Join John Rush and his co-hosts as they discuss the intricate details of a shocking international crime that brings to light the multifaceted operations of organized crime groups. John Koufis shares his expertise in gang and organized crime law, revealing the taxing and diligent efforts of law enforcement agencies in preventing weapons-grade uranium from reaching terror-sponsoring nations. Prepare to be informed and, potentially, alarmed by how deep the tentacles of the drug and arms trade reach beyond our borders.
SPEAKER 18 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 14 :
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 15 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 18 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk! You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference!
SPEAKER 12 :
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 14 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 17 :
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 07 :
All right, we're back. Hour number three, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, Charlie Grimes, of course, and our next guest, John Koufis, joining us. John, welcome. How are you? I'm well.
SPEAKER 16 :
Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good to be with you as well. And this is a story that until I learned of you and had a press release on you wanting to come on air, I knew nothing about. And this is this Japanese gang leader that has pled guilty to trafficking nuclear materials to Iran. I bet most people don't know anything about that.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, you know, it was a shock, I think, to everybody. So in the Southern District of New York, the Drug Enforcement Administration had initiated just what I would say is a run-of-the-mill cartel investigation into fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking. And what they found was there was so much more there. So the Yakuza, the Japanese organized crime gang, who are well-known for human trafficking, drug trafficking, etc., began to represent that they could get nuclear material that could be enriched into weapons-grade uranium from Burma to Thailand and over to Iran to make a nuclear weapon. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, why run it through here? I don't understand.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, the issue was that the nuclear material itself didn't necessarily cross American borders in that way. Yeah, the transactions came here. But the scary part in this, the really scary part here, is that, again, we have the Drug Enforcement Administration really doing a bang-up great job on this. Remember, the Drug Enforcement Administration is there to interdict drug cartels, drug trafficking. But time and time again, they find themselves foiling terrorism plots. So let's go back a couple of years, if you remember the Victor Boot case. Remember Victor Boot, the merchant of death, the Russian? Yeah, arms dealer. Yep, arms dealer was traded for the basketball star.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, we traded him for Griner.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, exactly, exactly. So that also began. We lost that deal.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that was not a good deal, John, just so you know.
SPEAKER 04 :
Not a good deal. But continue.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah. I agree. But in that case, what had happened was the DEA was investigating drug cartels in Colombia, and then they learned they wanted all these military-grade weapons. But let me tell you this. The fascinating part about this, the nuclear part is obviously the big part, going to Iran, who's been a sponsor of terrorism since 1984. But when you talk about the laundry list of weaponry that was purported for sale to these Iranians, We're talking about 5,000 AK-47s, 1 million rounds. I think 2 million rounds. Another 5,000 M16s, 20 portable surface-to-air missiles, but only if they're reloadable. 1,000 rockets, I'm reading right from the indictment right now, and at least 20 mortars. And actually, if you count up the different size of the rockets, it's 3,000 rockets. So the Yakuza was ready to arm a great enemy of America. And I think that as a country, what I think this really reinforces for us is sometimes people think, well, why are we fighting the war on drugs, right? At least at the cartel trafficking level. And I'm not talking about marijuana on the street or something like that. I'm talking about large-scale professional shipping companies that are cartels. And it's because these cartels are time and time again involved in things that are just so much worse than heroin itself, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, these guys, as you know, John, and I don't think that, you know, the movies even depict some of this stuff as accurately as they could. I mean, these guys are in the money business. And if they can make money moving something other than drugs and, for example, human trafficking and the like, they will move whatever they can. They are not immune from any of that, are they?
SPEAKER 16 :
No, they're not. And the fascinating part is that the gentleman, Takeshi Ibasawa, who was the Yakuza leader who was arrested for this, his knowledge of uranium enrichment was borderline Albert Einstein science level. He knew exactly how much you had to hit. He added 5% to 20% enrichment. He knew exactly how it would be enriched. He knew exactly how the Geiger counters would go. So that's got to tell me that this isn't the first time he's tried to make a sale like this. You know, at least that would be my guess. And I'll tell you, the one thing that is really sort of I can't figure out in this case is so, you know, it looks like the government has him dead to rights. And when you look at what he was charged with versus what he pled out to, there's one charge missing, and it's the conspiracy to acquire, transfer, and possess surface-to-air missiles. And ironically, gentlemen, that's the only one of those crimes with a mandatory minimum of 25 years. The rest are mandatory minimums of, say, 10 to life if you took his whole reign.
SPEAKER 03 :
So why'd they take that off?
SPEAKER 16 :
I can't figure that part out. I got to be honest with you. I don't know. Maybe that was just to avoid a trial. And, you know, because remember, if Ebisawa goes to trial, right, he's going to want to know who all the confidential sources are and really try to disclose identity undercover. But if it's not something like that, I mean, I just I don't know, because why would you plead the guy out to, you know, to something that will put him behind bars for a minimum mandatory of 25 years? And for your listeners, You know, in the federal system, when you have charges like this, you do about 86%, 87% of that time. There's no parole in the feds, and it's not subject to the first step back. So you're talking about day for day on 25 years, whatever, 19 years or so a day. Right. And with these charges, he's probably going to your neck of the woods out in Florence, Colorado.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, John, if I can look at the other end of the transaction here, Iran, where'd they get all that money? Gee, I thought Trump froze those assets because this was a lot of money that they needed to buy this.
SPEAKER 16 :
They sure did. I mean, the first 50 metric tons, they were talking about six point eight five million for that. And then they were talking about many, many, many multiples of that. You know, you know, in this indictment, you know, it's it's it's it's not clear. It's purposely not clear to cover up confidence, not cover up, excuse me, to not make sure we don't disclose confidential sources. Right. Who was from Iran and who was one of our confidential sources posing as an Iranian general? Right. But make no mistake, the money was there and the transaction was ready. And in fact, they were hiding yellow cake, the byproduct, which is really uranium oxide that comes when you want to prep uranium for enrichment. They had the yellow cake stored in an office in Bangkok, Thailand. When the Thai police go in there, imagine if you're the guy renting the office next to them and you find out there's a bunch of yellow cake in there. But they go in and they take the yellow cake Then they determined that it was absolutely weapons-grade for Iran, who, as you know, sponsors everyone who hates us, they sponsor.
SPEAKER 07 :
And for all of you listening, too, John, you've got quite a history when it comes to just gang-related organized crime and so on. Give folks a little bit of your background in all of that as well.
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure, sure. So for about 10 years, I was a gang and organized crime lawyer in New Jersey, my home state, which, you know, I'm sure your listeners have lots and lots of jokes about any kind of gang lawyer from New Jersey. They probably figure everybody from New Jersey must be a gang lawyer, given our poor reputation in that way. But I spent I spent a career defending John really quick here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Do you do you count your trunk as seating for your car? It depends. Only for clients that didn't pay.
SPEAKER 16 :
Ah, gotcha.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Just checking.
SPEAKER 16 :
But, yeah, I mean, I did a lot of wiretap cases, some international cases, et cetera. So, you know, this is just something I was these kind of things heavily involved in. And I'll tell you. You know, as a defense lawyer, the DEA cases, the DEA cases of this magnitude were always the hardest as a defense lawyer. I mean, those guys really have their act together. And when they put it together on you, it's usually tight.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, okay, just a side note. How do you defend against all of that? You just have to find where the holes are, or what do you do there?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, so it depends. Like, you know, in many cases, wiretaps are used, right? So there's a whole procedure to knock out the wiretaps. But I think in most of these cases, you know, when they have you on camera or they have you recorded, what you're really the only strategy you have almost is to draw the thing out and hope that they relied on confidential informants who then, you know, some of these confidential informants, in fact, many of them are, you know, involved in illicit activity.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, they're criminals themselves.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right. So you hope they step in it, as they say, in some other fashion, and it gives you some leverage here or there. Got it. But I think that, yeah, what you're doing is usually try to handle the electronic evidence. What's really interesting to me, gentlemen, is that there's only two defendants in this indictment, right? There's three unindicted co-conspirators. But they only named two, Ebisawa and a gentleman named Sompop Singasiri, who was involved more in the drug aspect. So since the Yakuza is moving nuclear material with Ebisawa, where are all the other people that helped, right? Where are all the other people in this transaction? So that tells me they're either the unindicted co-conspirators, they rolled, or they had some other level of cooperation. And the important part was to take out the head, which sounds like the D did.
SPEAKER 07 :
Given the fact that you've been inside the Trump administration in the past, what do you predict are some of the first things Trump does, not just in general, but along these lines when it comes to protecting America? What do you think some of the things he does right off the bat?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I think border security is going to be number one. And candidly, cases like this really underscore that, right? Because if the drug cartels can come through an open border, so can everybody else. And who knows who they're going to bring, right? And so I think that is number one. And I think that's why a strong border and drug trafficking policy go hand in hand. You can't separate the two. I think you're going to see that really front and center. I think there is talk of declaring some of the drug cartel or organized crime organizations as either as material supporters of terrorist terrorism or terrorist groups. I think in the broader criminal justice perspective, I think we're going to see a lot of clemencies, candidly. It has nothing to do with the case we're talking about. But Trump has talked extensively about using the power of clemency to... remedy some of the wrongs he perceives may have happened through the court system. And I think now he knows, obviously, what it's like to be a defendant in a case, and I think he has a unique perspective on governmental overreach.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good point. John, it's been a joy. How do folks find more about you?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, you can go on my website, which is cottage4.com, or find me on Twitter at JGCupos.
SPEAKER 07 :
Awesome. John, I appreciate it very much. Thanks for your insight.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thanks for having me. You're very welcome.
SPEAKER 07 :
Appreciate it very much. Wow, that was insightful.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, very much so.
SPEAKER 07 :
I could talk to him for a long time. Yeah. He'd keep going down some of the rabbit holes. That's fascinating.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it's so funny. I mean, just to see how all of this is actually comes back to actually funneling nuclear material to Iran.
SPEAKER 07 :
All the reason why you said it earlier as well. One of the first things he'll do is shore the border up. Yep. Good for him. Absolutely. Flesh laws coming up next, folks. We just talked to somebody involved in the legal end of things. And if you need some help, whether it be criminal or civil, give Kevin a call today. 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 07 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush. All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Okay, going to local politics real quick. We've got a lot of things we want to cover, but I think, Andy, I've been talking off air about a few things. And locally with our Colorado GOP, you guys know my feelings on... Dave Williams and the cadre of individuals around him. I have been talking about and highlighting some of the what I feel is just downright corruption on the state GOP level for over two years now. And the reality is we started talking about things with Dave shortly after he rolled into office. Right. And I've been hammering that ever since. And a lot of people now have jumped on that same bandwagon. But there's been some developments of late. And I'll give Andy credit. I did not look at it this way. There's been some people that have thrown their hat in the ring to run for chair coming up here in about roughly six weeks or so, Andy, I want to say.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, there are three that jump out right away. Britta Horne, of course, Kevin McCarney, and Darcy Shanning.
SPEAKER 07 :
She's the newest.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, and she is a Dave loyalist.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. To the extreme. Died in the wall.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
And so initially when I first saw that, I looked at that because that came out late last night. The announcement was made. I was on air, even saying, Andy, the little blurb as soon as it came out, and we kind of went back and forth with a couple of text messages. And at first I'm like, okay. What's the real angle here? Because why would a loyalist throw their hat in the ring to be GOP chair? And then Andy said, well, because you don't think Dave's running. Right. Which, by the way, I've not heard anybody else say yet.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I don't believe she would run against Dave.
SPEAKER 07 :
I agree with you.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Dave Williams. And so the question is, well, what is Dave only cares about Dave?
SPEAKER 07 :
Correct. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, this is the most self-interested person politically I have ever seen in Colorado. And boy, is that saying something.
SPEAKER 07 :
I would almost go as far as to say anywhere.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, this is somebody who his entire world revolves only around himself.
SPEAKER 07 :
And he has everybody around him duped into thinking that he's helping them, when in reality he's not. They're helping him.
SPEAKER 04 :
Dave only helps people insofar as they are beneficial to him. They are chess pieces. That is it. Absolutely. And Darcy Shaining is absolutely devoted to... to dave williams i won't go any further than that we've had personal conversations let's just put it that way but i'll simply say she is 100 percent uh loyal to dave williams so you know what does that mean for dave how is he going to get his income he's not going to win office folks i don't know anywhere that he could get elected at this not in colorado No, no, my goodness, no. He's unelectable because of statements he has made, things he has done. Correct. You know, he may well be getting a lower position with the Trump administration. Administration? Administration, yeah, because... Because he's a Trump loyalist. Well, not only is he a Trump loyalist, he convinced the state party to endorse Trump in a primary.
SPEAKER 07 :
True.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good point. And Trump, this was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen, and I love my president-elect, but this was ridiculous. Trump actually put out a press release thanking Dave Williams, the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, thanking Dave Williams for helping deliver Trump... Colorado in the primary. Right. Not that Trump needed him. But what a thing to say. He's the state chair. He's supposed to be unbiased. OK, he's not supposed to favor you over Nikki Haley or anybody else. Anyway, setting that aside, because the only and and Dave Williams, in my opinion, doesn't care at all about Trump. OK, keep in mind, he's from the group that used to look at Trump as not good, not pure enough. And they were for Ted Cruz back in the day. Dave Williams goes for whoever, wherever the power is. Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because that's where whatever is going to benefit him.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. So might Dave be getting some position in the Trump administration? A little lower position. OK. It's possible.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that would make sense.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. I don't know. Or could Dave be reading the tea leaves and saying, I am not going to win the chair again, but I believe Darcy can.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, he's trying to fix the voting and such to where it's almost a shoe-in, though, Andy. Well, he is fixing the voting. Am I right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, he's trying to put through bylaw changes that are literally going to eliminate a good number, a few dozen of the votes on the SEC that would be against him.
SPEAKER 07 :
Correct. So if that happens, isn't the issue in any ways?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't know. Darcy is more electable than he is. Because most people don't know Darcy. They don't know Darcy Shaining.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, they know her on the front side of what she's done in the party in regards to the communication aspects and some of the things that she's done to help get candidates elected and so on. And to her credit, she's done well in a lot of those areas. I'll give credit where credit's due.
SPEAKER 04 :
Darcy has done a lot more of the work. By the way, Dave is a lazy person. He hasn't done any actual work.
SPEAKER 07 :
She's done, by and large, most of the work.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Darcy has actually worked in the trenches, working for various candidates, not just ones who supported Dave.
SPEAKER 07 :
Correct. And really quick, prior to that, she's been very involved in, quote-unquote, cleaning up some of the utter nonsense that goes into a lot of our school districts, not only in certain areas of the state, but really statewide. She's led a lot of the endeavors to help clean up things school board-wise in the schools, correct?
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, and because of this, and I agree with her on those things, and because of this, Darcy Shaining is a Trojan horse candidate.
SPEAKER 07 :
She's become very well known.
SPEAKER 04 :
If they elect her as state chair, which I don't think is likely, but it's possible, if they do that, they're re-electing Dave Williams.
SPEAKER 07 :
She is Dave Williams. She's the female version of.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah. Darcy Shaining, for instance, she runs the Colorado Republican Meetup, a big Facebook page. She, I noticed, was banning a lot of my posts. OK, and I had tried to, you know, get she would not be able to debate with me any of my points that I would come out against Dave. She and I had a private discussion. I will not reveal all of that discussion. Right. But I'll simply say this. She made it very clear. And she even apologized. That she had done wrong in some of the posts that she had posted and not posted. Basically hobbling your posts. Yeah, banning them. Because she was protecting, she said, the chairmanship. She was protecting the state party office from my posts. And I said, Darcy. Not your job. Yeah, but I said, Darcy, look, I understand if I'm being obscene or vicious. That's one thing. But everything I've been posting is factual. And you guys can't debate against any of it. Right. Okay? It's all factual. I'm not one of these trolls. I said that. I'm not some troll just throwing out nastiness. Okay? I'm putting out factual posts piece by piece by piece. And none of your people, Dave... They have all – what Dave and Hope and Darcy and all of them have done is absolutely stopped responding on any of my posts because they tried early. I defeated their points very quickly, and I called on them. I said, come on. Keep it coming. Let's do it. And they ran, and they absolutely stopped. So then what they did is in any group where they run the leadership –
SPEAKER 07 :
You're not allowed.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. And they will allow a number of Dave's opponents, but it is opponents, and I don't know how to put this any other way. It is opponents who don't debate nearly as well as I do. So it is opponents who throw out angry posts that they can counter. Okay? My posts, they have been banning. So what Darcy Shaining does is censor the posts of any effective critic of Dave Williams. Correct. Okay, so like an Eli Bremmer. She'll censor any post from someone like that. She'll censor my posts. From what I see, I'm the number one that they censor now. And I went to Darcy, and she said she would loosen it up. Then I came out with a series of posts. She allowed one or two and then must have gotten a talking to by Dave or someone because then she started stopping them because the people in their group had no answers. They couldn't answer any of my points. And it was making Dave look very bad. Got it. Okay, bottom line. Darcy Shaning is Dave Williams. She is totally devoted to him. If people elect her, they are electing more of Dave Williams. And by the way, Dave Williams will thereby, through her, have power in the new administration of the Colorado Republican Party.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I think you're on to it, Andy. I think you're on to it. Because really, last night, literally, I was trying to really understand what's the angle here? Because it has to be one. This is politics. Yeah. There's definitely an angle. What's the angle? Why? Because I knew she wouldn't run against Dave. There's not a snowball's chance of that happening. No. So I think you're on to something whereby you're going to hear it here first, because I doubt if anybody else in town has even caught on to this or even thought through this like we have. I think this is a pretty good indicator that Dave's not going to throw his hat in the ring for a reelection of GOP chair.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. And if he does, and I stand corrected, but I don't think he will.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think you're right on. And the only other thing it could be.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER 07 :
Would be to run somebody against him. Very like-minded to where he's saying, see, I'm keeping things open and fair.
SPEAKER 04 :
Then they drop out and endorse.
SPEAKER 07 :
Uh-huh. That's the only other angle I could think of, Andy.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. At some point, she drops out and endorses Dave. That's possible. We don't know yet.
SPEAKER 07 :
I like your idea better, though.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. And because, look, Dave would look at Darcy as a puppet. OK, this is my puppet. And Darcy is not capable of debating. Darcy is not capable of countering points. She cannot provide point counterpoint. She cannot. And I'm not ripping on her. Everybody's got their strengths. She has some very fine strengths. I do not dislike Darcy. Shaning never have. OK, nothing against some great work for the party. Yeah. Yeah, and I have, you know, praised her for that.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I will tell you right now, I can just see through, you know, read the tea leaves. She has great aspirations politically speaking. She would love to go on and do more. The chairmanship would be a step up in that direction. Right. I could see all of that fitting in very well to her overall master plan, and I won't see any more than that, but I guarantee you she has huge aspirations along those lines.
SPEAKER 04 :
But when you think about Dave Williams, when you think about Rhino Watch, when you think about all the worst people... who have wielded power in all the worst ways, she is them. She's an extension of them.
SPEAKER 07 :
I can't argue that. All right, we'll take a quick break. Don't go anywhere. High Five Plumbing and Electrical is up next. Again, with a storm coming in this weekend, make sure you've got things in your home all dialed in and ready to go because the last thing you want is to be caught with a problem and then have to make a phone call when things aren't working right. Give High Five a call today, 877-WE-HIGH-FIVE.
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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 17 :
Back to Rush to Reason, presented by Hi-5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560, John Rush, together with Andy Pate. John, quick question here. On the wider issue, what do you think of leadership that feels the need to silence dissent? I mean, we're talking about a person. She bans anybody who makes the point too well against the state party.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's one of two things. They're either afraid they can't defend themselves, which is part of it. But then you look at the left because that's what they do constantly. And you have to wonder whose side are you really on?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I think it goes beyond that with her. She's doing their bidding. She's afraid they can't defend themselves. So she bans any kind of criticism on her. And by the way, it's not just her. There's a couple other people who have various. There's Mark Hampton, who runs the Parker Conservatives. You know, when they own a platform, they ban anyone who makes intelligent arguments against the state party. And Mark Hampton, of course, works with Rhino Watch. Right. What do you think, though, of having, I mean, because Dave Williams definitely bans other voices. Absolutely. Power moves. When you silence dissent, that's a power move. To literally make it so other people can't see opposing arguments within your party.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's what the left does, Andy. Now you're becoming just like the other side. That's my view. I agree. You literally are becoming the other side now. Del, what's going on? Hi, John. How you doing? We're good, sir.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't know if you heard about it or not. I've heard it from several different people that's heard it. I haven't had a chance to verify it, but supposedly the state of Oregon sent down some fire trucks to In California, they wouldn't let them in because they didn't meet the state's EPA laws or whatever. They'd let them in, but they had to pass.
SPEAKER 07 :
It wasn't an emissions issue either. There's a lot of confusion around this. It wasn't emissions-driven. It was a safety thing to where they had the California Department of Transportation wanting to inspect the trucks, make sure that they were all... handled correctly, that they would pass inspection. If not, things had to be fixed before they would allow them to proceed. Bottom line, it took three hours, plus the inspection, it took three hours out of each truck's time in doing this. Some of the trucks had to get some things fixed before they could proceed. That's the true part of the story, not the emissions side like you see so many people on social media posting.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, but it delayed them getting to the hot spot.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, bottom line, kind of the same result in the end, Del, but I want to make sure we're clear on this because it wasn't an emissions issue. They had to pass a safety inspection through California. Well, I wasn't sure, and that's why I said I hadn't been able to... I'm glad you asked, because there's a lot of misinformation that even our side is perpetuating, and I hate when we're wrong. I want to make sure that we're accurate, and the accuracy of it is they had to pass a California Department of Transportation, you know... commercial truck inspection, basically, to be able to pass through and come down into the state.
SPEAKER 04 :
But still, in an emergency like this, you waive those rules and you send them down.
SPEAKER 07 :
You just keep going. Go to the fire. It's the dumbest thing ever.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, incredibly dumb.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, you wave all of that. You just let them in and say, go to this fire, go to that fire, go here, go there, station here, station there. I mean, let's face it, Del. They drove from Oregon there in the first place. How bad could the trucks be?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Duh. And it ain't like they said for six or eight months, doing nothing.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, there's not a single official in California that could come on this program with me having the technical background I've got in vehicles and defend that decision. Yeah, I agree. Period. Dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. That one, by the way, Del... is as infuriating even if – and I knew it wasn't – here's, again, where I knew our side was wrong. I knew the emissions thing wasn't correct when I first read it. I'm like, no, no, that can't be true because emergency vehicles don't have emissions anyways because that's a voided thing across the country. you'll rarely go to any fire department anywhere in the country and see a vehicle that actually passes emissions like their commercial counterpart would do. There's not a fire engine out there that passes emissions like a regular commercial truck does. So I knew that most likely wasn't the case, but I also knew there had to be some truth to it or it wouldn't be getting perpetuated.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, they were just saying they got to pass, but it's safety standards.
SPEAKER 07 :
Not emissions.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Does that help? Well, I'm glad I called.
SPEAKER 07 :
I'm glad you did, too. And by the way, that clears up a lot of things for a lot of others, because there's probably others that don't quite understand how all that works. But there's the skinny on it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Still awful.
SPEAKER 07 :
Still awful. No, Del, I appreciate that. Thank you so much for the call. And that clears some things up. And yeah, to your point, Andy, when you have an emergency. and your neighboring state has agreed to send vehicles to help, you say thank you and go here and there and here and there, and you avoid all that other nonsense they just went through.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 07 :
Dumbest thing ever. But that's California. Yeah. Hey, when we come back... Going back to your original comments to Jordan Goodman in hour one about putting stipulations around money that would even go to California, this is a great example of that. Unless you guys grow a brain, we're not sending you any money.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Well, when we come back, or now, if you want, I wanted to talk about, really quick, the L.A. Water Chief. Go for it.
SPEAKER 07 :
We've got time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Go for it. Okay, really quick. She earns three-quarter of a million a year. I know.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's huge.
SPEAKER 04 :
This lady, Canones is her name, they almost doubled. her pay from the man that she replaced, okay? And here's the kind of thing that has to go out the door if we're gonna send a ton of money to California. Here's what she said. What attracted me most to the role, was social equity. Forget the fact that you're managing the water for a drought area. Okay, that should be very important. You're handling people's lives. No, no, no. What attracted me most to the role was social equity. It's important to me that everything we do is with an equity lens and social justice and righting the wrongs that we've done in the past. Everything we do is with an equity lens. This is the person who knew that they had an empty reservoir when they had high winds coming that could blow fire. Okay? She knew they had an empty reservoir, John. And then their fire hydrants wouldn't put out water and people were dying and losing their homes. Yep. Look, if I'm Trump, I say you get all the money in the world, but this person's fired. People like her are fired. And you cannot, look, we can't give you a ton of money to rebuild the system and then have you run it with DEI into the ground.
SPEAKER 07 :
You've got to save people's lives.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm with you.
SPEAKER 07 :
I'm going back to hour one, Andy. Not your agenda. I think there needs to be a laundry list of requirements that have to be met prior to one ounce of federal money being funneled into California.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the initial emergency funds you have to. But yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
If you're going to rebuild things and give them money to do so, loans, bonds, whatever it happens to be.
SPEAKER 04 :
This whole, we're going to rebuild all of LA. You can't do that if you're not going to fix all the problems that perpetuated this in the first place. I mean, that's ridiculous, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Agree. Absolutely agree. I would hope that the next administration coming into play in a week, which I guarantee you because they do have a brain and they're pretty smart, I guarantee you they're looking at some of this thinking, and Trump's even said some of this. He's even called Gavin out on the carpet saying, you've run this thing into the ground, literally. Yeah. You have no idea what you're doing, and you've done nothing but run it in the ground.
SPEAKER 04 :
They've got a ship with holes in it. And they want us to fix everything on the ship and leave the holes. They want us to bail all the water. Yeah, they want us to bail all the water and leave the holes. No.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, Andy, again, I'm with you. We need some heavy stipulations or requirements around what would have to happen to receive X funds. And I don't know if Trump can even go back and redo some of what Biden promised in the 100%. You know, we're going to make sure things are dialed back in, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Since when do we ever do that? We didn't do it in Florida. We didn't do it in North Carolina. Why are we doing it in California?
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree. And by the way, Biden doesn't control all the money after a week from now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 04 :
For these things.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. We'll be right back. Golden Eagle Financial is next. Al Smith wants to help your financial future. Speaking of finances, call Al today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
It's time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, and you had a question.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I got a question for you, John. If you look at the statements from LAPD, LA Fire Department, the LA Mayor, this lady from the Water Department, John, as you know, California leads the country in people leaving.
SPEAKER 07 :
Exodus, yep.
SPEAKER 04 :
How much of that exodus do you think is white men fleeing racism, overt racism? Look, it is hard to get a job in this place, this place, this place, this place, this place. A lot.
SPEAKER 07 :
A lot.
SPEAKER 04 :
White men and their families.
SPEAKER 07 :
I even saw a little bit with Megyn Kelly the other day. And she's got friends, of course, out there because of where she's been in life and so on. And she was saying how she really feels like this may be maybe not a total turning point, but definitely may be a turning point for a lot of Californians where in the past all they've done is vote blue. But some of the friends that she's got that are blue through and through are absolutely fed up with everything that's gone on. Of course, these are people that have lost their entire home belongings and so on. And they are literally fed up with the current policy saying this is a real wake up call for us.
SPEAKER 04 :
It sounds a little like what's happening amongst the black community in Chicago. People have had it. Yeah, they've had it. You know.
SPEAKER 07 :
Everything that California just went through was preventable, by the way.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, totally. I mean, not the fire itself. These were very high winds.
SPEAKER 07 :
The handling of was.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, how about the handling of homelessness, which causes about half the fires there in California, okay? I mean... They're not handling homeless. Look at it. Let's add it up. They're not handling homelessness at all. They're not handling the undergrowth in their forests at all. Fire mitigation. They're not handling their water at all. They're just letting it go right out to the sea, as Donald Trump said. They're not listening to anybody. They're listening to environmentalist wackos.
SPEAKER 07 :
Who know nothing about any of what we just said.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who know nothing about any of what we said.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you know, frankly, Andy, really quick. Let's make sure we're clear on this. Yeah, go. Everything that just happened to an environmentalist, they love. They love it. Yeah. We... We are a virus. We are a scourge on Earth. Right, we are a virus. Those houses are a scourge along the coastline. Get rid of them. Yeah, that was cleansed. That's right.
SPEAKER 04 :
That area was cleansed.
SPEAKER 07 :
They love that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just listed those. Let's add to it. They don't care about... quality of their employees nope they don't care you've got to fit quota quota quota quota quota quota they are bigots yep okay so you've got an entire state run by a straight white man by the way you got an entire state that is run by bigotry And basically looking away from every kind of preventative measure you possibly can put in place. And now they want us to pay to fix it all. Now, by the way, I'm fine with paying to fix it all, but I want strings attached. I think that's basically been the thrust of today's show. I want strings attached. I want LA built, rebuilt with strings attached. Rebuild it now. Look, they can't rebuild it right because they're insane, but rebuild it much better than it was. What do you think?
SPEAKER 07 :
I agree. And there has to be some sort of accountability that's held into this. And, you know, it'll also be interesting to see. And I think Democrats have done a really bad job of handling all sorts of things. In fact, keep in mind, folks, that, yes, we talked a lot prior to the election of Donald Trump getting elected, that it was a lot of men in general that were just tired of where things were. Keep in mind, though, Andy, the other thing that we talked about that factored into that was not only immigration, but the way they handled some of the natural disasters we had prior to the election. North Carolina, specifically, these things that they are not handling well are not boding well for them as a party. And now they just piled another one on.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, well, what they did with North Carolina was horrifying.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. And it's still not fixed.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. But what they did with California is different because they're swooping in to fix everything with endless money, which they didn't do for North Carolina.
SPEAKER 07 :
No.
SPEAKER 04 :
But with California, it's how they ran everything to begin with.
SPEAKER 07 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look, this has been nothing but a parade of failure for the Democrats. One after another. Trump is ushering into... He's coming into office... I mean, politically speaking, on a high note. On that high wave. Oh, my goodness.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, on that high wave. You always want to follow a lousy act when you go out on stage. If he does things well, and by the way, the administration now is trying everything possible to make sure that he doesn't do well. Some of the policies and things they've done, the executive orders, the money spending and so on. They're doing everything possible to make sure he does fail because they don't want to see him win at all. Because the reality, Andy, is if he has several wins between now and 2026, we still win the midterm.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. We'll hold the Senate. The Senate's the biggie because then you have four full years of appointing judges. That's huge.
SPEAKER 07 :
Getting other things done.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. I want the House, too.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. But if you do well in the things that we're talking about and he does well and he garners more support and brings more people over to, you know, quote unquote, our side of the fold, that'll happen.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, really quick here before we go to break. This is why taking the Colorado GOP in a better direction is so important. Had they gotten their way last time, we wouldn't have the house.
SPEAKER 07 :
Nope, you're correct. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning is up next. Again, I keep saying the big storm's coming in this weekend. Cold weather. If your furnace is not working like it should, get that handled now. Find Cub Creek at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
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. We don't yell at you. We inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we are back again. Myself, Andy Pate, have enjoyed today very much. And I know I keep talking a lot about the weather coming in this weekend, but it never fails. You mention these things, you talk about it, you try to get it into people's minds as to what's happening. And yet, Andy, we'll get into the weekend and you'll hear stories about people not being ready and prepared and wondering where did this weather come from?
SPEAKER 04 :
I hope nobody gets hurt.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that's the last thing we want to have happen. It'll be cold enough to where that could potentially happen, and I just want people to be aware that, hey, watch. And this goes to even those of you that are very responsible. Look around for your neighbors, your family, your friends, and so on. Make sure they're all dialed in as well. Andy, thanks again. I'll see you Friday. Guys, have a great night. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
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.
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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 :
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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 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
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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 :
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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.
Amidst a fiery political landscape, Mike Deller opens up a conversation on the contentious issue of national flag etiquette and its implications during significant political events. His incisive take challenges the thin line between honoring tradition and appearing respectful during transitions of power. In the Capitol, Pete Hegseth faces a gauntlet of questions and interruptions, advocating for a Pentagon rooted in traditional 'warrior culture' while handling critiques from both sides of the political spectrum. Discover the nuances behind the protest disruptions and delve into deeper discussions about gender roles within the military hierarchy. Mike also shares personal anecdotes including a bizarre banking experience that highlights everyday issues of financial privacy and accountability, laced with the humor and style only Mike can deliver.
SPEAKER 05 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
I just saw a video clip as I walked into the studio from The Office. Remember The Office with, what's his name? Oh, doggone it, I'm drawing a blank. Steve Carell. Great TV series and really groundbreaking. And they had a creepy character named Creed. And Creed goes up to The Office good guy, Jim. And the caption to the clip says, every conservative right now. And Creed would be the conservative. And he goes over behind Jim, and he kind of rubs his shoulders, and he just says, one more week. And Jim has got that startled, befuddled look on his face that he always had when he looked into the camera. Less than a week. It's Tuesday, January 14th. We're counting down. Our national nightmare is coming to an end. Our national train wreck, what did J.D. Vance call the Biden presidency? The dumpster fire is about to be extinguished. Meanwhile, the real flames are still devouring California. There are all kinds of drama about, you know, how dare you criticize the L.A. Fire Department? How dare you criticize Democrats? You're a racist if you do so. They've managed to have a healthy dose of race baiting injected into the debate over why they can't put the fires out in California, in Los Angeles County. More on that in just a moment. But back to the inauguration for a second because I'm dying to know what you think about something. And I'm bothered by this because I'm bothered that I'm not bothered that the flags for Jimmy Carter, which are lowered to half staff per tradition and protocol. would be raised to full staff for the Trump inauguration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already ordered U.S. flags in the Lone Star State to be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day. Now, Biden, of course, issued a directive, and it's kind of, I don't know how many days it is. I want to say it's 30 days. I believe 30 days after a president dies, we lower flags to half staff. And you know my old adage about how it all depends on whose ox is being gored. When the day comes when Trump passes away in 100 years, we would want the flags lowered to half-staff for 30 days, regardless of an inauguration. And here's my glitch. Here's the obstacle. Here's my blind spot, perhaps. And you straighten me out if I'm missing the boat here. It seems to me that the flags at half-staff during Trump's inauguration doesn't diminish Trump's inauguration one bit. Everybody knows why the flags are at half-staff. Now, I bounced this off my buddy Mark Davis in Dallas this morning, and Mark said, well, it's about the optics, and Trump is always about optics. Always. He wants to make sure everything looks good, feels good, sounds good, is presented right. He's a showman. That's who he is. And Mark's point was President Trump probably feels that to Trump haters, flags that have staff are symbolic of the incoming presidency. I mean, last night, Jimmy Kimmel, through his tears, called Trump our alleged future president. He's not even the future president. He's our alleged future president. So I think Trump is looking at it saying, look, for the flags to be at half staff on Inauguration Day, we're giving the Jimmy Kimmel's of the world what they want. They want a symbol of what they think should be our national mourning over my reelection. And so the flags ought to be at full staff. And look, I understand and I know that Jimmy Carter was clearly one of the worst presidents in American history. I appreciate the drama and the debate about what kind of person he was. He did a lot of good with Habitat for Humanity. You know, I don't have any personal opinion of him. The man has passed away. And, you know, I don't like talking about the dead quite bluntly. But it does seem disrespectful to Carter's memory, and maybe to Democrats, for an expectation that we would raise the flags on Inauguration Day. And again, maybe I have a blind spot. I am absolutely willing to stipulate that I'm out to lunch on this one. So I'm going to turn to you at 800-655-MIKE and find out what you think as we kick off things in the Relief Factor studio for a Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Do you care? Does it bother you? I mean, it's one more talking point for the Trump-hating universe to blast him. Look how petty he is. is look how cruel he's been look how mean-spirited he's been you know jimmy carter just died keep the flags at half staff even on inauguration day or do you think he's right it doesn't look good let's not give the loony left what they want and let's raise the flags to full staff for that one day only what do you think let's find out 800-655-6453 hope you join us I want to welcome some brand new partners to the Mike Gallagher show like Equity Protect. And this is a big, big deal. Your home's title is often the most valuable thing you own. Next generation criminal technology is more advanced than ever. I've been an identity theft victim. It is no fun. 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SPEAKER 05 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor studios, here's Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
We are a few short days away from the 47th president of the United States being inaugurated. As part of this transition, he, of course, gets his picks confirmed. There's a confirmation process, and Pete Hegseth is tasked with running the Pentagon. And admittedly, a bit of a... unconventional pick. Let's take you to Capitol Hill, where Pete Hegseth moments ago delivered his opening statement. We're only on a few seconds delay. I believe there might have been a disruption. Let's listen in together in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Here's Pete Hegseth.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all the members of this committee for this opportunity today. I'm grateful for and have learned a great deal from this advice and consent process. Our founders knew what they were doing. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this committee, senators from both parties, to secure our nation. I want to thank the former senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, for his mentorship and friendship in this process. and the incoming National Security Advisor, Congressman, and more importantly for our purposes, Colonel Mike Walz for his powerful words. I'm grateful to them both. Thank you to my incredible wife, Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process. I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny and I pray together every morning, All glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abounds each day. May his will be done. Thank you to my father, Brian, and mother, Penny, as well as our entire family, including our seven wonderful kids, Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kensington, Luke, Rex. Sorry, it's a lot of them. And Gwendolyn. Their future safety and security is in all of our hands. And to all the troops and veterans watching and here in the room, Navy SEALs, Green Berets, soldiers, pilots, sailors, Marines, Gold Stars, and more, too many friends to name. Officers, enlisted, black and white, young and old, men and women, all Americans, all warriors. This hearing is for you. Thank you for figuratively and literally having my back.
SPEAKER 05 :
And there we go.
SPEAKER 06 :
There's the first outburst. A guy with a big white beard being escorted out as he disrupted Pete Hegseth's opening comments.
SPEAKER 04 :
a swift reaction to that outburst and state that similar interruptions will be treated in like manner. Mr. Hegseth, you may continue.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, as I'll say again, thank you for figuratively and literally having my back. I pledge to do the same for all of you. It's an honor to come before this committee today as President Donald Trump's nominee for the Office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump a powerful mandate for change to put America first at home and abroad. I want to thank President Trump for his faith in me and his selfless leadership for our republic. The troops have no better commander in chief than Donald Trump. As I've said to many of you in private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability, and readiness.
SPEAKER 06 :
Here we go again. More interruptions. There's a guy that's wearing a pink jacket. Looks like he's got a captain in Tennille hat on. How do they let him walk in and not have suspicions of him?
SPEAKER 03 :
Returning the Pentagon back to war fighting. That's it. That's my job.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mr. Hicks, suspend your remarks. Let me just say this. The Capitol Police are going to remove immediately individuals that are disrupting the hearing. I see a pattern attempted to be inflicted on the committee, and we're simply not going to tolerate that. You may proceed.
SPEAKER 03 :
To bring back warfighting, if confirmed, I'm going to work with President Trump and this committee To one, restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force. In doing so, we will reestablish trust in our military, addressing the recruiting crisis, the retention crisis, and readiness crisis in our ranks.
SPEAKER 06 :
members of the security force will remove members this guy's getting being dragged out like he's being hogtied unbelievable three disruptions in the first two minutes of pete hegseth's opening remarks you may you may the strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose not our differences number two
SPEAKER 03 :
We're going to rebuild our military, always matching threats to capabilities. This includes reviving our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisitions process. As you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, no more valley of death for new defense companies. Modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. And number three, we're going to reestablish deterrence. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland. our borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. And finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure that we prioritize our resources to reorient to larger threats. All right, let's hold it there.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't want you to miss a word. We'll pause it there. 13 past the hour. We're going to, you know, pay a couple bills and then get right back into Peter. And incidentally, can I just get this off my chest? After the third interruption, Chairman Wicker should have cleared the room. And going forward, if this is what we're going to have to go through with all these confirmation hearings and these lunatics from Code Pink and all these other whack jobs are going to infiltrate the hearing rooms and scream and screech and make fools of themselves, how about you not have anybody in the gallery? Pretend it's COVID. Let's pretend it's COVID time. You know, they love that. They loved empty rooms, do everything virtually. You don't need to have a gallery. And if this is what these nuts are going to do, then don't give them the privilege of sitting in the room with him. Let his family be behind him. Let the handful of people that can be trusted be in the room. And clear it out of all the goofballs. Because all that's going to be, and incidentally, all these interruptions, I guarantee you that means he's the right pick. And there's going to be a more resolute effort to get him confirmed with these Radical lunatics attempting to disrupt the proceedings. You're not going to miss a word. We'll pick it up right where Pete Hegseth left off. He is the Secretary of Defense nominee for the president. The incoming president of the United States. There's going to be a morning after. We're a few days away from a new dawn. The golden era begins. The Trump administration is almost here. Sit tight. We've just got to go through a few more days of this crap. And incidentally, those protesters, the code pink types, isn't that a great metaphor for what we've suffered through for the last four years? Well, get ready to turn the page, because you know what? They lost, and they can't stand it. Welcome in to a Tuesday episode of the Mike Gallagher Show. More coming up. Stay with us. There's no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I've kept it off. We all have different reasons for starting. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 06 :
We're continuing with Pete Hegseth's testimony. It's already been interrupted three times, and we're a little bit ahead of you, but I don't want you to miss a word because he gets really into the media and the way he was smeared. So let's take you back to Capitol Hill where Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
SPEAKER 03 :
We can no longer count on reputational deterrence. We need real deterrence. The Department of Defense under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength. And in pursuing these America first national security goals will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional. Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats. We are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal, not equitable. That's a very different word. We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapons system, every pilot's fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership or promotion purely because based on performance, readiness, and merit. Leaders at all levels will be held accountable, and war fighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus. This has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001. I joined the military because I love my country and felt an obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and on the streets of Washington, DC, many of which are with me here today. This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens. And Muslim allies, I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. Because when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped. Now, it is true and has been acknowledged that I don't have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years. But as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials, whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives. And where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives. My only special interest is the warfighter. deterring wars and, if called upon, winning wars by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. We let them win, and we bring them home. Like many of my generation, I've been there. I've led troops in combat. I've been on patrol for days. I've pulled a trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex-cuffed insurgents, called in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies. and knelt before a battlefield cross. This is not academic for me. This is my life. I led then, and I will lead now. Ask anyone who's ever worked for me or with me. I know what I don't know. My success as a leader, and I very much look forward to discussing my organization's successes at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. I'm incredibly proud of the work that we've done. But my success as a leader has always been setting a clear vision, hiring people smarter and more capable than me, empowering them to succeed, holding everyone accountable, and driving toward clear metrics. Build the plan, work the plan, and then work harder than everyone else around you. I've sworn an oath to the Constitution before, and if confirmed, I will proudly do it again. This time, for the most important deployment of my life. I pledge to be a faithful partner to this committee, taking input and respecting oversight. We share the same goals. A ready, lethal military, the health and well-being of our troops, and a strong and secure America. Thank you for the time, and I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. All right, there you go.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's Pete Hegseth testifying before the Armed Services Committee. A lot of text messages about the interruptions. Illinois writes, don't clear the gallery. Arrest them all and put them in jail. Drop the hammer on the stupid. Can't disagree with that, Illinois. Pennsylvania writes, hmm, is this an insurrection? Trying to stop and interfere with the normal functioning of government and Congress? Hmm. And finally from Minnesota, sums it up perfectly, we don't call them the loony left for nothing. True. What did you make of what you just heard from Pete Hegseth? We'll kind of go back and forth. We'll dip in. We've got a lot of breaking news, a lot of news coming out of California. But I always want to get your take on everything that's happening in the world around us. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us. Christmas means giving, and for my money, Christmas means MyPillow. Make it a MyPillow Christmas for somebody on your list because the Christmas extravaganza is well underway. Because a big box retailer canceled an order, Mike Lindell has thousands of MyPillows to move. Well, he wants to pass the savings on to you, so check out this offer. You can order a standard classic MyPillow, and it's normally $49.98 for just $14.88. with promo code MikeG. Limit of 10. This is the pillow that started it all, the pillow that never goes flat, stays nice and cool all through the night. You can throw it in the washer and the dryer as often as you want. You can get a classic standard MyPillow for $14.88 with promo code MikeG. A queen size, normally $69.98, you'll get it for just $18.88 with promo code MikeG. Or a king size, Normally $79.98. You can order it for $19.88 apiece. Limit $10, please, during Mike's incredible Christmas extravaganza from MyPillow.com. Look, if you haven't been to the site in a while, you can get all your Christmas shopping done by going to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box, and then with any order you place, enter the promo code MikeG, and you'll save big. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. It's the Christmas extravaganza sale going on right now at MyPillow.
SPEAKER 05 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I'm reporting for duty and I'm happy to report to you that Pete Hegseth, President Trump's defense secretary nominee, is doing just fine on Capitol Hill, despite being shrieked at by the likes of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. There were three interruptions that three protesters or three protests that interrupted his introductory statement. Just typical lunatics from Code Pink. You know, the one guy that was up wearing this pink jacket like a captain's hat. He looked like the captain from Captain and Tennille. Bright pink. Would that not be a clue to the authorities that this guy might cause a disruption? He may not be a serious fellow. I mean, did they think he was going to break out in song? Love, love will keep us together. Instead, he was shrieking about Pete Hegseth is a fascist and he's an extremist. Three interruptions. I got an idea, Chairman Vicker. After the third interruption, how about you clear the gallery and let Pete Hegseth's family and important dignitaries and officials be in the room and clear out all the rest of the riffraff? You know, I wonder if that's an insurrection to interfere with a governmental proceeding that way, with shrieking and screaming. But speaking of shrieking, Kirsten Gillibrand had a little bit of shrieking of her own to do moments ago as she was interrogating and haranguing and lecturing and hectoring Pete Hegseth.
SPEAKER 01 :
I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the U.S. military, harmful to morale, harmful to good order and discipline. If you are saying that women shouldn't be serving in the military, and I'm going to read you your quotes because the quotes themselves are terrible. You will have to change how you see women to do this job well. And I don't know if you are capable of that. So I want to press on these issues that my colleague, Jean Shaheen, brought up because she said it so well. So first of all, you answered your questionnaire. Do you believe that any American who wants to serve their country in the military and can meet objective standards set by the military should be allowed to serve without limitation? You've said yes to that question. But then in all of these other circumstances, you've denigrated active duty service members. We have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry. lethal members of our military serving in the infantry, but you degrade them. You say, we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units. So specific to Senator Cotton's question, because Senator Cotton was giving you layups to differentiate between different types of combat. And specifically, as Secretary, would you take any action to reinstitute the combat arms exclusion for female service members, knowing full well you have hundreds of women doing that job right now? And the standards, your two-mile run, Tom, is about the Army combat fitness test. It is not the requirements to have an MOS 11 Bravo, which is the infantry. These are the requirements today for people serving in the industry, men and women. They are gender neutral, and they are... Very difficult to meet. They have not been reduced in any way. And our combat units, our infantry is lethal. So please explain specifically because you will be in charge of 3 million personnel. It is a big job. And when you make these public statements, and I get you were not Secretary of Defense then. I get you were on TV. I get you were helping veterans. I get it was a different job. But most recently, you said this in November of 2024, knowing full well you might have been named as Secretary of Defense. So please explain these types of statements because they're brutal and they're mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country.
SPEAKER 03 :
Senator, I appreciate your comments, and I would point out I've never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present. My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I've seen standards lowered, and you mentioned 11 Alpha, 11 Bravo, MOS, places in units, and it The book that has been referenced multiple times here, The War on Warriors, I spent months talking to active duty service members, men and women, low ranks, high ranks, combat arms and not combat arms, and what each and every one of them told me, and which personal instances have shown me, is that in ways direct, indirect, Overt and subtle, standards have been changed inside infantry training units, ranger school, infantry battalions to ensure that commanders meet quotas. to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard.
SPEAKER 01 :
Commanders do not have to meet quotas for the infantry. Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist. And your statements are creating the impression that these exist, because they do not. They are not quotas. We want the most lethal force. But I'm telling you, having been here for 15 years listening to testimony about men and women in combat and the type of operations that were successful in Afghanistan and in Iraq, women were essential for many of those units. When Ranger units went in to find where are the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan or in Iraq, if they had a woman in the unit, they could go in, talk to the women in a village, say where are the terrorists hiding, where are the weapons hiding, and get crucial information information to make sure that we can win that battle so just you cannot denigrate women in general and your statements do that we don't want women in the military especially in combat what a terrible statement so please do not deny that you've made those statements you have we take the responsibility of standards very seriously and we will work with you i'm equally distressed you would not meet with me before this hearing We could have covered all of this before you came here. So I could get to the 15 other questions that I want to get to. So women, you have denigrated.
SPEAKER 06 :
You have also denigrated... All right, so you get the tone of it. And I'm really intrigued. I've been looking at her background because I'm sitting here trying to understand when she served in the military since she's going to lecture Pete Hegseth on military matters. As far as I understand... He is a decorated war veteran. He is a guy who served with valor and... I'm looking at Kirsten Gillibrand's background. In 1984, she graduated from Emma Willard School, an all-women's private school in Troy, New York. Then she enrolled at Dartmouth, where she majored in Asian Studies. She studied in both Beijing and Taiwan. She graduated magna cum laude in 1988 at Dartmouth. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. During college, she was an intern for Senator Al D'Amato. She passed the bar exam in 1991. I don't see anywhere where she was active duty. I just find it galling that somebody who never served their country in the military can lecture a war hero like Pete Hegg said. But look, this is going to be part of the process. And it shouldn't shock us. It shouldn't surprise us. This is what the Democrats are going to do. And Pete Hegseth is holding his own and doing absolutely fine. You want to hear Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut grill Pete Hegseth? Yep, for that. Do we have the stomach for that? You know, we've got this internal debate going on. Tracy loves all of it. She wants to hear all of it. My producer thinks that people are just loving the back and forth. And Christian and Eric are like, I don't know. We've got wildfires. We've got Newsom. We've got... A Philadelphia Eagles fan who might lose his job because he yelled at a Green Bay Packers fan and insulted her with some horrible, horrible language. That's kind of an interesting topic. Got a lot of breaking news. I will tell you that the female that I have on my team, the lone woman on the Mike Gallagher Show team, says... A woman shrieking and screeching at Pete Hegseth makes the case that not all women are good for the military. I didn't say it. It was a woman. It was not me. But somebody just texted, it sounds like Kirsten Gillibrand is about to burst into tears. That doesn't exactly make a strong case that any woman can serve in the military. That's kind of what Tracy just said. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Welcome aboard. It's Tuesday. We've got a few more days left in the Biden administration. We're going to take you to D.C. for the inauguration on Monday. But look, we've got just a ton of stuff to cover today and not enough time to do it. You want to hear Richard Blumenthal? Give me a quick text poll at 1-800-655-MIKE. Because this guy is particularly, in my mind, reprehensible. So I go from talking about having the gall to have never served your country... and grilling somebody like Pete Hegseth, then we go to a guy who lied about serving his country, who's guilty of stolen valor, who pretended to be in battle and in combat and never was, betraying his fellow veterans, Richard Blumenthal. And he's going to lecture Pete Hegseth? Oh, maybe we've got to pull up some popcorn and pull up a chair and listen to that. Stick around. We'll decide. You give me your vote. 800-655-MIKE. Let me know if you want to hear from Skeletor out of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal or not. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. Call or text. One call does it all on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis. Morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here's today's M&M experience.
SPEAKER 07 :
1963 vintage Beatles. And money, that's what I want. This is what Mike Gallagher said as he walked into a bank yesterday for what should have been the most routine, un-talk show worthy. Look, 53 things are going on. And as we showed the audience yesterday in doing 10 minutes of land man talk, which I heard about. I finished it last night.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wowza.
SPEAKER 07 :
We do a wide variety of things. It's okay. It's part of our charm. Just hang with us. We'll get to the end of the world any minute now. We will chronicle the apocalypse for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Armageddon at 745. Got it done. Got it done.
SPEAKER 07 :
But for now, you walk into the bank and as will sometimes happen, you wanted some cash and it was a smidge above what the ATM would give you. So it involved in interacting with a real human being. Correct. And the story goes from there.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let's first stipulate, and I think you'll agree with this, things happen to me that don't happen to anybody else. Or when they do, they just become ramped up in the drama. No, but think about this. You and I have had a lot of time on this planet. We've circled around the sun quite a bit between the two of us. In your lifetime, have you ever walked into your own bank, seen a teller who knows you, you withdraw money, and she wants you to tell her how you're going to spend your money? Does that ever happen to you in your life? No. Okay, thank you. And I can guarantee you, I think it hasn't happened to most people. And this went viral when I posted it on X yesterday. I'll bet. So I know people can relate to it. And there were a couple of people defending the teller, and I can't quite understand the defense. We're the officials.
SPEAKER 07 :
We're the official talk shows of bank employees, so we're going to need some help to explain what happened to Mike. So you go up to the window and?
SPEAKER 06 :
I stroll in, and again, as you said, the withdrawal amount that I wanted to withdraw was over what the ATM limit is, the daily ATM limit. It doesn't matter if you go five times. Once you hit that limit, you can't take any more out. So I go, well, I've got to go in. You remember the commercial, have you ever been to the bank? The little boy who says, Daddy, are you going to go to the bank? Have you ever been? been to the bank and it was a great reminder. I thought the same thing. I go up to this lady, very polite. I said, and I'll tell you the amount so people know what we're talking about here because that matters because I do think there's supposed to be an accounting for transactions to the government of over
SPEAKER 07 :
of 10 000 or more well sure that's the one thing that the one asterisk that i was going to to identify is if i go in and i and i want 10 grand maybe there's paperwork so that i'm not money laundering or paying off a cartel i don't even like that because as you've said doggone it it's my money and none of their business but you know for at that level okay maybe
SPEAKER 06 :
But I think it's a piece of federal legislation. I believe that every transaction you do at the bank, 10,000 or more, there's a notification sent to the feds. I'm almost positive I'm right on that. But nonetheless, this wasn't 10. It was four. OK, four thousand dollars. I wanted to take it from and, you know, in a quick story, people before think people think I'm a real life daddy warbucks. I'm not a gazillionaire, but I had an account at a bank in New York that's a national well-known bank. When I moved to Florida, there was another branch that was even more convenient, so I opened up a second account. So I have two accounts. I have an account at these two banks. And once in a while, I move money between those two accounts. One account's getting low, you know, just normal stuff. Can you do that on your phone in 30 seconds like I did? No, because when it's like two competing banks, it takes like days to do that. Internal transfers are instantaneous. But the wire transfer is institutional.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right, and I didn't want to wait.
SPEAKER 06 :
Why not? I don't want to get the stupid money walking across this. Right. I don't want to check. I don't want to check to bounce. I want to get the money over. So I go in. Hey, I'd like this a little bit. I told the lady that's a little more than the ATM. So I'm here. Can I get four thousand dollars? So she counts out four thousand dollars after she counts it out and she keeps she hasn't given it to me yet. She says, OK, and just what what exactly will this transaction be used for?
SPEAKER 07 :
And she meant it because I was part of it was I thought they were just being this is Florida. People are folksy, just like in Texas. What are you going to buy you a truck?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, no, this was a policy question, she said. And I said, pardon me. She said, I almost my my head. The smoke was starting to come out of the back of my head. I said, pardon me. She said, can you tell me what this transaction will be used for? And I was too flummoxed. I was too dumbfounded to think on my feet and say, I'm using it for none of your business, USA. None of your business.
SPEAKER 07 :
One of the most famous, can you put this on Twitter? And at least half of the first hundred were, you should have told her, hookers and blow.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hookers and blow, yeah. Or the cartels. I'm sending it to the cartels. Go full hunter. Yeah. But I was so flabbergasted that I told her, you know what I said? I told her the truth. I said, well, I'm taking it out of this bank because I've got another account over here and I'm going to take it over to that bank and put it in there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Did you beat yourself to death in the parking lot afterward for saying I should not have answered that question?
SPEAKER 06 :
I should have told her to go pound salt. So now let's be pragmatic. What would the wrong answer have been? In other words, what answer could I give her about my own stinking money that would have precluded her from giving me my own money? Help me get the story in order. Had she given it to you already? No. No. She kept it on her side of the window. She had counted it out, but she hadn't given it to me yet.
SPEAKER 07 :
So I'm thinking... She's dangling it in front of your face.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, like a carrot on a stick. You want your own money? You want your money? Oh, what are you going to do with it? You going to go to the store? You going to go... What am I supposed to say to her that would have... Prevent it. You know what I'm thinking today? And I'm serious. I'm still mad about it, as you can tell. I'm going back today to the bank. I'm going to pull a Karen. See a manager. No, ask for the bank manager and just say, can you explain to me why that happened? Because I don't know. I wish I knew. Can you help me understand, Mark, why she would ask that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. The text lines are springing to life.
SPEAKER 06 :
Mine too.
SPEAKER 07 :
My number is 800-655-MIKE. What's yours? 800-655-MIKE. Mine, of course, is 866-660-5759. Same as the call-in number. Right. Same as the call-in number. 800-655-6453. Very good. One says banks are required to do a soft notification. Wow. Above 3,000 and written notification with filled out paperwork at 10,000. A soft notification.
SPEAKER 06 :
What does that mean?
SPEAKER 07 :
What?
SPEAKER 06 :
A soft notification to the government? To withdraw your own money? At 3,000.
SPEAKER 07 :
Three thousand or more. And if you had said and it's kind of funny pound saying none of your business, you don't have to do that. But just if this were to happen to me, listen, big talker, if that happens to me today, I'm going to say I'm going to try this and say, well, that's not something I feel inclined to disclose to you since it's my money. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER 06 :
I wonder if that puts up a red flag. It probably does.
SPEAKER 07 :
I probably let away in handcuffs at that point.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, here's the one that's the most infuriating explanation. And I resent this in my year number 65 on this planet. You think he's crotchety before. Mike, this is from Dallas. You have reached the age where the bank tellers are looking out for you from scammers. Now, first of all, I am not decrepit. I am not being wheeled into the bank and barely speaking. Do I look 100? I mean, I'm not kidding you. I know I'm going to be 65. You are vigorous and youthful. Do I look like an old retired person that needs help from a scammer? No. And she knows me. I'm a customer. I got...
SPEAKER 07 :
Look, I've got a lot of money in that bank. But let's say you're 93 and scarcely coherent and you struggle through the question, then is it kind of okay?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean... Well, if I'm a victim of a scam, how would I explain that to her? That Julio is out in the parking lot waiting for me?
SPEAKER 07 :
There's a Nigerian prince who emailed me and told me to leave it in an envelope.
SPEAKER 06 :
But that's my business.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's my business. It's my money. She has no right to know how I'm spending my money. And this is, I got nine texts. Now, here's another one. They are making sure that people of an older age. aren't being scammed. Hey, you're blocked, texter. Never again. You're done. Even the texters are looking out for you. They asked me at McDonald's the other day if I wanted the senior discount and I stormed out.
SPEAKER 07 :
But you're eligible for the senior discount.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't want the senior discount. I don't want AARP. I've been taking those bad boys since I'm 55. I've been taking senior discounts for 12 years proudly. I'm not acknowledging it. I'm not acknowledging it. I'm 39. I am 39 years old. So anyway, thanks for all the advice. I mean, look, Tracy's all fired up about my producer. She said I would march in there today and take all my money out of that bank. When I went to the other bank— Maybe it's the law. Maybe they have to. I don't know. No. What? To take $4,000? You can't take money out of your own account without them asking? I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
One of two things are true. It's none of her business. Either the bank has this as a policy, and they're just being nosy, or there is some regulation that requires them to do so.
SPEAKER 06 :
Big brother. Well, Trump will fix it. I'll call President Trump next week. Yes, indeed. I'll be in D.C. I'll stop over at the Oval Office and say, please fix the bank. Hey, I didn't hear—let's get into some Armageddon stuff. Hmm. I didn't hear, I was on a conference call when you were talking about Governor Abbott ordering the flags to be at full staff. Yep. I was getting confused. Mast is on a ship. Staff is. Full staff. Full staff rather than half staff. I believe President Trump doesn't like the flags being half staff. Correct. I have to confess, I must have a blind spot on this. And I didn't hear your take on it. Mark, from my perspective, I don't understand how flags at half-staff for a president who just died is in any way, shape, or form disrespectful to Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's not.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I do believe that putting them up at full-staff is disrespectful to Carter.
SPEAKER 07 :
But that's not either. Do you think there's anybody – here's the logic for putting them at full-staff. It is a celebratory day in our country on a not singular, but on an incredibly rare moment of either transfer or continuation of power. It's a celebration of everything that's American for one day. We're going to reflect that celebratory spirit by having the flags at full staff. And then the following day, they're right back down. Tack on a day at the end if you want to for President Carter. There is zero, zero disrespect of Carter intended by this. Zero.
SPEAKER 06 :
I guess. I mean, do you think it's disrespectful for Trump to have them at half staff? I don't. How does it diminish the inauguration in any way?
SPEAKER 07 :
Because the flags at half staff indicate a stance of mourning, which we are in the aftermath of the Carter death, nationally speaking. And that seems like a disconnect from the celebratory spirit of the I get it. Here's the thing that he really doesn't like. He loves the fact that that every Trump hater loves the flags at half staff because they're in a stance of mourning because I get it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER 07 :
So there's no wrong answer. I think you can you can take either side on that, I think. And so, well, here's a good answer.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's sort of it. Let's salute an American hero. Let's salute a brave, courageous entertainer named Carrie Underwood, who without a doubt is one of the biggest breakthrough stars in America, who is going to be at the inauguration singing America the Beautiful. Mark, that's a big deal. Do you understand that he's only had people like – no disrespect intended for people like Kid Rock – But he's not exactly an A-lister. They're not exactly A-listers. This is an A-lister. And incidentally, she's getting buried by a lot of people.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because modern country is, this is not your granddad's country. This is not, you know, Hank Jr. and Hank Snow.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. They're more woke than they used to be. But nonetheless... What a beautiful, beautiful gesture, and good for her, and I'm glad she has the guts to do it. And finally, have you seen the video that's gone viral, and they've identified the guy, the Philadelphia Eagles fan berating the Packers fan Sunday?
SPEAKER 07 :
I didn't see I didn't see what was done. I saw people say that the post I saw said it was a freeze frame of the guy who said, I'm an Eagles fan. He said, I'm all about, you know, getting into it in a kind of a playful way with visiting fans. It's what we're known for. But this was wrong and shouldn't have happened. And I confess I did not know what the person did. So.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, in a nutshell, and the guy's been identified. They know who he is now and where he works. He called her filthy names. He called her horrible names. And he's an Eagles fan. Now, let me just tell you, that's the least... They're kind of known for this. Oh, that's the least surprising story I've ever heard in my life.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's the stadium you least want to go into wearing the regalia of the other team.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that's amazing you said that. I posted this on X, 30 seconds. Years ago, my son Matthew... who is a diehard devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, wanted to see the Cowboys play the Eagles in Philadelphia. And he said, Dad, and I said, okay, let's go. He goes, and I'm going to wear my jersey. I said, Matt, let me tell you something. That kid at 13 learned more about the, well, the human anatomy. So he did it? Oh, we did it. And it was one of the most miserable afternoons of my life.
SPEAKER 01 :
I know.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I thought, how these grown men, and it was almost all men, wasn't a lot of women, but there were some women, how these grown men want to berate a 13-year-old boy for sitting there in the stands.
SPEAKER 07 :
And it's a half of 1% of the crowd, too. Please, how many people?
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
Eagles fans are a different breed, man.
SPEAKER 06 :
They are. You've seen them at Texas Stadium, Cowboy Stadium. I mean, they're beyond. And so this guy, but this guy's life is ruined. I mean, already his employer, and he works, check this out, he works in the hospitality industry. So there's some irony for you, but not a lot of hospitality.
SPEAKER 07 :
You can't start a talk show when we're already late, but should they lose that gig? I mean, this is so tough in the social media world. It's tough.
SPEAKER 06 :
The guy's a world-class jerk, clearly. Of course. And she was just a fan. I know. And it was anything she was doing, I don't think. I'm just wearing Packer stuff. Yeah, but you know what happens. Aren't the Eagles the only ones that have a judge and a courtroom and a jail in their stadium?
SPEAKER 07 :
For adjudication of crime.
SPEAKER 06 :
They booed Santa Claus. They're nuts. All right, man.
SPEAKER 05 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
This episode delivers a mix of shocking stories and hard-hitting political commentary. We explore a DUI incident with a BAC six times over the limit, the politics of personal privacy, and the right to free speech in an age of digital communication. Dana's candid and humorous take on these issues will keep you engaged from start to finish.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. So first up, some of these are so inappropriate. It's ridiculous. Let's start. Well, I got one that was for just regular thefts and then I got a guy who stole a cross. I just feel like that's, if you do that, you're going to get in trouble. With the Lord. Just feels like. A guy stole a giant cross from a Pensacola church and he was caught with it at a Tennessee motel in Sumner County. It was early December. He got caught with it Wednesday night at a Tennessee motel. Jacob Vanderberg, 31, is facing charges of theft, trespassing, and robbery. He stole it from the St. Paul Catholic Church on Hyde Road. And he said that he was just looking for Jesus. Put the big old cross in his van and took off. And they found him at a Country Inn motel. And they were able to get it back to the church. The church was looking for it. It came off the front of the church. So it wasn't like a little necklace. It was a big old cross. Of all the things to steal, why? Like, why that one? I don't know. A Lakeland man was arrested for being a pervert at a playground. Golly. And he looks like one, too. Polk County Sheriff's Office, they arrested this 56-year-old freak in Lakeland. He... Was that a park having self-time? And you shouldn't have been. It was bad. Intimate self-time. I don't know how else to say it. And in front of full view of kids. And he has two previous convictions for doing the same thing. He was arrested. He's being held in $10,000 bond. Um, third degree felony because he goes to where kids are and does this. What is the argument against just, you know, taking them off of this plane? Where's the argument against that? I don't see any good ones. Uh, so he's going to be, if they don't, if they don't do something about this guy, this guy's going to molest the kid if he hasn't already. Honestly, this, uh, South Florida man was accused of calling in a bomb threat to the police department. That's a great way to get yourself arrested. He called and hung up at 8.42 in the morning. There's a bomb in your parking lot. They had shut down the whole block, cordoned off for the day, closed the parking garage, evacuated police headquarters. They found no hazards, nothing, and then they reopened everything later that day. They found him, though, in Palm Beach County. He called from a medical facility. They detained him and they booked him in Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. I just want to know why you would do that. Did he want to go to jail? Because it's a great way to go to jail. If you want to go to jail, call in a bomb threat to the police. They'll totally take you to jail. Let's see here. This... We've got... Oh, yeah, there's this one. This is wild. This is a sad story. A neighbor was taking on his Christmas lights and he found he spotted as he was taking his Christmas lights down a body in the pond by his house in a retention pond. That's so sad. Bradley Sugar, 48, was reported missing January 7th, found dead January 12th, according to Collier County Sheriff's Office. His mother reported him missing. She said that she got a frantic call from him. He sounded out of breath, but he said he was out of medication. His house was in disarray. They couldn't find him. Five days later, neighbors taking out Christmas lights. finds him floating in the retention pond. So they think that they're just trying to figure out what happened to him. I mean, good heavens. It's just so sad, incredibly sad. A Florida driver whose blood, his alcohol levels, his blood alcohol limit were six times the legal limit. Good night. He was found with tons of, a dozen empty wine bottles strewn across the floor of his car. His blood alcohol content was over six times the legal limits
SPEAKER 10 :
Wait a minute. If 0.08 is the limit, six times that is 0.48, which is almost half?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
So half your blood is alcohol? Wow.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. The Haines City Police got a 911 call about an unresponsive driver. And they found him, Miguel Rodriguez, unconscious behind the wheel, car in gear, engine running, foot on the brake. So they parked their patrol car in front of his so he wouldn't lurch into traffic. They couldn't wake him up. They had to break the passenger side window because he had it locked to put the car in park and remove the keys. That's when they found 12 opened and totally consumed bottles of wine. And he was like drifting in and out of consciousness. They took him to the hospital. Yeah, that's where he had. More than that. .523, Cain. What?
SPEAKER 10 :
How do you survive? That's God's work. That's insane. Just the idea of you surviving is God's work.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my gosh. That's insane. So he faces one count of DUI. Our partners that help bring you the program, it's our friends over at Caltech. Fabulous. Florida-based company. Caltech makes some really cool stuff. And they've, you know, the P-11, the P-32 changed the way we carry concealed. They invented the micro compact pistol category. They also have their high performance KSG shotguns, the super accurate bullpup performance of the RDB series, the full and half carbine family of sub 2Ks, the P-50s. The P15, the lightest, thinnest double stack 9mm on the market. Now we're heading into the end of January and this is usually when Caltech unveils the latest firearms that they've invented, that they've come up with. Things you've never seen before and this is not going to be an exception this year. So they're going to have more stuff, new stuff that they're going to be announcing at the end of this month. And they're going to be at SHOT Show. I'll be broadcasting at their booth at SHOT Show too. Visit caltechweapons.com. And while you're there, take a look at everything that they have because I could give you my picks. I mean I like all this stuff, but there are certain things that I absolutely think you have to have like the KSG, the P-15. The RDB is pretty nice as well. The P50 is pretty sweet. Some of these are must-have in your Liberty collection. So visit the Kel-Tec website. Sign up for the newsletter. Check out their social media. Performance, Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, Kel-TecWeapons.com, K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you.
SPEAKER 07 :
If you like true crime, you'll love the Miracle Files podcast.
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SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
Justin Trudeau announces he will resign as prime minister of Canada. Republicans get off to a very smart start in the new Congress. And the left loses its mind as Trump talks about acquiring Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada. I'm Greg Karumbas. Join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad, and crazy news of the day, and hopefully a lot of laughs too. Follow the Three Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're telling me I did not miss a Democrat actually asking a question about warfighting?
SPEAKER 10 :
I actually have audio from Crazy Hirono.
SPEAKER 03 :
She just recently... Did she ask a question about warfighting?
SPEAKER 10 :
Ooh, we can hear it and you can... You can't... Really? You can determine if that's what she was asking about.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, go ahead. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 10 :
Go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Play this.
SPEAKER 10 :
Play this nightmare.
SPEAKER 04 :
As Secretary of Defense, you will swear an oath to the Constitution and not an oath to any man, woman, or president. Correct.
SPEAKER 06 :
Senator, on multiple occasions, including as a young second lieutenant, I have sworn an oath to the Constitution and I'm proud to do so. Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER 04 :
In June of 2020, then President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C., an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?
SPEAKER 06 :
Senator, I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events. Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs? I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire, and destroy the statue.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know what, that sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the leg.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Oh, my gosh. First off, dear God, please put a hand over my mouth because I'm not going to be able to get to the show without Steve burning through the dump button. It's just not going to happen today. I am so... This is how the question's going. And by the way, if you're just joining us, welcome. Dana Lash, top of the first hour. These are how the questions are going. So if Donald Trump told you to go and shoot baby puppy dogs in the head, would you go do that? Would you take out that order? Like, what's the context here? Yeah. Like, are they vicious baby puppy dogs? Are they mutants? Are they rabid? Do they pose a threat? Yeah, like, what's the context here to your crazy-ass question, you crazy-ass woman? What is the context here? So if Trump asks you to eat... The world's hottest pepper. Would you do it? I mean, like, these are how stupid these questions are. Would you eat a ghost pepper for Trump? Would you eat a ghost pepper for Trump? I just can't even take it seriously. If I don't laugh at it, I'm going to scream. So you will. You will indulge me. These are how their questions are going. And then what was... There were like three. Oh, gosh, I'm trying to think who is the other. Oh, I don't know. Old white and Democrat. That's like the whole party. I could, you know, with a posture of a cocktail shrimp, that's still the whole party. Crusty old, still the whole party, you know, where they have like the skin texture of a Captain D's crackling where it's like that. Right.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think Senator Gillibrand might have been one of them you were thinking of.
SPEAKER 03 :
She's not the old man who basically was like, how many times do you beat your wife? But her rant was insane. So imagine you're, you know, going in for your sec def hearing. Here's Kirsten Gillibrand losing her mind. What is she freaking out about? Oh, the women and the gays. Go ahead. Soundbite 11T Frillion. I don't even know. I don't even know what the hell soundbite it is. I just know we have it because there's like two pages of audio. It's 27. I think it's 27.
SPEAKER 02 :
So women, you have denigrated. You have also denigrated members of the LGBTQ community. Did you know that when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel, over 1,000 in mission-critical areas. Who did that? Okay, stop, stop, stop.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm not going to get there. Wait, stop. We're going to have to be. Who did it? Who did it? Who did it? Sorry, I just made your dog's death. Who did it? It rhymes with the closed bin of cigar. Under the desk, Schmilbinton. Rhymes with that name. Who did Don't Ask, Don't Tell? It's Bill Clinton! What is the party affiliation of one Bill Clinton? Kane? Party affiliation of one Bill Clinton?
SPEAKER 10 :
That would be Democrats.
SPEAKER 03 :
Democrats, you don't say. Oh, okay. What? Okay, go ahead. Let it go. This is going to be a day.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, then when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel, over a thousand in mission-critical areas. We lost 10% of all our foreign language speakers because of a political policy. You said in your speech. You did it! You don't want politics in the DOD. Everything you've said in these public statements is politics. I don't want women. I don't want moms. What's wrong with a mom, by the way? Once you have babies, you therefore are no longer able to be lethal. I mean, you're basically saying women, after they have children, can't ever serve in the military in a combat role. It's a silly thing to say. It's a silly thing to say.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, you can... Yeah, he didn't say it. He totally didn't say it. Why do you hate women? Why did you say women are stupid and I hate them and they're not allowed? Like, well, I didn't say that. Why did you say it? He just has to sit there and listen to this. Dear heavens. I would never make it through this process. I would be bitch slapping everybody and hold off in jail. There's no way I could. No way. I mean, at Parkland, I prayed for like two hours straight to that event. I don't think the flight's that long from Dallas to D.C. I wouldn't be able to go through that confirmation process. It's not a long enough time for me to pray for the Lord to firmly put a hand over my mouth. Good night. Can you imagine you show up and this is what they're... They're just making up stuff and attributing it to you. Now, look. Look, I'm not... a blind tribalist. I am a practical Machiavellian. That's how I look at, that's how I would describe my politics. A practical Machiavellian who wants to be left TF alone. That's me. And yes, there's things you can criticize Hegseth for. I think that this is where living in a social media world and going for clicks can work against you because everybody has to be flashy all the time. And then when you are considering a position where you have to be measured and discerning. and look like the steady hand of control then those two realities meet and it's you have to reconcile them and that's a tough thing to do that said if you're going to go after the guy for something make it for something he actually i don't know said I don't know. I mean, they're trying to they're asking whether or not this guy is competent enough to run DOD. Can I remind you about the twink that they had literally as the deputy nuclear? He was the deputy nuclear twink and he stole ladies suitcases, ran the hell around the country, stealing women's bags right and left. If you were missing a bag at any point in the last few years, I'll be damned, Sam Benton probably stole your luggage and he's out there wearing your panties right now. I'm just saying. They had that twink running around, stealing everybody's luggage. And that man had a security clearance. That man was the deputy nuclear twink, Cain. Or if I were saying it in a Texas way, nuclear. Nuclear twink. By the way, sidebar, new band name, Nuclear Twinks. And it's like a Scissor Sisters cover band, a very, very flashy Elton John, early Elton John, but yet conservative gay dudes. How about that? Noting. Okay. Gosh, I've already had the costumes in my head. I have more audio. How are we doing this today? Because, oh my gosh, there's like other stuff that I have to get. I can't, man. I would be escorted out. There's no, I couldn't even sit there. Couldn't even sit there for this. So with Hegseth, and again, I haven't heard a single question from a single Democrat about war fighting. What do I care how you have sex in war? Can you shoot a dude between the eyes if he's a Terry? Can you? I default to my position on terrorism, by the way, is the key and peel skit on it. If you wanted to know what that is when they're on the plane, it's one of the funniest skits I've ever seen in my life. I can't. I've seen it a million times. I can't play it because they'll find us. But it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. And I would probably freak them out if I were sitting next to them talking about my preparedness on a plane. And they wouldn't be able, I wouldn't be like the scared dude they were talking to. But that's my, you know, why do we care? So-and-so likes Lisa Frank stickers. Should that be allowed in the middle? Shut up! What does this have to do with war fighting? Well, blah, blah, blah. What does that have to do with war fighting? Can you do a Mozambique? Two in the head, one in the chest. Can you do it? Yes, no? Huh? I don't know. The whole thing is frustrating. This is about war fighting. This is about the fighting force. There are no feelings in this. It is very, very clinical because there are objectives to accomplish. And when you don't do your mission right, people die. It is serious. And they're sitting here messing around with identity politics in a hearing, asking questions about, well, if someone wants to pretend that their penis is a vagina, should they? I don't know. Are they mentally stable enough to pop a terrorist? Are they? I mean, are they? Is it possible for them to give that much of themselves and serve their country without having to put how they have sex or whether or not they like to tuck as like their priority? I mean, do we really have to sit here and consider special badges for them? A Tucker? Like, do we have to do that? I'm at. You know why it sounds absurd? Because it's absurd that this is even a conversation that we are having. 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SPEAKER 10 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Up to four in 10 people could develop dementia after age of 55. That's kind of terrifying. It's higher than historically normal, say the doctor folk. So they said, here's what you can do to lower your risk. And that's when I just stopped caring. I'm like, yeah, whatever. Is anybody actually going to do any of this stuff? They're like, what you do in midlife really matters. Okay. And they're like, it's not only Alzheimer's, you know, and they get into blah, blah, blah. They make you read the whole article before they go, okay, here's some risk things you can do. Blah, blah, blah. Like, they actually said one of the things in here was wear a helmet when biking. I have a story about bicycling, by the way. I don't know. And they're like, exercise is good. Exercise is good just generally. Let's see. Third of Americans say their partner acts like a baby when they're sick. How are so many people soft? When I'm sick, I still show up unless I'm real bad.
SPEAKER 10 :
Most vulnerable part of your life is when you're sick.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it's when you're a baby.
SPEAKER 10 :
What if you're a sick baby?
SPEAKER 03 :
That's even worse. They said that they did this research and they found that they were looking at what's the most common complaints in winter and then they said their partner's acting like babies when they're sick. Jeez. I don't know. I have feels about that headline. It just seems ignorant. Let's see. A theorist warns humanity is teetering between collapse and advancement. Yes! Does it involve an asteroid? No. Some sweet asteroid action. I'm just wondering. Does it? Oh, there you go. Oh, here's where I immediately stopped caring about this article. When is the end for humankind, the article states. And you can tell that because I'm reading it in a stupid voice. Whether it's by a nuclear holocaust or the result of exceeding a critical climate threshold. And I'm done. Moving on. Let's see here. Oh, you can't just hang out at Starbucks anymore. You have to order some of their burnt bean water in order to continue being there. Coffee chain has reversed the policy that allowed open access to its cafes because they're trying to improve store environments. I don't go into Starbucks's. I don't. I don't like their coffee. And I think that the what is it? What's the one? Not the peppermint mocha. Pumpkin spice. It tastes like turkey water. I don't like it. I used to like the pink peppermint spices or the peppermint thing. It tastes like diabetes.
SPEAKER 10 :
The pink drink was good for a little bit.
SPEAKER 03 :
What the hell is that even?
SPEAKER 10 :
What? You've had that before.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't have that estrogen swill. What?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, you have.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's been a long time. I have not had no pink drink, sir.
SPEAKER 10 :
I haven't had it in a long time, but I remember when I did have it. It was good.
SPEAKER 03 :
It tastes like pink. Are you going to tell me next? Anyway, they reversed their policy. That's really the only point of sharing that. Also, a hotel booking site were caught overcharging travelers from the Bay Area. They're from the Bay Area. Don't go there. You don't have a problem. Facebook has been getting. Look, I get it. Mark Zuckerberg. Didn't realize how bad the censorship was until he legit got censored on Facebook. And then he was like, what? And now he's they're undoing all their fact checking stuff. I get it. I mean, whatever brings you around. But now all like there's these leftists are upset. And some of the people who got who are on the left who got super upset and we're supposed to care. It's the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Where America, what the hell do those titles mean? Nothing, nothing. I love the people who are like, we just want our privacy. But then they're like, that is a Sussex. They have to constantly use that all the time. That, that shit cannot go anywhere without being like, we're judges of Sussex with everything. So, uh, what is it? The ginger and his D list, not even a main role on some Canadians drama. I don't even know what it was. What was it called? Briefcases. suitcase no that's it she was in a game show and then she did a drama she was the suitcase girl on a game show and then she did this canadian drama i don't know i don't do dramas yeah i don't know anyway i didn't watch it nobody knew it until i mean her biggest role was pretending that she's in love with this guy the prince harry Anyway, they released this statement. Tina, why are you being so mean? Because they released this statement and it's so stupid. I'm not going to read it out loud to you because I've never seen anybody write so much and say so little. I can tell this me again, or sorry, Megan, verbal typo, wrote it because... It's one of the dumbest things I've read. It goes on and on. It's just a bunch of rambly word salad, bad grammar, and five-star cringe. That's it. I mean, it's wild. They're upset because meta allowing more free speech is going to undermine the free speech, my guys. It's going to undermine it. It's going to. So I'll share with you some. There you go. Contrary to the company's talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it. Wait, what? So I love how the left goes. If your speech isn't what I want, then it's hate speech. They consider hate speech to be things that disagree with them. Like if they go... color is blue. And you go, I really like green. That's hate speech. Duchess of Sussex, that's what they do. So, they're upset over meta. They're upset and they say, they write, millions of people are using meta's platforms in the United States. Hundreds of millions more are using them globally. Wait, full stop. What? What? We didn't know that, Kane. We would have known it if the Duchess of Sussex hadn't put it in a statement. What? They add, why even waste the energy to put these dumb sentences in a statement? Many use the platform to spread joy and build community and share empowering information. Unfortunately, Matt's recent decision go directly against its stated mission to build a human connection and instead prioritize those using the platform to spread hate and lies and division at the expense of everyone else, the judges of Sussex. Constantly. First off, I love how lots of people can use the meta. They use the Facebooks. She sounds like a grandma writing this. And I can tell that she wrote it because it's particularly dumb. And then they say, oh, we're alarmed by plans to abandon the commitment. Who cares what year? What do these two grifters do? I agree with this. Was it the Netflix or Spotify? I don't know. Everybody that they've ever entered into a contract, they never actually develop projects. It's like they half-ass it. They did this polo thing. Nobody cares. I'm sorry. Nobody cares about polo. They really don't. It's a rich person sport. I like the horses. I'll pet the horses. I'll feed one an apple. I don't watch it. I don't watch it. I'm not even going to pretend. They did this thing called Polo and after they had their weird documentary and then she has a cooking show coming out where she rips off all everybody else's recipes on Pinterest and she pretends to cook and all you see is her fidgeting with every single dish that she's expecting people then to eat. It's gross. And our hair is everywhere. It's like tie your damn hair back in the kitchen. My gosh. I don't know. But why is it? that someone that insists on using British titles in the United States is trying to control speech in the United States. We don't have a monarchy here. You guys should have actually stayed in Britain and done the work and been content to be behind the prince and princess over there. Oh, but see, they thought that that title, they were upset. They didn't want to have to curtsy to people that outrank them. They didn't want to have to deal with all of that stuff. So They came over here to try to set up a court in Montecito. So they're rage. They have no influence. These are people who come up with these like all these different organizations and they send out statements to make it look like they're doing something, but they don't actually do anything. They shut up in Los Angeles. I mentioned this yesterday. Disaster tourism is what Justin Bateman accurately called it. And reports on the ground said that they stayed for like 17, 20 minutes. And were gone. So she basically drove two-something hours from Montecito to L.A. to stand around in a ball cap and then take pictures and act like they were doing something. Seriously? This is so dumb. What have they actually done? Didn't he start a travel company that was supposed to be about green travel? And aren't they under now? And their Archwell Foundation, because they have to make their filings public because of how their tax structured. So when they publish their financials, the majority of all the money that's given goes towards people's salaries. They don't do anything. And so they come out with this. Oh, these are harmful setbacks and blah, blah, blah. And this is dumb. No one cares what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Nobody cares what these two grifters think about what Facebook is doing. They are so uninfluential. She can't even get a bite. She can't even get an invite to Gayle King's birthday party. She couldn't even get an invite to that. Didn't see him at any of them Golden Globe parties. You know, they were going to go to Hollywood and really shake it up. But, you know, no, they can't. They can't deliver. They said, having worked in this space for the last five years, you didn't work. Those filings also show how much they work for basically a couple hours that they might put in a week. They get six figures or something like that's what the salaries, that's what the public financials were showing. I mean, it's this is so it's so lame. The last thing we need are, you know, two trans monarchists trying to tell everybody what how to think and what speech is allowed in the United States. Good heavens. It's so on brand for them. What have they touched that hasn't just turned to feces? Nothing. But this idea that you're demanding censorship for speech translates into more speech is dumb. What they're calling for is censorship. More speech is how you combat bad speech. You combat bad speech with good speech. But the problem is, is that the left, in order to shut down debate and to secure their rhetorical positions, they just don't allow for debate. They just shut it down because they're too damn lazy to defend their position. They feel like they are too good to defend their position. Like, how dare you challenge them? How dare you make them articulate a reason as to why they support this issue that they support? So instead, because they don't feel like putting in the work and half of them honestly don't even know why they support what they support, which is why they don't want to debate it. They don't know. It's a seamstress trendy thing to just jump on and support whatever issue. Oh, my gosh. All the right popular lefty people are mad at Facebook. I'm going to be mad at Facebook, too. And then you come out with a statement, a dollar short daily. But they don't they don't know really why they support what they support. And so as a result, they're even. more defensive about having to defend it and and and give reasons as to why they support this position they think that they they don't have to you do but they don't they don't owe you a reason they just do but you you got to prove that you're not hate speech that's how they do this i'm done with it i mean if they want to get into a battle of like the wits with people on this stuff they're gonna have a hard time they're gonna have a really hard time
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Join us as we analyze the Senate's confirmation hearing process and the role of identity politics within it. With Dana Lash leading the conversation, we unpack the dynamics of the questions posed during the hearing and their relevance to warfighting capabilities. Explore the implications of these political debates and how they shape the future of defense leadership in America, all while sidestepping sensationalism and focusing on substantial issues.
SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
So from story after story in the media, left wing media, we saw anonymous source after anonymous source based on second or third hand accounts. And time and time again, stories would come out and people would reach out to me and say, you know, I've I've spoken to this reporter about who you really are and I was willing to go on the record. But they didn't print my quote. They didn't print any of my quotes. Or I've worked with you for 10 years, or I was your accountant, or I was your chief operating officer, or I was your board member, or I was with you on 100 different tour stops for Concerned Veterans for America. No one called me. No one asked about your conduct on the record or off the record. Instead, a small handful of anonymous sources were allowed to drive a smear campaign and agenda about me because our left-wing media in America today, sadly, doesn't care about the truth.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, media has never really cared. And it's not just in this day. They don't care about the truth. It's all... I mean, I'm not going to dive into the history of the media right now, but from the get-go, it's been... always been propaganda. It's always been like a form of propaganda. I mean, ultimately, welcome to the program. Dana Lash here with you. We are monitoring this hearing that it's Pete Hegseth and in this hearing, and he's going for obviously, as you know, Secretary of Defense. And The questions, can I just say, I've been listening to this hearing. I've had to run around like crazy today. I had like an emergency dentist appointment and all this and running around trying to get, and I'm like listening to this hearing. So there are portions of it that I missed, like when I was in the chair, you know, and I was getting my crown replaced. There, not my crown on my head. And correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I haven't heard a single question from a single Democrat that has to do with war fighting. Did I miss anything? Did I miss something? Are we sure? Because there for a little bit, you know, I was in the chair at the dentist and You know, and it's really hard to, you know, listen when they got the stuff going and, you know, your mouth is gaping open. It's really hard. So I didn't miss anything. You're telling me I did not miss a Democrat actually asking a question about warfighting?
SPEAKER 09 :
I actually have audio from Crazy Hirono.
SPEAKER 20 :
She just recently... Did she ask a question about warfighting?
SPEAKER 09 :
Ooh, we can hear it and... You can't really can determine if that's what she was asking about.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right. Go ahead. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 09 :
Go ahead. Play this. Play this nightmare.
SPEAKER 19 :
As secretary of defense, you will swear an oath to the Constitution and not an oath to any man, woman or president. Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
Senator, on multiple occasions, including as a young second lieutenant, I have sworn an oath to the Constitution and I'm proud to do so. Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER 19 :
In June of 2020, then-President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C., an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?
SPEAKER 12 :
Senator, I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events, holding a riot shield on behalf of my country. I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire, and destroy a statue.
SPEAKER 19 :
You know what, that sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the leg.
SPEAKER 20 :
Okay. Oh my gosh. First off, dear God, please put a hand over my mouth because I'm not going to be able to get through the show without Steve burning through the dump button. It's just not going to happen today. I am so... This is how the question's going. And by the way, if you're just joining us, welcome. Dana Lash, top of the first hour. These are how the questions are going. So if Donald Trump told you to go and shoot baby puppy dogs in the head, would you go do that? Would you take out that order? Like, what's the context here? Yeah. Like, are they vicious baby puppy dogs? Are they mutants? Are they rabid? Do they pose a threat? Yeah, like, what's the context here to your crazy-ass question, you crazy-ass woman? What is the context here? So if Trump asks you to eat... The world's hottest pepper. Would you do it? I mean, like, these are how stupid these questions are. Would you eat a ghost pepper for Trump? Would you eat a ghost pepper for Trump? I just can't even take it seriously. If I don't laugh at it, I'm going to scream. So you will. You will indulge me. These are how their questions are going. And then what was... There were like three. Oh, gosh, I'm trying to think who is the other. Oh, I don't know. Old white and Democrat. That's like the whole party. I could, you know, with a posture of a cocktail shrimp, that's still the whole party. Crusty old, still the whole party, you know, where they have like the skin texture of a Captain D's crackling where it's like that. Right.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think Senator Gillibrand might have been one of them you were thinking of.
SPEAKER 20 :
She's not the old man who basically was like, how many times do you beat your wife? But her rant was insane. So imagine you're, you know, going in for your sec def hearing. Here's Kirsten Gillibrand losing her mind. What is she freaking out about? Oh, the women and the gays. Go ahead. Soundbite 11 D4illion. I don't even know. I don't even know what the hell soundbite it is. I just know we have it because there's like two pages of audio. It's 27. I think it's 27.
SPEAKER 01 :
So women, you have denigrated. You have also denigrated members of the LGBTQ community. Did you know that when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel, over 1,000 in mission-critical areas. Who did that? Okay, stop, stop, stop.
SPEAKER 20 :
I'm not going to get there. Wait, stop. We're going to have to be... Who did it? Who did it? Who did it? Sorry, I just made your dogs deaf. Hey, friends. Who did it? It rhymes with the closed-window cigar. Under the desk, Schmilbinton. Rhymes with that name. Who did Don't Ask, Don't Tell? It's Bill Clinton! What is the party affiliation of one Bill Clinton? Kaine? Party affiliation of one Bill Clinton?
SPEAKER 09 :
That would be Democrats.
SPEAKER 20 :
Democrats, you don't say. Oh. What? Okay, go ahead. Let it go. This is going to be a day.
SPEAKER 01 :
No, then when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel, over 1,000 in mission-critical areas. We lost 10% of all our foreign language speakers because of a political policy. You said in your speech... You don't want politics in the DOD. Everything you've said in these public statements is politics. I don't want women. I don't want moms. What's wrong with a mom, by the way? Once you have babies, you therefore are no longer able to be lethal. I mean, you're basically saying women, after they have children, can't ever serve in the military in a combat role. It's a silly thing to say. It's a silly thing to say.
SPEAKER 20 :
I mean, you can... Yeah, he didn't say it. He totally didn't say it. Why do you hate women? Why did you say women are stupid and I hate them and they're not allowed? Like, well, I didn't say that. Why did you say it? He just has to sit there and listen to this. Dear heavens. I would never make it through this process. I would be bitch slapping everybody and hold off in jail. There's no way I could. No way. I mean, at Parkland, I prayed for like two hours straight to that event. I don't think the flight's that long from Dallas to D.C. I wouldn't be able to go through that confirmation process. Not a long enough time for me to pray for the Lord to firmly put a hand over my mouth. Good night. Can you imagine you show up and this is what they're... They're just making up stuff and attributing it to you. Now, look. Look, I'm not... a blind tribalist. I am a practical Machiavellian. That's how I look at, that's how I would describe my politics. A practical Machiavellian who wants to be left TF alone. That's me. And Yes, there's things you can criticize Hegseth for. I think that, you know, this is where living in a social media world and going for clicks can work against you because everybody has to be flashy all the time. And then when you are considering a position where you have to be measured and discerning, and look like the steady hand of control then those two realities meet and it's you have to reconcile them and that's a tough thing to do that said if you're going to go after the guy for something make it for something he actually i don't know said I don't know. I mean, they're trying to they're asking whether or not this guy is competent enough to run DOD. Can I remind you about the twink that they had literally as the deputy nuclear? He was the deputy nuclear twink and he stole ladies suitcases, ran the hell around the country, stealing women's bags right and left. If you were missing a bag at any point in the last few years, I'll be damned, Sam Benton probably stole your luggage and he's out there wearing your panties right now. I'm just saying. They had that twink running around, stealing everybody's luggage. And that man had a security clearance. That man was the deputy nuclear twink, Cain. Or if I were saying it in a Texas way, nuclear twink. By the way, sidebar, new band name, Nuclear Twinks. And it's like a Scissor Sisters cover band, a very, very flashy Elton John, early Elton John, but yet conservative gay dudes. How about that? Noting. Okay. Gosh, I've already had the costumes in my head. I have more audio. How are we doing this today? Because, oh my gosh, there's like other stuff that I have to get. I can't, man. I would be escorted out. There's no, I couldn't even sit there. Couldn't even sit there for this. So with Hegseth, and again, I haven't heard a single question from a single Democrat about war fighting. What do I care how you have sex in war? Can you shoot a dude between the eyes if he's a Terry? Can you? I default to my position on terrorism, by the way, is the key and peel skit on it. If you wanted to know what that is when they're on the plane. It's one of the funniest skits I've ever seen in my life. I can't. I've seen it a million times. I can't play it because they'll find us. But it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. And I would probably freak them out if I were sitting next to them talking about my preparedness on a plane and they wouldn't be able. I wouldn't be like the scaredy they were talking to. But that's my you know, why? Why do we care? So and so likes Lisa Frank stickers. Should that be allowed? Shut up. What does this have to do with warfighting? Well, blah, blah, blah. The case. What does that have to do with warfighting? Can you do a Mozambique? Two in the head, one in the chest. Can you do it? Yes, no? I don't know. The whole thing is frustrating. This is about war fighting. This is about the fighting force. There are no feelings in this. It is very, very clinical because there are objectives to accomplish. And when you don't do your mission right, people die. It is serious. And they're sitting here messing around with identity politics in a hearing, asking questions about, well, if someone wants to pretend that their penis is a vagina, should they? I don't know. Are they mentally stable enough to pop a terrorist? Are they? I mean, are they? Is it possible for them to give that much of themselves and serve their country without having to put how they have sex or whether or not they like to tuck as like their priority? I mean, do we really have to sit here and consider special badges for them? A Tucker? Like, do we have to do that? I'm at. You know why it sounds absurd? Because it's absurd that this is even a conversation that we are having. Oh, my gosh. I'm not going to make it to the show. We got to get moving. But I got headlines. I haven't even touched on anything else. I have five other things for this segment. We're just going to blow right through it. Sorry, guys. We'll come back to it. With everything going on in the world right now, the economy, conflicts, the open border, spiraling national debt, the devastating inflation, it's critical that you have a plan for diversifying and protecting your savings. And that's why so many, including myself, have turned to precious metals like gold and silver. to help protect our savings. And I've partnered with the top rated precious metals company, Goldco, to make that happen. It's a great company with a great reputation and they could not have made the process any easier. And right now, Gold Co. is offering a free gold and silver kit that will show you how precious metals can help protect and diversify your savings. And for my audience, they're offering up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver on qualified orders. 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SPEAKER 09 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 20 :
I was looking at just some other audio that we're going to get ready to play here for you for... The next the next segment. All right. So first and foremost, we have the ongoing hearing right now, as we were talking about with SecDef nominations. And then there's others that are going to get underway and other committees, too. But this is the one that's super important. So we'll follow it. So apparently the National Archives are looking for people who can read cursive. Yeah, they want volunteers. The government wants you to volunteer more of your time to help transcribe the historical archives, but you have to... They include Revolutionary War pension records. You can sign up on their website, but you have to be able to read cursive, and they're acting like it's a rare thing. It's not hieroglyphics, okay? It's cursive. It's still... I mean, I... People should still be writing in cursive. That should be taught in school. It should. Let's see this. We had this Humvee headline yesterday. The... This is interesting. In St. Louis, our hometown, restaurants are becoming targets for used cooking oil thieves. That's really nasty. According to Ace Grease, oil thefts and lost revenue results in lost revenue totaling more than $40 million annually. So investigators in St. Louis are trying to track down these thieves that are stealing used cooking oil from restaurants. And it doesn't matter the neighborhood. They're going after everything. And processing it into biodiesel. So they went in, they were at the Central West End, which is a ritzy part of the city. They showed two men on camera backing up their truck. They hooked up a host of the tanker, transferred oil from the restaurant storage container. How is it that easy to do? You just back up your truck. That's wild. So they said that, you know, one tank could be worth over like $5,000 in used cooking oil. That's crazy that that's... Scientists link a popular drink with over 330,000 deaths a year, and it better not be Diet Pepsi or we're going to have some problems. They published this blah, blah, blah. That's funny. They said sugary drinks like sugar-sweetened beverages... They're linked to 330,000 fatalities a year. I don't do juices. I don't do juices because I think they're stupid. It's just loaded with sugar. If I'm going to eat fruit, I'll eat fruit. I don't need to eat through a straw, so I'm not going to do stupid juices and stupid smoothies. I hate all that stuff. I just want black coffee and bacon. So yeah, stop with your sweetened beverages. You don't need that much sugar because there's a ton of sugar in all of that. Stick with us. We've got more in store. Folks who help bring you the program, partners of ours, it's the non-firearm firearm, Burna Gun. What Burna does, the Burna Gun emits chemical irritant projectiles that can deter threats from up to 50 feet away. and it's a great diverse option for self-defense when your options are limited through no choice of your own whether it's a gun-free zone or whatever it is you want to make sure that you have a little bit of diversity and that you're able to protect yourself so you're not becoming a statistic i have a lot of friends who live in areas where they really try to control what you can and can't carry And they've gone out and gotten the Berna SD, which is Berna's most popular model. It's a model that a lot of law enforcement is incorporating as well to have a diverse array themselves. Five round capacity. Again, chemical irritant projectiles. There's different models. That's just their most popular one. And the other thing is that it doesn't care about gun-free zone signs. It's illegal in all 50 states. No background checks. No permits. They can ship it right to your door. so it's accessible to everybody. This is the perfect time, new year, new you, to reevaluate your self-defense options. Visit Byrna.com slash Dana. That's Byrna.com slash Dana to get 10% off your purchase.
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SPEAKER 03 :
Justin Trudeau announces he will resign as Prime Minister of Canada. Republicans get off to a very smart start in the new Congress. And the left loses its mind as Trump talks about acquiring Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada. I'm Greg Karumbas. Join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the 3 Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad, and crazy news of the day, and hopefully a lot of laughs too. Follow the 3 Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 11 :
the dana show podcast your fast funny and informative news companion for those always on the move subscribe on youtube apple or wherever you get your podcasts charges well no fully investigated and i was completely cleared and i'm so grateful for the marriage i have to this you've admitted that you had sex at that hotel on october 2017 you said it was consensual isn't that correct anything uh You've admitted that it was consensual, and you were still married, and you just had a child by another woman. Again. How do you explain your judgment? Completely false charges against me. You fully investigated, and I'm completely clear. You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just had fathered a child by wife three.
SPEAKER 20 :
I feel like Tim Kaine's going to go, how did you pull that off? What advice do you have?
SPEAKER 11 :
If it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it? It was a false claim then and a false claim now. If it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it? That was a false claim. Talking about a hypothetical. So you can't tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being Secretary of Defense?
SPEAKER 12 :
Senator, I know in my instance, and I'm talking about my instance only, it was a false claim.
SPEAKER 11 :
But you acknowledge that you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman by whom you had just fathered a child. You have admitted that. I will allow your words to speak for them. You're not retracting that today. That's good.
SPEAKER 20 :
I mean, the questions are, you have to expect this. Let me tell you something. First off, Dana Lash here. Welcome back. I don't think that Pete Hegseth is an angel. And yeah, I mean, would you say that's kind of ho-ish? Yeah, you absolutely would. But at the same time, you have what I think is probably, and I'm saying this on the strength of confirmation, not like him as a person or his credentials. So let's like, you know, comprehension. But I think out of all of the nominees, he's the weakest because of the confirmation process. And yet Democrats found a way to screw that up, too. They could play this real cool and they could draw him into certain things and, you know, get him all tied up. They could they could do it. But they decide to be hysterical and get over their skis because Democrats, they are the worst poker players on God's green earth. When they have something, like you give them, and again, not a statement on his credentials, but he's the weakest of the nominees. When you give them, you know, someone that they theoretically could probably sideline, they get so excited over it, they just lose all sense. And they have, they go crazy. Like Tim Kaine looks nuts. You know who he reminds me of? He reminds me of a Warner Brothers character. Specifically, the Jekyll and Hyde from when Bugs Bunny was doing that monster's hair and all this stuff and shaving him and all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I'm... He reminds me of that guy.
SPEAKER 09 :
I wish my brother George was here. I wish my brother George was here.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah. Or he looks like he could be a Klopek from The Burbs, which if you've never seen that movie, it is the funniest family-friendly movie you will ever watch in your life. And Bruce Dern is amazing. And it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He could be a clopeck from the burps. His hair is crazy. He looks crazy, which, you know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Didn't his kid get arrested for like terrorism or something at a rally? Tim Kaine's kid got arrested because he was acting like a thug at a rally. And they yeah, it was like a domestic terrorism thing. And they charged him. He's on probation. So is Tim Kaine, I mean, the questioning would would mean something if it came from someone who had no stone to throw. And I think that that immediately nullifies the criticism in a lot of people's minds. I get it because what Tim Kaine is trying to argue with this soundbite is, well, Pete Hegseth couldn't keep his his oath to his wife. How do you expect him to keep his oath as secretary of defense? You're a Democrat and you're asking me this. I'm not making excuses for Pete Hegseth. I'm not an advisor to him. I've never met him. I'm not getting paid. I'm not going up there and I don't kiss rings or asses. I don't do any of this stuff. But that's a stupid thing. That's a stupid line of questioning. You're talking about a warfighter. Warfighters are a complicated breed. And it's difficult for them to have successful marriages. I have a lot of veteran friends. And there are, you know, couples that my husband and I have even talked with. It can be a tough thing. And there's some really great stories and some really sad stories out there. But, you know, these guys, they see a lot. And, you know, it gets a little tough. Everybody processes things differently. I don't know, you know, how much that, I'm not excusing anything. I'm just saying, by and large, it's, you know. But I will say this. One of my favorite people in history to study is General Patton. I love his story because he was such a flashy rebel. You know, he got in trouble because he whooped up on some subordinate because he said he was acting like a coward. And Patton got in trouble and they handed off the reins to Omar Bradley. And so to pay his penance, Patton had to go on this like USO tour right throughout Europe, which actually helped a lot. And they said, all right, we're going to give you command of this fictional group, the Ghost Army, because we're going to do some psyops on the Nazis. They had several different ones. Ian Fleming, by the way, who wrote James Bond, there were like three different... They would fall under Ghost Army classification missions that Ian Fleming was... Actually, four, really, that he was an integral part of. You had the one in England where they were trying to fool the Nazis about where the airfields were in England. Then you had the op where they dropped a dude out of a plane. and made it look like it was a plane crash. And Nazis just happened to find documentation misleading them about where D-Day and when D-Day was going to happen. And then, of course, you have the movie that I think it was Guy Ritchie based his Ungentlemanly Warfare on, where they went down and they were destroying some of these tankers that were refueling these U-boats down off the coast of Africa, right? The Ivory Coast. And then, of course, you had the more famous Ghost Army Op, which was going throughout Europe and distracting the Nazis so that they would not, especially when they were trying to get across the Rhine, so that they would anticipate Allied crossing elsewhere. And so they would they employed inflatable tanks. They would literally hire actors and actresses who served in this. Bill Blass, the designer, was in this. I mean, camera pioneers, all kinds of stuff where all kinds of people were part of this. They psyoped the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were places where they weren't. And it was so successful, it actually was a big part of victory for the Allies. And then Patton, basically, they figured, we're going to give Patton control of this fictitious group. And that's the only way that the Nazis are going to think it's real. If they hear Patton is commanding this, then they're going to think it's real. So it was like two birds, one stone. They were making Patton pay this penance. He was going around rallying the troops, you know, USO style. And then they were, he was lending this fictional PSYOP group an air of like, legitimacy in terms of there's a lot more of them than you think, and it wasn't just a psyop, right? And then after that, he took control of the third again, and the rest is history. Patton was very flashy. He had customized pistols that he carried. He was, you could say, a braggart. He was everything that you would want to be in a leader. He was loud. He was eloquent, though. And Just incredibly entertaining. I've read so much about Patton and I've seen, I think, everything committed to celluloid about Patton. Patton became Patton after he got the job. If you're going to be like Patton, you've got to mind your P's and Q's. When you get in, then you can go full Patton. But we live in this social media environment where people have to constantly show what they're doing 24-7, which is bad personal strategy. Never let people know what you're doing. Never show your cards. Don't brag about something until it's done. Don't flex until the ink is dry. People got to be better at that. Social media is a highly curated cancer on the thought process of humanity. I use it because at first it was helpful, and then just like with everything, it can be corrupted and compromised, and now it's like, you know, cancerous. It's just, I don't know. The problem is that everybody thinks that they have to brag about everything that they're doing, and they put this up, and they go for clicks. There are people on the right that do this. You'll see people post stupid tweets or posts on X, and... You're like, why are they doing this? They're doing it for engagement. They're farming you for engagement and they're making money. Every time you watch the video, even if you don't hit play, it auto plays, that counts. They're all doing this to drive up clicks and attention and that's what everybody chases. And even people in serious government positions do the same thing. The problem is when you go for something like SecDef or anything else, the reality of what that job demands and the showy clickbait culture, those things crash against each other. And so Democrats, you know, they're they're they're not doing a really good job of highlighting that. And I would think that that's their biggest opening. But because they're Democrats and they're partisan zealots, they're so far over their skis, they're screwing this up for themselves. So I'd look at it. But ask to ask questions about all this stuff. When did Democrats become the party of morality? I know that if I mess up and I get correction, I don't pay any attention from correction from anyone that I think is more morally compromised than me. I do not. I mean, it doesn't I don't even process it. It just flies across my face. I need to process it. Anybody that I think is morally compromised more than I ever could be. I don't take anything that they say seriously. It's the people whose witnesses, the lives that they live. When they give you correction, you're like, oh, oh, that's why I can't take this seriously. Tim Cain being all crazy, asking these questions of Pete Hegseth and the way that they're asking them. This is not about being elegant and questioning. They're doing this because this is the way that they feel like they can punish him. We're going to get into some of the issues that they're talking about. We also got to get into the latest with the fires. Homeowners are facing an insurance crisis there. We got to discuss that. In Florida, they're having a huge fight. So Governor DeSantis, who has been talking with President-elect Trump the whole time about this, that's why their message is apparently coordinated. He wanted to bring the legislature in for a special session to start working on immigration. And the rhinos, the ones who are red flag law supporters, the ones who have horrible scores when you when you rate their record, they lost their minds. Imagine you just won an election and you're bitching and moaning about having to go do your job. Florida rhinos. And they immediately because Florida is kind of like taking the tip of the spear on this and then other red states are following their blueprint for doing it. They're immediately clearing the path so that when Trump's in office, these immigration orders can immediately be implemented. And the legislature is dragging their feet. They're already the rhinos. who contributed to this problem, are already doing everything they can to torpedo this agenda. They think, well, we're just going to ease into it. And DeSantis is like, let's go now. So they all got mad at him yesterday. And I guess they didn't realize that he had been talking to Trump about this the entire time. And Trump retweeted his statement this morning. where he posted it on True Social. So a lot of these wannabe Trump inner circle people that are these rhinos, these red flag rhinos in Florida, They're having to eat a lot of crow today. You want to talk about getting over your skis? That's what I'm saying. You don't say it until it's done. And then look how stupid they look. DeSantis is like, yeah, well, here, I've been talking to Trump. And then Trump's like, yeah, I've been talking to DeSantis about it. This is the way to go. That's a shot across the bow to these rhinos. They better be paying attention. We got more in store as we roll towards, oh, already days of these United States. My gosh, we have like three pages of audio almost. It's going to be a banger day. As we move, our partners that help bring you the program, it's our friends over at Preborn. This is such a great organization, and they do so much. to protect lives, save lives, and also grow families as well. Preborn is right there. They meet women where they are. It's a sanctity of life month, which I didn't know we had that, but that's neat. And the reality still is that the abortion means are changing. Everything is like the morning after pill, et cetera. But in 23, there were over a million lives lost in abortion clinics. It's the highest number in over a decade. 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That's pound or hashtag for Gen Z, 250, and say the word baby. You can also donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 24 :
Get the lowdown on the latest news with a side of laughs. Whenever you want. Subscribe to The Dana Show Podcast on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 08 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm here in Greenland. This kid's got a MAGA hat on. What's your message to Donald Trump? Fight Greenland. Fight Greenland. Fight Greenland.
SPEAKER 19 :
Fight Greenland. No more Danish. No more Danish. We don't like Danish people.
SPEAKER 20 :
What did the Danes do to them? I didn't know that there was like all this animosity between the Greenlanders and the Danes. Dang. Well, there's some teenagers. Do they pay taxes? Because if they don't, I don't care what their opinions are. Dana, why are you so like George Carlin today? I don't know. Maybe because I had to listen to these like cantankerous old bats sit here and screech at Hegseth for like for however long it's been going on. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. I was looking at reading the story. So Mike Johnson removed Thomas Massey from the rules committee. So the guy who's a rhino removed the most arguably conservative member of the House from the rules committee because he's butthurt that he got called out on what he is. It's petty politics. It's par for the course. I just think it's funny. I mean, it's either you like conservatism and you like actually making America first or you don't. You know, I just think it's funny that the guy who's Kevin McCarthy Jr., the actual moderate, goes after the most conservative member in the House. I mean, that's what a Democrat would do. Moderates anymore are no different from Democrats. I mean, you can just look down in Florida and see that. Look in Texas and see it. The stuff that's been happening. You got to pay attention to your state houses as well. So, for instance, in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday called for a special session. And there he wants to immediately hit the ground running the second that Trump takes office. He wants to hit the ground running clearly. And he wants he wants to take care of this. All of this with with immigration and deportations and all of this. And he had asked Florida to come in, Floridians. The governor is meeting with Trump to discuss immigration. He called for a special session to assist orders that Trump is going to deliver. On the 20th, he's coming out with these executive orders, and a good portion of it's going to cover immigration. And this is what this is all about. And these Democrats, like Daniel Perez and several others, are losing their minds that they have to go to work early. They're livid. And so Perez actually retweet or no, there's Daniel Perez or several others. One lawmaker tweeted a GFU. Don't Google that. Go do something unflattering to yourself to DeSantis because he's They were asked to come in early so that they could prepare and be just like. So one of these guys like tried to run. He did a Hail Mary and pretended that he he was a big Trump fan towards the end of his campaign. I don't really think I don't know how you can say that you're a fan of POTUS elect when you're already trying to defecate all over his immigration orders by refusing to do your job. With Republicans like those in Florida, who needs Democrats? We've got a lot more on the way, including more on this story. Stick with us. Second hour on the way. The folks who help bring you the program. It's our friends over at All Family Pharmacy. This is such a great service. You need to memorize the website. They make it so easy. All Family Pharmacy helped my family out a lot over Thanksgiving because, you know, right on Thanksgiving when offices are closed and you end up getting sick, it's just, it's a mess and you got to get medicine. All Family Pharmacy made it super easy. And you can visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Use code Dana and you'll get 10% off of your entire order. So this is affordable access, easy and cost effective for medicine. You don't have to break the bank to access these medicines. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. Everything's made in the USA. You're not getting Chinese antibiotics. It's not how that's working. They got a proven track record. and you work with their doctors. Their doctors get you the medication that you need, fast delivery right to your door. You can even overnight stuff if needed. And you can rely on all family pharmacy to keep your health needs on track. If you need antibiotics, if you need things like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, which is actually a good antiviral, you can get those at All Family Pharmacy. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using code Dana. 10% off your purchase using code Dana10. It's Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order only at allfamilypharma.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's not one. My motivation for this job has never been about what could conceivably come next. I understand that. I just need a yes or no here.
SPEAKER 21 :
Time is short. I just need a yes or no.
SPEAKER 12 :
I would consult with the president about what the policy should be at the Defense Department.
SPEAKER 21 :
In other words, you're quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years? You're not willing to make that same pledge?
SPEAKER 12 :
I'm not a general, Senator.
SPEAKER 21 :
You'll be the one, let us just be clear, in charge of the generals. So you're saying sauce for the goose, but certainly not sauce for the gander?
SPEAKER 12 :
I would want to see what the policy of the president is. Oh, I'll bet you would. Thank you, Senator Warren.
SPEAKER 20 :
Senator Laia Watha there. Oh, I absolutely can make fun. I will forever make fun of her for that. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. So that actually just happened in the ongoing hearings that they're having for SecDef. And I'm watching my monitor as well. Pete Hegseth, welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of the second hour. That was, she looks like a loon. So you're telling me that You know, these generals go into the industry. Are you telling me you wouldn't go into the industry too? Well, I'm not a general, Senator. Not a general. Good heavens. Democrats are just getting over their skis on this. And like I said last hour, you know, I'm not a partisan zealot. Definitely not. Definitely not. And I don't dislike Hegseth at all. I do think, and I say this Based on the process of confirmation and just some of the other things, I think he's a little bit more complicated than some of these other nominees. I think if there was a nominee that they could try to outmaneuver, it would be him. But they are not on their game today. You can tell they're so excited to get him. They don't care what on. Just get him. That they sound like loons. Their questions sound ridiculous. Tim Kaine sounded like a pervert. Elizabeth Warren sounds like a moron. I'm not being mean. I'm not name-calling. It's only name-calling if it's a lie. And none of these are lies. These are all true things. We've been playing these audio soundbites. The questions that they ask that they're asking are insane. They're just insane. Then you have this. Can we play audio soundbite 17, please? This is from Senator Blumenthal. First, let's just go ahead and listen to him.
SPEAKER 23 :
But let's be very clear, Nicole. Even with what we know in the public record so far, he is probably the most unqualified nominee for a position of serious consequence in the United States government in recent history.
SPEAKER 20 :
Really? Senator Blumenthal, the guy who lied about his service in Vietnam, wants to... just adjudicate someone else's record? Blumenthal. He lied about Vietnam. He didn't say that he was a, he didn't just go, I went to Vietnam. He was like, I'm a war hero and I saw combat. And he said all this stuff on the campaign trail, in his ads, everything else. The New York Times wrote a piece on it in May of 2010. Richard Blumenthal's words on service differ from his history. He lied. It's stolen valor. Now, anybody else? Is that a crime? I mean, if you're a senator, how are you? I mean, he lied about Vietnam. He lied about NBC. Trump says Blumenthal lied about Vietnam. Parenthetical. He did. That's NBC saying this NBC. You know, they're so right leaning NBC. CBS, did Richard Blumenthal lie about serving in Vietnam? Yes. I mean, the man, it's like his stories got more wondrous as time went on. I mean, he, for everybody, for years, he told everybody that he was this great, he was a war hero.
SPEAKER 09 :
He did. This all came out when he was AG in Connecticut. Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah. He would never went to Vietnam. He had five deferments. And then he served in the Marine Reserve, finally, in the Washington area. And that's per New York Times, May 2010. He never served in Vietnam. He didn't go to Vietnam. But he acted like, I mean, he let everyone to believe that he was in combat in Vietnam. And then his response was, on a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service. That was a direct quote. That is from a piece in the week, January 8th, 2015. Wow. I mean, he has said he didn't suggest he said it. It's like Tim Walz. What is up with Democrats lying about what they do and where they've been? And I love how the left was trying to defend him. Oh, well, you know, he's hardly the first politician to put a spin on his military record. No, that's literally not what happened at all. Oh, my gosh. So He's the guy who's trying to say, well, even though I lied entirely about serving in Vietnam and I have a little stolen valor, I'm going to be the guy that's going to determine. I'm going to just give a general pronouncement. I just don't think that he's qualified. I don't think a guy who lies about serving in Vietnam, I don't think that he's qualified to give an opinion about somebody else's service. Or their record. That's just me, though. You know, sane person in a sane world. That's just me. But wait, there's more. The purchase of one's flagship, you get a second one. So he says this. And then you have audio soundbite 18. Senator Jack Reed, who's talking about this is the only time a Democrat has talked about the lethality of our fighting force. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 22 :
Our military is more diverse than it has ever been, but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been. This is not a coincidence. Mr. Hegstead, I hope you'll explain why you believe such diversity is making the military weak and how you propose to undo that without undermining military leadership and harming readiness, recruitment.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, you've already harmed readiness and you've already harmed military recruitment. I got to tell you, I was sitting at a table. with a number of very smart military people. And they were talking about recruitment. And I don't wanna say who it was, but it was somebody who works in DC and works in DOD and runs a branch of the military. And they had asked, what are your thoughts about the difficulty with recruitment? I mean, I'm a civilian. I'm not gonna pretend otherwise. But I said this, I go, well, if I can speak frankly and no disrespect meant. It's kind of hard to try to come up with different ways about messaging or to ask it, you know, give advice on messaging when the biggest messages are the guy in a skirt with lipstick and medals on his jacket. And he's standing there talking about how this is apparently a strength of the fighting force and not actual, you know, lethality. Or people falling off the side of a plane taking off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. 13 service members who knew that they were going to be blown up and who were subsequently blown up. All the problems with the VA. And I could go on and on. I'm like, there's your messaging problem. That's the messaging problem. They shouldn't be making news except for kicking ass. That's what our fighting forces should do. And they sit here and go, well, diversity is, I'm so tired of that stupid, stupid saying. It's dumb. What do you mean diversity is strength? E pluribus unum. Suddenly the founders are dumber than the morons today trying to rewrite history. E pluribus unum. And the military, the strength comes from the uniformity. Again, it's like that scene from Zack Snyder's 300. And you have Leonidas who's talking to... I can't remember his name. The one guy, obviously, who has a deformity that prevents him from serving in Sparta's army. And he says, look... He said, you have the heart of a warrior, but... You're not able to raise your shield up, which means you're leaving this guy behind you exposed. I can't have any cracks in my defense because it threatens the whole. That's what Leonidas told him. Then he betrayed Leonidas because he was butthurt, proving that it was never for him about the mission. It was always about self-glorification. And that's the problem with today. Is it about the mission or is it about self-glorification? Because if you're demanding that the military accommodate as their priority over the lethality mission, the lethality of the mission you're on, the fact that you like to have sex a certain way or that you want to pretend that you're a boy or a girl or whatever, this is about self-glorification for you. And it's not about mission first. It's not about the uniformity of the military. You're refusing to join part of the whole. So you shouldn't act surprised when you're bounced. Nobody has time for that. That's the infection in the military today. They're trying to destroy our safeguard for this republic. The one thing that the federal government actually can do, defense. Article 1, Section 8. And it is a problem. It absolutely is. What does that mean? That all diversity is our strength. Uniformity is the strength of the military. They're a fighting force. That's their strength. And, of course, they focus so much on The women. Oh, women in combat. Nobody has a problem with women as helicopter pilots and women being in combat in that way. What he is specifically talking about, and it's disingenuous to omit otherwise, what myself and so many have discussed is sending women literally on the ground in. No. No. And I'm sure someone has a cousin or a sister or an auntie somewhere. Oh, they did this. They could do it. Great. That's the exception. We don't make rules for the exception. And it's either about the fighting force, and it's about the mission of the military and the objective that you seek to accomplish, or it's about self-glorification at the cost of everyone else's safety. That's the question. If you're facing back taxes or unfiled returns because the government, under threat of penalty, takes your money and then they have the audacity to say that you're just voluntarily paying your taxes when it's done so under extortion, but whatever. Tax Network USA, they know all about it. They know how the IRS works. They understand the pressure that they can apply. It doesn't matter if you owe $10,000 or $10 million if you're an individual or a business. Tax Network USA is the top. tax relief expert in the nation. They have secured over a billion dollars in tax relief for their clients, and they offer penalty forgiveness, hardship programs, in-compromise solutions for lump sum settlements. Whether you owe $10,000 or $10 million, their experts are there to help. 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SPEAKER 09 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right. Up to four in 10 people could develop dementia after age of 55. That's kind of terrifying. It's higher than historically normal, say the doctor folk. So they said, here's what you can do to lower your risk. And that's when I just stopped caring. I'm like, yeah, whatever. I just stopped. Is anybody actually going to do any of this stuff? They're like, what you do in midlife really matters. Okay. And they're like, it's not only Alzheimer's, you know, and they get into blah, blah, blah. They make you read the whole article before they go, okay, here's some risk things you can do. Blah, blah, blah. Like, they actually said one of the things in here was wear a helmet when biking. I have a story about bicycling, by the way. I don't know. And they're like, exercise is good. Exercise is good just generally. Let's see. Third of Americans say their partner acts like a baby when they're sick. How are so many people soft? When I'm sick, I still show up unless I'm real bad.
SPEAKER 09 :
Most vulnerable part of your life is when you're sick.
SPEAKER 20 :
I think it's when you're a baby.
SPEAKER 09 :
What if you're a sick baby?
SPEAKER 20 :
That's even worse. They said that they did this research and they found that they were looking at what's the most common complaints in winter and then they said their partner's acting like babies when they're sick. Jeez. I don't know. I have feels about that headline. It just seems ignorant. Let's see. A theorist warns humanity is teetering between collapse and advancement. Yes! Does it involve an asteroid? Some sweet asteroid action. I'm just wondering. Does it... Oh, there you go. Oh, here's where I immediately stopped caring about this article. When is the end for humankind, the article states. And you can tell that because I'm reading it in a stupid voice. Whether it's by a nuclear holocaust or the result of exceeding a critical climate threshold. And I'm done. Moving on. Let's see here. Oh, you can't just hang out at Starbucks anymore. You have to order some of their burnt bean water in order to continue being there. Coffee chain has reversed the policy that allowed open access to its cafes because they're trying to improve store environments. I don't go into Starbucks's. I don't. I don't like their coffee. And I think that the, what is it? What's the one? Not the peppermint mocha. Pumpkin spice. It tastes like turkey water. I don't like it. I used to like the pink. Peppermint spice tastes, or the peppermint thingy tastes like diabetes.
SPEAKER 09 :
The pink drink was good for a little bit. What the hell is that even? What? You've had that before.
SPEAKER 20 :
I don't have that estrogen swill. What?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yes, you have.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's been a long time.
SPEAKER 20 :
I have not had no pink drink, sir.
SPEAKER 09 :
I haven't had it in a long time, but I remember when I did have it, it was good.
SPEAKER 20 :
It tastes like pink. Are you going to tell me next? Anyway, they reversed their policy. That's really the only point of sharing that. Also, a hotel booking site were caught overcharging travelers from the Bay Area. They're from the Bay Area. Don't go there. You don't have a problem. There you go. Look, I solved all the world's problems just like that. All right, so coming up. Facebook and Meta, guys, they made the Duke and Duchess of Sussex angry. Oh, pinkies out, whatever shall we do? We're going to talk about that and everything else. Stick with us. What does living better mean to you? Is it more money, a bigger house? Now think about this. What about how you feel physically every day? Life is so much better when you feel good. When you wake up feeling great, you can do more of the things that you love and you're ready to take on the day. If pain is affecting your life, see how Relief Factor can help change that. Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement that helps your body fight pain naturally. Developed by doctors, Relief Factor supports your body's response to inflammation. And it doesn't just mask pain for a short time. It helps to reduce or even eliminate it. and it's safe to take daily. In fact, the longer you take Relief Factor, the more effective it is. Over 1 million people have turned to Relief Factor. Feel better every day, and you'll live better every day. Trying Relief Factor is easy. Get their three-week quick start for only $19.95. That's less than a dollar a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF, or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 24 :
Not able to catch all three hours of The Dana Show? Subscribe to the full podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short, easy-to-digest episodes. Ideal for your busy lifestyle on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 22 :
Respectful, lawful authority, you have made statements to your platoon after being briefed by a JAG officer. Well, by the way, would you explain what a JAG officer is?
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't think I need to, sir. Why not? Because the men and women watching understand. Well, perhaps some of my colleagues don't understand.
SPEAKER 20 :
I just want to hear it.
SPEAKER 12 :
It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the warfighters. Their promotions, their medals, in front of having the backs of those who are making the tough calls on the front lines. Thank you, Senator Reid. Interesting. Thank you, Senator Reid.
SPEAKER 20 :
Mr. Rezac, the senator, I just think I found a hobby on the weekends. Can you tell us what this, I mean, we clearly all know what it is, Pete, but I just want to file it away in my own personal bank so I can just relive it when I feel like it. This hearing is such a joke. I mean, the way the Democrats are handling it is making it a joke. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you at the bottom of the second hour. OK, we're going to come back to it. I got to I got to change gears here because Facebook has been getting. Look, I get it. Mark Zuckerberg didn't realize how bad the censorship was until he legit got censored on Facebook. And then he was like, what? And now he's they're undoing all their fact checking stuff. I get it. I mean, whatever brings you around. But now all like there's these leftists are upset. And some of the people who got who are on the left who got super upset and we're supposed to care. It's the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Where America, what the hell do those titles mean? Nothing, nothing. I love the people who are like, we just want our privacy. But then they're like, we're judges of Sussex. They have to constantly use that all the time. That, that shit cannot go anywhere without being like, we're judges of Sussex with everything. So, uh, what is it? The ginger and his D list, not even a main role on some Canadians drama. I don't even know what it was. What was it called? Briefcases. Yeah. suitcase no that's it she was in a game show and then she did a drama she was the suitcase girl on a game show and then she did this canadian drama i don't know i don't do dramas yeah i don't know anyway i didn't watch it nobody knew it until i mean her biggest role was pretending that she's in love with this guy the prince harry Anyway, they released this statement. Tina, why are you being so mean? Because they released this statement and it's so stupid. I'm not going to read it out loud to you because I've never seen anybody write so much and say so little. I can tell this me again, or sorry, Megan, verbal typo, wrote it because... It's one of the dumbest things I've read. It goes on and on. It's just a bunch of rambly word salad, bad grammar, and five-star cringe. That's it. I mean, it's wild. They're upset because meta allowing more free speech is going to undermine the free speech, my guys. It's going to undermine it, judges of Sussex. It's going to. So I'll share with you some. There you go. Contrary to the company's talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it. Wait, what? So I love how the left goes. If your speech isn't what I want, then it's hate speech. They consider hate speech, hate speech to be things that disagree with them. Like if they go, the best color is blue. And you go, I really like green. That's hate speech. Duchess of Sussex, that's what they do. So they're upset over Meta. They're upset, and they say, they write, millions of people are using Meta's platforms in the United States. Hundreds of millions more are using them globally. Wait, full stop. What? What? We didn't know that, Cain. We would have known it if the judges of statistics hadn't put it in a statement. What? They add, why even waste the energy to put these dumb sentences in a statement? Many use the platform to spread joy and build community and share empowering information. Unfortunately, META's recent decision go directly against its stated mission to build human connection and instead prioritize those using the platform to spread hate and lies and division at the expense of everyone else, the judges of Essex, constantly. First off, I love how lots of people can use the meta. They use the Facebooks. She sounds like a grandma writing this. And I can tell that she wrote it because it's particularly dumb. And then they say, oh, we're alarmed by plans to abandon the commitment. Who cares what year? What do these two grifters do? I agree with this. Was it the Netflix or Spotify? I don't know. Everybody that they've ever entered into a contract, they never actually develop projects. It's like they half-ass it. They did this polo thing. Nobody cares. I'm sorry. Nobody cares about polo. They really don't. It's a rich person sport. I like the horses. I'll pet the horses. I'll feed one an apple. I don't watch it. I don't watch it. I'm not even going to pretend. They did this thing called Polo. And after they had their weird documentary and then she has a cooking show coming out where she rips off all everybody else's recipes on Pinterest and she pretends to cook. And all you see is her fidgeting with every single dish that she's expecting people then to eat. It's gross. And our hair is everywhere. It's like tie your damn hair back in the kitchen. My gosh. I don't know. But why is it? that someone that insists on using British titles in the United States is trying to control speech in the United States. We don't have a monarchy here. You guys should have actually stayed in Britain and done the work and been content to be behind the prince and princess over there. Oh, but see, they thought that that title, they were upset. They didn't want to have to curtsy to people that outrank them. They didn't want to have to deal with all of that stuff. So, They came over here to try to set up a court in Montecito. So they're rage. They have no influence. These are people who come up with these like all these different organizations and they send out statements to make it look like they're doing something, but they don't actually do anything. They shut up in Los Angeles. I mentioned this yesterday. Disaster tourism is what Justine Bateman accurately called it. And reports on the ground said that they stayed for like 17, 20 minutes. And were gone. And so she basically drove two something hours from Montecito to L.A. to stand around in a ball cap and then take pictures and act like they were doing something. Seriously? This is so dumb. What have they actually done? Didn't he start a travel company that was supposed to be about green travel? And aren't they under now? And their Archwell Foundation, because they have to make their filings public because of how their tax structured. So when they publish their financials, the majority of all the money that's given goes towards people's salaries. Like they don't really do, they don't do anything. And so they come out with this. Oh, these are harmful setbacks and blah, blah, blah. And this is dumb. No one cares what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Nobody cares what these two grifters think about what Facebook is doing. They are so uninfluential. She can't even get a bite. She can't even get an invite to Gayle King's birthday party. She couldn't even get an invite to that. Didn't see him at any of them Golden Globe parties. You know, they were going to go to Hollywood and really shake it up. But, you know, no, they can't. They can't deliver. They said, having worked in this space for the last five years, you didn't work. Those filings also show how much they work for basically a couple hours that they might put in a week. They get six figures or something like that's what the salaries, that's what the public financials were showing. I mean, it's this is so it's so lame. The last thing we need are, you know, two trans monarchists trying to tell everybody what how to think and what speech is allowed in the United States. Good heavens. I just it's this is it's so on brand for them. What have they touched that hasn't just turned to feces? Nothing. But this idea that you're demanding censorship for speech translates into more speech is dumb. What they're calling for is censorship. More speech is how you combat bad speech. You combat bad speech with good speech. But the problem is, is that the left, in order to shut down debate and to secure their rhetorical positions, they just don't allow for debate. They just shut it down because they're too damn lazy to defend their position. They feel like they're too good to defend their position. Like, how dare you challenge them? How dare you make them articulate a reason as to why they support this issue that they support? So instead, because they don't feel like putting in the work and half of them honestly don't even know why they support what they support, which is why they don't want to debate it. They don't know. It's a seamster trendy thing to just jump on and support whatever issue. Oh, my gosh. All the right popular lefty people are mad at Facebook. I'm going to be mad at Facebook, too. And then you come out with a statement, a dollar short, day late. But they don't know really why they support what they support. And so as a result, they're even... more defensive about having to defend it and give reasons as to why they support this position. They think that they don't have to. You do, but they don't. They don't owe you a reason. They just do. But you, you got to prove that you're not hate speech. That's how they do this. I'm done with it. I mean, if they want to get into a battle of like the wits with people on this stuff, they're going to have a hard time. They're going to have a really hard time And I'm, you know, for whatever reason that Facebook decided to do what they did, I'm glad that they did. Coming up, we got to talk about Hamas accepting a draft hostage exchange. I do wonder how much Trump going out there saying, yeah, well, FAFO, when I come into office, if you haven't released these hostages, I'm curious as to how much that affected this. And also, I love the idea. And this is what we really need to be saying. No, no, no. If you want to negotiate a ceasefire, you got to start by releasing hostages. I would say every day that you don't release hostages, we're going to bomb another part of Gaza. And that really why is it, by the way, that Hamas, the elected government of Gaza, they expect everyone else to care about Gazans more than they do. Hmm. Think about it. We got to go to got got Florida man on the way. Ready wise stands ready to support your self-reliance and preparedness journey. This is something that you would rather have and not need the need to not have. It has a 25 year shelf life and you have security and simplicity. They have array an array of product choices to meet every budget for, you know, like the one month supply. You got a two bucket bundle. You've got the three month emergency supply. Everything is designed. and arranged by their team of in-house culinary experts. 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SPEAKER 06 :
Did God bless the United States of America? Pastor Alan Jackson says yes.
SPEAKER 25 :
I believe God has blessed this nation, that he's called it into existence. It isn't perfect. There's no such thing as perfect. We continue as we lean towards the Lord to make improvements. There is no greater expression of liberty and freedom amongst civilized human beings than we've seen from our own nation in the last 250 years. As imperfect as it may be, that's true.
SPEAKER 06 :
Subscribe to Culture and Christianity, an Alan Jackson podcast, on your favorite podcast app.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 20 :
All right, so first up... Some of these are so inappropriate. It's ridiculous. Let's start... Well, I got one that was for just regular thefts, and then I got a guy who stole a cross. I just feel like that's... If you do that... You're going to get in trouble with the Lord. Just feels like a guy stole a giant cross from a Pensacola church and he was caught with it at a Tennessee motel in Sumner County. It was early December. He got caught with it Wednesday night at a Tennessee motel. Jacob Vanderberg, 31, is facing charges of theft, trespassing and robbery. He stole it from the St. Paul Catholic Church on Hyde Road. And he said that he was just looking for Jesus. put the big old cross in his van and took off. And they found him at a country inn motel. And they were able to get it back to the, you know, to the church. The church was looking for it, you know, came off the front of the church. So it wasn't like a little necklace. It was a big old cross. Of all the things to steal, why? Like why that one? I don't know. A Lakeland man was arrested for being a pervert at a playground. Golly. And he looks like one too. Polk County Sheriff's Office. They arrested this 56 year old freak in Lakeland. He was at a park having self time and he shouldn't have been. It was bad. intimate self time I don't know how else to say it and in front of full view of kids and he has two previous convictions for doing the same thing he was arrested he's being held in $10,000 bond third degree felony because he goes to where kids are and does this what is the argument against just you know taking him off of this plane where's the argument against that I don't see any good ones So he's going to be... If they don't do something about this guy, this guy's going to molest the kid if he hasn't already, honestly. This... South Florida man was accused of calling in a bomb threat to the police department. That's a great way to get yourself arrested. He called and hung up at 8.42 in the morning. There's a bomb in your parking lot. They had shut down the whole block, cordoned off for the day, closed the parking garage, evacuated police headquarters. They found no hazards, nothing, and then they reopened everything later that day. They found him, though, in Palm Beach County. He called from a medical facility. They detained him and they booked him in Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. I just want to know, like, how... Why would you... Why you would do that? Did he want to go to jail? Because it's a great way to go to jail. If you want to go to jail, call in a bomb threat to the police. They'll totally take you to jail. Let's see here. This... We've got... Oh, yeah, there's this one. This is wild. This is a sad story. A neighbor was taking on his Christmas lights and he found he spotted as he was taking his Christmas lights down a body in the pond by his house in a retention pond. That's so sad. Bradley Sugar, 48, was reported missing January 7th, found dead January 12th, according to Collier County Sheriff's Office. His mother reported him missing. She said that she got a frantic call from him. He sounded out of breath, but he said he was out of medication. His house was in disarray. They couldn't find him. Five days later, neighbors taking out Christmas lights. finds him floating in the retention pond. So they think that they're just trying to figure out what happened to him. I mean, good heavens. It's just so sad. Incredibly sad. A Florida driver whose blood, his alcohol levels, his blood alcohol limit were six times the legal limit. Good night. He was found with tons of, a dozen empty wine bottles strewn across the floor of his car. His blood alcohol content was over six times the legal limits
SPEAKER 09 :
Wait a minute, if .08 is the limit, six times that is .48, which is almost half? Yeah. So half your blood is alcohol?
SPEAKER 20 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 1 :
What?
SPEAKER 20 :
The Haines City Police got a 911 call about an unresponsive driver, and they found him, Miguel Rodriguez, unconscious behind the wheel, car in gear, engine running, foot on the brake. So they parked their patrol car in front of his so he wouldn't lurch into traffic. They couldn't wake him up. They had to break the passenger side window because he had it locked to put the car in park and remove the keys. That's when they found 12 opened and totally consumed bottles of wine. And he was like drifting in and out of consciousness. They took him to the hospital. Yeah, that's where he had. It was a more than that 0.523 cane.
SPEAKER 09 :
How do you survive? That's God's work. Just the idea of you surviving is God's work.
SPEAKER 20 :
Oh, my gosh. That's insane. So he faces one count of DUI. Oh, my. We got a third hour coming up. Don't go anywhere. We got all the latest. Looks like the hearing is over for now. Stick with us. Our partners that will bring you the program. It's our friends over at Preborn. This is such a great organization and they do so much. to protect lives, save lives, and also grow families as well. Preborn is right there. They meet women where they are. It's the sanctity of life month, which I didn't know we had that, but that's neat. And the reality still is that, you know, the abortion means are changing. Everything is like, you know, the morning after pill, et cetera. But in 23, there were over a million lives lost in abortion clinics. It's the highest number in over a decade. So preborn, what they do is they meet women where they are and they've saved 200 babies every day on average. And they do this through a number of things. The power of ultrasounds, when a woman hears her baby's heartbeat, when she sees her infant and an ultrasound, the chance for that baby to be born increases by 50%. But they also help these women get or stay on their feet. They help them all the way towards the second year of life. So they're there helping with baby clothes, diapers, car seats, counseling, and making sure that these women, that they're on the right track with their families. And it's free of charge. And this is what Preborn does. This is what your donations do. For $28, it's the cost of a dinner. You can sponsor an ultrasound. Give a mother opportunity to meet her baby for the first time. Everything is tax deductible, and Preborn has a four-star charity rating, so you can give with confidence. Dial pound 250 and help. Say the keyword baby after dialing pound 250. That's pound or hashtag for Gen Z. 250 and say the word baby. You can also donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 10 :
Senator Cain, or I guess I better use the senator from Virginia, starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don't tell me you haven't seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have got a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No, but it's for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because the man's made a mistake. And you want to sit there and say that he's not qualified? Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We've all made mistakes.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, well, and he is he isn't wrong about the lawmakers showing up drunk. That is true. Oh, that's true. Welcome back to the show. Dana Lash with you at the top of this third hour. That was Mark Wayne Mullen. And he was going after Tim line, Tim Kaine's line of questioning because Tim Kaine was his. It was weird. I feel like they Democrats just got really I don't think they did any damage. I don't think they landed any blows. I really don't. I don't think that they did. And they needed to if they were trying to sway any Republicans away from supporting Hegseth and his nomination to Secretary of Defense. That's what these hearings are all about. We've been covering that. We've got a lot more audio as well. Also have some audio or also some headlines as it pertains to the fires. Let's hear the wise words of Vice President Kamala Harris, shall we? Audio soundbite 16. Let's see what kind of insightful gem she has to share.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so it's critically important that to the extent you can find Anything that gives you an ability to be patient in this extremely dangerous and unprecedented crisis that you do.
SPEAKER 20 :
She just puts me to sleep every time she starts talking. I mean, puts me right to sleep. Who needs melatonin when you can just play something that she says? What the hell is she saying here? It's critically important that to the extent that you can find anything that gives you an ability to be patient. What does that mean? well does she have a problem just speaking directly it's messed up it's messed up just saying i don't know but i he's only biden only has what a week not even a week next week he's out He's out next week. Because this is pretty much all you're getting anymore. Audio Sunbite 5. This is it. This is all you're getting with Biden anymore. That's it. They're looking at wildfire devastation. He's out. He's out. Man. I was reading Michelle Obama is not going to the inauguration. She wasn't at Carter's funeral and she's not going to the inauguration either. Hmm.
SPEAKER 1 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 20 :
Is there trouble in Obamaville? Inquiring minds. Just saying. Is there trouble in Obamaville? I'm curious. Now, in the meantime, the... Obviously, wildfires are continuing. And it is really... I mean, the headlines that keep coming out about this are pretty unbelievable. I was reading, let me pull this up. Where do I have it? I was reading a story, it was about Newsom, because you keep hearing Karen Bass has cut this budget and has cut that budget and requested a reduction in this spending, whatever. It's like the stuff that you don't want to reduce. He apparently also was cutting firefighting budgets. He shortchanged the state's vital fire prevention programs per New York Post, but yet he was handing out tens of billions of dollars on Green New Deal handouts.
SPEAKER 1 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 20 :
And including some of the environmentalists, too. The governor's new budget slashed the state's firefighting efforts by $101 million. And it left them with I mean, it sounds like a lot of money to us, but in the context of the whole state and fire and disaster, they have a little over $2 billion now. They cut a lot out of it, and they were redirecting the funds to all the green garbage. He had a 14, almost $15 billion price tag in transitioning the state of California to zero emission only vehicles and other clean energy initiatives. And that was $100 billion in costs. The New York Post reports over the next several years for even more pure political climate initiatives is what they were called. They, I mean, DEI advocacy and so much. They said that the town of Berry Creek had been trying to clear out deadwood and other fuel to help prevent wildfires, but they got stopped by environmental laws. That town was almost wiped off the map by a wildfire in 2020. They were clearing up, doing what they should be doing. clearing up the undergrowth and all of that. Do you know with the regulations and everything, it took one California homeowner 12 years to rebuild after one of the last major wildfires? The Malibu Times reported on the story. It was the California Coastal Commission. This homeowner had to fight. It took 12 years for approval to rebuild. after his home was destroyed in the 1993 fire 12 years and i mean that's the kind of stuff that and it's all these like goofy environmental things that actually don't have a positive impact on the environment that's the big thing They don't really have a... They don't really have that. It's not a great... They don't have that impact on the environment. And it doesn't... I mean, that's how they always advertise it. That's why we do what we do. But that's not... I mean, they've got friends that run these green energy companies. That's how they make all their cash. It's true. But it's wild. So he cut this fire budget. He also remember in 2020, he blamed cars for the North Complex blaze. That was one of the deadlier ones. It was caused by lightning. That's according to authorities. But Gavin Newsom said that it's climate change. So they're looking right now. I mean, 275 billion in damages. per AccuWeather, making it the costliest disaster in the U.S. And they keep saying, oh, it's caused by climate change. But they saw record rainfall. They refused to store the rainwater and save it. That's not climate change. That is a dippy governor. I... He created a new website called California Fire Facts just to try to blunt the criticism that he's been receiving from all this. He's trying to put a firewall around his political career, you could say. I mean, he's, it's unbelievable. And I think they said what the Palisades fire yesterday was only like 14% contained. I think it's a little bit more contained today. That's how difficult it is to deal. And then they had another fire that kicked off. And I don't know how some of these people are going to rebuild. I don't know where some of these kids are going to go for school, where some of these teachers and other individuals are going to work. Now, in the meantime, looking at, I'm going to switch gears here, looking at some of the foreign policy before we circle back to domestic issues, they've been dealing with a ceasefire draft. Hamas is reportedly considering accepting this hostage exchange deal. Hmm. This has been an ongoing back and forth. In the meantime, you have Jake Sullivan at NSA trying to say that, oh, well, audio somebody 11. Biden was saving so many lives in Gaza. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 05 :
We also were going to speak out on principle on protecting the basic rights and lives of civilians in Gaza. And that meant pushing Israel when we felt they went too far. It meant pushing for more humanitarian assistance. And we do believe that our interventions with respect to the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza did save lives and did stave off the famine that was warned about at multiple points over the course of the past 14 years.
SPEAKER 20 :
Really? The Associated Press says it's a real deal. Really? What has Biden helped? Biden hasn't done anything. In fact, I think they only moved because Trump said he was going to stick a foot up their backside. So they've they have this draft agreement for a ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages, according to some of the mediators involved, including Qatar. They said that Israel and the Palestinian the Palestinian, the Gazan group were at the closest point yet to to sealing the deal. And that they an Egyptian, you have the Egyptians involved, the Qataris involved. And apparently they said it's authentic. So we'll see. I don't know. Maybe. Apparently it hasn't come to actual to the Israelis yet. so i don't know i mean we'll see we'll see trump said that there was a handshake version of the deal and by the end of the week he said that they're close to getting it done and apparently though this according to times of israel they said hamas has been notifying their other little terror factions in gaza to prepare for such a deal because uh I would, they're trying to, I think, not only free up their other terrorists to fight if they're going to do it, but also you remember a lot of these hostages are spread out amongst these factions. So interesting, interesting. So we'll see as we get, if any details, you know, obviously we'll publish them. But it looks like it was like a 5-1 maybe exchange for the hostages. We'll see. But this is how, it's interesting that now they're going to come to the table. So many things have changed. In the meantime, let's swing back. We're going to talk about some of the domestic issues, including Within the GOP, in Florida, you have rhinos that are actively fighting against having to implement Trump's immigration agenda. That is why people say, well, Florida, you don't have to worry about. They're all Republicans. It matters the type of Republican. It's one of the reasons why they don't have open carry, one of the reasons why they have a waiting period, all the stupid stuff, because of these weak Republicans that are in the legislature. So we're going to talk about some of this as well here coming up. and a culture discussion. Stop elevating grifters. I'm talking about people like Andrew Taint. Verbal typo and it stays. It's our friends over at All Family Pharmacy. This is such a great service. You need to memorize the website. They make it so easy. All Family Pharmacy helped my family out a lot over Thanksgiving because right on Thanksgiving when offices are closed and you end up getting sick, it's a mess and you gotta get medicine. All Family Pharmacy made it super easy. And you can visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Use code Dana and you'll get 10% off of your entire order. So this is affordable access, easy and cost effective for medicine. You don't have to break the bank to access these medicines. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. Everything's made in the USA. You're not getting Chinese antibiotics. It's not how that's working. They got a proven track record. And you work with their doctors. Their doctors get you the medication that you need. Fast delivery right to your door. You can even overnight stuff if needed. And you can rely on all family pharmacy to keep your health needs on track. If you need antibiotics, if you need things like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. which is actually a good antiviral, you can get those at All Family Pharmacy. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using code Dana. 10% off your purchase using code Dana10. It's Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order only at allfamilypharma.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 09 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 20 :
So, let's... We're still I think that the hearing wrapped up, but we still got a lot of audio from it. We'll share that with you coming up. The let's see. Oahu residents are turning in fireworks at an amnesty event at Aloha Stadium because they're worried about fire. There's that. They call it an amnesty event for fireworks. So after New Year's Eve, they apparently had multiple fireworks fatalities. How? And many others were injured, apparently, so they had an amnesty event. Okay, you can't, like, stick the lit firecracker in your face and do all that. I mean, I've successfully shot firecrackers out of empty beer bottles and off of rooftops and in back alleyways and everywhere else, and I have held rum and candles, and I've done every... And I've never blown myself up, despite everything my mother warned me about. Never blew myself up Tropic Thunder style. No? But they said that they are... Encouraging everyone to get there, to turn their fireworks in. Not because of so much fire, but because so many people apparently blew themselves up with them. They said, according to this survey, many young adults are unable to do basic tasks, including changing lightbulbs. They said the study suggests that many from Gen Z are called G-O-T-D-I-T-S. Get others to do it. And they can't do a lot of do-it-yourself stuff. And that's the 18 to 27 group. They did not know what a spanner was. They could not change a ceiling light bulb. And they said that ladders are too dangerous. Wow. I hope that everything's real peaceful and cool for the next like 40 years because that makes me a little nervous. Let's see. A tsunami threat was issued for Japan after a 6.9 earthquake rocked the southernmost portion of the island. They said that that's a pretty big one. 6.9. The Mizuyaki Prefecture, where they said it was centered. It's in the southwestern part of the country. And they said residents in the coastal city of Kochi were urged to evacuate immediately as a precaution. I mean, the tsunamis are no joke. No joke. And let's see. That's a headline that was repeated that we already had. This... Let's see. And a couple others here. I want to make sure we get to. They had... Police arrested two. We had this yesterday, too. They arrested two burglars at Harris' Brentwood home. That's an old headline. Oh, the dump truck that Trump rode in on during his campaign is going to appear in the inaugural parade. The dump truck that he rode. It said, Trump, make America great again. Remember, he rolled up. Is McDonald's going to have a role in this? Like, he should come out with special attendees and call them McDonaldonians. Right. For the great people of McDonaldonia, my chicken tendies. So the dump truck, though, is apparently going to appear in the inaugural parade. Who knew? Get golden arches. Get something. I don't know. Something there. And millions of Americans could be eligible for stimulus checks. Why? Why? Why do you need them? This is so dumb. Up to $1,400. The IRS is sending all of the money they stole from us out to everybody else. It's wealth redistribution. Stick with us. We've got a lot more in store.
SPEAKER 24 :
Make some common sense of the crazy headlines with the Dana Show podcast. Your on-the-go guide for getting up to speed on today's most important stories. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or your favorite podcast platform.
SPEAKER 20 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash here with you. You can listen coast to coast. Chats over at Rumble, and then we've got Substack, the newsletter as well. I was looking at this thing from Elizabeth Warren, and she was saying, our military can help lead the fight in combating climate change. What? They're fighting something else. Stop using our military for your pet projects that have nothing to do with their purpose. That's dumb. But now you can kind of get a little insight into how the minds work of these people that were asking these ridiculous questions. All right, one of the other big things, because we were talking about two things, issues on the right. The first thing has to do with the... the issue of immigration and with respect to Florida because Trump has already stated that he's going to have a bunch of executive orders his first week in and it's going to be historic and they are everybody's trying to do everything that they can to be able to hit the ground running because again remember you have midterms coming up you're going to have about maybe six months And then a lot of these people get into moderate mode ahead of elections. And, you know, that's one of the things you're going to be looking at. The issue with this is that in Florida, the governor called for a special session so that they could immediately start and get some of the stuff done and start implementing POTUS elects agenda. And Saw that a couple of the rhinos that are there Daniel Perez is one And there are several others that are insisting that they don't want to show up to do the work They're mad that they're being expected to show up and do the work And they and these are the same people that have blocked an open carry bill in Florida for forever and So you have, I'm opening up some of their tweets right now so I can just make sure I'm accurate when I go through them all. You have people like Joe Gruters who retweeted one of the stories. There was a lefty journalist wrote a story about DeSantis calling for a special session. And Joe Gruters had retweeted this headline that said Florida Republicans to Governor DeSantis GFY, meaning go do something unflattering to yourself. And this guy retweeted it. Of course, he's also a red flag guy. This Joe Gruters is is is anti due process because he supports the he supports removing due process to expedite penalties. And that's what the red flag law. That's what red flag laws are. It's about expediting the penalties. And you don't get your day in court until much, much later if you get it. So they're super rhinos. These are super big time moderate rhinos. And they're livid that they got to show up and work. And they acted like one of them. This is weird. One of them, Randy Fine, was acting like. They didn't know the special session was happening, and he had no idea what this bill was. Well, he refiled the damn bill, and he was tweeting about the special session 12 hours ago. Everybody knew about it. So they're trying really hard. These are moderate Republicans that have contributed so much to the problem of rampant illegal immigration. They think that they can just slide into it. And if they take it slow, then you're not really going to notice that they're not going to do anything to fix this at all. That's the issue. I mean, DeSantis met with Trump at the beginning of the month to talk about his executive orders for immigration. And then he called the special session for January 27th to assist POTUS elects agenda. And these Florida lawmakers, they said calling a special session is premature at this time. They want to they want to wait and not go back to work for two more months. What did I just tell you about how long Trump has before the midterm cycle starts? How long is that cocaine? Six months. Take two out because that's how long Florida Republicans are going to drag their feet. They don't want to go to work. Yeah. Now you see why it's important. And they're acting like, oh, well, and this is where they got over their skis. One of them said, well, you know, we don't want to get in Trump's way. He tried to actually spin this and make it look like they were the ones who were honoring POTUS elect by not getting in his way. Well, then this morning, Trump hit him over the head because he reposted DeSantis' comment about calling for a special session and getting the state ready so that they can take lead on his immigration reform. And Trump's like, this is exactly the way to do it. All of these lawmakers are eating crow right now. They're their own worst enemy sometime. The right can be its own worst enemy sometime. I usually don't talk about some of the cultural aspects of the inter-party fighting, but can we stop obsessing over this bald freak named Andrew Taint or whatever his name is? I was just guessing. I'm not being mean. This guy, if you're unfamiliar with him, count yourself lucky. Count yourself lucky. You are a blessed individual. And you don't need to go look him up because save yourself. So this guy is not one of the best, you could say. I have no idea why people act like he's like the celebrated victim or that he is a thought leader on the right. He's got... He's got some bad history. He's got some really bad history. And he's been accused of a lot of stuff. And one thing that we do know is that he is a porn purveyor. He actually has... I mean, he's tricked and he's talked about it on video and bragged about like tricking chicks into being cam girls for him. He made his money... grooming women and getting them to perform on camera for money. That's how he made his cash. And I don't know why people are acting like he is a conservative thought influencer or whatever it is. It's really weird. He's not masculine. He's a single unmarried guy. He doesn't know a serious relationship. He's abusive. There's a video of him beating a woman with a belt online. I'm not going to play it. It's out there. There's other videos, too. And he tries to act like he is this upstanding, wholesome, you know, conservative person when he's sitting. He knows his audience. He knows exactly what to tell some of these conservative talking heads to pull the wool over their eyes. And then they act like they're a fan. This guy, he's praised Hamas. He's praised terrorists. Really? Really? You know, it's not empowering when women pretend to entertain the vices of weak men and pretend that it's feminism supporting masculinity. It does nobody any favors to do that. Anybody can go out there and run their mouth. Not everybody can be a man. And pimping chicks out on sex camps, that's not the behavior of a man. It's a behavior of a pimp. It's not a behavior of a man. Chivalry is part of being a man. And not every man is strong enough or self-sacrificing enough to be a chivalrous gentleman. And I reject the excuse that men like Andrew Taint and all these other guys give. Like, oh, well, women today, feminism, feminism. Well, maybe the women that don't subscribe to those left-wing beliefs don't want anything to do with you because you're a pimp. Ever think of that one? Just because they don't come to you doesn't mean that they don't exist. That's number one. Number two, only a weak man, a weak male would say, well, whether or not I'm a man depends on the woman. That's what a beta says. That is not what an alpha says. But people and this is for clicks. I've seen people do interviews with this guy and I don't care who people talk to. But don't sit here and say Christ is king on the Internet and then go and talk to a guy and softball him questions about how awesome he is while he's praising Hamas and pimping chicks out when he's not beaten, beating him with a belt or something. That's what all the reporting says. And there's the videos that are out there. They threaten to sue the Internet. Anybody, anytime anybody talks about them. It's like they tried. It's like progress. That's what progressives do. They try to get into lawfare. I just having someone like that on your show, people are doing it for engagement and they're doing it for clicks. There's this guy doesn't need to tell his story. He has his own platform. He can tell a story all he wants to. But these are people who are trying to be thought makers on the right that are doing this for influence and for clicks. No one's asked him a hard question. Nobody's asked him a single hard question. Candace Owens acts like such a badass. And she softballed this guy so many questions. I'm like, a really aggressive reporter would have grilled him on this stuff. I don't even know why you have to have that. What is newsworthy about a guy who pimped out chicks for a sex cam? Who has opinions on politics? What is newsworthy about this? What does that bring to the conversation other than filth? I mean, sit here and say Christ is king all you want to, but then you're going to celebrate and fangirl over somebody who has sex with people on camera, pimps chicks out, and beats them on camera? I'm not even getting into all of the other accusations and all of his other court stuff. I mean, that's just stuff he himself has talked about. Cain, let's play some of this audio. This is audio sound bite 15. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 14 :
They didn't teach you in self-defense? Here's a little move. When I grab you by your neck and you start annoying me, trying to resist, and I just... And then I grab you by your neck again. Then what the f*** are you going to do when your face is collapsed and your f***ing cheekbone's broken? You ain't going to do s*** but cry. I guarantee I change the way you look at sex forever. You're going to be s*** crying. I won't cry. I bet you cry, b***h. I bet you f***ing cry. You're saying I wouldn't cry? You're challenging me to a fight. How is this guy considered attractive? You're saying I can't hurt you. You're out of your f***ing mind? I don't even have to f*** you. Forget the sex part. That's a distraction. My b***h can stay in my pants. I'll just start beating the s*** out of you. How about that? We walk in the bedroom. I start kicking your ass. No sex. No sex involved. His chin just disappears into his neck. I perfected this in pimp school. When I got my PhD, we had to practice if a girl comes at you, you're cheating, you're cheating. It's bang out the machete, boom in her face, and then grip her up by the neck.
SPEAKER 20 :
I mean, it sounds like a guy who's never had consensual sex. I'm just saying. I mean, that's what it would sound like. I'm just thinking if somebody, you know, I'm just saying. Audio, somebody 16. He's talking about his cam girls. Oh, there's I'm only playing just a little bit because I don't want to debase myself. I plan any more than this. God help us.
SPEAKER 14 :
I have to f*** her so she obeys me. I don't give a s*** about having sex with beautiful women. I f*** them so they listen to me. So I can get what I actually want. Christ is king though, right?
SPEAKER 20 :
All you conservative influencers. Christ is king. Love Jesus. But hey, let's go ahead and like fellate this guy. And then when you get criticized for it, let's pretend that people are trying to deplatform you because they're pointing out that pretending to be a shepherd... And then also exalting this guy are two contradictory things. And that's exactly what's happening in these interviews. He's being exalted. He's not being interviewed. People are praising him and celebrating him and acting like he's a conservative thought leader. OK, we already have an Anthony Weiner in politics. We already have a Bill Clinton in politics. We don't need anybody else of that ilk. OK, good grief, especially with a weak chin like that. You don't need any more of it. Please stop trying to fangirl and exalt over trash. Just stop it. Good grief. You know, Christ is king and all that, right? I mean, that's what those people say while they're exalting this guy. I am dying laughing at headline after headline that says, oh, biohacking is the new thing to do. And this one story just posted biohacking on a budget. And you want to know what they're doing? They're like doing crazy things like getting eight hours of sleep and eating healthy and like drinking lots of water. What? I'm biohacking. What? It's a hack. Sometimes it's not a life hack. It's just something you do, you know? Welcome back again to the program. My friend Julio Rosas was reminding everybody that the Marine Corps did a nine-month study on women in combat units versus male-only combat units, and it showed that the male-only units outperformed the integrated units at nearly every event, and they universally sustained fewer energies. And the Navy Secretary under Obama, Ray Mabus, said that the study was sexist. Sexist towards women. So the Lord is sexist is what you're telling me? That's what I'm hearing. I'm going to just step away. You step away from where lightning is going to strike. That's what you got to do. You just step away. Just excuse me. Just give them an old Midwest. Oops. Oh, let me get by here. Let's get out of there. We also we're going to have to get dive into this more tomorrow. But the Hunter Biden stuff, the Hunter Biden report. Because, of course, you know, they're going to try to do everything that they could, everything that they can to obscure and downplay it. And that's why they're releasing it today. We get these hearings in the J6 stuff that that all came out. Lorraine's going to have something up about that report later today up on Substack. So you can go and sign up for the newsletter and check that out. But, yeah, that's man. And we'll see. We will see what happens with these hearings. Because every committee, they've got to go through all of these hearings. And so this is going to be the next week to two weeks. It's going to be nuts. And then they've got to hit the ground running. Today in stupidity, Cain, what do we got?
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, Juan, this is cut 18. And so sorry for the state of Rhode Island to have a senator like this. This is Senator Jack Reed. This is what he attributes to our military's lethality. For some reason, I don't get it. But listen to this. Okay.
SPEAKER 22 :
Our military is more diverse than it has ever been, but more importantly, it is more lethal than it has ever been. This is not a coincidence. Mr. Hegstead, I hope you explain why you believe such diversity is making the military weak.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's not a coincidence because it's not the truth.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
We're not more lethal because of diversity. And that will never, ever be the case.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I don't know, Cain. I mean, if someone is, you know, if they are, you know, a trans man, they probably are killier than other people. Killier? Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
Sounds like a word.
SPEAKER 20 :
Works. It works. Folks, that does it for us today. Find us over at Substack, Chapter & Verse, Facebook, YouTube. Like and subscribe. I will be back behind the mic with you. Very cold, cold afternoon in Texas tomorrow.
In this episode of the Eminem Experience, Mike and Mark take you on a journey through the curious case of a bank withdrawal that led to a surprisingly viral moment online. They reflect on the intricacies of banking policies, the unanticipated challenges faced by older customers, and the broader implications of social media reactions. Candidly sharing personal anecdotes and listener feedback, they address privacy concerns and the evolving landscape of customer service.
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 02 :
1963 vintage Beatles. And money, that's what I want. This is what Mike Gallagher said as he walked into a bank yesterday for what should have been the most routine, un-talk show worthy. Look, 53 things are going on. And as we showed the audience yesterday in doing 10 minutes of land man talk, which I heard about. I finished it last night. Wowza. We do a wide variety of things. It's okay. It's part of our charm.
SPEAKER 03 :
Just hang with us. We'll get there. We'll get to the end of the world any minute now. We will chronicle the apocalypse for you. Armageddon at 745.
SPEAKER 02 :
Got it done. Got it done. But for now, you walk into the bank, and as will sometimes happen, you wanted some cash. And it was a smidge above what the ATM would give you. So it involved interacting with a real human being. Correct. And the story goes from there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, let's first stipulate, and I think you'll agree with this, things happen to me that don't happen to anybody else. Or when they do, they just become ramped up in the drama. No, but think about this. You and I have had a lot of time on this planet. We've circled around the sun quite a bit between the two of us. In your lifetime, have you ever walked into your own bank, seen a teller who knows you, you withdraw money, and she wants you to tell her how you're going to spend your money? Has that ever happened to you in your life? No. Okay, thank you. And I can guarantee you, I think it hasn't happened to most people. And this went viral when I posted it on X yesterday. I'll bet. So I know people can relate to it. And there were a couple of people defending the teller, and I can't quite understand the defense.
SPEAKER 02 :
You're the official. We're the official talk shows of bank employees, so we're going to need some help to explain what happened to Mike. So you go up to the window and?
SPEAKER 03 :
I stroll in, and again, as you said, the withdrawal amount that I wanted to withdraw was over what the ATM limit is, the daily ATM limit. It doesn't matter if you go five times. Once you hit that limit, you can't take any more out. So I go, well, I've got to go in. You remember the commercial, have you ever been to the bank? The little boy who says, Daddy, are you going to go to the bank? Have you ever been? And it was a great reminder. I thought the same thing. I go up to this lady, very polite. And I'll tell you the amount so people know what we're talking about here because that matters because I do think there's supposed to be an accounting for transactions to the government of $10,000 or more.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, sure. That's the one thing that the one asterisk that I was going to identify is if I go in and I and I want 10 grand, maybe there's paperwork so that I'm not money laundering or paying off a cartel. I don't even like that because, as you've said, doggone it, it's my money and none of their business. But, you know, at that level, OK, maybe.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it's a piece of federal legislation. I believe that every transaction you do at the bank, $10,000 or more, there's a notification sent to the feds. I'm almost positive I'm right on that. But nonetheless, this wasn't $10,000. It was $4,000. I wanted to take it from, and you know, in a quick story, people think I'm a real-life Daddy Warbucks. I'm not a gazillionaire, but I had an account at a bank in New York that's a national well-known bank. When I moved to Florida, there was another branch that was even more convenient, so I opened up a second account. So I have two accounts. I have an account at these two banks. And once in a while, I move money between those two accounts. One account's getting low, you know, just normal stuff. Can you do that on your phone in 30 seconds like I did? No, because when it's like two competing banks, it takes like days to do that. Internal transfers are instantaneous. But the wire transfer is institutional.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right, and I didn't want to wait.
SPEAKER 03 :
Why not just get the stupid money, walk it across the street? Right. I don't want a check to bounce, so I want to get the money over. So I go in. I told the lady, that's a little more than the ATM, so I'm here. Can I get $4,000? So she counts out $4,000. After she counts it out, and she hasn't given it to me yet, she says, okay, and just what exactly will this transaction be used for?
SPEAKER 02 :
And she meant it because I was part of it was I thought they were just being this is Florida. People are folksy, just like in Texas. What are you going to buy you a truck?
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, no, this was a policy question, she said. And I said, pardon me. She said, I am. I almost my my head. The smoke was starting to come out of the back of my head. I said, pardon me. She said, can you tell me what this transaction will be used for? And I was too flummoxed. I was too dumbfounded to think on my feet and say, I'm using it for none of your business, USA. I mean, none of your business.
SPEAKER 02 :
One of the most famous, can you put this on Twitter? And at least half of the first hundred were, you should have told her, hookers and blow.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hookers and blow, yeah. Or the cartels. I'm sending it to the cartels. Go full hunter. But I was so flabbergasted that I told her, you know what I said? I told her the truth. I said, well, I'm taking it out of this bank because I've got another account over here and I'm going to take it over to that bank and put it in there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Did you beat yourself to death in the parking lot afterward for saying I should not have answered that question?
SPEAKER 03 :
I should have told her to go pound salt. So now let's be pragmatic. What would the wrong answer have been? In other words, what answer could I give her about my own stinking money that would have precluded her from giving me my own money?
SPEAKER 02 :
Help me get the story in order.
SPEAKER 03 :
Had she given it to you already? No. No. She kept it on her side of the window. She had counted it out, but she hadn't given it to me yet. So I'm thinking... She's dangling it in front of your face. Yeah, like a carrot on a stick.
SPEAKER 02 :
You want your own money?
SPEAKER 01 :
You want your money?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, what are you going to do with it? You going to go to the store? You going to go... What am I supposed to say to her that would have... Prevent it. You know what I'm thinking today? And I'm serious. I'm still mad about it, as you can tell. I'm going back today to the bank. I'm going to pull a Karen. See a manager. I'm going to ask for the bank manager and just say, can you explain to me why that happened? Because I don't know. I wish I knew. Can you help me understand, Mark, why she would ask that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay. The text lines are springing to life. Mine, too. My number is 800-655-MIKE. What's yours? 800-655-MIKE. Mine, of course, is 866-660-5759. Same as the call-in number. Right. Same as the call-in number. 800-655-6453. Very good. One says banks are required to do a soft notification. Wow. above 3,000 and written notification with filled out paperwork at 10,000. A soft notification.
SPEAKER 03 :
What does that mean? What? A soft notification to the government? To withdraw your own money? At 3,000.
SPEAKER 02 :
three thousand or more and if you had said and it's kind of funny pound saying none of your business and you don't have to do that but but just if this were to happen to me listen big talker if if that happens to me today i'm gonna say i'm gonna try this and say well uh that's not something i feel inclined to disclose to you since it's my money thank you very much i wonder if that puts up a red flag it probably does i probably let away let away in handcuffs at that point
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, here's the one that's the most infuriating explanation. And I resent this in my year number 65 on this planet. You think he's crotchety before. Mike, this is from Dallas. You have reached the age where the bank tellers are looking out for you from scammers. Now, first of all, I am not decrepit. I am not being wheeled into the bank and barely speaking. Do I look 100? I mean, I'm not kidding you.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know I'm going to be 65.
SPEAKER 03 :
You are vigorous and youthful. Do I look like an old retired person that needs help from a scammer? No. And she knows me. I'm a customer. I got...
SPEAKER 02 :
Look, I've got a lot of money in that bank. But let's say you're 93 and scarcely coherent and you struggle through the question. Then is it kind of okay? I mean...
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if I'm a victim of a scam, how would I explain that to her? That Julio is out in the parking lot waiting for me?
SPEAKER 02 :
There's a Nigerian prince who emailed me and told me to leave it in an envelope. But that's my business. It is.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's my business. It's my money. She has no right to know how I'm spending my money. And this is, I got nine texts. Now, here's another one. They are making sure that people of an older age. aren't being scammed. Hey, you're blocked, texter. Never again. You're done. Even the texters are looking out for you. They asked me at McDonald's the other day if I wanted the senior discount and I stormed out.
SPEAKER 02 :
But you're eligible for the senior discount.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't want the senior discount. I don't want AARP. I've been taking those bad boys since I'm 55. I've been taking senior discounts for 12 years proudly. Nope, I'm not acknowledging it. I'm not acknowledging it. I'm 39. I am 39 years old. So anyway, thanks for all the advice. I mean, look, Tracy's all fired up about my producer. She said, I would march in there today and take all my money out of that bank. Well, they... When I went to the other bank. Maybe it's the law. Maybe they have to. I don't know. No. What? You can't take money out of your own account without them asking? I don't know.
SPEAKER 02 :
One of two things are true. It's none of her business. Either the bank has this as a policy and they're just being nosy or there is some regulation that requires them to do that. Big brother. Well, Trump will fix it. I'll call President Trump next week. Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'll be in D.C. I'll stop over at the Oval Office and say, please fix the bank. Hey, I didn't hear – let's get into some Armageddon stuff. I didn't hear – I was on a conference call when you were talking about Governor Abbott ordering the flags to be at full staff. Yep. I was getting confused. Mast is on a ship. Staff is. Full staff. Full staff rather than half staff.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
I believe President Trump doesn't like the flags being half-staffed. Correct. I have to confess, I must have a blind spot on this. And I didn't hear your take on it. Mark, from my perspective, I don't understand how flags at half-staff for a president who just died is in any way, shape, or form disrespectful to Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's not.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I do believe that putting them up at full staff is disrespectful to Carter.
SPEAKER 02 :
But that's not either. It's just – do you think there's anybody – here's the logic for putting them at full staff. It is a celebratory day in our country on a – not singular, but on an incredibly rare moment of either transfer or continuation of power. It's a celebration of everything that's American for one day. We're going to reflect that celebratory spirit by having the flags at full staff. And then the following day, they're right back down. Tack on a day at the end if you want to for President Carter. There is zero, zero disrespect of Carter intended by this. Zero.
SPEAKER 03 :
I guess. I mean, do you think it's disrespectful for Trump to have them at half staff? I don't. How does it diminish the inauguration in any way?
SPEAKER 02 :
Because the flags at half staff indicate a stance of mourning, which we are in the aftermath of the Carter death, nationally speaking. And that seems like a disconnect from the celebratory spirit of the day i get it yeah here's the thing that he really doesn't like he loves the fact that that every trump hater loves the flags at half staff because they're in a stance of mourning because oh i get it yeah blah blah blah yeah yeah that makes there's no wrong answer i think you can you can take either side on that i i think and so well here's a good answer that's sort of it
SPEAKER 03 :
Let's salute an American hero. Let's salute a brave, courageous entertainer named Carrie Underwood, who without a doubt is one of the biggest breakthrough stars in America, who is going to be at the inauguration singing America the Beautiful. Mark, that's a big deal. Do you understand that he's only had people like – no disrespect intended for people like Kid Rock – But he's not exactly an A-lister. They're not exactly A-listers. This is an A-lister. And incidentally, she's getting buried by a lot of people.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because modern country is, this is not your granddad's country. This is not, you know, Hank Jr. and Hank Snow. That's right.
SPEAKER 03 :
They're more woke than they used to be.
SPEAKER 02 :
But nonetheless...
SPEAKER 03 :
What a beautiful, beautiful gesture, and good for her, and I'm glad she has the guts to do it. And finally, have you seen the video that's gone viral, and they've identified the guy, the Philadelphia Eagles fan berating the Packers fan Sunday?
SPEAKER 02 :
I didn't see what was done. I saw people say, the post I saw said, it was a freeze frame of the guy, who said, I'm an Eagles fan. He said, I'm all about getting into it in a kind of a playful way with visiting fans. It's what we're known for, but this was wrong and shouldn't have happened. And I confess, I did not know what the person did, so
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, in a nutshell, and the guy's been identified. They know who he is now and where he works. He called her filthy names. He called her horrible names. And he's an Eagles fan. Now, let me just tell you, that's the least... They're kind of known for this. Oh, that's the least surprising story I've ever heard in my life.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's the stadium you least want to go into wearing the regalia of the other team.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's amazing you said that. I posted this on X, 30 seconds. Years ago, my son Matthew... who is a diehard devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, wanted to see the Cowboys play the Eagles in Philadelphia. And he said, Dad, and I said, okay, let's go. He goes, and I'm going to wear my jersey. I said, Matt, let me tell you something. That kid at 13 learned more about the, well, the human anatomy. So he did it? Oh, we did it. And it was one of the most miserable afternoons of my life.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I thought, how these grown men, and it was almost all men, wasn't a lot of women, but there were some women, how these grown men want to berate a 13-year-old boy for sitting there in the stands.
SPEAKER 02 :
And it's a half of 1% of the crowd, too. Please, how many people? I don't know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Eagles fans are a different breed, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
They are.
SPEAKER 03 :
You've seen them at Texas Stadium, Cowboy Stadium. I mean, they're beyond. And so this guy, but this guy's life is ruined. I mean, already his employer, and he works, check this out, he works in the hospitality industry. What? So there's some irony for you, but not a lot of hospitality.
SPEAKER 02 :
Can't start a talk show when we're already late, but should they lose that gig? I mean, this is so tough in the social media world. It's tough.
SPEAKER 03 :
The guy's a world-class jerk, clearly.
SPEAKER 02 :
Of course.
SPEAKER 03 :
And she was just a fan.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it wasn't anything she was doing, I don't think.
SPEAKER 01 :
I don't know, just wearing Packer stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, but you know what happens. Aren't the Eagles the only ones that have a judge and a courtroom and a jail in their stadium? For adjudication of crime. They booed Santa Claus. They're nuts. All right, man.
SPEAKER 01 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
Join us as we explore the broader implications of Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing, examining the political theater of Senate appointments and the influence of outside protests on the legislative process. With insights from various speakers, the episode underscores the political maneuvering involved in gaining consensus for nominees and the vital need for new leadership in key positions. Callers and experts weigh in on these contentious issues and what they might mean for the coming administration’s approach to national and international policy.
SPEAKER 10 :
We got breaking news.
SPEAKER 07 :
Pete Hex at Senate hearing halted by left-wing protesters. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Seculo. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 10 :
Welcome to Sekulow. It's Tuesday. We are monitoring live the Senate confirmation hearings of Pete Hegseth. Obviously, this is happening live as we're doing it, so we are cutting back and forth and we'll be playing some comments also. But earlier in the moment... while they're talking, while they're trying to like, you know, do some real serious deep dive in. And of course, you're getting a lot of bad questions. You're getting a lot of personal attacks. That's what's happening here. I mean, right before we went on the air, we were listening to the questions and they all had to do with his personal life. You didn't hear a lot of questions that were of substance that had to do with real policy. Sure, there were some earlier on in the day, but of course, people are taking some pretty big personal shots at Pete Hegseth right now during his confirmation hearing. But earlier in the hearing, It of course got halted this morning as protesters, Will, decided to make their voice heard. These were kind of extreme left-wing protests.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. Multiple times during Pete Heggs' opening statement. So as he's delivering his remarks to the Senate before that committee starts questioning, multiple protesters, as they do, they get ready. And one goes and as soon as they clear the room of that one, they wait 30 seconds more and another goes and then so forth. They were able to get them out very quickly. But let's go ahead and see some of this footage to see as they're carrying protesters out. One specifically carrying out sideways by the Capitol Hill police. They're trying to make sure that they can continue the business of the Senate, the advice and consent role. That is enumerated in our Constitution. But yet protesters got up there. They said, stop Christian jihad were some of the signs that were held. Also talking about Pete Hegseth in terms of Gaza. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
The pro-Israel thing, a Zionist.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, exactly. So there's a lot that was going on there. It was a messy start to the confirmation hearings. There was technically one this morning that already started as well, but that one's not as focused on by the media. This one, obviously, very headline-grabbing because it has been one of the most contentious nominees that President Trump put forward. But Doug Collins... appeared before the Veterans Affairs Committee this morning to lead the VA but Pete Hegseth today and then when we get back we'll also talk about some of the ones coming up because there's a lot especially tomorrow will be a jam-packed day of confirmation hearings that'll be wall-to-wall on TV networks as the Senate moves forward with this nomination process of these names put forward by President
SPEAKER 10 :
Trump at this point under a week until President Trump takes office so it's going to be a very hectic week it's going to be something we're going to be following very closely phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110 I know a lot of you have questions about this or comments about Pete Hegseth or Tulsi Gabbard some of the others you know there's been some news with Tulsi Gabbard because they thought that she would be moving forward with her confirmation hearing and look people thought In this moment, people weren't even sure if Pete Hexler was going to make it to this, make it to the confirmation hearing. And good for him. He made it there. It's happening. We've got a packed show, so stay tuned. We've got some great guests coming on. Phone lines, again, are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. If you're watching on YouTube, if you're watching on X, if you're watching on Facebook, whatever it may be, we encourage you to share it. Obviously, a lot more came out of Facebook as well. Some of the more updates as you had... Mark Zuckerberg appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast going after some of the claims that we kind of assumed happened. But the fact that he specifically started talking about that the Biden administration was cursing them out, threatening them over allowing, you know, essentially satire memes, you know, a Leonardo DiCaprio, you know, looking at the TV screen pointing meme. That's what they were trying to police. And, of course, Facebook eventually said no, that they couldn't take it anymore. It's a very interesting time. Phone lines, again, are open for you, 1-800-684-3110. I see some of you commenting on YouTube that you're having some tech problems, that maybe there are some issues with our sound or video. So, team, let's take a look into that to make sure we are running crystal clear for all of you. And if you're watching on our new home, the Salem News Channel, where we are live as well, we encourage you to call in. Make sure to tell phone screeners. that you're watching there. I encourage you right now to join our demand letter, though, to the Senate and sign our petition. That's at aclj.org slash sign. Do that right now. Welcome back to Sekulow. If you are watching, we are fixing that technical error right now. It's just an issue going on with our streams. Hopefully it's cleared up or it will clear up just shortly. Just stay tuned. Don't go anywhere. Again, phone lines are open for your questions or comments at 1-800-684-3110. We're monitoring live in real time the Senate confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth. Again, another person who President Trump picked that we weren't sure just based on some of the backlash that came, whether he would make it to this day. Still, as the nominee, we obviously saw Matt Gaetz not make it. withdraw and be replaced by Pam Bondi. So this happening, actually getting here, I think is a big deal. Well, the fact that he was able to overcome a lot of that. And here's what I could say about Pete Hegs that this, you know, these hearings are interesting. There's a lot of fluff questions and then there's a lot of dodgy answers. That's going to be true for everyone who goes up. It's sort of just the nature of the beast. So you're not going to learn all that much other than how they do under pressure. Take away any of his credentials as someone who should be qualified or is qualified for this position. Saw Pete Hexeth about a year ago, maybe a year and a half, maybe closer to two years at this point, do a live Fox News event here in Nashville. And I went and I told even our friends at Fox News and I said, he was probably one of the best. communicators, best real-time hosts I had seen. I said at the moment, almost like a Ryan Seacrest level of being able to continue on to be improv and flow perfectly. And I was very impressed with him. So from someone who can communicate with the American people, I thought Pete did an incredible job. And in that moment, I wasn't thinking of him as being in this position. I was thinking of him more of being a oh man, he's clearly going to be the next mainstay on Fox News. He's going to be the one that's going to get one of those big shows, those evening shows, or maybe he's going to go on beyond that. Because I thought I was just very impressed with him as a communicator. I thought he was a great communicator of interesting information. He could break it down to where people can understand it. And we kind of need somebody like that in that role. It doesn't only have to be someone who is obviously very qualified for the position, but also someone who can communicate to the American people as he has been doing now for a number of years.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And when you watch this hearing this morning, what you see is that on display. He isn't easily shaken during those opening statements of his when there were multiple protests calling him a Christian Zionist, yelling about Gaza, calling him a misogynist. There were times that that could rattle, and that's the goal of these protesters, to rattle the nominee.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's also the goal.
SPEAKER 06 :
Both of the people asking the questions. Exactly. If they're not friendly. He's handled these. Even Tim Kaine, former running mate with Hillary Clinton, senator from Virginia, was pretty nasty in the way he phrased his question asking about his... His personal life and trying to tie that to an oath of office to uphold the Constitution. And he didn't get rattled by it. Now, he may some critics may say give a very political scripted TV answer, but he's very calm and poised through this. And I think that speaks volumes to also how he he weathered the storm early on. He keeps his head up, he moves forward, and he focuses on the mission, which is what you want out of a Secretary of Defense. And I think we should play this from his opening statement. This is Pete Hegseth talking about the mandate that he will have in the Department of Defense should he be confirmed by the Senate. Let's go ahead and play bite one.
SPEAKER 05 :
As I've said to many of you in private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, once a Pentagon, laser focused on lethality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability, and readiness.
SPEAKER 10 :
state and bring up i know a lot of you are just joining us right now maybe you saw the headline the breaking senate hearing halted by protesters this did happen if you are just joining us now there were protesters broke out people asking how'd they get in all that well they have their ways of getting in and it's a public hearing uh they go in organized and they're protesting because they think that pete not only is not qualified i don't even know if they're actually even talking about his qualifications they think he is someone who they'd consider a christian a christian zionist a christian what was the word they were using uh christian zionist someone said christian jihadist on a sign that they were holding up so i want you guys to see this let's take a look at this once again uh for those of you just joining us right now uh and while you're at it if you just saw this hit that thumbs up if you're watching on youtube or on rumble really helps us out and throw in a comment as well all that does an incredible uh amount for us we did surpass 451 000 subscribers on youtube let's keep that going hit that subscribe button take a look though here's the protesters in real time
SPEAKER 07 :
Sit down.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm leaving, man.
SPEAKER 07 :
Bravo, take him. He's leaving. He's gone now.
SPEAKER 05 :
He's leaving. Well, put your hands off me. Thank you for figuratively and literally having my back. You are a misogynist.
SPEAKER 06 :
Not only that, you are a Christian scientist.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you are the war. You are the war. You are the science.
SPEAKER 10 :
I love that specifically it goes from you're a misogynist to the second one is also you're a Christian Zionist. How dare you? It's like those are one in the same. We do have a comment, though, specifically about that sort of claim of Christian Zionism. It came in. Senator Cotton asked specifically about this because he said, hey, I heard some of the protests.
SPEAKER 06 :
The protesters were having an influence on the content of the hearing.
SPEAKER 10 :
They inspired. We should take a listen. This is just moments ago in the hearing.
SPEAKER 03 :
The first one accused you of being a Christian Zionist. I'm not really sure why that is a bad thing. I'm a Christian, I'm a Zionist. Zionism is that the Jewish people deserve a homeland in the ancient holy land where they've lived since the dawn of history. Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator, I support, I am a Christian, and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense and the way America comes alongside them as their great ally.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, because another protester, and I think this one was a member of Code Pink, which, by the way, is a Chinese communist front group these days, said that you support Israel's war in Gaza. I support Israel's existential war in Gaza. I assume like me and President Trump, you support that war as well, don't you?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator, I do. I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.
SPEAKER 10 :
So pretty strong statement coming out of Pete Hegseth again. Clearly getting questions from someone like Tom Cotton. You're going to have maybe a bit more, I don't want to say softballs, but these are questions of someone you agree with. And in this moment saying, yeah, of course, he did not use the word Zionist himself. Hegseth did not use that word, I'm sure. there's probably some reasons behind that. But definitely said, I'm a Christian. I'm someone who supports the state of Israel and supports Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas. Now, later on in the broadcast, we're going to be joined by Jeff Balaban from ACLJ.com. Jerusalem because there have been some movements, there have been some news, there's been some thoughts on hostage releases and deals that could be coming. He's going to break that down later on. There was also statements being made by other Palestinian governments and leadership that came out saying, hey, we condemn everything Hamas is doing. They are setting us back. So in some ways, this actually has some positive movement for Israel and for the hopeful end to this entire war. and hopefully the freedom of the hostages that are still there for well over, at this point, a year and a half plus. Let's go ahead and take a phone call. Let's go to Robert in Maryland on line one. Robert, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
I wanted to ask you a question. Between the election day of Donald Trump winning the election November 5th and him being inaugurated January 20th, 25th of this year, during that 75 or 76 day period, what are the most dangerous actions that happened President Biden has taken that could derail the Trump agenda in your view?
SPEAKER 10 :
Sure, Robert. A lot has happened actually in the last couple of months since then. And it's still, I mean, again, you can make a lot of these moves up until the very last second as the president. And you see that often. You see presidents making these not only last minute moves, but you would even say last second moves. While the inauguration parties are happening, not parties, but the festivities are happening before the swearing in, there's usually a couple people still back at the White House making these final moves.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. I think personally, some of the most dangerous. I mean, you see a lot. There's even like the executive orders on drilling ban for oil, offshore drilling, things of that nature that can be quickly undone by President Trump. So really, while a good moment, PR moment for the left, not necessarily long term devastation to the American economy or energy independence. But some of the ones I think of are actually the foreign policy moves, which are very much at the discretion of the president. And when Joe Biden did things like, I authorize Ukraine now to use weapons we've given for long distance ballistic missile strikes within Russia. I think that is, I would put up as one of the top programs moves that this Biden administration has done that could long-term be very, very devastating to world peace, to ending a conflict in Russia with Ukraine. And when you look at that also, it puts us as a NATO member with other NATO allies in that area, Ukraine not being one of them, but puts us in a very precarious situation if a bigger fight breaks out because now Ukraine is launching missiles deeper into the homeland of Russia. side robert i'd put that pretty close to the top of this lame duck session of president biden's presidency of dangerous moves that he's done well thanks to members of our aclj team and of course supporters like you that give and donate aclj champions we're able
SPEAKER 10 :
to fight for the confirmation hearings, but also you're going to hear from someone who's been through this themselves in the next segment. So not only do you get to support people here at the ACLJ, but go on ACLJ.org, making your donations or signing our petitions to join the demand letter for the Senate to confirm these nominees at ACLJ.org slash sign. You're going to be able to hear what it's like firsthand to have gone through some of these grueling confirmation hearings. What's it like to be sitting there knowing the world is watching? It's going to be pretty interesting. You want to stay tuned. Coming up in the next segment, phone lines again are open at 1-800-684-3110. Go to ACLJ.org right now. Welcome back to the broadcast. Member of the ACLJ team and secular broadcast team, Mike Pompeo, Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, is joining us live. And obviously, we're all monitoring right now the confirmation hearings that are happening on Capitol Hill. Pete Hex is up right now. I wanted to hear from you as someone who has been there. who's been through this confirmation hearing twice as Secretary of State and CIA Director. Can you tell us what it's like to be up there knowing the pressure and knowing the world is watching you and knowing you're going to be thrown questions that are intentionally made even to make you look foolish and at least for half of them to try to do that to you?
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, goodness. Yeah, it was really quite something. I must have done better the first time than the second. I got more votes to be CIA director than I did to be Secretary of State. Look, the reality is you have to stay focused. It is a serious matter. The Senate has properly the role of advice and consent. You honor them and America by doing your best to answer their questions. But you also have to recognize there's often a lot of theater going on there. So I remember the wisdom that I got from Secretary Baker, which was keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused on the reasons that you'd said yes when the president asked you to stand for confirmation and take on these important roles. Remember the things that you know in your heart to be true. Don't ever vary from them. Do your best to answer the questions accurately. But when they ask some foolish question, kind of, you know, I almost used a bad word, some nonsensical question aimed at trapping you. Don't take the bait. Simply go back to basic principles. And when you do that, in the end, the world will observe, American people will observe, and the senators will observe that you're a serious, thoughtful, decent person aimed at delivering for the American people. That's what I tried to do. There's a few moments I didn't quite pull that off, but I tried my best.
SPEAKER 06 :
Mr. Secretary, as we look at what's going to be a marathon of wall-to-wall coverage of confirmation hearings over the next few days, weeks even, knowing not just the confirmation process, which you've been through, but also the importance of getting the nominees in. into their positions very early on so that they can start to carry out the agenda of the incoming president. What do you think the biggest challenges are for the administration in getting these nominees confirmed and ready to go just next week?
SPEAKER 09 :
Goodness, you know, this is exactly you hit on the central point. The first task is for the nominees themselves to get their act together and get their their documents done. It's extensive. There's a lot of work. It's many, many hours of work. For some people, it's really complicated financial stuff. Get it done. Get that paperwork and submit it. Don't fight the process. If you fight the process, you'll be months into it. Second, We need Senate leadership. This is Republican leadership in the Senate to move these things quickly, to force them. If there's someone that's not going to make it for whatever reason, fine, have the hearing, vote them down, get on. But what we found so many times is they'd get hung up and we'd go months and months and months without getting someone moved through. And then finally, finally, this thought. So we'll all be very focused on the cabinet level hearings that will take place over the next two weeks or three weeks. Those are obviously central, vitally important. But there are thousands of confirmed positions and the Trump administration deserves to get its entire team on the field. In our first term, I became the secretary of state at 19 months in or 18 months into the administration, we still had hundreds of people whose confirmations were pending. And sometimes it was the fault of the nominee. Sometimes it was the fault of the Senate. But in the end, we need all of those folks on the field so that President Trump could do precisely what he told the American people that he would do. He's capable of that. I'm confident he will, but he can't do it with a team that's not supporting his mission, his agenda. And those confirmations have to move forward, not in the singles, not in the dozens,
SPEAKER 10 :
But in the hundreds and thousands, I think Secretary Pompeo, it's a very interesting point of view that a lot of people maybe don't understand, which is the timeline of this doesn't have to. You do. You're right. You hear the big ticket items, if you will, the big positions. But not that the others are not important. And I are very important. But this can go on for months and months and months. People don't really understand that, that this isn't something that you started today to get everything done by January 20th. This is a long-term effort. And if you have people who are, like you said, who they're not trusting or they're trying to block, it can be a brutal process. And when you only have a four-year term for President Trump at this point, just because it will only be four years because it's his second term, they got to get moving fast.
SPEAKER 09 :
No, it's essential. They need the first several hundred confirmed in the first hundred days. You need to get that level. That'd be your cabinet secretaries, your deputy secretaries, and the undersecretaries in every agency, not just defense and security, but treasury, commerce, uh hud all the these things really matter to people's lives into their well-being into the american economy uh workers all across america are counting on president trump's deregulatory agenda that is not going to happen until all of those leaders have been put in position and can get their feet on the ground and start working it and so yes uh We'll have these bright, shiny objects that happen here in January. February, March, and April are essential for the administration to get its work done and the Senate to do its job and get these folks on the playing field.
SPEAKER 06 :
Mr. Secretary, you wrote a piece for ACLJ.org, Biden emboldened radical Islam, Trump must secure America once again. We saw obviously the horrific terror attack, ISIS terror attack on New Year's Day here in the United States. And you make the point in the article that Trump already knows how to fix the threat of radical Islam because he already did it. When tying that to these nominations and getting these people confirmed to carry out that agenda, just how important, once again, is it that we have the right people in place so that we can hopefully stem the rise of more radical Islamic jihadist attacks here in America?
SPEAKER 09 :
That's a great question, brother. I want to mention organizations like the ACLJ. You did a great job supporting my efforts when I was being confirmed. There's lots of misinformation, lots of people out there telling fibs and whoppers. You all and the folks who contribute to ACLJ do remarkable work at helping level that information set. So thanks for that. You helped me get the opportunity to serve in the way that I did. You know, when it comes to radical Islam, the Biden administration just didn't get it. They immediately went back to negotiating with the Iranians. They gave them billions of dollars. They had this horrible destruction that took place in Afghanistan in their first summer in office. This emboldened radical Islamists across the world, political Islam. President Trump came into office. I was the CIA director, and the bad guys were cutting the heads off of people on the beaches. People have forgotten. That's now, what, eight years ago. Very quickly, we put together a strategy, delivered a fighting force and crushed ISIS and put radical Islam on notice that we were serious. I'm counting on the team that he's putting together now to help him do that. President Trump knows how to solve this problem and to address it in a serious way. And it will be among the most important, very, very, very near term action. issues that he's going to have to confront because President Biden and his team allowed them to run wild. And, you know, it resulted in what happened on October 7th. When you empower the bad guys, you increase risk to the United States and to our friends and allies like places like countries like Israel.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Secretary Pompeo, for joining us today. And again, you'll check out his new article at ACLJ.org. And while you're there, you should sign our petition with these confirmations underway. The hearing is underway. The left is targeting what feels like every one of President Trump's nominees. We must quickly help them get confirmed so, again, we can get this country back on track and back doing what they need to be doing. We sent a demand letter also because we caught Biden's DOD training soldiers at Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg. where both the New Year's Day terrorists were stationed, that pro-life Americans are the real terror groups. You saw those. When we sent a demand letter, submitted FOIAs, put a stop to this outrageous program, and it's working, but we need your help to take action, join our demand letter to the Senate and sign our petition at aclj.org. Phone lines are open for your calls right now at 1-800-684-3110. As we head into the second half hour, of seculo make sure you're joining us live each day every day from noon to 1 p.m that is on aclj.org youtube rumble and now on salem news channel so join us there as well we'll be right back second half hour very short break less than a minute coming up keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is seculo
SPEAKER 07 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 10 :
Welcome to the second half hour of Sekulow. I would love for you to join us right now. 1-800-684-3110. Got a few lines open for you. So if you want to give a call, this would be a great time to do it. Monitoring the Senate confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth, as well as the other Senate confirmation hearings that are coming. Protesters broke out screaming that he was a Christian Zionist and so on and so on, a Christian jihadist. And of course, now we've had some major pushback from the conservatives saying that this is ridiculous. Of course, a lot of them would consider themselves even Christians and Zionists. However, Will, this is not the only confirmation hearing happening this week. There's a pretty extensive list of what's going on. So I wanted you to break that down.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. Starting tomorrow, we have Kristi Noem for Department of Homeland Security. and she will be before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. We have Pam Bondi starting at 9.30 before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the Attorney General. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State at 10 a.m. John Ratcliffe for the CIA Director position at 10 a.m. Sean Duffy will be Transportation Secretary before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. We have Chris Wright and Russell Vaught at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. That's just tomorrow. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven nominees going all starting earlier in the morning. Pam Bondi, they already have scheduled for a second day on Thursday. There's a few others as well, like Lee Zeldin for EPA will be on Thursday. So a very packed schedule as the Senate Republicans try to move forward these nominations, getting them ready for when President Trump takes the oath of office next Monday. He's sworn in. He can officially deliver the nominations to the Senate and then they can vote on them to confirm them. By doing the hearings early, it gets all the legwork out of the way, getting ready to move forward with these confirmations. And it's an important it's an important job of the Senate to do this so that we can continue. get down to the work of the new administration and having individuals like Pete Hegseth today, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio, those names are going to be the ones you know about and the ones you hear that move forward with this agenda very quickly and aggressively at DOJ, at State Department, the military. So we look forward to their confirmations and hope the Senate keeps this schedule in on a tight ship and moves forward so that we can get to votes.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep, and phone lines are open as well for you at 1-800-684-3110. In the next segment, we're going to change gears a little bit. We're going to be heading over to ACLJ Jerusalem with the head of ACLJ Jerusalem, Jeff Balaban, to really discuss what's going on in Israel. You may have seen some of the headlines that maybe an agreement is happening, a hostage agreement is happening. We've heard this before. So let's see where we actually end up. But Jeff would know the insider scoop of what's happening. So stay tuned for that. That's going to be happening here in just one segment. But we are going to take your calls at the end of the show. So the last segment of the day. So make sure if you're on hold right now, stay on hold. We'll get to you. If you haven't called in, call in now. 1-800-684-3110. 1-800-684-3110. We've got about, we'll wait and save that call. We have a lot of calls coming in. I want to make sure we're able to give you enough time. But as we said earlier in the broadcast, Will, this is a time to sign that petition because we have mobilized our government affairs team on Capitol Hill and we need people to stand with us.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And if you go to ACLJ.org slash sign, you can sign that petition today. Because when we do a petition at the ACLJ, our government affairs team delivers that to senators. They will take it and say, here at the ACLJ, our members, our donors, our supporters, those of you that stand with the ACLJ, want these nominations to move forward. And many times we can even, if needed, we target individual senators by showing, look how many of your constituents in your state want this to move forward so you can go to aclj.org sign to have your voice heard the aclj delivers those it's not just into the ether but this actually gets sent to u.s senators that are a part of this process to ensure that we can move forward with president trump's agenda with this america first agenda by not stonewalling and keeping These nominees just floating in the ether of Senate confirmation land.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. As we heard from Secretary Pompeo, that can easily happen. Let's do it right now. Go to ACLJ.org slash sign and give me a call. 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Secular. Jeff Balaban is joining us, head of ACLJ Jerusalem. Now, there's been some news that has come out, Jeff, recently. And hey, phone lines are open 1-800-684-3110. In the next segment, we're going to take as many calls as we can. There have been some headlines recently that seems like we may be heading towards a hostage deal. Of course, this is now, what, 15, 16 months since the October 7th attack. That was, of course, in 2023. Now we are into 2025. But what are the real updates? What's actually happening? Is there some sort of hope here in the next week or so?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, there's hope that there'll be a deal, but not hope that it's going to be the greatest deal. What's happening is, after just tremendous support by the Biden administration for Hamas, lots of rhetoric against them, but the fact is that Israel has been forced into supplying them with materiel. Israel always gives humanitarian aid, but Israel has been forced to supply its own enemies while it's waging a war with materiel. It's been subject to all kinds of abuse by the Biden administration, liables, et cetera, about the way it's conducting its war. There's tremendous hope that a new administration will change that. And the fact is that Donald Trump's rhetoric directed at the true evildoers of October 7th and the true terrorists and the true genocidal maniacs has had an impact. But the bigger picture here is what its impact is in Iran. So there's tremendous pressure on the prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, to do a deal now uh which will result in the lease of some hostages nobody believes all the hostages there's still over 100 missing they the numbers they're rolling around maybe 20 alive give or take uh but obviously all of them we want all of them accounted for uh including americans uh and so there's a lot of pressure here to do a deal because donald trump wants a deal but i think that israel uh in the positive sense is looking forward to an administration that will recognize that the head of the snake here really is Iran. And that what Israel really needs is America's support against a much more, a larger scale attack or move against the current Iranian regime, its nuclear ambitions, et cetera. And this all falls into that, as your father likes to say, Logan, the nine-dimensional chess game that is Middle East politics. Right, absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jeff, when you look at what's going on on Capitol Hill today with Pete Hegseth in his confirmation hearing, you're seeing the left's anti-Semitism come out on full display by calling him a Christian Zionist, trying to tie him to that which they hate the most on the left. And when you hear that and you hear also his response to Senator Cotton about, I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas. You know a new sheriff's in town, but you also see that Fatah tried to put out a statement distancing themselves from Hamas, trying to distance themselves from Iran, saying we won't let Hamas replicate what's going on in Gaza here in the West Bank. Not that we are under any illusion that Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas are the good guys in this, but it's a moment where they understand the very real truth threat that comes with a new administration that isn't going to keep pandering to them at every turn.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's 100 percent correct. In fact, it's ironic or it's very telling. Joe Biden kept on bending over to them more and more and more to Mahmoud Abbas, who is a terrorist, who runs a terrorist organization. There's nothing there's no two ways about it. And, you know, the Palestinian Authority is the legal authority. continuation of the PLO. It is still a terrorist organization. And, but now it sees, so when Joe Biden was giving it all kinds of wonderful concessions, they were obnoxious to him and demanding and dismissive and hostile. But now that they see Donald Trump's coming into town, they're pandering, hoping that maybe the Trump administration will overlook the fact that they are terrorists also, and that they've overseen a generation of raising an entire generation of Arabs to be terrorists. Let's face it, Israel has a very good track record of coexisting well with Arabs in the region, not just in terms of its ability to make peace thanks to Donald Trump and the Abraham Accords, but for decades, since its founding, you know, 20% of Israel is Arabs, and they're citizens, and many of them fight in the army, and they serve, you know, in Supreme Court and in Knesset. And so this, it's not that Israel can't get along with the Arabs, it's that the Palestinian whole mechanism was created to destroy Israel, whether it's Hamas or Fatah or anything else. And let's hope, and let's assume, that the incoming people like Piaget and others, it's not a question of whether they're just Christians and Zionists, It's whether they understand what's in America's interest, which is stability in the region, which is honestly the undermining of this entire sort of unruh Palestinian narrative that Israel's the problem. No, it's not. Israel is the solution for the Jewish people, but also for America's interest in a peaceful and stable Middle East.
SPEAKER 10 :
You had multiple years there, whether it was the Abraham Accords or even negotiations before that, where things were... Calm, where maybe for that, maybe the most calm that I remember it being in my lifetime. And then, of course, it's all ramped back up and that's all pushing towards the terrorist attacks that happened here on New Year's Eve and New Year's morning this year, where all of a sudden it's back at our doorstep. And as you said, the sort of false narrative that the Israeli and Arab community don't get along within the country, that's very much not the case. And I would say that's the case for a lot of places. I was in Europe over the last few weeks and met a lot of people. And a lot of people of Muslim backgrounds or even currently practicing Muslims who are appalled of what's happening in the name of their faith, if you will, and in the name of what seems to be painted in this way. And it was a bit eye-opening even for me to see those conversations happening. But you're experiencing that. You're experiencing that in Israel in real time. It's just not the way the media and the press work. wants to show it. When you have moments where the PLO and other organizations, look, it took them 16 months to say, don't do it. But it does show you there is some strength that comes from a conservative, respectively from President Trump's cabinet and for himself coming into office because they know not only should they be a little scared, but also that there was relative peace not that long ago.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. And again, to the point of do we pander to the terrorists or do we sanction them? You know, under Donald Trump, when he was president the last time, he enforced the Taylor Force Act, which is which is passed by both houses and signed into law that we don't, the American people, we do not send our tax dollars to the Palestinian Authority so long as they are paying for terrorists to slaughter innocents. All right, well, Joe Biden started that tap flowing the same way he started the tap flowing to Iran. So of course there was terrorism because American tax dollars have literally been paying for terrorism. And so this idea that we're gonna negotiate with pure evil has to be out the window. And so in the current situation, we see a lot of pressure to accept the deal because Donald Trump has been promising that if we move forward, it will be on much better terms than anything that could have been achieved. And it's only happening because, if it happens, because Donald Trump is the new sheriff coming to town. and going forward i think that you know israel has to learn actually that's part of what we do in the jerusalem office is to explain to israelis what the american mindset is what the trump administration mindset is what the republican on capitol hill mindset is because they don't fully understand it they listen to media listening to a lot of groups who don't really get it we do and they need to understand that they have a lot more flexibility to do what's in their interest to survive now that donald trump is coming back into office
SPEAKER 06 :
And Jeff, you bring up even like the Taylor Force Act and things that are law in the United States, but yet the Biden administration for years has failed to enforce or take seriously. This is another thing that we talked about over the weekend. Very quickly, we've got about two minutes left, but essentially an education committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is calling out another one of these moves, something that's not going to get talked about broadly, but that the Biden administration is trying to basically get rid of and sweep under the rug all the anti-Semitism complaints under Title VI. at these major universities, the UCLA, University of California campuses, Johns Hopkins, etc. But what they appear are coming out with toothless agreements and resolutions so they can get this over with before people that actually maybe want to stand up for the Jewish students on college campuses would get in there and make them have real accountability at these universities.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, let's tie it together. You heard the accusation hurled at Pete Hegseth that he's a Christian Zionist. So if you show any support for Israel, or if you happen to be a Jew, you are persona non grata at a lot of college campuses today. You are actually in physical danger. You're certainly subject to abuse by faculty and students, and the universities have allowed this to happen. The only... The only curb put on it was by the Republican-led House of Representatives. Well, now the Biden administration is trying to shove these things under the rug, cut quick deals, including, you know, cases that we've been deeply involved with, universities that, you know, with students and faculty we have represented, we have brought claims, and they're trying to cut these quick deals. Essentially, they will just keep in place the anti-Semitic regimes in these pockets of wokeism on American soil, which are these leading universities, which are disastrous for Jews and Christians, and frankly, for America.
SPEAKER 10 :
Jeff, thank you so much for connecting today and being able to share all what's going on at ACLJ Jerusalem. Of course, keeping us updated on the war in Gaza. So I appreciate you calling in, Skyping in, and being able to see us all. Right now, if you support the work of the ACLJ, you just heard what we're doing right now. I encourage you to go to ACLJ.org, and if you can, make a donation. If not, sign the petition. That costs you nothing. If you're watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button. Because that's a big deal. Only about half of you that watch every day subscribe. And that really helps get more people to see us. Liking and subscribing, you know they all say it. You want to know why they all say it? Because it really does help. And we've added thousands over the last few days. 451,000 YouTube subscribers right now. And that is just incredible. We'd love to see that in a million. We'd love to see more people getting engaged. Hey, we've got Rick Grinnell joining us in the next segment. And calls and questions, 1-800-684-3110. Welcome back to Secular. Rick Grinnell's joining us live, popping in here at the last segment. Rick, there's been a lot going on at Capitol Hill. Obviously, the Senate confirmation hearing is happening right now for Pete Henseth. It's getting a bit heated, as you'd expect. Obviously, the conservatives, the Republicans, throwing him questions that feel legitimate. Some of the Democrats at least pushing and asking some questions. But of course, it's turning personal real quick and it gets pretty ugly pretty fast. But that is to be expected. He's not the first person for this to happen to, but of course it keeps everyone's eye off the ball.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, look, I'm just looking at what Pete is doing and it's really remarkable. I mean, he's staying calm. He's staying focused on what the mission is, which is to reform the Pentagon. Donald Trump is a disruptor. No one should be surprised that he's going to put nominees in who want to disrupt the and change and reform. Look, the system in Washington is incredibly entrenched. And I think you're gonna have people who don't want a disruptor. And so they're gonna get ugly and personal and sling mud. I think most Americans kind of yawn at this process because politicians tend to be ugly and mean-spirited and they're just looking for any way to exploit. But I think Pete's doing a good job.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don't think the goal was necessarily to make this hearing a circus, but I think what's probably most shocking and good for Pete for weathering the storm is that I believe the initial goal was for him to not even make it to today, was for him to not even be the nominee, that the pressure was going to be on so greatly. And look, the pressure did come on. It still is. that I think maybe one of the biggest wins is that he is actually sitting there in this confirmation hearing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Look, I think serving in the Trump administration, you have to be really comfortable with being able to take hits from people who just want to sling mud, whether it's the media, whether it's Democrats on the Hill. But you've got to just stay focused. I mean, Pete has been asked to do a big job It's to reform the Pentagon, to get us more ready. We all see what's been happening to our military servicemen and women. We have way too many programs that we're spending your tax dollars on that are a waste. We have a military that's not nearly as ready as they should be. And the budget yet is enormous. I mean, you think about how much money we're spending American tax dollars at the Pentagon, and it's shocking. And so Pete's got a big job to reform the place, to try to get us back on track for military readiness. And we are in a situation where it has to be done because recruitment numbers are so low. We have to do something different. And Pete understands that, and I think he will make it through. He's staying calm. He understands the game of Washington. But again, the rest of us outside of Washington Big yawn, big collective yawn. We're used to this.
SPEAKER 06 :
Rick, when you watch these hearings, many times the real story of what people are watching for, though, is demeanor. The questions, obviously, you understand the left's going to be nasty. You understand the right, especially now. There have been some Republican senators who have had more questions than they normally would, like Senator Ernst. But I believe that it sounds like Pete is answering her questions that she has and taking her seriously. But He said in his opening statement that he wants a Pentagon, President Trump and himself, want a Pentagon laser focused on lethality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability, and readiness. And to see how he has been able to be laser focused on getting through the media storm around his nomination, getting to this hearing, and then even multiple times during his opening statement, not being even phased by the protesters that were having to be drug out, you know, horizontally through the hearing room. He kept his cool and stayed laser focused on today's mission, answering the questions of U.S. senators in a respectful, honest way. I think that says more about the character and demeanor of how he would take this job, laser focus on lethality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability and readiness than anything he'll say to the Senators today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I think that, Will, it's a really great point of, you know, the process is what it is. It's a circus. It's they're slinging mud and they're just trying to get you off your game. They're trying to see if you care about what the media are saying or the hits that are coming. And you've got to be able to stay focused. It's kind of like an MMA fighter. I love MMA, the UFC. And my friends who are UFC fighters, they say, when you take a hit in the face, you can't get emotional about it. You've got to stay focused to your strategy. And I think that's the same way in politics is that you have a job to do. stay focused on the mission. And I think Pete's one of those people that he's not gonna get rattled by what a New York Times reporter says or the profile piece of a couple of lefty reporters.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, Rick, thank you so much. I know we need to pop in here just for a second. You've had a very busy day, and obviously you've got a new position coming up very shortly, and we're excited for you. Excited to keep you here, too, as well, getting great analysis for our group. And, of course, UFC 311 is this weekend. My son's very excited. He's been counting down the days. So I'm sure I'll play him that clip so he knows he's in good company as a fellow MMA fan.
SPEAKER 02 :
Exactly. All the best.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you. Thanks, Rick. We're going to take a couple quick phone calls real quick. I know a lot of you have been a hold for a while. These are pretty off topic, but you know what? I told you I'd take them. Let's go ahead and do it. Let's go to Ann, who's calling in Washington. On line one, Ann, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, longtime supporter. Thank you. Appreciate your work. I have a question, and it is this. How is it that the left can arrest, prosecute, even imprison peaceful demonstrators who for interrupting an official proceeding like they did with Jay Sixers or are doing, and yet allow leftist radicals to virtually take over or drive this official proceeding. I can't figure that out.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, and it's a valid comparison, I'd say, to make. Now, obviously, there are some big differences between what happened on January 6th. There was breaking and entering. There were some more forceful things that happened. You saw windows being shattered, that kind of moment. Because these are public hearings. People can attend. The problem is, well, they did organize. It wasn't just like one person came. Because their whole intention was to disrupt this. Now, we don't know. I'm sure they were arrested, quote-unquote, probably ticketed. But we don't know really what happened with other things thrown out. It is part of the process, some of these protests.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And also, you have to remember that one of the main charges, and what Ann is even referencing, is that statute about obstruction of official proceedings, which about 1,400 people were charged with in January 6th. But the Supreme Court in the Fisher case drastically narrowed the scope of that. And actually many of the cases because of that were no longer going to be pursued. So I'm not an expert in that law or even the opinion of the Supreme Court, but I have a feeling that that affects the way the individuals would be treated. Now, do I think that they would have been arrested and charged with that? No, because of the reasons that Anne alluded to. It always feels like the left gets away with it. But I do think that is a big part of it, too, is that the Supreme Court limited the scope of that statute being enforced.
SPEAKER 10 :
I hate to do this to you, Don, but we are out of time. I'm going to encourage you. Please just put Don on hold. See if we can take care of him. Send him a book or something. Also see if we can get Don up maybe first tomorrow because I hate you on hold for half an hour. We just ran out of time as Rick wanted to join us. Apologies. Thank you so much for your support. And thank you all of you for supporting the ACLJ. I encourage you to go to ACLJ.org slash sign. Sign that petition right now. Scan that QR code that's on your screen. We'll be back tomorrow with a whole new episode, a whole new broadcast live. We're getting from noon to 1 to Eastern. You can work your way back from there. You can find us on YouTube, on Rumble. Make sure you're subscribing on those platforms. And now on the Salem News Channel. Talk to you tomorrow.
Hear from Congressman Kevin Kiley as he unveils the underlying issues fueling California's catastrophic wildfires, scrutinizing the state's misplaced priorities on woke policies. In a gripping follow-up, retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin and Tony Perkins analyze the potential impact of these priorities on military readiness. Together, they assess national security preparations amidst sociopolitical distractions that threaten to undermine strategic objectives of America's defense forces. Tune in to explore solutions, leadership dynamics, and the urgent need for policy reform.
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 10 :
It's a sad day in our country when radical leftists are willing to erase the rights that women have fought decades to obtain, all to elevate biological males to the top of women's platforms.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Florida Congressman Greg Stubbe on the House floor earlier today at the opening of debate over his bill, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in and making us part of your day. While fairness in women's sports is the driving issue, the underlying debate is about recognizing the design of the creator, male and female, which may explain why the bill narrowly passed earlier today, 218 to 206, with only two Count them two Democrats voting for the common sense measure. Congressman Stubbe joins us in just a moment. We'll also get an update from the Senate as the confirmation hearings began today for President Trump's cabinet picks. Montana Senator Steve Daines, a part of the Senate leadership, joins us later. And unfortunately, Los Angeles continues to burn. The historic fire will cost billions. Should federal aid be conditioned upon the state changing their foolish policies that foster the disaster?
SPEAKER 02 :
Our politicians have obsessed over things like banning lawn mowers, banning leaf blowers, all the while neglecting our forests and leaving our communities vulnerable.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was California Congressman Kevin Kiley. He joins us later on this edition of Washington Watch. And those same DEI woke policies that the Biden administration pushed in the Secret Service that nearly caused President Trump to be killed and that Gavin Newsom has advanced in California, they all failed on the day of testing. What does that say about our nation's military, which has been captive to the same ideology for the last four years? Is our military prepared for the future? Retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, a founding member of the Army's Delta Force, joins me for that conversation here in studio and from a parallel universe.
SPEAKER 11 :
Compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen. During my presidency, I've increased America's power at every dimension.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was President Joe Biden yesterday at his farewell foreign policy address at the State Department. The world is more dangerous than it's ever been. And we're going to talk about it. All right, coming up this Sunday, inauguration, praise, and prayer convocation ceremony here in Washington, D.C. It'll be at 2 p.m. If you're in the area and you'd like to join us, go to frc.org slash prayer. There are a few seats still available. It's a free event, but you have to register because seating is limited. If you're not coming to D.C., you can join us on the Stand Firm app. We'll be broadcasting the event on the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store, download the Stand Firm app, or simply text APP APP to 67742. Well, as I mentioned earlier today, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act by a vote of 218 to 206, with only two Democrats joining the Republicans. The bill, reintroduced by Florida Congressman Greg Stubbe, seeks to amend Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to keep female sports in school athletic programs exclusively for biological females. Now, given how the trans issue hurt Democrats during the election, what does today's vote tell us about that? how well they were listening. Joining me now to discuss the latest is the author of the bill, Congressman Greg Stubbe. He represents the 17th Congressional District of Florida. Congressman Stubbe, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you and Happy New Year. Yeah. Hey, Tony. Thanks for having me. All right. Are you surprised by how the Democrats in the House voted today?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I was surprised two years ago when not a single Democrat voted for this common sense piece of legislation, and today only two. This is going to be an election issue for them in two years. Maybe they think that it's two years is a long time from now, but we saw this as an election issue just a couple of months ago during the presidential race. It's like 72% of Americans believe that boys shouldn't be in girls sports. This is a overwhelmingly supported issue across America. So it is very shocking. And then you had one Democrat vote present. That Democrat is in a district that he only won by like a point and a half, two points. So you can guarantee that that's gonna be an issue he's gonna have to deal with going into the next election cycle. But it just shows you how out of touch Democrats are with the majority of America.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, this has been building really over the last 10 years we've seen this. And you had this legislation several years ago, and it's been moving toward this point. And as you mentioned, it was a big issue in this past fall's election. And there are 13 congressional districts. which Democrats hold today that Donald Trump won in the election. And the Trump campaign made a big deal out of women's sports and the transgender issue. It's not going to go away, as you said. What is keeping them from Again, this is a very common sense piece of legislation. It's about fairness. You don't really have to get into the biology and the whole issue, although I do think it's ideologically the underpinning here is about creation, male, female. They reject the idea that there's absolute truth. But on the surface, this is about fairness. What don't they get?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I don't know, because it is going to be an issue for them as you move into this next cycle. And you're right. I started out my speech talking about the word and truth and that there is men and women and that God created us independently and separately. And so, yeah, I don't understand what they're getting, but they're afraid of their left flank. They're afraid that a progressive Democrat's gonna come along and that's pro-trans or whatever the case may be. The Democrats call this discriminating against trans women and trans boys and all that kind of stuff, made up terminology that 10 years ago nobody would even know what that word means, but apparently now that's a very used term in democratic circles. So the bottom line is politically they're afraid of their left flank. And if a progressive Democrat comes along and fights him on this issue, the far left of their party will root out any type of reason on these issues.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, speaking of the terminology, I'm still struggling to keep up with it because it doesn't make sense. Trans man, trans woman, what exactly does that mean? But you now have a transgendered member of Congress in the Democratic Party that is in the House for the first time. Is that going to lock the Democratic Party into this view that you can choose your own gender?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, no, I think absolutely it does. I believe you're rejecting the truth when you do those type of things. And as I said on my speech on the House floor, they believe there are 74 different genders. And there'll probably, in five years, there'll probably be more than that. One of it is astral gender, that you believe that you're a gender related to outer space. I mean, that's how absurd these things are, but they can define that. They can define what astral gender is, but they can't define what a woman is. And they're so afraid of their left flank that I believe that they're just going to vote no. And they'll try to give you all these reasons as to why. And all the arguments on the floor were all outright lies. There's not going to be anybody checking the gender of sports based on the birth certificate.
SPEAKER 06 :
I want to play one of the clips of one of those from the left flank of the Democratic Party. Ayanna Pressley had this to say about the bill. And I want you to respond to a clip number nine.
SPEAKER 07 :
Imagine you are eight years old trying out for the soccer team and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does.
SPEAKER 10 :
An absolute, complete, outright lie.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, how do they stand there and say this with a straight face?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, because they believe their own lies and then the mainstream media is going to perpetuate that lie. It's just like what the mainstream media has been doing when Trump collusion and all these other kind of things. The bill says it is the gender you were assigned biologically at birth. So none of this that they're arguing is ever gonna happen. It's a lie. It's to try to enrage people. Oh, that's horrible and Republicans are bad. And it's just, it's an outright lie and the mainstream media is gonna perpetuate that lie. It's just unfortunate. All you gotta do, the bill's very short. It's like a page and a half or two pages or whatever it is. Read it for yourself if you don't believe me, but that's exactly what it is, is it's the gender you were assigned biologically at birth will determine what sport you play in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Greg, let me just ask you this, because, I mean, look, this is very straightforward. It's not a lengthy bill. It's not complicated. It's something that 10 years ago we would have thought, why are you even talking about this? But it is reality today. But when you see that a major political party, the other major political party, the Democratic Party, only two members of that party were able to vote for this piece of legislation. Where are we headed as a country?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, we've seen just evil perpetuated during the Biden administration, the complete removal of truth. We've seen that for the last four years. Thankfully, we got President Trump coming in. But I don't think that this party is going to move to the center in any way because, again, they're afraid of their left flank. They're afraid of the trans movement and they're afraid of progressives. And so that's dictating their determinations on issues, despite the fact that that the overwhelming majority of their districts, like those 13 districts that Trump won that currently has a Democratic member of Congress, I can guarantee you if you poll that district, the majority of that district believes that women's sports should be just that and that biological men shouldn't be allowed to compete in those women's sports. But they're so afraid of their left flank, they're gonna continue to act in this manner.
SPEAKER 06 :
And if we have the pattern that we've seen over the, you know, I've been here over 20 years, we see kind of four years of conservative governance, four years of liberal governance. You know, it's an almost back and forth. As you pointed out in your speech on the floor about this today, you talked about the fact that we're created by God, male and female. And you've done that before. You don't hide that fact. You're a Christian. The way forward, is it not recognizing that this is also a spiritual battle that we're going to have to engage in, not just politically, but spiritually with boldness and courage and appealing to heaven?
SPEAKER 10 :
And more people being willing to go to the floor and talk about that, more people being willing to go to the floor and talk about their faith, to talk about the word, to talk about truth. And that's what we have to do to compete against evil in this country. And you're right, 100%, this is a spiritual battle and we should wage it that way, as we're told in Ephesians.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is the Republican Party moving on that? Because I recall over the last few years, there's been some timidity among Republicans of advancing on this issue and speaking, as you just described, openly about the fact that there is truth. Are we making progress?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I hope so. I'm honored to have the opportunity to do it, and I try to do it on a regular basis. Anytime I have the opportunity to address issues like that, I obviously bring up my faith, I bring up the truth, I bring up the word. But yeah, more members need to be comfortable in doing that. I think we've elected, I haven't gotten to know some of the freshmen very well, but most of the people I talk to are obviously Christians, and hopefully they'll allow that to dictate how they act up here, and also Be faithful about putting that out there to the American people that this is why we're doing what we're doing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Congressman Greg Stubbe, I want to commend you for your steadfastness and for your boldness and your compassion as well and for being a good representative, not just for the folks in Florida, but for all of us believers across the country. Thanks for joining us today. Yeah, thanks for having me. All right, after the break, Senator Steve Daines will join me to talk about what's happening over in the Senate. A few things happening over there. We had a confirmation hearing today, the first for Pete Hegseth, who's been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as Secretary of Defense. And there's some other things that Senator Steve Daines is working on to advance the sanctity of human life. There's still some fighters fighting for life. Senator Daines is one of them. He joins us next, so don't go anywhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app and you can have Washington Watch with you wherever you go. You can find it in the App Store. Stand Firm so that you can stand firm. All right. With the inauguration just six days away, Senate committees will be holding hearings this week on President-elect Trump's cabinet nominee, starting today with his pick for defense secretary, Pete Hexeth. And last week, in previewing the Senate agenda and key priorities, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators will work to ensure each nominee, quote, has a fair process without unnecessary delays or obstruction, end quote. I wonder if he told that to the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He also said that they will confirm those nominees swiftly so that the Trump-Vance administration can hit the ground running. Well, Leader Thune himself has put together his own unofficial cabinet, which was rounded out by the recent selection of four GOP senators as informal advisors, his kitchen cabinet. And among them is Senator Steve Daines of Montana, who joins us now. Senator Daines, welcome back to Washington Watch and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 05 :
Glad to join you, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, first, congratulations on being selected by the Majority Leader to be at his side to help navigate. I'm sure that has a lot to do with all of the work you did going into this election cycle. You did a great job expanding the Republican majority there in the Senate. Tell us a little bit about what you'll be doing in that role.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, first of all, I'm thankful that we have two men of faith as you look at the House and the Senate with Speaker Johnson, a man of faith. as well as Leader Thune in the Senate, a man of faith, both very committed to pro-life policies. So it was an honor to serve now in Senator Thune, Leader Thune's inner circle. The way that works is you have the elected leaders, which I served in that capacity as chairman of the NRC, elected by my peers in the last Congress. But then the leader typically asks two, three, or four senators to join his leadership team, not elected but appointed by the leader. And Senator Thune appointed me to that role. I had my first leadership meeting yesterday. I'm thankful for that. Give me a chance to continue to work with Leader Thune as well as work with the entire Republican conference as we look at strategy, setting priorities, and getting policies through the Senate and onto the president's desk.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I'm thankful that you're there as your history on pro-life. You headed up the pro-life caucus there in the Senate. And so I'm glad you're going to be there in the inner circle because I think we're at a point where we need a little agitation on the life issue because some have kind of moved away from that. The party platform moved away from it. And we cannot abandon the unborn. And I think you share that view.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely, Tony. There's got to be a voice here for those who do not have a voice, and that's the unborn. I like using the word pre-born. In fact, we have six grandchildren now, Tony, believe it or not, my grandpa. Our youngest daughter, Caroline, is pregnant with our seventh grandbaby. We're very thankful. And I think every time you go through a pregnancy, if you look at the technology we have, the insights we have into the womb, the amazing, amazing miracle of life from the point of conception. And we've got to be the voice for those little babies that do not have a voice in Congress. That's our job.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you're not just being a voice. You're also taking steps to do that. Yesterday, you led a resolution supporting the Geneva Consensus Declaration. That goes back to the previous Trump administration that Secretary Pompeo and others worked on. Talk a little bit about that and why that's important.
SPEAKER 05 :
Really important, Tony. I think it's one of the more underreported stories and policy items we have here in Washington. And I credit Mike Pompeo, when he was Secretary of State in President Trump's first term, for leading the charge there to get countries around the world the Geneva Consensus Declaration that basically affirms life and marriage. The irony is that we've seen this movement grow We're up to now 39 countries. We were once upon a time a signatory on the Geneva Consensus Declaration until President Biden took office. He removed the United States while at the same time more countries around the world were added to it. Frankly, it's an embarrassment to our country to think that President Biden took us off that important group of 39 countries under President Trump's leadership. I've already talked this with soon to be confirmed Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I've chatted with Marco about that, that we would get the United States back on the Geneva Consensus Declaration and be one of the early acts that President Trump makes, make us the 40th country.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, that was also led by the Department of Health and Human Services, the two together working with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Are we going to have that same type of support within domestically within our Department of Health and Human Services?
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I had that conversation directly with the nominee, you know, RFK Jr. He was here in my office, literally about 25 feet from where I'm speaking to you, Tony. And we had a very robust discussion, in fact, talking about the importance of protecting the pro-life policies in terms of regulations coming out of HHS, but importantly, restoring any policies that the Biden administration has stripped. And to make sure that, as you said, working with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, we are doing all we can within the executive branch to make sure these protections are in place and frankly expanded. And he's told me that he'll have seven direct reports, seven reports to HHS. They would be pro-life type of leaders. And I appreciate that honesty. and frighten us from RFK Jr.
SPEAKER 06 :
Is it your expectation, Senator, that where the last Trump administration left off when it came to the life issue, religious freedom issue, and that involves several departments, not just the White House itself proper, but the entire federal government at a execution level, do you anticipate them returning to that being that where they left off kind of being a benchmark of where they start going forward?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think I do. And it's something that we need to continue to engage as members of Congress. And as you know, Tony, our success that we had in 2024 in the United States Senate by going from just 49 Republican senators and now 53 reclaiming that majority is so important. That was the fruit of our labor of working closely with President Trump as a candidate, very popular. Of course, his success led to our success of making sure we had senators running in these races that were pro-life could work with President Trump, President Trump supported, and could win. And that's exactly what we saw happen. And now we have this new majority that puts us in a strong position to keep working within the Trump administration to make sure life protections are not only protected, but also advanced.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and we're going to have that conversation with you and others, and we'll make sure that that issue does not get lost in the shuffle of the many issues and challenges that lie before us. Senator Steve Daines, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Have a great day. Senator Steve Daines of Montana. All right. Coming up next, we're going to dive in once again to the woke policies that set the stage for what's happening in California. That's next. Don't go away.
SPEAKER 13 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 12 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 13 :
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.
SPEAKER 12 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls. 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 04 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it's never gonna be on the ballot. He's the King of Kings and he's the Lord of Lords, and nothing's gonna 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 06 :
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, and 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 for joining us on this Tuesday. Download the Stand Firm app, go to the app store and get Stand Firm. You can get Washington Watch, you can get the Washington Stand and also Stand on the Word every morning, your devotional. All right, speaking of the Bible, Proverbs 25, 10 reads, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. In other words, if you're overcome when trouble comes your way, you're not prepared. Now, there are some things you just can't prepare for. There are other things you can prepare for. For instance, if you're in charge of protecting your community from devastating fires, you're gonna be proactive with forest management that minimizes risk. You're gonna have fire hydrants that actually have water running to them. And you're going to have a fire department trained to fight fires, not select the right pronouns to prove your diversity. Well, this is exactly what has set California ablaze with fire and the nation with indignation as California Governor Gavin Newsom and others want the federal government to pay for their incompetency. I was on the Hill earlier today and I shared my thoughts in a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson that any federal funding should be conditioned on policy changes. Period. Joining me now to discuss this and to give us the latest is Congressman Kevin Kiley, who serves on three House committees, including the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He represents California's third congressional district. Congressman Kiley, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 02 :
You bet. Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
So Governor Newsom has called for an investigation into the hydrant failures. What do you believe this will reveal about the state's preparedness for wildfires?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I don't think Newsom's so-called investigation is going to reveal much. If anything, it'll probably just kind of disappear. This is what he likes to do when he gets in trouble is announce some sort of investigation to try to blame other people. What we need is actually a federal investigation and oversight into the absolute political failures and failures of competence that at the very least contributed to the scale of this disaster. When you look at the years and years of just absolutely insane forest management policy and water policy and a whole host of other areas that California and Governor Newsom in particular is responsible for, I think that it's going to be important that we lay that out very clearly and that we use the levers that we have at the federal level to have aggressive oversight going forward to make sure that this sort of thing never happens again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Congressman, I know that in California, you know, I don't live there, but I visit there fairly often. You guys don't have any tax. You don't pay taxes. You know, you don't the government doesn't have any money, do they? They don't have anything to operate.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, it's one of the most highly taxed states in the nation. I mean, everything is so expensive there. And it's because of government policy and government taxation. But everything's fine as long as everything's fine. But as soon as there's a problem, we realize that they haven't been focused on doing what you hired them to do and what they're supposed to do with this money of the citizens.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's exactly right. You know, California has the highest taxes in the entire country. And it's, you know, for example, for drivers, they say, well, I pay the highest gas taxes, and yet I'm driving over potholes constantly. Where exactly is the money going? And so on a larger level then, we have the highest taxes in the country, well over a $300 billion budget now. and yet we have fire hydrants that don't have water coming out of them. We have fire departments that were not adequately staffed. We have empty reservoirs. We have forests that are completely overgrown, tinderboxes, millions and millions of acres of overgrown forests. And so people do ask, what is happening to all that money? And so I think that what you see emerging in California is this movement of citizens who are demanding change and common sense in our government. And I like to call it back to basics, you know, build our roads, store our water, manage our forests, maintain our grid, fund our police and fire, do the things government's supposed to do, do them well and do nothing else. And instead, we have a government that's doing a whole lot of other things that it shouldn't be doing, but is utterly failing at the basics.
SPEAKER 06 :
You don't think the fire department should be focused on pronouns?
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, maybe not a top priority or maybe you shouldn't.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me just read. Let me read the Los Angeles Fire Department. This is the bio of the fire chief. First paragraph. Now, people are saying, well, you're making something out of this. No, this is what this is. The fire department's own priority. Kristen Crowley, the 19th fire chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, with her wife and children by her side, becoming the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in LAFD. And then goes on to talk about her priorities are creating diversity, and she's created this whole department focused on diversity. I mean, shouldn't it be focused on fighting fires and preparing for fires?
SPEAKER 02 :
You would think. The good news is I think that a lot of this nonsense is about to end. I mean, you're seeing, for example, the Department of Defense, which has also got caught up in all of this DEI type dogma. That, I think, is all going to go under the new administration. And that these fires, frankly, and what we've seen happen in California, I think will be a wake up call as well. But I mean, you look at L.A., they warned the fire department about cutting funding. But nevertheless, they cut funding. And then at the same time, they passed a resolution just a few weeks ago to reaffirm their status as a sanctuary city. And so the priorities just could not be more backwards.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me ask you about the sanctuary city. Is it true that the reports are that one of the persons that have been detained for starting one of the fires was an illegal immigrant? I mean, I'm just that's one of the reports. Can you verify that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't know that for a fact right now, but we have plenty of stories of people who committed truly heinous crimes. We had a man who murdered his own three adult daughters but had been in police custody the week before and would have been deported if he was here illegally, if not for the sanctuary state law. So I think that, honestly, there's going to be a lot of changes coming in California. I met with President Trump a couple of days ago in Mar-a-Lago, and I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities for us to bring some sanity back when it comes to water, fire, when it comes to the free health care for illegal immigrants, when it comes to the sanctuary state policy, even things like homelessness and high speed rail. California has gotten just so far out of step with with just basic sanity. There's a change coming, though, I think.
SPEAKER 06 :
It can't come soon enough. Congressman, great to see you. Thanks for joining us here on Washington Watch today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Of course. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. As Kevin brought up the issue of the Department of Defense and what's been happening in the military, Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin joins me next to talk about just that. 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 do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 09 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God's will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn't impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can't do that. It's not that you don't love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God's opinion more than your neighbor's opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you're the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together no matter the cost if you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active governance engaged conservative or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself go to frc.org sagecon and take the quiz to find out The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm Tony Perkins, and this is Washington Watch. Glad that you have joined us on this Tuesday. Download the Stand Firm app at the App Store, Stand Firm, and you can have Washington Watch with you no matter where you are. You can get our news feed, our online news and commentary from a biblical perspective, the Washington Stand, and our morning devotional, Stand on the Word. That's found at the App Store, Stand Firm. Our word for today comes from Isaiah 62. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord do not keep silent and give Him no rest till He establishes, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Now in these verses, God calls watchmen, pastors, prophets, and intercessors who, following the example of Jesus, will not remain silent. They are told not to let God rest until He fulfills His promises. The Lord is actually inviting us to join Him in His work by continually reminding Him of what He has pledged and promised to do. And we can confidently participate in this because of the assurance found in verse 8 of this chapter, the Lord has sworn by His right hand and the arm of the Lord His strength. Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies and the sons of the foreigners shall not drink your new wine for which you have labored. Here, God reaffirms that He Himself, the arm of His strength, will accomplish what He has promised. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Well, as we've been discussing, Democrats in California are taking heat for poor planning and bad policies as wildfires rage across Los Angeles County. And a part of this is how they prioritized woke policies over safety. As I often say, elections have consequences, sometimes tragic consequences, and it's fine as long as everything's fine. But in that day of reckoning, in that day of testing, if you're not prepared, the consequences are significant. I mean, I think about what happened just a few months ago with the assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump and the fact that as they delved into the hearings and looking at the Secret Service, the top priority of the commissioner was what? DEI. It almost got the president killed. Now we're looking at California. What's the top priority out there? DEI and wokeness. And literally thousands of structures are burning, lives are being lost. Now, here's the question. We know that for the last four years, our nation's military has been subjected, held captive to these same DEI woke initiatives from the Biden administration. Is our military ready for its day of testing? Joining me now to discuss this and more, retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, Executive Vice President here at the Family Research Council. General Boykin spent the last four years of his 36 and a half year military career serving as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and he was one of the original members of the U.S. Army's Delta Force. General, thanks for joining me today. Good to be with you, Tony. Am I overstating the concern that when you see these entities, these agencies that have a mission to do, Los Angeles Fire Department, fight, prevent fires, Secret Service, keep the protectees safe, our nation's military focused on our national defense and our protection. When they are distracted by these DEI woke policies that take priority, they fail in their mission.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, has anybody ever shown you any of the positive results from this woke agenda that has been forced onto our military, but also forced onto our whole government? And many of the major corporations in this country today have done exactly the same thing, although they're relooking it now. Right. So it's fine as long as everything's fine.
SPEAKER 06 :
Not fine with me. Well, but in the day of adversity, when what you're supposed to do is put to the test, if you have been, your energy and your efforts have been distracted on making sure you pick the right pronouns. And I mean, the military's actually put out videos. I know. Teaching sailors, airmen, and soldiers, and even Marines to use the right pronouns.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's disgusting. I don't know what else to say other than that it is disgusting because what we're doing is we're spending a lot of money and a lot of very precious time, particularly in the military, time that needs to be spent out preparing to win the nation's wars. And when you have our people sitting in a classroom because of this woke agenda or when you have them getting kicked out of the military because they won't take a shot that they don't want and we find out now they didn't need to begin with. That's where we are. Are you concerned about the readiness of our military? I'm very concerned about it. You and I have talked about it and I'm very concerned about it and I'm concerned about it because First of all, we can't meet our recruiting goals anymore. And I saw something today that was talking about the Navy couldn't meet theirs, and they had lowered their standards in an effort to try and meet them last year, 2024. So where are we headed with all of this? We're headed for oblivion. I mean, we're destroying our military.
SPEAKER 06 :
We are extremely vulnerable right now. Our nation is vulnerable because our military has not been focused on preparing for its mission. That's exactly right. The incoming administration has pledged to fix this. What are the top three areas that the incoming administration should be focused on to correct the course the military is on?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, the first thing is tell all of the DEI people on these installations your day of undermining the chain of command of our people here is over. Take a walk. We've got to get rid of them. We've got to make sure everybody understands that it's gone. The second thing is we've got to relook our priorities with regards to what we're acquiring because we've got to look at what our enemies are acquiring and what technology they have that we need to be up to speed on. And maybe we need to change some of our priorities with regards to that. And then the final thing is we just need the president to go back and change the names of these forts. Now, you look at me like, well, what difference does that make? You know as a Marine that tradition is very, very important. You take pride in being part of an organization that has fought battles before. And these forts, these forts have seen a lot of young men and women go through there and now we have ruined the history and the legacy of them because we've done something as stupid as that.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't think people understand the importance and the power of history. Because our history and our celebration of our history shapes who we become and who we will be. And when we lose that history, we then are, we kind of live in a vacuum where we can redefine everything. And that's what I think this was intended to do, was redefine our military into not a fighting force, but a politically correct, you know, I don't know what you'd, but it's certainly not a fighting force. And it's going to take someone tough to correct this. And I think and from my vantage point in the last administration, I know that President Trump never got a handle on the Department of Defense. That was one of the areas State Department actually was making progress under Pompeo. The Department of Defense never got there. And I think that's in part why he has chosen Pete Hegseth to lead. But there are some that raise questions. He had his first confirmation hearing today. Some raised question about his past. And, you know, he's young, which I don't think that's a problem. I mean, I think we've had very young leaders before. And I think energy, you're going to have to have somebody that's got some energy to come into that, into the Department of Defense and change what needs to be changed. But there's questions about his moral character that raise concerns. And I think in the military, you talk about tradition, you talk about how the military operates. It operates different than corporate America. It operates different than the political environment because you have to have trust. And that means that morality is not just a you know, kind of a ideological thing. It is a very practical element of building a cohesive fighting force. Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you know, up until Barack Obama was president, it was illegal for you as a married man or married woman to engage in any intimate relationship with someone, it was illegal. It was a court martial offense. And now, look at where we are with this. And I... And what was the reason for that?
SPEAKER 06 :
Explain the reason for that. I mean, there's a very practical reason.
SPEAKER 01 :
It is all about the cohesion and the unity of the organizations If you have men sleeping with another man's wife, then you have just interrupted or disrupted the cohesion of that particular organization.
SPEAKER 06 :
When you're deployed and your wife or your spouse is back home, You want to know that the military is saying, you know, I'm protecting your relationship because anyone who transgresses that relationship between a husband and a wife is going to be subject to criminal charges in the military. So that that person who is deployed at a forward post or in combat can be singularly minded on their mission and not distracted by what's going on back home. That's just one example.
SPEAKER 01 :
I tell you, it's a serious enough issue that when I was commanding all the Green Berets, I relieved a group commander. A group commander is a brigade commander. He's a colonel. And I relieved one for exactly that. And I could have court-martialed him, but I looked at the situation and I gave him an opportunity to resign. and he did when he realized that I was going to fire him and take him to a court-martial anyhow. So this is a serious issue. I mean, it's a really serious issue, and look, if you look at what has happened to our military since our president, our current president, that is, Joe Biden, has been in office, you've got... Across this country, you've got people that don't want to even talk about or think about joining our military.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
And how are we going to sustain? You ask me, you know, are we suffering in terms of readiness? Yes. And part of it is because nobody wants to serve in the military anymore because there's a generation of people right now that were forced out of the military because they wouldn't take a shot. Over 8,000 in the army.
SPEAKER 06 :
Speaking of that, I want to transition to one final topic before we leave. Just got a few minutes left. President Biden yesterday speaking at the State Department, kind of giving his farewell address on the foreign policy front. He said, compared, I'm quoting him, compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen. During my presidency, I've increased America's power at every dimension. The world is on fire. I was reading the armed conflict location and events data, which is an independent, impartial, international nonprofit group. In the past five years that encompasses the Biden administration, conflict levels have almost doubled. The world is on fire. This administration has been a failure from day one.
SPEAKER 01 :
Nobody but Joe Biden believes that, and I'm not even sure that he believes it. Anybody with a brain, anybody with any understanding of what's going on in America does not believe anything that he said there. He was wrong on every point, every point.
SPEAKER 06 :
You were a part of the attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran under Jimmy Carter's administration. Ronald Reagan came in, and on the day that he was sworn into office, those hostages were released. Donald Trump has drawn a line that those hostages in Gaza that Hamas is holding has to be relieved. What's at stake for him in making sure that's fulfilled?
SPEAKER 01 :
His credibility, obviously. I mean, listen, I was glad to hear him say that. But this is a different regime in Iran at this particular time. And Iran has a lot of influence over what's going on there. I hope that it does turn out that they released them over the weekend, but I remember it was on the day of his inauguration that they let those hostages, after 444 days, let them out and brought them home.
SPEAKER 06 :
The Israeli hostages have been held longer. At this point, what can we just had about a minute left? What can Donald Trump do if they're not released on that day of inauguration?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, the first thing is he's going to have to pull out the stops on all opportunities that we have to use U.S. power. And that means power in the economic sector. You're going to have to sanction them to the extent that they can't even buy bread. I mean, he's going to have to do a lot of stuff. What he can't do is go in and make a parking lot out of Gaza. because that would be the thing that a lot of people would ask for.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it's almost that way now. I mean, 90% of the residents of Gaza are displaced already. I'm glad he said it, but I just know that the bar is high that it has to do it in order to maintain his credibility internationally. Now, there's movement. It says it may be happening soon, but we will see. General Boykin, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today. Good to be with you. All right. And folks, I want to thank you for joining us as well. If you've not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, where you can keep up with the latest news and commentary from a biblical perspective, I encourage you to do that. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app or text APP to 67742. Thanks so much for joining us. I leave you once again with the encouraging words the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done everything you can do, when you've prayed, when you've prepared, and when you've 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, Kim Munson and her guests discuss the vulnerabilities inherent in today's modern conveniences, the silent threats posed by global technological advancements, and the pressing influences that shape our daily lives. From the perils of government-induced inflation to the power grid's fragile state, we examine the landscape of force-versus-freedom and the remnants of American patriotism in the fight for liberty.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's the Kim Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 12 :
That seems to me like government is establishing a religion.
SPEAKER 01 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 12 :
If you give people rights, women's rights, gay rights, whatever, there can't be equal rights if there are special rights.
SPEAKER 01 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 12 :
Surveys show that people still really prefer freedom over government force.
SPEAKER 01 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 12 :
Indeed. Let's have a conversation. Welcome to the Kim Munson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You are each treasured, you're valued, you have purpose today. Strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Tuesday, Producer Joe. Happy Tuesday, Kim. And we've got a great show, Lauren Fix, today. So I can't wait to hear what she has to say. She is the Car Coach Reports. We like to talk about freedom of mobility, which is under attack big time by those PBIs. And so looking forward to that. And then second hour, you, Producer Joe, Producer Luke, we're going to continue our book review of economics in one lesson, profits and inflation. That's going to be interesting.
SPEAKER 16 :
I think the inflation chapter is the only chapter in this book Joe Biden read.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well done, Producer Joe. That is true. The government-induced inflation is a real problem. So check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You will get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com. Text line is 720605. And thank you to all of you who support us. We do appreciate you. We are an independent voice and definitely appreciate that. And you can hear us 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday on all the KLC. uh platforms which is klz 560 am klz 100.7 fm the klz website and the klz app the first hour is rebroadcast one to two in the afternoon second hour 10 to 11 at night uh the show podcast can be found at my website you can just click on each particular day and it'll bring up a written summary as well as the uh embedded podcast and also you can find those on spotify and itunes Now, we look at these issues and search for truth and clarity through this lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Socialism ultimately comes down to force. It's not about free stuff. The free stuff is just the carrot to get people to vote for it. But the government cannot give something to someone that they have not first taken from someone else. And it might be either taxes, fees, inflation. debt which we have to pay off and the next generation has to pay off as well and that's not compassionate whatsoever it's not compassionate to take other people's stuff whether or not it's their rights their property freedom livelihoods opportunities or lives and force can be a weapon policy unpredictable and excessive taxation fear coercion government-induced inflation World Economic Forum's agenda that plays into the globalist elites in the United Nations, the Colorado State Legislature, the Colorado Governor, the World Health Organization, land use codes, zoning regulations, force fees, conservation easements, national monument designations. The list goes on and on and we need to walk that back because all those things infringe upon our freedom. And that's why we do the show is because we want to reclaim our beautiful state, Colorado, and we want to make sure that we reclaim the American idea. Yesterday's show with Maria Subnick and John Spence was sobering for me, Producer Joe, because we talked about the vulnerabilities of our electric grid. and our ports and basically everything that we have come to um take for granted all these modern conveniences our phones all of this is basically um there's chinese technology it seems to be like embedded in everything and that they could turn it off with the flip of a switch so you wouldn't need to do something from a military standpoint you could just turn off everything and we basically would be so vulnerable and I was I was just very it was very sobering for me all day yesterday.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and I also was thinking about it as well. Think about all of the things that are on our power grid, like the grocery stores and all of their coolers and stuff. That'll affect our food. That'll affect quite literally everything all at once. And it was very awestrucking for me as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and then I was thinking about people that, you know, the portable oxygen technology where people can actually have portable technology if they need to be on oxygen, that they have freedom of mobility to go where they want to when they want to. But, gosh, if they didn't have electricity for a while, that would be a problem to run their machines at home. Just think of all the medical challenges that we would have.
SPEAKER 16 :
Exactly. And yes, I know we have some backup power for those emergency places because they're emergency places, but that backup power only lasts for so long. And especially with this green policies that they're trying to make, it just limited how much power we can actually keep in reserves even more so.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes. And so we are in a very vulnerable position. And Donald Trump certainly has his work cut out for him. The inauguration is next Monday. And it seems that the Biden-Harris administration is doing everything they can to put all kinds of marbles in front of him as he's trying to take as well as he will become our next president. And As I reflected on this, I see this tremendous evil, all these terrible things that have the potential to happen. But this morning I was thinking about it. There are so many patriots. And it was just a remnant at our founding of people that stood up against the most powerful empire on the face of the earth. And because they were on the right side, the right side of God, the side of valuing the individual and individual liberty, and had that as their ideal, they prevailed. And so there is a lot of good in this world as well, and we need to focus on that. We need to remedy this evil that we have going on, but there's a lot of really good folks out there.
SPEAKER 16 :
I absolutely agree, and I think the thing that we should definitely focus on the most, the founding fathers focused on equal opportunities, not equalness across the board and equal conclusions of things.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and we're seeing what that plays out. That's now your DEI, your diversity, equity, and inclusion, or SEL if you see that, social emotional learning. All of those things are basically – Just trying to get to equal outcomes. As a friend of mine said, ultimately the equal outcome is all of us peasants will share a saltine cracker. And what's been amazing about America is us, the peasants, us, the regular people, with liberty, we can go out and pursue our hopes and dreams and create wealth and thrive and prosper. And that is what's under attack, Producer Joe. But we will continue to fight in this battle of ideas.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, ma'am. We're in a trying time, and we've got to do everything we can while we can right now.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. When I say we were made for this moment, I wasn't kidding. Our word of the day, I don't know why. I was looking at these policies, and somehow I heard this word. So this will be fun for you to use this today. It's kooky. K-O-O-K-Y. It's an adjective. It could be characteristic of a kook, strange, or crazy. It could be, number two, irreverent, idiosyncratic, or unexpected, not normal, or crazy, or insane. I would say so many of these policies, as the old Biden-Harris administration is going out the door, are just downright kooky. So your challenge is to use the word kooky in a sentence today. Our quote of the day is from Thomas Jefferson. It was a letter to Benjamin Rush in 1800 regarding tyranny. And, of course, Thomas Jefferson was our third president. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence. And... He said this, he said, I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. And that, again, is Thomas Jefferson. This day in history is several things in 1794. Dr. Jesse Bennett performs the first successful cesarean section operation in the U.S. on his wife, Elizabeth, delivering a baby girl at their home in Edom, Virginia. In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court rules race separation on trains is unconstitutional. And 1943, World War II ends. In Casablanca, it was the Casablanca Conference between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and other Allied representatives. And in 1943, the World War II, Japan begins Operation Q, that's withdrawal of its troops from Guadalcanal. So the Japanese, what they were doing is they were trying to capture a number of these different islands in the Pacific as they wanted to move on down and conquer Guadalcanal. Australia. And so the fact that our Marines and our soldiers, our army in Guadalcanal, that was really a very difficult battle, but they prevailed. In 1943, the Japanese began their withdrawal. 1952, I couldn't believe this. And Joe, you know I take this for granted, and that is my coffee. In 1952, the rationing of coffee in the Netherlands ends. So people could only have a certain amount of coffee through, obviously, World War II, but that rationing didn't end until 1952. That's unbelievable. Yeah, that is kind of shocking. And we know that Europeans love their coffee.
SPEAKER 16 :
Most definitely. I mean, that's kind of one of their specialties, if you would.
SPEAKER 12 :
I know. Let's see. Again, weather events. And I bring these up because the weather, the climate has always been changing. Weather always changes. And that's why you should check out a climate conversation dot com. so that you can see the documentary and the podcast that we've created with scientists and experts regarding this whole narrative. And you can watch that for free at climateconversation.com. But in 1952, a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevadas killed 26. 1967, New York Times reports the Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments. Huh. Huh. Huh. And there's the government's still doing that, I would say. And 1985. Interesting 16 were indicted by the US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees. This would be now 16 states at least, I think. So that was interesting. And then in 1995, Mexico pledges profits from its state-owned Penex $7 billion per year oil revenues in an effort to secure U.S. congressional approval of loan guarantees. President Clinton approves a $20 billion U.S. aid package for Mexico. Fast forward to today, people have been going through the Biden-Harris administration, have just been waltzing through Mexico to the U.S. southern border and then coming on in. So here we've given them all that help back then, and I'm pretty sure Donald Trump is going to expect them to step up and start to help in securing our border. Two other things. This is so tragic. It says, 2019 Americans' chance of dying from an accidental opioid overdose is higher than a car accident for the first time, according to the U.S. National Safety Council. And again, these opioids apparently are coming in from China and I know many people that I know, they're close to me. And they've lost sons to opioid overdoses. And what better way, again, from a military standpoint, is to come in and decimate your young fighting men age population, but through something like this. I find this so tragic, Producer Jo.
SPEAKER 16 :
It is absolutely tragic. And, you know, you mentioned your friends lost sons. But imagine those sons' friends as well. Those friends now are missing someone at such a young age. They get to experience that kind of tragedy. It's just so unfortunate that that is what it is because I've lost friends, unfortunately, to it as well. Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
And in a way, it's kind of like losing friends in war. And it is. It's a different kind of a war. These are different kinds of attacks, but we are definitely at war in this battle of ideas. Last thing, 2019. And again, it's unbelievable what Donald Trump has been up against. But U.S. President Donald Trump denies war. that he's a Russian agent after the New York Times. Remember the New York Times over here in 1967 had a incorrect story. We talked about another one the other day. But anyway, the New York Times article states, the FBI started an investigation and the Washington Post raised issues over a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Remarkable. I don't know what else to say. But again, that was 2019.
SPEAKER 16 :
And yet Joe Biden, we have confirmed, is working with China, one of our biggest enemies, but that's okay.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, it's and yes. And so we have those in our government that are working against the American people. And I think it's hard for people to get their brains around it. But boy, we're getting more and more proof on that. These are important discussions. We have them because of our sponsors. And the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team knows that there are things that can keep us up at night. So that's why you should make a complimentary appointment and talk with them about your insurance coverage. You might be able to save money if you bundle things together. But you won't know until you've set up that appointment. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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SPEAKER 12 :
Yes. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Munson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. January 23rd, Thursday evening, you got a choice of two great things to be doing. One of those would be to go to the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo, Colorado. And they are going to have an On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo, which was taken captive in the Vietnam War by the North Koreans. And the crew was held captive for over a year. Bob Chica, who was one of those crew members, is going to be presenting. And that is down at the Center for American Values. You can get more information by going to AmericanValuesCenter.org. And we had Drew Dixon last week, who is a co-founder. He's a Medal of Honor recipient there. And that's one of the things they do is honor our Medal of Honor recipients. But he said, just let them know that you're coming because they want to make sure they have enough chairs. And many times they will also have a little reception afterwards. So you can do that by AmericanValueCenter.org. American Values Center dot org. And again, that is on January 23rd. The other thing is, is I am the president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. It's an all volunteer group. And we met last night for our initial meeting. getting ready for this legislative session. And I'm so excited to welcome Dave Evans, who is a listener, who has joined us on the board, and Corey Onusorg, who he ran for House District 23 seat here in Colorado. They are joining us. And that other set of directors is Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Raimi Johnson, Mary Jansen, and of course, welcoming Dave Evans and Corey Onozorg. We will be watching legislation. We will be taking positions on things regarding taxes, property rights, protecting TABOR, Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights, school choice. And one of the things that you need to do, first of all, is understand what's going on out there. And that is why joining us for $25 for a year, just $2.08 a month, you will receive hours and hours of our volunteer analysis on what's happening down at the Statehouse. And you will also receive the email that we send out regarding our positions on different bills that goes to the senators, representatives, and the governor. And so you can get more information on that by going to coloradotaxpayer.org. And our event to kick off the session is going to be Thursday the 23rd at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. Tickets for that are just $10 each. We'll have a number of legislators there. We will be presenting our cut awards. Assistant Senate Minority Leader Cleve Simpson and our... House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese will both be presenting as well. And so you will not want to miss that. And you can buy your tickets by going to coloradotaxpayer.org. And again, when you see my fellow board members out and about, say thank you, because what they're doing is an amazing, amazing service for the people of Colorado. So first thing regarding some of our I think this is the first thing I want to mention. The Biden-Harris administration, all of those over all these years have done subtle things to kind of kneecap America, the American idea, the American people. And one of the things, remember Obama and his red, white, and blue? The blue in his red, white, and blue, it looked more like the blue in the Pepsi logo. And I've always thought about that, and I think that that was a subtle message of disrespect for America. Another thing, and text me if you remember this, 720-605-0647. I remember a photo of him in the White House where he's trying to look very pensive and he's thinking and he's got his hand basically on his cheek or something. But he has all of his fingers down except the middle finger, which I thought, hmm. That's interesting. I really think that that was, again, maybe a really subtle or unsubtle message of what he feels about America and the American people. Now, you look perplexed, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
It just kind of reminds me of the subtle, not subtle advertising that happens in movies, like they pan the picture and then big Apple logo. It's kind of like that, where it's just obvious enough, I think that's the point.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I think this is super interesting. This is from Raw Story. It says, Texas Governor Greg Abbott defies Biden and orders flags full staff for the Trump inauguration. And again, I think this is not so it's it's subtle, but not so subtle. And it says Biden had ordered the flags to be flown at half staff during a national period of mourning for the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who was a Democrat on December 29th. Biden's presidential decree called for the flags displayed on all public buildings and grounds and all military posts and naval stations and all naval vessels of the federal government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories and possessions to be flown at half staff for a period of 30 days from the date of his death. He says that 30 day mourning period was set to go through the Trump inauguration on January 20th. Trump posted on Truth Social on January 3rd, the Democrats are all giddy about our magnificent American flag potentially being at half mass during my inauguration. They think it's so great and are so happy about it because in actuality, they don't love our country and they only think about themselves. I think Trump is spot on on that, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
Absolutely. And I also think it's a gross overreach of power to say that because the purpose of it going to half mass is a traditional thing. It's not something that he can just deem, this is how we're going to do it now. Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
But again, I think these are subtle things. And these subtle things, I think we don't even understand it, are really kind of a punch in the gut to the American people. And we need to recognize it and push back on it. So good for Governor Abbott. I appreciate him doing that. The next thing I want to mention is Denver. mike johnston and hancock before him and then obviously jared polis the governor all of this stuff really uh is at their feet and uh that is that um there was a there were four weekend stabbings on the 16th street mall were you aware of that yeah four two people died no i was not aware of that yeah what yeah and it was like about five or six in the afternoon that would be when People, it's not okay like at 2 a.m. in the morning, but at this time it says, this is by Channel 7, a man has been arrested in connection to four apparent random attacks along the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver over the weekend. Three people were stabbed Saturday within eight blocks of each other along the 16th Street Mall. One of those victims died as a result of their injuries. Then a fourth person was stabbed on Sunday evening near 16th Street and Market, not far from Union Station. The victim was taken to the hospital where they were pronounced dead. Denver police linked the same suspect to all four attacks in a Sunday night social media post. They announced the adult male had been taken into custody. Name is Elijah Cottle by a spokesperson with Denver County Court. It then goes on to say the first stabbing on Saturday occurred near Tremont Street around 5.12 p.m. That's right, late afternoon. It says the male victim in the first incident transported himself to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and has since been discharged. During a press conference on Sunday evening, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the first victim was slashed in the face. Moments later, around 5.17 p.m., police said the suspect attacked a second victim, stabbing a Hispanic woman near California Street. I find that interesting that they would put that in there, Hispanic woman, but they did. Near California Street on the mall, her identity has not been released by the police. She was taken to the hospital and she died. Can you believe this? Five o'clock in the afternoon.
SPEAKER 16 :
I also find it interesting that they didn't mention the race of the other people that got stabbed, but only her because Hispanic.
SPEAKER 12 :
I know. I know. But, boy, going downtown, going down to the 16th Street Mall... they've got a real problem. Denver's in such decline. Remember when we were talking with, I think it was Wade Miller last week with the, let's see, the Center for Renewing American Values. He had said that he used to love to come to Denver, the 16th Street Mall. It was a beautiful, pristine city. Under Democrats, it is dirty, it is dangerous, and we've got to try to reclaim it, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
I used to, well, and I'm from Oklahoma, so when I saw pictures of Denver, I saw bustling roads, just people all about having a good time, enjoying everybody on the roads. But now I'm nervous to even park down here.
SPEAKER 12 :
I know. Yeah. And so we've got to reclaim our beautiful state, and we're going to work on that. And one of the ways we do that is because of our sponsors. Hooters Restaurants has been a great sponsor of both the Kim Munson Show and America's Veterans Stories. And they have five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. It is going to be a big football weekend, great place to watch the games. And, again, that is Hooters Restaurants. And great specials for lunch Monday through Friday, so be sure and check that out. And the show happens because of our sponsors. And for everything residential real estate, a new build, buy your home, sell your home, reach out to Karen Levine.
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SPEAKER 12 :
And welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMunson.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. And you can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something is a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And just coming in on the text line regarding that woman that died from the stabbing on the 16th Street Mall, Yvonne said that she was an American Airlines flight attendant, if you can believe. Here she is. In Denver, unbelievable. Unbelievable. We've got to get things cleaned up here. And thank you to Laramie Energy for their goal sponsorship of the show. We are realizing it's reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from natural gas, oil, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and allows us to control our own personal climate. Producer Joe. I like that one. You like that one in there? Okay. Lauren Fix is on the line. I can't wait to talk with her. You know her. She is the Car Coach Reports. There is much to talk about. Lauren Fix, welcome.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thanks for having me back, and Happy New Year to everyone. We can still say that, I think, for another couple weeks.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think so. And, yeah, we've got things that we're excited about. And I know this may seem like a smaller thing. I was just out in California this last weekend. And sometimes I think about California. I think about happy days and Greece and cars and these vintage cars now. And I've seen, and you had mentioned this, the Daily Caller reported that California wants to limit vintage cars. And I kind of think of California as vintage cars Sunday afternoon driving around showing them off.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, absolutely. And remember, that's where all of this came from. If you're thinking about vintage cars and collector cars and hot rods, the car culture is California. And there's billions of dollars in that industry. Let me just qualify that. There's the Special Equipment Manufacturers Association. There's all the suppliers that make stuff for the racing industry. If you're thinking NASCAR, Formula One, et cetera, et cetera, there's a million different race series. And there's all kinds of cars all the way back from the 1900s all the way up, whether you're building street rods, rat rods, whatever it be, classic cars, collector cars. Pebble Beach is located there. Racetracks are located in California. And again, more genius moves from the genius Gavin Newsom. Of course, I'm being sarcastic. And what they're planning to do is they sent out a survey. This is how California operates. They tell you one thing and they do something else. And you can see what's going on with all the fires. And I won't get into that because I'm sure you've covered that quite extensively. So what they're planning to do is they sent out a survey to everyone. People got surveys who own collector cars, easy to find through the state registration. You own an old Mustang, an MG, a Corvette, a Mercedes, something. Something you enjoy driving, whether it's historically significant, Family owned it forever. Somebody bought it when they came back in the service. Whatever it might be. It could be something of serious value or no value. Received a survey in the mail. Most people, I think, threw it out, but a lot of people are dumb enough to fill it out. And the survey won how many miles you drive per year. where you drive, and a bunch of other details. Now, mind you, people that own these cars, and that includes myself, we don't go out and put thousands of miles on our cars. I have an older Porsche. If I put a couple hundred miles on it a year, that's a lot. So why are they asking these questions? Because you're saying they're polluted. And they want to remove them from the road. They want to remove all collector cars. Remember, the Peterson Museum is down there, too. It's a huge museum in the L.A. area. And so when you start thinking about this, it does not make any sense. and they come out with a survey. Then they bring it back and go, oh, well, you know what? There's hundreds of miles. We can do the math. Look at all the pollution, these collector cars. We need to remove them all from the road, and that's exactly their plan.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's crazy. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, because of... A whole bunch of different factors, but a lot of incompetence regarding these L.A. fires. They ostensibly want to protect the air, but think about what's happening to the air because of governmental, whatever, incompetence from these fires. Just think about what's happening to the air there, Lauren Fixx.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, my gosh. The cars that are burning. And I have to tell you this story. A friend of mine was at the Detroit Auto Show. His name shall remain nameless. He was there for the evening before the show for media. So that was like Thursday night. And Ford did a presentation. And they showed some performance cars. And he asked, he goes, oh, we're in electric cars. Just because he likes to stir a little bit. And they said, oh, we're not showing electric cars. We're only showing performance cars in Detroit. Interesting, because they know that President Trump's going to remove the mandate and the $7,500 tax credit. It's coming. Can't come quick enough. And manufacturers are aware of that. So they're now showing hybrids. They're showing gasoline-powered vehicles that customers want. Fun cars, whether it be a Bronco or a performance Mustang or a pickup truck, whatever customers want, they're going to make. So he was talking to one of the communications people, some young girl, and she says, you know, all those fires in California are because of gasoline-powered cars. And I'm thinking... Where did that come from? You have to connect the dots on that. Because the fact is, the electric cars that caught fire, and I have a friend who left his Tesla in the garage, burned for days and days and days and pollutes substantially worse because they're all plastic. And all the chemicals that are burning from those batteries are going into the environment. So that's polluting worse. than anything an old MG would do or fill-in-the-blank type car. And it doesn't make sense. This is typical California. So we're going to ban, they want to use this as an excuse to ban gasoline-powered cars. Their new narrative is all these fires were all caused by climate change and gasoline-powered cars, which is absurd. You cannot connect those dots.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I was talking with someone when I was out in Southern California, and he said that it used to be that in some of these areas they would have goats, that they would graze goats, and that helped keep the underbrush under control, and that the environmentalist, and he also said that many of those that did this grazing with goats were entrepreneurs, and so California wanted to get rid of Go grazing, get rid of entrepreneurs, which got rid of just a very effective way to try to control the underbrush. And I thought that that was super interesting. And so my colleague said, ultimately, those in power, they want to get rid of entrepreneurs, whether or not it might be cattlemen or sheep farmers or sheep ranchers or ranchers. realtors or car dealers. They want to get rid of entrepreneurs, I think, Lauren Fix.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think it's more than that. I think you're not thinking big enough. What happens in 2028? The Olympics are supposed to be in L.A. Well, how are they going to get all those people around? Because I remember reading when they said the Olympics, how are they going to get all those people? Because L.A. traffic is crazy. I don't care if it's 2 o'clock in the morning or 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It's always crazy. And there's always rush hour. It's just a lot of cars on the road. And there is no mass transit in many cases. So people drive. Nobody walks in L.A. as the song goes back from the 80s. I think it was the Pretenders that did that song. But what's interesting about the whole Los Angeles, and this is something to watch, the Olympics, where are they going to house all those people? They've got a problem. They have not built any of the stadiums, which you can build quickly if you need to. They have some stuff that they already have. But in order to have the Olympics on a global basis to house all those people, get those people from place to place, You need housing. You need transportation. And I've been kind of watching. And yesterday, Gavin Newsom said when I interviewed him, although he looked like he was high, he was wavering around. I thought it was kind of weird. Maybe. Who knows? He said that they're going to reimagine Los Angeles. Oh, there's the word. We're going to reimagine Los Angeles. We're going to get people around better. We're going to have multi-family housing. So in other words, you want it to look like A 15-minute city. Hmm. Maybe that's the plan. Rebuild everything quick just for the Olympics to have the new. 15-minute cities. It's coming. I think it's time to tell him to go move to another planet because that's not going to fly in L.A. All those people that had expensive homes, who had normal homes, who lost their homes. And I've been all over that area, not just Malibu, Pacific Palisades, all that area. It's horrible. Pasadena. And a lot of those fires are arson. And they've caught a lot of those people. But once the fire starts, stopping it is very difficult.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and then these reports that I was listening last night on one of the evening shows that there's a reservoir for Pacific Palisades that's been empty since a year ago, February, I think. where where where is the proper management on the course and out here in Colorado and I had a colleague that sent some information over to me that I'm we've got I'm just reporting it now I've got to find it but we actually had the Corvin engineers out here in Colorado that released water out of chat real chatfield reservoir out here what is on earth is going on Lauren fix well
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm not a water management expert, but I will tell you, when you have a drone, which I do personally own one, you can sometimes see things that maybe they don't want you to see. So I can tell you that that reservoir is full, but a drone will tell you otherwise. They went over it. It was dry as a bone. Actually, most of the reservoirs are. Now, who owns the water in L.A.? And I'm looking up the name for you, but there is a, believe it or not, there is a couple. I forgot the last name. I'm going to look it up for you. But they own the water system. How do you own the water? The water belongs to the people that live in the whole entire state. Well, these people that who owns the water in L.A. and in California, and you will be shocked. You can look it up yourself. Who owns the water in California? It is a couple who were billions of dollars. And she came from the entertainment business. He owned a security company. They met together. She calls himself the little salt and pepper shakers. The fact is they're worth over nine billion dollars and they own the water and they also own water. Palm makes pomegranates, and they also own wonderful wishes of pistachios. And they've been funding money to all of the politicians, lots of money, in order to get rules and regulations like having water in certain areas that they're not supposed to. It is very interesting. It's worth looking up.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, I've got this under duck assist. It says, in California, the state and federal government own all the water, but individuals and entities can acquire rights to use it through licenses, permits, and contracts. The Resnicks, for example, have significant control over water resources due to their ownership of farmland and waterways. water rights and so this goes back to conversations we have on a regular basis it there are people that think that they own their land but actually if they cannot access their land because of licenses permits contracts easements all those things it's the same as not owning your land this is really not where we were headed on this conversation i know but
SPEAKER 13 :
Look it up. If you're listening, look up the Resnick family. It's Stuart and Linda Resnick. Do your own research. They're billionaire farmers that control California's waters. So what does this really mean? Let me get back to the car. I'll circle it back to cars for you. You own a vehicle anywhere in the entire country, anywhere. I don't care if you live in Iowa, you live in Colorado, you live in California, you live in Buffalo, okay? And you're going to get a new insurance bill when your policy is ready to renew, and it's going to be a lot higher. I'm trying to get a number on that right now, actually, because what we're finding is that those fires are going to impact everybody's car bill because they've got to pay for the cars. Car insurance is mandatory. So if your car burns down, I don't care where you live, the insurance companies will say, oh, my gosh, unless you torch it yourself. The cars will get paid out. The house isn't in the store. You need an insurance expert for that. There's been a lot of weird insurance things going on. State Farm pulled out of California, just like many pulled out of Florida because of natural disasters or whatever it might be. So when you're thinking about how does that impact me, I'm listening. I live in Denver. I don't care. I'm just going to listen to Kim and the rest of the things that don't impact me. It's going to impact you. If you live in the Denver area, you're going to get your insurance bill, and you're going to go, how come last year it went up 30% to 40%, and now it's even higher? And if you're going to go buy a new car, it's going to be even higher because of replacement value. So when you start thinking about insurance numbers, this is going to impact the auto industry. Because you're going to buy a car, again, I always say this, every car review I do, and all my car reviews live on CarSmarts now, and all the news and things you and I talk about live on Car Coach Reports, just anyone's wondering. And so I always say at the end of the car reviews, hey, before you go and make your final decision, make sure you test drive all the competition and check with your insurance agent. And I say that because it's now become almost as expensive to insure a car as it is to pay for the car.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 13 :
And it's going to get worse.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and one of my sponsors, Roger Manger with the State Farm and his State Farm Insurance team, I'm going to have to talk with him about that. Lauren, we're going to continue the discussion. I'm talking with Lauren Fix, Car Coach Reports. And all of this happens because of our sponsors. And if you have been injured, be sure and reach out to John Boson and Boson Law.
SPEAKER 15 :
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 11 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Munson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmunson.com. That's Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
And welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something is a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And Lauren Fix is on the line. She mentioned the Resnick couple in California. And there is an interesting piece in Fortune that may be trying to push back a little bit on that narrative. So I think we like to read everything. So check that out. But it's pretty interesting what's going on there. So Lauren, before I get back to Lauren, this year, make sure that you have in your repertoire of giving the USMC Memorial Foundation to help with the remodel of the Marine Memorial here in Colorado. It is tax deductible, and we really need to make sure that we remember and honor those that have given their lives or been willing to give their lives for our liberty. And a great way to do that is to support the USMCMemorialFoundation.org. Lauren Fix, you recently were on a publication, a video, regarding Trump's impact on tariffs and EVs. And so what should people know about that?
SPEAKER 13 :
I've also got a report coming out tonight at 6.15 Eastern on Car Coach Reports that is going to cover a little bit more detail on the electric vehicle mandate, the $7,500 tax credit and why it's going away and the impact not just to the dealers but also to consumers. Because Trump said on day one, day one, I'm going to end the electric vehicle mandate. He's been saying that on the campaign trail. We want him to stand by his word. And why people are going, oh, you know, Elon Musk isn't going to like that. You know, he's Tesla. He's going to want that because that's how he sells cars. Oh, no. If I can eliminate my competition. let's let's get rid of that mandate he doesn't care he sells elon musk and tesla own about 68 of the electric vehicle market so all the cars that are evs that are out in the roadway most of them are teslas and he makes them all like M&Ms. He keeps making them. He just finally did an upgrade on the Model Y. I mean, they were all looking the same forever and ever and ever. So it's a little facial update. But other than that, they still look like the Mentors, if you're a Harry Potter fan. Basically, they're faceless, soulless cars. But I wouldn't own one personally. But the American Field Petroleum is putting out a huge push, billions of dollars. TV, radio, film, everything. Actually, I think it's millions of dollars. It's called Day One Priority, and they're putting it out there saying, President Trump, you said you were going to remove this mandate. We want this mandate gone. And it's not because they're part of the fuel industry. It's because they claim that it's greener, but it's not. What's charging all these electric cars? It's going to be coal-powered plants. It depends what state you're in, nuclear power. The other thing, of course, would be natural gas. But electricity comes from somewhere. It doesn't come from the air. And don't tell me, oh, solar and wind. They can only give us up to 18% of what we need. And those windmills, when they go bad, the motors die, they just let them sit there now. They used to take the wind propellers down and they made a fiberglass. They have to bury them on the ground because fiberglass is not recyclable. And solar panels, same problem. A bird hits a panel and you're like, oh, I'll just get a new one put in. Great. Well, that panel has to go to a salvage yard. And again, if you want to do something on the Internet, you have nothing to do. Look up solar panel salvage yards. They're all over the world stacking up because once they're damaged for whatever reason, whether it's in shipping or they don't work anymore or something hits it, too bad. They're junk. And there's no way to recycle those. But again, this is very typical of how the left operates. They tell you this is the best thing, and then when it doesn't work, they have another problem on the backside. So I expect in the next five years we'll be going, what are we going to do with all these propellers and all these solar panels and all these batteries from all these electric cars? That's going to be a problem. And it's not just going to be our problem. It's going to be our children and our grandchildren's problem. And interesting. Before I go further down this, in L.A., where the fires were, and I just found this last night. It was late at night. I think I sent it to you, Kim. They found like a basement full of batteries, and they were from the electric bikes. Someone had been storing them in like an underground location. The problem is the fires are very close to those. And although they may no longer work, some may not work. If they catch fire, there's still a lot of minerals in there that would go up like a big kaboom. So that could be a problem. So again, where do you store these? What do you do with these? Someone just put them in some sort of... underground location, whatever. And again, we don't know if there's radiation coming out of that or anything. No one knows anything. All we know is that it's not good for the environment. But don't worry, we're going to take all your classic cards. Again, very poor thoughts from Gavin Newsom and the geniuses in California. But either way, the $7,500 tax credit is going away. So is the mandates going away as long as President Trump follows through on his promises. So what does that mean? That's actually a good thing. Our manufacturers are building cars because they're being forced to, and they don't make money on them. And a perfect example is Ford loses $44,000 in every F-Series truck that's all electric, but they make them because they have to. But other brands are thinking ahead and have already transitioned to hybrid. Even Volvo, who is all about, well, no, we're all electric. It's only electric. They said, you know what, we're going to continue to make hybrid vehicles as long as customers want them. Well, that's what customers want. They want the good fuel economy. They want to have the range. They want to be able to drive wherever they want to go instead of being in Colorado, you know, up in Ravidir Pass going, uh-oh. I don't have a charger. Where do I plug in? There's no place to plug in. And it would take forever. You'd be seeing if they're freezing to death while you're trying to wait for a charge. Because in cold weather, cars don't charge as fast. Of course, no one tells you these things, and so you have to live with them. And a lot of the home electric cars don't go back to them. And the number was originally like 50%. It's now like 75%. The numbers just continue to grow. People are going, you know, this didn't work for me the way I thought. Tell me it works. Great. Awesome. Enjoy. But you should be able to have choices. So the zero emissions thing helps Elon Musk because if you have no competition, because no car manufacturer is going to build something on the loss. They're doing it because they have to. That means almost every brand is going to pull back and offer gas and offer hybrid. They might have a couple electric cars, the ones that might sell, maybe more reasonably priced. But soon there won't be nearly as many to choose from because there's no tax credit and people don't like that. And, of course, you have to lease it, and I don't recommend buying an electric car if you're going to buy one because getting rid of it three years down the road or five years down the road, good luck. Because anyone that has one or purchased one can't get rid of them. And that includes expensive cars like a Porsche Taycan, which is their electric vehicle. A neighbor of mine has one, and he tried to trade it back to the dealer three years later after he purchased it from the same dealer. And they said, we don't want it. He said, no, no, no, I bought this car from you. I want to trade it in. And they're like, no, we don't want it. So now he can't get rid of it. He's tried selling it on Bring a Trailer and eBay. He can't get rid of it. He said, I will take such a hit on this that it makes no sense. Again, putting the cart in front of the horse, but that's very typical of this whole concept. So as the tax credit goes away, the mandate goes away, California needs to do one thing. We need to get rid of the California Air Resources Board. Currently, California... controls not the state i live in new york but the state you live in colorado as well as california 17 states so as long as that california air resources board is being funded is in control and has power it will control 17 states and no car manufacturer is going to make everything for one state they're going to make it for every state because it would make no sense uh it just would be Right, right. We want them to defund the California Air Resources Board. If California wants to have their own little rules in their own little state, fine. But making all these car rules that are affecting everyone else is unacceptable, and it's also against the Constitution.
SPEAKER 12 :
There you go. Lauren Fix, we're out of time. Lauren Fix, Car Coach Reports. Thank you so much. And our quote for the end of the show is from Thomas Jefferson. He said, 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. So stay tuned for our number two. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 1 :
We'll be right back.
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.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's the Kim Munson Show. Analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 12 :
That seems to me like government is establishing a religion. If you give people rights, women's rights, gay rights, whatever, there can't be equal rights if there are special rights. Surveys show that people still really prefer freedom over government force.
SPEAKER 01 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 12 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. Welcome to our number two of the Kim Munson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today's drive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Producer Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Tuesday, Producer Joe. Happy Tuesday, Kim. I think that Lauren Fix and I could do a three-hour Joe Rogan kind of line.
SPEAKER 16 :
I'm almost 100% sure you guys could.
SPEAKER 12 :
Lots of info. Keep those cards and letters coming on the text line 720-605-0647. I will get to those in the last segment of this hour. Check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me. at Kim at KimMunson.com. The text line is 720-605-0647. Thank you to all of you who support us. And you can hear the show 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. And the first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon, second hour 10 to 11 at night. And that is on all the KLZ 560 platforms. KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, the KLZ app, You can find the podcast at my website with each of the daily show summaries and then also Spotify and iTunes. And we search for truth and clarity on this show 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. Welcome. Today is a great day because producer Luke and producer Joe are our featured guests and producer Luke. It's great to have you here behind the mic.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thanks for having me back.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and it's different. Isn't it different being behind the mic versus behind the boards?
SPEAKER 08 :
It is. It's very different. Less buttons to worry about pushing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Just the cough button, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Less multitasking. I can focus more on the conversation.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it's good to have you. And Luke, we've been going through this book, Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. And we're going to be talking about profits and also inflation. And then we're going to finish the book up next month. And then you have a suggestion of what you want us to do after that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. I mean, I'm sure there's plenty of good books. I'm open to other suggestions, too. But I personally really enjoy The Prince by Machiavelli.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, I've never read that, so I think we'll make that as our next book review. And I love this. You're 26, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
I think so. I was born in 98, so yeah, 26.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, you're 26. And I just really appreciate these conversations, our perspectives, because I learn so much from you guys. And I appreciate you being game for doing this. This is awesome.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I appreciate you having me. I know not all of my opinions are party line, but...
SPEAKER 12 :
Which is important. It's important to have these conversations, to understand what you're hearing from all of your friends. Because we're all in this thing together, Luke. That's very true. We are. A couple of things, though. Let's get to our word of the day. And it should be easy to use this in a sentence. It's kooky. K-O-O-K-Y. It could be characteristics of a kook, strange or crazy. Number two, it could be irreverent, idiosyncratic or unexpected, not normal. Or number three, crazy or insane. And it's very easy to use kooky in a sentence. As I look at the Biden-Harris administration on their way out the door, some of the things they're proposing are absolutely kooky.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sounds good.
SPEAKER 12 :
And our quote for today is from Thomas Jefferson. This was a letter to Benjamin Rush in 1800, and it was regarding tyranny. And he said, And I love that. I like that. You like that? I like that a lot. Yeah. And so that is our word of the day, or excuse me, our quote of the day. And then the show happens because of our sponsors. I know each and every one of my sponsors personally, they all strive for excellence. And one of those great sponsors is Boson Law and John Boson is on the line. John, welcome.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good morning, Kim. How are you?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I am well. And we talked a little bit about this last week. But Ozempic, I've seen it advertised on television. I know people that have used it. It's people that have had diabetes have used it. But then it's been also used for weight loss and obesity. But it sounds like maybe there's some side effects that the manufacturers and maybe the FDA knew about, or tell us what's going on.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, yeah, we talked about it last week a little bit, and lots of folks are talking about it now, and unfortunately a lot of folks looking for that easy path to weight loss, especially after the holidays, are exploring and looking into Ozempic and Wachovia and on heroin, some of these semaglutides. And they're designed originally to help folks with diabetes. But then after some use, people discovered there's some studies done and they're shown to be a very effective weight loss medication. So people started jumping on that bandwagon. And the lawsuits that are being filed now against the manufacturers are alleging that Novo Nordics and Eli Lilly, that they knew that these drugs had problems, had serious side effects. The most serious is probably gastroparesis, which is a problem where the wall of the stomach, the stomach lining, the nerves and the wall and the muscles weaken. and cannot then do what they're designed to do, which is push food from the stomach into the intestine, and there is no known cure to that. It requires medication, lifetime care, and so it's a very, very serious side effect. It's not a question of whether or not these drugs cause that. They do in a certain number of individuals, and the lawsuit is about the companies knowing these serious side effects and not disclosing them, not properly disclosing them, letting folks know, hey, this is a serious problem. Now there's other problems, gallbladder disease, and almost on a weekly, not weekly, monthly basis, other things are being connected to the use of these drugs. So serious problem. I tell folks I know, not worth the risk. Do it the old-fashioned way. It's more effective long term because the other part of that is people, after they get off the drug, weight comes back on.
SPEAKER 12 :
And I've always thought that informed consent is important. And so people, if they were informed of all of these side effects and decided to take it anyway, then that would be on them. But what I think I'm hearing you say is that a lot of these things were not disclosed. Is that correct?
SPEAKER 09 :
You're dead on. The extent of the problem, the seriousness of the problem, and that is going to be the kicker. What did the manufacturers know when? And was there sufficient disclosure? Was there sufficient notice, information provided to the consumer so they could make an intelligent decision? Our position is absolutely not. Their defense is we disclose these problems. So trials are being lined up, and juries will make decisions, and we will in time know exactly where this litigation is going to go.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. So if somebody thinks that they have been injured because of Ozempic or any of the other names of that drug, what should they do, John Bosen?
SPEAKER 09 :
Call us right away at 303-999-9999. So we can get additional information from them and make decisions on whether they meet the criteria to pursue a case.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, again, that's John Boson and Boson Law, 303-999-9999. And, again, this is regarding Ozempic. What are some of the other names of that particular pharmaceutical?
SPEAKER 09 :
Wachovee, Monharrow are the big ones. Monharrow is manufactured by Eli Lilly. But again, most folks, the majority of people that are using these drugs are using Ozempic.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. Okay. And again, that's John Bosen, Bosen Law, 303-999-9999. Thank you, John. And we will talk to you next week and really appreciate it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Look forward to it, Kim. Take care.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay. And I work with amazing people. Another great sponsor of the show is the Roger Mangin Safe Farm Insurance team. And Roger's been in business for 48 years, taking care of his clients and his family and giving back to the community. And as we were talking with Lauren Fix in the first hour, when she said, call your agent. It really is important to work with people that have your best interests in mind. And sometimes you may be shopping for the lowest price, but then you have no agent. It's that 1-800 line. And you want to work with people that want to help you. And so be sure and reach out to the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team at 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Team is there.
SPEAKER 04 :
I can't believe I just scratched that car. Find my insurance card.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dude, what do you have in this glove box? Ew, are these socks dirty?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, forget about the socks. I need my insurance card.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just pull it up on the State Farm mobile app.
SPEAKER 03 :
What, I can do that? Oh, hey, I can do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep, it's called service. I can file a claim on here, too? Yeah, it's called service.
SPEAKER 17 :
Whoa, I can call my agent, too?
SPEAKER 05 :
It's called service.
SPEAKER 15 :
Boson Law is a local law firm dedicated to helping injured individuals in Denver and the surrounding areas fight for the justice they deserve. Boson Law focuses on personalized representation tailored to your unique situation with one-on-one attention and counsel and consistent communication. Boston Law personal injury attorneys have extensive trial experience and have successfully represented clients against the interests of powerful corporations, manufacturers, insurance companies, and government agencies. Contact Boston Law at 303-999-9999 for a complimentary in-person consultation. Again, that number is 303-999-9999. Call now at 303-999-9999.
SPEAKER 07 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 12 :
And welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. And thank you to all of you who support us. We really appreciate you. And also thank you to Laramie Energy. for their goal 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 16 :
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 A.C.
SPEAKER 12 :
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 16 :
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 got to clean it out and do it again.
SPEAKER 12 :
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?
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
Okay, and what's your source on that?
SPEAKER 08 :
I got that from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, so government... That is .gov, yep. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Okay, good research on that.
SPEAKER 08 :
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. 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 on. 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, 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 12 :
Okay. Excellent points. Great research. So thank you. So, Joe, prophets, what's your thoughts on this?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and 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 12 :
And so inflation, my father always said that inflation is that silent thief. And under Jimmy Carter and now under the 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 08 :
Take a lifeline or something?
SPEAKER 12 :
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 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 okay Joe
SPEAKER 16 :
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 They went to school. They learned all the skills that they need 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 12 :
It does seem like maybe a lack of understanding from the leadership component. And so stay tuned on that. I'm thinking, OK, if they're competing in a real market, then airlines would not be buying their product, which would affect everything, right?
SPEAKER 16 :
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 12 :
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 08 :
Piping hot take, piping hot controversial take. This one's gonna catch me some flak. Crony profits are capitalist profits because capitalism has allowed for the cronyism to exist.
SPEAKER 12 :
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?
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
But what about under socialism and communism?
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
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 16 :
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 08 :
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? I mean, I think it all leads one into the other.
SPEAKER 12 :
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.
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SPEAKER 11 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of the Kim Munson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmunson.com. That's Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 12 :
And welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, 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 Colorado taxpayer dot org. OK, 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. Oh. 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 daily. out of their profit. 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 08 :
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. 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 12 :
And why are you beating out your competition?
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
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. Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
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. Right. uh... which is a non-profit if you will it was a charity and i this was in the nineties and that this and this was a big eye-opening experience for me because i thought it was a charity and then i ended up on the uh... i think i was the vice president of programs i was looking at the financials on it and i started to realize the bulk of their income was not from people donating but it was from government contracts 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 state house. 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. Right. 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 16 :
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 12 :
So, but again, and this is from one of our listeners that 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 08 :
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 12 :
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 the progressivism came out after the Civil War, but it's really probably the inflection point is Woodrow Wilson. You 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... 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 16 :
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 12 :
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.
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SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That's Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. One of our listeners might... My friend, you young gun, says, we're going to need 24 hours that I learn more from your show than I ever did from any educational institution. Very sweet. 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't agree on the next chapter, and that is inflation. So I'm going to go to you first, Joe.
SPEAKER 16 :
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, like 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 12 :
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 08 :
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. 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, 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 12 :
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 16 :
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 12 :
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 08 :
You want to talk about private government partnership, Federal Reserve, looking at you. And it's 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, right? If you want another source of protein, you're looking at beef, pork, you know, the actual chicken itself. You know, 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? You know, it eats 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 12 :
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 16 :
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 12 :
I know it. I know it. Okay. Producer Luke, this is so fun.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 12 :
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 endlessly 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 17 :
Talking about freedom 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.
The episode takes a deeper look into emerging sectors, including nuclear energy and the potential of quantum computing. Bill and Barry provide invaluable insights on why these sectors are gaining traction and what investors should watch out for. The duo also sheds light on key holdings like Lilly and Meta, discussing their current performance in a fluctuating market. As elections and new administrations loom large, they address the interplay between politics and market movements, offering listeners a holistic view of the current financial landscape.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 Gunderson Capital Management. Here is professional money manager, Bill Gunderson.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome to the Tuesday. It is the Tuesday live edition, the January 14th edition of the Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Barry Kite. Our chartered financial analyst, and it looks like the producer price index, the PPI, came in a little bit lighter than expected. The market likes it. We're getting a little bit of a rally here this morning out of the gate since the bell rang here about 36 minutes ago. The Dow is up 154 points right now. It's at 42,451. It was up about 350 yesterday, but the NASDAQ got hit pretty hard yesterday. The NASDAQ, however, is up today, 103 points on that lighter-than-expected PPI report, which is also sending interest rates down just a little bit, not much. Two basis points were at 4.78, believe it or not. The NASDAQ's at 19,192 right now. The S&P is up 34 basis points. That's 20 points. 58.56 is where the S&P is. The Russell 2000 is up a percent right now. And as I mentioned, the bond market has cooled off today on that report. Now, we get the CPI tomorrow. And we have got Bitcoin today up 4,500 to 96,341. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. And, you know, yesterday was a weird kind of a day. You had one market up. The Dow was up 359 points. And on the other hand, the NASDAQ was down. yesterday, but it did kind of close the gap towards the end of the day. It was definitely the AI, artificial intelligence sector, that was underwater yesterday. I'm going to say that most of that was caused by the Biden administration even getting stricter on allowing China access to artificial intelligence. Now, that could all reverse when Trump comes in. Biden's time is ticking. He's down to just six days, and I think that probably had to do a lot with the spill. Now, NVIDIA is rebounding somewhat here today. NVIDIA went right down to its support level yesterday, which, Barry, I hope they're teaching you that in college. Support levels, resistance levels, this kind of thing. Because it is very important stuff, you know. A resistance level on NVIDIA has been very strong at about 152. That also puts it up around 3.8 trillion on its march to 4 trillion, which has really stalled out big time here. Over the last several months.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and I think it's lost something where it's lost like 11% over the last seven trading sessions or something of that nature.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and then so now that support level is down at 128, somewhere in there. It's up a little today. It's at 134. So it's holding its support level. But it tried to crash through and break through that 152 level. One, two, three, four, five, six days ago, six days ago. So it's gone from 150 down to 134. That's 16 divided by 150. What does that work out to? Nine percent, something like that off of its all time high. And it's mostly been because of, I think, the going back and forth, the Cold War, the Cold War on AI between us and China. NVIDIA won't report until February the 26th. So we've got almost four or six weeks until NVIDIA actually reports. But we are going to get 20. S&P 500 companies reporting this week.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Jensen's meeting with China, I think, in the next day or two. Really? Next couple of days. So it's interesting, especially after he had the scathing remarks towards the Biden administration a couple of days ago.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, you mean he's meeting with red China, red China, communist China.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, he's taking it. He's on a trip to China at the moment, I believe. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
I hope they don't keep him.
SPEAKER 03 :
He is. We need him now.
SPEAKER 04 :
They don't really need everything. They just need him. Maybe we won't see him for many months like Jack Ma. We'll see what happens there. But we did come in. The inflation was cooler than expected. And that is good. Now, that's the wholesale inflation, okay, on the wholesale level. Tomorrow, we're going to get the CPI, which is even more important, I would say, than the PPI. And we'll see how that goes. But today, the cooler than expected PPI is helping the market a little bit.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, I sent out some... The bond market hasn't changed much, which is kind of interesting. The bond market is basically flat.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's what worries me, okay? And I did send out... I begin my morning by looking at where we sit. That's stepping back from the little details in the painting and looking at the overall picture. of the Dow the S&P and the Nasdaq and you know I'm looking at a chart of the Dow it came down to it's a pretty important support level yesterday and it held right at 42,000 okay that's very important support level right now somewhere in that range and now we're up just 80 points on the Dow but it's holding that level however Pretty precarious. I mean, if it were to break below that 41,650 level or so, that would extend this. We've had a reversal from an uptrend to a downtrend in the Dow. Now, not the major primary trend, which is the bull market, which has been in place since 2009. but within that primary trend you get secondary trends this one is right now we're in a downtrend pretty pretty sharp downtrend uh... it's about eight percent seven percent off of its high in it like i say the dow is kind of in precarious spot here if it would break that trend to the downside then you would uh... maybe have to do some hedging again i did a little hedging with with the dow 2x inverse I sold that yesterday because it did hit that support level. That was kind of my target with the trade. I think I made 7% or something like that on that. And if I need to in the big accounts, I don't see it as necessary yet. But that 42,000 level, I'm looking at very closely. We're at 42,367 right now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and to put charts in perspective, I saw an interesting note in terms of looking at a chart yesterday. I think it was of the S&P 500 that the S&P was right where it was just before the election. So it's been. We had a run-up after the election, and we've had a pullback from those highs.
SPEAKER 04 :
We had euphoria after the election, and then reality has set in here over the last two or three weeks with valuation. You have a valuation reality. The other thing I would say, I do see some people saying that the market, buy the market before the inauguration on Monday because the market will have another bout of euphoria. I don't know about that. I mean, there's a lot of uphill battles to climb. Even when he is finally in office with all the cabinet, which I think they'll probably all get approved. The only one that, heck, Seth, seems to be the one that's a little questionable.
SPEAKER 03 :
And he's answering questions, I think, right now. He's in the hearing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, today his hearing begins. And Trump does seem to be backing down from the tariffs a little bit, moderating a little bit. So the key thing right now is interest rates, and there's not much a president can do about interest rates, to be honest with you, other than try to get the country on a more sustainable course from a budgetary standpoint. The S&P is very precarious. There's what I would say. It's holding its support level. It went below it a little bit yesterday. Today it's hanging on, but just barely. And it has also gone through a trend reversal. And a momentum reversal. And a momentum reversal, yes. So if you draw a line under all of the recent bottoms going back to July, it's been an uptrend. However, that peaked in mid-December and started to turn down and roll over, and now you're in a secondary downtrend. It's just a matter of how deep will that downtrend be. I think it could go further on the downside as far as this correction is going right now. That's my own opinion just from looking at the charts here.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and only 25% of stocks right now in the S&P 500 are above their 50-day moving average.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, a lot of momentum has come out of the market. Now, when we come back, the NASDAQ right now is the star of the day. It's up 156%. But I'll give you a little rundown on where that chart is currently. And then we got one of our big holdings is Warning. I finally found out why that stock is down. They are guiding their revenue guidance below consensus a little bit here today. We'll catch that when we come back. And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Stocks Now show. The chart of the NASDAQ is also reverse course from an uptrend to a downtrend. secondary downtrend within a primary uptrend that began in two thousand and nine uh... and uh... it's a little on the precarious side you know i have a number written down here around nineteen thousand or so were two hundred points above that if you were to break below nineteen thousand which it could you have an extremely high multiple the nasdaq While the S&P is trading at about 21.5 times forward earnings, the NASDAQ is trading at 28 times forward earnings. And its P.E. ratio is 35, which is very high. I mean, I'd like to see it come down under 30 or so. It needs to get its cholesterol down, Barry. 35 is too high on those LDLs. A little bit too rich. A little too rich. So, anyways, you have to step lightly. You have to step lightly. This is not a time... We've had a two-year run in the NASDAQ, let's not forget. They don't go up forever. Eventually, things have to correct. Things have to... consolidate i mean it could go up higher but i've seen a lot of momentum come out of the nasdaq stocks uh including yesterday when uh you know the uh the ai stocks uh and nvidia which has been the leader in the nasdaq unquestionably pretty much meta and nvidia have been the two leaders in the in the nasdaq and and uh that is still going pretty good but NVIDIA has cooled off considerably. Microsoft was also a leader. It's cooled off considerably. Amazon's still going okay. Tesla had a good run, but now it's cooled off after they didn't quite meet their deliveries. Okay, I see Lilly guiding lower, not that much. Their sales are going to be up 45% year over year. But that's not quite good enough. I mean, they're going to come up a little bit short. The street was expecting, I think it's $14 billion in sales. Let me look here and see. Instead, they're going to only come in at $13.5 billion. So they're going to come up a half a billion short. in their revenues i think they had trouble with number one supply uh getting it out there uh being in short supply number two the the compounders and number three i think we'll go v does a lot more advertising than little amps aren't to see lily really amp up their advertising But from my perspective, all the reports I've read and people I've talked to, the Lilly works a lot better than Govee. It's just harder to get. It's more expensive. It did get approval for sleep apnea. So I'm not going to be selling my lily anytime soon. But it's always disappointing to see a little bit of a hiccup in the stock here today. It was starting to really kind of gain some steam again. And then they get this little bit of a hiccup.
SPEAKER 03 :
They also have a pretty good significant iron in the fire in terms of Alzheimer's or dementia. Yes, Alzheimer's. Which is one of the next kind of high-growth phases of drugs.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's kind of one of the holy grails. Cancer, a couple of the holy grails of the biotech sector. There's a little bit of news out there. There's a couple of stocks here that we got a new player in nuclear, which I'm a big believer. I mean, that's not like quantum way out there. Nuclear is out there. But you saw what happened when Constellation Energy announced the buy of that calpine on Friday. Oh, man, that thing went straight up. Continental went up 26%. It cooled off a little bit yesterday. continental constellation energy today, that's a good chart. That's a very potent, powerful chart in my book. It consolidated a little bit yesterday, but it's up 3.8% today. And Vistra is also having a good day. That's a very powerful chart on Vistra. That is an excellent chart on VSD. That's a breakout to a new all-time high today on Vistra, okay?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I mean, there's only 125. I was thinking there's only 125 names out there that are above their 50,000.
SPEAKER 04 :
today moving average which means you know that's one of the reasons why you don't have uh when you're looking at your you know b plus better rated names you don't have many more the nuclear names uh the big ones especially constellation yeah vistra and uh the other one well uh now you've got a new little one joining the mix here KULR, K-U-L-R, technology reported the signing of a multi-million dollar licensing agreement with the new technology partner with an advanced carbon fiber cathode application for nuclear reactor systems in Japan. Japan, of course, they never went away from nuclear, but they did have a big accident over there. Anyways, cooler is up 16.8% today. And then we've got a small one. First, it got an investment from NVIDIA, which is pretty good to get an investment in NVIDIA. uh and now it's got an investment from mcquarrie and i'm trying to find that stock right now i think it's ap di uh yeah i gotta find that here but uh anyways it's it's in our emerging growth portfolio uh i gotta get the symbol on that barry i'm uh I closed my models here. Let me pull one up. It's A-D-P-I or A-I-P.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sometimes you get those in the emerging growth portfolio. Yeah, APLD.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, I have one letter off. APLD, Applied Digital is the name. It's up 15% today. That's not bad. It operates Next Generation Data Center.
SPEAKER 03 :
We've got five names in the emerging growth for somehow that starts with an A, by the way. Yeah, you know. That's why you've got a bunch of different A symbols.
SPEAKER 04 :
I try to stay with A plus stocks. APLD is very interesting. It's a small company. It's out of Dallas, Texas, which is becoming the nuclear hub of the world and kind of the data center hub of the world. All these businesses rushing for Texas. And Applied Digital got an investment from Macquarie. We own that in our most aggressive portfolio, which is our emerging growth portfolio, which had a really good year last year. Okay, oil stocks and oil prices. That's kind of a worry here. As I look at the energy sector, IYE, it's kind of been the best sector in the market since the beginning of the year. And oil is now up around $78 and $79 a barrel. It's starting to hit some resistance there. This has to do with a bigger squeeze being applied to Russia as far as the tariffs and trying to keep their oil off the markets, which is driving up oil prices and oil stocks. We'll be right back. Now, back to the second half of the show.
SPEAKER 07 :
And welcome back to the second half of today's Best Stocks Now show. And we do have the markets up.
SPEAKER 04 :
here today i'm seeing a rebound in the uh in the uh uh what do you call them the uh quantum quantum stocks quantum space right i see righetti's up 20.1 percent uh but jensen wang really did a number on those stocks oh man when he uh said they're 20 to 30 years out which you know yes that's for the ultimate in quantum computing but there's a lot of interim steps along the way i think he exaggerated a lot in his or overstated it and they're defending themselves but they're still out there on the horizon there's no question about that okay we're seeing the gains starting to come back in here which i fully expected because of the valuations we have i didn't see the drop in interest rates that i would have liked to have seen i think the market's going to wait and see the cpi tomorrow And so now the Dow's only up 155. The NASDAQ's only up 55. And small caps are doing best. They're up 1.2%. The S&P is up just 13 points right now. And all eyes these days have been on the 10-year. The 10-year seems to be the eye of the hurricane in this little correction that we're going through. The 10-year right now is going back up now. So it came down a few points, and now it's going back to where it was at 4.80. So if the PPI was that great, you'd see more movement in the bond market that you're seeing. uh... here right now the other there's a big deal out there today man i i've owned this stock in the past both of them actually united rentals which is equipment and we own their bond we own their bond still but the one they're buying i've also owned in the past i wish i owned it yesterday and today it's up a hundred and six percent So United Rentals is paying a huge premium. Who are they buying? H&E Equipment. He's H-E-E-S out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We have owned them in the past. And they did really well when interest rates were coming down and then not so well as interest rates started going back up. But anyways, that's a big deal out there in that space. Now, a new player for TikTok. I know that Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank... I heard him make a pitch for it. And he had dinner with Trump. I saw a picture on Axe with him and his wife and Trump at Mar-a-Lago at the head of the table. The kingmaker spot right there, you know, I'm sure O'Leary was making a pitch for TikTok because it does look like the Supreme Court is going to make them bite, dance, divest TikTok American ownership. But guess who else is now in the hunt for TikTok is Elon Musk. He would combine it with X. That would be a powerful, powerful social media platform. I mean, that would put him, not only has he got the SpaceX and Tesla and the thing with the brain, but he'd become a huge social media player if he owned TikTok. And I don't think Trump would stop. I don't think Trump would get in the way of that. I think he's got Trump's ear.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and it's interesting because Elon's one of those people in between, right, who could satisfy some of the U.S.' 's requirements, right, and potentially satisfy some of the Chinese requirements because he's fairly tied to China pretty closely through Tesla. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I think he'd be a pretty good steward, I would think, over TikTok, okay? Kevin O'Leary probably would be too. Okay, now I see Loop Capital upgrading AMD. You know what? That is just a dead stock. It is just absolutely dead in the water. We sold AMD quite some time ago for a very large profit. And AMD has continued downwards ever since. Now, I like their track that their earnings are on. They're looking for 25% growth and 52% growth next year. But the stock is getting no love at all. I mean, the relative strength, the momentum is horrible. The chart is horrible. And there comes a point where you would think some value investors would step into AMD. But, you know, I just think they equate AMD more with the personal computers. I do think so.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, certainly.
SPEAKER 04 :
It doesn't get enough credit for its data center and all that kind of stuff, the AI stuff. So that's just not a good stock. It's a dead stock right now. Now, I will say, I'll tell you another area that's getting a lot of buy recommendations, and that could help. We talked about this yesterday, the bond market. I saw someone stepping up to the plate and saying, man, well, here it is, the 10-year Wells Fargo. One of the head honchos, head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo, said that he says this is very attractive, buying the 10-year. It's at 4.8 right now. Okay, maybe you'll get it a little cheaper. Maybe it'll go up to five. But you'd think that buying bonds here, even U.S. Treasuries, and locking in 4.8%. And if rates start to head back down, you're going to make some capital appreciation on that trade.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we've got some buys in the bond market that we've kind of been eyeing, but it's kind of waiting a little bit for some of this inflation piece. Because like you said, that real barrier was around 4.7. We're already at 4.78, 4.79 the last time I checked. So we're getting, you know, it could go from, you know, between next stop, I think you mentioned was, you know, close to five. Five, right at five. In terms of a chart.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, 5%. And then, you know, I don't know where it would be after that because 5% was a long time ago.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, you can't look. Yeah, I looked at where we are now and looked at a 10-year chart, and we've only been there really one other time in the last 10 years. Of course, as we mentioned, I looked at the U.K. where they are right now. Their current rate didn't even show up on a 10-year chart. That's how elevated they are.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Well, Morgan Stanley says Tesla is valued at $2.5. trillion dollars okay so where is tesla right now uh well 1.3 the reason i bring this up is uh kathy wood was out there yesterday with a four thousand dollar target price she's brought her target price down What was the highest? Didn't she say $10,000 at one time?
SPEAKER 03 :
She said, and there was a split there, which kind of messed it up. I want to say she said $5,000, and that was after the split.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, maybe she's sticking by her big price target. It's at $410 right now. She said 4,000 yesterday. I don't know why anybody listens to her anymore, but she still gets her time on CNBC.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I hope she's right. I mean, we own the stock, so I'd be happy. Yeah, I hope she's right. Yeah, I'm rooting for her.
SPEAKER 04 :
She's way wrong, way off. Couldn't be further off, but, you know, more power to her. Let's hope that she's right. She comes up with some wacky forecasts, and she's lost billions of dollars for people. Yeah. I'd say reckless, really. She's reckless. Okay, let's see what else we got. We do have some earnings coming up. 20 S&P 500 companies. Now, here's one other one I wanted to mention. I saw it having a pretty good day yesterday. They say the biggest competitor out there someday. to NVIDIA is Nebius Group. It's out of the Netherlands. N-B-I-S. And, you know, it came public. It was a very well-received IPO at about $20 per share. Nebius has doubled almost since its IPO, and now it's a $13 billion company. N-B-I-S. And I see someone coming out nebulous as a long idea. And I also have my eye on it, NBIS. It would go down somewhere like the emerging growth portfolio. I mean, it's past the incubator stage. There's no question about it. I mean, it's a real deal with real sales and real earnings and huge growth. So that one is high on my list, NBIS. And then there was one yesterday. I don't know that I got to it or not during the show, but I've owned it in the incubator portfolio, and it looks like it's ready to graduate. I probably should have. graduated a long time ago argenix argx out of the netherlands a drug company this is now a 40 billion dollar company one of the most under the radar kind of stocks hitting a new all-time high today at 676 dollars per share they're uh uh Sales growth over the last four quarters, 129%, 79%, 74%, 73%. That's the thing that best stocks now are made of. ARGX, not a recommendation, but an example of what a best stocks now, in my opinion, looks like. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do what you wanna do with it, whoever you wanna be, gotta go where you wanna go. Do what you wanna do with it, whoever you wanna be.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to the final segment here of today's Best Stocks Now show. Well, the first thing I want to look at here, let's go and look underneath the surface of the Dow, which held its support level yesterday, but is in a secondary downtrend, a corrective trend. As I measured it on Friday or Saturday, it was about 7% that the Dow is off of its high today. Looking at the Dow today, it remains up for the day. Let's see how much the Dow is up. The Dow 30. which have been a little bit favorable this year. They're a little more defensive than your tech stocks, and the Dow is currently up 156 points. The biggest winners in the Dow today come from the tech land, okay? The tech world sales force is having a good day. We like Salesforce. Actually, believe it or not, we own Salesforce, CRM, Customer Relationship Management, which is a big field of software management. players, but none bigger than Salesforce. Salesforce is a dividend payer, and so we own it in our growth and dividend portfolio. And I don't think we've made any money in it yet. We bought it late last year. It is up 2.7% today. I saw somebody out there, I don't know who it was, Morgan Stanley or one of those, was listing their top picks in the software space, and one of them was Salesforce. And we agree there with Morgan Stanley on that one. As I look on the downside in the Dow today, Merck, Nike, Boeing, Amgen, McDonald's, and now NVIDIA has gone negative. How about that? I mean, NVIDIA's threatening, no, it's got support at 127 is where NVIDIA's support is. NVIDIA's now down 1.1% on the day. It was up. So that's part of the cooling off of the market. Interest rates going up a little bit. That impacts NVIDIA. And I think people are just a little bit worried about China and the relationship there as it relates to NVIDIA. But NVIDIA is still looking for explosive growth this year and explosive growth next year. Okay, on the S&P 500, I really don't see any leadership in the markets which I would say that's what the difference between last year and this year so far, and, you know, towards the end of last year, leadership has disappeared from the market. The way I gauge where the leadership is in the market is, number one, in the app and the newsletter on Saturday, I list... I rank the top 10 asset classes. I rank 33 different asset classes. And there was no leadership this week. The NASDAQ was the leadership and some of the Bitcoin was the leadership. But small caps were leading for a while. Not anymore. It's just up for grabs right now. There is no leadership. in the market at the current time. Which, you know, I think interest rates are impacting that. They're trying to figure out where the leadership's going to come from. It's not going to come from the home builders. It's not going to come from the financials. with interest rates going higher. The one that stands out to me today in the S&P 500 is Palantir. Palantir's come down pretty hard. Palantir is 17 points. It's off 20% from its high. Palantir hit 8480. And that was a valuation story. It was valuation and momentum. Everybody wanted in on Palantir at once. It's still my highest conviction pick for this year by the end of the year. We'll see. We do own Palantir. I just think Palantir's got a little piece in almost everything. Security, crypto, AI, you know, it's very well positioned. But I've heard some through the grapevine. I've heard some. I have a friend, not a friend, but somebody I know that went to work for Palantir. and left his job here in South Carolina and moved his family and everything, went to work for Palantir, and I've just heard through the grapevine that it's not the best atmosphere to work in if you're in the sales part of it. They have kind of a... Who needs salesmen? Our product will sell itself, that kind of thing. And you know what? That's not a good, what do you call that? Culture. That's not a good culture at a company. The owner is, you know, he's pretty outspoken, pretty full of himself. Or the CEO of volunteer. Okay, but that one stands out to me. They do have a good product, but you do need salespeople. I don't care how good your product is. If you don't have salespeople out there, okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
You can't have a relationship. You'll never get it in the door.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, you've got to have a good sales force. Okay, now, the downside in the S&P, Lilly's regained. There's some buying coming into the sell-off in Lilly. Lilly's only down 5.9%. Now, it was down 8% at one time. Meta's selling off today, too, down 2.5%. I think Meta's, they're kind of watching TikTok. It would be a big plus for Meta if TikTok were to go away. I don't think it's going to go away. So anyways, it's off a couple of percent today. And then as I look at the NASDAQ here, the winner in the NASDAQ, not very good. I mean, it's not much leadership at all. Walgreens, really, up 3.5%. That's the leader in the NASDAQ today. Like I said, there's a lack of leadership in the market right now. It could also be there's going to be a seminal event come Monday, January the 20th, right? I mean, things are going to really change.
SPEAKER 03 :
It would be interesting when all those executive orders start getting signed and the market's closed. 100 executive orders. While the market's closed, so it'll be interesting to watch the futures.
SPEAKER 04 :
We could get a pop on Tuesday. I don't know. There's a lot of cross-currents. We'll just have to be patient here and see how things settle down. All right, now, we're still doing the four-week trial of everything, the whole enchilada. You get four weeks. I send out several messages throughout the day, including what I'm buying and what I'm selling. in uh in all five of our invested portfolios and i include things from our my my personal little incubator account where i take some risk on stocks that are not quite ready for the big times yet okay now if you'd like to set up an appointment with us now's the time to put a plan in place Failing to plan is planning to fail, as my football coach used to say. Guns, give us a call at 855-611-BEST to set up an appointment. 855-611-BEST. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 02 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIBC and FINRA.
