KLZ 560 AM DENVER'S CONSERVATIVE HOME STATION
Menu
Join Tony Perkins as he engages in discussions that matter. From analyzing Texas' bold stance on age verification laws in the fight against online pornography to evaluating U.S. national security threats, this episode provides a platform for experts like Attorney General Ken Paxton to share their insights. As always, conversations are anchored in a commitment to faith and freedom, urging listeners to stay informed and vigilant.
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring. Today, Hamas and Israel have agreed to that ceasefire agreement. and the whole ending the war.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was President Joe Biden earlier today. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. While Hamas has agreed to the ceasefire negotiated in Qatar, Israel reportedly has not yet approved the deal that would trade Palestinian criminals and terrorists for Israeli hostages at a reported 50 to one ratio. In the first phase, 33 hostages would be released, not immediately, but over six weeks. In addition to releasing terrorists, Israel would withdraw their forces from Gaza. Is this a good deal? We'll talk with Frank Gaffney, president, Institute for the American Future. What is the greatest threat facing America? Outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray answered that question on CBS's 60 Minutes this past Sunday.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the greatest long-term threat facing our country, in my view, is represented by the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government, which I consider to be the defining threat of our generation.
SPEAKER 03 :
On this issue, I agree with him. We'll talk with Michigan Congressman John Molinar, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. And the state of Texas was at the Supreme Court today defending the right to defend the innocence of children.
SPEAKER 02 :
If strict scrutiny applies here, Texas would have to satisfy strict scrutiny to keep kids out of strip clubs. This court's cases do not require that. Neither do history, tradition, or common sense.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielsen in his opening statements this morning. We'll be joined by the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, a little bit later. Finally, yesterday's debate over the protection of women and girls in Sports Act illustrated the stranglehold that the trans movement has on the Democratic Party. In arguing against the common-sense piece of legislation, Democrats falsely claimed that the legislation would lead to genital inspections of children. They argued that the number of cases of gender-confused males in female sports is extremely small. Now, we saw a similar argument recently with the release of a study last week claiming that fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. teens under the age of 18 received puberty blockers or hormones from 2018 to 2022. So it's a huge problem when the left is trying to push government restrictions on counseling and force the use of pronouns. But when it comes to laws protecting children from irreversible surgeries and drugs, there's not that many cases of gender dysphoria. So which is it? Dr. Jennifer Bowens, the director of the Center of Family Studies here at FRC, will join me later for that conversation. And folks, you're going to find a lot today to pray about, so I invite you to join us in our prayer effort, Prayer Shield. Text the word SHIELD to 67742. That's SHIELD, S-H-I-E-L-D, to 67742. And join us in praying for our nation and, quite frankly, for the world. It's on fire. All right, yesterday, the Department of Justice disclosed details on a major international operation conducted by the FBI and French authorities targeting Chinese state-sponsored cyber threats. Now the effort remotely removed malicious software that was implanted in thousands of critical networks worldwide by Beijing-linked hacking groups. And the operation underscores the growing concern over China's aggressive cyber activities, which U.S. officials warn are positioned to disrupt critical infrastructure at a moment's notice. So how great of a threat does China pose to America's future? Join me now to discuss this and more is Congressman John Moulinard. He is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He represents the 2nd Congressional District of the state of Michigan. Chairman Moulinard, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you for having me, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let's start with your assessment of the FBI's and the French authorities' operation to dismantle these Chinese malware from critical networks. How significant is this and how much more is out there that we don't know about?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, that's a great question. And first of all, it is very serious. We've seen the Chinese hacking and monitoring people's phone conversations at the highest levels of government. We've seen their hacking and public infrastructure that You know, it could be water, it could be important vital infrastructure that we need to protect, civilian infrastructure. We've seen them, you know, spying on American territory right in our home state of Michigan. We had five Chinese nationals spying at Camp Grayling, watching military exercises. So they are very aggressive, and they have a surveillance state at home that oppresses 1.3 billion Chinese, and they're wanting to export that around the world.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let me ask you about that going a little bit deeper. When we look at all of the products now that are created or manufactured in China, is there concern that some of those devices could be utilized for spying?
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. And one of the goals of our committee, which is very bipartisan, is to make sure we aren't funding our own demise. We're not funding businesses that work with the People's Liberation Army. We're not funding technologies and we're controlling technologies that could be used against our people. American men and women in the armed forces. And so this is an all-hands-on-deck effort to restrict an aggressive power. When you think of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, we never would have partnered with them on the kinds of things we partner with China on. And I think Ronald Reagan had it right, peace through strength, and let's make sure we don't help our adversaries succeed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let me explore that a little bit more, Mr. Chairman, because it's not just the government. We're talking about consumers in this country that are attracted to cheaper Chinese products that in the end are actually fueling our adversary that they're turning those profits into what we saw here, dispatching these hackers to break into U.S. databases and other infrastructures. just the government it's a kind of all hands on deck to defend America's well-being and that includes our economic well-being
SPEAKER 15 :
It really is. And there's two things that people should know about China. First, that it's governed by the Chinese Communist Party and that right at the head is Xi Jinping. They are committing a genocide against peoples in China. So we love the Chinese people, but this authoritarian regime is more and more oppressive. They have laws on the book, what they consider to be national security laws that require anyone, any Chinese person, any person, in fact, even in doing business in China, to be accountable to the Chinese Communist Party. And if they require information, there's no such thing as a private sector. They have a military civil fusion that gives priority to the military or the Chinese Communist Party. So it's a very different framework than we're used to dealing with. And so that's what makes it so serious when we trade or when we invest in Chinese entities that can all be used against us and our allies.
SPEAKER 03 :
So bottom line is that any interaction with a Chinese company, we just have to basically count on it going to the Chinese Communist Party.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's right. And they've been stealing technology, intellectual property for years. And more nefarious, they're using dollars, in fact, even research dollars from the Department of Defense for military applications that could be used against our men and women in the armed forces.
SPEAKER 03 :
That almost sounds insane, that we would be funding that, that we would be giving our adversaries the money to build technology to use against us.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, one of the things our committee found is that there were over 30 partnerships in universities in the United States that were partnering with Chinese universities and funded often by Department of Defense dollars. And they were collaborating on research in the highest technologies of physics, even weapons, all sorts of things. So we raised this issue. And fortunately, Berkeley Georgia Tech and most recently the University of Michigan have discontinued those and we're going to take it one by one and make sure we are not allowing and that these universities make partnerships that can be used against us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mr. Chairman, I believe you also had some success in getting the Department of Defense to back away and blacklist certain Chinese companies that have those same connections.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, we've been advocating for whether it's the use of slave labor or partnering with the Chinese military. We don't want to advance those kinds of business in China. At the same time, we also have done a report that showed the Chinese complicity with the fentanyl crisis in the United States. And what we found is that the Chinese government was actually offering rebates, a financial incentive, for Chinese companies to manufacture the chemical precursors that go into the fentanyl that's poisoning hundreds of thousands of Americans. So it's a dangerous regime. Ronald Reagan had it right. Peace through strength. We love the Chinese people, but we have to be shrewd as a serpent, innocent and a dove when it comes to this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. Chairman Moulinard, you've raised the concern like we just saw with this malware targeting certain infrastructures. Are you concerned about infrastructures like water treatment plants, energy grids? Are those vulnerable and how vulnerable are they?
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely, and I liken it like a sleeper cell on the grid or in the water system where they have malware that can be flipped on and off. They've actually put mobile, you know, areas of ways to monitor what's going in and out of our ports. All of this creates danger for America, and we need to be vigilant in protecting this. So we need to push back on this. I think this idea of dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party, all they respect is strength, and I'm pleased that President Trump, I think, is going to be a strong negotiator in pushing back on this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are there any proactive measures being taken? I know we just talked about the top of the program, what the FBI and the French did, but are there more proactive measures to defend the power grid, the treatment plants and such?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, we're getting Huawei as a Chinese company. We're requiring that to be taken out of our systems. We're requiring different companies that partner with the military not to be used in our supply chains for our defense industrial base. So we're doing things, but we've got to do it in a much more aggressive, focused way. Even though it's going to cost more, it's beneficial for the United States security.
SPEAKER 03 :
Final question for you, Mr. Chairman. We just have about 45 seconds left. But the outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray, as I played that clip at the top of the program, said China and its cyber program, that's the defining threat of our generation. And he emphasized the urgency of countering these escalating threats. Do you agree with his assessment?
SPEAKER 15 :
I do agree, and I think this needs to be a major focus. Cyber is now one of the major domains for warfare. You know, you think land, water, sea, space, cyber, all of those are key. And we need to be strong in this area, and we need to make sure that we're aware that China is trying to hack us every day and trying to pre-position malware on our devices that would threaten our way of living. So absolutely, he's right on that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Chairman Molinar, I want to thank you for joining us. And I want to thank you for your work on this, because I agree with your assessment as well as the outgoing FBI director. I think China is in the long term our biggest threat, and we have to deal with it. And it is all hands on deck. Thanks so much for being with us today.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Chairman John Molinar of Michigan. It really is. And this is another item we need to be praying about. All right, coming up, big news out of the Middle East. A hostage ceasefire deal has reportedly been reached. We're going to talk about it. Don't go away.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 12 :
Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC's Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into Scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God's Word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Here's another topic to be praying about as we pray about the fires in California, we pray about the incoming administration, and we've been praying for the hostage situation in Israel. Well, a hostage ceasefire deal has been reached, according to the president, reports between Israel and Hamas, the negotiators in Qatar, although reports out of Israel is that the Prime Minister and his War Cabinet have not yet approved this deal. Now, the Israeli government is expected to meet at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday to approve this three-phase deal that the Israeli Defense Ministry and Israeli Defense Forces are already preparing to implement. So what's in the deal and what are the issues with it? Joining me now to discuss this is Frank Gaffney, president of the Institute for American Future and the host of Securing America program on the Real America's Voice Network under President Ronald Reagan. He acted as the assistant secretary of defense for international security policy. Frank, thanks for joining us. It's my privilege, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let's, before we get into the, give us the overview of this. I'm getting some signals out of Israel that this is not the best deal for Israel, and there's a lot yet to be uncovered.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm afraid I'm going to say it's a terrible deal for Israel, actually, Tony. I fear that it amounts to... a victory for Hamas, if you could believe it, effectively surrendering the entirety of Gaza to the people who perpetrated this horrific attack on October 7th and has been at war with Israel prior to that, you know, from the inception of this terrorist organization and will be until it is put out of business, which has been the purpose of Benjamin Netanyahu. Unfortunately, what we're told is that Bibi basically had his knees broken on the Sabbath, no less, by a man who has been given the role of a special Middle East envoy, I'm sorry to say, by President Trump, by the name of Stephen Witkoff. He's a well-to-do billionaire, financial guy, real estate guy out of New York. I'd be a little surprised if President Trump knew when he put him in this position, that he had actually done a $600 million hotel deal with the nation of Qatar. It might have had something to do with the fact that Steve Whitaker said the other day that Qatar is doing God's work. In these negotiations, I think he might have meant Allah's work, because what has been done, I think, is not in the service of Israel. Yes, there will be presumably a few hostages released in exchange for something on the order of a thousand to thirteen hundred pedigreed.
SPEAKER 03 :
jihadists who were being let out of Israeli jails. I'm told the ratio is 50 to 1 for every hostage. There's 33 in the first phase of this deal, taking six weeks. And I'm a little puzzled by that because I know when we had the Iranian hostage deal, it didn't take weeks to release the hostages. And President Biden said, this is my plan that I put forward last year. So whose plan is this? He claims it's his plan. And we know what the Biden administration has been doing all along. Yeah, incredibly.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think it's in some ways worse than the plan that he put together back in, I think, May of last year, if I'm not mistaken. It's not Joe Biden put it together, but the apparat around him, obviously. But what it does, Tony, is it essentially says that all of the progress that Israel has made to root out Hamas, to deprive it of resources, to close its infrastructure, notably those tunnels and so on, will essentially be undone because they will be allowed to have the run of Gaza again. And they will, in fact, I think, have all kinds of resources pouring in to help them rebuild those tunnels, among other things.
SPEAKER 03 :
Joe Biden said this ends the war. This would mean that this, you know, after this first phase, again, I don't know why it takes six weeks to release 33 hostages. So once those are released. Well, some of them are dead, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
So it might be required, you know, some logistics. But still, six weeks is ridiculous. You're right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so they're going to have to, IDF forces will have to, you know, through a scheduled withdrawal from Gaza. In the meantime, Hamas is able to rearm, re-equip, and you're right, all that has been gained will have been lost. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the fact that Biden is taking ownership of it is pretty telling. And the fact that this chap, Steve Witkoff, was an enabler of that. Tony Blinken the other day said Steve Witkoff has been very helpful. Indeed, he has. I think what he did was he took what Donald Trump meant as leverage on the Hamas terrorists putting them on notice that if the hostages were not released, and I think he meant all of the hostages, not a fraction of them, all of the hostages released by the time he came to office, as he put it, forgive the French, all hell would break loose. Now, that was intended to be pressuring Hamas. Instead, Witkoff and the Biden team, of course, turned this into leverage on Bibi Netanyahu. And I am just sick at what I think has been done here. I hope that the president, Donald Trump, will think better of this as he learns more about what's been done with his help inadvertently, I think.
SPEAKER 03 :
Frank, we're up against a break here. Just one final question. This, given what the fragile coalition that Bibi Netanyahu has been able to put together there and the strong right wing, if you will, of the Knesset in his coalition, this could cause his governing coalition to implode. I think it could.
SPEAKER 04 :
The left has, of course, wanted his head on a pike for a long time. But I think there are a lot of people now on the right who feel that all of this is for naught, all of the war efforts, if this is allowed to go forward. And I just say, if people want to learn more about this at VictoryCo.org, we have some information put together in a point paper. A briefing paper. It will help inform all of your listeners about why we need, I think, among other things, to have Steve Witkoff removed from this role as mediator or the inter-Mideast special envoy. This is a man who may work for Qatar, but I don't honestly think he's worked effectively for Donald Trump or the interests of the United States, to say nothing of Israel.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Frank Gaffney, we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 04 :
God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
And folks, again, this is something really to be praying over the next 24 hours as Israel will have to comb through this, the details of this deal and whether or not they accept it. The pressure obviously is on them. And the United States, unfortunately, is playing a key role in putting that pressure on. So pray, pray for the peace of Israel, the peace of Jerusalem and the way forward. Don't go away. We're coming back with more. Ken Paxton of Texas joins us next.
SPEAKER 13 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you. I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 13 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they're looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you. I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 14 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it's never going to be on the ballot. He's the King of Kings, and He's the Lord of Lords, and nothing's going to change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we're to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 03 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10 week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You'll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls. Text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. The website, TonyBurkins.com. Earlier this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case on whether age verification laws, which restrict children's access to pornography, violates the First Amendment. Now, the state of Texas was defending its common-sense restrictions on pornography by making users verify, just verify that they were old enough to access sexually explicit materials. But of course, these days, common sense, not so common. So what was the outcome of day? Well, here in studio to share about the case and how arguments went is the Attorney General of the state of Texas, Ken Paxton. General Paxton, welcome to Washington Watch. Good to see you back. It's great to be back. A little chilly here, though. It is a little chilly outside. This is the long underwear season. All right. So give us your take on it. First off, let's go back. I did talk about this last week and the fact that your case was coming up today. But for the sake of our viewers and listeners, what was this case about?
SPEAKER 11 :
So last session, a year and a half ago, the legislature, actually Senator Paxton, my wife, passed a bill that required age verification for pornography websites. And we started, and it gave my office the ability to enforce that. And we realized that these sites were not doing age verification. They were ignoring the law, so we started suing them. Well, they started suing us back, and they picked a federal court, friendly federal court, and they actually got an injunction stopping us from enforcing this law, which merely required, as you said, age verification so you had to be at least 18 years or older and they claimed they formed what was called a free speech coalition sounds good right uh to argue that we were violating their free speech rights so we actually got an injunction against us we went to the fifth circuit we got a stay of the injunction which meant we could now enforce it right and then they they appealed to the u.s supreme court to get their injunction back
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, so we don't restrict anything else that people under 18 do, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
No, as you all know, tobacco, firearms, you can't contract until you're 18, you can't get married. I mean, there's all kinds of things that we protect. We protect the military, we protect kids because their brains aren't fully developed and they just need time to grow up.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we prevent them from making decisions that would have long-term implications. That's exactly right. And if I'm not mistaken, and I haven't looked at the number lately, but it was about 17, 18 states that declared pornography as a public health crisis because of the longevity of the issues involved here.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and that's another reason I think the legislature made the decision. It wasn't controversial to pass this bill. Even, I think, most of the Democrats voted for it. It's a bipartisan bill. I think they want their kids protected, too. And even the other side, this so-called, you know, free speech coalition, acknowledged in the arguments that the state has a compelling interest to protect kids and that they should protect kids from pornography. However, they argue out of the other side of their mouth, well, this isn't a good way to do it. The reason it's not a good way to do it is because it's effective. It works. So they... I THINK EVEN THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE PUBLIC IS BEHIND THIS IDEA OF PROTECTING CHILDREN, SO THEY CAN'T ARGUE THAT IT'S NOT A COMPELLING STATE INTEREST, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF IT IN ANOTHER WAY BY SAYING, WELL, YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT THAT WAY.
SPEAKER 03 :
I KNOW THAT A COURT SETTING IS MUCH DIFFERENT. YOU STAY FOCUSED ON THE ISSUE AT HAND. THE ISSUE AT HAND WAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT. DID THIS VIOLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT? In this process, anywhere along the line, did it come up in terms of how profitable the pornography industry is and how much money they make?
SPEAKER 11 :
It only came up actually in the case today. One of the justices, I think it was Alito, that brought up the fact that this argument they were making Didn't make a lot of sense, except it clearly was motivated by profit. And look, I'm a free market, I'm good with profit, but not at the expense of children and the consequences that you're talking about for the rest of their lives. So yes, it came up, and I'm sure in the debate on the Texas Senate and House, I'm sure that came up, but it did actually come up in the arguments today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Your sense on how the arguments went today? I thought it was fantastic.
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, you know, getting into the legal details of whether we apply strict scrutiny or rational basis, no one really cares. I don't even care. I just care that they find a way to allow us to enforce our law and whether they were talking about If it falls in the category of strict scrutiny, maybe there's a place for this anyway. Or if we do rational basis, there's definitely a place. Or we might be able to create another category. But either way, as I think it was Justice Kavanaugh said, I don't care what you call it. We just need to find a way to do this. And I think that's where they're going to go.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's encouraging because there are a lot of other states waiting to see what happens with your case.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. And they mentioned it. I mean, some of these even some of the more liberal justice mentioned like Keegan was like, well, asking the free speech. What would be acceptable? We got all these states and they said, well, I don't want to, you know. guess on what I think she said no you know what's out there I mean these states are pretty similar with her is any of this okay and he kind of bypassed it and said well it's not for me to decide what they should do but he obviously is deciding by trying to stop us from implementing what the people wanted
SPEAKER 03 :
Once again, Texas kind of leading the way on this. Last week I was talking to the Attorney General of Tennessee, who I think they may have filed an amicus in your case, but they are clearly waiting to see how this goes because they have a similar law. What's the timeline here? Is this going to be June, July before we hear something?
SPEAKER 11 :
You know, they did not disclose that to us, the Supreme Court. It seems to me like it's a case that seemed like they had... They were all pretty close. Even some of the more liberal justices accepted that something should be allowed by the state. So it's just going to be a matter of these little legal nuances and how they think that affects future cases. So I think I'm going to be surprised if it's one of the cases that they get over with sooner rather than later.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's good. I mean, that's one of the areas that— Well, I got to be careful in how I say this, because yesterday we had a woman's girl sports bill on the House floor. And I was going to say that's where people come together. But that's not was not the case yesterday. Hopefully it'll be the case here with the case that you argued today on restrictions on access to pornography. General Paxson, always great to see you. Thanks for coming by the studio today. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me on. And folks, another reason to pray. We just need to be praying that we would have justices that would do justice and do what is right, and that we would continue to have men and women who would fight for what is right at the state level and the federal level. All right, don't go away. We're going to have more conversations about children when we return here on Washington Lodge. Don't go away. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of 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 you know, the Bible talks about four institutions of government. 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 01 :
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 are 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 sage con 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. Good to have you with us on this Wednesday afternoon. Check out the website, tonyperkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app and you can have Washington Watch in your pocket anywhere you go. Also, you'll get the Washington Stand, that news feed that comes from the Family Research Council, as well as Stand on the Word, our daily Bible study. And speaking of that, our word for today comes from Isaiah 64. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence. The children of Israel were pleading for the power of God, his justice and goodness to be witnessed by the world in an extraordinary way. Now, this certainly applies to the second coming of Christ when the Lord shall descend from heaven. No one will be able to miss it. But notice the stated purpose for this request to make his name known to their adversaries. When we make the issue about God, his name, and his reputation, our concerns are taken care of. And where did their confidence come that he would act? Well, look at verse 3. When you did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down, the mountain shook at your presence. You see, God's character is unchanging. He's consistent. What he did before, he will do again. To join us in our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday's debate on the House floor over the protection of women and girls in Sports Act illustrated the stranglehold that the trans movement has on the Democratic Party. In arguing against it, Democrats claimed that this legislation would lead to genital inspection by coaches and others. They argued that the number of cases of gender-confused males in female sports is extremely small. Now, we saw a similar argument recently with the release of a study last week claiming that fewer than one in 1,000 U.S. teens under the age of 18 with commercial insurance received puberty blockers or hormones from 2018 to 2022. It's a huge problem when they're pushing for government restrictions on counseling or forcing the use of certain pronouns. But when it comes to laws protecting children from irreversible surgeries and drugs, well, it's really not a problem. There's not that many cases of gender dysphoria. So which is it? Joining me now to discuss this, Dr. Jennifer Bowens, the director of the Center of Family Studies here at FRC. Dr. Bowens has worked extensively as a researcher and a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children in foster care, in behavioral health settings, and also to adults who experienced interpersonal traumas. Dr. Bowens, thanks for joining us today. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's good to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, let's start with this study that I read a story about it in the AP last week. Give us the overview and then unpack it for us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, if you just read the AP or NPR, you'd think, oh, my goodness, this giving out puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, it's just not really that big a deal, not that many people are affected. So if you pay attention to that spin, then you might be inclined to ignore the problem. However, if you actually look at the study and Many studies that go along with this issue or address this issue, you see a number of real problems with the methodology. Starting with, for example, the sample. How did they get the sample?
SPEAKER 03 :
That jumped out to me right away because in the first paragraph or second paragraph, it says that this is a study of adolescents with commercial insurance. Right. And not many insurance covers this yet because they've not been able to force them to cover it. So they're going elsewhere to get this type of treatment.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And we know Medicaid has been providing puberty blockers.
SPEAKER 03 :
And they excluded that from this.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, they excluded GoFundMe, Planned Parenthood.
SPEAKER 03 :
This has become an industry for Planned Parenthood.
SPEAKER 06 :
It has become a huge industry. And I just back up so that our viewers understand a little bit more about the sampling issue. So we're just coming off an election. We're all thinking about polls, et cetera. If we look at history, we have a great example of how this study fits into our historical knowledge of research. You take, for instance, the election of FDR. He was running against Alf Landon in 1936. And everyone was predicting that Alf Landon would win. Most of us don't even know who Alf Landon is.
SPEAKER 03 :
I didn't vote in that election.
SPEAKER 06 :
You didn't vote in that?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I didn't.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, good. Now we know your age, Tony. So what we learned from that polling data is that they went for those US citizens who had telephones and had automobiles. At that time, that was not as common as it is today. And they ended up with a faulty polling data because ALF Landing clearly did not win by a landslide. And in fact, Gallup is, that's where he got his start was because he predicted that FDR would win and that people who didn't have a lot of financial mobility would vote for FDR. And that holds true. So what's the lesson here? The lesson is when you don't accurately depict your sample, you can end up with a very bad impression about what's going on in reality. And that's the case with this study here. We are told that not many people are on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or getting transgender procedures. That's not true. We have other studies that show about 63,000 prescriptions have been written annually. About 6,000 surgeries have been conducted. And so what's the discrepancy? Again, going back to they're only looking at private insurers and they're making these huge claims that this is such a small problem. But in reality, we know that's not true.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm not a pollster. I took statistics in college and I understand that. And I read polls. You can. reach an outcome that you want based upon your sample and what you try to do. This clearly had a desired outcome.
SPEAKER 06 :
Clearly. And actually, if you look at the other study that goes along with the one on puberty blockers, it specifically looked at transgender surgical procedures on minors. And what you see in that write-up is, it's just profound. The authors compare these transgender procedures to a condition in biological men, we shouldn't even have to say biological, but men, And that's where they have swollen breast tissue. And they're saying if somebody wants surgery to remove that breast tissue that may be due to hormone imbalances, that that's a type of gender-affirming surgery. So their whole study is constructed on the notion that somebody who has a physical problem to deal with, you know, to cosmetically look more like, you know, their biological sex, then that constitutes a transgender procedure. When those who are getting transgender procedures have, it's completely psychological, has nothing to do with the physical. Right. So that right there just shows you how much they're going to prove their point that this is not about good science. It's about their ideology and their worldview that they're wanting to research.
SPEAKER 03 :
A desired outcome. So let me go back, Dr. Biles, to what I said at the beginning, because correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like, you know, over the last couple of years, we've been told that this is a huge problem, that we have all of these children that have gender dysphoria. You know, I've talked about this on the program. A lot of it kind of a social media contagion that has spread. And they were putting that number out there to, one, in many cases, like California, block access to counseling. They're doing everything they can to lock these kids into that gender dysphoria, that confusion. But now that 26 states have actually passed laws that prohibit these experimental surgeries and drugs on minors and it's, you know, gone to the Supreme Court, they're changing their tune, saying it's, oh, it's not really a problem. And so you're taking a sledgehammer at a gnat. It's essentially what they're saying. Yes. So how can it be both things at the same time?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Yeah. Now it's no big deal. But before, it's like, how can we do this to so many people? The fact of the matter is we do know that there's been a rise in those who are even getting diagnosed with gender dysphoria. So that doesn't even count for those who aren't going to clinical practice. So there is a clear rise. And there is a clear rise in the number of people perceiving it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it's a problem. And it is a problem. And a lot of this, in your background with trauma, a lot of this is connected to trauma.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. It's connected. We're not dealing with the root issues. And the fact that we're even using these procedures on one child should constitute legislation.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I just want to be very clear here. We're not saying this is not a problem. We're saying it is a problem. It is. And I see it. And again you're the expert. But as I see it you have two issues here. Number one you have this social contagion that's out there this promotion that this is cool. This is thing. But then underlying that you have this rise in trauma. through sexual abuse or emotional abuse. And oftentimes, again, you're the expert, correct me if I'm wrong, but oftentimes this is a form of response in terms of defense against further abuse and trauma.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. And I want to say this to Tony that, you know, we used to think about exposure to sexual material at an early age as as a type of trauma. Right. And now we've just institutionalized it. And we have kids exposed to sexual material early on across the board. It's like our own covid pandemic in the school system.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and we actually want—schools actually want to expose them with their sexual education material that is pornographic in its content.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. So you're absolutely correct in saying, you know, we do have two different issues going on. We have the rise of trauma in our society, but then we also have this social contagion, which is— very much at work on this issue.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so we're saying, yes, we need to deal with it. Surgeries and drugs are not the way to deal with it. But counseling, therapy is the way forward. And that avenue has been blocked on many occasions by these same people that are doing these studies saying that it's not a problem.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, right. And again, we have a whole system at play that needs to be changed because researchers It's not right to call this an objective study and have other news outlets pick this up as an unbiased... I think AP News said this is the most reliable data point. Well, we have a number of other data points that show that these numbers are not reliable. And clearly, we have a worldview that has been fueling this research question. And... And it's been used, this whole study has been used as a political weapon.
SPEAKER 03 :
To arrive at a desired place. What other anomalies do you see with this study?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think that one of the things that probably has been less discussed is the fact that they talk about the gender dysphoria diagnosis, how they arrived at their sample. But then they also talk about gender diverse people. You know, from a research perspective, if you're going to look into something, you need to define your terms really very clearly. And here in this study, it's kind of like they're lumping in a number of terms, and we don't really know, okay, is it a diagnosis that you're looking at, or is it... What does gender diverse mean? It's like gender fluid. Okay, who are these people? How do you measure them? And how do you predict that they're going to stay in this continuum of whatever it is? You can't. You can't. It's not clear. So, you know, like this study, like many of the other ones, you can easily pick them apart. And it's sad. It really gives science a bad name.
SPEAKER 03 :
It does. Just like we saw what happened to health care during COVID, it really lessens the trust, weakens the trust that Americans have in these institutions. And I want to, we just got a couple minutes left, Dr. Bowens, I want to ask you this question because you have come out of the academic world and the research world. We've seen recently how corporate America has kind of backed away from some of this DEI wokeness, and I put this into that same category because it all comes out of the same basket. Will that reach education? Will academia, will they come to their senses and begin to do valid, trustworthy research that is not constructed to reach a predetermined outcome?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think that actually this administration has a grand opportunity before them and to address some of the things that are less exciting and interesting, and that is let's go after the grant funding. Let's go after the money that taxpayer dollars are currently spent on issues like this, on the trans issue, that most Americans don't even agree with. So I think that a number of academics will come to their senses when their pocketbooks are affected and there is no longer money to fuel this type of research. It might surprise us how quickly their ideology shifts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it does underscore the big carrot, I guess it was almost a stick, that the federal government has with all of the funding that it provides for research because nobody else is going to pay for this stuff. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, you have a few activists, but, you know, they were smart. They propped up a number of universities with huge endowments and, you know, with kind of the stipulation that they would research this stuff. I mean, you have to give it to them in that sense that they were smart to do what they do because they have a continued discourse that they are funding and that they've started that they can kind of back out from. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there's just another area that we're going to need to be watching and speaking into and praying about as we go into this new administration. Dr. Jennifer Bowens, always great to see you. Thanks for stopping by. Good to see you too, Tony. All right. And folks, thank you for stopping by as well. And this is another item to add to your prayer list, that truth would come back into the realm of academia. that the research would be authentic and we would tell the truth again. What an amazing concept. All right, we're out of time for today, but I do want to thank you for joining us, and I encourage you to check out the Stand Firm app so you can stay in touch with us throughout the day. Until next time, I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul, founder of Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done everything you can do, when you've prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
In this episode of Sekulow, we delve into the Senate confirmation hearings where big names like Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi are under scrutiny. We also bring you breaking news as Israel and Hamas have reached a temporary ceasefire agreement after more than 15 months of conflict. Our discussion unpacks the implications of this deal, the potential for sustained peace, and what it could mean for hostages and Palestinians involved.
SPEAKER 09 :
Today on the show, the Senate confirmation hearings continue as the hypocrisy of the left is on full display.
SPEAKER 11 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome to Sekulow. I did want to give you a quick update. We are following Marco Rubio's confirmation hearing and Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing, but this is just coming out this very minute. So if you're watching live at noon Eastern, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal recently. in theory, to end the 15-month-plus war in Gaza. This obviously includes a hostage release and a few other things. We are going to get all the breakdown because it was just announced, and then we're going to have Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem join us later to break it all down. But I did want to bring up that really breaking news that could see an end to the war in in gaza whether it's a good deal or a bad deal that's yet to be seen whether hamas sticks to the ceasefire that is also something to watch but will what's going on in this country right now we have again pam bondy and marco rubio up right now going through their senate confirmation hearings we have uh really you see pam bondy taking more center stage today because the thought process is marco rubio kind of going to sail through colleague of a lot of these people very trusted uh He'll probably be fine. Pam Bondi, maybe a little more scrutiny specifically after the whole Matt Gaetz debacle. But one thing that I brought up to you and I said, hey, I'm not afraid to ask sort of the stupid questions, if you will. I'm not afraid to ask the everyman question, which is these hearings are happening at the same time. How does that work? Who's in that room? Because doesn't the Senate have to vote completely to confirm these nominees? And you kind of said, oh, that's actually something we should bring up on the air because maybe you haven't followed these hearings as much in previous administrations than we're getting today.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And so the way this works is that the hearings are before specific committees within the Senate. So Pam Bondi, who's being interviewed right now, if you will, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee because their oversight focus is on the Department of Justice and the other law enforcement activities of the United States. While Marco Rubio is Secretary of State, his hearing is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There's also Kristi Noem has a hearing that's going on right now. John Ratcliffe, who is up for CIA in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. So they're able to multitask, if you will, just based off of the delineation of where the committees are. However, you will notice some senators have carryover. So some will be earlier in a committee of one and then leave and run over to the other. I think Senator Coons was in the Judiciary Committee earlier and then later I saw him on the Senate Foreign Relations asking Marco Rubio a question. So some of the same senators will pop up as they have to move between hearing rooms. But what this does is this is really getting ahead of the inauguration because these individuals are the designated nominee But a nomination can't be given to the Senate until you are the president. So they already know who it is. Obviously, it's been said so they can start planning these hearings and hold these hearings so that when President Trump is inaugurated and transmits those nominations to the Senate. They're all ready to go. They have to first be voted out of committee. So the committee has to say, we give our blessing to move this on to the full Senate for a vote for confirmation, where then the Senate will indeed vote to confirm, of which the Republicans hold that majority. So most of these should have a decent path through. Obviously, Pete Hegseth yesterday said, seemed to win over some of the holdouts like Joni Ernst that had been very skeptical initially of him. She came out of the hearing saying she will vote for him. So he should not have a problem getting confirmed, it appears, after it looking like his nomination may have been doomed before the holidays. So quite a turnaround there, and we'll get into more of that later.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's right. You need to support the ACLJ as we help to get these confirmations through. Go to ACLJ.org. I encourage you to become an ACLJ champion. That's someone that gives on a monthly recurring basis. We are also following the very big breaking news. I mean, it's happened as we were going on air that Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to halt fighting in Gaza, at least for a time. I believe they said it's a six-week initial period in exchange for hostages. and for some Palestinians. We'll get into the details of that coming up. Welcome back to Sekulow. I did want to obviously state the breaking news, which is that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal. We're still going to cover the confirmation hearings of both Marco Rubio and Pambandi. If you saw in the comments or in the commercial break there, you're watching on YouTube or watching on Rumble, you saw some of the clips of some of the protesters that broke out in the middle of it. Professor Harry Hutchinson is joining us in this segment. And we're going to break all of that down. But I did want to read a statement that just came out from President Trump on Truth Social. It said, we have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you. So a short but sweet comment here from President Trump as he takes office in well under a week now. Again, probably one of the biggest moves that's happened. Whether you're going to agree with it or not, we have this approved ceasefire deal in Israel. And later on in the broadcast, just probably in about 20 minutes or so, We are going to have on Jeff Balaban, head of ACLJ Jerusalem. They're reading all the agreements. They're reading all the stuff that's getting out there right now in the press, and they're going to break it down for us. So if you have a question or comment related to that, you can give me a call right now and get on hold, 1-800-684-3110. Or if you have a question or comment about extended confirmation hearings or anything that's ACLJ related, give me a call, 1-800-684-3110. I know a lot of you are tuning in right now on YouTube and on Rumble and on the Salem News Channel. If you're on YouTube or Rumble, I'm going to encourage you right now to call in, but also subscribe and hit that thumbs up. We know about half the people who watch every day. Just get it served to them and don't subscribe. So if you haven't seen, if you haven't hit that subscribe button, very important to do that right now. It really helps us out as we have now crossed 450,000 YouTube subscribers, getting the word out there for the ACLJ to so many incredible people. Now, well, this is obviously big news coming out of Israel. We'll keep people updated. But I did want to lose focus on what's going on in these confirmation hearings. And obviously, we want to get thoughts from Professor Hutchinson.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. Senator Hirono from Hawaii, she yesterday was in the Pete Hegseth hearing and was questioning him. She was very aggressive about his record and things he had written. But what we've got today is now this happened just before we came on air. This is Senator Hirono now questioning Pam Bondi. And I think it really shows also the hypocrisy of the left of Republicans. Wanting the 15 minutes of fame of asking these questions, but not doing the pre-work when these nominees have been made available to every senator to have meetings with and do the pre-work. There was a certain senator that decided not to have a meeting with the attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi. Let's go ahead and listen to this back and forth. Then I'm going to get Professor Hutchison's take on it.
SPEAKER 06 :
that you as Attorney General should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to know, you could have gotten to know me. I am listening to you now. Could you respond to the question? Yeah, you were the only one who refused to meet with me, Senator. But what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the Attorney General to follow the law.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Ms. Bondi. So I think it's really important to us that the Attorney General be independent. of the White House, and you have a president-elect who considers the AG's office his law firm, I would like to know whether if the president suggests, hints, asks, that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived enemies?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator, I certainly have not heard the president say that, but what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and it's statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith. If I am confirmed as Attorney General, it will be my job to not only keep Americans safe, but restore integrity to that department, and that's what I plan on doing every single day as Attorney General.
SPEAKER 10 :
Professor Hutchison, obviously the the rich irony of the left pointing this out as we've watched four years of politicized prosecutions from the Department of Justice. We even heard that in recent interviews that President Biden was angered and upset by Merrick Garland for not going after Trump aggressively enough. We know the dual hand of justice that was given to the president's son, as well as the aggressive nature of which the FBI and the Department of Justice would go after peaceful pro-life protesters or parents at school board meetings. But yet they make it seem as though the end of the Department of Justice is about to begin. because of what they perceive that President Trump wants the DOJ to do, when in reality, the next Attorney General will have a big mess to clean up from what the previous administration did as far as political prosecutions.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think that's precisely correct. And so I think it's clear that delusional Democrats... are afraid that Donald Trump and his administration, his nominees, particularly for Attorney General, will act just like the Democrats have acted for the last four years. The Democrats have targeted virtually every political enemy that they could find based on charges that do not have any basis in either law or facts. And so now, Senator Hirono, who is perhaps the leading intellectual light in the Democratic Party, she is arguing that Pam Bondi will actually enforce the law and go after individuals who've engaged in criminal misconduct. If those individuals happen to be Democrats, of course Pam Bondi should go after them. But Pam Bondi and the Trump administration will not target individuals simply because they are Democrats, even though the Democrats have targeted Republicans simply because they have an R in front of their name.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And as you saw yesterday, there was even Senator Mark Wayne Mullen from Oklahoma who pointed it out eloquently before the committee yesterday about the hypocrisy he was saying about the nomination of Pete Hegseth and some of the character of some of his colleagues. perhaps. But we also have Senator Marco Rubio, who's testifying at the same time. And I know some on the more conservative side may have been concerned about maybe some neocon type policies that maybe he would bring or that he's more hawkish. And we've always appreciated Senator Rubio, and I thought it was a great pick for Secretary of State. But this I think should put to rest any concerns that maybe some in the MAGA movement may have had early on by this statement here. This is bite five.
SPEAKER 01 :
Out of the triumphalism of the end of the long Cold War emerged a bipartisan consensus. And this consensus was that we had reached the end of history, that all of the nations of the world would now become members of the democratic Western-led community, that a foreign policy that served the national interest could now be replaced by one that served the liberal world order, and that all mankind was now destined to abandon national sovereignty and national identity and would instead become one human family and citizens of the world. This wasn't just a fantasy. We now know it was a dangerous delusion.
SPEAKER 10 :
Professor Hutchison, right there, some of the concerns that maybe it would have more of that old school traditionalist Republican style foreign policy coming out of our Secretary of State. When he's calling a liberal world order, not just a fantasy, it's a dangerous delusion. I mean, that is right out of the playbook of the America First movement and rejecting globalism. And I was... really, really pleased by the strength of that statement in that hearing today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. I was encouraged as well because what he is rejecting is Francis Fukuyama's book, The End of History. It is a liberal order delusion based on openness, tolerance, and inclusion without necessarily supporting the sovereignty and the nationalism that is connected with sovereign states. And so I think Rubio, Senator Rubio, has made a fantastic start simply by rejecting what the liberals, both Republican and Democrat, have supported for the last 30 or 40 years. He is rejecting this end of history view, which has seen the United States get involved in hundreds of wars. The United States, for instance, has 800 bases throughout the world, meaning that a conflict could break out at any time involving U.S. troops. And so I think Senator Rubio and Donald Trump are rejecting this end of history vision. And I think that's fantastic news.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Harry, for giving us your analysis. Again, we are also covering the breaking news that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage release deal. This is a huge moment. This has become wall-to-wall coverage on all the other networks, and we've called in Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem to cover this a bit later in the broadcast. We'll have him on in about, let's say, 15 minutes or so, so stay tuned. We're going through all the information that we know about this, whether it's a good deal or a bad deal. At least we can say maybe over the next six weeks. it's nice to see something like this happen. Again, whether you agree with it or not, President Trump said it needed to happen. They got it done. And hopefully this means more of a time of peace and for Israel to rebuild and recover and for people. Again, there's going to be good and bad that's going to come from something like this. But this is a big moment, and I don't want to lose sight of that. Again, regardless of how you feel about a ceasefire hostage release where you're releasing presumed terrorists back into these territories, into Hamas control. But thankfully, there's some movement forward. We're going to be taking your questions and comments coming up. 1-800-684-3110. Go to aclj.org to support. We'll be right back. To Seculo, CeCe Hiles joining us, Senior Counsel here at the ACLJ, to discuss again the Senate confirmation hearings that are happening right now and some of the work that we've done internationally and how it all kind of connects. And of course, we are covering the big breaking news, as you see probably across your phone or... Wherever you're watching the news, Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage slash ceasefire deal. That is where Israeli hostages and some Palestinian prisoners will be released in trade, if you will, in an initial six-week phase of ceasefire. And of course, the thought process hopefully is that if Hamas sticks to that six-week ceasefire, and Israel as well, but if Hamas does, because typically they're the ones that do not, That this could be ongoing and this could be the path truly to the end of the war. Now, as we know, historically, that is not probably the end of the war in the big picture sense, but the end of this specific moment. Yeah. Obviously, this comes from President Trump taking office next week. He put out a statement saying, you know, we have a deal. And this is a big emotional moment for a lot of us. And we're going to break down with Jeff Balaban coming up in the next segment or the next half hour. kind of the ins and outs of the deal, the good and the bad, because again, there's going to be. But this is a big moment. I don't want to overlook it. I know right now a lot of you are tuning in to hear about the Senate confirmation hearings. We're going to discuss that as well, Will, because a lot of these have to do with how we're going to be treating the Middle East and how we're going to be treating other partners like China. And we know Senator Rubio made a pretty interesting statement because at this juncture with China, there's a lot of talk, but there is also the true threat of it, which is You can't really live without working with China right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And Senator Rubio has obviously been on the other side of where he is right now in the confirmation hearings for secretaries of state being on that foreign relations committee himself until recently. So we look at this and. And he knows what he's talking about. He has the briefings. His staff is focused on these things. And we even know that he sometimes, more than other Republican senators for sure, is thinking about the big picture and the next big thing that we should be concerned about, such as even the unidentified aerial phenomenon, UAPs. He was one of the first senators that said, we really need to be looking at this and understanding what's going on
SPEAKER 09 :
One of my favorite statements he ever made about that was, we better hope that it's aliens. Because if it's not, then we have foreign governments who have a lot higher technology than we could imagine. And of course, then we saw the spy balloons and all that whole moment happened. So I do want to say he's been very good at those kind of interactions.
SPEAKER 10 :
And so let's go ahead and play this clip. This is bite 10 from Senator Rubio before his confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of State on this threat of China.
SPEAKER 01 :
If we stay on the road we're on right now, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not. Everything from the blood pressure medicine we take to what movies we get to watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for it. They have come to dominate the critical mineral industry supplies throughout the world. Everywhere in the world they've now established critical mineral rights. Even those who want to see more electric cars, no matter where you make them, those batteries are almost entirely dependent on the ability of the Chinese and the willingness of the Chinese Communist Party to produce it and export it to you. So if we don't change course, we are going to live in a world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis, from our security to our health, will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not. That's an unacceptable outcome.
SPEAKER 10 :
And Cece, you've worked many, often for years, dealing with cases of the ACLJ that pertain to clients that are either held captive by China, their rights being denied in China. That's a part of your practice here at the ACLJ. And when you hear Senator Rubio talk about that, if we don't change course, if we don't get back to this America first, this independence from China, that basically our The things we depend on, our security, the things for our health, will all be dependent on China based off of your work and knowing what the ACLJ has had to fight in China. How scary of a statement does that ring for you?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it is scary. I mean, we understand firsthand the power that China has and their unwillingness sometimes to do what we think is right. And for the years that we have worked with clients, Senator Rubio has always kind of been at the head of that charge. He's very aware of the threat that China poses. And I think maybe one of his biggest things is he's not afraid to address those issues just for the sake of political posturing. Like you said, I mean, yes, we have to deal with China. They are a big player on the board. But we can't do it in such a way that they get to bully and control. We need to take that control. And I think that's what Senator Rubio really understands. And I think that as the Secretary of State is very important, especially when you get into human rights issues. Because you can't let people continue to dominate and discriminate and, you know, violate human rights rules and not ever have any accountability. And I think that's where Senator Rubio really shines is that he wants accountability. He wants to do what's right. And I'm hopeful that he would make a good Secretary of State.
SPEAKER 09 :
And these aren't empty threats. Someone in the entertainment industry and as a film producer, I've seen the money that's coming out of China right now. And it's actually going, you may think, hey, we're funding them. China is funding major productions. If a movie I saw just this past weekend, which was phenomenal, was when you watch the opening credits, there's one in Chinese and you look up who that is. And it's a big corporation, Acina, which stands for a new wave. They have 100 million registered users of their tech company. And of course, they're private, but partially state-owned.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nothing is private in China. Everything has either party leaders are the ones that own it, or even the laws of China state that, yeah, you may own it, but you don't really own it. At the end of the day, everything goes to the state.
SPEAKER 09 :
$100 million into this movie. Now, that's the situation we're having. And you would not go see this movie and go, oh, this is Chinese propaganda. There's nothing like that. It's just investing. Right. And in some ways, helping control the narrative of what's happening in America and worldwide. Very interesting moves that are happening. Obviously, we've all been seeing what's going on with TikTok and TikTok is currently in the plans. TikTok US is right now figuring out how to wrap up operations if they don't come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks. It is a, now again, You may have different point of view on that. I think a lot of people do. Whether you think TikTok should be shut down or not, in general, we have a lot of relationships with China. And TikTok may be one of the more influential ones just based on the way the app works. creates the way it takes your data the way the information is running but again china's involved in every aspect uh we were at a walt disney world a few days ago and you know we're in the china pavilion at epcot and they have a whole thing about you know you walk through visit you know disney shanghai and my kids are asking about that looks awesome it does look awesome they did a great job But you do have to wonder sort of the end goal, if you will.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
And you have someone like Marco Rubio coming in making these kind of statements. At least we're thinking that way.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And if you're not paying attention, you'll miss it. Just like, you know, if you're not paying attention to those credits, you'll miss it. And I think Senator Rubio is paying attention.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that's great. Also. I'd love to hear from you. We got another half hour coming up on Sekulow. Stay tuned. 1-800-684-3110 to call in. If you're on hold, we're going to get to your calls. So stay on hold. 1-800-684-3110. I'm encouraging you all today to become an ACLJ champion. You're going to hear about some new ACLJ cases coming up. We had to do a pivot today to break in not only confirmation hearings, but of course, the Hamas-Israel deal. Ceasefire deal. potential war ending deal uh we'll see how that all unfolds over the next few days in few weeks as president trump takes office come to aclj champion today scan the qr code or go to aclj.org slash champion second half hour coming right up keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is seculo
SPEAKER 11 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome back to Sekulow. We're going to take your calls at 1-800-684-3110. Live covering of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, potentially war-ending deal that's happening. We're going to cover all the details of that with Jeff Balaban in the next segment. He's the head of ACLJ Jerusalem. That's why it's important to have people on the ground. Let's go ahead and take a phone call related to that matter. Michael's calling in Florida. Watch it on YouTube, which we appreciate if you're also watching on YouTube. hit that subscribe button. I know it sounds ridiculous and I sound like, you know, a YouTuber teenager doing it, but it really helps get people to see and to hear about these important topics that you're not going to find anywhere else. Michael, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Prayers have been answered with regards to this deal with Israel and Hamas. But, and I think I know the answer to this is lame duck Biden is
SPEAKER 09 :
actually going to have the gall to take credit for this well we'll see tonight uh as he makes his farewell address i bet it comes up uh but of course in a reagan-esque move this was clearly being wrapped up because next week you're going to have a brand new administration that is not going to be near as friendly to hamas
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And Michael, yes, I'm certain that the White House will put out a statement that says, you know, we are thrilled that under President Biden's leadership or something to that effect. But one difference in these negotiations than what has tried to have been brokered by Egypt and Qatar over the last year is that there's a new player at the table. And this is the incoming Mideast envoy of President Trump, Steve Witkoff, was there for the negotiations. And this is an article from a more left-of-center Israeli source, but it mentions the tense weekend between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff led to a breakthrough in the hostage negotiations. And it also says that the top aide to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump did more to sway the premier in a single sit-down than outgoing President Joe Biden did in all of the year. That was from two Arab officials telling that paper. And we'll get into some of the nuance of this as well because, yes, Hamas wasn't necessarily willing to really come to the table either. over the course of this last year. Now they know there's a new sheriff in town and that they've heard the statements President Trump has said about what will happen to them if these hostages aren't released. But whenever you're talking about a ceasefire in war and with a terrorist organization, we can celebrate that hostages will be coming home. But we still grieve for the thousands that were killed and the hostages that were taken and killed in captivity and those on October 7th. And we also know that this war will never truly end, no matter what ceasefire, what piece of paper is signed. Until the radical jihadist terror organization Hamas ceases to exist.
SPEAKER 09 :
And that was the goal of Netanyahu was to just end Hamas in general. Does it look like that's what's going to happen? Doesn't look like it. Right now, I mean, again, that could still happen, but that's not the deal that's struck right now. And that's maybe an unfortunate fact. but there is a sigh of relief. I hope, uh, I'm looking at live footage right now from Tel Aviv as, as there are celebrations, uh, because look, even you gotta remember they, these people, whether you agree with this ceasefire deal or not, they're the ones living it. These are real people, uh, with real families and schools and restaurants and businesses that have been so impacted by this war, where airlines won't fly into your country, where tourism is such a huge portion of the economy that's running in Israel, has essentially been shut down and maybe gets to reopen this summer. And that would be a big moment for a lot of people to be able to return back to Israel as so many trips were canceled, delayed, as we saw, obviously, this real war. Remember, this was real wartime, you know, on the ground. And again, remember how small Israel is. It would be like someone in your neighboring county being in war and all of your friends and family being involved in it. So right now, I do want to say at least there is that moment of relief. And we're covering still the Senate confirmation hearings. And we'll talk about those as well. Pam Bondi, Mark Rubio. I know we have some calls about that. And after Jeff Balaban joins us, we're going to take all the calls. So if you're on hold right now, do not worry. I'm going to get to you unless there's some breaking news that I can't do anything about. Because right now, again, Israel, Hamas reach their hostage and ceasefire deal. We'll be right back with Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem, which is only available because you help support at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Sekulow. We are now joined by head of ACLJ Jerusalem, Jeff Balaban, who was on the broadcast yesterday, and there was rumors of this, and now it has been announced it's happening. Now, we don't have the exact details. A lot of these are just speculation, or really leaked information, if you will, as it has been at least announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a deal, a ceasefire deal, a hostage deal. There's a lot of facts we've got to go over, and look, I know that there's going to be mixed reaction. from a lot of people, Jeff, because sometimes it feels like these ceasefire deals certainly more favor Hamas in this situation. However, I'm looking at the streets right now in Tel Aviv, live coverage, and there's celebrations happening in the streets. Because no one wants wartime in their country. People want to be able to return back to normal life in some ways. They want to be able to bring tourists back to Israel in a way that's dramatic. And they want to be able to bring all the flights back and everything to return to some sense of normalcy. But as someone who is so deeply involved in this, I obviously wanted to hear from you your thoughts on this. And we'll go down some of the details that we expect to be coming.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sure. Well, I think that the reaction that you're seeing has less to do with an end of a war and more to do with the return of hostages. And I don't know that this war is going to end anytime soon. I think that the ceasefire, even, you know, the agreement they have in Lebanon, Israel still is waging an on and off war in Lebanon because Lebanon keeps on, you know, Hezbollah keeps on breaching this ceasefire and Israel has to keep on going in. And so the good news is that Israel is, is i'm sure going to retain its rights to operate and keep on fighting against those inevitable ceasefire breaks remember there was a ceasefire on october 6th that was broken on october 7th last year and so we're dealing with terrorist organizations obviously they're not to be trusted at all their highest morality is murdering israelis and jews now What we are hearing, though, is and again, it's, you know, as usual, when Israel makes these deals, they get back one living or dead citizen for dozens of actual terrorists, barbaric jihadist terrorists. And those are the same people who launched this last attack on October 7th. And so, you know, what's happening here is, is that Donald Trump is coming in and the entire calculus changes for the bad guys. And when I say the bad guys, not just talking about Hamas, not just talking about Hezbollah, but we're talking about Iran, who has been funding this up, has been leading the charge here. And what I think there is hope for, this is not, I'm talking about what's going on in the streets. And the streets, I think, is genuine rejoicing at the possibility of seeing some hostages come home alive and not as much rejoicing, but even getting the bodies of the dead ones and getting clarity. But is the hopes that this leaves open the possibility for real regime change in Iran, for taking out Iran's nuclear ambitions once and for all times, and that all things hopefully will be left on the table for Israel with a true ally in the White House.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. And some of the deal points that have come out, at least allegedly, and these are, again, speculation, but they're expected, is a six-week pause on the fighting in Gaza. And then, hopefully, if that stays true, which, again, as you said, is sad to say, but feels unlikely, but let's say it is, then there will be talks of another phase that could lead to an end of the war entirely. And that's expected to begin negotiations during that six week time. Phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Hamas will release 33 hostages. Israel will free hundreds, as you said, of Palestinian prisoners. And I wanted to bring that up, Jeff, because people may see that and go, well, why would Israel do this? And I think what's important to look at is, look, it doesn't feel like a fair deal. Obviously not. It's not going to be a fair deal in terms of negotiating with a terrorist organization. But at least you have 33, like you said, alive or dead, sadly, hostages. And I know that is such an important thing. If you follow anyone on social media that's really engaged, it's every day posting about these hostages still. So I'm sure the pressure was on as well to get something done.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, look, again, every life is precious. The problem is when you make the rational calculus, you know, is the result of this that the bad guys have now been incentivized to take hostages again? Well, that's what happens all the time. And therefore, the follow-up to this is more important, which is to say both... the violent follow-up, which is to say there will be, I have no doubts, more conflict, but also the peaceful follow-up, which is to say the broader revisiting of the Abraham Accords and the blooming of the Abraham Accords. And part of that is, and the reason that was successful is because it set aside just the lie that Israel is occupying somebody else's territory and the lie that there needs to be some kind of a, quote, Palestinian, unquote, state. No, there doesn't. And Israel is very clear that there doesn't. And this has been pushed by the left and pushed by people who want to see Israel's destruction. And that's not happening in the White House now, we hope. And if Israel remains firm, so we'll see simultaneously, you know, the real, it wasn't that long ago, it was just a few years ago, we saw peace breaking out and normalization breaking out with countries that had opposed Israel from the beginning. And so hopefully we'll see more of that in a positive way. The other thing we'll see, is they're saying, again, being reported that among the first tranche of hostages coming out are the Americans still held hostage. And again, it's another symbol of a change of administration. Now, would we like to see all of the hostages out at once? Yes, we would. But again, we have an American president who puts America's interests first. Its allies are important, but the fact that we finally have American hostages being released, hopefully as part of this, is also another sign that there's a new sheriff in town and that makes a difference to these negotiations.
SPEAKER 10 :
Jeff, one thing also that I think we should reiterate to the audience is that while on paper and the reports that come out, normally who's the first to get these reports? It's always Reuters, which you can take what they say as far as their bias towards Israel, as far as you can carry it. But the big deal here for me is that when they report that talks on another deal to end the war entirely, would be in the next phase. That's what we know factually false. Because while this battle that started from October 7th to today, is not the war. The war will continue as long as there is a radical jihadist group named Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad that operates with their sole purpose to destroy the state of Israel and commit genocide against the Jewish people that have their homeland there. And so no matter what, if there is a bow on this offensive, it will never be over until What we hope happens, as Pete Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing yesterday, he supports Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas. And in reality, that's the hope I see in all of this, is that the next Secretary of Defense isn't afraid to say something like that. And hopefully we can see an end to this war. But this war isn't Hamas and Israel. This war is thousands of years old of those that hate Jews and want to see their destruction. And it will not end because that is what history has.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's exactly right. It all comes down to it. God tells Abraham, those that bless you will be blessed, and those that curse you will be cursed. And the truth is, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of the Jewish people, from the time of Abraham till today, there have been those who simply oppose us for our very existence. And and rarely there are those who stand with us. And thank God, ACLJ obviously, and the people who support ACLJ, for standing with the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Thank God we now have people coming into power in the Trump administration who stand with the Jewish people, who understand that America was founded on ideals found in the Bible that came through the Jewish people, that understand Judeo-Christian is a true concept, and then there are the enemies. And remember, Donald Trump said not that long ago, He said that the United States of America and Israel represent the pinnacle of Western civilization. He said that's what these people hate and why they want to destroy it. We are in this war together. Israel just happens to be on the front lines. I also hope that we will be able to use Israel's sad and tragic knowledge of how to deal with jihadis because we know we have them in our borders here because we haven't had real borders. And so we have a lot to gain right now from Israel's help. And hopefully this exchange will be in a positive way because it really has not been for the last few years. It's been really hostile and Israel is suffering from it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I encourage everyone to pray for Israel, pray for the Jewish people, talk to your Jewish friends and family in your life. Look, my son is 12. He'll be 13 next year. We started talking about his bar mitzvah, what that looks like. And I have to say, it's a different time to tell the Jewish story. He's living through a very different time than I did at this point 30 years ago when I had my bar mitzvah in Israel, in fact, and it was a very celebratory time. Now there's some hard truths that have always been there, but then there's hard realities that are happening in real time. And what I'm hoping is that this ceasefire deal does turn into something, as Jeff said. We can always hope that. We can always pray for that. The war doesn't end, but maybe we'll see some peace return back to Israel. Jeff, thank you for joining us. I really do appreciate it. I'm going to take your calls coming up in the next segment. And we've got a bunch of people on hold. Ronald, Robert, Don, Greg. Give me a call. Also, we've got two lines open, 1-800-684-3110. I'd love to hear from you. We'll talk about Israel. We'll talk about the confirmation hearings. We'll talk about President Trump taking office in a week, what that looks like. All your questions or comments can be answered, 1-800-684-3110. And again... We are trying to help get the confirmation of President Trump's national security team, specifically for reasons like this, when this moment happens. We've mobilized our global affairs team on Capitol Hill. We need you to stand with us. Sign our petition right now, aclj.org slash sign, S-I-G-N, or scan the QR code if you're watching on Salem News Channel or on YouTube or on Rumble. But it's not just the nominees. We need everyday Americans like you to really show your support. So right now, I'm going to encourage you also, not just to sign the petition, become an ACLJ champion. ACLJ.org slash champions. Be right back with your calls and comments. Welcome back to Secular. Again, I said we're going to take your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110. Two lines still open. Let's go ahead and take Don, who's calling from California, who called yesterday. We were able to get to him, but he is back on the air. Don, I'm sorry about that yesterday. We had some news break in, but I'm glad you called back. Welcome.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, no worries. Thank you so much for taking my call and for everything. I'm so surprised by this business of Mr. Trump sort of threatening Greenland like we're going to buy you or else or the business with... I understand Panama, we have a treaty with them, two treaties, I think. And there's nothing about taking the country back. We have the right to intervene there if there's a security thing. And then with Canada saying we're going to make you the 51st state, it all seems so surprising because... uh we haven't done anything like that since alaska the louisiana purchase like way back centuries ago you know this is like the modern era how do you even buy a country what would it cost and why do we even need to buy it they're already allies you know they're allies with us it seems to me that there's better ways to do it and it it just doesn't seem right mr trump was always uh sort of an isolationist and now it's acting acting like like an arch imperialist and i'm just wondering uh What are your views on that legally?
SPEAKER 09 :
It's pretty interesting. At first glance, I thought this is a comedy, especially the Canada one. And then it got to Greenland. Which Canada probably was more comedy. More comedy, yes. Then it got to the Panama Canal. Then it got to Greenland. And then it got to where you started really looking into why strategically we should have control of some of these areas. Now Greenland, I think, is the one that you're like, okay, let's see what could happen here. Again, very small population. Not very many people in the entire country.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's only about 50,000 people live in the entire country of Greenland.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I mean, more people went to the New Year's Eve celebration here in Nashville than live in that entire country. So you could, in theory, not hostily, but there are ways that you can take control of a country. Negotiations can be had. And I think that's more what you're seeing also here, Don, is some of these areas like the Panama Canal or even Canada, is that these, by saying, hey, we're going to take over, somewhat this is a negotiation tactic to make sure that our security interests are are happening panama canal obviously a huge area for import export coming through the panama canal you have and we built it in finance and we built it pretty much do everything for right So there is that bit of like, well, why do we control it? Greenland, strategically, pretty good spot geographically.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and here's the other thing with Greenland and Don, I would think some of this also goes to when President Trump said, you know, I'm going to pull out of NATO unless you start pulling your weight. So Greenland does self-rule. It is autonomous, but it is a territory of Denmark, of the Kingdom of Denmark. So very much like a Puerto Rico is the United States now. So the problem with Greenland and also the maps you look at that make it look more like it's kind of in line with everything are flat earth maps, not the correct representation. But it is a very strategic location as far as the Arctic. And while President Trump is not an imperialist and wants to stay out of foreign wars, he was always very strong about national security. And when you have a place like that where Denmark, he is saying, is not doing what they need to be doing as the territory of theirs on Greenland, When it comes to Russia, Russia has about a third more Arctic bases than the United States and all of NATO combined. So Russia is making a play to control the top of the earth, the Arctic Circle. You can get around the earth a lot quicker when you start up there because the radius is much smaller and you can get to places quicker. You can utilize that for even the way ballistic missiles are shot. There's a lot of strategic importance about the Arctic and Russia has been making that investment. So while it may be negotiation tactics of saying, well, we'll just take it over because it's strategic for us, much like Guam and islands in the Pacific are still territories for those purposes.
SPEAKER 09 :
World protection.
SPEAKER 10 :
To protect you from Russia, protect you from China, and all of these areas. It also just may be, though, that negotiation tactic of saying Denmark... pay up, make sure that it's protected, maybe give us a base there so that we can move forward and we'll see how it plays out. But there is rationale for it. It isn't just expansionism.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, read into it. All right, thanks, Don. We're going to go take as many calls as we can. We got four minutes, three calls. We'll see what we can do. Let's go to Greg in North Carolina. You're on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, I'm glad you guys are there. Thanks for all you do. I got a question. If On day one, Biden shut down everything that Trump did in his term. What's to stop Trump from doing the same thing that Biden did?
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, nothing. I mean, very, very many things that probably will be done. Especially if it's executive actions. You think about Biden in this last week put that ban through executive action on offshore drilling. That's just so there can be a liberal talking point of, Oh, no, he opened up the floodgates of offshore drilling, things like that. Yeah, they will immediately be undone. That's part of the problem with trying to govern through executive action is that as soon as it's a new president, all that can just be changed.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think they've said that he's going to have a record breaking amount of executive actions potentially on day one or week one. So we'll see what happens there, Greg. Thank you so much, though, for your call. Robert in Maryland, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 13 :
I want to ask the question, with this ceasefire that Israel has reached with Hamas, does this give the opportunity for Hamas to use this ceasefire to rebuild and rearm? Because in the best national security interest of Israel and the United States, that Hamas is obliterated because they are a terrorist organization. That's jihadist. They believe that anyone that is non-Muslim needs to be ruled under the Ummah of Islam, according to the Koran and also the example of Muhammad.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think that it's a real concern that we'll need to keep an eye on. Now, look, as Jeff said, this is a six-week pause. Last time they did something like this, it did not last very long. Hamas went right back at it, and Israel had to retaliate. So what you really need to look at the hopeful part of this, and I think Jeff is right in this, is that there will be a hostage release. This does not mean the end of the war. We can hope it does. Does it mean that they will be able to rearm? Yeah, it kind of does. It's not the end goal, which was the destruction of Hamas.
SPEAKER 10 :
And one hopeful point, though, Robert, on that is, yes, in theory, it gives them that opportunity and they will attempt to. But with the new administration coming in.
SPEAKER 09 :
Much different.
SPEAKER 10 :
and we start putting maximum pressure on Iran again, you know what that severely limits the ability of Hamas to do? Rearm. Because that's where it's all coming from. So, if you get that maximum pressure on, hopefully it really mitigates the damage that can be done by Hamas, and eventually, hopefully, the total destruction of Hamas.
SPEAKER 09 :
Alright, last call of the day. Ronald's calling, watching on Rumble.
SPEAKER 10 :
You're on the air.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, thanks for taking my call. I'm just about the ceasefire, the pending ceasefire, and it is as though the Biden administration is rushing to try and get a gold star because it was their policies that armed Iran to funnel weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah to have that October 7th invasion. And I think Blinken realized that he had been played that way.
SPEAKER 09 :
day at all had been played by by iran and yeah ronald i hate to cut you off but the truth of the matter is they may claim it the american people can see right through it they know that this is very similar to a reagan carter situation where you have a new president coming in new sheriff in town things are going to change i encourage you right now as we wrap up the show for the today to become an aclj champion not enough of your aclj champions we need your support Good free way to do it is just to subscribe on YouTube, but a way to keep this show going, to keep all our legal action going, to have ACLJ Jerusalem, an office in Israel, to have our European Center for Law and Justice, so we are changing legitimately the world with the ACLJ and all of our affiliates. We can't do that without ACLJ champions. That's people like you that give on a monthly recurring basis. Give us that incredible baseline. So I encourage you right now, you set that price, whether I think it's $5 minimum a month. Of course, we encourage you to do more if you can. ACLJ.org slash champions. Scan the QR code. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
Join the hosts of the National Crawford Roundtable as they delve into the intersection of sports, faith, and politics. In this episode, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush explore memorable sports stories and the legacy of Bill McCartney. They also discuss the cultural and political shifts witnessed in recent years and their impact on national and international landscapes.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, a view of culture, current events, and politics through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time, she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome to another edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. My name is Neil, host of Neil Boron Live on WDCX in Buffalo, New York. Bob Duco, host of the Bob Duco Show, WMUZ in Denver, joining us as well, of course. And John Rush, host of Rush to Reason on KLZ in Denver, is with us. And if I recall, the Buffalo Bills beat the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, you did. Handle it. Sorry about that, John.
SPEAKER 04 :
I did feel a little bit bad about it.
SPEAKER 02 :
We were doing good to get there. Yeah, exactly. After what we've been through the last several years, we were doing good to get there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and who knows? We were a little nervous, I've got to be honest. Bo Nix is an incredible quarterback, but it didn't happen for you guys. And now it's on to bigger and better things and hopefully a face-to-face meeting with the Detroit Lions, Bob, in the Super Bowl, maybe.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's going to be one massive brick wall for you to run into. You know what? Buffalo Bills will feel like a crash test dummy against the Lions. So I'm just saying, you need to redesign your helmets as crash test dummies, whatever. By the way, I'm from Columbus, Ohio originally, and my Buckeyes are in the national championship. You're just working it today, aren't you? You're just working it. Oh, I'm telling you, against Notre Dame. Which, by the way, it's interesting. Did you guys see the tweet, the ex that J.D. Vance put out? Because he's an Ohio State alumni. He graduated from Ohio State University, so he is a massive Buckeye fan, large. Well, the national championship game is on January 20th. That's right, Inauguration Day. And so he posted on social media, hope everybody understands I'm not going to make the inauguration. And then he posted this picture, a meme picture. There were these two buttons. and a finger that's presumably his trying to decide, hmm, which one to push. One button says, watch the Buckeyes win the national title. The other button says, attend your own inauguration. He's trying to decide which button to push. Hilarious. It'll be good. It'll be good.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, Monday is going to be a big day for a lot of different reasons.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, by the way, I'm sorry. You know what? I'm sorry. Can I just throw in something real quick while we're talking sports? I know it's off the grid here, but John, as you know, Bill McCartney, legend in Colorado, went home to be with the Lord. Okay. And I don't know. I know. I don't know if I've ever told you guys this story before. So bear with me. I know I'm throwing a monkey wrench into this, but I think you might really appreciate this. Bill McCartney has a history with Michigan because if you name the two most famous successful Hail Mary passes, one is Doug Flutie and the other one's Cordell Stewart, to beat Michigan. Well, and this was back in 1994, and it was September 24, 1994 that that game was. The game was in Michigan. I, John, was actually in Denver on business staying at a hotel, and I was in a hotel lounge where it was packed with people watching that game. Well, to set the stage, there's six seconds left in the game. Michigan is winning by five, 26-21. Colorado has the ball on their own 35. They only got one play left. It's the Hail Mary pass. And, of course, it was successful. It's like you've got to be kidding. That hardly ever happens. And Bill McCartney was the head coach who, of course, went on to found promise keepers, as we know. Right. Well, anyway, Bill McCartney was in Michigan a while back at a speaking event, a banquet. Him and I were the featured speakers. So in the banquet hall, Bill and I are sitting next to each other, you know, at the round table near the stage eating dinner. And we're just talking with each other. And I'm like, Bill, I still haven't forgiven you for the Cordell Stewart game. And he's laughing. He says, Bob, there's an interesting backstory behind that that I got to tell you. And I was like, all right, let me know. So he told me, he said, here's what happened. He said, I got into town. We got into town Friday, and we got together with some of the players, Christian players from both teams, to have a prayer meeting the night before. I was like, okay, that's cool. And he said, while I was flying to Michigan, he said, Bob, I'm not one of those – God told me, God spoke to me kind of people. He said, but I got to tell you, it popped in my head so strong, these words, read Haggai chapter 2. Read Haggai chapter 2. He's like, Bob, I don't even know where Haggai is in the Old Testament. Who reads Haggai? He said, that was so obscure. I'm like, Lord, is this you? This has to be you. Why would God be telling me read Haggai chapter 2? So he says, so I get my Bible and I open it to him. I find Haggai and I read Haggai chapter two. And sure enough, verse 18 references a date. It says from this 24th day of the ninth month. And then it goes on to say from this day forward, the Lord will bless you. And I'm like, wait a minute. Today's September 23rd. Tomorrow's Michigan game is September 24th, the 24th day of the ninth month. What are the odds that it says from this 24th day of the ninth month, the Lord will bless you? And I'm like, Lord, are you telling me I'm going to beat Michigan tomorrow? And I asked him, I said, did you bring that up when you met with the Michigan Christian players the night before? And he goes, well, yeah. He says, I'm a brother in Christ, but I'm also a football coach. Of course I got in their heads. And I told everybody to open to Haggai too. Well, anyway, he says, so here it is, six seconds left in the game. We're down by five. And I called a timeout and called the players over. And I told them, guys, no real mystery here. It's a Hail Mary play. Let's go for it. And they go back out there. And right before Cordell Stewart took the snap, he said, I heard one of the fans in the Michigan Stadium behind me yell out, hey, McCartney, where's your God now? And right when the ball was snapped and then we won the game. And I'm like, wow. Why did you have to tell me that story? Because now it's even worse for me. But anyway, so a little bit of an interesting backstory there. And this isn't like some third party rumor thing. Bill McCartney told me face to face personally this story. And he insisted, Bob, I'm not making this up. This actually really happened. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
We've been doing this podcast five years and you held out, never told us that story. Are you serious?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know I should have at some point, especially with John in Colorado. I don't know why I never thought of it until just now with Bill McCartney.
SPEAKER 02 :
A great man, did a lot of great things, as you guys know, and had a lot of being in this area. where he was at, had a lot of interaction one-on-one, actually had known his daughter real well, used to help her with her vehicles and so on when I had my repair shops and so on, and a lot of the football players as well. It was a great time in Boulder when he was there, let's just say it that way.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and he's a legend. I mean, he's in the College Football Hall of Fame, deservedly, and so, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
I wouldn't put Deion Sanders in the same class, but Deion's a believer. Bill McCartney was a believer, and the last two times Colorado showed up in the sports headlines was when those two guys were running it, but... Yeah, McCartney obviously ran Promise Keepers, and that was massive. One of the biggest ones I ever went to. Right, and one of the biggest events I ever went to was at Ford Field in the Silverdome or whatever they called it back in the day. They're in Detroit. Yeah, a long time ago. Hey, before we even get into any of this, we couldn't do the National Comfort Roundtable podcast without the support of our sponsors. And, Bob, since you started us off today, let me give you an opportunity to talk about our incredible sponsor, Preborn.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I'll tell you what. We're so thankful for those of you in our audience that have supported Preborn financially because you're saving babies' lives. You really are stopping abortions. I'm just asking everybody right now if you haven't given or maybe you have and it's like, I want to give something every year. And so it's 2025. Folks, preborn has been around a long time, and they're in pro-life centers all across the country, and they have ultrasound machines in them, and they show ultrasound images of unborn babies to the expectant moms. And when a mom sees a picture of her baby, boom, she chooses life. She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood. And by the way, she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior too. Problem is, we don't have enough ultrasound machines. We don't have enough ultrasound images being shown to meet the demand. And that's why we're asking everybody in the audience right now, do one of two things, either A, Buy an ultrasound machine. They're $15,000 a piece. That's a nice tax write-off for you, and your forever legacy is you're stopping thousands and thousands of abortions every single year, okay? Option B, if you can't buy an ultrasound machine, pay for a certain number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of babies' lives that you'll save. Take $28 times fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, that's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you stopped. So either way, here's how you give to Preborn. Just go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or you can give over the phone 24-7. Just call right now, 833-850-BABY. 833-850-BABY. Mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you folks doing this. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors. And, Neil, sponsors like SunPowerLED. Because I'll tell you what, I know from firsthand experience how well this works. I know you do, too. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
Photobiomodulation is this big scientific term. All it means is light therapy. It's using certain wavelengths of light to help heal the human body. And I've been talking about the proverbial opera singer who sings a particular note at a particular time. level of volume and and resonance and can shatter a champagne glass i think we've all seen that it might not be as simple as it looks like in the movies but the fact is even under uh you know sound amplification it can be done because those sound waves move the molecules within the champagne glass in its actual fiber and makeup well same thing is true with human cells using light waves I'm not talking about harmful UV radiation or anything like that. I'm talking about red and near-infrared light that penetrates the human body, excites the mitochondria in the cell, wakes it up and says, hey, do your job. And those cells begin to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing. It's an incredible thing that you really need to see for yourself. So we encourage you to check out SunPowerLED by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. That's CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And click on SunPowerLED, watch the videos, learn about how light therapy can help reduce pain and swelling and reduce healing in the human body. And by the way, that's the very light God himself created. Well, I wanted to touch on a number of things today, and this is the last podcast. We record this on Wednesday morning each week, and this is the last podcast before the inauguration, which is kind of unbelievable, actually. And maybe let me just throw it out here. John, you haven't said much today. Did you ever think we'd see this day? Think about all that's transpired in the last four years, especially, even before that. Two impeachments. you know, four indictments, two assassination attempts. Did you ever think we'd be having this podcast?
SPEAKER 02 :
Even guys, even all the way up to, you know, a year ago, did I think we'd be here today talking about this? No, I really didn't. I mean, I think it just shows you a lot of the things we've talked about on the podcast, even leading up to the elections, you know, things that the American public tired of you know you're tired of being you know uh ostracized men especially they're tired of all the wokeness and on and on we go i mean it to me it really does show that that there's a movement in the country where people are fed up with certain things that are going on and they want changes made
SPEAKER 04 :
Some people don't even follow politics at all. And I think just in listening to casual conversation would have said, oh, Trump, he'll never, you know, he's done. And I remember, honestly, after DeSantis was reelected governor of Florida, he gave a pretty blistering speech. speech and i thought wow this is the future maybe of conservative politics in the u.s whether or not he could ever win as president i don't know but i think that's the guy right there who has a powerful message to share he obviously faded into oblivion like quickly and all of a sudden donald trump started re-emerging you touched on people being fed up with the woke agenda john i think you're hitting on something there bob i mean what in your opinion caused the turnaround because i think any normal thinking human being even conservatives who loved the policies Trump used to put forward in his first term as president, didn't really think that he was going to have an overwhelming victory in 2024.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think the Democrat Party has gone so radically, insanely left-wing. And what happened is that through different alternative media forums and such, somehow, someway, we got to get the message out that independent swing voters saw the Democrat Party for what it is. This is just getting too crazy, insane leftist. You guys realize, for all the times... that Democrats have repeatedly said Ronald Reagan couldn't get elected in today's Republican Party. Okay. No, Bill Clinton couldn't get elected in today's Democrat Party. He couldn't. You got to remember the Defense of Marriage Act, which declared the U.S. government's official position is marriage is only one man and one woman. Bill Clinton is the president who signed that into law. Okay. Bill Clinton in his 19, and I'm not defending Bill Clinton. I couldn't stand how liberal he was then. Okay. But Bill Clinton in his 1995 State of the Union address, you should, I encourage you guys, go back and watch that State of the Union address, his comments about illegal aliens. And he didn't call them undocumented workers. He called them illegal aliens. And he said, illegal aliens coming into this country, okay, are taking jobs that belong to Americans. They cannot come in here. This is not right. If you come in this country illegally, you are going out and whatever. And he got a standing ovation from the Republicans and the Democrats at the time. I told my audience on my show, you know what Donald Trump ought to do? Because he's a troller. We know that. Donald Trump ought to take the transcript of Bill Clinton's exact words, and he ought to speak those at some rally, some event, some interview. Say those exact words. Let MSNBC and CNN go crazy about how hateful that is. And then say, oh, guess what, everybody? I just plagiarized Bill Clinton. OK, so I honestly I think there's blowback to the Democrat Party has just gone insane. Gender confusing our children, traumatizing women in the bathrooms, locker rooms and showers, wide open borders, crime through the roof, foreign policy embarrassments. So I that's what I think it is. And it's like I think they realize I may not like Trump's personality, but you know what? The guy is a doer and a shaker. You know, he knows how to get things done.
SPEAKER 04 :
I tend to agree with you, Bob. I think you're right. And John alluded to some of this, too. But I mean, just the idea of the woke agenda that has been shoved down the throats of the American people over the last four years. And as much as you're talking about cultural slide, because what you're describing is how far this whole world has come, you know, that Clinton couldn't get elected by the Democrats if he ran right now. You're probably right. And that indicates cultural slide. But obviously, to some degree, even people in the Democratic Party felt like the Biden administration went too far. And some are now saying that Joe Biden is more or less, and I put this in quotes, burning down the House on his way out by making statements like, I could have beat Kamala Harris. and defending his record as president. I think most Democrat strategists, I could be wrong on this, but I think most strategists are like, no, we want to distance ourselves from that message right now because that's what got Trump elected.
SPEAKER 02 :
John, your thoughts on that? Yeah, I think you're right. And there's even some leftist talk show hosts and so on that, by the way, if they were on our podcast right now, would be agreeing with the three of us along these lines i mean they're actually talking about the very things that we're talking about yet they'll interview prominent democrats have them on their shows and i've seen some of these interviews and the reality is guys you know the majority of democrats are still in total denial and have no clue as to why they lost this last election which by the way i hope they keep going down that path I hope they don't figure out what they did wrong the last time around because I want to continue to beat them. I'm afraid at some point they probably will wake up. Although, guys, there is some that are just so mentally out there. The mental illness runs rampant in the Democrat Party. I don't know how else to say it. Being liberal is a mental illness, I always say, and I mean that sincerely because you just don't think straight. And the reality is until they get that in check, I don't know if they're ever going to be back on track.
SPEAKER 03 :
guys yeah well actually john if you think about it you got joe biden uh actually not only puts out that letter of oh it was such an honor to serve and you know what i was such a great president uh but he even said just the other day that the the economy or in foreign policy he's late he says i'm leaving trump a strong hand to play it's like are you kidding me we're so And actually defended the – bragged about the Afghan withdrawal. And it's like – so, yes, this clueless nature of what his handlers – I don't think this is Joe Biden. I don't. They're telling him what to say and what to read. So the people, the shadow government that really has been running things, whether it's Joe Biden or whoever it is that's been really running things – They're just deciding we're going to go out and, if I can use the term gaslight, we're just going to tell people these aren't the droids you're looking for. This is really what reality is. And hopefully some of it sticks.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, one other thing about that, I've got a few more things I want to say about Joe Biden potentially, quote, burning down the House. But, Bob, you and I have talked about the fact that We host radio programs that are also heard in Canada. You've got Canadian listeners I do as well. We may have more just because it's a better program. No, I'm kidding. We cover Toronto, you know, and you've got a lot of farmland on the other side, maybe. We've got Ontario, Canada, yeah. yeah but um okay but but the bottom line is i think something similar has happened in canada as well people want trudeau out people aren't that's right canada's pretty liberal but trudeau was so whacked out liberal that people are coming to their senses saying we we can't live this way this is no way to live and they've had immigration problems as well they definitely had problems with the whole lockdown situation during covid i mean covid policy played into how people feel about the legacy of the Biden administration. I don't know your thoughts, but I honestly think that something similar is happening in Canada with people realizing we don't want Trudeau for the same reasons that we don't want Biden or the progressive liberals.
SPEAKER 03 :
The polls show it. I think I mentioned this on last week's podcast that A poll was taken in Canada among Canadian voters asking them, who do you trust more, the Conservative Party or the Liberal Party? And 47% said the Conservative Party, but 18% said the Liberal Party. The rest, you know, I don't know. But 47% to 18%, that is extremely lopsided. You look at the popularity of Pierre Polyev in Canada right now, he's probably going to be the next prime minister. So, yeah, I think that there is a certain measure of... Trudeau was so hardcore leftist and our lives are not better off. We're having less freedom, less liberty and add to the whole trucker thing, of course. But just economically, it's just not working. The liberals are in charge of everything and it's just not working. We're losing time for a change. Yeah, no doubt.
SPEAKER 04 :
John, let me ask you this. Donald Trump has said he's going to pardon January 6th participants. My personal opinion, I pray to God he doesn't pardon people who were convicted of violent crimes during all of that. I'm talking about the moms and the pops that walked in and were kind of looking around like, wow, this is incredible. Look at it. It's the Capitol building. But either way... He'll be watched closely for the pardons, but let's back up a minute. Joe Biden, on his way out, pardoning his son not only for the offense regarding his handgun and handling of all that, but supposedly for anything that may or may not have happened, any criminal activity that may have happened during an 11-year period, which does include when he was operating as a board member of Burisma in Ukraine. That... I think that will forever be remembered by the American people. Your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it'll be interesting to see, does he pardon himself on the way out? Does he need to pardon himself and his wife on the way out? I mean, I don't know, guys. To your point, though, Neil, yes, he'll be remembered for that. In a lot of ways, you're literally saying, we know there's things there. I'm going to pardon him anyways just to make sure no matter what, there's no repercussions on down the road, period. It's a big, huge CYA is what that is. And I'm really, honestly, to this point, Shocked that he hasn't done it for himself. Will he between now and next Sunday, Monday? Great question, guys. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, that's probably a deeper discussion we could have. I don't know if he does, but actually he probably should.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and, okay, Bob, your thoughts on this? Because I think that if he does, if he does what John says and then he decides to pardon himself, that's, in a sense, kind of a smoking gun. Like, I've committed crimes and I'm going to pardon myself so nobody ever finds out what they were or something. At least it has that appearance.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it would be a stupid move. I know. I wouldn't be a bit surprised. And of course, the way that he would word it, the way his handlers would word it, and the way that the media would report it is, I've done anything wrong, but I know that I'm going to prepare myself for the dishonest revenge attempts of the Trump administration or whatever. But at this point, there is nothing Joe Biden and his handlers could do that would surprise me. And I do want to say also, regarding Donald Trump and the J6 people, For me, here's really what it comes down to. Anybody who did not engage in any kind of violence whatsoever, absolutely they should be pardoned. That's right. I do not believe that they should be pardoned. However, I think every single one of them should have their sentences commuted because they've already been in prison for three or four years. And what I'm arguing is that's long enough to serve for pushing a police officer. Yes, you deserve to go to jail. if you assault a police officer. I agree. Okay. But you know what? The average, I've said this many times, the average rapist in America gets seven years, but there are many rapists who get one or two years. I had, I talked about this on my show. I had a former police officer email me saying, look, I have sent countless rapists to jail and you want to know something? I can't tell you how many times I've seen them get even less than a year in prison for that. So seven years, and you've got J6 people, the most violent of the violent J6 people, Still, killed no one, shot no one, pointed a gun at no one, set zero fires. They were violent and they were wrong, okay? But they don't deserve 20 years in prison as several of them have gotten. They don't deserve three times what a rapist gets. They don't deserve 10 times what a drug dealer averages, which is just over two years. So that to me is a... They've served their prison time. Three to four years, that's enough. Commute their sentence, leave it on their record. Don't pardon them, but commute their sentence. I think... Every single JSEC person needs to be walking free right now, just either pardoned or commuted. Got about 30 seconds. I agree. Do you agree with that, John?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, absolutely. Everything Bob just said, I would second that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Yeah, well, we'll see what happens once he takes office. Monday is the date for the inauguration. So a lot to watch in the news, and we're going to be talking about more of this as we continue. But let me first of all say one of the things that goes hand in hand with this switchover from the Biden administration to the Trump administration is a hope that somebody will stand up to Big Pharma and represent the common man. The feeling is that big government, big tech, Big Pharma, have really not been for the needs of the people right now, but they've been about making big money and pushing agendas that really are not to the benefit of the average human being. Big Pharma is definitely in the middle of that whole thing. Big Pharma obviously has an agenda, and that's to sell drugs, expensive drugs in many cases. And if we can keep people on those drugs for the rest of their life and simply manage the problems they have as opposed to actually trying to heal them, Well, then you're going to make a lot of money in the long run. But the bottom line is people deserve better than that. And I thank God for SunPowerLED because they're putting out a product that involves what's called light therapy or photobiomodulation, which is simply using the light God created. to help reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in our bodies. So migraines, joint pain, wound care, post-surgical care. You need to get better. You need to heal. You need to reduce pain and swelling, promote healing in your body. Learn about what light therapy can do for you by connecting with sunpowerled.com. And our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Again, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on SunPowerLED and watch what light therapy can do for you. Bob, we've got about 90 seconds here. Thank God for our sponsors, Preborn. They make this possible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, they sure do. And a lot of our listeners are going to pre-born. And I'm just asking you right now, maybe you have 2025 is a new year. Would you give to them again? You're talking about saving babies' lives, showing ultrasound images of unborn babies to expectant moms in pro-life centers across the country. But the problem is, folks, that demand is higher than the supply. Right now, there are pro-life centers around the country that they don't have an ultrasound machine in there. They're not able to show the ultrasound images of these babies to the moms. But when a mom does see a picture of that baby, she chooses life almost all the time. By the way, she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior too. So we're asking you in the audience, Pay for ultrasounds. You're saving babies' lives. Do one of two things. Either buy an ultrasound machine or pay for an individual number of images. If you buy an ultrasound machine, they're $15,000 a piece, great tax write-off for you, and your forever legacy is you are stopping thousands and thousands of abortions every year. How great is that? For everybody else, pay for a certain number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. How many babies' lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, that's your gift to pre-born. So here's how you give. Go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on pre-born, and give right there. And 100% of what you give, every penny, goes to ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn, or they answer the phones 24-7. You can give over the phone to a real-life person. Call 833-850-BABY, 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call.
SPEAKER 04 :
We've got plenty to talk about in the second half of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, the first days of the Trump administration, etc., and we'll get to it as we continue here. Don't go away. More to come on the National Crawford Roundtable podcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 04 :
You're listening to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, the final podcast of the Biden administration. By the time we speak again, Lord willing, Donald Trump will have been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. So this is being recorded on Wednesday morning, the inauguration coming, of course, on Monday. And then Bob's Ohio State Buckeyes will win the national championship Monday night. It's going to be a great day Monday. Guys, let's talk about the California wildfires for a minute. I don't want to glaze over this, but on the other hand, we can't ignore it. It's been a huge story in the news, massive destruction in the state of California as a result of this. And people are now beginning, as it begins to wind down, Lord willing, it looks like it's going to be... you know over with sooner sooner rather than later but uh people are asking the question you know was this arson was it an accident is it an act of god i mean i'm not sure anybody knows exactly but people are beginning to ask questions and point fingers then who's who's to blame for this let me just get some reaction now that entire week this was going on last week we talked about this to some degree john your thoughts i mean you've been through a wildfire before
SPEAKER 02 :
I have. And, you know, we get those in Colorado on a pretty routine basis. We've been pretty fortunate this year, haven't had so far this year. I mean, the season, I guess I should say, hasn't been too bad. But our dry season, you know, anytime that happens, we have a lot of the same things that they just went through. And, you know, what started it, guys? I haven't the foggiest idea. I'm not sure that they'll ever know. A lot of the ones that start here in Colorado, they try their best to try to figure out exactly, you know, what the root cause was. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. you know, bottom line in California, same here in Colorado and other states, they're going to happen. This won't be the last one they have. Unfortunately, there will be others. How are you planning ahead to manage for them is always the question. And in the biggest disappointment, I think people have, especially those that are out there right now is just the absolute total failure, lack of planning, lack of management, lack of management, leadership once it actually happened. I mean, they're so woke, they're more worried about three lesbians being in charge than they are people actually qualified to get the job done. And I think people are finally fed up. The question really is in California, is this going to be a turning point for how they vote moving forward, knowing the disaster they just went through?
SPEAKER 04 :
And real quick before we move to Bob, I'm just curious. Some people have said this could spell the end of Gavin Newsom's political career.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think it does. You do? Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
I was going to ask if you thought it was an overstatement. And why? Simple mismanagement? That this should have been handled differently under his watch?
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, when you have Democrats even, you know, Hollywood movie stars and so on, talking about the mismanagement of everything, that does not bode well for him at all.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. All right, Bob, let's move to you. Your thoughts on all this? We've been watching it, obviously.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, you know, I think the last thing that John said here is really the key to this. Will this actually change the electoral process out in California? Will some of these leftists start realizing maybe just maybe the Democrats are not the people that we should be trusting here? And maybe we give the Republicans a new look. This is just part of the blowback process. that has pushed Donald Trump back into office. I mean, people in California are realizing, well, hold on a minute here. We're not clearing away the underbrush and the dead trees. We're not thinning the forest with controlled burns. We're not doing that because, after all, we have to protect the Scandinavian spotted cricket and their natural habitat. We're not building the desalinization machines and plants that we should be building so that we can fill the reservoirs. I know we're pumping water in California into the Pacific Ocean. So and we're creating a tinderbox in our forests. So if a spark ignites, whoosh, it's going to spread through California. Yes, John, you're absolutely right. When Hollywood liberals are like, OK, this is ridiculous. All right. There comes a point where California voters have to have the light bulb go off over their head and say, you know something, we're going to do this. We may think that the Republicans are a bunch of hate mongers, but they at least know how to keep us safe and prosperous.
SPEAKER 02 :
And really quick, let me add something to what you guys are saying as well. They've only seen the tip of the iceberg. As somebody that's been through this, wait till they start going through the whole... hassle factor of putting in your claim and figuring out what you're going to do next and are you going to rebuild or are you going to just sell your lot off and on and on and on we go i mean they are just at the tip of the iceberg guys by the way don't forget the ap says that this is really a racist fire on top of that but but you know what you can't blame
SPEAKER 03 :
You really can't blame, and far be it for me to rally for the insurance companies, but you can't blame insurance companies for saying we're pulling fire insurance from California when we're watching the mismanagement being created this way. There comes a certain point where you say, this is nuts. If your policies are going to make it easier for fires to spread, why in the world would we offer fire insurance?
SPEAKER 02 :
So you should really, not to throw a monkey wrench into all of this, but Who's the smartest guy at State Farm that pulled out right before these?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. Somebody.
SPEAKER 02 :
Who has the crystal ball at State Farm? Unbelievable, guys.
SPEAKER 03 :
By the way, we've got to remember, too, if they kept fire insurance in California and they would be shelling out billions and billions and billions of dollars in fire insurance settlements, you think that's just California? No. State Farm, Allstate, everybody.
SPEAKER 02 :
We're all going to be affected.
SPEAKER 03 :
Homeowner's insurance will go up. We all end up paying for it because insurance companies are really nothing more than one big pool that everybody pays into. And those who don't make claims end up paying for those who do. So everybody's rates would go up if they didn't pull out of California.
SPEAKER 02 :
So we had a conversation on our program last night talking about if, you know, feds are going to give money, of course, and so on. And the thing that I think Donald Trump needs to step in and do is there needs to be heavy strings attached to any federal money that goes back out there to help them rebuild. In other words, we're only giving this money if you do X, Y, Z. Like what? Like the things Bob just mentioned, fire mitigation. Let's get these dams and things built that you guys have already had money allocated for. Let's get these things going so that really you are proactive moving forward and not reactive. And environmental groups, sorry, get in line. We're going to do the things necessary to make sure people are safe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so you're talking about government policy. When you first said it, I thought you were talking about individual homeowners.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, no, no. Government policy as in, you know, state of California, we're not giving you X until you do X. That's right. That's right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And by the way, life insurance companies, they charge more for people that skydive or smoke. That's right. I mean, there's a certain sense of if you're doing things. And as a government, a state government, if you're doing things in your policies that are just going to increase the odds that you have disaster and you're inviting disaster in your state, then we're not going to subsidize that. It's that simple. That's not a mean-spirited thing. That's forcing them to do the right thing to keep people safe and alive out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, it's irritating as a taxpayer, honestly, guys, to have to be funneling money back out there to total mismanagement. I don't know about the rest of everybody listening, but as a taxpayer myself, a net taxpayer, there is nothing more infuriating than watching your own tax dollars go to things like this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Well, Bob, technology has been used for evil and it's also being used for good. Thank God for ultrasound technology that shows us the development of a baby inside a mother's womb. It's been used to help women choose life for their children and does so on many occasions. Preborn provides a lot of that technology and they're one of our major sponsors. Can you talk about that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. Preborn puts ultrasound machines in pro-life centers all across the country. It shows these ultrasound images. It would be great if every pro-life center had an ultrasound machine. It would be great if every pro-life center could show ultrasound images to expectant moms. But they can't. We don't have enough ultrasounds out there. Preborn is the one who supplies them, but it takes money to supply them. This is where we come in, folks, the body of Christ. We're asking you to pay for the ultrasound images so we can get more of them out there. When a mom sees a picture of her baby, an ultrasound image, that's the first time she's ever seen what her baby looks like. So I'm not surprised that statistically she almost always chooses life. She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood, and she usually accepts Jesus Christ. So here's how you pay for these ultrasound images and save babies' lives. Do one of two things. Either A, buy an ultrasound machine, or B, pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. Option A, an ultrasound machine, buying it is $15,000. Right. Nice tax write off for you. And, you know, you get to go to bed every night knowing that you are saving thousands and thousands of babies lives year after year after year. What a legacy in your family or business. Now, for everybody else, I wish I had 15 grand to buy a machine. I can't do that. OK, fine. Pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. Twenty eight dollars is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion to save one baby's life. So how many babies lives will you save? Take twenty eight dollars times fill in the blank. Pray about a number. And then that's your gift to pre-born. Maybe you gave last year. Will you give again in 2025? And 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So here's how you give. Go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on pre-born. or just give them a call. They answer the phones 24-7. You can give right there, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you doing that. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors like Preborn, like SunPower LED, which I'll tell you what, Neal, the photo bimodulation that they do at SunPower LED is remarkable. And it's all natural too, which is great. No shots, no drugs, no injections, no none of that stuff.
SPEAKER 04 :
No surgery. Yeah, I mean, it's all natural. Using the light God himself created to heal our bodies. Let me tell you about that, because four years ago today, January 15th, I couldn't breathe. I mean, I could take a breath, but I wasn't getting any value out of it. I had come down with COVID right after Christmas, I think like the 26th or whatever, and for about three weeks. I got worse and worse to the point where my blood oxygen saturation number was like 82. And if I got up to walk across the room, it dropped to 79. And I was being told, you need to go to the hospital. But the paramedics that came to my house on three separate occasions because I couldn't breathe said, don't go to the hospital. You'll sit in the hallway. Nobody's going to see you. Nobody's going to care for you. Your wife's a nurse. You're hanging on. You're not delusional right now. Hold on, and let's see where this goes. Well, Tom Kerber of Kerber USA, one of the makers of this photobiomodulation and light therapy, called me and said, look, I've got a device that I think can help you. And he sent it to me. I started using it, putting it on my chest. And the red light and near-infrared wavelengths penetrated my body, got to my lungs, and started healing my lungs. And in a matter of two weeks, I was back at 99% blood oxygen content. I was really on the doorstep of being hospitalized with a ventilator. God used red light therapy to help heal my body. No surgery, no pharmaceuticals. So check it out for yourself. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on SunPowerLED. That's S-U-N like sun in the sky. SunPowerLED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Well, you're listening, obviously, to the National Crawford Roundtable. Bob Duco, John Rush, myself, Neil Boron. We've got so many things to talk about. I'm wondering where to go from here. But this is the last time we're going to be talking before, Lord willing, Donald Trump is sworn in as 47th president of the United States. One of the things that's all of a sudden appeared in the news is the talk about the U.S. potentially taking over or buying Greenland. The Panama Canal situation, he's referred to Canada as the 51st state and probably tongue-in-cheek, but has said, you know, Justin Trudeau would be the governor of Canada. Now he's also talking about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. What's going on, guys? What are you seeing in all of this? What's happening? Bob, let me start with you on this. What are your thoughts?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, first of all, Trump is a troller. I think that the Canadian thing is certainly trolling. There's no way realistic. It made Trudeau resign. This is true. This is true. Well, that combined with the threatened 25% tariffs and Trudeau flying down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Trump's ring. Please don't do this. Right. So I think it's being perceived as weak by his own liberals. Okay. Gulf of America. You know what? I'm for that. Why not?
SPEAKER 02 :
I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, it's like, why not? And actually, I was assuming that Mexico had more shoreline in the Gulf of America than the U.S. did. I looked at a map. It's like, actually, they don't. I mean, the U.S. has more of Gulf of Mexico shoreline than Mexico does, so why not?
SPEAKER 02 :
Anyways, because to your point, Bob, there's a whole lot more U.S. coastline if you do it correctly.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. And you know something? As far as taking over Greenland and Panama Canal, buying Greenland and somehow getting Panama Canal back, I am all for that. Not just because... you always want to buy Marvin Gardens and St. Charles Place if you have a chance to, okay? Not just because of that, but there's very strong strategic benefits in us having control of the Panama Canal again, and especially for foreign policy purposes, Greenland as well. Why are we at the point where suddenly the U.S. doesn't buy? If we go back to 1960, well, should we have bought Alaska or not? Of course we should. Well, I don't know when we bought it. That's when they became a state, Alaska and Hawaii. But when we bought Alaska, when we bought Hawaii- Wasn't as long ago as you think.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let's just say that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Why would we not? Yeah. Why would we not? Okay. We bought Hawaii. We bought Alaska. Okay. We bought Puerto Rico. I mean, if there's areas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, if there's areas that we can go ahead and buy and acquire, why wouldn't we do it? And Donald Trump is the epitome of, let me buy up some land and and dramatically increase its value, why would we not have him bring that to the table and let it be in the history books that Greenland and Panama Canal are the United States territory?
SPEAKER 02 :
At the end of the day, really, what this is all about, if you ask me and Bob, get you and Neil's opinion, but... This is a big poke in the eye at China, whether he does anything along these lines or not. What he's really telling China is, guys, back off. I'm back in charge. We're going to do things my way. You guys have had your full run of the Panama Canal. You're running ships constantly in submarines, you and Russia, past Greenland. And the reality is you've had your way throughout the world, and that ends on January 20th.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know what he reminds me of, honestly, Trump? Trump reminds me of the guy who's always, always, always on the offensive, always moving. And it's like he's not like, OK, well, everything's a mess, so I'm going to play it safe and just try to tread water and keep things from getting worse and maybe they'll get better. He's a guy who's like, oh, no, what, the game is close and it's fourth down and fourth in inches? You know what? I'm throwing a long 25-yard pass, okay? Let's get aggressive. I mean, so no matter what is going on, he's like, oh, no, wait a minute. I'm not just treading water. I'm taking three steps forward. And you're right. It sends a message to China, to Russia, to everybody else that's like, you're not going to be able to keep up with me. You think we're on the defensive? You're not going to be able to keep up with the direction I'm taking this country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. I think it's interesting. And whether it's tongue in cheek or not, I think it's hilarious. On Monday, U.S. House Republicans unveiled a bill that would allow Trump to start negotiations with Denmark, quote, to secure the acquisition of Greenland by the United States. By the way, the Denmark's prime minister said Greenland's not for sale, but there does seem to be.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's always a price.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, exactly, that there is open potential for some negotiation here. But what's funny is that Representative Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, I don't know if you saw this, he's the main sponsor of a two-page Make Greenland Great Again Act.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. It's really funny. The reason why I always say there's a price, do either of you have any idea what the GDP of Greenland actually is? No.
SPEAKER 03 :
Do you know? Did you look it up?
SPEAKER 02 :
I looked it up. $3.2 billion is all.
SPEAKER 03 :
3.2, that's not much. Well, you know what? That means you should be able to get it for a pretty decent price.
SPEAKER 02 :
You may have did five times GDP and bought the thing for, you know, I don't know what, 15, 18 million or $18 billion.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you stretch it out over whatever.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let's say you give them $100 billion. Is it worth it at that point? Absolutely it is. And the reality is with Greenland or, you know, with Denmark, look at $100 billion as something that they might entertain. You're darn right they would.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just waiting for the memes to say it's a billionaire Donald Trump just wants Greenland because it's called Greenland, you know.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's actually, and this I did do some research on. I didn't realize this prior. It's actually, militarily speaking, very strategic, much like we have Hawaii. It's very strategic for us up in that area. And frankly, we don't have enough presence and need more.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we would have military presence there. We totally would.
SPEAKER 04 :
There's this referred to in one of the articles I read as the mythical Northwest Passage. It was never really opened before, but with some of the ice melt there, it looks like it could improve shipping routes, but I'm 100% in agreement with you. I really believe this has more to do with military strategy than it does shipping lanes. So we'll see.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And a message to China. Because the reality, guys, is, and most people don't, because you've got to look at the world map, and yes, we live on a globe. We don't live on a flat Earth. If you look at the area up there and how submarines and other things that could actually come into our eastern seaboard, and you look at the openness of what's there right now, yeah, it's very strategic.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know what? We got Alaska, Greenland and Hawaii surrounding the mainland of the United States. Yes. It positions us very well long term in this country.
SPEAKER 02 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
In foreign policy and security and everything else. This is a really, really. And by the way, can I just say on a side note? People look at Greenland, but it's just one big iceberg, isn't it? It's just a whole bunch of ice. Do you know why Greenland is called Greenland? Because it used to be green underneath all that snow and ice when Leif Erikson and the Vikings and everybody else were. It used to be green. That's why it's called Greenland. Apparently, they had a lot of... SUVs and drove EVs a thousand years ago.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's a big problem. One quick quote, Donald Trump on Truth Social said, for the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Then listen to the way he words this. I'm talking about protecting the free world. You don't even need binoculars. You look outside, you have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We're not letting that happen. And so I think obviously military strategy is a huge reason.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that one I look at him being a lot more serious. I mean, that one in the Panama Canal, he's probably pretty serious. I know there's a lot of Panamanians or however you say that that aren't real happy about that. But the reality is, this is what they don't even understand. They're not running it. China is. And that's what Trump wants to end. China's running the canal. Panama's not. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, agreed. And by the way, regarding Canada, I think it's all tongue-in-cheek. I'm not saying that he doesn't want different economic policy towards trade with Canada, that's for sure. But as far as the Canadian people, I've seen some statistics, only like 10% would even consider such a thing. I'm talking about the people of Canada. And I have friends there and stuff, and there's a lot of nationalistic pride. Canada wants its own sovereignty. That would create more problems, I think, than than help in the long run, but better cooperation economically with Canada, I think is important down the road. So we'll see where that goes. I want to ask you guys before this all gets away from us, we've got a few minutes left here. The Trump, you know, cabinet appointments, Pete Hegseth's been under fire recently here, obviously. There's an effort to kind of step things up so that some of the cabinet or all of the cabinets in place by inauguration day, I don't think that's going to happen, but... A lot of pushback on Pete Hegseth, obviously, but also RFK Jr., people saying, look at what qualifications does this guy have to run health and human services. I wanted to get some of your thoughts. All right, so John, maybe we'll start with you on that one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, so some of the confirmations and stuff that's going on, and I have not had time – I'm doubting, Neil, you have either. I've watched a lot of excerpts of different things. I didn't get a chance to watch the entire thing with Pete, for example. And I think the one thing people have to realize with Pete especially is, number one, he's not a politician. Is he going to be as polished with – his answers and his ability to handle some of these what I call slick politicians that have been sitting in those chairs for, in some cases, decades, Neil. No, he's not going to be as slick as a Marco Rubio or even a RFK Jr., by the way, will be. On the same token, I think Pete's done a pretty good job of defending himself. They've attacked him on all sorts of things that, frankly, have nothing to do with the job of defense secretary when it's all said and done. But I think he's handled himself very well. Will he get confirmed? You know, I think at this point, I'm a little more confident than I was, you know, a day or two ago, Neil, that he will. So I think he'll get confirmed again. Will he learn a lot by doing, you know, by being in this job and doing what he's doing? Absolutely. But the one thing I think folks need to realize when they watch him answer some of these questions is, you know, he's not a politician. It'd be like you, you know, you and I, Neil, up there answering questions. We're not politicians. We're going to answer them just like a regular civilian would. And that's what Pete has done.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and John, I think you're absolutely right, you know, based on what you're saying. But let me add something, too. I think that a lot of people would rightly say, does he have the qualifications to lead the organization? Well, in one sense, he doesn't really need to. Let me give you an example. I have a friend who's a pastor who runs a bakery. He bought a bakery and runs it as a business, but he also serves in pastoral ministry. He doesn't know anything about baking, but he knows something about business and running a business. And he's got a highly successful bakery because he hires the right people to do the right things. I don't think that RFK needs to know everything there is to know about medicine, but he can surround himself with other people that are like-minded in saying, we got to get people healthy again. And, you know, big pharma... Americans are living longer than ever before, but we're not healthier than ever before. And we've got to fix that problem. So the idea that he's skeptical towards big pharma I think is going to be a plus for the American people. Bob, do you have any thoughts on this, Bob?
SPEAKER 02 :
I think we lost Bob or Neil. I think he's got some connection issues. So you and I will finish things up, which we can definitely handle.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Well, let's do that. And we're going to need to talk about pre-born and admit. But as long as we're talking about RFK, let me mention again, some of you are experiencing a tremendous amount of distrust towards Big Pharma. And your feeling is that, you know, I've been on medication my whole life, but I'm not getting better. So what's the problem here? And, you know, Big Pharma's goal is to keep you on medication. There's no desire to see you be healed, because if you're actually healed of whatever disease you're struggling with, whatever physical ailment you've got, then you don't need to purchase medication anymore. And somebody ought to be asking the question, is that right? Is that good for the American people? And should we allow that? So hopefully RFK will step in and do it. But listen, there is a treatment that's available that is non-invasive, meaning no surgery involved, no medication involved. It's called red light therapy, and it is available from our friends at SunPowerLED. What is it? Well, it takes the very light God himself created, certain wavelengths of red and near-infrared light, and it utilizes that light to penetrate the skin, no UV harmful radiation or anything like that, but it penetrates the skin, gets deep into the body, gets to the cells, energizes the mitochondria, wakes up the cell, and the cell begins to do what it was intended to do, and that's to provide life and heal your body. And it's unbelievable. You really need to look at what a red light therapy can do for you. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Sun, S-U-N, like sun in the sky, Sun Power LED, CrawfordMediaGroup.net, and check it out. We could not do any of this, John, without the help of our friends at Preborn.
SPEAKER 02 :
You are correct. And you hear Bob talk about it a lot. I feel him and Bob can't. And Preborn, just a great organization. You know, I give to them on a routine basis and love them dearly. They're there to help not only the unborn, but the moms that are carrying the unborn. There's two lives. Actually, there's multiple lives, as you know, Neil, that'll be affected by these decisions, not just those two. But those two immediately are the ones that are affected most. Preborn is there to not only help save babies' lives, but help save literally the spiritual and physical life of the mother as well, and of course have huge effect upon the rest of the family. They do that by showing ultrasound images of the baby. By the way, Planned Parenthood does not do that. Even though they have the same equipment or better, they do not show the image to the mom. In this particular case, Preborn does. It works. They save babies' lives on a daily basis, and a lot of you listening say, you know, I want to do everything I possibly can to help create life and save babies' lives. We'll do that by donating to Preborn. Just go to the National Crawford. Sorry, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net is what I should say. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on the pre-born link there and donate. And as I always say, put your money where your mouth is, Neal.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we've only got a couple minutes left, and I guess we did lose Bob along the way. My thought is, John, that he's afraid that I was going to bring up that the Buffalo Bills are coming after his Detroit Lions. You know, we want them in the Super Bowl. Let's go. You know what?
SPEAKER 02 :
You could see that matchup.
SPEAKER 04 :
It might happen.
SPEAKER 02 :
You could.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let me ask you this real quick. I saw an article. I didn't really pay close attention, but during the election, remember, obviously, Trump was handing out French fries at McDonald's. The other big optic was that he was in a garbage truck, a Make America Great Again garbage truck. And apparently that garbage truck, I was told, is going to be somehow a part of the parade after the inauguration come Monday. So I don't know. I think in one sense, Trump is hoping for some kind of a joyous celebration as opposed to just a formal celebration.
SPEAKER 02 :
ceremony uh regarding all this but um i don't know well we haven't a chance to talk about this much i know we're running short on time but really monday's going to be fun in my opinion though neil tuesday is even going to be more fun the very first day what does he do to reverse some of the awful policies that have been implemented by the current administration what's he going to do to try to get things back on track you know giving us all more freedom getting the economy back on track things along those lines that's the day actually i'm more excited for is you know, is Tuesday, not Monday, but we'll see how that goes as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we got about 30 seconds left. I'm just curious. Shouldn't he be very concerned, not just about what happens on Monday, but what happens between his first day in office and the midterm elections? Because he lost control. Yeah, and what was it, 2018?
SPEAKER 02 :
He's got to have a really solid run these next two years. Really, not even two years, 18 months, Neal, is about what he's got to be able to have any kind of effectiveness in the midterms.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I think grow his relationship with minority voters, young voters, all of which showed support to him, and obviously he won by a landslide in that last election. Anyhow, that's going to do it for today's edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. We lost Bob Duco, host of the Bob Duco Show on WMUZ in Detroit. Somehow technology failed us on that one. John Rush, of course, Rush to Reason in Denver, Colorado, one of my colleagues here. And my name is Neil Boron, host of Neil Boron Live. We encourage you to listen every single week. Tell others to listen to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, and Lord willing, we'll see you next week again right here.
SPEAKER 01 :
You've been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, a view of today's culture through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group stations website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
In this episode of The Kim Munson Show, Kim talks with KLZ producers Joe and Luke about Henry Hazlitt's book Economics in One Lesson Listen as the team delves into the intricate discussions surrounding capitalism, cronyism, and how government policies interplay with economic principles. With the inputs of young producers, Luke and Joe, the conversation navigates through the concepts presented in 'Economics in One Lesson' by Henry Hazlitt. The episode scrutinizes historical data on corporate profits and questions the modern economic environment where growth appears skewed by external influences.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. And thank you to all of you who support us. We really appreciate you. And also thank you to Laramie Energy. for their gold sponsorship of the show because it's reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from natural gas, oil, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and helps us control our own personal climate. I think I'm going to add that in permanently. What do you think, Joe? Is that okay?
SPEAKER 07 :
I think so because that personal climate is very, very important. Wait until you have a day of 90 in Colorado. You kind of want that AC.
SPEAKER 06 :
Or what about we're supposed to have some bitter cold this weekend as well. I really am grateful for a warm house. And all I have to do is just basically, you know, hit a button and it happens. Do you know how much work it is back in the old days when they had to warm their homes with coal to bring coal in or to heat your home with wood? It's a lot of work.
SPEAKER 07 :
I actually do. My grandfather has a stone chimney fireplace that is routed throughout his entire house. So every time I go out there, I'm chopping wood and doing a fireplace. It is a pain in the butt. It's a lot of work. And then enough times of use within a week, you've got to clean it out and do it again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do it again. Absolutely. So we are so blessed, and all of this is under attack. I am thrilled to have the young guys here. In here, I was going to say the young guns, but I can't say that in Colorado right now. But Producer Luke and Producer Joe, both 26 years old. I so appreciate their perspectives. We've been going through this book, Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. It says the shortest and surest way to understand basic economics. And Producer Luke, we are to chapters 22 and 23. Almost done. Almost done. And 22 is the function of profits. And he starts off with the indignation shown by many people today at the mention of the very word profit indicates how little understanding there is of the vital function that profits play in our economy. So that sets us up. And I know that sometimes you agree, sometimes you think his tone's a little much. So what do you think about profits, Producer Luke?
SPEAKER 05 :
What do I think about profits? I think, in terms of the way Hazlitt addresses profits, in this chapter specifically, I think it works better almost entirely isolated to a time like pre-1980s. Because I think that's when a lot of what he's saying makes the most sense, and I don't think a lot of that holds up anymore. First, I definitely want to start by saying I get companies need to make profit, right? Not only do you need to pay your employees, you need to produce a product, you need to reinvest in yourself to continue to innovate. Obviously, I understand that. I totally get it. He goes on to state a little bit later in here that profits do not bulk large in our total economy. The net income of incorporated businesses in the 15 years from 1928 to 1943, to take some illustrative figures, averaged less than 5% of the total national income. And then he goes on to give some more details. Dates stating that between 1956 and 1960, the average is less than 6%. Between 1971 to 1975, average less than 6%. And again, to reiterate, this is the net income of incorporated businesses, sort of accounting for a percentage of total national profits or national income. And I felt that that was a little off to me. So I went through and I double-checked his work. And while he is correct in those percentages, those percentages don't hold true to today. If, again, between 1929 and 1943, it's less than 5%. Between 56 and 60 is less than 6%. 71 to 75 is also less than 6%. Kim, I would like you to guess... What percentage of total corporate profits accounted for national income between 2020 and 2024? If you had to throw a number out there. I don't know. 16.7%. That is a huge increase. That is an astronomical increase, especially when you compare it to the historical figures of the past. To be less than 6%, less than 6%, less than 6%, less than 6% over approximately, what is that, 3, 4, 5, over 50 years, just about, averaging 6%. And just to, again, double check, between 1990 and 1995, it was 5%. Uh, jumping a little bit ahead between the year 2000 and 2005, it doubles 10%. Uh, between 2010 and 2015, we stay at 10%. And then again, jumping to 2020 to 2024, 16.7% of national income is corporate profits, not corporate income, corporate profits. Uh,
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, and what's your source on that?
SPEAKER 05 :
I got that from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so government... That is .gov, yep. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Okay, good research on that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I wanted to double-check, and the reason I wanted to double-check is because later on in this chapter, he talks about, contrary to popular impression, profits are achieved not by raising prices, but by introducing economies and efficiencies that cut costs of production. I don't think that's the case in 2020 to 2024. Perhaps this is an observation bias. Perhaps I am blind to some of the workings behind the scenes, but I can't afford eggs anymore, and eggs haven't become any more or less efficient, at least in my immediate experience. You know, the way grocery stores function on a fundamental level have become arguably more efficient. You can do curbside pickup. You can order online. There are so many. There are so many more things going – these systems have become more efficient. We're using AI and the internet to mass order and do all this stuff without the need of an employee for a majority of things. But prices are still going up. Places like Walmart, places – these big energy companies – are recording record profits well nothing's gotten more efficient i mean things have gotten more efficient but the price isn't going down the price is going up they're charging you to use the self-checkout aisle it's uh you know in some of these they're charging you in some of these states yeah uh i think california um of course california california uh there's a couple other states where walmart and people you have to pay a subscription plan to check your own groceries out So I think I do take a little issue with those notions because I'm not seeing that in real life right now. I'm seeing the exact opposite.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Excellent points. Great research. So thank you. So, Joe, prophets, what's your thoughts on this?
SPEAKER 07 :
Just kind of piggybacking off of what Luke said there, I think that is accurate. They're getting really good at efficiency, but as prices are still going up, wages for people aren't still going up. Wages stay the same. And so now that bottom end people that have to pay 20% more for the same goods that they were previously getting, but they're not getting paid anymore, have to live in almost poverty now.
SPEAKER 06 :
And so inflation, my father always said that inflation is that silent thief. And under Jimmy Carter and now under the O'Biden-Harris administration, we had what was called stagflation. And that was where prices were going up, but people's wages were not going up as quickly. And so people are losing ground because of that. So great research on this. And I feel like, what was that game show where you could call your line, you know, you had a line to somebody for a phone call or whatever? Who wants to be a millionaire? But you had a call, you could say, I'm going to take my...
SPEAKER 05 :
Take a lifeline or something?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, take a lifeline. So my lifeline, my friends, is 720-605-0647. Text me as I'm in here with these young guns on this. But first thing that I would say that's just jumping out at me regarding 2020 to 2024 and this huge increase in profits is, is that I say many times there's a difference between capitalism and cronyism. 2020 to 2024, we saw cronyism big time, where you had pharmaceuticals that said, hey, we can make a lot of money if we have government mandate or coerce or use fear or whatever to get people to have to use our product, and we're going to get government to also pay for. our product. So I think that what we might be seeing there is crony profits, not capitalist profits.
SPEAKER 07 :
I actually have an example. I saw there was a hearing for the owner of Boeing. So Boeing is under scrutiny right now because their planes are often falling out of sky or breaking. But at the same time, that owner took a 45% increase in his salary while there were contracts for his maintenance people, his engineers, the people that are doing the groundwork and everything. You know, they went to school, they learned all the skills that they need to to try and succeed. They got locked into a six year contract where their wages never changed. Do you see a problem with that?
SPEAKER 06 :
It does seem like maybe a lack of understanding from the leadership component. And so stay tuned on that. I'm thinking, okay, if they're competing in a real market, then airlines would not be buying their product, which would affect everything, right? Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
But they also have government deals for their planes and stuff like that. So the government is paying for them while they're making more profits and not paying the people who keep the company running. Because honestly, at the end of the day, if you didn't have those technicians and those engineers, the planes aren't getting off the ground.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. This will play on the long term. This is going to work itself out. But this is cronyism. Once again, this is cronyism and lack of leadership, a tenure, if you will, by the CEO to take those kinds of increases in pay when this other stuff is occurring. And I agree. That's a real problem, Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
Piping hot take. Piping hot controversial take. This one's going to catch me some flying. Crony profits are capitalist profits because capitalism has allowed for the cronyism to exist.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, it's not capitalism that has allowed that to exist. What has allowed that to exist is government and big business getting in bed with each other to make rules and regulations and taxes and fees to try to squash their competition. And so it's not capitalism. It is government and business colluding together is what I would say on that. Luke? Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would say, again, the environment of free market capitalism has allowed that path to be taken. It's the natural course of action that it's led to.
SPEAKER 06 :
But what about under socialism and communism?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, if socialism is a slippery slope to communism, then capitalism is a slippery slope to cronyism. The two ideas can't be held independently of each other. If socialism leads to communism, then capitalism must lead to cronyism.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I have to push back on that because capitalism, without government intervention, when government is limited, when it is smaller, when it's not coming in with rules and regulations to favor one over the other, then you have capitalism. And so capitalism doesn't lead to cronyism. It is government, letting government get out of its lane. Joe?
SPEAKER 07 :
I kind of have an in-between take on this one because I kind of agree with Luke that capitalism can lead to cronyism because the cronies are already in the lead. They already have the capital available to make sure that they stay in the lead now. And now they get to use money to force the government and push on the government to… to incite these regulations so that you have to use specific brands of things, specific items of things for regulation purposes when that's not capitalism. Completely right. But it was totally the fact that Originally, they started out on a capitalist idea. It was successful, and then they want to make sure it would always be successful from then on.
SPEAKER 05 :
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it – it was Reagan who was the one who pioneered this idea that the exchange of money to government is constituted under free speech, which is what's allowed lobbying to happen? It's – I mean I think it all leads one into the other.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think I personally do think that money is free speech, that I should be able to do with my money what I want to do. And so we've gotten down here. You know what? Let's we need to. Again, I think we could do another Joe Rogan three hours with you guys on this. This is so interesting. And I really do. Appreciate the conversation. I've got to make so many notes here. All this happens because of our sponsors. And truly, Lavaca Meat is a premium product. It is the steakhouse experience at home. It is a great protein source for your diet. So be sure and check them out. They're at the corner of Nevada and Maine in Old Littleton.
SPEAKER 08 :
Lavaca Meat Company takes great pride in selling only the best. Lavaca Meat Company is a third-generation family-owned business with its roots in eastern Colorado. Lavaca means the cow in Spanish. As our name implies, we only sell beef. No poultry, pork, bison, or game. Just premium quality, aged, mouth-watering beef. Our store is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in the historic Coors Building in downtown Littleton. For a steakhouse experience at home, visit us in person or shop online at LavacaMeat.com. Lavaca Meat Company, only the best. Again, that's LavacaMeat.com.
SPEAKER 01 :
There are always opportunities in changing markets, and the metro real estate market is no exception. That is why you need to work with seasoned RE-MAX Alliance realtor Karen Levine when you buy your home, sell your home, consider the opportunities of a new build, or explore investment properties. Rising interest rates are spurring creativity, innovation, and opportunity in the real estate and mortgage markets. Kim Monson highly recommends award-winning REMAX realtor Karen Levine. Call Karen Levine today at 303-877-7516 for answers to all your real estate questions. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 03 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N, S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. January 23rd, Thursday evening, you've got two great places to be. You're going to have to make a choice. I've tried to be in two places at the same time. Never successfully. And the first is in Pueblo at the Center for American Values. They will be having an event, an On Values event. Bob Chica, who was a crewman on the USS Pueblo, which the Pueblo was taken captive by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War and was held for over a year. And Bob was on that ship. boat as a crewman and was a prisoner for over a year it's going to be super interesting and just check it out at americanvaluecenter.org if you plan on attending let them know so that they have enough chairs and normally they have a little reception with food afterwards as well so that is americanvaluecenter.org and then here in the metro area The Colorado Union of Taxpayers, we will be holding our legislative kickoff event at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, which is at 290 East Spear. There's parking right by the building, so don't be afraid to go down there because we've got everything figured out for you, and we'd love to have you join us. Tickets are $10, and you can get more information on that by going to coloradotaxpayer.com. Okay, gentlemen, we have lots coming in here. So I'm just going to, just let's see here. Let's go through here. It says, somebody said, yes, it is difficult to heat with wood, but it's wise to keep it as a backup system, which is what I'm doing as well. And let's see. We'll talk about eggs here in a minute. This is important to understand. Corporations pay their employees income out of their profit. Let's see. Somebody said, stop demonizing profits, run a business, and then talk to me. But this is our entrepreneurs, Luke. What you've described here during this huge increase in corporate profits, 20 to 24, is where the pharmaceuticals, big business, and big government got in bed with each other. And so what is the answer? The answer is that we reclaim this government for we the people and get it put back into the box that it needs to be in. I know that's a tall order, Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is. It is. But I don't think it's as much government as we'd like it to be. I think government is a good scapegoat, in a sense. I want to pose a sort of thought experiment for an example just because I think maybe I'm having a hard time understanding where your definition between capitalism and cronyism is. And I don't know where that line is, so it's hard to engage with those terms being used. So – Let's sort of create this little bubble of reality where government doesn't exist. Government has no influence on business at all. You have people who need food, water, and air to survive. We need shelter. And again, in this little bubble where government doesn't exist, let's say I have a lot of money, right? And I start an egg business, right? I buy a bunch of chickens, and those chickens produce a bunch of eggs, and then I sell those eggs to people. And let's say I run that business very well for a very long time. And I make a lot of money. I'm beating out my competition. I have some competitors.
SPEAKER 06 :
And why are you beating out your competition?
SPEAKER 05 :
Let's say I'm selling my eggs for a cheaper price and I'm delivering them to your door by myself. So whatever. I'm innovating. I'm providing a good service. I'm beating out my competition. Let's say I make enough money that I want to make some more money. So I buy the neighboring farm. I buy up all of his chickens and all of his eggs. I give him a good payout. He's happy. He can retire. And then I make more money. I make more money. And then I go to the next farmer, and I buy up all of his chickens and his eggs. He's happy to sell it to me. He can retire. He doesn't have to work another day in his life. And here I am with three more farms. Well, what happens when I buy all the farms and I have no more competition and I keep buying the farms until no farms exist besides my farm? And then I increase the price per egg to $500. At what point in that scenario is it cronyism?
SPEAKER 06 :
I would say there is no cronyism there. I think at some point in time, the free market is going to come in and people will say, okay, you own all the eggs, egg production, but I'm not going to eat eggs anymore because they've gotten so much more expensive. And so what will happen is people will start to make different choices. There will be other competitors that will come into the market, maybe not with eggs, but with a different product that people will decide that they're going to And so that will – from a capitalistic standpoint, the egg producer is going to have to start to lower prices so that he can once again start to compete with the competitive products.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. So – and then to sort of harken back just again to sort of recontextualize my definitions. The exchange of money to government, is that fair under free speech or do you take issue with that? Lobbying.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, if government is limited, if we get government back in its proper role, then we as people will – lobbying will not be as influential because with lobbying – What happens is trying to represent a specific industry or a specific – for example, let me give you an example. I was on the board of Lutheran Family Services, which is a nonprofit, if you will. It was a charity. Mm-hmm. And I, this was in the 90s, and this was a big eye-opening experience for me because I thought it was a charity. And then I ended up on the, oh, I think I was the vice president of programs. I was looking at the financials on it, and I started to realize that the bulk of their income was not from people donating, but it was from government contracts. Right. primarily for refugee resettlement. Then when I was going through the financials on it, I found that we were spending money as a nonprofit on lobbyists down at the statehouse. And I realized that that's not the proper role the way this was supposed to occur. So one of the first things that we need to stop doing is these government grants. That's a place that there's a lot of cronyism, and we need to stop that. Joe, you look like you want to jump in.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the only thing that I can think about, though, is we do need to stop this, but he who has the gold makes the rules. And unfortunately, the government has literally the ability to make gold to a degree, if you would. And it's kind of showing out now that – The lobbying comes in tandem with... So the lobbying, for example, the pharmaceuticals... High profits. It kind of comes in tandem because that, like Luke was kind of saying, is once you're at a point where with those three farms that he had, he is always making money, whereas those three farmers that he paid out and they don't have a farm anymore... They don't keep accruing money off of that. They got a one-time payment. And so they kind of have to live with what they have, whereas Luke now has a guaranteed way of stream that he can kind of use to enforce what he needs.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, but again, and this is from one of our listeners, it said, hold on here, it says, in a free society, he cannot buy all the farms because the smallest farm is me with my chickens at home. So that's another point. Eggs get so expensive, people would get their own chickens. But then you've got governments that say you can't have chickens in your backyard.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. I guess for the sake of the example, obviously, the thought experiment doesn't exist sort of within the greater confines of the world. Because at that point, the argument would extend to, OK, well, I buy up all the chicken farms. You can't get your own chickens because I own the production of chickens. Right. I mean, you can sort of expand it. However, the point I guess I'm trying to make is. In the founding of the nation, I think that the nation was founded – again, please correct me if I'm wrong. This nation was founded on the idea of free market capitalism. That's sort of one of the things we did very differently than a lot of other people. When the government started, it started as the idea of being small government. So we had free market capitalism. We had small government. So what changed? What went wrong during that pipeline that's converted what started as good into cronyism? Where was that pivot point?
SPEAKER 06 :
Probably really – we've talked about it with the progressive era with Woodrow Wilson is one of the inflection points. Actually, I was at a presentation recently where it – the progressivism came out of the – after the Civil War. But it's really probably the inflection point is Woodrow Wilson. Guys, let's stop. This is excellent. I do want to mention, though, on the eggs, on the egg prices that you mentioned, because egg prices have gone from a few years ago at $2.99, they're at $8.99, where I've been getting eggs. And I had written a piece back in 23 regarding the... There's a new law in Colorado that dictated that chickens had to be cage-free, that they had to have a certain amount of square footage. All of those things increased the prices of eggs. And then also this bird flu thing is, I guess, the USDA, if there is a sick chicken in the flock, they're killing all the chickens. Right. What a dumb idea to kill the healthy chickens, too. It's a dumb idea. But all these things are contributing to the increase in cost of our food supply. Joe?
SPEAKER 07 :
but that's kind of where I see the lobbying to a degree as well, is the big farms are not going to have as big of a hurt on that. The little farms are going to have to close down.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that's an excellent point. I need to reread that legislation because that legislation, if I remember right, it didn't affect the small producers or the big producers, which lobbied it. It is for the mid-level producers where they're trying to get them out of business. So going back to our Declaration of Independence, If we are all created equal, then the law has to be equal across the board for everyone. And that's a point where when we started to say, you have to adhere to the law, you don't, that was one of the places where we... Went down the wrong road. Gentlemen, let's talk about inflation when we come back. And I do thank you for all these text messages, 720-605-0647. All this happens because of our sponsors. And Lorne Levy is who you need to call for everything mortgages.
SPEAKER 09 :
If you're 62 or older, a reverse mortgage could be a great tool regarding retirement and estate planning. It is essential to understand the process. Lauren Levy with Polygon Financial Group has nearly 20 years in the mortgage industry and has the experience to answer your questions. Lauren understands that each financial transaction is personal. If you'd like to explore your options on a reverse mortgage, remodel your home, buy a rental property or move, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. Licensed in 49 states, Kim Monson highly recommends Lauren Levy for all your mortgage needs. Call Lauren at 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 04 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email kim at kimmonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
Franktown Firearms and Shooting Range has everything you need to be fully trained with your firearm. They have multiple levels of training, including pistol, rifle, and shotgun that will make you feel better, faster, and safer no matter what your skill level. Classes are taught in a group setting, or you can schedule one-on-one instruction from the qualified instructors at Franktown Firearms. Learn from our seasoned instructors, including veterans of law enforcement and military, SWAT, and special forces. so you can trust that the training they give you is second to none. Franktown also makes obtaining your concealed carry permit convenient and will ensure you have all you need to get your permit quickly and safely. The staff prides themselves on friendliness, and you will feel comfortable and in capable hands. And Franktown is always where friends are made. So if you're ready to take your shooting skills to the next level with friendly, qualified staff, contact Franktown Firearms on the klzradio.com advertisers page.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That's KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. One of our listeners might... My friend, you young gun, says we are going to need 24 hours that I learn more from your show than I ever did from any educational institution.
SPEAKER 05 :
Very sweet.
SPEAKER 06 :
And also, she said this, the problem with capitalism turning into cronyism is that we don't hold our government accountable when they do these private public deals. There should be regulation on the government about picking winners and losers. And that is spot on. And I could tell you some different stories about when I was on city council because you see this all the time that you have interested parties. When I talk about PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, interested parties, they come in. They collude together. We're all busy trying to live our lives, fighting inflation, all these things. And that's where we have this cronyism that seeps in. We could talk more about this, gentlemen, but I want to keep us on task. We probably can agree on the next chapter, and that is inflation. So I'm going to go to you first, Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. It's at an all-time high, and I sit and I think about the pictures around, I want to say World War II. I saw one the other day of these kids playing with stacks of money because it was worthless in Germany because of what they created within the force of government.
SPEAKER 06 :
With inflation. And we're going to have Jay Davidson on tomorrow, who is the founder of First American State Bank. He has been on this, this printing of money, this continuing taking of debt, sending billions of dollars to Ukraine that we printed up. This is all causing inflation. What's your comments on inflation, Producer Luke?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, hopefully I can earn some goodwill back with the listener base. Fuck. by agreeing with Hazlitt in the next chapter, because I think he is spot on with this one. He says in a lot of words what can be said in a couple of words, that being inflation sucks and no one likes it. He says sort of near the end of the chapter, the poor are usually more heavily taxed by inflation in percent terms than the rich, for they do not have the same means of protecting themselves by speculative purchases of real equities. which I think kind of sums up a lot of what's being said. And you see a lot in the sort of modern landscape of talking about inflation because I think there are two very primary sort of misconceptions about inflation. The first misconception being when people say, you know, 2025, for example, speculatively, inflation's down to 2.5%. That doesn't mean total inflation is down. 2.5%, it means it is increased by 2.5% as opposed to the projected increase of 3.5%. Inflation is additive, which I think is prone to being forgotten by a lot of people who aren't really in the know. And then the second sort of misconception about inflation, when they say total inflation is 7%, let's just say that's the number they throw out. And that's 7%. But it's also 7% across cherry-picked data that benefits whatever administration's in power. If bread's gone up 200% and eggs have gone up 300% and gas has gone up 500%, well, inflation for the people who can only afford eggs, bread, and gas, inflation's 700%. I don't care if the price of a used Toyota Tundra has only gone up 0.5%. I'm not buying a new... Toyota Tundra, you know, it doesn't matter to me. It impacts different people differently, which again, Hazlitt says and agrees with. So I agree with Hazlitt on that. I just think it's often forgotten.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, inflation hurts those trying to move up the economic ladder the most. Those that are – and as you mentioned, basic things. The idea that eggs are at the price that they are because of government policy. And my understanding regarding the egg producers is that on this legislation for these cage-free chickens – was basically they were threatened. They were said either, why don't you agree to this? Again, this is hearsay. I need to qualify that. But you need to adhere to this new legislation or we're going to take it to the ballot box. Right. And everybody is so concerned because of what happened with the reintroduction of of the wolves it's amazing that we were able to defeat several bad bills two in denver the meat processing ban as well as the fur ban and denver and then the the hunting ban so we we have had had some success but we need to stay on that so let's go to joe then back to luke
SPEAKER 07 :
I think people forget about why we created paper money in the first place. It was so we didn't have to carry around all our goods for trades of value. And I think that is the biggest thing that we should take from this, that when the government prints money, they are not adding value to the coffers while doing so. So that's what expands it even further and just makes this everlasting growth because now we have money. And each time we print more amounts of money and the Fed didn't gain any amounts of capital, they just devalued the dollar by a .0001 minuscule amount. It's also exponential. As you keep doing that, it will start to compound to this big behemoth of a monster that you will not recover from. And it's all due to the fact that we don't have value to the dollar anymore. And I don't like that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and it is because of government policy and the Fed. You've nailed that. We're getting close to out of time. Producer Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
You want to talk about private government partnership, Federal Reserve, looking at you. It is funny we're talking about eggs again and the price of eggs. And the reason I wanted to use eggs in that initial example, I think people wonder, why are you harking on eggs so much? Well, they're a great source of protein, and you can get a lot of them for very cheap. If you want another source of protein, you're looking at beef, pork, the actual chicken itself. You kill one pig, how much protein are you getting out of that versus a chicken that's going to be producing it like crazy and eat scrap? So I think when we look at eggs, eggs are a big part of this whole thing because they're so multifaceted, because they're so important, because there aren't a whole lot of good alternatives. If you want egg, that bulk source of protein, go eat the bugs. I don't want to eat bugs. I'd rather eat eggs. So I think that's why we use eggs a lot. But yeah. When it comes to inflation, the devaluing of the dollar, we made a huge mistake when we moved off of a gold-backed currency. We can print money forever. It's all just a belief system. It holds no weight, and I think that's a shame.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. OK. OK. Ballot initiative to restore the grocery bags as well. Yeah. What about this? Oh, we don't have much time, but this is so frustrating. So during COVID, do you remember that people were many people were disinfecting their shipments that came to their home? Everybody concerned about germs in the grocery store. Then we outlaw these sanitary products. Plastic bags, people use them when they go home for other things, but we outlaw those in Colorado. Now people are bringing in these dirty bags. How often do you wash your bags that you take into the grocery store, pull them out of their car? And so it's time for us to restore the grocery bags as well. Ten seconds, Joe. Always fun. Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's my pleasure. And just last point, they don't wash those bags and how many things have spilled over in those bags on the trip home.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know it. I know it. Okay. Producer Luke, this is so fun.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, it's a great time. Thanks for having me on. Okay. I hope I don't blow your phone up too much with all my...
SPEAKER 06 :
I appreciate it. This really is making us think. And so that's a great quote for the end of the show from Thomas Jefferson. He said that the issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or to be ruled by a small elite. Jefferson. Love it. Very nice. So my friends today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 03 :
Talking about freedom I'm talking about freedom I will fight
SPEAKER 02 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
Join Kim Monson as she unpacks the complexities of today's political landscape by exploring the ongoing tug-of-war between government control and individual freedom. Engaging guests discuss the roles of citizens in shaping local, state, and national policies. From in-depth analysis of new legislation to the principles of classical liberalism, this episode offers a thorough examination of factors impacting our rights and opportunities. Discover the tools you need to navigate the political sphere with clarity and purpose. Alongside lively discussions, the show also highlights the importance of knowing and supporting businesses and organizations which align with personal values, inviting listeners to contribute to the great conversation for freedom. Sponsored segments deliver insights on trusted services, enhancing the program’s in-depth offerings.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 13 :
And when government gets bigger, the individual gets smaller.
SPEAKER 03 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 12 :
For thee, but not for me. And I agree that we've got to change that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 13 :
If, in fact, you are working for the man, it's a new form of slavery.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 13 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation, and welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are 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 Wednesday, Producer Joe. Happy Chaotic Wednesday. So Trent Luce is in town. It's a Trent Luce Wednesday. He's going to be in studio here in the second hour. He has a live television show. It's 530 to 6 Mountain Time. And so we just did that show together. And I'm not used to doing video this early in the morning, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my eggs at all.
SPEAKER 13 :
So it's great to have him. So he'll be in in the second hour. We've got Jay Davidson in the first hour. Since it is Wednesday, that means that it is Wings Day Wednesday at Hooters Restaurants. You buy 20 wings. You get an additional 10 for free. That's for to go or to dine in. And super delicious. I like the lemon pepper rub or the Texas barbecue rub. And they have five locations. Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. So be sure and check that out. And of course, Great place to watch. It's going to be a big football weekend and a great place to watch all those games is Hooters restaurants. So first thing, let's get into our word of the day, which is immeasurable. And it – well, this is – I can't believe this. The first definition is impossible to measure. Well, I could figure that one out, right? So – but limitless, incalculable, and incapable of being measured, indefinitely extensive, and – I think that the opportunity, I think people are looking to 2025 with an immeasurable optimism. I don't think that we quite realized how concerned we've been about so many different things and certainly excited in less than a week that Donald Trump will be inaugurated. But as I was talking with Trent Luce, we need to be active actively. And engaged in our local, our county and our state government. And that is why we really encourage you on the state level. It seems sometimes it seems like it's immeasurable, the different things that we have to watch. But a great tool in your toolbox would be to join the Colorado, yeah, the Colorado Council. Union of Taxpayers. And this is an all-volunteer organization that watches legislation down at the statehouse. And we take positions on things regarding taxes, property rights, school choice, protecting Colorado's taxpayers' bill of rights, TABOR. And this is a great tool to have in your toolbox. Join us. It's just $25. And for less than $2.08 a month, you will receive hours and hours of analysis from our volunteers. Those volunteers, when you see them, say thank you. And that is our board, Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, and Corey Onasorg. And we'd love to have you join us. I think that we'll probably be starting to take our positions this next weekend. There's already been 134 bills that have been introduced, and that is pretty remarkable. They'll be setting them for hearing and so we will be taking positions on that our text line i want to hear from you is 720-605-0647 and as you know we look at these issues 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 is never compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, property, freedom, livelihood, opportunities, or lives. Force can be a weapon, policy unpredictable, an excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation. World Economic Forum's agenda, the Globalist Elite's agenda, United Nations, the Colorado State Legislature, Colorado Governor, the World Health Organization, land use codes, zoning regulations, force fees, conservation easements, national monument designations. Oh, and now the show's over. We have nothing else to talk about because we went through the whole list of all of these things of force. We've got to reclaim our state and our country, and we've got to get government put back into control. Its proper role. And remember, if something's a good idea, you should not need to use force to implement it. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You'll get first look at our upcoming guests. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com. Thank you to all of you who support us. The show is on live six to eight a.m. Monday through Friday, that's Mountain Time. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. That is on all the KLZ platforms, KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. Since Jay Davidson is our featured guest in our number one, he is a student of the Austrian School of Economics. And, of course, that is founded by Ludwig von Mises. And so I thought it would be good to go to von Mises for our quote of the day. He was born in 1881. He died in 1973. He was an Austrian-American economist, logician, logician. There we go. sociologist and philosopher of economics of the Austrian school. He wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism and the power of consumers. And he's best known for his work in praxeology, particularly for studies comparing communism and capitalism, as well as for being a defender. of classical liberalism in the face of rising illiberalism and authoritarianism throughout much of Europe during the 20th century. And Joe, what I find so interesting is about words. Is classical liberals, liberalism, focuses on individual rights. It focuses on capitalism, which is the free exchange of goods and services between individuals. And I'm not quite sure how that class liberalism, the word liberal then was co-opted by those that were moving towards more and more government control, more and more government control of our lives, moving towards socialism and communism. That's why what we do, this battle of language is so important, Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
You're absolutely right. And, you know, I was just thinking about it as you were saying that. I think the lack of trust in people and that people are just inherently good all the time, that has died away and that generally that's what they say. Since we can't trust people to be inherently good, we're going to force them to be good now. And I think that's the big change.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so what you're hitting on is with liberalism is they – as you mentioned, they think that they can use government to force people to – To be better and better, that we can evolve into something better and better. The founders understood. They had studied human nature. Human nature is the same generation from generation to generation. There will be those in each generation that will try to get stuff without having to work for it. So through theft, if you will. And you can now see that governments... You might not go over and knock on your neighbor's door and say... Hey, give me your money for what I want to do. But you could use government to go over and use taxes and fees to take that money and then redistribute to somebody else. And that is not OK. And the founders understood human nature big time. And we talked about profits yesterday with you and producer Luke as we're going through the book by Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson. Von Mises said this, taxing profits is tenement to taxing success. And I've always thought, again, during the progressive era, was when the income tax was added as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. And once you started to tax income, you're taxing people's hard work. You're taxing people's taking risk and being successful. And I think we should repeal the income tax. I don't think we should have the income tax. I think we should free people to be able to Take risks, go after their hopes and dreams, work hard, and keep most of the fruits of their labor. Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
I absolutely agree. And I actually just lost my thought.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, well, the quote is, taxing profits is tantamount to taxing success. And we'll go through this day in history here when we come back. But I would say some of the biggest news of the day was the confirmation hearing of Pete Hegsteth to be the head of the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary. And I had talked to Yvonne. She said she thought he just did a great job on his initial remarks. And I watched some of the evening shows and we had one conservative that didn't. was not did not uh think he did a great job which i thought was super interesting and then many others said that he did a great job he's a soldier he's boots on the ground he understands what's going on that he understands our soldiers i think that that's a really good idea versus these bureaucratic generals that probably have been um have gone through the process and uh So, anyway, that's big news. I hope that he does get confirmed. But that's probably the biggest news of the day. It is important that we have these conversations. We have them because of our sponsors. And the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team has been – he's been in business for 48 years. So that really means something. They strive for excellence, takes care of his clients and his family and everything. Set up a complimentary appointment with all this stuff that is happening. You want to know and understand your insurance and make sure that you have the insurance that works for you. And that number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan 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 06 :
Lavaca Meat Company takes great pride in selling only the best. Lavaca Meat Company is a third-generation family-owned business with its roots in eastern Colorado. Lavaca means the cow in Spanish. As our name implies, we only sell beef. No poultry, pork, bison, or game. Just premium quality, aged, mouth-watering beef. Our store is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in the historic Coors Building in downtown Littleton. For a steakhouse experience at home, visit us in person or shop online at LavacaMeat.com. Lavaca Meat Company, only the best. Again, that's LavacaMeat.com.
SPEAKER 14 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at kimmonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. I do want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Susan was in town yesterday and said, hey, I have a few hours, love to get together, and we were not able to make that happen. But I do thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Other news today. It looks like there will be a number of other of Donald Trump's nominees for his cabinet will be facing their Senate hearings. Pam Bondi regarding the she's Trump's choice for attorney general. And then in additionally, Marco Rubio. who will be before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And let's see, I think it's Secretary of State for him, if I remember right. And then Chris Wright from Denver, who is the nominee for the Department of Energy. And people are really, really excited about that. And John Ratcliffe is Trump's choice to lead the CIA. And let's see, Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary nominee. And Russ Vogt, who is on pace to lead the White House's Office of Management and Budget. He is the founder. of the Center for Renewing America, which we've had on on a regular basis. So that's going to be a big day in the news. Let's see, going to California and the L.A., this mayor of L.A., and several of you have reached out to really show the ties that she has to communists and communists. So instead of taking care of the business of being the mayor of L.A. and representing the people and protecting their rights, she was off in Ghana. This is a headline that said that she had made a... a um a pledge that she was not going to be traveling outside of uh los sant well out of the country uh when she became uh mayor of la and actually she was in africa and uh so uh she'd made a campaign promise which i'm not surprised that she had gone back on and so we are really seeing front and sitter uh what um Bad decisions, the results of bad decisions in California. However, the PBIs are trying to blame it on climate change and gas-powered cars. And so we've got to continue to speak truth into this. It's bad policy that has made this happen. It wasn't climate change policy. that did not have water in the fire hydrants. And I think that's important that we realize that. Several things that happened on this day in history. First thing I wanted, and I've been there, and that's Frances Tavern, which is in New York City. And it is still in business. It's down in the financial district. It's the oldest and most historic bar in New York City. It's where George Washington bid farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War. And it opened in 1762. In 1870, the donkey was first used as the symbol of the Democrat Party and Harper's Weekly. I find that interesting. The 1892 basketball rules were first published in Triangle Magazine, written by James Naismith. And we will be doing a show regarding basketball and James Naismith with Colonel Rutledge as we get closer to the March Madness. This, I thought, was super interesting. 1919, two million gallons of molasses flood Boston, Massachusetts in the Great Molasses Flood when a storage tank burst, drowning 21 people and injuring 150. Wow. Then, let's see, 1932, there was a weather event, record snowfall of two inches in the city of L.A., Los Angeles, California. And in 1944, General Eisenhower arrives in England to take up his command as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, which then on June 6, 1944 – so they're doing all this planning now – We're in January. You get to June. And we have D-Day. And I thought that was super interesting as well. And then in 2009, remember this? Chelsea Sullenberger lands his U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia. in New York City. All the passengers and crew members survive in what becomes known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Do you remember the pictures of people standing on those wings and the fact that nobody died is amazing? Joe, you were probably just a little kid. Do you even remember this story?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, but they did come out with a movie. I believe Denzel Washington was the pilot, and it was actually a really, really good movie about him.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, The Miracle on the Hudson. And so that's this day in history. I think there was, I think the only other thing, 1943, the world's largest office building, the Pentagon, is completed to house the U.S. military. I guess one other thing, 2001, wikipedia a free wiki or content encyclopedia is launched by jimmy wales and uh oh gosh didn't come off his his other colleague so that's this day in history my friends there is so much happening in our world right now and now that the colorado legislature is in session we need to really watch what is going on and again of those 134 bills that have already been introduced. There are some things that are really focused on taking away our rights. There is a Second Amendment bill that has already been introduced that we're going to have to really keep an eye on on all of these things. And it is so important that we do that, bring truth and clarity to all of these different issues. And we do do this because we have amazing sponsors. And for everything regarding residential real estate, whether or not it's buying a home, selling a home, or looking at a new build, reach out to Karen Levine. She's been in that business for many years. She's seen ups and downs within this market here. And there is great opportunity. And owning a home, you can create wealth for you and your family and, of course, the place that you call home. And so anything residential real estate, be sure to reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 03 :
Award-winning realtor Karen Levine has nearly 30 years of experience with Remax Alliance. Karen Levine works to protect your property rights at the local, county, state, and national level. Karen Levine believes in home ownership. Working with realtor Karen Levine helps you navigate through the process of buying or selling your home. Call Karen Levine to help you buy or sell your home because she understands that it's more than just a house. Call award-winning realtor Karen Levine with RE-MAX Alliance today at 303-877-7516. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 05 :
Boson Law fights for clients who've been injured or family members who have lost a loved one due to the careless, reckless, or wrongful conduct of others. Whether injured in a car accident, suffered an injury due to a product or bad pharmaceutical drug, or need help fighting for medical care and benefits following an accident at work, don't go it alone and uninformed. Boston Law is the law firm you need in your corner. Time is of the essence with any personal injury claim. Call 303-999-9999 to schedule your complimentary consultation. That number again is 303-999-9999. Call now.
SPEAKER 15 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter, and you can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force. Force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. Thursday, January 23rd, you've got a choice of where you want to be. Two great events that evening down at the Center for American Values in Pueblo. They are having their On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo. And the USS Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War, and the crew was held captive for over a year. And Bob Chica, who was one of those prisoners, is going to be presenting on January 23rd. Down at the center in Pueblo, you can get more information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org and just let them know that you're planning on attending so that they're sure that they have chairs and they normally have a little reception afterwards as well so that there's food. And again, that's AmericanValueCenter.org. Or you can join us. I'm bummed to miss that because I will be at the Colorado Union Taxpayers Legislative Kickoff event, which will be at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association on the 23rd. Tickets are $10, and we will have a number of legislators there and be awarding our cut awards as well to legislators from last year. So more information on that, go to coloradotaxpayer.org. So pleased to have on the line with me Jay Davidson. He is a fan favorite. He is the founder and CEO of First American State Bank, and he has a clear understanding of economics and money policy and fiscal policy and how it is that we're where we are. Jay Davidson, welcome.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, thank you, Kim. It's a pleasure to be back with you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and First American State Bank is a community bank located right here in the metro area. And I love the fact that you are at a point where people, young people, they're so used to being able to do things online. And you can certainly accommodate them and have that personal banking relationship as well. So tell us just a little bit about that, Jay.
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure. Well, when I started in banking, we didn't have iPhones and barely had cell phones. In fact, we didn't back then. But I'm blown away by how rapidly technology has progressed. And today, this little iPhone that we're talking on, or whatever you're talking on, smartphone, has incredible capability. And so we've had to, kicking and screaming, get into the current age. We've hired several treasury management people and technology people and updated all of our technology suites so that now you can do almost all of your banking online without having to come into a bank and my daughter Michelle Gruber whom you know is heading up our advertising efforts to introduce this capability to The young people, I mean, the millennials were adults in their own right, making their own way. And we offer a unique combination of this high technology and high touch if you need it or when you need it. And I think that's one of the unique things about our bank.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, I think so, too. So how can people get more information and come over to the bank? What's the best next step for people?
SPEAKER 16 :
Usually folks will go online, FASBank, F-A-S-Bank.com. Real easy to remember, just FirstAmericanStateBank.com. Or call us, 303-694-6464. Or stop by. We're just across the park from Yaya's. down at the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village. Love to see you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and you mentioned, Michelle, millennial. I am seeing many millennials that are starting to really test their entrepreneurial skills. Yeah, exactly. A community bank is a great relationship to have when you are starting to be an entrepreneur. Don't you agree?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I do. We can offer a perspective that they can consider when they're considering debt or expansion in some manner. And we can offer a perspective that they may not get somewhere else. We've seen a lot of things that go right and a few things that go wrong and bring that expertise to bear. And our same high level of customer service exists for all of our customers, regardless of the amount of money they have in the bank. It doesn't matter at all. And in particular, the future of the bank is dependent on these young people coming into our bank. So we're really making an effort, and you nailed it. I was so impressed at my kids' friends when we'd go to their parties and meet their friends and just chat about stuff. They're very... business-oriented, very disciplined, very motivated young people, and doing quite well already. They're in their late 30s and early 40s, and they're already making their way. So it's just a delightful thing to see.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and one thing, I'd always had this misconception, I think, that you at First American State Bank only worked with those high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and that is not the case.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, not at all. No, we started the bank because I wanted to go to my friends. That was a low-hanging fruit, maybe you want to call it, and they tended to be high net worth or business owners or professionals, and we built the bank on that, but that's not the future for our bank. I mean, they're great. I love them. I do everything in my power to be sure they're happy and keep them here, and we are successful there, but We have to expand into, and I didn't say this to any business, we've got to attract the millennial and the Gen Xers and the younger people. And we're not going to do it in the old ways that we were so successful doing before. And that's why my daughter and the technology people here in the bank are pivotal to that future. I mean, these younger folks are not going to walk into a bank. It's just not their world. But they'll do everything online.
SPEAKER 13 :
But they have that relationship. And that is what I think is so great, Jay Davidson. You're right.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the relationship is not something you would know off until you had some problems or you had an issue or you needed help. But once you have an issue, then that relationship becomes critically important. Whether you trust the banker or not and whether he trusts you or not is critical. And I'm glad you raised this point. It's a very good point.
SPEAKER 13 :
And what year did you begin the bank or start the bank?
SPEAKER 1 :
1995.
SPEAKER 16 :
We're 30 years now.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow. That is so cool. So, again, more information on that. It's First American State Bank. And that website is, again, FAS.com.
SPEAKER 16 :
FASbank.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, great. Well, Jay Davidson, let's get into this piece that recently was published at American Thinker, The Center of Our Belief. This is such an important piece, and it addresses basically being a constitutionalist, which would be adhering to this American idea, or bigger and bigger governments. So where should we begin?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I wrote the piece because Although I'm probably obviously a lifelong Republican, I was raised with Democrats up in North Dakota, Montana, because most of the ranchers and farmers were Democrats. And so I came to appreciate both sides of the equation. And the old line, moderate Democrat, is almost identical to a moderate Republican or a centrist Republican. It's basically get the government out of my life protect my nation, protect my family, and protect my freedoms. Don't let the government take my freedoms. So I began to understand that both the Democratic Party, to a great extent, and to a lesser extent, the Republican Party, have moved away from core values that I hold, that I believe are important in our lives and in our political thinking and in our governance. And when I think about that, and I've been thinking about it for a long, long time, mostly because I'm very slow, but it takes a long time, as my wife would tell me. I began to realize that what are we? I mean, it's all in the word of the formation of our nation. We are a constitutional republic. And I just say those words and it wouldn't mean anything yet. My, what a profound statement because constitution, the constitution is the law of the land. And when you read the constitution, you see that all of its edicts, all of its laws, all of its directives are directed at the size and scope of the federal government, not necessarily at we citizens. The reason is that the second half of that, republic. Republic means a nation that is ruled by the people and for the benefit of the people. So you have to have a rule of law, the Constitution, and a mindset that the individual is sacrosanct. There's a sanctity of the individual that's embedded in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and particularly in our Declaration of Independence. And so I began looking more closely at the declaration, and there was one line in there that just kind of blew my mind when I started thinking about it. It was, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Whoops, I'm going on to Lincoln, who was another great constitutionalist. But Jefferson's Declaration of Independence said there are certain inalienable rights implying bestowed by our creator on individuals, life, liberty, and the ownership of property. And so thinking about that, the basis of our nation, the unique feature of our nation is that the individual is sacrosanct and that everything that the government does should be directed toward protecting that individual freedom, not impinging on it, not enforcing things on us, not telling us what to do or not do. And that is not a statement of anarchy. It's a statement of the individual must be allowed to make his or her own decisions. And the key issue in that point is ownership of property. It's such a fundamental concept. Because if you are not able to own property, like look in communist China, look in communist Russia, you don't really own anything because the government can come in at any time, day or night, and take it away from you, including your life, which is the ultimate property that you own, your life. So the profundity of the Declaration as a foundational concept It got me to the core belief. What is the center of our belief? Well, it's that the individual has the freedom to make choice.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and with that, reap the benefits or the consequences thereof. But what happened then is this created this American idea where we have this big, broad middle class which is under attack. from a regulatory and taxation and just all kinds of different ways. But what could happen if everyday individuals had these rights and were able to pursue them? Well, what happened was this big, broad middle class where everyday people could create wealth for themselves and their families, create businesses. And that is all under attack by bigger and bigger government. We're going to leave that as our cliffhanger on that, Jay Davidson. And all of this happens on the show because of our sponsors. I do thank First American State Bank for their sponsorship of the show. And then also regarding property. Karen Levine, REMAX Realtor, has been very active at the local, the county, the state, and the national level to protect private property rights and home ownership. So for everything real estate, residential real estate, reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you're 62 or older, a reverse mortgage could be a great tool regarding retirement and estate planning. It is essential to understand the process. Lauren Levy with Polygon Financial Group has nearly 20 years in the mortgage industry and has the experience to answer your questions. Lauren understands that each financial transaction is personal. If you'd like to explore your options on a reverse mortgage, remodel your home, buy a rental property, or move, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. Licensed in 49 states, Kim Monson highly recommends Lauren Levy for all your mortgage needs. Call Lauren at 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 19 :
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 06 :
Franktown Firearms and Shooting Range has everything you need to be fully trained with your firearm. They have multiple levels of training, including pistol, rifle, and shotgun that will make you feel better, faster, and safer no matter what your skill level. Classes are taught in a group setting, or you can schedule one-on-one instruction from the qualified instructors at Franktown Firearms. Learn from our seasoned instructors, including veterans of law enforcement and military, SWAT, and special forces. so you can trust that the training they give you is second to none. Franktown also makes obtaining your concealed carry permit convenient and will ensure you have all you need to get your permit quickly and safely. The staff prides themselves on friendliness, and you will feel comfortable and in capable hands. And Franktown is always where friends are made. So if you're ready to take your shooting skills to the next level with friendly, qualified staff, contact Franktown Firearms on the klzradio.com advertisers page.
SPEAKER 1 :
So
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. 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 would highly recommend that you add in to your repertoire of organizations that you support. support here in 2025, the USMC Memorial Foundation. It is important that we remember and honor those that have given their lives or been willing to give their lives for our freedom. And the team over at the USMC Memorial Foundation is raising the money for the remodel. And you want to be part of that. And you can do that by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I'm talking with Jay Davidson. He is the CEO, founder of First American State Bank, which is located right here in the Denver Tech Center. And more information, you can go to FASBank.com. And I always talk about relationships. And with all my sponsors, I know each and every one of them personally and highly recommend them. And Jay Davidson and his team over there is all about relationships. So reach out to them on that. Jay Davidson, I had mentioned as we were going into break – What could happen with this American idea, this constitutional republic that has the sanctity of the individual front and center? Well, what happens is the American dream where everyday people can take risks and they can work hard and they can create this big middle class democracy. And create wealth for themselves and thrive and prosper. But that is under attack by, I call them PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties that want bigger and bigger government. And how do they accomplish that? Well, there's a couple of ways. Taxation and inflation, Jay Davidson.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, you're exactly right, Kim. You think about the founding of our nation. Well, think before the founding of our nation. What type of person... sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a relatively small boat powered by sails, taking their lives in their hands. I mean, they were either desperate for freedom or desperate to get away from or something, but they were incredibly independent people, not like the people that stayed back in Europe. And we see what happens in Europe. It's Although they use democracy, they're still very much a socialist government system. Socialism means that the government has a lot of control over the individual. Where in America, when you landed at Jamestown, you were on your own. You went out, you found your own food, you built your own shelter, you lived your own life, and nobody was there telling you what to do. And, you know, there was laws. I mean, the commandments were certainly very important. They were all religious people. And that's what people followed. Well, now look at look at today. We have this unbelievably massive government with all these bureaucracies, all these bureaucrats, all these regulations controlling every aspect of your life. And why? Why did we allow it to get here? Well, it wasn't a matter of allowing. It was a matter of a certain type of individual manipulating the thought processes of people for the past two centuries that brought us to this point. Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Barack Obama, these are three of the furthest left individuals in our history. And they have brought with them a concept that government is good. When Woodrow Wilson started the federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve, back in 1913, his point was that this government entity, this government bureaucrat, is better than you are individually. And they are more capable of making decisions affecting your business and then, of course, your personal life than you are. Now, he didn't say it that way. He painted it in really positive terms, but that was the end result of the meeting. And now we have bureaucrats telling us what to do. We have politicians taxing us to death. I was listening to your competitor, Ross, on the other radio, and he made a really good point, and I know you've made it too, that the top 1% of wage earners pay something like 90% of all taxes. That's the most progressive tax code that you could possibly think of. Why is that? Why are the top 1% paying so much? Well, I think the reason is that the powers that be don't like individuals. They don't like people who are self-starters and self-motivators. Because those people, the owners of businesses, the entrepreneurs, the independent people, cannot be controlled. And I think the underlying theme of this whole us versus them or government versus the individual is an issue of control.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think it really is. And who do we think should be in control of our lives? I think when we get down to individuals, most people would like to be in control of their own lives. There may be those out there that want to be taken care of, but there's no freedom in that. And if you... If you don't have your individual rights and are living your life freely each and every day, then what is the opposite of freedom or liberty? It's slavery. So being dependent on government and where government may take a big portion of what you earn to take care of people, that's more like slavery. That's not freedom, Jay.
SPEAKER 16 :
100% right. And... What the government does is legalize theft. I mean, they can tax us anything they want. Why? Well, because they assumed the authority to do so. And or the Congress and the administration have assumed the ability to tax us to death. When, in fact, they should not be doing that. They should not be allowed to do that. They should be brought up on charges and they should be kicked out of office because we can vote them out of office. And yet this is why I'm trying to make a distinction between the core of our belief, which is the Constitutional Republic and everything else that is transpiring here. Try to see the difference in the mindset between the big government individual and the actual individual himself. You and me. So I think I don't know if I answered your question or maybe you want to direct me more there.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think and you mentioned that taxation is theft. I saw a bumper sticker this last weekend. It was in Southern California. It was on the back of a car. And I think we realize there are some core functions of government and that some taxation is necessary. Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, I would. But the two questions there, how much government should happen? And then what good does the government actually do? Are we checking? Why are we spending so much money allowing the government to take so much money through taxation and then spend it on what? The Department of Education? I mean, our scores in the world have been going down steadily for decades, and yet we keep funding the Department of Education. And the teachers unions keep funding and finding ways to get more money out of our pockets. I just, this is mind-boggling to me. You know, I can talk ad infinitum about regulatory banking regulations. You know, they may be well-intentioned people, but they don't know how to bank. But they sure as heck have a lot of control over us. I have friends in the energy world. In fact, I met Chris White, the new energy secretary, a few times. That guy's intelligent. And he's a capitalist. He gets it. So anyway, I'm just kind of saying why I'm positive about Trump being in place. He ain't perfect, but my vote wasn't a valentine. My vote was to get the government out of my face. And I hope he and Doge and Elon can do that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and we need to work on that here in Colorado as well. I mentioned I think we should do Doge Colorado, but also Doge for each of our local and county governments, school districts. These special districts are rich in... in a lot of our tax money, and we don't even really realize what's happening with that. So we've got a lot of work to do, but it's a great time, I think, of opportunity. And to be having these discussions is really interesting. So mentioning Trump, I want to get your perspective on this, Jay Davidson. It is amazing to me, all of the people that have been going down to Mar-a-Lago and changing their tune, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, What's your read on all this? This is pretty fascinating to watch.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, we're seeing amazing tectonic changes. Trudeau is leaving Canada. He was the ultimate lefty. The German chancellor is leaving Germany, certainly in a total mess with immigration and ESG and DEI and so forth. There's major changes throughout the world right now, positive changes. So what I think we individuals should do is direct our friends in politics to proper implementation of this newfound power that they have. Heaven forbid that the Republicans who are now in control start acting like the Democrats who have been in control. That'll ruin it for everybody. And like you say in your preamble, you know, force versus freedom. There it is. And if we try to force things on people, we're blowing it rather better that we have these kinds of conversations like you and I are having and you have with many other people out there that allows people to come to their own conclusions. And if we're speaking the truth to people after we've thought very carefully about it and very honestly about it, then that will ring with them, that will resonate with them, and they will start doing their own thinking. And so the movement has to be grassroots. You know, we keep saying, well, I'll throw a politician over the wall. Well, pull the pin before you throw him. But that's not going to do it. I mean, I like the people that we got here in Colorado, but they're one voice out of 435. I mean, so... Until the public starts stepping up and demanding a reduction in taxation, but first demanding a reduction in spending, we're not going to get anywhere. But the beautiful thing of this is that the individual, you and me and everybody listening to this, can make a difference. That was the intent of our nation. Like you said earlier, freedom isn't free. It comes with a responsibility. And that responsibility in a free society is that you get involved in politics because you're allowing you're electing somebody to go into Washington to change your life. So maybe spend a little bit more time communicating with these politicians and trying to tell them what you think is important and then continuing that conversation. And by the way, politicians are very willing to listen to you when they're trying to raise money. So keep that in mind next time you get hit up for some money.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and we need to be engaged at the local, the county and the state level as well here in Colorado. And so we're going to continue 2025 shedding light on this. We are coming into 2025 with a lot of hope. I know we have vulnerabilities and things that we need to get fixed. But having these conversations is so important. Jay Davidson, your final thought you'd like to leave with our listeners. And again, Jay Davidson is the CEO. and founder of First American State Bank.
SPEAKER 16 :
The one point I want to make is in the declaration, the inalienable right to life, liberty, and ownership property. What that means is that those rights were granted to us by our creator, not by government and not by man. Therefore, they cannot be taken away by government nor man. And I would say when you're overtaxed and overregulated and the government spends too much of your money and puts you into debt, that they are not representing you. And so you have the God-given right to object to that. And that's the meaning. That's the core of our belief in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well said, Jay Davidson. We'll talk to you next month again. And I know that you're a big fan of Ludwig von Mises, so I chose him for our end of the show quote. He said private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operation of the authoritarian will. So my friends 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 09 :
young like a new moon rising fierce through the rain and lightning wandering out into this great unknown and i don't want no one to cry but tell them if i don't survive i was born
SPEAKER 04 :
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 03 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 13 :
And when government gets bigger, the individual gets smaller.
SPEAKER 03 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 12 :
For thee, but not for me. And I agree that we've got to change that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 13 :
If, in fact, you are working for the man, it's a new form of slavery.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 13 :
Indeed. Let's have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasure. 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 Wednesday, Producer Joe. Happy Wednesday, Kim. We've got a full house in here. It's quite a morning.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's a whole other roundtable.
SPEAKER 13 :
It is another roundtable. Trent Luce is in town. You know him, sixth generation farmer and rancher. And he's in town for the National Western. You're in studio. We're going to have a special day here at Crawford Broadcasting. Great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thanks, and it sounds like we're off to a great start. If we've got a full house and we're playing poker, we've got a good hand started.
SPEAKER 13 :
We have a good hand started. The other part of that hand is in studio, and that's producer Steve, who retired, but you come back to Crawford every once in a while because you are an expert in pancakes. Oh, gee.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that was 16 months, 15 days, and 7 hours ago. Who's counting?
SPEAKER 13 :
Does that say that you're missing me?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I just turn on the radio if that ever comes across. But, you know, it's the environment. I do miss the environment.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and you had a correction for Producer Joe, correct?
SPEAKER 19 :
I almost drove off the highway thanks to him. You were making reference to— Sully. Oh, you were talking about dates in history.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, right. Sullenberger.
SPEAKER 19 :
Sullenberger. Yeah, and you said, hey, there was a movie. And Joe said, yeah, I believe it was Denzel Washington. And at that point, I just about went off the highway. No, it was Tom Hanks.
SPEAKER 13 :
And the movie was Sully, right? Right, Joe?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, he wants to defend himself here. So I'm not a big movie guy.
SPEAKER 07 :
The movie was Sully, but I was actually thinking about the movie Flight. What's that? The movie was Sully, but I was thinking about the movie Flight with Denzel Washington.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, Flight with Denzel Washington. What were you going to say, Trent Luce?
SPEAKER 18 :
I said I can pick Denzel Washington out from Tom Hanks. That was my thought, too.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, but it was a great movie. It's a great story. And, Steve, you were in the airline business, so you understand what a remarkable thing that that was. That was 2009 again. 2009.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 13 :
And those people standing on those wings out there in the middle of the Hudson. And I used to fly in and out of LaGuardia quite a bit, so I know exactly what that looks like.
SPEAKER 19 :
A business trip for the airline, and we were supposed to go in the JFK, and it was already dark. Every time we lined up for the runway, the runway lights would go out. So they'd send us around, and we did this three times before they finally said, forget it, go to LaGuardia.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, my gosh. Well, we're going to have a great show here. Steve, you're not sure you can stay the whole hour because you don't.
SPEAKER 19 :
I need to get into the kitchen.
SPEAKER 13 :
He is staying?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, he's not leaving. Particularly proudly wearing his veteran shirt today. We've got to pay tribute to all veterans. Oh, please. And thank you for your service. Thank you for that. But it also affords me to think about January 10, 1962. January 10, 1962. I was in first grade. Okay, what's that? It was the day that the United States military began Operation Ranch Hand. Oh, here's some history coming. That's Agent Orange. Oh. Oh, really? Nothing has impacted our men and women in the military more than Agent Orange. And the interesting thing about that bit of history is that there were 37 manufacturers of that component, that chemical, but the U.S. military used it at 50 times its recommended rate. Okay.
SPEAKER 13 :
So this was during the Vietnam War. Correct. And it was to get rid of the vegetation, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct, so we could see.
SPEAKER 13 :
So we could see what, you know, the enemy, if you will. And they would be very well camouflaged. The problem is, is there's so many of our veterans that got cancer from that. In fact, Paula Sarles, who's the president of the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation, her husband, she's a Gold Star wife, he died from the effects of anxiety. Agent Orange. There's so many of our Vietnam veterans out there that are affected by that.
SPEAKER 18 :
I've known so many. I've lost so many friends that were. But when the military uses it at 50 times the suggested rate, I mean, it's like, what are you thinking?
SPEAKER 13 :
Sometimes they're not thinking they're they're the government. Yeah. But Steve, you were in the Air Force. And again, I used to say thank you for my thank you for your service. But one of the veterans that I said that to said, well, you might say thank you for my freedom. So thank you for my freedom.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm just proud to be a part of it all. I look back on it now, and I hate to quote the number of days and months and years. I hate to think of the number of years that it was since I lived that, but it opened up so many opportunities that I would have never seen.
SPEAKER 13 :
I've heard that. I've heard that. Now, gentlemen, the show comes to us because of our great sponsors. And one of those is Karen Levine. And she's on the line now. We wanted to get a weekly. Oh, excuse me. That's right. This is it's Lauren Levy. Sorry about that, Lauren Levy. I got my days mixed up. Lauren Levy knows everything mortgages. And he can help you in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York. Lauren Levy, welcome.
SPEAKER 11 :
I wish I could have a higher voice.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, how about we'll just take your voice and anything that people should know about these interest rates. Are they staying the same opportunity? What's going on right now this week?
SPEAKER 11 :
And I was prepared when I first called to say that they stayed the same and they're a little higher. But we just got some core producer price index stuff this morning that came up. That was a little bit. On the good side, it was basically in line, meaning inflation was in line, not higher than they were expecting. And so the 10-year note, which we always refer to, just dropped from 477 to 467 just this morning. So that's good for rates. And that just reinforces the talk to you and I have that you never know what one day holds to the next and to be prepared and to have conversations and be on the lookout and be ready to pounce when the opportunity shows.
SPEAKER 13 :
So that's why people should give you a call and have everything in order, be pre-qualified, all of that, because, gosh, just this morning you were expecting one thing and things changed. So people need to be ready, as you said, ready to pounce.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. We always talk about opportunities, and I'm not sure how much rates will go down today. They'll go down a little bit, and it may go down enough to help someone make that payment that they needed at their budget to be able to get into the home that they want. It could help someone refinance that didn't think the opportunity would be there. So it's definitely worth making the phone calls and seeing where things stand.
SPEAKER 13 :
And what's the best number for people to reach you, Lorne Levy?
SPEAKER 11 :
The best way is always to call 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's Lorne Levy for Everything Mortgages, 303-880-8881. And I love the fact that you can help people in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York. And that's for everything, for a new mortgage, second mortgage, and a reverse mortgage, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
That's correct, yep.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Well, Lorne Levy, thank you. I'm glad to hear that interest rates are down a little bit, and that could create some real opportunity. Give Lorne Levy a call at 303-880-8881, and there might be some real opportunity there. So, Lorne Levy, I think you and Karen are in next week, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep. Okay. I think it's Thursday. We'll see you then.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sounds great. Okay. Have a great week. We'll see you next Thursday.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. You too.
SPEAKER 13 :
And I really am blessed to work with amazing people. Another great sponsor of the show is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And you might be able to save yourself some money if you bundle all of your home and your auto and all that together. You won't know unless you give them a call at 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan 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 Mangan now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 03 :
Award-winning realtor Karen Levine has nearly 30 years of experience with Remax Alliance. Karen Levine works to protect your property rights at the local, county, state, and national level. Karen Levine believes in home ownership. Working with realtor Karen Levine helps you navigate through the process of buying or selling your home. Call Karen Levine to help you buy or sell your home because she understands that it's more than just a house. Call award-winning realtor Karen Levine with REMAX Alliance today at 303-877-7516. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 19 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. And 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. I do thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. It is because of all these great sponsors that our independent voice is on the air. And I did not get through. Trent Luce, it's so great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 13 :
In studio.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. I love being in studio.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. And we did your television show. You do media all day long. I do. Tell us what your schedule's like.
SPEAKER 18 :
During the National Western, when I'm in Denver, I start live on the air at 5.30 local time. And from 5.30 to 6 o'clock is live TV broadcast on Beck News called Live Across the Pond. Usually I have a guest from another country. You bumped Teresa Platt today who lives in France. And tomorrow or every Friday I have Kelly Seaton from the U.K. And I rotate people from New Zealand, France, the U.K., and Australia. And then at 6 o'clock local time I record Rural Route Radio, which is a 48-minute program. It airs as an hour. And that varies every day and airs on stations around the nation. And then by 930, I need to have across the plains produced, which airs on one station, KOTA in Rapid City, South Dakota. I do another program called Dakota Trails and Tails that airs every evening at 6.30 on K-Fire and KHND, both stations in North Dakota. And then throughout the course of the day, I also record and produce Trent on the Loose, which is another 30-minute TV program. And then there are certain days, like today, every Wednesday, I'm on with this great show and wonderful talent in Denver. Her name is Kim Monson, and I'm very blessed to be on for an hour. And then every Thursday for two hours, I'm on K-Fire live from 3 to 5 Central Time. K-Fire is the voice of the Northern Plains out of Bismarck. It broadcasts into five states and three Canadian provinces. It's at 5.50 a.m. on the dial, just like 5.60. And then every Saturday, so that my mother can keep track of me, I produce Loose Tails Food Link. which is a 30-minute radio broadcast which airs on WTAD in Quincy, Illinois. Wowza.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's pretty amazing. And then you get all this other stuff done. You travel a lot. I saw your pickup in the parking lot. I thought, there's a lot of miles on that pickup.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a lot of miles on that pickup. I can't keep a pickup with less than 200,000 miles. I have them, and on a normal year, I would drive 8,000 miles a month.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 18 :
And my entire broadcast studio operates out of here. Radio, television, everything comes right out of there.
SPEAKER 13 :
And we're looking at something that's basically probably smaller than carry-on luggage, and everything is in there. It is amazing what technology does. Now, you've been doing this 25 years. You grew up in Illinois. You're a sixth-generation farmer and rancher. You and Kelly now are in Nebraska.
SPEAKER 18 :
Correct. We're in the county she grew up in.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sherman County.
SPEAKER 18 :
Sherman County, Nebraska.
SPEAKER 13 :
I grew up in Sherman County, Kansas.
SPEAKER 18 :
And we're very fortunate. Her parents are both with us. They're 85. They live 13 miles away. They're 85 years old. And we wanted to... our three daughters to have daily interaction with grandparents. Oh, that's awesome. And our parents live 500 miles apart. And so I just fell in love with Nebraska at the same time I fell in love with Kelly.
SPEAKER 13 :
So it was all good. What happened on your heart, though, doing this for 25 years? And it really has to be a partnership because when you're traveling, you have animals, you've got livestock. Somebody's got to take care of them. And so you married well, didn't you?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, I did marry well. I picked her. People always say you married well. I say, well, I picked her. It's not like it was arranged. But the other thing I want to make clear is that I just gave you my daily schedule. So when I'm traveling, Kelly's got to take care of the animals. When I'm home, Kelly's got to take care of the animals. And I do carve out as much time every afternoon and evening as I can. And this time of year, it's tough, you know, the short daylight hours.
SPEAKER 13 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 18 :
But we make it work, and it's a perfect partner.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and that's the thing about livestock is there's no vacation. When people talk about taking a day off or a personal day off that people do in the corporate world, I guess, there's no days off for when you have livestock.
SPEAKER 18 :
And today's a tough day for me to think about that because, you know, it's a special day at the national Western for me, it's the beef and wine festival this evening. If you want to come and enjoy drinking wine, eating beef with 300 of your closest friends or people you need to know and live cattle on display at the time, while we're having this discussion and an MC that gets a little rowdy, that'd be me. Uh, I've wanted Kelly to be a part of this event for the last two years. And last year we had it worked out where she was coming. Okay. And then we got hit with that bad winter storm and she couldn't get away. Okay. And this year, you know, there were 10 years Kelly and I exhibited cattle at the National Western.
SPEAKER 13 :
Which is a commitment.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. And so she's got as many friends there as I do. And this is just a fantastic cattle weekend. So my plan was to have her come and then spend the weekend and get back home. But... Because of the animals that we have and we don't hire anybody. We have a neighbor that will help out from time to time. And our three girls are off in college or in a career. And so it and I'm not whining. I'm just saying this is a typical farm and ranch family experience that when you have that commitment. that you have animals that rely on you, particularly in this time of year when waters freeze up and you have to make sure that you have not only feed, water, and shelter, but that they're protected at all times. So that's a commitment that every farm and ranch family has to make.
SPEAKER 13 :
I've always thought in that scheme that one of the hardest jobs in all of that is if you are in the dairy business because those cows have to be milked every day.
SPEAKER 18 :
Three times a day.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, that's really a It is.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. It's absolutely incredible, which has led to some innovation that assists with that because now there are a growing number, particularly of smaller dairies, which are not as many smaller dairies as there used to be, but they have robotic milkers. And labor is the challenge.
SPEAKER 13 :
It is the challenge. And last year when you were out here for the National Western, I attended a forum that you had emceed, which was regarding finding employees for farmers and ranchers. And it is difficult. It's a great life, but it's a rugged life and it's a lot of hard work and long hours.
SPEAKER 18 :
There is no time clock. I know.
SPEAKER 13 :
I know.
SPEAKER 18 :
And one thing that we did to be more in sync with really the resources and our time commitment is that we used to start calving in February. And we started looking at that, like, why are we out here at two o'clock in the morning? Fighting coyotes, we lost two calves one night at 2 o'clock in the morning. A new calf was born, a coyote was there, and that's the most vulnerable time. Sure. And it's 20 below, and you're trying to make all of that work. And so we moved our calving start date to May 1st, and from a cattle standpoint, life got good.
SPEAKER 13 :
So does that change market prices? Because it seems like I always remember now we didn't have livestock. My family only did crops. But it always seemed like the kids that had cattle, it seemed like they were always calving in the middle of a blizzard.
SPEAKER 18 :
Correct. That is a very interesting story and how tradition still plays a role in agriculture. If you would ask those families why they are calving in the middle of winter instead of waiting until May 1, like we do now, they'll say, well, that's what we've always done. Originally. It started because the cattlemen—well, let me back up. We weren't cattlemen. Back in the day, the farm had some beef cows, maybe a dairy cow or two, some chickens, and then you had row crops, and you were diverse. And until about 1985, when I really started getting going, everybody had a little bit of everything. And so then we started specializing. And so you're either a cattleman or a row crop producer, you're a pork producer, you're a chicken contractor, whatever the case may be. So the reason that those calves were born back in the day in February when it was cold is because they wanted to get the cows done calving before planting season.
SPEAKER 17 :
That would make sense.
SPEAKER 18 :
So when planting season came, you're getting in the field because your window in planting season is this close, right? You've got a little tight window. We don't do that anymore. And yet we still calve in February. And my father-in-law, he always wanted to calve in February. And part of that is, there's another part of that, is that we sell cattle by the pound. And you typically sell calves from October to January, depending on what sector you're in. And I'd love to explain those differences at some point in time. But the calves that are born in February just inherently are going to weigh more when you sell them in November. So you get a bigger check.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sure. Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
So all of those factors kind of weigh in. But that whole cattle calving and timing and everything is moving to more what is in sync with the resources that are available. Because the big challenge in a February calving, aside from dealing with the weather, is that you're not grazing anymore. If you're calving in February or March, you're also feeding those cows. And so coming into lactation at a time when you're feeding a resource and their need for a higher level of nutrition is all spiking at the same time, where we're calving on green grass and the cows are actually already grazing. and so that makes sense but our calves we sold some calves first part of december they weighed 504 pounds people's calves that are born in february weighed 700 pounds so you get a bigger check but it isn't about how big your check is it's about how much for your expenses versus what you're getting paid oh that's an important point as well because yeah if you're having to feed feed during that time that makes a lot of sense
SPEAKER 13 :
All this is connected, though. We're in the urban area, and people have taken for granted affordable and abundant energy, not energy, food.
SPEAKER 18 :
Energy and food.
SPEAKER 13 :
Food, but food at the grocery store. And that is so under attack. The cattleman, the cowboy is under attack. And beef is such a great... protein source and we and that'll be a great segue into Lavaca Meat Company maybe we'll just do that right now because Lavaca Meat Company is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in Littleton and it is a premium product and really it is that steakhouse experience at home and so for a real treat check out Lavaca Meat Company.
SPEAKER 06 :
Lavaca Meat Company takes great pride in selling only the best. Lavaca Meat Company is a third-generation family-owned business with its roots in eastern Colorado. Lavaca means the cow in Spanish. As our name implies, we only sell beef. No poultry, pork, bison, or game. Just premium quality, aged, mouth-watering beef. Our store is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in the historic Coors Building in downtown Littleton. For a steakhouse experience at home, visit us in person or shop online at LavacaMeat.com. Lavaca Meat Company, only the best. Again, that's LavacaMeat.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you're 62 or older, a reverse mortgage could be a great tool regarding retirement and estate planning. It is essential to understand the process. Lorne Levy with Polygon Financial Group has nearly 20 years in the mortgage industry and has the experience to answer your questions. Lauren understands that each financial transaction is personal. If you'd like to explore your options on a reverse mortgage, remodel your home, buy a rental property, or move, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. Licensed in 49 states, Kim Monson highly recommends Lauren Levy for all your mortgage needs. Call Lauren at 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 15 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We'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 the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. I so greatly appreciate them. They have been with us Trent Luce, I'm just starting my seventh year of solo broadcasting, and the Harris family has been with me since close to day one of that, I think. Seven years.
SPEAKER 18 :
Seven years is incredible. Now you're just ready to hit 14.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, hit 14.
SPEAKER 18 :
Turn seven into 14, then 21.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. Hey, we were talking about Sherman County. You live in Sherman County, Nebraska. I grew up in Sherman County, Kansas. And Joe, he said we have three Shermans. His last name, producer Joe's last name is Sherman, producer Joe. Yes, ma'am. So three Shermans today.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a lucky charm coming in that. We started with a full house, and now we got a lucky hand. Three Shermans. Good omens, good omens.
SPEAKER 13 :
Good omens, for sure. A couple of things coming in on the text line because we had producer Steve in here because I don't think we explained. He comes in typically once a quarter. He is one of the best pancake makers around. And so just kind of a camaraderie. He comes in and he grills pancakes. The whole team, everybody in the studio from all the stations are here. And it is, it's really a great time. And you...
SPEAKER 18 :
And Trent even came from Nebraska for these pancakes, which I've been hearing about.
SPEAKER 13 :
Exactly. And so Steve was in studio for the first segment, but he's now at the griddle.
SPEAKER 17 :
Frying up some sausage, too. Some loose sausage. Loose pork sausage.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yum. Okay, so it's good. And I like this. It's a great time to just get together with everyone. So that is great. So this was from a listener. What a lucky day. Trent Luce and Steve both in the studio together. Two of my favorites. Life couldn't be better. A nice treat, Kim.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, anytime I can shake the hand of a veteran and say thank you and remind them that I'm not just giving lip service, I'm executing the rights they protected for me, I'm happy to do so.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. And Steve is an Air Force veteran. And also this came in on the line. Why can't ranchers, this is a question for you, why can't ranchers sell cattle all year round?
SPEAKER 18 :
So ranchers can actually sell cattle year-round, but about 80% of the calf crop in the United States each year is born in the springtime. because that's what matches the resources. We come back to when is that cow's highest level of nutrition needed? It's during that lactation time, particularly the early lactation time. So if you're going to match the resources, you have your spring flurry of grass, whatever your forage may be. So then you have those calves, and you can literally sell those calves at any point in time. For the most part, you've bred the cow. Nine months later, the cow is having a calf. Seven months later, you've got a calf here and you have two choices to make. Do I sell that calf now or do I keep it for another year? until it actually turns into beef and goes into your store. Most people, from a cash flow standpoint, it's a really tough investment to wait two years to get your payment.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
So you're selling calves maybe right off of the cow. Maybe you wean them and background them for a period of time and sell them in January, February. Traditionally, we always have a spike in calf prices after the first of the year. We're spiking every month right now. What's going on in the cattle world is vastly interesting, somewhat concerning, but cattlemen are finally getting paid properly. But keep in mind, it's not like a bushel of corn that you put in a bin and then you decide when you're going to sell it. You can then go pull it out. That calf is being fed every single day, and every single day is gaining between two and four pounds a day, depending on how much energy and protein you're putting in that calf. So... You can sell them, but they're going to be at a different weight. So it's a matter of optimizing the right market target and, quite frankly, whether we want to admit it or not, when the banker is saying you've got a note due, when are you going to sell these calves to pay off this note?
SPEAKER 13 :
So, and it's a really, it's a cash-intensive business. It takes a lot in that particular business, yes?
SPEAKER 18 :
You tie up a lot of money. And there are three segments within the cattle business. You have what we call the cow-calf man, which I've been explaining and walking you through. And then there's also the backgrounder. So there are people who buy cattle from the cow-calf producer, and these would typically be 600 pounds is a good weight. That's the calf. That's how old they are when they're weaned from their mother. And so the backgrounder will buy these calves, maybe have forages that they have stockpiled or maybe have a hay supply. They'll keep them until... Typically 900 pounds, and then at 900 pounds, they'll go into a feedlot, or they could possibly be grass-finished. There's two options there. But there's three, and then you have the feedlot sector. So in the cattle business, you literally have always had three sectors, the cow-calf, the backgrounder, and the feed yard. And obviously we know that Colorado is one of the leading states in the nation for feedlot because we've just had the resources to make that happen. And the infrastructure of the packing business, particularly north of us in Greeley and Weld County, is such a powerful agricultural county, particularly in the beef world.
SPEAKER 13 :
Isn't it crazy here in Colorado, we talk about it regularly, that this industry is really under regulatory and legislative attack here in Colorado. And yet this is a resource that the agricultural sector has been a real economic threat. factor in colorado but yet this governor and this legislature which is they're all radical activists extremists this is not the democrat party of jfk or your grandpa and your grandma this here in colorado is radical extremists that are controlling it and they they they want to put the agricultural sector out of business as well as the energy sector it's crazy
SPEAKER 18 :
So you mentioned that this is my 25th year in broadcasting. And when I started talking, I would talk about the dangers of regulating, over-regulating agriculture. And I had a few people say to me, you know, farmers always complain about regulations and they figure out a way to make it happen. And that's pretty much true. But there's a law of diminishing returns in that. The casualty of that, Kim, is the number of people that are involved in agriculture. Because what has happened is it has forced the economies of scale so that you have more, I'm going to say, Monforts of the type and what has been taking place with the feed yard sector in Greeley. And you have fewer farmer feeders. And that extends to every segment, whether it be wine producers, whether it be cotton producers. Because of those regulations, there are some that just can't continue to compete. They get out. They're consumed by the larger ones because they're bigger. working for less profit over a larger period of time. So all of those regulations push us to where we eliminate people in the business. And the less we have in terms of diversity in the number of people who are producing food, the greater control the government has on how people have access to that food, which is why I, from day one, have been promoting know who's producing your food and buy it direct from that producer if it's possible. Because direct food sales in our pork business, I mentioned the loose sausage, we sell every pound we raise directly to a consumer. And we're doing more and more of that in the beef business as well.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and to this point, we talk about this on a regular basis, is big government and big business really like each other. Yesterday, we were doing our book report, if you will, with Producer Luke and Producer Joe. They're both 26. And we're going through Henry Hazlitt's book, Economics in One Lesson. We're talking about profits and inflation but on profits many young people profits has been demonized they've been taught that it's because of greed that people agree yeah corporate greed and producer Luke had done some research in Haslett's book he had talked about as far as I think it was GDP that typically corporate profits were around five or six percent historically and But from 2020 to 2024, it was between 16% and 17% corporate profits of GDP. And I think the point then that I wanted to make is what happened during that time? Well, the big pharma got in bed with the government and forced people to have to use their product or try to coerce them to take the product. And then also the government bought their product. Well, that's where big government and big business got in bed with each other. And they like to do that because they can squash the competition of the smaller innovator.
SPEAKER 18 :
What was the very first thing you brought up this morning on Across the Pond?
SPEAKER 13 :
Property rights?
SPEAKER 18 :
No, that was one of the last things we talked about. Entrepreneurialism.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER 18 :
And everything you just described stymies the entrepreneur. so that the established can remain the market hold and keep the footprint of what's going on in the food business. I can speak to the food business, and I know that every business, just look at the consolidation in the banking sector. Kim, you know as well as anybody the consolidation in the radio business. How many people are literally in the and that's why Crawford Broadcasting is something that people need to recognize and understand. This is not one of the large entity. And I'm on every station, every kind of structure. But when you it's who you're listening to and who you do business with is what determines who's going to be in the marketplace. And suddenly the aroma in this building is changing and I'm getting hungry.
SPEAKER 13 :
I can smell it as well. What the heck is happening? I can smell that loose sausage that's being cooked up. So let's go over here. How are we doing on time? Regarding Colorado and this cage-free chickens, we've talked about it on a regular basis, and I need to go back and re-look at this. But when I'd written my... essay on this back in 2023 we just republished it regarding Colorado's what I can't remember now what did I call it it was um Darn it. Colorado scrambled egg policy. And eggs have gone from $2.99 a dozen to $8.99 a dozen from the producer that I purchased them from. Correct. And as I was relooking at this, though, I think that House Bill 20, 1343, they passed it back in 2020, and then they stair-stepped it in. We are seeing the effects of that. But I think that it was only effective, this law was effective, not for the small producer or the large producer. It was that mid-level producer.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's anybody with more than 3,000 chickens. 3,000 chickens or more.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, I've got to re-look at that.
SPEAKER 18 :
So if you have 2,900 chickens, you're not under the purview of the law.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, I've got to reach, somehow I've got to reach, I need to re-read that because...
SPEAKER 18 :
But you literally only have four producers in the state. Four individual entities producing eggs in the state of Colorado.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
They have millions of chickens and produce the eggs that are needed and do a great job doing that. But part of the structure, and I didn't get the detail. I've been looking for Bill Scabby at the National Western. I'll find him today. But as I drive on Interstate 76 at Wiggins, there's some chicken barns there. I can see them from the interstate that are obviously in the middle of a remodel because that's the untold story. The billions, billions would be that the egg layer is forced to spend to retrofit these buildings into being cage free is going to be paid by the consumer. The chicken farmer, the egg layer, is spending billions of dollars to comply with this regulation. And again, it comes back to what we were talking about earlier. It will force people out because they cannot afford to make the retrofitting their barns and spend the money to do it. Consequently, somebody will buy them out and you'll have more consolidation.
SPEAKER 13 :
So I think then let's – this just moves us over before we get to break here to this headline from – this was Fox News, I think it was. Newsom suspends California environmental law to eliminate roadblocks for wildfire victims rebuilding homes. Well, that means those roadblocks have been there for everybody else up until this time, right?
SPEAKER 18 :
Absolutely. And what about the roadblock and the fire engines and firefighting equipment that was sent to the Ukraine from California in the past year? Yeah. What about the 100 fire trucks that were sent from Oregon to help in Los Angeles and Newsom stopped them and put them on hold to do an emissions test on them before they come in?
SPEAKER 13 :
Meanwhile, just think of all the emissions that's occurring from these fires of everything going up. And Lauren Fitch yesterday said there's a lot of electric vehicles in those fires, and those are made of plastic. Just think about what that's putting up into the air.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, absolutely. Fire is one of the main contributors to emissions. But we've got to go beyond just what are the emissions. Emissions are all what we call greenhouse gases. And we put plants in greenhouses to protect them so that they grow better. Every single one of these emissions that we've been convinced is a pollutant is actually plant food. We've got to turn the narrative and explain what are these gases that are in the atmosphere that increase. We can't live without them.
SPEAKER 13 :
And that's why A Climate Conversation would be a good documentary for people to watch. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 18 :
It always is.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, and that's at AClimateConversation.com. It is the project of Walt Johnson, so be sure and check that out at AClimateConversation.com. And then I did want to mention the Center for American Values. It is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and it's really a special place at Trent Luce. It's co-founded by Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient, and Brad Padula. Emmy Award-winning documentary maker, and they honor our Medal of Honor recipients, educational programs. On the 23rd, they are going to have an On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo, which during the Vietnam War was captured by the North Koreans and held for a year. And Bob Chica, who was one of those prisoners, will be speaking. And you can get more information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. Just let them know that you're You're going to attend. It doesn't cost anything, but they want to make sure they have chairs and they normally have a little reception afterwards. But they do pretty important work down there at the Center for American Values.
SPEAKER 18 :
I keep hearing about that, and I've not been there yet. I've got to fix that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, we're going to have to fix that. Maybe their next On Values presentation we can meet down there.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm in.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Sounds great. But check that out. It's AmericanValueCenter.org, AmericanValueCenter.org. And another great sponsor of the show is John Boson with Boson Law. If you've been injured, be sure and reach out to them. That number is 303-999-9999.
SPEAKER 05 :
Boson Law fights for clients who've been injured or family members who have lost a loved one due to the careless, reckless, or wrongful conduct of others. Whether injured in a car accident, suffered an injury due to a product or bad pharmaceutical drug, or need help fighting for medical care and benefits following an accident at work, don't go it alone and uninformed. Boston Law is the law firm you need in your corner. Time is of the essence with any personal injury claim. Call 303-999-9999 to schedule your complimentary consultation. That number again is 303-999-9999. Call now.
SPEAKER 14 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at KimMonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Franktown Firearms and Shooting Range has everything you need to be fully trained with your firearm. They have multiple levels of training, including pistol, rifle, and shotgun that will make you feel better, faster, and safer no matter what your skill level. Classes are taught in a group setting, or you can schedule one-on-one instruction from the qualified instructors at Franktown Firearms. Learn from our seasoned instructors, including veterans of law enforcement and military, SWAT, and special forces. so you can trust that the training they give you is second to none. Franktown also makes obtaining your concealed carry permit convenient and will ensure you have all you need to get your permit quickly and safely. The staff prides themselves on friendliness, and you will feel comfortable and in capable hands. And Franktown is always where friends are made. So if you're ready to take your shooting skills to the next level with friendly, qualified staff, contact Franktown Firearms on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Thank you.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Text line is 720-605-0647. And call in is 303-477-5600. A couple of things here coming in on the text line. Thank you, Kim and Trent. I am also an Air Force vet. When I am thanked for my service, I always request that they always vote for candidates who support constitutional freedoms. That's Dave. I love that.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's awesome.
SPEAKER 13 :
That is awesome. Another listener, when we were talking about the percentage of profits of GDP, Mark says GDP is not a good measure. Good point. And then please ask Trent how the land use meeting went in Akron last week.
SPEAKER 18 :
The land use meeting was fantastic. What Washington County folks through Sacred Horizons are doing is exactly what needs to be taking place in every county all across this nation. 3,144 of them.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. And we're talking about property rights, which is inherent in the American idea. We talked about that. Now, we were on, let's see, across the pond at 530.
SPEAKER 18 :
We're trying to keep track of what we talked about where we can.
SPEAKER 13 :
Where we talked about that. Yeah, definitely for sure. Let's go ahead and get over here to Gammy. Gammy, I know you are pretty jazzed that Trent is in studio today, right? Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
OMG, yes, I am. And you know what? I'm so proud of you and Steve. Hello, Steve. I know I gave him a fit the first time I ever called. But I want to not just thank you. I want to tell you something. I just turned 75, right? So that's like three-quarters of a century. And the people who have inspired me every day, two of them I'm talking to right now, let me tell you something. I'm not just coming back bigger and better this year. I'm going to be 100 times more fiercer than I was last year because our people... are dying. Older people are not getting enough protein because they can't afford to buy meat. They can't afford to get the eggs. And I noticed that our legislators here in Colorado, Ken DeGraff in specific, does energy. And you got to get him on before you leave, Trent. And then we had a mock hearing last night. And what we did was read bills and responses And what we know, and you say it every day, Kim, you say it every day, Trent, all over the country, locally, we the people have to not just band together, We have to stand together and say, you're mutilating our children. There's no law in the land that allows it. You are mutilating our lives, our food. I am so outraged that I could just stand on a building and scream. But instead, we're going to show up in force and sue and fight for America or we're dead. So we have to fight.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I do think that we are in the third founding of our country, Gammy. And this is a big battle of ideas. And that's why what Trent is doing is so important. That's why what we're doing is important as well. So, Gammy, thank you. I know you're jazzed that Trent is in Colorado right now. And she's a big fan of yours, Trent.
SPEAKER 18 :
And I want to take something she said and just blow it up bigger. Somehow we've been convinced that the older you get, the less protein you're requiring nutritionally. And all of the data, there's some great data out of the University of Arizona that shows the highest nutritional need in the growth of human beings for protein is for the infant and for the elderly. And we have conditioned the older in our population to consume less protein as we age. In fact, that accelerates aging. You want to stay young forever? You can't stay young forever. It doesn't happen. Right. But if you want to stay younger at heart and with physical abilities, increase animal protein, period.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm sorry, Joe, you said we have. OK, and so the caller's on the line. Is that right? Okay, you're going to ask it. Okay, got it.
SPEAKER 07 :
We're ready. So, Trent, the caller asked, if you were to become the Secretary of Agriculture, what would be your top three main objectives?
SPEAKER 18 :
It would probably be, one, dismantle the United States Department of Agriculture. It becomes an impediment, not part of the solution. We have 112,000 people working for the United States Department of Agriculture, and we only have 200,000 farm families that produce 80% of the food in this country. We have nearly one employee of the USDA for every farm family producing food. If you can't see that's a problem, you're not paying attention.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, number two and three.
SPEAKER 18 :
Number one carried over to number two and three.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, okay. Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, and what I would do is eliminate the USDA from Washington, D.C., period. It needs to be in the center part of the country and not be in that swamp.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and the farming and ranching is probably one of the most regulated businesses, depend on the federal government. The federal government has its hands in everything regarding farming.
SPEAKER 18 :
I shared this story, I think, with you two weeks ago, but I want to walk through it again just as quickly as I can. The United States Department of Agriculture right now is putting farmers in a program if they're willing to plow their fields. The reason they want to plow their fields is that that will destroy the organic matter and the amount of carbon that's in that soil. And so then once you go into the program and you have your carbon level at zero – They're then going to show how being a part of the program improved your carbon intensity and how much carbon you retained in the soil. Because to start the program, you had to destroy what you had done for the last 30 years. It's unbelievable. That is a destruction of our natural resource coming right out of the United States Department of Agriculture. And the current Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilesak, is a horrible human being. I've known him since he was governor of Iowa. He's hung up on me two times, walked away because I try to hold him accountable to the lies he tells people about agriculture. And he's been the second longest serving USDA secretary of agriculture behind somebody who was 20 years in 1900. Okay.
SPEAKER 13 :
Quick question. We are just about out of time. Trent, do you see a way for us to reclaim small and mid-sized businesses and pull that control away from large government corporate control?
SPEAKER 18 :
I absolutely do, and it comes back to what we said earlier. The consumer and where you spend your food dollar totally depends who's in the marketplace. If you continue to run to the super center on the edge of town, which relies on imported products instead of products produced in Colorado or California, produce in your county or even in this nation look we are the largest beef exporter in the world we're the largest importer of beef in the world and you have beef production in colorado we do not need to have anybody importing from another country but it's all dependent upon where you spend your consuming dollar you are in charge of this the government's not in charge they try to convince you that they're just out here working for you if you just spend your dollar with the people that you know and trust you'll determine who's going to be the players
SPEAKER 13 :
So it all comes back to this whole local thing. I know people are excited about Donald Trump taking office and Doge trying to trim government. But what I think is going to happen, Trent, is that there's going to be a double down by the radical activist agenda at the local, the county, and the state level. And you talk about local all the time. We've got about a minute left. It's great having you here. And we might do this again next week or something like it, right?
SPEAKER 18 :
We might. We absolutely might. I have zero faith in anybody in Washington, D.C., fixing what's going on in this country. It is 100 percent upon each one of us in our local area, whether that be a township, whether that be a county, a town, whatever the case may be. I referenced it. I can't tell you how excited I am about what's been accomplished in Washington County, Colorado. And that is a prototype on what we do going forward. Engage locally, demand infrastructure and entrepreneurialism. I'm stealing your word for the day. In your county.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. And also I want to give a shout out to Josh Lowenstein, who's the founder of Our American Lands down in Monta Vista. And then Sean Pond regarding Stop the Dolores Monument. Those guys are doing great stuff on that third of the state as well. Trent, great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
See you tonight at the Beef and Wine Festival. Tickets are still available if you want to join us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. And that is out at the National Western. So looking forward to that. Our quote for the end of the show is Ludwig von Mises saying, and he said this, Private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operative of the authoritarian will. So my friends 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. We will talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Through the mountains climbing, twisting, turning further from my home. Young like a new moon rising, fierce through the rain and lightning, wandering out into this great unknown. And I don't want no one to cry, but tell them if I don't survive, I was born.
SPEAKER 04 :
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.
Embark on a journey with Bill as he not only breaks down economic trends but shares personal adventures from Daytona Beach to watching live space launches. The episode takes intriguing turns, linking space exploration with market activity, and highlights the promise of quantum computing. Bill also discusses the strategic positions on energy stocks and the importance of staying vigilant in recognizing the best stocks now. Tune in for a blend of market intelligence and personal anecdotes.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome to the Wednesday, the midweek edition of the Best Stocks Now show on this January the 15th with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst, and I am watching the second blast off this morning. i'll get to that in a bit but the blast off in the market first the dow is up six hundred and fifty nine points right now that's a one point six percent gain why a cooler than expected cpi that's the consumer price index report and the nasdaq is tacking on even a bigger percentage gain it's up two point two percent right now it's up four hundred and thirteen points 19,458. And the S&P 500 is up 1.6, 1.7% right now. The Russell 2000 is up 2.3%. And as you might imagine, interest rates are plunging today after this report. The 10-year, the last time I looked here, the 10-year was down about 13, 14 basis points, and it still is. And we're clear down to 4.6. Let's see. Let's see. The 10-year right now is at 4.6. Well, where did it go, Barry? 4.58, something like that is where we're at.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's moving, yeah. I've got it right here on my screen. Let's see. It's moving all over the place. We got it at 4.65% at the moment. So down 13 basis points.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Exactly. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show. with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. I will warn everybody, I'm on just a little trip here today and through the weekend, but working as usual. I take my office with me wherever I go. And we last night were headed down to the Disney Cruise Area, Port Orlando, Florida, And first we stopped, Barry, and just as luck would have it, I said, let's stay in Daytona Beach, break up the trip a little bit. It's about an hour north of Port Canaveral. We go to this massive hotel on the beach. It's just massive. And they go, well, we don't have any vacancies.
SPEAKER 02 :
What?
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, January, Daytona Beach. We go to another one. And then we start to figure it out. Oh, yeah, it's race week. Oh, race week. They're going to have the Daytona 500, I guess the Daytona. What a massive speedway.
SPEAKER 03 :
I've been to Daytona. Growing up in Florida, I've been to the Daytona 500 a good bit. Since they've done the remodel, I guess about five or six years ago. Wow. It's a lot more like sitting in an NFL stadium in certain parts of that track.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's unbelievable.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, but they start, you know, speed weeks, I guess, probably starts now. I don't, the Daytona 500's probably, my guess is calendar-wise, usually early February. So, yeah, they're just, everyone's getting there now to do some testing and get things rolling over there.
SPEAKER 04 :
The guy looked at us, he said, are you stupid? It's race week, dummy. Okay, all right. Thanks a lot. And we're just breaking up the trip here. Yeah, and we stopped for dinner at, I've always wanted, I've always seen it as one of the off-ramps on the freeway, the oldest city in America, right, St.
SPEAKER 03 :
Augustine? Yeah, St. Augustine, that's right, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
What a beautiful little city with all of the Christmas lights still up, and it was really just kind of magic.
SPEAKER 03 :
You've got the Bridge of Lions there. You should have stopped by and got a sprinkle of the Fountain of Youth. It's over there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I've already drank of that. Oh, you're good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, good.
SPEAKER 04 :
Perfect. Yeah, I'm good. even though I get a little older this Saturday. Now, okay, so I said, well, we'll head on down closer to where they leave, the Disney Cruise. We'll head on down to near the Kennedy Space Center there. And as luck would have it, all the hotels were sold out except for one. We're staying, like, right across from where they launched last night. I watched it. I mean, how could you not get up at 1 a.m. and watch that? SpaceX rocket headed for the moon. That's neat. It's going to drop off hardware on the moon.
SPEAKER 03 :
Two satellites, right? Yeah, two satellites are shooting off of that thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, but more importantly is, yeah, they're putting a rover from Japan on the moon. And, you know, look, I envision the old days when all the smoke and the plumes and everything and the fire would come out. It's not like that anymore. It's a very slow, orderly process. It's awesome. All of a sudden, this bright light appears right at 1.11 a.m., and it slowly, slowly moves off of the launch pad. But, you know, I was telling my wife this morning, you know, we're sitting, this is hallowed ground here. This is where the first, you know, spaceship left, the Apollo 13, the Neil Armstrong, the Challenger explosion, everything, right out our window. So anyways, it's kind of cool. I watched that liftoff this morning, and then I watched the liftoff of the market here after that benign CPI liftoff. I sent out my views of the charts of the S&P, the NASDAQ, the Dow. The Dow is hanging in there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Support held, at least for the moment, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll say. And a big bounce today. I said the NASDAQ is barely hanging in there. The S&P is hanging in there. No need to do anything. Stay the course. And we're being rewarded today. There's also quite a bit of news out there on Quantum today. A little bit of a rebound there. Yesterday, oh man, it was all about the oil and gas stocks. You know, he's going to sign, President Trump, elect Trump, in five days is going to sign in a bunch of executive orders. And one is going to be to really boost production of oil and gas here in the U.S. And who that helps are the picks and shovel companies there, which we own a few of those.
SPEAKER 03 :
The Halliburton of the world, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, Halliburton and the other one that's really blasting off is, let's see, I can't think of the name of it right now, but it's doing very well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Kinder Morgan, I mean, your pipelines. Kinder Morgan blasted off. Yeah, pipeline should also benefit.
SPEAKER 04 :
Baker Hughes is the one I was trying to think of. Baker Hughes blast off. The blast off also yesterday that caught my eye more than any, look at this chart on GE Vernova. GEV, that's the spinoff from GE of their nuclear and their power, you know, segment. Look at that. That looks like a... And by the way, there's going to be another spaceship lifting off at 1.11 a.m. again. I guess that's the time they launch around here. Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin, which that would be, he's trying to compete.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that one got delayed by a few days. It was supposed to go off, what, I think a few days ago, if I'm not mistaken.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who knows? It may not go tonight either, but it is scheduled for 1.11 a.m. again, and that's his entry into the space race. It's all these billionaires, right, money to watch their rockets blast off. In the meantime, I'm sitting here watching GE, Vernova blast off, and, of course, Vistra blasted off too yesterday. Look at Vistra's chart today. That's what we call a classic cup and handle. You know, we own these in our dividend portfolios, but I'm thinking now that they belong in our growth portfolios. And let's not forget Constellation Energy, Three Mile Island. It's blasting off, too, right now. So, look, if you want to know where to come for best stocks now, you found the right place. At least we do our best to try to identify best. those hot spots, the heat map in the market, which continues to be a big heat map.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, from the earth and beyond. I mean, we've got some rocket talk. Who knew that Captain Kirk needed so much private funding, right, to get the whole enterprise off the ground back then? They didn't cover that part of the story, did they?
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, it's just an awesome sight. It's like a star. It's like a star being launched, a new star being launched into outer space. I was odd, but I did take a video. I will put it up. I'll try to send it out to all of our subscribers here today. But anyways, we're off to a very, very bullish start in the market today. After a very shaky start in the market, So far this year, especially in high tech, we're seeing the market spread out quite a bit into energy. Energy, energy, energy. I don't care if it's the black, dirty kind of energy, the people that help bring it out of the ground. Or if it's the nuclear energy, that is the leading sector in the market right now. Okay, so let's take a look at the CPI. Do we have to know? When we come back, Barry will have a rundown. We've got a 3.2% year over year. What's going up? What's going down? I do see ice cream's down 1.5%. That's good news. But carbonated drinks, man, what I'm paying for a 12-pack of Mountain Dew, I can't even believe it. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 1 :
guitar solo
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Docs Now show. Wow, our stuff's blasting off here today. Just like the, kind of like, you know, I just saw this bright light all of a sudden on the ground. I mean bright, like a star. And then all of a sudden it just started to lift off very slowly and orderly. Not like all the smoke and rumbling and then it just went almost like a helicopter speed. Very unusual, but we're blasting off here. We're up almost 2% here all of a sudden with the big, big surge in our Best Stocks Now portfolios today. Okay, give us a little rundown. Eggs is what pops out to me, 32% year over year. Ouch. Yeah. What pops out and what looks good?
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, really, you actually would have had a much lighter number, particularly on the top line. For the month, you had a CPI of 0.4%. That equates to top line number 2.9% for the year. We'll get to the core in a second, but you've been mentioning energy and oil prices rising. If you take out energy, energy was actually accounted for, I think, 40% of the increase this month because overall energy was up 2.6%. For gasoline, that was 4.4%. So energy was really the biggest driver of inflation this time. The core... actually came in less than expected, came in at 0.2% for the month also, and that's that 3.2%, kind of the headline number for core, which takes out the stuff we need like food and energy. But the biggest thing there, I think, it's always kind of entry. When you look at those, as you mentioned, those individual items, used cars down 3.3% for the year. which is one of the main items that's keeping that core number down. I always think about the fact that if you're not in the market for a used car, if you're not in the market for a new vehicle, Well, then you haven't seen inflation wane, right? You've only seen it really go up. Shelter up 4.6% over the last 12 months. Medical services up 3.4%. Another big item, of course, energy up 3.6%. But food is just really where it's been.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's the problem.
SPEAKER 03 :
3.6% food away from home, which probably doesn't include the tip, by the way. And then food in general, up 2.5% in the last 12 months.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, well, Trump is gearing up for executive orders to boost fossil fuels. He's going to downplay the EV mandates, etc., So that was very bullish for especially the liquid natural gas. LNG, Chenier had a big day. Hess, Williams, next decade. Kinder Morgan, all of those. South Korea arrests their president. A little political turmoil. You know, nothing big. But they did come in and arrest him. Germany's GDP shrinks. 0.2 in a year. That's recession. Europe's still looking very, very weak. Elon Musk being sued by the SEC. You know, it's kind of cheap of them to do all of these things with just a few days left in their reign. But that's over that Twitter stock purchase that he didn't supposedly disclose that he had already taken a stake in Twitter. But I'm sure they're out to get Elon Musk. You know, we'll just see when the shoe's on the other foot here pretty soon. Are they going to strike back? It just doesn't seem like the other side does that kind of thing. Weaponizing. They've weaponized the SEC big time. Rigetti leads quantum stocks higher after B. Reilly says some commercialization concerns misplaced. And I agree with that. You know, he made a very broad statement that an actual quantum computer, you know, like the IBM old mainframe computer or the desktop computers that we have now, an actual quantum... But there's a lot of interim steps in between now and there that, you know, Jensen Wang kind of leaped over, and we're starting to find out that... that there's a lot, you know, in the next few years that are out there on the horizon. Some commercialization concerns are misplaced, says B. Riley, and I agree with that. So anyways, they are rebounding somewhat today, some of them, and it's being helped. D-Wave, which is probably one of the leaders, QBTS, for sure it's one of the leaders. QBTS is now up 32% today, 32% today. We own that in our incubator portfolio. That's where it belongs. That's where it's going to stay. It's an incubator stock. It may or may not ever hatch a chicken or profits, but D-Wave up 32% today. Partnership with Kerasoft Technology in a bid to take quantum computing to the masses, to the little guy. You and I, maybe I can inject a little quantum power into the app. I don't know. Or into the portfolios.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And then the other one is QUBT. QUBT is up 45% today. Now, that's volatility.
SPEAKER 03 :
In both directions, right? Unbelievable volatility. People forget that when you look at standard deviation and the measure of volatility, right, it also... It also measures the good volatility, the upside. And so volatility can kind of be, you know, it's a double-edged sword, right? In this sense, NVIDIA has been very volatile, too. Yeah, I mean, NVIDIA has been very volatile.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. But not like this. Rigetti's up 26%. Betty Spaghetti, Rigetti, and IonQ is up 27%. Maybe Jensen Wang just wanted to get in. He talked him down. He hammered him by 60%. Then he loads up, and now he's cashing out. I doubt it. I don't think he needs the money, really. Okay, now we've got a lot of earnings. Welcome to earnings week. Okay, welcome to earnings season. It's now underway. The Daytona 500, gentlemen start your engines. They have started their engines. There's just a few other things infecting NVIDIA today. The U.S. continues to weigh options. I don't know why we're doing this with just five days left in the Biden administration. U.S. moles tightening the flow of Taiwan semiconductor and Samsung chips to China. NVIDIA is only up a couple of bucks today. And that just goes to show that I think I've been right on saying it's the China problem that's been keeping NVIDIA from blasting off and taking off. Okay, when we come back, we're going to talk about a stock named Pony. Can this Pony run? And guess what NVIDIA is going to have, their first ever quantum day. Well, thanks, Jensen. at their annual GTC conference. They're going to have a quantum day.
SPEAKER 05 :
We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting-edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersonCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services, call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show. There is something in the air. We have liftoff. We do have liftoff in the market here this morning after a better than expected CPI report. Does that mean the Fed will now give us a rate cut at the next meeting? I doubt it. But what we're seeing and what is boosting the market today backs up what we always say is the market depends a lot on interest rates. Interest rates have a big impact on the multiplier. Earnings are fine for the market. The multiplier has been getting hit by rising interest rates. It shrinks the multiple that people are willing to pay for those earnings.
SPEAKER 03 :
And some of those bank earnings have given us a little extra, kind of a double boost, too. Yeah, right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're going to go through that. So we've got... Interest rates down a whopping 13 basis points after they looked like they were headed for 5. And I'm not sure they won't get there still. But we got clear up to 4.80.
SPEAKER 1 :
4.80.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now we're backing off. We're down around 4.67. And that's boosting the multiple. And the bank earnings are boosting the earnings. So we'll get to those bank earnings in just a little bit. There's just a couple other stocks I wanted to talk about here before we do that. We have, let's see, Pony I want to mention. That's, you know, it seems to be a leader, a potential leader in the robo-taxi space. But it is Chinese. The only thing I can say is they're going to now conduct tests on big autonomous truck platoons. So that helps them, just that they have the quantity, the mass of cars and platoons now to test out this autonomous. And, of course, that's where it would really help the truck drivers. making these trucks autonomous. Well, anyways, keep your eye on Pony, P-O-N-Y. We own a little bit in our emerging growth portfolio. Now, here's the one that surprises me. After Jensen Wang comes out and says, ah, 20, 30 years. for quantum he must have made somebody mad nvidia is now going to unveil is unveiling their first ever quantum day go figure an annual gtc i don't know what gtc stands for is that an olive branch we're gonna do it must be The annual event where NVIDIA has announced its Hopper. I mean, this is their big annual event. And Blackwell Line of Products in the past will see NVIDIA's founder, Jensen Wang, discuss a myriad of quantum-related topics, including what's possible and available now. Oh, Jensen, now you're seeing it in quantum computing and where quantum technologies are headed. The company said in a post on the website. Well, believe me, that is giving a big boost. That is going to occur on March 17th to March 21st. So there's a lesson in here. Okay, if you go out on the limb in a very speculative area of the market, That's why I call it incubator. I don't have a better name for it than incubator. But they are public stocks, okay? That's a massive threshold that they've passed through to go from, you know, venture capital, private funding, you know, early shares at a quarter apiece or whatever. and eventually going public. So that is a big milestone that they've already reached. But now it's like, prove it to me that you really are the right stuff. And that's where those quantum stocks are, way down on the scale, kind of with robo-taxi, autonomous driving. It hasn't come to fruition yet, but there are interim steps along the way, which we're learning that there are uses for this technology. Now, okay, so now what happens? You know, we invested, we owned two. I did own Rigetti, and Rigetti, I caught it at the right time. It went up like two days later. It shot way up. And I said, you know, that's a gift. I'm going to take that one. And I didn't get back into it. And then we owned two others, the two that I mentioned, QBTS, which is D-Wave, and QUBT. And I doubled down. I really liked the way QBTS D-Wave was trading, and I made it a double position. Now you say, what is that, Bill? Well, in the incubator portfolio, I'm looking to own 40 to 50. I'm making 2.5% positions. Very small. In other words, in a $100,000 account, I'm only putting like $2,500 into these stocks. Because I realize they're out there on the horizon now. If it starts to look good, I will go up to 5%. And that's what I did. And then it was like a day later that Wang comes along and wangs these stocks with a knife through the heart. And people say, what are you going to do with this position? Well, I'm not going to sell it, right? That's why it's an incubator stock. It's way out there on the horizon. Now, I didn't expect that kind of a hit, but I did get hit. I said, look, all you can do is hold on at this point. Are you going to buy more? No, we'll just let this settle. The dust settled a little bit, and, of course, they're having big days. So, you know, this is going to happen to you at times. Now, there's times when it's best to lick your wounds and walk away from it, okay? But generally speaking, stocks are much more orderly than a 60% hit in one day. That doesn't happen very often.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and in the quantum space, you know what you're getting into, right? I mean, it's a biotech version of technology, really.
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly. I mean, hey, Zuckerberg can't even explain quantum. Okay, that's... That's how kind of out there that it is. So generally speaking, it's very rare. You know, I can't remember the last time we owned a stock. Now, the clients don't own it. I personally own it, and I take the risk with my incubator portfolio. Now, some of the traders, I'm sure, that are following me bought into it. number one never make it more than two and a half to five percent of your overall portfolio so you can't get hit too much if you got a hundred thousand dollar portfolio and it goes to zero the most you can lose is twenty five hundred dollars and if you're in it for five grand is is is five hundred five thousand dollars and you still got ninety five thousand to work with never make it a big uh big uh position number two Generally speaking, stocks trade in a pretty orderly fashion. They're either in an uptrend, a downtrend, a sideways trend, etc. But once in a while, and not very often, you get a knife in the heart and it's down 65% in one day. Well, you just have to wait for the dust to settle. You have to be a little bit patient. Because what happens is when somebody comes along and hits something hard like that, in this case, one person did it. They have a chance to respond. All of the analysts out there, the community that follows these talks, the CEOs, et cetera, that's the phase we're in right now. They're responding. defending their little space that they've carved out. And then to see Wang kind of come to realizing maybe what he had done, he's kind of walking back some of his words. So, you know, I mean, we own them. They're up 45% today. And that's the way it goes in this space. Now, in the portfolios that I manage for the clients, it's a much different kind of philosophy. We're investing. The other one, I have to be a little bit more nimble. I have to have a little bit more of a trading mentality. Because of the nature of the beast, they are public companies. You know, these guys that run venture capital funds, how many stocks do you think they're invested in? How many startups do you think they're invested in? With the hopes that one or two of them, right, will go public and be a hit. Well, I mean, we're a step above that. These companies are now public, which gives us liquidity. Okay, it's liquidity. We can get rid of it. If it's not working out, it's a publicly traded company. But when you get into the premier growth portfolio and ultra growth and the dividend, we're investing in those companies, but we also manage them pretty tightly. You know, I feel like I've probably made a mistake. If it starts drifting lower and gets down 10%, 11%, I really start questioning whether I'll put up a yellow flag and then a red flag, and then this is your last chance. You break this level, baby, and I'm going to have to cut you loose. send you back to the minor leagues, back to Albuquerque, right? But I manage those a little bit differently. Those are investments. But they still have to be managed. You still have to be vigilant because bad things happen to good stocks, too, from time to time where something will change. Look at AMD. The fortunes changed there about a year ago, and they've never come back. And that was the right thing to sell it at the time we did. We're not always right, but we try to make very wise, lots of little decisions on a daily basis. When we come back, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. How are they doing?
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
And looking back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. Before I get into the boring banks here, you know, one list of charts that I begin my day with every day right after the show is the stocks that we own, obviously. They get looked at every single day, maybe a couple times during the day, several times in some cases. And, you know, I try to... People transfer stocks in that we keep and whatnot. And between all the portfolios and bonds that we own, we own about 132 positions as of yesterday, Barry. And as of today, I look and I go, there's 232. Somebody transferred in. Now, 100 positions, I don't know where it came from. I'm going to guess like Raymond James. You can tell me after the show. We don't want to embarrass any of the big regional firms out there. But there you go. It's all the usual suspects. Why would you own 100 stocks? Archer Daniels Midland, Amgen, Bank of America, Caterpillar, ConocoPhillips, Comcast, one of the worst stocks out there, Disney, Dollar Tree, which is, who's been watching the Mint? Dollar Tree's been getting killed. Dow Chemical, Eastman Chemical. Illinois Tool Works, Home Depot, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell. Johnson & Johnson is in every portfolio that comes in from another firm. I knew that one was in there. I was waiting for you to get to it. Okay. They've got a big smack in the Russell 2000 ETF, which is a dog, especially Coca-Cola. always in every portfolio that comes in from big broker firm abc nike nike new core pfizer hasn't done anything in years there she is the pride of cincinnati procter and gamble paypal southern copper oh god this is junk sempra AT&T is going to be there. Yeah, there it is, AT&T. Verizon is going to be there. Yeah, there's Verizon. Okay, now that's the bad news. The other bad news is, Barry, I'm preparing a list of about 75. I'm just writing them down, and then I'm going to send it over to you. You're going to do the weeding today because you've got to do it. It's a little bit on the – It's a little bit on the, you know, it's time consuming. But, you know, you do it once and it's done.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sometimes you say you need a chainsaw instead of a, you know, instead of a hoe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, in a case like this, you have to go into the portfolio and pick it and sell it one at a time. There's no other way around it, which is cool. I mean, that's what we get to do. And I don't have to look at these stocks tomorrow when I go through my charts because I don't like looking at bad stocks. It just ruins my day. So there's your typical. Believe me, this is so typical. If you have an account at one of the big wire house firms or one of the regionals, you're probably going to have a very similar portfolio, 100 stocks. There's a few good ones sprinkled in here and there. Not many. I don't see many. They're mostly everything you don't want to own. So anyways, I just thought I'd mention that. Okay, and you can tell me after you can text me where this portfolio came from. I'm guessing like, well, I'm not even going to guess. Okay, now let's go look at some of these big dogs. Yeah, you can message me. I can almost guess. I'm pretty sure I know. Okay, Wells Fargo reports earnings. How's Wells Fargo doing? I wouldn't own Wells Fargo. If you paid me. Wells Fargo WFC is up, however, 5.5% today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if any of the other banks were an indication, right, that Wells Fargo should perform well this coming round.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, and the only bank I would own stock would be, I think Jamie Dimon is one of the best CEOs in America. Smart, grows his earnings every year, not by a lot, but by enough. That stock, it's 251. And he can move markets.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. He can move markets in the direction he needs them to move to a certain extent.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's highly respected. Right. And I would at times. I don't like the interest rate environment right now for Goldman Sachs, but there's times when they get it right. Goldman Sachs is up 5.5%. But it hasn't been a big returner. You can look at the 10-year return on the app, what it's returned over the last 5, 3, 1, 10 years compared against the S&P 500. And you'll see it's underperformed the S&P 500 by quite a bit. And then the other one that has reported today is Citigroup, which almost went under. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, they almost went under. They barely came out of it. And now they're back and swinging. They're back to $147 billion in market cap. They probably have the best report of all. The city is up 6% right now and breaking out, but it's been in that 80 area. It gets to 80 and it can't get any further than that for the last seven years. That's what it gets up to 80, drops back down to 60, goes up to 80, drops back down to 60. Well, today it's at 80 up at that higher end of the range. Okay, so that is earnings. Let's just put it this way. Earnings season is off to a good start. Okay, four big banks. They're all up 5% to 6% today. uh... like i say we don't have an earnings problem it's been the multiple and today we're getting help on that a little bit with interest rates dropping okay well i'll be uh... going through all of our holdings today sending out all of the tweets or the messages throughout the day not tweets emails throughout the day we're having a phenomenal day here with our stuff And you can play along. You can just observe. You can keep a paper portfolio. That's a good way to start. Play around. Set up several portfolios of your own and follow along with the logic. and the teaching that I do here on a daily basis. Or you say, I don't have time to do that. I've got a full-time job. I'm doing three heart surgeries tomorrow. Well, that's what we do for a living. While you're doing what you do, we do what we do. I do heart surgery on portfolios every day. and I've done thousands of them over the years, you can hire us to do that work for you. 855-611-BEST. If you're in a mess, 100 stocks, none of them too good, nobody winding the mint, give us a call and interview us. 855-611-BEST. Or sign up for the four free weeks at GundersenCapital.com. GundersenCapital.com. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good night. Good night. Good night.
In today's episode of the M&M Experience, Mike and Mark delve into an unexpected encounter at the bank. Mike recounts his recent visit, where unusual questions about a personal withdrawal led to a broader discussion about consumer power, banking regulations, and anti-money laundering policies. The conversation evolves to explore personal privacy in the age of cashless transactions, highlighting the vulnerabilities of using ATMs, especially in high-risk locations. The hosts also tackle the complexities of viral social media incidents and their real-world consequences. They analyze a controversial altercation at a sporting event that led to significant personal and professional fallout, posing questions about accountability, company policy, and the fine line between public and private behaviors. As the dialogue shifts, a nostalgic tribute to Rush Limbaugh underscores the impact of broadcast pioneers and the ever-changing media landscape.
SPEAKER 01 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here's today's Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 03 :
The world wants to know what happened yesterday, Mike, when you went back to the bank and asked them why they asked you what the money was for when you wanted to pull some money out.
SPEAKER 02 :
Karen Gallagher put her curlers back in her hair and put on the fuzzy bathrobe and the bunny slippers and marched into the bank and said, I'd like to speak to the manager. You know, when you say that now, isn't it funny how it just has an image to it? I'd like to speak to the manager.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's like, oh, yeah, you're one of those. But you know what? Yes, but I'd like to speak to the manager. 20 years ago is here comes a troublemaker. We can blow off in five seconds. I want to speak to the manager now in the era of online reviews in every consumer interface that you have. Don't you have just people begging you for good reviews? We have power in the consumer world like never before. So you carry that into the bank lobby and.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I mean, the lady was very nice about it. She said she kind of politely explained that this is definitely their policy. This particular bank, she said, has had problems with money laundering. Now, she said, you know, you've probably seen the media accounts of the money laundering controversy we were in. And I actually hadn't. I don't know what she's talking about.
SPEAKER 03 :
A particular bank that was a particular target of money launderers?
SPEAKER 02 :
A national chain. And she said, you know, we've been involved in AML. And I said, well, pardon me, what's AML? She said, well, you've probably seen it in the news, anti-money laundering. Again, I don't know what in the world. I said, well, okay, whatever. She said, all the banks are going to wind up doing this. She said, we could be fined if you're engaged in... Now, let's set the table here for people who don't remember. I went in to get... a withdrawal from my checking account for $4,000 because it's higher than the ATM limit. I would normally never go into the lobby. I'd use the ATM, but the ATM daily limit in this case is, I think, $2,500. And I wanted to put it over into another bank account.
SPEAKER 03 :
You got an ATM that'll give you $2,500? I do. Mine's like $4,000. Of course, I'm doing ATMs at convenience stores. Well, you could ask them to increase the limit. They'll do it for you. When am I ever at an ATM? I don't know. Anyway, what is this cash you speak of?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I live at the ATM. Really? Really?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. Are you a big cash-using guy? Because I've got the same, like, 80 bucks I had in my wallet two years ago.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I don't know. I guess I am. I don't know. Anyway, man. So anyway, I got $4,000 on. As the teller the other day counted it out, she said, now, what exactly is this transaction for? And I was just dumbfounded. I thought, you're asking me how I'm spending my own money. And I didn't say that to her. And I'm not a confrontational guy, believe it or not. I said to her, I'm not. I mean, in real life, I'm Clark Kent. I'm Superman, maybe, from, you know. You folded like a cheap suit yesterday or the day before when she asked you what the money was for. I told her what I was doing it for. I just, well, why not? I mean, I didn't mean to hide. But I was thrown by it. I thought, well, anyway, I went back yesterday to ask why. Why did she? And I said, look, I've got no complaint about this lady. She was very polite. I don't want to get her in trouble. I'm just wondering what. So she went on to say the bank can be fined if it's been determined that I was engaged in criminal activity and they didn't do anything about it. Now, wait a minute. Let me finish. Okay, go ahead. Let me finish. And part two, she could go to jail. She told me they could put her in jail if the bank is aware or sees that I was involved in criminal activity and they didn't do anything about it.
SPEAKER 03 :
But who's going to tell the truth about this? Let's say that you were laundering money like Marty Bird in Ozark and simply said, well, I just want to put it from one account to the other. Okay, thank you, Mr. Gallagher. Boom. Let's say you were a money launderer.
SPEAKER 02 :
What are you going to do? If there's a red flag that they missed, they could get fined and incarcerated. And what would that be?
SPEAKER 03 :
You hemming and hawing and yammering and breaking out in a cold sweat? What do you want to know that for?
SPEAKER 02 :
I have no idea at this point. What I said to her was, I said, well, what did you do with the data? Because you're obviously collecting data. She goes, she typed it in. She said, you said, you typed it in. I said, what do you do with that? She goes, it doesn't go anywhere. It lives on your account so that if there is any investigation, they can look at the records and say, this is what Mike Gallagher told us was the reason for the withdrawal. And I said, well, you know, this falls under the category for many people of this isn't anybody's business. And she said, but again, it's because of the banking regulations and what we're required to do. And then I told her, I said, well, I'd always heard that any transaction, $10,000 or more, you do notify the government. She goes, nope, no, we don't. Only if it's cash. She said, if it's an online transaction, we don't do anything with that. Because because that's already that she goes, that's there's a paper trail. She goes, it's all about a paper trail. So anyway, you know, I don't care particularly. It's just it's just one more example, I guess, of sort of the big brother factor and the way people are, you know, intruding into our lives. And it's just. That's why a lot of people won't go to the bank. I mean, a lot of people aren't going to go through this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, when you were talking about constantly being in the ATMs, getting out cash to stuff between your mattresses, I thought maybe you're the trailblazer here. Because some of these stories spark a certain reaction in the social media world of where we've become too much toward the cashless society. Our money is all on paper, and that leaves us vulnerable, etc., etc., etc.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you mentioned you use your ATM at convenience stores all the time. See, I'm really leery. I got burned once. I think I told you this story. I used the ATM at a convenience store, and that was in New York. It was a bodega in New York, and they had one of those skimmers, and I got burned on it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Where you use your card, and there's something in the keypad where they can come back and gather that, and they have all your data. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
They captured the data from the strip on the back of your card. And I talked to the bank. And the bank said, never swipe your card. Never swipe it. Because now the technology allows you to tap. You know, you can tap now. At ATM? Oh, everywhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, you mean at various transactions. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. And the ATM.
SPEAKER 02 :
I'm a meat tapper. you tap don't swipe because that that that eliminates that's that's the that's why they've gone to these uh these yeah they get so but but i'm also because of that getting burned that's a terrible feeling to look all of a sudden my phone was beeping and i'm looking all these transactions were popping up and after this guy after this was happened so i'm a little leery about the i like i do do a lot of cash tracks transactions good for you that's
SPEAKER 03 :
60 seconds before we get to Hegseth. I need you to help me on this. You turn me on to this story, and then I turn it into the 8 o'clock hour yesterday. We all know who Ryan Caldwell is now. He's the incredible a-hole there at the Eagles game. Boy, that narrows it down. Who berated and profanely attacked this woman in Packers regalia. And it's terrible. Called her just an effing dumb C word. Just the worst. And then reactions started to pour in. And about half of my reaction was, you know, F-A-F-O, too bad. Don't act like that. And the consequence will not befall you, which is fair enough. And the other reaction was, what? Because he called a woman a nasty name. His life is destroyed. His job is destroyed. And I don't think he's been fired yet. And I love that. He has been fired. He has been fired. Hospitality industry. He has been fired. And I just don't know what I think about it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hello. Can you hear me? He has been fired. I hear you.
SPEAKER 03 :
OK, so how do we so how do we how do you feel about that? There's got to be a consequence for this. I get it. I'm Mr. Consequences, Mr. Accountability. But but there are other people in the reaction of the audience and online who said this is just too much. This is just what he did.
SPEAKER 02 :
OK, what? So where are you? I'm so torn by this. Me too. It's definitely a product of this social media world we're in where anything you do – and look, none of us want our worst moment captured on video. But you're never going to do this. I'm never going to do this. But I might get aggravated or you might get aggravated or something happens or you're having an argument. You and a bank could – He might go off on a bank. Well, you never know. I mean, look, now it's egregious to call a woman a dumb C word. But by the way, he is an Eagles fan. So there's that.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think people said is this is a Packers content creator guide, his fiance. What happened to me 30 minutes prior to this? Had they been? Did they play any part in escalating this? Not that that makes his tirade against her. OK.
SPEAKER 02 :
Did she call him worse things? Did she say things? Were they going back and forth and he lost it? But according to all the reports in the New York Post, BCT Partners, which is ironically a DEI-focused management consult, A consulting firm in East Brunswick, New Jersey announced the firing in a statement last night. They concluded their internal investigation and decided to part company with the employee. Now, here's the Mark Davis litmus test. Hey, it's free market, capitalism, business gets to fire whoever they want to fire. Absolutely true. I mean, look, let me put you on the spot. You're running a company with 100 people and you find out that one of your employees did this, is capable of doing this. Don't you think you have the prerogative to say sayonara?
SPEAKER 03 :
Of course I have the prerogative. There is no doubt that the company had the right to do this. Was it right to do this is the tougher question. And the litmus test that I apply to that is if the company assesses that there is a net profit, damage to them by having this guy in their employ, reputational damage. You can't send them on sales calls anymore. You're getting horrible press for keeping this guy on the payroll. Then, okay, he's got to go, and it becomes his problem. If it's somewhat less than that, maybe there's still a capacity in our society to dust ourselves off, have some apologies. You know who has apologized? The Eagles organization. They gave her like $1,000 of pay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Cows out of that bar with the Eagles fans. I mean, my God.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. And the guy has been banned from. For life. For life.
SPEAKER 02 :
But look, but Mark, maybe the consequence is act a little better. You know, do better in public.
SPEAKER 01 :
Be more polite.
SPEAKER 02 :
A polite society can go a long way. You know, I was I've been thinking a lot. It was Rush Limbaugh's birthday the other day. And one of the joys of my life was getting a job in New York and working down the hall from Rush. It was a big, big kick for me because without him, none of us are sitting here. He completely transformed the medium. And I was buddies with Johnny Donovan. Johnny was his longtime voice announcer. And Johnny was one of the legendary disc jockeys in New York City, one of the good guys back in the day. And Johnny had a rule. He said, look, if I was emperor of the world, here's what I'd do. It would be a one-kill rule. You're allowed to kill one person in your lifetime. One person can be dead. If anything is done that offends you. But just one, just one. So that he goes, he goes, do you realize how polite society would be? Because nobody wants to make anybody mad. Because you don't know whether the person that's in front of you has gotten their kill yet. That's right. That's exact. Johnny said one kill a lifetime. He goes, it'd be a complete. Anyway, we got inauguration coming. Pete Hegseth. How about three seconds? How great was Pete? I'm so proud. I'm so proud. Well, I knew he would be. Look, he's a broadcaster. Incidentally, did you see they had to reveal what they paid him to do the weekends at Fox and Friends?
SPEAKER 03 :
Did you see what he was making? What was it?
SPEAKER 02 :
$2.4 million a year.
SPEAKER 03 :
To sit on the couch on a Saturday morning?
SPEAKER 02 :
On a Saturday morning. That's a gig. I mean, good for him.
SPEAKER 03 :
What's Jesse Waters making?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Hannah, he's up to $25, I think. So there's big bucks over there. There's gold in them Thar Hills. There's gold in them cable channels. How about Stolen Valor Blumenthal? How many people in the Army? How many people in the... And of course, Pete had almost all the numbers correct. But he was off a little bit. And then Stolen Valor Blumenthal, a guy who got called out by the New York Times for lying about serving in Vietnam... He says, you're not qualified to lead the armed forces because there's so many people in the armed forces. It's the size of the armed forces. Can you imagine the gall of that guy waking up saying, I'm the guy that lied about serving? Is there anything really worse, Mark, in your mind, really, in the scheme of things, than spitting in the face of every single man or woman who served this country by lying about your military service?
SPEAKER 01 :
Every time I see that guy...
SPEAKER 02 :
Every time I see him, my skin crawls. I think, is it just me? I mean, who the heck is he? How do you have the nerve to even appear at that hearing and grill a war hero like Pete Hegg says? So he's going to get confirmed. Joni Ernst came around. She was the one holdout, I think. And she's all on board. And we got our bags packed. Are you a Friday show and then off you go? Yep, yep. And the low on Monday is 12 degrees above zero. The high is 23 degrees on Monday in Washington, D.C.
SPEAKER 03 :
Listen, 1984, Reagan's second inaugural. They had to cancel the parade.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I know. Do you remember one of the presidents died because he got pneumonia at the inauguration? William Henry Harrison, president number nine. There you go. So I hope Trump bundles up. Exactly. Bundle up, Mr. President. Bundle up your overcoat. When the wind is free, I'll take good care of you. I'll be cheering him on from a warm, toasty studio in our nation's capital.
SPEAKER 01 :
Fantastic.
SPEAKER 02 :
Joey Hudson's outside, though, so we'll give you the stories.
SPEAKER 01 :
Excellent, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
Happy Wednesday.
SPEAKER 01 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
Sin is anything contrary to the character of God. Sin is not an issue in being saved. In your position in Christ, all of your sins are forgiven, past, present and future. In your experience in Christ when you sin in order to be forgiven you must use 1 John 1:9, rebound. If you died today with unconfessed sin in your life you would go to heaven because of your position in Christ. Sin comes in three areas: things we think, say or do. The temptation to sin is not a sin. It’s the volitional act of succumbing to the temptation that’s sin. When you do the right thing in the wrong way it’s called wrongdoing. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps 66:18). Evil is the genius of Satan that contradicts God’s policy of grace. Evil is not truth. All sin is evil but not all evil is sin.
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/sin-wrongdoing-880937
Sin Wrongdoing and Evil
Transcript of FLOT Line Episode 637 aired on November 19, 2017
Good morning and welcome to The FLOT Line. I'm your host Rick Hughes and for the next 30
minutes I'm going to invite you to spend a short bit of time with me. The FLOT Line is designed
to remind you of Biblical truths and introduce you to an in-depth way of studying and learning
the Word of God. It's all done with no manipulation, no solicitation, just simply 30 minutes of
education, some motivation, a lot of inspiration. That's my job, to verify and identify the plan of
God for you and my prayer is you will orient and adjust to the plan. Thank you for listening to
The FLOT Line this morning. This morning as this show goes out, we’re playing across 24 cities,
across the United States from California to New York and it's an honor and privilege to be able to
talk with you. Thank you for your time.
Today we’re going to talk about sin, wrongdoing, and
evil, three different things we face in our lives as believers in Jesus Christ.
The reason I'm
bringing this up is because recently I was doing some studying and it dawned on me that I don't
think I've ever really approached this and talked about this before. I think it’s necessary, you’ll
understand why as we go through it. People have different ideas about sin. Some people say don't
drink, don't dance, don't smoke, don't chew, don't run with them that do. Well the Bible really
identifies sin in a totally different way. Sometimes people that are involved in some sort of
religious legalism will tell you that it's a sin to do something that maybe the Bible doesn't even
comment on. “It's a sin to listen to that rock 'n' roll music,” they use to say. “It’s a sin to do this
or do that.” According to some people the only fun you can have as a Christian is to go bowling
or sing in the church choir but obviously the plan of God is much greater and offers a lot of areas
of fun. We will talk about sin and then we will identify what wrongdoing is because I'm talking
about something totally different from sin. Lastly we’ll talk about evil. So here we go.
Sin is
anything contrary to the character of God.
Isaiah 55:8 says,
“My ways are not your ways and
My thoughts are not your thoughts.”
Romans 3:10 says,
“There is none that are good, no not
even one.”
“
All of our good works are like a filthy rag in God's eyes”
(Isaiah 64:6). The best
thing we could do does not even come close to equaling His righteousness. Sin, Romans 3:23
says, is coming short of God's righteousness. The theology of sin is called hamartiology, the
study of sin, the doctrine of sin. All sins are not the same to God. They never have been the same
to God. There are different types of sin, different effects of different types of sin. Obviously God
knew about all of these sins in eternity past and He knew simultaneously every sin that would
ever be committed by any member of the human race. What I'm telling you is God knew every
sin you would ever commit in eternity past even the sins you have not even done yet, God knows
about them. That's His omniscience, He is all knowledge. While not all sins are the same, it is
true that the solution to all personal sin is definitely the same. Thus the justice of God judged
every sin in human history in Jesus Christ on the cross as a substitute for us, every sin we will
do, every sin that has been done in the past. It was all paid for, all judged by God on Christ. All
sins were imputed to the perfect human nature of Jesus Christ on the cross, the Lamb of God
637-Sin-Wrongdoing-and-Evil-transcript.pdf
without spot, without blemish. Thus Christ accepted the imputation and the sentence of spiritual
death for sin. Our Lord accepted the imputation because of one reason, He loves us, He has love
for all of mankind.
“God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son”
(John 3:16),
and the same reason that Christ died is the same reason God the Father sent Him, because He
loves us. All of our pre-salvation sins, the sins we did before we accepted Christ, were forgiven
at the cross. Then we have sins that happen after we get saved. I want to make a point here.
There is a difference between your position in Christ and your experience in Christ. In
your position, all of your sins are forgiven, past, present and future. In your experience,
when you sin in order to be forgiven you must rebound, use problem-solving device #1.
This
does not mean you would not go to heaven if you died with sin in your life, this is not true.
If
you died today and you had unconfessed sin in your life, you will definitely go to heaven
because of your position in Christ Jesus.
You are in Christ Jesus but in your experience, sin in
your life quenches and grieves the Holy Spirit and the only way you can be forgiven during time
is to use the rebound technique or problem-solving device #1.
“If we confess our sin then He's
faithful and just to forgive our sin and to purify us from all wrongdoing”
(1 John 1:9). If we
become stiff necked, stubborn, hardhearted, and build up scar tissue on our soul and we don't use
rebound, then we are punished by God when we don't use the divine solution. What is this? This
is divine discipline.
Divine discipline always comes in three stages: warning discipline;
intense discipline; and even dying discipline.
You have a choice when you sin in time. You can
rebound this sin, confess the sin, God is faithful and just to forgive you, He always will. Or you
can become stiff necked, hardhearted and stubborn, build scar tissue until eventually you go
under divine discipline. Personal sin is a manifestation of having a sin nature. You’ve got it, I’ve
got it. Nobody sat me down and taught me how to lie. Nobody sat me down and taught me how
to cheat. Nobody sat me down and taught me how to lust. That's my sin nature and thus,
“If we
say we have no sin then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us”
(1 John 1:8). Then
1 John 1:10,
“If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar and His Word is not in us.”
These sins can be personal sins and even unknown sins. Two types of sins we have, known sins,
those sins that we are aware of the fact that we did them and unknown sins, sins that we are not
aware of the fact that we did them. Get this right and remember it.
Sin is not the issue in being
saved. It’s not the issue in you coming to salvation. Salvation is faith in Jesus Christ that's
the issue.
The reason is because Christ satisfied the justice of God the Father and thus God was
propitiated or satisfied by the judgment of Christ on the cross and don't ever forget this. That's
why John 3:18 says,
“He who believes in the Son is not judged and he who does not believe is
judged already, because he has not believed in the uniquely born Son of God.”
John 3:36 says,
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life, and he who does not believe shall not see life, but
the wrath of God abides on him already.”
Sin comes in three areas: things we think, things we
say, things we do.
I want to go to Proverbs 6:16 and show you seven sins God hates. Proverbs
6:16-19 lists the seven worst sins in God's eyes,
“There are six things which the Lord hates, in
fact seven are an abomination to His soul.”
Let me explain something, this is an
637-Sin-Wrongdoing-and-Evil-transcript.pdf
anthropopathism. Using the word hatred with God describes a policy of God in terms of human
modus operandi so we can understand it because God doesn't hate. Hatred is a sin. If God hated,
He would be sinning so this is an anthropopathism. An anthropomorphism is giving God a hand
or an eye like, “He holds the whole world in His hand.” God doesn't have a hand so when we
give Him a hand, this is an anthropomorphism. Hatred here is describing the policy of God and
here's what it says,
“He hates a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood.”
A
proud look is arrogance which includes anything from bitterness to jealousy to vindictiveness to
implacability, hatred, self-pity, slander.
Arrogance is the number one sin any Christian must
face and goes through the stages of self-justification, self-deception, self-absorption
and you
know it's rarely talked about today. When is the last time you heard a preacher talk about
arrogance? You don’t. America is an arrogant nation because we think we are something that
we’re not. Arrogant people don't see themselves as they really are. They see themselves as they
think they are and in our nation we have moved so far away from the plan of God that everything
that use to be evil is now all of a sudden becoming good and everything that use to be good is
now all of a sudden beginning to be called evil. That's arrogance. That arrogance will destroy this
nation if we don't repent of this and change our mind. The seven things that God hates,
“A proud
look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,”
that's the first three. A proud look is
arrogance. A lying tongue refers to malicious gossip, slander, criticism, back-biting. Hands that
shed innocent blood refer to murder. Do you see the pattern in verse 17? It lists the three
categories of sin, mental attitude sins, sins of the tongue, and even overt sins. By the way,
murder, hold on to your seatbelt now, murder is the only overt sin listed among the seven worst
sins, not fornication. It's not listed. This doesn't mean it’s not a sin. It means it’s not listed as one
of the seven worst sins. Murder, why is it listed? Because it deprives an individual of his right to
live, the right given to him by God at birth when He imputes the spark of life to his soul. Man
and woman can produce human life but only God can create soul life. The first three,
“A proud
look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood.”
Proverbs 6:18,
“A right lobe
[in other
words a mind]
that devises evil conspiracies, feet that run rapidly to evil.”
It seems there are
always frustrated people who become conspiratorial and authority makes them feel
uncomfortable and they do everything they can to undermine this authority. We have this in the
political world today. It's unbelievable the conspiratorial arrogance that goes on in this nation,
accusations, slander, maligning, criticizing, back-and-forth around each other, trying to gain
power by slander. Verse 19,
“A false witness
[that's the sixth one]
who utters lies
[and then
number seven]
he who sows discord between the brethren.”
Those Jews had a great system of
jurisprudence and history and a false witness, a liar, makes it impossible to bring out the truth,
the facts.
“Whoever sows discord
[or strife]
among the brethren”
refers to us playing one person
against another person. These are the seven sins that God hates. You can take it and read it in
your Bible for yourself, Proverbs 6:17-19. Now let's talk about another type of sin, it’s called
emotional sins. These are mental attitude sins. Emotional sins are often not even recognized as
sin such as fear, worry, anxiety, these are all emotional sins. Anger is an emotional sin because
637-Sin-Wrongdoing-and-Evil-transcript.pdf
it's always irrational. Hatred is an emotional sin and irrational and violence is an emotional sin. If
there's someone today that you absolutely hate, someone that you absolutely loathe, you’re
sinning. It's irrational because the Bible says you're suppose to love the weirdos, not hate them.
The only way you can love them is by using the love of God and impersonal love, loving them
based on who you are not based on who they are. These are problem-solving devices #6 and #7,
personal love for God and impersonal love for others. If you haven't ever heard this, you need to
learn what impersonal love is, the ability to love weirdos, the ability to love people that you don't
even like based on the character of God in you. There are other categories of sin including
legalism and revenge and self-righteousness and sins that are related to rejection of authority and
crime, irrationality, chemical sins. Why do you have to understand these things? Because in
living the Christian life it's important to know what sin is. Why should I know what sin is? If I
understand what sin is, it gives me an opportunity to build up resistance against it. I can identify
what sin is in the temptation stage when it tempts me and this helps me to resist it. However, just
because I can identify the temptation doesn't mean I won't succumb to the temptation.
Remember this, the temptation in itself is not a sin. It's the volitional act of succumbing to
the temptation, that's the sin.
You can be tempted to sin mentally. You can be tempted to sin
verbally, and you can be tempted to sin outwardly. Volition related to an unknown sin is a sin of
ignorance. Volition related to a known sin is a sin of cognizance. Some sins you're aware of what
you did and some sins you're not aware of when you do them. Whenever we commit a sin,
identification of this sin makes the function of rebound, problem-solving device #1, possible.
Remember that one of the problems in identifying sin is that in our culture today, many sins
become accepted over many generations so they're not even considered sins by society anymore.
I’ll give you a perfect example, sports talk radio. I have never heard so many sins as I do when
listening to sports talk radio. The slander of a coach, the maligning of an athlete, the gossip of
something, I mean it's just blatant. One caller will call in and slam another caller and another
caller will call in and slam this caller and verbal sins fly back and forth across the airwaves and
the host is the one that’s lighting the fire and fueling the fire. They never even realize that they
are committing sins of the tongue. Sometimes it's gossip. Sometimes it’s slander. Gossip is you
repeating the truth and slander is you repeating a lie. If you repeat the lie long enough, loud
enough, and often enough, a lot of people will begin to believe it. Yeah, we have things today in
our society that are sins and people don't recognize them as sins. It can happen in your life too. It
can happen if someone comes up and says to you, “What do you think about old Joe Blow?” And
then you say, “Well, you know he's a pretty good guy but I’ll tell you one thing, you better not
trust him, you better not turn your back on him.” See, this is a sin. Whenever someone sets you
up to ask you a question like this, let me tell what you do. You just say, “What do you think
about him?” You'll see what's really going on. You can’t afford to malign anyone. You can’t
afford to slander anyone because Matthew 7 says there's triple compound discipline involved
with it. Whatever we put on someone, it’s going to be put back on us. Read Matthew 7:1-7 and
you will learn quickly, you must never stick your nose in someone else's business. If you don't
637-Sin-Wrongdoing-and-Evil-transcript.pdf
know what sin is a sin, you can't confess it until you know it's a sin. For the ignorant this may
take some time and in the meantime, they just go down in their spiritual life and sink deeper into
reversionism and eventually become involved in the cosmic system of the devil. By that time,
this sort of believer if he ever gets around to rebounding, he’ll be so deep into reversionism that
he may confess his sin but he’ll go right back in it. You can rebound if you do sin, so the more
you know about sin the closer you can keep your accounts, that's
why I brought this up.
Don't
ever get the idea that you have reached sinless perfection or that you just sin infrequently.
This very thought is arrogance in your life.
It's failing to see yourself as you really are and the
ones that are usually like this are the most religious types. They appear to be very holy and very
godly and go around acting very godly and holy and they don't think they sin. Again, 1 John 1:8,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
We are not deceiving
anybody else, we just deceive ourselves. This is one of the greatest problems in spiritual
adolescence, as well as any other stage of spirituality, self-deception. You think you're good. You
may even think you're perfect and you don't even realize the sins of self-righteousness which we
are guilty of. The Pharisees and the scribes that murdered our Lord Jesus Christ were guilty of
many sins but in their eyes, they didn't think they sinned at all. Until we understand what the
Bible calls sin, it's impossible for us to understand where we stand experientially with God. Too
many people commit sins and they are not even aware that they are sins. Therefore, although
they may try to rebound or confess the sin, they get right back out of fellowship instantly and it's
an unstable situation and not conducive to any type of spiritual growth. If you're to be a member
of the royal priesthood, the family of God, you must know what sin is so you can deal with it.
Deal with your own sins, go to the Lord, and use the rebound technique, problem-solving device
#1.
“If we acknowledge our sins to God, He's faithful and just to forgive our sins and purify us
from all of our wrongdoing.”
Wrongdoing, now I'm changing the subject from sin to
wrongdoing. What exactly is wrongdoing?
Wrongdoing includes grieving and quenching the
Holy Spirit.
So if you want to be purified from all wrongdoing then you have to remove the
grieving of the Holy Spirit. You have to remove the quenching of the Holy Spirit and we do this
by confessing our sin and not letting the sin nature control our soul. Wrongdoing can go much
further than this. You see a right thing has to be done in a right way.
When you do a right thing
in a wrong way, it's called wrongdoing.
For example, Christians do this all the time. Is it right
to pray? Yes. Is it right to go to church? Yes. Is it right to give money to your church? Yes. Is it
right to sing in the choir? Yes. These are all right things but can you do them in the wrong way?
Yes.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”
(Psalm 66:18), that's the first
one. Here you are praying, you’re out of fellowship with God because you have unconfessed sin
in your life that you have not rebounded and thus you're doing a right thing, prayer, but you're
doing it in the wrong way. You're doing it in the energy of the flesh. Let’s assume the offering
plate comes by and you put a check in the offering plate or cash. Is this the right thing? Sure it is.
Can you do it in the wrong way? Yes you can. If you have unconfessed sin in your life and
you’ve quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit, even though you gave this money, you did a right
637-Sin-Wrongdoing-and-Evil-transcript.pdf
thing, you did it in the wrong way. All of this is exposed at the Judgment Seat of Christ in 1
Corinthians 3:11-16. Here it says,
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ
[that’s like building a house with a concrete foundation].
If any man
builds on a foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones or wood, hay, and stubble, each
man's work will become evident. The day will show it. It will be declared by fire and the fire itself
will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon remains, he
will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. But
[here's a
conditional clause]
he himself will be saved yet so as through fire.”
You can't burn up the
foundation is what I'm telling you. Wrongdoing is the wood, hay, and stubble. Right things done
in the right way is the gold, silver, and precious stones.
Anything you did for God while you
were out of fellowship, under control of your sin nature, you did it in the energy of the flesh
and it's burnt up. It's not acceptable to God, it is wood, hay, and stubble. It is wrongdoing,
right thing but you did it in the wrong way.
Then we come lastly to evil. What is evil?
Evil is
the genius of Satan that contradicts God's grace plan in salvation.
God's genius is grace.
“For by grace are you saved through faith. It's a gift of God not of works lest any man should
brag about it”
(Ephesians 2:8). What is evil? Let’s take the same verse. “For by grace are ye
saved through faith and baptism and giving up drinking Coca-Colas and eating no more turkey.”
Anytime you add something to grace, you destroy the grace.
The evil genius of Satan in
organized religion, humanism, socialism is a plan that's unbelievable, a satanic plan. It’s the
cosmic system. It’s the
cosmos diabolicus.
We’re in the devil's world and he has an evil plan.
Evil is not truth. It twists grace, it puts a half turn on it, and everything that is grace
becomes distorted.
Evil is the genius of Satan.
All sin obviously is evil but all evil is not sin.
I
mean the altruism of the do-gooder is not sin, to put a chicken in somebody's pot. It’s not a sin to
get a food basket up and go give it to somebody, but it can be evil if the motivation is not right,
under the filling of the Holy Spirit, motivated by the Word of God. The motivation is the
difference and so if you're trying to be saved by being altruistic, it doesn't work this way. There is
so much more I could talk about, I’m running short on time. I may try to come back and speak on
evil some more. If you have questions, write to me, get in touch. Thank you for listening. Until
next week, this is Rick Hughes host of The FLOT Line
This episode navigates the intricate web of political and economic factors influencing the United States today. John Rush and his guests tackle vital topics such as energy security, environmental policy, and economic resilience. As they examine California's response to its devastating wildfires, critical insights are drawn about state governance and federal oversight. Additionally, the episode provides a deep dive into financial solutions such as reverse mortgages and adaptive healthcare approaches that challenge the status quo, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of the current socio-economic landscape.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 19 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 08 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 11 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 05 :
Get a job, sir. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 14 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 20 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 07 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, it's that time. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. It's Tuesday. Myself, Andy Pate, Charlie Grimes. We'll have Jordan Goodman on. He was with us a moment ago, but he is no longer there. So Charlie will get him back going. We must have, I don't know, maybe Jordan's on his cell phone or something.
SPEAKER 06 :
Maybe.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and we'll get you. I'm not on. Yeah, you will be. Now you're on.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm on. Yay, I'm on.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now we can hear you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that's good. I feel much better now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Anyways, if you've got a question for Jordan, by the way, send us a text message, 307-200-8222. We can get that asked, 307-200-8222. So outside of Jordan, we've got a couple of other guests we'll cover in the next couple of hours as well. Andy, of course, and I always have plenty of things to talk about, especially right now. There's never a lack of. And one week from today... I mean, we'll have a new president on the 20th, but one week from today you'll actually see some action.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, the long hell will end.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. Good way of saying it, Andy. All right, Jordan, are you with us? I'm with you. There we go, Jordan.
SPEAKER 12 :
Happy New Year, everybody.
SPEAKER 03 :
Happy New Year, Jordan.
SPEAKER 12 :
The world is about to change in a major, major way next Monday.
SPEAKER 03 :
Next Monday. Yeah, I was just saying a second ago that on Tuesday, you know, things will happen on Monday and it'll be, you know, all glitz and glitter and all of that. But the real activity happens Tuesday, a week from today.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think he's got a lot of things lined up, ready to go.
SPEAKER 03 :
I believe you are correct.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan, what things do you think will have the biggest impact economically?
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. There's so many.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know. Look, let me just give you mine. I know you're probably going to say tariffs. I'm going to say oil and gas.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's certainly a major one. If we go to Drill Baby Drill and we can increase production from roughly 14 million barrels a day now to 17 million barrels or so, that'll lower the price of oil and gas. It'll make us more energy secure. It'll also take revenue away from Russia, which is a good thing, because if oil prices go down, that's bad for them. It's not instant. It takes a while to build. But if environmental permits move faster and there's a general encouragement, if lands that have been taken off of lease go back on lease, that happens. As Biden's leaving, one of the things he did was take the entire Atlantic Ocean and the entire Pacific Ocean off of lease. You might have noticed.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, and he did it in a way that's going to make it more difficult to undo. I do believe in time Trump will get it undone. Biden's an idiot, okay? I'm sorry, but he is an absolute idiot. That's just me talking. I have the right to express my opinion. We should not be taking those off. In fact, we should be opening up far more offshore drilling, in my opinion. But let me ask you this. Jordan, you said that he will increase our economic security. right? Our energy security. How would our increased energy security help us in dealings around the world?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I mean, we can't be threatened by Saudi Arabia anymore and OPEC. I mean, we've already taken back a lot of share. We used to be much more dependent on OPEC than we are now. And if we're completely energy independent, it doesn't affect us hardly at all. So that's a good thing to have our own. And other places, too, that threaten us. I mean, Venezuela and Russia and all the places that produce oil, if we're producing the oil instead of them, that makes us much more secure.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. Which we're not that far away from that, to your point, Jordan, just a little uptick in what we're doing production-wise. I mean, we're already at a point right now to where this isn't the Jimmy Carter era, this isn't the 70s, OPEC doesn't have the same stranglehold on the world they once had.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. Yeah, I mean, when they turned off the spigot, You had four- and five-hour gas lines. That showed up quickly. It affected us. That wouldn't happen today. The other area is LNG, which is liquefied natural gas, where Biden kind of put a pause on it. That's one of our greatest strengths and one of the greatest needs around the world, in Europe particularly, because they've pretty much been cut off from the Russian natural gas. They need our liquefied natural gas. And we make a ton of money doing it. They need it. It produced a lot of jobs, and Biden kind of put a pause on that, so Trump will take that off. And around in Japan, other places, they need it, too. So that's another area that we'll be able to be dominant in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan, looking away from Biden for a moment, let's look at California. Obviously, you know about the wildfires. No, it's terrible. Yeah, it's absolutely horrible. And our hearts go out to these people. However, Biden has committed America to spending virtually unlimited amounts of wealth in rebuilding L.A. And, you know, we definitely want to go in and rebuild. I won't even get into the insurance and all that. We can talk about it later. However... If we are going to look at California, a state that has absolutely mismanaged its way into a disaster. Okay, the fires were going to come anyway, but I'm talking the management of it beforehand. And also the fact that they will not develop their oil and gas, which is huge off their coastline. They've shut it down. That hurts America. Is it so bad of us to look at California and say, look, we want to rebuild you and all that, but there's got to be some strings attached. And one of them, you've got to open up. You've got to open up the offshore drilling. I mean, because you're hurting America. You're hurting our security for America.
SPEAKER 12 :
Gavin Newsom would not do it. Okay, so he's still in there for another year or so.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't know. Right now, Gavin Newsom is not politically in a good position.
SPEAKER 12 :
In fact, he's also not running for re-election, so he doesn't care.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, but he's got a future in politics he's going to be looking out for. Yeah, because he'd like to be a senator. He'd like to be president.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, well, he's not going to be president.
SPEAKER 03 :
He's not going to be, but he'd like to be.
SPEAKER 06 :
But he'd like to be a senator because he could still win that in that stacked state. But the simple fact is... Look, if they're not going to open up their oil and gas, they are strangling the rest of the country.
SPEAKER 03 :
I would even put more restrictions on them than that. I mean, I would say some of the money that you guys have already had and allocated and never did anything with in regards to building dam and water storage and so on, you're going to do that or you're not getting a nickel.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's all a given. I'm just saying on top of all that, John, look, you're not getting the money if you're not going to fix your water problem, if you're not going to dump the DEI, if you're not going to stop being racist. But also, my goodness, pay for a lot of it by opening up oil and gas, and those taxes are going to come in to the federal coffers. What do you think, Jordan?
SPEAKER 12 :
Good ideas is not going to happen. I mean, the Democrats run California, and they're not going to do anything you just asked them to do. You know, that could be a standoff. If Trump says the fingers are attached, I mean, it's going to be tens of billions, if not trillions of dollars to rebuild Los Angeles. It could take 100 years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it will not happen in three to five years like something.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, no way. This is major, and it's still burning now. Yeah, I mean, there's still more destruction going on, as we speak. So it's going to be a complete—it's just like Berlin after World War II or something. I mean, it's going to be a complete rebuild. How are they going to do the Olympics, as I've been thinking about them for the last half year in this kind of state? It's just amazing what's going to happen. And I think a lot of it was mismanagement. I mean, they had empty reservoirs for water.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and also they didn't have enough reservoirs. Look, we had approved huge monies for them to build new reservoirs, to build new dams, to do all kinds of things. That one reservoir that was down. They should have had backups for that. They didn't. They didn't do anything. They didn't do any desalinization like they do in Israel, which is a great idea. They're not doing anything to prepare themselves, and now they want all of Americans to bail them out. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't. We should be there for them in this time of need.
SPEAKER 12 :
But environmental restrictions stopped a lot of that from happening. Right, and that's got to stop. Sierra Club kind of runs California. Right. And they didn't want to build a reservoir to protect some bird or frog or something.
SPEAKER 03 :
Some insect, who knows what.
SPEAKER 06 :
Then is it fair to ask Americans, by the way, once again, I want to help them. I want to rebuild. But is it fair to ask them?
SPEAKER 03 :
You have a whole different opinion than I do.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, no, no, but let me finish.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because I don't care.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is it fair to ask Americans to rebuild L.A. with no strings attached?
SPEAKER 12 :
No, it is not.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan? Jordan?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it's a political question, okay?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, get political for a moment.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, I want them to be rebuilt as well, but it's going to be major, major money for a long, long, long time. The other part, you mentioned insurance, is related to this, okay? The insurance companies are going to lose billions of dollars on this, and the result is they're going to pull out of California. A lot of them already have. State Farm, for example, pulled out and canceled hundreds of thousands of policies on California. Brilliant move.
SPEAKER 06 :
Brilliant move.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. And now, what other insurance companies want to go into L.A. now with the way the fires are there? I mean, they're going to lose billions on this thing. And who's going to pay for that? All of us. The rest of the country. is going to have higher premiums to pay for California.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, isn't it fair for the new incoming president to say, look, your state cannot wreck insurance rates for the rest of the country. You have to change some of these rules that you are placing on insurance companies and cutting off their prices, freezing their prices. You've got to change some of that for us to fix you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it's going to be quite a negotiation because you're right. The insurance companies... are not charitable organization better make money and uh... they have to have rates of assume because i wish they were taking them a lot of companies pulled out to live in like the rest thing thing with florida florida's republican state and a lot of insurance companies are pulled out of florida because of hurricane right damage as well you've got to be able to have them charge premiums behind after complicated at risk i mean billions of dollars they're going to be paying for the uh... and a lot of it people were covered they were covered by what's called the fair plan which is the california state insurance fund which is dramatically underfunded i mean i think i have like seven hundred million dollars or and this is going to be a hundred billion or something like that of i mean it's going to be more than that so they're gonna have to beef up their own state insurance uh... mother's gonna come from somewhere so if this doesn't happen uh... l i could be a wasteland for decades
SPEAKER 03 :
Could very well be. All right, great segue. We'll come right back. Jordan, real quick, how do folks find you?
SPEAKER 12 :
They can always email me, jordan at moneyanswers.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Bruce Simmons is next. He's our reverse mortgage professor. You may have been thinking about that for your own self, or you may have been thinking about that for a family member. And if that's you, you get the direct skinny on how all that works and all of the details of. Talk to Bruce today, 303-467-7821.
SPEAKER 17 :
Reverse mortgage expert Bruce Simmons has seen it all. So many people think the unexpected can't happen to them until it does. Life can change fast, really fast. Then you need that money now. Home modifications, a new accessible stairway, medical expenses you weren't anticipating, and it all costs much more than you would have expected. upgrading your home now to help with a medical emergency can even increase your home's property value and over time with a reverse mortgage if you add a line of credit that balance increases too bruce can help you plan for the unpredictable and he can help you build that line of credit in case an emergency arises having access to that money is very powerful and can be a lifesaver bruce knows having a line of credit will help you weather life storms connect with our reverse mortgage expert bruce simmons today at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, looking for a medical doctor. We have one. That is Dr. Scott Faulkner. He is outside of the box. He's not beholden to big pharma or big insurance. Call him today, 303-663-6990.
SPEAKER 13 :
Are you looking for a healthcare provider who truly cares about you and your well-being? Look no further than Castle Rock Regenerative Healthcare, where Dr. Scott Faulkner is ready to provide you with top-notch care. At Castle Rock Regenerative Healthcare, you'll experience a competent, friendly, and efficient staff that puts your comfort and care first. Dr. Scott Faulkner is a true advocate of the latest advancements in healthcare and weight loss. Worried about being lost in the crowd of impersonal health care? Fear not. Dr. Scott is a big picture doctor, not beholden to big pharma or big insurance like some other providers. He takes the time to understand your unique needs and will customize your health care to fit you, your body, and your lifestyle. Tired of waiting weeks for an appointment? Unlike other practices, Dr. Scott Faulkner has the remarkable ability to see you in a matter of days. Reach your full potential and achieve your goals. Call Dr. Scott today at 303-663-6990 or visit him online at castlerockregenerativehealth.com or find him at rushtoreason.com. Castle Rock Regenerative Health Care, your path to a healthier tomorrow.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, as we have some of this warm weather, make sure that your roof is all dialed in. And if you've had any issues at all, and we just talked insurance a moment ago, that's going to change even for your own roof. So make sure that you've got things handled on your end. Talk to Dave Hart today. He is our certified RoofMax dealer with Roof Savers of Colorado. 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 02 :
Have you recently received a letter saying that your roof is no longer covered under your insurance due to its age? The insurance industry is changing the face of roof replacements, but we want to ensure that you can keep your roof alive and out of the landfills. With over 4 million square feet treated every week, We here at Roof Savers Colorado strive to maximize the life of your residential or flat roof. Up to 90% of older or damaged roofs do not require a full replacement. Extreme weather conditions here in Colorado lead to the drying, cracking, and granule loss that slowly kills your roof. Dave and his team are here to save it. With the rejuvenation treatment, we can put critical oils that bind your roof together back into the asphalt shingles, adding up to 15 years of life to your existing roof. And it's 100% people, pet, and plant friendly. For your commercial or flat roof needs, we provide a silicone-based coating with up to 95% UV reflectivity and a 50-year ponding warranty. Call the Roof Savers team today to set a free roof inspection at 303-710-6916 or go to roofsaversco.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
God. Country. Reason.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now back to John Rush. All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, America's Money Answer Man, Jordan Goodman with us as well. Real quick, Jordan, jumping back into the California situation, fires, the rebuilding of, everything's going to happen there, the economic side of that. Will that have any impact upon the Fed interest rates and what they look at as the economy overall?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it clearly slows the economy. This is the second largest city in the country. So in the short term, it clearly slows the economy. All these people that have been displaced, they don't have their jobs. In the short term, it's a real depressant on the economy. In the long term, it's a major stimulant to the economy, rebuilding all this. That takes a long time, but right now, it's a big depressant. Just think of All the things that are not happening in the economy with all these people not having jobs and businesses being wiped out and so on. It's a disaster. And I think it's preventable, too. I really do.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan, do you see a lot of companies around the country investing in L.A. to be able to build there now, upcoming?
SPEAKER 03 :
Not right now. No, the regulations are too heavy.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know that, but don't you expect those to be loosened?
SPEAKER 03 :
Nope. Not in California, I don't. Jordan, am I wrong in that?
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. What might be interesting is if this changes the politics in California. That's a bigger discussion. Yeah, I mean, the Democrats have not really taken good care. Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
But to your point, Jordan, that's not something that will happen right now. That's, you know, elections away before those repercussions are had, right?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, how people handle disasters makes a big difference on whether they get reelected or not.
SPEAKER 03 :
But my point is, Andy's question of will companies come back in, not until some of those politics and those things change. If it stays as is, no, companies will keep leaving.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I'm just saying there's going to be a ton of federal money going in there to rebuild. Aren't they going to want some contracts?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, yeah. Maybe. I think the regulatory environment makes a difference. I mean, look at recently. Chevron just moved out. Elon Musk, Tesla, Facebook.
SPEAKER 03 :
I personally know, Jordan, even some trucking companies that will not go in and out of California because of all of their stupid trucking emissions rules and things along those lines. So until some of that stuff changes, no, there'll be some companies that just say, yeah, no, there's no business elsewhere. We don't need to.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right, right. So, I mean, they moved to Colorado, they moved to Nevada, they moved to Montana, they moved to Texas, all kinds of places. There's been a big out-migration from California, and this is, I mean, a lot of people are saying, no, I'm not going to rebuild. First of all, I don't have the money. If I have insurance, or I don't have insurance, it's not going to be enough to rebuild them, you know, several hundred thousand dollars.
SPEAKER 03 :
And or I'm not rebuilding in what literally right now is a war zone. Why would I rebuild there? I'm just going to go someplace else.
SPEAKER 12 :
But even if they wanted to, they're not going to have the money to rebuild. No, they're not.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan, because a couple insurance companies had very wisely, in my opinion, pulled out of there, does that mean some others were taking on a greater load, which means those insurance companies are going to collapse now?
SPEAKER 12 :
It's going to be a major burden on the insurance companies that have remained. That's correct. They were not expected to spend... tens of billions of dollars up on this kind of things but they're going to have to have contracts they have to do that But, yes, I mean, as I said, State Farm and others have pretty much pulled out.
SPEAKER 11 :
How do they do it, though?
SPEAKER 12 :
The remaining ones, there's a huge burden on them. I think some insurance companies will go broke over this, actually.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, yeah, because no insurance company has the money. Because, look, the whole reason that State Farm, and I think there was one other, pulled out of there is because the entire area was so poorly run by Californians that it was a poor risk, obviously. Okay, well, the other ones that remained, they literally, there is no company that has enough money. to rebuild the number of properties that they were insuring there.
SPEAKER 03 :
There can't be. But what you have to look at as well, and Jordan, you know this also, a lot of those individuals, just like we had here in Colorado, will be severely underinsured. A lot of their policies... depending upon how things were written, whether it be personal contents or the structure itself. Not saying, Andy, that there won't be huge losses on some of those insurance companies, but keep in mind, you're going to find some of these people, and I don't think I'm exaggerating, Jordan, when I say this, some of these people are probably underinsured by half.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right, for the modern cost of rebuilding, what it would take. And, you know, we already have a shortage of construction labor and, to some extent, materials. Right. Can you imagine how much labor and materials it's going to take to rebuild the second biggest city in the country? It's beyond staggering.
SPEAKER 06 :
And also, those companies now are going to have to jack up their costs on people around the country to compensate. Doesn't that put State Farm at an incredible market advantage?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it does. It's losses they don't have to take. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, I mean, so if you've got two companies coming to you saying, okay, here's our rates, doesn't somebody who's having to compensate for the losses of L.A. have to charge higher rates than state funds?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, they do.
SPEAKER 06 :
They do. Just saying.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. It'll happen. I did two complete hours on different shows this past week on this very subject. Jordan, in fact, one of them just ran before we came on air today and talking about the very thing that you're talking about and even rates, you know, Colorado and elsewhere, whether it be from the hurricanes we've seen back east to the fires now we've seen in California. Bottom line, I don't know that there won't be a single policy nationwide that won't go up.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I agree. And remember, FEMA ran out of money after like 10 days of these fiscal years. They had to be saved with, what was it, $100 billion or something like that? And that was before the fires.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
So you're going to have to pour money into FEMA as well. I mean, this is just a monumental financial and human disaster.
SPEAKER 06 :
So State Farm could basically, let's say somebody has to raise their prices so much to compensate for L.A. State Farm could raise their prices only half as much, still make a killing in the raised prices, and still be undercut.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's typically what happens. That's what happens. Theoretically, yes. Okay. You know, companies set their rates, and they have to be approved by insurance commissioners in each state. It's state by state. So, yes, State Farm as a company is not going to take the losses that, say, an all-state would that was in there or other. AIG was another one that took a big hit here.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think we're going to see some new insurance companies pop up who don't have those losses on their books.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, well, I'm not sure they're going to take those kind of risks either. Right, agreed. They take less risks. They have a higher deductible rate. They cover less. For example, they don't cover earthquakes. I mean, this is going to be a nationwide insurance crisis.
SPEAKER 03 :
These exclusions will increase. Well, and again, those are some of the things I talked about in regards to people and the roofs and things like that. We have a question really quick. Dave, go ahead.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. I was wondering, I don't know if you guys have brought this up, but what about the possibility of, you know, obviously insurance companies probably aren't going to be going back into California, but Name me one financial institution that would even bother to loan money to be rebuilt. Who would be crazy enough to do that?
SPEAKER 03 :
To rebuild homes and such?
SPEAKER 10 :
If there's federal money... And businesses and so forth. I mean, who's going to take that risk? The feds.
SPEAKER 12 :
If there's federal money to go in to help rebuild, then banks would make loans to rebuild it. But the people there who are underinsured or uninsured are not going to have the money to do it, nor businesses are. That's where, I mean, Biden has promised an unlimited checkbook if we build L.A. So in that case, banks would lend.
SPEAKER 10 :
So the burden falls to the taxpayer then of the rest of the nation.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, not necessarily, Dave. And really quick, because we've had some of the same things happen here in Colorado. So when the rebuilding sides of it, remember that once an area has gone through, as long as that financial institution can see that you can be insured for the things that you're building, even while under construction, for example, you can go get a construction loan and rebuild. That won't be as big of a deal. as finding insurance once again and having companies that are solvent enough to do it. That'll be the bigger task.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. The other thing I was thinking about as far as costs would be the owner's regulations. I mean, you talk to people now who try to rebuild now in California, and they're saying just to pull a permit, you're looking at 14, 18 months.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct. They'll have to expedite all of that if they want things to go faster.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, to even begin cleanup. You're right.
SPEAKER 12 :
That adds cost. The materials add cost. Labor adds cost. I mean, we're about to deport God knows how many millions of people, many of them in construction, right? You can complain about them, but for the most part, building is done by illegal immigrants, so we're going to deport them all, so it'll be even less labor to do the construction work.
SPEAKER 10 :
And along that same line, as far as California's regulations, I mean, this would be a nightmare, I would think, just because now the leftists in California will say, well, look at that. Man up from heaven. We've got a clean slate. And if you want to rebuild, it's got to be green. And these are the regulations for rebuilding green. And it's got to be so much of this or that. You've got to have so many black lesbian women.
SPEAKER 06 :
Transgenders working on the job and how many of these... If I'm the Trump administration, I say, look, if you're going to rebuild the same circumstances that put us here, forget it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, that's what I'm saying. I mean, what would it take to even say that?
SPEAKER 03 :
And Jordan knows this. If they really want to encourage rebuilding and rebuilding faster, they're going to have to loosen all sorts of things they've even done in the past and not do the things, Dave, you just said.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. But they're not going to. Right. That's not the political environment there.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're right. Dave, I appreciate that. Good comments. I'll let you go with that. No, I appreciate that, and you are right on the money. So I appreciate that very much. All right. I'll tell you what. Are we at a point right now, Jordan, where we can take a break? Let's do that. We'll take a quick break. Sorry, Charlie. Oh, you can't right now? Okay. We'll keep going then. Go ahead, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, go ahead. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Dovetailing into that, I know we talked a moment ago, let's get back to the Fed and your thoughts moving forward when it comes to what they think of not only California economically, but everything else that we've got going on.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, people thought coming into this year, the Fed is going to cut rates probably twice. They cut rates three times at the end of last year. But now the latest numbers are thinking, well, maybe they're not going to cut, certainly at their February meeting. And maybe it'll take a while for them to cut again. The inflation numbers have been coming in a little bit hotter. but people thought they walked out of two percent of the white two point seven two point eight uh... this morning the producer price index came in little cooler so that was good we are quite strong unemployment report last friday which give a job market holler is like a hundred thousand more jobs and been expected so i would say the fed's not going to cut interest rates uh... basically february meeting uh... meanwhile that short-term rates long-term rates have been rising pretty sharply uh... the ten-year treasuries up to about four point seven About six months ago, maybe it was four. And now it's dragged mortgage rates up with it to about 7%, roughly, as well.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jordan, why is that? Why did the Treasury rate go up like that?
SPEAKER 12 :
Several things. First of all, there's concern that inflation may be coming back for some reason. And the other is a huge amount of borrowing the Treasury is doing. The issuance is just staggering. Hundreds of billions of dollars we're issuing. We're up to $36 trillion in the national debt now. So that puts a pressure on the bond market. get higher interest rates to attract the amount of capital needed to pay for all that debt that we're issuing. We're issuing trillions of dollars in debt constantly. So that's pushing up interest rates as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep. I hear you. And it'll be interesting to see how all of this other stuff has an effect. And again, I try my best to not get too far ahead because, as we said, and we opened up this particular hour with, things will have or there'll be a lot of changes made a week from today. Some of that may very well have a bearing on some of the things that we're talking about. Or am I wrong in my thinking?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, the other thing I think the Federal Reserve is worried about is potential inflationary impacts. from two Trump policies, which may have other benefits, but as on the purely economic front, the tariffs are potentially inflationary, because that gets passed on in the form of higher prices to consumers on all imported goods. And the immigration situation, if you deport all these workers, you're going to have worker shortages in lots of different industries, and that means higher wages to attract people to do them. So those are two policies which may have other benefits, but on a purely economic front, Those are potentially inflationary, and the Fed's worried about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that's only one part of the economic front, though. I mean, on the one hand, the businesses are going to have to pay more and thereby charge more for their products. However, on the other hand, taxpayers are going to have to pay a lot less to subsidize the programs that are sustaining this.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I would argue that the majority of folks that get deported. Jordan, are not those that we're talking about that are working, that are contributing back to the economy. Certainly early on. The ones that are going to get targeted right out of the gate are going to be those that are here, have criminal history, criminal behavior, things like that. No offense, it's not going to be the guy framing a house that they're looking for right now.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, not right now, but he's talking about $11 million.
SPEAKER 03 :
In time. Keep in mind, there's a lot of rhetoric that goes there.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, we've talked about this before, John.
SPEAKER 03 :
Kind of like making Canada a 51st state. A lot of rhetoric there.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, maybe 5% of the illegal immigrants are criminals, terrorists, you know, who should be deported. I don't think anybody disagrees with that. But I'm worried about the 95%.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that's where you and I will probably have to agree to disagree, because I think your number is very low there.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, well, maybe I'm wrong. I mean, even if I give you 10%, that's 90% that are hardworking, taxpaying, law-abiding citizens contributing to the economy. And if you just deport them because the one thing they did wrong was come in illegally, that's going to hurt the economy. In all these industries we talk about, the Americans will not do agriculture, lawn care, for the most part construction, meatpacking plants, working in restaurants. There's a lot of areas where Americans don't want to work and are not willing to work. and the illegal immigrants are.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, no, no, not willing to work. But we have to keep in mind what we've done is we've made it so all kinds of Americans are simply living off the government and basically taking in all these incredible benefits that we're putting out, and they're living off these things right now, Jordan, rather than working. So basically the illegal immigration is sustaining immigrants government paying out to a bunch of people who aren't working. What if those people were told, look, you have to work? You're not on the dole anymore. Yeah, you're not on the dole anymore. You're going to go back to the workforce.
SPEAKER 12 :
Remember Workfare under Clinton?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, well, how about we do it again and say that's the way you live? Okay, because, look, it has to be mandatory. And by the way, telling people, oh, gee, tell you what, I mean, why is it that illegal immigration is the only law that we say, tell you what, we'll look the other way on because you otherwise are living a good life? Okay, I mean, every other law, if I break any law, the government doesn't look the other way. They look at me and say, we're going to bust you for that. Why is illegal immigration the only one where we look the other way?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, because they contribute to society. So do I. And in many cases, they have children born in the U.S. that are American citizens. They've got these mixed families.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so do a lot of people. Look, I mean, I'm just saying, why are we looking the other way on theirs? And by the way, I'm not saying all whatever it is, 20 million or 30 million, have to go. But I'm saying an awful lot do have to go, Jordan. They do. They came in the wrong way. They need to go back through and come through ports of action.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I don't want to belabor this, but I think that Trump will come out with a different plan than what he's even stating right now. But will the first round be those that have criminal records and things along those lines? It absolutely will, which it absolutely should be. I agree with that.
SPEAKER 01 :
All right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hang tight. We're going to come right back. I'll take a break. Veteran windows and doors right now, 35% off windows. Doors are 45% with free installation. Give Dave a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 16 :
Veteran Windows and Doors never uses gimmicky high-pressure salespeople. In fact, when you work with veterans, you get the owner, Dave Bancroft. Dave will never try to manipulate you or use silly tricks upselling you. Big window companies will show you a heat lamp test that is supposed to impress you. But what does that really tell you about your windows? Other companies omit the pertinent information, and just because the window and door says Provia, it does not mean their products are engineered for Colorado or even anywhere in the US. Dave prefers to be the last window and door company you meet with, so he can give you all the information the others fail to reveal. Like the U-Factor, efficiency ratings, and even if it's Energy Star certified. And of course, don't forget the tax rebates many people didn't know they could receive. Just talk to any of Veteran's previous clients, and they will be the first to tell you. Get your high-quality windows and doors without all the gimmicks. Reach Veteran windows and doors by going to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, looking for a new used car? We have got you covered. Ridgeline Auto Brokers, they've got two locations to take care of you. Go to ridgelineautobrokers.com.
SPEAKER 18 :
Are you in the market for a reliable car, truck, or SUV that won't break the bank? Does your vehicle need high-quality auto repair? Then look no further. Ridgeline Auto Brokers and Legacy Auto Repair specialize in quality used cars that cost between $15,000 and $25,000, making them a great option for first-time drivers or anyone looking for a great deal. At Ridgeline, we pride ourselves on providing a transparent and happy hassle-free car buying experience. That's why we never charge any dealer fees. Plus, all of our vehicles are inspected by our team of ASE certified technicians. You can trust that the car you're buying is in excellent condition. And remember, we can also service your vehicle after the sale. At Ridgeline, we can take your current vehicle on trade And we also offer competitive financing options for vehicle purchases and also for vehicle repairs. Ridgeline now has two locations, one in Boulder and now a second location in Fort Collins located at 1101 North College Avenue. Both locations offer full service auto repair and a host of off-road accessories. Check out all their services at RidgelineAutoBrokers.com. Ridgeline, the smart way to buy or
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, we've got cold weather coming in this weekend. Make sure your furnace is all dialed in. As I said yesterday, give Club Creek a call today. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
Cub Creek heating and AC is honest and fair. Hunter of Cub Creek always says he just wants to be able to sleep at night. That's why they don't pay their tax based on commission so they avoid incentivizing things like upselling or creating problems that would cost you money. Hunter is thorough and honest. When they come to help with your heating and AC, they start by cleaning your system first because it's not possible to get good readings on a system that's dirty, and they want to avoid charging you for unnecessary things. Cub Creek Techs will test your system, determine several options, and present those to you so you can make an educated decision and choose a path forward. That sort of honesty shouldn't be revolutionary, but unfortunately it is, which is what keeps Hunter of Rheem Certified Pro Partners Cub Creek Heating and AC in business. Find out more about Cub Creek on the klzradio.com advertisers page for a free consultation.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, and if you're looking for a great way to help young people learn to read, we have the answer for you. It's The Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew. Get 10% off right now by using code KLZ, and if you buy two or more books, you get a free hat. Go to jimmyandandrew.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
American Stonehenge by Mike Goldstein is more than just a children's book. It's a way to connect with the children in your life and encourage them to read to you and for themselves. When Mike Goldstein started writing American Stonehenge, he went after a specific problem. Children today don't think for themselves, and test scores nationwide show that. American Stonehenge is gorgeously put together, so it'll draw their attention. It's filled with action, the prose flows as smooth as sand through an hourglass, and it's historically accurate from the stories and the illustrations. But it's also a portal to quality time with children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. It's a way to connect with them while tacitly teaching them the importance of critical thought and giving them a break from scrolling in their free time. Find American Stonehenge on klzradio.com and bring your family together this holiday season.
SPEAKER 07 :
Back to Rush to Reason, presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Jordan Goodman with us, America's Money Answer Man. Real quick, Jordan, before we go to our caller, how do folks get a hold of you?
SPEAKER 12 :
They can always email me at jordan at moneyanswers.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Bob, you got a question. Go ahead, sir.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, my big question I'm going to put aside for just a minute. As far as this California thing, I'm going to sum it up in what I'm thinking about this. Let's say you're a citizen of Kansas. Do you really have any sympathy for the mismanagement of California and want to pay for it?
SPEAKER 04 :
No.
SPEAKER 20 :
Okay, let's drop that. Yeah. What I want to ask Jordan Goodman about is the idea that Donald Trump wants to either purchase or have an economic agreement with Canada. Canada, 90% of their population lives within 50 miles of the U.S. border, and they have squandered They have tremendous amounts of natural resources, oil, uranium, iron, you name it. And they have squandered that on all these social programs like, quote, free health care. I lived the first 24 years of my 75 years of life two miles from the Canadian border, and I've seen it gone completely insane.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have no idea how they've... So, sorry, just to speed things along, what's your question, Bob?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, they're taxing themselves to death up there, social programs, and people in Canada should be wealthy as heck. And now they can't afford to live there anymore.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. Well, I think that's one of the reasons why Trudeau was pushed out, basically, is he's so unpopular. Correct. The taxes and the regulation, he just went far too left and turned people off. Correct. Before him was a conservative guy named Harper, who did quite well, and then he got pushed out. Trudeau came in for the last, I guess it's been eight years or something like that. It's very clear that they're going to bring a conservative back to Canada. Yeah, I think... And cut the taxes and go back the direction you're looking for.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I think the political winds of change are going to blow a lot of those problems out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and a lot of what Trump's even said won't have to happen because that new administration will take care of those things. And you also have to wonder really quick, Jordan, if some of what Trump had to say along those lines isn't also one of the factors in Trudeau stepping down.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, very much so. He looked extremely weak, and he was already weak, and he got weakened even further. But they're not going to become the 51st state. I mean, if we do, in fact, put 25% tariffs on Canada, that is really going to hurt them. We are their largest trading partner. And if we don't buy their lumber and coal and cars... It's not going to happen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Not going to happen.
SPEAKER 12 :
All that kind of stuff. That will really hurt them pretty badly.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, but Canada... Once again, Trump does this, Jordan, and you know this. He's a dealmaker. He does this to scare people into better deals. Canada already just came out today. Their ambassador to the United States said they are going to dramatically jump up the number of products they are buying from the United States, and they are sinking a billion dollars into their border security, which is exactly what Trump said. He said 25% if... You don't take care of your border. They're already doing it. In other words, Trump's winning.
SPEAKER 12 :
He does this everywhere. This is the result if you don't do what we want.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
And so you can do it. Same with Mexico. Same with Mexico. I mean, they're talking about border security there and stopping drugs and all kinds of things, which they haven't done. And that would hurt Mexico very badly if they hit with 25% tariffs as well.
SPEAKER 11 :
So it is used as a kind of a blunt stick to get people to do things they might not want to do otherwise.
SPEAKER 03 :
Talk to us about some of the changes that would happen in regards to, and I know we did this a little bit last time we were on, but the whole mergers and acquisitions end of things.
SPEAKER 12 :
Huge difference there, yeah. So this is going to be a wave of mergers and acquisitions that have been stopped. The existing Federal Trade Commission under Lita Kahn and the Justice Department's Antitrust Division have stopped all kinds of mergers and acquisitions. Some legitimate, I think in many cases not legitimate, that they stopped them. I mean, one example particularly is JetBlue wanted to take over Spirit Airlines.
SPEAKER 03 :
Should have let that happen.
SPEAKER 12 :
They should have let that happen, but they didn't, and then Spirit went into bankruptcy because they were a weak airline. Kroger's Albertsons was another one. They were going to get strong, and they blocked that one. That's all going to be gone as of next Monday. So just to give you one example, Paychex, which is a large payroll processing firm, is buying Paycor, which is another... payroll processing for about $4 billion. They never would have done that under the existing rules. And now the pro of that is that you're going to make these companies much stronger, particularly globally, in various ways. I mean, there may be less competition. Some people will get laid off when this thing happens.
SPEAKER 03 :
On that payroll processing world, there's still plenty of competition, as you know.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and even in the airlines, I think JetBlue Spirit would have been a stronger competitor. It's a consolidated industry. There's only, what, 80% of the market is in five airlines or something like that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Four or five, that's right.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, Jordan, I just want to ask— If you want a growth industry, okay, investment banking, because those guys are going to be very busy with all kinds of mergers and acquisitions that will be approved now that would have not approved under Biden.
SPEAKER 03 :
Really quick along those lines, do you see the credit market loosening up under Trump, or do you see things going there? That's not in our notes, but what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER 12 :
You mean the loans you're talking about? Yes. Not really. I think there's still going to be good restrictions on the banks in various ways. Banks are very risk averse.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, but they've been very tight, as you know, been very tight under the Biden administration for various reasons. And not that I blame them for that, because when you don't know what the economy is going to do next, you tighten things up. When you can see as a bank that, hey, things look pretty good. And if I make these loans, there's a lot less risk because the economy is rolling. These guys are going to do well if we loan them the money. They're more likely to loan, right?
SPEAKER 12 :
In theory, but the banks have a lot of regulations and restrictions on them, and they're very risky. I mean, they always say that if you need a loan, you can't get one. If you don't need one, that's a good time to get a loan.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 12 :
And that's been true lately, for sure, because a lot of people have a hard time getting loans or at incredibly high interest rates. I mean, 25% on credit cards these days. These are mortgages over 7%. A lot of people just can't afford these things. They can't borrow at all. They just can't afford it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, that actually leads to another question for me. So now I got two. The first one was going to be just this wave of mergers. How do you think it will affect the consumers? And the second one is on the banks. Trump wants to cut regulations everywhere else. Could he help them?
SPEAKER 12 :
He could. There are various regulations that Biden wanted to put in. A lot of it's done through the Federal Reserve, actually, not through the administration directly. Now, Chairman Powell is going to be there through May 2026. Trump at that point would appoint a new Fed chair, which could change things a lot. But there's a lot of Federal Reserve regulations and FDIC and control of the currency and just a lot. Now, one area that he is clearly going to loosen up is crypto. The guy he's bringing in who's going to be the new SEC chair is very pro-crypto. Gary Gensler, the existing SEC chairman, was very anti-crypto and very reluctant to loosen it in any way. That's going to be a big, big change. And that's one of the reasons crypto has done so well. It's up to roughly 100,000 because the feeling is we want to become the crypto capital of the world, which I think is a positive thing. So there's an area where you're really going to loosen things up a lot.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, good to know. What do you see Trump trying to do when it comes to the whole housing and the things? We've seen it be stagnant now for, honestly, since the entire time Biden's been in office, the real estate market's been pretty stagnant. Trump's a real estate guy. Do you see him trying to impact that in a positive way?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, getting mortgage rates down would certainly be helpful, and they've been going the other direction lately. So that's not something he really controls directly, because that's based on long-term treasuries, which have been going up. Now, if, in theory, we cut $2 trillion or some large amount out of the federal deficit, the budget from Doge, from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, that could help. That could bring interest rates down if the government isn't borrowing so much. So that's kind of an indirect way of helping housing. But there's not a lot of housing at the local level.
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
So there's not a lot he can do on a national level to really increase housing. We have a tremendous shortage... particularly affordable housing. I mean, there's housing out there, but most people can't afford it. That's why more people are renting today than in the past might have been able to buy. They just can't afford the down payments, the prices, and where mortgage rates are today.
SPEAKER 06 :
Can he open more federal lands to things like logging and, you know, obviously to more oil and gas development?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes, and that could help to some extent. I mean, when he was insulting Canada the other day, he said, we don't need your lumber. I think we actually do right now. Now, if we open more lands, I suppose we could get more lumber here. But yeah, there's a lot of stuff that's been put off being able to be exploited, I guess you might say, that he could bring back. And although the environmentalists are going to go crazy over that, he's going to get a lot of resistance on opening up federal lands.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, could we put something in getting back to immigration to where we keep 100 immigrants for every environmentalist we deport?
SPEAKER 03 :
That'd be awesome.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because I'd be totally down for that. I just want you to know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Seriously, I'm in for that one.
SPEAKER 12 :
Where are we going to deport the environmentalists to?
SPEAKER 03 :
Greenland.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, they can go to Greenland.
SPEAKER 11 :
They like it being green up there. Exactly.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sorry.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's got to be an outpost. Green in Poland could be our new thing, yeah. They could study Moss.
SPEAKER 03 :
Before I let you go, Jordan, one other thing that comes up quite often, and you mentioned it a moment ago with credit cards, where they're at and interest rates being high and so on. Where is a place where folks can go where they're trying to maximize either rewards on credit cards or figure out where they're at on interest rates? Maybe they want to try to consolidate some things. What's a good place for them to go?
SPEAKER 12 :
There's a website called creditcardperks.com where they can get all the best deals at any particular time. So, yeah, I mean, there are good deals. If you have good credit and you pay it off in full every time, you can get frequent fly miles and cash back, all kinds of good things. It's about 40% of the people that pay off credit cards in full every month, and 60% revolve the balances of these incredibly high interest rates.
SPEAKER 03 :
Some over 30% now. It's really high. It really is. Jordan, as always, I appreciate it very much. Thank you for your time. One last time, how do folks get a hold of you?
SPEAKER 12 :
They can always email me, jordan at moneyanswers.com. I get emails from your folks all the time, and always glad to help them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Awesome. Talk to you next month, Jordan. All right. Thank you. Bye. You bet. Have a good one. High-five plumbing, heating, and electrical is up next, folks. And again, whether you're looking for something as we head into this cold weather coming up this weekend, whether you've got a plumbing issue or an electrical issue, please get that handled now. Don't wait until the cold weather arrives. Do it today, 877-WE-HIGH-5.
SPEAKER 05 :
High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric can install a tankless water heater as soon as today. Tankless water heaters are preferred to tank heaters because they heat the water as you use it, meaning you'll never run out of hot water again. Tankless water heaters also save you money on energy costs because you're not constantly heating up that big tank. And because they are so efficient, you will save more money in the long run. High Five customers also enjoy tankless heaters because they take up less physical space in your utility closet or laundry room. These tankless heaters can even add to your home's resale value. In addition to all these benefits, you can receive incentives and rebates of up to $3,200 from Uncle Sam, so it pays for itself. Find out more about tankless water heaters on the KLZRadio.com advertisers page and get in touch with High Five for answers to your home questions today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Gold and Eagle Financial. Make sure you're dialed in when it comes to your financial future with Al. He is your financial advisor or could be, I should say. Find him at KLZRadio.com.
SPEAKER 17 :
We'll be right back. Starting to save even a few years earlier could mean the difference of hundreds of thousands by the time you enter retirement, even if the same amount is contributed annually. The longer you wait, the more you miss out on the compounding effect of time, making it much harder to catch up. Let Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial help you today by contacting him on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold to individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, get your state in order today. Talk to Michael Bailey. Get on his list so that you can get that handled. And he is mobile. He'll come to you. Michael Bailey, find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
A dirty little secret in estate planning is that you can do it yourself. But Michael Bailey will put it together for you faster, cheaper, and much better. There are lots of self-help programs that will ask you questions to get a basic idea of your needs. But if you don't understand the question or the why, you may answer incorrectly. Michael knows the right questions to ask for your specific situation. Michael will help you understand the what and the why behind the information you provide to ensure your estate plan works. If you get something wrong and you're not around to make it clear, your loved ones will be stuck trying to figure out your estate on their own. Michael knows how to cut through the noise and get to the heart of your final wishes so your family is taken care of when you're gone. Put aside just 56 minutes for a session with Michael Bailey, the mobile estate planner. That's all it takes to get a better, cheaper, and faster result that won't leave your family guessing. 56 minutes. Find Michael at klzradio.com slash estate today.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, and when it comes to insurance, we talked a lot about that with Jordan Goodman earlier. Make sure that you're dialed in when it comes to your insurance. Talk to my agent, Paul Leuenberger, today, 303-662-0789.
SPEAKER 01 :
Looking for top-notch home, auto, classic car, and business insurance? Look no further than Paul Leuenberger. Paul is now an insurance broker with access to industry leaders like Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Allstate, AIG, Chubb, Pure, Berkeley, Grundy, and Hagerty. Paul has you covered. Paul is also proud to continue his work with American National for all non-property insurance needs as well. Paul Leuenberger now serves Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas, with more states on the way. Paul's mission is simple, to connect you with the right coverage at the best value. Are you ready to protect what matters most? Call Paul Leuenberger today at 303-662-0789. That's 303-662-0789. Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, we are back. Question of the day.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yesterday, throughout her 63-year reign, how many assassination attempts did Queen Victoria survive? Answer is eight. That's quite a few. That's quite a few, absolutely. Today's impossible question. Which technology company founded in 1993 took its name from the Latin word for envy and features product families like GeForce Quadro Integra?
SPEAKER 06 :
No clue.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Answer that on our website, on our Facebook page. Just go there and answer that if you know that particular answer. And back to what Andy and I and Jordan even opened up with. Believe me, folks, and Andy and I will talk about this next Tuesday because I... I am guessing that the headlines next Tuesday, Andy, will be this executive order undoing the last executive order, and, and, and, and, and, and, and. And we'll just start going down the list next Tuesday.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Which I'm excited for.
SPEAKER 06 :
I can't wait.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, we've got two more hours coming your way. Don't go anywhere. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 19 :
Average Guys Average Guys Average Guys
Join John Rush as he and his guests analyze the pressing issue of community banks and their dwindling numbers due to aggressive regulations. The conversation moves towards discussing the need for a reformation of the political scene with special attention to corruption among political figures. Throughout the episode, the dialogue remains engaging and informative, offering listeners insights into how the mentioned policies are shaping America's socioeconomic environment. With thorough discussions on these vital topics, the episode serves as an eye-opener for those concerned with the country's future.
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 08 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 14 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 16 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, turd. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 13 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 07 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind? It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, and of course, Charlie Grimes, our engineer, Jim Paff, joining us now. Jim, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 10 :
I'm doing well.
SPEAKER 04 :
How are you, my friend? We are very good. We are a few days away from Inauguration Day and a week from today. That'll all be out of the way and President Trump will be in action. What do you predict?
SPEAKER 10 :
Listen, I predict good times. I will say this. You know, the numbers indicate that we may be going in. to a recessionary period. There's probably going to be an economic challenge that comes, but I'm confident that Trump policies are going to make the difference. And one of the key things that also made a difference the last time he was president is the reductions in regulations. And because that's really honestly the key driver to economic performance as it relates to government. Like taxes are helpful and they're useful and he's going to work to continue the Trump tax cuts. But regulation is the thing that harms the economy the most. Taxes do harm it, but regulation does the most harm. And that should be a trend that continues in this administration. I'm looking forward to it.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's going to be a big thing amongst others. Can't argue that. On the business side, again, whether it's small business, big business, medium-sized business, Jim, in some cases the regulation and the amount of hoops that certain businesses have to jump through, whether it be Fed, whether it be state, whether it be a combination thereof, In some cases, they end up, as you know, employing, you know, employees, departments even, to handle all of the regulatory nonsense they have to jump through. And all that, you know, just gets added on to the cost of the product that they're producing, and it doesn't help our economy at the end of the day. And in a lot of cases, too, delays getting that production out.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I'll tell you a quick story. So when I left KLZ to go be chief of staff for Congressman Tim Huell's camp, We had banks in Kansas. He had the western two-thirds of Kansas. Banks in Kansas would come to us and say, listen, all of these regulations that Elizabeth Warren, by the way, pushed for made it almost impossible for them to make loans below $100,000. And at the time, and probably still, there were a large number of small homes. below $100,000 in cost. So they couldn't do business because they couldn't afford it for all the regulation just in banking. That's just one little example amongst literally thousands. And that's one of the great things that Donald Trump ever did as president. We need that badly because we need to tell the government to go get away. Stop living our lives. Stop doing anything in our lives. Go back to Article one, Section eight of the Constitution. Do those things and just leave the rest to us. That's that's the push that we need to be fighting for over the next four years and beyond.
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree. I've got an interview that we're going to do tomorrow where actually we're going to talk about some of those very things you're talking about, how current regulations have really shut down and limited that local community bank, which, as you know, Jim, has been such a huge help to a lot of small businesses, local businesses, and so on. And the reality is when you take some of those guys out of the equation, those businesses have nowhere else to go.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and consider this little factoid. Prior to the financial crisis in 2007 and 8 and 9, there were 14,000 chartered banks in the United States. Today, there are right around 4,000 or less. Now, what happened right after the financial crisis, as we were sending $787 billion in part money to bail out the big banks, the FDIC was closing banks all over the country and consolidating them into mid-sized banks. because they said that their finances weren't any good. And there might have been some problems here and there, a handful of them. But it was a record number of closures by the FDIC when they stress test these banks. And these banks weren't making loans. They were being very responsible. I was talking to people who were talking to people in the FDIC. and a bank are friends, and they were noticing that these banks didn't need to be closed at all. Just another government program that benefits the wealthy companies against the smaller players. And, yes, we do need community banks.
SPEAKER 04 :
We have had the fewest new bank charters since 2011, Jim.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, yeah. And listen, this is a harmful, harmful thing. I don't agree with this whole too-big-to-fail thing that was behind that TARP bill, because if they manage themselves poorly, they needed to go into bankruptcy and then be put into the hands of other people if they did poorly. But there is something really fundamental about having community banks that make small businesses stronger and more profitable and productive because then they have someone they can go to. I remember my dad had 103 Burger Chef restaurants, then Hardee's restaurants at his peak in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. He went to a local bank. in Indianapolis, where his business was located. And he asked for a $20 million loan. This was in the 1980s, by the way. And they refused to make his loan. He was a major, major business. I mean, that problem was starting to develop back then, but it's gotten worse on steroids.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sure has. Sure. Go ahead, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jim, can we talk pardons for a moment? Go ahead. Okay. Well, Jim, recent reports have, of course, tied President Biden directly to the business dealings overseas of his son. With that in mind, does Joe Biden need to pardon himself?
SPEAKER 10 :
You know, I'm of the opinion, especially just like three or four weeks ago, the pictures that prove that that trip to China, that Biden was there introducing Hunter to President Xi and having the business people that Hunter was getting millions of dollars from in those same meetings. So it's my suspicion and belief that, yes, he is just as complicit in this crime as anyone else. he probably should do a pardon for himself uh... but but the thing is i don't even know if that's going to be pursued and i'm very frustrated by it because hunter should never been pardoned in the manner that he was in one department on the gun charge fine i mean i guess that would have been a little bit upset about it but okay i get it but to
SPEAKER 06 :
from 2014 all the way till now right at the point when he went into Burisma I mean this well yeah crazy obviously that was to wipe out all the overseas dealings but do you really think James Comer is going to let go of this they have I mean they have flat-out evidence of the payments that went directly to Joe Biden from the monies brought in by Hunter I mean what what I mean, it just seems to me that Joe has to preemptively pardon himself. I don't see what else he can do.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I mean, he'd probably be smart to do it if he wants to keep himself out of jail. And I do want James Comer to pursue that, not because of merely just going after Joe Biden. I think we have a corruption problem with American politicians that is far worse than we've ever seen. We've had times and periods, and there's always been some corruption, but we've had times and periods of bad corruption in American politics. but nothing like we've been seeing in the last 50 years or longer, frankly. We've got to get to the root of this. If we don't root it out, we're going to after Donald Trump's gone, we're going to end up having a third world country atmosphere again. We were very close going third world if Kamala Harrison won. And that's just going to, you know, bring its head up again and cause us some major problems if we're not willing to lop it off.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jim, isn't this the result of, for the first time ever, really, having a president who is completely owned by foreign interests?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it's not just that. This is the first time, well, it's not the first time, but probably is the first time, that we have had a completely corrupt president. Like, there's always some degree of corruption, and 6,000 years of recorded human history proves that. the moral failure of mankind. But Joe Biden is literally one of the most corrupt politicians we've ever had in this country. At first, because he's a liar and he twists the truth and he sought to destroy people's lives with his political power. And there was there was we have stories from a couple of decades back, at least of him getting special favors and his family getting special favors from banks in Delaware. But beyond that, then it turned into this thing that Hunter Biden's doing. I mean, it is by far the most corrupt thing we've ever seen. And then look at all these indicative orders he's doing. He's trying to set up Donald Trump for failure. And I don't think he's going to. It's absolutely absurd and crazy. We've never had anything corrupt. like Joe Biden, when it comes to corruption.
SPEAKER 06 :
But is he really damaging his parties? I mean, it just seems like he's damaging the Democrat label on the way out the door.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the Democrat label's already well messed up for a lot of other reasons than just him. He and Kamala Harris were the culmination of this problem. But all of the DEI woke crap, all of the manipulation of the media, the willful manipulation of the media and in like in California they don't even have elections anymore where did they they call them elections and there's a process that they go through but they're not elections there and and they've been trying to do that all over the country to give Democrats 100% control of things in this country that so the reality is the American people are wise to it the reason that they're wise to it very interestingly is that the guy that most people thought was was an immoral philanderer. who was a playboy baby, turns out to be one of the men who showed the most courage and character in getting elected, and that's Donald Trump. We have to recognize, it's one thing to say that we certainly were saved by the fact that Elon Musk bought X, and there was an ability to get a message out that wasn't controlled by the deep state and by the Democrats in the media. That's one thing, and that's very critical and important. But it took a guy like Donald Trump to win this election. I don't think any American politician, even the ones we deeply respect and love. whom we might want to be president anytime i don't think any of them could have withstood this barrage that came against donald trump it's one of the greatest political stories in world history much less american history and and if we take the right steps over the next four years it's going to save the republic and and i don't think we it would we i think we would have been have lost it all if it had not happened can argue that conservative caucus how do folks find you jim theconservativecaucus.org. We're going to spend a lot of time over the next four years supporting Trump's agenda, supporting Donald Trump. We spent just under $8 million in independent expenditures to help get him elected over this last election cycle. We're just going to keep pressing and pushing in support of that and hopefully getting back to a constitutional republic, because we were founded by Howard Phillips on the basis of standing for the Constitution, for conservative principles, and pushing back against the government. Including, by the way, we took a prominent role opposing Jimmy Carter's giving the Panama Canal away. What an amazing turn of events that that whole thing just might turn back on its head. now that Donald Trump's elected. So we've been in that fray. We're going to continue to be in it and pushing very hard to save the Constitution and this republic.
SPEAKER 04 :
Awesome. Jim, as always, I appreciate you, sir. Have a great night. Great. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you very much. Veteran Windows and Doors is next, 35% off. Windows, 45% off doors, by the way, and free labor on both. Give Dave a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 17 :
Veteran Windows and Doors never uses gimmicky high-pressure salespeople. In fact, when you work with veterans, you get the owner, Dave Bancroft. Dave will never try to manipulate you or use silly tricks upselling you. Big window companies will show you a heat lamp test that is supposed to impress you. But what does that really tell you about your windows? Other companies omit the pertinent information, and just because the window and door says Provia, it does not mean their products are engineered for Colorado or even anywhere in the U.S. Dave prefers to be the last window and door company you meet with, so he can give you all the information the others fail to reveal. Like the U-Factor, efficiency ratings, and even if it's Energy Star certified. And of course, don't forget the tax rebates many people didn't know they could receive. Just talk to any of Veterans' previous clients and they will be the first to tell you. Get your high-quality windows and doors without all the gimmicks. Reach Veteran Windows and Doors by going to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, up next, high-five plumbing and electrical. And again, big storm coming in this weekend, real cold weather. If you've got things going on in your home that you need to get taken care of prior to that, I would highly recommend you do that now because in the midst of it will be tough, I can assure you that. Give them a call today, 877-WE-HIGH-5.
SPEAKER 05 :
High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric is ready to help you upgrade your living space in the new year. High Five has great discounts on modern conveniences like touchless faucets and outdoor kitchens, but they also have amazing deals on those ordinary things you use most often. For a limited time, High Five will give you $75 off a new garbage disposal and installation. to make sure that next year yours will keep up with the holiday traffic. Tanked water heaters are currently $200 off, and you can get an incredible $500 off a tankless water system installation. These are just a couple of the great savings that the licensed and insured techs at Hi-5 have ready for you to take advantage of. Reach out to High Five today and ask about your specific needs, and they'll walk you through the best way to make it happen without breaking the bank, whether it's the everyday necessities or high-tech convenient add-ons that you're after. Find High Five on the KLZRadio.com Advertisers page.
SPEAKER 18 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Yeah, lots of things. Believe me, we'll have a lot of things to talk about next Tuesday with Trump's first full day in office. And, you know, Trump is not Joe Biden. No matter how much of you on the left don't like Trump, here's the reality. Joe's work day, and I'm not exaggerating, this is well known. Joe's work day, once he gets up and gets rolling and so on, am I pretty accurate in saying it's around 10 o'clock or so in the morning, Charlie, by the time he gets up and rolling and... He gets his CPAP off and he gets his day going. He gets his joints moving and whatever he needs to do. It's 10ish or so before he's actually doing anything. And he doesn't work for long. And he doesn't do much after that. The opposite is true of Donald Trump. Right. By 10 a.m., he's got five or six hours already in. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Basically, America is about to move at the speed of Trump.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, because the guy doesn't sleep a whole lot. No. He'll be up doing things in the middle of the night even at times. And he is a guy where I'm not joking, you know, 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning Eastern time, meaning, you know, 2, 3 o'clock car time here in Colorado. He's up getting things handled and directing what he wants to have done.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And we have to also keep in mind his vice president.
SPEAKER 04 :
Very true.
SPEAKER 06 :
He has a brilliant, highly motivated vice president who is going to be the most involved vice president perhaps we've ever seen. I mean, certainly one of them. Vance is going to be everywhere. And he's going to be moving very quickly, too. Now, right away, it's going to be Trump. Sign, sign, sign, sign, sign.
SPEAKER 04 :
For day one, absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
Obviously. But J.D. Vance is going to be out there selling all this stuff and doing it very effectively. It is going to be nothing like the word salad Kamala Harris show that we've been watching for the last four years. It's going to be amazing. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are going to be a powerhouse.
SPEAKER 04 :
Question. Some of you out there listening can call in on this if you'd like. We'll take a break here in a moment, come back and do this. 303-477-5600. First executive order signed, what's it going to be?
SPEAKER 06 :
I would say the border.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hmm. It's going to be one of the two, either border or something to do with oil and gas. I don't know which.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would say the border. Shut down the border. That'll be number one.
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't think I can argue that. I don't think I can argue that. And he's got the power to do so. Now, as you know, the lefties will, of course, they'll come after him and challenge him on that. You can't do that. You don't have that power. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, but John, you know, all the lawsuits and everything that they did four years ago, sorry, eight years ago. they had much more of the public behind them at that time than they have now.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, the Supreme Court, of course.
SPEAKER 04 :
At that time.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which they don't now, well, per se.
SPEAKER 06 :
But as much as they fear the Supreme Court, what they really fear is all the torches and pitchforks that are out there in America right now.
SPEAKER 04 :
Public outlash, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, because America will storm. the voting booths in 2026 in the midterms if the democrats try to be too obstructionist everybody is thinking the democrats are going to be fully obstructionist they're not going to be as much as they were before they can't they're going to pay too big of a price on the downside And I know this is going to depress some people, but there are a lot of people who think Trump is going to go in there. He's going to unleash his people. And we are going to, you know, turn over and find all the scandals, expose all the scandals that the Democrats were doing. I got news for you people. The Democrats have been spending the past month and a half doing nothing but burning paper, deleting files. I don't see that. You're right. They went to Hillary and said, so who'd you use for bleach bit? They have been bleaching hard drives. They have been destroying evidence. And I'm talking at the EPA, IRS, obviously the FBI, CIA, all of them have been doing nothing. They haven't been enforcing the law. They've been doing nothing but destroying evidence for the last, oh, I would say six weeks.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I can't. Can't argue that at all, Andy. We're not going to find.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, this is one reason I didn't want us to go into Iraq because I said, you're not going to find anything. If they were developing WMD, they're going to move it. Okay? This is stupid. You're not going to find anything. I guarantee you we'll find some, but we're not going to find that much.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, don't be looking for a lot of people to go into the prison system. Let's just say that.
SPEAKER 06 :
No.
SPEAKER 04 :
Because it's not going to happen, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, the evidence has been torched.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, the changes moving forward and how things operate and the way the three-letter agencies are handled and so on, yes, look for big changes there. But I'm with you on that end of things.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that's one big reason, you know, Trump voters always think in terms of revenge. They do. Trump voters, that is what they think in terms of. And I want to look at them and just say, guys, think about the future, not the past, because the past will be covered up. They have burned virtually all the evidence. And I'm using metaphorically burned.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think you're right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Virtually all the evidence. It's gone. Most of it is gone. Yeah, you can find pieces and so forth, but you're not going to find you're not going to go in and have Kash Patel suddenly find all this evidence because they burned it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Agree.
SPEAKER 06 :
And Kash Patel, by the way, is going to be confirmed, I believe. He's going to be confirmed and he's going to clean house and it's going to be beautiful.
SPEAKER 04 :
What about Pete today? Oh, I think he's going to make it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I think he's going to make it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I do. Now, a lot of people are coming down to the Democrats for just coming after him for his comments on women in the military, women in combat issues. And by the way, when I was in the military, when I was in the air force, I tried to advance a thing called only women in combat. It didn't go far, but that was my idea. What do you think?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm fine with that idea.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it would have been great. Um, but,
SPEAKER 04 :
And Pete explains very well why they shouldn't be.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
And he's right, by the way.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, sure. I understand. Look, it's very simple. What you do is set a very high standard because that's what we want in combat. And then if they can reach that, great. They can go in. If not, they can't. But his past comments did go further than that. And I actually, just strategically speaking... Tip my hat to a few of the Democrats who went after his past comments. He did go too far in some of his past comments in the way he worded it. He should have stuck with standards, high standards. They can't reach it. That's why, for the most part, women should not be in Congress.
SPEAKER 04 :
But I would add to that, and this is where he also went, emotionally speaking for the troops, no, they shouldn't be there either. Because things happen to men on the battlefield when there's a woman there that shouldn't be happening, wouldn't be happening if she weren't.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
So it's not even a standards issue.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know, I know, but the problem is that's such a gray area.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's not a gray area. It's how men and women work. It's not a gray area.
SPEAKER 06 :
John, I'm not disagreeing. I would agree with you. I'm talking gray area in terms of PR. Because the other side can come. You know me. I do messaging.
SPEAKER 04 :
Put your big pants on. Yeah, but the other side. Come on, people. Suck it up.
SPEAKER 06 :
But that's what the other side is going to say to you. Really? You're not mature enough to handle a woman working next to you out on the front lines?
SPEAKER 04 :
It has nothing to do with her working next to me. Suck it up. Man up. No, it's the reality. that because I'm a man and I want to protect her, I'm going to do everything possible that I can, whereby if my buddy was over there, it might be a little bit different, and the end of the battle will change accordingly.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that Democrat senator is going to say, you treat them both the same man up.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, you don't. Because intrinsically, we don't.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, but they're saying you better.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, it doesn't work. Humanly speaking, it doesn't work that way, folks.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and that's what I'm just saying.
SPEAKER 04 :
And my comeback would be, sir, do you treat your wife the same way as you treat everyone else? Of course you don't.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you know what they would say? I would treat my if my wife is next to me in the workplace, I would treat them equally with everybody.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I would come back and say, so if you two are on the battlefield together shooting it out, you're going to treat her exactly the same way. And if you say yes, I'll call you a liar. John, you are here.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, you want to know what is my biggest reason I don't want women in combat. Because different things happen to women if they're captured than men.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that's true, too. And he's talked about that. That's a whole other conversation.
SPEAKER 06 :
To me, the fact that they're going to be taken hostage by cultures that are heavily into rape is a big reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
And he's talked about some of that in the past.
SPEAKER 06 :
But when you get right down to, if you're just talking about the strength that is needed to carry a man out of a foxhole where he's, you know, endangered, look, your buddy needs to be able to do that while you're in full gear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, no, they don't, Andy, because the lesbian firefighter in California said you shouldn't be there anyways.
SPEAKER 06 :
You shouldn't have got yourself in that position. My bad. Come on, Andy. The bottom line is this. All Hegseth has to do, and he's going to get confirmed because I think he did a fine job on the Hill today.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
And all he has to do is stick with standards. We need to set much, we've been, and he's right on this.
SPEAKER 04 :
We have lowered them.
SPEAKER 06 :
We have lowered the standards to accommodate bringing women into combat. That was the problem.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we've lowered them for DEI.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. Let's face it. Yes. All racism goes. Yep. Period. End of story. And by the way, why wouldn't it? Thank you. I had fellow soldiers who were black. They did great. This is ridiculous. This idea that you need to make some kind of excuses for one group or another. They all do a great job.
SPEAKER 04 :
When you're getting shot at on the battlefield, the other side doesn't care, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know what really angered me the most is you had the guy who was making the opening statements against him say, we are worried that you are going to introduce politics into America. the military, and that you will inject politics.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, your side hasn't?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and it's just like, you've got to be kidding. Who's our current...
SPEAKER 04 :
I couldn't tell you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Current guy in the position. I forget his name. I'm spacing it right now. Couldn't tell you.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's how famous he is. I couldn't tell you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, he's awful. He's a Democrat who has injected heavily woke political policies throughout the military, have totally hamstrung the military. And I'm listening to them say that we're worried that you are going... Look, I get news for all of America here. Pete Hegseth is going to take politics out of the military.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's going to do the opposite.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Affordable Interest Mortgage is next. Kurt Rogers. And if you're looking to do anything mortgage-wise, talk to Kurt first before you do anything else. 720-895-0500.
SPEAKER 12 :
Do you have more month than money? The cost of everything is going up, except your income. How about some relief? Take AIM, Affordable Interest Mortgage, 720-895-0500. Do you have a great rate on your first mortgage, but household debt is swallowing the rest? Rates are falling. Lower your monthly debt $700 to $1,100 a month. Call AIM, 720-895-0500. When you lower your household debt $700 to $1,100 a month, you are still able to pay off your home in the same time frame, sometimes even faster. Let our 23 years of experience help save you money. Remember, saving interest is money in your pocket. Take AIM, 720-895-0500. Tired of paying high interest rate on your credit card debt? Think about it. Bills paid, money in the bank, less stress. Affordable interest mortgage, 720-895-0500. Give yourself a raise and keep more of your money. That's 720-895-0500, where it's all about you. Regulated by Dora and MLS, 217-147, equal credit lender.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, insurance, always a big deal. We talked about that a lot in the first hour with Jordan Goodman. Whatever you need, Group Insurance Analyst is there for you. They're a broker, e-gia.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
Finding the right health insurance plan can be confusing, and picking the wrong plan can cost you thousands of dollars more in medical costs out of your pocket. Call Paul Linegro at GIA Insurance, and his team of ACA health specialists will help you find the right plan for your needs and at the very best premium. As independent brokers, GIA Insurance can help you navigate through the maze of health insurance options. so you get the right plan to fit your needs at the best premium. GIA never charges fees, and your premiums will never be any higher than going directly to the insurance companies or buying online. Receive the local hands-on service you don't get with a call center or online. Whether it is qualified health insurance plan, dental, life, or vision insurance, GIA has got you covered. Call 303-423-0162, extension 100. GIA is an authorized enrollment center for Connect for Health Colorado, the only place you can get an advanced premium tax credit to lower your premium.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Roof Savers of Colorado. And again, if you need anything done to your roof, whether it be residential or commercial, Roof Savers of Colorado is there to help you with either side of that equation. 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 01 :
You work hard to keep a roof over the heads of you and your loved ones. The last thing you need is to be worrying about the condition of that roof. That's where we come in. At Roof Savers Colorado, we pride ourselves in helping homeowners like you get a new roof without all the worry. Deductibles are skyrocketing, and since it's illegal to waive those fees, the financial burden of upgrading your damaged roof can seem overwhelming. But here at Roof Savers, we offer both financing options and referral fees to offset some of those upfront costs. Already filed a claim with your insurance? We are happy to utilize those insurance proceeds to get your roof the replacement it needs and your home stronger protection from hail. With over 23 years of roofing experience, Dave and his team are ready to help. Call us today at 303-710-6916 or go to roofsaversco.com to set up your free inspection. That's 303-710-6916. Or go to RoofSaverCEO.com and stop worrying about your roof today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Back to Rush to Reason. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric. Where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And yes, it was sort of tongue-in-cheek with Andy a moment ago on what the fire assistant chief, Christine Larson, said. And I haven't played it yet. I think most people have seen this, but if you haven't seen it... We've got to play it regardless, Andy. Oh, we must. Because it's worth listening to. And what's her position again? She is the L.A. Fire Department's assistant chief. Am I queued up here, Charlie, laptop-wise? And I will hit the play button here. We'll get this rolling along. Oh, hang on. Got to turn the noise up here. Oh, hang on. I thought we were ready. Hang on. Let me make sure I've got the settings right. I don't know.
SPEAKER 06 :
And this was either a teaching or promotional video. She's very proud of this. Okay. This isn't something that was uncovered. They put this out to all their people.
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's incredible.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let me make sure I can get this to come up. If not, I will have you do this instead. Okay. Sometimes mine wants to cooperate. Sometimes it doesn't. Nope. Here, I'll let you do it. Here, you grab it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Andy's going to play it instead. Talk for a moment while I go. Mine is not finding our input for some reason. I will go bring it up in a second. You can bring it up instead. And again, I talked a little bit about this last week. We didn't get into the details of. And again, some of you may have actually seen this and it's been out there. And I think even a couple of you that are listening on the text line or through an email sent me some things along these lines as soon as some of this stuff first came out. And reality is DEI. has not only, Andy, infiltrated the Los Angeles Fire Department and probably the police department and a lot of other departments, but influenced isn't the right word. It's a complete takeover. Right. It's not influence. It's a takeover.
SPEAKER 06 :
What we are about to hear is incredible bigotry. You ready?
SPEAKER 04 :
Go for it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Here we go. I just hit play.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're having technical difficulties.
SPEAKER 06 :
Here we go.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yours isn't finding it either.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm plugged in.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. We'll have to see if we can fix that at the commercial break. For some reason, our input is not finding our laptops. We will have to work on that and find out what the scoop is. Regardless.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Sorry about that.
SPEAKER 04 :
You guys can go out and look at these. It's really easy to find. At the end of the day, Andy, bottom line is they are not bashful about what's going on. Let's just put it that way.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, shall I say basically what she said? Yeah, say exactly. Yeah, she said, you want to see someone that responds to your house, she said, who looks like you. So if your house is burning down, you want to see a firefighter who looks like you. And this is their pushing for diversity, right? So the people in L.A., because they're not all white men, they want to see someone who comes to help them who looks like them to help them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, here's a dumb question.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
When everything's on fire and there's smoke everywhere and you're completely exhausted and you're doing good to try to even get out of the house in the first place, do you even know who's coming, Andy?
SPEAKER 06 :
John, I want you to know, I will only allow white men, white, straight men to rescue me when I'm burning to death. Anybody else? I would just say, you know what? Do you have anyone else?
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, last time I checked, Andy, don't they wear all sorts of gear and hoods and all sorts of apparatuses to where would you even know who's under the mask?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, don't say hoods.
SPEAKER 04 :
don't want to scare her. Helmets. Okay. Yeah, I mean, yeah, they do. I mean, seriously, would you really know who's even under that? No, you wouldn't.
SPEAKER 06 :
She's a lunatic. But, you know, she feels that... You've got to be able to see somebody who looks like you, so it's got to be a woman of color. You need to have more women of color.
SPEAKER 04 :
So if I'm a larger woman of color, I need a larger woman of color to rescue me?
SPEAKER 06 :
And she is a large woman of color who appears... I think she's gay. She's a lesbian, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, she's a lesbian. Very well known.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so you've got the lady on top. By the way, talk about biased hiring. You've got the lady on top who is a lesbian, okay, and... Then what does she hire? A couple people under her. Her assistants. Who are lesbians also. Folks, these are very highly paying jobs. Okay, they're making a ton of money. Big money. Huge money.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think this particular job that we're talking about, this assistant chief, is around a $400,000. Yeah, $399,000 salary.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so she's making $400,000 a grand a year. And here's what she says. You want someone who looks like you coming in to save you from that fire. And then... She goes on to say, to laugh off the idea that we should worry about the standard, that you should be able to carry, what is it, around 240 pounds or so forth, lug that out, because you've got to be able to haul out a pretty good-sized man out of a fire. And she says... he shouldn't have gotten himself into that position in the first place. Right. Are you kidding me?
SPEAKER 04 :
What a slap in the face.
SPEAKER 06 :
This is ridiculous. Look, I want a big guy to be able, or if it's a woman who is a huge bodybuilder and she can take me out, hey, guess what? Fine. Okay? But very few women can be that way. Very, very few.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's going to be almost all men. She makes it sound like accidents never happen. What if something falls on someone? What if somebody broke their ankle or their leg? No, no, no.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, you have to pre-plan your emergencies.
SPEAKER 04 :
Gotcha.
SPEAKER 06 :
So you schedule in advance to be in a fire.
SPEAKER 04 :
True. I forgot.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, exactly. And, you know, I personally would schedule for them to send all white men because I got to see people who look like me. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
To rescue me. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I mean, Andy, honestly, I don't care if a robot or a Martian comes to get me. Do you?
SPEAKER 06 :
No, but you know what's disgusting? She's speaking to L.A. John, all these people there in L.A., they came through the public education system there in L.A. that has trained them to only trust people who look like them. And by the way, remember who coined that phrase, who look like you? That was Barack Obama. You want someone who looks like you. You know, America is moving past looks like you. We don't care.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, we don't. I think that was very well said in the last election.
SPEAKER 06 :
I believe it was, too. America said, you know what? We are tired. We are sick and tired of being carved up into demographics.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're tired of being singled out.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. We want to just like each other again.
SPEAKER 04 :
Because we do. Yeah. Because that really, Andy, that's the reality. These voters came out and said, you know, when I go to work or I go, you know, out to the bar afterwards or I go to the sporting event or I go here, I go there. The reality is, you know, I'm hanging around a bunch of different people that don't look like me anyway. So what's the big deal?
SPEAKER 06 :
John, who do you want saving you from a fire? A big burly guy who can carry you out if need be? Or this activist lesbian who is heavy set and obviously can't carry you?
SPEAKER 04 :
I want who's most capable, and I think that would be number one in this case.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and guess what? Would I rather have a big, strong lady who can carry me over a little skinny guy who can't? Yes, I would. I want somebody who can do the job. But I got news for you. That's about 98%, 99% men. Okay? It is. And that gets back to men in combat.
SPEAKER 04 :
Very well said.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because when you are fighting a fire, guess what? You're in combat.
SPEAKER 04 :
You are. You're fighting the fire. Absolutely, Andy. Geno's Auto Service is next. We've got cold weather coming in this weekend. Make sure your vehicle is all ready to go. Geno's can help you with that. It's genosautoservice.com. And don't forget, Geno starts with a J.
SPEAKER 11 :
Take advantage of Geno's alignment and tire rotation special. Snow and pothole season is upon us. Save $30 on an alignment and tire rotation now through the end of the month. Have you ever noticed how your tires have a way of finding holes in the pavement? Now is a great time to get your car aligned and your tires rotated. With consistent alignments every 5,000 miles, your vehicle will get better gas mileage and longer tire life. Geno's is celebrating 42 years in business, serving Colorado families in Littleton. We back up our work with Napa's nationwide 36-month, 36,000 miles peace of mind warranty. We invite you to check out all our Google reviews. We offer loaner vehicles so you can drop your car off and pick up when ready. Save $30 on an alignment and tire rotation. Give us a call or go online to schedule an appointment. Geno's is AAA approved and located at Bowles and Platt Canyon. Stop in or visit us online at genosautoservice.com.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, up next, Golden Eagle Financial. Al Smith wants to help with your financial future. He is my financial advisor. Give Al a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
Putting off planning for your retirement another year can cost you tens of thousands. But Golden Eagle Financial can get you back on track to maximize your retirement now. Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial is a retirement advisor who gets to know you from the very onset. What are your dreams for retirement? What do you want to do when the work is done? Many people want to give back or volunteer or donate time or money. Others might like to travel or learn a new skill. And Al Smith can help make all of these dreams a reality. Whether your dream is giving back to other groups or people, traveling the world, or taking up a new hobby, Al will make sure you're prepared for the road ahead without financial concerns. He's a man who has years of experience and can help you make your retirement dreams come true. Contact Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold to individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, if you're looking for a great doctor, we have the answer. He is a board-certified internal medicine doctor that doesn't think like the rest of the doctors do, though, because he is not beholden to big pharma or big insurance. That's Dr. Scott, my doctor, 303-663-6990.
SPEAKER 02 :
Are you tired of crisis care and instead want true health care? Do you want to improve your overall fitness and beauty? Do you have a chronic medical condition that no one has taken the time to understand? Are you trying to meet a health or weight goal? Or maybe you're just looking for a great doctor who thinks the way you do. Dr. Scott is a board certified internal medicine specialist, bringing decades of experience and expertise to the table. Dr. Scott is a true advocate of the latest advancements in health care. That's why he uses umbilical derived stem cells, which have been clinically proven to be the most potent stem cells available. Worried about being lost in the crowd of impersonal health care? Fear not. Dr. Scott is a big picture doctor, not beholden to big pharma or big insurance like some other providers. He takes the time to understand your unique needs and will customize your health care to fit you, your body, and your lifestyle. Reach your full potential and achieve your goals. Call Dr. Scott today at 303-663-6990 or visit him online at castlerockregenerativehealth.com or find him at rushtoreason.com. Dr. Scott Faulkner and Castle Rock Regenerative Health Care is your path to a healthier tomorrow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Listen online, klzradio.com. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Do you want me to play that, Charlie, or do you want... Okay, let me just grab a mic. So I'm going to grab a mic, and we're going to go the old-fashioned way here since we can't get our inputs to work correctly. And go ahead and preview this.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, this is Robbie Starbuck, and he's been leading the effort to get DEI out of corporate America, and they just bagged another big one, and that is McDonald's.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, let me make sure our sound is up on this one, and here we go.
SPEAKER 14 :
You know what time it is. We've got a new company flipping their position on DEI and that company is McDonald's. Now let me tell you how this happened and what the details are. I've just got to give X a shout out here because I actually reached out to McDonald's on X to their senior marketing director on Friday. You can see here. So Friday I sent them a detailed message. I'm not going to show the whole thing here. But a detailed message about DEI, I mean, you can read this part, no problem. And that was Friday, so three days ago. And today, this statement came out. There's more to this message, but for the sake of your time, we're going to jump ahead past a lot of the corporate word salad and go straight into what they're changing. So let me go and translate this corporate speak for you. First bullet point. We are retiring setting aspirational representation goals. And then it's a bunch of blah, blah, blah, corporate speak. Let me translate what that means. McDonald's, like many Fortune 500 companies, they have what they would call targets or goals. In reality, they work like racial quotas. But they say these are certainly not quotas. Don't call them that. This is just a goal for them to hire, say, 50% people of color, whatever it might be, into a certain position. and then wouldn't you know it, they hire just the amount that they put, but it's not a quota. Don't call it a quota. Second bullet point, and always one of my favorites, we are pausing external surveys to focus on the work we are doing internally, aka we are leaving the HRC's Corporate Equality Index social credit scoring system. Keep in mind, this was a company that had a perfect HRC CEI score, and that HRC CEI scoring system is how woke policies get forced into workplaces. So they are, again, the latest company to leave that scoring system, and that is good news. And now bullet point number three, one of my favorites, they're going to be retiring their supply chain's DEI pledge in favor of a system that relates to business performance. Imagine that, a merit-based system. This is what every company needs to be doing. The days of favoring one group of people over another based on diversity need to be gone. Bullet point number four here is one I'm not particularly a fan of, and I'm not happy with when companies do this. They are evolving how they refer to their diversity team, which will now be the global inclusion team. I think it's ridiculous. We don't need these teams, okay? It is a job. It is a workplace. You go there to work. People don't need a team assigned at corporate to making sure everybody feels included, okay? We're not kindergartners. We're adults. It's a workplace. It's a place people go to shop. Just provide great service. Be kind. Do the right thing. Be fair. And if you're a company executive, you know, lay down the hammer when somebody breaks the law.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll leave it at that because he just kind of goes on then to explain more of that. And he's right, by the way.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, let me, two quick things. First of all, I just love it how these people don't want to call quotas, quotas.
SPEAKER 04 :
And they are.
SPEAKER 06 :
They're totally quotas. They're absolutely quotas. They're pure racism. It is racism infecting the workplace. That's all it is. But secondly, um, Most of corporate America, John, would really like to be out of DEI. What people don't seem to understand this, while Robbie Starbuck is doing a wonderful thing, he's doing God's work, the main reason he can do it is because America has changed. It's because of the last election. It's because of what was coming before the last election. People could see the tide changing. Americans are sick and tired of racism. Mm-hmm. They are sick and tired of rewarding one race and punishing another. They don't like it. And because of that, the people who are going after these companies are losing a lot of their leverage. The reason these companies had DEI is because groups would come to them and say, if you don't do this, we are going to tell everybody out there, the public, how racist you are. Okay, we're going to say you're not protecting this group, you're not protecting that group, and therefore, if you do not do that, we are going to hurt your bottom line. Now, it will hurt their bottom line more if they do DEI policies, and Robbie Starbuck made that very clear to them. And so now, they're really doing what they want to do. They don't want to do these DEI programs. It makes it harder to hire. It makes everything harder.
SPEAKER 04 :
It makes your job harder. Yes, it makes your job harder. You just want to hire people who do a good job. And really quick, in a lot of cases, for those... managerial positions yes store manager regional manager district manager whatever it makes their jobs so much harder because at the end of the day andy if they don't have the best people doing what they need to be doing in those jobs their service level drops meaning they get a lot more complaints and things that they have to deal with and so on so yeah they hate it
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, and you've got this guy running one of your shops down in Englewood. He doesn't have to worry about having this number or that number of whatever. He doesn't care, okay? I just want to hire people who do a good job, and here's the biggest thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
I just want the best person doing the best job possible.
SPEAKER 06 :
And here's the biggest thing, John. Here's where the rubber really hits the road. Firing people who don't do a good job. Because right now, over the last 10, 20 years, if you wanted to fire a person of color or a woman or a gay person, anyone but a straight white male, you had to jump through 50, 100 hoops to do it. Now, you still do, but I can see that getting phased out. I can see the day coming where you can fire one person as easily as another. Right now, there are a lot of companies, and I can just tell you this. I know it's true. They're actually more comfortable just having straight white men. Why? Because if he sucks, I can fire him. And I don't have to document it 15 times to Sunday.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're the easiest to fire, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
We are easy to fire. We're so easy to fire. It's really easy. Andy looked at me wrong, gone.
SPEAKER 04 :
Very few repercussions for us, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And so I can see where both hiring and firing can become a lot easier for all these businesses. They don't want DEI. They were forced into it, and the market changed. What do you think?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, in my opinion, and I don't think many of these people would argue with me if you got them off in a corner and completely off the record and so on. Totally off the record. Had the ability to really sit and chat where the majority of this has come from. And I don't think I'm wrong in saying this, Andy, is, yeah, there's a few CEOs out there that bought into all of this and have shoved some of this down through the corporate ranks. But the majority of this nonsense has come from HR.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes. Oh, yeah. HR departments are incredibly left-wing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep. That's where this has all come from.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. By gosh, if you learn HR policies in schools, colleges, whatever, my goodness, you're to the left of Kamala.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep. That's where I guarantee you the majority of the higher-level managers... In McDonald's, for example, we'll use that particular company since we just played that a moment ago. Those guys are thinking, oh, man, hallelujah. Thank you.
SPEAKER 06 :
John, do you think that this move of society that brought this about, do you think it was inevitable? And here's why. Merit is natural. Racism is not. I mean, racism at its core is totally unnatural. It makes no sense to look at somebody differently because of their skin color, of all things, the amount of melanin in their skin.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let me see if I'm saying this right. Racism is bred, not born.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. Racism is bred, not born. Merit, the fact that you got to earn what you get. That's born in. Ask any parent. I agree. This kid does their chores. That one doesn't. I agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree. Cope Creek Heating and Air Conditioning. Again, we've got a cold weekend coming upon us, folks. Make sure that you're all dialed in, and I cannot stress that enough. If you have any issues at all with anything related to your furnace, please give Cope Creek a call now. Do not wait. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
Cub Creek Heating and AC are your go-to for a second opinion any time you need to get HVAC work done at your home. Rheem Certified Pro Partners Cub Creek Heating and AC are used to people calling them after they received another bid that was too high. Hunter prides himself on his honesty and will guarantee that you receive a fair quote with your service. Hunter will also be there to evaluate your issues, and he'll explain clearly exactly what he finds so you're educated in what the problem is. He can even give you an accurate estimate of how long your current system will last. And if Cub Creek can't come in lower than your first quote, he'll tell you that too. Hunter has a genuine interest in making sure that you don't get taken advantage of. So if you need work done on your heating or AC, call Cub Creek before you sign for that job with another company. You can find Cub Creek on the klzradio.com advertisers page. This isn't Rage Radio. This is Real Relatable Radio. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And... Kamala Harris, we were just talking through the break. Some of you may have seen the news. Some of you may have not. But typically, customarily speaking, when one administration leaves, the new administration gets kind of a tour of, you know, the premises and what's going on and so on. In the case of J.D. Vance, you know, being the VP, he would get the tour of the residency and what's there and how does this work and that work and so on. Kamala is so petty, she won't do that.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, the Vance's should ask her, is this because my wife is a woman of color?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and speaking of being petty, Michelle Obama, you know, she won't attend anything having to do anything with Donald Trump, period. You talk about petty. Give me a break, Michelle.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, even the funeral for Jimmy Carter.
SPEAKER 04 :
That is just petty, Andy.
SPEAKER 06 :
And now not the inauguration? You've got to be kidding me.
SPEAKER 04 :
She is a real piece of work, let's just say it that way.
SPEAKER 06 :
She's an angry person.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll just say it that way. I'll leave it at that. All right, we'll be back. Another flower coming your way. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you. I'm a rich guy.
