Welcome to the Kim Monson Show podcast. Kim Monson is your host. Waste, fraud, and abuse. Deputy Public Policy Director at Open the Books Rachel O’Brien explains that the final tally for Biden-era improper payments is $925 billion. Virginia Macha with Stand 4 the Land Kansas shares updates on the transmission corridors to nowhere. Teacher Priscilla Rahn discusses her concerns with the lack of transparency by Colorado Rep. Regina English. State Farm agent Roger Mangan notes the importance of hospital income insurance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kim Monson Show airs on KLZ 560 AM every Monday thru Friday, 6-8 AM MST. You can listen to the live stream by going to www.klzradio.com
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It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
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The socialization of transportation, education, energy, housing, and water. What it means is that government controls it through rules and regulations.
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The latest in politics and world affairs.
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Under this guise of bipartisanship and nonpartisanship, it's actually tapping down the truth.
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Today's current opinions and ideas.
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On an equal field in the battle of ideas, mistruths and misconceptions is getting us into a world of hurt.
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Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
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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's drive 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 is producer joe luke rachel zach echo charlie mike theresa amanda and all the people here at crawford broadcasting happy monday happy president's day producer joe happy president's day kim Yeah, and we're going to talk about these presidents here in the second hour, so stay tuned for that. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You'll get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. And you can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com. The text line is 720-605-0647. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're 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. It's not compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, their property, freedom, livelihoods, opportunities, their childhood, or their lives via force. And force can obviously be a weapon, but it can be policy and unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, the World Economic Forum agenda, the globalist elites agenda. Played out with the United Nations, this Colorado state legislature, this Colorado governor. Then they used land use codes and zoning regulations, force fees, conservation easements, national monument designations. We're going to talk with Virginia Maka regarding these transmission line corridors here a little bit later today in the show. And all that, if you own your property, but somebody else, the government, somebody else controls it, then you don't really own your property. And that has been occurring for quite some time here in America. We've got to get that walked back. Remember, if something is a good idea, you should not need to use force to implement it. On the show, we focus on the issues, and we'll talk about the people pushing those issues. We work to stay out of all this personality stuff, which is... It's easy to get into it, but we're trying to stay focused on the issues here on the show. The show can be heard 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. The second hour is broadcast 10 to 11 at night. That's on all KLZ 560 platforms. That's, let's see, KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. So let's jump in here. Our word of the day is portentous, and it is spelled P-O-R-T-E-N-T-O-U-S. It could be relating to a portent, so suspense, as in a portentous foreshadowing. It could be eliciting amazement or wonder. Number three, being a grave or serious matter or self-consciously solemn or important. So I would say that the issues that we are facing in America today are portentous issues. And we I'm so grateful that Donald Trump and company is working to get government back into its proper role at the federal level. Government is also out of control at the local, the county and the state level as well. So while Donald Trump is working diligently there at the federal level, we need to be engaging here in our own communities, in our own state. And that is one of the reasons why we do the show. Our quote of the day, since I have Virginia Maka on, she is the founder of Stand for the Land Kansas. And I thought, let's do a quote from somebody famous from Kansas. And I did not realize this, but Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, and she was declared dead on January 5, 1939. She disappeared July 2, 1937 over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her life, Earhart embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and since her disappearance has become a global cultural figure. She was the first female pilot to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean and set many other records. She was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of the 99s, an organization for female pilots. And she said this, and my father always said this to me as well. She said, you can do anything that you decide to do. Again, that's Amelia Earhart and a fellow Kansan. And our quote, let's see, our bill of the day is House Bill 25-1073, and this is protecting children against rape. And the summary on it is concerning criminal sentencing for persons who commit certain types of sexual assault on his child and in connection therewith requiring a mandatory minimum period of incarceration for a class four and class three felony. And the sponsors on this are Representative Brandy Bradley and Representative Regina English. So that is great. This is bipartisan. And it is to be heard. Oh, let's see. I thought that was on schedule for this week, but I'm not seeing it yet. It was introduced on January 8th. So that is our bill of the day and good for Brandy Bradley for bringing that forward and also getting Democrat Regina English on there as well. So that is great. Let's see. Some of these headlines I wanted to go through. This first one is from The Daily Caller. And it says Tom Holman reminds AOC he once had to educate her about basic border law as the two are publicly back and forth. And he said that in 2019, Holman stopped Ocasio-Cortez's attack against him during a congressional hearing where he had to inform her that border laws mirrored U.S. laws when discussing family separation. On Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, the Fox News host asked Homan for his response to AOC, who had recently posted on X, stating Homan should learn to read and start with the Constitution in response to his Department of Justice warning. It says, look, I forgot more about the Constitution and immigration enforcement than she'll ever know. I mean, I had to educate her during the congressional testimony that entering a country illegally is a crime. But what she needs to do is read the statutes enacted by Congress. Title VIII, United States Code 1324 and 25, that's what she needs to read because it's illegal to enter this country. He went on to say, not only that, when you harbor and conceal and impede law enforcement, that's a felony. So what she's doing, she says she's educating them to their constitutional rights. Well, we all know they've got constitutional rights, but what she's really doing, and I and the rest of the country know, is that she's trying to teach them how to evade law enforcement. And certainly she's getting help with from a number of NGOs on that as well. Next headline, this is from Just the News, and it is the Biden Treasury Department emails show coordination with left wing organizations on tax policy and messaging. says these documents reveal Treasury officials exhibiting much of the worst of the Biden administration, the overreach of statutory authority, outsourcing policymaking to outside special interest groups, and dealing harshly with dissenting views, Michael Chamberlain said. And these are newly disclosed. And this coordination... It is really unconscionable that this has been occurring. But it says public records from the Treasury Department were obtained by Protect the Public's Trust via Freedom of Information Act requests, which include documents that show these emails between Biden Treasury Department officials and employees of left-wing nonprofits. In the emails, the officials and nonprofits worked together on developing these talking points and policy, showing a very close relationship where the latter had sway over the former. So you can see, my friends, with this particular story, why the deep state is making all this noise to try to prevent Doge, President Trump, Elon Musk from getting in here and looking at these records. And that is why that's why it's so important that we have transparency, transparency in our government. And that is that's they're working hard on that. And we're seeing the opposition start to get more and more organized with many of the headlines that you're seeing trying to influence democracy. public opinion. Next thing, I thought this was pretty interesting. This is a la carte of Venezuela. This is from the LA Times. It says, is California government considering oil refinery takeovers? Yes, it is. It says Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, more than a dozen countries make gasoline at state-owned refineries. Now, just notice that list. Could California be next on the list? It says California policymakers are considering state ownership of one or more oil refineries. One item on a list of options presented by the California Energy Commission to ensure steady gas supplies as oil companies pull back from the refinery business in the state. Well... It's like, wait a minute, you guys are trying to shut them down and now you want to take them over. And it says the state recognizes that they're on a pathway to more refinery conclosures, said Skip York, chief energy strategist on Energy Consultant Network. At energy consultant Turner Mason and company, the risk to consumers and the state's economy, he said, is gasoline supply disappearing faster than consumer demand, resulting in fuel shortages, higher prices and severe logistical challenges. It says gasoline demand is falling in California. I find that hard to believe for two reasons. It says more efficient gasoline engines and increasing number of electric vehicles on the road. Gasoline consumption in California peaked in 2005 and fell 15 percent through 2023, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Anyway, let's just let you ruminate on that one. And California is out of control, but we're not far behind. And then lastly, this is from Animal Planet says philanthropists promises seven hundred and seventy one million dollars annually after the U.S. exits from the climate accords. And again, this is from Bloomberg, and he ran for president. And what we're realizing with this whole Green New Deal is it's the green that is going into people's pockets. However, it looks like Bloomberg is going to step up and try to fund some of this Paris Climate Accord deal. So again, all of these different entities are trying to undercut what the Trump administration is attempting to do. And to understand this whole issue regarding climate a bit more, be sure and check out the documentary, A Climate Conversation. This is the project of Walt Johnson. He and his wife, Ramey, funded it. He wanted to have an honest conversation about this. He's a geophysicist, has been a geophysicist for over 50 years. And you can watch it for free at aclimatconversation.com. We also have a great podcast series with a number of excellent guests on that as well. So be sure and check that out. And the show comes to you because of our sponsors. And one of those great sponsors is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. 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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 dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. 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 should not have to force people to do it. and wanted to say thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show. It is reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from natural gas, oil, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and empowers us to change our own personal climate, meaning to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Please have on the line with me Priscilla Rahn. She's a friend of mine. She is a teacher. She really cares deeply about our county, our state, our country. She has been a candidate for different offices here, and I really appreciate her stepping up to the line here to make that happen. So welcome, Priscilla Rahn. Good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's great to be on with you this morning.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, it's good to have you as well. And you had texted something over to me that you were really concerned regarding an interaction that you had with Colorado State Representative Regina English. So set this up for us.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, so basically the general reason why I'm on your show is to talk about freedom of speech. Um, I'm really passionate about this. I teach my students about this and I've been doing a lot of research and it's a little complicated because it has to do with the, an interaction on social media. So we know that the left is really upset with, uh, Elon Musk, president Trump, and the Doge audits that are happening. One, um, very vocal Congresswoman, Congresswoman Crockett from Texas has been going viral with her videos saying it's unconstitutional and just being really critical. State Representative Regina English posted a video of Congresswoman Crockett on her Facebook page. And I simply responded under that post that I felt like this is something that we the people voted for. We wanted accountability and transparency in our government. And then Representative English responded, well, I don't think you really understand what Congresswoman Crockett is saying. And then I responded, I can hear exactly what she's saying. And just to bring it home locally, we, the people really want lower taxes in our government. And we want the state legislature to stop coming after our Tabor. That's essentially all I said. At that time, Representative English deleted my comments and sent me a private message. And I'm just paraphrasing because you have the whole exchange in front of you that, you know, she's not going to do this back and forth on her social media. And then I asked her, did you delete my comments? And she said, I delete and block people all the time. And I said, I think that's illegal. And to which she replied, no. you know, if you want to go ahead and report me, go ahead, but I'm not, you know, I don't have to. And then she used the word harassment, which was not the case and not the definition by the state. And then she referenced a bill that I looked up from 2023 that was originated by Representative Harrod, who was dealing with her own battles at the Capitol with her staff, exposing some of her behavior as a boss with her employees. And so this is really interesting because we're in an interesting time where elected officials have been sued on the Republican side and lost. for blocking and deleting constituents, but yet somehow, well, we're not surprised. Democrats have the majority in our state, so they have a high level of arrogance to say, I don't have to listen to you post an opposing view on my Facebook page, which she does business, you know, political business, but it's very crafty language, Kim, in this bill around political Who's paying? Is your Facebook page paid for by the state or not? But does that really qualify as you can just delete and block anybody for any reason? I feel like that's an infringement on our First Amendment.
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No, Priscilla, I think you are really nailing it. And I remember seeing that bill as we were doing our review of which bills to take positions on for the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. And... I remember seeing that bill and I thought, huh, this is really interesting. I wonder how this is going to play out. I wonder if this is actually going to be used to shut down people's voices. And Priscilla, it seems to me like the radical activists left us. And this legislation that we see occurring down at the Statehouse, Really, it's a bill mill down there. I checked this morning. There's been 458 bills that have been introduced down at the statehouse this year, if you can believe it. But the radical activists, extremists left are playing long ball. So here back in 2023, that piece of legislation is passed. And here now in 2025, Representative English is hiding behind that, trying to shut down discourse. And certainly we should be able to have opposing views, but the left doesn't want to have any opposing views, do they?
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No, no. And what Regina is actually doing as an elected official is supporting the erosion of free speech. She didn't want to take the time to see and hear my points if they were valid. And if we're going to engage in this experiment called democracy, you know, next year we're celebrating our 250th year as a country, as a nation. If she's going to engage in this experiment of democracy, then representatives are going to have to engage with ideas so we the people can govern ourselves. And so this is the battle. This is why I'm coming on your show, because when a state legislator that has the power to say, go ahead and report me, I'm a schoolteacher. So that means either I have to sue, which costs a lot of money. I could go to the ACLU, which I did, but good luck to me getting the ACLU to help me with this free speech debate. Or I can go to the people, which is what I'm doing, calling my resources and going on the radio and using the airwaves and writing op-eds to say this is wrong. This is not the way our representative government is supposed to run. And I think that this needs to change. And legislators can't hide behind. I think it's cowardly to say I don't want to engage or hear an opposing view around taxes, transparency, TABOR. simply because I don't have the bandwidth or the tolerance to hear an opposing view. I almost feel like she's saying, how dare you? You can go talk about it in your silo, but don't come to my public Facebook page, because it's not private. It's her public Facebook page, and present an opposing view and engage me in a dialogue about it.
SPEAKER 13 :
yeah and and the one of the first there is a reason why the freedom of speech is uh in the first amendment Absolutely, Priscilla. The freedom of speech is in the First Amendment because that is one of the first things. Once you start to shut down speech, then you shut down the kicking around of ideas. And if an idea can't pass the mustard of being engaged and challenged, then maybe it's not a very good idea, right? Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Exactly. And we have to get bolder. I mean, we've got an opportunity in a window where we can express ideas and finally get people in the state legislature to turn their heads and say, you know, there are federal expectations that are coming down around transparency and the audits and how taxpayer dollars are used. I think it's best that our state legislators get on board. And, you know, I don't know. I'm still looking at the bill's They should be going through all of the draconian bills down at the state capitol and eliminating those. I don't know if they're actually doing that, if they're continually trying to introduce new bills. Why aren't they cutting waste? And I don't see that happening. And I think that's the main thing that, you know, why Trump won was because people are tired of the inflation, the cost of living. And we're still talking about eggs and energy and home prices. And these are real issues. And if I can't even talk about that one simple issue. issue with a state legislator that I had a good relationship with. I mean, I had a very good relationship with Regina English and I thought it was a quote unquote safe place for me to say, hey, You know, here's where, you know, I want to back you. If you're going to be able to push back against your party and stand up to protect Tabor and start cutting taxes and fees and bag fees and all of these things that are just nickel and diming the people, then, you know, I'll support you in that. But I was really, really shocked at the response that I got.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. It is really shocking, and I think, Priscilla, actually it takes courage for you to come on radio to talk about this as well because it just does. It takes courage to do that, so I really appreciate that. So is there any action items or anything that you want listeners to take right now? What would you recommend?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I recommend that people reach out to Representative English and let her know that that's inappropriate for her to silence speech and that we expect her to engage in free speech and stop eroding free speech in our state and that we expect her not to go after our Tabor. I know our people on our side continue to do that, but we're tired of fighting this conversation. We've spoken. We don't want the state to take away our Tabor, but they're constantly coming after us and we want accountability in our government. And we want fairness. And so I would just encourage people to do what they're continually doing, which is send letters, make phone calls, and speak up when you see things. Yes, it takes courage. I'm in the minority in the state, but this is why our founding fathers put this in the First Amendment. We have a right. It's protected. And I'm going to continue to sound the bullhorn on this issue until she changes her behavior.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and let's just drill down a little bit more about what is the real issue here. And that is, is that Donald Trump and company is going through and working to find more and more transparency on what has been occurring in our country. And what we are seeing is, is this a radical activist extremist that's played out with the Biden-Harris administration. that they have been fleecing. They've been fleecing the American people. And there are those that don't want the American people to actually realize that. And so I think that that's what is probably playing out here with Representative English and this congresswoman from Texas, is they don't want people to really understand what's going on. So they're creating all this noise, but yet they don't want anybody to have a conversation about it because they want to control the narrative. That's the bottom line, yes?
SPEAKER 15 :
A hundred percent. A hundred percent. And so, you know, I think we're still winning on this narrative because the majority of Americans voted for this. We're getting exactly what we expected to get, which is the accountability. And I think we just keep being louder because, you know, they think they're loud, but we've got to be louder in saying we think this is absolutely appropriate. And by the way, Other presidents have done exactly what President Trump is doing. Obama did it. Biden did it. So it's just the narrative, and I'm really getting sick and tired of The Democrats saying, you know, Trump's a white supremacist and Musk is a white supremacist. And that is really, really lame. And as a black conservative, I really don't buy into that narrative because I know who our president is. And this isn't about black or white or race or anything. It's about finally we have representatives who are serving the people.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Hey, and Priscilla, just clarify for me, you said that Obama did this, that Biden did this. What exactly are you referencing there?
SPEAKER 15 :
Where they created a, they passed, I can send you the video. They passed, I guess it was an executive order for transparency in the government, specifically bypassing Congress, because that's the argument. They're saying this audit has to go through Congress. The left is saying that, but other presidents have bypassed Congress to do exactly what President Trump is doing. I'm happy to send you the video for that.
SPEAKER 13 :
OK, perfect. That's awesome. Priscilla, Ron, thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your story. And thank you for your courage in doing so, because the bottom line, freedom of speech is one of the bedrocks of the whole American idea. So thank you for stepping forward on this. I really appreciate it. And thank you for having me on, Kim. Gosh, and we have all this happen because of our great sponsors. And so for everything regarding residential real estate, you want to make sure that you have Karen Levine on your side of the table.
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SPEAKER 11 :
Don't delay. All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. 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 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. 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. 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 should not have to force people to do it. And as many of you know, I grew up on the plains of western Kansas, which I dearly love. And so pleased to get connected with Virginia Maka, who is a, I'm a Coloradan and I'm a Kansan, if you can be both. But she is the founder of Stand for the Land Kansas. And really, she's a real patriot standing for property rights. Virginia Maka, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim from Kansas. It's very cold here. I hear that. I hear it's very chilly. It's that global warming, Virginia.
SPEAKER 14 :
I know, and I just can't get enough of that global warming. I think President Trump may have an answer for that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, it is. That whole thing is being used, really, I think, to take more and more control of Americans' property and also to, ultimately, if we continue down this road, it would bankrupt America and the West. So let's talk about, well, let's talk a little bit about you, first of all, Virginia, because you have... You're the founder of Stand for the Land Kansas, and you understand this issue regarding property rights, and property rights are inherent in the American idea, the idea that everyday ordinary people can own most of their properties. A little bit is supposed to be used for taxes for government, but the The bulk of it is supposed to be ours. And what happens? Well, everyday people can create wealth and thrive and prosper for themselves and their families, and that's under attack, Virginia. So tell us how you got into this battle and a little bit about you.
SPEAKER 14 :
So, Kim, I grew up in southeast Kansas. I'm a lifelong Kansan. I retired, a retired engineer, and me and my husband were getting ready to retire, and I found myself Like a lot of people during COVID, the future wasn't clear. And when you're retiring, your future is always clear. You know, you have a plan. And I found myself in the middle of a utility battle. And I was standing with generational farms that really didn't have a voice and didn't really know. how to approach a political problem because that's what it is. And out of that battle, I realized this was a much bigger battle that I had just stumbled on to probably the beginning of the takeover of Kansas, our state, and the repurposing in the name of climate change and net zero that our state would not, in agriculture state any longer. And so stand for the land, uh, arose out of an imminent, imminent domain, a threat to most of us. And from that, I had no idea that property owners, that we did a survey before we passed, you know, started legislation and 86% of those property owners that saw That Google ad went straight to Stanford Land to find out what was going on because they felt it too. So if 86% of the people understand eminent domain, that is when I decided this is a battle worth taking. And it's an education battle. It's building leaders and building your bench at the local level. And I really feel like in my lifetime, I've been able to live the American dream. And when you don't see that American dream being achievable by anyone coming up the ranks, it was a really sad realization for me. And so freedom, as your prior guest had talked about, Without freedom, there is no achieving anything without freedom. And our land is the one thing, our first line of defense to protect our freedoms. And I realized that really quickly when we were being silenced at our own state legislature No one would stand with us. The attacks and the power at the lobby that was there. So in these last three years, I've become an educator, and I have been educated almost every day in this battle. So that's kind of where I'm at. I enjoy helping people, but it's like... When they tell you their story, it lays on your heart. So it's devastating to them, but it just makes me have more go. Like we have to achieve something here. We have to at least, you know, have a Jake break so that we can stop and think about what we're doing because I don't think anybody in that arena that doesn't stand with us is a bad person. They just don't have the courage. And maybe they, when you get into those whirlwinds, you kind of just go along with the crowd, kind of like the ocean just kind of pushes you along. And it's a lot of pressure up there for them. I understand that.
SPEAKER 13 :
And you're speaking of electeds primarily?
SPEAKER 14 :
Elected officials. Okay. You know, It's really about not being scared, showing people courage, and giving other people the permission to be as courageous. And that's what we have seen in 31 of our counties. At the local level, this last election, we started seating and looking at county commissioners because solar, industrial solar farms, four and 8,000 acre farms, were swallowing us in Southeast Kansas. And so, uh, that was, um, evident we needed to change something. And it was very unique to sit back for once, but I didn't really sit back, but to sit back and watch those people that you allowed to, to rise, to be the leader of their groups, take action. And it was, um, It encouraged me that there are still people willing to fight for freedom in an American dream and make life better for those people in their counties. So it's been very—it's not a political fight. It's not an R or a D. It's about—it's an attack on Americans. on those people that were born and loved this country. It is an attack. And it's nice to know that three years ago you couldn't find five people that would follow me. And, you know, this far down the road, the ranks have grown so large that it's hard for me to get back to people because I'm trying to get information out there and, um, you know, make sure people are aware. So it's been fun. And, and thanks to you, Kim and your show, because I had a lot of calls from Colorado and I, I have a couple of special friends there now who are doing the same thing. And, uh, they are, they're warriors.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so, um,
SPEAKER 14 :
And your show does a lot.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thank you, Virginia. And I'm so excited that we got connected. And it's via one of my cousins back in Kansas. So I'm really grateful that this has happened. So ultimately, I think that, and I have this in air quotes, the Green New Deal, these industrial solar complexes and these wind projects, industrial wind complexes, it really has been a land grab. And eminent domain is being used by not necessarily government entities, but some of these companies that are building these transmission lines or, well, I guess it's primarily the transmission lines right now that is the eminent domain question, right?
SPEAKER 14 :
It is. So citing a transmission line. you have to use eminent domain because there's a lot of people that will, they don't care to have transmission on their land, nor go through their towns. These transmission lines aren't just what we know as transmission. They're 345 kilovolts and up. And so you have to worry about health and electromagnetic fields and Um, our new, um, health secretary had, he did a, um, uh, he touched on the, uh, electromagnetic fields and the worry of that crossing our lands. We're talking about 400 and 500 mile, 500 kilovolt lines, um, DC power. And that power is, is very strong and. No one cares to talk about the cancer or any other health effects, much less what it can do to your land in the way of growth and change soil content. So we're talking about five and 10 mile wide corridors and 400, 500 mile lines.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, I don't understand why the corridors have to be that wide, even if you did think it was a great idea. And the other thing, Virginia, is to connect the dot from rural to urban, is that these things, as they affect the soil, as they affect the land, as they take more and more land out of production, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that is going to affect our food source, right? And that will play out in certainly higher prices at the grocery store. And also, ultimately, it could be shortages. So that's an important dot to connect for people, Virginia.
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, we are the breadbasket of America, of the world. In Kansas, we have been known as the breadbasket for ever since I was a small child. And to think that you would repurpose Kansas and turn it into a, a solar desert. You know, I just couldn't fan that people that I saw in the arena standing up for these solar farms would agree with that. And that's probably, it took me a long time to get over, but it's just because they're not educated. So once you change the soil, I follow a lot of scientists. Japan seems to have scientists that really are meticulous with their data. And as an engineer, that is what I've always done this entire time being in this arena is follow the data. You know, follow the studies. See what they're using. And so... The craziest thing is they have leveled across the United States on every state areas where they say social justice, social justice, we have to, this area is, you know, deprived because of gasoline costs or transportation. And then you get all these tax credits. And so in the last probably two months, I've learned about
SPEAKER 13 :
refundable or transferable tax credit okay we're going to talk about that yeah let's go to break i'm talking with virginia maca she is the founder of stand for the land kansas we've got a bill like that right now here in colorado and again uh these legislators i don't think many of them are are creating this legislation i think that there are interested parties that are coming in and shopping this legislation and getting a legislator to carry it. And certainly, on the other side, we do have legislators that are trying to push back on all that. But we have that piece of legislation like that right now here in Colorado. I'm talking with Virginia Maka, and these are such important discussions. They happen because of our sponsors. For everything mortgages, reach out to Lauren Levy.
SPEAKER 06 :
We'll be right back. 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.
SPEAKER 07 :
Call now. You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That's Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email us at Kim at Kim Monson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. 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. Pleased to have on the line with me, Virginia Maka. She is the founder of Stand for the Land Kansas. She retired and now she's busier probably than she ever was because she's uncovered this agenda that ultimately will kick off I would say farmers and ranchers off their land, maybe not figuratively, but the fact that they will not be able to do what they want with their land, that's a way of kicking them off their land. So, Virginia, you had alluded to these tax credits. And tax credits ultimately come down to treating people differently. It's the government trying to push an agenda. And these tax credits for these, what do you call it? These refundable tax credits has been a way to control things. And people have been able to trade these tax credits. We shouldn't have them. What do you think is the Trump administration? Do they understand the danger, danger with all this?
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, I think president Trump understands that in that, where he's at in that arena, you're trying to, uh, put, uh, priorities and these secretaries, uh, we, we can't get them the appointees in fast enough. So Doge has been one of the greatest things that's ever happened in government. Because now there's no wall between us and transparency. And so it's not whether, you know, you believe it or not. It's that Doge is actually presenting you documentation of the corruption and where our tax money is going. When you're only in debt, say $8 trillion, and then 2020 hits and you look at the clock ticking and it's almost $40 trillion, it should take your breath away because it's robbing you, your kids, your grandkids of anything good that this country's ever stood for. And so refundable tax credits are going to cost us $8.7 trillion in the next 10 years. And these are transferable. So they're like liquid cash and they're not taxable. They're not considered income. So this is the target that has been put on every landowner. that is in one of these tax credit districts and it mostly covers all of us in Kansas. There's very few areas that some kind of tax credit doesn't exist for clean energy or climate change. And in your state, Kim, you still have a corridor coming at you. I haven't been able to investigate the tax credits that are in that, but I have a map that actually has probably 50, 60 layers on it. And every time I undo a layer, the metadata hooked to that layer refers to another tax credit. And it just boggles my mind. Because like Elon Musk said, you throw a dart in any direction, anywhere, and you hit corruption. You hit government waste. You hit non-transparency. And like you said, those bills that are showing up at your state, they're being written by think tanks, and they're being passed in every state.
SPEAKER 13 :
um across the across the board so uh it's a bad policy it is so we've got two minutes left virginia and first of all if people i know i've you've talked with a number of my friends here from colorado what is the best way for people to reach out and reach you follow you at stand for the land kansas.com is the website what's the best way to just contact you through the website or what
SPEAKER 14 :
Join up. You'll get an update. I don't send a lot of emails out. And when I do, it is a five alarm fire that has been uncovered. So I like to keep that pretty fresh, the articles. And my phone number is on there. If you have a crisis Or you just realized that a lease is going to take your land. Call me because I have friends almost everywhere in every state, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri. I have contacts there now that we, uh, we try to guide people to those people. And I think that is the communication waking up in the communication is key. And do your own research, not on the federal level, on your local level. See what your local government's been doing. Go to a county commission meeting, and the first question they'll ask you is, what are you doing here?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right, I know.
SPEAKER 14 :
It's a flag. So anyway, no, if they have a serious problem, I always take phone calls. My number's right there on the website. Okay. And I take text messages. You just tell me who you are and I will do everything I can to help you. And right now I'm involved in a lawsuit. So actually an amicus brief. For the first lawsuit in Kansas, that's going to take on Janet Yellen, the U.S. treasurer, at the time where these transferable tax credits were put into effect.
SPEAKER 13 :
Virginia Maka, this is awesome. I've got to get you back on the show. We're out of time. Thank you, first of all. I'm just honored to call you a fellow Kansan. Thank you for what you're doing. That's Virginia Maka. You can find her at StandForTheLandKansas.com. We will have her back on very soon. Virginia, keep it up. Thank you, Kim. Our quote for the end of the show is from Amelia Earhart, who was born in Kansas. She said, if enough of us keep trying, we'll get someplace. 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. God bless America. And stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 09 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 13 :
The socialization of transportation, education, energy, housing, and water, what it means is that government controls it through rules and regulations.
SPEAKER 09 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 13 :
Under this guise of bipartisanship and nonpartisanship, it's actually tapping down the truth.
SPEAKER 09 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 13 :
On an equal field in the battle of ideas, mistruths and misconceptions is getting us into a world of hurt.
SPEAKER 09 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 13 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. Welcome to our number two of 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. 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 Monday and happy President's Day, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 05 :
Happy Monday and happy President's Day to you too, Kim.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, and great information from Virginia Maka. We'll have to get her on the show again very soon. Property rights are inherent in the American idea and they are totally under attack. You may think you own your property, but if somebody else is controlling it, you don't really own your property. So we'll continue those discussions. Check out the website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You'll get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays that goes out on Sundays. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com. The text line is 720-605-0647. Do want to hear from you. 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 the show comes to you 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. First hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. That is on all KLZ platforms. That's KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. the KLZ website and the KLZ app. Within 24 hours, we have the show posted on the website with a summary and also the podcast. And the podcast can also be heard on Spotify and iTunes and all of those platforms. different streaming services uh Hooters restaurants has been a great sponsor of the show for many years and it's a really important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism and how I got to know them you can find that at my website but they have five locations Loveland Aurora Lone Tree Westminster and Colorado Springs and a great place to get together Monday through Friday for lunch because they have great specials or a happy hour but you can find all that information at my website our word of the day is portentous and it's p-o-r-t-e-n-t-o-u-s it's an adjective uh it could be of or relating to um suspense or foreshadowing number two eliciting amazement or wonder or being a grave or a serious matter, or lastly, self-consciously solemn or important. And I would say that what we're uncovering and seeing from the American people, from the whole DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, and the work that they're doing, is that it is portentous to watch what is happening. I'll just say that. challenge is to use this portentous in a sentence today so that you can impress your friends and family and again that's spelled p-o-r-t-e-n-t-o-u-s our quote of the day since i since i had virginia maca on in our number one and she's a kansan i uh I still think of myself also as a Kansan. I'm both a Kansan and a Coloradan. I grew up on the plains of western Kansas and dearly love Kansas. And Amelia Earhart was born there. In 1897, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. But she said this, and my dad always said this as well. He said, you can do anything you decide to do. And my dad would always say, just put your mind to it. So again, that is Amelia Earhart, our quote of the day. Our bill of the day is House Bill 25-1073, protections against child rape. and is concerning criminal sentencing for persons who commit certain types of sexual assault on children. And the primary sponsors on that are Representative Brandy Bradley and Representative Regina English. Regina English, we talked about her in the first hour. Really pleased she's got her name on that bill. Very disappointed that she's trying to shut down speech on her public Facebook page of anything that might see something differently. And I really appreciate Priscilla Ron for coming on and talking about this. It takes real courage. Priscilla is a teacher and certainly appreciate her work. doing that. The USMC Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit I dearly love. The memorial is located in Golden, Colorado. And we hear so many of these Marine stories that are so important. And yesterday on America's Veterans Stories, we broadcast part two of an interview with Bob Chica, who is a Marine. He was one of the 82 prisoners on the USS Pueblo that was taken prisoners by the North Koreans in the Vietnam War. It's a riveting story. And he's actually going to be out here in Colorado or planning to be for the Memorial Day event at the USMC Memorial Foundation. So a very worthy nonprofit to support. And you can get more information by going to USMCMemorialFoundation.org. That is USMCMemorialFoundation.org. And I really am blessed to work with a lot of really wonderful people. And I'm talking with Roger Mangan with the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And Roger, there are so many unknowns in life. We've talked about some of them. But what if somebody ends up in the hospital for a while?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, one of the things that has recently become available is an enhanced hospital income plan. It's really a supplemental insurance plan that's so reasonable it's incredulous. But here's what it does. Let's say you were involved in a bicycle accident and you went into the hospital. You were admitted. The first thing this plan does is pays you $3,500 for the admission, the admission to the hospital. Now that 3,500 doesn't go to the hospital. It goes to you to be used for whatever you choose. Could be to pay your next auto insurance bill or to help pay your mortgage or pay your deductible that is associated with hospital confinement. And then for every day you're in there, it will pay you $250 per day. And if you're in an intensive care, it'll pay you $500 a day for up to, I think it's seven days. Now, This plan sounds so good, but really what does it cost? Everybody says, well, yeah, it's great, but it costs so much. No, it doesn't cost much at all. If you're somewhere between 16 and 25 years old, it's like $9 a month. Everybody should have this plan. My grandson, for example, loves to ski. He's a snowboarder. He crashes into a tree or another person. He goes to the hospital. That's going to be a very expensive audit proposition cost for that grandchild of mine. He has his plan, so I feel very comfortable that he has it. So if something happens, his parents, even though he's 25, his parents are going to bail him out. You know that. Everybody knows that because they don't have reserves sitting around to pay for hospital bills. So I think it's important for you to know about this and to learn more about it or get a proposal. You can call our office. We can run it through the computer and send you all the information that will clearly state what is going to happen in the event there is an injury.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. So question, you said that $250 a day, and if you're in intensive care, $500 a day. You said for seven days. What happens after seven days? Well, the base $250 per day goes 365 days.
SPEAKER 12 :
So it's a whole year of $250 per day. The intensive care part of that is an additional $250 a day on top of the original $250 a day to $500 a day for seven days.
SPEAKER 13 :
Got it. Okay, thanks for that clarification. So if it was an extended hospital stay, again, God forbid, but boy, that would really help. And at $9 a day for a young person, that would be super. $9 a month. Oh, excuse me, yes, $9 a month. So it would be great for people to reach out to you and your team. Roger, what's the best way to do that?
SPEAKER 12 :
Please give us a call at 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 13 :
And you've got an amazing team that can sit down with individuals and help them navigate all these different questions. And Roger, before I let you go, and we normally pre-record these interviews, we're going to be broadcasting this on President's Day. And I know that you taught history, right? So what's your thoughts about President's Day?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, we're honoring the office, but more particularly two people who occupied that position, you know, Washington and Lincoln. And when you think about the, when we talk about founding fathers, we're talking about folks who helped establish the framework within which we live politically. And at the same time, they were. They were pioneers. They had, they knew what they wanted to do, but they didn't know really if it would work. You know, we've been given a Republic. The question is like Franklin says, let's see if we can keep it. It's a constant battle, but these two gentlemen set the standards that everybody followed for many, many years. And I think when you think about the integrity they brought to the office, being honest and having strong moral principles and refusing to let personal avarice or personal gain take over and not put the country first. They were shining examples of that. When you read the words of Lincoln and how he thought, what he went through to save the Union, amazing people. Thank God for our presidents. And not all presidents have been guided by integrity and honesty, unfortunately. So I wish we as Americans truly feel a deep appreciation for those that have led the way and set the standard and help us achieve what we have as a country.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and it is important to recognize both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and their birthdays are in February. And, of course, it was combined then for, I think, a federal holiday. But it's important to actually reflect upon the contributions that each of these men made together. to the founding of America. And so what a great day to do that. So Roger Mangan, you do such great work. And truly, like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot 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. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And wanted to say thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show because it is reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from natural gas, oil, and coal that powers our lives and fuels our hopes and dreams and empowers us to change our own personal climate to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And also I mentioned Bob Chica, who was our guest on America's Veterans Stories on the show that broadcast yesterday. And he is a Marine. How I got to know him was he did an On Values presentation at the Center for American Values down in Pueblo. And you can access that presentation by going to their website. That is AmericanValuesCenter.org. And you can see all of the great work that they're doing at the center. So be sure and check that out. I am so pleased. to have on the line with me, Rachel O'Brien. And she is the Deputy Public Policy Director for Open the Books. And they are doing amazing work. Rachel, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me back. I'm happy to be here. Well, a lot's happened since the last time you were on, Rachel. Now we have Donald Trump in office. We've got Elon Musk with Doge. And I think they're using a lot of the work that you all have put together at Open the Books, yes?
SPEAKER 03 :
I hope so. It looks like it, right? They're sort of walking side by side as they look at certain spending. We're going, hey, we just did that. Let's put our post up with our data that we've already found, and let's make sure it gets their attention. So, yeah, we've tried to get our work in front of them. We've been successful in a few cases. And actually, our CEO, you know, just wrote, John Hart, he just wrote an op-ed in the New Sort of alongside of what we've done since we've been an institution is building America's checkbook. You know, Doge is going through all of... you know, the federal spending, the treasury. And we've said, look, let's build America's checkbook. Let's sort of open the books, which is obviously our name and what we do. So, yeah, we're excited to have our work out there on this very, very public federal stage. It's exciting.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and in the piece that John wrote, it says progressives are panicking because their 100-year largely successful assault on American constitutional government is in danger of being reversed. So you're really starting to see organized narratives out there to push back on what Elon Musk and Doge is doing. I did see a meme where one of the things they're saying is we don't want to have a nongovernmental government. entity being able to look at things in the treasury, meaning Doge. And this meme said that Elon Musk said, hey, remember, I started PayPal. So of course, the implication is we have information on people. I thought that was quite interesting.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, it's just, I mean, it's crazy to say that only the government should know what's being spent. It's our money. It's our taxpayer money. So people, I think, obviously are taking aim at Elon Musk. They don't like him. They don't like that he's aligned himself with President Trump. And that's all good and well. You don't have to like Elon Musk. But what he's saying is absolutely right in many cases. You know, this is our money. They only had – he and his team only had read access to the Treasury payment system. They weren't able to stop funds. They weren't able to reroute funds. They just were able to see what has been paid. And so it is absolutely – is absolutely American to allow the American people, not just the government, to follow the money, to see how our money is being spent. So it's so silly to say that because he's not a government official or he's not a government employee, he can't see it. It's nonsense. We should all be able to see it. We should all be able to follow the money. These funds belong to we, the people, not any branch of government. And certainly not an unelected administrative state, right? These are bureaucrats who get to determine how the funds are spent. get to determine what we're able to see. We're able to see a lot of government spending on usaspending.gov, but that sort of lags behind. We only get a part way to real transparency. It collects information on government contracts and grants and sort of lets us see in broad strokes how funds have been spent in the past, but the data is partial and it lags. It's often 30 days or even older. And so being able to view the Treasury and see how the Treasury is spending money is absolutely American. It's absolutely constitutional. And the people who are fighting it, I really hope and expect that they will lose.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and so I think that's why it's almost like they're pulling out all stops. You're seeing some of these judges that are trying to prevent this transparency. And I really think that everyday Americans, that they're busy. They've been focused on their lives, although they realize that something isn't right. I think that this is a watershed moment on this. And In the piece, John says transparency cuts through government like water cuts through stone. When it finds cracks, it can wash away mighty walls of opposition and create sudden and dramatic change. And I think that that is what the deep state is really concerned about. Rachel O'Brien.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, of course, right. They're concerned with their jobs and they're concerned with losing the status quo. That's understandable. But the government's job isn't to employ people. The government's job is to serve the people who are funding it. Right. And so change is hard. But again, if the people who are fighting it are these bureaucrats, are these people who just want to protect their jobs and want to protect the status quo, that itself is an indication that we're doing the right thing. Right. The right thing is to do right by the taxpayers. It's to do right by the country, right? It's not to do right by people who are employed by these agencies. And now, of course, you want to treat people with dignity and respect as an employer. You know, the U.S. government is an employer, and they've got to treat people properly. But that doesn't mean keeping people employed and spending money unnecessarily to make them happy. Like you said, the deep state, the bureaucrats, these people who are in charge of they need to be, their spending and their activities need to be accounted for. And so you're seeing these cuts, you know, in, in the federal agencies, you're seeing, you know, at every step it's being blocked by, by judges, but the government is very bloated. You know, we, we report every year on improper payments through federal agencies and it's, It's tens of billions of dollars a year because money is not being spent properly. So why should we protect a system and the people working for that system if they're not spending our money properly? They're wasting it. They're not safeguarding it. So it is time to make some of those cuts.
SPEAKER 13 :
So, Rachel, and I agree with this, and this has to be done. If America is going to survive, if we're going to reclaim our American idea, I really think we are in the third founding of our country. We have got to do this because we are spending ourselves into oblivion. So first and foremost, find out where that money's been going and stop that. But I do, on a micro level, I do have concern about... All of these people losing their jobs, being put into searching for jobs in this time. So I think you alluded to this. This is going to be a bit messy and tough, I think, for a little bit. But I am concerned on a micro level for people losing their jobs. What's your comments on that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, again, people need to be treated with respect, you know, just as we expect any employer to treat their employees, you know, well. Absolutely, right. So the offer of these sort of delayed retirement benefits that President Trump gave very quickly after taking office is you get to, if you're working for a federal agency and you're working from home, which most of them are, and you don't want to return to the office under President Trump's mandate of you must return to the office, If you don't want that, you know what? You can keep your job until September on the books. You can get paid on the books until September, but you don't actually have to do your job. We're essentially going to pay you for the next eight months. go on with your life, go look for another job in a sector that could use your expertise, and we're going to continue paying for that. Now, that's a volunteer thing. People have to opt in for that. I don't know what the latest status of that is. I think that was maybe put on pause or rolled back, but that's a very generous offer. How many of us in the private sector are given eight months of work, paid work, but we can go pursue other opportunities? So yeah, shutting down agencies overnight. I've talked about this when we're talking about USAID. That is an agency that certainly needs scrutiny. It certainly needs a fine-tooth comb look through its budget and spending, which we've been doing at Open the Books, and we can talk about that if there's time. Closing agencies overnight, locking the doors that people can't show up at their offices, that's not the best way to do business, right? Again, you are an employer, and you do owe some notice to your employees, right? So, again, all of these all of these actions that the Trump administration has taken, they're being challenged. And I think, you know, in the end, if the process isn't good, like, again, sort of last minute closing of USAID. If the process isn't good, we can rework it. But if you're talking about keeping people employed just to keep them employed, that's not the right way to run a business. Certainly no small business or no large business, nothing in the private sector operates that way. But treating people with respect is important. But, again, the bottom line is it's America's money. It's taxpayers' money, and we've got to safeguard it.
SPEAKER 13 :
So with this, Rachel O'Brien, our deficit is typically now, what, about $2 million? And so adding to that on a consistent basis, this is going to take us over the cliff if we don't get this under control. Do you think that Elon Musk and Doge can cut a trillion dollars just with what they're doing right now on that deficit?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, right. So the deficit, I think, is close to $2 trillion. Is that right? Maybe between $1 and $2 trillion. I think he has walked back, you know, Elon Musk has walked back his promise to be able to make that initial huge figure that he said. I think if you look at improper payments alone, improper payments, average payments, The last several years, we're averaging about $250 billion a year. I think if you start there, that's a good place to start. We're talking about payments that should never have been made in the first place. This should be a nonpartisan process. issue, people should get on board, no matter what side of the aisle they're on, and no matter what they think of Elon Musk, you know, so I don't know if he's going to be able to hit that figure. But there are so many, so much low hanging fruit to grab. During the Biden administration, he totaled $925 billion made in improper payments. And these are simply payments made to the wrong person or in the wrong amount for the wrong reason. We're not talking about cutting funding. We're not talking about cutting, you know, social safety net programs. We're talking about making sure the money goes to where it's supposed to, where, where it was, you know, aimed to go. And so when you see, of course, Medicaid and Medicare being the biggest problem, they accounted for $87 billion in improper payments last year. You know, it's, it's, It's a Herculean task to try to reform Medicaid and Medicare, but I think those are certainly programs that need it the most. So he can start there for sure. You know, USAID, again, cutting the federal foreign funding, not just by USAID, but by, you know, the State Department, of course, military spending, DOD, you know, huge, huge budgets where we can cut spending. I think there's lots of low-hanging fruit, again, to cut before you have to start, say, eliminating departments. Trump has said he wants to eliminate the Department of Education. Of course, it doesn't look like he has the support to do that in Congress. You don't need to eliminate agencies to cut wasteful and fraudulent funding. Talking about USAID, we've looked into them quite a bit. They haven't reported any improper payments in the last two fiscal years. And that's not because they're spending money perfectly. As we've seen, money is going to things it shouldn't. So we looked back the last couple of years. Since 2020, USAID, their programs were found 30 times to be susceptible to significant improper payments. Yes, they reported none in 2023 and 2024. I find that suspect. You know, if you look through all of your programs, you're susceptible to significant improper payments. Oh, but by the way, we had none. Wow. There's a lot to look through. There's a lot to take, again, that can make up. I don't know if we can get to that trillion dollar or two trillion dollar, whatever the figure is. There's a lot to start with before we worry about whether we're going to hit that number.
SPEAKER 13 :
Boy, Rachel O'Brien, let's continue this discussion. She is with Open the Books. They are doing amazing work. These discussions happen because of our sponsors. And I tell you something that's a great treat and a great protein source for your diet is something from Lavaca Meat Company.
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SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. 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. 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 should not have to force people to do it. And here in 2025, make sure that you support the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation. The actual... Official Marine Memorial is right here in Colorado. And so we need to take care of it. We need to refurbish it, remodel it. It was dedicated in 1977. It's a very special place. You can help them by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. Pleased to talk with Rachel O'Brien, Deputy Policy Director at Open the Books. Be sure and check out their website and Open the Books. And Rachel O'Brien, this came in on the text line from one of our listeners. She said, I'm not alone. I'm unhappy that people get locked out of their offices, but that you do that for a reason when you're trying to find fraud. And I think she has an excellent point there, Rachel.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if you're talking about, you know, right there's the concern that these bureaucrats who work for these agencies are going to destroy records. Sure. There, there could be, there could be a fear there. Look, I think there's a way to go about handling it. Again, I, I, I think there's a way to do it with respect for employees. You do have people who are just looking to, of course, protect their own neck and protect their own agency. But there are a lot of regular people who are employed by these agencies, regular Americans who are not sort of the deep state or necessarily an enemy. I think it is important, again, to keep those people in mind. But, right, there is this concern that records are going to be destroyed. You know, already looking through what we've seen in, say, USAID, you've sort of got to follow a long thread in many cases to get to the root of the spending. The records aren't always incredibly clear about where this money is going or what exactly it's being used for, especially when it's going to foreign entities and foreign countries. You know, so yeah, it is difficult to get to the root of that spending. And it is important, of course, to safeguard those records. But it's also important to maybe not lay people off overnight. Give them a bit of notice. You can certainly, you know, I guess remove people from offices if you feel like there's that fear that they're going to destroy records. But again, there's a way to do it with a little bit of You're not going to get as much pushback if you're locking people out overnight with no notice. Of course, people who hate Donald Trump are going to push back on whatever he does. I think going forward, you know, we may see a little bit of a different approach from his administration, just considering the amount of legal pushback he's gotten from judges. We'll see. We'll see. You know, Donald Trump doesn't seem to take a lot of he doesn't take scrutiny very well. And he sort of, you know, walks to the beat of his own drummer. And that's fine. We'll see what happens with those legal challenges. A lot of them just got those initial temporary restraining orders put in place just to give the judges enough time to even review the case, right? So a lot of times you see, you know, President Trump's detractors claiming a win when really it's just a pause to give the court time to even consider that case. And so we'll see what these cuts actually end up being.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and there's a question on whether or not these judges actually have jurisdiction over this as well. So it's a bit of a chess game right now. This is from one of our listeners. She said that we absolutely need to eliminate some of these agencies and departments because if we don't, when the radical activists get back in office, well, hopefully they won't, but if they do, that they'll put them right back where they are today. And... I tend to agree with her on that because some of these they've gotten way out of control. They've been really a fourth branch of government. And so we need to do what we can, Rachel, I think, to reclaim our constitutional republic. What's your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I would just say that, you know, that it's just such a difficult task to do. Right. So President Reagan tried to do this. right after the department was just created, and President Trump wanted to do this in his first term. Of course, you can transfer programs to other agencies, give a lot more power and responsibilities to the states. That is one of those things that when you talk to parents, and I'm a parent with a young child who's going to be entering public schools shortly, parents want that power. They want that ability to have more local decisions, right? You want it from the state. You want it from your city, from your school district. But if we're talking about eliminating the department, it doesn't look like the president is going to have the congressional support he's going to need, right? And so I just don't think He should be, of course, putting all his eggs in that one basket. Yeah, every administration is going to make their own spending decisions. But I think if you reorganize these agencies and you move entire programs and entire departments from one agency to another, it is harder for a future administration to undo that. It's not impossible. But it is more difficult, especially if you show that it's working well, right? So if you're removing all of these programs and essentially gutting the Department of Administration, just for example, you can talk about this with any agency, if you're essentially gutting it and removing much of what it does and giving it to another agency and it works, and the states are okay with it and the system continues to function properly, I think there's less incentive for a future administration to undo that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Let's talk about this last piece, and a lot's coming in. Let's see. This is from Eric. He says... Wow, Kim and Rachel, Elon Musk and Doge just got started. They have three more years. Plus, just think what they could do before the end of President Trump's term. They might even balance the budget. So, wow, who knows? That's Eric. And another listener said... It isn't Trump walking to his beat of the drum. They know exactly what they're doing, what they need to do, and it's totally legal. So that's from another listener. But Open the Books, that's OpenTheBooks.com. You guys just posted a piece on the 12th of February. Final tally for Biden-era improper payments, $925 billion. This was...
SPEAKER 03 :
actually what these different agencies said that there was improper payments this wasn't even anything the doge did right yeah these are self-reported so every year agencies self-report um it's on the website it's called payment accuracy.gov and they have to self-report which in and of itself you know can create some problems right um and so that's exactly right Um, this is what they've, they've admitted to misspending. Um, if you download the data and look through it, it's really interesting to show, um, what's causing it, what they're, what the money is going to, how they're spending it improperly. Um, so $925 billion during the Biden administration, um, You know, it's an incredible amount of money. We had predicted, so he was averaging, the Biden administration was averaging $250 billion a year in his first three years. So we predicted he would hit a trillion dollars. Somehow his administration managed to get his final year's figure down to $161 billion. And so we're at that $925 billion figure. Again, Medicaid and Medicare, these huge spenders, You know, because these agencies, and not every agency is reporting, again, like USAID was able to claim that they have no improper payments for the last two fiscal years. You know, I don't believe that for a second. But these are not audits. These are sort of self-audits. The GAO believes that there are undetected, sophisticated fraud schemes that are not included in these estimates. And so the $925 billion is a low estimate. estimate of what's actually, you know, being spent there. And not every agency even reports. If you look through the data, there are plenty of agencies that are not required to make these improper payment sort of statements. And even those that do, you can sort of expect that they may be leaving some things out of that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Boy, I tell you, Rachel O'Brien, the work that you're doing at Open the Books is so important. And I thank you for that. And I know that you're continuing the work of your founder, of Adam Angieschi, who passed on very suddenly. And I think when we all saw those headlines, we just, it took our breath away because what amazing work he started. But thank you to all of you that you're continuing with this. And people can find you at OpenTheBooks.com, Rachel.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, yes. Thanks for having me back again. And, you know, we have a new great CEO, John Hart. He knew Adam and he was working on this with Adam, you know, a long time ago, right at the beginning. And so we're in good hands and we're keeping up the good work that Adam started.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I thank you for that. Again, Rachel O'Brien, we'll get you on again very soon and keep up the great work.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks so much, Kim.
SPEAKER 13 :
Have a good one. Definitely. And they were shedding light, as Doge is, but before Doge was. And so that's pretty darn cool. And that's OpenTheBooks.com. And these are such important discussions for us as Americans and as Coloradans. It's so important. And it happens because of sponsors. And one of those is John Bozen with Bozen Law.
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SPEAKER 13 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. We should not have to force people to do it. Ron had called in and said one of these things about us being concerned about these people losing their jobs, caring about them, is many of them were not caring about what they were doing to the American people. That is a really excellent point. And so thank you on that, Ron. That's the way I understood the call. And then... Holly said this. She said, I think that we'll see a consolidation of agencies rather than elimination. So there will be less pushback and the Department of Ed will be returned back to the states where it belongs. I agree. I think that's a great idea. So a couple of things. Center for American Values located in Pueblo, Colorado. It is on the Riverwalk there. They have their great online or on values presentations and then honoring our Medal of Honor recipients with their beautiful portraits of and then these educational programs with these focusing on foundational principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. The center is nonpolitical. It's nonpartisan. And be sure and check out all their great work by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. It is President's Day. Now, I'm going to date myself. When I was a kid, we actually had George Washington's birthday, Lincoln's birthday, got consolidated into President's Day. And then I think some people don't realize which presidents they're really talking about. And it's Washington and Lincoln. And so I wanted to go through four presidents here with some of their quotes. The first is George Washington. He's known as the father of our country. He was born on February 22nd in 1732. He died December 14th, 1798. He was a founding father, our first president, commander of the Continental Army, and pretty amazing person. And he said this, he said, government is not reason. It is not eloquent. It is force like fire. It is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession. And when the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent, we may be led like sheep to the slaughter. Two things right there with what he said. We have seen those that are enemies of the American people that have been lodged into our government. And as he said, they're dislodging them is difficult. But we are in that battle right now. He was the father of the first founding of our country. And then again, we talked with Priscilla Ron in the first hour regarding freedom of speech. And when we have elected representatives that are shutting down freedom of speech, that is of great concern. Then a second founding of our country was with President Abraham Lincoln. and he was born on february 12 1809 he died on april 15 1965 he was our 16th president and at the end of the gettysburg address he said this the world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here it is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobody nobly advanced Amen. Amen. Amen. Then my friend Christy Whaley always says, well, there's another great president that was born in February, and that was Ronald Reagan. And he was born February 6, 1911. He died June 5, 2004. And he said this. He said, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem. Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases. If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it. The problem is not that the people are taxed too little. The problem is the government spends too much. And then lastly, my friends, I talk about this all the time that I think that we are. In fact, I know that we are in the third founding of our country. And, of course, with the Revolutionary War, George Washington, that was a physical war. And also with the Civil War, that, what, 75 years later, we go to war to try to determine, well, we ask this question regarding property. Can one man be the property of another? And the answer that we said is no. And it's so important when we have our young people talk about slavery and the blight that that is upon our reputation as a country. I agreed. However, slavery was prevalent throughout the world. at that time and so the idea that this little country would go to war to uh to determine that question and say no that one man cannot be property of another is so important but when we talk about slavery when most of the fruits of your labor are being taken by someone else and that your lives are controlled by someone else, then that certainly is a form of slavery. And so with this administrative state that began Really after the Civil War, but really, really got going with Woodrow Wilson about 100 years ago. And it has gotten to this leviathan that it is. And we are now, I really do believe that we are in the third founding of our country. And so Donald Trump, I think, will go down in history as another of our great presidents, along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan. And now with what is happening here in 2025 America. And this is a quote from Donald Trump. He said, as long as we have faith in each other and trust in God, then there is no goal at all beyond our reach. There is no dream too large, no task too great. So on this day, on President's Day, I think it's important that we stop and we reflect. And if appropriate, if we could have a conversation with our children and our grandchildren, our neighbors, and realize that this great gift of America that has been given to us. by these presidents that were not in it for themselves, but that were in it for the American idea and to pass on something good, to pass on liberty to the next generations. I think it's important that we reflect upon that during this day. And so, again, it is President's Day. I remember as a kid, I would lovingly trace George Washington's profile and Abraham Lincoln's profiles as we would talk about those in school and again, understand what these men were focused on. And of course, those that try to disparage them, they're really trying to disparage the American idea. And we've let that occur for much too long in our education systems. We need to reclaim that. Again, these great ideas that all men are created equal with these rights from God of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. So our three presidents, great presidents that were born in February, George Washington, the father of our country, born February 22nd, 1732, and Abraham Lincoln, 1732. born February 12, 1809. Ronald Reagan, born February 6, 1911. And Donald Trump was born on Flag Day, which I think is very appropriate, June 14, 1946. And so we are clearly, clearly... Oh! My gosh, Eric just texted me. Did I say that Lincoln died in, I might have said 1965. Sorry. Thank you, Eric, for keeping, he died in 1865, April 15, 1865. So I want to make sure that we get things correct on all that. But today, reflect upon this great country, those that have stepped forward to serve our country as president and then everyday people as we work to reclaim this great country of ours, the United States of America. Our quote for the end of the show, I went to Amelia Earhart, and she said this. She said, if enough of us keep trying, we'll get someplace. 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 05 :
Talking about.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 09 :
KLZ AMHT Denver, AM 560 and 100.7 FM.
Host Kim Munson brings to light the human aspect of military captivity. From the struggles of survival to the clever ways of undermining enemy propaganda, Bob Chica shares insights gained from his time as a prisoner of war. The episode emphasizes the importance of preserving these stories as they serve as powerful reminders of the sacrifices made for freedom. As Bob shares his return home, we gain an understanding of the transition from captive experiences to reintegration into normal life, a process filled with challenges and bittersweet reunions.
SPEAKER 07 :
world war ii korea vietnam the gulf war afghanistan and her other wars and conflicts america's fighting men and women strapped on their boots and picked up their guns to fight tyranny and stand for liberty we must never forget them welcome to america's veteran stories with kim munson these stories will touch your heart inspire you and give you courage We stand on the shoulders of giants. Here's Kim Munson.
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome to America's Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteranStories.com. And the show comes to you because of a trip that I took in 2016 with a group that accompanied four D-Day veterans back to Normandy, France, for the 72nd anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II. And returned stateside realizing we need to know these stories. We need to understand. record them and broadcast them and archive them, so hence America's Veterans Stories. And we're pleased to be recording part two with Marine veteran Bob Chica. He was a crew member on the USS Pueblo which was taken captive in 1968 during the Vietnam War by the North Koreans. And the crew was held for 11 months. There were 83 crew members on the USS Pueblo. One crew member was killed, but the rest were taken captive. Bob was one of those. And so we were talking about... his captivity, ended with his captivity in part one of the show. But the USS Pueblo was an experiment that didn't work out so well, right, Bob Chica? And welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you. That's a good way to say it. Yes, it didn't work out too well. It's been changed. A lot of it's taken over by planes and satellites and smaller contingents on bigger ships.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and the USS Pueblo was not a very big ship, and you were out there in the ocean by yourself. The North Koreans said that you'd gotten into their territorial waters, which the U.S. says, no, that was not the case, but that was their excuse for taking the USS Pueblo captive, correct?
SPEAKER 08 :
Correct. Just from the side point here, if you're going to intrude into the waters of a hostile nation, you want to intrude with a ship that had the speed to get the hell out of there if you got caught or enough power on the ship to shoot your way out if they came after you. And in no way did the Pueblo fit that particular point of view. So it would have been really kind of suicidal for us to have intruded into North Korean waters. So we generally operated from about 15 to 25 miles out to sea.
SPEAKER 03 :
And again, what were you looking for? It was guised as a ship doing environmental research, which it was. There was some of that occurring, but it was also an intelligence gathering ship as well, yes? Yes.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, that is true. It was the experiment following the Russians have extensive trawler fleet disguised as fishing vessels that are actually intelligence collection vessels. And it was decided that if they find it so neat to do, we should give it a try, and we were the experiment. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Three older vessels were taken out of mothballs, the Pueblo to Palm Beach and the Banner, and refit as intelligence collection ships.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. And you were on the USS Pueblo. You and another Marine, correct? Correct. And otherwise, it was the Navy crew, right? Did I get that right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes. Yes, 83 men on board the ship, two civilians, two Marines, and the rest were Navy. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. And so on the intelligence gathering, you were just, what, watching and listening, trying to figure out what you could ultimately do?
SPEAKER 08 :
We were listening and just recording anything that we could hear or pick up for analysis later. And, you know, you can pick up a lot just off the waves, radio waves and things. Yeah. There were a few specifics that we were looking for, but you can learn a lot about Chinese and Russian equipment by watching what the North Koreans are doing. So that was basically what we were after.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. And you knew how to speak Korean as well, right? Because you, in your training, you learned a language and it happened to be Korean, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
That is true. That is true. I wasn't very good at that point. I spoke it much better when I got out than when I went in as a prisoner.
SPEAKER 03 :
I bet. One other thing before we get more into your captivity is when you realized North Koreans were going to come on board and we had talked about you, you all were destroying intelligence. You were burning papers and you'd been burning them down. inside the ship, which was burning up the oxygen, so then you'd moved that Endeavour where there was more air. Were you able to destroy everything before the North Koreans took you captive?
SPEAKER 08 :
No, we weren't. That was a disappointing thing because they were able to capture a lot of material and equipment. There were so many things involved with this. I don't know if you heard of John Walker, but he was a Navy man that started spying for the Russians about the time we were captured. And he had just given the Russians the single day use code pads to decipher our communications. And the Russians would like a code machine, which we happened to have one on board. So that was part of their interest, especially once we had been captured. They came and took what was left of the machine back. The rotors on the machine had been destroyed. I saw that myself. And to this day, I wish I had thrown the remains of the rotors overboard. But, you know, retrospect's always 100%.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there was a lot going on at that time. Yeah, it was a little busy. Yeah, just a few things happening. So the ship is overtaken. You guys are all taken captive, and you were injured during the attack. One of your colleagues ended up dying from his injuries. So you're taken captive, and they take you where for the prison camp?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, for the first portion, we were taken to just a building around Wonsan. They were kind of waiting for a bus and then ultimately a train to take us over to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. If you look at Korea... Okay. Well... It may be based kind of in the shape of California. And we were captured at Wonsan, which would be the east side of the peninsula, and Pyongyang, their capital, is on the west side. So they wanted to get us over to Pyongyang, and that's what they did. It was an all-night train trip once they got the buses and trains there. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. And, Bob Chica, you're injured pretty significantly, yes?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
I find it just amazing that you survived those injuries because I've got to think that infection would have been a big concern on that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it was. The area of the wound, it was real close to my artery. And there was a big chunk of metal in there. And during all the movement around and everything, if it had nicked that artery, I probably wouldn't be here. But, you know, he'd just hobble around as best he can.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, so you get over to Pyongyang. How do you say that again?
SPEAKER 08 :
Pyongyang.
SPEAKER 03 :
Pyongyang. And you're there. And we left off at the last interview where they hauled up an old Russian x-ray machine to take a look at your leg and obviously must have seen this big piece of metal there and decide that they're going to take it out. So let's begin there.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. Well, after they found where the shrapnel was, they pulled several tables out of our cells and had me bring my bed sheet down to one of the other cells where they had set up a makeshift operating room. And then, you know, I'm laying there on the table and they're getting ready to do this stuff. And there's like six of their... guards holding my legs. And I'm thinking this can't be going on. I didn't know what to do with my hands. And they did film all of this and then put it out as their humanitarian treatment of the wounded by splicing in movies and things of a real operating room. But it wasn't like that at the time. I didn't know what to do with my hands because I thought I might jerk myself around or something and cause more problems. Eventually, one of the guards indicated for me to hold on to my pillow, so that's what I did. Then they cut it out and sewed me up. I can't believe how big the chunk was. It comes out with all your Levi's and all kinds of crap on it. And you're right, infection was a problem. They would dump water in it to sort of clean out the wound and then sewed me up with two stitches using a cord like you wrap on a rump lobst or something before you cook it. Goodness. And gave me my bloody sheets and sent me back to the cell. And you're right about the infections. It took me six or eight months to really heal and it... the shrapnel had gone in there and flipped around everything, so it cut up a big hole on the inside, and it would always get infected and fill up and drain, and it was an icky time.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was an icky time. Was there any kindness from any of the North Korean guards to you guys?
SPEAKER 08 :
Not very much, although the doctor that was taking care of us, I think, actually cared and was just interested in getting us healed. But if some other lackey took care of us and the infections recurred, a little more virulently than other times, and then, you know, he'd have to clean everything out and re-vantage. But at least he seemed to care. Other than that, a good guard would be one that just wouldn't beat out on you. And they constantly were working this over.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Okay, Bob, we're going to continue the discussion. I'm talking with Bob Chica. He is a Marine veteran, and he was a prisoner of war held by the North Koreans in 1968. And it is so important that we understand these stories. I was not aware of the USS Pueblo. How I found out was that Bob was doing an on-values presentation at the Center for American Values. which is a place that I dearly love. It's located in Pueblo, Colorado, on the beautiful Riverwalk, and co-founded by Drew Dix, who is a Medal of Honor recipient for actions he took during the Vietnam War, and Brad Padula, who is a documentary maker. And they realize we need to honor these stories, honor these men, educate, inform people about this. They have put together great educational programs for kids as well. They focus on these values of honor, integrity, and patriotism. And check out more information. You can find it all at AmericanValuesCenter.org. That's AmericanValuesCenter.org. We'll be right back with Bob Chica.
SPEAKER 10 :
Remax Realtor Karen Levine helps bring to life the individual stories of our servicemen and women. With her sponsorship of America's Veteran Stories with Kim Munson, Karen honors the sacrifices of our military and is grateful for our freedom. As a member of the National Association of Realtors Board of Directors, Karen works to protect private property rights for all of us. Karen has a heart for our active duty military and veterans and is honored to help you buy or sell your home. Call Karen Levine at 303-877-7516 to help you navigate buying or selling your home. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 06 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Munson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmunson.com. That's kimmunson, M-O-N-S-O-N, dot com.
SPEAKER 1 :
Ah, ah, ah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to America's Veterans Stories. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteransStories.com. And the sponsor of the show is Hooters Restaurants. They've been great sponsors of the show for many years. They have five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. And a great place to get together with friends to watch all the events, sporting events. And they do have great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour. how I got to know them, a very important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism. And we're talking with Bob Chica. He is a Marine veteran, and he was held captive for 11 months by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War. Bob, you were on the USS Pueblo doing some intelligence gathering, and you thought you were only going to be on the boat for, what, about 30 days? But surprise, huh?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, right. I was attached as a 30-day TAD trip, temporary assignment of duty TAD.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you're right, it got a little extended. A little extended to prisoner of war. And you said that you were very optimistic. You felt that the United States would come to get you guys. But after six months, you're thinking, hmm, maybe not. What was going on? Were you guys able to talk with each other, or what was happening?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we were able to talk some. It really depended. They tried to keep the communications down, but we had a crew full of communicators, so we were able to keep things going. You could pass notes or They tried to keep us separate, but it really didn't work. There were too many of us, and we knew how to get around some of it. Their emphasis quickly moved from actual intelligence collection to one of propaganda, and that actually made it a little easier for communications, just because of the size of the crew. And it just depended on what was going on. They did have a huge amount of material. But almost from the beginning, it became fairly apparent that they didn't have the knowledge to really interpret and use what they had. So much of the material and things almost immediately went to Russia. And their emphasis slowly twisted toward propaganda rather than getting military intelligence out of us. And our general way of looking at things was we'd try to find out what they did have. And then if needed, we could own up to that to try to keep what they didn't know away from them. And I think we were pretty successful in that effort.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and regarding propaganda, that would mean that they were trying to get you guys to admit or say things that weren't true, right? Correct, correct. And in order to do that, they treated you pretty badly?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, yeah, they have been beat with boards and rifle butts and poked with bayonets and beat with fists and boots and, you know, just whatever they had handy. But they would have you write something, and, you know, I wouldn't put down what they really wanted, so eventually they would write something and hand it to me and say, put this here, here, and here. So we would try to do what we could to ruin the written things, you know, maybe talk to dead relatives or make up names. It's going to be cute getting this out over the air, but Commander Booker came up with a person that he put in the letters, and he was talking to his relatives a lot of crock of shit. And so, you know, when translated into Korean, it made sense. But when it got back to the United States, it made no sense. And let them know that this was all being coerced. And they would come in with their photographers and would put books and flowers and things in the cell and in the Photographers would come in and take pictures and things like that. And then they put that out to the world. So we did what we could to ruin that stuff. And again, it's going to be cute getting this out on the air, but the most successful thing we did was give them the finger.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
And you could, they're taking your picture, so you can adjust your glasses with your middle finger or point to something in the books while they're taking pictures. And we got to use that a lot. Eventually, they did notice it in the pictures, and the first guy they asked about what it was told them it was a Hawaiian good luck sign. So real fast, we passed around the crew that the giving the finger was a Hawaiian good luck sign. And we got a lot more blatant with it. We got away with it for a long time. They just didn't understand what it actually meant. And there was one time where we saw they showed us a movie of their heroic soccer team arriving in London for some soccer matches. and the narrator was telling the Korean people to look at all the wonderful Englishmen welcoming them to England for the soccer match. Well, the wonderful English were not welcoming these people to England at all. They were jeering them and everything, and there was one shot of an elderly man Englishman with his bowler hat and leaning on his cane giving them the finger giving them the Hawaiian good luck sign huh Hawaiian good luck sign so we we got from that that they had no idea what it really meant and we got away with it for a long time now you said for a long time when they figured it out that probably was not they you know they never figured it out actually it was uh Time magazine that told them what it was. They did an exercise on what we'd been doing to screw up their propaganda. And I guess we don't mind them doing it, but we would have rather not been still in captivity when they did it. You think? You think, yeah. It got the North Koreans really upset. Because they'd been, like I said, aiming more for propaganda than anything else with us. And here they'd been embarrassed worldwide. And they really came down on us after that. Had we been there too much longer, they'd have probably killed off a few of the leaders. But they... So many things going on. There's negotiations going on down at Pamlin John. There'd been an election in the United States and Nixon had been elected president. And no matter what you think of Nixon, he had a very good anti-communist reputation. And it appears that the North Koreans didn't want to deal with Nixon. They would have to sort of start negotiations from the beginning, which would mean we would be there longer. And they had been embarrassed worldwide by what we'd been doing. So they made a real sudden decision to release us on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve. Yep. We'd been going through, I mean, they really came down on us after the news week thing. The Time magazine thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let's just think a little bit about that. How irresponsible of Time magazine to... to do that. That is just... It's really infuriating to think about that, that they did that. And embarrass the North Koreans while you're still in captivity. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out. People don't like to be embarrassed, but particularly tyrants don't like to be embarrassed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, you got that right on. And we called it Hell Week. It lasted probably two weeks. I mean, they came... down on us like a ton of bricks and then like I said they made a very sudden decision to release us on Christmas Eve and they they've been beaten out on us and they took the people that had all the visible bruises and black eyes and things and started doctoring them trying to get everything straightened out so they could be released and then After all that was done, they pulled us out of our cells one at a time, kind of strip searched us and gave us a new set of clothes and out the other door onto a bus. Then down to Pam and John eventually to be repatriated. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
So, Bob Chica, what about your family back at home? What was happening with them? They eventually must have figured out that you were still alive once they started the whole propaganda thing. But what about everybody back home?
SPEAKER 08 :
It was... Tough for them, but I must say the military and the Marine Corps came through quite well for the families. My wife was nine months pregnant when I was captured, and my son was born February 28th. He's a leap year baby. And there was no contact or anything, but eventually a letter came through and said, listed among the dogs we had was the name we had picked, so I knew I had a son. That little baby is now 57 years old.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's going to make me cry. I'm just thinking about your wife, that here she is. You're in captivity. She's pregnant. She has a baby. We don't always think about everybody back home as well. And, oh, my gosh, what she had to be going through.
SPEAKER 08 :
The, like I mentioned, the operation was all filmed and then released. And my family had a little bit of political clout. One of the reporter ladies that we knew worked with the Marine Corps and they had my family down to watch the movie. So they knew I was alive and getting some kind of treatment. which was interesting. And then they took good care of the family. My wife went and lived with my parents and my other brothers. Like I mentioned at the very beginning, I'm the oldest of seven, so there was a large family there to kind of take care of things and help out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, a remarkable story, a remarkable commitment that our military men and women have done for our freedom, for our liberty. And it is so important that we understand these stories. We're going to continue the conversation with Bob Chica. He is a Marine. And I want to mention another nonprofit I dearly love is the USMC Memorial Foundation Foundation. They're raising money for the official Marine Memorial, which is located right here in Golden, Colorado at 6th and Colfax. It was dedicated in 1977, and they're working for that remodel on the Marine Memorial. And you can help them by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. It is tax deductible and would highly recommend that you make sure that you have the USMC Memorial Foundation in your giving for 2025.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome back to America's Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Check out our website. That is AmericasVeteranStories.com. We are recording part two of our interview with Bob Chica. He is a Marine who was on the USS Pueblo, which was taken captive in the Vietnam War in 1968, held for 11 months. And I did want to mention the USMC Memorial Foundation always does special events for our special military holidays. And for Memorial Day this year, Bob Chica will be the keynote speaker at the Marine Memorial. So I'm excited about that, Bob.
SPEAKER 08 :
Uh-oh, I guess I better show up and say something good.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think that you should. I think that you should. So we've talked about your experience being a prisoner of war. And when you say that they came down on us hard or things like that, I know that there is a lot more behind those words now.
SPEAKER 08 :
than what than what we um are really giving details and that is just fine we don't need details on that but that's okay they uh they kicked me a lot that was their favorite sport and uh uh i've had 11 operations putting me back together since i got out uh they uh They're always trying to prove on an individual basis. They really didn't like Marines. And so they were trying on an individual guard to guard basis to see who was better, them or me. And like I said, they kicked me thousands of times trying to catch me in the nuts. So I moved really well and learned to catch the kicks on my legs and my stomach. And that's where I've had a couple of the operations, putting things back together. And, of course, you couldn't fight back, right? No, no, no, no. The Uyghur, I got it. They kept the—they rotated through a lot of guards while we were there. I think we didn't fit their particular propaganda view of what Americans were like. And so they didn't want us influencing their people, so they'd rotate the guards. And the biggest guards and the meanest ones, they would keep around. And we named them different things, the Cheeks and the Bear. I mean, these were huge Koreans, which was unusual. They were probably part Russian, but of course the North Koreans wouldn't admit to anything like that. But they were... So big and we were so weak that, God, sometimes one fist would knock me completely out. And we never had much to eat. You know, we hadn't talked about food.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, let's talk about food a bit.
SPEAKER 08 :
The mainstay they gave us was turnips. We had fried turnips for breakfast, turnip soup for lunch, and fried turnips for dinner. Now, some people like turnips.
SPEAKER 03 :
But you probably don't anymore, huh?
SPEAKER 08 :
No, I don't anymore. If you can picture turnips sort of cut up like large French fries and then fried in about 30-weight motor oil and just sort of sitting in this aluminum dog food type tin that they served us in. And, you know, the turnips are just lying there in coagulated grease. And that's what you're eating. We had a cup of water to split four ways. And sometimes we'd have a piece of bread or a little bit of rice. But if you had rice with the fried turnips at breakfast, you literally didn't have enough saliva to get the stuff down. And you're starving to death anyway. So you want to save it. And if you'd save the rice to lunch, there was more liquid in the turnip soup so we could get it down. But it turned out to be a crime against the Korean people to save your rice to lunch. So we would have to hide it somewhere and save it to lunch. Again, it's kind of gross, but the best place for me to put it was in my armpit. You'd roll it up into a ball and stick it in your armpit and bring it back at lunch. So you could eat it with the turnip soup. Goodness. Periodically, we got a piece of meat or some fish. They believe that if you beat the thing to death, it tastes better. So we could hear them help beyond the compound, beating this pig to death. And then in the turnip soup, there might be some gross pieces of, pig or fat or i mean they would throw disgusting things in like the eyeballs and assholes and things like that i lost about 50 pounds that was going to be my next question how much did you weigh when you were finally liberated about 130 i was 180 when i went in and food was was always a big Big problem. There was never enough. You were always hungry. And even after you'd eat, you would still be hungry. Eventually, we helped ourselves a bit, and Commander Bucher was able to get them to allow us to serve ourselves. So instead of the cold stuff sitting in coagulated grease, The grease was still runny and warm when we got it, once we had changed compounds and they let us sort of feed ourselves. And you're always trying to, it just brings up so many little things, always trying to keep morale up. So, you know, I can draw, so I'd draw a picture of a hamburger or something and put it in the guy's plate that was next to me or something, and everyone got a laugh out of it. the silly things you do.
SPEAKER 03 :
We take so much for granted. Food's terrible. And you're in North Korea, so I imagine, and we talked a little bit about it, it was also very cold. So you had sheets. Did you have any blankets? You said eventually they gave you some quilted clothes. What was the temperature? What was that like?
SPEAKER 08 :
It was almost always cold. In the winter, the heavy quilted outfits were what we had and then when it got hot in the summer they gave us a different unquilted set of clothes and then when we finally did get out they released us in a new set of those thinner clothes they I don't know, I think they probably thought they were going to get what they wanted around October and they actually increased our food a little bit and better food. It lasted about 10 days and then I guess they didn't get what they wanted so everything reverted back to what it was before. and then into Hell Week and all that that went on during that time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bob, how is it that human beings are capable of treating each other with great compassion and great care, but yet human beings are capable of treating others with this cruelty? How do you, I know this is a tough question, how does that happen? I guess it's just evil, yes?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it's going to go back to government and who runs the country. And if the people running the country are evil, then they incorporate those ways into everything that goes on. People might criticize the United States. They were founded on a love of money, but at least it's a love of something. The motivation factor in North Korea is reverence to Kim Il-sung back then and now Kim Jong-il. And if you don't agree with them, they simply kill you. Kids aren't playing necessarily with toys. Kids will be given rifles and taught how to sing songs about how they're going to grow up and kill Americans. And it's so hard for us to believe that people actually live that way. But most Americans, especially younger ones, think the rest of the world is just like it is here. Only all the signs are written in some language that they don't understand. But it's not that way. Other countries are just incredibly cruel. And it's beyond understanding sometimes. Like the college girls that are protesting for Palestine, they would be killed in Palestine. They would be, they just don't understand. They don't know what they're talking about. Whenever Kim Il-sung's name at the time, if I can remember all this, you never just said Kim Il-sung, you had to say his name with all kinds of eulogies. and points of praise. If I can remember it, I'll give it a shot here. Okay. Peerless patriot, national hero, ever victorious, iron-willed, genius commander, and one of the outstanding leaders of the international communist and working class movements, Marshal Kim Il-sung said, and that's how you would have to say his name, I mean, just stupid things, like Kim Jong-il wanted all the men to cut their hair the same way he did. I mean, just stupid stuff. And you either comply or they kill you. And most Americans find that unbelievable. But it's the truth. And they just don't know what they're talking about. Goodness.
SPEAKER 03 :
Go ahead.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, it's okay. I was finished with my little preaching there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it's so important that we understand your perspective on this, Bob Chickett, because you have been through it. And to survive—that's going to be my next question, is— What mentally was going on for you, your colleagues, to survive these beatings? How did you get through it? Were you saying Lord's Prayer or something to yourself? How did you get through that?
SPEAKER 08 :
The good Lord got me through it, that's for sure. Every time I was going out for something, I'd just say, God, help me get through this thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
And he did. And he did, yeah. And he did, okay. Well, we're going to continue the discussion about what happened when you guys got home. And I'm talking with Bob Chica. He was a crew member on the USS Pueblo, and they were held captive for 11 months by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War. We want to find out what happened coming home.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's 303-880-8881. Call now.
SPEAKER 04 :
From the mountains to the prairies,
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome back to America's Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteranStories.com. And I'm talking with Bob Chica. He is a Marine veteran. He was on the crew of the USS Pueblo, which was taken captive by the North Koreans. During the Vietnam War in 1968, they were held for 11 months. We've talked a bit about captivity. But you are released on Christmas Eve 1968 or 69? Correct, 68. Okay, 1968, Christmas Eve. What happens then?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, like I mentioned earlier, we were right in the middle of Hell Week, and they just stopped. and started doctoring up the people that had visible injuries. And then the day of our release, they kind of pulled us out of our cells one at a time, did a strip search, and gave us a new set of clothes. And it was the middle of winter again, but I think they thought we were going to be released earlier before it got cold. So they gave us a new set of summer clothes and then a real heavy quilted jacket to go over it. And brought us out the other side of the room and put us on a bus and drove us down to Pamlin John area. And we sat around there while they... negotiated and jacked around for several hours. And then eventually, one at a time had us cross the bridge of no return there into South Korea. And we were then officially released. We were told not to slow down, not to speed up, not to do anything, or they would stop it. And so we just kind of walked across the bridge into freedom. About halfway across, you get the idea that, my God, this is actually occurring, and we're going to get out of here. The times before when there was sort of a practice for release, you would get your hopes up, or at least the rumor mongers in the crew would. And then, of course, they'd be dashed when we got back into the prison camp. And once we... got into South Korea, it was really, really nice. First thing they did, we had to go to the bathroom, so they took us to the bathroom and gave us some noodle soup and donuts and a sandwich and little things like that, the best food we'd had in a year, and then took us to a hospital in South Korea where they did some preliminary checks and tested us and uh took all the clothes that the north koreans would give us so they can search them for bugs and things like that and eventually they cleaned them all up and gave them back to us once we were back in the states and then put us on planes and brought us back to the united states with a bounce at midway i believe and we landed at miramar which is a Then it was a naval base here in San Diego and brought us down to Balboa Naval Hospital in the middle of San Diego. And Ronald Reagan met us at Miramar. And we had no idea what to expect. And it was kind of expected we might end up in jail back here for what we'd done. and the results of the propaganda and stuff we put out. But the American people had banded together. It really surprised me, surprised all of us, but they collected enough money to fly all of our families out here to San Diego. So they were all there with Ronald Reagan when we got off the airplane. then put us on buses and brought us down to the Naval Hospital. And it's just so amazing that the freeways were vacant. Everyone pulled off to the side of the road.
SPEAKER 03 :
As you went by?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, yeah. They just pulled off the side of the road, out there waving. They had their signs, welcome home USS Pueblo and all that kind of stuff. It was a really emotional time.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm getting emotional hearing about it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Me too, talking about it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Ronald Reagan was governor of California at that time, yes? Correct, yes. Okay. So you guys have been a political hot button then. So what happened after that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we spent... several weeks going through debriefing here where our own intelligence people talked to us about everything we'd been through and what we might have learned and stuff like that and I think it was supposed to last about a week and it ended up lasting three weeks because we had a lot of stuff to talk about yes and then the military especially the Navy, did not like us being treated like heroes. They were slowly getting their hands back on us, and eventually they actually gave away the rest of the money that had been collected to keep our families here, sent the families home, and put us out on Coronado, which is an island in the bay here in San Diego, where we were separated from everything. It really ticked off a lot of people that they did it, but they were getting their hands back on us, and they wanted a particular narrative.
SPEAKER 03 :
What was that narrative, Bob?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, actually, I think they wanted to, well, they're always looking for someone to blame for something, and so they were looking at Commander Booker to blame him for the whole incident. It was really, really embarrassing. It showed... all kinds of uh flaws and and everything from the planning platform to uh even language school like i went back i spoke at the language school a few years ago and they had changed so much they see to it now if you learn the language by god you're going to work in that language And they have various levels of fluency and advanced training and more schooling, but they're not going to let things go by the wayside like it occurred with us. And I want to say there's better planning and it wouldn't happen again, but you never can tell where something's going to fall through. So they had this court of inquiry. And I actually had me talk at the Court of Inquiry. One day they came in and told me I was speaking in a secret session the next morning. And here I am, a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps, and I'm put out there in front of all these admirals and political people, and they wanted to know what I'd done to screw up the Koreans. My God, if they'd have given me a day or two notice about what they would like to know, I could have come up with something. But I was more tongue-tied because it's a terrifying thing to get in front of all these people that so outrank me. And now it doesn't matter. I can talk about it. But back then it was a tough thing. Eventually it ended. Actually, there was a... a radio station in town that was really annoyed that they had sent all the families home and gave away the money. So they collected some more money with the stipulation that it went specifically to the crew. So I got to handle that when it came in and eventually decided to do a ring for the crew. And if they didn't want the ring, the particular crew member got their $76 directly. So that kind of set up my career for a long time, because after that I got into the business of working with high school and colleges, supplying the school rings and diplomas and caps and gowns and all that stuff. Oh, nice. I originally thought, of course, that I'd have a career in intelligence work, but after the court of inquiry, they sent me back to Fort Meade, Maryland, which was the headquarters, and they actually wouldn't let me in. I told you we were political, and they were embarrassed and upset, and some people that I had known before saying derogatory comments, and so I figured my career in intelligence was over. And then eventually someone attacked my car with a hammer, and so I said I've had enough of this and decided I was moving west. I called a friend in Oceanside, California, and said, find me a house. I'm moving west.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you've been there all these years then? Yep. Okay. We've got just a few minutes left. Do you guys get together? I know sometimes different groups will get together.
SPEAKER 08 :
You're right, we do. Initially, we didn't think, I mean, when you're held this close, tight and close with these people in your head, you think, my God, I don't ever want to be with this person again. It's not the truth. Several years after Commander Booker, who also lived here in San Diego, there were six or eight of the crew living in San Diego at the time. He had a Christmas party and invited everyone. And my God, it was one emotional moment. Christmas party, and we decided we were going to have reunions, and I'm in charge of the reunions. I've done 18 of them. We have one coming this September in Branson, Missouri. They've invited us there for their veterans thing in September. So we're going to do, we don't do them as large and complex as we had in the past where we had lots of activities and t-shirts and all kinds of memorabilia and things like that. Right now we'll pick a date and those that want to come can come. Some people really look forward to it, but we have people that have never been to a reunion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Everybody has their different views on experiences. Bob Chica, we're basically out of time, but thank you. I'm so honored that you would share your story with us. Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and it is our honor, and as we hear these stories, we realize that indeed we do stand on the shoulders of giants, my friends. So God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you for listening to America's Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure to tune in again next Sunday, 3 to 4 p.m., here on KLZ 560 and KLZ 100.7.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
In this eye-opening episode of The Flatline, host Rick Hughes delves into the profound biblical story of Cain and Abel, highlighting the dangers of not adhering to God's prescribed way. The episode explores the concept of opening the metaphorical 'Door to Doom,' where personal decisions can lead to spiritual, emotional, and even physical ruin. Through scriptural analysis, listeners will discover the significance of faith and obedience, and how understanding these principles can lead to a meaningful and resilient spiritual life.
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. I'm your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stay with me. It'll be a brief time of motivation, some inspiration, some education, and I promise you no manipulation, no solicitations for money, nothing asking you to join anything, nothing like that. This show is simply about giving accurate information. The information is from the canon of Scripture called the Bible. It's designed to help you verify and identify the plan of God for your life. And if you can do that, you have the privacy, you have the freedom to orient and adjust to the plan if you'd like to do so. That's really up to you. But my job, as always, is to be accurate, not to manipulate you, but to be accurate, give you the information, and you and God the Holy Spirit can sort it out. The Flotline Radio Show is designed to remind you of biblical truths, how you can build a main line of resistance in your soul. The whole idea is using God's wonderful problem-solving devices that we've put into 10 unique problem-solving devices, something my pastor taught me years ago, so that you can stop the outside sources of adversity before they ever become the inside sources of stress. That's why we say adversity is inevitable and stress is optional. Because adversity is what circumstances do to you and stress is what you do to yourself. But it all starts with the good news that Christ, the anointed Son of God, has indeed redeemed us out of the slave market of sin. And our debt to God has been paid in full. And we are now free of the penalty of death and free of the power of sin. So anyone who receives Jesus Christ as their Savior, like I did many years ago, we are in effect accepting the offering Christ made on our behalf. It's a free gift from the compliments of God the Father. That's why the Bible says, for by grace you're saved through faith and not of yourselves. It's a gift of God and not of works. lest any man should boast about it. In Titus 3, 5 through 7, not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now listen to the next part of the verse. That being justified by means of his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope or the confidence of eternal life. That's where it all starts, coming to know Christ as your Savior. The Bible says if any man's in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are all passed away and all things become new. And it is possible for you to start a new life this morning. In spite of what you may have done in the past, it's possible to have the slate wiped clean. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive him as your Savior, you are in effect saved. being born again spiritually. Not physically, you're still the same body, still the same soul, still the same looks, but inside there's a spiritual birth where your dead human spirit that was dead in trespasses and sin is made alive by means of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit who lives in you and gives you the opportunity to fellowship with God the Father. When this happens, then you begin a lifelong journey of learning, understanding, growing, so that you might serve your Heavenly Father and that you might glorify your Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope that's your objective. I hope that's what you plan on doing. Today we want to talk about opening the door to doom. Opening the door to doom. This is a subject that I started several weeks ago. We changed the name of it to calling it The Door to Doom. And we're going to use a scripture verse from Genesis 4, 6 through 7. In that verse, the Bible says in verse 6, So the Lord said to Cain, Cain is the first human being born into this world. He was the son of Adam and Eve, the oldest son. He said, why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. The door, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. There is a door that you can walk through, a metaphorical door to doom in your life. By making a series of bad decisions and the worst decision that Cain made here was to murder his brother Abel because he was jealous of him and angry with God for accepting Abel's offering but not accepting his. Sin has a desire to control you. The Hebrew word in that passage, the desire to control you, is the word tashukah. It's an interesting word, teshukah, because it's the same word used for the woman in Genesis 3.16 where it says that she will desire to control her husband, her teshukah, to control him. So you must remember this as a male believer in Christ Jesus, you must make two key decisions in your life. Number one, you cannot allow sin to control you. You cannot allow your sin nature to dominate you. And if you're married, don't let your female control you. You must be the leader in the family. You must be the leader in the home. You must be the one who carries it forward in your life. So don't let her control you. This is exactly what Adam did. He let Eve manipulate him and control him and induce him to eat the fruit of of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we know what happened from that. Most females are smarter than men. They're certainly better looking than us men. And they are amazing, amazing gifts from God. But they were not designed to manipulate or control the man. They were designed to be a helpmate for the man. So I hope you can understand that. It's in her nature to control you if you'll let her. When God told Cain, doing well, if you'll do well, then everything will be fine, this means that if he would follow the proper prescribed procedure. You see, Abel brought the correct offering. He brought an innocent animal that was sacrificed, which was in fact a picture of the Redeemer to come. The same thing the father did in the garden when he shed innocent blood and he made coats of skin from Adam and Eve because they were trying to hide behind some fig leaves. Cain did not bring the correct offering. He brought the work of his labor, the fruit of the ground. So the principle is this, that it is possible that all of your offerings to God could be rejected just like Cain's was rejected if you do it in the wrong way. A right thing done in the wrong way is always wrong. And it is right to bring an offering to God, but there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. I'll give you an analogy. Is it right to give money to your church? Yes, it is, you should. Is there a right way to give money to your church and a wrong way to give money to your church? Yes, there is. Anytime you make an offering to your church, If you do it under the energy of the flesh, and by that I mean you have unconfessed sin in your life, then you're doing a right thing, but you're doing it in the wrong way. And you are accumulating for yourself what the Bible calls in 1 Corinthians 3, wood, hay, and stubble. It was the right thing to do, but you did it in the wrong way, and thus it's not rewardable. This is what's possible. You can have your offerings to God rejected because you did it with sin in your heart. Just like the Bible says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Prayer, again, I've said it before, prayer is the right thing. But if you're praying in the wrong way, it's not going to get past the ceiling. So well-meaning people assume that they are fulfilling a spiritual obligation, but in reality, sometimes they simply do the right things, but very, very often they do it in the wrong way. I mean, Cain did a legitimate thing. He brought an offering to God, but he did it in the wrong way since it represented his work for acceptance and not God's prescribed offering, as done in the Garden of Eden, like I told you. The sacrifice of the innocent one was a picture of the redeemer that would come and shed his blood for the remission of sin. So when the father rejected Cain's offering, it caused anger in Cain's life, anger at God and jealousy of his brother. And his solution was to simply get rid of the competition. That's his solution. And the next verse, to lie to his brother and tell him, let's go out in the field. I want to show you my champion kumquat. I grew out here. I'm just making an analogy. I don't know what a kumquat even looks like. But his intention was to kill him in the field. And the father knew what went on. So Cain was the first person born into sin. Adam and Eve were created minus the sin nature, but they chose to sin and they died spiritually in the garden. And thereafter, their babies, their children that came later, were born spiritually dead, just like you, just like me, born spiritually dead in need of a Savior, and they had to be saved just like we do. It's the frightening possibility that every parent since Adam and Eve faces. We all have high hopes for our children. We all want them to grow up and live productive, happy lives. But since the fall of man, as someone put it, there's a worm in the fruit. The worm in the fruit is the sin that resides in the heart of every newborn child. That's sin nature. For by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and now death has come upon all for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Even babies can die. No one wants that to happen, but babies are born sinners just like I was born a sinner, you're born a sinner. We're born into the endemic race. Now some people say, what if a baby dies? Well, obviously, they're not at the age of accountability and they go straight to be with the Father, immediately, face to face with the Father. So it's not even a question of God's grace. God doesn't reject innocent children that pass away. They're in heaven, so don't worry about that. That's not the point. The point is that we have children and we want them to grow up and trust in Jesus Christ and we want them to learn how to check the power of sin. Because sin lies at the door. Remember the verse? If you don't do well, sin lies at the door, and its desire is to control you. But you should rule over it. learning how to check the power of sin by means of trusting in Jesus Christ and learning his word, if you don't learn how to do that, if your children don't learn how to do that, if they don't learn God's word and get it in their heart, they will ruin their life and sometimes ruin the lives of others. And the story of Cain and Abel tells us all about that very thing. No amount of self-justification can override the plan of God. None. And obviously, Cain thought his offering was worthy of being accepted. But eventually... All sin is life-threatening. All sin is destructive. So thank God for his grace that gives us the victory over sin and the victory over death in Christ Jesus our Lord. This episode is the second incident of direct rebellion to God in the book of Genesis. The first was obviously Eve eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then inducing Adam to eat of it. But jealousy and bitterness was the motivation to destroy the godly and on Cain's part and even deny the responsibility for doing it. because the Father knew exactly what he had done. This is something you need to remember. You don't hide anything from God. Whatever you're doing, he sees it. The supreme court of heaven is always open, and God is always aware of your nefarious activities, I assure you. So you can do it under the cover of darkness, but God the Father knows. Jeremiah 17, 9 says, "'The heart is deceitful above all things.'" And it's desperately wicked. Who could even know it? That's us. That's me. That's you. We have a deceitful, wicked, sin nature. And only through the new birth and by means of the power of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine residing in your soul can you even have a fighting chance to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. So Cain's anger was against God who rejected his offering since it did not conform with the intent of God. And your works and your production may not be pleasing to God either, especially if you're trying to work your way to heaven. If you think for one minute that since you have been a nice person and a good person and you haven't treated people wrong and you haven't stole and you haven't been unfaithful and You've done this and that, and you've been very moral. If you think for one minute that that will get you into heaven, you are wrong. You are wrong. It will not. Your works and your production are not pleasing to God for your salvation. Just as Cain's production did not please the Father, there's only one thing that will please the Father, and that was the death of the innocent one, Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, who took away the Son of the world. When you put your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, then your Father will be well pleased. In Mark 7, 20 through 23, the Bible says, and he said, that which cometh out of man defiles man. For from within, out of the heart of man, proceeds evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man. This is the same murderous attitude that you have today, I have today. This originated from Satan's revenge. Satan's revenge in John 8, 44, you are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning. He did not abide in the truth because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of all lies. So you must not travel down Cain's path of rebellion and destruction. Jude verse 11 says these words, speaking of the door to doom. Woe to them that have gone the way of Cain. Woe to them that have gone the way of Cain. When you go that way, when you make a decision, when you violate the protocol plan of God and you in your heart give in to the desire of your sin, woe to you. Cain insisted on worshiping God his way. He attempted to gain the approbation of God with his fruit of the labor that he brought. Grace orientation was not demonstrated in Cain's offering. Cain's appreciation for God's provisions was only on the surface, but he mixed it with his personal works. So God's rejection of Cain's offering recognized the insufficient recognition of his amazing grace through Christ Jesus. And those who reject Christ go the way of Cain. In 1 John 3, 12, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, and wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil and his brother's were righteous. So Cain's source of motivation was inspired by the enemy, a.k.a. the devil. The greatest door to doom in life is the rejection of Christ as savior. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ooh, I O U a is the Greek word. Whoa, whoa. To them that have gone the way of Cain Jude verse 11. So judgment is coming. When that word woe is used, it means you've walked through the door to doom and you are in a disaster. a life of gloom and doom. So the jealousy of Cain concerning his brother Abel is the motivation for his eventual murder. Murder. And the Lord spoke directly to Cain and questioned his reason for him being bitter. Apparently, it seems that Cain understood the principles of freedom. He understood the difference between right and wrong because God said in Genesis 4-7, is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? I'm sure his mother and dad, Adam and Eve, taught him, don't do what we did. Don't mess up like we messed up. I mean, they had to tell their children what happened in the Garden of Eden. So the divine warning was given. The divine warning in Genesis 4, 7, if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door and it desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it. Is it possible that you today have been dominated by a particular sin? maybe not motivated by anger against god maybe not motivated by jealousy of your brother maybe something else but has it controlled you has it taken over your life can you not break free from it woe to you because you've walked through the door to doom there's only one way out of the door and that's the same way you came in and therefore you have to rebound The number one problem-solving device for any Christian is this. If we confess our sin, then he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And you, like me, must go to the Father and confess your sin straight up. Tell him honestly what you've done or what you're doing because you are not hiding it. He knows it. And he will be faithful and he will be just to forgive you. And then once you've done that, you have to grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You must grow. And the only way to grow is to do what the Bible says. Study to show yourself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. If you can get under the ministry of a good, well-qualified pastor and he teaches you the word of God and you learn it and apply it into your life, you will, in fact, be able to break out of the sin that controls you. You can go back through the door. You do not have to live in gloom and doom. if you will listen to what I'm telling you. That figurative language sin is crouching at the door is a picture of an animal, perhaps a lion, waiting for the right moment to spring out and kill its prey. So there's a definite moment in time, some serious time in your life, when you will make a decision that could lead to death and destruction. Joshua 24, 15 says it this way, and if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, then choose this day who you will serve. whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood are the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now dwell. But as for me and for my house, we will serve the Lord, Joshua said. You must make that same decision. What God do you serve? Who controls your life? What doom do you face because you walked through that door voluntarily on your own using your own volition You made the decision, and now you think no one knows about it. And your Heavenly Father is aware of it this very moment. And this very moment that you're listening to me is a moment for you to recover. That moment for Cain was the premeditated murder of his brother. He hatched a scheme to lure him into the fields alone. In Genesis 4, 8, Cain said to his brother, hey, hey, hey, let's go out into the field. I want to show you, and I'm paraphrasing here. Let me show you my champion kumquat. He didn't want to show him anything. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to get him out there alone and assassinate him. Remember, there will be a moment of time for you when you will decide to walk away from everything that you know is right. Everything your pastor teaches you is right. Everything your parents taught you is right. You will walk away from it. You'll say no. You'll think you're smarter than they are because you've listened to some idiot somewhere who claims to be a genius. And you'll believe his lie. It takes more faith to believe that junk than it does to believe what's in the Bible. But you're going to drink the Kool-Aid. You're a sucker for it. And you will walk through the door to doom in your life. And you will have one miserable life. And even worse, one miserable death. The only good thing is if you've trusted in Jesus Christ as a young person, you will go to heaven. The bad thing is if you haven't trusted in Christ, you will go to hell. It is a literal, real place. Not because God designed it for you. It never was designed for you. It was designed for Satan and the fallen angels. But that's where you'll wind up. It's called the lake of fire. And it's torments forever and ever. Because you and your arrogance figured you were smarter than God. You didn't believe all that stuff in the Bible. You didn't need all that stuff in the Bible. You found somebody that gave you a better deal, that told you a better way to live. And now you're beginning to find out that they were wrong, they were liars, they misled you, they manipulated you, and they used you. Once you open the door and enter the door to doom, there's no returning from the mistakes you made. And you just simply have to rebound, confess your sin, and bear the consequences and the scars of what happened. A lot of times people listen to me on this radio show that are incarcerated. in different institutions around America. Maybe this message could be for you. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The decision that you made, the moment in time, when you opened that door and walked into the door of doom, and now you wish you'd never done it. But if you'll confess your sin to God, if you're still alive, he hasn't forsaken you. He still has a plan for your life. He still loves you, and he can forgive you through Christ Jesus if you've never trusted Christ. If you did accept Christ as a child and now you've wandered down the my way highway and you committed some grievous act of sin and now you're incarcerated because of it, confess it to God. Ask him to cleanse you from it. Find out how you can get into some serious Bible study so you can grow because, and here's why, The sin leaves scars in your soul. It's kind of like driving a nail into a board. You can take the nail out, but the hole's still there. Scar tissue is a tough thing to deal with because it's the memories of the sin. And the only way to fill it in is to fill it in with the Word of God, to cover it up with the Word of God, to saturate your soul to be washed from the inside out with God's Word so that you begin to think in terms of divine viewpoint, not human viewpoint, so that you begin to live this unique lifestyle that God had for you regardless of where you may be living it. Incarcerated or free, it doesn't make any difference. You can live a life of no worry. You can live a life of no guilt. You can live a life of no fear. You can live a life of no pain in circumstances and details of life abandoning you. I mean, you can live the Christian life, the wonderful life in Christ. It's yours and it's free. It's a grace gift from God. All you need to do is to make a conscious decision to walk through the door of salvation. Jesus said, and it's really not a salvation verse, but it's a good verse. It says, behold, I stand at the door and I knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him. You shut the door to Christ if you're a believer. If you rebound your sin, you're opening the door, inviting Christ back in. And if you're not a Christian, you've never trusted Christ, then you can open the door to your heart and welcome him in by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. You, like me, can say, Father, I believe Jesus Christ is your son and I'm willing to accept him as my savior. That act of faith, those simple words, is a demonstration and a proof to God the Father that you are believing that Jesus is his anointed son. And that is the moment of your salvation. I hope you're listening and I hope you're paying attention. And I hope you will come back. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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 Rick Hughes in this enlightening episode of The Flatline as he delves into the profound concept of the 'door to doom.' Understanding life's adversities are inevitable—but stress is optional—Rick guides us through the essential Christian problem-solving devices that lead to a fulfilling, spiritual life. Discover the importance of establishing a strong main line of resistance in our souls and what it truly means to live a supernatural life anchored in 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. I am your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stay with me. The FLOT line is designed to give you some information, accurate information, no manipulation, no solicitation, just information that will help you establish a main line of resistance in your soul called a FLOT line, F-L-O-T. That's a military analogy, a metaphor for a forward line of troops. We like to talk about learning God's problem-solving devices. And if you learn 10 unique problem-solving devices taught many years ago by my very own pastor, and I reteach it to you often on this radio show, then you can establish that main line of resistance so that you can stop the outside sources of adversity before they ever become the inside source of stress. That's why we say adversity is inevitable and stress is optional. So by studying God's Word, learning God's Word, you have the opportunity to live the most unique life the world has ever known. It's called the Christian life. It's a supernatural life where there's no worry, no fear, no regret, no guilt, no doubt. It's a way to live by faith and trusting in the providence of God. What a fantastic thing to have the monkey taken off of your back and put it on the Lord's back and let him handle it. The Supreme Court of Heaven is open 24 hours a day, so if you've got a complaint, all you've got to do is take it to the Lord and leave it in his hands. You're going to find as you grow older that you'll have difficulties. You'll find health adversity coming into your life as part of evidence testing in your life. And as you face these tests, you have the opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ in a way that no one else ever could. You also will face people testing. People will let you down. People may cause you to stumble if you put your eyes on those people. And you have to learn to pass those tests as well and not destroy your testimony by getting bitter or angry at someone who stuck it to you. So we talked in the last two studies about the doctrine of being a spiritual failure. We're going to change the name of that. to entering the door to doom. Entering the door to doom. There are a lot of ways that you can enter the door to doom in your life, and we're gonna mention some of those to you in this brief study that we'll do with you. And one of the first ways we've already covered is if you become a stumbling block to other people. Our Lord said in Luke 17 one, it's inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come. When you become a stumbling block, you enter the door to doom. You enter into divine discipline in your life that starts with warning discipline. And this is where God will speak to you gently in a wonderful, kind way. And if you don't listen, if you're so arrogant that you cannot respond to the discipline, then he comes with intense discipline. All this is taught in Hebrews 12, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, right in there. And divine discipline, intense discipline has pain associated with it. This is where God has to lower the boom to get your attention. You get an attitude adjustment if you have enough humility to respond. Whenever God puts discipline into your life, you can respond to it or you can react to it. If you react, you use your own volition to go negative towards God and justify why you're right and God's wrong. And believe you me, people do it all the time. God is never wrong. You are wrong if there's a question about it. So you can't allow yourself to become a stumbling block. A stumbling block discourages young Christians. A stumbling block defeats young believers who are trying to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because they get their eyes on you. They look at your flaws and your failures. And so you have to be very careful not to be a stumbling block. And you're not perfect, okay? Understand that. None of us are. None of us are perfect. And We tell people all the time, don't get your eyes on me. Keep your eyes on the Lord because I have flaws. I'm human. But sometimes if I don't control my flaws, if I allow my old sin nature to lead me into deviant behavior, the lust of the flesh, which could include money lust, power lust, sex lust, drug lust, a lot of different lust patterns. Well, then I can become a real stumbling block to someone maybe that has their eyes on me or maybe that thinks that I'm really some kind of person. But God warned us in Jeremiah 17, 5, "'Cursed is the man that trusts in man.'" And cursed is the man who makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns away from me. Don't put your eyes on people. Don't put your eyes on a pastor. Don't put your eyes on anybody but on Jesus Christ. And that's what Hebrews 12, 1, 2, and 3 tells us. Focus on him who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. we do not want to be a stumbling block he was not a stumbling block and so another way that we get ourselves into trouble and enter into the door of doom is when we have no self-control lack of self-control can destroy you and so paul warns us in the word of god to have self-control and we've been through some of that even identifying the self-control in the marriage and self-control loss of self-control in a nation a society without morals and values has no self-control and we came up to the doctrine of responsibility and this is where we want to go now tonight to the doctrine of response this morning excuse me to the doctrine of responsibility Every believer must take responsibility for his decisions, good, bad, or indifferent. And so let's give you some principles on the doctrine of responsibility. If you don't take responsibility for your decisions, you are opening the door to doom in your life. One, responsibility denotes something within your power to control. You have a sin nature. You can control the sin nature or you can let the sin nature control you. Arrogance is the deciding factor. Arrogance doesn't see itself as it really is. Arrogance sees itself as it thinks it is. So if you're dealing with an arrogant person, they assume they're right and you're wrong. Arrogant people never take responsibility for their bad decisions. And the end result is they justify why they're right and the preacher's wrong, why they're right and their spouse is wrong, why they're right and the police officer's wrong. That's what arrogance does. But humility is just the opposite. Humility understands and orients to authority. And it understands that authority's not perfect. Authority can make mistakes. And you don't react to the authority when they do make a mistake. You just forgive them. You respond to it. But arrogant people with self-justification always deceive themselves through self-deception and always get totally absorbed in what they're doing with self-absorption. And when you do not take responsibility for your bad decisions, you in effect are going through the door of doom. You are ruining your life. You are ruining the life of others around you. Point two, under the law of volitional responsibility, we cause our own misery and and we cause our own suffering by lack of self-control. You must learn to take control of your life. 90% of the suffering in your life will be because you mismanage your money, you mismanage your relationships, you mismanage your health, If you don't take self-control, then you will spiral out of control down into the cosmic vortex until your life is utterly wasted in the door of doom. You'll walk through the door of doom into the dark gloom of doom and never come out because you do not take responsibility. You know you're doing wrong. You know what you're involved in is wrong, but you justify why you do it or you put it off and say, well, I'll get it right later. You must go to God. You must go to God today. He knows what's going on in your life. You must go to God and confess your sin to him because the Bible says problem-solving device number one, if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to purify us from all of our wrongdoing. That's a wonderful problem-solving device that allows us to be filled with the Holy Spirit and Because when we don't confess our sin, then we grieve the Holy Spirit and we quench his power in our life. His power is to reflect Jesus Christ through you. He cannot do that if you are out of fellowship with him. So you must take responsibility or you will suffer from lack of self-control in your life. Self-control in any area of lust, be it power lust, money lust, sex lust, alcohol lust, drug lust, approbation lust, whatever that is. If you cannot control that lust, it will destroy you eventually. Is it possible to control it? Yes. The Bible says in Galatians 5.16, if we will walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The flesh is not going to go away until you get a resurrection body minus an old sin nature. As long as you're in the devil's world, your flesh will remain active, and you can control it under the filling of the Holy Spirit using spiritual growth in your life, learning God's Word, applying God's Word, learning to recognize your weaknesses, learning to avoid those situations that put you there. Point three, under the doctrine of responsibility, By means of divine punitive action, God can actually remove the guilt in your life. You cannot function in the Christian life if you have a lot of hungover guilt, feeling sorry for yourself, having self-pity. So if God has to lower the boom in your life, and he may have already done this as you're listening to me today, get over the guilt. If you are still alive, he still has a plan for your life. If he didn't take you home, he left you here for a reason. Maybe you're going to be a testimony in the future to God's grace through your failure. Or maybe you're going to be a stumbling block in the future, a testing for younger Christians that have to learn to get over themselves by looking at you. I wouldn't want to be that person. But if you can rebound your sin and confess your sin to God and get out from underneath that divine discipline, anytime you go to rebound, anytime you name your sin to God, Any cursing in your life will immediately be turned to blessing. It's a principle of doctrine that's always true. So you must remember that. You must come to understand that. And that way, God can use you in a wonderful way, okay? Four, each of us must take responsibilities for our own decisions. We must take responsibility for our own actions. Whether they're sins, whether they're impetuousness, whether it's our own indiscretion or impulsiveness or even cowardlessness, we must take responsibility. We can't blame it on someone else. That's exactly what Lucifer did in eternity past. He blamed it on God. He said, in essence, if you knew I was going to sin, why did you create me to start with? And God didn't make Lucifer sin. Lucifer chose in his own arrogance to sin. Point five, we can never blame others. We can never blame others for our misery. We can never blame others for our unhappiness. We must take full responsibility for every decision we make. I don't know how you grew up. I know how I grew up, and it wasn't a great way to grow up. I didn't know it at the time. I didn't know living in a federal housing project without a father was a bad way to grow up. But it happened. I didn't know living with four or five different guardians was a bad way to grow up. But it happened. But Daddy couldn't look at my life and my failures and say it's my mother's fault. It was my fault. I made any bad decision I made, and you make any bad decision you made. Don't blame it on your parents, and don't blame it on your spouse. Anytime you point a finger at somebody, there's always three pointing right back at you. Remember that. Point six, the grace of God has given each of us human volition. That means we can go positive or we can go negative. We can say yes, we can say no. So when the old sin nature, remember you have three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. So if the world throws up a temptation to you, says you can be happy with people, money, circumstances, you just say, no, I don't buy that. Or if the flesh throws up a temptation to you saying you could be happy with this, that, or the other, say, no, I don't believe that. And then the devil may throw up a temptation. Remember Matthew 4, read it. Look what he did to the Lord Jesus Christ, how he tempted him four different times. And the only way that the Lord Jesus Christ could pass those temptations was by quoting scripture, scripture, scripture, scripture. You must know scripture. This is where you get your strength from. This is where you become powerful in God by using his word under the filling of the Holy Spirit. If you have the filling of the Holy Spirit and you have the dynamics of Bible doctrine, you have the two most fantastic power resources the world has ever known or ever seen. So you have to take responsibility. Failing to take responsibility is walking through the door of doom. So God gave you a volition. You don't have to walk in that door. You don't have to make that decision. He gave you a choice. Point seven, we must not allow our volition to lead us into sin, to lead us into human good or evil. In Galatians 6, 7, the Bible states the law of volitional responsibility. Listen to what it says. Be not deceived. God cannot, will not, I'm adding that for emphasis, be mocked. Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. And no one gets away with anything, I assure you. Point eight, under the law of volitional responsibility, it is possible that we can inflict unbearable suffering from personal sins and lack of common sense. Now, you want to ruin your life? You want to live for the rest of your life in misery, in guilt? You want to live for the rest of your life in a situation that you don't want to be in? Then don't listen to God. Just Go on down the my way highway and try to do it your way. Commit your sins. Go ahead and say, well, if we love each other, it's okay. It's not okay. The Bible says get married. Or I need it so it's okay to lie to the federal government and cheat on my taxes because they're stealing from me. You know how people justify tax returns. No, it's not okay. So if we have unbearable suffering in our life from personal sins and lack of common sense, common sense is take some common sense to live the Christian life. You can't be an idiot. You can't do dumb things. You have to have some common sense. And if you take the Word of God and you learn it and you use it, you will have common sense. you will know when to get in and out of the rain. I mean, I like to fish. I'm out in the bass boat fishing and I see a black cloud coming up over the horizon down the lake, maybe four or five miles away. And I see the light didn't begin to pop and common sense says, get off the water. Now, some people don't use common sense. They say, oh, well, I'm just going to keep right on fishing till the lightning strikes them or till they get drenched in the downpour because they're too dumb to get off the water. You must have common sense. So remember that. Point nine, the conscience that God gave you at birth is designed to house norms and standards so you always have options. Your conscience should house your norms and standards. Where do you get these norms and standards? Well, first of all, your parents should teach you norms, and your pastor teaches you standards from the Word of God. So you have these norms. You know how to control your health. You know how to do certain things, and you have standards that you live by. These are things that are your standards that govern your life without norms and standards you don't have any options you'll be led captive by your flesh you'll be held captive by your sin nature God gave you options With no options, you have no chance of succeeding in your life. So therefore, it's critical that parents give their children choices, give their children options. You teach them what the Word of God says, they see what the world says, and they choose. You can't choose for them. You can't make them be good little Christians. They must choose. if you expose them to the word of god and you expose them to the truth and you live that life in front of them prayerfully hopefully they will respond in a positive way to the word of god and be a delight to your soul but some children will not respond because of their arrogance because of their resentfulness and they will go down the my way highway and they will live a miserable life thinking that everybody's treating them unfair. No one knows my circumstances, yada, yada, yada, yada. Always trying to justify why what they do is right. Ten, emotional control of the soul removes the protection of your conscience. So if you live under your emotions, I mean, emotions are wonderful. God gave them to you. They're supposed to be the appreciator of the soul. I take a lot of pictures, and I appreciate pictures, and they're all on my phone. I remember when we used to print them out, and now we've got them on the phone, 4,000 pictures on my phone. And going through them, trying to find certain pictures can be a headache. But the emotions of seeing something from the past or seeing the grandchildren or seeing kids I've met or seeing you or seeing, you know, these emotions are stimulated by looking at pictures. but emotions don't dictate policy. Policy has to be from the mentality of the soul. That's why the Bible says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. The Bible says we have to learn to think like he thought, and that means we have to pick up some divine viewpoint. We have to come to learn God's word, and we learn that through studying the life of Christ, seeing the decisions that he made, This is the wonderful thing about my pastor currently teaching the life of Christ almost 1,200 hours downrange into the life of Christ. That's 1,200 one-hour studies in the life of Christ, and we're not even through. We're not even near through yet. But as you listen and learn and observe and see how the Lord Jesus Christ handled his disciples, handled the adversity, handled his family, handled his brothers, handled everything, then it teaches us how to live. We develop the mind of Christ. You must be under a pastor to teach you these things. It's critical that you have a well-qualified pastor that can teach you the word of God. And point 11. As a believer in Christ Jesus, every imperative mood of the Greek New Testament is a command from God for you. The imperative mood is what we call in the military the commander's intent. And the Bible says do not do this, do not do that. The imperative mood means don't do it. And no one's perfect, but we are all tasked with learning and following orders if we're going to be mature believers. It's critical that you do that. So that is the doctrine of self-control. Now let's go to another door. Another door to doom, and this is a bad one, is you being what the Bible calls a sluggard believer. The Hebrew word for the sluggard is the atseo. The Greek word in the Septuagint is ochneros. And it's a lazy person, a person who's habitually lazy or a person who's inactive. it's he or she who has the ability to work but refuses to do so it's he or she who lacks any drive or will who won't take responsibility to even provide for their basic needs a sluggard paul had something to say about this sort of person In 2 Thessalonians 3.10, listen to what Paul the apostle said. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this commandment. If anyone is not willing to work, neither shall he eat. That's a wonderful statement for a nation. That's something America needs to put into practice right there. If anyone's not willing to work, neither should he eat. There are exceptions to the rule, and we'll deal with some of those. He goes on to say, for we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work, but sticking their nose into other people's business. You want to know how to become poor. You want to know how to live a miserable life. Well, number one, you can just be lazy, as described by Solomon as he talks about the little ant. If you can't live like the little ant, then you're going to walk into the door of doom and gloom and destroy your life. Solomon just in an analogy said, go to the ant, you old sluggard. Observe her ways and be wise. In other words, get wisdom. Learn something from a little ant. They have no chief, they have no officer, no ruler, but they prepare their food in the summer and gather their provisions in the harvest. How long will you continue to lay down, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? And then he went on to say, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. Yep, that's you. Your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man. If you can't quit being lazy, if you can't get out of bed and handle your responsibilities, which is first and foremost to take in the Word of God every day, your number one priority is to feed your soul. And if you put that off, you are being lazy spiritually. The second problem to the door of doom is negligence. In Proverbs 10.4, poor is he who worked with a negligent hand. In other words, failing to take responsibility, failing to take proper care. And Solomon goes on to say, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. In other words, it's showing care and conscientiousness in your duties. So the negligent hand is opening the door to doom. Negligent is failing to take proper care in doing something. And spiritual negligence... is you failing to care for your spiritual life. You know, it's interesting, a conventional Christian is nothing but a caricature of Christ, not a real true representative of Christ. You know, the hello God, goodbye God guy that you see on Sunday morning, the nod to God crowd, we call it. That's a caricature, not a true representative of the believer in Jesus Christ. It's a conventional Christian. Wants a preacher to marry him, wants a preacher to bury him, but the rest of the time, leave me alone, preacher. I got a lot going on. Negligence is entering the door to doom. The slack hand opens the door to doom. Proverbs 12, 24, the hand of the diligent will rue, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor. Slack, rem iah, translated deceitful labor. treacherous or negligent. Jeremiah 48.10 says, Cursed be the one who does the Lord's work negligently or fraudulently. And this is criminal deception. This is what this word means, criminal deception. Cursed is the one who does the Lord's work by deception as a criminal. You talk about getting into the door of doom and the life of gloom. That's it. By acting like you're serving the Lord, but really you're a thief, really you're deceptive, you're dishonest, and you act like you're doing a great thing for God, and you're not. You think the Father doesn't know about it? You think that his patience isn't about up with you? I think it's time you went to the Lord and confessed your sin and admitted your sin, and he said he would be faithful and just to forgive you. And there's a lot more to say about this. I guess we have to come back next week. Time is running out, running short. But I want to go on with some other principles about how to enter the door to doom. I hope you'll come back. I hope you'll keep listening every Sunday, same time, same place. And 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.
Dive into this episode where John Rush and his guests unpack the sensational changes the Trump administration has unleashed. With insightful commentary, they discuss how the American public across the spectrum is weighing in on Trump's seemingly erratic yet calculated actions. In addition, they offer a tantalizing sneak peek into future discussions with Jordan Goodman that listeners won't want to miss. Lastly, John and Andy dive into a thrilling review of the movie 'Hard Eyes,' offering listeners a detailed exploration into the blend of horror and humor making waves in cinemas.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's finally Friday on Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. So I tell him I'm a pro jack. And who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama himself. So we finish 18, and he's going to sniff me. And I say, hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know? And he says, oh, it won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that going on. and movie reviews with Andy Pate.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think that you got the wrong impression about me. I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do.
SPEAKER 16 :
What I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world. Stick a fork in me, Jerry. I'm done.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, here is your host of Rush to Reason, John Rush.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, happy Friday, everybody. Myself, Andy Pate, Charlie Grimes, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush. You made it through another week.
SPEAKER 08 :
Feels good, doesn't it?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, our first week of February is gone.
SPEAKER 08 :
Telling you what, it is dizzying watching Trump work. Every week is so beautiful, I can't take the beauty.
SPEAKER 17 :
More and more things happening. It just seems like the weekends, by the way, Andy, because beginning of the week, it always seems like, okay, what happened over the weekend? Because it doesn't stop. No, it does not. With a lot of administrations, Friday night is the slow news night. If you want to release something that no one needs to hear, you don't want anybody to hear, you release it on Friday night, and you don't worry about it. In this administration's case, they're just rolling all the way through it. It doesn't matter what day of the week it is.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, it doesn't. You know what, though, to me, John? The biggest story is not Donald Trump. And I know that's shocking. But let's face facts. He's doing everything we thought he would do. We know Donald Trump loves to be a bull in a china shop. We love it. He's our bull. We're enjoying it, right? Charge in. The big shock has been the American people saying, go ahead.
SPEAKER 17 :
Mm-hmm. Yeah, minus the left.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, obviously minus the left. Hardcore left, I should say. But when you look at the polling, we talked about it on Tuesday, you look at the polling on the various things he's doing, it's so high. And what I really realized in the last couple days was this. I don't think the Democrats had any idea. the seething rage that was going on in the American public. Could Donald Trump have done this in 2016? Absolutely not, because people would not have agreed with it. They wouldn't have stomached it. But it dawned on me that the American people are looking at the Democrats right now and saying, you know, with all your protestations and everything, we got news for you. you had us invaded for four years. I mean, all out invaded. We saw it on our streets in a way at, at heights and at speeds that we've never seen financially being proven as we speak, right? We have homelessness and crime overrunning the streets. We had inflation jacked up through the roof. We have fentanyl deaths everywhere. We, you know, and it goes on and on and on. But I think the biggest thing that touched it all off was the all out invasion. And I, I believe that the American voter right now has become like a prison guard. And you're probably thinking, what? Here's what I mean. You know how when, you know, guys go into prison, you know, you got these toughened guys, they go into prison and it comes time to go out in the prison yard and exercise and lift weights and whatever. Then they go back, right? What if you go in and you are a... child molester an abuser how do the guys in prison treat you not very well you're gonna get the living daylights beat out of you right here's what the guards do also the guards don't care about you either because they look at you as the lowest of the lowest of the lowest of the low or you dealt drugs to kids or whatever right what do they do john they turn their back
SPEAKER 17 :
They're not there to protect you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Do whatever you want with them. Do whatever you want with them. And right now, the American voter is looking at Donald Trump and saying, do whatever you want with them. It doesn't matter what you want to do with them. Really? Well, I want to make all the IRS agents wear tutus and dance in traffic. Yeah, go ahead. We don't care. Well, I'm going to fire everybody in an entire department. Yeah, fine, whatever. We literally hate the Democrats so much. As I said on Tuesday, they have a negative 26 approval rating right now. They, you know, they're looking at it right now. The Democrats are trying to make it sound like Elon Musk is this huge threat. And Americans are looking at them and saying, do you not get it? For the 80th time, we don't care what they do to you. It's like at a time when America was all upset about waterboarding and torture, you know, suppose of terrorists. And then the movie Taken comes out. And you have the torture scene and everybody's cheering. Why? Because this guy was kidnapping girls into slavery where they would die. Okay, sex slavery where they would die. And everybody in the audience is looking at Liam Neeson saying, go ahead, do whatever you want with them. And I believe that that is the message of the American people right now to Donald Trump. Man, you do whatever you want to the government. We don't care. What do you think?
SPEAKER 17 :
No, Andy, fully agree. I think people, number one, especially with the more things that get uncovered. Now, would they be that way had he not gone in and done the things he said he was going to do? Of course not. No, he'd be a horse of a different color. But the reality is he's done that and more. In fact, he's done far more than I think. Even some on our side thought he would do this quickly. Right. Not even in regards to immigration, but just Doge and what they're finding and what they're overturning. And it kind of makes you wonder, this was a question maybe more for Tuesday, but it kind of makes you wonder, how much of this did they know prior to even entering office and where to start digging? They had to have had some moles or somebody from the inside feeding them some info. Like, you guys know that this USAID, you know, department is nothing but a huge slush fund for Democrats, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. And, you know, we need to thank one man, really. Everybody's talking right now about Elon Musk and Doge, and we should be. It's wonderful. But, guys, he's only following the blueprint put out by Rand Paul.
SPEAKER 17 :
True.
SPEAKER 08 :
Rand Paul's been talking about this for years. Rand Paul's been talking about USAID. Rand Paul's been talking about all of it. I guarantee you they went right to Rand and said, okay, point us. We are your gun. Point us.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
Theoretical gun, folks. You know what I mean.
SPEAKER 17 :
Right. There was a great interview, by the way, because the other thing that's happened is Trump has put some great people in place. For example, Treasurer Secretary, which for maybe some of you that don't know, he is a very known openly gay man.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, he is.
SPEAKER 17 :
But solid individual when it comes to the things that he's doing. There was an interview the other night that this – I don't even know what network news he was on, but they were really trying to corner him into things that are happening right now in regard to Doge and things along those lines. And this gal literally was trying to pin him in a corner in regards to the Treasury and what's happening basically. the checkbook and you know what about these individuals and what rights did they have and what what's going to happen when you go through the irs and this that and the other and his answers were were kind but firm in that well number one when it comes to the irs we're not going to do anything there until tax season is over because we all know what's going on right now and we're not even going to think about entering that particular right you know that particular office right now until then Furthermore, the individuals that have been granted read-only access to the things that they are looking at is strictly that. They're not making any changes. Any changes made, by the way, to anything Treasury-wise has to come from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
SPEAKER 01 :
Of course.
SPEAKER 17 :
do anything at this point all they're doing is reading and discovering and figuring out what's going on but the left Andy is absolutely unhinged which by the way should be a signal to everybody those of you including those of you that are on the left by the way this should be a signal to you to say what what are you guys worried about what if you're so worried about this stuff what are you hiding well you know what what's going on this such a big deal to you because if everything is above board why would you care
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see exactly what is found, because like I've been saying, and I've seen a few national correspondents now saying this, the Democrats, since the election of Donald Trump, have spent the last couple months doing nothing but burning and shredding and deleting. Everywhere they possibly can.
SPEAKER 17 :
They don't want to be found out.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. They have spent all their time cleansing people. All their records, cleansing, everything they've done. But it's really hard to cleanse money you've sent overseas in USAID.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, there's paper trails on some of those things that the Treasury has.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, exactly. It was too ripe a fruit there to be picked. And I think they're in a lot of trouble. I think that trouble is going to grow. I agree. And here's the biggest thing, though, once again. The big story, once again, is the American people. I cannot believe... For the first time, really, in my life, the American people are looking at the government saying, we don't care what this person does to you. You let us be invaded for four years. That is your job. You let us be overrun for four years. And now you think we are going to care. Who they fire, we don't care.
SPEAKER 17 :
Great point. I think it'll be interesting, by the way, a little preview here. Tuesday we'll interview Jordan Goodman. Jordan's come much further to our side than he probably ever has. It's going to be interesting to see what he says about all of what's just happened. By the way, and the reason I say that is, a lot of what we've just gone through as a country, are things that we have been talking to Jordan about for years now, and it's finally come true, and what we have said all along is now factual.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and by the way, a lot of this is stuff that you and I have been telling Jordan, look, this needs to happen, then this, this, this, this. And every time, what did Jordan say? Won't ever happen.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
Suck it up, buttercup. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 08 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, John Rush, together with Andy Pate. And John, are you ready for a movie?
SPEAKER 17 :
Is this one scary?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, John, you know, it is Valentine's Day.
SPEAKER 17 :
It is Valentine's Day.
SPEAKER 08 :
And, of course, what does that mean? It's time for a horror movie, John.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, God, not a romance, but a horror movie.
SPEAKER 08 :
Time for a slasher movie. Actually, it's a little bit of a combination. Let's take a look at Hard Eyes.
SPEAKER 13 :
For the past two years, a masked maniac known as the Hard Eyes Killer has stalked, hunted, and brutally slain couples on Valentine's Day. With no motive yet uncovered.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is more than just murder. He's like Cupid. With a kink.
SPEAKER 08 :
Like Cupid with a kink. And it's quite a kink.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Just so you know. Okay. Every year, but in different cities, the Heart Eyes Killer celebrates Valentine's Day by murdering young lovers in gruesome ways. He wears a mask with hearts sewn over the eyes. And these also give him night vision, by the way, which is kind of cool.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Anyway, couples are on the alert. But not Ellie and Jay. They're played by Olivia Holt and Mason Gooden because they're not a couple. But Allie's lousy boss forces her to work with Jay on an ad campaign. What begins as a meet-cute degenerates into bitter rivalry since Allie knows Jay was sent to fix her mess. She doesn't like him. And by the way, she's been through some rough breakups. She hates love. She's not in the mood for romance at all. Even though Jay is this ridiculously good-looking guy. So the two are at a restaurant when Allie sees her ex there with a new girl. Well, to make her ex jealous, what does Allie do? She plants a romantic kiss on Jay in a public place. Uh-oh, bad news. Someone was watching. Someone very bad. Shortly later, the killer is in Allie's closet. A battle ensues, and she and Jay flee. Well, this makes Jay a suspect, unfortunately, because he was there when she was almost killed. And he's brought in by the cops, and they have two cops named Hobbs and Shaw. I thought that was kind of funny. As the cops track the murderer, gruesome kills mount while Allie and Jay keep insisting, we're not a couple. They yell at the murderer, we're not a couple. Kill someone else. They can't take it anymore. Unfortunately, the killer ain't buying it. So witness a night of romantic comedy, brutal slashing, and desperate investigation. Who will wind up together and who will be torn apart? Literally. We're going to find out in Hard Eyes. What do you think, John?
SPEAKER 17 :
That doesn't sound too bad. How gory is it?
SPEAKER 08 :
Very.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay, never mind.
SPEAKER 08 :
You hate these kinds of movies, I know. What works in Hard Eyes? Well, first of all, the pace, the action, and the terror are edge of your seat good. They're very good, John. They get it all just right, and I was very impressed by the pacing of it. As we always talk about with horror movies, the pacing is everything. Next, for today's slasher fans, more is better, and Hard Eyes delivers big-time gore. But Hard Eyes does an inventive job of spoofing romantic comedies. That's a new one. It felt like every couple was just an exaggerated look at meet-cutes from other films, and that was pretty fun. Next, the biggest key to a rom-com slasher is the calm, right? You need some funny lines and situations or the whole thing just becomes a slog. Hard Eyes once again delivers. It can be very funny. Next, another key is a series of plot twists and shocks. You've got to have that in these films. You know, who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? And it works. Again, hard eyes delivers. And finally, it's good to have worthwhile side characters. You want that because you just don't want just two characters that that's all you care about for an entire movie. You can pull that off if they're really good, but generally you want some good side characters. There are a few here. Hobbs and Shaw were good. They were exaggerated characters. I'll get into another one later. But overall, Hard Eyes had all the pieces of a terrific slasher movie. A very, very good one. Okay, what doesn't work in Hard Eyes? First, the obvious. It didn't need to be this gruesome. They were catering to today's slasher fans to such a degree that it kind of hurts the product. Too much is too much for wider audiences. You're kind of narrowing your audience when you do that. Next, the humor was pretty good, but it could have been even better. You had the pieces there. They could have even taken it up another notch. It just fell just a little bit short of Scream. Okay, next. The campy, over-stereotyped look at rom-coms. Well, it was funny. Don't get me wrong. It was funny. I was laughing a number of times, but it also killed any chance for any real chemistry between Allie and Jay, right? How much can you get into the romance of these two people when this whole thing is also a movie making fun of rom-coms? It's just kind of hard to, you see where I'm going with that? Thus, we don't feel any connection to these main characters. And finally, the advertising boss is really exaggerated, also killing any realism. Horror needs realism. Otherwise, you're just watching gross stuff that you know is a bunch of special effects and camera effects and so forth. It's just not going to be the same unless you can feel a little bit more reality. They killed a lot of the reality. Okay. Rotten Tomatoes. They gave Heart Eyes 92%. They loved this movie. And I'm going to say it's a good movie. It is definitely worth seeing. I almost went for, but I would have... Gosh, I was stuck between, is it a strong three and a half or a weak four? And I finally decided to go with quality 3.5. And here's why. When you kill the realism that much with the campiness, you're killing a lot of what makes a horror movie. OK, the Scream movies kept the reality. You could really feel, you know, watching these characters run for their lives and fight for their lives. And you could really feel that there was a real investigation going on here. Here, it feels a little too campy and it just didn't quite make it political. Let's see here. I don't remember anything, so I'll give it a three. More religious, obviously a two. You know, I could grade it down further if I want, but, you know, I'm going within the genre, okay? So I'll just take it down to a two on more religious. Do I recommend going to heart eyes? Yes. Okay. If you are somebody who likes the slasher movies, the gore movies, and also just wants to have a little fun, Hard Eyes is one of the best ones of that genre to come out probably over the last two, three years. It's very, very good. It's well-made. They just went a little too far at times to where you're just like, hey, don't keep reminding me I'm watching a movie. But I am watching a movie, and I'm having fun. I had fun at Hard Eyes. Everybody in the audience did, too. Good movie.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. We will be right back and do what? Love Hurts. Is that next? Yes, it is. All right. Veteran Windows and Doors, Dave, from Veteran Windows and Doors has always got a great deal. All you need to do is call and find out exactly what this month's deal is. And he does have the best windows and doors and prices around. So call Dave today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, John Rush, together with Andy Pate. And John, are you ready for another movie?
SPEAKER 17 :
Absolutely. This one's a little more your speed. This one's had many movies made with this name. Yes. Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
There have been a lot of movies made with this name. Okay. And there's also, just so you know, there's been quite a few movies made like this one. But here we go. Hidden Within. I'll bet you didn't know this. Hidden Within. Every real estate agent is an action hero.
SPEAKER 17 :
Did you know that? Oh, yeah. Okay. Got it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, here we go in Love Hurts. Marvin Gable.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who are you? Your brother brought us in to find you. After you let Rose go.
SPEAKER 11 :
Tell my brother to back off.
SPEAKER 04 :
This little spider monkey ninja got hopped. Hey, what the? Rose? Hey, Marv.
SPEAKER 11 :
Why did you come back?
SPEAKER 02 :
If we're gonna stop your brother, I'm gonna need to old you.
SPEAKER 11 :
I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER 14 :
Find my brother and Rose now!
SPEAKER 09 :
Now let's finish this together.
SPEAKER 11 :
You want the old me? You got him.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's about damn time.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah! What do you think, John? It didn't sound bad. All right, well, Kei Hui Kwan, do you know him?
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, by the way, where did he get started? See if you remember this.
SPEAKER 17 :
Where did he get started?
SPEAKER 08 :
He was the little boy in Raiders of the Lost Ark 2, The Temple of Doom.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, you're right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, short run.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, obviously he's an older guy now.
SPEAKER 17 :
How did I forget that one?
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, well, he stars, Kei-Hui Kwan, he stars as Marvin Gable, a successful realtor who just loves his quiet life. Now, he geeks out on homes. He sets sales records. Living alone, Marvin has no attachments and no interruptions on his quiet, friendly, humble life. He even makes cookies for people at work. Problem is, Marvin has a past, and it's about to catch up to him. It seems Marvin was once an elite hitman with fantastic fighting skills. Back in the day, he worked for his gangster brother, Knuckles, who's played by Daniel Wu. He's been in a lot of stuff. But, John, they had a falling out. Why? Well, Marvin let a target go. Her name was Rose, as you heard in the preview there. She's played by Ariana DeBose. And now hitmen are still after her. And they got real good reason to be after her. So it's not great for Marvin when Rose tracks him down. Rose is tired of hiding from Knuckles and she wants Marvin to be his old self to help her. Well, suddenly Marvin's perfect life is invaded by lots of killers wanting to get Rose because she knows where some big money was stolen. And Marvin, too, needs to be killed for helping Rose. And of course, Knuckles is driving most of the show. Makes sense?
SPEAKER 05 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. Can Marvin survive? Will he save Rose? Does he even want to because he didn't want her back? And can he still reach his sales goals? John, that is the story of Love Hurts.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's a repeat, but it doesn't sound bad. Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, we've seen this kind of thing. Yeah, people who have a past of being a hitman or being this, that, and they're trying to hide out in the present. But it's kind of fun. Well, what works in Love Hurts? First of all, this is a very quick movie. It clocks in at 83 minutes.
SPEAKER 17 :
Not bad.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, so boom. There are really good, and I mean really good, fight scenes, very well done, mostly toward the beginning and the end.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, you have some gore, obviously, because you've got knives and stuff like that. But you know what? Not that much overall. Really, not for what you would expect in a movie like this. K. Hui Kwan, he's a very likable actor with great martial arts skills. Just tremendous. He's actually done the choreography for a lot of other movies. And so he's amazing. He's a lot like Jackie Chan. Incredibly likable, great skills. Now this makes it easy to care about him. And you instantly do. And you want him to win. There are several moments of humor amidst the action, and even romance. Here's something that kind of caught me off guard. There are some surprisingly interesting side characters. There's a budding romance between Marvin's real estate assistant, her name is Ashley, and a poet killer called The Raven. And They kind of warm to each other over time. And finally, Sean Astin. Remember him? Rudy, Rudy. Oh, yeah, yeah. Right, right. Sean Astin puts in a surprisingly heartwarming performance as Marvin's realtor boss. This came out of the blue. In this wacky, zany movie with these exaggerated characters, right, and this action everywhere, and this nice guy who makes cookies trying to hide his past, you don't expect his boss... to be this very wise, very caring, soft-spoken country guy with a cowboy hat and all that. I was really impressed with Sean Astin in this movie. Okay, what doesn't work in Love Hurts? First of all, this movie generally has a weak script. It does. It's like kind of a B-movie, B-team, Tarantino crime humor. I mean, you know these Tarantino crime humors. They have all the cool crime people saying all the cool crime things, and they do it in funny ways. This falls short of that. Now, Rose, here's the big problem. For me, this was the biggest problem in the movie. And by the way, I looked at a bunch of reviews. This was the biggest problem for most everybody. She is one of the most unlikable female leads I've ever seen. Ariana DeBose brings nothing, nothing to this role. She doesn't even seem to fit in the part.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 08 :
She's not likable. You don't like her. You don't like the character. You don't like either. You don't, you wish she was off the screen. She's acting really cool. And of course they have her doing cool things. Cause you know, the heroines always can fight and shoot and do these things. And you're just like, we don't like you. Okay, leave.
SPEAKER 05 :
Interesting.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, not likable at all. There are a couple of hit men who are supposed to be funny. One is played by Marshawn Lynch, and he was a running back for Seattle all those years. He at one point even says, going into beast mode. I thought that was great because that's his signature line from football. And they've got Marshawn Lynch and Ryse Darby, who's a fine actor. and they fall short they do they're not as funny as they can be now they do have some funny moments just not as much as they could have done daniel woo he's a fine actor but knuckles just isn't a great villain i mean about all that's interesting about him is he loves to drink bobo and he's really really evil because you know as the brother of marvin finally it felt like it was assumed we'd care about these characters but the writing doesn't get us there Right. It's like they dropped all these characters in and say, you're supposed to care about them. And it's like, you need to write us there. OK, you've got to get us there. You've got to drag us there. And I think maybe with the Marvin, obviously you care about him. And I think the budding romance between Ashley and the Raven, you kind of care about them. And that's about it. Oh, and you care a lot about Sean Astin's guy, the realtor boss. But overall, you're really not caring that much about the characters. You're just watching a lot of stuff happen. It's not that funny or interesting or plot twisting or anything else. Summary. Here's my summary. This was a stupid, fun movie. This was a stupid, fun movie. The crowd liked it much more than the critics. I'll get to that in a moment. Rose hurt the movie a lot. Man, if they'd had a better character for Rose and redone that character and gotten a different actress, basically any female on planet Earth and put her in, you would have had a better movie. All right, Rotten Tomatoes. At one point, this had sunk down into the mid-teens. OK, it bumped up with a few last second reviews to 23 percent. They did not. That's one star. OK, they really did not like this movie. I think they were too hard on it. I really do. Because sometimes, as I've said before, the critics forget stupid fun is stupid fun. And there was plenty of fun to be had in this. And I did question the people, the moviegoers, as they came out. And I had, let's see, it was a mix of either thumbs sideways or up. There were no thumbs down. None. All right? Okay. I'm going to give this two and a half stars. And I almost gave it three, because for me, this is a good, solid three-star movie. I had fun. Not quite as good as The Beekeeper, but close. I had fun in this stupid movie, and I loved watching Kei Hui Kwan fight, and I enjoyed him. Political three, more religious three, doesn't do a thing, really. Well, more religious, take it down to two and a half. I forgot, you're in a strip club at one point. They don't show everything, but... You're in that club. And but that's really brief. This movie is not that bad. OK, if you want to go see this guy, you know, fighting off his past and just basically if you want to see some campy humor and can't be fun. and look away from the Screaming Roses on it, and enjoy Kei Hui Kwan in all these fight scenes, which are very impressive at times, do it. I would recommend actually going to Love Hurts, especially if you're not somebody who wants to watch something like Hard Eyes. This movie is okay. There you go.
SPEAKER 17 :
So this is a little bit like, was it Bob Oden that did the one? Bob Odenkirk. Bob Odenkirk, he did the one where his past caught up to him and
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, what was called Nowhere. Nobody.
SPEAKER 17 :
Nobody. Nobody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, this is not as good as Nobody. Nobody, I gave four stars, and it was a strong four-star movie. I almost gave it four and a half.
SPEAKER 17 :
Similar premise?
SPEAKER 08 :
It had a few weaknesses.
SPEAKER 17 :
It wasn't a love story.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. You're right. Actually, it is similar to Nobody. This is a poor man's Nobody. And this guy's a better fighter than Odenkirk, obviously. But Odenkirk is a terrific actor. He's very funny. And Nobody was just a much better written movie. By the way, folks, once again, for those who have not seen Nobody, I've now recommended it about a dozen times. Please rent that movie.
SPEAKER 17 :
Go see it. It's great.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, rent it. It's worth it. It's worth the price of rental. You're going to have a fun night. But Love Hurts is also a pretty fun time out. I enjoyed it. For me, it was a strong three-star. I'm going to give it two and a half for general audiences.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
All right. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning is next. Sorry, I had to blow my nose there. So, Charlie, thanks for the pause. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Yes, those things do happen on live radio at times. So we are not immune from sneezes and things along those lines. But, hey, speaking of all of that, if you need help with your furnace, whether it be the filtration of, the operation of, you've had issues with it, you're looking at the AC end of things as we head down the path into spring, give Cub Creek a call today. Find them at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 17 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Okay, something I wanted to mention today. Well, hang on. We've got a question of the day. I almost forgot. Let me do that really quick before we move along. Yesterday's in the film The Shining, what phrase did Jack Torrance repeatedly type on his typewriter?
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, I haven't seen The Shining in over, like, 20 years.
SPEAKER 17 :
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
There's your answer. I actually would have got that one right. I'm not too good at these, but that one I actually would have actually remembered and got right. Today, the question of the day is, what is the term for a word or phrase that reads the same backward and forward? And yes, Charlie would know that one. Yeah, Charlie just rattled it off. But I will not say that. You guys can answer that on our Facebook page today. Speaking of Facebook, something I wanted to get to, Andy, was there's a lot of stuff on Facebook with everything we've got going on. Trump, the things we opened up the show with, you know, Doge and so on. And what I'm seeing, and you have to wonder, is some of this planted by... you know, different individuals that aren't necessarily in our camp? In other words, are they Democrats, things along those lines? Which thing now? Just making sure. In general, just certain things that I see posted where you look at it, you read it, and you're like, okay, wait a minute. I haven't read that anywhere other than here. Highly doubtful that that's, you know, I really doubt that that's a true statement that's been made in that particular post or that particular social media post.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right. Whatever.
SPEAKER 17 :
And I gave one last Saturday, for example, on drive radio where there's some folks on different platforms, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and so on, where they're going around talking about in the automotive world and the trucks and such. There's what we call DPF delete kits for diesels where it changes the emissions and so on. And they're very illegal to do. The EPA has cracked down on those in recent years. A lot of states, even Colorado, has cracked down. And there's people running around the Internet talking about how now that Trump is in office, you can go back to deleting those. You won't have any issues, blah, blah, blah. He's going to go about abolishing the EPA. He hasn't said anything like that. Thank you, Andy. None of that has been said. So that's one example. And I've got others where, you know – go out, before you forward anything, before you like anything, before you comment on anything, please do a little, just a little bit of due diligence. And if you really have a question, find Andy or I. You can text us, go to the text line, whatever. And we can pretty much tell you straight up if that's actually reality or not. Because I hate to say this, as much as we want certain things to be true in our hearts, that's not always the case, Andy. Sure.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. I mean, look, I have heard a lot of out there stories, you know, posts and stories like that have come my way over the last really the last couple of months because of, you know, the changeover. And the only one out of all of those that was true is that Politico got a bunch of money. Right.
SPEAKER 17 :
That one's true. They have proven that one. Yeah. Got the receipts to show that one.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, because they bought all these ludicrously expensive subscriptions. And I thought that was really, you've talked about this on air, right? They bought subscriptions from Politico so Politico could help them, the government, bought subscriptions from Politico so Politico could help the government know what's going on in the government.
SPEAKER 17 :
Right. Dumb. To the tune of millions. It's just simply money laundering is all it is when it's all said and done.
SPEAKER 08 :
Totally money laundering. That was the only one out of everything else, and I mean there are probably 20 or 30, all false.
SPEAKER 17 :
I've said I've seen that, you know, the wacko one. I have seen a ton of false ones where it's like, OK, yeah, I gave you an example a moment ago of one and there's others out there. Point being, I know I say this a lot, but, you know, I really feel like it's important for our side, especially. And I get it. You may read something and think, oh, yeah, it's got to be true. You know, it's got to be true. It's something we've been waiting for. It's got to be true. And so you'll like it or you'll forward it or you'll post it on your own page or you'll do whatever and then come to find out. It's like, yeah, that's not the case. And that's not really happening.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, as you know, I'm against censorship. Right?
SPEAKER 17 :
I am too.
SPEAKER 08 :
I'm okay with people putting crap out there. However, I think if you put a totally false kind of thing out on the web like that to mess with people and you get caught doing it, I think you should be banned from whatever platform you do it on.
SPEAKER 17 :
I think, you know, I don't know that I could disagree with it. If it's unknowingly untrue, unfalse, misleading, you know, you're trying to send a group of individuals down a path they shouldn't be going. I don't know that I'm against that, Andy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. And I mean, obviously, I'm not including when you're doing a spoof or something like that. I'm not talking humor, satire. I'm talking when you are trying to mess with people. And you are caught doing it. You are caught putting out, knowing you know that you put out absolutely false information to where it's cut and dried. You know, I'm not saying I want you in prison, nothing like that. But I do think you should be removed from those platforms going forward.
SPEAKER 17 :
I think if you've got, in your case, what you're talking about, a history of not being truthful, and all you're doing is spewing utter nonsense, and I get it, there's free speech and so on. On the same token, folks, these are, we'll see now where these head, but these are private platforms that do have certain rules that, and we've talked about this in the past, even when they were censoring, which I don't believe in. I don't go along with that. On the same token, and I've said it before, they're private. If they decide they want a censor, then they can. Now, I also believe that, and it'll depend on, be interesting to see how things move forward, but I also believe that in a lot of ways they are news organizations, and they're publishing things, and they should fall underneath different regulations than they are currently, but we'll see how things change moving forward.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, yeah. I mean, they have standards against obscenity. They have standards against abuse. They have standards, of course, against going online and threatening people's lives, stuff like that. What about a simple standard that says if you knowingly push false information, you knowingly push false information that can damage the image of somebody else, you'd be removed.
SPEAKER 17 :
I can't disagree with... Or at least banned for a time, you know. Well, or even, you know, I gave you the example of people spewing literally falsehoods on what you can do emissions-wise on your particular vehicle. And believe me, they are total, total lies and falsehoods. You are literally misleading certain individuals.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, you are.
SPEAKER 17 :
And potentially you could... Those particular individuals, depending upon what they do, could end up in all sorts of hot water when it's all said and done. That's a little different, Andy, than free speech. You're leading people down a path to literally destruction.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. You have free speech, but you also within free. See, Democrats want free speech without consequence. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The Founding Fathers never said no consequence. If you use your speech to harm others dishonestly, there should be a consequence.
SPEAKER 17 :
And that one I gave you as an example would be that particular situation. Yes. Because what they're spewing out, people that are listening to that, if they go out and do those things and then find themselves in a bunch of hot water, well, you know, on the same token, you should do a little research on yourself and not just listen to some guy babbling on the Internet. But... But these are influencers in a lot of cases.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, what they're doing online is basically a different version of what happened in the beekeeper to little old ladies who were scammed on the phone. Okay. You are lying to somebody in a way to take advantage of them.
SPEAKER 17 :
Good point. Good point, Andy. Yep. And I think you could even add another layer to that, Andy, to where if you're an influencer, if you are getting paid by said platform any way, shape, or form, frankly, in my opinion, they definitely have more control over you at that point than they do anybody else because you're now, quote, unquote, an employee in a way. Right. I mean, I know you're not. You're a contractor.
SPEAKER 08 :
Contractor, yeah.
SPEAKER 17 :
You're putting information out there. But in a way, Andy, they're paying you for that content. Right. Correct? Correct. Oh, yes. So I think influencers, frankly, we could do this topic even during the week and spend a lot more time on this because I really feel like influencers should be held to a higher accountability than just Joe Schmo posting that is not paid as an influencer.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's my opinion on that. And influencers in a lot of cases can make, well, some of them literally that is their job. That's what they do.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is there any way, going with today's theme, is there any way to punish people who make really bad movies? Because I've lost a lot of hours, John.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, you have in the last few years especially.
SPEAKER 08 :
And there's also been a certain amount of mental damage.
SPEAKER 17 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 08 :
Just saying.
SPEAKER 17 :
Absolutely. All right, let's do this. If you want to help young kids learn how to read, we have a great resource and tool that will help you do that, Mike Goldstein and his book, The Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew. Right now it's 10% off if you use code KLZ. You can also, if you get two or more, you can get a free hat, and they're really nice, high-quality hats, by the way. Just go to jimmyandandrew.com.
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SPEAKER 06 :
Live and local, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. We are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Dan, who is my cohort for years, said, buyer beware, a sucker is born every day. And who would you put in charge of that censorship? Well, I think in this particular case, the example I gave where there's somebody out there spewing something that frankly is they're advising people to literally go break the law, like the law or not. And I don't care for the law, truthfully. I'm one of those that, no, I don't think at the end of the day it's really doing anything other than costing a bunch of people money. But it is the law. It is what it is. And I would never advise anybody, nor have I on Drive Radio advise anybody to go take those devices off because, again, it's against the law. So in this case, Dan, I think it would be really easy to censor this. If it's knowingly going against the law and you're advising people to do so, that one's pretty cut and dried. Right. In my opinion.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, I agree. I agree.
SPEAKER 17 :
You're advising somebody to cheat on their taxes or to do this or to do that or, in this case, disable emissions devices and so on. Yeah, those, in my opinion, are pretty cut and dried. Now, I guess where it gets dicey is some of the other stuff, what's censorable or what's – who do you ban and who do you don't, that would be a little more difficult than I agree. So to me, the first rule would be, is this person literally advising somebody to break the law? If that's the case, that's an easy one. Cut them off. You're done. I agree. And by the way, in the case of the guy that I watched who was an influencer, was probably making money even on the video that I was watching, yeah, that should be cut off. Sorry, pal, you're done. You've made money in the past on this, and you're not making any money moving forward on this. If you're going to advise people to break the law, you're done.
SPEAKER 08 :
I just think it's becoming kind of a look. This is a problem that's rising, though. These totally fake mock posts that are going out. There's a lot of them. And they are really messing with a lot of people's heads. You are correct on that, Andy. You know, it's unfortunate. I'm not sure what to do with it. But I think when people knowingly do that, if they put out stuff like that, knowingly doing it, it's not satire. I don't want him in prison. I'm not saying anything like that. But I think being bounced off the platform is a good idea.
SPEAKER 17 :
In the case of what I was talking about, some of these folks are literally making dollars off of what they're doing. Yeah, that one to me is an easy discussion. You're done. You're not on here anymore. Sorry. You've given out information that literally is encouraging people to break the law. Whether you like the law or not, sorry, you're done. And by the way, this isn't a law like you have to wear a mask. I mean, we're talking two completely different ends of the spectrum on laws. Get where I'm going there. Oh, yes. So this might be a good subject for next week. We'll talk about this a little more. So, guys, we'll be right back. Hour number two is next. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm a rich guy
In this hilariously unbalanced episode of Rush to Reason, John, Andy, and Richard go full “Cupid with a playbook,” bouncing from a surprisingly in-depth Super Bowl takedown (sorry, Chiefs fans) to an all-out rom-com showdown in honor of Valentine's Day. It's football meets feelings, with movie picks ranging from Friday Night Lights and Team America (seriously, Andy?) to The Notebook, Pretty Woman, and even Ghost Town.
Also featuring:
💘 Romantic hot takes from listeners
🍿 Deep dives into DVD nostalgia
😂 Debate over which movies actually count as "romantic"
💔 One tragic Channing Tatum confusion
💡 Plus: Why football might be the most romantic sport of all
Whether you're here for the game analysis or the Meg Ryan appreciation segment, you're in for a funny, heartfelt ride — just don’t forget the popcorn (and tissues).
SPEAKER 16 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 21 :
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 16 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 23 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 15 :
Get a job, sir. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 32 :
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 30 :
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.
SPEAKER 17 :
And we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Second hour with you now. We're going to do romantic movies, movie rentals, I should say, in honor of Valentine's Day.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and one thing, when you call or text in with your movies, you might want to think of your own favorite romance, but also that your significant other's favorite romance, too.
SPEAKER 17 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 17 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 18 :
Give us a couple.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, you guys can text in, call in as well, 303-477-5600. Richard will be joining us here momentarily. But, yeah, by all means, let us know what those are. You can send your text messages in. I may not respond to each and every text message because we get quite a few during this particular hour. But if you text me what those are, we will definitely put those on to our list. Again, 307-200-8222, 307-200-8222. All right, American National Insurance, Paul Leuenberger, who still sells their car insurance, but they are pulling out of the state with their homeowner. So if you're looking for other insurance, he's a broker now. He'll shop what's best for you. And if you've gotten a letter from American National talking about the rebate program, don't do anything. Call Paul first, 303-662-0789.
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SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Richard, are you with us now? That I am. Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
Richard, are you ready? Do you watch a lot of romance movies?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, Andy, if you're jumping right in, which this is unacceptable, this is the Friday after the Super Bowl, and you and I haven't even discussed it. You're missing the biggest romance of them all. You know, I didn't even mention it.
SPEAKER 18 :
I didn't even mention it on Tuesday. How dare me? No, we didn't. I'm sure you talked about it a lot on Monday, and I failed.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, first I guess I should take a bow. You should take a victory. Yes.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, you called it right.
SPEAKER 18 :
I called it. I mean, not only did I call basically what the score was going to be, I called how it was going to happen. I said the Chiefs were going to bring their safety up, put 8-plus in the box, and that the only thing that could keep the Chiefs in the game was Philadelphia if they were stupid enough to run into that front. If Philadelphia had come out just throwing over that, They would have been up at least 35 at halftime. That was the worst defensive move. Philly, which was, they're terribly coached. Their coach kept Kansas City alive as long as he could. But, you know, Richard, I actually think, in a way, you called this game in the weeks leading up to it. You know how? Because you were going on and on, and very accurately so, about all the calls that the Chiefs were getting in the previous two games. And what those calls did is that they lifted the Chiefs into a game they had no business being in. The athletic difference between those two teams, the Chiefs and the Eagles, was obscene. Okay? I mean, it was absolutely obscene. You had the four linemen on defense rushing the passer. Okay? The four Eagles were... blowing up five offensive linemen and a running back who was held in most of the time. So you've got four guys running over six guys. And their poor Patrick Mahomes is trying to throw to four targets who are recovered by seven. There's no way. And they couldn't have run either. Now, I understand that the Chiefs also had some drops after a while and bad throws. Folks, that's because they were in total panic mode.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, yeah, they were in scramble mode.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, well, as we... Right, I mean, John, Richard, as we always say, Mahomes was hearing footsteps. Correct.
SPEAKER 17 :
The entire time.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and he was hearing footsteps from four guys. Yeah, not just one set, four sets. Yes, when he had four blockers. You're right. Really quick here, you know, we always, we're draftniks, right, Richard? We have been watching the last few years as players have been dropping to the Eagles. right, who should have gone much higher. And then they went, and they've been falling to the Eagles, and the Eagles have been getting steal after steal after steal. And here's the result. They're way too talented. The Chiefs didn't belong in that game at all. If those two teams played 10 times, the Chiefs might win one. Might. I mean, the difference between those two teams is they didn't belong there. I think the Bills and the Ravens might have given a better game. I think anybody from the AFC was going to lose to that team, or the Lions if they were healthy. Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I see what you're saying. I still think it worked out to be a perfect matchup for the Eagles. Terrible matchup, obviously, for the Chiefs. I don't know. I think that Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen would have given them more trouble because I also think both of their offensive lines are better, and that's the key. My dad and I talked about that on Monday.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, I agree.
SPEAKER 20 :
This was a game that was shown of what happens when you build through the trenches, and the Eagles – are known outside of, you know, obviously they have paid a few skilled positions, guys obviously Saquon and Devontae, but they're doing some creative cap things that are actually going to start kind of coming due. But the biggest thing that they've paid, Andy, is they've paid their line.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
And that showed up in that game more than anything. Like you say, it was like the Broncos against the Panthers, Andy, for 2015, where the Broncos could get pressure with four, and you didn't have to do anything else. Exactly. And all of the great quarterbacks throughout history, Andy, it's basically the one constant. throughout NFL history, which is if you can get pressure with three or four guys and drop the rest of the guys in coverage, it really doesn't matter how good your quarterback is. It could be Tom Brady. That was how Tom Brady got beat over the years was when he played a really good defensive line. You look at the Giants teams he played, right? When they had those elite pass rushers that could get upfield and could disrupt him and not allow him to step up and do all sorts of things. I'm with you. I think that
SPEAKER 18 :
I was just going to say, I was just going to agree. Brady would have gotten killed in this game. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, again, especially behind that offensive line. I think it's something that the Chiefs, they've tried to address. I know they drafted some guys. But then again, last year they took Xavier Worthy, right, which is the idea, okay, we need a receiver to sort of help Mahomes. I'm not saying that the Chiefs are going to go down, Andy, just because I think that they've got too good of a team. Andy Reid's still their coach. mahomes is still their quarterback kelsey probably should retire they've got a lot of pieces that are still there sure but they've really got to focus on that offensive line and getting some good pieces in there or they're going to struggle over the next few years they really are because you again you look at a team like i'll just say the broncos right where we've built our defensive line we've got some pieces to to go there and and really andy you know obviously bringing it back to denver And not to spark them up, but you'll talk about it. The Broncos remind me of the Eagles. They have a few more pieces that they've got to get. But I'll be honest, Andy, Jalen Hurts didn't win that game because he was just oh so amazing. They won that game because he took what the Chiefs gave to him, and he used his legs, which obviously opened up a lot of other things. And it's a lot of what I think the Broncos can do with Bo Nix.
SPEAKER 18 :
And also, first of all, with Jalen, he had all day. And by the time he would take off and run... You know, the Chiefs, their guys were either, their secondary was way back in coverage by that point, and their other guys were way up. He had wide open seams that he was running into. Why? Because the Eagles were so much better. The dominance of the Eagles offensive line against the Chiefs front seven was as great as the dominance of the Eagles front four in defense against the Chiefs front. It was absolute dominance. These two teams, the talent level, they didn't belong in the same field at all. Outside of one guy, the Chiefs had nowhere near the team speed that the Eagles had all over the field. It was embarrassing. And like I said, you called it. You were saying throughout the playoffs, this team is getting gifted into the next round. Okay. And you were right. And you just brought it up. Look at their offensive line. That offensive line didn't belong in the Super Bowl. That wasn't a Super Bowl offensive line. And their front seven on D really wasn't either. And one last thing we mentioned, remember when the Broncos went to play the Chiefs later in the season, what did I say? I said, I think the Broncos are a more talented team. I just don't think they're ready. I think they're a year away, but I think they're more talented than the Chiefs. Chiefs didn't belong in this game.
SPEAKER 20 :
No, they didn't, Andy. And the last thing I'll say is this. I don't think there will be a repeat champion next year. I'll call it already. I just think the Eagles sort of had a picture-perfect path. Again, Andy, the Lions, you and I were texting about it. The Lions have got to be shooting themselves in the foot or face or wherever because they should have been there and they should have been doing what the Chiefs did to the Eagles. Or sorry, what the Eagles did to the Chiefs, they should have been doing to the Chiefs because they were the team that should have done it. I hope they can for the sake of them. I think next year there will be some new blood in the Super Bowl, Andy, and we can only hope.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I think there will be, too. I think it'll be the Lions. I mean, they're going to go in as the prohibited favorites next year. I agree. All right, get ready. Let's do it. We've got to talk romance.
SPEAKER 10 :
We're talking too much football.
SPEAKER 18 :
And I've got to lead off with, I think, the most romantic scene ever in movie history. Here we go.
SPEAKER 13 :
Only if you could promise me you'll never die.
SPEAKER 17 :
Team America.
SPEAKER 33 :
You know I can't promise that.
SPEAKER 17 :
This is not a romantic movie, Andy.
SPEAKER 13 :
No, no, no.
SPEAKER 16 :
Wait a minute.
SPEAKER 18 :
You gotta hear that.
SPEAKER 13 :
If you did that, I would make love to you right now.
SPEAKER 30 :
I promise I will never die.
SPEAKER 17 :
That is not a romantic movie. Yes, it is. It's a vile, filthy movie no one should ever watch. I know, but I had to.
SPEAKER 18 :
You know I always throw a curveball. Richard, did you think that scene was incredibly romantic? Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
Andy, what week of movies would it be without you mentioning Team America? I know.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, you know, I got to be me. You're up.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right, again, I'm going to hold true, and we're going to go maybe the first round without a true, what some people would deem romantic, but again, I think football is the most romantic of all. It's just got all of the things. It's got drama. It's got passion. It's got love stories, and that is Friday Night Lights, Andy.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, jeez.
SPEAKER 18 :
There you go.
SPEAKER 17 :
You guys are killing me.
SPEAKER 18 :
You can see why we have such happy wives. Go ahead, Richard.
SPEAKER 20 :
And really, it's just the romanticism of... What is football? Because football is just perfect.
SPEAKER 18 :
Have you noticed that when your wife brings up romantic movies she wants to see, and then you bring up Friday Night Lights, that she looks at you and says, I was so wrong. You're so right. We need to watch that. You are correct. You're so much, man.
SPEAKER 16 :
Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 17 :
40-year-old virgin, Jeff.
SPEAKER 16 :
Jeez, all righty. What are we doing here?
SPEAKER 18 :
It's hilarious. Oh, this is terrible. Okay, let's go to some action. No clips from that one, Andy? I've played clips from that so much.
SPEAKER 17 :
They're pretty good, actually.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, let's go to an actual romance then.
SPEAKER 17 :
The one where they're talking about him being gay?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yes, I love that one. Go ahead. You know what makes you gay? Okay, here's a movie that women actually do love, and it's Pretty Woman. Here we go.
SPEAKER 03 :
We're going to be spending an obscene amount of money in here. So we're going to need a lot more help sucking up to us because that's what we really like.
SPEAKER 22 :
You understand that? Sir, if I may say so, you're in the right store and the right city, for that matter. Anything you see here, we can do, by the way. Get ready to have some fun, okay? Mary Pat, Mary Kate, Mary Frances, Tova, let's see it. Come on. Excuse me, sir. Exactly how obscene an amount of money were you talking about? Just profane or really offensive? Really offensive. I like him so much. That's a good part.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. I thought the shopping scene was awesome in that movie. What do you think, Richard?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yes, been a while, Andy, but yes. Been a minute. The romance. Been a minute. All right, I'm going to go with, let's see.
SPEAKER 18 :
Do you have any more or just Friday Night Lights?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, Andy, I can keep going on sports, but again, like I said, sports are all romantic, all the romance we need. I'm going to go with a classic, The Notebook, because it's got a little bit of everything in it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
For romance and well done.
SPEAKER 17 :
Little tearjerker. Yep, that's a good one. Here's one that, if it's on, I'll watch it just because it's funny, it's hilarious, and it's a romantic movie as well, The Proposal.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's good. It's hilarious.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well done. Hold tight. John, you're next. Go ahead, Cheyenne.
SPEAKER 19 :
Hey, guys. How are you today?
SPEAKER 17 :
Good. How are you?
SPEAKER 19 :
Good. All right. One comment on the Super Bowl. I still think Kelly and Al coach Spagnuolo. No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER 18 :
How many downs did he waste running into eight- and nine-man fronts where he could have thrown into empty secondaries? He put his quarterback in third and long so many times, but it didn't matter because his offensive line was a ring of iron.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, I just think that if they didn't run it a little bit, then they might have dropped back into coverage. A little bit. He got it, yeah. All right, so my wife gave me two. Okay. An Affair to Remember.
SPEAKER 17 :
Classic. Classic. Is that on my list?
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, yeah, it's on mine. Okay. What other romantic comedy was that movie referenced in through the whole movie, Andy?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, oh, oh, oh, it's on tip of my tongue. Sorry, I don't have it. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 19 :
Okay, well, and her other one is Casablanca, which is a great love story because he lets her go at the end. I'll give you the answer to that as to one of my favorites is Sleepless in Seattle. Oh, absolutely. And remember, according to Billy Crystal, or rather Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner, The Dirty Dozen was a romantic comedy.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, as a matter of fact, I have to play that scene. Here we go.
SPEAKER 26 :
Well, I'm not looking for a mail-order bride. I just want somebody that I can have a decent conversation with over dinner, you know, without it falling down into weepy tears over some movie that you just saw. She's very emotional. Although I cried at the end of The Dirty Dozen. Well, who didn't?
SPEAKER 25 :
Because Jim Brown was throwing these hand grenades down these air shafts, and Richard Jekyll and Lee Marvin were sitting on top of this armored personnel carrier that dressed up like Nazis. Oh, yes, yes. Trini Lopez. Trini Lopez.
SPEAKER 23 :
He busted his neck when they were parachuting down behind the Nazi lines. Richard Jekyll, at the beginning, he had on his shiny helmet because he was the MP. Please, no more. Oh, God, I love that movie.
SPEAKER 19 :
Scenes like that, even though it was a romantic comedy, make that movie so good.
SPEAKER 18 :
I actually like Sleepless even a little better than You've Got Mail.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, I do, too. I thought You've Got Mail was Just like, let's do a quick takeoff on Sleepless in Seattle. No, Sleepless in Seattle came first.
SPEAKER 18 :
Is your wife saying that you cried all through You've Got Mail?
SPEAKER 19 :
No, she thought You've Got Mail came first. And I said, no, it was Sleepless. Yeah. You guys have a great night.
SPEAKER 17 :
You too, John. Appreciate you guys very much. Let's take a break. We'll come right back. Guys, don't go anywhere. Flesh Law is coming up next. Civil, criminal, you name it, Kevin is there to help you. Give him a call today, 303-806-8886.
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Here's why you need personal injury attorney Kevin Flesch on your side. He understands the way the jury thinks. In the context of a personal injury case, you've been hurt by someone else's negligence. The idea is that you're going to try to recover so that you can get back to where you were just prior to that incident occurring. What that really means from a jurist's perspective is that you're going to be asking them to award you money. So when we talk about fairness, we're talking about six people that you don't know. Those six people view the evidence and make a unanimous decision that will decide what the fair value is. When you're the one who's hurt, you have a good idea of what you think it's worth. The question is, can you persuade those other individuals whom you don't know and were witnesses to believe that's what the case is worth? Kevin Flesch understands the way the jury thinks. Call now for a free consultation, 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 16 :
The best export we have is common sense. You're listening to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 17 :
We are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, Valentine's Day in honor of romantic movies, mostly.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. Okay, here's one that you wouldn't think of, but you need to watch because it is definitely a fun little romance, and it's funny, too. IQ.
SPEAKER 22 :
This has got to be the dumbest thing anybody ever did to impress a dame.
SPEAKER 09 :
Paramount Pictures presents... He's a mechanic.
SPEAKER 22 :
Isaac Newton was an insurance salesman.
SPEAKER 09 :
Meg Ryan.
SPEAKER 29 :
You took Albert Einstein for a ride on a motorcycle?
SPEAKER 05 :
Tim Robbins. He loved it. He went, Wahoo! Wahoo? When was the last time you went wahoo? And Walter Matthau.
SPEAKER 22 :
This is Professor Einstein, the smartest person in the world. Are they hanging? It was...
SPEAKER 18 :
It was really good. Walter Matthau was wonderful as Albert Einstein. So it's Albert Einstein playing Cupid. And he's got three doddering friends who are really good, too. It was a lot of fun. Okay. Richard, you're up. Meg Ryan, by the way.
SPEAKER 20 :
Andy, I want you to know I got in trouble because I did not take advantage to just name off some of the best romantic movies that there is. So I have to apologize.
SPEAKER 18 :
You're going to step it up? Okay, let's hear it.
SPEAKER 20 :
Something like that. Or my wife is. Yeah, everyone else because I don't watch these. A Walk to Remember.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, yes. Next on my list. Good job.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well done, sir.
SPEAKER 17 :
How about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?
SPEAKER 18 :
That was fun.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
A little slow at times, but it was fun.
SPEAKER 17 :
Fun movie.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay. Here's an old one. 10 Things I Hate About You. And she's reading a poem at the end.
SPEAKER 34 :
I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick. It even makes me rhyme. I hate it. I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh. Even worse when you make me cry.
SPEAKER 35 :
I hate it when you're not around and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close. Not even a little bit. Not even at all.
SPEAKER 18 :
Richard, I can hear you crying there. Are you okay? You going to be all right? You pull it together, okay, because you're up next. You're jerkers.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right. Well, here's a tearjerker. Oh, no, I just did that one. You said, did we do How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 20 :
I can't remember.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yep. Okay, you did that one already. All right. My Best Friend's Wedding.
SPEAKER 17 :
Don't have that on my list.
SPEAKER 20 :
Good one.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay. All right. For me, let's do Shotgun Wedding, which is a newer movie.
SPEAKER 18 :
I have not seen it.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's not bad. Okay. It isn't bad at all. Soren, what do you got for us?
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, well, I got two movies. The first one, I think, is a romance movie, and the second one is kind of a romance-slash-eating movie.
SPEAKER 1 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
That's all right.
SPEAKER 11 :
And that's The Man from Snowy River.
SPEAKER 18 :
Ooh, yeah. Yeah, that counts. Good one, good one.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then the second one is The Ghost and the Darkness.
SPEAKER 18 :
Ghost in the Darkness?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. It's a movie about the man eating lions.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, there's a love story in there. You're right.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a love story in there. By the way, all romance movies are also eating movies.
SPEAKER 17 :
That one, they're eating them, definitely.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. That was a very good movie.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
It was pretty good. I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yep. Good job.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, you got them. It's pretty good. All right. Okay, well...
SPEAKER 17 :
Good stuff, someone. Appreciate you breaking up on us, but that's okay. Go ahead. Okay. Maybe he's crying because he's breaking up so bad.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm going to do one that's fairly recent that you have not heard of, and it's called Man Up. Man Up? It stars Simon Pegg, and it's a little romance. And what it is is basically he's on a blind date. This woman, though. She is not his blind date. She's impersonating the girl who's his blind date because it just happens to fall that way. And she winds up going out with him. And here you go.
SPEAKER 27 :
Thinking of actually telling me about this bizarre decision.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, I think people have done worse things in the world.
SPEAKER 27 :
I'm racking my brains. Congratulations on your massive pack of lies. Thank you. You're such a cynic. And you're such a romantic. You need to man up, Nancy.
SPEAKER 31 :
What kind of nutter pretends to be someone else's blind date?
SPEAKER 16 :
It didn't go well. No, it did go well.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is surprisingly good. Corey and I both liked it. I might even give that four stars. Very good. It's called Man Up with Simon Pegg. Richard, go ahead.
SPEAKER 20 :
All righty here. Let me go to my wife's list. I really should just have her. do this next time she's this is this is her we should have had all our wives on yeah we wouldn't be here it'd be a better show that would have been much better much better uh all right this was on prime i think lost city with uh sandra bollock and oh forgot who else yeah there you go the big guy you know oh cena yeah right my right cena john cena no i thought it was the other guy you sure
SPEAKER 17 :
I'll have to look this up.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
Hold on. What do you have? Really quick, let me look this one up. It is... Oh, sorry, Channing Tatum.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, Channing Tatum.
SPEAKER 17 :
You are correct. I get those two mixed up again. Magic Mike. Ah, there you go. All right. Your favorite show. Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
It actually had some fun moments, I thought.
SPEAKER 17 :
But go ahead. All righty, then. Let's see here. The Bounty Hunter. Funny movie.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's Gerard and Aniston.
SPEAKER 18 :
That's cool. I like both of them. Okay, let's go to a classic. Here we go.
SPEAKER 17 :
Really? You.
SPEAKER 20 :
This is riveting.
SPEAKER 17 :
Complete me. Oh, that's McGuire. Just shut up.
SPEAKER 29 :
Just shut up. You had me at hello.
SPEAKER 18 :
And she had me at Shut Up. I'm used to that more.
SPEAKER 16 :
Jerry Maguire. Richard. Show me the money.
SPEAKER 18 :
Show me the money. Yeah.
SPEAKER 16 :
I was going to say, show me the money, Andy.
SPEAKER 18 :
I think that's the most romantic part of the movie.
SPEAKER 16 :
That is the best part, Andy. Show me the money.
SPEAKER 18 :
Show me the money. Exactly. Very romantic. That's right. I was crying at that time. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right. Here's another fun one with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, which is The Fall Guy.
SPEAKER 17 :
That was awful.
SPEAKER 20 :
It wasn't very good.
SPEAKER 17 :
I couldn't even watch the whole thing. It was terrible.
SPEAKER 20 :
It was bad.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, my word.
SPEAKER 20 :
You don't have depth.
SPEAKER 17 :
You don't have depth in your movie watching. I think, yeah, I couldn't get past like 20 minutes in that thing.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm going to point fingers at you in public.
SPEAKER 17 :
Richard, you cannot tell me that was a good movie.
SPEAKER 20 :
Good is very relative.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, there we go. I literally couldn't get past like, and even my wife was in the background listening. She's like, what are you watching? I'm like, well, it's a takeoff of the old show we used to watch when we were kids and blah, blah, blah. And she's like, that's like, that seems to be the most boring thing ever. It was so slow in the beginning, I was backing up.
SPEAKER 18 :
That was rough.
SPEAKER 17 :
That was a rough go. Okay. Okay, let me name a few from some listeners really quick. 27 Dresses and Fried Green Tomatoes.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
Here's one that you guys, I'm telling you, you need to watch. It's called Ghost Town. Ghost Town.
SPEAKER 27 :
Listen, I met a woman. The kind of woman that makes me want to go back in time to before you met her. Whatever the hell life was like then, it's not as bad as the hell now. Knowing she's out there and you can't have her. What I'm trying to say is... Could you write me a prescription for Percocet? What? Well, I can't prescribe myself, can I? Legally. I just want to sleep and pretend she never happened. Or Darvon. Or Vicodin. Just like a 30 count or 60 if you don't want me to keep bothering you and I'll be out of your hair. I'm not even going to ask for morphine.
SPEAKER 18 :
He's pushing for morphine. It's Ricky Gervais, and he is very funny in this movie. Ghost Town, it's called that because just like The Sixth Sense, he can see dead people, and he hates them. He's a mean person. They annoy him. He's very funny, and he's also falling in love with someone he shouldn't. So there you go. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right. Let's see here. Andy. Okay. Yes, I love you.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah. Yeah, okay, that counts. Hang on, I've got to add on here.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, if you're going to act like the fall guy's terrible, and then you're going, oh, yeah, no PS, I love you.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's okay. How about... As good as it gets.
SPEAKER 18 :
Wonderful.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's a love story.
SPEAKER 18 :
Absolutely wonderful. Okay, I think you're going to know this one. It's an old movie, too old for Richard, but here you go, John.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm having what she's having.
SPEAKER 18 :
I know.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, God.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's in a restaurant. What's the movie? I can't remember. Just a sec.
SPEAKER 31 :
I'll have what she's having.
SPEAKER 18 :
That's when Harry met Sally. Oh, that's it. She's doing that while sitting at a table to embarrass him.
SPEAKER 17 :
They did a spinoff of that in the Super Bowl or something, or right after, didn't they?
SPEAKER 18 :
I think they did, yeah. That was such a famous scene. Richard, you're up. The yes, yes, yes scene.
SPEAKER 17 :
Got it.
SPEAKER 20 :
Let's see here. The ugly truth.
SPEAKER 17 :
The Ugly Truth?
SPEAKER 20 :
I have not seen that.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, that's a new one on me.
SPEAKER 20 :
I don't know. I'm just, I was told I'm sticking to the list here. You're sticking to the script?
SPEAKER 17 :
You got the script? Okay. Let's do Date Night.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. Date Night's pretty good. Okay, here's classic While You Were Sleeping. Here we go.
SPEAKER 29 :
You have to tell me what to do. I like Jack.
SPEAKER 23 :
Pull the plug.
SPEAKER 29 :
You are sick.
SPEAKER 23 :
I'm sick. You're cheating on a vegetable.
SPEAKER 09 :
Caravan Pictures presents Sondra Bullock. These are your husband's things.
SPEAKER 10 :
He's not my husband.
SPEAKER 16 :
You're a fiancé. Bill Pullman. She drives you so crazy, you don't know whether to hug her or just arm wrestle her. Peter Gallagher. He's awake.
SPEAKER 09 :
Your family's here, Peter. In a film about love, At Second Sight.
SPEAKER 21 :
Who are you?
SPEAKER 09 :
While You Were Sleeping. Shouldn't have left the booth.
SPEAKER 10 :
Shouldn't have left the booth.
SPEAKER 05 :
Shouldn't have left the booth.
SPEAKER 18 :
While You Were Sleeping is a surprisingly funny movie. Very, very charming. I agree. Go ahead, Richard.
SPEAKER 20 :
Let's see here, Andy. A Star is Born.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, yeah. Either one. It's depressing. The old one or the new one. The new one's a little depressing, yeah, but it's still good. Very romantic. Go ahead, John. Let's see. I've got to figure out where that one's at on mine. I'll come back and find it. How about The English Patient?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, yes. That's a classic romance. Yes. Okay, we've got to get to Brick and Shani in Anchorman 2. Here we go.
SPEAKER 29 :
I like you.
SPEAKER 1 :
I like you.
SPEAKER 29 :
Tell me something about you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I'm 19 years old. My middle name is Courtney. I can always guess how many jelly beans are in a jelly bean jar. Even if it's not right. What about you?
SPEAKER 29 :
My name is Chani Lasnami. I'm a real go-getter and a person people. I can type 50 words a minute with only 300 errors. I'm trained and certified to fire a military grade missile launcher.
SPEAKER 06 :
Me too.
SPEAKER 28 :
They were so funny. Richard, you're up. And it was great romance, too. I was crying. I want you both to know... I'm trying to get my wife on to finish...
SPEAKER 20 :
But she is scared of coming on the radio. So, Dad, we've got work to do.
SPEAKER 18 :
We are intimidating.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it's really tough.
SPEAKER 18 :
John, do you think it's our raw brilliance?
SPEAKER 17 :
It might be. Yeah. This high IQ we have.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 17 :
Not. She's a psychologist. Not. Who's next? Yeah, no kidding. Are you up, Richard?
SPEAKER 20 :
All right, I'm going to go. Yeah, we didn't do Miss Congeniality, did we?
SPEAKER 17 :
No, we did not. That's a good one. That counts. Good job. Yeah, that's a good one. How about this one I watched the other day because I hadn't seen it for a while, and it's a really good movie, Focus.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, yeah, good one. Okay, here's one that is a bit of a slow burn but very funny, Sabrina.
SPEAKER 08 :
I'm trying to break off the engagement. This whole thing happened in 24 hours. I can make it unhappened for you.
SPEAKER 30 :
You're talking about my life. I pay for your life, David. My life makes your life possible. I resent that. So do I. I like Sabrina.
SPEAKER 08 :
I always have. But I'm not about to kiss off a billion dollars. I don't care what she did to her hair.
SPEAKER 18 :
And there's more, but we don't have time. Yeah. Okay. It's Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, and Julia Armand, and Greg Kinnear. Greg Kinnear is hilarious in that movie. Go ahead, Richard.
SPEAKER 20 :
Let's see here. Andy. Oh, I forgot about this one. Hitch.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, that is a good one. Good one. All right. Here's one that actually was a good movie. I don't know if Andy gave this a good review or not. I can't remember. Free Guy. Free Guy. Yeah, it was pretty good. Where he's in the game or whatever.
SPEAKER 18 :
It was fun.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it's a fun movie.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, all-time classic, Notting Hill.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I live in Notting Hill. You live in Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world knows who you are. My mother has trouble remembering my name.
SPEAKER 07 :
Fine. Fine. Good decision. Good decision. The fame thing isn't really real, you know. And don't forget... I'm also just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her.
SPEAKER 18 :
Aww. Tearjerker. But that was a good movie and very funny. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 20 :
I'll tell you what, Andy. Sometimes with you. That's a four and a half star movie.
SPEAKER 18 :
Four and a half. Really good.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's a good movie.
SPEAKER 20 :
Valentine's Day. Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I'll find that on my list here somewhere. Yeah. Okay, how about one of the all-time famous romance movies, Ghost? Yes. Right?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yes. Sappy. I like it. And it's funny, too. Okay, here we go. The opening of The Truth About Cats and Dogs.
SPEAKER 07 :
Don't touch that dial. It's Dr. Abby Barnes with the truth about cats and dogs, and you're on the air.
SPEAKER 20 :
I have a cat, and he licked up and down my face, and now I got the rash.
SPEAKER 07 :
How long did this tongue bath last? About three hours. Okay, this is a good time to talk about limits. You can love your pets, but just don't love your pets. Jeez.
SPEAKER 18 :
That was a very funny movie. Really? Yes. Truth about cats and dogs, I own it. Okay. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out, time out. You own it in what format, Andy?
SPEAKER 18 :
disc it's a dvd i have a dvd i mean i can rent it to online because you actually still you use a dvd still we have an old player so you know we got a bunch of dvds wow this is like nostalgic well i mean we also use other forms is it hooked is it hooked up it runs on coal And I'm very proud of it. It's really hard, though, because midway through the movie.
SPEAKER 17 :
He has to pedal his bicycle with a generator on it. No, no, no.
SPEAKER 18 :
Midway through the movie, I have to shovel coal into the back of it.
SPEAKER 20 :
What I don't understand is, I don't know anyone who has, the only reason I even have something they can play is a video game system. Like, that's the only reason, Andy.
SPEAKER 18 :
I only have three words to say to you. Friday Night Lights. Okay?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, Andy.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm leaving it at that.
SPEAKER 20 :
That should be on DVD.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm leaving it at that.
SPEAKER 20 :
I don't even think I have it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Unbelievable, Andy.
SPEAKER 20 :
At least you didn't say VHS, Richard.
SPEAKER 18 :
I called the Super Bowl.
SPEAKER 20 :
Andy, here is the movie I know. I know that, well, Amy, if you had this movie in VHS, it would take you four VHSs to get through it, which is Pearl Harbor. Oh, good one, Richard.
SPEAKER 18 :
I saw the Super Bowl on VHS. Good one. Did you hear what he said for the movie? Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor. Your favorite. That's just so bad. My gosh. Your favorite, Amy. I only like Cuba Gooding Jr.
SPEAKER 17 :
Nobody else. Go ahead. Okay, this one is actually a romance movie, kind of. Risky Business. Sort of. Right. I can't believe we're being chased by the killer pimp.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right, here's a little classic Crocodile Dundee. Not wet.
SPEAKER 09 :
As Crocodile Dundee.
SPEAKER 11 :
You got a knife, buddy?
SPEAKER 32 :
Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER 11 :
And your wallet. He's got a knife.
SPEAKER 27 :
A knife?
SPEAKER 18 :
That's enough. That was a fun movie. Oh, it was. Yeah, you're right. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 20 :
We didn't do What Women Want, did we?
SPEAKER 17 :
No. Oh, that's a good one.
SPEAKER 18 :
A little Mel Gibson action.
SPEAKER 17 :
There you go. That's a really good one. Okay, let me rattle off a few from listeners really quick. Lars and the Real Girl, Dr. Zavago, Romancing the Stone, and, of course, Titanic.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay. And are we going to break?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, we probably should do that. Richard, we'll go to break. We'll let you go. Tell your wife thank you. Have a good night. Happy Valentine's Day. I will do that. All right, guys. Have a good night. Roof Savers of Colorado coming up next. If you have any roof issues at all, please give Dave a call. Commercial, residential. He can work in between these storms as well. 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 31 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
We don't yell at you. We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Okay, before we rattle off a few more movies, I can actually have Charlie answer this one. Do I, John Rush, ever use foul language off of the air, even when I'm mad or outside of the station? The answer is no, I do not. Never. Charlie can attest to that, so nope.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, shall I do some?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yep, go for it.
SPEAKER 18 :
Isn't it romantic? Tin Cup with Costner and Russo.
SPEAKER 17 :
Good one, good one.
SPEAKER 18 :
Better Off Dead with Cusack. Arthur with Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli. Gross Point Blank with Cusack and Mini Driver. Roxanne, one of the great ones. Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, and Green Card. Go ahead, Roxanne.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, some from the text line, From Here to Eternity. And somebody said they still have a working VCR. Both Top Guns, by the way, are great movies. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fool's Gold, The Tourist, Passengers, Last Song, and Six Days, Seven Nights.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, here's one you haven't heard of. Crossing Delancey with Amy Irving and Peter Riger. Very good. Continental Divide with John Belushi. Say Anything with John Cusack. Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Pride and Prejudice, Never Been Kissed, Sweet Home Alabama. Goat.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, just go with it. About time. Dirty Dancing, A Family Affair, It Ends With Us, Aloha, No Hard Feelings, and Dear John.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right, 13 going on 30. The Wedding Singer, Knocked Up, Splash, Moonstruck, The Princess Bride, Defending Your Life, There's Something About Mary.
SPEAKER 17 :
Groundhog Day, challengers, anyone but you, crazy, stupid, love, grease, no hard feelings, the girl next door, 16 candles, and the age of Adeline. I've got more, but we'll leave it there. That's pretty good. Andy, have a great night. Charlie, thank you very much. You guys enjoy your weekend. Stay safe out there. Might get a little snow tonight, but probably not much. Probably not much. I should say we'll be back tomorrow morning for Fix It Radio at 9 o'clock, followed up by Drive Radio. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thank you.
Join Mike on the Patriots Alaska Cruise this August 16-23. For all the details and to book your cabin, visit www.TravelWithSalem.com today.
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SPEAKER 08 :
President Trump is moving at lightning speed. Billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse. Executive orders, new policies, promises kept. It's hard to keep up until now. Subscribe to The Trump Report. This email brings you daily highlights from the Oval Office right to your inbox five days a week. The golden age of America begins right now. It'll help you follow President Trump at the speed of Trump.
SPEAKER 11 :
The Mike Gallagher Show. I think Trump and Hexeth are both dealing in realism today. You can't go on forever. The killing has to stop. And the United States and the political will in the United States to fund this forever has effectively run out. If we stop the killing and we bring peace to these people who've had none for months, and there's some stability in a region that has been wild and unstable, isn't that what we're aiming for here?
SPEAKER 13 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
The lone voice of reason over on CNN, the great Scott Jennings, who guest hosted for me once, which was pretty cool. He's a good guy, and I've been able to stay in touch with him. Wasn't Michael great, the guy from St. Louis a minute ago? You know, trolls are funny because they often... Their approach is to try to fool Teresa into thinking they're going to say one thing, and then they come on the air and they say another. But what's great is... Thanks to my pretty good sixth sense, I can spot a troll a mile away. We had one yesterday. Eric, did you catch the guy that called yesterday that was the troll, and he was going on and on, and he was about to drop the bomb? You knew he was about to drop the other shoe. He was a young guy, like that guy. They're all about the same. They're all in their 30s. They're kind of younger guys, very articulate. And they start out, yeah, Mike, a lot of times they'll say, I'm a big Trump supporter. And then they say, but. And then the whole bottom falls out, right? Well, that was what he was doing, Michael. Oh, yeah, I agree that AOC should be right. But what about Eric Adams? What about Eric? And he couldn't. And then I said, well, do you think the courts were weaponized against Trump? And he couldn't help himself. It was like all he could do, if you're a MAGA idiot. I just love that. And I knew it. I knew from the second we started. The guy was a troll. Now, we've got this whole new system in my studio. We're about to revamp our studios. Robert and Joe Weaver and Kimo are about to do a big transformation in here. Pretty excited. But I'm down to one or two little monitors. I used to have like 10 monitors. And everybody rolled their eyes behind their back at me, and I know they were doing it. Oh, Mike's got to bring his 10 monitors with him. But I like to see everything at once. So now that I don't have it, I don't have the access to things like the troll song. If you're new to the show, when there's a troll, we have a little musical tribute to that troll. So Eric's going to have to hit it. But Michael from St. Louis, good try. And we dedicate this...
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, I'm a copy old troll who lives under the bridge.
SPEAKER 03 :
And let's face it, the Democrats are all a bunch of grumpy old trolls right now under the bridge. They don't know what to do. They really don't know what to do. And they've got a president who is so real and so popular and organic. I mean, how many times have you called customer service and you can't understand a word the person is saying? And you just know it's going to be a beating. And I'm the kind of person, I don't like to hang up on them. Believe it or not, I'm not a confrontational person. I know that will shock you. Now, I was confrontational a little bit with the construction worker today who wouldn't let me go 10 feet to my office, making me an hour late for work as I'm driving up and down the Howard Franklin. And incidentally, if you're ever lost, don't call Tracy. Tracy is the last person to call for direction. She is absolutely a nightmare. And I'm frantic, and I'm like, Tracy, well, you're on the frontage road. I know I'm on the frontage road. There's nothing but frontage roads here. There you go, by the parking garage. There's 100 parking garages. Which parking garage? It was a who's on first conversation today. She's getting frustrated with me. I'm getting frustrated with her. And Lewis and Clark, she ain't, okay? She's not exactly going to be a mapmaker. Good thing she's a great producer. Because Google Maps is not going to have an opening for Tracy. Or me. Or me. I've only worked here for, what, five years? I couldn't get here. So anyway, and Tracy says, it's because you don't listen. I know, I know. It's my fault. It's got to be my fault. But I just, I absolutely wonder about how Democrats are going to cope with the next four years. And so here's a guy, like I said, you call customer service, you don't understand a word they say. Remember last week, there was a reporter, a woman, And Trump couldn't understand her. And he said, where are you from? I can't understand anything you're saying, but you have a beautiful voice. You have a beautiful accent. I say, go in peace. Because he couldn't understand the question, so he couldn't give her an answer. Well, it happened again yesterday.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, Mr. President. People in India will naturally welcome your decision to extradite Thabur Rana to India back home. In that context, I'd like to ask you a question about in the last few years, we have seen several groups in the U.S. being raising anti-India voice, calling about separation, terrorism activities in India. Do you think that should continue here in the U.S. as well? You're going to have to go louder. I can't understand a word he's saying.
SPEAKER 03 :
I can't understand a word he's saying. Can you imagine President Kamala Harris saying that at a press conference with the Indian Prime Minister? Can you imagine President Mitt Romney saying that? President George W. Bush? No one would ever talk... I can't understand a word he's saying. And I want to say that all the time. You call the phone company. You call the whatever. You call anybody. The cable company. Whatever. Can't understand you. Call UPS. Oh, trust me. That reporter could have been a UPS representative. Because that's where they all are. They're all over in Mumbai. Still haven't gotten the package. This package... That I've been waiting for five days. Forget it. I'm never going to get it. So I ain't paying for it. I told the lady at the building this morning, you do not accept that package. I'm done. We're going to go a different direction. Bill's in New Jersey, says I'm wrong. I'm in a mood to talk to people like the troll Michael or maybe Bill in Jersey. Bill says I'm wrong on AOC. So AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, held a webinar, a Know Your Rights with ICE online webinar. It was held by Ocasio-Cortez's office. One of the lawyers on the call said, ice raids are political tactics, and they're often intended to create fear. So AOC, she's got a website up that says you do not have to open the door for ice agents. And they don't have to give you the warrant. You tell them to slip the warrant. She's aiding and abetting illegals. Bill in New Jersey thinks I'm wrong when I ask why she isn't being arrested for these tactics. Hello, Bill. Hello, Mr. Gallagher. How are you? Call me Mike. Call me Mike.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, Mike. How are you?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I'm good. What's up?
SPEAKER 04 :
Long time listener. I saw you at the Fuge a few years ago with Dr. Seb and Dennis Prager and a big fan.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was a great event. We had a great time in Philly. That was a terrific event. It was.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, sir. Unfortunately, while I agree with you that what AOC does is morally and ethically reprehensible, legally she should not be thrown in jail. And like Dennis Prager says, clarity is far more important than anything else.
SPEAKER 03 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
And what I want to do is prevent you from sounding like the left does and being hysterical in your response to what she's doing. So she's providing information that is publicly available and legally correct. As much as you and I might not like it, and wish that it was something that could be legally prevented, she's not giving them information that isn't already available and correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
Baloney, and let me tell you why you're dead wrong. And let's talk about that clarity that you treasure. And I'm with you. I'm totally with you, and I always adhere to Dennis' wonderful mantra about clarity. Clarity matters. Does AOC swear an oath to defend and uphold the United States Constitution every time she's re-elected?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, sir, which also includes constitutional protections against warrantless searches and seizures.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm curious of where you're coming from. And you sound like a great guy, so don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I want to understand why you're defending AOC. Give me that. Give us a background on you, Bill, to help us understand what, and don't take this the wrong way, but what acts do you have to grind? Are you anti-police? Are you anti-courts? Are you anti, tell us why you would defend. Let me finish the question. Tell us what the acts to grind you have is that would make you defend the lawless effort to subvert the law. I mean, look, Pam Bondi and others have said flat out, Any of these people that are doing this are going to be held accountable, any of them. Anyone leaking ICE operations, they're going to be arrested, according to Pam Bondi. Tell us where you're coming from that would make you call a show like mine with your kind words and your level head and defend a hard-left socialist Democrat congresswoman named AOC. Tell us where your perspective is.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, well, you see, unfortunately, you're misquoting me. I do not defend AOC or her actions. I do not defend her ethical or moral stance on the matter, and I do hope that Pam Bondi and Tom Holman arrest anyone who's committing anything illegal. Unfortunately, what I'm saying here is that you are suggesting that what AOC is doing is illegal... And that is just not true. It may be reprehensible. I agree with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, again, I'm trying to find out where you're coming from. What part of the law are you an expert in? Are you a constitutional scholar? Are you an attorney? Or are you just somebody with an ax to grind about law enforcement? Because, look, let's be clear. Wait a minute. Let's be clear here. You're talking about federal law enforcement. For example, there's a sheriff in Dallas. I mean, excuse me, a police chief in Dallas who says we're not going to cooperate with ICE. We are absolutely not going to help ICE with this mass deportation effort. You have to have, and I presume you're going to defend him the way you are defending AOC despite your protestations, because you are calling to defend her, whether you want to call it that or not. I want to know... What part of this, what's the disconnect where you want to be on the side of people who want to refuse to comply with Trump's mass deportation effort? Where are you coming from, Bill?
SPEAKER 04 :
I respect you. I am on your side of the aisle, three-time Trump voter. But legally, here we go.
SPEAKER 03 :
Here we go. I'm a Trump supporter.
SPEAKER 04 :
You can't suggest to throw people in jail for something that isn't a crime, and you're sounding like the left does when you say this. They went after Trump about things that was not illegal, and you're suggesting the AOC, instead of just being resoundedly mocked, and opposed, you're suggesting that she should be put in jail and you sound like... I'm not suggesting it.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm stating it full out. And you should, too, if you are harboring... Excuse me, you're interrupting me. Hey, Bill, I didn't interrupt you. Don't interrupt me, please. Let's take time here. Because this is a very important issue and I don't want you to think you're besting me or me trying to best you in a debate contest. I want to know why you're defending lawlessness and If you break the law, if you're a criminal and you come over to my house and you come into my home and the police are looking for you and I say, Bill, Bill from Jersey, go down into the basement and hide out there. And I stand at the door and I tell the police who are knocking at my door all the different legal ways that you can escape detention or arrest. I could be held, I could be thrown in jail for assisting in a criminal enterprise. I'm helping you, a criminal, try to get away with something. That is exactly and literally what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is doing. Is it against the law to be in this country illegally or not, Bill?
SPEAKER 04 :
Of course it is.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're interrupting me?
SPEAKER 04 :
Go ahead, go ahead. So harboring, physically harboring an illegal alien is against the law. However, providing information such as you can deny a warrantless entry into your home is in the Constitution.
SPEAKER 03 :
So that's what it is here. You've got some ax to grind. Have you ever been arrested? Have you been arrested? No. Have you ever been served a warrant? No. Are you supportive of law enforcement? Very much. I mean, the problem is you're evading what it is, what chip you've got on your shoulder. There's no chip, Mike. There is, Bill. There is. No, there's not.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, listen, when I got a guy... But you're falsely saying she's committing a crime.
SPEAKER 03 :
She is committing a crime. She's reprehensible, but she's not committing a crime. She is criminal because she's aiding and abetting criminals. That's not aiding and abetting. She had them in her house. If she had them in her house, you would be correct. She's teaching illegals how to evade. Is that information available elsewhere? A lot of things are available. I could give you all kinds of availability how to escape police.
SPEAKER 01 :
Is that information illegally incorrect?
SPEAKER 03 :
Is an anti-radar device illegal or not? I suppose it depends on the state. An anti-radar detection. In other words, and again, and we're way over time. You've been on the air with me for seven minutes. We're kind of going back over terror. You have an ax to grind, and the other thing that I think is you do, and you're either trying to be a contrarian because you're not telling me why it is you defend AOC when you're clearly defending. You are, Bill. I'm not. You are.
SPEAKER 04 :
You are erroneously saying she's committing a crime.
SPEAKER 03 :
Why are you saying you're not defending the Democrat socialist from New York when you are?
SPEAKER 04 :
She's on the wrong side of the issue, but she's not committing a crime.
SPEAKER 03 :
She is absolutely committing a crime. I'll line up about 10 constitutional scholars who will tell you why you're wrong. But the bottom line is, again, Bill, don't defend the indefensible. That's all. Don't do it. And you are, and you have.
SPEAKER 04 :
It also includes you. I defend your side of things, but I can't defend your suggesting that she's committing a crime when it's not true.
SPEAKER 03 :
Maybe it's got nothing more than you've got the hots for AOC. I don't know. Maybe you've got some kind of weird affection for AOC. Look, aiding means to help or assist or the act of helping or assisting. You might aid somebody giving them advice. You can give them money. You can give them supplies. And you're aiding and abetting criminals. And that's exactly what AOC is doing. You know it. I know it. And the big red flag for me, Bill, is when you called a defender and then you pretend like you're not defending her. And that confuses me. I appreciate the exchange. Call again. Let's have another good back and forth. There's no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I've kept it off. I'll see you next time. consultation call 864-644-1900 864-644-1900 or just go to myphdweightloss.com myphdweightloss.com
SPEAKER 13 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 03 :
I want to see if we can get our caller Bill from the Jersey Shore back to the show because it was really a good exchange. And again, we've got a little heated, but we just have very different perspectives about aiding and abetting illegals. And I want to follow up with him because he's a smart guy, and I think he'll be a good sport and come back on the show. Because a lot of people are reacting. About half of you are texting that I was right, half are saying he was right. And it was a spirited debate about AOC holding seminars and teaching illegals how to avoid deportation. And Bill's point was, well, she's not doing anything illegal. It's okay. She's just following the law. And I have a couple of follow-ups I want to do with Bill. And again, he's a really good call. So we'll see if we can get him back. Here's a text from North Carolina. Mike, my daughter was lucky enough to participate in that Kentucky Chorale program. While we were in Louisville, she sang with that group in the hotel atrium. The kids stood on the balcony of every floor, top to bottom, which is what the kids were doing in that video that we just played. It was incredible. Thanks for sharing. And so many people are thanking us for sharing that story. sharing that video clip. In fact, we're happy to share it with you. If you text the keyword Anthem to the MyPillow text line, we'll send it back to you. Our text number is 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Please never text and drive. Just text the keyword Anthem, A-N-T-H-E-M. Text Anthem to 800-655-6453, and we'll send you back that video clip of those kids from Kentucky performing a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Let's start with Dan in Omaha, Nebraska. Hello, Dan. How are you? Dan, you there? All right, let's try Robert in Oakland, California. Hi, Robert.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hello, Mike. Hey. I have one. Here's a good one for you. If you had a bank that was cheating the people by way of their policies, would you go arrest one of the tellers? If I pick on AOC, I don't like her or the chief of police when the people at the top, like Joe Biden and his people, how many people are they responsible for bringing into the country? They paid for it. They facilitated them. Nothing's happened to any of them. Why pick on one of the lower people? You think we're picking on AOC, do you, Robert? Are you worried about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being picked on, Robert?
SPEAKER 03 :
Come on.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think you should go after the more responsible people.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, what we've done is we did. We fired Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats who had an open border policy. And now there is a sea change going on, Robert. And I suspect that any of you AOC defenders simply don't like defending her. Well, you just did. You just said I was picking on her. No, I'm not.
SPEAKER 06 :
You don't understand my point.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't. I clearly don't.
SPEAKER 06 :
If you want to do something, do something that counts.
SPEAKER 03 :
They're trying to, and people like AOC are standing in the way. So get her. Get her, too. I'm not defending her. Okay. This weird conversation, this all started with Bill in Jersey. And Bill's very popular because there are people saying, Mike, you know, Bill got the upper hand. It's not about getting the upper hand. It's about understanding right from wrong. It's about understanding the difference between lawlessness and lawfulness. President Trump's immigration policy now is lawful. And people like this Dallas police chief, they got an interim. Now, follow me on this. The Dallas police chief is refusing to join President Trump's ICE deportation efforts. He has made it clear. He told the interim chief, Michael Igoe, told a gathering of people at the Familia Bethel International Church this week, the Dallas Police Department is not assisting any federal agency on detaining people that are either documented or undocumented in the city of Dallas. So you've got a police chief taking a stance. You're going to defend that? The police chief says we won't assist any federal. First of all, refusing to assist a federal agency right off the bat ought to send off all kinds of red flags and alarm bells in your head. You completely missed the point here if you are pretending you're not defending an effort to evade accountability. And you can't do it. And you shouldn't do it. I am a little surprised at all the AOC fans we have by middle-aged and older men in the audience. I've never disputed. She's a very attractive woman. But it feels like there's a lot of people on this Valentine's Day who are feeling amorous for AOC. Just remember... dear friend. She's a socialist, hard left, former bartender who's now mixing things up big time in New York. We'll see if we can get Bill back because I have a question to ask him and I'm sure he doesn't mind following up. Stick around. More coming up on the Mike Gallagher Show. Portions of our show brought to you by MyPillow. And I do want to tell you, I got a message from Mike Lindell himself today. This is an amazing offer. Free shipping on everything. So if you've thought about getting the mattress topper, which comes in a big box, and that mattress topper is like three inches of heaven. You take it and put it on any mattress, turn it into the most comfortable bed in the world. And it comes in a big box. You unfold it and everything. You unpack it. Well, guess what? For a limited time, free shipping on anything you order. Mike Lindell is so grateful to this audience for your constant support of MyPillow. They've tried to cancel him, too, just like they're trying to cancel RFK Jr. and everybody else. It isn't working because you're standing in the breach. You're defending this great American company. And for a limited time, not only can you get the classic standard MyPillow for only $14.98, limit $10, please, because that's a crazy low price, the MySlippers, the doggy beds, the flannel sheets, even the mattress itself. You can get a MyPillow mattress, which has thousands of cooling points. It has the patented technology from MyPillow in the mattress. And best part of all... Free shipping. Free shipping as a thank you for your support for a limited time. So go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square, click on that box, and with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034, like we love to sing. For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. You know, I really do like debate. And when I get a good caller like Bill from Jersey who debated me earlier about AOC holding seminars on how to avoid ICE deportation, and he said, look, no, I don't like her. I'm with you, Mike. But look, it's legal. You shouldn't be like the left. He accused me of sounding like the left because I think she should be facing prosecution. And I want to bring him back because I know I could tell in his voice, I could hear it in his voice that he's a good sport and a smart guy. And by the way, Bill from Jersey, you got a lot of fans out here. Maybe you ought to guest host the show one of these days. Are you up for it?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm sure I could be convinced.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'll bet you could handle it. I'll bet you could. So, you know, the text line is sort of back and forth on this. A number of people are saying your views are kind of wacky and they don't agree with you. Others are saying Bill's absolutely right, Mike, and you didn't. And let's break it down so we don't repeat the whole argument we had. But essentially, I believe... that AOC should be held accountable, even prosecuted, for holding seminars to advise illegals how to avoid ICE deportation. And you said that that's an overreaction, basically, that she's only putting public information out there for illegals to kind of assist them. And even though she's reprehensible, she shouldn't be prosecuted for that. Is that fair?
SPEAKER 04 :
That's 100% accurate.
SPEAKER 03 :
Got it. Now, the reason I want to follow up with you, and you're saying information that's already out there. Let's say you've got a family of illegals down the street from you there at the Jersey Shore. And you learn about a pending ICE raid. There's going to be the feds are coming into the neighborhood. Yes. Oh, you do? Yes. Of course. Well, what's the difference? What's the difference between tipping?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the difference is I am at that point directly interfering and obstructing with official business.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, wait a minute. You just gave them information that's in the public. You found it on the Internet. It was well known. I mean, the police department in your area knows about the ICE raid coming. All you're doing is you're just tipping them off to information that's already available. That's what your argument is, right, to defending AOC.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I don't know that your example really holds water. Because you're suggesting that I am finding out information that is publicly available, and I don't know where one goes to find publicly available information about impending raids.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, where does one go to find public information about how to avoid deportation? In other words, because you're clearly defending AOC's effort to let... No, I'm not defending AOC, and there is accountability in the voting booth. Okay, you're right, you're right, but let me make this point, and then please respond. You are clearly defending the effort to have illegals avoid deportation. No matter how you spin it, that's your argument, that AOC's only doing something that's... Right? I would disagree with that, Mike. You would disagree with that? Yeah, I would disagree with that. So when I say that AOC is teaching illegals how to avoid ICE deportation, you disagree with that? I'm looking at the headline here. Pardon me, one more. I'm looking at the headline, National Review. AOC webinar teaches illegal immigrants how to avoid ICE deportation. As the Trump administration ramps up its mass deportation project, squad leader AOC's congressional office held a webinar this week to educate fearful immigrants about their legal rights and how they can protect themselves from deportation. You're defending that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Now, Mike, my question to you is you used a word, and it was called legal. Sure. And my only issue is my issue with what you're saying here, Mike, is not about the morality and ethical aspect of it. I am definitely pro-mass deportation. Definitely. I message you on X. You can go check out my page. I'm available on Facebook. Everybody can go find out where I stand on these issues. So, you know, to mischaracterize me is not helpful to the discussion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, let me defend that claim. Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Pause. Pause for just a minute. You continually say I'm mischaracterizing you, and all I'm doing is repeating your words back to you. And then when you hear them, you kind of distance yourself from them. I mean, I literally pointed out to you.
SPEAKER 04 :
What I said and what I continue to say is that what AOC has done is, yes, reprehensible, but not criminal. And just like when the left was going after Elon Musk and Trump because they don't like what he does, and then they tried to lawfare him, I don't want to see our side look the same way.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, I'm going to hold my ground, and I'm going to play for you, Pam Bondi. And I don't blame you for running from the comparison of tipping off a family or an illegal to an ICE raid. You say that's obstructing.
SPEAKER 04 :
That would be illegal. And that is ice. Ice raids are not public information. Well, what what what is what what say that is coming from the FBI and they're going to be prosecuted for doing that? That is a criminal act. What is what is what is characterizing a non-criminal act as a criminal act is misinformation.
SPEAKER 03 :
And again, no, no, no, no, you're not. We're on completely opposite. We're on opposite sides. We're on opposite. We're not. You're interrupting me. I'm not trying to interrupt you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hang on, hang on.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bill, hang on. We're not on the same side. We're on completely opposite sides because you're defending the indefensible, and I'll tell you why. And you're wise enough to try to put daylight between tipping off an illegal over public information about a pending ICE raid. But you're smart enough to say, oh, well, that's obstructing. I get why you're doing it. There's no public information about pending raids.
SPEAKER 04 :
I get why you're doing it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Ask home if there is public information about impending raids. I get why you're doing it. You're sounding silly at this point, Mike.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I'm trying to prevent you from sounding silly, and you're fighting hard against it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are you going to let me talk, Bill? You're making a bunch of ad hominem attacks because I think I've got your back against the wall, and I'll tell you why. When I first asked you why you're defending AOC teaching illegals how to avoid ICE deportation, you first said, I'm not doing that. And then when I read from the article in the National Review and we went through the actual specifics of what she's doing, she's clearly doing that. And then you pivoted, and then you realized how silly you sounded in defending it.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, you're comparing apples and oranges, Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let me get personal with you. What do you do for a living? Okay, let's get personal. What do you do for a living? I keep milk cold. You keep milk cold? I do supermarket refrigeration. I got it. So you're not a lawyer? And I'm not saying this to insult you. You're not a lawyer? No, I'm not. I'm a big mouth talk show host. In fact, I probably think there's areas you're better at keeping milk cold than I am. There's a lot of things you're probably smarter than I am at. What I don't understand is why you want to push back against Trump's agenda. That's all. I don't. You do. And I'm not. You are.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm all for Trump's agenda. You're not. Again, look at my page. Everybody's welcome to check me out on that.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know what you mean about your page. I'm very pro-Trump agenda. What do you think? All right. You're making ad hominem attacks. Final question. You're suggesting that I am doing things that I'm clearly not doing. Final question, Bill. What do you think Trump would think of what AOC is doing? I think he would agree with me that it's terrible. All right, Bill. Nice to talk to you. I'll bet he will. You too, Mike. We'll talk again. We agree on most things. We'll see. And I have a hunch he's going to speak out against AOC. And when he does, you make sure you call me back. You make sure you let me know. Thanks, Bill. I think Bill's a guy that's kind of a, which is, again, smart guy, and he was a good sport to come back on. He's got a page. He's got a site. He's got an agenda, you know, and the agenda is to try to thwart or push back against Trump's mission. And that's all – we can't be about that. We've got to be about – I mean, here's what Pam Bondi said about anybody tipping off or trying to subvert the effort of the mass deportation that is underway in America right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
The great men and women in law enforcement standing behind me today, they deserve, they must be protected. And anytime anyone leaks or tips off anything regarding a pending investigation, that jeopardizes lives. You're telling a bad guy what's about to happen. It could jeopardize the lives of all the men and women in law enforcement. We will not stand for it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And incidentally, Bill's position could also jeopardize lives because AOC is teaching illegals to not cooperate with federal agents. It's the same thing as when you fight back against a cop in the alley or you push back because you don't want to get the speeding ticket or you physically attack. That's jeopardizing lives. But to Bill's call. And we'll put a button on this, and then we've got to move on because we've got other things to cover. Here's Tom Holman. This is Tom Holman talking about AOC, Bill's hero, Bill's champion, Bill's legal pillar of virtue. Here's Tom Holman, the border czar, on what AOC is doing.
SPEAKER 01 :
Tom, you got AOC out there, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman, putting out a webinar, doing a webinar to help illegals avoid, I guess, apprehension, giving tips about how to continue to remain in the country and ultimately gain the system.
SPEAKER 16 :
And I sent an email today to the Deputy Attorney General. At what level is that impediment? Is that impediment? I'm not an attorney. I'm not a prosecutor. Is that impediment? Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts? If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So I'm working with the Department of Justice and finding out where is that line that they crossed. So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now, but I need the AOG to opine on that because there's a... Impedement is impediment, in my opinion. I'm not a prosecutor, but we need some further guidance on that. But again, if we have to take every federal dollar out of the city, we'll do it. I mean, we're done.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm with Tom Holman, and again, Bill in Jersey, the milk guy's a great guy. If it's between Bill in Jersey with his blog or whatever he's got, or Tom Holman, I'm with Tom Holman. But a good debate. Good debate, and glad we're having it here on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 10 :
New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops, it stops today. As you know, we sued Illinois, and New York didn't listen. So now, you're next.
SPEAKER 13 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
This morning I talked to my friend Mark Davis in Dallas about The interim police chief who is proudly telling citizens of Dallas that the Dallas Police Department will not cooperate with ICE. Interesting story that came to mind when I heard about this social justice warrior. He's an interim police chief. And he wants the top job permanently. How in the world would anybody even consider giving him the full-time police chief position in Dallas, Texas? This guy told a gathering the other night, we do not intend to cooperate with ICE. We're not going to cooperate with federal agencies. who are involved in this. I mean, there is a pushback. We knew there would be against Trump's mass deportation that he promised on the campaign trail. We voted for it. It's why he won. But people like this interim police chief in Dallas and people like AOC and Governor Gavin Newsom, they don't like it. Newsom is vowing to veto a bill that would block his state's prison system from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a report. So there's a step in the right direction. The bill argues that when California's jails and prisons voluntarily and unnecessarily transfer immigrant and refugee community members, they subject these community members to double punishment. So the bill would block prisons from cooperating with ICE. Newsom says he's going to veto that. That's called progress. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, was on the couch today sitting next to Tom Holman. I thought I was having a stroke. I thought this whole thing about my... constricted blood vessels in my brain were coming completely to fruition. Do we have that clip of Eric Adams and Tom Holman together talking about this mass deportation effort? Check this out.
SPEAKER 16 :
Governor Holko is in an embarrassment position she holds. She stands on media after someone's burned alive on a subway. She stands in front of a TV camera and says, I think criminal aliens should be removed too. But she's got the green light law. The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol, when they pull a vehicle, law enforcement, you were in law enforcement your whole career. What's the first thing you do? You run the license plate number. Are these wanted? Is there a warrant for these people? Who are they? Are they dangerous? Is that car stolen? All these things, right? Right. Do you know ICE and CBP can't run DMV data on New York State license plate? So they're pulling on people not even know who the hell they are. Is that the green light law? The green light law. So she, on one point she's saying, well, I think criminals should be removed too, but then she locks us out of DMV data. That'd be like us locking officers out of the NCIC, the fed zone. Would we do that? No, because officer safety is paramount. She's putting the men and women at risk every day. The job's already dangerous. So Governor Hochul, she needs to be removed. Everybody needs to be removed. It needs to be her.
SPEAKER 03 :
And there's Mayor Eric Adams sitting next to him, nodding his head. I mean, it's crazy. The Dallas Police Department, according to FoxNews.com, the Dallas Police Department has begun hosting a series of outreach meetings informing immigrant communities that the agency will not take part in any deportation raids or arrests. that are currently being carried out by the Trump administration. At least five meetings are taking place. The interim Dallas police chief, Michael Igoe, said the Dallas Police Department is not assisting any federal agency on detaining people who are either documented or undocumented. Igoe, who wants the full-time gig in Dallas, told Spanish-speaking parishioners that his department would not turn in or report anyone here illegally. I need you guys, he said, to continue to call the police, to not be afraid to come out of your homes to go to work, to send our kids to school. He reassured the parishioners, according to Fox News, that no arrests or raids would be conducted in churches, schools, or hospitals. Well, that's great, Chief Igoe. So you want churches, schools, and hospitals to be sanctuary havens for illegals. Hey, the message is being heard loud and clear in Dallas, Texas. You don't want to be deported? Just hang out in a school. Or go to the emergency room for some sniffles. Wait there in the ER. This IGO character, the interim police chief in Dallas, took to X this week to relay his message that the Dallas Police Department would not cooperate with federal immigration officials. There's no room for fear in our community, he wrote. Oh, really? So people who broke the law, you're telling us, are fearful. But you don't want them to be fearful. Huh. Okay. Good to know. Good to know. Pam Bondi is telling people like Chief Igoe and others, Tom Holman is saying to the AOCs of the world who are aiding and abetting illegal immigrants, you could be in big trouble. You might wind up on the wrong end of this in a big way. They are absolutely wrong. Desperate, and they're wrong. AOC's holding webinars advising illegals how to avoid deportation. Look, it's a new day, a new dawn. Sean's in Manchester, New Hampshire, 20 minutes before the hour. One open line, 800-655-MIKE. Hi, Sean, how are you?
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Mike. And I think these people are giving themselves away that they support this illegal invasion of America. And it's the First Amendment shows us people how stupid they are when they speak. That's one of the benefits of having the First Amendment. And I also believe that affirmative action race quotas have to go. It's really destroyed our society altogether. And we really we got to support these illegals. We got to remember, too, a lot of tax fraud involved. They take the child credit. They take all kinds of individual deductions with phony Social Security or personal tax numbers. And they're robbing us blind.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Sean, let me let me ask you something. Did you tell my screener that you're a first time Republican voter? Is that true?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
The first time. Wow. You know, I'm from New England. Sure. I'm from New England. Come on.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know how it is. I do. I know. Oh, my dad was from Boston. I remember Massachusetts. I remember I lived I lived in New York City for years. I know what New Englanders are like, but you just decided enough of the Democrat votes. You got to vote Republican, huh?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I wasn't really what we call a flaming liberal, but, you know, we tend to lean. But New Hampshire, where I am, remember, the person with the most votes in the state in November was the Republican candidate for governor who won. Trump had good numbers in New Hampshire. You can bring New Hampshire back. And that's something that Republicans have to look at.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we can bring America back, Sean, and welcome to the party. I'm glad you voted Republican. And more and more people are just like you, saying enough, it isn't working. The Democrat experiment is failing. The experiment is over. And now we've got the grownups back in charge. I love it. I love every minute of it. 800-655-MIKE.
SPEAKER 15 :
mike gallagher every day mike visits with mark davis morning host on 6 60 a.m the answer in dallas here's today's eminem experience radio is sort of done by satellite so that's why it always sounds like mike is sitting right here in the room with me even though he has been historically in new york uh he has been it's how he joins us from south carolina or dc wherever he is but mike lives now of course on the gulf of america Right there in St. Pete and goes across the bridge to Tampa to do the show from the radio station there. And, of course, there's a video component with the Salem News Channel. So he tapes that and runs it during his show, and that's how we do the X feed, the live feed, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So you notice the key thing here is there's a video component, right? And that means that my Skype connection goes boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then I see Mike's happy face and he sees mine, usually by about 728. So it got to be 728, 729, 730. No Skype, no Mike, no Mike, no Skype. And that's like something, something is happening here. My text fires up and says, give me the phone number. I need to call you. I need to do the hit on the phone. Whenever Mike has to do the hit on the phone, something has happened. Let's find out what. With more, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome, my friend. Okay, so this is one for the ages. Do you remember Chevy Chase did a series of vacation movies? Yes. And there's a famous scene that I'm thinking of this morning. You remember when he and Rusty and the family were in the car, and they kept trying to get off on the exit, and they could never get the exit. I think it was European vacation, and he was on a roundabout, remember? Yes. And he kept going round and round the roundabout for hours. He could not get over to get to the exit to get off to where they wanted to go. And it was one of the funniest scenes. Mark... I was a half block from the radio station. Right. They are tearing up all the roads around the radio station. The very rude construction guy says, nope, you can't go there. I said, I'm right there. I'm pointing to the office. I said, I'm right there. He said, you're right there. I said, I'm right there. He goes, you're right there. It was like a sketch. I got Henny Youngman, the construction worker.
SPEAKER 15 :
Or who's on first with Abbott and Costello?
SPEAKER 03 :
you're right there i'm right there you're right there he goes turn around and take your butt and go the other way so i had a few choice words for him meanwhile now i can't find the office i'm now chevy chase trying to get because there's there's only one like driveway i am now back on the howard franklin going the wrong direction i'm 18 miles going the wrong direction And I'm just laughing because I cannot believe that I was that close, and I had to have, you know, the John Belushi of construction workers tell me to turn my butt around and go the other way. So I may not make it for the show at 10.05. I don't know. I'm driving up and down the highway. I'm like a pilgrim coming over on the Mayflower. I'm driving. I'm trying to find the promised land, and I may or may not get there. And I had so much to talk about.
SPEAKER 15 :
Inquiring minds want to know, Clark. Inquiring minds want to know, as you sat there and visited with the power-tripping construction guy, you were in the shadow of the radio station, and you said, look, it's right there. Right there is where I need to go. Okay, that's fine. If there is a navigable way to get there, if he had been more accommodating, could he have let you through to where we would not be enjoying this fun right now?
SPEAKER 03 :
By the third time that we said to each other, he said, well, right there. I said, right there. I know he could have let me go through. He just wasn't going to. And I was probably a little bit of a jerk.
SPEAKER 15 :
See, that's what I was going to say. Are there lessons in this? Because it sounds like, and this may be hard for the public to believe, you might have copped a toad with the guy.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. Shocking. Shocking. And then I started to say, I have a show. That's exactly it. That's where I was going next. Do you know who I am? Well, no, it's not that you know who I am, but do you know who Mark Davis is? The urgency, yes, of course. Do you know who Mark Davis is? I've gotten to do a hit with my buddy Mark Davis, and I've got so much to talk to him about.
SPEAKER 15 :
Don't drag me into this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because I am dying to ask you about the interim Dallas sheriff. Oh, okay. Unbelievable. What a story. So we've got to go there. So forget it. Look, I hope the guy doesn't come find my car and key it because of the few choice words I had for him. Because you know what? And again, now I have no idea where I am. You should hear Tracy try to tell me how to get to the radio station. I've only worked here for five years. I don't know how to get there. I have no idea. Parking lots, frontage roads. She says, are you on the frontage road by the building? I said, there's nothing but frontage roads and buildings here. What are you talking about? So I'm a little fired up. And then I got to read about the interim Dallas police chief. He wants the job, right? Michael, whatever his name is, Hugo. Yep, yep, yep. Now, you've got to explain this to me, Mark. He's holding community meetings bragging about how the Dallas Police Department will not cooperate with ICE and with the efforts to expel illegal immigrants from Dallas.
SPEAKER 15 :
Let me give you the quote. I know, I know. Let me give everybody the quote. This, indeed, is Michael Igoe, who is the interim chief. Quote, the Dallas Police Department is not assisting any federal agency or On detaining people that are either documented or undocumented in the city of Dallas. And he did this at one of these meetings. I've been noticing and all the local TV folks go cover it. They should cover it. But there's been a kind of a cheerleading aspect to it. It's been a little weird. It's like, hey, here's a meeting where you can skirt ice enforcement or evade the nasty ice guys.
SPEAKER 03 :
AOC is doing it. AOC is pulling town halls, telling people how to avoid it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. He made sure to reassure Spanish-speaking residents that his police officers would also not report anybody who is there illegally and calls 911 for help or gets pulled over for a traffic violation. I'm going to give one sliver of grace here. If somebody is calling 911 because some horrible crime is happening and somebody can prevent a murder, I'm prepared not to lie awake at night and worry about that person's immigration status. But traffic stops? You pull somebody over and you discover that they're in the country illegally? Hello, deportation. This is woke, woke policing. And I'd love to know what freshly minted Republican mayor Eric Johnson has to say about it. I know what the people, I know what... thinking people ought to say about it, and that's that it's an outrage.
SPEAKER 03 :
Who does Michael Igoe report to? Who does city commission? The city manager?
SPEAKER 15 :
The city manager hires everybody. The council has things to say. But it's Dallas. It's Dallas. What does that mean?
SPEAKER 03 :
Dallas gets to break the law? Dallas gets to break the law?
SPEAKER 15 :
Dallas doesn't care if such laws are flouted. It's a big blue city.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, guess what? Big blue cities are going to F.A.F.O. I'm telling you, Tom Holman. I mean, I mean, where's Ken Paxton on this? Where's the governor? Where's Governor Abbott on this? I mean, I'm not kidding you. This is outrageous. I'm reading this and I'm thinking, wait a minute. You don't get to flout. You don't get to flaunt. And break the law. Flout. Flute. You don't get to... I'm a little fired up today. Now I'm on another front of the road.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now I'm in a parking lot.
SPEAKER 03 :
He's in Orlando.
SPEAKER 15 :
He's actually arrived at Wally World.
SPEAKER 03 :
I cannot find the exit, Clark and Rusty. I can't find the exit. You don't get to do this, Mark. You just don't. Ideally not. And this... And I mean it. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck. He's going to futz around and he's going to find out. Look, can you make an argument against arresting him? Can you make an argument against arresting AOC? AOC is holding town hall meetings and holding Zoom conferences to tell people how to avoid ICE detection. I mean, it's the same as harboring a criminal. How do you get away with this?
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, is it? Because I don't like it any more than you do, but we had a little... Fun, if that's the term yesterday, talking about whether this is like a radar detector that, you know, the avoidance of enforcement is a little bit of tradition to it in American life. And it's not like we're harboring illegals with the police at the door or nobody in this house. It's telling them where the enforcement is. It's it's it's. Terrible. It is a middle finger to law enforcement and to the notion of the rule of law. Are they themselves breaking the law by doing it? That's an interesting legal question.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't think the analogy holds. I don't think it's an anti-radar detector, Mark. I think that's a weak analogy. It is against the law. It is a federal crime. And let me ask you a question. If the feds come in to downtown Dallas with an arrest warrant, a federal arrest warrant, you're going to tell me that the local police, the Dallas police, are going to take a position? Well, we're not going to cooperate with you.
SPEAKER 15 :
You have to have cooperation. He actually talked about that. Igo made sure to clarify that undocumented immigrants with criminal warrants are a different story. They're criminals already.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I know that, and you know that.
SPEAKER 15 :
I know, I know, I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's a distinction without a difference. I mean, Caroline Leavitt said it beautifully. One of the reporters said to her the other day, well, I mean, do you think it's – she goes, they're criminals as it is. It's against the law to do what they've done. Correct. Why won't Michael Igoe enforce the law?
SPEAKER 15 :
Because he – it's funny. You know the answer to that question because he, with woke Democrat – illegal immigrant protecting points of view does not... The question to Caroline Levitt was, how many of these people that you guys are looking to deport have broken the law? And her answer was, all of them. All of them. Because to be in the country illegally is breaking the law. But they seek to establish a different goal line, a different place for the goalpost to be, that just being in the country illegally, not really a crime. If you're a rapist or a murderer, okay, I guess we can be serious about you. But they're looking to destigmatize... and legitimize simply being in the country illegally.
SPEAKER 03 :
So if we agree with Caroline Leavitt, and if we agree that all of them are breaking the law, Michael Igoe has taken an oath to uphold the law. One would think. Michael Igoe is under oath. He has sworn a duty to uphold the law. These people have broken the law, and he is telling them he's not going to enforce it. I don't know how. And again, all the excuses, well, it's big blue Dallas. Oh, it's not an excuse.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's an explanation, because you're 100% right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. You're 100 percent right. But it is. But it turns out to be an excuse because it's a flimsy excuse. And Michael, I go, first of all, two things. Number one, he absolutely should not have a snowball chance of hell of getting the top job permanently. He wants it. He's throwing his head in the ring. Baloney. Common sense prevail. And number two, I think there's got to be accountability for the guy. Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, there is maybe it maybe comes from Pam Bondi. She has taken action against Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul in New York for obstructing Trump's desire to have immigration laws with teeth. And so from the state of New York to the city of Dallas to any other blue city, any other blue state, let the word go out that we're not going to have obstructionists trying to prevent the law from being followed.
SPEAKER 03 :
I can't wait until somebody asks Tom Holman about this police chief in Dallas, this interim police chief. I can't wait until somebody asks Pam Bondi. I think I know the answer. These guys cannot do it, Mark. They can't get away with this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Do you know where Holman was an hour and a fraction ago? Sitting on a couch on the Fox & Friends set. So no mystery there. I think Holman has his own suite at Fox & Friends. Guess who was sitting right there next to him talking all kinds of harmony? That would be New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who suddenly has realized, God bless Mayor Adams, the governor of New York is useless, but the mayor of New York has seen the light about the way his city is adversely affected by illegally.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you're following the news about how Trump's Justice Department has ordered all the charges to be dropped. Look, Trump is very big on loyalty.
SPEAKER 15 :
He's very transactional. Very, very transactional.
SPEAKER 03 :
Loyalty matters to him. It'll get you somewhere. I'm not kidding you now what I'm about to tell you. I am sitting, I swear to you, in a parking garage. And I don't know how to get out of the parking garage to get to the office.
SPEAKER 15 :
I'm in a parking garage. In the parking garage of the building where you're trying to get?
SPEAKER 03 :
In the parking garage, they told me to cut through the lots to get to the back of the radio station. I took the wrong turn again while I'm talking to you and getting fired up about this goofy interim police chief, and now I'm in a parking garage.
SPEAKER 15 :
And so you are maybe 200 yards from the studio where you do the show, but there is great question as to whether you will actually be there.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm officially in an episode of The Twilight Zone. I don't know. I'm driving. I'm driving. I'm driving. So let me – and here's the great part. Tracy and Cassie just sent me a pin to my phone like I know what to do with a pin. How do I know? What do I do with it? Do I click on the pin? Do I watch the pin? Do I do the pin? Do I sing to the pin? This is insane. I'm not going to make it. I'm just going to just curl up here and take a nap.
SPEAKER 15 :
I'm done. Welcome to Boomer Technological Adventures with Mike. We will let you navigate the rest of the way. We look forward to you being on the air via whatever method that might be. And happy Valentine's Day to you.
SPEAKER 14 :
And happy Friday. And we'll be ready. That's Mike. That's so awesome.
SPEAKER 13 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 08 :
Keep up with the Trump administration when you subscribe to the Trump Report. This email brings you daily highlights from the Oval Office right to your inbox five days a week. Subscribe to the Trump Report.
In this lively episode, Dana Lash dives into the bizarre tales of Florida Man, exploring the antics that have once again captivated the nation. As always, Dana's commentary brings humor and sharp insights into these outrageous headlines. She doesn't hold back on the current controversies surrounding NASCAR and Bubba Wallace, providing her unfiltered take on the situation. As Valentine's Day coincides with the Daytona 500, Dana shares her personal experiences and opinions on the intersection of politics and sports, keeping listeners entertained throughout.
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SPEAKER 04 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, I'm going to try to figure out how to read this story that Kane decided to send and put. It's a Florida man. Oh, you know what it is. It's a Florida man story. Florida woman story, rather. Oh, now you're saying oh. Do you hear him? A 50-year-old woman, Yulisa Negron, had apparently assaulted her ex-partner with a private, intimate accessory.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, I'm actually impressed.
SPEAKER 02 :
Really trying with that one. The altercation escalated during a domestic dispute leading to the woman's arrest on a domestic battery charge. So she was in the process of relocating from Puerto Rico to Connecticut. She was staying with her ex-partner together, her belongings, and it started out as an amicable arrangement. Well, then they started drinking and then they started arguing and then it got out of control. And she got mad because I guess he was talking to people on Instagram. And she confronted him with the... Well, she brandished the private intimate accessory as a weapon and beat him about the head with it. That she did. Yeah. And the... Police totally arrested her. I'm going to end it there. Because, I mean, this is like the Olympics of trying to talk about this without getting in trouble. Oh, my gosh. You cannot send... I'm never going to... You know what? You're as bad as Florida woman Amber that dares me to read this stuff, and she sends me the most inappropriate stories.
SPEAKER 06 :
Don't insult Amber like that.
SPEAKER 02 :
She's done this for seven years. I noticed it. Let's see. This... Oh, a Florida man was accused of using his pet ferrets as bait to lure children. WFLA. I don't even like ferrets. This guy was arrested. Oh, he totally looks like a predator. After he used his pet ferrets to lure children into his house because he's a kid toucher. Robert Rouse, 36. He's been totally arrested. He's got a lot of charges and he's got some priors. So I'm sure he's going to have a fun time in prison. Just tell me where to donate for the commissary. That's all. Achieving vibrant, youthful skin doesn't have to be complicated. With the power of Native Path Collagen, you can nourish your body from within and enhance not just your skin, but also your hair, your nails. By incorporating Native Path Collagen into your daily routine, you can promote a plump, radiant complexion, reduce signs of aging, and boost your overall vitality, all without any unnecessary fillers or additives. native path collagen has only type one and three collagen, the most important types making up 90% of your body's collagen, no artificial sweeteners, just pure third party tested goodness. It's completely flavorless. So you can just add it to about anything, your coffee or smoothies, oatmeal or whatever you want. And the best part is that native path's peptides formula makes it more bioavailable so it means your body will absorb it easily start your journey to healthier skin today get native path.com slash dana and stock up on native path collagen and save up to an incredible 45 off plus free shipping every order includes a 365 day money back guarantee don't miss out head to get native path.com slash dana
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Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome back to the program, Dana Lash with you. And we're at the top of this third hour. It's Valentine's Day. So Daytona 500, isn't that – it's this week. Sorry, what was that, Steve? Sunday. Oh, that's right, Sunday. I kept thinking it was like Saturday or Sunday. Sunday, Daytona 500. One of my favorite – I've only been to one race in person. I do love – listening to everybody talk through the headset. I got to tell you, it is. It's a trip. I do actually enjoy that because then you feel like you're right there like with the, you know, like what you feel like you're right there helping to direct the car, you know, just gives you that makes you feel important. So funny. Anyway, so I don't follow it very closely. But I if it's on, I will watch it just because I like cars and I like driving and I like fast. All these things are terrifying phrases for a woman to say in front of her husband. And also, where's honey? Where are the power tools? That's another terrifying phrase to say to your husband. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So apparently POTUS is attending the Daytona 500. Again, he understands, you know, populist tactic. You get to stay in front of people. So he's going to the Daytona 500. And for whatever reason, Bubba Wallace decided, I'm just going to be a brat. And I'm just not I mean, there are so many ways that you could have answered a question like he was asked whether or not I according to the Associated Press, he was asked, you know, what I guess what he thought of Trump being at the at the race when he was at a press avail. And he says, well, I couldn't care less. And, you know, I'm here to race. I'm not here for the for the show. He goes, we're here to race, not for the show. Why do you got to be bitchy about it? Why can't you just say, oh, that's, you know, okay. Even if you don't like him, why can't you just be non-confrontational about it? This guy's a drama queen. I feel like Bubba Wallace is a drama queen. He's the guy who made up the whole story with the noose. He's like the new Jesse Sommelier. You had Jesse Sommelier, then you had Bubba Wallace. Because remember when, you guys remember that flashback? where he was insisting, even ESPN was like, Bubba Wallace is not the victim of a hate crime. Stop. The FBI even said, dude, you are not the victim of a hate crime. And remember, they had that picture of this. I'm going to pull this up. He said that someone tied a noose in his garage. And that's a racist message to him. And then when the picture was released, everyone's like, that's literally a pulley for the garage door. Are you mental? And the FBI said that that rope had been in the Talladega garage since like a year before or something like that. It's because it pulls the garage. You literally, it's a pulley. And he was saying that it was a racist attack on him. And remember all this drama? Audio sound bite 20. This is a flashback audio of Bubba Wallace on that. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 07 :
But it is still an ongoing investigation with the FBI. I can now say I've talked to the FBI. Never thought that would happen. But it's just unfortunate circumstances and a terrible time that we're in right now. Year 2020 will be one year to for sure forget moving forward. But, you know, it's simple-minded people like that, the ones that are afraid of change. They use everything in their power to defend what they stand up for.
SPEAKER 02 :
So he was at the Talladega Super Speedway, and he saw this rope and this noose in the garage, and he was like, oh, that's for me. And it's been there for forever, apparently, according to the FBI who investigated it. And even other people at that track were like, that's how they are. It's a pulley for the door. So you can pull the door closed. And do you remember all the drama for that? Oh, my gosh, such drama. Well, then the FBI, they concluded their investigation and they said, dude, he's not the victim of a hate crime. It has. And that had been on the garage door at the Talladega Super Speedway for quite a long time. And they said that the report concludes and photographic evidence confirms that the garage door pull rope. was positioned there like as early as last fall. And they said this was obviously well known in their statement. They said, quote, this was obviously well known before the 43 teams arrival and garage assignment. So that was there even before he was even assigned that garage space. And they have photographic evidence that proved that it was. And so they're like, no, NASCAR absolutely overreacted. And I think that that's shameful that Bubba Wallace ran with that. I mean, I get that there are a lot of things that athletes and celebrities do to keep themselves relevant and in the headlines, but perpetuating a race hoax is shameful. And then somehow it was like Trump's fault. And that's what I don't understand. How in the hell did that become like a Trump fault thing? You are... I think that if you're a racist, you see... Everything as an attack on you or something. I don't know. Like the idea that you're going to that that he walked in and he immediately assumed the worst, even though, as I just explained, the garage door pull photographic evidence from the FBI and also other people at the raceway. It had been there since last year, long before he had ever was ever assigned that garage for that particular race that particular week. But he immediately comes in and decides to cast aspersions on the entirety of NASCAR, all the other drivers, and just everybody else for the sake of drama. This Valentine's Day, let me tell you, let me clue everybody in. Although most men know this, some men may not. All women know this. The thing that kills a libido more than anything is when a man acts like a bitch. When a man gets dramatic... I, women want to vomit. Women do not like dramatic men. Women do not like drama seeking men. It's gross. We don't like that. I don't like to see female behaviors exhibited by dudes. And that's a female behavior. And, and not only that, but then it became this huge conversation about As to the openness of NASCAR, NASCAR was only ever encouraging and welcoming to him. What did they ever do to deserve that kind of impugnation? And then he said, because what was it that Trump said about him? Because didn't Trump get mad? Didn't he comment about it or something? Because I think it was Bubba Wallace that was insinuating that, oh, this is the Trump era or something to that effect. And I think Trump referred to the incident. And this was after the juicy Somalia stuff as a hoax. And so then you had audio somebody 21 flashback. This was Bubba Wallace. Oh, of course, you know, he had to respond to that drama. This was him responding.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, you know, when I first read it, I was, you know, just like, man, there's so much more things that are going on in the world that I feel like he should be worried about. But it's hard to get people to understand, especially when the facts are delivered on the table and they've been there for decades.
SPEAKER 02 :
two weeks now so uh to be late to the party is one thing when to be wrong on the factual information is another that's a crazy thing he wasn't wrong on the factual information you were and that was proven by the fbi in their investigation it was also proven in a separate nascar investigation and it was also proven by all of the other photographic evidence provided by all of the other people who were at that speedway and who noted that the garage door pull which had a loop in it had been there for over a year, long before he was assigned that garage space. But of course, he walked in and acted like it was all about him. So then, of course, flashback to today, and he's asked whether or not, you know, about Trump attending the Daytona 500. And he still cannot resist being a jackass. He goes, yeah, well, I couldn't care less if he shows up. We're here to race, not for the show. Yeah, keep that in mind then, Bubba. Maybe you'll perform better. Maybe stop being the show and focus on your racing, because it seems like you don't do much of that. I just like who shit on these people. And it was, it was, I mean, that's just one of the dumbest things ever. That's, that's on him to walk in and immediately assume that someone there is doing that to you. What disrespect to an organization that has been nothing but supportive of him and encouraging and welcoming. What disrespect to the fans. And all of the people who show up and sit and enjoy and watch these races and support the drivers by supporting their sponsors and buying their stuff and all of that. Like, what a disgusting insult. I do not like Bubba Wallace. I think he's an overdramatic bitch. I don't like him. And I'll say it a million times. And if you're offended, then I suggest you watch Dora the Explorer. Kel-Tec, their PR57, the 5.7. This is such a game-changing 5.7. And I have 5.7s. This is the lightest one ever. It's 40% lighter than the next lightest pistol. Now, there's several... things that they did to accomplish that. First, they have an innovative rotary barrel that makes it the lightest 5.7 on the market. The second thing is the unique top loading design. So you know how the left likes to say clips instead of magazines? Well, this one you can actually say clips. I'm not even kidding because they replaced more of the traditional magazines with actual stripper clips for a slimmer carry profile. And you've got a 20 plus 1 capacity. And it's built to perform. I haven't fired it yet, but I've held it. I've dry fired it. But it's super well balanced. This is actually a great everyday carry. And the MSRP is only $399. Anybody can get this. It's from Caltech. And it's the first of its kind. PR-57 Rotary Barrel Pistol, a great 5.7 from Kel-Tec. They've always changed the game, and they're still doing it. Visit Kel-TecWeapons.com to learn more. Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back. And we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 08 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 06 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
So this, there's one, I'm trying to open this here. A story of victims outsmarting home invaders and actually fleeing in one of the suspect's vehicles. This was in Virginia. Two men attempted to rob a home at gunpoint and it backfired because one victim outwitted them by escaping in their own getaway car and then the other running after the suspects with one of the guns that they dropped while fleeing. Wow, these are like the worst burglars ever. And one of the two culprits got 22 years in prison. They just sentenced him this week. 41-year-old James Kennedy and his co-conspirator, who is unidentified, they went dressed as utility workers, and they were asking about a natural gas leak, and they let them inside. And that's when everything went sideways. But, yeah, it didn't really work out so well for them. I mean, literally the worst. It's like they planned up until that moment, and then they didn't plan for anything else after. A man was killed after Las Vegas fire crews found him. Well, apparently he was stuck in a palm tree. Yeah, I don't even know how. It's in Vegas, which I think we're going to have to probably do a Florida man, but for Vegas. It was on Wednesday. A Las Vegas fire and rescue located him in a tree. He was 25 feet in the air, stuck in a palm tree. Someone said that they saw an unconscious man, so they called fire and rescue. Firefighters arrived. They were able to get him down. He was unresponsive, passed away at the scene. That's just so sad, but no report on how he ended up in the tree, which honestly is the most important thing to me. I mean, how does this guy get into the, I mean, that's 25 feet up. In Afton, okay, and I was just talking about this, St. Louis, apparently there were six mausoleum doors stolen from a cemetery. The doors weigh about 200 to 500 pounds, and they're described as priceless. St. Louis County police are looking for thieves responsible for stealing these giant bronze doors, six bronze doors taken from new Mount Sinai cemetery in Afton. I know exactly where that is. Oh my gosh. Uh, pastor buys first started noticing that the doors were missing, but they actually don't know when the theft took place. Two to 500 pounds a piece. And, uh, They're priceless, and so they're looking for whomever to... How do you do that and not be noticed? I know exactly where that cemetery is. You can see it from the road. Yeah. How in the world do you steal... Smelt them? Yeah, 206 of them, 200 to 500. You would have to have a big truck to put those drawers on. You can't just like put that in a flatbed or a regular pickup truck. I mean, that's insane.
SPEAKER 01 :
One of the things that he has is he loves dank memes and jokes and he loves to make jokes himself and then laugh at his own jokes. And then all the people who work for him laugh at him and therefore he thinks he's funny. And he's not funny. He's sometimes funny, I guess. I never thought so. But He likes to do this. He likes to engage in sort of these juvenile little pranks. And when he's not doing that, he likes to insult people. And all kidding aside, we don't mind being called these names, but it's a 53 year old man does not do this. I mean, or this one does. And so he just like this is what he likes. He likes to to to to slag people. I guess it's part of video game culture or something, but I find it unusual.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I love it when old white women sit here and talk about, you know, the culture and dank memes. It's my favorite thing on earth. That's Kara Swisher, who says, I don't know, like another 53-year-old. You don't know any men. You literally know nobody with balls. You don't know any men. None at all. Because every man I know does that. Every age. She would be horrified to meet someone like the uncles in my family. They all do it. It's a dude thing. It's just a dude thing. And there's a lot of ladies that find it funny, but not her because she's serious. She's serious lady on CNN, Kara Swisher. I just can't believe that. I don't know. She's mad because Musk likes dank memes. I, too, enjoy a dank meme. What is, like, every, they hate him. He's got a sense of humor. It's so horrible.
SPEAKER 05 :
Of all the memes that exist, I think dank memes are my favorite.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and she just, like, basically became one. Can you believe, like, this is what they're criticizing Musk over. Can you believe that he's got a sense of humor? So horrible. Can't believe it's funny. They just, they're horrible. How miserable are you? If the sourness of a Sour Patch Kid were a face, it'd be Kara Swisher. Good night. And then who are the other people that they're sitting? Who was the other guy who was sitting there that she was talking to? Was he wearing a hoodie on television? And he wasn't John Futterman? Isn't that who it was? Who was that? It's not John Fetterman. Only John Fetterman gets a hoodie pass. I don't know who this stooge is. Positive he's wearing a hoodie, right? Or a dickie or something. But he, I don't know who, who is this guy sitting there? I just think it's funny because he looks like he doesn't appreciate her commentary. Because I feel like his internal thought bubble is, well, I like a dank meme. I feel like it is. She's mad because Musk is funny. I mean, I guess Democrats miss the days when they could drive women into pods and leave them to drown. Oops. I guess Democrats miss the days when they could have fun times with cigars under the desk in the Oval Office. I mean, I guess Democrats miss the day when they could take a pregnant staffer that they had knocked up out of wedlock and make a sandwich with her. I mean, when does it stop? Is that what they prefer? As opposed to a guy who just cracks a joke online and saves us money. Jiminy Christmas. I'm out of give a damn juice today. I am out of give a damn juice. I have. You know what? There's a national run on give a damn juice because nobody has any. It's all gone. All gone. I just. How is that? That makes me like him even more. Oh, you're offended because he makes a joke. Oh, I like him even more than. What does that have to do with that he has every right to do what he's been tasked to do by the executive? Golly, could these people be more miserable?
SPEAKER 05 :
Imagine being more upset over a joke than the unbelievable crazy spending our government's been doing through USAID.
SPEAKER 02 :
Imagine. Yeah, they'll talk about dank memes with Elon Musk, but they're not talking about all of the money that he found that's being wasted. Like stuff beyond... Stuff even beyond what has already been found by a lot of these fact check or a lot of these third-party agencies already. Just imagine being that upset over having – they're saving you money. I really do think that the left views – The taxation, like however much they give to the government, to an extent, I feel like they view that as a measure of whether or not you're a good little statist. Do you get that impression, too?
SPEAKER 04 :
Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
In this episode, we delve into the debate over Elon Musk's top-secret security clearance and the controversy surrounding youthful experts. As age biases in the workforce come under scrutiny, we analyze the implications of disregarding the capabilities of younger generations. With heated discussions emerging, we also explore the impact of political perceptions on public trust. Moving forward, the conversation shifts to the fiscal realities of American households facing unprecedented debt levels. We highlight revelations about government spending and examine how these financial strains compound societal tensions. Join us as we unravel the complex interplay between taxation, public expenditure, and economic sustainability. The show takes a lighter turn with insights into the world of memes and their undeniable hold on contemporary culture. From Elon Musk's humorous antics to the shared laughter over Valentine's Day jokes, we explore the cultural phenomenon that memes have become. Engage with us as we navigate serious subjects interwoven with humor, offering a fresh perspective on current events.
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SPEAKER 06 :
Elon Musk does have a security clearance. He has a top-secret security clearance. By God, he makes the rockets for NASA. But the suggestion that he somehow can't be trusted to dig into how we're spending our money is nothing but a smoke screen to hide the corruption and the wasteful spending that has occurred there. And I am personally offended at the left's continued references to nineteen-year-olds and twenty-one-year-olds in their doing work. There are nineteen-year-olds who have won the Medal of Honor defending this country. Just because you're nineteen doesn't mean you're some child who can't be trusted It is offensive. And if you're 19 years old out there, 20 years old, and you're serving this country, by God, your service matters. Keep serving. We thank you for that.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, he's not wrong. I mean, the attention that's put on the age of these nerd the nerd army I guess the attention that's put on these guys in terms of how old they are or how much life experience they have or I don't know what what is I mean all the stuff that they've been saying about them I can't take it seriously and the reason I can't take it seriously is because these are the same people that tried to act like that what's her face uh 13 year old climate brat Thank you. That she was somehow, you know, the Einstein. They acted like she was an Einstein. And that we had to listen to her. She's a climate brat. We've got to listen to the climate brat. We've got to listen to her. We have to pay attention. She knows she's the expert on all of this stuff. And I'm like... But she's not there. She didn't know anything. You guys remember this story, how she... I don't know. She came out of nowhere. I think her mom had Munchausen's by proxy or something. I don't know. Came out of nowhere and began lecturing everyone, including the United States of America, about the weather. And they expected... And this is the kicker. They expected everybody to... listen and and entire governments they expected them to change their their economic policies to change the way that they do business to change every ingredients everything the the the way of life they expected that to be changed because of this you guys remember because of this brat And now here you have, you know, Musk and this nerd army. These kids, they're not even kids. Why would we call them kids? What is up with the left infantilizing everybody and everything? Except, you know, babies in utero. They're just some cells. But the problem is that they wanted to change actual law and they wanted to change how everything worked based on what this 13-year-old said. But these guys are way more qualified. They're educated. They are smart, clearly. They got to where they were. I told you the story of what one of them did yesterday. Well, I told you yesterday the story of what one of these guys did and how they created a sub stack and then charged people to see it, like $1,000 for a month, $10,000 for the year. And they made fat, sweet bank money. off of these reporters trying to dig dirt up on them. They made a lot of money off these reporters trying to dig up dirt on them. It was hysterical. I'm just tired of them attacking these contractors that are doing exactly what they were hired to do. And they do, they're under NDAs, they do have a security clearance for this. So I don't know why, I mean, the left just doesn't like it because it's ending their gravy train. That's really what it is. Now they hate kids. They love them when they can use them as human shields, and then they hate them when the kids are catching them doing something wrong. That's what this is. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash with you. It's Valentine's Day. I'm wearing red. Don't get used to it. I do that for you guys, for your Valentine's Day gift. I wore red against my own. I feel really uncomfortable. This is just so loud. It's like the loudest red ever. I'm just like, red! It's good to be... so awkward. It's good to be with you guys. Some of the things where I keep seeing every time, this is all I want Elon Musk to do right now, is stop X from refreshing. It refreshes when you're looking at something. I found the funniest Tom Holman Valentine card meme today and I really wanted to get it and send it out to everyone and then X refreshed and I can't find the damn thing. It is the funniest thing. It's a Tom Holman Valentine card, right? So I don't know if you guys do like we don't really I don't Valentine's Day. I don't really do anything for it. It is what it is. I've always been like, oh, it's weird. I don't know. But for Valentine's Day, it would be great if we could just have POTUS have like an Oval Office press availability and say, you know what? We're not having taxes this year. We're getting rid of the taxes. I would, I'd freak out. I don't even know what I would do. We need something. I think we need a little something, especially as we're approaching taxis. And we're going to be talking about all the latest with USAID because, dear heavens, every time, before I go to bed, there's a whole list of stuff. And then when I wake up in the morning, there's a whole list of stuff. Just finding out what our money's been frittered away on for decades and decades and decades. And it is really dispiriting. It really is. Yeah, that's one of them. That's one of the cards, Kane. The Tom Homan. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Come here illegally and we'll deport you. It's heartwarming. You know, it's heartfelt. And it has that emotion of love or whatever. All good things. So as we roll forward, because some of the stuff, for instance, I mentioned every single day we find out more and more of what our money has been going towards. There's... You have the Doge. Oh, yeah, Juan just threw up on the simulcast. He threw it up on the simulcast. It's the best Valentine's Day card ever. You have the Doge auditing, and then you have independent audits as well that have been happening. HHS, they went in because Doge busted up into IRS yesterday. I cannot tell you. I'm not a very emotional person in this way, but I can't tell you how that warmed my heart. It warmed the deep crevasse of my heart to that headline. That's what I actually, if you get the newsletter at Substack, that was like my top story. I was so excited to read that. And they decided they're looking at HHS and IRS. Now, I like crevasses, Cain. My heart doesn't have cockles. It's crevasses. Oh. I'm in a really weird mood today, and I don't exactly know why. It's one of those days. It could be some of my new allergy medication for cedar season. So we may be in for like a long, weird couple months, guys. I just don't even know how to break that to you. Yeah, so Doge, they arrived at the IRS, right? Wall Street Journal had the story. So they've been looking at HHS and IRS. This is the latest. And you know that when they rolled up to the IRS building that they were none too happy to see them, the IRS people. The IRS people probably like scurrying into the shadows. What is he here to do? So they arrived. They arrived at their headquarters. And one of the aides to Musk said, apparently was present. He's been working at the OPM, Office of Personnel Management. And that's like HR, basically, for government. And it was, I think, Wyden out of Oregon. He was the Democrat who first posted about it on X. He said that, I've heard now that, or I've heard that Doge is now at the IRS. And then he started, I kid you not, he started threatening about delays to your tax returns because of Doge. I'm going to tell you something. We may have to use that get out of free card with Brendan Carr sooner rather than later. I'm not even messing. To threaten our returns. You stole money from us and then we're supposed to get excited when you give us a pittance back. You rat bastards. It's taken everything I have right now. I'm not kidding. I made this remark to my family yesterday. Like, you know, for all the talk about freedom, this is not a free nation. It's not a free nation. It's a nation of cronyism, corruption, and Marxism. We have gotten so far off of the path that was laid out before us by the founders. We are so far away from that. You know, and I'm not saying this as a phrase to say it, we literally had a war over less. We went to war over less. You have three months of your income every year that is taken from you under threat of penalty by federalized thugs, jackboots. I have zero respect for anyone who works at any government agency that extorts and penalizes the American people for not giving them their income. Taxation is theft. The IRS is a domestic terrorist agency. The people who enforce it are domestic terrorists. This is not rhetoric. I really, truly believe this. It's fact. It's indisputable. Look what they've been spending your money on. Billions and billions of dollars. I'm not even talking about weapons training for terrorists and giving Hamas aid and comfort, which is under any other measure would be considered treason. No, I'm talking about all of the new stuff that we've been finding, you know, spending money on everything from illegal immigrants. I mean, basically, we're paying the cartels to bring people over here illegally. I want to know if people like Ron Wyden are getting kickbacks from this. I want to know if people like Elizabeth Warren are getting kickbacks from this. There are people who are NGOs here in the U.S. who get millions of dollars to take illegal immigrants in and find them jobs and stuff where they don't have to provide a social security number and all this other stuff. I mean, you literally have Office of Refugee Resettlement that's been handing out money to illegal immigrants to get them houses and cars. This is what Open the Books found. Even before Doge, Open the Books found that. Now imagine how deep that goes. They increased the number of illegal aliens eligible to receive funding under Joe Biden. I'm not kidding you. They had $10 billion just in 2023. $10 billion that they gave to for housing, small business loans and vehicles, things like that. Why are we paying that for illegal aliens that are coming, breaking the law and entering the country illegally? Why? We can't afford that. That's not sustainable. And you can't demand that taxpayers foot the bill for this. This is what I'm talking about. People are struggling to make ends meet. Do you know how expensive? I know you all seen how much eggs are. The people in Washington haven't seen how much eggs are. We still are dealing with Biden inflation, which is something else we're going to be talking about coming up. We're trillions in debt. We got Biden inflation that we're dealing with. Things are still unaffordable. We're finding out how much of our money has been spent on all of this other stuff. You realize that the only reason that we even comply with the IRS is because they hired a bunch of jackboots with full auto, right? That's the only reason anybody complies. I always wondered if enough people resisted, what would they they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I'm just, you know, speculating out loud. The abuse of our government and everything that we've seen our money go towards working against us, writing hit pieces on good patriots. Spending money on terrorism and cartels. Do you know how much taxpayer dollars went to go finance the Fast and Furious operation running guns across the border, literally arming El Chapo? We spent millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars on that. And then they turned around and they were going to use it as justification to reduce your Second Amendment rights. Yeah. So we got to have a series. I need more from this administration on this issue. I need a hell of a lot more on this issue. I need POTUS to come out and say, you know what? We're going to abolish the IRS. For some of these Republican cowards to step up and do that and do the job that voters need them to do. Because I got to tell you, any Republican that does not have that as one of their top three priorities can rot in hell. That's how I look at it. And you should too. Our partners over, God love them, Tax Network USA. They want to help you with the government theft agency. Oh, I'm sorry, the government extortion department. I'm sorry, the IRS. Never work with the IRS alone because they hate you. And not all tax resolution companies are the same either. You need just, you know what? Don't even mess around. Just call Tax Network USA. If you owe back taxes, if you have unfiled returns, do not wait for those 88,000 fools to come after you. Call Tax Network USA. Schedule your complimentary consultation. Their strategists have been through it. 1-800-958-1000 TNUSA.com slash Janda. They got direct access to the IRS. They actually know the better agents to deal with. Here's the thing. They have saved their clients over a billion dollars. That is no joke. Businesses of all sizes, individuals too. $10,000, $10 million, doesn't matter. They have tailored strategies designed specifically to settle tax issues in your favor. This is a company that loves fighting with the IRS. And they love beating down the IRS to the point where they can get you the best solution for your situation. And they are relentless. And the IRS is like, oh my gosh, it's not Tax Network USA again. Just give them whatever they want. They're at that point. Risk-free solutions. It can be risky and stressful to do it alone. 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SPEAKER 22 :
There's a specific reason why some of these politicians hate Elon Musk. Elizabeth Warren claims she doesn't accept donations from Big Pharma. Not only does she collect money, she collects more than anyone else does. And the person next in line? Bernie Sanders. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
Americans are finding it harder and harder to pay off their debt. This is sad. The Federal Reserve in New York, they released on Thursday their latest comprehensive look at credit conditions for American households in major categories like mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, things like that, home equity lines of credit, student loans. Fourth quarter last year, overall debt levels increased by 0.5% to $18.04 trillion. That's according to the quarterly report on household debt and credit. All major loan categories saw increases as well. Credit card balances top 1.2 trillion, rising over 7% from the fourth quarter of last year and logging the smallest yearly increase since 21. Everything, everybody's in debt. I think it's still also fallout from COVID. All of it, so much of it is fallen from COVID. It really is. Banks have closed more than 100 branches in three weeks as the closure bloodbath continues going into 2025. Banks filed notice to shut down 107 locations just between the last several weeks. U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, PNC, they were the ones who were doing the most of it. Wow, just scary stuff. A husband watched in horror a hippo killed his wife on an African safari tour. I'll have more about that next headlines. But you know hippos are like the jerks of the animal world. They really murder us. Stick with us, our partners. It is the non-firearm firearm over a burn a gun. B-Y-R-N-A. It's always good to diversify your weapons array, whether it's for self-defense. You know, if you're in areas where you're not able to carry because of municipal restrictions or private property restrictions, you don't want to be left alone. defenseless, especially not in this lawlessness and disorder period of our lives. You want to make sure that you can protect yourself. And this is where Berna comes in. Berna doesn't care about stupid gun-free zone signs. There's no background checks. There's no permits. You can ship it right to your house. And when you compare it to like a stun gun, stun guns have one or two rounds. The Burna, the Burna SD, their most popular model, that is five rounds. And it shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can disable threats from up to 50 feet away. And they have different models, but the SD is their top selling model. They also have different accessories, etc. But it's all I mean, you carry knives. I mean, everybody you think about it, you have different different weapons for different things for different things that you need. And so if you're in one of those areas where you don't want to be defenseless, but you're prevented from carrying, this is where Berna comes in. You can go and reevaluate your self-defense options. Look at everything that they have on their website, Berna.com slash Dana. That's B-Y-R-N-A. And when you go there and make your purchase, you get 10% off. Berna.com slash Dana.
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SPEAKER 1 :
Thin.
SPEAKER 20 :
Make some common sense of the crazy headlines with the Dana Show podcast. Your on-the-go guide for getting up to speed on today's most important stories.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
One of the things that he has is he loves dank memes and jokes, and he loves to make jokes himself and then laugh at his own jokes. And then all the people who work for him laugh at him, and therefore he thinks he's funny. And he's not funny. He's sometimes funny, I guess. Well, I never thought so. But he likes to do this. He likes to engage in sort of these juvenile little pranks. And when he's not doing that, he likes to insult people. And all kidding aside, we don't mind being called these names, but it's a 53 year old man does not do this. I mean, or this one does. And so he just like this is what he likes. He likes to to to to slag people. I guess it's part of video game culture or something, but I find it unusual.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, I love it when old white women sit here and talk about, you know, the culture and dank memes. It's my favorite thing on earth. That's Kara Swisher, who says, I don't know, like another 53-year-old. You don't know any men. You literally know nobody with balls. You don't know any men. None at all. Because every man I know does that. Every age. She would be horrified to meet someone like the uncles in my family. They all do it. It's a dude thing. It's just a dude thing. And there's a lot of ladies that find it funny, but not her because she's serious. She's serious lady on CNN, Kara Swisher. I just can't believe that. I don't know. She's mad because Musk likes dank memes. I, too, enjoy a dank meme. What is, like, every, they hate him. He's got a sense of humor. It's so horrible.
SPEAKER 12 :
Of all the memes that exist, I think dank memes are my favorite.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, and she just, like, basically became one. Can you believe, like, this is what they're criticizing Musk over. Can you believe that he's got a sense of humor? So horrible. Can't believe it's funny. They just, they're horrible. How miserable are you? If the sourness of a Sour Patch Kid were a face, it'd be Kara Swisher. Good night. And then who are the other people that they're sitting? Who was the other guy who was sitting there that she was talking to? Was he wearing a hoodie on television? And he wasn't John Fetterman? Isn't that who it was? Who was that? It's not John Fetterman. Only John Fetterman gets a hoodie pass. I don't know who this stooge is. Positive he's wearing a hoodie, right? Or a dickie or something. But he, I don't know who, who is this guy sitting there? I just think it's funny because he looks like he doesn't appreciate her commentary. Because I feel like his internal thought bubble is, well, I like a dank meme. I feel like it is. She's mad because Musk is funny. I mean, I guess Democrats miss the days that when, you know, they could drive women into pods and leave them to drown. Oops. I guess Democrats miss the days when they could have fun times with cigars under the desk in the Oval Office. I mean, I guess Democrats miss the day when they could take a pregnant staffer that they had knocked up out of wedlock and make a sandwich with her. I mean, when does it stop? Is that what they prefer? As opposed to a guy who just cracks a joke online and saves us money. Jiminy Christmas. I'm out of give a damn juice today. I am out of give a damn juice. I have. You know what? There's a national run on give a damn juice because nobody has any. It's all gone. All gone. I just. How is that? That makes me like him even more. Oh, you're offended because he makes a joke. Oh, I like him even more than. What does that have to do with that he has every right to do what he's been tasked to do by the executive? Golly, could these people be more miserable?
SPEAKER 12 :
Imagine being more upset over a joke than the unbelievable crazy spending our government's been doing through USAID.
SPEAKER 19 :
Imagine. Yeah, they'll talk about dank memes with Elon Musk, but they're not talking about all of the money that he found that's being wasted. Like stuff beyond... even like stuff even beyond what has already been found by a lot of these, you know, fact check or a lot of these third party agencies already. Just imagine being upset, that upset over having, they're saving you money. I really do think that the left views The taxation, like however much they give to the government to an extent, I feel like they view that as a measure of whether or not you're a good little statist. Do you get that impression, too? I feel like that. I just saw this headline. Russia arrests a U.S. man for smuggling cannabis gummies in his luggage. OK, folks, can we just be real for a second? I think they've legalized marijuana in a lot of places in the US and everybody can get their their little pot chews or pot gummies or whatever that is. They can get those things. And not every other country has the same laws that the US has. So stop doing this stuff. Stop taking your damn pot gummies to countries like Russia and then being shocked when they arrest you. Wow, I went to a communist nation that would arrest you for sneezing the wrong way and I'm taking pot gummies in. So shocked that they've arrested me. And then they're going to try to turn it into this like big thing where we're going to have to give up an arms dealer for this jackass who decided to bring some pot gummies into a country where everybody knows that you cannot bring those gummies in. Everybody knows this. Did you not pay attention with Brittany Griner or everybody else that's tried this and was arrested? How many times do you jack wagons got to get arrested before you learn that that's Russia? It's Russia. Hell, they want to arrest you just for being an American anyway. And you're going to elevate it by bringing in pot gummies, too. You can't go for a couple days without your pot gummies. I don't know. What in the world? Why do people do this, Cain? Why do they bring these into these foreign countries every time?
SPEAKER 12 :
I think because at the time they were high on pot gummies.
SPEAKER 19 :
Actually, that makes sense. You're right. That makes sense. People need to stop doing this stupid stuff. Stop this nonsense. You know we're going to probably have to give up an arms dealer now. This is so dumb. Isn't that what happened? That's what happened with Brittany Greiner. And then Baylor honors her because she went to Baylor and played ball. And then they had this big ceremony for her or whatever last year. And I'm like, you realize that we had to put a weapons dealer that hates Americans. We had to give him back to Russia because this bee didn't realize I couldn't bring my marijuana juice with me. I mean, it's so stupid. Golly, people need to stop doing this. Can we talk about the GOP problem here real quick? As I mentioned this last hour, and this is a this is a problem that Republicans are really going to have to get a handle on, because what are what are some of the top issues that that everybody ran on this last cycle? Right. Immigration, inflation, you know, controlling, improving the economy. And I think voters are going to be real, you know, we're really excited for change in that regard. And This is one of the things they're going to have to immediately throw everything at to stabilize. Because I think that inflation and illegal immigration were the two issues that propelled POTUS into the White House. I think they were the two issues across the United States that helped drag all of these other Republicans across the threshold. I think in a lot of these other gubernatorial races, state legislation or legislators, etc., that was the issue. Those two issues were the issues that made moderates into Republican voters. They turned independents into Republican voters. Hell, they turned a lot of Democrats into Republican voters. And it's not going to be something that's easy to handle because once you start getting inflation, it's very difficult to get the prices to ever go back if it happens. That's a reality. So it's a risky gambit To push tariffs, but to leverage them to get the desired outcome is a completely different matter. The inflation that Trump inherited, and that's even what the Wall Street Journal, they had an article the other day talking about the inflation that Trump inherited from Biden above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. he's got to bring down interest rates. We've got to do that. We've got to bring down, we have to bring down inflation and the consumer price index. That's, you know, again, still, still high eggs. Everybody's going to judge it by how high their grocery bills are and how much their energy costs. If they're still unable to go out and eat, like if people are unable to afford to go out for Valentine's Day and have a nice meal or maybe go get an inexpensive meal and go to the movies, people are still struggling to do that. That's the measure by which they're going to determine whether or not this administration is successful, whether or not the previous norms that they've enjoyed can be restored. They should be able to make and they should be able to enjoy the same things they've always enjoyed with the same check. And they can't anymore. So that's the measure. So the core inflation, I think that the Fed, because they target a different core inflation measure, that was like what, 2.6 in January. and they don't show inflation expectations rising, although there are different measures that do show them rising. However, this is something that they, this has to be the number one priority. So we've got the discussion of tariffs on steel and aluminum, reciprocal tariffs on a whole bunch of other stuff. Steel companies have already been raising prices. All of this goes into the soup of the economy. Now, Musk was saying, he actually posted about this this week, He was saying that all Americans will benefit from lower interest payments on mortgages, small business debt, credit cards and other loans. And he was talking about Doge being partly responsible for some of that. He says, as it becomes clear that Doge is working, you will see the long term Treasury bill yields fall, is what he said, which is true. But you there's the problem is Congress has to implement it. He can make all of these recommendations. Congress has to make them permanent. So far they haven't done it. Now we do have a budget bill that's coming up. Remember I told you last, you know, this was before Thanksgiving that we were going to have to deal with this coming up in spring. And we're going to probably have to deal with it when? Coming up in June or July? If they keep doing CRs? Which you know they're going to do another one. So this reconciliation, they're going to do another one? You know they will. So... They've picked the way that Doge has tackled all of this, and we're going to talk more about it. They've picked very prominent candidates. very prominent targets, politically, economically, and even some smaller ones as well to give, to deliver to the American people, look, these are the agencies that you feel have betrayed you. These are the agencies that you can immediately see the bloat. We're going to target this so that you see what we're doing because people need to be, you have to keep it in front of people's faces all the time. That is populism 101. Populism doesn't work if people don't see it. That's why you need and that's, you know, being able to put all of this out there. The dank memes and all of that is part of it. Having that messaging, tapping into that, that cultural zeitgeist, all of that stuff is part of keeping it in front of people's faces. That's a populist tactic. Remember, populism is a tactic. It's not a set of principles. It is about how you message those principles. That's what populism is. So if you say you're a populist, you're not stating that you have a set of principles. You're just stating I'm a strategist like this. So let's keep that in mind. But this is all part of it. Now, Republicans have to figure out if they're going to be able in the House, especially as this budget bill comes forward, get together the votes required to make these cuts. This is where it gets really hard. How much time did we say that they had after Trump was inaugurated? What, six months? Is that what we said? Six months before the cycle really starts, the fundraising cycle and all of that? Do you think it's going to be harder or easier for a lot of these lawmakers to go, yeah, you know what, we are going to start cutting some of these regulations or whatever as it relates to either Social Security, as it relates to taxation. I mean, think about the Department of Education. I mean, they're recommending a total gutting of that, getting rid of it entirely and throwing it all back to state control, which actually is the most constitutional thing to do. You realize there's going to be a narrative war over that. Are these Republicans strong enough to do it? This is where Trump's administration is going to be tested. And his legacy is going to depend on whether or not the House can make it permanent. Whether or not they're going to be able to do this stuff. Now you can see the importance of having a strong speaker, don't you? All of this is coming together. It's like a usual suspects. When At the very end, you know, Kevin Spacey walks off, loses his limp, starts walking and the guy's looking at the wall and he sees that he just Kobayashi everything. He just like all the pieces are falling together. Now you're seeing it. So we got to talk about everything from cutting spending to cutting government bloat deregulation. If they can't do this, if Republicans don't do it. This will be disastrous. It is so important that the pressure is on the House right now. We're going to talk more about this here coming up as we move. Our partners. I really like this business, and I hate that I didn't think of it myself because it's such a good idea. All Family Pharmacy, I've been recommending them to everybody because I think what they do makes it so easy and it's so important, and they cut out the middleman. They have a doctor that reviews their prescriptions and does all this stuff. And so basically with All Family Pharmacy, what this is is it's a one-stop shop. where you can go and you can get the medications you need. You can also get things like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. And it's insane that there are still doctors who don't recognize the medicinal benefits of these medications. It's like living in the dark ages, for crying out loud. 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Big news. Wayfair's President's Day clearance is on now. And these are big deals, like Wayfair's best deals since Black Friday. Right now through February 18th, you can score up to 70% off everything home at Wayfair. Did we mention there's free and easy delivery straight to your door? There may even be some flash deals popping up too. You'll just have to shop and see. So don't wait. Shop Wayfair's President's Day clearance today through February 18th at Wayfair.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
Get the lowdown on the latest news with a side of laughs. Whenever you want. Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 11 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 16 :
I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R.
SPEAKER 1 :
35.
SPEAKER 16 :
Let's call this bill what it is. Fearmongering dressed up as officer safety. This bill echoes one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Just like that shameful law, H.R. 35 forces local authorities and encourages the deputizing of randos to do the federal government's work.
SPEAKER 19 :
So that's the stupidest. One of the dumbest soundbites I think I've heard. That's actually not at all what the bill does. And there are a lot of Democrats who actually don't believe in what her rhetoric was right there. That's Representative Janelle Bynum from Oregon, big old Democrat. Can we just stop comparing things to Hitler or the Holocaust or slavery? Can we just stop comparing things to that? Stop it. Just stop it. It's so dumb. And it's so insulting. And it diminishes actual historical offenses. Quit. If you disagree with something, then just articulate as to why. But don't be like, well, everything is Hitler. Or everything is slavery or racism. Because that's not what this is. It's actually... like strengthening enforcement. That's what this is doing. And you're not making local law enforcement. You're not federalizing them. By the way, that's such an ironic argument from Democrats who have wanted nothing more than to federalize all police for I don't know how long. Stick with us. We have another hour coming up next. Achieving vibrant, youthful skin doesn't have to be complicated. With the power of Native Path Collagen, you can nourish your body from within and enhance not just your skin, but also your hair, your nails. By incorporating Native Path Collagen into your daily routine, you can promote a plump, radiant complexion, reduce signs of aging, and boost your overall vitality, all without any unnecessary fillers or additives. Native Path Collagen has only type 1 and 3 collagen, the most important types, making up 90% of your body's collagen. No artificial sweeteners, just pure third-party tested goodness. It's completely flavorless, so you can just add it to about anything, your coffee, your smoothies, oatmeal, or whatever you want. And the best part is that Native Path's peptides formula makes it more bioavailable, so it means your body will absorb it easily. Start your journey to healthier skin today. Get native path.com slash Dana and stock up on native path collagen and save up to an incredible 45% off plus free shipping. Every order includes a 365 day money back guarantee. Don't miss out. Head to get native path.com slash Dana.
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SPEAKER 15 :
And expressing opinions isn't election interference. Even when people express views outside your own country and even when those people are very influential. And trust me, I say this with all humor. If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.
SPEAKER 19 :
How dare you? How dare you? Wait, so wait, we don't pay attention to tweens anymore? Telling us about policy? Oh, that's right. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. I am very excited to slice and dice all of this, the wasteful government aid, all of the laundering. I mean, it's money laundering. Let's be real. It's just money laundering. I can't wait until every bit of it's exposed. And then I can't wait until every bit of it is cut. But that requires the House to act. And that's one of the things we were talking about actually last hour. And this is you need to bring upon members of Congress more pressure than you have ever brought on any elected official in your life. When this stuff starts coming out of committee and we start actually taking, like, for instance, Department of Education, moving it back to the states, super important to do this. And if I didn't say it earlier, happy Valentine's Day. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you, Channel 347 Direct TV. The chat's at Rumble, by the way. They're rowdy over there. I cannot be held responsible. And you can also find us YouTube, Facebook, Substack. Lorraine's got a big post up there that is now live about all of the judges that are seeking to, and all, I mean like the tiny handful of them, but still, far-left judges that are trying to derail POTUS's mandate. And very important to follow along with all of that stuff. She also was saying that, where did she, because she found out how the Apparently, getting into some of this, what is the judge? Because she wrote on Judge John McConnell. And he was, I mean, he was one of the guys who also got U.S. aid money. Who didn't get U.S. aid money? Are we like all of us here today assembled? I think we're like the only people that didn't get U.S. aid money. I don't even know how someone gets USAID money. I don't even know how this happens. This is just, you got to sit down and you got to BS in a, in a application essentially. I don't know. But, you know, back to my point that we're, we're discussing here, all of these people in the house, they have really, they really have to come through. And it's not about coming through for POTUS. It's about coming through for you, the voter, for all of us. And it's great that we're having these people come in. Like you had Doge that arrived at IRS yesterday. One of the Democrat lawmakers, I think it was Wyden, yeah, who had tweeted that Doge was at IRS and they were moving over there because they were at HHS. They've been going and visiting all of these agencies. POTUS told everyone yesterday, quote, the IRS will be looked at like everybody else. Just about everybody's going to be looked at. And, I mean, they have a lot of, they walked in with a list of concerns because the IRS expansion, the billions of dollars used for you know, expanding, hiring all of these agents that now they're trying to say, no, now you can go down to the border and enforce something. Audio Sun by three. This is POTUS talking about this. Just this was just yesterday afternoon.
SPEAKER 21 :
Listen, those workers arrived today. Gavin Klager and others arrived today at the IRS. Do you expect to close the IRS or what are you expecting?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I don't expect it, but I think that the Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else. Just about everybody's going to be looked at. They're doing a hell of a job. It's an amazing job they're doing. And you know that force is building. I call it the force of super geniuses, but it's building. And they go up and they talk to some of the people about certain deals, and the people get all tongue-tied. They can't talk. Because these people get it. They're very smart people. We need smart people.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, I love it. This needs to happen. One of the things Musk posted, let me open this tweet up. This is part of my notes. One of the things that Musk had posted on X was talking about 18F. He had said that is the government-wide computer office. and it's the same agency that built elizabeth warren's direct file program and direct file put them in charge of preparing everybody's tax returns for them right And the IRS worked closely with the U.S. Digital Service and the General Service Administrations, et cetera, et cetera. And it's basically deleted. Luke Rosiak noted on February 1st that their tech arm, quote, a far left agency that viciously subverted Trump during his first term, surrendered after an Elon Musk deputy took over. It deleted huge swaths of code dedicated to virtue signaling rather than mission, such as its quote unquote inclusion bot that lectured staff. And Luke Rosiak had a bunch of receipts on this. And you know him. He works at the Daily Caller Foundation, really good at what he does. But he so they essentially they've they've cut and he's got all the power in the world online. under all the authority under POTUS. POTUS, this is what POTUS wanted done because this is what we voted for. This is why elections matter, Democrats. They matter. We voted for this. Now, if they can follow up, like I said, on all of this stuff with permanence through Congress, you will win 2028. Republicans will win 2028. And I think we will maintain control of House and Senate. What Democrats want to do is they want to cause as much division as possible. They want to make they want to toxify Musk. This is the only play they have right now, because as we explained in the very beginning, Trump has to hit the ground. I mean, running. This is one of the things I appreciate. He understood this mission. He is so much more disciplined this term than he was way more than he was the first term. Oh, my gosh. It's almost like night and day, the level of discipline. But I think he's been through it before and some stuff has happened. You know what I mean? But to the extent of they bypassed – and I think I mentioned this this week. Maybe I didn't. Correct me if I'm wrong. But normally when the first family moves in, they usually have – I don't know, like if it's like House and Garden or whoever it is, they always do. And you can go back in time. You can see they did it with Jill Biden. They did it with Michelle Obama. They even did it. They even talked about it with Melania. Thanks, Melania. So I did mention this yesterday. They even did it a little bit with Melania Trump in 2016. But when the Trumps first moved in back in 2016, they didn't really change a whole lot. They didn't buy brand new things. Like Michelle Obama literally was ordering like new drapes, all of this stuff. Jill Biden, Michelle Obama also ordered a new rug, sort of Jill Biden. It was just weird stuff. This time Trump comes in. He had his, I don't know, like little team of fixers come in and bring all his photos and they put the Churchill bus back in. They hung a Reagan portrait up. They did, you know, they made it look real nice. I think they changed the rug out. And then they brought back, I can't remember, I think it was like Reagan-era drapes or something because they keep all this stuff in storage. They didn't go out and do a big buy. They just took stuff that they had, repurposed it, immediately brought it all in, set it up, and they hit the ground running. There's been no spread. And that's not because people are salty about him winning. That's because they don't GAF. They're there to work. He doesn't care about doing a spread. Also, I think that they understand how tone deaf that is right now to do something like that when everyone's hurting and people are, I mean, good grief, eggs have increased like times four. So they are playing it right. They immediately come in, hit the ground running, so disciplined. And if they can follow this up with permanence, not only will they solidify And maintain control of the House and Senate, I guarantee you Republicans will win in 28, which is that is a hard thing to say that you're certain of. It's a hard thing to say that you're certain of because typically. Typically, you have the pendulum swings back the other way. If you have two terms of a Republican, you get a Democrat. I mean, when is that? I was actually going back and looking. I don't I don't ever see there being an exception to that. Audio soundbite 16. The only other Republican that's talking about this is Newt Gingrich. Listen.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I cannot understand these guys. You know, I lived through it. Reagan lost 26 seats in the first off-year election because his tax cuts didn't go into effect until 1983. Trump lost 42 seats in his first off-year election because the tax bill didn't pass until October. When I hear senators saying cavalierly, oh, we'll pass the easy bill early and we'll get around to the other bill by October, they're talking about killing the chances of keeping the House Republican.
SPEAKER 19 :
He is absolutely correct. Absolutely correct. Everything now hinges on these things being made permanent. And it's one thing for Musk to go. And I remember Musk was supposed to. I mean, there's a shelf life. Doge isn't not going to be a forever existing agency. Isn't it in 26, I think July of 26, when he's saying that he wants to have everything done. He also was saying that they're pretty much on exactly on time with everything that they've been wanting to do, which is incredibly impressive. Say what you want about whether or not you like what they're doing. They've been so ridiculously transparent and they've made it. They've made transparency fun. Even though it's killing us to see how much of our money is being wasted and how much of it's been wasted behind our back this whole time. But it has been incredibly transparent. You have entire... I mean, they have the Doge website up where everything is categorized. You can go and search. I mean, this is the one thing that they're really, really, really good at. And they have been... Just unleashing the people with certain skills that are the best with that skill set. And we're all benefiting from it. I have never seen any administration start so strong in my life. And I know that they're taking some cues from Javier Malai, as they should, because he went in there and kind of did the same thing. Slice and dice. And this is what they're doing now. You got to get the rest of these Republicans in the House to go along with it. This is where you have a Tea Party 3.0, where we're less nice, we're less polite, and we don't really have any manners. That's what it's going to take. Some of you are going to feel like you're being mean, but you're not. It's honestly, you need to be doing this stuff. You would rather put pressure to bear on these lawmakers and aggravate the hell out of them so they want to get this done, get it out of the way so they can get away from this drama and have them do and bring to fruition the mandate of the voters. It is going to take everything we have to make this happen in Congress, though. Yes, we have a majority. But the question isn't whether or not you have a majority. The question is the quality of that majority. What is the quality of the Republican? Remember, Republicans are as strong as their weakest member. So this is going to be a fight because you're not going to get everybody in the House all on board on this. You're going to have to, and I say this rhetorically, you're going to bust some knees. And then you got to get it through the Senate. So this is stuff, while they're doing it, they also have to make it attractive for Democrats, for some of the moderate Democrats to co-sign. There's probably gonna have to be some deals made. Like, oh, we're gonna help this moderate Democrat keep this purple seat maybe, if we can make this permanent, if we can make tax cuts permanent, if we can put education back in the hands of the states, things like that. This has just started. This is just the first step. Y'all better be getting ready for the long haul and get your, rhetorically speaking, brass knuckles ready. We got a lot to come. History shows gold and silver thrive under strong leadership. During President Trump's first term, gold surged 53 percent and silver soared 51 percent. With him back, could precious metals break new records in 2025 and beyond? In times of economic uncertainty, smart investors turn to assets that have proven their worth. Gold and silver have historically outperformed in volatile markets, making them a crucial part of any strategy that for preserving and growing wealth. And that's why I trust the partners at GoldCo. Secure your financial future today and don't wait until the next economic crisis happens. GoldCo is a trusted leader in precious metals and with over $3 billion in gold and silver secured for hardworking Americans, they've been a top-rated company from the start. Take action and partner with a company that puts your security first. Visit danalikesgold.com right now and get a free copy of their 2025 gold and silver kit. On top of that, you could also qualify for up to $15,000 in bonus silver, possibly even more. That's danalikesgold.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 12 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So more and more houses are being pulled from the market, being pulled from sale. Because buyers just aren't showing up? An increase in the number of properties being delisted is very much a sign of a weakening housing market. 73,000 homes were pulled from sale in December of last year alone, a 64% increase compared with the same month in 2023. Clearly, there's a lack of buyers. And despite According to the Wall Street Journal, an increase in available properties home sales were at their lowest rate in nearly 30 years. Very weak demand. The rise in D listings and unsold inventory, new homes inventory, also indicates a potential correction in U.S. home prices because people are anticipating a decline in values, which I think there's some truth to that. So, again, we're not out of the woods. Getting there. Denny's is closing. What's up, Denny's? They're closing dozens of more restaurants. dozens. I mean, the moon's over Miami wouldn't bad, right? But they said the 150 locations, they closed 88 locations last year, 70 to 90 in 2025. So 180 in total. They said, you know, it's natural. It's just a natural shift. They've been open for a long time, a long time. We have a lot more on the way. Stick with us next. Our partners that help bring you the program, it's our friends over at Super Beats. The Superverine is the latest product from the makers of the Super Beats Heart Shoes. It is a plant-based supplement that's made with an ingredient that helps to support your metabolism and blood sugar levels. It's three times more effective than your diet and exercise alone. It's real results, super convenient. One easy to swallow capsule a day helps you to do more to support metabolic health and healthy blood sugar levels. They use clinically researched ingredients. So this berberine has been clinically studied. It has nearly 10 times higher absorption than standard berberine used by doctors from the makers of Super Beats Heart Juice. So head to your nearest Sam's Club, save on the Super Beats Heart Juice and the new Super Berberine. You're going to love the way it makes you feel.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Keep your finger on the pulse with the Dana Show podcast, delivering timely news with insightful analysis. Whenever you want, straight to you on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back, Dana Lash with you. Bottom of this second hour on Valentine's Day. I'm wearing red today, don't get used to it. It's like one of the, I own three red shirts and they're all the same color of red and two of them are the same material and that's it. That's it. Everything else is black because it's easy. So I wore red for you all today. Happy Valentine's Day. Make sure you sign up at Substack. I feel like I'm going to put a bunch of the memes up there. The Tom Homan immigration Valentine's memes. I just stumbled across like I cannot stop, you know, because now CNN hates dank memes. So. All right. So. Oh, I got a handful of stuff to get. We're going to talk about the USAID stuff later on in our third hour. Do a deep dive into that. There's a couple of other things that... Talking about the importance of finalizing and making permanent all of these things that POTUS is doing. Super important to do. Has to happen. Going to take a lot of pressure on members of the House. Also, just to keep you updated, so we had RFK that had his swearing in earlier. And he was talking... Actually, I'm going to pull this. This is audio... This is audio soundbite 14 where he was talking about data on Rona Vax safety. It is kind of wild that that isn't established.
SPEAKER 24 :
Listen, we don't have good data on it. And that is a crime. The fact that we don't have a surveillance system that actually works. Oh, and in 2010, CDC has a surveillance system called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. And it's supposed to pick up injuries. But CDC did a study of that system in 2010. And that study said, and this is a published study by CDC, that it captures less than 1% of the vaccine entries. That's inexcusable.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's true. This is the kind of stuff that also brought a lot of these independents and moderates over. There was a survey. I'm going to pull this up. Axios talked to a focus group of swing voters. And much to their chagrin, these swing voters love what's happening. They love all the changes related to health. They love all the changes related to cutting spending. They love all the stuff that Doge is doing. They love it. It is a major. I mean, they did it in Arizona. It's a big group of Arizona swing voters. They want more. It's the Engageus. Two different focus groups said that they approve of POTUS's actions since taking office and an overwhelming majority support Musk's efforts to slash government as well. So like I said, they love all this. They said they were also super supportive of the executive orders on immigration, the elimination of DEI initiatives. And in fact, one of the statements that the voters, most of them said was that, quote, I approve because I believe he's transparent and we haven't had that for the last four years. And another one said, quote, he said he was going to do this, this, this, and this, and this is what he is immediately starting. So that's, one said that, oh, he's flooding the zone to dilute attention on any one action. No, I think he's just overwhelming the left. You have to, it's a strategy. You do have to completely outmaneuver the left. And one of the ways that you do that is overwhelm them. All they have in response to this stuff has been what? Some weak lawfare and everything's racist, right? That's pretty much all they have. Weak lawfare and everything's racist. Audio Sunbite 17. This is all this is the only thing that they can say that this is it. Like what this one crone said on The View. Listen, Audio Sunbite 17. Educated workers cost more.
SPEAKER 17 :
That is the bottom line. And that's what they're.
SPEAKER 19 :
She's saying that they want to create. That was a short clip. They want to create a Department of Education because to create they want to get rid of it to create a permanent underclass in the United States. That's what she said. So that clip was a little different. But she had said that they want to create a permanent underclass. No, eliminating a federal agency so that the states can manage education and manage their state dollars educationally, all of that, that actually is going to have a bigger impact. And you will have more opportunities to improve academic achievement and results. than you would having everything ensconced all the way out in D.C. So this makes all the sense in the world. It makes all the sense in the world. And so this, I mean, look, the swing voters are loving it. Democrats have nothing in response. Yeah, the approval of this group, and it was a sizable group of swing voters, it was nearly 100% approval. Now, this is what's interesting. Musk approval, they had it at 73 percent. Still super high. But do you see how Democrats look at that and go, oh, there's where we can try to pick. There's where we can try to. They're looking at trying to convince these swing voters with hysteria. The problem is. is the Democrat strategy to try to undermine what Trump is doing isn't wrong. It's their approach. And I'm not saying they're not wrong. I'm saying that they see that, oh, well, there's some daylight we could maybe use as a way to bust apart the alliance between Trump and Musk. So they're looking at it strategically. But the problem is the way in which they are going about it is not going to attract voters. weak lawfare you can't have a low-ranking judge tell the executive oh you can't run your department exactly the way that you're doing as per the constitution that's not gonna hold up that's stupid that's absolutely stupid you can't say for the purpose of of you know, political expediency that the treasury department, which has always been under the executive branch. Now you, you can't say that it's not under the executive branch anymore because you don't like the executive. That's what Democrats are doing. It's weak. So the, the way that they're going about this, they're not winning any voters over. They're not winning. What, what have they said other than, and then Juan's got this, like for instance, the department of education, Republicans to their credit, And this is a rare thing for me to say, have actually been really articulate with their messaging as to why they want to abolish the Department of Education. They don't want to abolish the Department of Education because they don't like education or don't value it. They don't think it's run well federally. And it pretty much omits parental involvement at that level. So this is all Democrats have to say in response like this. Watch.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's not really about saving money. No, I think there's a much more nefarious reason for it. I think it's because they without education, you get cheaper labor. I think what they want to do is create in the United States a permanent underclass, a permanent cheap work force because educated workers cost more. That is the bottom line. And that's what they're doing.
SPEAKER 19 :
So, I mean, really, that's really what they do with illegal labor. I mean, really, that's what they do with illegal labor. What she's talking about is insulting. It's really, and it's not accurate. The federal government trying to set educational standards, like a one and done, like all uniform educational standards, that is not helpful to anybody. Hasn't been helpful to anybody. And There is such a benefit to having this be something that's run by the state. When Bush was doing it, when he passed his educational... As Cain notes, No Child Left Behind, when he passed No Child Left Behind, I was very critical of that because that set up, remember the whole battle over Common Core? So No Child Left Behind enabled the existence of Common Core. I was very critical of No Child Left Behind back in the day. I was barely on radio. And I was very critical of it. And at the time, I was doing a lot of writing even before I was on air, and I was very critical of this because you're centralizing everything so far away from the involvement of the families of the kids that the education is supposed to benefit, right? And it's not going to be something easy. I disagree with what – I have some friends on the right who say it's a waste of time to do this, and I completely disagree. Right. Um, remember Trump has said that Linda McMahon, who's heading this up is she needs to put herself out of a job and people have been asking, well, you know, what is the difference? What difference does it make if you, if you remove the department of education and you have, you know, Florida handling its own or Texas handling its own, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Uh, Well, you actually have more accountability for how money is spent. You have more accountability for how education and any kind of initiatives are implemented. And you're getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse. Because it's more easily accessible. You can go to your state capitol and you can press upon your legislators there. It's a hell of a lot easier for you to do than go to D.C. Furthermore, you can petition to have things changed, to have different, you know, there's there's we I mean, we could be here for an hour to talk about. how much more beneficial it is for parents to be able to have their respective states control education and set standards as opposed to federal. Because blue states, for instance, California, one of the things that they did, remember when they were rolling back the academic standards, testing standards for mathematics? And do you remember their reasoning for that? Was this back in like 06 when this happened? Yeah. And they said, because that's when I, you know, I will give, you know, I guess a little bit of credit to Bush when they said he said that it was the soft bigotry of low expectations. That's like his most famous quote, one of them. And that was after California had rolled. They rolled back the. Testing standards specifically for mathematics because they said that black and Hispanic students were struggling to meet those standards. So instead of teaching better, instead of meeting these kids where they were and helping them to expand their skills and do better on tests, they decided collectively. to just roll back their standards. And then they started pressuring the Department of Education when Arne Duncan was there, if you remember this, when he was over at the Department of Education, to adopt these standards federally. So this is the problem. If California wants to disservice in a racial way its students, why in the hell, depending on who's in the White House, should they be able to petition the White House and have this enacted as a federal mandate across the nation? Why? This is the problem with having it all federalized. So, yes, it absolutely should be state by state. Golly, Common Core math. Awful. So this is she's wrong. And Sonny Hostin, when she talks about this issue, she talks like a privileged elitist. She has no idea. I don't know if she has kids, but clearly she has no involvement in any of their academic welfare because a true parent who's truly concerned about the academic welfare of their children. They see this and it doesn't matter right or left. They're livid over it. I because you guys know I homeschooled my kids. And there was a really big reason that we did that. When we lived in the city where we had to live in St. Louis for work, the schools, they lost accreditation. They were a mess. They found that the superintendent was embezzling. I mean, it was just disastrous. The test scores, the academic performance was just abysmal. And they were all protected. They're Randy Weingarten kind of people there. They were all protected. So we started homeschooling. And when I joined our homeschool co-op in St. Louis City, it was the most diverse educational experience that... I mean, students in traditional... Not traditional. In new schools. Because the idea, the way that we educate kids now is very new. But... It's not even you can't even compare in terms of the diversity of experience of teachers and just student body. But parents right and left, a lot of leftist parents and a lot of Hispanic and black families had chose to homeschool also because they were just completely livid with the way that education, everything, the educational state of their schools. This is something that transcends party lines. And I think it's something that they can actually do. Sonny Hostin talks like somebody who has no involvement in children's education at all whatsoever. Let the nannies do it. That's what she does. Our friends over at Patriot Mobile, the only Christian conservative cell phone provider out there, they offer a way to vote with your wallet, but you don't compromise on quality or convenience. And it's not just about providing exceptional cell phone service, which they do. I've traveled... around the globe. I've traveled all around the country. I've never had an issue with my service. But the other thing that they do is they defend our rights and freedoms. They put momentum behind things like parents fighting to take over their school board or people protecting Second Amendment rights. You can visit PatriotMobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT. Free month of service, guys, with promo code Dana. That's pretty nice. They've got coverage, exceptional coverage on all three major networks. You stay connected wherever you go. You support what you believe in. And you also support U.S.-based jobs. They have 100% U.S.-based customer service team that will switch you seamlessly. 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SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me and I immediately called him back. And we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 19 :
Okay, I'm going to try to figure out how to read this story that Kane decided to send and put. It's a Florida man. Oh, you know what it is. It's a Florida man story. Florida woman story, rather. Oh, now you're saying oh. Do you hear him? A 50-year-old woman, Yulisa Negron, had apparently assaulted her ex-partner with a private, intimate accessory.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, I'm actually impressed.
SPEAKER 19 :
Really trying with that one. The altercation escalated during a domestic dispute leading to the woman's arrest on a domestic battery charge. So she was in the process of relocating from Puerto Rico to Connecticut. She was staying with her ex-partner to gather her belongings, and it started out as an amicable arrangement. Well, then they started drinking and then they started arguing and then it got out of control and she got mad because I guess he was talking to people on Instagram and she confronted him with the... Well, she brandished the private intimate accessory as a weapon and beat him about the head with it. That she did. Yeah, and the... Police totally arrested her. I'm going to end it there. Because, I mean, this is like the Olympics of trying to talk about this without getting in trouble. Oh, my gosh. You cannot send... I'm never going to... You know what? You're as bad as Florida woman Amber that dares me to read this stuff, and she sends me the most inappropriate stories.
SPEAKER 12 :
Don't insult Amber like that.
SPEAKER 19 :
She's done this for seven years. I noticed it. Let's see. This... Oh, a Florida man was accused of using his pet ferrets as bait to lure children. WFLA. I don't even like ferrets. This guy was arrested. Oh, he totally looks like a predator. After he used his pet ferrets to lure children into his house because he's a kid toucher. Robert Rouse, 36. He's been totally arrested. He's got a lot of charges and he's got some priors. So I'm sure he's going to have a fun time in prison. Just tell me where to donate for the commissary. That's all. Stick with us. Third hour next. History shows gold and silver thrive under strong leadership. During President Trump's first term, gold surged 53% and silver soared 51%. With him back, could precious metals break new records in 2025 and beyond? In times of economic uncertainty, smart investors turn to assets that have proven their worth. Gold and silver have historically outperformed in volatile markets, making them a for preserving and growing wealth and that's why i trust the partners at goldco secure your financial future today and don't wait until the next economic crisis happens goldco is a trusted leader in precious metals and with over 3 billion in gold and silver secured for hard-working americans they've been a top-rated company from the start take action and partner with a company that puts your security first visit danalikesgold.com right now and get a free copy of their 2025 gold and silver kit On top of that, you could also qualify for up to $15,000 in bonus silver, possibly even more.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back to the program, Dana Lash, with you. And we're at the top of this third hour. It's Valentine's Day. So Daytona 500, isn't that... It's this week. Sorry, what was that, Steve? Sunday. Oh, that's right, Sunday. I kept thinking it was like Saturday or Sunday. Sunday, Daytona 500. One of my favorite... I've only been to one race in person. I do love... Listening to everybody talk through the headset. I got to tell you it is it's a trip I do actually enjoy that because then you feel like you're right there like with You know like what you feel like you're right there helping to direct the car, you know Just gives you that makes you feel important. It's so funny anyway, so I don't follow it very closely, but I if it's on I will watch it just because I like cars and I like driving and I like fast and All these things are, these are terrifying phrases for a woman to say in front of her husband. And also, where's, honey, where are the power tools? That's another terrifying phrase to say to your husband. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So apparently POTUS is attending the Daytona 500. Again, he understands, you know, populist tactic. You get to stay in front of people. So he's going to the Daytona 500. And for whatever reason, Bubba Wallace decided, I'm just going to be a brat. And I'm just not I mean, there are so many ways that you could have answered a question like he was asked whether or not I according to the Associated Press, he was asked, you know, what I guess what he thought of Trump being at the at the race when he was at a at a press avail. And he says, well, I couldn't care less. And, you know, I'm here to race. I'm not here for the for the show. He goes, we're here to race, not for the show. Why do you got to be bitchy about it? Why can't you just say, oh, that's, you know, okay. Even if you don't like him, why can't you just be non-confrontational about it? This guy's a drama queen. I feel like Bubba Wallace is a drama queen. He's the guy who made up the whole story with the noose. He's like the new Jesse Sommelier. You had Jesse Sommelier, then you had Bubba Wallace. Because remember when, you guys remember that flashback? Where he was insisting, even ESPN was like, Bubba Wallace is not the victim of a hate crime. Stop. The FBI even said, dude, you are not the victim of a hate crime. And remember, they had that picture of this. I'm going to pull this up. He said that someone tied a noose in his garage. And that's a racist message to him. And then when the picture was released, everyone's like, that's literally a pulley for the garage door. Are you mental? And the FBI said that that rope had been in the Talladega garage since like a year before or something like that. It's because it pulls the garage. You literally, it's a pulley. And he was saying that it was a racist attack on him. And remember all this drama? Audio sound bite 20. This is a flashback audio of Bubba Wallace on that. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 08 :
but it is still an ongoing investigation with the FBI. I can now say I've talked to the FBI. Never thought that would happen. But it's just unfortunate circumstances and a terrible time that we're in right now. Year 2020 will be one year to for sure forget moving forward. But, you know, it's simple-minded people like that, the ones that are afraid of change. They use everything in their power to defend what they stand up for.
SPEAKER 19 :
So he was at the Talladega Super Speedway and he saw this rope and this noose in the garage and he was like, oh, that's for me. And it's been there for forever, apparently, according to the FBI who investigated it. And even other people at that track were like, that's how they are. It's a pulley for the door. So you can pull the door closed. And do you remember all the drama for that? Oh my gosh, such drama. Well, then the FBI, they concluded their investigation and they said, dude, he's not the victim of a hate crime. And that had been on the garage door at the Talladega Super Speedway for quite a long time. And they said that the report concludes and photographic evidence confirms that the garage door pull rope was positioned there like as early as last fall. And they said this was obviously well known in their statement. They said, quote, this was obviously well known before the 43 teams arrival and garage assignment. So that was there even before he was even assigned that garage space. And they have photographic evidence that proved that it was. And so they're like, no, NASCAR absolutely overreacted. And I think that that's shameful that Bubba Wallace ran with that. I mean, I get that there are a lot of things that athletes and celebrities do to keep themselves relevant and in the headlines, but perpetuating a race hoax is shameful. And then somehow it was like Trump's fault. And that's what I don't understand. How in the hell did that become like a Trump fault thing? You are... I think that if you're a racist, you see... Everything as an attack on you or something. I don't know. Like the idea that you're going to that that he walked in and he immediately assumed the worst, even though, as I just explained, the garage door pull photographic evidence from the FBI and also other people at the raceway. It had been there since last year, long before he had ever was ever assigned that garage for that particular race that particular week. But he immediately comes in and decides to cast aspersions on the entirety of NASCAR, all the other drivers, and just everybody else for the sake of drama. This Valentine's Day, let me tell you, let me clue everybody in. Although most men know this, some men may not. All women know this. The thing that kills a libido more than anything is when a man acts like a bitch. When a man gets dramatic... I, women want to vomit. Women do not like dramatic men. Women do not like drama seeking men. It's gross. We don't like that. I don't like to see female behaviors exhibited by dudes. And that's a female behavior. And, and not only that, but then it became this huge conversation about As to the openness of NASCAR, NASCAR was only ever encouraging and welcoming to him. What did they ever do to deserve that kind of impugnation? And then he said, because what was it that Trump said about him? Because didn't Trump get mad? Didn't he comment about it or something? Because I think it was Bubba Wallace that was insinuating that, oh, this is the Trump era or something to that effect. And I think Trump referred to the incident. And this was after the juicy Somalia stuff as a hoax. And so then you had audio somebody 21 flashback. This was Bubba Wallace. Oh, of course, you know, he had to respond to that drama. This was him responding.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you know, when I first read it, I was just like, man, there's so much more things that are going on in the world that I feel like he should be worried about. But it's hard to get people to understand, especially when the facts are delivered on the table and they've been there for decades.
SPEAKER 19 :
two weeks now so uh to be late to the party is one thing when to be wrong on the factual information is another that's a crazy thing he wasn't wrong on the factual information you were and that was proven by the fbi in their investigation it was also proven in a separate nascar investigation and it was also proven by all of the other photographic evidence provided by all of the other people who were at that speedway and who noted that the garage door pull which had a loop in it had been there for over a year, long before he was assigned that garage space. But of course, he walked in and acted like it was all about him. So then, of course, flashback to today, and he's asked whether or not, you know, about Trump attending the Daytona 500. And he still cannot resist being a jackass. He goes, yeah, well, I couldn't care less if he shows up. We're here to race, not for the show. Yeah, keep that in mind then, Bubba. Maybe you'll perform better. Maybe stop being the show and focus on your racing, because it seems like you don't do much of that. I just like who shit on these people. And it was, it was, I mean, that's just one of the dumbest things ever. That's, that's on him to walk in and immediately assume that someone there is doing that to you. What disrespect to an organization that has been nothing but supportive of him and encouraging and welcoming. What disrespect to the fans. And all of the people who show up and sit and enjoy and watch these races and support the drivers by supporting their sponsors and buying their stuff and all of that. Like, what a disgusting insult. I do not like Bubba Wallace. I think he's an overdramatic bitch. I don't like him. And I'll say it a million times. And if you're offended, then I suggest you watch Dora the Explorer. So... Moving on from that. I can't stand, I can't stand that kind of drama for the sake of drama. Did you guys see what the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales, they released a statement. They had, so this was in Australia. So they had a woman there who was saying that she would kill Jewish patients. She was a nurse. She was a Muslim Australian. There were two Muslim Australian nurses claiming that they would they kill and would kill Jewish patients at their hospital at the at New South Wales. It's the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the council. They condemned the people who were outraged over it. This is what they said in their statement. Quote, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association contains all forms of racism, bigotry and hatred, including acts of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Responding to comments allegedly made by two NSW health employees on social media, the acting General Secretary Michael Waits said he was disgusted by the conduct. So why do they have to immediately start their statement with, well, we we reject all. What about the anti-Semitism that was demonstrated by these two nurses who were running their mouths? Someone pointed it out that this was a fulfillment of a Norm Macdonald tweet. And they're absolutely right. Where this Norm Macdonald back in December of 2016 tweeted, quote, What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims. They literally did the meme. They did it. The council condemned anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. And they didn't really say this is all they said was that the alleged conduct was deplorable. We're supporting our members at Bankstown Hospital who've been affected by the alleged actions of the two nurses involved. But they had to start out with we condemn all forms of blah, blah, blah, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. There's no Islamophobia here. There's just anti-Semitism. That's all there was. Why did they feel like that? That's so stupid. They literally did the meme. They did the meme. We have more on the way. We've got headlines coming up. And then later on in the program, USAID, this reform that's happening. I mean, I'm just curious as to how long. it's going to take to actually go through everything. We're going to talk to, uh, he's like a, I don't want to be, I don't say this as a mean way. He's a nerd. He's like a USAID nerd. Like he wakes up from what I understand when I was reading his stuff, like he wakes up and he's like, I'm going to go and beat the hell out of USA today. And that's all he does. So we're going to talk to him cause he's got a, he had a book out about it a little bit ago. Uh, and, uh, A lot of it is said to – is thought to be used as the blueprint that Doge – part of the blueprint that Doge is using. So we're going to talk to him coming up. As we move, our partners. I really like this business, and I hate that I didn't think of it myself because it's such a good idea. 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SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 12 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So this, there's one, I'm trying to open this here. A story of victims outsmarting home invaders and actually fleeing in one of the suspect's vehicles. This was in Virginia. Two men attempted to rob a home at gunpoint and it backfired because one victim outwitted them by escaping in their own getaway car and then the other running after the suspects with one of the guns that they dropped while fleeing. Wow, these are like the worst burglars ever. And one of the two culprits got 22 years in prison. They just sentenced him this week. 41-year-old James Kennedy and his co-conspirator, who is unidentified, they went dressed as utility workers, and they were asking about a natural gas leak, and they let them inside, and that's when everything went sideways. But, yeah, it didn't really work out so well for them. I mean, literally the worst. It's like they planned up until that moment, and then they didn't plan for anything else after. A man was killed after Las Vegas fire crews found him. Well, apparently he was stuck in a palm tree. Yeah, I don't even know. It's in Vegas, which I think we're going to have to probably do a Florida man, but for Vegas. It was on Wednesday. A Las Vegas fire and rescue located him in a tree. He was 25 feet in the air, stuck in a palm tree. Someone said that they saw an unconscious man, so they called fire and rescue. Firefighters arrived. They were able to get him down. He was unresponsive, passed away at the scene. That's just so sad, but no report on how he ended up in the tree, which honestly is the most important thing to me. I mean, how does this guy get into the... I mean, that's 25 feet up. In Afton. Oh, Kane and I were just talking about this. St. Louis. Apparently, there were six mausoleum doors stolen from a cemetery. The doors weigh about 200 to 500 pounds, and they're described as priceless. St. Louis County police are looking for thieves responsible for stealing these giant bronze doors, six bronze doors taken from New Mount Sinai Cemetery in Afton. I know exactly where that is. Oh, my gosh. Pastor Bice first started noticing that the doors were missing, but they actually don't know when the theft took place. Two to 500 pounds apiece. And, uh... They're priceless, and so they're looking for whomever to... How do you do that and not be noticed? I know exactly where that cemetery is. You can see it from the road. Yeah. How in the world do you steal... Smelt them? Yeah. 206 of them? 200 to 500? You would have to have a big truck to put those drawers on. You can't just put that in a flatbed. Or a regular pickup truck, I mean. That's insane. All right, so coming up... We've got Dr. Mark Moyer on. He's with Hillsdale. He's a history buff and he also, USAID, that's his beat. We're going to talk to him here coming up. Our partners that help bring you the program. It's our friends over at Caltech The Nun. This is awesome because this is like the... lightest that's like the thing that they're doing lately lightest thinnest the lightest five seven that's on the market it's the pr57 brand new from caltech they unveiled it at shot show now i haven't fired it yet but i've handled it uh you know i kind of put it through you know did some dry fire all that stuff i mean it's it's a beautiful firearm And the MSRP is only $399. So not only is it gorgeous, but it's super affordable. This is a 5.7 you can afford to get. I mean, super easily afford to get. They changed concealed carry back in 95. Now they're doing it again with this 5.7. It's the PR57. It's a rotary barrel pistol. So what makes it 40% lighter than the next lightest 5.7 is that design. That innovative rotary barrel makes it light. You also have a very unique top-loading design that replaces traditional magazines with stripper clips. So you get a real slim carry profile in a 20 plus one capacity. It's great for everyday carry. I mean, it's legit like a 5'7 that even, you know, us ladies can everyday carry. And again, MSRP of only $399. Brand new, innovative, engineered and manufactured by their new Wyoming expansion facility because Kel-Tec is growing. Florida-based company. Visit Kel-TecWeapons.com to learn more. It is the PR57 Rotary Barrel Pistol Chambered in 5.7. Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, K-E-L-T-E-C, weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 10 :
The Dana Show podcast, your fast, funny, and informative news companion for those always on the move. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think what we can do is we're at the advent of this great AI revolution. And the IRS, from my understanding, has 12 different IT systems that operate on a system called COBOL, which is what I learned to program in college in the 80s. That's awesome. So we're going to do a big IT upgrade, and then we'll see where that takes us.
SPEAKER 19 :
That's just some of the improvements to be expected under this Doge auditing, which I am just praying that it is made as permanent as possible, as fast as possible through the House. And we were talking about that, too. There was a very interesting Wall Street Journal piece that discussed this. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you at the bottom of this third hour. You can listen coast to coast, terrestrially, Channel 347, DirecTV. Joining me now on this, and we talked a little bit about this earlier, he's a professor at Hillsdale and a USAID whistleblower. His book, Masters of Corruption. how the federal bureaucracy sabotaged the Trump presidency. He's advising the administration directly on all of its work uncovering these taxpayer abuses, which we have raged about these past couple of weeks. He joins us now via Skype. Dr. Moyer, it's good to have you. Thank you so much for joining us. And I just, I... This is this agency or department has existed longer than a lot of us have been alive. How realistic is it to go through and just slice and dice, get rid of everything, restore full control back to the taxpayers and stop all of this waste, fraud and abuse? I mean, the office does is expected to end its work in July of twenty six. Can they really do all of that by then?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yes, Dana, it's great to be with you. I do think it's realistic and this isn't the first time people have tried to reform the agency. met too much resistance from the bureaucracy and so now in the case of usa they're basically tearing the whole thing down and then rebuilding the parts that you need which you know does make sense because if you had looked at this entity like almost anything in the government it's not really built rationally it's the result of decades of expansion and we know bureaucracies tend to often expand for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of efficiency
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, no, that's true. And this because you're working with the Trump administration, as I understand, helping because your book is kind of sort of referred to as being kind of the blueprint for the approach, the whole Doge and POTUS approach on this.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, so I was asked actually to serve in USAID, unfortunately, for personal reasons, family health reasons. I couldn't serve directly, but I am giving advice. And the book was written for the purpose of avoiding the mistakes of the first Trump administration because frankly, in the first Trump administration, we were not able to get full control over the bureaucracy. And so what you're seeing now is people understanding that it's not just a few bad actors in these bureaucracies. A lot of senior career bureaucrats are in the way, and so they need to be sidelined. And you people on leave right away because they were not complying with the White House directive.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. And this department, we're talking to Dr. Moyer now, whose book on this, as we just said, is kind of like the blueprint for Masters of Corruption. USAID, when it was first, the idea of this department was first conceived and when it was first implemented, what was the original goal and how far has mission creep really pushed, you know, where we are now away from the original idea of what it was supposed to be?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, that's a great question, and one that more people should be asking. So USAID was formed in 1961, and this was at the end of the Marshall Plan. So for those who don't remember the history, Marshall Plan was designed to rebuild Europe after the destruction of World War II, and it was successful. And so people thought, well, if we can do Marshall Plan in Europe, why don't we do it elsewhere, where it turns out people in other continents are not the same as Europeans. And so we didn't end global poverty in a decade or two like they were hoping. And so the thing has ended up perpetuating itself and it become a dependency. And it has gotten away from the original mission, which was to support a world that is conducive to America's interests. But like many other things in Washington, it now has what we call the aid industrial complex. So you've got lobbyists and contractors who want to just keep spending the money. And this was one of the problems we've in the first Trump administration that the lobbyists were so powerful that even though Trump wanted to cut spending, Congress kept voting in these things. And we even had a senior official, a very senior Trump official in the first administration was married to the top lobbyists for the aid industry. So this is something that is gonna be hard to tear down, but clearly they've made it evident that they are committed to getting rid of
SPEAKER 19 :
all this waste fraud and abuse that we've seen yeah uh and this i mean honestly some every day we come we have new headlines about all of the money that they've uncovered with usaid uh whether it's you know i mean we've gone over some of it i mean even studying like the effect of the one of the wildest ones the effect of flavored cigarettes on lesbian obesity and i have no idea why that's even a thing that USAID should even be spending money on. I mean, what purpose? I can't even, what purpose does this serve national interest to spend money like this?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, it's a great question. And, you know, I think, you know, now we're seeing that companies are moving away from the crazy DEI stuff and transgender stuff. But, you know, a few years ago, everyone was being intimidated into pushing these agendas. And so you had this to most of us, really seem ridiculous. Now, I think what's most interesting is that we've only seen the most obvious and flagrant examples, but there's a lot of stuff that has yet to be seen because the bureaucrats are effective at hiding it. And one of the things we saw with Samantha Power, who was the head... General Flynn, that we want to infuse these ideologies into everything we do. And so we're going to be finding out more about health programs or economic growth programs where it turns out they spent a bunch of money also on DEI consultants or transgender health care, even though it looked like it was something more innocuous.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, you I what I always found interesting. I know Susan Crabtree wrote a great piece about this a bit ago over at Real Clear Politics, because, you know, you're a whistleblower for USAID. I mean, you were alerting everybody of all of the waste, fraud and abuse that was happening. But yet you received none of the whistleblower protections that all of these other leftists got under the Biden administration. that's incredibly purposeful. I mean, they rain you out on a rail like Elijah Lovejoy. They rain you out. The moment you started blowing the whistle, they needed you out of there.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, that's right. And that's a big reason why I wrote the book because you think that there are these whistleblower protections, but it turns out that the people who are supposed to enforce those are in bed with the people who are committing the corruption. So the corrupt people I reported ended up escaping punishment- They came after me, got me fired, and then I went to the inspector general. And the inspector general is an important thing that most Americans don't know about. And I didn't really know much about it either. They're supposed to protect whistleblowers and uncover waste, fraud, and abuse. But USAID, they had a pattern of trying to prevent people from getting whistleblower protection and protecting agency officials. Agency doesn't want news coming out about their waste, fraud, and abuse. And I'm certainly not the only one. But that's why I wrote it, because people don't understand how, you know, when you report corruption at a lot of these places, you are the target.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, you're the one because you're upsetting the gravy train. I mean, these are billions, hundreds of billions of dollars that are flowing through, you know, everything from to the BBC, which is we are British government media and our problem media here. I mean, these people don't want that gravy train. You are an existential threat to their gravy train.
SPEAKER 23 :
Absolutely. Now, one of the things we tried to do in the first Trump administration was to move some of the contracts that the agency did away from these huge mega contractors in the U.N. And what we found was that the career bureaucrats got in the way of that. Now, they wouldn't tell you why they'd make up excuses, but the truth is that what you have is a lot of people go back and forth between USAID and the contractors and the U.N. somebody's career plans because they're hoping they're going to move from that bureaucratic position into one of these jobs at a big contractor and get lots of money.
SPEAKER 19 :
We're talking to Dr. Mark Moyer, who has book on the Masters of Corruption, how the federal bureaucracy sabotaged the Trump presidency. He's a whistleblower for USAID and kind of, you know, really you helped. I think I think it's it's easy to credit you as kickstarting all of this because not a lot. I mean, people knew that USAID existed and they knew some of what they spent their money on. But I don't think that the average everyday American. had the slightest idea as to how rampant this fraud and this abuse was is it even possible to reform us aid or should we i i mean i'm leaning towards just doing away with the whole thing all together yeah and you know i think usa contributed to its own demise because when the trump administration went in there they tried to deny them access to the records which is what they did to us the first time and and this time
SPEAKER 23 :
we're gonna get put on leave and we're gonna investigate you. And now it appears that what's gonna happen is that the programs that are still worth doing, which I think there are some, are gonna get moved over to the State Department. And Secretary Rubio has taken charges is worth keeping once we pull out the bad elements and remove the bad bureaucrats. But it's gonna be a very different workforce, I think. And one of the big problems too we've had is it's almost impossible to fire these bureaucrats. So you need new mechanisms so that when people are either insubordinate or just ineffective, you can actually remove them from the job.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, because there wasn't that apparatus before, which is shocking. I mean, just like any place else, if you're not doing your job or if you're, you know, grifting out the taxpayer, you should be fired. You mentioned that there were some programs that are worth saving. And I like what you just said, moving them under the State Department, because some of what I read, at least in the beginning, when and especially during the Cold War, some of it. Some of it seemed like PSYOP intelligence stuff that better fit under the State Department. And it was weird to me that it was under U.S. aid. So there were some things like even like the radio free stuff. I kind of understand, you know, with CCP and, you know, some of the the the arguments behind that. What would you salvage? What else would you salvage to move under the State Department?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yes, well, Secretary Reid was already given some waivers for the freeze for what we call humanitarian assistance, which is basically aid that is going to literally keep people from dying. Now, there's been a lot of fraud in that area and putting other things in that, but there are certain programs that I think people agree, yes, we can keep those programs. There are other programs that are helpful for us and are useful in terms of promoting national interest, which was the original international charity. But some of the programs they do, for example, in health, they help us keep track of illnesses that may come into our country from other countries. We have programs that are designed to work with other countries on immigration to try to discourage or stop people from coming here illegally. So there certainly are some good things that we can keep. But Yeah, I think we're going to get rid of a lot of programs. And another thing that we're going to see, I think, is we've been overcharged by these contractors. Senator Ernst recently talked about this. They've been trying to cover up their massive overhead charges. So that also needs to get addressed.
SPEAKER 19 :
This is just such a mess. And I like what you said there, too, about advancing national interest, because that does make sense, especially with some of the stuff where you you want the United States to be more proactive and not reactive, like particularly with diseases and stuff that might happen. That might be something that could pose a threat to the U.S. But all of this other stuff, this free for all. Last question for you. Are you are you satisfied with the rate of, I guess, recommendations in terms of reductions to two part question? Are you satisfied with the rate at which this is going? And secondly, and maybe most importantly, is this realistic to expect the House to follow up and make all of these suggestions permanent? Because Doge can suggest it, but the House has to act on it.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by the pace. I don't think... move not this quickly it's been you know like the blitzkrieg all of a sudden and that you know that's had the benefit of reducing resistance because people weren't quite ready to for what hit them and yet Congress is a great question because you know they want to in general support the president but in foreign aid and as in many other cases you know they do they are under pressure from these lobbyists and donors to keep spending the money and so I think we do need to and you know people need to tell their representatives, you know, we need to stop these gravy trains, and we can't afford to keep spending so much money. We've got to make some cuts here.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, exactly. We do great work on this, and we appreciate you blowing the whistle, although I know it was not everything I've read. It was not a great, fun process for you, but we, as taxpayers, we really appreciate, and as patriots, we really appreciate. that service to the country. Thank you so much, Dr. Mark Moyer with Hillsdale and his book, Masters of Corruption, How the Federal Bureaucracy Sabotaged the Trump Presidency. Not the second time around, though. It's good to see you. We'll have you back, doctor. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 23 :
Thanks a lot, Dana. It's been great.
SPEAKER 19 :
Take care. our rights and freedoms. They put momentum behind things like parents fighting to take over their school board or people protecting Second Amendment rights. You can visit patriotmobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT. Free month of service, guys, with promo code Dana. That's pretty nice. They've got coverage, exceptional coverage, on all three major networks. You stay connected wherever you go. You support what you believe in, and you also support U.S.-based jobs. They have 100% U.S.-based customer service team that will switch you seamlessly. Keep your current number, your phone, change it, upgrade. It's up to you. It's so simple. Visit patriotmobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT and get that free month of service using promo code Dana. Switch today. Defend freedom with every call and text you make. That's patriotmobile.com slash Dana 972-PATRIOT.
SPEAKER 07 :
Recently, a new client called me and started by saying, Mr. Morgan, I really need your help, but I'm just a nobody. Those words stunned me, and I immediately called him back, and we're now helping him and his family after a terrible accident. I'm John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan. Everybody who comes to our firm at their time of need is a somebody. I grew up poor, but my grandmother was like a queen to us. At Morgan & Morgan, our goal is to level the playing field for you and your family at your time of need. The insurance company has unlimited money and resources. You need a firm who can fight them toe-to-toe. For right at 30 years, we have fought them in courtrooms throughout America. Our results speak for themselves. And always remember this, everybody is a somebody and nobody is a nobody. Visit ForThePeople.com to learn about our firm. Morgan & Morgan, For The People.
SPEAKER 09 :
Injured? Visit ForThePeople.com for an office near you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast because who says you can't make fun of people while staying informed on your own personal time? Subscribe on YouTube, Apple or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 15 :
And unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it's sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War's winners. I look to Brussels, where EU commissars warn citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest the moment they spot what they've judged to be, quote, hateful content. Drag them. Or to this very country, where police have carried out raids against citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online as part of, quote, combating misogyny on the internet, a day of action. I look to Sweden, where two weeks ago the government convicted a Christian activist for participating in Koran burnings that resulted in his friend's murder. And as the judge in his case chillingly noted, Sweden's laws to supposedly protect... We're running out of time, but they are livid.
SPEAKER 19 :
Germany is offended. Everybody's very mad, all the European leaders. But where's the lie? No lies detected. And they said it was a scalding attack. You know what? He's calling them out for being free speech pansies. That's what it is. And he's right. Kane, I ran out. I totally get up all your time.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it's only these cut 10 one if you want to. I mean, these are protesters in New York that are chanting Elon Musk must die. But, you know, it's the right.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
Elon Musk must die.
SPEAKER 14 :
Elon Musk must die.
SPEAKER 19 :
of unscary Jolly Roger I've ever seen. Oh, the left. Gosh, they're entertaining. Have a great weekend. Happy Valentine's Day. Back Monday.
As political headlines sizzle, the Sekulo team discusses the swearing-in of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS Secretary and the surprises of a shifting political landscape. We tackle how the Trump administration's unexpected appointments are shaking up government norms and what this could mean for domestic and global policies. With listener calls flowing in, we also address concerns around government budgeting and spending, highlighting the critical need for transparency and reform in federal expenditures.
SPEAKER 10 :
we got breaking news doge turns their attention to the irs and the pentagon keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is seculo we want to hear from you share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110
SPEAKER 07 :
And now your host, Logan Sekula. Welcome to Sekula. We've got a great show today as there is some breaking news. But first, I want to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. It's Friday. We'll get a little looser on the phone calls. If you have a question or comment related to any of the topics we've talked about the last few weeks, maybe you've got a question in general about what's going on in the world, I'd love to hear from you. This is Logan Sekula, 1-800-684-3110 to have your voice heard on the air. Will Haines is joining me in studio. A little bit later, Harry Hutchinson from the ACLJ is going to be joining us again. A packed show will because there's been a lot of movement, a lot of talk about Doge, and you're seeing headlines. And I had to ask you, what does this mean? What do they actually mean when you hear a headline like Doge enters the IRS? That was like breaking news. It was coming in overnight that this was happening from sources saying, hey, this is happening. The Pentagon, Doge enters the Pentagon. This is both physical and theoretical at the same time. That's right.
SPEAKER 08 :
So what you're looking at here is the team from Doge will go into the agencies and they're in layman's terms, they're effectively conducting an audit. So they're going into the IRS. The IRS is getting a little bit of taste of their own medicine by the teams going in there, reviewing the spending, reviewing the contracts, reviewing the outlays and looking for signs of waste, fraud and abuse or just inefficiency. We know the IRS is inefficient. They still use typewriters and fax machines to conduct a lot of their business. So they're looking for these areas where things can be made better, costs can be cut, where there's programs that don't line up with the president's agenda and the administration's agenda. And that's what they're doing. Last night, they went to the IRS and physically went into the building so they can get into the systems, the storage that's there as far as like the data and things of that nature. Because these things are stored on site at the headquarters. And then today they're going over to the Pentagon, which Secretary Hegseth had said, we welcome Doge to the Pentagon. And we'll get into more of what this looks like practically and what they're looking for and even some of what they're finding in the following segments. But it is especially for fiscal conservatives. This is a very exciting time because we have long decried the wasteful spending and the reckless spending and out of control spending of these federal bureaucracies. The entire tea party movement started because they were taxed enough already. They were seeing wasteful, inefficient spending and the government continued to tax more and more. So this is a long time coming for, for these federal bureaucracies from those conservatives that have always been fiscal conservatives concerned about the way the budgets of the U.S. government keep spiraling out of control, snowballing. And even that was back in 2010, 15 years ago. I don't think a fiscal conservative could have imagined how out of control the spending has been in Washington, D.C.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. Of course, you also have the HHS secretary sworn in. That's, of course, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. If you would have guessed just a number of years ago, maybe just a year ago, that not only would you have RFK Jr. involved in the Trump administration, but at a very high level. I don't think a lot of people would have taken you seriously, but he caused a groundswell of had a groundswell of support. He is someone that a lot of conservatives were turning to for very specific things, a lot of them regarding health. So President Trump did an unprecedented move, picked what was a Democrat who became an independent and put him in that place and said, you know what? And I believe when he endorsed President Trump and I would put the same with Tulsi Gabbard, who is now also been sworn in. the director of national intelligence i would put both of them as a pretty highly responsible for i would say at least the landslide style victory that came from president trump phone lines are totally jammed right now when you tell people you'll take anything they will call uh you know do her do your best hey be kind again to our phone screeners and give them a minute because they're gonna have to get through all these calls so stay on hold if you're on hold phone lines will still open up at 1-800-684-3110 but you know that there are people ready to wage war, lawfare war, across the country on President Trump's agenda, which, of course, a lot of that represents your beliefs and your values and a lot of the values of the ACLJ. But just because you have a more favorable administration doesn't mean the fight stops. Support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Sekulow to restate. We are going through sort of the breaking news that came out overnight where the Doge Department, Department of Government Efficiency, has entered the IRS and the Pentagon. And you have Pete Hegsley saying we welcome it because if there's government waste, it doesn't matter if it's in our department or others. We want to get it taken care of. There are a lot of you calling in right now. We're going to take those calls coming up in just a few minutes. Again, at 1-800-684-3110.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. And when you look at the budget of the Pentagon, it's $800 billion. We're getting close to a trillion dollar budget. It's 12% of the total federal budget. So it's a big chunk of where our money goes.
SPEAKER 07 :
And of all the places, you would like the Pentagon. You would like our defense. To be well funded.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. And they are very well funded. But here is the problem. They failed their seventh audit in a row last year at the Pentagon. So they can't even account for where all this money is going. We have seen all these stories about how the unaccounted for money that was sent to Ukraine, that, you know, hundreds of millions and billions of dollars have gone probably to grift in that country, to corruption of taking it. It's not going where it actually was meant to go. What Pete Hegs has said, and I want to point people to this, during his confirmation hearing, was he said, as I've said to you in many of our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That's my job. When you have a bureaucracy, which is what the Pentagon is, that has failed seven audits in a row, meaning they can't account for where all of this $800 billion is going. then you have a culture problem. And that is what Pete Hegseth is tasked with changing, making the military focused back on protecting America and the relationship with many of the contractors that continually build things for the government and continually bill them for projects. It's out of control. And I have a prediction. I think you're going to see that Elon Musk, Doge and Pete Hegseth have done the impossible. They are miracle workers.
SPEAKER 07 :
They're working together.
SPEAKER 08 :
What they are going to do is they are going to make those on the left all of a sudden be the biggest supporters of our troops. Because now the headline and spin you're going to see is that they're making it more dangerous for our troops. They are making it so that we aren't going to be protected here at home when they are the ones that have been forcing DEI and all these pet projects on the military. But when you have a bureaucracy, we've seen how many of the generals have become so political instead of remaining generals within the Pentagon. You have a situation where it becomes just like any other bureaucracy. And when you have $800 billion and you know that the lethality of the military isn't where it has been. What we need is a culture change and people want their money spent wisely. And so that's what this is doing. It is using the funds that they have to redirect and make it more effective. It's not saying let's just slash the money and not do anything about it. They are going after waste fraud and abuse as they've said many times, to make sure that every dollar spent is for that purpose of being laser focused on war fighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's the job and the role of the Pentagon and their budget.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, let's go ahead. I want to take a call. Let's go to Art, who's calling, watching on the Salem News Channel, which, by the way, is a great place to watch us live each and every day now from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on the Salem News Channel, which is available on your TV on Pluto, which is absolutely free, or if you have a Samsung TV, I believe it's on Samsung Plus and other places. Art, welcome.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, how we doing, guys? Just wanted to make a little comment here. It's amazing where our money's going. You know, you got that $2 million or whatever it was going down for transsexual stuff down there in South America. $59 million going to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Twice the rent, twice the price that the rooms rent for it. And then they get all their food and everything. It's just amazing, you know, that people in our government put our money out for something like that. I worked hard, man, and I'm sure there's a lot of other people out there who feel the same way I do. You know what I mean? I'm retired now. But it's just amazing what our government, our supposedly government, did with all our money.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Art, I think when it's being exposed, it's really interesting because it's not just the things that are kind of on the top of our head that we know is happening. It's so much that's happening, sometimes literally underground, but it's happening sort of on the underground of spending, whether that is things that are just, like you said, government efficiency. Some of it is that, is just things that have not been kept up to date. We're running on old technology. We're spending ridiculous amounts of money on that. It's not all just going in and going, okay, we don't need these employees. It's going, we are behind the times.
SPEAKER 08 :
And when you look at with the way the government operates with budgets, it's an inefficient program. This isn't like a business where if you have a down year, you find places to cut immediately. Or if you don't spend all your budget that gets rolled over with the government spending, if you don't spend all your budget, then Congress thinks you don't need that much, so they lower your allocation the next year. So you see spending sprees where they just start buying stuff. There's these infamous $10,000 toilet seats that are talked about. That's kind of a highlight from the Pentagon of some of the wasteful spending. It's many times because bureaucrats see at the end of the year that they have more budget to spend.
SPEAKER 07 :
What does a $10,000 toilet seat get you?
SPEAKER 08 :
Don't know. All the features. But once again, a lot of times you don't get anything special. It's because the military contractors just overcharge for these things. And then they use up their budget so that the next year they can get an increase in budget. So that's how the spending snowballs. They are literally wasting your money. just to ensure that their budget doesn't get reduced the next year. Because if they get their budget reduced, then they see that they're not doing their job. Washington is addicted to spending. Every bureaucracy, even the ones that keep us safe like the Pentagon, is addicted to spending and wasteful spending at that. If every dollar of the $800 billion was accounted for and shown how it goes to protect America, and we felt really secure right now in the way that our military is prepared to protect us under the last four years, I think everyone would be like, okay, that's fine, move on. But we know that's not the case. And what would the traditional Washington modus operandi be? It would be just give them more money so that they can make you more prepared.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let's talk about that. There's a caller coming in, Freddie from Florida. And look, as someone whose family was involved in some of these government contract works over the years, I've heard these kind of horror stories, Freddie. But go ahead with your comment.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, sir. I work in the state of Florida. I'm a roofing contractor and a general contractor. And I work in the field of roofing at the VA hospitals and the government facilities in the state of Florida. And they literally waste so much money on these projects. I could literally do the jobs probably for a third of what they make them out to be.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I mean, Freddie, I've heard those stories over and over again. So this isn't just you saying this. Again, I have friends and family who've worked directly with this and they have complained. They've pushed back and said, we don't need to spend this. We don't need to do this. And sometimes they're saying, no, you're going to do it. I don't care if we're going to give you the best materials and you're going to cover it up with drywall. We don't care.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. And that's why getting into these agencies to find this and to restructure the way this goes. We talk about the government spending, but we also have to be looking at the businesses that are so comfortable with this. They are going to push back egregiously. You can't do this. Because so many businesses in America and NGOs, which we'll talk about as well, non-governmental organizations are fully dependent on government dollars. They can't survive without it. And they're turning record profits because of the way they build the government. And the bureaucrats are more than happy to sign it over because they're not interested in saving the American taxpayer money. They are interested in maxing out their budget so they can ask for more the next year. It's out of control.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, absolutely. We're going to take as many of these calls as we possibly can coming up in the next few segments, so stay on hold. Harry Hutchins is going to be joining us also in the next segment to talk about how... The Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk will go in and scrutinize the IRS, what they can do to make sure things are taken care of. And of course, as well, the Pentagon and everywhere, really, because I think this is one of the big pushes that President Trump has made, which is to make things better in terms of where your money is being spent. If we're going to pay money to taxes, we're going to have these big taxes in a lot of areas. Let's make sure our country is taken care of. I know there is some concern, and I think there should be, about the humanitarian needs of other places, including around the world. What does that look like? But I also think we have to turn our attention to what's happening inside our own country as well. If we're going to fund a lot of these countries outside of America for humanitarian reasons, that's fine. I'm not necessarily opposed to that. What I am opposed to first is also not take care of our own. So how many times have you gone the streets of New York right now or San Francisco, seen the homeless crisis that's happening right now? Seen the way that we're treating our veterans? This is not an uncommon trend happening right now. So maybe those funds can be reallocated. We also know that there will be funds that will be specifically still held and give. But right now, we just want to keep you updated and engaged. Because the ACLJ keeps fighting back. We keep fighting back for you. We've heard about so many pushbacks to a lot of these plans, and we're getting involved in the legal level. We can't do it without you. Go to ACLJ.org. We'll be right back with Harry Hutchinson. Welcome back to Seculo. It is a packed phone bank right now. So stay on hold if you're on hold. A lot of you have already been on hold 15 minutes, 17 minutes. Stay on hold. In the next segments, we're going to get to you. I'm going to get through as many of these calls as we possibly can. But Harry Hutchinson's joining us. Will, we're continuing this conversation about what's going on in the IRS. And also, we can briefly mention the ACLJ is involved. We've got a new filing that just happened. That's right.
SPEAKER 08 :
We filed three briefs on Wednesday of this week. two of which were about the funding freeze, one of which was specifically about Doge. We have a second one today that we have filed about Doge as well. This is our fourth case this week. That's right. So these all are related because it's all about President Trump's ability to direct the executive branch to follow the policy and the prerogatives of this president. And the left special interest groups are all fighting back. We now our brief has been accepted by three out of the four judges, two in D.C., one in New York. The one that has not that was rejected was the judge out of Rhode Island that took it upon himself to go way above and beyond in his order on his temporary restraining order, saying that all funding freezes, not just a blanket one, any spending freezes. has to be paused. And this judge, who took it upon himself to go that broad, also says, I don't want to hear from anyone else on this. So no amicus briefs. But we have filed in these, so our lawyers have worked very hard. And the one in D.C. that we filed today that was on the funding freeze was accepted immediately by that judge in D.C.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let's take a quick call real quick and then we'll get to Harry because it's connected. Let's go to Robert in Alabama on line three who's watching on Salem News Channel. Robert, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, if we don't, if these judges can tie our president's hand, our great president's hands, we have no representative government.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Robert, I think this is a conversation that now is happening. People are seeing this in action. Harry's joining us. I'd love to get your response to that and then we'll move on to the IRS situation.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, one of the things that we should remember is that during the last campaign, the Democrats said that our democracy was at risk. And now we are seeing, first and foremost, that yes, our democracy is at risk when Article 3 judges ignore the Article 2 power of the President of the United States. And so I think the caller essentially is correct.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that's great. I think that those are the questions people have, because what has been interesting to see over the last few weeks now, I mean, we're almost to a month now of a Trump presidency, three and a half weeks or so, is all of these new moments that people are not used to seeing. They're not necessarily used to paying attention to all of the confirmation hearings. They're not used to all these executive orders going out and then to see how the pushback works. to see how the pardoning process works. These are, a lot of this is new to a lot of Americans and it's becoming, it's not unlike Elon going through and saying, look at all of the waste. It's similar in to say, look at your law, your government at work in terms of the judges and the legal system. But now we have a new sheriff in town, but we also have this new department going in to take care of business. And I think it's pretty enlightening for a lot of Americans to see what we're wasting money on and how you can get involved and actually make changes within organizations that do maybe need to exist in some form. I don't know if the IRS needs to exist in the form it's in right now, but you understand why there are these departments, but the waste is out of control.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. So for too long, all American people have been squirming under the arbitrary bureaucratic power of the IRS. America's most feared agency has been the IRS. Now it's the IRS's turn to squirm under the scrutiny of Doge. And all American people have never been happier. You can hear champagne corks popping in Maine, in Florida, in Chicago, and Los Angeles. Because this is, I think, a fantastic day for the American people. We can... now finally see what is under the hood of the IRS, and I think it will ultimately prove very, very ugly.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and Professor Hutchison, the IRS is an organization, a government agency that the ACLJ had to fight aggressively against when it came to their targeting of the Tea Party, as well as many other times they've gone after Christian organizations. They've gone after people that lean right politically. So it was a department that was infected with politics and using one of the most scary powers of the government, the ability to get in and mess with your finances, to either imprison you or audit you or all of these things that the IRS has the power to do. We've had to fight head on with the IRS. But now, they're getting a taste of the medicine they have been giving to the American people by having an audit. And the left wants you to think that every bureaucracy, every dollar in that bureaucracy is essential. And we know that isn't the case because of the way budgets and allocations from Congress work and discretionary spending, that there is so much baked in. Like, even if you didn't go after fraud, if you just went after waste, You could save the American taxpayer so much money. And instead of looking at it being a taxing problem, as the left wants it to be, that we need more of the American people's money. In reality, it is their own spending problem in every one of these bureaucracies that has gotten the American people into the crisis of financial stability of our country that we see.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think you're absolutely correct. And it's important for listeners to remember that the Biden administration guesstimated that the waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government reached up to $500 billion. That's the Biden administration.
SPEAKER 07 :
The Biden number.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's not Doge. That's not Donald Trump. And who can forget what the IRS has done in targeting and harassing the Tea Party, harassing conservatives, harassing religious organizations. and then arbitrarily denying these organizations their 501c3 status, and the ACLJ has had to fight on behalf of these organizations again and again. And so the IRS continues to engage in this harassing, repetitive behavior, and I think at the end of the day, the chickens have now come home to roost, and again, the American people are very happy about it.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the ACLJ has been involved in these kinds of situations since our founding, since the early nineties. And you need to be involved as well, because we do that. We take up these clients, absolutely no cost. We can't do that without you because that's how it works. We can offer it to no cost to the clients because people like you, individual supporters and ACLJ champions, people that give on a monthly recurring basis, create the budget to hire the best of the best, whether it's incredible legal minds like Fred Hutchinson, you just heard or, whether it's this broadcast team, whether it's who you don't get to see, who's on the other side of this glass right now that I'm looking at, incredible crew that puts together this show each and every day, puts together all this incredible content. None of it exists without you, the ACLJ supporter. So I'm going to encourage you right now to become an ACLJ champion if you can. But either way, make a tax-deductible gift. We urgently need your support. We're filing in court today. We're creating new broadcasts today. And we have a second half hour coming up So if you don't get us on your local radio station that maybe only carries the first half hour, you can find us right now live from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Work your way back at ACLJ.org and find us later on archived YouTube, Rumble, podcast feed. You can find us on all those places in the new ACLJ app that's available now in the app store or at ACLJ.org slash app. Again, make your donation today. Stay on hold. If you're on hold, we're going to get to your calls coming right up.
SPEAKER 10 :
keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever. This is Seculo.
SPEAKER 07 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome back to Sekulow. Will Haines is joining me in studio today. We have a slammed phone bank right now. So many of you have called in. So many are waiting. We're going to take those in just a moment. There's also questions and comments coming in about updates with Planned Parenthood and the pro-life movement. In the next segment, we're going to discuss that as well as preview some of the upcoming new things that we are doing here to support that. As you know, sure, we have a more pro-life administration, but what that means is actually a large pushback from other states, the individual states. As we know, president Trump said, send it back to the states. Roe versus Wade was overturned. And now you're dealing with somewhat the repercussions of that. The good in certain states where it has gone to the point where abortions are not legal anymore in these states. Some of them would just minor exceptions or our life of the mother kind of exceptions, which is, you know, we, we agree with, however, There are other states, more liberal states, that are pushing back so aggressively, and it's working. But the ACLJ is involved in that. So we're going to talk about that in the next segment at 1-800-684-3110. One line just opened up. Let's go ahead and take a few of these calls. Some of them are related. Some are unrelated. Let's first go to John in California, who's watching on the Salem News Channel, having a little fun. John, go ahead.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, all right. First of all, I'm full on Trump, so we don't have to discuss any of the things he's for. But my situation was the naming of the border from Gulf of Mexico to America. You know, everything from America down to the tip of... of South America is America.
SPEAKER 07 :
The continent of America. North America and South America. John, you bring this up, and you know what? I think that this one, look, when President Trump made some of these announcements, not unlike the Gaza announcement in a very interesting way, which is these are kind of shocking moments, and then when you stop and think about it, You go, oh, maybe that's what it should have been the whole time. Now, will it be weird to be like, it's not the Gulf of Mexico anymore because we're used to saying the Gulf of Mexico our entire lives, going to Florida, going to these areas? Yes, it's strange. And honestly, calling it the Gulf of Mexico sometimes made me feel a little bit better, Will. Because instead of just being like, I'm in the Florida panhandle, I can be like, we're going to the Gulf of Mexico. It sounded fancier than just going to Panama City Beach, which I love. That's why you say the Emerald Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It sounded a little cooler than the Gulf of America. But now things have changed. Times have changed. What I did find interesting is how quickly big tech...
SPEAKER 08 :
responded and said all right change it now apparently if you're not in america it's not changed in the uk it has both on google maps if you're in the uk it has gulf of mexico and then in parentheses gulf of america if you're here it says gulf of america and i do believe if you're in other countries it just says gulf of mexico yeah so i mean it's already on your maps if you go look on your google map your apple maps however you whatever you use you'll see gulf of america and he did that
SPEAKER 07 :
made it official while flying over the gulf of formerly mexico and now to the gulf of america right before the super bowl so you can see some of that video footage they've put out it's pretty fun hey we're going to take as many calls as we can we do have one line open at 1-800-684-3110 because it is friday we're going to take more calls on whatever topic you want to talk about as long as it's sort of within our scope at least, will bring it up because the ACLJ is involved in so many high-level issues. Sometimes you've got to have a little fun. I'm glad you called in with that Gulf of America comment because, honestly, sometimes you've got to break it up. When you're talking about big spending, what's happening with your tax dollars, you're talking about the next segment, we're going to be talking about life. Not always the most fun topic to talk about. But you know what? It's important. It's important the ACLJ is there fighting for the unborn still each and every day. Even when it's not as popular, we're always going to be there. And we've got a really cool campaign about to roll out. You've heard us talk about it for the last eight months or so as we've been working really hard on making sure that we counteract what's going on around the country. You may have seen some breaking news items with some of those things that are happening right now. It's pretty disturbing. But we're going to keep fighting and fighting for the unborn. We can't do that without you, though. Whether it's supporting these pro-life pregnancy resource centers or individuals that need our help, these are not organizations that have huge budgets ready to spend the money on high-level attorneys. or get the media attention that we get. We're able to provide those services at absolutely no cost. And that's because of you. So right now, while we're in this break, I encourage you, make a donation at ACLJ.org. Do it right now. Welcome back to Secular. We've got two lines open for you right now. So 1-800-684-3110. I did want to give you an update on our fight for life. Someone commented, Will, I think just a little bit ago on YouTube asking for where are things happening with the defunding of Planned Parenthood. We do have some updates on that as well as updates on what the ACLJ is working on.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. And I think right off the top, I should let everyone know that on Monday of this week, our lawyers have been very busy here at the ACLJ. One of the four that happened this week. This is a fifth. This is a fifth. The four were just on Doge and government spending. But also related to spending, on Monday of this week, our attorneys filed a brief at the Supreme Court of the United States. A case there that... that is arguing whether or not states can defund Planned Parenthood. When they receive federal dollars, do they have discretion at which groups get these Medicaid dollars, these federal funds? Can they decide not to give it to Planned Parenthood? Planned Parenthood obviously is trying to say, no, you cannot discriminate against us and not give us money. But the states want to have that flexibility with the federal dollars that come in if they want to defund Planned Parenthood themselves. But there's also articles now that we have Bobby Kennedy, RFK Jr. in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He even said that he will have the president's agenda is a pro-life agenda. And so that is how HHS will be run. He mentioned and President Trump have mentioned the funding of Planned Parenthood, whether or not that's a good thing. That's An article came out yesterday in Politico. Knives are out for Planned Parenthood in all three branches of government, showing that it is a holistic effort. I like knives are out. Well, the first line, death by a thousand cuts. They're trying to say that this is how much the liberal media is trying to go after Planned Parenthood.
SPEAKER 07 :
It also shows you how grossly disconnected they are.
SPEAKER 08 :
Exactly. They are trying to say that a butcher organization, Planned Parenthood, they will use this terminology to And what they will do is use this holistic approach with the executive branch, congressional funding.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's like using demonic imagery right in your own press. It's very bizarre. Of course, Politico is not happy because they also got slashed with $8 million in funding that they had that looks like it won't be coming.
SPEAKER 08 :
Here's a second liberal media hot take about pro-life movement or abortion in Salon. Not a conservative publication by any means, but this is their hot take they had yesterday. infant deaths continue to rise as more abortion bans are put in place, studies find. With a sub-headline, states with abortion bans were also shown to experience an increase in births, according to a pair of studies. One, someone got paid to do those studies. It probably was coming from USAID. I can't confirm that. Because more babies were born. Because there's fewer abortions, more babies are born.
SPEAKER 07 :
And then some have complications.
SPEAKER 08 :
There are more infant deaths because more have been born. It's also so wrong because if you were to do straight infant deaths when there's fewer abortions, there are fewer infant deaths, but they don't believe that's an infant. But that's where we are. that we have the media trying to spin this as grotesque language from Politico, Salon, trying to report a study that I'm shocked someone was paid to actually study because it was more common sense. But we at the ACLJ are fighting. We are filing, we filed at the Supreme Court on Monday, but we also, just to remind people, we talked about at the end of last year, that campaign, to actually tell the truth in many of these states that are going after pro-life pregnancy resource centers and that hasn't gone away. Our team has been equally working as hard on that as our lawyers have to get that ready and we'll have more information about that in the next coming weeks with a big launch but we do want to remind you that that is coming and we are going to be pushing back in a big way.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's right. You've heard us talk about this since last summer. And we are finally really close. It's all been created. It's all been scheduled. It's all about to launch coming next month. And none of that could have happened without our ACLJ supporters. And also, there's still time to get involved in that campaign. Our Choice Begins Here campaign, which will launch... Like we said, very, very soon. And what's really great about that is it really comes with a great heart and a great mind. This is not something that you'll be turned off by or turned away from. If you are a pregnant person, if you are looking at options, you're not going to look at this and immediately be grotesque or think that there's some issues. It's not the 80s kind of pro-life campaign. I think it's wonderful. It's beautiful. It's put together by our incredible team here. So you're going to find that in a few weeks. We couldn't do that. Take these cases on. Take on these campaigns. As we know, the state of Massachusetts during that time, still currently right now, and by the way, it's working. And that's sort of the sad part is we're actually able to see that their campaign has worked. They have taken out a completely ridiculous attack on pro-life pregnancy resource centers. Resource centers that provide a lot of great services. Ultrasounds. Often they provide food, formula, clothing, So many things for mothers and for parents who need it. But the state of Massachusetts decided to call them anti-abortion centers and to really do their best to shut them down in any way they can. And if they can't do it in the law, they're going to spend the taxpayers of Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They're going to spend their tax paying money as well as grants from big abortion to run a smear campaign against these resource centers. If you've ever met these people, they're the sweetest people. They are doing it out of the kindness of their heart. Most of them are volunteer run. But the ACLJ, we're not going to stand for that. We're fighting back not only in the law, but we are fighting back. We are fighting back with our own counter campaign. If you think this is something you'd be interested in supporting, I encourage you to go to ACLJ.org right now and make the donation. We'll be able to kind of just see what issues you guys care about and know this is something that's really important to us. But sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's hard to get you all engaged on these kind of campaigns because I know it's different. but different is what is going to change the hearts and minds of people moving forward because now the president Trump put in the Supreme court justices that helped reverse Roe versus Wade and went back to the States. And now you have some States where abortion is completely illegal. Uh, with except some exceptions, there are States where, uh, the laws are kind of in the middle, it's kind of a gray area. And then you have States where it's extreme or it's a partial birth post birth that's happening. And we have to be able to take those on because you may not be able to win them always in the courts. Sometimes you can't. And look, we're taking on Massachusetts saying you're unfairly targeting a business. You're running a smear campaign against these organizations, these Christian conservative organizations. But we're able to fight back. I do see, Will, and I want to make sure we do this, because a lot of people join us mid-show. And you may have seen the title that you clicked on, and you're like, well, what is this? You watch it on YouTube. Why are they talking about life? Look, the life issue is incredibly important to me personally. I want you to go to aclj.org and donate about it. But let's give a little bit of reset before we head into the next segment and give our calls about what's going on when it comes to government efficiency, when it comes to cutting funds. Because we know, as of just in the last few days, just the last few hours, you had the Doge department I've said literally and figuratively going into the Pentagon and to the IRS and ready to slash what your money is going to and making sure it is taken care of in the best possible way. That's right.
SPEAKER 08 :
So what the team at Doge has done is they last night went over to IRS and began their work there. And today they went over to the Pentagon and have begun work there. Both of those are much bigger budgets than even USAID, but they're beginning their work as they go through department by department of the executive branch to identify wasteful spending. If there is fraudulent spending, abuse of government spending and taxpayer dollars, and they're going department by department. They are doing the mission that President Trump laid out for them. And one thing I think is really interesting, too, is how everyone on the left keeps saying Elon Musk and these people are not elected. Neither are the people that work at every one of these government agencies.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is of all the lies that I feel, the misleading headlines that come out. The appointed or the unelected when it comes to who is in the administration even is the most absurd because it's not how it's been done. It's not how it is going. You elected President Trump. He makes those decisions. And then there's, you know, for some of them, there's the confirmation process and other things there's not because you have to be able to run essentially the White House like a business.
SPEAKER 08 :
And if you look at the structure that they ended up going with for Doge, they repurpose the United States Digital Service, which was created by Barack Obama under Obamacare. It was a part of the law. So it's statutorily a actual unit within the executive office of the president and the Office of Management and Budget. So Doge is official. It is, through executive order, repurposing of the United States Digital Service, which was tasked with making the government more efficient through digital services. They're doing exactly what statutorily Doge is supposed to do because of something President Obama got through.
SPEAKER 07 :
By the way, if you think people voted for President Trump and weren't actually voting also for Elon Musk, for Tulsi Gabbard, for rfk jr for jd vance for uh the essentially what they called what the unity party avengers that came together are you crazy we all knew who was going to get involved and we knew one of them was going to be elon musk who's going to be a controversial figure who's going to do controversial things there's also one of the most brilliant minds in the world in the richest man in the world. Again, another person who doesn't have to be doing this, but is doing it. Phone lines, one phone line is open at 1-800-684-3110. I'd love to hear from you. If you're on hold, we're going to get to you. So stay on hold. Know a lot. You've been holding for 45 plus minutes, but we'll be right back. Go to aclj.org right now. Welcome back to Secular. Let's take your calls. One line is open. 1-800-684-3110. Let's go in. We're just going to go in order. Some of these are on topic. Some are a little out there, but that's okay. It's Friday. Let's go to Norm, who's calling in DC on line one. Norm, thanks for holding for 50 minutes. I apologize. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, thank you. I'd hold for a long time. Hey, first of all, happy Valentine's Day to you guys. Thank you. Patriots and Constitutionists. Listen, I'm just curious. I don't understand the strategy. Why are we suing... Letitia James, Catherine Hochul, and whoever the director of the DMV is, as opposed to targeting them criminally and making a spectacle like they did with President Trump. I don't understand their strategy, and I was wondering if you could help us out.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, first, before we do that, I did want to say, if you didn't see the news today, it was revealed that President Trump has hung his mugshot Up in the Oval Office, I think it's the New York Post cover. In a nice gold frame. Pretty rock and roll. I mean, that is as punk rock as you can get. But let's try to answer his question.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, Norm, I think, one, we think what they did to President Trump after he left office was egregious.
SPEAKER 07 :
We don't...
SPEAKER 08 :
We actually don't want more lawfare in this country. We want the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, when he's confirmed under the FBI, to actually do a lot less politically motivated prosecutions, which is what they did to President Trump. People in the comments get mad about that.
SPEAKER 07 :
that because they say well we should do exactly what they do but that's not really how it should work.
SPEAKER 08 :
Especially there because I do think one we need to put it into what they did to President Trump and I think we did pretty definitively when Jack Smith was out of a job and President Trump was re-elected. So I don't think we need to make that the norm in the United States. The left tried to. They really did. They tried for four years to build a case to make it okay to turn this into a banana republic and go after the former president because they didn't like him.
SPEAKER 07 :
I get the frustration. but we do have to keep our own standards. I just saw a comment that came in that said, well, it's because we are not them, and I think that's true. I think that's absolutely true. Let's continue on. Let's go to Randy, who called yesterday. I'm sorry we didn't get to you, Randy, in Florida, but you've also been holding another 49 minutes, and I appreciate it. You're on the air.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, I just want to say the DEI Democrats don't want Doge to go into the Treasury Department because the Treasury Department has all the info on all the illegal aliens that cross the border. They gave them visa cards, IDs, plane tickets, so they know how many aliens are here.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, I think Randy's got a point that, one, we know that there was a lot of assistance given out under the last administration to people that came here illegally. And whether they were let go through a parole system or released while they awaited a court date, things of that nature, that they also weren't just letting them go, but they were providing them government assistance. So he is right. There is a lot of that information. that was going out the door that will be found. We know even that the hotel that it was, I believe, under USAID or one of the similar agencies, it was $59 million that they were paying in New York, New York City, for housing migrants. It's in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, that have been used specifically for housing migrants in this country or giving them assistance, giving them a stipend to be able to eat, to be able to be housed. And the left will come back and say, well, now you're just causing another housing crisis by not housing migrants in this way. But I think the American people, once again, that is what they voted for, was that by letting it in, you created the crisis.
SPEAKER 07 :
So I think Randy does have a point there. There you go, Randy. I'm glad we got your comments in. Let's go to Erwin in Alabama who's listening on SiriusXM. Erwin, welcome.
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, how you doing there? ACLJ champion reporting in.
SPEAKER 07 :
Erwin, you got to tell the phone screener you're an ACLJ champion. If they didn't, they didn't tell me. I would have bumped you up to the front. That's one of the benefits. You wouldn't have waited 40 minutes. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Erwin, and thank you for your support.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, yeah, I did. It's all good. First and foremost.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hold on.
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm calling him out.
SPEAKER 07 :
Sorry. Do better phone screener. All right, go ahead there.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. I was saying first and foremost, I want to thank you and everybody that works today. So Jay, you guys are doing the people's work and God's work. We thank you for that. And, uh, what I wanted to talk about was Doge was exactly what for years and years, you'd hear this through the government, through Congress and through other presidents. Oh, we're going to go in and find ways. We're going to save money. Finally, praise the Lord that we have a president that's actually doing his job. And what I would hope to see is that going forward, once I get a handle on this is when they shoot this money off to these other countries, that maybe somehow, they could send a representative or something to make sure that the money is going where it's supposed to.
SPEAKER 07 :
Erwin, I think that's a great idea. Hey, maybe it'll be our friend Rick Grinnell. You never know. I feel like he gets assigned a lot of these jobs now.
SPEAKER 08 :
He is the envoy for special missions.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's a very special mission. Yeah, I know. He's all over the world. You know, the way in the world is Rick Grinnell, the hardest working man. uh maybe in washington dc but erwin thank you so much for calling and i also want to say thank you so much for being an aclj champion please call back anytime let's continue on we have three calls in three minutes i don't know if we're able to get all of you but we're going to go at least get the ones who who have been a hold along as anthony uh in tennessee you're on the air hey good afternoon uh mine is quick it's one sentence but it sums up all the people who have who opposed does and everything they're doing it says a hit dog will holler there's a lot of dogs hollering right now yeah anthony uh god i love people calling in from the great state of tennessee thank you anthony for calling in i feel like there is that moment a lot of people are just just so shocked
SPEAKER 08 :
at what's happening right now they can't believe there's someone going in and trying to actually stop government waste i think that that's the southern version of hamlet's uh the lady doth protest too much uh hit dog will holler but i get the sentiment yeah they're upset because a lot of the uh the special pet projects and their buddies and the ngos that have been just getting printed money uh are going to see that coming to an end let's go to mary she'll be our last call today lisa i'm sorry we didn't get to you and hold that line
SPEAKER 07 :
long though so at least it's okay we'll get to you maybe uh you know maybe next week just give us a call mary you're on the air
SPEAKER 02 :
Hi, thank you for taking my call and for what you do. I think it's interesting that the budget will be coming up for review by Congress, both houses, and I think that they really need to take into consideration that the tax cuts that Trump put in in 2017 should be renewed because they shouldn't say, well, we need extra taxes because the way they're arguing for saving these wasted monies they should definitely vote for it. And if they don't, that says a lot for who they're representing.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Mary, I think a lot of people now are taking a much closer look at their representatives.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think also what is deemed essential government functions are really going to be called into question after what is... brought forward when they try to use the scare tactics of a government shutdown which now the democrats are trying to do they're saying we might have to shut down the government uh even though that was always what they said the republicans wanted to do you're going to find out a lot of government work is not essential yeah stay on both sides you know what a lot of government work as will said not essential uh look i appreciate you all joining us this week it's been a packed week of shows
SPEAKER 07 :
We're going to have great content released over the weekend as well, so make sure you're subscribing. If you're watching on YouTube or Rumble or on X or Facebook, whatever you're getting us right now on Salem News Channel, make sure you stay engaged with the ACLJ. And the easiest way is just go to ACLJ.org and make your donation today. It's a tax-deductible gift, and we urgently need your support right now. So I encourage you to do that. Take a minute of your day. and make a quick donation. If you can make one as an ACLJ champion, become a recurring member, that really helps us out, helps us out of baseline for this year. We're a little down right now, so this would be a good time to do that as we start to head towards crazy, isn't it? Halfway through the month of February, we could use your support at ACLJ.org. And hey, if you have a smartphone, which hopefully you do, ACLJ.org slash app, download our new app right now. It's a great interactive experience customized just for you.