In this hour of Rush to Reason, John Rush and Andy Peth break down the global stakes of the Iran conflict, focusing on one of the most critical chokepoints in the world: the Strait of Hormuz.
With roughly 20% of the world’s oil flowing through this narrow passage, the discussion highlights how control of this region impacts everything from gas prices to global stability. The hosts explain why instability in the region drives up energy costs—and how a shift in control could dramatically reshape the oil market.
The conversation also explores broader geopolitical strategy, including the role of Middle Eastern allies,
SPEAKER 08 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 16 :
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 08 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 10 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk!
SPEAKER 16 :
You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 02 :
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 07 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, hour two. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate. And we’re doing our best to get Mark Mix to join us. We had him scheduled. We’ve had him on quite a bit. He is from the National Right to Work Foundation. But in the meantime, we’ve got plenty of other things to cover. So what else about the war, Andy?
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, really quick here. Would you consider water to be pretty important? Oh, yeah. Okay. So how would you like it if a savage person who hated you and was very dangerous… had his hand on the water spigot for your home and could turn off your water any time you wanted.
SPEAKER 15 :
No one would like that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, the government kind of already does. All right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sorry.
SPEAKER 15 :
I’m sorry. They’re pretty bad, too. Sorry.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. No, no. I like that. Okay. The Strait of Hormuz.
SPEAKER 15 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. If that is run by Iran.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’re in trouble.
SPEAKER 05 :
It was being run by what? religious dictators madmen who swore okay who were the number one state sponsor of terror in the world and wanted israel gone and and proclaimed us the great satan okay time out time out yeah yeah go ahead we just talked for like 45 minutes about another great example of that the rhino watch davidians it’s no different there’s so much it’s no different so much without the killing but yeah i mean it’s just the same comparison there’s so much in common well The Strait of Hormuz is the most important oil spigot in the world, okay?
SPEAKER 15 :
Because through that strait— 20% of the oil of the world flows through there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Think about that, of the entire world. Right. 20% goes right through that. So you’ve got lunatics with their hands on the spigot and can turn it off and on and off and on. This is why I’m trying to tell people, look, do you realize after this war, which is coming to a close fairly soon— we will now have the greatest stability in oil markets we’ve ever seen.
SPEAKER 15 :
You are correct. Just saying. Nope, you’re correct. Oh, is Mark here? I don’t know yet. We’re waiting to see. Charlie’s trying to get a hold of him, so we’ll find out here. I’m not sure whether he is or not.
SPEAKER 05 :
John?
SPEAKER 15 :
And John from Shan called a moment ago. If you want to call back, John, feel free to do so. We’ll put you right on air. And some of you say, well, John, how do you know all that? Well, I see what Charlie does, and I can see the screen, and I memorize phone numbers, so I kind of know who’s who that calls in. But, John, if you want to call back, feel free to do so. And you know the number. Those of you that don’t want to call in and chime in on what Andy and I have been talking about the last hour, feel free to do that as well, 303-477. 5600, that’s our main line here, 303-477-5600.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, the reason I mention this, John, is that the number one complaint people have about the war, most people, is gas prices, oil prices, right? Because they’re up through the roof, obviously.
SPEAKER 14 :
They fix their pocket.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, in the middle of a war, they’re going to. Number one, it’s very temporary. But number two, folks, in the aftermath, we are about to have the best stability for world oil markets we’ve seen in a generation. Why? Because lunatics’ hands are off the spigot.
SPEAKER 15 :
Let me remind people, too.
SPEAKER 05 :
No crazy person is holding the spigot to the water of your house. Go.
SPEAKER 15 :
And let me remind people of something. I talked about this last week. Andy wasn’t with me when I had a guest on where we were discussing this together. But remember. We had exactly the same oil prices, only higher under the Biden administration the minute he took over. So, folks, which, by the way, with no end in sight. And there was no war. Yeah, nothing. Just him. It’s just mismanagement. Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
A guy who was anti-oil.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s right. The oil companies knew that, and oil spiked underneath him. And are you that are complaining about it now the same that were complaining about it then? I highly doubt it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
John and Cheyenne, you’re next.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, since you’re talking about the war, I want to bring up something you were talking about yesterday during the first hour and give you a little pushback on it. Sure. If that’s okay. Go ahead. So you said yesterday, and I believe it was during the first hour, I was in and out of meetings, but I heard you say you wouldn’t travel to Europe or Canada right now because of the way they’re treating the U.S. with the war and everything.
SPEAKER 14 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, well, here’s my pushback. You don’t have a problem with traveling to Mexico with what they did over the last 20 years at the southern border?
SPEAKER 15 :
The difference there is, as you know, Mexico is run by cartels, and I’m not giving the money to the cartels. I’m trying to help as many of the people that are there actually survive. When I go to Europe and or Canada, no offense, John, I’m helping the government as much as I am the people. And, yeah, no, I’m not giving money to them. Two different things, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 07 :
The cartels get a cut of everything in Mexico.
SPEAKER 15 :
Do you have a cartel T-shirt? I mean, in a way they do, John, but not like the Europeans and Canada does when it comes to trade with us and the other things that they’re doing. I don’t see it being one and the same.
SPEAKER 07 :
OK, well, I just because you’re you’re kind of vehement yesterday about not going to Europe.
SPEAKER 15 :
I am. And I and I still am, John. And I yeah, I that that part of me has not changed one iota. And by the way, not that I feel Mexico is a whole lot better than the EU. The difference is. Mexico doesn’t have a direct effect on what’s happening in Iran right now, and it’s just two different things in regards to that. My point with Iran and Canada and Europe especially, especially the U.K., is those guys are using Iran as a pawn. They have for years and years and years, and they are not willing to support us in this effort in any way, shape, or form, and they’ve said that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, yeah, we’ve known that for 30 years. Anybody who is… uh you know in the military in the 80s expected that it was either iran or the russians right uh that we were going to have issues with but okay the other thing on the straight of whore moves if you look at it on a map it’s that area that juts out yep in is smaller than what we dug across for either the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s 30 miles, right? Am I correct in saying that, John? It’s 30 miles, the Strait is, in that area?
SPEAKER 07 :
The Strait is, but there’s an area on the… I think it’s… On the peninsula? Yeah, the Arabian Peninsula. Thank you, Andy. That could be dredged out, and it could be widened, and just eliminate entirely… Iran having any control over it at all. And that would not be that hard to do, considering we did it 125 years ago in the Panama Canal. We dug the Suez Canal across the Sinai, which is a lot bigger, that they could widen that up to the point… So what you’re saying is dig a canal across Abu Dhabi?
SPEAKER 15 :
Is that what you’re saying?
SPEAKER 07 :
Not a canal. Just go from the tip of the arabian peninsula and just dredge all that out and make the whole strait so much wider and deeper well i think that’s that’s property though that’s actually owned i’m not sure yeah that that’s dubai so in other words what you’re saying is get get i mean dubai would probably even help fund it if there’s some sort of a end in sight wouldn’t they well i don’t well really quick here when you’re right john am i thinking correctly here yeah what i’m saying is If you got the world together and everybody, like Andy said, 20 percent of the world’s oil goes through there and said, that’s it, we’ve had enough of the terrorism. We’re going to widen the straits and deepen it wide enough to go, excuse me, to just have Iran have no ability to control it at all. How many countries would actually say no to that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, no, I think that would be mutually beneficial. But the simple fact is, I don’t think it’s going to be pressing. And the reason is Iran’s done. And so the Strait is now going to be overseen by allies.
SPEAKER 07 :
Andy, how long are they done for? They are religious zealots that will die for their cause. That’s fair. You don’t think in 15 years, in the next 10 to 15 years, they’re going to retry to take power?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’m counting on them all converting to Jesus. I’m kidding. Yeah, I think that they will try to surge back to power. Here’s going to be the big problem, John. With the new arrangement, it’s going to be a lot like Venezuela. They are going to be overseen and checked nonstop. by America and the UN.
SPEAKER 15 :
It’s going to be different. I think the key, John, is what Andy’s saying, and I don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball to know the outcome here, but I do think that the powers, this is the biggest issue, as you know, the powers that be we have right now, the Trump administration and those that are around right now, yeah, I’m with Andy. I think that’ll be easily controlled. I don’t think it’s a big issue. The fear is, and this is where you’re headed, John, is what happens with the next administration if it’s not a Republican administration?
SPEAKER 07 :
say it’s Gavin Newsom.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. If it’s him, then we’re screwed.
SPEAKER 05 :
If it’s any Democrat, they will move to very quickly churn control of it back over to Iran. Correct.
SPEAKER 04 :
I don’t know if they can.
SPEAKER 05 :
Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because they’re, you know, they’re patient to take control back over and just do exactly what happened in Afghanistan. Right. We kind of got rid of the Taliban. As soon as we got out of there, they came right back in and took charge under Biden. It’s the mindset of…
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, so maybe, John, and again, I have no idea if this is happening, if anybody’s even talking about it. So maybe, simultaneously, you do what Andy says. We take control. We have the allies watching it. Maybe we get a solid eight-year stretch. And in the meantime, simultaneously, dig your canal.
SPEAKER 07 :
Or dig or widen the strait. Because my son-in-law, I talked to him last week, he went through there twice on the Reagan. And he said… It was scary going through there because they had to go so slow because it’s so narrow and so shallow. And it’s kept that way on purpose by the Iranians because they want to be able to.
SPEAKER 05 :
terrorize the ships going through i guess would be the best term well john i would have two questions because i don’t get me wrong i like the idea but number one whose property would you be digging into how does that work and number two what would it take the logistics of literally digging this out they could do it i mean we’ve done it with canals and so forth i was just wondering what is it going to take and whose property is going to be chewed up and and then really quick i just
SPEAKER 15 :
did a quick Google search, and the Strait of Hormuz is a critical 21-mile wide passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, cannot be physically widened in a practical or engineering sense, as it is a natural waterway bordering Iran and Oman. So the way I see this is, and again, I am not an expert in this at all, but as I look at the map, well, when I look at the map, to me, the best way to handle this is just dig a canal across the top of Dubai.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the way Dubai’s making money, I don’t think they’d have a problem with that. You know, kind of like the Panama Canal. You know, everybody down there is making money on the Panama Canal when a ship goes through there, including the Chinese communists. So when you look at it, it’s from a business standpoint, what’s better, having a ship pay, I don’t know, round number $10,000 to go through in a canal safely, or to go through a straight where a lunatic religious cult is going to slam a missile into the side of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, they don’t want to pay $10,000 each trip through, but I understand what you mean.
SPEAKER 15 :
That would be peanuts. It’s probably more like a hundred or a million. Oh, it would be even more than that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think insurance alone, if I’m not mistaken— I mean, I understand the oil is worth more than that.
SPEAKER 15 :
I get that, but— Yeah, I think even—guys, please don’t quote me because I’ve just been reading, and I’ve read so much about the war and everything else. I think insurance alone is a million bucks.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, didn’t Lloyd’s of London say they wouldn’t insure any ships going through the straits?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I think we are right now as a country, and I think it’s, again, please, I’d have to go look at the numbers, but I think it’s a million bucks or so right now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. So if they’re paying that to insure it, and they can avoid having to worry about some lunatic putting a missile in the side of it by going through a canal and paying $10,000 or $20,000 a ship, do you think they could do it?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, let me ask this. First of all, yeah, it’s possible.
SPEAKER 15 :
By the way, I checked with AI to see could we cut a canal across the top of Dubai, and it says technically yes, you could.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and Dubai, they may like it because, well, now they control another major waterway.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, the cost would be enormous, tens of billions, but, yeah, that’s peanuts to those guys.
SPEAKER 05 :
Another thing Trump could do is simply cut a deal with Dubai to run it because they’re buddies of ours. Cut a deal with them to run it and cut Iran out.
SPEAKER 15 :
And AI, by the way, says there’s no strategic need. Well, that’s sort of laughable because, yeah, there is.
SPEAKER 07 :
Either that or my other thought was just following this. What about taking a border, taking two miles in, Well, if you did that, you wouldn’t need to do the other. That’s cheaper. Right. Yeah, that’s cheaper. Would it be cheaper in the wrong run, though?
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, I think so. Yeah, I think. Well, you know, I don’t know. Given the fact that you could actually charge passage in the canal. Hard to say, John. Hard to say that. Again, these are these are discussions that are probably happening on a much higher level than us three knuckleheads on air today.
SPEAKER 05 :
All I know is this. Donald Trump is about to have full control over the waterway for 20 percent of the world’s oil. He’s about to get that for us. Now, will he keep it? No. He’ll give it to this or that nation. I don’t know what he’ll do. But I guarantee you that’s leverage that he’s going to use in negotiations that benefit us.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Well, I just listened to you guys when we were talking about it. And there’s got to be a better way to get that oil out of there than to have to deal with the lunatic terrorists that want to blow up the ships.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
I don’t know. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, again, like I said, I’m sure I can guarantee you, if we three are talking about it, there’s a lot of folks out there with a lot more power and smarts talking about it than us.
SPEAKER 07 :
True. Very true. You guys have a great rest of the day. You too, man.
SPEAKER 15 :
Appreciate you, John. Nope. Thank you very much. Let’s do this. We’ll take a quick break. We’ll come right back. Veteran Windows and Doors. Cut the middleman out by direct from the source. Find them at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 12 :
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. Great conversation, by the way, that we were having there with John on solving world problems.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and really quick here, I just want to weigh in with this latest article about Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. And that’s Mohammed bin Salman. And he supposedly said these three things. First of all, he wants President Trump to continue The war against Iran. I’ve read that as well. And that he feels this. And he said three things. Number one, the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a historic opportunity to remake the Middle East.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Would you agree with that? He has a thousand percent correct. He’s right on.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell people this. This is not Iraq.
SPEAKER 15 :
And part of the reason he’s saying that is those are sane. I get it. They’re still Muslim, but they are sane individuals that are talking. They understand the value of oil. They have a lot of mouths to feed inside of the Saudi family. Some, I don’t know, 2,500 core family members that love driving Ferraris, Maseratis, and the like.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, they do.
SPEAKER 15 :
And they want that money to keep rolling on in. They are not dumb. Right. They want stability. They want stability.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Iran wrecks that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Iran takes that away.
SPEAKER 05 :
Iran’s bad for business.
SPEAKER 15 :
Very much so. And they know that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Number two, they say he says Iran poses a long term threat to the Gulf that can only be eliminated by getting rid of the government.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, can you disagree with that?
SPEAKER 15 :
Little brother needs to go away.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, they got to go. And number three. Now, this is interesting. The U.S. should consider putting troops in Iran to seize energy infrastructure and force the government out of power.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, we’re sending a bunch of troops, so maybe that’s part of the plan. I don’t know. I don’t want to see that. But if that’s the only way to achieve what he’s talking about, I’m in.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the amount of troops, though, that we’re talking about is – I’m sorry, but in terms of the military – It’s a drop. Okay. It sounds like more a force that would work with in targeted ways with the Kurds, but allow the Kurds to do the heavy lifting.
SPEAKER 15 :
Kurds and, again, there are others that have troops as well, you know, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the like. You know, they have troops as well that they could easily put on the ground as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, but we’re not talking about bloody door-to-door Gaza style. What we’re talking about is securing bases, securing areas. Correct. And making sure, I mean, the threats have been almost bombed into oblivion at this point. They’re still out there, but they are so decimated. And also, if you’re talking about going through the streets and going in to get them, I think that’s going to be much more the Kurds.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. And you’d have us there to be the overseers. Right. Is maybe the way to look at it. Am I saying that right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Because if you don’t have any of your people, if you don’t have any of your military there, how are you going to oversee this?
SPEAKER 15 :
You can’t.
SPEAKER 05 :
You can’t. And so this idea, though, that people, obviously the Tuckerites will freak and say it’s Boots on the ground. It’s boots on the ground. Folks, it’s not that much. It’s not that many boots, okay? We’re talking about a very, very small force. If he even does it, he hasn’t even decided he will. But if he does it, I’m sure it will be to secure crucial assets, and that’s a good thing. What do you think?
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree. I agree.
SPEAKER 05 :
By the way, this is going wonderfully. We are about to get a madman’s hand off the spigot of oil. That straight is the spigot. OK, and madmen have basically had their hand on it and they could tell people at any time we’ll shut it or open it based on our whim. When that goes away. It changes everything, Andy. Oh, global stability for oil markets will rock it up. It’ll be great. So, you know, I I think that this is going to be people are going to be looking at this very differently come July. Very differently.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and I hope you’re right, mainly because, you know, economically speaking, the midterms and so on. Yeah, I think we need that. We need a good win when this is all said and done that would stabilize oil prices, which, again, I have to keep reminding people of this, and I have to sometimes even remind myself of this. We saw what happened under the Biden administration. We saw what oil did. Currently, oil is still dropping as we speak. A WTI is $89 a barrel. Yes, I know that’s high. Oh, that’s way down. Folks, it was high underneath Biden. We were in the hundreds with Biden.
SPEAKER 05 :
And there was no war.
SPEAKER 15 :
For a long period of time, and there was no war.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. I mean, this is totally different. This is absolutely different. And there’s an end in sight, and the end looks beautiful. I mean, and, you know, another thing that people aren’t thinking about is after this war, guess what’s going to break out? More Abraham Accords, which are going to be great for us.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oil peaked. I’m reading this from Google right now. Oil peaked above 120 a barrel in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with average prices significantly higher than the $54 average under the previous administration. Despite the high prices and industry challenges, U.S. oil production hit record highs under the Biden administration. Sure, because prices are high, and that drove it up. And we’ve stayed at that level, by the way, since. Keep in mind, he also sold off some of the strategic reserve, which was really a big mistake because the caverns themselves need to be full to keep the caverns intact. That’s a whole other conversation for probably another show. That’s something else the Biden administration did that we have been reaping the repercussions of that Trump is trying to figure out how to fix. So again, folks, please remind all of those folks around you that are whining about today’s oil prices that they were actually higher when Russia invaded Ukraine, which they’d never done if Trump had remained in office.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, first of all, that wouldn’t have happened with Trump. And secondly, Why did that war have that big of an impact on oil? I understand Russia and oil. I get that. But that’s not the same as the straight. You see what I’m saying? Because the straight feeds all kinds of nations. And you’re just talking Russia, Ukraine.
SPEAKER 15 :
What happened? Let me tell you really quick because typically their exports, let me make sure that I do this correctly, their exports are, let me look at the list of countries really quick. Hold on here one second. Russia is, they produce about 5 million barrels a day.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Now, the other question is- That’s export, 5 million a day. Okay. The Russia-Ukraine war, was that only a few weeks ago?
SPEAKER 15 :
No, I continued on for a long time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, I see. So you’re saying this one looks different. Well, go figure. Of course it’s different. Donald Trump doesn’t believe in endless wars.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, they do not. They do not. And sorry, I’m reading through some of these because most people have no idea who exports what. And again, I’m taking this as coming right out of Wikipedia. I could go back in and check this. These numbers could change as they always do. Some of you might find different numbers than this. This is just a list I pulled quickly off of the Internet. It hasn’t been updated for a couple of years, so these numbers can fluctuate some. But we are currently today, the United States, the highest producer of oil in the world, period. Right. Now, before anybody corrects me, by the way, that’s not what countries produce. That’s what they’re exporting. Because remember, they use a certain amount internally and so on, so they’re not going to always export everything that they’re producing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Make sense? Yeah. All right, let’s do this. I’ll check my math a little bit on that. through this big break dr scott coming up next if you want to live your best life possible do that with dr scott today he’ll help you in the best way possible and help you live a healthy life when it’s all said and done 303-663-6990
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Call in to the KLZ studio line, 303-477-5600. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, as we come back, yes, as far as production countrywide, not export but production, we are the leaders, of course. We produce about 13 million barrels a day, and we use more than that, of course, but we produce about 13 million. A million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia, anywhere from nine to 12. Russia is third, nine to 11. Canada is after that, four to five. And believe it or not, Iraq is after that at four to five. And even Iran, they have high potential, but and they hold significant reserves. But they because of all of their aging infrastructure and the fact that they don’t know what they’re doing. Because they’re too busy funding terrorism, haven’t invested in the things they should have, and have really not been a huge producer like they could have been. Now, here’s the key, though. This is something Andy was mentioning during the break that you guys all were not able to hear. The cost of production. Yeah. So this is the key. Saudi Arabia, yes, they’re the cheapest. So they’re the second highest producer, and their costs are the cheapest. $2 to $10 a barrel, depending upon what they do.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, two reasons. It just flows up. Number one, yeah, forget fracking. They basically just punch holes into a huge well of oil.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, they stick a rod in the ground and it comes out.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, I’m oversimplifying, but it really is. Compared to us, that’s what it is. And number two, they, of course, don’t have the environmental restrictions that we do that make it so much more expensive. Americans’ environmental restrictions make it incredibly expensive to drill here.
SPEAKER 15 :
Next cost is Iran, 9 to 15. Iraq, 10 to 20. Russia, 15 to 25. They’re still relatively inexpensive. We, on the other hand, are 21 to 70. And we average, I’ve done this study in the past, we average around 45 bucks a barrel or so to get it out of the ground.
SPEAKER 05 :
You see, I mean, it’s hard to make a profit.
SPEAKER 15 :
When you’re at 50 or 60. I mean, you can make profit at 60, but even at 50, you’re not making much money.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you’re not making enough at all. I mean, you’ve got to pay people. That’s not making profit.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, not a lot.
SPEAKER 05 :
No.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hardly any.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. So, I mean, a lot of people don’t seem to understand that.
SPEAKER 15 :
We need $60 a barrel or so to really make it worthwhile for our folks to continue to produce oil the way they do. Now, with all that being said, do we have a grand opportunity to change things around and make oil more stable across the board? Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, we do. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen here as soon as all this is over.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and Trump is doing it in two ways. Obviously, first was Venezuela.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. I forgot about them.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
They’re a big producer as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, and I know people don’t want to hear war for oil. Hey, folks, every… It’s a commodity, folks. Yeah, every projected consequence of a war is factored in before you go to war. Absolutely, folks. Oil is one of the consequences.
SPEAKER 15 :
And oil isn’t… Whether you like it or not, no matter what side of the aisle you come from, I don’t care whether you’re one of the biggest greenies out there or you’re one of the biggest hardcore conservatives that’s out there. The reality is we all need oil. We cannot live and function as a society without it. Those of you that are on the left that think you can, great. Go back to be living like a caveman if you’d like. Carry around your cave stick, you know, your tar on the end of it that you light up, which, by the way, is still petroleum. I mean, again, at the end of the day, you don’t survive without oil.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and by the way, folks, you greenies are running California. How’s that going? Not very well. How is that going driving up your energy prices through the roof? How’s that going with your gasoline costing $1.52 more a gallon? How’s that working for you? It’s not.
SPEAKER 15 :
Somebody just sent in to you that up in Wyoming, $3.50 a gallon, so it’s coming down up there. Cool. Very cool.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s going to keep coming down.
SPEAKER 15 :
There’s people out there complaining that, you know, why hasn’t gas come down faster given the fact that the price of oil has, folks, it doesn’t work that way. I have explained that so many times, not only on this program, but Drive Radio on my weekend program, how that lag works and what happens and so on. And at the end of the day, you’re never going to see a drop of, you know, a drop at the pump in relation to a drop in the price of a barrel of oil. Now, do I think that they lag? differently on purpose so they can put more money in their pocket yep and they’ve got a captive market and they can do so right sure yes they do in other words the minute the price of oil goes up today will the pump price go up tomorrow yes even though all of that gasoline that’s already refinished refined done handled in the ground that didn’t change their costs on that did not change uh and but no you will not see it lower just as fast
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, and that’s with private companies still having to compete against each other for your dollar, John. What if gasoline was run by the government?
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, it would even be worse, Andy.
SPEAKER 05 :
What if it was like, you know, Mamdani Supermarkets in New York? First of all, you wouldn’t have enough. What if the gas stations were all run by the government that didn’t have to compete with anybody to get your money? What would gas prices be right now? They’d be through the roof.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, on top of that, Andy— Yes, they would be through the roof. And on top of that, for all of you listening to think that would be a great thing to do. Just look what it’s like to go get your driver’s license renewed. You know, DMVs are shut down on Friday or they got a computer glitch and everybody has to go home or they’ve got a three day weekend or, or, or, or, or, or, or. I mean, the reality is it would be the most unreliable delivery system you could ever imagine.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, think of if those gas station employees, okay, let’s say you go to a quickie mart or whatever, right? And you got those young people working behind the counter and they’re glad to have the job. It’s great. You know, it’s a start out job and they’re, you know, getting some money together. How would you like those people paid like government employees?
SPEAKER 15 :
I wouldn’t.
SPEAKER 05 :
What would gas cost?
SPEAKER 15 :
double what it is right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. Just think about it for a moment.
SPEAKER 15 :
Minimum of double what it is right now. Folks, I’m not exaggerating. It’d be awful. It would be at least double of what it is right now because you could literally take almost any government-run entity and figure out a way to privatize it and save money across the board, period.
SPEAKER 14 :
Of course. Of course.
SPEAKER 15 :
There’s just no – I mean, Andy, we could go through every single thing that government does and figure out a way to privatize it and save money.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, by the way, and we were mentioning this at break, there are some people right now online, and this is circulating out there, saying, look, look, look, we don’t use the oil from the Strait of Hormuz. Why is this affecting our gas prices? American companies who are producing enough oil for America should lower the price of oil and gasoline here in America.
SPEAKER 15 :
They don’t know how the system works.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. First of all, those prices are set globally. Okay. And secondly, if American companies don’t sell at the global rate, let’s say they sell way under it. Guess what? They’re not going to have the investment revenue for exploration. Because they’ve got to keep competing with those global companies, right? When they want to explore somewhere, drill somewhere, and do so forth. Okay, they have to compete with them. Thirdly, as you were just saying, their costs are already far higher than overseas. And finally, here’s my big question. Oh, okay, so you don’t want them going by the global price. No, I don’t want them going by the global price. Oh, okay, so what about when the global price is really low? Do you think that they should be able to charge more here?
SPEAKER 15 :
Good point. And I said this last week. I don’t think Andy goes with me. The only way you fix some of what Andy’s talking about, and I doubt it would ever happen. I mean, I shouldn’t say that. Stranger things have happened. But I am a believer that because of a lot of what we’re talking about. And the simple fact that as North America goes, Mexico, Canada, and of course us in the United States of America, the reality is we really don’t have to import anything from around the world. We are an exporter. We even export finished goods when it’s all said and done. So here’s the reality. And this is something that I think should be pushed. I doubt it ever will because oil companies like producing on a global market, as Andy just said a moment ago, but we could easily go to a different exchange and have oil be North American oil only, and it’s only traded here, and you could go off the world market if you wanted to. We have that ability to do that now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, one of the big things you’d have to do is what you were recommending last week, greatly reduce the number of blends here in America because some of those blends use oil that’s specifically from Canada, from Venezuela, and so forth. You would have to be able to simplify the blends, which I think we should do anyway.
SPEAKER 15 :
I agree. Where we’re at right now in regards to emissions on cars and the way the cars work and so on, the way they’re programmed, you could easily do that. But, I mean, could we literally go even go North-South America and do it that way, include Venezuela, and do one long trip? uh trading partner you know group i guess you could say and run oil off of that yeah you easily could now again i’m not an oil expert i’m not in that world i don’t know all the ins and outs of it and what it would take to make that happen but could we go off of the world market if we did something along those lines yeah you could we could be more stable and not having to rely on the middle east absolutely now here’s the here’s the catch though if trump gets done what i think he’s going to do with the straight and so on is that necessary no No. It won’t matter then.
SPEAKER 05 :
Then you only have John’s concern. Okay, what about if the crazies come back into power? But we have to keep something else in mind. With us as a big customer for oil from the Middle East, as one of their customers, and we send our oil to various other places. Different people use different blends, but follow me here. With us being a big customer of them, that makes us valuable to them. That makes them listen to us.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s true.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that’s very important.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don’t know you want to cut that completely off. No, one other thing. We haven’t talked about this. It’s been in the news. And I believe it’s been turned on. Hang on. I got to look at this. Saudi Arabia ran a pipeline to the Red Sea in anticipation of things like this actually happening. And I believe that it has been turned on. Yes, it has been. Well, let’s see. It’s been elevated. as a primary thing to get done. It’s been activated. It’s going to be… It started running here in March, and I don’t know if it’s completely running and how much they’re running through it, but let me tell you what. If they get that thing really rolling, will it eliminate all risk of what’s going on in the Strait? It wouldn’t eliminate all risk, but it would significantly reduce that risk.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, it would.
SPEAKER 15 :
And I think you’re going to see other countries over there start talking about this, unless… Unless Trump gets some secure deal put together whereby all of this is a moot point.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Can I close this with a question for you to answer after the break?
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Right now, we have a massive division in the Republican Party, which, by the way, is tearing apart TPUSA.
SPEAKER 14 :
Hmm. Which we predicted, by the way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, we did.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sorry, we predicted that.
SPEAKER 05 :
We predicted it right after Charlie was killed, after we had mourned, of course. We said, look, TPUSA has a big problem. They’re going to be divided over Israel, much more than they think, and that’s what’s happened. Now, all the anti-war zealots—Tucker, Candace, all of them— What is going to happen if this war goes as well as I think it’s going to go for Trump in the aftermath with those people politically?
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s a great question. I’ll answer that. Golden Eagle Financial, great interview of late. Listen in to Al. Find him by going to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
TJ again here with Al Smith at KLZ Radio. Al, how are you, sir? I’m great. How are you, TJ? I’m doing good. I have another question for you. Well, sure. I’m in my early 50s, and should I just max out my 401k? Is that a good plan?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I would say it’s a good plan, but whether that is going to be adequate for you in retirement or not depends on a lot of other factors, like when do you plan to retire by maxing your 401k? What does that look like in terms of dollar amounts? What kinds of allocations are you selecting? So there’s a lot of other variables there. But if you don’t believe you’ve saved enough up until now and you’re 50, I would say it’s a good start.
SPEAKER 03 :
I thought it was going to be more simple than that.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, if it were extremely simple, people wouldn’t need the assistance of a financial advisor, just like a lot of people go to a tax preparer, although some would say our income tax rules for folks are simple. But if that were the case, people wouldn’t be going to tax preparers and CPAs and things of that nature.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s true. So how would folks get started with you if they want to get that wise advice?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, you can reach me at 303-744-1128. If you’re driving, you can reach me by reaching out to KLZ, going into their website or calling KLZ. Once you’re no longer driving, they’ll put you in touch with me. And periodically, I have meetings sometimes in educational institutions, sometimes at libraries. where we talk about taxation and retirement and some other things that I believe you’ll find important.
SPEAKER 03 :
Excellent. We always have those posted when he does those on klzradio.com slash money. Al, thanks again.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, you’re welcome. Thank you, TJ.
SPEAKER 08 :
Listen online, klzradio.com. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for tuning in. I appreciate it very much. And Andy asked me how I think this, depending upon how the war ends up, and if it ends up going the way that Andy and I are thinking, what does that do to the, you know, Tucker Carlson’s, Candace Owens, and the knuckleheads in our party?
SPEAKER 05 :
The anti-war nuts. Joe, what’s his name who just left? The administration, Kent.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, Joe Kent.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, the Joe Kents, the crazies. Okay, the absolute non-interventionists, even when intervention is going to pay off handsomely. What is going to happen to them in the aftermath if this goes like we’re thinking?
SPEAKER 15 :
If this goes like we’re thinking it does, I think they’re going to have a lot of egg on their face. I don’t think their credibility will be as good as it is right now. Some of them, in fact, if they’re not careful, they’ll still have their zealot fans that are going to follow them around no matter what. I mean, Candace is always going to have a certain amount of people clicking on the things that she does because she’s just so outlandish that she’ll still make money doing what she’s doing. But will it cut into that? Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would think so.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, well.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because they’re just not going to be as credible. The reason I ask is this. It’s not because I care about how popular they are. It’s because I care about the damage that they are inflicting, dividing the Republican Party. Because right now, when we’re looking at this November, John. The division over Israel alone is going to cost us a ton of votes that we had in 2024. These people are crazy. Now, we brought along a bunch of the crazies for the trip and won big in 2024. We haven’t since then. I think a lot of them have abandoned us. These people are not crazy. loyal to the conservative movement or the republican party at all they’re peaceniks correct okay they are crazies they’re you know and people hear me say this and they say oh you’re so mean you’re so mean you’re so mean folks i debate these people their points don’t hold up at all okay and i’m somebody who there are wars i’m against like i said i was against ukraine and iraq These people are nuts. So my question is, will they lose a fair amount of their influence in the Republican party that they are damaging?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and I think as even folks like us, Andy, continue to point out just their anomalies and just their utter nonsense and the things that they discuss and believe in and vehemently believe in, Tucker and his aliens and just the nonsense. I think as we continue to really point out those anomalies Those irregularities and just the things that they believe in that are just off the wall. I mean, Candace is just an absolute nut job. The sad thing is, Andy, is there still even young people out there that listen to her?
SPEAKER 05 :
I know.
SPEAKER 15 :
Unfortunately.
SPEAKER 05 :
But here’s the thing. Look at Venezuela. What I’m saying is, what if Iran, I know they’re different places, so it won’t be totally the same, but what if Iran becomes somewhat of a Venezuela? Venezuela is now an ally of America, right? And that is paying for us, paying off for us in spades. It is spectacular. OK, it’s incredible how big that’s paying off for us. If Iran is as well. That’s going to pay off handsomely for us in so many ways, John, so many ways. At that point, I got to look at these peacenik hippies, which is what I call them. Okay. I’m sorry, but they’re nuts. They’re nuts. They believe that Israel is behind every war on the planet. They believe Israel killed Charlie. Okay. I’m talking about these people are nuts. All right. If Iran goes as well as it’s going right now, I just think that they’ve got to lose a lot of clout. They’re going to lose a lot of clout. Who’s going to want to listen to these people, John?
SPEAKER 15 :
No one. They’re going to lose. I don’t know if they’ll lose. Well, be careful of my words. They won’t lose all credibility because there’s still, Andy, enough nut jobs that believe in what they’re saying that will continue to follow them. But those that were maybe on the edge or they watch them periodically or they think they’ve had good information, they’re going to lose all of those people. They’re hardcore nut jobs that I even talk about here on air at times. They’re not going to lose those. I’ve banned some people, by the way, in the past from this program. Those nut jobs, they’re not losing. But everybody else, they will.
SPEAKER 05 :
Here’s what I want, John. I want the Republican Party to become the party of the normals on foreign policy. I agree. And what I mean is this. I also don’t like the people who believe in endless wars, bomb everything, insert ourselves, become the world cop everywhere, right? That’s not what the situation is. This is a short, quick war with very achievable goals. We are going to eliminate a potential nuclear threat. We are going to cut the legs out from under terror worldwide. We are going to stabilize oil worldwide. We’re going to really cripple China. In trade negotiations, as a result, there are so many positive things, I can’t even list them all. Folks, this is going to be great, okay? But I can’t stand the ultra-interventionist, war, war, war people either. I don’t like them either, the warmongers who believe in the endless wars and they’re cool with that. I don’t like that either. I don’t like either of the extremes. I want the Republican Party to grab the middle and run with it. What do you think?
SPEAKER 15 :
I agree with you 100%. Absolutely. It’s sort of what we were talking about in the first hour about getting rid of the crazies in Colorado that are running the party now. Andy, if we don’t get rid of the crazies across the board, we’re done. Yeah. I mean, that’s not just Colorado. That’s across the board. The crazies have to go away. I agree. I guess the question for you, I’ve got a couple minutes left. Where did they come from in the first place? Where do these nutjobs, where do they get legs?
SPEAKER 05 :
A lot of them came from the libertarian influence. Being interjected into our party.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. And so a lot of them came from that. And Mike Rosen used to call the Libertarian Party a – what did he say? It was a – a protest group.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don’t remember.
SPEAKER 05 :
Or a discussion group. That’s all it is. He said because they’re not really. He was mean. I forget how he put it. It was meaner than that. But basically he says they’re not realistic with anything. They are idealists who believe that regardless of the market, they should get their way.
SPEAKER 15 :
It doesn’t work that way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Never has, never will.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, what happens is this. From that market, you’re going to get a lot of very unrealistic people who are pushy and mean. And they’re going to be extremists. Now, the libertarian group, they are very extremely non-interventionist. Okay. But that doesn’t mean I like the other extreme. Okay, where’d the warmongers come from? The Liz Cheneys, the Dick Cheneys, right? Who, by the way, we’ve also tossed.
SPEAKER 15 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, where’d they come from? I don’t know. I think the warmongers, actually, you’ve got a bunch of them in the Democrat Party as well because they seem to be more okay with endless wars.
SPEAKER 14 :
True.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right?
SPEAKER 14 :
True.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I don’t know, John. I really don’t know, but I do know this. Donald Trump is neither.
SPEAKER 1 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I think we should follow him. I think he’s got the right way.
SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
This isn’t Rage Radio. This is Real Relatable Radio. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, wrapping up this second hour of Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush. Got another full hour coming your way, and you’re going to shift gears a little bit. Although, similar to what we’ve been talking about, we’re just going to get into more of the messaging end of things. What do we as a party locally, nationally, what do candidates need to be doing and talking about right now? And hopefully some of you candidates that are listening will pick up a few tips, and you can use that in your campaigns. We’ll be back. Hour 3 is next. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you. I’m a rich guy.
