In this engaging episode of Rush to Reason, host John Rush welcomes Larry Behrens, the Director at Power of the Future, for an insightful discussion on current energy policies and the impact of political leadership. They delve into President Joe Biden's recent actions concerning offshore drilling and the ramifications for consumers and future administrations. Behrens sheds light on how these policies create challenges for working families while setting potential traps for Donald Trump as he prepares for a potential return to office. Tune in for a compelling exploration of how energy policies shape our daily lives and the economy. The conversation takes a critical turn as they explore the possibilities for Donald Trump to deploy strategic measures that could alleviate the energy burdens on American families. Behrens suggests impactful steps Trump could take, such as removing federal gas taxes and changing gas blend requirements, to immediately reduce fuel costs. The episode wraps up with a nuanced discussion on the intricacies of power dynamics in energy legislation, emphasizing the importance of strategically leveraging executive power to bring about significant policy change.
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 19 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 07 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 14 :
Get a job, Turk. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 06 :
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?
SPEAKER 18 :
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 16 :
All right, we are back. Hour three, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Larry Behrens joining us now. Larry, welcome back. How are you, sir?
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm great, John. So great to talk with you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Always a joy. Director of Power. Director at, I should say, Power of the Future. Had you on many, many times in the past. Okay, before we get started, I want to talk about Joe Biden and his last little stint that he has gotten in before leaving office and sort of leaving Trump in a rough spot in regards to offshore drilling.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, absolutely. I think it fits two purposes. One, it lets us know who Joe Biden has always really favored, and it's not been working families, right? He has no political price in any direction, and so he's really going to help out his friends, except it doesn't really help out the American families that are struggling to pay the bills. But secondly, and probably most importantly for Joe Biden, it lays policy landmines for Donald Trump. Joe Biden knows that his failed energy policies caused gas prices to go up and that it became a political liability. So he is trying to make sure that Donald Trump faces the same thing so that six months from now, 12 months from now, the Democrats can be all over TV saying, oh, we thought Donald Trump was going to lower gas prices. Looks like he didn't. Well, it's because Joe Biden's taking stuff off the map to be able to produce energy.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and I've read all sorts of things on this, Larry, where there's those that are out there talking about how the majority of oil comes from private leases, not necessarily federal leases, although it shouldn't be that way. We have plenty of opportunity to give federal leases out and start capturing some money back in for the American taxpayer. Again, it begs the question, why aren't we?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and that's just the Biden administration and their defenders talking out both ends of their mouth, right? If it was such a small dent and it was mostly private land, then why do they order it all? Yeah, why would it matter? Yeah, they won't say it was such a big deal for the climate. No, it's a massive deal because it takes millions of acres worldwide. off the table for production in an area that the United States needs to get more production from. You know, the Biden administration, I think it was about a year ago, bragged that they were having the fewest leases, not in the 12 months, not in 12 years, but in history on offshore. And so this is Joe Biden trying to force feed his legacy on his way out the door.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, no, Larry, you are a thousand percent correct. I've said it numerous times, even with you on, that every administration, the Biden administration especially, if they really wanted to relieve pressure at the pump, they would get rid of the multiple blends of gasoline. We have coast to coast. I think there's about 24 now. You could get down to probably four pretty easily. I mean, there's so many basic things that a president could do. to literally lower gas prices at the pump, which, by the way, Trump has that ability as well. And if he's smart and has some good advisors around him, he'll listen to some of those things because you could literally overnight lower gas prices despite, I should say, in spite of what Joe Biden just did.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I think you get onto a great point there. The one is, and I hope President Trump considers this, is you can just take away the federal gas tax. Now, I know Congress is the one that takes that away, but you could say we're not going to force it and immediately drop the price of gas everywhere about 17 cents a gallon. right away. And that would be helpful for Americans right now, because Joe Biden loves saying, oh, look at what I've done with inflation. I've done such a good job. Anybody who is still like me, addicted to the grocery store and addicted to heat during the winter understands that it's hard still to pay bills in this country. Even Hakeem Jeffries admits that America is too expensive. Glad he can finally admit it now. And so there are actions that President Trump could be taking right out the gate.
SPEAKER 16 :
What are some of the things that he could do, you know, day one? And I believe there'll be lots of executive orders on the 21st of January. Now, there'll be some things that probably will be challenged and will be able to do some of the things that he would like, even regards to the topic you and I are talking about. Seems like Joe Biden's making that a little bit more difficult, and that one will probably be a fight when it's all said and done. But to your point, there's other things he could do. Gas tax, my idea of going to four blends of, especially during the winter months, by the way, going to four blends of fuel in the winter months especially would overnight lower the price of fuel. What other things could he do?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, absolutely. And let's be clear, because you're exactly right, John. Probably the most lucrative job right now is going to be a green lawyer, because they're all just geared up for President Trump to come in to continue to do Joe Biden's bidding. But to answer your question more directly, first of all, we know he's going to overturn Biden's executive actions. Joe Biden has done so much stuff through executive order, so he's going to be able to overturn that. But I think he should be taking it a step further. He should be declaring an energy emergency. We see continuous instability across the globe. We see continued struggle for prices here at home. He needs to be able to move regulations aside in order to get drilling done. And declaring an emergency for energy can get that done. And I'm not talking about just drilling, which is going to be beneficial. I'm talking about waiving permitting for new refineries because we need more refineries in the United States. Waiving permitting for more pipelines. We can do a whole lot of that and then start to attack Joe Biden's – I call it the army of bureaucracy, what he has done to try to put the Green New Deal into the back door, getting rid of the EV mandate, for one.
SPEAKER 16 :
So here's a question that I don't know this answer to, Larry, and you're much smarter at this than I am. If he declared some sort of an energy emergency – Does it give him the ability to, you know, quote unquote, sort of bypass some of these other things that typically presidents have to go through with Congress and Senate to get certain things done? In other words, would he be able to green light things faster if he did that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. And we have two very recent examples of that. One is the last time President Trump was in office during COVID. People remember he did declare emergency, but he did use the Defense Production Act that says I can take over manufacturing in order to produce something the country needs right away. And he used that for ventilators during COVID. Joe Biden also used it as well. You know what Joe Biden used it for? He used it for solar panels. And how well has that worked out? Not very well. And so, yeah, the president does have this legal power to say this is an emergency situation. I'm taking it over. And our manufacturing capacity can go towards this product. And then, of course, he can also, too, begin day one refilling the Strategic Control Reserve. That is something the United States needs. And Joe Biden drained more than any other president.
SPEAKER 16 :
OK. On top of that. Another, and this is something you and I talked about all, well, literally probably four years ago because the day Joe Biden took over, he killed the Keystone Pipeline. I get it. The Keystone Pipeline wasn't carrying any oil at that point in time, but it sent a very large message to the petroleum industry that, hey, we mean business and we're not your friend anymore like Donald Trump and the Trump administration was. Would it behoove Donald Trump to reinstitute that?
SPEAKER 05 :
It would. And let me tell you why. And your point is exactly the right one. Let's remember the moving goalpost of lies from the Biden administration where they canceled it and then prices went up and they said, well, it didn't matter because it wouldn't be done by now. And the prices stayed up past the time it would have been done. And then they started to be quiet about that. So Keystone Pipeline may be gone. But the larger issue is when you are building a pipeline, that is sometimes a multi-decade project. So if you are going to move permitting and say, I'm going to take this thing that usually takes 10 years and try to get it down to four.
SPEAKER 16 :
Fast track it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, that is heavy incentive to get it done now. Because, you know, sadly, after President Trump's done in office, we don't know what's going to happen. And we need this permanent infrastructure as soon as possible.
SPEAKER 16 :
It'll be very interesting, and I'll have you on once we get past that probably one- to two-week mark and kind of figure out what Donald Trump actually does. I personally think, and I want to get your opinion on this, that he's coming into office this time much more wise, understanding those around him who should even advise him in the first place. I think he's going to be a lot more strategic in some of these things day one than he was last time. Your thoughts?
SPEAKER 05 :
I 100% agree. And that's why I was so heartened to see him on Capitol Hill yesterday talking with the Senate. I know they're already talking about a bill. He said it. Now he's saying, I don't know if it's going to be one bill or several bills, but they're already talking about the content of it. And everyone's asking, well, what's in it? What's in it? And he's saying, what do you think I've been promising the last year plus I've been running for president? It's those things, things about the board, things about energy. It's a whole lot of things. And so being able to get that done in Congress... And no joke within the first hundred days, it's not a symbolic first hundred days anymore as it used to be. It is it has to be done because the Democrats are going to sue. They're going to try to distract and delay. And sadly, after the first two years of his administration, he's going to be facing midterms again. And Congress just doesn't really get stuff done that quickly.
SPEAKER 16 :
So he's got to get on it right off the bat, to your point.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yep. OK, you're from Power of the Future. Talk to me about the EV. And you and I've had long conversations. We did a show one day, a whole hour on EVs way back in the day when, again, the Biden administration came in and made some of these mandates happen. Given that some of these are tied to the infrastructure bill or the infrastructure law that was passed, which it's an inflation law, not an infrastructure law that was passed. But bottom line. What can Donald Trump do on the EV sides of things without going back through Congress to readjust that law?
SPEAKER 05 :
And so without going through – so on the EV side, those mandates were through executive order. So he can just take those away, those mandates that say it has to be – So that was not part of the infrastructure bill?
SPEAKER 16 :
No.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. But the sad part, to your point, that was part of the infrastructure bill and the laughably named Inflation Reduction Act was the billions that went to building the infrastructure for it. So when we spent – Which nothing's been done yet, as you know. Right, but we've spent the money, right? And so that is actually going to be one of the hardest parts. I wish I could say Donald Trump should turn off the money faucet right away, but the Biden administration today, as we speak, is sending out billions of dollars out the door. They're getting the United States government signed onto contracts that if that money does not pay out, that then the United States government gets sued. I think Donald Trump should seriously consider... not paying out those money to failing EV companies if they can't stand on their own, and then just take the lawsuit. Because it's going to save taxpayers money in the long run. But that is a harder one to crack.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, good to know. As always, Larry, you're always a wealth of information. You know far more about this than I do. Talk to us really quick about Power of the Future and how folks can learn from you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sure. We'd love for folks to head over to the website, PowerOfTheFuture.com. You can even send me an email if you love or hate what I said today, Larry at PowerOfTheFuture.com. We're a 501c4 nonprofit that advocates for American energy. It's that simple. And I appreciate you, John, so much.
SPEAKER 16 :
Always, Larry. I appreciate it. And again, we'll have you back after the inauguration and see what Trump does right out of the gate.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sounds good. Thanks, Larry.
SPEAKER 16 :
Appreciate you very much. Again, power of the future, folks. That is Larry Behrens. We've had him on quite a bit in the past. I will say that it's been probably a couple of months since we've had him on, and it's just because we had a lot of other election things and all of that going on prior. But Larry's a great guy. I love talking to him. I've had one particular show in the past where we spent an entire hour all the way back when – Joe Biden came into office. We talked about the whole EV thing and all of that. So we got an entire hour back in the archives somewhere where Larry and I spent an entire hour talking about that. So good guy. Follow him, if you would, at Power of the Future. Geno's Auto Service coming up next. Speaking of vehicles, EVs and all of that, no matter what you drive, Geno's is there to take care of you. And they've got some great specials going on right now through the month of January. 303-794-6700 or genosautoservice.com. And Geno starts with a J.
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SPEAKER 10 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Senate Bill 3. So, yes, things are back in session here in Colorado, and you're going to see all sorts of Democrat bills pushed through. Whether they end up on the governor's desk or not, hard to say. As I said in the last hour, despite what anybody tells you, despite what the Colorado GOP will tell you. We have a huge disadvantage. Huge disadvantage. No, the Democrats don't have a super majority. But enough of a majority where, you know, it's going to be really hard for us to stop anything going through. And I'm not trying to be a naysayer, not trying to discourage any of you that are actually legislatures down at the Capitol. You know, do your job, do what you can, fight as hard as you can. I get all of that. Unfortunately, you're really at a disadvantage here. And frankly, due in part to the Colorado GOP. But you are at a huge disadvantage because there's far too many Democrats in office than you. So when we talk about things like this, Senate Bill 3, which would outlaw the sale, manufacture, of semi-automatic guns that accept detachable magazines, they would be banned under this bill. It also would outlaw rapid-fire trigger activators and bump stocks. Now, keep in mind that, as I've said before, why we don't have a bill – And you're only allowed to run so many bills. You sign on to so many bills. And I can't remember, is it two or four, Charlie? I can't remember what it is. I think it's two. Don't quote me on that, but I think it's two each. On your own. Now, you can co-sponsor that, but on your own, too. The one I would introduce, if I were a legislature, and why in the world we haven't done this as a party, because this is one I think you could get maybe even some of the other side to sign on to because it's a cost-saving measure. I would put a bill in that would create a law That if a law is going to be enacted that is unconstitutional, that you know for a fact will be shot down through the legal system, that bill is not allowed to move forward. I would run that bill. Now, whether I would win on that or not, I have no idea. But if I was going to run any bills as a senator or a representative here in Colorado, that would be the one, the first one I would jump on. Second one would be get rid of the stupid front license plate. But that's a whole other conversation. My first one would be introducing a bill that would not allow bills to even go through that are 1,000% unconstitutional. For example, Senate Bill 3, it's unconstitutional. Even if this passes, and it's likely it will, this will get shot down in the courts. And my point with that is, as taxpayers, we have to pay to defend this. There'll be lawsuits filed. you know, lobbied against it, which they should be. I'm not saying there shouldn't, there should be. But as taxpayers, we're now on the hook to defend those. And it's a waste of money. It's a waste of time, resources, money. There's other things that we could focus on. And I get it. That's not what lawmakers do. And they really don't care about all the things that I just talked about, but they should. And again, if I were a legislature, I would force them to care through my own bill that I would hope would become law that would not allow them to put these things through. Because this one especially, especially the bump stock end of this, that's already been ruled on by the Supreme Court. That one's already gone through. You can't do this. So this one is very apparent. I don't even have to be a legal scholar. I don't have to be an attorney to understand this one is not legal. But yeah, they're going to run it through anyways. And lots of bills from the Democrats do. And they get shoved through. And then the other side, our side, you know, sues them over it. And then it ends up going to court. And it'll go through all of the channels. And sometimes it takes years before things get finally, you know, fought out and determined who's going to win or not. But all the while, we as taxpayers are defending those. And it's a waste of money. So Governor Polis, I know you don't listen to me. I should say Emperor Polis. His excellence. Is that what I should say, Charlie? His excellence, Polis. If you're listening or somebody is listening that can pass this on, you're running a budget shortfall this year. You're already trying to figure out how to make ends meet in Colorado. Why don't you send a message to your own party, stop running stupid measures like this? Stop running things that we will end up spending money on to defend even if it passes. Now, granted, you yourself could not sign this. and eliminate it that way. But why don't you send a message to your party to do things that really matter versus focusing on things like this that will end up getting shot down in the Supreme Court anyways. So Senate Bill 3. would again ban the purchase sale and manufacture semi-automatic guns that accept detachable ammunition magazines uh... that is a bill that was introduced yesterday by democrats on the first day of session it would affect many pistols rifles whose manufacturers don't appear to make versions of the weapons without removable magazines the legislation would also outlaw rapid-fire trigger activators, as I said a moment ago, and bump stocks. The measure would have an effect similar to or even greater than legislation that failed at the Capitol in recent years that would have banned the purchase, sale, and manufacture of a broad swath of firearms defined in those bills as assault weapons. So they're basically reintroducing the assault weapon ban, only this one's larger, folks. Now, I rarely, if ever, unless I'm reading something, use the term assault weapon. I'm a gun guy. There's no such thing. Well, let me rephrase that. There's many such things, including things that aren't guns. You can be assaulted with a baseball bat. You can be assaulted with a ruler. You can be assaulted with some brass knuckles. You can be assaulted with you name it. I carry around a fairly hefty water bottle, large Yeti, that I actually have a little strap on that if I really wanted to defend myself, I could swing that thing around and probably knock somebody out cold. That is an assault weapon. So I try my best to not use that term because it gets thrown around loosely from the left, and it's an incorrect term. They try to make anything that is big, black, and has a detachable magazine to be ugly and bad, and you should never own that. Of course, the left would just have you not own any gun, by the way. That's ultimately where they're after. See, what the left does that we don't do a very good job at is they chip away at things. You know, they'll take a little piece and they'll claim success. And they'll take a little piece and claim success. And they'll take a little piece and claim success. And before you know it, they got the whole enchilada. We, on the other hand, we want the whole enchilada and we're not willing to take small bites. Our mentality, our principles, which I'm glad we have them, but our principles get in the way of taking small bites. We're that glutton at the table that needs the whole enchilada at one time. We can't take little bites at each meal and do that over and over again. We're that, sorry to say it, fat guy at the table that has to eat the whole thing at once. Those are our principles. Because we're not willing to give in on anything. And as I've read through all sorts of things on social media, and yes, while I was gone, Andy had a couple of individuals on, Eli Bremer and Todd Watkins. And I read all of the things that all of you nutjobs, and yes, that's what I'm going to call you, all of you crazy nutjobs out there talked about when it came to Eli and Todd. And literally, you guys are absolute wackadoodles. You've lost your ever-loving mind. Some of you that I used to have a little bit of respect for that I literally have none for now. And you all knew who I'm talking. Those of you know who you are and who I'm talking about. You guys are absolute cuckoo. Nut jobs. You're exactly who I'm talking about. You won't take a little piece of the pie. It's all or nothing. And by the way, that's not how you win battles. It's not how you win wars. If there's anything I could go back to the Colorado GOP with would be you can't win the whole enchilada. You have to learn how to take small bites. All right, hang tight. I'll come right back. I've got more time that way. High-five plumbing and electrical is next. 877-WE-HIGH-5.
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SPEAKER 18 :
Back to Rush to Reason. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric. Where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 15 :
And we are back. Joe, what's going on, sir? John, if you've got a couple of minutes, I'd like to explain why there can never be enough common sense gun controls to satisfy the left. Sure. Go ahead. And it starts with something. Are you familiar with the term cognitive dissonance? Oh, yes. And for your listeners who aren't, let me just back up a little. You know, evolution and nature have trained us to make a safe environment for ourselves and our families. And that's why we lock our doors at night and put new batteries in our smoke detectors once a year. And over the eons, those members of our species that didn't follow that instinct fell prey to various threats over the past millennium. Now, cognitive dissonance occurs when new information is received that challenges or conflicts with existing beliefs or values. And when that occurs, the human instinct is to minimize that conflict between what we believed and what's happening. An example is a smoker who knows that smoking is bad for you but they suffer from cognitive dissonance every time they buy a pack of cigarettes or light one up.
SPEAKER 16 :
I'll give you another example. I talk to people quite often where I am of the belief today, and I don't think I'm wrong in this, Joe, that when it comes to your kids roaming around and doing things and the fact that they now have cell phones, it's safer today for them to roam around than when you and I were kids.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. But they won't believe that. No, they don't. But, John, I remember when I was growing up, the things I did, I mean, I would disappear in the morning. My mother wouldn't see me until it was dinnertime. Yeah, likewise. You came home when it was dark. And she had no idea where I was all day long. Now you can track your kid.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right, right. So my point, though, to your point, Joe, everybody has this concept that things were a lot safer when Jeffrey Dahmer and he was running around and you and I were kids. Everybody's got this thought process that was a lot safer then than it is now. And frankly, nothing could be farther from the truth.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. But this doesn't change his instinct to try to minimize this psychological conflict between the way you want things to be and the way they are. And an example of people with cigarettes. They try to minimize that conflict by buying ultralights. Instead of regular cigarettes, I'm going to get the ultralights. Or they try and tell themselves, well, not everybody who smokes gets cancer. So now we come to the mass murder of innocent kids in schools or random strangers in public places. The fact that you, your kids, or your entire family could be killed in less than a minute with no warning by a total stranger in a public place sets up a cognitive dissonance event. that conflicts with your beliefs that you have created a safe environment for you, your family, or that the government should be able to keep you safe and that you should be able to live your life without the fear of harm from others. But just like the smoker who buys those ultralight cigarettes, the need to reduce that level of psychological stress, cognitive dissonance, results in the natural instinct to do something, anything, regardless of the ultimate effectiveness of that action. Those that are governed by emotion will fixate on the tool, in this case the gun, and not deal with the fact that a crazy or evil person can always find a way to commit mass murder, even without a gun. And a couple examples, a couple years ago in Nice, France, a terrorist drove a truck into the Bastille Day Parade in Nice, France. Do you know how many people he killed in under 60 seconds?
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, I don't remember the number.
SPEAKER 15 :
A lot.
SPEAKER 1 :
86.
SPEAKER 15 :
86 people. No gun. 60 seconds, 86 people dead. Wow. A guy in the Bronx 10 years ago set fire to a nightclub, killed 87 people with two gallons worth of gasoline. And I'll give you another example. Let's go back to the guy who shot up the theater in Aurora. Imagine if he had simply chained the exit doors, all but one exit door shut with chains from the outside, opened one door, and threw a half a dozen Molotov cocktails into that theater. How many people do you think would have died in that sold-out movie theater? Most. Most? Most. So he could have killed more people with a couple of glass bottles and three bucks worth of gasoline than he did with his guns.
SPEAKER 16 :
Correct. And again, if you can't think of— Well, and by the way, we had proof of that with what happened in New Orleans on New Year's Eve. Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
And the same thing in Germany the two weeks before Christmas. So this brings us to why fixate on the gun. Well, trying to control the access to the type and quantity of tools— provides the person ruled by emotion, in this case our liberal legislatures, with a tangible course of action, which, if achieved, will reduce, albeit temporarily, the level of cognitive dissidence associated with that perceived threat to them and their family.
SPEAKER 16 :
And to your point, one of the sponsors of this is Senator Tom Sullivan, who is a centennial Democrat whose son was murdered in the 2012 Aurora Theater shooting. To prove your point, Joe.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, and it's all emotion. And so those ruled by rational thought like you and me and a broad knowledge of the many ways to create mass casualties without a gun, we understand that further restricting access to various types of guns won't meaningfully reduce the threat to ourselves and our families. Nope. Because the threat is not the gun. The threat is the evil or crazy person.
SPEAKER 16 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now, you and I, we've reduced our cognitive dissonance by not lobbying for more gun controls. but by altering our beliefs and accepting the fact that there is no way to create a 100% safe environment.
SPEAKER 16 :
No, and at the end of the day, you're a big portion of that. Not government, not police, not anyone else. You are.
SPEAKER 15 :
You are, and that's why you and I carry concealed weapons. Correct. To protect ourselves, our families, and even random strangers in a shopping center. But here's why it'll never be enough. So let's assume they were to get their ban on, quote, assault or offense. And for the next couple of months, they're all going to feel good and their stress is going to be reduced until somebody else takes a couple of pistols. By the way, deadliest school shooting in American history, Virginia Tech University, a student killed 31 staff and teachers with two ordinary pistols, a .22 and a 9mm. Deadliest school shooting in American history, no assault rifle. So they're going to feel good about this until somebody can, you know, Does it not? Well, we've got to ban semi-automatic pistols. We need to ban. Then somebody's going to take a shotgun loaded with double-aught buck and, you know, and by the way.
SPEAKER 16 :
And by the way, Joel, as you know, because there's other countries where this has happened, you eliminate all of the guns. We saw what happened in New Orleans. There's other ways to do this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. Fire is a bomb. Manchester Theater in England, a guy bought a pressure cooker at Walmart and blew it up. I forget how many people they were going to an Ariana Grande concert. I think it was like the death toll was like 20-some people with a Walmart pressure cooker. But in the meantime, even if they got their assault weapon banned, somebody's going to use it. By the way, if you took a 12-gauge shotgun and put six rounds of double-aught buck in it, that's 72 high-velocity, because each round has 12.
SPEAKER 16 :
You get in close proximity in a crowd, you're eliminating a dozen or more people.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, with just six rounds of double up buckshot.
SPEAKER 16 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 15 :
So little by little, John, well, we need to ban this one next. We need to ban the next one. We need to ban the next one.
SPEAKER 16 :
The goal is to get rid of all of them. We already know that. Eliminate the Second Amendment, Joe, altogether. It's archaic. We don't need it anymore.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's archaic. We don't need it. But they're not going to be happy until they get – they'll never be enough. It's not a case, well, if we just get this, we'll be happy. No. No. If you just get this, that's the camel's nose under the table.
SPEAKER 16 :
And, again, my biggest complaint with all of this is not only are they doing that, but then as a taxpayer in Colorado, and, of course, the same thing happens in Jersey and other places in the country as well, but now my tax dollars, if, in fact, this passes and it'll get sued, it'll end up going up into the higher courts and so on. In the meantime, I, as a taxpayer, am paying to defend this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. And one of the reasons all the states are doing this, by the way, they are trying to break the bank of all these gun right groups.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 15 :
like the Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA, it's lawfare. They know they're not going to win.
SPEAKER 16 :
But they feel like if they can extract enough money out of their pockets, it's a win for them.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's a win for them because there won't be the funding to fight them the next time around.
SPEAKER 16 :
By the way, it's funny when they talk about – just as a side note, being gun guys like we are, they talk about these weapons that have removable magazines and so on. Joe, just if you were in a right location, right area, up high – Had a .30-30 with the tube-fed. You know, there's no magazine there. You tube-feed a .30-30, which if you know what I mean by that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Lever action .30-30.
SPEAKER 16 :
Lever action .30-30 tube-fed. Put, you know, six, eight shots in. I don't know exactly what. It depends on the model you've got and how many they hold and so on. But, Joe, could you do some damage with that?
SPEAKER 15 :
I think the guy at the University of Texas, the clock tower, 30 years ago, he went up with a bolt-action rifle and I think maybe an M1 Garand. And I think he killed a couple of dozen people with a bolt-action rifle. Just look up University of Texas shooting.
SPEAKER 16 :
So in other words, he didn't use a detachable magazine, high capacity, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER 15 :
Nope, nope. He just sat up there at the clock tower.
SPEAKER 16 :
I'm not sure how that works because according to the left, that's impossible. It doesn't work that way.
SPEAKER 15 :
It doesn't work that way. Right. That's what I'm saying, John. So as soon as they get done banning one type of—you know, I call it squeezing a balloon— I think the people who believe that you can reduce, that you can limit or prevent people from committing mass murder by denying them access to one type of gun probably also believe you can make a balloon smaller just by squeezing it in one place. And we both know that doesn't happen. You squeeze it in one place, it pops out somewhere else. And that's what banning any specific type of gun is going to be the same reaction. Oh, yeah, I can't use this gun, I'll use this gun. I can't use that gun, I'll use a truck. You know, I can't use this gun, I'll use a Molotov cocktail.
SPEAKER 16 :
And really quick, just for an example for all of you listening, some of you even on the left, you can buy a, which Henry Repeating Rifles, very well-known lever action rifle maker. They've been around for eons. One of the oldest out there, Winchester and so on. Sort of a similar type of a gun, but a lever action gun. So I just went ahead and looked them up because I've seen ads for them of late. You can buy a 17 HMR, which is a new round, which, by the way, is still very deadly if you're going to shoot people, by the way, Joe, at the end of the day. And by the way, for all of you listening, I'm not giving anybody any ideas that they wouldn't already go get on their own. So just so you all know. This is very well-known stuff, Joe. I'm not giving a bad guy any ideas, just saying. This particular rifle holds 11 rounds, and you and I both know, scope that, get that person in the right location. And by the way, not only could they fire off the 11 fairly quickly, they could reload fairly quickly and get another 11 off if they wanted to.
SPEAKER 15 :
Or buy two and have two all preloaded.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, exactly. Point being, so many ways to do this that have nothing to do with whether the magazine is detachable or not.
SPEAKER 15 :
Exactly. So again, John, it'll be—so if they were successful on it, and let's hope they aren't, it'll just be temporary and they'll feel good about themselves. And then, you know, six months later, somebody's going to use a different type of gun. Then they're going to want to ban that one. And then somebody's going to use a 12-gauge shotgun with no more— They'll want to ban double-aught buckshot and pump-action shotguns, and it'll be never-ending. There is no end to the amount of common-sense gun controls that will ever make a liberal happy.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yep, you are correct. Absolutely. Joe, as always, I appreciate your input.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's my two cents, John.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, man, I appreciate you very much. Have a great rest of your night. Flesh Law is up next. And if you need some representation, civil, criminal, you're fighting with an insurance company, I got a text message a moment ago, by the way, when Joe was talking about an accident, what do I do, where do I go, so on and so forth. If you're running into issues with any insurance company, especially the other parties, give Kevin a call today, 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
It's time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, a few minutes left.
SPEAKER 16 :
I've got a few other bills that were introduced yesterday. And there's, you know, a cadre of, and I won't go through each one of these because, frankly, I don't know where some of these will go. First one, House Bill 1001, seeks to improve enforcement and crack down on worker misconduct. classification, which sponsors say is often used to deny workers legally required wages, overtime, or sick time. In other words, one more way for government to get involved in things that, frankly, they shouldn't be. Because keep in mind, workers have the ability to make those decisions on their own. If they feel like they're not getting paid correctly, then leave. Go somewhere else. House Bill 1002 standardizes insurance coverage determinations, which sponsors say would ensure that mental health care is based on clinical evidence and not profit margins. That one I would have to look through more closely, but highly doubt that would be the end result of that. Bill 1003 seeks to increase health care access for children with complex medical needs by streamlining federal waivers. That's another one I would have to investigate. This one's interesting. House Bill 1004 places regulations, just what we need more of, on rent-setting software used by landlords, which the Biden White House claimed increased rent by more than $100 a month in certain parts of the country. And if you look at the percentage of inflation that we've encountered of late, I'm sorry, but $100 a month, $1,200 a year is not absurd. Right. So, again, I don't know what they're trying – well, I do know what they're trying to accomplish. They want rent control. That's the initial steps in this type of a bill is to get to the point where government has rent control. Colorado has rent control, which if that happens, good luck on renting anything because landlords will be done. Why be one at that point in time? House Bill 1005 creates a tax credit to incentivize film festivals to come to Colorado. Okay, whatever. I'm not a big fan of using tax money to incentivize anyone. That's me personally. But, again, that's what that bill's about. House Bill 1006 gives school districts the ability to pursue solar fields and affordable housing projects in their leases. You know, my idea, and I've said this now many, many times, would be for school districts to look at their properties and what is not being maximized and then just getting rid of them. Selling them off. No longer having the maintenance. No longer having to worry about, you know, dinking with that. Turn that into a moneymaker for the county because when it goes out of the school district into somebody else's hands, private business, whatever... Now it's a tax generator. So how about we do that instead of worrying about whether or not they can pursue solar fields and affordable housing projects in their leases? House Bill 107 improves and standardizes... Para transit services for Coloradans with disabilities. House Bill 1008 encourages jails to provide access to mental health services and treatment to individuals. House Bill 1009 encourages local governments. I always like when they say encourages. Have you ever seen a bill or a law that encourages anything? It pretty much mandates anything. to reduce the prevalence of dead or dry vegetation to prevent wildfires. Now, again, why do we need a bill to encourage local governments to do so? Isn't that just common sense? Shouldn't that just be a part of their regular budget to do so? That's what California, by the way, is going through right now, or the lack thereof. They don't do any fire mitigation. Lastly, House Bill 1010 amends Colorado's price gouging statutes to include household items like groceries. I am 1,000% against anything that talks about price gouging because there's no such thing. Joe and I from Jersey, he was just on a moment ago. We have talked about that numerous times. There's no such thing. If somebody is smart enough, I've got a minute here, I think I can do this. If somebody's smart enough to know that some major event's going to come into town You're a hurricane area, and you're a hardware store, and you think well enough in advance to buy extra plywood. And you happen to be the only store in town that has plywood. And because of that, you're able to triple the price per sheet of plywood. By the way, good for you. And by doing so, by the way, you just created people from having a run on said plywood, meaning there's now enough to go around so everybody has some, not one person getting it all. That's why I am against any kind of price control because typically at the end of the day, it doesn't do what it's supposed to. It actually hurts those that need it. But again, you're never going to get the left to understand what I just said. Golden Eagle Financial, speaking of finances, Al Smith. And if you've got a financial advisor that you rarely see or hear from, call Al today. Have a sit-down meeting with him. Find out what he can do for you. He would love to chat and look to the future to find out exactly what he can do to help you get into retirement and then stay there. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
We'll be right back. Starting to save even a few years earlier could mean the difference of hundreds of thousands by the time you enter retirement, even if the same amount is contributed annually. The longer you wait, the more you miss out on the compounding effect of time, making it much harder to catch up. Let Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial help you today by contacting him on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold to individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 10 :
Stay up to date with Rush to Reason after the show on Twitter at Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, that is it for today. Tomorrow, Andy, of course, will be with me. He and my son Richard at 4 o'clock will have their NFL playoff picks. That won't take as long because there's not as many teams playing in the playoffs, as you know. Movie reviews this week will be The Damned and Den of Thieves 2 Pantera. I have no idea what The Damned is. Den of Thieves must be a takeoff of the old Den of Thieves that... It was actually a pretty good movie, so we'll see how that one is. And then movie rental hour, be ready for this. You can start texting your answers in early if you'd like because of the snow we've had this week and so on and the cold. Snow movies. So that will be the rental hour topic tomorrow. So, guys, be safe. Have a great evening. Stay warm, I guess I should say. So we'll be back tomorrow. Don't go anywhere. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
Journey with Emily and Holly as they unravel the story behind 'The Mystery Boat,' a miraculous tale that showcases the courage and sheer willpower of two unsung heroes of the sea. Learn how Andrew Sherman's and his son Jack's quick thinking and faith led to a divine intervention, steering the course of an impossible rescue. This episode not only highlights the power of human perseverance but also delivers a vital message on the importance of safety through Sasha Scheller's ordeal.
SPEAKER 03 :
Andrew stared back at the approaching boat in disbelief. It was closing in on them, now less than 50 yards away. How could they not see his boat? If they didn't change course soon, Andrew feared they'd collide in the middle of the ocean. This is The Miracle Files.
SPEAKER 02 :
I'm Emily Jones. And I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking more light in our lives.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us on this journey.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome back to The Miracle Files. This story is a really good one.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I love doing the interview for this one. I always think that, you know, our most recent episode is my favorite, but this one is just really, really interesting.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it's full of twists and turns, and it's called The Mystery Boat for a reason, because this has a lot of mystery in it too, so. So we won't give away any more details. Right. So here it is, The Mystery Boat.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was a perfect day to go deep-sea fishing off the coast of North Carolina. The sun shone brightly in a nearly cloudless summer sky. Andrew Sherman and his 21-year-old son Jack headed out like they had done many times to troll offshore near a place called 23 Mile Rock. They cruised along slowly with several baited lures hung from their boat, but found no fish. They decided to head out further and further, They eventually worked their way about 37 miles offshore, the furthest they had ever gone out to fish. Hoping to change their luck, the father and son duo decided to take a break from trolling and dropped some lures to the bottom of the ocean. Their boat drifted along, bobbing above depths of 110 to 115 feet of deep blue water. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on this beautiful summer day until Andrew spotted a distant boat heading straight at them.
SPEAKER 05 :
I looked out in the distance and heading dead center towards our boat was another boat. And I was like, what is going on here? We're in the middle of nowhere and this guy is just running towards us.
SPEAKER 03 :
At that point, the stranger's boat was about 200 yards away from them. Andrew looked down at his rod to reel it in.
SPEAKER 05 :
I looked up again. The boat is still right on our path, 150 to 100 yards. I look back at Jack to see where he is in terms of what he's doing. And I'm like, hey, are you almost off the bottom? And he was like, yeah, yeah, I'm almost off the bottom.
SPEAKER 03 :
Andrew looked back at the boat. It was closing in on them, now less than 100 yards away and still heading straight at them.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I say to Jack, you're not going to believe this. We have some Yahoo. And he has no idea we're here. And he's going to run straight into us.
SPEAKER 03 :
The mystery boat closed in on them. Jack finished reeling in his lure. Andrew knew they had to move quickly.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I went to turn the boat on. And there was a brief moment where I thought to myself, I really hope the boat doesn't, you know, have a problem. And it turns on, no problem. Because if not, this guy is going to run into us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Andrew turned the ignition. To his relief, the engine fired up.
SPEAKER 05 :
We put the motor in gear and we started puttering forward. And as we puttered forward, this boat just passed within 10 yards or so of our stern.
SPEAKER 03 :
In disbelief, Andrew and Jack watched the boat drive past. They thought it was strange that they hadn't noticed the boat sooner and wondered why the boat had almost run straight into them. But stranger still was what they observed as the boat drove past. Here's Andrew's son Jack explaining what happened next.
SPEAKER 05 :
As the boat drove by, you could hear the radio was playing on the boat. There was like music. It had like five rods out or something that he was trolling. As it goes by, we look in the cabin and there was no one behind the steering wheel. We're like, what the heck? That is like super bizarre.
SPEAKER 03 :
The two men wondered if the boat's owner could be down in the cabin, unaware of how close they'd come to colliding.
SPEAKER 05 :
So as he goes by, we yell at him to try to get his attention, and there was no response. So then we put our rods in the rod holders, and we took off after him. I think he was going like eight or nine knots, so like 10 miles per hour. And we were coasted up alongside him, and we had an air horn, and my dad dug that out, and he started to blast an air horn and kind of dropped it next to him. And there's no response. And we're like, oh my gosh, what if someone had a heart attack or a stroke below deck? So we talk and we're like, if there's no response the next two minutes, we should probably go ahead and try to board the boat.
SPEAKER 03 :
Minutes ticked by with Andrew and Jack coasting alongside the boat, trying to get someone's attention with no response. So a debate ensued between the father and son about who would make the treacherous leap onto the mystery boat to investigate. Jack, a midshipman at the Naval Academy, was younger and felt he would be better to make the leap. Andrew feared what Jack might find aboard the boat.
SPEAKER 05 :
As we're having this joking conversation about who's jumping in the boat, I actually did say to him very seriously, are you prepared for what you may find when you go on this boat?
SPEAKER 03 :
Jack assured his father that he was prepared to deal with whatever lay beyond the deck of the boat. But he still couldn't help but wonder what he was about to face.
SPEAKER 05 :
We came up alongside and kind of like matched the waves and everything. That was definitely a big, big adrenaline rush to jump in like somebody's boat 40 miles offshore. And you didn't know like anything. I was like, for sure there's got to be some dead guy down here.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jack made the leap and was stunned at what he found, or perhaps more accurately, what he didn't find.
SPEAKER 05 :
So we jumped on board and I look, there's nobody in the deck. I'm like, all right, cool. I like ease my way into the cabin, expecting to find something and the cabin's just completely empty. So I put the boat in neutral, turn everything off, reeling all the lines. I call my dad and I'm like, the boat's empty. And my dad goes, are you sure? Like, check again. It's like a 20 foot boat. I'm like, dad, it's like 23 feet. I promise there's like nothing here to see. There's no secret doors.
SPEAKER 03 :
No secret doors, but Jack did soon find some items that alarmed both father and son. A wallet and a life jacket. These articles spelled out one thing for Andrew and Jack. Man overboard. And even worse, man overboard without a life jacket. Had this man been fishing and somehow fallen? All they had to go on was an empty boat with some eerily important belongings on board. Beyond that, the two men had no idea how long ago the boat's captain might have gone over. It could have been hours ago. If the boat's captain had survived the fall, it must have been horrific to watch his boat drive off into the distance without him. Andrew and Jack had a sinking feeling that someone was likely out there, 40 miles from shore, fighting for their life if they were even still alive. The father and son hurried and tied the boats up together and radioed the Coast Guard. Here is the actual call Andrew and Jack made.
SPEAKER 06 :
Coast Guard Station, Wrightsville Beach. Coast Guard Station, Wrightsville Beach. Come in.
SPEAKER 10 :
Russell Haley, this is Coast Guard. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 08 :
Coast Guard Station, Riceville Beach. We just found a boat at 33, 51, 362 north, 77, 10, 177 west. There is no one aboard.
SPEAKER 10 :
Roger that, Cap. Can you see a description of the vessel and a vessel name?
SPEAKER 08 :
We will check for vessel name. I can give you the ID we found on board. Scheller. S-C-H-E-L-L-E-R. When we found the vessel, it was doing about 8 knots.
SPEAKER 10 :
Roger, Captain. We copied Scheller as the last name. Can you say again first name?
SPEAKER 08 :
First name, Sasha.
SPEAKER 10 :
S-A-S-C-H-A. Roger, Captain. Sasha Scheller. Request you say again, was the boat moving when you came upon it?
SPEAKER 08 :
The boat was moving. It almost ran us down, so we moved out of the way, followed the boat, hit it with four or five blasts on an air horn, waited about ten minutes. My son found no one on board. Boat vessel number is NC2683. E as in Echo, N as in Nancy.
SPEAKER 10 :
Roger that, Cap. Other than the ID on board, did you see any other sign of any other persons on the boat?
SPEAKER 08 :
We went over the entire boat. It's a 23-foot Parker Cuddy Cabin. No one on board that we can find. Lines were all deployed like he was fishing a spread.
SPEAKER 10 :
Roger that, Cap.
SPEAKER 03 :
The Coast Guard encouraged Andrew and Jack to access the GPS system on the boat to see if they could give any coordinates of where the boat might have come from. With the two boats tied up and drifting together, Andrew boarded the mystery boat and joined Jack in the cabin where they radioed the Coast Guard again with the GPS history.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. So, the boat leaves like a track essentially. So, you can see where the boat left, where he started, where he came out. And then he went like 23 miles offshore, actually the same place that we initially were at. And then he began pushing offshore further and further. So we could see where the boat went. We were able to like report those coordinates to the Coast Guard. We probably talked to the Coast Guard for 20 or 30 minutes on the radio. And the Coast Guard was like, okay, like, Roger, thank you. And I was like, you know, like, what? There's a dude out here with no life jacket on. What do you mean, like, thank you? So we were like, golly, we should go try to find this guy. We can't just let him drown out here, which we knew was pretty doodle. I mean, the chances of, I was convinced the whole time that we were probably going to wait for like a body to gas up and then float back to the surface. Because the chances of like floating out there with no life jacket for a while is not too high.
SPEAKER 03 :
There are critical moments in life, forks in the road some call them, and this was one of those moments for Andrew and Jack. They could go home and leave everything in the hands of the Coast Guard, or they could search for the man overboard. This stranger, now known to them as Sasha Scheller. The ocean is vast and endless. Only those who spend time out on the ocean truly understand how vast it is. And these two men understood it well. They knew any attempt at rescue would be almost impossible, like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But they weren't the type of men to just give up when someone could possibly still be alive and in a desperate situation. In fact, as soon as the Coast Guard said thank you, Jack said, we're going to go find him. They ended the call with the Coast Guard and immediately devised a plan.
SPEAKER 05 :
So we ended up looking at the GPS. We deemed he was making normal fishing patterns or trolling around. And then at one point, we saw the boat kind of go straight for a while. And then it just kind of veered off into this weird, abnormal pattern where it intersected our boat a few miles later. And we're like, that seems like where he may have fallen off if he did fall off. So to give this some more perspective, on his GPS, he saw this dotted line, a trail that came out, fished around a little bit, fished around a little bit, fished around a little bit, got out to the area that we were in. And then what it did was it made this looping turn, crossed back on itself, curved back around, and then headed back towards land and encountered us like right there.
SPEAKER 03 :
As Andrew and Jack mapped out the coordinates, they also noticed that Sasha had several waypoints on the GPS system. A waypoint happens when the GPS is manually touched and is a point of reference, kind of like dropping a pin location for navigation purposes.
SPEAKER 05 :
And not far from where we were, it had a waypoint, so we knew that he had touched his screen there. So we came up with a plan that I will run Sasha's boat and Jack will run mine. And I can see the GPS for Sasha. And I said, Jack, I'm going to take you back to his last waypoint where we knew he was on the boat. And when we get to that waypoint, I want you to make ever enlarging circles from that waypoint. Just keep going out from that waypoint. I'm going to go back over here to where the boat made this big loop, and I'm just going to crisscross through that whole area. I mean, I had no idea why I was doing it that way. But anyway, that's what we did.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jack traveled to the last waypoint. For several minutes, he made concentric circles around it, and then he spotted something in the water.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so he started a search. And I guess like 20 or 30 minutes in, I don't know how I saw this in the ocean, but I found a pair of boots like floating in the water. Regular deck boots he'd be fishing with. So I scooped those up, raided them in the Coast Guard, raided them into my dad. And I thought, I'm like, oh my gosh, like did his boots slip off from when he like drowned or something?
SPEAKER 03 :
While Jack saw the boots as a bad sign, Andrew had a different thought.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I was about three quarters of a mile from Jack, searching through this big loop. And I don't know why, it wasn't based on anything really concrete, but I just thought if I had fallen overboard, I would take my boots off because I could swim easier with my boots off. And so that said to me, he fell off and he was still alive. And then for some reason that said to me, between where he had touched the screen and there was a straight line before it made this big curve, I don't know why in my mind I thought he fell off somewhere in that straight line.
SPEAKER 03 :
Andrew drove his boat back to the start of the straight line and let his boat drift. It drifted south, which made Andrew think that Sasha may have drifted south as well. He crisscrossed over the line slightly to the north and then back towards the south, scanning the horizon for any signs of life. He took another turn and went northward over the line and again headed south. And that's when he saw it.
SPEAKER 05 :
I all of a sudden saw this big splash on the surface, probably like 300 yards away. And I thought, that is either a big fish or that is somebody. And I sped the boat up as fast as it could go, cut the distance, and then I just saw this hand come out of the water and reach across in a big arc like that. And I just came on the radio and I was like, Coast Guard Radio Station Wilmington, I have found him. I have found him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Earlier that day, Sasha Scheller, an experienced swimmer, surfer, and fisherman, had been out fishing on what started out to be a perfect day. Sasha heard over the radio that other fishermen were catching gaffer mahi-mahi, which are very large mahi-mahis, and he saw several boats heading that way. The waves were unusually calm, so he decided to drive out further than normal until he reached about 40 miles offshore. Sasha had always been very safety-minded. However, he let his guard down just for a moment. And a moment was all that it took.
SPEAKER 01 :
I was out fishing, and I set up all my rigs. I was trolling them behind me. And it was so calm and so beautiful. And I'm going to take my life jacket off for just a little while and get some sun. And that was the biggest mistake I ever made. So I'm just cruising along, listening to some music, and this is a part that a lot of people kind of make fun of. So I was standing right there by the steering wheel, and I had to basically relieve myself. So I turned to the side of the boat, right next to the steering wheel, did what I had to do, and when I was turning back around to face the steering wheel, my foot slipped, and I just rolled right over the side of the boat.
SPEAKER 03 :
He first tried to grab the side of the boat without success. He had one last chance to grab the back platform of the boat, but it was impossible with the boat moving so quickly.
SPEAKER 01 :
That boat was gone in a matter of a minute. I mean, when your whole body's in the water and only your head's sticking up and you're watching that boat go, it's a minute or two and you can't see it anymore. It's gone.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sasha watched in horror as his boat got further and further away. So much went through Sasha's mind in the moments that followed. At one point, he saw a boat in the distance. He tried yelling and screaming as loud as he could, but his hopes were quickly dashed as the boat captain didn't see him and drove out of sight. He was left alone with only his thoughts in what felt like an endless sea.
SPEAKER 01 :
I was pretty angry, pretty upset with myself. When I started to talk about the details is when it kind of floods back. You have a bunch of different thoughts that go through your head. The first one was kids. You know, you're going to leave your kids. You think about your children growing up without you, you know. Now that I'm older and mid-40s, you start thinking about, man, I don't have enough life insurance. Realizing what all this would do to them. And you start thinking about long-term what your actions did and what the consequences are. So that's why all the anger was there. It was really anger at myself for the one simple decision I made that risked everything.
SPEAKER 03 :
After several minutes of treading water, Sasha's fear and anger gave way to thoughts of survival.
SPEAKER 01 :
I think your mind automatically turns itself on to preservation mode. So pretty fast, I would say 15, 20 minutes, I was like, you know what, I know I'm about three miles away from where those other five boats were. And that's where I remembered the swell direction. So I started swimming in the direction of where those five boats were. About every 10 minutes or so, I'd duck my head underwater and listen. Sound travels much better underwater. So I'd listen for boats. Every now and then, I think two times I heard a boat, but they were way off in the distance. So I just kept swimming. And after about an hour or so, I started trying to spot some Sargasso seaweed. And if you're not familiar, it's a seaweed that floats. It has little air sacs in it. So I was going to take my shorts off and stuff them with as much Sargasso seaweed as possible so I had something to mentally hold on to if it went into the night.
SPEAKER 03 :
Agonizing hours passed before he saw another boat.
SPEAKER 01 :
After two hours, I saw a boat coming towards me at a high rate of speed. And then it started leaving again. And I thought that was quite strange. But then about five minutes later, it was doing it again. It was coming towards me. And then when it happened a third time, I just started kicking my legs as much as I could and waving my arms and splashing water, just trying to get anything to get attention. And then next thing you know, the boat's speeding straight towards me. And not until it was probably five yards away from me, I realized it was my boat. And it was Andrew driving my boat.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is the point where Andrew called into the Coast Guard.
SPEAKER 04 :
Coast Guard, this is Parker. Over. I have found him. Coast Guard, this is Parker. I have found him.
SPEAKER 05 :
And then at that point, Jack heard all of that on the radio and he raced to where we were. I raced up to Sasha in the water, spun the back of his boat around to him, shut the motor off, ran to him. He was cramping up pretty badly, pulled him up onto the swim platform on the back of the boat. Initially, he just laid on the swim platform and recovered for about 30 seconds. And then he was able to get up and come into the back of the boat and sit on the back transom of the boat. At that point, Jack was there. He tied up to the boat again. I asked Sasha if he had anything on board, like Gatorade. And he was like, yeah, he had a cooler. And we got him a Gatorade. We just sat on the back of the boat for like 10 minutes and drank a Gatorade and kind of recovered. And, you know, we were just like, I'm so happy to see you. And he was like, I'm so happy to see you. It was, yeah, it was pretty special.
SPEAKER 09 :
Parker from the Coast Guard. Roger, good cops. You found one of the persons in the water. Do you have him on board? Over.
SPEAKER 07 :
Coast Guard, Wrightsville Beach. Coast Guard, Wrightsville Beach. I confirm this is Parker. We have him. He is safe on board.
SPEAKER 09 :
Roger, Cap. Could you just have him confirm he was the only person on board the boat?
SPEAKER 07 :
That's 10-4. Only person on the boat.
SPEAKER 03 :
We asked Sasha how he felt when he realized he was going to be rescued. This was his response.
SPEAKER 01 :
I don't know. It's a crazy good feeling. I don't know if I could put it into words. I mean, it's just to be able to relax and not realizing how tense you actually were. until I could grab a hold of that boat. I mean, yeah, I'm in good shape, but as soon as I grabbed that boat, my legs cramped up. I mean, who knew how long I could have lasted? Could have been another five minutes and my legs cramped up. Who knows? But yeah, it's just such a mixed emotions of relief, ecstasy. It's kind of hard to describe. As soon as my legs became uncramped,
SPEAKER 03 :
It was truly a miracle that Sasha had been found. Part of this miracle is that Sasha's boat had driven directly at two men who were willing to do all it took to find him. But even more miraculous is how the boat ended up turning without a captain steering it from its original trajectory to drive straight at Andrew and Jack.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think the coolest part of the story for me is when Sasha got back home. He called us and he said, hey, I just got back to my boat. Like, I don't care at all because you guys just saved my life and everything. But did you guys take one of the rods off the boat? I was trolling six rods when I fell off. And we were like, no, he didn't pick any rods. So he went back at his GPS and back to my dad was talking about the way the boat was moving initially where it made this big arc and then kind of shot on the straight line where it had gone straight towards us. The rod that he was missing was on his left outrigger, which is where the boat turned towards us. And the only possible explanation for why a rod would just randomly fall out of an outrigger is if like a huge fish beyond belief grabbed the bait that he was trawling, pulled all the line off the rod, like three, four hundred yards, tilted to the sides of the rod when someone was out of the water and was able to pop out of the outrigger and the boat straightened out again directly on a course straight towards us. So I think that is like the craziest part of the story. Yeah, I'm a math major, so I ran the numbers on the chances that we would have seen his boat out there. The chance of his boat going close enough to ours, much less on the direct trajectory where we had to move our boat out of the way. It's like .00s, like 9 or 10 zeros, like 1%. So it's just like completely unbelievable that that would have happened.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sasha agrees that this is the only way his boat could have turned the way it did.
SPEAKER 01 :
So the interesting part is about three quarters of a mile or so after I fell out of the boat, my boat started turning to the left. And then all of a sudden it made a 90 degree turn. The interesting part about that is that I was missing a fishing rod, one of the ones I was using to troll with. and it happened to be on the same side that that boat turned to on the left side. It's not like a river or a lake and there's not a whole lot of debris out there and a little bit of seaweed is not going to be able to pull a boat. So the only real kind of explanation is that I actually caught a fish and it started taking line out and drag causing it to drift to the left. And then when it got to the end of the line where it's tied off on the reel, It was enough to pull the boat. That changed the direction of my boat to make it go towards Andrew and Jack, which is pretty, pretty crazy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sasha didn't grow up a religious man. He feels more connected to nature than anything and attributes his survival to both nature and the courageous men who saved his life. Andrew and Jack see things a little differently.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's like, there's no way that would have happened without a miracle or divine intervention. That's like, it just wouldn't happen. You know, no way it would have happened. It's like, why does some miracles happen while like other super tragic, horrible things happen? You have to press like the I believe button and have like blind faith and just know there's a higher power and a higher plan that you don't fully understand. You may be, maybe using that higher power and higher plan like we were used and put in the right place at the right time. I don't think any moral mind comprehend why a miracle happens.
SPEAKER 03 :
Andrew, Jack, and Sasha have all shared this experience with the media and in various settings. Sasha has gone on to emphasize how important safety gear is. He knows that even the most experienced sports enthusiast can get into trouble if they let their guard down when it comes to safety. His hope is that this experience may very well save others' lives. Both Andrew and Jack received commendation medals from the Coast Guard, but these two heroic men are also incredibly humble. Both men said, far more than any medals, they're grateful for how this experience has changed the course of history for not only Sasha, but Sasha's family.
SPEAKER 05 :
I will tell you the most profound thing that came out of this entire thing for me was it was about a week later that we had Sasha and his family and his parents to our house and they came and it was really funny. Sasha brought some gifts with him, one of which was the Castaway volleyball. So that sits in my house now. But his wife during that visit said, uh, and I may, I can never get through this easily. She said, you know, that day you didn't just save Sasha. You saved our family. I'm just thankful that we were put in the right place at the right time. You know, I've had the right skillset that we were able to do something.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, man. Can you imagine being out in the ocean without a life jacket and knowing you're almost 40 miles away from shore and no one in sight?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, my gosh. I would be so scared. Terrifying. I get scared in a lake thinking the fish is going to bite my toes. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
me too I seriously like Jaws messed me up I still am traumatized by that movie and when you're in a lake there's no shark thinking about in the ocean you're like what is beneath me it would be so scary Yeah. At that point, you are completely helpless.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. And he was in really good physical health. But still, I mean, you can't just swim 40 miles into shore. Against the current.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
And in those two hours, he only had gone a mile. And if he would have kept swimming, everyone would have been gone for the day. There was no hope, really.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. He knew that, too. He knew that the boats were probably all going to be heading in soon and that the chances of getting to them before they left were pretty slim.
SPEAKER 03 :
And if they had left, I mean.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, he was really smart. I do have to say like when he was talking about getting those seaweeds that he could use to kind of help him feel like he had something to hold on to. I thought, what a smart thing to do. I don't know that my brain would have ever gone there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, kind of reminded me of that show Alone. If you've seen Alone and it's the survival show, how creative people get when they're in a survival situation.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I thought I would never have thought of that. But who knows what you would think of when you're actually put out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
True. One thing that was really important to him was to give a message about safety and to make sure you use your safety equipment.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and we have a soundbite that we want to play to honor his wishes of the message he wanted to get across.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, the reason why I like to talk about it is to make people aware. I've got every accreditation behind me. If I was a surfer, I was a lifeguard, I went to Coast Guard. You know, I knew all the safety protocols and had every kind of safety equipment you can imagine. It was just one really stupid decision. If I would have had that life jacket on that I took off, there was a whistle. That boat would have heard me with a whistle. I had a VHF radio. All the boats within five miles would have heard me on the VHF radio. You know what I mean? It would have been a 15-minute ordeal. So it's the big thing I really want people to understand when I share it is Regardless of what you're doing, if it's snowboarding, if it's fishing in the ocean, if it's hiking in the mountains, safety equipment is relatively inexpensive to the actual toys that you're using out there. So get it and use it. Don't just have it so you can say you have it, but actually use it.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know he's gone around to several trainings and meetings and has presented about his experience.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and he very well could be saving lives by sharing that message. So we definitely want to help him spread that message.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. You know, without that life jacket, the only way he could have survived in the vast ocean is through a miracle.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I agree. And I just want to say, don't you think it's incredible how this father and son went so above and beyond?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, yeah. I think that there are lots of people who would just call in the Coast Guard, report it and feel like, OK, I've done my duty.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and who knows if the Coast Guard would have found him?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
In that instance, minutes were so crucial. And I thought it was so cool that when the Coast Guard said, Roger that. Thank you. And just hung up that they were like, we're going to go out and find this guy. Yeah. Wasn't it so cool to have the Coast Guard call?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. I feel like I'm eavesdropping listening to this call. You can hear the elation in Andrew's voice.
SPEAKER 02 :
They were really smart, too, the way they went about things. But I'm also sure that they were given divine guidance to find Sasha as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, whether you attribute it to luck or you attribute it to divine intervention, I'm grateful Sasha's alive.
SPEAKER 02 :
I am, too. And I'm sure his family is so grateful to Andrew and Jack.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, they're heroes.
SPEAKER 02 :
They really are. Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share, contact us at themiraclefiles.com or find us on Facebook.
SPEAKER 03 :
We'll post new episodes on the first day of each month. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please share it and leave us a review.
SPEAKER 02 :
Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for His light in your own lives.
SPEAKER 03 :
If you'd like to support us on Patreon so we can produce more episodes like this, go to patreon.com forward slash The Miracle Files. You'll get exclusive access to photos, videos, articles, and other content you won't find anywhere else. We'll also have live chats and we'd love to interact with you there. Thank you so much for your support.
The unforgettable dynamics among former presidents and vice presidents as they gather for Jimmy Carter's funeral unfold, offering a unique glimpse into political affiliations and personal animosities. Dive into the unseen narratives as political leaders struggle to keep up appearances amidst personal rivalries and tension-filled seating arrangements. Moreover, we'll explore California's bold steps in addressing equity within their fire department, sparking laughter and skepticism with the stereotype-heavy appointments. Don't miss our discussion on the strange rise of equity roles in otherwise straightforward professions.
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SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions.
SPEAKER 08 :
It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 03 :
Florida Man Dylan Brewer from Clearwater Beach was sentenced to probation and community service for vandalizing a graffitied crosswalk. Delray Beach so it's a graffiti crosswalk they vandalized the crosswalk and made a pride flag on it and then he vandalized the vandalism and he got in trouble they said that he performed a burnout on the crosswalk and that's that's why he was charged someone charged him for driving and burning out on a crosswalk specifically because they painted the crosswalk with pride colors and They revoked his license for a year. He's got 12 months probation and 150 hours of community service. That's the dumbest stuff I've ever heard of. That is so stupid. That is so stupid. Someone should give him Uber for a year. So goofy. You're vandalizing a city street. You can't get in trouble for vandalizing somebody else's vandalism. That's so dumb. A Florida man... Ordered about $500 in food without paying at two separate restaurants. And that's a lot of food. Polk County, Florida. He ordered $500 in food and drinks at two separate restaurants in less than 14 days. He was charged with defrauding an innkeeper. They didn't spell innkeeper wrong over at the AOL website where the story comes from. They pulled it from Fox 35 Orlando, though. Two different restaurants. I don't even know how you can eat all the stuff that he ordered. One Sunset Martini. And after eating, he just like would walk out of the back doors and didn't attempt to pay. So they booked him in a Polk County jail. He bonded out a couple of days later. Florida residents are warned it's that time of the year. Watch out for falling iguanas. The temperature when it drops below the mid 40s, iguanas go into a dormant state, a cold stunned state. And a lot of times they fall out of the trees where they perch. There was a story a couple of years ago of someone getting killed because they got hit in the head by an iguana that dropped out of a tree. So they said that. If the cold wave evolves, the maximum temperature departures, you could see a lot more iguanas falling out of the trees because of this cold, this cold snap that's pushing through. And so they said, just look out for them. They're stunned. They can be up to five feet long. They can weigh up to 25 pounds. And they, yeah, if you don't, if you're not paying attention to them falling out of the tree, you can get hit. It's literally a story that we have every year. It's crazy. So everybody be careful out there with everything. And let's see, last but not least, if we have time, never buy fireworks out of a van with a guy that is missing two fingers because that's what happened. This guy was illegally apparently selling fireworks out of the back of a van near a meat market. The folks over at Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec, longtime friend of the show. I'm a huge fan of what Kel-Tec does. I'm a huge fan of their firearms. Everything's built right here in the US of A in Florida. They have got a great story, great all-American story. And as we head into the later part of January, this is about the same time every year that Kel-Tec unveils the new things that they've been working on. This year is not going to be any kind of exception for that. George Kellgren, who's the president, founder, designer, mad scientist. He's actually one of the few major firearms designers still alive today leading the way in innovation. You know, they invented the micro compact pistol category. They came out last year with the lightest, thinnest double stack nine millimeter on the market. That's the P-15. Everything they do is quality made right here in America. They got the fold-in half carbine, the sub 2Ks, that whole family, that whole line. They have the KSG shotguns, the RDB bullpup series, and they stand behind everything that they make. Now, they're going to be dropping some new product later this month. I'll be at SHOT Show. broadcasting live for that industry event. So there's going to be some new product and we'll talk all about it when it happens. You can visit Keltechweapons.com, sign up for their newsletter, check out their social media, and you can also get on the inside track so you can be made aware when they drop new stuff. Innovation Performance Keltech, K-E-L-T-E-C, Keltechweapons.com.
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SPEAKER 02 :
I started the year as the would-be Democratic presidential nominee, and we all know what happened after that. Again, you didn't see a particularly warm greeting between the first couple and the second couple, but again, we are at a funeral, so one has to take that into account.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, they're not all so super sad that they can't even greet each other cordially. That's Jake Tapper who's narrating because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they did not like seeing each other at Jimmy Carter's funeral. And it's like you could not even act for five seconds. You couldn't act for the cameras for five seconds when you walked in and took your seat. You couldn't do that for five seconds. Just – it was weird watching all of that. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash with you. We are at the – the bottom of this third hour or sorry, second hour. And if you're tuning in, there's no video today because Texas is covered in ice. We had a thick layer of ice laying down and then a big old thick layer of snow and it's not safe for the crew to drive in because the roads are horrific. So everybody stay safe out there. And of course, we're praying for everybody and whose homes are being burned down. It's horrible. The funeral for Jimmy Carter, you had all of the presidents, all the surviving presidents that go in. They sit in the order of when they took office. And you had the Pence's who were sitting next to Gore and then Trump and Melania come in and they shook hands with Gore and Pence who rose to greet them. Karen Pence, Stacy, she stayed seated. She did not look at Melania, nor did she look at Trump. And then they took their seats. And then you had Obama come in and he didn't shake Trump or Melania's hand, but he briefly kind of acknowledged them. And then he shook Mike Pence and Karen Pence's hand and then Al Gore. And then he sat down. And then the Bushes come in. And George Bush comes in and wraps Obama on the stomach, just doesn't even look at the Trumps. And then he goes and greets the Pences and Al Gore. And then the Clintons come in. And everybody greets each other, except for Trump and Melania. It's so weird. So the only people... It was Mike Pence and Al Gore and Obama that were actually the nicest. And were actually... greeting and greeted Trump and Melania. And it was weird to watch because it seemed like Obama and Bush were the kind of joyful ones, you know? They were the ones that looked kind of joyful and happy and relaxed and normal. Everyone else looked like they had a... And Trump did, too. But, you know, in terms of how people were treating him and Melania, everybody else kind of looked stiff. It was weird. Yeah. But the Bushes did not acknowledge the Trumps at all. I think Bush is still angry because Jeb exclamation point was supposed to be. Remember, he was supposed to be the next in line. It didn't happen that way. He was the next in line. He had an open path. And it didn't work out. Didn't work out that way because Republicans, you know, you can't you can't give us more of the same if you're not, you know, change anything. I mean, Republicans were part of the immigration problem, part of big spending, part of all of it. So it's a very, very, very interesting thing to see with all of that. So this – and watching it, I'm just – you can tell that they didn't like each other. Kamala and – what's his name? We don't have to remember his name much longer. The second lady. Doug. What's her husband's name? Kamala Harris' husband's name? Doug Emhoff. Oh, that's right. Doug Emhoff. The second lady or dude or whatever the hell they come in and she's just stony faced. And then the Bidens, nobody's greeting anybody. They did not look to be like they were happy sitting next to each other. They didn't acknowledge each other. How do you walk into if you know, I don't care if it's a funeral. How do you walk into a funeral and you're walking into an aisle like a pew and you're sitting next to people? The people who are your vice president. And you don't even acknowledge them. They didn't acknowledge them the entirety of the service. It is so wild. They hate each other. And Hillary Clinton just recently learned how to style her hair again. So she's got this big bouffant 80s hair going on. Steve, you saw her hair, right?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, well, let's kind of roll it a bit.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, it's wild. It's gotten bigger. She keeps her secrets in it. I don't know. It's gotten bigger. It's a lot of those. But... But they she just had like this weird, not a smile. I don't know how to describe it. It was this weird expression just plastered on our face. And Bill Clinton, he's he's kind of like Obama and Bush. They're just sort of laid back and they can kind of hang together. I think they purposefully also I know that they sit them in order that they've served. But I really think that all the organizers were glad that they weren't sitting in the bushes next to the Trumps and that Obama was the buffer. I think Obama had to take one for the bushes because the bushes can't stand the Trumps. It's just so fascinating to watch all of the little pettiness play out because you don't really get these sorts of – you don't get these public displays like this very often. And so when you get them, it's completely acceptable to Zapruder-level analyze them. And I just I keep watching it. Did anything stick out to you?
SPEAKER 09 :
My favorite part was there was a moment that C-SPAN caught where Trump kept whispering jokes to Obama and Obama kept laughing at him. And then you see the camera pan out and Kamala turns over her left shoulder, sees them laughing, and then turns right back around with like a pout and looks at Doug. It was the best.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Yeah, he was cracking up. I want to know what he said. Wasn't there, I think there were like lip readers or something. Oh, I can't wait for that. Oh my gosh, that's going to be great. But I don't know. I just, I did the whole thing. It was very interesting. But it was, yeah, when Bush came in, it was like he skipped in. And he, they all acted like they were running late. When the Bushes came in, they like barreled over. And Obama stood up. The Trumps didn't. And he – Bush wrapped Obama like in the abdomen because he and Obama apparently get along very well. And it's just very fascinating. I'm watching some of this now. I'm super fascinated by all of this.
SPEAKER 09 :
Do the Bushes and the Trumps have beef? I don't know. Bush and the Trumps? Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, yeah. They think that – so Jeb was going to be the guy and then Trump made fun of him and then just ripped it right out of his hands. Remember that? Yeah. They are they they did not like him for that. They did not like him for that at all. I mean, it went so far that W would even defend Obama from Trump's criticisms. He he kept saying that he wasn't going to get super political and politicize anything. And I don't know, maybe there's other stuff that they know that we don't. But I don't know. It was just very interesting. And then when the Clintons came, Bush stood up for the Clintons as Hillary and Bill approached. And Trump and Melania just stay seated. And I thought it was interesting. Obama stayed seated when Hillary walked up, too, because Obama and Hillary don't like each other. They never have liked each other historically. I feel like we're sitting at the lunchroom table and we're gossiping about people. And it's so worth it because you never get these displays like this ever. You never get to see stuff like this ever. And then all and it is really hard. I think when you get old like that too, one of the things my grandmother told me is that as she got older, she had less energy to pretend to like people that she didn't want to like. And I always thought that was hysterical when I was younger. But now, you know, I get it. Like as you get older, you just don't have time for the nonsense. And I think that all plays out. I don't know if Biden knew where he was. I don't know. But – Obama and Trump were cutting up and it was funny. 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.
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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. And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 03 :
So a cookware group has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota's PFAS ban, the toxic chemical stuff. So a cookware group has filed a lawsuit against the ban. It's the Cookware Sustainability Alliance. They filed it against the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The law went into effect January 1st. They're trying to say it's unconstitutional and unenforceable, the forever chemicals that are in the cookware, and the law is banning the sale and distribution of such cookware. And it covers everything from rugs, cookware, all kinds of stuff. So they said that it imposes a burden on interstate commerce. and discriminates against out-of-state commerce, and as a result, it violates the Commerce Clause in the Constitution. So that's the angle that they're going for to try to stop that ban. Girl Scouts are retiring two cookie flavors, the S'mores. I don't even know that these existed. I haven't bought Girl Scout cookies since their Planned Parenthood stuff because I just thought it was inappropriate for young girls selling cookies for them to have an association with Planned Parenthood. But they said that they... are discontinuing those. I didn't even know there was the s'mores and the toast-yay cookie. If it's not Thin Mint, it's trash. Thin Mint or the, no, just Thin Mint. If it's not that, it's trash. So they are discontinuing those. Let's see. This, ooh, 200 aggressive monkeys. There's a war that has been launched on them. The macaques monkey that's in Thailand, they have a huge problem with us. They're actually violent and bitey. And they steal people's stuff. It's crazy. So they've tried a sterilization campaign, but apparently that didn't get them the results that they wanted. And so now they're in the second phase of the war. They're planning to neuter 100 of these monkeys. And then they did 122 of them in one district last year. Now they're going to try to establish feeding zones to prevent them from straying into residential spaces where they've been attacking people. And, you know, I just I mean, why don't they train them, train them to do stuff? Male strippers are facing extinctions. They said that there were no male strippers booked for in Britain. There was not a single male stripper apparently that was booked for a bachelor party or any. I just women are not like dudes. And they said that bookings for those experiences increased elsewhere, but not for dudes. I wanted to switch gears here. We got to talk about why are are all the lesbians in California named Kristen? I think they have to be. Lorraine found this interesting thread specifically on these fire chiefs. And, I mean, I don't care if they're all lesbians named Kristen. I just think it's hysterical that they are all lesbians named Kristen. The first fire chief that they have, a gay woman, Kristen Crowley, and then they have their assistant chief, for the fire department, Kristen Kepner. She went to the Harvard Kennedy school for managing diverse organizations. I don't even know what that means. She apparently was accused of beating her girlfriend. I don't know. And then there's the first, I don't know what, what is an equity bureau chief? What the hell does that have to do with fire? The co-founder of Equity on Fire, it's the Los Angeles Fire Department's Equity Bureau chief. The first lesbian Equity Bureau chief. She makes $399,000 a year. I think for $399,000 a year, a lot of people would pretend to be gay and interested in equity. I am amazed at this. They're all named Christine or they're all named Kristen, all of them. And then you get to the Los Angeles Fire Department training commander. Now I will say this chick does look like a legit dude. Jamie Brown. She stands out because her name isn't Kristen. So the entire Los Angeles Fire Department is a bunch of old white lesbians with the exception of the one lesbian whose name is still Kristen. Right? Right? I don't even I golly, I cannot even this is I can't even make this up. So just to recap, in California, the entirety of the fire department is run by old white lesbians named Kristen, with the exception of one black lesbian named Kristen. Did they like was that a goal? Did they set out to have them all be like, what is in the world? And what the hell do you have to have an equity department for? You're the fire department. You fight fires. That's all you do is fires. What do you do? Fires. That's it. You don't do anything else. I just, you cannot make this stuff up. This is, and no wonder they're burning. No wonder. This is crazy. I mean, I feel like this... Oh, man. Now, I don't think anybody's arguing that the alphabet stuff has anything to do with the fire. What we are arguing is the priorities, clearly, of Los Angeles. Because while they were allowing the accumulated record rainfall to just drain into the ocean... They weren't capturing the water. They weren't making sure their hydrants were working. They weren't trying to talk with land management, especially on federal land. Bureau of Land Management comes into play with a lot of that. They did make sure that they checked all the lesbian kristens and checked all those boxes to work in the fire department. You've got to admit, it's weird. And clearly the priority wasn't on actual fire. They created all of these other they they can't afford to hire more firefighters, but they can afford to pay half a million dollars to someone who's an equity bureau chief, whatever the hell that is. Can anyone explain that one to me? What the hell does an equity bureau chief do? It's so prevalent, the equity that you have to have like a whole bureau for it. What school do you go to for that job?
SPEAKER 09 :
I'm all for women becoming firefighters, but be good at it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, be good at it. Learn how to fight a damn fire and learn when to deploy stuff. So apparently they're also getting criticism because they waited so long to deploy. I'm just... Think about that for a minute. When you've got... I think they said it's 1,000 feet a second. Just think about that in your head real quick, how fast that is. When seconds count, you can't wait to deploy your fire department. You can't wait. When seconds count, you cannot wait. So they're getting a lot of criticism, and it's interesting because the criticism is coming from inside the department. that they took too long to deploy. That's a whole other, man, you know there's going to be lawsuits.
SPEAKER 09 :
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.
SPEAKER 06 :
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Subscribe to The Miracle Files wherever you get your podcasts and join us on this thrilling journey of faith and miracles.
Explore the intersection of disaster response, politics, and public accountability in the latest episode of our show. Host Dana Lash leads the discussion on the failures that have exacerbated one of California's most devastating ongoing wildfires. Amidst the destruction in Los Angeles, we scrutinize decisions made by public officials, uncovering their impact on communities that are now faced with rebuilding from ashes. Moving beyond the headlines, we expose the stark realities and human stories from the ground as families grapple with loss while navigating political narratives. This episode doesn't shy away from controversy as we delve into the societal reactions to those who can leverage resources in dire times—part of an ongoing class discourse exaggerated by environmental crises. From overwhelmed fire services to the logistical challenges during a critical firefight, glean insights into what is working and what's not. Witness the sobering consequences of political and logistical incompetence, challenging the notion of ‘business as usual’ with compelling commentary and firsthand accounts from those directly affected.
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SPEAKER 25 :
We're in the public safety phase. I hate to even ask this question, but the president-elect chose to attack you, blame you for this.
SPEAKER 06 :
One can't even respond to it. I mean, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn asunder. Churches burned down. This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say. I won't. I stood next to a president of the United States of America today and I was proud to be with Joe Biden and he had the backs of every single person in this community. He didn't play politics, didn't try to divide anyone.
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. This is, I'm telling you what, I, I, how do I put this? The incompetency that has been demonstrated by Democrats with regards to this wildfire has been one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen in my life. And I'm just, I mean, I'm almost speechless, not because, you know, I don't expect them to be this incompetent, if that makes sense. I'm speechless because they seem to think that nothing that they do is incorrect. They seem, they act like nothing that they do is wrong and there's nothing to remedy. If you've listened to any of these soundbites that they have given, it is amazing. It's not even an act of not being aware. It's just they think that they don't do anything wrong. I was listening to Karen Bass. I mean, we've got a lot of audio to play for you guys today. And I mean, like I said, it's just really amazing. This woman lives in a bubble, guys. She lives in a bubble. She believes apparently that she's not really culpable for anything. Nothing's wrong. Can't imagine why. I mean, yes, it's really devastating, but let's not politicize it. And that's the big thing that you're going to be hearing a lot about. And we're going to talk about it. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash here with you. It is a very, very, very cold, snowy, icy day in Texas. We already have ice on the ground. The snow has started to fall pretty heavily. And as you know, with Texas, it's very odd. And it also means that we don't have video for today's program. Because it is way too icy and too dangerous for Kane and Juan to get in here. I mean, my dog slips and falls outside. Our poor Wick, he went outside to use the potty. And as he was traversing the patio, he just... He just slips right by and just slips right by and just falls and kind of slides a little bit. God love him. So Dana Lash here with you. And we're going to bring you all of the latest with this. And you can still stream the program. And of course, you know, we've got Substack. You can follow along with a lot of stuff over at Substack. That's if you're a subscriber over there. But so, again, if you're just joining us, no video today because of the ice and snow. It's too dangerous for the rest of the crew to get here. And so we're just, we're audio today. But we have a ton of stuff. Ton of stuff to touch on. All right. So first and foremost, this, the latest with the devastating fire. I... Again, when you look at, and I wanted to get to all of the things that they, all of the moves that Democrats have made that ultimately contributed to this horrific, I think it's, they're saying it's like the worst fire in LA's history. And the, whether it's the budget that was cut, For fire services, there was the budget cut for fire services. There was the hydrants that were running out. The reservoirs weren't filled. They said that a little over half of the Pacific Palisades is gone. A little over half of an entire community is gone. The Hollywood Hills are burning. There is zero containment. And... All I mean, it's the sad thing is, is that while wildfires happen, a lot of this devastation is preventable. Now, as we said, Karen Bass was in. She's the mayor. She was in Ghana. This was what happened. She was in the report. She was in the airport. She just she comes in from Ghana. This is right at the airport. And an Irish reporter just happens to be there at the airport when she comes in. And they confront her. Audio soundbite one. This was she you don't hear her respond because she stares off into the distance. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 01 :
Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today? Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you're utterly incompetent. Are you considering your position? Madam Mayor, have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster?
SPEAKER 24 :
Hmm. She just stares off into the distance. Just stares off into the distance. Doesn't even answer. Doesn't say anything. Stares off into the distance. Has no answer for them at all whatsoever. Her aide just sort of shuffles the reporter to the side. I mean, it's unreal. Unreal. And then she had her press conference, Audio Somebody 2. See if you can catch her second gaffe here. This is unbelievable. Build stronger than ever.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right now, if you need help, emergency information, resources, and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL. Los Angeles, together is how we will get through this.
SPEAKER 24 :
So she says URL. You can find all these resources at URL. She's just reading the script. She's not prepared. There's no empathy. She hasn't demonstrated any empathy for any of the citizenry. Not a single bit. You heard Gavin Newsom. He was trying his best to act emotional. Wasn't working. Trying his best to act emotional. I mean, it's just something. It's just really... I mean, your heart breaks for all of these people. There's a ton of people we know that have lost their homes. Their homes are gone. Their homes are gone. There are people who are dead because of how this has been managed all of these years of Democrat legislation. And I'm going to tell you something. I'll be damned if I hear anybody say, oh, well, you can't politicize this. No, that is so weak. It is lame and weak. Shame on anyone who says that they ought to be shamed out of human existence. Because that's an excuse that they are using to dodge accountability. They're dodging accountability. And they're trying to say that, well, you know, any kind of criticism of our actual inactions, well, that's just politicizing it. It's politicizing it to point out that the mayor of Los Angeles cut the budget for fire services. It's apparently politicizing to point out that they didn't refill the reservoirs. Did you know that California had record rainfall for two years in a row? Record rainfall. And they just let it all go to the ocean. They didn't add anything to the reservoirs. They didn't expand any reservoirs. They didn't do anything. They were warned about it a year ago. They were warned about it again last fall. So they're shamelessly now trying to redefine accurate and deserved criticism as politicizing. There are people who are dead because of their inaction and incompetence. There's no excuse for it. No excuse. I mean, we have friends who had to evacuate last night. And... They weren't even near where at first the first part of the day, my friend wasn't even near the some of the main fires as they were rolling through Pacific Palisades. But then when it started hitting Hollywood Hills and just mowing through the underbrush that's between the structures, it just sped up. They said it's like, you know, a thousand feet in seconds. It's just it's unbelievable. And they were prepared to evacuate. But once they got the order, you have kind of minutes to get out. You can be as prepared as possible, but nothing prepares you for the speed of a wildfire just devouring all of the kindling that the city refused to clear. A lot of celebrities lost their houses. There was a guy who was slammed on social media. He lives out in Pacific Palisades. He deleted his social media account and everything. His name is Keith Wasserman. And he had tweeted, quote, does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Need to act fast here. All neighbors' houses burning. We'll pay any amount. Thank you. People attacked him. They tried to shame him for what they said was his privilege. But the irony is that all of these people, if they had the means, would have done the exact same thing. They were mad at him because he had the money to do something. He wasn't trying to flex. He wasn't trying to, you know, showcase his wealth, anything like that. He just wanted to save his home. Apparently he's got kids. He just wanted to save his home. And the left lost their mind at this guy. Class warfare never fails, even in the face of a catastrophe. And they just, they ran him off of Twitter. They doxed him. They found out everything that they could about this guy. All simply because he was trying to save his house. And ultimately he wasn't able to. He knew that it was probably going to burn. A friend shared a text with him where he said that his house was gone. And then people were aggravated at him. Oh, he's a developer? He skipped paying taxes. The left has no idea anything about the economy. It's shameful. Some of these people need to be dragged through the streets. He used every single deduction, every single loophole that everybody else can use. And if these people are mad that he's using a loophole that they didn't know about, then they're morons who need to be upset at either themselves or their accountants. But this is just an excuse for the left to try to shame people who aren't lazy like they are and who want to go out and work hard. Infuriating. We've got headlines on the way. And then the press is full court press because they're trying to save their 2028 nominee. Gavin Newsom at the center of all of this. He's been in office longer than anybody there. And they're working overtime to protect him. We're going to talk about that and more. We've got a lot to hit. Again, we've got a lot of stuff today. And if you're just joining us, no video today because of the ice storm in Texas. And so as a result, it was way too dangerous for the crew to get here. So we're only doing audio today. Our partners that help bring you the program. It's our friends over at Patriot Mobile. Patriot Mobile is the only Christian conservative cell phone provider in the country. And I mean, I don't know. If you haven't switched yet, maybe you just really love funding gun control and DEI. I mean, some people do, right? I don't know anybody that calls themselves a conservative that does, but some people do. Maybe you just love spending a lot of money and overpaying for the cost of service. I mean, you could be spending a heck of a lot less with Patriot Mobile and get a plan tailored to whatever you, your family, or you, your business need. And you don't have any of your money that goes towards DEI or gun control or anything else. I mean, you support the issues that are important to you that you vote to protect. I mean, you know, it's up to you. But they make it super easy. 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And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick 5.
SPEAKER 24 :
So NATO is sending a fleet to guard the Baltic Sea cables. The decision follows a spate of suspected sabotage incidents on underwater cables. And this has been in the news for quite some time. There was the discussion of cables that were cut going past Norway and who is responsible. So now NATO has about 10 ships. They're going to be guarding these. This infrastructure, they're expected to arrive within the Baltic Sea by the end of the week, according to Finnish media. They're going to remain at sea until April, and they'll be positioned near energy and data cables to deter any sabotage attempts. Finland's also conducting a criminal investigation into an oil tanker that's called Eagle S, part of Moscow's Shadow Fleet. And there are sanctions busting flotilla. That's what's expected of causing the damage. So they're investigating all of that and protecting that infrastructure there. Chick-fil-A's lemon squeezing robots are saving 10,000 hours of work. I didn't even know there was such a thing, but they have them over at Chick-fil-A. They're outsourcing the tedious job that caused apparently injured fingers to an automated factory. And it's it was that they're having a whole robot do it. It's kind of interesting. I mean, it's actually not hard to just squeeze it with your hands. You just cut it in half and squeeze it. Comedians are now admitting that they were pressured to stay in line and what's being called a major vibe shift. And this is there's a couple of pieces that have come up. A lot of comedians, including even Jim Gaffigan, who admitted that entertainers and media personalities were instructed to not criticize Kamala Harris. What does that say about them that that that they they followed it until now? I mean, it's not really a big it's not courageous to admit it now. I don't know. It's like they think that this is new. A study shows that being in shape is better for longevity than just simply being thin, according to new studies. I mean, anybody with a brain could have told you this because thin doesn't necessarily translate to being healthy. And now there's another new study that showcases this. Vietnam is going to reward a traffic is going to reward traffic offender snitches. It's like Tim Walz went to Vietnam and decided to implement this system. Vietnam is paying residents who snitch on traffic offenders up to like $200 as the country strives to bring rule-breaking drivers into line. The roads are notoriously chaotic. We've got a lot more on the way. The latest with the fire and more. 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.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Keep your finger on the pulse with the Dana Show podcast, delivering timely news with insightful analysis. Whenever you want, straight to you on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 24 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you, bottom of this first hour. And we're audio only today. We have a huge ice storm in Texas and that's prevented the crew from coming in. And that's too dangerous for them. And so we are not having video portion today, but you can still. Obviously, we have the audio. We're going to get to some of the moments from Jimmy Carter's funeral. There's some few like to people watch, especially where it concerns elected officials. We got some for you. But also, we are finally hearing from some of these elected officials. in terms of the devastation of the California wildfires. Now, we were playing audio earlier of Karen Bass, and we came in with Gavin Newsom. And yesterday, Joe Biden was actually out in Los Angeles. His granddaughter had a baby. It's his first great-grandchild. And The only really thing that he said about these wildfires was this awkward, like, whatever this was. This is Audio Sunbite 6. He's at this briefing for the California wildfires. And then he's going to just choose to talk about how he's now a great-grandpa and et cetera, et cetera. And then the press was kicked out. Listen.
SPEAKER 20 :
I don't know what's happening.
SPEAKER 1 :
All I want is for my son to be out there in the way.
SPEAKER 26 :
You got it. The good news is I'm a great grandfather.
SPEAKER 1 :
I know today.
SPEAKER 24 :
I'm a great grandfather. I'm a big girl, a big boy. So I remember this day for a long time. It's just a weird time. It's a weird time to do it. I mean, it just was weird. And there were a lot of accusations that when he flew in, they had to suspend some of the water dumps on the fire because when Marine One or Air Force One flies in, they control the airspace there and they shut it down. And there were some accusations that some of the water drops from the fire, from the fire department, their choppers, they weren't able to launch because they had closed airspace. I have not seen anything else to verify that claim. I will say that they had someone with the L.A. Fire Department saying that at one point the winds were too gusty for them to get the choppers up safely to do these water dumps. So I don't know if it was one of those situations. But I mean, if you got Marine One out there and it's too gusty for emergency choppers, then Marine One's not going to be there. So I don't know what's... I don't know. But I wouldn't be surprised because that's what happened with North Carolina. Remember, that's the thing that happened with North Carolina. That actually did happen where they had to close airspace when he came in. And as a result, there were some supplies that couldn't go out in a timely fashion as a result of that. But it's just... I mean, more and more information keeps coming out. There were some celebrities that I always thought were pretty left that were saying, oh, no, Gavin Newsom's got to resign. His far left policies have wrecked the party. It was kind of wild to see it. I don't know, though, as crazy as everything is and as bad as the devastation is, I don't know if it's enough to actually convince people to stop voting for Democrats. I mean, I don't know how much worse it can get out there. John Goodman's house burned down. Anthony Hopkins, sweet old Anthony Hopkins, his house burned down. There were people who were complaining because the fire department in their area couldn't get any water out of the hydrants. And that's the thing. This has been such a long-standing problem. And they had the... This was... I'm looking at this letter. So at the beginning of last month... The L.A. fire chief warned Karen Bass that the $17 million that Bass cut from the fire department's budget, quote, severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires. They said that it affected their operations. It created a major challenge due to the elimination of some of these critical positions that they had to get rid of. They had a $7 million reduction in overtime variable staffing hours. They weren't able to maintain core operations, particularly with training and fire prevention. They said that this crippled them. She sent this report over and it was dated on December 4th. And that didn't move them to do anything. Nothing. And they know that they have fire season every year. They know the Santa Ana winds at this time of the year. It gets a little gusty. It's like a known thing there. And yet they didn't do anything. I mean, during this whole thing, how did she, I don't know. The defense of Bass is that, well, you can't criticize her. It's mean. She's not a psychic. She could not have possibly seen, folks, that there were going to be such destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. She had no idea, but she did, though. That was just one example. The letter that I shared with you from the fire chief, a whole packet analysis. I mean, it's the weather service was warning about this days before she even left Los Angeles. Number one, the National Weather Service sent out. They said the Santa Ana winds are intense. And as a result, you're going to have significantly higher risk of wildfires. This was before she ever left for Ghana. She went to go attend the inauguration of the Ghanian president. And she, I mean, I don't know how you can be that oblivious to fire conditions, but I mean, you still choose to leave your city. I mean, a week ago, over a week ago, they had posted on social media and it's still up there on X that Quote, there is potential for moderate to strong Santa Ana winds and extreme fire weather conditions next Tuesday through Thursday. They were warning over and over again on social media. So you know that they were telling the mayoral office as well. They said use extra caution with potential fire sources. California Department of Water Resources that same day had a post on X also saying, Same time, they said, the last two years have shown vast improvements to the snowpack. But they said that they're new normal. They can have significant rain and snow. It gets dry because it's still a desert climate. They said that we must always be prepared by collecting and storing as much water and snow melt runoff as possible. And it shows that even though they've had record rainfall, they still are not meeting the quota for storing water. And then, of course, there was the story that came out, the LA Times, by 3 a.m. yesterday, all the water storage tanks were dry. They had the National Weather Service. They had the California Department of Water Resources. They had meteorologists, NWSLA, everything. They were saying that we are in the prime time for wildfires. And then still nothing. Still nothing. Record rainfall. And yet couldn't even be bothered to do the bare minimum and make sure that you had enough water to put it out. Residents have been begging for help. Begging for help. I mean, there's been nothing contained. The Palisades fires has burned over 3,000 acres. That's crazy. They tens of thousands of people had to evacuate. There are major mandatory evacuation zones all over L.A. And so I I'm just they they refuse. This is this is like purposeful negligence. Purposeful negligence. There's not enough firefighters. No water in the hydrants. Not enough firefighters. Not enough infrastructure to fight the fires. And the firefighters are doing everything they can. God love them. They're doing everything that they can. But it's just, it wasn't, it's not enough. They can't fight this. The other thing too, people dug up Karen Bass's old tweets. You remember when we had the last ice storm, Icemageddon, where we lost power for like four days? Everything froze in Texas. So Karen Bass, you know, she goes on this taxpayer-funded trip to Ghana. Karen Bass, people went out, and I look for her tweets, too. They're still up there. She went after Ted Cruz, who is not a state official. He's a federal lawmaker. He was not at all... even in the planning or the response or in the chain of command for Texas's response to the 2021 ice storm. But she went after him. She said, quote, Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis. We need to build a movement to kick them all out. That's what everybody said. Everybody said they're actually using Cruz now as a way to defend Bass being on a taxpayer funded trip to Ghana while her city burns. Except the difference is she's the mayor of Los Angeles. She is a state, a city official. She is direct. That's her job. That's her one job. She's directly responsible for the response, for the planning, for all of it. Ted Cruz is a federal lawmaker. The governor's not going to call Ted Cruz and say, hey, I need you to come down to Austin. We've got to plan for a response to the ice storm. That's not how that works. Karen Bass, though, as mayor of L.A., does make that call. They're trying to protect their lawmakers. I mean, Karen Bass is literally the single most direct only authority on the ground when it comes to response. She literally is the authority on the ground for this. She absolutely abandoned her responsibilities. After the National Weather Service, all California local media, everybody was saying and reporting, all on social media, on radio, on television, that they were in the prime wildfire season and every ingredient was there for a big one. And she left anyway. She left anyway. By the way, a friend of mine reminded me last night. Do you know how close Karen Bass came to being Biden's VP? Karen Bass almost was the vice president of the United States. Biden almost picked her. There were a number of black female lawmakers that James Clyburn had suggested to Joe Biden. Remember when James Clyburn saved Joe Biden's campaign back in 2020 because he was about to lose South Carolina and Clyburn delivered it for him. And in exchange for Clyburn delivering the nomination for the Democrat Party to Joe Biden, Joe Biden made an agreement he was going to have a woman of color as the VP. And on that list was Karen Bass. She actually had more support to be Biden's vice president than Kamala Harris did. But the Obamas were pushing Harris a little harder. So they went with Harris. Pretty wild. She was almost, can you imagine having that as vice president? This is unbelievable. Coming up, the media is circling the wagons around Gavin Newsom and Republicans have an opportunity here. Also, a lot of interesting things to see at Jimmy Carter's funeral. Trump and Mike Pence shook hands, but Karen Pence was not having anything to do with it. And nor were the Bushes. This is weird. We're going to talk about all of this and more. We got days of these United States coming up that you don't want to miss. As we move, our partners who help bring you the program, it's our friends at ReadyWise. ReadyWise is always ready, even if you aren't. And I'm telling you, out of a lot of the companies out there that make claims, ReadyWise really is it. 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SPEAKER 08 :
Get the lowdown on the latest news with a side of laughs whenever you want. Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, I can hear you. So the family with the poor little girl who was... Fire happening right now. Say that again? Why is there a fire happening right now? There are multiple fires that are taking place. Are you serious? Yeah. Yeah. You're supposed to know. Well, I don't know how it started. We don't know how it started. I think it's all the gay people in L.A. Okay. Oh, my God. I got the...
SPEAKER 24 :
Unacceptable. This Los Angeles media entity, they do what they call man on the street, MOSs, man on the street interviews. And that's when they're out in the street and they just go up to people and they ask them questions about whatever, you know, whatever the issue is. And that guy just said, it's all the gay people. Oh, my gosh. That's like kind of a downside of MOSs. You got to be careful with some of that stuff. But that actually is, it's hysterical. It's hysterical. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're getting ready to launch into our second hour. And when we do so, this is when I'm going to save the video, all the video of this for you for tomorrow. Hopefully... We'll be able to get the crew in if you're listening. It's just audio today because it's not safe enough for the crew to get on the roads. I mean, it's still snowing. And it was all ice this morning. So we have a huge layer of ice and then snow over it. And Texas closes when that happens. All of our municipal offices are closed today. Everything's closed. There's nobody out. And Texas just waits until it melts. That's all they do. So hopefully we'll be able to do it tomorrow because I've got to bring you some of the—you've got to see some of the video— Of the Carter funeral. When all of the presidents come in. And they come in. And they sit. They all come in and they sit in the order. Of their. How they were elected. And. It was. Really. Really. It's very interesting because the body language says a thousand words. It says a thousand words like Kamala Harris was visibly not comfortable. And they had I mean, they had Obama sitting by Trump and then he was sitting in between the Bush's and the Trump's. And Karen Pence did not even look up to acknowledge Trump, would not do it. And Bush didn't acknowledge Trump. It's very weird. The Bushes are mad. Bushes don't like Trump. And I think some of that is some of what you said. I think Lorraine said this, too, because Jeb Bush was going to be the golden boy and Trump into that back in 2016. Jeb Bush was going to be the guy. And that that was done. So there's a lot of animosity there. It's really weird. I've never seen them not be nice to somebody. And they're just they don't want to have anything to do with Trump. Obama is the only one that will sit like Mike Pence shook his hand. Al Gore shook his hand. Bush would acknowledge him. Harris would acknowledge him. Obama was the only one who kind of did is weird. We'll talk about that more coming up. Stick with us. It's our partners that help bring you the program. It's the non-firearm firearm. Burn a gun. You've heard me talk about burn a gun before. It's a it's an alternative for self-defense and it's designed really for when you are disarmed by either, you know, government or private property, whatever it is. I mean, I carry and I will always tell people to carry. I have no problem carrying. I have no problem using lethal force against threats that endanger me or my loved ones. That being said, as an adult, there are sometimes that places I have to go to for my job where I cannot carry. And I'm not going to be made a statistic. And this is where the burner gun comes in. I have a lot of friends who live in New York and D.C. that find themselves in the same position. And so they don't they don't want to be left defenseless. So they diversify what they have in their quiver for self-defense. And they went out and got a burner gun. Now, the most popular model is the burner SD. Now, what does it mean when I say it's a non-firearm firearm? Well, instead of lead, it shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can Disable threats from up to 50 feet away. When you compare it to regular stun guns, they have maybe one or two shots. The Berna SD has five rounds. And it's something that a lot of law enforcement departments across the country have also been incorporating. just to create a more diverse array of defensive weaponry. You have instant readiness, and it's legal in all 50 states. No background checks, no permits. It doesn't care about gun-free zones at all. So this is the perfect time right in the new year to reevaluate your self-defense options. Visit Byrna.com slash Dana. That's B-Y-R-N-A dot com slash Dana and get 10% off of your purchase.
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SPEAKER 10 :
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 18 :
Despite what you have heard from Caruso, no firefighters have told us that they are running out of water.
SPEAKER 23 :
And let's go out to Gigi Gracia. She is live in Pacific Palisades. I know your signal's not the best, but Gigi, what can you tell us?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, firefighters have told me they have no water on this block, and you may be able to make out the ember storm that we're in the middle of right now.
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. Oh, like within the same 60 seconds on one broadcast, the guy's like, well, you know, no one's saying that. And yeah, that's... That's wild. That's Fox 11 out there in Los Angeles just yesterday. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash with you. It's a very snowy and icy day here in Texas. So if you're joining the broadcast, it's just audio today, no video, because it's not safe for the crew to get on the road to get to the studio. If you've seen any video from Dallas-Fort Worth, the roads are a whorehole. And everything is covered in ice and right under all the snow that's now falling pretty heavily. It's just a nice thick layer of ice. So, no, we don't have snow plows or anything. Everybody stays home and it just melts. That's what we do. That's what Texas just waits for it to melt. It's the craziest thing. Like everybody else, y'all would be out and about. Not in Texas. It's different here. Different. So welcome to the program. You can still follow along with the stuff that we're discussing. I got, you know, the prep that goes out over at Substack. And then, of course, Facebook, YouTube, go like and subscribe. So we've been I mean, the top story is and it's for good reason. There are so many other stories wrapped up in the giant overarching story of the California wildfires because you have government incompetence. You have political ideology that has gotten people killed. You have stories, horrific stories of loss, stories that could have been prevented easily. And all wrapped up in this also is the stage that is being set, not just for midterms, but for 2028. And that's why you have the media all in trying to do everything that they can to make it look as though their officials are in no way culpable. They don't want any culpability. And they're working overtime to kind of protect from the criticisms of all of that. But other officials are saying, nope, nope, nope. They get the criticism. This is a former L.A. County sheriff. who said that the money that they got from taxpayers that was supposed to go to capturing water. Remember, California had two years of record rainfall that only a fraction of that money was actually used for that purpose. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 14 :
There was a bond measure in 2014, Proposition 1, that allocated $7.5 billion for the infrastructure to capture water in reservoirs to have that available so our hydrants would be basically full of water and then times of need. And only a fraction of that money has been spent. It has all been tied up in bureaucratic nightmare.
SPEAKER 24 :
Mmm. Wild. Just wild. Only a fraction of it has been used for that. Only a fraction. And that kind of explains, I mean, this was one of the things that Newsom had promised. I think he was like actually promising this, like... something like 10 years ago, saying that they were going to expand the water capturing and make sure the reservoirs were filled. But that's not happening. It hasn't happened. And everything looks like a war zone. People are demanding that both Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom resign. And there are so many like they have all of these these stories of of the law. I mean, the wildfire. I mean, it is it's crazy how much it spread. But they have all these stories of like, for instance, celebrity houses. Now, nor I know. Don't roll your eyes. There's a reason why I don't want you to roll your eyes. For the first time ever, there are a number of far left celebrities that are blasting Democrats right now all over social media. And it's weird. I've never... There's too many to name. I mean, we'd sit here for the rest of this hour. There's too many to name. There's tons of them that have been going on social media, blasting the powers that be there because they have... for everything that I just mentioned, for not using the money that was set aside to fill reservoirs for that purpose, for not using the allocated funds for water capture, for not clearing the underbrush as they were warned a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, after the last big wildfire that they had. And that's the thing. You also had, because you had that record rainfall, you had a lot of vegetation grow. But it's a desert climate. It's not climate change. It's desert climate. You have periods of rain and then you have periods of drought. And that's par for the course for this part of the United States. So you had record rains and that's not, you know, it's not that they had the most rainfall ever. They've had tons of rainfall, even more rainfall in prior seasons. But for two years in a row, they had record rainfall that created a lot of vegetation growth. And then predictably, when the rains left and the wind started up, you had a lot of dry vegetation. And remember, Gavin Newsom declined earlier this fall to clear it out. That was something from California. That was their California Wildlife and Land Management. They refused to clear it out. So you're shocked because they said there was one analyst I didn't even... And I love that you can study fire science, that studies fire science. And they were saying, because they worked in and around Los Angeles, and they were saying that the vegetation growth, like in a lot of these canyons and in a lot of these places between developed areas, that's where you have tons of this undergrowth. And it just wasn't cleared out from... After all of this vegetation grew with the rain and all of that, it just wasn't cleared out. And so that's really what was... Providing a lot of kindling for this. And these celebrities are just blasting. They're blasting Gavin Newsom. They're back. I mean, Sarah Michelle Gellar, for crying out loud, who was a Hillary supporter. They're blasting Democrats right and left. And. It's justified. I don't look at it as a political thing because these are people that have lost everything. And when you have these celebrities that get out there and start saying this, maybe, I don't know, maybe the minions will start paying attention. I mean, it went all the way to the ocean in Malibu. Malibu's on fire. Hollywood Hills are on fire. Part of Sunset's on fire. And it's, I mean, it's just sickening because it's all preventable. You have the highest taxes in the nation and you can't even keep your reservoirs filled. Highest taxes in the nation and you have no water capture. Highest taxes in the nation and you can't, you can't get, you don't have enough firefighters. It's like, what are people paying for? That's what property tax goes for. If you ever want to know why property taxes are a joke, this is, this is proof. Consumption tax, only way to go. Graduated consumption tax, only way to go. I mean, what's the point of, you know, you can't ever really own your own property, but does it matter? Because if it burns down that, you know, property, nobody does anything in California. Nobody does anything. 30,000 residents over that. That was just, sorry, that was, the last counting of that was early this morning. It's more than that now. Because we've had, since early this morning to now, we've had a number of friends that have had to evacuate now. So there's going to be more. It's just so sad. Because there are a lot of Republican voters that live out there. And it doesn't matter how you vote. There are just a lot of regular, average, everyday, normal people out there. And it's just you hate to see people have to live through these consequences of what their votes mean. And that's what it is. So when the media goes out there and they say, don't politicize this, shut the hell up. Because you're not going to use that as a way to shame people out of deservedly holding these lawmakers accountable. Gavin Newsom was complaining about the politicization of it. You politicized it when you refused to do your job. It was politicized when you refused to use taxpayer dollars for the services that they paid for. The authority of the consent of their vote and their tax dollars was so that they have these services. That's the understanding, right? You pretend that property tax is a voluntary thing. Like a social contract. You pretend that it is. You pretend that it's not theft. And you pretend that the government spends your money in an honest and appropriate way. And then they don't. They spend it all. I mean, you know why DEI? I'm tired of the right getting criticized for bringing up DEI here. Do you know why the right is bringing up DEI? Because when you look at the breakdown of the budget, that's where the top dollars went. It didn't go to fire prevention. It didn't go for reservoirs or water capture or anything else. Those all got cut. It went to DEI programs. Entitlement programs. That is why the right is. And it's not even the right. That's why they're bringing it up. The media is trying everything that they can to inoculate themselves and their Democrat Party preferences from this. And so they're saying, well, if you criticize, if you try to hold anything accountable, it's just politicization. No, it's not. That's your job as a voter. If your elected officials fail you, you hold them accountable. That's not politicizing something. That's called accountability. You're not going to try to redefine what accountability is as a weak method to dodge accountability. All of this was so preventable. So preventable. So residents have been fleeing. There's beachfront homes that are totally destroyed. So far, it's over $68 billion. $68 billion. But is the smelt okay? The smelt, you know that little fish? That's one of the reasons why they drained some of the reservoirs. Because they wanted to make that little bait fish. That little bait fish needed to be out there. Oh, and then some tribal nations wanted to be able to fish for salmon. And so we got to drain some of these reservoirs. That's unreal. And then just I'm just can't even I can't even. Someone else says, though, that it was the, you know, the Salton Sea in Southern California. They said that has a huge lithium reserve. And that it contains a lot of lithium. And that might be. Could be a major source. And that might be why. That's another reason why. Although I think the smelt. Because there's people out there for that bait fish too. Just wild. So. I think it's too early to say. I mean you're still. People are still trying to figure out. Where they're going to live. And what's the insurance going to be like. I just don't know how California doesn't change. After something this catastrophic. Coming up, we're going to talk about Trump is vowing a flurry of executive orders his first week in office. We're going to discuss what that entails and what it means here coming up as we move towards the bottom of the second hour. Imagine a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, feeling alone and unsure of what to do. And she's searching for hope. And that's where Preborn Ministries comes in. You can make a difference for just $28. Your generosity can be the key to a mother choosing life for her baby. And with your gift, you will receive the story of a mom who chose life as well as the ultrasound image of her precious baby. And like the story of Kelsey who found Preborn and after hearing her baby's heartbeat, she chose life. Consider making a larger, life-changing donation of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. Maximize your gift that can help women in unplanned pregnancies receive ultrasounds and even help place an ultrasound machine in a women's center. Donate for the gift of life. Just dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound or hashtag 250 baby. Or visit preborn.com slash Dana to donate online. Every contribution counts. So, again, that's pound 250. Say the word baby or donate securely at preborn dot com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 12 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's quick five.
SPEAKER 24 :
So a cookware group has filed a lawsuit against Dana. Minnesota's PFAS ban, the toxic chemical stuff. So a cookware group has filed a lawsuit against the ban. It's the Cookware Sustainability Alliance. They filed it against the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The law went into effect January 1st. They're trying to say it's unconstitutional and unenforceable, the forever chemicals that are in the cookware, and the law is banning the sale and distribution of such cookware. And it covers everything from rugs, cookware, all kinds of stuff. So they said that it imposes a burden on interstate commerce. and discriminates against out-of-state commerce, and as a result, it violates the Commerce Clause in the Constitution. So that's the angle that they're going for to try to stop that ban. This, Girl Scouts are retiring two cookie flavors, the S'mores, and I don't even know that these existed. I haven't bought Girl Scout cookies since their Planned Parenthood stuff, because I just thought it was inappropriate for young girls selling cookies to be, you know, for them to have an association with Planned Parenthood. But they said that they... are discontinuing those. I didn't even know there was the s'mores and the toast-yay cookie. If it's not Thin Mint, it's trash. Thin Mint or the, no, just Thin Mint. If it's not that, it's trash. So they are discontinuing those. Let's see. This, ooh, 200 aggressive monkeys. There's a war that has been launched on them. The macaques monkey that's in Thailand, they have a huge problem with us. They're actually violent and bitey. And they steal people's stuff. It's crazy. So they've tried a sterilization campaign, but apparently that didn't get them the results that they wanted. And so now they're in the second phase of the war. They're planning to neuter 100 of these monkeys. And then they did 122 of them in one district last year. Now they're going to try to establish feeding zones to prevent them from straying into residential spaces where they've been attacking people. And, you know, I just I mean, why don't they train them, train them to do stuff? Male strippers are facing extinctions. They said that there were no male strippers booked for in Britain. There was not a single male stripper, apparently, that was booked for a bachelor party or any... I just... Women are not like dudes. And they said that bookings for those experiences... increased elsewhere but not for dudes interesting stick with us we get a lot more in store next pain can really affect your life so you should consider a new year's resolution and it's not about taking it easy or slowing down it's about making 2025 the year of feeling good again the year of doing more and living more and waking up excited every day and you can do it by trying relief factor Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement that helps your body fight pain naturally. Developed by doctors, it works by supporting your body's response to inflammation. And Relief Factor doesn't just mask pain for a short time, it helps to eliminate it. It's like turning back the clock on pain so you can feel like you did years ago. Whether it's neck, back, joint, or muscle pain, Relief Factor can help you feel better. Become one of the over 1 million people that have turned to Relief Factor. Trying Relief Factor is easy. Get their three-week quick start for just $19.95. That's less than a dollar a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. Whether it's neck, back, joint, or muscle pain, Relief Factor can help you feel better. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast because who says you can't make fun of people while staying informed on your own personal time? Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 17 :
started the year as the would-be Democratic presidential nominee, and we all know what happened after that. Again, you didn't see a particularly warm greeting between the first couple and the second couple, but again, we are at a funeral, so one has to take that into account.
SPEAKER 24 :
Oh, they're not all so super sad that they can't even greet each other cordially. That's Jake Tapper who's narrating because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they did not like seeing each other at Jimmy Carter's funeral. And it's like you could not even act for five seconds. You couldn't act for the cameras for five seconds when you walked in and took your seat. You couldn't do that for five seconds. Just it was weird watching all of that. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash with you. We are at the. the bottom of this third hour, or sorry, second hour. And if you're tuning in, there's no video today because Texas is covered in ice. We had a thick layer of ice laying down and then a big old thick layer of snow and it's not safe for the crew to drive in because the roads are horrific. So everybody stay safe out there. And of course, we're praying for everybody and whose homes are being burned down. It's horrible. The funeral for Jimmy Carter, you had all of the presidents, all the surviving presidents that go in, they sit in the order of when they took office. And you had the Pence's who were sitting next to Gore and then Trump and Melania come in and they shook hands with Gore and Pence who rose to greet them. Karen Pence, she stayed seated. She did not look at Melania, nor did she look at Trump. And then they took their seats. And then you had Obama come in and he didn't shake Trump or Melania's hand, but he briefly kind of acknowledged them. And then he shook Mike Pence and Karen Pence's hand and then Al Gore. And then he sat down. And then the Bushes come in. And George Bush comes in and wraps Obama on the stomach, just doesn't even look at the Trumps. And then he goes and greets the Pences and Al Gore. And then the Clintons come in. And everybody greets each other, except for Trump and Melania. It's so weird. So the only people... It was Mike Pence and Al Gore and Obama that were actually the nicest. And were actually... Greeting and greeted Trump and Melania. And it was weird to watch because it seemed like. Obama and Bush were the kind of joyful ones, you know, they were the ones that looked kind of joyful and happy and relaxed and normal. Everyone else looked like they had except and Trump did, too. But, you know, in terms of how people were treating him and Melania, everybody else kind of looked stiff. It was weird. But the Bushes did not acknowledge the Trumps at all. I think Bush is still angry because Jeb exclamation point was supposed to be. Remember, he was supposed to be the next in line. It didn't happen that way. He was the next in line. He had an open path. And it didn't work out. Didn't work out that way because Republicans, you know, you can't you can't give us more of the same if you're not, you know, change anything. I mean, Republicans were part of the immigration problem, part of big spending, part of all of it. So it's a very, very, very interesting thing to see with all of that. So this, and watching it, I'm just, you can tell that they didn't like each other. Kamala and, what's his name? We don't have to remember his name much longer. The second lady. Doug. What's her husband's name? Kamala Harris' husband's name? Doug Emhoff. Oh, that's right. Doug Emhoff. The second lady or dude or whatever the hell they come in and she's just stony faced. And then the Bidens, nobody's greeting anybody. They did not look to be like they were happy sitting next to each other. They didn't acknowledge each other. How do you walk into if you know, I don't care if it's a funeral. How do you walk into a funeral and you're walking into an aisle like a pew and you're sitting next to people? The people who are your vice president. And you don't even acknowledge them. They didn't acknowledge them the entirety of the service. It is so wild. They hate each other. And Hillary Clinton just recently learned how to style her hair again. So she's got this big bouffant 80s hair going on. Steve, you saw her hair, right?
SPEAKER 27 :
Yeah, well, let's kind of roll it a bit.
SPEAKER 24 :
I mean, it's wild. It's gotten bigger. She keeps her secrets in it. I don't know. It's gotten bigger. It's a lot of those. But she just had like this weird, not a smile. I don't know how to describe it. It was this weird expression just plastered on our face. And Bill Clinton, he's kind of like Obama and Bush. They're just sort of laid back and they can kind of hang together. I think they purposefully also, I know that they sit them in order that they've served. But I really think that all the organizers were glad that they weren't sitting in the bushes next to the Trumps and that Obama was the buffer. I think Obama had to take one for the bushes because they because the bushes can't stand the Trumps. It's just so fascinating to watch all of the little pettiness play out because you don't really get these sorts of you don't get these public displays like this very often. And so when you get them, it's completely acceptable to to Zapruder level, analyze them. And I just I keep watching it. Did anything stick out to you?
SPEAKER 27 :
My favorite part was there was a moment that C-SPAN caught where Trump kept whispering jokes to Obama and Obama kept laughing at him. And then you see the camera pan out and Kamala turns over her left shoulder, sees them laughing, and then turns right back around with like a pout and looks at Doug. It was the best.
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. Yeah, he was cracking up. I want to know what he said. Wasn't there, I think there were like lip readers or something. Oh, I can't wait for that. Oh my gosh, that's going to be great. But I don't know. I just, I did the whole thing. It was very interesting. But it was, yeah, when Bush came in, it was like he skipped in. And he, they all acted like they were running late. When the Bushes came in, they like barreled over. And Obama stood up. The Trumps didn't. And he Bush wrapped Obama like in the abdomen because he Obama apparently get along very well. And it's just very fascinating. I'm watching some of this now. I'm super fascinated by all of this.
SPEAKER 27 :
Do the Bush's and the Trump's have beef or they I don't know. Bush and the Trump's. Yeah.
SPEAKER 24 :
Oh, yeah. They think that. So Jeb was going to be the guy and then Trump made fun of him. And then just ripped it right out of his hands. Remember that? They are they they did not like him for that. They did not like him for that at all. I mean, it went so far that W would even defend Obama from Trump's criticisms. He he kept saying that he wasn't going to get super political and politicize anything. And I don't know, maybe there's other stuff that they know that we don't. But I don't know. It was just very interesting. And then when the Clintons came, Bush stood up for the Clintons as Hillary and Bill approached. And Trump and Melania just stay seated. And I thought it was interesting. Obama stayed seated when Hillary walked up, too, because Obama and Hillary don't like each other. They never have liked each other historically. I feel like we're sitting at the lunchroom table and we're gossiping about people. And it's so worth it because you never get these displays like this ever. You never get to see stuff like this ever. And then all and it is really hard. I think when you get old like that, too, one of the things my grandmother told me is that as she got older, she had less energy to pretend to like people that she didn't want to like. And I always thought that was hysterical when I was younger. But now, you know, I get it. Like, as you get older, you just don't have time for the nonsense. And I think that all plays out. I don't know if Biden knew where he was. I don't know. But... Obama and Trump were cutting up and it was funny. It was funny to watch them. Like Trump would say something and then, you know, I wanted to switch gears here. We got to talk about why are, are all the lesbians in California named Kristen? I think they have to be. Lorraine found this interesting thread specifically on these fire chiefs. And I mean, I don't, care if they're all lesbians named kristen i just think it's hysterical that they are all lesbians named kristen the first fire chief that they have a gay woman kristen crowley and then they have their assistant chief for the fire department kristen keppner she went to the harvard kennedy school for managing diverse organizations i don't even know what that means She apparently was accused of beating her girlfriend. I don't know. And then there's the first, I don't know what, what is an equity bureau chief? What the hell does that have to do with fire? The co-founder of equity on fire. It's the Los Angeles fire department's equity bureau chief. the first lesbian equity bureau chief, she makes $399,000 a year. I think for $399,000 a year, a lot of people would pretend to be gay and interested in equity. I am amazed at this. They're all named Christine or they're all named Kristen, all of them. And then you get to the Los Angeles Fire Department training commander. Now I will say this chick does look like a legit dude. Jamie Brown. She stands out because her name isn't Kristen. So the entire Los Angeles Fire Department is a bunch of old white lesbians with the exception of the one lesbian whose name is still Kristen. Right? I don't even... I golly, I cannot even this is I can't even make this up. So just to recap, in California, the entirety of the fire department is run by old white lesbians named Kristen, with the exception of one black lesbian named Kristen. Did they like was that a goal? Did they set out to have them all be like, what is in the world? And what the hell do you have to have an equity department for? You're the fire department. You fight fires. That's all you do is fires. What do you do? Fires. That's it. You don't do anything else. I just, you cannot make this stuff up. This is, and no wonder they're burning. No wonder, right? This is crazy. I mean, I feel like this... Oh, man. Now, I don't think anybody's arguing that the alphabet stuff has anything to do with the fire. What we are arguing is the priorities, clearly, of Los Angeles. Because while they were allowing the... I mean, the accumulated record rainfall to just drain into the ocean... They weren't capturing the water. They weren't making sure their hydrants were working. They weren't trying to talk with land management, especially on federal land. Bureau of Land Management comes into play with a lot of that. They did make sure that they checked all the lesbian kristens and checked all those boxes to work in the fire department. You've got to admit, it's weird. And clearly the priority wasn't on actual fire. They created all of these other they they can't afford to hire more firefighters, but they can afford to pay half a million dollars to someone who's an equity bureau chief, whatever the hell that is. Can anyone explain that one to me? What the hell does an equity bureau chief do? It's so prevalent, the equity that you have to have like a whole bureau for it. What school do you go to for that job?
SPEAKER 27 :
I'm all for women becoming firefighters, but be good at it.
SPEAKER 24 :
Yeah, be good at it. Learn how to fight a damn fire and learn when to deploy stuff. So apparently they're also getting criticism because they waited so long to deploy. I'm just... Think about that for a minute. When you've got... I think they said it's 1,000 feet a second. Just think about that in your head real quick, how fast that is. When seconds count, you can't wait to deploy your fire department. You can't wait. When seconds count, you cannot wait. So they're getting a lot of criticism, and it's interesting because the criticism is coming from inside the department. that they took too long to deploy. That's a whole other man. You know, there's going to be lawsuits. Oh my gosh. There's going to be lawsuits of all lawsuits after this, after all of the smoke, after the fires dissipate and the smoke goes away. Imagine a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, feeling alone and unsure of what to do. And she's searching for hope. And that's where Preborn Ministries comes in. You can make a difference for just $28. Your generosity can be the key to a mother choosing life for her baby. And with your gift, you will receive the story of a mom who chose life as well as the ultrasound image of her precious baby. And like the story of Kelsey who found Preborn and after hearing her baby's heartbeat, she chose life. Consider making a larger, life-changing donation of $5, $10, or $15,000. Maximize your gift that can help women in unplanned pregnancies receive ultrasounds and even help place an ultrasound machine in a women's center. Donate for the gift of life. Just dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound or hashtag 250 baby. Or visit preborn.com slash Dana to donate online. Every contribution counts. So again, that's pound 250, say the word baby, or donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 15 :
Did God bless the United States of America? Pastor Alan Jackson says yes.
SPEAKER 11 :
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 15 :
Subscribe to Culture and Christianity, an Alan Jackson podcast, on your favorite podcast app.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 24 :
Florida man Dylan Brewer from Clearwater Beach was sentenced to probation and community service for vandalizing a graffitied crosswalk. Delray Beach so it's a graffitied crosswalk they vandalized the crosswalk and made a pride flag on it and then he vandalized the vandalism and he got in trouble they said that he performed a burnout on the crosswalk and that's that's why he was charged someone charged him for driving and burning out on a crosswalk specifically because they painted the crosswalk with pride colors and They revoked his license for a year. He's got 12 months probation and 150 hours of community service. That's the dumbest stuff I've ever heard of. That is so stupid. That is so stupid. Someone should give him Uber for a year. So goofy. You're vandalizing a city street. You can't get in trouble for vandalizing somebody else's vandalism. That's so dumb. A Florida man... Ordered about $500 in food without paying at two separate restaurants. And that's a lot of food. Polk County, Florida. He ordered $500 in food and drinks at two separate restaurants in less than 14 days. He was charged with defrauding an innkeeper. They didn't spell innkeeper wrong over at the AOL website where this story comes from. They pulled it from Fox 35 Orlando, though. Two different restaurants. I don't even know how you can eat all the stuff that he ordered. One Sunset Martini. And after eating, he just would walk out of the back doors and didn't attempt to pay. So they booked him in a Polk County jail. He bonded out a couple of days later. Florida residents are warned. It's that time of the year. Watch out for falling iguanas. The temperature when it drops below the mid 40s, iguanas go into a dormant state, a cold stunned state. And a lot of times they fall out of the trees where they perch. There was a story a couple of years ago of someone getting killed because they got hit in the head by an iguana that dropped out of a tree. So they said that if the cold wave evolves the maximum temperature departures you could see a lot more iguanas falling out of the trees because of this cold this cold snap that's pushing through and so they said just look out for them they're stunned they can be up to five feet long they can weigh up to 25 pounds and they yeah if you don't if you're not paying attention to them falling out of the tree you can get a hit it's literally a story that we have every year it's crazy uh so everybody be careful out there with everything And let's see, last but not least, if we have time, never buy fireworks out of a van with a guy that is missing two fingers because that's what happened. This guy was illegally apparently selling fireworks out of the back of a van near a meat market. Yeah, don't do it. We'll have more on that tomorrow. Stick with us. Third hour next.
SPEAKER 25 :
But the lack of water is a problem. In the Palisades, the water issue, according to authorities, is a gravity issue. In order to get the water through the hydrants up in the hills and the mountains, they have these giant water tanks that use gravity. uh and those water tanks ran dry part of the problem is a lot of people are using hoses trying to understandably hose down their lawns hoping that will stop the fire a lot of firefighters will say that's not going to stop a fire like this from burning down your house you may keep your lawn but it's not going to keep your house but you know there's this huge water usage all of a sudden and those tanks on the top There may be water in the system down below, but if the tanks on the top run dry, there's not enough pressure for gravity to bring the water up into the hydrants. That's in the Palisades. I don't know the water system here in Altadena.
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. So that's Anderson Cooper on CNN. And it sounds like he's blaming people using water to save their houses. That is like... it's not what he said, but it insinuates it. It's not the best thing he could have said because it seems to insinuate that You know, maybe the reason there isn't enough water to fight fires is because people were using it to save their houses. And that's not the reason why. The reason is that there was no water in any. There's no water in the reservoirs. They were drained. They didn't capture any of the record rainfall for the past two years. They let it run off into the ocean. It's not because a few people are trying to water their lawns down to save their house. It's because city officials failed people. They failed them to the point of devastation. That's why. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of this third hour. Because that was not the best thing that he could have said. It's not the best way to put it. Because it comes across poorly. And it's just not the, you know, he was saying that hose water, the tanks were in dry, people were trying to, no, people, no, it wasn't people trying to save their homes that did it. It was that there wasn't any water, period. The reason that people were using their hoses is because there weren't enough firefighters. Because they had cut the budget. There weren't enough firefighters. And when there were firefighters, according to critics within the municipal works, they were deployed late. by the chief and the city itself did nothing in preparation. So that has nothing to do with it. And it's just, I mean, again, they literally emptied a reservoir and they, they directed the water flow right into the ocean to save a stupid little fish that does not matter. that we don't eat, and it's nearly extinct, and it's bait. It's called a smelt, a delta smelt. He literally wanted to protect that little fish more than the people of California. You literally allowed your water to run off a deluge of extra water. They had it run off into the ocean. It was like an entire river of runoff water. that they directed it. There's video of it that exists. There's video of the runoff water that they had captured for rainfall that they literally let out into the ocean. There's literally video of the reservoirs being drained for that fish. And by the way, the complaints about that predate these wildfires by over a year. That's what did this. The media is all in doing everything that they can to protect Gavin Newsom. Everything that they can. They cannot have it to where Gavin Newsom, that's their golden boy. That is their golden boy. That's the guy that is going to be running in 2028. And they have to be able, they got to protect him. They already, they lost Andrew Cuomo. And they didn't get out ahead of it and protect Andrew Cuomo from accountability enough. So now they're going to try to do it with Gavin Newsom. I mean, these photos that I'm seeing, because it's still blazing. The other fires grown to almost 11,000 acres now. It's going to be the costliest fires in U.S. history. The economic losses already are 68 billion. That includes the insured losses of more than 20 billion, which is double the previous costliest wildfire ever in the United States. Horrific. And Man, they can't get a hold of it. They cannot get a hold of it. Again, one of the biggest cities in the country. And they have the highest taxes. And they can't stop this. This is also spilling out. Steve, I'm dropping audio for you. And this is also spilling out on... at the press conferences. So they had a press conference earlier. This is new audio. A CBS reporter was questioning Bass and Bass was not having it. Listen to this really awkward exchange here. Listen.
SPEAKER 09 :
In a panicked state, it began two days ago with the Palisades fire. My crew and I arrived shortly after it started. And for several hours, we watched as hundreds of homes in a neighborhood burned to the ground. We did not see a single fire engine.
SPEAKER 24 :
We watched as good Samaritans died in traffic.
SPEAKER 09 :
There was fear and there was a lot of confusion. You were out of the country at the time. Shortly after the fire started, a press release was put out warning of this fire behavior. My question to you is what explains this lack of preparation and rapid response?
SPEAKER 03 :
Let me just say, first and foremost, My number one focus, and I think the focus of all of us here with one voice, is that we have to protect lives, we have to save lives, and we have to save homes. That has nothing to do with this question. Rest assured. Rest assured. Let me finish. Rest assured. When that is done, when we are safe, when lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn't work, and to correct or to hold accountable anybody, department, individual, etc. But my focus right now is on the lives and on the homes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Do you think your leadership was effective while responding?
SPEAKER 03 :
what I believe is the most important thing for us to do right now.
SPEAKER 24 :
Oh my gosh, it's so awkward. You know what? So her focus now is on saving lives. Where was it a year ago? Where was it when she was told that they needed to manage the undergrowth? Where was it when she was working with the governor, Gavin Newsom, to drain the reservoirs? Where was it when they were releasing all this captured rainwater from two years of record rain back into the ocean? What in the world? Now this is her focus? Seriously? This is crazy. I mean, they've been debating on how to best deal with this for years and they haven't done it. Like they were told you need to establish a limited use volunteer fighting force specifically focused on brush fires specifically because that's how it all starts. They have they they do reserve police, but they don't have this. Like, why? Why do they not have reserve brigades to go out and fight fires? And that was one of the proposals that was made to her. She just totally ignored it. You have all of these people who are civil engineers. They're in fire science. All of this that we're giving for free. All of these suggestions to L.A. officials. Like people in areas that want to choose to stay home. Why not help people learn how to best to prepare their homes for fires. To ward off fires. Tom Selleck years ago. like ripped out all of his landscaping. There's an article about this and I can't remember where I saw it at, but he had after it was after, um, they, it was after one of these big wildfires, his home actually was undamaged, but he had done all of this preparation work. He cleared out all the area around his house and he worked with his, all the other nearby property owners and they all cleared out underbrush. They did all this thing, all this stuff to make their properties is like fire fire. Proof as you can. And I have a... We have some friends of ours who live in Beverly Glen. I think it is. It's up in the hills above the Hilton. And... When they were redoing their home, they did the same thing. They were inspired by what they read about Tom Selleck and they wanted to kind of like fireproof their home as best as they can. And they worked with their neighbors to do the same thing. It had to do with even the landscaping, the fencing, the underbrush, their roof, everything. They did everything that they could to make their home as fireproof as possible. And they work with their neighbors to do that. This is one of the things that one of these engineers and one of these other there's a guy who's in fire science. He's like all over social media that they they apparently had had cobbled together like a list of suggestions after the 2010 wildfire. And they proposed it to Los Angeles and Los Angeles apparently ignored it like the law. And then they did. I think it was again in 2016 and they ignored it. They ignored it. They wanted to also use, see if they could get Marine or Navy volunteers to help with brush fire, train people in suburban areas, you know, how to do everything you can to make your property or your area fireproof. And They said that there were laws that were put in place to actually block this stuff. Like you can't have volunteers like this in California. It's it's impossible. And that's because they have firefighter union bosses. They wanted more full time union firefighters. They don't they don't want to have the and that's an actual that's another issue you got to talk about. I appreciate our firefighters. But again, when you got union bosses that are fighting volunteers for these exceptional circumstances, that's kind of an issue, especially when everything's burning now. Everything burning. And then there's the question of arson as well. There was one video. Kane found this. There's a video where apparently there was an arsonist that was arrested. He was caught and arrested in Cabazon, California. A driver noticed somebody literally on the road trying to start a fire. And they got Cal Fire to investigate. He was apprehended. But it was a good Samaritan who just happened to be at the right place at the right time, saw this guy and took video of him starting a fire. He literally started a fire just like on the side of the road and it started burning pretty quickly. And that's one of the things you have to consider as well. Remember a lot of the stuff with Canada, there was an arsonist that was setting off fires there a couple of years ago, and they were trying to say that it was climate change. I'm curious as to how much of this is arson. I do think that you have a lot of... You know, fires like this, especially when it's really dry and you have the embers and the winds that you have, it's going to spread so fast that it almost defies reason and logic. And a lot of people might think it's arson. But then there's some cases where it could legitimately be arson. And that's a whole other thing. But this mismanagement, this is what already we're in 2025 and we already have one of the biggest scandals ever. And that's the mismanagement. of California and this disastrous fire that was allowed to just to be as bad as it was because of this poor, poor mismanagement.
SPEAKER 12 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 24 :
So first up. This headline about coffee, it's been treated like butter and red meat. They say it's bad for you, it's good for you, it's bad for you, it's good for you. Now they're saying that coffee drinkers have a health boost, but only if you drink it in the morning. You can just drink it whenever you want to. It doesn't matter. I don't like to put a lot of milk or sugar-free syrup or anything like that in there in the morning or any time other than the morning, but no. There's nothing wrong with drinking coffee any time, but they say there's a study that was at Tulane and they said that Their dietary guidance, they think it's best for in the morning. Maybe a couple of cups a day. Just do what you want. Because they go back and forth on this all the time. Oh my gosh. An Ohio woman was killed and partially eaten by her neighbor's pigs. Pigs will eat anything. Anything. 75-year-old Ohio woman. She was attacked and eaten by her neighbor's pigs on Christmas Day of all days. The Columbia Dispatch reported that it's not clear as to whether or not criminal charges will be forthcoming. He said it was a horrible situation. Police were called to perform a welfare check on the 75-year-old woman in Patascala because she had not arrived as planned at her niece's home just outside of Akron. Family could not reach her, and that's when they found it. Oh, how horrifying. That's so horrible. In TSA... At the Boston Logan Airport, they, I don't even, so in Call of Duty, there is a little clapping monkey that you can get in Call of Duty. And you throw it and it's supposed to distract like the zombies or it has a bomb on it. And there was a replica of that that this guy had. It's a controller holder. And it looks just like that. And he tried to take it through TSA at Boston Logan. And they were not going to allow it to go through. It was literally, it's called a Call of Duty Monkey Bomb Cable Holder. And it claps and plays a jingle and then explodes as zombies get near it. And this one, it's a toy. It holds the controller. But they flagged it. It was in a carry-on bag and they confiscated it. That's the dumbest thing ever. You can get it on Amazon. They're like $41 on Amazon. It's so goofy. So I don't know. TSA, you kind of had to know that they were going to give you problems over that because they freak out over everything. They freaked out one time because I had a pen that was made of brass and it looked bullity, not even making it up. They freaked out one time over one of my kids' protractors. Let's see this. I got one more, one more, one more. Oh, no, no, no. I almost closed it out. In Belgium, the Belgium Food Safety Authority, they're telling you not to eat Christmas trees. Apparently, Belgians are eating Christmas trees. Why? You have all this great chocolate there. Why would you do that? They said don't eat Christmas trees recycled. Are people doing that in Belgium? I don't know. We got more on the way as we roll towards the bottom of this third hour. Stick with us.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Dana Show podcast, your fast, funny, and informative news companion for those always on the move. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 16 :
To the right, 111. The nose to the left, 364. The eyes to the right were 111. The nose to the left, 364. So the nose have it. The nose have it. Unlock.
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. So what you were hearing were British MPs that voted against an inquiry to investigate those grooming gangs. And they voted against the Tories, which are technically like the, I guess, conservatives over there. They voted against it. They voted against it. It was a Tory proposal. And they've had this huge thing with these groomers. We talked about this, the Pakistani men that for like over like 15 years had been trafficking women. I mean, it's one of the craziest stories because it was allowed to go on for so long. And the stories are horrific. And it's one of the biggest crimes and cover ups in all of British history. Thousands and thousands of thousands of young girls, children. They were groomed and raped by gangs of immigrants across the UK over decades and police turned them away. There was a dad who was arrested after he tried to warn police about what had happened to his daughter. Journalists skipped it. Politicians ignored it. And they were all covered up because they, why did they cover them up? Because they wanted to preserve harmony. They wanted to preserve harmony. And that's why they didn't write about it. You and I can't imagine anything like that. When politics gets so horrific, I mean, it's to where you politicize even trying to defend young girls that are being trafficked and they don't want to have an inquiry into it at all none they there was one labor mp uh simon danzuk who said that he was in from one of these cities where they had to deal with all of this stuff and he came out and said he was warned by leaders in his own party not to mention who the people actually were doing the trafficking He said, quote, it would affect the labor vote. And he was shocked, shocked. I mean, this is, you can't assimilate and coexist in a community and call it a multicultural success when you can't even hold accountable men who are preying on young children and for fear of upsetting the quote unquote societal harmony. That's not a multicultural success. That's not a successful society. That's a bankrupt society. And I, it's so sad because this happened, it's like two decades that this was going on. Really, it was actually well known. I mean, we've talked about it before in the program. Well known, but no one, they didn't want to do anything about it there. All of these stories of the grooming and the violence and all of the stuff that was being perpetrated on these young girls, it's just, it's horrible. And they voted against it. This bill was from the Tories, like I said, that's their, I guess, conservative for UK. They had this inquiry. It was a new one. And they wanted this. They wanted a bill for child safety. And the Labor Party accused the Tories of playing politics. They accused the conservatives of playing politics. Not so much the Tories, but the conservative party there. And they were saying that the they didn't think it was going to pass anyway because there's still too many progressive candidates. officials that are in uk's government but man it is uh i i mean i'm just looking at the the votes on this they wanted a fresh inquiry into these gangs under this bill and instead they're killed they killed it so i don't know what they're going to have it was a the labor labor introduced a bill conservatives wanted to add this to it labor said no Absolutely. Absolutely not. So they rejected it. 364 to 111 majority 253. I I you have a major sexual abuse scandal that all levels of British government helped to cover up and they won't even won't even pass an inquiry for it. And they kept in the Labor Party, very similar to what you're seeing with the way that the press is handling the wildfire stuff here. The Labor Party was saying, oh, you're playing politics. They're accusing the conservatives of politicizing an inquiry into a two-decade-long grooming scandal that every level of British government ignored. They're accusing them of politicizing the issue because they want to protect children. I again, that's like saying, well, to try to hold officials in Los Angeles accountable for the wildfires is politicization of the issue. That's it's the same formula that they're trying to use to deflect any kind of accountability. If you can't find justice like that, if you can't find justice in the West, you're not find it anywhere. It's a sad, it's a sad, super sad situation. day for justice, if it even exists anymore. So they voted against it. They torpedoed it. But it was. It was... I mean, two decades. The stories are horrific. Some of them we can't even talk about. Because they're very, very... I mean, it's graphic stuff. I mean, absolute sexual exploitation of children. Like little kids. And... They they were declining. They declined the request. Keir Starmer, the PM. They declined the request for a nationally led inquiry. Weren't having it. I might be. I don't know. I maybe people are starting to wake up and see the rod of progressivism. Maybe. Maybe they're seeing it. Maybe they'll learn or we'll get more of the same. In the meantime, we've been watching all of this with the horrific fire. We have ice and snow here in Texas. And just a quick note. So hopefully we'll keep power. Because when we had the big ice-mageddon a couple of years ago, we ended up losing power. And so we got a pretty big... We got a Haas generator. It's the size of a small car. It's huge. Because in my home studio... We built out a portion. It's a total pro build out. You know, we've got the cameras that you would see at Fox. Total pro build out. Mic, the lights, everything. And we got a lot of equipment in here. And in order to run it, you have to have a hoss of a generator. So it's a natural gas generator that we got. And had it installed. Again, it's huge. And we got a Generac. Well, the Generac that we got, apparently there's a design flaw, so it just gobbles parts because of the way it is manufactured. There is a design flaw that prevents it from operating properly. And we discovered this because ours is broken right now. And it's not because of a user error. And if it was a simple fix, it would already be fixed. The problem is it's not a simple fix. So Generac, because we do regular maintenance and that's how we know that it breaks all the time just from that. Just when you try to run it to maintain it, it'll bust. It's crazy. So Generac told us last week that it was going to send out a part that we need, that it broke again this week. And then they explained this week, oops, they forgot to send it out. They'll send it out next week, maybe, you know, after the ice storm. So hopefully we won't lose power. But I've never done this on air. I will tell you, do not buy a Generac. It is the worst generator on the market. We spent an ungodly amount of money. I didn't get it for free. I purchased it, paid for the installation, everything. And it is money down the drain. I would have gotten warmer faster by setting the money that I used to purchase this godforsaken generator on fire in my driveway and warming my hands by it than I did with the generator itself. They are non-responsive. You can never get a hold of them. Our service reps cannot ever get a hold of them. The only time we were able to get a hold of them is when they said, oops, they forgot to send this thing out. And it's not, again, user error. It is a design flaw within the generator itself. And I can't just go and get a tiny little thing because, like I said, we have to have – it has to be pretty powerful. You've got to have a steady – have to have a steady and a sizable amount of power to power the studio and do all of this. And a little bitty thing ain't going to cut it. And we had a smaller generator. And after the ice storm, we realized we needed a bigger one. So that's when we got this one. Never again. So let me save you the time and anguish. And I've heard from a horde of people tons of people have reached out when I talked about this on X, and they were like, yeah, we have had major problems with ours. There are installers that have reached out and said, yeah, I would not install this in a million years. All these people that are coming out. Now, Generac is popular because they pay for the advertising. They got great ads. But you are better off getting something that doesn't have parts from China and is, you know, actually they can service it and doesn't break down because it's not made with a design flaw. So I'm pretty pissed off because they won't respond. We've been dealing with this for months with Generac. Months. So it has been a months-long thing, and when you get a hold of them, they don't ever follow through. So now I'm on air and I'm on social media talking about it. So let me save you a lot of money and time. Don't even consider Generac. Generac is the Gavin Newsom of generators. Generac is the Karen Bass of generators. It is worthless garbage. And when all is said and done, I'm going to drag this damn thing out to a field and I'm going to blow it the hell up with some Tannerite and a 50 cal. That's what's going to happen. Because it's worthless. So don't make the mistake I made. They ought to give us a refund for it. But I want to save you money and I want to save you the hassle. Don't even look second glance at a Generac. The worst generator on the market. The worst customer service. And I'm hearing from everybody. How they everybody's been having problems. Everybody ever. You can just look at my social media feed. So fingers crossed that we don't lose power. So we won't. I would I'd hate to do it. So if we're not on air tomorrow because of that, that's because of Generac. We have more to come as we roll towards the conclusion of this third hour. Got some other stuff for you as well, because we've got more developments that we'll touch on. And of course, make sure you sign up over at Substack, chapter and verse, because we got a lot of content that goes out there on the reg.
SPEAKER 08 :
Not able to catch the full Dana show? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short, easy to digest episodes. Ideal for your busy lifestyle on Apple or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 05 :
I saw an apartment building engulfed in flames. I saw the fire engine pull up this afternoon. A fire captain had one of his firefighters attach a hose to a hydrant, and that hose didn't fill up, Alex. And I asked the captain, out of every 10 hydrants you attach to today, on average, how many are you getting full water from? He says, little to none. And it was at that point that really the whole crew stopped, looked up at this apartment building, and they realized there was nothing they could do.
SPEAKER 24 :
It's just crazy. It's so crazy. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. That's just more. It's MSNBC even saying that they, you know, the fire department is saying there's no water. There's no water in any of the hoses or anything like that. I just I was talking with a friend of mine. They had sent a photo in because we I can't I'm actually kind of shocked at the number of people we know who had to evacuate and had it neither had fire damage or lost their houses. And another friend, their house was partially burned down and their neighbor's house is gone. They sent a photo. It's just, it's wild. And these are, I mean, the people that we're talking about, these are conservatives. They're not progressives. There are a lot of people that voted Republican. Like in Beverly Hills, that's a Republican town. Southern California, that's a, you know, Orange County and all that, that's Republican. A lot of people in Pacific Palisades, Karen Bass barely won that area. Barely won that area. A lot of people there voted for Rich Caruso. So, It's not all lefties. But the problem is, is you have a city that's not transparent about what it is that they're doing with your tax dollars. And then they drain reservoirs and they drain the any kind of capture that they have from runoff. They don't. They don't do anything to bolster their water reserves, even as everyone from, you know, wildlife management to Cal Fire, everyone is saying you have to do this. And all of these people are now seeing this is what it looks like. Democrat policies in action. You saw it in North Carolina. You're seeing it again in California. Gavin Newsom needs to call Ron DeSantis and Florida should just fix California. Have Florida just lay out a plan of action for them. Because remember, in in in Florida, they had a hurricane. I'll be damned. They had a bridge rebuilt in like two days. Crazy. They get it done. They weren't even remotely prepared in California. Not even remotely. All right. We got today in stupidity. Kane is out because everything's coated with ice. Juan's out. Everything's coated with ice. Steve, well, he's in D.C., but they at least know how to deal with snow there, Steve.
SPEAKER 27 :
Yeah, we just had snow. It's easy to plow. But CNN yesterday, they were talking about that whole Greenland thing, which you didn't touch on today. And one of the anchors, Boris Sanchez, had a bit of a hot take about what he reminds himself of. So here we go.
SPEAKER 26 :
Ambassador, perhaps on the merits, it makes sense from an economic and security standpoint. You can argue those merits. I do wonder about the approach, though, suggesting that the U.S. military might be involved in some kind of takeover of Greenland. That doesn't concern you? Does that not go against what the United States has tried to fight against in, for example, Ukraine and other parts of the world, in Iraq during the war, Saddam Hussein's Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Doesn't that stand against American doctrine?
SPEAKER 24 :
Wow. Oh my gosh. The hot take of hot takes. The hot take of hot takes. That's it. And of course, let's start today in stupidity. I just saw now that they have fires, the Eaton, California fires reaching critical broadcast towers now. We'll have all the updates about it and we'll be back on air with you tomorrow. Stay safe, stay warm. Pray for victims.
Californian policies ostensibly designed to protect environmental interests are under scrutiny as wildfires wreak havoc across Los Angeles. This episode of the podcast explores the contentious issue of water mismanagement, driven by the need to protect an endangered species, the smelt, and its devastating effects. Tune in as we delve into the catalytic role of local and national political leadership in these crises and reflect on Trump’s predictions during his interview with Joe Rogan. Republican resilience and Democratic hesitance are cast into sharp relief as Californian voters grapple with the consequences of their electoral decisions.
SPEAKER 09 :
We often wonder, is there anything that can happen to make Democrat voters stop voting Democrat? We already know that things can happen to make Republicans stop voting Republican. Thankfully, that didn't happen this past November 5th, and we won. But I wonder if... The continual warnings from President Trump that what is happening right now in Los Angeles County was going to happen, I wonder if that resonates with anybody. Here we go again. Trump was right. How many times over the last nine years have we said Trump was right? How many times since he came down that golden escalator Have we said, well, he was right again. Here he goes again. He was right. He's been sounding the alarm about these stupid environmental policies. Who cares about the smelt? You know what I want to do with the smelt? Put it on my salad for lunch today. I want to eat it. Who cares? Honestly. I want to meet one person in America who cares about the smelt. Because of the smelt, a tiny fish, an endangered species in... California, they've redirected water and dumped it into the Pacific Ocean rather than directing it into the land that desperately needs it in California. So it's dry and brittle, and it goes up when the winds move in just the right direction. And now look at a 40-square-mile swath of devastation. And a lot of it because of the smelt. I'm not kidding you. I'm dead serious. I want to talk to some—we've got a big audience here. And I'm real fired up today. I'm frustrated. I'm not happy. Look, I don't care what your politics are. I don't want your house to burn down. I don't want you to die. So far, five persons have been killed. Schools have been burned. I've been thinking about Dennis Prager, who's in the hospital out there. I don't know physically where the hospital is that he's in right now because they moved him. I'm worried about if Sue is having to evacuate with Dennis from the hospital. And Trump is saying, look, I've told you so. And Trump went on Joe Rogan's show like three months ago, three months ago, and sounded the alarm. This guy gets it right so often, and yet all they want to do is vilify and crucify and react and panic. Look, let's be honest here. These environmentalists are destroying this country. They think they're saving the country, saving the planet. Hey, you're going to give me the global warming crap? Global warming ate my homework. It isn't going to work much longer. People are tired of this. And they're ready for this guy, who is soon to be sworn in. We are days away from President Trump's inauguration. Here he was with Joe Rogan three months ago.
SPEAKER 06 :
They said, we have no water. I said, do you have a drought? No, we don't have a drought. I said, why don't you have no water? Because the water isn't allowed to flow down. It's got a natural flow from Canada all the way up north. More water than they could ever use. And in order to protect a tiny little fish... The water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean. Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured. I could have water for all of that land, water for your forests. You know, your forests are dry as a bone, okay? Yeah, dangerous. That water could be routed. You know, you could have everything. Not only dangerous, billions of dollars a year they spend on forest fires. And, you know, there's a case with the environment. They're not allowed to rake their forests because... You're not allowed to touch it. And all they have to do is clean their forest, meaning rake it up, get rid of the leaves, get rid of, you know, leaves that are sitting there for five years.
SPEAKER 11 :
We'll certainly get rid of the dead fall.
SPEAKER 06 :
And get rid of the trees that have fallen.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, Gavin Newsom, what are you going to say about that? Hey, Karen Bass, what are you going to say about that? That was three months ago. Trump has repeatedly warned. California, of the disastrous danger that was waiting for them. And now the chickens have come home to roost. Now because they don't want to, and I want to know about the smelt. I'm dead serious. I am fascinated that there are people among us who sit around and say, I've got to worry about the smelt. What does the smelt do for humanity? What does a little fish do? I'm not trying to be a smart aleck here. Who gives a rat's rear end if the smelt becomes extinct? What purpose does the smelt serve? And you know me, I'm goofy. I don't know why I'm obsessed with the smelt. But as I'm reading about this all night last night, and this is touching close to home for us. This is not some distant, far-off problem. I just got a note from our buddy Pete Paquette in Orlando. It was forwarded to me. Apparently, Dennis Prager's longtime producer and a guy we all know, Sean McConnell, in L.A., his home was destroyed. Larry Elder and his family had to evacuate. Of course, you probably saw James Woods, the actor, last night with Laura Ingraham. His whole neighborhood wiped out. I mean, a whole bunch of people from all walks of life. And incidentally, you know, some of these folks are rich. Sean is rich in spirit. I don't think you'd call, you know, Dennis's producer rich. You know, a rich guy, a wealthy, you know, famous guy. He's, you know, known because he's Dennis's longtime producer and works closely with Carl Jackson and all of us regularly. So, you know, what is it going to take for voters to wake up? Will this be the event? So I've got two questions for you as we kick things off here for this hour of the Mike Gallagher Show. Thursday, January 9th. I'm glad you could join us. We're in the Relief Factor studios. As always, the number for you to call or text is 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Two questions. Number one, what purpose does the smelt serve a tiny fish that would lead to these Epic policies that have led to such catastrophe. That's part one. Please, if you know, if you're a smelt expert or a smelt lover, I want to meet you. 1-800-655-MIKE. And number two, the second part of my question, or the second question for you today, is this the event that will get dummies in states like California to wake up? Can it happen? Can even diehard Democrats in California say enough is enough with the Gavin Newsoms and the Karen Basses of the world? 800-655-MIKE. Tell me what you think. 14 past the hour. We've got a line open just for you. 800-655-6453. Join us.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I took my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said, you look like a fine, understanding young man. I think you do. So I took off my hat. I said, imagine that. Put me working for you. Sign, sign, everywhere I sign. Locking out your scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don't do that. Can't you read the sign?
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Geller.
SPEAKER 09 :
I wonder if the voters of Los Angeles are regretting their decision to vote for Karen Bass, considering the disastrous way she's handled these wildfires. What a nightmare. Welcome in. It's a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter. The funeral service underway at the Washington National Cathedral. And it's kind of fascinating to see all five living people sitting together, Barack Obama is currently engaged in what looks like a very intense and cordial conversation with Donald Trump who's sitting next to him. It's fascinating. Barack is there alone. Michelle isn't with him. The rest of them have their spouses sitting in the pew ahead of Trump. President Trump is sitting next to the... the former and future first lady. So you've got Melania on the end, then President Trump, then Barack Obama. And I've been witnessing on the closed-circuit monitors that I have here, for the last five minutes or so, Trump and Obama are going back and forth and having what looks like a very pleasant, cordial chat, like they're old buddies. Then next to Obama is Laura and George Bush. Then next to Bush is Hillary and Bill Clinton. And then the row ahead of them is Biden and Jill Biden. And then Kamala and Doug Emhoff. And Kamala does not look happy. She's had a rough week. Look, she had to certify her defeat. She had to... Throw in the towel officially. But watching Trump and Obama interact, this is one of those things, one of those eye-openers where you realize that the people who seem to be mortal enemies publicly are privately anything but. You know, it's like the old image, we long for the days of Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan fighting tooth and nail, and then they'd go off and have a beer together at the end of the day. So just kind of an interesting image, but again, the funeral service underway for former President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral. Let's go back to Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom. This is fascinating. Speaking of Donald Trump, President Trump has called on Gavin Newsom to resign. He posted on Truth Social, One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It's ashes, and Gavin Newsom should resign. This is all his fault. Now, as I watched Obama and Trump cordially interact with each other this morning, what kind of relationship is the 47th president going to have with the governor of California? What's that going to look like? What's going to happen there? How does that even work? Because Newsom is going to rely on Trump's government to provide federal aid to the victims of the California wildfires. Hard to know how that's even going to play out. Is Trump going to deny the aid? It's not the residents' fault. Even if they voted for Newsom or Karen Bass. How about this Karen Bass? So she goes off to Ghana. And I heard today that she declared a national state of emergency for Los Angeles and then got on the plane to go participate in a political event over in Ghana. Then when the fires get bad, evidently they arranged for her to get on a military transport to rush her back to L.A. What did that cost the taxpayer? And incidentally, fun fact, Karen Bass was one of those piling on with Ted Cruz when Senator Cruz took his family to Cancun when they had an ice storm in Texas. She found, they've located a tweet where she was blasting Cruz for leaving and saying we should fire all of them for failed leadership. You can't make this up. This is really, here's what Karen Bass tweeted on February 19, 2021. These are her words, at Karen Bass LA. And I quote, Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis, the ice storm in Texas, is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis. We need to build a movement to kick them all out. Oh, really? Well, Mayor Bass, how was Ghana? Did you have a nice trip? Listen to how she stood in silence. She's in a little ante room, and the door is locked. So she's trapped with a reporter from Sky News. I've never seen anything like this. The Sky News reporter just tore into her while she stood there stone-faced. She didn't say a word. Check this out.
SPEAKER 11 :
Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today? Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you're utterly incompetent. Are you considering your position? Madam Mayor, have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster? No apology for them? Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, my gosh. And you know what? The reason she's stuck, she's on the jet bridge. And, of course, they're going to whisk her away at LAX. And the door's locked. And she can't get out. So she's pretending to be deaf. I can't hear you. Excuse me. She's just standing there. She doesn't say anything. What's she going to say? You're bagging on Ted Cruz years ago for going to Cancun with his family in an ice storm and saying that we should fire people like Ted Cruz for that because the Republicans abandoned their constituency? Well, what did you do? Now, I also don't want to project that she's the smartest or sharpest knife in the drawer. This was a moment... She's reading remarks about what residents of Los Angeles should do. And, of course, the whole purpose is to give them a website, a URL, you know, for aid, for assistance. Evidently, her aides forgot to plug in the actual website, so they left it blank on her piece of paper. She read the actual substitution. Well, let me just play this for you. This is astounding. This is the mayor of one of America's biggest, most populous, most important cities in America, Los Angeles, California.
SPEAKER 01 :
Make no mistake, Los Angeles will rebuild stronger than ever. Right now, if you need help, emergency information, resources, and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL.
SPEAKER 09 :
All of this can be found at URL. I mean, I'm glad they didn't put on the script, website to come, or keep blank until we know the name of the website. She'd have read that. You remember I told you how disillusioned I am when I find out that famous, important people are big dummies? That woman stood there at a podium and said, if you need help, Just go to URL. Uh-huh. Reminded me of the Ron Burgundy scene. Remember this famous scene from the movie Anchorman when the guy was so stupid and so vapid and such an imbecile, he'd read whatever was on the teleprompter in front of him. Remember this?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, that's going to do it for all of us here at Channel 4 News. You stay classy, San Diego. I'm on Burgundy?
SPEAKER 04 :
Who typed a question mark on the teleprompter? For the last time, anything you put on that prompter, Burgundy will read.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, for the last time, anything you put on a piece of paper in front of Bass, she's going to read. My gosh. How are you feeling now, Los Angeles voters? Glad you, and incidentally, forget what a dummy she is. How about her ties to, you know, the Communist Party? You know that she called a top member of the Communist Party a friend and a mentor in a eulogy? She apparently went off to Cuba over and over and over again. She's a radical extremist and a big dummy to boot. That's a leader for you, huh? 800-655-MIKE. Welcome in. We've got a lot to cover today. 800-655-6453. Call or text. Give me your reaction to all of it. Particularly, I mean, I'm not kidding you. I saw a video clip right now. The water situation is so dire that there's a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department using a woman's handbag to try to scoop up water and throw it over into the fire to try to save a house. Now, the Los Angeles Fire Department, a couple of years ago, donated a lot of their surplus to Ukraine. How about this week? In the middle of all of this in the United States, Biden is directing $500 million more to Ukraine. Look, we've got 10 days to go. 10 days. The golden era is coming. 800-655-MIKE. Join 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. consultation. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to myphdweightloss.com, myphdweightloss.com.
SPEAKER 04 :
Breaking now on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 09 :
So the processional just commenced at Washington National Cathedral as the country says goodbye to Jimmy Carter. All five presidents, Biden and the four living former presidents and the future president, seated together. Get ready for the big controversy of Trump's visit there. First of all, I'm, again, amazed at the way Obama and Trump were deeply engaged in what looked like meaningful conversation. But where do you see the big attack that Trump's going to get? Brace yourself for this. I'm just trying to make sure you're ready for it. When the casket, when Jimmy Carter's casket and the American flag came by, all four of the other presidents, as did their wives, but Trump did not. You wait and see. Oh, see, look at that. He didn't put his hand over his heart. Even Melania had her hand over her heart, but not Trump. That's all they got. That's the best they got. And Biden's supposed to give the eulogy. Oh, my gosh. I hope he got a good night's sleep. I hope he had a nice big bowl of tapioca this morning. some oatmeal, and he's going to be ready to go. Going to be on his A game as the family of Jimmy Carter and presidents and dignitaries are all at the National Cathedral to honor him. Meanwhile, we've got people fleeing for their lives. We've got people who have lost everything. Some people have died. And how about Karen Bass? I can't get over Karen. How about that clip? How embarrassing was that? She stood there in silence as the reporter from Sky News asked her if she regrets cutting the fire department budget or being in Africa while the fires destroyed her community. And she had to stand there and take it. What did that go for, guys? A minute and a half? Two minutes? Wow. Everett is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Hi, Everett. How are you?
SPEAKER 10 :
Hey. Hi, Mike. How are you doing?
SPEAKER 09 :
I'm doing great.
SPEAKER 10 :
I love listening to you. Thank you. You inspire me. And I honestly believe that this country better never, ever let a Democrat in the office. I don't know what their purpose is. I believe they're trying to destroy our freedom and our country. And they've brainwashed a lot of American people. And may God bless our nation.
SPEAKER 03 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 10 :
And get those of them today who won't accept Jesus because Jesus is on his way. Amen. All the vital signs are here.
SPEAKER 09 :
It is. It just feels like everything's changing, Everett. And I wonder if even this event. I mean, look, Trump has been preemptive and he has been warning people, even on these fires. Wait till you hear what he told Joe Rogan three months ago. Three months ago. He's been repeatedly warning California of what they're up against because of these environmental policies and the goofy effort to save the smelt and all these environmentalists who they can't clear cut, they're not doing controlled burns. And then they're running out of water. And look at the mess they have now. But if you didn't hear Trump with Joe Rogan three months ago, you're going to hear it next because you're not going to believe this. Talk about how prescient he was. Talk about how spot on he was. Once again, Trump was right. 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 $45. $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 04 :
He's the happy conservative warden. From the Relief Factor studios, here's Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 09 :
There's an awful lot of breaking news today. Of course, this is a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter. The wildfires are wreaking havoc with Los Angeles. We've got a new sheriff in town 10 days away, and I would always, always make time for one of my favorite guests. K.T. McFarland is former Trump deputy national security advisor. She served under President Trump. And, K.T., it's great to see your face and have you back on the show because, my goodness – We got 10 more days to go. There are days when I feel like, can we hold on? I mean, Biden, with all of the executive orders on the way out the door, another $500 million to Ukraine while Los Angeles is burning. We have this horrific news. It's like a gut punch, as you put it on social media, to say that there's only 20 hostages alive left in Gaza. January 20th can't get here soon enough, my friend.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and what's really sad is to watch President Biden just trying to destroy anything he can. to prevent Donald Trump from doing what he wants to do. If the American people have spoken instead of President Biden accepting that, what he's trying to do now is throw as many roadblocks as he can in the way of President Trump, whether it's, as you said, the aid to Ukraine, whether it's to ban fracking, whether it's to ban a lot of other things he's doing with regard to energy permits, etc. I mean, President Trump is going to turn it all around on day one. But the problem is that you have to deal with all the things that President Biden is putting into effect now.
SPEAKER 09 :
You know, Axios did a big deep dive today on Trump's ever-expansive power. I mean, he's going to start his presidency with a very loyal Republican Senate and House. As they put it at Axios, a vastly empowered MAGA-friendly media information ecosystem. Businesses are scrambling to make amends or improve cozy relationships. But on the world front, front, which you're so good at. They talk about how Trump aligned movements are disrupting long liberal foreign allies from Canada to Britain to Germany, in part because of aggressive information wars waged by Elon Musk and his supporters. Can you give me the KT McFarland take on Elon Musk's presence in this and what this looks like worldwide?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think Elon Musk is the tip of the spear. He has shown what the new phenomenon is. You know, we always think of tech moguls as being liberal Democrats. No, they're not. Tech moguls have decided that Donald Trump represents American ingenuity, entrepreneurial ability, and free thinking. So that's, I think, one of the reasons that Elon Musk has been so quick to support president trump when no one else would he was out there when no one else would and then as he purchased twitter why did he do it because he wanted to have free speech and where elon musk has gone others have followed now when critics are saying well that elon musk has stirred up crazy right-wing nut to go support crazy white right-wing candidates in all these countries really you know you don't think it has anything to do with the incompetence and corruption we've seen whether it's in Canada, whether it's in Germany, whether it's in various parts of Europe, and certainly in the United States. There's a reason people across the globe have turned away from liberal, globalist policies, because they don't work. That's why I think so many people, even if they don't like Donald Trump, really like the idea of Donald Trump's policies.
SPEAKER 09 :
KT, I'm fascinated by the reaction to Trump's musing about acquiring Greenland, Canada becoming the 51st state, the Panama Canal. I watched John Fetterman say, look... Stop the hyperventilating. Greenland's pretty important to us. This week, Don Jr., along with our own Charlie Kirk from Salem, went over to Greenland. What's your take on what President Trump said this week about those big, bold moves?
SPEAKER 02 :
But Greenland especially is really essential. American presidents are trying to have an alliance with Greenland, going back to Abraham Lincoln and to World War II. Because we had military bases in Greenland, we were able to win World War II because it protected the North Atlantic. There are three really good reasons to want Greenland in some kind of an alliance defense relationship with the United States. First, it's the obvious one, the geostrategic position. It protects the North Atlantic, protects it from China, protects it from Russia. Any malingering illness that's going to come across the Atlantic is going to be protected by Greenland. Number two, Greenland has vast oil reserves, and it also has something very important, which are called critical rare earth minerals, that they're essential in any kind of modern communications, modern devices. you know everything from computers to cell phones is the chips you need that greenland has it we don't have much of it china has 70 percent of the world's rare critical um mineral supply if we can have some kind of relationship with greenland where we develop it then we're really in a very good strategic position to use to do china and then finally If the North Atlantic, if the polar ice caps are melting, the trade route possibility of going from across the Arctic, going from Asia to North America, Asia to Europe, going across the Arctic, Greenland will be the route. That's the stopping off point. And other countries realize it. China realizes it. Russia realizes it. Thank goodness Donald Trump realizes it. And to send Don Jr. over to Greenland, I mean, what a brilliant idea. The Greenlanders are very outdoorsy oriented. They're very sportsmanlike. And to send somebody who is such an embodiment of the frontier, the outdoor spirit, as Don Jr., was really brilliant. And the Greenlanders themselves have come out and said, we want some kind of a relationship with the United States. Let's start talking.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, KT, we always so appreciate your appearances on the show, and I want to get personal with you for just a moment. I don't do a lot of guests, so a lot of shows do. Hugh Hewitt, my friend, my colleague, there's a lot of great interview shows. I like callers. I like content. So when I find a guest and somebody who's a great, great asset to the show, could I put you on the spot, and can we make 2025 the year that you can pop on pretty regularly on the Mike Gallagher Show? Because our audience would greatly appreciate that. Are you open for that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I am so interested in doing this. I think it's going to be really important, especially because President Trump has taken so many people from our space, right? People who support President Trump, support his policies into his administration. The need for people like you and others to come out and explain to the American people what's going on is going to be even amplified. So I will be your regular date.
SPEAKER 09 :
I hope you don't mind because we learn so much from you every time you're on. And every single time we do a segment together, I'm so gratified. And I feel, you know, just a little bit more knowledgeable about what's happening, not only, you know, in places like Israel and Ukraine and the United States. And I mentioned to my producer, I'm going to put her on the spot and see if we can get her to agree to come on regularly. So let's make it a date and make 2025 the year of more KT McFarlane on The Mike Gallagher Show, okay?
SPEAKER 02 :
I'd be thrilled.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you. Thanks, KT. I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us. Keep fighting the good fight. KT McFarland, and I do want to have her. She was Trump's first deputy national security advisor. She also chaired the interagency deputies committee. She knows, look, and she was, I know her from Fox News, and we would visit in the green room back when I was a contributor. She was Fox News Channel's national security analyst. in about the same period of time that I was a Fox News contributor from 2010 to 2016. Before I decided no more, had a guy dump a milkshake on my head in a diner in midtown Manhattan, and I thought, I don't want to do TV anymore. And, you know, look at this. I'm like I'm in the mafia. Now that just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in with Salem News Channel. And we're on Samsung TV Plus, 1177, Pluto, Roku, Apple TV, everywhere we go, snc.tv. So just don't dump a milkshake on me. And if you do, make it chocolate, not vanilla, huh? Speaking of milkshakes, they got a lot of them at McDonald's. I love what McDonald's is doing, saying goodbye to their DEI initiatives. That and more coming up.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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 08 :
Man, I got to tell you, an asteroid could hit the Earth, and between fire coverage and around here in DFW snow coverage, I don't think anybody would know.
SPEAKER 09 :
And I'm getting on a plane after the show to go hang out in South Carolina, and they're under a winter watch warning alert. I called Joey. I said, is this a good idea? He said, it'll be an adventure. It'll be an adventure. I see. Look, this California situation is so wild. It takes a natural disaster sometimes to expose the out-of-control corruption of Democrat leadership. And, you know, look at the headlines over the Daily Beast. Oh, Trump is trying to politicize this.
SPEAKER 08 :
Republicans pounce.
SPEAKER 09 :
Republican spouse. You know, I'm old enough to remember when Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, who went to Ghana, went to Ghana. Now, understand something. A lot of people are going to think that, well, how could she have known? Do you know that she declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles before she got on the plane and went over to Ghana? So it's not like she was caught unawares. I'm old enough to remember Ted Cruz getting eviscerated for going to Cancun. Do you know who one of his attackers was for going to Cancun?
SPEAKER 08 :
Karen Bass.
SPEAKER 09 :
Karen Bass. She took to X and blasted him for going AWOL. And that was a weather event, right? What was the... It was the Icemageddon.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was when temperatures plunged to single digits and the Texas grid was failing. In the most energy-rich state in the lower 48, we don't have enough power. Go figure.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. She tweeted... Let me read this. This was back when it was Twitter. Here we go. February 19th, 2021, at Karen Bass, L.A. Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis. We need to build a movement to kick them all out.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, well.
SPEAKER 09 :
Did you see the deer in the headlights moment when she was cornered at the airport by reporters?
SPEAKER 08 :
Do you have anything to say to the people? Do you have anything to say to the public?
SPEAKER 09 :
And you know the backstory, right? The door was locked. They couldn't figure out how to unlock the door. So she was trapped like a rat. And she could just stand there. It was a horrible moment. But look, it goes to the top. Gavin Newsom, have you seen all the pronouncements that Trump was making even just three months ago on Joe Rogan's show?
SPEAKER 08 :
Seeming to foresee this lack of resources due to the impeachment. Seeming? Seeming?
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, no, he foresaw. He did. He done foresoothed. Nostradamus did. He's on Joe Rogan three months ago saying, look, they got a problem out there. They're pumping the water into the Pacific Ocean rather than giving it to the forests. He says they're not clear cutting. They're not doing controlled burns. They're worried about the smelt. What the hell? Who cares about the smelt?
SPEAKER 01 :
This little tiny fish.
SPEAKER 09 :
Who cares about what kind of a nutcase says, let's be more concerned about the smelt than we are people now who have lost their homes. Some of them have lost their lives. And these wildfires, I mean, and there's DeSantis, I mean, DeSantis Newsome, confronted by Anderson Cooper of all people and Anderson Cooper stands there and says oh the incoming president is criticizing you and Newsom got like almost choked up and said I can't even find the words he wants to I won't respond yeah well and in that
SPEAKER 08 :
In that same burst of Q&A with Anderson Cooper, by the way, an interview that Anderson Cooper begins by saying, yeah, the fire hydrants don't have any water. So can we address that, please? And one of the one of the Gavin Newsom quotes is, well, you know, the locals, the locals are going to figure that out. Not to figure that out. The locals, which gives me a burst of fairness, a burst of fairness on a couple of things. Number one, if there's enough fire, if there's enough fire and this is just you can see it from space, literally. Mightn't the fire hydrants run out even if your area is well-managed? I don't know. Just asking.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, it's a fair question, but let's look at the environmental laws and all of these goofy, woke policies that have led to this deadly situation. That's what has to be fixed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Bad forestry management, bad water management.
SPEAKER 09 :
And you know what they do. You know where they go. Global warming. It's all climate change.
SPEAKER 08 :
Bernie Sanders said, tell Trump that global warming is real. The climate change is real. Marty, get in the DeLorean. It's like, oh, just please. The climate cult never, never misses an opportunity.
SPEAKER 09 :
They'll never miss a beat. Global. But I saw somebody post something that I thought was spot on last night. The old global warming ate my homework doesn't work anymore. It doesn't work anymore. That sucks. I mean, listen, every single politician, Mark, in California responsible for this is a catastrophic failure to prepare for this.
SPEAKER 08 :
Will there be accountability? And in fact, here's another honesty burst, another consistency burst from me. Whether it's Ted Cruz, a Republican, a Karen Bass, a Democrat. When they gave Ted Cruz, holy you know what, we're loading up into Cancun while we were all eating our neighbor's livers. because we didn't have any power in the refrigerator. God, it was terrible. So everybody gave Ted Cruz the old what for. I remember saying on this show, what, is Ted Cruz going to be climbing poles and restrapping wire? Is this a difference maker that... head that a u.s senator is not here for an ice storm so let me ask about and i guess mayor is a little closer to the bone closer to the community so it's probably different so she's in a west african nation of ghana for some you know trip of some sort you know is it does is there something magical about her you know being in la the mayor of la are you asking this question come on it's it's more than optics it's
SPEAKER 09 :
I mean, this is the mayor. This is not, you know, one of two senators in a state. I mean, I think it's fair about— Or even governor, yeah. Or governor. I mean, these are the leaders. These are the titular leaders of their cities or their counties or their states. And again, keep in mind, she didn't get caught unawares. She declared a state of emergency and then got on a plane and went to Ghana. And then, by the way, did you hear how she got back? No.
SPEAKER 1 :
No.
SPEAKER 09 :
They used a military transport, she claims. So the taxpayers had to foot the bill for her to come, not only go, I'm sure, but I'm sure she went as an official capacity to witness the swearing in of the new president of Ghana. But then they had to get a big, fancy, expensive military plane to take her back. And she was in constant communication on the phone from the plane coming from Ghana.
SPEAKER 08 :
Look, it's a catastrophe for them. Right. Will there be accountability? Will memories be short? Will memories be long enough, I should say? And will I mean, because we all sit here and we part of the messaging that we deliver is, hey, California. Hey, Democrats, you have brought this on yourselves. When will you learn? I know. And will they?
SPEAKER 09 :
It is still California. I'm reminded of New York City. Before we give up on California or New York or any of these blue, blue states and cities, do you remember when Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York? Remember when David Dinkins was preceding him?
SPEAKER 08 :
And they learned a lesson in New York City, didn't they?
SPEAKER 09 :
David Dinkins, and they pivoted to Rudy. Remember, George Pataki was the conservative Republican governor of New York. There's a reason for hope. It can happen. It might not happen, but maybe when people see their houses burned down and the miserable response from the left. Did you see a college professor tweeted out, James Woods' home is burning down, karma is calling? Okay. How do you do that? And put it out on social media. I mean, everybody's calling that woman out. Karen Piper. I'm going to join in. Karen Piper from Mizzou, who thinks it's wise to take to social media and mock an actor, a conservative actor, James Woods, you know, his house burning down. My gosh.
SPEAKER 04 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
Join Tony Perkins as he delves into the pressing issues facing America today. From the courageous court rulings against the Biden administration's Title IX rewrite to upcoming legislation aimed at securing our borders, we examine the legal and ideological battles that shape our nation’s future. This episode also highlights the essential role of prayer and fasting, as Dr. Ronnie Floyd provides insights on how these spiritual disciplines can transform lives and societies. Don't miss this action-packed discussion that bridges the gap between faith and governance.
SPEAKER 10 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works, and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. And today, many think he was from a bygone era. But in reality, he saw well into the future.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was President Joe Biden at the National Cathedral today, where our nation's leaders paid their final respects to America's 39th president, Jimmy Carter. Good evening and welcome to Washington Watch. I'm Tony Perkins, your host. Thanks for joining us for this Thursday edition. Well, meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Southern California is ablaze, creating what many have described as an apocalyptic scene.
SPEAKER 09 :
We continue to confront a big one-level firestorm. Historic winds and extensive drought have created a perfect storm that has driven people from their homes and have taken people's homes and that has taken people's lives.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earlier today. There are currently five major wildfires with the two largest still uncontained. The Palisades fire is reported to be the most destructive in L.A. history. Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan's Purse, joins me later to discuss the situation and pending relief efforts. In other news, the Biden administration's efforts to redefine sex in Title IX were struck down today by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, who ruled that the administration had overstepped its authorities. Meg Kilgannon with FRC will be here to explain what this means for women's sports and beyond. And before leaving Washington for the weekend, the House passed legislation sanctioning the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The measure passed with bipartisan support, 243 to 140. We're going to talk with California Congressman Doug LaMalfa later here on Washington Watch. And also Dr. Ronnie Floyd joins us, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, to discuss the supernatural power of prayer and fasting. And frankly, I can't think of a more appropriate time to not just talk about prayer, but to actually pray. So with that in mind, mark your calendars for two upcoming prayer events, Sunday, January the 19th, Inauguration Praise and Prayer Convocation at 2 p.m. just down the street from the Family Research Council. If you plan to be in the area, I invite you to join us as we worship the Lord and pray for our nation. leading up to the presidential inauguration. Registration is free, but space is limited. So to attend, you have to register. Go to frc.org slash prayer. That's frc.org slash prayer. You can also join via the Stand Firm app if you're not able to be in D.C. And then mark your calendar for Wednesday, February the 5th, the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, which will be at the Bible Museum. We invite you to come and join us for that. Find out more, go to the website, TonyPerkins.com. All right, we've got a packed program, so don't go anywhere. Just a little while to go. The U.S. Senate voted to advance the Lake and Riley Act by a vote of 84 to 9. This is the first of the border bills to be advanced by the 119th Congress. Here to discuss this is Congressman Mark Alford, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Small Business Committee. He represents the 4th Congressional District of Missouri. Congressman Alford, thanks for sticking around and welcome back to the program. Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you. So before we talk about some of the other wins that the Republicans scored this week, let's go over the Lake and Riley Act. The House passed that this week. Now the Senate takes it up. They advance it. Talk a little bit about what this bill would do and why it's important.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the reason it's important is because Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas have left some 12 million illegal aliens into our great nation, compromising our security and our national security, our security here in the homeland. And because of that, last February, almost a year ago, Lakin Riley, a jogger, a student in Georgia, was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra. He had been let out of jail three previous times by police, and yet he was not detained by ICE, not detained by anyone. No one cared that he was an illegal alien out on the streets. And he continued to perpetrate his crimes. And his last one was the rape and murder of Lakin Riley. And so now we passed Mike Collins' bill from Georgia Very proud to know him. He worked hard on this bill to get it through committee and on the House floor, and we got the votes. And in fact, we got 48 Democrats this time to vote along with us in the U.S. House of Representatives. And we'll make sure that illegal aliens who are arrested for shoplifting, burglary, theft, and what have been considered maybe minor crimes that should not lead to incarceration or deportation, repatriation of illegal aliens, We're going to make sure that happens now. They are going back after they serve their time back to their home country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Congressman Alford, there's actually several bills related to the border that were in the rules package last week that will be fast-tracked. This was the first. What other measures can we be looking forward to?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I think there's a whole host of them. And this is part of the president's agenda, part of the mandate that the American people said, we have got to secure our border. Some of these things are going to be talked about this weekend in Mar-a-Lago. I'm not going to be there, but I know other members of Congress are. The reconciliation package is also a big, big part of what we're going to be doing in the first 100 days. But securing our border is number one, making sure we have the funds available. And I'm on the Appropriations Committee, so I'm going to be working hard on that, that we have the funds available to build the wall, to reinstitute the Remain in Mexico policy. A new member, Brandon Gill, is introducing a Remain in Mexico policy to make sure that that gets back into play. And that basically, Tony, for the viewers who may not know, you have to stay in Mexico or your home country while you appeal or while you apply for asylum into our nation. Only about 10% of those who apply for asylum have a legitimate claim. And yet the Biden administration has let those people into our country. Most of them never show up for their hearings. It takes 10 years to have these hearings. And by the time it's all done, only 10% of them have a worthy claim. And so this is going to say you have to remain in Mexico and have that heard there before you come to our nation.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was the policy that the Trump administration put in place during their last administration, which basically shut down this flow coming into our southern border. One final question for you, Congressman Offord. You mentioned reconciliation. The president last night meeting with Republican senators to discuss reconciliation, whether reconciliation one bill or two bills. He said he was leaning toward the one bill, one big, beautiful bill. I spoke with the House Speaker this morning, and that was his preference. And it sounds like that's the direction it's going to go.
SPEAKER 07 :
I certainly hope so. Look, we've got to get this done. We don't have much time to get it done. The American people, we have to educate folks as we move along. And we've got to get people on board, not just the American people, but everyone in our conference. So if we can do that, if we can get the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Jason Smith, our chairman of Ways and Means, wants in there. He wants one bill, by the way. If we can get that done, we can raise our debt ceiling. That doesn't mean we're going to spend up to that level, but that's going to give the President of the United States some cushion and keep the bond markets settled while we reduce spending some $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. That's $250 billion in savings that we are going to make through various programs. And each committee is going to be charged now with finding these savings, not cutting into Social Security, and Medicare, but finding the savings where we can to hopefully within 10 years balance our budget. That's what our budget director, not our budget director, but budget chairman Jody Arrington is aiming for. We've got a lot of work to do and a short time to get there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that would be huge and much needed. Congressman Mark Alford, thanks so much for joining us today and have a great weekend. You too, Tony. God bless you. All right. Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri. Well, in other breaking news today, a federal district court judge struck down the Biden administration's attempt to redefine sex in the Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics. U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky's Northern Division ruled that the Biden administration's rewrite of Title IX would exceeded the Department of Education's authority under Title IX and violated the Constitution. So what does that mean? Well, joining us now to discuss this, Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies at FRC. She previously served in the U.S. Department of Education during the first Trump administration. Meg, thanks so much for joining us on this breaking news.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks for having me, Tony. It's a really great day.
SPEAKER 04 :
So you've had a chance to read through the opinion. What are we looking at here? What does this do?
SPEAKER 16 :
This basically, as they say, as the judge says at the end of the decision, vacating this rule returns the state of play to the status quo of the last 50 years. And we know that that state of play for the last 50 years has been that men are men and women are women, and we can each have our spaces, and women don't have to have men on their sports teams. So this was a really good ruling. It said that the rule, as the Biden administration had conceived it, was unconstitutional, that it compelled speech, that it overstepped the bounds that were allowed to the department in terms of writing a rule like this. And so it was a short but a really thorough ruling.
SPEAKER 04 :
The speech related to the pronoun usage, forcing teachers and others to use certain pronouns. So 26 states, previous states, had challenged this. This came as a result of about three or four states challenging this in their districts. So what's next? Does this put it to rest? Is it over? Or what will be the next step?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, you know, today's a national day of mourning and the government is closed today. So we haven't heard anything from the Biden administration to react to this ruling. But they, I suppose, could try to appeal to the Supreme Court. I think that they don't have time to do that, obviously. And I think it would be a dangerous thing for them to do. But hopefully we will just see the rule withdrawn. And we will then go back to continuing to fight for the rights of women and girls in states where these kind of rules are being enforced at the state and local level. And sadly, that's happening in about half the country. The state of California, states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, they have rules similar to this Title IX rule on their books already. And so they can be... they can be changed in the future. And I think that's where our movement in the fight to protect children is gonna have to focus. We need to make sure that we are rooting this out of our own states because in plenty of red states and school districts in red states, there are policies like these and children are being harmed by them and teachers are being forced to enforce them. So we have to make sure that we're continuing to fight this ideology because it's not rooted out yet.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's the great opportunity that's here on so many fronts is under this incoming administration, we have the ability and opportunity to do some very important work that will have lasting effect. But we can't just assume it's going to happen. We have to make it happen. Meg Kilgannon, thanks so much for jumping in here at the last minute and giving us that update.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
So with the Biden administration, Department of Education, on its way out, the bell is ringing on this administration. The next administration is certainly not going to defend this rule, this change. So as Meg says, it goes back to status quo. And that's what we have because the Trump campaign and the incoming administration has said, we're going back to the way it used to be when men were men and girls were girls. A novel idea. Coming up next, Franklin Graham of Samaritan's Purse joins me as we talk about what's happening in California. Don't go away. We're back after this.
SPEAKER 11 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC's outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with a community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel's peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Launching in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us for another year of standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us on this Thursday. Well, much of Los Angeles County remains under a red flag warning through Friday night as firefighters continue to battle multiple major wildfires. Roughly 179,000 residents have been told to evacuate and thousands of structures have been damaged or totally destroyed in the outbreak of at least five fires that have been spreading across the Los Angeles area. Five people tragically have lost their lives so far, but officials say the death toll is likely to be higher. Firefighters work to contain the fires. Our friends at Samaritan's Purse are monitoring the situation and waiting for officials to give them the green light to go ahead and provide physical and spiritual aid to those affected. Joining me now to talk about this and more is Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. Franklin, welcome back to the program.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Franklin, before we jump into what's happening there on the West Coast in Los Angeles today, it was a day of mourning for the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. The state funeral was today. Your father had a close relationship with him. What should people keep in mind at moments like this?
SPEAKER 01 :
I've heard people say Jimmy Carter was a better president after he left the White House than when he was in the White House. I would disagree with that, Tony. I look at the one moment where he brought Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin together at the White House, and they signed that peace accord, the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel, which is still in effect today. This was huge. And of course, when he did leave, he was just a one-term president, but when he left, He just didn't sit around. He did things. He helped people. He had a real burden for parts of Africa that were suffering from the Guinea worm. He focused on that and tried to draw attention to get funding for it, to help relieve suffering to people. He built houses. He was an incredible emissary for our country around the world after he left the White House. And he just, one of the most positive people And I've spent quite a bit of time with him and he was always kind and gracious. A Southern gentleman, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that was my sense as well. And I do want to just say, as you pointed out, the critical role he played in facilitating the peace between Israel and Egypt, that really is a cornerstone of peace in that region, which I think the Abraham Accords were able to build on in the last Trump administration.
SPEAKER 01 :
No question. What Jimmy Carter did opened up the door. And so we just pray that as President Trump comes next week, as he comes into office, that he'll be able to get that rolling again. And hopefully we can see some peace initiatives once again in the Middle East.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Franklin, let's shift gears here from the historic hurricane of Helene there in your backyard to the other side of the country just a few months later. We've got these historic fires in Los Angeles. Help us make sense of all this, and what do we need to do?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, Samaritan's Purse, we have a ministry center in Fullerton. We keep trucks and equipment and supplies in a warehouse there. So we're ready to move once the local authorities let us go in. One of the problems you have, first of all, the fire's still raging, so we're not firefighters, and you have to just let this play out. But once it plays out, we have to wait for the local officials to give you the green light to go in. One of the problems is there could be bodies that are still in homes that were burned in the fire that they have not discovered. And they will have to canvas the area and go to home by home to make sure that they're clear. And at some point after that, they will give the green light for people like Samaritan's Purse to come in and homeowners to come back to their homes. And we will help. One of the big things that we do is sift through the ashes. These fires leave nothing behind. But there may be a mother's wedding ring or maybe a picture album, something that might've survived. And so we'll take teams of people, go in and we'll sift the ashes, looking for things of value. We've found coin collections, we've find diamond rings, we have found things in the past. And you give that back to the homeowner and just to be able to have something that survived that fire that they can hang on to. And it's very important. Now, some counties don't allow us to go back to do anything else. Many communities where we have these problems, they allow us to come and help clean off the lot, get the homeowner into a position where they can build again. And I just don't know what they'll do there in L.A., but I'm sure they'll let us come in and help sift through the ashes. And then we have, of course, chaplains. And we want to talk and pray with people that have lost everything. A lot of people are asking why. And that's a hard question to answer is why. But we want to reassure them of God's love and God cares for them. And he hasn't turned his back on them. So we'll have chaplains there helping as we have volunteers with Samaritan's Purse sifting.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I can't say enough positive things about Samaritan's Purse in both the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the chaplains, and then the hands-on volunteers. But I was just looking in the last 20 years, we've had the 10 most costly natural disasters in the history of this country. These things are growing with their frequency. I think the church has to be prepared. I think it's a sign of the times, but we need to be prepared to minister in these moments because people are open when they're hurting.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, they are. And that's when you have an opportunity to share with them God's love that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, from heaven to this earth to take our sins. And he died and he shed his blood for our sins and was buried. And on the third day, God raised him to life. And if we're willing to repent of our sins and just by faith, simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we'll be saved. And this is the message that we need to share with everyone, Tony. And of course, the world's population has doubled in my lifetime, your lifetime. And so there's more people and there's gonna be more storms. And of course, everybody has a cell phone, an iPhone, takes a picture, able to send it to everyone around the world. So we see it instantly now where we didn't have that before. So I don't know if we have more frequency, but it is affecting more people because our population has doubled.
SPEAKER 04 :
Franklin, very quickly, we've got about 20 seconds left. How can people find out more about helping Samaritan's Purse?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, go to Samaritan'sPurse.org, our website. You can check on what we're doing here in North Carolina, but also there in California, and how they can volunteer and be a part of this. We do need volunteers.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. We will continue to check in with you as things progress there. Franklin, thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, folks, stick around. We're back with more after this.
SPEAKER 13 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 14 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I absolutely love my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 13 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 14 :
I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 06 :
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 04 :
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. You can find out more about Samaritan's Purse at tonyperkins.com. But I highly recommend that if you're going to help, help Samaritan's Purse. Help through Samaritan's Purse. Volunteer. Give money. They do a great job. Also pray. This is another example of why we're doing Operation Prayer Shield. So if you'd like to join us in praying for our country, we're extending this beyond the inauguration on January the 20th. Text SHIELD to 67742. Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court and their officials, which you may recall, issued a arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for their actions during Israel's war against Hamas. The illegitimate Court Counteraction Act passed by a vote of 243 to 140, with 45 Democrats joining Republicans in support of it. It now heads to the Senate where the Majority Leader John Thune says he will put it onto the floor and advance it. So what message does this send to the world and what does it tell us about what we could expect out of the 119th Congress? Here now to discuss this and more, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who is a member of the three House committees, a member of three House committees and chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. He represents the 1st Congressional District Congress. of California. Congressman LaMalfa, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 12 :
Tony, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate your covering today.
SPEAKER 04 :
First, before we jump into this topic, you're from California, very familiar with fires. In fact, it wasn't too long ago you had fires in your northern part of the state. What can you tell us about what's happening there in California?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, ours is a little more seasonal up in North where we do get rain and snow and Southern California being more arid. Well, it's not a surprise that the threat is there every year. Every year you can count on the Santa Ana winds coming in and, you know, possibly affecting fire if one's occurring. And so at this time, They were extremely unfortunate in how severe it was this go around. But it's to be expected every year. And so what is our level of readiness for being able to have a chance to fight the fire or the resiliency against a fire that will happen occasionally anyhow? So are homes being built out of the right material? And is the lands around there being treated in such a way that you don't have the brush and the fuel that will carry the the fire to areas where you really don't want to burn.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is the criticism of state and local officials there justified?
SPEAKER 12 :
In fairness, yes, because the priorities have been something else. You can see how the fire department down there has been hiring DEI-type people. priorities instead of just who are the best people they can bring in. You might have seen a video from a fellow last name Corolla who tried to join the fire department, had to wait seven years merely because he was the wrong gender or color or something. That's ridiculous. And then we saw with the city there chose to downsize their fire department by about $17 million in funding. And that doesn't reflect that there's a lower fire risk in the area. And obviously we're seeing that, that the fire risk is still very high, especially with the Senate.
SPEAKER 04 :
So policy matters. The policies we adopt matter. It affects people.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's what directly affects people by what government does, yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. All right. Well, let's talk about this. Tell us about the bill voted on earlier today, the ICC that would sanction the ICC. Tell us exactly what it does and why it was important for Congress to take this up first in the 119th Congress.
SPEAKER 12 :
It sends a strong message that the disinformation that's been around Israel and and this whole battle here in Gaza was, obviously Hamas is the aggressor on that. I mean, until two October 7th ago, There really wasn't an issue like that. So they've taken this to the next level on the whole phony concept of what Palestine should be, which is more fictitious than anything. And so the whole, you know, Israel's bent over backwards for most of its existence to try and accommodate. You know, the Gaza was a kind of a land for peace deal. And they never got peace. So they were setting up rockets before the settlement was, the ink was even dry on that deal. And so... We know the source of the attack, the heinous things, the ugly things that the Hamas-related people did to those people starting on October 7. That's all on their lap. The blood is on their hands. Israel is doing what should be done. It's actually bending over backwards and maybe succumbing to world pressure, unfair pressure by UN and media and others. And I think some pretty bad handling by the Biden administration, where they should have had stronger backing by the United States from the beginning. This would probably be over a long time ago. And the hostages either released or if these guys were going to torture and murder them, as we've seen happen with some of them, the situation would have been settled and still it drags on. So now when you see with Trump coming in, they're paying more attention and it seems like there's gonna be a stronger effort to end this thing as it is. But it has to be pretty much unconditional. We can't allow Hamas to continue to doing what they're doing with that massive tunnel system. And there's a cell everywhere that they can launch rockets from and abduct people. So for the ICC to be somehow blaming Netanyahu as some kind of war criminal because he's resisting and pushing back and trying to end this. Israel has always sued for peace. It's always... And even when they do an airstrike or try and wipe these guys out where they are, they send leaflets and they send warning. Hey, we're going to do this very surgically. They don't just indiscriminately bomb everything like those rockets that they launched indiscriminately into Israel. They don't care who they kill or what it affects. So it's ridiculous that the ICC would even... Consider that. This just shows the politics of the U.N., the Security Council, and a lot of the really irresponsible world media on blaming it on Netanyahu.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it's certainly encouraging to see Congress taking this up in their first week. Doug, we're out of time. Up against the break.
SPEAKER 12 :
And thank you for joining us. This also affects American citizens, possibly. So I want to protect them, too. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Have a great day. Don't go away, folks. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 02 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God's will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn't impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can't do that. It's not that you don't love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God's opinion more than your neighbor's opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Thursday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Let me remind you, two prayer events coming up. January the 19th, we'll have our prayer preceding the inauguration of President Donald Trump. That'll be 2 p.m. in the afternoon. To find out more about how you can be a part of that, go to frc.org slash prayer. If you can't make it to town, you can still join us on the Stand Firm app. And then February the 5th, we have the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, which will be at the Museum of the Bible. I encourage you to come and be a part of that. This will be our third year. Dr. Jim Garlow will be joining me. And we'll talk more about that later. Well, speaking of prayers, we watched the devastating wildfires in Southern California continue to rage. And as I was talking with Franklin Graham earlier, it was just three months ago that we saw the historic level of destruction in the Carolinas with the Hurricane Helene. And we just look back to all the many natural disasters our nation has faced in recent years, and somebody's saying, how do we get through such challenging times? And I do, number one, I think the Lord warned us that as we move toward the end of time, we're going to see more things like this. We need to be prepared. And one of the ways we respond to this is in prayer. We do preparation. But we, just knowing that this is not unusual, that these things, I mean, it's unusual, but we've been warned that it was gonna be happening so that our peace would not be robbed from us, nor our joy. And it's interesting, throughout history, our nation's history, Christians have turned to God in prayer, asking for hope for healing and guidance during disasters. And that's needed now perhaps more than ever. But also, as we were talking earlier with Meg Kilgannon about the opportunities that we have with this incoming administration, I want to encourage you not to think we've crossed the finish line, but rather this is the starting line. And the way we affect change as believers is first in prayer, and then we walk it out. Well, with me, joining me now to talk more about this, about the power of prayer and its role in both personal and national transformation, is Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor emeritus of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas and author of the recently released book, The Supernatural Power of Prayer and Fasting, 12 Ways God Will Change Your Life. Dr. Floyd, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Tony. Great to be with you always.
SPEAKER 04 :
So let me just ask you first off, what prompted you to write this book?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Tony, I have been on journeys of fasting really since my collegiate days and was approached about doing it because I haven't written about it in about 14 years in a book. And so that's what it was. Plus, I felt like the moment in America and across the world where is perfect in relationship to the church stepping into this space, which is desperately needed by individual believers, as well as churches where we spend time in prayer and fasting, not only for ourselves, but also for our country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you headed up National Day of Prayer for a season. I mean, prayer has been fundamental to your ministry, you know, the power of that prayer. So this is not new. Is this a culmination of experiences that you've had as you've walked in prayer and fasting?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it probably really is. God shapes our lives and God gets us ready for various things in life and preps us through the course of life. And I believe that this book really speaks clearly and soundly biblically as well as practically and spiritually, that it should inspire people to walk into those moments at a little different level with God. You know, Tony, I was thinking the other day, while the church today must always be the salt and the light, one thing the church can do that the world cannot do is to really pursue God with deep prayers and fastings over our nation and the condition of our nation. And I think in this time in America, I'm telling you, you know, it's prime time and we need to be praying for those who lead our nation.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, many see prayer as, It's almost therapeutic. It's just so you can express yourself and you can calm down. But it's much more than that. I mean, when you look at what Jesus said in Matthew 18 about the keys of the kingdom, what we bind in heaven will be bound in earth. The actual activity is in heaven. And the way we, as you said, as believers, as followers of Christ, we have access to heaven. We are able to pray to God himself, who is the one, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who holds the keys that opens and shuts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, there's no question about that. And those keys are the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of Christ that we're able to share. And, you know, we have been given those keys because we are followers of Jesus. And we're thankful that we get to represent Him, you know, in this world to be the ambassadors we need to be. And, you know, I just, I tell you, I just really... really appeal to people today to understand where this country is today. God is giving us a moment in history for us to pray like we've never prayed, to spend time in seasons of fasting, but also just really, really, really getting involved all across our nation in every way possible to make a difference in a positive way.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, this is definitely not the time to think we can put this on autopilot. It is going to work its way out. That our responsibility ended on November the 5th. It's just beginning. Now, your book outlines the 12 ways that God will change your life through this process of prayer and fasting. In what ways? What are some of those 12 ways that God begins to change us through prayer and through fasting?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I believe that we will begin to experience the power of God in our lives. There's something mysterious and powerful about obeying the word of God. You know, most people don't know this, but, you know, there's 57 verses in the scripture with the word fast or fasting. And it's mentioned 69 times in those 57 verses, and all of them have to do with the abstinence of food. So in relationship to this, you know, it was prominent in God's Word. God only has to say it one time, and He's called us to do this. And I think it's so important that when God leads us and when we know that we are pleading with the lord that we'll do that and when we do we will experience god's power you know one of the things tony that that we think at times that when we fast and pray or or just pray we think we're going to change the mind of god and perhaps you know i don't know about all that i don't understand the divine in that manner but here's what i do know the divine will change us God will change us. Even if we go to God in the midst of prayer and fasting, pleading with God, pouring our hearts out to God over one item in our life or over several items in life or in the country or wherever we are, we can be assured when that fast is finished, if God has not met that just as we need to to see him in our minds, You know, God gives us a peace in our heart because what happens is we realign our will with God's will. And that's the power of prayer itself.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I mean, I don't understand it all either. The ways of God are higher than our ways. But I know Hezekiah prayed and the Lord heard his prayer and reversed the order that he had given that his life was over, that he was going to die. And he gave him additional life. time on this earth. So we know that God does hear our prayers, but you're right, we're the ones that are transformed by them. But there's also a peace, a joy. When you talk about the power of God, it's a peace and a joy. It's the ability to have the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give us by abiding in him. It enables us to walk on the waves of the turbulent life in which we live.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, there's no question about that, Tony. And one of the groups, obviously the most important group in that other than the church would be the family. And this book talks about how to believe God for your family in prayer and in fasting. And I think it's really important that we understand that the fight, while we think at times it's out there, It really is in us and with our family where we need to do what we need to do to minister in prayer and at times in a season of fasting for our family because we need to see our families being representatives and instruments of God all across the world.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. If we had our families in proper alignment with God, you know what? All of a sudden, our communities would be... You know, before you know it, our whole nation would be. So it does. It does start with the family. The supernatural power of prayer and fasting, 12 ways God will change your life. Dr. Floyd, how can people get a copy of the book?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, they can get a copy on Amazon. They can get a copy on Barnes and Nobles and get a copy on Christian books or even in your local region. There's somewhere maybe that may be carrying it, but you can do it online immediately. And thank you so much for the opportunity to tell people about it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Before we wrap up here, Dr. Floyd, you know, we've been talking about it, but when you look at... Franklin Graham was on earlier with Samaritan's Purse. But you look at, and I brought this up to him, the frequency of these natural disasters. Of course, he brought the point up that we're more aware of it. But I do think that we're living in the end times described in the church or in the scripture. Now, how long are those end times? How long is it? I don't know. I don't know everything. But I think we're in that season. How do we not just survive but thrive during these times?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think keep perspective of even looking at what you just said, because I think what you said is correct. You know, what we must understand is that in this moment, in this era, for whatever reason, and God is doing something, and I don't understand it all. I wish I did understand it all. I could tell everybody I did. But what I do understand is that what you said biblically is correct. That something is going on, and that something going on is that we are nearing the time, whenever that time is. And isn't it amazing, Tony, the rapid succession of those things, of those events, of those times. Terrible circumstances. I mean, what is happening, you know, not only in the Carolinas earlier, but think about what's happening today, what you just stated about the fires. I mean, that is beyond our imagination and is absolutely heartbreaking. And so it is definitely a great time to have a perspective biblically, but also go to God about it because he's the one who can minister peace and healing and a future for everyone.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Jesus and John talked, he said, you know, I'm telling you these things so that you might have your joy, that my joy might be in you, that you won't be robbed of your joy nor of your peace. And if you think about that, he was telling them in that context, he was saying, you're gonna be hated. People are gonna be against you. Hey, but I want you to have joy. I want you to have peace. And he's warning us that these times would come. But as you say, through prayer, fasting, and abiding in him, which would be in his word. I think those three things, if we're in his word, we're praying and we're fasting, we're going to have the strength not just to survive, but literally... thrive in this environment, whatever that environment might be, because God's going to be able to use us to minister to others. And as Franklin was talking about earlier, when we come into these disasters, and you and I both have seen it, people are hurting, they're looking to make sense of all of this, and they're open to having deeper conversations about what life really means. And that's an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with them, the gospel message that Christ died for them, and that they can have that abundant life. But in order to do that, we have to have our wits about us. That means we have to be prepared for these moments.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. Yes. And Tony, you know, following the Holy Spirit and his leadership and all that is just pivotal. Just like you try to follow the Holy Spirit's leadership in every broadcast you do, every sermon you ever preach, everything you ever do with the FRC and through the FRC. And that should be our heartbeat out here with people every day. What does God want me to say? How can God use me today? And who needs to hear today? And ask God for the open doors. I really believe that when we pray, God will open those doors.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, He will. In fact, in Revelation 3, verse 7 and 8, He talks about, and I've talked about this a lot because it's been a verse I've been chewing on, about Jesus at the Church of Philadelphia, the door that He opened because they... They did not deny his word, nor did they deny his name. And powerful. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll encourage people to check out The Supernatural Power of Prayer and Fasting, 12 Ways God Will Change Your Life. Thanks for being with us, and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks, Tony. You're the same.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, you can find out more about the book. Go to TonyPerkins.com or go online to Amazon, get a copy of the book. I do want to encourage you that in these times, and I think they're going to become more intense. I mean, we're seeing the evidence of that. We need to be prepared. And I would encourage you, as you increase and enhance your prayer life, that you also have a regular time of study in God's word. And if you don't have a Bible reading plan, guess what? We've got one for you. It's called Stand on the Word. And I invite you to join me every day for a devotional based upon that reading plan and get in the word. You can find out more about it by texting Bible to 67742, Bible to 67742. It is just a, it's a journey through the word of God and it will change your life. All right, folks, thanks so much for joining us today. Always great to have you as a part of Washington Watch. Until next time, I want to leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, which we find in the Word of God in Ephesians chapter six, where he says, when you've done everything that you can do, when you've prayed and when you've prepared and when you've taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
In this episode of the Kim Monson Show, Kim and her guest Brad Beck delve into the intricate relationship between politics, freedom, and environmental management. With engaging discussions on the power dynamics within government bureaucracies and the true meaning of altruism, listeners are invited to consider their roles in shaping societal values. This episode also ventures into personal responsibility amidst disaster preparedness, emphasizing the power of individuals to influence change amidst governmental guidance.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 10 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 04 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 10 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it's not.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 10 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 10 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. Welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment 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 Thursday, Producer Joe. Happy Thursday, Kim. And the girls were over last night, and so I had ordered the Hooters Wings special for Wednesday. Buy 20 wings, get an additional 10 for free, and that's always a real treat. And Hooters has five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. and a great place to get together with friends for lunch specials, and lots of football games this weekend as well. In studio with me is my good friend, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters, Brad Beck, sometimes host of the show. Great to have you here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Great to be here. Good to see you, Kim. It's the first time we've seen each other this new year, so Happy New Year. Happy New Year. And Happy New You, because that's my article.
SPEAKER 10 :
I love this article. I just love it. So we're going to be talking about that in the third and fourth segment of this show. We'll be rolling that out this weekend in the newsletter. So I'd highly recommend that people sign up for our newsletter at Kim Monson. That's M-O-N-S-O-N.com. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com. Thank you to all of you who support us. The text line, and we do want to hear from you, is 720-605-0647. And the show broadcasts 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. The second hour, 10 to 11 at night. This is on all KLZ platforms, KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. And then the shows also can be heard within about 24 hours on Spotify and iTunes and all of the streaming services. And as you know, we search for truth and clarity on this show by looking at these issues through this lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to use force to implement it. And Brad, I think the list has gotten longer since the last time you were here.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm sure it has.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and you and I have both seen this in government, where under the guise of compassion, bureaucrats, PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties will talk about being altruistic, about doing something good for someone else. It's a government program, but what we've learned is you can't give to someone else unless you've taken it from somebody over here, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. And even the term altruism, most people think it's being generous. And the problem with that, the origin of that word, altruism, comes from Auguste Comte, the philosopher, and it means other-ism. And so you should sacrifice for others by the force of government. I believe in benevolence. I believe if you can, whatever way, whether your time or your treasure, help somebody, that's great. But the force of government, I'm totally against. So I've never liked that word, altruism.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and what happens with these government programs is those PBIs that are being so altruistic with somebody else's money, they have to make those programs work. So they have to take a cut across the top as the money goes by.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we both have family in Southern California, and you can see that in action. The mismanagement, what's going on with the fires in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire up north. And my daughter lives in the San Fernando Valley, as my brother and sister do. My father lives in Oceanside. It's just unconscionable, and it's unbelievable. I mean, I'm just getting reports all the time in Texas, and it's just devastating. And I know those areas well. I grew up in that area.
SPEAKER 10 :
You grew up there. I wanted to ask you about that. I've seen the pictures of just abandoned vehicles, people trying to get away. And that's one of the times where I think you want to make sure you have a full tank of gas. And that's where I would really not want an EV. If my EV is not charged and if there's problems with there's no electricity, again, for a safety standpoint, I would like to have my combustion engine, my freedom of mobility, my gas tank full so that I could get out of there.
SPEAKER 05 :
People need to be prepared. I went through the Northridge earthquake. I wasn't home at the time, but I was out of town on business, flew back. And thankfully, I had all the things you need to survive, you know, water, food, a place to stay. It was unbelievable. So if you've ever gone through a disaster and you're not prepared... You know, you hit that DEFCON 1 button and you just freak out. You react. If you're prepared, just like any disaster, snow, fire, rain, you know, if you have a flood, you need to be prepared. And that takes forethought. And not enough people do it. They say, oh, the government will come here. And that's what I'm hearing from officials in Southern California. Oh, we need the federal government. It's like, no, you don't. Get prepared beforehand. Yeah, they can assist at certain times, but... You know, when I hear elected representatives saying we need Washington, they have the wrong attitude.
SPEAKER 10 :
And, yeah, we each have individual responsibility. Apparently, Trump, I didn't see his speech the other day, but the girls, as I said, they were over last night and they said that he talked about water in his speech quite a bit. And there's been, I really think, water mismanagement in California. I remember years ago, I called it the Delta smelta, which was this little smelt fish that they actually were forcing farmers to send their water on down the river into the ocean and obviously making California drier, affecting our food source. Again, for this little, I call it the Delta smelta.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there's a lot of mismanagement in the sense, just like we have here in Colorado, where we need more water storage. And because of all the environmental impact studies and all the environmentalists that are radicalized, they won't let that happen. They won't let new facilities be built. And if they are being built or expanded, it takes years and years. And so, you know, California, especially Southern California, two, three years of good rain. And then all of a sudden now they're in a deficit. And all that water that goes out to the Pacific Ocean from all those floods and rains that come in, they could have saved that somewhere. Right. And they didn't have a chance. They couldn't. And then in Central California and Sacramento Valley and up in the San Francisco area, they just let it run to the ocean. And it's unfortunate because we should be focusing on people and then the environment. Otherwise, people say we can do both. Yeah, we can, but you've got to plan for it. And my feeling is people come first.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and the other thing, environmentalists, they're always talking about the air, right? Air quality. Well, you take a look at these fires. The air quality is pretty crummy.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's unbelievable.
SPEAKER 10 :
So it's not really about wanting to make sure that we're taking care of air and water. And we've learned about this on the show. The environmentalists are anti-human.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
And we can coexist as humans on our earth and be good stewards of our earth. But we're learning that these environmentalists just don't like human beings. And so that's why I think that we have all of this mismanagement.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, if you focus on what the real opportunities are for success, you have to have freedom. And in freedom, you have better environmental conditions. You look at what the former Soviet Union was or Eastern Europe. They're still dealing with all the fallout from communism and socialism. And their environments are terrible. And yet you come here in the West. Our regulations, and there should be some good regulations, but not as much as there currently is. There's way too much.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. They're trying to put these businesses, these oil and gas, coal businesses, out of business. And as we talk about it all the time, the oil, natural gas, and coal, they are abundant, reliable, efficient, and affordable. Well, they're trying to make it more expensive. Affordable products. uh power for our lives and that's all under assault so let's get next week drill baby drill right drill baby that's right the show comes to you because of our sponsors and thank you to the harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show Our word of the day, Brad, is fruition. And in the spirit of Toastmasters, we have a word of the day. Your challenge is to use it in a sentence. It's spelled F-R-U-I-T-I-O-N. It's a noun. And it's the realization of something desired or worked for. Accomplishment. Number two, it could be enjoyment derived from use or possession. And the condition of bearing fruit. And I think that so many people are excited about all the work that was done on this last election with the fruition of the inauguration that's coming up soon.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's going to be a beautiful thing. I think we're going to have a different attitude. I think businesses are going to start really flourishing or growing. see the fruits of their labor. And because of that, so many people worked hard to even look at the 75th General Assembly yesterday started. Hold your wallets. But, you know, with hard work, you get more freedom and we can't let our laurels rest. We need to be engaged all the time. So we have that fruition of success.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and one of the girls last night said that Trump basically got a wedge in the door for freedom, I would say. But we all each individually have a lot of work to do. Our quote of the day, I wanted to get to this, and then we're going to be talking with Drew Dix, who, one of the co-founders of the Center for American Values here in just a moment. Medal of Honor recipient. But yesterday when we were talking with Colonel Rutledge about Greenland, Drew texted me, said, well, I was in Greenland. I'm like, do you want to talk about it? Because Greenland's in the news right now, Brad. But our quote of the day is from James Madison. And he said this, and he was born in 1751, died in 1836. He was one of our founding fathers. He's known as the father of the Constitution. And he said this, there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, he was probably our shortest president, I think at 5'2", 5'2 1⁄2", but his stature was great because of his ability to write and to think and to be there during the founding of this country. So he was a giant.
SPEAKER 10 :
He was a giant. And last year I was in Virginia. I visited Monticello. in the Montpelier, just standing in his library was just so cool. It was so cool. The show comes to you because of our sponsors, and make sure that you have the proper insurance coverage. And the best way to do that is to reach out to the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team for a complimentary appointment. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love the Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at KimMonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom, if something's a good idea. We'll see you next time. Well, you've seen me at the very beginning because we've talked about it at Liberty Toastmasters. I had crashed and burned in front of about 1,000 people, and I'd lost my confidence. And so you've been with me for this whole journey.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and I appreciate the opportunity to host from time to time and be a co-host when called upon. So it's been a privilege.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, great. And we had Drew on the line, and then something happened with that. So while we're waiting to get him on the line again, Brad, okay, I've forgotten about this. It says the governor of California is also on a mission to destroy four dams if he has not already done so. So not only are they not letting us build water storage, they're destroying our water storage.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a damn shame.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's unfortunate.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's really, really crazy.
SPEAKER 05 :
Without water, you have no growth, no opportunity for businesses to grow. Right. You need energy and water.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and food. And food. Food's a pretty good thing, too, as well. Okay, we have Drew Dix back on the line. Drew Dix is a co-founder of the Center for American Values, which is a place that I dearly love. And their website is AmericanValueCenter.org. And we want to talk with them about Greenland. But before that, they've got a great event coming up on the 23rd of January. Drew Dix, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good to be here, Kim. And always good to talk to you about the center, too.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you do amazing work. It's nonpartisan and nonpolitical, focused on these values of honor, integrity, and patriotism. But you've got a very important event coming up on the 23rd. I am sorry to miss it, because I will be with the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. But this is regarding the USS Pueblo. And tell us just a little bit about this, Drew.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Kim, sorry that we're going to miss you, but you're doing good work with the taxpayer deal. We need your help there. But So Bob Chica was one of the crew members of the Pueblo in January 1968 when it was captured by the North Koreans. And he has a great story, and he's going to be at the center. It's open to the public. Just ask you to call to make reservations or at least let us know, get a head count so we have room. If you can call 719-543-9502, we'd like to have you. You're really going to enjoy it, and it's a nice place on the Riverwalk to spend some time. If you have any questions, you can look up the website, AmericanValueCenter.org, and there's information about the program as well.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right, and that will start at 4 o'clock on the 23rd. And these programs, these on-value programs that you put on, Drew, They're really many times once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I've been down and had the great honor to emcee some of these events and really to rub shoulders with heroes. It's really a great opportunity, so I'd recommend that people check this out at AmericanValueCenter.org. That event is Thursday, January 23rd at 4 p.m., and it's going to be very special.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and I think it's a good idea for parents maybe to bring their kids – to see a little bit of history about what the country went through over the years. It gives a new outlook on how things are. There's a lot going on in the country, and we need to remember the sacrifices made for all those that brought us to where we are.
SPEAKER 10 :
And absolutely. And we have a responsibility now because we do stand on the shoulders of giants. But let's shift gears, Drew, because yesterday Colonel Bill Rutledge was on. He's 96 years young. He's traveled the world. has this great interest in people and places and he'd been stationed in Greenland. And of course, Greenland is in the news because Donald Trump is saying maybe Greenland will become part of America. And you texted me and said that you had been stationed in Greenland for some time. So I thought, let's hear about your experience.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I'd like to add to what Colonel Rutledge, you know, he's a remarkable guy and he's done a lot of things. I guess when you're 96, and like me, I'm 80 now, so that means we've done a lot if we hadn't just sat around on our hands. But no, in between 1984 and 95, I worked on a project for the U.S. government out on the sea ice, and we would launch our project originally from Thule, which Colonel Rutledge talked about. It's an air base there. But then we moved further north to Station Nord, about 750 miles north of Thule, at the very top of Greenland, which is an air base up there manned by five Danish. Five. And they keep it open. It's part of a traditional presence for Denmark as ownership of Greenland, I guess. And what they do is not only man that airfield, which was for emergency landing for cross-polar flights, I guess, during World War II and during peacetime, but also... We used to run these projects out there, put floating ice stations from 84 to 95 because of the vulnerability of Soviet attacks on the Arctic Ocean from submarines. And the importance of it is that submarines can hide under the ice and actually fire missiles through the ice. I believe they calculated it was like a 20-minute flight from there to New York by missile. So didn't have a lot of lead time. So I was fortunate to be called in about 1984 because of the new effort that they wanted to establish these ice stations in New York. and install devices that could help track the Soviet submarine. The project originally was classified, no longer is. There's been a lot written from the government about it. But the thing that's important is President Trump realizes the importance of our national security and how strategic Greenland is. So I was kind of excited at the fact that at least he's talking about it, And because it was the Russians and the Chinese are well equipped to work in the ice up there. And the U.S. is not. We've got three old icebreakers. They got 30 or 40 of them. So we're behind the power curve. And I think the president is on something to see if he can't secure a deal with the Greenlanders or the Danes and or the Danes. So it's. But it's a remarkable place. It's so vast. And the population is so small. There's around 60,000 total people living on Greenland. And nothing above 750 miles south of Greenland and north. There's not many other than those five days. And one or two Eskimo villages... that are on the coast, and they're not totally occupied all year either. So that's pretty exciting times. He hadn't called me up to ask me what he ought to do, but I think that it's important that the people know that it's just not a matter of trying to take some land. There's a purpose behind it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, Drew, this is fascinating, but I have to ask you about these ice stations, or what can you tell us about that? That had to be, how many of you were in this ice station and what was that like?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the Soviet at the time, they had ice stations, but theirs were on floating icebergs, which were more stable. We chose to use floating ice, so we spent a lot of time searching for a multi-year ice blow, in other words, thicker than about seven feet, so we could operate on there. We concentrated in the North Pole, not just because it's the North Pole, but the ice was tighter up there, and it's constantly moving, and it has a gyration clockwise. And so we would concentrate on the North Pole area. So the station we put in and the ice we selected for that station had survivability that wouldn't crunch up and we'd lose whatever we established there. There was two of us that would spend time looking for these ice stations or the right ice for our needs. And the pole, North Pole from Station Nord was about 575 miles away, so much closer than from Alaska and other places. And that's why we would go to Greenland. But initially when we parachuted in there because there was no way to land if we didn't have the right ice. So we spent a lot of time looking to make sure we could carve a little skiway out of there so we could get an aircraft to land and pull us out of there when we were done. But initially there was two of us and then we would bring in a team of five or six additional folks. And we also did a little, brought in a few science guys, quote science, whatever they were drilling and determining what was going on up there. So we would go in and around the 21st of March, and that's when the sun comes up. And we would stay until about the first week in May, and then the ice gets a little rotten. But no, it was very, very successful program. We're not doing it now in that manner. But yeah, we had ice station Crystal is what my station was called. And so we did it for 10 years. We did it a little bit till 95 after the Cold War or the Soviets collapsed. And no, every now and then we'd encounter a Russian or a Soviet activity, but we were pretty successful in keeping our program close hold.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, what about supplies? What did you eat during that time?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, when we first went in, we packed two containers that weighed about 600 pounds in a survival sled that we could pull, a man sled, in case the ice broke up and we had to get out of there. So we were in pretty good shape. I mean, two guys don't eat that much. You burn a lot of calories. But then when we... We picked a nice flow. Usually they're about a mile across. They're more circular. The stronger flows are more circular because they've survived a year and the edges get knocked off. So that's how you can identify them. And there's other ways, too. And they couldn't be so thick where other flows wrapped it on top of each other and made it so thick we couldn't penetrate. So the ideal flow was about seven feet thick and about a mile across. And then after we got going, they would airdrop fuel to us because that was key to have fuel to keep warm because there's no firewood up there. And also we could bring in supplies with less fuel on board the aircraft because they would come with the supplies that we needed for our work. and we could fuel them up so they could head back, so they could carry more payload out. So they would airdrop two or three aircraft loads of fuel to us.
SPEAKER 10 :
And what kind of a structure were you in?
SPEAKER 07 :
We used tents. The first one was a pretty small tent. It was just enough for two guys. It was... For those in the military, I know what a mountain tent is. It's pretty small. And then we brought in these dome kind of tents. So usually about the first one we used was 8 by 12, and then they were in 12-foot increments. So when we got six or seven more guys, we would put up an 8 by 24. And then we put a little tent up for a little bit of a, both science work that we had to work on, some of the things that we were using. But it was interesting times. From 84 to about 91, you know, GPSs, we knew about them, and we were authorized to have one, but they were too big. And after that first Gulf War, when GPSs were used, they got these small ones, these handheld ones, So we got those, and we could tell then where we were moving because the interesting thing is after we would go back, and it was two or three days before they would come back again and the ice had moved. So sometimes they were looking for us for a couple days before they could find us. But once the GPSs came out, they can track the ice flow because the ice will move about two-tenths of a knot an hour under normal conditions. And if you get a strong blow in there, it can move 30 miles in two or three days sometimes.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. Boy, this is fascinating. And so really circling back on all this, Trump is really thinking strategically on this whole narrative on Greenland then.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. It's such a vast piece of real estate out there, and there's nothing on it other than Thule, Greenland. And there's also, we've heard stories about, that's where the ice cap, when people use the term ice cap, it's Greenland. The ice out on the floating ice is not an ice cap. That's just sea ice. But that ice, some of the guys, two or three of the guys that I would use to help on that ice station, after we were done in May when the ice got kind of rotten, would stay on Greenland and work with ice coring projects they'd hire out because they're pretty hardy souls, and drilling ice cores on the cap. And it's amazing how much ice is up there. and how fast that ice and snow accumulates, because I don't know, Colonel Rutledge probably knows more about this, but they found that what they call the Lost Squadron was an old squadron of aircraft that landed on the ice flow, and it was a couple hundred feet of snow covering it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER 07 :
And they discovered that. Wow. And when we were up there one time, there was... Just to tell you how wild that place is, the Greenland itself, there was a slope from about 5,000 to 9,000 feet. And I guess an aircraft was flying along, and all of a sudden it started landing because it met the slope in bad weather. And we were up there, and some of our folks were able to rescue that aircraft. But if you can picture an aircraft flying at a certain altitude, and all of a sudden meets the ice because of poor visibility, and the slope of that ice gradually just was perfect landing condition. Oh, my gosh. No one was damn hurt. This was, I'd say, somewhere about 89 or 90, somewhere right in there, that happens.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. Well, Drew Dix, this is absolutely fascinating, and I appreciate late breaking to come on the show. And again, check out AmericanValueCenter.org. This is going to be a very important event on the 23rd, and all the information is there. Drew Dix, thank you. Thank you for, just thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
I appreciate the work, what you're doing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks, Drew Dix, and really appreciate it. This all happens because of our sponsors. One of those is Karen Levine.
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SPEAKER 15 :
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 10 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That's KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. Brad Beck, that was pretty fascinating.
SPEAKER 05 :
It was like listening to your grandfather and just wanting to hear more. Stories were amazing of Greenland.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, pretty amazing. And Drew Dix is a pretty amazing guy. So I appreciate him jumping in here and letting us know about that. Let's get over here to your essay that we are broadcasting now and that we will publish this weekend. Happy New You. I love this piece.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, everybody says that, you know, on the 31st, Happy New Year, what are your resolutions? And it reminds me of the story of two beasts that meet each other at a watering hole. It's an old Aesop story. And, you know, they're in a fierce battle to have dominance and to drink first from this watering hole. And they take a quick break and look up and there's vultures circling because one of them is not going to survive. And they finally stop and look at each other and said, you know, It's better to reconcile now than to be food for those vultures. So let's take turns and go on. And I think a lot of times our resolutions are like that. We fight with ourselves internally. Oh, I'm going to lose weight. I'm going to not do certain things anymore. I'm going to have better habits. And how successful are we? We're really not because it takes more than 30 days to have something to become successful. more of a habit, and you have to start inch by inch. You can't say, I'm going to lose 50 pounds in a month. It takes time. It takes determination. It takes persistence. It takes planning, whether it's going to the gym. I mean, I belong to a gym up by my house, and all the newbies are there this week. And In about two weeks, it will be back to its normal self. It's just human nature. It's hard to be consistent with something. So you have to start off incrementally, but you've got to plan first. And I think the biggest thing you need to do is think about the end. What's the outcome you want? And then work back from that. And the funny thing is, you know, you and I know a lot of people say, I'm going to write a book one day. And I've said that many times. And people want you to write a book. Well, I don't know about that. But, you know, it's funny because I always ask people, well, how far have you written? How many pages? Well, I haven't started yet. You know, Juana is not a plan. Juana is something, a vision, and maybe in your mind. But you've got to start and have the discipline. So I know I'm not a writer. I'm not an author. But I write an essay for the Kim Monson show. And inch by inch, over time, I'll have enough to put together, hopefully, to have something. And I think people realize that it takes time, it takes effort. And just dreaming about it is one aspect, but doing it, having the discipline to do it every day. And that's the hard part.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it is. And so personally, I have been, I need to get up early for the show.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know, I'm here early too.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, I know. And well, several things. Through COVID, I've been able to kind of cheat as far as weight and exercise. There was a time, Brad, that I was about 30 pounds heavier than I am now. And it was after I got out of Up With People, we were guests every three days at somebody's home. So they just treated you great, brought out all the great food. So that second semester, we traveled south. And Pecan Pie and I had a relationship that I was wearing around. And I ended up, I didn't do the official Weight Watchers program, but I had family members that were, so I had gotten into the point of really thinking about what to eat, and I was able to take most of that weight off. Through COVID, and then I've always been pretty strong, and through COVID, I think I got weak, and I've talked about it on the show, I was having real trouble with a hip, and And I had gone to Dr. Stimson, great chiropractor, and he said, Kim, you really need to do squats. I never really had exercised, and I really didn't want to. But I've started to do that every morning. And the muscles are getting stronger and I'm getting better. And so when I decide that, oh, I don't think I want to do that, I think there is a health reason why to do it. I know that's kind of a long story, but it's been a real discipline for me to get to that point.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it's also a mental opportunity for you. I get on the treadmill and do two miles. And either if I watch a podcast and try to educate myself on some subject I'm interested in, but it clears my mind to focus on something for a period of time. And if you do it consistently, I'm at the gym every morning when I'm in town. You know, it just becomes another habit, but you got to do it consistently and you can make all the excuses in the world and you're going to fall off, you know, the wagon, so to speak. But you got to get back on. And that's the key is, yeah, OK, you can miss a couple of days, a day here and there. But as long as you continually start again and try to be as consistent and persistent in your goals consistently. You know, the goal doesn't have to be a huge, hairy, audacious thing. It can be something very, very simple. And so if you can build those and connect those to the outcome you want, you'll get there. It's like the old story of a rabbi whose mother used to tell a story on him when he used to climb a tree. And he was the only kid in the neighborhood who could get to the top. And when his mother asked him, how come you're the only kid that doesn't fall out? The rabbi said, I don't look down. I'm always looking up. And so if you look up, you're more likely to reach your goal rather than to reflect on all the things that didn't go right and focus on what's the next step. How can I get better every day? It's continual improvement, and it's reaching excellence. It's not trying to be perfect.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. And Joe and I talk about that all the time, particularly with live radio. There's lots of things that can't be perfect. I know. Yes, you do know. I found out. You and Susan, coach of our experience, something we never had. I think it was maybe the first time I'd given up the microphone and the phones. We had all the guests. We had everything. The outline, everything was ready to go. And then the phone lines weren't working. And we didn't have a plan B at that time because it never happened before.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 10 :
And you basically had to talk for two hours, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I have told people that story. And it's like sitting in a closet with the lights out and talking to yourself. And thankfully, as I mentioned earlier, you have to be prepared. Life is going to throw you things. And you can either get excited and go DEFCON 1 or you can say, OK, take a deep breath and People know how prepared you are by how calm and consistent you are over time. And you just go on. You go through it. And, yeah, things are going to happen. You laugh at yourself. You laugh at the imperfections. You try to get better. And I think that's not taking yourself too seriously. But it was a great experience because I learned that, you know, you've got to always be prepared and have something for yourself.
SPEAKER 10 :
And you can do almost anything. When you can do that, you can do almost anything in preparation. I love these words that you had. And I put those in the newsletter where you said that each new year is an opportunity to reinvent, reposition, rethink, repurpose, remind, and revise your goals. And I think also part of that's always looking up. But I loved the way you put all those words together.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, as you know, in public speaking, alliteration helps people to remember. So when people have the opportunity to use words that all start with the same letter, they're more likely to have the ear connect with the words that somebody's saying. And so when you think about reinventing yourself, again, it doesn't have to be a big thing. I know when I was downsized from a job, that i was at for 23 years i had to reinvent myself i had to dig deep and go okay where do i want to go what do i want to be when i grow up how do i want to do that reposition you know for a long this time i did a lot of marketing in my job now i do sales i don't do the marketing i've always done marketing and sales together but it's a repositioning of mindset i used to work on one side of my business and then i was given the opportunity to work on both the floral side and the craft side of my industry. And then now I'm back to the floral side. So, you know, you have to reinvent, reposition, rethinking what your importance is and how you can provide value to a customer base. Same thing with politics. What's the value you bring? And do you understand that your job is to protect people's individual rights? not to give them things. I'm seeing the things that are happening in California and it's like, come save us. It's like, no, you have to be prepared yourself. You have a personal responsibility. And so anytime you can take that opportunity, do it, do it incrementally. By the time something, you know, the usual substance hits the fan, you'll be prepared. And yeah, it's not going to go perfect, But at least it's better than not having been prepared.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. And it's across everything that you do is to be able to think critically, to look at what consequences might be out there and to prepare for that. We're going to continue this discussion. Did also want to mention the USMC Memorial Foundation, which is a... nonprofit that I dearly love. Paula Sarles is doing amazing work there. And we have the official Marine Memorial here in Colorado. And with all the goofy stuff that had happened with renaming bases and mountains and all the stuff that had come out of this woke O'Biden Harris culture, We realize now it's more and more important to make sure that we have our memorials. And so what is happening with the remodel is so important. And help them make that a reality. You can do that by checking everything out and making a contribution at the USMCMemorialFoundation.org. And this all happens because of our sponsors. For everything mortgages, reach out to Lauren Levy.
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SPEAKER 03 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
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SPEAKER 10 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That's KimMonson.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues. Through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom, if something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And, Brad, during break, and we were alluding to this, is start. Make sure that you start. The journey starts with that first step. And Drew Dix had said in his life, you look back, you can accomplish things if you don't sit on your hands. And I hadn't heard that for a while, but I remember that. my grandmother would say, don't just sit around on your hands.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. I used to have a customer, and she said, you know, when you're standing around, I can see the moss growing on your feet. Move. We'll take an inventory. Go stock a shelf. That always stuck with me. You know, you've got to have motion really to grow. And, you know, the challenge I would ask to all the listeners out there is what are you going to be – what's the outcome in five years from now? Because five years isn't going to happen. and it can go quickly and it can go very quickly we we learned that i mean it's been five years since the whole as i like to say the wuhan experience the shutdown it's been five years and so if you look back upon that what did you do how did you grow how did you invest in yourself what relationships did you build what things that you did for yourself that helped others in the long run and so start now i could relate it to our public speaking opportunities with toastmasters and how people who start today working on the goals that they want for oral communication and leadership skill development will be much improved in five years from now. But they've got to start. And whether it's our club or other clubs, invest in yourself because it's only going to make you better in those five years. Five years is too far of a horizon. Pick three years. What's the outcome you want in three years? What's it in one year horizon? And things are going to change. You know, the old story of man plans and God laughs, right? Right. Things are going to change. But how do you adapt? How do you improve? You will have setbacks. Okay, fine. Get back on that horse and move forward. Easy said, it's hard to do. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
But so many people have said after Colonel Rutledge has been on the show, gosh, I hope I'm like that when I'm at 96. And then we go, but we're not like that now. So we have work to do. But he has always been very curious. He's always been really focused on improving himself. And he was a member of a couple of different Toastmasters, I think. And he wanted to make sure that you received a very special gift. Do you remember that?
SPEAKER 05 :
I do. When we had the celebration for Liberty Toastmasters North, and I was the recipient of some Toastmaster cufflinks that I treasure that were Colonel Rutledge's. So if he's listening, thank you. And it was just an honor to receive those, and I've worn them a couple times. But that's through hard work. I didn't start being a public speaker. In fact, I was in business, and I would go on the road for two, three weeks and then come home and be there for two, three weeks, four weeks, getting ready for the next trip or covering my local area. And I would feel rusty being out there on the road. And the first couple of presentations I'd make to customers and clients, I would just, oh, man, that was terrible. So I knew I had to get better at storytelling, better at coming up with solutions, giving value, and public speaking is where it's at. And learning those skill sets, the biggest thing I learned is listening. Most people come to Toastmasters for public speaking, and that's awesome. But the listening helps you improve because then you give your customers or anybody in a relationship. Now, my wife's probably listening saying, yeah, you've got to practice what you preach. But it's important to listen more effectively and actively. And then you're more likely to get success for both you, your customer, your companies, you know, all the people you're working with and for. So listening is a great skill set that's not taught in our schools.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's not taught in our schools. And I just want to re-mention Colonel Rutledge. As you can see, his lifetime of preparation, he is now sharing this wealth of knowledge, but it's because he was always working to improve. And speaking of our schools, our little school in our neighborhood, I've been so concerned. Our kids are not overall, if we look at education in Colorado, they're not learning how to read, write, write cursive, any of these things. And up on the outside of the building now, it says leadership begins here. And I thought, hmm, I actually would prefer learning, maybe. But that's one of these things is everybody wants to be a leader. And certainly in Toastmasters, we do say leadership can begin here. But it's because of these communication skills. But I thought, we don't quite have our focus right on things right now. Everybody wants to be a leader.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and the interesting thing is knowledge is important. It's a great thing to have more information. But I think wisdom is even more important. Have the prudence to know when to use that knowledge, how to use it, and why it's important. You know, just having a bunch of facts and figures, I can throw out all kinds of crazy stuff that nobody cares about. But it's using things when they're appropriate and in the audience that you're dealing with, whether you're speaking or at work or just in a non-for-profit, you know, speaking when it's important and giving information, sharing information and hearing what other people have to say. President Trump, I hear, is a fabulous listener. He likes to hear what people have to say. Now, he doesn't maybe always follow through on certain things, but he gives people the opportunity to be heard. And I think that's what a lot of the Toastmasters experience for you and I has been fabulous.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and also the evaluation component I think has been, to me, maybe even more important than the speaking, being an evaluator. Maybe that's where that's connected is you really have to listen as an evaluator, and then you do have dialogue on that. But that has really been a great tool that I've learned in being an evaluator. I think that's super important.
SPEAKER 05 :
Evaluation is where you get the gold. And whether it's a review from your boss or higher-ups or it's a review from your peers and Toastmasters, one of the beautiful things about it is it's their perspective on what they saw, heard, and felt about your presentation. It's not expertise. It's just this is how you performed on that day at that time. And that's invaluable. Not enough people are honest enough with that. And it's good, critical feedback so we can grow.
SPEAKER 10 :
And love that. So Liberty Toastmasters Denver meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at Liberty North in Longmont on the second and fourth Saturdays. And love to have guests. And I am recommitted. I've not been, because of the election season and all, I've not been receiving any attendance awards. And I, for me, selfishly, to become better, I'm rededicating myself to that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I'm glad you weren't there because I had technical problems on my presentation on last Saturday when I was Toastmaster, and you learned the muscle through it. Maybe I'll do it again. You get to experience my mess up and learn from it.
SPEAKER 10 :
We'll learn from it. Our quote for the end of the show, and thanks for being here, Brad, is from James Madison. And I chose this because the Colorado State Legislature just went into session, said it will be a little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice. If the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read or so incoherent. that they cannot be understood. If they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow. That's happening.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hold your wallets. The legislature's in session. You got it.
SPEAKER 10 :
So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for hour number two.
SPEAKER 12 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 10 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 04 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 10 :
With what is happening down at the statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it's not.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 10 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 10 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. And welcome to our number two of the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team, Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, and all the people here in Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Thursday. What a first hour.
SPEAKER 14 :
amazing stuff all the way around.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, you and I, we're almost speechless, I think. So interesting. Drew Dix and Brad Beck has stayed for our number two. Great to have you. And again, we'll be rolling out your essay this weekend.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you. And it's always a pleasure. And I learn so much every time I'm here. So thanks for the opportunity.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, that's our goal is that, because I'm learning so much as well, and we like to kick the tires on these ideas by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. And force can be sneaky. You can feel it, but sometimes you can't quite put your finger on it. It can be fear, coercion. We've seen those that have used all these different things. It can be policy, this government-induced inflation. All of this is kind of sneaky.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think we're turning the corner, though. I have a feeling of hope that we haven't had in a while. You know, just the left has for so long renamed things, as you alluded to earlier. I'm looking forward to the Gulf of America.
SPEAKER 10 :
That was something that had never crossed my mind.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, it's so brilliant. And I think what it does is it pushes people off. It moves the Overton window. People will be talking about that and they'll be just, you know, incensed. And meanwhile, then he can start planning and doing and he being the incoming president, get his agenda done. Because we need to move forward with saving liberty and protecting individual rights. And if we don't do it now, boy, it's going to be a tough road to even try to get some of that freedom back.
SPEAKER 10 :
It really is. And so we hope that all and much of the hard work. I'm going to use the word of the day. And much of the hard work of so many people has come to fruition with this election of Donald Trump. And people, I think, are really digging deep inside themselves as well, realizing we need to step forward on that as well. So our word of the day is fruition spelled F-R-U-I-T-I-O-N. And it is the realization of something desired or worked for, an accomplishment. Or number two, enjoyment derived from use or possession. Or number three, the condition of bearing fruit. And so it's a great word of the day, and that's in the spirit of Liberty Toastmasters, Brad.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we need to plant more trees, so in five years we'll have more fruit. And that's what we, I think, hopefully will be doing with this new administration, is planting the fruit so our posterity will have that to eat and the fruition will be, you know, we'll have more abundance.
SPEAKER 10 :
What I do see is that even though at the federal level, Trump is doing what he's going to do there, I think that those that are really pushing the Marxist agenda, they've been focused on local government, school boards, county. And of course, here in Colorado, we have... actual real Marxists that are in the state legislature. So what I see here in Colorado is we have a real challenge to really watch, get involved, change things at the metro districts, the school districts, local, county, and state government, Brad.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. And, you know, even though we have certain people in office or coming into office be sworn in, we have to hold them accountable, too. It's not a free ride. And we have to hold our local officials, our local representatives to account. They're our neighbors. And so if they do something that we think is wrong, show up at that town hall meeting, show up at the school board meeting, listen, and then afterwards get to know them and say, why did you vote that way? Mm-hmm. Why is that important to you? What can we do that actually preserves more freedom and liberty? And you don't have to be nasty about it, but you can ask those questions. And when people don't have those answers, you hold them to account. Right.
SPEAKER 10 :
And hopefully start to influence them because we have to realize many of these elected representatives, all they're hearing is what staff is saying, interested parties. And so we have a responsibility to become engaged as well. Trump is not our savior.
SPEAKER 09 :
No.
SPEAKER 10 :
at all, but he is doing things that look like that they're moving us towards freedom, loving America, protecting our country. When America is healthy and successful, the world is in a much better spot.
SPEAKER 05 :
When our founders put this experiment together, we're an exceptional nation in my mind because for the first time in human history, a group of people came together and recognized the universal equal natural rights of all men, not just Americans. So if somebody comes from another country, They have those same human equality, natural rights. They have the ability to pursue their happiness. And happiness, properly defined from what I've read from the Greeks and the Latin, is self-mastery. You have a chance to, as we were talking in the first hour, get better at something that you want to exceed at. And mastery and happiness are, to me, the same thing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and that goes into, we were talking about the fires in Southern California. You grew up in Southern California, and Holly had said this. She texted, she said, the governor of California is on a mission to destroy four dams. So that would be water storage, if he's already done. So we referenced that in the first hour. But also said that California had had record rainfall over the last two years, and literally none of it was saved. They need to be put on notice that the government will not come and save them if they have more fires because of their mismanagement. So you talked about preparation, individual preparation, but holding our elected representatives accountable that they are also doing proper preparation for the citizenry, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. And there's a big old ocean right abutting. A bunch of water. And, you know, it's funny. I saw a lot of people put on X about why don't the firefighters use those super scoopers to get more water from the ocean? They were. A lot of people don't know that. But they only can fly in certain conditions. And the winds, when they're blowing 100 miles an hour, which they were, some of those mountain peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains, you can't get aircraft up there. So unfortunately, they had, to use the cliche, a perfect storm of wind, bad conditions on the ground, dryness, two years of incredible rain, growth of the underbrush, and all the mountainsides are green. But underneath, it's all dry. And that just went up like tinder. And there's no way you can do anything about it but just get out of the way.
SPEAKER 10 :
When that happens. But there's all kinds of things individually and from a government standpoint that could have been done or community standpoint maybe we should say. So, yeah, that's really important. And thank you on that, Holly. Our quote of the day is James Madison, one of our founding fathers, born in San 1751, died in 1836, known as the father of the Constitution. He said, This is what we've seen with wokeism in America, but we're getting that turned around. This all happens because of our sponsors, and Karen Levine is on the line. And I saw her last night. She's a dear friend, great sponsor of the show. And Karen Levine, when we talk about Karen Levine as an award-winning realtor, you just had something so exciting that happened. Welcome.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, apparently, I ended up the number one agent at RE-MAX Alliance Arvada for 2024, which means I had the privilege of helping more people, more buyers and sellers succeed and meet their dreams of real estate, whether that was buying or selling, relocating, moving up, moving down. So I think when you do what you love, you are blessed with good results.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and as you strive for excellence. When you told me that last night, and still, I just am getting chills. I'm so excited because of all of your hard work and just the way that you take care of your clients. And I had some people close to me that you just walked them through buying and selling a home. And I was able to, just a little bit from afar, just see the expertise that you have and the amazing experts that you can rely upon on staging homes and all that. And so it doesn't come by accident. that you are number one, and I so congratulate you, Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thank you very much, Kim. And as I said, it is an honor and a privilege to get to help people meet those dreams. And you have a desire to have that bigger home because your family is growing, but you have a home to sell. Navigating that has its challenges, and because of the practice I've had over 35-plus years, I think I bring a good perspective and a bank of knowledge to the transaction that's very helpful and gives us success.
SPEAKER 10 :
So if people want to buy a home, sell a home, or look at a new build, what is the best way to reach Karen Levine?
SPEAKER 13 :
The best way to reach me is 303- 877-7516.
SPEAKER 10 :
And again, that's Karen Levine. And I congratulate you for all your hard work and your expertise and your striving for excellence and taking care of your clients. And congratulations. That is quite a designation. And that's pretty well worked for and well deserved.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thank you. Thank you very much. And I'll be excited for our call next week as I am heading out this morning for the annual Economic Summit. So we'll see what the economists, both locally and nationally, have to say about the housing market for 2025.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. And that's Karen Levine, 303-877-7516. We'll talk next week. Sounds great. Thanks. And I'm blessed to work with amazing people. And another great sponsor is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. He's been in business for 48 years, taking care of his clients and his family and serving his community. and they can help you with all your insurance needs. Make sure that you know what you have. As we see with all the stuff that's going on in our world, you want to know what you have. And to do that, just give them a call for a complimentary appointment. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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So I switched my insurance to the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Agency. Get this, I actually talked to Roger Mangin, who has been helping people with their insurance coverage in our community for 47 years. He helped me create a State Farm personalized price insurance plan for my home and auto and explained affordable options. For personalized service and peace of mind that you are working with a team that cares about you and your family, call Roger Mangin now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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 10 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And I thank the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. We are beginning our seventh year of solo broadcasting. In studio with me is my friend Brad Beck, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. We'll be rolling out his essay this weekend. It is, let's see, what's the exact?
SPEAKER 05 :
Happy New You.
SPEAKER 10 :
Happy New You. And love that. So stay tuned for that. And again, it's because of these great sponsors, such as the Harris family, that all this happens. And I am so pleased to have on the line with me a man who I have great respect for. He is a constitutional expert. He is really been attacked by lawfare. uh since uh 2021 and that is john eastman a constitutional expert and the star of a movie a documentary the eastman dilemma uh warfare justice or warfare uh welcome john eastman thank you for having me back on your show it's uh and happy new year to you and your audience Well, good to have you. And we talked last Friday and your movie was premiered at Mar-a-Lago last Saturday. And so was that quite the affair?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it was already quite the affair before a surprise visit from the president and the prime minister of Italy. The designate for secretary of state, among others, decided to join us and share in some popcorn and watch the movie with us with about 500 people in the grand ballroom. It was really fun.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, that is so awesome, John Eastman. And I actually saw the movie yesterday. People can watch it. I've got it, madisonmediafund.org. And the girls up at the Tapas and Topics in Boulder met yesterday for lunch, and we watched the movie. Very important film, John Eastman.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you. Yeah, no, the reason this group, Hollywood group, Madison Media Fund, wanted to do this movie and tell the story, they created an outfit to help push out conservative stories because Hollywood's not otherwise doing that. And this was their first one and a very important story. light shining on the lawfare that has gone on in this country for the last four years. And I think it's a compelling story. Of course, it's my story. I would. But the folks that watched it, I think, thought it was a compelling story as well. And it's not just my perspective on it. We've got leading law professors from the left, like Alan Dershowitz and Lawrence Lessig, who agree that what's been happening to me is just an outrage and an abuse of the rule of law. And I think that's a very important part of the story. Every American needs to watch this, understand what's going on, get angry about it, and help us stand up against it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and John, you really... are at the forefront of this. Now, I had you on the show before that because you'd been on a national show on a regular basis talking about the Constitution. And I had a question. I was on city council regarding the Constitution and the General Welfare Clause. And so I'd reached out to you and you'd been a guest on the show. And so I knew that you knew the Constitution and really understood it. And so set this up for people that may not know your story. And Brad, if you want to jump in here as well, do you have...
SPEAKER 05 :
I was just going to say, John, good to hear your voice again and hope you and Elizabeth are doing well. And my main question to you is how do people help get your message out there besides the movie? I know you have a fund that is out there, the GoFundMe.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, not GoFundMe. They would have confiscated it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, that's right. Gifts and Go. Sorry.
SPEAKER 08 :
Giftsandgo.com slash Eastman. People can go there. And that site is important for three reasons. One, they can send money to help us with these ongoing legal fights. And despite Trump's election victory in November... The state prosecutions in Georgia and Arizona, where I'm indicted, and the California bar prosecution, the longest and most expensive bar trial in history, still going on appeal. Those things are still costing a lot of money in legal fees. So if people can donate at that site to help with that ongoing fight, that would be useful. They can also send prayers, which are heartwarming. My wife and I read them. And they can also use that as a place to keep informed. I post updates there with article links that are particularly good at explaining what's going on. So all three things people should visit that site for. And with the movie coming out, I think we're going to start posting updates. Because we're going to go on the road with this movie, and there'll be private showings with me, you know, taking questions after the film at a number of places around the country. And I think we'll use that site to keep people informed of where that's going to occur as well.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, and givesingo.com slash Eastman is where people can get to that, correct?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes. Yes, that's right.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. So set this up for us. What happened? And it really, really began on January 4th, right? And that would be January 4th, 2021?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, my role began about a month earlier. The president called me to ask me to represent him in the Supreme Court of the United States. Texas then filed a original action in the Supreme Court against four of the swing states, and I filed a brief two days later on behalf of the president intervening in that case. The Trump electors then met because of the necessity of having those contingent votes. It showed any of the litigation or legislative actions have broken Trump's way and a determination that he had actually won the election when only legal votes were counted. So that all occurred in December. And then you roll into January and the president calls me to come meet with him and Vice President Pence. but talk about what i believed and still believe would be the president vice president's authority as president of the senate to resolve disputes uh... when there are competing slate of electors my advice in that meeting has been greatly distorted courtesy of liz cheney in the j six committee msnbc picked up on the distortion and made some defamatory remarks against me the other day i did not recommend that he simply reject Biden electors and choose Trump electors. My recommendation was that he accede to requests from hundreds of state legislators who were advising him that their elections had been conducted illegally, and they needed time now that they were coming into session to assess the impact of that illegality. And if, in fact, Biden had won, even despite the illegality, they would let him know that, and Biden would be certified. But if, in fact, Trump had won, then the consent of the governed, the cornerstone of our system of government, in order to be given effect, would have to be that Trump got certified. That's what was asked of the vice president, and he refused to even delay things to let those investigations and assessment occur.
SPEAKER 10 :
but your opinion is he could have delayed because so we are at january 4th january 6th and each state has is basically in charge of their elections and so the state legislatures had not convened and many even republican governors had refused to call special sessions so that the legislatures could take a look at what had happened regarding changes in laws and things regarding the election and so you had said you felt from the constitutional standpoint yes Mike Pence you could just delay this for a few days until these legislators could get into session correct
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. That's exactly what the advice was. And, you know, and you're right. I mean, the state legislators, leaders had all asked their governors to call them into special session. And the governors refused. Even Republican Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, had refused to call them into special session where this could have been dealt with on a more timely basis. throughout the month of December instead of getting up to the threshold in January. But the language of the Constitution is very clear here. The role of the Congress, the House and the Senate, is to merely be present. The language says the president of the Senate, that's the vice president, shall in the presence of the House and the Senate open all the certificates and they shall be counted. The role of the Senate and the House is to be present, to make sure that what's done is done in the public eye. But the opening, and necessarily then the judgment about which of competing slates of electors should be opened and counted, that's vested in the Vice President of the United States. And why is that so important? Well, the Founders spent the entire summer of 1787 in Philadelphia crafting a system of government based on separation of powers and checks and balances. And if you give Congress a role in deciding who the president is going to be, who the head of the other branch of government is going to be, that destroys separation of powers. It makes the president subservient to Congress. They deliberately denied any power over the choice of president to Congress. And yet Congress now, through the Electoral Count Act, has essentially asserted that it has power to decide the presidential election if there's a dispute. That is a power deliberately denied to them by our founders and by those who ratified our Constitution.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. And so you are then in this meeting January 6th. And what happened exactly there?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, January 4th is the meeting. January 4th.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. OK. Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
January 4th. The president, Vice President Pence turned to me, said, do you think I have power just to reject the Biden electors? I said, it's an open question. It's never been resolved. But I think it's a weaker argument, particularly in these circumstances, given that only the Biden electors have had any certification of them. The state legislators have not acted to certify the alternate Trump electors. I said, but and therefore, even if you had that power, it would be foolish to exercise it in these circumstances. But that's why I then said, but you do, I believe, have the power and should accept these requests from the state legislators to give them a little bit more time to assess the impact of the obvious illegality that occurred in their states. I mean, you had secretaries of state just unilaterally eliminating or weakening signature verification. You had the secretary of state in Wisconsin prohibit the bipartisan teams that the law required from going into nursing homes. And nursing home turnout rates went from 25 percent to nearly 100 percent, including in memory care wings. And many of those ballots were signed and filled in in the same handwriting. So those kind of actions opened the door for fraud, and we know that fraud occurred as a result. That's just scratching the surface of all the evidence I had and that I've put into the public arena now through my California bar trial, and some of which couldn't do the whole lot of all the evidence, but some of which is featured pretty prominently in the documentary film.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wow. Okay, we're going to continue this discussion with John Eastman. Brad Beck is in studio. And all of this is so important that we understand this. And it happens because of sponsors. And for a great protein source in your diet, something that tastes very good is that Steakhouse Experience at Home from Lavaca Meat Company.
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SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And the USMC Memorial Foundation is raising the money for the official Marine Memorial remodel. And that memorial is right here in Golden, Colorado. And get more information. Make it something that you're committed to do to help them this year. And that website is USMCMemorialFoundation.org. We have John Eastman on the line. He is the feature in a MadisonMediaFun.org movie, and it is The Eastman Dilemma, Lawfare or Justice. And Brad, we're here in Colorado. Brad Beck is in studio with me. co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. And you're supportive of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. It's an all-volunteer group. I'm the president. And I've been getting kind of my sea legs on this as far as watching all the legislation that is proposed. And last year, I saw something. And as John is talking about it, I always say that the radical activists are always playing long ball. And this was House Bill 24-1150. And it was... regarding a false slate of presidential electors and penalties. And it says a person, this is their summary, a person who knowingly enters into an agreement, including a written agreement, oral agreement, or agreement using electronic communications with one or more individuals to commit offering of a false instrument for recording or forgery, commits conspiring to commit offering a false instrument for recording or forgery. It goes on to some other things. I'm wondering if this is long ball on trying to prevent the two sets of electors that was set of the 2020 election. John, I know I'm kind of just throwing this at you, but I need to read more on this. But I'm wondering, again, I think they're making it illegal here in Colorado to set the two sets of electors. And that's a problem.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it is. And, you know, the states of Michigan and Wisconsin and Nevada and Georgia and Arizona have all used their existing forgery statutes or impersonation of a public official statutes to bring indictments against the electors from the 2020 election, even though those electors did exactly what John Kennedy's electors did in Hawaii in 1960. Recall that Richard Nixon won the election in Hawaii in 1960, and his electors were properly certified by the governor. But there was an election challenge pending when those electors had to meet and cast their votes. And so on the chance that the election challenge would yield a victory for Kennedy instead of Nixon, the Kennedy electors met and voted as well. And their certificate said, we, the duly elected electors from the state of Hawaii, cast our votes for John Kennedy. Same exact language that the Nixon electors used, casting their votes for Richard Nixon. Everybody knew that they were contingent on the outcome of the pending litigation. Same thing occurred in 2020. There was pending litigation in each of the swing states that could have affected the outcome of the election. So the electors used the official language that they were supposed to do, cast what everybody knew were contingent votes, depending on the outcome of those litigations or legislative actions. to determine the actual winner of the election the use of those forgery statutes or impersonation statutes to go after those electors is therefore unprecedented contrary to the historical example from hawaii And to criminalize that is an outrage. What will happen is what happened in Pennsylvania and New Mexico. The electors there put into their certificate contingent language. And so everybody will do that. But there's a big question if, in fact, say Trump had won in Pennsylvania after the litigation, and those certificates get presented with contingent language, not meeting the statutory requirement, those certificates might have been rejected. So it's almost a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. To criminalize that when everybody knows that those things were being issued contingency is an overt criminalization of political process and political opponents. That is the very definition of lawfare. And it sounds like Colorado is doubling down on wanting to support lawfare instead of getting past it and getting back to our normal adversarial system of justice, which our country has quite rightly prided itself on for centuries.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, so the homework for all you listeners out there is House Bill 24-1150. It's four pages long, and I think that we need to tear into this and take a look at that. Now, one other thing, because you mentioned these fake electors in these states that looks like Colorado, is trying to prevent the two sets of electors, the Democrat and the Republican electors. And you said, again, this was contingent from what I gathered from the film, it was important that both sets of electors did what they were supposed to do on the day that they were supposed to do that. If they were prevented from that, then that would prevent any use of those electors if there was a contingency. I know I'm not maybe getting it quite right, but am I close?
SPEAKER 08 :
You're very close, and it's not just me in the film talking about this. It's Larry Lessig. Larry Lessig is a very prominent, strongly left of center. professor at Harvard. He used to teach at the University of Chicago. He was actually my professor in my first year of law school and his first year of teaching. And he ran for president of the United States at one point. I mean, this is a very prominent guy who is, you know, on the lead of saying absolutely the electors have to meet. Alan Dershowitz in the film. Alan Dershowitz was on Al Gore's team in 2000 when you had the contested election down in Florida. And he points out in the film that the Gore camp had already decided that they were going to push forward with alternate electors as well in order to preserve democracy. The contingency is the election challenges have gone their way. There's nothing uncored about this. It's actually required, and I'll tell you why it's required. The one power that Congress has under the Constitution in dealing with the election of president is to set the date. for the electors to meet and vote. That's in the Constitution. And the date the Constitution requires shall be the same throughout the United States. You didn't want any rolling dates where people could shift their position depending on what happened in other states earlier in the month. The date has to be the same throughout the United States. In 1856, there was a blizzard in Wisconsin, and the electors were not able to meet on the designated day. They met the next day, cast their votes, sent them to Washington, D.C. The acting president of the Senate decided to count them. which is very important uh... on my perspective on the role of the vice president to make these decisions he decided to count them and then adjourned the joint session of congress and declared uh... james buchanan as president uh... the the house in the senate separately in their own chambers for the next three days debated whether that was proper or not a one of those wisconsin electors could be counted the thing didn't matter for the outcome of that election and they act at the ultimately tabled the discussion and kick the can down the road, where it remains to this day an open question whether electoral votes not cast on the designated day could be counted even if they are subsequently determined to be the right electoral votes. That's why people must meet on that designated day if there is any outstanding issue that might flip the results of the election. And the notion that that's somehow criminal conduct is absurd. And I think one of the most important parts of the documentary is not just me saying that, but Alan Dershowitz and Larry Lessig saying that. It shows that people from across the political spectrum have come to the same conclusion about the necessity of these electors meeting and casting their votes based on any contingencies that still remain with the results of the election.
SPEAKER 05 :
Brad Beck, this is fascinating. It is. And, John, my question to you would be, you mentioned the separation of powers earlier and the ability for us to have an emergency stop, if you will, so people understand how the Electoral College works and how the Constitution works. What can the average person who is ignorant about so many of these things, unfortunately, do? What can they do to understand these betters and have discussions with their friends and neighbors so more people get in front of this rather than the media getting in front of it and misinform us?
SPEAKER 08 :
So there are two things that are relatively easy to do. They're available online. A short version, kind of an encyclopedia version of every clause of the Constitution can be found in the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, which is available online. A little bit more in depth that shows not just the text clause by clause, but the debates in the federal convention, the debates in the ratifying convention, early debates in Congress explaining the meaning of every clause. And that can be found online at the Founders Constitution, which is a website sponsored by the University of Chicago. And every clause of the Constitution is explained there. Volume 1 of this five-volume set actually explains the political theory underlying the Constitution. philosopher Montesquieu, for example, about the importance of separation of powers. That's all outlined in essays in volume one. But then beginning volume two, they go clause by clause, and they reprint the debates in the federal convention over that clause. They reprint the debates in the ratifying conventions about that clause. And so you get a real fulsome sense of what the founders meant and the importance of sticking with that original meaning if we're going to have a constitution at all.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I would probably add to that, read the Federalist Papers, because there's a lot of information in those documents.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and And the Founders' Constitution is a great source because for every clause, it will point you to the Federalist paper and the Anti-Federalist paper that debates those clauses at the very time the ratification is going on. Excellent.
SPEAKER 10 :
fascinating okay john eastman um first of all people can watch the movie and it is madison mediafund.org and then also help with all this at givesingo.com forward slash eastman and on the text line this came through it says i've been praying for john eastman every day and also for those who have been affected by this lawfare blessings to him and his family And, John, you and Elizabeth and your family are in my daily prayers as well.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you very much for that. And the prayers are heartwarming. As I said earlier, my wife and I read them. And, you know, we've been on quite a roller coaster ride. And at the low moments, those prayers are particularly heartwarming for us. So thank you all for those prayers. They help immensely.
SPEAKER 05 :
Brad? John, just keep up the good fight, and we're backing you. And I'd love to see you back here in Colorado at some point.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I think we're going to arrange a private showing of the film at some point up in the Denver area. I will keep people apprised of when that gets organized because it will be fun not just to see the film but then have a discussion about it with me afterwards.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. And people can watch it now at MadisonMediaFund.org and then help the Eastmans by GiveSinGo.com forward slash Eastman. John Eastman, thank you so much. And you truly are a happy warrior on all of this.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, as I've told a lot of people, I'm looking forward to a future unburdened by what has been in the region past.
SPEAKER 10 :
Where have I heard that before, John Eastman? Thank you for standing for our country and thinking about the next generation. I know that you are doing this. We're doing this here as well because we feel this duty to pass on this great American idea to the next generation. So thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you very much. And again, Happy New Year to both of you and to your entire audience.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks, John. Yeah, thank you. And boy, these are important discussions. And they come to you because of John Boson. If you've been injured, reach out to John Boson at Boson Law.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice 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. And the Center for American Values, I just dearly love the place. It's a very special place. Have you made it down there yet?
SPEAKER 05 :
I haven't. And The date on the 23rd sounds intriguing. I'm going to try to put that on my calendar and get down there. Because, you know, just hearing the stories from the folks that experience this stuff, I had the experience of hearing the stories. commander of the USS Cole one time, the one that was attacked in Yemen. And just to hear him speak about his crew and their preparation and their drilling and how they responded by second nature to overcome the adversity of that explosion and that terrorist act is just fascinating. So, yeah, to answer your question, I'd love to get down there.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it would be a good day to do that. It's Thursday, January 23rd. Begins at four o'clock. It's an on values presentation regarding, it says on January 23rd, 1968, the USS Pueblo was down. This is moving back and forth between the two things. So hold on here just a second. Was captured by North Korea and its crew endured nearly a year of hardship torture. and brutality and then the speaker for this event is Robert Chica and he was a crewman there and so this is going to be super special Drew Dix said please let them know give them a call at the center and just so that they they know that you're coming and that you can get all the information by going to americanvaluecenter.org that's americanvaluecenter.org Susan Kochevar has texted me, and it looks like for sure we could go to work when she's opening the 88 Drive-In Theater, that we could do an event and show the movie on maybe on Saturday, April 19th, which is right around the corner. And Joe and I think Producer Joe and Susan are trying to figure out a way to do a Q&A with John Eastman as well. So we'll go to work on that, Brad.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you have a chance to listen to John Eastman talk about the Constitution, You should take the opportunity. He used to come up, and both he and Elizabeth, his wife, are great educators. And they would come up and often speak on various topics, but in particular the Constitution. And John knows it. He's taught it. And it's unconscionable what has happened to him and how— The community up there in CU Boulder treated them.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, it really is amazing. And yes, so this came in from a listener regarding we're talking about changing gears a little bit. California, you grew up in Southern California. You have family out there.
SPEAKER 05 :
I do. And they're all safe. They're all good. But it's smoky. Some of the places I used to hang out when I was younger are gone, right on the beach, the Rio Inn and Moonshadows, great restaurants, great bars that you would look at at the ocean, and the whole Pacific Palisades, Will Rogers State Historic Park was destroyed. It's just wrenching to see what's happened. I mean, you saw what happened in North Carolina, and The response there and Lahaina. And, you know, first of all, we've got to be prepared as citizens for any eventuality, earthquake, fire, flood, to take care of ourselves. And then our non-for-profits, our churches, our synagogues are the second line, our community, our neighbors. But the last resort should be the government. I don't want the federal government coming in because it comes with strings, and it's just going to make things harder. You'll see people switch their party affiliation once they start rebuilding. The red tape they're going to have to go after because some bureaucrat's going to say, no, you can't build back the way it was. You have to come up to new standards, and it's going to be expensive, and it's going to take longer, and people are going to say, what is this all about? We've experienced that here in Boulder County.
SPEAKER 10 :
because when people wanted to rebuild, there were all these new rules and regulations. And I was talking with Karen last night, and she said something about some new potential regulation on outlets, which could increase the cost of homes. She says, when we talk about affordability, let's quit putting things in place that make things more expensive. So this listener, and again, love to hear from you, 720-605-0647. It says, people need to get out of this mindset that government is the solution. Government creates the problems. Why would you call on someone who has caused the problems? It says, these fires, they... went on to, well, basically connecting dots from some of these things, such as North Carolina, Lahaina, all of this.
SPEAKER 05 :
Some people think it's a property grab. I know. I don't know what the truth is, but at some point it's going to come out. I'm going to challenge everybody who's listening. to think about when the government shows up and gives you money it's somebody else's money it's not the government's because the government doesn't produce anything they just take and there are legitimate reasons for taxes the defense of the country our adjudication in the courts our protection locally for the police But all these other programs are our responsibility, all these other issues that come up that are part of life. When did we ever start thinking that the government was going to come to the rescue, to be the lone ranger, to protect us? That's not their job. Their job is to protect our individual rights so we can make choices to pursue our happiness. It is not to give us something. It is not to protect. find a way to make our lives better. They need to get out of the way so we can make those choices for ourselves.
SPEAKER 10 :
So what would you say to people in Southern California about being prepared and how we should be interacting with the government? I guess the first thing is the idea regarding water storage and mismanagement of forests and then going out and actually destroying dams that have water storage. This is all so, I don't know if it's incompetent or not, but it's so wrong.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, they're misdirected. They're looking at creating solutions to problems that don't exist. I'll give you an example. I just read a great article in Epoch Times over the weekend about wild horses. And, you know, they round them up, the federal government Owns way too much land out west, especially, and they round up and destroy wild horses and it costs ridiculous amounts of money. There's a gentleman there who says, why don't we use those for wild horses for brush fire mitigation, just like they do with goats and other animals because they don't eat. all the wild grasses at the root, so they're more likely to clean up fields and pastures and where cattle can do something else and goats and lambs. So they could coexist? They could go and coexist and, well, bring some of these wild horses into areas that they can, not necessarily the mountains, but there are areas where they can bring them in through canyons and clean up the brush. I mean, there's this symbiotic relationship that we think government has all the solutions. They don't. There's some common sense... solutions out there water storage is huge and we need to push back on the environmentalists and say you know what human beings are the priority yeah we want to coexist with wildlife and nature and our environment we want clean water and air and all the things that bring people to colorado by the same token if you don't have the infrastructure you don't have the water you don't have the uh pressure for the fire hydrants you know you're going to get what you get there in in uh especially Pacific Palisades, but last night a fire started in the Sunset Hills, the Hollywood Hills. You know, the sparks and flames will fly miles. And there's even some suspicion of how the outlying fire started. So it's a sad situation. We need to get this cleaned up, fixed, and then have the serious discussion about, okay, how do we go forward? How do we plan for the future? And it's not DEI hires. Not at all. There's too much of that. And we've got to be practical. We need to push back and say, let's think about this in terms of human flourishing as opposed to some objective that a special interest group has. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well said, Brad Beck, and thank you so much, co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters. Check out Toastmasters, the national site, and just put in Liberty Toastmasters. You can get all the information. Our friend Yvonne Paez had said regarding water conservation, they're always saying conserve, conserve, but you can't conserve unless you have storage, unless you actually have water storage. So good point. Our quote for the end of the show is from James Madison, who said this. It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice. If the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read or so incoherent that they cannot be understood, if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow. Colorado State Legislature is in session. So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you're not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 12 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
In this riveting episode, we dissect a high-octane press conference from none other than President-elect Donald Trump. Amidst relentless media upheaval, Trump unveils his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and discusses his aspirations of acquiring Greenland for national security interests. Our host, Mike, anchors a lively discussion on these bold propositions, inviting listeners to weigh in on whether this big-picture thinking is strategically sound.
SPEAKER 15 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Geller.
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't know about you, but I think Gulf of America has a pretty nice ring to it. Yesterday, Donald Trump, the incoming president, the president-elect, 47 and 45, held an epic press conference at Mar-a-Lago, and the media went bonkers. Although, interestingly enough, despite him... intimating military force to conquer Greenland, despite economic pressure to make Canada our 51st state, despite calling Jack Smith a moron, and despite suggesting that we rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, yeah, they did react kind of badly. Wildly, but not as bad as it could have been. It's almost like they are coming to terms with the incoming Trump administration. Welcome in. Boy, do we have a lot to cover today. The governor of California has declared a state of emergency. These catastrophic fires in Los Angeles are burning uncontained. Many, many people, thousands of people have fled. They've lost their homes. It's not just the wealthy. People of all income categories are being impacted. We hope to check in with Hugh Hewitt, who is in Orange County, California. I was a guest with him yesterday on a lighter topic. He wanted to hear all about ABBA Voyage in London, and I shared that and also wanted to congratulate him on his new time slot. Because Monday, on some of our stations around the country who carry both of us, Hugh is moving from mornings to afternoons. He's going to replace Seb Gorka on the Salem lineup. And the great Chris Stegall is going to go into Hugh's slot beginning Monday. So we hope to talk to Hugh, but it's awful. I mean, it's like... apocalyptic right now in California. And we'll talk to Hugh Hewitt in about 20 minutes to find out what the latest is. Hopefully, we'll also have a way for you to help these poor people who have lost so much. More on that in just a moment. But back to yesterday's press conference. My word. I was ecstatic. I thought, we are back. We are so back. The golden era is here. I mean, and look nationally. Do you know that statewide Republicans dominate the legislatures in the country two to one over the Democrats? There's Republican control in double the amount of states of Democrat control in America. It's as if America did a collective reset and we just said enough. No more. Enough already. We're not... The Democrat way of doing things isn't working anymore. And so here's Trump yesterday making it very clear the Gulf of Mexico is in for a name change.
SPEAKER 07 :
We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, I mean, I love it. Good. I love it. I'm not going to have a problem with that. But he also talked about the need to acquire Greenland. Yesterday, Don Jr. and our own Charlie Kirk got on board Trump Force One and flew to Greenland. It's not all that terribly far, but kind of fun. I wish I could have gone along. I got a bone to pick with Charlie. Come on, Charlie. I could have carried your bags for you. I would have loved to have gone with all of you to Greenland. But yesterday, President Trump explained why the U.S. needs Greenland.
SPEAKER 07 :
We need Greenland for national security purposes. I've been told that for a long time, long before I even ran. I mean, people have been talking about it for a long time. You have approximately 45,000 people there. People really don't even know if Denmark has any legal right there. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That's for the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world. You look at you don't even need binoculars. You look outside. You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We're not letting that happen. We're not letting it happen. And if Denmark wants to get to a conclusion, but nobody knows if they even have any right title or interest, the people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the United States. But if they did do that, then I would tariff Denmark at a very high level.
SPEAKER 12 :
So he was asked then, this is what the media hyperventilated about, would we use military force to acquire Greenland? Here's what he said.
SPEAKER 06 :
Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion? No. Can you tell us a little bit about what your plan is? Are you going to negotiate a new treaty? Are you going to ask the Canadians to hold a vote? What is the strategy?
SPEAKER 07 :
I can't assure you. You're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this. We need them for economic security.
SPEAKER 12 :
This is amazing to me. I mean, now, I want to get your reaction to it. Let me open up the phone lines, 800-655-MIKE. It's Wednesday, January the 8th. We're a week away, almost a little more than a week away from the Trump inauguration. Big things are happening. Let's dive in together to the question about whether or not it's a good idea for Trump to go big like this. And this is big. Okay? Greenland, Canada 51st state, Gulf of Mexico becomes Gulf of America. I happen to agree with the The Scott Jennings philosophy of what Trump is doing. Now, Scott Jennings is the lone conservative on CNN. He guest-hosted my show a couple months ago. He's terrific. He's a breath of fresh air. Obviously, I think he's the only guy on CNN who makes sense, but I believe that he makes sense on the issue of of Trump going big. Keep in mind, there's no re-election. This is his final term. He's served two terms. He's got no worries about political ramifications here. Here's what's... This is... Scott Jennings perfectly... captures how I feel about Trump's press conference yesterday, but I'm not sure if it's how you feel, and I want to find out. I want you to give me your genuine heartfelt reaction to him going big like this with all of these bold pronouncements days before he even gets inaugurated. Here was Scott's take on CNN.
SPEAKER 09 :
You can think small if you want to. I think Trump's thinking big, and he's thinking about U.S. interests. There are U.S. interests in Greenland. They have rare earth minerals. We already have some kind of space facility there, and it would help fortify us against the Russians. The Panama Canal is, of course, of interest when you consider the Chinese incursions and influence in this hemisphere. What Donald Trump is saying to the world is... We are not a shrinking violet anymore. We are the United States of America. We are the preeminent superpower. And reporters keep asking him to rule things out and take things off the table. And it would be the height of stupidity to do so now or to anything else before he takes office. Why would he tell the rest of the world what he may or may not do? Here's one reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, isn't that the right approach? Let me find out. Let me again turn it over to you. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453, 15 past the hour. Happy Wednesday. It's hump day. We've got a lot of breaking news. News out of California. These wind-fueled fires are erupting, and it's bad. It's really, really bad. Thousands of acres burned. Many, many homes lost. We'll check in with Hugh Hewitt at the bottom of the hour, who is in Orange County, California. But first, I want to check in with you. I want to find out what you think about Trump going big like this. Is it too much? Too big? Too fast? He's not even in office yet. Or do you love Trump? As Scott Jennings put it, the big picture thinking of our 47th president of the United States. Let's burn up our phone lines with your reaction to this. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us. I wanna 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. You gotta have Equity Protect in your corner. If you own your home mortgage-free, or you got a lot of equity, you gotta have Equity Protect so that scammers do not steal your equity or title. For a limited time, Equity Protect is offering you a tremendous deal, 30% off your first year, giving you one year of protection for less than $12 a month. Just go to EquityProtect.com. Use the discount code Mike30. That's EquityProtect.com. Use the promo code Mike30. Once you have Equity Protect, you don't need to check. Trust the team at Equity Protect. Go to EquityProtect.com and use the promo code Mike30.
SPEAKER 15 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 12 :
We are in a golden era. Here's Florida text message, Jacksonville. I agree with Scott Jennings a thousand percent. I couldn't be more proud of President Trump and America. Here's California text message. Hey, Mike, it's Trump time. Huge moves are going to be made. But here's the other argument. And this is the flip side of it that I want you to kind of analyze with me. Let me be devil's advocate and share with you the counter argument. Oregon sent me a text. that said, look, I'm about America first. Here's the text, and I quote, hell no, what happened to MAGA and America first? We can barely take care of ourselves, let alone newly acquired nations. What the blank. So that's how Oregon received Trump's going big yesterday. And I'm not going to shoot down Oregon's argument. I get it. I'm America first, too. But can America be even greater by acquiring strategically for national security purposes? Wouldn't the whole tariffs and taxes situation change if Canada and the United States were one big continent together, a country? Anything wrong with the Gulf of America? No, I'm loving everything he's saying, and I'm not just saying that. I get it. I'm a little nervous about Canada as our 51st state, but I've also come to trust this guy. And, hey, read The Art of the Deal. Good time to get his book out. Guy's a master negotiator. And he's a big-picture visionary. Not to say he can't make mistakes. He's fallible. We all are. But I'm all on board. Let's see what you think. 800-655-MIKE. We'll start with Steve here in Florida. Hey, Steve, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 02 :
Great show, Mike. You're doing a terrific job there, and you're informing the people. Thank you. Great thing. Listen, I really appreciate President-elect Trump, and his ideas are tremendous. We can make Canada into the 51st state. We can reclaim the Panama Canal, which should have never been given away in the first place. to see what the hell we can rename the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America. I love it, man. I love it all. The greatest visionary president coming into office for the second time we've ever had.
SPEAKER 12 :
Amen, amen. Thank you, Steve, and thanks for your kind words. 800-655-MIKE, one open line. And again, if you disagree, it's okay. Let me know. 800-655-MIKE. Alice in New York. Hello, Alice.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hey, hello.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hi.
SPEAKER 08 :
I'm up here where it's going to be a high of 10 degrees.
SPEAKER 12 :
I'll tell you what.
SPEAKER 08 :
Are you enjoying yourself?
SPEAKER 12 :
You need some MyPillow flannel sheets, Alice.
SPEAKER 08 :
I do.
SPEAKER 12 :
I've got to get you some flannel sheets.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I'm a Trump supporter in the Democratic state. Yes, ma'am. We've got Queen Hunkle here. But anyway, I love Trump. I think he's got the world's attention. And I think it's time for us to laugh again over the media's nonsense and how they just buy right into it. And, you know, be it great if it happened, and even if it doesn't, it makes us laugh again, and when do we laugh?
SPEAKER 12 :
I love it. I love that so much. It's time to just be able to laugh again and smile again. And laugh them a while. Look, they're clowns. That's Sonny Hostin comparing January 6th to the Holocaust? To chattel slavery? All you have to do is laugh at a clown like that. Incidentally, some news about her. Did you see her husband has been indicted on some kind of RICO charges, some terrible crime in New York? Sonny Hostin's husband. Yikes. Yikes. Williams in Michigan. Hey, William, how are you?
SPEAKER 01 :
Good morning.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hi.
SPEAKER 01 :
I want to say, do we ever forget to remember the Alamo? I hope not. They said that so we never had to fight a border war over Texas again called Ukraine 2. Yep. It's South America like South Dakota. If we eradicate the cartels on the ocean and sink their boats and pay $5 more an hour minimum wage to further south you go in America, we don't have a border problem anymore.
SPEAKER 12 :
All righty. Thank you. Rogers in San Antonio. Hey, Roger.
SPEAKER 10 :
Hey, Mike, thanks for taking my call. You bet. Just a quick comment on the people from Oregon. People are just kind of against this. If we don't acquire Canada and Greenland, China's going to. Amen. There it is.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes, sir. There it is. And that's his point, Roger, about this is a national security matter. There's a genius, there's a brilliance to what he said yesterday. All right, good to hear. Somebody picked him up. What happened to line two? Boy, we are having a day on the phones here, so I hope the wildfires aren't getting involved with some of our phone lines because somebody picked up line two right in the middle of that caller. But hang in there. Everybody take a breath. We'll regroup and check in with our buddy Hugh Hewitt, who's in Southern California, because this is apocalyptic, these wildfires. That and more next here on the Mike Gallagher Show. 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. Maybe you got a discouraging diagnosis from your doctor. You needed to make a lifestyle change. One grandmother I talked to couldn't chase her toddler grandson and was afraid he might get hurt in her care. Another gentleman had lower back and hip pain, which forced him to give up golf. He wanted his life back. You want your life back? Do what I did. Start the PhD journey. Make 2024 your year to say goodbye and let go of all those unwanted pounds. Call PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition today to schedule your consultation. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
The Mike Gallagher Show. I think before we canonize St. Kamala here on the high holy day of January 6th, let's remember the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 makes it perfectly clear that the vice president has nothing but purely ministerial duties on this day. She didn't actually certify the results of the election. That's done by the voters.
SPEAKER 15 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 12 :
I love that. St. Kamala on the high holy day of January 6th. How much do you love that? It's a little bit like Justin Trudeau. He tweeted out last night on social media, oh, there's no way that Canada will become America's 51st state. And Elon Musk immediately slapped him down and said, hey, sit this one out. You're stepping down. You're not the governor of Canada anymore. Boy, this is a time to be alive. And nobody's happier than Hugh Hewitt. I mean, obviously, we're devastated by the news out of Southern California, and I want to check in with Hugh in Orange County. But on a happier note, this is a guy who just got relieved of a prison sentence for years. He has been waking up at – think about this. Hugh is often on the West Coast doing a morning drive show, which means – when I say this, it makes my teeth ache – He's on from 3 to 6 a.m. when he's in California. That's an overnight shift. So let's welcome my colleague and friend Hugh Hewitt from Orange County, California, who's got a big smile on his face. I can't hear you loud and clear. How happy are you to be bumped to afternoons next week, huh?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I'm glad it's next week because at least I was able to do a service to the early risers in California this morning and tell them where not to go, which is Sylmar, Pasadena, or Pacific Palisades. But you're right, I'm coming to the end of my three-hour shift, and I'm looking forward to moving to the afternoon drive in Washington, D.C. next week and following you. But I've been carrying you for years, Mike. You know, I put you on my back every morning to let you use this audience. This morning, all I can talk about You have never seen anything like this. And I doubt, although you've been in hurricanes, I think, the wind at 90 miles an hour is something new to me in Southern California. So it's going to be a very long day out here.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, let's talk a little bit about what's happening. Over 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. I know we've been talking a little bit and getting reports from you, and of course I was glued to your show today as you were going through all the details. I mean, these are catastrophic fires, and a lot of people have an image, well, it's Malibu, Pacific Palisades, just a bunch of rich people, they'll be okay. There's people of all walks of life, of all income levels, who are being impacted by these catastrophic fires, correct?
SPEAKER 13 :
Correct, and although Pacific Palisades is about as Tony a district as you get, and there will be celebrities who have lost their home. My friend Leslie Marshall, who I do... Brett Baer special report with her house is gone people that you see in LA they will have lost their houses but there are fires in Glendale Glendale is not too far from KRL I mean the mothership KRL is in Glendale I'm hoping the fire stays north of the freeway up there but out in Riverside that's the working class and there's a fire there and we will do this for 24 hours Mike This is going to go for another 24 hours. What is going to be the scandal? Everyone predicted it. Everybody knew it was coming. But nobody appears to have prepared anything special. And Karen Bass, the mayor of L.A., isn't in the country. Where's she? Africa. West Africa.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. I don't know why L.A.
SPEAKER 13 :
may even feel obliged. She might want to come home in a hurry. Rick Caruso, if you can get the tape of him talking to Channel 11 last night, he is ballistic. He ran in the mayoral race against Dan Bass. And Rick is upset because Pacific Palisades, they've lost their water pressure. So there's no ability to fight the inferno. And if people remember the Oakland Hills fire in 1991, 300 homes destroyed. burned to the ground, 25 people dead. This is that exponentially. It's much bigger. And when the sun comes up, it's still dark in California. We don't have any pictures yet. People are going to be stunned, absolutely stunned.
SPEAKER 12 :
And, you know, Hugh, there's a debate that has already begun, and this is something President Trump has brought up in the past. Environmentalists don't want to do this clear-cutting. They want to save every tree. They want to preserve every acre. I'm of the mindset, look, people are devastated. People are without everything. I don't know that today is the day to have that debate. But do you want to put your toe in the water and talk a little bit about that? some of these environmental policies and how it can contribute to this kind of devastation and loss?
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, absolutely. For the last 30-plus years, I've been doing broadcasts, but I've also been a practicing lawyer and law professor, and I practice land use. And the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act have handcuffed the local authorities, the state authorities, and often private landowners on what they can do on their property to clear sage scrub. And sage scrub is our dominant ecosystem in Southern California. We now have trees. We got some palm trees at the beach, but it's mostly coastal sage crop. Well, that stuff burns like kindling. And if you don't clear it, your home is going to burn down. And there have been many controversies over many decades about what the environmentalists have done to retard the ability of firefighters and homeowners and landowners. to protect their property against just this sort of disaster. Now, today may be different. This is where, when you get to Pacific Palisades, people are building their houses right up to the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, and it's inevitable that fire will come down. What's not inevitable is that the water reservoirs are low and the water pressure fails. That's human error. And this, I point out to a number of people, New York, your home, has got a blue city domination and a collapse of civil society and safety. Chicago schools and safety have collapsed. And now California's infrastructure. These are all blue areas, right? Blue New York, blue Chicago, California. They don't know how to do the basics. They spend too much time on the absurdities, and the absurdities get people killed and their homes destroyed.
SPEAKER 12 :
Visiting with Hugh Hewitt, our longtime morning host who moves to afternoons, replacing the Seb Gorka slot as Dr. G goes into the Trump administration next week. Chris Stegall takes over mornings beginning Monday. Of course, we're going to be in D.C. for the inauguration. Hugh, and you mentioned my home. That's my former home. Now I'm a Floridian. And I do want to ask you, this is a real naive question because I don't know wildfires. You guys know this in California. Here in Florida... We have hurricane shutters. We have hurricane-resistant windows. We have generators for our homes when the power goes out. Every time these wildfires occur, especially for some of these more upper-income folks in these neighborhoods, I wonder, is there not any kind of fire-resistant system that people can have in their yards, around their homes? I see people out there with garden hoses. I mean, a wildfire, sure, it's fast-moving, but it's not instantaneous. Is there no way to keep the flames off somebody's house as the flames are approaching?
SPEAKER 13 :
This is a unique event. Now, I live on a hillside, and so I've got my eye on the hillside because with 60 to 90 mile-per-hour winds, the fires in L.A. can set embers a long way, and idiots go out, firebugs go out, and they start fires. So I'll be alert. all day long and all night long. And our city is also built up in the sage scrub area. So I'll be able to learn all day long. You can do a lot, and I've done a lot, and a lot of homeowners do a lot. But if you do not clear the coastal sage scrub from mountains, and for example, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and you get a fire there in a Santa Ana event, that is a foreseeable event. And I do believe a lot of insurers are just going to leave California. Like Florida, it's hurricane insurance. I just don't know that insurers are going to – you can't get earthquake insurance except through the state authority here because the cost of Northridge was so high. I think we're going to run into a fire problem now. This is going to be such a catastrophic hit for the insurance industry.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right. Break a leg Monday. We're excited for your move. I hope you'll at least now start to get at least close to me in our donor campaigns because this time – I mean, December, it wasn't even – that was a rout, my friend. friend that was a route we are always going to deliver you the people who have been so generous for years and now they're going to be generous to me in the afternoon tonight so i'm going to be out there for the last thing now i'm back in the game with a level playing level playing field now i'm your lead and i'll be delivering my listen if my audience goes to you i'm in big trouble so all right hugh great seeing you and keep fighting the good fight we'll talk to you All right. Take care. Hugh Hewitt joining us from Southern California. Again, over 200,000 people without fires. I mean, without power. They're calling it a worst case scenario. Mass evacuations in Los Angeles. It's awful. It is absolutely awful. Somebody just texted from Ohio. Hey, Mike, I'm wondering if now Biden will give people in California $750 apiece like Maui and the Carolinas. Now, what's FEMA going to do? Well, we've got to pray for these people right now and pray that the loss of life is nonexistent. I always say this to people who experience a property loss. Homes can be replaced. Cars can be replaced. You can't replace human beings. You can't replace your pets. You can't replace life. So hang in there. California, we're praying for you. 800-655-MIKE. Mike in Forest City, North Carolina, texts, I love Trump's big ideas. The only way to turn this country around is to make big plans. Removing everyone's gas water heater isn't going to do it. That's right, Grandpa Joe Biden. What a dumb move that is. 17 before the hour. A lot more coming up on a busy Wednesday. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 05 :
I've got to be a macho. Macho, macho man, yeah. Macho man. Macho man.
SPEAKER 12 :
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 $45. $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 15 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Geller.
SPEAKER 12 :
We have a ton of breaking news today and we want to welcome you in. Of course, California is under a state of emergency in Southern California. The Los Angeles firefighters are working feverishly to try to contain these blazes. More than 1,400 firefighters are trying to push them back. 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. Look. President Trump weighed in on these California wildfires years ago. I've got the receipts for you coming up. And it's, you know, I'm very, very reluctant to dive into politicization in the middle of such a catastrophe. But look, the grownups have to get in charge here. And we've got to turn a whole lot of things around. We've got people on Capitol Hill. and we've got a lot to uncover for you and unwind today. We've got a lot to unpack. Trump's press conference yesterday at Mar-a-Lago, boy, he's going big or going home. That's his philosophy, clearly. Let's rename the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America. Let's acquire Greenland. Let's make Canada the 51st state. Let's get back the Panama Canal. Big, bold... And that's days before he's even inaugurated. I think Gulf of America has a pretty nice ring to it. But also in Washington, D.C., as the stands are being built to house the people who are going to be watching the inauguration, and we're going to be right there in the middle of it broadcasting from D.C. for the January 20th inauguration. Yesterday, I watched in absolute shock as 159 Democrats voted against deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes against American citizens. I'm going to repeat that. 159 Democrats voted against the Lake and Riley Act. Yesterday was the first... official act of the U.S. Congress in 2025. The first House bill passed, not really close, it was 264 to 159, and kudos to the 48 Democrats who joined Republicans in voting for the bill that was named after murdered Georgia student Lakin Riley. What a concept to detain and deport illegals who commit crimes against American citizens. How can you be against that? 159 Democrats voted no. And this is why they lost. And look, obviously I'm glad Democrats lost. I'm glad that Republicans are in control. I'm glad Republicans now are running the show. And make no mistake, Republicans are. The GOP is dominating the states. Republicans this year are going to control the legislative process in nearly twice the number of states as Democrats. There's Republican control of 24 states to the Democrats' 15 per the Cook Political Report. And the process is split in 10 others. Republicans have the White House, the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, most of the states. And Democrats are looking at their navel. They're gazing at their navel saying, why did we lose? How about, let's start with why you could vote against the Lake and Riley Act. John Fetterman, of all people, Senator John Fetterman, a guy who ran for office, got elected somehow, despite being practically catatonic. And I'm not saying that as a criticism of him, because right now, he's one of the few bright spots of the Democrat Party. It's like something happened to him. I could not believe the voters of Pennsylvania put him into office. But I have to admit, I'm glad they did. Because this is the kind of logic coming from this guy, the Democrat senator from Pennsylvania, yesterday on Fox News Channel.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I'd like to remind everybody that we have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of migrants here illegally that have convicted of crimes. And I don't know why. Who wants to defend to allow them to remain in our nation after that? And now if you're here illegally and you're committing crimes and those things, I don't know why anybody thinks that it's controversial that they all need to go.
SPEAKER 07 :
Do you think that this was one of, if not the biggest issue for this election?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I think if we can't, you know, there's 47 of us in the Senate. And if we can't pull up with with seven votes, if we can't get at least seven out of 47, if we can't, then that's the reason why we lost. That's one of them. That's one of why we lost in part. That's amazing.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's a Democrat. He gets it. These people are lost on the left. Democrats are gone. You want to know the New York Times headline? Are you ready for this? Here's the New York Times headline after the Lake and Riley Act was passed. And the Lake and Riley Act, it's simple. It would require detention of migrants who commit crimes. How can you vote against that? 149 of them did. But you want to know why they did? Because they're reading the New York Times, their holy grail. You know what their Bible said? I kid you not, this is not a made-up headline. Actual headline in the New York Times. House passes bill to deport unauthorized immigrants charged with minor crimes. That's the New York Times spin and why 149 bleeding-heart Democrats in the House yesterday voted no. well, we're deporting unauthorized immigrants. I love that use. That's a new one. Normally they use undocumented. Now the New York Times is pivoting to unauthorized. So if you come across the Rio Grande in a banana boat, you swim across the river and sneak into this country in the middle of the night, and you go wind up living in South Carolina, well, you're unauthorized. You weren't authorized to live and work and take the resources of South Carolina. You're not illegal. You're unauthorized. When you rob a bank, you're not a bank robber. You made an unauthorized use of funds. You made an unauthorized withdrawal. Withdrawal. That's all you did. My gosh. 48 Democrats joined Republicans yesterday, but 149 voted no. And that's the New York Times takeaway. House passes the bill, the Lake and Riley Act, and will deport unauthorized immigrants charged with minor crimes. Cry some more, New York Times, because the adults are in control now. Weep some more, because a lot of us find your tears... 1-800-655-MIKE. Welcome aboard. It is a breaking news Wednesday in the Relief Factor studios. I want to get your reaction to all of this. I want you to go ahead. You defend and explain. and the House of Representatives thinking it's a bad idea to detain and deport illegals who've committed crimes against the American citizenry. You go ahead and tell me. I want to hear all about the unauthorized illegals who are going to be deported for minor crimes. It's just a minor crime. You know, bumping off a 7-Eleven, hitting somebody over the head, a minor crime. Let them stay. Enjoy the benefits of South Carolina while you're here. Please, have fun. They're lost. And thank goodness the golden era is here. Thank goodness we're going to get to enjoy and relish. the Republicans in charge of America once again. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Join us.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't really like working. I'm going to need a priority parking space. I only work remotely. How are your safe spaces? Can I bring my dog to work? Will your company protect me against microaggressions? You're triggering me. Is this interview almost over?
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
What's your policy on paying employees to attend protests? I demand eight weeks of vacation. I need at least 12 weeks of paid vacation. I'm going to need a lot of mental health days. Do you have a game room? My pronouns are Zs and Zs.
SPEAKER 16 :
Isn't it time you hired grown-ups? Call RedBalloon.Work and skip those high-priced recruitment agencies. Call 833-880-0600 for a free consultation. That's 833-880-0600 for a free consultation. RedBalloon.org.
SPEAKER 15 :
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 14 :
I mean, I know of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, who are the great musical musicians. Stephen Sondheim. Stephen Sondheim. Lionel Bart is the guy behind Oliver. And you've got that. And the catalyst here, the great Ron Moody is Fagin in the movie. And he was born 101 years ago today. It's his birthday. And lived a long life all the way to 2015. But food, glorious food, where is love?
SPEAKER 12 :
Consider yourself. Well, I'm more of a Mr. Bumble than I am Fagin. I play Bumble as well. I play Bumble in Dallas. That was one of my first big roles at Lyric Stage in Dallas. And the joke was, I can't do accents. And so the director, Cheryl Denson, who's one of the great theater directors in the country. She's wonderful. She's magnificent. And she would roll her eyes every time because I had to do an English accent. In fact, I was up for a part in My Fair Lady at Lyric Stage, and I know the reason I didn't get the part, because I'm getting married in the morning. That great role. I didn't get the role because I can't do an English accent. But you have to in Mr. Bumble. Yeah, please, sir. I want some more. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 14 :
They gave me a winding stairway without any banister, which will throw him down and feed him on cockroaches.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, my gosh. Well, I'm sorry. You ought to be on stage. We ought to do a production. You and I ought to do the producers. I'll be Max Bialystock.
SPEAKER 04 :
You'll be Leo Bloom. We'll do Springtime for Hitler. I'm ready. I'm ready.
SPEAKER 12 :
You would be great. You would actually be great. Have you ever done a production on stage like that?
SPEAKER 14 :
A couple of plays. I was in Calamity Jane when I was in ninth grade. There you go. We can get you out there. Which is another great work of musical theater.
SPEAKER 12 :
And you also picked up the scab a little bit about my London trip. You know, they're doing a production. Of Oliver right now on the West End. Whoa. And front row seat, Mike, couldn't get any tickets. I tried. I tried. I couldn't get seats. You? I know.
SPEAKER 14 :
Didn't you throw down any, you know, do you know who I am credit?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, they didn't even have any, they didn't even have any like scalper tickets that, I mean, I couldn't get into that theater. It's a big hot seat.
SPEAKER 14 :
The secondary market didn't even, because we know you will shell out if you want something back.
SPEAKER 12 :
I'd have shelled out for Oliver, because I love that show.
SPEAKER 14 :
Speaking of theater, is it real life or is it political theater? As Trump goes out and says, let's do Greenland, let's do Canada, let's do the Canada. Just how much of that is real, real? My take is, does he mean it, mean it literally? I don't think so, but it's designed to make a point. Let me just hand you the baton and see what you think.
SPEAKER 12 :
Let me just ask you and our audience if you are fully capable of recognizing the golden era that we are now in. We are back. We are back. And, of course, rinse, repeat. He holds a press conference. The mainstream media, their hair catches on fire. They flip out. Oh, we're going to use military force to conquer Greenland. We're not going to conquer Greenland. We're not going to. He wants back. Good things to happen. But, you know, I watched every word and carried a lot of it on my show because a lot of it aired when I was on yesterday. And I just watched every word of it. And I thought, this is why he's the people's president. Take, for example, him railing against the water regulations and restrictions that the Biden administration has come up with. I mean, Biden, in an 11-hour effort, is trying to ban gas water heaters. Now, Trump went on, he did this funny riff about how, you know the difference between a gas heater and electric? When it's electric, you're itchy. You're itch. And when a gas heater, it's nice and warm. But he relates to people that way. And then he talked about the water regulations. Now, all these restrictions with all of this crap that the federal government has imposed upon us, Trump is like, you know what? Get the water. Get as much water as you want. Water comes from the sky. We have water. We have the resources. And then he started talking about how all the dishwashers and all of the toilets, they all have all these water restrictions. Yeah. They don't do the job. They don't get things cleaned. They don't get the job. So you know what Trump said? You know what people do with the dishwasher with the little drip, drip, drip of water in there? They run it seven times. They run it seven times. So you're using more water anyway. And that's the kind of common sense every man perspective that Trump brings to the table that makes him so wildly popular with Americans. And these elitists that are so goofy. I mean, the poll came out the other day. Five. Five percent. You know, I talked about it yesterday. Five percent of Americans think that January 6th, 2021 was a significant event. Five percent. I mean, he and look, he's going to go. He's going to look at clemency and pardon for a whole bunch of those folks as well. As well, he should, Mark. So, you know, I don't know. No, we're not going to invade Greenland. Although, did you see that Don Jr. and our Charlie Kirk? Went running off to Greenland yesterday?
SPEAKER 14 :
Did you see him in the cockpit of the plane? Yes. Shooting video out of Trump Force One as they lift off from Greenland. And he pivots it around. And there's Don Jr. going, hey, great visit.
SPEAKER 12 :
And there's flipping Charlie Kirk sitting right next to him. I got a bone to pick with Charlie. Why didn't I get to go?
SPEAKER 14 :
I'd have loved to have gone to Greenland. They got seats. Seats in that thing.
SPEAKER 12 :
There's a lot of seats on that plane. You know, Charlie, of course, just renewed his deal with Salem Media Group. We're thrilled to continue with that young man. And Salem, behind the curtain, some inside baseball news. Brad Parcell has been named Salem's chief strategy officer. Now, Brad, you remember him. He was the digital guru for Trump World, big in Trump World. He's also big. He was big with Kylie Jenner launching her big billion dollar beauty line. He helped, you know, I know Candace Owens is a controversial figure, but. He helped launch her into the stratosphere with her digital presence. And so Brad Parcell, who's really one of the best digital marketing and online strategy folks in the world, he's joining Salem as our chief strategy officer. They know who to hang with. They know the dog to follow. Monday, Chris DeGaulle starts before you and me. He replaces Hugh. Hugh moves into afternoons. Seb Gorka goes to the White House. Did you see that CBS News did a hit piece on Seb Gorka last night? Oh, what? What'd they do? Oh, they just drudged up old stuff. You know, he had a falling out the first time he was in the Trump administration, and it was with John Kelly. So make no mistake. And enough said, right? I mean, what more do you need to know? And so Kelly didn't like the Seb Gorkas and the Bannons of the world. And, you know, he was trying to be Mr. Mr. Military and kick everybody out. That was the whole backstory. I mean, Seb has told me about it on and off the air.
SPEAKER 14 :
And Kelly and Kelly was a troublemaker from day one. He went in with his own agenda, his own priorities. He thought he could leave his stamp on Trump world. And the people who thought that learned otherwise really quickly.
SPEAKER 12 :
And Seb knew it, and Kelly knew that Seb knew it, and I truly believe that Seb is right. That's why he got pushed out. Well, CBS did this whole hit piece, oh, Seb Gorka, he was pushed out the first time. And here's the great news about this. He doesn't need Senate confirmation for the position he's going to be in. He is in a very important role in counterterrorism. You know, and a key, key figure in combating and even recommending strikes and all kinds of, you know, and they'll have access to all kinds of sensitive. It's one of the highest ranking people in that world, in that sphere of counterterrorism in the country. And so we're so proud of Sebastian. You know, but there's CBS doing what CBS does. Media doing what the media does. But it's changing, Mark. It's changing. Did you see McDonald's is throwing out their DEI initiatives? Done.
SPEAKER 14 :
They're done. You bet. They're done. Trump effect. Hashtag Trump effect. Meta. Mark Zuckerberg saying we're stopping with the stupid biased fact checkers. We're going to have community notes. Let people weigh in more free speech. And he called it in his video yesterday. He said we may, as with many human systems and so many things, they're going to be mistakes. These were not mistakes. It was 1000 percent intentional. They did it for ideological reasons. They got caught. They got torched to their credit. They learned the lesson from that and are now improving their behavior. That's good. But it was not a mistake. Do not know.
SPEAKER 12 :
It wasn't. There's not. There was no accident. And look, and it's it. But we are back to this theme of a golden era. Axios this week over at Mike Allen's site. Republicans this year will control the legislative process in nearly twice the number of states as Democrats. Well, the GOP is dominating the states. I mean, 24 states for the Republicans to the Democrats, 15. And the process is split in 10 others. This is what people have had it. They're just fed up. They're fed up with. I talked to an old friend of mine. I reconnected with a buddy of mine that I haven't talked to in 30 years. And it's so strange to talk to somebody 30 years later. What you what you went up to. How's that? Three decades worked out for you. And we were kids. In fact, even 30 years ago, we only hold over friends from when we were really teenagers. And he and his wife... had to get the phone call that their precious son was in a horrific accident. An illegal immigrant pulled out in front of their son on a motorcycle, and he ultimately died of those injuries. And he said, it's got to stop. He said, she's still driving a car. She's still living where they lived. And, I mean, do you know that 159 Democrats this week voted against deporting illegals who commit crimes? Yep. Now, think about it. Let that sink in. Now, the good news is I think it was 43 or either 43 or 49 Democrats voted with the Republicans. Oh, did you catch Fetterman?
SPEAKER 14 :
Fetterman, I think, was on Special Report with Brett Baier last night or one of those Fox shows and said, listen, this is why we lose. When we can't get on the right side of common sense stuff like this, this is how we lose. That's it. Fetterman will be a Republican by 4th of July.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, I'm not kidding. You're not kidding. I know. No, I don't think you're far from that. But 100, and let the world know, and I'm going to be bellowing it today, 149 Democrats voted against the Lake and Riley Act. 149 Democrats think it's a bad idea to deport illegals who commit crimes in this country against American citizens. Now, what pot and then i started going on down the rabbit hole last night because i was and i'm watching this southern california situation the fourth wildfire has now flared up uh people are you know losing their homes left and right it's horrific uh we're going to try to help today on the mike gallagher show with food for the poor they've we hope to put something together in time to because there's a lot of middle class and lower income people who are it's not just hollywood stars it's And not just Malibu that's way beyond that. But it's funny, I'm trying to watch all of that and I'm covering that. And I go down the rabbit hole about what's their argument? What does a Democrat say in objecting? Do you know what the argument is?
SPEAKER 14 :
Ultimately, to go to root causes, the term of the decade. is that they don't want to do anything to impede the arrival of people from south of the border illegally because even the occasional violent criminal is rehabilitatable and absorbable into the American fabric and legalizable and naturalizable and then a reliable Democrat voter.
SPEAKER 12 :
But that's Mark Davis, the conservative talk show legend answer. What's their answer? Give me their bust. What would they say? Because that's what I was looking for last night.
SPEAKER 14 :
I thought... It's going to be BS, but it would essentially be we believe in redemption. It would be overly broad. It would be weaponized. Evil racist conservatives would overgeneralize. There'd be people unfairly ejected in this nucleus of a good idea. It would be atomized out and would adversely affect and would disproportionately affect blah, blah, blah. So that would be.
SPEAKER 12 :
You're right. You're right. In fact, you're close. The one big thing that I saw the pushback was the legislation would take teenage shoplifters who are illegals, or of course they call them, and deport them. And that would be horrible to have a teenage shoplifter deported. Really? That's their big argument. That's why they that's why they voted against it. Hey, I got a newsflash for you. If you're a teenager and you're an illegal and you shouldn't be in this country, don't shop.
SPEAKER 14 :
I was going to say, thank you. I don't get misty about speaking of no great loss and good riddance amid all this weird Canada stuff about, you know, maybe like annexing Canada, make Canada the 51st state, which we're not going to do. Some Canadian reaction was interesting, and there was some Canadian parliamentary official of some sort. I don't know what they have up there who said, well, what would you think if we just took California, Oregon and Washington state?
SPEAKER 12 :
And I thought I saw. Don't threaten me with a good time.
SPEAKER 14 :
Speaking of only half kidding. Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 14 :
With our with our blessing, with our Republican presidents, as far as the eye can see, because the flip side of that coin, because I know you were paying attention. It was right. I guess it was right after you were on the air the day before yesterday where Kamala Harris had to. Do you join a lot of people in saying, look, she's wrong on every issue, terrible candidate, mean woman, vicious, et cetera. I have very little good to say about her. But she did step into the strike zone, take one for the team and show up to lord over her own. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER 12 :
You're a bigger man than I am.
SPEAKER 14 :
I didn't say I was doing it. I was asking.
SPEAKER 12 :
I enjoyed it way too much.
SPEAKER 14 :
And there was the moment at which the Texas electoral vote was announced and a forty four. Oh, electoral votes went to Trump and J.D. Vance, which I think was the technical moment with it got us to 270 in that with Texas states. And just listen, you hear it a lot down here and just never, ever, ever forget. If we lose Texas, we will never elect a Republican president again. It's an 80-vote swing. If you lose our 40, and everybody says, ooh, Texas is going to turn blue. And thank God that's just not happening. But we've got to make sure we stay steadfast about that.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, we've got to stay on it. And as a texter from Dallas just pointed out, just take a gander at the cover of my favorite newspaper in America today, the New York Post. Yes. Big, bold headline, The Don Roe Doctrine. And it's got a picture of Trump with a big pointy thing on the map. Canada is crossed out, and it says his vision of the hemisphere. Canada is crossed out, 51st state. Greenland is crossed out. It says, not Greenland, our land. Gulf of Mexico is crossed out to Gulf of America.
SPEAKER 01 :
He said that, too, by the way.
SPEAKER 12 :
Gulf of America. And the Panama Canal is crossed out. Now it's the Panamaga Canal. Tremendous. I mean, golden era. Enjoy it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Savor it.
SPEAKER 12 :
And get ready for the inauguration. And we'll be in D.C. broadcasting from our nation's capital covering the 47th president's inaugural proceedings. All right. Happy Wednesday, my friend. Happy Wednesday. We're ready.
SPEAKER 15 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
Arrogance is the number one enemy of the Christian. Satan uses arrogance and you can’t afford to let him manipulate you by appealing to your arrogance. Arrogance is always identified by self-justification. Self-justification leads to self-deception which leads to self-absorption which ultimately leads to self-destruction. If you’re thinking, “Why did God have to discipline me” you’re in a bad place in life. “When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor” (Prov 11:2). Humility is the code word for respect for authority and its orientation for the grace of God. “A person’s arrogance will bring him low but a lifestyle of humility will attain honor” (Prov 23:29). When you take on this attitude of humility based on a divine viewpoint and orientation to the authority of God, humbling yourself, then God can use you. God promises that the humble believer who is grace-oriented will be promoted. “God opposes the arrogant but He gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/study-arrogance-d0a88c
Study on Arrogance
Transcript of FLOT Line Episode 632 aired on October 8, 2017
Good morning and welcome to The FLOT Line, that's right, The FLOT Line. I'm your host Rick
Hughes and for the next few minutes please stay with me because it will be a short time of
motivation, some inspiration, some education and we do this without any type of manipulation.
We’re not going to ask you for any money. We’re not trying to con you into joining anything,
giving anything. I just want you to listen as I try to verify and identify how God's plan works. It
is a show about the Bible, yes, but no ranting and raving. No jumping up and down, no yelling
and screaming. Just listen, listen and learn. That's the way we grow, listen, learn, and make some
application. Sometimes people wonder about the name The FLOT Line, what does this mean? It
stands for the forward line of troops. This is a military acronym and we're using a military
analogy here, as the Bible does quite often. What I'm trying to show you is there are 10 unique
problem-solving devices. If we learn these 10 problem-solving devices taught in the Bible,
nothing new that I came up with, they’ve always been there. If you learn them and use them they
will act as a defensive perimeter inside the soul of the believer and they will stop the outside
sources of adversity before they becomes the inside source of stress. This is why we say often
that adversity is inevitable and stress is optional because adversity is in fact what circumstances
do you and stress can be what you do to yourself. Think about this. Understand how important it
is to live this marvelous, unique, supernatural life called the Christian life. It is unique. It is an
advantage that the rest of the world doesn't have because we have the amazing power of the
Word of God at our fingertips producing divine viewpoint. We have the amazing power of the
Holy Spirit in our life, giving us the ability to operate under the filling of the Spirit and not the
energy of the flesh. These are all problem-solving devices that we have like problem-solving
device #1, rebound, to address sin. We all sin. It could be a sin of the tongue such as a lie. It
could be an overt sin such as getting in an argument or a fight. It could be a mental attitude sin
such as jealousy or hatred. When we sin, 1 John 1:9 says,
“If we will confess our sin then God
will be faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all of our wrongdoing.”
This is
something that the believer has to do on a consistent basis. Sometimes you may have to confess
seven or eight times a day and I know you're going to say, “I can't remember every sin I ever did
Rick.” I understand this. This is why it says,
“He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
These are even the ones you don't remember. To live the Christian life, to live this marvelous life
God gives to us, to enjoy the benefits we have to be operating under the filling of the Holy Spirit
is why we spent a couple of radio classes talking about the unique spiritual life and how it
operates. If you are indeed operating under the filling of the Holy Spirit, this means that you're
dealing with sin consistently when it pops up in your life. If you are in fellowship with God you
are a spiritual Christian. If you're out of fellowship with God because of unconfessed sin in your
life you are a carnal Christian. There's another step and that’s being a mature Christian.
What is a
mature Christian?
Spiritual maturity is based on the filling of the Holy Spirit and the content
632-Study-on-Arrogance-transcript.pdf
of God's Word in your soul.
As you learn the Word of God and apply the Word of God under
the filling of the Holy Spirit, you become a mature believer. You don't want to stay a baby
believer. When you become a mature believer this is when you are dangerous to the enemy. This
is when God can count on you. This is when you begin to live the professional Christian life, the
life you should live as a Christian, and this is what we're looking for. We’re looking for those of
you that listen to the show, anywhere from California to New York, to be mature believers in
Jesus Christ. You want your life to count for God. You want to be the person that God can
depend on because you are growing to spiritual maturity. You're the kind of person that I would
like to meet. You're the person I'm talking to. I don't need anything from you, that's not it. I
would just like to encourage you to keep growing
“In the grace and the knowledge of your Lord
and your Savior Jesus Christ”
(2 Peter 3:18). It’s the most important thing you could ever do.
Now today I want to talk to you about the biggest enemy the Christian faces. I know you're
thinking it's the devil and we do operate against the world, the flesh, and the devil. I want to talk
to you about something that Satan himself got involved in. I want to talk to you about arrogance.
Arrogance is the number one enemy to the believer in time. Satan uses arrogance.
He used
it to get Eve to go for the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He appealed to
her arrogance and she disobeyed God.
You cannot afford to let Satan manipulate you by
appealing to your arrogance.
Often we blame Satan for our sins and for our failures. We say,
“The devil made me do it.” I think there was a comedian named Flip Wilson that came up with
this statement 20 or 30 years ago but more likely it's just our failure to follow the protocol plan
of God. It's not Satan, it's our own flesh. Every one of us has a sin nature. This is why we have to
die because this sin nature will not operate in heaven. We have to get a different body. This body
is plagued, it’s infected with sin. Romans 5:12 says,
“For by one man sin came into the world,
and death by sin and now death has passed on to all for all have sinned. “The wages of sin is
death”
(Romans 6:23). Literally, it's impossible for us with our sin nature to execute the protocol
plan of God. Thus God provided for us a way to live in and follow His plan. He's given us this.
This is the Holy Spirit. This is the Bible. This is developing the mind of Christ. This is thinking
divine viewpoint. This is not operating in the energy of the flesh but in the energy of the Spirit.
The contradiction to God's plan, the major, number one contradiction and the primary reason we
fail to execute this plan and to live His purpose is this arrogance. Let me tell you how you can
spot it.
Arrogance is always identified by self-justification.
Self-justification is when someone
justifies why it's okay to disobey authority. Maybe a student would justify why it's okay to cheat.
Maybe a husband would justify why it's okay to cheat in the marriage, saying his wife is not
fulfilling his needs and so he's going to go out and find someone else. Maybe it's okay for a
politician to justify taking money.
Self-justification is the first stage of arrogance and
arrogance will destroy all of us if we let it take root in our lives.
Arrogance is identified with
self-justification. When you justify the sin and you say it's okay to do it because of this or that,
you are totally self-deceived.
Self-justification leads to self-deception.
Self-deception is you
lying to yourself, not necessarily lying to other people, but lying to yourself and convincing
632-Study-on-Arrogance-transcript.pdf
yourself that you had a right to do this, that it was okay, that God would understand. You needed
to be able to fudge a little bit on these taxes or you needed to be able to fudge a little bit on that
speed limit so you could get to work early because you were late yesterday and so you justify
why it's okay to break the law, why it's okay to break your vow, why it's okay to do anything.
This self-deception leads to self-absorption.
Sooner or later you will be totally absorbed with
yourself. This means you will be looking at only yourself, not at God. You’ll only be looking at
what you want, not what God wants. For the Christian, self-absorption always leads to self-
destruction.
Self-justification, self-deception and self-absorption lead to self-destruction.
Why? Because Hebrews 12:6 says,
“Those that He loves, He disciplines.”
Sometimes He has to
scourge us with a whip. Discipline always comes in three stages. Stage one, warning discipline.
God will warn you and you may be involved in that right now. Already God has been speaking to
you and screaming at you through circumstances that you are wrong, you're out of line, and
you're sinning. Warning discipline is there. It is best to rebound, confess the sin now rather than
go through intense discipline because that's where the pain comes in. That's when the Father has
to take us out behind the woodshed and give us an attitude adjustment. Since we have no genuine
humility, He has to take us out there and give us some enforced humility so we will mind Him as
children of His. If this doesn't work, if we react to the discipline instead of responding to the
discipline, then He may even call you home early. Proverbs 15:10 says,
“He that hates the
reproof of God shall die.”
There it is. There are many believers that have gone to heaven real
early. Maybe they should have lived a much longer life but they got out of fellowship with God.
They justified why it was okay to do what they did. They became self-absorbed with it and when
the discipline came into their life, they got angry at God. Instead of getting angry at themselves,
they get angry at God. They thought it wasn't fair.
If you are thinking, “Why did God have to
do this to me?” this is a bad place to be in your life.
The first creature who demonstrated any
arrogance in the universe in regards to God's plan was Lucifer himself. Ezekiel 28:14-17
describes his sin to us, it says this,
“You were the anointed cherub who guards and I placed you
there. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created until unrighteousness
[this
is the word for arrogance]
was found in you. By the abundance of your slander
[maligning God]
they filled your inner life
[his motivation, his thought pattern, he wanted to be like God, higher
than God, wanted to run the show] w
ith violence. You sinned and therefore I
[God the Father]
have cast you out as defiled from the mountain of God, and I have excluded you, O guardian
cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you
were vain
[that's the arrogance]
. You corrupted your wisdom because of your glamour
[that's his
arrogance]
and I cast you to the earth.”
Satan had all the beauty, he had all the authority in
heaven, he was very smart, but he was also very ambitious. He wanted to take over the throne of
God. In Isaiah 14:14 he made this statement,
“I will make myself like the most high God.”
This
thing we call arrogance is a high self-respect apart from any reality in your life. It's some form of
the real or imagined superiority that we get. Glamour and wealth and prestige are never a
632-Study-on-Arrogance-transcript.pdf
substitute for wisdom, the Bible says. It's interesting, Hollywood actors behave like they're the
smartest people in the world don't they? They act like they're qualified to tell us how we should
vote or how we should live our lives. They're just actors, they're not geniuses. Most of them
couldn’t even tell you who they are if they had to because they can't differentiate. They have an
unrealistic self-image and because of their self-righteousness they think they're better than you
because they are multimillionaires. Now they want to tell you how you should live your life.
These arrogant types often display vanity, empty pride, excessive desire to be noticed. Why do
you think they do all these award shows and why do you think they do all these talk shows?
Because they want to be noticed. They want to be in the mainline of attention. They want to keep
their careers going. They want their fans to see them and that's fine as long as you're not
arrogant, as long as you don't think you're smarter than God. This lust for attention or praise from
others is always an indication of arrogance. This supercilious authority, superiority, looking
down their noses at other people including things like jealousy, bitterness, and conceit, any type
of self-righteousness and the use of verbal sins to destroy people they don't agree with, calling
them names, slandering them, demonizing them, maligning them, and with social media today,
they do it every day. Every day some Hollywood person is slandering or maligning another
person or a politician, calling them everything you can imagine, even foul curse words. They
think they have a right to do this. Well, what happened to respect? What happened to privacy?
People need to learn to keep their noses out of other people's business and especially in politics.
It's amazing, some of these actors that think they can run down the President of the United States
regardless of who he is and they think they could do a better job? I doubt it.
Arrogance is the
only disease known to man which makes everybody sick except the person that has it.
Isn’t
that amazing? You get around an arrogant person and it doesn’t take long and they want to talk
about themselves. They want to talk about what they've done. They want to malign or slander,
run down somebody they don't like. When you get around somebody like that, cut and go. Don't
stay in their presence. You're wasting your time. They’re wasting your time talking to you. The
day is too short to hang around arrogant jerks like this.
Proverbs 11:2,
“When arrogance comes,
then comes dishonor.”
Proverbs 16:18,
“Arrogance precedes destruction and before a fall
there's going to be a lifestyle of arrogance.”
Proverbs 23:29,
“A person's arrogance will bring
him low but a lifestyle of humility will attain honor.”
Humility is a code word for respect for
authority. It’s orientation to the grace of God, this is what humility is.
When Philippians
2:5-6 says,
“Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus who humbled Himself and
made Himself of no reputation,”
this is guidance for you and me.
Our concept of living the
Christian life is to take on the personality profile of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Humility was His personality profile. These disciples walked with Him and talked with Him for
three years and they were some of the most arrogant people in the world. Let me give you some
illustrations. For example, at the Last Supper they are having the communion supper and they're
fighting over where they were going to be sitting at the table. Luke 22:24,
“And there was a
strife among them as to which one of them should be accounted the greatest,”
competitiveness.
632-Study-on-Arrogance-transcript.pdf
This goes on in the church every day. Church members fighting over who needs the attention of
the pastor, who is the greatest, who gives the most, who does this or that. Our Lord was about to
die on the cross. He was having His last supper with them and they were arguing over the seating
arrangement. Another time on the road to Capernaum after leaving the Mount of Transfiguration,
passing unseen through Galilee, Jesus Christ told them He was going to be killed and that He
would resurrect on the third day. You can read about it in Mark 9:30-31. Then in Mark 9:33-34,
listen to this,
“When they arrived in Capernaum and being in the house He asked them, ‘What
was it that you disputed among yourselves on the way?’ But they held their peace, for on the way
they had disputed
[or argued]
among themselves about who was the greatest.”
Proverbs 13:10,
“Through arrogance comes strife, but wisdom is with those who receive instruction.”
There was
jealousy and envy among the ranks of those disciples. They still thought that He was going to
bring in the kingdom and they wanted to have a high position in the kingdom but they had to
recognize their sin of arrogance. This had been brewing for a while. Remember now, most of
these guys were fishermen. I’m a fisherman so I can tell you this, often fishermen are liars and
very competitive. So our Lord had to teach them a lesson that day in Mark 9:35.
“Sitting down
Jesus called the twelve and said this, ‘Anyone who wants to be the first among you must be the
very last and the servant of all the others.’”
This is how you become first in God's kingdom, not
trying to promote yourself or take the place of honor next to the seat of Jesus, but being a
servant. John and James had an unrealistic self-image and they had to learn the hard way. In
Mark 10:35-40, listen as I read it,
“James and John, the two sons of Zebedee came up to Jesus
saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’ He said, ‘What do you want
Me to do for you?’ They said, ‘Well grant that we may sit one on Your right and one on Your left
when You come in glory.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you know what you're asking? Are you
able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism which I'm about to be
baptized?’ And they said, ‘We are able.’ And Jesus said, ‘Well the cup that I drink you shall drink
[that's death],
and you shall be baptized with the baptism which I'm about to be baptized
[that's
suffering]
but to sit on My right hand or My left hand, it’s not Mine to give, but it is for those
whom it has been prepared.’”
In other words God the Father made those decisions and here are
these two wonderful disciples wanting to have the place of honor when they came into the
kingdom.
If God does not promote you, you're not going to be promoted. God promises that
the humble believer who is grace-oriented will be promoted.
James 4:6,
“But He gives all the
more grace. So He says, ‘God opposes the arrogant but He gives grace to the humble.’”
When
you take on the mind of Christ as Romans 12:3 says,
“Stop thinking of yourself in terms of
arrogance beyond what you should think, but think in terms of humility as God has assigned to
each one of us a standard of thinking from His Word.”
When you take on this attitude of
humility based on divine viewpoint and orientation to the authority of God, humbling
yourself, then you're eligible to be promoted.
Then God can count on you because He knows
that you're not in it for the ego. He knows you're not in it for the attention. Peter had his own
arrogance as well. In John 13:8-10
“Peter said unto Him, ‘You are not going to wash my
632-Study-on-Arrogance-transcript.pdf
feet’
[this is the foot washing episode in John 13].
And Jesus said, ‘Well, if I wash you not, then
you have no part with Me’
[He used the Greek word
nipto
for partial cleansing of hands and
feet].
And Peter said, ‘Well, not my feet only but also my hands and my head.’ And Jesus said,
‘No, you don't need a bath
[He uses the word
louo,
you already had a bath at salvation].
You just
need to have your feet washed.’”
Peter was so arrogant. “The Son of God is not going to wash
my feet. I'm not going to let that happen.” There was a reason our Lord did this. He had to
demonstrate humility to them because they had none. In John 13:34-35,
“A new commandment I
give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
Not fighting with
one another, not bickering with one another, but expressing love for one another. Simon Peter
said in John 13:36-38,
“‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus said, ‘Where I am going, you can't
follow Me, but you will follow Me later.’ And Peter said, ‘Well, no, I’ll lay down my life for You.’
And Jesus said, ‘Really? I’m telling you this. Before the rooster crows in the morning, you're
going to deny Me three times.’”
Old Peter had an unrealistic self-image. He thought he was
something that he wasn't and sure enough, that night as our Lord was taken captive and before
the High Court of Caiaphas, Peter did in fact deny the Lord three times. Was he still saved?
Certainly. Luke 22:60,
“Jesus came out from being persecuted and saw him, and Peter went out
and wept bitterly.”
Arrogance will destroy you. An unrealistic self-image is very destructive
and it can even cause mental illness in your life. Then there is also national arrogance.
That's where I need to go next. I need to talk to you about national arrogance. This arrogance my
friend calls artificial intelligence, that’s arrogance and ignorance put together. I hope you're
listening and you're learning. I hope you'll stick with me because this is Rick Hughes. I'm the
host of The FLOT Line and I'll be back with you next week, same time, same place
In this engaging episode of Rush to Reason, host John Rush is joined by Richard Battle to explore actionable tips for maximizing your value in any organization. As they discuss the significance of going beyond just performing your job, Richard emphasizes the importance of a lifelong learning mindset, under-promising and over-delivering, and being an encouraging figure in your team. Tune in to discover how cultivating these habits can lead to increased opportunities and resilience against professional setbacks.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 07 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 14 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did.
SPEAKER 04 :
Get a job, sir. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 09 :
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?
SPEAKER 05 :
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 11 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for tuning in. Hour number two, Richard Battle joining us now. Richard, hope you had a great holiday.
SPEAKER 13 :
Good afternoon, John, and Happy New Year to you and all the KLZ listeners. I did, and I saw a politician today. It was so cold. I saw a politician with his hand in his own pocket.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, there we go. Good one. Good one. Yeah, and you're not near as cold as we are right now. I think right now we are a whopping 40, but it's going to be really cold tonight down in the single digits.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, y'all are tougher than we are.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, well, luckily for us, that doesn't last very long. Yes. Luckily, luckily. All right, so let's get into it. Increasing our value for success, impact, and security as we start off 2025. Great topic.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I thought the timing would be great, and I have a daughter who graduated from graduate school last summer, and so she's in her first real-life professional job. And as I talked to her about doing it, I consistently reinforcing to her things she's doing that she's raising her own value. And so I thought it would be great to share some of those with the listeners, because the more we increase our value to an organization, company, team or family or whatever, the more rewards we'll get and the less likely we will be to be cut loose if bad times come.
SPEAKER 11 :
And by the way, some of what you and I are going to talk about through this, because I watched some videos and things through the holidays on this very topic. I don't know why sometimes things just pop up for whatever reason, Richard, but at the end of the day, we're going to talk about some things that some may not necessarily agree with. What I mean by that is there's some folks out there listening— I'm not sure how many, but listening saying, you know, why would I do that? At the end of the day, I'm not getting paid for that. So why would I do that?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that's a short term attitude, I think. And so I think the first thing I recognized when I got into the workplace and it helped me a lot is I realized I was my own boss and that my customers funnel money to my company and then the company would pay me. But the more I acted properly, the more rewards I would get long term. And so I think we have to be thinking long term for our entire career in what we're doing to establish a reputation and build opportunities for ourselves.
SPEAKER 11 :
And what you just said along those lines, which I know is in our notes, but I want to make sure we throw this in early, is as we, those of us that do these things, learn to do that, as you said earlier, you're now your own boss, you're setting your own destiny, and whether you're getting paid for that or not, the reality is you're making yourself more valuable to every single thing you would do in the future.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's exactly correct. And it's amazing sometimes when we're doing something above and beyond, and we don't think we're getting rewarded for it, I guarantee you we will be rewarded sometime in the future. It just may not be evident that time.
SPEAKER 11 :
Great point. All right, so let's get into it some of the way. What are some of these ways we can increase our value?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think if we want to be more, we have to do more. That's the number one and the simplest thing. And so many times people will say, well, that's not my job, or they don't want to do anything above and beyond their job. And the more we do like that, it benefits us in growth, but it also demonstrates to other people that we want to be more valuable in an organization.
SPEAKER 11 :
One of the best ways to get on my bad side as an employee was to tell me something to the effect of, that's not in my job description, because nothing grinds on me worse, Richard, than that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, exactly. And the corollary to that always is never be too big to do a small job. Because I've seen people that would say, well, that's below my pay grade. Yes. And the best people I know have at one time or another done the smallest jobs in building themselves to be the biggest leaders.
SPEAKER 11 :
Richard, I can really quick tell this story. One of the reasons, there's several, but one of the reasons I've never smoked in my entire life, and I don't belittle those that do because it's a very hard habit to break, but one of the reasons why I never smoked was because at a very early age, 11, 12 years of age, working around my family's dealership, one of the grunt jobs I had was cleaning up. After people, cigarette butts out of urinals and ashtrays and out of the cars and just everybody smoked back then. This was the 70s. So, you know, there's ashtrays everywhere and they'd be in the parking lot because people would just throw them out. And reality is I learned at an early age and sorry for those of you that do. I'm not trying to offend, but it is one of the filthiest habits you could probably ever have. And I learned that at an early age because to your point, Richard, I was doing a very, you know, menial task. It was very important to do, but it also taught me a life lesson. Don't smoke.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, yes, and most of us have had to do pretty dirty tasks in our careers, and as my grandmother taught me, a little work never hurt anybody, regardless of how bad it is sometimes, and the life lessons are what's important, not what we had to do to earn them.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. Okay, so really quick, before we move on, because I said this earlier, this we must do more, because I always taught my kids, outwork the guy next to you and you'll always have a job, but most of the time what you're going to hear back is, well, they're not paying me to do that. Why should I work any more than what I'm being paid? And again, Richard, the whole synopsis of what you and I are talking about right now is increase your own value. You'll be more successful. You'll have more impact and more security.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, exactly, and we have to convince people to look long-term, not short-term. not what you get today, but what you're building for the future. And the next step in that is being a lifelong learner and learning all the things you can as early as you can. And as I've said, smart people learn from their experience. Brilliant people learn from the experiences of others. And the example, since you were in automotive, remember back to manual transmissions and the people who didn't progress to learn how to service automatic transmissions, work themselves out of jobs because they didn't learn new skills.
SPEAKER 11 :
Very, very true, which goes to this whole be a lifelong learner. You can never stop learning.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes. And so, and then next, be the first in the office and the last one to leave. When you're starting out, you want to show value. You don't want to be the last one there and the first one to leave. And it's noticed by management or whatever team you're on. If it's a baseball team or a Girl Scout troop or your family or whatever, if you're there early and leave late, it's always noticed.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. Next one, which I talked about this during health and wellness, is having a positive attitude, Richard. Not only does it help you in your work life, it helps you in your personal life.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, yes, and I heard that. I agree 100%. I believe you can accomplish anything positive with a negative attitude. And I've seen people in my life as well who had a negative attitude, and I don't believe they lived as long as they certainly had no happiness in their life.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, these next two correlate exactly to what I talked about in the 3 o'clock hour as well. Give them to us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, be a giver, not a taker. And I believe everyone's one of those two type people, and no one wants to be around takers. Everyone wants to have givers as friends, for example. And if we're a giver... it will always come back to us when people will return the favor back to us as well. And the one that goes with that is encouragement. We've talked about it before. I'm a great believer that encouragement is the greatest gift we can give anyone. It doesn't cost us anything. We can't pull a muscle. There's no calories in it, but it can change other people's lives. And when we encourage them with good words, we never know how that will impact them. and they'll remember us for doing so.
SPEAKER 11 :
One of the things I try to do, and I'm not trying to boast in this at all, so all of you listening, please, that's not why I'm saying this, but it correlates to what you're talking about, Richard. So when Charlie and I leave, typically it's late at night, and most of the regular workforce is gone, and the cleaning ladies... and in this case they're all ladies, they've now entered the building and they're starting to do their things. And one of the things that I do my very best in when leaving, and if I get a chance to see any of them face-to-face, is I thank them for what they're doing on my way out the door, because without them we don't have a clean place.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that's exactly true, and there's nothing more fulfilling than thanking people who are not used to being thanked.
SPEAKER 11 :
And most of these people are used to getting yelled at, frankly.
SPEAKER 13 :
Exactly. And I've never had a bad experience saying thank you to somebody. Everyone always appreciates that. And it's the least we can do for the people who are the least visible in the organization.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, what's happening now on my end, I've done it long enough now where there's a few of them that I've seen over and over and over again. The minute I see them make eye contact, they start to smile. I give them a thumbs up and they automatically know what I mean.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that's exactly right. And it's still appreciated every time because you are the exception in that situation.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. Talk about the hard job.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, we hit it a little bit earlier, but volunteer to do the hard job. A lot of people will run for the high grass when the hard job shows up. They want to avoid it. and they're just marking their time until the check comes. But if you volunteer to do the hard job nobody else wants, it will open doors for other opportunities, more opportunities and faster opportunities for you.
SPEAKER 11 :
I like this next one because there's not a boss or an owner out there that wouldn't agree. Be low maintenance.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, and as I used to tell management when I would move through organizations, my number one job is to earn your trust. and then to be low-maintenance for you and be easy so that when I need something, you'll know that it's important. If you're high-maintenance and you're always needing to be managed or being maintained, then when you really need something, the person doesn't know if it's serious or not because of your high-maintenance situation.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, these next three, fire these off because they're important as well.
SPEAKER 13 :
Under-promise, over-deliver, very simple. Perform. our duties, and then volunteer for additional work. If you're looking to do additional things, you're going to be given additional responsibilities and opportunities. And always look to benefit your team in the long run. If you're looking for short run, you're never going to be looked at for raises or promotion or long-term opportunity. But if you're looking for long-term benefit for your organization, the doors will swing open for you.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, what is the lifeboat exercise?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I was with an organization for years, and management would run this exercise once a year where you would look at your employees by their job description, and you would rank them from one to X based on the thought that you would be sitting in a lifeboat, and if the lowest person had to be thrown out of the lifeboat to save everyone else, who would be that lowest person? And if the next lowest person had to be thrown out... You wanted to be the number one person because that's the person who would be first for opportunities. You never wanted to be the last person because that would be the first person to be let go in bad times.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then in closing, we'll always be the first to find another opportunity because of our performance and our reputation, really summing up everything we just got done talking about. And, folks, I cannot, you know, as an owner, I will tell you, Richard, everything here, 100%. Now, I get it. There might be some really bad managers or bosses or owners that don't recognize this, but they're the few. The majority will take everything we just said, and if you're that person, they'll take that to heart.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, and so that situation is no matter how good you are, sometimes things are so bad that not only fat but bone gets cut in a company, for example. And so the people who've done these things we're talking about, even if that happens to them, they're going to be the first people who find other opportunities because of their reputation and people giving them references for their great work.
SPEAKER 11 :
Sometimes even prior to the ship going down, I guess you could say.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, absolutely. And so there's nothing lost. If we're thinking about ourselves and our long-term lives, business as well as personal, we win when we perform at top levels.
SPEAKER 11 :
Richard, give us your website and how folks can get some of your books.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thank you. It's richardbattle.com. All 11 books are there, and we sign all of them before shipping. And if someone wants inscriptions for gift copies... Email me, richard at richardbattle.com. We're happy to do that. We have Kindle and audio versions available at Amazon as well.
SPEAKER 11 :
Richard, I appreciate it. Looking forward to 2025.
SPEAKER 13 :
Always my pleasure. God bless America.
SPEAKER 11 :
God bless you, Richard. Have a great rest of your day. Roof Savers of Colorado coming up next. Dave Hart, and as I said earlier, you may notice some things right now, even with your roof, where it's like, I don't think that's quite right. I've got a downspout that's not quite right, or I've got icing in an area that I've never had before, or whatever the case may be. Take pictures, save those, call Dave, get him out as soon as possible to inspect, and then figure out a way to fix whatever that problem is. At Roof Savers Colorado, we are about more than roofs.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back a few minutes before Sunny Kutcher joins us, Young Americans Against Socialism, which Sunny is not far from the Palisade fires that are going on in California. She's actually sent me some spectacular imagery videos and so on of that particular area that is really getting hard hit. But she's going to talk about essentially California and a lot of the missteps that have happened and part of what's even going on there with that. So speaking of missteps, though, by governors, because that's what Sonny's going to talk about in regards to Newsom, is New York. These are some things that I did read while on vacation. I don't normally do things along those lines, but in this case, you could not not see this. It was on a lot of TV stations and so on. And that is the congestion pricing that she has now set up entering into certain areas of Manhattan. It's designed to keep people from coming in at certain times of the day. But at the end of the day, all it's really going to do is penalize people, monetarily speaking, that have to go, they have to have a vehicle. The other thing that I saw along these lines, and I don't know all of the details, so I'm going to give you kind of the broad view of this because I did not get into all of the details. Evidently, there's a lot of first responders that use their personal vehicles, not only getting to work, but sometimes on the job. meaning they need to bring those vehicles into the city. With all of this that has gone on, they're not. So now what's happening is some of the first responders, firefighters and so on, are finding themselves short on services. Because of what I just said, and again, I don't know all the details. Some of you that are out there listening, maybe you can send me an article along these lines, but I was watching an interview. Again, I don't watch a lot of TV while I'm gone, but I happened to catch an interview of, I believe it was the police chief, or sorry, the fire chief, talking about this very subject and how badly this congestive... pricing is going to hurt some of the things that i just said again i don't understand all of the details and how they do things and so on with with some of these you know personally owned vehicles but those are the byproducts or some of the byproducts that again democrats don't ever think about now supposedly this is so that again they can regulate traffic and collect money that they're going to then use to put back into roads, bridges, and so on, which, if it's like Colorado... That money's probably already being collected. It's just being diverted to other places. Guaranteed. If I were to go look at New York's budget, New York State budget, guaranteed the money's coming in already to do the very things they're now going to collect. And I think it's up to $9, if I'm not mistaken, Charlie, on a one-way trip getting into town. So depending upon when you come and go, it could be $18 a day to come and go. And that money then is going to get funneled back into some of these road bridge projects. projects, which, as I said a moment ago, I would bet my life on is already being collected in other ways, through registrations and other things that are happening, just, again, like we do in Colorado. But in Colorado, which I guarantee you is the same in New York, we take that money that's being collected and we divert it into other things. Bike lanes, crosswalks, painting pride flag in crosswalks, stupid things like that. And I'm not exaggerating here in Colorado when I say the things that we do that literally waste the money that we're collecting that should be going to road bridge projects, but it never makes it there because that's what Democrats do. And then, though, they'll be the first ones to cry, we don't have enough money. Literally. Literally. they'll be the first ones to cry out, there's not enough money. We need to tax you more. We need to raise this fee, that fee. Colorado, we're feed to death. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that. We're literally feed to death in this state to the tune of billions of dollars every year because to get around Tabor, they establish a fee. So in turn, it passes muster with Tabor. But in turn, all of us are paying billions of dollars every year for these quote-unquote fees. Joe, go ahead.
SPEAKER 12 :
John, it wouldn't be bad if it was going into roads and bridges, because that would help the people who drive cars. 100% of it's going into the subway and the MTA train system.
SPEAKER 11 :
So it's not even going to roads. And as I said a moment ago, and you're there, I'm guessing, and I'm probably correct in this, they're collecting money for roads and bridges already that's probably going somewhere else, right?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes. And by the way, just like Denver, that is running a huge deficit, remember your self-funding RTD, New York City... The subway system and MTA, Metropolitan Transit Authority, which is the trains coming in on New York, it is just sucking money up. John, it's a huge black hole, and that's where all this money is going, into that black hole of a public transit system, because the people who run the city, including the mayor, don't want to antagonize the voters by charging them what it really costs to take a ride on the New York City subway.
SPEAKER 11 :
Got it. So we'll do congestive pricing instead and, quote-unquote, fix it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right, and put the burden on people who own cars so we can subsidize the people who ride the subway.
SPEAKER 11 :
So did you hear me ask about how, and I saw this interview, and I should have paid more attention, but, you know, I'm on vacation, and I'm kind of half paying attention, half not. But they were interviewing, I want to say, one of the fire chiefs, talking about how a lot of the first responders will drive their personal vehicles in for whatever reason and sometimes even use those vehicles on the job. They're losing all those vehicles now because these guys aren't going to drive in.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, because sometimes they'll report to a station. They say, hey, well, they need you over here at a different station, so I have to get back in the car and drive to a different station.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, there you go.
SPEAKER 12 :
And they typically, by the way, bring their own equipment with them, their own jacket and helmet. Right, right, right. That I get. So now when they come in, they're going to leave their stuff at one station, and they're going to take public transit in. If they need them at a different station, they're going to have to buy them a cab ride or something.
SPEAKER 11 :
Cab ride, have more equipment. I mean, bottom line, all this is going to do is add cost to what they're doing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yep, and so far, there's been no improvement in commuting time. You know, they have the average time.
SPEAKER 11 :
That started January 1, right?
SPEAKER 12 :
January 1. Actually, it was this past Sunday.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 12 :
Anyways, but on Monday morning, there was no improvement in commuting time in the congestion zone.
SPEAKER 11 :
So it didn't do any good other than collect more money.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's all it did, John, collect more money.
SPEAKER 11 :
Unbelievable. Joe, I appreciate the update. Thank you for that.
SPEAKER 12 :
You're welcome.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. Take care, sir. All right. Sonny Kutcher will be joining us here in a moment. We'll talk about some other debacles going on, by the way, in California. The downside is at least what's happening. Well, I guess it could have some ill effect and cause deaths and so on in New York, but definitely causing some issues along those lines.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
Gold Eagle Financial, Al Smith, who has his own program between 2 and 2.30 every Wednesday, wants to help you in the financial future. And as I said earlier, if you haven't talked to your financial planner in quite some time, call Al today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
All right, we are back. And Sunny Kutcher joining us now, as I said a moment ago, she would. Sunny, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 15 :
I'm hanging in there. How are you?
SPEAKER 11 :
Good. Are you staying safe?
SPEAKER 15 :
I am. I'm safe where I'm at. I am on the west side of L.A., but I am still pretty far away from these fires, these tragic fires.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, so before we get into some of what's even the cause of and get into some of the politics of this, which there is, just give us sort of a brief synopsis of what it's like out there on the ground.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's quite ominous, I will say. This morning, the smoke was really bad. It was coming down the coast on the west side, kind of coming down towards the airport, LAX, and videos coming out of there were just I mean, apocalyptic, but not quite apocalyptic as some of the videos I've seen firsthand videos of, you know, friends of friends who are either who live in affected areas or actually someone who's a firefighter sends videos, you know, and it is just absolutely apocalyptic. The energy on the ground is ominous. You know, I went outside early this morning to just take a walk and grab, you know, grab a coffee, kind of check out the surrounding areas. And people are, You can see it on everybody's faces. It's, you know, I think we're all trying to just stand together because this is a really tragic situation. And, you know, we're pretty close to, you know, where I'm at. So I'm sure people have friends and neighbors and community members who are being affected. Actually, a friend of mine told me that her home burned down in Pasadena. So that's going to be a fire on the other side.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, that's sad. Yeah. Yeah, and we've had some of those things here in Colorado. I lost a home here in fires we had several years ago. So, you know, we're not immune to this either, although what you guys have going on right now is really, really right. And by the way, Sonny, it doesn't matter whether it's one house or multiples. It's never fun for anybody to go through those situations. Although, much like Colorado—I'll throw this at you— We have some of what we have fire-wise because we don't take care of things on the front side like we should. In other words, we put money into things we shouldn't and don't put money into things that we should, i.e. forest and land management.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. This is a pattern we're seeing across states where fires are a hazard and are a risk. The corrupt bureaucrats at the top are not concerned. focused on wildfire preparedness or protecting the infrastructure from any, you know, earthquake, fire, hurricane, all of these things we've seen that we've talked about on this show, the cities that have been decimated by the hurricanes, North Carolina, Florida, all of these places, Hawaii with the fires, and now it's hitting Los Angeles.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and again, I want to make sure that we're not trying to take anything away from what's happening or anybody that's been affected by it. But the sad part, Sonny, is I'm not saying all of this is avoidable, but I will tell you firsthand there is a lot of this that is through proper management. The problem is when we, you know, in the case of Governor Newsom, we direct water to different places. We don't allow things to be trimmed back. We don't do things necessary to make – to be more prepared, I guess is what I should say on that end of things. And then we, then we sit back and wonder why these things happen. Well, I can almost tell you why they happen.
SPEAKER 15 :
These fires happen every single year. Of course, you know, the wind is a factor. This is well known for this area and it's been happening for hundreds of years. And so these are the Santa Ana winds, but mismanagement and gross, if you want to call it negligence, I personally believe that there is a level of malintent or foul play, if you want to say. But if you want to call it mismanagement and negligence, that may be true. Ten years ago, Californians approved a ballot measure to create more water reservoirs, and not one single reservoir has been built under Newsom's leadership. That is just the tip of the iceberg to the negligence and the mismanagement, like I said, of Newsom and Mayor Bass leadership. Newsom signed off on redirecting millions of gallons of rainwater and snowmelt. You've heard people talking about this in a couple days and weeks, months actually. This has been a common controversy about California because the water is flowing right into the ocean rather than being able to flow directly down the state.
SPEAKER 11 :
My feeling on it is, to your point earlier, I think it's several factors. I do think it's just total neglect, and I think it's willful neglect. I think some of it is also to prove a point, and follow me on this one, Sonny. I think there's enough politicians, the Newsoms of the world, the Democrats, the Democrats, the Marxists of the world that have this climate change agenda that they're bound and determined to prove that one way or the other. And even if people lose life and property and so on, you know, they don't care because at the end of the day, they want to prove their point. It doesn't matter who's injured in the process. That's my thought process.
SPEAKER 15 :
They don't care at all. Their actions reflect that motive 100%. Cutting $17 million from the fire department's budget, having a fire chief who is more concerned with filling her DEI quotas and protecting the tax payers, citizens of Los Angeles who pay the highest taxes in the country, support the bloated salaries of our public officials. They don't take precautions like, you know, turning off certain power wires that... The person that appointed to the L.A. Department of Water and Power, her salary sits at a nice seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But she's not doing much to protect the people that are paying her to do so. And if that, you know, of course, we have all of the instances of at the federal level spending millions upon millions, if not billions of dollars to other countries while our cities burn down to the ground.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep. Again, Sonny, I go back to I just feel like this is the left's way of poking an eye at conservatives by saying, see, climate change is real. This just proves it. Nonetheless, everything we just talked about, all of the mismanagement and just downright utter incompetency that goes along, you know, the whole DIA thing. DEI training and all the other nonsense that's going on in that particular – by the way, it's happening in other departments, not just that one. But the reality is they won't admit to any of that. They're going to come back. Trust me, when this is all said and done, this will be another let's blame climate change on what just happened.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. And to your point, they will – never let a good crisis go to waste, and of course they will use these instances to push their agenda of climate change because that offers them more control and more leverage against the American people, and I'm sick and tired of the American people being taken for fools. We are allowing the inmates to run the asylum, and there are radicals running our government, and I would absolutely call it willful negligence. They know exactly what they're doing. This has happened before. It will happen again. And now we're just seeing in the process just the absolute wreckage and devastation that is in the wake of truly pathological megalomaniacs driving the ship of our nation. And hopefully, you know, with this incoming administration, they will really help these states take control of their preparedness strategy and apparatus because we are in desperate need. And I mean, this fire is still growing. So that's not done yet. Yeah. This is ongoing. And it's just they're just absolutely hypocritical. And of course, they will blame climate change. We truly have to overhaul these policies. They've completely failed to protect the infrastructure of our country. And and they've sold us out entirely. And I'm sure you've heard the reports of, you know, the smart city, 2028, all coinciding with the 2028 Olympics. So, you know, it seems very eerily similar to the situation that happens in Maui and Lahaina in Hawaii today. earlier, or was it in 2024? And I'm not above saying that I put my... conspiracy hat on and say, you know, maybe they don't.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I mean, maybe. And I think same thing in Hawaii. And I think that was 23. But bottom line, I don't I'm not saying that any of them started that nefariously. But what I will say, Sonny, is they will definitely take advantage of whatever has come along and they will rebuild according to the way that they see fit, not the way things were, because if they feel like they can put in a, quote, unquote, smart city or walkable city or whatever the case may be, that's definitely what they're going to do. And I've got a texter right now that I'm going back and forth with that says, oh, no, no, they've proven that they care about people. No, actually, Sonny, they have proven over and over and over and over again that they care nothing about people because if they did, they would be handling things completely different to the point where you sent me a tweet, an X post that went out about the LA mayor. She won't even answer any questions. She just got back from a trip to Ghana, and she won't even answer any questions about what's going on.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, absolutely. No accountability for the American people, for the people who just lost their entire homes and livelihoods. It's absolutely insane, and I agree. I don't even think it's that they don't care about us. We've talked about on this show that the way that America is structured as it is, you can't just have a communist dictatorship and come in, the New World Order just ushers in, and we just, oh, okay. This is a slow, gradual process, so if they are able to take advantage of of situations that occur and crises that occur, they can absolutely use that as a stepping stool to, OK, you know, clear out this area. One more opportunity for us to usher in our agenda because they have to destroy from the ground up. They have to rebuild. That is exactly what the socialist, Marxist, communist, whatever you want to call it, ideology is all about rebuilding because the way that's our freedom protects this country and the way that we have our country, you know, the infrastructure of it rather cannot allow for that.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you for saying that, by the way, that, that everything you just said, our complete infrastructure in this country, the way things were built, the freedom to drive to and from get on a highway, go coast to coast, our intercoastal highways, you know, our highway system, our interstates, I should say at the end of the day, Sonny, they would love to dismantle all of that because their goal is, is to never see someone leave a city.
SPEAKER 15 :
Of course. That is how they have ultimate control over human beings. That's it. We see what's happening with the disparity between these gigantic corporations that have a backdoor through the government, and that's truly what's happening. We've talked about how this is going to be a different type of communism. In fact, Lenin said that he envisioned a technocratic system a communist technocratic state of the future, and that's kind of similar to what we see. We have self-driving cars here. We have smart homes. And soon enough, but meanwhile, they can't stop a fire. So why don't you use that technology to stop the fire, right? Just make it all make sense, please.
SPEAKER 11 :
Cut the budget. And again, when it comes to fire mitigation, there are so many ways to handle the fire end of things. I'm not going to spend the rest of our time together going through that. I've done that before, even here with some of the fires that we've had locally. But no, to your point, at the end of the day, they can't build what they want with the way things currently are, so they literally have to start over from the ground up, and that's where a lot of these quote-unquote, you know, smart cities and things like that come from. You see it when redevelopment happens. You see what cities make developers actually do when it comes to building and so on. And it is all with an agenda in mind. And by the way, for those of you that maybe don't believe me, go look up Agenda 21 from the UN and tell me I'm wrong.
SPEAKER 15 :
You said it. You said it, John, and I couldn't agree more. There is an underbelly of the radical left, I should say. And honestly, it goes beyond left, right, anything you want to call it. These people want power and control, and they will stop at nothing to get it. And if we have public servants who are allowing homeless people who are mentally ill, who are addicted to drugs, and then criminal gang members rampaging through our city of L.A., and that they won't do anything about. The murders and the rapes and the horrific acts of crime that are being perpetrated on the American people, at what cost? If they're not willing to do anything about that, what makes us think that they would, A, be prepared for another fire that happens every year that goes out of control and it makes national news, or has the ability to stop the fire once it gets out of control? It's just we are... Not people are finally seeing the picture. Unfortunately, it takes these situations in order for people to see the full picture and to wake up.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, that was my next question is, you know, will this change some of the voting that goes on? Because unfortunately, in California, these people keep getting elected over and over again. A lot of that's because of the handout giveaway programs that they, you know, will foist upon the people. And that's how they buy votes. But at some point in time, Sonny, people have to wake up and realize that. Wait a minute. Just because you're offering me this while taking that away, at the end of the day, I need to quit voting for you and vote for someone else. I hope there'll be a wake-up call.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know what? I think that a lot of these people who live in these areas actually do have quite conservative values. What they are seeing, what they have seen throughout the years of this push towards the left, the LGBT agenda, the DEI, the cancel culture, all of these things, These people have been affected about it. You know, I know a lot of people, oh, this is just a rich area. You know, they'll rebuild their homes. That's not what this is about. This is about the principle of it. And part of me is saying, well, maybe they didn't vote for, you know, Kamala. So they, you know, they're they're they they you know, there's a whole conspiracy about that. I don't you know, you that can go down a whole rabbit trail. But my point only is that I think. People have been affected that actually do have the voice to say something, and people are going to hear that. They've seen what happened in North Carolina. And if you haven't noticed, celebrities were pretty quiet about the election up until the end. up or or just say nothing, basically. And so I think truthfully, these people who have been affected are going to say, wow, this is directly linked to all of these reports coming out about the failed policies of the left. And maybe they're going to be fed up enough to actually speak out. So maybe they didn't. You know, in private is one thing. Now we have to band together in public because this isn't about left or right, again, it's about policies that are failing the American people. You know, fire when it's coming, burn your house down, doesn't care who you voted for.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and I will also add finally that there is there is an element of this, too, that's very interesting, because in, you know, recent years, California has implemented socialist style price controls to cap the insurance rates. And so that resulted in policies being canceled. Yep. and a shortage of insurance companies that are available in California because they're leaving because of the regulations. So they don't want to operate here.
SPEAKER 11 :
We've had the same issues here in Colorado, things happening right along those same lines. So, yeah, we're very familiar with what you're talking about along those lines. And, again, at the end of the day, as we start off saying, this affects the little guy more than anyone, and yet that's the person that the Democrats keep talking about, they're the most concerned about, but yet their actions prove otherwise.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. It is quite reflective. You know what they say, actions speak louder than words. These people have the ability to that their entire job is to protect us, is to do, you know, in good faith, to do their due diligence in making sure that the people of their city remain safe and well and prosperous. And, you know, California had the what is it, the third largest economy in the world, I believe.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 15 :
Some of these businesses, they're not going to come back. These restaurants, there's a restaurant called The Real Inn on the Pacific Coast Highway. That's not coming back. It's been there for decades. They're not going to rebuild this historic restaurant that's been owned by a couple for decades. It's just these are the things that you have to see. They're destroying small businesses, decimating small communities that are tight-knit, vibrant communities. It's just devastating. The consequences are truly devastating. And it's I mean, it's happened across the country. Right. And I think every day people are saying, where is it? Where is the next disaster going to be?
SPEAKER 11 :
Can't argue that. All right. How do folks find you, Sonny?
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you again. I appreciate the time and to be able to share, you know, some more in-depth stories about what's going on. You know, I'm from Young Americans Against Socialism and we want to expose people. The radical left, show them that these types of policies are what wreak havoc on societies and communities and populations. Communism has killed over 100 million people. So we want to spread the word about that and how important American values are. We need to reclaim our freedom. This is how we save our country. It's truly the only way. Unfortunately, we can see, or I guess fortunately, the silver lining in these types of disasters is that people do band together and link arms and say, you know, how are we going to fix this? And we need to recover from this and communities band together to rebuild and recover. But you can find our resources at YAS.org, Young Americans Against Socialism. We put out articles. social media content, interviews with survivors of socialism and communism and create educational resources for kids and all Americans to learn about all these different topics. So we're so grateful if you are inclined to support, you know, tax deductible as always. And we thank you so much for the opportunity to share and to be a part of this community with you, John.
SPEAKER 11 :
Likewise, Sunny. Thank you very much. Stay safe. Let us know if you need anything and hopefully we'll talk next week.
SPEAKER 15 :
Talk to you soon.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, Sonny. Take care. Have a great evening. Young Americans Against Socialism. High Five Plumbing is next. Don't forget, they've got a $75 off garbage disposal and installation, by the way. Call them today. High Five Plumbing and Electrical 877. We high five.
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SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
All right, Paul Lewenberger, my good friend who is also my insurance agent, would love to help you. He's a broker. He'll figure out what insurance works best for you. 303-662-0789.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
All right, that is about it for this particular hour. And, again, I appreciate Sonny coming on. And if you would like to support what they do in really educating young people on a lot of the things that we talk about here on a daily basis, just go to Young Americans Against Socialism and give them a little donation, if you can, that would help them out as well. And they appreciate it as well as I because they do a lot of things with young people to get – this message out that, frankly, you, I, and others of my age, anyways, struggle to do. They do that for us. We'll be back. Hour number three is next. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
I'm a rich guy