, you know, disease ridden rodent, bug infested streets and establishments, shelters, whatever it may be. Dogs are being abused on the streets. I mean, we have so many issues and it really is from my perspective, all to do with people in charge, not, understanding how morality plays into all of this because they’re so focused on greed or greed, their agenda, the power dynamic, staying in power. And I would really like to see our leaders focus on America and really, in five years, see this country prosper more than it ever has before. And I believe that that’s what you know, we should try to do all, all, all over the world and, and Cuba, including, I think if we had a prosperous Cuba, uh, right on our, you know, right below us, 90 miles away that it would be strong. We would work together. I mean, think of, you could just see it now, you know, you could just see the, the, the, the resorts and the vacation, like you just see all the prosperity and people really enjoying and loving life. And, um, and that’s what, the American dream is all about. Cubans could, you know, have free passage. They could be able to go back to their homeland and still appreciate America for what it is. And that’s really what, you know, immigration really is about to me. And I agree, you know, America is built on, is a melting pot. It is built on that, you know, and that’s what the values, that’s why they’re able to be upheld because those people understand those values. So going on a tangent here, but I… I, you know, I see, we all see the ills that are really plaguing our country, the illegal immigration and just the degraded, you know, infrastructure and all of these things that really, really need our focus and attention. I mean, while you have the, you know, Democrat politicians just going full force into, you know, climate change, trans, illegal immigration, taxes, you know. And so… once again, we just see the importance of having to represent our own ideals and values in our government, and that’s the way that we can create continuous movement towards things like freeing Cuba, which is just such a massive undertaking, so I hope to see what happens next.
SPEAKER 15 :
I didn’t send you this article. I should have, because I don’t want to catch you off guard, but there’s an article out, and this is kind of going all over the internet right now. There’s a House candidate, Maureen Galindo, I think I’m saying that right, and she is pledging to send American Zionists to internment camps if she ends up getting elected. Now, you talk about being a total racist. I don’t know how much more racist you can actually be when it’s all said and done. So this is coming out of the San Antonio Current. So the controversy-tarred congressional candidate Maureen Galindo this week pledged to transform a site south of San Antonio now used by the Trump administration to detain migrants into an internment camp for American Zionists.
SPEAKER 09 :
I mean… Speechless. Yeah, I mean, come on. Like, how… Honestly, like, how ridiculous can you be? I mean, American Zionists? Okay, so an American person who believes that Israel has a right to exist, okay?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, let me continue. You’ll love this next part, too. This is a quote. Galindo wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend, referring to herself in the third person, it will also be castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 16 :
Go figure.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, no, I mean, yeah. Even the fact alone that she’s saying… American Zionist, so you’re okay with putting Americans in internment camps? That’s what she’s saying. I’m just so confused.
SPEAKER 15 :
That is exactly what she’s saying. She is a complete wackadoodle.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, complete. Absolutely. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
SPEAKER 15 :
It’s just, it’s crazy, Sunny. So, yeah, I mean, sorry, I just had to throw that in. No, no. So that, you know, and again, you can look that up. In fact, I’ll text you that article here in just a second because it’s just, yeah, you listen to those things and think, okay, first of all, who would vote for somebody like this other than a racist?
SPEAKER 09 :
Right, right. I mean, it’s, that’s crazy. Yeah.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, absolutely. And again, these are, by the way, everybody listening, those of you that are on the left especially, this is one of your Democrat hopefuls for Texas.
SPEAKER 09 :
Unbelievable. I mean, it’s going to be interesting. I feel like the midterms will be really interesting because the, you know, what we were talking about last week, I believe, the maps and maybe the week before, the maps kind of moving around, seats getting tossed up, and I think even Massey may lose his seat. I mean, they’re like seeing the polling and It’s just very interesting. I think that, honestly, Trump has done a really good job, I feel, of sort of, what’s it called, you know, separating the wheat from the chaff. I agree. And really seeing where people’s, you know, values are and what their priorities are, I would say. You know, I think that people would argue what, you know, that there are things that Trump could be doing differently. better, let’s just say, or more quickly. But I think, you know, they’re really taking their time. I think they’re being very methodical about all of this. And I’m actually very curious to see what ends up happening with Israel, because I think Trump is actually much more in control than we may think.
SPEAKER 15 :
I agree. Well, I think you saw that in some of what happened last night and some of the primary results. So, yes, I would agree with you on that one wholeheartedly. Absolutely. So, yes. How do folks find you, Young Americans Against Socialism?
SPEAKER 09 :
You can find us at our website, yas.org, Y-A-A-S.org. And if you type in Yas America into Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, you will find our pages there. We post content, and we just call out all the crazy socialist things that are happening. highlight different things like today where you know something regarding a socialist or communist regime is in the news and we can you know kind of share about it and share why it’s so important to talk about these things uh the you know just crazy stuff that goes down on socialist and communist regimes so uh thanks for you know always having us on sharing our point of view and if anybody listening wants to support or check out our resources our interviews You can check out our website, yes.org, or on social media.
SPEAKER 15 :
Awesome. Sunny, I appreciate it greatly. Have a great rest of your day.
SPEAKER 09 :
Likewise. All right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Enjoy the sunshine. Up next, Michael Bailey. He is our mobile estate planner. Make sure you’re dialed in when it comes to your estate plan today. Michael is mobile. He comes to you. That’s Michael Bailey. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 04 :
We don’t yell at you. We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Debra’s Afternoon Rush. Got a text message in from somebody that said that you’re wrong about Thomas Massey. He’s not a Jew hater. Well, I think he is. In fact, I think Marjorie Taylor Greene is. I think Tucker Carlson is. I think Candace Owens is. I can go down the list. So really quick, I just plugged into AI, ChadGBT, a question. I want to know what the worst things is. So I typed in, worst things Thomas Massey said about Jews. And there’s a few. But I’m going to prove my point that he, in fact, is a Jew hater. In 2021, he posted and later deleted a meme comparing COVID vaccine passport policies to the Holocaust. Even one of his interns resigned over it, calling it anti-Semitic. In 2023, he shared a meme implying Congress preferred Zionism over American patriotism. Critics say that it echoed the dual loyalty trope historically used against Jews. The White House condemned it as virulent anti-Semitism. He was the only House member to vote against a 2022 resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Massey argued it involved free speech concerns, but Jewish groups strongly criticized the vote. During his 2026 primary fight, critics accused him of leaning into conspiratorial rhetoric about Israel lobbyists and pro-Israel Jewish donors controlling politics. Which, by the way, there’s a lot of individuals, especially those that are in the libertarian movement, that… believe all of that nonsense, that somehow the Jews control the world. They control the banking system. They control this. They control that. By the way, it’s a bunch of nonsense. But there are those out there that believe that. A pro-Massey PAC ad attacked donor Paul Singer, used a rainbow star of David Grafik. The ad was widely condemned as anti-Semitic imagery. Now, I get it. That’s a PAC. He doesn’t control the PACs. I understand that. But here’s the point of this particular texter that texted in. He’s a Jew-hater. He has done and said and acted and voted very much along those lines. I got the comment back that, no, he just believes that since Israel’s on the payroll, we should keep them in check. By the way, I’m not denying that. Anybody that we have on the payroll, Israel included, yes, we should keep in check. But there’s a difference between keeping somebody in check and hating them and being anti them. Which Thomas Massey is. He’s definitely anti-Israel. Just like Tucker Carlson is. Just like MTG is. Just like Candace Owens is. Just like, by the way, Megyn Kelly is starting to be. Because she hangs out with those three too much. Or, sorry, Tucker Carlson too much. Why she does that is beyond me. That’s a whole conversation in and of itself. Why Megyn Kelly doesn’t just stand on her own and why she gets influenced by the likes of Tucker Carlson is beyond me. I thought she was smarter than that, but evidently she’s not. I don’t get it. I really don’t. At the end of the day, yes, Thomas Massey, in my opinion. But I think you can go back and prove. I just did a small dive, not a deep dive even, just a small dive into some of the things that he has said and done and voted on. And it’s pretty apparent where he stands. Again, he’s a guy that good riddance. Bye. Bye. Oh, by the way, Mitch McConnell, I think he’s primaried out as well. Did I see that last night, Charlie? I believe I think he’s been primaried out as well. So he will no longer be doing what he’s doing. Again, it was a big win for Trump last night when it comes to the primary end of things. If you didn’t follow any of that, I would encourage you to go out and look. And I think one of the figures, I don’t have this in my notes, but one of the figures I noticed this morning was I think 30 candidates that Trump endorsed won. 30 all over the country. Now, again, these are early primaries. A lot of primaries won’t happen until we get a little bit further along. Ours in Colorado, of course, isn’t until the end of June, so the end of next month, so roughly a little over a month away. So Trump did very well last night. Again, despite those that are anti-Trump, even inside of our own party like MTG, like Thomas Massey, like a lot of other politicians that claim to be on our side that aren’t, Trump did pretty well last night. So again, you guys that are listening, you can believe what you want to believe. But if you believe in this Zionist nonsense that a lot of individuals like Tucker Carlson believe in, sorry, but you’re one step away from being a racist, if not a full one. Be careful what you believe in and what you listen to, who you follow, because I can tell you right now, Candace Owens, MTG, and Tucker Carlson, they are all Jew haters. They are very much that way. Listen to anything they talk about for any length of time. Even today, listening to Candace Owens interview… Victor Marks and what she did prior to him coming on proves she’s a Jew hater. I mean, she she weaves it in everything she does, including the interview with Victor Marks. She is a flat out Jew hater, plain and simple. So Roof Savers of Colorado coming up next. And Dave, by the way, he has got some great zero interest deals when it comes to roof, not only repair, but replacement his roof max product, which can extend the life of a roof as well. Anything you need when it comes to your roof. Give Dave a call 303-710-6916.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, and we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Again, I appreciate you all listening. We’ve got another full hour coming your way. Don’t go anywhere. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
Republic Or Democracy? Why It Matters. And The Interview Everyone’s Arguing About.
Hour two of Rush to Reason features a mix of political commentary, historical reflection, media criticism, and international discussion as John Rush covers several of the hottest conservative topics making headlines.
The hour begins with author Richard Battle discussing the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and the life of Francis Bellamy, the largely forgotten minister who originally wrote the pledge in the late 1800s. The conversation highlights the importance of teaching civics, patriotism, and the meaning of America as a constitutional republic rather than a pure democracy.
John then shifts into commentary on Donald Trump’s latest primary victories, arguing that
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