In this episode of Washington Watch, host Jody Heiss delves into the monumental strides made in the Middle East with the Israel-Hamas peace agreement. Joined by experts and correspondents, they explore the implications of the deal on international diplomacy and the quest for a lasting peace in the region. The episode also covers President Trump's involvement and upcoming travels to solidify the peace process. Shifting to the home front, Jody covers the ongoing government shutdown, examining the political stalemates at play and their effects on the American populace. Featuring insights from congressional members and economic analysts, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to the partisan tug-of-war over government funding and essential services. Furthermore, the episode addresses the Trump administration's proactive stance against drug trafficking originating from Venezuela. With perspectives from journalists and political insiders, the discussion highlights the administration's military and diplomatic strategies aimed at curbing the influence of narco-terrorists in the Western Hemisphere.
SPEAKER 02 :
From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 18 :
Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza and really, on a much bigger basis, created peace. And I think it's going to be a lasting peace.
SPEAKER 05 :
That was President Trump earlier today at the White House announcing the Israel-Hamas peace deal and his upcoming trip to Egypt and Israel. Welcome to this October 9th edition of Washington Watch. I'm your host Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony Perkins. Thank you so much for tuning in today. All right, coming up, it is now day nine of the Schumer shutdown and government services are straining along with Americans as Democrats blocking efforts to reopen the government. And here shortly, Georgia Congressman Andrew Clyde will join me with the latest on that issue. And the Trump administration is taking a harder line on drug trafficking, this time actually using military force. And the target? Well, narco-terrorists allegedly tied to Venezuela. Later in the program, Washington stand writer Yoey Suarez will join me to break all of that down. All right, Israel and Hamas, the big, big news. They have reached a crucial ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal. Obviously, this is an important issue for everyone around the world, but certainly also for President Trump and his strong approach to end this Gaza conflict. Hamas will be releasing all the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners while Israel begins a partial troop withdrawal. And joining me now is Washington Stand reporter Sarah Holliday. Sarah, let's begin with this big, big news. What can you tell us? Let's go with the timeline for the hostage release and some of the chances that this is going to actually be a lasting peace deal.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, Jerry. The agreement represents the first phase of President Trump's initiative to end the two-year conflict in Gaza. Under the deal, Hamas will release all remaining Israeli hostages, with only around 20 believed to be still alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, the deal also involves Israel partially withdrawing its troops. President Trump announced today that the hostages are expected to be released Monday or Tuesday. He also said he plans to travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony before addressing Israel's Knesset.
SPEAKER 18 :
We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday. And that'll be a day of joy. I'm going to go to Egypt, where we'll have a signing, an additional signing. We've already had a signing representing me, but we're going to have an official signing.
SPEAKER 11 :
This conflict began with Hamas terrorists' brutal 2023 attacks that killed over 1,200 Israelis and captured 251 hostages. Both sides celebrated the agreement with a truck set to enter Gaza soon. Challenges do remain, but President Trump called this a major step toward lasting peace, Jodi.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it really is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Sarah, if I can switch gears with you now and bring you here closer to home. It is now day nine of the government shutdown. I've been there myself. Flights are being delayed all over the country. Staffing thin. Americans are certainly paying the price as the Senate Democrats continue to block efforts to reopen the government. What is the latest on this issue?
SPEAKER 11 :
Jodi, President Trump is saying that the ongoing government shutdown is actually an opportunity to make permanent cuts to bloated Democrat programs and realign spending with conservative priorities. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats once again, as you mentioned, blocked a Republican bill to reopen the government, prolonging the shutdown and its impact on everyday Americans. This is what Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the Senate floor earlier today.
SPEAKER 03 :
If we fail to fund the government by the end of the day today, American service members will begin going without their paychecks starting tomorrow. That's right, Mr. President. If Democrats can't bring themselves to reopen the government by the end of the day, our troops, the people who protect and defend this country, will start missing their paychecks.
SPEAKER 11 :
As the shutdown drags on, the U.S. travel industry is struggling as airport staff are stretched thin, leaving travelers with no choice but to cancel plans. In addition, as Thune mentioned, our military troops won't be getting paid either. But concerning the air travel, experts are warning that delays and cancellations may only worsen over the holiday weekend, which is a direct result of Washington gridlock led by Democrat obstruction.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Well, it certainly is a major roadblock in talks to reopen the government. And part of the roadblock, frankly, is the Democrats' push to try to extend all the COVID-era Obamacare subsidies which in and of themselves could fund abortion as well as gender transition surgeries and so forth. So obviously this is something we oppose a great deal, and we're going to be keeping an eye on this and reporting it. Sarah, let me throw one more at you. There was a meeting yesterday about left-wing violence that took place in the White House. What can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER 11 :
Jodi, President Trump is taking a hard stance on Antifa. He's called them a domestic terror threat. And he's also promised a forceful federal response. At a White House roundtable discussion yesterday, President Trump said law enforcement will be, quote, very threatening toward the far-left movement, which he says has long intimidated communities and targeted police. Joined by officials like FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Trump emphasized the need to protect law and order across the country. We can't and we will not let mask terrorists burn our buildings, attack our law enforcement, intimidate our communities. Attorney General Pam Bondi went on to praise tech companies for removing anti-law enforcement apps. And she said the administration is using the full power of federal law enforcement to take on Antifa and its backers.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, thank you so much, Sarah. A lot of information you're covering, and we appreciate it a great deal. I want to go ahead now and turn our attention back to the federal government, the funding fight that's taking place. I'd like to get a congressional perspective of it all, and joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Andrew Clyde. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee as well as the House Budget Committee. and he represents the 9th Congressional District of my home state of Georgia. Congressman Clyde, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thank you, Jody. It's great to be with you on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, listen, it's always great to talk to you as well. Before we get into the government shutdown stuff, just real quickly, I wanted to get your reaction to the deal that was struck between Israel and Hamas today. It's big news.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I'll tell you what, our president, Donald J. Trump, is certainly the peace president. He has been advocating for peace across the entire world in various different conflicts. And this has been a phenomenal achievement by the president right here. I think that when the hostages are released, like you said, on Monday or Tuesday, it will be an incredible victory for the president and for Israel as well. And, you know, we'll see if Hamas actually comes through with it. I believe I hope they do. I really do, because, you know, these families need closure. They need their their their family members back. And it'll be the first time I think that there will actually be peace in the Middle East, you know, since 1976 when Egypt and Israel signed their peace agreement.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I think we're all waiting on bated breath just on that very issue. Is Hamas going to actually hold up to this? We'll see and continue praying to that end. Let me come back now to the federal government, the shutdown. We're now in day nine of it all. Republicans have put forward a clean, continuing resolution, and yet the Democrats continue to vote it down. What are you seeing? What are you hearing behind the scenes there in Congress?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, you know, as a member of the House, we have done our job. We have funded the government. And it's up to the Senate right now to do their job. And in Georgia, we have two senators, Senator Warnock and Senator Osthoff, that have consistently voted, I think now for the seventh time, to not fund the government and therefore to allow funding to lapse. You know, they're putting... Health care for illegal aliens above pay for our troops, you know, and that's simply despicable. I think Chuck Schumer said it best when he said every day gets better for Democrats. But what he forgot to say is that it gets worse for the American people. But that's exactly the way the Democrats look at it right now. And it's just it's disgusting to see. And as a result, I think that every American citizen needs to call their senators, their Democrat senators, and say, what in the world are you doing? All right? You're not helping America. You're making it worse for everyday citizens in this beautiful country.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and I think, quite frankly, he's rather delusional, thinking that every day makes it even better for Democrats. I think he's wrong on that issue as well. You look at the polling of Democrats, they are at all-time lows in favorability across the country, and it's this very thing, it looks to me like, is the reason why. This is just horrible timing, though, for it all. Can't the Democrats just pass a clean CR rather than demanding one and a half trillion more dollars, and talk about what they want after the government reopens. Isn't that really what this is all about? Why won't they do that?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, you know, they want to try and use this leverage of government funding to eliminate all the wins of the one big, beautiful bill. And then if you look at it in the big, beautiful bill, you have a 50 billion dollar rural hospital fund. Well, you know, a lot of Republican areas are rural. And so they're trying to to literally take away the health care of those in the rural districts as opposed to those who live in urban districts. And then you've got the win of defunding NPR within the within the rescission bill that they're trying to eliminate. So it's. It's illegal alien and their health care over American citizens and over the armed forces and their pay. And it's absolutely shameful that the Democrats would do this.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and their proposal would fund abortion and gender transition procedures as well. I mean, there's just a host of horrible things in here. And thanks to each of you for standing firm on this. The ball is in the course of the Democrats, whether the government's going to be reopened or not. Final question for you, Congressman Clyde. The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, released their final monthly budget review for fiscal year 25, showing a $1.8 trillion increase budget deficit for the year. Your reaction to that?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yes, I read that, actually, being on the budget committee. It includes an additional $80 billion of interest payments over and above what we normally have paid. So it's an absolute testimony to how... bad the Democrats have been in the prior administration. I mean, if you looked at that, you saw a massive increase of spending for the EPA, like $23 billion for the EPA in grants that went out in November and December. And if it hadn't been for the one big, beautiful bill, which cut like $230 billion in of woke spending out of the unconstitutional Department of Education, it would have been a greater deficit than that. It'd been over $2 trillion.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Thank you so much, Congressman Andrew Clyde from Georgia. Always great to see you, my friend. Thank you for joining us on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thank you, Jody. Great to be with you.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, coming up next, we're going to talk about the deal between Israel and Hamas. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Stay tuned, find out.
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Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn't outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there's a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger, and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let's stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
SPEAKER 16 :
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan in daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us in Stand on the Word.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good afternoon. I am Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. Thank you so much for tuning in. All right. You've heard the news by now. Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a deal that is going to see all the hostages that have been held in Gaza released. in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. And although the Israeli government still needs to officially approve the plan before it commences, which, by the way, is something they could do very soon, President Trump told reporters today that the remaining hostages who were held by Hamas should be released by Monday or Tuesday. A day that he says, and we all agree, is going to be a great day of joy. But what all else is remaining in all of this? And are we literally, potentially about to see the end of this war? Well, joining me now to discuss this. Live from Tel Aviv is Ruthie Bloom. She's a columnist and senior contributing editor at the Jewish News Syndicate. She's also a former advisor at the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ruthie, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you so much, Jody. It's great to be here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, listen, thank you. I know it's late there. Thank you for staying up to giving us the latest of what's happening here. Let me begin, Ruthie, just with your overall reaction to the news when you first heard it, and what are you hearing from others there in Israel?
SPEAKER 01 :
OK, so first of all, when we first heard about the plan, that's before it was accepted, it was accepted by Israel. But as President Trump said, we're waiting for Hamas to give an answer. The other Arab countries and Turkey, et cetera, said yes. And President Trump was waiting for Hamas's answer. That was two days ago. or three days ago. I'm getting confused because, as you say, it's late at night right now. The Israeli cabinet is meeting to approve this. And Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are here. So nobody's getting any sleep. All right. But anyway, Hamas suddenly late at night. issued a response, which basically was no, it wasn't yes. But President Trump did a clever thing. He said, oh, Hamas accepted the deal. Now we can all meet in Sharm el-Sheikh and iron it out. I mean, Hamas's answer was really anything but a yes. But this started the wheels in motion. And what we are knowing, what we now know is that the hostages are going to be returned. And the beauty of this deal is that unlike previous deals that were called peace deals, et cetera, in Israel and with the Palestinians, this one puts the onus on Hamas. It is saying you first free the hostages and then Israel will free prisoners. You first do this and then Israel will do that. In other words, treating Hamas like the defeated entity that it actually is. And this has been a big mistake of liberal American administrations and liberal Israeli ones, too, in the past, that negotiations with terrorists always sort of treated them as equals or as, you know, people that are like, OK, we're making a deal. No, this time the onus is on Hamas.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we are all prayerful and hopeful that they're going to hold the deal and release the hostages come Monday or Tuesday. This is just phase one. Now, there are other outstanding issues that are not covered by this particular phase of the agreement. So what are some of the other needs that will be sorted out going forward?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, from Israel's perspective, again, all the goals of the war were to have the hostages freed and to have Hamas completely disarm and ensure that Gaza is de-radicalized to the point that it no longer poses a threat to the state of Israel. So all of that is in that deal. There are other sticking points like humanitarian aid. Okay, Israel has agreed to that. They'll continue to be a flow of humanitarian aid. But Hamas has been saying, well, about disarming, maybe we'll just disarm our heavy weapons and not our light weapons or, you know. Listen, it's a terrorist group, so it's going to try any stunt that it can. The only question is, what happens if it doesn't do something? That's always the question in these deals, because believe me, peace is not going to come out of this. When the war is over, we're still going to have, when I say the war is over, I mean when Israeli troops withdraw to an agreed upon line that is drawn on a map that was agreed upon between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other countries. After that, the question always is, what happens when, not if, when the terrorists violate? I'm praying that this time around, especially after the trauma of October 7th, 2023, that we are going to take every, the tiniest violation with the utmost seriousness and not be worried about what the UN says if we have to go back into Gaza and kill more terrorists.
SPEAKER 05 :
President Trump is going to be traveling, at least he's saying so, to the Middle East in coming days. And he's certainly been invited to speak there at the Israeli Knesset. And in fact, the Knesset was lit up, as I understand, in red, white and blue for that expected visit. How are the people of Israel feeling about President Trump right now?
SPEAKER 01 :
They are so enamored of President Trump that you have no idea. At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, they had somebody dressed up like Trump. They're just people wrapped in American flags and people screaming, Trump, Trump, Trump. Now, I want to tell you why that's ironic. I mean, I'm thrilled with President Trump as well, but I'd just like to say what's ironic about it. Part of the main protest, anti-government protest movement, which tried to hijack all the hostage families by turning the need to free the hostages into an anti-government protest for the past two years. These anti-government protesters tend to be on the left, if not the radical left. And to hear the leftists praising Trump to the skies and singing odes to him in order to say that Netanyahu had no role in this amazing outcome, as though Netanyahu didn't change the face of the Middle East in the last two years.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Ruth and Bloom, I'll tell you, this is exciting times and times for everyone to be continuing in prayer. Again, thank you. I know it's late there. You probably would love to go to sleep, but you've got a lot of plates spinning there. So get back to work and try to get a little bit of rest. But thank you for joining us. We appreciate it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, again, thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, President Trump is not only working for peace in the Middle East, he's also engaged in another war of its own, one on drugs. What are we to make of all of it? We'll unpack it right after this break. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Well, good afternoon. Again, welcome back to Washington Watch. I am Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. Thank you for joining us as well. All right. While President Trump has been striving to bring peace to the Middle East and seems to have made some enormous strides there, he's also made it clear that there's at least one war worth waging here, and that is the war on drugs. And the Trump administration is simply recognizing the decades-long efforts by the U.S. drug enforcement officials simply has not been enough. It's not accomplished what it should have accomplished. So it's been resorting, this administration, to military force to stop the narco-terrorists and particularly focusing on those coming out of Venezuela. And Democrats, not surprisingly, they're opposed to all of this. And along with them, the Venezuelan officials, I would also say, insist that they have no part in drug trafficking. So is the Trump administration right here? Well, joining me to offer some perspective in all of this is Washington's stand writer, Yogi Suarez, who was exiled from Cuba for his investigative reporting on topics that socialist governments simply don't want to have covered. Yogi, welcome to Washington Watch. It's great to have you.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you for the invitation. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
OK, so on Monday, we had some Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed opposition to what the Trump administration is doing and literally accused the president of pushing for a regime change in Venezuela. So what do people really need to know when it comes to this whole issue that we're watching in Venezuela?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, the first thing to understand is that Nicolás Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela. He lost in a landslide in July 2024 in the presidential elections last year down there. And he is the head of a cartel, El Cartel de los Soles, who involves high-ranking officials in his regime. and involves Maduro himself. What we have to understand is that the Cartel de los Soles operates with El Tren de Aragua, which is a terrorist organization. It was named like that by President Trump, by this administration, and also works with El Cartel de Sinaloa in order to get drugs here to the U.S. that is killing this drug thousands of Americans.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. So let me ask you this. Yesterday, Senate Democrats tried and failed, but they attempted to pass a bill to stop the U.S. military from having strikes on drug boats, if you will, off the coast of Venezuela. But you, having lived in Cuba... What do you think about the position that the Democrats are putting themselves in in opposing any stoppage of these drug boats that are coming?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it's sad that one of the major parties here in the U.S. is aligned, in fact, with terrorist organizations. We have seen that with the Democrat base and some Democratic officials. with Hamas and Hezbollah. But now there are some of them, let's say, are aligned with the Maduro regime, which is a terrible regime. And it's an ideological colony of Cuba. Cuba is the head of the snake down there in South America, in Latin America in general. And in Venezuela, Chavez, Hugo Chavez first, and now Maduro, has been destroying the country for decades now. It's very sad seeing the Venezuelan people. They don't have medicine. They don't have access to the basic services. There are a lot of—it's a rich country, I mean, with so much resources. And for some reason, it has the highest inflation in the world, I think, also with the Cuban inflation. So it's really sad what is happening. And it's sad that a major party here in the U.S. is aligned with these kind of regimes.
SPEAKER 05 :
It really is stunning to watch. Now, let me ask you this. We'll just go one step further in this whole discussion. The Trump administration has literally been building up military forces there in the Caribbean, now having deployed some 10,000 U.S. troops in the region, mostly in bases there in Puerto Rico. What do you make of the direction that the administration is going in?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, the next logical step is going inland with targeted attacks to drug objectives, targets down there in Venezuela. The last weeks, we have seen the military from here, from the U.S., destroying vessels that are transporting drugs to the Caribbean area. And let me tell you something. small towns in front of the Caribbean were fisher towns with people fishing and commerce with commerce and the drug trafficking has destroyed All these towns have put these towns in danger. And I can tell you, a lot of Venezuelan people down there, they don't want this reality anymore. They want Maduro out because they recognize he is not the legitimate president, I repeat, He is the head of a terrorist organization that is not only harming them, but harming other countries in the Caribbean area specifically, and working with the worst cartels, even in Colombia and Mexico.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Thank you so much, Washington stand writer, Joey Suarez. Great perspective, and we appreciate you joining us on Washington Watch. Thank you. All right. Coming up next, we are going to go from narco terrorists in Venezuela to Islamic terrorists in Nigeria and the so-called anti-fascist terrorists right here in America. So stay tuned.
SPEAKER 15 :
Family Research Council is committed to advancing faith, family, and freedom from the East Coast to the West. So FRC is going to Southern California for this year's Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th at Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills. Join us for this powerful gathering of Christians desiring cultural renewal and spiritual revival. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit brings together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Together, we will seek God's guidance for our nation and engage in meaningful discussions on the intersection of faith, government, and culture. If the spiritual foundations and the cultural walls of our nation are to be rebuilt, we all have a role to play. May we each find our place on the wall as we build for biblical truth. Jennifer, it's so exciting to be here with you today talking about our new book, Embracing God's Design.
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SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Before we conclude the program and I bring on my next guest, I want to just remind you that next week, next week is our Pray Vote Stand Summit taking place in Chino Hills, California, October 17th and 18th. It's not too late to register if you have not already done so. Again, this is a powerful, powerful event. Never before has there been a more critical time probably than right now for us to unite together to pray, vote, stand. You can learn more and register by going to prayvotestand.org. All right. Much needed attention was drawn to the persecution of Christians that has been taking place in Nigeria. And we thank U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who's been making this a top priority. He's been talking with and taking some Nigerian officials to task for the way they have seemingly ignored or even facilitated the mass, mass killing of Christians by Islamic jihadists. And while a spokesperson for Nigeria's president has certainly pushed back against Senator Cruz, calling his statements malicious and contrived lies, many have pointed to an abundance of reporting that's out there on the situation taking place in Nigeria. And also, we certainly have the previous administration under Joe Biden deciding that Nigeria is not a country of particular concern. There certainly now, at least, is a growing push to see that designation restored. And joining me now to discuss this is former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback. Ambassador Brownback, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, it's great to join you, Jody, and glad to talk about this topic. It needs to be talked about. We finally got a burst of energy around Ted Cruz and of all people, Bill Mayer, raising this issue as a key one. So I'm hopeful we're going to start to see some action taking place.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I am too. And I agree with you. It's amazing how sometimes you have issues like this that are totally swept under the rug and ignored by the legacy media. We'll just put it that way. But as you brought up Senator Cruz... You know, he has brought this to light and some in Nigeria are pushing back, saying that these are nothing but malicious, contrived lies and that Christians are not targeted in Nigeria. What, Ambassador, is your response to that?
SPEAKER 06 :
That sounds like a government press secretary doing what the Muslim president told her to or him to do and to say. The facts are very clear. They've been consistent and they've been growing. You've got a group of terrorist organizations operating in Nigeria and throughout the countries in that region, the Sahel. You've got weaponizing of a Fulani herdsman group, particularly the younger men in this group. They're going in and terrorizing, killing Christian villagers to drive them out. of the region to Islamicize the area. And this is just a full-scale onslaught, slaughter, and you're going to see a lot more of it unless their government steps in and does something, and our government should push as hard as we can to force the Nigerian government to deal with this situation.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I want to come back in just a moment to what our government can and should be doing. But as you referenced the spokesperson for the Nigerian government, he went on and said that their government is committed to ensuring that there is religious freedom. In Nigeria. And so what is your take on you brought up the Nigerian government. So what is your take on how they have been handling the persecution and literal martyrdom of thousands of Christians in that country?
SPEAKER 06 :
Either their response has been complicit with what's taking place, they're okay with it and they're turning the blind eye the other way, or they're feckless and they won't do anything about it that's going to upset some of their political base. I don't know. Either way, you've got the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian now is in Nigeria. And you've got this robust growing church in southern and central Nigeria that some of the most dynamic Christians in the world facing the most aggressive Islamic radical militants in the north and in that center belt. And this is a historic clash. And it's spreading throughout this region. And we're going to start to feel a lot more ramifications of this as these governments in the region either topple, as some of them have, get more bought into the Chinese-Russian model, as some of them are taking place. This is going to be a huge problem for us. I've got an article coming out soon about this could be a 500 million person caliphate. throughout that middle area of Africa if we don't get busy and start addressing this situation.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Yeah, when you look at it from that perspective, you realize this is a huge, huge issue. So let me ask you that. How important is it for Nigeria to be designated as a country of particular concern?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it's important because it can possibly get the government to do something. But we can't stop there. We're going to need to sanction them off of this unless they will actually step up and enforce their laws and ensure religious freedom for everybody. The last time the president of Nigeria was in the United States and met with President Trump in his first term, President Trump said, hey, you got to start protecting the Christians. And he went back and sent his military into the regions where they were getting attacked. and the persecution reduced substantially. That can happen again. Or, Jody, we need to start looking at ways that we can arm the Christians so that they can at least fairly fight back. And that's a conclusion I've been very hesitant to get to, but it may be the only response we can have.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. Okay, so you mentioned sanctions. What other steps, final question here, do you think the U.S. should be doing? Certainly designating them as a country of particular concern, sanctions. What more specific actions by our government would you like to see here?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think we need to go into the region. You've got this entire, as I say, this Sahel region. There's a number of weak governments in the region. I think we need to start cooperating with the ones that will cooperate with us and recognize that the Chinese and the Russians are all over this place already. We've got to start getting in there and start getting engaged, or we're going to have a much bigger problem on our hand that's going to be much harder to deal with. We need to be more engaged overall, economically, security-wise, and certainly with religious freedom in this region.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much, Ambassador Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. We deeply appreciate the work you have done and very grateful for you joining us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 06 :
Happy to do it, Jody. God bless you all.
SPEAKER 05 :
God bless you as well, my friend. By the way, let me just say we here at FRC, we have a related resource on this. If you'd like to find out more, you can go to FRC.org slash Nigeria CPC. And we'll also include a link to that at TonyPerkins.com. So be sure to check that out. All right. To close out the program for today, there's one more news item that I want to bring your attention to. And that is yesterday at the White House was a roundtable regarding the Antifa movement, which President Trump last month designated as a domestic terrorist organization. Joining me now to discuss this is Cully Stimson, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and manager of their national security law program. Cully, welcome to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Jody, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. So let's just jump right into the roundtable meeting that took place yesterday. Who was there and what do you think came out of it all?
SPEAKER 08 :
So it was really an extraordinary event, and I hope people watch it, because you had a lot of these sort of new age bloggers and sort of new age journalists, many of whom have been criticized or attacked or actually violently attacked by Antifa. You have people like Andy Ngo, who many of you know about, who was brutalized by Antifa thugs in Portland, Oregon years ago, beaten within an inch of his life. You have others who are in Seattle and other cities where Antifa reigns. And it was interesting because one gal even said, you know, I had a really bad case of TDS, Trump derangement syndrome. And she admitted to the president, to his face, that she was really an anti-Trumper. Then she started... embedding herself as a clandestine journalist with Antifa and started writing about it and realized that they are the problem, not him. And so it was an extraordinary day. And this puts a lie, Jody, to this idea that Antifa is only an idea. That is some amorphous, ambivalent, sort of cloud-based nothing group. And they're real people, really funded by dark money groups. And the Treasury Secretary is going to get to the bottom of that. The Homeland Security Secretary is going to get to the bottom of this. So I think this is just the beginning of the unraveling of this Marxist terrorist organization.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I hope you're right. I was actually in a meeting just yesterday with Andy Ngo, and hearing him talk was just shocking. It just underscores everything you're saying. Now, you are among others who are actually calling for the designation of Antifa to be a domestic terror organization. You started, but would you unpack that a little bit more for us? Why do you think so? Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. So let's let's be clear. Designating them as a domestic terror organization is helpful in the sense that what it does is it focuses the government and the government's vast resources and the joint terrorism task forces spread around the country. to go after Antifa and Antifa adjacent organizations. But domestic terrorism is defined in federal statute, but it is not a standalone crime. I know I was a federal and local prosecutor. It is not a standalone crime like murder or rape or robbery. And so you can't be convicted of domestic terrorism. It's not a crime. But I know a little bit about terrorism because I was a deputy assistant defense secretary in charge of terrorist policy in the Bush administration. So I've been around Al Qaeda and other folks, including the 9-11 hijacker types that orchestrated the 9-11 attacks at Guantanamo. And so The similarities between the two are really interesting. They used end-to-end encrypted communications. They have very complex financing mechanisms that are hidden from public view. And so I think the fact that they're designating them as a domestic terrorism really focuses the government's resources on them finally. So I think that's the big thing, big takeaway.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, the left, I think it's fair to say, would describe Antifa's efforts as against neo-Nazis, white supremacy and so forth. But in reality, is it fair to say that they go far beyond that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they can call it anything they want. They can call it a toadstool or an upside down tree for all I care. The fact is that actions speak louder than words. And when you see where Antifa thugs and apparatchiks are carrying out their mayhem and destruction and assaults, it's against law and order. It's against federal officers. It's against the enforcement of federal immigration law. It's against police. And so what I would say is they're really against civil society and capitalism and the law and order. So, you know, I wrote a book many years ago, Jody, called Rogue Prosecutors, How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America's Communities. And I talk about Angela Davis's book, Are Prisons Obsolete? And that comes out of the prison abolitionist movement. These Antifa thugs are against law and order. They're against the capitalist society. And so they're going to go after, attack, and foment violence on the instrumentalities of a civil society. So I don't think they're going after right-wing or right-wing extremists. And there are extremists on both sides. But on the left, they're fully financed. fully resourced. I mean, I thought the president was great when he talks about how all these yard signs and all these things that they're using to arm themselves at these protests, they're all from the same place. So this is paid for, organized anarchy. And so I think the government's right to go after them.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. So let's go there. And in the meeting I was in yesterday, this this was one of the major issues. And you just referenced the president's executive order last month calling for the funding sources behind Antifa to be investigated and disrupted and so forth. So what do we know about the funding behind Antifa?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I don't think we know as much as we should. And the reason we don't is because they're clandestine about it. If this was a red, white and blue personification of the First Amendment, freedom of speech and the freedom of free association, we'd all be for it. But that is exactly what it's not. This is clandestine, end-to-end encrypted, multi-layered funding that is designed to be impenetrable. And so you need Scott Besant and the terrorist financing division at Treasury. You need the resources that DOD and the agency and the FBI have at their disposal. Now that the designation has happened, that unlocks a lot of those tools. to really get to the bottom of this. So whether they run it through routers throughout the world and drop it into bank accounts in the Cayman Islands or somewhere, and then they use Bitcoin or some other thing that's harder to trace, we'll get to the bottom of it. It's just going to be a lot harder. It's not like following the money in a bank robbery or identity theft. They're very sophisticated, and they do it for a reason. They don't want to be caught.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so, so much, Kelly Stimson, Senior Legal Fellow at Heritage Foundation. A fascinating conversation and one that we need to get to the bottom of. Thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. Hope you have a fantastic evening and we'll see you yet again tomorrow right here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That's GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
John Rush kicks off Hour 2 with guest Jim Paff from the Conservative Caucus to unpack what could be one of the most significant foreign policy moves in modern history: Donald Trump’s brokered Hamas deal. Jim argues this could rival past Nobel Peace Prize–level negotiations, crediting Trump’s leadership and Abraham Accords groundwork. John and Jim push back on the “warmonger” narrative, portraying Trump as a “peace through strength” president.
The conversation shifts to Trump’s economic prowess compared to Ronald Reagan, emphasizing his unique blend of theory and practice as a businessman-president. They break down how this affects the ongoing government shutdown and why Democrats may be overplaying their hand. Jim forecasts possible outcomes, including major reductions in federal employees, as the political standoff continues.
Later, John pivots to the debate between Matt Walsh’s alarmism on AI and his own more optimistic view. He and Scott Garlis discuss AI’s parallels to the Industrial Revolution, the shifting labor landscape, and why preparation—not panic—will determine winners and losers. They analyze Fed rate cuts, money market shifts, gold’s surge, and China’s economic maneuvering, all while warning listeners to separate scare tactics from sound analysis.
The hour also features segments with Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial, Mile High Coin, Michael Bailey Estate Planning, Business Equipment Service, Ridgeline Auto Brokers, and Roof Savers of Colorado.
SPEAKER 13 :
This is Rush to Reason. 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. With your host, John Rush. 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 08 :
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 02 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 12 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, Hour 2, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Jim Paff joining us now, conservative caucus. Jim, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing, John? I'm doing very well. All right, lots going on, a lot to talk about. I guess first things first, let's talk about the Hamas deal that Trump is working on.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I have to tell you, this is going to go down as one of the most historic things that any president has ever done. And, you know, it's hard, I know, for people that don't like Donald Trump to hear someone saying like that. Actually, I'm already hearing and interviews people on all sides of the aisle talking about the actual enormity of of this thing. If this goes through, if we have the release of hostages next week, it's going to be one of the most amazing efforts at international negotiations that we've ever seen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and I read an article, and I put it in my notes for you today, there's those out there, of course, saying even some not-so-right-leaning organizations talking about, you know, this is Nobel Peace Prize stuff, and I don't think they're wrong in saying that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you did have John Fetterman saying that now he wouldn't say it on this one, which he should have. But he did say if he also pulls off the Ukraine thing, then he'll be on the front of the train to work towards getting him a Nobel Peace Prize. Listen, I think it is Nobel Peace Prize worthy. And I know it's not just his efforts. There are a lot of people involved with this. But he's the ringleader, Jim. It would not go forward without him being the lead in this charge.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think I'd even go as far as to say without him in charge, I mean, I think it's a stalemate. If you don't have somebody like Trump willing to say, listen, guys, come on, knuckleheads, we've got to have some conversation here. You guys cannot continue to go down the path you're going. It's going to end in ruin for both of you. We've got to get some things taken care of here. It takes a Donald Trump to make that happen, Jim.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, yeah, no, this would not be happening without Donald Trump. He does have a great team of people, but there really has not been a president in modern history, maybe other than Ronald Reagan, who's ever thought this way about how we get to something good. And it's just it's breathtaking. It's truly breathtaking.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and it flies in the face of those that say he's a warmonger and all he wants is war and he wants this and he wants that. And I always laugh when that is said, Jim, because when it comes to Donald Trump, I do know him. There's a lot of things about Donald Trump he and I may not agree upon. But the one thing that I agree with him on and I feel confident that he feels the same way I do. We want less war, not more.
SPEAKER 03 :
There is no doubt he is a peace president. And he balances it perfect. He will use American force in certain areas when it's absolutely fundamentally necessary, and I think he does try to stay within constitutional bounds. That's been one of the big frustrations with presidents on both sides of the aisle since Ronald Reagan. constantly wanting to go to war, and it's just been absolutely crazy. Donald Trump's not that kind of person, but he does understand peace through strength in a real way, but he's always seeking peace. He never backs off from going to peace. That is the number one goal of everything that he's doing, and the way this deal played out is part of it, and don't forget, This is a very long effort in a sense. The Gulf War has only been going on for two years. But if the Abraham Accords efforts had not been taking place during the first administration, I also think we would not be getting to this deal because he built that relationship with the Arab states in a way that this could come to fruition in the manner it has.
SPEAKER 06 :
And to your point, Jim, I think the other thing that Donald Trump's very good at is, while a lot of people would accuse him of starting wars, no, he uses the strength that we have. And, you know, you look at Iran, for example. He uses the strengths that we have in a way that tells the other side, you know what, F-A-F-O. You know what, if you're going to go down this path, there's going to be consequences. And let me just show you just a teeny bit of how this works. And, again, that's where that strength comes in, Jim.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And he actually, he also gets criticism a lot from people for supposedly not being very smart or whatever.
SPEAKER 06 :
By the way, those are stupid people to say that, Jim.
SPEAKER 03 :
They really are stupid people. They have no sense of the guy. I mean, he may not use all the beautiful language about this or that thing, but he actually has a very good perspective. on world history, not just recent world history, but more broadly, and then he acts on it in a way that you get results like this. Because he does have a balance of that understanding plus the current realities and how to put that all together as he's making these happen.
SPEAKER 06 :
One of the things that he's extremely smart on, Jim, let's talk about the shutdown, because economically speaking, I think I can go as far as to say this, and I think I would be correct. A, I don't think there's ever been a president, maybe got to go way back in time, that understands economics the way President Trump does. And I mean this even over the Ronald Reagans of the world. No one understands the economy and money like Donald Trump does. So let's talk about that in relation to the shutdown.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, first of all, I would put him on par with Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan understood economic theory very, very well. Yeah, but really quick, Jim.
SPEAKER 06 :
But really quick, here's the difference. He understood the theory. Donald Trump knows it in practice because he's done it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Ronald Reagan never had it. That's right. That's what I was about to say. He has that extra push that he's had to work at both nationally and internationally, and he knows a lot of the players, and that also is helpful beyond just the mere knowledge of them. So you get economic policy the way he's doing it because of his deep understanding of both the principles and the practice. And that sometimes rankles your standard Austrian economics libertarians. By the way, I count myself as one of those, but I'm in support of what he's doing. But it rankles them because they get too bound up in the theory. You have to, in practice, I mean, the political reality is we're not going to ever get all that we want. So if you're not, how can you use the practical realities as a way to get as far as you can? And Donald Trump does that supremely well. Plus, you know, he really is a dealmaker. I mean, that is a very key statement. capability that frankly, probably no president, certainly no modern president has ever had, because it's a real way to, you know, take the situation, know what your principles are, know what you're trying to get to, but really to press the end of that deal. where it needs to go and to make it come together, because this is a human endeavor. As I've always said, I've said on your show before, this politics thing will be easy if I didn't have to deal with people. Well, Trump knows how to deal with people. And that that deal making capability comes in in great. It brings great positive and effective now all the time.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. So how long do you think the shutdown lasts, by the way?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think we've got a few more weeks of it probably because Democrats haven't yet figured out that they're losing this. And the other reason it will continue on is because Donald Trump is driving how Republicans respond to this. This is another thing. We just talked about this peace deal. Well, Republicans in Congress have already caved. if Donald Trump wasn't there to give them strength. This is what I'm so excited about in this. It's not that I love going through government shutdowns, but we need these challenges to break out of the system that is so killing our economy. And I have been saying for a long time, The Republicans and I spent eight years on Capitol Hill arguing this. Republicans need to face these battles with strength and courage, recognizing it's not pretty, recognizing that there is some political risk. But the win is at the end of the game. And I will say this, that your Democrats may cave in more quickly because Donald Trump today has some huge wins. That there is overwhelming what Democrats think that they're gaining in their political strategy against him on the shutdown. And they're going to lose it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Other than the hardcore lefties that you and I both know, Jim, you never going to convince them one way or the other. You know, we're we're always evil. They're always right. By the way, they're completely wrong. They need to look in the mirror and they're the ones that are evil at the end of the day. But other than that portion, I can't. I mean, I think they're very mistaken in thinking that that middle of the road, you know, unaffiliated voter is somehow in favor of what's going on right now with the shutdown and them coming out. And, you know, Akeem Jeffries basically coming out and blaming all of that on Trump and those of us that are on the right. I mean, it's laughable, Jim. And the reality is those folks that are in the middle ground that I'm just talking about that we need, by the way, to vote on our side to win. The left is not helping themselves in that area because these people are not stupid, Jim.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, but in reference to what's going on right now, the win internationally, the win against Antifa. By the way, I don't know if you saw the reports. Antifa leaders and the funder or the leaders of the organization, they're running over to Europe to save themselves because they know they're in trouble. Antifa is going to fall like a wet rag over time. Myra's and my friend Nick Sorter, really helped break a lot of that down by going to Portland. He did a fantastic job there. And so you get those wins combined with the fact that even though you have these radical leftist AOC types who are never going to give in, The politicians are politicians. They don't want to lose. Democrats are going to find out if they continue down this path, they're going to lose. And the good news is we may have a mass reduction in federal employees. And remember, government employee growth was the highest portion of government of employee growth during the Biden administration. And we're going to get cuts to government services. Thanks to my friend Russ Vogt doing a really good job as OMB director.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jim, how do folks find you? Good stuff, by the way.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks. Go to theconservativecaucus.com. That's V-T-H-E, theconservativecaucus.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jim, as always, I appreciate it. Thanks for the updates. Okay, before I let you go, do you want to take a bet on when this thing finally comes to fruition, the shutdown?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think we have at least two more weeks.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm sorry, I don't think we can bet on that because I'm with you. I think you and I are in agreement on that one.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it could be longer, though. I think that Democrats are so insane they don't know when to stop.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't think they're dumb enough to continue it on through November. Let me just say that.
SPEAKER 03 :
We're going to have to get slapped in the face to stop, honestly. I agree with you. Schumer's whole political life is on the line.
SPEAKER 06 :
And not to tarry too long, because I know you're busy, but I think this is one of those situations where Schumer thinks like you and I. He knows this is not working well for his own party, but the powers that be that are in control of the strings are saying, you keep doing it, Schumer.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and those powers that be are AOC and the radical left. That's correct. And he sees a loss in the primary, and frankly, it's probably going to happen anyway to him. But he sees that loss coming, and everything's at stake, and he's not going to relent. And he does know how not to relent, but he's a foolish, arrogant jerk for doing so.
SPEAKER 06 :
You're right. No, you're 100% correct. Jim, again, as always, I appreciate it. Thanks for the extra time. Thanks, my friend. All right, man. Have a good night. Appreciate you very much. Jim Paff, again, that is the conservative caucus. Golden Eagle Financial coming up next. Al Smith, listen in for this interview. And if you need something from Al directly, just give him a call. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
TJ here with KLZ and Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial. And Al, I have a question for you. I've been putting money away for a while in a savings account or maybe a couple of investment accounts. But what am I doing wrong and what can you do better than that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I think a savings account is important because all the financial gurus, including myself, agree you should have three to six months savings that you have ready liquid access to. But retirement planning is a bit more long term and it's a bit more strategic. We want to take a look at the sum of money you'll need way into the future. And we want to look at how that money can last by providing you income for as long as you live.
SPEAKER 02 :
What kind of planning or strategy do you provide for folks with that that have a big savings but haven't made that next step?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, that's a good question. If someone has a large amount in savings, one of the things I do is we have a conversation about their risk tolerance. Nobody's comfortable losing money, but having money in the market over a long period of time is, is a mechanism to accumulate wealth. And so we talk about this different levels of risk and the different products that are available. And we don't put everybody into one box, but I have an enormous assortment of financial products. And it's not that there's good ones or bad ones. It's there are some that are more appropriate for some people, but not for others.
SPEAKER 02 :
And that sounds excellent. How can folks get in touch with you for that meeting?
SPEAKER 07 :
You can reach me at 303-744-1128. And if I'm not there, it goes to voicemail, but I return my voicemails promptly. And we could have a conversation in the office. If you live a considerable distance away, we can have a long phone conversation or a Zoom call, whichever you would prefer.
SPEAKER 02 :
And as always, you can find him at klzradio.com slash money. Al, thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you, TJ. Thanks for the conversation.
SPEAKER 02 :
You bet.
SPEAKER 11 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive, this is John Rush.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Appreciate you joining us today. And Matt Walsh, and I like Matt. I mean, he's one of those guys where, you know, I typically agree with, you know, the majority of things that Matt says. Matt's a little brash at times, and, you know, and I know I can be as well, although I'm not as brash as Matt is. Matt can be extremely brash depending upon... certain subjects. But again, for the most part, I agree with Matt, and he and I don't disagree on too many things. And this is true with a lot of folk. There's a lot of individuals out there where, you know, I may agree with, you know, 95% of what they say, but there's a 5% that I don't. And that's true with a lot of people. And I've said this before, you know, you guys that are listening that are married and have partners and so on, you don't agree on everything. Nor should you, by the way. That's how relationships work. You may find yourself in total disagreement with somebody about a particular topic. That doesn't mean you need to break fellowship with them or break your relationship or whatever the case may be. It just means you don't agree with what they're saying on a particular subject. There's a particular texter right now that I'm going back and forth on that I have distinct different views on Israel, Jews, and so on. No offense, this person's a total racist because they're anti-Israel, anti-Jew, and thinks that we as Christians now are what Scripture refers to as the Jews. That is completely false. You can try to drum up as many Scriptures as you want from whoever you want to prove that you're completely wrong. mainly because even Christ himself said, I didn't come to abolish the law. I came to fulfill the law, meaning the law didn't go away. It just changed underneath Christ. And I don't want to get into all the details of that. That's not what this particular show is all about. We don't get into those details, and I'm not going to run down that path. And frankly, I'm not going to change anybody's mind on that. And there's different beliefs along those lines and has been throughout church history. And you're not going to convince somebody that believes a particular way. And by the way, you're not going to convince me of that either. I don't care what scripture you send me. You're not going to convince me because I can send you just as many going the opposite direction. And that's an argument that's not worth having. It just is. And by the way, at the end of the day, isn't going to change anything in regards to salvation and where we're headed and so on. But it does change your belief on the Jews. And some of you that are racist. Yes, I'm calling you out. Those of you that are racist, you need to go check yourself. I'll just say it that way. You need to check yourself because the reality is you're wrong. And I'll just leave it at that. And that's not this isn't to do with Matt. I'm just saying that there's people that we disagree with at times, and that's okay. In this case, this is Matt that I'm disagreeing with. He tweeted this. I still call it tweets because it's what it is. That's where it came from. I know it's an ex-post, but it's a tweet. People say that we shouldn't worry about AI wiping out jobs. The jobs will just change, they say. But the whole point of AI is that it removes the human component entirely. And I'll go back through this and dissect this in a minute. I'm just going to read you what he said. The jobs aren't going to change. They're just going to disappear. AI will make like 10 people into trillionaires. Almost everyone else will be screwed. Mass unemployment, millions of workers rendered irrelevant all at once. That's what's going to happen. Not maybe, not might. It's going to happen. And it doesn't seem like we're doing anything at all to prepare for it. Now, this is where, again, Matt and I are going to have to agree to disagree. He's completely wrong here, by the way. Now, he's not wrong in all aspects, but he's got how this works wrong. And what I will attest this to, by the way, is this is a great example of somebody talking about a subject they have no understanding of, but yet they're now, quote, unquote, the expert. And I don't consider myself to be any kind of an expert on AI, but technologically speaking, I can tell you right now I'm more of an expert than Matt is. And only because I've been around technology ever since it really got started. And part of that was literally having a business in a technology hub, Boulder, Colorado, and learning from a lot of the folks that actually started a lot of the companies that you actually see today and are benefiting from that technology. I was fortunate enough, and I'm not bragging about this, but I was fortunate enough to be able to rub elbows with a lot of the individuals that literally started the things that you're benefiting from today. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that. I literally was able to hang around and rub elbows with, work on the vehicles and go to lunch with and really have close relationships with a lot of the individuals that were key in a lot of the technology that we have today. You know, for example, place, you know, things like Netflix. You know, I was rubbing elbows with guys that had that idea and were working on the very thing that Netflix is today, long before Netflix ever came along. And so I was able to be involved with a lot of these individuals early on and learn things, I guess is where I'm going with this, learn things that most people weren't even privy to. And was able to, you know, not only learn from them, but then apply those things to even my business and even to this day. We do all of our own IT work and things like that because I learned through the course of time and having enough influence from these individuals how to do those things on my own. So am I an expert in all these areas? No. But do I know more about it than the average? Yes. Do I know more about it than Matt Walsh does? Yes, I do. And this is where Matt's wrong. And we're going to talk to Scott Garlis here in a few minutes. And we'll even get into some of this because I'm going to ask him some of these questions. But yes, there's going to be a shift in jobs with AI. Yes, some jobs are going to be eliminated. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 06 :
And much like when the automobile came along and all of those folks that were involved in the horse and buggy trade had to make decisions on, am I going to stay in this or am I going to go to work for Henry Ford or any other of the major manufacturers that were building cars at that time? And by the way, the smart ones did. They did go to work for the Henry Fords and the Buicks and the Oldsmobiles and the General Motors and on down the line we go. There was hundreds of companies back then building cars. And a lot of them went to work there. Now, there was a lot of stubborn individuals that didn't, that basically said, oh, this is a rotten way to do things. We should continue on with the horse and buggy. That should be the made mode of transportation. This whole car thing is for the birds. We shouldn't go down that path. Much like Matt Walsh is saying right here. And in turn, those guys got left behind. So my advice to folks today is if you're in a job whereby AI might replace you, you probably should be looking at, if it does, what am I doing next? Maybe you're the age where you can just retire. Maybe you're at an age where you really need that job and you need to figure out how to replace that job. Maybe you need to go take some night classes and do some different things in regards to the trades or learning a different skill or how can you be a part of AI instead of it replacing you. They're still going to need... There's still going to need to be people around. This is where I differ with Matt again. There's going to be a human touch in AI, and it's going to be making sure AI is correct. And that will happen in a lot of industries because AI will not always be correct. It will learn, and it will get better as time goes by, but it will still need that human component to make sure that, A, it's in check, quote, unquote. So you're going to see, yes, a big change in jobs and where people are at when it comes to AI. And the smart people will learn how to use that effectively and grow with it. But is it going to be a complete technology that just eliminates so many jobs that there's just mass unemployment? No, I don't see that. Sorry, I don't see that. There'll be a shift. Some people may not be doing today what they're doing and will have to do something different down the road. And remember, we've still got a lot of places in industry today where there's not enough workers. The trades being one of them. You guys hear me talk about that a lot. The trades are still in major need of workers. And you're going to see a shift. You'll see some things improve. You'll see some technologies get better. You'll see some workflows get better because of that. You'll see that instead of an office maybe needing 10 people, they might need two. Okay, so eight people are going to have to figure out something else to do. And they might get repositioned inside of the company or they may just leave. They may not have a choice. And by the way, those that are resistant to change, they'll be left out in the cold. And yes, they'll be on the unemployment line. Unfortunately, they will be. But that's what's going to happen. So I disagree with Matt. There are, in some cases, by the way, folks preparing for this. I am trying to prepare my audience for this. I talk about AI continually. I don't avoid it. I don't poo-poo it. I don't just say it needs to go away and we just need to bare our head in the sand. No, in fact, I have been one that has said, we need to be proactive with this. Especially as conservative Christians, we need to really be proactive. Is it doing what it needs to do and are we going to keep it in check? I've said over and over and over again that this has to be a time where the church especially doesn't bury its head in the sand and just say, yeah, don't go there. We did that when it came to music. We did that with Hollywood. We did it with dancing. We did it with all sorts of things, by the way. We sort of poo-pooed that, buried our head in the sand and turned our back to it and said, you should never do that. And look where that got us. We cannot do that this time. So I am the opposite of Matt Walsh. I am one that says we should embrace this. We should do every single thing we possibly can to be involved in this. We need to help shape it, control it, use it, benefit from it, and so on. I'm the opposite of Matt Walsh. So this is where he and I will differ greatly. And I get it. Not all of you as listeners agree with me in this particular topic. Some of you are on the Matt Walsh side. I'm sorry to say you are. But, you know, just trust me in this. I'm not going to be wrong. What I'm saying will happen and take place. Again, we'll talk to Scott Garlis in a few minutes and I'll get his opinions on this. But he's going to be right in line with me on this. I can almost tell you. And there's going to be a shift and people will benefit greatly from this. And no, it's not just going to be about 10 people. There'll be a lot of others that benefit from this as well. Mahi coin. Speaking of benefiting, find out exactly what your collection of whatever. Gold, by the way, is over $4,000 an ounce. It might have come down just a tad today, but it's up in that $4,000 range. Find out what those things are worth to you. And if you want to turn that into cash, he can help you do that. 720-370-3400.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Scott Garlis with us today. Scott, thanks for changing days for me, by the way. I appreciate that greatly.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, John, any time. My pleasure.
SPEAKER 06 :
I had a great day yesterday and had a great family event and proud of one of my sons and the accomplishments that he had. Had a great little ceremony I went to, and it was really fun. I don't want to say exactly what that was on air because we've got folks out there listening that, frankly, Scott, I'm probably not super popular with. So if somebody wants to know specifically, I guess they can ask, and I know people that would probably want to know. But in general, I won't announce what I did, but I was very proud to be where I was at yesterday.
SPEAKER 14 :
Glad you're in a happy place, and sorry that you can't share those details.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that's all right. In this particular case, I cannot. But that's all right. Bent Pine Capital, talk to us about the... You know what? Before we get going, I had this come up a moment ago. I read something that Matt Walsh, who I normally am in total agreement with, but in this particular case, he was slamming AI, thinks it's probably the worst thing since Satan himself. It's going to do nothing but destroy lives and mass unemployment, and we're not doing anything about it. And This is where he and I will just have to agree to disagree because I look at AI completely differently, Scott.
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree with you. I mean, look, yes. Do I think there's going to be some job loss up front? I do. Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, really quick, by the way, I think there will be for those folks that aren't prepared for their job to be lost to AI. If they prepare themselves correctly, there won't be any. But you're right. Some will be caught off guard and there will be. You're absolutely right.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, that's correct. I mean, like, okay, so I have a friend, he works at a big bank, and we were talking about what they're doing and how they're training on the data that they've collected over all the years and reworking all their systems, and he was telling me, you know, the advantages they're seeing are incredible, and what they're doing is incredible. But, you know, he did say something like coders. You know, a few years ago, everybody was looking to hire a coder, especially in the investment world, and now he said... You know, we can do all this coding on our own. We don't need to hire hundreds or thousands of coders anymore. What we're learning is that with AI, it's more about learning how to prompt because AI can help us with a lot of code. So it just, you know, there will be transitions where it won't be obvious now, sort of like a company like I use as an example, Salesforce. Nobody ever pictured Salesforce coming about and then the internet happened and things took off and we had more of a need for a company like that and Salesforce has blown up into a humongous company. Yes, and did brick-and-mortar stores all go away after the dire predictions when the Internet took off? No, they're still around.
SPEAKER 06 :
They shifted. I mean, to your point, some did, and even today. I mean, Amazon and places like that have replaced some brick-and-mortar, although brick-and-mortar still exists in a lot of places. For example, are shopping malls what they used to be? No. And Scott, I think that was, you know, no offense, I think their future was pretty well destined out even a couple of decades ago. In some cases, they chose to embrace that and make some changes necessary. In other cases, they didn't, and those malls have died. That's what happens when you don't prepare yourself for the future.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, that's right. And I think, so I have conversations with my friends about this all the time, and we talk about how the companies that are embracing AI and figuring out how they can use it to augment their business, they're gonna be more successful than the companies that aren't. Because the companies that, to your point, the companies that aren't doing anything about it and aren't preparing, they're gonna get left behind.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep. No, you're exactly right. Again, I look at it as, yes, there's going to be an initial shift, how people respond to it and or react and react as a negative, respond as a positive, depending upon how they respond to it will depend upon how they end up, you know, down the road. But at the end of the day, this will be great. I look at it like the Industrial Revolution. It's going to be great for productivity. Companies are going to benefit. Profit margins will actually go up. In other words, they'll figure out ways to actually make all of this work. At the end of the day, that money gets put back into the economy, R&D, and other things, and we all benefit when it's all said and done. I don't look at it as a bad thing but a good thing.
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree. And so what people will do, though, people that are against it will – they will find the worst-case scenario.
SPEAKER 04 :
Don't balk at it.
SPEAKER 14 :
Highlight them. Yeah, and especially like the isolated incidents, and that will be what they go back to all the time.
SPEAKER 06 :
And really quick, Scott, you bring up something that's really important, I think, and it's something that I think moving forward we all have to keep in the back of our minds, what you just said, because the news organizations, especially in a lot of cases, they will have some huge downsizing opportunities. With AI, my industry, media, there's going to be some huge downsizing in regards to some of that because certain people won't be needed anymore, meaning they're going to be tainted when they give stories.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, and this is true. And again, it'll be because... AI increases efficiency and allows people to do more with less. I think you're also seeing it on the guys I talked to on Wall Street in the investment world, where you're seeing this start to show up is in the analyst-type roles, the junior analysts, the entry-level spots, kids coming out of college. and so i was looking the other day at the unemployment numbers and you know the unemployment numbers for for college graduates kids age 20 to 24 they're ticking up um they're the highest they've been in a while and and i think it's things like this that could be causing that but again I just think they'll learn to retool, refigure it out, and they will do just fine.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and it's going to be a big – it's already happening – it's going to be a big boost for trades, which, by the way, we've drastically needed a shift in the trades for the past couple of decades. I mean, Scott, when you look out into the trades, and for those of you listening, you probably know this if you're in the trades, but most trades – are full of, I'm sorry to say, Scott, old guys like myself. In other words, the old guys are getting older. They haven't been replaced with new guys. They're hanging on longer, not because they, in some cases, need the money, but because the company needs them to be around because otherwise there's nobody to do the job, Scott. And that's slowly starting to change and pivot where you're seeing new kids now coming into the trades because it's so lucrative for them to do so.
SPEAKER 14 :
a good buddy of mine i ride with a lot on the weekends the week morning weekday mornings whenever i can his kids like 21 he's been in the uh the heating hvac business for a couple years now and the guy said he cannot believe how much money his son's already making yeah because of exactly that there is a dearth of young people and there's a there is a ton of opportunity for a guy like that that just wants to buckle down and look I don't think AI is coming in to replace HVAC guys or plumbers or electricians, car repair guys.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, no, where it's coming, where AI is coming in those industries, for all of you listening, Scott, you know this, but the scheduling of things, the ordering. Yeah. of certain things, maybe the order and how you do things, the writing of the job tickets and invoices and, you know, what parts are better than another and what are certain trends. Yeah, those are going to be things, Scott, that AI helps in the trades. But you are correct. There is, as of right now, and I don't see this any time in the future, there is no robot to fix your car.
SPEAKER 14 :
No, and so, again, I'll just elaborate a little more. I was listening to a recent interview with some of the OpenAI guys, and one of the things they were talking about, like in the biotech industry in particular, where they see a huge advantage as they're combing through all this data is just on all the paperwork and the filing that needs to be done. They said normally with people, they forget about the deadlines or when they have to file things or how long it takes, and they're like, With applying AI to these processes, as soon as a biotech company has a breakthrough and advancement, we can immediately be on top of it, have the paperwork lined up, ready to go, and we can cut months and man hours and all sorts of cost savings out of that process. So think about it, if you're a biotech company that's burning through tons of cash, that saves more money for you to invest in your research moving forward, and maybe it makes it quicker for you to get to the finish line and start becoming profitable.
SPEAKER 06 :
There you go. Great example. So again, I am not a Matt Walsh. I don't look at AI the way that he and a lot of others do. I look at it completely different. Maybe I'm the one that's being misled, Scott, but I really don't think so. I live and breathe and live in the world that you and I are talking about, and I just don't see it the way a lot of these guys are predicting. Fair enough. All right. Talk to us about the Fed rate cuts and what's likely to come.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, so one of the things we did not get last week with the current shutdown is the BLS labor market, sort of the hiring numbers.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 14 :
So all the proprietary data I look at, this index I put together, it looks like hiring slowed down again this past month. Okay. The ADP numbers we saw, I believe it was like last Wednesday, they were negative again. The prior numbers were revised lower. It's just, yeah, so... again, the Fed probably needs to do more to support the labor market. And we have a number of guys speak this week, one in particular, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York chairman or president, John Williams. He's also the vice chair of the Federal Open Market Committee, New York Fed chair always is. But he said, he came out and said exactly that. He said, look, we need to cut rates more to support the labor market. So if we go through and look at the makeup of the Voting committee right now, it's eight of the 12 voters are all dovish, meaning they're inclined to cut rates. So we're probably going to see another rate cut at the end of this month would be my yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
How much do you think?
SPEAKER 14 :
I think they're going to go another 25 basis points. They could do more.
SPEAKER 06 :
And then we skip November and there's one in December, right?
SPEAKER 14 :
One in December, yeah. And the market right now is pricing in a December rate cut as well, and then another, I believe, in March. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Now, that one's going to be interesting because you're going to see basically a Fed chair overhaul at that. Well, not March, but by March you're going to know what's happening in April, correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. All right. No, this is good stuff. Okay, so given all of this, what are some of the upsides? What are some of the things we should be looking at?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, so one of the concurrent things going on here is, so as the Fed keeps cutting rates, you know, we were just talking about potentially three rate cuts over the next six months.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 14 :
That's going to drop the interest payment on money market funds by another 75 basis points potentially. So they've gone from, they were like 5-ish, 5.2%, maybe 16, 18 months ago. They're down to like 3.9% now. We could be looking at close to 3% in the next six months, potentially. So, you know, that's getting closer and closer to inflation. Now, in the meantime, back when the pandemic first happened, I want to say the amount of money in the money market funds was around $4 trillion. That has exploded to $7.3 trillion, I believe is where the number is now. That's a lot of money in a short period of time. It took from, like, I think the records go back to 1970 to 2020 to get to 4.2, and in five years, we've doubled it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 14 :
So to me, when I think about that, I mean, if you see that payout go down from, say, 5.2 to 3.0, your interest payments just got cut in half.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, yeah, good point.
SPEAKER 14 :
To me, I mean, I think what you're going to see is you're going to see a lot of that money start to come out of the money markets. It's not going to completely leave it, but they're probably going to start looking for a better payout somewhere else, especially as that interest payment gets closer to the inflation rate. And I would expect that they're going to go back to the equity markets.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 14 :
So I think that will continue to power stocks even higher.
SPEAKER 06 :
Had a lot of questions coming in of late in regards to gold and sort of the run-on. And is this an indicator that things are really going to get awful moving forward? There's some folks out there saying that that's exactly what's going to happen. I'm also not... just me, Scott, I'm also not in that camp. I mean, gold does all sorts of things at different times for various reasons. Mainly it's based upon what people think the economy might do in the investing gold. And of course it's supply and demand. So the more than invest in the price automatically starts to go up. As you know, I see it being that more than I do anything else.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah. I mean, I think it's not only the scarcity value, but you also have a China is a big buyer of gold. Yeah. And so what, One of the things I've been reading about is China is trying to buy more gold to get away from the dollar because they're having a trade standoff with the U.S. Okay. And they're trying to pitch it to other countries like, hey, you should start storing gold with us. Look at all the gold we have here. And they're trying to make a case of why the yuan should become a more important currency. China has been fighting for this for years.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 14 :
And one of the arguments I might throw back against that, so we've heard this a ton since April. So the April data from the Treasury showed that there was a dip in U.S. Treasury purchases. Actually, it wasn't a dip. They were sold. The number dropped. The total value dropped. And a big part of that was China sold Treasury bonds. And sort of, you know, China's using it as a financial weapon, too, to try to drive yields up to make things more painful for people in the U.S. But so that story hasn't left the media. They keep talking about how, oh, my God. Foreigners are evacuating us assets. Nobody wants to own them anymore, blah, blah, blah. Well, I think we touched on this last time, but if you look at the trend, the most recent treasury data, which goes through, goes through July, we have touched new records over the last two months in terms of total, total foreign dollars invested in us treasury securities. I think it's the number was 9.2 million. Uh, I'm sorry, $9.2 trillion through July. And it's because other countries, not China. buying our debt again and I just think to your point of there's some out there in the mainstream broadcast media that are just they're trying to scare people and because they're they're losing viewership and they're they're trying to get more and they're trying to be more scare tactic and it's hurting them more I agree but it's they're trying to tell people something's going on in stock.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I agree with you. And I had a texter, again, asking that very question and, you know, what's going on. And, you know, you look at some of these guys that are out there that have podcasts and so on, and they talk about gold and, you know, the investment, you know, portion of and where it's going to go and so on. And one thing I'm always quick to remind everybody of is those persons that are selling those commodities, be careful when you listen to them because they're always going to be skewed in that direction because it's how they make money, Scott.
SPEAKER 14 :
That's exactly right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sorry, I don't know how else to say it. It's how they make money.
SPEAKER 14 :
No, that's exactly right. I was going to say the same thing. Like, just look at who you're taking this information from. And if they're trying to sell you a gold letter, then, hey, yeah, of course they are.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely, yeah. And, you know, it's like the preparedness. You know, I do a show on Fridays, 2 to 3 o'clock. We talk about preparedness stuff and so on. And, again, I do that in a little bit different slant than probably most quote-unquote preppers would do. But even those... prepper organizations and or websites or whatever. Of course, they're going to want to tell you how bad things are. Scott, they want you to buy their whatever, their food, their their storage, their this, their that. I mean, yeah, all those guys want to tell you the end of the world's coming tomorrow because they want to say something. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't be prepared in some of those areas and take note of some of those things. But, you know, do you need to go all in? And I would say, no, be very careful about what you're doing along those lines, because while the sky might be dropping, it's not falling.
SPEAKER 14 :
Exactly. And gold has had a monster tear. And, you know, God bless all the guys who have been saying, hey, gold's going to keep running. I get it. But I agree with you. Right. I don't think going all in on any one thing is ever a great idea. Now, look, can you be super successful doing that? You can, and you can be really lucky, but this is why I believe you should be diversified in your asset mix, in your portfolio, in your investing strategies. Now, if you're going all in on a sole proprietorship business that you own, yes, you totally should. But in terms of investing, you should have a mix of gold, you should have some Bitcoin in there, you should have dividend-paying stocks, you should have bonds. And that way, you've got a good basket that can navigate you through all sorts of environments, good and bad.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great point. All right. Ben Pine Capital. How do folks find you, Scott?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, sure. LinkedIn, Twitter, or Substack, C. Scott Garlis.
SPEAKER 06 :
Scott, always a joy, and I tell people this constantly, you know, you and I have been talking long before COVID. Frankly, there's not too many things that collectively we've been wrong on, and I'm not trying to toot our own horn, but we look at things pretty reasonably, rationally, I guess you could say, and we don't go off on these tangents on any one thing, and I think that shows, and I think you've got a great track record.
SPEAKER 14 :
I'm right there with you. I feel the same about you, John. I enjoy the conversations every week.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I appreciate it, Scott. You hang in there. We'll talk to you again next week. Thanks for your time. Have a great night. Again, Scott Garlis. And again, I'm very fond of Scott, mainly because he thinks a lot like we do. And I said this to a texter just a moment ago. Since even before COVID, all the way through COVID, and everything we talked about with interest rate hikes and so on, you know what? He hasn't really missed the mark yet. So if you really want to follow somebody that's really true to what's going on, he's a guy you can get a lot of advice from, and I mean that sincerely. Cub Creek Heat and Air Conditioning. Speaking of HVAC, like we were talking to Scott about, get that furnace tune-up special right now. Go to klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, we are back just kind of closing things out here for this particular hour, which there was news today coming out of the Guardian. It's been in other places as well. But the IRS is furloughing nearly half of its workforce due to the government shutdown. Now, I don't know exactly what that means. Or, you know, if you're in the middle of an audit or whatever, I have no idea what that actually means at the end of the day. But about 34,000 workers died. inside of the IRS are being furloughed until, of course, the government shutdown is ended and so on. I don't know exactly what this, again, does for those of you listening. My gut feeling is if you've got some things that you've been working on, those might get tabled for a little bit until things actually come back to uh to normality and again i i don't know so this is something that you'll have to do some research on on your own i just want to let you guys know that that's out there there will be backlogs and backlogs and delays and so on so you'll have to kind of figure some of that out on your own if that in fact is you and you've got some things going on with them as we speak but i want to throw that in as sort of a psa here before we end this particular hour all right one more hour coming your way rush to reason denver's afternoon rush klz 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm a rich guy
In this episode, Bill Gunderson and Barry Kite delve into the highs and lows of the current stock market, exploring new highs in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, and cautioning against a top-heavy market. They discuss the challenges financial analysts face as they navigate an environment marked by AI speculation and fears of a bubble. The conversation is rounded off with insights into capital gains strategies and a peek at the latest trends in biotech and quantum computing stocks.
SPEAKER 01 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome to the Wednesday, Thursday already, the Thursday edition of the Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management in a rainy Charleston, South Carolina here today. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. And a little bit of a mixed open to the market. We saw new highs yesterday in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ. They're both giving up just a little bit back here so far with the S&P down 11 points, 6,742. But as I said, it hit a new high yesterday. NASDAQ is down 28 after hitting a new all-time high yesterday. It's at 23,015. The Dow is the index that is leading the way in the green today. It's up 49 points. 46,650, and it's trading very near its all-time high. The 10-year, very quiet here today. It's at 4.13, very little movement there. Gold is actually pulling back a little bit today. I haven't said that in a long time. It's only at $4,064 right now after hitting a new all-time high yesterday. And silver, which has been on fire, closing in on $50 per ounce, it also hit a new all-time high. It's at $4,873 today, however, down a half a percent. And our friends over at Bitcoin have got a little rally going on, up $276,000 to $123,000. So welcome to today's show. Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. I'm seeing flood warnings, Barry, in Charleston in effect until 3 p.m. You know, we're the only place that it doesn't necessarily need to rain for a flood to happen because we right now have a king tide going on, which is an extremely high tide. I'm looking out at my dock, and I can see we're at a very high water mark. As high as it gets right now here in this neck of the woods. You've got to wonder the same thing about the market. Is this an omen? Jamie Dimon's warning today, the International Monetary Fund of all people. Our warning today about an AI double. Meanwhile, life goes on. All-time highs hit yesterday. And I still say you have to take it one day at a time. And you have to take it one stock at a time. And that's why I spend so much time going through each one of my holdings on an everyday basis. Because I feel like the market is definitely top-heavy here. Just look, it's like Bob Dylan said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. It's all you got to do is walk outside and you can feel the wind blowing. And that's all I got to do is every week when I publish my newsletter, a big part of that newsletter is taking a walk down the valuations avenue in the back alleys of Wall Street and looking at price to cash flow, price to sales, price to earnings on the major indexes. And as you have seen in recent editions of the newsletter, we're hitting some all-time highs, just like we're hitting here on the tides in Charleston today, which will flood downtown for sure. Our downtown, we don't call it the low country without any reason. Right, right. It's the low country. And guess what?
SPEAKER 03 :
It's kind of cool out there, though.
SPEAKER 04 :
It feels great. It's also chilly for us. And it's also filling all those nooks and crannies and tributaries that don't normally see water. And we're also seeing that in the market right now that I talked about yesterday. You know, I would say yesterday I saw a lot, you know, the creeks that were filling up yesterday were the gene editing stocks. Okay, so that's as far out on the spectrum as you can get, right? And, you know, I know ARK Funds has a lot of those gene editing stocks. There was a merger in that industry with one being taken out by one, I think, Novo Nordisk bought one of them. That's as far out as you can get. And I would just say when the tide starts to recede at some point here, that's where the most vulnerable areas of the market are. Biotechs, quantum computing, digital asset companies, companies that have built their model, their business model on having a cache of saloona, tokens or some other kind of digital currencies. They really have no other business strategy other than that. So basically they're a proxy. That's all they are for the underlying digital currency that they buy. So those are going to be some very, very vulnerable areas of the market, the rocket ship stocks, the space exploration stocks. The rocket ship stocks. Right, rockets to the moon. Okay, but anyways, the NASDAQ had a huge day yesterday, finished at an all-time high of 23,043. Was that the high-level mark? Well, I just assume when we hit new highs, I always draw that on my chart, a little line, say, was this the top for this current run in the market that we've had since April of this year, April the 8th. The S&P checks in at an all-time high yesterday. The Dow, however, is very close to it, not quite there. Gold was up 1.5% yesterday, hit an all-time high of 4,063. And on and on and on, round and round she goes. Where it stops, nobody knows. But we are getting some sobering warnings out there today that we'll go through. And we've also got one big firm, who I do not give a lot of credence to, saying we're in the early innings of this bull market. I don't know how anybody with the right mind can make that statement. This has been going on since 2009. Are we in the early innings of a bull market? I don't know about what this company is saying. We'll get to that in a bit. Well, let's begin with the top-down approach here. U.S. budget deficit narrows slightly. At least they've put the finger in the dike, right? It's not growing anymore. The budget deficit right now for 2025 is $1.8 trillion. In other words, we've spent $1.8 trillion more than we took in. It's narrowing a little bit. at least it's moving in the right direction. It's narrowing 4% from the prior fiscal year's deficit. And I would just say that you're not really counting in. There's going to be some big capital gains taxes paid this year. There's going to be some big receipts coming in early next year. Especially if the market starts to quiver between now and the end of the year, you're going to see some profit taking. And Barry, that always brings up the subject, is it better to lock in a big profit and pay the capital gain than losing that profit and not having the capital gain to pay at the end of the year? Okay, for me, that's an easy, easy decision to make. I would rather have what's behind door A, door number one, than door number two. And people that are exposed to short-term capital gains, you know, your only answer to that is their stocks have to be held in an IRA or a Roth to avoid capital gains. Or you have to have capital losses to offset those gains, and it has to be like for like. You can't offset a real estate loss. to offset capital gains in the stock market. You have to offset capital gains in the stock market with capital losses in the stock market if you have any that you're carrying forward. The third choice is not to make any sell, not to incur a capital gain, and watch your capital gain disappear when an eventual market correction comes along. Those are the three doors. Those are the three choices you have. You can't create a S-corp. You can't do any kind of trickery. There's no way around capital gains. Even though we dream about it, there aren't.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it's the old adage, right? We get bad news and good news, right? The bad news, obviously, we've got some tax liability, but the good news is, right? You've got some tax liability. You've got some tax liability.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, I mean, income, that means you made money, okay? All right, now the other factor on this budget deficit, I don't think that it really is counting much in the way of the tariffs yet. which are on full bloom right now coming in every month. So hopefully we'll continue to see that deficit narrow. Please, God, please let it continue to narrow. We cannot continue to add $2 trillion to our debt every year, year after year after year. Okay, when we come back, man, I'll tell you what, our military employees are getting very nervous, including my son-in-law at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. Will there be a paycheck next Tuesday? I think Friday's the deadline for them to end this government shutdown. I'm going to give you the latest on that in a bit. And some Fed governors on more Fed cuts weighing in today. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Docs Now show.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the biggest hang-up on this government shutdown, and we've got a lot of federal employees that listen to our show, Barry. We have a lot of military that listens to our show. I have a lot of people that I'm associated with these days that are in the nuclear program, in the Navy here in Charleston. I've got family in the military. My son-in-law over at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. The biggest hang-up seems to be the ACA subsidies for Obamacare. And Trump did update his position yesterday. He's not going to back down on that. He says we'll discuss that after the government shutdown ends. So that's really the key sticking point right now. And I'm getting text messages from my son. What do you know about the government shutdown? When is it going to end? Well, there's a little bit of nervousness out there right now. It doesn't seem to be impacting the markets at all. But when it impacts the paycheck, it's not like our military is living high on the hog. making a ton of money uh... they need those paychecks so anyways hopefully by the end of this week something will be uh... resolved okay uh... and on over across i'd i think it's a big deal uh... we'll just do this real quickly but for israel and hamas to agree to a ceasefire for israel to get the twenty living hostages back that's quite an accomplishment that's quite an achievement In the meantime, China tightens the export rules for crucial rare earths and related technology. Okay, so here we go again. And that seems to be their biggest hammer that they have on their side of the negotiation table. The announcement from the Ministry of Commerce clarifies and expands sweeping controls announced in April, which has caused massive shortages around the world and the rarer stocks here in America. I know MP is up 7% today. I know Critical Minerals, CRML, is up big today, 10% or 11%. And I imagine some of the others are also up. But anyways, this is happening. This is posturing, Barry. Guess who's getting together later this month? Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping.
SPEAKER 03 :
I wonder where we're at. Do we have a location yet?
SPEAKER 04 :
I haven't heard the location. I'm sure it's probably been announced by now. Not going to be Alaska this time, I would imagine. No, that's a long flight from Washington, D.C. It's a short little jaunt for Putin. But you'll have to look that up offline here and see if you can find that. But they will be meeting later this month. And Rare Earth on their side of the table and NVIDIA chips, I guess, on our side of the table. A couple of big negotiation points. Powell spoke, didn't say anything about policy at a Fed event. But I did see that another one of them, I'm trying to get to that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Government shutdown, do they get paid? I mean, I was trying to think, does the Fed get paid? I mean, do the senators or House folks get paid? Oh, they get paid, sure.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sure, but not the military guy.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was trying to figure that out.
SPEAKER 04 :
Schumer's going to get a paycheck, and Johnson's going to get a paycheck. They're the last ones to not get paid. But in the meantime, the little guy does not get paid. And that was one of the Republicans were floating a bill to say, hey, none of us get paid. if we don't come to an agreement here. So anyways, retail sales down, cooled slightly in September. I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's the New York Fed's Williams. He backs more rate cuts due to heightened labor market risk. I'm all for more rate cuts. but we don't want to bring inflation back you know we kind of go silver kind of gets lost in all of this gold hoopla silver is eyeing a historic fifty dollars an ounce mark fifty dollars an ounce it was not that long ago that it was in the high 20s as investors pile into precious metals And I think that precious metals are being seen as the safe haven in all of these perceived bubbles that are out there right now. That seems to me to be the area, the flight to safety, which it always is. I mean, when it comes down to it, precious metals are tangible. I have my doubts about cryptocurrency being tangible assets that you can sink your teeth into, that you can hold in your hand, right, like you can a box of silver coins or gold cougar rands, etc. Market concentration rises, but Goldman, okay, now there's about four or five macro outlooks out there that I want to go through here with you today. Goldman sees no repeat of the 1990s tech bubble. they cautioned that while valuations are elevated, they do not currently match the extremes seen during private market bubbles. According to the bank's analysis, the median 24-month forward price-to-earnings ratio across the seven companies, these are the big seven, stand at 27x or 26x when excluding Tesla, which carries a significantly higher multiple than its peers. So they've got to take Tesla out, number one, out of the top seven. And they're looking at the largest seven companies during the peak of the late 90s tech bubble and saying we're not there yet. Well, I said the same thing. We're not at 30 yet, but we're at 27. We're not very far from 30. So in my eyes, I remember back in 2000, I remember a lot of similar types of analysis being made and excuses being made. And I would say the word is rationalizing. So in other words, Goldman is kind of rationalizing away. Well, we're taking Tesla out. Okay, all right. So now there's only six companies. And Goldman is basically looking at the concentration, the companies that are... most heavily concentrated and they're naming those six companies and they're saying when you compare the valuation of those six we're not where the valuation of the top six were back in I don't know that that's the fairest of comparisons I think you have to look at the whole index myself because we've spread out to a lot of companies beyond just those fabulous seven And we are very close to where we were back. And you can't just look at forward P.E. ratio. What about the price to sales? We've exceeded that in the year 2000. What about price to cash flow? We're hitting a new high there, Goldman Sachs. And what about price to book value? We're also hitting a new high on the S&P and the NASDAQ indexes. I think you also have to take that into account also. So I think to just kind of brush aside the forward P.E. ratio on the top six stocks is a little bit short-sighted and maybe a little bit rationalizing the current ratios we're at right now. We'll come back with a couple other takes on this whole matter. This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. Now, back to the second half of the show. Thank you. And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Docs Now show. It sounds like Korea, South Korea, is where they're going to meet. They're going to have a big Asia meeting. powwow over there in late october four weeks uh... and uh... they will be meeting on the sidelines in korea south korea by the way we're not uh... at kim jong-un's house uh... so that uh... is going to happen and of course uh... china is posturing for that uh... already limiting those rare earth minerals okay here we go again Now, one last thing from Goldman Sachs on the sunny side of the street. They're probably more optimistic. There's one other one too that's very optimistic. Goldman Sachs does not believe that we're in a bubble yet. It says, while it appears we're not in a bubble yet, high levels of market concentration, I would probably put AI in that boat, and increased competition in the AI space suggest investors should continue to focus on diversification. Well, I would say diversifying in other areas beside AI stocks. But having said that, Barry. If the market were to go, all right, I mean, it went in 08 and 09. It went down 53%, S&P 500. 2000, it went down 79% NASDAQ. It pretty much takes everything with it. I mean, I don't care if you're diversified in drug stocks and insurance stocks. They go, too. So I can see how that would soften the blow on the downside, right, by being diversified. If you had all your eggs in the AI basket, the areas that went up the most are the most vulnerable. There's just no question about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and that's why I think it's the most valuable. When you mentioned, you know, as you've been sending out charts, you know, what are the first, and some of our internal discussions, you know, what goes first, right? I mean, you know, years ago, right, it was always, you know, biotech, right? Because, you know, biotech was the most risky space. I mean, you either, drug either gets approved or the company goes to zero, right? And then... Of course, now we've got all these other, as you've mentioned, quantum. Rocket ships. Small nukes, right? Small nukes. So those are the spots. I mean, I think it's key that you're pointing out, hey, if you're in these names, you've had a great experience up to this point, but keep a tight leash on them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, declared on a speech Wednesday about the uncertainty that is out there right now, and she did call out an AI bubble. So she disagrees with Goldman Sachs' take that there is no bubble, but there is danger, Goldman Sachs says. She's talking here, this is the one that stood out to me. She says another danger sign is the climbing amount of public debt. Now, Barry, I got another email yesterday from one of these institutions that's putting together private debt programs. I'm going to read the email in the last quarter of the show about this new fund that they're putting together of private debt, and it's going to yield over 10%. That would be the last thing I would be buying. I can't imagine anything. It's just how stupid I see Wall Street, just like back in the year 08 and 09 with the mortgage debt that they were packaging and selling. But anyways, the International Monetary Fund, which they don't normally warn on market conditions, Now, Jamie Dimon, he pretty much is always fairly pessimistic. But Jamie Dimon says the U.S. stock market could be headed for a serious correction, okay, within the next six months to two years. He really pinned that down, didn't he? Next six months to two years. Well, Jamie, can you be a little bit more specific than that, okay? uh at least we're at least we're good until the end of the year i guess according to meanwhile though they also probably have a lot of six month price targets right uh you know named at jp morgan so well and they're also packaging private debt uh tranches to uh to to sell to their uh their people to their clients and private company uh tranches that they're They're packaging together this stuff as fast. I don't know if JP Morgan's in on it. I know that Franklin Funds is in on it because I heard the CEO talking about how this is the hottest ticket on Wall Street today, private debt and private stocks available to the general public. In other words, shift the burden and the risk away from you guys, right, and shift it to the little guy holding this toxic waste. Anyways, NVIDIA chief Jensen Wang, and that's one of the reasons why you had the new high in the market yesterday. He says there's no bubble. But does Jensen Wang, doesn't he have a bit of a conflict of interest, Barry? He's heavily invested. His company is heavily invested in a lot of these private AI companies. And he differentiates the current surge in investment and valuation in the industry compared to the dot-com bubble in 2000, which seems to be the one we are most looking to right now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, the one big difference, I think, is that, you know, what it is, is they're essentially kind of building an ecosystem, right? I mean, they are, you know, he's making investments in these other companies that are obviously likely going to use, you know, in some form or fashion, NVIDIA chips to, you know, kind of make their way and do what they're doing on the AI front, whether it's healthcare or any other field. self-driving, all kinds of different things that they've invested in. But you do hear this thing where it's kind of almost like a circular revenue, right? I buy it from here. It's sestuous. I invest here, right? Yes. And I think you can kind of play that out. I think the real key is I think they're really kind of building an ecosystem, which an ecosystem is circular to a certain extent.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, okay, I mean, he makes the argument that there's very little comparison to the year 2000 because he said all the Internet companies combined back then were worth $30 to $40 billion, which is nothing in today's standards, right? He said increasing investments in hyperscalers and other infrastructure companies are growing naturally as a part of the half-trillion-dollar capacity build-out. According to Wang, hyperscaling is already a $2.5 trillion business with the capital expenditure of about $500 billion. But I still look at the multiples. Theirs were the common denominator. Between the Internet companies back then and the hyperscalers today, to me, the common denominator that you use are price to sales, price to cash flow. Because I heard the same argument during the Internet boom, the dot-com boom. You can't look at the P.E. ratios today like we used to look at P.E. ratios. We're in a whole new paradigm. Well, you know what? 30 times earnings is still 30 times earnings. It takes 30 years to get your investment back, whether it's a hyperscaler or whether it's a dot-com company. So that's the way I look at it. I look at a common denominator. He doesn't. Now, here's the company that's saying that we're in the early innings of this bull market. This is the most outrageous claim of all. This is according to Carson Group. This is a company I know a little bit about. They're out of Omaha, Nebraska, and they're buying up companies like myself like crazy, like hotcakes right now. They say that we are in Carson Group remains upbeat, arguing that the current bull market is still in its early stages. Viewed through the historical lens, man, I have a hard time with that assessment. They say the bull market is almost three years old. I would argue it began in 08 and 09 when the S&P hit 660, and now we're at 6,600. We're up, how many fold is that, tenfold since then? And earnings have been going up. This is not a three-year-old bull market, Carson Group. It's much longer than that. And I would argue against your assessment that we're in the early innings. We'll see if we're in the early. Only time will tell. If we're in the early innings of it, that means we've got, what, 20 more years? A long ways to go. Okay, the stock has been rebounding, and I wanted to get your take on this. I think this is a positive. Netflix was under some pressure because of the boycott called by Elon Musk and other tech giants on some of the agendas they apparently are pushing over their Netflix. They're going to bring video games to the TV screen in their latest push beyond streaming. I see that as a bullish development. You mull on that during the break when we come back. But I'm seeing some constructive movement in Netflix stock to the upside once again because it's still an earnings powerhouse. We'll be right back. And welcome back here to the final segment of this Best Docs Now show on this Thursday, October 9th. Yeah, the biggest question right now, is this a bubble? Is this not a bubble? Is it going to pop? When's it going to pop? How much further can it go? It depends on who you listen to, number one. Number two, it depends on the stock and the sector also. There's some massive bubbles out there in certain areas of the market, and I take it one stock at a time. And I look at all my holdings on a daily basis, and sometimes here recently we cut one that had done very well. We cut that position in half. Goldman Sachs was the name, and now we own half of what we own, and we locked in a big profit on the half that we own. And the other half may go soon. It just depends. I watch each one, and I draw lines in the sand. I think the market is much, much more manageable when you break it down into smaller pieces than just making a blanket call. The markets in the bubble sell everything. I mean, that's what amateurs do, right? And amateurs also say that we're in the early innings of this current bull market. That is just not... I don't like that thinking at all. I don't know how you can say that when this has been going up since 08 and 09. But that's just me. I mean, you have to choose your own gurus. You have to choose your own gurus wisely. What about playing games on Netflix? Is that a thing? I mean...
SPEAKER 03 :
I've never seen the kids do it, but, I mean, it sounds like they've got the infrastructure. It's a great idea. Right? I mean, like, you know, they play games. I guess you've got to hook it up to the Internet is the key, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Everybody's got the Internet these days.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I guess in terms of the information coming through, because I know they've had problems, you know, bandwidth problems with live events. Right. Right, and things. But to me, it would be great. You wouldn't be filling up with, our kids don't have a disc anymore. The program is downloaded onto the system. In this case, I guess you would have the game is coming from. Right. Netflix, you don't have it on your system. So my guess is I'm not an expert on bandwidth. My guess is you may need more bandwidth and better connectivity. Most of that's probably going to be on Netflix and figuring it out. But to me, it makes perfect sense.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, while we were in the Silicon Valley, we met with a couple who she has worked for Microsoft for years in the Xbox. Right. Remember that? I mean, it would be interesting to get her take on is this a threat? to PlayStation, Nintendo? Is it a threat to Sony? Is it a threat to Microsoft's Xbox? So anyway, something to think about.
SPEAKER 03 :
But I don't think... And most of the money is in the games, so it'd be interesting to see how that would... I know Xbox has been...
SPEAKER 04 :
talking about doing this for an extended period of time but it's just you know a subscription yeah closest they've came to is you know downloading the games onto your system instead of having a disc if you but i would make the argument that the stock netflix is not in the bubble for instance okay so it goes stock by stock all right i mean their stocks still have fairly low uh pay ratios and fairly low pe ratios including Jensen Wang stock Nvidia which I don't think Nvidia is in a bubble but I look at the downstream which we've been talking about the further the hinterlands the little streams that have filled up with money and private placements and convertible debt offerings and this and that and they're storing uh tokens and making monetizing tokens and whatnot that there's where your bubbles are right now something about tokens tokens are up like 50x yeah that's ridiculous can i can i buy a loaf of bread with a token no Alibaba signs AI cloud deal with NBA China. Okay, that's good. I mean, Alibaba's trading at still not even over 20 times earnings, really, but it is in a communist country. All right. A carotherapeutic sores on 5.2 billion acquisition deal with Novo Nordisk. Now, I believe there's bubbles in the gene therapy especially because that is really out there on the frontier. There's only been a couple of near hits really in the CRISPRs of the world. And you followed that for a long time. For a long time, yes. You still haven't seen much of a payoff. Not much coming from it, but a lot of money thrown at it. And Kathy Woods has backed up the truck, right, or the Cybertruck. and loaded up in that area. Orsted's cutting 25% of their jobs in America. Well, yeah, there's been a strategic shift away from solar and wind. And Orsted, obviously, is a European company. They're going to focus all their efforts on Europe, which is still pretty much all in on the wind. And the question is, is the answer blowing in the wind, my friend? And I'm not so sure it can run a data center is the problem. Now, here's another sign of a bubble. Wisdom Tree rolls out a quantum computing fund. Okay, right at the top. A lot of times that's the sign of a top when they say, okay, now we'll start. They should have started this a year ago. Iran is another one that I see as bubblicious, I-R-E-N. They price $875 million in convertible debt offering. Would you buy convertible debt on Iran, I-R-E-N, which I watch every day. It's one of the hottest stocks in the entire market. It's out of Australia. But when they can just do an offering like that and it gets gobbled up, $875 million of convertible bonds debt?
SPEAKER 03 :
On a stock like Iran, theirs were... Which could be dilutive, which is dilutive because those bonds could potentially be converted into equity, which is dilution.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it could never be able to be converted if it doesn't meet the... Right. The risk you're taking there is unbelievably high. It's extreme. And we'll close with this. I got a cute little picture I'm going to put in the newsletter this week. DoorDash partners with Serve Robotics for autonomous robot deliveries. I'm wondering when my lunch will be here. It shows this little cute little thing going down the street saying robot delivery coming from DoorDash. And, of course, this works on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, but obviously in areas where we live, Barry, I don't know how well it's going to work.
SPEAKER 03 :
It looks like it's from Star Wars.
SPEAKER 04 :
It does. It looks like R2-D2 delivering your submarine sandwich. Okay, to get in touch with us, to set up an appointment, are you in harm's way? I don't know. 855-611-BEST, 855-611-BEST to set up an appointment with us. or to get a free trial, four weeks, the whole enchilada, the newsletter, the app, everything, go to GundersenCapital.com. That's GundersenCapital.com. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 02 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIPC and FINRA.
Amidst pressing issues, Jacqueline Stapp discusses the burgeoning fentanyl crisis affecting communities across America. The conversation sheds light on how fentanyl, a lethal drug, is not just confined to urban centers but is seeping into suburban areas, posing a significant threat to young adults. Hear personal stories and gain insight into ongoing campaigns to combat the crisis, including President Trump's initiatives to save lives. Additionally, explore how the government's response to the crisis highlights broader issues of public health and safety.
SPEAKER 06 :
Breaking news today on Seculo with all the latest on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
SPEAKER 08 :
Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Seculo. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110.
SPEAKER 06 :
And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. Hey, welcome to Sekulow. This is Jordan Sekulow. As you can tell, I am at a different office right now, not in the studio, but we thought we had to come to you today with the breaking news from yesterday evening. It was in a key meeting. President Trump was in a meeting unrelated to Israel and Hamas or Gaza, and this deal that we've been discussing, of course, on the broadcast about Israel withdrawing, the IDF withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas demilitarizing, giving up control of governance of Gaza and allowing basically a team primarily of Arab nation peacekeepers to join in on the fight to do what the IDF was doing to secure Gaza for the Palestinian people that live there. And so instead of having the IDF do that. Well, yesterday in a meeting, there was this meeting and all of a sudden you see Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I think we have the photo we can put up on the screen for folks. You see Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the meeting. He whispers into the president's ear. And what we now know is that the president was told, as he said, that we are very close to phase one of the peace deal being signed and agreed upon by both Hamas and the state of Israel, and that he's got to be ready to go with a statement. And then not soon after that, President Trump did issue a statement on Truth Social about the deal itself. And in that statement, which we're putting up on the screen, and I think it's very key for all of us to, again, kind of, take this in for what it is and also realize it hasn't happened yet. But the statement says that they have agreed to phase one. Phase one is the IDF withdrawal of Gaza. the new international force going in. And then of course, part of that deal is that all hostages, both the bodies of those who were killed by Hamas and those who are still living. Now, Israel estimates that they still believe there are 20 living hostages. Hamas has not totally confirmed that. They haven't told in any statement said, no, it's going to be less than that. What's unique there too is that two of those 20 are individuals that we represented. We brought their brother. They are twins. We brought their brother to Washington, D.C. not long after the October 7th attacks that winter to meet with members of Congress and meet with our team. And I've got to thank Speaker Johnson again for setting up those meetings. They met with the top Democrats as well to bring attention to what happened on October 7th. And from, again, none of us wanted to be here two years later. for those twin brothers to return home. So there's that hope that they do remain alive and that they will return home. The other two clients that we represented in that manner, unfortunately, their loved ones were killed by Hamas and were executed by Hamas. So if that number is 20, it would be an unbelievable moment, obviously, for those families who have waited so long with so little information and for the Middle East itself. So we're going to talk about the ramifications of that. That's why I came to you live today right from outside of our studio, kind of a grassroots-y way to make sure we broke down all the information for you so that you're prepared for what may happen this weekend between Israel and Hamas and the Arab nations. I just think about if this deal moves forward, this is the most significant, I think, peace effort in the Middle East that we've seen in decades and would solve what has been a problem, a serious problem for the state of Israel and its Arab neighbors as well. The Palestinian issue, if you want to call it that. for the first time to say that we're going to move forward peacefully to negotiate what this looks like in the future with a governing body made up of a number of individuals, but not including Hamas. I mean, so, you know, it's hard to even imagine getting there, you know, two months ago. So we are going to, my dad's going to be joining us. We're going to be breaking it down for you. Share this with your friends and family. Pray. because no one has been released yet, and the piece has only been in place for a few hours at this point, but it is historic if we get there, and that's why we're joining you today on Sec. Welcome back to Sekulow, folks. We're joined by my dad, Jay Sekulow. This, again, as you see, I'm not in our normal studio, but I wanted to make sure you heard it from us directly, some analysis of what just broke yesterday evening between Israel, Hamas, the Arab world, the United States, which has been brokering this deal to, one, get to a ceasefire, between Israel and Hamas. Second, for Hamas to give up governance of the Gaza Strip, the return of the hostages. Israel believes 20 of those hostages are still living. Hamas hasn't said exactly that that's the number, but we hope and pray that it is that number and that they will ultimately return bodies as well. So this will be a first step. We'll see from Hamas if they can meet what they have agreed to. And I want to make that clear. Hamas has agreed to this. Now, until any of that happens, again, we have to be praying that it does. We've represented these families. One of those families, the brother of the twin brothers that Israel believes are still alive. Again, you can understand how they're feeling right now. One, that Israel has continued to confirm that they believe that they are living. And two, that they may be returned home over the weekend or at least early next week. I want to bring my dad right into the discussion, Jay Sekulow, our chief counsel. And dad, I mean, that's kind of point one, is that this would be... ultimately maybe the most historic peace deal in history if it goes through, in the Middle East, if it goes through the way that it is planned to. But even if phase one works, I mean, we haven't seen anything like this since the foundation of Israel. There's been consistent fighting and terror attacks and war since 1948.
SPEAKER 09 :
No, this is very encouraging. First of all, it would bring regional stability, not just to Israel and including Gaza and the West Bank, but it would bring regional stability to the Middle East. And that's very important for the rest of the world. You have to put this also in a context. Iran has been significantly degraded. over the last nine months because of President Trump's orders directly in our US military degrading their nuclear capacity. So you have that also happening simultaneously. We had the introduction of the first phase, what I call it, of the Abraham Accords. I think you're going to see this open up other countries to sign those accords in the very near future. You could already see that the regional players, including the Arab countries, are looking forward to this actually happening, because it will take pressure off of all of them. Of course, our initial and primary concern has been the hostages, because as lawyers, we were retained by those families, a number of the families, to represent their interests before international tribunals, which we did. You mentioned in the first segment, we did it in Washington, we've done it at the UN, we've done it at the European in the legislative chambers in Europe, including the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. So we have made an international effort here. And I think what you're about to see, and look, it's The details here are the key. It's not now what's been written. That's been executed. It is the implementation of this. Will we actually see the release of the hostages? And Jordan, as you just pointed out, are there 20? Are there 30? Are there five? We don't have a specific number. Israel's intelligence thinks there's upwards of 20. I hope and pray that's the case. I hope and pray there's more. But this is a very positive development. And I think you could see a radical change in the entire region.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, we know we were with Leron Berman and his twin brothers, Gali and Ziv Berman, who Israel, throughout the conflict, throughout these two years, and their photos are on the screen now, and he joined us in Washington, D.C., Israel has believed and put it out the message they believe that those twin brothers are still alive. And that would be a miracle, but it would also be, I think, something that, again, people weren't expecting this to even be the case anymore, that this could actually come to a close. The way that Prime Minister Netanyahu actually said that this will not be over and we will not stop until every hostage is returned. And with the decimation of Hamas, the decimation of much of the Gaza Strip, a lot of pressure on Israel because of their response. But, Dad, ultimately, if Hamas demilitarizes and returns the bodies and those living hostages, Israel did exactly what it said it would do. Well, that's exactly right.
SPEAKER 09 :
And look, I mean, this has been a very trying time for the entire region. Gaza's been devastated. And, of course, the atrocities that Hamas did. And you're negotiating with terrorists. So you're signing deals with terrorists. We've got to realize that. But there's a long-term play here of regional stability with the way that it's envisioned that Gaza will be redeveloped. And I think that with the leadership of Hamas, it's also been degraded and significantly eliminated that they had no choice here. If the military action of Israel had not been taken, this deal would never have happened. If the president was not a president, Trump did not successfully order the U.S. military to strike those Iran nuclear facilities. This would not have happened. So it took a culmination of months of efforts here to do this.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, you realize that Hamas was cut off from its allies. Iran no longer had the capability after those attacks to keep supplying them weapons. Most of their leadership has been taken out, even when they announced new leaders. The same for Hezbollah. So Hezbollah was not able to go in and assist Hamas as they usually would. And other radical groups, I mean, their leadership is just decimated. We're not even sure who exactly is claiming to be the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip right now. Usually they've got their entire face covered when they do any kind of media reports. They have some other political leaders, but most of them also have been taken out as well during this conflict. And I think, you know, Dad, it could rewrite history because we were getting to a point where the world was saying, you know what, this is too much from Israel. This is too much destruction, too much war. But as you just said, If this didn't all happen the way it happened, Israel would not be even thinking about right now any living hostages being returned, the bodies of those who were deceased, unfortunately, but those bodies being returned, and Hamas demilitarizing and allowing an international force, really a regional force of mostly Arab nation militaries to go in and secure the Gaza Strip instead of the Israelis having to do it. I mean... You think about that, hindsight's 20-20, but then you put it all together and realize everything that Israel did, including weathering this criticism and storm and questions about, did they go too far? Was it too aggressive in their response? Like you said, they wouldn't be here today, and they wouldn't be here today if the U.S. hadn't taken those aggressive steps on Iran as well. So we neutralized every single one of Hamas's partners. We made it clear that if you are a leader of Hamas, and Israel made it clear, even outside the Gaza Strip, that you were not safe. And so Ismail Hanei is no more. And their leadership that was inside the Gaza Strip, was totally taken out so they say you know that uh they're willing to give up governance they're willing to demilitarize and that i think if that does happen it's because they basically already have given up they can't govern anymore and they can't uh they have they have very little military weaponry left i think their capacity as a both a paramilitary organization as and as uh
SPEAKER 09 :
functioning governments is gone. That has also been degraded and decimated. They don't have the capacity to cover. So I want to say something to some of the naysayers out there that were questioning President Trump on this and including conservatives, by the way, and well-known ones. and also those that were taking this kind of anti-Israel stance and they were doing too much. We would not be here today, first of all, if Hamas didn't start these atrocities, number one. Number two, we would not be here today unless the military action of the United States and the military action of Israel in the region had not taken place. So without those two, nothing happens. Now you've got Hamas coming to the table, giving up governance, which they're not capable of doing because they have no choice. They're not doing this because they want to. They're doing this because they have no choice. So, you know, there's vital American interests at play here in the Middle East. considering Iran was threatening to cut off the Strait of Hormuz, which would have removed, I think, 65 percent of the oil and gas transports in the region and also to the rest of the world. So this end result is very positive.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I just want to play this flashback really quick for folks. This is November 7th, a month after the October 7th attacks. We brought those families of the hostages we represented to Capitol Hill. This is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson two years ago.
SPEAKER 01 :
We want to thank these families again for their courage and their willingness to share your harrowing stories. And I will say again and reiterate once more, we will stand against these atrocities, and we will stand with Israel, and we'll stand with each of you and your families. We'll be praying for you, and we'll be taking action because that's what we're going to do here. That's what it's called for. I know that your time is short and you have to leave. I want to thank Jay and Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice for helping facilitate the visit today. I know you have a tight itinerary, so we'll allow you all to step off the stage, if you will.
SPEAKER 06 :
So folks, again, that just underscores how long at the ACLJ we've been working towards this kind of moment, knowing that it was an uphill battle anytime you're dealing with a terrorist organization. But I think it's a great reminder of why you support the work of the ACLJ. It's not only the work that we do in the United States, but the work that we do around the world. As you know, Jeff Balaban runs the ACLJ Jerusalem office. We need your support. Donate today. at ACLJ.org.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Secula. We are going to be taking your calls in the next segment, 1-800-684-3110. Like I said, we have a packed show. We're going to pivot right now to a segment that I've been looking forward to having our guest on. I mean, it's obviously been a very chaotic few weeks, so things have really obviously taken an interesting turn in this country. But there is one thing that is very important to me personally, something that I believe every family has been affected from right now, and that, of course, is is the leading cause of death in America right now from the ages of 1845. And that, of course, is the fentanyl crisis that has been happening. And Jacqueline Stapp is joining us because there's a wild stat. But Jacqueline, you have been a part of this new campaign that I think is very important. It was one that when President Trump started really talking about this crisis, I was encouraged. It obviously comes after a lot of us have experienced personal loss from this, but at least steps are being made.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, thank you for having me. This is a very serious crisis, and our president could not turn away from this very big issue of children dying. And as you just said, between the ages of 18 to 45, this is a leading cause of death. And on day one of his presidency, he had a mission to save American lives. He could not turn away of these mothers coming to him crying of, you know, I found my son dead in the bedroom. Um, you know, these kids often don't know that these are counterfeit pills. You know, this is often accidental overdoses. Um, you know, taking these, these pills, they think are a Xanax or an Adderall and, um, you know, laced with grains of fentanyl and instantly they die. They stop breathing and die.
SPEAKER 05 :
Why was it important for you to join this and how did that happen as well? Because I think it's, um, It's great that this commission is happening, that this whole campaign is happening. You're out there, I've seen you on the road doing this because it is so important. But why is it, is it personal to you? I know you have kids, you have people that are dealing with a lot of situations where it's just... It's really tough. You walk around some of these major cities and you see half the ads are, you know, make sure to test your drugs. You know, like they're promoting things like this. And sadly now that's become the norm. But hopefully what you are all doing is going to be reversing the course completely.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, I'm a mother of three. Any parent wants to make sure your kids go off to child. I think I read somewhere that they have these actual test kits. They're giving kids at colleges, some of the parents were sending their kids off to college, giving them a test kit to check for fentanyl in their drugs. And you're hearing about this so often, And any parent wants to make sure your kid goes to school and gets an education, is not going to accidentally overdose. I've had friends and family pass away. I've had parents telling me I had to resuscitate my son in the front yard as he's vomiting. And it's just these horrific stories. And it's happening too frequently. And President Trump, under his amazing leadership, is doing exactly what he said he was going to do, control the border, Hold these drug dealers accountable. But this campaign is intended to spread awareness to the dangers of to these children, the dangers of fentanyl and how easy it is to to open. overdose. What you think you're taking is not. No drugs are good for you. But these drug dealers have really gotten very shrewd and clever with ways of getting this cheap drug out into the street. So he's working really hard. There's still a lot of work to do. But if we could just start talking about it in the schools and churches, everyone knows about the opioid crisis and knows someone directly or indirectly that's been affected by it or has passed away from it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and I think that's maybe one of the big misconceptions that are out there is that a lot of people have heard about how lethal fentanyl is, but they still kind of think of it maybe as something that happens in a big city. Yeah. And similar to like the heroin crisis where, yes, I understand that these very powerful drugs exist and in that people can overdose from that, but that it's not affecting what high schoolers may experiment with or do things that they shouldn't be doing. They're not realizing that this crisis is affecting suburban high schoolers and people in college. It's not in the seedy underbelly of the urban centers of our country. It affects everyone and can affect everyone lethally.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that's right. And exactly what you said. It's not that stereotypical person you see on the side of the streets that's struggling. Yes, they matter. But these are children that are going to these house parties or buying a pill from a friend. They don't intend to take their lives. This is accidental and they don't know. And, you know, also. On social media, there's these new ways on Snapchat. These kids are learning this type of secret code word and languages where they're buying pills from these dealers on the social media. And so we've got to put a stop to this. These lives matter. And our president is really trying to tackle this issue. It takes a village and there's a lot involved in this. And we're grateful for this privately funded multimillion dollar campaign, Make America Fentanyl Free. And, you know, there's resources on the website, but we've got a lot of work to do. And I thank you guys for helping us get the message out there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, whatever you need from us, we're all on board because this is very important to us specifically. And we've talked privately about that. And this is something that I really want to make sure that our audience gets behind, understands the seriousness of it. And it's not, Will, as you said, just an issue that's happening, like you said, in sort of downtown areas, happening with the unhoused homeless population. This is happening online. everywhere like you said the number one cause of death and it can be easily stopped maybe not easily but with people like you involved it can i have to say also the ad campaign that's running is phenomenal uh the ads if you haven't seen them they are incredibly powerful maybe we can pull one up and show one a little bit later uh this week on the broadcast because or next week because they really are um hitting home for a lot of people. So, Jacqueline, I just want to say thank you. We'll make sure we link everything to promote this campaign. This is one of those moments, Will, where I'm excited when we have President Trump taking action on something that we've known for years was a problem. That's right.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is something that has been talked about, but I feel like the action One, to explain to the people of our country about how it can affect them personally has been lost. There was that disconnect. But this is kind of a new way to, one, reach the people as well as make everyone aware, whether it be grandparents all the way down to people that are in school, be able to understand the real dangers of this. And while we are doing things on the border to try and stop it coming in this country, we also know how much is already here and how real that danger is. That's right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Go check out those ads. Check out all the great content. Jacqueline, I believe it's just at MakeAmericaFentanylFree.com is where you can find everything.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you so much. Yeah, but we'll make sure we get that out there. Hey, when we get back, we do have a second half hour coming up on our broadcast. I want to make sure you're joining us for that. If you don't get us on your local station, find us broadcasting always on ACLJ.org, on YouTube, on Rumble. We are there broadcasting to millions of people each and every week. Be a part of that team there. Again, the easiest way is to go to ACLJ.org or download the ACLJ app. We are live Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. You can work your way back from there. You can figure it out, whatever time zone you're in. And, of course, you can watch us or listen to us later on, however you get your podcasts, however you get your video content. We're there. You can follow us on all the social media platforms. But why me? The most important thing, and we're going to take some of these in the next segment, is we want to hear from you. We just heard from Jacqueline Stapp, who was part of President Trump's Make America Fit and All Free campaign. We're going to hear from Rick Grinnell coming up, head of the Kennedy Center, former ambassador to Germany, former director of national intelligence, currently also serving. And of course, we're going to hear from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. No other show has this kind of expertise, has people who have been through it or are currently living it. And that only happens because people like you support this broadcast and support not only the media operation, but the legal operation of the ACLJ. So I encourage you. We only have a minute break here to make a donation of any kind at ACLJ.org. Stand up today. We couldn't need you more. We need you right now.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 today. We appreciate it. Always get your comments in. You can do that on our YouTube live streams. You can do that on Rumble or however else you watch the broadcast. Great different ways you can always interact with our team here. Today on the show, I wanted to give a little bit of a look back. It's an encore presentation kind of show. And these are important to me because I think when you do something daily, like the way we do here at the ACLJ, There's incredible guests, incredible content that comes on sometimes because it's daily. They come and go. You miss it. You don't get to see or learn or get the information from these incredible guests. So throughout this show, you're going to see some great content that we have produced over the last couple of weeks. Great guests. We're going to cover so many different topics, Will. Topics that you need to be informed about and make sure that you're always staying engaged with us. That's what we do here at the ACLJ. We want to give you a really broad scope. The work here at the ACLJ when it comes to our legal work, the scope is still now pretty wide. Of course, it's First Amendment, freedom of speech, religious liberties. Those are core topics. But that can almost fit into almost any topic that's going around the world right now.
SPEAKER 07 :
That's right. And when you see a show like this, we're able to showcase not only the talent that we have that come onto the show and give that great analysis, but also how it weaves in with all the great legal work that we're doing, whether it be in D.C., around the country or even around the world. The ACLJ has a presence and a mission, and it's something that we conduct every single day. And so when you get to hear this and you hear how all these pieces fit together over several weeks of content, it really makes an impression about how large the organization is, how impactful we can be. But also, when there is something that rises in the news, there is an angle for the ACLJ many times to be involved, to give expert analysis on, and that's what we continue and strive to do every day.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Jordan, that's what's really going on even in our DC offices. We're expanding those as well because a lot of the topics that we do here at the ACLJ, they've now grown and expanded to really cover almost every arm and facet of what's going on in Washington, DC.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. So we've opened up really... significantly increasing our footprint when it comes to government affairs and policy so as well as the legal side and of course the attorneys are able to assist with the policy because it's law making but then you're also able to bring in these policy experts who know how to put into legislative text know how to read through and we've launched ACLJ Action the C4 that can be more politically engaged it can do even more on Capitol Hill on the causes we care about and also brings us into new issues And so it puts the ACLJ stamp on more issues than ever before. So I would say while we are still focused on our core mission, we are able to, especially in these years like the Trump administration, expand the work that we are doing. And that's because of all of our supporters. And you'll learn about that through this broadcast today because it's not just the kind of top three issues you think about.
SPEAKER 07 :
There's a lot more. And Jordan, one thing I even want to bring up as you mentioned that, that Senator Hagerty, when he was on the broadcast a few days ago, mentioned that when they found out about that spying program, one of the first people he called was you. Yeah. Because that is what the ACLJ is able to provide, whether it be elected members of Congress who we've represented on briefs before the Supreme Court for decades, whether it be they need advice to know how they should proceed or being looking at the expertise of the ACLJ. Whether it be a sitting U.S. Senator, a sitting president, or whether it be all the way down to someone who their faith or their rights are being violated by their local public school, the ACLJ is there to fight for those people.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right. I want to give you this opportunity right now before we head into break. Get your comments in, obviously. We always have comments open. Even when we do some of these best of shows, comments are open. You can always know that there's someone on the ACLJ team monitoring those, reading those comments. So make sure you do that if you're watching online. Keep that conversation going. But I really want to encourage you to become a supporter of the ACLJ. If you hear this show, if you watch this show, whether that is on radio, whether that is on YouTube or Rumble or however you may get it on the Salem News Channel, no, we're not getting paid by the major sponsors that you're hearing on those networks. A lot of that goes to the network. So we encourage you to become a member of the ACLJ. We call it ACLJ Champion. So do that today. That is at ACLJ.org. You can scan the QR code that's on your screen if you're watching right now to become a champion. That is a monthly donor. Do that today or give a one-time gift at ACLJ.org. Again, that's at ACLJ.org. We'll be right back with more on Seculo. Welcome back to Sekulow, packed back half of the show. Rick Grinnell's joining us right now. Rick, obviously we're in the middle, or middle of day two, I guess, of government shutdown. And look, we've been talking a lot. The first half hour, really, up until right now has been all about Israel, the holy days, of course, this attack that happened in Manchester. But I did want to pivot because last night I got a text even from you that we are in the middle of this government shutdown. We actually spent a good portion of the last segment talking about the arts and how the arts have majorly made a comeback at the Kennedy Center. There's been a bit of a change of tone, even coming from the mainstream media. You have seen, you were on CBS to announce, I loved that, on CBS this morning, announcing honors, and that cast of people on the couch was like, man, I've been wanting George Strain in this forever. They were so glowingly excited. Obviously, it's on their network. They're not going to like, But, you know, when there's the words President Trump involved, you never know what they're going to say. And they seemed largely very excited about this. And now you even have other content returning. You people who have been going after you, been going after the Kennedy Center say, well, you know what? We got to give it to Ambassador Grinnell when he is able to pull off some pretty big wins.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, we were pretty excited over the last, I'd say, two or three weeks. We've had some really big wins. We're bringing back the Vienna Philharmonic, which hasn't been in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center in 14 years. And we brought them back. We're bringing Sugart Ballet. You know, they haven't been here in decades. We're bringing in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. And then this past weekend, we had the gala, the Kennedy Center Gala, Black Tie, big fundraiser for the National Symphony. And we almost tripled the amount that we've raised, literally breaking every fundraising record we've had for years. the gala and had 50% of the crowd brand new people. So I think that people are beginning to say, you know, when you do big common sense programming, as President Trump wanted us to do, you're going to get big support. And we're finding that whether it's Les Mis or the Sound of Music, which is on till Sunday, we're just bringing back the big common sense programming. And I think it's really popular. This is what you're looking at right there is the Library of Congress. The young von Trapp singers who sing every night at the Kennedy Center utilized the foyer there and the acoustics. And so the kids got together and sang a little rendition. And it's glorious. I mean, it's really beautiful, especially in that room with all those acoustics.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. And I'm so thrilled that you're doing this. And I'm also thrilled that the arts are thriving. Like you said, when you do programming that can reach the masses, all of a sudden they show up, as you said. I think that's something that shouldn't be pooh-poohed or laughed at or anything. And look at the content. It's not like you're bringing in things that anyone should be. This is what's coming to a lot of major cities, a lot of major theaters. And of course, the Kennedy Center should be providing that great content. Now, this does come at an interesting time. You're in the process of redoing the Kennedy Center, spending time raising money for it as well. But we are in the middle now of day two of this government shutdown. You've lived through these shutdowns before. I think we spent about an hour yesterday, Jordan and I, just breaking down, people, what this looks like. Because I think a lot of people who have never been... They've been through a government shutdown. They maybe just never knew they went through a government shutdown because they were not politically attuned to what was happening. And a lot of us over the last eight years, you could say 10 years, got a little bit more attention being paid to what was going on in the news. I even received texts from people who, you know what, maybe last time they were in their early 20s and now they're in their mid 30s and they're going, what does this mean? What does this mean? As someone who's lived through it, I want to give you that opportunity as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, newsflash, it's like a government shutdown every weekend, right? The government is shut down all weekend. Sometimes if you're looking at the Senate, it's usually a three or four day weekend every weekend. And so I don't think that this is gonna be missed very much if it doesn't go on for that long. But one of the things I saw Bernie Moreno, my friend from Ohio, talk about how members of Congress, both the House and the Senate, should not get pay And what we're talking about is back pay once all of this is settled. You know, this is the kind of trickery that the government does, is that government bureaucrats are furloughed. They don't have to show up to work because it's a shutdown, but they all get their money back when this is done. So we at the Kennedy Center, we have a small portion of our staff, which is federal bureaucrats. bureaucrats, and that's federal employees who work on the Kennedy Center as a monument because it's a monument to John F. Kennedy. So a small portion of our individuals are federal employees. I've told them, we're just going to keep paying you. We'll figure out the pay, but you got to show up to work because I know what's going to happen.
SPEAKER 05 :
and a week or two they're going to figure it out and then they want me to pay everybody back pay after they didn't show up so i just said show up we're going to keep paying you we're going to figure it out but no one at the kennedy center is going to be furloughed that's good to hear that the furloughs but we do know this affects people and like we said and you brought up is for the mass majority of people they're not feeling the effects of this yet they aren't going to feel the effects of it likely it'll get done before they do now obviously there is a group of people who Their jobs have been furloughed. And President Trump this morning even kind of put out a statement going, well, this does give me the opportunity. And I think, look, this has been a bit of what people voted for with President Trump is to look at these departments and go, OK, what is actually necessary? What are we doing here? Have we over bloated a lot of these departments now? I'm not for anyone losing their job. I think we need to be very clear about that, especially in these really tough times for a lot of people. But if the door opens, you're able to go, OK, now let's see who's really doing what needs to be done. It gives that opportunity to President Trump and his team to start making those cuts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Look, I view it slightly a little bit differently in that the American taxpayers have a group of people, public servants, who work for them. And if we need to constantly right-size the government and make sure we don't need that many public servants, then they go find work somewhere else. I don't feel bad about that at all because the reality is we've got a lot of people working really hard and the federal government and the state government and the local government is taking a lot of money. If it's not producing, then I would say let's right-size the government, not feel bad about it. We haven't done this in decades. We keep adding people. I can tell you just from my little perch at the Kennedy Center, We had massive numbers of people in different departments that hadn't been looked at. We have rooms that haven't been touched since 1973 inside the Kennedy Center. No revamping. And it's just outrageous that leaders allow themselves to just sit in seats and let things happen. completely unfold without taking hold and asking the tough questions. So I hope our politicians in Washington are constantly saying, and cabinet officials are saying, what are we doing? Is this the appropriate number of people? And when you let people go, thank you for your service. This is all of our tax dollars. Let's not feel bad about it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Maybe that's a good point. And I think that maybe I don't feel bad. We had a couple of callers call in that were like, you know, I'm President Trump's one of the biggest supporters. However, I'm furloughed right now and I'm nervous. And I get that. I get that understanding of being like, I'm nervous for my job. But you are right. It's a country where there are a lot of opportunities where people who are qualified for these jobs can go find other places of employment. You're right. Sadly, it had to come to this point. It wasn't that you had someone minding the shop, if you will, making sure that we were staying on track, that we weren't overbloating these things. Like I said, you had rooms in the Kennedy Center that haven't been touched since the 70s. I think people would be appalled by that when it comes to what their funding is going to.
SPEAKER 03 :
Look, I don't think our forefathers ever envisioned that Washington, D.C. would be a city that is untouched by the economy or layoffs. It's supposed to be the capital city. It was supposed to be a city that you were never really from. You went there for a short period of time and then you went home. That was the whole vision. And now we have Washington, D.C. as a big, bustling city that never gets budget cuts. And so that wasn't the vision. to have a permanent bureaucracy, people who work for the federal government for 25 years. I think we've got to move a lot of these agencies outside of Washington, move them to the rest of the country, have different types of people who have the headquarters. I'm talking about the headquarters not being in Washington, D.C., and moving them outside. I think that would really benefit all of the taxpayers, and we need to make decisions for all of America.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's not just so you don't have to spend less time in D.C. I feel like that's the you're like, we got to move these departments out of here. Why? Because Rick is like, oh, we got you muted.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hold on. Go ahead. Manhattan Beach would be a great place to put one of those agencies. Fantastic.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Nashville, too. Yeah, absolutely. We'll take it. We'll take all the people coming in. Rick, thanks for joining us today. I am really excited about what you're doing with the Kennedy Center. Of course, that's something, the arts is near and dear to my art, so it's always nice to have that connection. But I am very excited for new programming and for the... the tone to finally come down a little bit. People were going after you, were going after what was happening there, but I think they're at least even seeing the writing on the wall that you may have had a couple people say, we're not doing this, but for the mass majority of the people and mass majority of performers, they want to be involved in what you're doing at the Kennedy Center.
SPEAKER 03 :
We got like 20 seconds, but go ahead. Look, I appreciate that. It's a testament to all of the individuals at the Kennedy Center who are trying to get big, beautiful programming, things that are popular, the people that want to come see. Everyone is welcomed. Everyone should be coming.
SPEAKER 05 :
Awesome. Thanks, Rick, for joining us. When we get back, I want to hear from you, whether you want to respond to what Rick had to say about the shutdown or... the arts but of course we're going to continue our conversation about the attack in Manchester the synagogue the high holy days here that we are right now your support of Israel maybe the rights move away from supporting Israel what do you think is cause of that do you believe any of it's true give me a call 1-800-684-3110 now's the time to call in 1-800-684-3110 got a few lines open give us a call right now support the work of the ACLJ by the way you're not going to hear this kind of show anywhere else by going to ACLJ.org and making a donation today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back to Seculo. Now we're going to go to our Washington, D.C. studios where Jordan sat down yesterday afternoon with Senator Bill Hagerty from Tennessee. Let's take a listen.
SPEAKER 06 :
We're in our Washington, D.C. studio. I'm with Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. We're both Tennesseans. And Senator, something you've been working on for months has been the safety of our cities. And This has been a discussion President Trump has been having about Washington, D.C., our capital city. Now we've talked about places like Chicago. We've talked about Los Angeles and New York. But there are cities in our home state as well, the city of Memphis, which is getting some attention now. And I wanted you to talk about kind of the efforts to make Memphis safe again for its residents and for those visitors, too.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's also a problem that's challenged Memphis and West Tennessee since I was a kid. To just share a very personal story. When I was 14 years old, my godfather was assigned his first ministry in Memphis. His son was my age. I was invited over during the summertime. I'm from Gallatin, Tennessee, a small town in middle Tennessee. And I was invited over to spend a week or so in the summer ministry. And my parents ultimately decided that they were concerned for my safety, and they did not let me go. You roll forward. I recruited, when I was Commerce Secretary of Tennessee, a major employer to come to the state. The average salaries ranged from $90,000 to $120,000 per job. Okay. And this was over a decade ago. The CEO called me and he asked if I could get him crime statistics for Tennessee that suppressed Memphis. So this is an issue that has been going on and it's been troubling us. We've been trying to attack it in different ways. And many of my predecessors and colleagues have worked on this. But through the pandemic, we've seen it step up dramatically. Yes. And during the pandemic, Shelby County schools basically did away with truancy requirements. They've yet to reinstate them. You've got a lot of kids that have been out of school for years now. And you've got some very hardened gangs, hardened criminals there that are running these younger boys, basically, and committing heinous crimes, which has resulted in Memphis attaining a very unenviable place on the roster of crime. And that is, on a per capita basis, one of the highest crime rate cities in America. The time has come to do something about it. Immediately after the 2024 election, I began talking with the mayor of Memphis and also with the sheriff of Shelby County and with a number of leaders there in Memphis, Tennessee. They definitely want to see something done. They do. And my view was that we're in a position to actually bring federal resources to bear to help. Our decision was to work quietively, but very, you know, very much work together to try to leverage federal resources to see if we could make a difference. And my hat's off to Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, who, as they went through the confirmation process, you know, and the Senate has to confirm members and the FBI director. They both agreed with me that they would prioritize Memphis, and they absolutely have. Last Friday, we just finished the first major phase of this federal effort. We more than trebled the number of FBI agents in Memphis that started in late July, and it took a while to plan all of this. But again, we've done this in collaboration with the Memphis Police Department and with the-
SPEAKER 06 :
Has there been good support there from the local leaders in Memphis, from the mayor, from the police department?
SPEAKER 04 :
At the ground level, I couldn't ask for better collaboration. The FBI has done a great job working together with the police department, with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. We've added DEA resources to this effort as well. But this initial effort resulted in 500 arrests, Jordan. And you understand this process better than most, over 105 federal indictments already. And that number is going to grow as these cases are worked up. Again, the effort just came to an end. The initial effort just came to an end on Friday. President Trump has been supportive of this all along. When he saw the initial success, he said, let's make every resource available from a federal level. Because what I want to see happen, Jordan, is I want these hardened criminals, these gangsters out of our state. To do that, we need to charge them federally. So the Memorandum of Understanding that came out explicitly names the agencies that will be involved. And it's every three-letter agency that you know. That includes HUD. That includes the IRS. You think about these criminals that have illicit income.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 04 :
The same as Al Capone. Right. We can get them on IRS federal charges. If you think about criminals that are utilizing HUD facilities or SNAP benefits, you just sort of go down the list.
SPEAKER 06 :
You're talking about cleaning up a city completely.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're talking about cleaning it up. And federal charges means they're not in the Shelby County Jail near Memphis. They're in Leavenworth, and they're there for a long time because federal charges are very different. You don't have the same lenient bail situation, and certainly you don't have the same lenient parole situation that you do at a state level, at a local level.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, Memphis has a professional basketball team, and I've heard from former players who said they would tell new recruits not to play in Memphis because of the crime. I mean, we've heard that on a lot of the NBA podcasts. And, of course, if we can turn that around quickly— You know, that can change in a matter of weeks, it looks like.
SPEAKER 04 :
Of the many resources that are coming to bear, one of those is the National Guard. Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, at President Trump's request, is going to deploy the National Guard to Memphis. I think that has caused a lot of consternation. And I think from sort of the business class in Memphis worried about what does that do to the city's reputation? Can we recruit people here? I think a lot of politicians... are going to call this an invasion. They just watch what Gavin Newsom is saying or what Governor Pritzker is saying in Illinois, and they're copying that. But at the end of the day, when these resources come in, and I've talked extensively with the mayor about how you might deploy the National Guard. He's talked with me about urban blight. It affects every major urban city, but it's an issue in Memphis. The National Guard can help with that. They're not there for law enforcement, but they're there to support the entire effort. And I think the neighborhoods, just as they have in Washington, D.C., will welcome the presence. I think the most important thing is that as we come in and we put heavy up on law enforcement there, I'm talking about DEA, ATF, the FBI again, as we heavy up the law enforcement and we really take a major step to clean out the hardest core criminals here. incumbent upon me as a member of the Appropriations Committee in the Senate and on the governor. We're going to look for the federal aid and the federal resources, I should say, and the state-level resources that Memphis needs to sustain this in the long term. Because Memphis has been historically short when it comes to law enforcement resources. They've had recruitment difficulties because of a local elected DA that George Soros got behind with $600,000 and put into office, who then proceeded to basically not try people and let them go. That has been demoralizing to the local police. That's going to change, and we're going to make certain. The governor and I have spoken about this extensively, and the mayor has been very clear with us. He's actually given me a list of what he needs. That's great. The resource requirements are significant, and we're going to do everything that we can to put those resources in place long-term so that Memphis is sustained as the safest place Hopefully the safest, certainly one of the safest cities in America.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. I mean, Tennessee is becoming such a dynamic state. You don't want Memphis to be left behind with, you've got cities like Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, all kind of moving forward. I mean, you keep going through the list. Memphis isn't on that list right now because of the crime. If Memphis is on that list, I mean, the state becomes that much more dynamic.
SPEAKER 04 :
I pose the question to one of the new industries coming in, the folks running XAI. That's the big hyperscaler that's in Memphis. It's a huge investment that's coming in, $70 billion thereabouts that's coming in, and a lot of other companies that are interested in being part of that ecosystem. And the management of XAI said, in response to the notion of having, for example, National Guard resources there in Memphis, would that be a deterrent to those companies that are thinking about coming? And the response was, no, everybody knows there's been an issue. This actually shows that you care about it. You're doing something to fix it. And that is absolutely the truth. And I have to compliment local leadership who've been willing to work alongside us. I certainly compliment the governor who's been willing to put the resources to bear. And you know, and you've got to pledge for me that I'll continue to work my heart out with my colleagues in the Congress, David Kustov, Congressman Cohen from Memphis, certainly Senator Blackburn. We're all working together. Thank you. Thank you, Senator.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you so much. To support the ACLJ, go to ACLJ.org.
Join Angie Austin and Jim Stovall as they delve into the importance of recognizing and honing your strengths in order to lead a fulfilling life. This episode explores Angie's memorable trip to California, where she revisited old friendships and showcased the value of maintaining strong personal connections as per the Harvard Happiness Study. Jim shares insights from his 'winner's wisdom' column, emphasizing the significance of playing to one's strengths and discovering personal gifts.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here's Angie.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, it's the good news with Angie Austin and Jim Stovall. And today we are talking about his winner's wisdom column. And this week it is titled Defile It. Hey, Jim. Hey, always good to be with you. You know, I just returned from nine days in California with my girls. I don't know. It's been a long time since it's been just me taking the girls on a trip without my son, who's in college right now, as you know. he had a big like young life camp this weekend where hundreds of kids came from different colleges and they all met up in the mountains. So he did that. And then my husband was here taking care of, you know, all of the pets and of course his business. So it was, uh, it was, it was fun. We did. Oh, I didn't get to see your place in San Diego, but we did go to mission Bay, which I think is close to your favorite place in San Diego.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. My, I will be out there in two weeks and, uh, My little island, Paradise Point, is right there in the upper end of Mission Bay. So you were right there.
SPEAKER 04 :
And what's yours called, your place?
SPEAKER 02 :
It's called Paradise Point. And it's a little island you get to on a little causeway. And it's about a 30-acre island there in the upper end of Mission Bay. And it's fabulous. And it... Love the water there because it's so calm because you're in the bay. Yes. Crystal loves to kayak there. And she goes out and across the bay are the giant Navy ships. So I told her to. keep her kayak away from the aircraft carrier. Other than that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I'd say it was about low 70s. We went to the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, which isn't far from there because they have slides for the kids in the pool. So yeah, we have to go to the more still kid-friendly place. And there's always Coronado Island, which is so beautiful. But I stayed with a friend there. Yeah, we did it all. We did the Fright Night at Universal Studios and we did Venice Beach and Santa Monica. We drove up to Santa Barbara and they got to see, you know, just where I used to do weather and, you know, my little station up on top of the hill and all that jive. So it was neat. They got to see a lot of different places. Oh, and All my girlfriends from California, they threw me at birthday parties. So as you know, my big thing now is that Harvard happiness study with keeping those friendships and relationships that you have, how that's the biggest indicator of happiness. And I saw one girlfriend who I hadn't seen in 24 years. And we were like, we worked right near each other at NBC. We were best of friends. And we both started to cry. It was like, so, you know, that's such a great feeling when You're so happy to see one. It was like you just saw him yesterday. I just started to cry. I was just overcome with emotion.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you know, that's the best times. It's the best. And late in his life, I was able to reconnect my father to one of his childhood friends. And when we got them together, I said, when did you guys last see each other? And they both thought about it. It was 81 years ago. What? Yeah. But they came in, hey, Glenn, good to see you. How you been? What's going on? Like they saw each other the day before yesterday, you know?
SPEAKER 04 :
And how old was your father?
SPEAKER 02 :
He was 92 at the time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, and they were 81. Oh, my goodness. That is so wild. Oh, I love friendships. Connections are the best. Okay, so this week we're talking about the column titled File It. What's this about?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, this is about doing the things you're good at, playing toward your strengths, and staying away from your weaknesses. And one of the things I love here in my business is I have a file out there where we go through the mail and all the stuff, and that's for my accountant. And any paperwork comes in, you know, IRS paperwork, government paperwork, all that stuff that has to be filled out, I am just so excited to put it in the file. And Mark gets to worry about it, and I don't have to worry about it, because, you know, you have to look at what your strengths are. As Clint Eastwood said, man's got to know his limitations. And I studied accounting when I passed the stock exchange test, but I just don't enjoy it. And, you know, if we're going to succeed in life, we need to really focus on the things we're good at. And usually it's the things we enjoy. But too often, Angie, we don't value it highly enough because it comes easy to us. And, you know, like my publisher, I've talked to them. We've done seven books filled with these weekly columns. And he said, these are just treasures. These are amazing. And people around the world write about it. And I spend about 15 minutes each on them. You know, just once a week, do a little column. And what am I thinking about? And it's gone. And then when I look back on it, I'm just so grateful that people like them. And I get to do that. And when I... lost my football career and became an Olympic weightlifter, they said, you are making some amazing gains. You're lifting more and more each week, and it's incredible. I said, why didn't everybody do that? And it came easy to me. It was my thing. And you need to find that thing. And I believe everybody has one. Whatever it is, you've got it. My brother and I were talking over the weekend. We both started out as teenagers working on a construction job. You know, I found an extra paycheck, and he found a career. I mean, he runs a $100 million construction company, and he was good at it. And we could tell right off. I mean, he knows what he's doing, and somehow I just, you know, I couldn't make the nail go straight. I couldn't do anything. You know, I mean, he was just good at it. And, you know, those are the things we need to all look at, you know. And I remember playing around with my friend – and inspiration, Stevie Wonder, and, you know, we were playing some stuff, and, you know, I play the piano a little. Stevie is a virtuoso, and he said, why don't you just do it like this? And he played it, and I said, because I've only got the two hands, Stevie, and if I had eight hands, I would play what you're talking about. But, you know, and he just, you know, he, it comes easy to him. He loves it, and it's what he's good at. So, you know, our purpose in life is to find our gift, and we achieve meaning when we give it away. So find the thing that you're the best at, the thing that you love, and discover a way to serve others by using that talent, that gift.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, and, you know, like biblically speaking, you know, I know a lot in church we talk about our gifts per se and that it isn't really a gift until you give it away. And I remember talking to a comedian, Michael Jr., and he was doing a comedy at like homeless shelters. And then there was a homeless family shelter. And this little boy had had a horrible childhood and he wouldn't take off this Spider-Man mask. And he wouldn't take it off. He wouldn't take it off. And he was doing his comedy. And finally, you know, towards the end, you know, he had him laughing and he was talking to him. And the little boy took off his mask. And the grandmother was just like astounded because he wore the mask all the time. Now, because of whatever pains he'd been through, he liked to hide behind it. But he let it down for Michael. And Michael talked about getting these homeless people to laugh because it's not... something that they do a lot of laughing because their life is so overwrought with difficulties and pains and suffering and struggles day to day. And I was like, why did you want to do this? And he's like, well, if my comedy is a gift and I have it, if I don't give it away, how is it really a gift? It's not a gift until you give it away. And I thought, what a unique way to enjoy his gift. And this was many years ago. I don't know if he still does this, but he did some kind of a special doing this, some kind of a documentary on these people that were going through such hardships and trying to give them that gift of laughter. And I've Over the years, haven't we all thought about what ours is? So writing comes easy to you. And I would think maybe a column would for me, but a book certainly doesn't because, you know, I've toyed with that idea for many years and, you know, and not really gotten too far on it. Just done interviews with my mom maybe about our past because we've had, I guess, what some would consider a difficult life experience. Some people would consider that I had a difficult background. So I've kind of gone over that because a lot of people are like, wow, you should write a book. I can't believe you ended up where you have in life, coming from where you came from. But I think sometimes... I don't even know if I know what my gift is. I like talking to people, and when I'm in big groups, like my friends, I get them laughing hysterically. Not one-on-one. That's the interesting thing. In groups, just my timing and everything, it's fun. Like you, we have good timing when it comes to making people laugh, especially in groups. Maybe it's speaking. I don't know. Like, I still think even at my age, I still struggle with like, what exactly does come easily to me? I certainly know waking up in the morning doesn't come easily to me. So I know what the things that aren't my gift, like I'm more of a night owl, you know, than a morning person. And of course, I did a morning show for decades, you know, the time of day that, you know, I don't think comes that naturally to most people to get up at, you know, 245, 3, 330 in the morning, which I think I've told you, I still do get up then. You know, I still do wake up temporarily, you know, for a good half hour, hour every day at that time because I'm so timed to that. But how do you think you found what came easily to you?
SPEAKER 02 :
As most people do, I found by accident. And then I was shocked that people enjoyed it. It came to me. And, you know, Angie, there's no doubt. I mean, anybody who listens to you for more than a few minutes realizes that. your ability to talk and be approachable. And, you know, people feel like they know you, they trust you, they're comfortable with you. People like you immediately. And, you know, that's the thing I see when we hire actors for our movies. I mean, there are certain people, the camera loves them, the audience loves them, they just shine through. But as some of your listeners know, I met you years ago when I was doing, you know, literally 100 radio interviews in a week. for one of my book releases, and you were, you know, hey, next is somebody named Angie in Colorado, and I'm on, and after we were off the air, I said, who are you? I mean, you know, well, you know, I'm doing this, no, no, no, before, and then you told me about the network TV stuff and everything, and I, okay, that's who you are, I mean, this is, I mean, you're a rock star, and, you know, and, you know, you are very, very good at this, and, you know, don't kid yourself, so, The ability to converse and make people feel comfortable and make people like you and relatable is a gift. It's as good as it gets.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, I think, you know, I talked to you the first time maybe 10 years ago. I mean, it was really early on because there have been times in my radio. So 12 years now I've done this. And I do credit our conversation that day with me continuing to do the show because I was considering not doing it. There have been years in the 12 years where I've made nothing. There's been years where I lost money doing it. And so it wasn't financially, you know, advisable for me to continue doing it. I would have been better off. fiscally speaking, to do something else because I've kind of been on my own doing it independently and then I'm teamed up with a radio station that has been wonderful to work with, but I really need to generate clients on my own if I want to make any income, which isn't necessarily my forte. I don't think a lot of people come naturally to sales and going out and saying, hey, invest in me, invest in my show. But I've been lucky that this one organization that I really believe in that oddly enough, my son is starting to work for them this week. And they do, you know, it's a nonprofit that helps people with cognitive deficits. If you, you know, maybe your kid has Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, they hire a lot of these young people to work in their organization. And they are, it's an advocacy program. So all of these thrift stores help raise money. So it's something I really believe in and they believed in me. And that's why I've been able to stay on the air. But I think that I do credit you with saying, hey, I do these interviews. I'm doing 100 like this week and you're so good at this. You can't quit. You should really keep doing this. And so I have continued to do it. And I do think it's a blessing because I get to talk to you who I consider to be a mentor to me every week. And I get to talk to experts and authors and I get to learn things every week. And it's super interesting to me to kind of delve into people's brains and, you know, find out more about them and see how their minds work and, you know, things like that. Like, that's fascinating to me. I really get a kick out of it. And so even if in the years I didn't make money, I still enjoyed it, you know. And so I have you to really thank for that because I don't think I would have continued to do it. I don't know what I would have done. And I do have to find a next thing. Like as my kids are going into college, you know how expensive that is. And I don't make the kind of money where, I mean, I don't even know if I could afford to put one kid through college in a year with the income I generate. So I do have to get a little more wise about what I'm doing financially. But in terms of the enjoyment of doing it, and I hope other people enjoy hearing from us, I know in your case, I get notes about you and oh, I didn't hear Jim this week, or where can I find your podcast? I miss Jim. So you've become kind of a fixture in the show. So I certainly have you to thank for that. And we're almost out of time, but I just love you. So I wouldn't be doing this. I don't think if it weren't for you. So I have you to thank for that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you are a rock star. I think you've found your gift. And you may have to find other ways to give it away, but I have no doubt you will because that's who you are and what you do.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, if you want to find Jim, jimstovall.com. Thank you, friend. You're the best.
SPEAKER 02 :
You're welcome.
SPEAKER 03 :
Walking into ARK Thrift in October is truly spooky, in a good way. ARK Thrift is your one-stop shop for all of your Halloween costumes and decorations. All of the costumes at ARK are new or generally used, meaning they're perfect for all children and adults. Children grow out of clothes so quickly, so why spend $50 every year on a new costume when Ark has the same costumes for a fraction of the price? You can even create your own costume from scratch at Ark Thrift. Ark Thrift has costumes for all ages, toddlers all the way to adults. and there are plenty more amazing treasures to find at ARC. They also always have fresh, new products out on the floor, and they work hard to put new items into circulation every day. With ARC Thrift, you get to see the ARC ambassadors, individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, who work in all of the ARC Thrift stores. Go to ARCthrift.com for all of their 35-plus locations today. Akron is tuned to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hello there, friend. Angie Austin here with the good news. The good news is I have a challenge for you. You know, we've been talking recently, Dr. Cheryl Lentz and I, and also my favorite, Jim Stovall, about living your life to the fullest, rekindling some of those maybe old friendships or relationships, because the Harvard Happiness Study says that the best indicator of happiness is your friendships, your connections, your family. So is there someone that you could reconnect with that you haven't seen before? in a long time or you could call today or make plans with you making plans is a huge hassle sometimes but for instance my mom she is going back to Tucson to visit my brother for the rest of the for the fall and winter and I know she really loves Estes Park and I actually don't feel like that great today but I'm going to drive her up there to see the fall colors and the elk because it was so neat when I went up there with my friends recently and I told you about and And, boy, a lot of those elk up there are really getting beat up. The bulls, they are just fighting with each other over the cows, over the females. And I've been watching a lot of the photographers that post up there, and, oh, they're limping, and they're just really beat up from this season. But I want to go up and, you know, show some of the colors, get her this pizza that we get at our favorite pizza place that I've been going to since I was a kid. and let her see some of the elk and the beautiful lake up there and maybe take a spin by the Stanley. They have that little maze in front now. They tried to do that maze that's like the one in The Shining. Even though Stephen King didn't write the whole book there, he stayed there and got the idea there. And then some of that film was shot in Oregon and then some overseas, I guess. But they rebuilt that maze or they built that maze similar to the one in the movie. And they had a hard time keeping it alive because it's so dry here. But anyway, they've got it rolling now. I think they said it's pinyon pine or something. But yeah, it's not a real tall maze, but you could take a stroll through it at the front of the hotel. It's kind of cool. So what's my point to this? I'm challenging you to reach out to someone that's important to you that you really love and let them know. I did it just yesterday with a friend of mine who's in her 80s who's got some struggles with her health right now. And just call somebody today or reach out or maybe make a plan. I mean, I'm already making a plan with that group of my news friends that I travel with again now. And we're looking at maybe that Albuquerque Balloon Festival next year that Dr. Cheryl Lynch just went to. And then a bike trip. And of all places, Croatia. And you don't bike the whole time. You just bike a couple of hours a day on like an e-bike. So you can see a lot more things, you know, from that, that, you know, when you're that close to everything. Yeah. I love those. I'm actually getting ready to plan something for the family for, oddly enough, just next week with the government shutdown and all. It's been a little hectic trying to put the plans together because I wanted to go to D.C. and go to a bunch of the Smithsonian's. But looking ahead, they're only guaranteed to be open through the 11th because of the shutdown. And then they're having flight difficulties. So. Anyway, so my challenge to you today is a couple of twofold. Reach out to someone just today that you miss or that you think might get some cheer out of you reaching out to them. But secondly, those friendships, there's got to be a friendship or many that were really important to you in the past. that you can rekindle and maybe take a visit out to see them, or if you're on a trip in their city, make the extra effort. Because I used to go to cities where I had old friends, and I was like, nah, busy, I'm not even going to reach out. Now I do, and it's been life-changing. And I've rekindled some important relationships from my 20s, and they're like sisters now. I mean, it's wonderful. I had lunch with one of my best friends yesterday, and I started to cry at the table because of nice things she said to me. Like as a person, like that stuff's truly meaningful. I can see why that is the best indicator of happiness, these relationships. So that's my challenge to you. And feel free to go to AngieAustin.org and let me know how your reach out went. Okay. All right. Changing gears as the weather gets cooler. You know, many of us homeowners are looking for ways to, you know, stay warm for the winter, stay comfy, but also keep energy costs down. Joining us from a custom home in Virginia that's done so well for energy efficiency is HGTV star Matt Blashaw, who's back, who is best known for shows like Yard Crashers and Build It Forward. And he's partnering with the very clean Propane Education and Research Council to show how homeowners can build or remodel their homes to meet their energy needs to do it clean and cost efficient as well. Welcome back, Matt. Thanks for having me. You are welcome. So I am fascinated by propane and just how clean and useful it can be. I just learned in the last few years, like it can power the buses and all. So let's talk about, you know, energy that powers a home and what to consider.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I've been building homes and renovating homes, as you know, for years. And I'm learning about the benefits of propane. And really, I can tell you from experience that the energy source impacts everything about how your home performs, right? The comfort, the safety, long-term costs, environmental impact. And really, that's what families need, right? They need solutions that are reliable, affordable, right, in today's day and age with bills going up and up and up. and, you know, clean. And that's why propane is a smart choice, right? It can power all major appliances. I think we've talked about this before. You know, I told you buses, we thought about barbecues, but you got heating, cooking, hot water, clothes drying, even backup power can be done by propane. So, you know, all those put together is something that we really need to start thinking about.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, can you tell us a little bit about, I know you're in a custom home today, tell us a little bit about, you know, the home and special features.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, I wish I could show it to you. It's beautiful. I'm in Charlottesville, Virginia. I'm on five acres of just pristine land. I got a lake right in front of me, deer in the meadow. It's almost like a picture book. And this house, why I'm here, is an example of the power of propane and why it's a whole home energy solution. This propane tank is a 1,000-gallon tank. It's stored on site, in ground. They have another 500-gallon tank for the backup generation. And the builder... had the option to go after natural gas that's in the development, but it was more effective to put in propane because he didn't have to underground and bore a line to go all the way to the natural gas line. But not only that, it's the independence that it brings you because instead of piping that energy in, the propane is right there. So you have that peace of mind knowing it's right there ready to be used during the whole season, sometimes even a year with that big of a tank, you can use because this home has incredibly efficient major appliances, fireplace, water heater, like all those things that I mentioned. So it's the decision not only to go propane, but also the decision to to get appliances that are going to use that energy source very efficiently. So you've got to couple that all together to make the right decision for your home.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, this is interesting because we're turning the garage at this rental property into an ADU and building up. So we're talking about all the ways to give it an energy source. electricity, natural gas. So the propane tank can be put in the yard. I mean, obviously I'm sure I have to get everything, you know, all the permits pulled and everything, but you put the propane in the yard and then you've got the reliable energy source right there. And then that is used for appliances and heat.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, and check with your local city guidelines about how big of a tank you can put in and where you can put it. Sometimes there's some restrictions. I went propane with my house. I have natural gas. I went propane because I think we talked about it before. I went through a tornado in the first year that I was in Kansas City. I moved from California, went to Kansas City. I had no idea what I was doing. I am not a Midwestern person. And tornado hit, and all of a sudden the power was out, and I was not – I was so unprepared. And I said, how can I make my home more resilient? And that's why I started looking into propane. My father-in-law, he builds custom homes down in Springfield, Missouri. And I tell you, he only builds with propane. He absolutely loves it. So you can power – so it's not only the power. It's a very powerful energy source, right? So when it cooks, it cooks at hot temperatures. It has very precision power. temperature control, you're going to use less of the energy. Boy, if you ever stand by a fireplace that's propane powered, you will heat up in a second. So it's a very, very efficient. It is a clean source of energy. And really, that peace of mind is fantastic to have. And another benefit is that when you're getting wire brought into your house from the electrical service or gas, natural gas, they're not coming out to make sure that they are working correctly. They only come out if there's a problem, right? Well, if you have a propane service provider, he's out there all the time making sure that you not only have enough propane, to last you for the season or however you need it. But he's also checking on the systems, making sure that they're safe, making sure that they're running efficiently, and make sure that someone's coming to all those appliances and cleaning them and making sure that they are running at optimal performance. That, in the long run, is going to save you big.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's funny you mentioned that propane fire. I just had all my L.A. news friends come out to Denver to visit me. And we were sitting by the propane fire just like the night before last. And when that baby went out, I was like, we were done. You know, honey, and me on to my husband and he got it going again. But we were not staying outside without that day. I could not believe how much heat it was putting off because it's gotten a little chilly here already. All right. So what about you? Let's talk about, you know, energy bills. Obviously, this is a cleaner source of energy, energy bills being top of mind for families. In fact, that's one thing my friends we were talking about. One of them was talking about her energy bill and how high I think it's like five, I don't know, five, six hundred dollars. Like their bills in Cali especially are so expensive. And I was blown away. And some of them run, you know, a different system. I couldn't believe how much they pay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and those could go up, right? Because the electrical grid right now is being absolutely pounded with all this AI and the data storage centers now and then the need for electrical cars. In fact, the Department of Energy now reports that power outages could increase dramatically. by 100-fold by 2030. Now, I'm not saying the electricity is bad. Not at all. I'm saying we need to look at the energy sources as a whole. And for me, I moved over to propane with certain elements that I know that were good for me and that were reliable. Because at this day and age, The electric grid is not reliable. We have not gotten there. We're not reliable. We know it goes down. I have had so many power outages. It's unbelievable because we still live in an archaic way of delivery.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know they even schedule them now. Like my friends in California that are brown now, it's like they schedule them. Like, hey, by the way, you're not going to have power Tuesday from this hour to this hour. You're like, what?
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. Someone's telling you how to use their energy. With propane, no one's telling you. You and only you are the one that can access that energy. It's not going to anybody else, right? And so that's the thing that puts it head and shoulders above all the other energy sources, in my opinion, because there's that peace of mind. You know it's there. And so these are things just to consider, right? I think I want people just to start dipping their toes in and saying, okay, what could I do? What could I do to subsidize? For me and my generator, it's a portable generator. I didn't spend the money on a whole house generator. It's a portable propane generator. I got a bigger tank so that it will last longer. But that system, because propane's clean, it's going to keep my generator lasting longer. Diesel fuel, gas, it has a shelf life. People don't know this. In about eight months, You have to throw that out and figure out a way to get that diesel out. Propane has a huge shelf life, so it can stand in that tank for a long time. So these are just things to start saying, okay, how could I put this in my house? Check with your local guidelines and make sure what could I do to at least start folding it into my life, not only making an impact on your peace of mind, making an impact on your family, but making an impact on your pocketbook.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, Matt, where do we go to get more info?
SPEAKER 06 :
Great information. Just go to propane.com slash formyhome. Great resource to start learning all about the benefits of propane.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, I'm going to check it out myself. Thank you, Matt. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
In today's episode, Marshall Dawson takes us through current political events, including a fascinating discussion of Colorado's Constitution with expert Dave Evans. Tune in to learn more about the state's unique governance powers and how citizens can engage directly in the legislative process. Karen Gorday joins to discuss her city council candidacy, highlighting the intersection of local politics and community service.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 11 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 15 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 11 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it's not.
SPEAKER 15 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 11 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 15 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 17 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. Welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Now, I can see you right now. I can see you looking at the radio and saying, oh my gosh, that is a horrible cold that Kim has. Well, no, this is not Kim Monson. I'm Marshall Dawson, your guest host for today. Thank you for listening. Each of you are treasured and valued and have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, your body. We were made for this moment. And thank you, Producer Joe, and the good team that you work with and the great work that you do. Visit Kim's website, KimMonson.com, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for the weekly email newsletter, and you'll get the first look at all the upcoming guests, as well as the most recent essays. You can email Kim, Kim at KimMonson.com. We want to say thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. And thank you to Hooters Restaurants for their sponsorship. There are three locations, Aurora, Westminster, and Loveland. They have great lunch specials Monday through Friday for dine-in or to-go. Wednesdays are wings days. Buy 20 wings and get an additional 10 for free. That offers good for to-go or for dine-in. Hooters Restaurants, a great place to get together with friends to watch your favorite teams. And today's word of the day is rhetoric. Rhetoric is spelled R-H-E-T-O-R-I-C. It's a noun which means the art of speaking or writing effectively. I kind of like the adjective form of that, rhetorical. I like rhetorical devices. I think sometimes we fall into the trap, and I've certainly done this, of using rhetoric kind of as a pejorative. Anytime that we oppose the content of what the other side is saying, we can overlook or forget that rhetoric is the way that great communicators craft their message to be more memorable, more encouraging, more compelling. And that dovetails with the quote of the day. Our quote comes from Aristotle, who was a fourth century philosopher. He was a Greek philosopher. Also specialized in natural sciences, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. And Aristotle said that rhetoric is the art of persuasion. Let's talk about a few rhetorical devices. The first is a metaphor where we substitute a word or an object in place of another. We have probably heard that Social Security reform is the third rail of politics. That comes from the idea of electrified trains, and if you touch that third rail, you get electrocuted. Obviously, people are not going to be electrocuted if politicians touch Social Security, but it's meant to be indicative of something that is fatal politically. Or simile, comparison of two things which are unlike each other. So, you know, Producer Joe, if I described it as being as cold as ice in this studio, it just means that I'm in here shivering. I'm not literally saying that it's 32 degrees. Look, if I was doing that, Joe, man, you'd be doing this show on your own. I'll also point out antithesis. We juxtapose two competing principles or concepts, and also I'll combine parallelism. And a great example of this is John F. Kennedy's speech when he said, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. He had two competing ideas that he put right next to each other and was in that way pivotal in creating an inflection point in history. So I invite you to listen for rhetorical devices as you listen to speakers who resonate with you and find ways to use rhetorical devices and rhetoric to make your communication style more powerful. Let's look at a couple of headlines. I think we have to cover the Hamas agreeing to the ceasefire in Gaza. Kim covered this yesterday, but yesterday after the show, from Breitbart and the Times of Israel, they said that the hostages could be released as early as this weekend. Trump is saying that it could be Monday. Look, you know, here's kind of the way that I see this. I think it is reason for a lot of optimism, but Hamas has not exactly been trustworthy. They've not proven themselves worthy of being trusted in the past. So I am optimistic. I'll believe it when I see it. We're going to have Lauren Fix on the show later, and I'll throw another headline out there. This comes from the Denver Post. Toyota recalls nearly 400,000 Tundras and Sequoias due to malfunctioning rear-view cameras. The cameras might fail to come on in reverse. This is a software bug and can be fixed with an update. In Colorado news, the conversion therapy law, so-called, is being challenged at the Supreme Court. And this is from thecentersquare.com. Kaylee Childs is the local therapist, and the case is being argued on First Amendment grounds. This is a so-called conversion therapy law because it's actually a, it says that when you're counseling, you can only go in one direction. In other words, if somebody comes into your office and says, hey, I'd like some help in becoming more comfortable with the body that I was born in, Colorado prevents that. Colorado says you can only go in one direction. You can only affirm somebody's dysphoria. Shannon Stevenson is Colorado's Solicitor General. And if you take the minute to go and listen to Samuel Alito's questioning, man, that guy is just a rock star. He asked if there was any other medical, any other instances of medical consensus taking over the harmful means of a practice and using medicine for political ideology. Shannon Stevenson had no real response to that. She said, well, I can't think of any evidence. And, of course, Alito comes back immediately and shuts that down. All right. Let's look at what has happened on this day in the past. On this day, October 9th, 1888, the Washington Monument opens. 1872, the Colorado State Fair first came about. Now if you think about that, that was 1872. Colorado didn't become a state until 1876. I think that's pretty neat that the State Fair precedes Colorado's statehood. I can't confirm that there were any problems with that first fair. However, in 2011, there was a goat that was disqualified for failing a drug test. All right. We're going to jump right in to Karen Gorday with Radiant Painting and Lighting. Hey, good morning, Karen.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good morning, Marshall. How are you today?
SPEAKER 17 :
Great, great. Hey, Karen, talk about radiant painting and lighting real quick.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay. So we do interior and exterior painting, and we also do holiday lighting, and we... Strive for excellence in everything that we do. It's all about quality. We're not just your average paint company where you'll paint and then you get a taillight warranty as we drive away. Make sure we're using premium caulks and paints and you get a solid warranty on all of our services.
SPEAKER 17 :
I painted my house in 2023. This is before I heard of you. And I have to admit that one of the reasons I procrastinated was there were some repairs that needed to be made. Do you guys have a network of handymen that can come in and do those repairs for your customers?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes and no. So it depends on the repairs that need to be done. So... If I need to bring a specialist in, I can, absolutely. But I do have one of my crews, the crew chief, and I've had him for a couple of years. He actually used to do siding years ago with his father. And so he knows how to... flip out on the exteriors, flip out trim boards and pieces of siding, et cetera. And so in turn, he taught the whole crew how to do this. And so when it comes to exterior work, we don't have to, you know, I don't have to bring someone else in. um on interior if let's say we need to redo a whole um wall for a drywall repair then i do have trusted partners for drywall to bring them in before we come in and paint so the answer is yes and no i do have trusted professionals to partner with when necessary but we try to handle those things in-house
SPEAKER 17 :
And I like that your website talks about protecting and enhancing your most valuable investment. I think that we overlook sometimes the fact that having a fresh coat of paint can protect it from the elements.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, yes.
SPEAKER 17 :
Now, Karen Gorday, I was also interested in the lighting aspect, not just hanging lights, but as I understand it, you can help people tailor their designs for either external lighting and or holiday lighting. Can you talk about that a little bit?
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. So, um, usually during my initial conversation with someone about lighting, I'll ask, um, if they have specific colors in mind and some people, um, want like every color that you traditionally see on when we talk about, uh, Christmas lights, for example. Um, but then some are like, well, I just want like a soft white all around my entire house. Or we had one last year. She's like, I want red and green. Um, and that's it you know so talking to them about colors uh right up front and then um and then you know i can i make a mock-up of what their house would look like with that pattern um and and right now it's the perfect time to start looking at lighting um as we get closer to let's say christmas i'll use just use as an example since that's the most popular time If you wait until December to get on someone's schedule, you may not get the colors that you want. The reason for that is everybody in the country is trying to decorate for life. For example, last year, all of a sudden, the first week of December, there were no green bulbs to be found nationwide. That's why I encourage people to get things done early so that you can get the colors that you want. And, yeah, now is the perfect time to be thinking about lighting. So thank you for that question.
SPEAKER 17 :
Great. Yeah. So give the website of Radiant Painting and Lighting, please.
SPEAKER 08 :
It would be www.paintwithradiance.com, or they can give me a call at 720-940-3887.
SPEAKER 17 :
Great. And, you know, another reason I was excited to talk to you is you're taking the step to get involved in local politics. So you're running for Lakewood City Council. How's that race going?
SPEAKER 08 :
I think it's going well. Right now it's crunch time. Ballots get mailed out tomorrow. And when I say crunch time, trying to get door hangers on every door in my ward. I say every door. Every house and townhouse I want a door hanger on. And so that's about 10,000 door hangers and doors. We are about halfway there. We've made really good progress last weekend through yesterday, and so we've got about another 5,000 door hangers to go.
SPEAKER 17 :
Karen Gorday, it was great talking to you. How can people reach out to you if they want more information about the city council race, or how can they get in touch with you?
SPEAKER 08 :
They can go to my website, which is karenforlakewood.com. Karen, F-O-R, lakewood.com.
SPEAKER 17 :
Karen Gorday, Radiant Painting and Lighting and Lakewood City Council candidate. Thanks, Karen.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, thank you. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
Colonel, the British are raiding Danbury and burning the town. I'll go tell them. Sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington mounted her horse and rode 40 miles through night and pouring rain. That's twice the distance of Paul Revere to sound the alarm.
SPEAKER 01 :
Quickly.
SPEAKER 16 :
assemble at my father's house the kim monson show is our modern day sybil luddington bringing us the latest breaking news in the battle for truth and freedom ben's plumbing heating and cooling is proud to stand with kim will you stand with us get engaged with the issue that keeps you up at night so that you can influence your school and community with truth and justice And for quality craftsmanship at a fair price, call or text Ben's Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling at 303-995-1636. That number again is 303-995-1636.
SPEAKER 19 :
There's so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 17 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. I'm Marshall Dawson. I'm filling in for Kim today. Check out Kim's website at kimmonson.com. And you can email Kim, kim at kimmonson.com. Thank you for contributing to support Kim's independent voice and the exercise of our right to freedom of speech. Through all of Kim's work with veterans, she's honored to highlight the USMC Memorial Foundation and all that they're doing to raise the money for the remodel of the official USMC Memorial, which is located right here in Golden, Colorado at 6th and Colfax. Paula Sarles is the president of the foundation. She's a Marine veteran and a Gold Star wife. Paula and her team are working diligently to make the remodel a reality. You can help by donating at usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That's usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And up on the line, we have Dave Evans. Hey, good morning, Dave. Dave is a member and a board member of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. How's it going, Dave?
SPEAKER 22 :
Good morning, Marshall. It's going well, thank you, and I hope it's going well for you as well.
SPEAKER 17 :
It's going excellent. It's going very well. So let's talk about the Colorado Constitution. You came prepared to give us kind of a primer on that. Is that right?
SPEAKER 21 :
yeah that's right um yeah i'm i'm no expert on this so i i've done a little research and my primary um resource is is a book um written by david b copple or copple i'm not sure the pronunciation he's associated with the independence institute it's entitled colorado constitutional law and history my version is the second version but i would highly recommend that to anybody that wants to learn more about our constitution It's very readable, and it's available, I think I actually got it through Amazon, but it might have been from a link through the Independence Institute. I can't exactly remember. It's been a while since I got it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I'm familiar with Dave Kopel's work, and Kim had kind of given me a heads up on this book, and I kind of laughed and said, well, Kim, I don't think I can get that read before the show. But he is quite the constitutional expert and expert on things for Colorado as well. So what did the book tell you? What did you learn from this?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, first of all, it's a very readable book. You don't have to be a scholar or anything to get a lot out of it. And from it, of course, the U.S. Constitution is the model for the state constitution. The U.S. Constitution is organized around five articles, and then that's followed by the amendments. The Colorado Constitution is a little different. It has many more articles. It has 29. There were 19 originally when it was written in 1876. The amendments are actually woven into their respective articles. For example, TABOR, the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, can be found under Article 10, which is on taxes and revenue. of the state constitution is schedules, most of which is no longer relevant with the exception that the town of Georgetown depends on that for its being in law. But just like the U.S. was formed by states, Similarly, Colorado's first governments were mining towns, and those governments were formed to establish some order in those camps. Also, there were some counties that preceded the formation of the state. So the state is actually kind of analogous to the United States in its foundation. And our Constitution, being one of the later ones written, is very long. It's one of the longest. And it gives very strong powers to self-governance. And it's a wonderful Constitution, really. For example... The Constitution, when it was set up, was established by direct vote. The people of the state actually voted to put it in place. We have the ability to legislate directly. In fact, the Constitution makes the people sovereign, not the government sovereign. The people have the sole and exclusive right of governing under our Constitution.
SPEAKER 17 :
And interestingly— I'll interrupt you real quick, Dave. Go ahead. You're talking about self-government. It's easy for Marshall to say this morning. Self-governance and the power of the people. I think that we are somewhat unique in that the people do have quite a lot of power to change the Constitution and do amendments. I did have a question for you, though. You said that the amendments themselves are woven into the articles, unlike the U.S. Constitution. So if we go and we read the Colorado Constitution, we would literally see where amendments have modified, right? So it might be, you know, strike this and add here and insert there kind of a thing, as opposed to like our Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution and, you know, where the amendments are listed after the fact?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, you don't actually see that. You see the amendments... as additional sections added on to the articles. So you'll see them at the tail end of the articles. Yes, some other interesting things about us. Of course, we have the ability to amend the Constitution, and that's been done many times. We have the ability to recall elected officials, and not every state has these powers. The citizens don't always have these powers. And originally, one of the changes we've made, which makes me a little sad, is that originally the citizens directly elected presidential electors. But in 2019, that was ended when The state adopted the National Popular Vote Compact. And so when the compact ever reaches 270 electoral votes, then the Secretary of State, instead of the citizens of the state, will appoint the electors. And this was ratified in 2020 by the voters. But interestingly enough, the Constitution hasn't been changed yet. and it still requires elector selection by direct vote. So that's going to create a collision when that happens, I think.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, and that was an important change that happened not so long ago. Dave, we have just a few seconds remaining. Give me your final thoughts, and then also let's put in a plug for the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, you know, I'm really honored to serve on the Union of Taxpayers. We're doing important work. I don't know how much we're noticed. I'm sure glad that Kim is bringing this to the attention of the voters so that they can see what's happening down in our legislature by our summaries and responses to the legislation. And I think that's the important thing we want to get out there is to get citizen involvement. And we as the union of taxpayers are sure trying to do that, and I hope we're successful.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, so please go to coloradotexpayer.org. You can join for $25. I've been a member for quite some time. When I was a candidate, I signed the cut pledge. Great work that you guys are doing, Dave. Thanks for your time. And stay tuned. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Today, particularly in Colorado, your Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms is under relentless attack. The Second Amendment is in our Bill of Rights to ensure that each individual has the right to resist oppression, stand firm against government overreach, and protect our right to defend ourselves, our families, and our freedoms. Colorado's premier grassroots Second Amendment organization, the Second Syndicate, is exposing the most pressing threats to the Second Amendment and providing education, resources, and tools to stay informed. empowered and prepared join the movement protect your rights support the second syndicate.com that's the2ndsyndicate.com where the second is first
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. I'm Marshall Dawson sitting in for Kim today. I appreciate her letting me take over the reins here. Listen, sign up for Kim's weekly email newsletter at Kim's website, KimMonson.com. You can email her at Kim at KimMonson.com. And thank you for contributing to support our independent voice and the exercise of our right to free speech. Ready for financial freedom? Call our friends at Mint Financial Services. As an independent firm and an accredited investment fiduciary, they always put your interests first. Mint means more than money. It stands for a meaningful relationship, information sharing, a network of smart strategies, and a thoughtful advisor who puts you in control. No cookie cutter plans here. Everything is tailored to you. Call Mint Financial Strategies today at 303-285-3085. And on the line with us we have Lauren Fix with Car Coach Reports. And good morning, Lauren, first of all. Good morning. We have so many things that have just been going on. We are a couple of weeks away or out of the one big beautiful bill taking effect with those mandates. I also want to talk to you about the Fuel Emissions Freedom Act. But I'll turn you loose and see where you want to go with this first.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, there's so much going on in the automotive world. All my stories, if you hear it or you miss part of it and you want to hear it again, just go to YouTube and go to Car Coach Reports. You'll have all my news on what's going on in the automotive world. And then Car Smarts, which is on YouTube, is all my car reviews. I had to split them up. There's a lot going on. We know about the end of the electric vehicle mandate. And we also know that that means if you want to buy an electric car, you can still buy one. Some brands are cutting as much as $10,000 off. So while you thought that tax credit was a good deal, $10,000 off the price of a car should say two things to you. One, they're trying to get rid of these vehicles because they're not selling them. And two, if you want an electric car, there's some great deals to be had. But you also need to be very aware that they're not leasing these cars in many cases. They're selling you these cars. So what happens down the road is the car is three to five years old. You're thinking, you know, I think I'll get something new. The problem is getting rid of fields. You can tell from websites like IC Cars where they put the valuations of electric vehicles, they drop like 60 to 70 percent. So if you purchase an electric car, you better be prepared for the backside of that is when you go to trade it in and the dealer doesn't want it. And a perfect example is a lot of the brands, whether it be Cadillac or Porsche or even Ford, when you come back with a Ford Lightning truck or a Mach-E, they don't want them. Because nobody wants a used electric car, and that is hugely important when you're going to make a purchase.
SPEAKER 17 :
I saw one of your reports where you recommended leasing over buying an electric vehicle. And I assume that it was because that projection was that they just are not going to be that valuable on the secondary market. And I figured, well, it's only a matter of time before the dealerships figure this out and the manufacturers figure this out.
SPEAKER 07 :
They already have. And websites like IC Cars are always taking valuations, and that's kind of where you can go. You can go to Edmunds, you can go to Autotrader, and you can see even used Teslas. They can't get rid of them. And the prices keep going down and down. Now, you may think, oh, this is a great opportunity for me to buy a used electric car and I can save money. True. But then you're stuck with the boat anchor, essentially. So now you've got a used vehicle. You don't know how many times the battery's been cycled. And now it's your turn and you get to drive it for X period of time as the battery range shrinks. shrinks and shrinks and then you're thinking I gotta get rid of this thing I'm spending more time charging than I am driving and you get to that point and then nobody wants it the thing is you can't just pull out the batteries and put a gas engine in that would be wonderful I mean there are a few people that are doing that it's a very expensive process and you have to know what you're doing and so the thing is you're kind of stuck with these vehicles and I expect that we're going to see much like solar panels much like all these windmills you're gonna end up with them in salvage yards and again how is that good for the environment is It isn't. gas-powered car or a hybrid, I will fair warn you that currently hybrids are the hot ticket. Everybody wants one. But again, leasing makes sense. At the end of five years, you want to get rid of it because after five years, you're going to have that same problem where that battery component may not work and you're just driving a very slow gasoline-powered vehicle. But at least it will get you someplace versus the range getting shorter and shorter. And this is all important to note because your insurance is also going to be reflected because you have to have insurance to And you purchase an electric car, it's always higher than that of a gasoline-powered car. Because if they're in a fender bender, something small, you're stopped in traffic, someone hits you from behind, they total the car. And the reason they do is if a cell is damaged, it can leak and create a fire, which would cause all the rest of the cells to catch fire. And you do not want to be in a car. But that's why they destroy the car. They go, they don't want it. Right.
SPEAKER 17 :
Now, Lauren, look, I'm kind of an old pickup sort of a person, and I like things that either are low maintenance or, in some cases, they go fast and make noise. Me too. The hybrid marketplace is completely foreign to me. Why is it that those are so popular? Is it because people kind of get the best of both worlds? They get a little bit of electric, and they get kind of that assuredness of a gasoline power? Why are hybrids so popular?
SPEAKER 07 :
That is exactly what it is. It is a combination of you get the best of all worlds. You want to drive around town, you're going to sit in line getting your coffee at the drive-thru, and you are on electric. No problem. And then when you drive off and you put your foot in it to accelerate from a traffic light, it goes from electric to gas. So you're getting great fuel economy. I mean, we're seeing like 42 miles a gallon on some of these hybrids. I just drove the Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid, and it's getting 42 miles a gallon. But, I mean, that's a popular car. When you get to the more expensive hybrids, like BMW and Audi and Mercedes-Benz, it just increases the cost of the vehicle. You might get slightly better fuel economy, but the maintenance on that is going to be very expensive. And, again, you have that same problem with insurance. It's going to be higher because it's based on replacement value. So keep those kind of things in mind. People forget about that when you get the bill from your insurance agency.
SPEAKER 17 :
agent you're like oh that wasn't what i planned then and that can that can catch you off guard well talking about insurance you know i've heard you say also to be sure you notify your insurance company if you install a charger in your house exactly let's talk about why insurance companies are particularly interested in that okay the first thing you need to know
SPEAKER 07 :
if you purchase an electric car that's great that's your choice you should be able to have the choices that you want so you need a charger unless you have access to public charging which a lot of people don't want to sit in line at you know your local mall or coffee shop or airport or whatever it might be and there's always a wait line especially when you're like downtown denver and that's true across the entire country it's not just your state it's literally every state And so people don't want to wait. They want to plug it in the morning. And this is also the problem with electric cars. You plug it in, you go and do what you need to do and need to leave. You unplug it. The charger in your home could catch fire. And that's why it needs to be installed by a certified electrician. If it is not, you're going to have some problems down the road because you don't know. And again, it could be the car as well. We had some problems here. I live in Buffalo, New York. I'm out in the suburbs. We've had two homes burned down. And it wasn't the car. It was just something to do with the connection between the two. It could be the car. In every single case, the car brand came and bought the car back to give you an idea. They want to know where it's coming from. But the insurance companies were the problem lies for both of these homes. And I know there's others because a friend of mine handles a lot of these legal cases. And this is how I found out about it. She was telling me that if you don't call your insurance agent and say, hey, I just put an addition on my home of an electric charger. Great, we've got it. We'll put it on your policy. If you don't and you have a fire, you only get paid out 80% of your home. So why not the 20%? It's because they consider that the same in the eyes of the insurer as you putting on another bathroom or a covered patio or a garage on your home. So it's really important that if you do get an electric charging station that you call your insurance company and let them know, hey, I put this in. They'll just go, fine, no big deal. They'll put it on as an addendum on your policy. It should not raise your insurance. But if you don't have it, that's where you get screwed. And again, it can happen anywhere. I mean, I get electric cars here to review. I do not have a charger at my home. I do not want a charger at my home for that specific reason. Even with a certified electrician installing it, why take the risk?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, and I think risk is the important word there. Insurance companies are in the business of risk mitigation. So it's either a risk to them because they would have to pay out additional for replacing that charger if things burn down. But also I'm sure that they have actuaries and those types of people inside the companies that are perhaps even a little worried that having that charger, having that extra electrical equipment, poses a fire danger risk, per se.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. If you work in insurance, then you're well aware of the risk factor that's involved, and I think a lot of people forget that. They look at the fact that this is great, I'm not going to have to pay for gasoline. Gasoline prices are down, by the way, and electricity bills are up. And to give you a perfect example, look at California, where, you know, they're finally below $5 a gallon for now until Gavin Newsom does something silly because he's got a similar governor to what Colorado and New York has. They just keep jacking up the prices for consumers. But the electric bills have gone up dramatically. Personally, my electric bill has doubled over the last three months. And everybody in New York State is complaining about it, just like California. And I'm sure Colorado is no different.
SPEAKER 17 :
Definitely no different. I keep seeing mine go up. And, you know, I have been seeing gas prices come down. I have to say, you know, we have a lot of rural areas and on the western slope here in Colorado. Lauren, you probably don't know, but I ran for office a few years back It was staggering to me seeing the gas prices that the people on the western slope have to pay, or even in the mountain towns that are just not quite into the municipal areas that we have. So I'm happy for those folks that the prices are coming down. I can't imagine what their electric prices must be.
SPEAKER 07 :
their electric bills have got to be through the roof yeah and the problem is when you're out and farther out into some of the the rural areas is transporting the fuel to the stations right and i'm sure like we have uh indian reservations around here so a lot of times that's where we go to the indian reservations to pick up fuel because it's less expensive but still you have to be wise you have to use websites like gas buddy and try and find out because it's so expensive but with gas i mean gas is one thing but electric's another you can't go somewhere else We don't have that choice here, and most places don't. You get one supplier, you're either in or you're out, and because it's a captive audience, they just keep raising the prices, and the state, of course, approves it. They don't think about that, but boy, when those people want to get re-elected, they try to lower the electric prices, and that doesn't work in this case.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, yep, that's right. Lauren, we're going to get a break here shortly, but I want to tee up the Fuel Emissions Freedom Act for when we come back. And also, you know, Trump has been pretty famous for his talk on tariffs, and I know that there's been some deals. I think that's something good that we can talk about on the other side as well. So we're listening to Lauren Fix with Car Coach Reports, and we'll be right back after this break.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
Call now. All Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. I'm Marshall Dawson filling in for Kim today. Check out Kim's website at kimmonson.com. The Center for American Values is located in Pueblo on the beautiful Riverwalk. The Center is focused on the foundational values of America, honor, integrity, and patriotism. Through their K-12 educational programs, training for educators, and portraits of valor of over 160 Medal of Honor recipients, the Center is helping to instill honor, integrity, and patriotism for our next generations. Check out their website. It's www.americanvaluecenter.org. That's www.americanvaluecenter.org. And we're coming back on the phone with us is Lauren Fix with Car Coach Reports. And Lauren, before the break, I said that I wanted to tee up a couple of things. One is the Fuel Emissions Freedom Act. But let's continue down the road of the cost of ownership and driving. You've looked into a lot of the effects that Donald Trump's tariffs have had on the automotive industry. Can you talk about that a little bit?
SPEAKER 07 :
Sure. I think what people need to understand, if you don't know or understand Donald Trump, just read The Art of the Deal. If you don't want to read The Art of the Deal, get the Spark Notes, get the Cliff Notes. You can go online and ask Chad GPT for the bullet points. And then also while you're at it, look at The Art of War by Sun Tzu. These are how he operates. He always throws the hardest ball at you first and sees how you react first. Last one to the table is always the one with the worst deal. And that's why Canada is right there at the worst deal. And so what you're seeing is currently we have, under the Obama administration, they took advantage of the North American free trade deal, which President Trump had renegotiated, where they had production in other countries and taking manufacturing out of the United States. That was a bad thing that lost a lot of working class jobs here in the U.S. and did impact the automotive industry where they said, well, we're going to build the car in Mexico and then ship it back across the border to whatever brand it was. And the same thing was true with Canada, where the cost of workers was less. And there's no unions in Mexico where there's unions in Canada. But it just started getting worse and worse and more convoluted. And they were shipping cars back and forth across the border to make it more complicated. And all these components going back and forth increased the cost of the vehicle because of the transport of these components. But the politicians didn't care. It was about safety. making deals with other countries, which somehow seems to fund their campaigns. Again, that's a whole different conversation, and I'm sure you're well aware of all that. But as you look at the USMCA, which is what President Trump wants to renegotiate, is to get Mexico and Canada to the table. He's made deals with literally every country right now, with Japan, with 15% flat rate, which is actually good because that's what they charge us. Also with the EU, which is actually very interesting, because that 15% rate also means that they have to match our safety. For them, it's about... Collision safety, for us, it's about pedestrian safety, people walking across the street protecting the people that are in the car. So the EU is already in the process. I just talked to someone in Europe yesterday where they're in the process of switching their safety standards to match the U.S. safety standards. What does that mean? That means we can sell our cars into the EU and they can sell their cars into the U.S. And that is good. So it gives us more choices. It helps our car manufacturers here. And what it does is it makes a level playing field. That will also lower costs because having different regulations in every single country just makes it more expensive, which makes cars more unaffordable to the masses. Now, another thing that President Trump did was having that Congressional Review Act signed that removed the electric vehicle mandate. And you think, well, how does that help the car industry or me? Well, what it did was it took away a lot of regulations. Car manufacturers were forced to build cars that didn't sell, as we're talking about with electric cars. And it also made cars more expensive. And every single brand, including Tesla, took a loss on every single vehicle. So you're taking a loss like Ford with the lightning truck at $40,000 loss of every single vehicle. How do you make that up? Well, you stop selling entry level vehicles that have no options, like a pickup truck with crank windows. And you make every vehicle you sell higher trim levels with higher profit margins. And you raise the price of literally every vehicle to offset the loss. And that's why cars have gone up from an average of $38,000 to $49,000. And that's why cars are unaffordable. We'll talk about interest rates and all that are part of it too. So putting these tariffs in place are now forcing car brands to come to the table with countries. And now what we're seeing is a lot of negotiation. Even Mexico has made a deal. uh why the leader of canada carney came to the white house he left without a deal again another foolish move if anyone's done any research on president trump you know the art of the deal don't be the last one to the table you get the worst deal that's exactly what's happening so president trump will force them to the table to renegotiate usmca which will not be to the advantage of canada because they want to build our cars there we want to build our cars here that's jobs That's suppliers here, too. So you're going to start seeing more of that coming in. That does not happen overnight, but we've already seen some changes. We're already hearing car manufacturers saying that because these tariffs are being balanced, things are getting better. What you're going to see is them eventually won't be overnight. Probably in the next two years, you're going to see a lot more entry level cars coming in. And we're hoping the goal and we keep pressing all the car brands to wake up to the fact that you need to start offering cars that are under $20,000. For the average person, it's like, I just need a car. I don't want to buy a new car, but not at $35,000. Right now, every car is around $25,000 or higher. That's unobtainable for a lot of people, especially with interest rates. So part of the deal is to negotiate and bring all of it back down to where it was, allowing car brands to make money and sell more vehicles to the masses, sort of like what they did with the Model T back in the day.
SPEAKER 17 :
You know, I have to say that I feel like the nannies are, you know, they're not just trying to eliminate gas-powered vehicles. I think it's actually a very subtle war on personal mobility. You know, the more you can control the masses, you know, control their ability to freely get out, freely go to work, freely recreate, the more you can force them into doing the things that you want them to do. And by the way, my read on Donald Trump's tariff actions are spot on with yours. I always see this as a negotiating tactic, not a long-term plan for revenue generation or punishment. Donald Trump is trying to get the best deal and get the best deal done. Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. And it's always about the deal. It's always about the art of the deal. And when we have all this tariff money coming in while the government is shut down, he was able to fund what he wants. So he's going to fund the military with that money. There's billions of dollars coming in. It's pouring in. And he was able to give money for the WIC program for milk and for food. for moms that are trying to feed their babies or need help with diapers and all that. So all of that, he can do whatever he wants with that money because it's not part of the regular government funds. I think you're going to see a big shrinkage in government. I think you're going to see a lot of people getting laid off that work in the government that have useless jobs that basically, you know, they're not essential. Then why do you have the job? If you have someone working for you and you have a coffee shop and they just sit there and watch you make coffee, why are you here? That person needs to leave. And that's what they're doing. They're filtering through the government of all these people that were placed there that do absolutely, nothing they answer a phone that doesn't ring or you know they go get coffee for someone there's other things you can do and be more successful in life and be at least be happy with what you do for a living than sit there and do nothing and I get it if you have these government jobs you love them because you do nothing but how many games of Candy Crush can you play in a day you know what I mean yeah
SPEAKER 17 :
I know how many I can play, and that number is, it rounds to zero. You teased something a minute ago, which was about how having more choices for consumers with more, let's say, matching regulations across countries is going to drive the prices down because it helps the supply chain not have so much stuff in the pipeline. You mentioned that kind of on a country basis, but the same would apply with states, too. And this kind of gets me into the Fuel Emissions Freedom Act. And I'll let you hit the punchline, but I know what this does. I've looked into it.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. The Fuel Emissions Freedom Act, which if you're following along and you've got nothing to do, it's House Bill HR 4117. It was actually introduced June 24th of 2017. And it's created a lot of debate because the legislation now is under review. It's sitting in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. We need to get this to the floor for votes. But it seeks to repeal the federal and state motor vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards. a great job he is changing the rules removing corporate average fuel economies all the things that make cars more expensive and this is going to lower costs for consumers simply because the compliance for automakers is crushing them they have all these rules and regulations some are so outdated but they have to follow it and it'll revive u.s competitiveness amongst the brands and by the way tesla is built here in texas as well as in california And so is GM, Ford and Stellantis. But Stellantis is not a U.S. car company. It's now based out of Belgium. It's owned by Peugeot. So just keep that in mind. There's a lot of others. Lucid and Rivian are here in the U.S. as well. Those are electric car companies. But this is very interesting. The goal is to take away the powers of California. The California Air Resources Board has been calling the rules for decades. It's time for that to go away. One state constitutionally cannot make the rules for the other 49. But that's exactly what we have in place. So this will probably go to the Supreme Court at some point once it passes. And I expect that they'll say, What are you talking about? It's unconstitutional for one state to run it for everyone else. That may have been fine in the 70s, but this is not the 70s anymore. That's quite a long time ago. So with that, we have a bill sponsored by Representative Roger Williams of Texas. It's co-sponsored by Michael McCloud, Brandon Gill, Victoria Spars. And they're working on removing all these federal emissions acts and the corporate average fuel economy. I think this is going to get to the floor, but the goal is it's going to lower prices for drivers. It's going to remove that regulation that makes it very expensive for car manufacturing. It'll strengthen U.S. production, and that's important, and it'll open choices up and that mandates for consumers and remove California's powers.
SPEAKER 17 :
You know, on the Kim Monson show, we talk about freedom versus force and force versus freedom. And, you know, this is one of those examples of where we're aiming to remove the force that California exerts on the rest of the country. And it's not just California, right? I mean, they deserve a lot of criticism, but California. There are competing regulations all over. I'll say that I have a personal dog in this fight because here in Colorado, we peg our emissions to whatever's going on in California. So I would be thrilled to see this change. See this bill go through. I don't know if you have a whole lot of optimism here, Lauren. I'll say for our listeners that in the Energy and Commerce Committee, our own Gabe Evans and CD8, as well as Diana DeGette, are on that committee. I don't have a whole lot of faith that Diana DeGette would do much, but Gabe Evans is a pretty good guy. I met him during the campaigns. So I would suggest people reach out to him.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, put pressure on your elected representatives. They need to know that you're paying attention to this. The moment they hear their phones, and you know this because you've been there, their phones start ringing, they get a lot of emails, they get a lot of people, and then you've got to be cordial and you have to listen. I appreciate what you're doing, but this is an important thing that needs to be addressed. I live in New York State. We have Schumer, who is the worst. We have all Democrats. We're almost a super majority here. It is very difficult to get anything through. I'm just praying that Elise Stefanik gets in and we get rid of Kathy Hochul. She's terrible, the worst. And the results of this means that when you start letting them know in a cordial, nice way, because if you yell and scream, they just hit delete. So that's not what we need. We need them to understand that this is important to you. It's important to Coloradans to say, hey, listen. it if they hear that you're interested. If they don't hear about it, no one's saying anything, they ignore it, which is why I always bring up subjects like this across the country that people can start speaking up about, because if you don't, they're just going to move on.
SPEAKER 17 :
And that's Lauren Fix, Car Coach Reports. Everybody stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 20 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 15 :
It's the Kim Monson Show. Analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 11 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 15 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 11 :
With what is happening down at the statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation. And it's not.
SPEAKER 15 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 11 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 15 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome to the Kim Monson Show. I'm Marshall Dawson. I'm thrilled to be hosting the show today. Kim is out. She'll be back in another day or two or six. We'll have to see. But yes, indeed, let's have a conversation. And thank you for listening. Each of you are treasured and valued. You have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. We were made for this moment in history. And thank you, Producer Joe, and the rest of the team for your all's good work. I just love it. Kim's website is KimMonson.com, M-O-N-S-O-N. Sign up for Kim's weekly email newsletter. You'll get a first look at her upcoming guests as well as the most recent essays. You can email Kim, Kim at KimMonson.com. And thank you for contributing to support our independent voice and the exercise of our right to freedom of speech. Thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. From Parker to Golden, Lil' Richie's Pizza and Pasta is your go-to for real New York-style pizza. Hearty pastas and that unbeatable local vibe. Lil' Richie's is serving up daily specials, quick and tasty weekday lunch deals, and a happy hour the locals actually build their plans around. Whether you're bringing the crew, catching up with friends, or flying solo for a hot slice, Little Richie's is your neighborhood hangout. Let's get to the word of the day. Today's word is rhetoric. R-H-E-T-O-R-I-C. Rhetoric is a noun which describes the art of speaking or writing effectively. I like the adjective which is rhetorical, especially rhetorical devices. And that informs to how I chose today's quote of the day, which comes from Aristotle. Aristotle was a Greek fourth century philosopher and specialized also in natural sciences, linguistics, economics. I have to admit that my Greek is a little bit rusty, so I'm trusting that this translation is correct. Aristotle said rhetoric is the art of persuasion. In the first hour, I said that I used a rhetorical device when I talked about rhetoric and the way that great communicators craft their message to be more memorable, more encouraging, more compelling. We talked about also in the first hour what a metaphor is, a simile, antithesis, and parallelism. So I'm going to go a little deeper this time. Another rhetorical device is called epistrophe. This is the repetition of words at the end of successive phrases or clauses. What can you think of? For me, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address comes to mind, that phraseology of the people, by the people, for the people. There's anaphora, which is repetition at the beginning of successive phrases. One of the more obvious and famous speeches here is Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream. I would invite you to go and read that speech. It's just absolutely wonderful reading those words. And you'll notice that he says, I have a dream that one day this nation, followed up by I have a dream that one day on the Red Hills of Georgia, I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, I have a dream that my four little children will one day. And he actually used this in eight separate sentences. And as you go through your day, as you listen to great speakers and, you know, some of your favorite, let's say, YouTube personalities, trying to keep an eye on whether they're effectively using rhetorical devices. Are they communicating well? Are they getting that point across? And if you want to look at more historical speeches, you know, political figures and that type thing, there was a website that I discovered and trying to create some notes for this, AmericanRhetoric.com. Oh, how about that? I got the word of the day in one more time. Let's go to the headlines. We have to talk about the ceasefire deal with Hamas agreeing to that. And Kim talked about this yesterday, but it is now official, supposedly. We're seeing that the hostages could be released this weekend, perhaps Monday. Also in the news, the CDC ends the blanket recommendation for the COVID vaccine. This is from the Denver Post, saying that they're now leaving the choices up to the patients. I think that is a great example of freedom over force. That kind of comes also into, you know, where could something be politicized in the medical community? Just let the patients make those choices. Also in local news here in Denver, Michael Bloomberg is contributing $1.5 million to help save Denver's flavored tobacco ban. This is also from the Denver Post. You know, if you recall, in 2024, the Denver City Council banned flavored tobaccos, but a group called Citizen Power submitted 17,000 signatures to overturn this. They said that it is a force upon adult's choices and it is harming local businesses. So my opinion on this is regardless of whatever your opinion is on tobacco, if you think that it's virtuous, if you think that it's harmful, I think this is an example of where we're seeing tons and tons of outside money coming into Colorado, especially to Denver, to help sway opinion here, help get people to vote the way that somebody in New York wants them to vote. And unbreaking news, the shutdown is still in effect. I had some personal experience with this. There was, let's see, where did this come from? BBC. Shutdown triggers multi-hour flight delays and even an unmanned tower in Burbank for six hours. When I was coming back through Chicago, not last night but the night before, I was delayed. I was frankly a little fearful that I was going to miss the opportunity to host the Kim Monson show. Now, you might ask, okay, Marshall, you're getting put out. You're being inconvenienced. Isn't that enough to give all these giveaways to the Democrats to make a deal? I would emphatically say no. I am more than happy to be inconvenienced and have the Republicans hold firm. The Senate took a vote yesterday on whether to continue the shutdown and guess what? It is continuing. Let's see what happened on this day. On this day in 1967, Che Guevara, you know that name, Che Guevara met his maker. He was captured and executed in Bolivia. They cut off his hands as proof, and he was buried in an unmarked grave. On this day in 1999, the SR-71 Blackbird made its final flight. This was a Cold War-era reconnaissance plane. It was capable of flying Mach 3.3 and 85,000 feet. But, my goodness, I'll bet that, you know, we've seen Top Gun Maverick. And how Maverick was, you know, eager to push the limits, I would love to know how far they pushed the limits on that Blackbird and what it could have done. And if you're a Beatles fan, you would be wishing John Lennon a happy 85th birthday today. He was born October 9th, 1940. And we're going to go to break here shortly. Thank you for contributing to Kim's independent voice and the exercise of our freedom of speech. And through all of Kim's work with veterans, she's honored to highlight the USMC Memorial Foundation and all the work that they're doing to raise money to remodel the official USMC Memorial, which is located right here in Golden, Colorado, at 6th and Colfax. Paula Sarles is the president of the foundation. She's a Marine veteran and a Gold Star wife. Paula and her team are working diligently to make the remodel a reality. You can help by donating at usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That's usmcmemorialfoundation.org. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force. Force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. This is Marshall Dawson with you today, and I'm just so happy to be hosting the show while Kim is out. Visit Kim's website, which is KimMonson.com. That's M-O-N-S-O-N. While you're there, you can sign up for Kim's weekly email newsletter. You'll get the first look at all of her upcoming guests as well as the most recent essays. And I'll say, Kim's newsletter is one of the ones that I subscribe to. I'm very picky about who I allow into my inbox. You can email Kim, kim at kimmonson.com, and thank you for contributing to support our independent voice and the exercise of our right to freedom of speech. While you're at Kim's website, you can consider making a monthly contribution to her. Let's look at some more headlines for today. In local news, this is from the Denver Gazette, Jared Polis takes a victory lap on new housing laws. The Department of Local Affairs released a compliance dashboard, and as I say, Polis is taking that victory lap. And yet, if you look at the actual results, there's only about a 60% compliance rate at the highest. Polis had signed an executive order on strategic growth through compliance of state laws. This requires local governments to comply or risk losing out on housing grants worth $277 million. I think this can only be characterized as an example of using centralized power in order to coerce over local priorities that we see in all of our communities. And in fact, there's a lawsuit opposing this currently going on. Lawsuits from Arvada, Aurora, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Lafayette, and Westminster. And another piece of news, if you watch Fox News, you've surely seen the news about Jay Jones, this fellow in Virginia, their attorney general candidate. He's the one who sent texts fantasizing about shooting the Speaker of the House and hoping for the death of the Speaker's children. Called the kids that he said that they're breeding little fascists. And he also said in one of his text messages, it's only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. Well, some of Jones's internal polling, this was from Hart Research, shows that Jones is only up by a single point. And if you think about how internal polling gets reported, it's often skewed in favor of the candidate who requested it or who paid for it. I had a conversation with my mom a couple of days ago. Mom said, there's no way he doesn't get out of the race. I have a less favorable view of Democrats. I think there's no way he does get out. I think that he stays in. The government shutdown is still on. Democrats yesterday balked at the idea of a one-year extension to the Obamacare subsidies for one year. And the Senate Democrats voted and decided they still did not want to reopen the government. And this is, frankly, just fine in my opinion. I think it's a good exercise in representative democracy, if you will, democracy. And air quotes there. I think it's important for us to have these conversations. And that way we can figure out what is important, what needs to be prioritized. Well, we do want to thank the Harris family for their sponsorship. And we're going to go to break here in just a moment. And we'll be right back.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. I'm Marshall Dawson, and I'm really happy to have hosted The Kim Monson Show with you while Kim is taking some well-deserved time off. Kim's website is kimmonson.com, M-O-N-S-O-N. While you're there, sign up for the weekly email newsletter. You'll get a first look at all the upcoming guests as well as the most recent essays. Something that should be on your bucket list is a visit to the Center for American Values, located on the beautiful Riverwalk in Pueblo. The Center for American Values is co-founded by Medal of Honor recipient Drew Dix and Emmy Award-winning documentary maker Brad Padula. The Center is focused on honoring our Medal of Honor recipients and teaching and upholding the principles of America—honor, integrity, and patriotism— For more information, check out their website, www.americanvaluescenter.org. And on the line right now is one of my bestest friends and fellow advocate when it comes to freedom over force, Terry Goon. Look, if you live in Longmont like I do, you may have even voted for Terry in one of our past elections. Good morning there, Terry. Terry?
SPEAKER 10 :
Good morning, Marshall. How are you doing?
SPEAKER 17 :
I'm great. You know, we've had to switch things up here a little bit. When I was running for office, one of the things that I was eager to talk about was the way that government steps in, they will tell you, right, that they are trying to solve a problem, that they're looking out for the little guy. But often they're not. And often there can be these secondary effects, tertiary effects that come along and mess things up. And so I think it's good that Kim talks about freedom versus force on her show. Now, Terry, you work for the Colorado Horse Rescue. I've seen the wonderful work that you all do. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending an event there. But talk a little bit about the rescue, what the organization does, how you fund your operations and that type of thing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, thank you very much for this opportunity. And I have to say, with this whole subject and talking about nonprofits, you have missed an amazing opportunity to talk about a rhetorical device, alliteration. Alliteration, freedom versus force, force versus freedom. So the thing with nonprofits is once you go out, you make alliteration, You earn what you need, what you want. You invest in the things that you believe in, different ideas that may earn you some money. But then you also invest in those things that you believe in that can do the work you want done. But you don't have the time, the energy, the space, you know, any of those things to get this work done. So people who want to make certain that horses are well taken care of, that they don't fall through the cracks, just like dogs and cats can, how they end up in humane societies in different places. Horses... will often face the same thing. And so people will invest in the Colorado Horse Rescue knowing that we will take in horses and take care of them and make certain that they find their correct home in the end so that they're taken care of through their old age and that sort of thing. Because horses will go through a lot of iterations through their lives as well when they're young and healthy and maybe jumping and running and racing. Versus after a while, just like people, joints will break down, feet aren't well taken care of, children go off to college, people have dementia, they run across economic problems, and the horses are the ones that can fall through the cracks. And so those of us who... want to make certain that these beautiful animals are well taken care of, can invest in a place, I call it a horse rescue, and know that we're doing the job that you can't necessarily do yourself. That's what I hear all the time from people who donate, is that they believe in what we do, they believe in how we're doing it, they look at our website, and they see the care that we take for um, in the horses. And so that they, they may not have, you know, a million dollars to invest in their own horse ranch. So they, they, they will, you know, donate a hundred dollars here or there, 20,000, whatever it is. And they help us to do the work that they really can't do. And this is almost like the cleanest form of capitalism, right? You're investing in things, your church or the veterans. You mentioned the USMC Memorial Foundation, the Kim Monson Show herself. It's another nonprofit. You believe in the work that Kim Monson does. So a nonprofit is a way to give that money where you think it works the best. versus waiting around for the government to step in and fix the problem. Because the problem is out there. It's up to individuals to fix it. And that would be freedom versus force, force versus freedom, a rhetorical device.
SPEAKER 17 :
Terry, are you telling me that it's not the government's job to take care of horses?
SPEAKER 10 :
It is not the government's job to take care of horses.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's not the best way that we shouldn't be pointing a gun at our neighbors and say, we need your money so that the government can take care of these horses? How dare you?
SPEAKER 10 :
I do not believe it's the government's job to take care of horses. I absolutely do not. I don't believe it's the government's job to provide universal preschool. You know, so it's... There's a long slope of what the government's job is, and I prefer to keep it confined to what the Constitution says it should do.
SPEAKER 17 :
I'll tell you, you know, when I was at the fundraiser, it was so impressive. Not quite like some of the other fundraisers that you and I have seen. You know, during the event, there was a paddle raise for, you know, people just simply wanted to give cash, right? And, you know, by the time we got down, you might correct me here, but around the $250 or maybe it's the $100 range, Pretty much every hand in the place went up, you know, wanting to give that money. I was just so shocked at how people were opening their wallets for something that they just really believe in and really trust the horse rescue to be good stewards of the money.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, I think that's true. And like I said, I do the database management there. And I hear from people all the time that that's why they do it, is that they trust us to take care of their money. And they trust in the work that we do. They trust that we're taking care of these animals. We know them individually. We give them, each of the horses, exactly what they need. And they believe in it. You know, versus sometimes, you know, you talked about fundraisers you and I have been to, so sometimes political parties. There's so much infighting in the, you know, the Colorado GOP these days that I even personally dropped out and became... I will be picked on forever for that. But there's a lot of infighting in political parties within Colorado, and we don't necessarily have the enthusiasm to hand our money over to whatever county you're in or the state or the national party to do the work that we want done. And at the same time, we don't necessarily have time to do that work. So the consequences that political parties end up not being funded as they as they should be and could be and where you then could maybe have some influence. You know, if I had one hundred thousand dollars to give to the political parties in Colorado, maybe I would have more influence as it is in Boulder County. I lost my mayoral race at the same percentage that every Republican always loses. So, you know, it is what it is here.
SPEAKER 17 :
You know, when you first told me about this idea of dovetailing with capitalism and using charities as an opportunity to invest in the things that are important to you, it started making me think about some of the things that are important to me. And not that I want to invest, but things that I value. And this will show a difference of opinion, right? But one of the things that I really enjoy and love are classic cars. Now, you know, some people may know that I have a 69 Camaro. It's not a nice car by any stretch. And look, if you want a 69 Camaro, you can go out and buy one today, right? There are plentiful. You can just go get one. However... You know, there are certain cars that have historical value, historical provenance. There are certain older cars that are one of a kind. And the thing that struck me when I started thinking about what you were saying, Terry, is I love that capitalism creates wealth because these important historical artifacts, if you will, are purchasable and can be preserved and curated by people who love them. There's no way that I could go out and purchase one of these things that is historically relevant. Not only could I not afford it, but it wouldn't be serving that artifact properly. I don't have the means to take care of it. To love it and show it off, I just can't do that. That's another angle, I guess, on a way that capitalism can help us preserve and invest in those things that we love. Hey, I do want to make sure that you have more time to talk about the horse rescue and the great work that's being done there. Can people come and visit the horse rescue? Can they see the operations?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, absolutely. We have actually online, if you go to chr.org forward slash visit, you can just sign up for a tour there. They're done on Saturdays and Sundays, and we'll show you around, and you can meet some of the horses and see the work that's getting done there. But yeah, we keep 60 horses on the property, and they're all... So many of them have specialized diets, specialized healthcare needs. Interestingly, this summer we've gotten a A number of the horses that we've gotten have been overweight. So we kind of joke about having a spa there at the horse rescue. Because once a horse gets overweight, it can affect their hooves in manners that make them unrideable and in pain all the time. So it's really important to keep the weight down on horses. So we have a variety. We have a program called the Annie Project where we receive horses from dude ranches, ideally right before they're ready to retire so that they still have a little bit of life left in them for something like lead line work with children on their back versus having the dude ranches continue to make money off the horse and selling them at an auction where they could end in an unsafe area. So That's where the majority of our horses come from is these types of surrenders and people with financial or health issues. But we do work with seizures. You know, if the county needs to impound some horses for neglect, we will take those in as well. And, yeah, those are the three areas that we get the horses from. It's a need out there.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, we have 10 or 15 seconds. Can you use volunteers? Can you use money? How can people help?
SPEAKER 10 :
We can always use money. Volunteers, we currently have applications open. Sometimes we get bills, but I believe the application section is open again on the website. So through the winter, some of our older volunteers or some of the people that are unhappy in winter weather may drop out. So we've got the applications open again. Going forward, yeah.
SPEAKER 17 :
Great. That was Terry Goon, CHR.org. Please check him out. This is a cause that I believe in. And we're going to go to break. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 23 :
John Bozen and the attorneys at Bozen Law believe that everyone deserves access to justice regardless of their financial situation. That's why Bozen Law handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. You don't pay anything up front. And there are no hourly fees. Bozen Law covers the cost of building your case and they only get paid if they win for you. Every case is different and results vary depending on facts and circumstances. Contact Bozen Law today at 303-999-9999 to see how Bozen Law might help you. That number is 303-999-9999.
SPEAKER 01 :
All Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you for being here. My name is Marshall Dawson. I'm filling in for Kim today. Kim is going to ding me on that last little flub right there. Check out Kim's website, KimMonson.com, and you can email Kim at Kim at KimMonson.com. I mentioned earlier that I ran for office a couple years back and one of the things that really stood out to me was people would contact me and they wanted to know, Marshall, do you hate Donald Trump as much as I do or do you love Donald Trump as much as I do? Marshall, do you hate Israel like I do? Do you love Israel? And it was so disappointing that so few people just wanted to talk about you know personalities or foreign countries didn't want to ever engage in i shouldn't say ever rarely did people ever want to engage in policy well right now we have a special treat for you we have on the phone molly metz and her husband dirk dirk reached out to me during the campaign and wanted to talk about what is happening with inventors And hey, good morning, guys. Molly, let's start with you and give me kind of a quick bio. What got you into where you are? And, you know, let's lead up to, you know, kind of the punchline of the story there.
SPEAKER 09 :
okay uh well thank you for having us marshall my name is molly metz and i am a five-time world jump rope champion which is an interesting thing in an interesting sport but at the age of seven here in boulder colorado i joined the jump rope team and my coach is the founder of the sport of jump rope and so he was very inspired to take all of us kids all over the world So from the age of 8 to 14, I went to over 30 countries, primarily teaching the sport of jump rope when we would go to these different countries. But that was a very impactful childhood experience for me that when I grew up, I was just a big nerd of jump rope. And so in 2007, I started a jump rope company called Jump and Rope. And I would work with kids here in the Boulder range, front range, and start jump rope after school programs at rec centers and schools. And I would take former competitive jump ropers and employ them and get all these programs going. During that time, I was still competing, and I was trying to get faster at my sport because that was one of the entities, you know, to go as fast as you could. And I was tinkering with jump ropes. And long story short, after about two years of doing that, I went to a patent agent and I started working on some patents. And I was awarded two U.S. patents on my jump rope technology. Anyone out there who has ever invented something, it's inspiring. It's rewarding. And it also really inspired me to start a jump rope manufacturing business. So I was working out of my basement. I started an online shop. I started selling jump ropes everywhere. I'm working out of the basement. I think I just said that. And you never know when you're going to get big with something. And so people start stealing my idea, right? And you just see your product showing up on Amazon, showing up on little shops here and there. And so around 2011... I find a facility here in Louisville, 10,000 square feet, and I just decide to go big. And I dump about $300,000 into creating a manufacturing facility, hiring more employees, getting molds. I opened the largest jump rope gym in America and so on and so forth. And all these infringers are out there. So I start battling them, right, and working with them. And at that time, it was like 2012, I had reached out to the largest company in CrossFit, Rogue Fitness. And we had a bunch of emails. I was very excited. We were going to do a deal, a licensing deal. And after a few months of exchanging emails and calls, they went cold on me and they decided to just steal my product. And that was hard. It's hard as a small company to go through that. And at the time, I had all my money invested in my facility, but I didn't fight them. But what happened after that is years of Rogue launching new jump ropes, all of my technology year after year after year. And then on top of that, other companies infringing more year after year.
SPEAKER 17 :
And, Molly, sorry to interrupt, Molly, but I do want to say I was not a jump rope person. I sometimes joke that I thought that all jump ropes came from Walmart or these days Dick's Sporting Goods. And so when your husband, Dirk, reached out to me and started talking about this, He gave me a few things to look at, not only with your story, but about the patents. I was thinking, this is kind of too odd to be true, but it's a very specialized thing, right? So I guess maybe describe your patent just very briefly, because I think many listeners think, well, how could you possibly have new art for something like a jump rope?
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. I mean, it does sound a bit crazy, right? So my jump rope is a dual-bearing system technology inside of the handle. But what's interesting and what's unique is it's what's happening on the outside. I specifically made this jump rope for speed training, one modality. The rope is not going to need to move around in ways where you're crossing your arms or jumping like a boxer, like Rocky Balboa. So on the outside, it accommodates a stainless steel piece of wire, and there's an articulating, I'll call it I-piece, it looks like a helicopter piece, that allows for the rope to not move at a big 180-degree rotation. So it very much just tones everything down and just... allows for the user to focus on that one, you know, to go fast, to do power jumping, to do speed jumping. I wish we had a photo. It would be a lot easier just to show it. But it was so unique, right, that the examiner at the patent office said yes to granting this patent. I was able to show, you know, the novelty to how unique it was. and how different this jump rope was. So I hope that explains.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, and when I so rudely interrupted you, you were talking about various companies were infringing. There was a story about a coach who came here, bought your ropes, sent them to India to be copied, and you were talking about some other companies as well that you were going to get into licensing, and then we were getting to Rogue Fitness. Yes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. And the gentleman that actually bought my ropes and sent to India, I didn't know that happened until about, oh, my gosh, years after. But it's just people feel people are gross that way. And that's just going to be inevitable. But we get these granted rights, these patents in America to stop infringers, to stop those people. And we really we really need that. I mean, here I am trying to build my story for you all to understand that I'm just a A common person living here in Colorado, very proud to start a business. And I have all these people infringing. So that, yes, that leads us up to 2015. I very much was struggling running my programs, selling my ropes because everybody else was stealing, you know, taking over the market. So I had to shut everything down. I didn't have to, but I chose to. And I stopped running my kids' programs. I sold my gym. And I hired an attorney so I could practice my rights with my patents. So what we did for three years, and that's about when I met Dirk as well, is we started to fight. And we used our patents. We started with small companies. We asked them to stop making. We would set up licensing deals. We would send them to court. We would go through little settlements. And the patents were working. And this was good. So for those three years, we literally stopped 150 companies from infringing on my jump ropes. And so in 2018, we had one infringer left, and that's Rogue Fitness, who I sort of mentioned in 2012. At this point, I always get this number wrong, and maybe Dirk wants to interject. They've perceivably sold, oh, gosh, I would say over 200 million.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we never really got to court, and I don't want to jump ahead in the story, but we never really got to court because of those changes in law that we'll talk about. But, yeah, perceivably, I mean, we have to assume based on prior licensing deals that we had with other companies that they sold probably at least for $100 million a year.
SPEAKER 09 :
A year. So this is a big deal for anyone listening. So my point of the story is in 2018, we had done our due diligence. I had saved my money. I had licensing deals. And I was ready to go to court with Rogue Fitness to sue them. I know everyone out there is probably saying court can take forever. And I know that it does. It can. So we sue them in the fall. And instead of staying in court, my attorney called me one day and said this is a couple of months after, you know, giving them their infringement papers. He said, Molly, your court case is going to be stayed and you're going to be sent to an administrative court called the PTAB. And I said, well, what is that and why am I not going to court? He said, oh, it's a new change in the law. And what's happening is Rogue says that the validity of your patents, they're not valid. And they're going to prove that to the courts. But don't worry, right? We've just gone through three years of fighting all these infringers. Your patents are valid. This is fine. I believe that. And I had no choice, by the way. So here we are. Our court case gets stayed. We're sent to this administrative court. I'm told I get no voice. I get no props. There's no jury. There's no real judge. It's starting to feel weird. I said, well, who's going to defend my patents? Oh, you just have to get an expert, and that's another $150,000. And we go to this oral argument. It's during COVID. So I don't even go in person. We get on our computers. It's on Zoom. There are three, I can say, quote, unquote, judges who are in the squares. And the rogue is trying to say my patents are invalid. They're using all this hindsight bias. Everyone on my end is sort of laughing because it's ridiculous. It's like throwing a bunch of mud on the wall and hoping it sticks. And it was about an hour. And my attorneys, we get off the phone and we say, okay, we wait six months, you know, for the verdict. And three months go by and the PTAT gets back to us. And both my patents are completely invalidated. My whole life's work gone after a one-hour Zoom call. And, you know, you think, okay, we have an appeal process here in America. So we appeal. We go to the federal circuit. And that's more time, more money, another year and a half or so. Dirk and I fly to D.C. This is a big deal, right? This is my entire business. And we're heard. We give our appeal. And our attorney says, okay, let's wait to six months. They'll get back to us. Three days go by. I get an email. My attorney says, the Federal Circuit got back to you, and here's the ruling. We're done. And the ruling says, Rule 36 affirmed. And I went to bed for like a month after that because what he said to me is they don't agree, they don't disagree, and you're done. And I couldn't believe it. You invest. a decade of your life into something and you stamp patented on all your products, your family is proud, your neighbors and, you know, everyone is rooting you on and then you're protected for, you know, up until 150 infringers and then the 150th one, 51st one, You send them to court, you send them to this administrative court, and your patents are invalidated.
SPEAKER 17 :
That was the one that counted, I know. Yeah, and here on the Kim Monson Show, we talk about things like property rights. And it's important to point out that a key property right is what your creativity can come up with, what your mind can come up with, the problems that you can solve. And that's why I did want you to mention kind of what the patent does, because so many of us wouldn't think of such a thing. And the patent system is kind of the government's way of telling you, we are going to, you know, protect on paper your property rights. You know, that creativity is your property. We are going to help you protect it. And yet this PTAB board, which correct me if I'm wrong, Molly, is that came about as part of the America Invents Act, I think it was. And it was this administrative system that, Maybe talk about the percentages and how those guys are funded. But I do want to make sure that we leave time to talk about improvements that have been made since then.
SPEAKER 09 :
yeah i'll be quick so so really what happened after that all happened i found us inventor a big group here um about 50 000 inventors and i thought i wasn't alone right there's about uh three four thousand inventors who have gone through this court and lost their businesses um i also found out at the p tab 84 percent of patents are invalidated 84 that's a huge huge percentage i also found out how impossible it is for inventors to get contingency from lawyers. What lawyer wants to take an inventor's case knowing that the PTAB is not optional, you're sent there, and then 84% of the time your patents are invalidated. So it's very un-American. It is by law. It was set up by Congress. It can be fixed. And Dirk is here to talk all about what he does with that and what we both do.
SPEAKER 17 :
That'd be wonderful. Hey, Dirk, it's been a while since we spoke, but yeah, let us know what's going on there.
SPEAKER 03 :
So to bring a little more color to the story of PTAB, and by the way, let me actually take a step back. You mentioned earlier about property rights. So actually in the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 says to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries. This is the only time in the Constitution that the word right is mentioned. That's an interesting fact. But to go back to PTAB, from 2009 to 2011, you have all the biggest corporations on the planet lobbying the Hill to get this bill passed into all the American events that created the PTAB. Amazon, Qualcomm, Cisco, Google, Excel, Microsoft, and so on. Ultimately, Google ends up spending about $36 million lobbying this Hill, lost about three visits per day on average at the White House. In 2011, the American Invest Act gets passed into law. 2012, the Patent Office gets a new director. Her name was Michelle Lee, and her former job was VP for Patent Strategy at Google. Isn't that interesting? What a coincidence. Next thing you know, Google ends up sending a bunch of patents to the PTAB that they were stealing. Those patents all get invalidated, and Google gets away with it scot-free. And then some people say that what happened to us and what happens to all the other American businesses is just collateral damage. I think the system was designed, or this change in the law was specifically designed to do what it does, and it does so effectively. Molly said it 84% of the time, patents get invalidated. And this doesn't mean that 84% of the time these are bad patents. They're actually very good patents because not only... Who would challenge a bad patent? Who would litigate over a bad patent? And if you have... If you have the main challengers, the main users of PTAB being Samsung, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Intel, they're not stealing bad paths. They're stealing the most successful, commercially successful and valuable paths.
SPEAKER 17 :
Dirk, we have 20 seconds. Real quick, who are your favorite congresspeople? And also, put in a plug for Jump and Rope.
SPEAKER 03 :
Favorite congresspeople, hands down, Thomas Massie. He's our biggest champion. He's doing all the right things. He's very smart when it comes to patents. He has 32 or something on him. Okay.
SPEAKER 17 :
And Jump and Rope, is there a website?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, it's jumpandrope.com, J-U-M-P-N-R-O-P-E.com. And you can also visit mollymets.com where you can find all of our advocacy.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thanks, guys. Hey, it was great talking to you again. I really appreciate your time. Our quote for the end of the show comes from John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson. Both men were founding fathers, they were U.S. presidents, and they went from friends to rivals and reconciled before they both passed on July 4th, 1826. Our quote earlier was from Aristotle, rhetoric is the art of persuasion, so I find this fitting. Adams wrote to Jefferson, you and I ought not die before we have explained ourselves to each other. So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. You are not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 14 :
Talking about.
SPEAKER 20 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
In this insightful episode of The Flatline, host Rick Hughes explores the metaphor of the American tumbleweed and its scriptural implications. Highlighting passages from Jeremiah, Rick discusses the pitfalls of seeking happiness and fulfillment in political leaders and fleeting promises. Instead, he points listeners towards the lasting hope and stability found in trusting God's plan and developing a strong spiritual foundation.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you'll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I'm your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, I'd like to give you an invitation to stick around. It won't be long, just about 30 minutes of motivation, some inspiration, a whole lot of education and And we don't manipulate people. We're not trying to raise money. We're not trying to sell you anything. No latest book we've written to sell you. We certainly have books, but we give them away. We don't sell them. And we would like for you to have some very good information that will help you verify and identify God's plan for your life. If you're interested and if you want to orient and adjust to the plan, well, that's up to you. So I hope you'll listen. I hope you'll stick around. I hope you'll stay with me. We always podcast our radio shows as well. If you're familiar with podcast venues, you can go to the Apple iPod. You can go to Spotify, anything like that, and search for the FLOT line, F-L-O-T, FLOT line. That stands for the Forward Line of Troops, a military analogy. And if you find it, you can listen to the FLOT line anywhere, anytime, any day, anywhere in the world. by going to the podcast venue. We have about 800 radio shows podcasted there and we also had transcriptions there, all available for you. Transcriptions of this radio show will be available. If you'd like to have a transcription, let us know. We'll always be free to mail it to you and you can read what we said in the transcript. Okay, I guess we've talked about all of that. We've told you about all of our books, all of our bookmarkers. We have a lot of bookmarkers available for you to stick in your Bible. It'll help you, things to remember about God's plan for your life. So please take advantage of what we offer. It's always there for you. I want to give you an illustration today about what's going on in our country. I try to stay out of politics most of the time, and this is not political. But many, many, many years ago when I was a young man, I remember hearing a song called tumbling tumbleweeds. I bet you remember that song tumbling tumbleweeds. Although one of the most famous songs associated with the sons of the pioneers who sang it, it was originally composed by Bob Nolan in the thirties while working as a caddy and living in Los Angeles. It was originally entitled tumbling leaves. but it was reworked into the title Tumbling Tumbleweeds and into fame in 1935 with a Gene Autry film with the same name. It was at one time, and still is, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the top 100 Western songs of all time. See them tumbling along, Tumbling Tumbleweeds. Well, the Bible talks about tumbleweeds. Did you know that? In Jeremiah 17, 6, Jeremiah spoke to the people of Israel, and the Bible translates this passage. I'm going to use a translation called The Message today. There are a lot of different translations, the King James Version, the New American Standard Version, the New King James Version, the NIT Version. But here it's called The Message, and it's a simplified version. It helps you to understand it. Here's what it says in Jeremiah 17, verses 5 and 6. Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans, the person who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight. He is like a tumbleweed on the prairie, out of touch with the good earth, and he lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing grows. He's a tumbleweed. The King James translation of the word shrub is where we get the word tumbleweed. It's actually a Hebrew word, A-R-O-E-R, pronounced ed-ar. It means a bush with no roots. Tumbleweeds have no roots. They are blown along by any wind that comes. And they're very vulnerable to that. They blow everywhere because they don't have any place to root. But I want to talk to you about the American tumbleweed. The American tumbleweed. The American tumbleweed is blown about by winds of promise from politicians who are seeking power, making promises of happiness if they get elected. And a lot of people are blown in that direction. because American tumbleweeds pay no attention to God's warning in Jeremiah 17, five. Here is a King James translation to that verse. Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes man his strength, flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. This verse I just read to you is a direct reflection of the political hope of many Americans today. looking for some politician who can legislate their problems away and make them happy. Someone who would get rid of their student loans, guarantee them a monthly income, make sure they get rid of fossil fuels like gas and oil. Someone who will legislate equality of sexes and races. In other words, people are looking for a flawed individual who is repackaged as a wonderful leader and a problem solver, But underneath the glimmer and the glory is the false image of still an individual with a sin nature, be it a man or a woman. Ironically, the Bible speaks of the Antichrist of the Tribulation much in the same way. He's the same sort of individual, a great problem solver, a politician, bringing countries of the world together. But underneath, he's a man possessed by Satan who will eventually demand to be worshiped. Looking for happiness in a political leader to bring change is false hope. Jeremiah says it's false hope, and it's false hope lived in life in a parched place. That's what he says. In other words, the individual will not ever see happiness since they've turned away from the Lord and are looking for some man to deliver them. And they are like tumbleweeds blown around by every wind of doctrine that comes. We'll talk about that later. But life will not offer any refreshment for these individuals, only suffering and death, when you look for happiness in a lie. It's not there. The volitional decision the individual makes, the American tumbleweed makes, to abandon God's plan, to set a course based on flawed leadership, is nothing sort of disastrous. With no roots to hold them down firm, they blow with every wind that blows. People in America today, you know, I know, they're restless. They won't change, but human solutions are no solutions. Divine solutions are the only solutions. Again, human solutions are no solutions. They only cause for more frustration, more pain. Only if you have a solid, sound, spiritual life based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can you have what you're seeking. Listen to what Jeremiah says about that. Jeremiah 17, seven and eight. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. For he will be like a tree, not a tumbleweed, He will be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when the heat comes and his leaves will always be green and it will not be anxious in the year of the drought nor will it cease from yielding fruit. Why? Because it's planted by the water. The living water of the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. Spiritual death is the condition of the disadvantaged person who rejects God's uniquely born son And spiritual birth is what happens when you put your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross and receive him as your savior. John 3.36 talks about it. It says this, he who believes in the son will have everlasting life. And he who does not believe the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. In John 6.47, most assuredly, I say to you, Jesus said, He who believes in me has everlasting life. These two verses echo what Jeremiah 17, 7 said. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is the Lord. That's the first step for you to have the right kind of life. It's the first step for you to be like a tree planted by the water. Not a tumbleweed, but a firm foundation near a source of refreshment. This verse guarantees you happiness if you trust God's plan. And those two key words are trust and hope. Again, Jeremiah 17, seven, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. That's what happens when you get saved. You put your faith and trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross. and whose hope, and that's the word confidence, is in the Lord. That means that you depend on the Lord for your provisions of everyday life. You don't have to sweat anything. You don't have to worry about anything. You develop a flat line in your soul, and you move through life with great happiness. How do I know that? Because Jesus Christ said this in Luke 11, 27 and 28, happiness belongs to those people who hear my father's word and keep it. God's plan for you is based on a personal relationship with him. And that only starts when you receive Christ as your savior. because there's no other way you can reach God other than through his anointed son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14, 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. In John 6, 28 and 29, then they said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? In verse 29, John 6, Jesus said, This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent. In John 6, 40, this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day. That's what being saved is, to become a believer. You've been an unbeliever, now you become a believer. What are you supposed to believe? Believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Did he die for you? Yes. Did he pay for your sin? Yes. Was he buried? Yes. Was he resurrected? Yes. Do you believe that? Can you claim that as your salvation? Can you come to the Father and say, Heavenly Father, I know that I cannot save myself. And so I'm here today to commit myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, believing he paid for my sin. If you can pray a prayer something like that, simple prayer, your own words, that's not important, the words, but what's important is what you're saying, what you're communicating to God, because the Bible says, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you can express your faith to God in prayer by simply saying, I believe Jesus Christ is your anointed son, and I am willing to receive him. To as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God. What an amazing thing to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive him as your savior. That's what Jesus said, this is the will of the one that sent me, that everyone who sees a son and believes in him may have everlasting life. Paul told the Roman jailer, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You've heard John 3.16, God so loves the world, he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the verb pistouo from the noun pistis or faith. Believe is faith. Put your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. If your hope for a better life and happiness is in some man or some government official, you're going to be greatly disappointed because no politician, be it a Republican or a Democrat, can solve any problem of the tumbling tumbleweeds in America today. There's no magic genie gonna pop out of the bottle and grant you your wish. So we have restlessness in America today. We have division, we have greed, we have jealousy, we have bitterness. Who can calm all of that down? I mean, it doesn't take a genius to see we're fractured as a nation and we're doomed to defeat if we don't turn to our true protector and our true provider. Philippians 4, 6, and 7 says this. Be anxious for nothing. What a great thing to believe in. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Go to God with your requests, let him know, and then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. What a promise. Here's an Old Testament promise in the book of Nahum, one of the minor prophets. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of troubles. and he knows those who trust him. We certainly have a day of trouble in our nation today. Do you trust God? Are you anxious? Are you full of anxiety? Do you have stress in your life because you don't have those problem-solving devices we talk about? You've heard me tell you that adversity is inevitable, but stress is optional, because adversity is what circumstances do to you, and stress is what you do to yourself. So America is full of tumbleweeds being blown around by every promise of the politician, hoping to have their problem solved. Not going to happen. But what about Christian tumbleweeds? Christian tumbleweeds. That's a little bit of a different story. See, if you've accepted Christ as your Savior, remember this. When you go to church to get a little fix, you know, to get your shot of God with a one dose of inspiration and then head down the road doing your own thing, it's not going to work. If you wish to really please God and have an impact on your nation's history, it's going to take more than you just play nod to God. First, you absolutely must get under the ministry of a teaching pastor who studies and communicates the word of God more than 30 minutes a week. not a cruise ship director, not someone who makes sure the Christian community, everybody has someplace to go and something to do, but a man who studies and teaches the Word of God consistently. Second, you have to learn the protocol plan of God, starting with those unique 10 problem-solving devices that make up the flat line in your soul, and these are nothing new. These are age-old biblical doctrines, 10 problem-solving devices. What are they? Well, we solve the problem of sin when we rebound, when we confess our sin. 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and purify us from all wrongdoing. That leads to problem-solving device number two, the filling of the Holy Spirit. That's where we solve the problem of our genetically formed sin nature that wants to control our life. Because the Bible says the flesh wars against the spirit. The spirit wars against the flesh. And then problem-solving device number three, the faith rest drill, where we stand on the 7,000 promises of God and put our confidence and trust in him, and he will deliver. Remember what he told Joshua? Don't be afraid. Don't worry. I'll be with you. And then grace orientation. What a wonderful problem-solving device. You're saved by grace. We know that because the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith. It's a gift from God, not of workers, unless anyone would brag about it. And there's doctrinal orientation, that's you going to the word of God, learning the mind of Christ, getting divine viewpoint, living your life in that vein. This gives you the personal sense of destiny, why God got you here, why God wants you to do, what your spiritual gift is, and where your eternal status will be. This is all motivated by your personal love for God, a great virtue in your life. 1 John 5, 3 said, if you love me, you will obey me and my mandates are not hard. Personal love for God comes reciprocally where it says we love him because he first loved us. God loved you way before you ever loved him. And I don't even know if you love, how can you love a God you don't even know? But then there's impersonal love, a great problem-solving device that gives me the ability to love even the worst person in the world. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ used on the cross. He died for me, and I was a jerk. He died for you. He died for everyone. All of us jerks. With impersonal love, he loved us. God so loved the world. He didn't love us with personal love based on his character. I mean, our character. He loved us with impersonal love based on his character. And then it takes us to sharing the happiness of God, plus H. Jesus told those disciples in John 15, 11, I've told you these things so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full. And there we come up to occupation with Christ. It's no longer I, but Christ in me, the hope of glory Paul talks about. Those 10 problem-solving devices have to be learned because, in essence, that is the Christian life. That's how it works, and that makes up the flat line in your soul. So first, you got to get under the ministry of a well-qualified pastor. Second, learn the protocol plan of God, starting with those 10 problem-solving devices. Build that flatline in your soul. And third, you must be consistent in your studies. You must be faithful in the application of what you learn. You cannot afford to be a Christian tumbleweed. What is that? Ephesians 4.13 says, That we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. There's the tumbleweed right there. By the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. The Christian tumbleweed is tricked into believing the lie by a deceitful crafty person who makes it sound like God endorsed him. Oh, the Lord told me to write this book. You need to buy my book. Buy my book. Oh, I'm just trying to cover my costs, they'll tell you. I'll tell you what. There are canine clergy roaming all around this country. Canine clergy. What's a canine clergy? Matthew 7, 15. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? The ravenous wolves are the canine clergy roaming about who would love to capture you by your emotions. They will seek to lure you away from any solid, sound, consistent Bible teaching by using gimmicks to hook you, especially if you've got children. Oh, the children, the poor children. That's why the Jews wouldn't go on the promised land to start with. The giants in there, oh, what would they do to our children? And so many believers get sucked into this by saying, oh, well, we need a nice, wonderful place where our children can have fun in church. The church is not there to babysit. It's there to train and teach the Word of God. That's just one thing. There's so much going on. It's almost unbelievable the things that are happening today. Beware of the canine clergy. They will take you and seduce you into their way of thinking, and you will be off base down the road called the my way highway. Bible doctrine, the word of God, must be taught in a client nation if we're going to survive. It has to be taught. Why? Because Proverbs 29, 18 says, Where there is no revelation, the people cast off all restraint. But happy is the one who keeps the law. That's what's happened in America today. We've cast off restraint. The modified expanded translation of that verse I just quoted to you in Proverbs 29, 18 is this. Where there's no communication of divine revelation, the people lack restraint. In other words, they're always searching for something like tumbleweeds. But he who is rooted in the teaching of the word is very happy. You see, the power of Christianity is not in politics. It's not even visible, but rather the spiritual invisible life. Your influence as an invisible hero is the only way this nation can ever survive. It's the only way there could ever be any blessing to its citizens. You, you are the true hope for America, not the politician. You, your spiritual life. And any Christian who's unaware of what the Bible teaches often winds up going down the wrong road, becoming some sort of activist. You know, they want to clean up the devil's world and right all the wrongs and destroy anybody that don't agree with them, that doesn't agree with them. It's obvious to me America is under divine discipline. It should be to you too. Although many citizens don't see it that way. But our internal peace is gone. Our international peace is gone. Spiraling food prices, spiraling fuel prices threaten our security and our families. What can you do about it? I can tell you what you can do about it. First, get your personal spiritual life in order. Learn how to get in fellowship with God and how to stay in fellowship with God using Rebound. Understand the filling of the Holy Spirit and what it does for you. Find a well-qualified pastor teacher who can teach you the Word of God and listen, learn, and glorify God on a daily basis. We often call that LAG, L-A-G, learn, apply, and glorify God. These sort of decisions will equip you to be part of the pivot process the core group of mature believers who can have an invisible and a historical impact on the future of this nation. But if you neglect, if you neglect your spiritual life, as you have been doing in the past, if you neglect your spiritual life, you can kiss it goodbye because your children and your grandchildren will pay the price for your failure. Hosea 4.6 is very plain about this, very clear about this. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, Hosea 4, 6. Because you rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being my priest. Because you ignored the laws of your God, I will ignore your children. Now, if you have children or grandchildren, this should be a warning to you. Your grandchildren and your children will pay the price for your failure to grow spiritually. They will pay the price for your lack of knowledge. What does it mean, lack of knowledge? It means this, that God has a plan. Listen, we're not playing streetball here. We're not making the rules up to go along. God laid down the plan a long time ago. That's why it says, study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Can you be ashamed when you get to heaven? Yes. Why? Because you never learned the plan. You never did it the right thing in the right way. And in 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 16, you'll see all the wood, hay, and stubble burned up. All the good things you did the wrong way, not filled with the Holy Spirit, from the energy of the flesh, make a nice big bonfire in eternity, not rewardable, and not hearing, well done, my good and faithful servant. You didn't want to learn. You didn't have time to learn. I don't have time to sit down and listen to a pastor. I just need a 10-minute devotion every day, you might say to yourself. I just need some Christian music, and I'll be okay. No, you won't. That's not how you grow. This verse says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. You rejected knowledge. You were not willing to invest in learning God's word. That's the question. Are you willing to invest in learning God's word? It's going to take time and effort. it may even take some finances for you to purchase the right kind of material to do it with a computer or a dvd player an mp3 player but are you willing to invest in your spiritual life so you don't have to hear this because god said when you reject knowledge I will reject your children. This means you're guaranteeing that your children will have no future in America. Why? Oh, well, you say I voted for the right man. I believe in the right purposes and principle. Well, yeah, we all do. Divine institutions are wonderful and God designed them that way. Do you even know what they are? Do you understand divine institutions, establishment principles taught in the Bible? Freedom, marriage, family, nationalism. Do you know what that is? See, that requires knowledge to understand God's plan because so many people get easily suckered into going the wrong way. and suckered into spending all their money buying books that don't tell you anything. I hope you're listening to me today. I'm trying to be as firm and as hard and as tough as I can be. I'm watching my country go down. I'm watching Christians that are not interested in growing spiritually, that are easily distracted from prosperity. You know, I mean, God's blessed you. You got a lot of wonderful things. You're really enjoying life, aren't you? Count all your blessings while you got them. They're not going to be here long. You keep going down the my way highway, I assure you. I hope you're listening. I hope you're paying attention. I'll be back next week. Same time, same place. Until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flood Line.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you'd like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
Dive into the heart of America's political arena with this episode of the Mike Gallagher Show. Mike offers an unfiltered commentary on the chaotic landscape of D.C. politics, drawing attention to the latest Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. In the spotlight is Pam Bondi, whose recent testimony sparked heated debate and revealed unsettling truths about the operations within the Department of Justice. Listen as we navigate through the multifaceted layers of political maneuvering and the implications for both Republicans and Democrats.
SPEAKER 22 :
From the wild world of D.C. politics to America's culture clash, brace yourself for the reality check you've been waiting for. The one and only Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 20 :
We had a big night here in New York. We had an online streaming event. trying to expose the real Zoran Mamdani, who is on the verge of being elected as New York's Islamist mayor, a guy who yesterday commemorated the October 7th massacre by blasting Israel. the victims of the October 7th massacre. Everything is upside down right now, it feels, but not to fear. We've got a whole lot of warriors on Capitol Hill. There's a lot of fighters. As we gathered last night, Joe Piscopo and Hugh Hewitt, Kevin McCullough, a bunch of great folks, Dottie Herman. And one thing we were all agreeing upon is that Trump has a whole different team of than he had in the first term. First term, he had kooky haters like Ty Cobb. He was one of Trump's lawyers. Now he's a never-Trumper and he's out blasting Trump and the administration every chance he gets. He had John Kelly. He had people that stabbed him in the back. He had people that were completely, completely and utterly betrayers. This time around, It's a whole new ballgame. Now he's got folks like Pam Bondi as his attorney general. Now, yesterday there was a Senate hearing that was ostensibly about this Jack Smith operation to literally spy on U.S. senators. This Jack Smith guy, I tell you what, you talk about bad news. We are talking big-time bad news. And so that's what the hearing was supposed to be about, but of course it became about ICE and it became about illegal immigration and all the virtue signaling by the Democrats. Well, Pam Bondi Put on a master class. This is how it's done. This is what we voted for. Grabian, our friends at Grabian who provide a lot of our video and audio clips, put together a little montage. I give you the great performance yesterday by Pam Bondi.
SPEAKER 10 :
For me, you would have been fired because you were censored by Congress for lying.
SPEAKER 07 :
We can stipulate to you can stipulate to all your personal attacks on the Democratic members of the committee.
SPEAKER 11 :
Personal attacks. You've been attacking my FBI director.
SPEAKER 12 :
You've been attacking my office.
SPEAKER 08 :
You've been. But we're interested in borders. All we're interested in is the answer to these oversight questions. So you were asked by my colleague. You were asked by my colleague.
SPEAKER 14 :
Attacking good people. Operation Arctic Frost was an unconstitutional, undemocratic abuse of power. During Arctic Frost, the FBI also placed 92 linked Republican individuals and Republican groups, such as Charlie Kirk's Turning Point. on their list. This is the kind of conduct that shattered the American people's faith in our government. We are ending this weaponization.
SPEAKER 09 :
I have to show to get the phone records of a sitting United States senator. You would have to have cause.
SPEAKER 04 :
Can you tell me why my phone records, when I'm the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, were sought by the Jack Smith agents? Do you think that was an abuse of power?
SPEAKER 14 :
Senator, I cannot discuss whether there is or is not an ongoing investigation. Senator Blumenthal, I find it so interesting that you didn't bring any of this up during President Biden's administration when he was doing everything to protect Hunter Biden, his son. And I think you just saw what Director Radcliffe just released.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, this is an effort to be positive and constructive.
SPEAKER 14 :
If I can finish answering the question, I'm not going to yell over you. I'm not going to get in the gutter with you. But information... Information that the Biden administration told them not to investigate Hunter Biden's involvement with Ukraine. And I'm not going to be lectured to you about integrity by someone who lied about being in the military just to be elected a senator.
SPEAKER 18 :
I think it's been confirmed by the White House they are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale for that?
SPEAKER 14 :
You voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here. Our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.
SPEAKER 20 :
Wow. I mean, this is about as good as it gets. She's going to be lectured by stolen valor Blumenthal about integrity? You think Richard Blumenthal has any integrity? If you lied about serving in combat in Vietnam and the New York Times had to call you out for it, he's going to lecture her on anybody? On anything? No. Now, here's how you know how effective she was. Check out the unhinged reactions from the unhinged Trump-hating universe. I mentioned this goofy Thai cob with the funny mustache, the handlebar mustache.
SPEAKER 19 :
Check out his take on CNN. I think today she achieved one thing. She knocked John Mitchell off the perch of reprehensible attorney generals as number one, despite his guilty plea and time in jail.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, John Mitchell, Nixon's AG, who famously or infamously, I should say, like helped put his wife in custody because he was afraid she was going to spill the beans. Well, Pam Bondi is worse than that. They're breathing into brown paper bags. They're hyperventilating. Let's check in and see how Nicole Wallace is doing over at MSNBC.
SPEAKER 05 :
What Attorney General Pam Bondi said before the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon may very well go down as one of the most brazen, most shameless, most verifiably false statements ever uttered in that setting. Quote, the two-tiered system of justice is over. In fact, if Bondi's on-the-record testimony today served to prove anything out in public, anything at all, it is that a two-tiered system of justice has very much been operationalized. It's a new reality in the United States of America right now.
SPEAKER 20 :
So the loonies over at MSNBC are angrier at Pam Bondi pushing back against Democrat senators than they are the weaponization of the Justice Department by folks like Jack Smith. Here's what Kash Patel pointed out Jack Smith was actually up to.
SPEAKER 01 :
We found this information to expose the politicization by Jack Smith and the prior Department of Justice. I mean, just think about it. Eight sitting United States senators' phone records were gathered and subpoenaed through the grand jury process, and it was buried and wormholed with the hope that no one would find it. So we're just scratching the surface here, but accountability is coming.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, accountability is coming. What's the line from Game of Thrones? Winter is here. Winter is coming. I think winter's coming for Jack Smith. You look up Arctic frost. Just look it up on the internet. Arctic frost and what that was. Chuck Grassley's inquiry into the FBI's Arctic frost investigation of January 6th. They were snooping and spying on the phone records of Republican... Congressman Mike Kelly, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Josh Hawley, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Marsha Blackburn, and others. Our FBI was spying on U.S. Senators, all Republicans. And Nicole Wallace... thinks that Pam Bondi and her pushback was brazen and shameless. Hey, dummy, the brazen shamelessness comes from an FBI that is so corrupt. that they were illegally spying on our own U.S. senators. Again, Republicans all. Let's get your reaction to all of it here in the Relief Factor studios. It's Wednesday, October the 8th. Great to have you along for the ride. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for watching on Salem News Channel, listening to us on your favorite radio station, following us online. Wherever, you know, you get us, we're just glad to be here for you. Our number is 800-655-MIKE. 15 past the hour. We have an open line or two, and you know me, I love loaded lines. I want to talk to you. I want Americans front and center here on the Mike Gallagher Show. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us. You know how much I care about family, tradition, and the kind of meals that bring people together. That's why I love telling you about Tri-Tales Premium Beef. They're a fifth-generation ranching family down in Texas, real ranchers, not corporations, and they put together something really special, the Autumn Butcher Box. Now, this box is about more than just dinner. It's about gathering your loved ones, creating memories, and feeding your legacy with beef raised the right way. From their ranch to your table, it's a taste of tradition that reminds us what family meals are supposed to be. And when you order this Autumn Butcher Box between now and October 19th, you get a pound of steak meat as a free bonus. Tri-Tales also still has my favorite cuts with the Gallagher Patriot Box just for you. Get one or both and see what beef is supposed to taste like for yourself. As always, you get free shipping on all first orders and an automatic 10% off. Don't wait. Order the Autumn Butcher Box or my Gallagher Patriot Box today. Go to trybeef.com slash Gallagher. Share in the legacy. trybeef.com slash Gallagher. That's trybeef.com slash Gallagher.
SPEAKER 22 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 17 :
And you cannot get Spanberger or any Democrat anywhere to condemn him because it's the Uniparty. It's all organized around the left and the money faucet that comes out of the dark money groups. So the same people telling Chuck Schumer to close the government are the people telling Jay Jones to stay in the race.
SPEAKER 22 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 20 :
That's my buddy Hugh Hewitt, who was very gracious last night when I took some cheap shots at our New York City mayoral town hall of the airwaves here on AM 970, The Answer in New York. And it was streamed all around the country, all around the world. Hugh just said, vote Cuomo. Vote Cuomo. You've got to vote for Andrew Cuomo. And I get it. I understand. Look, that's where I was a week or two ago. Not that I was endorsing Cuomo. But I was wavering on my support for my friend, former colleague, and the quintessential New Yorker, Curtis Lewa. Then I had a chat with Mark Davis in Dallas. And Mark reminded me about the wisdom in remembering you need to always do the right thing. You can't vote for a scoundrel because it's a political calculation that you think will block or prevent the unthinkable from happening, like a communist being elected mayor of New York. You've got to do the right thing. There's nothing that Andrew Cuomo stands for that Hugh Hewitt agrees with. Nothing. Nothing. But Hugh claims that Curtis simply can't win. It's impossible for Curtis Sliwa to win. You know who they said that about in 2016? Donald Trump. Well, look, Hugh admitted last night he predicted Hillary was going to win I reminded him about that a few times last night on that broadcast. I might have even let slip a couple of times. You are, after all, Mr. Hewitt, the author of a book called A Mormon in the White House. So when you confidently declare a political prognostication, maybe we got to look at your track record, Mr. Mormon in the White House. Maybe we've got to remember that you were the one that said that Hillary is going to win, Trump can't beat her. And he was a good sport about it. All kidding aside, it took my chat with Mark Davis, and then it made me think about a lesson I learned from my mentor many years ago as I was embarking in this crazy world. In business, as in life, you do the right thing. You've got to do the right thing. You can't sacrifice your principles and say, oh, vote for the guy that got people killed in New York's nursing homes. You can't vote for the guy that was hounded out of the office in disgrace with scandal after scandal. The guy is a scoundrel. And Hugh knows what a bad guy Andrew Cuomo is. Everybody knows his track record. Curtis Leroy right now is at 28% in recent polling. He's not leading. Trump was at about 11%, I think. You've got to do the right thing and let God sort it all out in the end. God already knows the outcome of the New York City mayor's race. He already knows how that's going to end. I think a lot about our faith and I think a lot about some of the awful things I saw in New York yesterday. Pro-Hamas demonstrators. Pro-Hamas. I watched with my own eyes. I saw. I interviewed survivors in Israel. The people of Israel often feel abandoned, often feel like they're trying to go it alone. And you know what? You can assure them that they're not alone. This month, we are partnering again with our friends at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. There's a banner posted at the top of my homepage at mikeonline.com where you can make a generous gift of $25 or any amount you wish to support the IFCJ. Or you can phone in your gift to our special number, 800-613-5511. 800-613-5511. $25 will help rush a food box to a Jewish person in need in Israel. If you can give $50, $100, whatever you can afford, you can help build bomb shelters for the people of Israel. And thanks to a generous fellowship supporter, for a limited time, the impact of your gift will double. Let's listen together to the great Yael Eckstein and her message about our partnership this month, our efforts to support the people of Israel through our IFCJ campaign.
SPEAKER 23 :
Thank you so much for this question, Mike, because indeed so many people have forgotten what happened on October 7th. But here in Israel, no one has forgotten. I'm not going to go into the details because it's too upsetting for so many people to hear. But on October 7th. Israel saw that we are in a war for survival. And that's the day that we realized that we need to protect our borders. We need to stand guard. We need to get rid of these terrorists that want to destroy us, because if not, we won't be here tomorrow.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thank you, Yael, and we're going to talk to Yael today on the show. MikeOnline.com, click on that banner at the top of the page, and please, please give what you can. All right, let's take some calls. And, you know, I've shared with you that every single time I say that there were hundreds of people who behaved terribly on January 6th and did a lot of damage, not just physical damage, not just broken windows, did a lot of harm to our cause, to our side. Inevitably, people get mad at me. And I'm always surprised at that because how can you dispute that? There are some things that are not disputable. You're not going to rationalize breaking windows and assaulting cops and fighting with law enforcement and breaking down barriers. And I know why people push back, because you're tired of the way the left gets away with everything. I get it. I really do. But don't be like them. You've got to acknowledge what is true. Jackson, Indianapolis. Jack, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Hello. Hi there. Hi.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, I'm calling in regard, and I'm not knocking what you said as far as hundreds misbehaving and stuff. That's a given. There were things that happened that was crazy there and maybe could have been preventable. The footage that I have seen which is minimal, but a lot of the new stuff that came out that I've seen. From what I've seen, the actual crazy crazy didn't take place until those officers started shooting rubber bullets and tear gas canisters into the crowd, and then it went into an uproar. Now, if they were trying to push them people back because they felt threatened, You'd think they would shoot the tear gas canisters in front of the crowd so they all would go back. But they actually was launching them out into the crowd. It was clear that they were trying to aggravate them. and instigate things turning bad, which they did.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. Every time there's a riot, and that could very accurately be described as a riot, tear gas is deployed. I've never heard a narrative that they were firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters directly into the crowd. And I think to say, and let me finish my point. And I'm not real sure that saying that because law enforcement was trying to control a crowd with tear gas, that somehow it's the police officer's fault that people were acting violently. I don't know that. In other words, you're sort of suggesting that you think the police provoked them. And incidentally, I'll go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just actually going by footage that I actually seen that we didn't see in the beginning. Right.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I've seen I too have watched hours and hours of footage. And it is without dispute, as you said, and you agree with me, I think hundreds of people were violent. Period. There's no way around that. And so we can sit around and say, well, maybe. But look, there's also a lot of questions about people like this Ray Epps character. And everybody ought to be asking questions about Ray Epps. There are questions about people who were in the crowd seemingly egging people on and then they weren't charged and somehow they got a pass. How does that happen? How does that even, the Ray Epps story is, you want to go down that rabbit hole, you'll spend days there wondering how this guy was not charged when people were charged for far less than what he did. And there are all kinds of beliefs that this guy was a bad actor, maybe he was a government plant. Look, it was revealed last week they had a couple of hundred FBI agents embedded in the crowd. And I have always said we should and we must acknowledge the bad actors in the crowd that day. We must acknowledge the cops that were opening doors and cooperating and letting people in. Even Brian Sicknick, the poor guy that died of natural causes, had a physical condition or whatever where he died. He was shown giving directions to the people on January 6th about where to go. So two things can be true at once. And all I'm saying is don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don't say that, I mean, because the pushback, and I don't really want to spend a ton of time on this because we could get people all fired up. People, oh, Mike, they were all Antifa. No, they weren't. I've had people say that to me repeatedly. Every one of those people in the crowd was Antifa. I don't believe Ashley Babbitt was Antifa. None of those people were Trump supporters. That's not true. And so we can't, because of our frustration and disgust with today's Democrat Party and the left, don't sacrifice truth. Don't stick your head in the sand and pretend that up is down and, you know, wrong is right and right is wrong. 800-655-MIKE. 15 before the hour. Thanks for your call, sir. More coming up, including a visit with the ILX team from the IFCJ. And, oh, Jesse Jackson Jr. is coming back. Come on. Going to prison for corruption and theft? That's not a disqualifier if you're a Chicago politician, is it? Stick around. More of that straight ahead. Ph.D. weight loss has changed my life. And I've got a little secret for you. You know Big Pharma and semaglutide and the shots in the belly. You've seen the story recently about the study that shows that a lot of people that are getting this are going blind. You don't want to do this. You want a program to lose weight that's centered around science and nutrition. A proven roadmap that has helped over 8,000 clients lose weight and keep it off. Like me. I lost 53 pounds a few years ago and I've kept it off. I know what to eat and when. I know how to quiet any of the cravings I might get and finally release that unhealthy belly fat that I carried along for so long. Make the phone call that can change your life in the way it changed mine. It's called PhD Weight Loss. PhD Weight Loss, Dr. Ashley Lucas' program is brilliant. And how do I know? Well, 53 pounds later, here I am. 864-644-1900 is their number. Call and schedule your consultation. You can do this program from anywhere in America. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or visit MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 21 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 20 :
Okay, we got the audio glitch fixed, I think. We're back with Yael Eckstein who's joining us live from Israel. She's the president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Yael, again, I feel almost... ugly sharing this with you, because, again, I've spent time with you. We've broken bread together. The IFCJ means a lot to me, and right now I'm counting on every member of our audience to support the IFCJ with our fundraising efforts through October, and I'm going to tell everybody how they can help in just a moment. But I want you to see and hear what I saw yesterday in New York City. It's been covered on the local news here. This is extraordinary, the two-year anniversary of the October 7th massacre when men, women, and children were butchered by a war that Hamas began. And this is what happened yesterday in New York City in the streets of Manhattan.
SPEAKER 15 :
We did not act enough. We did not act enough. Repeat after me. We did not act enough. We did not act enough. If we acted enough. If we acted enough. The headline behind me would read. The headline behind me would read. has been liberated. So our work is not done. We must show up stronger than we did the first October 7th. Louder than we did the first October 7th. To make it clear that we are not going anywhere.
SPEAKER 20 :
Now, Yael, that wasn't in Gaza City. That was in New York City. That's down the street from where I'm seated right now. Now, I'm not going to drag you into the political side of this and wonder why that guy and that whole crowd wasn't rounded up and arrested and taken off the streets. Because, frankly, if you're threatening more bloodshed and more death and you're promising to continue the actions of Hamas on October 7th here in the United States because we've got to finish the job and slaughter, I guess, all the Jews and all the Christians, I don't understand how those people didn't get arrested. I won't ask you about that, but I will ask you to comment on hearing pro-Hamas demonstrations in New York City on the two-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attack.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, Mike, if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that the enemy of Israel is also the enemy of America, that the enemies of the Jewish people are also the enemies of the Christian people. And so we need to be in this together. What evil hates is light. They hate the Judeo-Christian values that we stand for. They hate the fact that together, through my organization, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, we're fulfilling this biblical mandate to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the poor, to provide bomb shelters and different security measures to sanctify life. And we see that they're also targeting Christians across the Middle East. The fellowship is inside of Syria, helping persecuted Christians. And so I think that we're targeted together, Mike, and the answer to that darkness is to bring light together and to never stop believing that our love of life is stronger than their passion, that their drive, their desire for death and darkness.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, their love of death, their love of death, their love of despair, their love of terror. Look, we know how this ends. Good triumphs over evil. And God is in control, and I just am so thankful to have an opportunity again to invite my audience, which I think is the most generous audience in the country, to step up and support the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Last week we started our campaign to try to rush as much supplies, even help build bomb shelters, Yael Eckstein, take a moment and explain to somebody who's thinking about going to MikeOnline.com right now and clicking on that banner at the top of the page and making a contribution. Explain where that money goes. Can you talk a little bit about your mission and what our audience is able to accomplish by contributing to the Mike Gallagher Show IFCJ October campaign?
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, you've already made such a difference, Mike. You and all of your followers were able to deliver meals to people in the war zone because you and your people have donated. We've placed bomb shelters by children's school bus stops because your followers have donated. We represent the silenced majority. And I remember when I went during the Iran war, as huge missiles were falling, I visited a 92-year-old woman named Zelda who lived just a block away from where there was a direct hit. All of her windows were broken. And I came to her with a food box. She's 92 years old, bedridden. She couldn't get to the store. She didn't have any food. And she said, wow, how did you know I was here? I can't believe you remembered me at 92 years old. Someone's bringing me food, cares if I live or die. And I said, this is from people in America. She said, everyone doesn't hate us. And I looked at her and I said, there are millions of Christians and Jews and good people, not just that doesn't hate you, but who understands that love conquers all. And because of that food box, she was able to survive another week. These are the people that we're helping, Mike. They're people who... appreciate you, who pray for you and who you are giving them, not just the gift of life through food, but the gift of life through a renewed hope that despite those rallies, those violent words that we just saw that are happening all across the world, there are even more people who stand for God, who stand for good. And that's the message of the fellowship that we say on your behalf.
SPEAKER 20 :
The fellowship hosted me to Israel. I want to come back so badly. I am just aching to return to the Holy Land. When you visit Israel, it changes your life. And, you know, Dennis Prager and I took groups of multiple occasions to Israel. And it has impacted me profoundly. And I can't wait to get back to Israel. In the meantime, today is the day. And look, I want to make sure people know. I'm going to pull the curtain back. The first few days here are off to a little bit of a slow start. But I know our audience is going to step up in a big way.
SPEAKER 1 :
$25, $50, $100.
SPEAKER 20 :
Not only are you rushing food. and supplies and medicine and life-saving, God-inspired materials to the people of Israel. You're helping to build these bomb shelters. These bomb shelters really were astounding when I first saw those, when you showed them to me, Yael. And these are where people, when the missiles start flying, when the rockets, the incoming rockets are on their way and the sirens go off, Families, children, elderly people all gather in these bomb shelters, and they are literally saving lives. And donors to the fellowship can help build more bomb shelters, right?
SPEAKER 23 :
incredible, Mike. As soon as we get a $25 donation, that goes to a food box to help keep someone alive in Israel. When we get the money for bomb shelters, immediately those bomb shelters are placed, and we've been able to do so much. Thank God. I believe God is blessing the good work that we're doing together, but there are still so many needs and the threats that Israel faces have in no way stopped. So anything that you can do immediately transforms into life-saving aid here in Israel.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I want to pray out loud. I want to pray publicly that today our audience's hearts will be touched. Please, and you'll make a donation to this wonderful organization. Your friendship, Yael, means the world to me. Your support, it is such a privilege to be able to play a little small part in getting so much needed materials to the people of Israel. All anybody has to do is go to mikeonline.com. There's a banner at the top of the page. You can click on that banner. Again, whatever you can afford, as Yael said, $10, $5, $25, $1,000. Perhaps this will be the day that your heart tells you to support the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a beautiful concept of Christians and Jews coming together to support Israel. Go to mikeonline.com. where you can make your donation. Or if you want to just phone in your donation, we have a special number set up for you, 800-613-5511, 800-613-5511. Or again, go to mikeonline.com. And Yael, may I close by being presumptuous and being obnoxious and say, come on, let's get back to Israel. Let's bring the Mike Gallagher Show back to Israel again soon.
SPEAKER 23 :
soon. Amen. I can't wait to host you here to show you all the new projects that you've made possible since last time you've been here.
SPEAKER 20 :
I can't wait. God bless. Keep fighting the good fight. Thank you, Yael. I appreciate you joining us here on the Mike Gallagher Show. Great to see and hear you. All the best. 27 past the hour. What an amazing mission that the IFCJ is on. And, again, I never mind sharing, you know, pulling back the curtain a little bit. A couple of first few days of our campaign, a little slow. Let's have a big day today. Let's really bless the fellowship with your donations. MikeOnline.com. MikeOnline.com or call 800-613-5511. Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting. the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Thanks for supporting Angel Studios. On July 4th next year, the 250th anniversary of our founding, Angel Studios and The Wonder Project are going to release Young Washington. You know, I know you love this country as much as all of us do. If you want to understand the country, you've got to understand George. It's not the general or the president you think you know. This film tells the truth of Washington's faith, backbone, and resilience. It's big, honest storytelling that families can be proud of. Here's the best part. You and I get to be a part of this, an important part of this. When you join the Angel Guild at Angel Studios. You're helping bring young Washington to theaters across the country. When you're a premium Guild member, you get a pair of free tickets, behind-the-scenes updates from the director and the cast, and more. So go to angel.com slash mikeg. Let's celebrate America's 250th birthday by making Young Washington the number one movie in the land. You can help do that. Go to angel.com slash mikeg. Angel.com slash mikeg. Join the Angel Guild today.
SPEAKER 21 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 20 :
Every single day it's a joy to remind you that portions of our show are sponsored by MyPillow. As you know, our friend Mike Lindell, big legal victory last week. He's been in a ton of hot water, as you know, because he believes in election integrity. Of course, due to his friendship with President Trump. Well, last week there was a $5 million vote. judgment against Mike that was overturned by the courts. Good news for MyPillow. So you keep praying for MyPillow and you keep supporting this great American company. The premium MyPillow, limited time, great price, $18.98. If you go to MyPillow.com, this pillow is a godsend. Look, I bring the MyPillow products with me when I'm on the road. Here at the hotel in Washington State, I've got the MySlippers with me, those unbelievable slippers, because I pat around in the hotel room. I don't know what's on that rug. I bring the MyPillow with me. I roll it up into the suitcase. I've even got my MyPillow loungewear. Tons of great products. If you haven't been to the site in a while, go check it out. Go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher specials. Click on that box. And with anything you order, enter the promo code MikeG. You're going to save big. The slippers, the doggy beds, and the Giza dream sheets. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Like we love to sing.
SPEAKER 16 :
For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 20 :
Promo code MikeG.
SPEAKER 22 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 18 :
They are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale for that?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump,
SPEAKER 22 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 20 :
Like a boss. Boy, Pam Bondi was just large and in charge yesterday, the Attorney General. And you know that she's over the target because of the way the left, the way the Trump haters freaked out over the way she acted. pushed back against the Democrat senators. Here's a little montage, just clip number one. It's courtesy of our friends over at Grabian. Put together a little bit of a snippet of what it sounded like and what it looked like when Pam Bondi was testifying yesterday before the U.S. Senate.
SPEAKER 10 :
You would have been fired because you were censured by Congress for lying.
SPEAKER 07 :
We can stipulate to you can stipulate to all your personal attacks on the Democratic members of the committee.
SPEAKER 11 :
Personal attacks. You've been attacking my FBI director. You've been attacking my office.
SPEAKER 08 :
You've been. But we're interested in borders. All we're interested in is the answer to these oversight questions. So you were asked. You were asked by my colleague. You were asked by my colleague.
SPEAKER 14 :
Attacking good people. Operation Arctic Frost was an unconstitutional, undemocratic abuse of power. During Arctic Frost, the FBI also placed 92 linked Republican individuals and Republican groups, such as Charlie Kirk's Turning Point. on their list. This is the kind of conduct that shattered the American people's faith in our government. We are ending this weaponization.
SPEAKER 09 :
I have to show to get the phone records of a sitting United States senator. You would have to have cause.
SPEAKER 04 :
Can you tell me why my phone records, when I'm the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, were sought by the Jack Smith agents? Do you think that was an abuse of power?
SPEAKER 14 :
Senator, I cannot discuss whether there is or is not an ongoing investigation. Senator Blumenthal, I find it so interesting that you didn't bring any of this up during President Biden's administration when he was doing everything to protect Hunter Biden, his son. And I think you just saw what Director Radcliffe just released.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, this is an effort to be positive.
SPEAKER 14 :
If I can finish answering the question, I'm not going to yell over you. I'm not going to get in the gutter with you. But information... Information that the Biden administration told them not to investigate Hunter Biden's involvement with Ukraine. And I'm not going to be lectured to you about integrity by someone who lied about being in the military just to be elected a senator.
SPEAKER 18 :
I think it's been confirmed.
SPEAKER 20 :
You can stop it right there. That was my favorite moment. When she tells Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, I'm not going to be lectured to by somebody who lied about serving in the military in order to get elected senator. I will never understand any American who would pull the lever in a ballot box and in a voting booth for a man who was caught by the New York Times lying about serving in Vietnam. And he's going to lecture her? Adam Schiff is going to lecture Pam Bondi? Now, how upset was the left? over Pam Bondi's testimony yesterday? Check out Nicole Wallace, clip two. Here's Nicole Wallace melting down over on MSNBC.
SPEAKER 05 :
What Attorney General Pam Bondi said before the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon may very well go down as one of the most brazen. most shameless, most verifiably false statements ever uttered in that setting. Quote, the two-tiered system of justice is over. In fact, if Bondi's on-the-record testimony today served to prove anything out in public, anything at all, it is that a two-tiered system of justice has very much been operationalized, is the new reality in the United States of America right now.
SPEAKER 20 :
So here's the MSNBC reality. Nicole Wallace believes that Pam Bondi pushing back against Democrats like Shifty Schiff and stolen Valor Blumenthal, that's brazen and shameless. Not the FBI's Arctic Frost. Not an operation that apparently spied on and secured phone records for Republicans in Congress. Representative Mike Kelly, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Loomis, Marsha Blackburn. FBI records request that was approved by a grand jury. Yeah, that part isn't shameless or brazen to Nicole Wallace. She doesn't mind Republican senators being spied on by Jack Smith and the FBI. And look, you could see and hear Lindsey Graham. He is livid. He is livid. These senators, they may have kicked the wrong bear this time. Check out Senator Loomis, the Republican from Wyoming, cut five. Here is... Her being asked about Trump calling Jack Smith, who headed up this Arctic frost, a sleazebag.
SPEAKER 06 :
President Trump putting on his true social on this. Deranged Jack Smith got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A real sleazebag, he wrote on true social. Not mincing words. What say you?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I would say President Trump is spot on. This was an effort by the Biden administration to violate the constitutional rights of United States senators. This is blatantly unlawful. There's a specific law often referred to as Section 1984 that's used for violations of civil rights when they're conducted by the government. My civil rights were violated, as were the civil rights of other U.S. senators. This has to be investigated. I have in front of me the very memo that we found out about yesterday. And the names of the people who approved... The surveillance of our senators are blocked out. I want to know who approved this. I want to know if Merrick Garland was involved, if Christopher Wray was involved. I want to know if the White House was involved. This is unconscionable. This is a violation of law. This is a violation of senators' constitutional rights. It must be addressed.
SPEAKER 20 :
Hey, winter is coming, to quote the popular TV series, for Jack Smith and for others. who have some explaining to do. And you know, the other thing I want to share with you, here's a headline according to Axios. You know the WIC program? It's called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. It serves about 6 million low-income mothers and young children. Now, the Democrats and their cruelty in advocating for a government shutdown, they're so cruel in their continuous votes to shut down the government, they forced the WIC program to run out. That's what your Democrats are doing. So what did the White House do? They found a solution. This program, which was expected to run out of money and shut down by the Democrats, has been saved. Trump's administration, according to Axios, is going to redirect funds from revenues from tariffs to keep WIC running. Yeah, that's how cruel the Trump administration is. The Trump administration is trying to put out all the fires that the Democrats are lighting. And right now, thanks to President Trump and his administration, the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, the WIC program, will be saved with revenue from Trump's tariffs. How do you like that, huh?
Join Angie Austin as she explores the moving journey of author Jackie Calloway. From tumultuous times filled with divorce and despair to a miraculous reconciliation, Jackie shares her profound testimony of love, faith, and transformation. This episode delves into her story of remarriage, where she learned to invite God into the heart of their relationship. Discover the secrets to a thriving marriage centered around divine love and forgiveness, and how these principles can guide and heal others.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here's Angie.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin with the good news. The good news is Jackie Calloway is back and joining us. I went on vacation and I missed her for a couple of weeks. Did a little fall break with the kids. We've talked about her book, Suicide, Don't Do It, which was, wow, such a testimony when she was a teenager and she was pregnant and how she considered taking her life and the miracle that God performed in her life. And then also... about her marriage, the divorce, and then getting back together with her husband, getting remarried and counseling couples together. And that book, Love That Would Not Let Me Go, Jackie Calloway. And then she's working on a new book, Till Death Do Us Part. Welcome back, Jackie.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you, Angie. Good to be back.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, I love it that one of your callings is to, you know, you want to deliver the message of older women working with counseling, guiding younger women. And I can see that you have that gift. So let's talk about that. But first, let's start with your new book. Tell us a little bit about this new book that you're working on, Till Death Do Us Part.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, as you know, my husband and I were married for 28 years. divorced for seven years because of adultery and several other things. But in 1996, God miraculously reconciled us first to himself and then to one another. And then we had 24 more years of a wonderful marriage. And I always tell people that God's reconciliation looks a whole lot different than just plain reconciliation. He always does exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us.
SPEAKER 04 :
I just that, Jackie, I just first of all, 28 years marriage. It was not good. Then divorced. So that's 35 years of that chunk and then remarried almost as long as you're married the first time, 24. And that it was glorious and such a different marriage. And as you put it, the marriage that God led was so different than the first marriage. You said it was a new man that he really was transformed. I just I love your testimony. It's so inspiring to me.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it's exciting for me, too, because it was something that I never dreamed could happen the way it did. But God did reconcile us, and he's asked me to share in this new book, Till Death Do Us Part, that he is still in the marriage business. And we learned how to do marriage God's way. And that was what He really wanted when He reconciled us, for us to be an example of marriage His way, the way He intended our marriage to be from the beginning. And we experienced so many miraculous situations He supplied all of our need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And He loved us individually and collectively through that 24 years of marriage. And I just want to share with women and men, but especially the ladies, To take advantage of the love that you have in your marriage and to make God certainly not just the center of the relationship, but to be able to saturate your relationship with the love of God and His instructions for your marriage. share with younger women some of the things that I have learned in this, well, in both marriages, really, but especially in this second marriage. And, gee, I don't even really like to call it that we were remarried because it was truly, totally new from the beginning to the ending. And as you know, my husband went home to be with the Lord in December 2020. And even that, his parting, was so sweet that there were lessons learned in that also that I want to share with people, and with women in particular.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I want to hear that for sure. I mean, I've heard some of the story, but share with us.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, first of all, in the beginning of our marriage, the second marriage, the Lord, I was still very reluctant. And the Lord had told me to trust Him with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge Him first. And he would direct my paths. So I went into this second marriage, even though we had forgiven one another and we had made the decision to bury all the old stuff, all of the lies and the unforgiveness. We buried that before we married. And never to bring it up again. And the miraculous thing is we never did bring up any of the old memories, the old hurts. And that, to me, was the first miracle.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, because I had been really hurt in that last marriage. But God saw me through the divorce. So as we walked through this new marriage, Ronnie was a totally changed and new man. And that was the second miracle for me, because at first I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it It never dropped. As a matter of fact, there was not a shoe. He wooed me and he loved me and he cherished me in this second marriage. And the reason was he was sold out to God.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I love it.
SPEAKER 05 :
He was sold out to God. There was not a pretense. there was not any phony anything. He was sold out to God. And the Lord had told me during the divorce that he said, you asked me to speak to him face to face, just like I did Moses. And he told me, I can't speak to him face to face because you are still in his face.
SPEAKER 04 :
Whoa, Jackie.
SPEAKER 05 :
I love that. He said, stop trying to help him. Let me speak to him face to face. And I backed up. I took my hands off. I was not anymore enabling him in any way. And so through that time, the Lord was able to speak to him face to face. And Ronnie told me he did. I asked him, I said, when we were divorced, did you ever think about me? And he said, every night that I laid my head on the pillow, he said, the Lord was speaking to me about you. And I was like, wow. So anyway, the lesson I learned in that is when God does it, he does it well. Scripture says he doeth all things well. So when we have our hand in things, it can be half done. It can be totally jacked up. But when God does it, he does it thoroughly and completely. And he does it according to his will. And that's what I learned in that situation.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. So you had to give up control or what you thought was your control because you didn't have any control over Ronnie.
SPEAKER 05 :
I had none. I had none. And in this marriage, I was able to see what a complete job the Lord had done on him. And, uh, with his heart, I was downstairs one day, um, doing something and Ronnie was upstairs and all of a sudden I heard him say, thank you, Jesus. Praise you, Father. Hallelujah. And I was like, wow. I said, Lord, you really did him well. You really fixed him because I had never heard him break out in praise like that to the Lord.
SPEAKER 04 :
So when you talk about, you know, women, you know, I know you mentioned he golfed and that his mistresses would golf with him and that you were never interested and you felt in your heart like you hadn't shown interest in something that brought him joy, but you were irritated because you were working and sometimes he wasn't employed. And so you saw it was kind of like a thorn in your side, this golf. And and that maybe you should have given him more of like the time of day when it came to, or his golf the time of day, so that he'd feel appreciated or admired or respected.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the Lord actually told me that I said to the Lord, what about all those women? And he said they played with him. And I said, okay. See, I was never a playmate. And I would suggest to wives that you play with your husbands. What is it that they enjoy? And whether you enjoy it or not, at least go with him. So in the second marriage, Ronnie bought me some golf clubs. And I learned the game of golf. and i would go with him sometimes i still didn't i still wasn't into it like he was because if the sun was up ronnie was on the golf course so i still though learned the game of golf and i helped him with his with his stance i would tell him um You're not holding your head down. Your weight is not even. I would go with him and just check out his stats and all that. He appreciated that so much. He loved that. So I would say to you ladies, find out what your husband's game is.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Yeah, I'm thinking about that. Let's take a break because I hate it when you and I run out of time. So we're just going to take more time today. So hang on. We'll be right back with the good news with Jackie Calloway.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Wheat Ridge is listening to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, it's the good news with Angie Austin, Jackie Calloway and I continuing our conversation. She is talking about, you know, the divorce. Well, first of all, we'll just recap. Love That Would Not Let Me Go. That's the book that Jackie and I have talked about a lot. She's working on a new one now, Till Death Do Us Part. She and Ronnie were married 28 years and then they were divorced for seven and then remarried for 24 years. fantastic, fabulous, amazing years. In that marriage, the Lord was right front and center. And you said that golf was something he loved in your first marriage. You just saw it as a thorn maybe in your side that took him away from you and work and the girls. And then you're you're saying that when you were remarried, the Lord made you realize that was important to him and you should play with him. And so we should figure out what is our husband's game? What brings our husband's joy? What should we be doing with them that they might consider to be fun? So continue with that thought and I'll tell you something we've been doing lately.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, it's very important that you show your spouse that you are just as interested in what he is interested in And that even if you don't go all in with it, and especially if it's something wholesome, I'm not saying get involved with something that is off the rails.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. We don't want to be out gambling or at the horse track with them or, you know, poker.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 04 :
Off the rails. I love it, Jackie. I'm not going off the rails, girl. Don't worry.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, don't. But to... Almost study your husband and see what excites him and what he enjoys and get involved in that. And be that lap that he can lay his head on. You remember Delilah and Samson and Delilah. He laid his head on her lap. Be that lap that your husband can feel safe enough to lay his head on. And the other thing that I would say to you ladies, cherish your husbands. Look at them and see. Don't always pick out the fault, what they're doing wrong, what they're saying wrong. But look at what they're doing right. Look at the qualities that are in your husbands that God has placed there that you can appreciate and bring to their attention. I used to tell Ronnie in the second marriage, I appreciate that you're such a good provider. You look and see what I need. and you supply it for me and I appreciate that. And the other thing that Ronnie would do when I would go to the grocery store, I would come back and I would bring in one bag and then he would get up and go out and get the rest of the groceries and bring them in. He never wanted me to lift too much or Carry a heavy load. And I appreciated that about him. But see what your husband does that you can appreciate and that you can thank him for and that you can praise him for.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, yesterday he did so much. Well, he got the kids working, too. They washed my car. They cleaned out the hot tub and refilled it, and it's heating up because I said it might be nice to use it for the winter. And then they washed my car. Um, he fixed the garage door, which that took a lot. He had to reinstall, like he had to do a key pad and then put in the whole device up top, you know, get up on the ladder and replace the entire, like none of the mechanisms, uh, the mechanism was broken. So we had to do that. And then they got all the leaves out of the front and backyard and bagged them to go out to the trash. Then my daughter, the little one, did like four loads of laundry, and we folded those. And then she went around the yard and picked up, you know, trash. And then my son, oh, yeah, he had my son doing all kinds, like all day. And then they had their chores at night, which are like, you know, clean the kitchen. You know, that takes like 15 minutes. My husband even wrote them all like a thank you note saying, wow, you guys really helped out today. We got so much. And he winterized the sprinkler system. And then we have a swamp cooler, which is like old school, but it works so well. But in the winter, you have to cover it because all that cold air still can get into the house and like circulate. So you have to like winterize it and cover it up. So anyway, they did all of that in one day. And so... He told me – I'm shocked that his brother is getting a divorce. We just found out that they – after about 15 years, they're getting a divorce. And I – my chin fell on the floor. Like I thought they were best friends like my husband and I are. There's just two boys in his family. And so we were really surprised. And I said – What? Why? Like they they they don't have money problems. They don't have I mean, they just I mean, they're like beautiful people and they have a beautiful home, a beautiful life. And, you know, she stays home and he has a great career and he's going to retire with a pension at like, you know, in his early 50s. And I'm like, why? And he said, well, you know how you compliment me all the time and you kind of build me up and make me feel good and you're really appreciative of the work I do and this, that, and the other, which it was great to hear that from him because I do make an effort to make sure he knows he's appreciated. And I believe he can do anything. He just finished a brick walkway in front of our house that took like five months because he had to dig so much and cut each of one of the paver brick stones. And it's like a piece of art. And it's long. It's, you know, it's like 30 feet long and wide, like four feet wide. It's just it was so much work. And I mean, some of those bricks are as big as a domino that he cut. Like, I can't even believe he did it. And he said, well, she doesn't every time he wants to do something, she says, you can't do that. Or what? What? You're not going to do that. How do you know how to do that? You don't know how to do that. And he said that she's very critical of him, whereas I am complimentary. And I thought, what a horrible reason for a marriage to not work when you've got their daughters, maybe, I don't know. They don't live here, by the way, so they don't hear my show. But she's about maybe 10. So, you know, they're getting a divorce and like, I'm like, why can't somebody swallow their pride and like, like work this out? Like, this seems like the most unnecessary divorce to me, like ever, just learn how to communicate better. But, you know, they're going through with it and they're selling their house and they're doing all that. And I'm just so surprised because to me, it seems so unnecessary. And I just feel, you know, people throw in the towel too easily. But something as simple as complimenting your husband, which I mean, gosh, think about the effort that I put into that over the last 20 years of our marriage. Not much. I mean, it doesn't take much effort to tell your husband you appreciate all the things he does and how hard he works for the family. And then I compliment him in front of the kids and say, you know, if you can do a job like dad does it, then that's an A plus job. We always joke around that. Sometimes the kids will do a C effort, and I'm like, you'll never see your dad give C effort. Everything he does is A plus effort. Like when he did our tile in our bathroom, he learned to do it on YouTube. And then he didn't like that the shower, he had to pour it with concrete. It wasn't like just a plastic thing you threw in there. And he had to get the grade exactly right. And he felt at the back of the shower, the little bit of water settled and he'd have to push it into the drain. And so he broke it apart and redid the entire thing. And I'm like, no one would have even known that when we sold the house because the shower would be dry. No one would know that there's like a one inch puddle that goes the length of the shower. But he had to redo the entire thing. And that's just an example of how everything he does has to be done well. And so look at that little bit of effort I put in our marriage that makes the difference between, he thinks, his brother's marriage and his.
SPEAKER 05 :
But when it is not God's marriage, it makes a huge difference. Because one of the things I told you that God ministered to us in the second marriage, individually and collectively. And if you... Both don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. It makes all the difference in the world. And when things would get... We really never argued in this second marriage.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
But we didn't always agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because we're two different people.
SPEAKER 04 :
So how did that work?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the Lord had told me before we married... If you ever can't agree on something, come aside with me. And that's what I would do, and that's what Ronnie would do. I would be like, oh, Lord, Ronnie is thinking this way, and I can't believe he's thinking that he's going to do this or that or the other. And the Lord would say to me when I would get quiet, but what is your attitude? I'd be like, but wait a minute, I'm talking about Ronnie.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, that's funny.
SPEAKER 05 :
And he would be like, what is your attitude, Jackie? Check yourself according to the Word of God. And I would always be able, and Ronnie would too, and sometimes I'm going back, to apologize to him for not trying to understand where he was coming from. And he would be on his way to apologize to me.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it was supernatural, I'm telling you, but it was because both of us were yielded to Jesus Christ and the Word of God and making the marriage work. But you need two people.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
You really do need to have two people.
SPEAKER 04 :
One. With the Lord holding hands. Yeah, and with the Lord in the middle. Now, when you talk about ministering to younger women, how has that, obviously that's good advice for women in terms of making their marriage happy, making sure that they do things their husband enjoys and play, have fun with them. We've been doing family movie nights. My husband's not a movie guy, but we've seen a couple of good ones. We saw that one on that Duck dynasty family and his testimony and how he'd really started off on the wrong foot in their marriage, which I think you'd really get a kick out of. I'll get the name of it because I forgot what it was called, but it's about how they had also separated and they were going to end their marriage. And They ended up becoming highly successful and had that show Duck Dynasty, which was big for many years. And it's The Blind. So we went to that. He liked it. It was a little corny, but it had a great message and his testimony of how the Lord changed his life and transformed their marriage. And boy, they've been married almost 60 years now or something. And then we've done a few dinners and we went to the theater this weekend. We went to Mamma Mia and we took the girls. And so we've been trying to do family things, which I know he gets a kick out of that because we do a lot of family sports together and stuff like that. So we've been doing that because that's kind of he doesn't do anything separate from the family. He doesn't do any sports. golf or fun or boys' nights or anything. It's work or family. That's it. And so that's what I've been doing with him. And since the kids are all in high school, we know we don't have a ton of things left. And he even went to Disney with us, which isn't really his thing, but we had a blast. We went on fall break and we did Universal Studios, like the Haunted Nights, which the kids all love. And then I went with my nephew as well, who lives out in California. And then we did Disney, which, you know, he kind of gave in and did it with us, even though it's, you know, highway robbery. But he had a blast. He didn't complain the whole time about lines and how expensive it is. You know, he had fun. So, you know, we're trying to do more things together as a family because we know that that's limited. And, you know, maybe eventually we'll take, you know, a vacation without the kids. But at this point, we're just kind of trying to squeeze out all of the the fun out of what we have left for, you know, the family time since one of the kids is graduating this year, one next year, and then one in three years. So we've just got, you know, a bit of time left. I want to make sure people can find you, Jackie. What's the best way for people to find Jackie Calloway?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, Healing from Crisis is my website. And you can also, the ministry phone number is is 303-307-0707. That's the office phone number. And we also did premarital counseling.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I love that. Well, let's talk about that more next week because we're out of time. We used up the entire show today, just you and me, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for listening to The Good News. I'm Jackie Calloway. Thanks, Jackie.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
In this episode, we dive into some of the most absurd and intriguing headlines from across the nation, starting with the infamous Florida Man. Discover stories that sound almost too wild to be real, as we unravel incidents involving canes, thermoses, and more. We also delve into the controversies surrounding Zach Bryan and his compelling yet contentious song lyrics, sparking debate on social media.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we're now at that point in the show where I come across a Florida man headline, and I'm like, oh, what? Before I do that one, let me just put this right here for you, Cain. Let me just set that right here. This came from our Florida woman, Amber, who finds the weirdest stuff to send. God love her. Oh. You just, yeah, yeah. A Florida man accused of using a cane to beat another driver in a road rage incident. Good man. His cane. So he's an elderly individual, you know. Florida man accused of beating another driver with his cane. 69-year-old. He got mad because the driver cut him off, so he armed himself with a cane and decided to go to beat downtown. With his cane. I mean, you don't even need anything else at this point. According to the charging affidavit, Thomas Wolfe is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon because the cane can be used as a deadly weapon. But he said the other driver cut him off. So why would you get out? Just stop getting out of your car and doing stuff. Stop fighting other people. I mean, yes, no one else can drive but you. I get it. I feel that way every time I get behind my steering wheel. I'm like, oh, my gosh, nobody can drive in Texas. Oh, my gosh. I get it. But that doesn't mean that you should get out and beat someone with your cane. You're going to get charged. Also, you could end up like this guy. There's just literally no way to do this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wait, you're choosing this one?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I am, because it's ridiculous. Over all the other ones that are in there, you're choosing this one. No, I know, but this one is insane, and I feel like... That's true. So here's the thing. I feel like when people from Florida send me these stories, if I don't read them, then they send me worse ones. They just keep amping it up. So just let me... A Florida man with a thermos inserted in his body was caught sneaking it into Polk County Jail. This is from Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Man tried to smuggle a thermos into the jail in his prison wallet. Walter Frymere. That man is 51. A deputy they judge said a deputy likely saved his life and arrested him. And when he arrested him because he had to take him to the hospital where a specialist had to remove the thermos. He said that the ordeal began with a complaint about a man naked at the park. And the guy said, well, I'm not naked. You know, I got socks on. Well, no, that's that's not. Sir, that's not true. But they what he said was the sheriff in his office. When talking to the press about it, he said, yeah, he put it up the exit ramp. You know what I mean? And then gave a knowing look. That's how reporters described it. Oh, my gosh. I don't I don't have any words. OK, there you go. Don't send me any bad ones, guys. Don't send me any horrible ones, because then we just it's a horrible thing. Let's see. A Florida man strapped a deputy stolen ATV to his car roof. That's impressive, actually. Yeah, that's like, you know what, that's some hillbilly expertise right there. As we move, our partners that will bring you the program, it's Kel-Tec, the KS7 Gen 2 shotgun. With Kel-Tec, this is one of the many shotguns that they have over at Kel-Tec, and the KS7 is built for... Compact spaces and maneuverability. It's a good idea for home defense or outback or anywhere in between. And the design with the KS7, there's some upgrades. You have five slot Picatinny style accessory rails. You can add grips, lights, whatever, keep it flush. It's a smoother pump action for faster, cleaner cycling. Ultra lightweight at just under seven pounds unloaded. Compact bullpup design, seven plus one capacity. And you can get the Defender package, and there's a bunch of stuff that comes with that, including a Vortex. You've got extended butt pad, all kinds of stuff. MSRP is only $639, so it's completely affordable and accessible. It's from Kel-Tec, K-E-L-T-E-C, weapons.com, made in Florida. Kel-Tec weapons.com. It's the KS7 Gen 2. Tell them Dana sent you.
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Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24-7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow-ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year-round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
SPEAKER 09 :
More young lefties are embracing communism and actually believe it's never really been tried. Joy Reid exposes the right's dastardly secret that it wants less taxes and regulation. And a few weeks after insisting he will never drop out, New York City Mayor Eric Adams drops out. I'm Greg Karumbas, inviting you to join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the top news, some good laughs, and we'll be done in less than 30 minutes. Follow the Three Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Democrats are trying to really drive that drive that point. And that gets into the whole Zach Bryan stuff and all of that. That guy is just a sentient turd. He's really trying to backpedal with a lot of this stuff. So if you were unaware, he decided to make a video. Well, he wrote a song rather. He wrote a song and he was slamming. uh, immigrations and custom enforcement in his song. It's a very anti ice song. Zach, I don't know. I can't tell you what does Zach Bryan sing? I don't like pop country because it's soulless. So I don't listen to it. I like good music and I'll listen to any type of music, but, um, it has to be good. So Kane, do you know what songs Zach Bryan sings?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hank wouldn't have done it that way.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, you're right about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
He wouldn't have done it that way.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's also trying to backpedal a little bit from the original stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
Steve, do you know anything that Zach Bryan has sung?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, he's more folky than country, I guess. He's sort of like a singer, guitar, songwriter thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my gosh. He's like a Joni Mitchell, but with balls. Oh, gross. Or that's questionable. Ew. I just, I don't like his face. Anyway, so he came out with, he pulled a Dixie Chicks. Wait, they're not even called that anymore, are they? Are they called Dixie Chicks? Oh, that's right. They're just called, oh, I can't say it. The Chicks, I think, right? So, Zach Bryan, he decides to Dixie Chick Bud Light his career with the song that he has. Now, yes, he did do the song Try That in a Small Town. Okay, so I just read that. I don't know. That's whatever. So, oh, wait, that was Jason Aldean that did that, right? I don't even know. I don't even know pop country. But the thing is, is that this guy decided he didn't just write a song where he was being critical of ice or something. He wrote this whole thing where he's like, the red, white and blue is fading and ice is going to come and bust down your door and all this stuff. And the lyrics, I mean, let me just here's the lyrics from this Shakespearean lyricist came, quote, I heard the cops came. Cocky mother blankers, ain't they? Ice gonna bust down your door. Try to build a house, no one builds no more. But I got a telephone, croons Zach Bryan. Kids are all scared and all alone. Hmm. These are really bad. I just got shaken baby syndrome from reading that. Hmm. Gives me mental scoliosis, Cain. It's horrible.
SPEAKER 04 :
I did reach out to his camp this morning.
SPEAKER 03 :
They're never going to come on the show.
SPEAKER 04 :
I referenced this Yahoo article that came out a couple hours ago. And now he's saying he's wanting to clarify the misconstrued lyrics in that song. So we wanted to give them an opportunity to do it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And let me guess, they just jumped at the chance, didn't they?
SPEAKER 04 :
I haven't heard back yet.
SPEAKER 03 :
So now he's like all upset because he's got a lot of backlash to his song. Who could have seen that coming? I mean, when you troll and you're surprised that there's a response to the trolling, I don't understand some of these people. So the... I'm not going to play it, but... I don't know what he's saying. The fading of the red, white and blue. And someone said he's backpedaling faster than a Russian circus bear. And I feel like that that's a great description. So he put something up on his Instagram story where he said he's so tough. He's like, please blink and read this. And it's a song about how much I love this country and everybody in it. And so he's like, I'm not going to read this whole thing. It's just so long. He goes, I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much, Cain, I love this country and everyone in it and everything. And when you hear, Cain, the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone now is using this as a weapon, proving how devastatingly divided we are. Well, hold up. Hold up, Slick. Hold up, Slick. We're literally quoting your words. There's no spinning of it. There's no trying to link and log up a narrative. We're just quoting your words, slick. You had the balls to put it in a song and now you're going to go cower. Well, that's not what I meant. What did you mean by calling ice mother blinkers? Like, how else can that be interpreted? I'm waiting. Oh, great Shakespeare of our time. Please, please reveal to the great unwashed masses the genius behind your lyricism, because clearly we're too stupid to get it. Please, oh, great Zach Bryan, please explain this to us. And then he's like, he goes, well, I serve this country. I don't care. That's great that you did. I don't know anything about him. That doesn't give you a pass to be a jackass. End of. And then he goes, I wasn't speaking as a politician. I don't care. You said what you said, dude. You could sit here and write however many graphs and dance all you want to. Oh, and then now he's the victim. Here's this graph. Quote, the last few months of my life, I have been scrutinized by more people than I ever thought possible. Write a song about it. I feel like I've tried my hardest in so many ways, he writes. Oh, my gosh. And then he's like, I've been, oh, this is so cheesy, been falling off a cliff while trying to grow wangs at the same time. Oh, poor Zach Bryan.
SPEAKER 04 :
From southern Georgia? Where's he from?
SPEAKER 03 :
He's from all over. Is he? Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so he, nobody believed that. Nobody believes that. Nobody believes that. I mean, yeah. And he's apparently not a nice dude. All these people are coming out with stories. But just to stick to this. He wrote this. He wrote this song. He wrote the lyrics. Then he added music to it. Then he recorded it. Then he made a video of him performing it. And then he posted it online. And he's like, now he goes, oh, no, no, that's not what I said. Please, dear sweet summer child, what did you mean? Ice going to bust down your door? Cocky mother blinkers. The fading of the red, white, and blue. Caned. Shall we deep dive grad level style on this? I mean, what else is there to be assumed? Oh, my gosh. He's just a coward. He's a chicken. That's what he is. Thank you. Welcome. That's a good chicken, by the way. Long John Silver's what? So he's he's it's his apology was one of those. I'm sorry you're offended. You just wrote it's the problem is, is that he wrote this. And I don't care if somebody wants to have ignorant, uneducated views, but have the balls to back them when you get called out on it. Right. I guess it's like him saying, no, the the the earth, the sun revolves around the earth. And then when people go, wait a minute, dude, that's not even correct. I didn't say that. Oh my gosh, I'm the victim. I'm falling off a cliff and I ain't time to grow wings. I mean, that's his response right now. Just go, yeah, I said it. What? That's all you got to do. What's good? He's such a, just a coward, just an absolute coward. And oh, don't forget, didn't he pull this up? He also went after people for insulting the transgenders, Kane. He was all upset. He didn't like people insulting them transgenders. And he like went and then the same thing happened. He says something ignorant and then he tries to walk it back because as soon as the fire gets a little hot, he just, oh, he can't handle it. So I don't care if people have, they wouldn't, I'm never going to listen to his music. So it's never going to personally offend me because I just don't, I don't like to, you know, if I'm going to hurt my brain cells, I'm going to do it with liquor. I'm not going to do it with crappy pop country. You know what I'm saying? So he's, I mean, he's, he's just got a history of being a jack wagon. And I mean, I just think he's a coward. And I don't know. I'm just not. I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan. Lorraine said he did a cover of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. And oh, my gosh, he got lots of praise because he didn't change the lyrics about that said, check out girl. We're talking about the singer. Oh, my gosh. So stupid. That's such the bar is so low, man. It's so low. All Family Pharmacy is a family-owned business dedicated to helping you get the medications that you need when you need them the most. With over 200 essential medications, including antibiotics, antivirals, ivermectin, emergency kits, and so much more, they have you covered for everything from daily prescriptions to even biohacking support. Right now, they've lowered prices on ivermectin and minbendazole by up to 25%, starting at just $2 a capsule. Plus, save an extra 10% using code GENERAL. Dana10. Each order includes a doctor's prescription, so there's no hassle or middleman. And as flu season approaches, now's the time to stock your medicine cabinet with essentials like Tamiflu, antibiotics, and vitamins to help keep you and your family healthy. And beyond basics, All Family Pharmacy offers biohacking products like NAD+, Methylene Blue, all kinds of stuff to boost energy, focus, immunity, the whole nine yards. Visit allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana and use code Dana10 to save 10% today. Don't wait, be ready for flu season with All Family Pharmacy. That's allfamilypharmacy.com slash Dana and use code Dana10.
SPEAKER 07 :
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We share real stories with the suspense of true crime, but we'll leave you with a sense of light and hope.
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Like the college wrestler who fought a grizzly, the woman who was dead for nearly an hour, or the child lost in a dark mine for days. These are the kind of stories that remind us miracles are real.
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SPEAKER 04 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't believe this story. So it's a story that says America has become one of the world's least welcoming countries for tourists. And it's the end. Sorry, it's the telegraph, which is a left leaning sewer. Yeah. And they said it's Donald Trump's anti-tourism measures. Well, what do you mean anti-tourism measures? Because illegal immigration isn't the same thing as tourism. Do we really have to have a discussion over this? Oh, my gosh. Let's see here. Apparently, your brains have evolved to socialize, but they max out at 150 friends. Mine max out over anything that I can count on. Everybody has like circles, layers of circles, right? You have like one, your main circle and then outside and then outside and outside. And I think that's fine and important to have. But they said that the size of your social networks is limited even in the age of social media and that brains absolutely max out at 150. That makes sense, right? I think that makes sense. Let's see here. Oh, Tropical Storm Jerry could form. And it could hit the Leeward Islands late this week. Why Jerry? Like, what a name, Jerry. Jerry, I don't know why I find that so funny. So be careful. A man was arrested for trying to pull over cars with flashing blue lights. Pierce County deputies pulled this. They got this guy. This was in Washington. They arrested a man for impersonation of a police officer. He was driving around using the blue lights. And the deputy saw him. They got in trouble once. And he was warned he could be arrested for impersonation. And then hours later, the same deputy saw this guy. You know, the same driver using the blue lights. And he was immediately arrested. So, he got warned. He got warned. You know, you can't say he wasn't warned. Let's see. The Rainbow Crosswalk in Miami was torn off by the Florida Department of Transportation. Is this the crosswalk where they got... They tried to go after the kids riding the scooters because they said that the kids had...
SPEAKER 04 :
No, I think this is a different crosswalk. This one was actually built with bricks, colored bricks.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
And they're tearing that up.
SPEAKER 03 :
So the Florida Department, DOT, they decided they were demolishing and repainting a rainbow crosswalk. The state said they're going to stop making crosswalks into political statements. It's supposed to be about pedestrian safety. And State Senator Carlos Smith bravely fought back. He tried to grab some sidewalk chalk and fill the colors back in. Yeah, I mean, it legit is about supposed to be about safety. Now, remember that you you you can burn an American flag, but they arrest it with Spokane, Washington. The they had electric scooters and they left skid marks on a pride mural and they they were arrested in Spokane, Washington. You could burn a flag, but you can't drive a scooter over a pride mural. It's just asinine. Absolutely asinine. So I'm and it's actually a very it was very ugly. I saw the bricks. It was a very ugly crosswalk. And if it doesn't look like a crosswalk, then wouldn't that be confusing for people who don't know if they can cross there or not? I mean, it just seems like a fair question to ask. We've got a lot more on the way. Stick with us. This is a wild video.
SPEAKER 02 :
So, and the question is, what do you say to the 40% of voters who voted for Trump? Oh, I'm happy to say that. It's the do you need them to win part that I don't understand. I'm happy to answer the question as you have it written and I'll answer it.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we've also asked the other candidates, do you think you need any of those 40% of California voters to win? And you're saying no, you don't.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I'm saying I'm going to try to win every vote I can. And what I'm saying to you is that... Well, to those voters. Okay, so you... I don't want to keep doing this. I'm going to call it. Thank you. You're not going to do the interview with us? Nope, not like this, I'm not. Not with seven follow-ups to every single question you ask.
SPEAKER 05 :
Every other candidate has answered our follow-ups.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't care. I don't care. I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation, which you ask me about every issue on this list. And if every question, you're going to make up a follow-up question, then we're never going to get there. And we're just going to circle around. I am an investigative reporter. I have never had to do this before, ever.
SPEAKER 05 :
You've never had to have a conversation with a reporter?
SPEAKER 02 :
To end an interview. Okay, but every other candidate has done this. What part of, I'm me, I'm running for governor because I'm a leader, so I am going to make... So you're not going to answer questions from reporters?
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, why don't we go through, I will continue to ask follow-up questions because that's my job as a journalist, but I will go through and ask these, and if you don't want to answer, you don't want to answer.
SPEAKER 02 :
So nearly every legislative... I don't want to have an unhappy experience with you. And I don't want this all on camera.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't want to have an unhappy experience with you either. I would love to continue to ask these questions so that we can show our viewers what every candidate feels about every one of these issues that they care about. And redistricting is a massive issue.
SPEAKER 03 :
We're going to do an entire story just... It looks kind of bad. It looks bad. Now she's, if you know, she's running for governor in California. This Katie Porter lady. And that's who that's who's in this video is Katie Porter talking to this reporter who is just trying to get her to answer a question. And Katie Porter has no interest in answering this question. She has no interest in talking about it. And I think it was a pretty legitimate question. It wasn't like a gotcha. You know, it wasn't like a gotcha kind of thing. It was a very legitimate question, I thought, that she asked. But apparently, Katie Porter doesn't think so. She tried storming out of this CBS interview. And the... She said, I don't want all of this on camera. Well, you should have probably thought that before. Did you know? Now, hold up. I'm going to pull this story up. I don't know if you guys heard this story before. So this is a New York Post piece. Because it kind of shows that she sort of has a hot temper. She apparently was very abusive towards her husband, her ex-husband. She would throw things at him all the time. She poured scalding hot mashed potatoes on his head during a fight. She was routinely, he wrote, and this was, he filed for divorce from her. This was in 2013. He got a, he requested a restraining order. She apparently was so nuts. He requested a restraining order and she wouldn't allow him to have a cell phone. She would claw her arm. She does seem nuts. I gotta be honest with you. She seems like she is just crazy, right? You know, you know the type. She seems nuts. She apparently was taking issues with how he was making mashed potatoes for dinner at one point. And she screamed at him, can't you read the blanking instructions? And then she raised a, quote, ceramic bowl of hot potatoes and dumped it on my head, burning my scalp. They went to court. I mean, he... If you have a restraining order on you, you're like a temporary prohibited possessor. So that's very interesting. She, though, in her first congressional campaign, she portrayed herself as a victim of domestic violence. I think she's talking about her husband, not her, maybe. Wow. So she seems like... You know, I just only in California can you abuse your husband and pour hot food on his head, scalding his scalp and still be like in the running to be governor. Well, maybe in New York, too. She seems to have anger issues. She acted like a psycho. She she told the interviewer she didn't need Trump voters. And then when the reporter asked her, OK, well, what do you mean you don't need? She then started contradicting herself. I was reading the transcript just in case, you know, I thought I heard something incorrect. And the reporter was was saying, what do you say to the 40 percent of voters who supported Trump? And she was like, oh, well, I don't need them to win. And then she's asked, well, you said that you don't need them to win. And she was like, no, I'm saying that I'm going to try to win every vote. That's what I'm saying to you. And the reporter's like, you know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of, Cain, that interview where that girl was interviewing that musician, Sookie. And she was like, what do you mean? I'm a musician. Like, she thought she was saying a magician. Oh, my gosh. Girl, I don't think that's ghetto. I don't think.
SPEAKER 04 :
Like a new magic or something?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my gosh. I can't even... So she just seemed completely. She seemed to completely came. How do you say nuts? Yeah. Yeah. That's how you say it. She's in the running. She's like like in the lead to be the next governor. She's the leading Democrat to replace Gavin Newsom as governor of California. That's all they got. They don't have anybody else out there. All the nuts. And that's the one they pick.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Lateral move there.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, is it lateral? Well, yeah, I mean, they're all bad. I don't want to sit here and try to, like, weigh it down. She's just, she's bad. Lorraine notes that she fired a staffer who she said gave her COVID. Oh, my gosh. Is that bad as cut 11th? Oh, is it as bad as Cut 11? Probably not. Let's go ahead. Yeah, play Cut 11. So this is a flashback video of Katie Porter. Same woman. Listen.
SPEAKER 02 :
This allegation of groomer and pedophile, it is alleging that a person is criminal somehow and engaged in criminal acts merely because of their identity, their sexual orientation, their gender identity. So pedophilia is just an identity?
SPEAKER 03 :
So wanting to prey upon children as a sex pervert, an adult sex pervert, that's just an identity. I thought that was a criminal action. Wow. Wow. So she hates kids. Clearly. Wow. That's who's the lead Democrat for governor in California. What are you doing, California? What do you do in New York? Oh, my gosh. This is crazy. And she apparently, like all of the staffers that worked for her, hate her. Yeah, one of them, she went off on a staffer because she says the staffer gave her COVID. And she had them fired. And she was just apparently horrible to everyone. And then if you criticize her, you're a sexist or a bigot somehow. I don't even understand how that works because she's like a heavyset white woman. So I don't get that. But... Yeah, that's, that's, how do we say, nuts? That's nuts. Ken, that's nuts.
SPEAKER 04 :
It is.
SPEAKER 03 :
So, yeah. Hmm. Really wild. That's the lead Democrat in California. So, yeah, great for them. She just she has a short temper. Her and Jay Jones would be a pair, would it not? So you have her defending pedophilia and attacking her ex-husband and Jay Jones starting to shoot everyone and kill their kids. What a pair. But this is you see what I'm saying? This is this is where the left is going. This is how they are now. It's. But this is how they are. This is their new identity, for the lack of a better way to put it. This party.
SPEAKER 08 :
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.
