In this episode of Rush to Reason, John Rush reflects on his recent vacation experiences and the valuable lessons learned about societal norms and parenting. From the intriguing differences observed during his travels to the crucial life lessons on improving well-being, this episode offers a fresh perspective on tackling 2025 with optimism and a healthier lifestyle. Join us for compelling discussions and thoughtful insights as we navigate Health and Wellness Wednesday together.
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This is Rush to Reason.
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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.
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With your host, John Rush.
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My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk!
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You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference!
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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.
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Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
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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.
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I'm Hans. And I am Franz. And we just want to pop your ass.
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Welcome to Health and Wellness Wednesdays on Rush to Reason.
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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, sir.
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I have what doctors call a little bit of a weight problem. I used to grab bear claws as a kid, two at a time, and I'd get them lodged right in this region here.
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Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
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I'm sorry that I'm fat.
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All right, Health and Wellness Wednesday. Yes, I am back from vacation. Thanks to Andy and the crew and everybody that handled things while I was gone. Hopefully you all had a great holiday season. I heard a lot of text messages and so on from a lot of you, emails and so on as well. So thank you for all of those. Also, it's like I'm away but not because I still get a chance to talk to a lot of you on a regular basis. Anyways, if you have questions, car questions, things like that, I still get those and take care of them. as well. Somebody said, I always get this text message when I'm gone, that everything goes to crap while I'm gone, in light of what happened on New Year's Eve, which I'll talk a little bit about today. And I, you know, I don't think that's really the case. It's just what happens in our world, unfortunately. And I'll get into some of that as well. But before I get into observations from vacation, which I always start off with when I come back. And again, thanks, Andy, for handling things and some of the others from around here as well i i appreciate each and every one of you guys that helped fill in while i was gone thank you for that president jefferson this is yesterday's question of the day president jefferson hated formal affairs so much that he would often grant foreign dignitaries while wearing what the answer is pajamas And I didn't know that. I just learned something there because I didn't know that one. So today's a possible question. Answer this on our Facebook page. How many years did Jack the Baboon work on the railway system in South Africa without ever making a single mistake? How many years did Jack the Baboon work on the railway system in South Africa without ever making a single mistake? I make lots of mistakes, so the baboon's better than I, because I make mistakes constantly, even on air. Sometimes you guys can hear them, sometimes you don't know I did, but trust me, I make my fair share, so the baboon probably has me beat, I guarantee you. All right, observations from vacation. I always start off with this. Now, this is a little different vacation for us because we didn't really have any major agenda. We just went, relaxed, hung out. It had been a long, honestly, with my folks and all that we had been through with them and just the different things we went through was really more just of a go, you know, decompress, relax, and all that. So I had no agenda, but still observed things. Number one, and I say this every time I come back, parenting skills are lacking in a major way. And it seems like every time I go, it's getting worse. It's like the inmates are running the asylum. In other words, parents allow their kids to basically do whatever they want to. And that's not parenting, by the way. That's not teaching kids manners and responsibility and so on. But yeah, parenting skills are lacking. Number two, I was just talking to Charlie about this a moment ago. And this is where I do think at times, sometimes we, conservatives, but in general people, if you don't travel at all, and I highly suggest that if you can, and I get it, not everybody can or has the time or the ability or the resources to do so, but if you can, do. And I know some people just don't do it because they don't like it, but here's why I'm saying you should. It gives you new perspective on, in this case, how much goes on in our world. The amount of people, the amount of money, the amount of opinions and different things that are out there. We can get in our own little bubble at times and not really even talk outside of that bubble. And the best thing I like about vacations is because I'm a talker, as you guys know, I wouldn't be on air if I wasn't. And I talked all sorts. If somebody will talk, I'll talk. If we're waiting in line, if we're, you know, whatever. Had a nice conversation yesterday on the way back. We were sitting in a little bar-restaurant thing. I was having a glass of water, and I don't remember. We had club sandwich or something. Anyways, nice lady next to me and her husband who happened to work for Southwest Airlines. We had a nice long conversation about some of the changes coming for that airline and all sorts of different things and so on. Probably had a half-hour conversation, and that's just me. I'll pretty much talk to anyone, and I like that because I – get to learn different things and different perspectives and so on. And it's not that I wouldn't learn that anyways, but you learn it in a way that's direct from some of the people. For example, over the course of many years of traveling, I've met a lot of Canadians and have even stayed in contact with some of those folks and met some folks down in Mexico and stay in contact with them. you get differences of opinions on different things. And when Trudeau announced that he was going to resign, I immediately texted some of my Canada friends, who, by the way, were ecstatic over that, which I think most are. You don't even have to be Canadian to be ecstatic over that. But point being, I talk to a lot of different people while I'm out, which I think gives you different perspective and probably even a little different balance on things when you do. The other thing for me that it does is, in the case of one of the places we went, shows you how much money is actually out there in the world. And there is a boatload. Literally a boatload. And I'd never been to the Fort Lauderdale, Miami area, so we decided to take some time and go there. And I tried to get some things, you know, checked off the bucket list, places I've never been and so on. And I've been a lot of places but never been there. So it was one of the areas we went to. And, I mean, when you're talking about homes that are $10, $12, $15 million, and the yacht's the same amount of money parked out front, and there's not just one of those, but there's hundreds, if not thousands of those, it really gives you perspective as to the way some of the other world lives, I guess you could say. Now, what does that mean for the average person buying groceries? Well, to them, probably not much, but what it shows me is... Anytime you start hearing from people that this is going to crash and that's going to crash and the housing market's going to fail or the used car market's going to crash or, or, or, I then look at some of those things I just mentioned a moment ago and think maybe in some pockets, and I'll talk on Drive Radio Saturday, maybe on some different types of cars. But in general, no, there's still a lot of money flowing around the world and here in the U.S. So, no, I don't see anything, quote, unquote, crashing anytime soon. And some of that is just because when you travel around and look at what's out there and what people are actually doing, and granted, when they're on vacation, they're spending money and doing other things and so on. But point being, there is a lot of activity that still goes on on that end of things. And by the way, that's not what you hear on the nightly news. Ever. So that's personally why I think some folks should travel, whether you drive, fly, whatever. By the way, flying anymore isn't very glamorous. It's getting on a bus with wings. So that's not near what it used to be. Had that conversation many times. And along those lines, this is something my wife and I noticed on this last trip. We talk about kids, parenting skills, all of that. But the rudeness of people. Just in general, you know, no one Charlie anymore says, excuse me. If they bump into you accidentally, they don't say I'm sorry or things. They're just they're not polite. We have forgotten, I guess, over a couple of generations or more now. We have not taught how to be polite. I mean, I was raised where anybody older than me, and I still do this even with people that are younger than me, it's, yes, ma'am, yes, sir, no, ma'am, no, sir. You were raised the same way, Charlie. If I was speaking to an adult, especially as a child, it was always, yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am. And open the door for women and all those sorts of things. That's how I was raised, and that's how my dad taught me, and basically having manners, right? And reality is most people don't have those any longer. And I'm sorry to say that. The other thing I noticed on this particular trip, more so than any trips we've taken of late, cashless. A lot of places, no more cash. And some of you are going to say, oh, that's because of, you know, one world currencies and blah, blah, blah. No, honestly, I don't think that's the case. That may be part of it. But I think, frankly, the majority of that comes from dishonest employees. They don't want the cash coming in because it's easy to finagle things around and that cash goes in somebody's pocket rather than the owner of the establishment. So my feeling is, I'm sorry, I'm not looking at the nefarious end of it. I'm looking at it more as an employer, and most have gone cashless because of what I just said. not because of a one-world government and a cashless society and so on. No, they can't trust their workers any longer to make sure the money stays in the till. Lastly, for all of you Uber drivers, and this isn't directed at everybody, because some of you are really good drivers, and some of you listening are really good drivers, but in general, and I took a lot of Uber rides in the last couple of weeks, they suck at driving. And I don't know why. But they do. My gut feeling is we have a lot of people that drive for Uber because they came to this country. They're new. They've probably got a driver's license, a car. They qualify. They're willing to work that where a lot of other folks won't. And in turn, I'll just be straight up honest, they don't drive for beans. So my advice is, if you get in an Uber, pay attention, watch what's going on, be really careful, and if you're driving down the road and you see the Uber sign, stay away. Because I'm being dead honest. As a passenger and somebody that drives around them constantly, they're not the best drivers. So, all right, recap of events while I was gone. I'll get back into health and wellness as soon as we come back from this break. New Year's Eve, I don't have to get into details there, what happened in New Orleans and Las Vegas, of course. Jimmy Carter, of course, passed away. In fact, I think his funeral is at tomorrow, Charlie, I want to say. I think it's tomorrow. Trump in general, just talking about the Gulf of America, taking over the Panama Canal, Greenland. Now, some of that I'll get into today and tomorrow as well. But that's my recap of vacation. Again, thank you all so much. Andy, thank you for filling in and taking over things while I was gone. I appreciate that. And for all of you listeners that continue to text me and keep me in the loop, I appreciate that as well. We'll be right back. Up next, Hi-Fi Plumbing. And don't forget they do electrical as well, folks. And as we head down this stretch, yes, we're into the dead of winter now. It's really cold at night. If you have any problems with your pipes freezing or anything along those lines, you've got to make sure you get these guys called, get them out. The last thing you need is a broken pipe because here's what happens. They don't leak until it thaws. They won't be leaking now, but they will. So if you think you've got any kind of chance at all of having a frozen pipe, give High Five a call now. 877-WE-HIGH-5.
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Listen online. klzradio.com. Back to Rush to Reason.
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All right, Health and Wellness Wednesday, and I apologize, but I always do our recap of the time I'm gone as I come back. And so to start off the new year, 2025, this is our first Health and Wellness for 2025. Yeah, I know New Year's Day was, but that was a replay show, of course, because we're not working. that day. So I've got seven ways to make a healthy, fresh start. Now remember, as you go into any type of a new habit, and this is the time of the year where gym memberships will be an all-time high. Diets, diet clubs, the fads, all of that, all-time high. People make a resolution at the end of the year, I'm going to lose weight, I'm going to get in shape, I'm going to go to the gym, and those things will be at an all-time high for about the next 60 days or so. End of February. And then everything starts to wane off. It won't be any longer. It's just the way it is because it's not a habit. It's a fad or it's something that they want to do, but they're not super serious about it. So I can't remember, Charlie, what the exact stats are on when a habit becomes a habit. In other words, when you're doing a function, when it actually becomes a habit, but it takes quite some time. Yeah, I was going to say 30 plus days. Thank you, Charlie. And some would say, well, gosh, then why don't the health clubs keep going if people are that gung-ho in January? Well, keep in mind that typically going to the gym is not a daily habit. People are typically going two to maybe five times a week max. I get it. Some go every day, but most don't. And by the way, the ones that go every day, it's a habit for them. So to form a habit, it has to be something done daily, like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, combing your hair, whatever the case. So if you're going to make it a habit, you really need to think through what is it I'm going to make it a habit of. Now, this first one, which I just happened to pull this up. I don't know who wrote this. This is coming from Abbott, A-B-B-O-T-T dot com. But I like this first one because I think at times, and I think this is also for me when I go on vacation, I do my very best to, for my own health and wellness, I don't watch much news at all. In fact, the only news I watched, which was very comical, we were trying to figure out what the weather was going to be one day in Fort Lauderdale. And we were watching the news one morning, and there was a little cold front coming through where it was going to dip down into the high 50s, like 57, which I know, cold for them, but we're looking at that like that's still short-sleeved weather. And I'm not joking. The weather person said... Be careful with the elderly and bring your pets inside. I'm not joking. And I almost, I was literally laughing out loud, busting up, thinking, lady, you don't know what cold is. Now, to them, I guess that's cold. But for us, it's not. My point is, I don't try to watch much TV or do anything while I'm gone because I try to get away from all of that. Because what I do daily, and you guys all know this, it can become very negative at times. A lot of things going on in the world, and I try to be very realistic. That's why our show is called Rush to Reason. I try to be very realistic about the approach we take on all things, topics, and so on. But this first one here goes along with what I'm talking about. Develop an attitude of gratitude. In other words, be thankful. And that's a Christian principle, even though this is not a Christian-themed article that I'm reading, by the way. But I will tell you that even non-Christians understand being thankful and having an attitude of gratitude does wonders for your overall health. Anybody that is constantly negative, number one, no one wants to be around them. Number two, I don't think they live as long. Now, I get it. Sometimes people can get old and crotchety and they live a long time, but that's not usually the way it works. In fact, I've observed in my own life that a lot of people that end up with dementia and Alzheimer's were typically people that were very negative throughout most of their life. Now, is their connection brain-wise and so on to that? I have no idea. But I do think in our world here, where we talk a lot about politics, daily events, things going on around the world and so on, you have to be really careful to not be so negative that you miss the really important things in life and what we really should be thankful for. Number two, commit to becoming more physically fit. Yep, I talked about that a moment ago, and a lot of people will make that resolution right now. Now, keep in mind, you don't have to join a gym to do this. You don't have to have a particular piece of equipment to do this. Dr. Kelly talks a lot on Thursdays about just go walk. Get a two-, three-mile walk in three to five times a week, and you don't really need to go to the gym. Now, if there's certain things you want to work on and there's certain muscle groups and so on that you want to work on and do, fine. Knock your socks off, go to the gym, do whatever you want to do as far as that goes. But you don't have to have a gym membership and own all sorts of equipment, right? to be physically fit. You can literally walk, jump rope, do some push-up sit-ups, and literally stay as physically fit as you need to without ever going to the gym and doing anything along those lines. Number three, we talk about this one a lot on this program. I've even brought lots of experts on, and I'll do that again here in 2025. But make sleep, quality sleep, a priority. We already know, I've talked about it a lot during this hour, that that is extremely important to your overall brain health. We were made, I believe, by God. To take rest every night, it rejuvenates all of the different cells and things in our body and so on, and you cannot go without sleep. Now, I also know, because we've talked about this also, some people can go on less sleep than others. But you need to know where is that number, hour-wise, for you, get that quality sleep, and do that night after night after night. This next one's interesting because I think this is important as well. Plan to strengthen social relationships. I read something yesterday talking about how when we're kids and we have friends, that's on a particular level and it's easy to make and so on, but as we get older, things change. And it's harder to keep those same friendships and the likeness of that friendship when we're kids as we become adults. And I think even for myself, as you get older, your friend group, quote unquote, shrinks. You just don't have as many. I get it. Some have a lot and some have more and some are very social. But I think what you'd have to really look at there is, you know, who's really your true friends? I'll give you an example. So my dad, he's in memory care. You guys all know that. We went through all of that this past summer and fall. And as we were going to visit him today, somebody was leaving that's a good friend of his. And I thought to myself, there's a guy that I know his schedule, I know what he does, I know where he lives, I know far he has to drive and so on, and yet in his 80s is still driving over. He's been friends with my dad all the way through high school and yet is still coming to visit my dad in memory care. That's a true friend, by the way. And side note, this guy is not a Christian. In fact, that's one of the things he and my dad have probably talked about throughout most of their life is this guy is completely the opposite of what we would call a Christian. But yet, as a friend goes, one of those people that you could always count on no matter what. And even now, to this day, where my dad's at, he goes and visits at least a couple times a week. That's a true friend, by the way. My point is a lot of people have what they call social friends. But if you end up in memory care like my dad, how many of those people are coming to see you? That will tell you who your real friends are at that point. So plan to build and strengthen those social relationships. This next one's great. Kind of goes back to number one, having an attitude of gratitude. But look for ways to brighten someone else's life. What can you do for others, giving, helping, whatever the case may be, that will brighten their life? And then number six, there's two more. Number six, this is something I do daily because of what I do here on air. I don't have a choice, but I've really done this my whole life, even though I've never been to college. Make learning a lifelong habit. Probably for me being self-employed, I haven't had any choice but to do that because you always have to be learning something new when you're self-employed or you're not going to stay in business. But make learning a lifelong habit. I'm not talking about going to school your whole life. I'm talking read, understand, follow people that are smarter than you, absorb those things that are being poured into you from others and so on. But make learning a lifelong habit. Anytime you think you know it all, you don't. And then lastly, number seven, place a priority on maintaining your health. So I will tell you that in my world, especially this last year for us, 2024, I didn't do as well in that area because of our schedule and all the things I just mentioned earlier with my folks. It was really hard to keep on track in a lot of those areas schedule-wise, but I am going to do that in 2025 and get back on it because as we get older— and Charlie and I talk about this a lot off air, the years click by faster. It's that pie getting smaller. And as we get older, Not that having great health when we're younger isn't a big deal, but it's a bigger deal as we get older. So if a lot of you that are listening that are in your late 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, make maintaining your health, you know, put a priority, you know, put that as a high priority in your life. And what I mean by that is what do we eat? What are we doing daily? How are we exercising? How are we doing these things that we're supposed to do? And a lot of it we talk about here on Wednesdays on a weekly basis, so if you ever want ideas on that, just tune in every Wednesday from 3 to 4, and we cover it. Now, speaking of the... physical aspect, your finances are a big deal as well. So as you go down this stretch here in 2025, make sure financially you're headed the direction that you want. If you haven't met with your financial advisor in quite some time, give Al Smith a call and switch. Use him instead because you should be meeting with your financial advisor at least a couple of times a year, if not more. So call Al today, Golden Eagle Financial, 303-744-1128.
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Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial is your key to ending the year on track. You need to take your required minimum distributions from your IRA investments before the end of the year. And if you have more than one, Al will help you figure out the smartest way to do that. Also, if you plan to convert all or part to Roth, it must be done by December 31st. Al can work with you to determine the ideal amount to convert tax-wise. We'll be right back. You need Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial. Book a free consultation with Al 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 through individually licensed and appointed agents.
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All right, some of you may be looking for a new used car. I saw over the course of the last several days, People get in accidents. Some of the weather that we have, we've got more weather coming in tonight into tomorrow morning. Accidents, things happen. If you find yourself where, hey, this car is not repairable, I need to replace it, we have an answer for you along those lines. That's Ridgeline Auto Brokers. They've got a great selection of inventory now. If they don't have something, they can find it. And if there's something that you've been interested in, especially as you look to 2025 and say, hey, you know what, I'm going to reward myself with X. Well, let them know what that is. They can be looking for that at all the different places that they hunt for cars. And when that right car comes along, they'll give you a call. Find them at RidgelineAutoBrokers.com.
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All right, if you have not yet purchased Your Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew, whether it's for you to read as an adult, whether you want to pass it along to one of your kids, grandkids, whatever the case may be, do so. So I took my copy because I had gotten one from Mike and hated to give it away because it's such a very nice piece, but I gave it to my grandkids. And we did this before Christmas. And I will tell you that my oldest in this particular set of grandkids is seven. And I gave it to him, and he started reading it. And he was already through almost four chapters by the time we left that night, telling you that it's very interesting for kids. If it wasn't, he wouldn't have. If he would have thought it was just something that you throw on the coffee table and you can come back to it any time. No, no. He started reading this thing and got interested in it and just kept reading and reading and reading. That's the way this works. So if you want to help young people learn to read, which a lot of them struggle with, This is a great way to do it. So here's what I'm going to tell a lot of you. You may not have grandkids. You may not have young kids around. But I guarantee you, you know somebody. We just talked earlier about building your social circle, helping somebody else that's out there, you know, brightening their life. Okay, buy a book for somebody you know then. Buy a book for a neighbor kid. Buy a book for somebody that you might know at work that has kids. Whatever the case may be, buy a couple of copies, hand these out, brighten somebody else's life, and help them learn to read at the same time. And you can do that by going to JimmyAndAndrew.com.
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Reading is fundamental to understanding the world, and that's why author Mike Goldstein wrote American Stonehenge. This breathtakingly beautiful book was written in order to bring parents and grandparents together with their children to enjoy stories while they learn to read. The book follows a boy and his immortal telepathic dog, with whom he communicates as they travel through time to learn about the dog's experiences through history. The book is historically accurate, including the illustrations, so you and your little one will learn something about the history of God's beloved Earth. The time that you spend with your children laughing and enjoying this beautifully written book will be something you treasure for a lifetime. Learn more about American Stonehenge and the adventures of Jimmy and Andrew by going to klzradio.com slash read and flip through a free preview of the beautiful prose and illustrations. That's klzradio.com slash read to learn more.
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Back to Rush to Reason, presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric, where every call ends with a high five.
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All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Health and Wellness Wednesday. Stuart Tompk, welcome back to Rush to Reason. How are you, sir? Never had a bad day in my life, John. Great to hear your voice. Always a joy having you. I appreciate it. People are going to fire things off for 2025, have resolutions and the like. And reality is there are a lot of things out there. I talked about these even just a few minutes ago, Stuart. There's a lot of things out there that we fight against. What I mean by that is in our modern, you know, food, landscape, architect, whatever you want to call it, there's a lot of junk in it that we need to get rid of.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's so true. There's toxins. There's preservatives. There's coloring that comes from coal tar. You saw the other day the Surgeon General finally after, what, is this 25,000 years, admitted that alcohol is the third leading cause of cancer?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, I did see that. Yes, absolutely. Finally.
SPEAKER 18 :
Not a correlation, direct causation.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, direct causation. And point being, I read something else this morning, Stuart. I was going to bring it, and I didn't. I didn't print it, but basically said something along the lines, and you and I have talked about this. before, but, you know, at one point in time, you know, we were taught that, you know, all of this food we've been used to eating, all this natural stuff was bad, you know, we need more sugar, we need more of these quick snacks and preservatives, we need to be eating all day on all that crap, and then we wonder why we've got the health that we have today.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, who drove that big first food pyramid? You remember that thing, the base of your diet?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yep, sure do.
SPEAKER 18 :
Bread, pasta, and carbohydrates, a little bit of protein right at the top, and micronutrients It's big food, and it's really not their fault. I know sometimes someone recently reached out to me, and they said, hey, Stuart, stop blaming big food. Okay, fine. It's industry. It's not conspiracy. Everybody wanted cheap, energy-dense food, so they were just doing their job.
SPEAKER 15 :
Good point. Yeah, and I like the way you say that. I mean, I don't think there was anything necessarily nefarious, and I don't want to say that anybody inside of those organizations were looking at it that way. They were delivering things people wanted. Unfortunately, they were doing it and did it, and it's harmed us since.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's true, and so we're up against so much oxidative stress in the environment with things that are out of our control that that I think that's why it's very important that we're all paying such close attention to our diet now. We also have the problem with air out here. The air is horrible where I live. There's water pollution, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter in the air. And then with the fish that we eat, you know, I've spent so much of my time working in the nutrition space with omega-3, and as much as I try to convince people to eat sardines every day, The oceans are loaded with dioxins, arsenic, you know, PCBs, microplastics, radiation from Fukushima. You can't escape it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, so as people start off for 2025, we've talked about your test, and it's one of the things that I think I want to highlight right now, because as people start down this path in 2025, number one, I feel like your test can be a really good baseline for them to know, okay, here's where I'm at, and here's some things I need to shore up.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's a great benchmark. If we can show you a simple at-home fingertip blood spot test, no doctor's appointment needed, that can tell you whether or not your diet is working. What do I mean by that? There's a safe zone and a danger zone. Every one of our 37 trillion cells is loaded with fat. So we can give you a proxy, a measurement of systemic inflammation. We all know that's the driving force.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, and you just said something, too, which, again, we were taught wrong years ago. You just said our cells are made of fat, but yet I thought fat was bad, Stuart.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, fat was bad. You know, carbohydrates were good. The only thing I think we got clear is that the trans fatty acids, you know those ones that kept ding-dongs off for 50 years? Those are bad. So there are fats that make up the cell membrane. This is interesting. A hundred different fatty acids. Just go back in biology class. Imagine that little cell membrane. It's made of these fatty acids. And if you have too many saturated fats and you've got too much cholesterol, that cholesterol can crystallize. And as a result, that cell membrane becomes thick and sticky and rigid. Signals can't get in. Nutrients can't get in. And waste products can't get out. So there are good fats. There are bad fats. But not like we thought. It's the balance between the fatty acids. That's what's good or bad, not the fats by themselves.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, so... I understand everything you're saying, and I think most people listening do as well. Yet what they're going to ask, because I can hear them talking and yelling at their speakers, you know, they're listening in their car or wherever they're listening right now, and they're thinking, yeah, guys, this all sounds great. And I understand everything that you're saying, but how do I do this correctly and not be one of those weirdos to where I can't even go out and enjoy my life?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, that's a great question, because if you actually did take the right amount of omega-3 with the polyphenols that are critical for them to get into the cells, you may not have to change your background diet. In fact, The Scandinavian science-based company that I work with, that was their entire argument, John. That's what got me excited to work with them. Because after almost 40 years of this, I know you can't get someone to change. They're not going to change their diet. But if you can test your omega-6-3 ratio at baseline, you go on the Mediterranean diet in a bottle, it's equal to 300 olives and 30 piles of anchovies for 120 days and retest. you probably don't have to change your background diet. And you can improve brain function, hair quality, heart function, skin elasticity, inner organs, joints and muscles. If your New Year's resolution is like mine, I'm grabbing my list here. I write them all down. improve my physical health through exercise, breathing, and better diet. I don't know a person alive that doesn't have that on their New Year's resolution.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, most do, and I talked a moment ago about that, that everybody starts off this year gung-ho, they'll find the fad diets, they'll do this, they'll do that, which, by the way, what you and I are talking about is not some sort of a... fad diet is the core for what a lot of folks can now have a test on and determine exactly what they need to be doing moving forward. So this, folks listening, this is not any kind of a fad. This is literally giving you the baseline, as Stuart said earlier, to where do we go from here? Where do they individually go from here?
SPEAKER 18 :
And we give you detailed information based on diet. One of the things I love about this is if you take the omega-3 blood spot test and you pass, you get your $109 back. Great. If you take the test and you say, you know what, I just want to just eat fish. Great. Then eat two cans of sardines a day and stop eating Pam and Spam and Ding Dongs and chicken nuggets and hoes and Krispy Kremes. You see, it's the blood status. That's the future. It's a modifiable risk factor for many diseases. This was just published, John, since I was on your show last. Listen to this. The title of the paper is called Blood Diabetes. Omega-3 status among people living in the United States from 2000 to 2023. Brand new article. Anyone can look this up. Listen to this. Omega-3 blood status is a modifiable risk factor for many diseases. What? You can't say that about drugs.
SPEAKER 15 :
No. In other words, it's fixable.
SPEAKER 18 :
It then goes on to say public health officials should take steps to emphasize the significance of omega-3 in preserving the health of the U.S. population. We're finally taking this thing seriously. And I believe this, John. I don't know what your thoughts are on this. Ten years from now, your relationship is going to be with your AI assistant. And your AI assistant is going to say, your vitamin D levels are low. Take more vitamin D. How would you know? Test. Your A1C blood sugar is too high. Eat more fiber. Exercise more. Your omega-6-3 balance is out of whack. We have a new test coming next year, John, for leaky gut. So eventually, people are going to have at-home personalized concierge medicine cheap.
SPEAKER 15 :
By the way, I agree with everything you're saying along those lines. That's the one advantage of AI and some of what I see happening along those lines. And reality is, Stuart, I mean, this is how I see it. We want people to live a fulfilled life. We want them to be healthy. The healthier they are, the more fulfilled the life is, the better their brain function, on and on we go. The more social they are with family and friends and so on, I mean, all those things just fit together the better you feel.
SPEAKER 18 :
And we are outliving our money. I keep seeing this data, and it's incredible. It's easy to say that the standard American diet is killing us, that technology is keeping us alive, and we need to be resilient enough, healthy enough to spend time not just with our grandkids. Great grandkids.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, come on. Right, right. Well, and to your point, Stuart, because I'm one of those that probably – My wife was talking about this last week to somebody that we were on vacation with that, you know, I'm one of those that probably will never retire. I'll be doing something no matter what till I go to the grave. But, you know, Stuart, I would rather be doing that, even if it's, you know, I'm 80 years old. I'd rather be doing that feeling good. And, you know, again, not even having to worry about outliving your money. I mean, I want to be able to function and provide things for others and do things necessary in life to provide services and things to others as long as I'm alive, and I want to feel good doing it.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm so happy to hear you say that. I feel the same way. You know, the Greeks said the hardest thing for a human to do was retire. and retire from what? There's so much to do. We're living in the most interesting and exciting time in the history of the world. Absolutely. And I want to be alive to see it. Here's another thing about that. If your brain is deficient in these fatty acids that I keep talking about, the brain is a supercomputer made out of fat. You're not able to unlearn to learn new things.
SPEAKER 15 :
Let me say that again. Good point.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay. Carl Jung, when was the last time you unlearned anything? Wow. So you can learn something new. Remember, we used to think that the Earth was the center of the universe. Good deal to unlearn that, right? If you believe the Earth is the center of the universe, you're taking yourself out of the gene pool. We need the right synaptic plasticity in the brain, the right nutrients in the brain, the right fats in the brain to keep up with the changes we are living through. This is the Gutenberg press.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, good point. On digital steroids. Good point. No, you're right. You are correct. And I want to be healthy enough and well enough to enjoy all that because I look at it the same way you do. We're entering in and have been in. I mean, look at what you and I have experienced in our lifetime, technologically speaking. And literally, as generations go, we have seen more and witnessed more than anyone else prior to us.
SPEAKER 18 :
Of all time. Right. And there was this interesting book one of these French postmodernists wrote years ago called... you know, capitalism and schizophrenia. And they've predicted that in order to deal with an advanced postmodern society, we would all have to be pretty much borderline schizophrenic. I don't buy into that.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't either.
SPEAKER 18 :
I don't either. You need to have the right neuroplasticity. We hear that term all the time. The neuroplasticity, that is rate-limited and dependent on the fatty acids in the brain. There's a study they did where they deprived animals of omega-3 and then showed their brain cells, right? You know, those neurite brain cells, the brain cell connection, abstraction of the brain cell to brain cell communication when you're deficient in omega-3. A paper came out in Violent and Aggressive Behavior. Anyone look this up? The Journal of Violent and Aggressive Behavior, Omega-3. They said it was a safe, cheap, and effective way to deal with violent and aggressive behavior in all areas of society, including the prisons.
SPEAKER 15 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 18 :
Our brains are on fire. And I think that might be part of what's going on in the system. You know, our inability to communicate with each other, to share ideas. How about to change your mind or to open up your mind? And you're certainly going to have to. If Ray Kurzweil is right, the father of AI, with what we're about to see in the next 20 years, You're going to want your brain to be as healthy as possible, and you can't do it if it's on fire because it's deficient in omega-3.
SPEAKER 15 :
Can't argue that. Okay, how do folks get the test before I let you go, Stuart?
SPEAKER 18 :
TestOmega3.com. TestOmega3.com. Start testing, stop guessing, then get on the Mediterranean diet in a bottle. John, I'm so grateful for all your help in getting this message out. Test. omega3.com. This is the most important number for health and longevity that you don't know, that you will know, and we want to help you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Awesome. Stuart, it's always a joy. Wanted to have you for the first episode of the Year for Health and Wellness, and I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. Bye-bye. You bet, Stuart. Have a great evening. And, yeah, you know, everything he said, honestly, I can't disagree with him. We've talked about this. I've taken the test, by the way, and, yes, I had some areas that I'm shoring up that I was deficient in, and he and I have had those conversations even on air along those lines. So I would highly recommend get the test. See where you're at. Where do you stand with things? What do you need to change, dietarily speaking, as you move forward in 2025? Dr. Scott Faulkner is up next. Now, he is our concierge doctor. If you're looking for a great internal medicine doctor that thinks like us, that is not beholden to big pharma or big insurance, call Scott today, 303-663-6990.
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
All right, first health and wellness live episode of 2025. I want to close with this. There are a lot of scams. This is more of a PSA. And for a lot of you, by the way, you can be young, you can be old, somewhere in between, and these scammers are going to do everything they possibly can to get to you. They do it with phishing. Sometimes it comes as a text or through an app. They'll target all sorts of things like mobile wallets, crypto apps, and so on. Fake alerts, hey, call Chase, blah, blah, blah. I've shared some of those things even in the past on my end. And be very, very, very careful. And do not fall prey to some of these scams that are out there. Social media. A lot of people out there will literally... It's not even that they're breaking somebody's password and then breaking into their account. They're duplicating one of your friend's accounts, and then they will pretend to be that person, and then because there's a connection there, try everything they can to scam you out of whatever. So be careful. Some of them will pose as, you know, influencers, trusted brands. They're giving crypto away or they're telling you all these success stories of, you know, this person did this with crypto and that person did that with crypto and blah, blah, blah. Be careful of those. I will say it straight up, 99% of those are scams. There may be a 1%-er where somebody's actually made some money on crypto and showed some others how to do it, but the majority of those are scams. They'll even do it through group chats and things along those lines. So be really careful on those things and in those areas, and just don't fall prey to that. Lastly, fake customer support. Scammers pretend to be support agents. for popular platforms of all kinds, and they will dupe you into thinking that they're helping you when at the end of the day, they're just trying to steal your identity and your money when it's all said and done. So watch for all of those. Stay safe in 2025. And by the way, if you ever have a question on is this real or not, Text me, email me, and ask me. I've had some of you do that, and I can literally usually within a few seconds tell you this is a scam or not. That's it for this hour. We'll be back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Rich Guy.
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.
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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 :
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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.
SPEAKER 04 :
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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 :
Looking for top-notch home, auto, classic car, and business insurance? Look no further than Paul Leuenberger. Paul is now an insurance broker with access to industry leaders like Hartford, Travelers, Safeco, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Allstate, AIG, Chubb, Pure, Berkeley, Grundy, and Hagerty. Paul has you covered. Paul is also proud to continue his work with American National for all non-property insurance needs as well. Paul Leuenberger now serves Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas, with more states on the way. Paul's mission is simple, to connect you with the right coverage at the best value. Are you ready to protect what matters most? Call Paul Leuenberger today at 303-662-0789. That's 303-662-0789. This isn't Rage Radio. This is Real Relatable Radio. Back to Rush to Reason.
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
John Rush engages in a captivating dialogue on the complex relations between the United States and China. As President-elect Trump suggests audacious proposals—such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico and annexing Greenland—John examines the strategic rationale behind these ideas. Listen in as we delve into the historical significance of the Panama Canal, discussing why Trump wants it back under American control, and what implications this has for national security and global power dynamics. Get ready for a thought-provoking episode that questions conventional views and urges critical thinking in today's fast-changing world.
SPEAKER 13 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 03 :
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 06 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 13 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job first. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 12 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 05 :
Are you crazy? Am I?
SPEAKER 15 :
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 16 :
All right, I've got other things to talk about today, and if I don't get to it, I'll get to it tomorrow as well. But this article in Nine News today just caught my eye. And I don't look at a lot of local news stuff. I'll occasionally browse through it just to sort of see if there's anything major going on that made the local news. But Nine News is about as far from center as it gets. This article proves my point. And this is probably a reprint from something else. AP Science Writer. So this is a reprint out of the AP. Why more frequent cold blasts could be coming... from global warming. I'm sorry, I just have to laugh. I mean, I've lived here my whole life, as a lot of you listening have, or like Charlie have been here for a very long time, maybe not his whole life. It's still long enough to remember through all of the different winters that we've had in this Front Range area. And we are known to have, you know, Indian summer days where I remember Christmases as a kid growing up where it might be 70 degrees outside. I remember one year for Christmas. We got these Cox, made these little airplane engine. You know, you could have the Cox airplanes and so on. Well, my dad got us these little dune buggies. And they ran off a little Cox engine. And I remember one Christmas, we got those that year. And I can't remember what year it was, and I'd have to go back in pictures and look. But it was warm enough outside where I can remember my brother and I being outside playing with those things for hours on Christmas Day with no coat on. 65, 70 degrees. Now, I can also remember Christmases where there was two feet of snow and it was bitter cold. And I can remember everything in between. This whole idea that we're going to somehow have more cold blasts than what we've had in the past is absolute. This is just lunacy. And as I read through, by the way, because I did do this. As I read through the people that are reporting on this, not shockingly, and we're going to have Gregory, or sorry, we're going to have, let's see, I've got to remember who's coming on tomorrow, Power of the Future, Larry Behrens, Power of the Future tomorrow. We're going to talk a little bit about this tomorrow at 5. But interestingly enough, the people that are reporting on the very things I'm talking about that are in this article, of course, get government funding. So one of the things that I always look at when it comes to any type of a study is where's the money coming from? Who's funding this? Because I also know from talking to a number of different meteorologists over the years, weathermen and women, that most don't believe this. In fact, by and large, the weather community, those that predict weather, don't believe in this nonsense. You don't hear much from them. Most of them are censored, silenced, whatever, and or they know better than to talk about those things because if they do, they're discredited and nobody will follow them on some of the other things that they do. And I know this directly because I've talked to some of these individuals one-on-one. So point being, despite what the rest of media would want you to believe, all weathermen don't believe in this crap. A certain amount do. And they're around. I mean, Mike Nelson just retired here in town, and he was one of the biggest proponents of this nonsense. And good riddance, Mike, as far as not being on TV anymore. One of the biggest proponents of this nonsense there was. And again, most of the time, not always, but I get it. Sometimes it's a core belief because they're total Marxists themselves. But in a lot of cases, these guys believe in this stuff because they don't have a choice. If they were to somehow go against this, they lose all funding. I've interviewed many an expert in this area on this program over the years, and all will agree that if you get down to where there's no funding in a particular area, you'll get a lot more honest answers as to what's going on climate-wise. Now, do I believe in climate change? Yes, climate changes. It cycles. I've seen it in my lifetime here in Colorado. I can remember really bad winters. I can remember really mild winters. I can remember some of those recently. I can remember some of those when I was a kid. I can remember back when I was a kid. We may have a year, and this is typical for Colorado, if the wind blows a lot in the winter here in the Denver area, we're not going to have much snow. It's just the way it is. If we get good, strong, you know, those 80, 90-mile-an-hour windstorms, typically speaking, we don't get a lot of snow. On the same token, if we don't have much of that, we're typically going to probably have a little colder air and some snow. But this whole article on 9 News is talking about how these polar vortexes, they're calling them now. I don't know whatever happened to the term Arctic front that used to come down from the North Pole. But they're claiming that we're going to have more of these because of, quote-unquote, you know, climate change, global warming, whatever you want to call it. And as I was reading through this, I just had to laugh. And I did look up a few of the individuals that were on here. Of course, I already know that AccuWeather is very much funded in that way. And a lot of these folks are, by the way. In fact... There are very few, National Weather Service as well, that don't have government funding attached to them some way, somehow. NOAA, which a lot of people will go to to look and see what the forecast is for the next few days, very, of course, government-owned, very heavily funded with your tax dollars. So, of course, they can't say anything that would ever go against that climate mode, or they get discredited. Now, I bring guests on constantly that discredit this stuff on a continual basis. And so, again, when I read these things, I just have to chuckle a little bit because it's like, okay, really? Really? And they're even saying in this article, winters globally on average are 1.1 degrees warmer than 25 years ago. 1.1 degrees. Now, for all of you that are out there, I'm sure you're like me. Can you even feel 1.1 degrees? In other words, if it's 31 or 32 out, can you tell the difference? Or if it's 100 versus 101, can you tell the difference? If it's 90 versus 91, you get my drift. 1.1 degrees. That's not feelable. I know that's not the right word, but you can't feel that. It's not measurable that way. But yet these are the foundations that these particular individuals are using for all of their climate fear. They're fear-mongering because that's exactly what it is. They're trying to scare people into doing things, and it's all about money. At the end of the day, it's not about climate. It's not about saving people. It's not about any of that. It's all about cash, taking it from one pocket and putting it somewhere else. And hopefully on January 20th, as Trump is inaugurated, we start getting rid of some of this nonsense for at least four years and maybe beyond if we can continue the winning streak on the conservative side of the aisle. Flesh Law is coming up next. And when it comes to... Having yourself represented properly, whether you're looking at an insurance claim or you've got a civil suit, a criminal suit, whatever the case might be, or criminal charges, I should say, whatever the case may be, trial tested, trial ready. That is Kevin Flesch, 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, we are back.
SPEAKER 16 :
Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. All right, President-elect Trump, who for all intents and purposes is running the country as we speak, even though he's not actually in the Oval Office. He has – and again, is some of this tongue-in-cheek? Is he really going to follow through? I don't have any idea. He's talked about changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. I like Charlie's idea. Call it the Gulf of the Americas because back in the day, that's what it would have been. I've always just as a side note wondered, why is it the Gulf of Mexico when you really look at our shoreline? And I get it. If you look at the way they do the shoreline measurements, Mexico has a few hundred feet more than we do. But I question where those measurements start and end, because by the time you get around to the Cancun area, you're in the Caribbean Sea now. You're out of the Gulf of Mexico. So you get way down in Mexico. And I don't know how much of that they're considering. But if you look at a map and just kind of finger, you know, take your finger measurements of the map and look at it, it's like, wait a minute. I think we actually have more than they do. And I've always wondered why it was called that in the first place. And I'm not a historian. So anyways, regardless, Trump would like to change it to the Gulf of America. Now, again, is that just rhetoric, him talking? I honestly, I don't know. Donald Trump says all sorts of things. Could it happen? Yeah, I suppose it could. I don't know what that involves and how that works. I've honestly not read up on it because, frankly, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I don't care, really, one way or the other. He's also, though, this is the interesting one. He's talking about having Greenland become a part of the United States. He wants Denmark to basically join us, take Greenland and make it a part of the United States of America for security reasons. Trump's point is if you stand on the banks of Greenland and look out, all you'll see are Chinese and Russian ships off of its shores. in that, frankly, we have a base there, but we need a lot larger presence than what we have right now if we're going to keep things in check. That's Donald Trump's point. That one I can't argue with. I also know there's lots of resources there that potentially could help us as a country. And, again, this is way above my pay grade when we start talking about taking over other territories and things along those lines. This gets into more of what I would have to have somebody come on that's an expert constitutionalist and so on and how does this actually work and so on. Now, I guess if you just write a check – and buy it much like charlie the louisiana purchase or alaska or some of the other things that we've done i suppose you buy it we own it and that's that's a possibility now what would that look like what would the cost be i haven't foggiest idea but it is it's that one is the most interesting and it's being talked about again because of a national security end of things more so than anything now the other one that's really interesting is panama Panama Canal. Trump wants it back. Now, that one, I'm a thousand percent in. I don't know why we ever gave up in the first place. I was I know Jimmy Carter. He's going to be laid to rest, I believe, either tomorrow or Friday. Is it the 9th or 10th, Charlie? Is it tomorrow or Friday? I can't remember. It's one of the two. And I've never minced any words, and I'm not trying to talk bad about somebody that's now deceased, but worst president ever. I'm not sure who's worse, him or Joe Biden. It's a toss-up. Now, the difference is, and I think it's fair for me to say this, Charlie, I think Jimmy Carter is a better person or was a better person overall than Joe Biden. The things that Jimmy Carter even did after becoming president, Habitat for Humanity, and a lot of the things that he did as a Christian, I think you could look at and say he's a much better person than Joe Biden. But still an awful president. And giving the Panama Canal away was one of the dumbest things I believe he ever did. I never could understand why we gave up something we bought and paid for. Keep in mind, if you go back and look at the history of the Panama Canal, nobody else could finish it. No one. No one on the planet. And I'm not exaggerating when I say this. No one on the planet could finish the Panama Canal. Only we could, the United States of America. And we did. And we finished it. And we owned it and operated it for a very long time. Until Jimmy Carter came along in the 80s and essentially gave it back to Panama. Which it wasn't really theirs to begin with. I mean, the land is, it's on their land, but they couldn't finish it. Wasn't it the French initially, Charlie, that wanted to start the Panama Canal, and they couldn't do it, and several other countries tried? Anyways, long story short, we finished it. We made it happen. We had the engineering skill, the manpower, and back then they fought malaria and all sorts of other things along those lines to build that thing. You know, a lot of individuals, men died, you know, doing it because of that. But in the end, we built it. And frankly, that's one that I think we should take back. Now, I will tell you this much. That's not how the Panamanians, am I saying that right, Charlie, the Panamanians? That's not how they see it. They want us to just stay far, far away from that. Well, of course they do. Because right now, what is unbeknownst to most Americans is China right now has heavily influenced what's happening in the canal. Sorry, I can't hear you. Say that louder, Charlie. Forty percent. OK, 40 percent of the construction people died. OK, wow. So 40 percent of the men that built that died. That's huge, Charlie. And it was our men. Those were Americans that did that. So, again, I'm one where I'm on Trump's side on that one. And I know a lot of the rest of the world probably wouldn't see it the same way. And maybe some Americans wouldn't. But that canal, which, by the way, is very important to the movement of goods and so on across the world. is right now being heavily influenced, if not controlled thoroughly, by the Chinese. And they are making a boatload of money off of it, by the way. So I think what Trump's looking at is, wait a minute, we should take that back. It was ours to begin with. Never should have gave it away. We need to figure out a way to take it back and run it and operate it and handle things from this point forward, again, for national security's sake. And it's always funny. The left is always the first one to say that Trump is in China's back pocket, which, again, nothing could be farther from the truth because everything Trump does pokes the eye of the Chinese. Him talking about tariffs, him talking about EVs, him talking about the Panama Canal, him talking about Greenland. I mean, all of these things literally are two fingers poking in the eyes of the Chinese and their leadership. So any lefty out there that would say, oh, Trump's just in their back pocket. Are you really that stupid? Are you that dumb? And I would ask, prove it. Show me something that would prove Trump is in China's back pocket. Because, by the way, there's a lot more proof that Biden is. Way more proof that Biden and the Biden regime has been. So it cracks me up. As usual, the left is always the first to point at something that they're doing themselves. Oh, Trump's just in China's back pocket. He's just working for the Chai comms. No, actually quite the opposite. The majority of what he does is literally angering them. making them mad. This conversation, even talking about, by the way, the Gulf of Mexico, Greenland, the Panama Canal, Canada, making it a 51st state. Yes, all of those are poking in the eyes of a lot of other foreign countries, but especially China. And here's why I believe even talking about Canada pokes them in the eye. China doesn't want to see us get any bigger. Ever. They already know we're their number one adversary, and we are. And the last thing they want to see is us get bigger. So even Trump talking about Canada is poking an eye at the Chinese, pointing a finger at them. Literally. Because, again, at the end of the day, the Chinese would love to see us shrink and not grow. Anybody out there that thinks China's on our side, yeah, think again. No, they are not. They're not even close to being on our side. They would love nothing more than to see us fail, go under. Fortunately, they've got a lot of their own problems going on at home that we talk about a lot. We'll talk about a little bit of that with Scott Garlis here in just a few minutes as well. Hi-Fi Plumbing is next. Again, don't forget about their great garbage disposal deal they've got going on right now. $75 off. 877-WE-HIGH-5.
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SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Scott Garlis joining us now. Scott, welcome. How are you, sir?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, John, I'm well. How are you? Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 16 :
Happy New Year to you as well. I noticed today that the market kind of responded in a not-so-good way to some things that President Trump said, or President-elect Trump said.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, the last couple of days, going into the end of the year, we talked about how the Fed sort of upped their guidance for inflation next year to 2.5% from 2.1% prior, but it's really not much of a change, 24 to 25, whatever. But what the governors who changed their inflation outlook cited was uncertainty related to Trump's tariff policies. Right. Ever since then, the media has really latched on to this negative inflation narrative, and I get it. So we've had some economic data came out earlier this week from the Institute for Supply Management that showed on the services sector that prices paid picked up. So that's food people. And then we also had a piece of data yesterday in the jobs market from the BLS showing that job openings increased significantly. in November versus October. So they worry that that was inflationary.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. Now, question for you is, I mean, first of all, I guess, what's the real numbers say? How much were those ticks up? And what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER 04 :
So I look at a couple of different indicators. First was like the BLS stuff. You know, it really wasn't inflationary. First off, that number's an estimate. It's revised multiple times before we get the real number. Secondly, what you have to do is you have to think about that number relative to the number of people that are unemployed currently. Now, in November, that number picked up. So there are more people out of work as of November than there were in October. So when you look at the ratio of job openings versus unemployed people, it said 1.1, meaning... There are 1.1 jobs available for every unemployed person. Well, that's where we were in 2019. So we're back to pre-pandemic numbers. So I look at that and I'm like, that's not really inflationary in my book.
SPEAKER 16 :
And I would agree with you. And you know my feelings on a lot of this. And I think in some cases, some of this stuff, frankly, I'm sorry, I'll just say it straight up. I think some of this stuff is in a way to sabotage Trump. And one thing I was going to ask you along those lines is there's some folks out there, even on the conservative side, talking about how there's a recession coming. The left is going to do everything they possibly can to make sure that it comes. They want to do what they can to make Trump look bad. You know, even Biden's announcement of what he did on the energy issue. front, which we'll get into in a moment as well as another tie into that. So I guess the question I have for you, do you see a recession coming?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't. I think things are, you know, I really look at things like AI. And I just, again, I always to myself, I sort of frame AI in terms of what we saw with the sort of the dot-com boom and what that wound up doing for operating efficiencies for companies, how companies started doing more things online. And look, AI is just in its nascency. We are going to see these efficiency improvements for lots of businesses over the next couple of years as they figure it out and how it benefits their business. And we're going to see profitability improve, but we're not going to see prices take off. So that's going to be a really good thing for the economy. I think also what we're seeing is I look at this gauges I look at for inflation. What I see over the last six months, inflation is decelerating rapidly. It's basically running at an annualized pace of 0.9% right now, headline CPI. That's way below the Fed's target. So that also tells me, you know, let's say, Trump throws all these tariffs out there, he moves forward with it, puts a tariff on, you know, if he puts these 60% tariffs on China, the CBO estimated it would increase inflation by 1%, but that would basically drop off after a year, because it would be a one-time thing. So, you know, if we're running at 0.9% annualized, and we increase that by 1%, that's at 1.9%, that's still below the Fed's 2% target.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right, that's nothing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Interest rates are at 4.5%. That tells me There's a 2.5% cushion. of rate cuts that's available.
SPEAKER 16 :
Got it. And again, that's the other side that they never want to look at is if you do that with China, either one of two things will come out of that. Either they get more fair on the trade that they need to do with us and they start buying more from us and things adjust there and our economy improves, or because of that, we start doing more things at home and the same thing happens. That's the other side of the equation, Scott. They never throw in, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I would agree. It's going to be a good thing for domestic companies. Another interesting thing to that angle is that the amount of trade we've done with China has dropped to just 10% from I believe it was like 15% four years ago in terms of Chinese exports. So we are less dependent on China now. than we were back when Trump started letting these tariffs.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and I think, and you and I have talked about this many times, reason being is because back then, a lot of those companies said, wait a minute, we don't want to be caught in this. We don't want to be caught in this again down the road. Let's move operations to other places that we don't see this coming, Taiwan, Korea, wherever, and we'll change, you know, Vietnam, we'll change some of these things around or bring it back to the U.S. even. But at the end of the day, we can do this outside of China as easily as we can inside.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and that's right. And so what we've also talked about is how when you pick up a manufacturing base and you move it out of a country and you move it somewhere else, there's a big investment that happens with that. Exactly. And if you were to go back, it's going to be a long time. And so one of the things that's really interesting to me is, there are a lot of people wall street there's struggling to figure out why is the chinese economy doing so poorly right now well i can tell you why that is exactly why because they lost all this lost all this manufacturing business and it's not coming back And they can't figure out what levers to pull to make things better.
SPEAKER 16 :
No, Scott, I agree with you on that. Again, you and I have talked about that for the last couple of years, and the reality is they're not doing well. They're trying to figure out why. To me, it's as simple as the nose on their face. They... Didn't play ball very well under the first Trump administration. They're not going to play ball again in the second administration. I talked earlier before you came on that even some of Trump's talk right now in regards to making Canada the 51st state, the Panama Canal. Greenland and so on. I mean, at the end of the day, Scott, all of these things are and I don't think people really quite understand this. These are all poking the eye of the Chinese because China doesn't want to see us expand at all. They control the Panama Canal. They run right through Greenland and that end of things. So the reality is what Trump is really saying is, hey, China, watch out. We're coming for you. That's what he's really saying. Yes, and he's calling them out for a lot of things, and they don't like that in the least. No, they hate that because, as you know, they hate losing face.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and China thinks they can play a long game because they only have one guy that's president. They don't go through an election cycle. Yeah, and it's a lot of games, but China has one end goal, and China wants world dominance. That's right. And I get it with what Trump is saying with stuff like Greenland. He's saying, look, there are rare earth minerals in Greenland that we could use, and they would be great in terms of national security and national defense. We don't have to go through China or be reliant on China to get these things. I said this earlier, Scott, on paper –
SPEAKER 16 :
Like the canal. I mean, it makes total sense why we ever gave the canal up in the first place is a whole nother discussion. The reality is I'm not in disagreement with either of the things he's talking about along those lines. I'm just not so I'm not sure logistically how that all works out.
SPEAKER 04 :
And, yeah, I don't imagine these things would happen, but I get where he's coming from.
SPEAKER 16 :
By the way, the way Greenland happens, that one's easy in my opinion. What's the check need to be? How much are you writing the check for at the end of the day? That's what that one comes down to.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, this is fair. Most likely, yeah.
SPEAKER 16 :
I mean, it's Denmark, controlled by Denmark at this point. I mean, the reality is it's not a huge country. They can take all the cash they could get. At the end of the day, they're not using anything out of that land. I mean, what do they have to lose? If they can get a nice fat check out of it, they win.
SPEAKER 04 :
They named it Greenland because it was full of ice, and Iceland, they gave it that name because it was so green.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and at one time, as you know, it was opposite anyways. We go back in time long enough, they were opposite. But bottom line... And again, I don't know what's going to happen. I don't have a crystal ball. My whole point on this was back to our whole China discussion. What the media and even the left doesn't understand, I'm not sure even some of the right does. This is Trump's posturing against China, basically telling him or telling them there's going to be a new guy in town and you're not going to get by with what you once did.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amen. And so one of the other things that happened was the Washington Post put this story out, I believe it was yesterday, saying Trump's not really intending to impose tariffs. And Trump said that's just factually wrong. I mean, if you're negotiating with anybody, why would you say that's true and give up your leverage point?
SPEAKER 16 :
You wouldn't.
SPEAKER 04 :
It doesn't make any sense. And if people look back to Trump's first time in office... That was the leverage point for him. I mean, the thing today is saying that he's going to declare an economic emergency to impose tariffs, too. And the article, it's funny, the article then, after it got people hyped up about this, went through and detailed how he did this with Mexico last time around. And Mexico, because he said Mexico is not helping us protect our border. And then Mexico said, okay, we'll stop all the people trying to come into the U.S. at the southern border of Mexico, which... You know, again, it's just Trump is using this as a leverage tool, and you're exactly right. He gets people. He does a great job of getting people very worked up by throwing these things out there, and they just blow them way out of proportion. But economically, he did very good things for this country. You know, and the tariffs on China, it wasn't people focused or focused on the inflation part of it right now. We didn't see inflation really pick up before. What happened was the Fed had to cut rates because they were worried about what might happen from a growth standpoint. Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
And by the way, they may very well have to do the same thing depending upon how things move forward, despite what they're even telling or announcing. And again, I think they're very, how should I say this? I know the Fed isn't supposed to be political, but they are. And I will tell you right now that I feel that that current makeup of the board that's there now does not want to see Trump succeed. That's just my own two cents.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know, what's really interesting from that end is, who is it, Barr? Is it Michael Barr is his first name? Yeah, I think that's right. So he's been the head of regulation at the Fed. He was appointed by Biden. And he tried to push Basel III on this. a country which the Obama administration even said, we're not interested in doing this. Tim Geithner shot it down because it was so onerous on banks and the capital cushion that the U.S. said, we're not interested. So, you know, he tried to bring this back, and it would have jacked the capital cushions up massively, and it would have just— It would have crippled a lot of small to medium-sized businesses. Completely. It would have killed all the excess capital that banks have to lend. In other words, the biggest banks with the most propensity to lend, they wouldn't have been able to lend. And they wouldn't have been able to lend for years because he's like, well, they can build it back up over the next couple of years. Well, what's that going to do for the economy?
SPEAKER 16 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
It kills it.
SPEAKER 16 :
It strangles it right off the bat. Again, I'm one where I just don't feel like these guys that are there now really are on the side of Trump. They look at things completely different. We'll see how this all shakes out once we get to January 20th and we start moving forward. I'm with you. I think Trump, in a lot of ways, he's posturing with especially change. China, even his conversations. And I know it really ticks a lot of the Canadian folks off. I was listening to the guy in charge of, you know, Ontario and all of that. And he's all you know, he's all been out of shape at Trump's comments. And it's like, you know, do you really understand? He's not saying this directed at you. He's saying this directed at Russia and China.
SPEAKER 04 :
But that's exactly right. And in Canada, I don't think Canada is going to be the 51st state of the United States.
SPEAKER 16 :
Nah, not going to happen. Not going to happen.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think Canadians love their country, and they want to say Canada. Yeah.
SPEAKER 16 :
So you would know better than I. No, it's not going to happen, even though I think there's a lot of folks in Canada that would love to see that happen. Bottom line, it's not going to happen. And I will say, they're going to end up with a new prime minister that I think is going to get things rocking and rolling in a different direction. It's going to be a lot like the U.S. anyway, so... They'll be right in line, and that's, again, another thing that China doesn't like. Really quick, just to kind of close things out, because China's a big player worldwide. I believe what you said earlier is correct. They're looking for total world dominance, but they're struggling right now because they've got a lot of things working against them. including what I just said about Canada, including Donald Trump taking over as president of the United States, including what's happening down in Mexico because of what Trump is doing there. I mean, the reality is they're losing the battle. And I know they play the long game, but can they afford to at this point? Probably not. I mean, it's... At some point, Scott, the money runs out, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I mean, China's debt to GDP... People are barking up the tree about, oh, my God, the U.S. debt to GDP. But, you know, the government has to facilitate things, too. But China's debt to GDP is like 300-some percent. They won't tell anybody what it is because they don't want you to know.
SPEAKER 16 :
No, they don't want you to know. That's right. They're not honest.
SPEAKER 04 :
But, I mean, I think the thing people forget about, or maybe they don't, and they don't want them to be successful, but Trump was, again, very successful getting the economy going, and he looked at... things like the stock market and investments as a statement on his presidency. And Trump is going to do, if he did what he did last time, he's going to do everything he can to ensure that the economy and the stock market do well. And you know what? And for investors, I think that's a very good thing. And for people that save and they're putting their money to work in S&P 500, or right now, you know, with rates going back up, I think bonds are a great investment here. I think people that have a long-term view and put money to work now, it'll reward them handsomely down the road.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, so give us some specifics as to what they should be looking at.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I would look at the Vanguard small cap ETF. VTWO, Victor Tom William Oscar, is the symbol. I would also look at something as simple as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. SPY is the symbol. And then I would also look at something like the SPDR 20-plus year Treasury bond ETF. The ticker symbol there is TLT because as rates come down, prices will go back up. Lower rates will also help the economy, demand, and stocks.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. All good to know. And, again, what happens in China, and I'm not trying to be coy there, Scott, because I realize that it does affect us to a certain degree, although I guess I'll close with this. If they utterly failed, does that really have any impact on us? No. It doesn't, does it?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't think so.
SPEAKER 16 :
I don't either. I mean, at the end of the day, yeah, to your point, there's some manufacturing and things that come out of there. But at the end of the day, if they totally collapse, which, again, isn't going to happen. Some other country will come along, bail them out, something along those lines. But at the end of the day, it will reduce their overall power, let's just say that. And that, I do believe, is coming. It's already happening.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look, I wouldn't be surprised if they collapse, if the U.S. wound up being the people who went in and bailed them out. And helped resurrect them. You know what? I hadn't thought of that.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. Oh, you could be right. Interesting. That would be a flip-flop of what it's been in the past.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, very much so.
SPEAKER 16 :
Interesting. All right, Scott, how do folks find you?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, sure. Find me on Twitter or LinkedIn, C. Scott Garlis.
SPEAKER 16 :
Awesome. Scott, as always, I appreciate you, man. Looking forward to 2025.
SPEAKER 04 :
Completely, John. Thanks so much. You bet, man.
SPEAKER 16 :
Have a great night. Appreciate you very much. And I appreciate these guys, by the way, Scott on the East Coast, because I know how late it is for him, almost 8 o'clock, and him calling in and taking time out of his family and so on. And I appreciate you guys on the East Coast and doing what you do. I mean that sincerely. Affordable Interest Mortgage is next. Kurt Rogers, speaking of rates and everything that are involved mortgage-wise, give Kurt a call today, 720-895-0500.
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All right, and speaking of all the things we just talked about with Scott, we have somebody locally that you can talk to one-on-one. That is Al Smith. He is our financial advisor. Give him a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 06 :
It's time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, that's going to wrap us up for today. And again, thank you all for listening. I appreciate Andy and everybody filling in when I was gone over the holidays. And much more in store for you tomorrow. Dr. Kelly Victory and Steve House will be joining me in Hour 1. typically do. We'll start the year off correctly with them joining us. We're going to talk about all sorts of things, including the news media burying all sorts of information when it comes to the things, by the way, that we talk about every Thursday as well. So be sure you tune in at three o'clock tomorrow. Have a great night. Be safe. If it snows in the morning, be safe in the snow as well. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
Join Michael Bailey as he shares heartfelt stories of his daughter's transition to college life and ties it to the significant matter of estate planning. Discover how new experiences, both in education and life, shape our planning processes and the critical steps involved in estate planning. Whether you're familiar with legal jargon or just starting your journey, this episode offers valuable perspectives on preparing for the future and cherishing family bonds.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey. Over a decade ago, attorney Michael Bailey turned his attention to estate law after he recognized the unacceptable number of adults without proper end-of-life planning. Michael recognizes that many of his clients have difficulty finding the time for making a proper estate plan. That's why he became the Mobile Estate Planner. He will go to wherever you are to assist you with your estate planning, including writing wills, trusts, and giving you the information you need to avoid probate. Now, ATX, Ask the Experts, presents Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey.
SPEAKER 01 :
All right, good afternoon. Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ, also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. I'm glad to be back in person. The last couple of weeks were just not quite the right time to, I mean, it was actually Christmas itself and then New Year's. So those were times where I thought maybe I'd spend some time with my family instead of being here because as we're trying to do, we're trying to We'll do something besides just leaving our family alone. So, here we are, and here's what we're going to do. Now, the last couple weeks, my... daughter was home from college so I was spending more time with her and less time on the radio you know I hope everybody maybe some people miss me maybe other people just didn't even notice I was gone it's hard to tell you know perhaps I have some super loyal listeners I don't know um but it's one of those um well things that uh we've got our uh so she she was home and you know it was an interesting thing where she um just her first semester at school her uh her um The finals kind of were a little bit overwhelming. And I can understand that. That can, you know, for most college students, the first time you go off to college, you don't 100% know what to expect. And, of course, that's exactly, you know, how it should be. You've never been to college. You've never been a college student. You know, to take a college final as opposed to a high school final. Now, this is my daughter who has always been good at school and she's always had she's always done well at school and straight A's and that kind of thing. She's at school on an academic scholarship. She's taken many AP classes and she's taken AP tests that have are comprehensive in nature and things like that. So it's not like she's not familiar with the concept of how to do study and do academics, but it's a little bit different in a college setting. And her first final that she took was a Calculus II final. And she did not do as well in that final as she had hoped. It went very poorly, actually. And so she calls us and she was freaking out about it and she was very concerned and she was upset and crying and all the things that happen when you take your first final and do poorly on it. I mean, I guess the rest of us were like, yep, that's kind of what happens. You get used to it. But for her, it was a brand new experience. And so I talked with her and, you know, just like, well, you know, let's let's wait and see how it plays out. You know, there's probably I mean, if you've been the one of the top students in the class most of the time. My guess is that lots of other people didn't do particularly well on the final, which means you might have a curve there where your professor will realize that maybe they wrote a test that doesn't quite capture what they taught you or they ask you a question that was outside of what they taught you and just kind of you know didn't really capture you know what you learned in the class and so they might throw some of those questions out or just curve it and you'll be able to be okay but of course she was very concerned about this and still um and so you know for a day or two she was really worried about it And then she called again, and I was talking to her, and I said, well, here's the thing, kiddo, is that we can't do anything about that. We can't do anything about the test that's been taken and graded and done. And it was the multiple choice portion that she hadn't done great on. There's a short answer portion that still needed to be graded at that point and such things. But she... I said, but here's the thing. You have three more finals to go. You have a chemistry final, you have a biology final, and you have your University 101 final. So you have these three finals left. If you spend all of your time dwelling on how this other one didn't go well, you'll probably find yourself making silly mistakes and not doing particularly well on your next finals. Yeah. So it is unfortunate that it was your first final that didn't go particularly well or as well as you had hoped. But we also don't want to let that one final be the reason that everything else in your first semester falls apart. And so I'm like, you're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to be upset. I'm not saying, hey, get over it. But what I'm saying is at some point, you need to put that one kind of in the past, move on from it so that you can accomplish the next set of finals that you have. And so that was the last time I talked to her. And then she went through her finals. And then I was the one that picked her up from the airport. And she said, Dad, I don't know if you know this, but I really took that advice to heart. I didn't, you know, I just, you know, eventually I was just like, you know what? I've got to study for chemistry. I've got to study for biology. I can't just sit here and, you know, not pay attention to anything. So I really did that. And it was great because then I could do well in my other finals and everything worked out. And I was like, cool. I'm so excited for you. That is so awesome. It made me feel like I had done something right as a dad, which was, you know, mostly saying, yes, I've been a college student before. I know how that goes. So here's what I did. Hopefully it works for you. And it wasn't I don't think it was terrible advice to say, hey, you know, be sad about your thing, but then move on to the next final so that you're not always stuck doing, you know, being weighed down by all the things you've done in the past. But she was home for two and a half weeks, which we thought we'd have all sorts of time to do everything and get everything done that we needed to. And then suddenly it was time to take her to the airport on Monday so she could go back. She started school again yesterday. And we're like, wow, two and a half weeks seems like a long amount of time. It seems like you're going to be able to. Go to your favorite restaurants and you'll see your friends when you're home from school and you get to hang out with your family and you'll get to, you know, go to the various church concerts and things like that that are involved in Christmas. It seemed like all of these things were going to have plenty of time. And then suddenly there she was and we're like, oh, I will see you in the end of April, kiddo. because she's off to school again and you know she's doing great there and she's wonderful but it's amazing how you know it was a new experience and that new experience meant that she would not be able to necessarily you know it was a new experience for her and as a new experience she didn't know quite what to expect you know everything that she'd done for you know doing academics in high school and AP tests and stuff she thought had prepared her for everything that she needed to know for college and it was close but you know it's it's slightly different and you know I mean I I had the same experience when I went to college I had the same experience when I went to law school I'm like okay this will be Just kind of more of, and I was like, oh, this is a little bit different. In law school, we didn't get midterm tests and homework and stuff like that that we needed to turn in. It was, hey, here's a final. Show us everything that you've learned and we'll go from there. Or as we used to say, it's our chance to pool our mutual ignorance so that we could be involved. And so it was just a brand new experience for her. And she ended up getting an A in the calculus class because there was in fact a curve and all that kind of stuff. And then Her calculus teacher asked her if she would like to be a TA for the class. And so we're like, well, maybe you didn't do nearly as poorly as you thought you did. But it was kind of an interesting thing. Great to have her home. Great to see her. Great that she could spend time with our other daughter who had missed her terribly and play with her and just have good sibling relationships. But You know, just new experience. And now she's going to go back and it'll be a different experience. Second semester won't be exactly the same, but now she has more experience with it. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ. Also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. Once again, that's 720-394-6887. So my my daughter, having gone off to college and when she was applying for college, we mostly let her do the application all by herself. And then when she wanted some help with the essays, I would read through and say, well, here's a couple of suggestions. What do you think about this? But. And when she went off to college, I mean, when we took her there, she was a little bit scared. Okay, a lot scared. And, you know, a little bit unsure, a lot unsure. But we encouraged her to do all the things she needed to do after freshman orientation when she was 16. overwhelmed we took her to get some food and to just kind of rest with us and have a safe place and then we're like well kiddo now we're gonna we have to drive back to Colorado now so we'll wish you the best of luck and you know we'll see you at Thanksgiving and so her level of experience of living on her own was zero her level of experience with difficult academics was higher than that But she couldn't enter college with any more or any less experience than what she had. You know, we couldn't have gone back in time and said, oh, well, let's make sure we have you take a college class here or there. When, you know, in my high school, I had gotten a year ahead in math. So my senior year, I took a Calculus 3 class, which was not offered at the high school, but was offered at the CSU when I grew up in Fort Collins. So I would go in the morning to an 8 a.m. Calculus 3 class. Now, for those of you who have gone to college, you're thinking, 8 a.m., that is way too early for a college class. Why in the world would anybody want to go to a college class at 8 a.m.? And having been through college, I totally agree with you. But as a high school student where I was up at 5.30 in the morning and to a early morning church seminary class by 6.45 and done with that by 7.30 or 7.45, I'm like, well, I'm already up. I can be at the class and... It was one of those things where the first day of class, there were probably 35 of us in the room. Midway through the semester, there were six or seven of us who actually attended the 8 a.m. class. I was one of the stalwart ones, apparently, or at least one of the ones that woke up in time to get to an 8 a.m. class. So I had had a little bit of experience in what it was like to take a college-level class and a college-level final. And so I went off to college possibly a little bit more confident, maybe even a little bit overconfident compared to my daughter. But we all enter into college, if we go, with different levels of experience. I have some friends who they had done two years of junior college before they came to the university. Others had transferred from a different university. I have a friend who she had graduated from high school at age 16. And so she entered BYU as a freshman. at age 16 turned 17 her freshman year you know I was not that young and I thought that was a little bit it seemed like it might be a little bit too young to go to college to me you know not quite Doogie Howser MD where you enter med school at age 14 but still We all entered college or we all entered school with our level and our requisite knowledge and experience that we had. And I find that's very similar to clients who come to me for estate planning. Someone will come for estate planning and they'll say, That they've got, they have never, they've heard the word will, they've heard the will trust, they've heard the will power of attorney, they've heard the word agent, they've heard the word executor or executrix. Most people have heard executor, not executrix. One's a boy, one's a girl. So executor's a boy, executrix is a girl. But they may have heard of these words, but that's anything they've ever heard of. Those are very novice type of people. They've just not been exposed to estate planning and they often are looking for a lot of guidance on what in the heck are we supposed to do and how do we do things? Well, I have an intake worksheet that asks a whole bunch of questions about what your family situation is like. How old are your kids? How many kids do you have? What's your asset situation like? What type of assets do you have? Do you own a home? Do you own 23 rental real estate properties? Do you own zero rental real estate properties? Do you have an IRA? Do you have a 401k? Do you have an investment account that rivals Warren Buffett? So you're a multi-billionaire, you know, there's just, you know, there's different types of assets are treated different ways. So, you know, I want to know what your family situation is like, you know, Are you on your first marriage? Are you on your second or third marriage? Do you have kids from different marriages? Do you have kids at all? Those type of things help dictate what are we trying to do. Do we want to leave money to the kids? Do we not want to leave money to the kids? do we i think that it would be more beneficial you know if you're a blended marriage and you know you got married later in life so you found the love of your life when you're in your 50s but you have you each had kids from a previous relationship do you want to leave all of the combined money to all of the kids or do you want to have your money go to one set of kids and the other person's money go to a all of these situations we have to talk about. And then we have to talk about who do you trust to leave in charge of things? Who's going to be that personal representative or that executor or executrix? Who's going to be the person who is in charge of carrying out your plans and your instructions? Because those are important things to know. And do you want to have your assets be given outright to people or do you want to hold on to them for a while? I have a My 18-year-old, at this point, legally, I could give her one-third of all of the assets and do it outright and be like, okay, good luck. The 15-year-old, the state of Colorado thinks that 15 is a little bit too young to give outright assets to. And my 12-year-old, who is even younger, the state of Colorado also thinks it's not a great idea to give outright assets to a 12-year-old. So for my 12-year-old and my 15-year-old, we want to establish a... a trust so that the money can be held and used for their health, education, support and maintenance. I have the same thing for my 18 year old, because although my 18 year old would be capable of handling most everything by herself, it's probably not the best idea to just, you know, she's an 18 year old freshman who is a little bit overwhelmed by finals. well, if my wife and I die, and we put her in charge of everything, we're like, well, hey, well, why don't you drop out of college, come home, and just raise your brother and sister, and everything will be fine. That sounds great, and that sounds wonderful, and it sounds like the plot of some sort of, you know, comedy movie with all the misadventures of what's going to happen when that, you know, when mom and dad die, and An older sibling is raising the younger siblings, you know, any number of options. I mean, going all the way back to like elementary school and reading about the boxcar children and how they they lost their parents. They were orphans. So they lived in a boxcar and they found a tea set in the dump and all these kind of things. Well, I don't think that social services would be so keen on boxcar children at this point. Just, you know. It was set long before social services were really as involved in as much of a thing as they are now. But for me, I don't necessarily want my 18-year-old to have to have and shoulder that level of responsibility. It might have been different back in the 1800s when it was like, oh, well, you're going to take over the farm. Okay, cool. Well, that's what you're going to do anyway is take over the farm, so you just accelerate the time frame. Well, I don't know that my 18-year-old was ever going to take over raising her 15- and 12-year-old. So we've chosen to have a sibling and their family who would be able to raise the 15-year-old and the 12-year-old. And we chose them. They chose us. So we're both the biggest fans of absolutely nothing happening to the other couple. We're like, oh, hey, are you exercising? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating your vegetables? Are we doing well? You know, all those type of things, you know, because we don't want to have to do anything. We want them to live long, happy, healthy lives so that we don't have to do anything. And, you know, that's when you're picking somebody who is going to carry out your estate. You really hope it's somebody who wants you to live a long, happy, healthy life so that you don't have to do anything. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ, also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. Again, that's 720-394-6887. So my daughter off at school is kind of a novice at school. She's got a little bit of experience now. But she's going into her second semester, but then she'll go back next year and she'll be a sophomore and then she'll be a junior and then she'll be a senior and then she'll graduate and all of those milestones and steps. My 15-year-old is going to be a junior next year. And we were talking with the volleyball coach the other day and he's like, wow, you're going to be a junior. You're an upperclassman now. And she's like, whoa, how did that happen? Because she still is You know, remembering being the scared freshman going to tryouts, wondering if she was going to make a team that, you know, she made JV as a freshman and then, you know, started as a sophomore and the accolades of all state and honorable or sorry, all conference and honorable mention all state. That's what she managed to accomplish. It's like, hey, well, good for you, kiddo. You've got more experience. So some people who come to me for estate planning have more experience. They've either been involved in carrying out their parents' estate plan, or they previously put together an estate plan. I had someone who called me yesterday who they'd put together their entire estate plan with another attorney, And then just never got it signed. And then the other attorney just kind of somehow disappeared. And so they wanted to know if I could just look at it, make sure it looked all okay, and if we could get it signed. Now, that one, I said, I don't really give my stamp of approval to other people's work. If we wanted to start over, we could. But you've got everything, and the last step is just to get it signed. I'm like, you just need a notary for that. You don't necessarily need me if everything was already in place. You just need a notary to get everything signed, witness notarized, and you're good. And so I kind of talked them out of needing to work with me to do extra work, but instead... pushed them towards, why don't you go ahead and just, you know, find a notary. And I gave them some, you know, names and numbers of a couple of notaries that I know who could be able to help them just to get everything finished off. But I'm like, there's not a whole lot of need for you to pay for my services and me to redo things when you've already got it. You just didn't get it signed before the holidays. And then your other attorney disappeared, which is, I hope not to disappear. But at some point, I do hope to retire and not be practicing law. And I hope that sometime before my retirement is not, oh, look, he was on his way to his signing and he dropped dead of a heart attack. That would not be a great thing. A 95-year-old attorney hobbling down the hallway and not making it to his signing. That just doesn't seem like that's not what I want to do. If at all possible, I'd like to maybe not have that be. The end of my thing. So someone who has more experience with estate planning may not need the same level of guidance and understanding as someone who has no experience. So someone with no experience or someone who has had multiple estate plans, they might need to redo something and do something different. My client I talked to this morning said, were redoing their trust because their trust is now 25 years old and it was done under the tax rules 25 years ago. And there was lots of properties that were involved from when they used to live in Illinois and just all sorts of different things. So many things have changed. Their kids are all grown now. Whereas back when they were prior to 25 years ago, the kids were young. So there's a lot less need for saying who will raise them and a lot more need for, well, how do we address the assets that they've acquired? They've acquired a decent amount of assets, so they're worried about getting it to their kids. And the wife was adamant that it had to go to the kids and not to the spouses of the kids. So I was like, OK, we'll make sure it goes to the kids or to the grandkids and not to the spouses. You know, that was something that was super important to this particular client. I'm like, okay, cool. We can make that happen. Other people, they want their, uh, they want their, uh, assets to either go to their kids or, you know, they kind of see their, the spouses of their kids as their own kids too. So they're okay with money going to those kids. Either one is fine. And one of the levels I've found of estate planning experience that's an interesting one is the, oh, well, you know, what happens if this? And I say, well, what do you want to have happen? No, but just tell me what happens. I'm like, well, there's no one right answer. There's no one right way for everything to be done. I want to figure out what you want to do so that we can make that happen. Because they might be asking, hey, what are the default rules? And I'm like... Well, the default rules are this, but if you don't like those, then we can modify them to have what you want to have happen take place. So people will say, well, you know, what happens if my wife and I both die at the same time? You know, what happens to our money? I'm like, well, are all of your kids, both of your kids? Well, yes. Okay, cool. Then it will likely go to them. It just goes through intestate. probate and anticipate probate means to die without a will. And, you know, you have to follow the rules that the state of Colorado has laid out. And so people are like, Oh, well, you know, I don't, but you know, I just, I just don't know what those rules are. I'm like, well, instead of spending time trying to figure them out, why don't we figure out what you want to do? And then we'll write down what you want to do. And then we'll leave the land of what the default rules say. And then we can go ahead and accomplish what we want by bringing your wishes to pass. And most people agree that that's a good idea. Some people want to know all of the intestate rules. And I'm like, cool, I will print out the intestate statute. I'll hand it to you and you can read through it. They're like, well, why don't you just tell me what it is? I'm like, because it's 87 pages long and I really don't want to go through and explain 87 pages of what the statute says. It's just not what I'm super keen on doing. It just doesn't seem like it would be nearly as much fun for me. So whatever your level of experience is, whatever your level of familiarity is with estate planning, we can start from that level and get your estate plan prepared so that you can get everything done and taken care of. Because even if you think you know everything about estate planning, I mean, if you do know everything about estate planning, that's amazing. I do not. I know there's just, especially with people who have taxable estates and things like that, that's not where I play. I help people who are not ridiculously rich and have more than $27 million. I mean, if you've got more than $27 million, good for you. I do not, and most people I meet do not. But no matter what your situation is, try to get you helped out and taken care of. I guess I'm out of time for now. Talk to you next week. Thanks and bye.
SPEAKER 02 :
Mobile estate planning with Michael Bailey will return to ATX next Wednesday at 2.30 here on KLZ 560, AM 560, FM 100.7, and online at klzradio.com.
Join Tony Perkins as he examines the intricate balance between national security and international diplomacy. Senator Pete Ricketts shares his perspectives on strategic U.S. interests concerning the Arctic and the Panama Canal as potential areas for increased American presence and vigilance. The episode also tackles the ongoing persecution of Christians around the globe, featuring Isaac Six of Global Christian Relief, who reports on the dire circumstances in countries like Nigeria and India where religious freedom is under threat. Finally, the program concludes with insights into the power of prayer during political transitions, urging listeners to actively participate in initiatives that fuse faith with national policy.
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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.
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The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It's being operated by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn't give it to China. And they've abused it.
SPEAKER 05 :
That was President Donald Trump speaking from Mar-a-Lago yesterday. Good evening and welcome to Washington Watch. I'm Tony Perkins and I want to thank you for tuning in. We begin with President Trump's bullish foreign policy statements regarding Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. His remarks have left some on edge. In just a moment, we'll get reaction from Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts. Also yesterday on the program, we covered President Biden's release of al-Qaeda terrorists to Oman, a move sparking legislation aimed at preventing future releases. But the administration is pushing back.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think the president has been pretty clear that and what you've seen over the past few months is more detainees, you know, leaving Guantanamo Bay. I think every administration has made a concerted effort to try and get detainees out of Guantanamo Bay and slowly close that facility.
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That was Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh earlier today. So does this make America safer or does it put us at risk? We'll talk about it later. In other news, a federal judge has blocked Tennessee's efforts to protect minors from harmful pornography sites under its Protect Tennessee Minors Act. Nineteen states have adopted similar laws, but several are tied up in court, including Texas' law, which the Supreme Court will consider next week. We'll get an update from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti later here on Washington Watch. Plus, Nigeria is yet again labeled the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Isaiah Sick, Senior Director of Advocacy for Global Christian Relief, will join us to discuss the findings of their 2025 Red List and what the incoming administration might be able to do to make it safer for Christians around the globe. And finally, the raging fires in Southern California serve as a reminder of our need for God's protection and intervention. That theme will be part of the inauguration praise and prayer convocation on Sunday, January the 19th, which I'll be hosting along with my good friend, Pastor Jim Garlow. Dr. Garlow joins us later to share more about that event. Well, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get started. President-elect Donald Trump is drawing a lot of attention over remarks he made regarding Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal, all three of which he said the United States would be better off with. Now, some have brushed the remarks off as crazy talk and some have called the ideas bad. Or are they really? Here to discuss this, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, who serves on four Senate committees, including the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Ricketts, welcome back to Washington Watch and Happy New Year. Thank you very much. Happy New Year. Thanks for having me on. Well, there's not a dull moment going to be in that we're going to have in Washington, D.C., as President-elect Donald Trump moves back to the reins of government. His comments yesterday, putting some on edge regarding Greenland, Canada and Panama Canal. Your thoughts?
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What the president is doing is thinking long term about our safety and security here in the United States. For example, the president knows that Russia and increasingly China have been involved in the Arctic and that we need to secure that northern flank. And also he knows that Canada has not been pulling its weight with regard to its defense spending. I think last year it spent 1.3% of its GDP on its defense when it's supposed to be spending 2% and committed to that years and years ago and still has not made it. So he's thinking about how can we protect our people here in the United States? Are we gonna need to put bases, for example, up in Greenland? He's thinking the same thing about the Panama Canal, the event of a conflict with Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. We're going to have problems because two Chinese companies own ports or one Chinese company owns a port on both ends of that canal. And you bet that they will try to shut that down if there's a conflict and harm us from being able to respond to anything going on in the Pacific. So the president is thinking long term about how do we keep our country safe? And we ought to be thanking him for it. And I'll tell you right now, there's a lot more people thinking about the risks that are being posed by Russia and China, for example, up in that northern Arctic area today than there were just a couple of days ago.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would think, Senator Ricketts, that for those that observed the first Trump administration, that they would understand that even though he makes statements such as he did yesterday that are maybe uncharacteristic of an incoming administration, there is a method. to what he is doing. And I think he is putting our adversaries on alert. He is keeping the deck kind of shuffled. But I think, as you pointed out, he is doing this with a clear mission in sight.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing to remember is that, you know, Trump is a negotiator and he's a disruptor. So we shouldn't be surprised that his negotiating style is very disruptive. The negotiations for Greenland or Panama, the Panama Canal, haven't even started yet. So Trump is certainly not going to give up anything in his hand before the negotiations have even begun. And again, it's about thinking about the long term safety and security of our country. So this is something that is this at the beginning, not the end. And but it is a good sign that the president is thinking about how do we secure our nation long term.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, I agree 100% on Panama Canal. We should have never given that back to Panama. We should have retained control of that. And China, as we saw during COVID, when they clamped down on personal protective equipment after they created the crisis, we know that they are – clearly an adversary, and to allow them to control such a vital waterway is unacceptable. But Greenland, is that realistic, to think that the United States could take control of Greenland?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, again, it's currently Greenland is owned by Denmark. And what the president has suggested that Denmark sell us Greenland. And it would be a way for us to help secure the northeast United States by making sure we would be able to put up our military bases there. We also have Chinese ships that are there. They're dual purpose. They're supposed to be doing research. But we know that there's nothing in the Chinese Navy that is just purely civilian, right? Whether it's research ships, they've all got dual purpose, they all report to the same dictator who tells them what to do, or even private companies like the companies that own the ports down in Panama, they have to do whatever the Chinese government tells them to do, whatever the dictator Xi Jinping tells them to do, right? This is called communism. Right. They're all under one central government and they have to do what the dictator says. So we should be very concerned about what the Chinese are doing in the Arctic and what they're doing with these so-called research vessels because they're dual purpose. Just having the ports down in Panama. We know that for no other reason, the Chinese will be monitoring the traffic there and make be making intelligent decisions. you know, guesses about what would happen in times of war and being using and using that against us.
SPEAKER 05 :
With that in mind, Senator, let's let's talk about a contrast, because Donald Trump is concerned about American security, our national defense. But yesterday, the Pentagon, the Biden Pentagon, announced that it released 11 al-Qaeda linked terrorists from Guantanamo Bay. in Cuba to Oman. Now, do we have any guarantees that they won't pick up where they left off and go right back to the business they were in before, terrorism?
SPEAKER 10 :
Sadly, this is pretty standard for the Biden administration, but they don't tell us anything about what is going on. I read about this in the paper just like everybody else. There was no advance notice to us to say, hey, here's who these people are, here's what they did, here's the guarantees we have from the Omanis to make sure they'll never do it again. We have no such assurance that I know of that at least has been communicated to the US Senate with regard to why we should feel good about these detainees being released. We know they were terrorists. They've been terrorists for a long time, and we should not be letting them out. And what kind of guarantees do we have? They won't just return to their terrorist ways, We've certainly seen that in the past with previous people who have been released. They've gone back to being terrorists again. So this is something where the Biden administration has told us nothing about why we should feel good about this. And again, it's just part and parcel of why this administration has been such a failure. They just don't put the well-being of the American people first. They put their own woke agenda first.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the track record of Oman, I think we have roughly 30 other detainees, terrorists have been transferred to Oman. They've been released without explanation. So there's no reason to believe that these would find the same freedom there in Oman to go back to the field of terrorism. Now, there are a few left there in Guantanamo Bay, and I know some of your colleagues are at least messaging, moving legislation, trying to move legislation forward that would prohibit the Biden administration from releasing any more of these terrorists from Guantanamo Bay. Is that a possibility of seeing that legislation move forward?
SPEAKER 10 :
I have not seen the legislation, so I can't speak to that legislation directly. But one of the things that I think we should all keep in mind is, look, while these people are being detained, they're not a threat to American citizens. Why you would change that status quo is beyond me. You'd have to make a pretty darn good case that, for whatever reason, you can move these people someplace else and American people are going to be safe. The Biden administration has not made that case to us on the people they just released. And we need to have better than just their word that somehow this is going to all turn out OK, because the Biden administration has shown time and time again that their appeasement first policy has put Americans at risk and made us less safe.
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator Ricketts, you've been very strong in support of Israel. And one of the pieces of legislation that the Now, Majority Leader John Thune has said he is going to be moving through a companion bill that is in the House, and that is taking action against the International Criminal Court for their efforts to actually arrest the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. They're talking about sanctions for those individuals. I understand that may be making its way to the Senate floor this week?
SPEAKER 10 :
My understanding, that's a possibility that we might be voting on that this week. It'll either be that or the Lake and Riley Act, which is designed to make sure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has to arrest and deport illegal immigrants who commit criminal crimes here in our country. So those are the two things that we've been told we may come up. And I do think it's important to note that this is an issue with regard to the International Criminal Court that we did not sign onto it, neither has Israel. So they really have no jurisdiction in either one of our countries. And there's a reason for that, because we don't trust them. And they're taking action against Israel while really doing nothing against Hamas, who started all this with their terrorist attack. So Tom Cotton had sent a letter to the ICC. I was one of the signatories to it. It said, if you pursue this, there will be consequences. This legislation is the consequence that the ICC will now face.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and I think it's good because I think that is a part of the giving rise and fuel to the anti-Semitism that we see around the world. So I'm grateful that this is actually a priority of the new Republican-controlled Congress of the 119th. Senator Pete Ricketts, always great to see you. Thank you for coming on the program today. Great. Thanks again for having me on, Tony. I appreciate it. Happy New Year. All right. Happy New Year. Have a great day. All right, folks, more to be praying about. And we're going to give you more on how you can join in our prayer. But let me give you this right now. If you'd like to join the Operation Prayer Shield, where we're praying for our country and our allies, both domestically and internationally, all the issues going on, text the word SHIELD to 67742. That's SHIELD to 67742. All right, coming up next, a new law to protect children in Tennessee from online pornography was blocked from going into effect at the 11th hour by a federal judge. What was the reason? Well, we're going to talk with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti next here on Washington Watch. Don't go away.
SPEAKER 09 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 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 parked 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, the community of believers, on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. 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 Govern. 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 13 :
Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC's Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God's word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Glad to have you with us. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, best way to get in touch with us is the Stand Firm app. Go to the App Store and download the Stand Firm app. That way you've got Washington Watch with you no matter where you are. A new law to protect children in Tennessee from online pornography was set to go into effect New Year's Day, but it was blocked the day before by a U.S. District Court judge. Her reasoning? It was supposedly suppressing of the free speech rights of adults. Well, the Tennessee Attorney General, Jonathan Scrametti, has asked a federal appeals court to allow the Protect Tennessee Minors Act to take effect while litigation proceeds. And he joins us now to discuss this. General Scrametti, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you and Happy New Year. Happy New Year to you, too. Thanks for having me back. This is not something that Tennessee is doing in a vacuum because there's 19 states in total that have taken this step because increasingly over the last decade, we've seen pornography. In fact, many states have labeled it a health crisis because of its effect, particularly upon minors and how this industry is preying upon them. Give our viewers and listeners an understanding of what the Protect Tennessee Minors Act would do and why it's been blocked and how you're gonna fight for it in court.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, the Protect Tennessee Minors Act is intended to make sure that only adults are able to access explicit, obscene material on the internet. Right now, there's evidence all over the place of children who can access some really disturbing and horrible stuff with virtually no effort. It just pervades the internet. And so this requires age verification to access these sites. It passed unanimously. Every single member of the Tennessee General Assembly either voted for it or didn't vote. There was not one vote against. this law when it went through. And it's pretty similar to laws in Texas and Indiana and Florida, many other states that have adopted similar laws. The whole point of it is not to keep adults out. There are all sorts of privacy protections for adult information used for age verification. But protecting our kids from the psychological impact of ready access to these materials is a incredibly compelling reason for the state to do this. And the law just seeks to make sure that kids can't see what kids shouldn't see.
SPEAKER 05 :
General, you said it's pervasive. It certainly is pervasive. I would say it's pernicious. I would also say that There's evidence to suggest that it's not passive in terms of the pornography industry, that they are pursuing people to kind of catch them in their net. This is simply trying to provide, if I read the legislation right, a wall of protection that just makes sure that whoever crosses into that is, in fact, 18 years of age.
SPEAKER 01 :
Correct. And we do that all the time. There are laws protecting children from things that adults can do all over the place, buying alcohol, buying a gun, voting. There are all sorts of activities that you have to be 18 to do. This law just says that going to these obscene and explicit sites is one of those things that you need to prove your age to do. And it's consistent with laws in other states. The Supreme Court next week is hearing Texas' case. And we're optimistic that the court is going to further validate the legitimacy of these laws. But it's just common sense. There are things that kids should not be able to do, and we as adults need to protect them.
SPEAKER 05 :
So very common sense, rational argument that you've made there that you have to show an ID to get alcohol, to buy cigarettes. Why not pornography? What are the opponents saying that would separate this from alcohol or from tobacco or any other product that we protect children from?
SPEAKER 01 :
So the First Amendment is very important. It's a cornerstone of our American republic. And free speech is something that we need to protect vitally. But they read free speech very broadly. There are some opinions from way back from the Supreme Court that talked about inhibiting adult access to materials in the course of protecting children. But at the end of the day, The First Amendment does not apply to obscenity, and a lot of the material out there is obscene by definition. And if you go back and look at even the very liberal justices back in the 60s, Justice Brennan, who was perhaps the most liberal justice of all on free speech, He had no problem with limiting kids' access to pornography. He didn't see any free speech implications there. The case law seems to back us up. But there are people out there, some maybe self-servingly, who say that even trying to restrict kids' access to this material poses a grave threat to free speech and needs to be stopped. And those are the arguments that are raised against us.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, General Scramatti, you pointed out that Texas, their law is going to be before the Supreme Court on the 15th. They'll be presenting that case. The Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas will be there. How might the outcome of that case impact your law there in Tennessee?
SPEAKER 01 :
We're optimistic that the Supreme Court is going to say that, of course, states can require age verification. That's not a constitutional obstacle. And our hope would be that that trickles back down through the Sixth Circuit and through the trial court. to validate our law, to allow us to proceed with enforcement. Now, in any law involving speech, there may be situations that arise where there are constitutional problems. But invalidating a law on its face paints with a very, very broad brush. And there are many legitimate applications, and we would like to enforce those applications and make sure that Tennessee kids are not able to zip right onto the Internet and find these obscene materials that will have terrible impacts on them as they grow into adulthood.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's quite significant, as you pointed out earlier, that this was supported unanimously by the legislature there in Tennessee. I mean, you really have to read. That's a pretty high threshold. And I know it's a conservative Republican state, but even so, that's a pretty high threshold.
SPEAKER 01 :
It really is. It's very unusual for anything controversial to move unanimously. And here you have a very wide range of legislators, people with very different political ideas, but all of them recognize that we need to protect our kids. And it's America. You're allowed to disagree. People come at things from different directions. But this is something that we can all unite around. Our children are assailed with these negative, evil influences, and we have to take steps to protect them.
SPEAKER 05 :
And there is an abundance of evidence now to suggest that this has long-term implications for them. General Scametti, I want to thank you for joining us. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you. Great to see you, too.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. And folks coming up with the inauguration day fast approaching. How can we be praying in these days leading up to it? Well, after the break, we're going to talk about it. Don't go away.
SPEAKER 14 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC. 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 03 :
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 11 :
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 05 :
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. This is Washington Watch. I'm Tony Perkins, your host. Good to have you with us. Hey, what does last week's terrorist attack in New Orleans and the fires raging in Southern California have in common? Well, they should both make it abundantly clear that we need God's hand to be upon this nation. In 12 days, our nation will inaugurate its 47th president, Donald Trump. That is not the finish line for us as Christians, it's the starting line. So working with Dr. Jim Garlow, I am co-hosting a special event the Sunday before the inauguration, the inauguration praise and prayer convocation. It's an opportunity to gather, celebrate God's faithfulness to our country, his mercy and his grace, and lift up our country in prayer. Joining me now to discuss this, Dr. Jim Garlow, founder and CEO of the ministry Well-Versed, who, as I mentioned, is co-sponsoring this event along with FRC. Dr. Garlow, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you. Good to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you are in Southern California. That's your home. Now, you're down in San Diego, a bit of a ways from the fires. But these are historic fires that are raging there in Los Angeles.
SPEAKER 04 :
Very sobering. Bring back memories. In 2013, we had 2,800 homes burned here in San Diego. In 2017, we had 1,600 homes burned. HERE IN SAN DIEGO. THERE WERE EXACT MEMORIES OF THAT. SO WE'RE EXTREMELY CONCERNED FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING IN LOS ANGELES RIGHT NOW. I DON'T KNOW, FOUR DIFFERENT FIRES OR SO THAT ARE OCCURRING AND NONE OF THEM ARE CONTAINED AT ALL.
SPEAKER 05 :
VERY SERIOUS. I think I see this as there are things that are beyond our control. Now, certain things we can do to prepare and protect, but we need God. And just as we see a new administration coming in that is certainly going to be more favorable to things we care about, we need to be praying. And that's a part of this event that we're doing on the Sunday before the inauguration is just to thank God for what he has done for but pray and intercede for our nation as we go forward. Talk a little bit about the motivation here and what we'll be doing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Tony, it's interesting. Almost everywhere I listen to or talk to, people use the same word, reprieve. We've been given a reprieve. Well, it's a two-year or a four-year reprieve, I don't know. But the church has been given a reprieve, a time to really get its act together. We're so thankful that Trump will be our new president, but Jesus is our king, our messiah, and our savior. And so for that purpose, we're coming before him to honor Jesus, to honor the Lord. We'll be praising and worshiping, and then we'll be praying for our new president in very specific areas that he literally have the mind of Christ, that he have a biblical worldview as he moves forward in all of these areas, protection over him. And then, Tony, I'm thankful you're going to be sharing, I think, a very prophetic and extremely important word about this reprieve and what the church needs to be doing at this particular time. I love your phrasing. This is not the finish line. It's the starting point. So the church has an incredible opportunity. right now that's been given us to step up in the arenas of holiness and righteousness, biblical justice and truth before a holy, righteous, and just God. So we invite people to come January 19th at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. That's a Sunday to the Greater New Hope Baptist Church on 8th Street Northwest, very close, Tony, to the FRC headquarters there. We invite them to come be a part of this important event.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, information on how folks can be a part of it.
SPEAKER 04 :
They can go to two places, wellversedworld.org, wellversedworld.org. They can sign up. There's no charge. Or they can go to the FRC. Tony, you ought to tell them exactly where on the FRC website to go. But either one of those they can go to. They can sign up. They don't need to. There it is right there, frc.org forward slash prayer. And we encourage you to come. Now, you need to sign up right away because the space is limited and we're almost at capacity. And because of the crowds and because of street closings that sometimes the Secret Service does, you know, it starts at two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. We urge you to arrive around 1245 or so, because there could be a number of crowds in the streets from other events. There's another large event going nearby. And then Secret Service may have some streets closed. So allow plenty of time to get there. We have to go through security as well to protect everyone. But we encourage you to come and worship the Lord with us, and we'll have a great celebration.
SPEAKER 05 :
And by the way, dress warmly because it's cold. And you'll be outside a lot if you're there in D.C. just kind of making your way around. So do dress warmly. Some of the folks that will be involved with this event, as you said, it's a prayer. We'll have a number of people praying as we pray over various aspects. Who are some of the other leaders that are going to be joining us?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, Sean Fioik will be leading the worship. I already mentioned what Tony's going to be sharing, and so I think it's a word from the Lord. David Barton will be sharing just very briefly a history of presidential proclamations to pray, to fast, solemn assembly and such. And then we have everyone, Paula White, Jenny Korn, who've been involved in the last administration a great deal, a host of us, Matt Staver, Robert Tyler, Individuals praying. We're praying for Israel, Mike Evans. We have a high-level governmental official from a member of parliament in Ukraine that will be there. and some, frankly, some wounded soldiers. And I just received word this morning, Tony, I didn't have any chance to tell you this, that a member of the Knesset, Ohad Tal, was able to come. He just called me this morning, a few minutes ago, saying he was going to be able to come, and he'll be with us. He'll give an update on the hostage situation, an update from Israel. Then we'll be praying. for Israel. So there's a lot of people praying for different categories, praying for wisdom on the president. And then, Tony, if they also want to, we want to invite them to come to February 5, the event you and I are doing together, the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, the Museum of the Bible, and they can sign up at the same site.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Dr. Jim Garlow, I look forward to seeing you on the 19th as we pray and kick off the administration of Donald Trump in prayer and praise. All right, folks, coming up next, a new report exposes the top offenders of Christian persecution. 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 saying 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're the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington, Washington. Again, if you plan on being in D.C., I invite you to join us for the worship service leading up to the presidential inauguration. The registration, as Dr. Garlow said, is free, but space is limited. It's filling up very quickly. To register, just go to frc.org slash Bible. That's frc.org slash Bible. Also, if you're not able to, I'm sorry, that's prayer, frc.org slash prayer. And if you're not able to be here in D.C., you can, we'll be streaming it on the Stand Firm app, so make sure you have the Stand Firm app. Today's word is from Isaiah 55, verses one and two. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? These verses remind us that salvation is free. It cannot be earned or purchased, only accepted. Yet many still chase empty things that never truly satisfy. God's invitation is universal, crossing cultural and ethnic boundaries. But notice that it's extended only to the thirsty. Unless we long for what God offers, a righteousness that restores our relationship with Him, His gift remains unopened. Jesus reiterates this in Matthew 5, verse 6, Many look elsewhere for fulfillment, yet only God meets our soul's deepest need. We must personally respond to His call. We've all heard the saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The same principle applies spiritually. God sets before us living water, but we must decide to drink. Are you thirsty for him? If so, he promises to satisfy. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That's BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday, a new annual report was released that exposes the top offenders of Christian persecution worldwide. The red list, compiled by Global Christian Relief using the Violence Incident Database, highlights the top five countries where documented killings, arrests, displacements, attacks and assaults, and abductions against Christians are most severe. and it notes some troubling trends. Joining me to unpack the new report is Isaac Six. He is the Senior Director of Advocacy for Global Christian Relief. Isaac, welcome to Washington Watch. Good to see you and a happy new year.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good to see you too. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
So before we jump into this list, share with what makes this list unique, Isaac.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I'd be happy to. So a couple of years ago, Global Christian Relief identified a need when it came to reporting on Christian persecution. There are several great annual reports that come out from organizations that we cooperate with on assisting the persecuted, and those reports have their role to play. But we noted that there wasn't any reporting happening of hard, verifiable data using public sources on some of these numbers. So a lot of the We'll look at, they'll take surveys, they'll make estimates about the numbers. But we noted that when we're talking with policymakers and we're talking with leaders, they want numbers that can be verified, that can be sourced easily in public sources, and that are very hard to refute. So that's where we decided to come up with the Red List. And that's built on the violent incidents database, which is research that we've commissioned. So this is over two years of very intense research. looking at every single possible public source and report on persecution over the last couple of years and then tabulating those numbers. The second reason we did this is we also, for our own work, wanted to be able to focus and be effective on the ground. We're in these countries doing work with the persecuted church. And so we need to see what we were missing and where we need to help.
SPEAKER 05 :
So let's go through the categories. Let's start with what is obviously most concerning. That is the killing, killing of Christians. This is where we find Nigeria to be the most dangerous place in the world for Christians.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. We documented 9,814 killings in a two-year period. That confirms a lot of other reporting out there that Nigeria is the most dangerous place on earth for Christians where they face the most intense violence. Our number is a little lower, again, than you're going to see in some other reports because we're only using numbers that we can source from verifiable quality sources. So, but yes, Nigeria for a long time now has been one of the most dangerous places for Christians to operate. The stories coming out of Nigeria are almost unimaginable. And I think if the American church heard some of these stories on a regular basis, they would be shocked. Just one example. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, this is something I've been discussing for some time, going back to when I was on, you worked at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and so we first connected there. This picture has grown increasingly dark for Christians in Nigeria. There was a ray of light during the previous Trump administration when Secretary Pompeo took our recommendation to list Nigeria as a country of particular concern. The Biden administration immediately removed it from the list when they came in, and it has only gotten worse since then in the last four years. What's it going to take to turn things around there in Nigeria?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it's going to take a lot. And you're absolutely right. At the very end of the Trump administration, that was the first time Nigeria was ever designated a country of particular concern, despite years of targeted killings. So, to see that designation removed, and that designation is important. It signals to these countries that the United States and others are extremely concerned about what's happening. And it can open up these countries to economic sanctions and other measures. So it's going to take a concerted, organized effort at the policy level and also at the ground level to shift the tide in Nigeria. But it's simply been unaddressed. The federal government and the state governments in Nigeria need to be put under a lot more pressure to do something about this. They probably have the resources, but they're just not prioritizing protecting Christians in the middle and northern parts of the country.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, I mean, this is... Before we move on to one of the next categories, this is one that is... for me, very problematic because these people have very little defense and their government is not helping them, basically just turning a blind eye as these Muslim radicals are killing Christians, burning their homes, their churches, attacking them. You said the church needs to become aware. What can be done to aid in the plight of our brothers and sisters there in Nigeria?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. Well, if you go to our website, gcrelief.org, you're going to see some of the stories and the projects that we're doing. It's a whole range. We're going in and bandaging the church. We're finding those who've lost everything. One of the stories I just wrote after we conducted an interview with one of the survivors there, and we haven't published it yet, but as a woman who was taken by Boko Haram, which is one of the primary Islamist groups there committing persecution, And with her children, several of her children and four of her sons were executed in front of her as soon as she was taken captive. And then she spent another year and a half in captivity, finally escaped and had nothing at all. So through our ministry and one of the pastors we support there who found her, we were able to provide her with a new home to live in, to be reunited with her children. We helped her start a new business and basically start her life again and get back on her feet. So, there's — but we are just a drop in the bucket compared to the need there to restore the church. At the same time, though, it's going to take political pressure as well, because a lot of these areas where Boko Haram and these other groups have come in and wiped out Christian communities, other Muslim groups have moved in and taken over their land and property. And they're not planning to give it back anytime soon.
SPEAKER 05 :
JOHN YANG All right. What other countries make that top five in terms of the killing of Christians?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, so there's several other countries on the top five list with killing of Christians, although they are leagues away from Nigeria. They're in the hundreds in terms of what we were able to document. And again, I should clarify, there are probably more killings than what we're documenting. These are just carefully verified sources. So number two is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Number three is Mozambique. Number four is Ethiopia. And then sort of surprising, number five is Russia.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, let's talk about Russia. Now, I know that Russia has been a problem for religious freedom because my time on the commission for speaking out, they sanctioned me. I've been sanctioned by both China and Russia. But is this related to what they're doing in Ukraine, where they're the targeting of Christians in the territories in Ukraine?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it's actually a mix with Russia. So, in terms of the killings, a lot of the numbers we verified are the result of an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, in a region called Dagestan, which borders Azerbaijan and Georgia and the Caspian Sea. And so there we see Russian Orthodox Christians and others being targeted by Islamist violence. At the same time, Russia also makes our list for arrests. And that is taking place primarily in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, where, at the behest of Russian Orthodox leaders, evangelicals, Baptists, Pentecostals are being arrested and detained if they refuse to comply with new rules, if they continue to try to worship freely, if they don't hand over property to the Russian occupying forces, things like that. There are also some killings we've confirmed in eastern Ukraine of evangelicals by Russian forces or Russian proxy forces.
SPEAKER 05 :
Do we know what is happening to those Christians who are being arrested and detained there by Russian authorities?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, some of them are being sent away. Some of them are facing long term sentences. Others are released on various conditions, but they're in hiding. I heard from someone who survived or who has family members who are living essentially in an underground church type situation now, a Baptist family. And so, yeah, there's various outcomes, but it's not good for most of them. And there's really no due process for any of them when it comes to the charges that they're facing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Isaac, another country that has been on my radar in my time with the commission and one that is kind of getting a pass from many in the West just because of their growing economic power, and that is India. India has become a very difficult country for Christians.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's right. And India tops our list in terms of attacks on Christian property, targeted attacks. A lot of that is from riots that have taken place over the last couple of years in Manipur, India, where thousands of tens of thousands of Christians have been displaced and thousands of Christian buildings and churches and homes have been wiped out or destroyed. But, yes, India is a good example of why our focus on violence is so important, because the persecutors—this isn't just random violence. Persecutors use violence to drive out Christians and then to take control and capture the culture in some of these countries. So, in India, for example, this is a decade of systematic, planned, organized occupation of some Christian areas. And it's now at the point where every Every single rung of civil society and government is armed against Christian communities, impoverished Christian communities in some of these places, meaning you have no recourse. The police aren't going to help you. If you manage to get in front of a judge, the judge is biased against you. Every institution has sort of been captured over a decade in some parts of India, and that's leading to mass suppression of the church.
SPEAKER 05 :
Very similar situation in Nigeria from a standpoint of the government being against you. You have no recourse. And this is, you know, I always like to look at these issues internationally from a domestic standpoint as well, is this is why we need to make sure that we have religious freedom in this country, because this is what happens when you don't have it. We just have about four minutes left, Isaac. Let's talk a little bit about the, first off, where can people see the full report? Give us that information.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, please go to GCRelief. That's GCRelief.org. You're going to find a link to the report on the front page of our website, or you can go to the tab labeled Research at the top. There's a drop-down box. You can fill in your email address through a link there and get a full copy of the report.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, and if you didn't get that, just go to TonyPerkins.com and follow the links over. All right, let's talk about the trends that you're seeing here that are troubling.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I think one of the big ones, and again, this is why this kind of research is important, because one of the trends we've noticed, and it's just so far outside of the public eye, but the growth of radical Islamist insurgencies in the sub-Saharan Africa, the Sahel, sub-Saharan Africa, and now deep into the southern and southeastern parts of Africa is uprooting things there. I mean, places like Mozambique, which makes our list instead several places where there's been mass displacement of Christians. These are places where only 10 years ago, Christians and Muslims generally got along peacefully. There was not as much dissension. And that whole landscape is changing. So a lot of the southern half of that continent, which there is immense mineral wealth, Places like the Congo, where 75 percent, 70 percent of global cobalt production happens, which is for all the batteries that we use for everything, these areas are riven by this conflict. So it's going to have effects across the globe. And that's why we need people in the church in America to become involved, because they can help us stand against this time.
SPEAKER 05 :
So let's talk about, in just a couple of minutes we have left, policy recommendations in terms of what the incoming administration might do to provide greater protection through influence with these foreign governments for Christians around the globe.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. Well, the number one by far that we have been pushing for quite some time, and I know you have as well, but we need to redesignate Nigeria a country of particular Trump can do that on day one when he steps into office, and that'll signal to Nigerian authorities that it's time to pay attention to this again. And then there's further measures that we can go beyond that. They need to understand that the relationship with the United States is going to deteriorate quickly if these mass killings and attacks continue to happen. So that's first. There's others. With India, we're recommending that the next administration build relationships at the state level with leaders there. relationship with the United States is dependent on upholding certain values like religious freedom. And then we have several other recommendations. The last one I'll note is with Azerbaijan. As you know, Azerbaijan drove out 120,000 Christians in late 2023. They wiped out 1,700 years of Christian presence in an area called Nagorno-Karabakh. And so we've pushed and others are pushing Azerbaijan to reopen that corridor, allow these, give these people the right to return home, even if they're not going to relinquish the territory.
SPEAKER 05 :
A lot to be done, and it shows the influence the United States can have. We were trending in a positive direction during the last Trump administration, and all that was lost, and we've fallen back during the last four years. Isaac, I want to thank you for joining us. Appreciate the work that you do. It's very, very important work.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate it.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Isaac 6. To find out more, go to the website, TonyPerkins.com, and you can follow the links over. And this is another reason to be praying. We all are affected by this, and we need to be praying for our brothers and sisters and sharing in the challenges that they have. We can use our voice to help them regain theirs. All right, we're out of time, folks. Thanks for joining me. Until next time, I leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done everything you can do, when you've prayed, when you've prepared, and when you've taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 07 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
Join Dana Lash as she delves into a series of bizarre and amusing stories from the Sunshine State in this episode of 'Absurd Truth'. From a man convinced his house was poisoned to an accidental text to the cops instead of a drug dealer, it's a wild ride through Florida. Dana also takes a critical look at the diversity efforts within the Los Angeles Fire Department amidst ongoing national conversations about inclusivity. Her sharp wit and incisive commentary make for a compelling discussion on what it means to fight fires and break down barriers.
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SPEAKER 01 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Caltech.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I'm trying to understand. So this is an NBC2 local affiliate out there in Florida. A Cape Coral man was arrested after he claimed that his house was poisoned and attempted to break into another house. How do you poison a house? The victim was seen trying to open a lock sliding door on the back of the home. The victim said he confronted the guy, told him that he was armed. And that's when the intruder ran away from the scene before officers arrived. The guy, Antonio Cruz Aparicio, he was attempting to gain entry into a home. He was yelling for help, saying his house was poisoned. They actually had a tasing to get him under control. And they found his wallet at a separate residence. So He got charged – a couple charges, burglary, resisting with violence. Yeah, that's kind of freaky. Just – I didn't even – I mean obviously they probably did a mental health check on him. This – let's see. Oh, I got a couple of other ones. This is a Florida woman was arrested after she accidentally texted a sheriff's department instead of her drug dealer. That can happen, I'm sure, to people like Octavia Wells, 41 years old. She sent a text message trying to get fentanyl before leaving town. Apparently, though, she accidentally texted a narcotics investigator within the sheriff's office and, oh boy, the investigator adeptly engaged her in conversation, masquerading as her drug dealer, arranged to meet with her. She went to the gas station thinking she was meeting her drug dealer, and instead she was met with a team of investigators, and she was taken into custody because they charged with a whole bunch of stuff. And I don't know if buying with the intent to distribute was part of it, but I don't know. This, let's see, there's a Lee County man that got in trouble for slashing tires following a road rage incident. 37-year-old Matthew Tobler. He was slashing tires of a vehicle, according to Lee County Sheriff's Office, and he was making obscene gestures, hand gestures at nearby motorists. And when... A victim said that he... Why would you approach the vehicle? There was an incident. A victim approached Tobler's vehicle. He got out of the car, began threatening him with a knife, and then started slashing his tires before leaving the scene. So they were able to take... I mean, what the hell is wrong with... I'm going to tell you what. People can't drive. That is for sure. I've got some stories. I actually have a story that happened to me over Christmas that I'll share when I'm able to share it. But yeah, people cannot drive. And let's see. And Saudi Arabia is pressing a Floridian. Well, a man in Florida to give up his U.S. citizenship over critical tweets. It's a Florida retiree. He made social media posts critical of the crown prince. And apparently Saudi Arabia doesn't have the same kind of, you know, speech. Interesting. This is going to make your life easier. And if you, you know, dislike big pharma and you dislike the Rube Goldberg machine, that is our health care system. All family pharma is here for you because they believe in medical freedom and empowering you to take charge of your health. So, for instance, when I got sick over Thanksgiving. Right. And I mean, it's I can't get into your doctor. And if you know, do you want to go to urgent care and pay like a 200 something dollar copay when you could just literally get in touch with all family pharma dot com slash Dana and use code Dana 10 for 10 percent off your entire order. And then you know what you need. You know that you're sick. You know what medication works. You still consult with a doctor and they get it sent out to you and they can send it out to you overnight. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. It's all made in the USA. You're not getting Chinese medicine. OK, you're not getting CCP meds. And you can get comprehensive treatment options like ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine. They have antibiotics. I got azithromycin because I had a really bad sinus infection and I was sick as a dog. And I got azithromycin overnighted to me. And it just basically made it to where I could still see my family for Thanksgiving. So it was nice. Fast and convenient delivery. Like I said, you can let them know if you need something overnight as well. It is worth it. Visit allfamilypharma.com. and get 10% off with promo code DANA10. There is no other way to get the medicine that you need. Don't wait for Big Pharma's next excuse. Protect yourself and your family today. It's allfamilypharma.com slash DANA and use coupon code DANA10 to save 10%.
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SPEAKER 05 :
In L.A., they've had over, I don't know, some people said they've personally seen hundreds of homes burned. What were they doing just recently? Audio Summit 11. This is what they were doing. This is how the city was handling stuff. Listen.
SPEAKER 12 :
I'm super inspired.
SPEAKER 08 :
She took time out of her already busy schedule to tell us about her vision for the department's future, one that includes a three-year strategic plan to increase diversity.
SPEAKER 12 :
People ask me, well, what number are you looking for? I say, I'm not looking for a number. It's never enough.
SPEAKER 08 :
Out of 3,300 city firefighters, only 115 are women right now. She's already looking at ways to change that. She's quick to point out that doing so has a greater purpose, attracting the best and brightest for the job.
SPEAKER 12 :
They feel included, they feel valued, and they feel part of a cohesive team.
SPEAKER 08 :
The chief also checks another box when it comes to inclusivity and diversity at this department. She's a proud member of the LGBTQ community.
SPEAKER 12 :
That just kind of opens the door of people that thought, I didn't even know that that was an opportunity for me.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, man, things that I would rather say right now that I can't. I mean, you know, they could be focusing on firefighting and stuff, but, you know, it's California, specifically L.A., We got to make sure that we include people who have sex a certain way in our hiring process. Like, are they, is it like a job for firefighters or are they also hookers? I don't understand. Yeah. Like how, why does that have any impact on that? Why does that, why is that a consideration on the job? You know, my bosses don't care that I love cilantro. They don't care. They wouldn't care if I dislike cilantro. It's not a thing, right? It's just a preference. This idea that this is somehow you have to include this into firefighting, I just don't understand it. Does it make them fight the fires a better way? Like, does a gay dude fight a fire better than a dude who's not gay? Like, is how well you fight fires predicated upon how you, you know, get it out privately? Like, I'm curious. Is there something I don't know? Is there a study?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, I don't think even straight people don't have an advantage over gay people in that regard because that doesn't matter to your firefighting skills.
SPEAKER 05 :
I am made of jokes right now. It's taking everything I have. All of my self-restraint right now.
SPEAKER 11 :
All of them. The fact that we're arguing this part of it, to me, is beyond absurd.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, this is stuff they were doing just a few months ago. Yes, it's very important. I don't care if the fire chief is alphabet. I don't care. Can you, I don't know, fight fires? It's very important that we get a fire chief who likes tail. It's very important. And that it's a chick who likes tail. It's very important. And this does what concerning the impact of fighting fires? Absolutely nothing. Then why is it an issue? This is what's so confusing coming from my perspective as someone who was a teenager in the 90s and a young adult going into the early aughts. I was always told, like the rhetoric that we always heard is that what happens behind closed doors is none of your business and stay out of everybody's private lives. But now it's like the doors are flung open and they're having a housewarming party in their bedroom and you're forced to attend and applaud. That's what it's like now. And I just, it's so hypocritical. And it is completely fair to bring these things up and point this out because the fact that that was like a huge goal for them. Do you know they don't have enough firefighters? Adam Carolla was just saying what he reiterated the story that he shared a couple of years ago that he had tried to be a firefighter. And they told him that he had to wait. He was on a wait list to be considered because he wasn't a minority firefighter. We don't need any of you white dudes fighting fires. Oh, my gosh. This is so it's just so weird. It's so weird. I don't know. I'm just that's what they focused on. DEI is going to get everybody burnt up. People will burn to death because of DEI. That's exactly what I just this is just so stupid. So stupid. I was looking at who voted where. So the Palisades... And LA Times had a story where you can go and you can read and see on this map that they have. You go to remove paywall to get around their paywall because I'm not paying them for this stuff. But they were saying that the Palisades, it was pretty close. A lot of them voted for Karen Bass. But barely more of them voted for Rick Caruso. But Karen Bass ended up winning for mayor in LA. So... I mean, and of all the people who are very, very competent, you know, Rick Caruso, billionaire, very successful real estate developer, understands land management, understands all of it. You know, you would think that you would need somebody like that, particularly with wildfires that have been plaguing the area lately. But no, no, they went with Karen Bass, not even in town when all this stuff happens. Remember how the left lost their minds when Ted Cruz went on a previously scheduled spring break trip during ice again a couple of years ago. Karen Bass is legit like at an inauguration in Ghana while her town burns. So shut up. And then Cruz didn't even go. He canceled his portion and stayed, which is stupid. Yeah. And he's yeah. So stupid. So I don't know. Meantime, in Seattle, another city being ravaged by progressivism, who would have thought their $20 per hour minimum wage law is forcing all the restaurants to close? There's five more restaurants that are closing. They have a law where they demand that you pay someone over $20 an hour, $20.76 an hour. And the hospitality industry came out with a prediction that a ton of small businesses will go under as a direct result of that. And so one of those, Belgado Bakery, they posted a sign in its door. They said that they're no longer able to service their customers. They're not able to close that 20% increase in mandated wages and that they're going to have to close their doors. And they're just one of tons of other people, tons of other small businesses that are closing because they can't handle it because it's stupid. to demand 20 over 20 dollars an hour for this is so stupid and i say this is someone i started as a server i my first job was as a server and i worked uh every friday and saturday night and i made a lot of money in tips and i worked really really hard it's an entry-level job and i never expected to be paid 20 an hour mandated that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard You're you're making the market pay overpay for a lower skill set. And that's it is people can get upset about it. But I mean, come on. This is dumb. This is how you get $70 hamburgers. Is this kind of stuff right here? Because people then bitch and moan about capitalism. They don't they don't account their cost into the capitalism when you are forcing businesses. And why stop at $20? When you're forcing businesses to pay, where do you think that cost is coming from? The business doesn't exist just to tickle your jimmies. They don't exist just to, you know, make you happy. It's a business. They're going to pass the cost on. And why stop? Like I said, why stop at $20, an increase in $20? Why don't you give them $50,000 an hour if you really love the poor? If you love the poor so much, you'll give them your salary. Notice how none of those people ever volunteered to do that. It's killing businesses there. But people voted for it, and they'll probably continue to vote for it. It's all the rich progressives that can afford all the stupidity. Our partners who help bring you the program, it's our friends over at Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec, the makers, oh, they invented the micro-compact pistol category. They invented all of that. They're unveiling some new stuff over at SHOT Show as well, which is going to be later this month. That's a private industry event. But they have, you know, whether it's the P-15, whether it's the P-11, the P-32, I mean, they've really changed the way people conceal carry. And they have... You know, an entirely new category of high performance KSG shotguns as well. The fold and have carbine family, the sub two K's, all kinds of awesome stuff that they've come out with. And they're going to come out with something new later towards the end of this month. And we'll we'll have it. You can also visit Caltech weapons dot com slash Dana and sign up for that Caltech insider e-newsletter. And I see all their social media posts, et cetera. And that's where you can get updates on the latest innovation performance. Caltech Caltech weapons dot com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
Look, politics are stressful right now, but there are much better ways for conservatives to spend their time than to see what mood Joe Manchin might be in for a given vote or which special interest group on the left will steamroll Joe Biden today. I'm Greg Karumbas. Join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. And we'll give you the day's good, bad and crazy news for conservatives with some much needed laughs on the side. So please join us. Subscribe at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 11 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 05 :
So this comes from one of our listeners. It's an Indiana woman. An alleged drunk driver found stuck in the snow. She berated her arresting officers, calling them the devil, and saying they were part of the deep state. Yeah, that's never a good way to try to argue yourself out of getting... She said she only drank three shots of tequila. Come on. Like, were they double shots? I mean, I feel like, you know, I don't know if I'm going to trust her on that. I got to say, I got to be honest. I don't know if I want to trust her on that. AI's next leap requires intimate access to your digital life. No, thanks. Tech companies are trying to race, trying to upgrade. They're racing to upgrade chatbots like chat GPT to even take control of a computer to take action on someone's behalf. I think people need to be really, really careful with this stuff. Just got to say, they said that they're trying to make it better. And that's, you know, that's, that's the need. It's a very ambitious goal. I'm telling you, this is going to turn around. It's going to get out of control and it's going to, it's probably already out of control and we just don't know it. I, you know, it's, when you read some of the editorials talking about need to contain this stuff and they're from programmers in these, really well-known engineers that have contributed so much to the advancements that we see in software programming, etc. It's terrifying when you read some of what these people are saying. A major country has reintroduced strict COVID rules because of another Chinese virus. They said that a number of states are already trying to implement some of this stuff. Chinese government's trying to manage what they say is the surge in cases. There are a couple of countries where they're issuing warnings. And some of these, there's, I think in India they are as well. This is wild to see some of this stuff. I mean, they don't even know what it is, but here they're already making the same mistakes that we've seen, that we saw what they did during COVID. Outcry is an Arizona tattoo shop tattoos a nine-year-old girl who wanted a picture of Trump on her neck. I mean, I'm not against tattoos. Why are you nine and getting a Trump tattoo on your neck? The artist shared video of the process and he said, do a more patriotic tattoo, maybe a flag on your arm or something. But she said, nope, she wants it on her neck. So that's apparently she wanted to get it. Apparently they were able to. I guess she did it on her arm instead. She changed her mind. They traveled to Arizona where kids can get tattoos if they have parental permission. But, you know, if you wanted to chop off your willy and be a chick, then you don't need to tell mom and dad. I mean, that's how the rule is. So she got just a tattoo on her arm of a flag. She wanted Trump on her neck originally, but she ended up getting the still, though. Come on. That's a little that's a little much. Let's see. A Los Angeles vegan chain abruptly closed all their locations. They got in trouble because they added meat to the menu. I'm looking at their food and it looks gross. It looks like dung and some vegetables. Yeah, they ended up, the Sage restaurant, they ended up having to abruptly shut all their locations.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's not my expectation to have any conversation at any point today, but we are looking forward to the dialogue to come in the next few weeks and thereafter to find the common ground necessary in order to get things done for the American people. House Democrats believe that we are not sent to Washington to invade Greenland, Rename the Gulf of Mexico or seize the Panama Canal by force. We were sent to Washington to lower the high cost of living in the United States.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now you're concerned about it? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up. Where was this cat at when everyone was like, why are my groceries so expensive? They were acting like it wasn't a big deal. But now all of a sudden they're not. They're no longer going to be in power in a week and a half. So now they're concerned about the high cost of living? Whatever.
SPEAKER 11 :
Before November, the economy was great.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it was great. What happened? Well, since that time, Trump isn't even in office yet. He's not even in office yet. That's Hakeem Jeffries. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. I mean, I think I didn't... I don't want expansionism. I didn't vote for expansionism. I voted for America first. And I feel like right now, if it's not anything that we voted for, it's not one of the animating issues around which everyone coalesced, then it needs to be kicked to the back of the list right now. However, I do think it's been funny to watch. I'm torn because I keep thinking, gosh, this is... It's just like, let's focus. But I also think it's funny. I think it's funny because after Trump started talking about it, I don't know what the Danes thought they were doing. But King Frederick, wait a minute, has he been the one? Hold up, hold up, hold up. Is this the guy who got in trouble with his wife? Hold up. Oh, it is. So the Danish king, if you don't know this, and the only reason I know this is because of the trash British tabloids. So Frederick got caught like two years ago. in staying overnight at his Spanish lady friend's apartment. I think they were in Madrid. And they went out and had dinner and did all this, and they went back, and he didn't leave her apartment until the morning. Well, they're old friends, you know. How many of you married out there that would fly? How would that fly? Yeah, just yeah. Uh-huh. Anyway, his wife is Australian, but she speaks the language, and she's very well revered in Denmark. Anyway, so they've had some drama. So Frederick, he's the king of Denmark. His mom abdicated the throne. I think her name's Marguerite. So he took over. And after Trump started talking about all of this, he decided that he was going to change the coat of arms to more accurately reflect Greenland and their important position to the country. So what they did is they made the bear bigger. The Danish coat of arms features a bear, which is the symbol of Greenland, and the ram, and a symbol of the Faroe Islands. And now the bear's bigger. At first, it was just tiny little bears, two little bears in the bottom left panel. And now it's a big, giant bear. And they've got the two dudes with the clubs standing. I just am fascinated by these. So they updated their coat of arms. Like, oh, look what we did. We made the bear bigger. That will show you, Trump. It's not probably the most accurate Danish accent, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances. So do you think that's going to – that just seems silly. Is that silly? It's as silly as what Trump is saying, I think, because I don't give a rat's ass about going into Greenland right now. Can we just make reciprocity a national thing and get rid of taxes? That would be great.
SPEAKER 11 :
I see his point on national security. If you got Russian and China ships roaring around up there in North America where there would be a national security concern. I don't see it. And I don't think he's ever articulated it as us going in and invading.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. When the hell did it ever happen that it was a priority? Like all of a sudden we're like, OK. We all voted in November, right? We're going to have – we're going to secure the border. We're going to build the wall, right? Yeah. We're going to build the wall. We're going to make groceries affordable again. We're going to make America healthy again. We're going to bring back Mexican Coke for everybody, not the booger sugar but the soda. And then he's like, yeah, OK. The best I can do is Greenland.
SPEAKER 11 :
The Pawn Stars.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we're all scratching our heads like, what the hell? I didn't. Greenland wasn't. I'm checking notes. Wasn't on the list.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I know that the Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution definitely lays out the responsibilities of these who are federal government.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think if you're going to make that argument, they got to make the case.
SPEAKER 11 :
And that was my next point. If he's not contextualizing why, because we're small government. Why are we expanding government?
SPEAKER 05 :
This is expansionism.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, this is expansionism. So he's got to contextualize why this is important and why this falls under the purview of the executive branch here as it relates to Article I, Section 8.
SPEAKER 05 :
I sure as hell don't want Canada. No offense, Canadians. We got some of you. Listen, I like you guys. And I like that Pierre Polivere. I like him a lot. But I don't want Canada. I don't want it. There's nothing I want up there. Nothing I want. I don't want the damn liberalism. I don't want the crap health care. I don't want all those damn liberal votes. I don't want Canada. Don't want it. Don't want the cold. Don't want the bears. Don't want it. None of it. I'm with it. I hear you. Don't... Don't, uh... They got good syrup. And Canada's not a victim. I mean, Newfoundland. What?
SPEAKER 11 :
They've got good lumber and good syrup.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't care about the syrup. I don't even like pancake syrup. I don't even like maple syrup. I don't like it. It's weird. What the hell are you saying? It's tree... juice it's weird you don't like maple syrup no no i'd forever hate i'm gonna be looking at you through don't like i would i'll eat a pancake plain i won't put nothing on it i'm not looking at you the same now for some reason like give me a fruit compote you know but i don't want no syrup on it's weird it's like would you like some diabetes I'm going to pour some diabetes juice all over your pancake, all over your carbs. Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
I'm not so sure that maple syrup gives you diabetes, does it?
SPEAKER 05 :
It has sugar. It's like all sugar.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, but it's not like bad refined.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's made of sugar and crack.
SPEAKER 11 :
Of all the sugars that exist, it's not the worst one out there.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's pretty bad, though. You don't need it. You don't need it. It's just, why do we eat it? I don't get that. What the hell do we do some of the stuff that we do? We drink nut milk. It's weird. It's not milk. It's just dirty nut water. That's all it is, right? Like, it's all weird. It's all weird. Why do we do? We are so weird. No wonder that aliens stay hidden. Hell, I wouldn't want to be like these. Oh, I want these people to be my friend. Have you seen us? We're weirdos. No. I mean, I'm a human and I'm like, just no, thank you. Anyway, back to this. I just love this little Danish king, this little lightness loafers looking feller, who's like, I'm going to change the coat of arms. I give you to bed. The bed's bigger now. You can't take Greenland. The bed is bigger. Someone asked, by the way, Lorraine informs me we have a good kind of a raid happening in the show chat, which happens in Rumble, by the way, which you can join. Someone asked if Greenland is going to get named Mara Igloo. A little he cave? I don't know. A little he glue. It's a he glue. Woo! I mean... I just am not interested in the expansionism. But I do think it's hysterical that they're like, oh, yeah, well, we change our coat of arms. Most Americans are like, the hell is a coat of arms? What? What is that even? Like, oh, you made the bear bigger. Nobody knows what that means except those people, right? Like, that's not going to do it. That doesn't create a magical force field around Greenland. Oh, we can't touch him because they made the bear bigger on the coat of arms. There's no more Vikings anymore. Stop. No one's afraid. Good heavens. But I don't want, I don't really think, I don't care. And renaming the Gulf of Mexico, is that going to make the IRS go away? Because if it does, then I'm all for it.
SPEAKER 11 :
I'm just interested to find out.
SPEAKER 05 :
We should call it the Gulf of F off is what we should call it. What?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, if we're going to rename it, why not name it the Gulf of America? And by the way, how much work does that actually take?
SPEAKER 05 :
I want to name it something scary so no one wants to come through it. Like the gulf of, there's straight up monsters here. That's the gulf of it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Gulf of death.
SPEAKER 05 :
The gulf of death. Just saying. What were you going to say?
SPEAKER 11 :
I was going to ask how much effort really goes into renaming it. Are we really wasting a ton of time because we decided to rename the Gulf to Gulf of America?
SPEAKER 05 :
And who do you go to do that? Is there an old man who lives up in a mountain somewhere and you've got to climb all the steps and be like, I would like to change the name of this Gulf. How does that work?
SPEAKER 11 :
I think you just declare it, and then the agreement of others makes it so.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, then why can't we just constantly declare stuff?
SPEAKER 11 :
I think we do.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't think that's how that works.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think there's a lot of declarations over the years, and a lot of them go against science.
SPEAKER 05 :
So you're telling me the next time I'm fishing out in the Caribbean, if I come across an island that no one else is on, minesies? Why not? I mean, until their military shows up.
SPEAKER 11 :
I don't know. Well, if it's somebody's, then yeah, I guess so.
SPEAKER 05 :
But what if it's, is it somebody's? I mean, you're talking about squatting.
SPEAKER 11 :
If it's nobody's, then you got to deal with, you know, entities like China.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm all for saying that the Gulf is ours.
SPEAKER 11 :
Pirates.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, pirates aren't as cool as they used to be.
SPEAKER 11 :
No.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm all for saying that the Gulf is ours, right? Because it's ours. Like, we're all over there and we're bigger than everybody else. So, you know, step off. But what does that accomplish? Wasn't it the Gulf of Pensacola at one point? I don't know. Was it?
SPEAKER 11 :
I didn't know that. I thought it was named the Gulf of Mexico, and that's their first recorded naming of that area.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just call it the Gulf of your mom and just use that as an insult to every tyrant, every foreign tyrant.
SPEAKER 11 :
It would be a waste of time if government was doing what you're saying.
SPEAKER 05 :
I just don't know what that does. Again, if you're like Dana, do you know that all you have to do to accomplish all these things that you voted for is just change the name of the damn Gulf. Woman, just do it. And I'd be like, okay, I'm convinced. I want to see that magic happen. I'm totally convinced. But right now, you know, I just don't know. I just don't. But I sure as hell don't want Canada. All right. Okay. I don't want them.
SPEAKER 11 :
But I envision Trump having his daily list like this to-do, this honey-do list every day from his day one. You know what I mean? And I think like number 12 on that list is probably renaming the Gulf. I don't know.
SPEAKER 05 :
I do think it's funny that Denmark decided to immediately give Greenland a whole bunch of money for defense. Right. I don't know if you guys saw this, but hang on, let me pull this up. This is hysterical. So Denmark, after Trump was saying all this stuff, they boosted Greenland's defense after Trump started talking. So they sent a package that they said was in the double-digit billion amount. In Kron, the Danish defense minister, Trostland Poulsen, I know. I'm doing the best I can with the Danish. I can't do it. Everything sounds like that guy from the Frozen movie. It's a double-digit billion amount. It's only a fate. So they said that they were planning all of a sudden a stronger presence into Arctic, is what they're saying. So they're including increasing staffing at Arctic Command in the capital of Nuuk, which is right where Junior went. I can't do a Danish accent. Nuke. I can do like 10 accents really well, and that's about it. This is not one of them. They said that it's going to be about $12 to $15 billion, or krone. And it was the day after Trump was trolling about it on Truth Social. So now all of a sudden they just decided, oh, we're just going to boost the defense here. That's all. I don't know. But... Is I'd not say I what if that was the goal? Everything is so stupid and crazy. What if it was the goal? Because if that was the goal to get these nations to spend more on their own defense, then why not just threaten all of them with with taking them over? And then they'll be like, oh, we'll spend all these NATO nations will suddenly start contributing more to their self-defense. So they don't have to be our welfare children anymore. I'm just saying, you know, I don't know. I don't know. Let's just accomplish what we need to accomplish now and then later. But changing the coat of arms is hysterical.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Join us this week as we unravel the complexities behind the California fire crisis, exploring the stark realities faced by residents and first responders. Amidst the chaos, we hear personal accounts of survival against nature's fury and examine the disconnect between political rhetoric and actionable solutions. As flames threaten iconic locations like the Pacific Palisades, what are the underlying causes, and how do they relate to broader environmental policies? Our episode not only highlights the stark challenges on the ground but also critiques the political and bureaucratic frameworks at play. Can reforms in land and resource management prevent future devastation? Delve into this critical dialogue, as we seek understanding amid the ashes.
SPEAKER 09 :
When you're operating at an enterprise level, nothing drives success more than effective team communication. Grammarly for Enterprise enables your company to work smarter and faster. Other AI tools can't quantify impact. With Grammarly, you get measurable results and actionable insights, like tracking key metrics that include brand compliance and readability from their effective communication score. Because when you're able to visualize your team's impact and compare performance against industry benchmarks, you can make data-driven decisions that improve critical business outcomes. So whether you need to streamline messaging between technical and marketing initiatives or cut down on emails between external collaborators, you can trust Grammarly to help employees communicate effectively across the board. Start boosting productivity company-wide with Grammarly. Visit grammarly.com slash enterprise to learn more. That's grammarly.com slash enterprise.
SPEAKER 14 :
My heart goes out, obviously, to the people with their homes, and I'm watching the small businesses around us go up in flames. This is people's livelihoods, so it's devastating. But what is most concerning to me is our first responders and our firefighters who are trying to battle this, there's no water in the Palisades. There's no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city. Not the firefighters' fault, but it's by the city. And I'm gonna be very honest, we've got a mayor that's out of the country, and we've got a city that's burning, and there's no resources to put out fires. So if you look at your pictures,
SPEAKER 12 :
you don't see the firefighters there because there's nothing they can do and it looks like we're in a third world country here we have well over 5 000 acres that have burned and the fire is growing we have no percentage of containment we have an estimated 1 000 structures destroyed and also no reported fatalities and a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate. In addition to first responders who are on the fire line, we have over 1000 personnel assigned and the cause of the fire is unknown. However, it is under investigation.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, but the way that you hear the left talk about it, they act like it's all because of climate change and all of this when, first off, that's stupid. There's a major seasonal wind that's blowing through. And it's this idea of why they always have to make it about climate change. You know, can you just maybe, I don't know, contain the fire before you start pimping off it? It just seems like maybe contain it first. That's a thought. Contain it first. And then... Then you can try to do your political pimping. But this idea that – because that's all I've seen from anybody about this lately is, oh, it's all climate change. It's this. It's – well, and we're going to talk about some of the causes of this. I've got some flashback articles for you because, I mean, there's definitely – you can definitely – Look at some of the headlines and come to a conclusion about maybe what some of the cause might be, but it's definitely not climate change. So welcome to the program. We've got a lot of stuff to get into. That's just some of the latest with you. How many separate fires are there out there? Yeah, I can't, I can't even, I can't even, there's several separate fires. And then they said that there's, it's now, it's going down, the fire is now going down towards the Pacific Coast Highway. It's like right near Malibu. There are a lot of people that we know. that have homes there that are being impacted. And, you know, obviously we're praying for everybody there. I mean, it's just terrifying. And those things, the fires because of the winds, I was reading that they actually can move at the speed of something. I read something like it's a football field or a couple football fields a second. Yeah. That's when those winds start gusting, that it moves as fast as a couple of, or like a football field a second, something to that effect. Because you're talking about thousands and thousands and thousands of acres that are burning here. So pretty unbelievable, pretty unbelievable scenes that are coming out of L.A. And You know, like we said, we've got listeners in the area, and it's just some of the video. I think one of the most viral videos currently that's going through, and I think Juan's getting ready to show some of it, is the guys that are in there. There's two guys and a dog. And it's... Yeah, this is what he's showing us. So there's two guys and a dog, and it's in the Pacific Palisades. And they were able to get out to safety. But, I mean, it didn't look like it. And you're seeing that video right now. It didn't look like it because that's unbelievable. The fires were whipping around their house there in the Pacific Palisades. And it's just... It's a terror. It's just truly... It's terrifying. And they said that... Even if you're planning, like they were apparently planning to evac anyway, and that the speed that the fires were moving made it to where it was, I mean, it was impossible for them to get out in a timely fashion. I mean, you're watching it right now. That's terrifying. Just whipping around. the home. And a lot of it too, you know, you're on kind of, you know, rocky terrain and you're seeing A lot of the brush, a lot of the low-lying brush and a lot of the... You know, in the canyons, apparently, California has had a big fight with people who've been trying to do some controlled burning to control some of the underbrush and all of this that you've seen. I feel so bad for the dog in this video, too. I mean, yes, the people, but that poor dog has no idea what's happening. What is happening? Can you imagine how hot that is? I mean, it's unbelievable. So... That's one of the things that we're following. Welcome to the program. Dana Lesh with you, top of this first hour. If you wanted to know where the Los Angeles mayor was, I'm pulling up this story that I was reading. It's from the other day, a couple of days ago. Karen Bass is the mayor of Los Angeles. She's going to be, she's in Ghana. She's attending the inauguration of Ghana's president. She went with the director of the Office of Management and Budget. And yeah, they went to Ghana. They're in Ghana right now, chilling. And in the meantime, Gavin Newsom got blasted. He was conducting, I guess, a photo op. I mean, he was there, I guess, with some of his staffers. And he was conducting, I guess, having a little photo op there. While he was standing outside looking at the fires. I mean, I'm looking at some of this now. I mean, it's just it's unbelievable. And he was also one of the people who has previously tried to downplay a lot of the debates as it relates to control burning and land management, etc., etc., etc., I don't know how he or Karen Bass politically survived this. It is one of the, I mean, these fires that keep happening. Like, for instance, I have a piece here. Let me pull this piece up. This is from, it's a flashback. This is a piece that was local media there. It was published in October this fall. The headline is Forest Service halts prescribed burns in California. Is it worth the risk? U.S. Forest Service directed its employees in California to stop the prescribed burning for the foreseeable future. They said that it's meant to preserve staff and their equipment to fight wildfires if needed. And they had a crucial fall window for planned, controlled burns. And that was going to remove fuel and protect homes. And they said that some people were saying, well, is it going to increase long-term fire risks, which is a dumb argument. But, I mean, you have to be able to get rid of the fuel for these fires. I mean, that's just all there is to it. This is something that they apparently they stopped. So that's not the only flashback. I mean, I have a ton of them. But, you know, another example in terms of what they're spending their money on. You were hearing a lot of these people, local media and people who celebrities in L.A. and in and around in L.A. They were saying that certain of the like the hydrants were dry or certain reservoirs are running dry. Why are they spending their money on in California? You know that you have to deal with this every fall and every winter. What are you spending your money on instead? Well, here's the, from the California High Speed Rail X account, the Fresno River Viaduct in Madeira County, one of the first completed high speed rail structures. Oh, they got a piece of it built. Now it can't go anywhere. It's just a strip of it. Just a strip of rail. I can't believe that they weren't embarrassed when they posted this. They did 1,600 feet and it took them decades to do it. They spent 1,600 feet for a train that can't go anywhere yet. Billions of dollars. You're seeing the image right there, Juan, showing it to you. That was billions of dollars and it took over a decade to build. And it's just that strip. You could not make this up if you tried. 1,600 feet of And what gets me is someone was trying to correct in the comments. They were trying to, like, save face and say, well, you know, it was $9 billion to build. And someone said, well, $9 billion, you know. They were really careful not, you know, to stick to, which is a lie, to stick to budget. And then California High Speed Rail bumped in. They said, to clarify, it's actually $12.5 billion. So people, they were actually under, I mean, you can see the image. It's the dumbest damn thing ever. 1,600 feet, $12.5 billion in a decade. And they built one-fourth of a mile of a completely unusable overpass. This is what California spends their money on. This is what they're spending their money on. There's tons of that, tons of these instances, all of the all of the California politicians that really made a lot of money off this. Just unbelievable. So this is you know, it's these are expected to be catastrophic fires. They're saying that it's going to be, I think, something of what. were as bad as the 93 fires everybody keeps throwing out a different year i i don't live in california but everybody keeps throwing out even californians keep throwing out a different year it's just wild dry hydrants i mean you look at some of these headlines people are complaining about the dry hydrants they backed a seven and a half billion dollar water bond and that was back in 2014 And then what this was, this piece was last year. The LA Times wrote this piece. No water projects have been built in California. Don't worry, they're moving slowly. Like, oh, it's happening. They're just apparently not happening fast enough. This is what they're dealing with out there. And then you hear the complaints about the insurance out there. So in the Palisades area, There are a number of people that have said that they had their home insurance policies canceled. And one of the reasons that insurance companies were canceling the policies is because one apparently was cited as saying that there was not being enough preventative work done to. potentially contain future fires. We're talking about land management, et cetera. You keep having fires that are occurring in the same, you know, fairly close to each other places. And it's, I mean, what's being done? What's being done about it? They're allowing the overgrowth. I mean, these policies are getting people's home insurance canceled. There's a friend that was saying that his in-law's home burned down back in 2010, and they were underinsured, and they couldn't afford to rebuild. And then after that, a lot of people, there was a whole spate of cancellations, and then after that, there were more cancellations. I mean, Gavin Newsom is one of the absolute worst things that's ever happened to Californians. I... So if you think this right here, Republicans need to get smart because 2028 starts now. You guys better be tacking this on his board because he's running. He's running in 2028. And you can watch California right now. Those are those plans that are enabling the disaster that you're seeing in California. That's what he wants to impart on all of the United States. So Republicans better be checking stuff while they're talking about Greenland and all this other damn stuff. You better be looking at what's happening to California because that could spread to the rest of the country, those policies. It's our friends over at Super Beats, the Super Breen product. You guys are very familiar with Super Beats. It's the number one beet product in the country. And Super Breen, this is like one of their newer products. It helps to support metabolism and blood sugar levels. 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SPEAKER 13 :
At an enterprise level, nothing is more important than communication. Grammarly for Enterprise enables your company to work smarter and faster. Other AI tools can't quantify business impact, but Grammarly gives you actionable insights and measurable results with features like their Effective Communication Score, which tracks key metrics so you can make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes. Visit Grammarly.com slash enterprise. That's Grammarly.com slash enterprise. When you're operating at an enterprise level, nothing drives success more than effective team communication. Grammarly for Enterprise enables your company to work smarter and faster. Other AI tools can't quantify impact. With Grammarly, you get measurable results and actionable insights, like tracking key metrics that include brand compliance and readability from their effective communication score. Because when you're able to visualize your team's impact and compare performance against industry benchmarks, you can make data-driven decisions that improve critical business outcomes. So whether you need to streamline messaging between technical and marketing initiatives or cut down on emails between external collaborators, you can trust Grammarly to help employees communicate effectively across the board. Start boosting productivity company-wide with Grammarly. Visit grammarly.com slash enterprise to learn more. That's grammarly.com slash enterprise.
SPEAKER 17 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So a second winter storm is threatening parts of Texas with heavy snow. Yeah, and ice. Everything is supposed to begin. Why are they saying Wednesday? Because I was told that it wasn't supposed to happen. I'm looking at the weather report right now. They were originally saying that it was going to happen on like midnight Thursday. But now it might. Don't stop this. Now it might move in earlier. Shut up. No. So we got fire on L.A. We've got. Snow and ice. The headline is Dallas could see historical snowfall in upcoming winter storm. It could deliver more than a year's worth of snow to Dallas. They say per AccuWeather that the city's historical average snowfall is 1.6 inches. That includes sleet. This is going to bring two to three times that amount in hours from Wednesday night to Thursday night. between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Friday. That's the 54% chance of seeing 3 to 6 inches of snow. If you think that that's not going to bother you, guess what's a major hub in Dallas that's going to totally shut down? American Airlines. So get ready for flight fun. If you're flying, you're going to get screwed over. I'm just letting you know now, so I need you to go in there with the full expectation of that. A man was found frozen to death at a bus stop as a winter storm killed six, and Americans braced for the second round of bitter cold and snow. It's winter storm Blair. That's a perfect name for the storm, Blair. Memory is not exclusive to the brain. Non-neural cells also remember, according to a new study. So basically, things like your kidney cells can learn. and retain, I guess, that pattern that they've learned, so they technically have a memory. Horrific AI images reveal what men will look like, I don't even want to see the women, in 30 years due to an ultra-processed food diet. They're going to look like Chris Christie. That's ultimately what they're going to look like. These horrific AI images, like they're honked over, they look bad. Juan's getting ready to show you. Tell me that this doesn't look like Chris Christie. It looks just like him. Yeah, completely just like him.
SPEAKER 17 :
Like after a night of drinking.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So coming up, Trump announces an investment into data centers here in the United States. Are those going to be H-1Bs? We're going to talk about that. We're also going to get into the fact checkers are freaking out over the fact checking business. And it is a business. We got that and so much more. Stick with us. It's our friends over at Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec, the makers, oh, they invented the micro compact pistol category. They invented all of that. They're unveiling some new stuff over at SHOT Show as well, which is going to be later this month. That's a private industry event. But they have, you know, whether it's the P-15, whether it's the P-11, the P-32. I mean, they've really changed the way people conceal carry and they have, you know, an entirely new category of high performance KSG shotguns as well. The fold and have carbine family, the sub two K's, all kinds of awesome stuff that they've come out with. And they're going to come out with something new later towards the end of this month. And we'll we'll have it. You can also visit Caltech weapons dot com slash Dana and sign up for that Caltech insider campaign. e-newsletter, and I see all their social media posts, et cetera, and that's where you can get updates on the latest. Innovation Performance Caltech, caltechweapons.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 09 :
At an enterprise level, nothing is more important than communication. Grammarly for Enterprise enables your team to work smarter and faster. Other AI tools can't quantify business impact, but Grammarly gives you actionable insights and measurable results with features like their effective communication score, which tracks key metrics so you can make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes. Visit grammarly.com slash enterprise. That's grammarly.com slash enterprise.
SPEAKER 13 :
At an enterprise level, nothing is more important than communication. Grammarly for Enterprise enables your company to work smarter and faster. Other AI tools can't quantify business impact, but Grammarly gives you actionable insights and measurable results with features like their Effective Communication Score, which tracks key metrics so you can make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes. Visit Grammarly.com slash enterprise. That's Grammarly.com slash enterprise.
SPEAKER 10 :
Not able to catch all three hours of The Dana Show? Subscribe to the full podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short, easy-to-digest episodes. Ideal for your busy lifestyle on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 20 :
And so it'll be 217 to 215, which means they cannot afford to lose a single vote. And they've already suffered the defection of Congresswoman Sparks from Indiana, who got so mad about the fact that she wasn't put on the committee she wanted, that she has left the Republican conference and is an independent now. We haven't even started deliberations yet. So I think we're going to be in good shape to exploit some of the conflicts and contradictions going on within the Republican conference. I think you probably saw, John, that the enraged nativist racist mega base is upset with Elon Musk and the prologarps who want to bring in tens of thousands more cheap foreign laborers. And so that's something that's already starting to explode in terms of the republican politics but
SPEAKER 19 :
So that's Jamie Raskin, who's not saying anything that I haven't talked about or that I think is like shocking or not predictable. But he's hitting on something that is important. And that's what I talked about this on Jesse Waters program last night. It's the unity on the right. Welcome back. Dana Lash with you. Bottom of this first hour. This is exactly how things will get gummed up if Republicans aren't careful. you will have infighting, which we've already started to see some of it. And that can be, it can be helped. Look, it does have to start from the top down. It does, guys. It really needs to start from the top down. And I think that they need to get a handle on any kind of, everybody's got to be on the same page. We've already seen two or three slips so far. Like one where, you know, you had Vance saying that he didn't have to go and vote for this bill while Trump was on true social, saying all senatorship, stuff like that. Everybody needs to get on the same page. Don't give the left an inch. But here's the big thing. What Raskin's alluding to right there is the difference between a party and a coalition. And I'm not going to lie, it's uncomfortable. I have we've never grown up. We don't have parliamentary style politics in this country. We use some of the maneuvers in the Senate, you know, and some in the House. But by and large, we have a party system in a republic and we don't have to make coalitions with other groups. Well, previously, we really didn't. We were just like, if you want most of what you want, then, you know, you you better come and vote for us or that's you know, you don't really have anybody else. But it's twofold. We've we have people who aren't used to coalition style building in politics. A lot of people talk about it, but they don't really do it. And you have people who don't know how to manage and lead coalitions. It's a combination of two things. It's very difficult to do because everybody wants their back scratched. And you end up getting people who agree on 80% fighting over the 20%. That's Reagan's infamous rule. My 80% friend is not my 20% enemy. And you really need to walk that walk now. especially now because it's not all kittens and sunshine. I know the right wants to exhale and go back and go on vacation because in November, oh, we won it. Yeah, that's it. That's right, right? No, that's when the work starts. I mean, a free republic doesn't mean a free ride, right? Everybody's got to pitch in. Just as I don't like welfare welfare, I don't like welfare activism either. I don't like outsourcing activism to just a certain group of people. Everybody's got to take hold. And if you don't, then everybody shares the blame. So it's difficult when you have not grown up with or are accustomed to coalition politics because you have all these different factions. You have the Make America Healthy Again faction, the Make America Great Again faction, the Libertarian faction, the religious right, the agnostic right, the pro-life, hardcore pro-life faction. You have the kind of like moderate Republican faction. You've got all these different groups. And what needs to be done immediately first and foremost are all of the things that they came together on. People got to remember why they came together to vote the way that they did in the first place. This is incredibly important. It's, it's, and it's difficult. And a lot of people, one of the things that Trump's chief of staff said, Susie Wiles, that she had said to, uh, I think it was Axios. She granted a rare interview to Axios and she talked with him and said that, uh, You know, she's telling people she's trying to get control on all the leaks. And there was a story that came out where she was telling people, don't do this, that this is about self aggrandizement. That's not how she put it. Don't do it if it's like if you're just trying to enrich yourself or if you're trying to be a star. She's like mission first. I think that's incredibly an incredibly important message to set right from that inner circle all the way down, because you have that faction in the right to. Everybody's got to remember why they came together to vote the way they did in the first place. And when, like, for instance, the H-1B thing. This is where moves from the administration can make it difficult to keep the coalition together. Trump announced yesterday that they are getting this massive, what is it, a $50 billion? I can't remember. It's a $50 or $90 billion donation from this United Arab Emirates businessman who's done a lot of stuff with the Trumps before. They've worked on hotels together. It's not like they don't know the guy. But the problem that it that it can create is these are going to be data centers in a number of different states. I think they said like Texas is one of them. There's a number of different states. And well, it was going to be at least 20 billion, but I think it's going to be up more than that, according to CNBC. Hussein Sajwani is the Emirati billionaire. He's with Daymac Properties. He's the one who's going to be pledging the money to foreign investment to build data centers across the U.S. And Sejuani gave an interview. He's a Trump associate. He gave an interview in which he said they'd been waiting to do this for a few years because they didn't want to do it under the Biden administration because it's just been I mean, Biden's just very into business. So the first phase of the plan is going to take place in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. And Sajwani, he said that, you know, we've been waiting four years to increase our investment to very large amounts of money. He said this when he was meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He told the press this. So in addition to that, you have SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who announced plans to invest $100 billion in the U.S. and create 100,000 jobs over the course of Trump's four-year term. So here's my question. Are these H-1B visas? Because the data center is exactly what typically those are. And I ask this because America first means Americans first. American jobs first. We have a ton of people over here. And if you have foreign workers who are willing to come in on H-1Bs to work for less than what American workers are, and that's what's ultimately gutting the jobs in the sector. So no one's talking about that. No one's mentioned that. I don't know if I mean, I don't even think that there were any reporters that asked follow up questions about that. That's incredibly important because the issue isn't just illegal immigration. The issue is also an unsustainable amount of people that are allowed. A lot of it's these H-1B, the tech where it's not a specific special. I mean, it's like a low it's like low, low level software engineering, things like that. So that's, I think that needs to be addressed. And the reason I bring that up is because the right just had a big old fight about this over Christmas. Do not think for one second that Raskin and his underlings within Congress aren't going to exploit that. And it's an easy thing to exploit. If I were on the left and I wanted to divide my opponent and weaken them through division, I would be hitting this six ways to Sunday. I would be running ads about it it would be mentioned, it would be on the lips of every single politician of my party affiliation. And then maybe I would find and hold a press conference with some of these exact type of workers who would work at these jobs, but have them be American workers and then talk about how American workers, they need American jobs and et cetera, et cetera. That's what I would do. So this is where Republicans have to be careful, because it doesn't help if you have leadership or anybody else give the impression that there are to be big, giant divisions within the right. There's things that everybody came together on. And look, Republicans are historically weak on immigration anyway. I don't want anyone to get over their skis and think that people somehow believe or anybody believes that Republicans have been contributed to this problem. That's a lie. They absolutely have. So why would we do it more? It's my question. That's one of the things we've got to be careful of. To be very, very careful of stuff like this. That's why everybody needs to get on the same page. You know, we need to start and the first things that have to be accomplished are exactly that which brought everybody together. Because it's not just about Trump. Actually, it's not even about Trump. It's supposed to be about the voter and it's supposed to be about American principles. When you that you have a greater chance of success and you actually can deaden the blows that befall the administration by actually altering and correcting the perspective on this. So, of course, they're going to seize this and they're going to try to exploit all of this stuff. But again, you cannot give they cannot got to focus on just what brought everybody together. And then after you accomplish that, everything else, because he's got he's got six months. Now, another case in point, you know, the Lake and Riley Act that passed. There were a number of Democrats. Actually, this is in, I'm pulling up my sub stack. I sent this out. If you're a subscriber to my newsletter on sub stack, chapter and verse, you have this. This is one of the, and this is the reason why I wanted to put this story in here. This is the Democrats that changed their vote. A handful of Democrats changed their vote on the Lake and Riley that passed the House yesterday. That's very significant. You had 48 Democrats, and it's more than the number who voted for it last year. It's going to be sent to the Senate at past 264 to 159. There were a number of Democrats previously who had opposed it, who changed their vote after election. So this is why I'm telling you he's got six months. Midterms? Yes, they're in two years. But how long is that election cycle, folks? Do you honestly think that some of these House members and some of these purple states, either Democrat or Republican, wherever they're at right now, they're going to run right back to the center in six months? You have six months to take advantage of this power, leverage it before all of these elected officials start getting too scared of their own shadow to do anything ahead of their midterm election. It has to be done now. This is incredibly important. So that's why I know everyone wants to talk about Greenland and everything. And I'm not discounting that Greenland is, you know, you have a lot of natural resources and the situation of where it is. I just that has not been a national topic of conversation, nor has it been brought to the American people as a problem we should consider. America first didn't mean expanding America. It doesn't mean expanding government. That's not the it's not expansionism. That's not what it is. I mean, it's not like what I voted for. So I'm just saying focus on the stuff that everybody came together to vote for in the first place. That should be the only mission for the first six months. Get through that. Get through midterms. And then you can focus on all this other stuff. I don't want to help rasking out. I don't want these Democrats to be aided by mission creep. That's incredibly important right now. You know, I made mention of it last night, too. One of the things that I think actually helps, even though I saw people making fun of him for it yesterday when Trump was talking about the low flow shower heads and all of that, we were kind of we were laughing about it here. You know, we were we thought it was funny. But do you know, that's actually kind of important because that's something that can immediately impact average everyday Americans across the country. People who've seen their water bills increase because of the stupid stuff. The stuff that's supposed to conserve resources actually makes you use more of it and makes the resources more expensive. So that has immediate impact. That's something that shows people, oh, there's progress. There's stuff happening. There's things happening. So those are good things to do. But we got to stay focused because six months in the midterm start and elected officials are scared of their shadows again. We got a lot to hit, including the fact checkers freaking out. We've got that for you. We're also going to get into a couple of other things. There's some developments. You know, the FBI was actually looking at that terrorist before the New Orleans attack. Of course. You knew that was coming. You knew that was going to, you knew. We got a lot, like I said, to get into as we move our partners that will bring you the program. It's Tax Network USA. They want to help you out, you know, because the government, the government claims that they want to help you out by generously taking some of your money to pay themselves back. And it seems to increase every single year. And they are very, very aggressive in getting what they think they're owed. And so Tax Network USA, this is where they come in. It's the top tax relief expert. They have secured over a billion dollars in tax relief for clients. So if you're overwhelmed with back taxes or unfiled returns, I know those payout notices are going out. 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SPEAKER 10 :
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 17 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 23 :
There's a lot of talk about Greenland, for example. And I know there's a lot of freak outs, you know, and of course I would never support taking it by force. But I do think it's a responsible conversation if they were open to acquiring it and, you know, whether just buying it outright. I mean, if anyone think that's bonkers, it's like, well, remember the Louisiana purchase? I think Alaska was pretty aggressive. deal to fifty million dollars i think it was it was record uh... it was uh... it was referred to as a sewers folly and now that was alaska now so i mean you know open having all kinds of conversations uh... is well and now i don't think we need it's not helpful to freak out uh... but uh... some things might work out some may not but that's part of ongoing dialogue but he hasn't even take office in two weeks and you know we really need to Pace ourselves if we're going to freak out over every last tweet or every last conversation or press conference.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, dang. I've never seen anybody. I mean, I've seen people come back from strokes, you know, and be really healthy, etc. But he's like the new and improved Fetterman. Dude. You don't even know how to say that. You don't have to keep saying it.
SPEAKER 17 :
He's so correct that Democrats don't like it.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's just, you know, good heavens. He's so accurate in that soundbite. Now, that doesn't mean that we need the woke right to run up to him and make him the new messiah of the right. But, you know, it gives me hope in that some of the people with whom I disagree with on a lot of things, maybe they're not that far gone. You know? Yeah. I don't know. It's real weird. I don't know how to... Because I'm so used to being on the defense with Democrats. And then when they say things that I'm like, wait a minute. Which one of us had the health issue? Because you sound correct right now. What's happening here? Stop being on defense. I know. No, I can't help it. Well, I can be both at the same time, offense and defense. But what if you just won't want to be on the fence? I don't know how. We got a lot more on the way. Second hour coming up. The fact checkers are losing their minds, you guys. Losing their minds! We got that and more. Stick with us. Folks who help bring you the program, partners of ours. It's the non-firearm firearm, Burna Gun. What Burna does, the Burna Gun emits chemical irritant projectiles that can deter threats from up to 50 feet away. And it's a great diverse option for self-defense when your options are limited through no choice of your own, whether it's a gun-free zone or whatever it is. You want to make sure that you have a little bit of diversity and that you're able to protect yourself so you're not becoming a statistic. I have a lot of friends who live in areas where they really try to control what you can and can't carry. And they've gone out and gotten the Berna SD, which is Berna's most popular model. It's a lot. It's a model that a lot of law enforcement is incorporating as well to have a diverse array themselves. Five round capacity against chemical irritant projectiles. There's different models. That's just their most popular one. And the other thing is that it doesn't care about gun for his own science. It's illegal in all 50 states. No background checks, no permits. They can ship it right to your door. so it's accessible to everybody. This is the perfect time, new year, new you, to reevaluate your self-defense options. Visit Byrna.com slash Dana. That's Byrna.com slash Dana to get 10% off your purchase.
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SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of this second hour and been following a lot of things, including these raging wildfires out in California. Catastrophic. I mean, they said most of what is a Pacific Palisades, most of that area is gone. That's how bad it is. And the wind gusts in some parts. are 70 miles, some 80 miles an hour, some 90 miles an hour, depending on where you are, I guess around whatever canyon. And I have friends who live in the area. Some have evacuated and they've said that like when they would just try to go outside and, even just to open the door to see where the smoke was, like the wind would almost rip the door off the hinges. It was that crazy. They always have wind in that, but they said this is really unusual, the winds that are just really pushing this around. So we're praying for everybody there. We've got a lot of people in our listening audience out there as well. It's a scary thing because it spreads fast. There were stories of people who were getting ready, who were doing what they're supposed to do and they're evacuating, but then the winds would pick up. And the fire moved in so fast that they're not even they weren't able to like get everything and get out or they were able to barely just get out. They said that they move. It's like a football field a second or something crazy. I can't even imagine that. I can't even imagine that. That's insane. So we're watching all of this. Welcome back again to the program. I wanted to play some audio for you. This is flashback audio because one of the big, you know, I know everybody in California is dealing with all of that, but people in D.C. are immediately trying to politicize it. And you have the left out there, people like Bernie Sanders saying it's it's because of climate change and it's because of this and that, which come on. But actually, there's there's audio that that's out there and we have this. Where Trump was he this was a couple of years ago, a few years ago, he was telling Gavin Newsom back when he was president about the need for California to send more water downstate and incorporate better land management practices. Something that Newsom never did. They spent billions on a high speed rail project that went nowhere. Listen to this. This is audio somebody 10.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you have so much water. And all those fields that are right now barren, the farmers would have all the water they needed. And you could revert water up into the hills where you have all the dead forests, where the forests are so brittle. Because no place is like California. I go to Austria. The head of Austria tells me, you know, we have trees that are much more flammable than what you have in California. We never have forest fires because they maintain their forests. and you have all that water that could be used to, that's what they call water flow, where the land would be damp. And you'd stop many of these horrible fires that are costing billions and billions of dollars by the federal government, etc. So one thing I'm going to do for California, vote for me, California. I'm going to give you safety. I'm going to give you a great border. And I'm going to give you more water than almost anybody has. And the farmers up north are going to be able to use 100% of their land, not 1% of their land.
SPEAKER 19 :
He's not wrong. I mean, it's he's not wrong. And what did Gavin Newsom and Democrats do? Well, they didn't really do anything. They they well, they spent twelve and a half billion dollars on sixteen hundred feet of rail that took 10 years to build that you can't actually put a train on because it's just one unusable overpass in the middle of a field, not even making it up. They spent a lot of money, billions upon billions of dollars on this rail project, which honestly was just a way for them to enrich themselves off the taxpayer. They don't really do. I mean, they haven't done a whole lot with regards to they did some controlled burns a year ago, which, by the way, I would correct myself. That was when Trump was out there speaking about this. But a little bit before when he went out there, they had some controlled burns in and around Malibu. but they apparently do not do them enough to what U.S. Forestry had asked. And a lot of this stuff, and this is really important to note, a lot of times there's a difference between state-controlled land, obviously, and federally-controlled land. And apparently... This their water management obviously is a major issue, but these fires by and large start on federal land. I had a friend who made this point and then I was went and looked back at previous fires when they when they go and they look at and they come up with a forensic summation of everything. A lot of a lot of them start on federal land. And federal land, that's a whole other issue. The land management on federal land in these areas. And apparently under Joe Biden, they were canceling right and left very important controlled burns. And this was just as recently as fall. I shared one of those stories with you. Forest Service halts prescribed burns in California. They're worried about the risk. They're willing to trade the risk for increased risk on wildfires. If something bad happens, they're much less likely to be blamed because they can point the finger at Mother Nature. Wow. They were canceling some of what they were. One of the reasons that that was given, they were trying to what is like an environmental reason or they were trying some fish or what? I don't even care. Gavin Newsom, there's video of him bragging about how they altered their water. What is this like their whole system of getting water downstate because they were trying to save some damn fish or something like that? Yeah. I just, I don't know. It's amazing to me how so many years of Democrat administration in this state, every single time there is a wildfire that is beyond containable, You can always look and see some land management policies here, some land management policies. I read stories that people are looting. They're not looting. They're getting bread. That's what we were told by all the people who can I just say the people who live in these areas when we had the summer, the hot summer series burn loop murder. And people were busting into stores. I was told by the left that this was just these people getting bread. So are they just looting these mansions in Pacific Palisades for bread? That's what I was told. That's what looting is. It's not looting. That's a very mean term.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's mostly peaceful procurement, I think is what they call it now.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. Peaceful and voluntary procurement. Yeah. That's what it is. Yeah. PIP. PIP. A little PIP. little peaceful involuntary procurement happening here that's what it is we're going they're just out there pipping pip in there's no m in it no there's no m i don't know what the m would be yeah peaceful involuntary procurement big pipping that's it so they're just out there getting bread that's what i was told right that that's what it's i i The president currently and first lady are apparently going to... They're at Cedars-Sinai for the birth of their first grandchild, apparently. Or great grandchild. The birth of their first great grandchild. So they're... I guess they're out there. So they're going to recognize that grandbaby. That's a great grandbaby that gets recognized. Just saying. I don't know. This whole thing is pretty amazing. And... The insurance disaster is because so many of these homes were uninsured because of this type of stuff. One of the real estate developer named Rick Caruso, he called into L.A. local news. He said it was like a third world country. There's no water coming out of the fire hydrants. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is on a foreign trip to Ghana, which she is. She's there for the inauguration of their president. Is she ever actually in L.A. when stuff goes sideways? Wasn't she out the last time that they had? Yeah, I thought so. I thought so. So, it's terrifying. We're praying for everybody there. But I'm telling you, I don't know what they're spending their money on. Well, I got some ideas. I gave you the example of one high-speed rail thing. How they spent maybe, what? It was $12.5 billion on 1,600 feet. The high-speed rail that they announced in 2010... It's 2025. They have spent over $130 billion taxpayer dollars, and it's been over 15 years, and they have 1,600 feet of an unusable overpass. That's all they have. Okay. Wow. And this guy, he wants to run for president. So just look at, he's their golden boy in 2028. It's Gavin Newsom. He's their guy. Look at California. Do you want that for all over the US in 2028? Because that's what you're going to get. I mean, you even have hardcore like celebrity Democrats that don't like him out there. I want to switch gears because we're going to be we're going to continue to watch this stuff. But we've got to talk about the fact checkers. I'm telling you what, I have to admit, I did not know how much money these people made. Did you guys know this? They were making a lot of money on fact-checking. So, for instance, there were some... I don't even want to say the name of the site. It's like a bunch of Republicans that aren't really Republicans. They just have Trump derangement syndrome. And they created a right-leaning website. And they apparently were hired by, I guess, Facebook. And they were acting as... fact-checkers for Facebook. And it ended up being something like over 5% of what they made. That's how much money they made. And you guys know the fact-checking stuff was stupid. I mean, even on my personal Facebook page, I would be fact-checked over stuff. It's asinine. But they, Peter Hassan, did a deep dive into this. PolitiFact, for instance, is so mad. They had a very cushy gig and they got it's unclear, he says, the exact amount that they were being paid, but they made a lot of money. They got a lot of revenue off of pull it off of PolitiFact for Facebook. They made a lot of money. Meta paid them to do they paid them to fact check memes for crying out loud to fact check like the Babylon Bee. They said that, so there were organizations that contributed more than 5% of total PolitiFact revenues. Meta was like their top. That's crazy. And they're mad because they were getting money for just being contrarians. That's it. And they were garbage. I mean, they were the people responsible, for instance, for my page being targeted. Or when I was briefly suspended because I literally shared the New York Post piece on Facebook. That was an accurate piece. That's the kind of stuff. And they're mad because they can't control the information anymore. They had a whole industry. There was a whole industry on it. Thousands and thousands of dollars exchanging hands. And they were calling it fact-checking. But it's was really it's it's propaganda. This is going to make your life easier. And if you, you know, dislike big pharma and you dislike the Rube Goldberg machine, that is our health care system. All family pharma is here for you because they believe in medical freedom and empowering you to take charge of your health. So, for instance, when I got sick over Thanksgiving. Right. And I mean, it's I can't get into your doctor anymore. 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SPEAKER 17 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So this comes from one of our listeners. It's an Indiana woman. An alleged drunk driver found stuck in the snow. She berated her arresting officers, calling them the devil and saying they were part of the deep state. Yeah, that's never a good way to try to argue yourself out of getting... She said she only drank three shots of tequila. Come on. Like, were they double shots? I mean, I feel like, you know, I don't know if I'm going to trust her on that. I got to say, I got to be honest. I don't know if I want to trust her on that. AI's next leap requires intimate access to your digital life. No, thanks. Tech companies are trying to race, trying to upgrade. They're racing to upgrade chatbots like chat GPT to even take control of a computer to take action on someone's behalf. I think people need to be really, really careful with this stuff. Just gotta say. They said that they're trying to make it better and that's the need. It's a very ambitious goal. I'm telling you, this is going to turn around. It's going to get out of control and it's probably already out of control and we just don't know it. When you read some of the editorials talking about need to contain this stuff and they're from programmers in these really well-known engineers that have contributed so much to the advancements that we see in software programming, etc. It's terrifying when you read some of what these people are saying. A major country has reintroduced strict COVID rules because of another Chinese virus. They said that a number of states are already trying to implement some of this stuff. Chinese government's trying to manage what they say is the surge in cases. There are a couple of countries where they're issuing warnings. And some of these, there's, I think in India they are as well. This is wild to see some of this stuff. I mean, they don't even know what it is, but here they're already making the same mistakes that we've seen, that we saw what they did during COVID. Outcry is an Arizona tattoo shop tattoos a nine-year-old girl who wanted a picture of Trump on her neck. I mean, I'm not against tattoos. Why are you nine and getting a Trump tattoo on your neck? The artist shared video of the process and he said, do a more patriotic tattoo, maybe a flag on your arm or something. But she said, nope, she wants it on her neck. So that's apparently she wanted to get it. Apparently they were able to, I guess she did it on her arm instead. She changed her mind. They traveled to Arizona where kids can get tattoos if they have parental permission. But, you know, if you wanted to chop off your willy and be a chick, then you don't need to tell mom and dad. I mean, that's how the rule is. So she got just a tattoo on her arm of a flag. She wanted Trump on her neck originally, but she ended up getting the still, though. Come on. That's a little that's a little much. Let's see. A Los Angeles vegan chain abruptly closed all their locations. They got in trouble because they added meat to the menu. looking at their food and it looks gross. It looks like dung and some vegetables. Yeah, they they ended up the sage restaurant. They ended up having to abruptly shut all their locations. Stick with us. We've got more in store. 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 pre-born 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 250baby. 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.
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SPEAKER 10 :
Brighten up your timely news consumption with a Dana Show podcast where every update comes with a little dash of not so serious on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 22 :
It's not my expectation to have any conversation at any point today, but we are looking forward to the dialogue to come in the next few weeks and thereafter to find the common ground necessary to in order to get things done for the American people. House Democrats believe that we are not sent to Washington to invade Greenland Rename the Gulf of Mexico or seize the Panama Canal by force. We were sent to Washington to lower the high cost of living in the United States.
SPEAKER 19 :
Now you're concerned about it? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up. Where was this cat at when everyone was like, why are my groceries so expensive? They were acting like it wasn't a big deal. But now all of a sudden they're not. They're not no longer going to be in power in a week and a half. So they're now they're concerned about the high cost of living. Whatever.
SPEAKER 17 :
Before November, the economy was great.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, it was great. What happened? Well, since that time, Trump ain't even in office yet. We can't. He's not even in office yet. That's Hakeem Jeffries. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. I mean, I think... I don't want expansionism. I didn't vote for expansionism. I voted for America first. And I feel like right now, if it's not anything that we voted for, it's not one of the animating issues around which everyone coalesced, then it needs to be kicked to the back of the list right now. However, I do think it's been funny to watch. I'm torn because I keep thinking, gosh, this is... It's just like, let's focus. But I also think it's funny. I think it's funny because after Trump started talking about it, I don't know what the Danes thought they were doing. But King Frederick, wait a minute, has he been the one? Hold up, hold up, hold up. Is this the guy who got in trouble with his wife? Hold up. Oh, it is. So the Danish king, if you don't know this, and the only reason I know this is because of the trash British tabloids. So Frederick got caught like two years ago. In staying overnight at his Spanish lady friend's apartment. I think they were in Madrid. And they went out and had dinner and did all this and they went back and he didn't leave her apartment till the morning. Well, they're old friends, you know. How many of you married out there that would fly? How would that fly with? Yeah, just yeah. Uh-huh. Anyway, his wife is Australian, but she speaks the language and she's very well revered in Denmark. Anyway, so they've had some drama. So Frederick, he's the king of Denmark. His mom abdicated the throne. I think her name's Marguerite. So he took over. And after Trump started talking about all of this, he decided that he was going to change the coat of arms to more accurately reflect Greenland and their important position to the country. So what they did is they made the bear bigger. The Danish coat of arms features a bear, which is the symbol of Greenland, and the ram, and a symbol of the Faroe Islands. And now the bear's bigger. At first, it was just tiny little bears, two little bears in the bottom left panel. And now it's a big, giant bear. And they've got the two dudes with the clubs standing. I just am fascinated by these. So they updated their coat of arms. Like, oh, look what we did. We made the bear bigger. Yeah. That will show you, Trump. It's not probably the most accurate Danish accent, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances. So I do you think that's going to he's that just seems silly. Is that silly? It's as silly as what Trump is saying, I think, because I don't give a rat's ass about going into Greenland right now. Just like me. Just can we just like make reciprocity a national thing and lower tax, like get rid of taxes? That'd be great.
SPEAKER 17 :
I see his point on national security. If you've got Russian and China ships roaring around up there in North America, where there would be a national security concern. I don't see it, and I don't think he's ever articulated it as us going in and invading Greenland.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, when the hell did it ever happen that it was a priority? Like, all of a sudden, we're like, okay. We all voted in November, right? We're going to secure the border. We're going to build the wall, right? Yeah. We're going to build the wall. We're going to make groceries affordable again. We're going to make America healthy again. We're going to bring back Mexican Coke for everybody, not the booger sugar, but the soda. And then he's like, yeah, okay, best I can do is Greenland.
SPEAKER 17 :
The Pawn Stars.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we're all scratching our heads like, what the hell? Greenland wasn't, I'm checking notes, wasn't on the list.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I know that the Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution definitely lays out the responsibilities of our federal government.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think if you're going to make that argument, they've got to make the case and prove it to the American people.
SPEAKER 17 :
And that was my next point. If he's not contextualizing why, because we're a small government. Why are we expanding government? This is expansionism. Yeah, this is expansionism. So he's got to contextualize why this is important and why this falls under the purview of the executive branch here as it relates to Article I, Section 8.
SPEAKER 19 :
I sure as hell don't want Canada. No offense, Canadians. We got some of you that listen. I like you guys. And I like that Pierre Polivare. I like him a lot. But I don't want Canada. I don't want it. There's nothing I want up there. Nothing I want. I don't want the damn liberalism. I don't want the crap health care. I don't want all those damn liberal votes. I don't want Canada. Don't want it. Don't want the cold. Don't want the bears. Don't want it. None of it. I'm with it. I hear you. Don't... They've got good syrup. And Canada's not a victim. I mean, Newfoundland. What?
SPEAKER 17 :
They've got good lumber and good syrup.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don't care about the syrup. I don't even like pancake syrup. I don't even like maple syrup. I don't like it. It's weird. What the hell are you saying? It's tree... juice it's weird you don't like maple syrup no no i'd forever hate i'm gonna be looking at you through don't like i would i'll eat a pancake plain i won't put nothing on it i'm not looking at you the same now for some reason like give me a fruit compote you know but i don't want no syrup on it's weird it's like would you like some diabetes I'm going to pour some diabetes juice all over your pancake, all over your carbs.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah. I'm not so sure that maple syrup gives you diabetes, does it?
SPEAKER 19 :
It has sugar.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's like all sugar. Yeah, but it's not like bad refined.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's made of sugar and crack.
SPEAKER 17 :
Of all the sugars that exist, it's not the worst one out there.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's pretty bad, though. You don't need it. You don't need it. It's just, why do we eat it? I don't get that. What the hell do we do some of the stuff that we do? We drink nut milk. It's weird. It's not milk. It's just dirty nut water. That's all it is, right? Like, it's all weird. It's all weird. Why do we do? We are so weird. No wonder the aliens stay hidden. Hell, I wouldn't want to be like these. Oh, I want these people to be my friend. Have you seen us? We're weirdos. No. I mean, I'm a human and I'm like, just no, thank you. Anyway, back to this. I just love this little Danish king, this little lightness loafers looking feller who's like, I'm going to change the coat of arms. I give you to bed. It is bigger now. You can't take Greenland's base bigger. Someone asked, by the way, we have a Lorraine informs me. We have a good kind of a raid happening in the show chat, which happens in Rumble, by the way, which you can join. Someone asked if Greenland is Greenland's going to get named Mara Igloo. A little he cave? I don't know. A little he glue. It's a he glue. Woo! I mean... I just am not interested in the expansionism. But I do think it's hysterical that they're like, oh, yeah, well, we change our coats of arms. Most Americans are like, the hell is a coat of arms? What? What is that even? Like, oh, you made the bear bigger. Nobody knows what that means except those people. Right. Like, that's not going to do it. That doesn't create a magical force field around Greenland. Oh, we can't touch him because they made the bear bigger on the coat of arms. There's no more Vikings anymore. Stop. No one's afraid. Good heavens. But I don't want, I don't really think, I don't care. And renaming the Gulf of Mexico, is that going to make the IRS go away? Because if it does, then I'm all for it.
SPEAKER 17 :
I'm just interested to find out.
SPEAKER 19 :
We should call it the Gulf of F off is what we should call it. What?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, if we're going to rename it, why not name it the Gulf of America? And by the way, how much work does that actually take?
SPEAKER 19 :
I want to name it something scary so no one wants to come through it. Like the gulf of, there's straight up monsters here. That's the gulf of it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Gulf of death.
SPEAKER 19 :
The gulf of death. Just saying. What were you going to say?
SPEAKER 17 :
I was going to ask how much effort really goes into renaming it. Are we really wasting a ton of time because we decided to rename the Gulf to Gulf of America?
SPEAKER 19 :
And who do you go to do that? Is there an old man who lives up in a mountain somewhere and you've got to climb all the steps and be like, I would like to change the name of this Gulf. How does that work?
SPEAKER 17 :
I think you just declare it, and then the agreement of others makes it so.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, then why can't we just constantly declare stuff?
SPEAKER 17 :
I think we do.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don't think that's how that works.
SPEAKER 17 :
I think there's a lot of declarations over the years, and a lot of them go against science.
SPEAKER 19 :
So you're telling me the next time I'm fishing out in the Caribbean, if I come across an island that no one else is on, minesies? Why not? I mean, until their military shows up.
SPEAKER 17 :
I don't know. Well, if it's somebody's, then yeah, I guess so.
SPEAKER 19 :
But what if it's, is it somebody's? I mean, you're talking about squatting.
SPEAKER 17 :
If it's nobody's, then you got to deal with, you know, entities like China.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm all for saying that the Gulf is ours.
SPEAKER 17 :
Pirates.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, pirates aren't as cool as they used to be.
SPEAKER 17 :
No.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm all for saying that the Gulf is ours, right? Because it's ours. Like, we're all over there and we're bigger than everybody else. So, you know, step off. But what does that accomplish? Wasn't it the Gulf of Pensacola at one point? I don't know.
SPEAKER 17 :
Was it? I didn't know that. I thought it was named the Gulf of Mexico, and that's their first recorded naming of that area.
SPEAKER 19 :
Just call it the Gulf of your mom and just use that as an insult to every tyrant, every foreign tyrant.
SPEAKER 17 :
It would be a waste of time if government was doing what you're saying.
SPEAKER 19 :
I just don't know what that does. Again, if you're like Dana, do you know that all you have to do to accomplish all these things that you voted for is just change the name of the damn Gulf. Woman, just do it. And I'd be like, okay, I'm convinced. I want to see that magic happen. I'm totally convinced. But right now, you know, I just don't know. I just don't. But I sure as hell don't want Canada.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right.
SPEAKER 19 :
Okay. I don't want them.
SPEAKER 17 :
But I envision Trump having his daily list like this to-do, this honey-do list every day from his day one. You know what I mean? And I think like number 12 on that list is probably renaming the Gulf. I don't know.
SPEAKER 19 :
I do think it's funny that Denmark decided to immediately give Greenland a whole bunch of money for defense. Right. I don't know if you guys saw this, but hang on, let me pull this up. This is hysterical. So Denmark, after Trump was saying all this stuff, they boosted Greenland's defense after Trump started talking. So they sent a package that they said was in the double-digit billion amount. In Kron, the Danish defense minister, Trostland Poulsen, I know. I'm doing the best I can with the Danish. I can't do it. Everything sounds like that guy from the Frozen movie. It's a double-digit billion amount. It's only a fate. So they said that they were planning all of a sudden a stronger presence in the Arctic, is what they're saying. So they're including increasing staffing at Arctic Command in the capital of Nuuk, which is right where Junior went. I can't do a Danish accent. Nuke. I can do like 10 accents really well, and that's about it. This is not one of them. They said that it's going to be about $12 to $15 billion, or krone. And it was the day after Trump was trolling about it on Truth Social. So now all of a sudden they just decided, oh, we're just going to boost the defense here. That's all. I don't know. But... Is I'd not say I what if that was the goal? Everything is so stupid and crazy. What if it was the goal? Because if that was the goal to get these nations to spend more on their own defense, then why not just threaten all of them with with taking them over? And then they'll be like, oh, we'll spend all these NATO nations will suddenly start contributing more to their self-defense so they don't have to be our welfare children anymore. I'm just saying, you know, I don't know. I don't know. I just I just let's just accomplish what we need to accomplish now and then later, you know, but changing the coat of arms is hysterical, is absolutely hysterical. All right. We've got we've got more on the way as we roll towards headlines. And as we do so, our partners that help bring you the program. So 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. It's seamless switching with our 100 percent U.S. based customer service team. And right now you can get a free month of service. using promo code Dana. You can keep your number, keep your phone, or get all entirely new everything. It is up to you. It's never been simpler to switch. So visit patriotmobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT. Get a free month of service using promo code Dana. That's patriotmobile.com slash Dana 972-PATRIOT.
SPEAKER 18 :
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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.
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SPEAKER 16 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 19 :
So I'm trying to understand. So this is an NBC2 local affiliate out there in Florida. Cape Coral man was arrested after he claimed that his house was poisoned and attempted to break into another house. How do you poison a house? The victim was seen trying to open a lock sliding door on the back of the home. The victim said he confronted the guy, told him that he was armed. And that's when the intruder ran away from the scene before officers arrived. The guy, Antonio Cruz Aparicio, he was attempting to gain entry into a home. He was yelling for help, saying his house was poisoned. They actually had a tasing to get him under control. And they found his wallet at a separate residence. So He got charged, a couple charges, burglary, resisting with violence. Yeah, that's kind of freaky. Just, I didn't even, I mean, obviously, they probably did a mental health check on him. This, let's see. Oh, I got a couple of other ones. This is, oh, a Florida woman was arrested after she accidentally texted a sheriff's department instead of her drug dealer. That can happen, I'm sure, to people like Octavia Wells, 41 years old. She sent a text message trying to get fentanyl before leaving town. Apparently, though, she accidentally texted a narcotics investigator within the sheriff's office. And, oh, boy, the investigator adeptly engaged her in conversation, masquerading as her drug dealer, arranged to meet with her. She went to the gas station. thinking she was meeting her drug dealer, and instead she was met with a team of investigators, and she was taken into custody because they charged with a whole bunch of stuff. And I don't know if buying with the intent to distribute was part of it, but I don't know. This, let's see, there's a Lee County man that got in trouble for slashing tires following a road rage incident. 37 year old Matthew Tobler. He, uh, was slashing tires of a vehicle, uh, according to Lee County Sheriff's office. And he was making obscene gestures, hand gestures at nearby motorists. And when, uh, A victim said that he, why would you approach the vehicle? There was an incident, a vehicle, a victim approached the Tobler's vehicle. He got out of the car, began threatening him with a knife and then started slashing his tires before leaving the scene. So they were able to take, I mean, why, what the hell is wrong with, what is, I'm going to tell you what people can't drive. That is for sure. I've got some stories. I actually have a story that happened to me over Christmas that I'll share when I'm able to share it. But yeah, people cannot drive. And let's see. And Saudi Arabia is pressing a Floridian. Well, a man in Florida to give up his U.S. citizenship over critical tweets. It's a Florida retiree. He made social media posts critical of the crown prince. And Saudi Arabia doesn't have the same kind of, you know, speech. Interesting. Stick with us. Third hour on the way. 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.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 25 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
My heart goes out, obviously, to the people with their homes and I'm watching the small businesses around us go up in flames. This is people's livelihoods. So it's devastating. But what is most concerning to me is Our first responders and our firefighters who are trying to battle this, there's no water in the palisades. There's no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city. Not the firefighters' fault, but it's by the city. And I'm going to be very honest. We've got a mayor that's out of the country, and we've got a city that's burning, and there's no resources to put out fires. So if you look at your pictures, you don't see the firefighters there because there's nothing they can do. And it looks like we're in a third world country here.
SPEAKER 19 :
This is crazy. Apparently, according to the L.A. Times, by 3 a.m. this morning, all the fire hydrants in the Palisades area were dry. And it's burning. That's according to the chief executive and chief engineer of the L.A. Department of Water and Power. So Rick Caruso, who you just heard speaking there, who... karen bass won over him uh going for mayor of la he's a big developer in los angeles he's like all there's no water i mean you you it all the amount the money that they spend in california and they're right by an ocean and they have no water welcome back to the program dana lash with you at the top of this third hour and that's that's the story la times has uh The excuse from L.A. city officials, they're blaming what they say is tremendous demand. Yeah, that's what happens when you don't properly manage your land and then you have a big fire that breaks out. They said that the one fire in the area alone, how many thousands acres did I say that was over?
SPEAKER 1 :
11,000.
SPEAKER 19 :
11,000, like 11,000 acres. It's now 11,000 acres big. I'm trying to just imagine that size of a fire. Imagine it. I think it was over 10,600 acres, so basically 11,000 acres. I'm just trying to imagine the size of that. And they're growing still. And yet by 3 a.m. today, all the fire hydrants per L.A. Times in the Palisades were dry. And they're getting criticized justifiably. They said that they don't have enough firefighters. The city officials are being criticized for, quote, chronic underinvestment in infrastructure and public safety, end quote. I mean, this is unbelievable. Yeah, the first tank that they had ran dry Tuesday. The second, the first tank that they had, they have three large water tanks. They have about a million gallons in each of them. The first one ran dry 4.45 p.m. Tuesday evening. The second at 8.30 p.m. Tuesday evening. And the third was dry by 3 a.m. this morning. And they said that they're not able to, they're out today. And they spent a lot of time on DEI and doing all kinds of stuff that nobody ever needed. K-Notes, and this is a couple of different sources on this, they had the fire department funding. Their funding was cut by Karen Bass by over $17 million in just the most recent city budget alone. And they... were focusing on all of these DEI initiatives. They were tweeting out, like their fire department and their other city officials, they were tweeting out how, oh, well, yes, it's very important that we need to make sure that we're prioritizing hiring black firefighters, et cetera. Like, why don't you just prioritize hiring firefighters? Thank you. Who gives a rat's ass whether they're black or white or whatever? People are burning to death. And everybody's freaking out over identity politics. Bass actually wanted more money cut. Isn't that crazy? She cut $17.6 million from the city's fire department budget for the 24-25 fiscal year. This is according to the New York Post. And it was supposed to be, the Post added that she actually wanted a $23 million cut. Wow. Wow. And now you can kind of see, you know, they don't have enough firefighters. They don't have you know, they have no idea where their tax dollars are going. They and looking at this, let me pull up another. The tax dollars, people are like, oh, where the tax dollars go. They spent it on. Well, of course, after they helped create all of the riots, they had to spend it on policing housing. Big city budget goes to housing. Communication investment for families, whatever the hell that means. They're actually in the red on sanitation, fire, street services. You know, the stuff that your tax dollars are actually. This is why people don't like property taxes, by the way. Property taxes are communist, anti-American, and any Republican that does not go on record and wanting them abolished is a Marxist. You can't be a little Marxist. You're either a Marxist or you're not. Republicans need to grow some balls. I'm so tired of this stupid, moderate crap. Your property tax, especially in Los Angeles, they're not going for anything. What the hell is this? I'm looking at, and this is according to their city controller, they... Personnel, cannabis regulation, an ethics commission. They have their city planning, communication or whatever, community investment, whatever the hell that is, welfare, housing, a library. That's where they spend most of their money. Street services, fire, sanitation, public works, street lighting, things like that. That's, you know, what you, the agreement is that you pay your taxes and then they handle that. That's what they, they're not there. They cut millions upon millions upon millions from those things. Those are at the bottom of the list of priorities. This is according to the city controller's own data. This is wild. Absolutely wild to me. So what's the point of it? What's the point of it? I just, it's, you know, I keep thinking of this. It came out, the Biden administration, they're going to announce the final half a billion dollars for Ukraine. Meanwhile, what wildfires? What Hurricane Helene damage? What fires out in Hawaii? You know, what about the chemical spill in Ohio? I mean, what about any of those things? Nah. Nah. No need. So apparently Karen Bass is going to be arriving in LA. She's coming back from her party in Ghana. Is she bringing water with her? She's going to be back and then apparently, I don't know if she's going to have a press conference or not, but good heavens. This is what these policies get you. This is what happens. This is what these policies get you. And the governor of this state is trying to already put himself in position for 2028. I mean, I just I'm amazed at just the massive mismanagement of money. But that's Democrats. They don't even really know what started these fires. They haven't even gotten to that point yet. They're just trying to contain it. They have no idea. I mean, what if it was an act of terror? I mean, that's how one of the previous wildfires started. Somebody, it was arson. They have no idea what you're looking at right now that Juan's showing you. That's the list. All the stuff in the red is fire, sanitation, street lighting, public works. Yeah, the essential stuff. The stuff that your stupid property taxes are supposed to go for anyway. The green is what they double the budget for. And, of course, they had to do it with policing after they created an environment that required it. And then they added library, housing, all of this other stuff that's unnecessary. There are people who are saying that they're living... California after this. Apparently, everyone's at the Beverly Hilton and a couple of different hotels there. I can't remember. The one that's across the street from the Beverly Hilton, I can't remember the name of it. But all the millionaires and billionaires are hiding out in the hotels. They said all the hotels, the Peninsula. Peninsula's booked. Beverly Hilton's booked. The Ritz is booked. Four Seasons booked. Everybody's booked. All the hotels and motels are booked because people are fleeing. And they said it's all chaos. People bringing their pets in, their Gucci luggage. It's all chaos. And everyone has the sentiment of enough is enough. Yeah, they'll get over it. But this is what I hate to say it. And I'm not saying that it's deserving of the fires. But when you vote for incompetent people that have no idea what they're doing, you get incompetent people that don't know what they're doing when a time of crisis hits. They don't rise to the occasion. They fall back on their highest skill set. And none of these people have them. I mean, this is sad to see, but this is the message that Republicans need to keep making. See what's happening in California? That's Gavin Newsom. He's been there for how long? That's Gavin Newsom. That's what happens when you have generational Democrat policies. That's what it is. I mean, I feel for these people. And then you have insurance companies that are canceling insurance policies like weeks before all of this happened. It's like how in North Carolina you've got all these people that have to pay their property taxes. They have to pay all their property taxes in North Carolina, a couple of the counties out there, because they said, oh, no, we don't even have a catastrophe exclusion for any of this. So these people aren't going to be able to pay their property tax. And then watch. You're going to have the government come in and seize the property from people. Government acquiring land just like they did in Hawaii. Property taxes, it's a racket. It's a way that the government can make sure they always get your land. We've got a lot more on the way. Just horrific. 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SPEAKER 17 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
I feel like this is just like the cryptid community giving up. So they said that, no, all right, you know, yeah, they've been looking for Bigfoot, but now they're going to instead look for Littlefoot. What? An expert reveals there's an ape-like humanoid that could still be roaming the earth. I don't know. A hobbit? Little foot. That's literally a hobbit. What if it's just like, oh man, nobody wants to see any of the stuff that I'm looking at. No, thank you. No, they have a full body rendering of it. Not in a nice way either. Like that lady little foot needs to shave her everything. Golly. Anyway, they said that, what's the name for it? Homo florescensis. I don't want no Homo florescensis. For four decades. He's at the University of Alberta. I don't know. Is it? They said that. I'm not even kidding. This is so goofy. I just don't. Now, Bigfoot, I actually do believe. Littlefoot, nah. Maybe that's its kid and it just hasn't grown up. Maybe you're seeing a baby Bigfoot and it's not really a little. What? That actually, I believe that. Let's see. Oh, this apparently, why did they throw? Oh, gosh. The people set world records for the stupidest stuff. We're going to throw 100,000 teddy bears onto an ice rink and set a record. Because that's apparently what needed to... Who cares? Yay. It's like OCD activities and then they get records for it. I don't get it. It's weird. Let's see. A monkey and a tutu escape from a home. Oh, okay. What kind of monkey was it? It's a little monkey in a tutu. I love how the cops respond and they're like, yeah, it was bananas. Uh, but he was able to slip away and this was in Jefferson County in the St. Louis area. Just saying, just saying if anybody, what was that? That documentary that was on Netflix just recently, the people who own those monkeys, it was one of those monkeys that slapped me when I was a kid. I slapped it back. Um, chimp crazy or something like that so a monkey in a tutu it was a missouri home cane it was in jefferson county i'm just saying uh they said that they returned it to its caretaker after careful negotiations blah blah blah snow coming that show is out of jefferson county in missouri yeah it is it's out of festus that's crazy town in which i was born out of festus uh let's see a no this is a dumb story San Bernardino County man says his cats were killed after they drank raw milk that was contaminated with bird flu. Or all of this sounds nasty. Maybe you're just nasty and you fed nasty milk to your nasty cats. How about that? Sounds like it. I'm going to go with that one because I don't believe this bird flu stuff. I don't say no. Put the masks on the birds. Guy's name is Joseph Dranel. They spent about 2000 words just telling you a story about some dude whose cats probably drank bad expired milk and kicked the bucket. And they're trying to make it a 2,000-word story about bird flu. This is why you don't hate the press enough. This is why you don't hate them enough. Bottom line. We've got a lot more still on the way. Because the DEI stuff, we've got to talk about that. If you think that didn't have an effect with how they're handling everything in Los Angeles, well, I've got a story for you that will cause you to think again. Stick with us.
SPEAKER 10 :
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 19 :
Welcome back. Dana Lash with you. The bottom of this third hour. We're in Texas preparing for snowpocalypse. I was just looking at the temp. It's going to be 40. It's 40 degrees right now. It's a balmy 40 degrees. been freezing and then the ice and that's supposed to start tonight. So California is getting fire. We're getting ice. And Texas is going to shut down and people need to stop freaking out over French toast supplies. Like I said, they all go on, they get their toilet paper. I said it, toilet paper. Every time I have say certain words, I kid you not, I get emails from people. Southern Missouri, get over it. Heard it from my grandmother all the time. But they go out and they get toilet paper. Toilet is how you say it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. It's not toilet. It's toilet. They go out and they get toilet paper and bread and milk and all this other stuff. Milk is another. And ice comes, shut everything down for a couple days. We're ready, though. Yeah. If... You know, we lose power. We're ready this time. I mean, we were ready last time, but we just needed a bigger generator. But we're ready. We got the big one now. It can power like the whole hood, I think. But we're ready to rock and roll. So I don't know. I'm telling you. But in L.A., they've had over. I don't know. Some people said they've seen hundred personally seen hundreds of homes burn. What were they doing just recently? Audio Summit 11. This is what they were doing. This is how the city was handling stuff. Listen.
SPEAKER 21 :
I'm super inspired.
SPEAKER 03 :
She took time out of her already busy schedule to tell us about her vision for the department's future, one that includes a three-year strategic plan to increase diversity.
SPEAKER 21 :
People ask me, well, what number are you looking for? I say, I'm not looking for a number. It's never enough.
SPEAKER 03 :
Out of 3,300 city firefighters, only 115 are women right now. She's already looking at ways to change that. She's quick to point out that doing so has a greater purpose, attracting the best and brightest for the job.
SPEAKER 21 :
They feel included, they feel valued, and they feel part of a cohesive team.
SPEAKER 03 :
The chief also checks another box when it comes to inclusivity and diversity at this department. She's a proud member of the LGBTQ community.
SPEAKER 21 :
That just kind of opens the door of people that thought, wow, I didn't even know that that was an opportunity for me.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, man, things that I would rather say right now that I can't. I mean, you know, they could be focusing on firefighting and stuff, but, you know, it's California, specifically L.A., We got to make sure that we include people who have sex a certain way in our hiring process. Like, are they, is it like a job for firefighters or are they also hookers? I don't understand. Yeah. Like how, why does that have any impact on that? Why does that, why is that a consideration on the job? You know, my bosses don't care that I love cilantro. They don't care. They wouldn't care if I dislike cilantro. It's not a thing, right? It's just a preference. This idea that this is somehow you have to include this into firefighting, I just, I don't understand it. Does it make them fight the fires a better way? Does a gay dude fight a fire better than a dude who's not gay? Is how well you fight fires predicated upon how you get it out privately? I'm curious. Is there something I don't know? Is there a study?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I don't think even straight people don't have an advantage over gay people in that regard because that doesn't matter to your firefighting skills.
SPEAKER 19 :
I am made of jokes right now. It's taking everything I have. All of my self-restraint right now.
SPEAKER 17 :
All of them. The fact that we're arguing this part of it to me is beyond absurd.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, this is stuff they were doing just a few months ago. Yes, it's very important. I don't care if the fire chief is alphabet. I don't care. Can you, I don't know, fight fires? It's very important that we get a fire chief who likes tail. It's very important. And that it's a chick who likes tail. It's very important. And this does what concerning the impact of fighting fires? Absolutely nothing. Then why is it an issue? This is what's so confusing coming from my perspective as someone who was a teenager in the 90s and a young adult going into the early aughts. I was always told, like the rhetoric that we always heard is that what happens behind closed doors is none of your business and stay out of everybody's private lives. But now it's like the doors are flung open and they're having a housewarming party in their bedroom and you're forced to attend and applaud. That's what it's like now. And I just, it's so hypocritical. And it is completely fair to bring these things up and point this out because the fact that that was like a huge goal for them. Do you know they don't have enough firefighters? Adam Carolla was just saying what he's reiterated the story that he shared a couple of years ago that he had tried to be a firefighter. And they told him that he had to wait. He was on a wait list to be considered because he wasn't a minority firefighter. We don't need any of you white dudes fighting fires. Oh, my gosh. This is so it's just so weird. It's so weird. I don't know. I'm just that's what they focused on. DEI is going to get everybody burnt up. People will burn to death because of DEI. That's exactly what I just this is just so stupid. So stupid. I was looking at who voted where. So the Palisades... LA Times had a story where you can go and you can read and see on this map that they have. You go to remove paywall to get around their paywall because I'm not paying them for this stuff. But they were saying that the Palisades, it was pretty close. A lot of them voted for Karen Bass. But barely more of them voted for Rick Caruso. But Karen Bass ended up winning for mayor in LA. So... I mean, and of all the people who are very, very competent, you know, Rick Caruso, billionaire, very successful real estate developer, understands land management, understands all of it. You know, you would think that you would need somebody like that, particularly with wildfires that have been plaguing the area lately. But no, no, they went with Karen Bass, not even in town when all this stuff happens. Remember how the left lost their minds when Ted Cruz went on a previously scheduled spring break trip during ice again. And a couple of years ago, Karen Bass is legit like at an inauguration in Ghana while her town burns. So shut up. And then Cruz didn't even go. He canceled his portion and stayed, which is stupid. Yeah. And he's yeah. So stupid. So I don't know. Meantime, in Seattle, another city being ravaged by progressivism, who would have thought their $20 per hour minimum wage law is forcing all the restaurants to close? There's five more restaurants that are closing. They have a law where they demand that you pay someone over $20 an hour, $20.76 an hour. And the hospitality industry came out with a prediction that a ton of small businesses will go under as a direct result of that. And so one of those, Belgado Bakery, they posted a sign in its door. They said that they're no longer able to service their customers. They're not able to close that 20% increase in mandated wages and that they're going to have to close their doors. And they're just one of tons of other people, tons of other small businesses that are closing because they can't they can't handle it. That's because it's stupid. to demand 20 over 20 dollars an hour for this is so stupid and i say this is someone i started as a server i my first job was as a server and i worked uh every friday and saturday night and i made a lot of money in tips and i worked really really hard it's an entry-level job and i never expected to be paid 20 an hour mandated that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard You're you're making the market pay overpay for a lower skill set. And that's it is people can get upset about it. But I mean, come on. This is dumb. This is how you get $70 hamburgers. Is this kind of stuff right here? Because people then bitch and moan about capitalism. They don't they don't account their cost into the capitalism when you are forcing businesses. And why stop at $20? When you're forcing businesses to pay, where do you think that cost is coming from? The business doesn't exist just to tickle your jimmies. They don't exist just to, you know, make you happy. It's a business. They're going to pass the cost on. And why stop, like I said, why stop at $20, an increase in $20? Why don't you give them $50,000 an hour if you really love the poor? If you love the poor so much, you'll give them your salary. Notice how none of those people ever volunteered to do that. It's killing businesses there. But people voted for it, and they'll probably continue to vote for it. It's all the rich progressives that can afford all this stupidity. In the meantime, we're still watching all those those fires. They had they have video now of some of the like, I guess I don't know. Are they going to close the airport there if the fires get too close? They'd have to, wouldn't they? That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I just now. Yeah. Just thought of that. A couple of the things I want to touch on as well to make sure that we're getting everything everything in. This, I don't know if I told you that Daniel Penny, he's trying to get that father, Jordan Neely's father had filed a suit against him in civil court. And Daniel Penny's trying to get that case tossed, which he should. Jordan Neely's dad was wholly absent for the entirety of his life. And he didn't even come around until after Jordan Ealy's death when he thought he could get a payout. That is the only reason that that suit exists. And I hope I hope they do toss it out. That's. I mean, it's it's a grift. So we'll watch that case as well. There's also this story that happened. It was this was over the weekend. A victim was stabbed in the throat at Grand Central Terminal in New York. And she said no one came to her aid. Imani Ciara Pizarro got off the four train about 10 p.m., was going to her administrative night job at the Roosevelt Hotel, which was converted into a shelter for illegal immigrants. And she was attacked there. And she got sucker punched in the back of the head and stabbed in the neck. The suspect, 28 year old Brooklyn native Jason Sargent, was screaming at her, lunged at her with a knife, cut her throat, kicked her phone away. And she said a lot of people just froze. Police were nowhere in sight. She says I was running for help and there was no one there. Yeah. What about the story that I just shared about Daniel Penny? That is why nobody wants to help because New York punishes it. punishes people that step in and try to help. And they're, I mean, you know, she should have just, by New York City's reasoning, that she should have just let herself be attacked and killed right there on the street. She was like, I called out for help, nobody came to help me. That's sad. But New York City does that. They go after the people who try to help. And this is what happens. I'm going to tell you, this is how you get vigilantism. Exactly how you get vigilantism. It's a sad story, but this is what New York City created. People need to start changing how they vote. They really do, especially after this last election with so many people voting the way that they did. I mean, I don't know if this is enough to make Los Angeles wake up. But something, I mean, what else could happen besides this other than the state falls into the sea? What else is worse? It's burning up right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
On the go and need a quick news fix with a fun twist? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth Podcast for bite-sized, informative episodes, perfect for your busy schedule on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 19 :
I was just thinking to myself, I know that I should have gotten that flamethrower at Texas Gun Experience. You know, for the ice. Oh, yeah. Because you can't really get, like, melt here and all that stuff in Texas. They just don't do that here. But I don't like the ice, so, like, I could go out and, you know, burn some stuff.
SPEAKER 17 :
They do sell the pool salt, which I did buy a bag of that. Where'd you get that at? I bought it at, I think it was Lowe's. I went to Lowe's and Home Depot, so I think it was Lowe's I got it.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, apparently everyone's like, I need all these things. And they just buy, like, people chill. It's like for two days. Calm down. Like, calm yourselves. But I definitely should have got, you know, for the ice. I mean, think about it. Like, you could just go out there with that, you know, and just get rid of the ice. Because that's always the worst. So I hope everybody stays safe out there. And we're praying for everybody in the fires. We're still praying for everybody in North Carolina and, oh, my gosh, everywhere else. But, yeah, I'm just... I had a thought because we were talking about the DEI stuff with the firefighting in LA and all of that. And one of our listeners, Adrian said that he's glad to know that gay people feel seen in the LA fire department while the raging fires of hell consume, you know, all these houses everywhere. Do they have to wear like reflective rainbow stuff? Does that make it easier to spot the gay people in the flames? I'm just curious. I just still, I'm trying to wrap my mind around that one. Like what about people with four toes? Do they get, do they have like a special like outreach event to them? What if they're left-handed? Do they get like a special left-handed outreach? Like this is all stuff that has nothing to do with fighting fires. Why are we, do you like skim milk or whole milk? Because we find out that you're able to fight fires more effectively if you don't drink skim milk. Like that's like, you know, It's just a bird. What did you say? There's bird flu in the whole mill. Oh, for the love. Shut up. You know, I, oh my gosh. I don't care about any of the new flus. I don't care about any of the new viruses. I'm already, I'm getting fed up already. And we're not even through the first week of the new year.
SPEAKER 17 :
Some of this is by design, I think.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, my gosh. I need the flamethrower. Do you think I've got time before any bad weather hits? I need to go. I need to shut up. Okay, first off, you've got today in stupidity.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yes, we do. As a matter of fact, just go ahead and play cut one because Raskin is not the smartest in Congress. Let's just put it that way. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 20 :
And so it'll be 217 to 215, which means they cannot afford to lose a single vote. And they've already suffered the defection of Congresswoman Sparks from Indiana, who got so mad about the fact that she wasn't put on the committee she wanted, that she has left the Republican conference and is an independent now. And we haven't even started deliberations yet. So I
SPEAKER 17 :
The reason this is so stupid is because we all know how Democrats operate. It's intentional. They have all of these problems in the Democrat Party. The media doesn't report on them. And then they want to act like they're going to be capitalizing on some division that doesn't exist. So it's good times.
SPEAKER 19 :
Good times indeed. Everybody stay safe out there. We'll have all the latest as well. Any developments that we'll have up on the newsletter, Substack, Chapter Inverse, go sign up. Find us, like, subscribe, YouTube, Facebook. Have a great night, everybody. Stay warm, stay safe. Back tomorrow.
The show highlights the ACLJ's ongoing efforts to support First Amendment rights in a new pro-life case in Ohio, where a peaceful protester faces legal challenges. Legal analyst Harry Hutchison provides an in-depth analysis of the Supreme Court's possible actions on Trump's emergency petition and its wider implications. Meanwhile, the ACLJ encourages listeners to become active supporters in the fight for life and justice through monthly contributions.
SPEAKER 05 :
We got breaking news. President Trump files an emergency petition to the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 07 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome to Sekulow. This is Logan Sekulow. Will Haynes is joining us in studio as well. We'll have some guests on a little bit later, including a brand new pro-life case that we have just taken. You're going to want to hear about that if you are someone who cares about those issues, as I know most of you are. So stay tuned for that. Obviously, the breaking news coming out. of new york is that president trump's filed an emergency petition to the supreme court to prevent the sentencing that was supposed to happen this friday we're going to break that down with harry hutchinson and more and will in just a little bit give us a call if you want to hear if you have a question about this 1-800-684-3110 1-800-684-3110 also wanted to take a Prayers are certainly with our friends in California, including Rick Grinnell and members of our team that are in California dealing with the devastating fires in Pacific Palisades and the areas around there. So though today we're going to be mostly focusing on some of our news items, because I know that if you want that coverage, it's everywhere right now. You can find it a much better coverage, if I'm being honest, on other broadcasts, because today we are focused on this breaking news that came out of, well, President Trump's legal team. to try to stop the sentencing which was supposed to happen on Friday in the New York case which again we kind of know won't be anything it's not going to be prison time that's not what we're looking at here but President Trump is pushing this taking all efforts to do that get this pushed beyond
SPEAKER 06 :
beyond being inaugurated that's right so as you'll remember earlier this week the president uh asked the judge to stay the sentencing uh due to the fact that his appeal on the presidential immunity issue is ongoing so said to the judge you shouldn't continue with proceedings on this until after that is resolved because the appeals court may throw this whole thing out anyways the Judge Marchand denied that. He appealed that to the appeals court. They denied that as well. So now the president and his legal team are going to the Supreme Court of the United States with an application for a stay of criminal proceedings in the Supreme Court of New York County, New York, pending the resolution of President Trump's interlocutory appeal on presidential immunity. So a lot of legal words there. What this means is that President Trump is asking the Supreme Court of the United States, to stay the sentencing to basically say anything moving forward in that disposition of that case that criminal case must be put on hold because an interlocutory appeal which that's an appeal made by a party in the middle of the proceeding so an appeal after judgment is what you normally see but this is something made in the middle and he has appealed to the appeals court in new york the ruling to not throw out the case. Judge Mershon said that the presidential immunity ruling had no bearing here and so therefore he was going to continue with sentencing. That is pending at the appeals court whether or not they will throw out the case. So all the president is doing here is asking the Supreme Court to say, hey, all proceedings must slow down, must pause while the appeals court in New York decides whether or not this case remains based off the presidential immunity ruling from the Supreme Court earlier this year. We're going to get into more details with Professor Hutchison in the next segment about what this means. What are the odds that the Supreme Court decides? Grants this stay. This isn't something you'll see oral argument on. It's not a case of that nature. We could get an order on this or a denial on this as soon as any time now. So we'll be watching for that as well. But stay tuned and give us a call at 1-800-684-3110 with your questions.
SPEAKER 05 :
They have to have a file of response by Thursday at 10 a.m. according to the news reports. So Thursday at 10 a.m. is when the latest, that's tomorrow morning, that we should know something. Again, as Will said, phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. Harry Hutchinson joining us. If you have questions for our legal experts, this is a great time to call. 1-800-684-3110. Also, we encourage you to become an ACLJ champion today. You're going to hear about a brand new case and why it's important. Of course, if you're one of us who fights for the protection of life, you're not going to want to miss this. That's coming up next. uh just in you got harry hudgeson next segment and then after that you're going to hear about this brand new case and of course we've seen what's been going on in massachusetts we're about to start that huge campaign and we need your help aclj.org save babies Welcome back to Secular. Professor Harry Hutchinson is joining us, senior attorney here at the ACLJ, to really break down this breaking news, Will, that came out. If you just are tuning in, which a lot of people are, specifically on our YouTube and Rumble channels. If you're brand new to our channels, make sure you hit subscribe. If you aren't new and you've already subscribed, make sure you hit subscribe. Share this with your friends. Put in a comment. Let me know where you're watching from. We like to watch that. We've got some big numbers right now, Will, because clearly this is on people's minds. That's right. And so this has been docketed by the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm looking at the docket page right now. Supreme Court of the United States.
SPEAKER 05 :
24A666.
SPEAKER 06 :
uh unfortunate number there yeah but uh what we've got is an application submitted to justice sotomayor uh and then they have said a response to this application requested by justice sotomayor by 10 a.m eastern tomorrow on january 9th so they have received this docketed it and are asking alvin bragg's team for a response to this motion uh by 10 a.m tomorrow What the president is asking the Supreme Court to do is issue a stay on the New York Supreme Court, which is their lowest level, which is kind of like the U.S. District Court level. Those proceedings, this is on the campaign finance violation, the 34 felonies that President Trump is supposed to be sentenced to on Friday of this week. So they are asking for this response by tomorrow. President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to say, halt those proceedings while my interlocutory appeal, my appeal on the ruling of immunity, goes forward at the state level. Now, this is, once again, Supreme Court getting involved with state issues. President Hutchison. President Hutchison. Professor Hutchison. I like that. There's a lot of words going on today. So Professor Hutchison. That was very Trump. A lot of words. You look at this. And one, it is the Supreme Court typically likes to stay out of state issues unless absolutely necessary. However, the flip side of that is this is the first time that they're ruling back earlier this year on presidential immunity. is being tested he's asking based off your ruling that's what i'm appealing in the state court system should the state court pause the proceedings until that appeal is exhausted almost putting a little bit of pressure on the supreme court to look at this because to some degree it's of their doing by creating this ruling earlier in the year what are your your thoughts on the overall picture what he's asking and where we could go from here
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, ultimately, my view is that this particular appeal is basically down to a flip of a coin. Typically, the Supreme Court is unlikely to take an appeal in a low-ranking felony matter where there is no sentencing or at least custodial sentencing contemplated by the judge. However, the big issue for the Supreme Court in terms of its own legacy is whether or not it will uphold its earlier decision granting presidents immunity for official acts. There's extensive evidence in the record showing that Judge Mershon allowed into evidence contested information which dealt with President Trump's official acts while in office. So I think that was a mistake by the trial court. That's number one. Number two, it's important to keep in mind that this is an interlocutory appeal. In other words, the state courts haven't finished their decision making, and they're unlikely to finish their decision making in this particular case, in my judgment, for months. And so the Supreme Court will indeed have an incentive to stay out. Lastly, let me make this particular point. Alan Dershowitz argues, however, that many of the liberal members of the Supreme Court may wish to step in and end this lawfare once and for all so Americans can proceed with their business, which is basically the inauguration of Donald Trump, on January the 20th, and he can move forward with a clean slate.
SPEAKER 05 :
Harry, can you lead us through a little bit, people who are commenting, I'm seeing it come through right now, of what the process even is when you're trying to get something like this state, when you're trying to get a decision pushed back. They filed a Supreme Court, and is it the justices making this decision? Are they coming together like they would for a regular case and having a discussion? Is this assigned to somebody? How does that work in terms of who's making the final decision? Because obviously, even in our comments, I'm seeing people go, well, this justice clearly is not going to vote that way, but hey, this one could. So how does that, How does that all come together?
SPEAKER 04 :
Very good question. So in this particular case, Judge Sotomayor, one of the liberal justices, has been assigned to this particular case. And so some of our listeners have noted that she is unlikely to vote in favor of Donald Trump. However, since this is a fairly momentous decision and it will have presidential value going forward, she may wish to invite, if you will, all of the members of the Supreme Court into this particular decision so they can take collective blame or praise. Yeah, I get that. That's good leadership. And so I think she will probably defer to the entire court before rendering a final judgment. That's just a guess. Please do not bet thousands of dollars on that guess.
SPEAKER 06 :
point as well, Professor Hutchison. There's really three things that we could see come out of this. One, Justice Sotomayor could rule on a stay by herself, and so therefore because of the way each justice is assigned one of the appellate jurisdictions and so this is where Justice Sotomayor receives these uh these appeals these ask for stay and things of that nature so that's just by the nature of where the court case was it wasn't luck of the draw it's just the normal path through the appellate process she could decide to issue a stay on her own she can refer as you mentioned to the entire supreme court to see if they can shoulder some of the blame or praise as you mentioned there or also they're not required to do anything as well. They could, especially with a Friday deadline, she can get the reply tomorrow and still not do anything. And then the, the time period, uh, dissolves on its own and the supreme court just sat on their hands which in many cases when you ask for a stay of this nature they don't respond especially when it is as you referred to you know normally in the normal course of jurisprudence a relatively minor issue for the supreme court something wouldn't typically even make it that far up But because of all the context, it being a president-elect, a former president, all of those issues, a presidential immunity ruling, that I feel like there's at least a little bit more likelihood of some sort of response. But that also, that interlocutory appeal issue, Supreme Court tends to not get involved until final judgment, final appeals judgment has gone through. You even remember the 14th Amendment case. They didn't step in. Until the Colorado Supreme Court, it had gone through the lower level, the appellate level, and then the Supreme Court of Colorado had to weigh in before they even jumped in. So as we said, we don't have a lot of answers, but it does feel like there are a lot of options for the Supreme Court to take here.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think there are tons of options, and certainly the coward's way out, you might say, is for the Supreme Court to do nothing. Just sit on their hands and allow the sentencing to move forward. They may, however, wish to intervene. Why? Because it involves the President of the United States, number one, and then number two, it involves their own decision-making. I think it is crystal clear as well that President Trump can adduce evidence showing that Judge Mershon allowed official acts to be brought before the jurors in this particular case. That then taints his sentencing decision, even if it's a non-custodial decision.
SPEAKER 05 :
so there um there's an argument to be made in favor of the supreme court intervening uh but i would not best bet my last dollar on it all right well thank you so much for the analysis a lot of great comments you're not getting this kind of commentary anywhere else we can't do that without your support we can't have this show the show's not uh you know paid for by corporate sponsors it is funded exclusively through the ACLJ supporters and ACLJ champions. That's what we encourage you today is become an ACLJ champion. That's someone that gives on a monthly basis who says, hey, you set that price. I think it's $5 minimum just because of processing fees, but we encourage you to go in, make it $25, $75, maybe do $100 a month to give monthly, to be a champion for the ACLJ. I've had people come up to me and say, I'm ACLJ champions, and that always makes me happy. It's always nice when I'm waiting in line for coffee and someone will tell me that. It's a really cool thing that's happened over the last year. So become an ACLJ champion today. Make this possible. And you're going to know why even more. You get this great analysis. But in the next segment, we are going to court. You're going to hear about our newest pro-life case that's about to really take shape. It's really kind of classic ACLJ. freedom of speech kind of content you're going to hear from one of our attorneys on that coming up in the next segment if you do have a question or comment we got full bank open right now tons of you watching but give us a call 1-800-684-3110 if you're brand new on youtube but you know about half of you are hit that subscribe button hit the thumbs up we'll be right back Welcome back to Secular. The ACLJ has been on the front lines of our fight for life for decades and decades. And you'd think that some of these cases that come about and these issues that come about should be settled. Well, often they are. But it doesn't mean you still don't have to fight them. And I'm excited today to talk about a new one. We have ACLJ attorney, Eldra McArdle, who is joining us. live right now via Zoom. Thanks for joining us. Why don't you give our audience just a brief background on what this current issue is and of course it's going to sound familiar because this is something the ACLJ has been fighting for since the 80s and here we are.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well thank you for having me first of all and I'm happy to share our current case, which involves a couple and specifically a man who has been arrested and cited for disorderly conduct based upon his actions on a particular day wherein he and his wife were advocating for unborn children in front of an abortion clinic. He was very composed. He used a megaphone and they basically cited him for using the megaphone because it was too loud, quote unquote. In the meantime, he was also, in my opinion, attacked and wrongly so, verbally, extremely vulgar, language used by the escorts that were at the clinic they basically used foul language and told his wife who herself is an abortion survivor so his wife's mother was planning to have an abortion and changed her mind and so he is now married to that individual well the escort at the abortion clinic basically told her that if she wanted to die they could they could make that happen And it was very rude. And so he has been charged with this worldly conduct. There is supposed to be a hearing tomorrow on on those charges, but he has not been served officially from the court. Municipal court when he pled not guilty in mayor's court, they shifted in Ohio to the municipal court and there they set a hearing. We are waiting to see whether they're going to go forward with that hearing tomorrow or whether they're going to go ahead and continue it. In the meantime, we are challenging his arrest and the constitutionality of the statute on both First Amendment and 14th Amendment grounds. First Amendment, obviously, on free speech, religious freedom. The content of the statute is unconstitutional, in our opinion. And also the... in equal or unequal application of that particular statute to this particular incident wherein he was the only one arrested and the escorts were not.
SPEAKER 06 :
when we we talk about this as well and you talk about the issues of the unequally applied law here they were the officers told him he caused annoyance or disturbance and that criminal citation under the noise ordinance uh says that it bans annoyance to another which is such a vague subjective statute in and of itself but when you have something here that is clearly uh is unequally applied. The pro-life individual is the one who is cited, placed in the back of a police car, and those that were, as you say, even making threats, being vulgar, had nothing happen to them, that raises the constitutional issues. But it also, I think, shows that even with the new administration coming in, that it is favorable to conservatives, to pro-life individuals, and those of us that stand for the sanctity of life, It also shows that our fight sometimes has to turn local and also ensure that we fight for the constitutional rights of everyday Americans, even in places that you may have not heard of, that may not be on the front page of the news. But that's what we're fighting here.
SPEAKER 01 :
absolutely and this is a local county cuyahoga county in ohio and it is a local ordinance and as i indicated it's going to be in municipal court which is a city court which is a very very low court in in the grand scheme of things you know you were just talking about the united states supreme court but still this is where it happens to everyday individuals and everyday life where uh abortion clinics are still permitted to be um taking place or advocating or advocating abortions in Ohio. And so they have statutes that try to, I'm going to say, suppress the First Amendment speech and the religious speech that goes with it or religious beliefs.
SPEAKER 05 :
At the end of the day, that's what we're talking about here. Not only a religious police, but we also are talking about the First Amendment is something that we have been talking about again for decades, making this very clear that your pro-life speech, just because it's pro-life doesn't mean it stops because you're on a public sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic. In fact, that's where speech should be maybe the most popular. protected but it's sort of a two-prong effort here at the aclj maybe go through that a little bit because we are both you know representing the client also taking on the statute you can kind of break that down a little bit uh before we really tell people how they can get engaged in this fight for life that we're continuing on
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes. So yeah, the criminal case obviously is the one that started it. And we have to dispose of that first. And the motion to dismiss that we're filing are based upon the First Amendment and 14th Amendment. And then ultimately, we would like to get it dismissed. And if it's not dismissed, we want to go forward and challenge it on the civil end as well. But you know, you can't challenge it civilly until you get through the criminal process. And so we are It's sort of a hybrid and bifurcated case that we will be handling, but hopefully we will be very successful. I think we will. The conduct in this case was witnessed by the actual police officer. So the security guard was a private security guard who was employed by the Cuyahoga County Police. He was the one that I believe called the Cuyahoga County Police to come and cite our clients. So it is two-pronged, but we certainly are still fighting for pro-life. We're fighting for free speech, and we are encouraging everybody to jump on board and help us out.
SPEAKER 06 :
And Elgin, we are we're happy to fight this. And it is interesting. This is the second 14th Amendment case that we have worked on with you. One being the 14th Amendment ballot ban that was trying to go forward by the left. And now this the equal protection clauses within the 14th Amendment, same amendment, very different purposes here.
SPEAKER 01 :
Very, very different. But hopefully we'll be as successful in this one as we were in the last.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much for joining us. If you want to join us in this fight today, as you heard, we are getting involved in filing critical motion in the courts in Ohio. And of course, you've heard about our campaign in Massachusetts. Hopefully you have. Where the state has been trying to shut down pro-life pregnancy centers and pressure women into having abortions, not going through those. And we are going to be fighting that. Not just... But we are also launching a $500,000 campaign, ad campaign, throughout the state of Massachusetts. And we want to bring that around the country to promote life in a really effective, beautiful way, in a way that is not shameful, not condemning. It is a great campaign that our team promotes. put together. So I'm going to encourage you to go to aclj.org to support that aclj.org slash save babies. You can scan the QR code as well to learn more. These battles require resources all year long. And of course we were trying to raise the funds for the total ad campaign as well. And the support of ACLJ individual donors is great, but you can also become and aclj champion as we head to the end of this first half hour some of you lose us on your local radio stations you can find us broadcasting live on youtube on rumble on aclj.org and now live on the salem news channel each and every day from noon to 1 p.m eastern work your way back but the support of the aclj members and aclj champions that's people that give on a recurring monthly basis automatically Or really, what keeps this going? It's a small group of people that are ACLJ champions. We want to see that double this year. So will you join us in that fight? Help protect the unborn at ACLJ.org slash champions. Again, a second half hour coming up. We got a lot of phone lines open for as many of you watching right now. So if you ever wanted to hear your voice on the radio... See it on YouTube. On the Salem News Channel. Give us a call. 1-800-684-3110. Be kind to our phone screeners. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 07 :
Keeping you informed and engaged. Now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Sekulow. Second half hour coming up right now. Give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. For a lot of you just joining us, I wanted to restate that breaking news item. Will, and maybe you can go through it here as President Trump has filed that emergency petition to the Supreme Court. And we need an answer soon. That is for the case in New York. And he would like to delay sentencing. And he does that by taking it up a notch, taking it to the Supreme Court of the United States.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. Because President Trump has an interlocutory appeal, so an appeal that is in the middle of the proceedings, the final judgment after sentencing has not been handed down. So he's asked for an appeal on the ruling of Judge Mershon about immunity. Judge Mershon decided to not dismiss the case based off the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. President Trump appealed that decision by Judge Mershon. And so now he's asked the Supreme Court to stay the proceedings, so stop the proceedings in the court and effectively stopping the sentencing that is supposed to happen, that is scheduled to happen on Friday while that appeal continues on, on the immunity ruling. He asked the Judge Mershon on Monday to do that. He denied that. He went to the Appeals Court of New York. They also declined to stay the proceedings. And so now he's taken it an application for stay to the US Supreme Court. The way this works is it gets assigned to a justice that has a circuit assignment. So because this is coming out of New York, She has the Second Circuit, is where all the appeals go through, from the Second Circuit, go to Justice Sotomayor. If it were Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that'd be the Third Circuit, it'd go to Samuel Alito. So it's all based off of the circuit assignment that these justices have. Sotomayor now has this application. She has requested a response from Alvin Bragg's team by tomorrow at 10 a.m., And then she has some options. She can do nothing. Let it sit. There's no required time. Right. There's no required time. The Supreme Court doesn't have to even respond. She could rule or issue an order on this application for a stay by herself. or she can refer the application to the entire court then the court would have to vote on whether or not to issue the stay on an application for stay to grant a stay it takes five members to grant cert we normally talk about it counts that you need four that to grant a case but this is just an application for stay it's an emergency application it would take four justices to grant this, five justices rather, to grant this stay and to stop that sentencing on Friday. Now, we will talk about a little bit later. Maybe we'll get back into some of the issues on whether or not this is normal, what they have done. Is there any precedent for this? Spoiler alert, the answer is no in this case because they just ruled on presidential immunity earlier this year. So this is really their first test case reaching them.
SPEAKER 05 :
after their immunity ruling earlier this year so a lot to unpack there and we'll get into more of it later we got some other news coming up too viewers have been going up because i think people are interested in this i'd love to hear from you if you have a question or comment related to this you know what i've seen obviously in the last day as well is president trump making the claim and at first i thought okay this is a president trump kind of joke that would happen taken out of context becomes the news which is that whole gulf of america comment which is will we be making the gulf of of america he made some interesting points but i want to know your thoughts you know precedent over what's happening right now hundreds of years but question for you do you like that president trump is taking on these kind of topics or do you want him to be focused solely on things like the economy and safety of our people which is why I think a lot of you voted for it. It's kind of fun to discuss it. I think a lot of it is moving around, you know, pieces. It's negotiation tactics. Same with what's happening in Greenland, what's going on all around the world in terms of the Panama Canal, all those discussions. What do you think about that? I want to get your thoughts because I would love to hear from the viewers. 1-800-684-3110. President Trump's bigger announcements, if you will. 1-800-684-3110 to give us a call. Of course, support the work of the ACLJ if you can today and become an ACLJ champion, a monthly recurring member. We'll be right back with your calls and comments and more on Zekula. Welcome back to Seculo. Hey, we are taking your phone calls. And look, I can see how many of you are watching right now. Thousands of you are just watching on YouTube and on Rumble. Maybe some of you are watching on the Salem News Channel. Give us a call. I don't want to be someone begging here for calls. But come on, you've got to have a question or comment. I'd love to hear from you. This is a great time to call in. 1-800-684-3110. Will, we did want to give an update, you know, again. I always think we're never going to hear the name Jack Smith again. And somehow every day, every day, Will, you're like, I got a new Jack Smith update. Why don't you give it to us?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we talked about this a little bit yesterday, that President Trump was asking Merrick Garland, the Attorney General, to not release the Jack Smith report, saying it wasn't in the public interest. As well, we talked about that the... Co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago case, the classified documents case, had filed with the court a request to block the release of it, mainly because it's still on appeal. The Justice Department is appealing the ruling by Judge Cannon that threw the case out, saying that special counsel Jack Smith was not properly or constitutionally appointed. So what we've got today is new news out of the Department of Justice that Merrick Garland, who is the one who makes the decision statutorily based off the law, if the release of a special counsel's report will happen. So he's got about what? At this point, I mean, we're talking about 12 days to decide to get it out. And he had earlier said months ago that at the conclusion of the work, he thinks it would be in the public interest to release the special counsel's report. He'd been quiet since the election. And now what we're hearing is that Merrick Garland will release the part of the special counsel's report it will be two volumes one volume on the election interference january 6 investigation that was with uh the the judge in dc the dc uh district court and then the second volume is on the classified documents case out of florida with judge cannon because of judge cannon's move yesterday she blocked the release while these appeals are going on for the other uh the both the justice department trying to uh say that the special counsel was properly appointed uh the judge has said you can't release that one right now it's still in the system uh the appeals court has this before them and you need to wait so That part will not be released. The Mar-a-Lago raid, the documents case, volume two of Jack Smith is not going to be released. But Merrick Garland has said that he intends to release volume one. Yes. Volume two coming later next year.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's like Wicked. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
One year this, but I also assume that if it goes past January 20th, Pam Bondi is not going to release a second volume. So that's where we're at. Of this, of Wicked. Wicked will become part two.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't think she has any say in that, really. You never know. President Trump can make a lot of moves. He's saying we're going to rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. It's just good. Calling it good. It's no longer wicked. Wicked, too, is wicked for good. Well, there you go. You didn't even know that. It's just in your head. Well, because it should be one film. Jack Smith's double album coming soon.
SPEAKER 06 :
So that's where we're at. Merrick Garland, the attorney general, is trying to get one. the last shot at President Trump. We also know from reporting that President Biden was frustrated with the Attorney General. In some of this reporting it was one of his regrets that he picked Merrick Garland, gave him that consolation prize after not being confirmed by a Republican Senate to the Supreme Court. He was made the Attorney General. A lot of other Democrats wanted Doug Jones from Alabama. They thought that he would be a lot more aggressive as an Attorney General. They're probably not wrong. Merrick Garland, President Biden was concerned that he slow walked the January 6th investigation and therefore he allowed Trump to become president again. So I think this may be Merrick Garland saying, I'll get one more shot at President Trump on my way out the door. All right, let's take some calls. Look, a lot of you have called in now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Stay on hold. Screen some of those calls. We'll get it done. Not you, Will. The other Will. Bob in Michigan, line one. You're on the air.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, thanks, guys. The appellate judge threw out the case to delay the sentencing based on the idea that President Trump is not, right now, the President of the United States. And my argument would be that although... J.D. Vance would have a shot at being the 48th president of the United States. My idea is that Trump right now is the 47th president of the United States. He'll go down in history. It's irrevocable. He's going to be the 47th president of the United States, but he also is right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Bob, not to cut you off, but they actually made a bit of that argument.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and Bob, he is not currently the 47th because he will not be the president until inauguration. He is president-elect, the 47th president-elect. It's been certified, but he does not become the 47th president until January 20th at noon Eastern time when he is sworn in on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. But you do raise a good point. And that is part of the argument that President Trump's lawyers filed in this emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court. Specifically, they have three questions presented. One about is there an automatic stay when there's an interlocutory appeal about presidential immunity, something that's never been raised before because there was no Supreme Court precedent until now. But the third question presented is, It goes specifically to what you're saying, Bob. It says whether a sitting president's complete immunity from criminal prosecution during his term in office extends to the president-elect of the United States during the brief but crucial period between his election, his certification as president-elect, which has now occurred on monday and his inauguration as he conducts presidential transition activities that are integral and preparatory to his imminent assumption of the executive power of the united states so bob you're asking the right question that's the same question that trump's lawyers are presenting to the supreme court is that even now can you be sentencing a president-elect based off of presidential immunity rulings because he's having to we talk about the transition period between election and the new presidency there's a lot of movement going on and there is a lot of that's even why there's briefings to the president-elect on intelligence there's all these things that are very critical official government activities to ensure that the president is ready on day one to assume the executive office of presidency.
SPEAKER 05 :
We're going to be taking more calls. Keep calling 1-800-684-3110. And we're not ignoring the fires that are happening in California. Obviously, that has been absolutely devastating in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu and other areas that are being just really ravaged by these wildfires. We have different content to produce here. If you want to find out more information about that, there are other outlets for that, but we'll continue to cover that. Obviously, our prayers are with our friends and colleagues. in that area including rick grinnell who's on this show every week so give us a call 1-800-684-3110 we had a bunch but i don't think he was waiting on holds keep keep holding uh james is calling in florida on line three james welcome
SPEAKER 08 :
Hello, guys. Thank you for everything you guys do. I was going to make a comment. Basically, I was born in Panama. And then I remember I was like seven years old when the treaty was signed by Torrijos and late President Carter. And I will tell you that I'm glad that President-elect Trump is looking up, looking out, looking up into any violations that the Panamanian government may have done to the treaty, you know, because to me, the Panama was very prosperous when the canal was under the U.S. hands and it was safer. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, James, thank you for calling. I think that's a great perspective that maybe people need to hear. You hear these moments of President Trump saying, hey, we need to take back the Panama Canal. And of course, there are moments where people go, and then you start really looking into the details. You go, OK, well, he's not necessarily wrong here. Not wrong, at least in the thinking. Not wrong in the thinking of what's going on in Greenland, even, which I know sounds aggressive. It sounds bizarre. But when you're talking about the location of where that country is situated and the trade that goes through there and the trade that goes through the Panama Canal, the U.S. getting more involved certainly would not be a bad thing.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And when you even think about the concept of the Panama Canal, even more so than Greenland, while strategically the importance of Greenland is very apparent. But when you think about one, the the push for global dominance by China, you think about the fact that we built the Panama Canal. We built it, had control over it. I mean, John McCain was born in Panama because his father was working in the Panama Canal Zone. And so you think about the history and the ingenuity and how much prosperity to the world because of what the United States did by building that canal. And then Jimmy Carter handed over control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. When you think about it, I know most people watching the show have probably been frustrated about this for a very long time. Many people have. The fact that we ceded control of one of the most important shipping lanes in this hemisphere, it seems absurd. And so even to that point, President Trump makes very valid, very strong points. If you're looking to build up American independence, security, as well as our ability to affect our trading partners, I think us taking back control of the Panama Canal should be a no-brainer for many people.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep, absolutely. Phone lines are still open at 1-800-684-3110. A few people said they've been... You know, they call and it keeps ringing and ringing. Give it time. We got to let people get screened through and our screeners got to do this job. So stay on hold and just wait through the ringing. Someone will pick up the phone. 1-800-684-3110. Become an ACLJ champion today. Again, that's someone who supports the ACLJ on a monthly recurring basis. Again, our prayers to our friends and everyone in California going through the wildfires right now. We'll be right back with your calls and comments coming up. All right, last segment of the day, and I'd like to hear from as many of you as possible. We've got some great comments from YouTube and some callers coming in. Will, we had a comment from YouTube you wanted to take real quick.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, this is Shelly on YouTube, and she's asking, what happens if Trump doesn't show up for the sentencing? Is there an arrest warrant put out? When Judge Mershon rescheduled the sentencing for this Friday, he actually made it clear that President Trump didn't have to be there in person. They could do a virtual appearance. They could do it other ways. And that's also mainly because he's already signaled that the sentence is most likely, he said, I see the best path forward, what's called an unconditional discharge. What that means is that it goes in the books as convicted felon, he's been sentenced, but there's no penalties, there's no probation, there's nothing. It's just an unconditional discharge. You're free to go, but you're a convicted felon. Thank you very much. And he also tried to say that's, you know, this will help president Trump move forward with his appeal because it'll resolve the case here. We're done here. Then he can appeal it at the appeals court as if that's a nice, thank you very much from the judge that the entire time, uh, has been showing his hand of potentially not being in favor of the 47th president elect.
SPEAKER 05 :
Let's go ahead and take some calls. Eric is calling in Texas, watching on the Salem News Channel, so that's very cool. Welcome, a new live member to our set. We're now on live every day from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on the Salem News Channel. You can find that live on their website or on Pluto and a few other options, I believe. Just go check out what they're doing there. Great lineup of hosts. Eric, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, sir. Thank you. I enjoy your show and appreciate your work. What I want to talk about... It's what you spoke about is like Merrick Garland and all these lawfare trials going against, of course, Trump and his associates and other conservatives around the. The nation, there has to be some kind of counterpunch to like when they bring forth these bogus lawsuits and. and lawfare that they, uh, that these people are punished when they actually break the law. Like for example, when they, uh, throw some of these pro-life families and stuff in jail and endless, uh, trials just meant to like break people and make them go bankrupt, you know? And, uh, there has to be something that we, that, and if we don't have a counter punch to this, then why there's no turn to, for them to like keep bringing forth more, uh,
SPEAKER 05 :
uh stalin stalin style uh kind of suits yeah i would say we do have a counter punch some of it is what we do here at the aclj obviously for the pro-lifers as you mentioned uh we talked about that today we have a new client that we are representing who was uh protesting in front of an abortion clinic was uh you know making his voice heard his wife and was arrested for it we are taking that to court Because we believe, and we do that absolutely for free. We do that because the ACLJ, great members and ACLJ champions and individual donors that support the work of the ACLJ continue. But for President Trump specifically, I mean, maybe one of the biggest counter punches has been he won the election. Right. He won the general election as both the popular vote and the electoral college, every swing state. And we saw that certified. So though it may feel that way, there are some times where a win can still happen.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And I think another legal counterpunch is the cabinet. If you go to ACLJ.org slash petitions, the second one on there right now is confirm Trump's national security team now. Who does that involve? The attorney general of the United States, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, who will be the director of the FBI, as well as Tulsi Gabbard, our colleague here, until now she moves on to be the next director of national intelligence. But you need those people in quickly. You need their deputies in quickly. The Senate has to get on this. I know they're starting hearings next week to be ahead of the curve so that when President Trump is sworn in, they can actually confirm these people. But that's the way you start cleaning it up. And that's when they can also look and see if there was any impropriety, because unless documents are missing, they should be in the Department of Justice and they will be able to look into it.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, let's go ahead and continue on with our calls. Let's go to Lori, who's calling in California, watching on YouTube. Hey, I want to say something to YouTube viewers because there's a lot today. We are only about, let me see where we're at exactly. We're at 250 subscribers away from hitting 450,000 YouTube subscribers. So I know, just because I know how the analytics work, there are more than 200 of you watching that are brand new or haven't hit that subscribe button. Because usually only about 50% of the people watching are active subscribers. You may have been served this, but you're still not maybe subscribing to the ACLJ channel. Hit that subscribe button. Let's get this over 450,000 while we're on live in the next four minutes. See if you can do it. Hopefully you can take the challenge. Lori, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hi, I've really enjoyed all of your work trying to help President Trump. And, you know, I have watched cases sometimes where people go in at the last minute as interveners. And I'm wondering... is that possible or can the ACLU, boy, that was a mistake.
SPEAKER 05 :
The ACLJ, I understand how it happens.
SPEAKER 09 :
I understand the ACLU. Okay, can we come up with a template And every time I get after President Trump, do something, because I've had a guts full of all of it. It's like, what are they going to try next? They're going to say, oh, he's a felon, so he can't be president. It just never ends.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it does feel like a never-ending struggle, Laurie. And look, we've been there for President Trump when he's needed. Our legal team and we've obviously been, Jordan and other members of our team are obviously involved and engaged in a lot of that. What I'll say is it can't really be templated because so much of it is different in each individual case, individual state, whether it's federal, whether it's, you know, there's so much that goes on. I know you feel that way and it does feel that way. It's exhausting. But then you have President Trump also taking all of his legal options and throwing them against the wall as well when you have something like the sentencing coming up on Friday. We don't know how that will end up, but we know at least they are going to try everything they can.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And at this point, the application for stay is at the United States Supreme Court. We hope that we will maybe hear something tomorrow, whether or not they put a stay in place and that sentencing goes forward on Friday or not. But we'll know very soon.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep. And hey, two minutes left in this show and we have 200 subscribers away from hitting 450,000. Do it right now. Let's go quickly. Let's take one more. Who's going to hold long as you'll get it? Let's go to Sid in Texas. Steve, I'm sorry. I don't know if we'll be able to get to you, but stay on hold. We'll try. Sid, go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, I think this is totally cool that we are having conversations about Greenland, the Gulf of America, etc. Trump is so multitask. Yeah. I mean, there is multitask. It's fun.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. I mean, Sid definitely is bringing up new topics. I don't think anyone's been discussing beforehand and give you something new to think about. And what I like about these topics, because at first you had sort of a gut reaction. That's not necessarily positive. And then you start looking into the facts and you're like, Oh, it doesn't seem like it's wrong on this. Maybe we should be doing this quickly. Steve in Tennessee, watch it on the Salem news channel. Steve quickly. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 10 :
Uh, thank y'all for what you do each and every day, keeping us informed. Um, I just wanted to make a comment about, uh, Pam lock. Now, uh, we should have never turned it over in the first place, but, uh, I'm glad, uh, president Trump has a thought to, uh, see that we try and get that back. Uh, also, uh, uh, when it comes to Canada and the other territories that, uh, protect the United States. and that we have a presence in, if we have a presence and we're spending young boys' blood, our heritage of the United States, when we put forth those guys there, and if we have to spend blood, Those territories should become part of the United States.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Steve, thank you for your comment so much. I don't mean to cut you off. We are just running out of time. We only have about 30 seconds left. Thank you all for watching. A lot of brand new viewers, a lot of brand new subscribers. Let's see where we're at. Oh, we're getting close. Go ahead, hit that subscribe button. I'll take it as a win if we get it in the next couple hours. So, hey, hit that subscribe button even if you're watching later on. I would love to hit 450,000 YouTube subscribers today. Thanks again for watching. Support the work of the ACLJ, whether it is our pro-life cases or whatever it is that we're involved in. You can find out more information at ACLJ.org and I encourage you to become a monthly recurring member and ACLJ champion. Talk to you tomorrow.
In this compelling episode of the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, hosts Neil, Bob, and John tackle the pressing issues of the day, right from the heart of America. The discussion navigates through the controversial topic of wildfires in California, focusing on how environmental policies might be exacerbating the situation. The hosts then delve deep into a chilling terrorist attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, pondering the motivations and implications of such home-grown extremist actions. It’s a gripping conversation that seeks to understand not just the issues but the roots behind them. Moving on to a broader perspective, the team dissects Mark Zuckerberg's recent announcement regarding free speech on Meta platforms and their decision to distance from third-party fact checkers. The hosts express skepticism over whether these changes reflect a genuine ideological shift or are merely prompted by external pressures, including competition from platforms like X and a changing political landscape. Tune in to hear thoughtful insights into how these technological and political changes might shape communication and transparency in the digital age.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of culture, current events, and politics through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time, she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
Back with another week of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast with all of the guys, Neil and John, myself, Bob. Hey, guys, how are you? Happy 2025. Happy New Year, man. Good. Well, you too. You know, there's a lot of things for us to talk about here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Come on, Bob. There's nothing going on right now. Nothing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Nothing really happening in the news. Let's see. You know, we've got a distant suburb here of Detroit that's putting in a new playscape in the local park. So maybe we'll talk about that for an hour. Got it. Oh, boy. No, there's actually a whole bunch of things going on. We've got the wildfires in California. We have the terrorist attack in New Orleans that took place. We've got Mark Zuckerberg announcing there. What do you know? Going to embrace free speech and not censorship. Justin Trudeau in Canada stepping down. Joe Biden's executive action banning drilling. Drill, baby, drill. January 6th, four years later, should Trump pardon? I mean, there's just so many different things for us to talk about. So let's just start diving through and peppering them one at a time. Let's start with the wildfires, first of all. John, you and I were talking about this a little bit before the podcast started. Every time... Every time we see these wildfires in California, it makes my eye twitch because you wonder, when are the liberal Hollywood types and the rich gazillionaires out there that are watching their mansions burn, when are they going to realize that the environmental policies of left-wing California to refuse to properly manage the forest, refuse to clear the underbrush, because after all, we can't mess with the natural habitat of the Norwegian spotted worm. I mean... When are they going to realize that their own environmental policies caused the slightest spark to, boom, spread like wildfire?
SPEAKER 02 :
And it happens all over the country, Bob. It's not just California, although with California, it seems like it's an annual repetitive thing. And again, my hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the people that are being affected by this. I mean, I, you know, full hand understand exactly what they're going through. On the same token, to your point, Bob, there are ways to mitigate this on the front side. And a lot of folks, even in the, you know, power company end of things and so on, will tell the states, these are the things that we should be doing, but then they're not allowed to.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Exactly. And, you know, Neil, I don't know. You don't really we don't hear that many wildfires spreading through New York or Michigan, I suppose. But it I mean, John makes a good point. They're not managing the forests properly. But if they did, then the environmentalists get all up in arms over it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, and I mean, the only wildfires that we've been affected by in any way were Canadian wildfires. And in some ways, because of the same policies you're seeing in places like Canada, I thank God I live in Buffalo, New York, and I'll take a snowstorm over a wildfire any day. But you're 100% right. And if the policies of the government of the state of California and federal government policies are contributing to this, then it's time to open their eyes and realize that this is costing them way more in the long run.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, so we'll see, but obviously we want to be praying for the people out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Really quick, just to throw this in, the whole environmental end of things and so on, you never hear them talk about, because of the lack of planning on the front side and trying to eliminate as many of these fires, how much smoke and pollution and things along those lines go up into the sky and the atmosphere and people are having to breathe and so on, that if we manage things correctly on the front side, and this is always also interesting, I just looked at the nationwide fire map There's not just one fire in California, guys. There's about 30 right now across the western United States.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm thinking they should figure out what the carbon footprint of this is. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
The thing about the Canadian wildfires, and the reason I mentioned it, is because we were affected for the better part of two weeks by the smoke that was trailing down here, drifting across like a Chinese spy balloon. And it covered a good portion of the upper northeast, and it became a real issue. All of it was wafting out of Canada. We had it here in Michigan, too. Did you really?
SPEAKER 02 :
It came all the way down here to Colorado, guys.
SPEAKER 1 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good Lord. Yeah, that's a big problem.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, maybe the answer is just putting some tariffs on Canada. Maybe we'll get to that, too. We haven't had a chance to talk about the terrorist attack in New Orleans here on the podcast. The New Year's Day, early in the morning, early New Year's Eve, but in the middle of the night, bourbon street this islamic jihadi terrorist let's call it the way that it is right drives his truck through a crowd of people and he had already scanned out and scoped the area prior to this we now know but killing 14 people injuring over 30 this was an islamic jihadi terrorist attack and no this guy wasn't an illegal alien okay he was born here in the united states he was a a He lived in Houston. He was a U.S. citizen. OK, but he was, quote unquote, radicalized, which basically converted to Islam. Family was actually raised a Christian family, but he converted to Islam. But he converted to and I know this is politically incorrect, but I'm just going to say it. He converted to pure Islam, the kind of Islam that Muhammad himself practiced. OK. And but the fact is that I'm glad that most Muslims converted. don't embrace jihadi terrorism. I'm glad that they don't, but that's because they're nominal Muslims who aren't really following what Muhammad taught and what's in the Quran and what's in the Hadiths. But it's like, okay, fine. But that's who this guy was. That's what he did. And then a few hours later, you have this Tesla explosion with this guy that, for all intent and purposes, appears to be a Trump supporter and then blows himself up in front of the Trump Hotel, right in front of it in Las Vegas. And it's like, what in the world is going on here? Tom Holman, the incoming Trump border czar, says his gut tells him that these two are probably connected, but he could be wrong. It looks to me like it might just be two freakish coincidences. But I mean, I don't know what you guys take on this.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's almost like, and I've read a lot, and of course, one guy from Carter Springs, the Cybertruck guy, and Sons and I were talking a lot about this after it had happened, and that one of the two guys is just weird. And I'm not, you guys know me, I'm not a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist by any stretch of the imagination, but... That one, just for some odd reason, I don't know, just doesn't add up. Now, was he just trying to raise awareness as to what's really going on in the country and wanted to, according to his manifesto, bring all of that to light and so on? Guys, I don't know. I have no idea. But that one of the two doesn't add up.
SPEAKER 04 :
And he rents a Tesla. It's not like he owned it and he just used his own car.
SPEAKER 02 :
He rented it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Specifically rented a Tesla. So this was clearly an Elon Musk, Donald Trump message from a Trump supporter. Unless maybe he was one of the disillusioned guys that, for whatever reason, went sour on Trump and didn't have time to post his I've changed my mind about Trump and Musk on social media kind of stuff.
SPEAKER 02 :
You're right. I'm scratching my head, too. Was it that he was trying to send a message and he got a Cybertruck knowing that you'd have the least amount of casualty coming out of that? I mean, this guy was an expert. He could have blown up the entire tower had he wanted to. He could have blown up a whole city block if he wanted to. That's the kind of expertise this guy had in his background. So, again, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this is the one out of the two that just doesn't add up.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I suspect personally that they were unrelated. I mean, that's my gut feeling, and the reason I say that is because... Of some of the other things that have circulated regarding the situation in Las Vegas, you know, the Tesla situation, one being that there was some sort of question about infidelity in his family. Also, that he was potentially suffering from PTSD and CTE. And I mean, you know, like Mike Webster of the Pittsburgh Steelers took his own life because he couldn't handle what was happening inside his head regarding CTE. So who knows just how damaged this individual was and what exactly was going on there? You know, was it a, hey, I'm in favor of Trump and Musk and I want to go out in a blaze of glory kind of thing? I don't know. So I would hate to speculate on that one. Regarding the one in New Orleans, just real quick. I don't—you know, there's a lot of criticism of they should have had more barriers up and everything, and that's the human response to all this stuff. It's always, well, if we just did a better job, if we beefed up security a little bit more, we could stop this. Well, are you telling me that there wasn't any people on the other side of the barrier, or if there had been a barrier in place? I mean, you could go to a Walmart parking lot in New Orleans and drive a truck through a crowd of people coming out of a Walmart, taking advantage of an after-Christmas sale. Like— I don't know that we're ever really going to be able to stop that kind of stuff. And I don't want to minimize the idea of national security or anything. We certainly need it. But ultimately, it comes down to human hearts. And I mean, I say this very tongue in cheek and not disrespectfully, but. For all the people that call for common sense gun laws, well, we've now seen a couple of trucks driven into crowds. You had the Christmas market incident in Germany. What do we need? Common sense truck laws? Stricter licensing laws or common sense laws regarding how to get a driver's license? That's not going to stop these events. And ultimately... We need to pray and do the best we can to secure public sites. And I know the Super Bowl is going to be in New Orleans and all of that, but it comes down to we need to change human hearts, and only Jesus can do that.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's so true. And, of course, we have to wonder how many ISIS terrorists, al-Qaeda terrorists, have flooded over the borders, the open borders over the last four years and are infiltrated here in the United States. And, you know, this guy was homegrown. Okay, fine. But, you know, how many others and like-minded people are here and what kind of cells are building and operating? Remember, 9-11 took six years to plan and carry out from 19 people. How many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ISIS jihadis do we have in this country right now through the open borders?
SPEAKER 02 :
And I think just as a note to everybody listening, Bob, our listeners, that you've got to be diligent. You've got to be watching. I hate to say that, but you've got to have your head on a swivel and be paying attention to everything that's going on at all times. And not to be critical, but my dad always told me nothing good happens after midnight.
SPEAKER 03 :
Very true. My mom said the same thing. They were both right. I know.
SPEAKER 04 :
And be careful out there and pay attention. Actually, you know what, Neal, I will say because coming up next we're going to talk about Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Facebook, and all of that and the changes coming there. And we do, Neal, appreciate people listening to this podcast. We certainly appreciate them supporting the sponsors of this podcast like SunPowerLED.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, thank God for our sponsors give us an opportunity to talk about what's true. And there's a lot of people scratching their head wondering, you know, what's true regarding a lot of issues we're going to be discussing today. One thing that people have been very concerned about is what we're hearing from so-called government officials, you know, the... the fauci's of the world and from groups like big pharma and there's a lot of concern about that particularly on the heels of covid we may even have some of that come up when we talk about what's going on in canada but the point is that people are very skeptical and and many now believe and have come to realize that pharmaceuticals are designed to manage symptoms not get rid of disease And for those that feel that way, if you're one of those people and you're experiencing pain in your joints, you've got problems with migraine headaches, you're in need of assistance with wound care, did you know that the very light God himself created, certain wavelengths of red light therapy, it's called, can be used to reduce pain and swelling in your body? Literally using the very light God himself created. So people are dealing with joint pain and back pain and headache pain and all kinds of wound care by the use of what's called photobiomodulation or red light therapy. And it's available from sunpowerled.com. Now, you can go to our CrawfordMediaGroup.net website, click on the SunPowerLED banner and get all the information you need. But I encourage you to do it. Check it out. Find out what's available because Big Pharma, Is not your friend. And if you can get healed and get better using just the light God himself created, you need to look into it. So go to SunPowerLED on the CrawfordMediaGroup.net site. And thanks to SunPower for making all of this possible. Bob Preborn is also a supporter.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, absolutely. And we appreciate all of you that gave to Preborn through 2024. We very much do. Well, it's a new year. It's 2025. And you know something? Maybe this is the time to go ahead and save some babies' lives. That's what Preborn does. Preborn is the main pro-life group that shows ultrasound images in pro-life centers across the country. And they've been doing this a long time. And when a mom sees a picture of her baby... She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood. No, she lets her baby live almost all the time. She usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, too. So it falls upon us to pay for as many ultrasound images as we can. There's two ways you can do this. You can pay for individual ultrasounds, or you can buy an ultrasound machine outright. They're $15,000 apiece. It's a nice tax write-off for you. Your forever legacy will be that you stopped thousands and thousands of abortions. For everybody else, maybe you would just pay for a specific number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of babies' lives that you'll save. Take $28 times, fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, that's your forever legacy. So here's how you give to Preborn. You can go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. And you know every penny you give goes to fund ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. They also answer the phones 24-7. So call right now, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you folks doing that. We do. And as we continue through the podcast, let's let's switch it over to Mark Zuckerberg and Meta. He has announced that they're going to stop censorship. They're going to embrace free speech. They're going to go to community notes instead of third party fact checkers. You know, I hate to be cynical about this, but to me this is not – I can't imagine anything that Mark Zuckerberg and his people would be learning now that like, oh, we didn't realize this then. They didn't know that PolitiFact and Snopes and their so-called – Pressuring them to censor conservative viewpoints on just about anything. It didn't occur to them to go, no, we're not going to do that. So, no, this is nothing more than a new sheriff is in town and they realize rut row with Republicans running the table right now. We don't want our Section 230 protection taken away from us, and that's the kind of thing that Trump and the Republicans might do. And then it's going to cost us billions of dollars in legal fees and settlements if we are starting to be treated as a publisher. So let's just play nice. No, John, I don't think Mark Zuckerberg has had a come-to-Jesus moment at all. I think he's trying to hold his breath. It's a business decision. for the next four years to keep Section 230 from being taken away.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's a business decision. It's a CYA business decision. Let's make sure that we can keep moving forward like we've done. I want to stay the billionaire that I am. I want the company to continue to grow. We know who's going to now be in charge. We've got to make sure that we kiss the right ring, if you would, Bob. And at the end of the day, that's what this is all about. Yeah, he did not have some come-to-Jesus meeting and all of a sudden turn the tide. He's doing this strictly for his business.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I'll tell you what, Democrats get back control of Congress in 2028 or 2026. If that happens, 2026, 2027, they get in. They take back control of the House or the Senate. You watch. Suddenly they're going to bring back third party fact checkers or at least they'll be making their same algorithm mistakes and glitches that coincidentally are 100 percent against Republicans and zero percent against Democrats. So, Neil, I'm just I'm not buying it, but at least, hey, temporarily, it looks like conservatives will at least have a social media viewpoint that's allowed to be heard.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I don't know if you used the term Trump factor, but I think you talked about it prior to today's podcast. Yeah, I mean, there's been a major change.
SPEAKER 02 :
And really quick, you know, Neil, before you move on, is it a Trump factor or is this also because of what Musk did with X, you now have to compete on a different level?
SPEAKER 03 :
Probably both. In fact, for sure both. But I think there's a third element, and that's what happened in the election. And yes, Trump was a part of the election. But there's a real change in the attitude amongst Americans about the way government functions and about what we're hearing from the national media, etc., etc. And I honestly think that the successful CBS lawsuit that Trump filed against CBS – for defamation, you know, weighs into it as well. And so what you got here is a guy who's not stupid. He's running a multi-million or billion-dollar company, and he sees the handwriting on the wall. And what's going to be good for business? What do we need to do to make people, placate people anyway, make them to believe that we're on their team and we really care about things like free speech? We care about your free speech. Well, you didn't 10 minutes ago. But after the election, all of a sudden, oh, this is all going to change. And I think you're 100 percent right, Bob, to be really skeptical about Zuckerberg's attitude on all this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, well, I'm I'm not buying it. But, hey, you know what? We'll take the temporary opportunity to to at least be able to get some of our viewpoints out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and really quick guys, the only other thing, again, keeping him in check is, is now X. I mean, I don't know what, I haven't looked to see what, you know, Facebook has done, what their revenue has been like and so on, but you got to believe that X is taking a big dent out of the Facebooks of the world. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and let's face it, there is kind of a move right now. There's a wave of sentiment that says the left-wing censorship machine and targeting conservatives or whatever has gotten out of hand. There is some blowback from that. And, you know, so it could be a thing where Zuckerberg just realizes, you know what, here's the direction the wind is blowing. And so I got to go with the winds right now. But I don't believe that that's in his heart at all, no matter how many statements they put out going, this is getting back to the roots of what we really believe in. And no, it's not. You're a bunch of left wing liberals.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I think there's a big difference. Yeah. I think there's a big difference between what people can see with their own eyes and what they've been told they need to believe. Right. I mean, you had government officials covering up the whole Biden thing. He's 100 percent fit. He's totally ready to serve another four years. So you had government officials telling you that you had the legacy media falling into place. you know leaders in congress and so forth schumer by the way you know acting like he's always been aware that there might be a problem or that he never really knew it was a problem now they're playing clips of him you know talking about the fact that if you even mentioned biden's mental acuity a few years ago you were basically a conspiracy theorist i mean the american people february just less than a year ago he said that's right-wing propaganda Right. Okay. So the American people have been accused of being conspiracy theorists. And I think they've come to their senses and said, no, we're not. And now we have proof. So in that environment, combined with everything else we said, I don't think Zuckerberg thinks it's going to be a good practice, particularly, as John said, because of what X has been doing and popularity of X right now regarding free speech.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, in Canada, and Neil, both you and me have a decent amount of Canadian listeners to our shows, you got Justin Trudeau, prime minister, announcing his resignation. All right, so replace me with somebody else to take on Pierre Polyev, the conservative, who's kind of being treated as a Canadian Donald Trump. He's a populist and somewhat conservative and such. But you know what? A poll, a recent poll was taken in Canada asking Canadians, do you support the Conservative Party or the Liberal Party, which in essence is like the Republicans, Democrats here, 47% said the Conservatives, 18% said the Liberal Party. And then the rest are like, I don't know. But my goodness, that's a that's a huge difference. And Neil, what are some of your thoughts on Justin Trudeau, in essence, getting pushed out by his own liberal party for not being liberal left wing enough and not being willing to stand up to Donald Trump regarding the tariffs and such?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, obviously we've got a conservative listening audience by and large and a tremendous number of Canadians. We're very near Toronto and we cover the Toronto area. So that's kind of like New York City to the north. So about 75% of the listening audience to my radio program is Canadian. And there was literally elation over the announcement that he was going to be stepping down. Couldn't happen fast enough. People want Trudeau out. And it's not just like he's been liberal. He's... off the rails progressively liberal he could if he was a woman he could have been member of the squad or if he identified as one i guess you know like just absolutely liberal policies that mainstream canadians want nothing to do with long term so i think that there's hope that some sanity is going to be restored to the country but you know they're under tremendous burden right now the federal government in canada if i have this information right spent $6,000 per family in Canada above their means. Like, in other words, take the Canadian budget and then add $6,000 per family. That's how much they overspent last year. They've got billions and billions of dollars in federal annual deficit that they have to deal with. Taxes are overwhelming, people can't afford homes, and they want change. And they don't want nonsense. And I think, honestly, that freedom convoy on the heels of COVID had a lot to do with turning people against Trudeau and the liberal government and saying, we don't want any more of this progressive baloney. Give us some common sense again. We want common sense back.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. And by the way, we're coming up on the half hour here. And in the second half, we're going to talk a little bit more about Justin Trudeau and get your take on that too, John, as we continue. But in the meantime, Neil, we do want to remind our listeners, we very much want them to support our sponsors to this podcast. And SunPowerLED is a tremendous sponsor. It's helped a lot of people get out of pain.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, 100%. And, you know, my good friend Tom Kerber of Kerber Applied Research is the guy behind SunPowerLED. He's a Canadian, lives in Canada, has an office here in the U.S. and in Canada. But basically what he's done is been able to harness red light, a certain wavelength of light that God himself created, and then use it to help reduce pain and swelling in the human body. Back in January of 2021, four years ago right now, I couldn't breathe. My blood oxygen content was at like 82%, sometimes dropped to 79%. And I was headed to the hospital if it got any worse whatsoever. And I didn't know if I was going to be around. But I Tom sent me a unit, a handheld unit that I was able to apply to my chest that began to heal my lungs by exciting the mitochondria in the cells and causing the cells to do what they do and heal my body. And within just a matter of about 10 days, my ability to breathe was completely restored. Folks, this isn't pharmaceuticals and it's not invasive surgery. It's using the very light God himself created. You can learn about it by clicking on the Sun Power LED button at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And by the way, that's sun like sun in the sky. Sun Power LED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I'll tell you what, I know from firsthand experience how well this works. This is a photobiomodulation. It gets deep into the cellular level. And so it is phenomenal. And we appreciate you folks supporting SunPowerLED. We appreciate you supporting Preborn. If you haven't given a Preborn yet, please do that now. Remember, you're saving babies' lives, okay? You're paying for ultrasound images for Preborn to show to expectant moms in pro-life centers around the country. The problem is we don't have enough ultrasound machines. We don't have enough ultrasound images that are being paid for. So we can save way more babies' lives than we are. That's where you folks come in listening to us right now. We're asking you to pay for ultrasound images. You can do this one of two ways. Either option A, buy an ultrasound machine. They're $15,000 a piece, and your forever legacy will be you're stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year. Think about that, okay? Option B is you pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. Because that mom sees a picture of her baby, she chooses life, folks. And she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, too. So how many... baby's lives will you save? Take $28 times, fill in the blank, and that's your forever legacy of the amount of baby's lives that you saved. So either that or buy an ultrasound machine, either one. And 100% of everything you give to Preborn goes to the ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. You can give two ways, on the phone or online. Online, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn, you can give right there. Or they answer the phones 24-7. So just call 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. And just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you folks doing that. We appreciate you listening to this podcast. We appreciate the five-star reviews that you give us wherever you listen to our podcast. And coming up in the second half, John Rush, Neil Boron, myself, Bob Duco. We're going to talk some more. about Justin Trudeau, what's happening there, and then move on to a lot of other things that have been happening as well. And we'll get to all of that coming up next here on the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 04 :
Continuing the second half of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast with John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado, Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live out of Buffalo, New York, myself, Bob Duco, the Bob Duco Show out of Detroit. And so, guys, when we got to the end of the first half, we were talking about what's happening in Canada, Justin Trudeau stepping down from his Liberal Party. And, you know, John, I'm curious to get your take on this, too, because Justin Trudeau – It's not like he's a left-of-center guy. He's a Marxist. He's extremely left-wing Marxist. Absolutely. And an important point that Neil made about that, remember the truckers, the freedom convoy of truckers. But not just that. Pastors like Artur Pawlowski that he had imprisoned, imprisoning pastors, throwing business owners in jail because they were trying to keep their small business open for the sake of their livelihood. Right. Freezing people's assets? Yeah, seizing the bank accounts and freezing the bank accounts of not just some of these truckers, but even supporters that would attend rallies for them. A pastor shows up and merely speaks, doesn't call for violence, nothing at all. He gets handcuffed and thrown in jail for this, so...
SPEAKER 02 :
I say this guy's a total Marxist and I don't have the same connections to Canada that you two do, although I've got some good friends that live up in that area. And the minute I heard the news, I sent a text message off. Let's just say that at least the Canadians I know are not disappointed in the least, Bob, because of all the things you and Neil have just got done talking about.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 02 :
The guy's literally a Marxist monster. I know he doesn't come across that way. He's got this sort of baby face look and so on. The guy is an absolute Marxist monster.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's like a Gavin Newsom. He reminds me of Gavin Newsom.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good looking, has a charm to him, things like that.
SPEAKER 02 :
All the while he's sticking a knife in your back.
SPEAKER 04 :
He smiles and you see the points on his teeth. I mean, that's right. That's who this guy is. Just like Joe Biden. He's not sweet little Grandpa Joe.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, no.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's a vindictive guy who says that half the country is a bunch of garbage. And so, you know, whatever.
SPEAKER 02 :
So really quick, for my behalf, since I don't know because you guys are much closer to this, what's your predictions as to what happens next in Canada?
SPEAKER 04 :
I think Pierre Polyev becomes the new prime minister. That would be a huge change. I know the sentiment in Canada right now seems to be moving toward conservatism. And it's a temporary blip. But, hey, we'll take whatever temporary blip we can. I don't know. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on Polyev? And I actually had – by the way, if you look at how this guy's name is spelled, it looks like it should be like Poilevray or whatever. But really it's – But, Neil, any thoughts on this guy, and do you think he's got a good chance here in the upcoming elections?
SPEAKER 03 :
I was listening to a podcast he did with Jordan Peterson, and he's pretty impressive. I mean, he's very well-spoken. He also is very good-looking. I'm personally not attracted, but you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, Neil, I mean, it's a whatever, I guess, isn't it?
SPEAKER 02 :
He's got that curb appeal to him is what you mean, Neil.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. I mean, he's got charisma and the whole thing, and I think it's probably a lock that he's going to be the next prime minister of Canada. But they have a very different way that they do government, and anything could happen. In fact, one of the people that's being considered potentially is somebody that was originally an ally to Trudeau, and that was Chrystia Freeland. A former finance minister was an ally of Trudeau. And it's interesting because the minute Trudeau came down to the U.S., met with Trump, and then started floating some crazy ideas about things they could do to her. Yeah, and she was out. She distanced herself from him, quit, said, I'm out. And people, I think, took that to mean that maybe she's considering herself to be a potential candidate for the future. Yeah. You know, Donald Trump made other statements that I think were basically tongue-in-cheek, you know, like Canada's going to become the 51st state, and he was referring to Trudeau as the governor of Canada. And I think, you know, some people that lived there were laughing, but others weren't. I mean, I know enough, half of my family's from Canada. My mother was Canadian. So there's an awful lot of Canadians that have a very strong sense of nationalism and And, you know, they've been dealing with all the same stuff we have, too, with open borders and high taxes and incredibly liberal policies. But none of them have ever said they want to be a part of the United States. So I don't think that's going to fly well if Donald Trump actually tried to push that issue. But either way, we're going to see some incredible things happening in the next couple of months regarding what, you know, what happens to the leadership of Canada. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, Trump is being Trump in this case. He's trolling. I don't think he actually really believes that Canada would ever vote to become part of the United States, of course. So he's doing some trolling on his way out. But no real surprise, I suppose. But I don't know. I mean, John, by the way, what do you think, John, of Trump and the way that he's handling, let's face it, he got Trudeau unannounced to fly down to Mar-a-Lago and go, but please don't do 25%. And I got to say, to Trump's credit, the people at the table, they said that Trump was being friendly, but still very directly said, yeah, I'm serious about these 25% tariffs. We have a $100 billion trade imbalance with you, and that's not right, that's not fair. And then Trudeau apparently said, uh, You can't impose these tariffs on us. This will destroy our economy. And Trump instantly shot back. Also, your economy can't survive unless you rip us off for $100 billion. By the way, good comeback. Maybe we should just become our 51st state. What a great comeback.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, no, great comeback. And again, I'm with you guys. I think Trump does a lot of posturing, and he's kind of one of those guys where he speaks really loudly. Is it really going to come down to the things that he says? Probably not, although the appearance of, hey, I'm going to go down this path is enough to typically get people to move off dead center. and get done what he wants to. I've never read The Art of the Deal. I'm guessing some of this might actually be in the book. I guess at some point I should stop and read the book just so I know kind of what he thinks along those lines. But it's part of his negotiating end of things. And I think, by the way, to his credit, it works very well. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let's talk about the Joe Biden executive action where he banned drilling, onshore and offshore drilling. This is a big topic, by the way. It really is. And he did it by attaching it to a 1963 congressionally passed law, which means that Trump isn't able to undo this for executive action, although I think Trump may try to do that and then it'll go through the courts and the Supreme Court will decide if he's able to do that or not. But it's probably going to take Congress to overdo this. What possible reason other than let me throw a monkey wrench into Donald Trump's agenda. You know something? Joe Biden's handlers who made this decision. It's not Joe Biden. He's napping. No. Joe Biden's handlers, the Democrats. You know what, Joe? Yes. Their whole thing is we don't want Trump to be successful. They don't want Trump to come in office and see gas prices start coming down. Of course not. And see people's utility bills start coming down because you know what? That's going to prove to everybody. What do you know? Our policies were wrong. Donald Trump's policies are right. So they're trying to stop Trump from bringing down the cost of energy in this country. And you know, John, who that hurts more than anybody else? The poor. Does the left care?
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. It's sabotage, Bob, is what it is at the end of the day. They're trying to sabotage the next presidency. And to your point, this doesn't hurt the wealthy. It doesn't hurt the person that can afford $4 a gallon gasoline. By the way, it doesn't even affect most small business owners because they pass those costs on to their customers. Who this really affects at the end of the day is the person struggling to make ends meet. Absolutely. Which, by the way, all we hear from the left is that's the crowd they care about. Nothing could be farther from the truth, like I've always said.
SPEAKER 04 :
I know. Neil, the very people that are being hurt the most, not just by inflation, but especially energy prices and costs, are in fact... the poor. And I want to get your take on that. But at the same time, we do also want to remind our listeners, Neil, of how important it is that they support our sponsors, not just Preborn, but SunPower LED, which, by the way, has helped a lot. You know, this photobiomodulation is phenomenal. This isn't like topical lasers. This is like the stuff that gets deep at the cellular level. And it's getting a lot of people out of pain. I know from firsthand experience it works. I've used it. And it's like, wow, this is amazing.
SPEAKER 03 :
A lot of people I know have used it. In fact, my wife has used it for her shoulder that kind of freezes up because she likes to sleep on her side. It's caused a tremendous amount of pain, and it's affected her pickleball game. So she has used red light therapy to help reduce pain and swelling, and she's back to playing pickleball and absolutely loves it. You know, if you can picture, and all of us have seen this, but the opera singer who sings a particular note, holds that note in resonance, and then you see the champagne glass explode. What they've done is they've hit a particular note that has the ability to do that. Well, there's certain wavelengths of light that can be used to penetrate into the human body, get to the cell deep inside the body without any risk of skin cancer or anything like that. and excite the mitochondria in the cell to wake up and energize that cell to start doing what it was created to do. It's simply using the very light God himself created to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in our bodies. And it's non-invasive. You're not going to have to have surgery. There's no... pharmaceuticals involved. It's simply using the light God himself created. You can learn about it. You can check it out by clicking on the SunPowerLED banner at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. There's a button there. Just click on SunPowerLED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net and learn about photobiomodulation.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. And so to do that, folks, and listen, we appreciate you supporting Preborn, too. And we ask you to do that now. If maybe 2025 is the year that you're like, well, you know, I gave to Preborn last year and, you know, it would be a great idea. Make it a yearly thing where it's like, hey, each year I'm going to have as part of our household budget saving babies' lives. We have part of our budget for so many different things. Well, how many babies' lives will you save by paying for ultrasound images through Preborn? That's what Preborn does all across the country in pro-life centers. You know, when a mom sees an ultrasound image of her baby, she chooses life. And she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, too. Our job is to pay for as many of these ultrasound images as we can. And so $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of baby's lives that you'll save. Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, that's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you stopped. So would you consider doing that? And hey, if you can afford to buy an ultrasound machine, nice tax write-off for you, they're 15 grand apiece. And your forever legacy is stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year after year. And everything you give to Preborn, 100% goes to fund the ultrasounds, nothing for overhead. So here's what you do. Go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn, give right there. Or they answer the phones 24-7. You can give over the phone. Just call 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. And mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you folks doing that. And So, Neil, your thoughts on the 625 million acres that the Biden handlers decided we're going to stop Donald Trump from being able to lower people's gas prices and make him have to go through Congress to get this undone. There is no reason for them to do this. They claim it's all global warming concerns, but no. This is all about, John's right, this is all about let's try to stop the Trump agenda from helping people with lower gas and energy bills and prices.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and I hope that the American people come to see it as that, because that's exactly what it is. There's a bit of retribution added in here as well. I think this is sour grapes. It's flip over the chessboard and walk out of the room, take your toys and go home kind of thing. I think Joe Biden is angry about how things have transpired, and And there's absolutely no sense in what he's doing. By the way, aren't we like the largest producer of oil and gas on the planet anyway? I mean, we're not far away from what would be considered total energy independence. So it isn't like we're going to go out and just start drilling everywhere. By the way, apparently there's a group of people, even conservatives, that are out of Florida pretty much. that don't want oil wells off their beaches in Florida. I get that. But the point is, it's not really great business to go start drilling for additional oil if there's nobody to sell it to. In other words, if we're manufacturing enough to sell to other people and we're profitable, then let's not make it unprofitable. So there's maybe some of those economic things that also weigh into this. But the bottom line is, he's just trying to throw a monkey wrench into the Trump agenda in general. And you're both 100 percent right that the people that are going to suffer in this are the poor and the ones who need help the most. So remember that, ladies and gentlemen, because this is what your Democrat Party is doing for you right now. They have no concern for you. They only have concern for potentially getting elected in the future by trying to stand in the way of the Trump agenda.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, John, what really makes my eye twitch is there's an estimated $50 trillion in natural resources that's on our property. Yep. $50 trillion. And we're not going to tap into it. If you ask people, hey, where's all the oil and gas in the world? People, oh, let's see, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela. We have more, actually. Did you know the United States has more than any nation in the world? That's right. And we're just letting it gather dust because we're kowtowing to AOC and the Green New Deal people?
SPEAKER 02 :
It shows you how, in my opinion, the Lord blessed this continent and why I think our nation built on Judeo-Christian principles 250 years ago. Reality is we're a very rich country in regards to our natural resources, and yet Bob and Neil— we're not tapping into those. One of the things I've always said, you want to pay off the national debt, sell natural resources. It's one of the, I mean, number one, balance of budget, stop spending. But number two, if you really want to get the debt down, start selling off some of our natural resources. We have plenty there, but yet we don't tap into them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Will Trump be able to turn this around with the help of Congress?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and keep in mind, too, guys, there's lots of – I read a lot about this over the last few days. There's a lot of talk even on what Joe Biden is doing that it's a lot of posturing and positioning and messaging and so on, and I still think it's trying to sabotage the next administration. But in a lot of these areas that he's actually going to put the ban on, it's not cost-effective at this point to even explore – those areas because we have so many other areas, Bob, back to your point of where we already know there's oil there that we can actually go and tap into that at the end of the day, does this really affect the price of oil? The message does, but the actual physical part of it, probably not.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right. Let's in our last few minutes, let's talk about January 6th. OK, no real surprise that the media hyper focused on the four year anniversary of January 6th. And, you know, Democrats and liberals in general, they are masters at this of taking something and. And exaggerating it beyond what it actually truly is. Nobody's saying we should take January 6th from four years ago and minimize it to the level of a speeding ticket. No. But you can't maximize it to the level of a date that will live in infamy. You know, you had Sonny Hostin on The View earlier this week. actually comparing january 6th to world war ii the holocaust and slavery so the gassing of six million jews is analogous to a couple of hundred john knuckleheads okay climbing the walls pushing their way past police that didn't kill a single person didn't shoot a single person didn't point a gun at a single person didn't set a single fire they were wrong nobody's defending them okay but But my goodness, to compare that to the Holocaust, for Joe Biden and the Democrats to be saying that this is the biggest threat on our democracy since the Civil War. Really? So bigger than 9-11, bigger than Pearl Harbor, bigger than the Nazis, bigger than World War II, World War I, bigger than the wars, bigger than the war on terror, bigger than all of that is January 6th when the Black Lives Matter riots were... 50 times more violent and actually really were deadly riots. So to me, John, it just it drives me crazy how the left does this. And I'm going to make a prediction, John. I'd love to get your take on this. I predict that the next time Democrats are in control of Congress and the White House, next time they run the table. I predict that, number one, we will have a new national holiday that will be a National Day of Remembrance of January 6th. And number two, they'll spend millions and millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to create a Washington, D.C. memorial for January 6th, right up there with the World War II memorial and everything else. I think that's what they're going to do because they take the one opportunity where conservatives behaved badly, and let's exploit the daylights out of that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and again, we've talked about this many, many times. I don't spend a lot of time on my show on it because, frankly, like you say, Bob, I look at it as individuals that did some things on the day that things were very heightened, and I get all of that. If I had been there that day, would I have entered the Capitol? No. I can tell you guys with a resounding no. That would not have been me, period. Now, some might criticize me saying, well, you know, you're just weak, John. And, you know, you don't want to stand up for your values and so on. It's like, yeah, no, there's a lot more to it than that. And I want to think reasonably about things. And in that particular situation, no, I would not have entered. Now, some did not criticizing those that did. I think it was a bad decision. On their part, I think they could have thought that out better. And the biggest reason I say that is because, Bob, of all the things that you just said, all that day he did. I can remember my brother and I, it was his birthday on the 6th. He passed a couple of years ago. But on that particular day, we were talking about those things. And the reality is both of us said, this looks really bad for us. So if nothing else, Bob, I wouldn't have done it just because of the black eye it gives us.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Well, and, you know, Neil, actually, we've got to put into perspective, too. You had about 200 to 300 people that were actually pushing their way past police and climbing the walls. Nobody's defended them. But the other thousand or so people that went in the Capitol weren't part of that crowd, didn't lay a finger on anybody. They thought they were allowed to go in the Capitol. The police had moved the barricades, opened the doors, and people were moseying on in, taking pictures. Just touring. Even talking to police as the surveillance camera shows. So a lot of those people and when you had cops say to them, oh, you need to leave. Oh, OK, sure. And then they turn around and left. They were swept up in the same Department of Justice dragnet of the Biden administration and thrown in jail for that. So those people definitely have to be treated differently than everybody else. But again. You know, Neil, even the ones that that did push their way past police as wrong as they were, did they deserve to go to jail? Yes. Do they deserve 18, 20, 22 year prison terms when the average drug dealer gets two and a half years? I would argue, you know, the average rapist gets seven years in America. You don't deserve three times what a rapist gets for doing that. So I think Trump ought to pardon all of them. And I think I ought to commute the sentences of anybody that's in prison right now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I got something to say about all this, but just a question. Do you mean pardon everybody? Everyone across the board? No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm sorry. I would say anyone who assaulted a police officer, anyone who did that or engaged in actual violence or whatever, no, don't pardon them. But I think 100% of them should have their sentences commuted because if your average – drug dealer gets 2.4 years in prison, then I think they've spent enough time in prison. So commute 100% of the sentences of the people that are still in prison, and everybody else that didn't lay a hand on anybody, pardon them. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, thank you. And I would be in agreement on that. But here's the thing. This is just the way it is. I'm picturing a day in my lifetime when a pastor who was at odds with the head of the deacon board threw the deacon out during the church service. and it was ugly and people were yelling and whatever and i remember that day it lives in infamy in my brain about how churches probably should not function and you know none of us who are true americans even patriots should should be proud of the way things went down on january 6th but bob i would be sick to my stomach If the cost of that long term was that we had some kind of national day of remembrance over all of this, because it was wrong, it shouldn't have happened, and it was ugly. But, you know, why aren't we having national day of remembrances for the cities that burned during the BLM riots, right? Like, where are you going to go with this kind of thing? And the dozens killed. Oh, exactly. And how ideologically driven would would that be in light of, you know, the fact that they're going after this because it was a conservative based kind of response to how people were feeling about what they believed was, you know, a false election. And they were, you know, in disagreement about all that. So. Anyway, but that's why it's, in many people's minds, no one's ever going to be able to forget because it never happened before. Nobody ever saw that happen. And I think that the Democrats, well, God bless them. I'm glad that there was a peaceful or seemingly a peaceful transfer of power. He's not been inaugurated yet, but they're really making a big deal to say, see, look how good we are when we transfer power. Well, okay, that is the way it's supposed to be. And I think Republicans, to a large degree, regret what happened that day. But, yeah. going overboard to make a national holiday out of it or something. Forget about it. That's a joke.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Conservatives riot. That's like, you know, man bites dog. OK, you're not used to seeing something like that. Liberals riot. It's just another Tuesday in America. So, yeah, I'll tell you what, folks, we ask you and we thank you for not only supporting this podcast. and all your five-star reviews and everything else. But we appreciate you supporting our sponsors as well, like Preborn. And if you haven't given to Preborn yet, why not kick off 2025 by saving some babies' lives? Remember, Preborn shows ultrasound images in pro-life centers all across the country. Problem is, we don't have enough ultrasound images being shown. And so there's a lot of babies' lives that can be saved if we will just show more ultrasound images to these moms. And that's what causes them to choose life more than anything else. So we're asking you to pay for as many of these as you can. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, save one baby's life. So pray about a number of babies' lives you'll save. Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, hey, that's your forever legacy, the amount of abortions that you stopped. Would you consider doing that right now? You know, 100% of what you give to pre-born goes to ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. And hey, if you can afford to buy an ultrasound machine, they're 15 grand, what a nice tax write-off for you. How would you like your forever legacy to be, I stopped thousands and thousands of abortions year after year? Whether it's that or $28 times a certain number, we're just asking you to give right now. So you can do this online. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or you can give over the phone. They answer the phones 24-7, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. And we appreciate you supporting our sponsors, especially, you know, not just Preborn, but SunPowerLED and... I'll tell you what, Neil, that photobiomodulation, it really does work. I know it's worked on me and you and many people.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and I would encourage any of our listeners to learn what photobiomodulation is. And you can do that by clicking on the SunPower LED button at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. You know, how many of us know someone who's not only on one medication, but maybe on six or eight or 10 or 12 medications? And Big Pharma has all the incentive in the world to get you on medication and then keep you there for as long as you possibly can, probably the rest of your life. They have no desire to actually heal you because if they do, you're no longer their customer. And recognize that. Be aware of that. So if you're struggling with something like migraines or shoulder pain, joint pain, back or neck pain, you've got some kind of pain in your body that doesn't seem to be healing. Maybe it's wound care as a result of a surgery, some kind of surgical intervention you had in the past and you're trying to get healed up. SunPower LED can help because they offer what is called photobiomodulation, and that's literally just taking photos. red or near-infrared light wavelengths and using them inside your body, having them penetrate the skin into the body to help heal you from the inside out. And I mean heal you so you're no longer sick anymore. You're no longer dealing with the pain any longer. And check it out for yourself. This is not pharmaceuticals. It's not surgical intervention. It's using the light God himself created. And you can learn about it by going to sunpowerled at crawfordmediagroup.net.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. Well, I'll tell you what, we appreciate you folks supporting our sponsors. We appreciate you supporting this podcast. And your five-star reviews will take as many as you're willing to give us wherever you listen to your podcasts. And Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live out of Buffalo, New York. John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado. Myself, Bob Duco, The Bob Duco Show out of New York. Detroit. We're winding down the end of this real quick and just a quick yes or no. John, what do you say? Should Trump commute the sentences of everybody that's in prison from January 6th and then pardon everybody else who didn't lay a hand on everybody?
SPEAKER 02 :
With the guidelines you said earlier, yes. I agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. I agree. Yeah. All right. Well, you know what? I hope so too. And we'll see. It is a new day in America and we got the inauguration coming up on the 20th. Anyway, So Neil, John, always great catching up with you guys. Look forward to next week. And everybody, we appreciate you listening to us. Thanks so much. God bless. We'll see you guys.
SPEAKER 01 :
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Join professional money manager Bill Gunderson as he explores the impacts of rising interest rates, the volatile bond market, and the dominance of large-cap stocks. Get expert analysis on the construction sector, employment trends, and the role of earnings growth in market corrections.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager, Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome to the Wednesday. It is the Wednesday, the chilly edition, the January the 8th edition of the Best Docs Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunnarsson, president of Gunnarsson Capital Management. The market was a lot chillier before the open and the futures. They were down quite a bit, but we do have a split decision right now with the Dow down 106 and the NASDAQ up 14 points right now. after a 350-point down day in the NASDAQ yesterday. The S&P 500 is basically flat right now, while the Russell 2000 down 1.4%. The small caps just can't get out of their own way. You know, every time there seems like they're going to rally, they fall right back again, and they're just being dominated. and continuing to be dominated by the large cap stocks. Meanwhile, the bond market is the real issue right now. The 10-year was over 3.7 today. Last time I looked, it was at 3.71. Let's see where it is right now. Or 4.71. I mean 4.71. It's at 4.7. Okay, now here's the thing. That is resistance, okay? It got to 4.7, no, nine months ago, and that's as high as it went, and it started backing off. We need it to start backing off right now. And over at the Bitcoin markets in the pits, the Bitcoin pits down 3,550 to 95,798. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show. With professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And we have Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. our certified financial planner. And Barry, what is it? You're very close to getting another designation added to your business card.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, if I don't butcher it, CMT is the easy way to say it. Chartered Market Technician, essentially. You take the CFA, which is very much fundamental analysis, right? The old... uh, Warren Buffett, uh, Ben Graham approach. And then of course the other side is technical analysis, which is what, which is what the, uh, CMT, you know, focuses on. And if you look at the curriculum and the CFA, you know, they may talk about technical analysis, maybe 2% of the whole, you know, three levels. Uh, and this one, uh, just finished up a level two. So, uh, be, be hopefully taken level three and, and I think it's in June, uh, But, yeah, it's just the CFA side of technical analysis, as we do and you do. The reason you and I got together years ago is because of the fact that I was a believer in blending both of those. And, of course, that's been your philosophy for a long time and the impetus for the app.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. Now, when you get three designations, do I have to salute you when I see you or bow down or anything?
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm a junior already, too, so that even messes it. That already kind of throws it out. Maybe I just need two business cards, maybe.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't know how much font size. They'll take the whole first five minutes of the show to introduce you.
SPEAKER 06 :
It needs more vowels, though, if we're going to play Scrabble. I can only do something with just the A. Anyways, we had a huge sell-off in the NASDAQ yesterday.
SPEAKER 05 :
Kind of weird, really. I mean, CES opened on Monday. Jensen Wang, he gives the keynote speech. He is now the market mover in the market.
SPEAKER 02 :
He is the keynote.
SPEAKER 05 :
Him and Elon Musk are the guys that can do it, and the Fed, those three. And Jensen Wang's keynote speech just didn't really go over very well. I don't know. It could have been more interest rates. And that interest rate picture is very important. You know what? I can't tell you how, because that impacts the multiple, the P-E ratio of the market, of how much people are willing to pay for earnings and sales and book value and cash value of a stock. Despite the Fed's best efforts in driving rates down, rates have actually gone up. I'm hoping, and I put out that chart this morning of the chart of interest rates, and you can see clearly that 4.7 is the top resistance. Now, if we charge through that and go to 5, that's possible, but that's what's really got the market nervous right now, especially the higher PE stocks and the longer duration stocks. Now, if we can stop here at 4.7 and start heading back down towards the low 4s, that would be good. That would be favorable for the market. That's what I'm hoping for, but I have no control over that. We'll just have to see. how it goes. Big Tech got hit hard yesterday. I know Kathy Wood was selling Palantir, so Palantir took a hit. Oil's up to $74 a barrel. That's another, you know, that's an inflationary measure. And that could say, you know, the Fed, I just don't see any interest rate cuts in the future unless, you know, Trump comes in and really puts the pressure on the guy. to lower rates. Trump obviously thinks rates are too high. Of course, any builder, any construction guy is always going to say rates are too high. If they're 1%, they're too high.
SPEAKER 06 :
You want a cheaper cost of capital.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. And you know, I'd had something to say about this. My father was a pretty wise guy, wise man. You know, he didn't have any designations or any degrees, but he had a lot of life experience in the real business world. And he used to say, you know, the business we were in, we did a lot of business with the home builders. And he used to say, as the construction industry goes, so goes the economy. And, you know, I'm kind of, I remember that. I remember when the whole savings and loan crisis happened. And it happened first with the construction sector, the building sector slowing down. We're seeing that right now for sure. Mortgage applications are diving. New homes, the new home construction is not increasing because of these interest rates. and rates on a loan, and then that trickles down. I mean, the guys that frame the homes, the construction workers themselves, the construction workers spend at the restaurants, at the malls, on Amazon, etc., they travel. spend money, and he always used to say, as the construction sector goes, so goes the market, or the economy. So we'll see if old Marv Gunderson was right, the late Marv Gunderson, and if this slowdown in the construction, building, mortgage application, home building sector eventually leads to a downturn in the economy. Now, the Fed doesn't want that to happen. That's why they're cutting rates. But at the same time, this stuff is cyclical, and there's not a lot you can do to change those cycles.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and the longer you're above the quote-unquote inrestrictive, as the Fed always talks about restrictive monetary policy or easy monetary policy, the longer you stay in that restrictive realm, The slower business and particularly things that you need to use debt for, particularly investment, construction, whether it's cars or durable goods, big purchases. The longer you're in that restrictive territory, the more headwinds, right, that continue to build. And over time, right, it's going to... Trickles down. Right. Slow down and slow down even more.
SPEAKER 05 :
And the construction sector, I mean, is a big part of our economy. I mean, I don't care if it's road building, building cranes downtown, putting up new buildings, home builders, apartment builders. Road improvements. It's all very important to our economy. Okay, now we're going to watch the employment very closely due to this, obviously. Private employment came in less than expected, but $122,000. We'll get the real jobs number on Friday. the non-farm payroll so you could say well that's that's a little bit of a downward move in employment but at the same time the weekly initial jobless claims which come out a day early this week because of tomorrow being a one-time holiday i don't know if they'll make it a full-time every year holiday i doubt that but Who knows? Initial jobless claims decline, which is good.
SPEAKER 1 :
201,000.
SPEAKER 06 :
Pretty low. It's interesting. You've got a mixed bag because you've got, of course, weekly jobless claims were much less than expected. And, of course, on the flip, which is good for employment, not as great for interest rates. But on the other side, with ADP, with that coming in less than expected in terms of job gains, That's, you know, kind of certainly should help interest rates get down. So it's a bit of a mixed bag, and it'll be interesting to see what that non-farm payrolls number is on Friday.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. And, you know, I mean, at the same time, you know, you've got a very pro-growth president administration coming in in 12 days. And we're already getting some pretty big commitments from foreign countries. I got that commitment yesterday on the guy from the United Arab Emirates to build all those data centers in Texas. And Georgia's also getting a lot of data centers. That's construction, baby. They take a lot of workers. And power. And nuclear power, maybe. We'll be right back. And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Docs Now show. Well, it seems like any kind of rally, which we had early in the day yesterday and had a little one this morning, seemed to be met with selling. And now the Dow is down 183, and the NASDAQ, which was up a little bit, is now down 89 points. And we're going to get to the quantum sector here in a moment, which kind of received a knife in the heart, it seems like, from Jensen Wang. Mortgage applications down as rates soar. which is just an add-on to what we were just talking about, you've got the 30-year up around 7% right now. So, I mean, if you're in the mortgage business, that is just horrible. news, and it's been horrible. And it's been there for a long time.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, how long have we been? Look at that chart. How long have we been at around that 7% mark? I mean, you talk about being at that price for that long, right? I mean, folks who are waiting to buy a house or just the amount of house that someone can qualify for is diminished. I mean, when you're there over that long term, that's that – Long-term slowing and new home builders can only provide that gap, right, because they were doing some fancy incentive. Right, and they can only do that for so long, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
So that's tough. You know, it's especially tough on young people that want to buy a home. They missed out on that. Well, we need more houses. Yeah, and we need more houses.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's a problem.
SPEAKER 05 :
But you look at that, many of them got in at 3%. Those days are long gone. Now you're at 7%. That makes a huge difference in those monthly payments. Well, Trump is considering declaring an economic emergency to bolster the tariff program. He's basically going to make tariffs a core of his trade policy. He's even going to use it maybe to get Greenland, right? He's after Greenland. He wants to buy Greenland. You know, I couldn't figure that out.
SPEAKER 06 :
I feel like we're playing Risk. I feel like we're playing Risk. Remember Game of Risk and Greenland was its own little thing over there?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Greenland's a big mass. Okay, now I figured it out why. Apparently Greenland has a lot of rare earth minerals up there underneath whatever the snow. I thought maybe he wanted to build a golf course in another Miralago, Greenland. acres or something but no it's has something to do with strategically where it's located and also the minerals that it has rare earth so anyways uh he's going to declare possibly a national economic emergency which would authorize him to manage imports imports coming in from other countries during the emergency now he does a lot of job boning just to position himself in the negotiations. You know, if you're really worried about tariffs coming down on you, you're going to start to be more cooperative on your end of the deal. art of the deal yes now the other thing i see beside rising interest rate oil 74 a barrel uh you know the oil stocks uh look pretty good some of them uh we added to one of our positions yesterday in that space uh we had a position that we i liked it i i initially ate it uh They buy in the incubator portfolio. Then I bought it in the emerging growth portfolio. Now I've added it to the ultra-growth portfolio, one of the great stocks of the last decade. Don't give the name out. That's a good one, man. That's special. And I had a hard time getting a position. I had to work with the Schwab trader most of the day. to get a position in that thing. It trades a little bit on the thin side, but as far as I know, it's in the S&P 500 now, and that should help it. So anyways, oil has been rising $74 a barrel. We haven't seen that in quite some time. That's going to start showing up in the inflation numbers. And natural gas has also moved up with this cold wave that's sweeping across America right now. Danish stocks mixed. It is Denmark that has, but Greenland is autonomous. I mean, they could make their own decision. But Denmark does have the rights, a territory. It's a territory. Greenland is a territory of Denmark. Besides threatening tariffs on Denmark, Trump also questioned Denmark's legal authority over Greenland. People really don't know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. Strong arm in Denmark. Well, you've got some important companies in Denmark, including Novo Nordisk and isn't ASM Lithography. And, you know, one of the... Or ASMO.
SPEAKER 06 :
Isn't that Dutch? Is that Netherlands? I can't remember which one.
SPEAKER 05 :
They're close to each other geographically.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, geographically they're close.
SPEAKER 05 :
Denmark and... Yeah, Denmark has a couple big companies. So now... It's Norway with Equinor, right? Yes, Norway. And, you know, look, there's something going on with this Greenland deal. I like to listen once in a while to Charlie Kirk when I get a chance. And he couldn't do his show yesterday. I'm on the same station with Charlie Kirk on a lot of these Salem stations. Charlie couldn't do his show yesterday because he was in Greenland. What in the world is going on? Now I read that Trump's son, Don Jr., is in Nuuk, N-U-U-K, Greenland. Bring your mukluks, and who knows where this all ends up. Okay. And some, what's the fish, like the marinated fish?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, marinated fish or something, yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
So here's my question. Did Jensen Wang put a knife in the heart of the quantum computing sector? Computing stocks slump after NVIDIA's CEO sees use many years away. Do you know how many years away he said it is? 20. He says most of us in the industry believe that we're out there on the horizon. On the long end, 30 years maybe. On the short end, maybe 10 years. So that is just absolutely sinking. He believes that very useful quantum computers are over a decade away. which you know what i mean that really honestly may have put a knife in the heart of righetti and arc at quantum and d wave quantum and ion q and cube ubt and qbts and the quantum etf d wave i don't know if these stocks are going to bounce but man they're down thirty to forty percent uh... here today and it was uh... a very exciting sector you know And quantum computing was up over 1,880%. Over the last year, Regetti was up 1,500%. And along comes Jensen Wang and Bang, a knife in the heart, saying that these things are way out there. I said it yesterday.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that's that long-duration. And you've said it since they started taking off. And it's the epitome of long-duration stock and long-duration play. And interest rates, right, are going to have the biggest effect on that. And I think what we've seen lately is interest rates are having a big effect on the valuations that you've mentioned.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. So, anyways, if you're wondering why these stocks are getting taken to the woodshed big time today, it's because of, thanks, Jensen Wayne. He must have a short position in them. But, you know, he's probably speaking truth. I trust the guy will be right back. This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting-edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersonCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services, call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show.
SPEAKER 01 :
And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Stocks Now show.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there's a lot of deal making, I guess, taking place at CES. AMD has made an investment in a little stock that's making a move today. The name of the stock, A-B-S-I. A-B-S-I is up 7.5% now. They're in the AI drug business, trying to create drugs using AI power. So that one, $20 million investment, AMD, in a biotech.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's interesting because NVIDIA has been doing that, so that's kind of interesting. They're finally kind of getting in the mix with some of these announcements too.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, I think there's a lot at CES about the robo-taxi and the autonomous driving, which is a breakthrough that hasn't happened. Now, I don't see that out there 20 years on the horizon, like Wang says quantum computers are. But Pony is one that has been in the news here recently. Pony AI expects big breakthrough with autonomous driving in Hong Kong. which is to provide driverless transportation at the Hong Kong International Airport, which is one of the world's busiest airports.
SPEAKER 06 :
And it's one of the most, I mean, in terms of population density, right? It's a pretty dense populated area, so it'll be interesting to see how these things work. I was listening to somebody this morning, and they were talking about uh he was talking about his daughters and he was he said uh you know he's he was he said he was hoping that uh he said he's hoping that his young daughters never have to drive so well yeah maybe i don't know about that from a safety standpoint i mean as long as it works right that's the you know that's the key we all gotta we will have to be confident in it um you know there's certainly some privacy concerns in terms of tracking where folks are going um We saw that with the Cybertruck and the incident in Las Vegas in front of Trump Tower. But, you know, it should, I mean, overall, right, I mean, one of the biggest risks that we all take every day is hopping in our car and driving somewhere. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, you'd think you'd be safer in a driverless car. You would think. But, you know, as I sat in the back of an Uber going from LaGuardia to Times Square, I thought, how would a driverless car, or maybe things would have been more orderly. I don't know. But you've got to remember you're mixing driverless cars with driver cars. And those taxi cab drivers, they'll go through a space. You're thinking, I don't know that he can get through that. I don't know. God, we got through it. You know, it's just, wow, that's crazy. And people are making turns and pedestrians are taking advantage of the stop traffic to dart through it. It's just all nuts. Lots of jaywalking.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, lots of jaywalking in New York City used to be fined for that and get a ticket. Not anymore. They don't do that anymore.
SPEAKER 05 :
The Uber driver was very unhappy about that. He said, you know, this didn't used to go on, but they loosened the laws on jaywalking because they found out that it was mostly the black population that was paying up the fines. And they felt like it was a racist policy to discourage and ticket jaywalkers. And that's what you got in New York City. Chart Industries is one to keep an eye on. Chart Industries announces a goods and service agreement with Exxon Mobil. You know, the thing I like about Chart Industries, which we do own, G-T-L-S, Chart is like a shovels and picks and shovels type company to not only liquid natural gas, but also to the nuclear industry. So, you know, as those things, and look at charts. If you look at chart industries, their earnings growth, 26% a year. They're looking for 56% this year and 35% next year. That's some really phenomenal growth there on chart industries. And I've seen a lot of other people out there that I respect talking up. chart industries the symbol is g t l s and uh it is a 8.5 billion dollar company so it's a small cap out of georgia i've never heard of this city ball ground georgia
SPEAKER 06 :
I haven't looked that up. We'll have to ask Jennifer that one. We've been through there a good bit, but never ran across that one.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, now let's see. I saw that NFL football, there's been a trend this year of favorites winning. Favorites, okay, that's not good for the gambling industry. And Flutter actually lowered their expectations today. Because of this, they're not on the winning side as many of the bets as they usually are, and they lowered their expectations, but I do see that the stock is up 1.4% after that announcement. It's affecting both Flutter and DraftKings. You know, of all the things I've ever, you know, I used to get in the football pools, and I used to win the football pools all the time when my mother at work. I bet you were a beast in those.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I was 17, 16 years old.
SPEAKER 05 :
And my mother worked for a big insurance company, and they had a pretty sizable football pool every week. It was NFL and college, and I used to win that thing about every third week or so. I made a little living off of that thing as a 16-, 17-year-old. And hitting the pick six, the 5'10", at Caliany Racetrack in Tijuana when I was 18 years old.
SPEAKER 06 :
They thought your mom was just a football guru. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
She thought it was her. They thought she was the one picking Auburn over Kentucky. But anyways, you know, I would say of all the things that I ever tried, I would say NFL is the most unpredictable beast of all. Oh, yeah. It's just unpredictable, you know, on any given weekend, as the saying goes. But I guess this year it's run more to form. There seems to be some real bad teams out there, you know, like the The Patriots and the Browns that you could just count on losing.
SPEAKER 06 :
You've got a couple of playoff games this weekend. I think Baltimore is like a 10-point favorite. Another team, I forget who it is, like a 9.5-point favorite. So you've got still some big spreads this week.
SPEAKER 05 :
So the casinos are getting hurt. Do you feel sorry for them? No, not really. The DraftKings and the Flutter and the Caesars Palace. There's always next season for them. Yeah, they'll be all right. Okay, now here's another one that's jumping today, VIR, which is a biotech. We're going to call this the stock of the day. We had one yesterday with pancreatic cancer. Today, Veer Biotech up 64% after phase one data for Sanofi partnered cancer drug technology. You know, I love to see them making progress on cancer. I mean, that's really the one.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I like when you highlight these. What you had yesterday was pancreatic cancer. There was one where they were making some progress there, and that stock was getting a boom.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, and, you know, I just have to give a shout-out to a friend of mine out in the San Diego area. He used to come to my workshops a lot. He was retired, and he was a software programmer. And he actually wrote all the macros that I use in taking my data from my database in the app and putting it into a spreadsheet today. I talked to him last week. I've known him for 20 years. I said, Will, your macros still work. I use them every single day. And the poor guy, he has lung cancer. And he's had a portfolio with us for quite some time. I manage it for free because of all the work he did for us and everything. He made a couple trips up with me to see Douglas up in the Bay Area to help develop. And, you know, he was put into hospice yesterday. And that's a call, you know, to talk to somebody. He says, Bill, I'm going into hospice. It's like, you know, this is probably we won't talk again. That's really a sad thing. Anyways, just a shout-out to my friend out there in Carlsbad, Will, who entered into hospice yesterday. Really a great guy from San Diego State, San Diego State University, retired computer programmer. Okay, the last thing I want to mention here, Trump did a tirade against the wind, wind energy. He lashed out against windmills. I don't know what he's got against windmills. But, you know, I would hate to see them out there, you know, off of New York where the lobster, the Boston fishermen. They're deteriorating. Lobster. Yeah, I mean. I don't think that it's a very effective way of getting the juice that we need. When we come back, we're going to look inside the market. You've got a big sell-off in Bitcoin as we've got a little bit of risk off in the market right now going on. Are we headed into a correction? Well, it looks that way, but you'd have to bust a couple of levels in the indexes. We'll talk about that, too, in the last segment of the show. And welcome back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. Well, we are now in earnings season. And we've actually had a few come in. But next Thursday and Friday, we're going to get some of the big banks reporting. Then we're officially in earnings season. I was quite surprised. Now, this is on the positive side of things right now. Then we'll give the negative side of things. Let's do the negative. Let's get the negative out of the way first. The interest rates are what are hurting us right now. It's the bond market. It's interest rates at 4.70. If they stop here and start easing up, then we may not go into a correction. But there's definitely some technical numbers here, Barry. with your technical analysis. If we break below, there's a number out there. I've got it written down here.
SPEAKER 06 :
I like how you highlight those. I like how you mentioned in your note this morning in terms of you're putting those numbers on the chart.
SPEAKER 05 :
And so we already are in a bit of a correction. I mean, the Dow is down about 4 or 5%, I would say, from its high. An all-time high. Yes, but it could easily go down another 4 or 5% if it breaks the number here that I'm watching very closely. You have had a trend reversal. The uptrend in the Dow, the line that I had drawn that began last July, it went on a nice run until early this year. Let's see, that run ended in about mid-December. And then it actually broke that uptrend, okay? And so you're in a secondary downtrend within a primary uptrend. you're in a very small correction right now. But there's a couple numbers that if it breaks below those, then you might have to take a little more defensive action. just to ease the shock absorbers because you could have some more downside risk. I kind of laid the groundwork for a pullback in my first article of the year on the current valuation of the NASDAQ. It's quite high, extremely high. It's gone a long ways over the last two years. And then you add that into the rising interest rates, which are going to make that multiple look even higher yet. And that is kind of the concoction, the combination of events that bring about a sell-off and a correction in the market.
SPEAKER 06 :
Then we're going to get the Fed minutes at 2 o'clock this afternoon, which could introduce, you know, a little bit of potential rate volatility simply because, you know, it was kind of an interesting meeting where it was kind of that, I remember Powell's speech kind of tanked the market and you had essentially, you know, they did one more cut and they kind of, you know, kind of signal that they're going to pause for January. It should be interesting to see kind of some of the discussions, some of the vote, you know, around what was, you know, what was happening behind the scenes there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, now that's the short-term news, okay? The longer-term news, however, I couldn't believe it when I saw that, uh, There's already some estimates out there for 20, what is this, 2025? 2025, yeah. We have solid estimates for this year. We have pretty good estimates. And there's now even an annual EPS estimate out there for the S&P 500 for 2027, okay? And if you look at the chart of earnings, 2009, you're down around $60 per share in S&P 500 earnings. If things go the way the analysts think, we could be hitting almost $350. Remember, this year is about $250. $250 is where we're going to be. 2024, which we don't have in yet, we're going to end the year at about $247. That's where 2024 is going to be. This year, we're looking for somewhere in the $270. Then it goes up to $310. Then it goes up to $340. So long term, things still look very, very optimistic, and you have a very pro-business administration coming in. But in the short term, there's going to be some major bumps in the road, some pullbacks. And, of course, you know, something could happen to break this earnings trend. But right now, the earnings trend is what the market is trading on. And if you're looking out over this year, next year, to earnings, I'm seeing a lot of 7,000 estimates on the S&P 500 based on these solid earnings estimates. expectations seven thousand i would say that the average for this year is somewhere in the sixties yeah maybe almost seven thousand For this year or so, we're at 5,900 right now. But in the meantime, we could be looking at a correction here because we need a correction. We need some buying in the bond market. The bond market chart, I use AGG. It is up a little bit today, but it needs to halt this downtrend that it's been in. The bond market is down about 7-8% since last September as interest rates are now pushing 4.70. which is the high for the last 12 months. And let's hope that it's now hit that high. Let's get that over with, and let's start backing down from that high. So you're kind of in between. You're kind of in flux right now with the high rising rates colliding with a high P.E. multiple, but the earnings picture looking very, very favorable. over the next couple of years so there you go take all that into account how do i get through times like this and manage it one stock at a time one stock at a time one day at a time and you just can't make big blanket calls on the market I do a lot of little individual and small decisions on a daily basis, but they're definitely very much influenced by what I see in the macro picture of the market. Okay, if you want to try to take the worry off your shoulders and just hand it off and let us worry about it, we run a daycare center for distressed stocks here. Give us a call. Set up an appointment at 855-611-BEST. 855-611-BEST. Put together a financial plan. And put not only, you know, valuations to work for you, but also the momentum and the technical analysis side of things, which obviously is very, very time consuming. And if you just want to see how it all works and comes together, you can get four free weeks of the live buying, investing, slash trading subscription and my commentary on the market on it several times throughout the day. Go to GundersenCapital.com. GundersenCapital.com. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 03 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIBC and FINRA.