KLZ 560 AM DENVER'S CONSERVATIVE HOME STATION
Menu
Join John Rush as he delves deep into the challenges and opportunities surrounding educational reform in the United States. Featuring special guest Dr. Lance Izumi, the episode addresses the contentious topic of school choice, examining how competition among schools can lead to better educational outcomes. From federal overreach to union resistance, John and Dr. Izumi discuss the evolving landscape of education and the increasing demand for more localized control over educational funding and decision-making.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 07 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 18 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job first. You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 17 :
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 21 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we are back. Our number three, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Dr. Lance Izumi joining us now, Senior Director of the Pacific Research Institute Center for Education. Lance, welcome back. How are you?
SPEAKER 08 :
I’m doing great, John. Great to be on your show. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 19 :
Always a pleasure. Joy, we’re seeing now the dismantling of or the attempting to dismantle the Department of Education, which I think will end up happening when it’s all said and done. And that’s going to return education back to the states and local communities. Talk to us about that and what else might be happening in combination with that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, well, I think what you’re going to see, first of all, John, is that you’re going to see kind of a hollowing out of the Department of Education. I mean, it’s going to take some congressional action to actually eliminate the department. But before that happens, you’re going to be able to see a number of these programs are going to be offloaded from the department to other departments. such as Department of Treasury for some of the loan programs, Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture. And then a chunk of that money is then going to be probably granted in block grants to the states. Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota has a bill that would block grant a lot of that money. So what that’s going to do is it’s going to give the decision-making power over those monies to the states and localities as to how to use it, not from Washington, from faraway bureaucrats, deciding where that money should go.
SPEAKER 19 :
Lance, is there an ability like the Fed, which I’m a states guy, I’m a states rights guy, so I always hate when there’s some, you know, quote unquote federal overreach, although when you can’t get states to do some of what needs to be done in some areas, education is key in what we’re talking about. So much like the Federal Highway Fund, the feds can say, if you’re going to get this money, you need to do X things to receive this federal highway money. So given the fact that this is going to come from the feds for education, could the feds impose something that says, listen, unless you’ve got school choice in your state, you’re not going to receive these monies? Is that something they could do?
SPEAKER 08 :
I think that is something they can do, John. I mean, you just have to look and see what President Trump has already done with, let’s say, the federal monies that are going to a lot of these universities who are violating his executive orders on anti-Semitism. And protecting Jewish students, for example, about $400 million going to Columbia has been withheld because of that. So I think that the federal government can put these strings on with regard to school choice, for example, and ensure that that money, while it may be used by the states, has to take into consideration empowering parents to be able to make the decisions about how to best educate their children.
SPEAKER 19 :
So my idea is not far-fetched. I guess the other question I would have is, I mean, I can’t be the only one thinking along these lines. I’m not any smarter than anybody else is, Lance. Is that being discussed anywhere that you know of?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, certainly I know that the president has been very supportive of school choice. I mean, in his last administration, he proposed an education choice program, you know, in the second half of his administration. And so, you know, I’m sure that that is going to be – you know, discussed. I mean, he’s held meetings in the White House already on promoting school choice. So I think that’s going to be front and center with Linda McMahon’s agenda at the Department of Education.
SPEAKER 19 :
And, you know, I know there’s a lot of people that are for school choice. They’re against it. Even some conservatives are against it because they don’t want the government involved in the education aspect of things, period. You know, Lance, I understand all sides and where people come up with their different feelings on. I am a school choice person. I guess you could say, Lance, and whether that be homeschooling, whether you want to go to Catholic school, whether you want to go to monastery, whether you want to go to a Christian school, whatever the case may be. You pick whatever you’d like to do for your child. You’ve got to check, if you would, a voucher to go do whatever it is that you need to go do for your kid. And the reason why I feel that way, Lance, is I’m also a self-employed individual. I’ve owned businesses since I was in my early 20s, and I also understand what competition does to create excellence. We don’t have that right now.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, no, we don’t have that in too many places, unfortunately. What you have is a monopoly by government schools, and even if the schools are essentially failure factories or indoctrination centers, even worse, parents don’t have any choice as to where to send their kid because that’s the only school or education option for them. But what school choice does is it opens up different avenues for parents, whether it’s private school, whether it’s homeschooling, or some other type of school option. Parents get that ability to make that decision as to where their kids are going to thrive the best. And that, at the end of the day, is what an education system and education policy is all about, making sure that the kids are doing their best. And what you see in the research is that school choice programs actually provide higher achievement or promote higher achievement among students, And where there is competition, John, and you bring this up, is where there’s competition between different education options, including public, private, and homeschooling, that you see the public schools actually improve their performance.
SPEAKER 19 :
They don’t have a choice, Lance, and at that point, they’re either going to improve or they’re going to go out of business, quote-unquote. They won’t exist if they don’t.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s absolutely right, just as in private industry. That’s right. If you don’t improve your product, then you’re going to go out of business. The same with a competitive market in education. Unless you provide consumers who are parents and their kids with a good education, then you’re going to go out of business.
SPEAKER 19 :
The problem that I see with all of this, or the biggest obstacle with this maybe is what I should say, not the problem, but the biggest obstacle is right now I’m sure there’s people listening. I’m sure there’s some teacher union folks even listening to me at a glance right now that are probably yelling at me at the radio, trying to get to me through their own speakers because they are not going to give in when it comes to some of this stuff. They are dead set on making sure they are top dog and they do not like competition.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, that’s right. The unions are going to dig in their heels. But really, I think the unions are on the wrong side of history. You just have to look at the fact that just within the last two or three years, you now have 17 states that have created education savings accounts, which are publicly funded savings accounts that parents can use for expenses such as private school tuition or tutoring or homeschooling options. And so before, you had only a small number of states that offered that type of program. Now you’ve got 17 and growing. And so I think that the momentum is surely on the side of school choice. And there was a survey that just came out, a national survey, that found that 74% of school parents support education savings accounts. And so only 11% oppose. And I think that, you know, when we talk about 80-20 issues with regard to the president, and issues that he’s supporting, that I think that this is one of those that, you know, it’s very clear that parents and the American people support school choice.
SPEAKER 19 :
You know what? We’ve talked many, many times in the past, and you know where I come from on this, and I make myself very clear on this all the time. And because of the test scores and the things that we have going on right now, and the reality is, and of course, as an employer, Lance, I’ve been watching this happen for years now. I mean, the folks that I get, whether they’re coming out of high school or college, for that matter, Lance, unfortunately, they are not smarter today than they were a couple of decades ago. And with the technology advancements and where we are as a world, it should be the opposite.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, that’s absolutely right. Unfortunately, we live in this highly competitive world market, and yet our students are not rising to that ability or that level of knowledge that we need from them. And it’s not necessarily their fault. It’s the fault of the system that is underpreparing them for this modern workplace. And when you have national test scores that show that 7 out of 10 kids are not proficient in reading and mathematics in the 8th grade, then you know that we’re in real trouble. And I interviewed a college professor in the Silicon Valley who said that his students are so underprepared they have trouble with algebra. He’s teaching calculus. And so he said that Silicon Valley companies don’t want his graduates because they are not prepared for the workplace.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, you are. You know what? He’s not the only person I’ve ever talked to along those lines that would reiterate that. So absolutely. And again, this is information, Lance, that I think the more and more people learn, you said it yourself, the more people learn and understand that this is how this potentially could work, the more momentum this brings. And to your point, I think unions are on the wrong side of history. Question is, can we get them to shift gears and come over to the right side? That’s the biggest question.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I think that is a big question. But I do think that what you’re seeing now in this country, there’s a wholesale shift in the way people are looking at all kinds of different issues, things that we didn’t think were going to be possible just a few years ago, for example, under the Biden administration. Now the movement in the country is certainly to a more common sense position. I certainly think that’s the way it is in education as well. People have seen how the public education system has failed, especially during COVID-19. And, you know, how it’s continued to fail even after COVID and not producing the results that it should be, despite the hundreds of millions, billions of dollars. That’s right. Billions of dollars that Washington has sent down to the schools. And so, therefore, people are saying that, hey, we need something better for our kids. And, you know, we need more choices. And I think that’s what the Trump administration is going to eventually give to them.
SPEAKER 19 :
Lance, how do folks find you at the Pacific Research Institute?
SPEAKER 08 :
They can find me at pacificresearch.org. That’s our website, pacificresearch.org. My latest book is called The Great Classroom Collapse. It’s about reading and math in America, and they can find it on Amazon or any online bookseller.
SPEAKER 19 :
Lance, as always, I appreciate it. It’s been too long since you’ve been with us, and I always enjoy having you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thanks so much, John. It’s always a great pleasure to talk with you, be able to address your audience.
SPEAKER 19 :
Appreciate you, Lance, very much. Have a great evening. Geno’s Auto Service is next. We talked cars, by the way, in that last hour. And whatever you need for your vehicle, Geno’s is there to help you. Geno’sautoservice.com. Geno’s starts with a J.
SPEAKER 01 :
Take advantage of Geno’s 99-95 four-wheel alignment special now through the end of the month. Tires are expensive. With regular alignments once a year or every 15,000 miles, your tires will get even wear and last longer. Two other benefits include safety and better gas mileage. Misaligned vehicles are harder to control and can lead to accidents. Geno’s is celebrating 42 years in business, serving Colorado families in Littleton. We back up our work with Napa’s nationwide 36-month, 36,000 miles peace of mind warranty. We invite you to check out all our Google reviews. We offer loaner vehicles so you can drop your car off and pick up when ready. Have you ever noticed how your tires have a way of finding holes in the pavement? Take advantage of Geno’s 99-95 alignment special while it lasts. Give us a call or go online to schedule an appointment. Geno’s is AAA approved and located at Bowles and Platt Canyon. Stop in or visit us online at genosautoservice.com.
SPEAKER 19 :
That’s Geno’s with a J. Cup Creek Union Air Conditioning, if you’re looking at air conditioning possibly for this summer because you don’t have it now or you want to do an upgrade, give them a call today. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 21 :
You can trust Cub Creek Heating and AC to shoot straight with you. Green Pro Partners Cub Creek Heating and AC knows when a system is getting toward the end of its life. If you’ve heard strange noises coming from the unit, that’s a clear sign it’s time to have them out to take a look. Higher energy bills can indicate that your heater or AC is showing signs of trouble too. Cub Creek will come out and help you understand what the cost will be, even if you’re not ready to buy today. They don’t pressure you, and they don’t work on commission. They simply want the best option for you because they take pride in their work. That’s why they help you to maximize the government incentives and tax rebates available when replacing your HVAC system. Up to $4,500 in some cases. Find out if you’re sitting on a money pit in that old HVAC unit and call Cub Creek today. Find them on the klzradio.com advertisers page.
SPEAKER 19 :
Venture windows and doors, 35% off, up to three windows, 40% for or more. Don’t forget they do doors as well, and labor is included in that price. Give them a call today. Find Dave at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
Veteran Windows and Doors never uses sales reps who are only trained to close the deal. You will work with the owner, Dave Bancroft, and he knows windows are very prescriptive, meaning each home is unique in where it is in elevation and whether the windows face the sun or not. That’s why Dave makes sure you understand every value and rating for your windows, so you don’t pay extra for windows that you don’t need. And every window manufacturer advises against using gas filled windows at or above 4000 feet. Other companies will say they have the highest quality and rated windows, yet they still use the wrong products like gas filled windows at the wrong elevations. Those windows will eventually fail. Don’t sign anything until you have met with Dave. Even if you have signed a contract with another company, it may not be too late if the windows don’t meet code or ENERGY STAR criteria for Colorado. Veteran windows and doors will give you 40% off when buying five or more windows and free installation. Find them at klzradio.com today.
SPEAKER 12 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. All right, article today in Colorado Sun, and I knew this was going to be an issue because I’ve been talking about this a little bit, maybe not in quite the detail that I’ll get into today, but Colorado lawmakers finalized budget proposal. And this is the article’s title. Here’s what they cut to close the $1.2 billion gap and what they did. Now, I’m not going to get into all the minutiae of what they cut, what they didn’t cut, and so on. What I really wanted to highlight today is, like a lot of things that I have issues with, is who serves on these actual committees. So I took some time this morning and went through each individual. I didn’t dig into all of their past, but you can get a pretty good synopsis of what people have done in their life before becoming a politician and so on. And do they have any quote-unquote financial experience, financial wherewithal to actually be serving on the budget committee? In this case, the Colorado Joint Budget Committee. Keyword joint. Now, on this particular committee, there are one, two, three, four Democrats and two Republicans. Not surprising because there’s a lot more Democrats there than there are Republicans. Another reason why we need better leadership in the Colorado GOP to have more of us Republicans represented there and so on. But that’s we’ll talk more about that on Tuesday. There’s a big election coming up. Saturday, I haven’t talked much about it because, frankly, I’m not too excited about what’s going to happen and what the outcome will be. Too many knuckleheads in charge right now. We’ll talk more about that between Andy and I on Tuesday, potentially. But let me go through the folks that are on this budget committee. The chair is Jeff Bridges. I don’t know Jeff. He’s a Democrat. who has zero previous financial experience. Keep in mind, he’s the chair with no previous financial experience. Vice chair is Shannon Bird. She’s also a Democrat. She has a B.A. in economics and earned a M.S. in finance and an M.B.A. from the University of Colorado Denver. But unfortunately, again, as an attorney, has no real-world financial experience. And just as a side note, and I’m sorry, if some of you have MBAs, that’s great, and I admire you. It takes a lot to get a master’s of business degree, and I understand that. Although I have met far too many of them. that literally financially and business speaking are dumb as rocks. I’m sorry. They could pass it, and they’ve got that degree, but could they run their own business? Probably not. I’m just saying it as it is. I’m straight up being honest. And again, if you have one, you know what? I appreciate that, and I’m glad that you do, and I’m glad you went through all that. And I’ve known, again, I’ve known individuals that have went and gotten these degrees and so on, and I admire them. It’s something I don’t have. Unfortunately, most of them that get it couldn’t run their own business. And I mean that with all sincerity, and I’m not trying to be mean-spirited or anything along those lines, but just because you have an MBA doesn’t mean you understand finance. You understand the book side of things, but not the real-world experience of what it takes to actually run a business. So that’s the vice chair. Judy Amabile, I don’t know if I’m saying that correctly, a Democrat. Now, I’ll give Judy credit. She’s a Democrat, but I’ll still give her credit. She has and does own a business. So there you go. There’s one person that actually owns a business that now sits on this committee. We go now to our side of the aisle for this next one. That’s Barb Kirkmeyer, and I’ve met Barb, and I like Barb as an individual. I don’t necessarily agree with her on all of her politics and where she stands. She also has only ever done politics and has literally no business experience. Sorry, Barb, but you don’t. Unless there’s something out there that is not printed that I could not find, you have no business experience whatsoever. whatsoever. Emily Sirota, she is a Democrat. She also has no business experience. She has done nothing but politics and social work. Rick Taggart, he is a Republican, I believe from the Western Slope. He does have business experience, also teaches some business things. So really, out of all of these people listed, all six, we have one Democrat, one Republican that have actual real business experience. And yet, all six of them are deciding where the billions of dollars of budget money is going to go in the state of Colorado. By the way, there’s a $1.2 billion shortfall. So you have six people, four of whom have zero financial experience, two of which that do on this six-member budget panel. And it just baffles me. And I get that there’s probably other individuals in the background that are helping and some aides and so on. And I understand that these are the figureheads, I guess you could say. But it always baffles me that we don’t have committees made up of people with real world experience on how to fix things, budgetarily speaking. There’s no Joe from Jersey. There’s no John from Golden, myself, I guess, where I’m throwing my – there’s none of us, and I could call on a lot of you, by the way, that call in here that have real-world experience, Dan from Blackhawk and others, where you actually understand how money works and budgets and so on. There’s none of us there, though. There’s two. And again, I don’t know either one of those individuals personally, but from what I could read, they’ve got some business experience and probably understand a little bit about how some of these things work. But it always amazes me that we get these committees assembled, you know, politically speaking, and yet the majority of them have no clue how it works. They might understand the process. They might understand the budgetary process and how those things work and how the paper gets shuffled around. But as far as how to actually cut funding and still make things work at the end of the day, they’re clueless. And I’m just being straight up honest. And if some of you know otherwise, and I’m somehow missing something here, by all means, give me a call. 303-477-5600. We have no other guests the rest of this hour. We got another half an hour or so left. And again, I’m always baffled. And I honestly didn’t even get into the areas that they feel they need to cut because I’ll be straight up honest. Does it matter? I’m being honest. Does it matter? They’re going to do everything possible. The left is. They’re going to do everything possible to eliminate Tabor, work their way around it, come up with new fees to work their way around it. On and on we go. And in Colorado, there’s some big shortfalls when it comes to Medicaid and things like that that the state still has to help fund and so on. And like I continue to say, like the U.S., federal government has Doge. Colorado and, frankly, I think every other state in the union needs its own Doge as well. it would behoove these individuals, these six, to say, you know, guys, let’s kind of take a pause here. Before we actually get this next budget out, and I know there’s a rush, quote-unquote, to do so, why don’t we have somebody come in and give us a quick analysis of what’s actually happening internally in a lot of the different departments that we have, you know, the big ones. I’m not going to worry about the small ones, but let’s take a look at all these big ones and figure out exactly where this money is going, and are we getting our money’s worth? much like Doge is doing at the federal level. You’re not going to see that happen, though, because the left hates everything that I just said. So let’s take a break. We’ll come back. We’ve got calls coming in. Roof Savers of Colorado coming up next. Dave wants to make sure that your roof is in top working order, that it’s going to work well with your insurance company as well. And if you have any problems at all insurance-related, give Dave a call, 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 02 :
You work hard to keep a roof over the heads of you and your loved ones. The last thing you need is to be worrying about the condition of that roof. That’s where we come in. At Roof Savers Colorado, we pride ourselves in helping homeowners like you get a new roof without all the worry. Deductibles are skyrocketing, and since it’s illegal to waive those fees, the financial burden of upgrading your damaged roof can seem overwhelming. But here at Roof Savers, we offer both financing options and referral fees to offset some of those upfront costs. Already filed a claim with your insurance? We are happy to utilize those insurance proceeds to get your roof the replacement it needs and your home stronger protection from hail. With over 23 years of roofing experience, Dave and his team are ready to help. Call us today at 303-710-6916 or go to roofsaversco.com to set up your free inspection. That’s 303-710-6916. Or go to RoofSaverCEO.com and stop worrying about your roof today.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, safe box deposits. They are safety deposit boxes, by the way, that are much, much better than the bank. Starting at just $15 a month, call 303-771-8000.
SPEAKER 10 :
With the Colorado gun laws changing rapidly, you need to secure a place to store your guns. And that place is Safebox. Safebox is Denver’s most secure private vault designed to protect your firearms and valuables against displacement, loss, burglary, and fire. Safebox is a confidential storage solution. within a bank-grade vault combined with the highest levels of modern security. At Safebox, we don’t have limitations, so you can have peace of mind when storing your gold, cash, firearms, or other precious belongings. Whether you’ve inherited or purchased gold coins, jewelry, firearms, or need a place for your important documents, we are exactly what you have been searching for. If you’re tired of lugging your guns or valuables back and forth when traveling to Colorado, come pay us a visit and we’ll help you find your perfect storage solution. We make it convenient for you to schedule an appointment online or feel free to call us anytime. Feel relieved when using Safebox and find them at klzradio.com. Safebox, your own private vault.
SPEAKER 19 :
Group Insurance Analysts, they are a broker. They shop for you. That includes business insurance as well, which we just got done talking about businesses. Give them a call today, e-gia.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Finding the right home and auto insurance can be confusing, and picking the wrong plan can cost you thousands of dollars more out of your pocket. You need an expert in home and auto insurance to help you find the best coverage that fits your needs and at the very best premium. Call Paul DeNigro at GIA Insurance, and his team of home and auto insurance specialists will help you find the right plan for your needs. I’ll see you next time. Whether it is your home, auto, classic car, or liability insurance, GIA has got you covered. Call 303-423-0162, extension 100, or go online to e-gia.com. Get more without paying more.
SPEAKER 07 :
The best export we have is Common Sense. You’re listening to Rush to Reason. All right, we are back.
SPEAKER 19 :
Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush. Soren, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay, while you were talking there, it made me think. Doesn’t every company in their annual business meeting try to look at how to cut expenses and gain profit?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yep. That’s not the way it works in government, though.
SPEAKER 09 :
It seems like to me all the government is, That’s right.
SPEAKER 19 :
You’re 100% correct, Soren. They have no incentive whatsoever to cut back. None.
SPEAKER 09 :
Why do they want it? At least they could keep it the same. Why do they always want to expand it?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, because that’s – if you think about, especially now that we’ve got Colorado being deep blue, the left’s way of handling things, Soren, is you don’t know. You and your family, you and your parents and your brothers and sisters and all of your siblings and their families and so on, Soren, they’re not smart enough. to know how to handle life in general. So they, big government, has to come along and make sure that they can do what you can do for yourself. I say can do for yourself, not can’t, but what you can do for yourself. They want to make sure that they step in because by George Sorin, you guys aren’t smart enough to figure it out on your own. So they have to expand and get bigger because you’re too stupid to do it on your own. That’s their belief.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and then they tax multi-billion dollar companies. That’s right. I think everybody can’t figure that out. Well, if it’s a multi-million dollar company, I think the founder must have known something.
SPEAKER 19 :
You got it. You’re right. Absolutely, Soren. You’re 100% correct. And the problem is your mentality doesn’t work in government because they want to get bigger. You and I want them to get smaller.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. At school, we’re taking a class, Survey of Christian Worldview. There’s a The guy in there is talking about how our government was never initially founded to be an atheistic government. It works perfectly as a Christian government because that’s already put in there that you would think, well, no, we need to not waste.
SPEAKER 19 :
Right. Well, yeah, and if you look at what you’re talking about in our Judeo-Christian values and the foundation that we have with God at the top and he’s in charge, we don’t need government to take his place. Government doesn’t need to be there to, quote-unquote, assist anybody. Anyone, government needs to be there, and its proper role is to make sure that we have secure borders, number one, that we have a strong military to, again, protect said borders and make sure that we as a country can stay sovereign. That’s their second goal. And frankly, Soren, outside of that, there isn’t much of anything else they need to do. That’s really about it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes. Oh, it’s just really interesting. The guy in that video series, it’s called The Truth Project.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, yeah. I’ve actually taught it before. Absolutely. Yeah. Del. Del’s a great guy.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. It’d be really interesting to talk to him. But he has… So many good points in there. Yeah, our government was never meant to be an atheistic government.
SPEAKER 19 :
Nope, it never was. For everybody listening, by the way, if you can get a chance to go to one of those or get your hands on it, The Truth Project is a fabulous series. If I’m not mistaken, sir, I’m doing this from memory, it’s a 12- or 13-week series, and you do about an hour a week or so, and it is well worth every minute of it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, for sure. We’ve been doing that in one class in our school. And it is by far probably one of the best classes I’m taking.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yep. There you go. It’s absolutely phenomenal. You got it. Yeah, I’ve taught it. I don’t know how many different times. I did it quite a bit back in the day, probably a decade or so ago. I think it’s been around that long or so. Well, I mean, it’s been around long enough that I think I was doing it on either VHS or DVDs. I can’t remember now. I’ve got it at home. I’ll have to pull out what I’ve got and what it’s actually formatted as. It’s been that long ago, but now, of course, it’s all on. You can just download it now.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, which is also kind of helpful.
SPEAKER 19 :
Exactly. Way better. No, it’s awesome. And those of you listening, I believe you can find it on various sources, and in a lot of cases, Soren, they’ll take a small donation, and you can have it, watch it, and it’s well worth it. And if you can go to a class where you can collaborate with others, well worth doing.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. It’s a great series.
SPEAKER 19 :
Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s very interesting. It helps you get an understanding of why our government has gotten so big.
SPEAKER 19 :
Mm-hmm. Well, yeah, and Soren, basically, and the premise of not only the Truth Project but others is, you know, the Marxist movement is to replace God. They want to become God in your life, and that’s why, back to our point a moment ago, why does government, especially state governments, want to keep expanding? Because at the core is the Marxist movement that knows that the only way they can ever take over for God is to expand.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. My mom told me the other day, well, she read this somewhere, the new term for communism… And Marxism is just woke.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yep. That’s right. She’s right. Smart lady.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, well, she must be. Her and Dad are both really smart.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and she raised you, so they must be.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I’m probably the least smart of all my brothers.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, then they’re really smart, because you are as well, Soren. Don’t sell yourself too short. You’re fine.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, yeah, but they’ve all had a lot more experience.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, you will too. Just give it some time. You will too.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep. It’s just kind of interesting. You see that and you’re pretty sure, well, government doesn’t need to be that size. It should be smaller. And government doesn’t need to spend so much money.
SPEAKER 19 :
Right. You’re right.
SPEAKER 09 :
So, okay, well, that’s about all I had to say.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, you’re it. Soren, I appreciate it very much. And by the way, everything Soren just said, he is 100% correct on, and so is his whole family, but his mom especially. And so thank you, by the way, for raising Soren the way that you guys have. You’ve done a great job. He’s a great kid. We talk a lot outside of the program here, and he is solid. So, Soren, thank you for that. But, you know, government, state, in this case, state of Colorado, They want to continue to expand. It’s what they do. It’s what they’re good at. And what they’re now trying to do, and it’s even in this particular article, is they’re trying to figure out a way around Tabor. How do they get these things done? There’s a lot of even road projects. And a lot of you read and have sent me the article about the gondolas that some knucklehead has an idea of putting in Tabor. downtown denver which by the way has to be one of the stupidest ideas i think i’ve ever read when it comes to getting people from one point to another and reality is yes they’re going to do their very best to defray money from actual road bridge maintenance projects I’m not even talking about the expansion of. I’m just talking about maintaining and keeping what we have going on a high level. They’re going to struggle to even do that because they’re going to put money into some of these other things that I just mentioned a moment ago, mass transit and other things that I’ve talked about throughout the week. That’s what they’re going to try to do. So reality is, yeah, the budget in Colorado is in a bad shape. I don’t know any other way to say it. They’re trying to figure out ways to cut certain things. And as I’ve said numerous times, and I’ll keep saying it, give me that budget. Give me a week of uninterrupted time, just a week, and I’ll have it lowered by 20%, easily, 20%. And I’m not saying that in any kind of a boastful, you know, egotistical manner. No, I understand finances. I understand how things work. I also know enough about how how much waste there is in a lot of the government entities that are out there. I’ll cut staffing. I’ll cut things to make things work. I’ll cut programs. You name it. I’ll do it. And I’ll lower the state’s budget by 20 percent. Easy, easy. And for those some of you listening, oh, it’s not possible. Actually, it is. Look what Doge is doing on a national basis and how much they’re cutting. Look what HHS, what Robert Kennedy Jr. just talked about doing when it comes to HHS, taking it from 20 different arms down to just 13, I believe is what the number actually is. They’re going to lay off 10,000 workers. I guarantee you in the state of Colorado, I could do very similar things. And on top of that, go through and look at some of the systems we’ve got, some of the IT things that are there that are needed and so on. And I can just go down the list and start in. Now, would I do all of that myself, by the way, me personally? No, I wouldn’t do it all myself. I know enough people that would volunteer their time. For a seven-day straight period, guys like Jersey Joe even, that I guarantee you, if I said, Joe, here’s what we’re going to do, he would be out here in a heartbeat. And there’s others among you listening where I could gather enough people together where easily 8, 10, 12 of us could get together and easily start taking chunks of that budget, each one, take a chunk of, and pretty soon go through and slash it like no tomorrow and at least get 20% out of it. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that. Why this budget committee can’t do that? Well, I already know the answer. You’ve got four politicians and two business people that are on there, and I guarantee you the majority of the politicians are pushing for things that, frankly, we don’t need, while the other two are saying, well, why don’t we cut this? Why don’t we cut that? Why don’t we trim this back? Why don’t we trim that back? And yet you’ve got the other four that are most likely saying, well, we can’t do that. My constituents won’t like that. My voters won’t like this. That’s what happens in politics, by the way. I’m not exaggerating. You guys all know that. That’s how the system works. They’re going to look at that and say, well, you know, that won’t work in my area. I can’t do that. I won’t get reelected. They won’t say that out loud, of course. But believe me, behind closed doors, that’s exactly what they’re saying. And if they’re not saying it, they’re thinking it. Guaranteed. Well, if I do that, that’s really going to hurt my chance for reelection. You know, who cares? Is this about what’s best for the citizenry, you know, those that live in Colorado, or is this about you and your political career? And I can tell you what it is. For all of these politicians, it’s about their political career. There’s a few exceptions to that, and I know some of the folks down at the Statehouse, and they’re not all that way, but far too many of them are more worried about getting reelected than they are in making a real difference in their community. And, folks, I mean that sincerely. That’s on both sides of the aisle. That’s on both sides of the aisle. If this committee was really serious— about getting the budget where it needs to be in Colorado, they would be doing exactly what I just said. Literally, they would be doing exactly what I just said. They’re not going to do it. Again, because of what I just said. Getting rid of some of the things that, you know, some of them hold near and dear, they’re just not going to do it. You know, one of the things, by the way, that needs to happen right off the bat, and I don’t care if Polis ran on this, kill this stupid free, you know, preschool thing that we’ve got that’s just sucking money out, which we don’t need. Now, they’re not going to do that because that’s part of the Marxist movement. Get the kid, get him out of the home, let’s indoctrinate him sooner than later, and pretty soon we’ll have him in our grasp. That’s why there’s free preschool, by the way. I’m not wrong. That’s why there’s free preschool. It’s why Polis and his cronies are doing what they’re doing. Get the kids sooner than later. It’s not to help parents, folks, please. If any of you believe that, you’re dumb as a rock. That’s not what that program’s all about. It’s not to help people. It’s not because some people just can’t afford to go to work if they don’t have some place for their kids to go. Baloney. Baloney. I call BS on that. This is a Marxist move to indoctrinate kids at an earlier, younger age. That’s what this is all about. And Polis and his cronies would have a hard time convincing me otherwise. Because I know who they are. I know their core. I know what they do. What’s that old story? I don’t know, Charlie, if you call it a fable or whatever you call it, but there’s the story of the woman who sees a spider that’s about to get eaten by a snake. And so she decides to go ahead and save the spider. It happens to be a very venomous spider that one bite could kill you. And so she goes ahead and does what she needs to do. She saves the, and you could use all sorts of animals, by the way, but in this case, it’s a spider. So to save the spider, she does what she needs to do. She gets it saved. She’s now got a hold of it. And once the spider is now free and it’s saved and it knows that its life will be spared, it bites the woman. And as the woman now is being infected by the bite, she looks down at the spider and says, I just saved your life. Why did you do that? And the spider’s answer is, well, that’s what I do. That’s what spiders do. In other words, that’s at my core. That’s why I can tell you that with Polis and this whole free preschool thing, it’s not to help families. It’s to indoctrinate your kid because that’s what Marxists do, folks. That’s what’s at his core. And yes, indeed, he is a Marxist through and through. He will tell you that he’s some libertarian and he believes in libertarian values and this, that, and the other. That is the biggest bunch of BS that you could ever hear. He is a Marxist through and through. He runs the state that way. Why else during COVID would he call all of you selfish bastards because you wouldn’t wear your mask? Because he’s a nice guy? Because he’s a libertarian? Because he believes in freedom? Yeah, no, he doesn’t. He is a Marxist through and through. So again, I know I got off track, but this is all having to do with the budgetary end of things. And I’m telling you, there’s one way right there to help trim the budget. Get rid of free preschool. Cut it. Done. Out of here. Cut back on some of the government programs that are out there, some of the benefits that we as a state give out. Stop. Cut it. Again, I’m not exaggerating. I could cut that budget by 20% in a matter of seven days with no problem whatsoever, and yet we’ve got six knuckleheads. I’m sorry. I’ve got to call even some of our own folk knuckleheads. We’ve got six knuckleheads that, for some odd reason, can’t figure out how to do that. Golden Eagle Financial, speaking of finances, Al Smith is there to help you with your future finances. Give Al a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 14 :
You wouldn’t set out for a road trip without a map and a plan, so don’t treat your retirement that way. Golden Eagle Financial will help structure what your retirement should look like because Al Smith has decades of experience helping people craft their own futures. We’ll be right back. But are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, Flesh Law, whether it’s criminal, civil, representation you need, Kevin is there for you. 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 20 :
Here’s why you need personal injury attorney Kevin Flesch on your side. He understands the way the jury thinks. In the context of a personal injury case, you’ve been hurt by someone else’s negligence. The idea is that you’re going to try to recover so that you can get back to where you were just prior to that incident occurring. What that really means from a jurist’s perspective is that you’re going to be asking them to award you money. So when we talk about fairness, we’re talking about six people that you don’t know. Those six people view the evidence and make a unanimous decision that will decide what the fair value is. When you’re the one who’s hurt, you have a good idea of what you think it’s worth. The question is, can you persuade those other individuals whom you don’t know and were witnesses to believe that’s what the case is worth? Kevin Flesch understands the way the jury thinks. Call now for a free consultation, 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, just like hour one today, we have Dr. Scott Faulkner, who thinks the same way Dr. Kelly, Steve House, and myself do. That is Dr. Scott Faulkner, 303-663-6990.
SPEAKER 15 :
Are you tired of crisis care and instead want true health care? Do you want to improve your overall fitness and beauty? Do you have a chronic medical condition that no one has taken the time to understand? Are you trying to meet a health or weight goal? Or maybe you’re just looking for a great doctor who thinks the way you do. Dr. Scott is a board certified internal medicine specialist, bringing decades of experience and expertise to the table. Dr. Scott is a true advocate of the latest advancements in health care. That’s why he uses umbilical derived stem cells, which have been clinically proven to be the most potent stem cells available. Worried about being lost in the crowd of impersonal health care? Fear not. Dr. Scott is a big picture doctor, not beholden to big pharma or big insurance like some other providers. He takes the time to understand your unique needs and will customize your health care to fit you, your body, and your lifestyle. Reach your full potential and achieve your goals. Call Dr. Scott today at 303-663-6990 or visit him online at castlerockregenerativehealth.com or find him at rushtoreason.com. Dr. Scott Faulkner and Castle Rock Regenerative Health Care is your path to a healthier tomorrow.
SPEAKER 13 :
As independent brokers, GIA Insurance can help you shop the market so that you get the right coverage at the right price. Whether it is your home, auto, classic car, or liability insurance, GIA has got you covered. Call 303-423-0162, extension 100, or go online to e-gia.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, something that one of you sent me today, which, by the way, I appreciate. You guys send me lots of different articles and things, and I try to – I do read all of them. I don’t use all of them on air because sometimes just time doesn’t allow that to happen. This one, though, I wanted to squeeze in here before we exited today’s program, and that is there’s an article out on BankingDive.com. FDIC plans to eradicate focus on reputational risk. So what that means is in the past – up till now, and it really became a big deal under the Biden administration, the banking industry could literally say, you know what, we don’t want to do business with you because we feel like you’re functionally a big risk in what you do or who you are. So, for example, Donald Trump is the one that’s kind of even pushing this through because there was a lot of companies that were doing things with some of his products, let’s say, that were being told, you can’t have a banking relationship with us because of what you do politically. Now, the banks will come back and say, oh, we never did that. We never refused to do business with somebody because of their political stance. Again, call BS on that. That’s not true. Wrong. They were. There were gun manufacturers or gun stores and things along those lines to where because of that, certain financial institutions wouldn’t do business with them. Now, again, the banks will come – it’s even in this article. The banks will come back and say, well, we never did that. They did. What they did is they basically came up with some other excuse as to why they couldn’t do business with said company. But really, at the end of the day, it was because of their quote-unquote reputation score. or their risk on the reputation score, I guess you could say. So their reputation risk is what I really should be saying. Well, evidently, the Feds, the FDIC, Federal Reserve is now getting some heat from probably the White House. And probably Elon Musk and Doge and others basically saying, hey, guys, guess what? You’re not doing that anymore. That’s not going to be an excuse any longer. You can no longer refuse to do banking with somebody. In other words, you can’t debank someone, which is what they call it. You can’t debank someone just because you believe that their political risk is too high. And this was happening, by the way, even among other Christian organizations as well. I could go back and go through some of the archives and read some of the things that I’ve even talked about here on air to where, you know, XYZ Bank wouldn’t do business with XYZ organization because of their political views, their beliefs, whatever the case may be. And it has gotten out of hand, and it sounds like that’s going to be reined in now. because of our current administration and again elections have consequences this is one of the pluses to that now again in this article even you’ll see some of these uh bigwigs from like jp morgan and bank of america basically say that you know we bank everybody the real question was about over regulation frankly this is the bank of america head saying that um Yeah, no, again, I’m calling BS on that because, no, you guys actually, there was news stories even where you decided that you weren’t going to do business with this particular gun manufacturer or this gun store or this entity because of whatever. And, yes, it typically came down to how they felt politically speaking or in the case of a gun manufacturer because of what they felt was a risk because of them being a gun manufacturer. And again, to me, this is going to have some long-reaching positive implications because no longer will they be able to, quote-unquote, discriminate against someone because of what they do business-wise that might be related politically or just foundationally, for example, on the gun sides of things. They’re no longer going to be able to say that, you know, we can’t do business with you because of that. I mean, it has been very discriminatory in the past along those lines. And the left, of course, they’re always worried about making sure everything’s fair. No, they don’t. No, they don’t. They’re hypocrites. They don’t care about things being fair. They care about them being their way, but they could care less about anything being fair. As I always say. whatever they’re usually complaining of is the very same thing they’re doing. And that happens over and over and over again. So the reality is, you know, they will whine and complain this whole signal thing. They’re whining and complaining about some of the folks that are on that team and the text messages that went out and so on. And like Bob Duco says, do I agree with the way that went? No. Should there be some consequences? I think there already has been. Did anything bad happen out of it? No. Should people lose their jobs over it? No. We better make sure it never happens again. What’s interesting is how that got leaked, and I think that’s actually going to be a bigger story maybe even going into next week as to how the Atlantic journalist actually got added into the string. I think that’s a bigger story that we’ll talk about maybe next week as more and more of that details, more and more of those details come out. All right. Last but not least. We have, of course, Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew. If you’re going to teach a young person how to read, you need great tools to do so. We have that with American Stonehenge by Mike Goldstein. Go to jimmyandandrew.com, put code KLZ in, and get 10% off.
SPEAKER 11 :
American Stonehenge by Mike Goldstein is perfect for your middle grade reader. Just ask Dorothy.
SPEAKER 16 :
What I really liked about American Stonehenge was that it had everything that a kid will like to read. A little bit of fantasy and the talking dog. A lot of history. And it goes about it in a roundabout way so the kid doesn’t really know they’re actually getting a history lesson.
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s beautifully illustrated.
SPEAKER 16 :
But having the illustrations gives the kids an idea because they’re so used to seeing everything presented to them in a digital way.
SPEAKER 11 :
But it’s a lot more than just a story.
SPEAKER 16 :
That it would help young readers because they can follow the story. They may or may not have to look up a word. It teaches them how people talk. It was down to earth. Here to interest kids and teach them something without them really realizing it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Mike Goldstein wants to get kids off their phones and into books.
SPEAKER 16 :
American Stonehenge will interest my grandkids that maybe they’ll get off their video games and telephones.
SPEAKER 11 :
Check out Mike Goldstein’s American Stonehenge, the adventures of Jimmy and Andrew to help your kids, grandkids, students, or other kiddos to break out of the digital world and read. Just go to klzradio.com slash read and get 10% off with the promo code KLZ.
SPEAKER 12 :
Stay up to date with Rush to Reason after the show on Twitter at Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 19 :
Paul, I got 15 seconds. Go, sir.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, related to FDIC, what agency would regulate the credit card categorization now tracking the firearm sales and sometimes ammo sales?
SPEAKER 19 :
Same. It would be the same. They would do the same thing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, I’ll have to contact them and tell them to try and scrap that. All right.
SPEAKER 19 :
Awesome. Paul, thank you very much. I appreciate that. Guys, have a great night. We’ll see you tomorrow. Yes, we’ve got two movie reviews we’ll have, and then tomorrow’s rental hour will be movies about sports. That’s it for tonight. Have a great evening. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
