Join Michael Bailey as he dives into the intricacies of crafting a deeply personalized estate plan that truly reflects your individual needs and wishes. Discover why there’s no one-size-fits-all solution in estate planning, and the importance of appointing a capable personal representative who can navigate your financial affairs efficiently. Michael also discusses humorous (yet serious) scenarios in estate planning, from leaving assets to unexpected relatives to the now-notorious Big Mattress Investment Program. Explore the essentials of legal language in estate documents and why certain phrases, although seemingly superfluous, are vital for the plan’s effectiveness. Michael debunks the myths surrounding will customization, offering insights into how banks and other financial institutions accept estate plans and powers of attorney. Learn why legal documentation needs to be as flexible as it is detailed, preparing your estate for future contingencies. Michael shares anecdotes and practical tips on ensuring your plan isn’t derailed by unforeseen issues or unfamiliar legal terms, guiding you towards crafting a legally sound and personalized estate plan.
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Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey. Over a decade ago, attorney Michael Bailey turned his attention to estate law after he recognized the unacceptable number of adults without proper end of life planning. Michael recognizes that many of his clients have difficulty finding the time for making a proper estate plan. That's why he became the Mobile Estate Planner. He will go to wherever you are to assist you with your estate planning, including writing wills, trusts, and giving you the information you need to avoid probate. Now, ATX, Ask the Experts, presents Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey.
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Good afternoon. Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ AM 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app so that we can do something besides just leave your family alone. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And once again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. Once again, 720-394-6887. I probably will not answer that line for the next hour or half an hour while I'm on the air. But that's just because I'm talking right now. And it's hard to have individual conversations and estate planning conversations at the same time. But an estate plan is individualized. It is customized. It reflects your wishes. It's your estate plan. Now I get lots of people who will say, oh, well, you know, what's typical or what is, what do most people do? And I'm like, there's no such thing as typical. There's no such thing as what most people do because everybody's different. And, you know, sometimes people will press me on that and, you know, we can have a little bit of fun with it. Like, well, you know, typically people understand that I'm super awesome and super nice and they want to leave everything to my kids and not to their own kids. but you may not be typical and that may not be what you want to do." And people are like, yeah, that doesn't make sense. I'm like, of course it doesn't make sense. We want you to leave your assets to whom you want and not to whom I would want. I mean, at least I'm giving them, trying to give them to my kids as opposed to me, because I'm like, yeah, I don't necessarily feel like I need to take people's assets. That seems like a bad idea. It's kind of like when I tell people when I'm doing a trust, I'm like, I'll write you a pour over will, spelled P-O-U-R, not P-O-O-R. I'm like, if you want to be a pour, you can just write me a check for all your money and we'll call it good and we'll never have to speak to each other again. This is what we call a bad idea. We don't want to do that. We want your assets to go where you want them to go. That's why it's your estate plan. And so, you know, sometimes I feel like a little bit that I'm trying to convince people of that. And I'm like, okay, no, no, no. Well, what do you want to do? What are my options? You could leave it to your spouse. You could leave it to your kids. You could leave it to a charity. You could leave it to strangers. You could use the Big Mattress Investment Program, which I don't think that Al Smith, who was just on, would appreciate. The Big Mattress Investment Program is where you buy a big mattress, you stuff it with all of your money, and you just kind of leave it there now those who understand inflation would say that that's going to be losing them value of that money and you know it'll keep it safe in cash but it would lose its purchasing power simply because of the way that you know inflation works So the big mattress program may not be the best investment program, but people who, and then I'll have people who want me to tell them who they should use as their representative. Who should we use? I'm like, well, let's, I'm like, let's, let's talk about who you, who's available. So do you have children? Yes. Okay, cool. Are any of your children capable of handling finances and interacting with the courts and doing things like that? Well, yes. Little Johnny can do that. Okay. Well, how about your other two kids? Well, Little Johnny's better at that. Well, then we think we've answered our own question. We can use Little Johnny. So... A lot of times when I'm talking to people, they probably have an idea or know who these people would be or who they want to leave stuff to. Most people know who they want to leave stuff to. Most people know who they want to leave in charge. They just may not be able to spit that answer out when I say, well, hey, who do you want to leave in charge? Well, I don't know. And then we get into the discussion of not wanting to leave anybody out. And I can understand that. We don't want to leave people out. We don't want to make people feel slighted. But at the same time, we don't need to have everybody involved. There's the old adage that too many cooks spoil the broth. So if there's five children in a family, we're like, well, we're going to put all five in charge of carrying out an estate plan. Like, well, do all five of your kids get along all the time? Well, no, sometimes they fight. Okay. Do we need them to fight over your estate plan? Well, no, but they would be able to figure it out. I'm like, would they though? If your kids fight now when you're here and then they're fighting over your money or whose favorite things they get, it's hard to predict that they will fight. It's hard to predict they won't fight. But we might want to make it as simple as possible. And if we're splitting things up five ways between five kids, we can say, hey, each kid gets 20%. Easy enough. Or one-fifth, depending on how we feel like we should write the estate plan. and whether we use fractions or percentages. Some people like fractions more than percentages. Some people like percentages more than fractions. I think it might come down to how you felt about doing fractions or percentages when you were in elementary school and first learning about them. Some people had some difficulties with the way that fractions or percentages were taught, and you might have some leftover concerns about that. And it's like, okay, well, then we'll use whichever one you're more comfortable with. Think of the movie Stand and Deliver, where in one of the scenes, the teacher brings in an apple and he's got a cutting board and he cuts the apple in half. And so knife into a public school might not go as well right now in the current environment. But from when the movie was produced, it is an impactful scene. He chops the apple. apple in half and all the kids kind of jump back and he's like all right how many do i have a half so half an apple it's two halves what if i cut it cut this half in half what do i have and you know a lot i'm kind of like one of the as soon as like a quarter yes a half of a half it's a quarter so he's teaching him about fractions by chopping up an apple which is fair you know At least he's chopping up an apple instead of like a blueberry or a grape or something. A blueberry or grape would be just far more difficult to chop into different places. And, you know, I don't recall if at the end they ate the apple or not, but still. You know, we got, so we can easily write, you know, we put down who gets what. And then the person who's in charge is your representative. That's who's responsible for carrying out the plans. Now they're responsible to say, okay, I'm going to get 20% to each of the kids. All right. That's easy enough. Or, you know, so you divide by five or multiply by 20%, whichever one you want to do. And you go, okay, we've got this. We're good. But there needs to be somebody who carries out that plan, somebody who takes a will to the probate court, somebody who goes to the bank or the other financial institution to claim the funds and to send them where they're supposed to go. These are the things that the personal representative needs to do, and you want somebody who can handle that, somebody who is – afraid of banks and, you know, thinks that we live in the wild, wild west. So if they go into a bank, there might be a robber like Jesse James or Wild Bill Hickok who will come in and, you know, hold up the bank when they're there and take all their money, you know, and then they'll probably escape on horses and jump on the stagecoach. So they can ride up to the iron horse when the horse could run as fast as a train. So they could catch a train and then escape that way. Although that's kind of what happens in old Western movies. It's not necessarily how it would happen now. And I don't know about you, Luke, but I've never been to a bank where there is somebody on a horse outside of that bank. Have you? No. No, he's shaking his head. No, I have never. You've never seen a horse parked in a parking spot or tied up to a hitching post outside of a bank? Outside of a bank? No. No. I've seen them in like fairgrounds. Right, that's different though. Not a bank. Not a lot of horses, banks. Have you ever been into a bank? Like in general? Yes. Yes, I've been inside of a bank. Have you been involved in someone with their six-shooter coming in for a Wild West-style robbery? No. Yeah, it's almost like it doesn't happen like it does in the movies. No. Funny how that works. Yeah. But if you have somebody who's afraid of that happening, you might not want to pick them to be going into a bank and trying to claim your assets. Yeah. Probably a bad call. It just makes sense. I mean, if you believe that the Westerns are documentaries about how life is now or how it was then, they might be a little bit fictionalized. But still, not the best person or someone who distrusts financial institutions and thinks that a giant company like Charles Schwab or Fidelity is going to steal their money or steal their soul or something like that. Probably not the best person to use. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on KLZ 560 AM, also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And once again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. Once again, 720-394-6887. So as we're customizing things and we're saying, okay, who do you want the assets to go to? Okay, we can do that. Who do you want to put in charge? For the most part, we can do that. You know, sometimes people will be like, oh, well, I am from Pakistan. I have an uncle in Pakistan who I want to do this. I say, well, it'd probably be best if we had someone who is based in the U.S. I don't have anything against Pakistan, but Pakistan is a long way away. And if a bank needs you to come in and sign something, they might not be they might not have a branch in Pakistan. So, you know, just because we are U.S. citizens and U.S. or even if we're not U.S. citizens, we live in the U.S., We're trying to, you know, operate under Colorado and U.S. law. So somewhere like Pakistan may not be the most convenient location for that. And I don't have anything against Pakistan. I just picked it because it sounded... It's a cool word to say, Pakistan. And people tend to know where Pakistan is. It's right next to India. But... And sometimes U.S.-Pakistan relationship is friendly. Sometimes it's less friendly. U.S. and India tend to be more friendly and not be too angry with each other, just as a general rule. But that's how, you know, Pakistan, especially, I mean, there was a time, I believe, when Pakistan was where there was some leader of an al-Qaeda organization who was saying that the U.S. captured him inside of Pakistan, right? And so there were questions about whether or not the Pakistani authorities knew that he was there and were properly harboring him intentionally or illegally and all those type of things. But for the most part, most people can say, okay, well, I want my mom or my dad or my brother or my sister or my kids to handle my estate. I'm like, cool, we can do that. And so we set that up and it's fairly understandable to customize, fairly understandable that we want it to be your estate plan. But we still need to write the estate plan. So the will still has to have the essential elements of a will and still has to have the essential portions of a will and the language that the Supreme Court or the Colorado State Legislature likes to see should be in there. Now, that doesn't mean that every single word that goes into every single estate plan is dictated by the state legislature or the state of Colorado. But there are lots of things that go into there that should be there. So I've run into this recently with like powers of attorney and people like, oh, well, my brother's power of attorney doesn't have the agent signing. So I don't think we need to do that. I'm like, well, we probably ought to. Or my brother's power of attorney isn't notarized and that's not required by Colorado law. So why are we doing that? And I say, well, because something that's required by law isn't necessary. Just because it's not required by law doesn't mean it's not a good idea or it doesn't function in the practical realm. So a power of attorney that is notarized is presumed to be valid presumed to be correct and will should be accepted by banks and other financial institutions and all those type of things there are many banks and financial institutions and even some medical institutions that will not accept a power of attorney that has not been notarized even though the law does not require it so you know the law kind of hints at it and strongly encourages it should happen, but it doesn't necessarily say, no, if your power of attorney is not signed and notarized, then it cannot be valid. I'm like, well, yeah, it can, but that doesn't mean that everybody's going to accept it as readily and as easily as if it is notarized. So, you know, kind of best practices and the practical aspect of how things work. Getting a power of attorney notarized is just a good idea. And having your agents sign and date to say that they understand that they've been named as the agent and they understand that if they were to act, they would be required to act in the best interest of the individual. and to act in a correct manner and as a properly functioning fiduciary and not steal people's money and things like that, that's what they're signing. Now, I mean, signing to say, yes, I understand I'm named here and that if I act, I'll do it the proper way isn't binding them to say, oh, hey, well, you signed here that said you would act on this person's behalf. Now you have to. We're not super keen on forcing people to do stuff. which is also a part of why when you pick somebody to act as your agent, you want somebody who would be willing to do it and not somebody who you're going to be forcing to do it. You know, if, uh, the agent that I have set up for my power of attorney is my wife's brother and he is willing to do it. And we're set up to do everything for them in case their kids were to die before. our um before our um before they're old enough to handle things and be adults so you know we we have reciprocal you know we'll take care of theirs they'll take care of ours you know type of thing you know i would want to take my some random person that i knew in like elementary junior high school and be like oh I'm going to name that person because I always thought they were really cool. Or, yeah, my situation is going to be super complicated. So I'm going to dump it on my enemy who I, you know, who was my nemesis in second grade soccer or something like that. You know, that's just not what we're trying to do. We're not forcing people to do things. But those things, they may not be absolutely necessary, but they're just a good idea to do. And so many times the practical aspect of how do things work is part of why we do things, even if it's not 100% spelled out every single thing in a document or everything in law. Sometimes I'll have people be like, oh, well, you know, you say here, you reference the, um, you know, uniform, uniform, uniform transfer to minors act. You know, how come you didn't just include that in the document? I'm like, because the uniform transfer to minors act is about eight pages long. And I didn't feel the need to quote all eight pages of it in your document that, so that there's, you know, just, Oh, look, here's all the statutes. If someone wants to see it, they can go look it up or the, uh, So if I'm referencing the Fiduciary Powers Act, I'm not going to copy and paste the entire Fiduciary Powers Act. into a will or a trust when it's readily available for people to go look up and see what the statute itself says if they want to. But part of the point of an estate plan is you can reference other things, but you don't have to have everything all written all in one spot. I mean, if we did, then estate plans would be several hundred or, in cases of a trust, several thousand pages long. And that, to me, seems excessive. So we're trying to find a balance between being efficient and putting what needs to be in there and also make sure that it's customized to you, works for you, but has the essential elements that are required by law and required by kind of best practices and practicality of what's the best thing to put into your estate plan. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ AM, also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 477-5600. And once again, that's 477-5600. And my direct line is 394-6887. And again, that's 394-6887. So we're figuring out who should be your, who's going to get your assets, who's going to be in charge, you know, who do we want to leave in charge of things, what are the essential elements of things. And I've also had people be like, oh, well, you know, we need to delete this portion of this portion of this portion of this power of attorney because it doesn't apply to me. And I'm like, well, let's talk about that for a minute, just because everything looks like it, or you think it doesn't apply to you right now. It doesn't mean it may not in the future and doesn't mean that it's not a good idea to leave it there. So some of the examples of this. is the standard language that the Supreme Court and the state of Colorado want us to have says that your power of attorney, your agent of your power of attorney can support you, support your spouse, support your children, or anybody else who is legally entitled to your support. And people will be like, well, you know, I don't have anybody that fits that bill. I'm not married. I don't have any children, and nobody else is legally entitled to my support, so we should just remove that. And I say, okay, cool. That sounds great. So you're getting married in about three months. So might it be an okay idea to say in there that if you were supporting your spouse, we could just leave it in there, knowing full well that you're not married right this second, but you will be in the future, or it's possible you could be in the future. And I'm not saying that if you don't have children and you're in your 60s or 70s, you're probably not going to have any children. Got that. But somebody legally entitled to your support. Well, what if you are in your early 60s and you promise your grandchildren that you'll start paying for their college? and so you do that for two years and then you die and then the grandchild goes well wait a minute how am i supposed to keep or let's say maybe you don't die but you go into a memory care facility and your agent and the agent says oh well you know i according to this power of attorney i don't have the ability to keep paying for your tuition so i'm sorry that uh Your grandpa and grandma have Alzheimer's slash dementia, but since they do, we can't use this money to pay for your college anymore. Well, that might not be the outcome you were looking for because you were trying to help take care of your. child's education and so you or your grandchild's education so you would want that to keep going on and keep happening not just disappear if you were to become mentally incapacitated or unable to make your own decisions so and you know sometimes people will be like oh well you know This says spouse. It shouldn't say spouse. We don't have anything to do with a spouse. I'm like, oh, that's the definition of something that says that if you have an annuity that's for you and a joint and survivor annuity with your spouse, then you can do this, that, or whatever. And, you know, it's just the definition of things. It's not necessarily saying you have a spouse or you need to have a spouse. And, you know, by the word spouse appearing in a state planning document doesn't necessarily mean that you're always going to have or that somebody is going to think that you have a spouse. It's just kind of there. It's a definition. I mean, sometimes people get concerned about definitions like, well, you know, why is this here? I'm like, because it's a definition of what that means. Oh, well, you know, we don't want to do that. We just want to delete the definition. I'm like, okay, we can delete the definition. It's just kind of. Standard language that goes in there to have all the terms, you know, but Sometimes I don't know I I think sometimes we were you know brought up in school and be like Oh never include any information that wouldn't be completely relevant in the papers that you write or you know Don't but part of an estate plan is it's effective now, but it's also anticipating potential future situations I've had people who were telling me about how they don't want to have the ability for an agent to change any sort of investments, but they need to keep everything exactly the same. I'm like, yes, but do they need to be able to deal with the investments you have? Well, sure. But, you know, we don't have any margin loans. We don't have any calls. We don't have any loans against things like this. I'm like, OK, so where are you invested in? Well, you know, everything's in Vanguard and it's all in mutual funds. And I'm like, I can guarantee you that inside that mutual fund, there's some sort of margin loan and there's some sort of. you know, the thing that's going on that you, you know, that the financial folks do what they do. But if you don't have that in there, you're then tying their hands and you're restricting their ability to go through and handle your finances and accomplish what you want. So there's lots of things that happen like that. It's kind of like, you know, so my wife is a reverse mortgage loan officer. And the first company that she worked for, they like within a week or two, their interest rates went up. They had a whole bunch of loans that they had to get back. And suddenly they owed something like $3 billion. And they're like, yeah, we don't keep $3 billion in reserve and cash on hand. So they had to close down and the loans got sold off to other loan servicing companies and things like that. Well, the people who got the loans, it didn't really affect them. But once they got the loan, then the loan got packaged into a securities transaction and it got sold off to investors who then sold it to a different investor. And the whole backside of loans and what gets sold where, and you may have gotten a loan from your local bank, whether it was Wells Fargo or First National or First Bank of Colorado or wherever it was, they don't necessarily hold onto all of those loans forever and ever. They sell them off to other servicers. They sell them off to other investors that hold on to those loans, because as those loans, as people pay their payments, then there's principal, there's interest, and so it all gets paid. And so all of the backside stuff and all of the investment side of stuff isn't really what somebody who's getting a reverse mortgage or even a mortgage is concerned about. I have a mortgage on my house. I'm like, hey, I just wanted to have enough money that I could pay my house, and then I'll pay the money back over time. It'll be great. but what happened to that loan, and suddenly I'm not paying First Bank, but I'm paying First Mortgage Servicing Company. Okay, well, are they related? Are they the same? I don't know. It didn't really make a big difference to me in getting the loan and being able to pay for my house, but all those things that are buried in the backside of financial institutions and things like that Those are all the type of things that your agent needs to be able to deal with. So what looks like it might not be fully relevant to you does need to be there so that they can deal with the financial things that you have. So your estate plan is yours. We set it up to work for you now and for what might come up in the future. And we want to customize it for you so that your estate plan does what you want it to do. Thanks so much for listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey. My phone number again, 720-394-6887. And that's 720-394-6887. Stay tuned for John Rush and Rush Reason next. Thanks and bye.
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Mobile estate planning with Michael Bailey will return to ATX next Wednesday at 2.30 here on KLZ 560, AM 560, FM 100.7, and online at klzradio.com.
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The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ Management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
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Rush to Reason with John Rush is coming up next on KLZ 560.
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John Rusher on the next Rush to Reason. It's Health and Wellness Wednesday. Lisa Paglia, author of the book Truth, Lies, and Alzheimer's. It's Secret Faces is a vital guide for families navigating the complexities of Alzheimer's and dementia. Amon Blair is a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Lives in Austin, Texas. He'll give us an update on the flooding this past weekend that happened in Texas. That's the next Rush to Reason. Weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. Brought to you by one of our great sponsors, Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Find them at klzradio.com or download our free app, KLZ Radio.
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Well, it's that time of year again where we're all getting prepared for the upcoming hunting season. Hi, this is Scott Whatley with Sportsman of Colorado. Tune in each week and we'll bring you local experts in archery, muzzle loading, and rifle hunting. Looking for a place to hunt? We've got you covered. Want to book a trophy deer or elk hunt with a reliable outfitter? We can help. For the anglers, we'll give you a fishing report each week. If you like the outdoors, you'll love Sportsman of Colorado, Saturdays at 1 p.m. right here on KLZ 560. Your home, the safety zone, a place where you rest, invest, gather, grow, watch, and work.
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On KLZ, we seek to edify you at home.
John and Neil also discuss the importance of being genuinely present for those grieving and how the right approach can make a significant difference. As they navigate through topics such as climate change, they ponder the balance of weather alerts and the implications of how these contribute to public perception. With passionate segments on Preborn's life-saving missions and the benefits of SunPower LED therapies, this episode satisfies listeners seeking both insight and impactful stories.
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Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of culture, current events, and politics through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to another edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. I am your host this week, John Rush, Denver, Colorado. My show is Rush to Reason. Bob Duco is not with us today from Detroit, Michigan. Bob Duco's show, but Neil Boron is with us, Buffalo, New York. Neil Boron live. Otherwise, Neil, it would just be the – there would be a roundtable. It would be like, what, a podium if it was just me by myself.
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Welcome to the National Podium Podcast. There you go.
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That would be great. And, you know, we're laughing, which, you know, laughter is good medicine. And, you know, for a lot of you listening, especially those of you that are in the Texas area, you know, our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to all of you. You know, just such a tragedy, Neil. And I wanted to start there just because... And they're not done yet. They're still looking for possible survivors. The death toll now is, I think, I looked just a few seconds ago, it's 109 as we speak, but there was 173 people missing. And again, that isn't done yet. We got a lot to talk about there. And I think one of the first questions that comes up, and I got a question on my program yesterday from a texter that basically said, when things like this happen, and even you, John, have you had any immediate deaths in your family and so on, and when those sorts of things happen, do you question God? Do you get angry? What's your thought process when those things happen? So Neil, I thought I would start there because I do think a lot of people, when things like this happen, I don't know if they necessarily question their faith, but they may question, you know, why does God allow these things to happen? And that's a deep subject, and frankly, I'm not him, Neil. I can't answer that fully. I can get a pretty good idea, I think, just from knowing Scripture and knowing the fallen world that we live in and so on, and so there's things that I think are basic truths that you and I can talk about, but honestly, can I answer fully Why does God allow this to happen? No, because I'm not him.
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Well, I'm not either, and I don't know that there's an answer to these kind of things, and I'm not just trying to shy away from the question itself. I honestly believe that part of the tension that exists between the things that really happen and the things we can understand is that space where God desires that we would draw close to him. And I've, over the years, at times, shook my fist at God, I think Job had sufficient number of questions about things that God was doing. And Jesus himself labored over this idea of, you know, as man, he was fully God, he was fully man. But I believe as man, he understood the pain that was going to face him at the cross. And he was like, hey, Father, if there be any other way, you know, let this cup pass for me. That there was a moment of questioning, at least in his human side. And that didn't count as sin. He was sinless, of course. So I think that God wants us to be honest. He wants us to come to him when we're struggling or suffering. And somehow or another, we live in an imperfect, broken world created by sin itself. You know, mankind's rebellion against God. So one day we have the hope of living for all eternity with God in a place where there's no tears, no suffering, and everything that's wrong will be made right. in the meantime, stuff happens and it's horrible. And I honestly think God appreciates when we're just honest with him. And when people can come to him and say, why God, how in the world could this happen? You know, did you do this? And let him speak to their hearts. Let him provide the comfort that only he can bring. He's the God of all comfort. So I don't know. I don't know that there's any one answer. And honestly, John, I'll just say this. When people try to say, look, I can give you the exact answer to that question. And I know exactly what God was doing on that. I don't think any of us ever know exactly what God's doing and how fully he's working in a situation because we might see it. From one tiny perspective, but while he's working in our lives and he's working in our sphere of influence in the world we live in, he's working everywhere simultaneously. So I don't know. I just think this is one of those times where we just need to cry out to him, call out to him. You know, God is near to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. That's the God we serve.
SPEAKER 02 :
And again, for those that are listening that have, you know, any connection to that whatsoever, family, friends, distant relatives, close relatives, you know, as you know, Neil, our signal goes a lot of different places. The podcast is listened to all over. Our KLZ, believe it or not, our KLZ regular radio signal in Denver at times, I have terrestrial listeners in the panhandle of Texas that listen to us. So the reality is there are people in that area that I'm sure that we are you know talking to and great advice by the way neil and i will say this too and this is something where i think we all need to be careful this is something that i think i again i don't have all the direct answers when somebody you know when you how should i say this neil when you meet somebody that you know has just gone through something traumatic death in the family bad accident things along those lines I think the last thing that they want to hear is, I know what you're going through, because the reality is, no, you don't. So I think the best thing you can say is, I'm here for you. I have no idea what you're going through, but I am here for you. I will be praying for you. I will do everything I possibly can to help you. If there's anything you ever need, let me know, but I will not sit here and lie to you and tell you that I know what you're going through, because the reality is, I don't.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, we try to equate things in our minds, or even as we share thoughts like that with people that are suffering. But it never does the trick. And it's not wise to do that. I agree with you 100%. And I think, you know, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. But among them are times where I tried to provide you know, expert advice or comfort or provide answers to people that were just simply suffering and needed to continue to suffer. We have some friends whose son took his own life a number of years ago. They're still suffering. They, you know, and his birthday rolls around and turns out that he has the, the boy who took his life, the young man, uh, we have a child by the same name. And so, you know, at times as our friendship has continued, Mary and I have felt somewhat guilty because we still have our son, Ben, and they don't have their son, Ben. And, you know, it's just, it's a, it's a part of the human experience to go through situations that we don't fully understand because as you said earlier, we're not God, but I love what you're pointing out. And that is that instead of trying to answer everybody's questions, we just need to be there with them. That the same comfort that God has provided to us, we can provide to them by just loving them in their circumstance right where they're at.
SPEAKER 02 :
And as we talk about the loss of life, that's really what's happening here with Texas. We'll get into more of maybe some of the things that happened up to that point. And I hate to point fingers, Neil, but I think there were definitely some mistakes that were made. We'll get into some of those things as well. But in light of that, the other thing that I, as a man especially... have no experience with, and me personally have no experience with this at all because I've never been involved with a family member or wives or girlfriends or anything along those lines whereby I had to be involved with any kind of an abortion in any way, shape, or form. I guess you could say, Neil, I'm extremely lucky on that end of things. So I don't know what those ramifications are like. Now, I've interviewed a lot of people over the years when it comes to I've talked to a lot of ladies that had them early in life, and then as they get later in life, they regret those decisions. So that part I do know, and I have talked to those particular individuals, but like this Texas flooding, I don't know exactly what that feeling is like. What I do know is pre-borns. is out there saving babies' lives. They're doing just the opposite of what the other side wants to do, Neil, which is to take life. Preborn wants to add life or keep that life that's in the womb existing and not kill that life off, which essentially, in my opinion, abortion is murder. So they are saving babies' lives on a daily basis. They're saving moms. They're saving families, by the way, because as you know, Neil, this can stretch on to other individuals in the family as well. It's not just the mom that's affected. There's a lot of people that can be involved and affected when it comes to abortion. So guys, I would encourage you greatly. They need your help. They need your resources so they can pass that on to those that are in need. Ultrasound machines, you hear Bob talk about it all the time, $15,000 buys one, but any donation will help save a baby's life. Do that today. Just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And segueing into, Neil, the SunPower LED, and I've given my own testimony on this numerous times on the program, it is a technology that absolutely works.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's incredible. And it simply uses the light God himself created. This is all natural. God said, let there be light and there was. And so what it does is it harnesses certain wavelengths of red or near infrared light on the light spectrum. And high intensity, you know, light waves are used to help penetrate the body deep into the joints or the bone and even to muscles and so forth. And then energize the mitochondria in the cell, which are kind of like the batteries of a cell. When a cell is sluggish, it's not working properly. You're not going to get the results you need. But when a cell is energized, it is designed actually to help heal the body, to reduce pain and inflammation and swelling and promote healing. And that's exactly what light therapy does. And it's been used in so many applications, you know, back pain, neck pain, whatever. Even their head unit devices, which look like a helmet, have had tremendous results with things like Parkinson's, tremors, depression, tinnitus. All kinds of issues related to the head, and I encourage you to check it out. By the way, if you use the promo code ROUNDTABLE10, with any purchase, you'll get a 10% discount. But you can see all of this for yourself by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on SunPowerLED. That's S-U-N, SunPowerLED, CrawfordMediaGroup.net, John.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, going back to the Texas flooding, and I do want to get into some of the – and even our producer, Gail, we were talking right before the program today on some of these things and get into some of what I feel, Neal, should be a learning lesson for a lot of other – not just churches and nonprofits and things like that, but I think just in general, just the preparedness end of things. And for those of you listening, you may not know this, but I do a preparedness show every Friday in Denver from 2 to 3. It's called Ready Radio. You can find that by going to ready-radio.com. We record that, so there's podcasts of that as well. So anywhere in the country, you guys can listen to that. After the fact, you can listen on live. with our KLZ app that we have in Denver as well. But these are things, Neil, that I talk about on a weekly basis when it comes to being prepared for the very things that Texas went through. And again, I always am hesitant, especially shortly after an event like this happens, and this is not to point blame, but I think everything has a learning aspect to it, and this would be no different. I think... Number one, I read last night that the National Weather Service, as much as I do feel like at times they overrate things and it's sort of that they cry wolf so many times that it gets to the point where people become tone deaf to some of the messaging that they put out. And I do think there's something there that, you know, we could even maybe dive into, whether it's today or down the road. But I do think that this whole, you know, climate change and they're crying wolf all the time and all of this is because of, you know, man-made climate change and this, that, and the other, which is a whole other topic that we've covered on this program. many times in the past, but the reality, Neal, is there was fair warning. The National Weather Service did put out warnings 24 hours in advance to tell people to be on alert for what was going on. There was a mayor of one of the local cities that, believe it or not, was out jogging at 4 a.m. moments before the flood, meaning that he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. I mean, I just find some of those things, honestly, Neal, absurd that we've got all of this technology now at our hands and yet we've got a camp here that essentially allowed 27 kids to pass because somebody wasn't paying attention
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it's really sad. But, you know, in one sense, and I'm not cutting any slack here, I'm just saying it's part of human nature, I think, in one way to think it'll never happen to me. You know, I mean, you see, for instance, a suicide bomber in Beirut or something, you know, set off a bomb at a coffee shop. Does that stop us from going to coffee shops here in the U.S.? No, because we think it could never happen to us. And that's really the same kind of thing you hear after something like the Boston Marathon bombing. It was like I couldn't believe it. that this was happening to me. I thought this happened in other places. And so I think, and because of crying wolf, I mean, so many times the National Weather Service has said something horrible is going to happen in this area, storms and other ones. We've had our share really bad.
SPEAKER 02 :
We have the same situation like you, you know, the bomb cyclone snowstorm is on its way, or, you know, it's going to be the biggest blizzard we've had, you know, this year or whatever the case may be. And you know, here in Colorado, we could go through that with just, you know, hardly any snow whatsoever. And it's not to point blame. I realize that forecasting weather is not an exact science, but you wonder, should they tone down, and they're not going to agree with me on this, of course, but should they tone down some of their severe warnings when they may not even be for sure that they're coming so that people do have, you know the ability or i should say they're on more more alert to those messages that actually you know come out i i don't know i don't know the answer to that exactly i will tell you that personally neil i don't know how you are on this i've got all of the notifications they come on my phone and i'll be honest with you there are a lot of times and i am not exaggerating There are a lot of times where I'll take a quick little blurb at that, read it, and I'll be like, guys, you're making a big to-do out of what I can see here as being nothing, and yet these alerts just, you know, every day there's some sort of an alert. I was talking about this on the program the other day, Neil. We are in Colorado here right now. We're getting into the, you know, high 90s, low 100s, which, by the way, I've lived here my entire life. I'm a native. not abnormal to be in the, you know, getting close to the middle of July and having those types of temperatures. But all these alerts come out, you know, basically that, you know, going to be the hottest week could possibly break a record. I mean, they hype this stuff up so much that, that frankly, Neil, and in this particular case of the heat here in Colorado this week, this is a normal thing. There is no news there at all whatsoever.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And that's all true. But again, What if they don't provide the warning? You know, it's like six in one, half dozen in the other. You could probably argue both ways, but I think it's probably better that they give us the hype so that there's some level of awareness that severe weather could happen, and not just so that they absolve themselves of any liability, just the idea that that we need to know that there's a possibility. By the way, like Buffalo, New York, obviously is not the hottest place on the planet. But in July, we get temperatures in the upper 80s, sometimes into the low 90s. And I can tell you this much. In the afternoon in Buffalo, New York, sitting right on the edge of Lake Erie, humidity is kind of high. On a really hot day like that, the conditions are ripe for a severe thunderstorm. Happens every single time. Does the thunderstorm happen? No. But they give the warning every time. And I think it's valuable to have some idea that things could happen. But it's that human factor I was talking about earlier, the tune-out factor. Like, well, yeah, but it's never going to happen to us. I mean, maybe people have gone to Camp Mystic.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and really quick, I'm just going to push back slightly because I don't disagree with you. But I feel like – and this is my beef with all of this, and it would be interesting to see what Bob thinks along these lines as well because I think he would agree with you and I on this one – I feel at times some of the hype is coming out of the whole climate change, global warming aspect of things. It's almost like they hype a lot of things up just to prove that, see guys, look, in fact, the earth is doing X, Y, Z, and it's your fault that it's happening. I mean, there's times I feel like that's exactly what some of these weather services are doing. And that's my beef because there's times that they're trying to justify, you know, climate change when in fact, yes, the climate does change in its cycles, but it's not the way I don't believe it's the way they think. Am I a climate change denier? I wouldn't say that because I think things are cyclical and things change even from season to season depending upon where you're at. And I do think that, Neil, that in the case of us here in Colorado, are we potentially a little warmer now than we were maybe even a couple of decades ago? Yeah, there's twice as many people now living in Colorado. There's more asphalt on the road. There's more things that are heating up. There's more buildings. So is all of that going to contribute to a in our area, not worldwide, but in our little area? Could that contribute to maybe a slightly higher temperature at times? And I think you could argue that, well, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. I don't know one way or the other. But my point with the Weather Service at times is I just feel like it's almost like PBS. They're trying to establish their existence. And along with that, they want to make sure that we all know that climate change exists. So they do these warnings on a routine basis to try to back up that narrative.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I'll give you that it's possible and maybe even probable that that's going on. But I do think that the situation's worse on the other side of the equation, meaning after a disaster occurs, the number of people that jump on opportunistically to say this was a cause, this is a result of climate change, when they have no real evidence of that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Agree.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it's simply based on political evidence. persuasion they're trying to push people in the way of you know supporting their agenda however i will say i agree with you on on the idea that maybe denver is warmer because there's you know it's a growing area lots of asphalt but you got to keep in mind the hottest radio show on the planet is on klz and denver the rush to reason show and that's the reason is the problem you know
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and your point a moment ago, and I talked about this yesterday on the program, and you're right. There's so many folk on the left, which I know we have people on the left listen to us because I get feedback from them. Shame on you, those of you that are on the left, that have come out with some of the absolute vilest remarks that you could ever say about this situation in... Texas, the fact that it's conservative, it's a Christian camp, and there were all white kids there, and it's the best thing that could ever happen would be to have all these white kids gone because eventually they'd all turn out to be racist anyway, so it's a good thing they died. I'm repeating literally, Neil, some things that have been said from the left. It's absolutely disgusting that anybody out there, period, nonetheless those on the left would say things along those lines. How ridiculous of a thing to say, by the way.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, that's probably a prime example right there of how the Word of God is true when it says in Luke 6, you know, that out of the abundance of the heart, a man speaks. You know, you open your mouth, and eventually you're going to say what's in your heart, and that's true. Prime example of what you're seeing there. Those are ignorant comments. They're uncalled for, and particularly during a time of crisis. Like, if you want to come out with these kind of statements, which I think are completely wrong, you know, a month or two later when all the final analysis is happening, John, they're still looking for bodies. As a matter of fact, there's an organization... There's an organization headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, but they have a major office here and another one, I think, in Des Moines, Iowa. It's called Eight Days of Hope, and it's it's the size of it's a disaster release organization, the size of Samaritan's Purse. So they get calls from FEMA all the time to go to places where, you know, they're not a government organization, by the way, but they become so sophisticated and they do such a great job. that when there is a disaster, FEMA is calling them to say, hey, can you help out in Mississippi? There's been tornadoes or whatever. So they're planning to try to do something in response to all of this, bringing some of their heavy equipment to be able to move debris and other things. I mean, we're talking major equipment, but they're not getting the call just yet because the search is still underway for the bodies. And there's so much confusion surrounding this. So for people to come out and start making claims that are just asinine, bottom line, And that they move forward their own political agenda, I think, is wrong and it shouldn't be tolerated. Nobody should be listening to anybody that's trying to, you know, make this into a climate change issue when it's about the loss of human life. Let's care about our fellow brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER 02 :
Agreed. One thing I want to add here before we go to our last break here in a moment is I do think this is also a reminder. For those of you that listen that are heads of organizations, churches, nonprofits, even businesses, if you haven't reviewed any of your disaster plans, you should be. If you're budgeting other things in place of potential warning systems or communication systems or whatever it might be – and I don't know exactly everything that happened at this camp. I have a pretty good idea, and I've heard through different sources and have read different things whereby – they had the ability to do some upgrades on things, but chose to just keep doing it the way we've always done it. Which, by the way, Neil, you of all people know that is one of the worst things that happens in churches, in my opinion, or any organization for that matter, is we've always done it this way, so we'll just keep doing it that way. No, folks, stuff changes. Better technology comes along. Better ways of doing things come along. And to have that mentality, this is my view, and you're a previous pastor, so you can correct me if my thinking is wrong, but the Lord gives us You know, two eyes, two ears, nose, mouth, brain, all these different things, Neil, that we're supposed to use. And when things come along that are better, and yet we're going to come out and say we've always done it this way, why change? That is just stupid thinking, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's lazy. It's lazy. And it's an unwillingness, I think in many cases to trust God, because somebody might say, well, making that kind of change would cost us money. Well, but if the Lord is in it, if it is, you know, we walk by faith, not by sight and without faith, it's impossible to please God. And I'm not just trying to throw out scripture to sound spiritual or something. What I'm saying is God has asked us to follow him in faith and to do the things he's showing us to do. And if they look impossible, That's okay. God is the God of the impossible, and we need to be willing to adjust and make changes accordingly and not just live by the status quo because it's easier. That's lazy Christianity, and we were never called to such a thing.
SPEAKER 02 :
I agree. So my point in all of this and some of the lessons that could be learned, and I know we're kind of closing our time up for this first half, but It would be that if you're in charge of any type of an organization, especially where you may be at a higher risk, you're running a camp and you're close to potential wildfires or there's a river nearby or you have the potential for any kind of flash flooding or you're in a tornado area or I can go down the list, Neil, of all the different things that can happen out there. I think this is a prime example of you need to be reviewing the plans that you have. You need to be figuring out exactly what it is you need to be doing if, in fact, something like this were to ever come along, and what is your plan to deal with that, and then make sure that it's solid and review that periodically to make sure that if anything comes up that would make that plan better, you take advantage of that. So moving into pre-born, Neil, again, as I talked earlier, I cannot – I cannot say that I know what it's like to have an abortion because I'm a man. I can also say that I don't know what it's like to even have somebody close to me that's had one. What I can say is, like I said earlier, I've interviewed enough people to know what the after effects of those are, and despite what some on the left would say, in most cases, and Neil, you know this firsthand, in most cases there is great grief and despair that comes on ladies that have abortions. On top of that, you know, a life has been taken. Preborn is out there doing just the opposite of what the left wants you to do. They are an advocate, like we are, for life. They are not there to see the unborn killed. They want to see those babies come to term and be born and have, you know, grow up and to be, you know, great, productive Christian citizens and so on. And we can go down the list, and the reality is what preborn is doing is not only saving babies' lives, but they are literally saving the lives of of mom as well you hear bob talk about that a lot fifteen thousand dollars buys an ultrasound machine a small donation will save a baby's life what i will say is do whatever you can but always say put your money where your mouth is conservatives and support pre-born just go to crawfordmediagroup.net and do that there and then of course sunpower led one another one of our great sponsors neil and they do a great job for us
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and let me just comment on pre-born real quick. My wife does ultrasounds at a pro-life pregnancy center here in the Buffalo area. And when a woman sees the baby inside her womb, 80% chance she chooses life. It's unbelievable. So support pre-born. And let me tell you about SunPower LED. Yesterday, we had Tom Kerber of Kerber Applied Research, the man behind this product, SunPower LED, on my program. And we were taking live calls and phone lines were absolutely jammed. One woman said that she had open heart surgery recently and was told it would be a two to three month recovery for her. She was up and around and feeling fine in four weeks. And the reason is that this technology uses the very light God created to energize the cells in the body to do what the cells were designed to do. Big pharma can't cut it, and surgery isn't always the answer. Sometimes we just need to rely on the body God gave us to heal us, and that's made easier when the cells are energized to do what they were created to do. So I want you to check out what light therapy is all about from SunPowerLED. It's also called photobiomodulation. That's a big word. But go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on SunPowerLED, And look at the videos. Check it out for yourself. See how it's been used to deal with things like arthritis and wound care and surgical recovery and vision problems, dizziness, all kinds of issues. And if you use the promo code ROUNDTABLE10, you can get a unit for 10% off simply because you're a listener to the roundtable. So CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on Sun Power LED.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and I'll tell you, that stuff does work. Their products, whether you do a handheld unit, whether you do some of their other units, whatever you do, I will tell you right now, their products work. Use them. Use that promo code again for both of our sponsors, Preborn and SunPower. Just go to Crawford Media Group. And really quick, back to the Texas floods, just as a reminder. Yes, if you've been affected by any of that, our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers, they're going out for all of you that are involved with that, and we just feel absolutely terrible about that. what's happened. And again, I don't have all the answers as we've said through this first half, but most importantly, just rely on the Lord and let him be your strength in this time of need. With that, that is the first half of the National Crawford Roundtable.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome back. Second half, National Crawford Roundtable. Appreciate you all listening. Myself, John Rush from Denver, Colorado. My show is Rush to Reason. Neil Boron with me today, Buffalo, New York. Neil Boron live. Bob Duco is not with us today. He's out doing a big blood drive today. And we record this on Wednesday mornings. No secret there. Neil, let's move into the Epstein list, and this is one that we may run out of time even talking about because there's a lot of things here. I talked about this in depth on my program yesterday, and for all of you that maybe haven't been watching the news, the DOJ, FBI... They have come out here in the last couple of days, and there is no list, quote-unquote. And we'll get into maybe some of whether you believe that or not here in a minute. I had some very angry listeners yesterday along those lines, Neil. And I guess what I will start off with and say is this. Number one, don't be angry. If you're somebody that's looking for the ultimate smoking gun and you feel like it's because of some list that our party and our conservatism will somehow now be advanced, I'll tell you straight up, you're looking for the wrong thing. I said yesterday that, Neil, if we're going to advance our agenda, the conservatism of what we believe in and so on, we need to do it by electing the right people, by continuing to work in the trenches, do those things necessary to make that happen. And none of us, I mean, none of us should be relying on a single list that might have somebody's name on it as what might turn, you know, the country around or the party around. The reality is we need a revival. We need people to come back to the Lord. And that's the real answer here at the end of the day, not some list. Now, with all that being said, Neil, I'm going to throw this to you. I guess my question to you is, do you think there actually was a list and is it being buried? Or what are your thoughts on all of this?
SPEAKER 03 :
Who knows? And probably remember the Bill Clinton statement, you know, it depends on the definition of what is, is or whatever, you know? So I I'm, I'm skeptical about the whole thing, but I do believe that there's information we're not being given what it is. Who knows? You know, you look at like cash, but tells the director of the FBI right now, he was involved in somewhat in this investigation, but in 2023, you know, In 2023, on a podcast, he said that this needs to be looked at and that it was being kept secret and kept from the American public, quote, because of who's on that list. And then he went on to say, put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are. Dan Bongino, his assistant, current assistant in the Trump administration, said in 2023. That Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please don't let that story go. Keep your eye on it. Then you got Pam Bondi, of course, saying, I've got – well, I guess she claims that she didn't say I've got the list on my desk. She said, I've got that stuff on my desk or I've got it on my desk. I'm going to be looking at it. So there's an interpretation issue there. But either way – I'm just concerned about what some people refer to as the credibility gap, because, you know, look at Corinne Jean-Pierre, right, for years lying to us to our face about Biden's, you know, mental acuity. Well, I'm not equating this directly, but I am saying. that what you say to the American public matters because people are going to check it out. They're going to pursue it. And you've always got your conspiracy theorists that are at either end of the extreme. They're, they're either, you know, for you or against you, but there's always the people out at the extremes. But I'm just saying when, when you make statements, even Trump said, you know, he's going to seriously, I think it's while he was running for president the second time is, is, you know, Trump 47, that he was saying things like, um, yeah, I'm thinking about releasing that list or I'm going to give a serious thought. You know, he gave the implication that, that that there would be information forthcoming and then all of a sudden to go oh you know we checked it out there's nothing to see here folks go away well if there's nothing to see then just release it all let's redact the names of the victims take the names of the girls out and send out whatever you possibly can obviously there's some pornographic videos apparently accompanying this but look you know john i was thinking i don't mean to ramble here but let me just say real quick keep going you're fine nbc a few years back might have been 15 years, I'm not even sure, but they had a show called To Catch a Predator. And if you remember that, but yes, I do get these guys, you know, some 23 year old guy who's playing video games on his mom's couch. But then he thinks he's talking to a 13 year old girl and he's going to go meet her at some motel in a different state or whatever. And he's going to bring beer and the whole thing. So he shows up. And she says, hey, I'm getting ready in the bathroom. So come on in, have yourself a beer. I'll be out to meet you in a second. He walks in. But instead of a teenage girl coming out of the bathroom, it's like an FBI agent or it's law enforcement of some kind. Or maybe it was just network exec network reporters, you know, all of a sudden exposing this guy live on the air. And I actually remember seeing an episode where a guy was standing there buck naked with a six pack in front of him, trying to explain that he was only going to have a conversation with the girl. He wasn't attending sex, whatever. My point is there was like immediate exposure on that stuff. It was immediate. You were seeing the face of the guy and they would always blur out anybody who didn't matter in that scenario. Well, if there are people that were on that island and they know about it, or how about the flight log? What about the flight log? Does it matter if we see that? there's more information that can be released. And the fact that it's not being released, my biggest concern is maybe there's nothing there. Okay, maybe there's nothing there, but it just leads to speculation. And then people start running away with their thoughts thinking, oh, well, I wonder who's, is Trump on that list? Who else is on the list? Why are they hiding the information from us? And my biggest concern ultimately is that it's going to affect us in the midterms. That when the midterms roll around, they're going to say, you're no better than the legacy media who lied to us about Biden. You're lying to us. And we don't believe you, so we'll go vote for Musk and his new party or something. Anyway, I just think it's going to hurt if they can't do a better job of helping people believe what they're saying in the first place. I just think it's a really bad scenario.
SPEAKER 02 :
All of that well said. Don't know that I can – disagree with that. I think the only thing I would disagree with is I think it's far enough away from the midterms that I don't see that having any real effect, to be honest with you. And I've also been one to say that for all of those folks that thought that there would be some sort of a smoking gun there that would somehow put people behind bars, yeah, no. If that's what you were thinking you were hoping for, wasn't going to happen. I've said that on my program numerous times, by the way, Neil, just isn't going to happen. Again, if you're putting all of your faith into a list hoping that it's going to somehow advance the agenda of our side of the aisle, that's very wishful thinking on your part because that's just Not going to happen. Now, with all of what you said, Neil, the thing I guess I would come back to would be, I think, and something we can talk more about after we do our break here in a moment, but I feel like one of the mistakes that people make, Trump included, in this case, maybe even Patel and Bongino. Bongino had his own show, by the way. And I do feel like sometimes the collective... from our side of the aisle, when some of these things start out, you know, where's the list? There's got to be a list. There's got to be something that shows all these people that went in and out of the island and the logs and all these different things. And so I think at times, Neil, it sort of gets this idea pushed that these things exist When in fact, maybe they never existed from the beginning. And I've said this before on my program, and I'll say it again. If I were Epstein, why would I have a list? If I knew that all of these rich billionaires that I was relying on my paycheck from thought for a second that I had a list I could blackmail them with, I doubt if they would keep coming with me. So I'm kind of coming back on the other side of the aisle saying, was there ever really a list in the first place? And I would question whether there was, because common sense tells me there shouldn't be.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and you're probably right. I mean, who knows? You could be 100% right. But then the question would be, why ever imply that there is information forthcoming?
SPEAKER 02 :
Because I think that, Neil, personally, I think some of that came from our side as much as it did from anywhere. It's one of the things we can come back to and talk about here in a moment. Before we continue, though, let's talk about SunPower LED. I'll throw that to you really quick before we come back and start delving into that. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mentioned in the first half that yesterday I had the man behind SunPowerLED, Tom Kerber of Kerber Research, Kerber Applied Research on my program. And we were talking about the incredible effectiveness of light to help heal the human body. Light therapy from SunPowerLED has done incredible work helping people deal with all kinds of things, including eyesight. People with macular degeneration have had incredible improvements. One gentleman who was completely blind was using light therapy for just a few days and one day said to someone in his family, you're wearing a blue dress with flowers on it. And they said, what? Because he was beginning to see and in just a week or two was out riding his motorcycle again. He had been completely blind for a period of time because of a detached retina and what's called diabetic retinopathy. Incredible results. Why is this? Because the body was intended to heal itself. That's how God created it. So when you energize the cells, they can do the work they were created to do. And light therapy energizes the mitochondria in the cells to get busy and help heal our bodies. You can learn all about it by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And then click on SunPowerLED. If you purchase something, use the promo code ROUNDTABLE10. And because you're a listener, you'll get a 10% discount. So check that out at CrawfordMediaGroup.net, which is also where you will find one of our major sponsors here, our friends at PreBorne.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. Preborn, again, as I said during the first half, advocating for the lives of the baby that are inside of the womb. They do that by showing mom ultrasound images. In fact, sometimes it could be mom and dad. It's not always just... mom, Neil, as you know, and the reality is Planned Parenthood and a lot of the other folk on the other side of the aisle will not show those images. They don't want mom seeing what that baby actually looks like inside the womb, because when they do, it literally can change the outcome of what that mom is thinking about at that point in time. So preborn uses those images. They use it in such a way that it gives mom a lot of education on what's actually happening inside of her womb, inside of her body. and the fact that there is a growing baby inside of that womb. And she, in a lot of cases, will decide to keep that baby to term. And depending upon the circumstances, you know, that baby can be born, stay in the family, can be adopted. There's all sorts of things that can happen ultimately. We're providing and bringing life into the world, if you would, instead of the alternative, which is what the other side would rather have you do. This is literally a good versus evil. I believe that sincerely. Preborn is on the side of good. They want to save babies' lives, but they can't do that themselves. They have to have us helping. It's because of our great donations that they're able to do that. the things that they do. So donate today. Just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Look for Preborn right there. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Look for Preborn. Give and do that as much as you possibly can. If you can even do a monthly donation, that really helps. And again, both of our sponsors, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Going back to the Epstein potential list, I always say potential because, Neil, I'm not on the inside. I don't know what was in all of these documents. I don't know what kinds of lists were out. Back to your comment about was Trump or anybody like that on the list. This is one thing I can guarantee you. This one, I would bet a million bucks on. If Donald Trump or any other high-ranking Republican was on said list, and maybe I'm wrong in this, but I don't think I am, Neil. If Donald Trump especially was on that list, that list would have been leaked out prior to the last election doing whatever they possibly could to damage Donald Trump. I believe that with my entire being. So my feeling is if there is anybody like that on a list, that list would have been leaked out for that reason and that reason only.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I think I agree with you on that. Tucker Carlson has his show, you know, and I was watching a segment. I don't agree with everything he says, but it was intriguing what he was making a claim about regarding this very thing. And he said, you know, the idea that they're not releasing all the information immediately raises speculation. Well, who are they trying to protect? And the first thought is, could it be Donald Trump? For all the reasons you just described, I think you're probably right. And his conclusion was, I know this man. I know the president. That doesn't mean anything. Everybody could have a double life. But I just don't think that it really makes sense that Donald Trump is the person that they're trying to hide or whatever. But then he made a really compelling statement because he said, you know, Jeffrey Epstein was this – He was an accountant, really. He worked for a pretty prestigious firm, but he ended up being essentially involved in helping with money laundering. At least it's believed that that was part of what he was doing for multinational corporations and weapons dealers and stuff. And he said he believes that maybe what this could potentially reveal is some of the key contacts, confidants, whatever, that are involved in the intelligence community, and that ultimately there's like worldwide implications. Now, is that just fanciful thinking? Is it just good podcast material? I don't know, but... There clearly is a reason why this thing was halted. And Donald Trump, you know, himself, yesterday in a press conference, somebody started asking about Epstein. And he said, I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this when we're having some of the greatest success ever. And also the tragedy that happened in Texas, it just seems like a desecration. So he shut the whole thing down, and Carlson and whoever was on with him kind of went on to argue that that's also a signal to those who would be fearful about releasing all the information. There will be no more information forthcoming. We're shutting this thing down. Whatever it costs us, we're moving along. I don't know what all that means, but I do believe, John, that it isn't just that, okay, we went to work today, we punched in, we checked out all the documents, we found nothing, and okay, we're going to close up and move on to the next investigation because there's actually nothing here. I do think there's something more to the story that we don't know. Maybe it'll come out in the end, maybe not, but it just feels awkward the way this whole thing has played out.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I come from the other side, and maybe it's just because I'm so anti-conspiracy things, and I'm really anti-group think when it comes to how some of these things get started and rolling. And let me give you another example, and I know people are going to be mad at me for saying this. Do I think there's... election tampering in every election. Absolutely. Men are sinful. They want to win at all costs. There's been election tampering, Neil, probably in every election since the beginning of elections. And I mean that with 100%. I'm not trying to make light of anything, but men are evil. They do evil things. And if you think you can steal something away by doing something nefarious, then that's exactly what men will do. So do I believe there's ever been honest and fair election ever. No, Neil, there's things that happen in every election, no matter what. Now, do I think, was there some real anomalies and things that were going on in the 2020 election that you just have to shake your head at and say, okay, none of this really makes sense at the The example I'm giving is when you look at all of the folks that jumped on the whole, you know, Dominion machines and all of the, you know, potential changing of ballots and on and on and on. I mean, it got to the point where, and I hate to say this, but it got to the point where there were all sorts of folks claiming all sorts of things happened that to this day, Neil, and I know there's going to be people mad at me for saying this, but to this day have yet to be proven. There's lots of speculation about what could have happened and, what might have happened with some of those machines but Neil you know some what six years later almost now we've gotten to the point where there's been no proof of any of that and yet that is still the narrative of a lot of individuals so I'm kind of coming back to the whole Epstein thing along those same lines was there really ever a list or is it just something that people put in their mind thinking that would be their ultimate savior quote-unquote and is that the bandwagon they got on and they won't jump off of
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And this is all these what if kind of stuff. But, you know, like if you're if you're talking about this a few months ago when Dan Bongino wasn't in the FBI, Kash Patel wasn't heading the FBI, but they were saying these things prior to the election. Then you're like, well, maybe there's something to it. I hope these guys get in office and in power and then they can reveal all this stuff to us. Well, they are in office and they are in power and they're choosing not to reveal stuff to us or there's actually nothing there, like you're saying. And, you know, going back to what was her name? Sidney Powell. I can't remember her name exactly. But the woman that was charged with she was she kept saying, oh, you know, we've got all the evidence that these Dominion voting machines are rigged. And we're going to start, you know, tomorrow at four o'clock. We're going to tell you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Release the Kraken. We're going to release the Kraken, Neil.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, next week, Wednesday, we're going to know next month on the 10th. We're going to tell you that she kept moving the date out and there was never any information forthcoming, which means that she was full of baloney is what it was. There was nothing to all of that. And I'll probably get in trouble, too, because there's probably some people still clinging to the reality that the Dominion voting machines were rigged. Well, if so, where's the evidence? How come nobody... Now, right under the Trump administration, you could just immediately release that information if it was available. Bottom line is we focus on this stuff and give it way too much importance in the end. Are people sinful? Yes. And do bad things happen? Absolutely. And they need to be revealed, you know, when they need to be revealed. But simply our bias, in other words... Everything the Biden administration did was bad and we can prove it. And we've got all this information. We're going to prove it. And everything that happens under the Trump administration is rosy red. It's beautiful. It's good. Nothing bad could happen there. What are you talking about? There are multi billionaires working in various ways to influence, you know, tax reform. policies and whatever. There's stuff going on out there that isn't all pleasing to God. And let's just remember that we live in a fallen world. John, you know, you mentioned the word sin. I just want to say before we close, I know that we've got some time here, but before we close, promise me that we can pray for the victims of the flooding in Texas. We talked about that earlier. And for the young girls, who were sexually abused in this case with Epstein. Because we can talk all day long about the list and about whether or not somebody's reputation is going to be ruined because they were with a teenage girl. But the fact is, some of these people were with teenage girls. They were with children, and those children were abused. So let's pray for the victims. In fact, let's do it right now so that we don't- Yeah, go right ahead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Perfect timing, Neil. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Yeah, Lord, it seems strange in the middle here to just jump in and do this, but John was right. I mean, we live in a sinful and fallen world, and there's corruption everywhere. The heart of man is deceitful above all else. It's desperately wicked. Who can know it? Well, you know the hearts of mankind, and Lord, we have turned to you for forgiveness and healing because we need to be set free from our own sinful passion and desires, and because of the blood that was shed at Calvary, we have the ability to say yes to you and to walk in obedience to you. God, we're not perfect. And in the ways where we still stumble and fall, I pray that we would be humble enough to turn to you and to confess those sins and to ask for assistance in becoming more like Jesus every day. Lord, I just want to pray for those who are affected by the fall in having to deal with this flood in Texas. Families, real families who lost Loved ones, some are still searching for loved ones, Lord. And I can't even imagine what that's like for a parent who sent their child to summer camp hoping that maybe they'd meet Jesus or have a wonderful time with their friends and grow in relationship with one another. And they don't even know where their child is today or they've been informed their child is dead. Lord, that's so heartbreaking. And I just pray your comfort would surround them, that your presence would be there and that the church of Jesus Christ would rise up and show the true love that's available in you to those who are hurting. May the church lead in this process of bringing help and healing to those affected. And for these young girls, Lord, who were suckered into this Epstein thing, we don't know all the details of how it happened or who was there and who did what. But one thing we do know is that young girls were sexually abused. I pray for supernatural healing for them. And I want to remember them, Lord, and know that a crime was committed against them. And you were aware of it. You were aware of it. And you're the God who makes all things right. So we pray for truth to emerge and for your comfort and peace to rest on every one of these girls whose lives have been so clearly affected by this. Lord, we don't want to leave them out of the equation. So minister your grace, your love, your comfort in Jesus name. Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Appreciate that, Neil. And yeah, and I want to make sure I'm clear on this, that, you know, Neil, to your point, yes, there were victims in this particular case, and it would be great to bring those particular individuals to justice. Although I think that it's really important for folks to remember that where these things happened was not on U.S. soil. So, and I could be wrong in that, but to my knowledge, this would be more of a out-of-the-country situation, Neal, meaning that, you know, what people might think should happen, it may be a totally different situation given where these actual events took place because they weren't here before. on U.S. soil. Now, with all that being said, was there a list? Wasn't there a list? I don't know. I do know that I had some folks that called into the program yesterday, Neil, that are becoming, quote-unquote, disenfranchised with Trump and disappointed in the MAGA movement and all of this. And the one thing that I did say to this particular caller, and I'll say it again, is If you're putting all of your faith and what you're relying on in the future of not only yourself but this country into a movement or a man, shame on you. The reality is there is a whole lot more going on in the world than just what's happening with a movement politically speaking. And if that's what you're basing your entire existence on and whether you're going to support somebody or not, Neil, I'm sorry to say, but I feel sorry for you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and these things matter, and in some sense they're important, and maybe even very important. But Jesus said right before he ascended to heaven, go and make disciples of all nations. And that's the mandate he gave to those of us who know and love Jesus Christ, is to make other followers of Jesus and teach them to obey all the things that Christ commanded. That's our foremost priority, and if we're spending all of our time complaining about what is or isn't happening with the Trump administration, I think we're misguided on that, John.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I agree with you on that wholeheartedly. And that's my point with all of this Epstein thing is, number one, if you're somebody out there hoping for a list to be released, and you can keep hoping, that's all fine and dandy. I don't think it's going to be at this point. Was there a list? Wasn't there a list? I do think some of those things, as time goes by, Neil. will come out. And again, I've kind of stated my position on this throughout the podcast. I questioned whether there was a list even early on knowing how things leak. My engineer, Charlie Grimes, has a great saying, Neil. Two words, people talk. In other words, very few things are ever kept secret. I don't care what kind of an organization you're in. I don't care if you're in government. Yes, I get it. There might be some high security folk that don't let things out when it comes to certain things that we do, i.e., you know, our nuclear weapons and so on. But, you know, when it comes to things like this, Neil, people talk and people know that if they can get their name out in a headline, whether it's a tabloid or whatever, and they can do that because of releasing something out, you know, being that mole, if you would, that's exactly what they're going to do. So I still keep coming back to the fact that nothing has ever been leaked up to this point, meaning I am one, and I'll stand by this, I just don't think there's a list.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, my mom used to say, be sure your sin will find you out. I know that's true in my life. I got caught doing everything I was trying to get away with. And we need to pray that the truth would emerge. And I think relax until it does. We don't need to be stressing out that God will reveal the truth. And let me tell you something else that's true real quick. And that is that if an opera singer hits a particular note with the right resonance and sustains that note, She or he can pop a champagne glass. Why? Because sound waves have power. Well, guess what? Light waves have power as well and can be used to energize the cells in our body to help heal our body, reduce pain and swelling and promote healing. And it all happens as a result of the very light God himself created. This isn't big pharma. It's not some huge medical organization. It's a gentleman named Tom Kerber of Kerber USA and Kerber Applied Research, who's helped develop a product called SunPower LED. It provides photobiomodulation or light therapy to get into the cells and energize the cells to heal our bodies. And the results have been astounding. people experiencing deliverance from tinnitus and arthritis pain and migraines and epilepsy and all kinds of things. Check it out for yourself at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And by the way, he's offering a special for anybody that listens to the roundtable here. Use the promo code Roundtable10, just one zero, Roundtable10. You'll get 10% off any purchase from SunPowerLED by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, which is also where you'll find our sponsor, Preborn.
SPEAKER 02 :
And by the way, with that 10% discount, take that money that you're saving off of that unit you may buy and donate that to Preborn. You can do that by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And no, that's not a joke, folks. Literally, whatever you can do to donate and help Preborn out, we would encourage you to do so. They are saving babies' lives on a daily basis. They do that by showing ultrasound images to the moms. You hear Bob talk about it a ton, but the reality is they're changing lives as we speak. Not only the life of the baby that's inside of the womb, but the lives, plural, of those that are on the outside of the womb. The mom, the dad, the grandpa, the grandma, the aunts and the uncles and the cousins. And I can go down the list of all the people that are involved in this when we actually see a baby come to full term and be delivered. So folks, give to... Give to Preborn today. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And I say this all the time. Put your money where your mouth is as a conservative. And frankly, worry more about what's going on at Preborn than what's going on with an Epstein list. And I'll leave it at that. Neil, I appreciate you greatly. Meet Neil Boron, Buffalo, New York. Neil Boron Live. I've been your host today, John Rush, Denver, Colorado. My show, of course, is Rush to Reason in Denver. You can find all of us, Bob Duco included. Again, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. But this has been another episode of the National Crawford Roundtable.
SPEAKER 01 :
You've been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of today's culture through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group stations website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
In this episode, Angie Austin hosts a packed dialogue full of varied and vibrant conversations. Discover the reality behind Disney World's pricing strategies and whether the magic still lives up to the hype. Then, expand your knowledge on family vehicles with Kelley Blue Book's expert Brian Moody who explains what makes some SUVs and minivans stand out. Finally, explore historical and cultural insights with Dr. Cheryl Lentz as they dive into the book, The Greek Way, uncovering how ancient philosophies influence modern perspectives.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here's Angie.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin and Dr. Cheryl Lentz, the academic entrepreneur. About a 10-year radio friendship going here, and we chit-chat a little off the air. We text a lot, and like many of my good friends on the radio, we've never met in person, but, you know, we're friends, and I just love our conversations. Welcome, Dr. Cheryl Lentz, academic entrepreneur.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, it's always so cool. I can't believe it's been 10 years that we have never met. It's just like, oh, my gosh. We're going to have to
SPEAKER 01 :
correct that yes we tried and you know um and i couldn't make it work with cousin gracie so yes for the doggies and i i can totally relate because right now i've got five and my mom actually came for fall break is that right no was it spring she's been here now six months october november december yeah a little bit over she came for fall break to help me with the pets and and she hasn't gone home yet yes because we've had i've got five trips in july literally back to back and so um as all we're gonna run some best ofs this month and i'll be joining people from on the road it's oregon cincinnati so portland oregon cincinnati orlando florida uh kansas iowa near des moines kansas near kansas city and then we're seeing five colleges on that trip you know up to iowa and visiting so that'll be you know quite an excursion and then there's somewhere oh Greeley I laugh because you know Greeley is where my dad grew up and I always remember the aroma because it is known for you know the cows and so along with the cattle goes the smell so anyway I yeah so all of those trips and it was 10 days in Florida but that that part's over and I want to say just as an aside I know you're probably not like a Disney gal but we've always been Disney people are you Okay, I just wrote a review and it was only one star this time because they've added on all these extra fees. So I figured out it came to about $3,000 for three of us for four days.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's not... You just want to visit the park, not own it.
SPEAKER 01 :
And that's not the hotel, so throw in maybe another three. That's not the flights because we had to get down there for something else, for tournaments.
SPEAKER 03 :
So it's like $5,000 to go see Disney for four days?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, six, seven, eight... I'd say if we put everything in there for the tournaments and everything, and I'm just trying to show you how outrageous it is, let's say 10, okay? But we weren't going for Disney. Now, if we were going for Disney and we went for 10 days, it'd be probably a little bit more than that because I only went four days, and it was $3,000 for tickets, single-lane lightning passes, and genie passes. So they've added those on. So that added $150 a day for the lightning passes and the genie passes. So that's an extra.
SPEAKER 03 :
What do they do?
SPEAKER 01 :
Okay, so that's an extra $600 over your tickets, and your tickets are $1,500, right? At least. So then you add the extra $600, so you're over $2,000 for three people for four days. That's just tickets. Okay, the single lane lightning pass is this new scam they have where if you really want to get on the best ride. They have kind of like a lottery for it. They call it a virtual queue, and if you don't make it, they offer you the option to pay for it. And I went on this one called Tron, and it was only about a minute long, but I have to admit, it was amazing. It's like you're on a motorcycle, and it's like Space Mountain on a motorcycle, but faster and newer and smoother. So it was amazing, but that was approximately $25 a piece just to get that pass above and beyond your ticket. And then you could do just only one or two virtual like lanes per park. I think I did one a park where I'm sorry, the individual lightning lane that was an extra 25 per person. So 75 bucks extra for the day. Then the genie pass that is the old fast pass that used to be free. The genie pass is another 25 per person a day. So then that's together. Those two things are an extra 150 above your Disney ticket so that you don't have to wait in line. Well, If it's 93 degrees and the feel like temperature with humidity is 100, I'm not waiting an hour, two hours, whatever, for some one minute long roller coaster. But what I found, Cheryl, that I found extremely disappointing is after all that money, we still couldn't get on certain rides. It said that those fast passes, those genie passes, it's very confusing now. were no longer available. That means other people, like if you stay in the hotels, you get first pick on these things, right? So you get to log in earlier than I do because I'm staying in a different hotel at the volleyball tournament. So then when I log in, some of these rides were like within moments, they were already filled and you couldn't even get on them. So I'm like, well, then what am I spending the extra money for a genie pass for? To get on some crummy ride that no one wants to. Okay. So I got to get on, um, It's a small world where I would have waited 10 minutes, but instead I got in right away and only waited like five minutes. Okay, is that worth me spending all that extra money? Then the crummy rides are left over that you can do the genie pass or what I used to always call the fast pass for. So if you don't want to wait, after maybe an hour of being at the park, a lot of the good rides are gone and all you have are these crummy rides you'd hardly have to wait for anyway. So it was a lot of money for... A very hot, sweaty experience. And I could not believe how many elderly people were walking around in this heat. How many like really out of shape people, if you know what I mean, walking around in this heat. I was dying and we were walking about 16,000 steps a day, which is maybe eight miles, which usually we do even more at Disneyland. So what's my point? My point is the payoff just wasn't there this time for me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow, and that's sad because obviously Disney's the happiest place on Earth. Apparently not so happy this time.
SPEAKER 01 :
It was my happy place. That's why I'm kind of bummed. But I still have to admit, I'm still a fan of Disneyland. And here's why. Because they're so close. It's super convenient to park hop and just to walk back and forth. Way more convenient than Disney World. I always liked Disney World better before because Disney World has the four worlds. And I'm like, ooh, so cool. The four worlds. Love that. But with that said... Um, it's really hard to park hop. So I, I'm, I'm just sticking with Disneyland and the weather's better at Disneyland, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. You are a Disney connoisseur. I've been to Disney Tokyo. Let me tell you, it was the funniest thing I've ever been through years ago. And your favorite Disney stuff. in Japanese.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's like, you know, funny. I don't remember those lyrics that way, you know?
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh my gosh. That is so funny.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And I, a friend of mine just got back from Disney Paris. And she said the weather was so crappy that it was hard to really evaluate it because they were so darn cold the whole time and rainy and wet and all the rest of it that they're like, yeah, not the ideal time to see Paris Disney.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, my goodness. That is so crazy. Yeah, I would still – I would still – do Paris Disney or Paris Tokyo I would still give it another shot but yeah I'm done with Disney World for a while okay all right so let's um start our topic and we may continue it in the next segment because I've got uh someone coming up that's going to give us advice uh an automotive reporter on the best family car to get which you know I'm always in the market for that so what's our topic today
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we had this part of a, you know, I like to read and we do a lot of book reviews on this. And there's a classic apparently book from the 1930s and I'm halfway through and I'm fascinated. You know, it's the more that we are aware of history, the more doomed we are to repeat it. And I'm always amazed at how much all of the answers we seek are in history. We just don't take the time to look. So I'm reading a book called The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton. It's from the 1930s. They did this, again, reprinting in the 1960s. But I read some of this stuff, and I was amazed because they're talking about the cultural differences between the Greeks and the Egyptians. And it is just amazing to see calling the Greeks the foundational, you know –
SPEAKER 01 :
ambassadors of all right hold that hold that thought uh brian just uh joined us so um so we're going to change gears here and then i'll have you in the next segment okay okay Well, if you're just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the good news. Brian Moody is joining us now, and Brian is an executive editor for Kelley Blue Book. He's been an automotive journalist for 20 years, and today he is talking to us about which vehicles are fit for your family. Welcome, Brian.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 01 :
You're welcome. All right, so let's just start with the most important features to consider when you're choosing a family car.
SPEAKER 02 :
When it comes to family cars, the seating capacity is probably the first thing you're going to look at. Unlike other cars that are less utilitarian, so say like a truck, you want the hauling capacity. For a sports car, you probably don't care that it only has two seats. But for a family car, you want seating capacity, and then after that, probably safety features and crash test scores.
SPEAKER 01 :
All right. Sounds good. Yeah, that's kind of what I look for. But and then it's like weird because we've got a couple of SUVs and then I was getting an electric car and I looked at one for seven. But then I was like, well, I do have those other SUVs that seat eight. So, you know, maybe I can go with a smaller one for this one. So you have to like. But I agree with you on the safety features. That's really way up there. Let's talk about the top vehicles, in your opinion, or listed as this year's best family cars.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right, so we factored into a lot of things such as safety, as we said, but also roominess and just functionality, but also resale value because resale value is important. That's real money that's going to go into or out of your pocket when you go to sell the car in five, six, seven years. So a high resale value car is more likely to make it onto our list because at the end of your ownership, even if the purchase price up front was more expensive... it's going to put more money back in your pocket. And this could be thousands of dollars. So that's why we have cars like the Honda CR-V, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Subaru Outback for two-row SUVs. We've found that those do all of those things well. One of the questions people are always going to have to ask themselves when buying a family car is two-row or three-row? Do I need a three-row SUV? Because they're typically more expensive than bigger cars and usually use more gas. So asking yourself that question, two-row or three-row, there's some good two-rows. We just mentioned the Subaru Outback and Honda CR-V. But if you need a three-row, there's a lot of choices when it comes to three-row. That's what most people think of as a midsize SUV, like the Toyota Highlander or the Honda Pilot. There's even big ones, like full-size SUVs, like the Ford Expedition, the big truck-based, fairly pricey, can tow quite a big load. For some people, that's what they need. So there's a variety of things. And then once you get to three row, the next question is going to be minivan or SUV. Most people say SUV, but I think minivans are actually kind of awesome.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, they're so handy. It's like when we travel, I want one of those because it reduces the fight factor because you can give them different rows.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. Yeah. I don't know if anybody has had this experience, but even when you have a three row SUV and say you only have like two or three kids, one kid, almost always immediately heads for the very back row. They don't wanna be left alone. I mean, that's part of the luxury of having a car that big. And then when you do need to have eight people, it can accommodate that too.
SPEAKER 01 :
So what's your favorite? If you had to pick one or two, what would yours be?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, Kia Telluride, easy.
SPEAKER 01 :
The Kia Telluride?
SPEAKER 02 :
That's just a car that like, it just looks cool. The interior seems like it's engineered to a higher degree than others. I would say a close second is the Toyota Highlander. They're both very, very good. There's something about the driving dynamics and the look of the Kia that I really find myself always going back to wanting to rent one, wanting to borrow one. Whenever it's at an auto show, I'm like, oh, I'm going to go sit in that one. There's just something about it that I just – I don't know. I can't explain it exactly, but I think it's probably – One of the best ones on the list.
SPEAKER 01 :
I like that Highlander, too. I think that's similar, too. We've got a couple of those big Lexus GX, you know, SUVs and sounded great when we needed to tow our Jeep. And now that our teenagers are driving them, I added up the gas for last month and it was $800 for the two Lexus that the two of the teenagers drive. And we've got a third that's got a permit right now. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, we thought it was a great idea like 20 years ago, but now... Not such a great idea. All right, Brian, where do people go for more info?
SPEAKER 02 :
For more information, you can go to kbb.com. That's Kelley Blue Book's website where you can find pricing and values. But for the information on what we were just talking about specifically, go to kbb.com slash awards, and you can see the list of cars right there at the top of the page.
SPEAKER 01 :
Excellent. Thanks, Brian. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. You too.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
Edgewater is tuned to the mighty 670 KLT. Hey there friend, Angie Austin and Dr. Cheryl Lentz, the academic entrepreneur, my radio friend. All right, reintroduce this book we're going to talk about.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's called The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton. It's from the 1930s, reprinted again in the 19, I think it was 64, 83, and again in 93. And it is just an amazing cultural affirmation, if you will, of the contributions the Greek and the Egyptians made. And one of them a very positive and the other one very negative. And I thought it was fascinating to look at our past which seems to be very indicative of the future and here's what i've learned so far i'm about halfway through the book is how much the greeks were the positive the uplifting the everything's coming up roses and optimism in their deal and how long they their lives lived better they had more joyables everything was about how almost like the millennial if i'm not enjoying it why am i doing it kind of philosophy mm-hmm where the Egyptians were always about everything in the afterlife, nothing in this life. And so they didn't care about the suffering here. That's why all the Egyptians and the pyramids was all about, let's make sure that our next life is going to be fantastic. So we're going to have all the gold and all our kids and all our stuff, but they didn't know how to enjoy the present moment. And so I think it's interesting that the Egyptians were stuck in the past and the future, meaning they weren't living in the presence and the Greek were all about living in the present and, and having, and how much different that,
SPEAKER 01 :
just orientation is i find it fascinating all right so i was just talking to our buddy um jim stovall and it was about rear view mirrors and and uh the and windshields and how the windshields be because you're supposed to look forward and the rear view mirror in life too is small because you're not supposed to spend your time looking backwards you're supposed to glance here and there and
SPEAKER 03 :
That's really good. I like that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. And that, that glancing back is to learn a lesson or maybe to enjoy a memory, but it's not to dwell on failures or to dwell on negativity or how you were wronged, et cetera. That, you know, that a lot of us don't spend a lot of time in the present. Is that kind of the gist of it? Like explain what you learned.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I've never, I mean, all the history I've taught and all the history I've taken is I never heard that orientation being the focus of the lessons of thinking of a, well, the Greeks lived in the present and it was all about joy and happiness. And isn't that amazing? Because that which you are seeking is seeking you versus the Egyptians who were so in poverty. And so everything was bad and it wasn't a good time then. And everything was about death and dying and preparing for the next life as if this life was intended to be punishment. And they both lived in, At different times with different philosophies with very different ends.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm like, wow. Well, what did you personally, how was it making you personally look at your life?
SPEAKER 03 :
I knew a lot. I had spent a lot of time looking back because one of my favorite times was in college. And, you know, particularly when you've been divorced and you looked at it. So I think a lot of us, the older we get. We look at what we perceive to be, hint, hint, hint, some of the best times in our life. And I wouldn't doubt that my junior and senior year in college at the University of Illinois was the best. Oh, my gosh, would do it again in a heartbeat. Some of the other stuff, life happens. But it's all about perspective. And it's all about how I viewed it. So I could tell you all the good things that happened. I could tell you all the really awesome things happened. Or I could tell you about all the bad stuff that happened. But it's amazing how I choose to remember it is all the parties and the fun tarts and the trips and the sorority girl and all of that stuff. And all the other stuff happened too. So it's not that I'm not remembering it, but I choose to focus on all the good stuff. So isn't it amazing? You and I have talked about this before. How many people live in their life? Nine out of 10 things go right, but we focus on the one out of 10. And it's all a matter of same stuff happens, same history happened, but how we choose to focus and retell it. Isn't that amazing? So do you glass half empty, glass half full, or do you fill the glass? Interesting.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, I'm getting to that point where, you know, you and I have talked about, you know, like pets, how important they are to us. I've got my kids. You've had your – I really enjoyed having – foreign exchange students, that's been a highlight for you. The divorce, of course, puts a shadow over a certain part of your life. And then college, like you said, the really fun part. College for me, I worked full time and went to school full time. So it's kind of a blur to me because I was so overly busy. And so focused and driven in my 20s to everybody I run into from my teens and 20s is like, you were the hardest worker I've ever met. And I don't feel that way at all anymore. But apparently I was. And I do see where they're coming from because so many people have just been like, I never met anybody that worked as hard as you did. And it was amazing. And they'll tell my kids that. And my kids are like, wow, she only works part time now. But I mean, it was until probably 35, maybe even 40, like over the top seven days a week. I'd do two jobs at a time. I'd go to school and work full time, go to school, college full time, got great grades. I mean, I just worked my tail off. But I would say that the time that I know that I'm probably going to miss is like with my kids because I don't even want to go on a vacation without them. And now I'm planning fall break for next year. And my son's fall break won't coincide with ours because he's in college now. And so just looking at like that cruise we took a while back, that was the one where I kind of knew that that might be our last big family, like hurrah for spring break where we were all together. And yes, I know we'll have more and maybe even with grandkids and kids and all that, but it was the last one where they were all at home and together. And so as I'm going through memories now, like it just popped up the records that my kids set at the pool. Cause my daughter, um, uh is uh in the championships this summer one of them all three of them used to swim and their records are still up on the board from 2016 and she sent me screenshots you know at the pool where she is with the records listed and it's just so cool but i don't know just the memories of all of that how things have changed and the other three boys on that um record-breaking um relay team they were going to college on swim scholarships and my son was the best of them at the time And he decided to stop swimming. And, you know, just bittersweet memories where you're like, oh, he could be going to, you know, school. And he was phenomenal. But the weirdest thing happened, Cheryl, is like they kept growing. And he hit that little like now he's 6'3". So he's taller than all of them. But they grew and he was super tiny. Well, when you're tall and swimming, like some of his friends started beating him. And he said he started getting bored by swimming. And that might have been part of it because it is kind of boring to swimming back and forth for two hours. But I think part of it was he'd always been the winner. And then he was coming in second and third. And that was a hard pill to swallow for him. But if he would have stuck it out, he would have reclaimed his one of the top spots, you know, because that height helps so much. And one of the boys is only 5'8". Now Riley's 6'3". Well, that gives him a tremendous advantage. But you have to kind of like swim through those awkward years or the stunted growth years or whatever. But anyway, what's my point? My point is, You and I have both have different highlights and I can see as I'm looking through memories because they pop up every day on my phone, which I super enjoy. Right. But there are, you know, things like when my Mr. Mr. Brains, my cat pops up or there's a sad moment. And I know you feel the same way about Gracie, where those members are going to pop up and it's going to take that scab off for a moment. But overall. So 99% of these memories are super pleasant for me, where I really enjoy them. But I'm coming to the realization that I am going to be going through that empty, nasty thing soon. And it is that whole thing people tell you that in a blink of an eye, these kids are grown, that the days are long, the years are short, that it goes by so quickly. And I don't want to be one of these people that just focuses on those years. I want to be able to really enjoy the next phase and what that will be. Am I going to be a volunteer? Am I going to work with animals? Am I going to work with people who are developmentally disabled? Like what brings me joy, you know?
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. And I'm doing some volunteer work and things in there. It's just the only thing constant in life is change. And you've got to either roll with it or you can Sit home. It's all a matter of life going to happen to you. Are you going to be a participant? And a lot of folks, that's the whole point of this book is two different cultures and very different philosophies and very different interpretations of joy and happiness and love. And it's all a matter of perspective as opposed to what happened. So I like that you choose to have a bit of more of a filter and intentional and purposeful of what you choose to remember and how you want to celebrate it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, and I know I've told you before that, and I'm sure everybody's sick of hearing about this, but my example of not doing it, the way that I don't want to do it is my mom, and I have to say she's gotten better because last time she lived with us, she's been with us about seven months now. And over my 20-year marriage, she's been with us a lot at that time. My husband teases her constantly. He'll be like, you mean you can't remember that, but you remember when you were three, when the blah, blah, blah happened? Because she has all these stories where she's mad about something from her childhood. And he's like, how can you not remember such and such from two years ago, but you remember this thing so vividly? But anyway, he's constantly teasing her. She'll start talking. He's like, oh, is this another story? Cheryl, are we in for another treat, another long story?
SPEAKER 03 :
But that's what's imprinted and important to her, and that perspective is often shaped by your parents. Look at how much you have shaped the children of being able to, all right, we're going to have a lesson. We're going to learn from it. We're not going to dwell on it. We're going to learn to live and learn to be social and learn to be grateful and learn to be good sportsmen. I mean, there's all kinds of lessons you choose to be able to focus their attention on in the present. where a lot of parents just don't even notice some of those things, you know, so I think that's amazing.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, we've, yeah, I told you when Riley was learning, and I've said this at least 10 times when he was learning vocabulary, he said, Oh, I know what a pessimist is. Grandma's a pessimist, and mom's an optimist. And of course, that made me happy that he saw me as an optimist. But I'm like, Oh, my gosh, they totally get it that my mom focuses on the negative. But that's just one little aside that I definitely know the kids.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a skill.
SPEAKER 01 :
And it
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a choice, but people don't see it as a choice. They just see that they've always been that way. They've always been wired that way.
SPEAKER 01 :
they choose to stay that way yeah I think we get in patterns right yeah we get in patterns where it's really hard to you know break out of those patterns per se so yeah it's um it's definitely interesting all right so in terms of what you're going to take forward from the book or you know how this has impacted you or what you want other people to learn from it let's go there it's
SPEAKER 03 :
really is how you choose to focus your lens as you're talking about is how you choose to recall which memories and what perspective of those memories, you know, we can look at the bad things, or we can look at the quote, unquote, bad things that weren't, maybe there were bad things at the time, because we didn't see how they shaped us. And they turned out to be good things, right? It's all a matter of perspective is I have students all the time that It may or may not be their favorite prof until about six months to 12 months later when they see the method of my wisdom that that impacts them. And now I become their favorite, but I wasn't their favorite at the time. It's all my teaching didn't change. They've already been graduated for six months to a year. And yet they're how they choose to remember we changed because of how their impact that I had going, wow, I really learned the most from her. So it's all a matter of. How you choose to think, because I guarantee you, while they were in my class, some of them, not their favorite.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, that's interesting. That's interesting. I love it that you realize that, that you're pretty tough, so you might not be the favorite, but that they might learn to love you in the future when they see how you positively impacted them.
SPEAKER 03 :
I just had a call yesterday from a student who's been gone quite some time. And he's like, Doc, see, I just got to tell you, you're one of the best profs I've ever had. I'm like, yeah, but you didn't think so at the time. He goes, no, I didn't. And I think I owe you an apology.
SPEAKER 01 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 03 :
But I get that along and it's all a matter of they're seeing the, you know, eight week course that we're doing. They're seeing the finite outcome, the grades, the impact. When they graduate, they see the bigger picture. They see particularly when I'm a doctoral mentor. So part of the class is dovetails into how they earn their doctorate, whether with me or anyone else. And then they see going, oh, so that's what you, oh, isn't that the, oh, isn't that, but they didn't see it at the time. So you can't see the forest for the trees. So that's the hard part is how do you, and now I even tell my students like, listen, I mean, you may not be my biggest fan right now. And I understand you're overwhelmed. You're really caught up on all the minutia and all the details and all the things you don't yet understand. I promise you in six months, your perspective is going to change because you will understand them. You will see the connection and you will see the wisdom of why I'm doing things the way I am. I just need you to hang with me long-term. They're like, all right, that works. And by changing that perspective a little bit, I'm helping to manage their expectations and shift their orientation. I don't want them to just focus on, oh, my God, she's just the worst ever. And we got to do this. And, you know, the whininess in there. I'm like. All right, that's true. But in the event you look at why am I doing this? Because you need this for your doctoral work. You need this for your publishing. You need this. And when they see that connection, they can say, oh, so it's not just you being a hard-ass, so to speak. It's you being purposeful and intentional and knowing the skills we need because you know where we need to be. I'm like, I've graduated over 110 grads. Not my first rodeo. I know what you need. The problem is you can't know what you need, much like a child. You're teaching them life lessons that they might not understand until they're 30, but you're teaching them when they're 70. And they're going to be like, oh, mom. Right. And then all of a sudden they're 35. Like, mom, that was pretty good stuff. I remember when I was a kid. Thank you. And it's gratitude in the rear view mirror.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, I love that. We're out of time. Gratitude in the rear view mirror. Dr. Cheryl Lentz dot com. Thank you, friend.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for listening to the good news with Angie Austin on AM 670 KLTT.
In a vibrant midweek update, Bill Gunderson and guest Jeff Webster cover the major shifts and trends currently influencing the market. They analyze the impact of Nvidia’s climb, the potential for uncharted territories in AI, and the rollout of significant industry reshoring strategies under the Trump tariffs. Engage with Gunderson’s take on the intricacies of oil stocks, the evolving real estate landscape, and hot IPO ventures as he unpacks what every investor needs to know to stay ahead in 2025.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome to the Wednesday, the midweek optimistic edition. It's looking like we've got a little rally going on. Optimistic edition of the Best Stocks Now show on this Wednesday, July the 9th. This is Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Jeff Webster today, again, filling in for Barry, who will be back, I think, tomorrow. Jeff is our VP today. And we have a little bit of a rally going on here this morning with the Dow up 218 points. That puts it at 44,459. Those are some pretty darn lofty numbers. The NASDAQ is up 1% right now. It's up 209 points. Nvidia crashes through $4 trillion to infinity and beyond. The NASDAQ is at 20,627 right now. The S&P 500 is up 33, which works out to about a half a percent. It's at 62.50, at or near its high for the year. Meanwhile, the small cap stocks, Russell 2000, It's up 80 basis points right now. Still a laggard asset class here in 2025. The 10-year is down a little bit. We're at 4.38%. Gold is down again 0.5%. And oil is showing a little bit of life here. It's up 0.5%. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management, a nationwide fee-based only firm, and in our 25th year here on the Airwaves podcast. Here's the headline, though, for me. NVIDIA, it is still by far our largest holding. Look at that chart, would you? And it's fallen back just a little bit, but it is up $3.64 to $1.6362. That's an all-time high on NVIDIA. And just a few moments ago, it was above $4 trillion. That's the first time a U.S. publicly traded company has reached $4 trillion in market capitalization. And it is... How many articles have I written about Nvidia in Seeking Alpha calling it the best stock in the market today? I've been writing about that for a long time. You can go back and look at my articles. And not only do I write about it, I eat my own cooking, Jeff. It also happens to be and has been for quite some time our largest position by far as they continue to change the world.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, when it relates to AI... We've got to calculate, though, with it, Bill, using a spreadsheet, because our calculators don't have enough zeros to...
SPEAKER 03 :
figure out that market capitalization four trillion four trill can you believe that trill it's unbelievable i mean back in the day i mean i wonder what the high that ibm ever reached or uh you know others but now we're talking now we're throwing around trillions okay with they could almost wipe out the the u.s debt not quite but uh Take out a big chunk of it. Well, we had another soft day yesterday. The market meandered a lot, you know, as different news is coming out of Japan, South Korea, Europe, Canada, Mexico, all over the place. But by the end of the day, we really hadn't made much progress. The one group that stood out to me as I looked at hundreds of charts yesterday during the day, the oil stocks are showing some signs of life. You can look at Chevron, CVX, as a good example of a pretty bold move in a pretty out-of-favor sector. It's been out of favor for quite some time. The question is, is it sustainable? You know, oil's in the high 60s. Apparently demand is increasing. And it does look like supply, especially output and production, has kind of been lowered to meet the demand level. So that could put some upward pressure, continue to put some upward pressure on the oil markets. But I don't know. It's hard. Oil is a very difficult commodity to predict. And the oil stocks themselves, I think you've got to look for a little bit of momentum. I did see some yesterday that caught my eye. I wrote down a few. But overall, you know, it's been a very poor performing sector. And, you know, I've been sucked into it before. You know, the greed factor. Oh, boy, maybe oil is going to make a big run here. You know, it's nothing like, you know, the last, Jeff, I've got to go back. The last big 2011, 2012, 2013 as the Bakken. came alive. That was the shale formation up there in North Dakota area. Fargo, North Dakota was all of a sudden the center of the world as it related to oil. People leaving their day jobs to go work the rigs up in Fargo. And companies like Continental Energy with Howard Hamm, who I had on my show, And other of these Williston Basin plays just exploded to the upside. And, you know, that was the AI of that time. I mean, as far as where the momentum in the market was is America. had unleashed a whole new supply through technology that we were able to get through by drilling horizontally through the shale formations. And boom times were on. And, you know, oil got up over $100 a barrel at one time. But it's had its struggles. It's had its ups and downs recently. I don't think we're doing away with oil anytime soon. It's still a needed thing. But as far as investing in it, it's been a challenging sector to invest in. Okay, the Trump tariff triad, triad, triad, however you pronounce it, he's looking at three things, and we know this. And I'm the guy that wrote the article at the bottom of the market that said, I think the tariffs are going to work. You know, when I watched the Besson interview, I said, you know, this makes a whole heck of a lot of sense. Number one, reshore American manufacturing. You be the judge, Jeff. Do you think that we've seen more announcements of factories, of production, and different things coming back to America here this year than we have in the past?
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, we're seeing that in the jobs market. You know, organizations are expanding. They're doing it in middle America and giving great opportunities for people to be able to provide for their families, but also to provide significant stimulation to our economy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and I think areas like Austin, Texas, and we're bringing a lot of auto manufacturing. One of the hot spots in the country is Charlotte, North Carolina. They're in the news every day about some company moving there. I saw that Toll Brothers is going to build huge apartment communities there. I don't know where Graystar is. That's our apartment builder here in Charleston. But Toll's going to build massive apartment communities in North Carolina. The auto industry, you know, it's not Detroit. We're going to Motown August 3rd and 4th, but it has spread out to Alabama. To Tennessee, South Carolina is now a big maker of automobiles. But I think even more than that, high-tech, the chips, going to Austin, Texas, and other companies. Number two, okay, protect U.S. industries. You know, they're a little bit reluctant to dump cheap steel on the market to hurt our steel industry. I know he's putting heavy tariffs on copper or threatening to, trying to protect some of these U.S. industries. And, of course, the third leg of it is a source of government revenue. And I read that so far we've taken in $100 billion in tariff revenue thus far this year, probably mostly from China. But by the year end, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said we could reach $300 billion this year. in tariff revenue. And, of course, that was not scored into the CBO tariff income, you know, the big, beautiful bill. But that could amount to $3 trillion over the next 10 years in tariff income. All right. This is the Best Docs Now show. We shall be right back. And welcome back here to the second quarter of the Best Docs Now show. I'm just looking at the copper ETF here, CPER. And it had a huge day yesterday in hitting a new all-time high, copper. Copper is not cheap, Jeff. My own little story on copper is from my house to the end of my dock is a little bit of a length to carry electricity to. And the longer the wire, the more voltage that you lose. So I had a guy come look at it, an electrician. And he says, oh, we've got to run all new line from your house out to your dock. And he gave me a price, Jeff, and it took my breath away. I said, what? You've got to be kidding me. He says, you know, 70% of that price is the cost of the copper involved here. He says copper is very expensive. Well, yeah, it is. And, of course, Trump is looking to bring copper production home to America. That's another one that he wants to protect. and threatening to put a 50% tariff on that. U.S. energy demand will reach a record year both this year and next. Does it seem like not a day goes by that we don't have another story about the energy sector? It just almost seems inevitable that we're going to hit crunch. We're going to hit some critical levels of energy needs, U.S. energy demand. We're not going to be able to meet it because it takes time. It takes time to add more capacity to the system. And, of course, you know, look, for better or for worse, the Biden administration was going down the renewable solar and wind path. Although towards the end of his administration, he started to warm up to nuclear. But, you know, I mean, kind of a little too late. Trump's all in on nuclear and not so hot on wind and solar. But it seems to me like that's going to be an investable theme for quite some time. And, you know, we're talking the GE Vernovas of the world, and we're talking Vistra, we're talking Constellation Energy and Cameco and all of these various companies that are going to help meet that demand going forward. And, of course, the oil stocks, the coal stocks, they all play a role here. Here's some good news. Mortgage applications soar. Now, I don't know what soar means, maybe on a relative basis, but I don't know. I haven't really talked. Maybe you have, Jeff. Have you talked to a mortgage person recently? I mean, last time I talked to a mortgage person, it was like a depression. A depression in their industry, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, yeah. I mean, we have a mutual friend that's in that business, and a lot of what they've done, they've pivoted to HELOCs and things like that. But I think people are realizing that, you know what, they've been sitting around waiting for adjustments to occur to purchase their homes and to – enter into a mortgage agreement. And I think they're just realizing that, you know what, we've just got to bite the bullet and we need to provide a place to live for our family. And we'll jump in at, you know, in the high sixes right now and hope that things adjust and we'll refinance here in a couple of years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I mean, you and I grew up in the high sixes and the mid sixes. That was the long-term average, you know. And, you know, to get a mortgage at 2% or 3% was unheard of there. And God bless you if you've got one down there. I mean, most of us do have a very low mortgage. But you're right. I think people are starting to just accept the fact that, you know what, I'm seeing a lot more inventory come online, especially in our neighborhood. I mean, this is just one small microcosm of the U.S. economy. But I am seeing a lot more for sale signs than I used to. However, having said that, I don't see those for sale signs leaving. They've been around for quite some time. I don't know the inventory.
SPEAKER 04 :
I've heard that the supply is outpacing demand right now, at least here in Charleston. Yeah. But hopefully, you know, if people are starting, if mortgage rates drop, you know, people start accepting them, you know, maybe that will adjust and,
SPEAKER 03 :
We'll see what happens. Well, yesterday was the first day of Amazon Prime. It seems to me like every day is Amazon Prime Day. But anyways, retail sales shine. Okay, we've got to check in on Amazon stock. It's not a $4 trillion stock. No, no, no. I mean, NVIDIA swamps Amazon in size. It's paltry. Amazon's only $2.3 trillion. Well, NVIDIA is $4 trillion. Almost unimaginable when you think of how big Amazon is and the reach that they have. It is up 1.7% today. Oh, by the way, we know who 666 is. Did you read that today? It's just interesting enough. Jeff Bezos is selling stock, $666 million. I don't know if he's doing... Remember when the Beatles were planting... clues and stuff about Paul being dead and all of this. Of course, I grew up during that era. But 666, Bezos. I don't know why he chose that number, which obviously is a famous number from Chapter 13, I think, of Revelations. Crude oil edges higher as the EIA trims its 2025 U.S. oil production forecast. Okay, that's the key. The supply is not going to just, you know, expand exponentially. It's going to be really about production, how much production there is in oil. And just looking at a chart of Chevron today, which, you know, it's just hard to buy into the oil sector. I look at Chevron 10 years ago. The stock is about where it is today. And it's a difficult, and for that reason, being a growth investor. Now, there was a time, like I say, during the Bakken boom and the shale horizontal drilling boom, those were great momentum stocks. Those were great growth stocks. Continental Resources, there was a famous picture, Harold Hamm, who was right in the middle of it in Oklahoma with Continental Resources. He got a divorce from his wife, and there was a picture of him writing a $1 billion check. I don't know if there's enough room on the check there to put all those zeros, but he became a billionaire through that. And I knew people. I had friends that actually went to the Williston Basin and worked there for a while. Department of Justice questions former UnitedHealth staff. Of course, there's an investigation going on there on that troubled company on their Medicare billing practices. Maybe there will be some whistleblowers that dig up some things. And we're getting close to at least a preliminary report on that crash of that Boeing jet in India, which we've almost forgotten by now because of such a quick news cycle. But we had 241 people die. Imagine the one guy that walked away alive from that. I'll bet he counts his blessings every single day. Oh my gosh, but hopefully we'll find out what caused that horrible catastrophe. There's a big deal today involving Merlin. This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting-edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersonCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services... Call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show.
SPEAKER 07 :
Call out the instigator Because there's something in the air We've got to get together sooner or later.
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Stocks Now show. We've got a pretty good rally going on. The Dow's up a half a percent. You know, 200 points isn't what it used to be when you're dividing that into 44,459. It works out to a half a percent. But the NASDAQ 209 still is pretty much what it used to be. It's up 1%. The NASDAQ doesn't have quite the denominator that the Dow has. But at 20,627, it's a lot higher than I remember the days when it was under 2,000 back in the early 2000s. Detroit, August the 5th and 6th. More specifically, Bloomfield Hills. We're going back to that Kingsley Hotel. That is a beautiful place. Man, I enjoyed my time there. That's a Tuesday and Wednesday. We didn't do a workshop last time we were there, Jeff. This time we're going to do a workshop. I really enjoy getting in front of the folks and explaining a little bit of the background behind where I arrived at the workshop. Oh, the strategy that I have, my beliefs in the market, the different fundamentals and technicals that I focus in on, how I arrived at that, and how you can arrive at what I consider to be the best stocks in the market today. You know, a lot of these big blue chips, time has passed them by as far as growth goes, which doesn't make them very attractive from an investment point of view. So that will be the Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Kingsley in Bloomfield Hills. There will be a one-and-a-half hour. I found that it takes about one-and-a-half hours. to get through that little presentation. It's fast moving. It's packed. It's loaded. And then, of course, during the day on Tuesday, all day Tuesday, all day Wednesday, the whole team will be meeting with folks there privately discussing your situation and you determine for yourself whether or not we can help you. We determine whether we can help you or not also. And those appointments go fast. The seats to the workshop go fast. If you would like to reserve a spot, give Edie a call at 855-611-BEST, 855-611-BEST, which works out to 855-2378. Or you can go online to GundersenCapital.com and say you want to meet with us when we come to Detroit, Bloomfield Hills area, on August 5th, August 6th. That's a Tuesday and a Wednesday. Okay, the market is having a good day here so far. You know, one of our clients, I can't remember, or one of our listeners, tipped me off. I wouldn't call it a tip, but said, you know, you've got to keep an eye on this Verona Pharmaceutical. They've really got something with COPD. And, you know, I kept watching the stock hit a new high and hit a new high and hit a new high, and I watched it all right. I watched it go right on up, never bought any of it. Well, Merck stepped in today, which tells me a couple things. Merck just does not have a pipeline of their own, and they're having to go in and spend a heck of a lot of money, $10 billion to buy Verona. They're paying a big premium to where Verona is.
SPEAKER 04 :
There's a couple of things, Bill, that are interesting here. Keytruda generates $30 billion in revenue for Merck. And so they're very loaded on that. Recently, when I say recently, early last fall, there was a major study done, and Summit, you know, that's a position that we've owned off and on over the past year or so. They came out with their drug, which demonstrated 49% greater effectiveness in slowing the progression of lung cancers. And so I think this is probably a pretty smart move by Merrick to diversify a bit and Verona with some of the things that they're doing in the area of cystic fibrosis and Some of those other lung ailments, I think, will be a smart move for them. Okay, now here's the issue. We should be investing in.
SPEAKER 03 :
Here's the issue I have with Merck. Okay, the first place I look. Bill Gunderson, when the stock comes up in the news, the first place I look is the racing form. The racing form is the past performance, okay? When a player comes to bat in baseball, I look up at the scoreboard. And they don't show it like they used to. I want to know his batting average, how many RBIs he's driven in, how many home runs he's hit. When a pitcher comes in, I want to see his ERA, blah, blah, blah. Okay, the same with the stock. Had I invested in Merck 10 years ago, I've made a paltry 7% per year while the market alone is 20% per year, the S&P 500. Believe it or not, over the last 10 years, we've had a good 10-year period of time here. Okay, now, all right, let's give it a break. What about more recently, last five years? It's delivered to investors 4.8% per year. The market's up there at 19.6%. Once again, this is opposite alpha. I don't know what the opposite of alpha is. There must be a word for it. How do you say Z in Greek? Zeta. Zeta, isn't it? Zeta. Yeah. I took ancient Greek in college, but, you know, I don't remember. It's all ancient Greek. It's all Greek to me. Now, over the last 12 months, Merck is down 33%. This is a dog of a stock. But this is a perfect example of a stock that I see more often than not in portfolios that come from big wire house firms. And why? Oh, everybody's heard of Merck. It's in the Dow. I believe it's a member of the Dow. But the returns on Merck, and, you know, I don't believe that buying Verona Pharmaceutical is going to change that trajectory at Merck. It's just, you know, you compare it to Lilly or, you know, a few others, but really the large pharma has been pretty unproductive. Pfizer's been unproductive. Merck's been unproductive. Glaxo, Bristol-Myers, Johnson & Johnson. They've been very, very poor investments. So, anyways, that's what the racing form says here on Merck MRK. So, hey, I wish them good luck. I wish I owned Verona, actually, which is on the good side of that deal. Citigroup, we were just talking about North Carolina. They're going to add 510 jobs in Charlotte. You know, that's becoming a big financial center. Wells Fargo, many years ago, left San Francisco, moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course, you know, and I will say this, never fly into Charlotte unless you can help it. If you've got a connection to make, that Charlotte airport is so overwhelmed. or poorly managed, or both. I don't know what it is. But anyways, the financial sector in North Carolina is growing exponentially. Toll Brothers, again, like I said, this developing multifamily rental communities. You know, here's another issue that interest rates have changed, another dynamic. Look at the boom in apartments. Look in the boom of renters. I wonder if you look back 20 years ago what the percentage of people were that were renters versus owners of homes. I'll bet the percentage of renters has gone up considerably. And that's all I know. Gray Star Apartments here in South Carolina, headquartered in downtown Charleston, they sell they fill up they sell to what sovereign wealth funds they want to buy u s real estate and they want to own apartments and they put together packages we have a lot of friends mutual friends jeff uh... that uh... work there at gray star and that is just a booming part of the that that's picking up where the home buying has uh... really fallen off more more people becoming renters now here's one other factor Fair Isaac, FICO, is one of the great stocks of all time. You know, the infamous FICO score. Do you know that they're changing the rules? Fair Isaac got hit hard yesterday. Our Federal Housing Finance Agency Director is Bill Pulte, who I've got to believe is Pulte Holmes. He's going to allow Vantage Score, which is a – A conglomerate that's owned by Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, they're going to allow those scores now to compete with FICO. So fair eyes, I would say.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think that will help the first-time buyers and folks that will take a deeper look at rental history payments, utility payments, and things like that. So I think it will help. Exactly. facilitate those first-time buyers.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, when we come back, we've got some AI stocks, a couple of new ones here, in fact, to talk about. This is the Best Stocks Now show.
SPEAKER 06 :
Go where you want to go, do what you want to do with whoever you want. Go where you want to go, do what you want to do with whoever you want.
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. A couple of AI stories, which are probably the most exciting sector in the market today. And everything that AI is driving, it's a big piece behind the market hitting new all-time highs. Let's not forget NVIDIA is a member of the Dow. and a huge member of the NASDAQ, and it's throwing its weight around. Let's not forget that those indexes are market cap weighted. So it's a big player there in those indexes and a big part of the market hitting new highs. And then look at all that it has spawned around it. Jeff, in the way of Arista Networks, in the way of Taiwan Semiconductor, in the way of the designer Synopsys and Cadence Systems, in the way of the data center, the nuclear, everything surrounding. A.I. is really, really helping to drive the market to new all-time highs. And why people sit there and they're invested in Merck. You see, I don't know. Does that just sound logical? Some things are just logical. You've got a sector. Now, I'm not saying that your whole portfolio should. Your portfolio, if you're looking for growth, should be invested in growth stocks. If you're going to be invested in stodgy old growth giants yesterday that aren't growing, how do you expect your portfolio to grow? You have put a massive handicap. You've handcuffed your portfolio not being able to grow. And if you look at the growth sectors in the market today, it doesn't take a... It doesn't take a quantum physicist to figure out where the growth is. And, of course, it changes. It moves around from time to time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Bill, did you see, as we talk about AI, did you see your buddy Zuckerberg invested $3.5 billion in Lexotica?
SPEAKER 03 :
I saw that. That's so weird.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well-known here in the U.S. Ray-Bans. That's weird. So smarts. Smart glasses, Bill. And the article said basically, you know, you're out on your boat. I'm out there on the pickleball court. Someone's out by their swimming pool. You know, they'll be able to get messages on their glasses. You know, they even mention stocks. I can get my best stocks returns while I'm out there, you know, playing pickleball with my friends. And very similar to smart watches, it looks like, where – It's like, okay, you've got an incoming call, an email, and Meta is investing in these guys to build out that type of a –
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, not only are you going to get the message, you're going to look good doing it in those designer glasses. Okay, Supermicro is the next one I want to talk about real quickly here. Supermicro is going to boost their investments in Europe as AI demand accelerates. And just look, I call it the mosquito fleet around the center of the nucleus. We used to, in San Diego, you'd have a famous, a well-known skipper find the tuna out there in the ocean, and all of a sudden the mosquito fleet would come, all the little guys like me, and gather around the big mothership. The big mothership in AI is NVIDIA. And all the others are the ancillary and feeding off of the big mothership. And they're catching fish and they're putting them on board as fast as they can. Super micro has been a little bit on the controversial side. I don't know that it was deserved. I think they never found anything about their accounting practices. And from a valuation point of view, the thing's trading at just 20 times forward earnings. But they're going to expand into Europe. That's my first AI play. The second one is one I'd never heard of before, and that's because it's a fairly recent IPO. Let's see if it's the new kid in town or not. I'm going to add it to the app after the show here because I just discovered it. It's called AELUMA, A-E-L-U-M-A. It's headquartered in Goleta. California. There is another famous publicly traded company there in a totally different industry. Decker's Outdoor that makes footwear. But Aluma is up there in Goleta. I've been through Goleta several times. It's a beautiful little spot just north of Santa Barbara there.
SPEAKER 04 :
What's their symbol on that, Bill?
SPEAKER 03 :
ALMU, A-L-M-U, A-L-M-U. It's a $269 million market cap. They have very little in the way of sales, but the reason it's hitting the news today, they secure new contracts from NASA and the U.S. Navy. Those are a couple good customers. To advance scalable... Quantum and Sensing Technologies. So that's definitely one that's going into the app and going into the watch list. It is up 8.8% today. ALUMA, A-L-M-U. You probably heard it first here on the Best Docs Now show. We'll finish with this one, one of your favorites, Quantum Scape. Had a big day yesterday, QS, in that, ooh, it's breaking out to new highs again today. QuantumScape sentiment swings positive. Investors continue to focus on recent technological breakthroughs and show renewed optimism about the company's future. Oh, this is the solid-state battery technology. It's not really quantum technology. It's not really a quantum stock. It's the solid-state battery, which is a totally different technology from lithium batteries. But anyways, QS has been pretty perky here recently. It's not an AI stock. I have that wrong.
SPEAKER 04 :
Do we put that in our data center watch list, Bill? It's definitely there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. It's definitely there. And then one last one I'm going to mention because it's really been perky here recently, SoFi. And I don't like the direction they're going with selling people private company, giving people private company exposure. You know what? On the risk scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest risk, buying into a private company is a 10. It's no question about it. It's very, very high risk. And it bothers me that Robinhood, not only are you not getting exposure, you're getting a token that represents the private company. This is not an area that I don't think that these financials should be going in this direction. But SoFi is getting in on the act. It's a hot area of the market, and SoFi's been a pretty hot stock here recently. They've got enough money to sponsor the Ram Stadium out there in Englewood. Okay, well, this has been fun. Detroit, August 5th and 6th. Reserve your spot now to the workshop and a one-hour private meeting with the team. 855-611-BEST. And to sample the Gundersen Buffet of live trades, if you're a do-it-yourselfer, and the app and the weekly Full Monty newsletter, 855-611-BEST or GundersonCapital.com. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 01 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIBC and FINRA.
Join Kim Monson and her guest Mary Jansen, a former Lakewood City Councilwoman, as they dissect the 'Big Beautiful Bill' and ongoing zoning changes in Lakewood. Learn about the intricacies of local governance, economic strategies, and the critical dialogue around maintaining individual freedoms in the face of increasing legislative pressures.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 05 :
The socialization of transportation, education, energy, housing, and water. What it means is that government controls it through rules and regulations.
SPEAKER 19 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 05 :
Under this guise of bipartisanship and nonpartisanship, it's actually tapping down the truth.
SPEAKER 19 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 05 :
On an equal field in the battle of ideas, mistruths and misconceptions is getting us into a world of hurt.
SPEAKER 19 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 05 :
Indeed. Let's have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasured. You're valued. You have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, Kim. And it is Wings Day at Hooters Restaurants. The girls are coming over tonight, so we will partake. You buy 20 wings, you get an additional 10 for free. That's for to-go or to dine in. And their locations are now going to be Westminster, the one on Parker Road, and the one in Loveland. And so be sure and check that out. And they've got great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour as well. Wanted to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. And I need to get Susan Harris on the show again. They've moved out of Colorado. They're in Arizona. And I saw that the mayor, excuse me, the governor in Arizona, Arizona delivers 169 vetoes. The headline was Governor Delivers Blow to GOP with 169 Vetoes. So we're going to have to get Susan Harris on the line to talk about that. But again, I thank them for their goal sponsorship of the show. Check out our website. The website is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Make sure that you are signed up for our weekly email newsletter that goes out on Sundays with our most recent essays and highlights our upcoming guests. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com. I am a little behind on those. I'm going to be working on catching up on those. Text line 720-605-0647. Thank you to all of you who support us. We are an independent voice on an independent station. Searching for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And it's not compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether it's their rights, their property, livelihood, freedom, opportunities, childhoods, or lives via force. And force can be a weapon. But it can be policy, unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation. That's a silent thief. The agenda by the World Economic Forum and globalist elites that's played out through the United Nations, we see it playing out in this Colorado State Legislature. And in some of these cities as well, with what's going on out in Lakewood, changing all of their zoning out there and pushed by this Colorado governor as well. And remember, if something's a good idea, you should not have to use force to implement it. On the show, we focus on the issues and we'll talk about the people that are around those issues. But we really are working diligently to stay out of the personality fighting that can certainly happen with human nature. It does. Yeah. Our word of the day is purveyance. It's P-U-R-V-E-Y-A-N-C-E. Eric always says, Kim, make sure that you remember to spell that word. And it is the art or process of providing or procuring. So providence, foresight, preparation, management. And so let's see. I think as we look into the future, We want to use purveyance as we prepare. I think that's actually a great segue to mention mint financial strategies because with a proper plan, purveyance, you can plan for your future. And you may have very big dreams for your future. We all should. But you're not quite sure how to get there? Well, call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. They know that your financial life is unique and is independent and an independent firm and accredited investment fiduciary. They build personalized strategies that put your freedom and goals first. No sales pressure, no one-size-fits-all approach, just thoughtful guidance built around you. So take that first step toward your future. Call Mint Financial Strategies at 303-285-3080. That's 303-285-3080. And you will have the purveyance for a successful, free economic strategies for your own home. How's that? I'm working on that. Our quote of the day, I went to Andrew Carnegie, and let's see here. He was born in 1835, died in 1919. He was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. He led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States, Great Britain, and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away around $350 million, which is equivalent to $10.9 billion in 2024, which was almost 90% of his fortune. Gave that to charities, foundations, and universities. He thought reading was really important. As a child, there was, I think it was an admiral. that each Saturday he had an extensive book collection. He would open up his home and let children come in and read his books. And that's how Andrew Carnegie really became, I think, successful is because he read so much. He thought it was important. So he funded libraries throughout the country. And in fact, in my little town in western Kansas, we had a Carnegie Library, a beautiful little building. And I just remember that I just loved it. It is now, they use it as a city center now. They had built a new library. But he thought that reading was so important. And so this was a quote that he had. And with as much stuff that comes at us on a regular basis, certainly he didn't have television, radio, and all that at that time. Books, newspapers, those were important. But now that we have all these other media outlets, we need to, I think, have this same discipline. And he said this, a man's reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet. For that, too, is food without which he cannot grow mentally. And I think with all the noise out there that there's this effort really that is dumbing us down just because there's so much coming at us. And that's why we do the show is to try to sift through all this and help you get your brain around these issues so that you can persuade and reason with those in your sphere of influence so that we can reclaim the liberty that is ours, which is our American heritage. And that's why we do all of this. First headline. where working through WhiteHouse.gov, they had published 50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill. And today is 11 through 15. Number 11 says it implements popular work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. Through common sense, Clinton-era work, volunteer education, or training requirements, the One Big Beautiful Bill lifts Americans up to find a better quality of life through the dignity of work. I love that. It says it eliminates hundreds of billions of dollars in green new scam tax credits. The legislation immediately stops credits from flowing to China, saving taxpayers $500-plus billion every year. 13 it reverses electric vehicle mandates that let radical climate activists set the standards for American energy. Fourteen, it ends Biden's war on American energy. The bill finally unleashes American energy dominance by opening federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing. And number 15, it streamlines onerous permitting processes so that America can get building again. i think those are all great so with that is number 11 through 15 you can find that at whitehouse.gov so be sure and check that out there next thing i thought this was pretty huge and linda mcmahon who is the head of the department of education This is the headline, and let's see who is this from. This is from Fox News. It says, Linda McMahon calls out Gavin Newsom as California officials reject the proposal to keep the state Title IX compliant. And this is just huge. She said that they will be hearing from Attorney General Pam Bondi, says the California Department of Education, the CDE, and the California Interscholastic Federation, the CIF, rejected the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights proposed resolution agreement following transgender athlete controversies in high school athletics over the course of the school year. Linda McMahon shared CDE General Counsel Lynn Garfinkel's letter to Regional Director of the OCR Bradley Burke on Monday. It says the California Department of Education received the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights June 25th letter, a finding and proposed resolution agreement in the above referenced OCR matter. It goes on to say the CDE respectfully disagrees with OCR's analysis and will not sign the proposed resolution agreement. So McMahon shares this. And she says, in reply to your request, please be advised that the CIF concurs, excuse me, go back here. This is the CIF and this is California again. So this is what McMahon said. She said, California has just rejected a resolution agreement to follow federal law and keep men out of women's sports, she wrote on X. Turns out Governor Newsom's acknowledgement that it's an issue of fairness was was empty political grandstanding. And so this is going to get very interesting on what is happening in California regarding, honestly, men and women's sports, and that they would take a stand on that is just, it really is beyond belief to me. And so we have all these important discussions because of our sponsors. And regarding your insurance portfolio, The Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team knows that life can be challenging, and it's their mission to maximize your financial security as you manage the risks of everyday life. So call Roger Mangan at 303-795-8855 for more information. That number is, again, 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, Roger Mangan's team is there.
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SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you shouldn't have to force people to do it. And I get to work with an all-volunteer group that is watching out for the taxpayer of Colorado, which means that's all of us because we all pay taxes, sales taxes, property taxes. And they're all stellar, but one of our very stellar board members is on the line with me, and that's Mary Jansen. She's a former Lakewood City Councilwoman as well. Mary Jansen, welcome.
SPEAKER 08 :
It's very stellar. Thank you so much. Good morning to you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, great to have you. And I want to just give a shout out to our fellow board members, which is Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, Corey Onizorg, Paula Beard, and Ray Beard. Mary, I so appreciate you and the whole team. It's a pretty amazing group of people.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, my gosh. Are they? We can't do it alone. So we work as a team, and we feed off of each other. When somebody says something really, really smart, we're like, wow, that's amazing. So we're actually learning while we're doing this. That's what I love about it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and during the legislative session, we go through and we take a look at all of the bills. We look at this through how does it affect the taxpayer or taxes, property rights, parental choice, school choice, parental control of our children, and then education. protecting Tabor, Colorado's taxpayers' bill of rights. So it's a tall order out of 766 bills and resolutions that were proposed. Just this last legislative session, we took positions on 261 of those, which is pretty amazing. So we'd really love people to join us. It's only $25, basically $2.08 a a month which is less than a cup of coffee at most places and we'd love you to have you join us and we're working on our ratings report as we speak mary right and um we have to pay to join to be part of cut board so yes we all should be part of it yes we we pay to do all this volunteer work i know call us crazy but i think it's in the spirit of our american founding i wanted to get your read on the big beautiful bill what's your thoughts about that
SPEAKER 08 :
So I've been following some different people, and I did get something from the Financial Literacy for Women business owners. And I also got some information from another source, which I really do agree with. So I believe that the Democrats are ignoring the core reality of the big, beautiful bill. It's not a wealth transfer. It's a growth-driven policy. And it's a reinvestment in American output, which we haven't had in quite a while, well, since Trump's last session. And so for a small business, because, you know, I'm a small business person, it means 20% qualified business income deduction is now permanent. And you can now deduct 20% of your profits if you're an LLC, an S-corp, Solprop, or a partnership. And it's rewarding you if you do well. That's what I love about this bill. There's also fewer 1099s to send out. That means less paperwork, and you still get to deduct the expense. And then 100% bonus depreciation forever. It applies to new and used equipment, includes tech, office upgrades, and vehicles. And then, of course, the no tax on tips. How can we just love that, right? And so you don't have to pay tax if it's up to $25,000. Somebody's getting $25,000 in tips. That's pretty good. And that's federal only. So our state is still taxing us. And it's the same with the tax-free overtime pay for employees. They're still subject to payroll and state taxes. You know, if I was running for governor, I would totally support no tax on tips and no tax on overtime pay. and I would not sunset them. Wouldn't you think that would be a great idea?
SPEAKER 05 :
I think that would be a great idea to make sure that it puts in here in Colorado what is federal law. Of course, you and I talk about this all the time. Ideally, I would love to just lower taxes across the board. I don't like it when we are peeling out different groups. And it's basically in the Communist Manifesto, it puts people in groups. So that's why I don't like to peel out specific groups. moving in the direction of lower and lower taxes is a really good idea.
SPEAKER 08 :
It is, and it's kind of an experiment to say, hey, they're doing really well, maybe we should do it for everything. So maybe it's just kind of a test thing. That's what I'm trying to be more positive about it. And also the bill, it cuts bloat and all the wasteful spending, and it's redirecting approximately $1.6 trillion from the global subsidies to domestic energy dominance. It anchors revenue and production, not taxation. And that's a really good thing. Because if we're making more, that's being business-minded. You're making more, we don't have to tax as much the people. That's a good thing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it is. And that's one of the things that I think economists that are working for the government, like the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, they look at this bill as static. instead of dynamic. And so they put this input in. They think that this is going to come out. I don't think that they account for the growth when they have been saying that this is going to increase the deficit. I don't think that they do any of that input regarding what this growth could do. Because if you grow the pie and the pie gets bigger and bigger and more people are prospering, but yet lower taxes, when more people are prospering, tax revenues go up.
SPEAKER 08 :
Correct. Yeah, I'm not happy about that debt either. But, you know, I'm thinking it could be like a safety net until the tariffs and the energy exports kick in and offset the deficits. That's what I think everybody needs to be a little more focused on.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think you're right on that. Any other thoughts on that? And then I wanted to ask you about Lakewood because you were a city councilwoman there and they're doing this whole zoning rewrite. So anything else on the big, beautiful bill?
SPEAKER 08 :
Another thing is the Democrats are all focused on the Medicaid issue. And, you know, that's just been a big balloon. It's waiting to burst for a long time. And now we're finally going to reform it by targeting inefficiencies and fraud. And it's not the care for those that deserve it. Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
And I'm really tired of all the crocodile tears. And I think we just need to pull that bandaid off. I'm sure it's going to hurt a little bit, but I think everything's going to turn out okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and what a novel idea, though, to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse. I think that's a really good idea. And, of course, here in Colorado, and we're going to have to roll up our sleeves at CUT and take a look at what happens with the special session. which the governor just recently called, which I guess is going to be at the end of this month. And so we're going to have to take a look at what they're doing. But yesterday when Kevin Lundberg was on, he said that probably one of the things they're really concerned about is $500 million shortfall that they're going to lose from the federal government for Medicaid funding. This is never the way it was supposed to be anyway, Mary Jansen, so we'll have our work to do on that. What about Lakewood with this whole zoning rewrite? What's going on with that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh my gosh. Some of it's a little strange. It's like they're throwing everything out and putting it back in and I think a lot of people aren't happy about it. Everybody's worried about eminent domain and, you know, the 15-minute city thing, the density. They're putting all this density in with no parking. You know, everyone's worried about overcrowding, which I don't think is good for a city. We've always been a bedroom city, and we've always liked it that way. We've always had our space, and they want to get rid of our space.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, crowding people into their communities with people on top of each other. It doesn't feel like freedom.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, not only that. They keep telling me this density is more for the environment, because I think that an apartment complex would use more water.
SPEAKER 05 :
More electricity.
SPEAKER 08 :
More electricity, yeah, more power. And, of course, then you get all those people in one little space. I don't think it's very good for your human spirit.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't either. That's very interesting that you would say that. I agree with that. Mary, I don't know that I put it on the things, different bills to rate this last time around. So I'm not sure that you were aware of it. because I don't think that I sent it out to the group to take a look at. But I was talking with someone afterwards, and it was very curious. I don't think it passed, but down at the statehouse, there was a proposed piece of legislation that for new apartment buildings, instead of having two staircases to exit, you would only need one. And I thought, gosh, that sure seems like that would be a fire danger.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you know, there's an apartment complex right across the street from me and they only have one staircase and it's three stories. And one night, um, oh, this was several years ago. Uh, we were outside on our porch and we saw a fire and I was like, oh, and I said, no, there's somebody who's just having a barbecue and it's just get a little big and it will get bigger and bigger. And next thing we know, it was going straight up that stairwell. And, um, Of course, I called police right away. I called 911. And of course, the fire station is right across the street. It still took them at least 10 minutes to get over there. And there was a man with a ladder that was getting people off the third floor. They did lose one person and one person got hurt because I believe that they only had one staircase. And that was only three stories. Can you imagine if it was five?
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. And now this is tin hat stuff, but gosh, just think if you had a shutdown again like COVID and you didn't want to let people get out of their apartment buildings or whatever, it's a lot easier if you just have one staircase. There's all kinds of reasons why you'd want to have two staircases to exit an apartment building.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. We would call them insane asylums if we were shut down in them for very long. Yeah. Because that's what would happen to people. You'd go crazy, stir crazy, cabin fever. You know, we all know what it's like when it rains for two or three days. Can you imagine if you're stuck in your apartment for six months?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. The other thing is, is these apartments, because you and I are both property rights girls as well, that if from an economic standpoint, if an apartment made sense without any tax subsidies, without any preferential permitting or any of that kind of stuff, So I think we would support that kind of stuff, although, again, I think zoning is also a property right as well, and that's a whole other discussion. But the problem is, is many of these apartment buildings are receiving favorable financing, tax credits, favorable permitting, and that's government picking winners and losers by trying to push a specific agenda.
SPEAKER 08 :
Correct, yes. And it's also using a stick versus a carrot. say, well, if you take this money, you have to build it our way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, right, right, right. Mary Jansen, fellow Colorado Union of Taxpayer Cup board member, your final thought on all this. Great conversation. Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
I say don't give up hope. Things seem a little bleak. The big, beautiful bill is a start. You know, read it. Learn about it. If you're not sure, don't trust one side or the other. There are some bad things in it. If you might think some things are bad, I put a different spin. Always be positive. Always think positive, and things will turn out okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and if there's something that we don't like about it, then we need to go to work and get our congressmen and senators to put some legislation forward to fix it. Don't you agree?
SPEAKER 08 :
And if your legislator is against everything that you believe, then it's time to start to vote for someone else.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. Mary Jansen, thank you for all the great work that you do. Greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Bye.
SPEAKER 05 :
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There's so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We greatly appreciate you. And did want to mention the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation. The official Marine Memorial is right here in Colorado. and at 6th and Colfax. It was dedicated in 1977 and time for a remodel. And Paula Sarles, who is the president of the foundation and her team are working diligently to continue to uphold the Marine Memorial as well as raise the money for the remodel. You can get more information about all the work they're doing by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I'm pleased to have on the line with me Samara Brown. She is a senior policy advisor with the Center for Renewing America. which is located back in the Washington, D.C. area. And it was founded by Russ Vogt, who is the director of the Office of Budget and Management in the Trump administration. And so they really have a feel for what's happening on Capitol Hill. And I'm so pleased to have Samara on the line. Samara, welcome. Well, thank you, Kim. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. And the Big Beautiful Bill, you probably have been pretty close to this whole thing. So what's your read on the Big Beautiful Bill?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you again. And yes, it was a great accomplishment for President Trump, for the Republican Congress. It was a long road coming. Obviously, it came down right to the wire of the July 4th deadline that the president wanted it signed by. And yes, we've been knee-deep in it, neck-deep in it for months now. And while it had some amazing things on immigration and taxation, obviously, there's some work to be done in other areas that we know the Republican Congress is going to try to get through for the rest of the year.
SPEAKER 05 :
So this is a monumental bill, Samara, and it's pretty remarkable that they got this done by the 4th of July because President Trump has not been in office that long. This is a monumental accomplishment.
SPEAKER 07 :
It really is. It really has been. And, you know, this Congress came in in January with President Trump inaugurated on the 20th, knowing that they wanted to get something done quickly. I know that plans at the beginning were to get something done in the first month or two months, but obviously it took a longer time. And knowing that this is going to be very big and, you know, one big, beautiful bill and very comprehensive, you know, but ultimately it has codified at least 28 states.
SPEAKER 05 :
of president trump's executive orders and done a lot like i said in taxation um to and of course repeal a lot of the biden era um you know nonsense and woke government that they put in place over the last four years so that is really huge to take these things and put them into codify them into law what so regular people out here in fact we had a great question from Let's see, this was from Holly. She said, with all the money that they're saving taxpayers, is that going to actually translate into us paying less taxes or getting a refund? What do you think about the everyday person there? What would you say to that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, so... So in the tax space, this bill was ultimately a continuation predominantly of the 2017 Trump tax cuts that, of course, most Americans, everyday Americans saw a tax reduction and more money in their pockets. And so first and foremost, if nothing had been done and the tax cuts had been allowed to expire in the year, the average American would have seen about a 22% increase in their taxes. So getting that done and making those tax cuts permanent was very important. In addition, of course, a lot of the things that the president promised on the campaign trail, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and an enhanced take-home money for seniors. is going to be seen. Most Americans will see a tax cut. It remains to be seen, depending on how much they pay, usually how much they will see. But more Americans should see more money in their pocket. And of course, this big thing, making the tax cuts permanent means we don't have to come back 10 years from now to do it all over again.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. What about, you mentioned immigration, and that certainly has been a big issue. So what exactly, how did they address that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, so, you know, it finally provided funding to complete the border wall, which, of course, has been, you know, President Trump's priority. But it also includes millions of dollars to hire new ICE agents to expand ICE facility, holding facilities, so we can actually, you know, hold illegal aliens who are subject to deportation, hold them in, you know, in facilities in jails or prisons. And it also increases CBP or Customs and Border Agents. There's also a ton of new fees. For, like, illegal immigrants or ones who are trying to, you know, get in. So, obviously, one of the problems during the Biden administration was we had a lot of, you know, millions upon millions of fraudulent asylum claims. You know, say, oh, I'm seeking asylum. That's how they got into the country, you know, and have been let into our country. What this bill has done is impose fees on those asylum claims so that not only is it going to be a hurdle for those seeking, you know, seeking to come into our country fraudulently, uh for those who come actually to the not to cross illegally but also come you know at the boards of uh you know the ports of entry um this is actually going to save about 77 billion dollars for americans uh because that we're actually imposing new fees and so uh it really ramped up immigration enforcement to the tune of hiring hundreds of new ice agents and expanding facilities to hold them so this is really going to ramp up our deportation efforts
SPEAKER 05 :
So, Samara, I have an anecdotal story. I was talking with a friend of mine that does work with – on the streets, I guess, would be a way to handle that. And she actually was talking with a woman that had come here yesterday. illegally, that absolutely loves Trump and has said that she wants to go home to her home country so that she can try to come back into America Legally. And one of the reasons that she really supports Trump on that is she said that, again, this is anecdotal, this woman said that she had seen the travesty of rapes and cartels in her journey to get here. And so she was very supportive of Trump's immigration policy, which I thought was super interesting.
SPEAKER 07 :
Mm-hmm. Well, yeah, that's amazing. And I know that currently the Trump administration has a protocol in place for those who are here illegally who, you know, they can get a free flight or not for a flight home with no penalty if they want to self-deport. And so, you know. The president has expressed, you know, folks who want to come here legally. We obviously want them to do it the legal way. And those who are here illegally can self-deport now with no penalties themselves.
SPEAKER 05 :
I thought I saw a headline that at least a million people had self-deported because of this. And that's pretty effective. Yeah, definitely. Okay, next question. And I've been going through the WhiteHouse.gov. They said 50 wins in the one big beautiful bill. I think almost everybody thinks that this makes sense where it is implementing popular work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. And the last thing it says on WhiteHouse.gov is that people can find a better quality of life through the dignity of work. That just is great common sense, Samara.
SPEAKER 07 :
Exactly. And a lot of has been said about the, you know, you're talking about the Medicaid work requirements. A lot of people don't understand that. In 2024, we were paying over 60% more of what we paid on Medicaid as a country than we did in 2019. That was a lot because of, of course, the COVID enhancements. But what it ended up being is that it's a massively expensive program that's supposed to be for the most vulnerable, right? You know, we want folks who get medical care, children, the truly impoverished, and, of course, the elderly who can't care for themselves. But most Americans, as you said, most polls show that most Americans believe that if you are an able-bodied adult without dependents, you should work for the benefits the rest of us have to pay for. And that's just common sense policy. And so what this bill does is say you have to work a minimum amount of hours per month, and work includes both seeking a job, having a job, and even some volunteer work in order to maintain your Medicaid benefits. And that's just common sense policy.
SPEAKER 05 :
It really is, and I think that makes sense to almost all Americans. Now, I don't know if you look at Colorado much. Colorado is, from a public policy standpoint— in a political standpoint, it's a mess out here. And the governor has called for a special session at the end of this month to address the fact that Colorado is going to lose about $500 million in Medicaid funding. And as my friend Mary Jansen had just said, that there's going to be crocodile tears trying to blame Trump about not taking care of children and And I don't think that that's the proper role of the federal government to be sending money to states for this. I don't think that we should be doing that. So I'm happy about that. And I hope that this legislature and this governor roll up their sleeves and actually make some hard decisions instead of so frustrated that they're going to lose money that now they can't have for their pet projects.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. And, you know, obviously, you know, with the, you know, the forms you've done on Medicaid, what it's attempting to do, what it is trying to do, what it's going to do is make sure that, you know, obviously children who cannot work will still be covered. Their medical care and their medical insurance will still be covered under Medicaid. Again, those who are truly impoverished and disabled and, of course, the elderly who are who both have crossover between Medicaid and Medicare, will be covered. But over the years, we have seen states take advantage of various financial loopholes in the program to get more money from the federal government than they perhaps ought to. We see this most famously in California and places like New York. And so what the bill did was actually close some of those loopholes and make sure that states have more skin in the game than they did, which was costing the country, and that means the American taxpayer, millions of dollars.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that makes a lot of sense. We're going to continue the discussion with Samara Brown, who is a senior policy advisor with the Center for Renewing America, which they were very I think, active in watching what was going on regarding the one big beautiful bill and how it got through Congress. I'd love to find out just how that happened, because there had to be a lot going on. So we'll be right back with Samara Brown. These discussions come to you because of our sponsors. We'll talk with him in the next hour. And that is Lauren Levy for Everything Mortgages.
SPEAKER 12 :
High inflation and increasing property taxes are making it more challenging for seniors to make ends meet. If you're 62 or older, a reverse mortgage may be the solution for what's keeping you up at night. It is essential that you understand the process and work with a trusted professional. Mortgage expert Lauren Levy will help you craft solutions for your unique circumstances, whether a mortgage, a second mortgage, or a reverse mortgage. If you'd like to explore what a reverse mortgage can do for you, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. That's 303-880-8881. Call now.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That's kimmonson.com. Let's see here. I have Samara Brown on the line with us. She's a senior policy advisor at the Center for Renewing America. And Samara, I'm fascinated. How this big, beautiful bill came together. From just a novice on this, I figured that Trump maybe had all these big directives. And then how did all of this stuff get into it? I thought, well, I'll just try to read that. And I couldn't get through the table of contents. So how did this all come together?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and you know, you describe it, it's a legislating and legislative text is a very complex process, but you know, ultimately, you know, we probably remember our schoolhouse rock, you know, the House and the Senate write a bill. But in the real life case, you know, the president's legislative team has their priorities, and they talk to the House, you know, House of Representatives leaders in the Speaker's office, and of course, their counterparts on the Senate side, and they, you know, write a bill. And there was some debate at the beginning of this year, at the beginning of this Congress, THAT WHETHER THEY WOULD BE TWO BILLS, THEY SPLIT INTO TWO, BUT THE PRESIDENT ULTIMATELY SAID HE WANTED ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL, AND HENCE, THAT'S WHAT WE GOT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT TO GO INTO TOO MANY SPECIFICS. I USED TO BE A FORMER CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER, SO I KNOW A LOT ABOUT IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW, WRITES USUALLY TEND TO WRITE THESE THINGS FIRST, BECAUSE THEY'RE TAX BILLS, THEY'RE SPENDING BILLS, AND THEY GO THROUGH THEIR COMMITTEE PROCESSES, AND ULTIMATELY, IT COMES DOWN TO CAN YOU CONVINCE ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, MEMBERS, OF COURSE, THE CASE, Republican members of Congress to vote for this. They believe that it is a good bill that should pass to get the president's priorities through. And that did take a long time, you know, and so as you probably saw some of the news, the Senate was in session on the Senate floor from Monday morning all the way to Tuesday afternoon. And so, you know, kind of rewriting portions of the bill, getting folks on board, and ultimately it was such a close vote that Vice President Vance had to break the tie and actually pass the bill in the Senate.
SPEAKER 05 :
So how did that work for that day and a half or whatever? So they have the bill in front of them, and then does a senator then say, I want to strike this, I want to add an amendment? How does that work exactly?
SPEAKER 07 :
that's a lot you know of course these are all private conversations among senators themselves and their staff and of course again white house was very much white house legislative affairs president trump's legislative team very involved on yet but they're basically in talking about their priorities what can be struck from the bill what can be maybe added uh... the administration can do at the executive level that couldn't get into the bill uh... you know so executive orders and and and administrative rules um you know to kind of make you know make assurances to senators and of course house members when it gets over there um that they will this bill will satisfy their their concerns obviously they're concerned for their state as well as you know their districts in the nation uh and so that's going to happen you know it's like the quintessential smoke-filled room as people might say um it always sounds bad but this is you know ultimately how these things get done.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, so do all the senators have to vote on it? So, for example, that part of the bill regarding giving AI a 10-year carve-out where there couldn't be any local or state control over AI, and that, I think, was removed from the bill. What does that look like? How does that happen?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, so, you know, there was a lot of angst among, you know, this is a bipartisan concern between Republicans and Democrats about that particular AI provision, which to specify was putting a moratorium on states' abilities to regulate AI within their states. for 10 years based on some funding. It was negotiated prior to the bill being voted on down to a five year, but, and I believe it was Senator Blackburn from Tennessee had some really big concerns with it. And so ultimately she offered an amendment to strip the entire provision. So, you know, to ship the entire moratorium out of the bill. And that amendment actually passed 99 to 1. And so that actually was taken out of the bill prior to passage. And she, as an individual senator, obviously I don't know her personally, and I'm not privy to her decision making, but she ultimately decided that she didn't like that provision enough, and she thinks it shouldn't have been part of the bill. And no one else kind of objected, and so it got voted out of the bill.
SPEAKER 1 :
Huh.
SPEAKER 05 :
Is there anything else that hasn't gotten a lot of publicity that was voted out of the bill as well?
SPEAKER 07 :
uh... not anything that you know there was a lot of things prior to the is bill being brought to the senate floor for and we take final consideration the final vote uh... that was kind of taken out by and you might have heard that the word the parliamentarian because it didn't comply with uh... the rules of how this process played out uh... it's a lot of things that you know a lot of for instance uh... you know republicans of course in the white house administration president trump wanted to strip medicaid from covering you know gender affirmed gender transition of procedures for children and adults via the medicaid program which you know we here at the center support and i know that a lot of republicans most republicans support and the president trump certainly supports unfortunately the parliamentarian uh advisor ruled that that provision wasn't compliant with the rules so that was uh unfortunately stripped out of the bill Not because any Republican wanted it stripped out, from what I understand, but because it didn't comply with the rules. So a lot of things like that happened on the front end, but there were no other amendments like the AIA amendment that passed and got something out of the bill.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. So just to clarify, Medicaid, our tax dollars, are being used for...
SPEAKER 07 :
uh i don't i don't call it gender affirming care the for the uh it's really gender mutilation of our children and we're using tax dollars for that in certain states uh you know because medicaid is a partner and i don't want to be too complicated here it's a state federal partnership states can cover certain things that they believe are medically appropriate and so um a lot of states do cover under medicaid some of the as you said you know gender mutilation, gender transition, sex change procedures under the program. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
On children. Oh, my gosh. Okay, next question. What about Planned Parenthood? We'd seen headlines that Planned Parenthood was going to be defunded. Did that happen?
SPEAKER 07 :
So, yeah. So the bill had a bill had a provision that covers defund large abortion providers, which, of course, includes Planned Parenthood, because they are the largest abortion provider for one year. It shipped them of all Medicaid funding for one year. And so that that did pass that they get signed into law. That is current law. You might have seen there's an ongoing litigation on that. But as a matter of law, that it did pass.
SPEAKER 05 :
OK, why only one year?
SPEAKER 07 :
I believe there was a there's a budgetary impact. And again, this is a lot of like a lot of kind of in the weed stuff in the weed stuff. Yeah. But at one year. But that is certainly something that I know a lot of Republicans are interested in making, you know, obviously multi multi year. We would prefer permanent, of course, but multi year defunding of large abortion providers, which includes parenthood.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Several things coming in on the text line. First one, this is from Jenny. She said, what should we do about this parliamentarian? She appeared to be nitpicking and has been there since Harry Reid. What's your comments on that, Samara?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, as a former Senate staffer, obviously we had a lot of interaction with the parliamentarian's office, but I think it's ultimately important to understand that her position as a woman right now who is a parliamentarian, she serves at the pleasure of the majority leader, and ultimately her position what she we keep saying she rules on things but really she's advising on things and uh senators when they make their arguments about a provision whether it should be kept in or out can then can revise their arguments to make them compliant with the rules so ultimately you know it's a it's to be perfectly honest it's a very it's a black box you know we don't know what arguments are being made we don't know what arguments the other side's making to you know to make her advise a certain way or the other. So it's a very, you know, she gets a lot of heat, I would say, but ultimately it's a decision by the senators to whether, you know, whether they adhered by her ruling or make better arguments. So it's a very complicated answer. I understand that, but it's ultimately speaking, the senators make the decision.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. This is on a different issue, but Ben wanted to know if you know if there's any election reform that's going on at the national level.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's a great question. I'm not aware of any sort of election current laws are being passed. I do know there are several bills that have been introduced by Republican members of Congress to, you know, for instance, Congressman Chip Roy of Texas has a bill called the SAVE Act, which would put a nationwide requirement to make sure that voters have their citizenship checked before they vote or register to vote, which seems like a very obvious thing that should be the case, but it's currently not law. So that's a bill that we obviously want to pass, and we know that Republican Congress wants to pass. I know that President Trump's administration, like the DOJ, the Department of Justice, is looking into several states and how they clean up their voting rolls. But other than that, I'm not aware of any other legislative activity on that matter.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Samara Brown, great information. We've got about a minute left. What is your final thought you'd like to leave with our listeners?
SPEAKER 07 :
I would say that, you know, I would just say reflect on the first, you know, almost six months, really, almost seven months of President Trump's second term. It's been so far, you know, a lot of wins, including this one big, beautiful bill. And, you know, keep the pressure on your members of Congress, senators and House members to support the president and his agenda, but also to get work done in Congress that they should be doing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, well, you're doing great work. This is Samara Brown. She is a senior policy advisor at the Center for Renewing America. And what is your website?
SPEAKER 07 :
Our website is centerforrenewingamerica.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Well, Samara, thank you so much. I've really learned a lot and I really appreciate it. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. And our quote for the end of the show is from Andrew Carnegie. He said, you are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big and live big. And so today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals and like Superman, stand for truth, justice and the American way. You are not alone, my friends. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 09 :
Like a new moon rising fierce to the rain and lightning And I don't want no one to cry. But tell them if I don't.
SPEAKER 15 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 05 :
The socialization of transportation, education, energy, housing, and water, what it means is that government controls it through rules and regulations.
SPEAKER 19 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 05 :
Under this guise of bipartisanship and nonpartisanship, it's actually tapping down the truth.
SPEAKER 19 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 05 :
On an equal field in the battle of ideas, mistruths and misconceptions is getting us into a world of hurt.
SPEAKER 19 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 05 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. And welcome to our number two of the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for listening. You each are treasured and valued. You have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Wednesday, Producer Joe. Happy Wednesday, Kim. And that first hour, the show is broadcast 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, first hour 1 to 2 in the afternoon. So if you missed it, you can hear it this afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. And that's on all of our platforms, KLZ 560 AM, 100.7 FM. the KLZ website and app, and then people can hear it on Spotify and iTunes. The conversation with Samara Brown, with Senior Policy Advisor with the Center for Renewing America, it was a little bit in the weeds, but I found it super interesting. And what do you think?
SPEAKER 21 :
I thought it was super interesting. Definitely a lot of things hopeful, but we still got to keep our eye on the ball.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. And that's what we do every day is keeping our eye on the ball. And let's see here. Let's get over here to our word of the day. And it is purveyance. It is P-U-R-V-E-Y-A-N-C-E. It could be the act or process of providing or procuring providence, foresight, preparation, or management. So one might say that the one big beautiful bill has the purveyance to, well, as Trump says, is to make America great again, but to have everyday people be able to thrive and prosper. And so your challenge is to use purveyance, P-U-R-V-E-Y-A-N-C-E, And again, it is the act or process of providing or procuring providence, foresight, preparation, or management. I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. They've been great sponsors of the show. It's because of all of the support from all of you that we are in this moment. battle of ideas every day, searching for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. Our quote of the day is from Andrew Carnegie. He was born in 1835, died in 1919. He was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, and he led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. And he was an avid reader. And he says this. This is his quote. And back then, they didn't have television, radio, social media, all that we have now, which I know that's so much information, but so much comes at us that I think in some ways it dumbs us down. It makes us callous to news out there. But he said this. So I would say... I would say your media. When he says a man's reading program, I would say whatever it is that you are intaking into your brain. Let's do that. He said a man's reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet, for that too is food without which he cannot grow mentally. And so we need to continue to grow mentally, that's for sure. I have been going through the White House dot gov and the one big, beautiful bill. And there's 50 wins in the one big, beautiful bill. And today's number 11 through 15 says it implements popular popular. Love that. Yeah. Number 14, it ends Biden's war on American energy. And number 15, it streamlines onerous permitting processes so that America can get building again. To Mary Janssen's point, my fellow Colorado Union of Taxpayer board member, also known as CUT, that this bill is really focusing on growth and reinvestment. And what happens then is everyday people can thrive and prosper. A couple of things are prayers for those in Texas from this flood in the hill country, and in particular this Camp Mystic. And I know we're all watching this. I was going through some news last night, and they actually had some pictures of some of the little girls that are missing or have been found missing. but deceased from Camp Mystic and stopped me in my tracks because the last name is a name that I recognize. As many of you know, I was in the ladies' clothing business for many years, so we had reps from all over the country. And a woman that I knew from Dallas, a delightful woman, she'd had a new little grandchild. And probably around the time that this little girl was nine years old, anyway, the last name I recognized. And it could be coincidence, but it could be that one of my very valued colleagues from a previous life is certainly concerned. I'm concerned about that. My prayers go out to everyone there. It is absolutely heartbreaking on what has happened down there. But a lot is going on in our world, and I wanted to talk with Loren Levy. You know him. Great sponsor of both the Kim Monson Show and America's Veterans Stories. And he does everything mortgages, works with lots of different companies, so can help with a new mortgage, a second mortgage, a reverse mortgage. And in all of the 50 states, just not New York. Lorne Levy, welcome.
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, Lorne, it seems like it's smarter and smarter every day that you're not doing business in New York with this Democrat candidate for mayor who is a radical socialist, probably. So it seems like that's a smart idea. Yeah.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, who knows what regulations might come in after that election.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so hopefully New Yorkers will find their brains and make sure that they vote more for freedom versus socialism. But I had several things I wanted to ask you about. First of all, mortgage rates, any movement on that at all?
SPEAKER 13 :
Not really, no. If anything, the 10-year note has gone backwards a little bit into the 440s again because the market's been doing well. And when the stock market tends to go up, you know, we talk about people moving to riskier assets and out of bonds. So, no, we're staying in that same range right now. Nothing has really happened news-wise or, you know, to make it move anywhere. So we're in that range that we've been in for quite some time now.
SPEAKER 05 :
When is their next meeting? When's the Fed?
SPEAKER 13 :
It's July 29th and 30th is the next meeting. And, you know, we'll see. Obviously, we know the political pressure. the economy and you know we want to have a strong economy right and this bill that you were just talking about helps and the economy is doing well it seems so we're in this conflict between we don't have a lot of layoffs you know we have a strong economy and yet you know there's pressure to lower rates but you have this you know the Fed maintains this fear of inflation so we'll have to see what happens you know and I know we talk a lot about who's in charge and Powell is the head of the Fed but there's a 12 person voting committee that votes what to do with the rates. So we have to see, you know, you have some people that are called doves that want to lower rates. You have some that are called hawks that are more nervous. So it comes down to that 12 person vote.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know you've answered this question, but I still don't have it clear in my mind. And that is, I remember you sitting right here across the table from me when people could get mortgages in the threes, which was remarkable. And so the Fed was keeping rates artificially low. And I know that there's political pressure now to lower rates. So they kept them low over there. And I can't quite match that up. How is it that they say that we are not bowing to political pressure, but yet they kept them so artificially low when they were at that rate?
SPEAKER 13 :
So what you and I talked about back then, and that's this missing component that we don't have right now, which was we were under, I forget the term, I'm going to draw a blank on the term right now, but We had the Federal Reserve that was, you know, if you remember coming out of COVID when, you know, it was unprecedented, people weren't working.
SPEAKER 05 :
So that wasn't quantitative easing. That's not the word you're looking for.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, quantitative easing. That's exactly right. And so they were the ones buying the mortgages. They were backstopping them. Literally, you know, so if you had a bank like Chase that did $100 million worth of home loans at $100 million, 2.75%. Wall Street had no appetite for those loans because they weren't making anything off of them. So the Fed was buying them and growing their balance sheets. And now quantitative tightening, which we've been in for a while, the Fed stopped buying those mortgages and now is selling them off as they go. Or if people move and pay off their loan, they're just not lending that money out again. That's how the Fed is trying to rein in their balance sheet and shrink it every month. And so now the buyer of last resort or the buyer is Wall Street again through mortgage-backed securities and things like that. And they won't accept 3%. They want a risk premium when they're buying loans to match the risk now that the Fed is not there to backstop them. That was a key component that we had back then that was worth a large amount of those low rates. And so that's why I don't think we'll ever get back there again to those twos and threes on mortgages because I think it will take another unprecedented event to make the Fed become that buyer of last resort.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we don't really want them to be the buyer of last resort, do we?
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. No. That was what was looked at as an emergency. In a normal situation, Wall Street and mortgage-backed securities that trade, you can buy them as mutual funds in your 401ks. They have exchange traded funds. All those things are mortgages that are packaged up and then sold to investors on Wall Street. That's typically how mortgages are run. That is normal. The Fed being the buyer of last resort was an emergency. And that's what drove rates down so low.
SPEAKER 05 :
But that also created inflation, didn't it? The quantitative easing. Okay.
SPEAKER 13 :
So that's kind of in the printing area since they were printing money to buy all these mortgages. Right. And so, uh, yeah, it did create inflation, but you know, you have to remember it's been shoot a little, is it 2020? Right. When COVID started like March of 20. And, uh, so it's been a while now and people forget like it was, no one really knew what to do.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 13 :
Um, and it was unprecedented event. So they were just trying things and, You know, they kept people in their homes. They really did that. You know, they made rates so low that people could afford them. But now what they've created besides inflation is people that don't want to move because they don't want to give up those rates.
SPEAKER 05 :
I am seeing, and we'll talk with Karen tomorrow about it, Karen Levine with Remax Realtor. I'm seeing more homes on the market right now. So there is opportunity if people want to try to get into a home, but they should reach out to you, pre-qualify, and then they can go out into the market, know what they can afford, and then hopefully make a deal.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, there's a ton of homes. I'm seeing them too. I think we have the highest inventory we've had in years now because people are ready to sell and move on for whatever reason. If they have to relocate for a job or for family, for whatever reason. The only issue we have is the rates are stubbornly high right now, and that's slowing down buyers because they're just nervous. So the same advice I've been giving on your show for a long time now is If you can get comfortable with a payment right now at these rates and you can lock in and buy the home, you've now locked in the highest your payment will ever be. And if an opportunity shows itself in six months, eight months, a year, a year and a half to lower that rate, people will be able to come through and refinance people and try to cover some of those fees as well to make it easier the second time around.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. So if people want to have, if they have any questions regarding mortgages, what's the best number to reach you?
SPEAKER 13 :
Best number is 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 05 :
Again, for Everything Mortgages, Lauren Levy, 303-880-8881. We'll talk with you next week, and thank you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, thank you so much, Kim.
SPEAKER 05 :
And if you want to be informed, obviously listen to The Kim Monson Show. But Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient and co-founder of the Center for American Values, has started an amazing podcast series. And he just published another one today. It's Our Changing Culture. And the one last week was Homeland Security and the Inside Threat. And he has a myriad of experiences. And so certainly I would recommend that you add his podcast into your repertoire. And that where you can find it is at AmericanValueCenter.org, AmericanValueCenter.org. And regarding your insurance portfolio, the Roger Mangan team can help with that. They've been helping people for almost 50 years now get insurance for their car, their boat, their camper, their home. Don't forget renter's coverage. And they will sit down with you, a complimentary appointment, so that you are tailoring this for you so that it's not, again, a cookie cutter, as we've talked about with Mint Financial Strategies as well, but that it is tailored to you. And so give them a call at 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
SPEAKER 14 :
It seems like we are getting squeezed everywhere. Inflation, high taxes, at the gas pump. Where can you save money? Well, when you bundle your insurance coverage with the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team, you may save money on your insurance premiums. The Roger Mangan team will help you with a personalized plan to cover all your insurance needs. for your home, auto, boat, and renter's coverage. For a complimentary appointment, call the Roger Mangan team now at 303-795-8855. That number again is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
SPEAKER 01 :
Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty, wrote founding father John Adams. REMAX realtor Karen Levine has been working diligently at the local, county, state, and national levels to protect property rights and home ownership. Karen has navigated the often challenging Colorado metro real estate market for years. Karen Levine is the trusted professional for you to turn to when you are buying or selling your home, considering a new build, or exploring investment opportunities. Realtor Karen Levine. You want her on your side of the table. Call Karen at 303-877-7516. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 11 :
When you're looking for a premium quality painting experience or professional temporary outdoor lighting, call our friends at Radiant Painting and Lighting. The owner, Karen Gorday, spent over 20 years in the customer service industry. She and her experienced professionals will treat your home as if it were their own and take great pride in their work. They only deliver excellence. When giving your home a beautiful new paint job, they use premium cog and paint and will always deliver what they say. They don't just enhance your space, they transform it. When you want excellence, call Radiant Painting and Lighting at 720-940-3887.
SPEAKER 16 :
Do you strive for excellence as you work with your clients and customers? Does it make sense for you to add a unique and focused branding opportunity to your marketing portfolio? Would you like to access a broad customer base that loves our country and wants to make life better for ourselves, our neighbors, our colleagues, our children and our grandchildren? Then you may be a perfect fit as a sponsor or partner of The Kim Monson Show. To learn more, reach out to Kim at kim at kimmonson.com. Kim would love to talk with you. Again, that's kim at kimmonson.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter, and you can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. My friends, financial freedom starts with the right guide, and Mint Financial Strategies is here to help. As an independent firm with over 25 years of experience and the credentials of an accredited investment fiduciary, they offer advice that's focused on you, not a sales quota. Their strategy-first approach is all about helping you live life on your terms with clarity, confidence, and control. Call Mint Financial Strategies today at 303-285-3080. They are your path to independent financial confidence. Again, that number is 303-285-3080. It is Wednesday, so that means it's a Trent Luce Wednesday. He's a sixth-generation farmer and rancher, lives in Nebraska. And he's always watching out for the people that feed and fuel us, which is really important. We take them for granted. And actually, those industries are under public policy assault. And so that's why the work he's doing is so important. Trent Luce, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 20 :
I'm having chem withdrawals. It seems like it's been two months.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's been two weeks. I was thinking the same thing. It seems like it's been a long time. Before we get into this, how can people watch all the other stuff or find you on all of the other things that you're doing in media?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, right now, the best thing to do is Beck TV, B-E-K dot TV. I'm live from 6 to 8. So you don't have to be live. Immediately after, Kim, you can go to Beck TV and watch me on demand. But that two-hour block has turned out to be really good. And that's central time, isn't it? Central time. Central time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, right, right. Okay. Well, we've got a lot to talk about because we have not talked for a couple of weeks. And first thing, I watched a video you sent over regarding the National Cattlemen's and Beef Association was supporting the Big Beautiful Bill. You had a conversation with, I think, their public relations person. No.
SPEAKER 20 :
No. Ethan Lane, who is the vice president of government affairs.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, OK. Thank you. So what should people know about that?
SPEAKER 20 :
And so now that's all kind of like water under the bridge because the big ugly thing is going to be as ugly as we don't want it to be. But that's not the point. What really irritated me about that, and that's where we're at in politics today and why politics is not generating good policy. The cattlemen, and this would be members of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and we don't need to get into this, but there are three national organizations, and it's because of the splintered effect. Everything has to be splintered instead of all cattlemen working together. But the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which represents the largest number of cattlemen, to be honest, but represents a tremendous amount of industry as well, they brought cattlemen to D.C., and were part of a press conference before the Senate vote on, I'm going to call it House Bill 1, the reconciliation bill, because there was one component of this 887-page bill that gave some more latitude to what we call the death tax. And that latitude was that for an individual landowner, it could have up to $15 million. to be taxed free in a death tax scenario or for a couple $30 million. And for anybody listening, people say, well, that's a lot of money. It is. But what has been happening is that you have a 50% plus. You could have up to 60% tax on that death or that inheritance. It's actually an inheritance tax. And there are families that have been forced to sell their property in order to pay the tax. Well, nobody wants that to happen. So while I'm not as staunch of a death tax proponent as I was earlier in terms of repealing it, I'm just anti-tax, period, Kim. I'll just get that out on the table. But what I'm getting at in this long story is that the cattlemen went to support it, knowing that there are some land grabs and some real problems within the big, ugly bill. But because it contained this one component that they've been fighting for, we, I should say we, in 2004, I was actually in D.C. myself, lobbying on the very same issue to try to get some relief for the inheritance tax problem. But politics has gotten to be where we put so many components in one bill that you get everybody to support because we want our little piece of the pie when the rest of the pie is pretty stinking ugly. And so that part, and that's happening at the state level. We saw this in Colorado. We see it in every single state. And that's what happened in this big, ugly bill is that people wanted one little component of it so there's support for it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and I know that you're not excited about the big, beautiful bill. You've got a different name for it. I have been going through, though, many of the wins regarding the bill, and there's some very good things in there as well. There are some things that we need to get changed, but there has been some good things in there as well, and I've been going through that. Give me an example because I don't know one, Kim. Okay, here we go. Let me get right here. Let's see. It implements popular work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. It says, through common sense, Clinton-era work, volunteer education, or training requirements, the One Big Beautiful Bill lifts Americans up to find a better quality of life through the dignity of work. I love that.
SPEAKER 20 :
That's a legislative action that we have to legislate people to have dignity of work?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, apparently, if they're getting taxpayer-funded benefits and they're able-bodied, we want to make sure that they're doing something for that. I agree.
SPEAKER 20 :
It's not going to work. And yesterday, Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, she made a similar kind of a stupid statement. And, you know, I'm all about America first, but she's talking about H2A employees. She's talking about who is – you have talked about this to no extent – who is providing the services from the farm to the fork. And it's largely immigrants. It's been immigrants dating back to 1900 when Irish folks were immigrating to Chicago to be a part of the meatpacking industry. That's never changed. And she said point blank, we want only Americans working – And if you're on Medicaid, then you need to be one of the employees that are out there on these farms working.
SPEAKER 10 :
What's wrong with that? How is that going to work?
SPEAKER 20 :
What's wrong with that is that you're going to have 12 positions and nobody show up to do the job. That's what's going to happen.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because Americans have lost the work ethic, right?
SPEAKER 20 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 20 :
And we continue to incentivize them not to work. As long as there's going to be a tax benefit, there's going to be an incentive not to work.
SPEAKER 05 :
Cut them off. Cut everybody off. Yeah, this number 11, well, so you're saying instead of implementing work requirements, you're saying just cut them off.
SPEAKER 20 :
Correct. Absolutely. Until we stop subsidizing. And we had the same situation, and it was perceived as a great thing in the state of Nebraska. This was under Governor Pete Ricketts. It was like if you're going to receive any benefit from the state of Nebraska, you've got to work. In principle, it sounds like a great thing. What did it change in the workforce? Nothing. Okay. And we still grew government at an unprecedented rate.
SPEAKER 05 :
OK, let's go to number OK, let's go to number 14. It ends Biden's war on American energy, says the bill finally unleashes American energy dominance by opening federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal and mineral leasing. Now, that seems like a good thing.
SPEAKER 20 :
Sounds like a great thing, except we don't have any infrastructure to continue to produce coal, to turn coal into electricity. We've turned all the plants into something else or mothball them and they can't be turned back on.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we need to... We need to reverse that. We've got some coal plants here in Colorado that are scheduled to be mothballed, and hopefully we, well, this is Colorado, so I digress. But I like that as well. So you and I look at this a little differently, and that is okay. But I want to go to our next subject. Oh, no, we've got to go to break. My gosh, time flies when you're having fun, Trent. We need to go to break.
SPEAKER 20 :
We're having a blast.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we have these important discussions because of our sponsors. And the Bill of Rights is so important. The Second Amendment is there to protect all of the others. And that's why I'm so pleased to have the Second Syndicate as a sponsor of the show.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
There's so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. And pleased to have on the line with me Trent Luce, sixth generation farmer and rancher from Nebraska. You can find him on BEC TV. That's B-E-K TV. And he is continuing to shed light on the issues that the people that feed and fuel us are facing. And really appreciate that. I've got a number of things. Again, you and I didn't talk last week because we had encores and rebroadcasts for Independence Week. So we've got a lot to talk about. This came in from Kane, one of our listeners. He said, I'd like to hear Trent's opinion concerning China purchasing our ranch and farmland. Is this an issue that we the people should be concerned with?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yes. Yes. But it is being posed as a distraction right now. In fact, our governor in Nebraska, Governor Pillen, yesterday had a similar statement because, you know, Arkansas took the lead and said Syngenta, a crop company that's owned by a China outfit, can no longer own any products in Arkansas. So we always need to be aware of who is buying our properties. And we've seen where there's been a tremendous number of Chinese-owned properties close to Air Force bases all over this country from North Dakota to Texas. I saw this personally in Del Rio, Texas. I went to that spot where this was taking place. So it is an issue. But it's not the number one issue. At this moment, I am still more concerned about the United States government controlling land than I am China. And we're doing that through easements, and we're doing it through 33% of the land is owned by the federal and state government. We have the individuals... who own the property are losing the ability to take care of their property as they see fit. Because of accelerated property tax, this insurance thing has just gotten to be an animal that's in front of everybody, Kim, at all levels. People can't afford, including us, can't afford to pay insurance anymore. And all of those things lead to where if somebody offers you an opportunity for an easement, They take just this little bit of land, but yet they control the entire property. That, to me, is the number one concern for food and fuel security above China owning property in the United States. That's a distraction.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, so Trent, I agree with you. The government should not own 30% of our land. But yet you've pushed back on what was in the Big Beautiful Bill. The parliamentarian took it out, I think. Anyway, it was out of Utah Senator Mike Lee's proposal to sell off some of these public lands. If I remember right, you weren't in favor of that.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I'm not in favor of infringing upon the rights of the people who have the property currently. Mike Lee's proposal, which was, by the way, in my conversation with Ethan Lane, nobody in the world of managing land appropriately supported Mike Lee's proposal, which is why I got pulled out of there. And this federal land should not be federal land. It was state land. It should get back to the states and the states should manage it and figure out how to not override the property rights that people have acquired through this property because they're all tied, invested to water rights. You can't just automatically sell things and not pay attention to who has a property right on that existing property now. But the federal government needs to get out of it. It should be controlled by the state. And then we figure out the best approach going forward.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, here in Colorado, we've got a real problem, and that is the person that is now the head of the land trust, which controls much of the state lands, is really focused on keeping humans off the land, and that's a real problem.
SPEAKER 20 :
It is a real problem, but I'd rather deal with that problem in Denver than try to deal with problems on lands in Montrose, Colorado out of Washington, D.C.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Okay. Okay, Trent. One of our listeners said, why is Trent so negative?
SPEAKER 20 :
That's a great question. I ask myself that every day. And it's because I see things being presented that don't actually take place on the land. And it just irritates me to no end when I have somebody who has a press conference and Brooke Rollins is getting to be the worst, telling me what is taking place, and it doesn't match what I know is happening on the land. And it just frustrates me because the premise of your program and why I love being a part of it is, Individual liberties and our liberties are being eroded day after day. And most people just want to stick their head in the sand.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we can't. That's why we have to have these discussions. So thank you. And, again, another listener said they appreciate your honesty. These are always important discussions. So next thing, this came in, I think, yesterday from one of our listeners. They said, as we're watching what's happened in Texas with this flood and all these people that have been killed, And the question was, did cloud seeding have any effect on this? I guess torrential rain is what it would be called.
SPEAKER 20 :
I have no idea. Two days before the torrential rains. There was cloud seeding taking place by a young man, which I find fascinating. He's 25 years old. He got a $27 million grant from people who are tied into the government political system that we've been talking about, such as Palatier and Peter Thiel. And all of those individuals gave this kid a bunch of money. He's 25 years old. And he was cloud seeding in Texas two days prior to those torrential rains. I don't think cloud seeding should continue. I think that it is. I was in Missoula, Montana, remember, two weeks ago. And I saw all this green everywhere I went. I saw this green until I got to Missoula. And Wally Cogden, who's a local attorney, also happens to be a cattleman. I said, Wally, why is it green everywhere except right here? He said, well, we got an issue. Idaho is cloud seeding. And the rain is not coming on our side of the mountain because they are getting it all out on their side of the mountain. I don't care where or who you are. That's a big issue. And while on theory it sounds like a good idea to make it rain when you need it to, that's just one step too close to playing God. We should not be cloud seeding.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I've always wondered, how is it then if we're cloud seeding, then we You and I have talked about areas, southeast Colorado's been in a drought. Well, sky shift, it would make sense that you might want to have rain there. So I want to back this up, though. You said this 25-year-old young man received all this money. You've sourced that. You've checked that out. How can people source that information?
SPEAKER 20 :
Rainmaker is the name of his organization. In fact, he's been very public, and he's trying to defend himself again today, promoting that he was going to be on a broadcast with somebody live on different social media platforms. There's nobody even hiding that fact. And I applaud him. He's at least standing up for what he did right, and there are people on both sides of the equation. At the end of the day, what we do know is that our death toll is much over 100 people. the property is going to forever be changed, lives are going to forever be changed. I just will remind everybody that the Guadalupe River, like the Colorado River and every other river, is a direct result of some massive water movement. And the truth of the matter is that Earth is overdue for some serious seismic shifts. And if you've been watching what's happening globally with earthquakes, they're accelerating pretty rapidly. Volcanoes are again on a rapid increase. And we're due for some major solar flares and sunspots. And these things are just going to happen and why we need to always plan and prepare.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Okay. And before we go to break, I just put in Rainmaker, Texas. A bunch of stuff came up. Snopes is in on that. So that's always interesting when they are weighing in. But I haven't read the article, but Tampa Bay Times said, did a corporation's cloud seeding cause... Deadly Texas Flooding Fact Check. So people can check that out. We're going to go to break. I'm talking with Trent Luce, sixth generation farmer and rancher. And we're almost on speed dial as we're working through some of these important issues because we haven't talked for a couple of weeks. And these discussions happen because of our sponsors. If you've been injured, reach out to John Bozen and Bozen Law.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 18 :
If you would like to support the work of the Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is kimmonson.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at kim at kimmonson.com as well. Do check out the website for the USMC Memorial Foundation. And it is important that we support them because it is important to... uh honor those that have given their lives been willing to give their lives for our freedom a great way to do that is to support the foundation and then regarding the center for american values check out their website drew dix medal of honor recipient and co-founder of the center has started a new podcast series and super interesting he's he's really in the know on so many of these things they just posted one today on our changing culture And I've got to listen to that to hear what Drew has to say about that. That website is AmericanValueCenter.org. Trent Luce is on the line, sixth generation farmer and rancher. Another question that had come in on the text line earlier in the week to ask you was, what about the mRNA vaccines in chickens? Apparently, it's out there that they're going to vaccinate all these chickens regarding bird flu with the mRNA vaccine. So many of us did not want to take the COVID vaccine. If I eat chicken, is that going to then be in my body? What's your thoughts?
SPEAKER 20 :
So the USDA is talking about mandating what you just said, avian influenza flu shot for chickens. And, you know, it's hard for me to think about things positively when I see these liberties eroding. It should be the choice of the producer on whether or not you do this. And they're talking about not allowing for choice. And it flies in the face of everything you talk about in the premise of this program and why the discussion is so good. I do not really in any way, shape or form see it as a risk to people who consume chicken. I just don't. but in no way, shape, or form should USDA mandate this happening.
SPEAKER 05 :
Should that be disclosed on the label?
SPEAKER 20 :
By the way, they're talking about what they're going to do. It's not being done today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, okay. Next thing, you sent over some information regarding the wolf reintroduction program here in Colorado. That is not being managed efficiently. Surprise, surprise, right?
SPEAKER 20 :
There is no surprise in anything about that story. More money is being spent. The wolves are causing more havoc than they realized. I mean, it's like, are you this ignorant in history? We controlled the wolf population for a reason, and now look at what's happening.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. Okay. Okay. A couple of things. We're going to get Gammy on here in just a moment. But Jenny says this, Trent is like me. He doesn't like people blowing smoke up his skirt. Well, you're not identifying as wearing a skirt, are you, Trent?
SPEAKER 20 :
I prefer to say, Jenny, I don't like people blowing smoke up my address.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Okay, next thing. This came in from Susan. She said she's concerned that maybe the drought in southern Colorado is on purpose. If you get all the water out of the rain in another location, it will dry up another area, which I think is what you just said regarding up in Montana, right?
SPEAKER 20 :
Missoula, Montana. a direct result of what Idaho is doing. And Idaho is blatantly just doing cloud seeding left and right. I mean, they're not even quite about it. And you can go look up the Clear Skies Idaho movement, which is making great strides. Hopefully, whether or not the situation in Texas is directly tied to cloud seeding, which my gut feeling is it's not, hopefully it will bring awareness to why cloud seeding needs to stop, period.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, this is just probably a dumb question. And I agree with you. I don't think we should be cloud seeding, and so many of our listeners agree. But if Idaho's cloud seeding and they're getting rain, why doesn't Montana do it?
SPEAKER 20 :
Because you can't put rain in there. What you're doing is you're seeding clouds to bring the rain out, and then that moisture – needs to continue back in from evaporation before it can be released. Like the bucket's empty. You've got to fill the bucket again before you can empty the bucket.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Thank you for that. Okay, we've got Gammy on the line. Gammy, what's on your radar?
SPEAKER 06 :
Good morning, kiddos. Well, the person that wrote in, why is Trent negative? We are all, if we are awake, getting very negative about what is being done to our rights. But this is all connected. Thank God you have people like Trent and you who are willing to stand up and give the truth. The whole thing that there's two narratives that we're battling right now. One has to do with all the manipulation of our land, our weather, you know, bioengineering, geoengineering, social engineering. Every kind of engineering is happening. And You know, they took these nuclear tunnel boring drills and regular tunnel boring drills. 130 places over the country, all over, have underground facilities that are being done. And some of those places where they were doing some of that drilling, they ended up having earth tremors. And everyone now is knowing that we've had weather engineering. Well, Trent brought up the 30 by 30 agenda to wild, what, 30% or more? Well, how many dams, this is my first point of two points, how many dams have been already dismantled? And even though it doesn't get felt right away, how much impact does dismantling have? take down the river or down the road or up the stream? You know, what impacts are there that no one knows about? I keep thinking like North Carolina, where they, I think, did have a dismantled well added on to weather engineering because the husband of Kamala is a lithium company owner and they wanted lithium up there. So you might have an event, Kim, you know, like a weather event, but then they can aggravate and add to it with their geoengineering. And I think that is being done.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's point one. Okay. So she brings up an interesting point, and that is the taking down the dams up at the Klamath River and the cause and effect on that trend.
SPEAKER 20 :
I suggest anybody who wants to get real up-close personal information on this, Theodora Johnson was my guest on Trend on the Loose yesterday on Beck News, and she and her family ranch in Siskiyou County, California, and they have a front row seat to the four dams that have been removed currently from the Klamath River. There are three more upper river dams that have not. But Gammy's absolutely right. It's just incrementalism. All of these things are taking place. And the fact that those dams are not there is going to impact the food supply for all of us. And it's not just what's happening there. It's combining what's happening there with what's happening in Georgia and what's happening in Colorado. So what's happening in Georgia? No, I just made that as an example.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, you're saying it's just all connected.
SPEAKER 20 :
It's all connected. But I'll give you an example in Georgia. We have so much discussion, and it's a great discussion with Denver International Airport being such a huge component of our listening area. We have people telling the farmer we need sustainable aviation fuel, and that comes from taking ethanol and getting a reduced CI score and all these other things. And while we have produced more ethanol than ever, we're now 13 billion gallons of ethanol each year in the United States. The first sustainable aviation fuel plant came online in Georgia last spring. Excuse me, September. It was September of last fall. And instead of bringing ethanol from U.S. corn-producing ethanol states, they are still importing ethanol from Brazil to make sustainable aviation fuel in Georgia. Well, how does that work?
SPEAKER 05 :
Hmm. Okay. So let's see. Gammy, did you have one other point that you wanted to ask about? Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'll make it quick. I beg for time on your show to explain this in depth. However, we're getting calls now from parents. So this is to all parents. If you have trans or LGBTQ, dysphoric gender, et cetera, children, you need two things. And we have groups that will support you here. You need a legal backup and you need counselor backup that won't just, you know, mentally groom the child. and the CPAN, Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, and the Protect Kids Colorado organization. Those two in Colorado will help you get resources because you have to have advocacy to wade through the crimes of laws that have been passed to take your children away and to sterilize, mutilate, destroy them. This is a war on epic levels globally. But you have got to have that advocacy. And I'd like to talk about that because we just got into one of those in Michigan. We had to help a family get connected to help. So it's really critical that people know who can help them, especially if their child tries to go.
SPEAKER 05 :
suicide goes in the hospital and that's a whole story and right and cpan colorado protection colorado parents advocacy network and protect kids colorado thank you gammy trent we've got just about 45 seconds how would you like to wrap this up
SPEAKER 20 :
Starting July 7th this week on Monday, we started importing cattle back into the United States from Mexico. They have not curtailed their screw worm problem in any way, shape or form. And we are putting U.S. cattlemen at risk by bringing these cattle in. There's so much more to learn about the screw worm. And the fruit fly, we'll have to talk about that next week, Kim.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Let me make a note on that. Thank you so much, Trent Luce. Greatly appreciate it. And they are always interesting conversations. Our quote for the end of the show is from Andrew Carnegie. He said, you are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big, and live big. So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 09 :
Like a new moon rising fierce Through the rain and lightning Wandering out into this great unknown And I don't want no one to cry But tell them if I don't survive
SPEAKER 15 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
Join Rick Hughes in this enlightening episode as he unravels the concept of the Flatline, a spiritual forward line of troops equipped with problem-solving devices to combat stress and adversity. Explore the idea of living a stress-free Christian life and discover how understanding God's will can transform your inner turmoil into peace through faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you'll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good morning and welcome to the Flatline, F-L-O-T, Flatline. That's an acronym for the Forward Line of Troops. No, we're not talking about the military, but we're talking about a spiritual forward line of troops in your soul. Ten unique problem-solving devices that will stop the outside sources of adversity before they ever become the inside source of stress. That's why we always say adversity is inevitable. Stress is optional. There is a unique life you can live free of stress. It is called the Christian life. No worry, no fear, no bitterness, no anger, no vindictiveness, no implacability. That's the Christian life. It's a wonderful way to live. And when you learn God's problem-solving devices that we state as the Flatline, 10 unique problem-solving devices, then you're able to deploy these into the forward compartment of your thinking and use them as, quote, the mind of Christ. You know, God gave you two ends. You hear me say it all the time. One of them you sit with and one of them you think with. Success in life is going to depend on which one you lean to. Heads you'll win, tails you'll lose, obviously. So we're talking about putting something in your head. It's soul renovation before any sort of action renovation. And in the soul renovation, when you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and when you're learning God's Word and growing in grace, then you become an influencer for God. We've been talking the last two Sunday mornings about being an influencer, and giving you illustrations of social media influencers in the free world today. The amazing amount of money these people make for publicizing their favorite things on Instagram or YouTube or Facebook. But the influencer that I'm talking about is not going to make a dime out of this. This is simply... being an influencer for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we gave you the story of the woman at the well in John chapter four, who went back into the city of Samaria and influenced the whole town. And so many of them came out to hear Christ and believed in him because of her testimony to them. And I talked about John the Baptist, how he influenced so many people in the wilderness. We want to carry that influencer concept on today because I know many of you are listening to me from California even to New York. We broadcast on nearly 40 stations today, and hopefully we'll be up over 50 by the end of the year. But if you are one of these that I know is a spiritually mature believer, that you're growing in grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I'm counting on you to be an influencer. This is a challenge to you. If you're a Christian and you feel like you can have an impact in this world, what can you do? What can you do to change the course of history, the way things are going in Client Nation USA? So let's get some principles on what you personally can do to be an influencer. Number one, remember you are God's personal representative for the Lord Jesus Christ during your time on earth. So whatever amount of time he gives you, that's your job, to be a representative of Jesus Christ. By doing this, you re-present him to your friends. You re-present him by demonstrating the mind of Christ. As the Bible says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2, 5. And remember 1 Corinthians 2.16 says the Bible, the New Testament, is the mind of Christ. So as you learn it, use it, think it, and apply it into your life, you become an effective influencer for those around you. So God, point two, entrusted you with his plan for all of mankind. What is his plan? It's redemption. redeem the man that you know out of the slave market of sin that's what god provided through his son's death burial and resurrection redemption and you have the opportunity to give this message to those that you know you can influence even those you don't know the message of redemption so our mission point three is not political It's not why we're here. We're not here to promote a candidate, although there are candidates we like and approve of because of their stand on the rule of law and their stand on divine institutions. But our mission is not political. It's personal. We represent ourselves, point four, before God, and we represent God before men. Again, we represent ourselves before God, and we represent God before men. So listen to 2 Corinthians 5.18 if you would. Now all of these things are from God. This is through verse 20, 2 Corinthians 5.18 through verse 20. All of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That's you and me. namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and not counting their sins against them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation, that's the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, we are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ as though God was making us a direct appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. That's our job. We are reconcilers. We are influencers that influence people's lives with the ministry of reconciliation. Those instructions, point five, I just read to you are your written instructions in the Bible. God laid it all out for you right there. Be a reconciler that you are to do that. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. Point six, don't take any insults as personal in regards to the gospel message because you will be insulted. You will be pushed away, but it's not personal. It's the Lord Jesus Christ they hate. It's the plan of God they hate. So point seven, don't waste your time pushing any political agenda. If you want to push something, push the gospel, the good news. In 1 Peter 3.15, Peter wrote these words. Sanctify Christ as the Lord in your hearts. That's occupation with Christ, problem-solving device number 10. Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you. There it is. There's the ministry of reconciliation. Make a defense to anyone who asks you. and to give an account for the hope, and the word hope there is confidence, that you have. Yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Gentleness is the Greek word in the Greek New Testament, protes, and it means humility and mild disposition. And the word reverence is an interesting word too. Gentleness is meekness and a mild disposition, not trying to straighten anybody out, but reverence is great respect to those that you speak with. They may mock you, they may reject your message, but you must be respectful and gentle with them. That's the way the Bible says we have to do it if we're going to be an influencer. Now, there's a special person who's an influencer. He's a man with a communication gift. And he has been trusted with a special calling and more than likely chained to that calling. Paul wrote, I am an ambassador in chains, that's metaphorically speaking, to make known the mystery of the gospel. Any man who has the gift to pastor, teacher, or evangelist like myself, we are chained to that gift. And lo, man, if we walk away from that, if we don't want to use it, and I promise you, Satan will offer you all sorts of great things if you just won't use your gift. I've seen it in my own life, in the lives of friends that I know, people that said, you know, I think I may have the gift of pastor, teacher, and they got some fame, they got some publicity, they got married, they got whatever, and that went out the window. So if you have that gift, you must understand God equipped you for a reason, and that is to change the world through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So all of us, including a pastor, we make a pulpit out of our circumstances in every area of our life every day. Whatever we're doing, it must be a pulpit of our circumstances. The Lord, you know, I talk to people who say they shared the gospel with the guy that came to fix the air conditioner. or they shared the gospel with the guy that was cutting the lawn, or they gave him a book to read, maybe some book that deals with the gospel, or maybe one of our books or something like that. So there's always people you can influence every day. The Lord uses ambassadors like this in business and in professions, in home, academic life, local churches. Wherever you may be found, you are supposed to be an influencer. Therefore, Colossians 4, 5 says this, conduct yourself with wisdom. That means insight and discernment. Conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders. And then listen carefully, making the most of each opportunity. This is a question I have to ask you. When you were with that person yesterday, was it an opportunity or was it an inconvenience to talk to them about the gospel? Never fail to at least ask one simple question. If the opportunity presents itself, ask this simple question. Do you mind me asking if you died today, would you go to heaven? You will be surprised what kind of door that would open. That person may say, well, I'm not sure. I don't really know. And you could say, well, could I pray with you for a minute and ask God to help you understand it? And maybe they will ask questions. Maybe you can guide them into the right questions. But it's an opportunity. So conduct yourself with insight and discernment towards those outside the plan of God, making the most of every opportunity that he gives you. Listen to Paul's testimony to his critics, the people that criticize him for being an influencer. He said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, Romans 1.16, for that gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it. to the Jew first and then also to the Greek. Here's some principles. One, never be embarrassed to give the gospel anytime, anywhere. I remember praying in a restaurant one time with a friend who was in the ministry and a waitress came up and was literally shocked. And in the middle of the prayer, she said, are you two praying? And I just kind of opened one eye and looked at her and gave a wink and said, yep. And never be embarrassed to give the gospel. Anytime, anywhere. Point two, what happens if you have no influence on your peers? What happens if nothing happens? You know, a peer is someone at your own level from the Latin par, which means equal. So what happens if you have no influence? Well, the gospel message is the most powerful thing in the whole world. It's the power of God. What's amazing is many people will pay a lot of money to be motivated to lose weight or motivated to achieve a certain goal in their life. Go to some business class to learn how to be a closer or something like that. The love of God is the greatest motivator in the world, and it's free. And when you encounter the gift of salvation through Christ, you will never, ever, ever be the same. The Bible says if any man is in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away and all things become new. That means that a spiritual birth produces a spiritual life. You'll have new goals, new aspirations, and if you have any type of hunger to grow, you will follow these goals and aspirations as you grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I can assure you if someone accepts Christ, the first thing the devil's going to do is to try to lure them away from any consistent Bible study. He won't mind if they get involved in a little group sing-along, and he won't mind if they go have a Christian marshmallow roast, but if it's any teaching, any in-depth instruction from the Word of God, he will do everything he can to block it. You know, one of the greatest influence in the Old Testament was Noah and his peers, and he had no influence at whatsoever. They didn't listen to him at all. The Bible says in Genesis 6, 5 through 7, God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was constantly on evil. You know, pardon me, but that sounds a lot like the free world today, doesn't it? I mean, years of scar tissue built up in the lives of young people have brought them to a no-limit type lifestyle. And exposure to media-related deviation has scarred the minds of many of America's youth. So who will call them out of sin and into the light? Who's gonna do that? You, you and me, we're the only ones. You haven't seen any angels flapping around doing it. We are the ones. Beginning with our own children and our grandchildren, And I'm proud to say many of you are indeed doing that. That's a wonderful thing. But notice the similarities to Noah's days and our days. Luke 17, 26, and as it happened in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day Noah entered that ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. and it will be just the same on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. It will happen the same way at the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember, before the second advent occurs, there is the exit resurrection, better known as the rapture of the church, where any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is brought to heaven immediately and goes before the judgment seat of Christ, given his rewards, and returns with the Lord to set up the millennial kingdom at his second advent. And so in verse 6 of Luke 17, of Genesis, excuse me, Genesis 6, 6, it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. It grieved him in his heart. What does that mean? Simply put, God's delivered this nation, client nation America, through two world wars, countless other conflicts, as well as through depression and disease. But if he looked at our current state of affairs today, would it grieve him? Would it? Sin is rampant in this nation. The gospel is marginalized in this nation. Humanism is proclaimed as the answer to the woes of America and politicians claiming through progressive humanism they can fix it all. I mean, I can go on and on and on about abortion and go on and on and on about murder and crime and statistics. What would God say? Yea, hooray, what a wonderful client nation I have there. Or would he say, what is wrong with these crazy people? They have lost their mind. So here's what happened, verse 7, with Noah. The Lord said, I'm going to destroy man who I created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things and the fowls of the air, for it repents me that I even made them. You know, God answered the rebellion against his will by simply allowing the rebels to run everything within the prescribed limits and letting the resulting chaos witness against them. That's kind of what must happen here in this nation. Events must continue until it becomes evident before men, angels, and demons that no will apart from the will of God is capable of bringing order and peace and righteousness to this crazy country we live in. These verses that I just read to you, very important. Psalm 14, 2 through 3. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek him, and they had all gone astray. They are all together become filthy, and there are none that doeth good, no, not even one. noah was tasked with influencing a wicked generation and his message was completely ignored the only converts he had were his family however the justice of god was vindicated since in love and in mercy he gave noah at least 120 years to proclaim the message That's why the Bible says God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, 2 Peter 3, 9. You and I are also tasked with the same mission. We have to influence a faithless generation in America. And you need to remember political solutions are human solutions, and human solutions are no solutions. it's a spiritual problem we have we have a spiritual problem it's not systemic racism it's not just crime and rampant immorality it's a spiritual problem every man woman in this country has a sin nature And the sin natures are running out of control with no borders. No one's telling them this is wrong. No one's saying you can't do that. You're going to bring destruction and death on yourself if you follow that lifestyle. To change a man's behavior, there's got to be a change of heart. That's why Ezekiel 36, 26 says, moreover, I will give you a new heart. and I will put a new spirit within you and I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. That's what happens when a person gets saved. The insensitive, cold, dead heart is removed and you start again. You have a spiritual birthday. It's a heart transplant. But it requires some sort of positive volition at God consciousness when you learn that there is a God. I remember, let me ask you, do you remember the first time you ever heard about God? Ever? Ever? I mean, I was just 11 years old at a place called French Camp, Mississippi, when I heard a speaker from China Inland Mission talk about God. And I wanted to know God. I wasn't mad at God. I wasn't against God. I just never heard anything about God. But I didn't get enough gospel to be saved until I was 22. But I was positive at the first hearing of God consciousness. And God kept me alive. God delivered me through all of my stupid things. Remember, stupid hurts. Don't forget that. And eventually, when I was 22, I heard the clear gospel message. That's the way God works. And it may be working like that in your life. So do you remember the first time you ever heard the gospel message? When you had a heart transplant? You know, you may spend all of your days promoting your platform, which we call The Christian Life. and you may have absolutely no results, just like Noah, but don't be discouraged. I remember the man who led me to Christ, he had no idea, no idea when he knelt with me in that home and we prayed together and I asked the Lord to save me, he had no idea that God would put me in the ministry and use me for 50 plus years to proclaim the message of faith alone and Christ alone. and to teach how to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had no idea, and you have no idea. The one person you talk to may be the influencer that changes the course of history in this country. Let's look at Philip the evangelist and his ministry. In Acts 8, 4 through 8, therefore they were scattered abroad and went everywhere preaching the word. These are the disciples. Remember the power is in the message, not in the man, not in the style, but in the message. So Philip, verse 5, Acts 8, 5, went down to the city of Samaria, the same place the Lord Jesus had been in John chapter 4, and he preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. These miracles that he did were the authentication sign of his gift, that he actually was from God. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voices, came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. And there was a great joy in that city because of the message of Philip." Now when the apostles, which were at Jerusalem, heard the Samaritans had received the word of God, Acts 14, 16, they sent Peter and John down. These are men who had a little more information. And when they came down, they prayed for them, and they received the Holy Spirit. For as yet he had not fallen upon these people in Samaria, They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so they had not had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit yet. But Philip got a new assignment. He became an influencer in the middle of the desert. In Acts 8, 28, and the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, say, okay, get up now. Your time here in Samaria is over with. Go down to the south and to the way that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is the desert. And I can imagine Philip said, are you sure, Lord? Let me get some canteens with water. So he got up and he went. And there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all of her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship. Now, he was a Gentile, maybe a God-fearing man, maybe a full-fledged proselyte. I don't really know. But the Spirit of the Lord said to Philip, that's him, that's him, get up, go run and join him in his chariot. So he ran up in verse 30 of Acts 8 and heard him reading the book of Isaiah. And he asked the eunuch, do you know what you're reading? Do you understand what you're reading? And the eunuch said, of whom does the prophet speak? Who's he talking about here in Isaiah 53, 7 through 9? And Philip opened his mouth and beginning from the scripture, he preached Jesus to him. Remember the powers in the gospel, not the persuasive ability of Peter, of Philip. So whenever there's positive volition at any type of God consciousness, God is always gonna provide a gospel hearing. And here he was positive. This man wanted to know. And the Lord said, okay, Philip, go stand in the highway in the Gaza desert and wait till this guy comes by. God consciousness is what this Ethiopian had. It's defined as the status of any normal human being who becomes aware of the existence of God through the function of his own mentality. So God made his existence plain to every one of us. We can all see there's a God. So when any member of the human race reaches God consciousness or awareness of the existence of God, This is classified biblically and theologically as the point of accountability. This is when he becomes accountable, when he learns there is a God and he wants to know God. So how can you influence anyone in your life, maybe even in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the mountains, in the middle of the city? Well, the gospel is alive and powerful and when it's given, it can change men's heart and it can change the course of history, but it has to be heard and it must be believed and then it produces a new man in Christ. But if there's anything Satan does, it is to pervert and prevent the gospel from being given. So remember, you have at your fingertips the most powerful thing in the world. The power of God is in the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God, Paul said. Those words about the reconciliation of Christ, what he's done to redeem man, this can change a man's life forever. Give him a new destiny. When you explain to him the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and how Christ paid the penalty for his sins, if that man you explained it to believes it and receives Christ as his Savior, he has eternal life. His life is changed forever because of the power of the cross, which are the words that you gave to him. Remember that forever. You have more power than even the dead gum atomic bomb at your fingertips. We can develop military weapons that can kill the enemy, but we can't save people. Only God can do that, and you have the weapon that saves them. It's called the gospel, the good news, the life, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the anointed Son of God. When we believe the gospel, then we become one with the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2.14, it was for this that he called you by our gospel to obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip's job, give the gospel. Your job, give the gospel. That's your job. That's how you become an influencer. Have you ever requested an assignment from God? I wish you'd consider that. Isaiah 6, 8. Here am I. Send me. Request an assignment from God. Ask him to use you. And he will. Remember, you're tasked with being an influencer. There's more to come. I hope you'll come back next week. Same time, same place. Until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Floodline.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you'd like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
Join host John Rush and guest Jordan Goodman, America’s Money Answer Man, as they dive into the details of the latest economic legislation, affectionately dubbed as the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Discover the significant tax changes, including continued cuts in income tax rates and the increase in local tax deductions for high-tax states. The conversation also covers its potential implications for the economy, whether these cuts can pay for themselves, and what they mean for everyday Americans. In this episode, the duo also unpacks the new tax exemptions on tips, overtime, and Social Security. While these cuts offer a financial reprieve for many, they also pose new challenges and questions, such as the bureaucratic processes required to prove eligible income and the economic impact these deductions will have in the long term. As the discussion unfolds, John and Jordan reflect on historical patterns and the potential future of these financial regulations. Additionally, Rush to Reason features advertisements from local businesses, such as Castle Rock Regenerative Healthcare and Roof Savers Colorado, offering practical solutions for listeners' health and home maintenance needs. Tune in to explore this blend of economic insight and valuable service offerings.
SPEAKER 16 :
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 05 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 03 :
Get a job, sir. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 03 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 16 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's Tuesday, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Andy is not with me today. Normally he is, but he's on a little vacation. So appreciate Andy and all that he does when he is with us. And since he is still not here, or since he's not here, Jordan Goodman joining me today. But America's Money Answer Man. Jordan, you're used to talking to Andy, so it's just me today. Sorry.
SPEAKER 13 :
Just hit John and we'll do perfectly fine. We've got plenty to talk about.
SPEAKER 15 :
With everything that's gone on here of late, there is more than enough to talk about. And before we get started, Jordan, as folks are listening in, how do they find you?
SPEAKER 13 :
They can always email me at jordan.moneyanswers.com. I get emails from folks all the time.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, let's talk about, start with the big, beautiful bill. I was talking to a few of my clients even today about that because of some of the things that it brings back to life. Maybe it's the best way for me to say that, Jordan, on the business side. And yes, there's lots of nuances to it. I haven't read every single thing in it. And some of the tax code for some of those things, I don't even know if it's been written yet, for example, some of the no tax on tips and things along those lines. But For business owners and those that are used to doing investments, R&D, accelerated depreciation, Section 179, and so on, those are back.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. I mean, this is a 960-page bill, so I hereby excuse you for having not read the whole thing. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Let's go through. There's a bunch of different things to go through since this is now law. Obviously, it's going to take a long time for the regulators to roll out the actual implementation regulations for these things. It was just passed last Friday. Friday, that's right. Okay, so let's talk about some of the first of all taxes. So the tax rates, income tax rates were cut in 2017, the top marginal rate 37%. That was about to go up at the end of this year. They now stay the same marginal rates they were before. Doesn't sound like much, but had they gone up, it would have been a big tax increase on an awful lot of people. So that's by far the biggest part as far as revenue loss to the government, at least in the short term.
SPEAKER 15 :
And really quick, too, Jordan, don't forget, too, for those of you listening, depending upon what side of the aisle that you're on, there were some of those middle class, quote-unquote, as I've always said, Jordan, that became net tax receivers, not net taxpayers, that frankly will be that same way. They could have very easily lost that.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's correct. That's correct. But one thing that was done for the high-tax states... And I'm not sure, I don't think I would count Colorado as one of them, is the so-called SALT deduction, the local tax deduction. I mean, you're kind of middle ground. You're not New York, you're not California, you're not Illinois. That's right. But you're not Texas either. You're kind of somewhere in between there. But the SALT deduction had been $10,000, and now it's been raised to $40,000. So people who pay a lot of state income tax or property tax on their property now get to, right off up to $40,000, which helps, but it helps mostly high-income people in high-tax states with big houses. That usually would help.
SPEAKER 15 :
Which really, at the end of the day, and you know this better than even I or anybody else, what that does, and for everybody listening, is yes, we're all... supplementing for that. But, you know, there's a lot of things we could say along those same lines, including, you know, child tax credits, things along those lines as well, Jordan, where all us taxpayers are pitching in on one level or another. What it really does, though, what those SALT deductions do is it keeps those people in those states, because in a lot of cases, if they lose that, they may very well go somewhere else. Am I right?
SPEAKER 13 :
And that's what happened. When the deduction went down, it had been unlimited. before 2017, and then it went down to 10,000, that definitely encouraged a lot of people to leave the high-tax states. You've seen a lot of people leaving New York and Illinois and California and the high-tax states, and that was one reason for it. So it's not fully back to where it was, which was unlimited. But $40,000 is certainly a lot higher than that.
SPEAKER 15 :
And really quick, for all those that are on the right side of the aisle that are thinking, well, yeah, well, that's fine. Why would we want them to stay in those areas that they're in now? And I have an answer for that for all of you that may not look at this the way I am. Actually, Jordan, I'm a little bit okay with paying that higher rate. as another taxpayer, I'm okay paying for some of those deductions, if you would, or offsetting those with my own tax dollars, because frankly, a lot of those people and their politics and the way they look at things, I'd rather have them in those blue states that are typically that way anyways, because as they migrate out into some of the other states, it actually changes the makeup of those states. I'm fine leaving it this way.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, as you know, I moved from New York to North Carolina about two years ago, and a lot of the people who moved in here to North Carolina are from New York and New Jersey and Illinois and higher tax states, typically blue. So you're right, it has changed the political composition of of states that were typically pure red, and now they're kind of more purple.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, yeah, so my point is before a lot of folks on the conservative side would get all uptight and bent because, yes, every other taxpayer is chipping in to cover for those particular deductions, but there's lots of others that we pitch in on as well, and there are deductions that go the other way that others are pitching in. So, you know, it kind of goes both ways, Jordan, and no, I don't particularly enjoy helping those states that have a high income tax rate, but on the same token, frankly, I don't want them moving. I want them staying there.
SPEAKER 13 :
A lot of them are moving. The tax is just kind of pushing them over the edge, but there are other reasons why people are leaving the high-tax state regulations and so on. Anyway, so that's the first thing. Okay, now some other tax aspects of the big, beautiful bill. The child tax credit is up to $2,200. It had been 1,000, so that was an improvement, and that'll help a lot of people. I mean, it's not a huge amount, but it's certainly helpful to people with kids. The three big taxes that are being taken away are tips, overtime, and Social Security. So let's take those one at a time. So on tips, so servers, restaurant workers, hotel workers, cab drivers, a lot of people get tips. uh... they won't have to pay tax on the trip but they've done so this is going to have to keep very careful records right of what earnings and what steps and you have to be able to prove it okay i mean this is like now when you do business deductions and travel entertainment you gotta keep very careful records we're going to be you know say your cab driver and your the rod was thirty dollars and the tip of five dollars or something right you're gonna have to keep track of that five dollars separate from the thirty dollars and report it separately. It is sending people money, but it's going to be a bureaucratic nightmare.
SPEAKER 15 :
And one thing I've seen, and again, we don't have all the finality of this, so I don't know exactly, but one thing I did read, I think it was yesterday, Jordan, where there is some scuttlebutt about potentially giving some – the IRS doing some standard deductions for people that have those particular classifications of jobs. So say, for example, you're a tipped worker – They may very well, where before you made $100,000 and maybe $24,000, there was additional income in tips. What they're going to do now is just say, well, if you make $124,000, we're going to take that $24,000 right off the top, and you now make $100,000. There might be some standardized ways of doing that is my point, and I don't know that for sure.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, well, that would make sense because it's going to be a bureaucratic nightmare because, remember, you have to prove it. So typically you get tips in cash, typically. I mean, maybe on a bill at a restaurant or something. But it sounds great, and it's great people will have more money, but they're going to have to keep very careful track record. So that's on the tips. The same thing with overtime. So you're going to have to differentiate what is your regular time...
SPEAKER 15 :
And that one typically, not always, because it depends on who your boss is and what company you work for, I guess is what I should say. Typically, those are spelled out because most states require that overtime to be at a certain pay higher than regular wages. That one's typically tracked through most of the payroll companies and or the business you're working for, correct?
SPEAKER 13 :
When you get your W-2, it doesn't say regular wages and overtime.
SPEAKER 15 :
See, ours do here. Ours do here.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that would be good, because that's what's going to be needed. Because, again, there's a bureaucracy involved in saying what's... Because they're going to be taxed at different levels.
SPEAKER 15 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 13 :
Which is fine, and it saves people money, but I'm just saying there's a bureaucratic part of this thing that people haven't particularly thought about.
SPEAKER 15 :
And then the third word... And really quick, too, I want to make sure we remind everybody, those aren't indefinite. Those don't last forever either, right, Jordan?
SPEAKER 13 :
Four years.
SPEAKER 15 :
And in 2028, right? That's right. After the next election...
SPEAKER 13 :
other have to be renewed but it's it's hard when you give people i'm not taking away back that's right you're right we've learned that that's right and then the third big one is our security which depending on your income and so on this is now partially taxable same thing it'll be it'll be a deduction against your income so lower your adjustable gross income to some extent and that'll help for security receptors so those are all great putting more money in people's pockets in various ways But it also means the government's going to collect a lot less revenue. I mean, just the Social Security alone. The Social Security Administration says that not having that taxable income will shorten the time that Social Security goes bankrupt from 2033 to maybe 2030 or something like that. So there's a downside to all these things as well. The government's getting less revenue, and therefore the deficit's will be higher than they would have been otherwise.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, the whole idea being, and this is what happened last time around, that we do more as a country and revenues increase, more people are working, there's more people being added back in to the economy where more of them become net taxpayers instead of net tax receivers. That's the whole, I mean, that's the mindset behind all this, correct?
SPEAKER 13 :
That's good, but the question always is, are these tax going to so-called pay for themselves?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, I believe they will.
SPEAKER 13 :
We've been through this a lot of times, and the end result is, based on past experiences, no, the tax cuts do not pay for themselves. They do create more economic growth, which is good, but the tax cuts are so great in this case, and there's some other ones, too, that I don't think the tax cuts will so-called pay for themselves. Now, we've had several experiences. In 1981, under Reagan, massive tax cuts. The economy boomed, but we still had big deficits. Under Bush in 2003, we had tax cuts that did not, again, pay for themselves. In 2017, under Trump, we had tax cuts. The economy did do better, but it didn't pay for itself.
SPEAKER 15 :
And the thing that I want to argue about that one is, had we not had COVID, would they have? And that's the question we don't know, because everything pretty much got wiped out with COVID. We don't know on that one.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, we have the experience from 2018, 2019, before COVID hit. And the economy grew at a faster pace, maybe one percentage point in GDP more than it would have otherwise. But it still did not produce the extra revenue to pay for those taxes. So the end result of the deficit went up a lot. Okay, so we're at $37 trillion now.
SPEAKER 15 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 13 :
Another thing in the big, beautiful bill was raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. That's the biggest ever raising of the debt ceiling. The reason they do that is they don't want to have these constant dramas. Going back and forth. You and I have talked about that in the past. That'll be, so we've now given ourselves permission to go up to $42 trillion. in debt without having to go through a debt ceiling vote. I guess that's a good thing.
SPEAKER 15 :
In a way, you know me. I'm a hawk. You know me. I want to see it go down and not up. So I don't like it going up at all. Although, and you and I have had this conversation many times in the past, all of this back and forth that happens when it has to be raised, in the end, it's always raised anyways. There's just a ton of political jockeying going on, and frankly – You know, you know this as well as I do, Jordan. You know, some politicians somewhere, they keep adding things in that any time you come to. So I'm one of those to where I'm OK with a straight raise as long as we watch our P's and Q's and we don't just, you know, spend our way all the way to that by tomorrow. Because the alternative is we still end up getting there. And frankly, we we sometimes end up getting there in a lot more nefarious ways than this.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Well, the Congressional Budget Office has scored this bill, big, beautiful bill, and they say it's going to add about $3.3 trillion.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, but they're always wrong. Sorry, but those guys haven't been right yet.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, whatever it is, it's going to add to the deficit. We know that. I mean, just the interest on the national debt alone is growing.
SPEAKER 15 :
So when we come back, let's talk about some of the actual cuts that are in this bill as well. They hopefully offset some of those things, not all of it, but some of that. And we'll talk about the Fed and some of that as well, because, yes, what you just said plays a big part of this as well. We'll be right back, guys. Dr. Scott's up next. He is, of course, not only my doctor, but a lot of you that are listening as well. He's your doctor also. Give him a call today. He wants to talk to you and take care of you outside of big healthcare, big pharma. He will do what you need, not what they tell you you need. 303-663-6990.
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SPEAKER 05 :
Live and local, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Jordan Goodman with us, America's Money Answer Man. Again, Jordan, if folks want to get a hold of you, how do they do that?
SPEAKER 13 :
They can always email me at jordan at moneyanswers.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right. Let's talk about some of the cuts that are in the big, beautiful bill. I know it's not going to be, because I don't believe it's going to be enough to offset what we're doing on the other side of it, but there are cuts.
SPEAKER 13 :
So big in health care, Medicaid, they're talking about potentially a trillion in cuts over a few years. And again, the congressional budget option, and not to believe them, but they're talking about 16 million Americans losing health insurance because of that. And they've added a work requirement as well, 20 hours a week, which can be either paid or volunteer, in order to qualify for Medicaid. A lot of people won't do that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, or schooling. They can actually go to school as well. And then the other thing that it will do is, which we've talked about before, like here in Colorado, for example, I gave this example yesterday. We've got folks here in Colorado where they may be making, as a couple, $75,000, $80,000 a year. I think the threshold is $75,000, so $75,000 or below. But as a couple combined, have the opportunity to have insurance through their company, but choose not to because Medicaid is free.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. That's right. So those people will be losing that. Their company plans.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, probably not. And if these people are, in my opinion, freeloaders and they don't want to go out and work the 80 hours a month and they're able and willing to do so. I read an article the other day where somebody was complaining and whining that so-and-so that has disability won't have that any longer. That is so far from the truth. It's not even funny because the way that works, and you know this as well, Jordan, if they're already on disability and they've gone through all of the checks and balances to get on disability, they're not going anywhere.
SPEAKER 13 :
Correct. It's so-called able-bodied people. That's right. So that's a big one. And then, I mean, they're complaining that a lot of rural hospitals will close because they're getting 50, 60 percent of their income from Medicaid. So they just won't be able to make it. So we'll see. These are the predictions that are made. The other big social safety net program that's going to be cut a lot is SNAP, which is the food stamps. Right. Where, again, maybe you can say people don't need it, but there's a lot of people that might go hungry, literally, for not having food stamps to be able to buy what they need. So that's in the hundreds of billions of dollars. These are big, big cuts. So just across the board, I mean, for example, in health research, National Institutes of Health and all the things, cancer and diabetes and Alzheimer's and cancer, all these things, they've already laid off thousands of researchers in various ways federal workers directly in contract with universities so it would be a lot less investment in health care research of all types of those are some of the big healthcare changes we're about to see
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and again, a lot of this, as you know, this will be things that we talk about a year from now and see how some of this stuff shakes out. I am, as you know, I'm always one of those where, well, you know what, we'll see how things work out. I'm never one of these that get into panic mode on anything one way or the other, by the way, either side of the aisle, because I guess I'm more take that reasonable approach of let's see how things all turn out. Let's get everything all dialed in. And by the way, if you're an able-bodied worker, you shouldn't be on my tax dime on anything as far as I'm concerned, including food or medical or anything along those lines, which, by the way, Jordan, if those people now have to go out and actually work, that's another number that gets added back in on the other equation we were talking about earlier, if, in fact, they go do that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, if they're getting work and being productive and paying taxes, that's a net gain for the whole situation. So that would be a good thing. I just think there are going to be people who are going to not be able to work or suffer and not have skills or whatever. And there's just a whole bunch of other spending cuts. Those are the big ones. On the other side, massive spending increases for defense and border security. So on border security, it's like $45 billion to build the wall. uh... forty six billion for detention camps that they've got got alligator alcatraz in florida that'll be the first of many detention facilities uh... that'll be built uh... massive new spending for ice and uh... border patrol uh... people i mean the whole system of stopping uh... illegal immigration is going to be beefed up dramatically by billions and billions of dollars so that's probably a good thing and people will support that
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and we'll see. Again, that's another one of those, you know, wait and see. Well, it already is, I believe, slowing down those that are trying to come across the border in the first place, because if they realize that, oh, wait a minute, I might be held accountable for these things when they actually arrive, well, of course, that changes everything. And as you know, there's an And I don't know even what this number is. I don't think anybody has any accuracy when it comes to this. But what's it costing us in a lot of cases to have a lot of these folks that are here on an illegal basis? You know my feeling on that. We need a merit-based immigration system. It needs to be changed immensely. It's one thing that I get disappointed about on an ongoing basis with all the things we're talking about. Everything in the bill, great, fabulous, fine, whatever. As a business owner, I get some of my accelerated depreciation back. That's all great. But what I really want most of all, Jordan, is a renewed, redone immigration system.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Well, this bill, the big, beautiful bill, had zero Democratic support and barely squeaked through in the Senate. Right. Literally was a tie vote broken by the vice president. Right. out of the house literally with two votes uh... despair so it was not exactly a bipartisan bill in any way and for immigration it's the same thing we we definitely need to take everybody agrees we need to fix the system But nobody can agree on it, and the Congress is so split, it's hard to imagine they'll get some major immigration thing because nobody agrees how to do it.
SPEAKER 15 :
One side wants to allow a lot more, in my opinion, the freeloading aspect of things where somebody else like me, I'm all for having you here as long as you're coming to participate, add value to what we're doing, bringing a skill set with you. You know what? I'll give you a hug at the border for that matter.
SPEAKER 13 :
So that's a major change. The other big spending area is going to be defense. So we're talking about the Golden Dome, which is defending us against the missiles, more ships, more planes. We have depleted our inventory of arms, given a lot of it to Ukraine, actually.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 15 :
How much of that do you feel, and again, this is another one of those where it's a wait and see, but the agreement we made with Ukraine to then pull some of their minerals back out, how much of that will offset some of that, or has anybody come up with any guesstimates?
SPEAKER 13 :
These mines are not developed, so it could take 10 years to develop the mine in Ukraine before we start getting any significant strategic minerals, but I think it's a good idea for us to get something out of it, so just pouring money into them and never getting anything out of it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Agreed.
SPEAKER 13 :
But it's not instant. It takes a long time. And a lot of these strategic minerals are right in war zones. Got to get that over with first. It's a great place to be building a mine where you have drones and missiles hitting you all the time. I think the war really needs to end before they can really exploit those strategic minerals in Ukraine.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, let's jump into the whole, you know, Jerome Powell, the tariff talk, some of the things that we can talk about in regards to what was starting even, I believe it's either today or tomorrow. I guess it's the 9th, so that would be tomorrow. And Jerome Powell has even said that if it wasn't for those, I would have lowered rates, which, by the way, I think is a really, really stupid answer. He is he's going to find himself going down in history as being one of the most political Fed chairs, given the fact that he reduced rates under the last administration hasn't in this one. We haven't seen the inflation numbers that he keeps worrying about. I mean, I'm just telling you right up straight up, Jordan, this guy just doesn't get it, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, the official numbers are not quite at their targets. They're close. The inflation rate's about 2.4% now, which is close to their 2%, but not quite there. But he explicitly said for the first time last week that had we not had the threat of tariffs, that he would have lowered rates, because he's worried about the inflation that will come from tariffs. And it could happen. We don't know what's going to happen. I mean, tomorrow is the official deadline, July 9th. that President Trump announced originally on April 9th, giving 90 days to have deals. We've only had two deals so far, which is United Kingdom and Vietnam. China kind of, but not an official deal. And all the other 130 countries, or however many it is, have been talking, but not had actual deals. So today, President Trump said, this is it. He sent out letters to a lot of these countries saying, this is the final offer. Okay, and And either you agree to things or the tariffs are going to hit August 1st, so three weeks from now, basically. And everybody's in a complete panic over this. It's like, I can't deal with this.
SPEAKER 15 :
And you want to know why, Jordan? It's because for years, these other countries have gotten used to just getting by, slipping through the cracks, not really having to be accountable to us for anything. And finally, there's a president, President Trump, that's going to hold their feet to the fire and And I've said this before. There is no reason at all that the majority of the larger countries, I get the small countries and frankly could care less about them anyways because we don't buy enough goods and services for most of them to worry about it. But the big countries, there's no reason why these guys don't have deals done at this point in time. It's just being stubborn, if you ask me.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, they're giving up something that they've had for a long time. Exactly.
SPEAKER 15 :
They've been fleecing us for years, and now they're going to have to pay the piper, and they don't like it. That's exactly right.
SPEAKER 13 :
They don't like it. That is correct. So, I mean, China is the biggest one. Canada is obviously a big one as well. And we'll have to see. We have not come to any major deals with them, only the United Kingdom. So let's say for a moment that we do not get deals. And let's say the tariffs go into effect three weeks from now, August 1st. You're talking about major tariffs. I mean, some of these countries are 40%, 50%. Some of them are 70%. China would be, well, it's a base of 30% now, but it could be much more than that. I mean, we're importing over $600 billion worth of goods from China every year. So you add... 30% or 40% on top of that, that is inflationary, okay, because that's going to be passed through to consumers.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and this is where you and I will have to agree to disagree. Not necessarily, because I think what's already started to happen is depending upon what that good is, people are adjusting their buying habits and are figuring out either – A, I don't need that, or I can work around that and buy something else. And at the end of the day, I'm just fine when it's all said and done. I'll tell you right now, as a business and as a couple, that's exactly what we have done, Jordan. And I guarantee you, I'm not the only American and American business out there that's done that.
SPEAKER 13 :
It will change buying behavior. I agree. And people will tend not to buy the things that have a big price increase. because of tariffs, and in theory that's going to help American producers. The problem is a lot of stuff is not made in America.
SPEAKER 06 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 13 :
A lot. I'll just give you a recent example. Fireworks, okay? Right. 99% of the fireworks come from China.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that's one where, no offense, even if they doubled in price, people are still going to buy them. That one won't have any effect whatsoever. Sorry.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that's a big expense for municipalities to double what they're paying for.
SPEAKER 15 :
It is, but you know what? It's that old saying, Jordan, people buy what they want to. Not what they have to, what they want to.
SPEAKER 13 :
Maybe we'll have fewer fireworks. Maybe we'll have the same fireworks at double the cost or something. But that's just a specific example. Fireworks are not made in the United States. They just are not. And the only place we get them is from China. The world gets them from China, basically.
SPEAKER 15 :
There's a lot of other things like that.
SPEAKER 13 :
There is no domestic alternative for a whole bunch of stuff. And one of the other big ones is strategic minerals. China has about 97% of strategic and rare earth minerals. And there's no other place to go for them. So they have a real headlock on that one, I guess you might say. So these are the leverage they've got. The leverage we've got is that we're the big buyers.
SPEAKER 15 :
We're the biggest customer. That's right.
SPEAKER 13 :
We're the biggest customer. We're the one paying the $600 billion. That's right. And a lot of their businesses are really hurting right now because their American orders have dropped dramatically. So it's hurt the Chinese economy.
SPEAKER 15 :
As you know, China and there's been I read some stuff yesterday. Don't again, don't know how true some of these things are because I'm not there. I'm not on the ground. But supposedly there are all sorts of high ranking officials and other others in China right now that haven't been seen now for weeks. And they are, I believe, in a world of hurt trying to figure out what to do next there. Their pride, Jordan, and we've talked about this before, that old saying, pride cometh before a fall, their pride is going to get the best of them.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, the way they would refer to it is losing face. And losing face is the worst thing that can happen in China. So to be seen as weak or giving in to pressure is losing face. So they may kind of lose their face anyway, despite their resistance to doing so. So this is a big one. We'll have to see if this can be done. I mean, supposedly we're having conversation with China. They've eased up on strategic minerals a little bit, and we've eased up on some chips to some extent. But that's the big one that we really have to resolve one way or the other. And if we do not get it resolved and massive tariffs, more than 30% going on China goods, that is clearly going to be inflationary. There's a lot of stuff that we import from China that you can't get anywhere else, and it's going to cost more.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that's what Fed Reserve Chairman... Well, and here's my... And you already know. My frustration with the Fed is we haven't had any now for several months. They could have easily lowered rates, added some things back into those small to medium-sized businesses, the housing market, and all sorts of other things that they literally could have jump-started that, frankly, Jordan... If, in fact, we end up with any kind of inflation, which I don't think we'll have a whole lot when it's all said and done, time will tell. But if they would have done some of that, the reality is they would have, A, been ahead of it. And if they even had to tick them back up slightly just because inflation went up, they'd still be ahead of it. I don't know what they're doing. They don't understand Main Street is the problem.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Well, you're right. I mean, for example, the housing market has really been hurt by this, with mortgage rates around 7%. and home prices at high levels, and home insurance premiums having gone up. It's just unaffordable for them. The spring housing market was terrible. It was the worst since 2009, and many cases, both new and existing home sales, are way, way down. They don't have a big multiplier impact in the economy. Because when people don't buy homes, they don't buy carpeting and furniture. They don't buy all kinds of other stuff. TVs and so on.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's right. That's right. Again, that's one where I feel like they've really missed the mark. Okay, we'll come back, talk a little bit more about that. Don't go anywhere. Real quick, Jordan, how do folks find you?
SPEAKER 13 :
They can always email me, jordan at moneyanswers.com.
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SPEAKER 15 :
All right, last segment we have with Jordan Goodman, America's Money Answer Man. Okay, let's talk a little bit more about not only the Fed, but the stock market, how that's being affected by all of this, the unemployment numbers and so on. Economy, all in all, isn't as bad as it probably could be, Jordan. On the same token, I believe it could be a whole lot better had the Fed done some of the things I mentioned a moment ago.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. Well, the high interest rates are clearly taking a toll. The unemployment numbers we saw last Friday, the overall number was pretty good, 147,000 jobs graded. But if you look under the hood, it was only 78,000 private sector jobs, and the rest were mostly state jobs, mostly in education. so the private sector hiring is really slow down a lot from what it was earlier you think what's happening in the housing market and just that's right you're not going to be building homes you're not going to have realtors all the things that that'll impact uh... places like that uh... and this is before the impact the tariffs tariffs are going to have some impact uh... for example the buyers of aluminum and and steel like car companies so i'm just they they can't they have to absorb these higher costs and they're going to cut jobs as a result of last week microsoft let off 9,000 workers. Those are even high-end kind of jobs. I think to some extent that's because of artificial intelligence.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I agree with that.
SPEAKER 13 :
So, you know, the economy is slowing in certain ways. Now, in theory, these tax cuts will boost, as you say, accelerate depreciation 100% right off of investments. It could help small businesses do it. They need certainty to be able to do that. And now they're going to get certainty because the bills affect permits. So that's a positive. If you have businesses make decisions.
SPEAKER 15 :
And one thing that's helping them and the economy in general is, you know, a lot of – I watched some folks on social media that I just laughed at because they were predicting oil to be at 130 a barrel, you know, when we were doing the Iran bombing. And I'm just like, you guys are such knuckleheads. Just give it a day or two. Let's see how things turn out. And as it turned out, it never got any higher than about 78 and then went all the way down into the low 60s.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. So that was a positive because it was not – I mean, had it gone another way in that Iraq blocked the Strait of Hormuz and started bombing Saudi Arabia – No, they need the cash too much.
SPEAKER 15 :
They need their own oil to go out because that's one of their cash sources as well. Again, these are some of the things that those quote-unquote experts I think at times, Jordan, forget. I mean, the reality is Iran – and that's why Israel didn't attack them on any of their oil facilities and production. and all that kind of stuff. I mean, the reality is they still needed those things to go out the door, and nobody was going to stop that from happening, them included.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's the only thing Iran has. They've tried exporting revolution. It hasn't worked too well. Oil is about the only thing they've got. That's all they've got. So, yes, it came out well. We bombed the nuclear facilities. relatively cleanly there was no radiation coming out of them uh... and iran pretty much gave up a truth in the forward belt american military base which did never be a factor of over the twelve-day war and i guess we're calling in there so that was a very positive outcome uh... you know there was fear it could have gone the other way that uh... we could have had to complication but we didn't so for that step we've been a positive the whole israel uh... dominance of the middle east is a very positive thing i mean they've wiped out from off They've wiped out Hezbollah. Syria has fallen. I wouldn't call it democratic, but it's a lot better than under Assad. So a lot of the major enemies have been vanquished, or Iran is kind of very weak now, and Israel is just very powerful in the whole region. Hopefully that creates some peace, and maybe we can have an accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia, for example, and other Arab states. So the whole calculus has changed.
SPEAKER 15 :
That wouldn't surprise me, by the way, when it's all said and done. We could very well, I think, see something along those lines. Talk to us, and I know it's not in my notes, but talk to us about what investments or what folks should be looking at. I mean, gold has been really well. It's fallen off some today, of course, but it's been pretty strong all the way up to about $30. You definitely should have some gold.
SPEAKER 13 :
You could either buy physical gold. You could buy a gold exchange-traded fund like a GLD. Silver has also moved well. And Bitcoin has. because up to about a hundred nine thousand something like that uh... that's been a really tough for a start of the year about seventy thousand has gone up dramatically those are considered alternatives to the u s dollar the dollar has fallen about ten percent so far this year because of all the things we've done with the uncertainty of the tariffs and all the other reasons uh... and so people want to get out of the dollar now one of the recent changes was the so-called bricks countries brazil russia india china south africa uh... trump said he's gonna put extra tariffs on them to try to get out of the dollar there's another major global uh... confrontation there uh... and when it when he don't feel very likely put the power bottom brick for example in this happen in europe when they have the nato meeting and uh... thirty one of the thirty two countries that yes will increase our defense spending to five percent of dvp except for spain it's okay spain we're going to be attached to help about doing that though that's that's the leverage of trump used to get people to do what he wants which
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, to me it seems pretty straightforward, and I guess maybe it's just the mentality of those particular countries, the leaders of. I guess they think that Trump doesn't mean business. I mean, I'm confused on some of that at times, Jordan. It's like, A, no offense, Spain, you're not that large. You're not making that big of a dent, so why aren't you just playing along?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, well, I think there's domestic political reasons, but every other NATO country agreed, which was a major... change. I mean, they've been at 2% of GDP in the United States, some even less, and they've all agreed to go up to 5% of GDP in 10 years. Europe does not have the defense industrial base to do that. They're going to have to be building that up. They don't build tanks and Patriot missiles and all the stuff that they're going to need. So that's going to be a major focus in Europe, is building up the defense, which they need because of what's going on in Ukraine, where, unfortunately, the war is continually just completely bloody. Russia sends hundreds of drones and missiles every night now. It's just completely unrestrained. They don't seem to have any interest in a ceasefire whatsoever, and they're seeing weakness on our part. We're holding back some weapons that Ukraine would normally get, and they're just bombing the daylight out of them because they don't have the Patriot missiles to shoot a lot of these things down now. Not that Ukraine's going to give up, but it's just a bloody mess, and it seems to be going on for a long time.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, what do you think? I mean, that's one I'm surprised that there hasn't been an end to now. It shows you how stubborn I think both countries are, Putin especially. What's your prediction there? How long does this keep going?
SPEAKER 13 :
Years. I don't see this ending. I don't see Ukraine giving in, and I don't see Russia giving in. Russia's winning on the battlefield now. They took back that area around Kursk that Ukraine took. They've just got far more firepower and men. to do this. It's a combination of World War I, trench warfare, and 2025 with drones and all these hypersonic missiles. It's a very strange war where it kind of combines the ancient and the very, very modern.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, absolutely. No, I was reading some things along those lines this morning, even some of the drones and what's being used and so on. It's a very interesting... uh battle war what you know whatever you want to call it war and and the outcome and i'm i'm with you unless there's some major you know breakthrough and i don't know exactly what that's going to be you know whether trump can can you know have some sort of a breakthrough with putin because it's not ukraine as you know it's going to have to be something on the battlefield it would have to be in the battlefield only if putin felt threatened but he was going to lose
SPEAKER 13 :
would he come to the table? And he's right now gaining. You know, at horrible losses, he loses hundreds of soldiers every day, but he doesn't care. He's just going to keep grinding away. So I don't see him coming to the ceasefire table. We've put all the sanctions we can possibly put on him. He's getting bailed out by China and India, mostly. If he didn't have them, they wouldn't have a friend in the world. They would be in North Korea, I should say. So I don't see an end to that war, unfortunately. It's just grinding on terribly.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep. No, I agree with you. It is. And I'm with you. I don't know, unless there's some major change, and this is, you know, going back to what you said a moment ago on the battlefield, this is one area that I can almost assure you of, we will not get involved to the degree we just helped Israel with Iran. That's not going to happen over there. We're not going to get in some sort of an engagement with Russia like we just did with Iran. It's not going to happen.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, unless Russia invades like Estonia or Latvia, you know, that would be different.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, that
SPEAKER 13 :
It would be different. In NATO Article 5, you know, we are rushing. I mean, he hasn't done that yet, but he's threatened it. He's threatened it in Moldova. I mean, there are other places he could go. And by crossing the red line, we, by treaty, are obligated to come to their defense.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, right, yeah. So jumping back really quick to the Fed chair and all that, there's been, you know, conversation around, you know, D.C. You've probably heard some of this where, you know, Trump's already looking at naming the folks to replace Powell, not that he's looking to replace him early. Do you think Powell will serve out his entire term or do you think he gets close to Christmas time and says, you know what, I'm done?
SPEAKER 13 :
No, no, he's digging in his heels. He's there till May 15th. two thousand twenty-six we've got like ten months ago and he's going to serve up every last drop of it out of spite because he doesn't want to be seen as pushed around or being uh... you know have a political influence on him uh... night but the most likely person would be kevin walsh who's been fed board in the past would be much more compliant with what uh... trump wants but now i think trump uh... palestinian state of the bitter end
SPEAKER 15 :
That's sad because, unfortunately, he's going to end up going down, as I said earlier, as probably one of the worst Fed chairs we've had. And I mean that sincerely. He was late to the game. You and I talked about it back during COVID when he was calling inflation transitory. And guys like you and I and Andy were even saying, No, Jerome, it is not transitory. It's here. It's as plain as the nose. And by the way, he's got a fairly good-sized nose. It's as plain as the nose on his face was, and he couldn't see that. And the fact of the matter is he's bucking this one in exactly the same way. I believe, again, Jordan, this is one I don't think I'm wrong on. Once he leaves, whenever that is, the history books will go down, will say that he goes down as one of the worst Fed chairs we've had.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, we'll see. I mean, I think the worst one would have been G. William Miller in the 1970s, who let inflation totally get out of control into hyperinflation. And he kind of fed the whole thing. So I would put that in the same category in a more egregious way. It could be done better now, but the economy is not in bad shape. It could be better. But it's not as if we have hyperinflation or depression.
SPEAKER 15 :
I think what's going to happen with Jerome is he's going to go down in the history books as being somebody that, rather than looking at helping and fighting for the American public, he was fighting against the president, and he's looking at it completely the wrong way. He should be fighting for and looking at the country as a whole and the American public, especially those that are the working class of this country, not fighting with somebody that's in the White House. But that's what he's doing.
SPEAKER 13 :
It really is going to depend on how the tariff battle comes out, as we discussed. So if the tariffs go into effect and we're getting 30%, 40% increases, I think he'll feel justified that he didn't cut rates. If the tariff battle, we get deals and we get tariffs down, then I think he'll feel more comfortable cutting rates. That's the key inflection point on whether he's going to cut rates or not.
SPEAKER 15 :
So I'm assuming your thought is at the end of this month he does nothing.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. No, not in July. He's not going to move one way or the other because, again, we're right in the middle of the tariff situation. And now we have an August 1st deadline. And are these things going to go up or not? And that's not going to be known by the time of their July meeting. So I don't think of any way he's going to cut rates in July.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, Jordan, one last time. How do folks find you?
SPEAKER 13 :
They can always email me, jordan at moneyanswers.com. Always glad to help you folks, Joe.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's always a fast hour, Jordan. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it very much. All right. Thank you, John. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER 13 :
You bet.
SPEAKER 15 :
Have a great one. Let's do this. Golden Eagle Financial. Speaking of all of these financial things we talked about with Jordan, if you need some help personally when it comes to your financial situation, how to get to retirement, how to stay there, talk to Al Smith today. Just go to klzradio.com and find him there.
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SPEAKER 15 :
And it is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for tuning in today. Again, Jordan Goodman, America's Money Answer Man. You can reach out to him and ask questions directly if you would like. And Jordan's got all sorts of other things, too, that he can help with when it comes to, you know, what's the best credit card to use? How do you save the most money in some of those areas? How can you get some debt paid off and so on? So he's always got some great tips on that. If you need him directly, feel free to reach out. Question of the day. Yesterday, why do so many countries' names change? end in stan, like Pakistan. It's because the word means settlement, state, or place in various languages. So because in certain languages it means settlement, state, place, that's why a lot of countries end in stan. All right, today's impossible question of the day. Name the city that adopted the Goodyear blimp as the city's official bird in 1983. So name the city that adopted the Goodyear blimp as the city's official bird in 1983. And again, you can answer all of our questions of the day. Go to our social media end of things on Facebook, Rush to Reason. Very easy to sign. I don't say this enough. You should go there. Actually like the page. Follow us. Producer Anne puts a lot of great things up on a routine basis. And you can always go there and even send in questions and so on. But the text line works really well for that as well. 307-282-22. All right. Hour 2 is up next. Don't go anywhere. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Bye.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we're rich guys.
SPEAKER 06 :
Ordinary. We're rich guys.
John Rush welcomes Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, for a frank discussion on tax cuts, small business growth, and the myth of corporations paying taxes. They dissect the real effects of economic legislation, expose the hidden cost of tax hikes, and challenge the political fantasies surrounding the Epstein list. John also tackles conservative strategy, emotional politics, and why grinding it out beats waiting for a "smoking gun." Packed with hard truths and strategic insight.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 03 :
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 04 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 03 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 08 :
Get a job first. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 06 :
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 03 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 14 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Hour 3, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us. We've got a special guest joining us now, Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform. Grover, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 15 :
I am peachy keen and better this week than last week and all sorts of excitement.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, so we had a conversation earlier in a 3 o'clock hour talking about the big, beautiful bill and things that are in it and some of the tax things that are there. And I'm a small business owner as well on top of what I do here, Grover. So there's things in it that I'm excited about. I wanted to see some things really kept in. And I think for a lot of business owners, they were really worried about, okay, for example, what's accelerated depreciation going to do? Are we going to have that in the future or not? It was being phased out, as you know, prior to now. And those are things that I believe are real big stimulants to the economy, especially on the small business side. I'm also like you. I'm one that I feel like any tax increases at the end of the day do nothing but have negative impact. And I don't agree with the Congressional Budget Office on how much this particular bill will really cost when it's all said and done, because the one thing they always seem to forget is how much economic growth you can get out of these sorts of things.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, absolutely. Growth is the goal. Growth is the reason for this tax cut. When we took the corporate rate down in 2017 from 35, highest in the world, United States. The United States, the capitalist, the free market country had the highest tax on business in the world. Communist China, 15, 25, and we were at 35. We were higher than France. OK, not stupider than France is not where you want to be on the on the chart. But, you know, we took that down. We got so much growth that we were raising more money from the corporate rate today than we would have if we kept it at 35 percent growth.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and the other thing, too, that along those lines is I'm glad you brought that up, because one thing I always remind everybody of is corporations don't pay taxes anyways. They're customers. We do.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, there is no Mr. General Motors. No, you can't find them. It's not in the phone book.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 15 :
There are customers of General Motors who, when you steal a million dollars from General Motors and call it a property tax or an excise tax or a corporate income tax, that comes out of the people who buy cars. That's right. The other place it comes out of is lower wages for the people who work there, because that's 70 percent of What a company makes or sells is paid in wages. You know, they've got to build the car and buy the steel and all that other stuff. But most of it's wages. So you take a million dollars out, how do you think they're going to cut the budget? They pay people less or don't give them raises.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. It's one of several things, as you know. Don't give raises. Don't have other benefits. Don't do as much as you could on health care. I can go down the list, Grover, as you know. That's how that works. Don't hire as many people. That's right. Don't expand. Don't do other things. Don't get into other markets. Don't get into other projects that you might have wanted to do. I mean, there's all sorts of things that, to your point, when you do the things that we just, you know, that Trump just signed in last Friday, it gives companies now solid footing and an idea of, oh, I can do this and I know what my outcome is going to be.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we actually have certainty. It will be decades before anybody tinkers with the tax cuts here. And they'll have to have the House, the Senate, 60 votes in the Senate and the House and the presidency at the same time. Not easy to do. You can make an investment for a long period of time knowing pretty well, fairly well, that this is what the tax code is going to be. And, of course, we intend to make it better, which is why I'm awfully cheerful. As much as I like the big, beautiful bill, there's going to be another piece of legislation just like this in terms of the rules, a A bill that allows you to cut taxes and spending a reconciliation package. Right. One in November and one in the spring. Speaker of the House just announced it the other day. He'd been telling all the congressmen this thing. Don't get all pissy about what what isn't in this bill right now. We've got two more bites at this apple. There are two more trains leaving the station. Mm hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
Which, again, by the way, thank you for that reminder because I do think there's a lot of people that get frustrated over what wasn't in it or what got taken out. There were things in it, of course, and as you know, those things never come back down the pike exactly the way they leave. It's just the nature of the beast and what it is. There's going to have to be some adjustments and compromises that are made along the way. And to your point, we get this in other ways. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Maybe that's what I should say, Grover.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes. I've never skinned a cat. I haven't either, by the way.
SPEAKER 05 :
I never have, but I don't even know where that expression comes from. I guess I'll have to look that one up.
SPEAKER 15 :
I, as a kid, boasted a false knowledge of how easy it was to skin a cat and how many ways there must be talking awfully easily about something about which I really had no knowledge whatsoever.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, so what's your answer to, because I talked about this again during the 3 o'clock hour, where one of the things that happened in the Big Beautiful Bill, which I'm not a fan of, but I also understand why it was done, and that's putting the debt ceiling up another $5 trillion. I don't want to see it increase $5 trillion, but I also know, Grover, that every time you come back in to raise it, It seems like one side of the aisle or the other, and one of them's more for doing this than others, and that is they always sneak things in that as we raise the ceiling, oh, I've got to get my pet project done at the same time. This does eliminate that, correct?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, because you don't have to – yes, to get Democrats to agree to vote for a debt ceiling if the Republicans are in charge, and a handful of Republicans go, I'm not voting for any debt ceiling increase, so you've got to buy some Democrats – Buying Democrats is very expensive. Try not to do it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, that one usually doesn't work very well. And again, I don't want $42 trillion in debt, but I also, Grover, don't want to come back year after year after year to try to get things raised, knowing that there's going to be some of that until things start coming into play with what you and I are talking about.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, yes. Look, we're going to get some serious growth out of this. The growth that's expected, this should take us to 3% growth over the next decade. The lower rates, the faster depreciation, the permanency, the certainty of it. That increase in growth from where we are now, about 1.5, 1.8, that gets you up $4 trillion additional revenue beyond what you were expecting before. That growth, that's how powerful growth is. $4 trillion simply by growing at 3% instead of 1.5%. It's a big deal. It's how we grew away from the debt after the Second World War. It was 100% of GDP. By the time Reagan got in, it was 20% of GDP. Okay? Why? Because we paid down debt. No, we didn't pay down any debt. We just grew the economy to where we were bigger than the debt.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, that's right. Yeah, good point. Great point. That's a great way to look at it. Okay. So, and I don't know where you stand on this, and just be honest back with me. Could you have a conversation with our Fed chair to let him know some of the things you and I are talking about so he'll actually lower rates and even stimulate the economy even more?
SPEAKER 15 :
Certainly the president has been shouting in his ear that he might wish to do that. There's some real questions on that. We've got some challenges, but We are working very seriously in Washington, DC, the administration, on making it easier for people to find and create and use energy. so that the cost of energy will go down. And we want to compete with China and Europe by having lower cost energy, not subsidized energy, real lower cost energy. We want to have fewer regulations, simpler regulations, less expensive regulations. We want permitting that doesn't say it'll come back in seven years and we'll tell you if you can add a third lane to that highway.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 15 :
Because we're not quite sure if the snails can make it across three lanes. And we need the lowest taxes. You do those things, we can compete on lower taxes, less regulation, better, faster permitting, lower energy costs, and have high wages. What the Democrats want to do is they like regulations, they like the big permitting, they like expensive energy, and they want to turn around and have us compete on lower taxes. Wages. Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
In Europe.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER 05 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 05 :
Grover, how do folks find you and find out more about you?
SPEAKER 15 :
They should mind their own businesses. Oh, I'm sorry. ATR.org is our website. I tweet at Grover Norquist and we have a podcast and we talk about all sorts of fun stuff there. But the website will give you a good sense of what's going on. on tax policy, national and state by state. We work in a lot of states. You know, there are 12 states that are phasing their income taxes down to zero, in addition to the eight that are already at zero. So 15 years from now, we're going to have about half the country will be in states that have zero income tax, and they are going to bleed out the states that have 15% in California and 10 or 11 in New York, those states. They're going to have to do something else for a living other than be states.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, yeah. Good stuff. Grover, as always, I appreciate this opportunity. I know it was short notice, but I appreciate you coming on and joining us.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you for the opportunity.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're very welcome. Have a great rest of your evening. And again, that is Grover Norquist, and he is president for Americans for Tax Reform. Up next, Flesh Law. If you need help criminally speaking or civilly speaking, give Kevin a call today. He's always there to help you, 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive, this is John Rush.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, lots of you texting in, by the way. Thank you, by the way. I don't know if our signal goes all the way down there, but there is some flash flooding as we speak going on in New Mexico. Our signal probably doesn't get quite that far, but if you've got folks or people that you know that are in New Mexico, just go look it up. There's several different articles out there on it. Right now. And yeah, if you're if you know anyone have any loved ones or any anybody that maybe went out Fourth of July camping, they're still away, whatever the case. If you've got the ability to reach them, you may want to go ahead and and try that. Several of you texting into about, you know, the whole. Epstein situation, and if it didn't exist, and why did Pam Bondi say what she said? Keep in mind, folks, this is how some of these things work. And I'm not her. I can't speak for her, but I just know enough about how certain things work at certain times where I think it's fair for me to say this. You could have all sorts of piles of things on your desk, things that have been set there, and now all of a sudden you go to an interview and somebody says, well, what about such and such? Well, I haven't been through that yet, but once I get through it, I'll let you know, which is essentially what she said. Now, it doesn't matter whether somebody said you're going to release the list or you're going to release that or you're going to release – it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, she's saying it's on my desk, and when I go through it, you'll be the first to know. It's not exactly what she said, but in essence, that's what she said. And by the way, I – As a business owner, I have had situations similar to that where somebody has asked me about such and such, and what do I think about such and such, or can you get me such and such? And the answer is, well, it's on my desk, and when I get to it, I'll let you know. And then, by the way, you get to whatever it is you're supposed to be looking at, and you're like, this isn't anything close to what was even supposed to be on my desk or what I thought was going to be on my desk. I've had that happen to me, and I am not her. You know, I am not at that same level. And I guarantee you, she doesn't just have one or two documents coming across her desk on a daily basis. I'm guessing there are thousands. And she's probably got people even working for her that are determining what order are we going to review some of these things in and so on and so forth. And I think where I'm going with this is cool your jets, folks, just a teeny bit. Cool your jets. Calm down. Calm down. It's all going to be fine. And for those of you that were hoping for, praying for, wishing for some sort of grand, you know, indictments and so on coming out of this list, I've been telling you guys all along that I didn't think any of that was going to happen in the first place. I really didn't. I haven't talked about the Epstein thing much, period. Somebody said, well, then why did he and Maxine get arrested? Then if there wasn't a list per se that, OK, well, time out. What they did and what they were being accused of were completely separate from the list. And I'd have to go back in and even specifically look at what they were arrested for, but the list isn't having anything to do with that. And there's been all sorts of talk, call it conspiracy, call it whatever you want, talk around what really happened on said island. Now, keep in mind, there was all sorts of people that supposedly went back and forth to the island and everybody from Bill Clinton and so on. And again, folks, I guess my take on all of that is, like I talked about earlier in the 4 o'clock hour, I've never felt like much is going to come out of that anyways. I would rather concentrate on things that have a real effect at the end of the day, and I've never felt like that whole thing was going to be the smoking gun that we all as conservatives are looking for to try to then indict a bunch of folk on the left and hopefully have a change of pace because of that. In fact, here's what I'm going to tell all of you. If that's what you're wishing for, you don't understand politics. You don't understand how the world works. If you're thinking that there's going to be some big bombshell that comes along that upsets the political apple cart, and that's what gives us as conservatives a leg up, let me tell you, you're not looking at it correctly. You're looking at it completely incorrectly, by the way. In fact, what we should be doing is instead of trying to worry about that end of things, how do we beat them at the polls? How do we run better candidates than what they're running? How do we win in the trenches? That's what we should be worrying about, not what's on an Epstein list. Sorry, folks. I guess that's my business side coming out. In business, if you're waiting for the big smoking gun to come along and make you successful, you never will be. If you're waiting for the one big thing, the one big break that's just going to make your business take off, no, you know what makes your business take off? Being in the trenches every day and working harder than the next guy. That's what makes your business take off. Politics is no different, by the way. If we as conservatives are just going to sit around and wait for some big thing to happen, hoping that it's going to knock that boat out of the water, take that ship out of the water, if you would, think again. It's not going to happen. The only way you beat the other side is beating the other side. not wishful thinking that some big landslide whatever-whatever will come out and change the landscape of politics. Folks, if that's what you're waiting for, you're going to die a long, slow death hoping that something happens. It never does. I'm sorry to say, because it doesn't work that way. All of you that feel that way, I say feel that way, should know exactly what I'm saying because you're smart enough to know that. And I think for me, what really disappoints me at times about our party is the folks that get so emotionally wound up in things, yet they're very smart, intelligent, high IQ people, but you let your emotions run ahead of the facts. and of what strategy should be, and what it really does take to win. And folks, I can tell you, because I've been around people, I've coached businesses. I coach businesses, as you all know. And what I will tell my businesses on a daily basis is if you're waiting for that one big sale to come along and make your year, it's not going to happen. If you're waiting for that one big break to come along and make your business happen, not going to happen. What makes your business successful and what makes you successful is grinding it out day after day after day and doing it better than the next guy. That's what makes you successful. Politics, folks, is no different. In fact, I will tell you right now, that's where the left is better than us. They've got a machine that they grind out on a daily basis. Right, wrong, or otherwise. And it is wrong. It is as evil as evil can be. But they grind it out every single day. Look what I've talked about today in regards to the response to the Texas flood. Do they grind it out every day? Absolutely. It's on overtime all the time. Do we do that? Nope. Nope, we don't. Now, in our defense, we're not as vile as they are and we're not going to do things the way they do, nor should I nor would I ever or would I ever advocate for doing it their way. I'm not saying that. But can we do a better job on our side of grinding it out and beating them on a, you know, election after election end of things? Absolutely. We can. Do we? No, we don't. We fail all the time. And we fail, honestly, because, once again, we let our emotions run in front of us. For example, we'll think, oh, you know, so-and-so, they're just a great guy. Man, you know, I would love to have them as my candidate or as my representative or as my senator or, you know, whether that's on a statewide level or a national level or they'd make a great governor, man alive, wouldn't they do a great job? Would they? Would they? I don't know. Would they? Just because you like them, would they? Would they? And so where I'm going with this is there's a lot of times where we'll even run candidates because our emotions say, oh, they're a really good guy or they're a really good gal. They'd make a great candidate. Would they? Would they? And again, we don't strategize like the left does along those lines. All right, we've got calls coming in. We'll come right back here in a moment. Roof Savers of Colorado coming up next. 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SPEAKER 12 :
Stay up to date with Rush to Reason after the show on Twitter at Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 05 :
We are back, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Joshua in the Springs, go ahead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, thank you for your time. I absolutely agree with the aspect of not really having high expectations of seeing a client list. The challenge I have is you mentioned strategically, politically, and how Bondi, you know, we all remember them coming out with the binders and things like that. And, you know, they're on my desk. And you don't lie, especially, I mean, this is chum for the Democrats. Because they're like, well, they promised to give it out. The expectation was set. And I guess my challenge and frustration is not that we aren't finding out who's on Epstein list. And we know there's a two-tiered justice system. There's untouchables. And for Republicans to think that it's only Democrats that were on the island, supposedly whatever happened. Right. is naive and ignorant.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 02 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 05 :
And this is the only thing that I wish that, and this maybe is a little lack of experience on Bondi's part, but remember, Charlie just told me through the break, reminded me through the break that, you know, Kash Patel's, Bongino's, and so on. They have all looked at these same things and have come out with the exact same answers. And I can tell you right now that between Patel and Bongino, taking Pam Bondi completely out of the picture, I know those two guys well enough. I've interviewed both of those guys, by the way, on my own program here. I can tell you this. I don't think they would be lying, Joshua. Did I lose you?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I'm here. I was hoping. I haven't had that experience with them, obviously. But my concern is the fact that that's what they were pushing on hard during the campaign. And by the way, I think this is where everything and deliver nothing after getting elected. But the fact that afterwards they kept on saying, well, you know, we have it on the desk. Oh, there's terabytes information there. I just strategically and politically, that was a horrendous, like, just decision.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, here's what I think happens to those individuals. This is my opinion. This is where I try to be very careful in never going down those same paths that, frankly, a lot of other talk show hosts and conservatives do, Joshua, and I do my very best to not go down them because they can come back to bite you. I think, this is my opinion, I could be completely wrong in this, but I think they got caught up Keep in mind that Cash very much on social media and all of that, Bongino, of course, having his own show and so on. I think both of them, I'm not so sure about Pam Bondi, but I can tell you those two, in my opinion, were heavily influenced by a lot of folks that they were around, listeners, followers, and all of that. So I think they had honestly, Joshua, bought in to the whole conspiracy that there's this big list and we're going to have all kinds of people going to jail once we find the list and on and on we go. that I think they bought into that hook, line, and sinker, and that's part of what they ran on. Not ran on, but that's part of what they were talking about before getting the positions that they got. And then they get in there and figure out. And, again, I've not been there. I haven't seen it from my own two eyes. But I think they then get in there and realize, oh, crap, there's nothing here. Now what?
SPEAKER 02 :
But the thing that got me is if they came in and said there's no client list, it would have been like, you know, okay, now what? But the fact that, you know, the administration and key individuals that have clearance to see the information kept on, like, you know, stringing us along. That's the frustration.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and here's where I think, really quick, on the stringing along thing, here's what I think on that, because I've had some other folks, some guests even comment on, you know, they wish Pam Bondi would do this, they wish he would do this, you know, wish she would do this, blah, blah, blah. And my feeling on that, Joshua, is I do think, and this is where I'm going to give them some credit, I do think they've been extremely thorough. I think the reason why they've waited as long as they have to not tell us there's a list is because I think they've gone through, this is my opinion, but I think they've gone through to make sure that there isn't, in fact, any list, any word, shape, or form buried away someplace. Somebody's trying to hide it and so on. But I still go back to what Joe, caller Joe, and even Charlie has said all along. People talk. I guarantee you. that if there were high-ranking Republicans on an Epstein list, no matter what Democrat high-ranking officials were on there, you can bet yourself, Joshua, I can bet you a million bucks the left would have released that. Guaranteed.
SPEAKER 02 :
I hope you're right. I just hope that there is accountability.
SPEAKER 05 :
Think about it this way. You know how the left strategically works and how they're out to dismantle us on a daily basis. We're seeing it right now with their response to even the Texas floods. The reality is they don't care. They have no scruples. They're as evil Joshua as evil can get. If they thought for one second— that Donald Trump or anybody close to him is on that list, don't you think they would have released that under Joe Biden?
SPEAKER 02 :
You would hope. I mean, again, we know how political games start and happen. You would think so. Again, I don't care if they're Republican or Democrat. I just want accountability at the end of the day.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree with you on that one wholeheartedly, especially in this particular case. I definitely would agree with you. Joshua, I appreciate the phone call, by the way, and I thank you for that. And, yeah, I mean, I'm with him. I agree. And, I mean, I think I'm one of those people that in the back of my mind, back of my heart, I guess you could say, do I wish there was a list? Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to know who actually was coming and going and what was going on and so on. But let me also say this. I don't think a guy like Epstein, who is basically running a pyramid scheme, if you really want to get down to it. In fact, I think Charlie, I'd have to go back and see what he was actually arrested on. But isn't that what he was actually arrested for? Don't quote me. I'm going back now in time. And if you get a second to look that up, Charlie, let me know what he was actually arrested for. But regardless, guy's not dumb. Now, maybe I'm naive in thinking this. But if I were him, would I have ever have had a quote unquote printed list? I can tell you right now I wouldn't. I wouldn't have any kind of a printed list that could be found duplicated. You know, I'd have some other way of making sure that I am quote unquote protecting my clients, which in this case they were. And I would be making sure that there was no chance of anything like that ever leaking out, that that would be how I would do it. And by the way, he's smarter than me. Now, some of you would say, well, maybe he's not because he got caught. No, trust me. Con artists, they're smart. They're not stupid people. You don't build your own private island and hang out and rub elbows with billionaires and all these different individuals. You don't get to that level by being dumb. conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking is what he was actually arrested for. Okay? Now, keep in mind, he never even went to the full trial and all of that because of the quote-unquote suicide while he was in jail, so it never got to that level. What would they have found out? I... I don't know. Was he guilty of something? Most likely, or he wouldn't have either been offed or committed suicide. And again, according to Patel and Bongino, he committed suicide. They watched the tapes. So supposedly, again, I'm going off of what's being reported back, and what I can go off of, or what I have to go off of, guys, and I don't know Dan Bongino personally, I don't know Kash Patel personally, What I do know is I have interviewed both of them. They seem like very genuine individuals. Both of them have been in the public eye for a while. Both of them, by the way, have been accused of by the left for doing all sorts of things that turned out to not be true, by the way. Both of them have stood the test of time in relation to the left. Does it mean that they're angels? Of course not. I'm sure they've got things going on in their world that is just like anybody else. Are they perfect individuals? Absolutely not. I do believe what I just told Joshua a moment ago, though, I do think this is where we as conservatives have to be really, really careful. You get caught up in certain things that are going on. And before you know it, you're kind of you're kind of running around thinking, OK, gosh, now how do I do damage control? Because what I really thought or what I had been, quote unquote, led to believe isn't there. And it's why I've never dug in deep on this program in all of the Dominion voting end of things, all of the stuff regarding Mike Lindell, Tina Peters, and so on. You've not heard me delve into any of that because, frankly, a lot of that, and some of you are going to disagree with me here, but a lot of that's emotions and is led by that, I'm sorry to say. And it's sort of that I know that, you know, smart people like Joe and Charlie probably have this term on the top of their head. But, you know, what's that old saying? You know, they get caught up in the crowd, Charlie. You know, they get to believing what something is just because everybody else is pushing and talking about it. It's sort of like a flood. You know, the flood is it's going down and it continues to grow. It starts devouring everything around it all the way through. Almost mass hysteria, Charlie just said. Yes. And I, for one, I do my very, very, very, very best to never get caught up in that. And some of that for me, I think, you know, my dad, who now is in memory care, and I wish he could hear me say this, but can't because he can hear me, but he wouldn't know that I said it 10 minutes from now. Love him dearly, but he's in memory care with Alzheimer's. But one of the things he taught me growing up, and it sounds very negative, but it is something that I have stayed pretty true to. So when I was a young boy, one of the things my dad would tell me is, John, Bud, that was my nickname, Bud. Bud, believe half of what you see and none of what you read. Now, I know that's an extreme, but his point was there's a lot of things that you're going to see in life that you're going to think are real and that people will even tell you are, but until you really dig into finding out whether it is or isn't, it may not be. So, in other words, don't get caught up in the crowd. That's really what he was trying to tell me when he said, believe half of what you see and none of what you read and you'll be all right. And really what he meant by even half of what you see is this was even before the advent of video and AI and Photoshop and all of that. This was back when all we had were 35 millimeter or 110 cameras and you took pictures or Super 8 movies or whatever they were back in the day. But even at that time, I think what he was trying to say is because of the sleight of hand and even what can happen with magicians and so on, be really careful because some things may not be as they appear. And I have applied that to my life since I was a young man because my dad was really big on that. And maybe in some cases to a fault where I'm very skeptical of certain things because it's like, yeah, I don't know if I believe that. So in turn, and maybe this has suited me well for this particular job, I don't just take something at face value. I mean, I'll go out, and if I see it on one website, I'll go out and research it and try to find it on several others. I don't just take things at face value. And by the way, neither should any of you. And the problem we have, though, is in our movement, quote-unquote, we'll find something that, man, that's got to be true. If that were true, that explains everything. If we can prove that XYZ happened, then, man, it makes sense as to everything else that's happened. So we latch on to those things. And we'll even get certain high-profile people that will latch on to those things. And before you know it, there's a lot of people inside of a movement that have latched on to something. And unfortunately, at the end of the day, it's maybe not true. Or maybe a portion of it is only true. Not all of it is true. And when it comes to the election thing, I've said this all along. Is there election fraud in every election? Yes, because we're humans. And there has been since the beginning of time. In other words, is there cheating in every election? Yes, there is. Will it ever stop? No. Is there ever a system you could devise that will stop it? No. No. Sorry, folks. No. The answer is no. Now, does that mean we shouldn't try to make things as fair and above board as possible? No, I'm not saying we don't try. But will you ever cure mankind's fallenness and the yearning to cheat? No, you're not. Sorry, folks. You're not. That's the reality of it. No, you're not. So while we can continue to work on things and we should, are you going to cure that? No, you're not. Men are sinners. We're fallible. We do things to make us get ahead on a regular basis. So, you know, it's why we live in a day and age, especially now, to where every single business has a door and a lock on it. Should it? No. If everybody was honest, you wouldn't have to. You could leave it all open all the time because nobody would ever bother anything because it's not yours. Which, by the way, is how I was raised. If I walked by a place of business and the door was open, first thing I'd say is, well, is there anybody here? And if I found out there wasn't, and by the way, I've done this before. If there is nobody there, I'd be trying to call the owner or anybody I possibly could to say, hey, this thing's open. Somebody ought to come check on it. I have gone as far as to call the police and say, hey, I'm in front of business such and such. And I was trying to get in. I thought maybe they were still open. And there's nobody here. It's closed, but the front door is wide open. Could you send somebody over to make sure that it stays that way? Yes, that's me. That's how I was raised. I was raised where you don't walk in and just take whatever you want and leave, even though no one's around. Even though, quote unquote, no one will see you. I'm not doing that. It's not mine. It doesn't belong to me. Unfortunately, though, folks, even our party at times, we have gotten into this yearning to have something be a certain way that I do believe wholeheartedly that it clouds our judgment at times. And then we have to go back in the mirror and say, gosh, where did I go wrong? What happened here? What's the problem? Why didn't this turn out the way that I wanted? Maybe it wasn't true to begin with. And then it becomes very disappointing, and now you've got, in this case, we've had several of you question the movement, quote-unquote. What are these people doing? What are the Pam Bondys of the world doing? What's Kash Patel doing? What's Dan Bongino doing? And so on. Well, folks, I think in this particular case, it may very well be the fact that there wasn't any smoking gun there. Again, time typically tells, but this is one of those situations I always go back with Charlie because he's always a good guidance to me, and that is people talk. And stuff gets leaked. Now, keep in mind what just happened in regards to the bombing of Iran here just a couple of weeks ago and the leaked reports of the damage. Okay? Let me tell you what, folks. If there was a big, long list and there were some high-profile individuals on it, there's one thing I can guarantee you. 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This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, this is some news locally that I wanted to comment on. Two women are now accusing Republican state representative of inappropriate sexual behavior. Two women have accused Republican state representative Ron Weinberg of inappropriate behavior back in 2021 and 2022. Now, before I say anything, I will say this. I believe that, you know, men should treat women with the utmost respect at all times, period, whether it be in how they're talked to, looked at, you name it. My dad taught me that, you know, you respect a woman at all costs, even if it costs you. At the end of the day, this is what you do. And we were never, I've said this before on air, I haven't said it for the longest time, but my brother and I, and my dad was really big on this, And I did this in my family. My brother and I were never allowed to hit my sister. Period. I raised my boys the exact same way. Now, some would say, well, if they get hit, they should be able to hit back. No, not the way my dad taught me. Nope. And I taught my boys the same thing. I don't care what they're doing. I don't care what that woman does. She's not going to get hit back. That's how I was raised. So I believe in the utmost respect when it comes to ladies, period. So in this particular case, I want to make sure that I'm very clear on that, because do I agree with some of the statements? that were made by this individual. Now, keep in mind, this is a he said, she said. Now, there may be some more that comes out on this, but essentially, I won't read this entire article to you, but essentially these two ladies have come out and have accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Now, that's what this particular article starts off with. So I'm thinking, okay, where am I going to read that he had sex with one of them or he grabbed their private parts or he did something that he wasn't supposed to do, and that's not even what this is about. So he, at a couple of parties, maybe had too much to drink, maybe not, I don't know. I don't know the whole circumstances. He said something to, in one case, the husband of a woman, basically something to the effect of, I'd love to have sex with your wife, which, yes, I would never advocate you say, but That's not, in my opinion, that's not inappropriate sexual behavior. That's talking stupid and talking in a way that you shouldn't talk to another man about his wife about. But that's by no means, quote unquote, inappropriate sexual behavior, not by my definition. There was another time where a particular lady was talking about having a facelift and he basically said something to the effect of, you know, I think you look beautiful the way you are. And they went on to have a conversation and he said some sexual comment. And again, is it appropriate? No. Did he violate either one of these ladies? No, not in my opinion. Now, these ladies would disagree with me, and they claim that they've got all sorts of trauma and blah, blah, blah, and I still can't believe how powerless and violated I felt. One of them writes, oh, come on, lady, get a grip. Honestly, really? So you in your entire life have never had anyone anywhere ever say something vile and disgusting to you, and you just couldn't sleep at night because of it. Grow some thick skin. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean to ladies. You already heard what I said earlier about ladies, and I will always defend them. But in this case, where you're now coming off after a politician because of something that he said, not did, said, you need to grow some thicker skin. I'm sorry. This should not even be in the news as far as I'm concerned. Now, am I giving this guy a pass? Of course not. He shouldn't have said the things that he said. Not at all. Should he lose his political career over something that happened, you know, four years ago now, three, four years ago? No, I don't think so either. Now, some of this came up because he was looking for some leadership inside of the legislature. And these women are coming out saying there's no way he should be in leadership. Now, I don't know that I disagree with that. given his past behavior in this particular area. I don't think he should be in leadership either, but I think it's a really far stretch to basically say that he sexually mishandled or he sexually assaulted me with his words. That's one of those where it's like, man alive, I guess you've never walked past a construction site. Not saying that's right either, but I guess you've never been out in public. Because those things still happen. I mean, my wife, who's a very attractive woman, will tell you how many times she gets passes made at her while out in public. It happens. If you're an attractive woman, should it happen? No. Does it happen? Yes. So, again, I'm not giving any man, or in this case, this particular representative, a pass. I'm not giving him a pass, but is this as big of a story as 9 News is trying to make it? Not in my opinion, no. These are two women that need to grow some thick skin. So I guess we'll see where this goes. I'm guessing this person will probably, you know, he will not end up in some sort of a leadership position. And by the way, I don't think that he should. And Representative Ron, you should probably, and I know there's a side of your story that I've not heard, so I'll give you a pass on that until I hear what your side says. But you should not be saying some of the things that you say if, in fact, it's true what these ladies are accusing you of. And I would say that to all men. Be careful what you say. A lot of things can get misconstrued, and I think you need to be extremely careful with your words. Something else my dad taught me. You need to be very careful with your words, because they can be received in a not-so-good way at times, especially in these sorts of situations. So... Anyways, that's my take on this story. It's a little bit of a dovetail, I guess, maybe into what, you know, the whole Epstein end of things is. And somebody also asked me a question because there was an article in Nine News today about a country singer says his family suffered a heartbreaking loss in this flood. And, you know, I had somebody ask me that, you know, how do people like me, when you lose somebody, especially in a tragedy like this, how do you keep your faith? Well, I mean, I think all of you know my story. I lost my brother four years ago to brain cancer. My dad's now in memory care because he has Alzheimer's. My mom was his main caregiver until she had a surgery that went bad last September and passed suddenly within 36 hours unexpectedly. All I can say is, you know, things happen that are beyond my control. Does it affect my faith? No, not at all. You know, does it make me want to walk away from the faith? No, it does not. If anything, probably the opposite. Without faith, what do you have? Not much. Not much. So for those of you asking me, you know, how do you deal with these sorts of things and these sorts of losses when they come along, that to me is where your strength gets better Yeah, and you'll see them again. Thank you, Charlie. That's the way I look at it is, you know, this is not my end, nor is it theirs. We will meet again at some point, and that's how I look at it, and that's where my strength comes from in these sorts of situations. So be praying for all those folks, by the way, in Texas that have lost, especially young loved ones. I mean, losing a loved one, period, is never easy, but losing young loved ones, I can't imagine what that would be like. It would just be absolutely heartbreaking. 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SPEAKER 04 :
We don't yell at you. We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's it for today, folks. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Tomorrow, Health and Wellness Wednesday. I've got a specialist joining us at the 315 mark to talk about Alzheimer's, dementia, how families can handle that better, what do you do, what do you prepare for, all those different things. It'll be a great guest, and for a lot of you that are listening, it might be very appropriate for you and or some loved ones to tune in at 315 tomorrow. Have a great night. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
In this episode, discover how current events and deep-seated conspiracies intersect as John Rush and his guests explore the complexities of political discourse. From the sensational Epstein saga to real-world impacts of political decisions, Rush to Reason provides insight and clarity. Listen in as the hosts debunk myths, analyze opinions, and dissect the narratives that shape our world, all with a commitment to logical reasoning and compelling discussion.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Rush to Reason. You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 17 :
Get a job, sir. 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 17 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 16 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Bob, what's going on, sir?
SPEAKER 03 :
Akron, Ohio.
SPEAKER 15 :
Wrong.
SPEAKER 03 :
What?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep, that is not the answer.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Akron, Ohio is the rubber capital of the world. They had Goodyear, Goodrich, and Firestone. And Goodyear Blimp was sponsored by Goodyear. So they used to fly over all the sporting events and so on and so forth. And they've been replaced by drones now. And it's not Akron, Ohio? No.
SPEAKER 15 :
It is not Akron, Ohio. That is not the right answer.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, your screener and I had a nice conversation. He's from Ohio, and he kind of agreed with me. But, okay, well, I'll wait for the right answer. But my dad was in the rubber business for 43 years at Dunlop Tire, and he always talked about Akron, Ohio.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, remember, they adopted it as the city's official bird in 1983. Not anything along the lines of what you guys are probably thinking. So maybe that's more of a hint. And I'll give you this. It's not anywhere in Ohio. Or let me give you one more hint. It's nowhere in the Midwest. Wow. There's the other hint. It is nowhere in the Midwest.
SPEAKER 1 :
Oh, you got me.
SPEAKER 15 :
So, anyways. No, I mean, again, that's why Producer Ann does a good job of finding good questions of the day, because, frankly, I would never guess half of these. Way more than half. I wouldn't guess 90% of them, Bob.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. A Goodyear... What was the question, John?
SPEAKER 15 :
What city adopted it as their official bird?
SPEAKER 03 :
Phoenix?
SPEAKER 15 :
Nope.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 15 :
Nope. Nothing. Nope. Nope. Okay. That's why these are fun. Thanks, Bob. Appreciate you. That's why those are fun. Go ahead, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
John, do you really want the answer, the correct answer?
SPEAKER 15 :
If you have it, sure. Why not?
SPEAKER 06 :
Redondo Beach, California. Correct. Which was next to Carson City, which was the West Coast base where they would keep the blimp. Not every airport can handle it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Can handle it, right.
SPEAKER 06 :
You have to have a special tower. and Carson City was right next to Redondo Beach, and they adopted the blimp. There you go.
SPEAKER 15 :
There is the answer. It had nothing to do with tires or anything along those lines.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, Redondo Beach, California, next to Carson City, the West Coast home of the blimp.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep, there you go. Good answer, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
Those are fun. Again, they are fun because most of the time they're way off of what most people are thinking, and as Bob just proved, it's usually off of what we're normally thinking.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that goes back to, like, the most popular fruit. Nobody thinks a tomato is a fruit.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Correct. I did have an answer yesterday. Somebody said, you know, the question yesterday was, you know, why are there so many countries that end in Stan? And somebody texted and said, because some guy named Stan named them. It's like, no, that's not the right answer.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's not their reason. It's Persian. It's Persian for land.
SPEAKER 15 :
Anyways, I did get a laugh out of that. I will say that.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, John, maybe I'll call in later.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, sounds great, Joe. Appreciate you. Oh, man. Anyways, okay, yeah, those are fun. And thank you, Producer Ann, for doing that, because they are a lot of fun, and I do enjoy it, and I know a lot of you guys do as well. It's a lot of good banter back and forth, and a lot of you will even text in the answers to the question of the day. So thank you for that as well. Okay. I was going to do this yesterday but didn't get a chance to get to it. We had lots of other interaction calls and so on, which for the rest of the show today, I've only got one other guest at 5 o'clock. So we've got plenty of time. If there's something on your mind, something you want to talk about, by all means, let us know. 303-477-5600. But following the tragic news of what happened over the weekend. You know, in regards to all sorts of things, but especially the things happening, you know, the flooding that happened in Texas, which I talked about that yesterday. There were so many – and there always is from the left – but so many just flat-out floods. false claims by the left regarding not only the the weather service and what was happening along those lines but then of course some of the nasty comments about you know individuals that had you know lost lives and loved ones and so on in some cases keep in mind it was a children's camp that got hurt the most out of this which again i don't know all of the circumstances surrounding that. I had several of you texting in even late last night after I got home just wondering, not being accusational, but just wondering, okay, if you're in charge of a children's camp that has a river running through it and you've got this much torrential rain coming down, What are you doing? And again, I don't know, folks. I don't know if they were doing anything at that point in time, if they were trying to get people to higher ground, if it just came so fast they had no ability to do that. I don't know. Those are things that I'm sorry to say we may never have any answers to. It depends on what kind of survivors or things that they end up finding. We may never know some of those answers because, believe me, I was thinking through some of the same things. I don't know. But again, some of the just... Just grossness. that comes out of the left, and things along these lines, you know, the old saying, the bodies aren't even cold yet, and yet the left is out just attacking conservatives and Trump and policies and so on. Senator Chris Murphy, these are consequences to Trump's brainless attacks. Democrat House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Republicans spent months threatening to condition disaster assistance, and on and on it goes. It's absolutely... I can just keep going, but the reality is the left shows no mercy. They're totally brainless at times, totally insensitive. All these people that have been affected by those floods, and again, they have lost. In some cases, I was reading this morning, my wife was telling me there was a set of twin girls at the camp. I mean, I can't imagine being the parents. of some of these children and having to hear all of this and then yet at the same time you've got an entire political party that's doing nothing but attacking rather than trying to console these individuals you know they're talking about how it's because of the lack of staffing at the national weather service which by the way wasn't the case at all there was actually more people on staff at the national weather service so there's so much just gross neglect coming out of the left regarding this particular situation in texas that I don't know how anybody could be affected by this. In other words, you're somebody that's lost somebody in this. And if you were somebody on that side of the aisle, which, believe it or not, those of you that are on the left, there are still liberals in conservative areas like Texas, and we have no idea what each children's parents' political affiliation was or wasn't. and yet you guys are going to come out and attack these particular individuals in some cases. Some people, there was even a, I didn't, well, maybe I've got it up here, Charlie. I don't know, Charlie, if you sent me this or somebody else sent me this. Former Houston mayor appointee rages at flooded Texas girls camp for being white only. So we're even going to go down that path now. So, again, we're not consoling the individuals that actually lost loved ones. We're now going to accuse that camp of being white only. I mean, again, the left has absolutely no conscience whatsoever. They don't care. I said this a million times. I'll keep saying it. They claim to be the party of the people and they care about people and they're all for the little guy. Yeah, nothing could be farther from the truth. They have absolutely not a shred of... of care or love for people whatsoever. All they care about is themselves. And if they have an opportunity to go after somebody, like in this case, Donald Trump and our party, that's exactly what they'll do. Veteran Windows and Doors is next. And again, I know that Dave will honor last month's deal, which was 35% up to three windows, 40% for four or more, along with free labor. Just call Dave today. Just go to klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 13 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Marty, what's going on?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I want to just kind of get us right back onto the historic moment that has been brought to us with the Epstein last 48 hours. The relentless nature, John, that you described coming from the left, that's not going anywhere. What is leaving out the front door, and we talked about Iran in this, but the MAGA support, Trump is actively losing fans, wearing down the MAGA supporter. This one is a betrayal that I don't know that we've seen come from that level of office. We've had some really scumbag. This betrayal.
SPEAKER 15 :
How so, Marty? First of all, let's back up and tell everybody. So the Epstein thing, which I've not covered a lot on this program, frankly, because, Frank, I'll be straight up honest, Marty, I'm probably one of the few conservatives that doesn't care one way or the other at the end of the day. Never did a whole lot for me one way or the other. Lots of scumbags do lots of scummy things. But the reality is, at the end of the day, doesn't change the outcome of politics one iota. So I never spent much time on the whole Epstein thing all along. So for those of you that maybe haven't been caught up. There were supposedly an Epstein list. Again, I say supposedly because nobody's ever seen it. Nobody's proved that it exists or didn't exist, no matter what anybody says. There's lots of conspiracies. I know Marty around that. But the reality is nobody's ever seen the list, no matter what Snowden or anybody else would say, by the way. All of those are conspiracies. So the reality is there was supposedly a list that all the clients on it and that that was going to be made public by the DOJ. In fact, Pam Bondi said something to the effect of there's, you know, I have this on my desk now. you'd have to dive into that a little bit more and say what was on her desk. Did she even look through it at that point? Did she know what was inside of it? I'm not giving anybody a pass here, Marty, but I'm not going to go as far as you to say this is a total betrayal because nobody knows what was inside of any of that, you included.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, no, no, no, no. They have let us know plenty of what's inside of this. Who has? We've known since 2016 and then, of course, the arrest and then death of Jeffrey Epstein. unresolved matter for many years now, and it brought us up until today.
SPEAKER 15 :
An unresolved matter, how? Again, Marty, I'm going to be a devil's advocate here. What does knowing who or who is not on this list, let's say there is a list, and let's say it gets made public, which I said early on, I told everybody even way back when, you can go back and even listen to me, that if there is one, you'll never know it anyways when it's all said and done. I said that way back when. Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
reality is if it exists and there are names on it what does it change at the end of the day well it changes this whole power structure that you were kind of describing about who's elected who's in office but how so marty so let's just pretend well let's just pretend for example chuck schumer's uh committed a crime there total speculation but just for example a high you know i
SPEAKER 15 :
OK, this is a good speculation. Let's take somebody like a Chuckie Schumer or a Hakeem Jeffries, who is now in charge of the minority of the House. So let's just say that, for example, one of those two names or both of them are on there. I'm sorry to say, Marty, but for their voters in their areas, it doesn't change a thing unless they can be proven they did something so egregious that they go to jail. There's nothing there that changes the outcome of their elections.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. So you've got two things working. And I think you and I are in agreement. Of all the heinous crimes that you could commit on the planet Earth, predatory actions toward a child is number one. Absolutely. Least forgivable. Absolutely. Okay, so just the fact that being attached to this and litigation happening to this, I am telling you, even the sickest of sick Democrats... They have a pause. So but here's not I'm not going after just Democrats because I know they're scumbag Republicans. That's right. It's on both sides. That's right. Be demanding. Exactly. And so what we're saying is we as the people were promised you want to get you want to clean up the swamp. You start with that list. They've already acknowledged the list. They've already acknowledged the video evidence. Pam Bondi, Cash Patel have both said that the FBI hasn't. heinous videos up to 10 000 and they they don't say that there's any other johns but jeffrey epstein and we don't believe as the people that this was a matter of national security because some of these documents are classified under national security what on earth if this person is attached to no one the greatest pedophile ring is now classified national security that won't fly none of this stuff and this is the consequences of a captured president. This is the greatest fall that you will ever witness because he had a meteoric rise. And the fall, the betrayal that's taking place right now, it's going to take MAGA a few days to wake up out of their stupor and realize, now, what did he just say? He's now giving weapons to Ukraine. He's best friends. I mean, absolute lovers with Bibi. And then he's talking bad on Putin. Putin's a liar. Putin's full of it. This and that. And the other John, in the blink of an eye, oh, and we signed the horrendous, big, beautiful bill, which folks know what's coming. From a federalized, centralized tracking, AI cannot be touched at the state level. This is dangerous territory. It's the consequences of $250 million from AIPAC, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, this is where you and I will have to agree to disagree because I don't see all of what you said having the negative effects that you do, including – and I am with you, Marty. I'm 100% with you in regards to the whole pedophilia end of things. And, yes, anytime anybody harms a kid in any way, shape, or form, whether it's sexually, whether it's physically, mentally – It shouldn't happen no matter what, Marty. I'm on your side as far as that goes. But when it comes to all of the rest of this, you know me, I'm one of those where let's wait and see what actually ends up happening, what actually ends up, you know, is there really a list? Is there not a list? Is there proof there's a list? And so on. Because the reality, Marty, over time, all that stuff ends up coming out. It can't be hidden forever if, in fact, that exists. And I'm one to say that, you know, I went through the big, beautiful bill the last hour with Jordan Goodman. There's a lot of things in it that I don't like. There's a lot of things in it that I wish we would have done differently. There's a lot of things in it I wish we wouldn't have done at all. But the reality, Marty, is you're not, and I've talked about this for several weeks now, you're not going to get everything out of that bill, period, no matter what. It is what it is. You've got to compromise and get whatever you can out of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
MAGA folks, just wake up and smell what's happening around you. The America First agenda.
SPEAKER 15 :
But really quick, Marty, and I talked about this yesterday in regards to even what happened to me at Fourth of July in Mexico, which, by the way, they do a better job of celebrating than we do here. Here's the reality of what MAGA is forgetting, though. There is a bigger market of voters out there besides MAGA. MAGA is not the only voter base out there, and you're not going to win. And it's proven here in Colorado. You can't win elections in Colorado with just MAGA, Marty. It's not going to happen. You'll lose every time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, you're so right. And the House and the Senate and guys in the Donald Trump mode, they have no margin for error. They can't lose any MAGA. MAGA was the greatest political fan base in the history of this country. Won't deny that. If not the world. I won't deny that.
SPEAKER 15 :
But you have to remember, too, that even in the last election, it wasn't just MAGA that got Donald Trump elected. He did a really good job of reaching across, you know, not the aisle, but to the middle, if you would, and getting a lot of even young male voters. And I talked about that even at that time, how a lot of male voters were just disenfranchised with the other side and what they had done. and the way they treated men, and on and on we go. And Donald Trump did a great job of bringing a lot of those folks in, because he couldn't have won the last election with just MAGA.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I'm sure he gained fans and the Democrats lost fans. And so there's no doubt that that MAGA expanded its fan base. But I can tell you right now it's eroding faster than it's attracting new.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that's where I will disagree with you. I think there's hard core. of MAGA that might be eroded, might be disenfranchised, might be on the Elon Musk train where they want a new party, which, by the way, is the dumbest thing you could ever say because that's going to do nothing but draw things away and make it even worse to get people elected on down the road. I think there is a core along those lines that I will agree with you wholeheartedly, Marty, that are feeling very duped, if you would. Although I will tell you, and I experienced this on vacation, I talked to a lot of different people on purpose to find out, you know, Where do they come from? You kind of get an idea from people when you start talking to them what side of the aisle politically they're on. And I will tell you this, Marty, I didn't talk to one single conservative that's against Donald Trump on vacation. Not one.
SPEAKER 05 :
OK, and that's that next leg, though. That's that next shoe. People don't really appreciate the impact of the Epstein list. And I know you're not there yet, John. But what this did is it cemented. It put in perpetuity this deep state corrupted power. We're untouchable. You're down there and we're up here. You and I both know that because the FBI runs around all the time. Department of Justice news flashes. Oh, we busted this human sex trafficking ring. We busted this. We wanted that one. Because that one has if it has. There's theories out there, Marty, floating around.
SPEAKER 15 :
I read some of them today that basically said that, you know, this is as much the the CIA and the FBI internally saying don't release anything. If there is anything to release, don't release anything, because that takes away our ability to actually use it against some of these guys in other areas. So I have no idea, Marty. That's just hearsay that I heard today.
SPEAKER 05 :
All we're looking for, John, is that first promise kept outside of the border. He closed the border. We give him that. The deportations are way behind schedule. But I'm still smelling, sniffing, looking everywhere I can. I want to find that America first thing start to happen. And what I find going on, John. is Trump is now looking much more like all the rest of them. Promises said.
SPEAKER 15 :
Marty, first of all, you guys on that side need to slow down a little bit, take a deep breath, and then look at, like I tell my kids at times, Look at all of the accomplishments and the other things that are actually happening. I spent the last hour even talking about and arguing over what are tariffs going to do when it's all said and done. I will tell you this, Marty, Donald Trump is the first Republican president, not only president, but first Republican president we've had that will take a stand against the foreign countries that have been fleecing us, you know, for I don't know how many decades now. So you can't say that he's the same as the rest. That's that's inaccurate, Marty.
SPEAKER 05 :
When it comes to the really big stuff like... That is really big, Marty.
SPEAKER 15 :
Those are things that will affect all of us on a day-to-day basis when it comes to us living out our lives and being able to afford to do the things that we do. That is big. It's huge, Marty.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm willing to trust that plan. I'm just saying economically, prices, I mean, yeah, you've got to dip in housing prices a little bit. But for the most part, food's still really expensive. Energy bills haven't come down. Gas is still hanging out at that same price. So, again, sounds good. No, no, no, Marty. Gas is down.
SPEAKER 15 :
Since Donald Trump took president, I know because I buy a ton of fuel on a monthly basis. Gas is down 75 cents a gallon. You're not right in what you're saying there. You're completely wrong. What? 75 cents a gallon, Marty.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would ask that that gets verified.
SPEAKER 15 :
Marty, I buy fuel by the thousands of gallons a month. I can tell you how much it's down.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I was just doing it twice in two days. And when I see these prices of, you know, $2.75 to $3, right, you're in that category. That's not really influential money change right there. So, again, I'm asking for where's the economic relief? Where's the significant gain in employment?
SPEAKER 15 :
Marty, really quick, and you should know this, but lesson for you and everybody else listening. When you are large operations that are using hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel a year, and the price can drop by even 50 cents a gallon, and that lowers your overall cost of goods, meaning you can pass that back along, which is what they do when it comes to food prices and so on, you're darn tootin'. It has a major effect upon everybody out there listening, you and I included. Absolutely does.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's going to be really tough to say that because the gas bill for XYZ shipping company manufacturer, because they got a little reprieve, I don't think that that savings comes right to mom and dad immediately. Absolutely it does.
SPEAKER 15 :
You hear me, Scott? Regardless, talk on Thursdays, Marty, when we talk about even the reality of some of the tariffs that have actually been implemented and we're actually paying for at the end of the day because the actual shipping costs to get said items over here, it ends up being a wash. The tariffs go up, but the price to get the goods here go down. So at the end of the day, that's why, by the way, the Fed isn't considering this, but that's why there's been no inflation up to this point, because even when there are tariffs, we're spending less to get the items here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Let me just be clear. I'm supportive of the tariff and that agenda. I am. I'm just saying that has to play out. We don't even have trade deals with major players yet. So to give so much credit yet, we still are to be determined on the China deal is all
SPEAKER 15 :
But they've got to get things signed, sealed, delivered, get all of the the major, you know, you know, get all the fine tuning, I guess you could say, of that done. But for the most part, that's where I was even questioning Jordan a little bit. The China deal is basically done. We've got other countries that need to come to the table. And part of what Donald Trump sent letters out today and basically telling these knuckleheads, listen, we're not going to dance around this forever. You guys are going to get this stuff figured out by the end of the month or I'm going to just tear off your period. Here it is. You still there, Marty? Did I lose you? I think I lost.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, there you are. You were there. Go ahead. Sorry about that. You know, you're right. And let's just give them the credit of they're eventually going to want to do business with the United States. They don't have a choice. We'll come to you.
SPEAKER 15 :
For the first time, and I say this a lot, but for the first time in a long time, we have a president that understands we are the world's largest customer. Start treating us like one.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're 100 percent right. I give him full credit. And I guess this is where I'm trying to go is that, dang, is that going to be enough, though, to carry us over the other things that we're just we're just still involved with?
SPEAKER 15 :
No, the next thing, Marty, that's got to happen, and I think Trump knows this fully, is we've got to get this everything all dialed in. We've got to get the Fed to bring interest rates down at least a full point so you can get some reprieve on the housing end of things so you can put some life back into it because it's dead right now, if not going the other direction. I mean, we're going to have to really resuscitate it if it continues on much longer. I do believe Donald Trump knows all of that. And we won't do well in 2026 unless you fix what I just said. That one, by the way, of all things, Marty, that we're talking about, even groceries, gas and so on, it's the price of the interest rate alone. on your mortgage that will have more to do with 2026 than even the Epstein list does?
SPEAKER 05 :
Here's where I would say, though, the concern is we haven't added new houses. The second you drop interest rates, I now know your payment has some room. The price of my house just went up. See, we don't have enough pieces to spread out amongst these. So now if I can just get to a $2,000 a month mortgage, we can do it. We don't have those kind of houses. And the second that interest rates are cheap, my house just got more valuable. Six fifty, seven fifty, eight hundred. There's nothing in our area.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that's why I had a conversation with a listener yesterday about is there a is there a bubble in Colorado when it comes to housing? And the reality is because of what you just said, Marty. No, there is not. There might be some. pockets in Colorado where you might see some dips and things like that. But Colorado is still an area where more people are moving in and they want to buy houses and there's not enough to go around. Now, on the same token, Marty, and I've talked to some folks along these lines, you can go to right now Las Vegas. There's some places even in Arizona. There's places all through Florida where what you and I are talking about doesn't work. It's totally different there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and just the shame of the way we've constructed our financial setup today, which is inflationary. And as this is going on, our dollars are eroding. So there's a number of things at play here. I mean, just think about it, just the privilege here. both mom and dad working to buy a basic old home. You know, that's a tragedy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and I'm glad you said that because this is another one that I talked about. There's another one I talked about, I believe, not last week because I was gone, but the week before, Marty, and I'm glad you just brought that up because keep in mind, one of the things that always bothers me when people talk about Buying your first home, and I can't afford to buy that home, and I can't do this, and I can't do that. I've reminded people. I had a conversation with some folks on vacation along these lines, and I think they finally saw the light and realized that, oh, yeah, okay, wait a minute. Time out. I never really thought about it that way. Marty, these same people. that will complain about not being able to afford their first home are buying homes that are on average double or triple the size of my first 900-square-foot home. So the reality is the expectations of what I should be able to buy, because mom and dad live in such and such, my point is, Marty, that there's a lot of folks out there, even listening to me right now, that want to go out and buy their first home that need the lower expectations, and they could probably afford to do so if they did, but they don't want to.
SPEAKER 05 :
But if you've got to move to Pueblo to find that 900 square foot house, how do you keep your job? See, math just doesn't work. These mortgage payments, there's not a lot of jobs that can pay a $3,000 and up mortgage. But guess what? That's what it costs. It does in this area.
SPEAKER 15 :
And Marty, you're right. If you want to live, and I say this all the time, if you want to live in Colorado, yes, that's what it takes. And that's why our cost of living in Colorado is more than it is in, let's say, Birmingham, Alabama, for example, where you could go there and live for probably less than half of what we do here. And there's all sorts of places along those lines. So with every choice, Marty, there is an upside and a downside. Absolutely. Absolutely. And as a Colorado native, believe me, I've watched all of these things change over the years, and I'm not going to tell you that I'm happy about it. But, you know, on the same token, Marty, we live in an area that a lot of people love. I look out to the west of these windows of mine, and you know what I'm talking about. I sit here and I look at the front range, and the reality is as you get closer and closer to those mountains, the higher and higher the property values are, and you're never going to change that.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I think that's what we've come to. It's just more tragic than a solution is inches away. Lowering rates helps the wealthy. We know that. And so, unfortunately, it is a don't spend because they're flashing places for you to spend all your extra money everywhere, whatever subscription, whatever $7 drink. I think it's a moment where the American consumer says, holy cow, these things that were sort of thrown at us as nice luxuries of the United States, are actually causing our demise because we can't afford the basics and the debt. I can't argue that.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, and Marty, I do think that's an area where I think there's a lot of people out there that really need to take a hard look at what am I spending money on? What do I need? I mean, Marty, I'll be the first to tell you, and this is not to brag. It's just because I value certain things differently. I'm a guy that probably could look at somebody that has half of the income that I have and yet probably has twice the television services I do.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's the problem, Marty.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep. And they know we're suckers for that privilege. We were just talking, this is the last thing, and John, great call, but thank you for it. No, it's good. You know, when we were kids, it was blockbuster video, famous video, Friday night. Our kids now could literally watch any movie they want seven days a week, any time of day. Right. And you think, how great. No, no. How awful. So reject it. Go to the library families and just take your money and put it in the kingdom somewhere. I'm with you. Absolutely, Marty.
SPEAKER 15 :
I'll close on a good note on that one. I agree with you 100% on that one. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good stuff, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
Love you, Marty. Thanks, man. Have a great rest of your day. Appreciate it very much. Dr. Scott coming up next. He is my doctor. He would love to be yours as well. And again, he is not working for big pharma or big insurance. He's out there working for you for the best health care you could ever find, honestly. And I mean that sincerely. 303-663-6990.
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Really quick, I did want to add back to before we talked to Marty. I was talking about the particular gal from Texas. She was a former mayoral appointee. In fact, she worked on the food shortage or the food desert, whatever you want to call it, committee. And anyways, she had put out some social media things and got some backlash on it. And this is the kind of people that we're talking to when I talk about those that are on the left. Not everybody, but there's a good portion of them that I think are very much this way. a person, girl, responded to her and said, in response to her getting attacked on social media for some of her stances, she says, girl, you brought this upon yourself. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from the consequences. By the way, well said. Very true. We'll give you the ability to say whatever you want to, but just remember, there may be some backlash on that. You may be held accountable for what you said. So, this gal, though, I can't say this word on air. I think you'll all know what the word is. And I can't say it because, number one, it's not a word I use, nor would I use this word, say this word. But this particular gal, again, she comes back and says, consequences for what? With three laugh emojis. Maybe it was God with a little g, God's will to wash them little c's away. I mean, that is as vile and as vulgar and as rude as could ever be to individuals that lost their kids at that camp. Again, folks, I'm telling you. This isn't just a right versus left issue. This is a good versus evil issue like we talk about a ton, not only on this program, but all across the Crawford Network, including the National Crawford Roundtable. Literally, these are the types of things that prove this is good versus evil. This is more spiritual warfare than it is anything else, because this is good versus evil. When you've got freaks like this... that are saying the things that she's saying, not giving any condolences to those that have lost their kids in this total tragedy. She has those things to say instead. So those of you that are on the left, this is you. These are your people. And I'll tell you this, I see very little anywhere, social media or otherwise, that condemn these sorts of individuals on the left. I can tell you this right now, and I can promise you this, and Charlie knows this as well, because he could vouch for this. If this had been something said from our side, among any other types of situations, I would be condemning it the next day on air.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 15 :
I would not put up with that nonsense, period, no matter what side of the aisle it's coming from. Either side of the aisle it's coming from. I mean, when you've got people that in some cases may have lost all of their kids, I don't know. We'll hear more and more stories as they come out. But then to have these sorts of individuals, and I get it, she's a low life when it's all said and done. It's just an appointee. But, again, had a little bit of quote-unquote clout. Sadie Perkins, or Perkins, I should say, is her name. When you've got these type of vile individuals spewing out the things that they spew, you really have to think about, you know, What's going on here? And yes, in my opinion, this really is good versus evil. Go ahead, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
John, I'll go you one better. This is a tweet by somebody known as Cindy Steinberg, who has a Twitter page called at rad underscore reflections. And it and I won't say the word, but she her tweet is F these white kids. I'm glad there are now a few less colonizers in the world now, and I don't care whose bootlicking fragile egos that offends. White kids are just future fascists, and we need more floods in these areas, in these inbred sundown towns.
SPEAKER 15 :
Unbelievable.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sick people full of hate, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sick and twisted, and again, Joe, it goes back to my whole good versus evil, and you just proved the point again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And John, regarding the people who are blaming Trump, I've actually got some data on that area if you want to hear it about the flood history of that area. Sure, go ahead. You know, obviously people are blaming Donald Trump. He cuts the National Weather Service, and clearly we have hard evidence that they started issuing flood warnings 14 hours earlier. That area has been known as Flash Flood Alley for decades.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because it's got a 150-year recorded history. It goes back either further, but They only have records going back to 1868 of that area continually being subject to the floods. And it got that name decades ago based on that history, some far deadlier than the ones that occurred this past weekend. And, for instance, in 1921, which was 104 years ago, a flood caused the river to rise 36 feet, which is 10 feet higher than this last crest. And it killed thousands. Not 90 people. It killed 215 people. Now, was man-made climate change responsible for that 1921 flood or the four previous deadly floods going back to 1868? No. How many cars were on the road in 1868, John?
SPEAKER 15 :
Zero.
SPEAKER 06 :
How many cars in 1921?
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, not a whole lot because Henry Ford had just cranked up the Model T a few years earlier, so still wasn't that many floating around, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so the people that are blaming Trump and National Weather Service, it's all bunk. Again, that weather has been getting worse. Again, it got the name Flash Flood Alley decades ago.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and again, this is where I'm not trying to judge because I don't know the situation. I don't know what was going on inside of the camp. I don't know what folks were doing that were there. But I just in the back of my mind have to wonder that, okay, if you know this stuff is coming and you're paying attention to the weather, which you should be given the circumstances of where you are as to what you just explained, Joe, somebody there, I hate to say this, but somebody screwed up.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, big time, big time.
SPEAKER 15 :
Sorry, I don't know how else to say it. I'm not trying to be mean to anybody because that same person that messed up probably isn't alive today, but somebody messed up, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and probably more than one person, but, you know, there were several camps there, John, and so it wasn't just one camp, but, yeah, people messed up big time. And it didn't help, by the way, they were in an area, some of those areas had no cell phone reception, so you wouldn't have even got, you know, in my town, I get a storm alert on my phone. I don't know if you get it. I do.
SPEAKER 15 :
I do.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, but if you're in an area where no cell phone reception.
SPEAKER 15 :
Also, Joe, and this is what we talk about on Ready Radio all the time on Friday, so then you need to have a weather radio that just picks up natural frequencies, and you should have that there at all times.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep, to this day, John, I still have a, it's battery operated, but it's also got a little hand crank.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely, I do too. I still have them too, Joe, just in case.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, a little hand crank radio, just in case. Yeah. Hey, John, can we real quick just go back to the alleged list real quick?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, yes. I've got about five minutes. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, first of all, if such a list existed and Trump's name was on it, Why wouldn't the Biden DOJ have leaked it last fall?
SPEAKER 07 :
They would have.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, because, you know, they knew it was a close race. They knew Kamala might.
SPEAKER 15 :
I would go as far as to say this, Joe, even if they knew there was some on their side, but there was enough on our side to have a negative effect upon the election, which, by the way, could have, depending upon, you know, going back to Marty's point, if in fact that's what, you know, would have happened if some of some of these would have had, you know, more serious implications, let's say. You know, you're darn tootin' that they would have released that, Joe.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I'll go you one better. Now, Merrick Garland, our former head of the Department of Justice, and James Comey, both Trump haters. Right. If that list had existed, they would have seen it. Now, with the administration coming out yesterday saying there is no list, without having to divulge names, if they had seen such a list, wouldn't they be out on every talk show in town right now saying, Bull, that list exists. We saw it. The administration is lying to you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep, they would be.
SPEAKER 06 :
The fact that they aren't doing that, John, ought to tell you that the list never existed.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and that's kind of what I keep coming back to, Joe, is, you know, I just and I'm not to argue with all of the hardcore MAGA supporters that are out there, which, by the way, I mean, I'm a hardcore Trump supporter as well. I wanted him to win. I voted for him, voted for him three times, by the way. I mean, the reality is I wanted him to do what he's doing right now. But I'm also not so so hardcore that I'm blinded by other things that there might actually be an answer to. And the reality is, to your point, maybe there is no list.
SPEAKER 06 :
Again, if there was, I'm sure Comey and Garland would be on every talk show.
SPEAKER 15 :
To your point, Joe, Charlie has a saying. Two words. People talk. So in other words, when there's all these sorts of conspiracies and different things that are rolling around and different things that, you know, that we think are there and so on, the reality, Joe, is, as you know, and everybody else knows, nothing is ever totally kept secret. If there was something that big, especially on this level, you can be rest assured we'd know about it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure. Because, by the way, let's assume for a minute the list didn't exist. Do you think if that list existed that Merrick Garland and James Comey would have been the only two people in the entire Department of Justice who ever saw it?
SPEAKER 15 :
No.
SPEAKER 06 :
No. There would have to be a dozen people who saw it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
So if the list existed, why haven't any of those dozen or more people come forward? Great question. Great question. Absolutely. Good answer. They can't. Because if they did say that, they'd get called before a congressional hearing, and they'd be forced to testify under oath. that the list existed and that would encourage you, and they wouldn't do that.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's right. Absolutely. Another good reason, Joe. Appreciate that very much. That's a great analysis on that as well. Golden Eagle Financial coming up next, which, by the way, will be followed up by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Great interview, by the way, that Al Smith did, followed up by Cub Creek Heating and Air. Find both of them, by the way, by just going to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 14 :
This is TJ with KLZ Radio, and I've got Al Smith from Golden Eagle Financial here in the studio with me. Al and I were just talking about how in retirement he helps his clients to stretch the time in their retirement. Al, what do you mean by that? Tell us a little bit more about how time works in retirement.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, when you think about leaving the working world, you think about, well, it's still going to take money to live on once I'm retired. And that nest egg, whatever that is, that's going to permit you to do what you want to do with the time that you have sort of earned for yourself. So the nest egg is not only in dollars, but it's also in the time that you have to do the things that you believe will be fulfilling in retirement. And when I have a conversation with people, I think it's equally important to think about how they're going to be spending their time as it is to accumulate a nest egg.
SPEAKER 14 :
You've got to have some pretty good examples of things that people do in retirement. So open the door for us. What sort of things can we expect?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, sure. I have one gentleman who is very much into aviation. He owns his own small plane. He actually works on that small plane. He's within a few years of retirement. He's retirement age. But right now, while he's working, he takes his small aircraft, flies to locations where he investigates air disasters. I also have some people who spend a lot of time with their grandkids, some of whom live nearby and some are a little farther away. I have some who are incredibly involved with their churches and go on missionary trips and so forth.
SPEAKER 14 :
How do people get in touch with you if they want to stretch that time out in their retirement?
SPEAKER 12 :
They can reach me at 303-744-1128. And if they're driving when they hear this, you can contact KLZ and they'll put them in touch with me.
SPEAKER 14 :
Of course, as always, you can find Golden Eagle Financial on klzradio.com slash advertisers and get right in touch with Al if you're driving and can't write that number down. Al, thank you so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Listen online. klzradio.com. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, got a few minutes here left. And what I want to close out with for this hour is really speak to a lot of the folks that even Marty was talking about. And I consider myself, as I told Joe a moment ago, a hardcore MAGA supporter as well. I mean, I wanted Donald Trump to win. went through that whole process, voted for him three times. Once he became our primary candidate and all of that was a done deal, of course, we were on board and off we went, even as a show. I would have told you this, though. If he hadn't had been the primary winner and somebody else had been, Would I have been for them? Absolutely. My allegiance doesn't change based upon person. My allegiance is to the party. And that's probably where I differ from a lot of you that are out there, because I know that if we don't move forward as a party, we don't win. We lose. Anytime we start splintering off and not staying true to the party. And is the party perfect? No. No more than your family is perfect. No more than you are perfect. No more than the company that you own is perfect. No more than the church that you attend is perfect. You get my drift? Nothing's perfect, folks. The GOP is not perfect. It has many things going on in it that need to be fixed and taken care of absolutely. Is it all the RINOs' fault? No. Is it all the MAIA supporters' fault? No. It's just the way things are sometimes. And the reality is, yes, we still keep working hard for the things that we believe in. But at the end of the day, if we don't come together and figure out a way to move the R forward, the Ds win. Period. And there are people listening who say, well, I'm not either. I'm always independent. No, you're not. You can say that, but no, you're not. Because you will pick a side, especially when it comes to voting and putting, you know, filling in the letter, you know, next to the filling in the circle next to the name or pulling the lever, depending upon what state you're in or whatever the case may be. You're not independent. You may think you are, but you're not. When it comes down to it, you're picking a side or you're just not voting. I guess if you're an independent and you don't vote. And I've always told my people, even that have always worked for me. If you don't vote, then don't complain. Your vote is the way for you to express your complaint, if you would. Elect someone else rather than the folk that are there right now. And if you're not voting, then stop complaining. Stop your whining. But I'm also one that doesn't believe in splintering off of a party like what Elon Musk is wanting to do just because you don't like what the party's doing. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and I talked about that yesterday. Elon's an extremely, extremely smart guy, except in this area. In this area, he's as dumb as a rock. I'm sorry to say he just is. He's as dumb as a rock. He's not looking at it correctly. He's letting his emotions outweigh his reason. And any time we do that as human beings, we have a really bad outcome. And any of you listening to me should know that. When you let emotions dictate what you're doing over what you should be doing on the reason end of things, you know, what common sense tells you to do, you're going to find yourself on the wrong end of the stick when it's all said and done. So one more hour coming your way. Don't go anywhere. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
I'm a rich guy.
John Rush tackles the hysteria around AI, breaks down housing market myths, and debunks the media’s spin on Jaguar’s rebranding flop. With special guest Ben, they challenge economic noise, call out activist-driven politics, and throw shade on the MLB—all while praising the Savannah Bananas as the true MVPs of summer.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 06 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 14 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job first. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 11 :
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 05 :
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 04 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Ben hanging on over the last hour. Ben, we kind of left off with the whole, you know, AI conversation, which I want to continue because I don't think we were quite done. And then also talking about the, you know, potential, you know, housing bubble, which I'll get to as well. But, you know, back to AI. Yeah, I think there's going to be some changes. Am I as worried about it as some? And even the last commentary, it's interesting. You were talking about it in the commentary at the top of the hour. It had a lot to do with AI. And I think AI, Ben, I look at it just like I do any other tool that has come along all the way – We can talk about the car. We can talk about the toaster. We can talk about all sorts of things, Ben. And, you know, you could say each and every one of those things that has come along, technologically speaking, is a good thing or a bad thing. It's all in how it's used. I look at AI very much the same way.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's what I was thinking over the break. And that guy with the Colson Center, he was talking about, which was like coincidental. Ironic, yes. Nothing wrong with the little synchronicity. Exactly. Yeah. Look at the gun. You know, the gun's neutral. That's right. The other side of it is, and who's managing it? You know, is it for warfare, which, you know, might have been avoided? And then, so it's the morality of the person and their values. And I'm thinking, you know, Part of that, too, I think it comes down to morality. And then in terms of the technology, where is it going or where is it going to be? It reminds me of during the Iraq war, this guy Rumsfeld was talking about unknown unknowns. You know, there's what you know, and then there's things that you're not quite aware of. So, you know, I think it might be like some kind of four-dimensional chessboard one move could throw so many things off and we do that anyway with cars guns houses you name it so i think it potentially can make a pretty significant shift yep
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
And economics about how things supply, demand.
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree with you. And again, I'm one where I look at it differently than I think even some, you know, quote unquote, you know, church experts, conservatives and so on might look at things. Ben, I am not one bit afraid of it at all. I'm also not somebody that's just, you know, head over heels, gung ho over it. Again, I look at it as a tool. I guess, you know, back when I was, you know, still turning a wrench and You know, Ben, working on cars and so on, and a new tool would come along, and you'd look at that and say, wow, that's going to make my life easier. So you buy it, and guess what? It did, if used correctly. So I look at AI very much the same way. I don't look at it for a replacement of anything as much as a change in things. And will there be a change, Ben? There's always... always changes in the workforce when it comes to how things are done and things become more efficient as time goes by. And that's a good thing because as things become more efficient, that typically frees workers up to go do other things that maybe they've been needed in anyways. And what people have to do at the end of the day is keep an open mind and not get pigeonholed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And I've seen where, like, with roofing, I had to get a roof. I didn't call your guy that sprays the oil on because it was too far gone. Gotcha. But there's these guys. They can take like a satellite image or a drone image, and they can quote your roof. They could be in South Africa. And then so I can see that as a you could make one estimator. do so much more right with that level of automation and but you know we've already kind of got a a the economy's always the rate of change within the job market and markets and products right in my opinion it's kind of like a an ice cream on a hot day if you don't handle it you know if you don't get busy that's right before you know it there's another problem coming that's right behind it that's exactly right and so it to me in a way it just creates more aggravation more frustration and stress not that it can't be helpful i think it'd be a great design tool like for look if you're making a car some of them as you know probably more than me they're a pain in the ass to work on so you have you end up being contorted around the thing and buying specialty tools for something that if it was designed better, it'd go together quicker, be more reliable, and easier to fix, which in a way we had that 40 years ago. And we decided, well, that's not good enough. We've got to change it up. And I don't know how much we really won in that area. That's a good question. We created jobs for repairs, but... it keeps a lot of people that buy the cars broke. Well, it does.
SPEAKER 04 :
Although, Ben, and I've talked about this on the weekends, we also nowadays live in an age now whereby you can hop in pretty much any car. I mean, any car that's on the road today, the age of the fleet is about 14 years or so, a little less than that. And, Ben, in that time frame, prior to that, you typically traveled coast to coast with some sort of something extra, tools, whatever. Reality today, Ben, is you can hop in any newer car and drive coast to coast and put fuel in it, and you're going to get there and back with no problems. I mean, there's always that exception where, you know, something happens on the road and there's a problem, but rarely is that the case. You keep your car maintained, that thing will run from coast to coast no problem.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good point. Yeah, and they last long.
SPEAKER 04 :
Way longer. Way longer.
SPEAKER 08 :
On average, it used to be like if you got more than a couple hundred thousand out of a car, but having said that, Just for conversation, I saw a guy the other day. I didn't meet him, but I just saw it online. He had a 76 Kenworth semi, and he had 4 million miles on it. Wow. Well, A, yeah, but he probably, it's like buying a teardown house. He probably rebuilt the whole thing. The frame may not be original. You don't know.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah. No, exactly.
SPEAKER 08 :
He's putting engines and axles and all that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. So before I run out of time, jumping over to the housing bubble end of things, I watch so much – when it comes to the experts, quote-unquote, Ben, and social media and so on, and is there a housing bubble? I think in different parts of the country you might see some bigger adjustments than others. I don't see any way, shape, or form anything similar to what we had back in 2008. I think if that were the case, that would have already happened. There's so many naysayers out there that I think want to see And they want to see real estate drop out because, frankly, Ben, they're the guys that typically swoop in after the fact and buy things for pennies on the dollar. So I think there's a certain amount of these quote-unquote experts that would love to see that happen. Now, do I see Colorado in a bubble? I wouldn't say a bubble. Will there be some adjustments in Colorado just like there are in other areas? Yeah, I could see that. But I will tell you this, Ben. There are areas, even in our area, where even if that happens, it won't in those areas. You happen to live in one of those.
SPEAKER 08 :
Say that again. I'm sorry. I glitched a little.
SPEAKER 04 :
There will be adjustments in the real estate market, as always. And a lot of people, I think, want to see a bubble burst because they come in and swoop up at pennies on the dollar. But there will always be places, especially here in Colorado, like the area you live in, where no matter what's happening elsewhere, your prices aren't dropping because in Evergreen, especially, you live in an area where demand will always outstretch supply.
SPEAKER 08 :
I just saw it today. What's funny is these people had this big Mayflower truck, and it's stuffed, full of stuff that they largely don't need, but they have anyway, and they moved it in. Well, the road that it has to go to is real narrow. So they had to rent a U-Haul, smaller truck. To transfer over and go there. to shuttle it all up there. And I'm like, I just want to have everything in one U-Haul.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Ben, again, and for everybody listening, transplants especially, we have this thing here to the west of us called mountains. Ben happens to live in them. Some of us live up against them. Some of them live way away from them. And Ben, those mountains are much like the ocean, other than you can't live in the ocean. I mean, I guess you can on a ship, but the difference is you can live in our mountains, you can't live in the ocean. But the reality is the closer in Colorado you are to the mountains, the less chance of you have being in any kind of a quote-unquote real estate bubble.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think I'd agree with that, yeah. It's like, hey, if you... Like, I came home last night from Denver, and there's nothing like the temperature was... I think it was 44 degrees on my way up. And I'm like, oh, my God, this is so much better than Texas. Have you ever been to Texas? This time of year, it's miserable. Oh, it's miserable any time of year. And if it wasn't for air conditioning, I digress, but the whole place would have way less than half the people.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I agree with you on that, Ben. I think you're 100% correct. So anyways, getting back to do I believe there's a real estate bubble in Colorado, the way I'm going to answer that is it depends on where you live. And yes, I could see some adjustments in some areas in Colorado where there may be some haircuts taken on, properties i do not see an all-out bottom falling out and you know prices dropping you know hundreds of thousands of dollars on houses i just don't see that happening so if you're somebody out there waiting for that to happen in colorado i'm afraid that frankly you probably have even ridden that as long as you can, because my feeling, Ben, is, and I could be completely wrong in this, but I think the Fed's going to cut rates at this next meeting at the end of the month, because there's no meeting in August, and I don't think they want to wait until September. I will be shocked if they wait till then. Jordan Goodman and I will argue about that tomorrow. But I see the Fed doing at least a quarter, if not a half a point, later this month. And if that happens, then, of course, real estate mortgages will change. And as the mortgage rate starts to come down, everything I just talked about, pretty much goes away because you'll loosen things up to the point where there'll be more buyers than there are sellers.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think I agree with that. I hadn't thought about it that way. But the Fed is always late to the party.
SPEAKER 04 :
These guys especially are big time, very late.
SPEAKER 08 :
And on a different face, by the way, for answering all those questions, because I'll get a lot of information in my mind and I'm like, Well, who's got an answer to my questions? It's John.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Because I like how you kind of reason this all out. Because it can be difficult or confusing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, there's a lot of info that's always coming at us. And I have conversations among these lines with even other family members and such, Ben, because there's so much information being thrown at us, which can be good or it can be bad. But you have to decipher through some of that and look through it, and there's a lot of noise. I don't know how else to say that, Ben. There's a lot of noise. And what I mean by noise for all of you listening is all of these naysayers that will be out there talking about this, that, or the other, and this is happening, and this is crashing, and that's crashing, and blah, blah, blah. Ben, I can remember several years ago people talking about and telling you that the used car market was going to go south and don't buy anything right now because you'll be able to buy that car for a lot less money in several months. Never happened, and I said that at that time, that it wouldn't.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree with that 100%. Well, I didn't know what was going to happen with the used cars, but that signal thing, I call it signal to noise.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, it's like when you're in the middle of liming. You turn your radio on, and it's like maybe if you're lucky, you're going to get a futures report on grain in Kansas, but you're going to get less and less out of Denver. So you've got a new signal coming in to override the old one. So it's always that. signal-to-noise thing on information. That's right. And the vested interest, you know, the bulls and the bears. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who's giving you the info?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, they want to psych people out for their own economic advantage.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 04 :
100%, Ben.
SPEAKER 08 :
I always wonder about that. Whose benefit is it for me drinking their Kool-Aid?
SPEAKER 04 :
That's exactly right. Great point. Ben, I'll let you go. Appreciate your time, as always. Great questions, and I never have any issues answering those sorts of questions along these same lines. This is another one that I wanted to talk about earlier. Glad Ben called in because this dovetails into it. And I've seen folks posting, especially conservatives posting. This is another one where you need to know the data before you just start jumping in and posting. Now, while I don't agree with the ad campaign they came out with, we're going to talk about Jaguar for a moment. Jaguar is what I should say. All of us as Americans say Jaguar. There's all sorts of articles out here this week talking about how bad their sales are since their rebranding, quote-unquote. Now, there's more to that story, though. That's the problem. While those numbers are true, that yes, their sales, in fact, are way down, you've got to dig deeper. The reason their sales are down is because part of their rebranding is they're going all EV. They're changing the entire lineup of cars. meaning there's very little inventory in the system, and when there's no inventory, there's nothing to buy. So naturally, sales are going to drop significantly from one year to the next because there's nothing to sell. Now, will the new cars sell as well as the old? That's going to be the real story, is when they start rolling out the cars that quote-unquote people are anticipating, and I'm not sure that they're anticipating it as much as they just want to see what Jaguar is going to do next. That's my take. I think there's a lot out there saying, hey, all you conservatives, no, Jaguar's not down because of the rebranding. They're down because the plant was shut down and they didn't have any cars and there wasn't anything on dealer lots and so on. And wait till the new stuff comes out. You'll see it's going to work. Well, I'm not sold on that either. So I'm not on Jaguar's side, by the way. I think their rebranding thing was totally utter nonsense. It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen a car company ever do. And I don't think in the end it's going to pay off. But there's always a but. But I'm also not going to be somebody that's going to be talking about or posting about how bad their sales currently are because of the rebranding. Because it's not because of the rebranding. Now, it's a part of the rebranding and the fact that they're coming out with new lines of cars that go along with the rebranding. But it's not the commercials and the launch itself that's causing the lack of sales right now. So I want to make sure I'm very clear on that because you're going to see a lot of people posting that their sales are off and they're going to blame it on the rebrand. Nothing could be farther from the truth because the data doesn't back that up. So as I always say, back to what I was talking about even with Ben a moment ago, deciphering that quote-unquote noise that's out there from what's really going on or the signal, as Ben said. So the reality is for a lot of you that may be listening and may have even reposted something along the lines of Jaguar and their sales being way off, I would probably go back in and delete anything I've said along those lines because it may come back to bite you. That's all I'm going to say. Reason being is because their sales aren't off because of that. It's a result of because they shut the plant down. There's no cars on lots and so on. But that's not in a direct relation to people being mad at the commercials. I do think there's enough people mad at the commercials. I don't think their rebranding of the company is going to work. I don't think their move to the EV end of things, especially now, is going to work. That's me. I'm a car guy. I just don't see that paying off in the end. But I'm also not going to come out and say, yep, their sales are tanking because of their ad rebranding. I'm not going to say that either because it's not true. I'd be lying if I said that. So, again, be careful. with what we repost and what we go out and find, and because we like it, and we frankly would like it to be true, I would like no more than to come on air and tell you guys, yep, Jaguar sales are off, and they're only off because their rebranding stunk, and that commercial was absolutely awful, and they haven't sold a car since. I can't say that, and I won't, because it's not true. Their sales are down because there's no inventory. So it's no different than any other product that's out there. When there's no inventory, sales are going to fall off because there's nothing in the box to sell. So once again, as conservatives, we have to be careful what information we throw out there that may or may not be true, just like the left does at times when they're wrong just as well. So those of you, though, that are on our side, on my side, I'm always careful that we post the right things and say the right things so that we don't look stupid and have egg on our face at the end of the day because, once again, Jaguar sales are not off just because of the rebranding. It's a multitude of things, mainly because they don't have any inventory. And, again, I am not here defending Jaguar. I think the rebranding thing is stupid. I think the way they did it is ignorant. I think it's a big mistake. Whoever was in charge of it ought to be fired. But that's another conversation for a different day, and we will see moving forward how well this pays off or does not pay off when it's all said and done. One more thing before we go to break that is disturbing at best is Democrats – The party itself is really coming down hard on Democrat politicians to literally fight back, and they're demanding more aggression when it comes to things that they're doing inside of the party. In other words, they want you to almost take up arms or cause enough ruckus, if you would, that you even get arrested at times. That's what they're asking their politicians to do, and politicians are even asking back. It's utter nonsense. And as I always say, shows you that the left doesn't really care about people. Because if they did, they wouldn't be demanding that. They wouldn't be talking that way. But the reality is they are. And that was a story that Charlie had sent me. I read it as well. But that is not how this is supposed to work, folks. Just because you're not winning doesn't give you the right to have violence. That's not how this works. And on our side, I'll say this. Our side doesn't do that. You know, we weren't winning for four years. You had Joe Biden. We weren't winning. Did we violently protest and run around anywhere doing the things that your side now wants to do? No, we did not. We did not. But now your side wants to basically, quote unquote, take up arms against our side because you don't like Donald Trump and what he's doing. You know what? You lost. Suck it up, buttercup. That's on you. That's on you. So, again, we went four years with Joe Biden. It's your turn now. That's how I look at that. That's called politics when it's all said and done. Veteran Windows and Doors is up next. And Dave would love to help you with your Windows and Doors. And last month's special, which I'm sure he would honor right now as well, was 35% off up to three windows, 40% for four or more. Give Dave a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 02 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. My son Richard joining me now. And I didn't, Richard, I didn't even see if there was any sports going on over the weekend, so I didn't know if you wanted to touch on that or not.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is the lowest time of the year. Well, I should say not that. It's coming up to the lowest time of the year because the only thing going on is Major League Baseball. You did have soccer this weekend, which I know we're not even going to get started on in the show because you and soccer, like, don't go along. Yeah, we don't get along. Yeah, you don't mix very well. So there was that. There was a hot dog eating contest on Friday, which is always just, I mean, depending on who you are, it's either gross or fascinating or maybe somewhere in between. And then, yeah, you had a little bit of baseball. But, yeah, this is the quiet. Well, we go back to this every year. Baseball should take advantage, although I did find myself, and this is fascinating, watching Savannah Bananas baseball.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, those guys I can watch. Okay, you just said something that when it comes to baseball, because of what they do, their style, and I know some baseball purists probably would hate both of us for saying this, but it's like watching the Globetrotters back in the day. I enjoy them.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is. And so for those of you, I guess we'll set it up. You don't even plan on talking about this, but we'll do it, right? So for your listeners that don't know, the Savannah Bananas are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. And what we mean by that is they are an exhibition baseball team that started a number of years ago. They actually played in kind of like a minor league. They're made up of minor leaguers and ex-college guys, and they play four different teams. kind of on a rotating basis, but basically what's happened, and I would encourage folks to go check them out because they really have a fascinating story and their owner is fascinating. They essentially created their own brand of baseball. And so all the games are roughly two hours long. You cannot start an inning once the two-hour time limit is up. There is no bunting. Not only are you out, Dad, if you bunt, you're thrown out of the game, which kind of makes it fun. If a fan catches a ball that counts as an out, so the fans are involved in the game, right? So it would be a fly ball. I don't know if it's on the home run if it counts. Maybe it does. I'm not entirely sure. But I know for sure on a foul ball that kind of goes on the first baseline or the third baseline. if a fan catches it, they're out. If you do like a trick to make a catch, right, or you throw the ball between your legs and then you throw it to first base, that counts as a point. And so the only thing that matters in, I think it's innings, I'm not 100% on the rules, but basically you can get runs by getting points. And so really the only time runs matter is I think the last inning runs matter. And then There's no mound visits, so you don't have any of this in between. If you step out of the batter's box, I'm pretty sure, again, it's either an automatic out or you're thrown out of the game. There's a designated hitter. They call it the golden hitter. And at any point in time, it doesn't matter where, you can call up basically your best hitter to hit against the best pitcher. They do dances. They do mini concerts during the middle of the game. They have old MLB players. For example, this weekend they were playing in Boston where the Red Sox play, right? Fenway Park. And so they had some old Boston Red Sox players actually pitch for them and hit for them. And now, right, these are guys past their prime, Dad, and maybe not even big-name guys. But it's just fun. And they don't always win, right? Other teams can win. It's not rigged to have the bananas win. There's a guy that is the tallest hitter, whatever, and so he plays on stilts.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, that's funny.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I think he pitches on – and it's like you said, baseball peers, I think, hate it. And I think a lot of – some even parents and baseball coaches hate it because they, like, will pull up to the batter's box in, like, a little mini car, right, like a little kids-powered, battery-powered car. Like, they'll drive one of those up, and they'll dance, and, like, the umpires will – it's just wild and crazy, and it's fun. But they are getting viewership, Dad, and most importantly – Well, they're now being televised, which is crazy for, again, a Harlem Globetrotter type thing. But not only that, Dad, they are selling out not only Major League Baseball stadiums, but they are selling out NFL stadiums. Wow. The Rockies, for example, they're coming here in August, and I think they're here for two nights, I believe, one or two nights. It was a lottery system to even get a chance to buy a ticket.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 07 :
Which is crazy. And the one thing, they don't really do really high ticket prices either.
SPEAKER 04 :
One thing we didn't mention, Richard, like the Globetrotters, they want to make this more of a whole family entertainment type event, correct?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, they want to make it to where if you watch baseball all the time or maybe you don't watch baseball at all, maybe you're grandma and you just have seen your grandkids play, but you can still come and have fun with it. Again, you and me are not baseball guys, never were. It's not a sport that moves overly fast, and I think that's sort of what did you and I in. But I think you and I would get a kick out of it because there was just some fun pieces to it as far as, Actually, there's no base on ball. So if a ball gets past the catcher, for example, the batter can run at any point in time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Got it.
SPEAKER 07 :
But you don't have to wait for it to be the last pitch. So, yeah, they make it fun. And to your point, they really do encourage it to be a whole family experience. And it's something where at a time, Dad, where baseball, honestly, Dad, this will be fascinating in the next year. And the reason being is because after next season, it is very likely that the Major League Baseball players will be locked out and they will have a shortened season. And the reason being is because Major League Baseball is the last major sports league here that doesn't have a salary cap.
SPEAKER 04 :
And they need one.
SPEAKER 07 :
It seems like the Dodgers and the Yankees that just spend money, that do these deferrals, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Which, by the way, to me, that's what makes the game not as fun nor as competitive. And I know baseball purists are going to be mad at me for saying this, but I'm not a baseball purist. I'll just say that straight up, guys. In fact, I am one. Let me say this, Richard. I am... a guy that I like sports, I like watching sports, I like going to games and so on, when they're enjoyable. And I know a lot of people are going to hate me for saying this, MLB for me personally is not enjoyable. I'd rather go watch the grass grow than watch a baseball game, and I mean that sincerely. They're just not fun. Savannah Bananas, though, by the way, really fast, and you said this, but they have sold out every game since 2016.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, it's a fascinating thing. And you said it best, Dad, though. At the core of sports, right, we talk about this. Yes, is it big business and is there more to it than that? Yes, there is. But at the end of the day, Dad, they are in the entertainment industry, right? And if they don't entertain us, then we are going to tune into something else that does entertain us, right?
SPEAKER 10 :
Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. And I'm not saying that you need to compromise and you need to make all of Major League Baseball like the Savannah Bananas, right? So that you have kind of people would call it gimmicky type of stuff. I'm not saying that. But you do have to be mindful. And like you say, the salary cap provides parity or at least the opportunity for parity. Look at the NBA. They used to not have a salary cap when David Stern was there. Well, Adam Silver has come in. They've done some different things. And they've actually created a salary cap of sorts. Well, not of sorts it is, even though you sort of spend it. But they've just put rules in place. And I don't want to bore people with it because it's really complicated and convoluted. But by doing that, they've had a new champion every year for the last, I think it's like seven years. I don't think they've had a repeat champion ever. for a number of years. And that makes it fun, right? Because that means that your team should have a chance. And that's what all sports fans want. And that's what drives revenue, right, Dad? I want my team to have an opportunity to win the championship.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 07 :
For the longest time, basketball, I never felt like the Nuggets could do that because they were a small market team. Well, now that's sort of shifting. And honestly, baseball has always thrived on the idea that you can be a small market team if you're well-run. Well... Baseball is sort of transforming into, you put it right, the haves and have-nots. And if you are a billion-dollar organization, you can sort of spend your way out of anything that you want to. But if you're not, good luck. And I think that that's where they're going to run into some of this stuff with some of these people. So back to the Savannah Bananas, it's fascinating. Honestly, I encourage your listeners. Go look them up on YouTube. They are just a joy to watch.
SPEAKER 04 :
Richard, really quick. They have 10 million TikTok followers. 10 million.
SPEAKER 07 :
You're crazy. 10 million. They are a prime. And honestly, they almost didn't make it. I believe their owner, Jesse Cole is his name. Him and his wife, honestly, kind of like a lot of these entrepreneurs. They almost went broke. They had to basically pull everything that they possibly could to keep it running. But they kept outside investors out. And as a result now, they are, again, they're super profitable. They're not willing to change certain aspects of their game. And they don't feel like they're a gimmick, Dad, right? They feel like they are baseball, but they're just fun. And I think that's what people are looking for, right? On a Saturday night, here's something to be said, Dad. July 4th, a holiday that used to be synonymous with baseball, right? Like you would tune in, the ballpark, America's pastimes. I believe on ESPN, prime time was Savannah Bananas. Wow.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amazing.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, how crazy have we gotten in the world to where... A time that was, again, meant for Major League Baseball has been brought to an exhibition team where these teams don't cooperate.
SPEAKER 04 :
Actually, if MLB was smart, they would figure out a way to incorporate some of the Savannah Banana games, I guess you could say, the team itself, incorporate them into some of the entertainment of what goes on, in my opinion. In other words... What I'm getting at here, Richard, is much like the Harlem Globetrotters, I believe, back in the day, did a lot to help the NBA when it was all said and done. I think the MLB could do the same thing with Savannah Bananas if they'd look at it correctly. I guarantee you they're not, though, because purist baseball guys probably look at Savannah. These guys are just a bunch of jokers. They shouldn't even be on the field.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, here's what I'll give you, Dad. The MLB All-Star Game is coming up here. It used to be the winner... got home field advantage in the playoffs, right? If the National League won, they got home field. If the American League won, they got home field. They've done away with that because they didn't feel like it was right to take away from the regular season and all the other stuff. Why not this? Why not get Major League Baseball's best and have them play the Savannah Bananas?
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, that'd be fun.
SPEAKER 07 :
And banana ball. Yeah. And just have fun, and you give these bananas, because it would get rady.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah, big time.
SPEAKER 07 :
It would get eyeballs drawn to baseball, which is what Major League Baseball means. I highly doubt they would do it, but it's sometimes that it takes a team in an organization like the Bananas. to maybe spur on some change for the better.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we are back, and it's that time of the week where we do new car reviews. We've got a couple to do this week, Richard. We both were in both of these vehicles, but I'll start with the 2025 Santa Cruz, and I will say that's a Hyundai Santa Cruz is what I should say. We drove the limited all-wheel drive. This vehicle came in at a... A Monroney price of $4,500, fully equipped. And I've talked about this vehicle on Drive Radio numerous times because people will call in and ask, you know, what do I get? You know, what options do I have? I don't want to buy a full-size, you know, pickup truck or, you know, the medium-sized pickup trucks like, you know, Tundra and Colorado and Ranger. What other alternatives are there? I just need to pick up bed for some things periodically. Well, the Santa Cruz has got you covered. And what I mean by that is even the load itself. It comes with a retractable cover on the back, Richard. So it's much like, think of it this way, it's like having... an SUV only with the ability to put a lot taller stuff in the back, yet having all of the same interior creature comforts you would get out of an SUV with the same power of an SUV, all-wheel drive. And I will say, if there's anything about this car, Richard, that I really enjoyed is, A, it's very comfortable, very quiet, and it runs fabulous.
SPEAKER 07 :
It does. It is a fabulous running vehicle with that turbocharged engine, especially, as we always say, Dad, At our altitude. Correct. It just works great. And you said it best. It is a small SUV, basically with no back end, which gives you some extra functionality, right? Because you can put some taller things in there, as long as they're not super heavy, right? This is not a, you know, full, you know, half-ton, three-quarters-ton, one-ton pickup, right? This thing's not hauling several thousand pounds. No, that's right. However, it's not meant to be. But if you do, you know, you did go pick up, I'll be honest, I actually picked up a safety the other day, 500 pounds. This vehicle would haul that. I think it has a max payload of about 1,400 pounds. Yep, it would haul it just fine.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 07 :
And you could stand it up and you could put tie-downs on it. Ours did come with a really nice locking kind of a built-in tonneau cover, right? Yes. You could put some stuff in the back. It was easy to pull and easy to slide, which made it easy. There is some storage in the bed compartment. It is not an overly large vehicle. vehicle truck because it is a truck on the inside um at least for the back seat passengers the front passengers are just fine um however dad if you're looking for a lot of the creature comfort that comes standard and as you mentioned all-wheel drive this is a vehicle for you right
SPEAKER 04 :
No, it's got everything that you could ever want in that size of vehicle. And for those of you listening, yes, this competes with like the Ford Maverick. The Ford Maverick, I should say. The Honda Ridgeline is a little bit larger vehicle. Now, I'm going to say this, and Hyundai, I know you hear all these reviews. Here's my only complaint. I think it's a little bit high-priced for what you get at the end of the day. And let me explain, folks, when I say that. This particular vehicle, granted, this was the upper end, and it's in the low 40s, 42,500. You can spend about $4,000 more and buy a Honda Ridgeline. Nothing against this particular vehicle. So, again, Hyundai will listen to this. But great vehicle, Hyundai. But I think when you're trying to compete in the marketplace and have an edge, that price difference, in my opinion, Richard, needs to be a little bit farther apart. That's my only, literally, that is my only negative with this car. It's one of the first things I even told my wife when I got in it. Outside of that, is this a car I would own? Absolutely. I just wish the price was a little lower, Richard.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, well, and with that price increase, if you're wondering what do I get, you get some more creature comforts, right? You get a little bit more. The touchscreen on the side is a little bit different than some of its competitors. Some more creature comforts as far as, I think, heated and ventilated front seats, if I'm not mistaken, Dan. You get some of those extra features that maybe you deem as more important to you and you would rather have than more room. So if this sounds interesting, folks. It really is an interesting car and truck if you haven't seen them. Head to your local Hyundai dealer, check it out. Again, 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, and let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, next vehicle we have on tap, we did a review of recently. Again, both of us were able to drive this car, 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan, and that is their smaller SUV. For those of you that might not know the Volkswagen lineup, it's their smaller SUV. You can buy these, oh, pretty much in that low to mid-30s, depending upon how you equip it, which exactly trim level you end up with. And I will say, Richard, love the size. Love the layout of the agronomics of it inside and all of that. Had no issues whatsoever. One complaint, one complaint only with this vehicle. And again, Volkswagen, I know you listen to these, so I appreciate you letting us have the vehicles and test drive and give a review and such on them at our altitude. Maybe it's not the same at sea level, but our altitude... The way the engine and the turbo spool up, you need to count to two before you pull out into traffic. In other words, if you can't count to two, don't pull out because that's about how long it takes for you to actually get things wound up. Once you're doing that, the vehicle runs great, but it's got that much turbo lag, which I don't know why.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and I don't think it does that in reading, as we always do, right? We prepare, we read what other people have to say. It seems like that's a consistent theme. And so I think they can probably fix that with some tuning. Outside of that, this is actually one of my more favorite cars for this year. It's redesigned, all new for 2025. They've given you a really big center console. touchscreen and depending on the model you get it's either roughly 13 inches or 15 inches and dad you can get this if you get the top of the line SEL you can actually get front massaging seat for less than or for just over $40,000 I think ours was the SE which sat right there in the middle like you said about $33,000 $34,000 but depending on the turbo lag and it may not be a big deal for you this was one of my more favorite cars just because it felt It just felt really high dollar. I don't know how else to say it. You got in and you just kind of felt like, man, this car feels like it's worth more than... Agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, that one I will agree with. I had comments from people even that have not seen the new redesign, as you mentioned a moment ago, that had similar things to say. And again, Agronomics and all of that, loved all of that. And now, going to the price, I mean, personally... Would I buy this car even knowing that it's got some turbo lag that potentially could get fixed with an update or what have you? I wouldn't stop. I mean, I would not not buy this car because of the turbo lag because for the price, Richard, you get a lot of vehicle for the price.
SPEAKER 07 :
And especially the SE trim that it gives you power adjustable driver's seat, synthetic leather upholstery, power liftgate, interior ambient lighting that you can change. Again, some features that you don't get on a lot, even some luxury cars, right? Right. $100,000 cars out there that you can't change the interior lighting color. True. But with this car, you can. And again, folks, if you've seen a Tiguan before, I encourage you to go check out the new one because for that five-passenger vehicle, and they have taken out the optional third row, Dad, so that's not even an option. So if you've got a family of four and was able to put kids in the back seat, in the second row without too much issues and booster seats, I encourage you to check it out because this is kind of the urban SUV of choice for a lot of people out there because it gives you kind of the best of both worlds on all accounts. So I encourage folks, check this out, Dad. Take the family because it truly is a family car. I think everyone will enjoy it, again, especially the fact that it's redesigned for 2025. 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan. And when you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep, and as I always say, I need to remind everybody, we've got reviews going back multiple years. We've been doing this for, oh gosh, a decade plus. So reality is you've got the ability to go look at some of those reviews. A lot of people look at vehicles that are a year or two old buying used cars, which, by the way, that's fine as well. And the reality is a lot of these reviews will fit that particular buyer as well. Richard, as always, I appreciate it very much.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yep, sounds good. See you later.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, have a great night. With that, we'll go to our break. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Any trouble with your AC, give them a call today, klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, that's it for Hour 2. Hour 3, I will talk about the big, beautiful bill. We'll be back and go over that here in a moment. Don't go anywhere. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
