Join us as we dive into the heated Confirmation Week on Capitol Hill where Pete Hegseth faced rigorous questioning, notably from Richard Blumenthal. Uncover the audacious tactics used to trip up the defense secretary nominee and hear about Hegseth's impactful statements on personal growth and redemption. We also explore Tim Kaine's inconsistent stances on personal indiscretions, drawing parallels with past political figures. Stay tuned for a look at the political shifts and the overarching optimism among conservatives as President-elect Trump prepares for inauguration, along with the implications of Biden’s recent executive orders impacting Florida Democrats.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor studios, here's Mike Dillon.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's confirmation week on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, Pete Hegseth did just fine. Joni Ernst has changed her tune. This combat veteran, who very much plugged into the confirmation process, announced she will vote for Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. Look, it's going to be fine. He did great. I don't want to get bogged down on that because it just infuriates me to even think about Richard Blumenthal grilling a war hero. Stolen valor Blumenthal himself had the audacity to try to trick Hegseth into, you know, tripping up and not knowing the numbers of people who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. It's just ridiculous. Blumenthal is a scoundrel. He is a bad, bad guy. You lie about serving in the military. For me, as somebody who's never served, it's one of the worst things you could do. I can't think of anything more egregious than lying about serving in combat in Vietnam. I think about every single Vietnam vet listening right now and how... disrespectful that is to you, to any man or woman who served in the armed forces. I think about my mom and dad, both buried under military tombstones. My dad was in the Navy. My mom served as a wave. That's how they met, was in the military, both serving their country. My dad was on a PT boat in World War II. Look, I'm... disgusted by even the presence of Richard Blumenthal in the U.S. Senate. And he's trying to trip up Hegseth by, how many people serve in the Marines? How many people? Oh, yeah, like a pop quiz, gotcha quiz. I hate it when people do that. I really do. It makes me crazy. I've got a friend who does that. as a point of reference as a, you know, part of his duties as a broadcaster. And it makes me cringe. It's like, do you not know how you come off? Look how much smarter I am than you are. Let me tell about, you know, people tried to trip Trump up about the nuclear triad and give me, you know, and it's so lazy and it's childish and it's juvenile. For Blumenthal, play the clip. I don't even want to do it, but now that we're talking about it, I might as well get it off my chest. Here was Blumenthal trying to trick Pete Hegseth in terms of the numbers of the ranks of how many people serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
SPEAKER 01 :
How many men and women currently serve in the United States Army?
SPEAKER 07 :
Senator, the United States Army, 450,000 on active duty, sir.
SPEAKER 01 :
And how many in the Navy? In the Navy, it's 425, sir. Well, it's 337 this year. How many in the Marine Corps? 175,000, sir.
SPEAKER 1 :
172,300.
SPEAKER 01 :
Those numbers dwarf. Any experience you had by many multiples, I don't believe that you... That makes me sick to my stomach.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, no, it wasn't 175,000. It was 172,300. See how smart I am and how stupid you are? And it's a lot of people, Mr. Hegseth. You've never... That dwarfs anything you ever did at Fox & Friends. What a jerk and a slimeball. Do you know the story of Richard Blumenthal getting caught by the New York Times repeatedly lying about serving his country in the United States military? How does that guy show his... Incidentally, for people who remember this more than I do, other than... I mean, that's all I need to know about the guy. Did he ever apologize? Did he ever explain it? How do you explain lies? If I came on this show and told you that I was in the trenches of Vietnam, I was in the foxholes. I was dodging bullets and I was carrying out bodies. And I did that over and over again. And then somebody caught me as a bald-faced liar. And somehow, miraculously, I got to keep my job alive. What would I possibly say about that? Yeah, I was a little foolish. I shouldn't have. That's not a minor mistake. The New York Times caught Richard Blumenthal having repeatedly lied about serving in Vietnam. He's like the guy from the Saturday Night Live skit, the liar character. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I served in Vietnam. Yeah, yeah, I'm a four-star general. Yeah, yeah. That's Richard Blumenthal, a U.S. Senator, who thinks he's all cute and clever in trying to trip Pete Hegseth into not knowing how many people serve in each division or each category of armed services. This guy's gross. He's disgusting. Tim Kaine, did you see him yesterday? Look, I'm glad that all these Democrat senators have clean slates in terms of their lives. Because they're disgusting. Yeah, Pete Hegseth was divorced. Yeah, Pete Hegseth made mistakes. You know what Pete Hegseth said about his life? And I want to find this clip, Christian. I don't know if we isolated this. But it's one of the most important things that came out of yesterday's Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing. He said, I found Jesus Christ. I found redemption. I've made mistakes. But with God's grace, I've become a different person. I saw Chris Saliza, the guy that used to be on CNN, say, I've been on a faith journey this last year, and I was a little skeptical and dubious of what Pete Hegseth said. But then I realized, well, what if he's speaking from the heart? We don't know his soul. We don't know what's in his heart. What if it's true? A lot of text messages coming in about Tim Kaine. I don't even want to give it oxygen. We probably should. But here's a text from Florida. I know that Pete had to maintain his cool, but when Tim Kaine mentioned his mother and his 7-year-old daughter Pete should have stood up to him and said, leave them the hell out of this conversation. That was Tim Kaine. These guys are so mean. There's a cruelty to these guys. These Democrats are vicious. And they're flailing. I mean, they're deflated. They are completely deflated. Big story out of Florida, over at Axios. Biden's Cuba bombshell shocks Florida Democrats. Biden's last-minute executive order yesterday to undo sanctions on Cuba and delist the socialist nation as a terrorism sponsor is outraging already dispirited Florida Democrats. Representative Jared Moskowitz said, this is Joe Biden literally sinking the Democratic Party in the state of Florida big time. Just as we try to patch the hole in the boat, Biden punches another hole in it. Biden just waved the white flag of surrender. Well, what a shame. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. Anyway, welcome in. We've got a lot to cover today. 800-655-MIKE. Maybe you've got some thoughts, some takeaways on yesterday's Pete Hegseth hearing. I don't really want to play the Tim Kaine exchange. Maybe we will. But I want to always get your reaction to everything. Feel free to join us. We have an open line. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. Welcome in.
SPEAKER 06 :
If you want to know about the Bishop...
SPEAKER 05 :
I want to welcome some brand new partners to the Mike Gallagher show like Equity Protect, and this is a big, big deal. Your home's title is often the most valuable thing you own. Next generation criminal technology is more advanced than ever. I've been an identity theft victim. It is no fun. You got to have Equity Protect in your corner. If you own your home mortgage-free or you got a lot of equity, you got to have Equity Protect so that scammers do not steal your equity or title. For a limited time, Equity Protect is offering you a tremendous deal, 30% off your first year, giving you one year of protection for less than $12 a month. Just go to EquityProtect.com. Use the discount code Mike30. That's EquityProtect.com. Use the promo code Mike30. Once you have Equity Protect, you don't need to check. Trust the team at Equity Protect. Go to EquityProtect.com and use the promo code Mike30. I love this audience. You're so funny. You're like my family. We're quirky. We're dysfunctional. And as soon as I say I don't want to play a clip, then my text line blows up and people say, no, no, you've got to play it. You've got to play it. You've got to play it. We want to hear Tim Kaine. Tim Kaine, this clown. And I'm going to prove to you what kind of a hypocrite he is, what kind of a clown this guy Tim Kaine is. I can't believe it. You remember he was Hillary's VP? Running mate? Remember that? Tim Kaine. Nobody really knew a lot about the guy. It was kind of strange. Well, here he was yesterday. I'll play it. Since you want it, I got about 100 texts. I'll play it. Play Tim Kaine. We want to hear this jerk. All right. You asked for it. You got it.
SPEAKER 08 :
I assume that in each of your weddings, you've pledged to be faithful to your wife. You've taken an oath to do that, haven't you?
SPEAKER 07 :
Senator, as I've acknowledged to everyone in this committee, I'm not a perfect person. I'm not claiming to be.
SPEAKER 08 :
But now I just ask the simple question. You've taken an oath like you would take an oath to be Secretary of Defense in all of your weddings to be faithful to your wife. Is that correct?
SPEAKER 07 :
I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 08 :
In fact, can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before, and you tell us you are completely cleared? How is that a complete clear?
SPEAKER 07 :
Senator, her child's name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she's a child of God, and she's seven years old.
SPEAKER 08 :
And you cheated on the mother of that child less than two months after that daughter was born, didn't you?
SPEAKER 07 :
Those were false charges. It was fully investigated, and that was completely cleared.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, if you're not mad enough, let's take you back to 2016, when Tim Kaine wanted to be a heartbeat from the presidency, when he was Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate. And he was asked about Hillary's maybe complicity? A lot of people say Hillary knew exactly what kind of an alley cat Bill Clinton is. You know, if you're married to somebody like Bill Clinton, you know what he is. I mean, the guy was a womanizer his whole life. And, of course, you had the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and he was asked about that and asked about Hillary's role. Listen to what Tim Kaine said in 2016 about dredging up past marital woes when it came to Hillary and Bill Clinton.
SPEAKER 03 :
Something about your past, and it talks a lot about something you said back in, I think, 2002 about former President Bill Clinton, that he should resign if the Lewinsky scandal turned out to be true. Do you still hold true to those words you said back then?
SPEAKER 08 :
I had some feelings of disappointment back then. But, you know, Nat's now 20 years old. And when I'm talking to people on the campaign trail, they're not asking me about old stories. They're asking me about tomorrow. What are we going to do tomorrow to have an economy that works for people, to have a stronger security posture through stronger alliances? And I hear a lot, what are we going to do to make sure we have a community that respects all? So, you know, past controversies aren't that important to me now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Past controversies aren't that important to me now. Because you see, I'm a Democrat, and you're asking me about Democrat past controversies. And fast forward to 2025, when I'm going to sit there smirking like the Joker. He looks like the Joker from Batman. He's got that wicked grin on his face, that evil, maniacal grin, asking him about his daughter and the vows he took in his marriage just to embarrass him. Publicly, because Tim Kaine knows full well Pete Hegseth was divorced. My gosh. You know, there's a part of me that says, I've got to stop focusing on these losers. And they are losers. I mean that not in a pejorative. They have technically lost. They've lost everything. They've lost the presidency, the House, the Senate. They are not in control. And they know it. And they're sputtering and they're flailing. They're like the Wicked Witch after the bucket of water was thrown on her. So there's a part of me that just wants to talk about positivity. All the money that's pouring into Trump right now is astounding. The commemorative Diet Coke bottle that Trump was... You know who's going to be sitting on the stage on the platform Monday at the inauguration? Elon, Bezos, Zuckerberg. They're all going to be up there with him. They're all making pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago. It's a new day, and the Democrats, like Tim Kaine, don't know what to make of this. There's a Trump effect. Look at the news out of the Middle East and the possibility of a hostage release. It's the Trump effect. Look at Germany getting rid of their DEI woke policies. It's the Trump effect. And Americans are excited and optimistic. So, look, I need to be more positive. I think it's important to know what we're up against. We've got to know just how diabolical people like Richard Blumenthal and Tim Kaine are. You know, they still have their positions of power. But overall, the whole tide has turned. There is a golden era that is about to start. And I've got to remember to stay upbeat and positive and optimistic. Let's see if you agree or not. I also want to ask you about this. I've got to ask you about the Philly Eagles fan. This story kind of intrigues me. And I'll give you an update on the bank story, too. 800-655-MIKE, one open line. There's no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I've kept it off. We all have different reasons for starting. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Gellerin.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I walk into the studio and I see this breaking news. The U.S. is banning a popular red dye from foods. The FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, just issued an order that will ban red number three from food products and ingested drugs. Isn't that an RFK thing? Isn't that part of the Trump administration? How is all this great stuff happening, or at least changes are occurring, a few days before Trump becomes president again? This is all happening before he's inaugurated. We'll be in D.C. Monday, bundled up. It's going to be cold, although, spoiler alert, I'll be in a warm studio. Joey Hudson will be out in the stands at the Capitol interviewing and shivering and doing reports and shivering. Going to be high at 23, low in D.C. of 12. We'll be going to the Balls Sunday night. It's going to be cold Sunday night. I hope my travel party is going to be okay. I'll be in a nice warm vehicle. I hope they can walk. It's every man for himself. Look, it's inauguration weekend. I can't wait to bring you the show from D.C. on Monday. And I cannot get bogged down by the nonsense of yesterday's Pete Hegseth hearing. He's going to get confirmed. He's going to be the Secretary of Defense. One of the obstacles was Joni Ernst. Scott Jennings summed it up pretty perfectly over at CNN. Never thought I'd see the day that I could turn to anybody on CNN for some content, but Scott Jennings is the gift that keeps on giving.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, in short, I think Pete Hegseth kicked their asses today. I mean, it wasn't even close. They didn't lay a glove on Hegseth. No mistakes. Calm, cool, collected. I mean, before the thing even started, you had this like code pink, you know, protester freak show trying to disrupt the hearing. That's the Democratic base, by the way, which probably explains why the Democrats on the committee acted in such a bizarre and unprofessional way. I was appalled. at some of the way these senators handle themselves and some of the lines of questioning. I mean, Tim Kaine sounded like a sex pervert in his questioning of Pete Hegseth. Blumenthal, who lied about his service in Vietnam, questioning Hegseth's qualifications. You had Gillibrand, you had Warren, you had Hirono going on unhinged rants about things. Angus King obviously doesn't understand what it's like to fight terrorism, on and on and on. Hegseth was cool in the face of this unhinged questioning. They made him look good today. It would be difficult for a Republican to vote against Hegseth after the Democrats' unseemly mudslinging today.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know the best part of Scott Jennings' clips that I play for you? The look on the faces of the CNN hosts who have to sit there and take it. That was Dana Bash in that case. I hope you're watching on the Salem News Channel. snc.tv. Download the app. We're 24-7, and you can watch the show as well as listen to us on your favorite radio station throughout the country. Looks utterly constipated. It's the only word to use, constipation. She looks like she's having a very difficult time internally. Meanwhile, according to Axios today, President-elect Trump is being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by the summer, even though he can't run again. The money's just pouring in, they're saying. We're looking at a half billion dollars by June. And Trump's donors include the, I mean, they're going to the president-elect's inauguration account, the MAGA Inc. Super PAC, a political nonprofit called Securing American Greatness, the Republican National Committee, and Trump's Presidential Library Fund. Now, you know what this is going to help with? The midterms. The RNC is lining its coffers right now with people who are enthusiastically donating to the whole Trump presidency. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday reasserted power over some of these pesky, sharp-elbowed House members. Thomas Massey, out. You know, he was the only lone opponent to Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday. He had been on the powerful Rules Committee. No more. No more. Mike Johnson basically kicked him out. Chose Congresswoman Virginia Fox, Republican from North Carolina, to chair the Rules Committee. But the biggest changes came below the top level. Congressman Brian Jack, Republican from Georgia, will take a Rules seat. Being vacated by Guy Reschenthaler from Pennsylvania. Morgan Griffith, Republican for Virginia, will take the seat once occupied by Thomas Massey. So Mike Johnson is reclaiming power over the House floor. And finally, Speaker Johnson... declared that flags at the Capitol will fly at full staff Monday. I've come around on this issue. I'm going to be really honest with you. First of all, I didn't care that much. I didn't see the flags at half staff being disrespectful to Donald Trump in any way, shape, or form. But I've come around. I've been talking to some friends about it. Many of you have emailed and texted and called the show, and you said, look, that gives the Democrats what they want. These lunatics who are in mourning over January 20th and the inauguration of President Trump, they want to say, see, look at that. We're all mourning. We've got the flags at half staff. And so Trump, he didn't like it. And he complained about the symbol saying it cast a shadow over Inauguration Day. He posted on Truth Social, nobody wants to see this. And I think he's right. Initially, I thought, gosh, is this petty? Is this mean-spirited? It's about the image that we're projecting throughout the country and to the world. And as usual, Trump is right. And we shouldn't be having the flags. We're not in mourning. We're in jubilation right now. This country... is celebrating. Now, obviously not everybody. It's a whole lot of people who are outright miserable with the outcome of the election. So be it. Elections have consequences. You win some, you lose some. You lost this one. You lost badly. Trump won pretty handily, as we know. Republican governors in Florida... Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas have also ordered the flags raised on Monday. Guarantee you they won't be raised in the blue states. There's not a Democrat governor alive who would dare make that move. But I am continually and I just have to remind myself how positive things are right now. Things are changing. There's, you know, Axios is reporting there's a big breakthrough in the hostage negotiations in the Middle East. It's a Trump effect. Millions and millions of dollars pouring into Republicans. It's the Trump effect. Even the red dye, evidently. How they do that now. Now Biden, for his part, he's trying to come up with as many executive orders as he can cram down everybody's throat in the final days. It's all right. Trump's going to overturn all of it. He's got a lot of work to do. He's got a big mess to clean up. Biden's giving his farewell address tonight. You going to watch it? Personally, I'm planning to memorize the zip codes of every county in the Western Hemisphere. That's my plan tonight. I'm going to read War and Peace. I'm going to immerse myself. I finished Landman. Got to find a new series to watch. I couldn't even do that to myself. The team will give me the clips. What's he going to say? What's Biden going to say? He's going to pretend that he was successful and is a popular president. And let's be real. He's going to go down in history as one of the most unpopular presidents in the history of America. They kicked him out. They threw him down the steps. They forced him to swallow the concept of Kamala Harris, who again... was a disaster. The Democrats are in a disaster mode. How about Florida? The Democrats in Florida are now freaking out because of one of Biden's executive orders playing nicey-nicey with Cuba. And that has just infuriated the Democrats. He de-escalated Cuba's status as a terrorist-sponsored nation as an 11th-hour executive order. Jared Moskowitz said, oh, great, thanks, thanks. You've completely deflated us. It's a slap in the face to Florida Democrats. And, you know, we're trying to patch the hole in the ship, and you're sinking the ship, Joe Biden. That's a fellow Democrat, Jared Moskowitz. So I like the way things are going, don't you? 800-655-MIKE. Welcome aboard. It's Wednesday. We've got a few days to go before the national nightmare comes to an end. We're in the Relief Factor studios, and I hope you join us. I want to see what you think about it. And we can spend some time talking about Hegseth and the confirmation hearing yesterday. Was Scott Jennings right? Was Scott Jennings correct when he said that Pete Hegseth kicked their butts? Or did you see it differently? I mean, I know that the loony left was cheering on Tim Kaine. Did somebody tell me that somebody around here defended Pocahontas? That's not possible. I don't want to believe that. Somebody texted me and said that a friend of mine actually defended Elizabeth Warren and her bizarre questioning of Pete Hegsack. That can't be. That's just not possible. I refuse to believe it. I refuse to believe that. How do you defend Tim Kaine? How do you defend Richard Blumenthal, Mr. Stolen Valor himself? That was probably the most egregious moment of the day. Might share that with you as well. Georgia sends a text. Honor has been paid to Jimmy Carter. Monday, it's time for our flags to fly high. I agree. Flags are flying high. The sun is shining brightly. It's a golden era. It begins Monday with the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States. Doesn't it feel great?
SPEAKER 10 :
You say it's easy, just a natural thing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Christmas means giving, and for my money, Christmas means MyPillow. Make it a MyPillow Christmas for somebody on your list because the Christmas extravaganza is well underway. Because a big box retailer canceled an order, Mike Lindell has thousands of MyPillows to move. Well, he wants to pass the savings on to you, so check out this offer. You can order a standard classic MyPillow, and it's normally $49.98 for just $45. $14.88 with promo code MikeG. Limit of 10. This is the pillow that started it all, the pillow that never goes flat, stays nice and cool all through the night. You can throw it in the washer and the dryer as often as you want. You can get a classic standard MyPillow for $14.88 with promo code MikeG. A queen size, normally $69.98. You'll get it for just $18.88 with promo code MikeG. Or a king size, normally $79.98. You can order it for $19.88 apiece. Limit $10, please, during Mike's incredible Christmas extravaganza from MyPillow.com. Look, if you haven't been to the site in a while, you can get all your Christmas shopping done by going to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box, and then with any order you place, enter the promo code MikeG, and you'll save big. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034. It's the Christmas extravaganza sale going on right now at MyPillow.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Gellerin.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'd like to start this hour on a spiritual note because it's a time for reflection, prayer, optimism. I've got so many headlines to cover with you today. But I want to start with a real quick mention of my friend Mike Lindell and MyPillow. Because this is a guy who's been absolutely put through the ringer. And you know it. You know what they've tried to do. The big box stores have canceled him. Although somebody has texted me from Albuquerque, New Mexico on the MyPillow text line with Walmart and the other big corporations now moving away from DEI. Does that mean that they'll begin carrying the MyPillow line back in the stores again? Let's go, Mike. Referring to Mike Lindell, not Mike Gallagher. Well, I don't know. I think it was Mike Lindell. And Mike is, of course, a man of faith and prayer. He's a recovering addict. He does an awful lot of things that you'll never hear about behind the scenes. He's a good man. And because he stood up at the Rose Garden and said, let's turn back to the Bible and have a spiritual revival, and because he believes in election integrity, doesn't like voting machines, they've tried to ruin him. And they've tried to ruin my pillow. And you've kept MyPillow going. Many people over the years have asked Mike about the cross he wears around his neck and how they would like to have that cross. It's a beautiful cross. I ordered one last night because for the first time ever, MyPillow and Mike Lindell are offering his cross. They call it the My Cross Necklace for sale to everybody. And again, Mike's a little humble about it because he said, look, I don't necessarily want to be showy about a cross, but everybody asks me, can we get this cross? And it's beautifully, it's onyx-styled black enamel with a protective clear coat, sterling silver, real fine jewelry, made in the U.S. of A., And you'll save 30% when you go to MyPillow.com and look for the Mike Gallagher specials. In fact, I asked Mike and the team, could we do something a little special for our audience, save them a little bit more money? And they said, sure, no problem. An extra $25 off when you go to the Mike Gallagher specials square and click on the MyCross necklace and enter the promo code MikeG. It's regularly $250. It's a beautiful cross. It's high quality. You'll get it for $174.98 when you enter the promo code MikeG, and you've got to go to the Mike Gallagher Square. So do me a favor. Get this cross for somebody in your life who needs the Lord. Get this cross for yourself if you want to remind yourself what really matters. Remember, he's in control. God's on the throne. And we're going to get through everything. And we've got some reasons for optimism. Great things are happening. So make it a MyPillow day and a MyCross day. Get that cross, the MyCross necklace. They have a man's size, a lady's size. And, again, you're going to get an extra $25 off when you use my promo code and go to MySquare. So go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher specials. Click on the box. Look for the MyCross necklace, click on that, and then enter the promo code MikeG, and you'll save an extra $25 off of the already 30% off. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034. Michigan texted me, Mike, just an FYI, Menards also carries the MyPillow product line. But, hey, I want the big box stores to carry it just to support the company, but I want you to order through me because, you know, We want to show MyPillow that we're in it to win it. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. Get that MyCross necklace, and you'll get an extra $25 off. You get a great price because you listen to The Mike Gallagher Show. I was thinking about the days when I started my career really cutting my teeth in talk radio in Greenville, South Carolina. And I used to scour newspapers and magazines. Denise would help give me topics. You had to look for topics. Oh my gosh, those days are so gone. I can't keep up. Look at the headlines. The Trump inauguration hotel packages include helicopters and caviar. Keeping up with the Trumps and their billionaire buddies has hotels hawking next level access to those hoping for access. Oh, the prices are crazy. There's a hotel I always stay in in Northern Virginia. Just across the bridge. I love this hotel. It's very comfortable. I'm not going to mention the name. The room rate is usually $700 or $800 a night. You know what the room rate is this weekend and Sunday night? $4,000 for a regular hotel room. For a $700 a night room. The Marriott Bonvoy app never blew up quite like that one, huh? And the money is pouring into the RNC and the Trump coffers. They expect to have a half a billion dollars in the bank by June. Now, you know what happens when the RNC gets to beef up their finances? They give us a better chance during the midterms. And that's coming. But let's look at the headlines today. I want to do this more often. I could just go through a stack of headlines and get you react to one or any of them. And let's do that right now. The Philadelphia Eagles fan who hurled a vulgar insult at a Green Bay Packers supporter fired from his job. Do you follow that story? Pete Hegseth's chief Senate skeptic, Joni Ernst, changes her tune, says the Daily Beast. She's going to vote for Hegseth. Nancy Mace challenges Jasmine Crockett to a fight. Now, Nancy Mace denied that later, but that's what it sounded like to me. You've got that clip, Christian? This is pretty fascinating. This is saucy. Jasmine Crockett and Nancy Mace clearly have no love lost for each other. Check this out.
SPEAKER 09 :
somebody's campaign coffers really are struggling right now so she gonna keep saying trans trans trans so that people will feel threatened and child listen i i want y'all to tell me whether or not call me a child i am no child i want to find out which of those emails i actually have ceilings You will not do that. I am not a child. I am not a child. I am not claiming my time. If you want to take it outside.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mr. Chairman, the committee is not.
SPEAKER 01 :
You want to take it outside.
SPEAKER 05 :
You hear her? You want to take it outside. Let's do that. I'd pay to see that. Honest to goodness, I don't mean to be to pick on one particular person, but is Jasmine Crockett really a member of the United States House of Representatives? I mean, she's carrying on last night or yesterday like it's 3 a.m. at a Waffle House. It's hysterical. She's trash. She's just, I mean, some of these people, Tim Kaine yesterday, did you take a vow, Pete Hegseth? These are trashy people. They're just, they're garbage. Let's look at some more headlines. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy has gifted President-elect Donald Trump a one-of-a-kind commemorative bottle of Diet Coke. Trump has his own commemorative bottle now. I've got to get one of those. More headlines. A dozen Walgreens stores in San Francisco to close. They're going to permanently shut the doors of 12 San Francisco Walgreens. Of course, the crime, the shoplifting. Woke prosecutors don't want to prosecute shoplifters. Also, let me divert from the headlines for just a moment. Heard Chris Stegall, our new morning host on the Salem Radio Network, talk a little bit about Starbucks. Do you see what Starbucks came up with? Roger P. Shulman, our newsman here in Tampa Bay, was telling me about this yesterday. They had a policy that anybody who wants to come into Starbucks and camp out can do so. You know why? Because a black guy went into Starbucks in Philly, of all places, and wanted to use the bathroom. And they said, well, sorry, you've got to be a customer to use the restroom. Well, you know what that led to. DEFCON 1, racism, the black guy can't use the bathroom. So Starbucks, being the woke company they are, with their $9 lattes, said, well, okay, anybody come on in. Just live here. And, of course, it turned into a hellscape. You had degenerates sleeping on the tables, people shooting up, people urinating in the corners. So Starbucks says, whoops, that didn't work. So now Starbucks is saying, you can't hang out here. You can't use the restroom. You can't just sit here unless you're a customer. How dare you, Starbucks? How dare you? What's wrong with you? Don't you know how many people of color want to urinate in the corner of your store? You're going to deprive them their ability to shoot up at the table over there by the window? How dare you? You can't make this crap up. More headlines. DeSantis and Trump play golf. That's right. Governor DeSantis and President-elect Trump played a round of golf yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. And DeSantis... has indicated he wants a special session called January 27th, the week after President Trump is sworn in, and calls on the legislature to appropriate funding for the detention, relocation, transportation, infrastructure, local law enforcement support, and everything else needed for Florida to carry out the mission of illegal immigration being stopped in our country. Now that's how you do it. That's how you do it. And finally, Trump himself apparently posting on Truth Social about the wildfires in California. Then I'm going to turn it over to you. I'm just in a mood today. I'm in a good mood. I feel great. We're making our inauguration plans. Monday we'll be broadcasting from our nation's capital. You'll hear it all here on the Mike Gallagher Show. Here's what President Trump posted that just knocked it out of the park, as usual. He wrote, the actual irony. A homeowner consents to pay property taxes that will go to the fire department. The funds are diverted to illegal immigrants, since L.A. is a sanctuary city. An illegal immigrant comes and sets your house on fire, and the fire department doesn't have the resources to put it out. The homeowner, Trump wrote, paid for their own destruction. On top of that, the government is so inept that the insurance companies won't insure houses anymore, so the homeowner is left with nothing. You know, Trump is a guy who repeatedly warned us, warned everybody about the California wildfire dangers, and he was right all along. So that's where we are. A few days before history is made and Trump is sworn in on the steps of the Capitol. January 20th, just a few days away. Welcome in. It's a Wednesday episode of the Mike Gallagher Show in the Relief Factor Studios. And I want you to join us. 800-655-MIKE. Pick any one of those headlines. Any one of those stories I want you to dive into. You know, back in the day we used to call it Open Line Friday. But I do want to open up my lines because I want you to take a bite out of any of the things you just heard me mention on the Mike Gallagher Show. 800-655-MIKE. Call or text. One call does it all. One number does it all. 800-655-6453. Hope you join us.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don't really like working. I'm going to need a priority parking space. I only work remotely. How are your safe spaces? Can I bring my dog to work? Will your company protect me against microaggressions? You're triggering me. Is this interview almost over?
SPEAKER 06 :
You don't run a daycare. You run a business. So why use high-priced recruitment agencies who charge you up to 40% of an employee's first-year salary? So they're focused on getting you the costly talent, not the best fit. Which means you get more of this.
SPEAKER 10 :
What's your policy on paying employees to attend protests? I demand eight weeks of vacation. I need at least 12 weeks of paid vacation. I'm going to need a lot of mental health days. Do you have a game room? My pronouns are Zs and Zs.
SPEAKER 06 :
Isn't it time you hired grown-ups? Call RedBalloon.Work and skip those high-priced recruitment agencies. Call 833-880-0600 for a free consultation. That's 833-880-0600 for a free consultation. RedBalloon.org.
SPEAKER 04 :
The world wants to know what happened yesterday, Mike, when you went back to the bank and asked them why they asked you what the money was for when you wanted to pull some money out.
SPEAKER 05 :
Karen Gallagher put her curlers back in her hair and put on the fuzzy bathrobe and the bunny slippers and marched into the bank and said, I'd like to speak to the manager. You know, when you say that now, isn't it funny how it just has an image to it? I'd like to speak to the manager.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's like, oh, yeah, you're one of those. But you know what? Yes, but I'd like to speak to the manager personally. 20 years ago is here comes a troublemaker. We can blow off in five seconds. I want to speak to the manager now in the era of online reviews in every consumer interface that you have. Don't you have just people begging you for good reviews? We have power in the consumer world like never before. So you carry that into the bank lobby. And what happened?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I mean, the lady was very nice about it. She said, she kind of politely explained that this is definitely their policy. This particular bank, she said, has had problems with money laundering. Now, she said, you know, you've probably seen the media accounts of the money laundering controversy we were in. And I actually hadn't. I don't know what she's talking about.
SPEAKER 04 :
A particular bank that was a particular target of money launderers?
SPEAKER 05 :
A national chain. And she said, you know, we've been involved in AML. And I said, well, pardon me, what's AML? She said, well, you've probably seen it in the news, anti-money laundering. Again, I don't know what in the world. I said, well, okay, whatever. She said, all the banks are going to wind up doing this. She said, we could be fined if you're engaged in... Now, let's set the table here for people who don't remember. I went in to get... a withdrawal from my checking account for $4,000 because it's higher than the ATM limit. I would normally never go into the lobby. I'd use the ATM. But the ATM daily limit in this case is, I think, $2,500. And I wanted to put it over into another bank account.
SPEAKER 04 :
You got an ATM that'll give you $2,500? I do. Mine's like $4,000. Of course, I'm doing ATMs at convenience stores. Well, you could ask them to increase the limit. They'll do it for you. When am I ever at an ATM? I don't know. Anyway, what is this cash you speak of? I live at the ATM. Really?
SPEAKER 05 :
Really?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Are you a big cash-using guy? Because I've got the same, like, 80 bucks I had in my wallet two years ago.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I don't know. I guess I am. I don't know. Anyway, man. So anyway, I got $4,000 on as the teller the other day counted it out. She said, now, what exactly is this transaction for? And I was just dumbfounded. I thought you're asking me how I'm spending my own money. And I didn't say that to her. I was just and I'm not a confrontational guy, believe it or not. I said to her, I'm not. I mean, in real life, I'm Clark Kent. I'm Superman, maybe from, you know. You folded like a cheap suit yesterday or the day before when she asked you what the money was for. I told her what I was doing it for. I just, well, why not? I mean, I didn't need to hide. But I was thrown by it. I thought, well, anyway, I went back yesterday to ask why. Why did she? And I said, look, I've got no complaint about this lady. She was very polite. I don't want to get her in trouble. I'm just wondering what. So she went on to say the bank can be fined if it's been determined that I was engaged in criminal activity and they didn't do anything about it. Now, wait a minute. Let me finish. Let me finish. And part two, she could go to jail. She told me they could put her in jail if the bank is aware or sees that I was involved in criminal activity and they didn't do anything about it.
SPEAKER 04 :
But who's going to tell the truth about this? Let's say that you are laundering money like Marty Bird in Ozark. That's right. And simply said, well, I just want to put it from one account to the other. Okay, thank you, Mr. Gallagher. Boom. Let's say you were a money launderer. What are you going to do?
SPEAKER 05 :
If there's a red flag that they missed, they could get fined and incarcerated.
SPEAKER 04 :
And hawing and yammering and breaking out in a cold sweat. And, you know, I don't know. What do you want to do that for?
SPEAKER 05 :
I have no idea at this point. What I said to her was it just seemed and I said, well, what did you do with the data? Well, because you're obviously collecting data. She goes, she goes, she typed it in. She said, you said you. So what do you do with that? She goes, it doesn't go anywhere. It lives on your account so that if there is any investigation, they can look at the records and say, this is what Mike Gallagher told us was the reason for the withdrawal. And I said, well, you know, this falls under the category for many people of this isn't anybody's business. And she said, but again, it's because of the banking regulations and what we're required to do. And then I told her, I said, well, I'd always heard that any transaction, $10,000 or more, you do notify the government. She goes, nope, no, we don't. Only if it's cash. She said, if it's an online transaction, we don't do anything with that. Because because that's already that she goes, that's there's a paper trail. She goes, it's all about a paper trail. So anyway, you know, I don't care particularly. It's just it's just one more example, I guess, of sort of the big brother factor and the way people are, you know, intruding into our lives. And it's just. That's why a lot of people won't go to the bank. I mean, a lot of people aren't going to go through this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, when you were talking about constantly being in the ATMs, getting out cash to stuff between your mattresses, I thought maybe you're the trailblazer here. Because some of these stories spark a certain reaction in the social media world of where we've become too much toward the cashless society. Our money is all on paper, and that leaves us vulnerable, etc., etc., etc.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you mentioned you use your ATM at convenience stores all the time. See, I'm really leery. I got burned once. I think I told you this story. I used the ATM at a convenience store, and that was in New York. It was a bodega in New York, and they had one of those skimmers, and I got burned on it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Where you use your card, and there's something in the keypad where they can come back and gather that, and they have all your data, you know?
SPEAKER 05 :
They captured the data from the strip on the back of your card. And I talked to the bank. And the bank said, never swipe your card. Never swipe it. Because now the technology allows you to tap. You know, you can tap now.
SPEAKER 04 :
At an ATM? Oh, everywhere. Oh, you mean at various transactions. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. And the ATM. I'm a bean tapper. You tap. Don't swipe.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because that eliminates – that's why they've gone to these – Makes you skimmer-proof. Yeah. But I'm also, because of that, getting burned. It's a terrible feeling to look. All of a sudden, my phone was beeping, and I'm looking. All these transactions were popping up after this was happened. So I'm a little leery about the – I do do a lot of cash transactions. Totally understand. Good for you. That's great.
SPEAKER 04 :
60 seconds before we get to Hegseth. I need you to help me on this. You turn me on to this story, and then I turn it into the 8 o'clock hour yesterday. We all know who Ryan Caldwell is now. He's the incredible a-hole there at the Eagles game. Boy, that narrows it down. Who berated and profanely attacked this woman in Packers regalia. And and it's terrible. Called her just to call her an effing dumb. She were dumb. She was just just the worst. And then reactions started to pour in. And about half of my reaction was, you know, F.A.F.O. Too bad. Don't act like that. And the consequence will not befall you, which is fair enough. And the other reaction was what? Because he called a woman a nasty name. His life is destroyed. His job is destroyed. I don't think he's been fired yet. I love that. He has been fired. He has been fired. Hospitality industry. He has been fired. And I just don't know what I think about it. Hello. Can you hear me? He has been fired. I hear you. OK, so how do we so how do we how do you feel about that? There's got to be a consequence for this. I get it. I'm Mr. Consequences, Mr. Accountability. But but there are other people in the reaction of the audience and online who said this is just too much. This is just what he did. Something. OK, what? So where are you?
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm so torn by this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Me too.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's definitely a product of this social media world we're in where anything you do, and look, none of us want our worst moment captured on video.
SPEAKER 04 :
But you're never going to do this. I'm never going to do this.
SPEAKER 05 :
But I might get aggravated or you might get aggravated or something happens or you're having an argument. You and a bank could have. He might go off on a bank. Well, you never know. I mean, look, now it's egregious to call a woman a dumb C word. But by the way, he is an Eagles fan.
SPEAKER 04 :
So there's that. You know, I think people said is this is a Packers content creator guy and his fiance. What happened to me 30 minutes prior to this? Had they been? Did they play any part in escalating this? Not that that makes his tirade against her. OK.
SPEAKER 05 :
Did she call him worse things? I don't know. Did she say things? Were they going back and forth and he lost it? Look, but according to all the reports in the New York Post, BCT Partners, which is ironically a DEI-focused management consultant, firm in East Brunswick, New Jersey, announced the firing in a statement last night. They concluded their internal investigation and decided to part company with the employee. Now, here's the Mark Davis litmus test. Hey, it's free market, capitalism, business gets to fire whoever they want to fire. Absolutely true. I mean, look, let me put you on the spot. You're running a company with 100 people, and you find out that one of your employees did this, is capable of doing this. Don't you think you have the prerogative to say, sayonara?
SPEAKER 04 :
Of course I have the prerogative. There is no doubt that the company had the right to do this. Was it right to do this is the tougher question. And the litmus test that I apply to that is, if the company assesses that there is a net – damage to them by having this guy in their employ, reputational damage. You can't send them on sales calls anymore. You're getting horrible press for keeping this guy on the payroll. Then, okay, he's got to go, and it becomes his problem. If it's somewhat less than that, maybe there's still a capacity in our society to dust ourselves off, have some apologies. You know who has apologized? The Eagles organization. They gave her like $1,000 of pay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Cows out of that bar with the Eagles fans. I mean, my God. Exactly.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the guy has been banned from. For life. For life.
SPEAKER 05 :
But look, but Mark, maybe the consequence is act a little better. You know, do better in public.
SPEAKER 01 :
Be more polite.
SPEAKER 05 :
A polite society can go a long way. You know, I've been thinking a lot. It was Rush Limbaugh's birthday the other day. And, you know, one of the joys of my life was getting a job in New York and working down the hall from Rush. You know, it was a big, big kick for me because, I mean, without him, none of us are sitting here. I mean, he completely transformed the medium. And I was buddies with Johnny Donovan. Johnny was his longtime voice announcer. And Johnny was one of the legendary disc jockeys in New York City, one of the good guys back in the day. And Johnny had a rule. He said, look, if I was emperor of the world, here's what I'd do. It would be a one kill rule. You're allowed to kill one person in your lifetime. One person can be dead. If anything is done that offends you. But just one, just one. So that he goes, he goes, do you realize how polite society would be?
SPEAKER 04 :
Because nobody wants to make anybody mad. Because you don't know whether the person that's in front of you has gotten their kill yet.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right. That's exact. Johnny said one kill a lifetime. He goes, it'd be a complete. Anyway, we got inauguration coming. Pete Hegseth. How about three seconds?
SPEAKER 04 :
How great was Pete?
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm so proud. I'm so proud. Well, I knew he would be. Look, he's a broadcaster. Incidentally, did you see they had to reveal what they paid him to do the weekends at Fox and Friends?
SPEAKER 04 :
Did you see what he was making? What was it? $2.4 million a year. To sit on the couch on a Saturday morning?
SPEAKER 05 :
On a Saturday morning. That's a gig.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, good for him. What's Jesse Waters making?
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, well, Hannity's up to $25, I think. So there's big bucks over there. There's gold in them Thar Hills. There's gold in them cable channels. How about Stolen Valor Blumenthal? How many people in the army? How many people in the... And of course, Pete had almost all the numbers correct. But he was off a little bit. And then stolen Valor Blumenthal, a guy who got called out by the New York Times for lying about serving in Vietnam. He says, you're not qualified to lead the armed forces because there's so many people in the armed forces. It's the size of the armed forces. Can you imagine the gall of that guy waking up saying, I'm the guy that lied about serving? Is there anything really worse, Mark, in your mind, really, in the scheme of things, than spitting in the face of every single man or woman who served this country by lying about your military service?
SPEAKER 01 :
Every time I see that guy...
SPEAKER 05 :
Every time I see him, my skin crawls. I think, is it just me? I mean, who the heck is he? How do you have the nerve to even appear at that hearing and grill a war hero like Pete Hegg says? So he's going to get confirmed. Joni Ernst came around. She was the one holdout, I think. And she's all on board. And we got our bags packed. Are you Friday show and then off you go? Yep, yep. And the low on Monday is 12 degrees above zero. The high is 23 degrees on Monday in Washington, D.C.
SPEAKER 04 :
Listen, 1984, Reagan's second inaugural. They had to cancel the parade.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, I know. Do you remember one of the presidents died because he got pneumonia at the inauguration? William Henry Harrison, president number nine.
SPEAKER 04 :
There you go.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I hope Trump bundles up.
SPEAKER 04 :
Bundle up, Mr. President. Bundle up. You're over.
SPEAKER 05 :
When the wind is free, I'll take good care of you. I'll be cheering him on from a warm, toasty studio in our nation's capital. Joey Hudson's outside, though, so we'll give you the stories.
SPEAKER 02 :
Excellent, man. Happy Wednesday. Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
In this episode of Retirement Unpacked, retirement expert Al Smith delves into the essentials of starting your retirement savings early and explains how the right financial decisions now can shape a prosperous future. With a focus on the benefits of compound interest and long-term saving strategies, Al emphasizes the importance of setting aside money regularly to build a robust financial nest egg. Whether it's through an IRA, 401(k), or investing in the stock market, Al provides valuable insights to guide listeners on securing their financial future. Furthermore, Al takes a detailed look at upcoming changes to Social Security in 2025, including cost-of-living adjustments and the Social Security Fairness Act. He explains how these legislative changes can impact retirees and those planning their retirement. For listeners wishing to ensure they maximize their benefits, Al offers guidance on how these changes could affect personal retirement plans, highlighting the significance of staying informed and prepared for legislative shifts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Retirement Unpacked with Al Smith, owner of Golden Eagle Financial. You want a retirement plan that alleviates your fears about the future so you know your money will last. As a chartered financial consultant, Al Smith will help you find a balance between the risk and reward of the market and the safety of your retirement income. And now, here's your host, Al Smith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to another program of Retirement Unpacked. I want to thank you for tuning in. There's other things you could be doing, but you're listening to me. I sincerely appreciate that. I will have some good information for you this afternoon that you'll be able to take with you, I believe. And if you have a question while I'm on the show, feel free to call in. And if I don't know the answer to it, I will find the answer. So it's the beginning of the year. We're already halfway through the month of January. We're at the middle of January, January 15th. And I think if we haven't already done a few things that are going to set the tone for the coming year, we should probably sit down and do that. The last shows I've had, I talked a little bit about New Year's resolutions and how you can do those things to benefit yourself, or maybe you can make a commitment to do something to help other people. And I think both of those are good. Improving your own health is good, and doing things to help other people are also good. But I think... when you make a positive choice of doing something that's going to help yourself financially, that will free up all kinds of opportunity many years from now. And it's difficult to think about 20, 30 years from now if you're in your 30s or 40s or something like that. But I guarantee you the people I sit down and have a conversation with who have made a commitment to set aside money on a regular basis, and now they're in their 60s or 70s, those folks are in a much better place. And like the Chinese proverb, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and that's also the best time to begin planting. saving for retirement, which obviously we can't do that. But if you don't have a good long-term savings program, if you don't work somewhere where they offer a 401k, then 2025 should be the time for you to start your IRA. If you're married, you can do an IRA for yourself and one for a spouse, even if your spouse stays home. If your spouse is also working, each of you can set aside, I believe it's $6,500 a year. If you're over age 50, I believe it's $7,000 a year. And you would be amazed to see how much $7,000 a year would grow to if you begin at a younger age. And I know I've talked about the three components that determine how large your nest egg will be, and those three components are how much you set aside on a regular basis, the return you get on the money you set aside on a regular basis, and the most important component, component is the length of time that you set aside that money. And the length of time obviously is determined by your age. And I'll refer again to Einstein. I say a lot of the same things over and over, but they're rather important. Einstein said that the eighth wonder of the world is compound interest. And if you don't believe that, come into my office and we'll crunch some numbers. I've sat down with maybe a couple where one of them is 30 years old and the other is 28. And we crunch the numbers. What is it going to look like if we set aside this much money for 30 years? And starting two years earlier has an unbelievable effect when we extrapolate that out 30 years. If someone's saving, let's say, $500 a month or something, and if someone starts two years earlier, it'll have $50,000, $70,000 more in that nest egg after 30 years. And if you get a higher return, that number is even greater. Well, if you don't have the guidance or the structure or the concrete ideas of how you should begin saving for retirement or if what you've been doing is working, give my office a call, because that's the kind of conversations I love to have. I love to sit down with people and show them if they are on track, show them if they're not quite on track, what things they can do to make a correction. You can reach my office at 303-744- 1128. And again, with all the things going on in the world, we are anticipating some good growth in the stock market. No guarantees, of course, but with the things that have happened recently, we're anticipating some good growth. And so it's a good time, if you haven't already, to get that investment account going and growing. And what kind of account you want to have, we can talk about that. You may want a Roth, a traditional IRA, or if you're self-employed, you can save a significantly greater amount in what's called an SEP IRA. You can save as much as $25,000 a year in products like that. Social Security changes every year. I'm going to talk about some of those changes here right now. Every year there is a cost of living adjustment. And I think two years ago, you might recall, it was really significant. I'm relying on my memory, but I think it was about an 8% adjustment. This past year, the adjustment for 2025 is going to be 2.5%. That's one of the major changes that has come about in Social Security. Something else, they base the wage base at which they tax Social Security on certain statistics, but they have raised that wage cap to $176,000. Now, that represents only, I think, less than 9% of the population of But if that is you, if you're self-employed, that means you're going to be paying $930 more into Social Security. If you're working for someone else, then that increase will add $465 of your income increase. into Social Security, but that of course also raises your maximum Social Security benefit. Something else that they have increased in 2025 is the level at which you can earn income when you file Social Security early. You're able to file Social Security as early as age 62 for a reduction, and that reduction is between 25 and 30 percent, depending precisely on your age and so forth. But it used to be a modest amount of income that you could earn before your Social Security would be reduced, and they have been increasing that each year. For 2025, that amount is $23,400. Now, let's say, for example, if you file Social Security early, age 62, and you want to continue working and you make $33,000. And let's say $33,400. Well, that additional $10,000 you make, you would lose about $5,000 of Social Security benefits because the reduction is two for one. So if you plan to file Social Security early and you're also continuing to work, keep in mind that every $2 you earn above $23,400, you will lose $1 of Social Security. Now, that is only W-2 income. If you have some kind of business and you can pay yourself a salary, keep that salary under $23,400. And the balance, pay it to yourself in the form of profits. Now, if the business is incredibly profitable, that can kind of send up a red flag to the IRS. But if your total income is going to be in the neighborhood of $50,000, have $23,400 of it, the W-2 or salary or wages and the rest be profit. And this is something you can do if you have... an S corporation or an LLC. You can have part of your income be in the form of profit and part of it in the form of salaried income. Now, most people don't file Social Security early. Most people file at full retirement age. which, of course, is between age 66 and 67. And there's a whole table. You can go to socialsecurity.gov and find out precisely when your full retirement age is. And if you're younger, it's closer to age 65. 67 than it is age 66. Many years ago, full retirement age used to be age 65. And as people began living longer and Social Security Trust Fund began shrinking to some degree, they raised that and they raised it to an age between 66 and 67. And with some of the financial shortfalls they're predicting for Social Security, and I'm not talking doomsday or anything like that, but the trust fund is running rather lean, especially the Medicare and Medicaid component also. They are predicting that that is going to be lean. And whatever occurs... has to be passed by Congress. So sometimes people, younger people tell me, oh, well, gee, Social Security isn't going to be around when I'm older. Well, even though they're looking at shortfalls in the future, the only way Social Security can be changed is through an act of Congress. So I'm certain that Congress will do whatever is necessary to shore up Social Security, especially since older people who depend on Social Security, they vote in very high numbers. percentages. And so those running for political office, House of Representatives or the Senate or something, they can't get reelected if they're talking about reducing Social Security benefits. So they'll have to figure out some way to shore that up. Some of the other changes in Social Security, folks with disabilities are collecting Social Security disability. There are 7.2 million people right now collecting Social Security disability prior to age 62 or 65. Now, for folks who are disabled, if they are not blind, they can earn up to $1,500 per month before any of their Social Security would be reduced. In 2025, that was increased by $70. Now, if people are disabled and they are blind, that amount was increased by $110 for 2025 up to $2,700 per month. And essentially, that component of Social Security, the disability component, a lot of people rely on that. And some of the people who are collecting Social Security disability are able to work, but in a limited capacity, which is why they have this blending of income along with Social Security, and they're enhancing that or making that a little bit better each year. Now, if you... personally have not gone to the Social Security website and looked at your benefits, if you're getting up in years a little bit, if you're in your 50s or even in your 60s, if you have not gone to socialsecurity.gov, because they have your earnings record there and they have what your projected benefits would be. Those benefits, if you're disabled or if you're retiring early at 62, if you're retiring at full retirement age, or if you postpone to age 70. Some people find that to be attractive, postponing to age 70. But the point being is if you haven't done that, I highly recommend that you do it because Social Security, for many of you out there, is going to be a major component of where you'll be receiving income in retirement. After the break, I'll talk about one of the biggest changes in Social Security, probably in the past 20 or 30 years.
SPEAKER 01 :
Putting off planning for your retirement another year can cost you tens of thousands. But Golden Eagle Financial can get you back on track to maximize your retirement now. Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial is a retirement advisor who gets to know you from the very onset. What are your dreams for retirement? What do you want to do when the work is done? Many people want to give back or volunteer or donate time or money. Others might like to travel or learn a new skill. And Al Smith can help make all of these dreams a reality. Whether your dream is giving back to other groups or people, traveling the world, or taking up a new hobby, Al will make sure you're prepared for the road ahead without financial concerns. He's a man who has years of experience and can help you make your retirement dreams come true. Contact Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial on the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold to individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 02 :
Retirement Unpacked, thank you for listening. We've been talking about getting a savings investment program started in 2025. That should be one of your resolutions if you don't already have a program for long-term wealth accumulation. And in addition, we've been talking about Social Security, some of the changes for 2025. Now, the biggest change coming for 2025 is is the passage of what's called the Social Security Fairness Act. Going back for quite a number of years, there were two provisions. One of them is the pension offset provision. The other is the windfall elimination provision. These were laws that affected Social Security for either workers or dependents who worked for a number of years and put into a pension. and at that time did not contribute to Social Security. The most common ones, especially in Colorado, are para, and there are also some county pensions, firefighters, police officers, many of them contribute toward pensions as an alternative to Social Security. Prior to the Social Security Fairness Act being passed, the way it would work is, let's take a hypothetical example. Someone works for 15 years in the private sector. And you only need 10 years or 40 quarters to be fully insured to get Social Security benefits. So if you worked for seven years and then worked for the state of Colorado and you're under PARA, you don't have enough benefits. credits to collect Social Security. But let's say if someone worked for 15 years in the private sector and contributed to Social Security and then found a job through the state of Colorado or as a teacher. Well, that person normally, not normally, but before the Social Security Fairness Act was passed, there would be a table he could look at. And you would look at it under the windfall elimination provision, which has been repealed. And essentially, if someone qualified maybe for $1,500 a month Social Security benefits, once you look at that table and look at what you collected in pension, that $1,500 would have been radically reduced, possibly to as little as 30% of that. Now, that's the way it worked under the old windfall elimination provision. Now, there's another law that works similarly. It's called the government offset provision. And I'm a divorced person, and my ex-wife worked both for the federal government as a hardworking postal worker, and also she was a teacher. She taught special needs kids. And one thing I will say, unrelated to finances, is education. Anyone who does that, God bless you, because it takes an enormous amount of patience and diligence to work with special needs kids. But in any event, normally a divorced spouse would be entitled, if you're married 10 years or longer, to 50% of the primary worker's Social Security, you know, the ex-spouse. And because she had earnings where she did not contribute to Social Security personally, she would not be eligible for Social Security benefits for 50% of my benefit, or if I died, 100% as a survivor benefit. Now, this Social Security Fairness Act completely repealed that. So if you're listening here today and if you are covered under PARA or if you have a spouse covered under PARA and if one of you has Social Security benefits of 40 quarters or more, it would be very wise to come into my office and we'll sit down and crunch some numbers and find out what benefits you are entitled to. My office is 303-744-1128. And they are estimating that about 3 million people in the United States are entitled to increase Social Security as a result of this new law being passed, the Social Security Fairness Act. Now, when they say 3 million, I think the workforce in the United States is about between 70 and 80 million. So I'm thinking the number may actually be higher than that. And for those – anybody who has 40 quarters of Social Security, which they look at it in terms of quarters, but what that really means is 10 years – where you contributed to Social Security, the terminology they use is that means you are fully insured. And if that's the case, you are now entitled to your full Social Security benefits. There is no longer any offset. If you worked for the state of Colorado or if you were a firefighter, police officer, teacher, or anyone where you contributed to a pension without contributing to Social Security. So, again, over and over, I will be talking about this frequently because this affects a lot of people. I know a lot of you out there are covered under PARA, and this is something that you should consider. investigate. Again, my number is 303-744-1128. With respect to Social Security, people often ask me, well, when is the best time to file? When should I collect? And people also ask me, well, is my Social Security taxable? And the answer to that, if it's taxable, the answer is it depends. Because how much other income you are drawing is going to determine how much your Social Security will be taxed. And often when I sit down with people who are maybe in their 50s or 60s that have pretty good incomes and will likely have a good Social Security benefit, if they have a considerably large nest egg that is going to be taxable, like a 401k or an IRA, then we take a look at a strategy where maybe we can make some of that other income tax free. And we do that by creating a schedule where we can create, we can convert rather traditional IRAs to Roth. By doing that, When someone begins collecting Social Security, if their additional income is only partly taxable and part of it is tax-free, then their income tax bracket could be as low as zero, depending, of course, on liability. how much taxable income there is in addition to your Social Security. So these are some things to think about. And getting back to when is the best time to file, there's a lot of things to determine. If you postpone between full retirement age and which is between 66 and 67. If you postpone to age 70, that grows about 8% a year. A lot of people who postpone to age 70 have Social Security that is well in excess of $4,000 a month. And if someone has only modest taxable income on top of that, they could be in a zero tax bracket. So this is where some planning comes in. There's a form. It's called a worksheet. It's called the Form 915 worksheet. And that form helps determine how much of your Social Security is taxable. And occasionally I've asked people who are collecting Social Security, I'll say, well, you remember this form, right? I'm sure your CPA or your tax preparer filled this out. Well, they don't fill it out. It has like 19 different forms. items that you fill in that are mathematical. And the reason that's not filled out is everyone's taxes are computed based on software. The software figures that out. And if you have questions about how much of your Social Security might be taxable or if you're entitled to larger benefits because of the Social Security Fairness Act, give my office a call and we'll have a conversation. 303-744-1128. Thank you for listening, and God bless you. And I think some of our prayers for the folks in Israel are being answered because I've heard there is a ceasefire and some of the hostages may be released, which is good news. Again, God bless you. Hope you'll be here next week. Bye.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you for listening to Retirement Unpacked with your host, Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial.
In this episode, experience the ridiculous yet true tale of Florida Man's latest heist, where creativity met absurdity as art was attempted to be smuggled in the most unconventional of ways. Dive into a heated discourse on political traditions and modern-day etiquette, exploring why some historical courtesies are retained while others are discarded, and the uproar it causes in political circles.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Caltech.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 02 :
So detectives in Florida are trying to find this art thief. Surveillance footage shows a man walking into a gallery in St. Petersburg and then shoving a $21,000 sculpture into his pants. On video. And he takes this glass sculpture and shoves it in his pants. Police say the second suspect was distracting a sales associate at this gallery that they were in while all of this went on. The cast glass sculpture is titled Torso. And after they left, the gallery staff then noticed later that it was missing. One of the men involved, Willie Wilson. 45 was arrested by St. Petersburg police on January 7th, but they're still looking for the other guy who actually did the shoving of the sculpture in the pants thing. So they're out of all the things and all the ways to do it. Why that? I mean, when you hear about art heists, isn't it always like a fancy, like James Bond level operation? This guy just shoves it in his pants. We have a third hour coming up. Don't go anywhere. Stick with us. I need to bring this to your attention. So do you do you remember it was Bruce Fisher? whose wife is a lawmaker, and you remember the whole story last week that we had where people were livid at Bruce Fisher because he, when he walked up to hold the Bible for his wife to swear her oath on, which is unbiblical, by the way, but okay, but they, swearing an oath on the Bible, and he was, he had his cane that he was leaning on heavily and he was having difficulty walking and then he had the Bible in his hand and everyone was saying that he was so ignorant Because Kamala Harris tried to shake his hand when he was holding the Bible and the cane. And he, I mean, it was either they were attacking him because he just didn't, I guess, fall on his face on his way, you know, and on his way shake Kamala Harris's hand. I mean, it was so ridiculous. Now, here's why I bring this up. So you might not have heard about this story. The way it happens is when you have the... Before you have the inauguration, there are all of these little things, traditions that the president, vice president and their staffs do as they are moving the new presidential team in and the old presidential team out. And so they have a naval observatory residence for the vice president. And. Typically, and this is how it has worked with every president, and you have the first ladies that will have tea. Well, the vice president always invites – and it's tradition. It's not a rule, but it's a tradition – invites the vice president to the vice president's home, and they have a sit-down and a discussion. It's tradition. They tour the new residence. They see where their family is going to live, and they sit down and they have a conversation. So Kamala Harris's wife has declined to do this or Kamala Harris has declined to do this, to have J.D. Vance and his wife come in. Kamala Harris has declined to invite the Vances to the Naval Observatory and tour the residence. We're all the people who said that Bruce Fisher was horrible. And how dare you not shake her hand? The sources close to Harris say that the behavior is payback. For what? Oh, because I guess the V. Yeah. For what? I don't know. Well, it's payback. It's payback to that. She's not going to have Vance. She doesn't like Vance. They said that Navy aides who oversee the home communicated with the incoming second family and they're making arrangements because the Vance's have kids. So they have kids that are going to be moving. Don't you want the kids to see where they're going to be moving? I just think that it's healthy for them because they're making a huge transition. I mean, they're moving several states away from their home to Washington, D.C. And they're at the age where They're going to notice and it's going to have an effect on them. Wouldn't that be just a nice thing to do to invite the family and give a tour of the residence? Doing that doesn't mean that you change your party affiliation to Republican. It just means that you continue the niceties. But they're not doing that. They're not doing that. Not what they're doing. And I don't know. I'm just... I find that interesting. Where's the outrage from media over this? Can you imagine if it was a – I don't have to finish the sentence. Cain, what would that be like if it – say the situation was reversed and J.D. Vance didn't invite Kamala Harris, the incoming VP, to tour her residence?
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, man. I mean you saw what they did. With Bruce. So we know exactly what they'll do. And that was just a simple little formality thing. That's not like a vice president being shunned or anything like that. So, yeah. And the media would not only regurgitate that for days on end, but then you'd have pundits echoing it for another week or so.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And this is the first time in decades that there are young children that are going to be living in the house. For the first time in decades. So I'm just curious where... Where's the outrage from the press about this? And this is from CBS News, by the way. So it's not, you know, like a made up story. She's refused to do it. The headline is Harris declines to invite Vance for courtesy visit to vice president's residence before inauguration. Well, she refused to do it because his wife had reached out to the vice president's home because they have people that oversee it. And they were she was asking what details they need to do since all their kids are under the age of eight. What kind of child proofing can they give some suggestions? And CBS reports. That the questions were initially rebuffed by a Harris political appointee. So they were immediately right off the bat. Absolute jack wagons. And this one of the defenses of Harris's behavior here. was that she was never afforded the opportunity to visit the home before she was sworn in. However, that was during lockdown. And it was right after the riot at the Capitol where they were burning stuff down. Hmm. That when they tried to set the church on fire and everything else, there'd been all these riots. Remember the left going crazy? And then you had J6 stuff that took place. And then the left was writing the whole time for that. So I'm just, you know, It's just really weird. So they said that they're going to try to accommodate the kids. But why do you have to be? She's not doing anything. She's not writing books. She's not on the speaker circuit because she's horrible. But they said that Pence's people dispute that an invitation was never offered. Because Pence, when they found out, or CBS, I guess, asked Pence, and a spokesperson for Pence had said that, well, that's not true that she was never invited. We absolutely did invite her. And they said that the only thing was that the invitation was discreet because of conflict between Pence and Trump. But he was like, well, that's not true. I absolutely did invite Harris. They didn't have a formal sit down in the House, but they said they absolutely invited them. And so Harris's people are saying, well, that was a tradition that was broken during Trump Pence. But Pence is like, no, I invited you. And it was a little tricky, apparently, when she could go because they had lockdowns. And then there were, you know, people out in the street. And that's, you know, but that's so lame. That's so lame that they would try to, well, you know, Pence did it. So I, you know, paybacks. She's a child. All the people who are mad over disabled Bruce Fisher, I hope they feel so stupid and ashamed of themselves because where's the outrage over this? There's no consistency there. That's why I never take any of these people's complaints seriously at all. With everything going on in the world right now, the economy, conflicts, the open border, spiraling national debt, the devastating inflation, it's critical that you have a plan for diversifying and protecting your savings. And that's why so many, including myself, have turned to precious metals like gold and silver. to help protect our savings. And I've partnered with the top-rated precious metals company, GoldCo, to make that happen. It's a great company with a great reputation, and they could not have made the process any easier. And right now, Gold Co. is offering a free gold and silver kit that will show you how precious metals can help protect and diversify your savings. And for my audience, they're offering up to a 10% instant match in bonus silver on qualified orders. All you have to do is visit danalikesgold.com to get started today. GoldCo has helped thousands of Americans place over $3 billion in gold and silver, and they can help you as well. Join thousands who trust GoldCo. Visit DanaLikesGold.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
Democrats resort to ridiculous and unconvincing tactics to try to derail Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary. The special counsel blasts Joe Biden for maligning the Justice Department's handling of the Hunter Biden case. And the president says illegal border crossings went way down when he took office. I'm Greg Karambas. Join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the 3 Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad, and crazy news of the day, and hopefully a lot of laughs too. Follow the 3 Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 04 :
If you like true crime, you'll love the Miracle Files podcast.
SPEAKER 03 :
We share real stories with the suspense of true crime, but we'll leave you with a sense of light and hope.
SPEAKER 04 :
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.
SPEAKER 03 :
Subscribe to the Miracle Files wherever you get your podcasts and join us on this thrilling journey of faith and miracles.
SPEAKER 05 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
So the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially banned the use of red number three, a synthetic food dye that was found in numerous products like candy cereals and drinks because it's carcinogenic in animals. And it follows, there was a lot of debate over it. So it's food dye red three. But all the other colors are okay? Is it just red three? I got questions like this color is bad, but all the others are right. Well, what about like blue five? I don't even know if that's a real thing, but you know what I mean? Like, why? I don't know. I got some questions on that. So also, does that I bet that's what's in that's what Cheeto dust is made of. I'm just saying, you know, probably it's true. A woman, this is the, I can't even believe, you guys. I need, first, Juan, throw these photos up here. This woman saw these photos and got scammed out of tons of money because she thought the guy that she was talking with online and dating digitally was Brad Pitt. I am not making this up. God help us all. This woman, guys, she paid $700,000 to this scammer. And it was based on these photos. Can you throw these up? These are the photos that he sent her. And she thought they were real. And she literally gave the scammer seven hundred thousand dollars because of these photos. Do they look real to you? He's there. Clearly photoshopped. I love he's got this like breathing thing on his face and his hair is perfect in it. She could have used AI. This is horrible. She's 53 years old. Now, the crazy thing is, she's only the latest woman to fall for the fake Brad Pitt scam, meaning that other women have also fallen for this. What in the world? Golly, bless their hearts. Bless their ever-loving hearts. A police officer admitted to hiring a prostitute who allegedly later stole his car. By allegedly, that means we have to say allegedly so that we don't get sued. But allegedly, she's so allegedly guilty, it's not even allegedly funny. It's in Virginia Beach. And apparently, he hired a hooker. And then she ended up jacking his car. And so he got fired. What? I didn't. She like did not technically a carjack. You know, sir, you need Jesus. You need Jesus, sir. Thank you. Let's see. Also, now there's rumors that Musk might buy TikTok. Interesting. And but TikTok says that's fake news. They said it was, quote, pure fiction. Fabulous. Florida based company Caltech makes some really cool stuff. And they've, you know, the P-11, the P-32 changed the way we carry concealed. They invented the micro compact pistol category. They also have their high performance KSG shotguns, the super accurate bullpup performance of the RDB series, the full and half carbine family of sub 2Ks, the P-50s. The P15, the lightest, thinnest double stack 9mm on the market. Now we're heading into the end of January and this is usually when Caltech unveils the latest firearms that they've invented, that they've come up with. Things you've never seen before and this is not going to be an exception this year. So they're going to have more stuff, new stuff that they're going to be announcing at the end of this month. And they're going to be at SHOT Show. I'll be broadcasting at their booth at SHOT Show too. Visit caltechweapons.com. And while you're there, take a look at everything that they have because I could give you my picks. I mean I like all this stuff, but there are certain things that I absolutely think you have to have like the KSG, the P-15s. The RDB is pretty nice as well. The P50 is pretty sweet. Some of these are must-have in your Liberty collection. So visit the Kel-Tec website. Sign up for the newsletter. Check out their social media. Performance, Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, Kel-TecWeapons.com, K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you. Okay, so we're going to bring Steve in on this because aren't you a big Phillies fan? Steve, yeah. So the Eagles fan, the guy who apparently verbally abused a female Packers supporter, he got fired by his job. Why are you laughing? You're laughing your head off.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because I saw that damn video. That's why I'm laughing.
SPEAKER 02 :
But, okay, are we really going to start doing this to people, though?
SPEAKER 05 :
Doing what? Controlling the behavior that they decided to have at a public game? Is that what you're saying?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I'm just like they found out who he was and they got him fired from his job.
SPEAKER 05 :
If his job decided they don't like him as a representative.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because people were like, hey, employer, did you see this?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Well, I mean, everyone saw it. I know everybody's done that.
SPEAKER 02 :
I like the olden days when the penalty to be paid was that you got your ass beat. That's what I like. Let's go back to those days. I mean, we don't need everyone to turn into Inspector Gadget and run down the guy's employer and get the guy fired. Like, let's just have a good old-fashioned ass beating right there in the stands. Like, I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER 05 :
The decision to fire him was solely on the business. Oh, come on. Listen. Whatever.
SPEAKER 02 :
How did...
SPEAKER 05 :
You're just like, well, how are people giving this business the information? That's horrible. The business did it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sure. Sure they did. They did. I mean, look at all the stuff that we showed the business about their employer. We linked the business name to this guy. I mean, there was a pressure campaign.
SPEAKER 05 :
The business did what they wanted to do as a private business. What all of a sudden now you don't like that?
SPEAKER 02 :
The guy, I thought the husband, people were getting mad at the husband because I think that they wanted him to give that guy a knuckle sandwich.
SPEAKER 05 :
Dude was so nice and gracious.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, he had to be because he's apparently surrounded by everybody who does not like them because they are for a different team. I don't understand that. It's bread and circuses. Everybody realizes this, right? It's all bread and circuses. Like I'm never going to get so into a team that I'm actually mad at somebody else who's for a different sports team. I can't even fathom that. Like Steve loves the Phillies, but he's not like the Eagles. He's not crazy. I've just never been. I don't know.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's noticed that I see because Lorraine just put this in here and it looks like he's been fired from the DEI focused consultant.
SPEAKER 1 :
What?
SPEAKER 02 :
oh no are you not okay i'm fine i didn't say it wasn't okay why do you hate old people stop putting words in my mouth what old people hate her it's the bct partners i don't even know what this guy does uh and the guy i mean she wasn't really doing anything he was just mad because she's a packers fan so he was obnoxious completely you know there's a way that And I feel like, you know, the couple, you know, they played it the way they did. But we can't play any of this, can we? No, we can't. Oh, my gosh. We'd get so in trouble.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, we cannot. I don't know, Steve. Did he do any editing to it?
SPEAKER 02 :
I just feel like there's a line. You don't cross a line. Like, you're going after the guy's livelihood. I mean, you know, maybe ban him from some games and stuff. But going after his job.
SPEAKER 05 :
We did that, too.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER 08 :
I don't have the audio in front of me. I mean, I've seen the video. I mean, my feed is all, like, Eagles sports stuff the next day. And it was all over my feed. And if you watch the video, like, he dropped some words that we can't even, like, get close to saying on radio. And they do warn you about being physical. They'll kick you out. So, like, the team can do whatever they want and the stadium can. But I guess it's up to his employer. I'm kind of with Kane on this.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, what? Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're saying that people threaten. People didn't threaten the business.
SPEAKER 02 :
No. And be like, hey, here's some info. And he called a woman to see you next Tuesday.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. He information was just handed off to the business and the business made a business decision. That's literally how it went.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. I mean, if he would have called me that, I would have said, oh, do I resemble your mom? I would have been like, you know, just played it like off. I don't know. I don't know. I just get really weird when they go after – I don't know. I'm on the fence about it. I'm on the fence over it. It's just weird because now when – it just seems – can I just say it? It seems pansified. Going after the guy's job? No. Take him out the parking lot. Cash me outside. How about now?
SPEAKER 08 :
Which is what a normal Philly fan would normally do.
SPEAKER 02 :
See, I like that. Go beat their ass. And then get it over with.
SPEAKER 05 :
One's 100% legal. The other one's questionably legal.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, it should be legal. I feel like if you're like, no, Mr. Officer, we both agree. There's no liability here. We're just going to beat the hell out of each other. Give us five minutes. I feel like there should be allowances for that.
SPEAKER 05 :
What's that in Texas called?
SPEAKER 02 :
Settling differences.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, but it's called something. It's like the mutual combat rule.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I'm all for mutual combat. Can we invoke that? I am all for that. Like, you know what? I'm not going to go up to your job. I will punch your face in, though. So let's agree to mutual combat. see this is where in my head i feel like a lot bigger than i am because i was telling how did this come up because i'm five seven i lied i'm five six i'm not five seven but i'm going to continue saying i am i'm like a buck 20 but in my mind kane i'm like six four yes and i'm about i'm pushing 280 all muscles sometimes in my mind you are so i'm like yeah let's just beat her I mean, I don't know how hard I physically would have to punch to concave his face, but, you know, just saying. Like, I like the mutual combat thing.
SPEAKER 05 :
He does have a punchable face, though.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, he's totally... A face only a mother could punch. I'm just saying. You know, he's... He's obnoxious. He's so obnoxious. But I just... I get... I don't know. It just is...
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm sorry. I understand what you're saying, but I think the distinction is whether or not people threaten this business with boycotting if they didn't do anything, which I did not see. I just saw people saying, hey, look at this public info.
SPEAKER 02 :
Are Phillies fans really ornery, Steve? Wait, the baseball fans? Phillies fans in general. You mean the Eagles fans? Yeah, but apparently everyone's just saying Phillies fans, so they're not really specifying the Eagles or nothing like that. It doesn't matter.
SPEAKER 08 :
They're all just as passionate.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I love how he described them. They're just passionate. They're just as passionate. What context are you saying Henri for? Well, like because everyone's like, oh, that's a typical Phillies fan for you. That's what like all these people on. So I don't know. I don't have that experience.
SPEAKER 08 :
It just goes back to this old throwing snowballs at Santa Claus thing from the 60s that people won't let go. Tell us. We're running out of time. You can look it up. There's an old story about people throwing snowballs at Santa Claus when the Eagles were losing one day and then they never got rid of him. It's like a 50-year-old story.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow. I mean, I kind of like that kind of camaraderie. I want to be camaraderie with people that would maybe give you the shiv, right? I want to be on that team. I like that idea. All right. I'm not really joking. I'm not going to say I'm joking because I'm not.
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.
Join us as we unravel the complexities of red flag laws and their broader implications on justice and public safety. This episode captures the tension in the Senate hearings, with particular attention to the exchanges between Pam Bondi and Senators Hirono and Durbin. We also touch on unexpected updates from the Middle East involving potential hostilities and the role of communication in political discourse. Prepare for a nuanced conversation that addresses critical questions about integrity, independence, and transparency in the government.
SPEAKER 26 :
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SPEAKER 24 :
As attorney general, how will you prevent the weaponization of the Department of Justice against Americans?
SPEAKER 15 :
And Senator, you just gave the classic example of what's been happening regarding the weaponization. Going after parents at a school board meeting has got to stop. For practicing your religion, sending informants in to Catholic churches must stop.
SPEAKER 24 :
What about branding parents as domestic terrorists or trying to incarcerate one's political opponent as a sitting president of the United States?
SPEAKER 19 :
will stop, must stop. Interesting. So this was the day, this was the AG hearing. And there are, and I'm looking, if you'll forgive me, I'm looking at my rundown. There are a number of hearings that are taking place in certain different committees. So you have, you know, your judiciary, et cetera. And they are, they're, they're, handling Marco Rubio for secretary of state. They're handling Bondi for AG. And I will say this. I think that she has done, she's been exceptional in this hearing. I do want one Republican, please, dear heavens, ask about red flag law. It'd be great. It'd be great. I'm going to expand on that in a minute. First off, welcome to the program. It's good to be with you. We're at the top of this first hour today. And we have these hearings. We have, I have some crazy, yeah, we have Ratcliffe CIA that's happening too. I have some crazy headlines. I have some developments about the fire and all of that stuff as well. But I thought Bondi has been doing exceptionally well. And I thought that it only got dicey, not dicey, I thought Democrats got over their skis a little bit again because, you know, they are want to do that. I thought they got over their skis a little bit with Maisie Hirono because she has the amazing ability. Amazing Maisie. She's got the ability to take any kind of advantageous to her situation and look like a fool. I've never seen anyone that that. has the ability to actually make the person that you're questioning or debating or etc. look better just because of the way that you ask the questions and the tone that you have. And it got a little, there was a couple of points where it got a little dicey. What is it? Is this 22? Is this the one where she was with Hirono? Because she, there were a couple, but I thought Hirono was the most aggressive. Hirono and Durbin. First off, let's play 17 real quick because this is one back and forth with Durbin.
SPEAKER 15 :
Ranking member Durbin, if you want to get dirt on me, these women have known me since I was a child. Seriously, most of them. So thank you for indulging me in that. They've all made a very long trip to be here. And thank you for holding my hearing as well and not postponing it. I appreciate that. Thank you all.
SPEAKER 19 :
Hmm. Because she was saying she was telling him, if you want to get dirt on me, all these women that are here with me, they did go back and forth a little bit with that. This let's play this. This is this is one of the things that I want to get to, because the question that Maisie Hirono is asking here. It sounds familiar to you, not because you've heard the question before, but because you've lived it for four years now, longer, actually. And Hirono is desperate, speaking on behalf of Democrats. She's desperate. She wants assurances that the Department of Justice is not going to do exactly what Democrats made it do under Joe Biden. And I thought that Bondi was very calm and cool and collected in her response. This is that question. Just listen to this. Listen to these leading questions. It's crazy.
SPEAKER 14 :
That you're saying that the White House will not have any kind of role. Meanwhile, though, you have an incoming president who said, I have the absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department. And in fact, President-elect Trump considers the DOJ to be his law firm. I ask you this, if President-elect Trump asks, suggests, or hints that you as Attorney General should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to know you.
SPEAKER 14 :
I am listening to you now.
SPEAKER 15 :
Could you respond to the question? Yeah, you were the only one who refused to meet with me, Senator. But what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the Attorney General to follow the law.
SPEAKER 14 :
I'm very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Ms. Bondi. So I think it's really important to us that the Attorney General be independent. of the White House, and you have a president-elect who considers the AG's office his law firm. I would like to know whether if the president suggests, hints, asks, that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived enemies?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator, I certainly have not heard the President say that. But what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice. And it's statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith. If I am confirmed as Attorney General, it will be my job to not only keep Americans safe, but restore integrity to that department.
SPEAKER 16 :
Do you see the setup?
SPEAKER 19 :
Do you see the setup? Maisie Hirono is like, so if you could go back in history and murder baby Hitler, would you do it? I mean, that's like it's such a hypothetical. And it's so weird, the questions that she asks. There were three of them, two back-to-back, where she sets up this hypothetical and then is demanding that Pam Bondi answer the hypothetical. And Bondi's like, I'm not doing that. I'm not playing this game. And she was super chill. Bondi was weirdly chill in that. She just sat there, blinked, looked. I think Bondi actually performed better than Hegseth. It's maybe not what you want when you have a DOD hearing. But I'm saying, because he has a ton of tells. He's sitting there and he's getting fidgety. And you can tell when he's getting ticked. You can read it. You can look at the tension in his hands, the way he holds his hands at the table, the way his body language. But also, she's a career prosecutor. So she's trained to sit there as the fire goes around. I mean, the difference was pretty stunning. And she just sat there and looked. Probably about the past the time that most of us would have slapped the person probably questioning us like that. But she just sat there and was very chill. Like I said, that I'm still concerned because of her red flag. advocacy and the fact that she carried it out as the top cop in Florida. That's a huge issue. You cannot sit there in a hearing and discuss concerns about the weaponization of the DOJ. You cannot sit there in a hearing and talk about whether or not the Removal of due process for the purpose of expediency is a good trade-off. You can't do that. You can't have this hearing and not bring up an issue that is key to this office. And my, I guess, concern with Bondi is, Is that it's one thing if you're the top cop and there is an existing law that is there that you're implementing it and you're implementing it. So, you know, if you have a state that the previous governor passes red flag law and then the AG comes in and they are implementing that. That's one thing. But Bondi was in office and she's been in politics since before that was passed and put into effect by Rick Scott. She went to events and was speaking out in favor of it. She was advocating for it. without there being the existence of a campaign trail. She was campaigning for it. So that's the difference and that's the concern that I have because red flag law is not just about guns. That's what the gun control people and the people who are after your rights want you to think. They want you to think that red flag law only is about firearms when firearms are nothing more than a variable. This could be applied to every single facet of law and order. It could be firearms today. It could be something you say on the internet tomorrow. I mean, I'm not kidding you. When you remove due process because you think that secures you some kind of expediency, that is a very dangerous thing. And what's even more frustrating about it is the removal of due process doesn't actually secure expediency. It doesn't do anything. In fact, none of these states that have passed this have seen a measurable reduction in the sorts of crime that they claim these laws were put into effect to prevent or to contain. Florida included. Now, this is something that is a big issue because it's the legislature that's there that I mean, the legislature, we're going to talk to Governor DeSantis about this next hour. He's going to join us. The legislature there is dragging their feet because they don't want to get going on anything. And he's fighting with them just to show up and work a little bit. So you can see why, you know, you got red flag law in that state. So I've got questions for her on this. And I would love it, you know, if one senator could just please, for the love of all things holy, ask a question about this now. A couple of other things. Apparently, Trump put on Truth Social that there is apparently they said that there's a deal for the hostages in place in the Middle East. They have a deal and that they will be released shortly. And that's all. Can I just say that sometimes he's great at oversharing and other times he's such a man. You know what I mean? I mean, it's true. Women, you'll get the full scoop in 60 seconds. Men, you know this. If you ask your wives, your girlfriends, your sisters, your friends something about, you know, you want the tea, these ladies can break it down for you 60 seconds or less, and you know the whole life story of every single person involved. Men are like, I don't know. It's just not good. And you're just left hanging. It's like pulling teeth. And so Trump either goes from where he's oversharing or... This and he just goes, thank you. Yeah, they're going to be released. Thanks. I want to know more. Like what? How many do we have to release any terrorists in order to get back some of these hostages? Like I want some deep spill the tea.
SPEAKER 11 :
My dude spill the tea.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, but you can't just like just drop that like that and then run. Thank you. And then go and oh my gosh, I want to know about this stuff. I mean, so this is a big headline. We're going to explore this. We're going to follow this more here. We've got headlines coming up. Also, just let me give you an idea of what we got on deck today. We got the hearings that we're going to be following. Mayor Karen Bass was drinking it up at parties in Ghana while her city was burning. And she knew it was burning. I'm telling you, I got some crazy headlines. And a total civil war has broken out in the L.A. Fire Department. The lesbians named Kristen are going to have to face off. Is it going to be Kristen versus Kristen or Kristen versus Kristen? We just don't know. We can see the folks who help bring you the program. It's our friends over at All Family Pharmacy. This is such a great service. You need to memorize the website. They make it so easy. All Family Pharmacy helped my family out a lot over Thanksgiving because, you know, right on Thanksgiving when offices are closed and you end up getting sick, it's a mess and you've got to get medicine. All Family Pharmacy made it super easy. And you can visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Use code Dana and you'll get 10% off of your entire order. So this is affordable access, easy and cost effective for medicine. You don't have to break the bank to access these medicines. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. Everything's made in the USA. You're not getting Chinese antibiotics. It's not how that's working. They got a proven track record. and you work with their doctors. Their doctors get you the medication that you need, fast delivery right to your door. You can even overnight stuff if needed. And you can rely on all family pharmacy to keep your health needs on track. If you need antibiotics, if you need things like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, which is actually a good antiviral, you can get those at All Family Pharmacy. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using code Dana. 10% off your purchase using code Dana10. It's Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order only at allfamilypharma.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 23 :
Not only does Trump need an eraser, he needs a lot of them. From banning gas water heaters and banning areas for drilling oil, Biden's claims for a smooth transition were nonsensical. Trump needs to start from scratch. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially banned the use of red number three, a synthetic food dye that was found in numerous products like candy, cereals, and drinks because it's carcinogenic in animals. And it follows, there was a lot of debate over it. So it's food dye red three. But all the other colors are okay? Is it just red three? I got questions like this color is bad, but all the others are right. What about like blue five? I don't even know if that's a real thing, but you know what I mean? Like why? I don't know. I got some questions on that. So also, I bet that's what Cheeto dust is made of. I'm just saying, you know, probably it's true. A woman, this is the, I can't even believe you guys. I need, first, want to throw these photos up here. This woman saw these photos and got scammed out of tons of money because she thought the guy that she was talking with online and dating digitally was Brad Pitt. I am not making this up. God help us all. This woman, guys, she paid $700,000 to this scammer. And it was based on these photos. Can you throw these up? These are the photos that he sent her. And she thought they were real. And she literally gave the scammer $700,000 because of these photos. Do they look real to you? They're clearly photoshopped. He's got this like breathing thing on his face and his hair is perfect in it.
SPEAKER 11 :
It could have used AI.
SPEAKER 19 :
She could have used AI. This is horrible. She's 53 years old. Now, the crazy thing is, she's only the latest woman to fall for the fake Brad Pitt scam, meaning that other women have also fallen for this. What in the world? Golly, bless their hearts. Bless their ever-loving hearts. A police officer admitted to hiring a prostitute who allegedly later stole his car. By allegedly, that means we have to say allegedly so that we don't get sued. But allegedly, she's so allegedly guilty, it's not even allegedly funny. It's in Virginia Beach. And apparently, he hired a hooker. And then she ended up jacking his car. And so he got fired. What? I didn't. She like did not technically a carjack. You know, sir, you need Jesus. You need Jesus, sir. Thank you. Let's see. Also, now there's rumors that Musk might buy TikTok. Interesting. But TikTok says that's fake news. They said it was, quote, pure fiction. We've got a lot more on the way. Law & Order and the snub from Kamala Harris. Why isn't the media all over this? Stay tuned. As we move, our partners that bring you the program, it's our friends over at Super Beats, their new product, Super Boreen Features, a very... proven berberine they use a real high quality these always use high quality ingredients and there are a lot of people that try to pretend to be super beats super beats are the only people that have the patent on how they process all of this stuff so you're getting you know the all of the nitrates that are inherent in beats which have that great effect on on your overall body's health and your metabolism and your blood sugar and all of this and so they're a berberine product They are clinically researched. It's a berberine that has a nearly 10 times higher absorption rate. than standard berberine, and it's a plant-based supplement. It helps to support your metabolism and your blood sugar levels. It's three times more effective than your diet and exercise alone, used by doctors from the makers of the Super Beats Heart Chews. So you should head to your nearest Sam's Club, save not only on the Super Beats Heart Chews, but get the Super Berrine from Human, and make sure that you're getting the Super Beats product. I know that there's a competitor that's like trying to, you know, that's advertising the elsewhere and it's just i mean there's no comparison of the quality of product the actual science that went into the super beats product and also the patented process that they pioneered in order to make sure that you are getting full the full ingredients so there really is no competition head to your near sam's club save on super beats the heart chews and the super brewing from human
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SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 21 :
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SPEAKER 25 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
During the election, during the campaign, first, are the felons convicted of breaking into the Capitol on January 6th hostages or patriots, quoting Trump? As President-elect Trump has said repeatedly, do you agree with his characterization of the felons that I referred to? I am not familiar with that statement, Senator. I just familiarized you with that statement. Do you agree with that statement? I'm not familiar with it, Senator. No answer. He has also said illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. He said that in December 2023.
SPEAKER 15 :
Do you agree with that statement? Senator, I am not familiar with that statement, but what I can tell you is I went to the border a few months ago. I went to Yuma, Arizona, and what I saw at that border was horrific, Senator. It was horrific. I went to a rape crisis center. That is not my question. I went to a rape crisis center. Well, I'm not familiar with the statement, but I went to a rape crisis center. I met with Border Patrol agents. I'm sure you've been to the border as well. I want to get to my next question.
SPEAKER 19 :
And then she's like, OK, I'm going to go to my next question now because you're kicking my ass in your response. So let's go to the next question. Things and stuff. What? That's I'm just it's so goofy. It's so goofy. No. Welcome back. Dana Lash with you. We're at the bottom of this first hour of the program. And that was when she, what did she say? No, I'm familiar. I familiarized you with it. That's when I, I was getting ready actually to, you know, come on TV. And I looked up cause I thought, Ooh, that was bitchy. What's happening here? I had a little bit of a real housewives tone. What's up? So she's just been told me for a minute. So Hirono has this, she issues the statement and she attributes a quote to Trump. Pam Bondi has, you know, it's a Democrat, so it's probably not true. Pam Bondi is sitting there thinking, am I just supposed to take your word for it? You're Maisie Hirono. I'm just supposed to take your word for this? Maisie Hirono is asking her to essentially affirm a negative, which that's entirely illogical. And when Bondi doesn't do that, then Hirono is like, she's not answering my question. Well, you didn't, but you didn't validate your question is the problem. You begged the question because you are asking for a conclusion that is predicated upon a premise that you are presenting as truthful. That's what beg the question means. Beg the question doesn't mean I'm posing the question. I hate when people mess that up. Begging the question assumes that the premise is accurate and truthful. Thus, they want a specific answer for you that is entirely predicated upon the truthfulness of that premise. That's what she's doing here. So Pam Bondi is like, I'm not falling into this logical fallacy. I'm not doing this. And good for her. I do want someone to ask about the red flag law, though. You can't have a conversation about weaponizing Department of Justice and not talk about that issue. And here's why it's incredibly important. Remember all the parents at school board meetings? They were red flag, basically. Yeah, they just don't call it red flag, but it's red flag application. Do you see what I'm telling you? Firearms are merely a variable. That's one variable. There is a formula. They can plug that in as one variable. There's another. I mean, that's that's what I warn people about over and over again. You don't even have to like guns. I'm not even asking you to agree with me on it. But you should be able, which is horribly stupid, but I'm not demanding that you do that. But we all should agree on due process. We should not be so politically tribal that we can't say, yeah, it's important to have due process. I mean, for the love. If we're that tribal that we can't acknowledge that, then we deserve to burn. So this this. Hearing, I thought, was really... I thought it was very interesting. And these questions, and we've got a lot of audio, because they're also talking to Rubio at the same time that they're talking to Pam Bondi. You know, he's got his Secretary of State hearing, and they've been peppering him with questions on that as well. And we'll see. I mean, he was... He... They had to have disruptors removed out of the hearing room. And Rubio made a joke. Listen.
SPEAKER 15 :
Pause. Back door.
SPEAKER 17 :
I get bilingual protesters. I think it's cool.
SPEAKER 12 :
As you know, that's a first year for us, at least in reasons. All right.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right.
SPEAKER 19 :
They just keep getting tossed out. Back door. All right. Yeah, they just keep getting tossed out one right after the other. I want to switch gears here. We're going to come back to this, but I need to bring this to y'all's attention. So do you remember it was Bruce Fisher whose wife is a lawmaker? And you remember the whole story last week that we had where people were livid at Bruce Fisher because when he walked up to hold the Bible for his wife to swear her oath on? Which is unbiblical, by the way, but okay. But they swearing an oath on the Bible. And he was he had his cane that he was leaning on heavily and he was having difficulty walking and then he had the Bible in his hand and everyone was saying that he was so ignorant. Because Kamala Harris tried to shake his hand when he was holding the Bible and the cane. And he, I mean, it was either they were attacking him because he just didn't, I guess, fall on his face on his way, you know, and on his way shake Kamala Harris's hand. I mean, it was so ridiculous. Now, here's why I bring this up. So you might not have heard about this story. The way it happens is when you have the... Before you have the inauguration, there are all of these little things, traditions that the president, vice president and their staffs do as they are moving the new presidential team in and the old presidential team out. And so they have a naval observatory residence for the vice president. And. Typically, and this is how it has worked with every president. And, you know, you have the first ladies that will have tea. Well, the vice president always invites and it's tradition. It's not a rule, but it's a tradition. Invites the vice president to the vice president's home and they have a sit down and a discussion. It's tradition. They tour the new residents. They see where their family is going to live and they sit down and they have a conversation. So Kamala Harris's wife has declined to do this or Kamala Harris has declined to do this, to have J.D. Vance and his wife come in. Kamala Harris has declined to invite the Vance's to the Naval Observatory and tour the residence. We're all the people who said that Bruce Fisher was horrible. And how dare you not shake her hand? The sources close to Harris say that the behavior is payback. For what? Oh, because I guess the V, yeah, for what? For being disabled? I don't know. Well, it's payback to, she's not going to have Vance. She doesn't like Vance. They said that Navy aides who oversee the home communicated with the incoming second family and they're making arrangements because the Vances have kids. So they have kids that are going to be moving. Don't you want the kids to see where they're going to be moving? I just think that it's healthy for them because they're making a huge transition. I mean, they're moving several states away from their home to Washington, D.C. And they're at the age where they're going to notice and it's going to have an effect on them. Wouldn't that be just a nice thing to do, to invite the family and give a tour of the residence? Doing that doesn't mean that you change your party affiliation to Republican. It just means that you continue the niceties. But they're not doing that. They're not doing that. Not what they're doing. And I don't know. I'm just... I find that interesting. Where's the outrage from media over this? Can you imagine if it was a... I don't have to finish the sentence. Kane, what would that be like if it, say the situation was reversed and J.D. Vance didn't invite Kamala Harris, the incoming VP, to tour her residence?
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, man. I mean, you saw what they did. With Bruce. So we know exactly what they'll do. And that was just a simple little formality thing. That's not like a vice president being shunned or anything like that. So, yeah. And the media would not only regurgitate that for days on end, but then you'd have pundits echoing it for another week or so.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. And this is the first time in decades that there are young children that are going to be living in the house. For the first time in decades. So I'm just curious where... Where's the outrage from the press about this? And this is from CBS News, by the way. So it's not, you know, like a made up story. She's refused to do it. She's the headline is Harris declines to invite Vance for courtesy visit to vice president's residence before inauguration. Well, she refused to do it because his wife had reached out to the vice president's home because they have people that oversee it. And they were she was asking what details they need to do since all their kids are under the age of eight. What kind of child proofing can they give some suggestions? And CBS reports. That the questions were initially rebuffed by a Harris political appointee. So they were immediately right off the bat. Absolute jack wagons. And this one of the defenses of Harris's behavior here. was that she was never afforded the opportunity to visit the home before she was sworn in. However, that was during lockdown. And it was right after the riot at the Capitol where they were burning stuff down. Hmm. That when they tried to set the church on fire and everything else, there'd been all these riots. Remember the left going crazy? And then you had J6 stuff that took place. And then the left was writing the whole time for that. So I'm just, you know, It's just really weird. So they said that they're going to try to accommodate the kids. But why do you have to be? She's not doing anything. She's not writing books. She's not on the speaker circuit because she's horrible. But they said that Pence's people dispute that an invitation was never offered. Because Pence, when they found out, or CBS, I guess, asked Pence, and a spokesperson for Pence had said that, well, that's not true that she was never invited. We absolutely did invite her. And they said that the only thing was that the invitation was discreet because of conflict between Pence and Trump. But he was like, well, that's not true. I absolutely did invite Harris. They didn't have a formal sit down in the House, but they said they absolutely invited them. And so Harris's people are saying, well, that was a tradition that was broken during Trump Pence. But Pence is like, no, I invited you. And it was a little tricky, apparently, when she could go because they had lockdowns. And then there were, you know, people out in the street. And that's, you know, but that's so lame. That's so lame that they would try to, well, you know, Pence did it. So I, you know, paybacks. She's a child. All the people who are mad over disabled Bruce Fisher, I hope they feel so stupid and ashamed of themselves. Because where's the outrage over this? There's no consistency there. That's why I never take any of these people's complaints seriously at all. We have more on the way as we roll towards the conclusion of this first hour. Coming up in our second hour, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He has been coordinating with Trump state-by-state immigration response. And now the rhinos in Florida, they don't want to get to work. We're going to talk to him about that. and more coming up as we move our partners who help bring you the program. If you're facing back taxes or unfiled returns, you know, because the government under threat of penalty takes your money and then they have the audacity to say that you're just voluntarily paying your taxes when it's done so under, it's extortion, but whatever. Tax Network USA, they know all about it. They know how the IRS works. They understand the pressure that they can apply. It doesn't matter if you owe $10,000 or $10 million if you're an individual or a business. Tax Network USA is the top tax relief expert in the nation. They have secured over a billion dollars in tax relief for their clients. And they offer penalty forgiveness, hardship programs, in-compromise solutions for lump sum settlements. Whether you owe $10,000 or $10 million, their experts are there to help. It's collection season. A lot of these pay-up notices are going out for $25 million. Let Tax Network USA help reduce or eliminate your debt. They have a proven success record. Schedule your complimentary consultation today. Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit tnusa.com slash Dana. That's tnusa.com slash Dana. Don't let the IRS's aggressive tactics control your life. Empower yourself today with Tax Network USA. Take control of your financial future. tnusa.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 22 :
Democrats resort to ridiculous and unconvincing tactics to try to derail Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary. The special counsel blasts Joe Biden for maligning the Justice Department's handling of the Hunter Biden case. And the president says illegal border crossings went way down when he took office. I'm Greg Karambas. Join Jim Garrity of National Review and me each weekday for the Three Martini Lunch podcast. We'll give you the good, bad, and crazy news of the day, and hopefully a lot of laughs too. Follow the Three Martini Lunch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 25 :
Get the lowdown on the latest news with a side of laughs whenever you want. Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 10 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 07 :
Establishment of the Highlands National Monument. Here we go. Got to fill this in?
SPEAKER 26 :
Continue this.
SPEAKER 07 :
I know, Santino, I'm trying. The day of, in this hand. You'll fill in the dates here, guys?
SPEAKER 19 :
All right.
SPEAKER 07 :
I know that, but I don't want to...
SPEAKER 19 :
So welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. That's Biden who can't remember how to sign anything apparently. Here's something I was thinking about. So we're learning more. Well, we're getting a little bit more drip drip detail about this reported ceasefire deal and maybe even hostage release with Israel or with between Gaza and Israel and Israeli and American hostages. And I was looking at this. It said that they're agreeing to a ceasefire so that hostages can come home. And apparently, Israel would have to pull back from some of the borders, release some of the Gazan prisoners. I don't know if I I don't know enough yet to determine whether or not I think that this is a good deal. I think getting the hostages back, obviously. But at what cost? Like how many terrorists, Gazan terrorists do you have to release? What what else is Israel going to be pushed into? So I want a little bit more detail of it. But here's the thing. Where's Biden in this? Because if this is Trump that made this happen, you know, regardless of what you think about the deal, then, wow, that's pretty gutting for the Biden administration. Because what have you heard from the Biden administration this entire time? that they've been working tirelessly on trying to secure a deal, right? That they've been doing everything that they can to secure a deal and get the hostages home. And they've been working out and talking and there's been endless diplomacy. And it's, did Trump do it? I'm just saying. I don't know. I mean, we'll get more details out about it, but Biden does not seem to be a part of this. Biden had nothing to do. Harris didn't have anything to do with it as well. They're just figureheads. Neither of them were secure enough in their own status within the Democrat Party to do this without overseers. So they're just taking orders at this point. It's pretty extraordinary, though. Pretty extraordinary. All right. So coming up, we have Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is going to be joining us next hour. And they're having a big old fight trying to get everything ready so that when the Trump administration takes office next week, they have a flurry of executive orders and the bulk of it is focusing on immigration. And Florida is key to that. They've been coordinating on it. But then there's some rhinos that just don't want to do the job. And I'm so tired of being stabbed in the back by rhinos. We're going to talk about that and more. The latest with the fires, hearings, all of it. Stick with us. We've got more in store. Second hour next. It's our friends over at Preborn. This is such a great organization and they do so much to protect lives, save lives, and also grow families as well. Preborn is right there. They meet women where they are. It's a sanctity of life month, which I didn't know we had that, but that's neat. And the reality still is that, you know, the abortion means are changing. Everything is like, you know, the morning after pill, et cetera. But in 23, there were over a million lives lost in abortion clinics. It's the highest number in over a decade. So pre-born, what they do is they meet women where they are and they've saved 200 babies every day on average. And they do this through a number of things. The power of ultrasounds. When a woman hears her baby's heartbeat, when she sees her infant in an ultrasound, the chance for that baby to be born increases by 50%. But they also help these women get or stay on their feet. They help them all the way towards the second year of life. So they're there helping with baby clothes, diapers, car seats, counseling, and making sure. that these women, that they're on the right track with their families. And it's free of charge. And this is what Preborn does. This is what your donations do. For $28, it's the cost of a dinner. You can sponsor an ultrasound. Give a mother an opportunity to meet her baby for the first time. Everything is tax deductible, and Preborn has a four-star charity rating, so you can give with confidence. Dial pound 250 and help. Say the keyword baby after dialing pound 250. That's pound or hashtag for Gen Z. 250 and say the word baby. You can also donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 09 :
Your job will be, I'm speaking, your job will be to protect voters and election workers, not to undermine and dox them. Now, I know that earlier you agreed that Joe Biden is, in fact, president, but many of the president-elect's inner circle continue to spread the big lie about the 2020 election. Then we'll move on to a different topic. Senator, you were speaking. May I speak?
SPEAKER 15 :
You cut me off when I was speaking.
SPEAKER 09 :
I want to ask you the next question you can speak, and I hope you answer, Ms. Bondy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I'd like to answer the previous one, Senator.
SPEAKER 09 :
When we met yesterday, you did not seem to be familiar with the citizenship clause, the 14th Amendment of the United States of America, which was deeply disappointing. And I'm hoping you're more familiar with it today after I gave an opportunity to study overnight. So can you tell me in this committee what the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment says?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator, I'm here to answer your questions. I'm not here to do your homework and study for you. If I am confirmed as attorney general.
SPEAKER 09 :
You're the one asking for a confirmation vote, ma'am.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hey, you cut me off. Can I please finish?
SPEAKER 09 :
What does the 14th Amendment say?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator, Senator, the 14th Amendment we all know addresses birthright citizenship. I have been a state prosecutor. I have been a state AG. I look forward to even given your remarks today, Working with you and the people of California, if I am confirmed as the 87th Attorney General of the United States of America. I didn't take your homework assignment. I'm sorry. I was preparing for today.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, he knows what the answer is. She does, too, but she's not playing his game and she's rejecting. And so much of this are these senators that are trying to get like footage for their campaign ads. And they they say something just asinine and then they turn around and ask about the minutia of it. Oh, I'm going to make an explosive statement here and then... Welcome back. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of this second hour here on this Wednesday. And later on in the hour, we have Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's going to be joining us. Florida's been... Apparently, they've been coordinating with POTUS Elect, especially on this immigration stuff. We're going to talk about that. But these hearings, I mean... I didn't learn anything from Democrats questioning, except that they've got access to grind. It's amazing the stuff that they ask, especially given that, you know, their body is overseen by the vice president of the United States. You know, when they were when they were grilling Hegseth or when they were grilling Bondi, it was weird because Maisie Hirono was asking her if she had any history of like sexual violence. Like her being a sexual assaulter or something to that effect. It was weird. But what's even weirder is, you know, Hirono is part of a body as Senate that's overseen by the vice president of the United States. And who is the vice president of the United States married to? She's married to one Doug Emhoff. How did Doug Emhoff come to marry Hirono? Kamala Harris, it was after he screwed around on his wife and impregnated his nanny. And then they ended up having a divorce. And then he gets with Kamala Harris, you know, only just a few years ago. So if they if they're worried about morality, maybe they could start with the overseeing entity of the Senate body. All of it's just, I thought Bondi did well, but I'm concerned as it pertains to FISA and I'm concerned as it pertains to due process. These are super important things. And she was talking about some of that as well. Audio Somebody 21, this is an answer that concerned a lot of folks. Listen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do you support reauthorizing FISA in 2025?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator, I believe 702 is up in 2026. Okay, I'm sorry. I believe it's 2026, and we will closely be looking at that. FISA is a very important tool.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do you agree that the 702 provides important intel gathering capability to protect our nation?
SPEAKER 19 :
Extremely important.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 19 :
Hmm. So FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA is one of the things that was actually invoked against and weaponized against the previous administration. Of course, I'm completely unsurprised that Lindsey Graham was the one to ask this question. I mean, come on. But it was that there's no there's not a lot. There's not a lot of oversight. In fact, that's probably one of the biggest there's problems with FISA. But to pass it without oversight. a requirement of greater oversight is criminal, really. And so she said that 702, they were talking about Section 702 of FISA, and that's what a lot of people use for intelligence gathering, et cetera, or law enforcement uses, FBI, all that uses for intelligence gathering. And so the left is now saying, like, for instance, this was a headline recently, This is from one of the lefty publications, quote, top senator warns sweeping new surveillance power will, quote, inevitably be misused by Trump. They're very upset. They're very like it was misused during the Biden administration. You know, one could say it's been 702 is not even supposed to be for domestic intelligence gathering, but there was a huge push on it. And I look, I have issues, but this plus the red flag stuff, I would like to see more questions on. I know that they have the hearing ongoing today. They took a lunch break and then they're going for a round two. So we're going to have some more. audio of that, but I would love, I really would like for somebody like a Mike Lee to ask about, and I think you could do it in the context of the same question, you know, where it concerns the weaponization of government agencies. I think you could ask about FISA. You could ask about section 702 and you could ask about red flag law, which is not about firearms, but about the diminishment of due process in one question that concerns protecting the rights of civilians. When you have parents that can be put on terror lists and, simply for speaking out however passionately they did so at school board meetings which is their right and then for them to for that to land them on a a list a watch list for the FBI that was made in part by the paid made possible by the Patriot Act that's a major problem and I think that it does more I mean I think I want to hear it addressed more than I've been hearing it addressed like audio some by 25 this is where she talked about just that thing listen
SPEAKER 24 :
As Attorney General, how will you prevent the weaponization of the Department of Justice against Americans?
SPEAKER 15 :
And Senator, you just gave the classic example of what's been happening regarding the weaponization. Going after parents at a school board meeting has got to stop. For practicing your religion, sending informants in to Catholic churches must stop.
SPEAKER 19 :
That's great. We all agree with that. How? We all agree with that. How? Keep in mind, the FISA Act was what they used to target Carter Page. Remember that whole thing. This is why FISA is so incredibly important. There were not public, very public protections in place and nor were there really, there was not really any kind of penalty either when they lied to the FISA court, presented information that had funding omitted. So they were showing the FISA judge these stories that were talking about Trump and Russia. And they came from very progressive journalists. And what they did not tell the FISA court was that these journalists, it was an agreement. They were getting this oppo for them to run as stories and and then Fusion GPS, which was the firm through which they did all of this, Perkins Coie, the law firm from Hillary Clinton, they hired Fusion GPS to handle this. And then they were laundering all of that through the media and then taking the reported stories and using it as evidence before a FISA court. And they weren't telling the FISA court, they didn't tell the FISA court that they pitched these stories to journalists using information that was discredited by the FBI itself, but also paid for by the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign, which is why both of those entities had to pay a fine for nondisclosure. So this is a major, major problem. And it extends not just to what happened with Trump and Carter Page, but average everyday Americans. I mean, if you can weaponize stuff to this extent, if you remember when Carter Page, when they decided to go after Carter Page and they were trying to act like he was a Russian plant. Do you remember how the CIA had to get involved? Do you remember what happened with that? Carter Page was actually an asset for the CIA against Russia. And the FBI wouldn't let it go. So the CIA finally had to tell the FBI, would you knock it off? Like they stepped in. Like this guy's literally an asset against Russia. What is your damage? But they were they were acting the higher up in FBI were acting on orders of the DNC and Hillary Clinton. You know, if you and again, if you disagree with that, I wouldn't would like to remind you about Bruce or Bruce or and his wife. His wife worked at Fusion GPS. Her husband's at the DOJ. He works with the FBI. There's your your trail right there. So I was I want more from her on that. Now, I'm not saying that I feel like she's you know, I'm not saying that she's compromised or anything, but I want ironclad assurances from all of these individuals that are still defending FISA. I want to know what you're going to do to change it. I want to know what you're going to do to make sure that what happened in 2016 is never going to happen again, that what happened with parents is never going to happen again. It's not enough for these lawmakers to sit there and tell you about how much they hate it. Be specific. We know you do. You say you do. Do you hate it as badly as we do? Some of us fought and took over our school boards. What are you going to do How is how can it be properly monitored when it is in use? Why do you have they say, well, 702 stipulates that it can't it's not for domestic. It's only for, you know, it's foreign. Essentially, what they're saying is that if you're spying on a threat to American security and it's a foreign threat and you are surveilling them, you discount any kind of domestic engagements. Does that make sense? So if they if you have a foreign entity that's talking to someone who's here in the United States and That association is not an immediate implication of guilt. There's a lot that goes into it. But clearly, it didn't matter what the rules were because they were all broken in 2016 to the effect of almost dividing the country. So, yeah, I want some ironclad assurances here on all of this stuff. I got a couple of other things that we have to touch on as well. So I wanted to compare for you two headlines. They're both from The Atlantic. And I thought it was very interesting. Let's go back to 2021, February, where we had an ice storm in Texas. The Atlantic wrote about this. And we were in Texas while this was happening. And we had four days, at least four days of no power. And then when we got power back, it was like three days of no power. And then we had like two days of rolling blackouts. And you had to kind of plan around that. And it was heinous. And there was a lot of I mean, yes, you have gas lines that are not insulated, but you also you know, you're not when it's not windy and you're not getting wind power. Guess what? You don't have that power. It's just all there's a lot of stuff that could have that went into this. Anyway, the Atlantic's headline is this quote, Texas failed because it did not plan. Now, I want to compare this to them writing about the fires. Here's the headline that they had just the other day about the Los Angeles wildfires. Quote, how well-intentioned policies fueled L.A.' 's fires. What? That's what? What well-intentioned policies? The policies of draining the reservoir? The policies of allowing the capture of record rainfall to drain into the ocean? Is it the policies of ignoring wildlife management in your state that we're begging you to clear out undergrowth, particularly in more populated areas between structures? I mean, there's a lot there. Unbelievable. California, it was almost like it purposefully tried to do this. It purposefully tried to have a natural disaster hurt as many of their citizens as possible. Texas is it's not the same thing unless you want to. Well, in some instances, you have the same ideological left. That's one of the reasons that you had these resources that were poured into failed wind. And that was one of the reasons why, you know, it didn't perform the way it was promised. people got sold on it. And guess what? They were SOL. It didn't perform. So I'm, you know, I just got I got some questions. I have some questions about all of this. With everything going on in the world right now, the economy conflicts, the open border spiraling national debt, the devastating inflation, it's critical that you have a plan for diversifying and protecting your savings. And that's why so many, including myself, have turned to precious metals like gold and silver. to help protect our savings. And I've partnered with the top-rated precious metals company, GoldCo, to make that happen. It's a great company with a great reputation, and they could not have made the process any easier. And right now, Gold Co. is offering a free gold and silver kit that will show you how precious metals can help protect and diversify your savings. 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SPEAKER 11 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right. So the MSNBC president, Rashida Jones, has stepped down after a four-year tenure. Okay. Bye. Poll projections show Andrew Cuomo is... See, I told you they were going to try to rehabilitate him. Told you that he is crushing Eric Adams and everyone else in a new potential mayoral bid. So they're going to try to... to rehabilitate andrew cuomo because there are serious doubts now about gavin newsom's ability especially after the wildfire response this is going to be a serious thing so now it's andrew cuomo looks like he's beating eric adams and all these other people is how in the world how in the world do you like pull the lever for that guy After everything that happened with lockdown, you deserve to be betrayed by these people if you vote for them over and over again. When they show you who you are, you better listen, better watch. So apparently a new study says that keeping the thermostat at home. anywhere between 68 to 75 degrees is the best, is like the sweet spot for senior citizens' cognitive function. That's a pretty wide berth. 68 to 75. They said that's the optimal indoor temperature range. If you keep your house at 68 degrees, why not? It's winter. We invented indoor heating and fireplaces. Why? There's no reason for it. So the world's ugliest lawn winner says that she leaves the watering to Mother Nature. Well, Mother Nature apparently is not doing its job. Not doing her job. It's in Christchurch, New Zealand. And they have like a ban on irrigation because of water shortages. And now residents decided that they were going to make something positive out of their dying yard. So they had a competition for the world's ugliest yard. And this woman won. It's funny. All right. So coming up. Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis joins us. Executive orders coming next week and a lot more. Stick with us. What does living better mean to you? Is it more money? A bigger house? Now think about this. What about how you feel physically every day? Life is so much better when you feel good. When you wake up feeling great, you can do more of the things that you love and you're ready to take on the day. If pain is affecting your life, see how Relief Factor can help change that. Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement that helps your body fight pain naturally. Developed by doctors, Relief Factor supports your body's response to inflammation. And it doesn't just mask pain for a short time, it helps to reduce or even eliminate it. and it's safe to take daily. In fact, the longer you take Relief Factor, the more effective it is. Over 1 million people have turned to Relief Factor. Feel better every day, and you'll live better every day. Trying Relief Factor is easy. Get their three-week quick start for only $19.95. That's less than a dollar a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF, or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 25 :
The Dana Show podcast, your fast, funny, and informative news companion for those always on the move. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back to the program, Dana Lash. With you here at the bottom of the second hour, if you're listening maybe coast to coast, one of our terrestrial markets, maybe you're streaming the show, you can also find us, Channel 347, DirecTV, as well as Rumble, where the chat happens, X, YouTube, everywhere else. So one of the things that we were talking about yesterday was the problem of rhinos state by state. In Texas, we got a handful of them here. In Florida, they have a bunch of them there as well. And I've never seen people dig in so stubbornly and refuse to work, as I have seen with some of these rhinos who are taking issue with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who wants to call a special session of the Florida state legislature and immediately tackle the problem of immigration. Because as we've told you, Trump's got six months. before midterms start and then everybody runs to the center so he's got to maximize his time all pedal no breaks they got to get moving and i feel like you know desantis is like one of the if not the only politicians who gets this he joins us now via phone because he's a very very busy man and we appreciate him joining us and talking about this florida governor desantis welcome
SPEAKER 01 :
Hey, Dana, I saw you're rocking Russian. Geddy Lee is the intro.
SPEAKER 19 :
I felt like it's the perfect song for you. It's like that's your theme song, The Working Man.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, here's the thing. We have a once-in-a-decade opportunity. with President Trump taking office to finally bring an end to the illegal immigration crisis. And this has been something that's been a problem in our country for decades. We've had different periods where it was really bad, like under Biden, sometimes where it was bad, but more manageable. And it's just come to a head. And so we're either going to do this or we're not. Now, I've been talking with President Trump about this throughout his transition. We've been talking with some of his policy guys. They have really strong plans. President believes this is the key issue that he got elected on, and then he wants to deliver on. But here's the thing. They don't have enough resources at the federal government. They're going to have liberal states that are sanctuary states and sanctuary cities. So there's going to be limitations. And so the way to maximize this opportunity is to have states and local governments cooperating and helping to facilitate the swift removal of these illegal aliens. Now, Florida, we're not a sanctuary state. We've banned sanctuary cities. But it's more than just saying you're not going to impede We want to impose an affirmative obligation for our folks at the local level. Now, the state, I will order them to cooperate, to be strong partners. For example, you'll hear a lot about criminal aliens. If somebody commits a crime and they're convicted and they're here illegally, they should be deported. Of course that is the case. But why, if you know you have a Venezuelan gang in your jurisdiction, why? Why should you have to wait for them to commit a crime? No, you local law enforcement, the one on the ground, they know what's going on. They can easily. get those folks and turn them over to ICE without them having committed a separate crime. So we've got a whole host of proposals that are going to make sure Florida is firmly on the side of fulfilling President Trump's immigration agenda and delivering on the mandate. And our legislative session doesn't start till March and it ends sometime in May. Most of the legislation that takes effect in Florida during that won't even take effect until July 1st. And so my view is we don't have months to wait. We need to act now. So President Trump will be sworn in Monday, January 20th. I've called the legislature into session the following week, and we need to get busy on delivering. And every day that we wait is going to be a missed opportunity. So I have a sense of urgency on this. I think some of the legislative leaders said that, you know, it's not something that's that's important enough to do in a special session that we have a few months. We can wait and just tackle it in due time. I reject that. But more importantly, our voters reject that. They have a sense of urgency, too. This is what they voted for. So let's get all hands on deck and get it done.
SPEAKER 19 :
And this is something because we're talking with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, because I saw the House Speaker Daniel Perez and there were a handful of others, Joe Gruters and a few others, the Senate president, that they were the ones that they issued these statements. And I guess they thought they were being kind of snarky about it. They were quoting some left leaning journalists saying that they're not going to listen to this call for special attention. session, which is wild for the reasons that you just said, because they want to wait till March. I mean, they realize that Trump has six months before everybody starts again with midterm cycle. So they're willing to jeopardize that by waiting till March. Am I understanding that correctly?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, not only that, but it wouldn't even be done right at the beginning of March. It would likely go all the way to the end of the session. And I think part of the reason they want that is because there's 100 different issues percolating in a session. So some of this stuff that's really strong kind of can fall off, right? And then, you know, you've got a host of bills that pass at the very end. So, for example, one of the things we're calling for in this package of reforms is to eliminate something that was put in in Florida in 2014, long before I was governor. in-state tuition for illegal aliens at our universities. And I've called for this to be removed for years, and it always ends up falling out of the bill. And so that is something, if that's squarely presented in a special session, obviously the Republicans are going to vote yes to repeal that. But if it's in a general session, this stuff can kind of get obscured, the bills can get amended. There's more going on. I think it's easier to not follow through. But timing is significant because Trump at the start, he's going to ask Congress for more resources. He's going to ask for some more money and personnel. And I think he'll get it, but he's not going to get it on day one because they've got to run all this stuff through Congress. It may take three months. It may take six months. But even if it takes three months to pass, by the time the money gets out, knowing the federal government, that takes time. So I would say these first few months are the most important time for the states to step up and to assist Congress uh... federal immigration authorities and for us that is not only on the policy, we are also going to provide funding because I think we'll save money as a state. If we are the state that people view as the strongest deterrent to illegal immigration, well, that's going to be less cost in hospitals and schools and all these other things. The housing costs will be better. So there's going to have huge benefits for leading on this. But yes, the January 20th, until probably those first six months. I think that may be the most important time for the states to supplement the efforts, because he is going to be shorthanded to start on day one. He's obviously inheriting the Biden disaster. He will not have the money for the wall. He will not have the money for more personnel, all these other things. We have an opportunity to do it. If you think about just how law enforcement works in America, Even if you tripled the number of ICE and Border Patrol, that's still a small fraction of local law enforcement, police, and sheriffs. And so why, if they know that there's a gang operating someplace, why would they have to wait until those people are convicted of felonies? They're in the country illegally. They're part of a gang. They're a danger to community. Round them up, give them the ICE, and let's get them out of Dodge.
SPEAKER 19 :
We're talking with Florida governor Ron DeSantis. You golfed with POTUS elect yesterday and he tweeted yesterday as well. After you announced your call for the special session, he quote tweeted you saying, thank you, Ron. Hopefully other governors will follow. I mean, it seems, you know, it's, this is something he clearly wants. I think it's a really brilliant way to kind of help supplement his actions while they make that transition. Uh, And did he, did he, what did, I mean, obviously you guys talked about this yesterday. Who won in golf though? Maybe, who had the best score? Let me start with that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, we were on the same team, so it was two of us versus three other players, and the president and I won the match, which was good because I didn't want to be a drag on that. I played with him a bunch over the years, and a lot of times he'll have a touring pro will be his partner, and then I'm sitting there with some random, we're just getting killed. So it was good to do, and we were down in West Palm and his course at Trump International. It is a really top-flight golf course, and he does a really good job with all his properties, but this is a really good – so, I mean, it's not the easiest course because, like, these are big-time holes to be able to do. But, yeah, I think he sent out that truth social. I think we were on, like, the 8th fairway or something, and he was working through it. But his view is – He wants assistance. So you know California is going to try to kneecap what he's trying to do. A lot of kind of red states will probably just be neutral, right? They won't try to stop it, but they're not necessarily going to aid. Florida, I think we should be facilitating and helping because it's really a force multiplier. And Biden let in, what, at least 7 million just in four years. So that's a lot of people. And if you show that you're going to be really strong in doing it and you do, some of them will end up probably just going back on their own because they know the law is going to be enforced. But he is he is really serious about this. I mean, he told me he said, listen. I know inflation's a big deal. He's like, but I think the number one reason that he got elected, he said, was because of the immigration and the border issue. And he's very resolute about solving it. And I know he's got guys like Stephen Miller who are really great on this issue, who know this backwards and forwards. But one of the executive orders he's going to be doing on January 20th is going to be creating a good framework for something called 287G. Now, this is like you know that the statutory political language but basically what it means is It's a program where local law enforcement can opt in to help supplement federal immigration authorities. Now, obviously, blue jurisdictions don't want to do that. Purple jurisdictions a lot of times don't want to be bothered by it. Some of the red ones want to. We are going to require all of our jurisdictions to participate. And that's going to be a huge increase in support. So they recognize the role that the locals and the states play in this. And we can't have a situation where I've wanted to enforce immigration law against Biden who won't do it. And the courts will sometimes tell us you're preempted. We did an anti-smuggling law that penalized people for smuggling people into Florida from across the border. And a federal judge said that we're intruding on the federal authority that we can't do. So you can't have a situation where states are powerless to enforce the law when the feds won't. but somehow are not going to be allowed to also help when the feds do want to do it. So if the feds want to do it, we want to be helpful. And I think if we got, if you just got the red states to do this, The force multiplier that this would be would be really, really significant. And then you'll end up having a situation where people that are here illegally will gravitate even more strongly to the sanctuary jurisdictions. Now, I also think they're going to crack down on sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. I think they'll do it through reconciliation with the budget. But here's the thing. A sanctuary state should be defunded of federal money. Why would we subsidize a state that is actively sabotaging national policy, especially on the heels of an election where the American people spoke very clearly about it? You know, it's interesting, Dana, when I first became governor, Florida. state policy was very lax in terms of illegal immigration. And part of the reason was they thought politically, you know, that's why they didn't state tuition and things like that. They thought politically they had to be because we have a high Latino population. I came in and said, no, we're banning sanctuary cities. And the media was like, oh, my gosh, you know, all this stuff. They started doing polls about banning sanctuary cities. And the group in Florida that was most supportive were Hispanic Floridians. They didn't want sanctuary cities. I won Miami-Dade County. Hillary Clinton won Miami-Dade County in 2016 against Trump by 30 points. 22, I won Miami-Dade by double digits. And people are like, they didn't think a Republican could win it. Then Donald Trump just won it by double digits. And he ran saying he was going to do an ambitious project to repatriate illegal aliens to their home country. So, folks, this has been a huge thing, why Republicans have gained ground politically. And we have an opportunity to deliver on that. And what we've learned in Florida with us going from a swing state to a solid red state is when you tell people you're going to do something, if you do it and you fight for them and they see that, they will back you. And they will back you in a big way. And so we've got to step up and get the job done here. I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities generally with the new administration. But on this issue, this is the one we can't miss on.
SPEAKER 19 :
One last question for you, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. After Hurricane Helene went through, actually, anytime any type of hurricane comes through Florida, you guys bounce back so fast. You are so prepared and so ready to just get everything fixed. It's like, you know, the Charlie Brown Christmas special when all the kids come and they all doctor the tree up real quick. That's like what Florida does with bridges that are damaged or anything else. You've offered help. to California after, well, ongoing with their devastating wildfires. And I thought that that was, I mean, obviously you did it because, you know, states come together. But even in spite of Gavin Newsom trying to say that California is really the blueprint for America, he did not like Florida being called that. And you've offered him some assistance. Have you spoken with Governor Newsom?
SPEAKER 01 :
I haven't, but this is something that's been standard. We've actually supported California in the past. California's actually supported us. We have a whole system where you can submit emergency management requests, and if there's things that would be needed, the states can fill. So this is not something that's out of the ordinary. I think the states do do a good job of getting people's back. So after Helene, this is obviously a big storm. We had a lot of people staged. We had the utility linemen. We had first responders. But we had some out-of-state folks for search and rescue to buttress those efforts. Well, you know, the storm came, and it did damage. We effectuated a lot of rescues. Fortunately, we didn't have – it wasn't like you've seen in some of these other parts of the country – And so we had things stabilize relatively quickly for a storm of that magnitude. So I sent those people to Western North Carolina. And they started helping there. And the same thing with Milton. The minute that we didn't do, we sent back to the states. So this is something that's normal. And in spite of the political rivalries, I do think the governors recognize, because we're the ones that have to deal with it, when there needs to be things that you can augment, step up and do it. Florida has had help from other states. We're always standing by to be helpful as well. And these fires are... are really, really difficult. I mean, hurricanes are tough. Don't get me wrong. I mean, it can wipe out someone's home. It can obviously cause a lot of damage, but you kind of, you watch the weather, you kind of know it's coming. You have an opportunity, you know, to kind of evacuate and, and then you have a better opportunity to pick up the pieces. These fires can just rage out of control, and I know California's had a lot of bad policies that have facilitated it, but I'll tell you, these things are really, really vicious, and Southern California is never going to be the same. We do control burns in Florida, so we have a different approach to forest management, but we have had times where we just got no rain, and you have fires, and you've got to really work to contain them. And these are big-time emergencies. And so I've got a lot of folks, and I'm sure I know you've got a lot of people you know out in Southern California. Just the number of people that I know that have lost their homes is in the dozens. And here I am on the other side of the country. So this is a really, really big deal.
SPEAKER 19 :
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the best governor in America, really. We appreciate all you do for Florida and the model that you and your state are setting for the rest of the nation. Thank you for your time, Governor.
SPEAKER 01 :
OK, thanks. Bye.
SPEAKER 19 :
Bye. We got more in store, folks, as we roll towards the conclusion of this second hour. Stick with us. I will always carry. I have zero, none, nada issue using lethal force to protect myself or to protect my loved ones, sometimes for my job. And I know a lot of other people out there in the same situation. You got to go to places where they don't want you to carry because they think a magical gun-free zone sign is going to keep everybody safe. I don't want to take my chances with people who don't understand security, defense, or just like the basic realities of life. And so the Burna gun is a option. for your defensive weaponry array. That's how you can consider it. It shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can disable threats from up to 50 feet away. Regular stun guns have got like one or two shots. Berna gun has five. And you have different models as well. The Berna SD is the most popular model that they have, and that's their pistol. You have accessories. You have different projectiles, all kinds of stuff. And it's just a way to diversify your weapons array. And I have a lot of friends who live in New York and D.C. And a lot of them, especially for their job, they have to go to gun-free zone places. And they don't like that. And they went out and got a Berna SD. Berna doesn't care about gun-free zone signs. No background checks. No permits, no waiting periods, legal in all 50 states, and it ships right to your door. So this is the time to just kind of do an inventory of your self-defense options. Visit Byrna.com slash Dana. That's Byrna.com slash Dana to get 10% off of your purchase.
SPEAKER 03 :
Did God bless the United States of America? Pastor Alan Jackson says yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
I believe God has blessed this nation, that he's called it into existence. It isn't perfect. There's no such thing as perfect. We continue as we lean towards the Lord to make improvements. There is no greater expression of liberty and freedom amongst civilized human beings than we've seen from our own nation in the last 250 years. As imperfect as it may be, that's true.
SPEAKER 03 :
Subscribe to Culture and Christianity, an Alan Jackson podcast, on your favorite podcast app.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 19 :
So detectives in Florida are trying to find this art thief. Surveillance footage shows a man walking into a gallery in St. Petersburg and then shoving a $21,000 sculpture into his pants. On video. And he takes this glass sculpture and shoves it in his pants. Police say the second suspect was distracting a sales associate at this gallery that they were in while all of this went on. The cast glass sculpture is titled Torso. And after they left, the gallery staff then noticed later that it was missing. One of the men involved, Willie Wilson. 45 was arrested by St. Petersburg police on January 7th, but they're still looking for the other guy who actually did the shoving of the sculpture in the pants thing. So they're out of all the things and all the ways to do it. Why that? I mean, when you hear about art heists, isn't it always like a. Fancy, like James Bond level operation. This guy just shoves it in his pants. We have a third hour coming up. Don't go anywhere. Stick with us. As we move, the folks who help bring you the program, it's our friends over at All Family Pharmacy. This is such a great service. You need to memorize the website. They make it so easy. All Family Pharmacy. Help my family out a lot over Thanksgiving because, you know, right on Thanksgiving when offices are closed and you end up getting sick, it's just it's a mess and you got to get medicine. All family pharmacy made it super easy. And you can visit all family pharma dot com slash Dana. Use code Dana and you'll get 10 percent off of your entire order. So this is affordable access, easy and cost effective for medicine. You don't have to break the bank to access medicine. these medicines. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. Everything's made in the USA. You're not getting Chinese antibiotics. It's not how that's working. They got a proven track record. And you work with their doctors. Their doctors get you the medication that you need. Fast delivery right to your door. You can even overnight stuff if needed. And you can rely on all family pharmacy to keep your health needs on track. If you need antibiotics, if you need things like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, which is actually a good antiviral, You can get those at All Family Pharmacy. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Get 10% off using code Dana. 10% off your purchase using code Dana10. It's Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order only at allfamilypharma.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 08 :
Will it be your advice to the president? No, Mr. President. I need to go over them on a case-by-case basis. Do not issue blanket pardons. Will that be your advice to the president?
SPEAKER 15 :
Senator, I have not looked at any of those files. If confirmed, I will look at the files for the parties as well as the ongoing investigation.
SPEAKER 08 :
And will you be able to do, will you be able to review hundreds of cases on day one?
SPEAKER 15 :
I will look at every file. I am asked to look at.
SPEAKER 08 :
Of course you won't. So will you advise the president?
SPEAKER 15 :
Can I answer the question?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, my question is.
SPEAKER 15 :
I would have plenty of staff. You said, of course you want.
SPEAKER 08 :
You'll be able to review hundreds of cases on Thursday?
SPEAKER 15 :
I'm not going to mislead this body nor you.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, let me ask another question. You don't want to ask that. Let me ask another question.
SPEAKER 15 :
You were censured by Congress, Senator, for comments just like this that are so reckless.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow!
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow! Wow! Well, good for her because that line of questioning was just so first off, why would you can't answer hypotheticals? Yes, we would like for you to compromise yourself by answering a hypothetical. That's why I always say and granted, maybe you shouldn't say this like in church or at work. But, you know, if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle. I don't sit here and do hypotheticals. I don't do that. Nor does she. I just want one question about red flag law. That'd be great. That'd be great. Biden is speaking. Do we want to take any of this or can you just let's just monitor it? I heard a collective no out there from the audience. Let's just we're going to monitor this because this has to do with this agreement. And he's speaking right now. He's got Harrison Blinken with him. Is he? Okay, you know what? Can I just dive into it just a smidge? I just want to hear a smidge of it. Simply because I am curious if he is going to take credit for it. Listen, let's just see if he's taking credit. We'll dive into it here. Juan's getting it set up. But that's the... Guys, he has not been involved in the negotiation of this.
SPEAKER 07 :
The United States also organized a coalition of 20 countries to stand up to attacks by the Houthis. including their missile attacks in Israel. Then, Hezbollah, another of Hamas's strongest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield, and its leadership was destroyed. With our support, Israel negotiated a ceasefire with them, and after that, Lebanon finally elected a new president who's not beholding Hezbollah, and he can begin a new chapter for the Lebanese people. All told, these developments in the region, which the United States helped to shape, changed the equation. And so now, the terror network that once protected and sustained Hamas is far weaker. Iran is weaker. Iran is weaker than it has been in decades. Hezbollah is badly degraded.
SPEAKER 19 :
So apparently he did. I just wanted to listen to a little bit of what he was saying. Apparently he has taken full credit for it. And Juan's going to get that sound bite ready. And I'm I'm I'm curious as to how, because he was not at all involved in any of this. And I don't think that anybody could argue. First off, welcome back, everybody. It's we're at the top of our third hour. Dana Lash with you. But he's the president. I almost said former president. We'll be in a couple, we'll be in a few days. I know he's, he's speaking now and I, he wasn't involved in any of the negotiation on this. How can he say what he's saying in the soundbite? Listen. Let's listen.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good afternoon. It's a very good afternoon because at long last I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.
SPEAKER 19 :
and the secretary well there you have it he did it kane how dare you he did it all his self his own precious little self uh yeah i well i just don't think that this is like the longest goodbye ever this is like a longer than a midwestern goodbye do we remember what trump said just a week ago No.
SPEAKER 11 :
OK, let me play this real quick and you let me know in what context. Well, this was Trump saying that if I'm not in office, you know, if these hostages aren't back by the time I'm in.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, right, right, right. Yeah. Yeah. All hell's going to break loose.
SPEAKER 11 :
So let's just hear that.
SPEAKER 05 :
If those hostages aren't back, I don't want to hurt your negotiation. If they're not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East. And it will not be good for Hamas. And it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don't have to say anymore, but that's what it is.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, so what we do know is that the outlines of an agreed upon ceasefire have been at least the... Discussion of this has been accepted by Gazans and the terrorist Hamas that run it and Israel. Netanyahu's office says that it's still everything still premature and that they're still sorting out final details. So. I don't think anyone can say for certain concretely what's in it. It has to be ratified. So if they have this deal, the Israeli cabinet has to ratify it. I don't know how long that takes, that process for them. But this it's supposed to include the release of hostages, Hamas is the hostages that they're holding. And apparently they're going to they're exchanging the hostages for Gazan prisoners held by Israel. And so I... I don't know. We'll see. The last time that what they publicized last spring was a six-week ceasefire, and they had to release 33 female hostages, older men, things like that. And why does Israel have to release hundreds of Gazan prisoners? You realize that they take those people into custody when they're caught in acts of terrorism, like when they try to blow up checkpoints or detonate suicide bombs and things of that nature. It's not like they're just like randomly walking out in the street and they see someone that they identify as Gazan and they just take them into custody. That's not how it works. So I don't think they should have to release anything. And in fact, I would be killing for every day that they did not release a hostage. I would kill two prisoners and I would dump them Vlad Dracul style right there at the border. But see, that's why I shouldn't be in an elected office because diplomacy is sometimes a waste of time. I don't know, but we'll see. They are in a tough spot because Iran's been sidelined after the Syria implosion. And I think... A huge part of that was Israel just pummeling Hezbollah. And that was against the direction. That was against what Joe Biden and Antony Blinken were telling them to do. And thankfully, they did ignore it because that started this domino effect, which culminated in Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow. And now but now you have another terrorist faction taking over Syria. So I don't know. But we'll we'll see. But that kind of, you know, obviously it was shocking to Iran. Iran lost a pathway through which they send munitions, etc. And them pummeling Hezbollah, decimating them, that's pretty significant. So they're releasing, from everything that I've read, it involves the release of all of these Gazan prisoners, which, I don't know, Cain. I don't know why Israel should be prevailed upon to release anybody who's caught in the act of terror.
SPEAKER 11 :
Exactly. we should have got a way better deal in the one that's on the table, way better and way sooner.
SPEAKER 19 :
So we'll see what all the, what all the details are, because like I said, Netanyahu said it's premature and that, uh, they're still figuring out some of the details. They're still hammering out some of those. So we'll, we'll see. We'll, we'll see what, what happens, but it is weird that it's, if Biden's taking credit for it, um, Because I just I don't know that I think that that Trump would agree to say, yeah, let's force Israel to release all of these terrorists that they caught, you know, coming from Gaza, trying to blow up innocent people in Israel. I just don't feel like that that would be right. That'd be something he'd say. Yeah, that's good. I like it. I don't know. We'll see what the details are. It's kind of hard to to analyze it when you don't know fully what all the specifics are. But there is a deal. There is a deal. I want to switch gears and focus on some of the wildfire stuff as well. And we'll come back to all of this as we get more information, because I mentioned this story earlier. Mayor Karen Bass. This is kind of just unreal. The LA Times reported that as the Palisades fire spread, she was at an embassy cocktail party in Ghana. She's just having a little drinky drink at this embassy cocktail party. And I remember she left. knowing that this was going to happen. I mean, she was aware that this was, they told her that these fires were going to take place, that all of this was going to happen. And so she's at this embassy party, you know, having a drink while the fires are spreading throughout the Pacific Palisades. That's some top-notch representation, right? Top-notch representation. And then she because they knew that this was happening a full week before L.A. Times says that by the time that she left the gathering to fly home. I mean, you had multiple fires at that point that had broken off. She was there for the inauguration of the Ghanian president. And she left on January 4th. And came back on January 8th. So she was gone for a little while. I just when you know that wildfires you're you've already been warned and you've been told that the likelihood of them happening of all of it kicking off is pretty much 100 percent. And you still decide to leave when you are the ultimate authority on the ground. I mean, think about it. How are they able to reach her speedily when she's in Ghana? I mean, consider everything that's happening in Los Angeles right now. Consider how it took them forever to get firefighters deployed. And that's not a rank and file issue. That's a leadership issue. Where was she on all of this? Where was she? I mean, again, she's the ultimate authority on the ground there where this is happening. And she was M.I.A., For something she didn't need to attend. The world's not going to spin off its axis if Karen Bass doesn't go to this inauguration of the Ghanian president. That's so dumb. You need to focus on what's happening in your own town. and speaking of that there's been uh man the back and forth the fighting is only going to intensify with all of this stuff too by the way between because apparently i think now uh the christians all the lesbian christians that run the fire department are fighting uh they said that uh The way that they this is a couple of different reports. They said that Newsom had called the guard on Friday. Bass returned from her trip to Ghana. So she was on the phone on her whole way back with disaster response. This seems like from this is coming from the California governor's office. And an aide to Newsom had apparently said, quote, knowing the mayor's office couldn't adequately manage the situation. Newsom should have immediately traveled to L.A. to backstop the mayor's office. I mean, this is a fire prone area. They have a catastrophic fires like every few years. I'm not saying that they should be used to it. I'm saying that these leaders should be used to dealing with it and responding fast. This is crazy, but they but it's the budget cuts. And now they're playing a game of how quickly can they blame the other person? Audio soundbite. Let's see. I want to actually do four. This is L.A. City Councilwoman. Listen to this. Listen to this soundbite. There are large swaths of the city with no emergency response resources available.
SPEAKER 12 :
Are we going to be having the same conversation next year and the year after? We can't.
SPEAKER 19 :
That's pretty unbelievable. And then the Civil War is broken out between the top leaders there in the fire department. including the Christens. Yes, that's correct. Chief Kristen Crowley was accused of harassment by a former top city official, and she called out what she says was alleged misconduct and failures of leadership. So now there's been a 14-page legal complaint filed against the city of Los Angeles. This was done just in the very end of December by former LAFD fire administrator Jenny Park. So it's a Jenny, not a Kristen. And Park is a former deputy city attorney. She rose to become the highest ranking woman in the LAFD other than Kristen Crowley. And she says she was wrongly fired because she was complaining basically about the corruption of the fire chief. That's what it sounds like. They were saying that Crowley was overpaid by almost $40,000. And Park told the fire chief that that money needed to be returned. But she said she was, quote, ghosted. She said she know that she got money, a significant amount that was overpayment and never repaid it. She refused. And yeah, so they've she's filed. She's filed a complaint. So we'll see where it just sounds like it's a mess from top down. It's our friends over at Preborn. This is such a great organization and they do so much. to protect lives, save lives, and also grow families as well. Preborn is right there. They meet women where they are. It's a sanctity of life month, which I didn't know we had that, but that's neat. And the reality still is that, you know, the abortion means are changing. Everything is like, you know, the morning after pill, et cetera. But in 23, there were over a million lives lost in abortion clinics. It's the highest number in over a decade. So pre-born, what they do is they meet women where they are and they've saved 200 babies every day on average. And they do this through a number of things. The power of ultrasounds. When a woman hears her baby's heartbeat, when she sees her infant in an ultrasound, the chance... for that baby to be born increases by 50%. But they also help these women get or stay on their feet. They help them all the way towards the second year of life. So they're there helping with baby clothes, diapers, car seats, counseling. and making sure that these women, that they're on the right track with their families. And it's free of charge. And this is what Preborn does. This is what your donations do. For $28, it's the cost of a dinner. You can sponsor an ultrasound. Give a mother an opportunity to meet her baby for the first time. Everything is tax deductible, and Preborn has a four-star charity rating, so you can give with confidence. Dial pound 250 and help. Say the keyword baby after dialing pound 250. That's pound or hashtag for Gen Z 250 and say the word baby. You can also donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 11 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's quick five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So I have a couple here. One is big changes coming to the White House press room. Trump is apparently going to be sidelining legacy media. They're not reserving the front row seats for ABC, CBS, NBC, AP, Reuters and CNN anymore. I know they're not doing that. They are kind of mixing it up. And his press secretary is not going to have an office in the West Wing, which makes sense because that I mean, he's kind of his own best. You know, he's his own press person, really, you know, but they're going to have they're going to have a press person. But so that's a little bit of a change up. Also, let's see. We've got now the FDA saying they want to put little micro warning labels on the front of food packages. Or if maybe if food was healthy, we wouldn't need it. Just stop by and jump. U.S. deaths are expected to outpace births within the decade. That's going to be a serious conversation we have to have as a country here within the next year. Stick with us. More in store. Our partners over at Patriot Mobile, the only Christian conservative cell phone service in the country. Look, if you haven't switched to Patriot Mobile because you love paying a lot more money for your subpar cell phone service. I mean, that's your preference. If you haven't switched to Patriot Mobile because you love supporting DEI every time you pay your cell phone bill, I mean, that's also a personal preference. I mean, I don't know why you would, but it's like the easiest thing to do is to switch. The people from Patriot Mobile practically come to your home or office and do it for you. I mean, they don't, but I imagine that they would. Right now, you can get a free month of service with promo code Dana. You're getting the best coverage you can trust. They operate on all three major networks. You stay connected wherever you go. Seamless switching with their 100% U.S.-based customer service team. Keep your number. Keep your phone. Upgrade. I mean, it's whatever you want to do. It's never been simpler to switch. So visit PatriotMobile.com slash Dana. Make your money support your values and not work against you. Or call 972-PATRIOT. Get that free month of service with promo code Dana. Switch to Patriot Mobile today. That's PatriotMobile.com slash Dana. 972-PATRIOT.
SPEAKER 25 :
Make some common sense of the crazy headlines with the Dana Show podcast. Your on-the-go guide for getting up to speed on today's most important stories. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, or your favorite podcast platform.
SPEAKER 18 :
Somebody's campaign coffers really are struggling right now. So she's going to keep saying trans, trans, trans, so that people will feel threatened. And child, listen, I want y'all to tell me whether or not... I am no child. Do not call me a child. I am no child. Don't even start. I want to find out which of those emails actually have... I am 47 years old. I have broken more glass ceilings than you have. I am reclaiming my time. You will not do that. I am not a child. I am not a child. I am reclaiming my time.
SPEAKER 26 :
If you want to take it outside... Mr. Chairman, it could mean... Okay, all right.
SPEAKER 19 :
Now look, I'm not necessarily, I would say, a fangirl of Nancy Mays. But I'm not going to lie. First off, don't sit here and slay Mace for that. Every single time somebody is acting a fool, every single time we got videos, somebody being a fool, and one of these here in the chamber like this, Jasmine Crockett, who's from Dallas, is always one of them. Always one of them. Every damn time. It is always her. And that's who it was. It was Jasmine Crockett, and it was Nancy Mace. Welcome back to the program. Bottom of this third hour. And she's like, child, you know, whatever. And then she has the audacity. She's the victim, don't you know? Jasmine, I was pulling up this tweet. What did she say? Oh, she goes, she goes, if you want to see the difference between House stems and House GFA, watch this. Today, I introduced an amendment to reinstate the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Oh, a sidebar. Oh, now you want oversight? And then she goes, my Republican colleague threatened to physically fight me about it. Oh, my gosh. Well, first off, you you were condescending to her. And if because Jasmine Crockett behaved like a condescending brat is why. And when you were speaking to her, she thinks that this makes her look good. And I just feel like, you know, people are tired of it. They just I think it's like Mace and others were just tired of it. Somebody said we can take it outside. Now, she didn't say she's going to fight her. She just said we can, you know, like talk about it outside, maybe. Or it was cash me outside, how about now? I mean, maybe, you know, was, could be. But I don't know. I've got questions. Namely, why is all of her hair on one side of her head? But that's number one. But number two, why does she always do this? They always instigate. And then when they get it back, they act like victims. Now, some people are saying, well, this is... you know, so unbecoming of these representatives, so unbecoming of them. Wait, this is where I, it is not unbecoming. If you, if you put some noise to bed, that's not unbecoming to finally just, I get aggravated about that because sometimes I stay real quiet, even in the face of, you know, unrelenting nonsense. And then finally, when I do strike back, cause I'm always harsh. Then the people, oh, that's so mean. Well, you should have been saying something when these people were trying to instigate. So I don't know. I don't really think Mace is in the wrong here. Do you, Cain? No. I don't think she's in the wrong at all. Why are some of the right clutching their pearls? I mean, for some of the stuff, like when she wore the letter A on her sweater, I was like, geez, did you wear that because it's tight? Come on. On this, she's not in the wrong. No. I particularly love the giant cross earrings. I felt like they added some pizzazz to the whole scene. You know what I'm saying? I got some too, but they would get caught in my turtleneck today, which I'm going to wear in perpetuity right now until it stops being freezing.
SPEAKER 11 :
You can't fight in those earrings.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, yeah, you can.
SPEAKER 11 :
You take them out. I don't recommend. Oh, well, there it is.
SPEAKER 19 :
Son, you take them out. Don't you call me son. I'm a grown man. Do you want to just take this outside? Oh, my gosh. Child. I would have. I don't know if I would have said what May said. I would have been like, OK, listen up, fetus. I don't maybe just like throwing it back in that way. I don't know if I would have been like, let's go outside. That was like her first response. Oh, yeah. Let's go outside. Man, her and Crockett just Crockett never stops ever. She's from Dallas. I forget who she replaced. Somebody worthless. I can't remember. So that was... I saw that. I'm like, yeah, she's really... Macy's really isn't in the wrong here. Not really. I want to switch it up. There's a million things I think that I've missed. Bear with me because I'm scrolling my list really quickly, making sure that we were touching. Oh, can we... Let's do I got two things. So we got the Carrie Underwood. She's playing. Why is Carrie Underwood is getting flack because she's playing the inauguration. Shut up, people. Shut up. Who's mad at Carrie Underwood? Who's mad at Carrie Underwood? Shut up. She's playing the inauguration. This is like I read this article. I mentioned this the other day, how all these designers now are wanting to address Melania Trump. And out of all of the first lady's. I think she's probably, and I'm not saying this like she's offensive, but I'm saying generally, she's probably like the least offensive First Lady. She's more of a classic kind of First Lady where she is not acting like a pick-me girl and running out there desperate to carve a name for herself as a policy expert like Hillary and Michelle did. But she's just real kind of quiet and she does her thing and she does her Christmas. I liked her Christmas decorations and I will literally take you outside over that. We will go outside over that. All right. Well, because all these morons out there, like when she did her Christmas. OK, bear with me. This is a sore spot for me. You remember when she did the red trees in the hall? OK, that's like what they do in Puglia. That's like they do all of these amazing red decorations. And it was very reminiscent of that. And I'm like, you uncultured, single amoeba Democrats. Shut up. I loved those Christmas decorations. Thank you. I didn't like the super confectionary circus thing that Jill Biden did. It looked like she went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of like Chinese made accessories and then just threw them all over the White House. It just looked tacky. Not all of her decorations are bad, but those were really bad. Anyway, what was I? Oh, yeah. So I remember back in 2016, everyone was talking about what Melania Trump was going to wear because the fashion world was like, oh, they were aghast. Like, oh, we cannot believe it's Melania Trump. And they wouldn't design for her. Ralph Lauren, who is a gem. I don't even know his politics. He's just a decent dude. He's like, you know what? I'll design a dress for her. I respect the office of the presidency. I'll do it. And so he did that blue like kind of Jackie O kind of dress. And that's what she wore for inauguration. And it looked great. It was perfect. And I like Ralph Lauren, by the way, like he's making making a heritage brand out of Americana. And I like that. But that being said, he was like the only person that came forward. Well, now designers, I don't know why they feel like it's safer now, but they're coming out of the woodwork. Why are you making that face? That's what I don't get. Why is it different for them now? Surely, I get the last four years were bad, but they voted for that. They can't be that damn dumb.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, they're not dumb. They're playing their cards, and they played them close to their chest until they realized Trump is back in office, and now they're going to appeal to the authority that's in office again. They just blow in the wind. They're Democrats. They blow in the wind. These people don't have the convictions that you and I have. They just don't. They're more about populism than they are anything else. I just... It's understandable.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. Well, and I like that Ralph Lauren did that. Carrie Underwood, she's playing the inaug... Who wouldn't want to play the inauguration, right? Right. I mean, if you're an artist, that's, you know. So she apparently says she doesn't care about people being upset over it. But they're going to be turning on her. I see. Like, everybody's like, you had plastic surgery, Carrie Underwood. Why is that the first thing that leftist, particularly progressive women hating men go for? Have you seen their women? For the love. That's like the first thing they go for with women. And they're like, oh, Carrie Underwood's playing. Did you see these comments? Oh, my gosh. They were dragging her. Look, she's pretty. You cannot like her for playing the inauguration. You can be stupid and petty all you want to. But if you're saying that she's ugly, you have a visual issue. There is something that is not right with you. Jiminy Christmas. It's just mean and petty. These people. Speaking of petty. This. OK, I got it. So we're going to bring Stephen on this because aren't you a big Phillies fan? steve yeah so the eagles fan the guy who apparently verbally abused a female a female packer supporter he got fired by his job is why are you laughing you're laughing your head off i saw that damn video that's why i'm laughing but okay are we really gonna start doing this to people though
SPEAKER 11 :
Doing what? Controlling the behavior that they decided to have at a public game? Is that what you're saying?
SPEAKER 19 :
No, I'm just like they found out who he was and they got him fired from his job.
SPEAKER 11 :
If his job decided they don't like him as a representative.
SPEAKER 19 :
Because people were like, hey, employer, did you see this?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. Well, I mean, everyone saw it. I know everybody's done that.
SPEAKER 19 :
I like the olden days when the penalty to be paid was that you got your ass beat. That's what I like. Let's go back to those days. I mean, we don't need everyone to turn into Inspector Gadget and run down the guy's employer and get the guy fired. Like, let's just have a good old-fashioned ass beating right there in the stands. Like, I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER 11 :
The decision to fire him was solely on the business. Oh, come on. Whatever. Listen, the information... You're just like, well, how are people giving this business the information? That's horrible. The business did it.
SPEAKER 19 :
Sure. Sure they did. They did. I mean, look at all the stuff that we showed the business about their employer, and we linked the business name to this guy. I mean, what do they think?
SPEAKER 11 :
There was a pressure campaign. The business did what they wanted to do as a private business. What, all of a sudden, now you don't like them?
SPEAKER 19 :
The guy, I thought the husband, people were getting mad at the husband because I think that they wanted him to give that guy a knuckle sandwich.
SPEAKER 11 :
Dude was so nice and gracious.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, he had to be because he's apparently surrounded by everybody who does not like them because they are for a different team. I don't understand that. It's bread and circuses. Everybody realizes this, right? It's all bread and circuses. Like I'm never going to get so into a team that I'm actually mad at somebody else who's for a different sports team. I can't even fathom that. Like Steve loves the Phillies, but he's not like the Eagles. He's not crazy. I've just never been. I don't know.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's noticed that I see because Lorraine just put this in here and it looks like he's been fired from the DEI focused consultant.
SPEAKER 1 :
What?
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, no.
SPEAKER 11 :
Are you not OK? I'm fine.
SPEAKER 19 :
I didn't say it wasn't OK. Why do you hate old people? Stop putting words in my mouth. Old people hater. It's the BCT partners. I don't even know what this guy does. And the guy, I mean, she wasn't really doing anything. He was just mad because she's a Packers fan. So he was obnoxious completely. You know, there's a way that. And I feel like, you know, the couple, you know, they played it the way they did, but we can't play any of this, can we? No, we can't. No, my gosh, we'd get so in trouble.
SPEAKER 11 :
No, we cannot. I don't know, Steve, did he do any editing to it?
SPEAKER 19 :
I just feel like there's a line. You don't cross a line. Like, you're going after the guy's livelihood. I mean, you know, maybe ban him from some games and stuff, but going after his job.
SPEAKER 11 :
I did that, too.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER 23 :
I don't have the audio in front of me. I mean, I've seen the video. I mean, my feed is all, like, Eagle sports stuff the next day. And it was all over my feed. And if you watch the video, like, he dropped some words that we can't even, like, get close to saying on radio. And they do warn you about being physical. They'll kick you out. So, like, the team can do whatever they want and the stadium can. But I guess it's up to his employer. I'm kind of with Kane on this.
SPEAKER 19 :
That's what I'm saying. What? Wow.
SPEAKER 11 :
Wait, you're saying that people threaten, people didn't threaten the business. No, they didn't threaten the business. And be like, hey, here's some info.
SPEAKER 19 :
He called a woman to see you next Tuesday.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. Information was just handed off to the business and the business made a business decision. That's literally how it went.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, if he would have called me that, I would have said, oh, do I resemble your mom? I would have been like, you know, just played it like off. I don't know. I don't know. I just get really weird when they go after... I don't know. I'm on the fence about it. I'm on the fence over it. It's just weird. Because now when... It just seems... Can I just say it? It seems pansified. Going after the guy's job? No! Take him out the parking lot. Cash me outside. How about now?
SPEAKER 23 :
Which is what a normal Philly fan would normally do.
SPEAKER 19 :
See, I like that. Go beat their ass. And then get it over with.
SPEAKER 11 :
One's 100% legal. The other one's questionably legal.
SPEAKER 19 :
No, it should be legal. I feel like if you're like, no, Mr. Officer, we both agree. There's no liability here. We're just going to beat the hell out of each other. Give us five minutes. I feel like there should be allowances for that.
SPEAKER 11 :
What's that in Texas called? Settling differences. No, but it's called something. It's like the mutual combat rule.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, I'm all for mutual combat. Can we invoke that? I am all for that. Like, you know what? I'm not going to go up to your job. I will punch your face in, though. So let's agree to mutual combat. see this is where in my head i feel like a lot bigger than i am because i was telling how did this come up because i'm five seven i lied i'm five six i'm not five seven but i'm going to continue saying i am i'm like a buck 20 but in my mind kane i'm like six four yes and i'm about i'm pushing 280 all muscle sometimes in my mind you are so i'm like yeah let's just beat her I mean, I don't know how hard I physically would have to punch to concave his face, but, you know, just saying. Like, I like the mutual combat thing.
SPEAKER 11 :
He does have a punchable face, though.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, he's totally... A face only a mother could punch. I'm just saying. You know, he's... He's obnoxious. He's so obnoxious. But I just... I get... I don't know. It just is...
SPEAKER 11 :
I'm sorry. I understand what you're saying, but I think the distinction is whether or not people threaten this business with boycotting if they didn't do anything, which I did not see. I just saw people saying, hey, look at this public info.
SPEAKER 19 :
Are Phillies fans like really ornery, Steve?
SPEAKER 11 :
Wait, the baseball fans?
SPEAKER 19 :
Like Phillies fans in general.
SPEAKER 11 :
You mean the Eagles fans?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, but apparently everyone's just saying Phillies fans, so they're not really specifying the Eagles or nothing like that. It doesn't matter.
SPEAKER 23 :
They're all just as passionate.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, I love how he described them. They're just passionate. They're just as passionate. What context are you saying Henri for? Well, like because everyone's like, oh, that's a typical Phillies fan for you. That's what like all these people on. So I don't know. I don't have that experience.
SPEAKER 23 :
It just goes back to this old throwing snowballs at Santa Claus thing from the 60s that people won't let go. Tell us. We're running out of time. You can look it up. There's an old story about people throwing snowballs at Santa Claus when the Eagles were losing one day, and then they never got rid of him. It's like a 50-year-old story.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. I mean, I kind of like that kind of camaraderie. I want to be camaraderie with people that would maybe give you the shiv. Right. I want to be on that team. Like, I like that idea. All right. I'm not really joking. I'm not going to say I'm joking because I'm not. Our partners that help bring you the program. It's our friends over at Caltech. Fabulous Florida based company. Caltech makes some really cool stuff. And they've, you know, the P-11, the P-32 changed the way we carry concealed. They invented the micro compact pistol category. They also have their high performance KSG shotguns, the super accurate bullpup performance of the RDB series, the full and half carbine family of sub 2Ks, the P-50s. The P-15, the lightest, thinnest double stack 9mm on the market. Now we're heading into the end of January and this is usually when Caltech unveils the latest firearms that they've invented, that they've come up with. Things you've never seen before and this is not going to be an exception this year. So they're going to have more stuff, new stuff that they're going to be announcing at the end of this month. And they're going to be at SHOT Show. I'll be broadcasting at their booth at SHOT Show, too. Visit caltechweapons.com. And while you're there, take a look at everything that they have, because I could give you my picks. I mean, I like all this stuff, but there's certain things that I absolutely think you have to have, like the KSG, the P-15s. The RDB is pretty nice as well. The P50 is pretty sweet. Some of these are must-have in your Liberty collection. So visit the Kel-Tec website. Sign up for the newsletter. Check out their social media. Performance, Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, Kel-TecWeapons.com, K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you.
SPEAKER 25 :
On the go and need a quick news fix with a fun twist? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth Podcast for bite-sized informative episodes, perfect for your busy schedule on Apple or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're having a big discussion about Phillies fans, and I told Kane, I was like, you know, us Cardinals fans, I don't know anything about Phillies fans. I just love hearing all the stories. Everybody's trying to find out, because that Eagles fan, who's the worst team. Cardinals fans, we're so polite, we're damn near Canadian.
SPEAKER 11 :
All St. Louis sports fans are great.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, they're amazing.
SPEAKER 11 :
It's a great sport.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, real quick. Today's stupidity.
SPEAKER 11 :
We do not have time, unfortunately, to play this. But Biden was asking if it was a joke when he was asked who to give credit to, him or Trump. So that's what we were going to play, but we're not.
SPEAKER 19 :
Folks, that does it for us today. Find us on Facebook, YouTube, like and subscribe. Also over at Substack, subscribe to the newsletter chapter and verse. I'll be back with you tomorrow.
Join Tony Perkins as he engages in discussions that matter. From analyzing Texas' bold stance on age verification laws in the fight against online pornography to evaluating U.S. national security threats, this episode provides a platform for experts like Attorney General Ken Paxton to share their insights. As always, conversations are anchored in a commitment to faith and freedom, urging listeners to stay informed and vigilant.
SPEAKER 08 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring. Today, Hamas and Israel have agreed to that ceasefire agreement. and the whole ending the war.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was President Joe Biden earlier today. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. While Hamas has agreed to the ceasefire negotiated in Qatar, Israel reportedly has not yet approved the deal that would trade Palestinian criminals and terrorists for Israeli hostages at a reported 50 to one ratio. In the first phase, 33 hostages would be released, not immediately, but over six weeks. In addition to releasing terrorists, Israel would withdraw their forces from Gaza. Is this a good deal? We'll talk with Frank Gaffney, president, Institute for the American Future. What is the greatest threat facing America? Outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray answered that question on CBS's 60 Minutes this past Sunday.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, the greatest long-term threat facing our country, in my view, is represented by the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government, which I consider to be the defining threat of our generation.
SPEAKER 03 :
On this issue, I agree with him. We'll talk with Michigan Congressman John Molinar, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. And the state of Texas was at the Supreme Court today defending the right to defend the innocence of children.
SPEAKER 02 :
If strict scrutiny applies here, Texas would have to satisfy strict scrutiny to keep kids out of strip clubs. This court's cases do not require that. Neither do history, tradition, or common sense.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielsen in his opening statements this morning. We'll be joined by the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, a little bit later. Finally, yesterday's debate over the protection of women and girls in Sports Act illustrated the stranglehold that the trans movement has on the Democratic Party. In arguing against the common-sense piece of legislation, Democrats falsely claimed that the legislation would lead to genital inspections of children. They argued that the number of cases of gender-confused males in female sports is extremely small. Now, we saw a similar argument recently with the release of a study last week claiming that fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. teens under the age of 18 received puberty blockers or hormones from 2018 to 2022. So it's a huge problem when the left is trying to push government restrictions on counseling and force the use of pronouns. But when it comes to laws protecting children from irreversible surgeries and drugs, there's not that many cases of gender dysphoria. So which is it? Dr. Jennifer Bowens, the director of the Center of Family Studies here at FRC, will join me later for that conversation. And folks, you're going to find a lot today to pray about, so I invite you to join us in our prayer effort, Prayer Shield. Text the word SHIELD to 67742. That's SHIELD, S-H-I-E-L-D, to 67742. And join us in praying for our nation and, quite frankly, for the world. It's on fire. All right, yesterday, the Department of Justice disclosed details on a major international operation conducted by the FBI and French authorities targeting Chinese state-sponsored cyber threats. Now the effort remotely removed malicious software that was implanted in thousands of critical networks worldwide by Beijing-linked hacking groups. And the operation underscores the growing concern over China's aggressive cyber activities, which U.S. officials warn are positioned to disrupt critical infrastructure at a moment's notice. So how great of a threat does China pose to America's future? Join me now to discuss this and more is Congressman John Moulinard. He is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He represents the 2nd Congressional District of the state of Michigan. Chairman Moulinard, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you for having me, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let's start with your assessment of the FBI's and the French authorities' operation to dismantle these Chinese malware from critical networks. How significant is this and how much more is out there that we don't know about?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, that's a great question. And first of all, it is very serious. We've seen the Chinese hacking and monitoring people's phone conversations at the highest levels of government. We've seen their hacking and public infrastructure that You know, it could be water, it could be important vital infrastructure that we need to protect, civilian infrastructure. We've seen them, you know, spying on American territory right in our home state of Michigan. We had five Chinese nationals spying at Camp Grayling, watching military exercises. So they are very aggressive, and they have a surveillance state at home that oppresses 1.3 billion Chinese, and they're wanting to export that around the world.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let me ask you about that going a little bit deeper. When we look at all of the products now that are created or manufactured in China, is there concern that some of those devices could be utilized for spying?
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. And one of the goals of our committee, which is very bipartisan, is to make sure we aren't funding our own demise. We're not funding businesses that work with the People's Liberation Army. We're not funding technologies and we're controlling technologies that could be used against our people. American men and women in the armed forces. And so this is an all-hands-on-deck effort to restrict an aggressive power. When you think of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, we never would have partnered with them on the kinds of things we partner with China on. And I think Ronald Reagan had it right, peace through strength, and let's make sure we don't help our adversaries succeed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let me explore that a little bit more, Mr. Chairman, because it's not just the government. We're talking about consumers in this country that are attracted to cheaper Chinese products that in the end are actually fueling our adversary that they're turning those profits into what we saw here, dispatching these hackers to break into U.S. databases and other infrastructures. just the government it's a kind of all hands on deck to defend America's well-being and that includes our economic well-being
SPEAKER 15 :
It really is. And there's two things that people should know about China. First, that it's governed by the Chinese Communist Party and that right at the head is Xi Jinping. They are committing a genocide against peoples in China. So we love the Chinese people, but this authoritarian regime is more and more oppressive. They have laws on the book, what they consider to be national security laws that require anyone, any Chinese person, any person, in fact, even in doing business in China, to be accountable to the Chinese Communist Party. And if they require information, there's no such thing as a private sector. They have a military civil fusion that gives priority to the military or the Chinese Communist Party. So it's a very different framework than we're used to dealing with. And so that's what makes it so serious when we trade or when we invest in Chinese entities that can all be used against us and our allies.
SPEAKER 03 :
So bottom line is that any interaction with a Chinese company, we just have to basically count on it going to the Chinese Communist Party.
SPEAKER 15 :
That's right. And they've been stealing technology, intellectual property for years. And more nefarious, they're using dollars, in fact, even research dollars from the Department of Defense for military applications that could be used against our men and women in the armed forces.
SPEAKER 03 :
That almost sounds insane, that we would be funding that, that we would be giving our adversaries the money to build technology to use against us.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, one of the things our committee found is that there were over 30 partnerships in universities in the United States that were partnering with Chinese universities and funded often by Department of Defense dollars. And they were collaborating on research in the highest technologies of physics, even weapons, all sorts of things. So we raised this issue. And fortunately, Berkeley Georgia Tech and most recently the University of Michigan have discontinued those and we're going to take it one by one and make sure we are not allowing and that these universities make partnerships that can be used against us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mr. Chairman, I believe you also had some success in getting the Department of Defense to back away and blacklist certain Chinese companies that have those same connections.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, we've been advocating for whether it's the use of slave labor or partnering with the Chinese military. We don't want to advance those kinds of business in China. At the same time, we also have done a report that showed the Chinese complicity with the fentanyl crisis in the United States. And what we found is that the Chinese government was actually offering rebates, a financial incentive, for Chinese companies to manufacture the chemical precursors that go into the fentanyl that's poisoning hundreds of thousands of Americans. So it's a dangerous regime. Ronald Reagan had it right. Peace through strength. We love the Chinese people, but we have to be shrewd as a serpent, innocent and a dove when it comes to this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. Chairman Moulinard, you've raised the concern like we just saw with this malware targeting certain infrastructures. Are you concerned about infrastructures like water treatment plants, energy grids? Are those vulnerable and how vulnerable are they?
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely, and I liken it like a sleeper cell on the grid or in the water system where they have malware that can be flipped on and off. They've actually put mobile, you know, areas of ways to monitor what's going in and out of our ports. All of this creates danger for America, and we need to be vigilant in protecting this. So we need to push back on this. I think this idea of dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party, all they respect is strength, and I'm pleased that President Trump, I think, is going to be a strong negotiator in pushing back on this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are there any proactive measures being taken? I know we just talked about the top of the program, what the FBI and the French did, but are there more proactive measures to defend the power grid, the treatment plants and such?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, we're getting Huawei as a Chinese company. We're requiring that to be taken out of our systems. We're requiring different companies that partner with the military not to be used in our supply chains for our defense industrial base. So we're doing things, but we've got to do it in a much more aggressive, focused way. Even though it's going to cost more, it's beneficial for the United States security.
SPEAKER 03 :
Final question for you, Mr. Chairman. We just have about 45 seconds left. But the outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray, as I played that clip at the top of the program, said China and its cyber program, that's the defining threat of our generation. And he emphasized the urgency of countering these escalating threats. Do you agree with his assessment?
SPEAKER 15 :
I do agree, and I think this needs to be a major focus. Cyber is now one of the major domains for warfare. You know, you think land, water, sea, space, cyber, all of those are key. And we need to be strong in this area, and we need to make sure that we're aware that China is trying to hack us every day and trying to pre-position malware on our devices that would threaten our way of living. So absolutely, he's right on that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Chairman Molinar, I want to thank you for joining us. And I want to thank you for your work on this, because I agree with your assessment as well as the outgoing FBI director. I think China is in the long term our biggest threat, and we have to deal with it. And it is all hands on deck. Thanks so much for being with us today.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Chairman John Molinar of Michigan. It really is. And this is another item we need to be praying about. All right, coming up, big news out of the Middle East. A hostage ceasefire deal has reportedly been reached. We're going to talk about it. Don't go away.
SPEAKER 09 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC's outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel's peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Launching early this year in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us, and we look forward to 2025 and standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Here's another topic to be praying about as we pray about the fires in California, we pray about the incoming administration, and we've been praying for the hostage situation in Israel. Well, a hostage ceasefire deal has been reached, according to the president, reports between Israel and Hamas, the negotiators in Qatar, although reports out of Israel is that the Prime Minister and his War Cabinet have not yet approved this deal. Now, the Israeli government is expected to meet at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday to approve this three-phase deal that the Israeli Defense Ministry and Israeli Defense Forces are already preparing to implement. So what's in the deal and what are the issues with it? Joining me now to discuss this is Frank Gaffney, president of the Institute for American Future and the host of Securing America program on the Real America's Voice Network under President Ronald Reagan. He acted as the assistant secretary of defense for international security policy. Frank, thanks for joining us. It's my privilege, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let's, before we get into the, give us the overview of this. I'm getting some signals out of Israel that this is not the best deal for Israel, and there's a lot yet to be uncovered.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm afraid I'm going to say it's a terrible deal for Israel, actually, Tony. I fear that it amounts to... a victory for Hamas, if you could believe it, effectively surrendering the entirety of Gaza to the people who perpetrated this horrific attack on October 7th and has been at war with Israel prior to that, you know, from the inception of this terrorist organization and will be until it is put out of business, which has been the purpose of Benjamin Netanyahu. Unfortunately, what we're told is that Bibi basically had his knees broken on the Sabbath, no less, by a man who has been given the role of a special Middle East envoy, I'm sorry to say, by President Trump, by the name of Stephen Witkoff. He's a well-to-do billionaire, financial guy, real estate guy out of New York. I'd be a little surprised if President Trump knew when he put him in this position, that he had actually done a $600 million hotel deal with the nation of Qatar. It might have had something to do with the fact that Steve Whitaker said the other day that Qatar is doing God's work. In these negotiations, I think he might have meant Allah's work, because what has been done, I think, is not in the service of Israel. Yes, there will be presumably a few hostages released in exchange for something on the order of a thousand to thirteen hundred pedigreed.
SPEAKER 03 :
jihadists who were being let out of Israeli jails. I'm told the ratio is 50 to 1 for every hostage. There's 33 in the first phase of this deal, taking six weeks. And I'm a little puzzled by that because I know when we had the Iranian hostage deal, it didn't take weeks to release the hostages. And President Biden said, this is my plan that I put forward last year. So whose plan is this? He claims it's his plan. And we know what the Biden administration has been doing all along. Yeah, incredibly.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think it's in some ways worse than the plan that he put together back in, I think, May of last year, if I'm not mistaken. It's not Joe Biden put it together, but the apparat around him, obviously. But what it does, Tony, is it essentially says that all of the progress that Israel has made to root out Hamas, to deprive it of resources, to close its infrastructure, notably those tunnels and so on, will essentially be undone because they will be allowed to have the run of Gaza again. And they will, in fact, I think, have all kinds of resources pouring in to help them rebuild those tunnels, among other things.
SPEAKER 03 :
Joe Biden said this ends the war. This would mean that this, you know, after this first phase, again, I don't know why it takes six weeks to release 33 hostages. So once those are released. Well, some of them are dead, Tony.
SPEAKER 04 :
So it might be required, you know, some logistics. But still, six weeks is ridiculous. You're right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so they're going to have to, IDF forces will have to, you know, through a scheduled withdrawal from Gaza. In the meantime, Hamas is able to rearm, re-equip, and you're right, all that has been gained will have been lost. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the fact that Biden is taking ownership of it is pretty telling. And the fact that this chap, Steve Witkoff, was an enabler of that. Tony Blinken the other day said Steve Witkoff has been very helpful. Indeed, he has. I think what he did was he took what Donald Trump meant as leverage on the Hamas terrorists putting them on notice that if the hostages were not released, and I think he meant all of the hostages, not a fraction of them, all of the hostages released by the time he came to office, as he put it, forgive the French, all hell would break loose. Now, that was intended to be pressuring Hamas. Instead, Witkoff and the Biden team, of course, turned this into leverage on Bibi Netanyahu. And I am just sick at what I think has been done here. I hope that the president, Donald Trump, will think better of this as he learns more about what's been done with his help inadvertently, I think.
SPEAKER 03 :
Frank, we're up against a break here. Just one final question. This, given what the fragile coalition that Bibi Netanyahu has been able to put together there and the strong right wing, if you will, of the Knesset in his coalition, this could cause his governing coalition to implode. I think it could.
SPEAKER 04 :
The left has, of course, wanted his head on a pike for a long time. But I think there are a lot of people now on the right who feel that all of this is for naught, all of the war efforts, if this is allowed to go forward. And I just say, if people want to learn more about this at VictoryCo.org, we have some information put together in a point paper. A briefing paper. It will help inform all of your listeners about why we need, I think, among other things, to have Steve Witkoff removed from this role as mediator or the inter-Mideast special envoy. This is a man who may work for Qatar, but I don't honestly think he's worked effectively for Donald Trump or the interests of the United States, to say nothing of Israel.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Frank Gaffney, we're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 04 :
God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
And folks, again, this is something really to be praying over the next 24 hours as Israel will have to comb through this, the details of this deal and whether or not they accept it. The pressure obviously is on them. And the United States, unfortunately, is playing a key role in putting that pressure on. So pray, pray for the peace of Israel, the peace of Jerusalem and the way forward. Don't go away. We're coming back with more. Ken Paxton of Texas joins us next.
SPEAKER 13 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you. I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 13 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they're looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you. I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 14 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it's never going to be on the ballot. He's the King of Kings, and He's the Lord of Lords, and nothing's going to change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we're to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 03 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10 week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You'll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls. Text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. The website, TonyBurkins.com. Earlier this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case on whether age verification laws, which restrict children's access to pornography, violates the First Amendment. Now, the state of Texas was defending its common-sense restrictions on pornography by making users verify, just verify that they were old enough to access sexually explicit materials. But of course, these days, common sense, not so common. So what was the outcome of day? Well, here in studio to share about the case and how arguments went is the Attorney General of the state of Texas, Ken Paxton. General Paxton, welcome to Washington Watch. Good to see you back. It's great to be back. A little chilly here, though. It is a little chilly outside. This is the long underwear season. All right. So give us your take on it. First off, let's go back. I did talk about this last week and the fact that your case was coming up today. But for the sake of our viewers and listeners, what was this case about?
SPEAKER 11 :
So last session, a year and a half ago, the legislature, actually Senator Paxton, my wife, passed a bill that required age verification for pornography websites. And we started, and it gave my office the ability to enforce that. And we realized that these sites were not doing age verification. They were ignoring the law, so we started suing them. Well, they started suing us back, and they picked a federal court, friendly federal court, and they actually got an injunction stopping us from enforcing this law, which merely required, as you said, age verification so you had to be at least 18 years or older and they claimed they formed what was called a free speech coalition sounds good right uh to argue that we were violating their free speech rights so we actually got an injunction against us we went to the fifth circuit we got a stay of the injunction which meant we could now enforce it right and then they they appealed to the u.s supreme court to get their injunction back
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, so we don't restrict anything else that people under 18 do, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
No, as you all know, tobacco, firearms, you can't contract until you're 18, you can't get married. I mean, there's all kinds of things that we protect. We protect the military, we protect kids because their brains aren't fully developed and they just need time to grow up.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we prevent them from making decisions that would have long-term implications. That's exactly right. And if I'm not mistaken, and I haven't looked at the number lately, but it was about 17, 18 states that declared pornography as a public health crisis because of the longevity of the issues involved here.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and that's another reason I think the legislature made the decision. It wasn't controversial to pass this bill. Even, I think, most of the Democrats voted for it. It's a bipartisan bill. I think they want their kids protected, too. And even the other side, this so-called, you know, free speech coalition, acknowledged in the arguments that the state has a compelling interest to protect kids and that they should protect kids from pornography. However, they argue out of the other side of their mouth, well, this isn't a good way to do it. The reason it's not a good way to do it is because it's effective. It works. So they... I THINK EVEN THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE PUBLIC IS BEHIND THIS IDEA OF PROTECTING CHILDREN, SO THEY CAN'T ARGUE THAT IT'S NOT A COMPELLING STATE INTEREST, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF IT IN ANOTHER WAY BY SAYING, WELL, YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT THAT WAY.
SPEAKER 03 :
I KNOW THAT A COURT SETTING IS MUCH DIFFERENT. YOU STAY FOCUSED ON THE ISSUE AT HAND. THE ISSUE AT HAND WAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT. DID THIS VIOLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT? In this process, anywhere along the line, did it come up in terms of how profitable the pornography industry is and how much money they make?
SPEAKER 11 :
It only came up actually in the case today. One of the justices, I think it was Alito, that brought up the fact that this argument they were making Didn't make a lot of sense, except it clearly was motivated by profit. And look, I'm a free market, I'm good with profit, but not at the expense of children and the consequences that you're talking about for the rest of their lives. So yes, it came up, and I'm sure in the debate on the Texas Senate and House, I'm sure that came up, but it did actually come up in the arguments today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Your sense on how the arguments went today? I thought it was fantastic.
SPEAKER 11 :
I mean, you know, getting into the legal details of whether we apply strict scrutiny or rational basis, no one really cares. I don't even care. I just care that they find a way to allow us to enforce our law and whether they were talking about If it falls in the category of strict scrutiny, maybe there's a place for this anyway. Or if we do rational basis, there's definitely a place. Or we might be able to create another category. But either way, as I think it was Justice Kavanaugh said, I don't care what you call it. We just need to find a way to do this. And I think that's where they're going to go.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's encouraging because there are a lot of other states waiting to see what happens with your case.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. And they mentioned it. I mean, some of these even some of the more liberal justice mentioned like Keegan was like, well, asking the free speech. What would be acceptable? We got all these states and they said, well, I don't want to, you know. guess on what I think she said no you know what's out there I mean these states are pretty similar with her is any of this okay and he kind of bypassed it and said well it's not for me to decide what they should do but he obviously is deciding by trying to stop us from implementing what the people wanted
SPEAKER 03 :
Once again, Texas kind of leading the way on this. Last week I was talking to the Attorney General of Tennessee, who I think they may have filed an amicus in your case, but they are clearly waiting to see how this goes because they have a similar law. What's the timeline here? Is this going to be June, July before we hear something?
SPEAKER 11 :
You know, they did not disclose that to us, the Supreme Court. It seems to me like it's a case that seemed like they had... They were all pretty close. Even some of the more liberal justices accepted that something should be allowed by the state. So it's just going to be a matter of these little legal nuances and how they think that affects future cases. So I think I'm going to be surprised if it's one of the cases that they get over with sooner rather than later.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that's good. I mean, that's one of the areas that— Well, I got to be careful in how I say this, because yesterday we had a woman's girl sports bill on the House floor. And I was going to say that's where people come together. But that's not was not the case yesterday. Hopefully it'll be the case here with the case that you argued today on restrictions on access to pornography. General Paxson, always great to see you. Thanks for coming by the studio today. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me on. And folks, another reason to pray. We just need to be praying that we would have justices that would do justice and do what is right, and that we would continue to have men and women who would fight for what is right at the state level and the federal level. All right, don't go away. We're going to have more conversations about children when we return here on Washington Lodge. Don't go away. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But you know, the Bible talks about four institutions of government. You know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 01 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God's will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn't impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can't do that. It's not that you don't love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God's opinion more than your neighbor's opinion. And this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sage con and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Wednesday afternoon. Check out the website, tonyperkins.com. Better yet, download the Stand Firm app and you can have Washington Watch in your pocket anywhere you go. Also, you'll get the Washington Stand, that news feed that comes from the Family Research Council, as well as Stand on the Word, our daily Bible study. And speaking of that, our word for today comes from Isaiah 64. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence. The children of Israel were pleading for the power of God, his justice and goodness to be witnessed by the world in an extraordinary way. Now, this certainly applies to the second coming of Christ when the Lord shall descend from heaven. No one will be able to miss it. But notice the stated purpose for this request to make his name known to their adversaries. When we make the issue about God, his name, and his reputation, our concerns are taken care of. And where did their confidence come that he would act? Well, look at verse 3. When you did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down, the mountain shook at your presence. You see, God's character is unchanging. He's consistent. What he did before, he will do again. To join us in our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday's debate on the House floor over the protection of women and girls in Sports Act illustrated the stranglehold that the trans movement has on the Democratic Party. In arguing against it, Democrats claimed that this legislation would lead to genital inspection by coaches and others. They argued that the number of cases of gender-confused males in female sports is extremely small. Now, we saw a similar argument recently with the release of a study last week claiming that fewer than one in 1,000 U.S. teens under the age of 18 with commercial insurance received puberty blockers or hormones from 2018 to 2022. It's a huge problem when they're pushing for government restrictions on counseling or forcing the use of certain pronouns. But when it comes to laws protecting children from irreversible surgeries and drugs, well, it's really not a problem. There's not that many cases of gender dysphoria. So which is it? Joining me now to discuss this, Dr. Jennifer Bowens, the director of the Center of Family Studies here at FRC. Dr. Bowens has worked extensively as a researcher and a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children in foster care, in behavioral health settings, and also to adults who experienced interpersonal traumas. Dr. Bowens, thanks for joining us today. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's good to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, let's start with this study that I read a story about it in the AP last week. Give us the overview and then unpack it for us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, if you just read the AP or NPR, you'd think, oh, my goodness, this giving out puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, it's just not really that big a deal, not that many people are affected. So if you pay attention to that spin, then you might be inclined to ignore the problem. However, if you actually look at the study and Many studies that go along with this issue or address this issue, you see a number of real problems with the methodology. Starting with, for example, the sample. How did they get the sample?
SPEAKER 03 :
That jumped out to me right away because in the first paragraph or second paragraph, it says that this is a study of adolescents with commercial insurance. Right. And not many insurance covers this yet because they've not been able to force them to cover it. So they're going elsewhere to get this type of treatment.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And we know Medicaid has been providing puberty blockers.
SPEAKER 03 :
And they excluded that from this.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, they excluded GoFundMe, Planned Parenthood.
SPEAKER 03 :
This has become an industry for Planned Parenthood.
SPEAKER 06 :
It has become a huge industry. And I just back up so that our viewers understand a little bit more about the sampling issue. So we're just coming off an election. We're all thinking about polls, et cetera. If we look at history, we have a great example of how this study fits into our historical knowledge of research. You take, for instance, the election of FDR. He was running against Alf Landon in 1936. And everyone was predicting that Alf Landon would win. Most of us don't even know who Alf Landon is.
SPEAKER 03 :
I didn't vote in that election.
SPEAKER 06 :
You didn't vote in that?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I didn't.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, good. Now we know your age, Tony. So what we learned from that polling data is that they went for those US citizens who had telephones and had automobiles. At that time, that was not as common as it is today. And they ended up with a faulty polling data because ALF Landing clearly did not win by a landslide. And in fact, Gallup is, that's where he got his start was because he predicted that FDR would win and that people who didn't have a lot of financial mobility would vote for FDR. And that holds true. So what's the lesson here? The lesson is when you don't accurately depict your sample, you can end up with a very bad impression about what's going on in reality. And that's the case with this study here. We are told that not many people are on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or getting transgender procedures. That's not true. We have other studies that show about 63,000 prescriptions have been written annually. About 6,000 surgeries have been conducted. And so what's the discrepancy? Again, going back to they're only looking at private insurers and they're making these huge claims that this is such a small problem. But in reality, we know that's not true.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm not a pollster. I took statistics in college and I understand that. And I read polls. You can. reach an outcome that you want based upon your sample and what you try to do. This clearly had a desired outcome.
SPEAKER 06 :
Clearly. And actually, if you look at the other study that goes along with the one on puberty blockers, it specifically looked at transgender surgical procedures on minors. And what you see in that write-up is, it's just profound. The authors compare these transgender procedures to a condition in biological men, we shouldn't even have to say biological, but men, And that's where they have swollen breast tissue. And they're saying if somebody wants surgery to remove that breast tissue that may be due to hormone imbalances, that that's a type of gender-affirming surgery. So their whole study is constructed on the notion that somebody who has a physical problem to deal with, you know, to cosmetically look more like, you know, their biological sex, then that constitutes a transgender procedure. When those who are getting transgender procedures have, it's completely psychological, has nothing to do with the physical. Right. So that right there just shows you how much they're going to prove their point that this is not about good science. It's about their ideology and their worldview that they're wanting to research.
SPEAKER 03 :
A desired outcome. So let me go back, Dr. Biles, to what I said at the beginning, because correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like, you know, over the last couple of years, we've been told that this is a huge problem, that we have all of these children that have gender dysphoria. You know, I've talked about this on the program. A lot of it kind of a social media contagion that has spread. And they were putting that number out there to, one, in many cases, like California, block access to counseling. They're doing everything they can to lock these kids into that gender dysphoria, that confusion. But now that 26 states have actually passed laws that prohibit these experimental surgeries and drugs on minors and it's, you know, gone to the Supreme Court, they're changing their tune, saying it's, oh, it's not really a problem. And so you're taking a sledgehammer at a gnat. It's essentially what they're saying. Yes. So how can it be both things at the same time?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Yeah. Now it's no big deal. But before, it's like, how can we do this to so many people? The fact of the matter is we do know that there's been a rise in those who are even getting diagnosed with gender dysphoria. So that doesn't even count for those who aren't going to clinical practice. So there is a clear rise. And there is a clear rise in the number of people perceiving it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it's a problem. And it is a problem. And a lot of this, in your background with trauma, a lot of this is connected to trauma.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. It's connected. We're not dealing with the root issues. And the fact that we're even using these procedures on one child should constitute legislation.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I just want to be very clear here. We're not saying this is not a problem. We're saying it is a problem. It is. And I see it. And again you're the expert. But as I see it you have two issues here. Number one you have this social contagion that's out there this promotion that this is cool. This is thing. But then underlying that you have this rise in trauma. through sexual abuse or emotional abuse. And oftentimes, again, you're the expert, correct me if I'm wrong, but oftentimes this is a form of response in terms of defense against further abuse and trauma.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. And I want to say this to Tony that, you know, we used to think about exposure to sexual material at an early age as as a type of trauma. Right. And now we've just institutionalized it. And we have kids exposed to sexual material early on across the board. It's like our own covid pandemic in the school system.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and we actually want—schools actually want to expose them with their sexual education material that is pornographic in its content.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. So you're absolutely correct in saying, you know, we do have two different issues going on. We have the rise of trauma in our society, but then we also have this social contagion, which is— very much at work on this issue.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so we're saying, yes, we need to deal with it. Surgeries and drugs are not the way to deal with it. But counseling, therapy is the way forward. And that avenue has been blocked on many occasions by these same people that are doing these studies saying that it's not a problem.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, right. And again, we have a whole system at play that needs to be changed because researchers It's not right to call this an objective study and have other news outlets pick this up as an unbiased... I think AP News said this is the most reliable data point. Well, we have a number of other data points that show that these numbers are not reliable. And clearly, we have a worldview that has been fueling this research question. And... And it's been used, this whole study has been used as a political weapon.
SPEAKER 03 :
To arrive at a desired place. What other anomalies do you see with this study?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think that one of the things that probably has been less discussed is the fact that they talk about the gender dysphoria diagnosis, how they arrived at their sample. But then they also talk about gender diverse people. You know, from a research perspective, if you're going to look into something, you need to define your terms really very clearly. And here in this study, it's kind of like they're lumping in a number of terms, and we don't really know, okay, is it a diagnosis that you're looking at, or is it... What does gender diverse mean? It's like gender fluid. Okay, who are these people? How do you measure them? And how do you predict that they're going to stay in this continuum of whatever it is? You can't. You can't. It's not clear. So, you know, like this study, like many of the other ones, you can easily pick them apart. And it's sad. It really gives science a bad name.
SPEAKER 03 :
It does. Just like we saw what happened to health care during COVID, it really lessens the trust, weakens the trust that Americans have in these institutions. And I want to, we just got a couple minutes left, Dr. Bowens, I want to ask you this question because you have come out of the academic world and the research world. We've seen recently how corporate America has kind of backed away from some of this DEI wokeness, and I put this into that same category because it all comes out of the same basket. Will that reach education? Will academia, will they come to their senses and begin to do valid, trustworthy research that is not constructed to reach a predetermined outcome?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think that actually this administration has a grand opportunity before them and to address some of the things that are less exciting and interesting, and that is let's go after the grant funding. Let's go after the money that taxpayer dollars are currently spent on issues like this, on the trans issue, that most Americans don't even agree with. So I think that a number of academics will come to their senses when their pocketbooks are affected and there is no longer money to fuel this type of research. It might surprise us how quickly their ideology shifts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it does underscore the big carrot, I guess it was almost a stick, that the federal government has with all of the funding that it provides for research because nobody else is going to pay for this stuff. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, you have a few activists, but, you know, they were smart. They propped up a number of universities with huge endowments and, you know, with kind of the stipulation that they would research this stuff. I mean, you have to give it to them in that sense that they were smart to do what they do because they have a continued discourse that they are funding and that they've started that they can kind of back out from. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there's just another area that we're going to need to be watching and speaking into and praying about as we go into this new administration. Dr. Jennifer Bowens, always great to see you. Thanks for stopping by. Good to see you too, Tony. All right. And folks, thank you for stopping by as well. And this is another item to add to your prayer list, that truth would come back into the realm of academia. that the research would be authentic and we would tell the truth again. What an amazing concept. All right, we're out of time for today, but I do want to thank you for joining us, and I encourage you to check out the Stand Firm app so you can stay in touch with us throughout the day. Until next time, I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul, founder of Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done everything you can do, when you've prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
In this episode of Sekulow, we delve into the Senate confirmation hearings where big names like Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi are under scrutiny. We also bring you breaking news as Israel and Hamas have reached a temporary ceasefire agreement after more than 15 months of conflict. Our discussion unpacks the implications of this deal, the potential for sustained peace, and what it could mean for hostages and Palestinians involved.
SPEAKER 09 :
Today on the show, the Senate confirmation hearings continue as the hypocrisy of the left is on full display.
SPEAKER 11 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome to Sekulow. I did want to give you a quick update. We are following Marco Rubio's confirmation hearing and Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing, but this is just coming out this very minute. So if you're watching live at noon Eastern, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal recently. in theory, to end the 15-month-plus war in Gaza. This obviously includes a hostage release and a few other things. We are going to get all the breakdown because it was just announced, and then we're going to have Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem join us later to break it all down. But I did want to bring up that really breaking news that could see an end to the war in in gaza whether it's a good deal or a bad deal that's yet to be seen whether hamas sticks to the ceasefire that is also something to watch but will what's going on in this country right now we have again pam bondy and marco rubio up right now going through their senate confirmation hearings we have uh really you see pam bondy taking more center stage today because the thought process is marco rubio kind of going to sail through colleague of a lot of these people very trusted uh He'll probably be fine. Pam Bondi, maybe a little more scrutiny specifically after the whole Matt Gaetz debacle. But one thing that I brought up to you and I said, hey, I'm not afraid to ask sort of the stupid questions, if you will. I'm not afraid to ask the everyman question, which is these hearings are happening at the same time. How does that work? Who's in that room? Because doesn't the Senate have to vote completely to confirm these nominees? And you kind of said, oh, that's actually something we should bring up on the air because maybe you haven't followed these hearings as much in previous administrations than we're getting today.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And so the way this works is that the hearings are before specific committees within the Senate. So Pam Bondi, who's being interviewed right now, if you will, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee because their oversight focus is on the Department of Justice and the other law enforcement activities of the United States. While Marco Rubio is Secretary of State, his hearing is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There's also Kristi Noem has a hearing that's going on right now. John Ratcliffe, who is up for CIA in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. So they're able to multitask, if you will, just based off of the delineation of where the committees are. However, you will notice some senators have carryover. So some will be earlier in a committee of one and then leave and run over to the other. I think Senator Coons was in the Judiciary Committee earlier and then later I saw him on the Senate Foreign Relations asking Marco Rubio a question. So some of the same senators will pop up as they have to move between hearing rooms. But what this does is this is really getting ahead of the inauguration because these individuals are the designated nominee But a nomination can't be given to the Senate until you are the president. So they already know who it is. Obviously, it's been said so they can start planning these hearings and hold these hearings so that when President Trump is inaugurated and transmits those nominations to the Senate. They're all ready to go. They have to first be voted out of committee. So the committee has to say, we give our blessing to move this on to the full Senate for a vote for confirmation, where then the Senate will indeed vote to confirm, of which the Republicans hold that majority. So most of these should have a decent path through. Obviously, Pete Hegseth yesterday said, seemed to win over some of the holdouts like Joni Ernst that had been very skeptical initially of him. She came out of the hearing saying she will vote for him. So he should not have a problem getting confirmed, it appears, after it looking like his nomination may have been doomed before the holidays. So quite a turnaround there, and we'll get into more of that later.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's right. You need to support the ACLJ as we help to get these confirmations through. Go to ACLJ.org. I encourage you to become an ACLJ champion. That's someone that gives on a monthly recurring basis. We are also following the very big breaking news. I mean, it's happened as we were going on air that Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to halt fighting in Gaza, at least for a time. I believe they said it's a six-week initial period in exchange for hostages. and for some Palestinians. We'll get into the details of that coming up. Welcome back to Sekulow. I did want to obviously state the breaking news, which is that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal. We're still going to cover the confirmation hearings of both Marco Rubio and Pambandi. If you saw in the comments or in the commercial break there, you're watching on YouTube or watching on Rumble, you saw some of the clips of some of the protesters that broke out in the middle of it. Professor Harry Hutchinson is joining us in this segment. And we're going to break all of that down. But I did want to read a statement that just came out from President Trump on Truth Social. It said, we have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you. So a short but sweet comment here from President Trump as he takes office in well under a week now. Again, probably one of the biggest moves that's happened. Whether you're going to agree with it or not, we have this approved ceasefire deal in Israel. And later on in the broadcast, just probably in about 20 minutes or so, We are going to have on Jeff Balaban, head of ACLJ Jerusalem. They're reading all the agreements. They're reading all the stuff that's getting out there right now in the press, and they're going to break it down for us. So if you have a question or comment related to that, you can give me a call right now and get on hold, 1-800-684-3110. Or if you have a question or comment about extended confirmation hearings or anything that's ACLJ related, give me a call, 1-800-684-3110. I know a lot of you are tuning in right now on YouTube and on Rumble and on the Salem News Channel. If you're on YouTube or Rumble, I'm going to encourage you right now to call in, but also subscribe and hit that thumbs up. We know about half the people who watch every day. Just get it served to them and don't subscribe. So if you haven't seen, if you haven't hit that subscribe button, very important to do that right now. It really helps us out as we have now crossed 450,000 YouTube subscribers, getting the word out there for the ACLJ to so many incredible people. Now, well, this is obviously big news coming out of Israel. We'll keep people updated. But I did want to lose focus on what's going on in these confirmation hearings. And obviously, we want to get thoughts from Professor Hutchinson.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. Senator Hirono from Hawaii, she yesterday was in the Pete Hegseth hearing and was questioning him. She was very aggressive about his record and things he had written. But what we've got today is now this happened just before we came on air. This is Senator Hirono now questioning Pam Bondi. And I think it really shows also the hypocrisy of the left of Republicans. Wanting the 15 minutes of fame of asking these questions, but not doing the pre-work when these nominees have been made available to every senator to have meetings with and do the pre-work. There was a certain senator that decided not to have a meeting with the attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi. Let's go ahead and listen to this back and forth. Then I'm going to get Professor Hutchison's take on it.
SPEAKER 06 :
that you as Attorney General should investigate one of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to know, you could have gotten to know me. I am listening to you now. Could you respond to the question? Yeah, you were the only one who refused to meet with me, Senator. But what we would have discussed is that it is the job of the Attorney General to follow the law.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm very happy to listen to your responses under oath, Ms. Bondi. So I think it's really important to us that the Attorney General be independent. of the White House, and you have a president-elect who considers the AG's office his law firm, I would like to know whether if the president suggests, hints, asks, that you as attorney general should investigate one of his perceived enemies?
SPEAKER 05 :
Senator, I certainly have not heard the president say that, but what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice, and it's statements like that, I believe, that make people continue to lose faith. If I am confirmed as Attorney General, it will be my job to not only keep Americans safe, but restore integrity to that department, and that's what I plan on doing every single day as Attorney General.
SPEAKER 10 :
Professor Hutchison, obviously the the rich irony of the left pointing this out as we've watched four years of politicized prosecutions from the Department of Justice. We even heard that in recent interviews that President Biden was angered and upset by Merrick Garland for not going after Trump aggressively enough. We know the dual hand of justice that was given to the president's son, as well as the aggressive nature of which the FBI and the Department of Justice would go after peaceful pro-life protesters or parents at school board meetings. But yet they make it seem as though the end of the Department of Justice is about to begin. because of what they perceive that President Trump wants the DOJ to do, when in reality, the next Attorney General will have a big mess to clean up from what the previous administration did as far as political prosecutions.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think that's precisely correct. And so I think it's clear that delusional Democrats... are afraid that Donald Trump and his administration, his nominees, particularly for Attorney General, will act just like the Democrats have acted for the last four years. The Democrats have targeted virtually every political enemy that they could find based on charges that do not have any basis in either law or facts. And so now, Senator Hirono, who is perhaps the leading intellectual light in the Democratic Party, she is arguing that Pam Bondi will actually enforce the law and go after individuals who've engaged in criminal misconduct. If those individuals happen to be Democrats, of course Pam Bondi should go after them. But Pam Bondi and the Trump administration will not target individuals simply because they are Democrats, even though the Democrats have targeted Republicans simply because they have an R in front of their name.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And as you saw yesterday, there was even Senator Mark Wayne Mullen from Oklahoma who pointed it out eloquently before the committee yesterday about the hypocrisy he was saying about the nomination of Pete Hegseth and some of the character of some of his colleagues. perhaps. But we also have Senator Marco Rubio, who's testifying at the same time. And I know some on the more conservative side may have been concerned about maybe some neocon type policies that maybe he would bring or that he's more hawkish. And we've always appreciated Senator Rubio, and I thought it was a great pick for Secretary of State. But this I think should put to rest any concerns that maybe some in the MAGA movement may have had early on by this statement here. This is bite five.
SPEAKER 01 :
Out of the triumphalism of the end of the long Cold War emerged a bipartisan consensus. And this consensus was that we had reached the end of history, that all of the nations of the world would now become members of the democratic Western-led community, that a foreign policy that served the national interest could now be replaced by one that served the liberal world order, and that all mankind was now destined to abandon national sovereignty and national identity and would instead become one human family and citizens of the world. This wasn't just a fantasy. We now know it was a dangerous delusion.
SPEAKER 10 :
Professor Hutchison, right there, some of the concerns that maybe it would have more of that old school traditionalist Republican style foreign policy coming out of our Secretary of State. When he's calling a liberal world order, not just a fantasy, it's a dangerous delusion. I mean, that is right out of the playbook of the America First movement and rejecting globalism. And I was... really, really pleased by the strength of that statement in that hearing today.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. I was encouraged as well because what he is rejecting is Francis Fukuyama's book, The End of History. It is a liberal order delusion based on openness, tolerance, and inclusion without necessarily supporting the sovereignty and the nationalism that is connected with sovereign states. And so I think Rubio, Senator Rubio, has made a fantastic start simply by rejecting what the liberals, both Republican and Democrat, have supported for the last 30 or 40 years. He is rejecting this end of history view, which has seen the United States get involved in hundreds of wars. The United States, for instance, has 800 bases throughout the world, meaning that a conflict could break out at any time involving U.S. troops. And so I think Senator Rubio and Donald Trump are rejecting this end of history vision. And I think that's fantastic news.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Harry, for giving us your analysis. Again, we are also covering the breaking news that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage release deal. This is a huge moment. This has become wall-to-wall coverage on all the other networks, and we've called in Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem to cover this a bit later in the broadcast. We'll have him on in about, let's say, 15 minutes or so, so stay tuned. We're going through all the information that we know about this, whether it's a good deal or a bad deal. At least we can say maybe over the next six weeks. it's nice to see something like this happen. Again, whether you agree with it or not, President Trump said it needed to happen. They got it done. And hopefully this means more of a time of peace and for Israel to rebuild and recover and for people. Again, there's going to be good and bad that's going to come from something like this. But this is a big moment, and I don't want to lose sight of that. Again, regardless of how you feel about a ceasefire hostage release where you're releasing presumed terrorists back into these territories, into Hamas control. But thankfully, there's some movement forward. We're going to be taking your questions and comments coming up. 1-800-684-3110. Go to aclj.org to support. We'll be right back. To Seculo, CeCe Hiles joining us, Senior Counsel here at the ACLJ, to discuss again the Senate confirmation hearings that are happening right now and some of the work that we've done internationally and how it all kind of connects. And of course, we are covering the big breaking news, as you see probably across your phone or... Wherever you're watching the news, Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage slash ceasefire deal. That is where Israeli hostages and some Palestinian prisoners will be released in trade, if you will, in an initial six-week phase of ceasefire. And of course, the thought process hopefully is that if Hamas sticks to that six-week ceasefire, and Israel as well, but if Hamas does, because typically they're the ones that do not, That this could be ongoing and this could be the path truly to the end of the war. Now, as we know, historically, that is not probably the end of the war in the big picture sense, but the end of this specific moment. Yeah. Obviously, this comes from President Trump taking office next week. He put out a statement saying, you know, we have a deal. And this is a big emotional moment for a lot of us. And we're going to break down with Jeff Balaban coming up in the next segment or the next half hour. kind of the ins and outs of the deal, the good and the bad, because again, there's going to be. But this is a big moment. I don't want to overlook it. I know right now a lot of you are tuning in to hear about the Senate confirmation hearings. We're going to discuss that as well, Will, because a lot of these have to do with how we're going to be treating the Middle East and how we're going to be treating other partners like China. And we know Senator Rubio made a pretty interesting statement because at this juncture with China, there's a lot of talk, but there is also the true threat of it, which is You can't really live without working with China right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And Senator Rubio has obviously been on the other side of where he is right now in the confirmation hearings for secretaries of state being on that foreign relations committee himself until recently. So we look at this and. And he knows what he's talking about. He has the briefings. His staff is focused on these things. And we even know that he sometimes, more than other Republican senators for sure, is thinking about the big picture and the next big thing that we should be concerned about, such as even the unidentified aerial phenomenon, UAPs. He was one of the first senators that said, we really need to be looking at this and understanding what's going on
SPEAKER 09 :
One of my favorite statements he ever made about that was, we better hope that it's aliens. Because if it's not, then we have foreign governments who have a lot higher technology than we could imagine. And of course, then we saw the spy balloons and all that whole moment happened. So I do want to say he's been very good at those kind of interactions.
SPEAKER 10 :
And so let's go ahead and play this clip. This is bite 10 from Senator Rubio before his confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of State on this threat of China.
SPEAKER 01 :
If we stay on the road we're on right now, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not. Everything from the blood pressure medicine we take to what movies we get to watch, and everything in between, we will depend on China for it. They have come to dominate the critical mineral industry supplies throughout the world. Everywhere in the world they've now established critical mineral rights. Even those who want to see more electric cars, no matter where you make them, those batteries are almost entirely dependent on the ability of the Chinese and the willingness of the Chinese Communist Party to produce it and export it to you. So if we don't change course, we are going to live in a world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis, from our security to our health, will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not. That's an unacceptable outcome.
SPEAKER 10 :
And Cece, you've worked many, often for years, dealing with cases of the ACLJ that pertain to clients that are either held captive by China, their rights being denied in China. That's a part of your practice here at the ACLJ. And when you hear Senator Rubio talk about that, if we don't change course, if we don't get back to this America first, this independence from China, that basically our The things we depend on, our security, the things for our health, will all be dependent on China based off of your work and knowing what the ACLJ has had to fight in China. How scary of a statement does that ring for you?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it is scary. I mean, we understand firsthand the power that China has and their unwillingness sometimes to do what we think is right. And for the years that we have worked with clients, Senator Rubio has always kind of been at the head of that charge. He's very aware of the threat that China poses. And I think maybe one of his biggest things is he's not afraid to address those issues just for the sake of political posturing. Like you said, I mean, yes, we have to deal with China. They are a big player on the board. But we can't do it in such a way that they get to bully and control. We need to take that control. And I think that's what Senator Rubio really understands. And I think that as the Secretary of State is very important, especially when you get into human rights issues. Because you can't let people continue to dominate and discriminate and, you know, violate human rights rules and not ever have any accountability. And I think that's where Senator Rubio really shines is that he wants accountability. He wants to do what's right. And I'm hopeful that he would make a good Secretary of State.
SPEAKER 09 :
And these aren't empty threats. Someone in the entertainment industry and as a film producer, I've seen the money that's coming out of China right now. And it's actually going, you may think, hey, we're funding them. China is funding major productions. If a movie I saw just this past weekend, which was phenomenal, was when you watch the opening credits, there's one in Chinese and you look up who that is. And it's a big corporation, Acina, which stands for a new wave. They have 100 million registered users of their tech company. And of course, they're private, but partially state-owned.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nothing is private in China. Everything has either party leaders are the ones that own it, or even the laws of China state that, yeah, you may own it, but you don't really own it. At the end of the day, everything goes to the state.
SPEAKER 09 :
$100 million into this movie. Now, that's the situation we're having. And you would not go see this movie and go, oh, this is Chinese propaganda. There's nothing like that. It's just investing. Right. And in some ways, helping control the narrative of what's happening in America and worldwide. Very interesting moves that are happening. Obviously, we've all been seeing what's going on with TikTok and TikTok is currently in the plans. TikTok US is right now figuring out how to wrap up operations if they don't come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks. It is a, now again, You may have different point of view on that. I think a lot of people do. Whether you think TikTok should be shut down or not, in general, we have a lot of relationships with China. And TikTok may be one of the more influential ones just based on the way the app works. creates the way it takes your data the way the information is running but again china's involved in every aspect uh we were at a walt disney world a few days ago and you know we're in the china pavilion at epcot and they have a whole thing about you know you walk through visit you know disney shanghai and my kids are asking about that looks awesome it does look awesome they did a great job But you do have to wonder sort of the end goal, if you will.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
And you have someone like Marco Rubio coming in making these kind of statements. At least we're thinking that way.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And if you're not paying attention, you'll miss it. Just like, you know, if you're not paying attention to those credits, you'll miss it. And I think Senator Rubio is paying attention.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that's great. Also. I'd love to hear from you. We got another half hour coming up on Sekulow. Stay tuned. 1-800-684-3110 to call in. If you're on hold, we're going to get to your calls. So stay on hold. 1-800-684-3110. I'm encouraging you all today to become an ACLJ champion. You're going to hear about some new ACLJ cases coming up. We had to do a pivot today to break in not only confirmation hearings, but of course, the Hamas-Israel deal. Ceasefire deal. potential war ending deal uh we'll see how that all unfolds over the next few days in few weeks as president trump takes office come to aclj champion today scan the qr code or go to aclj.org slash champion second half hour coming right up keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is seculo
SPEAKER 11 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome back to Sekulow. We're going to take your calls at 1-800-684-3110. Live covering of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, potentially war-ending deal that's happening. We're going to cover all the details of that with Jeff Balaban in the next segment. He's the head of ACLJ Jerusalem. That's why it's important to have people on the ground. Let's go ahead and take a phone call related to that matter. Michael's calling in Florida. Watch it on YouTube, which we appreciate if you're also watching on YouTube. hit that subscribe button. I know it sounds ridiculous and I sound like, you know, a YouTuber teenager doing it, but it really helps get people to see and to hear about these important topics that you're not going to find anywhere else. Michael, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Prayers have been answered with regards to this deal with Israel and Hamas. But, and I think I know the answer to this is lame duck Biden is
SPEAKER 09 :
actually going to have the gall to take credit for this well we'll see tonight uh as he makes his farewell address i bet it comes up uh but of course in a reagan-esque move this was clearly being wrapped up because next week you're going to have a brand new administration that is not going to be near as friendly to hamas
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. And Michael, yes, I'm certain that the White House will put out a statement that says, you know, we are thrilled that under President Biden's leadership or something to that effect. But one difference in these negotiations than what has tried to have been brokered by Egypt and Qatar over the last year is that there's a new player at the table. And this is the incoming Mideast envoy of President Trump, Steve Witkoff, was there for the negotiations. And this is an article from a more left-of-center Israeli source, but it mentions the tense weekend between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff led to a breakthrough in the hostage negotiations. And it also says that the top aide to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump did more to sway the premier in a single sit-down than outgoing President Joe Biden did in all of the year. That was from two Arab officials telling that paper. And we'll get into some of the nuance of this as well because, yes, Hamas wasn't necessarily willing to really come to the table either. over the course of this last year. Now they know there's a new sheriff in town and that they've heard the statements President Trump has said about what will happen to them if these hostages aren't released. But whenever you're talking about a ceasefire in war and with a terrorist organization, we can celebrate that hostages will be coming home. But we still grieve for the thousands that were killed and the hostages that were taken and killed in captivity and those on October 7th. And we also know that this war will never truly end, no matter what ceasefire, what piece of paper is signed. Until the radical jihadist terror organization Hamas ceases to exist.
SPEAKER 09 :
And that was the goal of Netanyahu was to just end Hamas in general. Does it look like that's what's going to happen? Doesn't look like it. Right now, I mean, again, that could still happen, but that's not the deal that's struck right now. And that's maybe an unfortunate fact. but there is a sigh of relief. I hope, uh, I'm looking at live footage right now from Tel Aviv as, as there are celebrations, uh, because look, even you gotta remember they, these people, whether you agree with this ceasefire deal or not, they're the ones living it. These are real people, uh, with real families and schools and restaurants and businesses that have been so impacted by this war, where airlines won't fly into your country, where tourism is such a huge portion of the economy that's running in Israel, has essentially been shut down and maybe gets to reopen this summer. And that would be a big moment for a lot of people to be able to return back to Israel as so many trips were canceled, delayed, as we saw, obviously, this real war. Remember, this was real wartime, you know, on the ground. And again, remember how small Israel is. It would be like someone in your neighboring county being in war and all of your friends and family being involved in it. So right now, I do want to say at least there is that moment of relief. And we're covering still the Senate confirmation hearings. And we'll talk about those as well. Pam Bondi, Mark Rubio. I know we have some calls about that. And after Jeff Balaban joins us, we're going to take all the calls. So if you're on hold right now, do not worry. I'm going to get to you unless there's some breaking news that I can't do anything about. Because right now, again, Israel, Hamas reach their hostage and ceasefire deal. We'll be right back with Jeff Balaban from ACLJ Jerusalem, which is only available because you help support at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Sekulow. We are now joined by head of ACLJ Jerusalem, Jeff Balaban, who was on the broadcast yesterday, and there was rumors of this, and now it has been announced it's happening. Now, we don't have the exact details. A lot of these are just speculation, or really leaked information, if you will, as it has been at least announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a deal, a ceasefire deal, a hostage deal. There's a lot of facts we've got to go over, and look, I know that there's going to be mixed reaction. from a lot of people, Jeff, because sometimes it feels like these ceasefire deals certainly more favor Hamas in this situation. However, I'm looking at the streets right now in Tel Aviv, live coverage, and there's celebrations happening in the streets. Because no one wants wartime in their country. People want to be able to return back to normal life in some ways. They want to be able to bring tourists back to Israel in a way that's dramatic. And they want to be able to bring all the flights back and everything to return to some sense of normalcy. But as someone who is so deeply involved in this, I obviously wanted to hear from you your thoughts on this. And we'll go down some of the details that we expect to be coming.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sure. Well, I think that the reaction that you're seeing has less to do with an end of a war and more to do with the return of hostages. And I don't know that this war is going to end anytime soon. I think that the ceasefire, even, you know, the agreement they have in Lebanon, Israel still is waging an on and off war in Lebanon because Lebanon keeps on, you know, Hezbollah keeps on breaching this ceasefire and Israel has to keep on going in. And so the good news is that Israel is, is i'm sure going to retain its rights to operate and keep on fighting against those inevitable ceasefire breaks remember there was a ceasefire on october 6th that was broken on october 7th last year and so we're dealing with terrorist organizations obviously they're not to be trusted at all their highest morality is murdering israelis and jews now What we are hearing, though, is and again, it's, you know, as usual, when Israel makes these deals, they get back one living or dead citizen for dozens of actual terrorists, barbaric jihadist terrorists. And those are the same people who launched this last attack on October 7th. And so, you know, what's happening here is, is that Donald Trump is coming in and the entire calculus changes for the bad guys. And when I say the bad guys, not just talking about Hamas, not just talking about Hezbollah, but we're talking about Iran, who has been funding this up, has been leading the charge here. And what I think there is hope for, this is not, I'm talking about what's going on in the streets. And the streets, I think, is genuine rejoicing at the possibility of seeing some hostages come home alive and not as much rejoicing, but even getting the bodies of the dead ones and getting clarity. But is the hopes that this leaves open the possibility for real regime change in Iran, for taking out Iran's nuclear ambitions once and for all times, and that all things hopefully will be left on the table for Israel with a true ally in the White House.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. And some of the deal points that have come out, at least allegedly, and these are, again, speculation, but they're expected, is a six-week pause on the fighting in Gaza. And then, hopefully, if that stays true, which, again, as you said, is sad to say, but feels unlikely, but let's say it is, then there will be talks of another phase that could lead to an end of the war entirely. And that's expected to begin negotiations during that six week time. Phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Hamas will release 33 hostages. Israel will free hundreds, as you said, of Palestinian prisoners. And I wanted to bring that up, Jeff, because people may see that and go, well, why would Israel do this? And I think what's important to look at is, look, it doesn't feel like a fair deal. Obviously not. It's not going to be a fair deal in terms of negotiating with a terrorist organization. But at least you have 33, like you said, alive or dead, sadly, hostages. And I know that is such an important thing. If you follow anyone on social media that's really engaged, it's every day posting about these hostages still. So I'm sure the pressure was on as well to get something done.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, look, again, every life is precious. The problem is when you make the rational calculus, you know, is the result of this that the bad guys have now been incentivized to take hostages again? Well, that's what happens all the time. And therefore, the follow-up to this is more important, which is to say both... the violent follow-up, which is to say there will be, I have no doubts, more conflict, but also the peaceful follow-up, which is to say the broader revisiting of the Abraham Accords and the blooming of the Abraham Accords. And part of that is, and the reason that was successful is because it set aside just the lie that Israel is occupying somebody else's territory and the lie that there needs to be some kind of a, quote, Palestinian, unquote, state. No, there doesn't. And Israel is very clear that there doesn't. And this has been pushed by the left and pushed by people who want to see Israel's destruction. And that's not happening in the White House now, we hope. And if Israel remains firm, so we'll see simultaneously, you know, the real, it wasn't that long ago, it was just a few years ago, we saw peace breaking out and normalization breaking out with countries that had opposed Israel from the beginning. And so hopefully we'll see more of that in a positive way. The other thing we'll see, is they're saying, again, being reported that among the first tranche of hostages coming out are the Americans still held hostage. And again, it's another symbol of a change of administration. Now, would we like to see all of the hostages out at once? Yes, we would. But again, we have an American president who puts America's interests first. Its allies are important, but the fact that we finally have American hostages being released, hopefully as part of this, is also another sign that there's a new sheriff in town and that makes a difference to these negotiations.
SPEAKER 10 :
Jeff, one thing also that I think we should reiterate to the audience is that while on paper and the reports that come out, normally who's the first to get these reports? It's always Reuters, which you can take what they say as far as their bias towards Israel, as far as you can carry it. But the big deal here for me is that when they report that talks on another deal to end the war entirely, would be in the next phase. That's what we know factually false. Because while this battle that started from October 7th to today, is not the war. The war will continue as long as there is a radical jihadist group named Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad that operates with their sole purpose to destroy the state of Israel and commit genocide against the Jewish people that have their homeland there. And so no matter what, if there is a bow on this offensive, it will never be over until What we hope happens, as Pete Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing yesterday, he supports Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas. And in reality, that's the hope I see in all of this, is that the next Secretary of Defense isn't afraid to say something like that. And hopefully we can see an end to this war. But this war isn't Hamas and Israel. This war is thousands of years old of those that hate Jews and want to see their destruction. And it will not end because that is what history has.
SPEAKER 08 :
That's exactly right. It all comes down to it. God tells Abraham, those that bless you will be blessed, and those that curse you will be cursed. And the truth is, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of the Jewish people, from the time of Abraham till today, there have been those who simply oppose us for our very existence. And and rarely there are those who stand with us. And thank God, ACLJ obviously, and the people who support ACLJ, for standing with the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Thank God we now have people coming into power in the Trump administration who stand with the Jewish people, who understand that America was founded on ideals found in the Bible that came through the Jewish people, that understand Judeo-Christian is a true concept, and then there are the enemies. And remember, Donald Trump said not that long ago, He said that the United States of America and Israel represent the pinnacle of Western civilization. He said that's what these people hate and why they want to destroy it. We are in this war together. Israel just happens to be on the front lines. I also hope that we will be able to use Israel's sad and tragic knowledge of how to deal with jihadis because we know we have them in our borders here because we haven't had real borders. And so we have a lot to gain right now from Israel's help. And hopefully this exchange will be in a positive way because it really has not been for the last few years. It's been really hostile and Israel is suffering from it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I encourage everyone to pray for Israel, pray for the Jewish people, talk to your Jewish friends and family in your life. Look, my son is 12. He'll be 13 next year. We started talking about his bar mitzvah, what that looks like. And I have to say, it's a different time to tell the Jewish story. He's living through a very different time than I did at this point 30 years ago when I had my bar mitzvah in Israel, in fact, and it was a very celebratory time. Now there's some hard truths that have always been there, but then there's hard realities that are happening in real time. And what I'm hoping is that this ceasefire deal does turn into something, as Jeff said. We can always hope that. We can always pray for that. The war doesn't end, but maybe we'll see some peace return back to Israel. Jeff, thank you for joining us. I really do appreciate it. I'm going to take your calls coming up in the next segment. And we've got a bunch of people on hold. Ronald, Robert, Don, Greg. Give me a call. Also, we've got two lines open, 1-800-684-3110. I'd love to hear from you. We'll talk about Israel. We'll talk about the confirmation hearings. We'll talk about President Trump taking office in a week, what that looks like. All your questions or comments can be answered, 1-800-684-3110. And again... We are trying to help get the confirmation of President Trump's national security team, specifically for reasons like this, when this moment happens. We've mobilized our global affairs team on Capitol Hill. We need you to stand with us. Sign our petition right now, aclj.org slash sign, S-I-G-N, or scan the QR code if you're watching on Salem News Channel or on YouTube or on Rumble. But it's not just the nominees. We need everyday Americans like you to really show your support. So right now, I'm going to encourage you also, not just to sign the petition, become an ACLJ champion. ACLJ.org slash champions. Be right back with your calls and comments. Welcome back to Secular. Again, I said we're going to take your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110. Two lines still open. Let's go ahead and take Don, who's calling from California, who called yesterday. We were able to get to him, but he is back on the air. Don, I'm sorry about that yesterday. We had some news break in, but I'm glad you called back. Welcome.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, no worries. Thank you so much for taking my call and for everything. I'm so surprised by this business of Mr. Trump sort of threatening Greenland like we're going to buy you or else or the business with... I understand Panama, we have a treaty with them, two treaties, I think. And there's nothing about taking the country back. We have the right to intervene there if there's a security thing. And then with Canada saying we're going to make you the 51st state, it all seems so surprising because... uh we haven't done anything like that since alaska the louisiana purchase like way back centuries ago you know this is like the modern era how do you even buy a country what would it cost and why do we even need to buy it they're already allies you know they're allies with us it seems to me that there's better ways to do it and it it just doesn't seem right mr trump was always uh sort of an isolationist and now it's acting acting like like an arch imperialist and i'm just wondering uh What are your views on that legally?
SPEAKER 09 :
It's pretty interesting. At first glance, I thought this is a comedy, especially the Canada one. And then it got to Greenland. Which Canada probably was more comedy. More comedy, yes. Then it got to the Panama Canal. Then it got to Greenland. And then it got to where you started really looking into why strategically we should have control of some of these areas. Now Greenland, I think, is the one that you're like, okay, let's see what could happen here. Again, very small population. Not very many people in the entire country.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's only about 50,000 people live in the entire country of Greenland.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I mean, more people went to the New Year's Eve celebration here in Nashville than live in that entire country. So you could, in theory, not hostily, but there are ways that you can take control of a country. Negotiations can be had. And I think that's more what you're seeing also here, Don, is some of these areas like the Panama Canal or even Canada, is that these, by saying, hey, we're going to take over, somewhat this is a negotiation tactic to make sure that our security interests are are happening panama canal obviously a huge area for import export coming through the panama canal you have and we built it in finance and we built it pretty much do everything for right So there is that bit of like, well, why do we control it? Greenland, strategically, pretty good spot geographically.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and here's the other thing with Greenland and Don, I would think some of this also goes to when President Trump said, you know, I'm going to pull out of NATO unless you start pulling your weight. So Greenland does self-rule. It is autonomous, but it is a territory of Denmark, of the Kingdom of Denmark. So very much like a Puerto Rico is the United States now. So the problem with Greenland and also the maps you look at that make it look more like it's kind of in line with everything are flat earth maps, not the correct representation. But it is a very strategic location as far as the Arctic. And while President Trump is not an imperialist and wants to stay out of foreign wars, he was always very strong about national security. And when you have a place like that where Denmark, he is saying, is not doing what they need to be doing as the territory of theirs on Greenland, When it comes to Russia, Russia has about a third more Arctic bases than the United States and all of NATO combined. So Russia is making a play to control the top of the earth, the Arctic Circle. You can get around the earth a lot quicker when you start up there because the radius is much smaller and you can get to places quicker. You can utilize that for even the way ballistic missiles are shot. There's a lot of strategic importance about the Arctic and Russia has been making that investment. So while it may be negotiation tactics of saying, well, we'll just take it over because it's strategic for us, much like Guam and islands in the Pacific are still territories for those purposes.
SPEAKER 09 :
World protection.
SPEAKER 10 :
To protect you from Russia, protect you from China, and all of these areas. It also just may be, though, that negotiation tactic of saying Denmark... pay up, make sure that it's protected, maybe give us a base there so that we can move forward and we'll see how it plays out. But there is rationale for it. It isn't just expansionism.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, read into it. All right, thanks, Don. We're going to go take as many calls as we can. We got four minutes, three calls. We'll see what we can do. Let's go to Greg in North Carolina. You're on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, I'm glad you guys are there. Thanks for all you do. I got a question. If On day one, Biden shut down everything that Trump did in his term. What's to stop Trump from doing the same thing that Biden did?
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, nothing. I mean, very, very many things that probably will be done. Especially if it's executive actions. You think about Biden in this last week put that ban through executive action on offshore drilling. That's just so there can be a liberal talking point of, Oh, no, he opened up the floodgates of offshore drilling, things like that. Yeah, they will immediately be undone. That's part of the problem with trying to govern through executive action is that as soon as it's a new president, all that can just be changed.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think they've said that he's going to have a record breaking amount of executive actions potentially on day one or week one. So we'll see what happens there, Greg. Thank you so much, though, for your call. Robert in Maryland, you're on the air.
SPEAKER 13 :
I want to ask the question, with this ceasefire that Israel has reached with Hamas, does this give the opportunity for Hamas to use this ceasefire to rebuild and rearm? Because in the best national security interest of Israel and the United States, that Hamas is obliterated because they are a terrorist organization. That's jihadist. They believe that anyone that is non-Muslim needs to be ruled under the Ummah of Islam, according to the Koran and also the example of Muhammad.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think that it's a real concern that we'll need to keep an eye on. Now, look, as Jeff said, this is a six-week pause. Last time they did something like this, it did not last very long. Hamas went right back at it, and Israel had to retaliate. So what you really need to look at the hopeful part of this, and I think Jeff is right in this, is that there will be a hostage release. This does not mean the end of the war. We can hope it does. Does it mean that they will be able to rearm? Yeah, it kind of does. It's not the end goal, which was the destruction of Hamas.
SPEAKER 10 :
And one hopeful point, though, Robert, on that is, yes, in theory, it gives them that opportunity and they will attempt to. But with the new administration coming in.
SPEAKER 09 :
Much different.
SPEAKER 10 :
and we start putting maximum pressure on Iran again, you know what that severely limits the ability of Hamas to do? Rearm. Because that's where it's all coming from. So, if you get that maximum pressure on, hopefully it really mitigates the damage that can be done by Hamas, and eventually, hopefully, the total destruction of Hamas.
SPEAKER 09 :
Alright, last call of the day. Ronald's calling, watching on Rumble.
SPEAKER 10 :
You're on the air.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, thanks for taking my call. I'm just about the ceasefire, the pending ceasefire, and it is as though the Biden administration is rushing to try and get a gold star because it was their policies that armed Iran to funnel weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah to have that October 7th invasion. And I think Blinken realized that he had been played that way.
SPEAKER 09 :
day at all had been played by by iran and yeah ronald i hate to cut you off but the truth of the matter is they may claim it the american people can see right through it they know that this is very similar to a reagan carter situation where you have a new president coming in new sheriff in town things are going to change i encourage you right now as we wrap up the show for the today to become an aclj champion not enough of your aclj champions we need your support Good free way to do it is just to subscribe on YouTube, but a way to keep this show going, to keep all our legal action going, to have ACLJ Jerusalem, an office in Israel, to have our European Center for Law and Justice, so we are changing legitimately the world with the ACLJ and all of our affiliates. We can't do that without ACLJ champions. That's people like you that give on a monthly recurring basis. Give us that incredible baseline. So I encourage you right now, you set that price, whether I think it's $5 minimum a month. Of course, we encourage you to do more if you can. ACLJ.org slash champions. Scan the QR code. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
Join the hosts of the National Crawford Roundtable as they delve into the intersection of sports, faith, and politics. In this episode, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush explore memorable sports stories and the legacy of Bill McCartney. They also discuss the cultural and political shifts witnessed in recent years and their impact on national and international landscapes.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, a view of culture, current events, and politics through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time, she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome to another edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. My name is Neil, host of Neil Boron Live on WDCX in Buffalo, New York. Bob Duco, host of the Bob Duco Show, WMUZ in Denver, joining us as well, of course. And John Rush, host of Rush to Reason on KLZ in Denver, is with us. And if I recall, the Buffalo Bills beat the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, you did. Handle it. Sorry about that, John.
SPEAKER 04 :
I did feel a little bit bad about it.
SPEAKER 02 :
We were doing good to get there. Yeah, exactly. After what we've been through the last several years, we were doing good to get there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and who knows? We were a little nervous, I've got to be honest. Bo Nix is an incredible quarterback, but it didn't happen for you guys. And now it's on to bigger and better things and hopefully a face-to-face meeting with the Detroit Lions, Bob, in the Super Bowl, maybe.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's going to be one massive brick wall for you to run into. You know what? Buffalo Bills will feel like a crash test dummy against the Lions. So I'm just saying, you need to redesign your helmets as crash test dummies, whatever. By the way, I'm from Columbus, Ohio originally, and my Buckeyes are in the national championship. You're just working it today, aren't you? You're just working it. Oh, I'm telling you, against Notre Dame. Which, by the way, it's interesting. Did you guys see the tweet, the ex that J.D. Vance put out? Because he's an Ohio State alumni. He graduated from Ohio State University, so he is a massive Buckeye fan, large. Well, the national championship game is on January 20th. That's right, Inauguration Day. And so he posted on social media, hope everybody understands I'm not going to make the inauguration. And then he posted this picture, a meme picture. There were these two buttons. and a finger that's presumably his trying to decide, hmm, which one to push. One button says, watch the Buckeyes win the national title. The other button says, attend your own inauguration. He's trying to decide which button to push. Hilarious. It'll be good. It'll be good.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, Monday is going to be a big day for a lot of different reasons.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, by the way, I'm sorry. You know what? I'm sorry. Can I just throw in something real quick while we're talking sports? I know it's off the grid here, but John, as you know, Bill McCartney, legend in Colorado, went home to be with the Lord. Okay. And I don't know. I know. I don't know if I've ever told you guys this story before. So bear with me. I know I'm throwing a monkey wrench into this, but I think you might really appreciate this. Bill McCartney has a history with Michigan because if you name the two most famous successful Hail Mary passes, one is Doug Flutie and the other one's Cordell Stewart, to beat Michigan. Well, and this was back in 1994, and it was September 24, 1994 that that game was. The game was in Michigan. I, John, was actually in Denver on business staying at a hotel, and I was in a hotel lounge where it was packed with people watching that game. Well, to set the stage, there's six seconds left in the game. Michigan is winning by five, 26-21. Colorado has the ball on their own 35. They only got one play left. It's the Hail Mary pass. And, of course, it was successful. It's like you've got to be kidding. That hardly ever happens. And Bill McCartney was the head coach who, of course, went on to found promise keepers, as we know. Right. Well, anyway, Bill McCartney was in Michigan a while back at a speaking event, a banquet. Him and I were the featured speakers. So in the banquet hall, Bill and I are sitting next to each other, you know, at the round table near the stage eating dinner. And we're just talking with each other. And I'm like, Bill, I still haven't forgiven you for the Cordell Stewart game. And he's laughing. He says, Bob, there's an interesting backstory behind that that I got to tell you. And I was like, all right, let me know. So he told me, he said, here's what happened. He said, I got into town. We got into town Friday, and we got together with some of the players, Christian players from both teams, to have a prayer meeting the night before. I was like, okay, that's cool. And he said, while I was flying to Michigan, he said, Bob, I'm not one of those – God told me, God spoke to me kind of people. He said, but I got to tell you, it popped in my head so strong, these words, read Haggai chapter 2. Read Haggai chapter 2. He's like, Bob, I don't even know where Haggai is in the Old Testament. Who reads Haggai? He said, that was so obscure. I'm like, Lord, is this you? This has to be you. Why would God be telling me read Haggai chapter 2? So he says, so I get my Bible and I open it to him. I find Haggai and I read Haggai chapter two. And sure enough, verse 18 references a date. It says from this 24th day of the ninth month. And then it goes on to say from this day forward, the Lord will bless you. And I'm like, wait a minute. Today's September 23rd. Tomorrow's Michigan game is September 24th, the 24th day of the ninth month. What are the odds that it says from this 24th day of the ninth month, the Lord will bless you? And I'm like, Lord, are you telling me I'm going to beat Michigan tomorrow? And I asked him, I said, did you bring that up when you met with the Michigan Christian players the night before? And he goes, well, yeah. He says, I'm a brother in Christ, but I'm also a football coach. Of course I got in their heads. And I told everybody to open to Haggai too. Well, anyway, he says, so here it is, six seconds left in the game. We're down by five. And I called a timeout and called the players over. And I told them, guys, no real mystery here. It's a Hail Mary play. Let's go for it. And they go back out there. And right before Cordell Stewart took the snap, he said, I heard one of the fans in the Michigan Stadium behind me yell out, hey, McCartney, where's your God now? And right when the ball was snapped and then we won the game. And I'm like, wow. Why did you have to tell me that story? Because now it's even worse for me. But anyway, so a little bit of an interesting backstory there. And this isn't like some third party rumor thing. Bill McCartney told me face to face personally this story. And he insisted, Bob, I'm not making this up. This actually really happened. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
We've been doing this podcast five years and you held out, never told us that story. Are you serious?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know I should have at some point, especially with John in Colorado. I don't know why I never thought of it until just now with Bill McCartney.
SPEAKER 02 :
A great man, did a lot of great things, as you guys know, and had a lot of being in this area. where he was at, had a lot of interaction one-on-one, actually had known his daughter real well, used to help her with her vehicles and so on when I had my repair shops and so on, and a lot of the football players as well. It was a great time in Boulder when he was there, let's just say it that way.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and he's a legend. I mean, he's in the College Football Hall of Fame, deservedly, and so, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
I wouldn't put Deion Sanders in the same class, but Deion's a believer. Bill McCartney was a believer, and the last two times Colorado showed up in the sports headlines was when those two guys were running it, but... Yeah, McCartney obviously ran Promise Keepers, and that was massive. One of the biggest ones I ever went to. Right, and one of the biggest events I ever went to was at Ford Field in the Silverdome or whatever they called it back in the day. They're in Detroit. Yeah, a long time ago. Hey, before we even get into any of this, we couldn't do the National Comfort Roundtable podcast without the support of our sponsors. And, Bob, since you started us off today, let me give you an opportunity to talk about our incredible sponsor, Preborn.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I'll tell you what. We're so thankful for those of you in our audience that have supported Preborn financially because you're saving babies' lives. You really are stopping abortions. I'm just asking everybody right now if you haven't given or maybe you have and it's like, I want to give something every year. And so it's 2025. Folks, preborn has been around a long time, and they're in pro-life centers all across the country, and they have ultrasound machines in them, and they show ultrasound images of unborn babies to the expectant moms. And when a mom sees a picture of her baby, boom, she chooses life. She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood. And by the way, she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior too. Problem is, we don't have enough ultrasound machines. We don't have enough ultrasound images being shown to meet the demand. And that's why we're asking everybody in the audience right now, do one of two things, either A, Buy an ultrasound machine. They're $15,000 a piece. That's a nice tax write-off for you, and your forever legacy is you're stopping thousands and thousands of abortions every single year, okay? Option B, if you can't buy an ultrasound machine, pay for a certain number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of babies' lives that you'll save. Take $28 times fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, that's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you stopped. So either way, here's how you give to Preborn. Just go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or you can give over the phone 24-7. Just call right now, 833-850-BABY. 833-850-BABY. Mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you folks doing this. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors. And, Neil, sponsors like SunPowerLED. Because I'll tell you what, I know from firsthand experience how well this works. I know you do, too. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
Photobiomodulation is this big scientific term. All it means is light therapy. It's using certain wavelengths of light to help heal the human body. And I've been talking about the proverbial opera singer who sings a particular note at a particular time. level of volume and and resonance and can shatter a champagne glass i think we've all seen that it might not be as simple as it looks like in the movies but the fact is even under uh you know sound amplification it can be done because those sound waves move the molecules within the champagne glass in its actual fiber and makeup well same thing is true with human cells using light waves I'm not talking about harmful UV radiation or anything like that. I'm talking about red and near-infrared light that penetrates the human body, excites the mitochondria in the cell, wakes it up and says, hey, do your job. And those cells begin to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing. It's an incredible thing that you really need to see for yourself. So we encourage you to check out SunPowerLED by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. That's CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And click on SunPowerLED, watch the videos, learn about how light therapy can help reduce pain and swelling and reduce healing in the human body. And by the way, that's the very light God himself created. Well, I wanted to touch on a number of things today, and this is the last podcast. We record this on Wednesday morning each week, and this is the last podcast before the inauguration, which is kind of unbelievable, actually. And maybe let me just throw it out here. John, you haven't said much today. Did you ever think we'd see this day? Think about all that's transpired in the last four years, especially, even before that. Two impeachments. you know, four indictments, two assassination attempts. Did you ever think we'd be having this podcast?
SPEAKER 02 :
Even guys, even all the way up to, you know, a year ago, did I think we'd be here today talking about this? No, I really didn't. I mean, I think it just shows you a lot of the things we've talked about on the podcast, even leading up to the elections, you know, things that the American public tired of you know you're tired of being you know uh ostracized men especially they're tired of all the wokeness and on and on we go i mean it to me it really does show that that there's a movement in the country where people are fed up with certain things that are going on and they want changes made
SPEAKER 04 :
Some people don't even follow politics at all. And I think just in listening to casual conversation would have said, oh, Trump, he'll never, you know, he's done. And I remember, honestly, after DeSantis was reelected governor of Florida, he gave a pretty blistering speech. speech and i thought wow this is the future maybe of conservative politics in the u.s whether or not he could ever win as president i don't know but i think that's the guy right there who has a powerful message to share he obviously faded into oblivion like quickly and all of a sudden donald trump started re-emerging you touched on people being fed up with the woke agenda john i think you're hitting on something there bob i mean what in your opinion caused the turnaround because i think any normal thinking human being even conservatives who loved the policies Trump used to put forward in his first term as president, didn't really think that he was going to have an overwhelming victory in 2024.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think the Democrat Party has gone so radically, insanely left-wing. And what happened is that through different alternative media forums and such, somehow, someway, we got to get the message out that independent swing voters saw the Democrat Party for what it is. This is just getting too crazy, insane leftist. You guys realize, for all the times... that Democrats have repeatedly said Ronald Reagan couldn't get elected in today's Republican Party. Okay. No, Bill Clinton couldn't get elected in today's Democrat Party. He couldn't. You got to remember the Defense of Marriage Act, which declared the U.S. government's official position is marriage is only one man and one woman. Bill Clinton is the president who signed that into law. Okay. Bill Clinton in his 19, and I'm not defending Bill Clinton. I couldn't stand how liberal he was then. Okay. But Bill Clinton in his 1995 State of the Union address, you should, I encourage you guys, go back and watch that State of the Union address, his comments about illegal aliens. And he didn't call them undocumented workers. He called them illegal aliens. And he said, illegal aliens coming into this country, okay, are taking jobs that belong to Americans. They cannot come in here. This is not right. If you come in this country illegally, you are going out and whatever. And he got a standing ovation from the Republicans and the Democrats at the time. I told my audience on my show, you know what Donald Trump ought to do? Because he's a troller. We know that. Donald Trump ought to take the transcript of Bill Clinton's exact words, and he ought to speak those at some rally, some event, some interview. Say those exact words. Let MSNBC and CNN go crazy about how hateful that is. And then say, oh, guess what, everybody? I just plagiarized Bill Clinton. OK, so I honestly I think there's blowback to the Democrat Party has just gone insane. Gender confusing our children, traumatizing women in the bathrooms, locker rooms and showers, wide open borders, crime through the roof, foreign policy embarrassments. So I that's what I think it is. And it's like I think they realize I may not like Trump's personality, but you know what? The guy is a doer and a shaker. You know, he knows how to get things done.
SPEAKER 04 :
I tend to agree with you, Bob. I think you're right. And John alluded to some of this, too. But I mean, just the idea of the woke agenda that has been shoved down the throats of the American people over the last four years. And as much as you're talking about cultural slide, because what you're describing is how far this whole world has come, you know, that Clinton couldn't get elected by the Democrats if he ran right now. You're probably right. And that indicates cultural slide. But obviously, to some degree, even people in the Democratic Party felt like the Biden administration went too far. And some are now saying that Joe Biden is more or less, and I put this in quotes, burning down the House on his way out by making statements like, I could have beat Kamala Harris. and defending his record as president. I think most Democrat strategists, I could be wrong on this, but I think most strategists are like, no, we want to distance ourselves from that message right now because that's what got Trump elected.
SPEAKER 02 :
John, your thoughts on that? Yeah, I think you're right. And there's even some leftist talk show hosts and so on that, by the way, if they were on our podcast right now, would be agreeing with the three of us along these lines i mean they're actually talking about the very things that we're talking about yet they'll interview prominent democrats have them on their shows and i've seen some of these interviews and the reality is guys you know the majority of democrats are still in total denial and have no clue as to why they lost this last election which by the way i hope they keep going down that path I hope they don't figure out what they did wrong the last time around because I want to continue to beat them. I'm afraid at some point they probably will wake up. Although, guys, there is some that are just so mentally out there. The mental illness runs rampant in the Democrat Party. I don't know how else to say it. Being liberal is a mental illness, I always say, and I mean that sincerely because you just don't think straight. And the reality is until they get that in check, I don't know if they're ever going to be back on track.
SPEAKER 03 :
guys yeah well actually john if you think about it you got joe biden uh actually not only puts out that letter of oh it was such an honor to serve and you know what i was such a great president uh but he even said just the other day that the the economy or in foreign policy he's late he says i'm leaving trump a strong hand to play it's like are you kidding me we're so And actually defended the – bragged about the Afghan withdrawal. And it's like – so, yes, this clueless nature of what his handlers – I don't think this is Joe Biden. I don't. They're telling him what to say and what to read. So the people, the shadow government that really has been running things, whether it's Joe Biden or whoever it is that's been really running things – They're just deciding we're going to go out and, if I can use the term gaslight, we're just going to tell people these aren't the droids you're looking for. This is really what reality is. And hopefully some of it sticks.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, one other thing about that, I've got a few more things I want to say about Joe Biden potentially, quote, burning down the House. But, Bob, you and I have talked about the fact that We host radio programs that are also heard in Canada. You've got Canadian listeners I do as well. We may have more just because it's a better program. No, I'm kidding. We cover Toronto, you know, and you've got a lot of farmland on the other side, maybe. We've got Ontario, Canada, yeah. yeah but um okay but but the bottom line is i think something similar has happened in canada as well people want trudeau out people aren't that's right canada's pretty liberal but trudeau was so whacked out liberal that people are coming to their senses saying we we can't live this way this is no way to live and they've had immigration problems as well they definitely had problems with the whole lockdown situation during covid i mean covid policy played into how people feel about the legacy of the Biden administration. I don't know your thoughts, but I honestly think that something similar is happening in Canada with people realizing we don't want Trudeau for the same reasons that we don't want Biden or the progressive liberals.
SPEAKER 03 :
The polls show it. I think I mentioned this on last week's podcast that A poll was taken in Canada among Canadian voters asking them, who do you trust more, the Conservative Party or the Liberal Party? And 47% said the Conservative Party, but 18% said the Liberal Party. The rest, you know, I don't know. But 47% to 18%, that is extremely lopsided. You look at the popularity of Pierre Polyev in Canada right now, he's probably going to be the next prime minister. So, yeah, I think that there is a certain measure of... Trudeau was so hardcore leftist and our lives are not better off. We're having less freedom, less liberty and add to the whole trucker thing, of course. But just economically, it's just not working. The liberals are in charge of everything and it's just not working. We're losing time for a change. Yeah, no doubt.
SPEAKER 04 :
John, let me ask you this. Donald Trump has said he's going to pardon January 6th participants. My personal opinion, I pray to God he doesn't pardon people who were convicted of violent crimes during all of that. I'm talking about the moms and the pops that walked in and were kind of looking around like, wow, this is incredible. Look at it. It's the Capitol building. But either way... He'll be watched closely for the pardons, but let's back up a minute. Joe Biden, on his way out, pardoning his son not only for the offense regarding his handgun and handling of all that, but supposedly for anything that may or may not have happened, any criminal activity that may have happened during an 11-year period, which does include when he was operating as a board member of Burisma in Ukraine. That... I think that will forever be remembered by the American people. Your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it'll be interesting to see, does he pardon himself on the way out? Does he need to pardon himself and his wife on the way out? I mean, I don't know, guys. To your point, though, Neil, yes, he'll be remembered for that. In a lot of ways, you're literally saying, we know there's things there. I'm going to pardon him anyways just to make sure no matter what, there's no repercussions on down the road, period. It's a big, huge CYA is what that is. And I'm really, honestly, to this point, Shocked that he hasn't done it for himself. Will he between now and next Sunday, Monday? Great question, guys. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, that's probably a deeper discussion we could have. I don't know if he does, but actually he probably should.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and, okay, Bob, your thoughts on this? Because I think that if he does, if he does what John says and then he decides to pardon himself, that's, in a sense, kind of a smoking gun. Like, I've committed crimes and I'm going to pardon myself so nobody ever finds out what they were or something. At least it has that appearance.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it would be a stupid move. I know. I wouldn't be a bit surprised. And of course, the way that he would word it, the way his handlers would word it, and the way that the media would report it is, I've done anything wrong, but I know that I'm going to prepare myself for the dishonest revenge attempts of the Trump administration or whatever. But at this point, there is nothing Joe Biden and his handlers could do that would surprise me. And I do want to say also, regarding Donald Trump and the J6 people, For me, here's really what it comes down to. Anybody who did not engage in any kind of violence whatsoever, absolutely they should be pardoned. That's right. I do not believe that they should be pardoned. However, I think every single one of them should have their sentences commuted because they've already been in prison for three or four years. And what I'm arguing is that's long enough to serve for pushing a police officer. Yes, you deserve to go to jail. if you assault a police officer. I agree. Okay. But you know what? The average, I've said this many times, the average rapist in America gets seven years, but there are many rapists who get one or two years. I had, I talked about this on my show. I had a former police officer email me saying, look, I have sent countless rapists to jail and you want to know something? I can't tell you how many times I've seen them get even less than a year in prison for that. So seven years, and you've got J6 people, the most violent of the violent J6 people, Still, killed no one, shot no one, pointed a gun at no one, set zero fires. They were violent and they were wrong, okay? But they don't deserve 20 years in prison as several of them have gotten. They don't deserve three times what a rapist gets. They don't deserve 10 times what a drug dealer averages, which is just over two years. So that to me is a... They've served their prison time. Three to four years, that's enough. Commute their sentence, leave it on their record. Don't pardon them, but commute their sentence. I think... Every single JSEC person needs to be walking free right now, just either pardoned or commuted. Got about 30 seconds. I agree. Do you agree with that, John?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, absolutely. Everything Bob just said, I would second that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Yeah, well, we'll see what happens once he takes office. Monday is the date for the inauguration. So a lot to watch in the news, and we're going to be talking about more of this as we continue. But let me first of all say one of the things that goes hand in hand with this switchover from the Biden administration to the Trump administration is a hope that somebody will stand up to Big Pharma and represent the common man. The feeling is that big government, big tech, Big Pharma, have really not been for the needs of the people right now, but they've been about making big money and pushing agendas that really are not to the benefit of the average human being. Big Pharma is definitely in the middle of that whole thing. Big Pharma obviously has an agenda, and that's to sell drugs, expensive drugs in many cases. And if we can keep people on those drugs for the rest of their life and simply manage the problems they have as opposed to actually trying to heal them, Well, then you're going to make a lot of money in the long run. But the bottom line is people deserve better than that. And I thank God for SunPowerLED because they're putting out a product that involves what's called light therapy or photobiomodulation, which is simply using the light God created. to help reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in our bodies. So migraines, joint pain, wound care, post-surgical care. You need to get better. You need to heal. You need to reduce pain and swelling, promote healing in your body. Learn about what light therapy can do for you by connecting with sunpowerled.com. And our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Again, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on SunPowerLED and watch what light therapy can do for you. Bob, we've got about 90 seconds here. Thank God for our sponsors, Preborn. They make this possible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, they sure do. And a lot of our listeners are going to pre-born. And I'm just asking you right now, maybe you have 2025 is a new year. Would you give to them again? You're talking about saving babies' lives, showing ultrasound images of unborn babies to expectant moms in pro-life centers across the country. But the problem is, folks, that demand is higher than the supply. Right now, there are pro-life centers around the country that they don't have an ultrasound machine in there. They're not able to show the ultrasound images of these babies to the moms. But when a mom does see a picture of that baby, she chooses life almost all the time. By the way, she usually accepts Jesus Christ as Savior too. So we're asking you in the audience, Pay for ultrasounds. You're saving babies' lives. Do one of two things. Either buy an ultrasound machine or pay for an individual number of images. If you buy an ultrasound machine, they're $15,000 a piece, great tax write-off for you, and your forever legacy is you are stopping thousands and thousands of abortions every year. How great is that? For everybody else, pay for a certain number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. How many babies' lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, that's your gift to pre-born. So here's how you give. Go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on pre-born, and give right there. And 100% of what you give, every penny, goes to ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn, or they answer the phones 24-7. You can give over the phone to a real-life person. Call 833-850-BABY, 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call.
SPEAKER 04 :
We've got plenty to talk about in the second half of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, the first days of the Trump administration, etc., and we'll get to it as we continue here. Don't go away. More to come on the National Crawford Roundtable podcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 04 :
You're listening to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, the final podcast of the Biden administration. By the time we speak again, Lord willing, Donald Trump will have been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. So this is being recorded on Wednesday morning, the inauguration coming, of course, on Monday. And then Bob's Ohio State Buckeyes will win the national championship Monday night. It's going to be a great day Monday. Guys, let's talk about the California wildfires for a minute. I don't want to glaze over this, but on the other hand, we can't ignore it. It's been a huge story in the news, massive destruction in the state of California as a result of this. And people are now beginning, as it begins to wind down, Lord willing, it looks like it's going to be... you know over with sooner sooner rather than later but uh people are asking the question you know was this arson was it an accident is it an act of god i mean i'm not sure anybody knows exactly but people are beginning to ask questions and point fingers then who's who's to blame for this let me just get some reaction now that entire week this was going on last week we talked about this to some degree john your thoughts i mean you've been through a wildfire before
SPEAKER 02 :
I have. And, you know, we get those in Colorado on a pretty routine basis. We've been pretty fortunate this year, haven't had so far this year. I mean, the season, I guess I should say, hasn't been too bad. But our dry season, you know, anytime that happens, we have a lot of the same things that they just went through. And, you know, what started it, guys? I haven't the foggiest idea. I'm not sure that they'll ever know. A lot of the ones that start here in Colorado, they try their best to try to figure out exactly, you know, what the root cause was. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. you know, bottom line in California, same here in Colorado and other states, they're going to happen. This won't be the last one they have. Unfortunately, there will be others. How are you planning ahead to manage for them is always the question. And in the biggest disappointment, I think people have, especially those that are out there right now is just the absolute total failure, lack of planning, lack of management, lack of management, leadership once it actually happened. I mean, they're so woke, they're more worried about three lesbians being in charge than they are people actually qualified to get the job done. And I think people are finally fed up. The question really is in California, is this going to be a turning point for how they vote moving forward, knowing the disaster they just went through?
SPEAKER 04 :
And real quick before we move to Bob, I'm just curious. Some people have said this could spell the end of Gavin Newsom's political career.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think it does. You do? Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
I was going to ask if you thought it was an overstatement. And why? Simple mismanagement? That this should have been handled differently under his watch?
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, when you have Democrats even, you know, Hollywood movie stars and so on, talking about the mismanagement of everything, that does not bode well for him at all.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. All right, Bob, let's move to you. Your thoughts on all this? We've been watching it, obviously.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, you know, I think the last thing that John said here is really the key to this. Will this actually change the electoral process out in California? Will some of these leftists start realizing maybe just maybe the Democrats are not the people that we should be trusting here? And maybe we give the Republicans a new look. This is just part of the blowback process. that has pushed Donald Trump back into office. I mean, people in California are realizing, well, hold on a minute here. We're not clearing away the underbrush and the dead trees. We're not thinning the forest with controlled burns. We're not doing that because, after all, we have to protect the Scandinavian spotted cricket and their natural habitat. We're not building the desalinization machines and plants that we should be building so that we can fill the reservoirs. I know we're pumping water in California into the Pacific Ocean. So and we're creating a tinderbox in our forests. So if a spark ignites, whoosh, it's going to spread through California. Yes, John, you're absolutely right. When Hollywood liberals are like, OK, this is ridiculous. All right. There comes a point where California voters have to have the light bulb go off over their head and say, you know something, we're going to do this. We may think that the Republicans are a bunch of hate mongers, but they at least know how to keep us safe and prosperous.
SPEAKER 02 :
And really quick, let me add something to what you guys are saying as well. They've only seen the tip of the iceberg. As somebody that's been through this, wait till they start going through the whole... hassle factor of putting in your claim and figuring out what you're going to do next and are you going to rebuild or are you going to just sell your lot off and on and on and on we go i mean they are just at the tip of the iceberg guys by the way don't forget the ap says that this is really a racist fire on top of that but but you know what you can't blame
SPEAKER 03 :
You really can't blame, and far be it for me to rally for the insurance companies, but you can't blame insurance companies for saying we're pulling fire insurance from California when we're watching the mismanagement being created this way. There comes a certain point where you say, this is nuts. If your policies are going to make it easier for fires to spread, why in the world would we offer fire insurance?
SPEAKER 02 :
So you should really, not to throw a monkey wrench into all of this, but Who's the smartest guy at State Farm that pulled out right before these?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. Somebody.
SPEAKER 02 :
Who has the crystal ball at State Farm? Unbelievable, guys.
SPEAKER 03 :
By the way, we've got to remember, too, if they kept fire insurance in California and they would be shelling out billions and billions and billions of dollars in fire insurance settlements, you think that's just California? No. State Farm, Allstate, everybody.
SPEAKER 02 :
We're all going to be affected.
SPEAKER 03 :
Homeowner's insurance will go up. We all end up paying for it because insurance companies are really nothing more than one big pool that everybody pays into. And those who don't make claims end up paying for those who do. So everybody's rates would go up if they didn't pull out of California.
SPEAKER 02 :
So we had a conversation on our program last night talking about if, you know, feds are going to give money, of course, and so on. And the thing that I think Donald Trump needs to step in and do is there needs to be heavy strings attached to any federal money that goes back out there to help them rebuild. In other words, we're only giving this money if you do X, Y, Z. Like what? Like the things Bob just mentioned, fire mitigation. Let's get these dams and things built that you guys have already had money allocated for. Let's get these things going so that really you are proactive moving forward and not reactive. And environmental groups, sorry, get in line. We're going to do the things necessary to make sure people are safe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so you're talking about government policy. When you first said it, I thought you were talking about individual homeowners.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, no, no. Government policy as in, you know, state of California, we're not giving you X until you do X. That's right. That's right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And by the way, life insurance companies, they charge more for people that skydive or smoke. That's right. I mean, there's a certain sense of if you're doing things. And as a government, a state government, if you're doing things in your policies that are just going to increase the odds that you have disaster and you're inviting disaster in your state, then we're not going to subsidize that. It's that simple. That's not a mean-spirited thing. That's forcing them to do the right thing to keep people safe and alive out there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, it's irritating as a taxpayer, honestly, guys, to have to be funneling money back out there to total mismanagement. I don't know about the rest of everybody listening, but as a taxpayer myself, a net taxpayer, there is nothing more infuriating than watching your own tax dollars go to things like this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Well, Bob, technology has been used for evil and it's also being used for good. Thank God for ultrasound technology that shows us the development of a baby inside a mother's womb. It's been used to help women choose life for their children and does so on many occasions. Preborn provides a lot of that technology and they're one of our major sponsors. Can you talk about that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. Preborn puts ultrasound machines in pro-life centers all across the country. It shows these ultrasound images. It would be great if every pro-life center had an ultrasound machine. It would be great if every pro-life center could show ultrasound images to expectant moms. But they can't. We don't have enough ultrasounds out there. Preborn is the one who supplies them, but it takes money to supply them. This is where we come in, folks, the body of Christ. We're asking you to pay for the ultrasound images so we can get more of them out there. When a mom sees a picture of her baby, an ultrasound image, that's the first time she's ever seen what her baby looks like. So I'm not surprised that statistically she almost always chooses life. She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood, and she usually accepts Jesus Christ. So here's how you pay for these ultrasound images and save babies' lives. Do one of two things. Either A, buy an ultrasound machine, or B, pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. Option A, an ultrasound machine, buying it is $15,000. Right. Nice tax write off for you. And, you know, you get to go to bed every night knowing that you are saving thousands and thousands of babies lives year after year after year. What a legacy in your family or business. Now, for everybody else, I wish I had 15 grand to buy a machine. I can't do that. OK, fine. Pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. Twenty eight dollars is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion to save one baby's life. So how many babies lives will you save? Take twenty eight dollars times fill in the blank. Pray about a number. And then that's your gift to pre-born. Maybe you gave last year. Will you give again in 2025? And 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So here's how you give. Go online right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on pre-born. or just give them a call. They answer the phones 24-7. You can give right there, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you doing that. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors like Preborn, like SunPower LED, which I'll tell you what, Neal, the photo bimodulation that they do at SunPower LED is remarkable. And it's all natural too, which is great. No shots, no drugs, no injections, no none of that stuff.
SPEAKER 04 :
No surgery. Yeah, I mean, it's all natural. Using the light God himself created to heal our bodies. Let me tell you about that, because four years ago today, January 15th, I couldn't breathe. I mean, I could take a breath, but I wasn't getting any value out of it. I had come down with COVID right after Christmas, I think like the 26th or whatever, and for about three weeks. I got worse and worse to the point where my blood oxygen saturation number was like 82. And if I got up to walk across the room, it dropped to 79. And I was being told, you need to go to the hospital. But the paramedics that came to my house on three separate occasions because I couldn't breathe said, don't go to the hospital. You'll sit in the hallway. Nobody's going to see you. Nobody's going to care for you. Your wife's a nurse. You're hanging on. You're not delusional right now. Hold on, and let's see where this goes. Well, Tom Kerber of Kerber USA, one of the makers of this photobiomodulation and light therapy, called me and said, look, I've got a device that I think can help you. And he sent it to me. I started using it, putting it on my chest. And the red light and near-infrared wavelengths penetrated my body, got to my lungs, and started healing my lungs. And in a matter of two weeks, I was back at 99% blood oxygen content. I was really on the doorstep of being hospitalized with a ventilator. God used red light therapy to help heal my body. No surgery, no pharmaceuticals. So check it out for yourself. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on SunPowerLED. That's S-U-N like sun in the sky. SunPowerLED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Well, you're listening, obviously, to the National Crawford Roundtable. Bob Duco, John Rush, myself, Neil Boron. We've got so many things to talk about. I'm wondering where to go from here. But this is the last time we're going to be talking before, Lord willing, Donald Trump is sworn in as 47th president of the United States. One of the things that's all of a sudden appeared in the news is the talk about the U.S. potentially taking over or buying Greenland. The Panama Canal situation, he's referred to Canada as the 51st state and probably tongue-in-cheek, but has said, you know, Justin Trudeau would be the governor of Canada. Now he's also talking about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. What's going on, guys? What are you seeing in all of this? What's happening? Bob, let me start with you on this. What are your thoughts?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, first of all, Trump is a troller. I think that the Canadian thing is certainly trolling. There's no way realistic. It made Trudeau resign. This is true. This is true. Well, that combined with the threatened 25% tariffs and Trudeau flying down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Trump's ring. Please don't do this. Right. So I think it's being perceived as weak by his own liberals. Okay. Gulf of America. You know what? I'm for that. Why not?
SPEAKER 02 :
I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, it's like, why not? And actually, I was assuming that Mexico had more shoreline in the Gulf of America than the U.S. did. I looked at a map. It's like, actually, they don't. I mean, the U.S. has more of Gulf of Mexico shoreline than Mexico does, so why not?
SPEAKER 02 :
Anyways, because to your point, Bob, there's a whole lot more U.S. coastline if you do it correctly.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. And you know something? As far as taking over Greenland and Panama Canal, buying Greenland and somehow getting Panama Canal back, I am all for that. Not just because... you always want to buy Marvin Gardens and St. Charles Place if you have a chance to, okay? Not just because of that, but there's very strong strategic benefits in us having control of the Panama Canal again, and especially for foreign policy purposes, Greenland as well. Why are we at the point where suddenly the U.S. doesn't buy? If we go back to 1960, well, should we have bought Alaska or not? Of course we should. Well, I don't know when we bought it. That's when they became a state, Alaska and Hawaii. But when we bought Alaska, when we bought Hawaii- Wasn't as long ago as you think.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let's just say that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Why would we not? Yeah. Why would we not? Okay. We bought Hawaii. We bought Alaska. Okay. We bought Puerto Rico. I mean, if there's areas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, if there's areas that we can go ahead and buy and acquire, why wouldn't we do it? And Donald Trump is the epitome of, let me buy up some land and and dramatically increase its value, why would we not have him bring that to the table and let it be in the history books that Greenland and Panama Canal are the United States territory?
SPEAKER 02 :
At the end of the day, really, what this is all about, if you ask me and Bob, get you and Neil's opinion, but... This is a big poke in the eye at China, whether he does anything along these lines or not. What he's really telling China is, guys, back off. I'm back in charge. We're going to do things my way. You guys have had your full run of the Panama Canal. You're running ships constantly in submarines, you and Russia, past Greenland. And the reality is you've had your way throughout the world, and that ends on January 20th.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know what he reminds me of, honestly, Trump? Trump reminds me of the guy who's always, always, always on the offensive, always moving. And it's like he's not like, OK, well, everything's a mess, so I'm going to play it safe and just try to tread water and keep things from getting worse and maybe they'll get better. He's a guy who's like, oh, no, what, the game is close and it's fourth down and fourth in inches? You know what? I'm throwing a long 25-yard pass, okay? Let's get aggressive. I mean, so no matter what is going on, he's like, oh, no, wait a minute. I'm not just treading water. I'm taking three steps forward. And you're right. It sends a message to China, to Russia, to everybody else that's like, you're not going to be able to keep up with me. You think we're on the defensive? You're not going to be able to keep up with the direction I'm taking this country.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. I think it's interesting. And whether it's tongue in cheek or not, I think it's hilarious. On Monday, U.S. House Republicans unveiled a bill that would allow Trump to start negotiations with Denmark, quote, to secure the acquisition of Greenland by the United States. By the way, the Denmark's prime minister said Greenland's not for sale, but there does seem to be.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's always a price.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, exactly, that there is open potential for some negotiation here. But what's funny is that Representative Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, I don't know if you saw this, he's the main sponsor of a two-page Make Greenland Great Again Act.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. It's really funny. The reason why I always say there's a price, do either of you have any idea what the GDP of Greenland actually is? No.
SPEAKER 03 :
Do you know? Did you look it up?
SPEAKER 02 :
I looked it up. $3.2 billion is all.
SPEAKER 03 :
3.2, that's not much. Well, you know what? That means you should be able to get it for a pretty decent price.
SPEAKER 02 :
You may have did five times GDP and bought the thing for, you know, I don't know what, 15, 18 million or $18 billion.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you stretch it out over whatever.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let's say you give them $100 billion. Is it worth it at that point? Absolutely it is. And the reality is with Greenland or, you know, with Denmark, look at $100 billion as something that they might entertain. You're darn right they would.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just waiting for the memes to say it's a billionaire Donald Trump just wants Greenland because it's called Greenland, you know.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's actually, and this I did do some research on. I didn't realize this prior. It's actually, militarily speaking, very strategic, much like we have Hawaii. It's very strategic for us up in that area. And frankly, we don't have enough presence and need more.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we would have military presence there. We totally would.
SPEAKER 04 :
There's this referred to in one of the articles I read as the mythical Northwest Passage. It was never really opened before, but with some of the ice melt there, it looks like it could improve shipping routes, but I'm 100% in agreement with you. I really believe this has more to do with military strategy than it does shipping lanes. So we'll see.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And a message to China. Because the reality, guys, is, and most people don't, because you've got to look at the world map, and yes, we live on a globe. We don't live on a flat Earth. If you look at the area up there and how submarines and other things that could actually come into our eastern seaboard, and you look at the openness of what's there right now, yeah, it's very strategic.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know what? We got Alaska, Greenland and Hawaii surrounding the mainland of the United States. Yes. It positions us very well long term in this country.
SPEAKER 02 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
In foreign policy and security and everything else. This is a really, really. And by the way, can I just say on a side note? People look at Greenland, but it's just one big iceberg, isn't it? It's just a whole bunch of ice. Do you know why Greenland is called Greenland? Because it used to be green underneath all that snow and ice when Leif Erikson and the Vikings and everybody else were. It used to be green. That's why it's called Greenland. Apparently, they had a lot of... SUVs and drove EVs a thousand years ago.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's a big problem. One quick quote, Donald Trump on Truth Social said, for the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Then listen to the way he words this. I'm talking about protecting the free world. You don't even need binoculars. You look outside, you have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We're not letting that happen. And so I think obviously military strategy is a huge reason.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that one I look at him being a lot more serious. I mean, that one in the Panama Canal, he's probably pretty serious. I know there's a lot of Panamanians or however you say that that aren't real happy about that. But the reality is, this is what they don't even understand. They're not running it. China is. And that's what Trump wants to end. China's running the canal. Panama's not. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, agreed. And by the way, regarding Canada, I think it's all tongue-in-cheek. I'm not saying that he doesn't want different economic policy towards trade with Canada, that's for sure. But as far as the Canadian people, I've seen some statistics, only like 10% would even consider such a thing. I'm talking about the people of Canada. And I have friends there and stuff, and there's a lot of nationalistic pride. Canada wants its own sovereignty. That would create more problems, I think, than than help in the long run, but better cooperation economically with Canada, I think is important down the road. So we'll see where that goes. I want to ask you guys before this all gets away from us, we've got a few minutes left here. The Trump, you know, cabinet appointments, Pete Hegseth's been under fire recently here, obviously. There's an effort to kind of step things up so that some of the cabinet or all of the cabinets in place by inauguration day, I don't think that's going to happen, but... A lot of pushback on Pete Hegseth, obviously, but also RFK Jr., people saying, look at what qualifications does this guy have to run health and human services. I wanted to get some of your thoughts. All right, so John, maybe we'll start with you on that one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, so some of the confirmations and stuff that's going on, and I have not had time – I'm doubting, Neil, you have either. I've watched a lot of excerpts of different things. I didn't get a chance to watch the entire thing with Pete, for example. And I think the one thing people have to realize with Pete especially is, number one, he's not a politician. Is he going to be as polished with – his answers and his ability to handle some of these what I call slick politicians that have been sitting in those chairs for, in some cases, decades, Neil. No, he's not going to be as slick as a Marco Rubio or even a RFK Jr., by the way, will be. On the same token, I think Pete's done a pretty good job of defending himself. They've attacked him on all sorts of things that, frankly, have nothing to do with the job of defense secretary when it's all said and done. But I think he's handled himself very well. Will he get confirmed? You know, I think at this point, I'm a little more confident than I was, you know, a day or two ago, Neil, that he will. So I think he'll get confirmed again. Will he learn a lot by doing, you know, by being in this job and doing what he's doing? Absolutely. But the one thing I think folks need to realize when they watch him answer some of these questions is, you know, he's not a politician. It'd be like you, you know, you and I, Neil, up there answering questions. We're not politicians. We're going to answer them just like a regular civilian would. And that's what Pete has done.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and John, I think you're absolutely right, you know, based on what you're saying. But let me add something, too. I think that a lot of people would rightly say, does he have the qualifications to lead the organization? Well, in one sense, he doesn't really need to. Let me give you an example. I have a friend who's a pastor who runs a bakery. He bought a bakery and runs it as a business, but he also serves in pastoral ministry. He doesn't know anything about baking, but he knows something about business and running a business. And he's got a highly successful bakery because he hires the right people to do the right things. I don't think that RFK needs to know everything there is to know about medicine, but he can surround himself with other people that are like-minded in saying, we got to get people healthy again. And, you know, big pharma... Americans are living longer than ever before, but we're not healthier than ever before. And we've got to fix that problem. So the idea that he's skeptical towards big pharma I think is going to be a plus for the American people. Bob, do you have any thoughts on this, Bob?
SPEAKER 02 :
I think we lost Bob or Neil. I think he's got some connection issues. So you and I will finish things up, which we can definitely handle.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Well, let's do that. And we're going to need to talk about pre-born and admit. But as long as we're talking about RFK, let me mention again, some of you are experiencing a tremendous amount of distrust towards Big Pharma. And your feeling is that, you know, I've been on medication my whole life, but I'm not getting better. So what's the problem here? And, you know, Big Pharma's goal is to keep you on medication. There's no desire to see you be healed, because if you're actually healed of whatever disease you're struggling with, whatever physical ailment you've got, then you don't need to purchase medication anymore. And somebody ought to be asking the question, is that right? Is that good for the American people? And should we allow that? So hopefully RFK will step in and do it. But listen, there is a treatment that's available that is non-invasive, meaning no surgery involved, no medication involved. It's called red light therapy, and it is available from our friends at SunPowerLED. What is it? Well, it takes the very light God himself created, certain wavelengths of red and near-infrared light, and it utilizes that light to penetrate the skin, no UV harmful radiation or anything like that, but it penetrates the skin, gets deep into the body, gets to the cells, energizes the mitochondria, wakes up the cell, and the cell begins to do what it was intended to do, and that's to provide life and heal your body. And it's unbelievable. You really need to look at what a red light therapy can do for you. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Sun, S-U-N, like sun in the sky, Sun Power LED, CrawfordMediaGroup.net, and check it out. We could not do any of this, John, without the help of our friends at Preborn.
SPEAKER 02 :
You are correct. And you hear Bob talk about it a lot. I feel him and Bob can't. And Preborn, just a great organization. You know, I give to them on a routine basis and love them dearly. They're there to help not only the unborn, but the moms that are carrying the unborn. There's two lives. Actually, there's multiple lives, as you know, Neil, that'll be affected by these decisions, not just those two. But those two immediately are the ones that are affected most. Preborn is there to not only help save babies' lives, but help save literally the spiritual and physical life of the mother as well, and of course have huge effect upon the rest of the family. They do that by showing ultrasound images of the baby. By the way, Planned Parenthood does not do that. Even though they have the same equipment or better, they do not show the image to the mom. In this particular case, Preborn does. It works. They save babies' lives on a daily basis, and a lot of you listening say, you know, I want to do everything I possibly can to help create life and save babies' lives. We'll do that by donating to Preborn. Just go to the National Crawford. Sorry, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net is what I should say. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on the pre-born link there and donate. And as I always say, put your money where your mouth is, Neal.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we've only got a couple minutes left, and I guess we did lose Bob along the way. My thought is, John, that he's afraid that I was going to bring up that the Buffalo Bills are coming after his Detroit Lions. You know, we want them in the Super Bowl. Let's go. You know what?
SPEAKER 02 :
You could see that matchup.
SPEAKER 04 :
It might happen.
SPEAKER 02 :
You could.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let me ask you this real quick. I saw an article. I didn't really pay close attention, but during the election, remember, obviously, Trump was handing out French fries at McDonald's. The other big optic was that he was in a garbage truck, a Make America Great Again garbage truck. And apparently that garbage truck, I was told, is going to be somehow a part of the parade after the inauguration come Monday. So I don't know. I think in one sense, Trump is hoping for some kind of a joyous celebration as opposed to just a formal celebration.
SPEAKER 02 :
ceremony uh regarding all this but um i don't know well we haven't a chance to talk about this much i know we're running short on time but really monday's going to be fun in my opinion though neil tuesday is even going to be more fun the very first day what does he do to reverse some of the awful policies that have been implemented by the current administration what's he going to do to try to get things back on track you know giving us all more freedom getting the economy back on track things along those lines that's the day actually i'm more excited for is you know, is Tuesday, not Monday, but we'll see how that goes as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we got about 30 seconds left. I'm just curious. Shouldn't he be very concerned, not just about what happens on Monday, but what happens between his first day in office and the midterm elections? Because he lost control. Yeah, and what was it, 2018?
SPEAKER 02 :
He's got to have a really solid run these next two years. Really, not even two years, 18 months, Neal, is about what he's got to be able to have any kind of effectiveness in the midterms.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I think grow his relationship with minority voters, young voters, all of which showed support to him, and obviously he won by a landslide in that last election. Anyhow, that's going to do it for today's edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. We lost Bob Duco, host of the Bob Duco Show on WMUZ in Detroit. Somehow technology failed us on that one. John Rush, of course, Rush to Reason in Denver, Colorado, one of my colleagues here. And my name is Neil Boron, host of Neil Boron Live. We encourage you to listen every single week. Tell others to listen to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, and Lord willing, we'll see you next week again right here.
SPEAKER 01 :
You've been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, a view of today's culture through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group stations website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
In this episode of The Kim Munson Show, Kim talks with KLZ producers Joe and Luke about Henry Hazlitt's book Economics in One Lesson Listen as the team delves into the intricate discussions surrounding capitalism, cronyism, and how government policies interplay with economic principles. With the inputs of young producers, Luke and Joe, the conversation navigates through the concepts presented in 'Economics in One Lesson' by Henry Hazlitt. The episode scrutinizes historical data on corporate profits and questions the modern economic environment where growth appears skewed by external influences.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. And thank you to all of you who support us. We really appreciate you. And also thank you to Laramie Energy. for their gold sponsorship of the show because it's reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy from natural gas, oil, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and helps us control our own personal climate. I think I'm going to add that in permanently. What do you think, Joe? Is that okay?
SPEAKER 07 :
I think so because that personal climate is very, very important. Wait until you have a day of 90 in Colorado. You kind of want that AC.
SPEAKER 06 :
Or what about we're supposed to have some bitter cold this weekend as well. I really am grateful for a warm house. And all I have to do is just basically, you know, hit a button and it happens. Do you know how much work it is back in the old days when they had to warm their homes with coal to bring coal in or to heat your home with wood? It's a lot of work.
SPEAKER 07 :
I actually do. My grandfather has a stone chimney fireplace that is routed throughout his entire house. So every time I go out there, I'm chopping wood and doing a fireplace. It is a pain in the butt. It's a lot of work. And then enough times of use within a week, you've got to clean it out and do it again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do it again. Absolutely. So we are so blessed, and all of this is under attack. I am thrilled to have the young guys here. In here, I was going to say the young guns, but I can't say that in Colorado right now. But Producer Luke and Producer Joe, both 26 years old. I so appreciate their perspectives. We've been going through this book, Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. It says the shortest and surest way to understand basic economics. And Producer Luke, we are to chapters 22 and 23. Almost done. Almost done. And 22 is the function of profits. And he starts off with the indignation shown by many people today at the mention of the very word profit indicates how little understanding there is of the vital function that profits play in our economy. So that sets us up. And I know that sometimes you agree, sometimes you think his tone's a little much. So what do you think about profits, Producer Luke?
SPEAKER 05 :
What do I think about profits? I think, in terms of the way Hazlitt addresses profits, in this chapter specifically, I think it works better almost entirely isolated to a time like pre-1980s. Because I think that's when a lot of what he's saying makes the most sense, and I don't think a lot of that holds up anymore. First, I definitely want to start by saying I get companies need to make profit, right? Not only do you need to pay your employees, you need to produce a product, you need to reinvest in yourself to continue to innovate. Obviously, I understand that. I totally get it. He goes on to state a little bit later in here that profits do not bulk large in our total economy. The net income of incorporated businesses in the 15 years from 1928 to 1943, to take some illustrative figures, averaged less than 5% of the total national income. And then he goes on to give some more details. Dates stating that between 1956 and 1960, the average is less than 6%. Between 1971 to 1975, average less than 6%. And again, to reiterate, this is the net income of incorporated businesses, sort of accounting for a percentage of total national profits or national income. And I felt that that was a little off to me. So I went through and I double-checked his work. And while he is correct in those percentages, those percentages don't hold true to today. If, again, between 1929 and 1943, it's less than 5%. Between 56 and 60 is less than 6%. 71 to 75 is also less than 6%. Kim, I would like you to guess... What percentage of total corporate profits accounted for national income between 2020 and 2024? If you had to throw a number out there. I don't know. 16.7%. That is a huge increase. That is an astronomical increase, especially when you compare it to the historical figures of the past. To be less than 6%, less than 6%, less than 6%, less than 6% over approximately, what is that, 3, 4, 5, over 50 years, just about, averaging 6%. And just to, again, double check, between 1990 and 1995, it was 5%. Uh, jumping a little bit ahead between the year 2000 and 2005, it doubles 10%. Uh, between 2010 and 2015, we stay at 10%. And then again, jumping to 2020 to 2024, 16.7% of national income is corporate profits, not corporate income, corporate profits. Uh,
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, and what's your source on that?
SPEAKER 05 :
I got that from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so government... That is .gov, yep. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Okay, good research on that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I wanted to double-check, and the reason I wanted to double-check is because later on in this chapter, he talks about, contrary to popular impression, profits are achieved not by raising prices, but by introducing economies and efficiencies that cut costs of production. I don't think that's the case in 2020 to 2024. Perhaps this is an observation bias. Perhaps I am blind to some of the workings behind the scenes, but I can't afford eggs anymore, and eggs haven't become any more or less efficient, at least in my immediate experience. You know, the way grocery stores function on a fundamental level have become arguably more efficient. You can do curbside pickup. You can order online. There are so many. There are so many more things going – these systems have become more efficient. We're using AI and the internet to mass order and do all this stuff without the need of an employee for a majority of things. But prices are still going up. Places like Walmart, places – these big energy companies – are recording record profits well nothing's gotten more efficient i mean things have gotten more efficient but the price isn't going down the price is going up they're charging you to use the self-checkout aisle it's uh you know in some of these they're charging you in some of these states yeah uh i think california um of course california california uh there's a couple other states where walmart and people you have to pay a subscription plan to check your own groceries out So I think I do take a little issue with those notions because I'm not seeing that in real life right now. I'm seeing the exact opposite.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. Excellent points. Great research. So thank you. So, Joe, prophets, what's your thoughts on this?
SPEAKER 07 :
Just kind of piggybacking off of what Luke said there, I think that is accurate. They're getting really good at efficiency, but as prices are still going up, wages for people aren't still going up. Wages stay the same. And so now that bottom end people that have to pay 20% more for the same goods that they were previously getting, but they're not getting paid anymore, have to live in almost poverty now.
SPEAKER 06 :
And so inflation, my father always said that inflation is that silent thief. And under Jimmy Carter and now under the O'Biden-Harris administration, we had what was called stagflation. And that was where prices were going up, but people's wages were not going up as quickly. And so people are losing ground because of that. So great research on this. And I feel like, what was that game show where you could call your line, you know, you had a line to somebody for a phone call or whatever? Who wants to be a millionaire? But you had a call, you could say, I'm going to take my...
SPEAKER 05 :
Take a lifeline or something?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, take a lifeline. So my lifeline, my friends, is 720-605-0647. Text me as I'm in here with these young guns on this. But first thing that I would say that's just jumping out at me regarding 2020 to 2024 and this huge increase in profits is, is that I say many times there's a difference between capitalism and cronyism. 2020 to 2024, we saw cronyism big time, where you had pharmaceuticals that said, hey, we can make a lot of money if we have government mandate or coerce or use fear or whatever to get people to have to use our product, and we're going to get government to also pay for. our product. So I think that what we might be seeing there is crony profits, not capitalist profits.
SPEAKER 07 :
I actually have an example. I saw there was a hearing for the owner of Boeing. So Boeing is under scrutiny right now because their planes are often falling out of sky or breaking. But at the same time, that owner took a 45% increase in his salary while there were contracts for his maintenance people, his engineers, the people that are doing the groundwork and everything. You know, they went to school, they learned all the skills that they need to to try and succeed. They got locked into a six year contract where their wages never changed. Do you see a problem with that?
SPEAKER 06 :
It does seem like maybe a lack of understanding from the leadership component. And so stay tuned on that. I'm thinking, okay, if they're competing in a real market, then airlines would not be buying their product, which would affect everything, right? Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
But they also have government deals for their planes and stuff like that. So the government is paying for them while they're making more profits and not paying the people who keep the company running. Because honestly, at the end of the day, if you didn't have those technicians and those engineers, the planes aren't getting off the ground.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. This will play on the long term. This is going to work itself out. But this is cronyism. Once again, this is cronyism and lack of leadership, a tenure, if you will, by the CEO to take those kinds of increases in pay when this other stuff is occurring. And I agree. That's a real problem, Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
Piping hot take. Piping hot controversial take. This one's going to catch me some flying. Crony profits are capitalist profits because capitalism has allowed for the cronyism to exist.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, it's not capitalism that has allowed that to exist. What has allowed that to exist is government and big business getting in bed with each other to make rules and regulations and taxes and fees to try to squash their competition. And so it's not capitalism. It is government and business colluding together is what I would say on that. Luke? Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would say, again, the environment of free market capitalism has allowed that path to be taken. It's the natural course of action that it's led to.
SPEAKER 06 :
But what about under socialism and communism?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, if socialism is a slippery slope to communism, then capitalism is a slippery slope to cronyism. The two ideas can't be held independently of each other. If socialism leads to communism, then capitalism must lead to cronyism.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I have to push back on that because capitalism, without government intervention, when government is limited, when it is smaller, when it's not coming in with rules and regulations to favor one over the other, then you have capitalism. And so capitalism doesn't lead to cronyism. It is government, letting government get out of its lane. Joe?
SPEAKER 07 :
I kind of have an in-between take on this one because I kind of agree with Luke that capitalism can lead to cronyism because the cronies are already in the lead. They already have the capital available to make sure that they stay in the lead now. And now they get to use money to force the government and push on the government to… to incite these regulations so that you have to use specific brands of things, specific items of things for regulation purposes when that's not capitalism. Completely right. But it was totally the fact that Originally, they started out on a capitalist idea. It was successful, and then they want to make sure it would always be successful from then on.
SPEAKER 05 :
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it – it was Reagan who was the one who pioneered this idea that the exchange of money to government is constituted under free speech, which is what's allowed lobbying to happen? It's – I mean I think it all leads one into the other.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think I personally do think that money is free speech, that I should be able to do with my money what I want to do. And so we've gotten down here. You know what? Let's we need to. Again, I think we could do another Joe Rogan three hours with you guys on this. This is so interesting. And I really do. Appreciate the conversation. I've got to make so many notes here. All this happens because of our sponsors. And truly, Lavaca Meat is a premium product. It is the steakhouse experience at home. It is a great protein source for your diet. So be sure and check them out. They're at the corner of Nevada and Maine in Old Littleton.
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SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N, S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. January 23rd, Thursday evening, you've got two great places to be. You're going to have to make a choice. I've tried to be in two places at the same time. Never successfully. And the first is in Pueblo at the Center for American Values. They will be having an event, an On Values event. Bob Chica, who was a crewman on the USS Pueblo, which the Pueblo was taken captive by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War and was held for over a year. And Bob was on that ship. boat as a crewman and was a prisoner for over a year it's going to be super interesting and just check it out at americanvaluecenter.org if you plan on attending let them know so that they have enough chairs and normally they have a little reception with food afterwards as well so that is americanvaluecenter.org and then here in the metro area The Colorado Union of Taxpayers, we will be holding our legislative kickoff event at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, which is at 290 East Spear. There's parking right by the building, so don't be afraid to go down there because we've got everything figured out for you, and we'd love to have you join us. Tickets are $10, and you can get more information on that by going to coloradotaxpayer.com. Okay, gentlemen, we have lots coming in here. So I'm just going to, just let's see here. Let's go through here. It says, somebody said, yes, it is difficult to heat with wood, but it's wise to keep it as a backup system, which is what I'm doing as well. And let's see. We'll talk about eggs here in a minute. This is important to understand. Corporations pay their employees income out of their profit. Let's see. Somebody said, stop demonizing profits, run a business, and then talk to me. But this is our entrepreneurs, Luke. What you've described here during this huge increase in corporate profits, 20 to 24, is where the pharmaceuticals, big business, and big government got in bed with each other. And so what is the answer? The answer is that we reclaim this government for we the people and get it put back into the box that it needs to be in. I know that's a tall order, Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is. It is. But I don't think it's as much government as we'd like it to be. I think government is a good scapegoat, in a sense. I want to pose a sort of thought experiment for an example just because I think maybe I'm having a hard time understanding where your definition between capitalism and cronyism is. And I don't know where that line is, so it's hard to engage with those terms being used. So – Let's sort of create this little bubble of reality where government doesn't exist. Government has no influence on business at all. You have people who need food, water, and air to survive. We need shelter. And again, in this little bubble where government doesn't exist, let's say I have a lot of money, right? And I start an egg business, right? I buy a bunch of chickens, and those chickens produce a bunch of eggs, and then I sell those eggs to people. And let's say I run that business very well for a very long time. And I make a lot of money. I'm beating out my competition. I have some competitors.
SPEAKER 06 :
And why are you beating out your competition?
SPEAKER 05 :
Let's say I'm selling my eggs for a cheaper price and I'm delivering them to your door by myself. So whatever. I'm innovating. I'm providing a good service. I'm beating out my competition. Let's say I make enough money that I want to make some more money. So I buy the neighboring farm. I buy up all of his chickens and all of his eggs. I give him a good payout. He's happy. He can retire. And then I make more money. I make more money. And then I go to the next farmer, and I buy up all of his chickens and his eggs. He's happy to sell it to me. He can retire. He doesn't have to work another day in his life. And here I am with three more farms. Well, what happens when I buy all the farms and I have no more competition and I keep buying the farms until no farms exist besides my farm? And then I increase the price per egg to $500. At what point in that scenario is it cronyism?
SPEAKER 06 :
I would say there is no cronyism there. I think at some point in time, the free market is going to come in and people will say, okay, you own all the eggs, egg production, but I'm not going to eat eggs anymore because they've gotten so much more expensive. And so what will happen is people will start to make different choices. There will be other competitors that will come into the market, maybe not with eggs, but with a different product that people will decide that they're going to And so that will – from a capitalistic standpoint, the egg producer is going to have to start to lower prices so that he can once again start to compete with the competitive products.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. So – and then to sort of harken back just again to sort of recontextualize my definitions. The exchange of money to government, is that fair under free speech or do you take issue with that? Lobbying.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, if government is limited, if we get government back in its proper role, then we as people will – lobbying will not be as influential because with lobbying – What happens is trying to represent a specific industry or a specific – for example, let me give you an example. I was on the board of Lutheran Family Services, which is a nonprofit, if you will. It was a charity. Mm-hmm. And I, this was in the 90s, and this was a big eye-opening experience for me because I thought it was a charity. And then I ended up on the, oh, I think I was the vice president of programs. I was looking at the financials on it, and I started to realize that the bulk of their income was not from people donating, but it was from government contracts. Right. primarily for refugee resettlement. Then when I was going through the financials on it, I found that we were spending money as a nonprofit on lobbyists down at the statehouse. And I realized that that's not the proper role the way this was supposed to occur. So one of the first things that we need to stop doing is these government grants. That's a place that there's a lot of cronyism, and we need to stop that. Joe, you look like you want to jump in.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the only thing that I can think about, though, is we do need to stop this, but he who has the gold makes the rules. And unfortunately, the government has literally the ability to make gold to a degree, if you would. And it's kind of showing out now that – The lobbying comes in tandem with... So the lobbying, for example, the pharmaceuticals... High profits. It kind of comes in tandem because that, like Luke was kind of saying, is once you're at a point where with those three farms that he had, he is always making money, whereas those three farmers that he paid out and they don't have a farm anymore... They don't keep accruing money off of that. They got a one-time payment. And so they kind of have to live with what they have, whereas Luke now has a guaranteed way of stream that he can kind of use to enforce what he needs.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, but again, and this is from one of our listeners, it said, hold on here, it says, in a free society, he cannot buy all the farms because the smallest farm is me with my chickens at home. So that's another point. Eggs get so expensive, people would get their own chickens. But then you've got governments that say you can't have chickens in your backyard.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. I guess for the sake of the example, obviously, the thought experiment doesn't exist sort of within the greater confines of the world. Because at that point, the argument would extend to, OK, well, I buy up all the chicken farms. You can't get your own chickens because I own the production of chickens. Right. I mean, you can sort of expand it. However, the point I guess I'm trying to make is. In the founding of the nation, I think that the nation was founded – again, please correct me if I'm wrong. This nation was founded on the idea of free market capitalism. That's sort of one of the things we did very differently than a lot of other people. When the government started, it started as the idea of being small government. So we had free market capitalism. We had small government. So what changed? What went wrong during that pipeline that's converted what started as good into cronyism? Where was that pivot point?
SPEAKER 06 :
Probably really – we've talked about it with the progressive era with Woodrow Wilson is one of the inflection points. Actually, I was at a presentation recently where it – the progressivism came out of the – after the Civil War. But it's really probably the inflection point is Woodrow Wilson. Guys, let's stop. This is excellent. I do want to mention, though, on the eggs, on the egg prices that you mentioned, because egg prices have gone from a few years ago at $2.99, they're at $8.99, where I've been getting eggs. And I had written a piece back in 23 regarding the... There's a new law in Colorado that dictated that chickens had to be cage-free, that they had to have a certain amount of square footage. All of those things increased the prices of eggs. And then also this bird flu thing is, I guess, the USDA, if there is a sick chicken in the flock, they're killing all the chickens. Right. What a dumb idea to kill the healthy chickens, too. It's a dumb idea. But all these things are contributing to the increase in cost of our food supply. Joe?
SPEAKER 07 :
but that's kind of where I see the lobbying to a degree as well, is the big farms are not going to have as big of a hurt on that. The little farms are going to have to close down.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that's an excellent point. I need to reread that legislation because that legislation, if I remember right, it didn't affect the small producers or the big producers, which lobbied it. It is for the mid-level producers where they're trying to get them out of business. So going back to our Declaration of Independence, If we are all created equal, then the law has to be equal across the board for everyone. And that's a point where when we started to say, you have to adhere to the law, you don't, that was one of the places where we... Went down the wrong road. Gentlemen, let's talk about inflation when we come back. And I do thank you for all these text messages, 720-605-0647. All this happens because of our sponsors. And Lorne Levy is who you need to call for everything mortgages.
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SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That's KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. One of our listeners might... My friend, you young gun, says we are going to need 24 hours that I learn more from your show than I ever did from any educational institution.
SPEAKER 05 :
Very sweet.
SPEAKER 06 :
And also, she said this, the problem with capitalism turning into cronyism is that we don't hold our government accountable when they do these private public deals. There should be regulation on the government about picking winners and losers. And that is spot on. And I could tell you some different stories about when I was on city council because you see this all the time that you have interested parties. When I talk about PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, interested parties, they come in. They collude together. We're all busy trying to live our lives, fighting inflation, all these things. And that's where we have this cronyism that seeps in. We could talk more about this, gentlemen, but I want to keep us on task. We probably can agree on the next chapter, and that is inflation. So I'm going to go to you first, Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. It's at an all-time high, and I sit and I think about the pictures around, I want to say World War II. I saw one the other day of these kids playing with stacks of money because it was worthless in Germany because of what they created within the force of government.
SPEAKER 06 :
With inflation. And we're going to have Jay Davidson on tomorrow, who is the founder of First American State Bank. He has been on this, this printing of money, this continuing taking of debt, sending billions of dollars to Ukraine that we printed up. This is all causing inflation. What's your comments on inflation, Producer Luke?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, hopefully I can earn some goodwill back with the listener base. Fuck. by agreeing with Hazlitt in the next chapter, because I think he is spot on with this one. He says in a lot of words what can be said in a couple of words, that being inflation sucks and no one likes it. He says sort of near the end of the chapter, the poor are usually more heavily taxed by inflation in percent terms than the rich, for they do not have the same means of protecting themselves by speculative purchases of real equities. which I think kind of sums up a lot of what's being said. And you see a lot in the sort of modern landscape of talking about inflation because I think there are two very primary sort of misconceptions about inflation. The first misconception being when people say, you know, 2025, for example, speculatively, inflation's down to 2.5%. That doesn't mean total inflation is down. 2.5%, it means it is increased by 2.5% as opposed to the projected increase of 3.5%. Inflation is additive, which I think is prone to being forgotten by a lot of people who aren't really in the know. And then the second sort of misconception about inflation, when they say total inflation is 7%, let's just say that's the number they throw out. And that's 7%. But it's also 7% across cherry-picked data that benefits whatever administration's in power. If bread's gone up 200% and eggs have gone up 300% and gas has gone up 500%, well, inflation for the people who can only afford eggs, bread, and gas, inflation's 700%. I don't care if the price of a used Toyota Tundra has only gone up 0.5%. I'm not buying a new... Toyota Tundra, you know, it doesn't matter to me. It impacts different people differently, which again, Hazlitt says and agrees with. So I agree with Hazlitt on that. I just think it's often forgotten.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, inflation hurts those trying to move up the economic ladder the most. Those that are – and as you mentioned, basic things. The idea that eggs are at the price that they are because of government policy. And my understanding regarding the egg producers is that on this legislation for these cage-free chickens – was basically they were threatened. They were said either, why don't you agree to this? Again, this is hearsay. I need to qualify that. But you need to adhere to this new legislation or we're going to take it to the ballot box. Right. And everybody is so concerned because of what happened with the reintroduction of of the wolves it's amazing that we were able to defeat several bad bills two in denver the meat processing ban as well as the fur ban and denver and then the the hunting ban so we we have had had some success but we need to stay on that so let's go to joe then back to luke
SPEAKER 07 :
I think people forget about why we created paper money in the first place. It was so we didn't have to carry around all our goods for trades of value. And I think that is the biggest thing that we should take from this, that when the government prints money, they are not adding value to the coffers while doing so. So that's what expands it even further and just makes this everlasting growth because now we have money. And each time we print more amounts of money and the Fed didn't gain any amounts of capital, they just devalued the dollar by a .0001 minuscule amount. It's also exponential. As you keep doing that, it will start to compound to this big behemoth of a monster that you will not recover from. And it's all due to the fact that we don't have value to the dollar anymore. And I don't like that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and it is because of government policy and the Fed. You've nailed that. We're getting close to out of time. Producer Luke.
SPEAKER 05 :
You want to talk about private government partnership, Federal Reserve, looking at you. It is funny we're talking about eggs again and the price of eggs. And the reason I wanted to use eggs in that initial example, I think people wonder, why are you harking on eggs so much? Well, they're a great source of protein, and you can get a lot of them for very cheap. If you want another source of protein, you're looking at beef, pork, the actual chicken itself. You kill one pig, how much protein are you getting out of that versus a chicken that's going to be producing it like crazy and eat scrap? So I think when we look at eggs, eggs are a big part of this whole thing because they're so multifaceted, because they're so important, because there aren't a whole lot of good alternatives. If you want egg, that bulk source of protein, go eat the bugs. I don't want to eat bugs. I'd rather eat eggs. So I think that's why we use eggs a lot. But yeah. When it comes to inflation, the devaluing of the dollar, we made a huge mistake when we moved off of a gold-backed currency. We can print money forever. It's all just a belief system. It holds no weight, and I think that's a shame.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. OK. OK. Ballot initiative to restore the grocery bags as well. Yeah. What about this? Oh, we don't have much time, but this is so frustrating. So during COVID, do you remember that people were many people were disinfecting their shipments that came to their home? Everybody concerned about germs in the grocery store. Then we outlaw these sanitary products. Plastic bags, people use them when they go home for other things, but we outlaw those in Colorado. Now people are bringing in these dirty bags. How often do you wash your bags that you take into the grocery store, pull them out of their car? And so it's time for us to restore the grocery bags as well. Ten seconds, Joe. Always fun. Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's my pleasure. And just last point, they don't wash those bags and how many things have spilled over in those bags on the trip home.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know it. I know it. Okay. Producer Luke, this is so fun.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, it's a great time. Thanks for having me on. Okay. I hope I don't blow your phone up too much with all my...
SPEAKER 06 :
I appreciate it. This really is making us think. And so that's a great quote for the end of the show from Thomas Jefferson. He said that the issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or to be ruled by a small elite. Jefferson. Love it. Very nice. So my friends today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 03 :
Talking about freedom I'm talking about freedom I will fight
SPEAKER 02 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
Join Kim Monson as she unpacks the complexities of today's political landscape by exploring the ongoing tug-of-war between government control and individual freedom. Engaging guests discuss the roles of citizens in shaping local, state, and national policies. From in-depth analysis of new legislation to the principles of classical liberalism, this episode offers a thorough examination of factors impacting our rights and opportunities. Discover the tools you need to navigate the political sphere with clarity and purpose. Alongside lively discussions, the show also highlights the importance of knowing and supporting businesses and organizations which align with personal values, inviting listeners to contribute to the great conversation for freedom. Sponsored segments deliver insights on trusted services, enhancing the program’s in-depth offerings.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 13 :
And when government gets bigger, the individual gets smaller.
SPEAKER 03 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 12 :
For thee, but not for me. And I agree that we've got to change that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 13 :
If, in fact, you are working for the man, it's a new form of slavery.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 13 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation, and welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Wednesday, Producer Joe. Happy Chaotic Wednesday. So Trent Luce is in town. It's a Trent Luce Wednesday. He's going to be in studio here in the second hour. He has a live television show. It's 530 to 6 Mountain Time. And so we just did that show together. And I'm not used to doing video this early in the morning, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my eggs at all.
SPEAKER 13 :
So it's great to have him. So he'll be in in the second hour. We've got Jay Davidson in the first hour. Since it is Wednesday, that means that it is Wings Day Wednesday at Hooters Restaurants. You buy 20 wings. You get an additional 10 for free. That's for to go or to dine in. And super delicious. I like the lemon pepper rub or the Texas barbecue rub. And they have five locations. Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. So be sure and check that out. And of course, Great place to watch. It's going to be a big football weekend and a great place to watch all those games is Hooters restaurants. So first thing, let's get into our word of the day, which is immeasurable. And it – well, this is – I can't believe this. The first definition is impossible to measure. Well, I could figure that one out, right? So – but limitless, incalculable, and incapable of being measured, indefinitely extensive, and – I think that the opportunity, I think people are looking to 2025 with an immeasurable optimism. I don't think that we quite realized how concerned we've been about so many different things and certainly excited in less than a week that Donald Trump will be inaugurated. But as I was talking with Trent Luce, we need to be active actively. And engaged in our local, our county and our state government. And that is why we really encourage you on the state level. It seems sometimes it seems like it's immeasurable, the different things that we have to watch. But a great tool in your toolbox would be to join the Colorado, yeah, the Colorado Council. Union of Taxpayers. And this is an all-volunteer organization that watches legislation down at the statehouse. And we take positions on things regarding taxes, property rights, school choice, protecting Colorado's taxpayers' bill of rights, TABOR. And this is a great tool to have in your toolbox. Join us. It's just $25. And for less than $2.08 a month, you will receive hours and hours of analysis from our volunteers. Those volunteers, when you see them, say thank you. And that is our board, Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, and Corey Onasorg. And we'd love to have you join us. I think that we'll probably be starting to take our positions this next weekend. There's already been 134 bills that have been introduced, and that is pretty remarkable. They'll be setting them for hearing and so we will be taking positions on that our text line i want to hear from you is 720-605-0647 and as you know we look at these issues we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force force versus freedom if something's a good idea you should not have to force people to do it and is never compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, property, freedom, livelihood, opportunities, or lives. Force can be a weapon, policy unpredictable, an excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation. World Economic Forum's agenda, the Globalist Elite's agenda, United Nations, the Colorado State Legislature, Colorado Governor, the World Health Organization, land use codes, zoning regulations, force fees, conservation easements, national monument designations. Oh, and now the show's over. We have nothing else to talk about because we went through the whole list of all of these things of force. We've got to reclaim our state and our country, and we've got to get government put back into control. Its proper role. And remember, if something's a good idea, you should not need to use force to implement it. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You'll get first look at our upcoming guests. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com. Thank you to all of you who support us. The show is on live six to eight a.m. Monday through Friday, that's Mountain Time. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. That is on all the KLZ platforms, KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. Since Jay Davidson is our featured guest in our number one, he is a student of the Austrian School of Economics. And, of course, that is founded by Ludwig von Mises. And so I thought it would be good to go to von Mises for our quote of the day. He was born in 1881. He died in 1973. He was an Austrian-American economist, logician, logician. There we go. sociologist and philosopher of economics of the Austrian school. He wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism and the power of consumers. And he's best known for his work in praxeology, particularly for studies comparing communism and capitalism, as well as for being a defender. of classical liberalism in the face of rising illiberalism and authoritarianism throughout much of Europe during the 20th century. And Joe, what I find so interesting is about words. Is classical liberals, liberalism, focuses on individual rights. It focuses on capitalism, which is the free exchange of goods and services between individuals. And I'm not quite sure how that class liberalism, the word liberal then was co-opted by those that were moving towards more and more government control, more and more government control of our lives, moving towards socialism and communism. That's why what we do, this battle of language is so important, Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
You're absolutely right. And, you know, I was just thinking about it as you were saying that. I think the lack of trust in people and that people are just inherently good all the time, that has died away and that generally that's what they say. Since we can't trust people to be inherently good, we're going to force them to be good now. And I think that's the big change.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so what you're hitting on is with liberalism is they – as you mentioned, they think that they can use government to force people to – To be better and better, that we can evolve into something better and better. The founders understood. They had studied human nature. Human nature is the same generation from generation to generation. There will be those in each generation that will try to get stuff without having to work for it. So through theft, if you will. And you can now see that governments... You might not go over and knock on your neighbor's door and say... Hey, give me your money for what I want to do. But you could use government to go over and use taxes and fees to take that money and then redistribute to somebody else. And that is not OK. And the founders understood human nature big time. And we talked about profits yesterday with you and producer Luke as we're going through the book by Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson. Von Mises said this, taxing profits is tenement to taxing success. And I've always thought, again, during the progressive era, was when the income tax was added as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. And once you started to tax income, you're taxing people's hard work. You're taxing people's taking risk and being successful. And I think we should repeal the income tax. I don't think we should have the income tax. I think we should free people to be able to Take risks, go after their hopes and dreams, work hard, and keep most of the fruits of their labor. Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 07 :
I absolutely agree. And I actually just lost my thought.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, well, the quote is, taxing profits is tantamount to taxing success. And we'll go through this day in history here when we come back. But I would say some of the biggest news of the day was the confirmation hearing of Pete Hegsteth to be the head of the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary. And I had talked to Yvonne. She said she thought he just did a great job on his initial remarks. And I watched some of the evening shows and we had one conservative that didn't. was not did not uh think he did a great job which i thought was super interesting and then many others said that he did a great job he's a soldier he's boots on the ground he understands what's going on that he understands our soldiers i think that that's a really good idea versus these bureaucratic generals that probably have been um have gone through the process and uh So, anyway, that's big news. I hope that he does get confirmed. But that's probably the biggest news of the day. It is important that we have these conversations. We have them because of our sponsors. And the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team has been – he's been in business for 48 years. So that really means something. They strive for excellence, takes care of his clients and his family and everything. Set up a complimentary appointment with all this stuff that is happening. You want to know and understand your insurance and make sure that you have the insurance that works for you. And that number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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So I switched my insurance to the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Agency. Get this, I actually talked to Roger Mangan, who has been helping people with their insurance coverage in our community for 47 years. He helped me create a State Farm personalized price insurance plan for my home and auto and explained affordable options. For personalized service and peace of mind that you are working with a team that cares about you and your family, call Roger Mangin now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
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SPEAKER 14 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at kimmonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. I do want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Susan was in town yesterday and said, hey, I have a few hours, love to get together, and we were not able to make that happen. But I do thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Other news today. It looks like there will be a number of other of Donald Trump's nominees for his cabinet will be facing their Senate hearings. Pam Bondi regarding the she's Trump's choice for attorney general. And then in additionally, Marco Rubio. who will be before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And let's see, I think it's Secretary of State for him, if I remember right. And then Chris Wright from Denver, who is the nominee for the Department of Energy. And people are really, really excited about that. And John Ratcliffe is Trump's choice to lead the CIA. And let's see, Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary nominee. And Russ Vogt, who is on pace to lead the White House's Office of Management and Budget. He is the founder. of the Center for Renewing America, which we've had on on a regular basis. So that's going to be a big day in the news. Let's see, going to California and the L.A., this mayor of L.A., and several of you have reached out to really show the ties that she has to communists and communists. So instead of taking care of the business of being the mayor of L.A. and representing the people and protecting their rights, she was off in Ghana. This is a headline that said that she had made a... a um a pledge that she was not going to be traveling outside of uh los sant well out of the country uh when she became uh mayor of la and actually she was in africa and uh so uh she'd made a campaign promise which i'm not surprised that she had gone back on and so we are really seeing front and sitter uh what um Bad decisions, the results of bad decisions in California. However, the PBIs are trying to blame it on climate change and gas-powered cars. And so we've got to continue to speak truth into this. It's bad policy that has made this happen. It wasn't climate change policy. that did not have water in the fire hydrants. And I think that's important that we realize that. Several things that happened on this day in history. First thing I wanted, and I've been there, and that's Frances Tavern, which is in New York City. And it is still in business. It's down in the financial district. It's the oldest and most historic bar in New York City. It's where George Washington bid farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War. And it opened in 1762. In 1870, the donkey was first used as the symbol of the Democrat Party and Harper's Weekly. I find that interesting. The 1892 basketball rules were first published in Triangle Magazine, written by James Naismith. And we will be doing a show regarding basketball and James Naismith with Colonel Rutledge as we get closer to the March Madness. This, I thought, was super interesting. 1919, two million gallons of molasses flood Boston, Massachusetts in the Great Molasses Flood when a storage tank burst, drowning 21 people and injuring 150. Wow. Then, let's see, 1932, there was a weather event, record snowfall of two inches in the city of L.A., Los Angeles, California. And in 1944, General Eisenhower arrives in England to take up his command as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, which then on June 6, 1944 – so they're doing all this planning now – We're in January. You get to June. And we have D-Day. And I thought that was super interesting as well. And then in 2009, remember this? Chelsea Sullenberger lands his U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia. in New York City. All the passengers and crew members survive in what becomes known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Do you remember the pictures of people standing on those wings and the fact that nobody died is amazing? Joe, you were probably just a little kid. Do you even remember this story?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, but they did come out with a movie. I believe Denzel Washington was the pilot, and it was actually a really, really good movie about him.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, The Miracle on the Hudson. And so that's this day in history. I think there was, I think the only other thing, 1943, the world's largest office building, the Pentagon, is completed to house the U.S. military. I guess one other thing, 2001, wikipedia a free wiki or content encyclopedia is launched by jimmy wales and uh oh gosh didn't come off his his other colleague so that's this day in history my friends there is so much happening in our world right now and now that the colorado legislature is in session we need to really watch what is going on and again of those 134 bills that have already been introduced. There are some things that are really focused on taking away our rights. There is a Second Amendment bill that has already been introduced that we're going to have to really keep an eye on on all of these things. And it is so important that we do that, bring truth and clarity to all of these different issues. And we do do this because we have amazing sponsors. And for everything regarding residential real estate, whether or not it's buying a home, selling a home, or looking at a new build, reach out to Karen Levine. She's been in that business for many years. She's seen ups and downs within this market here. And there is great opportunity. And owning a home, you can create wealth for you and your family and, of course, the place that you call home. And so anything residential real estate, be sure to reach out to Karen Levine.
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SPEAKER 15 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter, and you can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice, and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force. Force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. Thursday, January 23rd, you've got a choice of where you want to be. Two great events that evening down at the Center for American Values in Pueblo. They are having their On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo. And the USS Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War, and the crew was held captive for over a year. And Bob Chica, who was one of those prisoners, is going to be presenting on January 23rd. Down at the center in Pueblo, you can get more information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org and just let them know that you're planning on attending so that they're sure that they have chairs and they normally have a little reception afterwards as well so that there's food. And again, that's AmericanValueCenter.org. Or you can join us. I'm bummed to miss that because I will be at the Colorado Union Taxpayers Legislative Kickoff event, which will be at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association on the 23rd. Tickets are $10, and we will have a number of legislators there and be awarding our cut awards as well to legislators from last year. So more information on that, go to coloradotaxpayer.org. So pleased to have on the line with me Jay Davidson. He is a fan favorite. He is the founder and CEO of First American State Bank, and he has a clear understanding of economics and money policy and fiscal policy and how it is that we're where we are. Jay Davidson, welcome.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, thank you, Kim. It's a pleasure to be back with you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and First American State Bank is a community bank located right here in the metro area. And I love the fact that you are at a point where people, young people, they're so used to being able to do things online. And you can certainly accommodate them and have that personal banking relationship as well. So tell us just a little bit about that, Jay.
SPEAKER 16 :
Sure. Well, when I started in banking, we didn't have iPhones and barely had cell phones. In fact, we didn't back then. But I'm blown away by how rapidly technology has progressed. And today, this little iPhone that we're talking on, or whatever you're talking on, smartphone, has incredible capability. And so we've had to, kicking and screaming, get into the current age. We've hired several treasury management people and technology people and updated all of our technology suites so that now you can do almost all of your banking online without having to come into a bank and my daughter Michelle Gruber whom you know is heading up our advertising efforts to introduce this capability to The young people, I mean, the millennials were adults in their own right, making their own way. And we offer a unique combination of this high technology and high touch if you need it or when you need it. And I think that's one of the unique things about our bank.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, I think so, too. So how can people get more information and come over to the bank? What's the best next step for people?
SPEAKER 16 :
Usually folks will go online, FASBank, F-A-S-Bank.com. Real easy to remember, just FirstAmericanStateBank.com. Or call us, 303-694-6464. Or stop by. We're just across the park from Yaya's. down at the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village. Love to see you.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and you mentioned, Michelle, millennial. I am seeing many millennials that are starting to really test their entrepreneurial skills. Yeah, exactly. A community bank is a great relationship to have when you are starting to be an entrepreneur. Don't you agree?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I do. We can offer a perspective that they can consider when they're considering debt or expansion in some manner. And we can offer a perspective that they may not get somewhere else. We've seen a lot of things that go right and a few things that go wrong and bring that expertise to bear. And our same high level of customer service exists for all of our customers, regardless of the amount of money they have in the bank. It doesn't matter at all. And in particular, the future of the bank is dependent on these young people coming into our bank. So we're really making an effort, and you nailed it. I was so impressed at my kids' friends when we'd go to their parties and meet their friends and just chat about stuff. They're very... business-oriented, very disciplined, very motivated young people, and doing quite well already. They're in their late 30s and early 40s, and they're already making their way. So it's just a delightful thing to see.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and one thing, I'd always had this misconception, I think, that you at First American State Bank only worked with those high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and that is not the case.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, not at all. No, we started the bank because I wanted to go to my friends. That was a low-hanging fruit, maybe you want to call it, and they tended to be high net worth or business owners or professionals, and we built the bank on that, but that's not the future for our bank. I mean, they're great. I love them. I do everything in my power to be sure they're happy and keep them here, and we are successful there, but We have to expand into, and I didn't say this to any business, we've got to attract the millennial and the Gen Xers and the younger people. And we're not going to do it in the old ways that we were so successful doing before. And that's why my daughter and the technology people here in the bank are pivotal to that future. I mean, these younger folks are not going to walk into a bank. It's just not their world. But they'll do everything online.
SPEAKER 13 :
But they have that relationship. And that is what I think is so great, Jay Davidson. You're right.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the relationship is not something you would know off until you had some problems or you had an issue or you needed help. But once you have an issue, then that relationship becomes critically important. Whether you trust the banker or not and whether he trusts you or not is critical. And I'm glad you raised this point. It's a very good point.
SPEAKER 13 :
And what year did you begin the bank or start the bank?
SPEAKER 1 :
1995.
SPEAKER 16 :
We're 30 years now.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow. That is so cool. So, again, more information on that. It's First American State Bank. And that website is, again, FAS.com.
SPEAKER 16 :
FASbank.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, great. Well, Jay Davidson, let's get into this piece that recently was published at American Thinker, The Center of Our Belief. This is such an important piece, and it addresses basically being a constitutionalist, which would be adhering to this American idea, or bigger and bigger governments. So where should we begin?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I wrote the piece because Although I'm probably obviously a lifelong Republican, I was raised with Democrats up in North Dakota, Montana, because most of the ranchers and farmers were Democrats. And so I came to appreciate both sides of the equation. And the old line, moderate Democrat, is almost identical to a moderate Republican or a centrist Republican. It's basically get the government out of my life protect my nation, protect my family, and protect my freedoms. Don't let the government take my freedoms. So I began to understand that both the Democratic Party, to a great extent, and to a lesser extent, the Republican Party, have moved away from core values that I hold, that I believe are important in our lives and in our political thinking and in our governance. And when I think about that, and I've been thinking about it for a long, long time, mostly because I'm very slow, but it takes a long time, as my wife would tell me. I began to realize that what are we? I mean, it's all in the word of the formation of our nation. We are a constitutional republic. And I just say those words and it wouldn't mean anything yet. My, what a profound statement because constitution, the constitution is the law of the land. And when you read the constitution, you see that all of its edicts, all of its laws, all of its directives are directed at the size and scope of the federal government, not necessarily at we citizens. The reason is that the second half of that, republic. Republic means a nation that is ruled by the people and for the benefit of the people. So you have to have a rule of law, the Constitution, and a mindset that the individual is sacrosanct. There's a sanctity of the individual that's embedded in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and particularly in our Declaration of Independence. And so I began looking more closely at the declaration, and there was one line in there that just kind of blew my mind when I started thinking about it. It was, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Whoops, I'm going on to Lincoln, who was another great constitutionalist. But Jefferson's Declaration of Independence said there are certain inalienable rights implying bestowed by our creator on individuals, life, liberty, and the ownership of property. And so thinking about that, the basis of our nation, the unique feature of our nation is that the individual is sacrosanct and that everything that the government does should be directed toward protecting that individual freedom, not impinging on it, not enforcing things on us, not telling us what to do or not do. And that is not a statement of anarchy. It's a statement of the individual must be allowed to make his or her own decisions. And the key issue in that point is ownership of property. It's such a fundamental concept. Because if you are not able to own property, like look in communist China, look in communist Russia, you don't really own anything because the government can come in at any time, day or night, and take it away from you, including your life, which is the ultimate property that you own, your life. So the profundity of the Declaration as a foundational concept It got me to the core belief. What is the center of our belief? Well, it's that the individual has the freedom to make choice.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and with that, reap the benefits or the consequences thereof. But what happened then is this created this American idea where we have this big, broad middle class which is under attack. from a regulatory and taxation and just all kinds of different ways. But what could happen if everyday individuals had these rights and were able to pursue them? Well, what happened was this big, broad middle class where everyday people could create wealth for themselves and their families, create businesses. And that is all under attack by bigger and bigger government. We're going to leave that as our cliffhanger on that, Jay Davidson. And all of this happens on the show because of our sponsors. I do thank First American State Bank for their sponsorship of the show. And then also regarding property. Karen Levine, REMAX Realtor, has been very active at the local, the county, the state, and the national level to protect private property rights and home ownership. So for everything real estate, residential real estate, reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
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SPEAKER 1 :
So
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And would highly recommend that you add in to your repertoire of organizations that you support. support here in 2025, the USMC Memorial Foundation. It is important that we remember and honor those that have given their lives or been willing to give their lives for our freedom. And the team over at the USMC Memorial Foundation is raising the money for the remodel. And you want to be part of that. And you can do that by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I'm talking with Jay Davidson. He is the CEO, founder of First American State Bank, which is located right here in the Denver Tech Center. And more information, you can go to FASBank.com. And I always talk about relationships. And with all my sponsors, I know each and every one of them personally and highly recommend them. And Jay Davidson and his team over there is all about relationships. So reach out to them on that. Jay Davidson, I had mentioned as we were going into break – What could happen with this American idea, this constitutional republic that has the sanctity of the individual front and center? Well, what happens is the American dream where everyday people can take risks and they can work hard and they can create this big middle class democracy. And create wealth for themselves and thrive and prosper. But that is under attack by, I call them PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties that want bigger and bigger government. And how do they accomplish that? Well, there's a couple of ways. Taxation and inflation, Jay Davidson.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, you're exactly right, Kim. You think about the founding of our nation. Well, think before the founding of our nation. What type of person... sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a relatively small boat powered by sails, taking their lives in their hands. I mean, they were either desperate for freedom or desperate to get away from or something, but they were incredibly independent people, not like the people that stayed back in Europe. And we see what happens in Europe. It's Although they use democracy, they're still very much a socialist government system. Socialism means that the government has a lot of control over the individual. Where in America, when you landed at Jamestown, you were on your own. You went out, you found your own food, you built your own shelter, you lived your own life, and nobody was there telling you what to do. And, you know, there was laws. I mean, the commandments were certainly very important. They were all religious people. And that's what people followed. Well, now look at look at today. We have this unbelievably massive government with all these bureaucracies, all these bureaucrats, all these regulations controlling every aspect of your life. And why? Why did we allow it to get here? Well, it wasn't a matter of allowing. It was a matter of a certain type of individual manipulating the thought processes of people for the past two centuries that brought us to this point. Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Barack Obama, these are three of the furthest left individuals in our history. And they have brought with them a concept that government is good. When Woodrow Wilson started the federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve, back in 1913, his point was that this government entity, this government bureaucrat, is better than you are individually. And they are more capable of making decisions affecting your business and then, of course, your personal life than you are. Now, he didn't say it that way. He painted it in really positive terms, but that was the end result of the meeting. And now we have bureaucrats telling us what to do. We have politicians taxing us to death. I was listening to your competitor, Ross, on the other radio, and he made a really good point, and I know you've made it too, that the top 1% of wage earners pay something like 90% of all taxes. That's the most progressive tax code that you could possibly think of. Why is that? Why are the top 1% paying so much? Well, I think the reason is that the powers that be don't like individuals. They don't like people who are self-starters and self-motivators. Because those people, the owners of businesses, the entrepreneurs, the independent people, cannot be controlled. And I think the underlying theme of this whole us versus them or government versus the individual is an issue of control.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think it really is. And who do we think should be in control of our lives? I think when we get down to individuals, most people would like to be in control of their own lives. There may be those out there that want to be taken care of, but there's no freedom in that. And if you... If you don't have your individual rights and are living your life freely each and every day, then what is the opposite of freedom or liberty? It's slavery. So being dependent on government and where government may take a big portion of what you earn to take care of people, that's more like slavery. That's not freedom, Jay.
SPEAKER 16 :
100% right. And... What the government does is legalize theft. I mean, they can tax us anything they want. Why? Well, because they assumed the authority to do so. And or the Congress and the administration have assumed the ability to tax us to death. When, in fact, they should not be doing that. They should not be allowed to do that. They should be brought up on charges and they should be kicked out of office because we can vote them out of office. And yet this is why I'm trying to make a distinction between the core of our belief, which is the Constitutional Republic and everything else that is transpiring here. Try to see the difference in the mindset between the big government individual and the actual individual himself. You and me. So I think I don't know if I answered your question or maybe you want to direct me more there.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think and you mentioned that taxation is theft. I saw a bumper sticker this last weekend. It was in Southern California. It was on the back of a car. And I think we realize there are some core functions of government and that some taxation is necessary. Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, I would. But the two questions there, how much government should happen? And then what good does the government actually do? Are we checking? Why are we spending so much money allowing the government to take so much money through taxation and then spend it on what? The Department of Education? I mean, our scores in the world have been going down steadily for decades, and yet we keep funding the Department of Education. And the teachers unions keep funding and finding ways to get more money out of our pockets. I just, this is mind-boggling to me. You know, I can talk ad infinitum about regulatory banking regulations. You know, they may be well-intentioned people, but they don't know how to bank. But they sure as heck have a lot of control over us. I have friends in the energy world. In fact, I met Chris White, the new energy secretary, a few times. That guy's intelligent. And he's a capitalist. He gets it. So anyway, I'm just kind of saying why I'm positive about Trump being in place. He ain't perfect, but my vote wasn't a valentine. My vote was to get the government out of my face. And I hope he and Doge and Elon can do that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and we need to work on that here in Colorado as well. I mentioned I think we should do Doge Colorado, but also Doge for each of our local and county governments, school districts. These special districts are rich in... in a lot of our tax money, and we don't even really realize what's happening with that. So we've got a lot of work to do, but it's a great time, I think, of opportunity. And to be having these discussions is really interesting. So mentioning Trump, I want to get your perspective on this, Jay Davidson. It is amazing to me, all of the people that have been going down to Mar-a-Lago and changing their tune, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, What's your read on all this? This is pretty fascinating to watch.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, we're seeing amazing tectonic changes. Trudeau is leaving Canada. He was the ultimate lefty. The German chancellor is leaving Germany, certainly in a total mess with immigration and ESG and DEI and so forth. There's major changes throughout the world right now, positive changes. So what I think we individuals should do is direct our friends in politics to proper implementation of this newfound power that they have. Heaven forbid that the Republicans who are now in control start acting like the Democrats who have been in control. That'll ruin it for everybody. And like you say in your preamble, you know, force versus freedom. There it is. And if we try to force things on people, we're blowing it rather better that we have these kinds of conversations like you and I are having and you have with many other people out there that allows people to come to their own conclusions. And if we're speaking the truth to people after we've thought very carefully about it and very honestly about it, then that will ring with them, that will resonate with them, and they will start doing their own thinking. And so the movement has to be grassroots. You know, we keep saying, well, I'll throw a politician over the wall. Well, pull the pin before you throw him. But that's not going to do it. I mean, I like the people that we got here in Colorado, but they're one voice out of 435. I mean, so... Until the public starts stepping up and demanding a reduction in taxation, but first demanding a reduction in spending, we're not going to get anywhere. But the beautiful thing of this is that the individual, you and me and everybody listening to this, can make a difference. That was the intent of our nation. Like you said earlier, freedom isn't free. It comes with a responsibility. And that responsibility in a free society is that you get involved in politics because you're allowing you're electing somebody to go into Washington to change your life. So maybe spend a little bit more time communicating with these politicians and trying to tell them what you think is important and then continuing that conversation. And by the way, politicians are very willing to listen to you when they're trying to raise money. So keep that in mind next time you get hit up for some money.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and we need to be engaged at the local, the county and the state level as well here in Colorado. And so we're going to continue 2025 shedding light on this. We are coming into 2025 with a lot of hope. I know we have vulnerabilities and things that we need to get fixed. But having these conversations is so important. Jay Davidson, your final thought you'd like to leave with our listeners. And again, Jay Davidson is the CEO. and founder of First American State Bank.
SPEAKER 16 :
The one point I want to make is in the declaration, the inalienable right to life, liberty, and ownership property. What that means is that those rights were granted to us by our creator, not by government and not by man. Therefore, they cannot be taken away by government nor man. And I would say when you're overtaxed and overregulated and the government spends too much of your money and puts you into debt, that they are not representing you. And so you have the God-given right to object to that. And that's the meaning. That's the core of our belief in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well said, Jay Davidson. We'll talk to you next month again. And I know that you're a big fan of Ludwig von Mises, so I chose him for our end of the show quote. He said private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operation of the authoritarian will. So my friends today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for hour number two.
SPEAKER 09 :
young like a new moon rising fierce through the rain and lightning wandering out into this great unknown and i don't want no one to cry but tell them if i don't survive i was born
SPEAKER 04 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 13 :
And when government gets bigger, the individual gets smaller.
SPEAKER 03 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 12 :
For thee, but not for me. And I agree that we've got to change that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 13 :
If, in fact, you are working for the man, it's a new form of slavery.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 13 :
Indeed. Let's have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasure. You're valued. You have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Wednesday, Producer Joe. Happy Wednesday, Kim. We've got a full house in here. It's quite a morning.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's a whole other roundtable.
SPEAKER 13 :
It is another roundtable. Trent Luce is in town. You know him, sixth generation farmer and rancher. And he's in town for the National Western. You're in studio. We're going to have a special day here at Crawford Broadcasting. Great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thanks, and it sounds like we're off to a great start. If we've got a full house and we're playing poker, we've got a good hand started.
SPEAKER 13 :
We have a good hand started. The other part of that hand is in studio, and that's producer Steve, who retired, but you come back to Crawford every once in a while because you are an expert in pancakes. Oh, gee.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that was 16 months, 15 days, and 7 hours ago. Who's counting?
SPEAKER 13 :
Does that say that you're missing me?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I just turn on the radio if that ever comes across. But, you know, it's the environment. I do miss the environment.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and you had a correction for Producer Joe, correct?
SPEAKER 19 :
I almost drove off the highway thanks to him. You were making reference to— Sully. Oh, you were talking about dates in history.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, right. Sullenberger.
SPEAKER 19 :
Sullenberger. Yeah, and you said, hey, there was a movie. And Joe said, yeah, I believe it was Denzel Washington. And at that point, I just about went off the highway. No, it was Tom Hanks.
SPEAKER 13 :
And the movie was Sully, right? Right, Joe?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, he wants to defend himself here. So I'm not a big movie guy.
SPEAKER 07 :
The movie was Sully, but I was actually thinking about the movie Flight. What's that? The movie was Sully, but I was thinking about the movie Flight with Denzel Washington.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, Flight with Denzel Washington. What were you going to say, Trent Luce?
SPEAKER 18 :
I said I can pick Denzel Washington out from Tom Hanks. That was my thought, too.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, but it was a great movie. It's a great story. And, Steve, you were in the airline business, so you understand what a remarkable thing that that was. That was 2009 again. 2009.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 13 :
And those people standing on those wings out there in the middle of the Hudson. And I used to fly in and out of LaGuardia quite a bit, so I know exactly what that looks like.
SPEAKER 19 :
A business trip for the airline, and we were supposed to go in the JFK, and it was already dark. Every time we lined up for the runway, the runway lights would go out. So they'd send us around, and we did this three times before they finally said, forget it, go to LaGuardia.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, my gosh. Well, we're going to have a great show here. Steve, you're not sure you can stay the whole hour because you don't.
SPEAKER 19 :
I need to get into the kitchen.
SPEAKER 13 :
He is staying?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, he's not leaving. Particularly proudly wearing his veteran shirt today. We've got to pay tribute to all veterans. Oh, please. And thank you for your service. Thank you for that. But it also affords me to think about January 10, 1962. January 10, 1962. I was in first grade. Okay, what's that? It was the day that the United States military began Operation Ranch Hand. Oh, here's some history coming. That's Agent Orange. Oh. Oh, really? Nothing has impacted our men and women in the military more than Agent Orange. And the interesting thing about that bit of history is that there were 37 manufacturers of that component, that chemical, but the U.S. military used it at 50 times its recommended rate. Okay.
SPEAKER 13 :
So this was during the Vietnam War. Correct. And it was to get rid of the vegetation, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct, so we could see.
SPEAKER 13 :
So we could see what, you know, the enemy, if you will. And they would be very well camouflaged. The problem is, is there's so many of our veterans that got cancer from that. In fact, Paula Sarles, who's the president of the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation, her husband, she's a Gold Star wife, he died from the effects of anxiety. Agent Orange. There's so many of our Vietnam veterans out there that are affected by that.
SPEAKER 18 :
I've known so many. I've lost so many friends that were. But when the military uses it at 50 times the suggested rate, I mean, it's like, what are you thinking?
SPEAKER 13 :
Sometimes they're not thinking they're they're the government. Yeah. But Steve, you were in the Air Force. And again, I used to say thank you for my thank you for your service. But one of the veterans that I said that to said, well, you might say thank you for my freedom. So thank you for my freedom.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm just proud to be a part of it all. I look back on it now, and I hate to quote the number of days and months and years. I hate to think of the number of years that it was since I lived that, but it opened up so many opportunities that I would have never seen.
SPEAKER 13 :
I've heard that. I've heard that. Now, gentlemen, the show comes to us because of our great sponsors. And one of those is Karen Levine. And she's on the line now. We wanted to get a weekly. Oh, excuse me. That's right. This is it's Lauren Levy. Sorry about that, Lauren Levy. I got my days mixed up. Lauren Levy knows everything mortgages. And he can help you in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York. Lauren Levy, welcome.
SPEAKER 11 :
I wish I could have a higher voice.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, how about we'll just take your voice and anything that people should know about these interest rates. Are they staying the same opportunity? What's going on right now this week?
SPEAKER 11 :
And I was prepared when I first called to say that they stayed the same and they're a little higher. But we just got some core producer price index stuff this morning that came up. That was a little bit. On the good side, it was basically in line, meaning inflation was in line, not higher than they were expecting. And so the 10-year note, which we always refer to, just dropped from 477 to 467 just this morning. So that's good for rates. And that just reinforces the talk to you and I have that you never know what one day holds to the next and to be prepared and to have conversations and be on the lookout and be ready to pounce when the opportunity shows.
SPEAKER 13 :
So that's why people should give you a call and have everything in order, be pre-qualified, all of that, because, gosh, just this morning you were expecting one thing and things changed. So people need to be ready, as you said, ready to pounce.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's right. We always talk about opportunities, and I'm not sure how much rates will go down today. They'll go down a little bit, and it may go down enough to help someone make that payment that they needed at their budget to be able to get into the home that they want. It could help someone refinance that didn't think the opportunity would be there. So it's definitely worth making the phone calls and seeing where things stand.
SPEAKER 13 :
And what's the best number for people to reach you, Lorne Levy?
SPEAKER 11 :
The best way is always to call 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's Lorne Levy for Everything Mortgages, 303-880-8881. And I love the fact that you can help people in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York. And that's for everything, for a new mortgage, second mortgage, and a reverse mortgage, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
That's correct, yep.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Well, Lorne Levy, thank you. I'm glad to hear that interest rates are down a little bit, and that could create some real opportunity. Give Lorne Levy a call at 303-880-8881, and there might be some real opportunity there. So, Lorne Levy, I think you and Karen are in next week, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep. Okay. I think it's Thursday. We'll see you then.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sounds great. Okay. Have a great week. We'll see you next Thursday.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. You too.
SPEAKER 13 :
And I really am blessed to work with amazing people. Another great sponsor of the show is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And you might be able to save yourself some money if you bundle all of your home and your auto and all that together. You won't know unless you give them a call at 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Team is there.
SPEAKER 01 :
So I switched my insurance to the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Agency. Get this, I actually talked to Roger Mangan, who has been helping people with their insurance coverage in our community for 47 years. He helped me create a State Farm personalized price insurance plan for my home and auto and explained affordable options. For personalized service and peace of mind that you are working with a team that cares about you and your family, call Roger Mangan now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 03 :
Award-winning realtor Karen Levine has nearly 30 years of experience with Remax Alliance. Karen Levine works to protect your property rights at the local, county, state, and national level. Karen Levine believes in home ownership. Working with realtor Karen Levine helps you navigate through the process of buying or selling your home. Call Karen Levine to help you buy or sell your home because she understands that it's more than just a house. Call award-winning realtor Karen Levine with REMAX Alliance today at 303-877-7516. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 19 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Monson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmonson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. And thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. I do thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. It is because of all these great sponsors that our independent voice is on the air. And I did not get through. Trent Luce, it's so great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 13 :
In studio.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. I love being in studio.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. And we did your television show. You do media all day long. I do. Tell us what your schedule's like.
SPEAKER 18 :
During the National Western, when I'm in Denver, I start live on the air at 5.30 local time. And from 5.30 to 6 o'clock is live TV broadcast on Beck News called Live Across the Pond. Usually I have a guest from another country. You bumped Teresa Platt today who lives in France. And tomorrow or every Friday I have Kelly Seaton from the U.K. And I rotate people from New Zealand, France, the U.K., and Australia. And then at 6 o'clock local time I record Rural Route Radio, which is a 48-minute program. It airs as an hour. And that varies every day and airs on stations around the nation. And then by 930, I need to have across the plains produced, which airs on one station, KOTA in Rapid City, South Dakota. I do another program called Dakota Trails and Tails that airs every evening at 6.30 on K-Fire and KHND, both stations in North Dakota. And then throughout the course of the day, I also record and produce Trent on the Loose, which is another 30-minute TV program. And then there are certain days, like today, every Wednesday, I'm on with this great show and wonderful talent in Denver. Her name is Kim Monson, and I'm very blessed to be on for an hour. And then every Thursday for two hours, I'm on K-Fire live from 3 to 5 Central Time. K-Fire is the voice of the Northern Plains out of Bismarck. It broadcasts into five states and three Canadian provinces. It's at 5.50 a.m. on the dial, just like 5.60. And then every Saturday, so that my mother can keep track of me, I produce Loose Tails Food Link. which is a 30-minute radio broadcast which airs on WTAD in Quincy, Illinois. Wowza.
SPEAKER 13 :
That's pretty amazing. And then you get all this other stuff done. You travel a lot. I saw your pickup in the parking lot. I thought, there's a lot of miles on that pickup.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a lot of miles on that pickup. I can't keep a pickup with less than 200,000 miles. I have them, and on a normal year, I would drive 8,000 miles a month.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 18 :
And my entire broadcast studio operates out of here. Radio, television, everything comes right out of there.
SPEAKER 13 :
And we're looking at something that's basically probably smaller than carry-on luggage, and everything is in there. It is amazing what technology does. Now, you've been doing this 25 years. You grew up in Illinois. You're a sixth-generation farmer and rancher. You and Kelly now are in Nebraska.
SPEAKER 18 :
Correct. We're in the county she grew up in.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sherman County.
SPEAKER 18 :
Sherman County, Nebraska.
SPEAKER 13 :
I grew up in Sherman County, Kansas.
SPEAKER 18 :
And we're very fortunate. Her parents are both with us. They're 85. They live 13 miles away. They're 85 years old. And we wanted to... our three daughters to have daily interaction with grandparents. Oh, that's awesome. And our parents live 500 miles apart. And so I just fell in love with Nebraska at the same time I fell in love with Kelly.
SPEAKER 13 :
So it was all good. What happened on your heart, though, doing this for 25 years? And it really has to be a partnership because when you're traveling, you have animals, you've got livestock. Somebody's got to take care of them. And so you married well, didn't you?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, I did marry well. I picked her. People always say you married well. I say, well, I picked her. It's not like it was arranged. But the other thing I want to make clear is that I just gave you my daily schedule. So when I'm traveling, Kelly's got to take care of the animals. When I'm home, Kelly's got to take care of the animals. And I do carve out as much time every afternoon and evening as I can. And this time of year, it's tough, you know, the short daylight hours.
SPEAKER 13 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 18 :
But we make it work, and it's a perfect partner.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and that's the thing about livestock is there's no vacation. When people talk about taking a day off or a personal day off that people do in the corporate world, I guess, there's no days off for when you have livestock.
SPEAKER 18 :
And today's a tough day for me to think about that because, you know, it's a special day at the national Western for me, it's the beef and wine festival this evening. If you want to come and enjoy drinking wine, eating beef with 300 of your closest friends or people you need to know and live cattle on display at the time, while we're having this discussion and an MC that gets a little rowdy, that'd be me. Uh, I've wanted Kelly to be a part of this event for the last two years. And last year we had it worked out where she was coming. Okay. And then we got hit with that bad winter storm and she couldn't get away. Okay. And this year, you know, there were 10 years Kelly and I exhibited cattle at the National Western.
SPEAKER 13 :
Which is a commitment.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. And so she's got as many friends there as I do. And this is just a fantastic cattle weekend. So my plan was to have her come and then spend the weekend and get back home. But... Because of the animals that we have and we don't hire anybody. We have a neighbor that will help out from time to time. And our three girls are off in college or in a career. And so it and I'm not whining. I'm just saying this is a typical farm and ranch family experience that when you have that commitment. that you have animals that rely on you, particularly in this time of year when waters freeze up and you have to make sure that you have not only feed, water, and shelter, but that they're protected at all times. So that's a commitment that every farm and ranch family has to make.
SPEAKER 13 :
I've always thought in that scheme that one of the hardest jobs in all of that is if you are in the dairy business because those cows have to be milked every day.
SPEAKER 18 :
Three times a day.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, that's really a It is.
SPEAKER 18 :
It is. It's absolutely incredible, which has led to some innovation that assists with that because now there are a growing number, particularly of smaller dairies, which are not as many smaller dairies as there used to be, but they have robotic milkers. And labor is the challenge.
SPEAKER 13 :
It is the challenge. And last year when you were out here for the National Western, I attended a forum that you had emceed, which was regarding finding employees for farmers and ranchers. And it is difficult. It's a great life, but it's a rugged life and it's a lot of hard work and long hours.
SPEAKER 18 :
There is no time clock. I know.
SPEAKER 13 :
I know.
SPEAKER 18 :
And one thing that we did to be more in sync with really the resources and our time commitment is that we used to start calving in February. And we started looking at that, like, why are we out here at two o'clock in the morning? Fighting coyotes, we lost two calves one night at 2 o'clock in the morning. A new calf was born, a coyote was there, and that's the most vulnerable time. Sure. And it's 20 below, and you're trying to make all of that work. And so we moved our calving start date to May 1st, and from a cattle standpoint, life got good.
SPEAKER 13 :
So does that change market prices? Because it seems like I always remember now we didn't have livestock. My family only did crops. But it always seemed like the kids that had cattle, it seemed like they were always calving in the middle of a blizzard.
SPEAKER 18 :
Correct. That is a very interesting story and how tradition still plays a role in agriculture. If you would ask those families why they are calving in the middle of winter instead of waiting until May 1, like we do now, they'll say, well, that's what we've always done. Originally. It started because the cattlemen—well, let me back up. We weren't cattlemen. Back in the day, the farm had some beef cows, maybe a dairy cow or two, some chickens, and then you had row crops, and you were diverse. And until about 1985, when I really started getting going, everybody had a little bit of everything. And so then we started specializing. And so you're either a cattleman or a row crop producer, you're a pork producer, you're a chicken contractor, whatever the case may be. So the reason that those calves were born back in the day in February when it was cold is because they wanted to get the cows done calving before planting season.
SPEAKER 17 :
That would make sense.
SPEAKER 18 :
So when planting season came, you're getting in the field because your window in planting season is this close, right? You've got a little tight window. We don't do that anymore. And yet we still calve in February. And my father-in-law, he always wanted to calve in February. And part of that is, there's another part of that, is that we sell cattle by the pound. And you typically sell calves from October to January, depending on what sector you're in. And I'd love to explain those differences at some point in time. But the calves that are born in February just inherently are going to weigh more when you sell them in November. So you get a bigger check.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sure. Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
So all of those factors kind of weigh in. But that whole cattle calving and timing and everything is moving to more what is in sync with the resources that are available. Because the big challenge in a February calving, aside from dealing with the weather, is that you're not grazing anymore. If you're calving in February or March, you're also feeding those cows. And so coming into lactation at a time when you're feeding a resource and their need for a higher level of nutrition is all spiking at the same time, where we're calving on green grass and the cows are actually already grazing. and so that makes sense but our calves we sold some calves first part of december they weighed 504 pounds people's calves that are born in february weighed 700 pounds so you get a bigger check but it isn't about how big your check is it's about how much for your expenses versus what you're getting paid oh that's an important point as well because yeah if you're having to feed feed during that time that makes a lot of sense
SPEAKER 13 :
All this is connected, though. We're in the urban area, and people have taken for granted affordable and abundant energy, not energy, food.
SPEAKER 18 :
Energy and food.
SPEAKER 13 :
Food, but food at the grocery store. And that is so under attack. The cattleman, the cowboy is under attack. And beef is such a great... protein source and we and that'll be a great segue into Lavaca Meat Company maybe we'll just do that right now because Lavaca Meat Company is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in Littleton and it is a premium product and really it is that steakhouse experience at home and so for a real treat check out Lavaca Meat Company.
SPEAKER 06 :
Lavaca Meat Company takes great pride in selling only the best. Lavaca Meat Company is a third-generation family-owned business with its roots in eastern Colorado. Lavaca means the cow in Spanish. As our name implies, we only sell beef. No poultry, pork, bison, or game. Just premium quality, aged, mouth-watering beef. Our store is located at the corner of Maine and Nevada in the historic Coors Building in downtown Littleton. For a steakhouse experience at home, visit us in person or shop online at LavacaMeat.com. Lavaca Meat Company, only the best. Again, that's LavacaMeat.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you're 62 or older, a reverse mortgage could be a great tool regarding retirement and estate planning. It is essential to understand the process. Lorne Levy with Polygon Financial Group has nearly 20 years in the mortgage industry and has the experience to answer your questions. Lauren understands that each financial transaction is personal. If you'd like to explore your options on a reverse mortgage, remodel your home, buy a rental property, or move, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. Licensed in 49 states, Kim Monson highly recommends Lauren Levy for all your mortgage needs. Call Lauren at 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 15 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That's kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you shouldn't have to force people to do it. And thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. I so greatly appreciate them. They have been with us Trent Luce, I'm just starting my seventh year of solo broadcasting, and the Harris family has been with me since close to day one of that, I think. Seven years.
SPEAKER 18 :
Seven years is incredible. Now you're just ready to hit 14.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, hit 14.
SPEAKER 18 :
Turn seven into 14, then 21.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. Hey, we were talking about Sherman County. You live in Sherman County, Nebraska. I grew up in Sherman County, Kansas. And Joe, he said we have three Shermans. His last name, producer Joe's last name is Sherman, producer Joe. Yes, ma'am. So three Shermans today.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a lucky charm coming in that. We started with a full house, and now we got a lucky hand. Three Shermans. Good omens, good omens.
SPEAKER 13 :
Good omens, for sure. A couple of things coming in on the text line because we had producer Steve in here because I don't think we explained. He comes in typically once a quarter. He is one of the best pancake makers around. And so just kind of a camaraderie. He comes in and he grills pancakes. The whole team, everybody in the studio from all the stations are here. And it is, it's really a great time. And you...
SPEAKER 18 :
And Trent even came from Nebraska for these pancakes, which I've been hearing about.
SPEAKER 13 :
Exactly. And so Steve was in studio for the first segment, but he's now at the griddle.
SPEAKER 17 :
Frying up some sausage, too. Some loose sausage. Loose pork sausage.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yum. Okay, so it's good. And I like this. It's a great time to just get together with everyone. So that is great. So this was from a listener. What a lucky day. Trent Luce and Steve both in the studio together. Two of my favorites. Life couldn't be better. A nice treat, Kim.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, anytime I can shake the hand of a veteran and say thank you and remind them that I'm not just giving lip service, I'm executing the rights they protected for me, I'm happy to do so.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. And Steve is an Air Force veteran. And also this came in on the line. Why can't ranchers, this is a question for you, why can't ranchers sell cattle all year round?
SPEAKER 18 :
So ranchers can actually sell cattle year-round, but about 80% of the calf crop in the United States each year is born in the springtime. because that's what matches the resources. We come back to when is that cow's highest level of nutrition needed? It's during that lactation time, particularly the early lactation time. So if you're going to match the resources, you have your spring flurry of grass, whatever your forage may be. So then you have those calves, and you can literally sell those calves at any point in time. For the most part, you've bred the cow. Nine months later, the cow is having a calf. Seven months later, you've got a calf here and you have two choices to make. Do I sell that calf now or do I keep it for another year? until it actually turns into beef and goes into your store. Most people, from a cash flow standpoint, it's a really tough investment to wait two years to get your payment.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
So you're selling calves maybe right off of the cow. Maybe you wean them and background them for a period of time and sell them in January, February. Traditionally, we always have a spike in calf prices after the first of the year. We're spiking every month right now. What's going on in the cattle world is vastly interesting, somewhat concerning, but cattlemen are finally getting paid properly. But keep in mind, it's not like a bushel of corn that you put in a bin and then you decide when you're going to sell it. You can then go pull it out. That calf is being fed every single day, and every single day is gaining between two and four pounds a day, depending on how much energy and protein you're putting in that calf. So... You can sell them, but they're going to be at a different weight. So it's a matter of optimizing the right market target and, quite frankly, whether we want to admit it or not, when the banker is saying you've got a note due, when are you going to sell these calves to pay off this note?
SPEAKER 13 :
So, and it's a really, it's a cash-intensive business. It takes a lot in that particular business, yes?
SPEAKER 18 :
You tie up a lot of money. And there are three segments within the cattle business. You have what we call the cow-calf man, which I've been explaining and walking you through. And then there's also the backgrounder. So there are people who buy cattle from the cow-calf producer, and these would typically be 600 pounds is a good weight. That's the calf. That's how old they are when they're weaned from their mother. And so the backgrounder will buy these calves, maybe have forages that they have stockpiled or maybe have a hay supply. They'll keep them until... Typically 900 pounds, and then at 900 pounds, they'll go into a feedlot, or they could possibly be grass-finished. There's two options there. But there's three, and then you have the feedlot sector. So in the cattle business, you literally have always had three sectors, the cow-calf, the backgrounder, and the feed yard. And obviously we know that Colorado is one of the leading states in the nation for feedlot because we've just had the resources to make that happen. And the infrastructure of the packing business, particularly north of us in Greeley and Weld County, is such a powerful agricultural county, particularly in the beef world.
SPEAKER 13 :
Isn't it crazy here in Colorado, we talk about it regularly, that this industry is really under regulatory and legislative attack here in Colorado. And yet this is a resource that the agricultural sector has been a real economic threat. factor in colorado but yet this governor and this legislature which is they're all radical activists extremists this is not the democrat party of jfk or your grandpa and your grandma this here in colorado is radical extremists that are controlling it and they they they want to put the agricultural sector out of business as well as the energy sector it's crazy
SPEAKER 18 :
So you mentioned that this is my 25th year in broadcasting. And when I started talking, I would talk about the dangers of regulating, over-regulating agriculture. And I had a few people say to me, you know, farmers always complain about regulations and they figure out a way to make it happen. And that's pretty much true. But there's a law of diminishing returns in that. The casualty of that, Kim, is the number of people that are involved in agriculture. Because what has happened is it has forced the economies of scale so that you have more, I'm going to say, Monforts of the type and what has been taking place with the feed yard sector in Greeley. And you have fewer farmer feeders. And that extends to every segment, whether it be wine producers, whether it be cotton producers. Because of those regulations, there are some that just can't continue to compete. They get out. They're consumed by the larger ones because they're bigger. working for less profit over a larger period of time. So all of those regulations push us to where we eliminate people in the business. And the less we have in terms of diversity in the number of people who are producing food, the greater control the government has on how people have access to that food, which is why I, from day one, have been promoting know who's producing your food and buy it direct from that producer if it's possible. Because direct food sales in our pork business, I mentioned the loose sausage, we sell every pound we raise directly to a consumer. And we're doing more and more of that in the beef business as well.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and to this point, we talk about this on a regular basis, is big government and big business really like each other. Yesterday, we were doing our book report, if you will, with Producer Luke and Producer Joe. They're both 26. And we're going through Henry Hazlitt's book, Economics in One Lesson. We're talking about profits and inflation but on profits many young people profits has been demonized they've been taught that it's because of greed that people agree yeah corporate greed and producer Luke had done some research in Haslett's book he had talked about as far as I think it was GDP that typically corporate profits were around five or six percent historically and But from 2020 to 2024, it was between 16% and 17% corporate profits of GDP. And I think the point then that I wanted to make is what happened during that time? Well, the big pharma got in bed with the government and forced people to have to use their product or try to coerce them to take the product. And then also the government bought their product. Well, that's where big government and big business got in bed with each other. And they like to do that because they can squash the competition of the smaller innovator.
SPEAKER 18 :
What was the very first thing you brought up this morning on Across the Pond?
SPEAKER 13 :
Property rights?
SPEAKER 18 :
No, that was one of the last things we talked about. Entrepreneurialism.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER 18 :
And everything you just described stymies the entrepreneur. so that the established can remain the market hold and keep the footprint of what's going on in the food business. I can speak to the food business, and I know that every business, just look at the consolidation in the banking sector. Kim, you know as well as anybody the consolidation in the radio business. How many people are literally in the and that's why Crawford Broadcasting is something that people need to recognize and understand. This is not one of the large entity. And I'm on every station, every kind of structure. But when you it's who you're listening to and who you do business with is what determines who's going to be in the marketplace. And suddenly the aroma in this building is changing and I'm getting hungry.
SPEAKER 13 :
I can smell it as well. What the heck is happening? I can smell that loose sausage that's being cooked up. So let's go over here. How are we doing on time? Regarding Colorado and this cage-free chickens, we've talked about it on a regular basis, and I need to go back and re-look at this. But when I'd written my... essay on this back in 2023 we just republished it regarding Colorado's what I can't remember now what did I call it it was um Darn it. Colorado scrambled egg policy. And eggs have gone from $2.99 a dozen to $8.99 a dozen from the producer that I purchased them from. Correct. And as I was relooking at this, though, I think that House Bill 20, 1343, they passed it back in 2020, and then they stair-stepped it in. We are seeing the effects of that. But I think that it was only effective, this law was effective, not for the small producer or the large producer. It was that mid-level producer.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's anybody with more than 3,000 chickens. 3,000 chickens or more.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, I've got to re-look at that.
SPEAKER 18 :
So if you have 2,900 chickens, you're not under the purview of the law.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, I've got to reach, somehow I've got to reach, I need to re-read that because...
SPEAKER 18 :
But you literally only have four producers in the state. Four individual entities producing eggs in the state of Colorado.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
They have millions of chickens and produce the eggs that are needed and do a great job doing that. But part of the structure, and I didn't get the detail. I've been looking for Bill Scabby at the National Western. I'll find him today. But as I drive on Interstate 76 at Wiggins, there's some chicken barns there. I can see them from the interstate that are obviously in the middle of a remodel because that's the untold story. The billions, billions would be that the egg layer is forced to spend to retrofit these buildings into being cage free is going to be paid by the consumer. The chicken farmer, the egg layer, is spending billions of dollars to comply with this regulation. And again, it comes back to what we were talking about earlier. It will force people out because they cannot afford to make the retrofitting their barns and spend the money to do it. Consequently, somebody will buy them out and you'll have more consolidation.
SPEAKER 13 :
So I think then let's – this just moves us over before we get to break here to this headline from – this was Fox News, I think it was. Newsom suspends California environmental law to eliminate roadblocks for wildfire victims rebuilding homes. Well, that means those roadblocks have been there for everybody else up until this time, right?
SPEAKER 18 :
Absolutely. And what about the roadblock and the fire engines and firefighting equipment that was sent to the Ukraine from California in the past year? Yeah. What about the 100 fire trucks that were sent from Oregon to help in Los Angeles and Newsom stopped them and put them on hold to do an emissions test on them before they come in?
SPEAKER 13 :
Meanwhile, just think of all the emissions that's occurring from these fires of everything going up. And Lauren Fitch yesterday said there's a lot of electric vehicles in those fires, and those are made of plastic. Just think about what that's putting up into the air.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, absolutely. Fire is one of the main contributors to emissions. But we've got to go beyond just what are the emissions. Emissions are all what we call greenhouse gases. And we put plants in greenhouses to protect them so that they grow better. Every single one of these emissions that we've been convinced is a pollutant is actually plant food. We've got to turn the narrative and explain what are these gases that are in the atmosphere that increase. We can't live without them.
SPEAKER 13 :
And that's why A Climate Conversation would be a good documentary for people to watch. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 18 :
It always is.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, and that's at AClimateConversation.com. It is the project of Walt Johnson, so be sure and check that out at AClimateConversation.com. And then I did want to mention the Center for American Values. It is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and it's really a special place at Trent Luce. It's co-founded by Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient, and Brad Padula. Emmy Award-winning documentary maker, and they honor our Medal of Honor recipients, educational programs. On the 23rd, they are going to have an On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo, which during the Vietnam War was captured by the North Koreans and held for a year. And Bob Chica, who was one of those prisoners, will be speaking. And you can get more information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. Just let them know that you're You're going to attend. It doesn't cost anything, but they want to make sure they have chairs and they normally have a little reception afterwards. But they do pretty important work down there at the Center for American Values.
SPEAKER 18 :
I keep hearing about that, and I've not been there yet. I've got to fix that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, we're going to have to fix that. Maybe their next On Values presentation we can meet down there.
SPEAKER 18 :
I'm in.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. Sounds great. But check that out. It's AmericanValueCenter.org, AmericanValueCenter.org. And another great sponsor of the show is John Boson with Boson Law. If you've been injured, be sure and reach out to them. That number is 303-999-9999.
SPEAKER 05 :
Boson Law fights for clients who've been injured or family members who have lost a loved one due to the careless, reckless, or wrongful conduct of others. Whether injured in a car accident, suffered an injury due to a product or bad pharmaceutical drug, or need help fighting for medical care and benefits following an accident at work, don't go it alone and uninformed. Boston Law is the law firm you need in your corner. Time is of the essence with any personal injury claim. Call 303-999-9999 to schedule your complimentary consultation. That number again is 303-999-9999. Call now.
SPEAKER 14 :
Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Monson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at KimMonson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMonson.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com as well. Text line is 720-605-0647. And call in is 303-477-5600. A couple of things here coming in on the text line. Thank you, Kim and Trent. I am also an Air Force vet. When I am thanked for my service, I always request that they always vote for candidates who support constitutional freedoms. That's Dave. I love that.
SPEAKER 17 :
That's awesome.
SPEAKER 13 :
That is awesome. Another listener, when we were talking about the percentage of profits of GDP, Mark says GDP is not a good measure. Good point. And then please ask Trent how the land use meeting went in Akron last week.
SPEAKER 18 :
The land use meeting was fantastic. What Washington County folks through Sacred Horizons are doing is exactly what needs to be taking place in every county all across this nation. 3,144 of them.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. And we're talking about property rights, which is inherent in the American idea. We talked about that. Now, we were on, let's see, across the pond at 530.
SPEAKER 18 :
We're trying to keep track of what we talked about where we can.
SPEAKER 13 :
Where we talked about that. Yeah, definitely for sure. Let's go ahead and get over here to Gammy. Gammy, I know you are pretty jazzed that Trent is in studio today, right? Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
OMG, yes, I am. And you know what? I'm so proud of you and Steve. Hello, Steve. I know I gave him a fit the first time I ever called. But I want to not just thank you. I want to tell you something. I just turned 75, right? So that's like three-quarters of a century. And the people who have inspired me every day, two of them I'm talking to right now, let me tell you something. I'm not just coming back bigger and better this year. I'm going to be 100 times more fiercer than I was last year because our people... are dying. Older people are not getting enough protein because they can't afford to buy meat. They can't afford to get the eggs. And I noticed that our legislators here in Colorado, Ken DeGraff in specific, does energy. And you got to get him on before you leave, Trent. And then we had a mock hearing last night. And what we did was read bills and responses And what we know, and you say it every day, Kim, you say it every day, Trent, all over the country, locally, we the people have to not just band together, We have to stand together and say, you're mutilating our children. There's no law in the land that allows it. You are mutilating our lives, our food. I am so outraged that I could just stand on a building and scream. But instead, we're going to show up in force and sue and fight for America or we're dead. So we have to fight.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I do think that we are in the third founding of our country, Gammy. And this is a big battle of ideas. And that's why what Trent is doing is so important. That's why what we're doing is important as well. So, Gammy, thank you. I know you're jazzed that Trent is in Colorado right now. And she's a big fan of yours, Trent.
SPEAKER 18 :
And I want to take something she said and just blow it up bigger. Somehow we've been convinced that the older you get, the less protein you're requiring nutritionally. And all of the data, there's some great data out of the University of Arizona that shows the highest nutritional need in the growth of human beings for protein is for the infant and for the elderly. And we have conditioned the older in our population to consume less protein as we age. In fact, that accelerates aging. You want to stay young forever? You can't stay young forever. It doesn't happen. Right. But if you want to stay younger at heart and with physical abilities, increase animal protein, period.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm sorry, Joe, you said we have. OK, and so the caller's on the line. Is that right? Okay, you're going to ask it. Okay, got it.
SPEAKER 07 :
We're ready. So, Trent, the caller asked, if you were to become the Secretary of Agriculture, what would be your top three main objectives?
SPEAKER 18 :
It would probably be, one, dismantle the United States Department of Agriculture. It becomes an impediment, not part of the solution. We have 112,000 people working for the United States Department of Agriculture, and we only have 200,000 farm families that produce 80% of the food in this country. We have nearly one employee of the USDA for every farm family producing food. If you can't see that's a problem, you're not paying attention.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay, number two and three.
SPEAKER 18 :
Number one carried over to number two and three.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, okay. Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, and what I would do is eliminate the USDA from Washington, D.C., period. It needs to be in the center part of the country and not be in that swamp.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and the farming and ranching is probably one of the most regulated businesses, depend on the federal government. The federal government has its hands in everything regarding farming.
SPEAKER 18 :
I shared this story, I think, with you two weeks ago, but I want to walk through it again just as quickly as I can. The United States Department of Agriculture right now is putting farmers in a program if they're willing to plow their fields. The reason they want to plow their fields is that that will destroy the organic matter and the amount of carbon that's in that soil. And so then once you go into the program and you have your carbon level at zero – They're then going to show how being a part of the program improved your carbon intensity and how much carbon you retained in the soil. Because to start the program, you had to destroy what you had done for the last 30 years. It's unbelievable. That is a destruction of our natural resource coming right out of the United States Department of Agriculture. And the current Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilesak, is a horrible human being. I've known him since he was governor of Iowa. He's hung up on me two times, walked away because I try to hold him accountable to the lies he tells people about agriculture. And he's been the second longest serving USDA secretary of agriculture behind somebody who was 20 years in 1900. Okay.
SPEAKER 13 :
Quick question. We are just about out of time. Trent, do you see a way for us to reclaim small and mid-sized businesses and pull that control away from large government corporate control?
SPEAKER 18 :
I absolutely do, and it comes back to what we said earlier. The consumer and where you spend your food dollar totally depends who's in the marketplace. If you continue to run to the super center on the edge of town, which relies on imported products instead of products produced in Colorado or California, produce in your county or even in this nation look we are the largest beef exporter in the world we're the largest importer of beef in the world and you have beef production in colorado we do not need to have anybody importing from another country but it's all dependent upon where you spend your consuming dollar you are in charge of this the government's not in charge they try to convince you that they're just out here working for you if you just spend your dollar with the people that you know and trust you'll determine who's going to be the players
SPEAKER 13 :
So it all comes back to this whole local thing. I know people are excited about Donald Trump taking office and Doge trying to trim government. But what I think is going to happen, Trent, is that there's going to be a double down by the radical activist agenda at the local, the county, and the state level. And you talk about local all the time. We've got about a minute left. It's great having you here. And we might do this again next week or something like it, right?
SPEAKER 18 :
We might. We absolutely might. I have zero faith in anybody in Washington, D.C., fixing what's going on in this country. It is 100 percent upon each one of us in our local area, whether that be a township, whether that be a county, a town, whatever the case may be. I referenced it. I can't tell you how excited I am about what's been accomplished in Washington County, Colorado. And that is a prototype on what we do going forward. Engage locally, demand infrastructure and entrepreneurialism. I'm stealing your word for the day. In your county.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. And also I want to give a shout out to Josh Lowenstein, who's the founder of Our American Lands down in Monta Vista. And then Sean Pond regarding Stop the Dolores Monument. Those guys are doing great stuff on that third of the state as well. Trent, great to have you here.
SPEAKER 18 :
See you tonight at the Beef and Wine Festival. Tickets are still available if you want to join us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay. And that is out at the National Western. So looking forward to that. Our quote for the end of the show is Ludwig von Mises saying, and he said this, Private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operative of the authoritarian will. So my friends today, be grateful. Read great books. Think good thoughts. Listen to beautiful music. Communicate and listen well. Live honestly and authentically. Strive for high ideals. And like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. We will talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Through the mountains climbing, twisting, turning further from my home. Young like a new moon rising, fierce through the rain and lightning, wandering out into this great unknown. And I don't want no one to cry, but tell them if I don't survive, I was born.
SPEAKER 04 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
Embark on a journey with Bill as he not only breaks down economic trends but shares personal adventures from Daytona Beach to watching live space launches. The episode takes intriguing turns, linking space exploration with market activity, and highlights the promise of quantum computing. Bill also discusses the strategic positions on energy stocks and the importance of staying vigilant in recognizing the best stocks now. Tune in for a blend of market intelligence and personal anecdotes.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome to the Wednesday, the midweek edition of the Best Stocks Now show on this January the 15th with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst, and I am watching the second blast off this morning. i'll get to that in a bit but the blast off in the market first the dow is up six hundred and fifty nine points right now that's a one point six percent gain why a cooler than expected cpi that's the consumer price index report and the nasdaq is tacking on even a bigger percentage gain it's up two point two percent right now it's up four hundred and thirteen points 19,458. And the S&P 500 is up 1.6, 1.7% right now. The Russell 2000 is up 2.3%. And as you might imagine, interest rates are plunging today after this report. The 10-year, the last time I looked here, the 10-year was down about 13, 14 basis points, and it still is. And we're clear down to 4.6. Let's see. Let's see. The 10-year right now is at 4.6. Well, where did it go, Barry? 4.58, something like that is where we're at.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's moving, yeah. I've got it right here on my screen. Let's see. It's moving all over the place. We got it at 4.65% at the moment. So down 13 basis points.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Exactly. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show. with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. I will warn everybody, I'm on just a little trip here today and through the weekend, but working as usual. I take my office with me wherever I go. And we last night were headed down to the Disney Cruise Area, Port Orlando, Florida, And first we stopped, Barry, and just as luck would have it, I said, let's stay in Daytona Beach, break up the trip a little bit. It's about an hour north of Port Canaveral. We go to this massive hotel on the beach. It's just massive. And they go, well, we don't have any vacancies.
SPEAKER 02 :
What?
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, January, Daytona Beach. We go to another one. And then we start to figure it out. Oh, yeah, it's race week. Oh, race week. They're going to have the Daytona 500, I guess the Daytona. What a massive speedway.
SPEAKER 03 :
I've been to Daytona. Growing up in Florida, I've been to the Daytona 500 a good bit. Since they've done the remodel, I guess about five or six years ago. Wow. It's a lot more like sitting in an NFL stadium in certain parts of that track.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's unbelievable.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, but they start, you know, speed weeks, I guess, probably starts now. I don't, the Daytona 500's probably, my guess is calendar-wise, usually early February. So, yeah, they're just, everyone's getting there now to do some testing and get things rolling over there.
SPEAKER 04 :
The guy looked at us, he said, are you stupid? It's race week, dummy. Okay, all right. Thanks a lot. And we're just breaking up the trip here. Yeah, and we stopped for dinner at, I've always wanted, I've always seen it as one of the off-ramps on the freeway, the oldest city in America, right, St.
SPEAKER 03 :
Augustine? Yeah, St. Augustine, that's right, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
What a beautiful little city with all of the Christmas lights still up, and it was really just kind of magic.
SPEAKER 03 :
You've got the Bridge of Lions there. You should have stopped by and got a sprinkle of the Fountain of Youth. It's over there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I've already drank of that. Oh, you're good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, good.
SPEAKER 04 :
Perfect. Yeah, I'm good. even though I get a little older this Saturday. Now, okay, so I said, well, we'll head on down closer to where they leave, the Disney Cruise. We'll head on down to near the Kennedy Space Center there. And as luck would have it, all the hotels were sold out except for one. We're staying, like, right across from where they launched last night. I watched it. I mean, how could you not get up at 1 a.m. and watch that? SpaceX rocket headed for the moon. That's neat. It's going to drop off hardware on the moon.
SPEAKER 03 :
Two satellites, right? Yeah, two satellites are shooting off of that thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, but more importantly is, yeah, they're putting a rover from Japan on the moon. And, you know, look, I envision the old days when all the smoke and the plumes and everything and the fire would come out. It's not like that anymore. It's a very slow, orderly process. It's awesome. All of a sudden, this bright light appears right at 1.11 a.m., and it slowly, slowly moves off of the launch pad. But, you know, I was telling my wife this morning, you know, we're sitting, this is hallowed ground here. This is where the first, you know, spaceship left, the Apollo 13, the Neil Armstrong, the Challenger explosion, everything, right out our window. So anyways, it's kind of cool. I watched that liftoff this morning, and then I watched the liftoff of the market here after that benign CPI liftoff. I sent out my views of the charts of the S&P, the NASDAQ, the Dow. The Dow is hanging in there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Support held, at least for the moment, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll say. And a big bounce today. I said the NASDAQ is barely hanging in there. The S&P is hanging in there. No need to do anything. Stay the course. And we're being rewarded today. There's also quite a bit of news out there on Quantum today. A little bit of a rebound there. Yesterday, oh man, it was all about the oil and gas stocks. You know, he's going to sign, President Trump, elect Trump, in five days is going to sign in a bunch of executive orders. And one is going to be to really boost production of oil and gas here in the U.S. And who that helps are the picks and shovel companies there, which we own a few of those.
SPEAKER 03 :
The Halliburton of the world, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, Halliburton and the other one that's really blasting off is, let's see, I can't think of the name of it right now, but it's doing very well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Kinder Morgan, I mean, your pipelines. Kinder Morgan blasted off. Yeah, pipeline should also benefit.
SPEAKER 04 :
Baker Hughes is the one I was trying to think of. Baker Hughes blast off. The blast off also yesterday that caught my eye more than any, look at this chart on GE Vernova. GEV, that's the spinoff from GE of their nuclear and their power, you know, segment. Look at that. That looks like a... And by the way, there's going to be another spaceship lifting off at 1.11 a.m. again. I guess that's the time they launch around here. Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin, which that would be, he's trying to compete.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that one got delayed by a few days. It was supposed to go off, what, I think a few days ago, if I'm not mistaken.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who knows? It may not go tonight either, but it is scheduled for 1.11 a.m. again, and that's his entry into the space race. It's all these billionaires, right, money to watch their rockets blast off. In the meantime, I'm sitting here watching GE, Vernova blast off, and, of course, Vistra blasted off too yesterday. Look at Vistra's chart today. That's what we call a classic cup and handle. You know, we own these in our dividend portfolios, but I'm thinking now that they belong in our growth portfolios. And let's not forget Constellation Energy, Three Mile Island. It's blasting off, too, right now. So, look, if you want to know where to come for best stocks now, you found the right place. At least we do our best to try to identify best. those hot spots, the heat map in the market, which continues to be a big heat map.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, from the earth and beyond. I mean, we've got some rocket talk. Who knew that Captain Kirk needed so much private funding, right, to get the whole enterprise off the ground back then? They didn't cover that part of the story, did they?
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, it's just an awesome sight. It's like a star. It's like a star being launched, a new star being launched into outer space. I was odd, but I did take a video. I will put it up. I'll try to send it out to all of our subscribers here today. But anyways, we're off to a very, very bullish start in the market today. After a very shaky start in the market, So far this year, especially in high tech, we're seeing the market spread out quite a bit into energy. Energy, energy, energy. I don't care if it's the black, dirty kind of energy, the people that help bring it out of the ground. Or if it's the nuclear energy, that is the leading sector in the market right now. Okay, so let's take a look at the CPI. Do we have to know? When we come back, Barry will have a rundown. We've got a 3.2% year over year. What's going up? What's going down? I do see ice cream's down 1.5%. That's good news. But carbonated drinks, man, what I'm paying for a 12-pack of Mountain Dew, I can't even believe it. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 1 :
guitar solo
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Docs Now show. Wow, our stuff's blasting off here today. Just like the, kind of like, you know, I just saw this bright light all of a sudden on the ground. I mean bright, like a star. And then all of a sudden it just started to lift off very slowly and orderly. Not like all the smoke and rumbling and then it just went almost like a helicopter speed. Very unusual, but we're blasting off here. We're up almost 2% here all of a sudden with the big, big surge in our Best Stocks Now portfolios today. Okay, give us a little rundown. Eggs is what pops out to me, 32% year over year. Ouch. Yeah. What pops out and what looks good?
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, really, you actually would have had a much lighter number, particularly on the top line. For the month, you had a CPI of 0.4%. That equates to top line number 2.9% for the year. We'll get to the core in a second, but you've been mentioning energy and oil prices rising. If you take out energy, energy was actually accounted for, I think, 40% of the increase this month because overall energy was up 2.6%. For gasoline, that was 4.4%. So energy was really the biggest driver of inflation this time. The core... actually came in less than expected, came in at 0.2% for the month also, and that's that 3.2%, kind of the headline number for core, which takes out the stuff we need like food and energy. But the biggest thing there, I think, it's always kind of entry. When you look at those, as you mentioned, those individual items, used cars down 3.3% for the year. which is one of the main items that's keeping that core number down. I always think about the fact that if you're not in the market for a used car, if you're not in the market for a new vehicle, Well, then you haven't seen inflation wane, right? You've only seen it really go up. Shelter up 4.6% over the last 12 months. Medical services up 3.4%. Another big item, of course, energy up 3.6%. But food is just really where it's been.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's the problem.
SPEAKER 03 :
3.6% food away from home, which probably doesn't include the tip, by the way. And then food in general, up 2.5% in the last 12 months.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, well, Trump is gearing up for executive orders to boost fossil fuels. He's going to downplay the EV mandates, etc., So that was very bullish for especially the liquid natural gas. LNG, Chenier had a big day. Hess, Williams, next decade. Kinder Morgan, all of those. South Korea arrests their president. A little political turmoil. You know, nothing big. But they did come in and arrest him. Germany's GDP shrinks. 0.2 in a year. That's recession. Europe's still looking very, very weak. Elon Musk being sued by the SEC. You know, it's kind of cheap of them to do all of these things with just a few days left in their reign. But that's over that Twitter stock purchase that he didn't supposedly disclose that he had already taken a stake in Twitter. But I'm sure they're out to get Elon Musk. You know, we'll just see when the shoe's on the other foot here pretty soon. Are they going to strike back? It just doesn't seem like the other side does that kind of thing. Weaponizing. They've weaponized the SEC big time. Rigetti leads quantum stocks higher after B. Reilly says some commercialization concerns misplaced. And I agree with that. You know, he made a very broad statement that an actual quantum computer, you know, like the IBM old mainframe computer or the desktop computers that we have now, an actual quantum... But there's a lot of interim steps in between now and there that, you know, Jensen Wang kind of leaped over, and we're starting to find out that... that there's a lot, you know, in the next few years that are out there on the horizon. Some commercialization concerns are misplaced, says B. Riley, and I agree with that. So anyways, they are rebounding somewhat today, some of them, and it's being helped. D-Wave, which is probably one of the leaders, QBTS, for sure it's one of the leaders. QBTS is now up 32% today, 32% today. We own that in our incubator portfolio. That's where it belongs. That's where it's going to stay. It's an incubator stock. It may or may not ever hatch a chicken or profits, but D-Wave up 32% today. Partnership with Kerasoft Technology in a bid to take quantum computing to the masses, to the little guy. You and I, maybe I can inject a little quantum power into the app. I don't know. Or into the portfolios.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And then the other one is QUBT. QUBT is up 45% today. Now, that's volatility.
SPEAKER 03 :
In both directions, right? Unbelievable volatility. People forget that when you look at standard deviation and the measure of volatility, right, it also... It also measures the good volatility, the upside. And so volatility can kind of be, you know, it's a double-edged sword, right? In this sense, NVIDIA has been very volatile, too. Yeah, I mean, NVIDIA has been very volatile.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. But not like this. Rigetti's up 26%. Betty Spaghetti, Rigetti, and IonQ is up 27%. Maybe Jensen Wang just wanted to get in. He talked him down. He hammered him by 60%. Then he loads up, and now he's cashing out. I doubt it. I don't think he needs the money, really. Okay, now we've got a lot of earnings. Welcome to earnings week. Okay, welcome to earnings season. It's now underway. The Daytona 500, gentlemen start your engines. They have started their engines. There's just a few other things infecting NVIDIA today. The U.S. continues to weigh options. I don't know why we're doing this with just five days left in the Biden administration. U.S. moles tightening the flow of Taiwan semiconductor and Samsung chips to China. NVIDIA is only up a couple of bucks today. And that just goes to show that I think I've been right on saying it's the China problem that's been keeping NVIDIA from blasting off and taking off. Okay, when we come back, we're going to talk about a stock named Pony. Can this Pony run? And guess what NVIDIA is going to have, their first ever quantum day. Well, thanks, Jensen. at their annual GTC conference. They're going to have a quantum day.
SPEAKER 05 :
We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting-edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersonCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services, call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show. There is something in the air. We have liftoff. We do have liftoff in the market here this morning after a better than expected CPI report. Does that mean the Fed will now give us a rate cut at the next meeting? I doubt it. But what we're seeing and what is boosting the market today backs up what we always say is the market depends a lot on interest rates. Interest rates have a big impact on the multiplier. Earnings are fine for the market. The multiplier has been getting hit by rising interest rates. It shrinks the multiple that people are willing to pay for those earnings.
SPEAKER 03 :
And some of those bank earnings have given us a little extra, kind of a double boost, too. Yeah, right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're going to go through that. So we've got... Interest rates down a whopping 13 basis points after they looked like they were headed for 5. And I'm not sure they won't get there still. But we got clear up to 4.80.
SPEAKER 1 :
4.80.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now we're backing off. We're down around 4.67. And that's boosting the multiple. And the bank earnings are boosting the earnings. So we'll get to those bank earnings in just a little bit. There's just a couple other stocks I wanted to talk about here before we do that. We have, let's see, Pony I want to mention. That's, you know, it seems to be a leader, a potential leader in the robo-taxi space. But it is Chinese. The only thing I can say is they're going to now conduct tests on big autonomous truck platoons. So that helps them, just that they have the quantity, the mass of cars and platoons now to test out this autonomous. And, of course, that's where it would really help the truck drivers. making these trucks autonomous. Well, anyways, keep your eye on Pony, P-O-N-Y. We own a little bit in our emerging growth portfolio. Now, here's the one that surprises me. After Jensen Wang comes out and says, ah, 20, 30 years. for quantum he must have made somebody mad nvidia is now going to unveil is unveiling their first ever quantum day go figure an annual gtc i don't know what gtc stands for is that an olive branch we're gonna do it must be The annual event where NVIDIA has announced its Hopper. I mean, this is their big annual event. And Blackwell Line of Products in the past will see NVIDIA's founder, Jensen Wang, discuss a myriad of quantum-related topics, including what's possible and available now. Oh, Jensen, now you're seeing it in quantum computing and where quantum technologies are headed. The company said in a post on the website. Well, believe me, that is giving a big boost. That is going to occur on March 17th to March 21st. So there's a lesson in here. Okay, if you go out on the limb in a very speculative area of the market, That's why I call it incubator. I don't have a better name for it than incubator. But they are public stocks, okay? That's a massive threshold that they've passed through to go from, you know, venture capital, private funding, you know, early shares at a quarter apiece or whatever. and eventually going public. So that is a big milestone that they've already reached. But now it's like, prove it to me that you really are the right stuff. And that's where those quantum stocks are, way down on the scale, kind of with robo-taxi, autonomous driving. It hasn't come to fruition yet, but there are interim steps along the way, which we're learning that there are uses for this technology. Now, okay, so now what happens? You know, we invested, we owned two. I did own Rigetti, and Rigetti, I caught it at the right time. It went up like two days later. It shot way up. And I said, you know, that's a gift. I'm going to take that one. And I didn't get back into it. And then we owned two others, the two that I mentioned, QBTS, which is D-Wave, and QUBT. And I doubled down. I really liked the way QBTS D-Wave was trading, and I made it a double position. Now you say, what is that, Bill? Well, in the incubator portfolio, I'm looking to own 40 to 50. I'm making 2.5% positions. Very small. In other words, in a $100,000 account, I'm only putting like $2,500 into these stocks. Because I realize they're out there on the horizon now. If it starts to look good, I will go up to 5%. And that's what I did. And then it was like a day later that Wang comes along and wangs these stocks with a knife through the heart. And people say, what are you going to do with this position? Well, I'm not going to sell it, right? That's why it's an incubator stock. It's way out there on the horizon. Now, I didn't expect that kind of a hit, but I did get hit. I said, look, all you can do is hold on at this point. Are you going to buy more? No, we'll just let this settle. The dust settled a little bit, and, of course, they're having big days. So, you know, this is going to happen to you at times. Now, there's times when it's best to lick your wounds and walk away from it, okay? But generally speaking, stocks are much more orderly than a 60% hit in one day. That doesn't happen very often.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and in the quantum space, you know what you're getting into, right? I mean, it's a biotech version of technology, really.
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly. I mean, hey, Zuckerberg can't even explain quantum. Okay, that's... That's how kind of out there that it is. So generally speaking, it's very rare. You know, I can't remember the last time we owned a stock. Now, the clients don't own it. I personally own it, and I take the risk with my incubator portfolio. Now, some of the traders, I'm sure, that are following me bought into it. number one never make it more than two and a half to five percent of your overall portfolio so you can't get hit too much if you got a hundred thousand dollar portfolio and it goes to zero the most you can lose is twenty five hundred dollars and if you're in it for five grand is is is five hundred five thousand dollars and you still got ninety five thousand to work with never make it a big uh big uh position number two Generally speaking, stocks trade in a pretty orderly fashion. They're either in an uptrend, a downtrend, a sideways trend, etc. But once in a while, and not very often, you get a knife in the heart and it's down 65% in one day. Well, you just have to wait for the dust to settle. You have to be a little bit patient. Because what happens is when somebody comes along and hits something hard like that, in this case, one person did it. They have a chance to respond. All of the analysts out there, the community that follows these talks, the CEOs, et cetera, that's the phase we're in right now. They're responding. defending their little space that they've carved out. And then to see Wang kind of come to realizing maybe what he had done, he's kind of walking back some of his words. So, you know, I mean, we own them. They're up 45% today. And that's the way it goes in this space. Now, in the portfolios that I manage for the clients, it's a much different kind of philosophy. We're investing. The other one, I have to be a little bit more nimble. I have to have a little bit more of a trading mentality. Because of the nature of the beast, they are public companies. You know, these guys that run venture capital funds, how many stocks do you think they're invested in? How many startups do you think they're invested in? With the hopes that one or two of them, right, will go public and be a hit. Well, I mean, we're a step above that. These companies are now public, which gives us liquidity. Okay, it's liquidity. We can get rid of it. If it's not working out, it's a publicly traded company. But when you get into the premier growth portfolio and ultra growth and the dividend, we're investing in those companies, but we also manage them pretty tightly. You know, I feel like I've probably made a mistake. If it starts drifting lower and gets down 10%, 11%, I really start questioning whether I'll put up a yellow flag and then a red flag, and then this is your last chance. You break this level, baby, and I'm going to have to cut you loose. send you back to the minor leagues, back to Albuquerque, right? But I manage those a little bit differently. Those are investments. But they still have to be managed. You still have to be vigilant because bad things happen to good stocks, too, from time to time where something will change. Look at AMD. The fortunes changed there about a year ago, and they've never come back. And that was the right thing to sell it at the time we did. We're not always right, but we try to make very wise, lots of little decisions on a daily basis. When we come back, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. How are they doing?
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
And looking back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. Before I get into the boring banks here, you know, one list of charts that I begin my day with every day right after the show is the stocks that we own, obviously. They get looked at every single day, maybe a couple times during the day, several times in some cases. And, you know, I try to... People transfer stocks in that we keep and whatnot. And between all the portfolios and bonds that we own, we own about 132 positions as of yesterday, Barry. And as of today, I look and I go, there's 232. Somebody transferred in. Now, 100 positions, I don't know where it came from. I'm going to guess like Raymond James. You can tell me after the show. We don't want to embarrass any of the big regional firms out there. But there you go. It's all the usual suspects. Why would you own 100 stocks? Archer Daniels Midland, Amgen, Bank of America, Caterpillar, ConocoPhillips, Comcast, one of the worst stocks out there, Disney, Dollar Tree, which is, who's been watching the Mint? Dollar Tree's been getting killed. Dow Chemical, Eastman Chemical. Illinois Tool Works, Home Depot, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell. Johnson & Johnson is in every portfolio that comes in from another firm. I knew that one was in there. I was waiting for you to get to it. Okay. They've got a big smack in the Russell 2000 ETF, which is a dog, especially Coca-Cola. always in every portfolio that comes in from big broker firm abc nike nike new core pfizer hasn't done anything in years there she is the pride of cincinnati procter and gamble paypal southern copper oh god this is junk sempra AT&T is going to be there. Yeah, there it is, AT&T. Verizon is going to be there. Yeah, there's Verizon. Okay, now that's the bad news. The other bad news is, Barry, I'm preparing a list of about 75. I'm just writing them down, and then I'm going to send it over to you. You're going to do the weeding today because you've got to do it. It's a little bit on the – It's a little bit on the, you know, it's time consuming. But, you know, you do it once and it's done.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sometimes you say you need a chainsaw instead of a, you know, instead of a hoe.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, in a case like this, you have to go into the portfolio and pick it and sell it one at a time. There's no other way around it, which is cool. I mean, that's what we get to do. And I don't have to look at these stocks tomorrow when I go through my charts because I don't like looking at bad stocks. It just ruins my day. So there's your typical. Believe me, this is so typical. If you have an account at one of the big wire house firms or one of the regionals, you're probably going to have a very similar portfolio, 100 stocks. There's a few good ones sprinkled in here and there. Not many. I don't see many. They're mostly everything you don't want to own. So anyways, I just thought I'd mention that. Okay, and you can tell me after you can text me where this portfolio came from. I'm guessing like, well, I'm not even going to guess. Okay, now let's go look at some of these big dogs. Yeah, you can message me. I can almost guess. I'm pretty sure I know. Okay, Wells Fargo reports earnings. How's Wells Fargo doing? I wouldn't own Wells Fargo. If you paid me. Wells Fargo WFC is up, however, 5.5% today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if any of the other banks were an indication, right, that Wells Fargo should perform well this coming round.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, and the only bank I would own stock would be, I think Jamie Dimon is one of the best CEOs in America. Smart, grows his earnings every year, not by a lot, but by enough. That stock, it's 251. And he can move markets.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. He can move markets in the direction he needs them to move to a certain extent.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's highly respected. Right. And I would at times. I don't like the interest rate environment right now for Goldman Sachs, but there's times when they get it right. Goldman Sachs is up 5.5%. But it hasn't been a big returner. You can look at the 10-year return on the app, what it's returned over the last 5, 3, 1, 10 years compared against the S&P 500. And you'll see it's underperformed the S&P 500 by quite a bit. And then the other one that has reported today is Citigroup, which almost went under. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, they almost went under. They barely came out of it. And now they're back and swinging. They're back to $147 billion in market cap. They probably have the best report of all. The city is up 6% right now and breaking out, but it's been in that 80 area. It gets to 80 and it can't get any further than that for the last seven years. That's what it gets up to 80, drops back down to 60, goes up to 80, drops back down to 60. Well, today it's at 80 up at that higher end of the range. Okay, so that is earnings. Let's just put it this way. Earnings season is off to a good start. Okay, four big banks. They're all up 5% to 6% today. uh... like i say we don't have an earnings problem it's been the multiple and today we're getting help on that a little bit with interest rates dropping okay well i'll be uh... going through all of our holdings today sending out all of the tweets or the messages throughout the day not tweets emails throughout the day we're having a phenomenal day here with our stuff And you can play along. You can just observe. You can keep a paper portfolio. That's a good way to start. Play around. Set up several portfolios of your own and follow along with the logic. and the teaching that I do here on a daily basis. Or you say, I don't have time to do that. I've got a full-time job. I'm doing three heart surgeries tomorrow. Well, that's what we do for a living. While you're doing what you do, we do what we do. I do heart surgery on portfolios every day. and I've done thousands of them over the years, you can hire us to do that work for you. 855-611-BEST. If you're in a mess, 100 stocks, none of them too good, nobody winding the mint, give us a call and interview us. 855-611-BEST. Or sign up for the four free weeks at GundersenCapital.com. GundersenCapital.com. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good night. Good night. Good night.