From the comedic to the deeply spiritual, religious themes are ever-present in the cinematic world. This week, the Rush to Reason team laughs over Monty Python, ponders the symbolism in The Matrix, and reflects on soul-moving pieces like I Can Only Imagine. Don’t miss their passionate conversations as they unpick the layers of storytelling tied to beliefs and faith.
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 10 :
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 14 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 26 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk! You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 22 :
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 16 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 03 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate. Richard, are you with us? That I am. Okay. Religious movies. Andy, we're going to get things rolling here. Richard has to go a little bit earlier than normal, so let's fire it off.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. And just so you know, I go very broadly on this topic.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Anything that's got religion in it. I didn't, but that's okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. This first one is from a very old movie. It's Monty Python's Life of Brian. Brian is a guy who was born at the same time as Christ, and he thought he was the Christ, and he wasn't. He was just not very bright. But anyway, the reason I'm playing this, and folks, it's about a minute long, but it is a clip where they are, one of the characters in it, they are basically wanting to lead... a revolt against the Romans. And one of the characters in it just gets into the fact that he wants to be a woman. And this is very prescient for today. Just listen to John Cleese. Here we go.
SPEAKER 16 :
I want to have babies. You want to have babies? It's every man's right to have babies if he wants them. But you can't have babies. Don't you oppress me. I'm not oppressing you, Stan. I've got a womb. Where's the fetus gonna just take? You're gonna keep it in a box?
SPEAKER 24 :
Here, I've got an idea. Suppose you agree that he can't actually have babies, not having a womb, which is nobody's fault, not even the Romans', but that he can have the right to have babies.
SPEAKER 16 :
Good idea, Judith. We shall fight the oppressors for your right to have babies, brother. Sister. What's the point? What's the point of fighting for his right to have babies when he can't have babies? It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression. Symbolic of his struggle against reality.
SPEAKER 1 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
I just thought that given everything we've gone through the last few years, would you say that's pretty prescient, John? Yeah. What do you think, Richard?
SPEAKER 14 :
I was going to say it's sort of, you know, I know that's obviously an older movie, but, you know, not too shabby of sort of a depiction of today. I know. They got it back then.
SPEAKER 08 :
Why don't we today? Richard, you are up.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. So you said religious and what are my allowances?
SPEAKER 07 :
Broad religious movies. If religion's in the movie, I guess it counts.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Anything with religion. Any kind of religion.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, geez. Geez, Andy. All right. Quite the topic here.
SPEAKER 08 :
I told John that one in advance. Okay. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right, I'm going to go rough here, but it is. I'm going to go with one of your most, well, maybe not most favorite, but one of the better animated movies, Kung Fu Panda, because there's like some Buddhist stuff in there.
SPEAKER 08 :
There is Buddhist stuff in there, especially the third one. It gets way too much. So good job.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well done. It does. It gets wonky, but yeah, there you go.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, John, you're up. History of the world. Do you have a clip from that one?
SPEAKER 14 :
I don't.
SPEAKER 07 :
You don't? Andy.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've played the Inquisition before. The history of the world where, you know, he's up there and it's Moses and he's got the 15 commandments and he breaks one tablet and now it's the 10 commandments. It's hilarious.
SPEAKER 08 :
I bring to you the 15. Crash. The 10. The 10 commandments.
SPEAKER 07 :
Mel Brooks. Mel Brooks.
SPEAKER 08 :
i am a terrible person for not playing that and i'm a failure that's all right go ahead okay here's a good movie from last year and it was a christian movie starring hillary swank and ellen richson called ordinary angels here we go michelle will need to fly 700 miles to the children's hospital are you telling me we need a plane now how exactly do you recommend we get a plane doc i'll get you a plane i promise
SPEAKER 21 :
We are going to save this girl, you hear me?
SPEAKER 11 :
We're going to need a lot of shovels.
SPEAKER 09 :
This is our last chance. If we don't take it, Michelle dies.
SPEAKER 21 :
How did it become your responsibility to save her? Because I'm here. Because I can.
SPEAKER 08 :
And I believe Hilary Swank was up for Best Actress. Which movie is that again? Ordinary Angels.
SPEAKER 07 :
Ordinary Angels.
SPEAKER 08 :
I gave it four stars. It was a good movie, very strong movie, and a Christian movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
There you go. It was made, actually, by the same people who just made the movie I just saw.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, Angel. Yeah. Angel Studios. Angel Studios. Okay, gotcha. There you go.
SPEAKER 08 :
Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, this is another good animated, because surprisingly, there's actually some good animated. Well, I'm assuming, because did you see the new animated movie, I guess? Is that what there are? Yeah, King of Kings. Yeah, the King of Kings. Okay, well, so similar, although this is kind of like one of my first ones. Great soundtrack on this movie, by the way, which is Prince of Egypt.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, let's play a little. Here we go.
SPEAKER 11 :
Rescued from a river.
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Come, Rameses. We will show Pharaoh your new baby brother, Moses.
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second born second place not for long raised by royalty you are not a prince of egypt what did you say everything i am is a lie you are our son i can't stay here any longer moses please goodbye brother the truth gave him the courage to do the impossible
SPEAKER 08 :
Anyway, I thought The Prince of Egypt was very well done. How about you, Richard? I agree. Yep.
SPEAKER 14 :
No, again, it's one of my favorite soundtracks movies from my youth, and it is very well done. They did a good job on it. I mean, obviously, a lot of, I'll just say, a lot of hard-nosed Christians are going to say, oh, you know, not super. It's like it was still a good movie. Yeah, that's all that matters. They did a good job on it. And it told us, you know, it didn't water down too much, you know?
SPEAKER 08 :
Look, at least it didn't wreck the biblical narrative like Russell Crowe's Noah. Right. Okay, I mean, at least it was faithful enough. It was for kids.
SPEAKER 07 :
Come on. What you guys are talking about is those are the purest Christians that don't like that movie, just like purest GOP members won't do certain candidates. Did I say that? You had to put it in. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER 14 :
You're upset. You can't say that, but you did. It's okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Nobody thinks of this as a religious movie, but it is Book of Eli.
SPEAKER 1 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's a religious movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, very much. Very much so, right? Yes. By the way, one of my favorites. Good job. All right, let's take a couple of calls. We'll slip these in. John and Cheyenne, go ahead.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, well, I'm going to see Richard's Prince of Egypt and raise him the Ten Commandments. Ah. Oh, yeah. Same story. Okay, that works. Same story, but...
SPEAKER 08 :
By the way, that may just flat out be the greatest religious movie ever made. Of all time. I mean, it's top five.
SPEAKER 07 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, that's one that if it's on, you've got to watch it. That's right. Even though you've seen it probably 20 times.
SPEAKER 08 :
But he doesn't do the 15 commandments.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, it's 10. In Technicolor, right, John? Technicolor. Yeah, he fell short.
SPEAKER 15 :
In Technicolor.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, well, you know, Cecil B. DeMille made some big movies. Yeah. But I got two others real quick that are, but they're not religious movies. Okay. And that's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, yes. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, let me play a quick clip from Raiders. Here we go.
SPEAKER 15 :
Tannis.
SPEAKER 05 :
The city of Tannis is one of the possible resting places of the Lost Ark. The Lost Ark. Yeah, the Ark of the Covenant, the chest the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments. What do you mean, Ten Commandments? You're talking about the Ten Commandments? Yes, the actual Ten Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses brought down out of Mount Herod and smashed, if you believe in that sort of thing. Did you guys ever go to Sunday school? Well, I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
You guys ever go to Sunday school?
SPEAKER 08 :
I'd like to remind everybody that while they made six of these Raiders movies, only the two that were made about biblical ideas were good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Think about that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, think about that. I think the best part is in Last Crusade when they're in the catacombs. And she goes, what?
SPEAKER 08 :
We lost you. You dropped out, John. Yeah, oh, you dropped out for a moment. But, yeah, you're talking about where she says, is that the Ark of the Covenant? It's on the wall. She says, are you sure? Yeah, pretty sure.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's good. The one other catch, I don't know if you caught it in the Crystal Skull, when they're doing the chase scene in the warehouse and they hit the crate and break open the Ark of the Covenant crate
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. That was funny.
SPEAKER 15 :
So, yeah, there's some great religious movies, but I don't want to steal anymore. So you guys have a great weekend.
SPEAKER 07 :
You too, John. Appreciate you, man. Let's go to Soren. Soren, go ahead.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hey, it's just me and John, but we flip-flopped again.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's all right.
SPEAKER 11 :
Ben-Hur is one of them.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yep, yep, yep. Great one. Great one.
SPEAKER 15 :
And then you have Jesus Revolution. That came out just a couple years ago. That was pretty good, too.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, that was also made by Angel Studios. And I thought it was a good movie starring Kelsey Grammer. I gave it four stars. And I thought it would do great, and it did. Good. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Awesome. Awesome. Soren, thank you, man. Appreciate it. All right. We'll keep rolling. We'll go all the way to the bottom of the hour. So keep going, Andy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. Here we go. I can only imagine. That is a Christian movie. That was the first one I'd seen from Angel, and I actually gave that four and a half stars. I thought it was an excellent movie, a tight story, very well directed and well edited and well acted. There weren't many downsides at all to I Can Only Imagine. Richard, did you see that one?
SPEAKER 14 :
I don't think I ever saw that one, Andy, but I heard it. Like you said, I heard it was great.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was great. It was a terrific movie. You're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right. Let's see here. Okay. Again, another animated. They seem to do that a lot, which is okay. Oh, yeah. I'm going to go with the star.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 14 :
By the way, the only thing I'm going to add on John is the Ten Commandments. Whenever it's on, you've got to watch it. Yeah, just make sure you've got five hours.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that's true. It's a little long.
SPEAKER 14 :
Get a little nap in there.
SPEAKER 07 :
You always know where you're at when you wake up. It's not a problem.
SPEAKER 08 :
You and the wife can watch it in shifts.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 14 :
And shift. That's right, Andy.
SPEAKER 07 :
Again, you can take a nap and wake up. You always know where you are. Corey and I literally tag at the ropes, and she comes in. If you miss anything, you know right where you're at. It's not a problem.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you know the story.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, exactly. You've only seen it 100 times, so easy enough.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good job. But The Star, that's a good movie, too. I like it.
SPEAKER 07 :
I'm going to try to, let's see here, pick some that most people wouldn't think of. Some of these are going to be a little bit older. How about The Hiding Place?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, I did not think of that.
SPEAKER 07 :
And it's old. That's not a current movie. That's from way back.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, let's do a fairly old, a very old movie. Here we go.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. For me and the Lord, we've got an understanding. We're on a mission from God.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Blues Brothers. Yeah, but the whole thing is about their mission from God. Come on. That's religious. Yeah, true. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Richard got saved watching that movie.
SPEAKER 14 :
Something like that, Andy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, something like that. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right. I think it's a Christian movie. I mean, there's some pieces in it. Ben-Hur. Again, you got to make sure you got 10 hours to watch it.
SPEAKER 07 :
We mentioned that already, but that's okay. You can mention it again. I had two listeners. I had two texters say that, too. Soren said it. Soren said Ben-Hur. But Ben-Hur counts.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, there you go.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, so I'm going to throw one in that it's hard to determine which one I like better, but either Ben-Hur or Spartacus.
SPEAKER 08 :
They're both good.
SPEAKER 07 :
They're both very good.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it's kind of hard to say.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, now here's a movie that's actually very religious, believe it or not. The connotations. Matrix. Matrix.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mr. Anderson, welcome back. Mr. Anderson. We missed you. You like what I've done with the place? It ends tonight. I know it does. I've seen it. That's why the rest of me is just gonna enjoy the show. Because we already know that I'm the one that beats you.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Matrix was actually some of the best doctrine, at least with the first one of the three that I've ever seen in a movie, which was really surprising. These weren't Christians who made the movie. And by the way, great movies. There you go. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
No, you're not wrong, Andy. All right. So one, this is one of my favorite books in series, and they made a movie out of it, and it wasn't fantastic, but it was still good. And that is, it was by Frank Peretti, and it's Hangman's Curse.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 14 :
I don't think I've ever seen it. The books are phenomenal. I mean, it's basically this Christian family, and they are like detectives, and they try to figure out, like, it's a mom and a dad and then two kids and a little boy, and they have to, like, integrate themselves into this high school because they say that there's demons that are, you know, possessing this high school and that are, you know, killing people, and it's really not an illogical conclusion. But they're a Christian family. Hmm. We talk about it throughout. All right.
SPEAKER 07 :
We'd be wrong if we didn't say Left Behind. Yeah. Kirk Cameron. The whole series. Yeah. Is there more than one, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
I think it got weak after a while. They were stretching it out.
SPEAKER 07 :
But the first one was good. Let's make as much dough as we can on this thing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, make as much dough as we can. You are so insensitive.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, it's true.
SPEAKER 08 :
I know you are. It's true. Okay. Bruce Almighty, and at one point, no, I'm not going to play the one which I've played so many times, but I'll play a different one. You know, at one point he has been saying, smite me, almighty smiter, because he's mad at God. Well, God has a little talk to him about that.
SPEAKER 20 :
The gloves are off, God. God has taken my bird and my bush. God is a mean kid with a magnifying glass.
SPEAKER 08 :
Quoting him.
SPEAKER 20 :
Smite me, almighty smiter. Now, I'm not much for blaspheming, but that last one made me laugh. Are you spying on me? Who are you? I'm the one. Huh? Creed of the heavens and the earth. Alpha and omega... Jeez.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, when you've dug a hole, stop digging. Yeah, don't go anymore. I know, but Jim Carrey, by the way, what a great performance like so many he had. So there you go. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right, Andy. Let's see here. I just had it in my head because I was, well, I'm not going to say. I guess, well, no, no, no. What's the movie, the football movie, Giants? Facing the Giants, I think is what it's called.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hang on.
SPEAKER 08 :
It actually is. By the way, I thought you were going to say the press conference where the Nuggets coach got fired because Richard was going, praise God, praise God, praise God. True.
SPEAKER 14 :
You are correct, Andy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Did you feel closer to God at that moment?
SPEAKER 14 :
Andy, I've never felt closer. Okay. Jeez. But, yes, facing the Giants is a really good – I mean, it's a cheese ball. Don't get me wrong. But when he carries the one kid across the field on his back and he's blindfolded, I mean, that's a great scene, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. I agree. You've got to love that stuff. I agree.
SPEAKER 14 :
Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 07 :
Soul Surfer.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good movie. True story.
SPEAKER 08 :
Tough movie, man.
SPEAKER 07 :
Losing an arm to a shark? Yeah, no thanks.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Joe, your X. Go ahead. How about Scrooged with Bill Murray? Yes! Scrooged.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes!
SPEAKER 09 :
That's a good one. I like it. It's a Christmas carol, a redone and modern thing, and he meets the three ghosts. Good one. Anyway, I was going to do Bruce Almighty, but just as I called in, I heard you take it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, we did it. All right, Joe. Appreciate you, man, very much. All right, Andy. Yeah, I went. Go ahead. You're next.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, let's take a break from Christianity for a moment and get into a little Zen Buddhism via Yoda.
SPEAKER 11 :
For my ally is the force.
SPEAKER 08 :
It's Charlie.
SPEAKER 11 :
And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it. Makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree.
SPEAKER 1 :
They rock everywhere.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, the dumbest religions do make the best movies. That's what I got out of that. What do you think? The tree. The rock. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Who voiced Yoda, by the way?
SPEAKER 08 :
We're all in this together. I don't know. Do you know Charlie? Frank Oz, maybe.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, Frank Oz. Oh, really? I was right. The Muppet dude.
SPEAKER 08 :
Frank Oz.
SPEAKER 07 :
I just lost all respect for Yoda.
SPEAKER 14 :
Because you had so much before.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, here's the thing. It is just wrecking John's entire reality, finding out that Yoda was a hand puppet. You had no idea. You thought he was real.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, you're right. You thought he was real.
SPEAKER 14 :
Richard, you're up. All right here, Andy. Did you guys say The Shack?
SPEAKER 07 :
No. No, not yet. It's on my list.
SPEAKER 14 :
Again, based on a book, good movie. Okay, good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let's see here. How about Omen?
SPEAKER 08 :
Hell yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's intense. It's like the Antichrist. I mean, you know, it's religious. It's very religious. It's about as religious as you get, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
I wasn't going to play this one, but I'm going to now just because you were mean to me. So here we go.
SPEAKER 26 :
And in our prayers and dreams, we ask you bless us all.
SPEAKER 12 :
We reach for you and we stand tall.
SPEAKER 22 :
And in our prayers and dreams, we ask you, bless us all.
SPEAKER 08 :
Tiny Tim from Muppet Christmas Carol. Write it down, John. I don't see you typing. No, no, I'm not. Well, you can type later. Okay, Richard, go ahead.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right. I'm going to go kind of similar to your I Can Only Imagine one, Andy. Heaven is for Real. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's on my list. Yeah. Good one. Good one. Yeah, that one counts.
SPEAKER 08 :
Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is one you reviewed not long ago. I have not seen this, but I want to. Father Stu.
SPEAKER 08 :
I thought Father Stu was pretty good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
A little slow, but pretty good.
SPEAKER 07 :
I just haven't stopped and watched it. I need to.
SPEAKER 08 :
And you know I like Mark Wahlberg.
SPEAKER 07 :
I can't get enough.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, here we go with Unplanned.
SPEAKER 17 :
We are paying you to be a perfect instrument of corporate policy. We are an abortion provider.
SPEAKER 01 :
I can't be a part of this anymore. Everything that they told us is a lie.
SPEAKER 02 :
Don't underestimate the repercussions of this. You gotta be careful.
SPEAKER 17 :
Ronda, please! Don't do this! Ronda! Let me tell you what's gonna happen if you walk through that door. Congratulations. You make an enemy of one of the most powerful organizations on the planet.
SPEAKER 08 :
Unplanned about abortion, once again, Angel Studios, and a very good movie, by the way. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
Let's see here. Andy, The Forge. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, good one, good one.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that one counts. Go ahead, John. I think that one's on my list. Case for Christ. Good one, good one. Good movie, by the way, if you haven't seen it, it's a good movie. Got time for one more round, Richard?
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, similar one. God's not dead. Here we go.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, good one, Andy. Do you think you're smarter than me?
SPEAKER 11 :
Do you think there's any argument you can make that I won't have an answer for? In that classroom, there is a God, and yet I'm him.
SPEAKER 04 :
It doesn't seem quite fair to me.
SPEAKER 20 :
I can't help what a boy wants to make a fool of himself.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look, I know I am in the minority here, but I actually believe in God.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think you're here kind of hoping that this stuff is for real.
SPEAKER 14 :
He's alive.
SPEAKER 25 :
What I want is for them to make their own choice. That's what God wants.
SPEAKER 19 :
You just want to ensnare them in your primitive superstition.
SPEAKER 20 :
Why do you hate God?
SPEAKER 08 :
God's not dead. Good movie, by the way. Kevin Sorbo. Yeah, it is a good movie. Richard, you're up.
SPEAKER 14 :
All right, Andy. I would not be a religious section if I didn't cheat. Of course. Which is The Chosen, which is on Prime. Cheater. That's a good choice.
SPEAKER 07 :
Have you watched that?
SPEAKER 14 :
Have I watched it? No, I've heard it's really good.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've never watched it, so I have no idea.
SPEAKER 14 :
I've got some friends that said it's really good, and then they also say, I guess a lot of the same people watch The Chosen, say the new David series on Prime is also good too, but I have yet to watch both of those.
SPEAKER 07 :
I haven't watched it either.
SPEAKER 08 :
All I know is you're a cheater. Go ahead, John.
SPEAKER 07 :
I would have to say, even though I don't know how many sermons against this movie I heard growing up, I'm sure Charlie can attest to this. God. God? Yeah, what was his name?
SPEAKER 01 :
You mean O God?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, was it O God? O God, O God. With George Burns and John Denver? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I can't tell you how many sermons I heard against that movie growing up.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah, yeah. It was terrible doctrine. I don't care. It was a fun little movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
We were not allowed to watch that movie. Were you, Charlie? Oh, there. Thank you. I was not the only one. All right, Richard, I'll let you go. Have a great rest of your evening and weekend.
SPEAKER 14 :
Sounds good. Say hello to the chickens, everyone. We are starting with chickens.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Hello, chickens. Have fun. Lay some eggs. Go do whatever you do. What do chickens do? Lay eggs? That's about it, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER 07 :
Peck?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Peck at the dirt and lay eggs. Yeah. They gossip a lot, too. So have fun, chickens. All right. Paul Lundberger, my good friend, insurance agent as well. He will help you save money on your insurance, 303-662-0789.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we are back. Again, we are in hour number two. We are doing religious movies. Joe sent an email in a moment ago to tack on to what he was saying, which is we would have to make sure we mention Linus in the greatest story ever told. When he gives a little speech for Christmas. A Charlie Brown Christmas. It's in my list. That one would count. So there you go, Joe.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. And here's a movie that obviously had no good doctrine. And it had Whoopi Goldberg. I don't care. I love the music. And it is Sister Act. Here they are singing for the Pope.
SPEAKER 06 :
True love, you'll always be my true love. Forever, from now until forever. I love you, I love you, I love you, and please don't stop. I love you, I love you, and please don't stop.
SPEAKER 1 :
I love you, I love you, and please don't stop.
SPEAKER 07 :
Never saw that movie. It's a fun movie. Really? Yeah, it is. I've never seen it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, she takes over. She has to lead a choir. She has a shady past and winds up having to lead this little bunch of nuns in a church choir, and it's actually very fun.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
You're up.
SPEAKER 07 :
Fireproof.
SPEAKER 08 :
Fireproof.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's a good one. Kind of a cheesy movie, but good. Message was good.
SPEAKER 08 :
It is good. Okay, here's a clip from Hacksaw Ridge.
SPEAKER 17 :
I'm going to get you home.
SPEAKER 15 :
There's something you gotta see.
SPEAKER 12 :
Who did this?
SPEAKER 04 :
That's the guy.
SPEAKER 12 :
We have to go back up tomorrow. And they're not gonna go up there without you.
SPEAKER 1 :
Help me.
SPEAKER 06 :
You have to trust me.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, he was the guy who would not carry a weapon, but he would run in and save people's lives.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, dissenter, what do they call them? What do they call those guys? Dissenters or what do they call them, Charlie, when they would go but they wouldn't fight? Conscientious objector.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, a conscientious objector I thought was one who wouldn't go.
SPEAKER 07 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 08 :
All I know is he did go, he was brave, and he would not kill.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's another movie I really need to see. Yeah, there you go. It's a good movie, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Pretty good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. You're up? Since it's Easter, Passion of the Christ.
SPEAKER 08 :
Obviously.
SPEAKER 07 :
Got to say that one.
SPEAKER 08 :
Great one. Okay, one that's not nearly as good biblically, Steve Martin in Leap of Faith. Here we go.
SPEAKER 01 :
All he's doing is selling fairy tales to a bunch of people. Why is it not playing?
SPEAKER 08 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's only on one channel, Charlie said.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, there is something wrong here. Then tell you what, I'm going to skip that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Because there is a problem. And hopefully this will play. And this is Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider. Oh. That's about the other religion, the devil. Here we go.
SPEAKER 12 :
You will be the rider for as long as you. Story goes that he'll be normal during the day. But at night, in the presence of evil, the rider takes over.
SPEAKER 08 :
I don't care what anyone says. That was a fun movie. That was a fun movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
It was. You're right. I enjoyed it. Second one was corny and dumb. Cheesy, but... Yeah. There you go. But, you know, still good.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. You're up. Chariots of Fire. Yeah. I've played the song so much, that's why I didn't cue it.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, we don't have to. That's fine.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. You know, what about priests fighting vampires? Here we go from Priest.
SPEAKER 11 :
If you take any action to leave the cities, you will be stripped from the order and excommunicated immediately.
SPEAKER 12 :
The war is long over. It's not over. Not for me.
SPEAKER 08 :
That is visually one of the funnest movies I've seen. I love Priest.
SPEAKER 07 :
I really do. That's another one I haven't seen.
SPEAKER 08 :
It's not a great movie, but it's a cool movie. And it was interesting because it was a different kind of vampires. They were just like these monsters with no eyes or whatever. but then they were led by a different kind of vampire, and that's all I'll say. Really good acting, excellent movie, some pretty big stars in it throughout. A lot of fun. Priest.
SPEAKER 07 :
Crossing the Switchblade, another old movie. You know what? From when we were kids.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, yeah. That was the story of, is it?
SPEAKER 07 :
What's his name again? David? Yeah. That was a popular movie when we were kids.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
It was about Wilkerson. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, thanks, Charlie. Thank you, Charlie. Yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was very, very cool. Okay, I did not think of that one. Okay, how about this one? Expelled, no intelligence allowed. Expelled? Expelled? No intelligence allowed. Yeah, it's about, you know, intelligence and about evolution being wrong, really.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've never seen it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Intelligent design. And it doesn't talk specifically much about God, although it's mentioned, but it talks about intelligent design and the ludicrous nature of, you know, just only teaching evolution in schools.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was really quite good.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Luther.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, that's on my list. Okay. That's an intense Christian movie. It is an intense Christian movie, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Okay, now here's one that awful doctrine. Okay, I'm just going to say it. Terrible doctrine. Don't care. Wow, what great music. Jesus Christ Superstar.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've never seen it either.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, my goodness. We weren't allowed to watch that one either, Charlie. Well, for good reason. It'd mess you up. It had terrible doctrine. I'm just saying, incredible music. We were not allowed to watch that as kids. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Not on the list. Ruth.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
By the way, one of my most favorite, not the most, but one of my favorite Bible characters.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Very cool. Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I like Ruth. I love the story of Ruth. Okay. And Boaz. All right, let's go to one from my wife. And why worship just one God when you can worship a lot of gods? Hercules! It's a silly cartoon. It's a Disney cartoon. And by the way, it was a fun Disney cartoon, a good movie. Have you seen it?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, I never have.
SPEAKER 08 :
You should. Well, you don't like kids' cartoons.
SPEAKER 07 :
Not really. It's a good one. Really quick, jump back to Ruth for just a second. Good music, fun. We're always accused from the left of being the right Christians. We're anti-women or this or that, all these different things. So then why is an entire book of the Bible dedicated to a woman who is in the lineage of Christ if we're so anti-woman, Andy?
SPEAKER 08 :
Because we're not. I mean, jeez. You know what a lot of people don't understand also is they look at the place that women had in a lot of those cultures back then, and the Bible reflects that. Of course, it was written within those cultures. And what they don't understand is the Jews actually put women in a much more prominent position than all the groups around them.
SPEAKER 07 :
All the other nations. That's right.
SPEAKER 08 :
People didn't know that.
SPEAKER 07 :
You're right, Andy. Absolutely. Anyway, go ahead. All right, let's take a break. We'll take a break. We'll come back. Flesh Laws up next, 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 27 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Live and local, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, rolling through some religious movies. And yeah, we've taken some liberties on some of these, Andy, which is fine.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, that's the fun of it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, how about The Church Fighting Monsters? Oh. And this is a great action movie. It stars Hugh Jackman, Van Helsing.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've never... That's another one I've got to watch.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, you've got to watch it, John. You've got to watch Van Helsing.
SPEAKER 07 :
You keep telling me that, and I never have seen it.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's a good movie. Have you seen that, Charlie? Is it good? Yeah, he likes it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, I'll have to watch it. Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
That comes in from my wife.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, Bonhoeffer.
SPEAKER 08 :
Bonhoeffer! Okay, here's another one with a very... It's called Hellboy...
SPEAKER 07 :
Never seen it either.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah, but he, obviously, he actually carries a cross. He comes from hell, but, you know, he's not a real fan of them.
SPEAKER 07 :
Of his upbringing?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Ron Perlman stars as Hellboy. It's a terrific movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Interesting.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, you're up. Sound of Freedom. Sound of Freedom, very good. How about The Sound of Music? She was a nun, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
I've never seen the movie.
SPEAKER 08 :
Come on.
SPEAKER 07 :
I haven't. You haven't seen The Sound of Music. Andy, Andy, it's a musical. How many musicals have I ever seen? Okay, John, here, I'll give you some money. Go buy a soul. I watched Grease. That's about Charlie Found One. I've seen Grease because there's cars and stuff in it, so I watched that one. Go buy a soul. Yeah. And it had Olivia Newton-John.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, you're up.
SPEAKER 07 :
I don't know why, but you're up. 90 Minutes to Heaven. Or 90 Minutes in Heaven.
SPEAKER 08 :
You shouldn't do religious movies because you don't have a soul.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, I don't.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sorry about that.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's gone.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. All right. Let's go a different belief system for a moment. Gandhi. Ben Kingsley. What a great performance.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, you're up. Yeah, I didn't think about that one. I honestly didn't think about that one at all. Mary. Mary.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, Mary, definitely. Here's one I didn't... I thought Richard was going to bring up, but I'm going to do it in his honor. Jonah, a VeggieTales movie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, that's a good one, Andy. Okay, here's a question. Just a side note. Here's a question. Sure. With today's CGI and everything we have, why not make a modern-day Jonah movie? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You could do it. With everything we've got where you could do it now with CGI and it would be much easier than way back when they were doing Ten Commandments and all of that. Why not? Yeah, and you wouldn't have to butcher it or anything. No, you wouldn't want to kill the whale anyways.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree. He was nice.
SPEAKER 07 :
He threw Jonah up.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, he was. Let's go on the Wayback Machine with Richard Burton, The Robe. The Robe. It was The Robe of Christ, yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Wasn't there a cartoon about Joseph, The Code of Many Colors or something like that? Wasn't that a movie too?
SPEAKER 08 :
It's a musical. Yeah, The Amazing Technicolor.
SPEAKER 07 :
Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor. Okay, and I never saw it either, but I just knew it was a movie.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was a musical, yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
You wouldn't have liked it.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, I would not have.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was groovy, man. It was groovy. I would not. Donny Osmond was in that? Oh, really? I forgot that.
SPEAKER 07 :
I didn't know that, Charlie. Okay, you're up. Well, that was it. I'll give you that one.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, okay. Evan Almighty. Oh.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, there you go. Why didn't I think of that one? Evan Almighty.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's another... Hey, who plays God better than Morgan Freeman?
SPEAKER 07 :
No one. The voice.
SPEAKER 08 :
He was great.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, when you think of God's voice, isn't that what you think?
SPEAKER 08 :
Him or James Earl Jones.
SPEAKER 07 :
One of the two, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, really, literally. Okay, you're up. Samson.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, good. How about The Chronicles of Narnia?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, that one works. Yeah. Miracles from Heaven. Okay, how about The Greatest Story Ever Told? Oh, that's a good one, Andy. Good job. October Baby.
SPEAKER 08 :
October Baby. Okay, how about Constantine?
SPEAKER 07 :
It's the other way. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
You've got to fight against those demons. Got to take them on, John. Little Keanu Reeves going to work. Yeah. Okay. Jesus of Nazareth. Yes. How about Morgan Freeman again, but this time as an investigator going after a killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his guide, and that is seven.
SPEAKER 07 :
Seven. Okay. Does ghost count?
SPEAKER 08 :
Not really, but sure, why not?
SPEAKER 07 :
It's afterlife. Afterlife stuff. Yeah. It's a chick flick. Okay. It is.
SPEAKER 08 :
How about The Blind Side? There you go.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's a religious movie.
SPEAKER 08 :
It is, actually. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
How so?
SPEAKER 08 :
There's religious overtones. They're very Christian there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
In that family. There you go.
SPEAKER 07 :
Pilgrim's Progress.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yes. How about Unbreakable?
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, yeah. That's a good one. Son of God. Son of God. How about Amazing Grace? Yes. Oh, yeah, that's a good one, Andy. Yep. Man, some of these I did not think as well as you did. You're doing much better. War Room.
SPEAKER 08 :
War Room, that's been used.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, so you already did that one? Letters to God, then.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. How about Rooster Cogburn? Catherine Hepburn was the Bible-thumping lady. She was great.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Drove him nuts. Okay. Hang on. Some of these I've got to delete off of here. Paul. Paul.
SPEAKER 08 :
Paul. Okay. Silence. Now, this had Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, and that is about these missionaries going to China.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. We'll take our last break, come back, finish up. Roof Savers of Colorado, all under one roof. Give Dave Hart a call today. Make sure that you're dialed in with your roof, commercial or residential, 303-710-6916.
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SPEAKER 11 :
We don't yell at you.
SPEAKER 07 :
We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason. All right, winding things down. Myself, Andy, and Charlie, religious movies. A couple that came in from Joe is, and this is from somebody else as well, The Da Vinci Code.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, okay. Really quick here. Just so you know, since I... Made a few comments about Christians in the theaters. I have now been excommunicated from several denominations. Oh, gotcha. Okay, how about When the Game Stands Tall?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, that's a good one. Yep. Go. Jazz singer.
SPEAKER 08 :
Jazz singer, really? I don't remember.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's not really Neil Diamond's story, but it's kind of his story.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. It's a wonderful life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, good one. Yeah. Two Mules for Sister Sarah.
SPEAKER 1 :
Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER 07 :
She's a nun, right? That's true.
SPEAKER 08 :
By the way, it's a wonderful life should be. It's a miserable life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 08 :
Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Exorcist.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, you took mine. I Still Believe. Oh, that's a good one. Yeah. Cabrini. Cabrini. That was a good one.
SPEAKER 07 :
You just reviewed that one, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I gave it four stars. Yeah. One of the best of the year. Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
SPEAKER 07 :
You have to keep going because I'm out. I'm done. I've exhausted mine finally.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, just a few others. We got The Bishop's Wife.
SPEAKER 07 :
Bishop's Wife.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, The Bishop's Wife. The Bells of St. Mary. Okay. The Nun. That's a horror movie. The Nun. A couple years ago. It was good and scary. I liked it. Dogma. That made fun of religion.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, here's one for you. Oh, yeah, go ahead. Does Tombstone count? Because remember when they shoot the priest in the beginning of the movie, the cowboys?
SPEAKER 08 :
Don't think so.
SPEAKER 07 :
That one doesn't count, Andy. I'm not going to go that far. Okay, okay. Just wondering.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, no, no, no. But wait a minute. What about on his deathbed? Oh, true. Doc Holliday. Yeah, true. That was actually, okay. True. We'll go with it. Okay. The House of David. Okay. And angels in the outfield.
SPEAKER 07 :
Those are all good. Yeah. And again, those of you that are listening, I'm sure you have some of your own, and if you do, bottom line, it's Palm Sunday this weekend. Easter, of course, is next weekend. Watch some religious movies, whatever your favorites are, and remember why this is all here, and I will just close with this. While everybody loves Christmas, and that's great, without Easter, it don't matter.
SPEAKER 08 :
It don't matter.
SPEAKER 07 :
So that's all I'm going to say.
SPEAKER 08 :
Without the end of the story, the beginning doesn't matter.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's right. So guys, have a great rest of your evening. Don't forget tomorrow morning, Fix It Radio, 9 o'clock. We're going to talk about sprinkler system, firing things up. Alan Stack from Stack Optical will be with me as well. And then we'll follow it up with Thrive Radio. Have a great night. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
I'm a rich guy.
HR1 Andy's 5-Star Movie Reviews: "Drop" and "King of Kings." 4-11-25 by John Rush
SPEAKER 08 :
It's finally Friday on Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 07 :
So I tell him I'm a pro jack.
SPEAKER 08 :
And who do you think they give me?
SPEAKER 07 :
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.
SPEAKER 09 :
When you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that going. And movie reviews with Andy Payne.
SPEAKER 16 :
I think 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 02 :
What I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I've acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
SPEAKER 08 :
what do you want to do tonight the same thing we do every night pinky try to take over the world stick a fork in me jerry i'm done now here is your host of rush to reason john rush
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Happy Friday, everybody. Myself, Andy Pate. Charlie Grimes. How's Andy? Andy's doing well. Good. Andy's getting ready to take care of my lawn. It's time. My baby. It's time. Fire that sprinkler system up. Get rolling.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
I got to get the weed and feed. Yes, you do. Get it on there. Fire it up. Get rolling. Cool. Get that first cut in tomorrow or Sunday and get your fertilizer down and get your sprinkler system fired up and... Off we go.
SPEAKER 05 :
I actually look forward to this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Am I sick? No, I do too. No, I'm the same way. Right. Mine's about two-thirds green already, so I'm inching towards that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Yeah, so is mine.
SPEAKER 03 :
Lawn care and grilling. I don't know why. I'm getting there. Right. Cub Creek, heating and air conditioning. Really quick. Speaking of all the things Andy and I are talking about, yes, it's that time of the year. It's 80 roughly. What is it today, Andy? Close to 80 degrees right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
8-0.
SPEAKER 03 :
Some of you may have already tried to fire up the AC unit. Maybe you noticed it didn't want to work quite right. Maybe you need some service done. It's going to be even hotter tomorrow. Yes, there's a little cool down coming in next week. So here's my advice. Talking about Cub Creek. Try things this weekend. It's going to be warm enough. Fire things up. See how things work. And hopefully everything's good. Yeah, but if it isn't powerful. If it isn't, then give the guys at Cub Creek a call. They'll come out. They'll take care of things. Now, here's the caveat to them. For them to really inspect your AC properly, they need an ambient temperature, you know, 60 degrees or better to really check things to make sure things are going to work properly, meaning there's only going to be a few days next week where that temperature is going to meet that. We're going to have a little bit of a cool down coming in midweek-ish, roughly. So my point is, if you notice some things this weekend not working quite right, call them, get on their schedule, figure out a time that works, and get that done.
SPEAKER 05 :
What are some things they might be looking at?
SPEAKER 03 :
And everything from Andy, low refrigerant, blocked, you know, a blocked filter, things not working quite right there. That can get the squirrel cage and all of that all, you know, clogged up and so on, not good airflow, things along those lines. You can have even bad airflow out at the outside unit itself if it's had a bunch of, you know, everything from the cotton trees to, you know, Grass clippings and junk and so on, you name it, if all those things get plugged up. Yeah, it could be inside furnace, could be outside unit as well, either way. Okay. So, again, for all of you that are listening, if you get things fired up and notice it's not quite right. Now, one little tip, and I was talking to Hunter about this this week, so I'll throw this in since he's not able to join us. I'm sure he's busy doing things right now. I can imagine how busy he is with it being 80 degrees today. Here's something to think about, and I know this sounds really simple. But he told me that you would be surprised how many people where they say, well, I can't get my AC to work. And one of the first things they'll ask is, is the thermostat set to cool? Some of them have switches physically that you have to turn to cool. Some of them, if it's an electronic thermostat, you'll have to go inside of it and tell it to go to cool. So one of the first things he always asks is, have you set it to cool?
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, and a lot of people aren't used to looking for that because they're just used to somebody coming out and getting it right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Or they just run the temperature up and down and figure there you go. Just run it up and down. Right, and sometimes, depending upon who's been messing around or if you put batteries in it or whatever the case may be, it may have gone from an auto setting. to a heat setting and so now you're trying to get the temperature to drop but it's on heat and it's saying hey dummy i'm already that hot i can't do anything for you because the thermostat hasn't been set to either auto or cool and his advice on that as well after talking in this week is even if you have an auto setting set it to cool Okay. Because in Colorado, we can go from these big temperature swings. Right, right. And you may not want the heater on even though it's only 50 degrees because you know it's going to heat back up with the temperature anyway. So just set your thermostat to cool and then see what happens. And that's his advice that I talked to him about earlier in the week.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the bottom line is don't wait until late May. Get it looked at now. Be ready.
SPEAKER 03 :
Be ready when the hot weather comes. They will be super busy at that point in time, so by all means, as Andy's saying, get that done now. Okay, I got a text message on this earlier asking if I had seen that Michael Bennett, he's Senator, Senator Bennett had thrown his hat in the ring officially for the governor's race on the Democrat side for Colorado, and yes, I did see that.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is a real opportunity for the Republicans, and the reason is— Huge, Andy. Yeah, well, first of all, Bennett is not an impressive candidate.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, no.
SPEAKER 05 :
As you know, he was horrible in the presidential— Guy can't talk his way out of a wet paper bag. Yeah, and the presidential campaign was just awful.
SPEAKER 03 :
He's terrible.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, but here's the big thing. Now you've got two of them. Him and Weiser. He and Weiser are going to spend a lot of money bashing each other.
SPEAKER 03 :
Find it out.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, first of all, they're going to waste a lot of money in the primary. That was not going to happen. Right. Okay? This was supposed to be a coronation for Weiser. And Weiser, you know, doesn't have the name rec that Bennett has. He does not. However, Weiser will debate him under the table. Sharper guy. Much sharper guy. But nobody watches the governor's debate. I mean, literally nobody. They will watch the soundbites. There are crickets in the corner. And so people will watch a few soundbites. That's all they're going to see. Unless somebody makes news with, you know, saying something really stupid, it's not going to make news. And so...
SPEAKER 03 :
It's going to be a lot of money. What they're going to do in the campaign is of late. There's been some debates and things on Capitol Hill where actually Michael Bennett actually had a little pizzazz and he actually talked better than he normally does. They will take some of those sound bites, making him look like he's sort of a hero when he's not.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, they've done that for Biden.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, for Biden, yeah, they would take times, the very few sentient moments for Joe Biden over the last decade, and they would put those and run those over and over, and you would get the idea, this is Joe Biden. Right. They'll do that with Bennett. Weiser is probably going to want to debate as much as possible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because he's a nobody. I mean, he's our AG, and nobody even knows that, Andy. If you took the average person anywhere in Colorado, malls, wherever, and said, who's Phil Weiser?
SPEAKER 05 :
True, but he is our two things. First of all, he is our AG, which means he has also won a statewide race. And secondly, he has money. Okay, he has money, he has backers. He is going to be able to put up a big fight against Bennett. Bennett's not going to roll to this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Which, as you said, will be good.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, all I want them to do is waste money. And if we could ever, I don't know, somehow, some way, get an actual candidate, maybe that candidate won't be facing some ridiculously funded, ready-to-go candidate for once. Maybe also one that's a little beat up.
SPEAKER 03 :
To your point earlier, we, as Republicans now, have a real opportunity laying at our feet now. Literally, it's been gifted to us. What are we going to do with it?
SPEAKER 05 :
We'll see.
SPEAKER 03 :
We'll talk more about that Tuesday. Okay. All right. We'll come back here in just one moment. Movies today, by the way, we've got Drop and King of Kings. And in hour two, we're going to do religious movies. So, of course... Wide range. Yeah. Well, you know, I've got my own list, although it's not as lengthy as I typically have because there's not as many of these types of movies as you would typically find on some of the others.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mine is... It's lengthy, but I'm a little more broad in my application of this.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'll just tell you that. I'm probably not. Yeah. Okay, that's fine. We'll still have fun with that. Up next, Dr. Scott Faulkner, though. And those of you that heard me on Tuesday when I was here with Andy know how really bad I felt Tuesday. And then Wednesday was even worse. Worse, I finally broke down, called Dr. Scott. He's my doctor. I say that all the time. I said, hey, man, I don't know if you heard me on air today or not, but I'm a hurting pup. What can you do for me? I know for sure I've got a sinus infection because I know exactly how they feel. He's like, yeah, I can tell. I'm like, okay, well, thank you. Now what do we do about it? He gave me some great meds and got me back on the mend really quickly. My point is with Scott, Even though he's in Castle Rock, you don't have to go drive to him, in my case, just because I have a sinus infection. He could hear it. He knew what was going on. He knew what was up. All I had to do was call him on the phone and say, hey, can you get me something where I can get over this pretty quickly? And yeah, that's the answer. Yes, I can. What a concept, easy medicine. Yeah, I'm not dinking around for hours on end going to an appointment and this, that, and the other. And 20 different insurance companies. And having the doctor look at you and say, what do you think is wrong? No, it was simple, easy. As you guys can tell and hear in my voice, it's way better today than it even was yesterday, which was way better than it was Wednesday. And that's all because of Dr. Scott. His phone number, 303-663-6990.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
423-0162 or go online to e-gia.com suck it up buttercup back to rush to reason 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 absolutely all right john have you ever had a really bad date Bad? Yeah. I haven't really done any.
SPEAKER 03 :
Not for a long, long, long time, but I've had a few bad ones over the years. You know, when I was a teenager, yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
I guess so, yeah, when I was a teenager. Yeah, that would make sense. Well, get ready for the worst night out in Drop.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, let's try this. Oh, wow. Did you mean to dress like a candy cane? I don't think I should go. He's been waiting patiently to meet you for months. It's just a date. I love you. Thank you. Have fun.
SPEAKER 09 :
Bye.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's just a date. Hey. Hi. Sorry, I got a drink because I was nervous. I had a couple in the car on the way over.
SPEAKER 07 :
I can't believe we're actually doing this.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, you are the first guy who didn't ask for feet pics.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's a second date thing. Are we okay?
SPEAKER 10 :
Somebody sent me this.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's just dumb kids trying to mess with you.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's weird.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, who do you think it is? We can figure this out. You gotta be within 50 feet to send a drop. So, it's someone in the restaurant.
SPEAKER 1 :
Violet.
SPEAKER 07 :
Violet, everything okay?
SPEAKER 10 :
Uh, yeah, I just... I'll be right back. I can't... I can't do that. I'll kill you if you hurt my son. Why him? Why does he have to die? Run! They chose me for a reason.
SPEAKER 07 :
Child to kill never kill anybody, right?
SPEAKER 12 :
How's the state going?
SPEAKER 05 :
John, did you scream and yell like that after certain dates? One. Oh, okay. That one was pretty bad. One day we'll talk about that. Okay, Megan Fahey, really good actress, by the way. She stars as Violet, a widowed mother who's easing back into dating. She had a very bad experience. Her date is Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar. You'll know him. He's been in a lot of things, and he's nervous, too. After getting to know each other online, they meet at an upscale restaurant, and things seem really cute until Violet, she begins getting these drop messages on her phone. You know what those are. Okay. Well, these messages, they start as annoying, you know, an interruption, but then they become terrifying as Violet is told she must kill her date. The messages are coming from someone in the restaurant, meaning Violet is being watched at all times, and everyone's a suspect. Naturally, Violet won't kill Henry, but the dropper sends footage of Violet's home, where her sister is watching her son. The intruders are armed, and now Violet must rescue hostages. All she has to do is kill her date with the methods provided. So we see a cat and mouse game, John, with Violet stalling in every way while the dropper shows that he or she knows everything Violet is trying to do. They know everything. They see everything. This person sees everything. And along the way, more of Violet's past is revealed. And so is Henry's. These are a couple of very damaged people, but that's just like many in their 30s trying to get back into the dating realm, right? A lot of times you'll see people getting, they're dating for the first time in a long time when they're 30, 35, 40, and they've been through it. And so they kind of, that kind of unfolds to each other as it goes along. But ultimately, John, this is a thriller as Violet plays a high stakes game against evil. And that is the story of Drop. What do you think? Sounds good. Yeah. Well, what works in Drop? First of all, you get strong performances from Fahey and Sklenar. I like them both. I always have for quite a long time. Each actor captures all the emotional challenges of their role. And there are a lot, right? Because in Fahey's case, your life, not just your evening, but your life is unwinding, is unraveling before your eyes. And this is just a horrifying thing. And she doesn't know what to do. And Sklenar, he is having to... He's got this date... who is falling apart, and he has no idea why. What is going on? Why is she stalling? Why is this happening? Why is that happening? Now, another thing that's going to sell well is Glenar. He's a real dreamboat for female viewers. He's strong and handsome, but not unrealistic like Thor. I can almost feel the audience swooning. And for the record, I was the only male in the entire auditorium. You're it, huh? I was it, John. I was it. I was hiding in a corner. It was kind of funny, actually. This film also has a good villain with an interesting series of twists unfolding. So you got plot twists here and there, which is kind of cool. The strategy of a woman in an impossible situation brings great tension. She's so hopeless and helpless. There's nothing she can do. There's nowhere she can go. And the final third of the film really turns up the action and intensity. In fact, I would say the final third was pretty close to five-star material. Okay. A couple silly lines, but outside of that, pretty close to five-star material. What doesn't work in drop? Well, here's a big problem. Implausibility throughout. There were so many times I was thinking, nah, you wouldn't put up with this much. Violet sold and changed the date too many times. I'm sorry, Violet. There's a limit, okay? In fact, despite all the tension in the film, it sort of trudged at least halfway through the film. There were too many twists and setbacks. And I understand you're trying to make it more and more and more difficult for her to get out of this or do something. But they overdid it. And you know how it is. You can only drag that out so far. And after a while, you're looking at your watch. I know I was. It needed more humor. The attempt was made with a really annoying waiter, but his character was far too exaggerated. It was killing the authentic feel. I hated this guy. The waiter reminded me, oh yeah, I'm just watching a movie. He wasn't funny. You know what he was? He was Jar Jar Binks. shoved into this movie. A character that you're just like, get off the screen. Every time he came on the screen, you were like, you're bad. You're dragging this. You're reminding me this is a movie. I don't want you on the screen. It's one of the worst characters I've seen in the past couple years. This film could easily have been 10 minutes shorter. It really could. Or it could have focused more on discovering the motives for the killer. We do. But they could have spent more time on the investigation, her investigation, because she's a very smart lady. And you see this throughout. Her investigation to find the motives for the killer was interesting. One thing I think they should have done is build up a little bit more how intelligent she is and not make her such a helpless waif. That would have helped a lot. And let's face it, if they had added more investigation, it just would have added more interest. It would have pulled you along better because I was really checking out several times. Ultimately, John, this is purely a chick thriller, targeting one audience for the most part. I'm not saying it's awful for men, but I'm not saying it's meant for men. And that is drop. Okay, Rotten Tomatoes gave this 84%. But the audiences gave it 73. They were not as impressed overall, which is a little surprising. It's always a little surprising when the audience comes in under the reviewers. That's always a surprise because the audience usually goes to a movie that's just for them. Like I said, I was the only guy in the theater and I had to be there. OK, so maybe it's board dates. I'm not sure who was not liking the movie quality. I'm going to give this three stars right down. And the reason is, is for women. I think it's four star. I did ask a bunch afterward. Every single one loved it. There you go. For me, it was two stars. I would never see this again. Okay. But, you know, it's just maybe I'm jealous of Brandon Sklenar. That's probably what it is, right? I'm petty. I did not like this movie much, but I think it's definitely a three-star movie. And if you want to make the girl in your life happy, bring her to this movie. She'll like you more. Political three, more religious three. There's a score, right? Yeah, it didn't preach. And you would think it would. It didn't. They didn't care. That's nice. Yeah. Yeah. There was even politics in it, but no party. Okay. I won't say any more on that. So it laid off any of that. All it did was tell the story. And that part I liked. The only problem was, John, for at least over half of the movie, this was too slow. And they were giving too many setbacks for her and too many frustrations. And after a while, you're just... And then when they finally start resolving some of it, you're kind of like, that wouldn't work. That wouldn't work. I just didn't find it very realistic. However, the audience there loved it. Do I recommend going to drop? Well, sorry to be sexist, but it kind of depends on your gender.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
The best export we have is common sense. You're listening to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 05 :
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 03 :
Hope this is better than the last one.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the last one's not a bad movie. It's just not a guy movie. Not for me, though. Yeah, it's not for you. Yeah. Take the wife to it. She'll like you. Okay. Okay. Can Angel Studios bring a new cartoon spin to the story of Jesus Christ? Let's see in The King of Kings.
SPEAKER 09 :
I'd like to tell you a story, son. Some say it's the greatest story ever told. It has angels and wicked kings, jealous rivals and miracles. Open your eyes. Our story begins 2,000 years ago. The young woman named Mary would soon bring a beautiful baby into the world.
SPEAKER 11 :
We won't stop. If it's not about a king, then I'm not interested.
SPEAKER 09 :
It just so happens that this story is about a king. One prophecy speaks of... Look, Willa!
SPEAKER 11 :
Look at all the fish!
SPEAKER 09 :
It was time for Jesus to gather a few friends, like Judas Iscariot. He gains more followers every day. Find him. There's not nearly enough food here to feed all of these people. The people are calling him king.
SPEAKER 08 :
Then we turn the people against him.
SPEAKER 09 :
Are you king of the Jews? It's what God wants. I'll accept it. And so should you.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER 03 :
What do you think, John? I mean, I watched the preview. It looks pretty good.
SPEAKER 05 :
It does look good, doesn't it?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, first of all, we just got to reel off the cast, okay? It's impressive. Kenneth Branagh is Charles Dickens. Uma Thurman is Catherine Dickens, his wife. Mark Hamill is King Herod. Pierce Brosnan is... That's a good King Herod, by the way. Oh, yes. Very good one. Yes. Sorry. Well, he's a wacko to begin with. Yeah, that's what I meant. But by the way, I don't know if you've watched the Batman series. It's obviously an old series now, but it was in reruns forever, the cartoon series. He did the Joker. His depiction of the Joker is one of the greatest cartoon voices ever done.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just saying. Okay, Pierce Brosnan is Pontius Pilate. Forrest Whitaker is Peter. Ben Kingsley is Caiaphas. And, of course, Oscar Isaac stars as Jesus. What a cast. Can you believe that? Yeah, you're right. These are not Christians, obviously. No, not at all. These are very, very much not Christians. And here they are in this Christian movie. Well, our story begins in old England with Charles Dickens doing his job. He's reading A Christmas Carol. on stage to a packed audience. And that's what he did, by the way. He would actually read his plays on stage. Unfortunately, his performance is interrupted by his son, along with his son's cat. Charles is furious backstage, but his wife, she makes the peace. Charles' son, Walter, is fixated on King Arthur and loves to play with a stage sword. You know, a little wooden sword, and he goes around. He's constantly playing that he is King Arthur, and he just loves it. Well, that night, Catherine convinces Charles to calm Walter by reading him the story of Jesus Christ from birth to death to resurrection. The reason is... charles has been talking about he's been writing about it and charles knows it by heart and so despite walter's desire to insert swords and dragons along the way charles walks us through the greatest story ever told we see the manger and we even learn what a what a manger really is that was interesting we see miracles teachings angels betrayal and even the terrible death of christ mercifully in pg form for children And ultimately, we even see why Christ had to die and what it means for us all. That is the story of The King of Kings. What do you think?
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow, amazing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Pretty cool, huh? All right. Given the cast, yeah. Yeah, no kidding. No kidding. Well, what works in The King of Kings? First of all, this film is designed to capture the attention of today's youth who have no attention spans at all. True. So we see lots of mixing in banter between Charles and Walter. And of course the cat it's chubby and adorable. That's like dangling keys in front of kids, you know, instant interest. If they ever start drifting, you want to bring the chubby cat back into the screen and that'll help. The attempts at humor, I'll get to those in a bit. Let's put those off. Several scenes are very impressive. The walking on water was great. The angel announcing the baby Jesus was terrific. Feeding the 5,000. Lazarus. These are all great. Very, very impressive stuff. There's some impressive, though simple, doctrine. They walked us from original sin to salvation. Nicely done. And also nicely done, good rendering of the adulterous woman and the casting the first stone. Hmm. You would think, okay, that's pretty heavy for kids. They handle, you know, maybe a little. I could see it being a little bit, but honestly, I thought they handled it very, very well. What doesn't work in The King of Kings? Far, far too much time spent on tangents with Charles and Walter. These are supposed to be worked in with bite-sized moments, injecting humor and wonder, basically keeping the kids focused, right? Bring them back, bring them back, bring them back to the story. But... They didn't really do it. A Muppet Christmas Carol is the best. I know you hate the Muppets, but stay with me for a moment.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's all right. I get it.
SPEAKER 05 :
There's a reason that that movie is actually listed as the best Christmas movie ever by a number of people. The narrators of it, and there's two little narrators and they're funny, only peek in at points. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. To keep the kids interested and also to keep them from getting too afraid of ghosts and things like that. And they're also very, very funny. And it's incredibly well done. It's the best I've ever seen it done in a kid's flick where you have the narrator characters pop in and out quickly and effectively. Yeah. Here they don't. They go on these long tangents. They have this long scene where the cat gets lost in a marketplace and they just take far too long. The early scene where they're disrupting the play on stage took far too long. It didn't have to. All of these things took twice as long as they needed to. Very, very poorly edited in these scenes. The attempts at humor, they rarely hit. This just needed some better writing. That's all it needed. This was not a terribly written film. It's just that it needed to be a better written film. You need better humor. You know what it's like when you watch one of these really great kid movies, and we always talk about them, Toy Story, Cars, and so forth. The writing is so good that it's funny for all ages just because it's just funny, right? They weren't as funny. It wasn't as good, and it really would have helped. Some might find the crucifixion and the adulterous woman too much for kids. Personally, I didn't. I thought they handled it very well. Uma Thurman. wonderful actress. She was tragically underused as Catherine. Honestly, the know-it-all wife who always sides with her child, that was irritating after a while. It's like, you know, your husband is trying to make a living here, and he's going through a lot, and your kid is really blowing it up. I know, maybe you could be an adult parent. I don't know, that's just kind of what I was thinking after a while, so was my wife, I believe. They inserted some extra biblical ideas, not much, but a little here and there, that Let's just face it. The doctrine wasn't according to Hoyle, but that's okay. I'll leave it. It didn't bother me much. Basically, this was eye-opening for kids and tedious for adults. Rotten Tomatoes gave the King of Kings 64%. Now, as you can imagine, what audiences went to this?
SPEAKER 03 :
Christians.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. They gave it 97%. Of course they did. Of course they did. I'll get to them in a moment. Quality, I'm going to give it a grudging three and a half stars. And I don't mean like it's a bad movie. It's just that it has some really good stuff throughout it. Stuff I really liked. I really liked the entire idea of Dickens presenting the story of Christ. And I thought they presented the story of Christ very, very well. It was beautiful. I loved how they did it. They just poorly edited the film and added a lot of stuff and really dragged it down. Basically, for me, the movie was a 3.25. I didn't know whether to give it a 3 or a 3.5. My wife called the... She broke the tie. Yeah, so it's a 3.5. For me, it was a 2. I was bored, but hey, it's for kids. I don't care. I don't care about me. I care about them. Political, I'm going to give it 2.5 just for the wife always siding with the child. It's just kind of like... The dad couldn't parent because she was, you know what I'm saying? And I wouldn't care if it was the other way and the dad was always siding with the kid and the mom couldn't parent. I don't care which. Okay? Parent. How about telling the kid no? And not just explore your creativity. More religious, five, of course.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
But now I'm going to say kind of a harsh word. I'm going to make some enemies. Is that okay?
SPEAKER 03 :
Fine. All right. We do that every day anyways.
SPEAKER 05 :
I do it every day. I sure do. I've got to say a word on Christians in theaters. And my wife, now she doesn't go to nearly as many movies as I do, so I see this a little bit more. But... They are awful. This is not camping out. You're at a theater with other people, lots of other people. And they were coming in with tons of blankets and bags and stuff and things and all this. And I'm talking several people. You know, families. You're going to the movies. Yeah. These are like homeschooling families who are coming in like they're moving their home into. And also. Why? Yeah. And multiple families had little tiny kids who were screaming kids. You know what you got to do? You're in a public.
SPEAKER 03 :
Take them out.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. You ever heard of do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Right. Who said that? Christ. Oh, him!
SPEAKER 03 :
The guy the movie's about.
SPEAKER 05 :
The guy the movie's about. Yeah, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You had multiple families with screaming babies who would not take them out. One finally did at one point, but it's way too late. And it was unbelievable. Corey was miserable. That's my wife, folks. She was miserable. She said this is one of the worst experiences she has ever had in a theater. These families were terrible. It's like they'd never been in public before. It's like, folks, do unto others. And it's not just... So this was the entitled Christian crowd that went. It was the entitled Christian crowd. And by the way, I've seen this many times before. This is not new for me. But I thought today I needed to make a point of it because it was really bad. And there are basically two kinds of families that are incredibly disruptive in movies. Homeschooling Christian families, and by the way, many are just fine. Okay, I'm talking some, okay? But it only takes a few. And super liberal families, okay? Super liberal families or the other end of the spectrum, homeschooler Christian intense families. It's like they don't understand the difference between being at home and being in a theater with other people. Incredibly disruptive. And folks, I know there are Christians listening today. Please, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to be honest.
SPEAKER 03 :
But you're supposed to be setting an example for everybody else.
SPEAKER 05 :
We are trying to set an example for everybody else, exactly.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, this is like the church families that go to dinner afterwards that don't tip. Or tip poorly. Yeah, or tip poorly. Or leave the entire area an absolute mess for the next person to clean up and then tip poorly. I mean, you can combine a lot of those things, Andy. Oh, they do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
They do that. And the very worst of the worst of the worst. Do all that and leave a pamphlet on Christ or something. Yeah. Just to make sure this is who you're supposed to hate.
SPEAKER 03 :
What were those old tracks called?
SPEAKER 05 :
Jack Chick tracks.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, this is what hell looks like. And you're going there. And by the way, I tipped poorly and I left a mess and my kid screamed and upset several other tables around me. Praise God. Praise the Jesus. I mean, yes. That's too bad, Andy. Last night was that kind of an example.
SPEAKER 03 :
It should not be that way, Andy. By the way, I've also seen... In fact, I'll go as far as to say this, Andy. That should have been the best movie-going experience you've ever had.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. Yes, because look, let me give a dad who I know who doesn't. Let me have two dads who are totally not like that. You and Dan Mirror.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. If you and Dan Mirror were to go to a movie and back when your kids were young. Now, Richard, of course, you didn't let out of the house until he was 25. But I mean, other normal kids. If you were to take, I'm kidding, your kids to a movie, your kids would have held it together. They would have been fine. And if they didn't, you would have taken them outside for a few minutes. Calm them down, bring them back in.
SPEAKER 03 :
Furthermore.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, do the parenting thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'll say this. And so would Dan. If they're that young that they're going to be disruptive, don't take them.
SPEAKER 05 :
Get a sitter.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that's what babysitters are for.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is what my wife said. She said, so they won't shell out the money for a sitter? And by the way, I've also seen a lot of Christian families in those bags they smuggle in food. Think about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, which is also not good because now you're taken away from the theater. Yeah. And the only way they make money in most cases is off the concessions. So now you're taken out of their pocket.
SPEAKER 05 :
Tell you what, can we take a break? When we come back, I want to tell people what a great deal going to a movie is.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Okay. Yeah, and by the way, everything you just said, I'm sorry that's the case, because it shouldn't be that way, Andy. It ought to be the exact opposite. Oh, gosh. It should be the opposite.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you know how embarrassing it is for me? You see this? I've got this big cross that I carry, that I wear everywhere, and... I come out, and the theater kids, who are highly left-wing, obviously, they've got to clean up after that. And a number of them go in, and they hear the kids crying.
SPEAKER 03 :
All you want to do is apologize. I know. I'm sorry you're having to do this.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't even know what sackcloth is, but I want to get sackcloth and ashes poured on my head and apologize.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate. Okay, Andy, what makes a movie such a great deal?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you know, a lot of people say, well, the movie ticket's very expensive. And yes, it is, of course. And the movie food is very, very expensive. And there's a reason for it. I'll get to that in a moment. But I first want people to understand, here is what you are getting when you go to a movie. You're not just going out to dinner, okay? Okay. Paramount or Disney or whoever has spent usually tens of millions, sometimes hundreds and hundreds of millions. making an entirely new world to transport you into right a whole new world there are writers there are actors there are editors there is lighting there there's cameras work there is so much going on right production directing and it costs all these incredible millions of dollars to transport you into a totally different world that doesn't happen when you go out for dinner right Okay. It's really an incredible experience. On top of that, these modern theaters, the sound is incredible. The screens are magnificent. The seats are so comfortable and good. And of course, by going there, you get the roar of the crowd experience and you have teams that have to go in and fast clean after every film to make it really good. And of course, keep the restrooms and everything else clean. It is, that is a very, I managed theaters for seven years. That's an extremely expensive environment that is housing you and and moving you through and taking care of you in that way. Now, you look at the food and you say, well, the food's outrageous, folks. They're only getting, especially on any real popular film, in the first two weeks, they're only getting maybe 20 cents on the dollar. Or less. The rest, yeah, on some films it's less. Some, it's 90% goes to the production company like Paramount, and then they have to distribute it to Tom Cruise and to all the people who work for Tom Cruise. And there's a ton of people. These are huge, huge productions that take tons of people to make them. Okay? And this is why, actually, over the last few years, we had a lot of horror movies that are cheaper to make, but they're still very expensive. Okay? Because of... I won't go into it. Bottom line is this, John. People... I know they get frustrated at the cost of a ticket, but please take a step back and understand.
SPEAKER 03 :
What you're getting.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're taking a couple hours to transport, even with an average movie, transport yourself into a whole different world and eat food that's a lot of fun and have a great big group fun experience that somebody else is cleaning up after. It's amazing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 05 :
What do you think?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, you're right. And I think as a business owner myself, this is sort of like where, unfortunately, you now see on the door of some restaurants, no outside food or drink allowed. Well, yeah, Dodo Head. Right. They want to sell you something so they can keep their doors open, and no, they don't want you bringing in your whatever, your snacks, your whatever, to try to cheapen things up when it's all said and done. I mean, I hate to sound this harsh, Andy, but... If you can't afford to go, then don't. Then stay home. Wait until it comes out on download or whatever. If that's what you need to do, then do so. But don't cheapen it up, especially in this case where they know who you are. They know your label already. Please don't do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
John, one of the big things when I would manage theaters, and we would have a number of Christian movies, is that we would go in afterwards to clean, and they would literally leave. They wouldn't even have the decency to throw away their own trash. They would leave the trash, you know, the Ziploc bags of their food that they brought in. Guys, you realize you're breaking the rules of a theater. You're not doing unto others.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I'm one of those where I won't even leave a cup behind. I mean, I take it all out. Yeah, I do too. I mean, if there's trash or anything left over, it's all going out in the trash can because I know what it's like to be on the other end of that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I don't want to be that guy leaving that behind.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and also, John, I got this big old cross on my chest I want to represent.
SPEAKER 03 :
I hear you. Really quick. Dan and Blackhawk, we got about a minute. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think you already said it, but don't go to the movies if you can't afford it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep. Yep. That's the bottom line, Dan.
SPEAKER 06 :
I haven't seen – I wasn't a big movie person. All these movies that you guys talk about, I maybe go to a movie once or twice a year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Andy is our moviegoer, as you know, because my time doesn't allow me to do some of the things that Andy does in this regard because I've got another show to do tomorrow morning, as you all know. And so I'm like you, Dan. I don't go a ton. When I do, it's a very enjoyable experience. I'm like Andy. I want to go. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the whole thing, and I'm not going to cheapen it up.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm literally in another boat, to tell you the truth. Yeah, but you'll go to the last Mission Impossible that's coming out in a couple months. I will, for sure. Yeah, you'll go to those kind of, Top Gun Maverick. There are movies you will go to. Dan, when you go to them, you want to enjoy them. You don't want screaming kids.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I'm in a boat instead fishing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that's all right. Nothing wrong with that. I respect that. Yeah, me too, Dan. Nothing wrong with that at all.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Dan, appreciate you. And again, reiterating what we said.
SPEAKER 05 :
What if a boat came up next to him with screaming kids?
SPEAKER 03 :
Anyway, go ahead. Fishermen hate that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, bottom line, and I'm not, again, not trying to be rude, and I get everybody's on a budget and so on. But people, you have to, you know, you have to understand that that business is there to make a profit. And without that, they don't stay in business. And they're not there to serve just you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know. That's the best way to say it, Andy.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and you wear your witness everywhere you go.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you wouldn't believe how those workers talk about you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep. Oh, I got stories about that, Andy. Anyways, maybe we'll talk about that a little bit more on Tuesday. Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew. If you want to teach a young person how to read, please get the book. Get several. Have them. Pass them out. Use code KLZ, I should say, to get 10% off. Go to JimmyAndAndrew.com.
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SPEAKER 1 :
31%.
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SPEAKER 03 :
Live and local, back to Rush to Reason. All right, that's it for this first hour. Second hour, in honor of King of Kings, we've got, and of course it's Palm Sunday, Easter is next Sunday, so we will do religious movies. If you've got any at all that you want to recommend, send us a text message, 307-200-8222. Andy and I will be right back. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 11 :
I'm a rich guy.
Often these types of crimes are committed by those we love and trust. A principle: never do business at church. “Do not fret because of the evildoers” (Ps 37:1). Use your 10 problem-solving devices and let the Lord handle the issue. God knows exactly what’s going on. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good” (Prov 15:3). You can count on the justice of God. The Lord is aware of what happened to you. Trust and appreciate His care and provisions. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:4).
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/handle-criminal-6e2791
SPEAKER 02 :
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 01 :
Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I'm your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stick around. Remember that God gave you two ends. One of those ends is to think with. The other one is to sit on. And success in your life will depend on which one you use. Heads, you'll win. And tails, you'll lose. There's a great Bible verse in 2 Peter 3.18 that says, "...grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior." Jesus Christ. And grow is a verb. It means to learn something. So put something in your head. That's what this show is about. Motivation, inspiration, education without any type of manipulation. That's right. No con games here. Not asking for money. Not trying to solicit you for anything. Just give you some information. I pray you'll listen as I verify and identify the plan of God for your life. And I certainly pray you will orient and adjust to the plan. We've been on the radio for many years, 13, 14 years now across the United States in select cities. And it's always interesting to get letters and to see people that are responding to the truth. Let me remind you that I'm not your pastor. I am a window. I'm a door. I'm opening something for you to show you where you can grow. There are men who are well-qualified pastors that teach on a consistent basis more than just once a week like I do on this radio show. And my prayer is that you will take advantage of their ministry. If you don't live in their area, you can get their DVDs or their MP3s or their printed material. But they are solid, sound, teaching individuals that know God's Word and do a wonderful job. So that's what your prayer should be, that God would lead you to a well-qualified pastor so you could grow spiritually. And hopefully I've given you a taste of what it means to grow spiritually. Today we want to look at something very interesting. You know, in your life from time to time you may have some sort of criminal activity that you're exposed to. It's very possible that it could happen to you. And I'm going to dedicate this message today to those who've been afflicted by criminal activity, affected by criminal activity. Maybe you had your money stolen. Maybe you had your automobile stolen. Maybe you had your home broken into by an intruder. You know, many times these type of crimes are caused by the very people we love and trust. And many a family even has been split apart by money-grabbing relatives at the reading of the will or if one has even read. But many Christians have been ripped off by other Christians who have a surefire way to make a profit. only to find that it was all just a scam. You see, churches are fertile fields for criminals, and it may be stealing stuff in the parking lot or even assaulting someone in the congregation. It could be an inside job like your best friend who wants you to invest in his or her product or a great deal. Here's a principle you need to remember. Never do business at church. It's not a place of doing business. No pastor should ever allow anyone to approach any member and try to sign them up or sell them anything at church. But it happens. People just like you, people like me, every day do business like that. And because Christians have sin natures and they have volition, and so they make a decision and they do something dumb and it costs them in the long run. Listen to what David writes about criminal activity, and we'll go through some of this this morning. In Psalm 36, one through four, he said he had an oracle, which is a wise and insightful communication from God, within his heart, that's his right lobe. Remember, you have a mind and a heart. The nous is where you receive the information, the Greek word nous, mind, and the cardia, the heart, is where you store the information. So what he's saying is that he had some insight given to him by God the Father in his heart concerning the transgression of the wicked. And that means the criminal. He said, quote, there is no fear of God before his eyes, before the criminal. For he flatters himself in his own eyes. He's egotistical. When he finds out his own iniquity and when he hates, that's in other words, once he discovers how sharp he is and how good he is, he likes it. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceitful. He has ceased to be wise. He ceased to do good. He devised wickedness on his bed. In other words, he lays down at night thinking of how he can steal something from the next person. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He does not abhor evil. On the contrary, he embraces evil. David goes on in Psalm 37, following Psalm 36, to give a divine direction on how to handle criminal activity when it infringes in our lives. This is why you must have the 10 problem-solving devices. These 10 problem-solving devices that we speak of every show stop the outside sources of adversity from becoming the inside sources of stress. We always say adversity is inevitable, stress is optional. As a believer in Jesus Christ, that means something to you. That means that if you learn God's word and learn the problem-solving devices, beginning with rebound and then going to the filling of the spirit and the faith rest drill, grace orientation, doctrinal orientation, personal sense of destiny, personal love for God and personal love for all of mankind, sharing the happiness of God and occupation with Christ, 10 unique problem-solving devices. If you know them, can quote them and understand them, And you have a wonderful shot at a wonderful life. But apart from that, you're going to let your emotions dictate policy and you're never ever going to be happy or satisfied. So David starts off in Psalm 37 about how do you handle this sort of activity in your life. What do you do about it? Psalm 37.1, do not fret. Do not fret because of the evildoers. I'm going to read through this and then I'm going to come back and break it down for you. Do not fret because of the evildoers. Do not be envious towards wrongdoers. In other words, don't be jealous of their prosperity. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Verse 3. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord. Trust in him and he will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out the wicked schemes. Cease from anger. Forsake wrath. Do not fret. It only leads to evildoing. For evildoers, that's the criminal, will be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land." Now, with that said, let's go back and take a look at this passage and see what this passage is trying to teach us. If I can get my notes to open up. When I do a radio show, I have to sit down for two or three hours and maybe a day or two and put this stuff together. So here we go. What does the Bible say about how we should handle this sort of activity when it happens to us? This is what David said, the oracle from God, do not fret. The Hebrew word charah, Hebrew word charah, which means to be furious or angry. Do not allow mental attitude sin such as revenge motivation to dominate your thinking. It's very easy when someone sticks it to you like this to want to get even. I used to have a friend that carried around a little black book, and if you did him wrong, he'd put your name in it. He said, all right, your name's going in the book, and I'm going to get even with you. Don't fret. Don't get angry. This is how you lose control of your life. The doctrine of anger is an interesting study. It is the number one root emotional sin the Bible talks about. And as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are never authorized to lose your temper and get angry and let your emotions take over because you will do something stupid. You probably already have. And you didn't listen to this verse. I know I have not listened to this verse in the past. And I have made mistakes just like you. We can't afford to have mental attitude sins. Do not fret. Do not get angry. Do not get furious. The verse goes on to say, because of evildoers. The word ra'ah, which means the one who does injury or the one who hurts or the one who is evil or wicked. The ra'ah, the schemer, the one who plans his actions deliberately. In other words, this is not an impulsive act. It's a deliberate act. He plotted out a course. He knew what he wanted to do, and he did it. And it happened to you. Do not get angry. I remember one night I was fishing, just fishing with a friend. I was up on the Tennessee River. We were bass fishing in my bass boat and we launched the boat and parked the truck in the parking lot. My friend parked the truck and I was in the boat. And about two, three o'clock in the morning when we got tired and we were ready to come home, my friend came, we pulled up to the boat launch and I let my friend out and gave him the keys. He walked up on the hill. only to find the truck was stolen, the trailer was stolen. Someone had broken in and taken my truck and my trailer, and I was in the lake with a boat 150 miles from the house with no way to get home. My friend was visibly upset about it, wondering what we were going to do, and for some reason, I don't know why, I was fairly calm, and I said, well, let's just lay down and take a nap. And in the morning, we'll call the sheriff and try to figure out what we can do. This is what the Word of God does for you. It gives you the ability to relax even when you have been wronged. You can't let the evildoer make you mad or get angry. Do not fret. And then it goes on to say in Psalm 37, 1 and 2, Do not be envious of the evildoers. Don't be envious of the evildoer. The Hebrew word qanah, which means to be jealous of them or envious of them. It's the same word where a woman would be jealous of another woman who's a rival for the man of her attention. It's a mental attitude sin, so you can't let yourself look at the prosperity of the wicked and say, I wish I had that. That's the wrong way to think. Why? Because the verse goes on to say, they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Principle. God knows exactly what they're doing, even though you and I are too dumb to see it sometimes, or Maybe we don't wanna see it because we're jealous of their prosperity. But Proverbs 15 three says, the eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good. So the second principle, this verse promises God's judgment is coming on them because no one gets away with anything. No one gets away with anything. The justice of God is always there 24-7, and that includes politicians. They do not get away with their wicked schemes. It may look like they're getting away with it, and you may think they're getting away with it, but it's a matter of God's timing, but the roof will cave in on them eventually. Listen to Acts 5, one through five. Here someone thought he got away with something. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property, this is in the early church, and they kept back some of the price. In other words, they sold it for, let's say, $100,000 and they kept 50,000 and they went to the apostle and said, hey, we want to give this 50,000 to you. This is all the money we got for the property, in other words. So they kept some for himself with his wife's full knowledge, the Bible said. She knew the scheme. She knew what was going on. And they brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. In other words, here it is. We're great, wonderful Christians. We sold this property and we want you to have it, Peter. We want you to use it for the church and everything. You know, this happens every day in local denominations where people act like there's some really sacrificial giving and they're not. And this is what was going on. But Peter said, in other words, the word of God, Peter said to him, Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the price of the land? Do you think you could fool God? See, that's what the criminal thinks. The criminal thinks he can fool God. He fooled you, didn't he? Then he must be able to fool God. And while it remained unsold, Peter told Ananias, did it not remain in your control? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? So why now have you conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men. You lied to God. And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down, breathed his last, and a great fear came over all who heard it. This guy dropped dead right there. Now, what caused him to drop dead? Was it the sin unto death? I don't know. There is a sin unto death. The Bible talks about the sin unto death. It's the third stage of divine disciplines. The first stage is warning discipline. The second stage is intense discipline. And the third stage is dying discipline. When God warns you that you're out of line, you should confess your sin and correct it using problem-solving device number one. If you don't, then the discipline will get intense, and that means that the Lord may have to take you out behind the woodshed to wake you up and give you an attitude adjustment. And if that doesn't work, then the Lord also retains the possibility that he just may take you home way too soon. In Ananias' case, whatever it was, he dropped dead because he lied to god lied to peter lied to all the people that were there made it look like he was a great wonderful donor when in fact he did donate but not what he said he was doing he was deceiving people you don't deceive god by the way the same thing happened to his wife when she came in she told the same line she dropped dead So here's the principle. You can get in God's way and get burned if you try to be the judge and the jury yourself. In Matthew 7, 1 through 7, we have what's called triple compound discipline. matthew 7 1-7 says judge not lest you be judged because with the judgment you judged it will be placed back on you again triple compound discipline is you being disciplined for the sin of judging and even if the person you're judging did commit the sin his discipline would be taken off of him given to you And then you have self-induced misery. Triple compound discipline. So we're not to get in God's way. The Lord can handle it. The Lord can deal justice out in his way, in his time, because the supreme court of heaven It's open 24 hours a day. So when you have an automobile stolen or when you have money taken from you in a scheme that's not true and it's a lie and a falsehood, and especially if it's done to you by another believer, then the first thing you do is you don't get angry. You don't get mad. You don't try to get even. You turn it over to the Supreme Court of Heaven, and you let the Lord judge it. And he's perfectly capable of doing that. How do I know? Because Psalm 37.3, trust in the Lord. The Hebrew word for trust is the word bratak. And this imperative verb means don't ask any questions. Just do it. You must have confidence in God's judgment. You must have confidence in God's justice. And you must be secure in your own spiritual life. I don't care what happens, it can't knock you off balance. If you allow a criminal activity towards you to knock you off balance, it means that you will let your emotions take control. You will get mad, you will get angry, and you will vilify the individual, and you will not wait on God to take justice. God can handle it. Let the Lord handle it. Stay out of God's way and watch what happens. What should you do? Trust in the Lord, the Hebrew word Yahweh, which is the proper name for the one true God. And then the verse goes on to say cultivate faithfulness. Emunah, emunah in the Hebrew, cultivate emunah or fidelity or steadfastness. In other words, don't let this knock you off balance. Cultivate steadfastness. Abiding in God's provisions, and here's the principle, will cause you to develop trust and appreciation for God's care and protection. I'm going to say it one more time. Abiding in God's provisions will cause you to develop trust and appreciation for God's care and protection. The Lord is well aware of what happened to you. The Lord is well aware of what you're going through. He would not throw you under the bus. He will provide for you. He will protect you. So cultivate faithfulness. That's the faith rest drill, problem-solving device number three in the flatline of your soul, learning the faith rest drill, standing on the promises of God. And when the Bible goes on to say cultivate faithfulness, it simply means that not abiding in the land or the spiritual life is equivalent to being out of fellowship. So if you don't abide in the spiritual life, if you don't cultivate, abide, plant the spiritual life, well then you're gonna be out of bounds. So verse four goes on to say delight in the Lord. Delight yourself. and that's the Hebrew word anag, and it means to enjoy the luxury of God's faithfulness. Enjoy the luxury of God's faithfulness. Delight yourself in Yehovah, the eternal one, and he will give, nathan, he will add to or assign to you the desires of your heart. Mish-Allah. Mish-Allah, the Hebrew word which means your request or your petition. In this case, you petition God for justice. You request God to handle it because of the evil that was done to you, and he will take care of it in his time. You're not authorized to get a gun and go after the criminal. You're not authorized to try to sue the criminal. You're authorized to trust in the Lord to handle it, and he will handle it. Verse five, commit. This is a volitional decision. You must galah, the Hebrew word. You must use your volition, positive or negative. Remember, God gives you volition as part of the format of your soul, and you can either say, yes, I will, or no, I won't. It's up to you. God's a gentleman. He won't coerce your volition. He gives you the choice. Yes, I will. No, I won't. I'll handle this matter myself. God, I don't need your help. Okay, then if that's your attitude, you're in for a rude awakening. Delight yourself in Yehovah, and he will give you the desires of your heart. In this case, the desire for justice. Commit your way. Commit galah. It's a volitional decision. Commit your way. your course of life or your modus operandi, the Hebrew word derik, commit your life, your way, your modus operandi to the Lord. In other words, what's the direction of your faith? Is it in the government to recover it? No. Is it in something else? No, it's in the Lord. So if you've been the victim of a scheme or you've lost money or you've been defrauded, defrauded, Don't depend on the government to get it back. Depend on the Lord to give it back. And he will do it. He has done it. I've seen it done. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust. Be confident. Batak is the Hebrew word. Confidence. Have great confidence and have great security in this. He will do it. This is the confidence factor. Trust in the Lord and he will do it. Commit your way to the Lord. He will do it. Let's move down to verse 7 in Psalm 37. Rest in the Lord. The Hebrew word damon means to be silent or to be still. Rest in the Lord. Exodus 14, 13, remember when Moses told those Jews who came out of Egypt, do not fear, stand by and watch God deliver you. This is the faith rest drill in action. And then in verse 8, cease from anger and forsake wrath. In other words, stop being angry and put your wrath away. There's a great passage in Ephesians 4, 30 and 31 about this very thing. Put your wrath away. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. The hardest thing you will ever do is to forgive the criminal who stole from you. That's a very hard thing to do because we have such a bitterness in our heart sometime, such implacability that it's hard to forgive But when we trust in the Lord and we commit our way to him, when we do not fret, the verse says it again two more times, verse seven and verse eight, that's three times, do not fret, do not fret, do not fret. Don't worry. Don't get all bent out of shape. The Lord will handle it. Cease from your anger and forsake your wrath. That's the desire to get even with someone. That's the desire to hurt that person. That's the desire to make them feel the same pain that you felt. that is you trying to play god that is you trying to put god's justice on them and you want to be the hammer it's not up to you it's up to the lord so if you can have something like this happen to you and then if you can trust in the lord and walk away from it and not let it eat you alive and be so mad and so angry because you were so stupid that you trusted someone that you should not have trusted And maybe you need to look at why did you trust this person? Did you think you were going to get some kind of great gain? Did you think this person was out there luring you with a promise of fortune maybe? Who knows? But you turn it over to the Lord. You walk away with it. You let the Lord handle it, and you move on down the road, and God will handle the justice. Your life goes on. You're still alive. You still have opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ. Our Lord didn't come down off the cross. He didn't slay everybody standing there laughing and making fun of him. He took it and he said, Father, not my will, but thy will be done. Same with you. Not your will, but God's will be done. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you so much for listening to The Flatline.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
Tragedy strikes in the skies as Joey details a devastating helicopter crash over New York's Hudson River, displaying the harsh realities of modern infrastructural mishaps. The conversation shifts gears in a lively Free Speech Friday segment, where listeners from across the nation join the dialogue to share their pressing concerns and insights. From immigration woes to the vitality of open dialogue, Joey fosters an inclusive forum for voices eager to be heard. Dive into this episode to grasp the pulse of America's challenges and triumphs, guided by insightful discussions and listener contributions.
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He's the happy conservative warrior, Mike Gallagher, from your trusted conservative TV network, Salem News Channel, and broadcasting across hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Sitting in for Mike today, here's Joey Hudson.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome in to this Friday edition of the Mike Gallagher Show. Boy, do we have a busy, busy morning. Let me just read off a few of the items that we need to cover. President Trump ends another week with some additional judicial wins. This time, a federal judge has cleared away for a renewed push to enforce a longstanding law. I didn't even realize this was a law that requires anyone in the U.S., who are not a citizen, and they're here for over 30 days, they must register with the federal government, and they have to carry the documentation with them at all times. This is going to add a different element to the enforcement of our immigration laws. We knew that the Democrats were hiding Joe Biden's inefficiencies, his inability to serve another term. We knew that the media was aiding and abetting them in that effort. Now, ex-NBC anchor Chuck Todd admits it. He says that the media was afraid to cover questions about former President Joe Biden's mental acuity during the campaign last year. This has been an interesting week as there's been two books published, sort of tell-all type books, a behind-the-scenes look, if you will, of the Joe Biden presidency and the campaign in 2024. We're going to jump into some of that today as well. The trade war with China... reached a boiling point, if you will, today. Early this morning, China announced a 125% tariff on all U.S. goods. This, of course, in retaliation for the increased tariffs that the U.S. placed on their products this week. So it's going to get interesting with China. We have a breakdown of how China could retaliate in other ways against the U.S., And at a heated school board meeting in Augusta, Maine, tensions flared as a parent showed up in a red MAGA hat, clashed with the school board president. This was over a trans-athlete policy, and the parent was asked to leave the podium, was not allowed to speak. And finally, sadly, in New York City, six people are dead after a tourist helicopter carrying a family from Spain literally split in half. and fell into the Hudson River. It's a sad, sad day. We have the latest on that, have some video on that as well that we'll share with those of you watching us on the Salem News Channel. If you're not watching, tune in to the Salem News Channel, wherever you watch streaming TV, Pluto TV, Samsung Plus TV, and others, and we'll be sharing that with you. a little bit later this hour. Lots to cover. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. And, of course, you know what Fridays are when I'm sitting in the Mike Gallagher chair? Free Speech Friday! That's right, Free Speech Friday. Whatever's on your mind, I'm all ears. We're going to open up the phone lines today and just chat, just have a conversation, whatever you want to talk about. Obviously, we have a lot of breaking news that we're going to be talking about, but maybe there's something that has been bugging you all week that you want to get off your chest. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453 is how you join the conversation. Teresa will put you in queue. We'll talk as time permits. You can also send me a quick text on the MyPillow text line. I love getting your texts, and your emails are welcome. Boy, many of you have been emailing me this week. Thank you for that. I love getting your emails. Joey at joeyhudson.com. I'm going to share some of those emails with you, too. I've got a couple of interesting emails that I want to get your advice on, on how I should respond. I guess you could say. So email me, joey at joeyhudson.com. And let me take this opportunity to invite you to join me on my daily podcast, Just the Truth. Just search for Joey Hudson, Just the Truth, wherever you listen to podcasts. And I'd love for you to join me each day. So big news from a federal judge. This is Judge Trevor McFadden. We talked about him earlier this week. He is a Trump appointee. He ruled yesterday that that a group challenging a policy that would require all illegals to register with the federal government, basically they're going to have to go to a federal agency. I'm sure there will be some type of app that will be available. Register, and they have to keep that documentation on them. Now, I haven't had a chance and haven't been able to find an analysis of just how this may be enforced. But on the surface, it appears that once they register, they have the documentation that it would be fair game for, let's say, a law enforcement officer pulls someone over for a traffic stop and they're asking for I.D., and they realize that the person is here illegally, it's my understanding that it would be fair for them to ask for this documentation. And if they haven't registered, that's the big question. What do we do then? Are they apprehended? Because the law says they have to register and they have to have the documentation on them. Is this going to be another beefed-up effort of... the Trump immigration policy, another way to potentially identify the illegals, and another way to deport them? 800-655-6453. If you've had a chance to do some research on this, I'd love for you to help me out on this. The Department of Homeland Security wasted no time announcing that all undocumented immigrants who've been in the U.S. for more than 30 days now have to register. The rule applies to anyone 14 years of age and older. So if you're 14 and you're older, and you're here from another country, you've been here for more than 30 days, you've got to register. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, President Trump and I have a clear message for those in our country illegally. Leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream. This is going to get interesting, folks. You think this is going to be used as one of the best tools to identify and deport people here illegally? Love to get your comments. Text me on the MyPillow text line. I always use promo code Joey when you go to MyPillow.com. I'm Joey Hudson, in for Mike Gallagher on this free speech Friday.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Joey Hudson in for Mike. On the MyPillow text line, a texter says, tell Mike happy birthday on his travel week. Yes. And by the way, thank you. We got Mike to 75,000 on X. So thank you for responding to that. He is very happy. A texter says, this is one time Mike could really use Biden. All he would have to do is say that he was seeking a false Social Security number and they would release him into the country. You're probably right. Probably right. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453 is how you also text me on the MyPillow text line. Always use promo code MikeG when you go to the MyPillow.com site and place your order. You'll get the very best price that Mike Lindell has to offer you. And boy, does he have some great deals on Giza Dream Sheets right now. Let me encourage you to get your dose of Dennis Prager every day at PragerTopia.com. You can listen to full episodes of Dennis on your time at your convenience, PragerTopia.com. Former NBC host Chuck Todd admitted that the media was fearful of exposing Joe Biden. Now, we knew this was the case, but boy, have we learned a lot just in this past week. A couple of books were published today. with Biden insiders telling us the true story of who was really running things? I'm reading one of them, and I can't wait this weekend to spend some time to read through it. One of the excerpts that I read last night was telling the story of back in late 23, early 24, when Biden still had not announced whether he would seek reelection, a lot of the talk behind the scenes. And I've always suspected it. And if you believe what some of these staffers were saying, Jill Biden, was the one who was pushing Joe Biden to run. Some close to Biden suggested that he kind of suspected maybe he should not run. Jill Biden did not want to give up the luxury lifestyle of living in the White House, of Air Force One, of the Marine helicopter, and all the trappings of power. And even though she knew better than anybody that her husband wasn't capable of serving another four-year term, she really pushed him and insulated him and protected him, trying to keep the American people and the media from knowing the condition he was really in. We saw through that, though. So Chuck Todd was on with Piers Morgan, uncensored, and the British host asked Todd why the media seemed reluctant to push harder on Biden's age at the time and his mental acuity. Todd defended the media at first, saying that the American public was able to come to its own conclusions about Biden because of the media's coverage, which he said drew attention to Biden's decline without being overt. He kept talking about they didn't want to be overt in the coverage. Here's Chuck Todd describing to Piers Morgan how they were fearful of really reporting on Joe Biden.
SPEAKER 09 :
I would argue the reason people were able to come to their own conclusion on Joe Biden is because of the media coverage. You know, look, we were subtle. He's using the back staircase. He's not using the front staircase. Hey, he's not doing any interviews. So there was this reluctance to the draw the conclusion to say, is he not doing this? And that I agree with. That was that was held back, held back a lot. I would argue was also held back a lot back in the late 80s when it was clear Ronald Reagan wasn't necessarily running everything in the White House. whether you want to call it decorum, whatever you want to call it. I look, there were plenty members of me. I remember David Ignatius in The Washington Post, plenty of individual people questioning whether he should run. I certainly questioned whether he should run. You didn't understand. You know, there were some of that. But I understand the argument about the collective on that front. The only thing I can chalk it up to is this. whatever you want to call it, this fear that some members of the media had sometimes that they would be perceived as helping Trump if they somehow diminished Biden, right? That it was some sort of zero sum game. And I think this has been the fundamental mistake that many members of the traditional press have done.
SPEAKER 08 :
So just forget about the country. Forget about the fact that we had someone, the most powerful man in the world leading our country or trying to lead it, um, And so you were afraid to report on his real condition, his real mental ability to serve in that position because you didn't want to help Donald Trump. Because you hated Donald Trump so that you're going to be silent on the real Joe Biden and put our country at risk. This is why people despise the mainstream media as they do. People like Chuck Todd and these networks who don't want to tell the truth. They knew this. And, boys, I get deeper into this book. Some of the things that the insiders at the White House knew about Joe Biden, but they were sworn to secrecy. They were afraid for their jobs. They didn't want to tell. And the media didn't want to report it. Because they could not stand the idea of Donald Trump being back in the Oval Office. Wow. Back to the phones. Let's start with Eduardo in New Mexico. Welcome. How are you? Eduardo?
SPEAKER 15 :
I just want to comment. You just commented about the media. That's so awful, the mainstream media. Why would they not want the return... of a narcissistic sociopath who wants to drive a number of trolls this week.
SPEAKER 08 :
And it's kind of flattering to know that they listen to us or maybe watch us on the Salem News Channel, isn't it? I think you know where Eduardo was headed with that. Let's go to Lynn, who's in Atlanta. Welcome, Lynn.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, hello. Yes. I had three points to make about abortion real quick. The first one is it's not the unforgivable sin that God still loves you, and you're welcome in a real, authentic Christian church if you've had an abortion, and seek out post-abortion healing online there. Find a Christ-centered post-abortion healing program. The second one is that right now with our... abortion pill, it's easier to change your mind. If a girl has only taken the first set of pills, if she can seek, and a lot of girls are changing their mind, and thousands of babies have been saved. But go online and look for abortion pill reversal, and there's a hotline, and they can get you in touch with a doctor. It'll give you the medicine you need to reverse it.
SPEAKER 08 :
And, Lynn, I appreciate that, Lynn. We're out of time. Appreciate your message, though. You're right, because if you have taken that first pill, there are a lot of groups like in my hometown area, Carolina Pregnancy Center, who will offer you Christ-centered advice and help these young ladies in this position. I'm Joey Hudson, in for Mike. Hope you'll join the conversation on this free speech Friday.
SPEAKER 12 :
I just wanted to talk to you And I was thinking maybe later on
SPEAKER 06 :
We could get together for a while. It's been such a long time, and I really do miss your smile.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
mike gallagher joey hudson in for mike gallagher if you follow mike on x and thank you for those of you who started following him today we got him at 75 000 you know that he has been stranded for hours now trying to get back home from his birthday week i had a chance to catch up with mike to get a report just a few moments ago the mike gallagher how are you sir How am I? Are you really asking me how am I?
SPEAKER 10 :
Anybody who's been following the journey on X knows how I'm doing right now. This is the craziest travel experience, Joey, I've ever had in my life. And, you know, you, me, and Peggy, and my Denise, we've traveled all over the world together. This one, my friend, is one for the ages.
SPEAKER 08 :
Not exactly the luxury vacation you were planning on, huh? No.
SPEAKER 10 :
So it started, I went to Mexico for my vacation. You've been doing a great job filling in. I've been kind of peeking in once in a while. And we left Mexico yesterday at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I went with some friends to have a little getaway. The trouble started last night when there was a storm in Atlanta because I was supposed to go Mexico City, Atlanta, Tampa. Well, there was a storm in Atlanta. Pilots circled for a while, and he said, we've got to divert to Montgomery, Alabama, folks. He goes, now it's going to be a little tricky because they don't have customs in Montgomery, Alabama, and you've got to go through customs. Landed in Montgomery. Joey, we sat on that plane for seven hours. We landed in Montgomery at 9.30 in the evening. They finally let us off under police escort at 4.30 in the morning. The Montgomery Police Department had to escort us off because, again, we didn't go through customs. Because they don't have customs in Montgomery. It's only in an international airport like Atlanta. We finally, at 4.30 in the morning, we get into the airport here in Montgomery where we have been sitting ever since. A three-and-a-half, four-hour flight has turned into like an 18-hour nightmare. And let me tell you why it got so delayed here in Montgomery. The pilot needed to refuel. The fuel truck came, and right when it came to our – because there were seven or eight planes that had to – that got rerouted here, got diverted here because of the storm in Atlanta. We were number three in line. The fuel truck ran out of fuel. The fuel truck driver went to the fuel field. Did you know there was such a thing as a fuel field at an airport? He went to the fuel field to refill the truck. They lost the fuel truck driver. For three hours, the guy was MIA. The pilot said, we can't find him. Did he go on break or what? I think he went home, had dinner. All I know is in the three hours that we were waiting to find the fuel truck driver, then the heavens opened up in Montgomery. And another storm happened this time in Montgomery. And that thunderstorm just parked itself over the airport for about four hours. Joey, it's the most incredible story. And we are now quarantined in a corner of the airport. At one point, they wouldn't let us go to the bathroom in the airport because we're like in a sterile, non-customs-approved zone. and we can't go anywhere. There's no snacks. I mean, this is like a Tom Hanks movie. I feel like I'm living in the airport right now. So it's been a crazy adventure, and I've been kind of keeping everybody posted on X. So if you're following me at Gallagher's show on X, you can kind of keep track of the exploits of Gallagher's travel adventures. The trip went great itself, but the return, not so hot.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is amazing. Now, where is the Biden CBP app when you need it to get back into the country?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I'm telling you, I sort of feel like the illegals must feel when they were shuttled onto the plane to go back to Venezuela. Although I think they got to go to the bathroom. I think they let the illegals that are going back to Venezuela use the restroom. They're not letting us use the restroom. But it is a weird experience because we're like in this no man's land because until we get through customs, we're not legitimate here in the United States because the flight originated in Mexico. I mean, it's wild. And, of course, the pilots timed out. So they can't fly us now back to Atlanta. So now we're waiting for another crew to be brought from Atlanta to Montgomery, and eventually we're going to get back to Atlanta, and then I don't know how I'm ever going to get back to Tampa. That may be a pipe dream. You may have to fill in for me again next week, Joe.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is the wildest thing I've ever heard. I mean, I've been in situations where I was stuck maybe an hour, two hours on a plane because of a storm or whatever, or the gate wasn't ready. You know, that always drives me insane. You arrive at the airport, and they say, well, the gate's not ready, like they weren't expecting us or whatever. So how many hours were you on the tarmac? Eight hours? Seven and a half hours. Seven and a half hours on the tarmac. What is Delta?
SPEAKER 10 :
And they ran it. Well, they're so apologetic. I mean, they ran out of snacks and food about three hours in, so there was nothing to eat on the plane. People have been staying pretty calm. I mean, I'm surprised. A couple of ladies have gotten a little fired up and talked about getting legal representation and stuff. And it all happened if the fuel truck guy hadn't gone on a three-hour break. He would have fueled us up, and we would have gotten back up in the air and back to Atlanta in time, I think. But that's what really messed everything up, and he was gone for three hours. I'm surprised you didn't lead the search for the fuel truck guy. I'm telling you, I'm trying to keep my head down. I'm just, you know, thinking, look, it could be worse. There's a lot of terrible news in the headlines, as I know you've covered that horrific, tragic crash in the Hudson River yesterday. And so I'm trying to keep things in perspective. I mean, nobody's dead. Nobody's sick. You know, we're just retired. I mean, this is the day before yesterday because it's been an all nighter. And I'm just hoping I get to get home to Tampa eventually.
SPEAKER 08 :
That is amazing. And, you know, we have been encouraging listeners to follow you on X. So this is a good reason to be able to keep up with the saga of Gallagher's travels, getting back home. So go to X, just look for Gallagher Show, follow him, and you'll be able to get the updates.
SPEAKER 10 :
We'll give you the updates at Gallagher Show. And we're only 300 away from breaking 75,000. Yeah. We've got a few hundred people to follow us today. We'll get over it. That'll be one small consolation. That'll be a little gift I'll get, one consolation prize from this travel nightmare we've been experiencing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes. Well, hang in there, my friend. And, look, keep us posted. We'll be following you on X to see when you get home. And we'll be ready for you on Monday.
SPEAKER 10 :
I can't wait to get back on Monday. I'll be in a coma, but I can't wait to get back to work on Monday. So we'll hit the ground running then. And you've done a great job this week, Joey. I know there's a bunch of breaking news with Trump's tariffs and all that. So great job. Great job. The show's been in good hands, Joey.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and good news, as I understand it, I just got a text from Mike. They are back on the plane and in the air trying to make their way back to Atlanta for him to then get a connecting flight probably sometime tomorrow to make it to Tampa. That was my conversation with Mike just a little while ago. And the good news is we did push him past that 75,000 followers on X. You can still follow him, of course, and he would love for you to do so. Just go to X and search for AtGallagherShow and follow Mike. And you'll be able to get updates as to whether or not when he makes it home. What an ordeal. What an ordeal. Hey, let me take a minute. Portions of today's show made possible by... the Israeli Ministry of Tourism on behalf of the government of Israel. There's simply no other experience in the world like it is when you travel to Israel. I've been blessed to go five times. Thought I was going to go back for the sixth time in October. That's not going to happen. We were planning to be there for the the October 7th anniversary of the attack. Just not safe to do so. The Holy Land is a life-changing event. I love our time when we would travel places that you knew 100% that Jesus had walked. It's a special, special, special trip. Go to GoIsrael.com, GoIsrael.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
There's heavy on my mind.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
Well, Maria, first off, thank you for having me here. It's always nice to answer the listeners' questions. Now, as far as who should call in, anyone who's been injured in an accident and think you deserve compensation, give us a call right now. 800-702-5400. You'll find out if you have a case and how much it's potentially worth.
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SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 08 :
Joey Hudson in for Mike as we wrap up another day. Glad to have you join me on this free speech Friday. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453 on the MyPillow text line. Texter says, can you believe that some people, mainly media personalities and actors, want to return to the fantasy world of Biden-Harris because they can't deal with the reality of Trump dealing with the damage that Biden-Harris caused? I'll sink or swim with Trump. These folks are against him. They're truly insane in a clinical sense. They're mad. They hate Donald Trump so badly that they put this over the well-meaning and the good intentions that all of our Trump folks, the conservative movement, the MAGA movement, we want America first. We want what's best for our country. They want what's best for their party and for the leftists and the woke in the party and how they could not see the harm that was being done these past four years. I read an article last night about Kamala Harris, and evidently she's planning her comeback now. She's licked her wounds, and she thinks that America just made a mistake, and she's going to forgive us. She's going to give us another chance. Would you ever in any circumstance vote for Kamala Harris? I had a troll yesterday who called in, and he was just going off on Trump. And I asked him, I said, did you vote for Kamala Harris? And he confirmed that he did. And I wish I'd had time to really explore that with him. But, you know, we have so many people that we want to give you a chance, the good conservatives, the people who love our president, not to waste time on some of these trolls. But I'd love to just sit down sometime. with someone like that, who just has this hatred for the president when he's doing all these good things for our country. They benefit from it. Wow. 800-655-MIKE. Speaking of phone calls, let's go to Mary Ellen, who is in Bonita Springs, Florida. Welcome.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi.
SPEAKER 08 :
What's on your mind today?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, immigration. I actually have two true stories. One of them is, My granddaughter worked at a restaurant for about six or seven years, and she was in college, and they let her go into the office to work. There were four people in the kitchen that were immigrants and four people in the kitchen that were not documented. So four were, four weren't. They both received the same amount of money. So the four that weren't documented got the same amount of money as the four that were, but there were no taxes taken out, and it was written out of a different account.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 03 :
Not only that, but they all lived together and sent the money back to Mexico.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and I appreciate your phone call, Mary Ellen, and this is part of it. I mean, they have a network. You see this in the construction industry especially, landscapers. It's a cash trade. And, yes, you've got to give it to people who want to be in this country so badly that they'll do anything that they can to get here and to stay here. Because, look, we live in the greatest country in the world. Yeah, we have our warts or things that happen that we don't like. But it is the greatest country in the world. That's why we have people flocking to our borders trying to break into our country, trying to sneak in. But what the caller was describing is very, I mean, some of these businesses, and again, the construction trades in particular, they need help. They need to finish jobs. And so that is not unusual for them to pay cash under the table, so to speak, to keep these workers and to keep them happy. But it's not fair to anybody. This is why it's important that we get the system and we get rid of these people who came into our country illegally. And this new program that the federal judges are allowing to happen is taking effect today where if you've been here for 30 days or longer and you're here illegally, you have to register with the federal government. If you don't do so, it's going to be even harder for you when you get caught. Back to the phones. Mike is in Indiana. Welcome, Mike.
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, Joey. Thanks for taking my call. My comment is on the so-called journalists who didn't want to, you know, reveal Biden's condition. Exactly. As far as I'm concerned, they're not journalists anymore at that point. Their objective, their bias and everything else, their objectivity is gone. The freedom of the press should apply to the people who are objective and journalists. We want to expose the power. Trump wasn't in power at that time. So that drives me crazy. And I love when Caroline, the spokesman for the White House, when she calls them out on that kind of stuff about how they're, hey, you didn't say nothing before. You guys are fighting completely. Exactly.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and Mike, the whole media industry has changed so dramatically. You're right. I mean, you can't really call some of these people like Chuck Todd a journalist anymore because they're not interested in getting the truth. They just want to protect their ideology. And as he admitted, they were afraid of the Biden administration. They were afraid of the Biden campaign operation, that they would be blackballed somehow. Back to the phones. Let's go to George in Texas. Welcome, George.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I just wanted to say something about the legacy media. They're all on the payroll. That's their problem. And they're just like the rest of them. They want to get back on that dang taxpayer dollars. I really believe that it all falls down to the money of it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, of course it is. It's always the money. It's always the greed of the money. And I don't know how our media industry got to this point, how we ended up with pretty much all the major networks, with the exception of Fox and Newsmax, One America Network, how we ended up with those networks being so far left. Because they make a lot of money, and you would think that they would like some of the programs that Donald Trump promotes. I mean, less taxes, less regulation. You would think they would be in favor of that. But somehow they have gone off the rails over the past years. And as the caller said a minute ago, we can't call them journalists anymore because a true journalist will dig around for the truth. A true journalist, he or she is not going to have friends on either side. They just want the truth, and they want to be able to report the truth to you. Rebecca is in Dallas, Texas. Welcome.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hello. I'm tired of hearing that we have to have the illegals to fill jobs. Let's clean up the welfare rolls and let's trim the entitlement programs and put our own people back to work.
SPEAKER 08 :
Rebecca, we've made it too easy for people not to work, haven't we?
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I know a lot of people have never worked, but they live just as well as I do.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep. Good point, Rebecca. Hey, have a blessed Friday. Appreciate your phone call, 800-655-MIKE. 1-800-655-6453. Your comments are welcome on the MyPillow text line as well. And keep those emails coming. I love your emails, joey at joeyhudson.com. Let me take this one final moment to also invite you to join me on my weekday podcast, Just the Truth. Just search for Joey Hudson, Just the Truth. You can go to my website too, joeyhudson.com. as I love to hear from you and to stay in touch with you. Mike, of course, will be back next week. If he makes it back from wherever he is right now, he should be close to Atlanta and then make his way on home from Atlanta probably tomorrow. But Mike will be back sitting in the chair. It's been a pleasure to spend the week with you. Thank you so much for hanging in there with me as well. But keep those emails coming, joey at joeyhudson.com. Special thanks to the team for helping me through the week, Eric and Christian and Tracy and Teresa, of course, and for you for being here with me. Remember, folks, God's got this. He's still in control.
In this enlightening episode, Angie Austin is joined by Jim Stovall to delve into the concept of 'Going Back to the Well,' a term inspired by the legendary blues musician B.B. King. Listen as Jim shares personal stories, including his extraordinary experiences working on the soundtrack for a movie adaptation of his book. Through his reflections, Jim highlights the importance of revisiting original sources of inspiration, whether in music, writing, or personal development.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here's Angie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey there, it's Angie Austin and Jim Stovall with the Good News, and today we're talking about his Winner's Wisdom column, Going Back to the Well. And Jim, I have to tell you, my mom's going back to your well because she's reading another one of your new books that I just received, and it's a compilation of your columns.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, fantastic. Yeah, I'm not even keeping up with that like I should because I wrote six books last year, and they're all kind of coming out a little at a time, so... i am i'm glad to know that but uh this column came initially from my friend and colleague bb king one of the great blues musicians of all time and and when my ultimate gift book was turned into a movie they let me work on the music i mean i somebody in you had uh 20th Century Fox said, let the blind guy do the music. So, you know, I got Bob Dylan and B.B. King and Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Aaron Copland put together just a really cool soundtrack. Well, but what I didn't understand is that when they first put together a movie, they do a rough track. And it's just something so that people can watch. And you cannot watch a movie without music. It's just horrible.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's so true. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, so they just pulled music and put it in there. Well, they put this B.B. King song, A Thrill Has Gone, in there, and it was great. Well, then I found out where they were going to put something else in, and I called and said, look, man, I cannot see that scene without that. We've got to have that. And they said, Jim, that's very, very expensive. Finally, the producer called me and said, said, when's your birthday? And I told him, he said, I'm giving you B.B. King for your birthday. And if you watch The Ultimate Gift now off of Netflix or wherever you get films, right there's a great scene with B.B. King doing it. Well, I got to meet him and then I went to New York for his 80th birthday. And, you know, and it was amazing because just to see all the people that were fans of this guy. And then he had a guy, Hubert, who had been his... the band director for many, many years, handled the horns and the orchestra and everything. And, you know, I stayed in touch with Hubert after that, and I said, you know, how's the old band doing? Because B.B. King died at age 89 getting ready to do another show. He did 200 shows that year. And I said, how's the old guy holding up? And he said, you know, he struggles a little here and there. And he said, I always keep my eye over my shoulder on him, make sure he's okay. But he said that every three or four nights or once a week, it'll happen. We'll be playing somewhere and the old man will just come out and the guitar is screaming and he's just old himself. And everything's amazing. And I'll look over my shoulder and one of the young guys will be there. Eric Clapton will be there or, you know, or Carlos Santana sitting there on the front row watching him. And the old man just puts on a show then. And, you know, it was fun. But when I asked B.B. King who really... you know, inspired you. And he said, oh, all the young guys and everybody else inspires me. But he said, there are times you just got to go back to the well. And I said, what do you mean? And he said, well, everybody that does what I do, we were all inspired by a guy named They're recorded in the early 1930s, Robert Johnson. And he said, so we all go back to that at some point and do that. And I thought, what an amazing thing, because we have a tendency in our information age to build on things, to build on things, to build on things. And maybe you're reading biblical commentary. Maybe you're listening to someone's idea of the news. But every once in a while, man, if you don't want to get tripped up, You've got to go back to the original and see what somebody said. And, Ange, you know, you've been in news. Today, so many things you'll say, someone will be reporting that someone else is reporting what a guy said. And then, you know, they check with each other and, oh, yeah, we have three sources on this, but they're all quoting the same thing, and you don't really know what you got. So every once in a while... It's good, whether you're getting inspired or informed, to go all the way back to the well and get some pure information.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, when you talk about going back to the well, for instance, the work of John Steinbeck that you mentioned in your article, what is it that some of these people have that is so inspirational? Because you said you're keenly aware that only a handful of writers have ever risen to the level of Steinbeck, and same with B.B. King, right, in his genre. Yeah. And you see how they inspired others. So tell me what they have that's so special or in particular John Steinbeck or somebody of that, you know, stature or status.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the sixth book I wrote last year was a sort of a sequel to a Steinbeck book he wrote 60 something years ago. And Because of that, I read everything he had written and a lot of his compiled letters. I had read what Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald had said about him. Of course, he won the Pulitzer Prize, and in the ultimate, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. You know, when you look at the people that he inspired, and then I go back and read his stuff, it's what I would imagine it would look like if you were an aspiring sculptor to look at Michelangelo's David. I mean, Steinbeck's prose is just immaculate. He is just so, so, so good. uh you know and you know when hemingway admires him and fitzgerald and and uh carl sandberg and some of the most amazing writers of the 20th century you know you gotta you gotta look at this guy what is it about that but he also you know he was read by very common people a lot of people had to read his grapes of wrath when they were in high school or east of eden or of mice and men and uh They still hold up. They're amazingly well-written, and they're just good stories. And so that's what intrigued me so much, and I learned so much about the craft of writing from guys like him. And you just, you know, every once in a while, you can read all the modern guys and everything else, and then you just, you know, I'm going back to Ernest Hemingway or Scott Fitzgerald, or in this case, John Steinbeck.
SPEAKER 07 :
So you've been in TV for more than 30 years, and you talk about your TV, your writing, your movies. You're dipping into so many wells here. What do you want us to take away, your readers, to take away from going back to the well?
SPEAKER 10 :
one of the things I learned from TV and you remember this back in the day before everything was digital, it was analog. And every time you made an edit, you lost a generation and you're making a copy of a copy of a copy broadcast tape. Uh, you know, you, you could get down four or five generations, but then if you're going to mess with this anymore, you better go back to the master and lay down on a new track. And it's kind of, it's kind of that thing. But, uh, You know, I think it's good to keep in touch with the cutting edge stuff. But from time to time, you need to go back and see what inspired everybody. And that's, you know, what I really want people to understand, you know, in my field of personal development. You go back and you read Napoleon Hill because virtually everyone since his time has. You know, almost 100 years ago, almost everybody quotes him. I mean, he influenced everybody. So it's good to go back and see what made the difference. And I think that's an important thing to realize.
SPEAKER 07 :
I love that example because I forgot that every time you would do an edit with the old stuff that you'd lose a little bit of quality. All right. Since we did miss one week, Time Machine. That's your next column, the most recent one. So tell us what you're teaching us in the column Time Machine.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I think here in Western civilization and here in America, we have a tendency to to be really scattered all the time. We're distracted, we're scattered, and some of the Asian philosophies and some of those people, they're more focused than we are because some of them don't have as many distractions as we have, or whatever the case may be. But success comes when you have a compelling driving force, and you get total focus on it. And so many people today, they're distracted with whatever's on their phone at any given moment, but then when they get down to do something, they're feeling... They're worried about, well, I didn't handle that very good yesterday or last year. I'm guilty about this. I should have done that instead of this. Or they're worried about something in the future that may or may not ever happen. Hey, I haven't got my taxes done yet. I've got to do that. I've got to pick up Junior for the wrestling, and I've got to go here. And they're never really totally focused in the moment. And if you're going to succeed at the highest possible level, You've got to bring all your energy to that thing you're doing right now. And I always go back to my late great friend and mentor, Coach John Wooden. He said, before you do anything, great or small, no matter what, phone call, meeting, undertake any task, before you start, ask yourself one simple question. What would I do right now if I were amazing? And, boy, that idea... really brings to bear the idea that I need to be in the moment. I need to be totally focused on this conversation I'm having right now with Angie Austin. Doesn't matter what happened last hour. Doesn't matter what I'm going to do after this interview. What matters right now is bringing the best I got to this project right now. And if you can do that with everything you do, you're going to be an amazing success.
SPEAKER 07 :
What would I do right now if I were really amazing? I think it's over a decade now that you and I have been radio friends. And finally, I think I'm going to meet you in person in May. But of that over a decade, you've told me that at least five times. You've used that example. What would I do right now or what would I do next if I were truly amazing? And I've thought about that many times over the years because it can really make a difference in your next move, your next interaction, your next... you know, interaction at work, your next project you're working on, your next move while you're on vacation with a group of friends, you know, meeting new people, experiencing new things. You could not only have a positive influence on your own life, but you can really have a positive influence on others around you. And I think we can think about examples of people that positively influence us and negatively influence us or have very little or no influence on us that are just kind of a wet noodle, you know, just kind of like, you know, interacting with like a grapefruit, nothing special, not great, you know, not bad, just kind of meh. So if you
SPEAKER 10 :
put that in your mind what would i do next if i were truly amazing it can really make a huge difference in the quality of your life and those around you yeah i you know we've all been at a party or at a business function where you're meeting and greeting different people and we've all met that wet noodle guy that you were mentioning that uh you know frankly he's not paying any attention to me at all he's looking around the room to see you know who Where's the important guy I can meet? But I've had the opportunity to interact with several presidents, and, you know, they have... And great politicians, great business people, they have the ability to meet hundreds and hundreds of people in a line. And for that six seconds... they make everybody feel like you're the most important person in the world. And I saw them do that. And when I do book signings now or after an arena event when I meet and greet people, I stay totally in the moment. Because for this man or woman or this young person right here, This is the one moment I'm going to have. I'll probably never see them again. They'll probably never see me again. And, you know, if I'm distracted or I'm not paying attention or I'm yelling at somebody else or whatever, I mean, you totally ruin their motive. That six seconds is their moment. You know, I remember one of the things that when I studied Harry Truman and I wrote a novel, including him as kind of a character in the novel, and I went back and reread some of his stuff. And when you're the president, you have a guy that schedules every moment of every day. And he'd gotten behind because the ambassador from somewhere went long, and the scheduler said, we're going to scrap the Eagle Scouts from Iowa and tell them we can't do that, and then we'll move on to the meeting with the Supreme Court aide. And the president said, no, absolutely wrong. We're meeting with the Eagle Scouts from Iowa, and we're going to get the photo, and I'm going to shake their hands, because these young people will tell their grandchildren that about this 10 minutes they spent with the president. And if we don't have 10 minutes for that, we don't deserve the right to do anything else here. Tell the Supreme Court guy to hold on and we'll be there. But, you know, he understood the power of the moment and staying in the moment. And that's what really matters.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, I get so much out of talking to you. Jim Stovall dot com. We're out of time. Thank you, my friend. Be well.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's that time of year to start cleaning out your closets, basement, and garage by donating to Arc Thrift. With 34 thrift stores and 15 donation centers across the Front Range, you have almost 50 different locations to donate your gently used clothing and items you don't need anymore or are taking up space in your home. ARC will also take large furniture off your hands by scheduling a pickup through the ARC website. Any soft goods you choose to donate, you can just put in bags, while hard goods need to go into boxes. This helps ARC turn their 5,000 weekly donations per store into resellable items immediately. With spring around the corner, donate the spring and Easter clothing that is too small or just sitting in a closet to help out another family. And while you're there, get your Easter decorations and clothing. To schedule your large furniture pickup or to find the nearest Arc Thrift Donation Center or store location near you, go to arcthrift.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
Brimfield is listening to the mighty 670. KLT, Denver.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hey, if you're just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the Good News. Well, Tax Day, April 15th, is almost here. And we have expert help, Mark Stever, Chief Tax Officer with Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, is joining us. Welcome, Mark. Good day. Very exciting time. Good to be here. It is, actually. I'm all ready to roll. So let's talk about some of the top tips for some of the last-minute filers.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's a large bucket of people because there's tens of millions of people who wait to this time every year, which is not really a financial best practice, but it is certainly a thing. So I'll simply say with the waning hours in front of us, make every use of what remaining time you have, depending on when you're listening to this, and do not miss the deadline. There's penalties and other risks. That being said, don't rush so much to not hit the deadline that you don't get organized. You guesstimate or estimate because accuracy matters. And more importantly, you hurry and you leave something off in the way of a benefit or make a mistake that causes another downstream error later. So be organized. Find your documents. Find you a trusted, experienced professional. If you waited this late, you probably should get some help. And simply commit to a deadline of getting it done in the next time that you have. Don't put it off any longer. Don't extend unless you must. And simply start to look towards 25 because 2024 is, you know, over and it's time to wrap that up and put a bow on it.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, when you talk about, you know, getting expert help, you know, whether you're late or not. You know, I went to college. I've done very well in my career. And I always get expert help because I find things change so often. Different things happen each year. I might have thought something could be written off, and I realized it can't. Or maybe it used to be able to be written off, and now it can't. So expert help, I think, regardless of how much you think you know. I did actually get help one year from my brother who graduated in the top 1% of his class at West Point Military Academy. It's the only year where Then I actually got a letter from the IRS saying that I didn't claim something that I should have claimed in terms of a retirement account or some investment account or something. And I'm like, oh, great. The one time I didn't get expert help.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's more common than you think, and especially as the IRS and states in particular have gotten more sophisticated with their data matching. You know, specificity and accuracy matter now more than ever. You know, you can't guesstimate that small job that you had or that side hustle income that you got paid through that third-party app. or that gaming income that you didn't claim because that was, you know, just a small win in Vegas. You know, the accuracy matters because the IRS has that data. And you may not go to jail or even get audited, but you're likely to get a question. Then you're going to have to deal with that. So be accurate. You know, locate all your documents. If you didn't get it, that doesn't mean you just get to leave it off. You have to put that on there because odds are the IRS has it. And as you say, taxes change, laws change, life changes actually more than tax law changes. And the mistake you make might not lead yourself to jail or an audit, but you can cost yourself money. And that's probably the bigger crime, in my opinion, leaving off a credit or leaving off a benefit that could be worth five hundred dollars or a thousand dollars. And you're never going to see that money. And a pro can help ensure that. Plus, they can help reduce stress. So I know at Jackson Hewitt, we're pro pro, but we also have self prep. We recognize that. But it's not for everybody. And sooner or later, you may have an issue that's so big you're going to need some help. And we're here for that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I've found in my dealings with the experts that it definitely pays for what you pay for the service. It more than pays in the tax benefits, et cetera, for sure. And I didn't know. So if I go to Vegas, which I just got back from Vegas, and let's say I spend three grand on a vacation with my family, blah, blah, blah, and I win $1,000 or whatever, I win something.
SPEAKER 06 :
I didn't even know. I've never won anything, so I don't have to worry. But I didn't even know you had to claim that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, absolutely. And I'll even make it worse for you, Angie. It's not $1,000. Even if you have a dollar of income from that office NCAA pool, if you have income, it's taxable. It's not excluded under the law because of some de minimis or hobby or family or friendly bet. Same thing with side hustle income or crypto gains. There's no small de minimis amount of exclusion. You have to put that on your tax return. Now, the audit may catch you or they may not, but the point is taxable income is taxable unless it's exempt, and the IRS is getting better at finding that, even with some of the political rhetoric. You don't want to be that person for a lot of reasons. Do it right. And a pro, to your point earlier, should pay for themselves. What I mean by that is if stress is your worry, they should reduce that. If you want a big refund, they can help with that by giving you some tax tips and tax pointers. If you want tax planning, they can help with that as well. But more importantly, they should provide value. And if they don't, then you should seek out a new tax pro, whether it's Jackson Hewitt or somewhere else, because a pro is supposed to help provide value and get your taxes done accurately and the biggest refund that you're due, but other things too. And you should look for that.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree completely. And you talked about filing late and you said, rather than make a lot of mistakes, it's better than filing late. So I guess I have a Yeah, there's not many benefits to filing an extension. I'll tell you, I'm not in the pro-extension camp and I'm not in the pro-extension camp.
SPEAKER 03 :
No refund or small refund camp. I have found more benefits with just doing it right, doing it early, or at least doing it before the deadline. Because when you extend, many people think that's an extension of time to pay. It's simply not. An extension, which is an automatic six-month extension if you file the form 4868. Buy paper in the mail or electronically. Buy a pro or do it yourself. You have to send it to the IRS before deadline. It's simply an extension of time to send in the rest of your paperwork. You still owe all of your tax money or at least the bulk of it by the tax deadline, or you face the risk of a failure to pay or underpayment penalty and all that goes with that, including interest and cleanup costs. So you want to do your taxes early. You certainly want to do them before the deadline. But if for whatever reason you can't get to it, know this. An extension to do your taxes is only to send in the rest of the paperwork, not to pay your money that you owe. That's due on April 15th or you have risk of penalty.
SPEAKER 08 :
So in your opinion, not too many benefits with an extension.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, benefits to me, benefits to the tax company. We get to work up your data to do your extension. We get to file your extension. We get to calculate how much you owe, then you pay it. And then you come back and I get to do your taxes a second time and actually file them. So there's plenty of benefits to the tax business, not many benefits to the taxpayer themselves. Other than they get to do their taxes twice if they like that. I'd rather take, you know, a long run down a hot road. But the fact of the matter is there's not a real good reason. Lots of excuses. You know, I don't have that W-2. I don't have that broker statement. But a phone call or email or a website access in this day and age, you can pretty much get all your documents, even in this final hours. That's all supposed to be in your hands. And companies made it pretty easy to get. But as far as upside on filing, other than doing your taxes twice because you like that wisdom canal job, wisdom tooth extraction, there's not much else benefit in that. Oh, you're cracking me up.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, well, let's talk a little bit about natural disasters. Will your tax return differ? Do you get more time? Do you get more benefits? Let's talk about someone who's been affected by a natural disaster. I don't know what this is considered under, but I'm assuming it's a natural disaster. Many of my friends, I work for NBC4 in Los Angeles, and I know a lot of people who lost homes in the fires there. It was just... catastrophic. So let's say a natural disaster, how does that tax return differ?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, much like tax professionals, not all tax professionals are the same. Much like disasters, not all disasters are the same. The disaster that has tax benefit are generally your federally declared disaster. And you know it if you've been in one, your California point. I live in Florida, hurricanes, other places that have had flooding or what have you. But a federally declared disaster, which is declared by the administration or FEMA, has a whole host of benefits. The top shelf ones that you see are more time to file, an extension of time to send in your tax returns. And while that is a true benefit, you got extra time, I have found it's a false benefit. You know, many people have gotten their lives in order and that's most important and they've gotten their families back in order and they've taken care of the important priorities. But then they've got this extra time on their hands and they think, well, I'll just file my taxes way later. When in the reality of it is, if you're in a federally declared disaster area, there's a whole bunch of other tax benefits that are yours, especially if you've suffered economic loss. They start with being able to claim an economic loss on your tax return and reducing your tax. A second benefit... you can carry that loss backwards and get prior taxes. A third benefit, those returns are prioritized and you have to do it right and put the disaster and some information on your return, but the IRS will quick jump that return and get you money quick. So waiting till later might be okay if you don't have the rest of your life in order, but if you're fixed and ready to go and you're just looking for fast cash, Talk with a pro, calculate your loss and getting your documents. There's a lot of latitude there, too, in calculating your loss. But you carry that back and you can have cash in a very short amount of time, which is more life altering and life fixing than that false delay that you've got several more months to go do it. So talk with a pro if you've got a disaster, especially in a federal disaster area, and especially if you've had an economic loss. There's a lot to do.
SPEAKER 08 :
Now, Mark, I know you've been doing this, you know, more than 35 years. And I love to kind of pick people's brains. How did you get into this and stay into it so long? Like what led you into this area of expertise?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it's a long, painful story. And the funny part of this, Angie, is I've only had two jobs in my whole life, two companies in 40 years. I got into it, as many of your listeners may know, especially the gray-haired old ones, back in 1985 with the Tax Reform Act under Ronald Reagan, the first piece of major tax legislation arguably in 80 years when they started to change all the tax rules. I came out with just an accounting degree and somebody said, we need help in taxes. And I said, I hate taxes. But then I figured how big this was over my career. It's the largest single financial transaction to most Americans. You have to do it every year for 40, 50, 60 years for some people. You know, it has a large financial consequence, and many people just think it's this horrible thing I have to do for an hour a year when the reality is taxes are now a year-round event. It's never been a bigger financial impact. You know, taxes are used to socially construct a country from buying cars to buying houses to equity redistribution. It's a very important act, not just something you have to do like brushing your teeth or exercising. It's a critically important thing to do, but if you don't do it right, you'll pay too much. And I don't mean to that tax pro. I mean to the government. And here's a final point to your listeners. The IRS is not in the business of making sure you get all your money. They're not going to send you a larger check because you left a benefit or a credit or an election or deduction. They're going to come to get you if you didn't pay all your money. But if you leave off a benefit, you know, you just lose that money. And many people think I can do it on a smartphone at the red light on my commute in. Not a good way. Not a good best practice. Not for the next half century that you're going to be filing tax returns.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, Mark, thank you so much. Love that Southern accent. I'm in the South right now, and I want to make sure that people know where to go to get more info.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there's a lot of sites out there, irs.gov, good stuff. There's emergency management information on FEMA if you're in a disaster, and people know about that. But for your tax day-to-day information, www.jacksonhewitt.com. We've got a great website, lots of frequently asked questions, documents, calculators, videos, hot topics if something comes up, and a little office locator box for our 5,000 offices. You put your zip code in. Up pops the map. You can click on one of the little dots near you and make an appointment, go in at your leisure, or just get that address and drive on in or walk on in today. We've got staff. We've got help. You know, we like taxes, and if your pro doesn't, maybe you don't have the right pro, but JacksonHewitt.com, great place to get your taxes done. Or if you're a wild astronaut cowboy and you're doing it yourself, you know, there's a place to get some information or have us help you amend it once you figure out you made a boo-boo. So JacksonHewitt.com. Awesome. Excellent info. Thanks, Mark.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, Angie, have a great day. And Roll Tide from Alabama. Thanks from Tennessee. Oh, not the Tennessee people. Oh, my gosh. No, we love Tennessee.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm just visiting. You cracked me up. Have a great day, Mark.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for tuning in to The Good News with Angie Austin. Definitely some great tax tips by Mark Stieber. And you can learn more at JacksonHewitt.com. That's JacksonHewitt.com.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
In this episode of Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, dive into a world where unexpected true crime tales unfold in the Sunshine State. From an unusual incident involving Edward Cocaine, who stirred chaos at a subway sandwich shop, to hidden secrets in a hotel closet, these stories will leave you bewildered and amused. Additionally, we tackle the highly publicized protests against Tesla and dissect the bizarre dynamics of public dissent. Buckle up for a thrilling mix of absurdities and realities!
SPEAKER 01 :
If you like true crime, you'll love the Miracle Files podcast.
SPEAKER 02 :
We share real stories with the suspense of true crime, but we'll leave you with a sense of light and hope.
SPEAKER 01 :
Like the college wrestler who fought a grizzly, the woman who was dead for nearly an hour, or the child lost in a dark mine for days. These are the kind of stories that remind us miracles are real.
SPEAKER 02 :
Subscribe to the Miracle Files wherever you get your podcasts and join us on this thrilling journey of faith and miracles.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, man, I am made of jokes about this one. So there was a man in Florida who was arrested after he attacked a subway employee. And not like a Subway employee, like the Subway sandwich shop employee. 45-year-old Edward Cocaine. What? That's his name. What? The name's Cocaine. What? Edward Cocaine.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mr. and Mrs. Cocaine, son?
SPEAKER 05 :
What? Mr. and Mrs. Cocaine. Merry Christmas from the Cocaines. Oh. Right? Happy Thanksgiving from the Cocaines. White Christmas.
SPEAKER 03 :
White Christmas.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a white Christmas. Oh, cocaine. 45 of Merritt Island. He was arrested on April 9th in connection with an incident at a subway. He faces two charges. I have no idea why I went into Matt Berry territory. Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Also armed burglary of a structure, a first-degree felony, and some battery. So they said that Mr. Cocaine became a sidebar. I can't. Can I just... If I was him, I actually would go into the drug business. I would sell cocaine to people and I would have a big satin jacket that said Mr. Cocaine like Tiger King on the back. I'm just saying you need to at that point. You've been doomed. An incident report stated that cocaine became aggressive. and brandished a knife at two subway employees while his sandwich was being prepared. Now, how are you doing that to people making your sandwich? Like, I'm watching how much meat they're putting on. You know, like, I'm watching the shredded lettuce, the meat. You know, I don't want nobody skimping out on them pickles. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not fumbling around getting a knife out, you know? Anyway, he reportedly forced his way through a side door going after another employee. He did later express remorse. The deputy who... This almost sounds all made up. The deputy who innervated him is named Deputy Dial.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a TV episode.
SPEAKER 05 :
Deputy Dial identified cocaine as a suspect and cocaine later provided a full confession during an interview. Cocaine was booked into Brevard County Jail. So he pulled a knife. It's Fox 35 Orlando. Yeah, he pulled a knife on him. So he... I don't know why he does. And it was all caught on CCTV. He does have one of the chin beard things. Got to say. So I don't know. He's making a he made his appearance before the judge yesterday. So that's what happened. And and yeah, well, I the cocaine's the cocaine family. All right. Next. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. A Florida man hit a dead body inside a hotel room closet and the next guest didn't notice. Oh, remind me about the subway, the corpse on the subway in New York. Florida deputies say that. OK, if this is my worst nightmare coming true, a dirty hotel room. Oh, my gosh. I a Florida Florida deputy say the housekeeping staff didn't notify law enforcement after they found bags filled with bloodied linens. And the guest who occupied the room when the dead body was still in it, they didn't know. They slept in the room and didn't know that there was a dead body in the closet. I don't know how quickly things get nasty, but how would you not know? Right? I know if there's a spider somewhere in the room. My senses tingle. I walk in and it's... Like, I immediately know what, like, there is a bug that's going to kill me. I would immediately know if there's a dead body in there. Also, I look in everything. I open every door. I do not get my, I just, I'm a wacko. But they said that the 33-year-old, apparently, the dude that ended up, he was like a 33-year-old dude, and apparently he had an escort, and she was the last person to see him. And I don't know.
SPEAKER 04 :
It also means the cleaning crew didn't see it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean, how good is your cleaning crew if they don't notice the big corpse in the closet? You know, I'm just, what is up with people not noticing corpses? Because I have a story for Headlines Next Hour that talks about there was a corpse on a subway train for hours and nobody noticed it except the weirdo who tried to get it on with it. Oh yeah, that's a real headline. It's Kel-Tex PR 57, 57. It's that we're going to call it that it's there. A 57 chambered in five, seven. Ooh, by the way, I'm not allowed to say anything, but I know the thing that they're coming out with next. I mean, I know they just came out with this one. I don't know what they're doing with George Kellgren over at Kel-Tec. I think they just locked him up in a room somewhere and he's just happily inventing stuff. I don't know. But I met with some of the Kel-Tec folks, too, when we were in Richmond, Virginia at our event. And so that's how I learned about it. But the PR-57, 57 rotary barrel pistol, Chamberlain 5.7. I'm going to shoot it this week and I got it, but I haven't been home. I've been traveling. So... I'm excited about this. It's a light, thin 5.7. It's 40% lighter than the next 5.7 on the market, but it has an innovative rotary barrel and a unique top-loading design. So instead of a traditional mag, you've got a literal stripper clip. They literally use stripper clips for this for a slimmer carry profile in 20-plus-1 capacity. Quickest and easiest field strip available. MSRP is only $399, so it is one you can and should get. It's the first of its kind, Kel-Tec PR-57 rotary barrel pistol chambered in 5.7. 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 07 :
Democrats now insist they have a huge momentum shift after those special elections turned out pretty much like we thought they would. President Trump has the audacity to claim he should be able to decide who works for him. And Trump makes the media look like Wile E. Coyote again over comments about a third term. I'm Greg Karambas, inviting you to join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad and crazy news of the day and hopefully a lot of laughs, too. Follow the Three Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 05 :
Speaking of the Tesla stuff, so in our town square this weekend, they're having another one of their little, they're going to bus in the bad boomers. That almost sounds like. You know what that sounds like? It sounds like a 1950s biker game. The bad commie boomers, right? The BCBs. We're going to call them that. Bad commie boomers. Because the nice boomers get upset. They're so used to getting okay boomered that they just... We're not talking about you people. We're not talking, again, about the boomers that were the peaceful hippies that just wanted to walk around barefoot in the woods. It's gross, but whatever. You do you. They weren't trying to bother nobody. They were... making rep weaving stuff out of hemp. I don't know. Like what, what did they do? Kane? They don't do nothing. They, they were just the, you know, the little snow white boomers, the ones who go and talk with nature and you know, all that. And then you got these commie boomers that are like the weather, the weatherman group and you know, all of those folks. So, They're going to bust in the BCBs, the bad commie boomers. They're going to bust them in. Weather Underground, that's right. What did I say? The weather people? Same thing. Isn't that an 80s band? No, that was the ladies who sang It's Rainin' Men. Why did I think they were meteorologists? I have no idea. Anyway, it's Friday. Anyway, so they're going to be at the town square again on the nicest Saturday. It's like the second nice Saturday that we've had in months. So everybody's going to be out, right? And they're going to be out there clogging up the sidewalk, you know, out there yelling in their bad commie boomer voices and their mobility scooters and all this and be out there protesting. I think I'm just going to go and stand on the other side of the street with a sign. And just be real chill. We need some chill brought to it. You know what I'm saying? It's going to be a beautiful Saturday. You're in Texas. Come on. What's there to be mad about? I feel bad for the Tesla people that have to work in there. And they got these. Because it's not like... So the way our Tesla store is set up, it's... The town... When the town square was being developed, it looks like the 1950s back to the future. Yeah. Main Street. It does. I mean, it looks like that. That that was the whole aesthetic that they were going for. You know, it can't be more than two stories. And you it's like this. All the storefronts are, you know, all street front. You know, you have the cool part, all of it. And it's worked out really, really, really, really well. And you have like high end stores like Apple and then wedged in between the bigger stores and the higher end stores are small mom and pop shops, which is a brilliant way to just like keep the revenue, keep that pedestrian traffic going into these stores and add into their revenue. It's all great. And the problem is when you get these annoying commies that get out there and they want to protest something like the Tesla. So the Tesla is in. it's not a dealership it's they have the cars they have some cars in the back uh in like an alley but um it's not like a dealership so when they're they're standing in front of those that they're not just standing in front of the tesla they're standing in front of the apple store right they're standing in front of an anthropology they're standing in front of like a mom and pop shop like a origin, a local shop. And they're clogging the sidewalk and yelling at everybody. One of my friends who was out there with her kids said that they had a crossover, busy street. All these other people were crossing over to the other side of the sidewalk because she said that... One person that drove by said, we love Tesla. And one of the elderly bad commie boomers screamed blank you at them in the middle of us. All the kids are out this. They don't care about other people. This is just them. They just want to be jack wagons. It's all they want to be. So I think I might just like stand with a sign that just says Tesla is cool and just stand on the other side of the street. I haven't been to a protest in a very long time. The last time I was at a protest, I leapt off a stage and got in the face of someone. Much to my husband's horror. But I made that person become my best friend because you can't hate me after you meet me. Only when you don't meet me in person. People are like, we don't like her. But then I force you to like me when we meet in person. This is my charming personality. But I may do that, Cain. Just like Tesla's cool. You want to come stand with the sign? I mean, it's so dumb. It's not persuading anybody.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is somebody going to take video?
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, I'm sure somebody would. I'm not going to go with a camera crew. I just want to stand up and be like, Tesla's cool. You know, just see what happens. See what happens. You know, that's all.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think we know what will probably happen.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, no, no. Because if no one... No, if they recognize me, then they definitely won't step up. But, I mean, I'm not there to be confrontational. I just think... When you're they make it look uncool anyway. Can I just explain to you the psychology of why they get why the left gets protests so wrong because they look like dorks. Nobody else wants to look like a dork. Imagine you're, I'm being really, really forthright. So bear with me. I'm not Dora the Explorer. Do not have me babysitting your kids with screen time. Okay, we have established this. But imagine like you're a Gen Z or a younger than Gen Z. What's coming up after them? Alpha, God help us. And you're walking down the sidewalk. You're going to the Apple store. There's tons of people. The Tesla's right across the street from the Apple store. And the Apple store is like bougie and glass and it's all new and sparkly and shiny. And you're a young person going and you see these people protesting outside of Tesla. They're old commie boomers. There's like one broad in a mobility scooter. They're all bent over like cocktail shrimp, like on a glass, holding their signs, you know. And it's like Musk is a fascist and all this other stuff, giving everybody the finger. That looks cringe. It's the height of cringe. You're actually in those people's minds. This is how younger people look at it. They see that and they're like, I don't want to be that. I don't want to be whatever those people are. And you are immediately convincing them to actually like Tesla because you make Tesla look cool. So I think just, you know, standing on a sign like, I like Tesla or something like completely benign. It's funny. It's funny, you know, like totally not at all confrontational. The new cool thing, and it's weird for somebody like me, is to be non-confrontational. That's the cool thing. You know what I'm saying? Don't be confrontational. We were in... Wisconsin at some rally. And this was the Scott Walker recall. And someone had yelled at me. And I was talking about public sector unions and private sector unions. Somebody screamed at me. It was a big old dude in overalls. And I don't know what people thought. If they think that because I'm a conservative or that I don't sell meth or something, that I didn't come from a rural background. I mean, people are shocked when they learn about my origins. I came from the dirt. And this fella had been hollering at me and there was a lot of people there. He's a big old booming voice and I just about damn near had it. So I'm like, okay, put the mic down. And I just yeeted myself off the stage and went out to go talk to this dude. And my husband was talking to somebody backstage and they're like, well, there went your wife. And he's like, what now, woman? And then it was, I was already gone at that point. And I went up to him and I think he was shocked. He ended up actually being a nice friend At first, he was real aggressive. And I'm like, how are you going to be doing me like that? And he's like, what? And he's like, you city folk. And I'm like, city folk? I'm like, oh my gosh, bless your heart. You think that you're more rural than everyone else? Do you want to have a rule off? Because I promise you, I'm going to win. Did you ever mix moonshine in the bathtub with your hands? Oh, you didn't? Oh, shut up. Sorry. When you were 12, I might add. Shut up. Just saying. I'm like, have you ever been told to help your grandpa and hold something's little paws while he ripped the skin off of it? You know, I'm like, let's have this conversation. I lived like one of the Duke boys. I had a family member that brought his motorcycle indoors when it got cold. Like brought it in the trailer and took it apart behind the sofa so you couldn't see it when you came in. It was all behind the sofa. Just saying. So, and that's not, it was a smart thing. The man's making, you know, the most economic use of time and, you know, energy. I get it. So I'm just, you know, let's not, let's not do that. And anyway, we ended up talking and he ended up realizing that we're actually on the same page. And it shocked him. And everyone else there was like, all right, like his fellers, his other. And we ended up being friends like we ended up being real friends. And he was like, well, I might come down here for breakfast in the morning. There's a restaurant down here. And and, you know, if you want to want to. I think we actually did go to that. And they were there. There were a lot of people there. But, you know, we ended up being friends. That's the thing. You know, with the left, they. They love these like psychological divides and convincing people that ultimately would be on the same side that they're not with like stupid little distractions. But long story short, you know, just stand out there with a sign. You know, I like Tesla. That seems real nice. Right. That's not confrontational. And I feel bad for, like I said, the Tesla workers inside because they got to look at these these crazy people. And it's only for one hour. That's the other thing. They're literally only there from 11 to noon. One hour. And then at noon, they promptly go home. See, their passion for hating Elon Musk is limited to one hour.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's all the budget allows.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's all the budget allows. I mean, we literally went on. I was in Ohio and we were at a protest. And we ended up hiking to a bridge somewhere that these Occupy Wall Streeters got in trouble for trying to blow up. I don't even remember. I don't like hiking. It's just glorified walking. It's aggressive walking. Just be like, we're going to go walk in the woods. I'm like, that's fine. I love being in nature. Love it. Not at night. And not going to the bathroom in nature. Because we invented the toilet and running water and the house and electricity. And we don't pretend to be homeless. We're not trans homeless. So... Yeah, and that was the most aggressive protest that I've ever been on. But that, long story short, I feel like an hour. You want to go for an hour tomorrow, Kane?
SPEAKER 03 :
Sure, why not?
SPEAKER 05 :
Just like, we like Teslas.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'd like to find out what their hourly pay is.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, how much you guys getting paid? We're going to see if your payment is better than our nonpayment.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
I because, you know, they're busting. And so this weekend, I think they're having more of the Tesla things and they just look ridiculous. And I and and I get it. They're trying to poison Musk and then then use that as a way to indict the Trump administration, the court of public opinion. So I don't know, one hour though, one hour, I'm telling you. All Family Pharmacy has all of the medications that you need without anything being manufactured at all or sourced from China or even India. It's all right here made in the USA, which I think is incredibly important, especially if we're talking about becoming more self-sufficient with things like antibiotics, et cetera, because that's what All Family Pharmacy does. You don't have to play by big pharma's rules. Remember when they tried to shut down actual, therapeutics and access to those therapeutics remember when they try to bar you from getting ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine and that you were being told that you were crazy if you had those yeah But hey, take this injection. We don't know what it does. Go ahead and take it. They didn't just dismiss the alternatives. They crushed your ability to get them. All family pharmacy is about access and affordability. It's simple, fast and affordable. No insurance. No problem. Straightforward pricing. Online ordering. You can get your muds in just two to four days or if you need them in a pinch overnight. Your health is always within reach. I've used them many times before. You can also get your everyday maintenance medications too. They make it super simple, fast shipping, no gatekeepers, and again, made right here in the US of A. Visit allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana and get 10% off using promo code Dana10. Protect yourself and your family today at allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana, coupon code Dana10 to save 10%.
SPEAKER 04 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. So first and foremost, that chopper tragedy where this plane broke apart, this family that it was the first day of their vacation. They were celebrating one of their six year old daughters, five or six year old daughter's birthdays. And. They figured out that the propeller, like apparently something to cause the blades to split. And then one of them went flying into the Hudson. The other literally split the tail. And that is what ended up happening. All six people on board, including the pilot, three of them were children, killed. Now, they did say that two of the victims, when they pulled them out of the Hudson, were alive. but they didn't make it. That came out this morning. Two of the victims actually survived the crash. Now, they didn't say what state of alive. You know, you could be alive and unconscious, but they didn't make it. Just a horrible, horrible thing. Another swatted, why does Nicki Minaj always get swatted? She's, I mean, she's been swatted, what, three times in a year? So now this is the third time. The LAPD, they responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at our house about 7 p.m. And they found no evidence. When they arrived, they said it was another swatting call. So she had, in 2023, she was swatted twice within a four-week period. So it's actually three times in like, you know, three years. But still, that's insane. Let's see. This, what in the world? So Tyreek Hill, was holding his baby in his arms and leaned over a 35-story balcony. Cops were called. They had a domestic dispute. And people could see him. He was on their high-rise, at their high-rise apartment in Sunny Isles Beach in Florida. It's like an hour north of Miami. And it showed him holding their daughter, leaning their heads over the balcony, They were apparently in a domestic dispute. Cops were called. They just said it was an assault in progress. But they the baby's OK. But good heavens that if you're grabbing your baby from your wife in a domestic dispute and then you're intimating that you made drop said baby over the balcony, you need to be dropped over the balcony and then pick back up, take it back up and dropped again and then maybe repeat one more time for good measure. I just that's just nasty. Let's see. Oh, Prada is buying Versace. Now, this is interesting. I like watching this business as it relates to stuff like this, especially right after we were talking about China. This was U.S. group Capri Holdings, and they created a group of Versace. along with LVMH, because LVMH, that's Salma Hayek's husband's company. How crazy is that? So they're welcoming, they're merging. Prada Group buys Versace. We have a lot more on the way. Stick with us. People are mad at John Stamos. You guys remember Uncle Jesse from Full House? I grew up watching Uncle Jesse on Full House. He had, like, the most mullety of mullets I've ever seen in my life. It was... The hairband mullet. But he attended a benefit. So Mar-a-Lago, yes, it's like the, you know, Trump's house, but it's also a club and people can stay there and they can play golf there and you can also hold events there. There are tons of different groups that hold events from all over America. The spectrum, you have centrist, you have rights. I mean, although now I'm pretty sure it's like center and right. You know, probably no lefties go there anymore, but they have all kinds of events there. So they had the Palm Beach Ray of Hope Gala and they support nurses, etc. It's like a medical, you know, they support first responders, all that kind of stuff. And John Stamos attended a benefit there. Right. It wasn't a benefit for the president. It wasn't a benefit that Republicans organized. It wasn't a benefit that the administration organized. It was it's a charity event that a charity decided. Let's have it at Mar-a-Lago. They put it together and it's a nonprofit. And John Stamos attended because he's just supports. He emceed the evening. And he was absolutely obliterated by the left for it to the point where he had to he felt like he had to see something on Instagram about it. He said, I accepted the invitation to emcee the Palm Beach Ray of Hope Gala, an evening dedicated to honoring and uplifting our frontline heroes. And he says it's a nonpartisan event. They support the Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations. It's a 501c3. They train like, you know, up to like 400 nurses every year. They look at the critical shortage of health care professionals in Palm Beach County. And he goes, I stand by the importance of this. They were trashing him for going. He was saying that it's not political. And he ended, you know, my values and political views remained unchanged, etc. But the fact that it was just at Mar-a-Lago. Like someone goes, quote, John Stamos just ruined his brand forever. I'm sure, yeah, some stupid rando with no life that's going to get mad over Jesse. Shut up. You're not going to cancel Uncle Jesse. Pound all the sand on God's green earth if you think that you're going to cancel Uncle Jesse. No, not happening. Just because he was at Mar-a-Lago, because a 501c3 decided to use that... I mean, yes, there are a lot of places in Palm Beach. There's not a lot of places in Palm Beach that are right there on the beach that have beautiful grounds, enough to satisfy all the parking, etc. That's just insane. So yeah, they're like, oh, is that Mar-a-Lago? And when the media first started writing about it, they made it like... They downplayed the charitable organization that organized the event and they made it sound like he was there at Trump's request or Trump's invitation. And the way that they put the way that I saw it reported on, it was like they intimated that he was there for like some Trump event. And then someone said, well, can we get mad at the people who booked the fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for supporting Trump instead of John Stamos? Why is using Mar-a-Lago as a venue supporting Trump? Can these people be any less zombie-like? Is it possible? Just ask tonight, but you're not canceling Uncle Jesse because it's Uncle Jesse. A bunch of nobody rando losers who think they're going to go out and cancel Uncle Jesse. Clearly, you can tell I grew up with Full House, so not going to happen. People are just idiotic.
SPEAKER 06 :
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 significant political and economic developments shaping the world today. We start with the Democrats who are riding a wave of momentum from recent special elections, and move into a detailed discussion on President Trump's trade policies and the ongoing tariff war with China. Our hosts also examine the intricate dynamics between Hollywood and China's censorship struggle, illustrating how cultural productions are used as soft power in international relations. As always, humor and insights are interwoven as the Three Martini Lunch podcast brings you the latest headlines and the stories behind them.
SPEAKER 01 :
Democrats now insist they have a huge momentum shift after those special elections turned out pretty much like we thought they would. President Trump has the audacity to claim he should be able to decide who works for him. And Trump makes the media look like Wile E. Coyote again over comments about a third term. I'm Greg Karambas, inviting you to join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad, and crazy news of the day and hopefully a lot of laughs too. Follow the Three Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 15 :
Welcome to the program. I was traveling in Virginia and wasn't, we weren't in studio. So we were broadcasting out of WRVA. We were out there for the Politics and Pints event and all good. It was all good fun. We had, I had a great time talking with everybody out there. We had really lively conversation. It was going to, it was great. It was great. So Now we're back in studio and we've got technical difficulties out the backside. So we're going to try to get that set up and get it fixed so that we can make sure that we can start nicely. We come in and we plug in and then stuff doesn't work. All right. So as we cover all of this stuff. So we've got this. I'm going to get into the executive orders. We're also going to get into all of the latest, the moves in Congress as well, the moves in Congress. And we're going to touch upon all of that stuff. We're also going to get into the latest with China, because China is a huge—this has been the tariff war— Now China announced some hours ago that they were going to kick up tariffs. We're at 145% with China now. Now they're increasing to 125%. And I still think all of this is only temporary. I still think it's all only temporary. But at the same time, how long is temporary? That's the big question. And I think a lot of people, I think the markets actually are kind of reacting to Scott Besant in charge. Lutnick has been, I think Lutnick and Navarro have been effectively sidelined. Navarro is getting a lot of heat. There's a lot of criticism against the way that he's constructed some of this stuff. And I don't know if it's, you know, POTUS is pretty loyal to him. He reminded everyone in a closed door meeting with his cabinet recently, he said, look, he went to jail for me. So I realize that some of it's palace intrigue. Some of it is also people are they don't like his approach. I know Musk didn't like his approach. There were a lot of economists or a couple of business titans that weighed in on the side of of Musk. So we're going to cover all of that as well, because China is now. They're saying one hundred twenty five. So we are at that's that's where we are now. One forty five versus one twenty five. So we're going to touch on all of that as well as we kick off. So the latest let's get some audio in here as we as we tweak the rest of this stuff. Audio soundbite to this is Trump on tariffs.
SPEAKER 08 :
You started the morning saying, be cool, and just a few hours later, there was a pause put in on the terrace. Can you walk us through your thinking about why you decided to put a 90-day pause?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know? They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions. Because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did. No other president.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yippee. What was the headline? Was it Time Magazine? I can't remember what headline it was. One of the magazines where they were saying it was yippee to yippee-ki-yay with the increase of the tariffs. I think was the one of the headlines. So you said some people were getting a little yippy, some were a little afraid. Now, the left is trying to construct this and make it like, well, POTUS is POTUS is nervous and he folded. I don't think that we have these other deals that are being made. Apparently, there are 15 deals registered. with 15 separate nations that are being presented to POTUS. Well, or, sorry, presented through percent. They're evaluating them, then they're taking them to POTUS, and they're also engaged in a number of discussions to finalize deals with the rest of these nations. Yes, I'm going to talk about the whole thing with Spain and China. I'll get to that. But that's significant. They're going to have to move really fast on that to accomplish that. China, though, the whole thing with... The one advantage that I think China would have in this is time. And I say that because we have, again, midterms. You guys are tired of hearing me say this, right? You're tired of hearing me saying midterms. But. I think China's anticipating the need for speed, so to speak, with this first, what, maybe first half of this administration's term. And it's to their benefit to kind of drag it out, I think. That's like one aspect of it. But that's all they have, really. They don't have an economy that can go tit for tat with us on this. They don't. I mean, they entirely rely upon... I mean, they're an export economy. They... They without without that. And we are such a huge consumer. They can sit here and stamp their feet about disallowing U.S. movies to be shown in Chinese theaters. And that's actually a big thing that came out towards the the beginning of this week where China's China is now saying that Hollywood is not going to be able to. And as part of this tariff war, they they're trying to say that, oh, well, we're going to curb Hollywood film production. premieres and distribution in Hollywood. One of the headlines were Beijing bites back by curbing film imports. Now, remember, that's like a whole process for them. There's this story. And you guys remember with Top Gun, there's a story, two stories, one that surrounds a Quentin Tarantino film and then the one that has to do with Top Gun. So remember when Top Gun, when they started showing images and like trailers and stuff from the the sequel to that, this is like right as we were all coming out of COVID and it was all. anticipatory they had the back of uh of maverick's jacket and it had the taiwanese flag on it and china was livid one and they were livid and so was one of the main producers what one of the main production companies involved in the film called tencent and that is a ccp entity like they are like they're the head of tencent is in good standing with the communist party of china which you have to be in order to have a company there and do business there And when the Taiwanese patch was on Maverick's jacket, they were livid. So they had to digitally take it out. And you guys remember that. Well, then there was backlash in the United States. So long story short, when Tencent pushed and the CCP pushed, Top Gun said, no, the flag stays on. We're keeping it on. And they got hit by restrictions in China over that. I mean, they're like, we're not going to show it. Same thing with Quentin Tarantino. Once upon a time in Hollywood, there's one of my favorite stories. And Tarantino is a favorite director of mine. where he was showing Bruce Lee and this Brad Pitt's character, right? They were facing off on a Hollywood set. And China did not like the way that Bruce Lee was portrayed, and they wanted a rewrite of that scene. And so when you are just trying to get a film to hit the theaters in China, you have to go by all the CCP censors, right? They have to review the film and then they make suggestions, et cetera. And so they were telling Tarantino and the US producers of this film, we need that scene rewritten. It's derogatory towards China because of the way that they were portraying Bruce Lee. Tarantino, very inartfully and apparently very colorfully, told them to go pound sand. And so Once Upon a Time in Hollywood did not get a Chinese opening. They didn't get access to their theaters. Now, here's two narratives at play here. What the first is... And this was the one that I thought... This whole move by China, China thinks that they're going to make Hollywood bend the knee and then Hollywood basically act like they're surrogates and try to pressure lawmakers and the general public by persuading you using their artistic skills. That's what they're hoping would happen here. But maybe 10 years ago, maybe 20 years ago, that might have been effective. But the Chinese box office has been in decline for quite some time. That's what they're not telling you when they talk about all the screens that China has and Hollywood share in China's box office. Oh, my gosh, it's dropped to five percent and et cetera. And domestic films have been dominating their box office, but their box office has been in decline even before these tariffs. And I mean, their studios would actually just produce films that directly appealed to Chinese audiences. And then China started expanding their local film production there. So their domestic films are actually now taking, and that's obviously not because of a free market. It's CCP. Let's be real. And so not only that, but they're broke. They're broke. Their people are broke. The idea that China is an economic heavyweight is a false narrative that is promoted by CCP lizards and completely idiotic leftists, some of whom masquerade as righty centrists. It's a lie. I mean, remember the headline that I had a year ago talking about how luxury goods have declined drastically in China, where there was a whole culture that was a burgeoning culture where people were buying luxury goods and they were trying to get on the Chinese version of TikTok, et cetera, or Facebook and use that as a hallmark of how well China was doing. Well, that's even dropped significantly now. So they're not in any good place. And I think for once, finally, because of that decline, Hollywood now has a little bit, whether they take it or not, remains to be seen. But they have a little bit of muscle to flex here. So all of this is to say that China's only advantage is honestly the timing and usage. Whether or not Congress can make these deals before midterms start, because I'm telling you people, once midterms start, you're going to watch a lot of these politicians who had been amenable to doing some of this stuff and coming to find common ground. They're going to retreat the other way so they can they can service their their base supporters and you're not going to get anything done. That's the reality of it. So we're going to talk about Xi Jinping was also in Spain, too. And they were signing some I don't know if they're legally binding, but they were signing some agreements about opening up their markets, etc. And there's a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth about Trump's tariffs and whether or not this is going to destabilize the United States is standing in Europe and what it means for NATO. I'll tell you what it means for NATO. If the United States chooses to ever leave NATO, which I don't think there's no indication that they ever would. And under the previous administration or under Trump's first term, He actually expanded it. That's something that moderate rights and people on the left don't want to acknowledge. That said, if the United States were to ever leave NATO, there is no NATO. Let's not let's not beat around the bush here. We have a lot to get into as we roll towards the bottom of this first hour. And like I said, we're going to cover all of it. Tariff gate, the latest with China. We got some domestic stuff, culture, the whole nine yards. All family pharmacy is all of the medications that you need without anything being manufactured at all or sourced from China or even India. It's all right here made in the USA, which I think is incredibly important, especially if we're talking about becoming more self-sufficient with things like antibiotics, et cetera, because that's what all family pharmacy does. You don't have to play by big pharma's rules. Remember when they tried to shut down actual therapeutics and access to those therapeutics. Remember when they try to bar you from getting ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine and that you were being told that you were crazy if you had those? But hey, take this injection. We don't know what it does. Go ahead and take it. They didn't just dismiss the alternatives. They crushed your ability to get them. All family pharmacy is about access and affordability. It's simple, fast and affordable. No insurance, no problem. Straightforward pricing, online ordering. You can get your muds in just two to four days or if you need them in a pinch overnight. Your health is always within reach. I've used them many times before. You can also get your everyday maintenance medications too. They make it super simple, fast shipping, no gatekeepers. And again, made right here in the US of A. Visit allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana and get 10% off using promo code Dana10. Protect yourself and your family today at allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana. Coupon code Dana10 to save 10%.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
We share real stories with the suspense of true crime, but we'll leave you with a sense of light and hope.
SPEAKER 12 :
Like the college wrestler who fought a grizzly, the woman who was dead for nearly an hour, or the child lost in a dark mine for days. These are the kind of stories that remind us miracles are real.
SPEAKER 11 :
Subscribe to the Miracle Files wherever you get your podcasts and join us on this thrilling journey of faith and miracles.
SPEAKER 05 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's quick five.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right. So first and foremost, that chopper tragedy where this plane broke apart, this family that it was the first day of their vacation. They were celebrating one of their six year old daughters, five or six year old daughter's birthdays. And. They figured out that the propeller, like apparently something to cause the blades to split. And then one of them went flying into the Hudson. The other literally split the tail. And that is what ended up happening. All six people on board, including the pilot, three of them were children, killed. Now, they did say that two of the victims, when they pulled them out of the Hudson, were alive. but they didn't make it. That came out this morning. Two of the victims actually survived the crash. Now, they didn't say what state of alive. You know, you could be alive and unconscious, but they didn't make it. Just a horrible, horrible thing. Another swatted, why does Nicki Minaj always get swatted? She's, I mean, she's been swatted, what, three times in a year? So now this is the third time. The LAPD, they responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at our house about 7 p.m. And they found no evidence. When they arrived, they said it was another swatting call. So she had in 2023, she was swatted twice within a four-week period. So it's actually three times in like, you know, three years. But still, that's insane. Let's see this. What in the world? So Tyreek Hill. was holding his baby in his arms and leaned over a 35-story balcony. Cops were called. They had a domestic dispute. And people could see him. He was on their high-rise, at their high-rise apartment in Sunny Isles Beach in Florida. It's like an hour north of Miami. And it showed him holding their daughter, leaning their heads over the balcony, They were apparently in a domestic dispute. Cops were called. They just said it was an assault in progress. But they the baby's OK. But good heavens that if you're grabbing your baby from your wife in a domestic dispute and then you're intimating that you made drop said baby over the balcony, you need to be dropped over the balcony and then pick back up, take it back up and dropped again and then maybe repeat one more time for good measure. That's just nasty. Let's see. Prada is buying Versace. Now, this is interesting. I like watching this business as it relates to stuff like this, especially right after we were talking about China. This was U.S. group Capri Holdings, and they created a group of... along with LVMH, because LVMH, that's Salma Hayek's husband's company. How crazy is that? So they're welcoming, they're merging. Prada Group buys Versace. We have a lot more on the way. Stick with us. And as our friends over at Tax Network USA, I mean, we're in tax season. The IRS is the largest collection agency in the world, and if you owe back taxes or if you have unfiled returns, you don't want to wait for them to come after you. Get ahead of it. That's a smart move, but never do it alone. Turn it over to Tax Network USA. Why? Because not all tax resolution companies are the same. They have direct access to the IRS. They have a preferred direct line, so they know exactly which agents to deal with and which ones to avoid. And whether you owe $10,000 or $10 million, they have proven resolution strategies that will settle your tax issues in your favor. And they've been able to resolve over a billion dollars in tax debt. And you can reduce or eliminate your debt. Talk with one of their strategists today. It is free. Stop the threatening letters. Stop the anxiety. Save yourself and protect your property from seizures and bank levies. Schedule your complimentary consultation today by calling 1-800-958-1000 or visit TNUSA.com slash Dana. Don't let the IRS's aggressive tactics control your future. That's TNUSA.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 19 :
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. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or your favorite podcast platform.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, in this week, unanimously saying as the Supreme Court, the United States still stands for what the United States stands for when we're talking about due process, even against people who have been accused of being gang members. OK, if they're gang members, great. Come and prove that. In the court of law, you can't you can't grab them off the street, throw them in a van and fly them out of the country.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, you absolutely can. I'm so tired of this. That's Joe Scarborough. And that's what I've heard from the left on this like nonstop. Oh, you can't just pick people up who were. you know, who are walking around and deport them. Well, that's not what people are doing. They're they're targeting people who are here illegally and doing the exact same damn thing that any other country has every other right to do. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. Bottom of this first hour. The case over a Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Or just Abrego Garcia. He's the guy who was deported to El Salvador. Right. And remember, he is in it. Let me just set the stage at this because we're going to get to the Supreme Court decision. They're demanding. I don't understand what this means. The facilitation of repatriating him back to a country that he was in illegally. This is what I love about the left. They're so damn illogical. They are mad because they said that this guy who was in the country, there is no debate. This dude is an illegal immigrant. This dude was a legit member of a gang. And of course, now after he's trying to say, no, I wasn't. I'm just a humble immigrant who was living a life of crime. No, you weren't. You were literally in a gang. I mean, everybody in his family was like, yeah, he's in a gang. Everybody associated with the case was like, yep, he's in a gang. Yeah, he was in a gang. What did you think was going to happen? But the left says, oh, it's so bad that you got that. He was he was here illegally. He's been illegally deported. Do you not see the insanity of this position? They're mad. They believe in illegal deportation, but not illegal entry. You can't have it both ways. So they he's described in the press as a Maryland father. Right. So Brego Garcia. So just again, to set the facts of the case, he was here illegally. That is not even up for debate amongst people with brain cells. He was here illegally. The only reason he was allowed to stay was because of the Biden administration. Long story short, they basically gave him a reprieve. Now, it was not a promise that he was never going to be deported. And in fact, it was never a waiting period for him to be classified as not able to be deported. He was just going to be deported later. That's all it is, in layman's terms. And so the left is, bottom line, he was going to be deported. He was here illegally. None of that changes. So the left is mad because they believe that the Trump administration and ICE leapt over some administrative clerical garbage in order to get a guy who was in a gang out of the country and back to El Salvador? Really? What's, no. And I don't understand what the facilitation thing is. The whole thing is weird to me. The Supreme Court in this ruling that they came out with is, I think, well, it doesn't make sense. This was yesterday. They issued a brief order. They're kind of siding with the lower court's order saying that the administration has to facilitate the return of this illegal immigrant who was living in Maryland. And they sent him back. El Salvador is where he's from. So they sent him to El Salvador. And now some people are bringing up questions about the way that this was worded. They were they said that it was a result of an administrative error. Kane, I got to stop here. Kane, you know, I mean, because, you know, you've got family from Mexico. I'm sure Mexico would be like, I'm so sorry you entered illegally. And we ended we we're going to deport you. We made an administrative error. I don't think that they play footsie with like stupid stuff like that.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, you actually have the one-two punch of the government saying no and then the cartels. If somehow you get past the government. Yeah.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, that's actually a really good point. That's a very good point. Yeah, you got to have the cartels blessing too. The left was saying, oh, no, no, he's been safely here in the United States. And I love the fact that they argue that because he was never charged with a crime formally, that means he did nothing wrong. He entered the country illegally, and he's been involved with gangs, according to his own actual family and everybody else. And actually in government documentation, too. But okay. Just the idea that we're going to, oh, it's an administrative error is asinine to me. This is what they said. The D.C. Court, District of Maryland, they entered an order, and this was on April 4th, they entered an order directing the government, this was the wording, to, quote, facilitate and effectuate the return of Obrego Garcia to the United States by Monday, April 7th. What? So the government was like, it's a clerical error? Uh, what? And they stayed the case, obviously, when POTUS asked for the Supreme Court to get involved. So the deadline doesn't even exist. Deadline's been over. It doesn't even exist anymore. I don't understand what the hell the word effectuate means. And when I was trying to make sense of this ruling, I'm like, you know, I'm going to ask a couple of lawyer friends of mine, see what Jonathan Turley says. Nobody knows what that means. Turley literally asked, what the hell is a writ of facilitation? That's what is that? I mean, he talks about the application, et cetera, et cetera. Quote, the intended scope of the term effectuate in the district's court order, however, is unclear and may exceed the district court's authority. Kane, is that an administrative error? Sounds like it. They said they should clarify its directive with due regard for the deference owed to the executive branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. So is it... Is this a demand, like a court-issued requirement? Or are they saying, hey, can you facilitate this? Where it sounds like you're asking someone to help you move, like a favor. It's weird. That's what I don't understand about this order. And the order replies to the district court, which Charlie noted, which is directed to show regard for the deference of the executive branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. So... They can't really give an order according to how they're structured. The district court can't tell the executive what to do. So what does that mean? And that's where Turley doesn't have any answers. He said, what right does the district court have to manage the relations or communications with a foreign country? I mean, what? I mean, even they noted this. The court noted that even under the illegal or the Alien Enemies Act, detainees have the right to habeas actions before removal from the country. So long as, you know, you follow through. The government conceded the point in the appeals process after the deportation. The whole I don't understand that. I'm with everyone else. What do you mean facilitate and effectuate? The. His. The Arbrego Garcia always maintained that he had been persecuted in El Salvador without evidence. And that's why we should have not deported him to his home country. Of course, he says persecuted. Other people say he was running with the gang. It doesn't sound like he was being persecuted. So it is I think it highlights something that also is nonsensical. Like I said earlier on from the left, I don't. They are upset over what they say is an illegal deportation, but they're not upset over the illegal entry. That doesn't make sense. And it doesn't that position then kind of invalidate their whole I think that it invalidates their entire argument. Now, like I said, the guy was ever he was always going to be deported anyway. I am just not at all gracious towards people who not only enter the country and break the law, but even under things like Flores, etc. And they have a grace period against being deported, still don't follow through and become deported. and obtain legal status. That's my whole thing. If you're not following through and getting legal status, you're just giving a giant middle finger to everybody who's here while also demanding the same rights of all the people that you're disrespecting by refusal to follow the law that everyone else has to follow. And if you think that you're more special than me, we're going to have problems. You know, I think you all pretty much share that opinion. So I don't know. I say screw any kind of administrative error. You came in here illegally. And you came in here illegally. You continued to behave in an illegal manner by continuing on in a criminal fashion. And now you're expecting, like, a reprieve? No. That's not what we're doing here. It's just a weird position for the left to have. And I also am with Turley. I'm just kind of scratching my head. Like, what do you mean facilitate and effectuate? That's just weird. It's a weird thing. Now... This will and we're going to follow this and see how this how this plays out, because, you know, the left acts like it's a huge win for them. I, again, think that there's a missed opportunity here on the right to question. Wait, if you are if you think that people can be deported illegally, what is the reason for which they might be deported again? Oh, entering illegally. OK, so you can't have one without the other than right. And if you're in one is literally just a base administrative procedure where the other one is actually in some states like Florida, it's now a felonious action. It's purely that they're consistent in contradictions. Bill Malugin, let me pull this up, had reported that. Biden had used his executive authority to allow a lot more than 500,000 illegal immigrants from four countries to fly back into the U.S. for temporary parole grants and then announced that his administration would renew the grants. And then when when Trump is now trying to exercise his authority as POTUS, the same authority that Biden had when he exercised it, the judge is now a federal judge is now blocking it. This was 18 hours ago where it was reported a federal judge said that they're going to halt the administration from ending the program that allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to temporarily live in the United States. You remember that program under Biden, right? But not so much the Cubans, though. Remember that that was the other big part of it. They said Cubans, not really so much the Cubans. Because those Cubans, they tend to vote conservative. And now we can't have that, right? We can't have Cubans coming in who just want to be left alone and just want to work and add to the tax base and raise their families and follow the law and go to church. No, you can't have that. We need the gang members coming in from El Salvador and MS-13 from Venezuela. That's what we need. So Biden could do it. And it was considered... acceptable under his authority. Trump is doing the 180 of it and they're saying, no, you can't do that with your authority. Make that make sense. Make that make sense. This judge, according to CBS, it's a program that Biden created that the executive can create or end. That's not up for dispute. A program like this It is within the purview of the executive. You can create or uncreate it. Biden created it. Trump wants to get rid of it. And now Judge Indira Talwani, U.S. District Judge, is staying in the program. It was set to end later this month. And no, they don't want to allow the administration to revoke the allowance for these individuals. They would lose their legal status on April 24th. And they were. Now, here's the thing. Here's why I don't feel bad about any of it. And I think Trump is completely within his authority. This is the thing that is buried in every report of this. So every single one of these people who came in all had financial sponsors. It's number one. Every one of them had a financial sponsor that's part of this program. Every one of them were given two year permits to live and work in the United States legally. They were shielded from deportation. During that time, they were told to find the legal pathway and begin that process again. because the parole is only always ever a temporary status, and so long as you're using this period to start the paperwork and obtain legalized status, which you would be protected after starting this, then those were the details of the program. Regardless of whether or not you support or oppose the program, you see how that makes sense, right? Okay, well, like I said, regardless of if you oppose or support it, you're bringing people in, They can stay in. So it's a temporary status for two years there with the financial sponsors, mind you, yours and people help guiding you. You're supposed to start the process to become a legal citizen. Hardly anybody has, according to CBS. How is that my problem? How is it your problem? You're literally given entry. You're told you can stay for two years, start the process to become and to get legalized status, legal status. And if you don't do it, who the hell are you to demand extra favor when you were given favor in the first place and you refused to do what needed to be done? In order to cement your status of staying here legally. That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like me going to a foreign country and overextending my stay and doing nothing in that time whatsoever to plan for that date. You know that date's coming. They've known this entire time that all of this was going to expire on April 24th. And now a judge is saying, I didn't elect this judge. Did you elect this judge for president? Did you elect this judge? To run the office of the executive. I didn't. But yet that's how they're trying to undermine it. The irony here, and I think this is what Democrats really like, is that they want. They're they're still mad that Trump reshaped the judiciary the second half of his first term, and now they're trying to hamstring him with the judiciary. Thank you so much. They have ultrasounds for mothers so their mothers can can hear their baby's heartbeat. And when that happens, a chance for a child succeeding till birth, a chance for a child living doubles. And Preborn is also the gospel leader of the pro-life movement. They brought they've saved over 67000 babies since just in 2024 alone. Eight thousand nine hundred women gave their hearts to Christ. So they got a passion not only for saving unborn babies, but also seeing women come to faith and making sure that for the first two years of these these children's lives, the mothers are set. This is all volunteer. It's all volunteer and it's done. Literally, it's very gospel driven. And they meet these women where they are and they attend to their needs and they get the best start in life. You can make a difference and literally save lives. This is not just like, you know, a talking point. You your money literally saves lives. Twenty dollars provides an ultrasound. One hundred and forty rescues five babies. You can do a big way. I donate in a big way. Leadership gift. Five thousand dollars that sponsors the whole network for 24 hours. You can rescue 200 babies. Donate by dialing pound 250, saying the word baby, or give securely at preborn.com slash Dana. Pound 250, say the word baby to help save lives.
SPEAKER 19 :
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 04 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 03 :
But there's some of those things. I watched on the evening news last night, one of the other networks, and I watched the issue of lumber. Now, you see, we get so much of our lumber, our two-by-fours, from Canada. Which is where we get it from? Canada. We get our newsprint from up there for newspapers. The fact is we get it. What are we going to do? Have more lumber made in the United States now? What is our plan now? Oh, we're not going to import wood, so we're going to make more wood? We're going to create more wood? Is that it? I don't think we're in a position... to simply replicate the imports coming into this country with our own products. They can't always be done. And I think a wood's example of that. Wood. Are we going to make more wood in this country because of our trade deal? I don't think so.
SPEAKER 15 :
Where does he think wood comes from? It's like, you know, what do you think? It just grows on trees? You got wood trees out there? Gosh. I mean, you're just going to go make the wood? Made of... jokes here. That's Chris Matthews. He is a very cantankerous old fart. Is he not? Yeah, we're America. Hells yeah, we can grow more trees. You know what? And if not, we'll just take yours. Kidding me on that last part. Or am I? It's not like we're bulldozing huge parts of the Amazon rainforest for a road for our climate change conference. Oh, wait. That's what they did. Yeah. Second hour is coming up. Stick with us. Gold prices have surged over 40% since January 2024, consistently reaching new highs. According to Goldman Sachs research, the upward trend is expected to persist due to strong demand from central banks. It's stuff like this that's made me take action and why I've bought precious metals like gold and silver. I've partnered with a great company that makes it super easy to buy. Easy, transparent, and simple. And that company is Goldco. They're a huge supporter of this show and they're the best at what they do. And right now you can get a free 2025 gold and silver kit jam-packed with critical information about buying precious metals. It was a huge help, not just for me, but to all of you if you do this. And for my audience, you could also qualify for up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver. It's a really great deal. So don't miss out. Visit danalikesgold.com to learn more. That's danalikesgold.com. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. Top of this first hour back in Texas, back in the heat. Big thanks to our friends in Virginia and Richmond WRVA for hosting us. And this week, second hour of the program. Don't forget. You can sign up, uh, over at a sub stack chapter and verse lots of good stuff going out about there. Also, Lorraine has something about the, uh, latest with the, she calls him the faux assassin. The guy tried to assassinate, uh, president Trump. We're going to, we're going to talk about that coming up. Uh, but also one of the other things on deck, we're going to get into China. We're going to, uh, uh, talk about that. The, the president's, uh, strategy on that and how he's been handling it. The issue of the Carmelo Anthony, the track or the athlete in his own right, the track meet stabbing that was in Frisco, Texas. Frisco, Texas of all places. And there has been a lot of back and forth about Was it self? I can't believe there's been back and forth. Some people are trying to act like it's self-defense. There are some people on the right even saying that this was self-defense, which is wrong. And I'll explain. But the Texas D.A., they had a discussion and he was asked about whether or not they're going to seek the death penalty for 17-year-old Carmelo Anthony, who is ineligible for the death penalty because he's a minor. He's also ineligible for life in prison or life, sorry, without parole due to his age. It's according to the Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. And that's something that SCOTUS has said. Not only can you not seek the death penalty against someone who's committed a crime when they're 17, but you can't get can't even give them life without parole. So he said that's not something that we could do even if we wanted to. Now, you know, the story Carmelo Anthony had stabbed Austin Metcalf. The story per witnesses was that Carmelo Anthony went into the opposing team's tent and I guess it was raining outside or whatever. He was in their tent. He was told to leave. And then at that point, he told Austin Metcalf, you know, he opened his bag and like gestured inside and was like, touch me again and see what happens. And, you know, put your hands on me and see what happens is what he had said. That's a provocation. That's not defense. So if you think that this is self-defense, dear God, don't ever practice law because you'll get laughed out of the courtroom. If you're a 2A advocate and you're saying that this is self-defense, dear God, do us all a favor. Do not undermine the work of everybody else by claiming that this is self-defense. It is not. This is so stupid to argue this. And I question the IQ of anyone who says it. That's harsh, but it needs to be said to apparently get through the thick skulls of some of the people who keep saying it's self-defense because it's not. That's provocation. Self-defense isn't, yeah, come on and try me. That's provocation. You are immediately nullifying your defense by saying it's self-defense with provocation. Furthermore, he admitted to it. He's like, yeah, it's not alleged. I did it. He was combative and hostile about it when he was being taken into custody. And they kept saying he... And then afterwards, when he, I think, fully realized what was going to happen to him, then he started claiming that it was self-defense. It is not self-defense. He was an aggressor. And I don't give a rat's ass if the other teenager, the Austin Metcalf, I don't care if he was running his mouth or not, which that's all hearsay. Nobody knows. What we do know is apparently everybody there did all agree that Carmelo Anthony said, yeah, do this and, you know, like... uh like uh try me you know like he opened up his bag gestured inside like he had a weapon inside he went to a high school track meet with a knife stopped sitting here acting like you're just some picked up on person then he issued a provocation that is not self-defense that is the act of an aggressor so that alone completely destroys that argument it would be laughed out of court It's do I think it was premeditated? That's kind of a reach, I think, because then you have to show that he I think you would have to show that he has had longstanding beef with Metcalf or something to that extent and that he determined that he was going to take a night to school for the singular purpose of engaging. So I don't think it was premeditated. I don't. And there's I mean, we'll see. They I. I'm not shocked that they would try to make it like it's a self-defense claim because they're trying to reduce the penalty that the 17-year-old's going to face. But you don't get to claim. Like I said, after you issue a provocation, you go there with a weapon. You've been in trouble for taking the same weapon to school repeatedly. Then you go to a track meet with a weapon, and then you issue a provocation. No, you are the aggressor here. You're the aggressor. This is asinine. So I just I and another quick question or a quick thing, too, about some of the hatred that I see that the dad, Austin Metcalf's dad is getting. So Austin Metcalf's dad, he had been telling the press that he like forgave. He said he's already for Jeff Metcalf. He says he's forgiven. carmelo anthony and he has sympathy for the team's family and he says that i've already forgiven the person that stabbed him god's going to take care of everything there are some and it's the same people who are trying to also bizarrely argue self-defense uh that are like in the middle and on the right that are slamming jeff metcalf for an overabundance of grace that their simple minds cannot fathom i've seen people say what kind of dad are you For having for not sticking up for your son, like posthumously, what kind of dad are you for saying this? These are people who like to go out there and say Christ is king is an anti-Semitic slur. Let me tell you something. You need to read your Bible a little bit more than use it to thump people over the heads with it. This guy is demonstrating a grace that I don't have. And clearly these people don't have. And if anyone thinks that somehow he is less than because this is the mode that he is choosing to deal with his son's loss, these people are armchair vultures who are dissecting the way that this dad is reacting. He is reacting in a Christ-like way that he is, I'll say it, this man is more mature in his faith than I am. Major props to him. More mature in his faith than I am because I could not be like that. I would be coming for you and everyone related to you. That's not a virtue. That's not a strength. That's a weakness. Because it's you saying, no, I don't think God can handle it, so I'm going to handle it myself. So it's not a celebratory. It's not a badass thing to say. Notice all the people who want to act tough are the yippiest people out there. No, he is demonstrating grace. A faith that comes from a peace that surpasses understanding. That is what that man is. So major props to that man, because he is people instead of criticizing him should take some lessons from him. And everybody grieves differently. Everybody has a different grief process. So shame on the people that are trying to shame Jeff Metcalf. for demonstrating grace because you know the other thing that he's doing is he's being the adult in the room and he is tempering hostilities he is being an adult in the room and he is tempering the emotions which are already high there are enough people out there to agitate things he who could be the biggest platform of them all is not doing it so major kudos to him that is a very mature faith and he should be celebrated and not criticized but this is not a self-defense issue It's not. You know, if the facts come out that it was Austin Metcalf who stalked Carmelo Anthony to his car and then ambushed him, then yeah, you could tell me, oh, that's self-defense. He defended himself. Okay, you got it. But when you go out seeking trouble, and yes, if you're taking a knife to school, you are seeking trouble. End of. If you have repeatedly taken a knife to school, as Carmelo Anthony has done, you are seeking trouble. I don't give a rat's ass if you're an honor roll student. That's such a... You're saying that you can get good grades and be a good athlete and not act like this? That doesn't make any sense. That's irrelevant. Some of the people that I know who are some of the worst people had the worst characters were straight-A students. And some of them weren't. Some people were salt-of-the-earth people. That's like saying, oh, someone's rich, so they can't be bad. Shut up. That's such a bad argument. I... This is... When you're repeatedly, again, taking knives to school, you've been disciplined for it before. You take a knife to a track meet and then you issue a provocation. Try me and you'll see. And you're gesturing to your bag like you've got something inside it, a weapon. Yeah, that's you're looking for trouble. That is not self-defense. This will all play out in court. And the thing is, you know what really makes me mad about this? Is everything that I just said, what the parents were saying about Carmelo Anthony. You're a top athlete and you're an honor roll student and you choose to throw your life away like this. Oh my gosh, I could just shake the teeth out of his head. What are you thinking? What are you thinking? Why would you throw away your life like that? Where are the parents? The parents, I know they were saying that although he's, you know, it was self-defense. Where are you at, mom and dad? Why did your kid take a knife to school and do so repeatedly? Why does it sound like he was a bully? It's frustrating stuff. Parents have got to be involved. They have to be involved. It's and it just it's a 17 years old and his life is over. So you have two lives basically that ended by one person's choice. And that just makes me sick. I hate nothing. Nothing grieves me more than seeing someone so full of potential and with the world at their fingertips and they throw it away. Imagine the life that they could have led had they not done that. This just makes me sick. That grieves me. So the issue of Trump, the POTUS with China, a lot of discussion about this because now we've got these, what is it, 125 to, they haven't raised it since we've been on air, have they? Still 125% to 145%? No, I think it's still there. It's still there, yeah. Some people were saying that Trump is just too. He's too. No, he's the jerk we need. He is. No, you look, guys, this was long overdue. This was long overdue. Oh, I have zero qualms about terrifying China all the hell. I have zero qualms about it. The other nations. I mean, I do agree. I think that this is kind of this is how he structures his deal. Everyone says art of the deal, but it's actually very Sun Tzu art of war. It's tempered just a little bit for the boardroom, but it's pretty much art of war. You know, like go out like some Overton window, say something entirely extreme, cause chaos. While in the meantime, you negotiate on your real position. And then when that is presented, that looks like these people were able. Oh, we're the ones who got us to this position when that was, in fact, the position that was really only ever actually being negotiated. So that's kind of what his art of the deal is. But actually, that's Sun Tzu. uh very sun tzu and china has got they have gotten away with so much for so long and you have to have i don't care what you think of trump you have to have somebody who's a brute to deal with a brute that's just the nature of it you're not going to have a weak-kneed joe biden who's going to be dealing with xi jinping You're not going to have somebody who's weak dealing with them. You've got to have somebody. You have to have somebody who's tough. And somebody who doesn't care. Or at least that's part of their image. And I think that that's what some of this is. And so this, I think, we've already saw. We saw how the market reacted. We were on there Thursday. Oh, my gosh. But now the one thing, I'm going to pull this up, was Spain. The Spanish prime minister was meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Now, this is not a belt and road initiative thing, but they are, you know, Spain's socialists, although the socialist parties there, they're losing lots of ground. There is a conservative resurgence in Spain and conservative to Spain, not like American conservative, but people who believe in immigration law and they believe in lower tax, things like that. There are certain commonalities. But he was meeting with the Spanish prime minister, and they had a trade agreement where they were opening China to Spanish products, vice versa. And some were arguing that the U.S. threat of you're going to cut your own throats if you work with China, that Spain's ignoring this. We're going to come and talk about this here coming up after headlines. As we move, our partners that help bring you the program. It is our friends over at Caltech, the PR team. five pr57 chambered in five seven rotary barrel pistol and uh it's the lightest five seven on the market in fact it's actually forty percent lighter than the next lightest five seven and that's uh they achieved that in two with because of two things the rotary barrel design and the unique top loading design so they replace traditional magazines with stripper clips so you get a slimmer carry profile in a 20 plus one capacity It's engineered for simplicity and reliability with the quickest and easiest field strip available. It is actually something, ladies, you can reasonably carry as a 5'7", which has always been difficult for me. But now with this, I can. 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SPEAKER 05 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 15 :
So three apparently were killed after a small plane crashed near a Boca Raton airport with multiple roads closed. A Cessna 310 went down on Military Trail there in Boca Raton. Three people were killed after a crash this morning. One person on the ground was also injured but expected to survive their injuries. It went down about 10.20 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the FAA. So they still have a number of road closures left. in that area. Also, the... Pull this up. Ooh, the billion dollar ball player. Seriously? Seriously. Could arrive by 2030. I am now going to be a baseball player. I figure I can do it. If somebody else can, you know... tuck a nut and run out there and call themselves a woman, I sure as hell can be a ball player, right, Kane? Bryce Harper has signed, this was back in 2019, a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies. Now you got Mike Trout, who signed with the Angels, $426.5 million extension. Half a billion dollars. I couldn't even spend all that money if I tried. What would you even do? I would have all the dogs, all of them, maybe some goats, right? What else would I have? Oh, I'd have all the cars I wouldn't be allowed to get because my husband says they go too fast. I'd have all that, right? My own power tools, Cain. Yeah, I just do what I want. So we're actually going to see that. We're actually going to see a billion-dollar ballplayer by 2030. Man, well, with inflation, you know, it could happen. Let's see. Oh, wait a minute. So now they're saying that there's underwater pyramids, thousands of years old. Mysterious underwater pyramid believed to be 12,000 years old near Taiwan. May rewrite everything we know about the ancient world. Or, hear me out, aliens. Stick with us. Our partners that help bring you the program, it's our friends over at Super Beats. You guys are very familiar with Super Beats and you're familiar with the chews, but there's also the Super Boreen product, which they came out with late last year. Well, last year. And the Super Boreen, again, same people who make the Super Beats heart chews and the Super Beats powder, the Super Boreen helps to support healthy metabolism and blood sugar. And you can use Superberine. In fact, they have a coupon now, $5 off at Sam's Club through April 29th. So it's just $24.98. It's plant-based. It's doctor-formulated. It has a unique form of berberine, an Italian fruit extract. So you get additional antioxidant and cardiovascular support. And it has a nearly 10 times higher absorption. than standard berberine and grapeseed extract is used for greater tolerability. So visit Sam's Club and restock your heart health support with Super Beats Heart Juice and expand your routine with the Super Berrine for healthy metabolism and blood sugar support. Super Berrine is $5 off at Sam's Club through April 29th. Snack this offer at Sam's Club while it lasts. Start today and get on the road to better cardiovascular health support.
SPEAKER 19 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
It's Friday. Your girl Dana Lash here with you behind the mic. We got all the other meat and taties to get into, but I gotta tell you this. So some of our roles are exaggerated on the show, but some of them are not. Like, for instance, Kane, there's certain people I do not allow. I won't make sure Kane does not meet or talk to because they'll form like a scientific group of like a like a secret cabal. I don't like how you treat me. I was telling them about a friend I have who's very into ancient alien stuff. I like watching all of it. Do I think we're alone in this universe? No! I think also that the government's been trying to get us used to the idea that we're not alone. And it's not unbiblical, by the way, to think that. I mean, they don't talk about... God doesn't say there's no aliens out there. I'm just saying, you know. But I think it's... Do I think we're alone in this vast universe? No, I totally don't. I'm okay with it. I am okay with it. So... I don't even know what happened, but now all of a sudden, apparently when I'm not in here, when the guys come in here in the morning and get everything situated, they have giant brain trust meetings where they talk about reversed engineered alien tech. And so now, are we just in a world that's been seeded by aliens?
SPEAKER 05 :
None of what you just said was true. Not even an ounce of it. Kind of.
SPEAKER 15 :
It kind of is. I don't know. This had to do with that underwater pyramid thing that we had in the last... That aliens built?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I heard about that.
SPEAKER 15 :
It is kind of weird that you got ziggurats in South America and then pyramids. And there's been some evidence of perhaps trade. I get it. But is it aliens? I don't know. Sometimes Occam's razor, the easiest explanation is the likeliest explanation.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that's not aliens?
SPEAKER 15 :
Seems true here. Because I'm lazy and it seems easy.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because it seems like aliens is the most logical explanation.
SPEAKER 15 :
And I'm okay if it is. But I also, do I really care in a lot of these shows where they're like, this is how they got the stones so precise? I'm like, no. No, they didn't do all this. It was aliens. I'm just saying. Now, I don't know if I necessarily believe it, but I'm entirely open. Do you know why? Do you know why I'm entirely open to this?
SPEAKER 07 :
Why?
SPEAKER 15 :
Because nothing in my life this weekend is going to change if it's not true or if it is. There you go. Oh.
SPEAKER 05 :
You speaking too soon?
SPEAKER 15 :
It's like a quasi Pascal's wager, which, by the way, is an illogical assumption by itself because it says go with whatever religion promises the most. But I digress.
SPEAKER 05 :
Do you think that if there is proof and disclosure that aliens are that it wouldn't at all affect your life? Are you saying it wouldn't?
SPEAKER 15 :
No, I'm just like right now with how the pyramids are made. No, I don't. What's going to change if they come on and say, oh, aliens are here? I mean, aside from me going, yeah, I knew some of you bees were aliens. I knew it.
SPEAKER 05 :
right we would have like that david hogg kid is a martian yeah he's not from steve saw him at trader joe's anyway from around here no yeah so i mean really though i mean is that how you would feel about it i don't think i would if they come out and say oh we got aliens i i think i'd be you wouldn't be surprised and you wouldn't be no and it wouldn't change your life in any way no to find out that the because i've already assumed it The checkout cashier at Tom Thumb was an alien.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I already assume it. I mean, I'm weird with people anyway. Anybody who's been in a small group event with me knows this. I don't know. They're like, you're so normal when you're with a ton of people, but when you get isolated, you're weird. I'm like, I know. I'm telling you guys.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know what I'd do? I'd buy the alien crypto coin.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, geez.
SPEAKER 05 :
See, that's the problem.
SPEAKER 15 :
All the stupid products that we're going to have. So, yeah, maybe it would impact my life in a negative way because we're going to have like alien-o cereal and all kinds of stuff. I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's out of this world.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. So, you know, I just, I don't know. Like I said, I don't think it would be, no. Quick headline. So, Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney is traveling to D.C. to meet with POTUS for high-stakes talks on tariffs. And at the heart of the discussion is the trade surplus that we have with that they enjoy with Italy. So American exports to Italy totaled 32.4 billion. Imports surged to 76.4. The Italian direct investment that reached about 3.8 billion. Total investment stocked about 70.7 billion. Our investments in Italy contrasted at 1.3. Just make it to where we can get the Italian wines, please. Please, please. That's all I care about. So I think this Maloney and Trump are natural allies anyway. If you're familiar with Georgia Maloney and her party, Fratelli di Italia, they're very, you know, they're she's very conservative, conservative for Europe standards and like just conservative for by American standards. She's very like faith, family, all of that national sovereignty, things of that that nature. She's been conservative. She's had a hell of a time. Her and her coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, who's the deputy prime minister, he's with Lega. They've they've been battling to save their nation from the deluge of immigration, illegal immigration, and just boatloads of people shown up in Messina or wherever else and expecting to disembark without any kind of oversight. They were allowed. That gets me. They were allowing. So previous governments in Italy until Maloney took over. And they've been fighting with the courts. They're making progress, but it is a brawl. And some people have been criticizing her. And a lot of this is German agitation because they're not entirely friends. A lot of it's German agitation. They've been trying to portray her as just dragging her feet and not getting it done when they've been brawling every day, every single day, fighting the courts, fighting the press, fighting the socialists in their nation, the whole nine yards. They've made a lot of gains. But just to show you how unbelievably ridiculous it is. the the double standard if you are illegal or if you're illegal i could have come over from like algiers on a boat and um entered in italy and just went my own way and the socialists over there they're fine with it i mean obviously their conservative government isn't and now things have changed but up until that point that was okay but if you were coming in from like the united states if you're coming in from canada anything outside the schengen agreement and you're coming in, you have to have your passport on you at all times. You can't even get a hotel room unless you show them your passport. If you're moving there, you can't even buy a car your first year or three years that you're there. You see the difference? Make it make sense. Make it make sense. It's so asinine. So they're having these discussions about trade, and I am totally fine with that. I knew Italy was going to come to the table because they're natural allies. They've been working together. Both administrations are incredibly friendly with each other. And one of the reasons that Maloney is such a – and why this is such a high-vis visit is she is the most conservative leader in Europe. The most. And it's to the it's she's the most conservative leader in the EU, her presence and then the conservative faction in the parliament in the EU. They have been just blowing out. They've they've been attracting members and support not only in their own respective nations, but also grabbing seats in the EU. They are dragging the EU back to at least a centrist point. So that's huge. That's significant. That's that's that's pretty major. So we're going to watch and see how that plays out. But she's going to be you're going to have some of those Oval Office optics for that. A couple of other things to touch on and get into this. Where's that? I wanted to pull up a couple of things. I had some culture issues and wanted to pull up. We talked about the Carmelo Anthony. The crowdfunding for him is pretty wide. People are mad at John Stamos. You guys remember Uncle Jesse from Full House? I grew up watching Uncle Jesse on Full House. He had like the most mullety of mullets I've ever seen in my life. It was the hairband mullet. But he attended a benefit. So Mar-a-Lago, yes, it's like the... you know, Trump's house, but it's also a club and people can stay there and they can play golf there and you can also hold events there. There are tons of different groups that hold events from all over the The spectrum, you have centrist, you have rights. I mean, although now I'm pretty sure it's like center and right. You know, probably no lefties go there anymore, but they have all kinds of events there. So they had the Palm Beach Ray of Hope Gala and they support nurses, etc. It's like a medical, you know, they support first responders, all that kind of stuff. And John Stamos attended a benefit there. Right. It wasn't a benefit for the president. It wasn't a benefit that Republicans organized. It wasn't a benefit that the administration organized. It was it's a charity event that a charity decided. Let's have it at Mar-a-Lago. They put it together and it's a nonprofit. And John Stamos attended because he's just supports. He emceed the evening. And he was absolutely obliterated by the left for it to the point where he had to he felt like he had to see something on Instagram about it. He said, I accepted the invitation to emcee the Palm Beach Ray of Hope Gala, an evening dedicated to honoring and uplifting our frontline heroes. And he says it's a nonpartisan event. They support the Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations. It's a 501c3. They train like, you know, up to like 400 nurses every year. They look at the critical shortage of health care professionals in Palm Beach County. And he goes, I stand by the importance of this. They were trashing him for going. He was saying that it's not political. And he ended, you know, my values and political views remained unchanged, etc. But the fact that it was just at Mar-a-Lago. Like someone goes, quote, John Stamos just ruined his brand forever. I'm sure. Yeah. Some stupid rando with no life that's going to get mad over. Just shut up. You're not going to cancel Uncle Jesse. Pound all the sand on God's green earth. If you think that you're going to cancel Uncle Jesse. No, not happening. He just because he was at Mar-a-Lago because a 501 C3 decided to use that. I mean, yes, there are a lot of places in Palm Beach. There's not a lot of places in Palm Beach that are right there on the beach that have beautiful grounds, enough to satisfy all the parking, etc. That's just insane. So yeah, they're like, oh, is that Mar-a-Lago? And when the media first started writing about it, they made it like... They downplayed the charitable organization that organized the event and they made it sound like he was there at Trump's request or Trump's invitation. And the way that they put the way that I saw it reported on, it was like they intimated that he was there for like some Trump event. And then someone said, well, can we get mad at the people who booked the fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for supporting Trump instead of John Stamos? Why is using Mar-a-Lago as a venue supporting Trump? Can these people be any less zombie-like? Is it possible? Just ask tonight, but you're not canceling Uncle Jesse because it's Uncle Jesse. A bunch of nobody rando losers who think they're going to go out and cancel Uncle Jesse. Clearly, you can tell I grew up with Full House, so not going to happen. People are just idiotic. We have Florida Man on the way. Well, I got a couple of good ones for you. Yeah, I got some really good. Oh, gosh, I got really good, including probably one of the most original names I've ever heard of in my life. We'll have to discuss that. Burn a gun, B-Y-R-N-A, is the non-firearm firearm. And it's a great way to help diversify your defense array, your weapons array. And it shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can deter threats from up to 50 feet away. And there's no waiting period. There's no gun freeze. It doesn't care about gun freeze zone signs. It doesn't care about any of that stuff. And it's an effective deterrent because, like I said, you're able to still protect yourself. You know, I get it that I always carry and I always have no problem using lethal force. And I don't live in an area that tells me I can't carry or has a bunch of buildings that tell me I can't go in and can't carry. But I do have friends who live in places like this. And this has been a godsend for them because they can still protect themselves. Of course, you know, it's still a high crime area. It really is where they have the strongest gun laws, and this is where Berna Law comes into play. So they're able to defend themselves without violating any of those municipal restrictions. And like I said, no waiting period, no background check. They ship it right to your front door. The Berna SD, that's the best-selling model. They have others, but that's the one everybody I know has been getting. And you can choose your color, your projectiles, accessories, everything. When you go through Byrna.com slash Dana, you can get 10% off your purchase. Byrna.com slash Dana for 10% off.
SPEAKER 06 :
Pastor Alan Jackson encourages Christians to get tough and fight.
SPEAKER 20 :
The military had been turned into a social experiment. Apparently, they've been looting the coffers in Washington for a long time of hundreds of billions of dollars, terminating the lives of our children. I mean, we all know the litany of things that are happening. It feels like it's going to take a determination from the people of faith if we're going to see this walked back to the place it needs to be for the sake of our children.
SPEAKER 06 :
Subscribe to Culture and Christianity, an Alan Jackson podcast on your favorite podcast app. It's his life mission to make bad decisions.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh man, I am made of jokes about this one. So there was a man in Florida who was arrested after he attacked a subway employee. And not like a Subway employee, like the Subway sandwich shop employee. 45-year-old Edward Cocaine. That's his name. The name's Cocaine. Edward Cocaine.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mr. and Mrs. Cocaine, son?
SPEAKER 15 :
Mr. and Mrs. Cocaine. Merry Christmas from the Cocaines. Right? Happy Thanksgiving from the Cocaines.
SPEAKER 07 :
White Christmas.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's a white Christmas. 45 of Merritt Island. He was arrested on April 9th in connection with an incident at a subway. He faces two charges. I have no idea why I went into Matt Berry territory. Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Also armed burglary of a structure, a first degree felony and some battery. So they said that Mr. Cocaine became a sidebar. I can't. Can I just if I was him, I actually would go into the drug business. I would sell cocaine to people. And I would have a big satin jacket that said Mr. Cocaine like Tiger King on the back. I'm just saying, you need to at that point. You've been doomed. An incident report stated that cocaine became aggressive. and brandished a knife at two subway employees while his sandwich was being prepared. Now, how are you doing that to people making your sandwich? Like, I'm watching how much meat they're putting on. You know, like, I'm watching the shredded lettuce, the meat. You know, I don't want nobody skimping out on them pickles. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not fumbling around getting a knife out, you know? Anyway, he reportedly forced his way through a side door going after another employee. He did later express remorse. The deputy who... This almost sounds all made up. The deputy who innervated him is named Deputy Dial.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a TV episode.
SPEAKER 15 :
Deputy Dial identified cocaine as a suspect and cocaine later provided a full confession during an interview. Cocaine was booked into Brevard County Jail. So he pulled a knife. It's Fox 35 Orlando. Yeah, he pulled a knife on him. So he... I don't know why he does. And it was all caught on CCTV. He does have one of the chin beard things, got to say. So I don't know. He's making a he made his appearance before the judge yesterday. So that's what happened. And and yeah, well, I the cocaine's the cocaine family. All right. Next. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. A Florida man hit a dead body inside a hotel room closet and the next guest didn't notice. Oh, remind me about the subway, the corpse on the subway in New York. Florida deputies say that. OK, if this is my worst nightmare coming true, a dirty hotel room. Oh, my gosh. I a Florida Florida deputy say the housekeeping staff didn't notify law enforcement after they found bags filled with bloodied linens. And the guest, the guest who occupied the room when the dead body was still in it, they didn't know. They slept in the room and didn't know that there was a dead body in the closet. I don't, I don't know how quickly things get nasty, but I, how would you not know? Right? I know if there's a spider somewhere in the room, my, my senses tingle. I walk in and it's a Like I immediately know what, like there is a bug that's going to kill me. I would immediately know if there's a dead body in there. Also, I look in everything. I open every door. I do not get my, I just, I'm a wacko. But they said that the 33-year-old, apparently the dude that ended up, he was like a 33-year-old dude and apparently he had an escort and she was the last person to see him. And I don't know.
SPEAKER 05 :
It also means the cleaning crew didn't see it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I mean, how good is your cleaning crew if they don't notice the big corpse in the closet? What is up with people not noticing corpses? Because I have a story for Headlines Next Hour that talks about there was a corpse on a subway train for hours. And nobody noticed it except the weirdo who tried to get it on with it. Oh, yeah, I'm not. That's a real headline. Next hour. Stay with us. I've seen the amazing changes Relief Factor has made for so many people. And I've seen it firsthand through my husband, Chris's pain relief from using Relief Factor. Right now, it's easy to give their product a try because Relief Factor makes it pain free with their three week quick start for just $19.95. Get rid of pain and start living better. Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement that helps your body fight pain naturally. Developed by doctors, it works by supporting your body's response to inflammation. It doesn't just mask pain for a short time, it helps reduce or even eliminate it. It's safe to take daily and in fact, the longer you take Relief Factor, the more effective. Whether it's neck, back, joint, or muscle pain, Relief Factor can help. Over 1 million people have turned to Relief Factor. Give Relief Factor a try. With their pain-free trial, you can get a three-week quick start for only $19.95, less than a dollar a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF. Get rid of pain and start living better. Give Relief Factor a try. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
You also gave us a directive to prosecute the people who are going after Tesla to the fullest extent of the law, some of the greatest police work I've seen. We've made four arrests. There will be no negotiations at your directive. They're all looking at 20 years in prison, and within the next 24 hours, you're going to be seeing another huge arrest on a Tesla dealership, President. And that person will be looking at at least 20 years in prison with no negotiations.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's great. That will stop it. Cold. Thanks. Doing a great job, too. Thank you.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's kind of weird. They're all sitting there going, yeah, we're all doing real well. And then just looking at each other. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lashley with you. We're at the top of this third hour on the show. And you can also watch along Channel 347, DirecTV, Substack, Chapter Versus the Newsletter. And then don't forget the chat that's at Rumble as well. There was a good cabinet meeting. I love they sit around the table and they're like, yeah, so we're doing this. We're breaking kneecaps and punching necks and. Trump's like, yeah, that's great. That's great. Anybody else got some necks to punch? Yeah, we punched a bunch of necks too and cracked some kneecaps. Excellent work. Good job. What about you? Yep. Three necks punched, four sets of kneecaps. Excellent. High fives. That's the meeting. That's the meeting. That's how it's good. Speaking of the Tesla stuff, so in our town square this weekend, they're having another one of their little, they're going to bus in the bad boomers. It almost sounds like You know what that sounds like? It sounds like a 1950s biker game. The bad commie boomers, right? The BCBs. We're going to call them that. Bad commie boomers. Because the nice boomers get upset. They're so used to getting okay boomered that they just... We're not talking about you people. We're not talking, again, about the boomers that were the peaceful hippies that just wanted to walk around barefoot in the woods. It's gross, but whatever. You do you. They weren't trying to bother nobody. They were... making, weaving stuff out of hemp. I don't know. Like, what do they do, Cain? They don't do nothing. They were just the, you know, the little Snow White boomers, the ones who go and talk with nature and, you know, all that. And then you got these commie boomers that are like the Weatherman group and, you know, all of those folks. So... They're going to bust in the BCBs, the bad commie boomers. They're going to bust them in. Weather Underground, that's right. What did I say? The weather people? Same thing. Isn't that an 80s band? No, that was the ladies who sang It's Rainin' Men. Why did I think they were meteorologists? I have no idea. Anyway, it's Friday. Anyway, so they're going to be at the town square again on the nicest Saturday. It's like the second nice Saturday that we've had in months. So everybody's going to be out, right? And they're going to be out there clogging up the sidewalk, you know, out there yelling in their bad commie boomer voices and their mobility scooters and all this and be out there protesting. I think I'm just going to go and stand on the other side of the street with a sign and just be real chill. You know, we need some chill brought to it. You know what I'm saying? It's going to be a beautiful Saturday. You're in Texas. Come on. What's there to be mad about? I feel bad for the Tesla people that have to work in there. And, you know, they got these because it's not like so the way our Tesla store is set up, it's the town when it when the town square was being developed. It looks like the 1950s back to the future. Main Street. It does. I mean, it looks like that. That that was the whole aesthetic that they were going for. You know, it can't be more than two stories. And you it's like this. All the storefronts are, you know, all street front. You know, you have the cool part, all of it. And it's worked out really, really, really, really well. And you have like high end stores like Apple and then wedged in between the bigger stores and the higher end stores are small mom and pop shops, which is a brilliant way to just like keep the revenue, keep that pedestrian traffic going into these stores and add into their revenue. It's all great. And the problem is when you get these annoying commies that get out there and they want to protest something like the Tesla. So the Tesla is in. It's not a dealership. It's they have the cars. They have some cars in the back in like an alley. But it's not like a dealership. So when they're they're standing in front of that, they're not just standing in front of the Tesla. They're standing in front of the Apple store. Right. They're standing in front of an anthropology. They're standing in front of like a mom and pop shop, like a Texas local owned and and and. origin a local shop and they're clogging the sidewalk and yelling at everybody uh one of my friends who was out there with her kids said that they literally they had a crossover busy street they all these other people were crossing over to the other side of the sidewalk because she said that uh One person that drove by said, we love Tesla. And one of the elderly bad commie boomers screamed blank you at them in the middle of all the kids are out. They don't care about other people. This is just them. They just want to be jack wagons. It's all they want to be. So I think I might just like stand with a sign that just says Tesla is cool and just stand on the other side of the street. I haven't been to a protest in a very long time. The last time I was at a protest, I leapt off a stage and got in the face of someone. Much to my husband's horror. But I made that person become my best friend because you can't hate me after you meet me. Only when you don't meet me in person. People are like, we don't like her. But then I force you to like me when we meet in person. This is my charming personality. But I may do that, Cain. Just like Tesla's cool. You want to come stand with the sign? I mean, it's so dumb. It's not persuading anybody.
SPEAKER 05 :
Is somebody going to take video?
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, I'm sure somebody would. I'm not going to go with a camera crew. I just want to stand up and be like, Tesla's cool. Just see what happens. See what happens. That's all.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think we know what will probably happen.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, no, no. Because if they recognize me, then they definitely won't step up. But I mean, I'm not there to be confrontational. I just think... When you're they make it look uncool anyway. Can I just explain to you the psychology of why they get why the left gets protests so wrong? Because they look like dorks. Nobody else wants to look like a dork. Imagine you're, I'm being really, really forthright. So bear with me. I'm not Dora the Explorer. Do not have me babysitting your kids with screen time, okay? We have established this. But imagine like you're a Gen Z or a younger than Gen Z. What's coming up after them? Alpha, God help us. And you're walking down the sidewalk. You're going to the Apple store. There's tons of people. The Tesla's right across the street from the Apple store. And the Apple store is like bougie and glass and it's all new and sparkly and shiny. And you're a young person going and you see these people protesting outside of Tesla. They're old commie boomers. There's like one broad in a mobility scooter. They're all bent over like cocktail shrimp, like on a glass, holding their signs, you know. And it's like Musk is a fascist and all this other stuff, giving everybody the finger. That looks cringe. It's the height of cringe. You're actually in those people's minds. This is how younger people look at it. They see that and they're like, I don't want to be that. I don't want to be whatever those people are. And you are immediately convincing them to actually like Tesla because you make Tesla look cool. So I think just, you know, standing on a sign like, I like Tesla or something like completely benign. It's funny. It's funny, you know, like totally not at all confrontational. The new cool thing, and it's weird for somebody like me, is to be non-confrontational. That's the cool thing. You know what I'm saying? Don't be confrontational. We were in... Wisconsin at some rally. And this was the Scott Walker recall. And someone had yelled at me. And I was talking about public sector unions and private sector unions. Somebody screamed at me. It was a big old dude in overalls. And I don't know what people thought. If they think that because I'm a conservative or that I don't sell meth or something, that I didn't come from a rural background. I mean, people are shocked when they learn about my origins. I came from the dirt. And this fella had been hollering at me and there was a lot of people there. He's a big old booming voice and I just about damn near had it. So I'm like, okay, put the mic down. And I just yeeted myself off the stage and went out to go talk to this dude. And my husband was talking to somebody backstage and they're like, well, there went your wife. And he's like, what now, woman? And then it was, I was already gone at that point. And I went up to him and I think he was shocked. He ended up actually being a nice friend At first, he was real aggressive. And I'm like, how are you going to be doing me like that? And he's like, what? And he's like, you city folk. And I'm like, city folk? I'm like, oh my gosh, bless your heart. You think that you're more rural than everyone else? Do you want to have a rule off? Because I promise you, I'm going to win. Did you ever mix moonshine in the bathtub with your hands? Oh, you didn't? Oh, shut up. Sorry. When you were 12, I might add, shut up. Just saying, you know, I'm like, have you ever, have you ever been told to help your grandpa and hold something's little paws while he ripped the skin off of it? You know, I'm like, let's have this conversation. I lived like one of the Duke boys. I had a family member that brought his motorcycle indoors when it got cold. Like brought it in the trailer and took it apart behind the sofa so you couldn't see it when you came in. It was all behind the sofa. Just saying. So, and that's not, it was a smart thing that man's making, you know, the most economic use of time and, you know, energy. I get it. So I'm just, you know, let's not let's not do that. And anyway, we ended up talking and he ended up realizing that we're actually on the same page. And it shocked him. And everyone else there was like, all right, like his fellers, his other. And we ended up being friends like we ended up being real friends. And he was like, well, I might come down here for breakfast in the morning. There's a restaurant down here. And and, you know, if you want to want to. I think we actually did go to that. And they were there. There were a lot of people there. But, yeah, we ended up being friends. That's the thing. You know, with the left, they. They love these like psychological divides and convincing people that ultimately would be on the same side that they're not with like stupid little distractions. But long story short, you know, just stand out there with a sign. You know, I like Tesla. That seems real nice. Right. That's not confrontational. And I feel bad for, like I said, the Tesla workers inside because they got to look at these these crazy people. And it's only for one hour. That's the other thing. They're literally only there from 11 to noon. One hour. And then at noon, they promptly go home. See, their passion for hating Elon Musk is limited to one hour.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's all the budget allows.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's all the budget allows. I mean, we literally went on. I was in Ohio and we were at a protest. And we ended up hiking to like a bridge somewhere that these Occupy Wall Streeters got in trouble for trying to blow up. I don't even remember. I don't like hiking. It's just glorified walking. It's aggressive walking. Just be like, we're going to go walk in the woods. Like, that's fine. I love being in nature. Love it. Not at night. And not like going to the bathroom in nature. Because we invented the toilet and running water and the house and electricity. And we don't pretend to be homeless. We're not trans homeless. So... Yeah, and that was the most aggressive protest that I've ever been on. But that, long story short, I feel like an hour. You want to go for an hour tomorrow, Kane?
SPEAKER 05 :
Sure, why not?
SPEAKER 15 :
Just like, we like Teslas.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'd like to find out what their hourly pay is.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now, how much you guys getting paid? We're going to see if your payment is better than our nonpayment.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
I because, you know, they're busting. And so this weekend, I think they're having more of the Tesla things and they just look ridiculous. And I and and I get it. They're trying to poison Musk and then then use that as a way to indict the Trump administration, the court of public opinion. So, I don't know. One hour, though. One hour, I'm telling you. All right, we have a lot more on the way. We've got headlines coming. Oh, I've got... I have one headline that's really bad, and I've saved it for the third hour. So warning on that one. Gold prices have surged over 40% since January 2024, consistently reaching new highs. According to Goldman Sachs research, the upward trend is expected to persist due to strong demand from central banks. It's stuff like this that's made me take action and why I've bought precious metals like gold and silver. I've partnered with a great company that makes it super easy to buy. Easy, transparent, and simple. And that company is Goldco. They're a huge supporter of this show, and they're the best at what they do. And right now, you can get a free 2025 gold and silver kit jam-packed with critical information about buying precious metals. It was a huge help, not just for me, but to all of you if you do this. And for my audience, you could also qualify for up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver. It's a really great deal. So don't miss out. Visit Dana likes gold dot com to learn more. That's Dana likes gold dot com.
SPEAKER 05 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's quick five.
SPEAKER 15 :
OK, I promised you a horrible, horrible headline. And here it is. It's bad. So apparently they don't they don't know about corpses on the subway. There was a dead dude. He was just chilling, like literally, on the subway for hours. And nobody noticed until on a video, a necrophiliac who is now being, oh yes, now being sought by NYPD for allegedly, um... having sexual relations with the corpse on the R train around 1145 Tuesday night. He left at the Whitehall Street subway station. And the man that he violated has been deceased. They think it was of natural causes. They got an image of a guy who apparently was doing the thing. And they're looking for... It should be easy to find. This guy should be easy to find. But that's one of the craziest... Stories I think I've ever heard about. The other story is Gen Z coffee lovers have discovered a new way to combat the insane coffee prices with a new home trend. It's called making your coffee at home like life hack. You can make your coffee at home. They were upset over the high cost of coffee. And so they discovered that you can actually make it at home. You can do that? You can. And now they're saving money. It's called the home cafe trend. They make little coffee carts, and so they're acting like... A trend hack? Yeah, it's a life hack. Also, a study was conducted by MIT, scientists from MIT. They compared two groups of people, and they discovered that money is more effective than psychotherapy. They gave one course for they gave one group 500. The other was given a course of therapy. And after a year, depression disappeared in the people who got money. And there was no noticeable changes in the participants who underwent psychotherapy. At the same time, the therapy was more expensive than the cash payments. The money can buy you money can totally buy you happiness. I mean, but it's also the root of all evil. So, you know, actually greed is. But whatever. Selfishness and all that. We have a lot more on the way because I didn't even get into some of these other headlines. Stick with us.
SPEAKER 19 :
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 13 :
Paul, we're back with Senator Bernie Sanders. I want to introduce Grace Thomas. She's a local civil rights attorney. She's a Democrat, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Say them pronouns, actually. Thank you. Oh.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 11 :
Good evening, Senator Sanders.
SPEAKER 15 :
So this is a CNN town hall. Bernie Sanders is participating in. Anderson Cooper, he... He was just like, oh, well, she stands up and she looks like a chick, right? I mean, it's actually when you're standing on a set like that, it is really hard to see the audience, even when they ask people to stand up and all that. So you listen to their voice. You just kind of see a silhouette. If it looks like they have long hair, if it looks like she's a chick, for sure. And the idea that, well, they, them pronouns. I would have... He can't because he's with CNN, but I would have said, shut up and sit down. You just made yourself irrelevant. It's they, them pronouns. B, you look like a broad, okay? We're calling you her, calling you she. This is, you know, it's just so goofy. But also, to be that delusional to do that in your own national television, it's they, them pronouns. Okay, well, that's grammatically wrong and scientifically wrong. Did you have a point? Because it makes me think that whatever comes out of your mouth next is going to be as stupid, if not more stupid than what you just said. Not doing that. Not doing that. I've never had anybody correct my pronouns or correct whatever pronouns I use. Thankfully, that hasn't happened. But I just thought that was funny. That was an interesting case of like the old progressive versus new progressive that you just saw. Like Anderson Cooper, older, not like an age, but like old school progressive versus the new. Like, wait, what? Yeah, it's they, them. How dare you not know that I'm like cosplaying in my mind as a man? How dare you not see the thing that I see in my head? Audio somebody 20, John Oliver. talking about this issue and dudes. John Oliver called women defending girls spaces. Well, listen to what he said about them.
SPEAKER 16 :
Last year, for instance, Peyton McNabb tweeted a video of her confronting a trans woman with the caption, a man using the girls' bathroom at Western Carolina University. Unreal. Which is really nasty. And for the record, ambushing strangers, just minding their own business, is not what girls' bathrooms are for. Girls' bathrooms are for gassing each other up, making best friends in 30 seconds, complimenting tops, tucking in tags, and zipping up dresses while one girl says, OMG, that lipstick looks so good on you. The other says, 30% off at Sephora right now. And the first girl says, like, now, now? And she responds, yeah, I went yesterday.
SPEAKER 15 :
She says, oh, you're my hero. I'll make him quieter in my ear. I can only handle so much of him. No, John, you're absolutely incorrect. And don't you mansplain to women about what women's bathrooms are for. This is stupid. You have a guy sitting here trying to correct a woman about where she goes to the bathroom. I want to knock his glasses off his head. It's sexist. It's chauvinist. It's wrong. You don't get to lecture us about what goes on in our bathroom, right? Just stay in the slum hole from which you crawled out of. Nobody cares about your opinion here. And you're British. I really don't give a rat's ass about what a British guy has to say about American politics, much less about American women and our politics that affect us and not you. Really don't care. So... It's to try to shame women, to shame women because of it. They are the ones being ambushed in women's spaces. It's not them. You're going to where they go. How are you saying that you're being, you're the one getting ambushed? That doesn't make any sense at all. But I, um, I feel like the pendulum is swinging the other way a little bit. No pun intended. It does seem that way. It does seem that way. I want to play this soundbite, too. I think the whole lefty MAGA thing is stupid. I don't know who this person is, but I think it's a niche that they are trying to figure out as a way to pierce through the talking head bumble. This was some chick on CNN trying to be lefty MAGA and gets a big thing wrong. Listen.
SPEAKER 14 :
And the reason that I think that is this. I've been thinking a lot about the 10 million Americans who lost their homes in the 2008 financial crisis and how President Obama's first act in office was to give $700 billion to the banks that caused it, including $30 billion in bonuses to the crooks who organized it. And I'm thinking about how those very Americans saw a president pick Wall Street over Main Street. And what they saw this whole week was a president willing to go out there and fight for the forgotten men and women of this heartland.
SPEAKER 15 :
I know that's like a great soundbite and all. I mean, and she workshopped it in her head, but apparently you didn't think hard enough because that happened in 2008 when George Bush was president and not Barack Obama. Barack Obama had not yet assumed office. So that cutie little thing falls all apart. I think lefty MAGA is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Because they're going to stab you in the back at some point. And they only agree that it's the positioning on which they're trying to stage an agreement doesn't hold, especially in the manner that I just highlighted. Right. And this. Yeah. All of that started under that 2008. That was Bush that did this. Holy crap. I remember being in the street protesting it. I was protesting the whole too big to fail and all of that. That was Bush that did it. Think harder. So a couple of other things to touch on as we roll towards. There's been a lot that's happened this week. A lot that happened. Where's the other? Forgive me. I'm like growing through because there's trying to. There's so much. Oh, oh, real quick. Two things. First, the crossfire hurricane docks that were released by the FBI. The Federalist got the Russiagate binder. And I got to say, major kudos to the Federalist because they didn't post any glamour shots all over Instagram or Facebook or X and then wait two days while they posted photos of themselves on social media. Wait two days before releasing any information. The Federalists just got it and blew the doors off of everything. They put everything online. You could go through. And there were actually there was actually stuff in there. It wasn't a bunch of redacted stuff. The for the Epstein thing was not there was nothing in that that was new. This. I mean, yes, we know what is going to be in the Crossfire Hurricane documents, number one. But number two, it's nice to see that acknowledged in black and white like that to shut up all the naysayers who said that we were all conspiracy theorists for claiming that all of this was happening. 700 pages. of declassified Crossfire Hurricane documents. This is the way to do a binder. This is the way to drop a binder. They had it, and within a minute of posting the first tweet, because the tweet that you posted on X, when you post something on X, if you have a link that goes outside of X, that post gets suppressed. So that's why you always see links in the second post or in the thread. So they posted it and then a beat later, they had the second post and they had all the links. It's all the PDFs that were online of these documents, 700 some odd pages of it. And it's, people are still, I mean, there's a lot to go through, but it revealed exactly the level of corruption that everybody was, that they were up against. Everything that we have ever said about corruption The manner in which like the DNC and the federal government and et cetera, et cetera, were working together to go after people like Michael Flynn and everybody else. I mean, and it's all up on Scribd. And it's I mean, it shows like payments to Russia collusion agents. I mean, that's just like some of the stuff that they were showcasing. I know just the news had another report where they showed that one FBI informant that was helping to push this Russian collusion debacle. He was paid one point two million dollars and was, quote, motivated in part by monetary compensation. And even after he was told that the stuff that he was discussing and the things that he were saying about Mike Flynn and others were lies, he continued to push it, not just I mean, to the press and other government agencies. So it I mean, it is a and the Stefan Halper article. Former FBI informant, Pentagon consultant, he along with Chris Steele, they were the ones that were used by the DNC and Fusion GPS to build Crossfire Hurricane and to orchestrate the merchandising of the story through the press after they laundered the oppo through reporters. And they confirmed that Halper was the source of the craziest claims that were made. It came also to that the whole P-tape thing that was totally Clinton that was proven by these by the documents that it was a complete Clinton fabrication. You remember Hillary Clinton is behind two of the most ridiculous like she Hillary Clinton is the one. who came up with the Obama birth certificate thing. Philip Berg, who was Hillary Clinton's attorney back when she was challenging him in 2008 for the future of the Democrat Party. Philip Berg was the one who introduced that. And it was like a full year before it was ever picked up on the right, including POTUS. And then second is it's the DNC that was spreading the whole P tape thing. Remember with that, the whole that that was the the claim that well, I don't want to get into the details. You can imagine that like with POTUS and a Russian hotel room, all this stuff. They made it up. So you had the DNC and Clinton working together hand in hand, making both of these things up. There's a lot of stuff in here. And it like, for instance, there was a 2017 memo. This was a March 20, March 2017 memo that showed that Halper was his account was, quote, not plausible and not accurate. And even after and they were saying repeatedly there, the memo said that it assesses Halper is like he's unsuitable, but he has a reliability. I guess wasn't coming up with lies. They still paid him. They came out with all they determined that he is not a trustworthy informant. And yet they were still paying him. So that's just some of the stuff. And we kind of, like I said, we knew. It kind of confirmed what we knew anyway, but still. All right, KTLA, before we go, I've got to share this story. How? It's funny. I can't leave with heavy stuff. So KTLA, about noon today, tweeted the N-word. Plural. Plural. Out of nowhere, they tweeted it. KTLA did. And everyone's like, what? I can't even show you the tweet. They're like, what is happening? You know, one word, lowercase, no punctuation, plural. That's the N word. They tweeted it. And then like 30 minutes later, they deleted it. It took them that long. And then two hours after that, they go, quote, KTLA experienced a technical error while adding language filters to our social media accounts, resulting in an offensive word being accidentally shared. We are appalled and apologize that this occurred. Why would you have to have a language filter to stop people at KTLA from posting racist words? Right? Why would you have to have that? Why do you need that? Why? Were they testing it? I don't know. I mean, I've heard of technical errors. Like we had a technical error when the show first started out because we had something like that was happening with my little mixer board. That's a technical error. Tweeting a racial slur, that's not a technical error.
SPEAKER 05 :
So they're saying their N-word generator got malfunctioned? Yeah, yeah, it did.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's what happened, yeah. And then there's more. So the people that were reposting it, they started blocking all of the people that were posting either the screenshot or saying that's some technical error. They were blocking all of them. So all over social media now, people are like, look, I just got blocked by KTLA. And they show the screenshot of KTLA. It blocked you. That is not helping. That is so bad. Oh, my gosh. Why do you? That's not how the filters work either. The filters. I don't know. I think that somebody was like clowning around and did something. I don't know. How does I just don't know. They had to type out those words, those letters, make the word, and then they hit send. That's there's no other way to mess that up. So, yeah, technical issue. I mean, that seems a little harsh. I'm just saying.
SPEAKER 05 :
Our N-word generator malfunctioned.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, it did. It just broke. Yeah, they reminded me of that South Park scene when Stan, or not Stan. Oh, gosh, who is it? The dad. Oh, I can't think of his name.
SPEAKER 05 :
Tegrity?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, Tegrity Weed Dad.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I know who you're talking about.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, maybe anyway, he was on Jeopardy or not Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune. And it said people who annoy you. And it looked like it could have been a racial slur. It had all the other letters up. The second letter, though, was left blank. And you could go either way with that. And he said the wrong thing. And then the lady who was supposed to be Vanna White very sadly walks over, flips it, and it's an A, right? and then walks back, because the question was people who annoy you. And that's what it was. It feels like that. KTLA, it feels like this. It's so bad. That's so bad.
SPEAKER 19 :
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 :
Welcome back to the program. And don't forget, over at Substack, chapter and verse, all good things there, YouTube, Facebook, like and subscribe as well. And then everything's going to be normal next week. All of our programming will be normal next week. So that'll be good. I have to share this one quick story with you. Do I have time or should I save it? I wanted to end on a feel-good story because we had some weird stuff this week or today particularly. I have a story. I'll dive into it deeper next week. But it's a woman who is mad at – She's mad at the government because she went and got her passport picture or her driver's license picture. After she got her driver's license picture, she had cosmetic surgery. And now she can't get through any security thing at all whatsoever because she doesn't look like her driver's license photo at all. And she's raising H-E double hockey sticks about it. And I'm like, well, why didn't you get your photo retaken? Right. Why didn't you do that? Like the SAVE Act with Democrats trying to scare women. Ladies, you're not going to be able to vote. That's so stupid. We'll talk more about that next week. All right, today in Stupidity Game.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, it's cut nine, Juan. This is Rep. Jasmine Crockett. She's connecting dots, everybody. Listen to this. That's all she can do.
SPEAKER 17 :
realm so i am telling you that this is a failed thing but we've got to do better to connect the dots yeah and let people know the reason you can't afford a home is because of these failed immigration policies the reason you're not going to be able to afford your food is because of these failed immigration policies and the same can go for the hospitality industry first of all trump's policies aren't failing in regards to immigration but yeah this doesn't make any sense
SPEAKER 05 :
What the hell is she talking about?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, that makes zero sense at all whatsoever. Ooh, Jasmine. Folks, make sure, again, Substack, chapter and verse. It was so good to see everybody out in Richmond, Virginia. So thanks to everybody who came out, WRVA for hosting. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody. I'll be back with you on Monday.
Reggie Rocco brings a thought-provoking discussion that challenges the status quo, shedding light on the interconnected worlds of Hollywood and politics. With testimonials and hard-earned insights, this episode uncovers the hidden agendas and corporate machinations shaping both worlds. Listen in as Reggie navigates through the personal and professional trials of maintaining integrity while thriving in industries often clouded with moral dilemmas. Discover what it means to uphold personal beliefs in the face of external pressures, revealing truths that many might hesitate to acknowledge.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah. Yeah. What's up? What's up? What's up? You've tuned in to 560 KLZ. KLZ. I'm a Uniter. I'm a Uniter. I'm your host, Reggie Rocco. Yeah. Yeah. KLZ. Yeah. Yeah. So right about now, we want everybody, I mean everybody, stand up. Stand up. Hold your hands up high. This is about America, baby. We bring people together.
SPEAKER 06 :
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty.
SPEAKER 05 :
560-KLZ, I'm a United's Reggie Rocco, and of course I'm here with Lukey Luke. What's up, big dog? Oh, another day, another dollar, Reg. Hey, man, I thought the snow was done. Nope. No, so I had to take the convertible back, put it back in the garage. You know, I had the photo shoots and all this stuff set up right. Okay, great, it's gonna be warm. All of a sudden, some cold front just came in, and it started raining outside. And I'm like, it'll stop, right? No. Three days for it. And I'm just like, man. All that time, money. It's just crazy. Now, I was talking to someone that I know that's into the weather forecast and systems online all the time. And I said, dude, why are you like this? What do they call them? What do they call them? What's the professional name for a weather?
SPEAKER 02 :
Meteorologist?
SPEAKER 05 :
Meteorologist. And... He wants to go to school for that and everything, right? I'm like, man, that's got to be the most. Boring. I mean, think about it. If you're a reporter, you're not an anchor in the studio, right? You're out there, so you're putting your life in danger. You're going around and you're chasing tornadoes. You got to go down where people are marching and protesting and all the violence and all this. And you hardly ever hear or see good news stories because that's what sells and that's what they promote is the negative. So I'm like, why are you going to get in there? I'm saying, man... It kind of reminds me of the entertainment industry. Like, really? Really? So... Look, man, I was speaking to my partner. We got a lot of stuff going on. You know, Rapstar Energy Drink is just blowing up. We're putting all it in. It just takes, man. We were just speaking that it takes so much effort and time and money to break through to where the masses accept you. We've been offered buyouts and different things, but pennies on the dollar, man. So you're thinking, Luke, like I'm like, so if you got the perfect situation again. Now, let's go back to I'm a Trumpster. You had two black guys, right? No records. have a history and a proof of record deals, publishing deals with some of the biggest, the fourth biggest record label, the 10th, the top publisher in the freaking United States, all this stuff. We went and we were talking about our journey to go through all that and doing it the right way from a kid on, you know, that's what my mom instilled in me. But what I didn't know, and I don't think she knew is how, Evil people are and how evil this this world really is, because it didn't matter. It's kind of like you doing everything right. But when you get to where you're supposed to go and you open that door, you walk through them doors. It's all evil, dude. Why do you think R. Kelly's in jail? Why do you think Prince is dead? Why do you think Michael Jackson is dead? Whitney Houston is dead. Why do you see these black men that are gangsters? And in one year being in the industry now, they're they're they're wearing, you know, they're worshiping Satan or wearing dresses. Like, are you serious, dude? Like, wake up. It's gangsters. They're just the body of it. The head of this stuff, the head of the snake is completely evil. And that's what it is. And you cannot make it in this business without doing it. So let me tell you, it's been years and years and years that we've went over. I'm not going to be redundant and go through all these stories. But I've been telling you guys about R. Kelly. I've been telling you about Puffy. I've been telling you about this stuff for the longest time. And I can tell you, the politics is no different, yo. It's no different. People say, why born black Democrat? I never felt right. My mom was never a Democrat. She didn't even believe in the system, but she believed in God and doing things the right way. And so if it wasn't right, it was on a... per basis situation like hey not not doing that nope you don't do that i don't that ain't right this don't feel you know so she kept it like that that's how i said keep it real with the same energy so we were just talking sitting here talking about the actual deals you know luke i brought you uh uh paperwork and receipts and contracts a million w-2s a million the dollars you know and i just wanted to show you and i'm just saying man this stuff comes and it goes. And they'll let you make money. But it's only to a certain level before you have to pledge. You have to pledge to the other side, to Hollywood and all the people that control these buttons. I mean, Russell Westbrook was in Oklahoma. He came from, I think he played ball at UCLA or USC, one of those. He was in Oklahoma with Kevin Durant and what's his name? The Beard. And They never won anything out there, but they're in a market to where Oklahoma doesn't have all the Hollywood stuff. It's just working people, blue collar, and they were doing well, and they were building that franchise, but that wasn't good enough. For whatever reason, they wanted to go to the market. So they get out there, they go to the market. Then next thing you see, you know, you're getting traded, you're getting hated, all these things are going on. Then I see Russell Westbrook, he gets traded to California, and I'm like, you got all the money, you don't want all the awards, you haven't got a championship, but you're looked at and respected. You are my favorite player. But you go to Hollywood, and within the little year you was there, he's standing in downtown in a dress. In a dress, dude. the toughest you know my idol in a dress when is enough enough when is enough money enough it's not about the money man it's about your life it's like you they give you the money and you make a pledge and believe me they will take you out because why else would they be doing it luke you tell me you doom and gloom tell me why else would you have the notoriety the fame and the money and then get in there and and then now all of a sudden now you're you're wearing dresses or you are you're taking pictures and flashing signs, doing devil, satanic stuff.
SPEAKER 02 :
Why are they doing it? I mean, it's got to be money. It's got to be like there's a crowd, right? And you want to be in it. You got to do the stuff you got to do to participate with the group. Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
You got to promote their agenda, right? And if they already gave you that money. It's really easy for them to destroy you or your loved ones. I mean, look now. So go to the political arena. We're finding out that JFK was murdered by our own people. CIA and all this stuff. Which we all, you know, years, figure it out. And once you start having a brain, you can see what's up. But... It tells you what you're dealing with. He was against certain things that the other side, the CIA and money and power didn't like. Which brings us to Trump. The same thing, man. The same thing. They're trying to get this man any way possible. But I just believe that, and no disrespect to God at all, I think Trump is an angel. He's a messiah. He's the one He's that man. In the streets, we would say, you know, he's that. You know, that's what's up. And he is the savior of America. What did I say? America's new father. I say it all the time. But the bottom line, that's what's up. You can't separate this, man. You cannot separate the politics, Hollywood, entertainment, music, parties, sex. You can't separate it. When Doge is in here and they're finding all this money. And instead of everybody in the United States being happy, understand that, yeah, it's going to be some jobs. People are going to lose some jobs, but there's other things you're going to be able to do. Instead of being happy, they're upset. And you have to sit up here and say, why? Because they're dirty. There's no other way you would be upset. And then you look at all the money that's being pumped into transgenderism. All the money that's been pumped into the alphabet people and their agenda, their ideologies. And you're looking like, okay, we thought it was bad on the outside. But now we're looking from the inside just how much money, Luke, you've been paying for. You've been paying for transgender mice. you've been paying for all these ideologies in this sick format out of your pocket while you're struggling what did you tell me you said reggie okay that's my parents house i can't afford to have this house i can't even afford to get me a regular house right so aren't you glad that things are being uncovered where we your money and stock and maybe it can start now helping americans so you can get that house
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, yeah, I'm happy that all this bad spending is getting uncovered. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, me personally, you know, my grief and my whole situation goes back. But see, I have a different perspective. I have a unique perspective because I've been to levels in anything that I do. I've been to levels right there with the big boys. I've been there. That's why when I tell you guys something, you know, it's from the heart. You can take it to heart. I'm not going, you know, and some things have been years ago, something, you know, not too long ago, something recent. But the bottom line, the recipe and the format, we do anything that I touch or my boy, Kaz, anything we touch, do we take it to the next level? You know, we came down here. I got in the politics because of Trump. And why? Because China stole my intellectual properties. That was my ticket. That was another ticket of my money, my copyrights, and so it was bootlegged. And telling regular people don't do nothing, they don't even know what I'm talking about. Telling other black people, liberal, Democrat, they don't even care. I'm talking about the actual people, not the people in the government. You're talking about all these things, they don't know what you're talking about. Nor do they want to hear, oh, yeah, well, yeah, we win some, we lose some. I'm like, yo, do you not understand what I'm telling you? And then I heard Trump's voice say, China intellectual properties. Right then and there, I said, that's my dude. And believe me, he was beloved when he was like a Democrat and he was in that system giving everybody. He was in over 200. He was beloved, you. You just got to understand. So I look at these people that say they hate this man, and I look at them as pure demons. Demons. I'm not talking about bad people. I'm talking about demons. I look at him and I'm like, you know you got all this money from Trump. You know everybody was chasing him down, asking him, thought he was this, everything. He got even an NAACP award. I'm like, are you serious? Black people don't know. How do you not know? Because what do I say? Information is powerful, but those who control how information is distributed, that's a superpower. They don't know. So it's shows like this to get out here that puts you on the line, puts your money on the line. Then you meet psychos out here. So we go out here. You got I'm a Trumpster, two black guys, no records, successful in the entertainment industry, no freaking drugs, none, period. No cigarettes, cigars, nothing. And they're black and they're Republican? I didn't even know what a conservative was. I didn't know if Democrats or Republicans. I didn't care. But I know when I started listening to Republicans, I realized that I've always been like that. And it's just about doing the right thing. My mom put me in that direction. now you bring money into the equation money they say money is the root of all evil i don't agree the love of money is the root of all evil because all these people have been given money But they get into the system and now they're doing satanic stuff for gays, all the stuff. And it's like, why? So the love of money is why they do it. And I can understand because I can tell you, dude, all those videos. You know, I don't even want people looking into my my history. But let's just put it like this. I know what it feels like to be a millionaire. I know what it feels like to have a multi-million dollar home. I know what it feels like to have celebrities at your house and working in pain. I know what that is. But at the same time, when you think everything's good, I also know what it feels like to have people ramsack coming to your house with AK-47s. I know what that feels like to have naked women running across your lawn coming from all different angles and directions because they know who you are and what you're doing. It's a different life. That's why these people live behind walls because they want you to get all the smoke and all the heat and they just want to keep your money. But they know what they're doing. And so they're saying, well, maybe I can just do 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% bad or wrong, and I can set me up over here behind some walls and live my life, and I can manage somehow to go to sleep. But when somebody's telling you to leave the border open and let all these killers and all these crazy people in here, Take all of your money, Luke. Take all our money. Shooting, killing, robbing, stealing. And then you're giving them all this money to live on. You got homeless veterans and you got homeless people in the street. You got low-income families that are struggling. You can't even buy eggs. But you're giving these killers all this money. And it's because they needed to do that. They needed to flood the market. They needed to do that because they want, they want to keep power and to keep their satanic agenda going on. That's it. And you're like, well, man, when I say that, people say, what are you talking about? You're the devil's dude. Okay, I've looked in some people's faces and I say, oh yeah, that looks straight like a satanic, the devil itself. But I'm mostly talking about the spirit of, The spirit. Because if you can do all of that, because you're taking care of your own household. Now, Luke, I heard you say, hey, I got to take care of me and mine and my family. If it happened to where some stuff was going down and they took all the money and blah, blah, blah, and I had to go and I had to rob a store to feed my family, but I'm going to do it. So if you take... That mentality, and you put it towards everybody, that's not the letter of the law. That's called the spirit of the law. So if you've been a great guy and you're forced into a situation where you've got to feed yourself, feed your family, I have no problem with how you have to do it. I'm not talking about that. What I'm talking about is that the people that are in power that know what you don't know, but I do know. I've lived it. I've seen it. And then coming into the political realm, Everything matches up. It all matches up. It's all the same ball of wax. It's the same freaking thing, man. It's the same thing. And I'm telling you, I know why they're doing it. They wanted to get rid of Electoral College. They wanted to invade enough people here so if it's a civil war, they got all these people here. They want to change the vote. So they're giving them all this money and registering them, Social Security, so they can vote to keep power, so they can keep their lifestyle going. and keep their agenda and their ideology, which is satanic and gay, when you can mix all that together. And I'm sorry, I got gay people in my family. It's not a situation to where I hate them. It's not. I still love them. What I hate is how they try to implement and press their way of life and thinking at all costs unto you and unto the children. Are you serious, dude? Like, really? No, no, man. As you see, I'm on one. I'm on one because I have to be real. And I hate these fake Republicans, too. I hate these fake Republicans, too. Now, those is uncovering a whole bunch of stuff. And most of it's been from the Democratic side and all the liberal side and all that. But don't get it twisted. You're going to find something from the Republican side of conservative that is going to come in here and say, hey, I seen my shot. I just had to get this money. I didn't think it would ever come in, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that's what it is. But damn, are you serious, dude? What are we going to do? So Trump's uncovering this stuff. Now China's talking stuff. Everybody's talking. They're smacking. Trump's not the dude, man. We could very well be in war. If Russia and China is going to come to Iran to rescue or some other stuff, I don't know. But it's going to go down. And now I'm talking doom and gloom, Luke. And I be, I'm the uniter. I want everybody to come together. I don't care what you do, how you do, where you do. Just do the right thing. Be as godly as you possibly can. Be as respectful as you possibly can. But man, that didn't get us nowhere. We had CBS from New York. We're in Colorado, in the sanctuary city, before they even flooded the gates to the level that they were flooded in 2020. Before the gates opened up in 2020, we didn't get any media coverage here. None. But Kim Munson was smart enough. Evelyn Zur was smart enough to be like, hey, we got to get these guys seen. You got to get heard what they're doing. They didn't know us. That this wasn't no set up, no, no scam. This is actual real life situations that happen. And we say we got to tell our people we got to bring people together, but we got to tell our people what's really going on. That's how that happened. So we come in here to this. sanctuary city this blue sea you got two successful black men with no records no drugs and you can just just good people and none of the media here covers us but then you got national news you know the states the states here buddy that are the big time is california new york atlanta texas florida You don't really need no other state in reference to power and entertainment and moving the needle. You don't need no other state. But we had New York media fly down to interview me and Kaz. Just think about that. But we're right here as a secret weapon. And why weren't we getting the financial support? Why didn't we have five buses? Why weren't we all around the city? Why does it even stop? It could have kept going and kept going and kept going. Because why? We were willing to put our life on the line. And our life was in danger several times. But nothing. Why do you think that is? Now, you can't blame that on the Democrats. They're not going to help. Why is it? That's why the producer at CBS calls me, and I'm going to tell you who he is. All the time, he said, you're on the wrong side. He said, think about it. There's one thing you can't argue with. You're the perfect storm, and the party didn't get behind you. Now, some of the grassroots, a lot of them, which, you know, I love, they did. But what can they do when you got the other side, you know, doing hundreds of millions of dollars? But we got our own powerful people in office. We're fake, dude. They're fake. When one of the guys here, I'm going to mention his name, set up that meeting and said, hey, we called and blah, blah, blah. And Pence and everybody's coming down here. And they want you guys to be there on the bus and all that. And we'd come down. We'd go have this meeting. Here's where you park. Here's where Pence and I'm going to park. Here's where y'all are going to meet together, talk. We're going to go over blah, blah, blah. All this stuff. And then somebody, some troll, some traitor in the Republican Party here said, called Washington and said, you don't want to do that. They're like, what do you mean? You don't want to do that. Those dudes are big, powerful. They will take over the Pence coming here. And you're like, well, isn't that what you fools want? Don't isn't that what Trump is saying? Grow the party, grow the minority party so we can get and beat these Democrats. The perfect storm. But you had somebody here that had to be on the payroll. That's a fake conservative. And there's a lot of them. I know one right now. He's a black dude. He's just a fakest, lioness, fakest conservative. You know what I'm saying? I can't wait. I can't wait, buddy. I can't wait. And I'm telling you, dude. This is what I mean. This is what I freaking mean. Like, it's so many far right bull crap people. And there's so many people that's like, what's the, Art of War, who wrote that? Sung Tzu. Sung Tzu. Isn't it in that where he said the most powerful, dangerous person is a spy? I believe so, yeah. So we got spies in our party during that time. that called Washington and said, do not have those guys on. What do you mean? What do you mean? We ain't even concentrating on the same thing that people that are running for and self-propellment and all that. We're not even concentrating on that. Our whole agenda came from Trump and intellectual properties And how this man switched from Democrat to battle because he was tired of being on that side. He seen what it was. It didn't hit his spirit. It didn't hit his godly spirit, his right or wrong spirit. And he wanted to save America. And he was in the financial position to do it. But then he had the gonads to go ahead and put up his own money and put his life at risk to come in here and help. So we said, let's join the mission. That's what that was about. When I went and when we started doing videos and music to Trump's agendas and when they found out about it, flew out to the World Congress Center and all that, and Kaz and I out there, VIP, it's thousands of people there, but it was only like 100 people that was able to get into the room. When I listened to that man, when I shook his hand and I listened to what he said, do as commander in chief, that's when we came back and said, okay, we're going to get the bus. We're going to even go further. It was directly from his mouth. So do I care about any of these other politicians? No. You know what you can do. The politicians on the Republican side, the grassroots on the Republican side that are not with Trump, Eda, Eda, I'm telling you, I do not care at all because you're all fake. You're all freaking monsters. And now you see the state of the world. You see the state of the Colorado. Colorado used to be a beautiful, loving place. And although racism exists, it never really existed in Colorado. Colorado on a mass scale. I can actually say that, and can't nobody tell me, because I went to an all-white school. I was jumped every day. You can't tell me nothing. I'm telling you, so open up your ears and listen. Colorado was a good place. There's pockets in every state, but overall, Colorado was a decent place with decent people. Now it's a hellhole. And Trump's been in, what, a couple months? It was so bad that just the two months that he's been in, it feels like a relief. It feels like, oh, man, there's hope. Oh, I can breathe. Well, again, being the good guy, being the good guy, being the nice guy, I sit down with anybody. I let anybody in. I say, hey, let's do business if you want to do business. Everybody approaches me all the time, Luke. Can I do this? Can you show me this? Can I come in here? Some people I let, some people I don't. But the bottom line is, I'm always coming from a spirit that's positive. Now, we have things, you know what's going on, big dog. You know what's going on. The bottom line is that there are traitors on every level. out there spiritually, mentally, financially. There's a lot. There's a lot. Who's on? Johnny? Johnny, you there? Yeah. What's up, buddy?
SPEAKER 07 :
I tell you, man, when I ran, I think it was the second time I went down to the Capitol, talked to this guy named Mike Lash. He brought in two of his other guys and said, you know, you're the right person. We're going to get some money behind you and all that kind of stuff. So when I got the race on, he disappeared. Wouldn't answer my calls. I'm thinking like, I'm kind of thinking like, who was he? Why was he telling me all this blowing smoke like this? And of course, like Lauren Bobert went into his county section before, knocked him out. And that was the end of the game for him. and then he got caught driving drunk, whatever, whatever, all that kind of stuff. But I'm thinking like, I'm hearing what you're saying, like, you're in this room, you're in a meeting, and there's spies in that room.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, yeah. Most definitely. Most definitely. And, John, we found out the hard way. And I'm not going to mention certain people's names, but trust me, I got receipts. I got recordings. I got everything. Because there's one thing that's what's going to happen. If anything ever happened to me, like, if anything ever happened to me, I have a vault. I have a vault that's put up with these people, these names and whole situations that you guys would not even believe. I made sure that happened because coming from the music industry, you know you better have receipts. You know what you're going into. Imagine going to hell, but you're trying to act like an angel in hell. That ain't going to work. You got to be a demon. Oh, you're going to be attacked. You know what I'm saying? If you ain't on the team, they're going to get you. So the only person I know that can go to hell and clean it up is Jesus. And I'm far, far from him. So the bottom line is whatever sector of life you live in, You're going to run across different things and different peoples, and you just got to dig below the surface and understand this and get to the real root of the cause. There's not a hatred bone in my body. There's not. I just don't hate people because you can't cure hate with hate. Love can only kill hate. That's it. And in some cases, it may take a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of love. You know, I used to get my butt whipped by my mom and my dad, and I knew they loved me. But the way they were beating me, I was like, during the process, I was like, maybe they don't love me. So that's what's missing. Yeah, that's what's missing. That right there, I'm going to beat you to death because I love you to death. That's the whole thing. And so when you look at life from that perspective, from a little kid on, see, I'm not scared. But once you attack me, see, that's a different thing. It's a different thing. You better be lucky I don't have Trump money. I don't have Trump money because I would show all these people out here what they should be doing and how they should be doing it. I don't care. Talk about your shows. Talk about the politics. Talk about the taxes. Talk about rightness. Talk about such and such is corrupt and blah, blah, blah. Who gives a bleep? That is not nothing. That's just talk. I'm action. Bottom line, that's talk. And if I already had that type of money, because that's everything we've ever done, Kaz and I and other people that I know that's in this, that are on the right side of the fence, we've always sacrificed our own personal money, whether we had it or not, whether we had a lot of it or little, because it wasn't about the money. And I agree with Luke, and I always say, now I learned, follow the money. Follow the money. It'll take you to everything you want to know. It'll reveal who's really godly, who's really Christian, who's really conservative, who's a Democrat, who's a liar, who's a cheat. Just follow the money. And I'm not talking about in life. you know doing things wrong people make mistakes i'm talking something way way way way bigger way bigger dog that's why you're looking at all these people in office johnny that come in with nothing but they're already in three years four years 119 million 80 million you know all this so where do you where the hell you think this money's coming from dude How do you think they're getting? Do you think they're sitting up here doing it the same way that I did it or Trump or anybody? You think they're doing that? No, they're liars or cheaters and they're stealers.
SPEAKER 07 :
And thank God in some ways for YouTube, man, because they they allowed videos to be put up there. I went back and I found a 1987 video with Oprah and Trump. And he was saying the same thing about Terrence with the younger voice that he's saying now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Dude, Trump has been saying the same thing, Johnny, for all his life. You can close your eyes and you can hear his young voice and the voices right now. And it's identical. The message and everything is identical. So, period. You know, that whole thing. I am talking about the reason why. You look at this and how everything's tied in. You got people that they're trying to make you think that black people, we are so violent. We are so ignorant. We're lazy. What, man? I'm one of the hardest working MFs that you will ever freaking come across. And I suffer a lot. I suffer because I use, there's only so much talking I can do and say, are you on board? Let's go, let's go, let's go. Oh, you want to come on? Okay, let's go. There's only so much talking I can do until you start to say, man, freak out. Let's just do it yourself. Just do it yourself. Shut your mouth. Lead your own thing. Do everything you need to do. That you deal with people directly and certain people and even just take a chance where the chances that are high, that are not high risk, that are low risk. Because trying to do this as an individual, as a unit, as a community, no, there's too many snakes and there's too much self-arisement that they want. They want self-gratification, self-promotion. It's a lot of things and that's not the whole issue. The whole issue is understand this. It's chess, not checkers. All these terrorists and what he's doing is great. I'm really surprised that he's being so nice because I'm like, OK, you charge me 200 percent. I'm charging you 200 percent. That's it. And he's talking about it. You build your car and the parts and stuff in America. Yeah, it used to be American stuff here that we were. That was fun and great. Now it's overtook. Now you're looking at somebody who who's my favorite manufacturer of cars, too. And I have both of me. But in the long run, it's going to help America. It's going to make America better. Great again. It's going to make America prosperous. What's the word? Prosperous. Prosperous. Yeah, there you go. Again, we're going to put money back in. We're going to have equipment and production and everything here that we don't have to go outside of this country. And so that's what I'm talking about. So, yeah, it's going to hurt. People are going to lose jobs. It's going to be harder in certain areas. Just give them time. Give them time. Rome wasn't built in a day. And this place has been destroyed for decades. Decades, yo.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the people that were, they did have jobs. And sad to see it. I'm sad to say that they couldn't develop something else. A lot of them, they wanted the drugs just to fade out. Because it was so hurtful to say, hey, I was a man in the house. I was taking care of business. Or I was a woman and I was taking care of business. But now it was just taken from me. And I don't know where to go to get it back. And I'm not creative enough because they trained me in school to be, to hear the bell, ding, ding, ding, ding, and then go to this next place, you know. And they trained me to be a worker.
SPEAKER 05 :
not an entrepreneur exactly i mean what you want to be a look look dude you either have a seat at the table or you're on the menu period that's it you're sitting at the table or you're on the menu you decide you can be a sheep or the sheep herder So many people know how I feel about Russia and how I feel about the Rocky Man, Kim Jong-un. And what's with Xi? I don't like Xi at all, at all, at all. Not one percent do I like this dude. But I see different personality traits in these other ones. And I think some of the things that take place in a dictatorship – Everything in that situation is not bad. It's not. Nothing's 100% bad anyway. Nothing is 100% evil. Not even Satan. That's the bottom line. Because if you look at him, you have to look at his whole work history. I do believe he was an angel in heaven first. I do believe that he was very talented and beautiful. According to these stories in the Bible, that he was wise. a powerful beautiful one of God's right hand people so you can't say he was 100% evil nah not his whole life so nothing is 100% evil now when all that went down and whatever happened blah blah blah blah and he got kicked out bam you know and he fell to earth but he took a third of heaven with him that's a powerful dude yo That's a powerful dude. Understand the forces that you're dealing with. Johnny, if I come in your house, if I come in your house and I'm robbing your house, but you beat me up and you kick me out, but I'm still taking your refrigerator, your stereo, and your PlayStation with me, I'm a pretty tough dude. You may have won. You kicked me out, but you ain't got this. I'm taking this with me. So I look at the same energy type thing. Nobody or nothing that I... Anybody show me that any entity or anything has been 100% evil. And if I'm wrong, go ahead. Tell me. Prove me wrong.
SPEAKER 07 :
But you see how they do it. It sounds like this step-by-step thing. Because I'm explaining to my wife how this thing with... 75% of households of black women are single moms. This didn't happen overnight. It was like this generation, then the next generation, then the teenage girls started talking to each other, saying, hey, we like sex, we want to get it on. But the government can pay for it. Don't worry about it. We just stay with our mom, give her a little bit of money, or get our own place. And it happened step by step. And from her perspective, she's like me, she's like, hey, stand on your own two feet, work hard, do that kind of stuff. And she doesn't understand that this didn't happen overnight with them stealing all these jobs. It was a step-by-step thing. And now that we're it's almost like now we're we're in it. And now we say, OK, let's stop the ship going this way and turn it back around. And if it's a big ship, it's going to take a while for it to turn around.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, of course, Johnny. Exactly. And so my my whole point with that being you're absolutely right. This is why I look at it. And let me get even deeper because, you know, I'm going to do it. You know, you see the black people that's in Congress on the Democratic side. Oh, yeah. Loud, angry people. ghetto, like really angry black women syndrome. That's why a lot of black men go and they date white women. I mean, I'm telling you that Jasmine, that's, that's, that's the reality of my life. That right there. We're used to that. Loud mouth, talking crap, you know what I'm saying? Sounding ignorant, you know, no ethics, no morals, just craziness. And then, so then you take the other side. You'll be like, oh my God, I can't deal with this. And people, you know, passport bro, they get online, they go on and they're trying to find different relationships because that right there is the whole democratic process. That's their whole way of life. And that's exactly, and you know I ain't lying. You know that situation. Loud and talking and yapping and just saying anything and just crazy. That's what it is. But that's not all of them. See, that's why I like having this show because I keep it real. And I have to tell you, it's not everybody, but there are people in positions where And they let these people in. They let these type of – they need the AOCs and all that to come in here and act a fool because they want to stir up. And so you have to fix it from the top down, not from the bottom up. That's the bottom line. You have to fix it. Trump is doing the right thing. He's doing the right thing, even for people that don't see or agree. Now, let me ask you this. So all these Democrats – let's just talk about our people – All the black people that are saying, no, Trump is racist or nah, I hate this and they hate nothing. They're doing all this stuff, right? When that check comes, Johnny, are them Democrats going to cash it? Are them angry black women and all the people that... So how can you look in the mirror? See, that's the whole thing. You're talking all this stuff and all that, but then you're still willing to take the money. You lose all credibility with me. Now, what I want to see is the person that gets that check that's black. And I want to do let's do black women because I'm on. I want to see her take that check and make a video of her burning that check from Donald Trump because she hates him so bad. She was then I respect you. I'm going to respect you. I'm going to put you down on the list. That's somebody I can respect. Not agree with, but I can definitely respect you. If you don't burn that check, I ain't listening to you. I don't care what you're doing. I don't care how you're doing. I don't care what you're doing or how you're doing. I have no respect for you. That's the same way now. Y'all might be upset with this, but I had certain idols that even in the entertainment industry that I said, okay, not these rappers and all this kind of stuff. These are evil people. That's a life that's a facade, and it ain't nothing but negativity, death, and destruction. But there was an actor that I really, really respected. And now it broke my heart because now I can't respect him no more. You know who that is? Is he older or young? He's older and black. And the greatest was the greatest to me. I just looked up in so many ways, not of the money, not just the greatest actor, the greatest. Morgan Freeman? No, but you're close. You're close. You ready? Yeah. Denzel Washington.
SPEAKER 07 :
No way. Now, what did he do? I mean, what did he say? He admitted it and he done it. What?
SPEAKER 05 :
Not put on a dress. Worse. He kissed a man in the mouth. Wait a minute, when? Is this in the movie? Dude, this man who's a man who had all these roles, who's considered a logical person, a genius, a man of honor, you know what I'm saying, of right truth, education, leadership, look up to inspiration. This whole dude that I've been following since a kid, He got enough money and everything he's done for. So what role, why would he take a role that inquires him to play a homosexual and do homosexual acts on screen? Why him? And that new movie that sunk, Gladiator 2, or whatever it is. Yeah. Yeah. It was uncovered, and he admitted it, that in the part he was playing in Rome, because Rome was a lot of gay stuff, that he played a role, and he actually took this dude arm in arm, and he kissed this mother.
SPEAKER 1 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. And he admitted it. Google it. Look up. Then he said he guessed America wasn't ready for that. And he looked at it as artistic creation. Oh, come on, man. Come on, man. He got paid. He need to keep the money coming in. But I would think that you would have all this money. Like, when is enough enough? Like, were you going to sell yourself? Why go all this way to sell yourself? So now it's suspect. It's suspect. Hmm. And I could tell in the movie how they cut out different scenes and how the dude was flirting with him and he's saying different stuff and different things. Going into it, I knew and I could already tell. I was like, oh, man, man, man, man, man. Heartbroke. Heartbroke. So, you know, we've got to kill that ideology, that agenda. We've got to protect the kids. We've got to stop the manipulation. We've got to stop the attacks by any means necessary. Any, any means necessary.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, I got to tell you this story, man. I was, you know, I DJed in a club. And it's so funny, like, you know, how people will perceive some people just because they think they can get away with stuff. So I'm sitting there, I'm talking to these ladies. And so there's a guy there, which, you know, he's in that lifestyle. so he decides oh he's blind so i put my hand on his knee and and who knows who knows how far i can get and i'm thinking i'm thinking like you know these people in their in their china conversion and then this is like back in the in the 90s i mean it's always been happening where where these guys say well i'm this way i can flip i can flip anybody and you and you just have to tell them straight out hey i'm not going that way but then again How much money did they, how long has he been in the business where they have to say, okay, we're going to give you this amount of money, but he's already made enough money. And I understand you've got to pay your security. You've got to pay all these other people that you're supporting. And then they say, well, you can't support. And it might even put it this way. We won't be able to support these people, this family, if you don't do this. Maybe they went down that road.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, John, I can tell you from firsthand experience, exactly this is what I'm telling you. In this quick scenario, okay, so you're a rapper. You're a black rapper trying to get into the game. You don't spend all kind of time and money writing and investments and struggles and everything. It's just unbelievable work and torture to try to get into there, right? So now you're starting to get in. You're starting to make some noise and people are trying to, but you're still not signed. So you're trying to get a deal. So then when you sit down with the people that say, hey, okay, this guy, we can use him because what he's talking about is just our agenda. He's talking about killing other blacks. He's talking about the violence and all this stuff. He's calling these women out of their name. This is what we want to promote. Now, this is the satanic top, the evil top, the gay transgender agenda. So they say, okay, we can... Give him a deal. Let's sit down and blah, blah, blah, blah. So he'll come in there. I finally made it. They give him this production money and they sign him to the label. And you go to the lawyers, all the bubble. We'll skip all that. But the bottom line is now he's recording his album and they've got some artists advance money up front. The first thing he does is go out and buy chains and this and that. And a car. And if he does get a house or whatever, it's not paid for. Multi-million. It's not paid for. It's just bills. It's bills. You know, you can do that stuff. So a lot of times in the contract, the contract will say, you know, it'll come here. You can drive our car, our Bentley, our Ferrari, our blah, blah, blah, as part of your deal. Now, the rest of the people on the planet, they don't know that that's not their car. All the fans and everybody, they don't know that that belongs to the record label, that that's underserved. sony's name or universal or capital or arista or whatever they don't know so he's presenting this facade to sell records great so you don't you don't need to know as a business that's part of it i don't even have a problem with that but see here's the thing they go out there they'll they'll sell x amount they get this advanced money which is recoupable 100 percent recoupable So they sell all these records. And don't forget about the white man, the tax man, Uncle Sam, getting this stuff no matter who you sell. So they have to pay all this money back. So if the label spent $2 million on you and total with advances and everything else, and you put out your product, now you're getting recognition and fame, but it don't mean you have money. So when it comes in, when the books are being tallied, you're you're when the books are being tallied you're coming in you're like well i sold a million records shouldn't that be you know you sold them at ten dollars of fifteen dollars a piece i should be swimming in money no no you shouldn't because your artist royalty is only six percent so you're getting paid you got to pay me back at six percent not at a hundred percent at six percent yeah that was the movie of eminem on the bus he's riding the bus
SPEAKER 07 :
He's got the hit record, but he's still riding the bus. Remember that movie that he was in?
SPEAKER 05 :
I've never seen it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, yeah. They give you little pieces and glimpses of what was happening. But he was on the bus. He said, oh, man, I've got this going on, but I'm still riding the bus. It was in that Longest Mile movie.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, okay. Okay, yeah, yeah. So let's get out the movie. I'm here in real life telling you the truth firsthand. So you get this money. You get this money, and you've got to pay this back. And so you're like, man, you're still in the hole. After selling all these records, you still owe the label. But hopefully in your contract, you have a two-year option with it being your option. But if it's an option with their option, then they don't have to sign you. Or if it's an option in there where it's like you both can work it out and we're going to do something. But say... So the next album, they said, well, we're going to give you even more money because you sold and you did this and blah, blah, blah, blah. So they come and now instead of giving you that two million, they're giving you four million. Well, you're already still a million point seven in the hole. Now you add four million on top of that. So now you $5 million in the hole, dude. It's the same thing. So you take that upfront money. You might buy you a car. You might pay off your house. You might do whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you're spending more money to promote, more money to do things. Then you get into the parties, the drugs, the women, and all the other things that you have to appear. You have to appear here. You have to show your face here. You have to be at this event here. You have to do these. These are things that are in the contract that you have to do. Then you realize you got to go on the road and you got to promote your stuff. So artists make more money at shows than they do actually from selling records, artists, royalties. They don't make the money. They don't get in that 6%. Now, if the shows that are set up, if the artist took his upfront money, if he was smart and he was paying for everything in his venues and all that and doing everything himself, then he keeps that money. But if he wasn't, And the label has in the contract 50% merch, 50% publishing, all that stuff. He's not making no money, dude. So then he comes in. Now he's in the hole. He's in the hole. He hasn't paid. Now he got all this debt and he can't be released from the contract. He can't sign with anybody else. Go ahead and try it. That's how people end up missing and dead. Or that's how you end up in jail. Or that's how you end up in the situation set up. Because you done done enough dirt. That they got you and they inside people watching you and filming all the time. So then they come into the back room and say, hey, well, we'll forgive the first one point seven. But you're going to know that you're with us and, you know, that's just, you know, there's no thing and you're not going to go and you're not having any problem with us. You're going to have to promote this for your next album. You have to promote this agenda. And by the way, come into my office into this back room and take down your clothes and bend over and let me have sex with you or some of my people and this and that kind of stuff. If you do that, we'll forgive the 1.2 million in the first deal that you're still in the hole. So then they say, oh, man, no way, no way, no way. But then their lifestyle, their bills, everything they have is going to be gone. So they say nobody will know. So then they sell their soul right then and let these people do this to them. And that's what it is.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's a universal word, man, because I remember in the 70s, this priest, he was on KOA radio and everybody respect him. But nobody knew that he was he was he was homosexual.
SPEAKER 05 :
he got on the teen line and he started talking to me and he that was his words he says he did all the things he's gonna do he says and johnny nobody will know exactly i said i don't know it don't matter dude but this is this is real first-hand stuff dude like i'm telling you this is first-hand information and things that that's took place and i'm telling you that's how it is so they think nobody will know so even if you'll know and you can deal with live it in the mirror Looking in the mirror and you just say, I'm just going to write it out loud. It was a mistake and I did this for the better. You can try to trick yourself however you want. The second that you are not making the money come in that needs to be or any type of way you try to change, I want to do this, blah, blah, blah, you're going to be off off this earth or put in the prison system or you're going to be revealed. And that's just what it is. That is Hollywood. That's who controls this industry. That's how this stuff is set up. And I'm just being bold. brief I'm just being brief for how I'm not even being meticulous how this stuff really is and I personal stories personal stories friends it is what it is you're not gonna win you can't go to hell and be an angel You have to be a demon and you have to be in that lifestyle. And you got to know, OK, how you do it is like I'm not saying my way was the best way. Some things I wish I could have done more, but I made a lot of money doing it. But the thing of it is, is that you can all come to a crossroads. You're going to come to a crossroads where something ain't going to be right or something that you're going to have to do or something ain't going to wear you to go, want you to perform, want you to take pictures, want you to hug. Something that's against your morals that's going to have an effect on how far you go and keep going. And unfortunately, that's why you see people come in one way and a year later, year and a half later, they're dressed out like a devil or they're dressed up in makeup or they're dressed like a gay. You find out all these things because it's true. That's the process. So what you have to do is know what success is to you. Success to me is showing my mom I was good enough to to get paid by majors. And she taught me and I went to that whole level. And a failure to me was to tell my mom I let somebody have a homosexual relationship with me so I could get more money to give to her. She would never talk to me again. So you have to know what success is to you. You can only go so far, and you know what it is to you. Get what money you can, and then when you get to that crossroads, because you will if you're good, then you just go the other way. Because if you go with them, you're done. And hey, dude, hey, it's that time. We're going to have to count it down, man. Ready to go. Three, two, one. We out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. All right, y'all. It's that time. We out of here. But you've been listening to KLC 560 AM. I'm a United Reggie rapper. Yeah. It's fun. We will tackle the issues. 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. It's about love, y'all. Have a wonderful morning and a great day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we're United. Yeah, we're United. Yeah. That's right, Colorado.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
On today's program: Mark Harris, U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 8th District, looks back on what led to the improbable House budget deal and dissects the back-and-forth on Trump's tariffs. Brigadier General (Ret.) John Teichert, former
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, good afternoon. Hope you have had a fantastic week. Welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I am Jody Heiss, the Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. So glad and honored to have you with us today. We've got a lot coming your way. Among other things, this top issue, it's another case of tariff ping pong, if you will, between China and the United States, with China now raising their figure from 84% to 125%. So far, the White House says the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports will remain at 145%. which is what it was raised to yesterday. So the ball is now in China's court. They just need to pick up the phone and call.
SPEAKER 13 :
All of the things the president just said are true. The president, as I said from the podium just a few days ago when I was up here, would be gracious if China intends to make a deal with the United States. If China continues to retaliate, it's not good for China.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that was White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt earlier today, and I'll be discussing this issue in just a few moments with North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris. We'll also be talking about yesterday's big victory on the budget blueprint. And then tomorrow, there's a highly anticipated meeting between high-level representatives of the United States and Iran.
SPEAKER 16 :
An important meeting, thanks to you, is going to happen on Saturday for the first time in a long time. There'll be direct talks between Ambassador Woodcuff and a top-level leader in Iran. We hope that'll lead to peace. You've been very clear what Iran is never going to have is a nuclear weapon. And I think that's what led to this meeting. We'll wait for him to come back from it, and we're hopeful about that.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking yesterday during a cabinet meeting with President Trump. So the big question is, how might tomorrow's meeting unfold based on what we've heard so far? Well, retired Air Force Brigadier General John Teichert will be joining me a little bit later to discuss that. And the heat is rising, literally, in Texas over an Islamic community that's expanding to become its own city.
SPEAKER 07 :
I'm ashamed of the falsehoods that Abbott's office has been putting out. It's nonsense. He has tweeted that Sharia law will be implemented. That's a lie. That's an absolute lie. No one associated with Epic, no one associated with that community follows Sharia law or is in favor of Sharia law or is implementing favor law, Sharia law.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, interesting. That was Texas lawyer Dan Cogdell late last week defending, as you heard, his comments, the developers behind the proposed Epic City. But there are some on the other side of this whole issue saying that the community's adherence to Sharia law is as clear as writing on the wall, or perhaps as clear literally as writing on their own website.
SPEAKER 05 :
I urge everyone to visit their website and read what it has to say about instituting Sharia law. This is not a matter of radicals hiding in plain sight. They're not hiding. They've been open about their beliefs and their intent. Local government decision makers have failed to ask hard questions for fear of negative publicity and being labeled as bigots.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow, so that was retired Plano Police Department Sergeant Douglas Deaton during a public hearing last week on this epic city development. And I'll be discussing all of this with Krista Shield of Defending Our Republic, and then also Dr. Hormaz Shariat of Iran Alive Ministries will also be joining me a little bit later in the program. And then... To close it out for the day and the week, I'll be joined by David Claussen for our weekly Biblical Worldview segment to discuss some headlines from the week, including this extremely disturbing study that shows over 55% of those who identify themselves as being on the left are saying the assassination of President Trump would be justified. That is unbelievable. We've been through the cancel culture, and that was bad enough, but now we evidently have an assassination culture that is developing. Absolutely horrible, and we'll be discussing that as well as other things with David Claussen. So as always, we've got a lot coming your way. If by chance you miss any portion of it, the website is TonyPerkins.com. where you can certainly find this edition of Washington Watch as well as past editions. And we've got a lot of resources, including a link to our FACE Act petition. Folks, you need to sign on to this, be a part of it. Simply text the word FACE. to 67742 to get more info about that and how your voice can be heard. All right, let's jump into the first story today. Earlier today, China announced another increase on their tariffs on American imports. They have jumped from 84% now to 125%. And of course, this announcement from China is in response to President Trump's decision to raise the tariff rate on Chinese imports to 145%. And that came about following China's increase yesterday. So far, the White House has said that the 145% is going to remain, at least for today. So is China going to swallow their pride and reach out to the Oval Office to try to work out a deal? Or on the other hand, I guess the question would be, are they literally willing to lose out on the largest consumer market in the world? Well, here to talk about this and more is Congressman Mark Harris. He serves on three different House committees. He previously served right here at FRC as vice president for the Association of Churches and Ministries. He now represents North Carolina's 8th Congressional District. Congressman Harris, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 19 :
Jody, it's always great to be with you and to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, so let's start this. It looks like tariff Cold War, tariff ping pong, whatever you call it, between the United States and China. Give me your thoughts on this.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, you know, I think President Trump is holding strong, and I think he will hold strong. I think China is messing with the wrong person. when you see the stand and the resolve that he has. Listen, he's made it perfectly clear that any country that is ready to come to the table and sit down is going to be able to negotiate a fair trade deal with the United States. And some 70 countries, I should say, I understand, have already reached out. And others are already here ready for these negotiations. And he's sitting down with them one by one. But listen, it has taken a strong leader like President Trump to do a number of things that he was promising on the campaign trail he would do, and he's been delivering them. And this is one of them, getting us back to a level playing field. And there's one message that's being made loud and clear, and the days of the United States being taken advantage of, in the markets, that day is gone. And he is standing up for the American worker. And he's going to bring back manufacturing to our country. And listen, he is just he's the man to take on this fight. And I believe he's going to see it through. So if I'm a betting man, I'm going to bet China will blink before we do.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, you know, I think you're exactly right. I don't know of any other leader that could be pulling this off other than President Trump. I mean, he just, I tend to agree with you. I don't see President Trump blinking in this. So I think you gave enough in your previous answer to answer this next question I wanted to give you. But I just want you to go a little bit further in this. We've got a lot of nations that are already coming to the negotiating table. So is it and do you think it will work? I'm speaking of the president's tariff strategy.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I think so, Jody. Listen, I think we all have celebrated free trade. We want free trade. I think that's where we all stand. But I think that it has gone on for decades. And what has gone on with the United States getting the short end of the stick? has been a real problem. And I mean, you just look at China and even the way that they've manipulated the situation and the de minimis rule, they've got textiles that have come into this country. And I look in my own district and how, but when they don't have to pay any kind of tariff on something less than $800, There are companies that China has been able to take advantage of and do that. And you go through my district and you see in towns like Wadesboro, towns like Rockingham, towns like Laurenburg, that decades ago were truly manufacturing textile towns that were flourishing. And because of a bad trade deal, they're suffering today. And I think President Trump is looking after the American worker. I believe he is standing strong to try to get some fair trade deals across the world. And I think he's, he's really just kind of resetting everything. And, and I'm, I'm confident that this is going to work. I wish I had a crystal ball to say how long it's going to take, but I think we're already seeing the markets began to, to settle out, um, as far as wall street's concerned, but I think it's going to take several more months for us to see things settle out, um, as far as the tariffs are concerned. But I am confident he is the negotiator-in-chief.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good points, and like you, I'm not a betting man either, but if I were, I would also be willing to bet that before all is said and done, Congress is probably going to have a role in trying to help Americans' wallets, because I don't know. I just don't see this being wrapped up real soon. I think it's going to wrap up. I think it's going to wrap up good, but it may take a little while. If I can shift gears with you, Congressman, the budget deal.
SPEAKER 19 :
uh there there you guys had a huge victory yesterday all but two republicans were on board with the uh senate blueprint uh budget blueprint your thoughts on that there was a lot of work that went into that jody and um as you know there was a lot of work that the house put into it for months uh to get to this point where we showed a savings of one and a half to two trillion dollars and extending the president's tax cuts and all of these things that we're working, balancing together. We sent it over to the Senate. The Senate, you know, kind of messed around with it. And the bill that came back, quite frankly, after the voterama, they went through over the weekend. I wasn't particularly pleased with and a number of my colleagues weren't pleased with it. I had an opportunity to go with a small group. that met with the president on Tuesday and really got his assurance that we're on the same page and that he wants to get America on that solid financial footing again. And that what the Senate was doing were just numbers basically to get a start, but that he understood where we were. So I was assured coming out of there and felt confident about where we were going. I had some colleagues that were not in that meeting, some that were that, again, have been burned. And that's what it comes down to. And you know how it is. They just felt like the risks were too great for us to get burned again by the Senate, not hitting those numbers of what we need in terms of spending adjustments. And so on Wednesday night, there was a meeting and talked about how we needed to hear from the Senate. And so there was a joint press conference. As you know, yesterday morning, Senator Thune and Speaker Johnson sharing together. And again, I've got to give props to Speaker Johnson. He has done a phenomenal job of pulling all the parties together and is standing strong. And he and Senator Thune and what they gave together, stating that they were on the same page with the president, leading the way. I think everybody felt like, okay, the real work begins now. We're going to all put it on paper for what the reconciliation bill is going to look like. And here we go.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here we go. Congressman Mark Harris, thank you so much for that update. And so glad to have you there representing North Carolina's 8th District. Have a great weekend. Thanks for joining us. All right, friends, on the other side of the break, Brigadier General John Teichert joins me for a preview on the high stakes U.S.-Iran negotiations happening tomorrow. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 12 :
At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect. That's why FRC President Tony Perkins went to Capitol Hill to testify on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Islamist terror groups target Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria with brutal violence. Representative Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said 55,000 people have been killed and 21,000 abducted in the last five years alone. The congressman also stressed that 89% of Christians in the world who are martyred are from Nigeria.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yet the government of Nigeria has failed to make progress against religiously motivated persecution of Christians despite religious freedom being enshrined as an essential human right in their constitution.
SPEAKER 12 :
Tony Perkins called for the United States to send an unmistakable message.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is systematic religious violence. Nigeria must be redesignated a country of particular concern. The Biden administration's removal of this designation was a reckless mistake that emboldened the very terrorists who are slaughtering Christians.
SPEAKER 12 :
Redesignating Nigeria will enable the U.S. government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians.
SPEAKER 03 :
These are not just numbers. These are fathers, their mothers, their children, their families.
SPEAKER 12 :
Bishop Wilfred Anagabe risked his life to speak out, sharing firsthand accounts of the danger faced in his church district in central Nigeria.
SPEAKER 01 :
We live in fear because at any point it can be our turn to be killed. But to remain silent is to die twice. So I have chosen to speak.
SPEAKER 12 :
FRC is calling on President Trump to act now to promote religious freedom around the globe and speak up on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
SPEAKER 09 :
Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
SPEAKER 18 :
Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today and join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We've created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective, read and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family and church members and stand firm everywhere you go.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Glad to have you with us. All right, tomorrow there is a high-level meeting consisting of representatives of both Iran and the United States. This is going to be the first round of new talks that will take place in Amman, and the Trump administration will be represented by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, while Iran will be represented by their foreign minister, Abbas Arachi. So the question is, what is going to take place at this meeting? What are the stakes? What are the potential consequences if a deal is not struck in the end? And how might the U.S. handle a potentially emboldened Iran if, in fact, no deal is made? So here now to unpack some of these critical questions and the potential scenarios is retired Air Force Brigadier General John Teichert. After a very distinguished military career, General Teichert retired as the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force for International Affairs. General Teichert, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to have you. Jody, thanks for having me on again. Well, it is our privilege indeed. And listen, I can't personally fully fathom the potential stakes of the representatives from both the U.S. and Iran as they meet tomorrow. Kind of set the stage for us, if you will.
SPEAKER 15 :
Jody, the president has made very clear that the United States will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, and that all options are on the table depending on how things play out tomorrow and in the ensuing dialogue with Iran. And I think that based on that statement and his earnestness in making that statement, that if Iran either continues to pursue nuclear weapons or they delay in the negotiations or negotiate in bad faith, then both very strong consequences militarily and economically are on the table for the Trump administration in order to fulfill that promise that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and therein lies the enormity of the meetings and the enormous stakes that are involved in all of this. So I say that it's very difficult for me to fully grasp just how important And then you add to it this whole other layer I was seeing where there's quite a significant difference between the two sides as it relates to how this meeting is even going to be conducted. For example, on the Trump side, they're saying this is going to be a direct person-to-person meeting, while Iran is saying they are not going to meet person-to-person with Americans. There will be a go-between. They'll meet in two separate rooms and an Iman diplomat will send messages back and forth. Describe that for us. How's this really going to unfold in your opinion?
SPEAKER 15 :
Jody, first of all, President Trump made very clear that this is just the first of a series of meetings. So I don't think your listeners or viewers should expect that there'll be a deal by the end of the weekend. But I do think that they, the two sides, will start in different rooms using a mediator from Amman to broker the start of these negotiations or the dialogue. And then eventually, I think by the end of the weekend, they will meet face to face. But I think it's important to realize that right now, the Ayatollah has a choice to make. Because ultimately, a dictatorial regime like Iran cares about one primary thing, and that's regime survival. And the Ayatollah has to weigh the decision whether pursuing nuclear weapons allows him to maintain control of Iran in the best possible way, or based on the threats from the United States that I think are very real from the Trump administration, whether it is better for him and the regime to negotiate away from nuclear weapons in order to maintain the stability of the regime. And all of that starts with negotiations tomorrow, but unlikely will end based on what happens tomorrow in Amman. And it will take several productive meetings for both sides to make the decision what is in their best interest and ultimately for Iran in the best interest of the regime.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, good point. I think that's really insightful information. And I totally agree. And the administration has been very public about this, that this is just the first meeting. And as you indicate, we all need to keep that in mind, that this is just the first of many. So let's go to the end. After ever how many meetings there will be, what are the potential consequences if a deal is not struck when we come to the end of this thing?
SPEAKER 15 :
If again, Jody, it becomes clear that Iran is delaying not negotiating in good faith or clearly is pursuing nuclear capability, then there's going to be a combination of very strong responses from the United States and Israel. Part of that is economic, which means additional sanctions. But also there are sanctions that automatically take effect in October that are snapback sanctions that would be extremely ruinous to the Iranian regime if they actually unfold without negotiating eliminating those sanctions. But right now, the United States is poised militarily with two carrier battle groups in the region. and a slew of B-2 bombers and Diego Garcia in the general vicinity, that if we believe that the Iranians are still pursuing nuclear weapons, then both those very extreme economic maximum pressure sanctions will take place, and likely we will strike the Iranian nuclear capability in conjunction with our friends in Israel.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so two primary weapons, if you will. There's a military side of things, obviously, but then there's the economic side, and there's the diplomatic side. We can throw that in. That's obviously underway now. How does all of this impact the region? What do you anticipate to happen there?
SPEAKER 15 :
It's interesting as you look at what happened in the last year and a half in Iran's lack of capability in striking Israel. And I think that's gonna be on their minds as they think about the fact that Israel and the United States can strike Iran, any target at any time at will, And Iran has demonstrated that they cannot do the same against Israel. And now, additionally to that, that their proxy network has been degraded substantially. And so for the region, Iran has far fewer levers to pull that are destabilizing than they did just a year and a half ago. And that's going to play into their minds about whether this negotiation tactic means that it is in their best interest to pursue. nuclear weapons, realizing that a strike is likely to come if they do, or trading away those nuclear weapons in order to get some relief against those strikes or against those sanctions in their best interest. And I think what has happened in the last year and a half demonstrates their lack of capability within the region. And that will make them more likely to negotiate away those nuclear weapons than they would have been just a year and a half ago.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. Extremely insightful information. General John Teichert, thank you so much for joining us. And boy, we're going to be keeping a pulse on this. Thank you for joining us on Washington Watch again. Thank you, Jody. All right, friends. Coming up, an Islamic city in Texas where Sharia law is in place. A lot of people are concerned and for good reason. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 10 :
Everything we do begins as an idea. Before there can be acts of courage, there must be the belief that some things are worth sacrificing for. Before there can be marriage, there is the idea that man should not be alone. Before there was freedom, there was the idea that individuals are created equal. It's true that all ideas have consequences, but we're less aware that all consequences are the fruit of ideas. Before there was murder, there was hate. Before there was a Holocaust, there was the belief by some people that other people are undesirable. Our beliefs determine our behavior, and our beliefs about life's biggest questions determine our worldview. Where did I come from? Who decides what is right and wrong? What happens when I die? Our answers to these questions explain why people see the world so differently. Debates about abortion are really disagreements about where life gets its value. Debates over sexuality and gender and marriage are really disagreements about whether the rules are made by us or for us. What we think of as political debates are often much more than that. They're disagreements about the purpose of our lives and the source of truth. As Christians, our goal must be to think biblically about everything. Our goal is to help you see beyond red and blue, left and right, to see the battle of ideas at the root of it all. Our goal is to equip Christians with a biblical worldview and help them advance and defend the faith in their families, communities, and the public square. Cultural renewal doesn't begin with campaigns and elections. It begins with individuals turning from lies to truth. But that won't happen if people can't recognize a lie and don't believe truth exists. We want to help you see the spiritual war behind the political war, the truth claims behind the press release, and the forest from the trees.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you with us. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss, and glad to have you. All right, Texas now finds itself in the center of a huge controversy regarding a proposed city founded by an Islamic organization. Now, the official name is the East Plano Islamic Center. It's also known as EPIC. But this epic center, they're proposing a mosque-centered city there in Texas, which some have accused as being a Sharia-based enclave in disguise. Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott has launched an investigation into the whole matter, but is now being accused himself of trampling religious freedoms. So what exactly is going on in the Lone Star State and what's behind all the concern? We're here now to discuss this is Krista Shield. She's the director of Defending Our Republic. She's been one, certainly, among others, who's at the tip of the spear on this whole issue. Krista, welcome to Washington Watch. It's an honor to have you.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thank you, Jody. It's an honor to be here. So what's happening?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, tell us. Let me start with this. I think the big question for a lot of people, and then I want to go to the broader issue, but this whole issue of Sharia law, that's certainly the accusation. Where does that accusation come from and is it real?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, it is very much. Actually, I've been calling it not a Muslim community. I've been calling it a Sharia compound. But better yet, they went a year ago when they dropped the first video out of East Plano Islamic Center describing the details of their plans. They called it Epic 2 or E2. Epic 1 is already in existence. There's a caliphate that's already in existence in Plano, Texas, surrounding East Plano Islamic Center. And... They're calling it epic city now for a very good reason, because it will be a city within a city. And I call it a Hamas sanctuary city for very good reason, because East Plano Islamic Center, we have mounds of evidence, including my own personal investigations that show their alignment with Hamas. Their scholar, Yasir Qadhi, He has several videos out aligning himself with Hamas, the attacks of October 7th, 2023 in Israel. And I have videos of them involved in a campaign with CARE, who's also Hamas, an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. And they were demanding the release of an Al-Qaeda operative out of Carswell Federal Prison in September of 2021. Her name is Dr. Afia Siddiqui, and she is in federal prison for very good reason. She was shooting at our troops in Afghanistan and building bombs to take out our officers, as well as planting dirty bombs here in the United States. She was found with a whole list of places that she was going to plant these bombs. And so that's just a little bit of that alignment that we've been showing our elected officials and why we're calling this what it is.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, so with that kind of evidence, why and how does anyone else stand up defending the city by saying it has nothing to do with Hamas, nothing to do with Sharia law? I mean, what you just described sounds like the evidence is pretty out in the open.
SPEAKER 14 :
It is. And it's very open source information. I've spent the past several months listening to videos of their Islamic scholar, Yasser Qadi, teach his people how to do boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel, saying things like Jews and Christians are filthy and it's incumbent upon us in jihad to take their lives and their property. So we have video graphic evidence of their school at EPIC. with our second grade girls in the school to fundraiser last year, chanting, as you see right here, thank you for showing the clip, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. And they're holding up a map of Palestine and Israel's wiped off the face of the map. I don't know how you get any clearer who these people are and what their intentions are for these developments.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow, remarkable. So, all right, they already have E1, as you described. It's already been there for several years. Now their proposal is E2. What does that entail? What would E2 look like?
SPEAKER 14 :
So what they're calling it now is Epic City. And so they've got Boulder and feel like they've already conquered this territory and they've won. And so they really want a city within a city. And so that land encompasses both Josephine in South Farmersville, Texas. It encompasses both Collin County and Hunt County. And those properties, the main property is 402 acres where they plan on developing a central mosque, a thousand homes, which they pre-sold the home sites for, apartment buildings, a senior living center, sports complexes, private boys and girls segregated Sharia schools, you name it, retail spaces, restaurants, their own water tower, wastewater treatment. And because they've been studying the way we set up our what we call extraterritorial jurisdictions or ETJs, with their own municipal utility districts. They figured out that they can have all the benefits of living out in this rural property in the county and yet having the advantages of being connected into the city and the city councils have been bullied into annexing them so that they have emergency services and they could turn around and sue the city and the taxpayer will be on the hook to pay them at some point. So they're able to get their own voting poll in there and they are able to get their own police force as a mud out there in the ETJ.
SPEAKER 04 :
Krista Shield, Director of Defending Our Republic, I want to thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. Incredible development taking place there. Thank you for joining us. Friends, up next, we're going to continue more of this examination. Dr. Hormaz Shariat will be joining me as we continue this discussion about what's happening in Texas. So much more coming your way right after the break. Stay tuned. We'll be back.
SPEAKER 11 :
What is God's role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with biblical truth to engage in today's most pressing debates. From the Ten Commandments in Classrooms to the Immigration Crisis of America, we'll uncover the foundations of our nation's history and why it's relevant for today. Defend God's plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to 67742.
SPEAKER 10 :
The world is hurting. Streets are filled with crime. Families are broken. Sin is celebrated and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God's will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn't impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can't do that. It's not that you don't love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God's opinion more than your neighbor's opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you're the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thank you so much for entrusting this hour with us here at Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Glad to have you with us. All right, we want to continue our exploration on this potential Islamic city, literally. that's unfolding in Texas. The proposed city has clearly drawn passionate reactions from citizens and religious leaders alike. And there's a reason, cultural or otherwise, to be concerned about this proposal. And here to discuss further, we've got Dr. Hormaz Shariat with us. He's the founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries, a Christian ministry that uses satellite broadcasting and the internet to reach Iranians with the gospel. Dr. Shariat, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you, Jody, for allowing me to share.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. So a lot going on here in Texas. I'm really looking forward to getting your perspective on all of this. The city being called now epic by the organization. They are certainly accused of trying to implement Sharia law. First of all, should that be a concern to the citizens of Texas and the government of Texas?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yes, of course. I live in Texas. The center is like 20 minutes away from me. And our studios and our ministry is in North Dallas. So yes, it's not a hype. It's not a theory. If you want to know where this ends up, just look at England and maybe France. Look at Europe. What's happening in the U.S. has happened in Europe maybe 20, 30 years before. So you look at England and you see how these Islamic centers, they're mosques, but they call them Islamic centers, have gone. And now in England, you see that A father is arrested because he stood outside his son's high school silently praying for his son. He's arrested. At the same time, you see in London and other cities, you see thousands of Muslims blocking the streets praying to Allah. So this is a first step, the epic, the first step towards that kind of presence in the U.S. Of course, they're not doing something illegal, having a city or having a place for them to gather. They call it, deceitfully, they call it the Islamic center. It's more than that because Islam is not just a religion. Islam is a political system. Islam is a social system. Islamism controls your personal life. There is a loss for your, how you go, excuse me, to bathroom, your bedroom loss, bathroom loss. So it's a completely controlling every aspects of people's life. That's why they want that. They want to implement Islam to the fullest, but that's not, that's the beginning. It will not be the end of their plans.
SPEAKER 04 :
And therein, I think you bring up a great point. You put your finger on something that is extremely important because some people are going to say this is government interfering with religious liberty, with religious freedom of people. But this goes beyond religious freedom. This is a geopolitical system. And that goes beyond just the mere religious expression of faith. So how do you, I'm sure you've had this question, how do you deal with this from a First Amendment perspective?
SPEAKER 17 :
Of course, yeah, America gives freedom, freedom of speech, and that's the, you have to follow that. And they have lawyers, they're following that. There is not much you can do to stop it. But just remember, The same Muslims in their own country, a Christian like us, like me, will be killed. We can't have a church. We can't even have a church in Iran. Just two weeks ago, they arrested three people. One of them was beautiful, young mother of a baby. They... sentenced her to 17 years in jail why because she attended the house church so they are using the law in the west and the attitude the christian attitude in the west the attitude of tolerance free speech they're using it and they're abusing it they may stay inside the law but they are using law to establish Islam in America. Again, look at, if you want to know the future of Islam, if you allow this, look at, just study England, what has happened in England the last 30, 40 years. So it is a good point. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, so let me ask you this, and then I want to ask this, and then one final question before I let you go. They are approaching this, Epic, the promoters, if you will, of Epic, they are promoting this city as fostering belonging, fostering inclusivity. But as you're just now describing, traditionally, let me just ask you, put it in this way of a question, how has Islam treated the idea of, of inclusivity with other peoples, with other religions? Is it even possible?
SPEAKER 17 :
It's not possible because it's a mandate in Quran to take over the world by any means, if it's through politics, through deception, through trickery. And that's all, in Islam, they have a mandate to take care of the world, even if it's by violence. So this is, in America, in the West, they can't use violence, but they're using other means. But the goal is the same. Allah wants to take over the world. And lying and deception, just calling it an Islamic center is deception by itself. There's no problem of taking steps. They have long-term plans. I have talked to some of them. They say, even for America, these mullahs, These religious leaders of Islam in America, they tell me, they've texted me, they've called me, hey, you think you're doing a great job to convert Muslims to Christianity? Just wait two, 20, 30 years and see what we do to America. They're threatening me. They said, we have a long-term plan for America. You think you're the winner by converting Muslims? Just wait and see what we will do to America.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. All right, last question for you. Fascinating stuff. Thank you so much. Last question. I can't leave you without giving you an opportunity to describe the ministry. You've been involved in trying to reach Iranians for over 25 years. Tell us what's recently been going on in Iran. What's been on your heart for that nation? What are you seeing take place there spiritually now?
SPEAKER 17 :
Amazing. But let me clarify. I was born in Iran, Muslim. And after they executed my brother many years ago, I committed my life to serving Muslims. So when I say these things about Islam, it's not out of hatred. It's out of love. If you love, you tell the truth. That's what I'm doing. Personally, I came to Christ as a student in Southern California at the University of Southern California. I compared the Bible. and Quran, I compared Islam and Christianity, and I realized, Jesus, there's no, nobody can match and compete with Jesus. My life was transformed, changed, and I started sharing the gospel with Muslims. That's how ministry started. I was a research scientist. Then I went to Silicon Valley, I did research on AI, that's my field, and at the same time started planting churches. We went on the air, satellite television, 25 years ago, right after 9-11, and the Lord has used us to reach out to millions of people. Now, what's happening in Iran? Hey, good news, good news! Iran will be the first Islamic nation that is coming to Christ already. And I say Iran will be a Christian nation. People tell me, hey, are you crazy? Where did you get that idea? I tell them, hey, I stole that idea. Where did you steal it from? I steal it from the Lord in Jeremiah 49. 38. Jeremiah 49, 38, the Lord says, I will set my throne there. So what's happening in Iran is the Spirit of God in the midst of all these talks of nuclear wars and Iran making bomb and using it against the West or against Israel. In the midst of all the bad news, there is one great news. Iranians have rejected Islam and are open to the message of the gospel. We see thousands of them come to Christ every month. The good news is that that nation, Islam, is done. And according to God's promise, it will be a Christian nation. Let me share with you this story. Just, you know, even today, we had a lot of... I'm going to have to let you go real quick.
SPEAKER 04 :
Be quick, please. I got to run on. Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
You know, back today, we have live church service. I provide church through our satellite television and online. And then after that, I go to a Zoom. Zoom call. It's like a lobby. Meet the pastor. Let him pray for you. Ask questions. And last week, for two hours, I was leading Muslims to Christ. They were coming to the Zoom, ready to... Receive Christ. The amazing thing, Jody, is that they did not have any questions. Muslim, they didn't say, what should I do with Muhammad? What should I do with Quran? They didn't say, why do you say Jesus God? Why three gods? No questions. They were saying, I am ready to receive Christ. One of them were saying, hey, When I was watching your sermon, I felt somebody planting flowers in my mind. I'm ready to receive Christ. There is a revival in Iran. I've written a book called Iran's Great Awakening. But watch out what God is doing in Iran. It will encourage you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, you have encouraged us all. Dr. Hermas Sheriat, thank you so much. Founder and President of Iran Alive Ministries. Incredible information. God bless you and your ministry. We look forward to seeing the continued work of God and the Lord Jesus Christ there in Iran. Thank you. All right, friends, as we close out the week, I tell you, we could close out right there. I'm just excited on the inside and out. But I do want to pivot now to David Claussen. I want us to end with our weekly Biblical Worldview discussion on some of the major issues taking place in our country. And, of course, David Claussen is the director of our Center for Biblical Worldview here at FRC. His brand-new book, His brand new book, Life After Roe, equipping Christians in the fight for life today. David, thank you for joining us. We appreciate, as always, you being a part of our Friday edition. Bring us a biblical perspective of the news.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great to be with you, Jody. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, real quick, I've got a couple things I want to end with your book, How People Can Get It. But I shared this a little while ago, some recent findings from a report published by the network Contagion, the research institute. But they said that those who identify, self-identify as left of center, They are over 55% willing to say that assassinating President Trump or Elon Musk could be justified. Now, I know you've had a chance to look at this report, but what do we do with this?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, Jody, that's concerning. 55%, according to this report, of those who are left of center think that they could find a way to justify assassinating the sitting president of the United States And 48% said the same way about Elon Musk. You dig into the weeds on the survey, and it's actually about 38% of respondents overall said yes, that they think it would be somewhat justifiable to murder the president. Now, again, that's astounding, Jody. And I think my simple response to this is as Christians, we recognize we live in extremely polarizing times. We recognize that we're divided politically. As Christians, we reject violence, though. We recognize that all people are made in God's image. We recognize that even those we disagree with politically have value and dignity. And we also recognize that Romans 13 says government is ordained by God for our good. So even if you disagree on a policy issue with someone in office, we still respect them. We still ought to pray for them. And so this shows we're in kind of dangerous times, but as Christians, we need to be really clear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. Switching gears real quickly with you, we had, I'm sure you followed this recent story involving pool, not a swimming pool, but the game as in billiards. Just a couple of days ago, Harriet Haynes won the tournament there in England, but it was a women's event despite him being a man. And in fact, the other person he was playing was also a man. So you had two men playing in the finals of a women's tournament. Wow. As we're watching this whole transgender thing decrease and lose momentum in so many places, it is still a major issue, isn't it?
SPEAKER 06 :
It absolutely is. And again, what a striking example of what happens when a society loses their bearings, their moral bearings, their objective truth. This pool tournament over in England, Jodi, again, you have two biological males competing in the championship. Why are they even allowed to be in the women's final, the women's tournament to begin with, is because they identify as women. And so again, it's absolutely insane. Jody, this is really important, though. Although I do think there's kind of been a vibe shift, so to speak, President Trump's been leading on this issue. Just before we came on the air, actually, the Danbury Institute contacted me. They're an allied organization. They put out a letter on some really pernicious legislation in Colorado. It's HB 251312. This is legislation. It's been approved by one house in Colorado, Jody, that if it were to go into law, it would allow courts, to look at custody disputes and look at children and actually potentially remove children from their parents' home if the parents don't affirm the gender identity of their children. There's clauses in this legislation that say that if you deadname your child, meaning simply if you use the name that you gave them, or if you misgender them, again, that's just code, leftist code, for if you use... pronouns that conflict with their biological sex, that you could lose custody. And so I do think there's a vibe change that's taking place, Jody. However, we need to be vigilant because the folks who believe this ideology, they're not going to go quietly in the night.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely they're not. We've only got about 30 seconds. Your book is awesome. Tell us real quickly how people can get your book.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, very kind. Yeah, Life After Roe, Equipping Christians in the Fight for Life Today. You can go really wherever books are sold. You can go to lifeway.com. That's my publisher. And we still have a week or so where you can use Washington Watch. Use that code, one word, Washington Watch, and viewers and listeners of this program can receive 40% off. Looks at the Issue of Life from a Theological, Biblical, and Political Perspective.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, David, listen, I want to thank you as always. I look forward to our time together to try to hit some of the major news items from a biblical worldview perspective. As always, thank you so much for joining us. I hope you have a great weekend, and may God bless your book. Thank you. It needs to get in the hands of people. God bless. All right, friends, that wraps up another week. Hope you have a fantastic weekend, and we'll be back with you next week right here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
On today's episode of Sekulow, we dive into a shocking revelation as China openly admits to their involvement in cyber-attacks against U.S. infrastructure, sparking a fresh perspective on the ongoing tariff war. Join us as Logan Sekulow and Will Haynes analyze how strategic insights from the Wall Street Journal are fueling shifts in U.S. international relations. Our packed lineup promises exclusive insights from ACLJ clients and experts who detail courtroom battles that uphold election integrity, particularly in Oklahoma, where imminent challenges to political primaries surface.
SPEAKER 07 :
On today's show, China makes shocking confession that may be fueling the tariff war. 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 06 :
And now your host, Logan Sekula. Welcome to Sekula. We do have some breaking news today, and we have a packed show. We're going to be joined by one of the ACLJ's clients a little bit later. You may have heard about our complaint right now happening in Oklahoma for the Republican Party. They're going to discuss that. as well as Yakov Smirnoff, comedian, is going to be joining us. That's going to be a lot of fun. Talk about all of his new work and, of course, a very patriotic guy, and you want to stay tuned for that, a comedy legend. And then, of course, towards the end of the show, we'll be joined by even more guests and your calls at 1-800-684-3110, 1-800-684-3110, to have your voice heard on the air today, Will, because there is some news we wanted to break today. And it is a pretty interesting discovery that the Wall Street Journal has uncovered.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. So if you'll remember last year during the Biden administration, there was concerns about this cyber attack on the U.S. infrastructure and that they were finding this malware that was embedded within key infrastructure centers within the United States, whether it be power, energy, things of that nature. And It was accredited to that it came from China. You know, the United States believed that the People's Republic of China in the party probably had something to do with it. But obviously they would never have admitted that publicly. But it was it was a big shock at the time to see some of the vulnerabilities that we had here at home that could be susceptible to some of these types of cyber attacks. Well, it turns out that. The outgoing Biden administration had a secret meeting with Chinese officials at the end of last year in December. And in that meeting, the Chinese officials actually acknowledged in this summit in Geneva that. That the Chinese were behind it, that the government itself, not trying to just blow it off, talk about some rogue actors or some criminal elements within the country, but they actually were behind it. This is unprecedented. Normally, your adversary in this doesn't admit to this, doesn't fess up. it but they're not usually talking about it and it was so much so that the united states had it as an agenda item to talk about it was called volt typhoon but decided to not bring it up thinking that there's no way that they were going to uh even have a any sort of discussion about this because they would just deny and move on they instead were talking about some uh phone hacking that also occurred uh that was directed by the government of china that swept up AT&T and some of the other carriers and actually involved some eavesdropping on some of the presidential campaign periphery people. But it was one of the delegation members of China that brought it up himself, and it was seen there. that by many that he was making this admission almost as if to say, if you come towards Taiwan, if you push us, look what we can do in that when you have that context. Obviously, the Biden team, they said briefed the the This is post-election. Post-election, pre-transition to President Trump. Yeah, so just that December timeframe. The Biden team gets this information, relays it to the incoming President Trump team, and when you have this context of a weak president finds this out, and then the incoming strong president has this knowledge, a lot of the escalation that's going on with China right now in the tariff war game starts to make a lot more sense. That's about to say,
SPEAKER 06 :
Let's tie that in. We only got a minute here until we go to a quick break, but we'll be right back and we'll keep this discussion going. If you have questions about it, give us a call. I know people have seen that it says it's fueling the tariff war. Can you give us a little tease, Will, of what you mean by fueling the tariff war?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, when you start to see that your adversary has strengthened exponentially over the last presidency, it makes you wonder why the number one target of these tariffs is do seem to be still China.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. Like I said, we got a very packed show, so you want to make sure you stay tuned. Hit that thumbs up if you're watching. Give us a comment in YouTube if you're watching on YouTube or Rumble. Let me know where you're watching from. I always like to hear that. But also support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. Right now, we are halfway through our life and Liberty Drive for the month of April, where your donations are doubled. I'm going to break down all the things we are fighting for on your behalf when we get back. But right now, you know what we do. Scan the QR code. Go to ACLJ.org. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Sekulow. Just to reset so you have an idea of what's going on. And again, we're going to have a packed show. We've got a lot of guests coming up. In the next segment, we are going to have one of our clients from Oklahoma, Senator Nathan Dahm, who's going to come on and discuss the news you heard yesterday. Again, we'll maybe give a brief background before we get to it a little bit later. But essentially, the Republican Party there is nervous about being inundated with people who are claiming to be Republicans just to disrupt politics. The, um, just disrupt the elections essentially. And what we have to do is say, yes, it's okay for them to have their own ability to screen and decide who gets to be their nominee.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. Well, people at home may not want to be thinking about the midterm election or even the next presidential election. Uh, We can't have that luxury here. And that's why our lawyers are working diligently and have representing the the Republican Party of Oklahoma right now. And we'll get into more of that later. But it is based off of a new ballot initiative brought by purportedly citizens of Oklahoma that are. trying to change the way that the primaries of the state are run. And a lot of the effect would have because it is one of the most conservative states in the country. So changing the way it's run may change the outcome or the opportunities of people that may want to diminish the conservative chops of Oklahoma.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. We'll discuss that a bit more. And then obviously, like I told you earlier, comedy legend Yakov Smirnoff is going to be joining us. That's going to be a lot of fun. And we got more coming up. And again, phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. But you may be tuning in right now because you saw our headline, our breaking news alert, if you will, this shocking moment where China has actually confessed. to some interesting uh claims a lot of people probably assumed we could probably guess that they were happening as you said but usually you don't get an admission this again comes from the wall street journal and some other sources that's right so this this entire claim which is just shocking because while the us assumed and and probably blamed
SPEAKER 03 :
the Chinese government for this pre-positioning of this malware for a cyber attack to be able to target U.S. infrastructure, whether it be water, power, utilities, things that we rely on all over the country. And And they, in this meeting, this outgoing meeting of the Biden team, they met secretly in Geneva in December. They were talking about issues. They were talking about even hacking of phone networks and other cybersecurity issues. And the, the Americans trying to be diplomatic, we're trying to talk about even issues like the, the infrastructure targeting. as wanting to inform like the chinese how dangerous and that the americans would see that as an act of war kind of in the meeting giving them the benefit of the doubt and in this unexpected move the chinese delegation essentially confirmed to the american delegation that they were behind it it wasn't a rogue criminal element it wasn't bad actors or third parties that were uh Just coming up with this plan on their own. But it was indeed the Chinese government that had the knowledge and force behind it. And it took the people off guard in the meeting. Obviously the Chinese embassy is not making a public statement about this. And even in there, the people are saying this was a secret meeting. This was not supposed to be publicly broadcast things that happen. And that's one reason why they felt so secure making this almost threat to the Americans. And this was as the Biden team's exiting.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I think we need to clarify the timeframe of this because this is a breaking news item. But this is something that happened, I mean, only a few months ago. We're talking about back in December. This happened, but it happened. You got to remember. A lot can be disrupted in that election period to inauguration period when there is an outgoing administration that is not thrilled.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and we know how the world reacted to the Biden presidency. They took steps to strengthen their posture against the United States during four years of a weak foreign policy led by Trump. uh in name the president united states joe biden but jake sullivan wendy sherman the victoria newlands of the world all of these people uh secretary blinken that were leading the foreign policy of the united states and took us steps back maybe even decades back in the posture of the united states on the world stage Causing all of this catch up that you're having to see in this first 80 days of the Trump presidency. And so when you look at the fact that the tariff, there's a pause for the entire world except against China.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that happened since we've been, I think, on air. That happened where the pauses went through. I guess that happened a couple of days ago. Right. The pauses went through. So a lot of people who are concerned about the tariffs. But China is sort of the big one.
SPEAKER 03 :
but they keep going back and forth there's up to 125 tariffs across the board on china at this point and when you see that and you see the strength that's now having to be put forward against china it also tells you how far the ability to negotiate and duel it out with the chinese officials have gotten because they were brazen enough in a meeting to admit they were behind pre-positioning software to be able to strike at the very heart of america being able to operate that would be on civilian infrastructure that's not just hitting a military target if they felt they needed to do an attack on the united states that is costing many many many casualties and issues with the civilian population in the united states that's telling you how serious it got And why I think in some degree, I think maybe even the administration should be able to vocalize this to some degree of how bad the relationship has gotten, how brazen China feels. That you have to be tough now with things like a trade war or else it becomes a hot war with actual military conflict. And I don't think anyone in the world wants to see an actual military war with China.
SPEAKER 06 :
I definitely don't want that. I mean, you had even people like Kevin, Mr. Wonderful from China. Shark Tank saying, hey, you know what? Make it a 400% tariff. Then we'll actually get to the table and get stuff done. Let's go to Kevin, though, who is calling. Different Kevin. Maybe not. In California. Who's watching on the Salem News Channel, which we're available live, by the way, every day from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Absolutely free on the Salem News Channel, as well as free on, obviously, YouTube, Rumble, ACLJ.org. But, Kevin, go ahead. Thank you for taking my call.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're welcome. I think we should, I think we should be like Kennedy said, ask not what your country could do for you, but what you can do. You need you for your country. Um, it's going to be tough, but it's better to rip the bandaid off fast. to pull it off slowly. And God bless Trump and America.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, Kevin, I think a lot of people are hoping that this is just a negotiation tactic. In some ways, it clearly is. We've already seen so many countries come to the table. We've already seen the pause happen for 99% of the countries. It just happens to be the one that's still there is the one that is the big dog, if you will. The one that is going to be the most difficult because we probably rely on each other the most, which is China. And China, again, has not really been a friend necessarily to the United States, but is one of our biggest trade partners. So when we start going back and forth, remember you're dealing with almost everything that you use on a daily basis is likely made in China. I'm looking at around on our studio. I am sure most of what is getting us here on the air was probably made in China or our country associated.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and what you're also seeing is some of the businesses in the United States that have clout and the ability to also take part in negotiations in their own way. China, obviously, a lot of business with Walmart, America's largest retailer. Yeah. walmart is saying publicly that they are going to force the exporter being china who they get goods from to be the ones to foot the bill for the car the tariffs yeah right because the way tariffs work normally when it comes into the port through customs uh It is the responsibility of the importer, the one who gets it, who pays the duty to be able to continue it to come into the country. Walmart has the clout because of how much they import in from Chinese manufacturers and companies that they can say, you know what? you're going to be the one that's going to foot this bill. You want to still keep sending your goods through here and we have the power and they have the money to really put that pressure point on the person that's manufacturing it. That changes a big equation, especially for the left that tries to say this is only going to hurt lower income and middle class Americans who are going to see prices rise on all their goods. When the largest retailer in the United States that is mostly, it's not the billionaires of Wall Street that are the biggest customer base of the Walmart stores across America. If they're going to say, we're not even going to end up having to raise the price on our goods because China's going to pay it anyways. That makes a very big difference in the pressure point because now China's losing another leverage point where they can say, if we can hold out and just cause more pain on the American people, then President Trump will cave. That doesn't seem like it's going to play out for them very well. It's an interesting development when you know this context of how bad the relationship and how brazen China is in their meetings with the officials of the former administration, why it is necessary to be so tough on them now, because you have to undo a lot of damage that has happened with our posture towards China.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. When we get back, we're going to be taking, number one, some more calls. If you want to call in at 1-800-684-3110, you can. We'll take them in the next few segments. We also have one of our clients, a former senator in Oklahoma. You may have heard about our current president. supreme court of oklahoma fight i guess you want to say for election integrity we're going to discuss and break that down make it a little bit easier for you to understand why it's important and so you can put a face with all that's happening in the world of the aclj we always think it's important for you to see these clients hear from them directly so we're going to do that coming up in the next segment and then later on the broadcast yakov smirnoff comedian comedy legend is gonna be joining us uh as well as a geez a more packed show mike pompeo we got stacked 1-800-684-3110 give us a call we'll be right back Welcome back to Seculo. It's always important to me, at least once a show, to talk about the work of the ACLJ and how we are getting involved. And number one, how you need to get involved in this as well, because you're going to hear these stories from time to time, whether that's the church on the beach, whether that's someone praying in there, a teacher praying that wasn't allowed to pray in front of her students or even in front of anyone in sight. The ACLJ takes that on to all the way up to the President of the United States and usually somewhere in the middle. That's kind of where we are right now, which we are joined by a very special guest. Will, why don't you introduce our guest and then I really want you to break down, sir, the kind of nitty gritty of this because it's a little hard to understand for our audience. I got some feedback yesterday that said, hey, Make it a little clearer on why this is important and why this is important nationwide. But, Will, I'll let you do the introductions.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. We have former Senator Nathan Dahm from Oklahoma, who is the chairman of the Oklahoma GOP. It's a pleasure for the ACLJ to work again with Senator Dahm because we also were fighting another ballot access initiative situation maybe a little over a year ago with the 14th Amendment challenges They went to Oklahoma as they were trying to go all over the country. Fortunately, we were able to win that one a little bit quicker than things like the Colorado situation, which all the way to the Supreme Court. But Senator Dahm, what is this initiative petition 448 and why is it so important that the Oklahoma GOP is challenging it?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, first of all, let me absolutely thank you all. You've always been great to work with. And we were thrilled to have that last victory on the 14th Amendment case along with you and you all leading the charge in that. So we're happy to partner with you once again. But what we're seeing is essentially the Democrats, their ideology has been destroyed. rejected time and time again, especially here in Oklahoma. They had control of the state for over 100 years. And then as Republicans have gained control because people have compared the principles and platforms of the party, they've rejected what the Democrats stand for. And so we see that now they're trying to change the system, game the system, do anything that they can to infiltrate. And now they're trying to actually amend the Oklahoma Constitution. and take away the right of free association, take away the ability of the parties to determine who is voting in their primary elections, and essentially say that no matter what, whoever it is, you have every Republican, Democrat, independent, unregistered, libertarian, all of them just go on one primary ballot. and anyone can vote on any one of those so uh democrats can start voting on on uh for uh in in the republican primaries uh to try to skew that uh to pick someone that's not you know very aligned with the republican party platform or to try to get their people advancing to the general election without people understanding who they're voting for why they're voting for them so they're calling this an open primary But in reality, it's more of a jungle primary, similar to California and how they were able to get Kamala Harris elected in that state. And so what they're trying to do is they're trying to use the force of government to infiltrate these parties, Republican parties. and determine how we operate as a party, what principles we have to adhere to. And so they're trying to use the force of government to interfere with our rights of free association. And that's a huge problem. Obviously, there's constitutional issues with that. But they've lost in so many other ways that they're trying to skew things and change it to where they can take advantage of of this process by enshrining it in the Oklahoma Constitution. So it's a bad move forward and we're thankful that you all have partnered with us to try and fight this battle in the courts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and once again, you mentioned that they're trying to call it an open primary. Many states have an open primary, but the difference is that the open primary isn't that it's one ballot, kind of a free-for-all. It's that an open primary, the parties still direct the ballot that is received because in those, you still are choosing either a Democrat or Republican ballot. There is a big difference in what would be considered a traditional open primary in the way that they're trying to spin it in the media to make it seem like the Republicans may be scared of what other states do, because in reality, they're trying to skew the system. They're trying to obfuscate what people may end up voting for. And they're also, as you said, they haven't been winning in your state. And so, again, What can they do? Not get better candidates or change their ideology. They can just try to change the rules to try to gain ground. But that's what I wanted to also focus on here because many people are tired of talking about an election at this point. They don't want to think about 2022 as a midterms. I'm sorry. 2026 midterms I'm sorry two years from now they don't want to think about the next presidential election but we have to start here and that's why we're working with you to protect the integrity of elections not just in Oklahoma but we also know the left has a playbook and that they will try to replicate this elsewhere so we have to start now
SPEAKER 01 :
Absolutely. And you have to give credit to them. I mean, the left is relentless. They know that their ideology is terrible, that it fails everywhere that it's been tried throughout human history, but they want power. And so they'll do anything they can to gain power, gain power. Maintain power, control power, and that's what this is. This is a power grab. Right now in our current state law, if a party, whether the Republican Party or Democrat Party or Libertarian Party, if they want to, they can allow anyone else from any other party or any unaffiliated person, an independent or an unaffiliated voter, to vote in their primaries. But it's up to the party to choose that. And it's just like – I mean I try to use the example of with your local church, do you really want all the atheists that live in the community, should they be able to come in and determine who the pastor is? And they get a vote on who the pastor is even though they fully disagree with the tenets of faith of that church. And that's what they're trying to do is – but they're trying to use the force of government to say that you have to let – an atheist come in and vote on who your pastor is going to be. No, that's not how this should operate. And so they are trying to do this in Oklahoma, the reddest of the red states, where all 77 counties voted for President Trump the last three cycles and for the Republican nominee going back the last six cycles. And so they're trying to use Oklahoma as a proving ground. They're being disingenuous in how they are presenting this because again we already have this option but right now it's up to the parties if they want to choose to allow other people to vote in it what they are trying to do is trying to put it in the constitution to force every political party to say you no longer have any sort of authority autonomy you can't have any direction in this or involvement they they're trying to say that they know what's best because they can't win otherwise
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thank you so much, Nathan, for joining us today. I really appreciate it. I think that helped break down what this information is and why this is a freedom of speech case, why this is something that needs to be taken care of and why we need to be there. And we're only there because of people like you who support the work of the ACLJ on a regular basis, whether you're giving a one-time donation or you are becoming an ACLJ champion. That's a great time to do it, by the way. You heard the story from Nathan. You hear all the cases that we are involved in. I got a whole list of them right in front of me we can go through because you hear that and we know that we can be there at absolutely no cost. and we are in our life and liberty drive we're about to wrap up this first half hour make sure you join us for the second half hour it's a crucial time you can increase the power of your donation because right now your donations are doubled that is twice the power to keep us in the fight for all things you hold dear to your heart when you support the aclj not only are you supporting work here domestically you also are working with the european center for law and justice the aclj jerusalem and our offices around the globe We just told you about that filing at the Supreme Court of Oklahoma to defend election integrity. We just did that at the U.S. Supreme Court last year for the ballot ban that was happening for President Trump. We need you to get involved right now. We are there for you, fighting for your values, and we can't do it without you. So I encourage you, as we head to the break, scan the QR code, go to ACLJ.org, double the impact of your donation right now. As we head into the second half hour, join us on ACLJ.org, on YouTube, on Rumble, or however you get your content. We are there. We'll be right back in less than a minute.
SPEAKER 07 :
keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. This is the second half hour of Sekulow. We got a packed back half of the show. In the next segment, Yakov Smirnoff, comedy legend, is going to be joining us. You know those are fun days when Friday, this is like when you can tell I get to pick some of the guests, Will, they get to come on. So we had the head of a former Republican, or head of the Republican Party in Oklahoma. Right. And you're like, you get to take that one. Yeah. And you get to ask all the really deep, important questions. This next segment... This one's on me, and I'm going to talk with Yakov Smirnoff. You're going to be there as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
You can fill in. I'll be here, but I definitely said during that segment, I go, actually, you know, let me take this one a little bit more with the party chair. And then I said, you handle our Mr. Smirnoff. All right.
SPEAKER 06 :
You can give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. We are talking about a few different topics. You heard about the work of the ACLJ and I definitely wanted to spend some time more talking about that because when you hear from our clients directly, I think it's important. In the ACLJ, we have a lot of different facets. We have the show, we have the media side, and of course the legal side. In the legal side, in media side, I think they go hand in hand. They're just as important because we have to be able to change hearts. and minds, we have to be able to educate and inform, and of course we have to be able to impact the law. And we can't do that without the best of the best. And when I look around and I see the incredible team working on our media team, or I see our legal team upstairs, I go, wow, we got some great people who are out there fighting for you. And they only exist because of people like you. We're not built on the back. of giant mega donors. We're not built on the back of corporate sponsors. It is all because of people like you who make individual or become ACLJ champions. But a lot of those are at the $75 range, $45 range. It's not all built on this sort of mega money. And we do that intentionally and important because we don't have to within have some sort of sway by some major donor who says, I need you to tackle only this issue. We don't do that here. Sure, if you want to give a big donation, we'd happily accept it. But we are not controlled by that. So I want you to go to ACLJ.org and be a part of that journey today because we are in the middle of our life in Liberty Drive. And this next half hour, it's going to be packed. So I'm not going to have as many times to be able to tell you this because we have guests coming up in the next two segments. So I wanted to give you that opportunity right now to hear about our work and know why it's important. We do have a phone call coming in. Should we go ahead and take that call? Yeah, let's go to... Is it clear? It just went, it was green. There we go. Martin, North Carolina, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 02 :
You bumped me up. Yeah, I just wanted to make a mention with everything that you're talking about and what we saw under the Biden administration with the spy balloon and everything else, why the left, in particular Tim Walz, was touting that China... is not our adversary. Well, clearly they are. And people need to keep their eyes wide open I know you've mentioned several times about the midterms coming up. Who's really are we going to follow when we find out now that China has been behind a lot of this stuff that is very, very important working against us?
SPEAKER 06 :
It is a big issue because they are one of the most important players on the stage. They have also, like you said, unleashed havoc on our country fairly recently in the world. So it's this very strange relationship where we don't support necessarily their political side. We don't even necessarily support the humanitarian side. However, we're forced to be at the table with them because of the way we have structured deals with them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And that's part of the tariff issue is not just to put them in check, but also to try and bring some of that back. And everyone in the world is trying to tell America it's impossible. Right. I like when America is told something's impossible because that's when the American people really shine. That's when they stand up and they get it done and they show the world once again we can do impossible things here in America. And so I don't take the impossible challenge lightly. I think that that's what America's best at. But back to that Tim Walz statement before we go to break. I think that if the Kamala Harris team actually vetted Tim Walz and saw those statements beforehand and they still...
SPEAKER 06 :
allowed him to be the nominee for vice president uh either i don't i don't even know how to fathom that because this is the reality of what's going on hey uh phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110 we get back we're gonna have a little more fun so you want to stay tuned for that because yakov smirnoff comedy legend is going to be joining us we're going to be talking to him about a lot of new things going on in his career and his life so make sure you stay tuned for that and then we'll wrap things up after his segment we'll be right back Welcome back to Seculo. I'm very excited for our guest today. Joining us in studio, Yakov Smirnoff, who I've been a fan of most of my life. No, probably my whole life at this point. I have been to the Branson Show. I am a big comedy historian, if you will. Obviously know of your history. And your story is that it's just an amazing story. And when you go to see your show in Branson, that at least for when I saw it, that was really the... the key takeaway of it is just how amazing your American dream journey has been, whether that's from, you know, your time when you made it to America in the Catskills and then working your way to the comedy store. It's just a phenomenal journey that really seems like it only can happen here.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I really appreciate you saying this. And I'm doing a show tomorrow, Saturday at 4 p.m. at Zany's. And when I have an hour that I can take them on that journey, And they're laughing all the way through, and yet it paints a picture of where I grew up and how my life was and how it changed when I came to America, and then how it changed again when I came to Hollywood and started making movies. And I thought every immigrant gets a movie with Robin Williams or Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson or Tom Hanks. I was just enjoying this.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is what happened.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's right, but I didn't understand that I was just lucky to kind of come to America when there was a lot of tension between the Soviet Union and Russia, Soviet Union and America. And so I was popular because Americans need, I was like... I say they were painting behind the Soviet Union, and I was like Preparation H. I was helping to release the swelling and the tension.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and it was your journey there, of course, Moscow and the Hudson, all of that that happens, because it was such a topic at the time. And now it probably is more relevant than ever to have these discussions again. Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think in some ways. I think what President Trump is trying to do is to stop the conflict. And that would help with humor as well. Because it's kind of hard to make jokes about, you know, when people are in that situation. But I... There was a time the Soviet Union collapsed and David Letterman had a top 10 list of things that will now change. I made number one on the list. Yakov Smirnov will be out of work. And six months later, I was out of work. My contracts in Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Tahoe were not renewed. So all of a sudden, I'm in Malibu between all these big stars, $2.5 million home, no money to pay for a mortgage. So American dream was all of a sudden it's a nightmare. What am I doing? So I start looking for a place where they did not know that the Soviet Union collapsed. I ended up in Branson, Missouri. They still don't know. Bless their hearts. It's been the best thing that could happen to me. Landing there, I entertained over 6 million people in my own 2,000 seat theater. I mean, it's crazy for a boy that grew up in Ukraine to achieve that. It's just amazing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, when you see your theater, it's very impressive. It's got your artwork everywhere you walk in. It is like your own little Disney world of Yakov that's there. Yakov world. Yakov world that's there. But now you are doing a show here tomorrow. You are starting to kind of dip your toe, it feels like, back into touring and stand-up a little bit more traditionally because that show is almost a one-man show as well as a comedy night. It is like stand-up, but it definitely tells your whole story. Exactly. It's wonderful, especially for the Branson crowd. It is that almost theatrical experience. Yeah. yeah but you're gonna be at zany's that is a legit you know probably nashville is one of our greatest the longest lasting things is zany's comedy club it's been there for a great room but you'll be there and now it seems like that's starting to to shake up for you again well in what way when when the soviet union collapsed i i also went through a divorce at that time and i started
SPEAKER 09 :
learning more about relationships and why is there a laughter in the beginning of the relationship? But if you're going for a divorce, the only people are laughing are attorneys. And you go, what, as a comedian, it made me kind of go, what is it that, changes in the relationship. So I went from, you know, doing jokes about the cold war in the world to cold war in the bedroom. And that's what lasted me last 32 years. So I talk about men, women. So a lot of my material now is about that. And then I got my master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania in psychology. Then got my doctorate degree at Pepperdine because I wanted to scientifically figure out what happens to laughter. And so I gift drop all of this knowledge in my show and I am capable to tell people about relationships and tell them my backstory and give them some hope that there is, no matter what happening, laughter is something you want to aim for.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you've been pretty fiercely patriotic also throughout your whole career. I mean, obviously that was sort of the bedrock of maybe the original material that you were doing. What a country. What a country. And now you're still that way. I mean, I'm looking at your hat right now. If you go through your Branson, there's paintings all over that are very american very patriotic and i think it's important as people have a lot of divisive things happening in the news or they feel like there is this separation to remember it is a pretty small world that we all live in but people like you have been able to kind of break down that door and remain a real uh really a proponent of america
SPEAKER 08 :
Very much so.
SPEAKER 09 :
And helping people see what unites them and not divides them. And it's kindness. It's kindness that lives in every American's heart. And it's totally different from being brought up behind the Iron Curtain. You were surviving and you had to get everything for you. And coming to America, realizing that people do it for others and it makes them feel good, that was a shocker. But it became like my, you know, I got off the plane, I see my name written, America loves Smirnoff. I'm going, what a country, you know?
SPEAKER 06 :
So... yeah it's been it's been an amazing journey yeah and I want people to know not only again you have a show here in Asheville tomorrow at Zaney's and you know afternoon show come on out it's gonna be a lot of fun yeah but also if they're gonna be in Branson or they're gonna be you're still there you're doing your show it's not like you're just doing the roads and uh it's really a wonderful experience and Will we gotta get you out there We got to get you out to Branson.
SPEAKER 09 :
Branson is an experience. Please. Yeah. But, but you also tomorrow at 4 PM, it's a great representation of what I do. And I definitely know that people are going to laugh their yak off.
SPEAKER 06 :
I remember that on the sign. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. And I believe that, you know, we can create that sense of, camaraderie at least for at least that hour where we see Americans united through my eyes.
SPEAKER 06 :
When I look at your history and obviously you should absolutely go see the show tomorrow and then see it if you're in Branson but you talked about when you came to LA and to the comedy store and all that you look at that lineup and i've seen the documentaries and everything you've been involved you look in that lineup of people who are with you that class if you will uh it has to be crazy now you know 40 years ish later to look back and be like well that was a very special time because it was phenomenal it was i
SPEAKER 09 :
I mean, people, you know, I made movies with those people. Robin Williams, Moscow and Hudson. Movie with Tom Hanks, Money Pit. Movie with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson called Heartburn. And I'm proud to say, after working with me, all of those actors won an Oscar. And I got Oscar Mayer winner. So that's but it's all good. The point is that I've been very, very blessed. And I was I performed for four different presidents of the United States. I've been I've been I don't know. It's my story. I listen to it and I go, is that really me or am I watching a movie or something?
SPEAKER 06 :
It does feel that way. Well, I would encourage everyone, you go to yakoff.com to find out all the information for the shows. But then, of course, Zany's tomorrow. And it's really great that you stopped by because I think it's important for people to hear your story still. I think it's a very relevant story to what's going on to know that the American dream not only can happen, but here's proof and here's it happening in real time. It's still happening.
SPEAKER 09 :
And it goes for ups and downs. Yeah, yeah. But yet you remember more ups than downs. And Nashville, in my opinion, is a hub for something that is happening from my perspective. Like I became successful because I was kind of a relief of tension. And that's what made me popular. But now Nate Bargatze is leading the way. Out of here, out of Nashville. Yeah, great lineup of people now.
SPEAKER 06 :
And a lot are clean for families.
SPEAKER 09 :
Clean, clean. I was invited to Ryman. Ryman, yeah, just the other night. Yeah. It was really cool. And it just kind of threw me in. And I did 10 minutes, and I got a standing ovation.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amazing. Well, hold on. I'm going to tell you. We've got to go to yakoff.com, get tickets, and it's at Zany's tomorrow. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming. Sorry. No, no, no. We had a hard break there. Welcome back to Seculo. That was a nice diversion having Yakov in. Really cool. If you are in the area of Nashville, Tennessee, come out tomorrow and see Yakov. But if you're going to be in Branson or anywhere else, go to yakov.com. And we are now joined. We're going to take a totally different turn. This is a swerve. Yeah. We are joined by Mike Pompeo, Senior Counsel for Global Affairs. Of course, you know Mike. Mike, we're going to try to move us back to the main topic here after kind of 10 minutes of laughter there. But we had this report. We talked about it earlier, Will. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Beijing admitted to the outgoing Biden administration, this was obviously only in December, about its role in hacking the US infrastructure. Again, this isn't some sort of secret moment. This is the Wall Street Journal reporting that this was kind of not even an open secret. It was discussed.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, it's pretty remarkable. And maybe I can keep the laughter going because it makes me laugh to think somehow that anyone doubted for a moment that the Chinese Communist Party wasn't hard at trying to take down the United States of America in really fundamental ways. And so now we have evidence that in December, the Chinese told them that, yeah, we did this. We were partly responsible for this. But we've known for many, many years that the Chinese were preparing to uh to go after infrastructure think uh telecommunications think financial services think our energy pipelines even think of things like uh dams and waterways the chinese communist party has been hard at this and we have a lot of work to do to defend ourselves and to continue to deter them from actually executing against these in ways that can really hurt ordinary americans all across the country and our economy
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and Mr. Secretary, you've talked about that on this broadcast for years at this point now, that they are not to be taken lightly, that this is the goal of the Chinese Communist Party. You've talked about spy dens in different consulates that while you were Secretary of State had to put an end to. But I think what shook me about this story to some degree is that typically there's the the diplomatic niceties and of course they would never admit to but that we got to a point where the chinese communist party is so comfortable because of how weak they perceive the United States or how much they feel like they've gotten the upper hand over the past years that they would admit to something like this instead of the hiding behind the typical diplomatic, oh, that was some rogue actor. We would have nothing to do with this, obviously. That I think is what surprised me the most out of this story.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, I think that's true. Incredibly brazen. And by the way, fitting, right? They run a spy balloon across the country that the United States under Joe Biden did literally nothing to impose costs on the Chinese Communist Party. And we've seen that reverse already. And So in the first hundred days of the Trump administration. But I agree. The fact that they were just it looks like sound from the reporting casually say, yeah, no, we we were part of that is unique and different. And I think tells us how determined they are and frankly, how little they respected the United States under President Biden.
SPEAKER 06 :
We've seen the tariff situation really grow and it's been changing over the last even few days as we've seen most of the countries now on a pause from these tariffs and the volatility of the stock market. But of course, China's kind of been the lone one out as we have seen those raise and raise. The tariffs keep going up and up. And I know there are people in manufacturing who are concerned. There's people who have issues with our relationship with china and what this is going to look like but when you hear about this and knowing everything we know now and knowing that they've been working to undermine us of course it was always really assumed in china that this is what was happening but they are one of those strange connections we have where we have we rely on them but they also have uh some you know adversarial feelings towards america and and back and forth but this doesn't feel like the tariffs then make a little bit more justification or a little more justified
SPEAKER 04 :
Undoubtedly. But look, we should call them for what they are. They are not a competitor in the way that Europeans are competitors or Middle Eastern countries are competitors. They're an adversary. They're desirous of creating an empire all across the world. They've made that pretty clear. I think their admission of what they did here in the United States is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of their efforts. And so it is undoubtedly the case that the United States can no longer do what you know the europeans allowed themselves to be dependent on russia we cannot continue to allow our nation to be dependent on a chinese communist party that's trying to crush us and so i think not only does this make the tariffs that have been put in place more justified i think it explains why their response is one that's fundamentally different than most every other country in the world they went they went full up full-on challenge and i think the united states is going to have to push back and continue not just in the economic and tariff sphere but across the spectrum of our relative power. And when we do, the world will be with us and will prevail.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we know that the administration, you know, they talk about China cheating and stealing our intellectual property and all of the bad economic issues that they do as well. But because the tariff issue is so broad, In this current set where we are talking about tariffs on allies, we're talking about tariffs on neighbors, as well as tariffs on genuine adversaries that we have to do trade with because of how our economy has shaped over many decades at this point. Do you think there could be a clearer messaging point to almost compartmentalize the different segments of the tariffs? I know that the big launch of it being a global tariff, reciprocal tariffs, but when you look at... the situation with China. I feel like it's a lot easier to explain that even there may be pain with prices and there may be pain with things in certain segments of the economy, maybe short run, but this isn't just even about equalizing global trade or figuring that out. There is a much more potentially dangerous path forward if we don't start to reset and figure out the China issue.
SPEAKER 04 :
I completely agree. Look, my critique of the tariffs that were initially rolled out was it was hard to tell what it was we were trying to accomplish. Like, what's the mission? And there were conflicting messages put out by different officials in the administration. I think now you can begin to see a real focus, better messaging, if you will. The Chinese Communist Party is a challenge. We're going to negotiate with all the others. We're just simply trying to get fair trade, non-tariff barriers and tariffs alike with some of our allies and friends. And we'll get there. I'm convinced of it. But with respect to the Chinese Communist Party in particular, that's not the message. And so I think this differentiation that we've now seen over just really the last, what, 72 hours or so makes clear the messaging. The threat to the world flows from the Chinese Communist Party. Let's the rest of us get our economic relationships in order. Let's find free trade agreements between our countries so we can engage in commerce. And when we do, The global GDP that sits on the good side, the white hat side, the decent people of the world will prevail against the Chinese Communist Party that is amoral at best and immoral most days and truly wants us to live more like them, something that we can just never accept.
SPEAKER 06 :
Secretary Pompeo, thank you so much for joining us as always. We appreciate your advice, your thoughts, and your feedback. Again, again, thank you so much for doing this. We were wrapping up today's show and I want to encourage people, if you like this kind of commentary, if you like the work we do in the law, I want you to go to aclj.org. I want you to make a donation right now because none of this can be done. We can't have this incredible team in place without you. Let's throw up that QR code on the screen. It's not that I don't want you to see my pretty face. Of course I do. You got to scan that QR code. Go to ACLJ.org. We are working on so many issues right now in America, our European center, ACLJ Jerusalem. You heard about what we're doing in Oklahoma, and we're doing it around the world. We're even advocating for Christians facing unspeakable persecution, stuff I can't even say, on the air. It's that bad. We're working with our partners to engage Congress on this dire issue. You've heard about that. It's going on in Congo and around the world. where they're fighting for your values around the world. We can't do it without you. I encourage you to make a donation today at ACLJ.org or scan the QR code and you can double the impact of your donation because there's amazing ACLJ champions ready to unlock a donation of any kind whenever yours comes in. So if you give 10 bucks, that is $20 in value to the ACLJ. We appreciate it. We'll talk to you next week.