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Listeners are invited to engage with the dialogue as the ACLJ's involvement in defending vital Supreme Court cases is also put under the spotlight. Renowned figures and team members articulate the strategic efforts placed in preserving religious liberties and combating undue federal overreach. Through insightful interviews and calls from our community, this episode positions itself at the heart of a transformative period, paving the way for justice-driven policies and advocacy. Don't miss out on how these changes could impact you and contribute to the vision for a fair and balanced system.
SPEAKER 10 :
Today on the show, Attorney General Pam Bondi launches a task force on DOJ weaponization.
SPEAKER 14 :
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 10 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome to Sekulow. Phone lines are open. This is Logan Sekulow, 1-800-684-3110. Will Haynes is joining us in studio. Later in the broadcast, Harry Hutchinson will be on. Professor Harry Hutchinson, as well as Attorney General of West Virginia. J.B. McCuskey moving from one Attorney General to another Attorney General. We are talking about, of course, the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, who is now, you know, well, she's active. She's doing it. It's happening. I know it gets a little confusing of who's been confirmed, who hasn't been confirmed. If you're not paying complete attention, she is serving right now as your Attorney General, Pam Bondi, been sworn in. As we've seen in the last few days, she has gotten to work and has been part of launching new task force, some that are protecting Christians, some that are against weaponization of the government. and some that have supported or gone against sort of the anti-Semitic bias that's happening in the media right now. Will, there's a lot happening, and her new department is going at it.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's right. And this is a really big step forward in trying to clean up the DOJ and the weaponization that we've seen out of Merrick Garland's Department of Justice over the last four years. But this is big news. So one of these task forces is going to be the Weaponization Working Group. Yep. And this is from a memo that was sent to all DOJ staff from the attorney general. And it gets into the bullet points of what they're targeting.
SPEAKER 10 :
I want to start with just the subject of it. Like imagine like the subject of your email. It says restoring the integrity and credibility of the Department of Justice. The fact that that is a headline, that they have to do it, like the Department of Justice has been a defunct brand for the last few years, and now we've got to restore, rebuild, bring in new staff. I mean, it is essentially what's happening.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. And when it gets into what the working group will actually do, it's remarkable because... It hits a lot of the points that we've talked about and fought against from the Biden administration over the last four years, whether that be Jack Smith, federal cooperation with the weaponization of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Attorney General from New York, Letitia James. It talks about the pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions related to January 6th. But these three... that are also bullet-pointed tasks of this weaponization task group, Logan. January 23rd memorandum in which the FBI suggested that certain Catholic religious practices were affiliated with violent extremism and criminal activity. They want to investigate criminal prosecutions under the FACE Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Interests Act for nonviolent pro-life protest activity and the retaliatory targeting and in some instances criminal prosecution of legitimate whistleblowers. You know, we represented whistleblowers. We have been fighting for the non-criminal prosecution and no prosecution of those that are simply using their freedom of speech to protest abortion as well as the egregious memorandum that was targeting Catholics because they are Catholic and saying that they could be domestic terrorists. It's all right there. She's getting to work and this is what we voted for.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and this is the ACLJ's work that we've been doing for so many years. How does it feel? I want to get sort of your temperature. Give me a call, 1-800-684-3110. How does it feel to have a Department of Justice now saying the obvious, saying what we've been saying for years and actually putting it into action? Because a lot of these talking points were blown off by the last administration or actually said, no, it's not true. That's not happening. How does it feel? Do you feel good about where we've headed just in the last few weeks of President Trump's administration? To hear all these talking points, whether it's supporting Christian evangelicals, whether it's supporting pro-life or pro-life Catholics, whether it's going against the weaponization of government, supporting groups that are trying to fight anti-Semitism. How does that all feel? Does it feel vindicating? 1-800-684-3110. And that's not all. When all of this is happening, the ACLJ is still in the fight. And you may not have been aware, we were engaged in three major Supreme Court cases in the span of a week. Just in the last week. We filed the Supreme Court this week to defend Israel. We also filed another Supreme Court case to defend religious liberty. And, of course, we are fighting. On Monday, we filed to... push forward to defund Planned Parenthood. So right now, your support is vital. Go to ACLJ.org. I encourage you to become a donor one time or an ACLJ champion. While you're at it, download the new ACLJ app. Welcome back to Secular. For those just joining us, we want to restate that we brought in Harry Hutchinson as well to get his thoughts and feedback on this as Attorney General Pam Bondi. been assigned well to do a lot of new tasks including launching some new task force many of which are targeted specifically at topics the aclj has been covering for years and it makes sense we've worked with pam bondy for many years she is someone who uh has been a friend and someone that we've respected whether it was her time in florida whether it's time with my family in the impeachment trials and of course now you have which by the way i believe was five years ago uh Just this week, it was five years ago this week that the acquittal came down for the first impeachment of President Trump. It's been a long and short five years all at the same time. It feels like it was yesterday and feels like it was a millennia ago. But here we are. She's in charge now. The subject of that memo that went out, as I stated earlier, which is my favorite, which is restoring the integrity and credibility of the Justice Department. And how is she going to do it?
SPEAKER 13 :
That's right. So this is a working group she's establishing called the Weaponization Working Group. It is in direct response because of the executive order of ending the weaponization of the federal government, which President Trump signed on Inauguration Day, January 20th. And Professor Hutchison, this goes to really the heart of many of the complaints the American people have had with the system over the last, now, I mean, more than just five years, because you think of the impeachment, you think of the Mueller probe and things of that nature, where we've seen the government overstep, waste taxpayer money on politically charged investigations that go nowhere politically. But at the end of the day, they also damage the reputation not only of the Justice Department, but of the United States as a whole. And what this working group is examining, it's a laundry list of complaints that ACLJ supporters and the American people in general have had against the Department of Justice for going on close to a decade now.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. So what we have witnessed over the past nine years or so is massive malfeasance by deep state actors. And so Logan mentioned appropriately the impeachment trials and the ACLJ's participation in at least one of those trials leading to an acquittal. But the Department of Justice has been engaged in a nine-year campaign to either prevent Donald Trump from taking office in 2016, or alternatively, they've been engaged in a program and policy of weakening and hampering the administration, really the administration of justice. And so who could forget, for instance, the Alvin Bragg trial? Basically, a 34-count indictment basically bootstrapping what? Misdemeanor claims, state misdemeanor claims into, in essence, a federal election felony charge. leading ultimately to a jury finding Donald Trump guilty with the possibility, didn't happen, but there was a possibility that he would have to serve a jail time. But Alvin Bragg worked with Matthew Colangelo, a Department of Justice attorney in order to bring these charges. We also have Fannie Willis in Atlanta working with the White House. We have had Jack Smith bringing January 6th charges, essentially, in Washington, D.C., a classified documents trial.
SPEAKER 10 :
There are things we want to forget, Harry, but I understand.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. All of these cases. But in addition, of course, we have had the FBI doing what? bringing FISA warrants against individuals who are affiliated with Donald Trump without probable cause. That is a violation arguably of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. So the Justice Department has been engaged in a process of injustice.
SPEAKER 13 :
And Professor Hutchison, obviously the the shiny object for many of us is because it was the easiest to see was the egregious violations that went after President Trump and the administration and him after his time in office. But What I also want to point out for our viewers and listeners is that this weaponization of the federal government doesn't stop at going after people that have been elected that are political enemies. It also goes very far in stopping the weaponization against average Americans like we three here or any other person that happens to have conservative or Christian beliefs. and when you look at some of these things like they're going to examine the memorandum the FBI had targeting what they called radical traditionalist Catholics the ways that the FBI and the Justice Department went after investigating parents that were concerned about their children and so they spoke at a public school board meeting or criminal prosecutions and how outrageous they were we remember that That man who protected his son in front of an abortion protest that was raided by a SWAT team, just a normal average person who stands up, uses his First Amendment speech to speak out against abortion, raided by a SWAT team, charged with a felony of the FACE Act. And then eventually acquitted. They're going to look into those type of prosecutions and the retaliatory targeting against whistleblowers, which we know is so important to actually keep the Department of Justice in check. This Department of Justice will have whistleblowers, too, that they probably won't like. But they're also showing we know that's the right process. That's how this works to have accountability in government. I just want to get your take on that as well of the lengths that it's going to go to protect Americans that aren't elected officials. This is not just about politics and our favorite candidate. This is about everyday people and their constitutional protections.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. So I think if you look at pro-life demonstrators, if you look at the FBI's memo going after Catholics that was issued out of the Richmond office and the LA office, and I believe the Portland, Oregon office, Why is the FBI focused on religious observances when we have a constitutional right to the free exercise of religion? So I think at the end of the day, what this particular working group will find is that they will find even more massive interference by the FBI In the lives of average Americans. Keep in mind, as you correctly point out, Will, the FBI went after parents who basically protested, perhaps vigorously, at birth.
SPEAKER 10 :
board of education meetings school board meetings don't don't you want parents to be engaged in the education of their kids the answer is no they don't i mean i i trust me as a that we go to a great school and my kids are involved i hear the stories uh from other parents and they don't you go back to the covid era of doing uh school remotely remember they said parents don't watch what your kids are doing. Don't watch on them. It violates their trust to, for you to be listening to what we're teaching them. I mean, that wasn't at my school. That's not, cause trust me, I sat pretty close to them for most of it. And it's like, I want to hear what they are teaching. I want to see what they're doing here in this school. And I think that opened a lot of eyes up. The fact that they, number one, either they heard what was going on in these classrooms, even though it was virtual or number two, they found out, um, the teachers were so against them seeing what they were teaching. It's a wild situation where you now have a department that can go in and try to root a lot of this out. And that has been, look, it's true the anti-Semitism part of this. It is true with the anti-Christian bias. And I know people hear those things and they go, how dare you say there's anti-Christian bias in America? And it's like, it's all clear. When you looked at the USAID, where was the money going? Even the ones that you would put quote unquote Christian, were ones that were Christian from a very left point of view. Either one of you, let's take it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think essentially what the FBI has doing is pushing an ideological agenda so long as it is left wing. And so long, for instance, as it reaches the right conclusion from the perspective of the left on, for instance, bathroom policies or other policies. We used to live in Northern Virginia. They arrested a parent who was upset because his daughter was raped in school. Why wouldn't a parent be upset?
SPEAKER 10 :
And he was charged. He was the one charged. Well, it's ridiculous, but thankfully we have some new people in charge and things can get done. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. I encourage you to call because, look, one of the calls is about how you can... help combat what's going on in different states and how attorney generals can get involved. We actually have a state attorney general, J.B. McCuskey from West Virginia, joining us to talk about how they are fighting the state of New York. And it is fascinating. You're going to want to hear this. This is why you have important people, even in the state level, that are fighting for your beliefs and honestly for the support of people who really need it. The real workers who are out there doing these jobs. and that need support. You're going to hear that coming up a little bit later in the broadcast, but there are some phone lines open. I'm going to take some calls in the next segment. 1-800-684-3110. And look, we're not sleeping on any of this. The ACLJ is at it. As I said earlier, we've been at Supreme Court engaged in three major Supreme Court cases this week. And that's for Israel. That's for life. That is for religious liberties. And we have a major update. A good one. So stay tuned. Coming up on our, you remember when the pro-life, a protester, a protester, counselor got attacked? We've got a huge update. Take a listen. Coming up in just a moment. Welcome back to Sekulow. As I said, I wanted to give you a big update on that case. You may have remembered. It's been, what, well, a year and a half, two years, a year and a half ago. There was, outside of an abortion clinic, there was a peaceful older gentleman who was there as essentially a sidewalk counselor. And he was attacked viciously on the streets. There is a big update in that case. I want to give you a little history of where we came from and now what's happened. So we put together a special video presentation. Our team did. Take a look.
SPEAKER 07 :
So this case first developed about a year and a half ago over Memorial Day weekend.
SPEAKER 08 :
And tonight police are looking for the man who attacked anti-abortion rights protesters just outside of a Planned Parenthood in downtown Baltimore.
SPEAKER 01 :
It was a brutal attack. The assault happened around 10.30 a.m. on May 26th outside the Planned Parenthood building on North Howard Street.
SPEAKER 07 :
I was at home enjoying the holiday like most people when I got an alert from one of my colleagues saying that they read the story about two elderly men who were being up outside of a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore. I reached out to the pro-life community to see if anyone could put me in touch with these men and the ACLJ now represents Mr. Dick Schaefer in this case. Mr. Schaefer is staunchly pro-life. He's 83 years old. He goes down to the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore every day to share his faith, to hand out pamphlets and information and blessed rosaries, and to encourage women that they can choose life for their babies. They don't have to have them aborted. Mr. Schaefer was approached by a young man. They engaged in a brief conversation that Mr. Schaefer felt like wasn't going anywhere. He tried to disengaged from that conversation when he was then football tackled into a concrete planter and knocked to the ground and knocked unconscious. Mr. Crosby, seeing the attack on Mr. Schaefer, ran to Mr. Schaefer's aid and he got punched in the face, knocked to the ground and kicked in the head by the same man. The man then walked away and was not apprehended. Thankfully, the detective on the case kept pursuing the matter and about a year later, this man was apprehended.
SPEAKER 11 :
It took over a year to identify Bryce, but he's finally arrested and indicted on two counts of felony assault, among other charges. The trial in Baltimore has started and we should expect a verdict any day now.
SPEAKER 10 :
We're back now. Of course, if you were just listening to that, the big headline at the end of that was that he was found guilty. That is right. The attacker was found guilty. And Will, this is a big movement, obviously, for the pro-life community. If anyone watches that video, it's hard to imagine a world where he wouldn't have been. But this was in Baltimore. This was in an area where it's not necessarily a hotbed for pro-life laws. But in this situation, they knew it was egregious, took it too far. And this could actually result. And we don't have the sentencing yet, but we know that it could come with pretty significant sentencing.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's right. So one of our big concerns at the outset of this was that it is a more liberal city. There is a lot of other crime there that this would not be taken seriously by the prosecutor, by the police department. just kind of not become a big deal. And it took a while, but they eventually did find the perpetrator. He was arrested, and the trial was this week. Our attorneys were there with our client, who is the victim, but our client actually had to testify. before the court as the victim. So our attorneys were there for guidance, for helping prepare, to give testimony about the crime that was perpetrated against them. And it is a great thing because it was a jury trial. There was jury selection this week and it didn't take too long for the jury to come back with guilty verdicts against this individual. There were two victims there. The man was convicted by a jury on two secondary assault charges. Those can carry up to 10 years each. Obviously, it's up to the judge whether they're served concurrently or consecutively. But there is a significant jail time that goes along with this charge. It's such a great moment. When you can see our attorneys fighting for justice and getting that justice, especially when you know how aggressively the federal government under the Biden administration went after peaceful, nonviolent protesters in front of abortion clinics under the FACE Act. So many that President Trump had to pardon those that they were there peacefully. They weren't attacking people. They weren't kicking elderly gentlemen in the face while they're on the ground. But here we see real justice. We see assaults that were perpetrated against elderly gentlemen. And we stood with our client the entire time to ensure that this didn't get dropped and that this did result in justice.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and it did. And of course, this is at no cost, by the way, to our client, as it always is if you are represented by the ACLJ. And how does that work? Obviously, it works by people like you who want us there when you're going to need us. You support the work of the ACLJ financially and therefore we can operate. Cause you know what? A lot of people could not afford. to take a year and a half of their lives and their finances and legal fees to pay all of that every hour that you got to do. They couldn't do it. We wouldn't be able to fight for you without. So I encourage you right now. That was just one thing we did this week. And there are hundreds of action items that are happening each and every month. And right now, I mean, we were involved, like I said, in three major Supreme Court issues this week, whether that was for life, whether that was for Israel, whether it was for religious liberty in general. We can't do it without you. So I encourage you today. Your support is vital because this is happening on the state level. And we just helped secure that conviction. You know, our client was brutally beaten up and it took a year and a half outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic, but took a year and a half to get that conviction because we're going to seek justice whenever we can. So I encourage you right now, go to ACLJ.org and make a one-time donation. And if you can, become an ACLJ champion. That's someone that gives on a monthly basis, automatically recurring. Of course, it's all tax deductible. You can do that. I did want to tell you a fun thing because it's a great way to donate. I've actually done this, is download the new ACLJ app. The app is available in the App Store. Just go into aclj.org slash app. If you have an Apple device, you can use Apple Pay now to make a donation or there's other options. There's great ways to do it. It's also available on Android, but that's a great way to do it. Again, I don't want to sound like I'm doing an ad here, but when I hear the results that can come out of our team, when you just saw that video, you saw one of our attorneys telling you about what this story really is and who it impacts because it's going to impact all of us. And you have to remember on the state level, it's different. You may look at what's happening in Washington, D.C. You hear about Attorney General Bondi doing all of this. But remember, on the state level, in states like Maryland and in states like Massachusetts, where they are not friendly to pro-lifers, that sometimes you have to fight hard and you've got to fight for a long time. Of course, we'll be rolling out that campaign in Massachusetts to fight against the push against pro-life pregnancy resource centers. We'll be rolling that out very soon. And we couldn't do that without your support either. All of this comes into play. And in the next half hour, you're going to hear from an attorney general of a state from West Virginia about how he is fighting against other states, the state of New York, on behalf of his people because they are trying to level huge fines on them for just doing their job. just working real hard jobs. We're going to talk about that in detail coming up in the next half hour. I'm going to encourage you right now, though, to give us a call. We'll try to take some calls. We'll even try to take one in the next segment. 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110. If you're watching on YouTube, which I know thousands of you do each and every day, whether you're live or you're watching this archived, hit that thumbs up. And if you haven't, hit that subscribe button. We are now about to cross 465 thousand youtube subscribers alone that is amazing it's amazing the amount of people who want to hear from us but the more people that you subscribe the more people hit that thumbs up and that bell i know you're hearing you're probably like this sounds like one of my kids favorite youtubers you don't understand how important it is you don't understand how important it is to get the message out there to a new generation of people We're going to hear this possibly for the first time. And I always know there's between 30 and 50% of people watching right now who have never seen my face. Hello. Welcome to secular. We've got a second half hour coming up. Don't go anywhere. This break is only one minute for our radio audience. Put a great video together. So if you're watching on any of our content, we'll be back in less than a minute.
SPEAKER 14 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Seculo.
SPEAKER 10 :
And now your host, Logan Seculo. Welcome back to Seculo. I did want to take some calls because we have some really cool news happening right now. That's, of course, the new administration is really starting to take to task a lot of the content and a lot of the issues we've had for the last many years here at the ACLJ. whether that's anti-Christian bias, whether it's anti-Semitic rhetoric that's happening throughout the country and throughout the world, or, of course, even the weaponization of the government against people that they disagree with. And Attorney General Pam Bondi put out a subject for this memorandum, Restoring the Integrity and Credibility of the Department of Justice, and some of you have called in specifically about that. Let's go ahead and take some calls. Let's go to Warren first, who's listening on the radio. Warren, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi. Hey, gentlemen. I'm curious, back during the... pandemic, our governor, Jay Inslee, pretty much took over as a dictator using his emergency powers. And he wasn't the only governor who did this. And it literally destroyed this state as far as a restaurant, people's businesses. It was just horrible. And I have a two-year degree in law enforcement from 50 years ago. And I was just amazed at the violations of people's rights. Is there anything Pam Bondi or the federal government can do when we have these renegade governors? I mean, you had to have a vaccine to get to keep your job.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, there's certainly, Warren, some protections that can be placed, and we've seen that happen already.
SPEAKER 13 :
We already know that Pam Bondi is doing things like pausing all funding from the DOJ, going to departments... that are sanctuary cities that have sanctuary laws so that is it's one way the federal government that funds local law enforcement to try and help strengthen the law and order of of our country they can do this through not sending money to those cities but also there's the the department of justice civil rights division where they can look into if areas, localities, states are violating the civil rights of Americans through the way they do law enforcement or the way that there are different actions within the state. So there are a number of things that Pam Bondi as Attorney General can do to have oversight into the way things are conducted. Now, anything that's not violating the Constitution, the states have a lot more leeway on. But the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution does give the federal government a great amount of power and oversight over the laws of the states because the states can't have a law or a regulation or anything that is in direct conflict with the federal law or the national law. laws, regulations, or constitution. So I think there are a lot of things that the Attorney General can do in looking at the way the states are doing things. That's also how a lot of times Supreme Court precedent gets made is when a state enacts a law, the Department of Justice says this is contrary to federal law, this is in violation of the supremacy clause or things like that. So the federal government sues the state and that goes through federal court system, many times making its way all the way up to the Supreme Court. So, Warren, I think there is a lot of action and many you may not see because it may not make a lot of news. It may be a small regulation in the state, but has long lasting precedent for the rest of the country.
SPEAKER 10 :
And you're going to hear about one of those happening right now in the state of West Virginia from in the next segment. We're going to be joined by the attorney general, the newly elected attorney general. of West Virginia, J.B. McCuskey, who's a longtime friend and ACLJ alumni. So it's pretty cool to have him on to talk about what they're doing to protect their own citizens. 1-800-684-3110 to have your voice heard on the air today. We got a lot more calls coming in, and I encourage you right now to call. In the next segment, we'll have J.B., the Attorney General. I got to start calling him Attorney General McCuskey. But after that, we're going to take as many calls as we can. So keep calling 1-800-684-3110 and support the work of the ACLJ by donating now. at aclj.org but tom julie kimberly trent stay on hold kirk we're going to try to get to as many of you as possible and of course if you're an aclj champion there's a great thing that happens you tell our phone screener you get bopped up to the front just a little perk we like to throw in there and you get a new customized experience on the aclj app that's just for champions So go to ACLJ.org if you can donate one time, great. But if you become a champion, you are supporting and creating that incredible baseline for us to keep us all in these fights. So do it right now. Give monthly. ACLJ.org slash champions. Do it right now. Because we are engaged on every level and we need your help. We'll be right back with Attorney General McCuskey from West Virginia. Welcome back to Seculo. A few phone lines are still open. 1-800-684-3110 in the next segment. We will take all your calls, as many as we can. Again, 1-800-684-3110. We are joined now, and I love being able to say this, by Attorney General J.B. McCuskey, who has been a longtime friend and ACLJ alumni. J.B., there is some really great action that you're taking. I just watched your press conference. It was held yesterday. I think you need to tell people what you're doing, not only to support the people of your state, but to make sure other states, these blue states, are not going to come in and infringe on the workers and the people in your area.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, Logan, what's going on, buddy? How do I get a job where I get to wear a hoodie to work? That's what I'm not accomplishing right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's why. So you have to just be the cool one.
SPEAKER 09 :
I just have to be the cool one. Well, that's probably not going to happen.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don't know. I saw the press conference. It looked, it was pretty cool. You were out there. I was like, this is good, man. This is good stuff. So go ahead.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. So, you know, In West Virginia, for the last 150 years, we have been the tip of the spear on making the energy and the steel that created this country. And we have a philosophy here that we respect people that shower after work just as much as we respect people that shower before work. And the men and women who work in the coal, the oil and gas, the steel industries, all of these industries created the environment and quite frankly created the steel that built the skyscrapers that these people in New York are looking down on us from. And there is a complete lack of understanding and respect for the effort and toiling of those hardworking men and women here that I find so apparent in this lawsuit. Number one, The law in New York is obviously, in my opinion, unconstitutional. This is a fight that was easy for us to take on because this is the kind of law that our framers and the founders of this country didn't want to happen. They didn't want one state promoting its style of economy at the expense of the other ones. And that is exactly what this does. And secondly, just from a sort of a layman's perspective, The idea that coal, oil, and gas companies owe the state of New York $75 billion for simply doing what it is that they are permitted to do, we're legally doing, and we're doing, quite frankly, in the benefit of the people of New York as much as anybody else, to say that they now owe New York $75 billion so that they can try to manage their economy, which they have obviously bungled, is really, really... sad, it's sort of terrifying, but it's mostly outrageous. And so we have a great team of lawyers here who've been working at this for a very long time. And we're really excited for this fight. We're excited to show the world what a great professional legal environment we have here in West Virginia, what our lawyers are able to do, and to go up there and win this case.
SPEAKER 13 :
General McCuskey, it's Will. Good to see you. When we had you on the broadcast right after your inauguration, we talked about the importance of conservative state attorneys general like yourself that can take on what we now know will be even more radical leftist agenda items from these blue states because they don't have the cover of the Biden administration anymore. I feel like For many people as well that are watching from all over the country, you see this story and you think, well, my state's not really an energy producing state or I don't have that industry here. We're more agriculture. This doesn't really apply to me. But I think when you look at the precedent setting of this, it does affect us all. And that's why it's so important that you are taking this on and being the tip of the spear on this. Because if New York can get away with this, targeting an industry they don't like in a state that isn't theirs with these retroactive egregious level fines, then I feel like any state at that point, if you were not fighting back, can just start going down the list of anything they don't like that isn't in their state and trying to cripple that. It's economic warfare, right? from these states. And I think just the precedent alone is why it's so important for every American to pay attention to what your lawsuit does.
SPEAKER 09 :
I don't think I can answer that question because you just said it so perfectly, Will. Everything you just said is exactly correct. And nobody wants to see a world where all the states are doing exactly what you just said. That would cripple the American economy almost instantaneously. We are a United States, right? Our states are part of one grand idea. And all of us are supposed to be a patchwork of different skills and different mindsets and different ways of contributing to what is American exceptionalism. And if one state is able to say to another state, your contribution to American exceptionalism offends us, then this patchwork is going to start, the economic patchwork that we have will start to fail. And that's the reason why there's a federal government. That's the reason why the framers created things like the Commerce Clause and the Dormant Commerce Clause and the 10th Amendment, you name it, right? Is so that we can continue to live in a country that was founded upon a set of ideals and an idea that is so exceptional, it's so different than anything else in the history of this world, that it is actually even kind of offensive to the general idea of why and how the United States was created and how and why the United States has become the world's greatest country, uh, probably in history. And so, um, yeah, absolutely. There is a, there's a larger, there's a larger art to this that I think you espouse beautifully in your commentary there.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I'm seeing a lot of comments come in right now. A lot of people who have family or are in the steel industry or in the coal industry. I mean, this is not something that only impacts small areas. It affects a lot of people's families. And I think as Will said, you got to make sure that you start thinking a bit more, uh, you know, for the country, Think about all your family that you have in this, your friends. Someone's connected to these kind of industries. But you also had Governor Hochul come out, make a tweet, a statement, a post, whatever you want to call it now, on X, and said, specifically, I think we have it, bring it on. It was responding to you directly, because the first thing is Attorney General McCuskey is joined by... representatives of the coal and natural gas industry she responds of course after she's already called conservatives and and people who who maybe voted for president trump they she already called them clowns we know that happened and we always say send in those clowns you know what to do but when you hear responses like bring it on what's your feedback what's your response
SPEAKER 09 :
I'm a lawyer, and I'm a lawyer who takes my ethics very, very seriously. I'm a lawyer that takes the way that I'm perceived very seriously, and I would never engage in the kind of petty social media sort of malarkey that Governor Hochul is doing there. we're gonna show our hand in court, and we are gonna do this the way that it's supposed to be done, and that is in front of the Northern District in New York, in front of the Second Circuit, and at the United States Supreme Court. There's a way that professionals and adults do this, and I'm very well committed to making sure that that we present ourselves as we are, which is a group of people who are hardworking, humble, with great values. And I'm sure that Governor Hochul, she had noble ideas when she signed this bill. I'm sure that she wasn't sitting in her office in New York saying, I hope that West Virginia families continue to struggle with high energy prices. And I hope that American families aren't struggling with high energy prices. I'm sure she wasn't sitting there saying, we're gonna do something that is going to really affect the way that like we talked about before the American economy runs, I'm sure that she had a very noble purpose. We don't think that purpose was constitutional and we're really looking forward to taking to taking our arguments in front of the judiciary in a way that this country designed. And so, you know, the idea that grownups are going to get into petty fights, over $75 billion worth of fines to well-meaning and great companies who've done nothing but support the success of New York for the last 150 years, we're not going to get engaged in that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I mean, that's good for you. I'm glad that you said that. It's refreshing to hear. I mean, look, I'll be honest. I want to go to bat. I'm like, come on, we got to, but I get the feeling. I get the vibe because look, us at the ACLJ and of course on the secular broadcast, whatever we can do to help you, whatever we can do to support it will, because these are issues that impact everybody.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's right. And it is always an honor to have relationships and friendships with people like General McCuskey in West Virginia. And we look forward to seeing the ways that the ACLJ can engage with your office in West Virginia to further the mission of protecting the Constitution and the rights of everyone in the United States.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I mean, I think the long and the short of this, this isn't a game that's being played on Twitter. This is the livelihood of millions of Americans. This is the lifeblood of the American economy. And if you really want to talk about being short-sighted, we are engaged in a new kind of worldwide war. And that is, who is going to be the person that takes advantage of computing data and AI first? Who is going to be the country that says to the rest of the world, we have perfected this. We are using this in the ways that are going to make the people of the world more successful and happier. And right now, the amount of electricity that we make isn't even close to the amount that is going to be needed for America to lead on that. And I can tell you that this is just an absolute truth is that we are not going to be able to fill that delta of how much electricity we make now and how much we're going to need with anything other than fossil fuel generation. And so if you're going to, on one hand say, you know, we're gonna have, Wall Street is gonna be found right in the middle of our city and we're gonna have billionaires created every single day trading these stocks and these companies on the future of their AI revolution and we're all gonna get super rich And then on the other hand, say we are going to fine every single group that is making the electricity that's going to allow that revolution to happen, $75 billion, that makes absolutely no sense. It has a very, very significant effect on America's ability to be able to lead in AI and data. And we're happy here in West Virginia to have the opportunity to, with the natural resources that God has granted us right below our feet, We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 10 :
We'll be right back. I'm sorry, JB. We'll be right back with more calls. We've got a hard break here. Welcome back to Sekulow. Attorney General J.B. McCuskey is joining us to wrap up. J.B., we're sorry we thought we had a hard break there, but I wanted to give you a moment before we take these calls. And look, we got one line open, 1-800-684-3110. Give me a moment to kind of wrap up your thoughts and how people should be thinking about you, how people should be praying for you, because it is an important time for West Virginia, a course that will also have ripple effects around the country.
SPEAKER 09 :
yeah i mean i think it's important for us all to pray for this country every day uh... you know we are we are blessed by god to get to live in this place and i think it is uh... i think it is good and it's right for us to to pray and and thank uh... our creator for for that opportunity uh... and again like i was saying before the end of that break This is something that I'm very passionate about, which I'm sure that you could see there. I know the men and women of the coal industry. I know the men and women of the oil and gas industry. I know the men and women of the steel industry. And I will not allow anyone to discredit their contribution to American exceptionalism. And I certainly will not allow anyone to try to make America less secure and to make the energy bills and the lifestyle of the American family And we're just excited to continue this fight and we're excited to see where this goes.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely, JB. And you know that we will be there for you however you need us. So again, amazing to hear from you and amazing work going on there. Thank you so much for joining us today on Seculo. I did want to segue now, though, and take some calls because a lot of people are calling in. Let's go ahead and go. Let's go in order because some of you have been on hold for a long time. Tom's calling. You've been watching on ACLJ.org. You've been on hold for 50 minutes almost. I am sorry, Tom. We just have not been able to get the calls yet. Tom, go ahead.
SPEAKER 15 :
No apology needed, guys. You're worthwhile. You guys rock. Thanks for exposing Congress and the Democrats for all the embezzling or extortion, whatever you want to call it. I got a suggestion for y'all to push, and that is that no expenditure, not $1 of taxpayer money be spent on anything without it being made publicly aware and published in every forum, newscast, whatever. And also, the second part of that is to make the IRS audit our Congress and all of our political expenditure from here on out.
SPEAKER 10 :
Look, I think, Tom, this is a part of what the Doge Department is doing, the Department of Government Efficiency, which is to show you not only what's being spent, but what could be coming down the right. Because there are certain things, of course, that we are going to want to fund. uh that need to happen you know there are americans are good people humanitarian people but when you got that list yesterday of all of the craziness that was being funded of course you had the egregious ones of eight million dollars going to politico and those kind of operations of course funding a lot of very random international programs that seemingly would have no effect on america and seemingly you couldn't even find paper trail to where they even went uh tom i think you're right i think that would be a great idea is show american people before it happens where the dollars are going
SPEAKER 13 :
That's right. And I mean, it's always humorous when you look at the fact that about 5,800 IRS or contract employees owe nearly $50 million in overdue taxes. So, Tom, unfortunately, I don't know that they would be the right person to audit the federal government or federal employees or Congress because they sometimes have a hard time themselves being able to keep up with it. But it's also, it goes to a lot of the bias that you're seeing out there that, oh, that if you defund USAID, it's going to kill people around the world and things of that nature. President Trump last night effectively said that 10,000 employees are going to be cut from USAID. They are keeping around 280. And what are those that they're keeping focused on? Humanitarian work? and and health work around the world kind of the things that it was supposed to be doing originally but it got so bloated and out of control is what you see uh has been happening and exposed over the last few days yep let's continue on and take some more calls i want to jump to kimberly who's calling watching on youtube kimberly you're on the air you're in california
SPEAKER 06 :
Hi, good morning. Oh, I'm not so sorry. It's okay. I've been a contributor for a long time. Thank you. I'm a champion. Awesome. I got into a chat with a troll. I got so irritated. I finally told him, you know what? You're so egregious at slandering the ACLU. I'm going to double my commitment. Awesome. And I made good 65% of it. I made good on that this week. So I increased my commitment.
SPEAKER 10 :
Kimberly, thank you. I really appreciate that. And they say don't feed the trolls, but I like that you got engaged and said, you know what? The best way to engage them is to fight back and to show what we can do. And the fact that you got into that one, that you got into the discussion of supporting us here. Look, I know when you open up yourself on YouTube or Rumble or Facebook, wherever it may be, you're always going to have those people who are going to come out against you. And it's often good to take a breath and make sure that you're not just giving them the satisfaction. But of course, in his name or in their name, you've doubled your donation and know how much I really appreciate it. Make sure to tell our phone screener next time that you're a champion because I will make sure you get bumped up to the front of the line. You got to go second. But I would have made sure you were first because I really do appreciate everyone who gives on that monthly basis because most people give at one time or they give throughout the year, but they give it individually. And that's great. I've got no problem with that. I want you to do that if you can. So if you want to give a $50 gift, great. But there are people who do give on that recurring basis. It automatically charges. You can cancel any time. And that gives us a good idea of where we're going and what we can plan for. So again, that's at ACLJ.org. Let's continue on. Let's go to Julie. She's calling in Oregon, listening on the radio. Julie, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey gentlemen, thank you for your work. And, uh, that just tickles me about Kim and what she did. I love that. It makes my day. Um, and I'm also so pleased about the outcome of the Planned Parenthood case in Maryland. Um, congratulations you guys on that. Um, my question pertains to, um, the people who are just completely unhinged right now about Elon Musk, um, acting as the, um, the head of Doge, saying he's not been voted for. But doesn't his appointment by President Trump, whom we totally voted for, make it appropriate? Of course. Or is he supposed to be voted by Congress?
SPEAKER 10 :
Julie, and one, it is different. It's a new department. We went through that. Listen to yesterday's show because we went through it in detail. We're running out of time. But of course, it's just like when they say a hand-picked candidate Attorney General. No kidding. You voted for a president. And yes, those people get confirmed. But you voted for a president. Of course, they're handpicking their team. Why would you pick a bunch of people who don't like you?
SPEAKER 13 :
And I do think, Julie, one of my favorite parts about Doge is maybe the most Donald Trump, Elon Musk troll of all time is that they renamed a department authorized by Congress that was dealing with digital efficiency. So it had a very same mandate that was created by statute under Obamacare. So thanks, Obama, for giving us Doge.
SPEAKER 10 :
We got two calls at a minute and a half, so I'm going to try to do it. Let's go Trent on Rumble. Trent, you got like 20 seconds.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, great. I'll be real quick. Big fan of Pam Bondi. I've been following her for a long time. Best thing she ever did was back in 2011, she was going to investigate Trump regarding Trump University because she had a bunch of people in Florida that got ripped off. but then Trump donated 25 grand to her, so she dropped the charges in an investigation.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, Trent. All right. Thank you for calling. I'm glad that we were able to. I'm glad you waited on hold for 27 minutes for that. We appreciate it. We have worked with Pam Bondi for the last few decades, and you know what? She's a great person. We're excited to see her there. But you know what? Just like the last call, maybe respond to that. You want to help? Don't feed that troll. Give a donation to the ACLJ. He may have actually been that troll that's been on Rumble. Yeah, probably. Maggie, on Rumble also. Go ahead. You have legitimately, and I'm so sorry, you got about 15 seconds.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, real quick. Thank you for taking my call. First of all, in regards to Doge, since... By executive order, President Kennedy created USAID, so I think Trump has the same opportunity. But that's not my question. My question I was hoping to ask on AG McCuskey was regarding the preemptive pardon. I know the ACLJ has taken the stance that presidential pardons have broad immunity. Yeah, they can. Yeah, but my question, my point is that you also said that about President... Hey, Maggie, I am sorry.
SPEAKER 10 :
We are out of time and we have to end this show right now. Call back tomorrow. ACLJ.org. Support our work.
Explore the intricacies of current U.S. policies through a biblical lens as Jody Heiss hosts Washington Watch. This week's lineup includes Former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf's take on immigration and sanctuary cities. Additionally, David Claussen of the Center for Biblical Worldview provides his analysis on a recent executive order eradicating anti-Christian bias, alongside a conversation about the international role of USAID and its reported misuse of funds. Stay informed on these critical issues with expert opinions and profound discussions.
SPEAKER 10 :
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 03 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. So glad to have you joining us today. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss. I'm the Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. Again, thank you so much for joining us. We've got a lot coming your way today. Let me kind of hit some of the highlights we'll be covering. Recently confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took swift action yesterday suing Illinois and Chicago for obstructing federal immigration law enforcement.
SPEAKER 02 :
What they're doing is they are choosing illegal aliens over the safety and security of their own citizens and the men and women of law enforcement who are out there trying to protect their citizens.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that was Attorney General Bondi yesterday on Fox's Hannity during her first interview since her confirmation. I'll be discussing this later in the program when I'm joined by Chad Wolf, the former acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. I'll also ask him what he thinks about how Illinois' Democrat governor, J.B. Pritzker, responded today to A.G. Bondi's lawsuit.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think it's a massive effort to distract from what they are doing across the country to take away things that working class, middle class people, families, the most vulnerable really need.
SPEAKER 03 :
Interesting. So is that what the Trump administration has been doing? Well, I'll be joined in just a moment by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to get his take on the executive orders and actions that we've seen so far. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to have a meltdown over what Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency are doing. Elon Musk has got to go. The richest man on the planet is engaging in an illegal power grab across our government. Wow, that was Congressional Progressive Caucus Whip Representative Guy Garcia. So is it a power grab or is it fiscal responsibility that Democrats are opposed to?
SPEAKER 15 :
Elon is doing a great job. He's finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste. You see it with the USAID, but you're going to see it even more so with other agencies and other parts of government.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that was President Trump earlier today. So given last month's projections from the Congressional Budget Office, you would think that Democrats would support efforts to keep us from falling off a fiscal cliff. But maybe they need somebody to explain the numbers to them. In fact, maybe we all do. They're pretty frightening numbers. And I'll be joined by former Congressman Dr. Dave Brat a little bit later to go over those projected numbers. And then to close out the program and the week, I'll be joined by David Claussen for our weekly Biblical Worldview segment to discuss many of the headlines from this week. So as always, friends, we've got a packed show coming your way. You don't want to miss any part of it. But if by chance you do, our website, of course, is TonyPerkins.com. Be sure to keep that handy. Also, I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to download FRC's Stand Firm app. If you don't already have it, this is something you want to get. There's so much on the app, but the reason you want to download it now is for our first 100 days toolkit. This is a critical window of opportunity that we have as a country, so we need everyone to stay involved. If you want to find ways to help move important priorities forward, then you will want this toolkit. There's so much information there. So if you'd like links to download StandFirm app, text the word toolkit, that's one word, no spaces, toolkit to 67742. All right, now let's jump into our first item for the day. While the media is trying to keep up with the flurry of executive orders, over 90 so far, that have been coming from the Trump administration, there's also quite a bit of activity at the state level that oftentimes goes overlooked. Officials are either embracing and running with what's been coming out of the White House or they're pushing back. depending largely, of course, on whether it's a red or a blue state. So what sort of impact are we seeing right now in the states with Trump back in the office? Well, joining me right now to discuss this is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. General Marshall, welcome back to Washington Watch. It's great to have you again.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you. Good to be with you, Jody. Hey, you need that app right now with the fast and furious executive orders coming out of Washington.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. You're not kidding. I mean, it is really it is difficult to keep on top of it all. And you have been very much involved with a number of these. Let me begin with the executive order on female sports. It has to be exceedingly gratifying to see that after you and some other attorney generals from red states worked so hard to see this come to fruition.
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, and had the privilege of being at the White House on Wednesday when the president signed that order. You know, you saw the visual of those precious young female athletes standing around the president as we made abundantly clear that we understand who is a woman and who's a man. And despite the fact that we have a Supreme Court justice on the court that couldn't define that, the federal government now has a policy that's able to do it. And then we are protecting the integrity of women's sports. And the president outlined the numerous reasons as to why this was so critical, whether it be the gains that occurred during Title IX for women to have access to our athletic fields, whether it's the safety of young women when confronted by transgender individuals that are participating against them and the health risk that goes along with it. But this is about preserving for young ladies the opportunity to compete fairly and honestly for recognition in the sports of their choice. It was a great day not only for our nation but for the RET states that have worked so hard to be able to establish that through both litigation as well as legislation in our own respective states.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I'm so pleased that you were able to be there in person. You certainly earned the right to be there. And again, thank you for all the work that you did. President Trump also signed another executive order to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation, that which the left falsely calls gender affirming care. But that's another area that your state really paved the way. And I think at this point we're seeing this whole issue take a different direction. Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER 17 :
Oh, absolutely. And one thing is that we were able to through the litigation that we had in Alabama is to expose the medical and legal fraud that was gender affirming care. And you've described it. This is child abuse. And not only did we expose what was going on between Rachel Levine, an activist embedded within the Biden administration, the activist lawyers that were working with the WPAS and the other organizations establishing so-called standards of care. But we began to see this for what it was. This was simply a way to to impose a radical gender ideology across the country under the guise of treatment for kids. You know one thing that was exciting and I don't know if you saw the news today where the Department of Justice through my friend Pam Bondi has notified the court in the case involving the state of Tennessee that the Department of Justice and the federal government has changed their position that in fact they do not believe that the Tennessee law similar to Alabama that protects kids is otherwise violative of the Equal Protection Clause. And one thing that we hope is that the court will still weigh in to be able to firmly and squarely say that states are allowed to protect kids in these situations. But really proud of the work that we've done here in Alabama to make sure that not only we're protecting kids, but also pushing back against a radicalized medical establishment that doesn't have kids at their best heart, but instead are working to promote a political agenda.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Yeah, I mean, I sit here listening to you, and really all you can say is just wow. And it's almost like there's just a tip of the iceberg. There's just more and more and more of these type of executive orders that, frankly, many of these need to be codified. That's a topic for another day, I suppose. But you and some other red state attorney generals have also stood— with President Trump's immigration policies. In fact, I saw the DHS has just shown that migrant encounters on the southwest border have plummeted by some 74% since President Trump took office. I don't think that's a coincidence. What do you say about that?
SPEAKER 17 :
Now, I mean, it's amazing when we enforce the law right when we empower our law enforcement officials to be able to do their job, which they've not been able to do on the border for the last four years. But you want things that Republican Attorney generals are uniquely able to do is to be able to support the Trump administration when they're sued. which they will be sued on many of the immigration orders that are coming. You've seen already the challenge to birthright citizenship, the effort of the Trump administration to resolve an issue that otherwise has been out there for a while. While that's being litigated, we're going to have the ability to weigh in as we already have with briefs to be able to support the effort of the administration here. But look, President Trump has said he's going to make the border a priority, not only the southern border, right, but also the northern border to make sure that not only people are coming here unlawfully, but to stop that flow of fentanyl that's killing people across our country. And so we're pleased already to see what the borders are is doing in coordination with local law enforcement, which Secretary Noem is doing in being able to allow for those under her authority to be able to enforce the law and a president that stood clear to be able to say that this is going to be a priority moving forward for this administration.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it really is a coordinated effort. It really is. And speaking of Secretary Nome that you just brought up, I know before she was confirmed, you and 17 other state attorney generals sent a letter to her asking her to review former President Biden's temporary protected status. That was a major issue. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it was a parole program that Congress had many years ago that was designed for a very limited purpose in being allowed people, for example, that needed medical treatment in our country that couldn't get it where they live to be able to come here, receive that treatment and go home. Instead, it became the vehicle through the use of an app for hundreds of thousands of individuals to come into this country, not fully vetted, not going to a place in which there was a sponsor to be able to allow them to work, but instead became a vehicle to fill this country with individuals from outside of the normal immigration process to have the ability to come into the United States. We thought it was wrong. We think courts have adopted that approach as well, and we're glad to see that the Trump administration, through the stroke of a pen, has ended that process.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's just remarkable. We've just got less than a couple of minutes here, Attorney General, but what else are you looking for? What are you anticipating to see from this administration, and how do you see you and other attorneys generals coming alongside them?
SPEAKER 17 :
I think you've seen recently the letter that we sent to Costco relating to their DEI policies. The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that that's not going to be the policy of the federal government. But the other thing he's done is to direct the attorney general to look at the possible liability and investigations into companies that are advancing a racially discriminatory policy. We're glad to be able to highlight that issue relating to Costco. We are pleased to see that many other woke corporations have transitioned back to a common sense approach and how it is they deal with their employees. And we'll look for other issues like that to be able to support the Trump administration moving forward.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it is breakneck speed, the manner in which this administration is moving forward on so many campaign commitment promises. I want to thank you, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, for the incredible work that you have done in your state and the coordinated effort with so many other state leaders. And thank you for coming on Washington Watch to break this down for us.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you, Jody. We're just getting started.
SPEAKER 03 :
Just getting started. I love that. Great job. We appreciate it. All right, friends, we've got much more coming your way on Washington Watch. I can assure you this next segment, you don't want to miss this one either. Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf is going to join me to react to Attorney General Pam Bondi's orders when she is calling on the DOJ to stop all funding for sanctuary cities. Whoa, you don't want to miss this. Stay tuned. It's all coming your way right after this break.
SPEAKER 12 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC's outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel's peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government, launching early this year in January 2025. This series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us, and we look forward to 2025 and standing for faith, family and freedom.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss. An honor to have you joining us today. All right. This past Wednesday, Pam Bondi was officially sworn in as the 87th U.S. Attorney General. And I think to no surprise to anyone, she wasted no time, no time, when it came to addressing the lawlessness in many blue states and cities where the lack of immigration enforcement has led to the countless American lives being affected, including many who have been murdered at the hands of illegal immigrants. But not surprisingly, there's been quite a bit of pushback as well.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think it's a massive effort to distract from what they are doing across the country to take away things that working class, middle class, people, families, the most vulnerable really need.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was Democrat Illinois Governor J.B. Pritchard earlier today. So how might this battle play out in the long run? And on whose side is the law? It's a very important question. Well, joining me now to discuss this is former Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. He's currently the Executive Director, Chief Strategy Officer, and the Chair for the Center for Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute. Secretary Wolf, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it's good to be here. I appreciate you guys having me on again.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it's always an honor to have you. Listen, let's first just, by way of pulling everybody into the discussion we're about to have, remind us of some of the consequences of sanctuary cities and the policies that have been so destructive and harmful to Americans.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, absolutely. I mean, the biggest consequence is criminal aliens getting sheltered or having that sanctuary in those jurisdictions. And so the idea here is it's kind of a simple one, but it's kind of I think a lot of people misconstrue it. And certainly the blue state governors and mayors and others. they talk about sanctuary, they wanna be a welcoming city and that's fine, but all they are doing is providing sanctuary for criminal aliens. So as you have an illegal alien in your community and they commit a crime, they go to jail and instead of allowing ICE to pick up those individuals in a jail setting, which is very safe, they release those individuals back into their community to not only reoffend, but now ICE has to go into those communities, find who they are, much more dangerous for everyone involved. And so that's what sanctuary cities provide is a safe haven and sanctuary for criminal aliens in their community. And it baffles me, frankly, sometimes while most communities don't quite understand that because I don't think they're being, you know, they're not being told the truth by their leaders.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I guess one of the highlights, and certainly by no means the only one, many, many, but right in my, virtually in my backyard, Lake and Riley, the murder there. And that's just one example of many, many heinous crimes that have been committed. So how did former President Biden's policies exasperate all the lawlessness that we saw come about, really at unprecedented levels, particularly as it relates to illegal immigration?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, we probably don't have enough time for me to go through all of the different policies that they put in place over the course of four years that contributed to the worst border crisis. But a couple of big ones is they continued or they I should say they reintroduced this idea of catch and release. which is to say they apprehend individuals who come across the border, but then they release them into American communities. And they do that on the taxpayer dime. And they provide NGOs a lot of money to help facilitate all of this. And we saw this at record numbers, record numbers of individuals, illegal aliens being released into American communities over the four years of the of the Biden administration, while at the same time They didn't allow ICE removal officers to do their job, to do the job that Congress told them to do, which is to say to remove dangerous individuals and other individuals that don't have a legal right to be in the United States. If they don't have that right, they should be repatriated or deported. And you saw during four years of the Biden administration those two numbers or that number at the lowest ever. while at the same time you had the highest number of an illegal alien population coming into the country, you had the lowest number of actual deportations. And when those two numbers are like that, it makes for some very unfortunate consequences and just terrible results, which we saw.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I can imagine how you would respond to this, but what's your assessment of Attorney General Pam Bondi's order pausing all the funding for sanctuary cities?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it's absolutely the right move. The United States government gives a lot of money to a lot of these big cities like New York City, like Chicago, Denver, LA, and others. And we provide federal grant funding. The Department of Justice does, of course, the Department of Homeland Security and others. And then those are the same communities that say, no, not only are we not going to help you actually enforce immigration law, but we're actually going to put roadblocks up to stop you, to distract you, to obstruct you. And that just shouldn't be the case. If they want federal dollars, they should play along with federal law enforcement that, again, are just trying to protect their communities. So the idea from Attorney General Bondi is to say, We're going to stop doing that. So she's halted DOJ funding for those communities. And they're actually I think they filed suit against the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois and Cook County specifically on obstructing law enforcement officers, immigration officers from doing their job.
SPEAKER 03 :
Only about a minute or so left, but do you think this is going to have an impact on some of these primarily Democrat governors and mayors to finally enforce a law regarding immigration?
SPEAKER 09 :
I think so. I think there's going to be enough pressure. You're going to have members of their community saying, hey, ICE, because ICE is going to be going into their communities. And every time ICE goes in there and pulls out, you know, five sex offenders and someone that's wanted for murder and all of that, I think those people, you know, the community members will see, look, these people should not be in our community. They should be off the streets. And that's what ICE is doing. So I think the more and more that they see that, they'll start to understand and they'll ask their city officials to change that policy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I certainly hope so. The time is now, and if we don't get this corrected now, I don't know that we'll have a better opportunity any time in the future. I want to thank you, former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. You're an amazing leader, and thank you for coming on Washington Watch this evening.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I appreciate it. Thanks again for having me.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, you're welcome. All right, friends, so much to cover. So much to cover, and we're going to keep pressing on. On the other side of the break, we're going to transition a little bit to another big story. Dr. Dave Bradd is going to break down all the latest Congressional Budget Office numbers. He's going to weigh in on the crackdown on the government spending by Doge. A lot more coming your way. You don't want to miss it, so stay tuned. We'll be right back on the other side of the break.
SPEAKER 01 :
At the 2025 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, hundreds gathered with Christian and government leaders at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. to pray for the nation and ask God to forgive us of our sins.
SPEAKER 06 :
We gather here not to appeal to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are appealing to heaven. Today we make our appeal not in the authority of a political party or in the name of a denomination. We come in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 16 :
who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth and we have been commissioned to operate in that authority father we pray in jesus name for our complacency our greed our pride our gluttony our sloth and tolerance of sin lord your word is the food that can make america healthy again
SPEAKER 13 :
May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
SPEAKER 04 :
Lord, we ask that you allow us to become that shining city on the hill once more for your love, your grace, and your mercy.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy, for the opportunity that you have provided us to heal our land. We ask you to do it, Lord. We ask you for the wisdom, discernment, and stamina to do the thing that you have called each one of us, all of us here, to do. may we be found faithful we trust it pray it believe it all in jesus name amen
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heist. So great to have you joining us today. All right. Now, I want to bring a news item your way right now that, frankly, it hasn't received the attention that it deserves. Last month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, known as the CBO, they released their latest projections of what the federal budget and the economy will look like in the current year as well as over the next 10 years. Well, the projections are shocking. They're based off the CBO's economic forecast, which does reflect developments in the economy through December 4th of 2024. And it also includes some legislation that was enacted through January 6th of this year. So while I could just throw out a bunch of massive numbers to you, but to do so, we'd all just miss the significance. So I've brought an economist to go over those details with us. Joining me now to unpack the numbers is Dr. Dave Brat. He's a senior VP for business relations at Liberty University and a former member of Congress. Dr. Bratt, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 19 :
Great to be on, Congressman. Always great to see you as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. These numbers that the CBO put forth to me is just shocking. Actually, they came out right before Inauguration Day. So I think for that reason, a lot of this has gone under the radar. But basically, they're projecting another $24 trillion debt over the next 10 years over and beyond what we already have. So I'll toss it to you. Describe where we stand right now.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I'll just put it in a little context. Most meaningfully, you and I are parents, and most of the people listening are parents and grandparents. And what you've got to realize is this debt, we're spending it all right now, and the debt goes to our kids. Right. So most of us are in the Christian community. I think it says in the Big Ten, the tank. Do not steal. We're roughly stealing from our own children. Right. That's how bad it is. But you never hear the moral side of this thing. Right. And then to make matters worse, I'll just explain why we got the numbers we got. We're running two trillion dollar deficits right now. That's the amount of debt you go into each year. And if you add up all the deficits together, you get the debt. So as Jody just said, if you run $2 trillion deficits for 10 years, you add another $20 trillion in debt to the already existing $30 trillion in debt. And I'm just using loose numbers just so I don't want to lose track. The numbers don't matter as much as understanding them. And so how is this working in a little more detail? We printed $9 trillion, which created the inflation you got. That's another hidden tax of 25% on the value of your dollar over the past five years, right? So 25% loss of your purchasing power over the past five years. And the deficits are going to government spending. And they're counting government spending as part of economic growth. So just to put that in perspective, it's like you borrowing from your rich uncle $2 trillion and then telling your neighbors, my firm is growing by $2 trillion today, right, because you borrowed from your uncle. That's not growth, and everybody knows that's not real growth. You didn't grow anything, right? You just went into debt. So this is a total disaster. And then one other little piece is productivity. According to Robert Gordon at Northwestern University, probably Democrat, but it's his life's work. Our productivity has been going down in the U.S. for the past 70 years, and now it's at 2%. And if you look at those CBO reports that Congressman Heiss was showing, we're going to grow at 2% for the next 10 years as well. You grow at roughly your productivity growth. So the people that, you know, you've got a bunch of conservative, libertarian-minded economy. We're going to grow our way out of this. You get the cheerleader types. That is not true either. I wish it were. I would say so. So it paints a pretty bleak picture. And CBO, the folks that are putting out these numbers, have productivity going down from 1.9 percent to 1.5 percent over the next 10 years. So we're in debt up to our eyeballs. Congress seems incapable of doing anything. Right. They just went down on a trip. They're going to cut 300 billion over 10 years. That's 30 billion a year. That's like a teaspoon. And so, Jody, there's a little overview of what we're looking at.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thanks for the good news there. Yeah. Two questions, and we've only got a couple of minutes here, but is there any good news in this? And if not, I mean, how close are we to an economic going over the cliff? Let's just put it that way.
SPEAKER 19 :
The economic going over the cliff, it used to depend on the bond market vigilantes, right? They'd come in and tell all of us, yeah, there's going to be a calamity. So that's on the economy side. We'll see about that. We're running deficits to prevent that, and we're printing money to prevent that. But sooner or later, reality will hit. That's all tied into the stock market bubble as well. The good news is President Trump yesterday at the prayer breakfast says, for the earliest days of our republic, faith in God has always been the ultimate source of strength and beats in the heart of our nation. He went on, I wish I could read all the quotes he laid out, but just the There is a turnaround in this country spiritually, psychologically. There's positive energy again. We're not scared. Markets will be less fearful of doing the right things instead of all these crazy initiatives. And so there is good news. I think the kids are waking up to this stuff. And so there's a glimmer there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it's great to have a little bit of silver lining in the clouds of what seems to be enormous irresponsibility with our financial house in this order in this country. Dr. Dave Brat, former member of Congress, senior vice president of business relations at Liberty University. Always, always great to see you. God bless you and your family. Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER 19 :
God bless you back. Thanks, Congressman.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. All right, friends, stay tuned. We've got much more coming your way on Washington Watch. Joining me next will be David Claussen. We've got a lot to go over as far as the headlines from a biblical worldview perspective. And we'll do that right after the break. So stay tuned.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 14 :
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 03 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heiss, your Friday host, and we're so honored to have you on board with us today. Listen, before I dive into this final segment, I want to again encourage you to get involved with helping move some very important policies forward during this new Trump administration, and we've got some resources to help you do just that. We have what we call our first 100 Days Toolkit. It's available exclusively on FRC's Stand Firm app. And just to give you an idea, the toolkit will equip you with all sorts of resources that would help you find your members of Congress, how to support some key legislation, some insights on some nominees, how to pray more effectively, and much, much more. There's also included, I'm very excited about, a Trump commitment tracker. This actually monitors many of the commitments that were made by the Trump campaign during the 2024 election. And then we check them off. One by one of those commitments are fulfilled. By the way, that commitment tracker can also be found at FRCaction.org slash Trump tracker. But I encourage you, if you've not already done so, I encourage you very much to get the StandFirm app, and then you can get a hold of this toolkit. And you can do so simply by texting the word TOOLKIT, that's one word, no spaces, TOOLKIT, to 67742. All right. It has been. Yet another busy, busy, busy week in Washington, D.C. We've got more executive orders. We've got Elon Musk and the USAID. There is so much to talk about. And we'll... Get to some of those headlines right now through the lens of Scripture. Joining me as he does each and every Friday, when available at least, is David Claussen. He's the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at the Family Research Council. David, thanks again for joining us. Great to have you.
SPEAKER 18 :
Hey, happy Friday. Good to be with you again, Jody.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, happy Friday. It just seems like it's been a couple of days. There's just so much seems coming under the bridge week after week right now. All right, let's start. Let me throw this one to you. Wednesday, President Trump signed yet another executive order. There's over 90 of them now. But this past Wednesday, one entitled Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports. Now, I've got to say, David, that for probably the average American, this is difficult to even fathom why such an executive order is necessary. But given what we're watching these days, it certainly is necessary. So let me throw that one out to you from a worldview, a biblical worldview perspective. What's significant about this executive order?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, Jody, this is a significant executive order. Last week, I published a piece at the Washington stand called Making Social Conservative Great Again. And frankly, I need to revise that article because there's been so much more that's happened, including this executive order. And I have it pulled up. And I think this is really important because one of the things that I've I've been paying attention to during these three weeks of the second Trump administration is how carefully worded so many of these executive orders are, Jody. They are not sloppy. They are not hastily written. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into these. Let me just read a portion of this executive order to give you an idea of kind of the worldview that's behind it, actually. And so it says this. It says, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. Then it goes on to say, it shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports more broadly as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth. Now, Jody, this is wonderfully clear language, and this is needed. And we know this is needed because over the last four years, you saw the Biden administration rewrite Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination for educational programs that are federally funded to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Over the last four years, we've seen competitive swimmers like Riley Gaines at the University of Kentucky, Paula Scanlon, who had to compete against a biological male who went by the name Leah Thomas. And so this is needed. You know, critics will say this is only a small portion of people who identify as transgender, but this has taken medals and scholarships and opportunities away from women because this gender ideology has been allowed to run amok. That's why even pretty... People on the far left, even like Martina Navratilova and J.K. Rowling, have said what's happening in the United States with sports is kind of out of control. And this executive order, Jody, again, gives clear guidance to the executive branch that this will not go on anymore. Very briefly, Jody, what's interesting is it also includes guidance to the Secretary of State and other cabinet-level secretaries at the United Nations to lobby for common sense on this issue, to lobby the Olympic Committee for common sense on this issue. It orders that there be a convening of sports-specific governing bodies to make sure they're getting in line with this. So very comprehensive, and this is a return, I think, to creation order common sense. And I think that's why as Christians, we should be very excited what we're seeing in this executive order.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it certainly is creation order common sense. And again, we've talked about this before, but when it comes right down to it, common sense is found and rooted, grounded in transcendent truth and the truth of God's word. And this is yet another perfect example of that Speaking of executive orders, yesterday was the National Prayer Breakfast, and there were many powerful statements that were made there. Dave Bratt, a former guest who was just on with me, referenced that as well. But afterwards, he signed yet another executive order entitled Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias. Wow. Could you summarize that order and kind of give us your take on it?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, there might be some people who hear this and think, really? Anti-Christian bias? Where would that be? Well, Jody, what's interesting is that the Trump administration doesn't leave us guessing. Actually, in the executive order, it details examples of extreme hostility toward Christians in just the last couple of years under the Biden administration. So the order kind of lays this out, talks about really the abysmal failure of the Biden administration to stand up for those of us who are Christians and have a biblical worldview. specifically notes that there was over 100 attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers and charities. It mentions that even the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning this, trying to draw to the Biden administration's attention, and yet the Biden administration did nothing on it. It goes on to cite that famous 2023 FBI memo, Jody. Of course, you remember this, where it referred to the radical traditionalist Catholics who that the FBI should potentially go into churches to look at these radical Catholics who just simply hold to it, you know, the biblical understanding of gender and sexuality. And it specifically also, this executive order mentioned that last year on Easter, the Biden administration referred to the day as the day of transgender visibility. And so it really, the first part of the order simply takes the Biden administration to task, incites other examples of where we did see Christian bias, and then it simply goes on to establish a task force. And one of the things, Jody, that I would encourage, you know, watchers and listeners when they're paying attention to what happens in D.C., whenever a task force is created, First thing you should do is see who's on the task force. If it's a lower-level, mid-level political appointee, it means maybe the administration is not serious about it. This task force to review and root out anti-Christian bias is to be chaired by the attorney general and the secretary of state, secretary of defense, secretary of treasury. Several cabinet level officials are actually to be on this task force. So this tells me that the administration is taking this very seriously. And I'm excited to look at the report that will come out in the next two years, I think, on what they find and how they're combating this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that's amazing. And even when you were talking about the Catholic situation, I remember that vividly. But when you talk about the radical traditional Catholics, I mean, there's been the way they are for centuries, and yet all of a sudden they're deemed as radical. I mean, that in itself is such an oxymoron. If I can, David, let me switch gears with you. There's been a lot of hand-wringing over the work of USAID this week. I don't know how else to say it, but for those who perhaps are not familiar, USAID is the U.S. Agency for International Development. Okay, and I'm sure you're seeing it if you follow the news at all. Everyone's watching this right now. This agency is tasked with administering foreign aid around the world. Well, Elon Musk, through his work at DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, they've targeted USAID as an example of massive, massive waste, fraud, and abuse. So in your opinion, David, in your view, how should Christians be looking at the approach that's taken by the administration towards specifically USAID right now?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, Jody, I actually have some of the examples of the waste they've discovered. But even before just kind of looking at that list, I think Christians looking at this, you know, again, USAID, it's a $40 billion budget, over 13,000 employees. And again, the main task is foreign aid, ostensibly. And, you know, a lot of American Christians are looking at this and saying, well, shouldn't we care for the world? Shouldn't we care for the the poorest among us. And USAID has done some good. But what's interesting, Jodi, is kind of the, especially the center-left, far-left Christians really criticizing this. And let me give you just very quickly two principles. You know, as Christians, we believe in the parable of the Good Samaritan. We believe that everyone in a sense is owed neighbor love. But there's another principle. It's called the principle of subsidiarity that says that there is a greater love that's owed to those closest to you. This is right out of the pages of Scripture. 1 Timothy 5, 8 actually says anyone who does not provide for their relatives, especially for their own household, they've denied the faith and they're worse than the unbeliever. So clearly this, again, idea of subsidiary that you owe the closest affection and care to those in your family. Then from there it goes out kind of like concentric circles. from your family to your church, to your community, to your nation, and then to others. And so I actually think the impulse of the administration right here, that American citizens should be, you know, with ballooning debt, you know, out of control spending, that American citizens should be the ones that the American government most cares for. And so I think the impulse behind this is actually, you see echoes of this Christian principle of subsidiarity.
SPEAKER 03 :
Great point. We're hearing a lot about the waste. What are some of the more egregious ways that tax dollars have been spent in USAID that should be an alarm to all of us?
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm laughing because some of this is so ridiculous that you almost have to smile to get through this, Jody. But the White House put out a release on this. In the last year or so, here's what USAID has funded. $7.9 million to teach a Sierra Lincoln journalist to avoid, quote, binary gendered language. $20 million for a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. $4.5 million to combat disinformation in Kazakhstan. $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. $6 million to transform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principles. Honestly, I have no idea what that means, Jodi, but $6 million. Another $2.1 million to help the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society. And one more, $16.8 million to help promote inclusion in Vietnam.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Unbelievable. Well, that's why we have to deal with it. And I'm so glad that it is being exposed. The light is being shined on it and action is taking place. Our time's clicking away. Let me shift gears to another very important issue, and that deals with President Trump's press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in D.C. this week. I know you've been to Israel many, many times, but the Comments that the president made regarding Gaza Strip has a lot of people kind of wondering what does he really mean with all of this. So what are your thoughts? From a 30,000-foot view, help us have a better understanding of what the president was talking about with taking over Gaza Strip.
SPEAKER 18 :
Very briefly, Jody, because I know time's running short, but since the creation and the founding, really, of the modern state of Israel in 1948, you've had these Arab Palestinians living in what's known as the West Bank. That's what the international community refers to. to biblical Judea and Samaria, land to the west of the Jordan River, and then in the Gaza Strip in the southern part of the country near Egypt. You've had Palestinians living there since 1948. Since 1967, after the Six-Day War, Israel went in there and has maintained the security of that area. They actually withdrew in 2005 after the Oslo Accords and some arrangements that the Sharon government put in place, Jodi. And as soon as the Israelis pulled out, and by the way, there was 21 Israeli communities that were living in the Gaza Strip. They had to all pull out. It was a major ordeal back in 2005. 2006, they had their first election in actually in the Gaza Strip, and the reigning Fatah party was actually kicked out, and Hamas took over. Excuse me, they didn't take over, they were elected. And so since 2006, Hamas has been operating in the Gaza Strip, has been launching thousands of missiles into Israel, and of course all this culminated in the October 7th attack. And in response to that, Jody, the Israelis have done what they've had to do to fight back against Hamas, and that area now is decimated. It's uninhabitable. And I think what President Trump was expressing is his realization that this 141 square miles is just not fit for human living. And I think the way I look at what the president said is really aspirational. His desire for American leadership to help lead in this, to make this area a place where you could actually live for the Palestinians and for others to be able to not have to live in just absolute squalor, which is what has become of the Gaza Strip under Hamas leadership.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and I think aspirational is exactly what he was getting to with all of this. I think people are going way beyond the intent by taking it further. Less than a minute to go. I love the fact that the president is referring to this no longer as the West Bank, but as Judea and Samaria. That's powerful. Any closing comments real quickly on that?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, the phrase Judea and Samaria, these are the parts of the area that are north and south of Israel. These are names that have been used for this area for over a millennia. And again, the fact that the West Bank is used by the international community has often been seen as a way to delegitimize Israel. I love it that President Trump is using the biblical term for this area.
SPEAKER 03 :
I do too. I think that that's extremely effective. It's wise and it's the truth. It is what we're talking about. And people here at the West Bank, they don't have any, they can't connect that. But when you hear of Judea and Samaria, people understand that's a very, very historically important region. Thank you, David Claussen from the Center for Biblical Worldview here at FRC. Hope you have a fantastic weekend. Thanks for joining us. All right, friends, that wraps up this week of Washington Watch. Have a wonderful weekend. We'll see you next week right here.
SPEAKER 10 :
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.
Join professional money manager Bill Gundersen, President of Gundersen Capital Management, as he delves into the latest financial and market trends in this week's episode. With Barry Kite, a chartered financial analyst, they discuss the significant shifts in the NASDAQ and Dow due to the recent job report, the market's reactions, and the potential for inflation driven by wage increases. They provide insights on the performance of major players like Amazon, Tesla, and Apple, highlighting the challenges and opportunities faced by these market giants.
SPEAKER 06 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager, Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 07 :
And welcome to the Friday. What a week it's been. The Friday edition of the Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson. President of Gunderson Capital Management. I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. And we were in the green a little bit on the NASDAQ. We were flat on the Dow. And now we've kind of moved to the downside a little bit. after today's jobs report, the monthly job report. The Dow is now down 68 points. It's at 44,679. The NASDAQ is down 92 points. Now, it was up a little bit, and now it's down 87, 19,704. Amazon a little bit of a drag on the Dow and the NASDAQ today. We have the S&P down 10 points, 6,073. Small caps are up four points. That's the Russell 2000. And we've got over at the bond market, last time I looked, we were up seven basis points there. Yes, up seven basis points right now to 4.49%. So I guess the jobs report was not weak enough to warrant a looming rate cut in crude oil. is at $71.20. Here's one worthy of mention here. Gold is hitting a new all-time high at $28.98 in its quest for $3,000. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson. President of Gundersen Capital Management, a nationwide fee-based only firm. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst, as we take a look at the action in the market today. The action in the market this week, it's been a while.
SPEAKER 04 :
A bit of a loophole. A bit of a long week, it seems. It's like finally it's, you know, we're at the end. The payrolls number was, you know, you could look at it, you know, hot in one direction. You can look at it also as, you know, a little cool in the other. So it really kind of ended up being, you know, a middle of the road. I think there was a big revision. to last month's numbers, upward revision.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's probably what's affecting the rates today, which are up six basis points right now. We had a decent day yesterday, kind of quiet, but the stocks that really looked good yesterday to me, Palantir hit another new high yesterday. It's become a monster.
SPEAKER 04 :
What an amazing story, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Monster. NVIDIA has really perked up. It was hitting 128 yesterday, and Lilly had a very good report yesterday, a doubling of their Sales on ZepBound and not Ozempic, but whatever their diabetes version of.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's Ozempic, ZepBound.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, you're right, Ozempic. That's it. Okay, now, non-farm payroll growth cools in January. Unemployment unexpectedly dips to 4%. Well, we created 143,000 jobs, less than the consensus estimate of 168,000 jobs and a significant drop from the 307,000 jobs added in December. So anyways, that report is weaker than expected. Wages showed surprising strength in January. So that's inflationary. and that could be another reason why we're seeing a rise in the bond rates today.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it's kind of two sides of the coin. So it's, you know, in other words, unemployment came in lower than expected at 4%, which you would, you know, that's part of the Fed would be, you know, if unemployment's really at their target, so there's no reason for them to cut rates in that sense whatsoever. and came in lower than expected. It was supposed to be 4.2%, I think, came in at 4%. But then on the other side of the coin, in terms of job creation, right you know that came in uh... lower than expected having a hundred and forty three thousand i guess first uh... the estimate of one sixty eight so yes and the jump in pay obviously worries uh... raising inflation right it could be good for you know it is good for real wages for a period of time right because that means you know it essentially the uh... you know the the the consumer has a little more dollars in their pocket right so you get a little more retail sales push further out but Yeah, at some point, you get more money chasing the same amount of goods, right? Well, then that is inflationary.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. Okay, we're going to have the biggest, highest wagering on any single event in the history of the U.S. sports betting. When the Kansas City Chiefs line up against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on Sunday, there's expected to be $1.6 billion bet on the game, up 17% from a year ago. Notably, most of the growth is coming from states where sports betting has now been made legal and not really new states that have been added to the mix. Last year, sports betting customers made out very well. And publicly traded companies like DraftKings, Flutter, MGM saw lower than anticipated hold rates impact their earnings results.
SPEAKER 04 :
So anyways... Yeah, the Chiefs have, at least historically, have killed Vegas a bit. Yeah, exactly. It's even made it in earnings calls for those companies before. So it's interesting. You've got the Chiefs, I think, who are a slight favorite here. And so it's supposed to be looking forward to hopefully a close game.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we own Flutter, F-L-U-T. Flutter is flat today. And DraftKings, D-K-N-G, D-K-N-G. Bill, there you go. Okay, DraftKings is also flat today. But a lot of money. Going to be a bet and a lot of guacamole. The guacamole is flowing freely. Okay, Chinese tech stocks, and I'm watching them. I've put on a couple of trades that I sent out last week on a couple of Chinese stocks with new life that they're getting from DeepSeek. Okay, that's an AI opportunity. Companies such as Lenovo, Shomai, Tencent Holding, Alibaba, NetEase, etc. are starting to perk up quite a bit. You know, the Chinese stocks have not done well. But this has given them new life, and it's also given us some opportunities here and there, some trading opportunities, which I've been looking at. I don't think I would invest in these stocks at this point, but there are some trading opportunities, and I've seen some of the smaller. They have some data center stocks over there in China that have been very lively recently. I was watching the couple, and then all of a sudden they exploded to the upside. and kind of got away from me, but they made for some good short-term trading opportunities. Tesla's China-made EV sales fall for the fourth month in a row. And, you know, look, Tesla's got a problem. They've got a big China problem. Apple has a big China problem because of Huawei and because of BYD.
SPEAKER 04 :
BYD. And BYD, if you look at their sales, they, you know, I think they saw their sales were up, you know, I don't know, 24%. The trick is, or anybody, is anybody really buying those? Or is there a ghost car lot somewhere? I don't know. I remember the years of ghost cities, so... Can you believe the numbers? And if you do believe the numbers, more importantly, you need those power. You need power. You just mentioned you need data centers, right? So all these electric cars are smart in some form or fashion. And so if they are being purchased that way, but they're certainly beating the doors off of Tesla there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, and Boyd is really ramping up, or BYD, is really ramping up production there in China. And they're producing now about four times as many cars as Tesla. But, of course, you know, those Chinese cars are not coming into the U.S. And in the meantime, Tesla is increasing their Model X price by $5,000. So you could have got one for $79,990. But as of yesterday, they're now $84,990 will buy you a Tesla X. And I would note that Tesla stock has not done well so far this year. It's down about 7.5% year to date. amid signs that demand in Europe may be faltering. Sales in Germany plunged 59% year over year, while Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands all saw drops of 40%. It may be fallout also. Europe not happy with Elon Musk. The measures that they consider to be pro-Trump, pro-conservative, which they are, that he is behind, is not going over well in Europe. Okay, when we come back, the biggest earnings report of the week probably came in last night, or one of the biggest ones, and we'll take a little look at that. And by the way, this company now passes Walmart in sales for the first time ever. We'll be right back. And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson. And the stock I want to talk about first here, well, first, before we do that, you know, we have had so much demand for the four-week trial to the live trading, the daily updates throughout the day, the full newsletter on Saturdays. uh the uh the access to the the potent best stocks now app that i'm going to extend the four-week offer till the end of the month okay and then we'll go from there i like helping people i like teaching people i like seeing people empowered and not you know blinded by the mediocrity that we seem to celebrate there on Wall Street. I just know that so many people really make the market too difficult. There's a lot of logic to it, really. Growth equals stock price appreciation. Valuations do matter. The best stocks now are not the best stocks from yesteryear. You know, time passes. The old stodgy old stocks buy, and new companies emerge as growth engines, and they're in the prime of their lives, while other stocks, time has passed them by. And so, anyways, GundersenCapital.com, GundersenCapital.com. We're having a lot of fun every single day. I love sending out those alerts. I look very hard. Yesterday, I found nothing.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's been an exciting time.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's an exciting time with everything that's happening.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we expected a lot of volatility in the first quarter. I mean, as you've got a new administration coming on board, first 100 days are so important. And, you know, the market's been reacting along the way. Thankfully, in terms of all that volatility, it's edged up, right? But it's been a wild month in the first five weeks.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, anybody who has taken this trial, Certainly, Oklo has come up several times. That's one that the app found very early on. First, I have to find it and put it in the database. That's the process. I get up well before the market opens, and I go through all the bits of news that have happened. since yesterday's radio show, which is a 24-hour cycle. And that's where I discover these stocks underneath the radar and what they're doing and what they're into and the news and everything.
SPEAKER 04 :
Some of this stuff happens while we're on the air.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, I discovered Oklo quite some time ago in that nuclear sector. And I started out in the incubator portfolio. I made a lot of money in Oklo, in the incubator portfolio. And then I put it in the emerging growth portfolio because it seems to have the right stuff. There seems to be the connections, the backing, the institutional support. They seem to have something that could make a big splash someday. It hasn't happened yet, but the way the stock is behaving, it's probably one of the strongest stocks in the entire market.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the sector also helped. It's got a couple of different tailwinds behind it, right? Sector-wise, it's also been in the right area in terms of AI and everything else.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Now, four days ago, all right, I sent out the alert at 1.16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. I said, I did well with Oklo. It was 44 at that point in time in my incubator portfolio. Okay. I am buying a new 5% overall position in my ultra-growth portfolio. Now, that's stepping up to AAA right there. You know, that's above the emerging growth portfolio. And I said, our grid in America needs some serious new voltage. I believe that Okla will be a player. That was on February 3rd, 2025. And right after that, 13 minutes later, I sent out Dutch Brothers, which has also done pretty well. I mean, it's not high-tech like Oklo. Dutch Brothers is a coffee chain. And anyways, Oklo, so it was 44, four days ago.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which is good. They fit well together.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oklo's hitting 58 today. $14 on 44. What is that? That's about 30% gain or so. It's up 21% today. Now, I'm not seeing any news on Oklo, but they design and deploy advanced fission power plants to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy. And I think that's the twist. You know, if we can break that fission, you know, hurdle, obstacle, it would be a lot more, you know, for smaller reactors, et cetera. That's really what we're talking about here. So, you know, look, I mean, you got a free four-week trial from me. You've gotten some big winners. uh there's been a few uh plenty of info but they'll work out i think to think about yeah and you've learned a lot i would hope and getting the full newsletter and the other thing i designed right from the start look this is this is out there that's the most aggressive one there is but If I buy something in the dividend and growth portfolio, which is our most conservative portfolio, I send those alerts out. If I buy something in the premier growth portfolio or the ultra growth or the trading incubator portfolio, there's something there for everybody. And, you know, people have different risk tolerances. Some people very aggressive. Some people very conservative, you know, close to the vest type investors. There's nothing wrong with any of that. But I'm trying to find the very best in each one of those different disciplines of investing and risk tolerance.
SPEAKER 04 :
And size of company and company size.
SPEAKER 07 :
Company size. Oklo is a $7 billion company all of a sudden, but... Now, obviously, I mean, there's no sales yet at Oklo. So it is as aggressive as it gets. But I found it, you know, just the action alone in the stock tells me something. And we're basically holding it because of its future potential. So anyways, it's having a huge day. I have not found any news, but there's obviously something out there because the stock's up 21% today. Okay, Amazon. Amazon came in with their earnings last night. And Amazon is actually a little bit of a drag today on us. Not much. It's down 3.5%. But Amazon's a member of the Dow. Amazon's a member of the NASDAQ. Amazon's a member of the S&P 500. And arguably one of the biggest, if not the biggest disruptors of all time. Certainly by size. I mean, the disruption right in your neighborhood at the local shopping center is brought to you courtesy of Amazon, which has changed the world. We're going to take a look at their numbers. Is it still a best stock now when we come back? This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting-edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersenCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services, call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show.
SPEAKER 03 :
And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Docs Now show. Well, it's pretty hard to argue that Amazon is not one of the biggest disruptors of all time.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, just ask Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers, Sears, that have gone by the wayside because of the power of Amazon. And, you know, when I was at the NASDAQ several weeks ago in that hallowed ground, I was in one of the hallways there where pictures of historic pictures from the days of the NASDAQ. such as the day Amazon went public with Jeff Bezos ringing the opening bell, which is pretty incredible to watch, to see. And now you know that Amazon is a $2.4 trillion company, trillion-dollar company, Amazon Trucks. running all over the place, showing up in my driveway quite often.
SPEAKER 04 :
They made it through the dot-com bubble, I mean, essentially.
SPEAKER 07 :
They made it through while the other dot-coms didn't make it. And, you know, when you establish a lead, it's hard to compete with that. The only one that's come close, really, and done well is Shopify. And then, of course, some of the foreign ones, like down in South America, you've got... What's the one? M starts with an M. Mercado Libre. Oh, yeah. Right. In Korea, you have SECC Entertainment. In China, of course, you have... Alibaba, Tencent Holdings, PDD, etc. But Amazon is the king of the world at $2.4 trillion. Now, their sales came in at 10% growth. So I'm going to say their sales are low teens, very low teens right now. That's the sales growth. but the earnings growth was a powerful i mean they had eighty six percent growth in their earnings they did a dollar eighty six in earnings versus a dollar last year so obviously that's an eighty six percent uh... number and other last four quarters have been two hundred and sixteen percent ninety four percent fifty two percent eighty six percent and that just three days ago four days ago the stock hit a new all-time high So yeah, you could say that it's still doing okay. Now let's take a look at it from the Best Stocks Now app perspective. This is in beststocknowapp.com. the app that I invented for me to analyze stocks like this. It begins with performance for me. Over the last 10 years, Amazon has delivered a lot of alpha, 29% per year over the last 10 years. That doesn't pay a dividend. That's pure growth performance. So that's right up there with the Lilly numbers that we looked at yesterday. Now you compare that to the S&P 500, which is 19.5. So 10% of alpha compounded over 10 years adds up to a lot. Now, over the last five years, you know, Amazon is slowing down a bit. There's math in here, involved in here. There's gravity involved in here. They have barely beat the S&P, actually, over the last five years, 18.5 versus 16.5. But enter stage left AI and their cloud business. And that has really given them a second life, right? So over the last 12 months, Amazon's up 40%.
SPEAKER 04 :
It takes so much of the business risk out of the business. In other words, in terms of people spending, right, say potentially, I don't know if we'll ever buy less packages, but maybe we don't buy them as quickly as we used to. But they have, obviously, web services now is a huge portion of Amazon. of the business as well so you know overall right it's helps uh you know it helps take a you know a business that could be more like look like more ups or could look more like walmart right but instead you know also looks like you know google or you know a lot of these up they have a big ad business too which is you know unbelievable yes and they do they did surpass uh amazon surpassed walmart now
SPEAKER 07 :
as the largest retailer by way of sales.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I saw something where you had UPS. I think it was early this week. Maybe it was early this week. Maybe it was late last week. But when UPS reported, they got hit pretty heavily because they indicated that, I guess, their Amazon package is their business. is going to go away, like 20% or whatever the number is, is going away in the next two years, which means Amazon is just going to be delivering those themselves. They're already the leading package deliverer already.
SPEAKER 07 :
Actually, when we looked at Lilly yesterday, Lilly is an A-plus performer over the last 10, 5, 3, 1 years. Amazon gets a performance grade of B. But things have really picked up recently with the cloud and AWS and AI. Their momentum grade right now is A-. So, you know, it meets my performance criteria, obviously. It has delivered some pretty good alpha. Now, that's looking backwards. Looking forward is the valuation of the stock. where we take a look at earnings where they're at currently and extrapolate them out over the next five years, I'm using an earnings growth rate of 15% per year. That may be a little bit too aggressive, actually. You know, you look at this quarter. Now, that's earnings growth. No, I think 15 is okay. I wouldn't say sales growth is going to be 15, but their margins continue to improve as their volume increases, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
And some analysts were at, you know, 8%. I mean, you know, we talked about, you know, the average analyst I think was maybe close to 10, maybe 11 at least at one point. But, I mean, you had some that were, you know, earnings growth at 8%. And, you know, it's coming. I mean, you've given it a B-plus at least up until you got to crunch the numbers this weekend. But it was a, you know, a B-plus. Of course, the banks came out of the gates pretty hot. Yeah. Some of the tech stuff has been a little bit bumpy, but in terms of a lot of the reports have been good, just quote-unquote not good enough.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I would just say that the next five years, Amazon, current quarter next year, I don't see the five-year here. uh... anymore but uh... i think i'm a little bit on the low side at fifteen percent that that that's uh... that's revenue i mean that's earnings growth okay now when i apply a multiple to amazon i get a stock that still has eighty four percent upside potential now lily had a hundred and seven yesterday lily actually has been a better performer and has more upside potential than amazon right now but You know, Amazon has plenty of juice still left in it, I think.
SPEAKER 04 :
And to me, Amazon's got a lot of irons in the fire in terms of improving profitability over time. And I'm looking at their year-over-year earnings estimates, 13.5% this year, 21% in 2026, 23% in 2027. They are a company that's kind of – they're almost poised to benefit from a lot of different technology going forward, whether certainly they already use AI, but they may have invented some AI. But AI can help cost in their business, can also – Make them more profitable. Well, yeah, and they're going to use more web services right on the AWS side. Yeah. Also, I mean, everything from drones delivering packages to your door, right? I mean, there's a lot of different irons that they have in the fire. Rivian, I mean, I think they have an ownership of a piece of Rivian.
SPEAKER 07 :
And Amazon. So it currently comes in at number 162 out of 5,019. We have it rated as a buy. And we do own it. It's one of the 18. Many are called, but few are chosen. And Amazon is one of the ones that we have chose to be in the premier growth portfolio where we try to own the very, very best. Now, you can put Amazon's numbers up against Johnson & Johnson or AT&T or pick your soggy stock of yesteryear, and it will blow you away. And I just think going forward, Amazon's got a lot more going for it right now. than your average stock. Okay, so that's my take on that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amazon will sell you a Johnson & Johnson product.
SPEAKER 07 :
They'll deliver Johnson & Johnson Q-tips right to your door when you need to clean your ears out. Okay, now, their guidance, however... Well, they sandbag. Okay, we know that. Bezos is not at the helm anymore. He's handed that off to Andrew Jassy. And their guidance, either they're sandbagging or they're just being cautious a little bit. The stock is down 3.5% today. but it hit a new all-time high just four days ago, and we've got it with over 80% upside potential. So it still does meet all of my criteria, which are very strict. Okay, when we come back, I want to go over the biggest winner of the day, the biggest loser of the day, and a smaller one that we own that flies under the radar that's having a good day today. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 02 :
And welcome back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. Well, I've got co-stocks of the day.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I'm going to call Oklo the stock of the day, but it's a bit smaller, under the radar, not as well-known. And by the way, the app ranks sectors every day and every Saturday in the newsletter. I show you the top 10 ranked sectors out of almost 70 sectors in the market. Guess what the number one ranked sector is right now, Barry?
SPEAKER 04 :
It's got to be power, right? Nuclear.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, even more specific. Yeah, I broke off. There's a nuclear ETF that I use as the proxy for that sector. Vistra is the number two ranked stock in the entire market. Constellation Energy has been a powerhouse, and then you've got the littler ones like Oklo, etc., that are also full of momentum right now. Okay, from a big standpoint, we don't own it. I've owned this stock in the past, and I think it's right up there with Palantir. I really do. Maybe not as potent as Palantir, maybe not as diversified as Palantir is, but Cloudflare... is a powerhouse when it comes to firewall, routing, traffic optimization, load balancing, and other network services, a big security stock, enterprise software, just a powerhouse. It's now a $56 billion company. This is not a dividend payer. It's headquartered in San Francisco where we're heard every day on KDAO, one of my favorite stations in California. And Cloudflare is up 15.8%.
SPEAKER 04 :
I talked to a client there a couple of days ago.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, we have a big clientele in California, especially in that Silicon Valley area and a lot from the San Diego area where I lived for years. 60 years of my life. Cloudflare on six times normal volume. Huge breakout today. The symbol is net. N-E-T. Let's just take a look and see where Cloudflare was ranked as of yesterday. You can't own them all. But this is one I really should have been owning in the ultra-growth portfolio, I would say, is where Cloudflare belongs. You know, it's not a large-cap stock. We own CrowdStrike, which is probably the closest comparable to Cloudflare. Well, Cloudflare was ranked number 22 yesterday with 177% upside. It's consistently been ranked in, like, the top 25. I just didn't have room for it in any of my... I should have made room, huh?
SPEAKER 04 :
But Cloudflare... Sometimes, I mean, sometimes you get... That's the thing. You're getting exposure elsewhere, and it's right on the cusp. It's on the radar, but something never gets pulled.
SPEAKER 07 :
The other one I'm going to give kudos here today, although it's been dicey, Pinterest. I've never been able to really figure out Pinterest myself.
SPEAKER 04 :
You never figure out how they make money, honestly.
SPEAKER 07 :
But they must make money.
SPEAKER 04 :
I haven't spent a lot of time on Pinterest.
SPEAKER 07 :
It was ranked number 741 out of 55,000 yesterday, 77% upside potential. Pinterest is pretty good growth. I mean, their sales were up 18%. They do have $4 billion a year in sales. Pinterest is up 17.5% today.
SPEAKER 04 :
I had one story my wife wanted to make sure I passed along to you because I know when we were out to dinner earlier this week, we were talking about eggs prices here in South Carolina. Are they dropping yet? No. So Waffle House, actually, I saw in a story midweek this week, they're going to charge a 50-cent surcharge per egg. So I guess if you get a three-egg omelet, right, it's like $1.50. I don't know how long that's going to be enacted for, but apparently that's – so there's your egg story. And then I saw another one where – Somebody stole like $100,000 worth of eggs. Hijack it.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's gold. Why does Jesse James rock the banks? Because that's where the money is. That's why you hijack egg trucks.
SPEAKER 04 :
You've got to be real careful with that, right? Yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Talk about a stock that has fallen from grace. We did pretty well. I sold it at $138 per share. And it had a pretty good run as one of the greatest growth stocks there for a while. Elf Beauty. We don't own it anymore. We sold it at 138 midway last year, July of last year. Now it's 72. It's been cut in half since then. It's down 17.8%. They had zero growth in earnings. They had 31% growth in sales. But obviously, Estee Lauder, Elf, that has become a very, very depressed competitive sector. I've got to believe that TikTok may be taking down TikTok. I don't know, is TikTok back up? But anyways, they made their money with influencers on tiktok elf beauty and that's the disaster of the day but even bigger disaster than that and i warned and warned and warned many years ago believe it or not canopy growth at one time was a six hundred dollar stock It's a cannabis stock, and now it's $2.
SPEAKER 04 :
Remember you said that's all anybody ever wanted to talk to you about. Now it's the AI, I guess, and quantum computing.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now it's AI, quantum, nuclear. But I said the cannabis is not going to work out. I'm not a fan of cannabis to begin with. Not a fan at all. In fact, quite against it. But you do what you want to do. It's your body. Canopy growth is down 23% today. and has gone from $600 per share down to $200. And it's considered the blue chip of the cannabis sector. Ouch. All right, we're out of time. What a week it's been. It's going to be pretty exciting next week. We've still got a long ways to go. Next week will be another full-packed week of news. of earnings reports. The four-week trial is still up and running. I mean, you've got Oklo, you've got Palantir, you've got Spotify, some of the biggest winners in the market. DEC is the one I would say that stands out. I mean, the day after we added to our DEC, it went down 23%. But, you know, DEC... I don't worry too much about DEC. They've got the management. They've got the products. And that may show up in my value portfolio that I'm developing right now at some point. To get four-week trial to all of this, to join us, GundersenCapital.com, GundersenCapital.com. Do just say, you know what, I don't have time for all of this. I want to talk to you about managing our portfolios. 855-611-BEST. 855-611-BEST. Have a great day. Have a great weekend, everybody.
SPEAKER 05 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIPC and FINRA.
The teenage years are tough. The first test in life for any teenager is conforming to authority. Sometimes authority isn’t fair. How do you handle this? You can react with anger or bitterness or you can respond with obedience and understanding. God puts you through this to prepare you for life. Life isn’t fair. It’s inherent in the sinful nature to buck authority so you must learn how to handle it, whether it’s fair or unfair. “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right” (Eph 6:1). You acquire authority orientation by being filled with the Holy Spirit and learning and using the Word of God.” Honor your father and your mother” (Eph 6:2). Your parents are one of the most valuable assets you have. God mandates you to obey them while you are under their roof and to honor them for a lifetime.
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/lifes-toughest-e762a0
As tension between political ideologies rises, we explore the impact of President Trump’s recent actions on both domestic and international fronts. Tune in to hear about Rahm Emanuel's controversial statements about Trump and Netanyahu, as well as fiery discussions on government restructuring, ICE's intensified deportation activity, and how Trump supporters manage politically charged relationships with family and friends who hold opposing views.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. I'm Eric Hansen. It's Friday, February 7th, 2025. This week, Mexico concedes to the Trump administration. Senator Chuck Schumer flips out, and we remember an everyday hero. First, The Weeknd produced another win for President Trump thanks to the president of Mexico.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, over The Weeknd, There was a media meltdown over the tariffs. Oh, we're not going to be able to afford our guacamole anymore. Oh, my goodness. How are we going to buy coffee? Trump is going to destroy this country. He's going to take us into a depression. It was wild, wild to watch the media meltdown. Well, moments ago, the president of Mexico has announced that the tariffs are being paused. For one month, Mexico will reinforce the U.S. southern border, the U.S.-Mexico border, with 10,000 troops on their side of the border to try to restrict the flow and the entering of fentanyl and other horrible things into our country. The U.S. will crack down on firearm trafficking into Mexico. So Mexico is going to send 10,000 soldiers to the border on their side of the border. And the president said, this is mutual respect. We respect America's sovereignty. We respect Mexico's sovereignty. Yada, yada. Zing, boom, bah. Just like that. This is how it's done. This is what, and look, tariffs work. And Trump has said it all over and over and over again. The bottom line is, Trump's going to get it done. This is what peace through strength looks like. This guy is known as the king of the art of the deal for a reason. Nobody negotiates like Donald Trump. I heard Tara this morning in South Carolina talk about President Trump. It's like Vito Corleone has come to the Oval Office. It's like Trump has a cat on his lap, and he's stroking the pussycat, and he's saying, you know, we're going to make them an offer they can't refuse. I mean, it's incredible. Under 24 hours, boom. Mexico has bent the knee. Mexico has bent the knee. And it was 24 hours. And I saw over the weekend all the Sunday morning news shows. This is going to be terrible. Look, we're two weeks into this administration. Tomorrow, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump will meet at the White House. It's just insane. And there are people that hate this man so much. But you know what they're going to hate more than their own personal contempt for Donald Trump the man? They hate the winning. They hate the success. They hate New Yorkers saying, wow, look at all these illegals who've been kind of gone now from the parks where they've been loitering and harassing. Let me play the video of a woman in New York walking through a park that was well known to be a kind of a playground for people from Venezuela and Mexico and Mexico. Foreign countries who are roaming the streets of New York. Here's an area where they hung out. And she walks through the park and notices they're all gone.
SPEAKER 11 :
What? What? So you mean to tell me there's no drunks at this time? Blasting their cumbia on their little... Bootleg JBL speakers? Catcalling me? What? I'm loving it. I'm loving this piece.
SPEAKER 08 :
Americans are getting exactly what they voted for. And the only people upset about it are people who didn't want him in office. And moreover... They don't want America to succeed.
SPEAKER 07 :
Last week's mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter still prompts many questions. But this week, we got a few answers.
SPEAKER 08 :
Looks like the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that slammed into the American Airlines jet is a woman. I'm going to say something controversial here. Obviously, women pilots... I don't know that there's anything unique about being a man and flying a plane or a helicopter. But it's fair to say if DEI standards are bumping out or knocking off qualified applicants, that needs to be part of the conversation. And to say that it's cruel, look, I don't want to add to anybody's grief or misery. This family, her family, and all of the three crew members are not immune from the compassion we ought to have. Something went terribly wrong. Something went horribly wrong. Chris Stegall, my colleague here at Salem, our new morning show host, posted something on social media over the weekend. And I'm going to read it. I'm going to challenge you to tell me what he said that is incorrect. And he's a good guy. I mean, he's a smart guy. He's compassionate. People who are getting to know him are just really loving his work. Here's what he wrote. When President Trump mentioned hiring and qualifications in the aftermath of an entirely avoidable mid-air collision last week, he was beginning an important discussion. He was forcing a focus on hiring and training in our most critical and potentially dangerous government jobs. He mentioned no names, nor did he even mention specific fault. But facts are facts, Chris wrote. The control tower was understaffed. And a routine Black Hawk training flight was not operating correctly. If you'd like to get emotional and upset that Trump is attacking individuals, well, that's on you. Nevertheless... A plane full of innocents died because government jobs weren't done correctly. There's no defending this. Doesn't mean anyone involved is a bad American or ill-intended. It does mean their errors got Americans killed. That's not spitting on graves or disrespecting service. It's telling the truth. And the truth is, everyone on that American Airlines jet would be alive today were it not for the failure of people in government positions. Now, is there anything Chris said that you disagree with? I would add a caveat. I don't necessarily disagree with him. I would have used the word apparently. We don't know yet. We don't know if there was some mechanical breakdown, if there was some air traffic control mistake. You know, to blame the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter could be premature. I don't know. But what I do know is that Chris is completely correct. Something went terribly wrong. A government aircraft slammed into a commercial airliner, and we deserve answers.
SPEAKER 07 :
Former Obama administration official Rahm Emanuel appeared on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, where he issued a veiled warning to the current occupant of the White House.
SPEAKER 08 :
What I didn't enjoy was stumbling across ABC's This Week with Stephanopoulos. I thought he quit or got demoted, but there he was interviewing Rahm Emanuel. And Rahm Emanuel said something so chilling about Trump and Israel, and October 7th, and Benjamin Netanyahu, I could not believe my eyes and ears. You want to see what evil is like? This is from the bowels of hell. This is demonic stuff. I've been to Israel. I saw what they did to those poor people on October 7th. I absolutely... know what evil looks like. And it comes in many, many forms. I come across this segment, and I had to share it with you because I was absolutely appalled and shocked that a mainstream Democrat operative is so wicked that he would blame horrific acts of mutilation and rape and terror on politicians like Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 03 :
Rom, we've never seen a move like this before from a president. What's the likely impact?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, it's going to be dramatic. I mean, George, a couple points. On Tuesday, the president is going to host Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. He did exactly this, attacking the Justice Department inside Israel. It turned the country inside out. The defense forces warned him, your deterrence is going to be degraded. And you had October 7th, the worst killing of Jews since the Holocaust. Now, look, the bureaucracy of the Justice Department and as well as the FBI, they can be running a campaign of internal vengeance or external vigilance. And it's one or the other. They can't do both. And we've seen this movie before, and it ended in October 7th. The Chinese are hacking us and cyberattacking, and the North Koreans constantly. The FBI and the Justice Department are key to it. That is also true about terrorist action.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, I watched that with my jaw agape. That guy went on national television and essentially blamed Bibi Netanyahu for what the terrorists did on October 7th and intimated that the same is going to happen in America because of Donald Trump. It all has to do, because they're all freaking out that Trump is having FBI agents fired. They're all losing their minds and they're melting down. Because Trump wants accountability for the people who weaponized the Justice Department. Look, we witnessed a travesty. The false claim that Trump incited an insurrection. And all kinds of legal machinations occurred as a result of that. That falsehood. You know, the day that Trump said, I know you're going to go peacefully and patriotically, let your voices be heard. And they tried to twist that into he incited an insurrection. Then they tried to say that a bookkeeping mistake or misdemeanor from years and years ago that expired as a result of the statute of limitations could get twisted into dozens of felony counts. And they found a jury of stooges in New York City who threw the book at Donald Trump and came up with 34 felony convictions. And look, it all backfired. It didn't work. If it had been successful, we'd have Kamala Harris in the White House. The American people are sick of this. And Trump is absolutely going to purge the federal government of people who are willing to weaponize him.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, you would think that everyone would favor a more efficient government. I guess when Democrats say it, they just don't mean it. Just ask Senator Chuck Schumer.
SPEAKER 08 :
Why are the Democrats so upset about Trump? government efficiency. Why would this be a partisan issue? We're witnessing a revealing moment, not unlike when we discovered that a lot of people on the loony left are filthy, Jew-hating anti-Semites. It's like, wait a minute, they're as bad as we think they are. They're on college campuses waving flags in support of Hamas. After the October 7th massacre. Oh, my gosh. Many progressives are Jew haters. And we had that revealing aha moment. Well, this is another one. They're not worried about Trump demolishing democracy. They're worried about Trump demolishing bureaucracy. They don't want the deep state dismantled. They want the slush fund from USAID dismantled. I mean, again, these are taxpayer dollars. And you've seen the list by now. The crazy things, the projects. I mean, I've got a list that's as long as my arm. It's insane what we were spending or what we've been spending. For every dollar USAID spends, only 12 cents reaches those in need. Boy, that's got to be a... A real somber message to people still living in tents in western North Carolina. I'll bet the people of East Palestine, Ohio are a little surprised to find out that we put $2.3 billion of our money to Somalia. $20 million on a Sesame Street show in Iraq. $150,000 for Korean kids to visit D.C. $40 million of our money to build schools in Jordan. $56 million to boost Egyptian and Tunisia tourism. $11 million to tell the Vietnamese to stop burning their trash. Now, here's the best part of all. This is what's astounding to me. They're not hiding their disdain for an attempt at government efficiency at all. Look at Chuck Schumer. Chuck Schumer has been at the game a long time. This guy knows exactly what it's all about. Been a politician for 1,000 years. Chuck Schumer, a senior Democrat official, listen to what he said yesterday. If we don't stop Trump from expecting accountability from an entity like USAID, what could be next? The IRS? When the team played this clip for me, I said, guys, you've got to cut it out with the AI. There's no way he said that. Oh, yes, this is what Chuck Schumer said.
SPEAKER 05 :
If Doge attacks USAID today, then you can be sure they'll move on to another target tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe it'll be the Postal Service or the IRS. They could be next.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, no, not the Postal Service. What? The IRS? You want to cut out waste from the IRS? You mean we might stop auditing conservatives? What? No. The Postal Service? I mean, making that more efficient? No, don't do that. He actually said that. That was on the floor of the Senate. Are you relishing what we're experiencing right now, just two, two and a half weeks into the Trump administration? Portions of our show brought to you by MyPillow. And I do want to tell you, I got a message from Mike Lindell himself today. This is an amazing offer. Free shipping on everything. So if you've thought about getting the mattress topper, which comes in a big box, and that mattress topper is like three inches of heaven. You take it and put it on any mattress, turn it into the most comfortable bed in the world. And it comes in a big box. You unfold it and everything. You unpack it. Well, guess what? For a limited time, free shipping on anything you order. Mike Lindell is so grateful to this audience for your constant support of MyPillow. They've tried to cancel him, too, just like they're trying to cancel RFK Jr. and everybody else. It isn't working because you're standing in the breach. You're defending this great American company. And for a limited time, not only can you get the classic standard MyPillow for only $14.98, limit $10, please, because that's a crazy low price, the MySlippers, the doggy beds, the flannel sheets, even the mattress itself. You can get a MyPillow mattress, which has thousands of cooling points. It has the patented technology from MyPillow in the mattress. And best part of all, free shipping. Free shipping as a thank you for your support for a limited time. So go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box. And with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Like we love to sing. For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
Promo code MikeG. This is the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. I'm Eric Hansen. If you are happy with the way the second Trump administration has unfolded so far, just remember, many fellow Americans are not. So how do you deal with family and friends who don't see America the way you do?
SPEAKER 08 :
Our text line and our phone lines have exploded with people who want to tap into this conversation. This issue that I've raised about how you're dealing with people in your life who are unhappy with the tariffs, with the mass deportations, with the purging of those in the government who weaponized the government to punish their political opponents. This is what we voted for. This is what the majority of Americans wanted. So why are they surprised? Let me read some of the texts before we take your phone calls from Illinois. The Democrats don't like seeing somebody actually follow through with their promises. They also don't like it when you actually have a solution to things that are ailing our country. You don't like the immigration policies of our country? Come up with a plan that will work and not overrun our country. North Carolina, I've had both friends and family unfriend me on Facebook. Their loss. Pennsylvania, my friend who used to be my best friend for more than 50 years, has had Trump derangement syndrome for nine years. I've suffered in silence rather than arguing with her. I've been insulted many, many times. I prayed that the election would calm the rhetoric and the insults, but I'm afraid it's only making it worse, if that's even possible. I'm truly grieving the loss of my friend, because I don't really have any interest in trying to save it at this point. Michigan, Mike, I've been blocking them little by little. They seem to be the same. As soon as you prove them wrong or misinformed, they get personal. You're in a cult. You're stupid. You can't have an intelligent conversation without them getting personal. Washington State, oh boy, my liberal sister, she is livid. Always posting on social media articles that are false. Her husband, who's been a citizen for decades, even has had security clearances, claims to be afraid of being arrested. She thinks Christians like me are mean and anti-democratic. And finally, perhaps the best text of all up to now from South Carolina, from the upstate, I'm personally exhausted by those who cannot accept the will of the people. The majority has spoken, and that's it. So for those in my life who struggle with this, I just don't argue. I pray. It's a great, great bit of advice. Pray for them. Because the truth is, they're going through a miserable, miserable time. Incidentally, so were we in 2020, when Biden upended everything Trump accomplished and led to this disastrous economy that we're trying to get out from under. We were pretty miserable, too. They didn't seem to care then. Isn't that funny how that works? Todd's in Tampa. Hey, Todd, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 04 :
Mike, the only person that's doing a better job than you and your team is Donald Trump. We love you, Donald. You're doing a tremendous job. You're doing everything you promised to do. And I don't talk to anybody but conservatives. I got a half-brother who's a Democrat, and I don't bring up politics. I'm happy about the tariffs, and praise God, because the American people can buy their product right down the street for somewhere else, and they'll go with the McDonald's program, which is make it a dollar, and they'll make a buck, and we'll be richer quicker. God bless.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. God bless you, Todd. Thanks for your kind words. Rob is in New York. Hey, Rob, how are you?
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, Rob, you there?
SPEAKER 08 :
Hey, Mike, how are you? I'm good, sir. How are you doing?
SPEAKER 13 :
Good, good. So I have my mother that told me to lose her number because I texted her an American flag when Trump won the election. Your own mother?
SPEAKER 08 :
My mom.
SPEAKER 13 :
She told me to lose her number.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER 13 :
She's got full-blown Trump derangement syndrome. My sisters have it. If she comes to my house, I have to take the Trump flags down.
SPEAKER 1 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's unbelievable. Lose my number. She's your mother. I mean, this is how bad it is. These folks, I've got a friend who always says, hatred of Trump makes nice people mean, and it makes smart people stupid. It's crazy.
SPEAKER 13 :
My mother's done everything for me my whole life, and now she tells me to lose her number.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, how do you feel about that? But how do you feel about that?
SPEAKER 13 :
Does that break your heart? Oh, yeah, it's terrible. I know. It's terrible. I try not to let it bother me, but it does.
SPEAKER 08 :
Of course it does. Thanks for sharing that, Rob. I'm telling you, this is something that a lot of Americans are going through, and what I hate about it is it's one way. It's a one-way street. The people that I've decided to sort of cut out of my life are people who are showing, I try to show them grace. I say to them, look, I'm sorry you're hurting. I appreciate that. Elections swing both ways. You know, the pendulum goes both ways. 2016 was Trump. 2020 was Biden. 2024 was Trump. Who knows what's going to happen?
SPEAKER 07 :
Unlike the previous administration, President Trump talks to the press just about every day. No question is off limits, and he answers every one of them. Well, almost all of them.
SPEAKER 08 :
Look, I'm pretty good at this. I don't even know how to start. I've got stacks of papers here in front of me and computers and stories. I mean, how about the exchange he had with a reporter at the White House yesterday with a heavy accent? You've got to hear this exchange. I think she's from Afghanistan, if I'm not mistaken. And she's got a very thick accent. Now, I can relate to this. I swear, I think I'm Trump's doppelganger. He loves Diet Cokes. I love Diet Cokes. He loves Big Macs and McDonald's. I love Big Macs and McDonald's. He has trouble with people who have heavy accents. I have trouble with people who have heavy accents. When I call a customer service number and they answer the phone with a thick accent, I know I'm in big trouble. Big trouble. Because I'm not going to understand them. I have a hard time understanding British accents. If the British accent, I tried to suffer through Downton Abbey. I didn't understand what anybody was saying. I don't even understand any of it. Game of Thrones, if they've got a thick British accent, I don't have a clue. I'm out. I have no idea. I can't. I just have a glitch. Well, I think Trump has the same challenge. So a reporter stands up yesterday and asks him a question, and President Trump couldn't understand her. This is how that went.
SPEAKER 02 :
Go ahead. I have a little hard time understanding you. Where are you from? Afghanistan.
SPEAKER 03 :
Actually, it's a beautiful voice and a beautiful accent. The only problem is I can't understand a word you're saying. But I just say this. Good luck. Live in peace.
SPEAKER 08 :
I can't understand a word you're saying, but I say this. Good luck and live in peace. Now, you know we've got to get T-shirts made that say good luck and live in peace. That's going to be the mantra for the rest of my life. Good luck. and live in peace. I can't understand. I'm going to say that when I call Verizon tomorrow and I get a, hello, welcome to Verizon, may I help you? I can't understand a word you're saying, but good luck and live in peace. I had a conversation the other day with a woman at American Express. I have no, I picked out about every fifth word she said. No idea. Which always makes me wonder, if you're in the customer service business and you're in America and you have to deal with English-speaking Americans, why do you have somebody whose job it is to take their phone call and their accent is so thick that you can't understand them anyway? It makes no sense. Good luck and live in peace. You understand... Do you understand that we will never see the likes of this guy again in our lifetime? We are never going to see another Donald Trump. Tracy just pointed out that Melania... has a very thick accent. She does indeed. And I admit, as beautiful as she is, I have a hard time understanding Melania. Now, Melania probably shouldn't be in a customer service position. I doubt that she ever will. I don't think she's ever going to have to go out and work for, you know, the phone company or the cable company answering phones. I think Melania is pretty well set for life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been busy the past few weeks detaining and deporting illegals across America. I'll bet their ears perked up when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy confessed that he has a very special visitor living above his garage.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know how much fun we're having? Isn't it amazing to be winning like this? I just wait. Is this ride going to end? I don't want to get off. Stop the world. I want to get on. I saw a story about the New Jersey governor this week that just exemplifies how the Democrats are in complete chaos. They're melting down. Did he really sit up on a stage and claim that he's got a migrant living in his basement? I mean, you can't make this up. And I saw this online last night. I thought, well, Governor Murphy of New Jersey's got an illegal living in his home. I'm like, well, okay, that's a start. Let them take all the illegals in. Instead of paying for luxury hotels, let's just let the leftists open up their homes and adopt a migrant. We have that clip. This is unbelievable. He's up there saying he's got a migrant in his, I guess, in the governor's mansion. Now, later, I guess they walked it back. Apparently, he didn't really mean it. But, boy, it's fun to hear it the first time.
SPEAKER 06 :
Talking about, I don't want to get into too much detail, but there's someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not... yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what, let's have her live at our house above our garage. And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.
SPEAKER 08 :
What?! ! You've got an illegal, you're harboring an illegal immigrant? I want to see that raid. I want Tom Holman to lead that raid on Governor Murphy's garage and get, you know, Gladys or Emily or Amelia or whatever her name is. What is that, his housekeeper, do you think? Maybe that's the wife of his, who would that be? But he said, good luck coming to get the illegal that I'm harboring in my garage. Is that the best you can do, Murphy? Put her over the garage? Can't you at least give her a utility room or something in the mansion?
SPEAKER 07 :
Finally, we mourn for the victims of that terrible plane crash over the Potomac. This week, we took a moment to remember that they were more than just sad statistics. They were real people.
SPEAKER 08 :
Incidentally, have you seen the video of the flight attendants on the doomed flight? Somebody took a video of them the night before the crash. No. Oh, Mark. It is so heartbreaking. It's just a normal. You want to hear it? It's the night before. I'd be happy to. And let me tell you why we should play it.
SPEAKER 10 :
I was going to say, because I hear people go, oh, no. Because these were people. These were people. They had lives. They were filled with joy. They were filled with purpose. It was the blissful normalcy of their night before.
SPEAKER 08 :
And the lead flight attendant, Ian, who just introduced his partner, the female flight attendant, who were, of course, both killed, the joy he has in serving his passengers, The clear, and he leaves behind, of course, a wife and kids and just grieving. And people love this guy. You know how you get flight attendants who you know love their job? Southwest comes to mind. And sometimes I always joke about they're too happy for me. Just calm down here a little bit, all right? They're singing happy, happy, joy, joy and all that stuff. We got jokes. It's like they're working a club sometimes. It's like, okay, we get it. We get it. But this guy, a passenger was on the same route the night before the crash. And the flight attendant, Ian, had such a delightful monologue that the passenger pulled out a cell phone and took a video of it. And the family of the flight attendant saw this on social media. And they said, thank you for sharing this. Thank you for reminding everybody how special he was, how his passengers loved him.
SPEAKER 10 :
Not just a name in the paper.
SPEAKER 08 :
Not just a name, not just a statistic, not just a number. These were two flight attendants. He's a veteran. She was apparently brand new. And here was that final video taken the night before the awful crash over the Potomac.
SPEAKER 09 :
Raise your hand at this time. Everybody, fine, whatever. We'll go to Wichita. I can't believe I'm saying that out loud. My name is Ian, everybody. I am your app flight attendant tonight. I'm going to be working with all of those amazing people in the back that can't afford first class. Hi! Look at my people. I want everybody to introduce you to one of my newest, coolest friends. This is your first class flight attendant and a really cool lady. Everybody say, hey, Danasia. Hey, Danasia. It's Navy. show with the duh there you go very easy we are so glad you guys are here we know well we know the reason we have jobs is because you guys are flying we love you we appreciate you sit back relax and enjoy our four hour and 15 minute so we're regional we only go five miles an hour we'll get there eventually you're lucky this airplane has wings for crying out loud I'm just kidding. 46 minutes, wheels up, wheels down. Fast, fast, fast tonight. It's a beautiful night to fly. Let's just get there so the four of us can find a place to have a cocktail and a hamburger at 1130 at night in Wichita, Kansas. I can't believe I'm going to Kansas. I'm not even a Jayhawk. I mean, I'm a Notre Dame fan. Come on. We want to talk about a real college? All right, we'll talk about that later. Folks, sit back, relax, put your feet up. Welcome to our house.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow. That's Ian Epstein. Mike, that's beautiful.
SPEAKER 10 :
Isn't that something? Absolutely beautiful. That was him. That was his heart. That was his talent. That's right. And it was quite the talent, the self-deprecation, the having a little fun with everybody. Because what does everybody say about flying? That flying is a massive pain in the neck, which it is. The quality of it and the enjoyment that we glean from it as passengers has been reduced over the years. It can be made better by people with a sense of humor and a heart for service like he had. I am so glad to have you share that.
SPEAKER 08 :
I came across that this week. Again, the family member, somebody named Epstein, saw that post. That's our guy. Debbie Epstein wrote, Thank you. This has reached his family, and we appreciate you sharing this. It does bring us comfort. And the passenger wrote back, He truly brought so much joy to all of us on our flight. I shared, hoping that the country and the family would see. So anyway, just heartbreaking, and just as heartbreaking for the helicopter pilot,
SPEAKER 07 :
And that wraps up the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast for Friday, February 7th, 2025. Be sure to subscribe to all of the podcasts and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like the show, be sure to share it with a friend. I'm Eric Hansen. We'll see you back here next week on the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast.
Welcome to the Kim Monson Show podcast. Kim Monson is your host. Disruptions happen in life all the time. It’s what makes the human condition interesting. Author Brad Beck notes that the question he asks himself is when something happens, “How will I react to the disruption? The worst part of a disruption is not knowing how long it will last and what its impact will be. Yet, if you are prepared it will not matter.” Dr. Jill Vecchio discusses where we go from here regarding healthcare in America. That’s Friday 6-8am with encores 1-2pm and 10-11pm right here on KLZ 560 and KLZ 100.7 FM. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kim Monson Show airs on KLZ 560 AM every Monday thru Friday, 6-8 AM MST. You can listen to the live stream by going to www.klzradio.com
SPEAKER 04 :
It's the Kim Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 15 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 04 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can't understand that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's not fair just because you're a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn't.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 15 :
Indeed. Let's have a conversation, and welcome to the Kim Munson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today's drive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Friday, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
Happy Friday, Kim.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's been a great week. You've got that new software system going, so that's pretty darn great.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, ma'am. It's been going pretty good. I'm starting to get the hang of it and figure out some operations and stuff, which is very, very helpful.
SPEAKER 15 :
So you don't want to jinx it, though.
SPEAKER 16 :
No, I don't.
SPEAKER 15 :
So knock on wood. And yeah, definitely. And in studio with me is my good friend, Brad Beck. Great to have you here. Co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. It's great to have you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, thanks, Kim. It's awesome to be here. And you know, one of the things that I look forward to and I get to do with you is stand and listen to that beautiful anthem. And it's just grand to do that early in the morning.
SPEAKER 15 :
I really think that that is, I think that's from one of the Super Bowls. And that is one of my favorites. Now, they play it different. It's different throughout the day. But that is really a great one. It is. Well, good to be with you. Good to have you here. And so we're going to get into it. We've got a jam-packed show planned today. And so we'll just get right into it. Check out my website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You'll get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at Kim at Kim Munson dot com. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, Brad, you shouldn't have to force people to do it. And it's not compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, their property, freedom, livelihoods, opportunities, lives, or I'm going to add in childhood. because we see our children are under attack as well. But a force can be a weapon, policy, unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, this agenda by the World Economic Forum, the globalist elites. We're seeing that play out in the Colorado State Legislature. The Colorado governor's pushing that, although he's trying to say that he's a libertarian, but I don't think that he is, Brad.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, I don't think he is either. But with all that stuff you just went through, I wonder what's good.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, there's a lot, but some other things that I'm learning is the land use codes. You know this. Zoning regulations, you see that on the municipal level. Forest fees, these conservation easements, national monument designations, all these things are an attack upon property rights. And socialism, under socialism...
SPEAKER 05 :
uh... basically the state controls everything uh... and that is the uh... gateway drug to communism where at the state owns everything there's not that much different spread knowing and the fascists do the same things it's always interesting how uh... people on the other side of the political spectrum are always uh... transgression or transferring their feelings onto us who uh... believe in liberty and freedom they're always out there saying things that you go really That's what you're doing, but you're saying we are. And, of course, we've been a little bit better at things, especially with this new administration, of being three steps ahead rather than playing catch-up. And I think it's a wonderful thing. It's been remarkable to watch this, Brad Beck. It has. And we're in a golden age. You know, we talked about being at a tipping point. Prior to this, well, it's a tipping point the other way. We're back as a free society and we're going to get freer as people start to say, hey, you know what? We don't have to live under this tyranny. We can push back and we can be the voice. We can be the leaders.
SPEAKER 15 :
And so, yes, it's pretty amazing to watch this. And the rapid actions, it's been staggering. I pick up my phone every day and it's like, what's going to be the next thing that's going to happen? So let's get to our word of the day. It's risible. And it is an adjective and it could be relating to laughter or used in eliciting laughter. ludicrous, capable of laughing or inclined to laugh. So risible is our word of the day. It's spelled R-I-S-I-B-L-E, risible. So that is our word of the day. So I need to get over here into, let's see, Brad, I may have to have you help me out here because I printed all this off for you. And then here we go. What happened was it did not collate these, so that complicated my life here. So our word of the day is from our Medal of Honor quote book from the Center for American Values. And the Center for American Values is located in Pueblo, Colorado, on the beautiful Riverwalk. And they're doing a number of things. They have a lot of educational programs for kids, as well as focusing on honor, integrity, and patriotism, which is foundational values for a golden age, I would say.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 15 :
And they also have these portraits of valor of over 160 of our Medal of Honor recipients. The center was co-founded by Brad... Brad Padula, I was going to say Brad Beck. Brad Padula and Drew Dix, who Drew is a Medal of Honor recipient. He's going to make an excellent On Values presentation this next Wednesday night. He was stationed in Greenland for a number of years. And Greenland's been in the news. And so he's going to present on the real Cold War. because Greenland was a little cold. And so on Fridays, though, we pull a quote from the Medal of Honor quote book, which I'd recommend that you purchase so you have it at home on your shelf or your Freedom Library. And you can do that by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. That is AmericanValueCenter.org. And our quote of the day comes from George Everett, nicknamed Bud Day. He was born in 1925, died in 2013. And he was a United States Air Force officer, aviator, and veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He was also a prisoner of war and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. And as of 2016, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of Brigadier General, effective March 27, 2018, as directed by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. And this is his citation, and then we'll give his quote. But on 26 August 1967, Colonel Day said, was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in three places and his left knee was badly sprained. He was immediately captured by hostile forces and taken to a prisoner camp where he was interrogated and severely tortured. After causing the guards to relax their vigilance, Colonel Day escaped into the jungle and began the trek toward South Vietnam. Despite injuries inflicted by fragments of a bomb or rocket, he continued southward, surviving only on a few berries and uncooked frogs. He successfully evaded enemy patrols and reached the Ben Hai River where he encountered U.S. artillery barrages.
SPEAKER 05 :
And with the aid of a bamboo log float, Colonel Day swam across the river and entered the demilitarized zone. due to delirium. He lost his sense of direction and wandered aimlessly for several days. After several unsuccessful attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured by the Viet Cong, sustaining gunshot wounds to his left hand and thigh. He was returned to the prison from which he escaped and later was moved to Hanoi after giving his captors false information to question that was questioned before him. Physically, Colonel Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Colonel Day's capricious and gallantry and intrepidity, boy, that's a good word. It's a good word, yeah. At the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect the great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.
SPEAKER 15 :
And pretty remarkable.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, it is.
SPEAKER 15 :
And this is his quote. He said, go with honor, live with honor, return with honor. That is America in action. And that is George E. Budd Day, United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient. And these citations are really pretty remarkable, Brad.
SPEAKER 05 :
you know it's interesting to me because when you listen to these stories and as you present on sundays your veterans stories it reminds us that we have a lot to be thankful for that men and women volunteer for our armed services and they give their all and they never assume that they're going to be asked for greatness they just go out there and perform their duty And I think if more people had the attitude that serving their country is going to make it not only better, but we also get to be the home of the brave and the free. And we should be thankful every day for people on the line.
SPEAKER 15 :
We really should, and that is why I've done the America's Veterans Stories, is each story is unique, and it's important that we know them, that we hear them, and that is on Sundays, 3 to 4 p.m., on all KLZ 560 platforms. And the show comes to you 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon, second hour 10 to 11 at night. And then we do have summaries of the show with podcasts on my website. And also you can listen via Spotify and iTunes. So let's get over here quickly to a bill of the day. You're going to like this one, Brad Beck. And let me just do a quick little report from Bill Track 50, which is the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. We use this software, which is pretty amazing. Okay, Brad, do you want to take a bet to see how many, or give me a number, how many bills have been proposed by this legislature as of right now?
SPEAKER 05 :
Knowing the history of the Golden Dome, I'm going to say about 250?
SPEAKER 1 :
358.
SPEAKER 05 :
Holy cats. Do you believe that? I do because the usual suspects are in control and they can't help themselves.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we don't need another law, much less 358. But the bill of the day that I chose was Senate Bill 25034. And the prime sponsors on this are Democrats Senator Kathy Kipp and Representative Andrew Boesenecker. And this is the Voluntary Do Not Sell Firearms Waiver. The bill establishes a process for a person to voluntarily waive the right to purchase a firearm The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will deny a firearm transfer to the person while the voluntary waiver is in effect. The Bureau shall develop an online portal for a person to electronically file for a voluntary waiver, update contact information, and revoke a voluntary waiver. The Bureau is required to verify the filer's identity before accepting a voluntary waiver or revocation.
SPEAKER 05 :
What?
SPEAKER 15 :
If you don't want to buy a firearm, don't.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right? You know, these people have nothing better to do. And, you know, I am at the point in my life where the more they try to put laws into effect, the more I ignore them because I break 10 a day minimally. Not on purpose. Not on purpose. I just don't know. I can read the Constitution. I understand those three pages of parchment. But my goodness, in the state register, in the federal register, there's so many things that are written out there that contradict themselves, that make no sense, and they have no power to do it. Their elected representatives are not tyrants and kings.
SPEAKER 15 :
And I think the challenge right now, and we have to step forward to do this. It's so interesting to watch everything that's happening with this new administration. But we can't just look to the administration for handling all this. We've got to step forward and take action.
SPEAKER 05 :
We do. And we have to be civically minded and be engaged. Go to those meetings. Go to those committee hearings. Go to your town hall meetings and school board meetings and show up and listen. Because a lot's going on and we are not paying attention to it. We're paying attention to D.C. because the administration is doing things so fast. But locally, we're getting our head handed to us. We are.
SPEAKER 15 :
And I think that, to your point, I think that these radical activists, extremists will be doubling down on what is happening here at the local school board, metro districts, county and state level. So we need to be engaged and that's why we do the show is to keep you informed on all this and it happens because of our sponsors one of those is the roger mangan state farm insurance team and they want you to feel safe and well served and so you can call or text 24 hours a day for that 24 hour peace of mind call the roger mangan team at 303-795-8855 like a good neighbor roger mangan's team is there
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
And welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. PLEASED TO HAVE ON THE LINE WITH ME REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT BOTTOMS. AND HE IS DOWN AT THE STATE HOUSE TAKING IT ON DOWN THERE. REPRESENTATIVE BOTTOMS, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.
SPEAKER 11 :
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
SPEAKER 15 :
I SAW YOU THE OTHER DAY. I WAS PRESENTING OR I MADE A SHORT PRESENTATION AT A LUNCHEON YESTERDAY AND I SAID, HEY, I TOOK ONE FOR THE TEAM. I WENT DOWN TO THE CAPITOL AND TESTIFIED. BUT YOU'RE DOWN THERE EVERY DAY.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and first, thank you for coming and testifying. Obviously, that is a very contentious subject right now across our state, and you did marvelous, as did really everybody that testified for my bill.
SPEAKER 15 :
So your bill is House Bill 25-1068. So set this up. I've talked a little bit about the bill, but it's a very important bill, and it did not make it out of committee, but yet I really appreciate you bringing this forward, Representative Bottoms. And you represent House District 15, correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay, so set this up for us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, the basics of the bill is allowing insurance companies that have an agreement with a hospital, medical group, doctor, doctor group, whatever, that if these medical people will agree to not do sex change surgeries, gender transition surgeries, that the insurance company that provides their liability insurance can carve that out and give them better rates and things like that because they're not going to have to cover liability when all these lawsuits that have just begun and are going to be huge coming down the pipe against doctors and medical groups for this malpractice we call sex change surgery.
SPEAKER 15 :
And if I remember right, on the bill, it's these sex change on children, right? I think so.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, it's for minors. The lawsuits that are coming are going to be from all age groups. We're already seeing that. But some of these lawsuits are going to be from minors when they have the surgery, and now they're adults. But basically, this is saying, If these medical groups will not do gender transition surgeries on minors, then their insurance company doesn't have to cover that.
SPEAKER 15 :
And so what I saw with this whole bill, though, it's really about force. And that would be forcing these insurance companies, or if insurance companies might not cover that, go to the taxpayer to force the taxpayer or these insurance companies to provide this insurance. So I saw this whole bill was about force.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, it's about control and force. We had many people that are detransitioning, and that's a simple way to say they've realized the catastrophic decisions that they've made, and their bodies are literally mutilated for the rest of their lives. Most of these people, in fact, I think it's all, I haven't found anybody that doesn't fall into this category, but that they've had body parts cut off or body parts added to Well, that means the rest of their life are going to be on medication, catheters, all kinds of stuff. And so they came and testified and said, getting the surgeries is easy. They actually force you into this pipeline. And we had the people testifying. This is not like anecdotal, that if you even hint at, say, a 14-year-old that you want to have a sex change surgery, double mastectomy, or even what's called bottom surgery, If you want this, you're immediately forced into the pipeline. Surgery is the only option. They threaten the parents with your kids are going to commit suicide if you don't do this. And that is not true. Those are lies from the industry. And this is a billion-dollar-a-year industry. But then if you decide to detransition, there's no funding. There's no help. There's no psychiatric help. There's no insurance that will pay for any of this kind of stuff. And so then these people are saying, wait a second, what happened? And now we're starting to see lawsuits pop up, which should happen. It's a control thing, top to bottom.
SPEAKER 15 :
So the bill, I think, is such an important bill. It did not make it out of committee. There were nine Democrats on that committee and four Republicans, correct? And that's because of elections that the Democrats control so much there. It didn't make it out of committee. But some of my colleagues said that you actually felt that there was some wins with the bill. And one of them, I think, was just the fact that there was very respectful dialogue on it, correct?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, that is part of it. Usually they come after me. They're very rude to me. They call me a liar. They talk about how I don't have a clue and I'm some kind of phobic. It depends on what the bill's about, and that defines my phobic-ness. But this was very respectful. But there's another element to it. They had a handful of their doctors and experts, and they got up. And then our doctors, our experts, our detransitioners, Our people that have been mutilated by this system physically and emotionally, they get up and they start testifying, and the Democrats did not ask one question from any of our experts. And the reason is because they know they're losing this argument on a scientific level. They're losing it on a cultural level. Colorado is tired of this stuff. We have seen past the curtain, and we recognize that. that this is some kind of weird leftist Marxist control and that the very small population that's pushing this, Colorado is done with this. And that's why I walked out of there. Yes, I lost the bill. If my name's on a bill, the Democrats have said they're going to destroy it. They're never going to vote a bill that I run through, which we're going to see because I've got actually one kind of middle-of-the-road kind of bill that's coming up. I won't go into it right now, but it's really kind of outside my normal scope. But we'll see, because they said they won't pass anything for me. So when we walked out of there, I recognized we had won that day. We had won every argument. We had set down every one of their arguments. And the best that they could say, this is the only thing the Democrats had was, well, we're going to continue to support the transgender community, which my bill did not stop one surger. My bill didn't hinder one family. It didn't stop one doctor from doing these surgeries. It just gave a chance for insurance companies to say, we're not going to cover this craziness because we're about to lose our whole company with the litigation that's coming.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's important to have these conversations about this. So Representative Bottoms, I like to sit at the back of the room so I can watch what's happening. And it was interesting to, as you mentioned, there was eight of the nine Democrats there. There was one that had an excused absence. But as you said, I hadn't really thought about the fact that they did not ask any questions of any of the individuals that were in favor of the bill. And then being in favor of the bill would mean that insurance companies would not be forced to pay for this malpractice insurance, nor would the taxpayer have to then come in and foot the bill. But I thought that Representative Brandi Bradley had some excellent points. She talked about the hypocrisy regarding the other side had talked about parental rights for their children regarding this transgender surgery. But she said on everything else, these Democrats are not in favor of parental rights. I thought that was really an important point when she noted that hypocrisy.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and she gave you opportunity, and both of you did well with this conversation. Every time we turn around in there, they're taking – in fact, on this very transgender sex change surgery issues, last year we voted in a bill – that said that 12 year olds could get sex change surgeries. We debated this for hours in the House, not whether or not they should have the surgery, but whether or not that the parents should have the right to have any say in this whatsoever. And the House voted no parent involvement. These 12 year olds could do this without any parent involvement. Counselors didn't have to tell parents, schools didn't, the surgeons didn't. When it got to the Senate, they added the parental the parental ability back in but the house had already voted it through with with taking parents completely out then on the exact same subject they bring this back and they're saying oh no we've got to have this we've got to have parents given doctor's permission we have to do all this kind of stuff and you're saying which is it when it fits them they'll they'll let casually maybe let parents be involved but most subjects they just completely take parental rights away
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, it is important to have the conversation. And I thought it was important that I go down and be in person. But people can give remote testimony, which I think is great that they can have access to that. So there was remote testimony from both sides of the issue. And so you don't have to go down to the Capitol, although you need to do it at least once, Brad Beck.
SPEAKER 05 :
I've done it several times in my life. And I want to thank Representative Bottoms for having the intrepidity to stand up against these overbearing tyrants who don't understand that it's irreversible that one of these young people... You know, if you're an adult, you can make a decision. But when you're a kid, you really don't know. And it's unfortunate that there's this whole industry out there that is pushing this ideology. Because when I was a kid... There was none of this, and it wasn't that long ago. So thank you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, thank you, Representative Bottoms. Your final thought? Thank you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I do believe in standing up against this stuff. I believe this is a fight of good versus evil. This is not politics. These are our kids, and we're mutilating them. We've been murdering them in the womb for years. Now we're mutilating them as young kids. This has got to stop.
SPEAKER 15 :
So Representative Bottoms, on my opening remarks, I said that in the old days, if the enemy would come into your village and the bad guys come into your village and line your kids up and cut the breasts off of our young girls and the penises off of our young boys, we would have said that's barbaric. But that's what's happening in 2025 America now. And Colorado is a destination place for this is my understanding.
SPEAKER 11 :
We are seeing the pushback across the nation. I believe that Colorado is tired of this and we're going to be starting to see that. Well, we already are seeing the pushback in Colorado. But but the true leftist Marxists that are controlling Colorado right now, they have made it determined point intentionality to say we will be the most liberal state in the United States. They have told us this standing in the House. And so we have to stop this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, thank you for standing in the gap for our children. And this is Representative Scott Bottoms. He represents House District 15. And thank you for your courage and, as Brad said, your intrepidity on doing this. So thank you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER 15 :
And these are such important discussions and they come to you because of our sponsors. And in the second hour, you will not want to miss it because Jim May with Lavaca Meat Company has shared a great recipe for sliders for the Super Bowl, which is on my website. And he's written a cowboy poem. And that is Jim May with Lavaca Meat Company.
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SPEAKER 15 :
it is finally friday welcome back to the kim munson show be sure and check out our website that is kim munson mon son.com sign up for our weekly email newsletter you can email me at kim kimmunson.com as well thank you to all of you who support us we're an independent voice we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force force versus freedom if something's a good idea you should not have to force people to do it and wanted to say thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show, because Brad, it's reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from oil, natural gas, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and I'm proud of this one, and empowers us to change our own personal climate. What do you think of that?
SPEAKER 05 :
I love fossil fuels. I'm a big fan of all the above, but in particular, affordable, available, abundant energy. And if it comes from coal or nuclear or gas, I'm all for it. And we need more of it, especially with the idea of more and more things that we do every day that we don't even notice with AI. And that needs energy. And without good, abundant, affordable energy... We're not going to be the world's leader. We need to be.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we can be. That's the important point. We were talking about Colorado and the legislature. We sit on so much natural gas here. And Laramie Energy explores, develops the... Natural gas. But the problem here in Colorado is this governor, this legislature, the bureaucrats want us to keep it in the ground. And at the luncheon yesterday that you and I were both at, the woman next to me said that her energy bill, her XL bill was $500 this last time around.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mine was $600. And I don't have a big house. But the problem that comes up is that we don't have the will in the state to make life more affordable. We keep talking about affordable housing and affordable eggs now, you know. What about affordable energy? And it's available here. We just have to wait until our friend Chris Wright and the Department of Energy, which I don't think we should have, but I'm glad he's there. And maybe this administration will push it to where it becomes a real value to people. I mean, people are deciding whether they buy their eggs and groceries or buying energy, especially when it's cold out. And next week's going to be cold.
SPEAKER 15 :
I know, and this is all because of public policy. And Xcel Energy, big business and big government like each other. And so Xcel Energy and this radical activist group of PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties, they like each other. And so we've got to push back on this. We did want to mention Hooters restaurants. They have five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. Great place to get together to watch the Super Bowl. Do you have a team that you're for?
SPEAKER 05 :
Not really. I used to be big in football, but when they took a knee, I kind of lost all interest. So I have a beautiful wife who loves college football. And every once in a while, I'll sit down with her with a you know, a chicken wing or so and watch the game. But I love baseball. I'm a baseball guy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Dodgers since you grew up?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I grew up with the Dodgers. Yeah. If you scratch my Rockies purple underneath is a little Dodger blue.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
But Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg were two of my heroes because there was not a lot of great Jewish ballplayers, but they were two of them. And, you know, there weren't great golfers. There weren't great Jewish bowlers. So baseball was my game.
SPEAKER 15 :
It was your game. OK, well, the Super Bowl is this Sunday. And again, Hooters restaurants would be a great place to watch the game. I'm sure they're going to have all kinds of specials. And there's five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster and Colorado Springs. So let's jump into your essay that we're going to publish this Sunday in the newsletter, In Five Years by Bradley Beck. So where would you like to start on this, Brad?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I was thinking the other day, you know, it's been five years since we went through the whole, as I like to call it, the Wuhan debacle. And we were all, you know, it took us by surprise. You know, I was, I lived through the Northridge earthquake and lost a home, had to rebuild it. And I thought I was prepared. I had two big new trash cans, and they were lined, and we had everything in it, tents, food, water, extra money, prescriptions. And it didn't matter because I wasn't prepared for the damage that happened. Even though I thought I was prepared, I had earthquake insurance. And it took me over a year for me to get the money from the bank because they thought I was going to take the money and run. fix the house. But the problem comes in is we're always prepared for something that happens that was the last time. It's not the future. So when the COVID experience happened, people just weren't, you know, prepared for it. But there was something interesting that happened. And I'm a member of Jeffrey Gittermer's Insiders Club. And Jeffrey always talks about the idea of giving value first. So when COVID hit, he started doing a podcast or on Facebook Live called the 959 Group. And that was 959 on the East Coast. So 759 here. And I'd every morning get up and listen to it. And it was maybe 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. But he would have a conversation that everybody would send in, you know, little notes, little text. And he put them up on the screen and we'd have a discussion. And it was awesome because here business people couldn't go out and see their clients. People were told to be socially distant. Well, we decided to be close and we engaged. And even as things progressed, It became apparent that this was you didn't have to be six feet from each other. You didn't have to wear a mask. It was mandated. But, you know, that was a choice. And I chose not to participate in it. So several of my cohorts who were here in Colorado, we started meeting, you know, together live. And we became good friends and we became in a mastermind group. And even to this day, I'm still engaged with these guys who hold me accountable. We read books. We discuss them. But it all started five years ago when this whole experience happened. And I don't think we prepare enough for the future. We think, oh, it's not going to come, especially when you're young. You don't think about these things. So what are you doing today? Because in five years, it's coming whether you're prepared or not. So how do you prepare? Part of it is maybe understanding what the situation could be. I know, for instance, I learned how to do better communication online. I was talking to folks who have better microphones, better lighting, better backdrops. You never saw me do a Zoom meeting with an unmade bed in the background. I respected the people that I was engaging with. And so you take the time and invest the time to better yourself, and when you do that, you're prepared for the next eventual activity that may or may not happen, but at least you're prepared, and you don't go to DEFCON 1 and freak out. You look at things as they come, but if you have your ducks in a row, you're able to persevere. There's a great story, Aesop's Fables, where the grasshopper is sitting out there, and I remember the old saying, Looney Tunes, where the grasshopper's playing his violin and saying, oh, the world owes me a living. And the ants are scurrying around trying to prepare because winter's coming. And this grasshopper is just sitting there, you know, enjoying life, enjoying the sunshine. And when the first snow comes, guess what? He's not prepared. And so the aunts take pity on him, but he realizes that he should have been being prepared for what was going to happen. And too many of us aren't prepared. We don't have savings. We don't invest with our kids if they want to go to college. We don't have a fund for them. Instead of going to the usual coffee shop, why not put that five bucks into a savings account? Yes, it's only five bucks, but it over time builds up with interest. And by the time a kid gets out from kindergarten to college, or potentially college, they have a chunk of money that they can use. Or maybe they just want to go to a trade school, or they want to do something else, travel the world for a year. But there's some money there that they can utilize. And so I think it's important for people to think about how the next event Is it going to affect their lives? Do you have enough water? Do you have enough food? A lot of people say, well, you know, the poor can't afford it. Well, maybe they get together in their religious organization or their fraternal organizations and they work together like we used to with trade organizations and build up a bank of food, emergency supplies, whatever we have that we think we're going to need at the time. Gloves, masks. If, you know, having gone through an earthquake recently, You don't realize what you need. And when that stuff hits the fan, you have to be prepared. You can't rely on the government as North Carolina discovered or Los Angeles and Pacific Palisades because they do too many things that get in the way rather than help. And so we have to rely on ourselves.
SPEAKER 15 :
And so being prepared. And in the urban corridor, we talked about this. In fact, we had Sandra on who did just a great presentation on just things that she has to be prepared. and extra food, extra water. Even if you're in a small apartment, you can make sure that you have those things on hand to be able to get through that. I remember during COVID, normally I have all kinds of supplies. and normally plenty of toilet paper. But I had been busy and had not gone to the grocery store. So this was just a few days before COVID. I thought, I need to get over there and get my stash. I'm glad I did because don't you remember toilet paper was one of the things that it almost came like, was like currency.
SPEAKER 05 :
But that was an artificial demand because There was toilet paper available. It was just a different ply, and it was more the commercial. So just think about it. All the airports that didn't have travelers going through it, they had plenty of toilet paper to go around. It wasn't being utilized, and it was more industrial in the sense that, or commercial, I should say, although it could feel industrialized. But you know what I mean. You know, it's just like this whole egg thing. You know, Colorado had been mandated to destroy a lot of chickens because of the avian flu that supposedly was transferred to an individual. Well, maybe so, but it was panic time, and the government made a decision, the people who were in charge of mandating our lives, and that was an artificial event. in my mind. And so, you know, you have to go to Wyoming and be a criminal and bring back, you know, your eggs. It's ridiculous. And so they want the fear. They want you to live in fear. But if you're prepared, you don't have to fear anything.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, Susan Kochevar made a great point of why on earth would you destroy the healthy birds? Because they are the ones that are developing this immunity to that. It makes no sense. And again, it creates a shortage. And then in addition here in Colorado with the mandating of the square footage for chickens, those two things together gives us eggs at $8.99 a dozen. So we're going to continue this discussion. We have it because of our sponsors. And for everything mortgages, reach out to Loren Levy. He can help you in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York.
SPEAKER 17 :
We'll be right back. If you'd like to explore what a reverse mortgage can do for you, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. That's 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 19 :
Call now. You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
Welcome back to the Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And check out the website for the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation. And Buy a brick for your loved one or to honor your military service that will be on one of the pathways of service. You'll get a beautiful certificate until that happens. And you can do all that at usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. Brad Beck is in studio. He is a co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. And I had not been getting any attendance awards last year or the last half of the year with the election and the voters guide and the Colorado 2024 election project. But I was at our meeting last week and oh, my gosh, I learned so much. Our friend Bill Vetter gave a really riveting speech. His experience is going back to Southeast Asia, Cambodia. And I'd really forgotten about the killing feels regarding Pol Pot. And I thought about that speech all day long. It was powerful. It was. He had the visuals as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you go on to Daily Wire Plus, there is a gentleman named Bill Whittle. And Bill Whittle has done lots of different videos. He did the virtual president several cycles ago. I had the good fortune of meeting him. He was at our Lincoln Day dinner in Boulder County Republican several years ago. But on Daily Wire Plus, he has a whole series on the Cold War, which is absolutely brilliant. But the one that's riveting is Empire of Terror. And I have to tell you, what the Russians did... In the Russian Revolution and then after, it pales with even the killing fields as bad as they were. What the Russian leadership did to their own people, the democide, was just off the charts. And there was one particular series or block that I watched, and I had to turn it off because it just riveted me. So people need to know what the Cold War was all about and how we got through it. but it was a tremendous bit of tyranny to the people in Russia and around the world. The communists and the socialists They have an agenda, and it creeps in, and once it gets in, it's hard to shake it off. And we have the good fortune of having more of a Republican, conservative, libertarian group in office. And I don't agree with everything that President Trump has initiated because it has to be rule of law to last. Tariffs is an example. It's a tax on us. But it's a negotiating tactic, too. And so I understand what he's doing and how rapid he's doing it. By the time the left figures this out, he's on to the next two, three, four things. And I think that's a good thing. We're ahead of the game, not playing catch up. But I encourage your listeners to listen to Bill Whittle and his Empire Terror. It will blow you away.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and Brad, it could happen here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 15 :
We were on a road towards that. And one of the things during COVID, Wuhan virus, the fact that... A couple of things. And this, I think, would also go back to your piece regarding in five years. But I remember... that coming over to this station, there was nobody on the road, first of all. And on those electronic signs, it said, save a life, stay home or something along. So the implication was if you were out and about that you wanted to kill somebody.
SPEAKER 05 :
It was ridiculous.
SPEAKER 15 :
It was crazyville. And then I had to, the station had to get me a piece of paper that said that I was quote unquote essential and that I could be traveling around. And that felt like communism to me.
SPEAKER 05 :
Animal farm. Totally animal farm. Some animals are more equal than others. I had an exemption because I'm, quote, in the ag business because I'm in the flower business. And the same thing, because they were considered essential because flowers were in supermarkets. It was stupid. You know, I went to the gym and you had to wear a mask. And so where I live in Erie, one side is Boulder County, one side's Weld County. In Weld County, you didn't have to wear a mask. But somehow that virus was so smart that Boulder County had to wear a mask. And, of course, I live in Boulder County, so I can see freedom from my house. So I spent my money and efforts and time in Weld County in freedom.
SPEAKER 16 :
Absolutely. Joe, you had a comment. During that time, I was working at a liquor store and was deemed necessary and was allowed to be out and about for that. That, to me, is just horrible.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, the idea that some people are essential and some people weren't, it made me mad. But it really made us dig deep regarding these issues and this adversity. And I remember walking into businesses without a mask. And the Gestapo would say, do you have a mask? And I would say yes. And I would just keep right on walking. And I I remember that. And it was it was not good.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, it was a power play. They tried to see if they could control us and they did a pretty good job. My friend and your friend Dave Walden, he had the best mask I ever saw. He wore a Guy Fawke mask into businesses, and people would look at him strange. But he didn't have to wear the mask as everybody else did. He just wore a costume, and everybody thought he was crazy walking in with his Guy Fawke mask. And I just thought that was brilliant because it was putting humor in their face, and they needed it. And the left does not like humor. And we need to laugh more. We need to have fun with their stupidity and show the hypocrisy of their ways and expose it to light.
SPEAKER 15 :
So somebody sent me a video. I think it's probably pretty famous on X. It's a black guy. I can't remember his name now. And he's crying. And he's saying... Donald Trump wants to make America great again. And then apparently, Saudi Arabia has agreed to invest in America. And he was crying about that. He said, Normally, we just give our money to everybody else. And Donald Trump has people investing in America. Wow, wow, wow. And it was so clever and so funny. And that is one of the things about the left, there is no sense of humor.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we have to face the fact that people have different ideas and we can exchange those ideas. But I'm not going to live in my life in fear. I'm going to live my life the way I want to live my life. And that's why I prepare for certain things. We don't know what's going to happen. So how you react to what happens is really the key. And in five years from now, we don't know what's going to happen. AI is growing tremendously. And we use it every day, we just don't realize it. It's in our Google Maps, the Waze. When I wrote this article, I used AI, you know, with Grammarly and other processes, Otter, which is voice-to-text. I mean, it's amazing how fast it's grown. Now, people have a fear of it because they don't know what's going to happen. But it's going to be years before it becomes... it morphs into something else but that's a good thing i mean we should embrace it we should look at it as an opportunity will it put people out of business or out of a job perhaps i think it will just like any new technology you know there used to be a thing called luddites when the weavers were weaving back in the beginning of the industrial revolution and a guy named uh Ned Ludd led the group of people who tried to destroy all the weaving machines. And the people at the time thought, I'm going to be out of job. And they became Luddites. We shouldn't be that. We should figure out a way to improve ourselves daily. get better at it. So when you do get fired from a position, I've been fired before, we are prepared and we know what to do. So Charlie Tremendous Jones once said, in five years from now, the only thing different is the books you read and the people you meet. So read great books.
SPEAKER 15 :
And yes, absolutely. Our quote for the end of the show is Teddy Roosevelt. This is a great one. It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails by daring greatly. So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for hour number two.
SPEAKER 13 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's the Kim Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 15 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 04 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can't understand that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's not fair just because you're a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn't.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 15 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. Welcome to our number two of the Kim Munson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Friday, Producer Joe. Happy Friday, Kim. And you've been busy with this new software and doing all kinds of new things. And I appreciate all your hard work, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
It is my pleasure. It is so much fun just trying to learn things.
SPEAKER 15 :
Don't you love that, Brad Beck?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it's awesome. It's awesome. We should always be learning, lifelong learners.
SPEAKER 15 :
We should be. And so let's just talk a little bit about lifelong learning and Liberty Toastmasters. It is such a great group. I learn so much from everyone and how to communicate better, listen more. And you're a co-founder. So tell us just a little bit about that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, when I went through the leadership program of the Rockies, you know, after nine months, you're challenged by our friend Shari Williams to come up with something that you're going to do as a citizen in action. And so I suggested we do this Toastmaster Club with a theme of liberty. Fifteen years later, Liberty Toastmasters in Denver is still going strong. We have a club up in Longmont. And it's amazing to see people go from their fear of public speaking to becoming fabulous speakers. And I've seen it over and over and over. And people who come, they gain their confidence. They get to be better listeners. And more importantly, we have fun. We have a lot of fun. I don't like the term, but I haven't come up with something better. A safe space to practice, to fail. to try new things in our public speaking. And then when we go out in public, like I did yesterday for this event we went to, I got to do a keynote in front of 135 ladies, and it was awesome. And I really enjoyed it. And hopefully they learned. I transferred the emotion of hope, and we can take the leadership position that we were born to do as citizens and message it in a way that people will have a conversation rather than talking past each other.
SPEAKER 15 :
Mm-hmm. And so Liberty Toastmasters Denver meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at the Independence Institute, 10 o'clock, and 10 o'clock the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, the group meets up in Longmont.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep, and we're meeting this Saturday. And I'm fortunate enough to be the, I think, general evaluator. Okay. So I get to listen a lot with these big old ears. And how can people find us? We can go to Liberty Toastmasters International and find a club near you and click in on Liberty Toastmasters. It will take you to our website. It'll say visit a website. And please come, visit, enjoy the opportunity to listen and see what we do.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, we and we love visitors. So, yes, we'd love to have you in the spirit of Liberty Toastmasters. We have a word of the day. And so today's word of the day is risible, R-I-S-I-B-L-E. And it could be relating to laughter or used in eliciting laughter, ludicrous and inclined to laugh. And it seems that – and it's really sad that those on the radical activist extremist left don't find anything risible whatsoever in life. And the other day, it had been a lot – doing this and watching all these headlines could be a lot. And I thought, I am just going to find a comedian, a clean comedian, and just laugh a little bit. And so I was just watching some videos and it was good for my soul.
SPEAKER 05 :
I still watch the reruns of Johnny Carson. Oh, I love them. And I got to work at KNBC as an intern and then When my program was done taping, I would go over to the Tonight Show for every day almost for two years. And it was just such a treasured memory. And I got to meet Mr. Carson and Mr. McMahon and Mr. Stevenson. And I've written some funny stories that happened to me. But it was just a delight. And to get to meet him and be on set, I used to hang out with the sound guys because I wanted to be a sound guy at one time. And it was just so much fun. And I still pinch myself. Was that real? Yeah. And so you watch an old Johnny Carson skit and you just have to laugh.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and he was really brilliant. I was talking with a young woman yesterday who wants to start a podcast and talked about my focus, my inspiration. My goal on the show is to... to not be gotcha he never was a gotcha guy but yet he was make fun of politicians both sides the aisle but it was never mean it was funny and my goal on the show is to in a way have that same curiosity with my guests he was very curious you could tell he was just really genuine with his guests and i thought if there's anybody i would like to try to emulate it's him
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I was fortunate one time when I was on set, and I used to get the roster who was going to be on the show, and I saw that Carl Sagan was going to be on, and he just wrote The Cosmic Connection. So I was in the green room with the gal who does the hair for the stars and put on the makeup, and so I went in to ask him to sign my book, and he did. And Mr. Carson stood in the doorway, and there was no way out. So... So for 15 minutes, I got to listen to them talk about astronomy. And it was awesome. And this was way before cell phones. So I didn't get a chance to take a picture. You know, I couldn't prove it other than telling you this story. But it was just an amazing opportunity and experience.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, that is so cool. And your challenge is to use the word risible in a sentence today, R-I-S-I-B-L-E. And our quote of the day is from the Medal of Honor quote book from the Center for American Values. And the center is located in Pueblo on the beautiful Riverwalk. And there's going to be a great On Values presentation next Wednesday. Drew Dix, who is a co-founder of the center and also a Medal of Honor recipient he had been stationed in Greenland for several years and in fact we interviewed him regarding Greenland because it's been in the news and when he said that that they parachuted onto a moving sheet of ice, and they were there for a couple of months, and I asked him what their accommodations were like, and he said tents. I'm like, hmm, interesting. So that's going to be a really interesting presentation. You can get more information about that by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. But our quote of the day is from the Medal of Honor quote book from George E., nicknamed Bud Day, United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient, actions on... 8 26 1967 and he said this he said go with honor live with honor return with honor that is america in action so that's our quote of the day brad and we should we should just appreciate them for all their service absolutely so again that's americanvaluecenter.org let's get over here to jim may and jim may welcome are you still in san antonio or are you back in colorado
SPEAKER 10 :
Hey, good morning, Kim. Yeah, hello from beautiful San Antonio, Texas. We're still here, and we've got a nice hotel here on the Riverwalk. We've been with friends. My brother Dan, thanks to some help from you guys, you know, he was elected to the Hall of Fame. He was the 35th member, I think, of the Hall of Fame, and two people elected this week, and he did a great job up there and gave a speech for several hundred people. Talked a lot about our family and growing up, and he just did a fantastic job. And I say this as I've worked around the business here, but with all the people I've been seeing, the best part of our business is It's a lot like some businesses, but this business, the best part is the people that are in it and just enjoy meeting new people and a lot of old friends. So we're having a fantastic time here in San Antonio.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, that is awesome. At the Cattle Feeders Livestock, is it Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame is what Dan's in? Is that what it is exactly?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, it's the... No, let me have it. Okay, so it's NCBA, National Cattlemen Beef Association. Okay. It's our, why does it do this now? Okay, my little pole I have just went wacky on me just a second here. But I wanted to talk about this for a minute anyway. I imagine he's going to fix it for me. But so I wrote this on the plane on the way down here. And it's this little thing we've been doing for a couple years, these sliders. And You know, we have a fantastic hamburger down there at the shop. It's got a little more chuck pounded into it. It's a little better, quite a bit better than the hamburger you'll get at McDonald's or something. But these sliders happen to be, I think, the ones you put on the website or, you know, Big Mac sliders, which is to all the patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, right? You guys don't remember that? I do. It shows you how to make the special sauce. But the cool thing about this is, You can follow that pattern if that's what you want, or you can make a variety of different ones with this thing. Like some of the grandkids like hamburgers better than cheeseburgers, and so we'll put like half of it cheese and the rest hamburgers. And if you want to put a like a jalapeno on a row, and you want to put a mushroom on a row. It's just so many things you can do with it, so it's a lot of fun. And I just decided, what the heck, I'll just write a little poem about our sliders and some Super Bowl sliders.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Well, let's do it. And it is on the website. The recipe is there as well. But, yeah, share this with us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, great. This is just going to call it Super Bowl sliders. Let's build some memories for Super Bowl LIV. We will start with some crackers and cheese and some wine, but us cowboys need protein. Us cowboys need protein, so let's add some beef. Let's party now, my friends. Be you eagle or chief. We're going to cook up some sliders to start with today. This ain't Burger King, but you can have it your way. Start with Lavaca Steakburger. Roll out a big square. Season with garlic salt bake. Let the smell fill the air. Some like them plain, some like them with cheese. What's cool about this is just do what you please. Slice a whole package of buns right down the middle, so that's vertically. Then lift that big patty right off the griddle. Slide it onto that bottom layer of buns you just sliced. Add some cheese or some pickles or anything nice. You can do things your way, just use the right meat. Put the top back on the big sandwich, then just reheat. And now you pull it off, pull out that bread knife, and cut along the seams, you're going to enjoy the sliders of your dreams. We hope the game is great. We hope your party is fun, but they will remember your sliders after this day is done.
SPEAKER 15 :
That is so awesome, Jim May.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I just wish everybody a great Super Bowl weekend here, and we're going to have fun. I think we're flying back about 3 o'clock, and it's just going to, you know, it's kind of, Kind of a really neat weekend, I think, for everyone. I hope you have a good party or whatever you're doing. And just wishing everybody a great time.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and if people, so Lavaca Meat Company is located at the corner of Nevada and Maine. And if people use the word buffalo, they'll get 10% off of that great steak burger, right?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that's right. We're going to stay with that for one more week or so. Try the word buffalo on the website if you're looking at this recipe and you want to make it. And get some meat. I don't know. It's going to be hard to kind of get it that fast, but we've got lots of good hamburger down at the store, and we'll hook you guys up. Okay. So any way we want to do it, okay?
SPEAKER 15 :
Sounds great. And that's Slovakia Meat Company. Safe travels to you and Imogene on your way back.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks so much. You guys have a great weekend. Talk to you next week. Thanks, Jim.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
What do you think of that? I think it's just awesome. I think, though, I would ask him to do one thing. Teach Chuck Schumer how to grill. Yeah, Chuck.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, most definitely. So the show comes to you because of our sponsors. I'm blessed to work with great people. Another one of those great sponsors is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. They know that there are unknowns that can keep you up at night. That's why they can help with life insurance and health insurance needs to replace lost income. So call Roger Mangan at 303-795-8855 for a complimentary appointment. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Insurance team is there.
SPEAKER 01 :
So I switched my insurance to the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Agency. Get this, I actually talked to Roger Mangan, who has been helping people with their insurance coverage in our community for 47 years. He helped me create a State Farm personalized price insurance plan for my home and auto and explained affordable options. For personalized service and peace of mind that you are working with a team that cares about you and your family, call Roger Mangin now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 17 :
We'll be right back. If you'd like to explore what a reverse mortgage can do for you, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. That's 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 19 :
Call now. You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's right!
SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you shouldn't have to force people to do it. And thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show. It is reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from oil, natural gas, and coal that powers our lives and fuels our hopes and dreams and empowers us to change our own personal climate. Brad Beck is in studio with me, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters, and we will be rolling out his essay. five years this weekend in the newsletter and on the line is dr. Jill Vecchio you know her she's one of the few people that actually read the whole Obamacare bill and Jill Vecchio welcome to the show well thanks for having me again this is gonna be there's so much to talk about how you doing Brad it's great to hear your voice I'm doing unbelievable dr. Jill good to hear you and I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, so, well, Kim and I were talking, and we thought we'd kind of start with a, when we talked about health care reform, kind of a macro level first, you know, what to do and how to think about things on a big level. And last week we talked about the kind of, in my opinion, a total scam or fraud about what providers charge, quote, charge, these made-up huge numbers in the tens and thousands of dollars. But they only really get paid by third-party payers a fraction of that, like 10 or 20 percent of that charge. Yet if somebody doesn't have insurance, we're expected to pay the whole thing. So there need to be some major changes in the whole approach to health care that Republicans had an opportunity to do, right, in 2017 when we had – Republicans ran the House, the Senate, and Trump was in office, and everybody wanted to repeal Obamacare, and it completely fizzled almost immediately. Do you agree, Kim?
SPEAKER 15 :
I do. And wasn't that vote for Obamacare, to repeal it, didn't John McCain, didn't he cast the deciding vote?
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, I don't remember what the vote was. I'm not even sure it was that close. But Republicans, remember, they had voted like 90 times to repeal Obamacare when they weren't in the position to really have to make it happen, right? When they were in the minority, they're just puffing out their chests and raising money. We'll repeal Obamacare. How much money were they given by donors? so that they would get into office and repeal Obamacare, and then they didn't do it. When they actually had the chance, they chickened out. And a lot of it was because, and they weren't really looking for, let's repeal it first, and then we'll look for solutions, right? Then we'll look for how to fix health care. Well, that's not going to fly with anybody, because they're going to be scared to death. What, you're just going to get rid of what we have now, and you don't have anything to put in its place? it wasn't a very effective approach right right so i think i think they honestly i kind of think it was planned because we you know i've been to washington five times with doctor groups and stuff working on health care reform with john boehner kevin mccarthy i mean with the big guys right all the big republican leaders We tried to meet with Democrats, but they were married to Obamacare, so it wasn't like we didn't try. But we'd meet with all of these congressmen and senators. I mean, I probably called on 200 or 300 of them. Some of them were willing to work. Most of them are just, they sit there and just go, nope, that's not going to pass. Nope, can't do that. Nope, can't do that. They weren't really interested in it. So let's talk about why they weren't interested, right? Right. because there's a reason that they weren't interested, and I think it's because they get so much money from people who loved Obamacare and benefited from Obamacare. And the influences, right, with the campaign financing and lobbying, all kinds of influences were surrounding these guys that they didn't talk about, but it's pretty easy to see where this money's going.
SPEAKER 15 :
So health care for the Obama, when he was running for office, that was one of the issues. And one of the things that I think people were so concerned about was these pre-existing conditions. And he said that the government would cover these, or that Obamacare would cover these pre-existing conditions. We haven't heard a lot about health care. No. Right now. But that is one of the things that is on people's minds. I think they say, gosh, what would happen if I had a catastrophic something happen to me? What would I do? Because, as you mentioned, the bills are so expensive. astronomical, but yet if you have insurance, the actual reimbursement is much lower. But all of this seems like it's trying to control the people. Yes, Brad?
SPEAKER 05 :
I would agree. And, you know, first thing I would say, if you do have something catastrophic and you have to go to the emergency room or, you know, just a routine is, what do you have for cash? If I pay in cash, if you are prepared, as we were talking about, and you have the money, that's one solution so you don't have to go through the insurance companies. And I think it's a shame that the government's in between. There's no reason for the government to be involved, and yet it is a power thing. What are your thoughts, Jo?
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. Right, exactly. Well, and the whole... The whole, when you go in and say, I want to pay cash, how much of a discount can I get? Well, hospitals for years have said, you know what, we'll give you a 20% discount. And people feel like they've won the negotiating process, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, that's what I say.
SPEAKER 08 :
But understand that the doctor is making a whole lot more money off of you paying cash at 80% of the charge. than the insurance company paying 10% of the charge. So what they really should do is have some transparency. And that was actually in Obamacare. There was a provision in Obamacare that said that hospitals had to post their prices in writing in prominent places for a certain number of their most common procedures. Well, what happened to that? It was among one of the, like, 80 changes they made to Obamacare after it passed. So they took out a whole bunch of bad stuff, and they put in some bad stuff, worse stuff, took out some good stuff. Who knows? But they made a bunch of changes to Obamacare, and that was one of the ones that either they took it out or they didn't enforce it. So hospitals, we never did get to see it. cash pricing and any kind of any kind of you don't go to the grocery store fill up your cart and then go to the checkout and kind of go how much was this lettuce well let's see um how much do you make how much you know because your lettuce is going to cost differently for everybody right it's it's silly it's ridiculous i mean granted there are differences in patients and but you never know as a physician how much trouble one case may be versus another because of you know, things that you can't control, like a patient's physiology, multiple disease processes, that kind of thing, or their anatomy may be kind of bizarre or something if you're a surgeon. But you have an idea. I mean, we don't charge people differently based on those things with the insurance. So if you're going to pay cash, in my opinion, what we need to negotiate for, if you're going to pay cash, I want to pay 10% less than what than what an insurance reimbursement, let's say the average insurance reimbursement is. I want to pay 10% less because you don't have to send me all these bills. I'm paying you right now. Can you imagine their cash flow? They're not going to have to manage all these bills. They don't have to do the coding. They don't have all this overhead associated with third-party payers. If you walk in and say, I want this surgery, but I'm going to pay cash, how much is it? You think about LASIK surgery. LASIK eye surgery started out really expensive. Now it's down to a few hundred bucks per eye, and people pay cash for it. If that were still being paid for by a third-party payer, chances are the charge for LASIK eye surgery, probably $20,000, $30,000, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
And people can shop around for that. You can do it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and that's the beautiful part.
SPEAKER 08 :
We've got plenty of ways to review that. doctors and facilities on the internet, there's no shortage of people wanting to evaluate things, right? That's going to be the easiest shopping spree you've ever had, you know, a shopping trip.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, so Jill, when we come back from break, let's talk about real solutions. And we haven't heard a lot about healthcare from Trump. I'm calling it Trump 2. But this is something that we're going to need to bite off, although... Certainly immigration. I think he's got things in order. But what are the solutions that you see that we should implement moving forward? So we're going to come back here in just a moment. All these conversations happen because of our sponsors. And for everything residential real estate, Karen Levine should be on your side of the table.
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SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
wow welcome back to the kim munson show be sure and check out our website that's kim munson m-o-n-s-o-n.com sign up for our weekly email newsletter you can email me at kim kimmunson.com as well thank you to all of you who support us we're an independent voice we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force force versus freedom if something's a good idea you should not have to force people to do it Do check out the USMC Memorial Foundation's website. You'll see the plans they have for the remodel, and you can buy a brick there to honor your military service, your loved one's military service that will be on one of their pathways of service. And that website is usmcmemorialfoundation.org, usmcmemorialfoundation.org. My friend and co-founder of, I'm not the co-founder, but a co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters, Brad Beck is in studio.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for the opportunity, Kim. It's always good to hear you and good to hear Dr. Jill.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, absolutely. So, okay, Dr. Jill, several of our listeners said, Susan, Patricia, Holly, thank you. Yes, it was John McCain who killed that vote regarding Obamacare, and I remember this. This is from NBC News. It says, many will remember McCain as the incidental savior of the Affordable Care Act, or as you and I call it, the Unaffordable Care Act. His late-night thumbs-down vote halted his party's most promising effort to overturn a major Democrat achievement, which was Obamacare. So thank you for letting us all know this. Now, hey, this came in from one of my friends. She had to have some emergency surgery. She just got her bill, and it was $155,000. And the payment from her insurance company was $3,600. She says, what a racket.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, and yeah, and does she owe anything beyond that?
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 08 :
If she said, I don't have insurance, how can I pay this cash? They said, well, we'll give you a 20% discount. Does that seem fair to anybody? No, it's a racket.
SPEAKER 15 :
the racket so it's it's really it's kind of an industrial complex isn't it uh but there has to be with that uh with that kind of money involved in this industry uh it's going to be difficult to get this walked back dr jill but we've got to and i've got to think trump has probably got something up his sleeve at some point yes i i hope so you want me to give a quick list of what i have for simple solutions and then we can start talking about
SPEAKER 08 :
the difficulties in even getting this stuff presented, right? Okay, let's do it. Because of what? Because of all of the corruption that all of the outside special interest influences and all the stakeholders are never the patients. Why do they call stakeholder meetings and everything and you never have a patient there, right? Okay, so simple solutions, post-prices like we've been talking. Have you remember Liberty Mutual, those obnoxious commercials with the EMU, only pay for what you need? Right now, we have insurance, so you want to minimize insurance mandates. Give people choices about what they want to have covered in their insurance. People should be able to have as much or a little coverage on insurance as possible. We want them to have a catastrophic policy, so for people like your friend who had to have a big surgery, that's when insurance should kick in. Otherwise, you should be able to pay cash prices for things, and the cash prices should be based on that 10% and less that the insurance, that the providers really do get paid from third-party payers, from the insurance companies, right? So we want a lot more choice in options rather than the Obamacare. The huge problem was Obamacare made them cover everything so that so that 68-year-old men who'd been married to the same woman for 55 years were still paying for maternity care. Good luck with that, right? Okay, so let's use real insurance and not prepaid health care so that people are making choices based on them having to pay cash. We want to expand so that they'll be able to pay cash. Let people put as much money into a health savings account that can only be used for medical expenses as much as possible. Let them put all kinds of stuff. They should be able to pay for chiropractic. Why is it people reimbursement by third-party payers covers things like muscle relaxants, pain pills, physical therapy, and injections? into joints, but they won't pay for chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and herbal medications, right? It doesn't make any sense. So that's all special interest stuff, but let's expand the use of health savings accounts. We can have churches and charities that can start health savings accounts that we could contribute to to help people pay their bills if needed. And you should be able to pass on your HSA to your, you should be able to donate money from your own HSA to somebody if you wanted to. Pay somebody else's bills. You should be able to pass it on to your heirs when you die. So you should be able to accumulate a bunch of money. You just think about that. You get a huge, like a family HSA thing. Anyway, okay, separate insurance from the workplace. One of the biggest problems is if you lose your job, you lose your health insurance. That's where the whole pre-existing conditions wouldn't be nearly the problem. If when people retired or quit working for a terrible employer or were laid off somehow or fired, then they lose their insurance. How many people hang on to or take a terrible job just because they can have health insurance? Or how many people work more hours than they really want to or, you know, they may have fiscal limitations or something just for the health insurance? Let's separate that out. You should be able to take your insurance policy with you wherever you go. And your employer just helps contribute, just contributes to the payments for it. Allow flexibility in the risk pools, have self-insurance groups. So like the Realtors Association could pool all of their realtors in the state or something, could all pool their risk into a risk pool and self-insure. Trump started that. He started associations being able to do that, but I think that was removed early on in Biden's administration that you couldn't do that anymore. Pharmaceutical reform, big time. We need to put the kibosh on some of this, how the pharmaceutical companies, the kind of influence they're allowed to have, and the advertising on television. When did that start? I mean, didn't that start, Brad, I don't know, was that part of I don't know, some other, it may have been part of Obamacare, but it used to be that, remember like doctors and lawyers and pharmaceutical industry weren't allowed to advertise. Now they're the number one advertiser on television.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, watch the Super Bowl this weekend. You'll see it a lot this weekend.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And then, you know, we do need some tort reform because so much money is spent in medicine just for covering your patootie, but... You know, that's a whole other ballgame that, you know, doctors are, I don't know, if they behaved differently, the lawsuits wouldn't be nearly the issue that they are. But that's a whole subject in itself. But I think there does need to be some. You need to just get rid of the frivolous lawsuits or have some repercussions for these ambulance-chasing lawyers who just, you know, they're just suing constantly. ridiculous lawsuits, those are the ones you need to get rid of. If there's harm to a patient or mistreatment in any way, then yeah, the patient needs to be reimbursed. They need to get compensation for that. So those are the main solutions.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. These are great solutions, Dr. Jill. And I have a feeling that something's going to happen with this. So my friend did text me that she said her bill was $155,000. Her insurance company paid $3,600. Her portion was $1,300. and so this uh which is uh which is affordable she had emergency surgery um so that 155 000 that is really a racket that really is it is I I don't know how that can possibly be legal why is that being allowed to happen and it's been allowed to happen for decades Now, I don't know the answer to this, but in this last election cycle, there were two sales tax increases on the Denver ballot. One was Mayor Mike Johnston's affordable housing sales tax increase, which if you increase sales taxes, that means that things are less affordable. Let's just connect that dot. And then, of course, they would pick winners and losers on who would get this affordable housing. That failed. But there was also a sales tax increase for Denver Health. And I ended up in a debate with Donna Lynn, the CEO of Denver Health, and that did end up passing. And, Jill, I think partly Denver Health is supposed to be the safety net hospital, and I think people have thought, gosh, if something catastrophic happened to me, I like the sound of that safety net. But they talked about unreimbursed care. And I've always wondered, and I'm just surmising, that when these hospitals use that number of unreimbursed care, that they might be using that $155,000 number to inflate that to make it that number bigger and bigger. I don't know for sure, but I've watched politics enough to think that that would be the case. So they're saying we have all this unreimbursed care, so therefore we need to have a sales tax increase to cover it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. You have to create, plus let's face it, government and politicians, you have to have a crisis in order to get more government involvement, right? Cloward-Piven model, all that, right? So you have to have a crisis. So if you have a crisis in healthcare, then you can say, we're spending all this money on healthcare. And you hear RFK, you hear Trump, everybody talking about, we spend so much more money on healthcare. Wait, wait, wait, what number are you using? What number are you using to say these are the expenditures? This is how much health care costs in the United States. And why is it so much more than everybody else? And isn't this awful? We have the worst health care system. Which numbers are you using, Sparky? These high numbers are used for so much manipulation. Politicians are making money off of it, right? They're raising campaign funds, insurance companies, corporate health care. And, you know, politicians, all of these NGOs, whoever wants, whoever is pushing for single payer health care, they're going to use those numbers. So you think about how many different entities have a stake in not getting rid of that system. Plus, if we saw only the real payment that went out. Because a lot of people don't pay attention to that. They throw up their hands going, oh, my God, I could never be without insurance. You know, it's kind of like, no, no, no, you can be without insurance. So the other reason is this is to scare the hell out of us so we think we can never be without insurance. There are so many reasons for this big fake number, and all of them are evil.
SPEAKER 05 :
Every one of them. I'm just curious, could you as an individual – Request from, let's say you're in the hospital, a daily tally of what they're charging and a family member be an advocate for you and go through those numbers and then go on the Internet and see what they're charging and what you can get in the free market. Is that a viable idea?
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, and it's interesting. I don't know how available those numbers are. That's a really good notion. I'm not sure where... Those numbers are published because I can tell you, okay, as a physician, I used to do contract negotiations when I had my own radiology group. We helped negotiate the contracts for like imaging studies and how much we would get reimbursed. Every facility gets reimbursed at potentially a different rate by every different insurance company. So it's just like there's it's a different cost for everybody. If you're outpatient, you can and Medicare, it's all based on percentages or multipliers of what Medicare reimburses. So Medicare reimbursement is like, you know, you make money half the time, you lose money half the time, you break even, you know. overall, you break even on Medicare. Medicaid patients, you lose money all the time because the reimbursement is so low, it doesn't even cover your costs. So the whole healthcare industry can only survive, universal Medicare would put, Medicare for all would put all of the facilities out of business because they couldn't make any money on running a facility. So anyway, so all of the healthcare, all of providers, All the facilities depend on private insurance to pay more than Medicare reimburses. But every insurance company goes to each entity and will negotiate. Like for an MRI, this place may get $250 reimbursement. This place may get $350. What are the hospitals charging people who are paying cash? $5,000 at least. Okay, so this is ridiculous. It's a scam. so then but but they may go to the facility across town and they'll pay them 400 for like an mri of the brain an mri of the knee is going to be a different price do you see what i mean if they've made it so complicated and it's like everybody walking it's like affordable housing right nobody no two people living next door to each other are necessarily paying the same amount for exactly the same it's just on the rent so yeah right so they make it so complicated You know, and I think I'm not sure how to address some of those things. So, Brad, when you said, yeah, you can go online and see, I don't think you can go online and see what insurance companies are. If you have, you know, Aetna or something, what are they reimbursing this facility for this surgery? It's not that simple. And the charges, but asking for the charges, I did that once with Mayo Clinic. I told them my situation. I was paying out of pocket. They were wonderful. This was many, many years ago. And I ended up paying off my surgery over time. But I paid and I paid a pretty darn low price. This stuff is just skyrocketed. out of control over the last couple decades.
SPEAKER 15 :
And a question, and then we'll wrap it up here, but a listener said, I don't understand what happened on that $155,000 bill, the other $150,000, what they wrote that off, or how do they, do you know how they do that from an accounting standpoint?
SPEAKER 08 :
I doubt that they can write it off, because my experience with the radiology groups, they can only write off unreimbursed care. So if anybody is paying for care, like if they have an insurer or the government is reimbursing that, then they have the option, the facility has the option, sometimes not all the time, they can't balance bill with Medicare. Like if it's a Medicare patient, they can't send the patient a bill for any amount over what Medicare reimbursement is. Your friend private insurance, it sounds like, so they can bill her additional money beyond what the insurance reimburses. But you can't do that with Medicare patients. Am I making sense here? Not really. Sometimes they can charge you more than what your insurance reimbursement is. They can charge you additionally, and other times they can't. Anyway, but they can't, if they are reimbursed based on a certain schedule, I'm sure there are certain rules. If they are reimbursed a certain amount by a third-party payer, they can't write off that big number as unreimbursed care because they did get a reimbursement for that. As my understanding, I may be wrong. I'd love to hear from somebody who knows more about that. The billing and coding people would know more about that. But I know that if a patient doesn't pay, like comes into the ER, decides not to pay their bill, then that's unreimbursed care. Nobody has paid anything on that bill. No third-party payer was involved. That's when they can claim the loss with that big number.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Dr. Jill, thank you. We're going to continue this. I think we should do a series on this health care thing with Dr. Jill Vecchio. Dr. Jill, thank you so much. Thank you. Take care, everybody. Bye-bye. And if you are injured, you want to work with a reputable attorney, and that would be John Boson with Boson Law.
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SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force. Force versus freedom, if something's a good idea, you shouldn't have to force people to do it. Brad Beck is in studio with me, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. And we have Mark Cook on the line. And he is really an expert in all these things regarding elections. Mark, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, thank you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 15 :
And you are hosting or involved in an event tomorrow that people should know about, yes? Yes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, absolutely. It is all about our clerk here in Colorado, Tina Peters, up in Mesa County, and what has happened to her at the behest of this entire election issue over the past four years. It's about her journey, what she saw, what ended up happening, and all that thanks to her wonderful courage, we were able to find, the citizens were able to find out about their elections that we had no idea was going on in the background.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and she is actually now serving some jail time because of her actions, yes?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes. The powers that be were not very happy with her exposing this to we, the public, And as a result, they are trying to punish her for doing such thing. And they're doing that in the manner that they're using in order to dissuade any election official anywhere in the country to ever dare to question their election system. And I've traveled all across the country. I've had many clerks tell me, They think there's problems, but they're afraid to say anything because they don't want to get Tina petered.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, gosh. So what is this event tomorrow, Mark Cook?
SPEAKER 09 :
So the event tomorrow is it's going to be a tribute to everything Tina has gone through, everything that happened. the people that were surrounding tina and involved with her from the beginning are going to go through the entire story from start to where we're at now because there's a lot of people that either a don't know who tina is or b think the wrong thing about what happened to tina due to the lying media that is out there and so what i want to do is bring the truth to the people so they understand and can see things through the eyes of those citizens that were right there on the ground and saw it with their own eyes. And so we're going to bring those experts back into a roundtable. We're going to go through the history of it, everything. I'll tell my entire experience with Tina from the moment that I met her, and I ended up investigating these forensic images of the voting system that she had taken because she was concerned the Secretary of State of Colorado and the voting system vendor were going to overwrite the election records. And she was right. Her gut was right. They did end up overwriting everything that was on there. And because she took the backup, we were able to look to see what they covered up. And what they covered up was absolutely incredible. It's, we'll say, an inconsistency in the vote totals inside the machine. And I'll go into detail about what that is tomorrow. Then we're going to watch Selection Code, which is a documentary that is about Tina's journey, just as a normal gold star mom with a Navy SEAL son that she lost several years ago in a parachute accident. She is a retired entrepreneur, and she wanted to give back to her community and help her county. And when she dared to see a problem and she went to look at it, That's when the full force came against her and basically attempted to crush her. And she's been so courageous and so strong. And this could happen to any one of us. This could be our mom or our grandma that is being persecuted here for doing the right thing. So then we'll bring the roundtable back. We'll talk about what happened after the Selection Code documentary came out and what happened in the courts. Case, the trial, we're going to actually play what the judge said when he sentenced her, which every single American citizen needs to hear what came out of his mouth. And then we're going to watch Let My People Go, which is a documentary created by Professor David Clements. And he's actually, Professor Clements is going to host the last part of the show around his documentary. Joe Hoff of Gateway Pundit is going to host about three quarters of the show in the front end. And then we'll watch Let My People Go all together. And then we'll bring everyone back again. We'll answer questions from the public. We'll give you a phone number you can call in. We'll give you a member you can text questions and an email address to send in. And we'll answer all those questions, try to make it as interactive as possible. And then we'll let people know kind of what we need to do, what the road ahead looks like. for Tina Peters. But we're not going to forget one of our citizens. While other people are being released and pardoned, this poor woman, she's almost 70 years old, she's been in jail. Imagine this is you or your mom or your grandma, 70 years old, gets put in jail and then on her way to a nine-year prison sentence. Okay.
SPEAKER 15 :
Mark Cook, where can people, thank you for sharing this, and where can people watch this?
SPEAKER 09 :
You can watch it at LetMyTinaGo.us. LetMyTinaGo.us. It will be live-streamed right there on that site, and we have a lot of streaming partners as well that are going to also stream it. Okay. State of Freedom podcast, Lindell TV, Take Your Power Back, In the News. Okay. Yeah, all kinds of patriot media.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Thank you, Mark Cook. Again, LetMyTinaGo.us. And the quote is fantastic. For the end of the show is Teddy Roosevelt. He said, it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how strong the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while doing greatly. Have a great weekend.
SPEAKER 13 :
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.
Discover the economic and environmental conversations shaping today's world. We'll unravel the compelling yet troubling strategies employed by Trulieve as they seek to expand their influence and control over Florida's marijuana market. Additionally, we touch on the current egg shortages impacting consumers at Waffle House and examine California’s contentious water management policies amidst raging wildfires. With humor and insight, this episode promises to keep you informed and entertained.
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SPEAKER 02 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 01 :
All right, so Kane and I were too busy debating on break about whether or not we should buy Canada. I'm firmly against it. I'm just saying. Florida man got in trouble for making his own sandwich at Subway. What? Yeah, he because he left without paying for it, too. He got jailed, according to the Miami Herald, for making his own sandwich and then leaving. I guess he thought this is a Marion County that he could just go in and do it. And then if you're making your own sandwich, then you don't. That's not how that works. But so they also had to throw away pounds of sandwich. Sandwich fixings. Literally what they wrote. Sandwich accoutrement. Out of concern that they were contaminated. Ew, I didn't even. Yeah, that's true. Like if he's sticking his hands all over everything. Nasty. And then he left without pain. So it was a $10 sandwich. And. He didn't even finish all of it. He threw it in the trash outside the store. So they had to throw away all the food on the line. They wasted, they said, about $66. He was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and retail threat. Of all the things to get in trouble for, that's like the dumbest. It's one of the dumbest. A Florida man claims an alien abduction after a nude carjacking attempt with a knife. Says double A nasty. A Florida man told members of the Palm Beach police that he had been abducted by aliens and he wanted to die. They arrested him because he tried to steal a car while completely nude. That's one way to steal it. You don't even have to be armed with anything. Like, if someone can't get away from you fast enough, they just don't want to be near you naked. And they want to get away. So the guy, apparently it was on New Year's Eve. He tried to steal the car. A witness said that he had a large knife and he carved his initials into the side of the car. Like, that was his now. Look, my name's on it. It's my car. And it was in West Palm Beach. And he carved, he started, like, I guess, drawing pictures with the knife and the paint on the vehicle's exterior. And he threatened the man with a knife. By the way, he's naked the whole time, just so you know. And anyway, they ended up arresting him and taking him in. And if you suspected that drugs was a part of it, you're right. You're right. A giant gator Godzilla dragged the biggest python ever seen past tourists. It was in the Everglades. I don't like any of this. Everything about this is terrifying. It was a python twice the size of the gator. Like this python really could kill the gator. And somehow the gator was dragging it through. And one of the tour guides said, I've seen many alligators eating pythons out here. I've never seen a python that large. Ewww. Oh, man. I don't even like... Remember they got a big bad Burmese python problem there because somebody apparently had pet pythons and they let them out and now there's like this huge problem in the Everglades and they sponsor like state hunts of them to help control the population. They said that this python was about 20 feet long. It's one of the largest I've ever seen in the Everglades. It's an invasive species. So... I guess that gator was doing a favor. You know, maybe it could win a prize for bagging the biggest python. With everything going on in the world right now, the economy, conflicts, the open border, spiraling national debt, the devastating inflation, it's critical that you have a plan for diversifying and protecting your savings. And that's why so many, including myself, have turned to precious metals like gold and silver to help protect our savings. And I partnered with the top rated precious metals company Gold Co. to make that happen. It's a great company with a great reputation, and they could not have made the process any easier. And right now, Gold Co. is offering a free gold and silver kit that will show you how precious metals can help protect and diversify your savings. And for my audience, they're offering up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver on qualified orders. All you have to do is visit danalikesgold.com to get started today. Goldco has helped thousands of Americans place over $3 billion in gold and silver, and they can help you as well. Join thousands who trust Goldco. Visit danalikesgold.com.
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SPEAKER 01 :
I wanted to put this on your guys' radar because it's not just specific to like a couple of states. This is something that's coming to you. You've heard me talk, especially when I've talked about Florida or rhinos at all. And, you know, Texas is kind of in the same boat. Texas has a really good activist network that is really fighting hard on all this stuff. Florida is still developing theirs. And that's not a slam on Florida or the pushback that the state has. I point that out. That's the difference between Texas and Florida in terms of dealing with rhinos, because Florida, if you remember, literally just very recently was a swing state. And so they've they've been able to really hone their messaging and they've really pushed good. limited government policy and they've been so great at it. And so they went from being a swing state where activists struggle to get a toehold to now. I don't want people to think that there's no reason to worry. Oh, because they got a super majority in the Florida legislature. But as you know, not all Republicans are the same. And So that's one of the reasons why we've been focusing on this. And also, Florida is my backup state. Like, if Texas falls, you know, Florida was my backup. And then all my Florida friends are like, well, hell, Dana, Texas was our backup state. I'm like, well, we got problems. But I feel like the fight is a little bit more... I don't want people to get apathetic and feel like they don't have to fight. I feel like activists are in a little bit of a better position in Texas than they are in Florida right now. Because, yes, you have special interest money in Texas, but there's a lot of special interest money also in Florida. And you've got the presence of Big Sugar. And then, of course, you have this company that I'm talking about, a Canadian company called Trulieve. Now, it's important because... This is sort of like the testing ground for this company. If they can get a state like Florida to give them special accommodations, which if you're a capitalist, you're against that kind of cronyism and special treatment. If they can get Florida to do this, they're going to be able to get like any state to do this. And that's kind of the point. Trulieve is a Canadian company. It's a foreign company, which is also... Another weird thing for people who have been talking about tariffs with Canada, why would you want to empower this Canadian company? Trulieve, the last election, when they were voting on amendments and ballot initiatives, things like that, Trulieve literally spent millions, hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase the codification of its monopoly in the Florida state constitution. Now, for those of you outside of Florida, pay attention. I promise you this is coming to your state. If it's not there yet, they're already putting the feelers out. I promise you. So in Florida, they operate under the guise of legalization of marijuana. Now, this is not a debate about the legalization of marijuana. That's what Trulieve wants you to think. It's not about that at all. It is about having a foreign company. by changes to a state constitution to benefit itself. I have read the full ballot language that they had when they were trying to amend the constitution this last time everybody went to vote. They usually have a synopsis that you read when you're at the polling place and you're voting. The full ballot language, and I'm not going to read the whole thing because it's long. I'm not going to read the whole thing on air. I've linked it before over at Substack, is really troubling for the people who say that Trulieve was not trying to purchase the monopoly. God love them. They either did not read the ballot language or they're being paid to lie to you. And there are, and I would name them, but I feel like it's old news and it's kind of already public. There were a lot of cosplaying conservative influencers who were paid handsomely six figures to advocate for true relief. I mean, even POTUS's campaign got some true relief cash. He didn't really get involved in all of this, but I'm just telling you, they're putting their feelers out. Every state, federally, that's what they want to do. Now, Trulieve, again, a Canadian pot company, what they wanted to do is... purchase a monopoly, change the state constitution so that Trulieve could have a Trulieve owned and run network of their chosen participants to be able to conduct business in the state. They wanted to destroy their competition. They still do. That was the whole purpose of it. And they spent so much money. For instance, the guy that I had on yesterday, the Florida senator and all of his amnesty guys, Trulieve also is a big amnesty supporter. They've paid all those guys. If you would like to see the hard documentation of the publicly reported financial data on that, it's in one of the most recent posts on this that I have over at Substack. You can go and read it for yourself and you can see the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Trulieve has given to people like Ben Albritton, Alex Andrade. Wilton Simpson is a huge recipient here. He's the guy who's Ag Commissioner there in Florida that they want to run immigration. Trulieve has purchased a lot of influence and access, and a lot of people have not been honest about it. And they actually got in trouble. They had a letter sent to them because they were refusing to cooperate with E-Verify. Now, you remember E-Verify, which was passed in Florida... It was passed but purposefully not funded by the traitors of the amnesty rhino wing in that state. And they got a lot of cash from Trulieve. So they passed the E-Verify, but they didn't fund it. Twice they refused to fund it. So Trulieve was sent a letter because there are people who are saying, you guys need to pay attention to the hiring practices of Trulieve and all the stuff that they're doing. Trulieve has a very long, bad history. I think the husband of the founder has gotten in a lot of trouble as a felon. They've been accused of violating all kinds of different laws in a number of different states. They... I mean, there's nothing good about it. They have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to, I mean, tons of politicians, tons of influencers. It's a very troubled company. They have a very bad history. But the point is, is that they have been trying to act like if you oppose what Trulieve wants to do, then you oppose the legalization of marijuana. And there are two separate issues. their issue is they want to create a monopoly they control and destroy all competition. It has nothing to do with the legalization of marijuana, which by the way, like all of the medical stuff and like the edibles and some of the other stuff, like they already signed DeSantis and all those other, some of the other Republicans in Florida already signed that into law. But they're trying to make the play that it's about the legalization of pot and it's not. It really isn't. Now that said, I am not like a marijuana person. I am a I hate big government person. And so I don't want anyone to think that I'm like a big pot cheerleader. I just don't care. I don't want the government to tell me or to tell anyone what they can do, what they can if people want to be stupid and and and and heat themselves off of this mortal coil by doing things dangerous to themselves. Is that mean if I say that's not my problem? I got a lot of other issues, right? I got a lot of other things I'm dealing with right now. I don't want to be in any state kind of stuff. But and I reject because people are like, you're a libertarian on this. I reject all of that. I just don't like big government. And I don't trust a government who says that they want to measure what is best for your for things like this to consume. Because I'm against big government, I'm also against all of the other side issues that big government promotes, namely big corporatism. And that's what this is. This is exactly just more big government. with a company like Trulieve. Now, they're trying to do this in other states, and they are really trying to worm their way into the Trump administration. In fact, the lady, Kim Rivers, I think is her name. It's her husband, I think is the one that got in a lot of trouble. Oh, she's got all kinds of pictures of herself at the vice president's inaugural dinner in DC last week. She was at the candlelight dinner. She's got all kinds. I mean, they very proudly spend, Thank you. hundreds of millions of dollars to buy market control. That is not conservative. It's not free market, and it doesn't have anything to do with legalizing marijuana at all whatsoever. Furthermore, they also support all of the other side issues that complicate this further, amnesty and giving driver's licenses. They supported all of the lawmakers that were in favor of that because it best benefits their company. So this is just like I have more that I've written about them at Substack, but I want you to be aware of them because it is they have a lot of influence. There are there are influencers and people that I know that you all know. And even some talking heads on TV. who have gotten a lot of money from them. Now, how do we know this? Because they have to publicly report it every quarter. And so you have websites, including like Open Secrets, where you can go and you can see, you can just literally search Trulieve and you can see and search by either Uh, what did they donate to a pack, a group, a politician, and you can see all of the money that they have spent. A lot of these other influencers will create like third party, uh, you know, companies or like shell companies that they accept payments through. And that's pretty easy to track down too. There are a lot of people whose names, you know, that did not disclose to you that they were taking money from true leave. It's an industry. It's one of the things that actually sickens me about politics and even about commentary because it's not just about commentary and activism and then being a lawmaker. Now, it's almost like everybody, not everybody that I know, but a lot of people I'm aware of are getting like fat cash off of this. It is a very easy grift. You can very easily become incredibly wealthy. taking money from these special interests in that manner. And so that's, I just want you to watch out for that because they've already started petitioning again in Florida. They've been sending out all kinds of mailers and stuff to people in Florida. I've been hearing from people, listeners in other states where they're like, I feel like they're, you know, they're trying to get their tendrils in here too. And this is what's been happening. They would love nothing more to be able, under the guise of legalizing marijuana, because they think that's an issue that they can get everybody on board with, to purchase literal changes in U.S. law, a foreign company, to benefit itself. So that's what Trulieve is, and that's what they're doing. And they're very, very aggressive in promoting that control of the market. So just kind of watch out. With the things that you get, political mailers, I know a lot of people kind of look at them and they toss them. Just pay kind of attention. And if you get something like this, I would love to hear about it because there are some very good people who I think don't get paid enough by their jobs. And they do this on the side because they care about it, who have been tracking all of this. And I just am very interested if you get stuff like this in your state, in your area. Give me a heads up about it. I'm very curious about this stuff and what kind of mailers you're receiving because they're already starting to paper everybody in Florida again with us. And voters already rejected at once because they saw through it. They're like, wait a minute. This isn't even about this. You're not allowing people to grow their own or legalize anything. You're literally giving this company veto power as to who can participate in their select network. And and then there are still fines for their. I mean, they're literally using the law to destroy their competition. That's not conservative. That's not free market. And it has nothing to do with marijuana legalization. Trulieve is an evil company. It's evil. And the people who run it are evil. That's what you need to be aware of. So just kind of keep your eyes out, your eyes open about all of this stuff. Our friends over at Caltech, the PR 57, it's a five seven. A great firearm. You know, we talked about it when I was at SHOT Show, and they unveiled it at SHOT Show. I can't wait to get mine. It's a really, I mean, a super light and thin 5.7. It's kind of crazy, and it takes stripper clips, two stripper clips. You load it from the top horizontally. And it's a pretty innovative design, very lightweight. You can actually conceal carry it, even the ladies. It's all about affordable innovation and performance. And it was engineered for simplicity and reliability. It's 40% lighter than the next 5.7 pistol. 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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 01 :
So Waffle House is adding a 50 cent per egg surcharge to customers orders, citing the impact of ongoing egg shortages and rising prices caused by bird flu. They said that they're they're opting for a temporary targeted surcharge. They said that they hope that the price fluctuations will be short-lived. But they can't predict, they said, how long that the shortage is going to last. But they said that from the USDA, their forecast is that the price of eggs are going to rise about 20%. And it's the average dozen. It was like, what, 415 in December. It was 365 in November, according to BLS. So... Kane's like not having it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because they killed a bunch of millions of chickens too.
SPEAKER 01 :
There you go. I'm just saying. This is interesting. The Muskegon animal shelter will neuter your ex. For Valentine's Day. So they had their, I think it's actually funny when the animal sanctuaries or shelters do this stuff. So they have a program called Trap Neuter Return where they neuter cats and then return them to the respective colonies. You just do a $25 donation and you can name a cat after your ex and then have it snipped. Those are actually really successful. I got to say those the way that they do that stuff. Let's see this large fire at a funeral home in Easter Green, which was deemed accidental or Greenwich deemed deemed accidental. Kane says it's free cremations for all. You're so mean. Look at you. The schools have been shut down because tremors have been shaking Santorini, what's called the Instagram island of Greece. Santorini has been I mean, they've had a lots of lots, dozens and dozens of tremors. So they've closed schools. They've told people to drain their pools and airlines have been announcing additional flights to help people leave. They've had 200 earthquakes just in the past four days. Strongest has been four point nine. The wildfires in LA. I thought it was interesting. And I think Lorraine made this point too, the other day with the Grammys and they had all, they were talking about the LA, the wildfires out in Los Angeles, but they're really didn't have anything to say about the Carolinas and the devastation there. Because if it happens in Los Angeles, it's, you know, it affects Hollywood. And so Hollywood's very, you know, it affects us. So it's very important to that effect though. Newsome has issued, this is very rich. an executive order to maximize water capture during storms. He's... Yeah, he's just now doing that, Cain. He is just now signing an executive order to maximize the capture of water during winter storms. He said it'll make it easier, like it was an idea he just came up with himself. Who would have thought, Cain? Who would have thought, everybody, that you could just capture that water? He just now thought of it. He thinks he's a genius. He said in his statement, It's more important than ever that we maximize every opportunity to recharge our groundwater supplies. As we anticipate rain and snow in Northern California, we're preparing to use every last drop, blah, blah, blah. Now, of course, you have the environmental groups that are denouncing this order. And they're saying that it's very, it's alarmingly like Trump's order. as it relates to the federal directives on water storage, etc., and that it's going to harm some dumbass fish species. You know how you protect a fish species, Cain? You make it a delicacy. You eat it. Think about it.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm not against that.
SPEAKER 01 :
I mean, what is it? It's the Delta smelt or whatever. It's a bait fish, it looks like. I really don't care. Is the world going to? I don't care. You know, I don't care. Bite a head off it. I don't care. But they said that the environmentalist groups are very upset. It's going to harm this vulnerable fish species. I mean, screw the humans. This vulnerable fish species. And the deteriorating ecosystem of the desert-y Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, if you've seen it. You know, I would say that the loss of wildlife and human life due to the wildfires trumps the delta smelt, and that's the little fish. that's in California, that their whole, they said it's a, I mean, this thing is tiny. It's five centimeters long for crying out loud. And they can't, I was reading this article the other day. Why is this stupid fish so important? And it's, if you like were to Google it, it won't tell you. It's empty. I'm not even kidding you. I don't even know. They said the Delta smelt is functionally extinct today. Okay, that happens sometimes. What does this do? It's a critically endangered species and we've got to protect this little smelt. You know, there's other states that have, like in Northern California, all the way down to Alaska has a smelt. I don't know. Why? But they're actually trying to fight water capture because of that. So you would rather... you know, the big environmentalists would rather all of the other animals burn. Have you seen like the dogs and the bear and all of these other animals that have been burned and singed by the wildfires because of improper land management? And they're worried about this stupid little bait fish that's five to seven centimeters long, seven at max, Cain. That's Little bit tiny. It's a bait fish.
SPEAKER 06 :
How do we have millions of sardines we can and tons of tuna and all these other fish and somehow the smelt is the one that's having trouble?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't get it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Great question. I have no idea. Great question. Great question. No idea. But I just think that that's like... He's like now, just now coming out to do this. I mean, you realize that they had previously, when they had done water capture, they actually had to let it... They just let it drain out. There's a video of it just being drained back out into the ocean. They just didn't keep it. They would not have been in this predicament in the first place. But they were listening to all of these enviro-nuts who don't care about the consequences of their unrealistic policies. You know, sometimes life... becomes inhospitable for a certain species, especially one that's functionally extinct, like this dumb little bait fish, you're not hating on the environment. You're just saying that this is incompatible with life. So you got to pick. Then have everyone get the hell out of California. If that fish is so important to you, everybody leave. Leave the state to the smelt if it's that important. But they won't do that. So you can't have it both ways, right? It doesn't work both ways like that. But it's just an unrealistic, completely unrealistic approach. I just can't believe that he's acting like that's a great big idea. He just thought of it, guys. Executive order on water capture. I mean, did not Trump just say that? Like when he went out there to California to view all of the wildfire damage?
SPEAKER 06 :
Trump said it like eight years ago.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. Oh, but it's a brand new thing.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
This episode ventures deep into the controversy surrounding the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds by the current administration, stirring outrage among citizens and sparking debates about accountability. Through compelling listener dialogues, Mike Gallagher amplifies the voices of those concerned about America's future, simultaneously facing a personal challenge with humor and resilience. Discover the spirited dialogue about conservative movement evolution and the fight against perceived governmental missteps, weaving through calls for auditing and transparency in national affairs.
SPEAKER 14 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 03 :
We ran a presidential election. If we were playing the Super Bowl, we started our seventh string quarterback. That's what happened. Okay, you can't address a problem unless you're honest about a problem.
SPEAKER 14 :
In the relieffactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 16 :
People are giving me advice on the MyPillow text line about how to get through the dreaded closed MRI today. I hate that thing. I did that once years ago. I freaked out. Yesterday I was getting some dizzy spells and some lightheadedness during the show. I thought I was just giddy from the first, you know, two weeks of the Trump presidency. I'm just like, it's physically affecting me. But I don't feel 100%. Something is off, for sure. And... And my ears are ringing, which is really peculiar. So I went to the doctor and he gave me all kinds of tests. And he did the thing where you hold his finger up in front of your eyes and you got to follow the finger left and right. And he said, my eyes are jiggling a little bit when I do that, which tells him that there is definitely something going on. And he mentioned something about a tumor, like a benign tumor. And I thought, oh, great. So I'm praying it's not that. Maybe just some kind of an inner ear infection. But anyway, I got to climb into one of those closed MRIs. They were trying to find an open one for me. And they couldn't get me in for a couple of weeks. So, Michelle, my great contact over at the doctor's office, got me into a regular good old-fashioned closed MRI later today. So, a couple of segments today. Joey's going to guest host. Joey Hudson will fill in for me while I get out of here a little bit to get that test done. And they were telling me, oh, we can get you Xanax or medication. We can sedate you. I'm like, I don't need to be sedated. I think I can handle it. But it is really... creepy. You're claustrophobic. I mean, you're in this tube. You feel like you're in a casket, buried alive. And you just got to close your eyes and not freak out. And of course, you know how I am, how goofy I am. I'm already kind of a hypochondriac. So I'll be thinking that I'm going to, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out. And I'll start screaming and flailing and hitting my head and Goodness knows what. But anyway, just keep your fingers crossed. Say a little prayer that everything is fine and that I don't have a meltdown in the MRI. Don't worry, I'll give you a full report tomorrow. And I'll give you an update. I think it's mind over matter. You just close your eyes and you just think, okay, I'm not in this metal tube. They can get me out of here if I freak out. Although yesterday the nurse told me a story at the doctor's office. He said he went into one of those, and they told him, now we're right here. Just call out if you need us. Don't worry. And they slid him in the thing, and he called out. He said something, and they were gone. And he was in there for like 45 minutes, and nobody was – now that's my worst nightmare. That's a horror movie for me. I'll be like, okay, I'm freaking out, I'm freaking out, and they're not going to answer me. They're going to go get a pastrami sandwich. They're going to go down the hall and go into the lunchroom, and I'll be in that tube flailing and trying to get out. Think about that. That'd be a good premise for a horror movie. You're in the MRI, and you can't get out, and... It ends badly for everybody involved. Well, so far, things are going so well, and every day is just a gift. Every single day feels like another gift from God and heaven above. It's just astounding how many people are just... And I want to deal with why Trump didn't do this the first time. And I promise I'll take calls. I've got a lot of... A lot on my plate today, so pardon me for being so chatty, but I promise callers hang in there. You're going to be coming up next. But I was thinking last night, well, why didn't all this happen with this kind of intensity the first time around? Well, the first Trump presidency, the guy was a reality TV star. He's not a politician. He hasn't been a politician. And he came down that golden escalator. And he captured hearts and minds. And he won the election against all odds. He beat Hillary. And he didn't know Washington. He didn't know the deep state. He trusted people. And he surrounded himself with, in some cases, rats. Real sneaky, degenerate people who had a nefarious intent. They wanted their 15 minutes in the White House, and then they went off and wrote their books and stabbed him in the back and became part of the whole anti-Trump, anti-MAGA movement. This time around, he is more disciplined and more focused than ever before, surrounding himself with people who are loyal to the America First agenda and loyal to him. And that's what we elected. That's the mandate. That's the mandate right there. You see, we thought he went back to Mar-a-Lago after 2020 just playing golf and licking his wounds. We just thought he just went into hibernation. When in actuality, it appears he was doing his homework. It appears he was planning this epic second presidency and fulfilling his promise that to put America first. What a thing it is to behold, huh? What a thing it is to behold. Cyrus is in North Carolina. Hey, Cyrus, thanks very much for your patience. Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good morning, Mr. Mike Gallagher. Hello, Cyrus. Take in my call, and please take care of yourself. I will. Because we enjoy you being on the air.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you, Cyrus. That's very kind of you. I appreciate it. Are you as angry as the guy from the video we played a few minutes ago?
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm probably more angry. I'm not going to say how angry, because being 75, almost 76, you don't get there by being an idiot, so I can't say too much about being angry at all.
SPEAKER 16 :
It won't get you anywhere. Don't be angry. Don't get mad. Get even.
SPEAKER 05 :
Listen, I'm worried, to be honest with you. I'm angry and I'm worried. President Eisenhower, back in the 50s, said be careful and be mindful of the industrial military state. He made us aware of that back in the 50s. And we have continued to go forward with these underground kind of back door kind of agencies that are acting on their own bequest to do whatever they want to do.
SPEAKER 16 :
That's right. But I'm curious. What are you worried about? Why do you say you're worried?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I'm worried as for the repercussions that Trump may face from this. I'm talking about These people are extremely powerful people.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, but don't forget, Cyrus, he's the most powerful man in the world. Thanks to the American people, we have once again returned him to the Oval Office as the most powerful man in the world. And, you know, we pray for his safety. And incidentally, speaking of prayers, thank you. Everybody's flooding the text line with prayers for a good outcome on this MRI I'm going to do later today. So thank you so much. It's like, just makes me feel so good to know how much love. And this is like one big giant family. So thank you. But Cyrus, keep praying for his safety. Keep praying for his health. Keep praying that he gets to continue to do what he's doing. But remember something. It's way more than just one man. He's the first to remind everybody this is a movement. He's created a movement, and that's not going anywhere. Hang in there, Cyrus. Thanks for your kind words. Greg's in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hi, Greg. Hey, Mike.
SPEAKER 15 :
Love the show. Thank you. We'll say some prayers for you on your MRI, too, buddy. Oh, you're kind.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you, Greg.
SPEAKER 15 :
But listen, you know, you were talking about the difference between Donald Trump's first term and this term. Well, you know, I wanted to say he didn't have an Elon Musk.
SPEAKER 16 :
You're right. You're right.
SPEAKER 15 :
He has this person now that is, you know, is digging through the trash and finding all this stuff that we as citizens, you know, we're suspicious of but never realized. Right. You know, and now we're getting to where we're mad, and the clip you showed this morning is so great, but we're mad because we see how wasteful Our government is.
SPEAKER 16 :
That's just it. But, Greg, you make a brilliant point, and I appreciate it very much. He didn't have Elon Musk first time around. And when you stop and think about the way they're melting down on the left over Elon, they know he's on to something big. They realize this is a massive accomplishment. He has identified one of the most brilliant men in the world, and you can't dispute that, even though dumbbells like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will try to. You can't dispute the smarts of Elon Musk. And he's taken one of the most brilliant men in the world and he said, look, I want you to run an agency or an arm, you're going to be an arm of my presidency that weeds out the wasteful slush fund of taxpayer-funded nonsense. And it's amazing. I mean, look, I say it over and over again. You either support an America First agenda or you don't. You either believe in it or you don't. And look, not everybody believes in this guy, and that's okay. This is America. You get to have whatever opinion you want. But a lot of his goals... are an attempt to achieve success for all Americans, Republicans, Democrats, young, old, white, black, Asian, Hispanic. Very, very important. President Trump moments ago spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. We'll take you to D.C. and share some of his remarks with you next on this Thursday episode of The Mike Gallagher Show. Great having you here.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Gellert.
SPEAKER 16 :
Consider our hard-earned tax dollars. being funneled into slush funds by a Biden administration that was completely out of control. You know, when we saw the lunatics outside the Treasury Department the other day, and it was every last one of them, Schumer and Maxine Waters, all of them, Elizabeth Warren screeching and howling and chanting, and what are they upset about? Elon Musk discovering... The misuse, the blatant, grotesque misuse of taxpayer money for all of these crazy leftist initiatives all over the world taking taxpayer money. Let me again remind you, USAID is not, repeat, not a charity. This is the biggest media company fiscal scandal that we've seen in many, many, many years. And the reason they're so upset about it is because they got caught. They got caught red-handed. And you ought to be mad about it. Every one of us ought to be angry. We ought to be asking for a refund on our taxes. We didn't authorize our money going to fund Sesame Street in Iraq. We didn't authorize our tax funds to go to a pro-politico, fancy bells and whistles subscription to a Trump and MAGA-hating media outlet like Politico. We didn't fund that. Congress didn't authorize that. And pay attention to the usual suspects in the mainstream media pretending this is a vast right-wing conspiracy from Mediaite to the Daily Beast, Drudge, Axios. Axios says, oh, this is false information. It wasn't really funding Politico. The Biden administration was simply buying $75,000 apiece subscriptions to get the super-duper service from Politico. And it turns out Politico, of course, was continually assailing Trump and MAGA. You know, somebody posted on social media, if a Republican administration used federal tax dollars to pay for premium subscriptions at the Daily Wire or Town Hall or the Mike Gallagher Show, The press outlets that are right now pretending there's no controversy would have their hair on fire. Mark Caputo used to work for Politico. He has shared that Politico editors not only shut down the Hunter Biden laptop story, but told reporters, directed them not to talk or tweet about it. Politico buried and killed stories that highlighted serious and substantive and legitimate concerns about Joe Biden's cognitive decline. Well, look, if the Biden administration is paying you millions of dollars, you're not going to bite the hand that feeds you. Look, from where I sit, Politico is done. I don't know how they survived this. I don't know how any of these media outlets who were collecting funds from the taxpayer through these slush funds are going to survive this. And every American should be livid. I made a commitment. I'm going to play this guy every hour today. I want you to see and hear this. From an angry black American who is livid at the way he has been used by the Democrat Party and the media.
SPEAKER 10 :
The Democratic Party have lied to us about everything. They've lied about being the party of the middle class. They've lied about being the party of peace. They've lied about being the party that wants to help poor people. What the last several weeks have proven to us all, This is a cadre of criminals and losers and spoiled children of affluent parents who were more concerned about looking good. than actually doing good. These are people who were more concerned about looking like they were doing something for the American people than actually doing things for the American people. And that's why I'm so angry. Because this party lied to me while stealing my tax dollars. The Democratic Party lied to us all while they brought in millions of illegal immigrants for their own political purposes for the last four years. 20 to 30 million illegal aliens brought in. And now we come to USAID being probably the largest money laundering operation in American history. Congratulations, Dems. You've outdone even Bernie Madoff. I'm disgusted beyond words. Disgusted with the waste of money. Disgusted with the fraud. With the way that you people put, the way that you people use color legitimacy and the way you use black people as mules to get us to push whatever agenda you wanted to. The amount of division you used black people to sow upon the American people, you used us for that. And I will never, ever forgive this political party that I've gone through personally. Y'all were supposed to be the party of free speech, the party of women's rights. You have immolated all of those things. And then, as if enough weren't enough... You then decide that you're going to die on the hill of USAID, a government audit. You're trying to prevent a government audit because some of you really are trying to stay out of prison. We see the game now. Y'all been out here telling us that the game was rigged against certain people. Well, now we found out who the people that were rigging the game were. Congratulations. Y'all are never going to win another political race ever again. Not if I can help it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Beautiful thing. Isn't that an absolutely beautiful, beautiful thing to see? And this is the beauty of X. Guy posted a video on social media. This is why they hate X. If that guy had posted that a couple of years ago, he'd have gotten banned. They'd have shut his account down. The FBI might be knocking on his door, for all we know. They stole our tax dollars. And they don't know what they've been exposed to. They've been caught, and it's just beginning. You know there's going to be more. That's why they want to subpoena Elon Musk. That's why they want to lock him up. One of the elected representatives this week on Capitol Hill, some goofy congressman said they need to put him in jail. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And this was a guy, according to my producer, who started out not supporting Donald Trump. Do you know how many people are supporting him now? This guy talks about the Democrats supposedly the party of women's rights. Really? That's why we had to have a president yesterday sign an executive order so that biological men can't compete in women's sports? And he was surrounded by young women. President Trump was in the Oval Office surrounded by girls and young women and women who were saying in the background, God bless you, President Trump. for letting women compete against women in sports? Not trans women, women. All the cases of people who've been injured, women have been injured, by biological men spiking a football, I mean a volleyball rather, into their faces, hurting them. women who were losing over and over after spending their whole lives training and preparing. But we had to have a president. The ridiculousness of having to do this in the first place because we've lost our collective minds. And I pray for anybody who struggles and suffers with gender dysphoria. There's a real shortage of compassion about this difficult issue. And I don't want to be that person who doesn't have compassion. I pray for them. I pray that they'll get some peace and some focus and some guidance in their lives and that they'll be okay. I hate the idea of people feeling castigated and young people who are suicidal because of the pressures that they face. But even people... in the gay and lesbian community understand that to take a Leah Thomas and say, look, you're going to compete against women, no problem with that. You identify as a woman, you get to go compete against women. And the Democrats are supposed to be the party of women's rights? This guy, who started out not liking Trump very much in 2018, thanks to President Trump, now realizes the truth about what the Democrat Party really is. The Democrat Party is lost. And had we not gotten this right this past November the 5th, this country would have been lost. Wait till you see the way Kamala Harris was protected by 60 Minutes. Because the raw video of that 60 Minutes interview... was handed over by CBS, and now it's public. Jesse Waters did a great job exposing that last night. Where do you see the raw? My Lord. Kamala Harris? All I can say in a prayerful moment is thank God Trump won. Thank God he won. Because this country would be headed right off the side of the cliff under a President Kamala Harris. Welcome in. It's Thursday. We've got a lot to cover. Tons of breaking news yesterday. The President, or actually the Attorney General, suspending federal aid for any of the sanctuary cities. That's a great start. We've got the President at the National Prayer Breakfast today. All kinds of breaking news if you miss a minute of the Mike Gallagher Show. Here in the Relief Factor Studios, you'll miss a lot. Join us, 800-655-MIKE. Call or text 800-655-6453. You know, there's a cross that Mike Lindell of MyPillow wears around his neck. And for years, people have said, Mike, can we get that cross? And so I'm real proud to share with you that MyPillow is now offering the MyCross necklace. It's a beautiful sterling silver cross, onyx-styled black enamel with a protective clear coat, mother-of-pearl-styled translucent white enamel. They've got a men's size and a ladies' size. The MyCross necklace is now available for you at MyPillow.com. If you go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials, and click on that box. You're going to get a huge discount. I mean, big-time discount. In fact, you're going to get, I think, $30 less of a price than what is available on the MyPillow site if you don't go to MySquare. So if you want a beautiful gift, if you want to remind yourself what matters, if you want the same cross, it's the same cross that Mike Lindell wears every day whenever you see him on TV, This cross is now available for you, and you're going to get a huge discount when you enter the promo code MikeG. So go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials, click on that box, and then find the MyCross. There's also all kinds of great items to get you the best night's sleep of your life. Just don't forget to enter the promo code MikeG so you'll save big, and you've got to go to that square. Go to MyPillow.com, look for the Mike Gallagher specials, click on that box, and then with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Sing along with me. For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG.
SPEAKER 14 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 12 :
To my friends who are upset, I would say with respect, you know, call somebody who cares. They better get used to this. It's USAID today. It's going to be Department of Education tomorrow.
SPEAKER 14 :
In the relieffactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 16 :
I made a vow to get better at following up on things I say I'm going to talk about. If you're a longtime listener or viewer of this show, you know I often get on a rant and then I lose track and I forget that I was going to do something. So I finally came up the other day. I said, why don't I just put a notebook, a good old-fashioned notebook in the studio? So I brought it. I was over at Barnes & Noble the other day. Boy, did they get mad at me. I read that the Barnes & Noble in St. Petersburg is going to close today. And I asked the lady, the very unpleasant lady behind the counter, and she took my head off. That's not true.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's not true. That is not true. That is a rumor.
SPEAKER 16 :
I mean, well, excuse me. Sorry. I mean, I know you're testy probably because other – she said, everybody's asking me about that. I hope it doesn't – I like Barnes & Noble. I like bookstores. I like browsing and looking at – anyway, I found a notebook. at the Barnes & Noble, and I'm going to start writing down things that I say I'm going to talk about when I forget to talk about it. So I almost forgot to remind you that if you loved that video clip of that guy, and Christian says he knows right where that guy is. He's on the Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. So this guy is apparently in New York, made a selfie video, just a rant as an angry American who said, The Democrats have been lying to me. The Democrats have been using me as a black man. They have been stealing our taxpayer money, our tax dollars. And look, this guy didn't start out as a Trump supporter. He sure appreciates what Trump is accomplishing now. If you want that video... All you have to do is text the keyword ANGRY to 800-655-MIKE. Just text ANGRY to 800-655-6453 and we will happily send you back that great video that Elon Musk reposted. That's why it's gotten millions and millions of views. But this is what's happening. Americans have had their eyes closed. They've been brainwashed. And doesn't it feel good to be vindicated? Doesn't it feel good to be right? Look, these Democrat mayors, now they're reaffirming their sanctuary city status. Good, then you're going to lose federal funding. And then you're going to have to pass that on to your taxpayers. And they're going to have to bear the brunt of all the federal dollars you're going to lose because you are stubbornly creating a magnet for illegals to come into your city. So let the Democrats dig in. They got nothing. They've got nothing. Speaking of the MyPillow text line, I really appreciate all the prayers that are coming in. I shouldn't have even told you about it because I don't want to get bogged down with this. Joey Hudson is going to fill in for me for a few segments today because I'm going to go get an MRI. Look, I'm more worried about the closed MRI than I am what they're going to find. But I've been having a ringing in my ears, and yesterday I got – I'm really feeling weird, like dizzy and woozy and lightheaded. And I went to my doctor yesterday, and he ran some tests. Blood sugar is fine. Blood pressure, everything is fine. But then he did the test where – you know how he can put his index finger in front of your eyes, and you have to follow his finger with your eyes. You go left to right and right to left. And when he did that, he said my eyes were like – jiggling and wiggling back and forth in a way they're not supposed to do. He said, well, that tells me something's going on. And he thinks it's probably maybe an inner ear kind of a thing. He goes, you've got an inner ear maybe disturbance. It's probably just vertigo or something. Who knows? But he ordered an MRI. He said, look, let's not leave anything on the table. Let's rule things out. And he said something about a tumor that could be a kind of a benign. He says it's almost never cancerous. But it's not malignant, but it's a benign tumor that they have to remove that presses against your ear thing. I don't know. And all I heard, of course, was tumor. You know me. I thought, oh, great. Just my luck. I mean, just when things are going so great, that's all I need. And it's probably not that, but let's rule it out. So I'm going to slide into that MRI. Hopefully I won't freak out. As I'm walking out of the doctor's office, one of the nurses said, yeah, these MRIs, they can be scary. I got slid into one a couple years ago, and they told me if you get panicky, just speak up, and we'll bring you out. Well, I started to speak up, and they left. That's what's going to happen to me. You wait and see. I'm already freaking out about this closed MRI. Poor Michelle at the doctor's office tried like heck to find an open MRI somewhere in Tampa Bay, and the first appointment was like three weeks from now. And I'm like, I don't want to worry about this for weeks. Again, you know me, so I'm already going to the dark place. I'm looking out at the sun. The sun is just a little brighter today. I'm wondering if I'm, you know, if I'm long for this world because I'm a bit of a melodramatic person. But he said, yeah, I called and they were gone. I hope they don't forget about me. I wonder how long it takes. Do you know, Eric, how long these things take? Joey thought it took an hour. And Tom Trout said, nah, it's 10 or 15 minutes. They've got to put the dye in you and everything. And they do the imaging. I don't know. So anyway, thanks to Joey, who's going to guest host a little bit for a couple of segments. And then we'll be back in the saddle again tomorrow. And then looking forward to celebrating everything together, celebrating this amazing first year of the Trump administration on the Patriots Alaska cruise. This summer, this August, August 16th through the 23rd, we had Joel James on the show yesterday. Now's the time to sign up. Because, look, this is going to sell out quickly. Larry Elder and I will be your co-hosts. We'll be joined by Jersey Joe Piscopo. Joe's going to be on the ship along with Jennifer Horn. Space is limited. It's more than just a cruise. We'll have fellowship together. We're going to be... dining and sightseeing, and then we're going to do all these great events on the ship. Seb Gorka and I had the privilege of hosting, what, 400 or 500 of you this past 4th of July. I want you to join us again for the second annual Patriots Alaska Cruise, August 16th through the 23rd. For details, go to TravelWithSalem.com. TravelWithSalem.com. Just go to TravelWithSalem.com. You'll get the itinerary, the pricing, and everything else. Or you could just text the keyword Alaska to 800-655-MIKE. Just text the keyword Alaska to 800-655-6453. And away you go. Join us. Join us for an amazing, amazing journey. Here's John Stewart. Now, John Stewart, not a dumb guy, smart guy. From The Daily Show, he kind of scaled back his hours, but he's still doing stuff on social media. And here he was on Comedy Central. You know that ghastly chant that Chuck Schumer tried to lead? We won't rest. We won't rest. Elon Musk has to go to jail. We're upset. We're not going to take that. Here's Jon Stewart begging the Democrats, please stop putting Chuck Schumer front and center.
SPEAKER 08 :
Democrats, can you please stop f***ing trotting Schumer out there? Every time Trump traverses into the unreal, he's not good at this. What is the decision-making process here? Hey, who should we get out there to effectively battle one of the most savvy presidential media manipulators in history? I don't know. How about Schumer? He's uninteresting, but at least he's monotone. Oh, wait. And Chuck, before you go out there, you look too young. Put on these readers and lower them on your nose.
SPEAKER 16 :
I mean, they're turning on themselves. They're eating their own. Do you have that Chuck Schumer chant from the archives, Christian? I mean, it was so bad. In fact, Tim Ryan, the former Democrat from Ohio, went on social media and said, are you kidding? This is the best we've got? After this Schumer chant, and this was this unhinged rally they had on the steps of the Treasury because they're hysterical about Elon Musk and Doge. And the reason the Democrats are upset about it is because the jig is up. They've been caught. They're being exposed, and they don't know how to stop it. So here's Chuck Schumer standing next to crazy Auntie Maxine and that lunatic Al Green who's waving around his gold-handled cane, and this was the best Schumer's got. I'm going to stand with you in this fight and we will win.
SPEAKER 06 :
We will win.
SPEAKER 07 :
We will win. We will win. We will win. We will win. We will win. We won't rest. We won't rest. We won't rest. We won't rest. Thank you, everybody.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, great chant. So Democrat Tim Ryan, former congressman from Ohio, posts on social media, I just don't even know what to say anymore when I see this kind of stuff. Is it Saturday Night Live or real life? Does anyone really think this is the future of the country? This is the only alternative to Trump's America? It's just so depressing. Yeah, they don't know what to do. They're flailing about. Al Green yesterday waving that cane. Boy, I hope he has that cane with him all the time. That cane makes it. I know about impeaching. We're going to impeach Trump. Oh, are you? Okay. You knock yourself out, Congressman Al Green. You're doing your Texas district proud. Wave that cane around. Just don't hit anti-Maxine in the head, please. And Mitch McConnell yesterday fell down the steps again. We don't need any accidents up there with all the seniors who are on Capitol Hill. Wait till you see the unedited version of the 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Jesse Waters broke it all down last night on Fox News. Got that next.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 16 :
What a day. Holy cow, what a time to be alive. And last night, I watched in amazement as Jesse Waters sort of exposed the raw, unedited video that was released by CBS online. under orders by the FCC to prove that Kamala Harris was, in fact, made to look good by 60 Minutes. When's the last time you think 60 Minutes ever edited an interview with Donald Trump to make him look good? But it's precisely what they did with Kamala Harris. Now, Jesse did a segment. I want to play this segment for you because it was so powerful and so important. He talks to Michael Schellenberger, who's an investigative journalist over at Substack. But it was a great segment. I wanted to share it with you today.
SPEAKER 04 :
We got our hands on the raw footage of Kamala Harris's 60 Minutes interview last October in the heat of the election. Harris, Hail Mary with CBS. But the network was caught deceptively editing this answer. Watch.
SPEAKER 09 :
But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
SPEAKER 11 :
We're not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.
SPEAKER 09 :
But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening. The Wall Street Journal said that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu. And, in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administration's entreaties.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, Bill. The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we're not going to stop doing that. We're not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.
SPEAKER 04 :
Trump sued CBS for $10 billion, and it looks like they might settle. But before that happens, the FCC released the full interview, unedited, and we have the tape. They talked for an hour and left a lot out. Here's an answer that never made air. Watch.
SPEAKER 09 :
I'm trying to understand how it is that with this emphasis on the border, the numbers of crossings quadrupled under the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration. How did that happen?
SPEAKER 11 :
There are a variety of factors that relate to what we have seen globally. and what we are not immune from at our own border in terms of what we have seen in terms of surge of immigration and irregular migration. And there are solutions at hand, but we've got to have leaders who are solution-oriented, which we've been and are.
SPEAKER 04 :
CBS also cut out their host pressing Kamala on how she's going to pay for all of her giveaways.
SPEAKER 09 :
If all of this makes so much sense, why has this not been done? You're dealing with a Congress that is divided, that many are in opposition to not only you but your policies. So how are you going to make this happen?
SPEAKER 11 :
Bill, if I approached my life as though, well, it's never been done before, therefore it cannot be done, I wouldn't be sitting here in this interview with you.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's the truth. Then 60 Minutes tossed Kamala a big fat softball and she swung and missed.
SPEAKER 09 :
The most basic of questions. Why do you want to be president of the United States?
SPEAKER 11 :
There are many reasons, but probably first and foremost, I truly believe in the promise of America. I do. And I love the American people. You know, we are a people who have... ambition and aspirations and dreams and optimism and hope.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's why you want to run. That's why you want to be president.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's why I'm running. That and some other reasons.
SPEAKER 09 :
But you're asking the American people to make you the most powerful person on the planet. Why do you deserve the American people's votes?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, first of all, I have a career and a history of being very clear that I think of my role of leadership, and in particular now for the last four years as vice president and moving forward as president, if the voters will have me, as being a leader on behalf of all Americans.
SPEAKER 04 :
Kamala wasn't the only one having a rough night. One of the crew guys misgendered Madam Vice President. Is that what you needed?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. 36 of silence.
SPEAKER 04 :
Michael Schellenberger is the founder of public news. Do you see anything scandalous about what CBS did here, Mike?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I just sort of forgot that that's how she talks.
SPEAKER 04 :
It was actually enjoyable watching it again. I don't know why.
SPEAKER 18 :
I mean, it's like the easiest stuff to memorize. You would think she would have memorized it by then, but it feels like she's trying to figure out why she's running for president every time she's asked.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's like a month before the election, and you're on 60 Minutes. She's like, why do you want to be president? She's like,
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, let's see.
SPEAKER 04 :
What?
SPEAKER 18 :
Amazing.
SPEAKER 16 :
I've been, yesterday I was getting dizzy and lightheaded, so I went over to the doc, and he gave me a bunch of tests, and he said, yeah, something's going on. You know how they take your, you know how the doctor takes his finger and puts it in front of your eyes, and they go left and right, and you've got to follow back and forth? It scared me for a minute, but yes, I am familiar with that as well. Right, well, listen, I've been there too. I'd rather have him do that. Yeah, I like where this one goes. Exactly. But he said, my eyes, when I go back and forth, left and right and right to left, are jiggling a little funny. Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's like failed field sobriety. That's what usually happens on the roadside.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, it's like, oh, crap, I failed the test. So he said, look, we're going to order an MRI, he said, just to make sure nothing's serious. He said it could be an inner ear thing, you know. That one's okay if you get wobbly at all. I'm just kind of dizzy. I mean, look, I think I'm just giddy with the first 17 days of the Trump administration.
SPEAKER 17 :
I do. I find my head spinning as well in nothing but good ways.
SPEAKER 16 :
I mean, we've always heard about first 100 days. How about first 17? I mean, you know, lost in everything that's happening right now with that magnificent, beautiful moment where he signed the executive order, no boys and girls sports, and you got emotional. I heard you as I was driving in get kind of cracked, your voice cracked a little bit. You were... It's a big moment. All these appreciative women saying thank you for not, you know, facing, like you said, a spiked volleyball in my daughter's face at 50 miles an hour. But we also forgot that Pam Bondi ended federal funding for all the sanctuary cities. That's right. That's a big deal. You know, before we get to all of it, and Doge finding out about our tax dollars funding Politico, and incidentally, contrary to what the mainstream media is squealing, it is true. Our taxpayer dollars have been funding Politico.
SPEAKER 17 :
Take 30 seconds on how that happened.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, before I do that, I want to lay the groundwork for something. Of course. Because I'm just stunned. I'm astonished that all this has happened in 17 days. And you know what? You inevitably ask, why didn't this happen first time around? Well, the answer is pretty easy. We all thought that after 2020, Trump went home to Mar-a-Lago and just played golf and licked his wounds. But he didn't. He was doing his homework. He was assembling a team, and he was putting together an agenda and a strategy. And he said, if I get back in again, this is what it's going to look like. And he spent the four years in the Mar-a-Lago wilderness thinking, plotting and planning and scheming and readying his offense, his assault against the deep state, his assault against the weaponization of the court system. He knew he made mistakes, and look, he admits this. He made mistakes with having people in his administration. No Washington. He trusted people too much. Sometimes he trusted the John Kelly's of the world and the Comey's of the world. And these are these were bad, bad actors. These are people acting in bad faith. They wanted their 15 minutes in the White House and then they wanted to write a tell all and rip Trump because they thought it was fashionable. And it was. Well, it was at the time. But boy, has the tide turned. It's so different now. So let's go to the Doge thing real quick and talk about this is the best part. We know your kid gets his hand caught in the cookie jar. Your kid either says, yeah, dad, I did it. You caught me. You got me. Or, no, no, no, no, no, it's not what you think. It's not what you see. My sister did it. Well, that's what right now Drudge, Mediaite, Politico, even Axios is trying to do. They're trying to claim that all this wasteful spending that has been uncovered is a vast right-wing conspiracy. Exactly. Exactly. Oh, it's just a conspiracy. I mean, look at Daily Beast. Politico goes toe to toe with MAGA over these false money rumors.
SPEAKER 17 :
And stop. Let's do this together because a lot of people might be driving around going, what is the Politico thing? What is the Politico thing? Describe. You probably do it more briefly than I can. The notion to which there was money being funneled to a massively expensive Politico subscription service.
SPEAKER 16 :
USAID and the federal government has been, thanks to Elon Musk and his team of Doge youngsters, and yeah, they are young kids.
SPEAKER 17 :
Some of them are 19. More on that in a minute.
SPEAKER 16 :
Go ahead. I know. And so they have uncovered this massive, epic, fraudulent spending. Slush fund. It's a slush fund where millions and billions of dollars of our money. Understand something about USAID. USAID is not a charity. They're not a philanthropic group. They're an organization that was signed into law by John F. Kennedy in the early 60s with a stroke of his pen. And it has turned into a leftist, you know, slush fund for, you know, operas in Paraguay and Sesame Street in Iraq and all this nonsense. But it's our money. It is our money. So then it comes to Politico. They find out that Politico has gotten millions of dollars from the slush fund. Well, look at Mediaite. MAGA influencers pushed erroneous claims that Politico was being funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The false claims surfaced. Now, here's why they say it's false. Politico evidently has something called pro-Politico. Yeah, buddy. You could spend $75,000 if you want a really super-duper subscription with a dashboard. Oh, you get a dashboard. You get, yeah, yeah, 75 grand for a subscription? Well, and they got a gazillion, got a bunch of them that the federal government was funneling into Politico. Here's the best... My hand really wasn't caught in the cookie jar from, I get it from Axios. This is the best one of all. Ready? Headline, Doge targets Fed's media subscriptions. MAGA Media, it's all MAGA, of course, they determined that the government paid Politico $8.2 million in the last 12 months for Politico Pro policy content. That spending fueled, says Axios, a false conspiracy theory that USAID was funding Politico. That turned into dozens of viral posts. It's a prime example of how false information sweeps through social media and it could spell trouble for other media organizations with government subscribers. Well, I hope so. I would. Let's hope it does. Now, here's the best part. Are you ready? I'm ready. You ready for the... They have to do a disclosure in this article pretending this is a vast right-wing conspiracy that taxpayer dollars went to Politico? Disclosure... Our Axios Pro products provide in-depth policy and industry news to paying subscribers, including government employees. Last year, $5,550 in payments were made to Axios as part of an FCC subscription, according to the government's database that tracks federal spending. They're having to do a disclosure. We do it too, they're saying. So on the one hand, they're saying... Yeah, pay no attention to what you're really seeing here. Nothing to see here. Move on. This is an amazingly glorious time, Mark. And how do you know?
SPEAKER 17 :
And how do you doubly, triply know? Look at the react. They're holding rallies. Schumer and others clasping hands. In these weird chanting, yelling moments, nobody elected Elon. Nobody elected the deep state scoundrels who tried to savage the Constitution and destroy our lives under Biden either. Nobody voted for Connelly. There wasn't one vote cast for her in the primary. At least our unelected people are helping the country.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and I can put your voice this morning. Thank God he won. Thank God he won on a loop. You saw the 60 Minutes. You watched it, right? I sure did. This woman is a stone-cold dummy. We are so lucky because not only policy-wise did we dodge a bullet, but she's a moron. And when you see a 55-minute video that shows her in her own— natural setting you know with bill whitaker unedited she's a moron she she is so vapid and the truth is there wasn't anything that really i'm kind of like you on this i was a little lukewarm okay so they edited it that did i've been in television and broadcasting for years 60 60 minutes is notorious for editing You know, there's a technique that 60 Minutes and other shows like that use all the time. They'll use what they call a cutaway. They use a reverse, and it makes it look like there's a pause and there's no pause. They do that all the time. It's actually very, very shrewd the way all the reality, like, for example, the reality TV shows, they do that. One of the characters, you know, will say something on the show, and then it looks like there's, like, stunned silence. There's not stunned silence. They've edited in a 10-second pregnant pause to make it look like people are just looking at it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Katie Turek interviewed a bunch of gun activist folks, NRA supporters, and asked them a question, and they created silence to make it look like they were stunned and unable to air it.
SPEAKER 16 :
answer that's what i mean so that happens all the time with editing but at the end of the day here's what we know 60 minutes did bend over backwards to try to make her look better they edited out the word salad she gave an answer on israel you couldn't translate that if you held a gun to your head she's a she's a moron and she's babbling like an idiot and bill whitaker's even looking at her like what are you talking about so they edited that out they left that on the chopping room floor that's what trump's complaint was you think they've edited out anything to make trump look good ever In the history of the industry? I'm going to go with no.
SPEAKER 17 :
I'm going to go with no. And you mentioned Israel. Can you imagine how Israel would be feeling? Netanyahu visiting, and he was on Hannity last night, got some excerpts of that. And, of course, it is a wild, eye-opening thing, the notion of America having anything to do with Gaza. I think that's designed. Maybe he means it. Maybe it's just another kind of a device to get everybody. Did you hear what he said about it? Oh, I know what he said. Basically, why not? He'd be saying it's brilliant. He loves the idea. And I think it creates the necessity. It prods us. It prods the world to imagine Gaza prosperous and peaceful, which it ain't going to be under blood-soaked Palestinian rule. It's just not. And once people think, wow, it could be that way, and maybe if they don't like America having a big footprint there, you know how else it might be that way? Let Israel run it again, as it once properly did.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, like you said the other day, you asked the perfect question. Where is Gaza? What country is it in? It's in Israel. Is it in Turkey?
SPEAKER 17 :
No, it's in Israel.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, Mark, Mark, Mark, come on. Don't you know? It's in Palestine. Wink, wink. Wink, wink. Back at you, buddy. Where's the government of Palestine, huh? Yeah. Where's their Treasury Department? Where's their Doge? Oh, my goodness. And what a day. And you've got great things you're doing. You've got a big heart, and I know you guys got a food for the poor campaign.
SPEAKER 17 :
We'll talk about it tomorrow because we're out of time. Because the last real thing that I want to do with you in these last 30 seconds or so is there's a meme going around, and I want to leave it with you, and it goes like this. You know, Mike, I haven't seen liberals this upset since yesterday.
SPEAKER 16 :
Inject it into my veins. When I climb into that MRI, put that into my veins.
SPEAKER 17 :
I'm thinking about you praying for good, uneventful stuff, everybody, because we need you for many, many more decades, man.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you so much. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you. I'll see you.
SPEAKER 17 :
And is Mike Gallagher ready for you today? Right after we're done at 10 on 660 AM, the answer.
SPEAKER 14 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
Dana delves into a significant cultural and political moment where the landscape of women's sports is being fiercely debated. Amidst the ongoing discussions about transgender participation, this episode explores the societal, generational, and political perspectives that influence this dialogue. She also uncovers the complexities surrounding USAID's funding distribution, probing into how taxpayer money shapes media narratives. With engaging stories from past and present, this episode offers an insightful examination of sports, politics, and gender roles.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Female athletes have been forced onto the front lines and men claiming to be girls have stolen more than 3,500 victories, that's a lot, and invaded more than 11,000 competitions designed for women. Last year, a male cyclist posing as a woman competed in the 800 mile Arizona trail race, a very big deal in cycling, and obliterated the woman's course record by nearly five and a half hours. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it, huh? Five and a half hours, but you have to hear the weightlifting records. You think that's bad, the weightlifting's worse. In 2023, a man in women's powerlifting broke two world records and outlifted his closest female opponent in one event by 440 pounds. And they continue to defend themselves. Mr. Congressman, you know that, right? They continue to defend themselves. We hope they continue onward because I don't think we can lose the race. This is one of the big reasons that we all want and it's one of the big reasons that we had a record, a landslide like they haven't seen before very often anyway. And who could forget last year's Paris Olympics where a male boxer stole the woman's gold medal after brutalizing his female opponent so viciously that she had to forfeit just after 46 seconds and she was a championship fighter. actually they had two women or two people that transitioned and both of them won gold medals and they won them very convincingly but all of that ends today because with this executive order the war on women's sports is over he's the feminist president Donald Trump is the feminist president and that optic right there is
SPEAKER 01 :
where I don't know how many girls, I don't know how many athletes they had there in the room with him. I mean, there were a lot. I mean, it looked like at least around him there were 50. That was an unbelievable optic to see that because... This and they were all they were all ages. They were, you know, they were boomers and Gen X and millennials and Gen Z. And I think is alpha. I guess those are alpha. The littlest ones are alpha. Is that what that? So you had a I mean, like every generation athlete, female athlete present and Trump is signing this. this bill and it's just an optic that it's one of those, it's one of those things like what, when he was at McDonald's and when he was in the trash truck, it's just one of those optics that becomes historical. And it's so weird to me that, you know, you have a, This even happening. Can I just be honest? This is so messed up that this even has to happen, that you have to have the president of the United States legit sign a law stipulating that, yes, you know, it really does need to be, you know, just the women in women's sports. It's so weird that we're even here. I was having a conversation with a girl that I... Because I was a big jock in school. And I was having a conversation with a friend of mine. And we were both on several teams together. And she has daughters and I have sons. And her kids are also in athletics. And I made the mention to her. I'm like, can you imagine? What would this have been like if we were in high school still? Like if we were in high school. And... We were told that we had to accommodate men on our teams. And I can't even imagine. That's why I think it's just, I think it's harder being a teenager now than it was then. Because you have that on top of it. And now, and then we're going to get into this, but you have some of these athletes that decided to, they filed suit. against uh what was it penn and over the leah thomas stuff that's that's really significant all while this was happening but this optic of trump there and he's surrounded by all of these female athletes and he's signing this bill protecting women's sports stipulating that men cannot come in treat women's sports like a rec league like the jv squad and start taking over And I like the fact that he was listing in his address all these, or in his remarks when he was signing it, all of his, you know, these instances where it's just grotesquely unbalanced. I mean, it's anti-science. And I'm glad that he did it. And I'm glad that all of those girls, those girls that were there, especially the super young ones, they're never going to forget this. They're going to remember this. This is a feminist president. This is what feminism is supposed to be like. This is what you know, you have chivalry and then you have feminism. And I think people want to allow the left to hijack these terms. This is what feminism looks like. It is it's empowering women, protecting women, but not at the expense of men. Modern feminism has gotten it to where, you know, you it's at the expense of men. It's like they view men like enemies and it shouldn't be that way. That's just I think. And I sent that out. If you get my newsletter, this that was my lead photo for my newsletter today was this optic of these girls. surrounding POTUS as he signs this. And it's just truly, it was a sweet thing to see. And he was really good with the crowd. Welcome to the show. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of this first hour. I just really liked this optic. And it is. It's the lead. It's the photo that I have for the newsletter that I send out if you're a subscriber over at Substack. And it's just such a great optic. Democrats are unhinged over. Think about that. I mean, you didn't Kamala Harris didn't do this. Joe Biden didn't do this. This wasn't a Democrat that did this. This was a Republican male. As a Republican male who did this. So kudos. And I wanted to say something else, too, and talking to my friend. So we're. My friends and I are on the very end. We literally were in the very last year of Gen X. We're like a year out of the 80s. We're the very last year of Gen X, but we're Gen X. We grew up half with email and half without. It's weird. But you know what was really big for our generation is sports. And all of my girlfriends were in sports. All of these moms today raising these girls, they were in sports. We all, I mean, my gosh, I was at the school, on the field, or in the gym, somewhere, every single day. All throughout summer, because I did select. All throughout summer, every single day. We're moms who love sports. We loved to play. And, I mean, look at that optic that Juan's showing you on the simulcast. Look at the little girl that's in the corner. She's like, oh my gosh. That's such a great moment. That is such, look at the little girl. She's there looking right at his signature. They're all so excited. They're so happy. And they have, there's like this air of expectation. I just, this is like a Renaissance painting. It really is. This is, I think, my favorite photo that he's done. I like this photo more even than the McDonald's one. This one. Look at it. It is a Renaissance painting. It's so great. But we all played sports. All of us. We're all moms. We all played sports. And we loved it because it means something to you. I mean, when I was growing up, I had a single parent household for a significant period. And when I was growing up, sports, I didn't want to go home because I was the only person that was home until like 7 or 8 o'clock. No offense, but my mom worked. And I was a latchkey kid. And when you had sports after school and you got involved in all of that, you had a sense of belonging, a sense of camaraderie. You had a place you had to be. You had expectations on you that you had to meet. And it was a great lesson in so many ways. And so many women my age grew up with that. And... We grew and we got a little bit tribal about our sports and our athleticism because of that. And then we're raising the next generation and we're watching that be threatened for them because of this ideology. And I it's you know, I we had family members. I had a family member and this was in Hillsborough, Missouri. You know where that is, Kane? That's like in Jeffco, man. Beautiful area. But we had a cousin who was in school, and there was an 18-year-old male who was 6'2", who wanted to be able to use the women's locker room. And our cousin was an athlete, a female athlete. It was a big ordeal because the girls that were told, these girls, like look how young these girls are. You're talking about forcing these age girls to compete with men, change in the locker room with them. Think about it. If you're a freshman girl in high school, how old's like what? You're 14, 15 years old freshman. You're in a locker room changing with an 18 year old legal male, adult male. Adult male, the legal adult. Six foot two and you have to change in front of them. It's already weird when you're a woman as you're growing up and you're entering high school and you're in sports and you have to do all, it's already weird. To be forced to do that, there were a lot of girls who quit the team. There were protests at the school, all of this stuff. The girls were made to be, they were treated like second class citizens. This is the most feminist thing that's been done in the past 50 years. And it wasn't done by the left. They have always been on the wrong side of history for literally everything. The left fought against having women vote. Go back and look at suffrage. It wasn't a single damn Democrat amongst them that were promoting the idea of allowing women to vote. Republicans were the ones who were protesting and in the streets and pushing to get women the right to vote. It wasn't Democrats, just like on the trail of genocide, going and forcing off American Indians off their land and sending them out West. That was Democrats that did that, not Republicans. Democrats have been on the wrong side of history for all of this. And what's more, it's not just women that are rejecting this. I mentioned this yesterday with memes. The LGB communities are rejecting the T. I don't know if you saw some of this yesterday, some of the attacks on POTUS for signing this. People were saying, oh, this is an affront to the LG. It was like a trans group that was saying it was an affront to the LGBT community. And I'm thinking, wait a minute, when did the T's get to speak for the LG and the B's? When do the T's get to speak for them? Like the LG's and the B's are just like, we're doing our own thing over here. And then the T's come in and they're like, no, we're offended for all of us. And the other letters are looking at them like the hell, like everything was started to be like, you know, everything was cool. What are you doing? And the T's come in, elbow their way in and take over the grievance industry. That the left is apoplectic because this wasn't their optic. Think about it. They had all of the opportunities to show that Kamala Harris was a living human. And with the McDonald's thing, they didn't do it. So Trump went to McDonald's. The left had all this time to show that they were some big feminist. They didn't do it. Now you have this. Just saying. It's pretty amazing. And so I... I like this optic. It's one of my favorites. It's one of my favorites. We have a number of things to get to today, including day two of rage. And it's day two of rage because more and more is coming out about how much money from USAID, how much was going to all of these other... I mean, guys, it keeps getting worse. I don't know if you know this. It's... It is... It keeps getting worse. So what was discovered yesterday is that, do you know the Everytown Group? The Everytown Gun Control Group, that was a group that was founded by Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire. So billionaire Michael Bloomberg founded Everytown for gun control. He founded it about the same time that he created Moms Demand and then hired Monsanto's PR person. And this is wild. We paid millions to gun control groups like every town. That's where our tax dollars went. It went to every town. Oh, and that's not all. We studied how flavored cigarettes, Cain, affected the health of obese lesbians.
SPEAKER 16 :
And we paid for them to...
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm going to need to take a deep breath here. Yeah, we got to get moving because we got a lot to hit, including all of the latest with that as we roll towards headlines. Our partners at All Family Pharmacy. So All Family Pharmacy, you just need to bookmark this website. I've never been to a website where they make it easier to get the medicines that you need. And look for like, I get it. If you want to go to a doctor and you want to have, they have doctors that are on their staff that you can actually talk to. So, for instance, when I over Thanksgiving, I was getting super sick. I had sinusitis and it was turning into strep and I had people coming. I was hosting for Thanksgiving. I don't have time for this. So I went on all family pharmacies website, all family pharma. And I use my own code name. I'm not going to even lie about it. I dropped my own name and I got it discounted for 10% off. It's all familypharma.com slash Dana. And I was able to get my azithromycin because if I were to go to my doctor, that's the exact same thing they're going to prescribe me. This ain't my first rodeo. And then I had it overnighted. Got here at 9 a.m. 9 a.m. I ordered this stuff at like 7 o'clock last night. So it was amazing how quickly that they got it there. Anything that you need. This is a must have when you're traveling. They have everything. Ivermectin, which I take ahead of big events for the antiviral properties. But they have all kinds of reliable options for a variety of health needs. Be prepared. Skip the hassle. And here's the kicker. Big thing. Big, big, big. Their stuff is made in the USA, not China. So you hear about a lot of antibiotics being made in CCP China. Not these. It's all USA. So you do not have to worry about outsourced products. You're getting good quality, safe material. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using promo code Dana10. Don't wait. Make sure that you're always prepared. Protect yourself and your family. Allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Code Dana10 to save 10%.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, Kane, this headline's for you today. Avian influenza detected in Nevada dairy cattle. Yeah, the bird flu's in the cow milk. What? Scientists have detected a highly pathogenic blah, blah, blah. It's... I really feel like they're fear-mongering. And I'm hesitant to even share these headlines with you guys because I feel like I'm adding to it, right? So they said that USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service... Oh my gosh, could you have a longer name? There's like five other words there. identified the first case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza whatever genotype in dairy cattle through genome sequencing. Blah, blah, blah. Contaminated clothing. Blah, blah, blah. You know what? I mean... Yeah, it's a mystery. Where's Fauci? Has anybody seen him? Egg prices hit $9 for a dozen in California amid the bird flu outbreak. Milk mayhem shut down parts of I-95 in South Florida. A truck spilled more than 4,000 gallons. Everybody get y'all's Oreos. Get to the I-95. And Mitch McConnell is now using a wheelchair. He fell down the stairs at the Capitol yesterday. He's okay, no broken bones, but he's got to have a wheelchair right now. Stick with us. We got more in store. The folks who help make it possible are friends over at Tax Network USA. They help you with the government theft service. I mean, the IRS, right? Yeah, that's what they're called. Tax Network USA understands that with the hiring of all of these thousands of IRS workers, they're sending millions of pay-up notices for 25, right? So if you are stressed about the IRS or you're worried about collection tactics... You don't have to face them alone. So they're in full collections mode. Contact Tax Network USA to get personalized support. You can reduce or eliminate your debt. And they have strategic advice to set you up, making sure that you have the best possible solution for your situation. And they've saved their clients over a billion dollars. So schedule a complimentary consultation today. Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit TNUSA.com slash Dana. That's 1-800-958-1000. TNUSA.com slash Dana. Take control of your financial future today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Keep your finger on the pulse with the Dana Show podcast, delivering timely news with insightful analysis. Whenever you want, straight to you on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 04 :
stealing hundreds of millions of dollars to promote woke. Did you see what happened yesterday where they found hundreds of millions of dollars of money was fraudulently given to newspapers and, I guess, Politico? I don't know. I hope you're enjoying your breakfast. No, they gave money to all this out of U.S., aid right usaid it came out hundreds of just tremendous amounts of money had nothing to do with anything this is a terrible thing that was experienced but we're catching them left and right we're catching them we're catching them to a point where they don't know what the heck is going on they can't believe they're getting caught and i have great respect for the people that are doing it elon musk is helping us on it And he's pretty good. He's pretty good. He's pretty good at it. But the numbers are astounding. They're astounding.
SPEAKER 01 :
And there's even more of it. I like what Trump was saying there about the USAID scandal. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash here with you at the bottom of this first hour. And it's, I mean, it gets worse, guys. It gets worse. Now, just to remind you how insane this is. Excuse me. You had $270 million that went through USAID that funded over 6,200 journalists across 707 media outlets. And I know some people don't like WikiLeaks. I don't like compromising military ops and our soldiers. However, if the government wasn't so damn big and if they were a little bit more transparent, you would need entities to blow the whistle on stuff. Just FYI. They spent, USAID, 6,000, over 6,200 journalists, by the way. And it was across 707 media outlets. Two hundred and seventy nine. Now, this is I don't quite understand this. I was asking a friend of mine. They're described as media NGOs. What the hell is a meat? What is a non-government entity, a contracted non-government entity, a media non-government operation? What is that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Isn't that all media?
SPEAKER 01 :
You would think. I don't know. Like, that's why I'm confused. But that's how it's listed here. I don't I don't know what that means. Oh, and we funded nine out of the 10 media outlets in Ukraine. So all of that was happening. So again, USAID was funding over 6,200 journalists across 707 media outlets, 279, again, I don't know what that is, media NGOs, nine out of 10 media outlets in Ukraine. reporters without borders. Do you remember one of those? They were Gazan journalists and reporters without borders, Gazan journalists. And they, some of them were accused of kind of going along with Hamas on October 7th. So there's just that example. You also had, let me pull this up, forgive. There's a lot I got to pull up and read. Because this is all, I mean, this is all recent. And it's all out of numbers. Then you had Everytown for Gun Control. They received millions of dollars. Everytown for Gun Control. They received millions of dollars in taxpayer money. Now, keep in mind that They were one of the things that the gun control activists always criticized was they were livid and they said that the CDC was blocked from studying gun violence. Right. Remember that something that gun controllers have always said, even though that's not actually true. The law, which was passed, you know, a number of years ago, never said they couldn't study gun violence. What the law specifically stated. And we've read it on air a million times. I'm not doing it anymore. But the law specifically stated that government funds could not be used to advocate for or against gun ownership. That's what they specifically said. And the left was livid because they weren't given a blank check through government and they weren't allowed to use the CDC and weaponize it to justify gun control. So they lied to everyone and said that they were blocked from studying gun violence when that's literally not the letter of the law at all. They were so upset over this. But look at them taking millions of dollars here, their gun control groups, to actually advocate for confiscation, bans, the whole nine yards. Tons of them. And there's a lot of data. There's datarepublican.com where you can literally go through everything. Not kidding. Like there's a whole website now that is dedicated to combing through everything. And they have graphs too. It's very interesting. If the RNC doesn't hire them, if Doge does not put these people to work, I don't know what. and they have everything color-coded, so it's high taxpayer funds alert if they're getting a lot. I mean, it's pretty amazing. But yeah, they had Everytown for Gun Safety. You also had the National Endowment for Democracy. They got tons and tons and tons and tons of taxpayer dollars. All kinds of stuff. This is exactly... This is where our money was going. All of this. But do you remember... During the discussion of relief after Hurricane Helene, do you remember when North Carolina was trying to deal with mudslides and they were trying to pick through the mud and the debris to see if there were any belongings that they had that could be saved? Or when loved ones went missing in floodwaters? when they were trying to find their neighbors under collapsed houses. And remember, they were told FEMA had no more money to get through the rest of the fiscal year. I mean, it just happens. They should really remember it well. There was a piece, a couple of pieces, including Red State, where they were reminding everybody, actually going back and recounting how you were the... The United States was able to settle how many illegal aliens coming in and all hotels like we were paying for. We're paying to shelter illegal aliens in hotels. We're paying for this. We're for illegal aliens. We're paying for that. But when it came to hurricane relief, when it came to helping people have, I don't know, gas for generators, making sure because, you know, cold winters, making sure that people were being rescued in the Carolinas, they had FEMA had no more money for that. But they had all kinds of money. And USAID for everything else.
SPEAKER 1 :
Huh.
SPEAKER 01 :
I mean, a lot of money. Lot of money. That's how much money. So much money. They've spent over a billion dollars just this year alone. Although now everything's getting frozen. Biden spent a billion dollars on assistance for illegal immigrants in the last two years. It is called, and this is via Oilfield Rando, the Shelter and Services Program, $941 million in 2023 and 2024. Actually, it's tipped up just a little bit over $1 billion. A billion, over a billion for illegal immigrants. But if you were an American citizen and you were caught in a mudslide due to a hurricane, blank you. Hmm. All the receipts are here. All the receipts are here. Now, I have a question because, you know, we're spending, sending money to Ukraine, sending money to everywhere else, not helping people of natural disasters. And we're helping illegal aliens. And then we're also spending money to gun control groups. We're giving millions. Let me do a quick clarification on the Politico thing because there were some people. who I think had good hearts, but they didn't quite understand the breakdown of the money with Politico. And as a result, they were misinforming some people. Politico got over $8 million from USAID in one year. That was not spread out over nine years. It was $8.3 million in one year. One. The cost of their Politico Pro subscription was over $12,000. Wow. That would be like me charging you $12,000 for a Substack subscription. In addition to the eight plus whatever million that they got solely from USAID in one year. There were additional streams of revenue that totaled over $34 million that came in from a number of other government agencies, all taxpayer dollars still. But just that came through different agencies from USAID. So that's why there's a little confusion to that. It's not that they got only $8 million over a 10-year period. And there were enough of you in my comments that were talking about this. And again, some people that I think whose hearts were in the right place, but that was incorrect with the information they were sharing. It was $8.3 million over a nine-year, not over a nine-year period, over a one-year period. The nine-year period, that is the 34, it was 34... 0.7 or something like that million that came in from too many federal agencies for me to list at this point, but a ton of other different. So altogether, it was over like 40 million what they ended up getting in taxpayer dollars. So I just wanted to clarify that because there was a lot of... And the question of the price of subscription, there were some people who were doing the math on it. Even if you were going... to the $8 million and just keeping it to that, you're still looking at over $12,000. It's like $12,888 per subscription. Do you realize that you can get a subscription to LexisNexis for like $300? Do you guys know what that is? So LexisNexis is like, reporters use LexisNexis. I've used it in college. It's been around for a really long time. And it's all one word, LexisNexis. And it's a company they they have information and they have like data on everything court like legal stuff, court judgments, news articles like you can go into LexisNexis and find video or legal docs or something on any on anybody or anything. It's like a professional clearinghouse. It's like a professional repository of data analytics. Does that make sense? So, and you can get, it's more useful than subscriptions, honestly. And it's maybe a little over $300 a year. Everybody in a newsroom has a LexisNexis subscription. People who work for government agencies, like who are congressional staffers, et cetera, they have a LexisNexis subscription. And you can access anything for the entire time that anything's been archived online. That's the difference in what you're getting. The $12,888 for a subscription to Politico Pro. Have you seen the stuff that they send out? Like my subscriptions are under $7. Right? For like a month. It's crazy. These are political pro. Their quote-unquote pro subscriptions were just regurgitated news articles and a couple of links. And they wanted to charge people over $12,000 a year for that. And the excuse was, well, it's government agencies. And of course government agencies are going to subscribe to this because they're going to want to know what's going on. No, no, no. The political pro thing was a subsidy of Democrats in government to better place stories for them. That's what it was about. And they were... laundering money and grifting money off of it all at the same time, our money, our taxpayer dollars. So that's the breakdown of that. I wanted to correct some of the misinformation. But there's a lot more out there because this has been the piggy bank that the progressive elite have used to go after all of us for years and to watch this finally be torn down and They've been unaccountable for decades, which, before we go to break, here's my question I want you to think about. If USAID has been doing this since the 60s, since its inception, and they've been unaccountable for decades, like we spent $9 million teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary gendered language, by the way. Let me ask you this. Where in the ever-loving hell was House Oversight? Why did Mike Johnson go ahead and co-sign and allow Biden's budgets that funded all of this to go through, even when Republicans control the House? It's a question I want you to think about as we go to break. We have a lot still to come. 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SPEAKER 03 :
Not able to catch the full Dana Show? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth Podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short, easy-to-digest episodes. Ideal for your busy lifestyle on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 14 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 02 :
So look, the U.S. Border Patrol, we know how to get the job done. We know how to secure the border. All we needed was a president that was going to empower us, a strong leader like President Trump, and then a secretary like Secretary Noem that knows exactly what we need to do to secure the border. We're seeing almost a 90% decrease in illegal entries since January the 21st. Not only that, but our criminal prosecutions of those we're apprehending is up almost 52%.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hmm. Can you just I'm I'm not going to we're going to be touching off and on on this USAID thing for the rest of forever. Can you just imagine if we have relocated some of that money to the border? Think about it. How many times have you heard that Border Patrol didn't have the money? How many times did you I've been at the border? I can tell you. I've been down there when I literally watched a Border Patrol agent come back from Walmart with a bag of diapers because there were people bringing little bitty kids across and they had nothing. Or it would be coyotes dragging random babies. I'm not even kidding. Random babies like two and three-year-olds. You guys have seen these stories before. We were sitting in Border Patrol offices and literally one guy came in having just gone to Walmart, used his own money. Because there was no money. They had no more money to add more boots on the ground. They couldn't even add more vehicles. They needed to add more vehicles. I mean, this stuff, it's mind-blowing. Oh, my gosh. But you guys, wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. This is what you had money for. We paid. Oh, man. I'm going to have to get into this next hour. Wait until you hear some of what we did pay for. Oh, yeah, that's all coming up. Yes, go ahead, get you a coffee, get you a soda, get you some tea, and then you come up and pull up a chair. Okay, it's story time. Next. Super Beats. Super Barine is their new product. And if you enjoyed the Super Beats Chews, you're also going to like the Super Barine product as well. And this is from the makers of the HeartChews, from the human company. And the SuperBrain, you can find it at Sam's Club now, right next to the HeartChews. It's a way of supporting your metabolism and healthy blood sugar levels as well. This plant-based supplement, it's formulated with an ingredient that helps to support your metabolism. Real results, super convenient, clinically researched ingredients. And it's used by doctors from the makers of Super Beats Heart Chews. So head to your nearest Sam's Club, save on these Super Beats Heart Chews and the new Super Bering from Human. You'll love the way it makes you feel.
SPEAKER 06 :
We have convened here in the right place the Treasury Department. We have got to tell Elon Musk nobody elected your ass. Nobody told you you could get all of our private information. Nobody told you you could be in charge of the payments of this country. We have told you you've made enough money off our government yourself.
SPEAKER 01 :
Whenever Maxine Waters talks, it sounds exactly like what you think it would sound like if someone reanimated a corpse and then pushed air through its chest to verbalize barely literate thoughts. It sounds like it, right? It's like Frankenstein. Remember that? That was a good one. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. That was their little thing that they had the other day where you had again, who's that lawmaker who thinks it's Easter and he's wearing his Easter suit. He stuffed his fat ass in that little pastel suit. I mean, it's like bursting. You can barely button the one button. Welcome back. You're living Daria. Dana Lash here with you. Which, by the way, as soon as it gets warm, my brother from another mother, Sergio, sent me a Daria shirt. I need to send him a giant bunch of, like, scotch as a thank you. I'm going to wear it as soon as it's warm enough because it's under 80 degrees, so it's freezing in Texas today as far as I'm concerned. Freezing today. I'm literally in a sweater. It's 76 degrees outside. Nobody's got time for that. So welcome. Welcome to the program. You can find some stuff, good stuff, over at Substack, Chapter and Verse. Of course, YouTube, Facebook, the chats at Rumble. If Rumble's working today, I don't know. I guess I've got to get shares to get a... I mean today. I mean, I recovered from the flu, although I've been saying that now for a few days. I still am. But I'm mostly just mad over all of this. With these lawmakers that are livid, they're like, no one elected Elon Musk. Well, guess what? No one elected 88,000 IRS agents either. Hey, guess what? No one elected these bureaucrats in USAID to go and spend millions upon millions upon millions upon millions of our taxpayer dollars on all this nonsense. No one elected any of that. No one elected any of the stuff that's outside of Article 1, Section 8. They get out there and bray like jackasses. I'm sorry for the Portuguese, but I am not Dora the Explorer. I'm not entertaining y'all's kids. Can I also play this? So this is Chris Coons, who decided to have a might-all moment. Listen to this nonsense. Audio Summit 16.
SPEAKER 05 :
USAID saves lives, makes peace, protects our planet, stabilizes our world, does great work. Let's cheer for the million women of USAID. If Doge wins and our foreign aid is completely shut down, If Elon Musk wins and our foreign assistance completely ends, who will cheer and who will win? The cartels will win, terrorists will win, Russia will win, China will win. The chiefs will win. This effort is not efficient, it is not sane, it is not respectful, and it does not make America safe.
SPEAKER 01 :
Gosh, can you imagine? I mean, if we do not pay $6.3 million to study men having sex with other men in South Africa, the cartels are going to win, Cain.
SPEAKER 16 :
What does he have against accountability?
SPEAKER 01 :
If you're not paying $11 million to study the health effects of flavored cigarettes on fat lesbians, then you know what? The terrorists are going to win. Those terrorists are out there going, oh, man. We were going to be successful to go after the devil America. But then they defunded studying fat lesbians and flavored cigarettes, those damn Westerners. And they cry into their goats. I mean, if only. If only. We were studying, of all the places, gayness in Uganda. We paid guys, guys and girls, we paid over $5.5 million to study gay sex in Uganda. Okay, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I know a little something about something, okay? Can I just say that the same gendered romantical issues have been around since the ancient Greeks, It's been around for a long time. Why does it need to be studied in 2024? In 23? Why does it need to be studied in today's era? Why? I mean, would you like more? There's a lot of LGBT stuff. A lot of T stuff in here. We... Oh, we paid. Let's see. Oh, boy. I mean, when I say there's a lot of the so we apparently promoted gay advocacy in Jamaica. There's two million. We spent over two million to promote alphabet equality through entrepreneurship in Latin America. Yeah, I'm pretty sure the reason someone can't make a business work is because they choose to have sex with somebody who has the same parts. I'm real sure that's it. Wow, I was going to be able to create a business here in Latin America, but then I couldn't because I'm a dude that likes having sex with other dudes. It's totally stopped me from making that happen. I can't do the business stuff. I don't know how to deal with business in numbers because of the gay sex. I can't do it. Is that what it is? Do you see how stupid this is? It's that dumb. There's more, though. Yeah, there's a lot more. We paid, what? Oh, they had a climate strategy. That was a nice $150 billion. A whole agency approach to building an equitable world with net zero greenhouse gas emissions. You know how you get net zero? Everybody's dead. Kill all the people. This is like some Skynet stuff. Ooh, you know what? Sidebar. What if climate change, what if AI has already been weaponized and we don't even know it? What if it's already here and it's working against us and we don't even know it? Think about this for a minute. Sidebar again. Pause the professional lady radio show for a second. What if Cain is all about this right now.
SPEAKER 16 :
I'm liking all this right now.
SPEAKER 01 :
What if, just saying, all of the warnings about AI are way late. AI is already here. It's already malevolent. It's already weaponized against us. And it is entertained by the fact that we don't know it. And it wants us to think that it hasn't reached that point yet. Because think about the climate change stuff and the net zero. The only way to make that happen is to kill all of us. You know that, right? The only way to have net zero is to kill all life on Earth. That's, huh. I mean, if I were a robot that hated humans, what way would I possibly be able to promote euthanization amongst their species and have these dumbasses buy into it? Oh, this. Climate change. I'm just going to go on a limb and theorize that climate change is an AI strategy to eliminate humans. And there you have it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Welcome.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, my.
SPEAKER 16 :
That's all I'm saying. Welcome.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm not totally serious, but I'm halfway there.
SPEAKER 16 :
You're not totally serious?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, I'm kind of there.
SPEAKER 15 :
I still welcome you.
SPEAKER 01 :
I mean, this just makes sense. I mean, think about it. You have people like AOC. Remember when she came out with her climate thing and literally had cow farts in it? I mean, I'm not kidding. It was like she mentioned cow flatulence. Flatulence. And that, I mean, she's the type of person who would totally be duped by a robot. There is no weaponized AI here. She would believe. She'd believe it totally. She would totally believe it. So, I mean, I have so much more here. This is all, oh my gosh. We also pay, let's see. We paid for gay causes in the Western Balkans. That was $4 million. Okay. Why? I have no idea. We paid $2 million to rebuild the Cuban media ecosystem. We, there's a, oh man, there's a lot of alphabet stuff. Armenia alphabet stuff, Arab alphabet stuff. Oh, oh, oh. We paid, someone make this make sense. Two and a half million for quote, artisanal small scale gold mining in the Amazon. Okay, so one of the things I'm going to do right now is I know Todd Hoffman. Gold Rush. And I'm going to ask him, WTF is this? Artisanal. I want to know because he's an expert on this. Artisanal.
SPEAKER 15 :
Live radio.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm literally texting this right now. Huh?
SPEAKER 15 :
Live radio, everybody.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, well, I mean, this is so stupid. What is artisanal? What is that? Artisanal gold mining.
SPEAKER 16 :
I know what artisanal bread is.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, artisanal bread is, they say rustic because it looks stupid. It looks rough and dumb. And they call it rustic. By the way, that's what they call things. If you're like a crappy artist, they call it like rustic. Oh, this is rustic. No, it's just crap. That's what it is. Right? It's like the whole phrase shabby chic. That was just white drenched poverty. Like the color white, not like white skin. I just, so I'm like, WTF is this? Two and a half million for artisanal small scale gold mining. What is artisanal gold mining? So we're going to find out. What is, yeah. So I'll let you know when I get an answer on that. Because if anybody would know, it would be Todd Hoffman from Gold Rush. Right? Out of all the things I've ever, I mean, how weird is it that you have a very specific question and then you're like, oh wait, I know a very specific person that was literally made to answer that question. So it's going to be hysterical, his answer. Probably won't be able to read it as is on air, but I'll let you know. So this is just this, why did we need to do that? I mean, I'm sorry, Mr. Government, a hurricane came through and a mudslide destroyed my house and killed everyone in my community. That's great. Here's $700. Meanwhile, we have to go pay $2.5 million for artisanal gold mining in the Amazon. You know what artisanal suggests? Hippie, patchouli, dumb, small scale. That's what it means. Like to such a small niche that the process of extraction is not even covered by the sale of the product. That's what artisanal is. Would you like some artisanal bread? Bread that someone with dirty hands made in their own kitchen and then brought to the store and said it was artisanal. It's artisanal. I could do this all day long. So, yes, it's supposed to be made in a traditional non-mechanized way. Okay, if they're doing not, is that what it means, non-mechanized gold mining? So what are you just sending, like in Congo, are you just sending kids to claw the dirt with their hands? Does it make it special-er because you didn't use machines to go dig your nuggets? Jesus, that's so stupid. I can't even deal with these people. This is our government. It's our government. So, yeah, I mean, you know, those are the people in Hawaii that had everything burned down. Boy, but they're feeling sorry, guys. You got to live amongst the ashes and ruin. Even though you paid in in a high tax state, all these taxes and got nothing in terms of emergency services on the investment of your tax dollars. We got to go study fat lesbians and flavored cigarettes. I mean, come on. It's going to change the world. Sure. We have more on the, I hate everything. We have more on the way. Why are we paying taxes? Like what happens if we just all not pay taxes? Is the IRS going to show up with guns to my door because I said it? My husband's like, don't talk because we get targeted every year since Biden's been in office. I'm not even exaggerating. My husband's like, don't talk about any of those because they'll just target us harder. Target is harder, daddy. I feel like I want to talk about it more. You know, I'll help make it easier. What I'll do is I'll get a giant banner that has a middle finger on it. And I'll place it on the roof of my house. And when the IRS is spying on us with their IRS satellites, they'll see it. Then come get me faster. All right. We got a lot more on the way. I know I got to get moving or you guys are going to scream as we move. Achieving vibrant, youthful skin doesn't have to be complicated. With the power of Native Path Collagen, you can nourish your body from within and enhance not just your skin, but also your hair, your nails, and help your gut health. By incorporating Native Path Collagen into your daily routine, you can promote a plump, radiant complexion, reduce signs of aging, and boost your overall vitality, all without any unnecessary fillers or additives. Native Path Collagen has only type 1 and 3 collagen. The most important types include Making up 90% of your body's collagen. No artificial sweeteners, just pure third-party tested goodness. It's completely flavorless, so you can just add it to about anything, your coffee, your smoothies, oatmeal, or whatever you want. And the best part is that Native Path's peptides formula makes it more bioavailable, so it means your body will absorb it easily. Start your journey to healthier skin today. Get NativePath.com slash Dana and stock up on Native Path collagen and save up to an incredible 45% off plus free shipping. Every order includes a 365-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free. Don't miss out. Head to GetNativePath.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 16 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 01 :
You guys want to hear a stupid headline? Yes, Dana, we always want to hear dumb headlines. Okay, so this headline over at MarketWatch was written by a guy who probably can't math. And he says, corporate profits are near all-time highs while wages are near lows. How long can it last? You are describing inflation. You walking mental abortion. The happiest time of day, according to science. You know who wrote this? Hitler. The happiest time of day, according to science, they say it's the morning. I am not a morning person. I don't like to be touched, looked at, talked to in the morning. Just leave me alone. I sit in a corner somewhere dark and I hiss. Until the caffeine takes effect fully. People think you're joking. Yeah, I'm not actually. I'm dead serious. I just sit like Gollum in a corner. Chris just, you know, he comes in. We have this coffee machine that I can't work because there's like, it looks like a Willy Wonka product. There's like tubes and a horn and I don't know what the hell else on this thing. I don't... And he has to make the coffee, and then he just slides it. He pushes it with a stick across the floor to my corner where I'm at. And I take it. Anyway, they say the mornings are the happiest times of day, according to Hitler. Scientists. Let's see. A kid's toy leaves people screaming inappropriate. I'll be the judge of that. So... They say that it's a dog character that's hiding a bone in a pouch in its stomach. If you think that there's a hint of phallus in there, yeah, you'd be correct. All right, we got to move. A lot more on the way. Stick 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 3-week quick start for only $19.95, less than $1 a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF. Or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
On the go and need a quick news fix with a fun twist? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth Podcast for bite-sized informative episodes perfect for your busy schedule on Apple or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
I have a collection of amusing stories for you that you all are going to enjoy. So the first one... Why are you laughing already? I haven't even said anything. I don't know. Kane and I have been the Regina Georges of the internet over here on break. Kane is like a really good catty girlfriend. So you're like laughing like, I don't know if that's a compliment.
SPEAKER 15 :
I try.
SPEAKER 01 :
So have you guys heard of Michigan State Representative Laurie Pohutsky? Have you heard of Ms. Pohutsky?
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure haven't.
SPEAKER 01 :
Poe Hutzky. You haven't heard of her? Not once. Okay, so she's 37 years old. And she's opted to be voluntarily sterilized because she was uncertain that if she slept with someone in the future and got knocked up, that she wouldn't be able to abort her baby. So she's sterilizing herself because she doesn't know if she's going to be able to kill her baby in the future. I mean, I've seen her, Ms. Pohutsky, and I will just echo the sentiments of another commenter, listener, saying that the first time that she would ever be with, I mean, she was ever with somebody, it'd probably have been her first time. 37-year-old Democrat, Laurie Pohutsky, she says that it's President Trump's fault that She said, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would, literally when she released the statement, said I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump's America. I refuse to let my body be treated as a currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate. Okay, can I just stop her right there? No one has any value in your ability to procreate. We don't put any value on that. I mean, have you seen you? I'm not being, you know, I am actually. I just sometimes it just needs to be stated very simply. And if it sounds harsh, that's not my problem. I don't think anyone's worried about your old ass eggs. Nobody cares. You're 37 years old. You would be considered like a geriatric pregnancy, which is weird, but it's true. And I don't think that anybody cares. The world is not going to lose a. Not going to lose a Leonardo da Vinci. I don't think we're getting that from you. Just we're not getting that quality. So I don't think we were worried. I don't think we care. I just feel like she did us a favor by, you know, voluntarily engaging a natural selection. I am OK if all of these types of women want to go ahead and sterilize themselves. I love the idea that. The expectation is. of responsibility is considered you being treated as a currency. This is mall rat logic. What in the world is this? So she thinks that she refuses to let her body be treated as a currency. Sorry, but if you're out there sleeping with everything that has a pulse, you're treating yourself as a currency, number one. Number two, it's crazy that we have people in these United States that still don't know how babies are made. You know, it's not like there's a magical stork that pops a baby in your belly. Sorry if anybody's kids are listening. Again, I am not. Big Bird, do not treat me as a babysitting element because your kids will pick up some really bad habits fast. So, like independent thinking. So, we know where babies come from, right? We all know this. We all know where babies come from. Apparently, what's her face again? Pohutsky. Laurie Pohutsky does not know where babies come from. She just thinks, I guess, that Republicans are trying to make her get pregnant because they are telling her. Yeah, after you get knocked up and you can't wait around until you're like seven months pregnant and then, you know, dissolve your baby in utero with acid. It's really not how we're doing things anymore. You know, it's the new 2025, for crying out loud. I mean, we don't throw virgins in volcanoes and cure people with bleeding either. So, you know, pretty sure we don't have to go be dissolving no babies in utero. Sorry, it's 2025. So she says that she never wants to navigate a pregnancy in Trump's America. So she sterilized herself. I think that's a great decision for her. I love that for her. Don't you love that for her, Cain? That's so great that she did that.
SPEAKER 16 :
I want to send her a thank you card.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, thank you. Thank you for not treating our gene pool like the punch bowl in which you, the turd, wanted to jump into. We're so thankful for that.
SPEAKER 16 :
It's great. And thank you for being responsible enough to know that you cannot control yourself on a physical level so that you have to actually end up doing this to yourself because you can't control yourself.
SPEAKER 01 :
I am totally fine with sterilizing. If you want to sterilize yourself because you think you might kill a baby later, then go ahead. It's all right. We're for that. Go ahead. Yeah, good for her. I mean, I guess she thought this was a flex. We actually, we like it. Turns out we like that stuff. Sorry. All right, so, oh, but wait, I have more. What's the other one that I had? We got Poe Hudson. Oh, my gosh. All right, this chick. Oh, jeez. So, normally we're very nice people, but today we have an assortment of stories that really demand the sort of Daria-esque... Frankness that you all love me for. Right. So have you heard of Democrat influencer Olivia Juliana? No, you haven't because you have a life. She says even though she was posting about being on Ozempic on TikTok, she claims that she lost 50 pounds because she can't afford to eat. Since Trump won the election, Juan's getting ready to show you Ms. Olivia Juliana. She says she can't afford to eat in Trump's election, considering the amount of calories it must take to sustain her a day. Most people probably could not afford to eat. And since anybody wins any election, if you were her. Say something nice. Her eyebrows aren't bad. And Kane appreciated the way that she held the microphone.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
Probably because she didn't want to gnaw her own fingers off, you said. But she's holding the mic properly, so we'll give her that. I really don't think I'm going to allow someone who looks like they swallowed a tire to lecture the rest of us about the economy in Trump's America. We're going to be seeing, and I'm just waiting. I mean, inflation already, the markets responded wonderfully to the different, the change in the regime, so to speak. And if you can't afford to eat in this economy with every, I mean, first off, you clearly aren't making healthy decisions as it is right now. If you can't, she can't afford to eat, but she can afford a manicure. She can afford them acrylic nails that she's wearing. She can't afford to eat, but she's got all the latest clothes on. She can't afford to eat, but she's probably got about $60 worth of Sephora on her face. But she can't afford to eat?
SPEAKER 16 :
I'm struggling to know of an economy where she could afford it. Whose economy? Tell me whose economy she'd be able to afford that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. So and she's a big abortion activist, too, and all this. But she the other thing is, too, they busted her on TikTok because she was showing off the fact that she was on Ozempic. Isn't that stuff expensive? Like, I mean, don't you have to be prescribed it for like diabetes in order for it to be covered by your insurance? So unless she has that, then what? I mean, she literally was on TikTok showing off the fact that she was on Ozempic, and then she said it was fake news, which it wasn't. She lost weight because she was injecting herself with Ozempic.
SPEAKER 16 :
Ozempic has a list price of around $1,000 per month.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, my gosh. So you really do have to be, like, prescribed it by your doctor.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, depending on what your insurance covers or doesn't cover, that can be the out-of-pocket cost.
SPEAKER 01 :
Jeez. Yeah, so it sounds like she can afford to eat in Trump's America. I mean, if you can afford that, you can. It's just so stupid. Now, here's the third dumb thing. You're going to like this. Have you guys heard about the attack on Lego? Lego's homophobic now. Did you guys know that? Because of the bricks, the way the bricks are made. Yeah.
SPEAKER 16 :
I think no matter what sex you are, you step on those things, it hurts.
SPEAKER 01 :
So London Science Museum says that Lego bricks are anti-LGBT. First off, I feel like that again, once again, the L's and the G's and the B's are like, why are we in this? Why are you like throwing us in here? It's always the T's that claim all the other letters and then act offended for everybody else. So it is a self-guided tour. at the United Kingdom Science Museum, and they're accusing Lego of reinforcing heteronormativity. What the hell is that? A made-up word by crazy people. They said that it's self-guided towards called seeing things queerly. Oh, great. And apparently you're supposed to see everything through the perspective of how you choose to have sex. And then they look at Lego, and they said Lego is anti-LGBT, Oh, here's the, now here's, Here it is. Quote, like other connectors and fasteners, Lego bricks are often described in a gendered way. The top of the brick with sticking out pins is male. The bottom of the brick with the holes to receive the pins is female. And the process of the two sides being put together is called mating. This is an example of applying heteronormative language to topics unrelated to gender, sex, and reproduction. Blah, blah, blah. We're crazy. So they're mad because the bricks have to fit a certain way. That's like when one of my kids was a toddler and they got mad at me because I wouldn't let them run out into the street. I was like, that's bad for you. And they got mad and I was the worst mom ever because I would not let my kid run out in the middle of the street and get flattened by a car. Oh my gosh. I was a horrible mom. I'm so mean. I'm sorry when you get run over by a vehicle and your gut's all over the road. So I'm horrible. I feel like this is like that stupid, right? Like the Lego people are supposed to go, wow, we're sorry that in the... Reality of this world in which we all exist that our bricks fit together a certain way Sorry that I How else are Legos supposed to work
SPEAKER 16 :
This opens the door to other industries, though. We're talking about if you have a power cord, like an extension cord, one end is a female, the other end's a male. It's the same with any audio cords, the XLR cords or the quarter-inch cords. There's a female and a male end. So this will not end with just Legos if this is what they're doing now. This is absurdity.
SPEAKER 01 :
If you could just read my thoughts right now.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, no.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm so glad we know Brennan Carr. So everything that goes in something else... is anti-LGBT. I feel like the LGBs are like, we don't care. And the T's are like, we're offended for everybody. Doesn't it seem that way? I got to tell you, I don't know a single gay person that gets upset by any of this stuff. But you know what does make them mad? The T's going out there and acting like, oh, well, this is an attack on the gays and trans. And the gays are like, it's not actually at all an attack on the gays. It's just you're a freak. Doesn't it seem like that? Like stopping freaks. So they're upset over the way the bricks work. And so the bricks are anti. I mean, they're complaining about how the tubes on the bottom interlock with the studs on the top of the bricks. They're upset with that. And they're upset that that Lego says that, quote, the studs get neatly wedged in between the tubes and the sides of the brick, making them stick together firmly. They're like, that's anti LGBT. Oh, my gosh. Do they just get paid to just sit around and be stupid all day? Is that where all the other USAID money is going for?
SPEAKER 16 :
Let me ask you this. If you looked at those bricks and one side is the bumpy side, they call the male side, and the other side is the receiving side, the female side. What if you put both female sides together? Would the bricks stay together?
SPEAKER 01 :
No, they don't. It's so weird. Would there be any integrity there? No. If they're so upset about it, why don't everything that fits together in a certain way, let's just upend it and then let's have the world work the way they want to. I mean, wouldn't they want to ride into a vehicle built according to their specifications? I am all for that. Let them walk across bridges built like that. Take elevators. I mean, think about it. There's no structural integrity. What does it matter? As long as you're not offending the T's, right? Everything is so stupid. I mean, if they're mad over the bricks, wait until they learn about male and female genitals. I'm just saying. It's just wild. All right, we got to get moving. As we do so, our partners, folks who... Folks who I don't even know how we're going to segue. There's no way to segue our partners. This is an interesting partner because when they first came up to me, I was like, let's talk a little bit. I because I'm always going to tell people I'm going to carry. I have no problem using lethal force to protect myself or my loved ones. I train. I know the drill. But I have friends like I have a very good friend who's very conservative. She works in the press corps in Washington, D.C. She got one of the very difficult to get licensed to carry there, but she can't carry anywhere. One of the things she can do though, and she went out and got this, is a Berna gun. It's a non-firearm firearm. Berna SD is the most popular model. It shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can deter threats from up to 50 feet away. I just think it's all, you got knives, you know, everybody gets blades, you get, you know, different kinds of calibers. It's always good to diversify your weapons, your self-defense array. And that's what Burna is there to offer. Like another option so that you are not left defenseless. They don't care about gun-free zone signs, no background checks, no waiting period, ships right to your door. This is the perfect time to take inventory of your self-defense options. Visit Burna.com slash Dana. That's B-Y-R-N-A dot com slash Dana and get 10% off your purchase.
SPEAKER 16 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 01 :
So I got a couple. This is the one I had yesterday, but we ran out of time. A woman at an event called Bark in the Park. It's Miami Marlins. It was a matchup against the Braves. This was last spring. Some of these stadiums do this. So they had a bark in the park. So it's a promotion where the fans can bring their dogs with them to watch a baseball game. And for one woman, her name is Luann Hahn. She... apparently slipped in dog pee and fell and is blaming the Marlins. She filed a suit for a lot of damages. She said she was walking around and she slipped on dog urine and fell. The existence of liquid on the floor created an unreasonable, dangerous and unsafe condition. Um, I think that's dumb. She says that she slipped in an area where dogs were prohibited. They're disputing this. I just think maybe if they bring dogs in and you're walking around, don't be a dumb bee and watch where you're walking. Okay? Also, it's a ballpark. It's a ballpark.
SPEAKER 16 :
There's going to be liquid on the floor at some point anywhere.
SPEAKER 01 :
These kind of lawsuits drive up costs for everybody. Like, tort reform is a real thing. This is stupid. I hope she loses. That's dumb. Yeah, I hope you do lose, Luanne. Let's see. She's making me feel like this lady. A woman is accused of throwing grease at customers in Port St. Lucie. Oh, boy. Two victims said the restaurant's manager... Irene, threw ranch dressing and hot grease at them. But the victims had burns on their skin. And they said the altercation began when the victims caused the scene and knocked over a container of straws. So Irene got in trouble. She got charged with aggravated battery, etc., I just think she was trying to Waffle House it. You know what I mean? Like she was trying to control it Waffle House style. There's an art to it, lady. There's an art to it. You got to watch. You got to go to school of Waffle House beatdowns first. A Florida man led officers on a horse chase through a busy intersection. This poor horse. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, this guy, Jordan Wilson, tried to make a run for it after he was witnessed handing off illegal drugs. There was one police service horse, Nash, that galloped into action. Okay, so they chased this guy. All right, so if the police are with the horse, the horse likes to run. It's always criminals that are on horses. I get nervous because it never ends well for the horse. They stayed on this guy for a quarter mile and the guy finally surrendered. He was booked, charged with resisting an officer without violence. Yeah, because he was like selling drugs. Like if you're passing off opioids and fentanyl and meth, you absolutely should be run down by a horse. Let's see this. I got a couple of other ones. Oh, a Florida woman was arrested for throwing condiments and then running over her ex-boyfriend with a Range Rover. I love how they got the Range Rover in the headline. It's not just a car. It's just a Range Rover. Yoshabel Edward, 19, was arrested after the incident unfolded at a apartment parking lot. She threw eggs at her boyfriend's car, doused the vehicle with condiments, and then tried to hit him with a Range Rover. Ouch. She was arrested. Victims was in the hospital because he got hit. He had fractures. Stick with us. Third hour on the way. Our partners over at ReadyWise. They're ready even if you are not. ReadyWise has an array of affordable, healthy, nutritious meals that will sustain you throughout whatever it is, whether it's a natural disaster, a political one, or maybe you just want to get away from everybody because everybody's loud and annoying and you want to go camping. I don't care. If you want to pretend that you're homeless on the side of the mountain, go up and do it. But you can take ReadyWise with you. It's security and simplicity. They have all kinds of product choices to meet every budget. The one month supply, emergency bucket bundle, two bucket bundle, three month emergency food supply. Everything's designed by their team of in-house culinary experts to make sure that your caloric needs are met. that your daily healthy carbs, your protein, all of that, so that you have the energy and the nutrition that you need to sustain you. They have everything, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have whey milk. You name it, they've got it. 25-year shelf life as well. Visit ReadyWise.com and use promo code Dana20 at checkout for 20% off your entire purchase. That's ReadyWise.com, promo code Dana20 for 20% off.
SPEAKER 13 :
Larry, look, President Trump has a mandate. He came in to do big things. And one of the big things that this administration wants to do is make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. And that permanency will continue to make the U.S. the number one economy in the world in terms of growth. We're going to bring down inflation. We're going to cut regulations. And we are going to get the tax cut The goal is still for them to be made permanent.
SPEAKER 01 :
So that is I mean, that's good news. That was my has always been my one big critique of that plan was that it wasn't permanent. That was like actually one of my biggest criticisms. I had like of Trump's first tenure. I had three issues, the gun thing. And then I wanted that to be permanent because that was such a good move. And I wanted more bureaucracy cutting because he started off so strong. He started off this. I mean, so far he's doing really good. He's doing really great. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. Top of this third hour. And this is the Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. He was targeted by the left. I mean, they were going at him. I mean, they were trying to kill him. It was wild. That's huge. You know what else needs to happen? And I don't care if Trump does this with an EO. Withholding needs to end. End withholding. I want everyone to have to write a check to the IRS or to the treasury. End withholding. You will see people change real quick on taxation. We don't go far enough. What we learned with USAID and all of this other stuff, and we've known, I mean, how long has this been going on? And I'm going to get to that in a moment, is that this is taxation without representation. It absolutely is. And we are spending an ungodly amount of money unsustainably on propaganda, on warfare, essentially, against other Americans here in the United States over their political affiliations. Billions and billions of dollars are being spent on this. At this point, what Trump needs to do is not only Go ahead and make it permanent. Make tax cuts permanent. Start there. Because you're going to need an act of Congress to do what I want done. I have an executive order. Ends withholding immediately. And then start work abolishing the IRS. We're done. Federal income tax is extortion. It's criminal. It is extortion of the American people where a government agency declares that they are owed some of your money and under threat of killing you with guns that they have, you will pay them or they'll make your life hell. I also personally think that every single person who works within the department, and this is, my husband's always like, don't talk about this because they'll target us. They've targeted us every single day since Biden's been in office. You guys don't even know half the stuff that you guys would... And I can only imagine the number of other conservatives in the IRS depends on all of us not talking about it. They absolutely weaponize it against conservatives. Oh, that's a God given fact. That's not that's not anecdotal. That's what some of us are living. Some of us have had to take them to court and won. So it's a big deal. It's a very big deal. They the whole department needs to be abolished. And everyone who oversaw these programs, I think, should be put in prison. Oh, you don't even understand how far I would go. Oh, I would put them in prison for the rest of their lives. I would have some of these people who carry this out literally have to see their children behind plexiglass for the rest of their lives. No mercy, no quarter. I would have the punishment so severe that any other politician would be terrified to enact something similar and every other person on God's green earth would be terrified to work in such an agency for something like this happening again. It is wild. All of this. I mean, I have literally paid with my tax dollars. I paid for hit pieces in media on me. I paid gun control groups with the six figures that I pay in mid six figures that I pay in taxes a year. I've paid gun control groups to target me. I've seen my friends pay taxes and I've watched the same people that they that have gotten USAID money, AP, all these other Politico right hit pieces on these people. call you all racists because you voted a certain way. Because you didn't want perverts in your daughter's locker rooms. So this absolutely is taxation without representation. So Trump needs to not only make this permanent, but he needs to have an executive order to end withholding and then spearhead it through the House. These executive orders, here's the thing, he's only in office for four years. They got to follow all of this stuff up with legislation. Otherwise, you're going to get you could potentially get a Gavin Newsom in. And guess what? He's going to reverse everything, just like Trump has been reversing everything that Biden did. That's why you got to be careful of these EOs. So you start with an EO, you follow it up with legislative action. So that way it makes it harder. You can't just, if you have an EO that was given and it was followed up with the statutory authority of Congress, you're not going to be able to undo it with an EO. So they've got to be able to follow up in that manner. So start, make these permanent, have an executive order to end withholding effective immediately, follow up with abolishing the IRS congressionally, then replace it with, I don't know, what, a fair tax? I mean, I'm totally open. I like the idea of a consumption tax because everybody's got to pay no matter what. I do like the idea of a graduated consumption tax on certain items. Make it simple. But a consumption tax is where it's at. Here's the thing. The issue isn't the tax revenue. The issue is spending. Because the federal government is only, under Article I, Section 8, allowed to do so much. Everything else after that is the responsibility of the states. And even in the 60s, when tax rates were lowered to like the lowest point, government revenue was at a record high because they make money through that capital, that market transactions. They make money from that. I mean, it's wildly that people who are economically illiterate are setting these policies and they are in direct opposition to what their stated goal is. They want revenue for the government, but then they're doing the thing that provides them with the least amount of revenue. I've never understood that. But they spin, spin, spin, spin. So, yeah, and as Cain said, there's no reason for us to be $36 trillion in debt. There's no reason. If we rolled everything back to what the federal government was allowed to do, states handle state issues, and we had just a consumption tax, we would actually be rolling in revenue. But it takes some balls to do it, and the Republicans don't have it. Don't think for a second that because we have all the power right now that I'm still happy with Republicans. And yes, by way of me being an American patriot, it is within my DNA to always be antagonistic towards my government. That's what a real patriot does. We're not kiss asses and we don't bend knees. We are always antagonistic like our founders were before us towards the government that creates a healthy relationship. People who don't believe that way and think that you shouldn't be are Marxist and they're traitors to the conservative cause. So that being said. EO to end withholding, abolish the IRS, have a consumption tax, but you're not going to have Republicans do it. Why is it that we were controlling the House for two years and there wasn't a single thing done about all this USAID stuff? I mean, when Joni Ernst was telling everybody a couple of years ago that she was asking for receipts from USAID and they refused to comply, why wasn't the full hammer of the House weight brought to bear on them? Why? Why was Speaker Johnson just, you know, willingly all co-signing all Biden's budgets? Why? I'm not saying this for any other reason than why. I don't care about the power jockeying with these idiots in D.C. I don't care. I don't care who gets invited to whose little stupid cocktail party. I don't care who's cheating on their wife at whatever, you know, other little event at CPAC or whatever. I don't care. I want to know why nothing was done. It makes zero point to go out and flex and own the libs and do all this other stuff on social media if you can't do this stuff in meat space. What does owning somebody or flexing, what does that do to get me my tax dollars back, your tax dollars back? So that's the other question. What are Republicans going to do with this? I mean, I know there's a lot more and I want to see everything that we've wasted our money on. But what I also want to see from Republicans at this point is what they're going to do about it. I mean, we have enough receipts out there where we know we have been abused and our money has been stolen. What are Republicans going to do about it right now? Great. They're freezing stuff. That's great. That's a good start. But what's going to what else? I need more. I need more. I want to know what Republicans are going to do about this. You know, you have all these people freaking out over Elon Musk. And I wish some of these Republicans were a little louder. Okay, so here's the dilemma. I want to ask you guys a question. Because I don't like to, I feel like I'm in third grade even talking about this. I hate Facebook. As I get older, I'm like more cynical. So there's some people, and Kane, we both know some of the same people, that we're friendly with but are stupidly left. Yeah. But they're still kind of nice to you. So I have this one friend who and we've known them for a long time and they've been losing their mind over Elon Musk and Doge all over Facebook. Now on my personal page, I don't get political, but I have really whittled down the number of friends that I have on my personal page to just people that I know. Because there were people who were trying to sell photos of my kids off of my personal page. I mean, they actually were. I caught people trying to do it. I would make it to posts where only that person. I mean, I literally pulled like a Wagatha Christie, like Colleen Rooney. It was wild. So I had to be really careful about this stuff. So there's one person that I know that hasn't done it, but they're still on the left. And they've been freaking out over Elon Musk. Like, can you believe this guy is totally unelected? And he's looking at, he has access to our social security numbers and our tax and he's going on and on. This person was not outraged at all at the hiring of 88,000 bureaucrats at the IRS. This person has not expressed any outrage at all. over what the money that Elon Musk and Doge caught, what it's being used for. They're just mad that Elon Musk and some nerds are going in and slashing and finding this stuff, and they're losing their minds. They're like, oh, here, call your lawmakers about this, and they're all trying to organize. And they're really misrepresenting the power and the authority that Musk and these nerds have. So I don't know if you know this, only some of them have access to all of these records. And even then, it's read-only access. And even then, they already had to sign like different federal NDAs and all this other stuff. So they are held to the same account that anybody else normally that would be working into those departments would be held to. They'd be held to the same standard. But again, I reemphasize, this is a read-only access and it's only a couple of them. Why is that a bigger deal than the fact that you had hundreds of people that had all of our information? Don't tell me that they haven't weaponized it against us because I've had the IRS weaponized against me. For years, every time a Democrat has been in office, it's weird how it doesn't happen when Republicans are in office. Do you know that? I'm not kidding you guys. And I'm not the only one. Every, with the exception of two people, Every other I know every other conservative that I personally know and I'm friends with that works in this industry is dealing with the same thing. That is how bad and widespread it is. My end of my friend did not say anything about that. So here's my question. I'm tired of reading their stupid nonsense. Do I just unfriend them? I just don't have the patience for it anymore. I'm all right with my circle being smaller. You know what I mean? Like, if you're that damn stupid, why do I want you in my life? You know what I mean? Is that mean? Weigh in, Cain, real quick with the 20 seconds we have.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, no, it makes sense. It's a natural reaction. You kind of want to be, you know, open and love everybody, but sometimes it gets tough.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm like, B, you didn't say anything when, you know, 88,000 IRS agents to go after you for Venmo. You haven't said anything about that, but you're losing your mind and you're acting like it's a constitutional crisis. Shut up.
SPEAKER 16 :
Their logic doesn't, it doesn't fly.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 01 :
So, in Missouri, the state launches the Doge Portal and asked residents to help identify wasteful spending. I mean, it would be great if we're... Look... Don't get me wrong. I'm happy that Democrats aren't in charge. But don't ever think for one second that I'm ever going to let Republicans off the hook for anything. Why now are they doing this? I mean, what the hell do we send them to Washington to do? What do we send them to Washington to do if not this? So now they're like, oh, gosh, we had no idea. Here's a portal, guys. Can you help us identify wasteful spending that we didn't want to look at this whole time? I mean, I guess. Do I want to pat them on the back for finally doing their job all this time later?
SPEAKER 16 :
The political winds have shifted, so that's probably why.
SPEAKER 01 :
That makes me even angrier. cane. A Minnesota senator wants to make it legal to eat beavers again. This is from Fox 9. Hunting beaver. Why would you eat them? They're rats. Someone said it tastes like beef. Ew. I mean, I don't know. I come from the Ozarks and my uncle made squirrel jerky once. I kid you not. It was like the cracklings from Captain D's. We got more in store coming up. Don't go anywhere. We'll know. We'll stalk you. Patriot Mobile, the only Christian conservative cell phone service that is out there. And Patriot Mobile not only provides nationwide coverage that you can trust by operating on all three major networks, making sure that you stay connected wherever you go. but they're also not making your money work against you, and they're not making you compromise the things that you vote for at the ballot box with your dollars. And you can go to patriotmobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT. We'll give you a free month of service with promo code DANA. You can keep your phone, keep your number, upgrade, get new ones. It's up to you. It's never been easier or simpler to switch. Their U.S.-based customer service team will take care of you, so you're also maintaining and helping to create U.S.-based jobs as well. It's a company that supports what you believe in and won't betray you with your values. Visit patriotmobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT and get that free month of service using promo code Dana. Switch today. It's that important. Defend freedom every time you call or text.
SPEAKER 03 :
patriot mobile.com slash dana 972 paper one 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 oh my god
SPEAKER 07 :
Social Security money. We're going to make sure that we push back because it's all about giving tax cuts of almost $8 trillion to the wealthiest individuals in this country.
SPEAKER 01 :
So these brats are mad. That Democrat representative is mad because Elon Musk, through Doge, has identified all this stuff quicker than apparently the Republicans. I'm going to get mad again. The Republicans have been there the entire time. He goes in. He's like, all right, let's cut this. Could I have a theory? First off, welcome back. Dana Lash with you. bottom of this third hour. And again, this is just the theory because I am always, it is in my American DNA to always be suspicious and antagonistic towards my government. I have such a problem with authority that I sometimes don't want to follow simple instructions because I just want to rage against the man, the authority so bad. It's that, it's ridiculous. Cain can attest to this, correct? It is a, it is probably my biggest flaw. Anyway, Well, I mean, if you're trying to like put together, you know, like for instance, sidebar. So I got, you know, like this filing cabinet from my office and I was putting it together and I'm like, these directions are bossy. I'm not listening to them.
SPEAKER 16 :
So that might be something different.
SPEAKER 01 :
See what I'm saying?
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 01 :
So anyway, here's my theory. And I just thought of this. Again, we've had Republicans in Congress this entire time. We controlled Congress. We controlled the power of the purse, guys, for two years at least before this election. And then Musk comes in. They identify USAID. And suddenly Republicans are like, what the hell is this thing? Like they had no idea what it was. Like, what is this? And now everyone's targeting Elon Musk and Doge. And not the Republicans that probably knew about this and didn't do anything about it for a very long time. The reason I say this is I know that Musk is partnering with the GOP. Well, not GOP, the administration. I mean, he's really not a Republican, but he's just a normie, right? I would hope that they are not setting him up to be like the firewall and to take all the hits and to take all the heat. so that they can kind of just like screw around. You know what I mean? To me, there's some cowardice in that because they've known about this the entire time. And you're telling me that it wasn't until Musk started looking around that they were like, wow, we didn't know. And now the left is targeting him. They did not view him as politically expendable, did they? Does that make sense? Is that way too cynical even for me, Cain?
SPEAKER 16 :
not a weird conclusion to reach when you know they've been yeah they've been yeah they've been targeting him in so many different ways for i don't know ever since he wanted to buy twitter right and and ever since then he's been a target so this is just another excuse for them to issue some faux outrage and this directed at elon right i mean it's it is uh wild imagine being upset at the messenger that you're being exactly stolen you know your stuff's being stolen and you get mad at the messenger not the thieves it's ridiculous
SPEAKER 01 :
I mean, the problem is I know they're targeting him. And remember one of the... I wrote a piece on this. Actually, I'm looking for it right now. I think it was like a month ago. It was before the election. And how you had the left that was writing all of these articles where they were trying to target Musk and Trump and pit them against each other. And I still see... Some of these pieces now where they say, oh, they're trying to limit Musk's influence at the administration. I don't believe any of this stuff because I think, look, I know Trump. I've known him for a long time. One of the things that he likes to do is he likes people to compete against each other. But he also is going to limit, you know, how much that I do. I do think that he would limit how much access he would, you know, if he thought he was getting too big for his britches, which is not the case. So beside the point, the point is, is that the press has been trying to pit them against each other for a really long time. And there hasn't been any bites on that apple. So now they've kind of shifted gears and they're saying, oh, he's a threat to democracy. Now the play is. is to try to convince all of those independents and people in the middle that were attracted by the normal messaging. You know, it's not that Republicans were out there. I mean, think about the differences in messaging from 2008 to now. You don't have the quote-unquote compassionate conservatism, which is all fake anyway. You don't have any of that. No one's focusing on... There's a minimization of... A lot of the 20% and a focus on the 80% of issues. It's all been immigration, law and order, education, like basic stuff that normal people are like, yeah, that makes sense. And so now the left, because they've, they're kind of changing their stance a bit. They're trying to make a play. And convince those independents and moderates that were attracted by normal things to convince them that Musk, he's dangerous and he's been empowered. And now, oh, he's stealing all of this from you, etc. I don't think it's working, though, because they're so hysterical. I mean, we played some audio for you yesterday. That was Democrat Representative Gomez. He was screaming about him there. And then he's saying that they're stealing. I don't know what they're... That's our money that you guys stole. That he's saying, hey, they stole it. This is what they're spending on. But again, back to my original speculation, I don't want Republicans setting him up to get burned and letting him take all the hits for this when this was something they could have actually done a long time ago. So that's why I'm not patting Republicans on the back for this. Because they've been culpable. just like they've been culpable with immigration. Yes, is it better to have them there than Democrats? That's completely irrelevant to the point I'm making. The point is, is that imagine if the people that we voted for were as hardcore as they pretended to be on the campaign trail and were blowing this stuff up from the get-go. I mean, you wouldn't have anything to report on at this stage, would you? That's my point. I don't want them to use him as a shield for them. Because those lawmakers, they're sent there to enact to do our will. They should be a shield for us. And they're not. So I just don't want them to burn him. And I don't feel like that's me being suspicious. That's just the nature of things in D.C., Like, oh, he'll take all the hits. He can, you know, say all this stuff and talk about cutting this and that. Here's the other thing. Everything that he suggests. And that's all for all the people who act like Elon Musk is like this unelected bureaucrat. These idiots. He's auditing the government. And as I said, it's only of the group that has access to some of the more sensitive information. I think they said it's two or three people. They had to sign, and I know for a fact, they had to sign like all these NDAs and all this other stuff with the federal government. And it was also read only. So they can't share it, disseminate it, distribute it, copy it, paste it. It's like almost like it's almost like in a skiff, like a secured, controlled area. It's read only. And there's only like two or three of them that can even do that in the first place. Furthermore, he doesn't get to make any decisions. He is merely showing to our elected representatives what needs to be cut since they asked. Here are things you can cut. And then our representatives, the people that we invested with this power by way of our vote, are the ones that make the cuts. So there is nothing that is unconstitutional about this. There is nothing that is illegal about this. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this. They, the left, they are getting rocked in a way I have not seen. And I've been in activism since a long, gosh, for a long time. And I've done, I started in politics and oppo research. So, I, out of all of All of my time in this, I've never seen them get rocked this hard. The last time that it got remotely close was the Tea Party days during the midterm elections when grassroots activists outmaneuvered them, and not just federally, but in so many states. And Democrats were, they were shocked. And that's when Barack Obama had to admit the day after midterm elections, quote, it was a shellacking. Because grassroots activists, even though we had like one eighth of their budget, we were out there beating their asses in every election. State elections, state legislatures, municipal and federal. This though, I have not seen them be rocked like this ever. And they're knocked back on their heels right now. And they're just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. My concern is I don't want... to be considered expendable by a political party that could have done this the whole time. Do you know what I mean? Because at some point they're going to come back and they're going to hit. They always do. I don't want Musk to be like a political casualty of that. Because he's merely doing what he was asked to do by an administration that we voted for. And one of the reasons that we voted for it is because they said they were going to do this. Does that make sense? And I know you're probably thinking, Dana, that's a very cynical view. I would counter it's a very realistic view. You guys have seen enough Republicans betray you, right? Granted, Democrats more, but you've seen enough Republicans. Mitt Romney. Sorry. Allergies. It's cedar bush. Cedar fever is so bad here. Just saying. So just be aware of all of that. I look at it. I was telling Kane I was going back. I was familiar with Operation Mockingbird. Maybe we'll do a deep dive into that next week. Tomorrow we have our annual radio summit, so I'm not going to be on air tomorrow. But Next week, I think we're going to talk about this because it really never ended. And I'm wondering if that was just... I mean, it's basically a continuation of that CIA PSYOP. It's Operation Mockingbird, and it was a propaganda effort that was a huge, like, multi-nation propaganda effort that began, like, in the 70s, and it never ended, really. Propaganda, exactly what we were seeing with this USAID stuff. So this has all been... uh i mean pretty i mean it's been it's been pretty unbelievable i wanted to play this to you because the left has been going mad going crazy over caroline levitt this is audio somebody 13 so she was asked i can't remember who asked her this she was asked about this um this was yesterday at the white house press conference yesterday and the left has been lampooning this first listen to what she says here audio somebody 13.
SPEAKER 12 :
So your colleague to your right, to my left.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thanks, Caroline. Taylor with Spectrum News. You talked a bit about Doge. Elon Musk is currently a, quote, special government employee who also owns companies that have billions of dollars in federal contracts. You said earlier this week that he has abided by all applicable federal laws. But what steps is the Trump administration taking to address that conflict of interest?
SPEAKER 12 :
The president was already asked and answered this question this week, and he said if Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that Doge is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts. And he has, again, abided by all applicable laws.
SPEAKER 01 :
In the back left. So the left's new argument is that, well... Musk and Tesla got tons of government subsidies and they did. He would not have been competitive without them. That's true. He's also said that he wishes that weren't the case and that he is completely supportive in ending all those subsidies for that. Because you guys know I hate EVs and I hate subsidies like this. I think that's what the free market needs to decide. That's a distraction and you can separate these two issues. Because for the left to compare that to this is kind of stupid. The EV subsidies, those were government contracts that were awarded for a lot of that, a significant portion of it, which is not the same thing as surreptitiously funneling money to gun control groups to advocate for your loss of natural rights. I mean, how much of that was like government contracts awarded to? All of them got subsidies too. It's not just Tesla, it was Ford, it was Chevy, all of them did. You can hate those and also think that the USAID thing is bad. It's a logical fallacy. They're trying to invalidate the points that Musk has made and the progress that Doge has made by claiming that because of the association with Musk and these subsidies that therefore this is all invalid. That's so stupid. Don't buy that bait. It's dumb. The point is that you were robbed, we were robbed, And it was sent to propagandists and actual enemies of the state. I think gun control groups should be classified as domestic terrorists. I think Everytown is a domestic terror group. I think Michael Bloomberg is a domestic terrorist. I think all these people are. The way that they have persecuted and prosecuted good people, and we paid for it. So yeah, it's not even remotely the same. And she said, look, he will recuse himself. And that's more accountability than we have ever had with the 88,000 IRS agents. It's more accountability than we ever had with the G6 committee. It's more accountability than we ever had with any of this USAID stuff. So spare me. We got a lot more on the way. our partners at all family pharmacy. So all family pharmacy, you just need to bookmark this website. I've never been to a website where they make it easier to get the medicines that you need. And look for like, I get it. If you want to go to a doctor and you want to have, they have doctors that are on their staff that you can actually talk to. So, for instance, when I over Thanksgiving, I was getting super sick. I had sinusitis and it was turning into strep and I had people coming. I was hosting for Thanksgiving. I don't have time for this. So I went on all family pharmacies website, all family pharma. And I use my own code name. I'm not going to even lie about it. I dropped my own name and I got, you know, got it discounted for 10 percent off. It's all family pharma dot com slash Dana. And I was able to get my azithromycin because if I were to go to my doctor, that's the exact same thing they're going to prescribe me. I've been this ain't my first rodeo. And then I had it overnighted. Got here at 9 a.m. 9 a.m. I ordered this stuff at like 7 o'clock last night. So it was amazing how quickly that they got it there. Anything that you need. This is a must have when you're traveling. They have everything. Ivermectin, which I take ahead of big events for the antiviral properties. But they have all kinds of reliable options for a variety of health needs. Be prepared. Skip the hassle. And here's the kicker. Big thing. Big, big, big. Their stuff is made in the USA, not China. So you hear about a lot of antibiotics being made in CCP China. Not these. It's all USA. So you do not have to worry about outsourced products. You're getting good quality, safe material. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using promo code Dana10. Don't wait. Make sure that you're always prepared. Protect yourself and your family. Allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Code Dana10 to save 10%.
SPEAKER 03 :
The Dana Show podcast, your fast, funny and informative news companion for those always on the move. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 01 :
I have to tell you, like, we totally forgot that we have a clock and we're like, oh, my gosh, we have one minute left. What? And I robbed you yesterday. We got so invested in our content. We totally forgot that there was a time.
SPEAKER 16 :
There's so much stupidity and we've highlighted a lot of it.
SPEAKER 01 :
already during today's show so it's it's okay i'm not sure we should overdose the people on stupidity so we're i'm not here tomorrow because we have i'm still working we have a big radio summit tomorrow all the brass we all get together every year uh go over stuff so i will be back behind the mic on monday in the meantime make sure you're over at substack lorraine's got a big old wowser of a piece coming out too about all the usa id stuff uh so you're going to want to make sure that you get that And find us on YouTube and Facebook. Like and subscribe. All kinds of good stuff. I hope everybody stays warm and healthy. And I will be back behind the mic with you Monday. And, of course, you know I'm always on social media slapping people. God bless. Kel-Tec, if you have not checked out the new 5.7 that they came out with, you got to. It's the latest and greatest from Kel-Tec. And they've changed concealed carry in 95. Now they've got the PR-57 rotary barrel pistol. It's chambered in 5.7. They're just redefining the game. It's the lightest, literally the lightest 5.7 I've ever held in my ever-loving life. It's 40% lighter than the next lightest 5.7. It has a top-loading design, so it replaces traditional magazines with literal stripper clips. That gives it a slimmer carry profile. And you also got a 20 plus one capacity. It's kind of insane and awesome all at the same time. It's built to perform when it matters. And it's engineered for simplicity and reliability. Quickest and easiest field strip that you can get. And MSRP is legit $399. It's only $399. That's insane. I mean, yeah, you can get it. Go get it. It's the PR57, the new one from Kel-Tec. Kel-Tecweapons.com. That's where you can go to learn more. K-E-L-T-E-C-weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you. With everything going on in the world right now, the economy, conflicts, the open border, spiraling national debt, the devastating inflation, it's critical that you have a plan for diversifying and protecting your savings. And that's why so many, including myself, have turned to precious metals like gold and silver to help protect our savings. And I partnered with the top rated precious metals company Goldco to make that happen. It's a great company with a great reputation and they could not have made the process any easier. And right now, Gold Co. is offering a free gold and silver kit that will show you how precious metals can help protect and diversify your savings. And for my audience, they're offering up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver on qualified orders. All you have to do is visit danalikesgold.com to get started today. GoldCo has helped thousands of Americans place over $3 billion in gold and silver, and they can help you as well. Join thousands who trust GoldCo. Visit danalikesgold.com.
Join us as we delve into the intricacies of the USAID scandal, where billions intended for international development have allegedly been squandered on unverified programs and politically motivated projects. Special guest Rick Grinnell weighs in on the issue, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability. The episode serves as a powerful reminder of why many Americans voted for an America First agenda, amid revelations of misuse and potential fraud within government agencies.
SPEAKER 12 :
In a post this morning, President Trump says the Democrats can't hide from the USAID scandal.
SPEAKER 10 :
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. And now your host, Logan Sekula.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome to Sekula. We've got a great show lined up for you today, so stay tuned. Phone lines are open for your calls at 1-800-684-3110. Covering today, the USAID scandal that has sort of rocked Washington, D.C. as we have seen Elon Musk and their team start to... really crack down on where your U.S. taxpayer dollars have been going and government funding has been. So, Will, this was sort of breaking news over the last few days, and Donald Trump made a statement saying that Democrats cannot hide. from this situation because it's certainly the government funding did not seem to be politically neutral.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. He posted on Truth This Morning, looks like billions of dollars have been spent at USAID and other agencies, much of it going to the fake news media as a payoff for creating good stories about the Democrats. The left-wing rag known as Politico seems to have received $8 million. Did the New York Times receive money? Who else did? This could be the biggest scandal of them all, perhaps the biggest in history. And what we're talking about here is now the work of the Department of Government Efficiency. which is going into agencies, seeing where taxpayer money is being misused. A lot of this is discretionary spending. It's not authorized by statute. It's just the work of an agency like the USAID. And we're peeling back the onion and seeing is that this agency, which has had criticism for a long time.
SPEAKER 12 :
I kind of want to hear from you because a lot of people, this may be the first time they've ever heard of the USAID because it's something that it exists, it happens. But maybe if you're not the person trying to get these grants- You're not hearing about it very often. This is the most I've ever heard people talking about the USAID.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. And what that stands for is the United States Agency for International Development. It was created in 1961, so it's been around a long time. And a lot of the criticism of USAID as an entire agency is what its work is. It is international humanitarian aid. A lot of people criticize it for being a tool for nation building, for controlling governments, whether that's a positive or negative thing. But when you are sending pallets of cash, as we've seen administrations do, to remote or underdeveloped countries, then you basically are buying off the politicians in charge. It leads to a lot of corruption, a lot of waste. But beyond that, that's the surface line criticism. the stuff that they were spending your money on will shock you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, we're going to go over some of those in the next segment. Again, some of these are situations like Politico or other publications that we're getting, government grants, and a lot of people have talked about Sesame Street, versions of Sesame Street that are being produced in other countries. As Will said, that's kind of like the top line stuff. When you really get down to the nitty gritty of some of the more ridiculous things that we have been funding with our taxpayer dollars, you're not going to believe it. So you want to stay tuned for that. We'll talk about that in the next segment. Phone lines, as I said, are open at 1-800-684-3110. If you are watching on YouTube or on Rumble or on Facebook or X, however it is, or ACLJ.org, do whatever it is subscribe follow on that platform really helps us out a lot make sure people see it hit that thumbs up and comment i also wanted to tell you that today we are launching our brand new aclj app that's right if you've had the aclj app before you've got to update it right now so get the new aclj app it's completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to engage with us here at the ACLJ. You can watch our expert analysis right here. You can watch this show, Seculo. You can help shape the future through our petitions. You can customize your ACLJ experience, which is cool. When you first log in, it'll say what issues matter to you the most, and you'll make sure that you get alerts when news in those specific categories break out. And breaking news alerts straight to your ACLJ inbox, cool feature where you can look through all of our messages and emails that come in to you. and support our efforts with a click of the button it's really easy also to support the aclj through it including uh if you are an apple user with apple pay Get the control you want for the issues that you care about so deeply and stay engaged in a way that the mainstream media can't censor. Download the ACLJ app today, whether you have an iPhone, Android. And again, if you already have our app, just update it or scan the QR code that you see on the screen right now if you're watching and download that ACLJ app today. Again, as we move on with today's show, next up, we're going to break down some of those USAID special funds that you've been paying for. It's going to be great. You're not going to want to miss it. We'll be back in just a minute. Phone lines are jammed right now. We're going to be taking your calls a little bit later at 1-800-684-3110. Rick Grinnell's joining us as well via phone. Rick, I know this news is breaking, and obviously it's something that I'm sure you've had a lot to think about in terms of the USAID. For a lot of people, this is the first time they may even be hearing of this program. Of course, we all know government grants are happening and that kind of thing. But when it goes down to who some of this big multi-million dollar financial taxpayer dollars are going to, it can be a little alarming.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, look, I think that this is offensive and outrageous of what's happening in Washington. Democrats right now are defending the spending on ridiculous programs. These are highly partisan political programs, fringe programs, millions and millions of dollars to fringe political programs. And somehow the Democrats are acting like we're feeding kids in Africa with this stuff. Look, there are a few good programs at USAID that we could easily fund through the State Department or through the U.S. Mission to the U.N., other entities that are more appropriate. But right now, I think the Rahm Emanuel warning to the Democrats is very real, which is, you know, here's a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton saying, to the Democrats. Be careful. You don't have to be outraged about everything. Sometimes the nature of what the Republicans are going after is good. Take a pass on this, because otherwise Democrats are going to be in the position of defending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money being wasted. And I would go one step further. I don't think this is just waste. I think that what Samantha Power did at USAID is about fraud. And we prosecute fraud in this country. There should be an investigation of how this happened and why this happened. And if it's proven to be for partisan nature, not for the benefit of the US government, then there should be a prosecution of this. I believe that this has crossed the line.
SPEAKER 11 :
And Rick, what you see on display in the media, which many of them were receiving money from USAID, is all the outrage that, you know, this is going to cost lives by cutting this. But in reality, it's the most stark reminder of the difference of why President Trump was elected with an America First agenda versus a globalist policy agenda. When you go through the line and you see BBC getting $2 million to promote Libyan stories, some of the absurd DEI projects that cost millions and millions of our dollars in remote areas of the world, empowering female leaders in northern Kenya to be climate activists. It reminds us that, one, this is what Americans voted for. And as you said, the Democrats should maybe take the pass and try to work with the administration if they do care about actual humanitarian aid to try to salvage that. But it also shows what we knew all along and what the Doge Department would uncover was massive and massive amounts of waste, abuse, and as you said, fraud.
SPEAKER 09 :
Look, if you pay taxes in America, you need to understand what's happening because this is your money. You pay taxes every two weeks out of your paycheck. It goes to Washington. And somebody in Washington is deciding to spend your hard-earned money, and I think of my mom and her hard-earned money, taken out of a life that she worked very hard to be able to get this money coming back to her later in life. And now we're taking money from her to fund some crazy NGOs around the world. And that's what this money goes to is non-governmental organizations that are far less activists who support the Democrats. And this is the fraud that I think is happening. This is a system of money laundering where the government lefties who are in power pay the NGO lefties to do these radical programs. And then those NGOs protect the Democrats when they're in power. And now we're finding they're paying the media for good coverage. This is a scandal. This is a scandal that Samantha Power oversaw. And I can guarantee you that Congress, left wing Congress members, We're asking for these grants and this money to go to certain places, and that's what we have to dig in and find.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, Rick, and I think some of this is you have to shut it down to then rebuild for a lot of these kind of programs. As you mentioned, and I'm sure a lot of people who are listening right now, they're seeing members of their church are saying, hey, we're cutting off funding to things that are needed, Christian ministries, organizations that are doing good work. But the problem is, is when you go through this list, and we're going to go through it in the next segment, so you want to stay tuned. When you hear some of the ridiculousness, sometimes it has to be shut down so that we can find it. But when you hear that and people go, hey, there are some humanitarian things, we want to make sure we are supporting as Americans. Like you said, there are some good programs here. How do they respond to their friends, to their church members when this happens?
SPEAKER 09 :
Look, I think the bigger picture here is that we have a system in the United States that is built around smaller government excuse me and personal responsibility and what that means is we don't have a system like europe that's a socialist system where when there's a problem around the world uh europeans expect and demand that their government right uh respond And that's because they have extremely high taxes. We have a system that has lower taxes and we need to get it even lower so that you have more money and then you get to decide what programs, what NGOs, what humanitarian projects you fund. In America, we write checks personally to organizations that we believe in because we have lower taxes than the Europeans. And so we need that system. We need the guts. the spending of the United States on waste, fraud, and abuse, be able to get tax breaks, lower the tax burden on working Americans so that then Americans can say, I want to fund this organization because I believe in it, it's got good management, and I'm involved. And that's the system that I think is the best for the United States.
SPEAKER 11 :
Rick, here is probably the final question as we come up on a break. One of the biggest problems also I see with this is when you look through the NGOs that are getting money, one problem is some of them don't even have functioning websites. So the validity of these even being real organizations comes to mind. But you also look at we've been concerned about the vetting of either migrants or NGOs by the bureaucracy for a long time. I think that this scandal also reverberates with national security implications with some of these groups that are not friendly to America that are receiving U.S. aid. And it's not making them like us more. It's sometimes making them stronger. I want to get your take on that.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's so true, and this should be a red flag for people. If you don't have transparency, if you don't have a website that's functioning, if you don't have the ability to be transparent and open about the money that you're getting and the money that you're spending and how much is going for administration, you really shouldn't be asking the public for money or taking public money. And so this is all a scandal because of the secrecy. And that's what we're pushing on. And that's exactly what Doge is looking at. Let's bring it to light. Let's know the details. And then if it passes public scrutiny because it's public money, then it can go forward.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thank you, Rick, for joining us today. We always appreciate your insights. If you want to stay tuned, because in the next segment, we are going to list some of those, and they are so egregious, you're going to go crazy. But thank you for joining us. I did also want to remind you, the new ACLJ app just launched today. So if you don't have it right now, scan that QR code on your screen or go to aclj.org slash app, or you can find it in your app stores, whether you have an iPhone or Android. It's easy just to go to ACLJ.org slash app. And again, it's a brand new, completely redesigned experience. If you already had the ACLJ app from previous years, you can click update because it's brand new. You're going to get the content you want on the issues you care about. You get to go and select and make sure we give you all the updates. for the things you care about. And look, you can say, hey, I don't care about this topic, and we won't bother you with it. But you also can watch our show, Seculo. You can watch this live right there. It's a great experience to watch it there. It helps shape our future through our petitions and, of course, breaking news alerts. And you can customize your ACLJ experience in more, well, probably the easiest thing, the thing I'm excited about, is you can donate with a click of the button if you have an apple device you can use apple pay to make your donation to the aclj so that's a new way to do that i can't wait to use that i'm sure i will i'll set that up soon and if you're an aclj champion you get a customized aclj champion experience and i know that because i logged in i'm an aclj champion and boom all of a sudden i had a different uh app than i did before with some cool new uh features So again, whether you have an iPhone, an Android, or even if you already have that app, just update it or go to aclj.org slash app. Of course, we put a lot of great content on the website, a lot of great content on our YouTube channel. Make sure you're following us on all those platforms or on the Salem News channel if you're watching there live. Either way, you can get that ACLJ app right now. All right. We'll be back in just a moment. We're going to take some phone calls because we've got a lot of you on hold right now. So stay on hold. Karen, Margaret, Grace, Jean, Tom, stay on hold. We'll do our best to get to as many calls as we can today. And of course, support the work of the ACLJ when you can. Give a donation at ACLJ.org. We'll be right back. Welcome to Secular. We're going to take some of your calls and comments here in just a minute, but I've been teasing this for two segments, so I thought we should go through it well. Let's go through some of what has been uncovered with this USAID scandal. Of course, this is where your taxpayer dollars have gone through. We'll run some commentary on some of these. Now, again, as Rick said, there's some good programs that were getting funded, and there's going to be other ways for that to get taken care of. But... maybe in a less than shocking discovery, some of the most ridiculous ways your taxpayer dollars are being spent.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. And now remember, this is an agency that is $50 billion annually. So their budget is pretty big. Now, when you start going through these, some of these may sound like small numbers to the government, not to us. But when you add them all up, it's absurd. And this is, as many people say, just the tip of the iceberg because they're just digging through it. But there was a million dollar grant just in the 2023 fiscal year to make disabled Tajikistanis climate leaders. That was the specific purpose. of that.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, so that says in 2023, in 2023, Biden's USAID allocated up to $1 million in taxpayer funds, again, this is your money, on a project to help disabled people in Tajikistan become climate leaders. I don't even, like, you gotta figure out how that program even exists. Right. Like, that's like four levels deep here.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, so that's one of them that you're going to. And some brilliant grant writing right there. I know. Someone wanting, like, you know, we could really get some money from the government because it doesn't seem like they deny anything. Checks a lot of boxes.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that is one of the things Elon said is it felt like when going through it that things were not denied unless, of course, it didn't fit their political agenda.
SPEAKER 11 :
There's a million dollars for foreign DEI programs, including indigenous language technology in Guatemala. We have a million dollars to a Hamas linked charity, a one and a half million dollar effort to empower female climate activists in northern Kenya. 15 million for contraceptives in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Then we have things like this, a million and a half for advancing DEI in Serbia's workplaces.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think this is what people... Six million for tourism in Egypt. Yeah, I think those are the things that people maybe they don't understand, and maybe I may have been ignorant to that as well, is how much of this is going outside of the country to things that really...
SPEAKER 11 :
don't really impact us at all. Well, the entire purpose of it is outside of the country. It's international development. And it was created by executive order, this agency, in response to our dollars in general.
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't think people realize how much taxpayer dollars is going out of the country beyond helping our allies in wartime.
SPEAKER 11 :
Military aid. No, it is legitimately nation building. Funding nations, yeah. What people criticized is some prior administrations, even the Bush administration for nation building and foreign adventurism. This is the type of stuff that you're paying for and have been paying for for a generation because it keeps going. There was two million dollars to BBC to help favorable coverage on Libya. They're paying foreign news outlets in smaller countries for influence. It's propaganda spending. The production of opium, it says on here.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes. The primary ingredient, obviously, in heroin. And that was going to Afghanistan.
SPEAKER 11 :
So this one is an interesting one. They paid farmers that previously farmed opium three times the going rate to farm corn instead. What did the farmers do? pocketed the money yeah kept growing the opium yeah there's no oversight to the terrorists to make money on to continue their terrorism wars so it is it is absurd the amount of there's no oversight there's no vetting it is taking your money and sending it out the door to every absurd thought you could have and i even mentioned with rick some of these groups people have now been looking at They don't have functional websites, but they're getting millions of your dollars. And then you think about, okay, well, they're helping empower. There was one that was empowering artisanal small scale gold mining in the Amazon. I mean, that sounds pretty cool. Right. Why are we paying for that? I don't know why, but I do want to do it. But if you take that and you say, okay, they're helping grow small business in the Amazon. Okay, let's try to make it sound nice.
SPEAKER 12 :
If you have an artisanal gold mining company in the Amazon and you're looking for an investor, hit me up. Well, I think they already found the U.S. government that could do a lot more. It's going to be gone. So they need some help here because I don't know why. That just feels like something I want to put on my LinkedIn.
SPEAKER 11 :
What do I do? I run an artisanal gold mine. But get this, and you think about how much money they're spending on these programs and contrast that with how hard it is to get aid within our own country in Western North Carolina or LA when there is a disaster. For those small business owners who have lost everything, I don't think the $700 FEMA check or the $500 one in North Carolina are really going to help you get through all of this. And yet they're sending millions and millions of dollars out the door for literally worthless projects.
SPEAKER 12 :
These are those projects. Of course, President Trump had mentioned things like Politico. We know there's other publications that may get exposed soon for getting so much money from the government. There's no way that they could be not controlled. There's been discussions about NPR and PBS and the fact that they are getting a significant amount of their money from government funding and are not providing a equal platform. They're providing a very biased platform. We all know this when we're listening to NPR, PBS, great programming sometimes. I mean, they have some good educational documentary kind of programming. But then, you know, when you hear news coverage, it is always slanted one way.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, and I think also over the last generation or several decades that NPR has gotten even more so that it was always left leaning. I mean, I spent time there as an intern in college at the corporate headquarters at NPR. So I was in the belly of the beast, as they say. And it was much more hippie liberal. yes it was much more uh peace and love liberal then now it is bluegrass right it is now radical as far left agenda as you can get so much so you have that whistleblower that left npr because they would shut him down who he himself was a liberal but said they won't even pretend to cover things they said we want Activist journalism. And that's the difference. Not that necessarily the federal funding of state-ish quasi-state media was ever a good idea, but now it has gone so far away from the original mission that it's absurd.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. Let's take a quick phone call. Let's go to Gene, who's calling in Nevada, who is watching on the Salem News Channel, which is great. We're there live, 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern on Salem News Channel, available on Pluto, on their website, of course, and also on Samsung Plus. So, Gene, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, good day to both of you. Hey, I just wanted to chime in on this. I think when Doge looks through the entire federal government, this is only the tip of the iceberg. I mean, I was just recently reading reports of the CDC who's hadn't utilized their entire budget, spent nearly $90 million on a lavishly refurnishing headquarters there in Atlanta. And I think all the agencies do this, and especially they need to look into the land management agencies and their attainment of brand new Chevy Silverados. If it's the only thing that they drive around in, they have to use it or lose it. doctrine, these agencies. And what they do is they go out, rather than send the money back to the coppers, they just spend the money recklessly.
SPEAKER 12 :
Gene, you're right. I only cut you off because we're running out of time here on this segment. But no, I'm not going to say who it is, but someone that I'm fairly close to who had one of these construction buildings for one of those government agencies. Instead, the waste was insane that they were spending money on, let's say, cinder blocks that were like the highest end cinder blocks and then covering them. So you could like they were covered with stuff. So it wouldn't made any difference. But as you said, it was use it or lose it. They were just like, spend as much as you can.
SPEAKER 11 :
And how many of those people were actually showing up to work anyways in that new office building they're refurbishing?
SPEAKER 12 :
not any yep and hey we got a second half hour coming up on the broadcast make sure you are staying tuned on aclj.org youtube rumble salem news channel however you get the show live 12 to 1 p.m eastern if you don't if you're listening to this later on make sure you join us live but if you can't you can always subscribe on our youtube channel subscribe on the aclj podcast on the secular podcast and of course now on the brand new aclj app which is completely redesigned and available for you to download hey we only got a minute break right here it's a perfect time to download or update this app we'll be right back
SPEAKER 10 :
keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome to Sekulow. This is Logan Sekulow's second half hour of the broadcast today. If you missed the first half, you can get it archived later on on all of our platforms, YouTube, Rumble, Salem News Channel, ACLJ.org, and of course, the brand new ACLJ app, which is available in the App Store right now. So go ahead and do that or just go directly to ACLJ.org slash app. For those who are just joining us, we're going to reset a little bit. Those who have been joining us for half an hour, just bear with us for a minute because we're just going to recap the top line coverage today, which is, Will, that you may have seen the headline on YouTube. It says Democrats can't hide from this one because President Trump put out a statement on the USAID scandal. And he did that on Truth Social and put out this statement that was pretty much saying, hey, you can't look at this data and not come to a pretty strong conclusion that things were being used for political gain.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. And as soon as Doge got involved at USAID and then the Trump administration basically put every employee on leave and put together a plan within 30 days to have every employee overseas brought back to the United States. It's been brewing for several days, but now that there have been more time to get into the numbers, we're starting to see all the waste, fraud, and abuse that is going on at the agency to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars of your taxpayer money. They have a $50 billion budget, and right now, the stuff that's coming out doesn't look like they've been doing too much of what their targeted mission is. Now, USAID has had criticism from as far back even in the 70s that it was too cozy with the CIA, that it was being used for purposes to get, you know, as a front to be able to run CIA missions through and influencing foreign governments in a very Cold War style influence campaign through money, through paying off press for propaganda. All that is still happening. The Cold War has been over for quite some time, but the use of this agency to funnel money in, it was just influence in nation building, but now it's influence nation building and far left policies. Yeah, and control of the media, really. I would argue nothing for the world, not even just America, just nothing for the world except for dump cash in NGOs, many of which don't even have functional websites, just making themselves rich off of leftist charity.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, some of it just seems like it's purely waste and, as Rick said, fraud. It just feels like you're giving money to nothing. You talk about the opium farmers, you talk about these situations and you look at them and you go, well, how is this even tracked? And of course, we're giving money to the Taliban, giving money to Hamas-ling charities, a lot of different organizations that are, like I said, I don't even know if they're really organizations. I think this is just, I mean, Elon said something to the effect of pretty much everyone who submits who is not, you know, conservative-leaning or is not moderate, anyone who is on their side was getting through without any problems. A lot of them were getting through just period, just because, you know, someone's keeping their head down and just saying, okay, millions of dollars, there you go, million dollars, there you go.
SPEAKER 11 :
There are millions of dollars being spent on school safety in South Sudan when American schools need to be protected for our own students. There are stories of brand new schools in Afghanistan that were built in remote areas that have never been used. Millions of dollars to build brand new state-of-the-art schools in rural Afghanistan never been used. Meanwhile, in some of our inner cities, there are schools that are dilapidated, aren't updated, and aren't able to give the education that the students need. And you wonder why. When you see this corruption and the budget of the Department of Education, which even the teachers union is like, well, it's the local cities and stuff that run it. We understand. But why are you taking all our money and wasting it? That is the reason why President Trump was elected and why Doge was even created. And we are already seeing benefits and fruit from that effort.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. We got five lines open right now. So give us a call. It's a great time to get in line. Next time when we join by CeCe Heil, we're going to give you an update on one of our cases involving pro-life activism. So just stay tuned for that as well as continuing this conversation about government waste and spending. Of course, spending your taxpayer dollars. What do you think about that? 1-800-684-3110. Is there somewhere, as Will said, you may say, hey, I'm for government funding of some of these programs. Where would you want that funding actually to go? Do you think we should be taking care of it all ourselves as charitable human beings? 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back. welcome back to secular we want to kick off this segment we will get back to the usaid uh scandal and of course a lot of you guys are calling in about that we're going to get to that we're going to get your calls in the next segment and cc hiles joining us in studio but i wanted to set this up first with a video presentation about one of our uh current cases going on in the pro-life movement so take a look at this and we'll be back in just a second with your commentary and coverage this was constitutionally protected speech and for that reason aclj is taking on this case
SPEAKER 08 :
Zach is a great guy. He's out there every Saturday, passionate and outspoken in his defense of the unborn. Frankly, it's really upsetting that the police would target him given that mere feet away, they're performing abortions every Saturday. Zach is a pro-life advocate who was outside of an Ohio abortion clinic with his megaphone when he was cited by the local police department in reference to the volume of his speech. When the police arrived, there were two parties, both arguably in violation of the statute. It is true that Zach had a megaphone and that was a source of amplification, but it's also true that the abortion escorts had loud kazoos and were being disruptive in their own speech. Now police, certainly are allowed to prioritize when they investigate crimes, but they cannot use as a basis constitutionally protected categories such as exercise of your rights, race, sex, etc. For these reasons, the fact that the police focused solely on Zach's behavior and refused to consider anyone else's behavior even after Zach and his wife pointed out some of the things these escorts were doing, demonstrates a one-sided approach that doesn't pass constitutional muster. On February 3rd, we have a motions hearing in local court where, for the first time, we're going to get to present our case in front of the judge and explain our theories as to why this prosecute is both unjust and unconstitutional. We're going to have two main arguments. The first is that content-based restrictions like the one in this ordinance are not constitutional. The second is that the way the police handled the investigation violated Zach's equal protection rights. On February 3rd, we're going to tell the judge our story.
SPEAKER 12 :
And here we are in February 6th. That was Liam from the ACLJ, one of our new attorneys. And it was great to see that video package. So you understand where we came from and where we are now. CeCe Heil is joining us in studio to give us an update because that happened just a few days ago.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. So as we've discussed a lot, you know, we have just because we had the Dobbs decision, this, you know, abortion distortion and the, you know, pro-abortion side still going after pro-life, you know, people. And we see that, OK, maybe you're not going to use it in federal issues, but you're going to use it like we're seeing here in Ohio in a state where, disorderly conduct ordinance and just as Liam explained we filed a motion to dismiss because our client was prosecuted or arrested under this disorderly conduct ordinance and our motion dismiss argues two things that one the ordinance violates the free speech rights that are protected by the First Amendment that our client definitely has the right to voice his opinion and that this ordinance because it allows some speech but doesn't allow other speech that violates the Constitution and then the second argument was the discriminatory enforcement of the ordinance violates the Equal Protection Clause and as you heard Liam explain The police came and although the abortion escorts were having, you know, tooting kazoos and screaming and yelling and doing other things, only our client was arrested. No witnesses were talked to by the police. It was only our client that was arrested. So we argued Liam argued the motion to dismiss and the judge has taken it under advisement, which basically means he's just going to look at the evidence and he's going to consider the arguments. And we've been told by local council that it's we expect maybe a decision within the next 30 days. But hopefully the judge will make the right decision because this ordinance and its enforcement was unconstitutional.
SPEAKER 12 :
And that's one of the goals of the ACLJ is to handle these things as quick as possible. Sometimes it takes years, but sometimes you can get it done in a matter of weeks if you can make a compelling case and the judge decides to side with you. Of course, that doesn't always work out that way in the pro-life movement, but what we've seen actually, the interesting movement today was President Trump this morning. It was the National Prayer Breakfast. And he called out specifically the targeting of Christians. And with that, pro-life activists, of course, are pretty much included in that. Usually that's kind of one and the same. And I think you should hear from President Trump. Such a stark difference in what we've heard for the last four years, specifically on supporting and engaging Christians and making sure that they are not targeted for their beliefs.
SPEAKER 01 :
To confront such weaponization and religious persecution, today I'm signing an executive order to make our Attorney General, who's a great person, she's going to be a great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, the head of a task force, brand new, to eradicate anti-Christian bias. About time, right? Anti-Christian bias. You never heard of that one before, right? But there's, it's about time, isn't it though, really? So many, so many times you hear, but you don't hear the anti-Christian bias. The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible. The IRS, the FBI, terrible. and other agencies. In addition, the task force will work to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide. You've never had that before, but this is a very powerful document I'm signing. You got it, you got it now. First time you've had it. If we don't have religious liberty, then we don't have a free country. We probably don't even have a country.
SPEAKER 12 :
Look, say what you want about President Trump. Some of you in the comments like him. Some do not like him. And even Christians. I know there's Christians that have their concerns with President Trump. never have I heard anything like this from a president of the United States who come out and say this, even if it's what's put in front of him. They said, this is what we're planning on.
SPEAKER 07 :
He says it.
SPEAKER 12 :
He says it in a way that no one has done before. And I don't want to just be like sitting here kissing up to it, but it really is remarkable to hear all the stories that we have at the ACLJ, all the issues we have at the ACLJ. And now not only do you have an administration to look, We had a good relationship with the George W. Bush administration. Sometimes, when necessary, we had to have a relationship with the Obama administration. The Biden administration wasn't as friendly. Now, you have someone, though, coming out and making these statements. I mean, pretty much hitting our talking points. Absolutely. It is pretty wild.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and what is amazing is, you know, some people might go, this is not an issue. We don't, in the United States, we don't target Christians. Well, we do, we have, the DOJ has specifically, the administration has specifically, and the ACLJ has been involved in this. They've gone after Catholics, specifically the DOJ. They've gone after pro-lifers, specifically the DOJ, and the Department of Defense, training the pro-lifers are the, you know, terrorists.
SPEAKER 11 :
going after you if you bought a bible you were targeted you were marked as somebody for them to look at we've addressed all of those issues and now it's great and refreshing to hear that our president and on top of that too it talks about defending the rights not just the uh eradicating the bias but defending the rights of believers that are uh and that they will prosecute anti-christian violence and vandalism We saw all the pro-life clinics that were vandalized and never brought a prosecution. But also just this week, our ACLJ attorneys were in Baltimore with our client who was brutally beaten up outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic. There is a prosecution, it's a local prosecution, took a year and a half to find the guy and get him on trial, but they had jury selection yesterday. We are there representing our client to ensure justice for him because he was beaten up brutally. We've shown the video in the past outside of an abortion clinic. This is a local prosecutor. But those are federal hate crimes that could be brought against someone like that. There is no way that Biden DOJ would have ever done that. President Trump is signing an order to say, we're going to protect these people and prosecute those that go after violently against people of faith. And that's what we're seeing. And ACLJ is there to fight as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I want to make sure that that's clear too. It's just because you have a more friendly administration doesn't mean the fights stop. A lot of these are in the states. A lot of these are in counties that are not friendly. Even if the federal government may be more on your side right now, there are still plenty of people working at the federal government that are not on your side. That's why part of the rooting out sort of the deep state and the Doge situation is important because it is not like these fights don't continue on. They are happening every day. We were in court this week and you heard that. We can't do that without your support. I'm going to encourage you right now. Uh, it is easy to kind of take the win and not go like, Oh, what do they need our support right now? We need it more than ever. So I encourage you right now, go to ACLJ.org. We can't have new great lawyers. We can't have, uh, all the people you hear on this broadcast. We can't be doing this broadcast without you. So I encourage you right now, if you are a supporter of the ACLJ to do it, become an ACLJ champion. Of course you can do that on the new ACLJ app. And if you become a champion, someone gives on a monthly basis. you actually get a different experience. You get new features and unlock new things on ACLJ.org slash app. You can find it in the iPhone or Android store. If you already have it, you click update. We had an app that was released years ago. Tens of thousands of you have, you potentially have it on your phone already. So just update it. If not, Scan the QR code right now or go to aclj.org app. While you're there, make a donation. And now you can donate using Apple Pay and other digital ways with just a click of a button. So do that on the new ACLJ app. There are two lines open for your calls right now. We will try to get to as many as possible. So Margaret, Dana, Robin, Kristen, representing a lot of the world and a lot of the country. We want to hear from you. Two lines open, 1-800-684-3110. And while we're in this final break, go ahead and download that ACLJ app and make a donation. We'd appreciate it. All right, final segment of the day. Give us a call. We've got two lines open, 1-800-684-3110. A lot of you have been on hold for a long time, and I appreciate it. I know we had a packed show. We'll start off with Margaret, who's calling from Illinois, watching on the Salem News Channel, which we are now live on as of the beginning of this year. So cool to hear from Margaret, who's watching there. Margaret, go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, thank you for taking my call. Today's topics have been very interesting, but I would like to switch it up just a little bit. I want to talk about the Biden pardons. And the question that I have is, can you give a blanket pardon to someone, someone who has not been charged with a crime, and then can they be pardoned? And then you find out that they are treasonous against our country, the USA. I guess a better way to ask it is, can a treasonous person be pardoned?
SPEAKER 12 :
Margaret, this has been a conversation that happened even during the Trump administration, which was can you kind of pre-pardon people? We obviously saw the Biden administration do that for a lot, whether it was Dr. Fauci or his own family. That happened quite a bit there at the very, very end, including the last seconds of President Biden's run. That being said, if it happened before, you're pardoned for crimes that would have happened. Right. You're not pardoned. You can't just go purge style from here on out. But if it happened before that, it's a federal crime, is there any standing to say that they can bring those back up?
SPEAKER 11 :
No. Once again, I'm not a scholar on pardons. However- If you're to believe the wording that's in the pardon, it's- any at all. That's right. So the president has very broad pardon power. You've even seen pardons that are before someone was even charged back to when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. He wasn't charged with a crime, but he gave a pardon after Richard Nixon stepped down. So a preempt and that would have been preemptive when there was no charge against him so it's widely accepted that the president has that power that they can pardon someone before they're even charged and margaret to your point they were so broad that says any crime within this period now obviously president biden as you mentioned can't say all the way to 2030 there's no crime uh that they can be charged with it's only while they're present and in looking backward but yeah if if they are to be read as as broad as they are any crime then that person would be pardoned for treason and not be able to be uh charged with that thank you for calling and thanks for watching on sale news channel let's continue on let's go to kristin who's calling in california
SPEAKER 12 :
Watch it on YouTube. I love when our YouTube viewers call. Go ahead, Kristen. You are almost on the air. Now you are. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hello. My question is with the conservatives listening to your program, how do we get that DOG, the Doge message out to the liberals and the Democrats? Because, of course, the other networks are not sharing this information. Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, Kristen, good way you could do that is share this broadcast with them. And of course, share things like the segment we had with Rick Grinnell, where I explained that and said, look, I think a lot of conservatives, a lot of Christians, even more liberal Christians and more conservative Christians are going to be worried that this was going to, and the headlines have come up, by the way, some of them from people who are being funded by the government, saying this is taking away the important aid to all over the world that we need for Christians to spread the good news of Jesus through this humanitarian aid. And some of that, I believe, lands back on us and not our own. You know, we don't have something like the NHS or that a lot of these places have around the world. We have a different system in the way we fund health care, the way we fund even charities. However, I understand that you see those headlines. It's hard not to do that, but then maybe show them what their money is actually going to. When they see this list, I can't imagine they're going to be like, oh, yeah, I think we should be sending even $6 million for tourism to Egypt, or obviously things like $15 million in contraception to the Taliban, to Afghanistan. Because you do look at that and go, why is my dollars going to that? Why is that humanitarian aid really at the end of the day? So I would encourage you to do that, Kristen. And of course, what I'm going to say is a bit of an ad here, but support the work of the ACLJ, because One of the things I've wanted to launch over the last few years is more of these counter campaigns. I'll be honest. We have a pro-life one running in a couple, it's going to be launching next month, one that we were talking about in Massachusetts. Great. It's a beautiful campaign. But I've noticed when we've done promotion for it and tried to raise support, sometimes that doesn't click as well as, hey, we're trying to raise money for a lawsuit or a case or even this broadcast. But it's just as important, as you said, because we have to educate people and you have to educate people where they are. And it's not going to be, your liberal friends are not going to be turning on this show likely, unless they're very open-minded and good for them. But maybe if we can get a billboard up, maybe we can get a digital ad on their phone, you can start changing those hearts and minds. But you have to be able to kind of put your money where your mouth is in that and help support it because those cost a lot of money. So that's why we have things like ACLJ Champions, and I encourage you to become one of those right now. Let's continue on with the calls. Dana's calling in Washington on line four.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, hey. I got a question. Is there any way that... We can trace who got the kickbacks on all that money going to all those stupid programs.
SPEAKER 11 :
Dana, I think the one thing you'd have to look at here is that Doge is looking at waste, fraud, and abuse within the government. So they can see where the outlays are going, what these things are for, and they can try to remedy that. If you're looking at something that could be criminal, like a kickback or Some sort of bribery or anything like that, all that obviously hypothetical, would need to be the Department of Justice. And you have Pam Bondi in there. She's already talked about looking at abusive programs and things of that nature, looking at the sanctuary cities. A lot of initiatives that go through USAID go to NGOs that are supportive of all liberal causes. So I think that that would be obviously the Department of Justice job to look for any illegal activity of that nature. But I think it's pretty obvious that when you have... NGOs that support your leftist causes, and we saw how far left the Democrat Party has gone and how far left they ran in the 2020 election and the 2024 election as well, that you start to see that the kickback may not even be tangible cash. The kickback is they're getting paid so much money for supporting these candidates through these grants.
SPEAKER 12 :
I know you've been on hold for a while, but we're running out of time. We've only got about a minute and a half of the broadcast, so go ahead with your comment quickly. In Virginia, go ahead.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you so much. I wanted to just say, I can't say thank you enough for what you guys share because as we do go forward, that's what my comment was about. I had someone who quickly got in my face, very angry about all these programs that maybe thousands and thousands of people have died already because of the lack of USAID money. So I led them and told them about your, on WAVA, your program, other outlets, People just aren't getting the regular, the true facts, you know, the importance of getting the true facts about the situation. So some people just get outrageous and they think people are going to be dying. They're not like Sesame Street. Some is Sesame Street programs, you know, in other countries. So thank you for getting the news out and the truth. because I couldn't believe this nice gentleman was pointing his finger in my face and we'd just been talking, you know, amicably and then he got so upset at me.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, Robin, I really appreciate it. I don't mean to cut you off. We are 30 seconds from the end of the broadcast. I want to tell you thank you. I really appreciate your support. I appreciate your point of view and your message because that's very important. Good way to do that, by the way. Hey, good segue, Robin, into my little push here right now. Go download the new ACLJ app available in the App Store. Go to ACLJ.org slash app. It's available for Android, for iPhone. Even if you already have our app already, click that update. Make sure you get it. It's a great new personalized experience. It's very cool. You can watch this show. You can get involved. Get ACLJ.org slash app.
