KLZ 560 AM DENVER'S CONSERVATIVE HOME STATION
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John Rush sheds light on the often misunderstood topic of insurance, emphasizing the need for annual reviews and understanding true replacement costs. With tales from his personal experiences, he underscores the importance of ensuring adequate coverage, not just for the present but to provide peace of mind against unforeseen catastrophes. Whether it's about understanding your insurance policy or considering modern alternatives for emergency communications, this episode is packed with essential information every homeowner needs to hear.
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This is Ready Radio, preparing you to be ready for anything, now. Here's your survival guide for Ready Radio, John Rush.
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All right, welcome. Ready Radio, KLZ 560. First live program of 2025. January the 10th is today's date. If you're listening to a replay, you know what the date is. And I appreciate you all listening. We're doing this now for several years. So thank you all very much. Thanks to all of our sponsors, the folks that make this happen on a weekly basis. And please utilize. Those, if you would, go to ready-radio.com. Find all of our partners there, and when you use one of them, please let them know that you hear them here on Ready Radio, and I appreciate that greatly. All right, several things I want to cover today. First things first, the California fires, which we've talked about in the past here on Ready Radio in regards to even some of the fires we've had in Colorado as to how do we prepare ourselves. We have been victim to similar fires to what they've had out in California right now. Not maybe to that degree, although what happened up in the Boulder area and even what happened up in Granby, had Granby been more populated earlier, Like California was, it would have been very, very similar. But in both situations, you know, houses and belongings and everything completely burned to the ground. And things like that can happen. Now, before I get into what I feel each of us should do to be prepared for those sorts of things, and I have some life lessons along that line because, as a lot of you know, I lost a house up in Granby. and the Troublesome Fire years ago. So I have a little bit of experience with how a lot of this stuff works, the insurance side and so on. And yeah, frankly, even out in California, with a lot of those folks just like happened up in the Louisville Superior area, most will be underinsured. We'll get into some of that today. And what's going to happen in California next, who knows, because it may get hard for them to get insurance, period. Now, I do want to talk about some of the things that are going around the internet and so on I read some different things today and at times I do just have to shake my head at what some people post because it's like you're not really that ignorant are you I mean you really show your ignorance at times with some of the things that get posted and I'm not directing this at any of you that listen because I don't think that's you that do but for example you'll see a meme floating around where it's circling the ocean it's circling the fire saying there's water there use it something to that effect Well, let me explain as somebody that understands that end of things pretty well because in some of the things that I do, the salt component of that, in this case the water, creates some issues. It's not as simple as just pumping it and shooting it on the fire. Some of you may think so, but it's not. And not saying they couldn't do that. In fact, if you prepared, which is what we talk about here on Ready Radio, if you prepared in advance to be able to do some of those things on the front side, pump ocean water up and onto some of those structures and so on, that's a whole different scenario. Problem is, of course, they didn't plan for that. But given the fact that they didn't plan for that, you can't take... the same equipment that they're using for freshwater and pump saltwater through it. It's possible to do it, but it won't last long, folks. And you may put out a few structures and do some things along those lines, but that piece of equipment that you used to do that likely will have to be completely rebuilt when it's all said and done because the saltwater and the corrosion from and so on is enormous. And again, it's just not feasible. And for a lot of you that maybe don't know this, and I think some of the people that post some of these things probably don't, some of the fire trucks and fire apparatuses and so on, you know, they can start in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit all the way up to a million dollars plus for a rig. So you're going to risk as a city, county, whatever the case may be, the investment that you've used taxpayer dollars for in that piece of equipment and run saltwater through it. No, you're not. So for some of you that are posting some of those memes, please stop. You show your ignorance when you do. Show you really don't know what you're talking about. Yes, I've also seen some of the planes that are able to take the seawater and then go dump it. But keep in mind, those are made for that. Completely different scenario with that. Now, I'm not saying there's not fault with what's going on in California, the preparedness, the water, the shortages of not cutting back the growth and so on. I've talked about that on The Daily Show a couple of different times now this week. I'm not giving them a pass by any means, but what I'm saying is, especially we as conservatives, when we post things that are technically not accurate, It makes us look really dumb. And I say that a lot, especially on this show, because the whole preparedness thing, you know, quote, unquote, being a prepper, a good friend of mine and I, in fact, we'll talk to him next week. Bill, if you're listening, we've talked about this and the fact that just the whole term prepper is a negative connotation to some people. It makes you sound like you're really out there and you're some sort of a weirdo. And that's not what this program is about. We want you to be prepared for the what-ifs or for anything that comes along in life. That could be a big snowstorm, could be a tornado, could be a hurricane, could be a power outage, could be an EMP, could be a flood, you name it. just bad wind here in Colorado. I mean, there's all sorts of things that can come along, and we even get into some of the preparedness end of things on what do you do if your car breaks down on the side of a busy freeway? I mean, I get into all of those different things, which your average, quote-unquote, prepper show won't do, because I want everybody to be prepared for everything, not just that, quote-unquote, end-of-the-world scenario, which, by the way, may not ever come in our lifetime. I have no idea. I don't have a crystal ball. No one does. So my point with some of these posts is, number one, like anything with social media, think twice before posting. I don't care what it is. I saw somebody else posting today talking about how, you know, what's happening in California is, you know, Revelation, whatever. And I went and actually read that particular passage in Revelation and trying to figure out how that correlates. And I know my scripture pretty well, and the reality is it doesn't. So, again, where I'm going with this is be extra careful when you post those things because you have influence probably more than you think. And people are looking at what you post. And the last thing that you want to be known for is a weirdo that posts all sorts of things that, frankly, might have a little nugget of truth but are probably not true truth. wholeheartedly, and you're discounted easily, meaning that when you do actually have something worthwhile to say and post, no one is going to recognize that or read it because you're a nut job. No one wants to be known as a nut job. And sorry to say there's too many of them out there on our side. So I just want to do a little explanation on there's a reason why ocean water is not used to put out those fires in their current situation. Like I said, I'm not saying that they couldn't prepare for that and have some pumping equipment and things along those lines that potentially would work for that. But you're not going to take your normal, typical freshwater fire truck And do that. no matter what anybody out there says. Now, I've also heard from different people that, you know, they worry about the saltwater on the vegetation and so on. You know, honestly, I think that's the least of their worries. You're going to have a certain amount of things going on after a fire, regardless of what you've done with the salt and the vegetation and so on. All of that dirt and land and so on is going to have to be completely gone through, scraped, redone anyway. So that's a non-issue. That part doesn't bother me at all. And you could use saltwater to put those fires out. But you have to have proper equipment to do so. And I can tell you right now that most likely, well, I already know, they don't have that equipment out there. They've probably never thought through that. Now, I'll go one step further. Part of the problem, and I've said this many, many times on the weekly show, one of my biggest complaints with California is, number one, there's no management. It's a disaster as a state goes. The whole water management thing is another disaster. Why there isn't desalinization. If they want to go ahead and divert all the water out to the ocean and save the fish, great. Then put some desalinization plants in and have extra water that way. Using that water for drinking and so on and saving some of the other reservoir water for some of these things that they're encountering right now. There are solutions to this, by the way. They're just not willing to step up and make those things happen, whether it be because of cost or environmental concerns or whatever the case may be. You know, no offense. They would rather go put money into homeless things and illegal immigration and, and, and, and, and. They would rather do that and make sure that their fire departments are woke. And then brag about all the lesbians that are now trying to put out fires. And I'm not joking when I say that because there are actual postings and things out there of these particular ladies bragging about the fact that they're lesbians working in the fire department. So I'll get into more of that probably next week as more of that continues to be uncovered. But my point really was be careful what you repost. Making sure that it's accurate. So that at the end of the day, you don't look like a fool. Because ultimately, that's not what we want to look like. All right. A couple of other things. Now, let me get this one out of the way, too. Here's another one I don't believe. I saw something today that basically showed P. Diddy's house burning, which I don't even know if it is. P. Diddy's house burning, and that's the reason the fire started. Because of all of the evidence and things that are inside. Come on, folks. Really. Honestly. Honestly. That is a huge stretch. So that's another one where you repost that and you just look like a fool. So don't. Even if you're tempted to. Even if it sounds great, don't. All right. One other thing I did look at, which would have applied to this situation. Elon Musk now has given the folks the ability to be inside of that area and text and so on, and he's worked out a deal with T-Mobile where they're linking up to Starlink and people can now text and communicate and get in contact with loved ones and so on. I was looking at some things over vacation, over the holidays. I haven't ordered any of these yet because I'm still doing some research, but I found a product called Rapid Radios. Rapid radios. And they're not a ham radio. They're still working off of the cell network that we have coast to coast, but they do it in such a way that their packet usage, quote unquote, is done to where it's very... low usage in the tower meaning that it gets priority when it actually goes through so even if a lot of people are using a particular tower chances of that particular packet going through is much higher than if somebody were trying to use a cell phone and because they're able to use everybody's towers not just Verizon or T-Mobile or AT&T or whatever they're able to piggyback onto all towers through the agreements that they have their radios pretty much work coast to coast, even in very remote areas. Now, they're not GPS. They're not satellite – sorry, they're not satellite-driven, GPS satellite-driven. They're not ham. They are using the existing cell network, meaning that if that network goes down, those radios are inoperative. But in this situation right now in California, or anything that we would have even along the front range here – This is not a bad alternative, and they're not too badly priced. And I know you can go out and do the ham radio thing and all of that, and for some of you, that's a great alternative. For others, that's way above your head, and you'll never do it. This is simply you go buy a pair or four or six or however many you want for your family. You pull it out of the box, and it's usable. There is no programming. There's no dinking around. There's no nothing. You pull the two out, and they will talk to one another. And if you buy enough of them, they're about $170 a piece. Now, some would say, man, that seems really high. Well, if you look at what a cell phone costs and some other things that are out there, not really. It's really not that expensive. To be able to have communication in a situation like these folks are going through in California and not having to wait for an Elon Musk with Starlink or whatever, I mean, even looking back in the Carolina region with the hurricane and so on, these radios, these rapid radios would have most likely worked even in those situations. So, food for thought. I may very well order some. I've got some communication going on back and forth with them. I'm not looking for any freebies or discounts or anything along those lines. I'm just trying to figure out if it's a good solution for a lot of you listening and then be able to get some feedback. actual physical use in on them and determine whether that's a good alternative or not and i will most likely here in the first quarter of this year do so just to get some experience with them and see exactly how they work before i actually endorse them one other product that i noticed this is in regard to the fires and even kind of some end of the world stuff And this came up as an ad. I don't know why, to be real honest with you, but this came up as an ad, and I clicked on it and thought, oh, this really is not a bad deal at all. For a lot of you that have wells, so you're on a well and you're trying to figure out, how am I going to get water if all power is out? How am I going to get that water out of the well? There's a company called Flowjack, F-L-O-J-A-K. Take the C out of jack. So F-L-O-J-A-K. They make a ready-made hand well pump kit that you literally can put on the top of your well and pump it like a bicycle, like a bicycle pump, and pull water out. It's 500 bucks. So for some of you that are on wells where you're thinking, hey, I need to figure out a generator system or something to where I could pump out some drinking water and things like that, this is a lot less money than trying to figure out generators and hookups and all of the other things that would coincide with that. And keep in mind, in an end-of-world scenario, you're only going to let that work for so long until things run out, propane, natural gas, fuel, whatever. This, because it's manual, would literally run forever. So, food for thought. I'll put this link in our notes where you guys can take a peek at this. Those of you that have wells that might be interested in this, I've never seen a product like this. it's designed for again for those of you that already have a well you've already got a cap you know what i mean by that you take the cap off put this on top of where the cap is and it'll draw you can pull the water up and out of the well and it's all diagrammed you can look at their particular website and it shows you exactly how it all works how you install it and so on so for a lot of you that i know live in some of our rural areas or even in town you may still have a well You might be on city water in a well for irrigation. This would work even in that particular case to pull water out. In the case of an all-out, complete power outage, you have no ability to get your well fired up. This would give you fresh water out of your well. with this particular device. So Flowjack, F-L-O-J-A-K. And no, they're not paying me. I just happened to see, again, an ad for this. And when I did, I clicked on it, did a little bit of research and thought, you know, not a bad product at all. Some of you ag guys where you're out in some of the other areas where, again, you're working off of a well or you might have a well for the house and a well for your animals and so on. You might want a couple of these depending upon what your particular scenario is. So anyways, take a peek at that. I'm going to come back and talk about the insurance sides of things and what you should do to be prepared for a fire if, in fact, something like that were to happen like what just did in California. I want to make sure you're all prepared for that. So we'll get into that in just one moment. Don't go anywhere. Ready Radio, and it's ready-radio.com. That's our website, KLZ 560.
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All right, we are back. Ready Radio, KLZ 560, and talking insurance now. And for a lot of you, this is a hot topic. It is for everybody. I shouldn't say a lot of you. It's always a hot topic. No one likes buying insurance. I saw a Facebook post earlier today, insurance is a scam. Well... No, it's not. I mean, some may feel like it is, but insurance is a business whereby they collect premiums based upon what they feel the risk is for a particular thing that they're insuring. And they ask you to pay a fee for said insurance, and they realize that they have a risk that they may have to pay out on a claim for whatever it is you're insuring against. That's how insurance works. Now, they also know that it's rare for everyone to turn a claim in at one time. It doesn't happen very often. And insurance companies also know that. This is where it gets interesting in places like California where you burn down – there are some estimates that about 4,000 homes have burned. I don't know if that's true. I have not been able to verify any of that. I know here in Colorado, we lost about 500 or so. Maybe – I think it was close to 1,000 homes actually. So – When that happens, yeah, that's hard on insurance companies. They don't plan on those sorts of losses. Let's call it that. So, yeah, it's a sore subject to a lot. A lot of us pay a lot of money for insurance, and it's everything from your home to your car to your business to, in some cases, you guys have toys, motorcycles, boats, planes, things like that, life insurance, disability insurance, you name it. There's insurance for all sorts of things. And as you guys know, you can pretty much buy insurance for whatever you want to, depending upon what it is and how much you want to pay for a premium. At one point in time, didn't J-Lo have part of her butt insured or something, Charlie, I want to say? So, yeah, you can buy insurance for anything. Lloyd's of London, I think. You can buy insurance for about anything. Now, in most cases, if you have a – not in most cases. In all cases, if you have a mortgage, you have to have insurance. If you don't, they're going to provide it at a very inflated price over what you could go to the open market and buy. So you want to go out, shop, and have your own insurance because otherwise your mortgage company will do it, and it's going to be a lot higher price than if you had it on your own. So, yes, if you have a mortgage, insurance is a must. If you don't have a mortgage, that's your call. You want to insure it? Fine. If not, fine. You probably should at least have liability insurance in case somebody slips and falls or falls off the roof or something along those lines. But whether you insure the structure or not, if it's paid for, that's your call. You're kind of self-insuring and taking the risk on your own if you decide to do it that way. And I don't know how many of these homes in that California area might fall into that. Some of those people are very wealthy. They may very well have just said, you know, we'll do liability only and we're not going to insure the structure. We'll take our chances. I don't know. I'm sure some of that will come out in the news as time goes by. Now, most people can't do that. Most cannot self-insure. Very few can self-insure. Now, there are things when it comes to insurance you can do to save money and have good coverage. and that is doing some self-insurance by having high deductibles. In other words, don't nickel and dime the insurance company. Have a high deductible, $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, whatever the max is. Anytime I go to quote insurance, first question I ask, how big of a deductible can I have? Because I know the higher the deductible, the cheaper the premium. And I'm willing to take a risk on a claim and pay a higher deductible than I am to pay higher rates. Because in a lot of cases, fortunately for me, I have a lot of contacts and the ability to do things on my own and so on. And in a lot of cases, unless it's a catastrophic claim, I can handle it on my own. Fender benders, things like that, I can pretty much take care of those things on my own without ever turning a claim in. You have to sit down and determine that on your own. What can you bear if something were to happen? So if you had a total loss, and everything's wiped out and you've got a $10,000 deductible, are you okay at the end of the day? That's only a question you can answer. But what I will tell you is most people don't do what I just said. They sit down with an agent or they go online, they plug in a few things, they answer a few questions, out pops a premium, and off they go. And they don't even bother going through some of the things that I just mentioned. I'm going to talk about limits in a moment, but first things first. If you want to save money on insurance, raise your deductible. And those of you that have auto insurance, if you really want to lower your auto insurance, drop your windshield coverage. You just heard an ad for Novus a moment ago. Yes, windshields are getting expensive. Insurance companies know that, and they're building the price of that windshield on that particular car back into the premiums, knowing that you're going to put one in every so often. So if you want to save money on insurance, drop your windshield coverage. Drop your glass coverage. So food for thought. There's all sorts of ways to save money. And my good friend Paul Leuenberger, who's a good advertiser of ours, you can always call him and he can walk you through some of the things that I'm talking about. And he knows how to save money on insurance. And where I'm at with this is most people never ask. And most people are undercovered. They're more worried about having a low deductible and a low premium and this, that, and the other. And at the end of the day, they get that, but they're also underinsured. So when a total loss does come, they're left holding the bag, just like what happened with folks that had a lot of money up in the Louisville Superior area, and the same thing is going to happen in California. So first things first, and I'm a big one on this, you should review your insurance policies, plural, all of them annually. You know when your renewal date is. It should be on your calendar, by the way. So if you renew 1st of March, let's say, right now in January, you should be looking at that policy changes too and or is there somebody else out there that can offer me a better deal? And shop it and do that every single year. And some of you would say, well, why would I waste all my time doing that? That's how you save money, folks. And that's how you do some of the things I just mentioned a moment ago in regards to deductibles and limits and, and, and. Now, for a lot of you listening as well, not maybe all people, but for a lot of you, you should have an umbrella policy as well. An umbrella policy is an add-on. It's an umbrella to what you already have, depending upon the claim and the coverage you have and so on. It's a good thing to have, and it's not very expensive. All insurance agents, including Paul, can explain how that works. So first things first, make sure you're properly insured. Try to save the most money by some of the things I just said, some of the tips I just gave. And then, for the love of God, make sure you have enough coverage. And most people are underinsured. They don't look at what the actual replacement costs of a home would be. If it's completely wiped out, something happens, there's a natural gas explosion, a fire comes through, you name it. most don't know what that cost is. And I'll be the first to tell you, a lot of agents don't even know. Paul does, but a lot of agents don't even know. Rule of thumb in our area, by the way, a low-end house, figure 250 to 300 a square foot to rebuild in a high-end house can be anywhere from 400 to 600 a foot. So do the math. 2,000 square foot house, 400 bucks a square foot, 800K. And it adds up fast. Now, keep in mind, that's just the building cost. And this is where you've got to be careful on your policies. That does not include cleanup. That does not include anything else that might have to happen to get it into the shape of actually having to rebuild. May not include digging out the old foundation. You may have plumbing things to deal with, sewer lines, on and on and on we go. You need to make sure that you're asking all the right questions of your agent so that they're building the policy necessary so something like what happened in California were to happen here. And it has happened here. And some people out there are thinking, because I've read some of the comments, how does an entire neighborhood burn down? One house ignites, fires are very strong, or winds are very strong, 80, 90, 100 miles an hour, and one house burns, the next house burns, you get the drill. It just jumps from house to house to house to house to house. And the other theory that I have on it after being through this is, as you guys all know, fire seeks oxygen. That's how fire stays alive. A house, by the way, is full. Of what? Inside air and oxygen. So the minute that a window or something along those lines breaks, door blows in, whatever the case, where do you think that fire is going? Right inside the next house. Most people think that the fire kind of jumps up and sparks on the roof and then it starts to ignite. No, that's not how that works. Typically speaking, a window, something like that, gets so hot, it shatters, it breaks, and the fire just goes right into the house, and it burns from the inside out, not the outside in, in the case of what's happened in California. So some of you think, well, man, I'm immune. The next house over is a long way away. Is it? You know, is it? We saw houses up in the Boulder County Superior area that were on acre to two acre lots that still burned from one to the next to the next to the next. And they were a long distance away from one another. So you don't have to be on a postage stamp lot and be an arm's length distance from your neighbor to have it jump from house to house to house. Because again, like I said, it seeks air, the fire does. And when it finds it, off it goes. So once again, make sure that you're fully covered. Look at all of the things that go into the policy, especially when it comes to total loss. Look at how each individual insurance company handles a total loss. And what I mean by that is some insurance companies will insure your contents several ways. One of those ways might be just flat out blanket. You tell us what the value was inside. You go out, buy replacements, and off you go. Some of them will require receipts showing what you actually owned prior, what you paid for certain items. It can get very intricate and you have to know what your policy says. Don't assume that you just have full replacement cost without asking and reading the policy. Because it might surprise you what your coverage actually is. In some cases, you may be generating an entire spreadsheet of personal items. And this goes back to Joe from Jersey always saying, with now having the ability on your cell phone to take a video, walk through your house periodically with your cell phone to record all of the items you own. So that as time goes by, if something like this were to happen, you can document it. And folks, it comes all the way down to even the groceries you had at that time. How many box of cornflakes were on the shelf? Did you have a case of ramen noodles? Did you have this much in silverware, utensils, pots and pans? You get the drift. Those are all personal items that will have to be replaced in a total loss situation like what's happened out in California. I mean, everything from your toothbrush, personal items, all of those things have to be replaced. And you guys all know it's not cheap to do so. So once again, go through your policy. I'm not a big one for buying things online because most of them will not have the ability to walk through what we're talking about right now. So talk to an actual agent, somebody like Paul, preferably Paul, and go through that process so you know exactly what you have and how it's covered. Some things get excluded. You might have a gun collection. It may very well not even be in your current policy. You might have to buy an addendum for that. A rider, they call it. You might have some heirlooms, some paintings, jewelry, something along those lines. You have to make sure you're covered on those things properly or you won't be. You'll be either without those when it's all said and done or you'll be out of pocket on your own to replace them. And again, that's something you have to determine on the front side, what risk do you want to take? But far too many people say, oh, I'm insured. Are you? Really? Pull your policy out and let's look. I can't tell you on the coaching side how many businesses through the years I've pulled out policies and looked at what they have for even their business insurance and found it not to be enough. The same is true with people on their homes. Just because it covers the mortgage, which by the way satisfies them, doesn't mean you have enough insurance. Now, I also am not telling people to be insurance poor. You don't need to buy more than you need. But far too many people, the vast majority, are underinsured. They do not have enough for what's going on. Now, and here's my complaint on that. You heard Joe Biden yesterday talking about how 100% federal government, taxpayers, we're going to kick in and write a check for everything that's happened out there. Now, I don't know if he's talking about homes or just infrastructure or just cleanup or what. I mean, he didn't give all the specifics, but we're on the hook for 100% now because that's what he promised. People in other disaster areas didn't get that, by the way. Ironically, Blue State, California gets 100%, but North Carolina didn't. Florida doesn't. Other places don't when that happens. That'll be something, again, I talk about next week on The Daily Show. But the reality is my beef when folks are underinsured is they then expect the government to come in and pick up the tab for the difference. No, folks, we as conservatives believe in personal responsibility. You should have all that covered on your own. And if you didn't insure for enough, that's on you. Sorry, I do not feel sorry for you. That's on you. You had the opportunity prior to do the insurance side of it the way you needed to. You chose not to. That's now on you. So at the end of the day, if you can't rebuild your home, put the lot up for sale, sell it off, do something else. And no, I don't have any sympathy. I have sympathy that you lost your home, but I don't have sympathy that you can't rebuild it because you didn't plan ahead. So I know I sound a little... angry at that but i am because it costs all of us taxpayers money when people are underinsured because then they expect others to come in and backfill and that's not how this should work We should be filling in on our own with our own insurance. Now, if you've got to fight the insurance company, that's a whole other conversation, which I could get into. But reality is, make sure you're covered properly. And if the insurance policy says X, Y, Z, you'll get the money. Trust me. You can hire a public adjuster if you have to and get the money. So reality is, you'll get the money. But far too many people are underinsured because they don't take into account all of the different things that I just talked about. So please, by all means, get all that done. I've got a few more things to say about the insurance side. If you have a comment on that, you can text me, 307-200-8222. You can call in as well, 303-477-5600. We'll be right back. This is Ready Radio, KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 02 :
All right. Welcome back. Ready Radio, KLZ 560 website, ready-radio.com. Got a great question that came in on the text line. How do you establish values for certain things? Your house, a pole barn, etc. Let me go through some of that. Now, really quick, I also want to put a plug in for one of our great sponsors, BP Appraisals, because when it comes to certain things like cars and gun collections... Burt Payne can actually give you a written-out, factual, here's what things are worth, stick that in a file, give it to your insurance agent, and off you go. That's easy. Now, when it comes to other items, it gets a little more difficult. Now, depending upon your house and the value, some insurance companies have their own team that will even come out and analyze what's a rebuild cost for this property based upon current market conditions. And then they will update that depending upon what inflation does and supply chain issues and so on annually. Now, if you're in an area where that's not going to happen and they're basing everything off of what you feel values are, do some comps. you can pretty well look around and see, okay, if I were to go buy this new, if this completely burned to the ground and I had to rebuild from scratch, what are the going rates? And like for like, by the way. So in other words, if you've got a house and it has construction grade type countertops and doors and sinks and so on, then you need to look at the per square foot cost along those lines and you're not going to be in that $400 to $500 a square foot range. On the same token, if you've got more of a custom home and things are a little nicer and you've got different types of even toilets and sinks and faucets and so on – because, by the way, those things add up really fast. And there's a huge difference between contractor grade versus the other end – That's where that price per square foot starts to increase. We talk to Dave from Veteran Windows and Doors during the week all the time, even windows and doors and things like that. Dave Hart from Roof Savers of Colorado, who you heard an ad for a few minutes ago. Even the way the roof is done, huge difference in the bottom of the barrel shingles to top-of-the-line shingles, even on asphalt shingles. So those are things where, number one, what do you have now? And what's it going to cost to replace that like for like? You know, I don't believe in insuring for more than what you own. You just want to be made whole again if something like this were to happen. So you want the ability. This is my opinion and how I look at it. If you have a total loss and at that point you're looking at a total claim of X. So let's use some round numbers. You've got a house and property and so on, and you've got the house valued in our area. It's not hard to get to the $500,000 range. That's a nice round number. So you feel you've got a house that to replace it would be 500 grand. So you're going to insure it for 500, most likely minus the land, plus, though, the contents. So let's say that you're going to insure it for 400 because you feel the lot is worth $100,000. but you know you've got 100 of contents, and I'm just using round numbers. So we're still back up to the 500 range on what you're insuring. So you get a policy for 500K. Now, most policies will allow for some increases. The other thing you've got to be really careful of, will they allow you to build the new home up to code because your old home probably isn't? Unless it just got built, it's not up to code, trust me. There will be things when a new builder comes in to rebuild what you have, Codes have changed, and they will have to upgrade certain things, which adds to the per square foot cost. Some policies will include that code updating in the policy. Again, you have to get with your agent and find out exactly what it says in each one of these areas. So, going back to, we're insuring it for 400 contents of 100, so we're going to get 500. Now, A lot of insurance companies, you could just settle up right off the bat, have them write you the check for $500, and you determine what you want to do from there. Some will require you to rebuild before you get a check. This is where, by the way, public adjusters come in. What a public adjuster does, by the way, is they look at their entire policy, all the ins and outs of it, everything that, by the way, you probably don't know, and not even your agent, but the adjusters won't tell you. They determine what the whole claim should be, what the policy will cover, and they go after that full amount. Yes, you pay them a fee to do that, but you will get much more money out of a claim with a public adjuster than you ever will yourself. That I can guarantee you. And that's true for me. My cabin that burned down up in the mountains, same thing. I got a public adjuster, got far more out of that with them than I ever would have gotten on my own. And I tried it on my own for a while and started getting jacked around by the insurance company. And so I went a different direction, got a public adjuster, and off we went. So going back to this $500K, you think you've got a lot that's worth $100K. So let's say you go the public adjuster route and you get a 500K check. You know your lot's worth 100. Well, at that point in time, you can make the decision, am I rebuilding? Am I buying a bunch of new stuff? Or am I moving? And for a lot of people, by the way, just because of the memories of what's gone on there, they don't want to live there anymore anyways. They're going. They're going to go someplace else. So at that point, you take your 500K, you put the lot on the market, you get your 100K back out of the lot, you now collected 600, and off you go. Go buy the next place. So my point with insurance is you want to be in that position. At the end of the day, if something happens, you want to have that scenario to where you've got enough cash in the bank, literally, because you'll get a check. You have enough cash in the bank to then make a decision. Am I rebuilding? Or are we going to sell a lot and move? What are you going to do? And trust me, this is personal experience speaking. When the money's in the bank... And you can then go look at all the different options that you have on what you want to do. It makes it a whole lot easier than when you don't. And I'm a big one on, and this is what I would even advise these folks in California, they should be hiring a public adjuster today. House is burned to the ground, go get a public adjuster. Be first in line. Get a settlement from the insurance company on the front side. Worry about rebuilding later, but have that money in the bank now. Whatever the maximum is, contents and so on, get it now. And my point is you want to have enough insurance to where if and when that day comes and you're looking for that payout from the insurance company, it gives you the ability to make those decisions necessary, like I said a few minutes ago. That's the position you want to be in, not a position of, oh, I've got a five hundred thousand dollar house that I insured for three hundred. It's going to cost me four hundred to replace it. And I kind of forgot about the contents and and or didn't value those correctly. So I'm under there. So now what do I do? And this happened in Louisville. By the way, I'm giving you real-world examples. These things were in the news that happened in our own backyard up in the Louisville, Boulder County area, Superior Louisville area, where people literally found themselves in that position. And by the way, these were not poor people. These were people with means, but underinsured. In some cases, keep in mind, they lost cars that were in the garage. All sorts of things happened. And they didn't have enough insurance, so they were really left trying to figure out what do we do next. And for a lot of them, they had to literally just sell the lot, try to recoup as much as they could, pay their mortgage off, and hope they could go somewhere else. That's not the position you want to be in. That is the last place you want to find yourself in. You want to be on the opposite end. You want to have all your ducks in a row, go to a public adjuster, get as much money as you possibly can out of that claim, be made whole, and then make a decision, am I rebuilding or am I selling my lot? What am I going to do? And by the way, as far as selling a lot goes, when you have all the money in the bank off of everything else and you can go make a decision on where else you want to live, you don't have to make a decision on selling that lot right then. You could wait a year or two and decide. You could wait for some of the values to even come back up if you wanted to. Totally your call. The pressure, my point is the pressure of what you have to do goes away. Because you planned ahead. That's what this show is all about. We want you to plan ahead. Yes, we call it Ready Radio because we want you to be ready for anything. But we're big on planning ahead so that you have things handled on the front side and you're not trying to worry about it on the back side trying to figure it out then. And folks, I'm giving you real world examples. You're going to hear all sorts of sob stories coming out of California. And while I feel bad that people lost their entire homes, I really do because that's not fun. I do not feel bad for people that are underinsured. They had plenty of opportunity over the past decades to figure out how to be insured properly. And if they aren't, that's on them and should not be my responsibility as a taxpayer to make them whole. nor your responsibility as a taxpayer. So this is one of those things, and for a lot of you, a lot of us think, where I live, that's just not going to happen. There's not enough trees and brush and things around me. That's not how to look at it, folks. Again, all it takes is one house igniting, Strong winds, which we have in Colorado, and pretty soon it's house after house after house after house after house. And as you guys have seen, even from what happened here in Colorado, it burns the cars on the streets. It burns everything in the house itself. I don't think most people have any comprehension of how hot it is. those fires actually are and what they do. A lot of folks even that put the memes and things out there, these are people, frankly, that have no clue how hot fire is and what it actually can do and what happens when you blow that fire at 100 miles an hour. And they want to blame all sorts of things, government, not saying that there's not some nefariousness going on inside government and so on, but they want to blame it on everything other than the fact that things happen And unless you're prepared on the front side, you're going to lose. So in the case of the folks in California, those that were insured really well, that had everything all dialed in, they will be made whole. They will not have any issues. Yes, there's always sadness over the things that you lose because it's your personal items. But financially speaking, those people that are insured correctly will be just fine. That's what I want for all of you. Be insured correctly so that if something comes along that is what we call a total loss, you have the ability to be made whole again, and you're now in control of your future and somebody else isn't. And again, I will guarantee you that inside of my own listening audience, there are a lot of people that don't understand the things we've just gone through this past 55 minutes or so, And they have no idea whether they're insured for enough or not. And going back to the question, how do I know if I am? Do some research. Do some comps. What's it going to take to replace what you own? The pole barn situation a moment ago. Stay up to date on that. Those things go up in price on an annual basis. What is a, you know, if you've got a 20 by 20 pole barn or a 40 by 40 pole barn, what does that cost to replace right now? And by the way, you've got to figure in not just the replacement value of the building going up, but what's inside of it. electrical and heat and so on, if that's what you've done. Did you put a concrete floor in? On and on. So you've got to look at everything along those lines, factor that all in, and then insure it correctly. And what I will tell you is, most of the time, it's more money than you think. And real quick as a reminder, please make sure in your policy you have cleanup costs covered. Most will include it, But look at that and determine, is it enough for all of the cleanup? If there's a total loss like what's happened in California, am I going to be able to even afford to get all this stuff hauled off and even start over again at that point and be where I need to be? Because in a lot of cases, your policy will be way low in that. And I will tell you that those cleanup costs add up really, really quickly. When I had my cabin burned down up in Granby, I think the cleanup costs alone were about $15,000. just getting everything leveled off, cleaned up. That wasn't taking the foundation or anything out. That was just getting all of the debris and everything that had burned to the ground out of there. It was about 15 grand. Most would say, holy cow, how did it get so high? Trust me, folks. They don't haul the stuff away for free. And whoever's taking the debris doesn't take it for free. And it doesn't load itself into the dump truck for free. You're paying people to do all of those things, and there's a cost to it. And in some cases, it's hazardous material at that point, and there's even costs on that, which, by the way, also makes sure that you're covered inside of your policy for as well. So, guys, that's it. If you have any questions on that directly, you can always text me, 307-200-8222. We'll be back with our next program. Don't go anywhere. Ready Radio, KLZ 560.
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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.
Amidst the electric backdrop of recent political upheavals, The Mike Gallagher Show delivers an episode fueled with powerful moments and impactful revelations. The episode opens with a contemplation of the sentencing of Donald Trump — a decision that, despite sparing him jail, brands him a felon to a divided crowd. With humor and fervor, Mike calls upon listeners to play an integral role in deciding the program content through a lightning round of responses, and to not shy away from the swirling vortex of American politics and media biases. Furthermore, the episode brings to light the shifting dynamics at play beyond the world of politics, unveiling the human side of national events. As Brad Parscale, a key figure behind Trump's digital conquest, shares his vision for Salem Media Group, listeners gain insight into the potential evolution within the digital and media frontier. Meanwhile, reflections on the funeral of Jimmy Carter offer a lens into the deeply personal nature of institutional work and the intricate webs woven within America's political fabric.
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He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor studios, here's Mike Deller.
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I came into work today with a dilemma. This hour, this despicable Judge Juan Merchan is going to sentence... Donald J. Trump. Now, he's not going to get jail time, apparently. He's not going to get any kind of penalty, except for the ability for the Trump-hating universe to call the 47th president of the United States officially a convicted felon. It makes me so angry, I want to jump out of my skin. And we got a lot of breaking news today. We had the Carter funeral yesterday, and wow, we have hours' worth of material from those five presidents sitting together with their wives, except the one wife, Michelle Obama, who couldn't bother to attend because she undoubtedly didn't want to be in the same room with Adolf Hitler. However, Barack Obama apparently likes Adolf Hitler because they're chums. They're buddies. That was wild, okay? We'll get to all of that, I promise, because it was quite the image to see Barack Obama and Donald Trump laughing, giggling, Kamala glaring at them. She's sitting in front of them. I'm telling you, the Real Housewives of New Jersey had nothing on this show yesterday. You could do a five-part miniseries on Jimmy Carter's funeral. Isn't there a movie, Three Men and a Funeral? Two Women and a Funeral? I don't know, something. Well, this was five presidents at a funeral, and I could watch it on a loop. I could watch Kamala glaring at Barack for the rest of my life. Just put it on a loop, inject it into my veins. I'm a happy camper. So we're going to get to that. But before we get to that, here's my struggle, and this is why I'm going to turn to you. And Teresa, we're going to do a lightning round of calls. And Teresa, our screener, who is knocking it out of the park. We're so thrilled to have Teresa join our team, and she is magnificent. Of course, she was a Joey Hudson recommendation, so why wouldn't she be fantastic? But she's absolutely amazing, and she's all excited about the challenge of a lightning round. And Eric, get our lightning round music queued up. I'll tell you when to start. But Teresa said, I'm ready. I'm just going to get their names, and I'm going to put them up, and we're going to be really quick. Here's my lightning round programming question for you. I love it when you're my program director. I don't really have a program director. I have a boss. I listen to him. I bounce off. I've got a lot of great resources to help me with content. But I love turning to you for advice on how to run this show. I don't mind. I mean, it is my show. I love doing what I do, but I like advice. So here's what I need to ask you, Mr. or Mrs. Program Director. In about 20 minutes, Marchand is going to sentence Trump for the stupid, bogus, witch-hunt, ridiculous sham, the 34 felony convictions that Alvin Bragg and company twisted out of an expired misdemeanor. Business records being falsified. It's the stupidest thing I've ever witnessed, and it was only done to try to stop Trump. Well, Juan Marchand... degenerate that he is, he sees fit to provide an audio feed of the sentencing. He wants everybody to hear him sentence Trump. Now, he didn't allow any cameras or microphones in the trial because we would have all seen, the world would see what a witch hunt it was and what a political joke it was. But now that he gets to sentence him, he wants the world to peek in on that and he wants people to hear it. And because he wants people to hear it, my inclination is I don't want people to hear it. But I also have a responsibility as a talk show host with millions of weekly listeners to do my job. It is history. And it's despicable. And it's awful. But maybe we ought to hear it. Well, we're about 15 or 20 minutes away. Let me have a bunch of program directors call 800-655-MIKE. Cue the music, Eric. 800-655-6453. Cue the music. Cue the music. And I want you to tell me whether you want me to carry it or not on this show. That's all. Do you want to hear it or not? I mean, it's going to make you mad because it makes me sick. I don't think we can ignore it. I don't think we can avoid it. I think we ought to be able to confront evil... front and center. But let's find out. I want to know what you think. And let's get as many calls in here as we can. 800-655-MIKE 800-655-6453 800-655-6453 Quickly to Jennifer, Dayton, Ohio. Jennifer, should we carry it or not? Jennifer, you there? Maggie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maggie, should we carry it or not? Not hearing anybody, Eric. Maggie, you there? Well... Okay, so we've stopped the music. This is like a typical Mike Gallagher production. I swear, I could mess up a one-car funeral. I could screw up. So let's take a quick timeout. Let's go ahead and regroup. I'll try again when we come back. We'll get the phones to work. And I swear, I'm not kidding you. Everything I try to do, a contest, if I tell a joke about a little person, a little person is in the background. Anything I try to do just gets exploded. And, of course, I blame Eric. So thank you, Eric, for not having the phone set up. So we'll get this fixed, and then we will take your phone calls. I want to know, and I want to get a good, seriously, and you can text me as well. I mean, I've got five texts in a row. Ohio, don't play it. Michigan, don't bother. New York City, please don't air it. Pennsylvania, I'll turn it off, but I'll turn you back on afterwards. I think most people don't want to hear this. And guess what? If you don't want to hear it, I'm not going to play it. So you keep voting. Either call or text 800-655-MIKE. I know the text line is working. Maybe we can get the phones to work, and then I'll get some on-air responses as well. There's one yes from Florida. Do you want to hear... the audio of Judge Juan Marchand sentencing Donald Trump? Or do you just want me to talk about it maybe afterwards? I don't know. This is a real dilemma for me, and I mean it. I'm really torn on this. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. You get to judge. You get to vote. We'll continue to poll you next here on The Mike Gallagher Show. 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. 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don't go changing to try and please me you never let me down before
SPEAKER 03 :
Breaking now on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 13 :
Here's the headline from the New York Post. Donald Trump gets no penalty in hush money case, but will still become the first felon in the White House. And that's what you're going to hear all day long today. This despicable Manhattan judge, along with the despicable jury of New Yorkers, convicting Trump of 34 felonies over a business records error that was a misdemeanor originally that got turned into 34, and an expired misdemeanor because of the statute of limitations, got turned into 34 felony convictions. The president-elect is the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House. I'm not going to even use the word justice with this guy. Judge Juan Marchand. who oversaw a trial where jurors heard evidence that Trump paid off the porn star, sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge. Mershon said, Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume a second term in office. Of course, Trump faces no jail time, probation, or fines. Look, does he lose his right to vote? Does he lose his right to keep and bear arms? He does, right? I mean, we've stripped the 47th president of the United States from his constitutional rights, like voting, all because the supposed conservative justices on the Supreme Court didn't have the guts to do the right thing. John Roberts, he's a lost cause. He's no conservative. But Amy Coney Barrett? I mean, it was five to four. If only one of the supposed conservative majority of Supreme Court justices had done the right thing, Trump wouldn't have been subjected to this debacle. Now, I want to share a really nice story. text I got. It's a lengthy text, but I want to read it to you before we take some more phone calls at 800-655-MIKE. But I really do appreciate the note from Ohio. This is from Columbus, Ohio. Mike, just to set the record straight, in the whole time I've listened to you, I think I've only disagreed with you twice. I agree with you more than I do anyone, even in my circle of friends. Your opinions are usually very well thought out, and one of the things I like about you is you're willing... to consider another opinion and even change yours from time to time. I think you may be wrong about Amy Coney Barrett. And let me tell you why. Trump put her in the position she's in because she takes a contextual, literal approach to the Constitution and the law. Basically, the law means what it says, and it says what it means. You don't read extra stuff into it. I think she would have liked to have put off Trump's sentencing, but a justice who believes in the law the way it's written and the Constitution may not have been able to find a legitimate reason to pause his sentencing, particularly in light of the fact that it isn't going to interrupt the operation of the government or take away his freedom. Oh, really? Does he have the right to vote? Not anymore. And I do. I appreciate it. The texture goes on and on and ends it with, God bless Mike. Keep fighting the good fight. And Columbus, Ohio, I appreciate your text to me very, very much. But let me give you a very simple response that allows me to say why I think you're wrong. If that's true, that you think that she's a justice who takes a contextual, literal approach to the Constitution and the law, you mean to tell me Neil Gorsuch does not? Do you mean to tell me Brett Kavanaugh does not? You mean to tell me Samuel Alito does not? You think Clarence Thomas does not? Why did four justices last night vote to uphold Trump's request to throw this sentencing out. She's not the only one, you know, Ohio. And I've got great respect for Clarence Thomas. I've got great respect for Alito. I've got great respect for Neil Gorsuch. And there are four justices who did the right thing last night and two that did not. And that's John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett. I think she was spooked by the protesters. I really believe that's what her problem is. Her kids were doxxed. Her kids were threatened. She doesn't like people on her front yard. And she doesn't want to tick off. the Trump-hating universe. I can't believe there's... Because again, all of your points are great, Ohio. Now do the other four. Now do the four true conservative justices. And incidentally, what we've seen with this ruling last night is that it truly is a Supreme Court with four justices who are conservatives. Four. Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Alito... and Clarence Thomas. Deborah's in Jacksonville, Florida. Hi, Deborah. Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Deborah, are you there? You guys took away control of my phone lines again. Teresa's grabbing my phone lines. Let's try it again. Deborah, are you there? Hi, Deborah. I am here. Sorry about that.
SPEAKER 01 :
How are you?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, loud and clear.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm doing all right. I had a similar incident in 2019. I had a constitutional case before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
SPEAKER 13 :
With all due respect, Debra, I'm so sorry. I don't want to get sort of bogged down or distracted with a personal case that you had where you had a bad experience in the court. So my apologies. Feel free to write me a note if you don't mind, Debra, and I'll make sure we take a look at it. Mike at MikeOnline.com. Dave's in Colorado Springs. Hi, Dave.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, good morning, Mike. What I see happening today was that... They finally put the last knot in the rope of this coup with malicious intent towards Trump. And the good thing of it is I believe that gag order is going to be lifted as of today.
SPEAKER 13 :
You know, I'm glad you mentioned that, Dave, because I think the gag order is over. And I expect Donald J. Trump's going to go DEFCON 1 on Juan Merchan. The audio is being released. We're going to take a moment to regroup, and the audio playback is now being released, and we'll share with you what it sounded like when this awful, awful travesty of justice took place. Look, I appreciate all the texters who are saying, hey, success is the ultimate vindication, and that's true. In 10 days, we'll be in Washington, D.C., broadcasting from the president's inauguration. I'm going to get to go to a couple of inaugural balls I got the tux ready to go. I got the overcoat, the gloves, the scarf. It's going to be chilly, but we'll be there. And I don't want to get too down. It just frustrates me when people can do the right thing and they don't. It just is annoying to me. It's just aggravating. But we're going to get through it all together. 19 minutes before the hour, portions of our show brought to you by MyPillow and the Patriots Alaska Cruise. Details on the big trip coming up in August. And again, the audio playback of the Trump sentencing next here on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 05 :
Said I don't want to go. Lord, look at how the people stand. Said I don't want to go.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
He's the happy conservative warden. From the Relief Factor studios, here's Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 13 :
Gird your loins, because you're going to hear, we've got the first convicted felon in the White House in the history of America. A finale to this sham in New York City. Judge Juan Marchand sentenced President Trump to no penalty, no jail time, no anything. It's called an unconditional release. But nonetheless, his haters are going to get to refer to him now officially as a convicted felon. Here was the president a few moments ago. And I can't wait to get the reaction from Brad Parscale, who's going to join us in just a couple of moments. Let me just quickly play. The audio was released because this judge, who didn't allow any microphones or cameras in the sham trial, made sure that at least the audio portion of his sentencing was released to the public. President Trump appeared virtually on screen and was beamed into the New York City courtroom.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation. so that I'd lose the election and obviously that didn't work. And the people of our country got to see this firsthand because they watched the case in your courtroom. They got to see this firsthand and then they voted and I won and got the largest number of votes by far of any Republican candidate in history. And won, as you know, all seven swing states. Won conclusively all seven swing states. And won the popularity, the popular vote by millions and millions of votes, and they've been watching your trial. So they understood it.
SPEAKER 13 :
That was President Trump addressing the court during his preposterous sentencing today. And talk about a great guest to react in real time. You know, the media world has been following with great interest the news that Salem Media Group, the company that I've worked for for the past, well, 24 years, announced the appointment of Brad Parscale as chief strategy officer. Now, Brad, of course, you recognize his name and his face. He was just pretty revolutionary in the role he played as digital and media director for Trump's campaign in 2016. But he's been a digital architect and entrepreneur for decades before that, and now our company, Salem, is going to utilize his skills and his insights as our chief strategy officer. That's kind of neat to be able to welcome a guy who doesn't give a lot of interviews, but what an honor it is to get to meet Brad Parscale. Do I call you chief, commander, general? What's the right title, Brad? How are you? Okay, we lost audio. Doggone it. Okay, we'll try to get the audio fixed here and figure it out. All that big buildup and no audio for our chief strategy officer. So we'll try to figure out why we lost the audio. And this guy is pretty brilliant in terms of – there we go. We got your audio back, Brad. Was that on your end or ours?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I think so.
SPEAKER 13 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, there it is.
SPEAKER 13 :
It's nice to meet you, and I appreciate you joining us here. I know you don't do a lot of interviews, but this is pretty timely because you know President Trump as well as anybody. You worked closely with him in 2016, of course, and here comes this dark day where he's sentenced today in a New York City courtroom. Just if you can, I want to talk about your role with Salem and media and digital in general, but give me your initial reaction to this sentencing today in New York City, Brad.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, first, I've been with the Trumps for 15 years. I was the digital media director, media director of 16. I was campaign manager in 2020 until July of 2020. And then I stepped down and still continued with the software and data. In 2024, our software powered the Trump campaign. So, you know, I'm still with him today. Look, I was pissed today. I've been texting with Eric and Don Jr. and Laura and everybody. This is... This is just them with framing. This is they've lost. They don't have much left to do. And what they're trying to do is to be able to say convicted felon. They want to try to set up a whole series of framing to win the 26 elections in the House and the Senate. This is all they're in trouble. They know they lost on immigration. They know they've lost. They don't have a lot of framing battle left. The left is in a lot of turmoil, even worse than 17. They need to find a new brand. They need to find a new way to get people to donate against Trump. And this is it. This is their moment to try to get something to capture, to raise money and to start a war for 26 and to create a media narrative. There's nothing more. Trump knows this. The family knows this. Anybody that knows politics knows this is all it's about is to get a new hook and put new bait on the hook to bring in new donors and to try to get them riled up to start a new movement.
SPEAKER 13 :
And yet, on the other hand, nothing can take away from this light we see on the horizon. In 10 days, he's going to get inaugurated. And I keep thinking about the term a golden era. You know, we're returning to a president that believes in the rule of law, who believes in our borders, who believes in our sovereignty. We've got a president who wants to drill and use our own resources. We've got a president who, you know, his first term, there were no wars – breaking out all over the world. I mean, he's inheriting a mess. But gosh, we've got a House and a Senate majority of Republicans. We can't lose sight of the optimism that millions of us are feeling right now, Brad.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I mean, look. We also have a President Trump that I think is different than the President Trump I worked for in 2017, you know, for years. I think he's been—the humility after the assassination attempt that came across him, I think the team he has around him—you've got to remember, in 2017— Nobody really, we'd won the election, but nobody had actually ever run the government before. So now you have a Trump administration that's going to come in firing on day one. I think there's less anti-Trump people, you know, let's just, let's not forget the Paul Ryan, you know, the ASCO of trying to do the medical thing, the McCain, everybody, you have now a party that is Trump. There's a lot of data out there shows now that we've moved from the Reagan party to the Trump party. And if you start putting all that together, I think you're going to see a much more successful campaign. I think we have a real target for reconciliation. We have a target on immigration. We have a party that's really more aligned. Now, I wish we had a bigger majority in the House. I still think Speaker Johnson has a lot of work in front of him. We have we have a slim majority. So we have to instead of fighting to, you know, just save the you know, this, you know, these majorities, we need to grow them in 2026. But again, this is all about them having a narrative to fight because they're losing on all the policies right now. Sure. And they know and they need a message. And the only thing that's really worked for them in the last five, six years has been hate Trump.
SPEAKER 13 :
I want to pull the curtain back a little bit because I consider this audience family, my extended if sometimes dysfunctional family. I've gotten to do this with Salem for 24 years. The Salem Media Group is different. You know, there's something different about the Salem way of doing things. And for people who listen to us and watch us and, you know, Town Hall and Red State and all of our properties that we own and our radio stations around the country and Salem News Channel, all of our assets are There's a Salem way of operating. Our mantra is sort of, you know, we want to do good as a company while doing good for others. I mean, in December, my show, we raised almost a quarter of a million dollars for the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree campaign. Our audience donated $240,000 to send Bibles and Christmas presents to the children of incarcerated people in America. I mean... This audience, we're connected in an amazing way. And I've been reading and hearing about your meetings already with Salem. It was announced a couple of weeks ago or a week or so ago that you're going to be the chief strategy officer for the Salem Media Group. Can you talk a little bit about your perspective about where Salem sits right now as a media company, what the future holds, and frankly, what your role is going to be as chief strategy officer?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I think it was a little divine. I've gone through kind of a Christian awakening for myself over the last four or five years. I lost two children years ago, and they would probably be about, you know, that really awakened me into what got me into my life. And also what's happened in this country. What was turned for me to visually see what cancel culture and the destruction of the Marxist leftist socialist machine uh awakened me but let's let's just talk about salem for a minute it's not about me um salem's in a great position um i had this vision about four months ago and i literally a dream about what i thought what the importance of salem could be and i was driving a month after after that that vision i had i ended up getting into a bus with a board member of salem and telling them about my vision and that board member said you know brad that could be possible Within a week, I was talking to Ed Essinger at Salem and having a meeting where we discussed it. Within 60 days of that, my investment group I represent called Waterstone had made a purchase, and we had made a deal to make Salem debt-free. That all happened from my vision to 90 days, and only God could make that happen. And I truly believe that. And I believe that now Salem is one of almost the only almost every other media company that would say competitors are in this market have nearly half a billion in debt, two billion in debt, big numbers. Salem Media has a balance sheet right now that is. The best in the business. I believe it has unwavering values. And I think God is seeing that and the people see that. I think that's what you were talking about a minute ago, these unwavering values. And I believe right now it's in a position to be a significant player over the next four years with this Trump administration. I also believe we're going through, we're about to be 250 years old as a nation. A lot of countries don't make it past that in the history of the planet. I believe that Trump has torn down what was destroying our country, almost like, you know, Samson in the Bible and things. And what we've had to do is now we're rebuilding. And I think the next 250 years of America look good. And it's companies like Salem who are going to drive that message. There's a lot of uneasiness in the media world right now. I mean, look at the Washington Post just exploding. You know, there's a war for truth. And I think Salem is going to be a leader in that truth. And I think people are looking for that information. And the reason why I helped bring this investment to turn Salem into this powerhouse plus join is because I believe tremendously that Salem is the voice of the spiritual reckoning and revitalization that's occurring in America with Trump. with the entire thing it's if you look at the day i came in in 27 16 to help run this campaign it was i had to have three armed guards people wanted to kill me i couldn't i was being cancelled from everything i've been cancelled from everything because what they wanted to do is exile us you can't you can't say anything like this And today, I can walk down the street with my MAGA hat on. I can say what I want. I can say First Amendment's been protected. It is a tired, different world than it was eight years ago in America. And I think that's mostly because of Trump and his family. And I want to make sure that Salem is the strongest voice of that message.
SPEAKER 13 :
I had a friend who's in another media company much bigger than this one, and they're facing all kinds of challenges. And he is in amazement. He said it absolutely is a God thing the way this deal came together so quickly. You couldn't have put this thing together if you spent years strategizing a way to do it. And it was. I believe that this is a divine intervention. And I will tell you internally, everybody is so excited about Brad Parscale joining our team and what you're going to be able to provide in terms of your insights and your expertise in the digital space and what we do on air. We're just all so excited. On a personal note, of course, and I know your story, I've followed your career for years. Our hearts go out to you and your wife over your loss. And that is a life-changing experience that I know that people can relate to. And I just feel so honored to be able to meet you this way. I can't wait to spend some time with you in person very soon. And, again, you're kind of a recluse with interviews. You don't do a lot of them. So thank you for coming on the Mike Gallagher Show. I know our audience appreciates it very, very much, and best of luck. Keep fighting the good fight, and can't wait to work with you as our Chief Strategy Officer for the Salem Media Group. Thank you, Brad, very, very much, and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you, Mike, for having me on.
SPEAKER 13 :
Appreciate it. Brad Parscale joining us, our new chief strategy officer. You know, you've heard me say in the last few days that 2025 is going to be the year for Gallagher with X and Facebook and digital and Instagram. And I mean it. I meant it. That's right. And he's the reason why. We're going to end, again, Salem Media Group now poised to be a lot less stress-free than some of our other media competitors and Hey, we can't do it without you. Got a lot of breaking news today. Let's get right back to it here in the Relief Factor studios from the upstate of South Carolina, where I'm getting ready for some snow and ice as well. 20 past the hour. Welcome in. 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. 1488 with promo code Mike G. 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 1488 with promo code Mike G. A queen size, normally $69.98. You'll get it for just $18.88 with promo code Mike G. Or a king size. Normally $79.98. You can order it for $19.88 apiece. Limit $10, please, during Mike's incredible Christmas extravaganza from MyPillow.com. Look, if you haven't been to the site in a while, you can get all your Christmas shopping done by going to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box, and then with any order you place, enter the promo code MikeG, and you'll save big. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG, or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034. It's the Christmas extravaganza sale going on right now at MyPillow.
SPEAKER 05 :
I promise to always love. Cause I think the whole world can't change that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 13 :
No, you can't change that. We can't change what happened today. We can't change any of it. We just have to go forward. I saw a great note on social media from somebody who said, when your smug liberal friend says, oh, Trump is a convicted felon, ha ha, your reply can be, so was Martin Luther King Jr., so was Nelson Mandela, so was Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ. Have fun. ticking them off even more. Let's get your reaction to it. Leif in Ronkonkoma, New York, as we go back to your calls. Hey, Leif, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. How are you?
SPEAKER 08 :
Hi, Mike. Doing well.
SPEAKER 13 :
Good, good, good. Give me your reaction to what you just heard from Judge Juan Marchand.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think President Trump should say thank you very much. This is the icing on the cake of all the lawfare nonsense that has helped America revote him into being the next president of the United States.
SPEAKER 13 :
You know, you're right. It's a backfiring the likes of which I've never really seen. I've been at this a long time, 40 plus years. I've never seen America respond as collectively as we did to the lawfare. You know, we can talk all about how bad a candidate Kamala Harris was. We can talk all day. And we've got a lot of great, great Republicans in leadership. We could talk all day long about, you know, the Democrats and illegal immigration and crime and the lawlessness. I think it was the lawfare. Americans said, wait a minute, if they can do this to him, they can do it to me. That's why Americans said, I'll crawl over broken glass to vote for this guy because we can't let him get away with it. And they didn't. In 10 days, we're going to be in D.C. covering an inauguration that shouldn't have happened. Look, when you've got the whole beast behind one candidate, the odds are against you. Something's different now. Something has changed. Here's cut number one. I want you to hear Ron DeSantis. Cut three. Look, it started out DeSantis. There were DeSantis people. There were Marco Rubio people. But it was Trump and only Trump who could get it done. Trump, I'm not sure that anybody else... would have beaten Kamala Harris, to be honest with you. You could argue that. That's fine. Ron DeSantis is a tremendous governor. Ron DeSantis has got an incredible political future. I don't know what it's going to look like in 2028 and beyond, but I know that he has no problem coming to the defense of President Trump. I know he has no issues whatsoever with defending Trump. our Constitution and the rule of law. Listen to what happened yesterday when a reporter tried to stir the pot, bring up Trump and Trump's criticism of Gavin Newsom and the horrible, horrible way Democrat leaders have handled the wildfires, particularly that mayor, Karen Bass, who declared a state of emergency, then hopped on a plane and went to Africa. as her city was burning. Inexcusable, unforgivable. Maybe the voters of California are going to wake up someday. But in the meantime, here's what Ron DeSantis said when a reporter tried to stir the pot.
SPEAKER 11 :
Is it appropriate for the president-elect or a president to be criticizing?
SPEAKER 02 :
Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create division and to try to create narratives anytime these things happen? Now, you're not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would have it nailed to the wall for what they're doing over there. And I know we've dealt with it. We just assume in Florida anytime something happens, it's going to be politicized by the media. So you guys sitting in judgment of Donald Trump, I mean, excuse me, I think your track record of politicizing these things is very, very bad. Okay, last question.
SPEAKER 13 :
I mean, that is so good. That's Ron DeSantis just shutting it down. Game, set, match. Got a lot of great Republicans. Not only in positions of authority now who are probably going to have more prominent positions. What does 2028 look like? I mean, Trump gets one term. J.D. Vance as the Republican nominee? Does Ron DeSantis go back for another bite of the apple? Who are we going to see? There's a lot of rumors. Somebody told me, oh, you know, Nikki Haley is coming back. A lot of rumors here in South Carolina, too, about people like, what's her name, Nancy Mace. She wants to run for governor. Dave is in Governor Ron DeSantis' state of Florida, Callahan, Florida, to be exact. Hey, Dave, welcome back.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, Mike, love your show. I just wanted to say... That whole thing with the sentencing, I just giggled through the whole thing because they don't understand that this is what gave President Trump a landslide victory, just what this guy just did. It's hilarious, and it's not going to hurt President Trump one bit, I don't think.
SPEAKER 13 :
I don't either. And it is amazing, Dave, how they have no self-awareness, do they? They don't even realize how their own actions have backfired.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I just had trouble understanding where their mindset is. And that's great because in 28, we're going to carry on Trump's vision with another victory. I believe the country's eyes are open and we're going to carry forward.
SPEAKER 13 :
No, no question about it. Thanks for your kind words. And, you know, MAGA is here to stay. You know, an America First agenda is here to stay. But we've got to deliver. We must deliver. Trump has, and he will. I feel very confident about it. And he's got some unlikely allies. Look at John Fetterman. This guy just blows my mind. Here's cut 13. This is Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman talking about going to Mar-a-Lago. He's going to be the first sitting Democrat in the Senate to formally meet with the incoming president of the United States. You know, the rest of them are busy calling Trump fascist and Hitler. Not this guy.
SPEAKER 11 :
I am not the senator for just Democrats in Pennsylvania. I'm everyone's senator in Pennsylvania. And so it's just having a conversation with the president.
SPEAKER 13 :
So how about what Trump said, incidentally, and we're so excited about the inauguration. And don't miss our inauguration coverage. I'm making Joey Hudson suffer through the snow and the cold and the bitter winds. I'll be in the confines of my studio. kind of anchoring. But I'm going to see if Joey's going to be able to co-anchor. We're working out a lot of that. But he's going to be in the stands at the inauguration. We'll be bringing you all the coverage here. And to our affiliates all over the country, we'll be covering the entire inauguration on our show, leading right up to it. Here's what Trump said, cut 16, about the drones and how we're going to learn about these mysterious drones the day after his inauguration.
SPEAKER 12 :
Do you have any idea what ever happened to the drones? What happened to drones? Well, you said that you thought the government knew what was happening with these drones over New Jersey. There were some by Bedminster.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't know. They were over Bedminster a lot, so I can imagine. I'm going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration because I think it's ridiculous that they're not telling you about what's going on with the drones.
SPEAKER 13 :
I love the way he talks. What about the drones? What do you mean about the drones? What about the drones? What drones? The planes. The planes. Never forget, in Springfield, Ohio, they're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats.
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't really like working. I'm going to need a priority parking space. I only work remotely. Can I bring my dog to work? You're triggering me. Is this interview almost over? 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 07 :
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.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here's today's Eminem experience.
SPEAKER 13 :
Let me tell you a story about the Los Angeles fire because there is an image that a lot of us who aren't near it have. Oh, it's a bunch of rich Hollywood celebrities. I haven't yet got formal permission from the person impacted, but it is somebody in the Salem family. That I know well, somebody who has already been through a lot and that person who, you know, is not a wealthy person, lost his entire home, lost all his possessions. He was renting his home and he thought he had renter's insurance and the renter's insurance expired in September and he didn't know it. He's wiped out. He's got nothing. He's living with his mom. He's obviously just devastated. And these are not all wealthy people. People have that image. It's just a bunch of movie stars. And I'm sorry for Billy Crystal, and I'm sorry for these famous stars who've lost their homes. And James Woods and all these folks. But they are multimillionaires, and they're going to be okay. A lot of people, like in Western North Carolina, frankly, who aren't going to be okay.
SPEAKER 14 :
You mentioned insurance. So a lot of people are taking the headline as the insurance companies canceled a lot of people's insurance in Southern California. Would you like to know why? And it's kind of funny. I don't know what your lifelong experience with insurance is. Mine is, thank God they exist. They have helped me in car insurance and home insurance at various junctures. I'm glad the industry exists. But over my lifetime, I'm going to pour squillions of dollars into insurance payments and not get a fraction of it back. But you know what? If the worst ever happens, I'm glad they're there. About the industry, I would say. They're not a charity. It is every insurance company's job to pay out as little as they humanly possibly can while still technically doing what they need to do. And it's also their job to extract as much from us as they can without us changing companies. That's called business. Having laid all that down, the reason insurance got canceled in Southern California is companies looked at the fact that, wow, here's somebody with a $10 million house in a huge apartment. fire zone we might need to raise the premiums that's a hundred percent fair and the state of california said you can't do that and so the insurance company said flipped them off and said see ya and i don't blame the insurance companies for that well i'm going through it in florida i've gone through it since i lived here because the the same situation exists in the state of florida and it's one of the big challenges that governor desantis faces yeah well there you are living on the gulf of america
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. Tons of insurers have left Florida. They won't even insure people. People get their insurance canceled left and right. And it's because of the high risk with the hurricanes and all the damage. And now we've been, you know, this double whammy with these hurricanes we got recently. And, you know, speaking of insurance, I know we're going to wind up talking about something that I don't want to talk about. This is my 65th birthday year. As a result, I am getting hit up from every insurance agent in America. Oh, Mike, I know April is your 65th birthday. Let me give you your Medicare advice plan. And they're all hitting me up. And what I don't know about Medicare, and I don't even want to know about Medicare because I don't want to acknowledge that I'm going to be 65 in a couple months. I'm pretending I'm 39 and holding, I think, as Jack Benny was. But I, honest to gosh, have no idea how to navigate this. I mean, just a goofy question. I'm obviously insured through Salem. Right. Do I need insurance through Medicare? The short answer is no. Right. I don't, right? But I have to take some part of it, don't I? Or I get penalized.
SPEAKER 14 :
You can. It's funny. I, because I'm... Respect your elders. I'm 67. So you've been through this? Yeah. And they basically said, you don't really have to. Isn't it cheaper? It might be smart to. Yes, there are benefits to going ahead and playing. Not abandoning your corporate. Because the thing that you and I do have in common is they're going to have to drag our rotting corpses out of a studio. Because we're going to do this until we die.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, I'll be 99 years old. Who can stop doing this? Who can stop doing this? Joe Biden will look like a spring chick compared to you and me in about 20 years.
SPEAKER 14 :
Since we got about two minutes, one of the reasons that we can't stop doing this is every once in a while the news simply gives us this. Can we please do two minutes of Carter funeral? First of all, God rest his soul. But can we do two minutes of the interactions? These were my takeaways. Clinton likes Bush, resents Obama, kind of digs Trump. Bush likes Clinton and Obama, hates Trump's guts. Obama resents Clinton, likes Bush, kind of digs Trump. And Trump has no ill will toward Clinton or Obama, but has forgotten Bush was ever born.
SPEAKER 13 :
I could do two hours on the funeral yesterday. I watched it on a loop. I watched Kamala Harris glare at Barack and Trump, giggling like a couple of best friends forever. Yes, it was so cordial, so cordial. Kamo looks back over her shoulder at them and then looks forward and sighs like, oh, you can almost hear her voice in her head. Oh, my Lord.
SPEAKER 14 :
And why do you think? Was it because that's a club I could have been a part of, the ex-president's club? Or is it because they're getting along and being gracious to each other, which is a DNA strand I just don't have?
SPEAKER 13 :
It's all of the above. She can't believe. But let's talk about the classlessness of Karen Pence. Unbelievable. And it breaks my heart, the classlessness of George W. Bush. Now, he ignored him, too. And W., I love the guy. I really do. I've met him. I've spent time. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with him once in his office in Dallas. Bush hates Trump more than Obama does. Clinton and Obama don't hate Trump. Bush does. And it's personal for George W. Bush because of what Trump did to Jeb. However, however. However, if you meet somebody at a funeral that you don't like, you can at least give a modicum of graciousness and say, you know, hello, shake his hand. You don't have to give him a sloppy kiss, but at least be polite. Karen Pence sitting there like a schoolmarm with her little, her program. And Melania tried to extend her hand of, you know, a hand of, you know, a hand shake to her. Karen Pence wouldn't even look up at her.
SPEAKER 14 :
What the heck is wrong with these people, Mark? And on the what the heck beat for our roughly last 60 seconds, the reason Trump and Obama were able to sit right next to each other and share those pleasant moments was because Michelle was not there. I'm not a mind. She was apparently, what, vacationing?
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, yeah, sure.
SPEAKER 14 :
Vacation, my foot. So I don't know what it was. I can't. Oh, I know what it was. She didn't want to be in the room with Donald Trump. I think that's a better theory than she's completing her transition surgery, which was everybody's favorite online.
SPEAKER 13 :
And frankly, I have more respect for staying away than I do watching people sit there and not shake somebody's hand and act like a jerk, act like a tool.
SPEAKER 14 :
I'm going to make them equally dismissive and equally deserving of scorn. She should have been there. It was an incredible— Who cares? Well, the short answer is I don't. But to not show up because Trump broke you is just, you know, so spare me. First of all, spare me the Christ-like habits of the Pence couple. Well, Mike was very gracious to him.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, yesterday he was, but over the past few months. At least he didn't sit there pouting like his wife did. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I just can't believe grown people—the Mark Davis mandate, Trump derangement syndrome makes nice people mean and makes smart people stupid.
SPEAKER 14 :
Makes unchristian people—makes Christian people unchristian.
SPEAKER 13 :
And I love me some George W. Bush, but my gosh, I couldn't believe when I saw that. Come on, given—and he gave Obama the little belly tap, and he's a— W is a hail fellow, well-met guy. And I love him. I really do like him. But I can't believe that Trump does this to people. He just gets it. And incidentally, forget just being polite to somebody who's also at a funeral. He's the incoming president of the United States. You're part of a very small club, W. That's right. What's wrong with you? And guess what? The American people, George W. Bush, not you, the American people said, this is the guy we want. Yeah. And maybe what is awful to admit, and I say this with a broken heart because I do love the guy, Donald Trump is light years more popular than George Bush ever was.
SPEAKER 14 :
Of course. A thousand times more. The Bush era of the Republican Party is forgotten.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's gone. Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
Join Dana Lash as she takes a deep dive into the most absurd yet true stories from Florida, where crime seems to take on a bizarre life of its own. From the antics of Florida Man to the peculiar situation with LA firefighters, this episode combines wit and a critical look at current social dynamics, shedding light on conversations many avoid. We question how identity and inclusion play into everyday heroes and dive into an enlightening discussion on diversity, equity, and what it means for emergency services.
SPEAKER 09 :
Liberty Nation with Mark Angelides.
SPEAKER 07 :
Can Donald Trump hit the ground running? Will Democrats find a raison d'etre? And is the Never Trump movement a thing of the past? Find out on this week's Liberty Nation Radio.
SPEAKER 09 :
Author, columnist, managing editor of LibertyNation.com. Podcast host and conservative policy advocate. We dismiss history at our peril. Liberty Nation with Mark Angelides.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 10 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I have two. This is crazy. So in this shoplifting scheme, I had a listener that sent this to me, and they got my attention by going, uh-oh, D. Lash, clean up on Isle Brown. It's from the Miami Herald. And there's also a story from Fox 13. They got the CCTV footage. Deputies are searching for a couple that are accused of stealing $500 of items from a dollar store. The suspect, the woman, intentionally defecated on the store's floor as a way to distract while the man she was with began to steal everything. Polk County deputies are investigating. They said that Ms. Dookie is on the run after a messy burglary at the Mulberry Family Dollar Store. So they walked in. He walked around the store, gathered $500 worth of products like Gain Tide, Clorox. And while he was getting that, the woman distracted everybody by doosing on the floor. And an employee had to clean up the mess she made. It's a poo and run. How do you not find them? How do you... I mean, go into a dollar store. You... Okay. Something is wrong with you. If you're like, okay, here's my idea on how to steal from Family Dollar. I'm going to go and poop on the floor. And you can just grab everything, throw it in a basket, and let's run.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that whole last part... I made a question. That whole last part would have worked fine without the first part. Well... That whole needing to poop on the floor isn't a need.
SPEAKER 03 :
But how do you... Okay. Okay. How much time do we have here? I don't like public restrooms. I hate them. I'll explore before I have to use them. It's a thing. It might be TMI. But my question is, how does a woman... How do you just do that in public, like theatrically? You just do something on the floor like that. I know it's part of your shoplifting scheme, but how do you get to the point where you're like, okay, I'm saving it up. I'm going to go and dookie on the floor the family dollar.
SPEAKER 10 :
Seems like you have to plan your eating 12 plus hours in advance.
SPEAKER 03 :
That has to be... That's like... That has to be timed out. I don't know. Oh, gosh. A Florida man went on a smash and grab at a St. Pete Publix. Oh, well, at least he didn't dookie in the floor. He went on a string of smash and grab burglaries. Corey Kendrick, 11 vehicles stealing the items inside. They think he's responsible for other other thefts and that more charges could be coming. But apparently he did not care about any of the videos as he's just on camera running through smashing everything like full view. Great CCTV footage of him. And a Florida man suffered severe injury while selling fireworks illegally. He was selling them literally off the side of the road in a U-Haul van, and he blew off two of his fingers. Stick with us. 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.
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SPEAKER 08 :
You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call that looks like you. It gives that person a little bit more ease knowing that somebody might understand their situation better. Is she strong enough to do this? Or you couldn't carry my husband out of a fire, which my response is he got himself in the wrong place.
SPEAKER 03 :
If I have to carry him out of a fire, I don't believe that she could carry. That's one of the Kristen's. That's one of the fire department Christens. Remember, so Kane missed this yesterday. Welcome back. Dana Lash here with you. Kane, I don't know if you knew this, though, because Kane was iced in. He was literally in his own heat glue.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you were all, like, trying to stay warm in a heat glue, dude. I love it. He was all iced in. Juan was in a heat glue. They were all iced in yesterday. They couldn't move. They did not, in fact, want to build a snowman. And I found... And a friend told me, you know, there are a lot of Christens, lesbian Christens that work in the fire department. And I'm not I'm not talking about then like, oh, well, why are they lesbian? That's not why are they all named Kristen is my big thing. Number one, I'm going to get to the meat and potatoes of this video. Kane, you missed that, though. They're all named Kristen and they're all old white lesbians, except for that Kristen. And she is an older black woman. They're all literally named Kristen, like all of them.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don't even know how to explain that.
SPEAKER 03 :
It reminded me of that episode of Shorzy. If you haven't seen it, it's hysterical. It's a Canadian. It's very blue humor. It's a Canadian series.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's what your mom said.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sanguinette! But it has this... It's a guy who does Letterkenny too, right? So he does Shorzy. And it's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen in my life. But you've got to like that humor. But it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. And it's this guy, you know, he's going up... What is it? A AAA hockey league? Like somewhere up in Saskatoon or something like that? Anyway, they... recruit these and one of them apparently is a real hockey there are a lot of real hockey players in it but this guy is like apparently a brawler and there's these three dudes and they're all named Jim and I'd play part of the show but they'll cite us on YouTube so they're all named Jim And, you know, you got Shorzy, who's the title, you know, the star of the show, who's trying to figure out how they're going to make that work on the hockey team. He's like, so what, you know, if I call Jim, all three of you can't get up. And they all want to be called Jim because it's their first name. And it just gave me such a Shorzy feel. Like, why in the world are you, they're all Kristen. So what happens? You're at the fire department. Kristen. There's like a million lesbians. And you can't even go, lesbian Kristen. You can't even do that because they're all lesbians too. You can't even go, old lesbian Kristen. Because they're all old lesbians named Kristen. The only thing you can do is go, the black lesbian Kristen. But that might not work very well in Los Angeles, right? I don't think you're supposed to do things like that. But they're all named Kristen. How else do you, literally all of them are Kristen. All of them. I mean, to make it even worse, you can't even go the old blonde lesbian Kristen because they're all old blonde lesbians named Kristen. All of them. I'm not making this up. Literally all of them. Kate, I know you said... What is... That's very diverse. Is it diverse if they're all old white lesbians?
SPEAKER 10 :
I think we should just go with middle initials.
SPEAKER 03 :
See, you have Kristen Crowley. She's the fire chief and they're like, she's the... Gosh, it's Friday. How many of you are really listening today? Everybody. She's the first. Cain, she's the first. Oh, my gosh. She's the first that. Nope. She is an alphabet fire chief. I'm totally fine with that. But why are all of you named Kristen? She went to Harvard Business School. Her apparently mission in life is to the creation of systemic equity and inclusion. I don't even know what the hell that means. Then you got Kristen Kempner. She's the chief assistant chief of the fire department, Harvard Kennedy School for Managing Diverse Organizations, WTF that means. Her greatest achievement was she got accused of domestic violence because she whooped on her girlfriend. Then you have Kristen Larson. She's the first lesbian equity bureau. So that's the black lesbian. She's also I don't know. She got her job because everybody's racist. That's why she got her job. And then, oh, and then you got also a lesbian, but her name's not Kristen. The lone exception, Jamie. Her big thing, her claim to fame is she's not named Kristen. So you got Kristen, Kristen, Kristen and Jamie. The three Kristen's and Jamie. Kristen cubed and Jamie. All unable to carry a human male out of a. Not a damn one of these women could carry a dude. So back to the video. the hell does that mean like she's shaming people for getting caught in fires like how are you drowning you should be drowning in the first place like what the hell kind of video is this how is it not victim blaming how is that not victim blaming should have got raped in the first place you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you're getting raped shouldn't have wore that yeah you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you're drowning you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you got hit or by another automobile I mean, it's like someone's like, I think I'm going to go into that fire over there. That's not what happened. What kind of video is this? I love how she thought she was being super clever. Now how she like paused for a beat. This is so Hollywood. She's doing a fire thing, a little fire PSA. But she's like, you know, if I'm there carrying your husband out of your house, he got himself in the wrong place. Yeah, he must be in purgatory if you're carrying him out of the house because no way on God's green earth in this real scape could you do that, Jamie. Or no, wait, she's Kristen. That's right. What are the odds, though? Right?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that is weird.
SPEAKER 03 :
Like, who's handling HR over there? Kristen?
SPEAKER 10 :
Is there a book of lesbian names?
SPEAKER 03 :
That's like when you're playing Uno and you have all green and you really need the color to be green. So you're encouraging everyone, make the color green. Is that why they're all named Kristen? Because the fire chief is Kristen and she's like, I need some Kristens. Need a whole crew of Kristens over here. The Kristen crew. Hope not. Jiminy. Well... I could go on about this forever. Not a single damn one of them apparently can do my... I think all the... Like, the people who are actually out there fighting fires are the ones, you know, doing everything. And the people who are making the calls are the problem. Kind of like a DOD, right? Same situation like a DOD. You know, these people are the problems. They're the problems. It's wild. I don't know. I mean... For her to say that, well, he shouldn't have got himself in the fire in the first place. Who says something like that? And then when she was going on in the video, you know, yeah, people that look like you rescuing you from a fire. You caught that part, right? You caught that part where she's talking about being rescued and how it must be nice for people who are in fires to be rescued by people who look like them. As opposed to what? Like a dolphin coming up and rescuing you out of the fire? As opposed to what? A two-headed Martian? As opposed to what? I don't want anybody that looks like me coming to get me out of fire because they couldn't lift my ass up. I'm a buck 20. I lie a little bit. I'm like, ah, I lie about my height and I try to make myself sound bigger than I am. I'm like, no, I'm really 5'8 and I weigh 145. Yeah, that sounds good. It's not real. It's fake news. I mean, I don't want anybody that – my friend Dave Burge says he doesn't want anybody that looks like him because he's an old, fat drunk coming and rescuing him from the fire. He's not fat and he's not a drunk.
SPEAKER 10 :
He's old. We're missing the point that everybody, every firefighter would come into a fire completely in gear, helmet, face thing the whole night. No one's looking like anybody.
SPEAKER 03 :
Dude, this is Los Angeles. Their uniforms might say, like, I'm an old white lesbian, or I'm a black lesbian, or I am just black, not a lesbian, so I am lower on the totem pole. They probably can't even say totem pole out there. I'm lower on the ladder than the other people with more identity boxes checked. It's a long tag, but it's on the front.
SPEAKER 10 :
Mental illness aside... No one looks like you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it mental illness or do they just have too much damn free time on their hands?
SPEAKER 10 :
I think it's too much free time that led to mental illness.
SPEAKER 03 :
People are sitting around making up problems.
SPEAKER 10 :
Mental illness.
SPEAKER 03 :
Like when you're burning to death in a fire, do you care if it's a white or black lesbian or a lesbian at all?
SPEAKER 10 :
People without mental illness don't think so.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, oh man, it's taken everything I have right now to not go full George Carlin. It's crazy. Oh Lord, put a hand over my mouth. taking everything I have.
SPEAKER 10 :
No one's looking like you when they're coming into a fire.
SPEAKER 03 :
Like you're dying to death in a fire, right? Do you care if it's a... that shows up?
SPEAKER 10 :
I almost had the button done. Did anyone hear that?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I don't think they did.
SPEAKER 10 :
I heard echoes. That was it. Did you?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just saying.
SPEAKER 10 :
Stop.
SPEAKER 03 :
Does it matter? Nobody cares. I'm going to be grabbing onto anybody.
SPEAKER 10 :
If I am burning. Martians. Yes, if I'm burning.
SPEAKER 03 :
Dead burnt lesbians. I don't care. I'm going to hold on to you. Give me out.
SPEAKER 10 :
If I'm burning and an alligator walks by and offers the tail.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm grabbing that alligator.
SPEAKER 10 :
I would take it. I would take it.
SPEAKER 03 :
If Bigfoot came in and was like, yes, give me out.
SPEAKER 10 :
Even Littlefoot.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, or Littlefoot. I mean, give me another cryptid. Any cryptid. I don't care. You know, I mean, if Joe Biden came by, I'd accept the help if I'm dying in a fire. You know what I mean? Like, nobody cares.
SPEAKER 10 :
I'd see him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Why is it such a big thing with the left?
SPEAKER 10 :
That I would die.
SPEAKER 03 :
Like someone would go, I was going to allow myself to be rescued out this fire. But then I saw that you don't check enough identity politic boxes for me. So no, thanks. I'm going to burn to death. Just snuggle on into the flames. You know, like I said.
SPEAKER 10 :
Hence my diagnosis of mental illness.
SPEAKER 03 :
Or they have way too much free time. No. Some of them I think are mentally ill. Some of them I think are bored. They're bored. What else would these women be doing right now? Landscaping? What else? They're bored. I don't know, man. All of them. I've never been more fascinated with an aspect of a story than this. I cannot tell you, by the way, and this is the funniest part of it. We've got a big coalition that listens to the show. We have a lot of People who you might say are in the alphabet community, unwillingly, they don't like the labels, and they're conservative. They just want to, you know, not be taxed to death, and they want to be left the hell alone. Don't we all? It's the new American dream. And I actually had conservative-leaning lesbians write in and go... First off, I had two different listeners who are of that persuasion who said, yeah, there are a lot of lesbians named Kristen. I have never heard this in my life, and I about died reading the email. I did die, and I came back to life. It was hysterical. And then some were saying, what you were saying, that's just the mental illness out in California. I doubt that they were even born with that name. It's like half and half, the community. It's one of the most fascinating things I've ever... I'm just dying laughing over it. I mean, I shouldn't, but if there is any kind of... lightness to the story at all. Maybe it's that. But also, it's bad because this is apparently what they focused on. Look, the right doesn't want to sit here. I mean, some of them do. But we all don't want to sit here and dice up everybody's little identity politic box. I don't care. It's the people in these groups that are trying to make you care. We don't care. In fact, Kane and I were raised in a generation where you were raised to not GAF. And you were encouraged to not GAF. And in fact, you were told in multiple PSAs to stop giving a GAF. And so guess what? We don't care. Leave us alone. When you stop leaving us alone, that's the moment that you cross the line and you make us care. But otherwise, leave us alone. But this is like it has to – that's like listed on someone's resume as though it's an achievement. Well, I worked really hard and decided to like vagina. Like, you know, how does that – it's not an – they list it on a resume like it's an achievement. It's like they want to other themselves so bad. And I am floored because that's not at all how, you know, we – that's not how society was when we were coming up. No.
SPEAKER 10 :
Also, not how society was, was our emergency people saying things like, oh, well, if I'm having to come and help you in an emergency, you just found yourself in the wrong place.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you're in the wrong place. Well, duh, bitch, I'm in a fire. It's not a right place to be at. Just saying. I just, I am... Oh, my gosh. And then Lorraine adds more fuel to the fire. She goes, now, you know, the Christens are also all paramedics as well.
SPEAKER 10 :
Wait, is Kristen going to be the new Karen?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 10 :
There's a lot of Christens.
SPEAKER 03 :
I only know one Kristen in my life. I only know one Kristen. She's not a lesbian.
SPEAKER 10 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's just a fascinating thing to me. I don't know. But I wouldn't want that woman to carry me out. I don't care. I don't think she she don't have the if someone said an actual firefighter told me when it comes to blazes like this, upper body strength matters. Upper body strength is the difference. And they said that's why it's really difficult for women. And that's a great perspective. There's an actual firefighter who works in California up northern California who emailed that. And I thought it was a great point. And that's true. I mean, look, in my mind, I like to pretend that I'm like super hardcore. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. But I'm I'm a buck 20. I lie all the time and I'm like, no, I'm five, seven, five, eight and five, six. But this doesn't leave us. This is our private discussion. Right. And I try to inflate how large I am. And see if like you guys don't know if I can just if I just sit here and I shrug down and I wear a baggy sweater, I could be. I don't know. But I know my limitations physically as well. I know what I can lift. I know what my limit is. And you can't just bend those rules or suspend them altogether because you want to promote a false sense of inclusiveness. And it is a false sense of inclusiveness because it's not about the mission. This is mission creep stuff. The folks over at Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec, longtime friend of the show. I'm a huge fan of what Kel-Tec does. I'm a huge fan of their firearms. Everything's built right here in the US of A in Florida. They have got a great story, great all-American story. And as we head into the later part of January, this is about the same time every year that Kel-Tec unveils the new things that they've been working on. This year is not going to be any kind of exception for that. George Kellgren, who's the president, founder, designer, mad scientist. He's actually one of the few major firearms designers still alive today, leading the way in innovation. You know, they invented the micro compact pistol category. They came out last year with the lightest, thinnest double stack nine millimeter on the market. That's the P-15. Everything they do is quality made right here in America. They've got the fold-in half carbine, the sub-2Ks, that whole family, that whole line. They have the KSG shotguns, the RDB bullpup series, and they stand behind everything that they make. Now, they're going to be dropping some new product later this month. I'll be at SHOT Show broadcasting live for that industry event. So there's going to be some new product, and we'll talk all about it when it happens. You can visit caltechweapons.com, sign up for... their newsletter, check out their social media, and you can also get on the inside track so you can be made aware when they drop new stuff. Innovation Performance Kel-Tec, K-E-L-T-E-C, Kel-TecWeapons.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Superman derives his power from the yellow sun. D.C. politicians get their power by giving handouts. In 1913, the tax code was 400 pages long. Today, it's 75,000. This is how politicians derive their power. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 10 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is When the Levee Breaks by Zeppelin, is that just not one of the best songs ever? I'm just telling you. The TikTok band going to SCOTUS. And they're battling for survival, TikTok, in the United States as the decision over its fate is now underway. I don't know. I just, I don't know why people are defending it so much. It doesn't help when you have politicians who are like, yeah, we got to get rid of TikTok. And then they're like, TikTok's great. I'm not on it. I just don't have time, and also I can only watch so many videos of people looking at the camera.
SPEAKER 10 :
The Supreme Court just came out and said that they're looking to uphold that ban. That's what the SCOTUS just said. I got this one minute ago.
SPEAKER 03 :
They're looking to uphold the ban? Yep. A minute ago. So unless they're able to get like a... Well, you can't in the Scottish. You can't appeal it.
SPEAKER 10 :
We'll dig deeper. All right.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I don't know if you guys saw this. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was reportedly kidnapped by Maduro in Venezuela. You know, because they have free elections and all that good stuff there, right? Yeah. In Venezuela. Isn't that how it works? There's a couple of different reports of how it happened, but she was apparently reportedly freed after she was violently intercepted, is how it was described. And she left her hideout to protest Maduro. So that's... You know, if you want to know where free and fair elections don't happen, it's there. Novak Djokovic said he was poisoned by lead in his food after he was detained over COVID during the Australian Open. He had refused to get the experimental injection. And he said he was poisoned by food that he ate while he was detained during that 2022 whole thing. He was in a Melbourne hotel room. And they said he goes, I was fed some food that poisoned me. And he monitors his diet pretty strictly. It's like a thing that he's actually pretty famous for. GQ did a whole piece on it once. So he said that he had flu like symptoms and he had an emergency medical team treat him when he got back to Europe. But he said it was lead. Somebody poisoned him? That's good night. Bank of America is bracing for massive bond losses as yields soar. New headline. The sharp rise in rates since the end of their third quarter has widened losses on bank securities portfolio on their portfolio. And it could become an investor issue again when banks start reporting their fourth quarter results. That's like next week. Excuse me. Beginning of next week. And let's see here. We've got a couple of other things as well, which we're going to talk about. The president saying 100 percent help for. people affected by the fires out in California. We're going to have to revisit Hurricane Helene here. And this also happened this morning. Four injured after a Delta flight aborted a takeoff at a snow-covered Atlanta airport because it's been snowing in Atlanta. They said it was about 9 a.m. local time. They told passengers to duck down and evacuate after the plane accelerated to take off. They said they had ongoing severe weather. There were people who were treated on the scene. Everybody's okay now, apparently, but they said it was due to an engine issue.
SPEAKER 04 :
What we know right now is that the incident occurred, started here, and about 20 minutes, 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over in Woodland Hills area by citizens. So someone purposely set the Kenneth fire? At this time, that's what we believe, yes. Do you know how or why they did that? That I don't know. Is this a crime scene right now? It's being closed off. Yes, it's being investigated as a crime.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Unbelievable. Yes, it's being investigated. You know, there were a lot of questions about that. There were a lot of questions about whether or not there was arson that was involved in this. And... Everybody was the media on the left was so quick to climate change, climate change. Is that a new name? Maybe that's all the arsonists. You know how like all the fire people in L.A. are gay lesbians named Kristen. Maybe all the arsonists are named climate change. Clive, for short, you know, could be. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We are at the top of this second hour. There's ice and snow on the ground and I'm forever wearing turtlenecks on this show. Someone asked me in an email, how many of those do you actually own? An ungodly number. I buy something in black and I'll buy the same thing three times. Because I don't like to think about what I wear. I am very like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg about that stuff. If I could just wear the same thing every day, I would. It's less energy that you have to exert over that. But it's cold. It's cold. And houses in Texas, building structures in Texas are designed to let the heat out, not keep it in. So it's the code in Texas. So you're lucky that I'm not wearing a scarf and a sock hat too, all at the same time with mittens. Guys are lucky. Anyway, so welcome. Dana Lash with you. Find us at YouTube and Facebook. Like and subscribe. And you can also find us over at Substack, chapter and verse, the newsletter. And this whole... I was listening to some of the stats for this and, you know, with the arsonists because there's now two arsonists that have been arrested. I think maybe potentially three. Listen to this extent of the damage. So this is just the Palisades fire. There's several different fires. Audio soundbite 30. Listen to how bad this fire is.
SPEAKER 01 :
Palisades fires. This fire was currently tracked at 20,438 acres with 3,073 personnel assigned. Crews worked very, very hard overnight strengthening our containment lines and addressing multiple spot fires in and around the Topanga Canyon area. Resources responded to the area included our air assets to aid in the containment efforts. Due to the favorable overnight weather conditions and the diligent, and I'll focus on the diligent work and effort and commitment of our first responders, we can report that the Palisades fire is now 8% contained. Wind gusts are expected to increase in daylight hours that will test our containment lines. Our firefighters will continue to respond.
SPEAKER 03 :
So they're saying that it's scorched over 20,000 acres. So it's like basically larger than Manhattan. The Manhattan is 14,600 acres. This is over 20. But they said in this, play this audio soundbite. I know this is brand new. This is from LAPD. This is about one of the arsonists that they caught specifically that had the blood torch. We had some of that video for you. Listen to what LAPD says here.
SPEAKER 07 :
They responded, they interviewed this suspect. After the interview and additional investigative steps, looking at some additional evidence that was present, they made the determination that there was not enough probable cause to arrest this person on arson or suspicion of arson. And therefore, this person was arrested on a felony probation violation.
SPEAKER 03 :
If you caught him in the act, though, and the video shows that he's literally there with a blowtorch trying to set stuff on fire. It was like one of those ring camera things. How is that not probable cause? Right. Enough by itself there. Kane, how is that not?
SPEAKER 10 :
It's plenty, but they're going to do what they're going to do is they're going to say, well, we got to do this investigation. Then they'll gather that video evidence and then they'll go over it and then they'll change your story later. But this is that they do PR wise every single time.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is also goofy. You don't have enough. There's not enough. We don't have enough probable cause to charge him. I mean, yeah, you know, we got him with a. Literally on camera. Trying to set stuff on fire with a blowtorch. Like literally he had a blowtorch and was setting stuff on fire. And he got caught by a ton of passerby.
SPEAKER 10 :
I wonder how long it's going to be before.
SPEAKER 03 :
They had five people that watched him set things on fire. Five people who don't even know each other. Who saw him independently try to set something on fire. And that's why they all intervened and took him down. But they don't have enough probable cause for that charge. So they just got him on felony probation. And his name isn't out there? Really? Oh, I want to know these people's names. Oh, yeah. I want to know their names. If I knew if somebody was a firebug, I would just put their name out there as law enforcement because, man, oh, man, you would watch a community come together to hunt somebody down real quick. I mean, no, it's not illegal to carry a blowtorch at all. It is illegal to take the blowtorch you're carrying and try to set stuff on fire and alleyways. That's illegal. And that's what five people saw him do. And they told this to police. So I don't know what that, you know, can you make a good point? Bring up the point you just put. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
I just wonder how long it'll take before they start demonizing the people that actually caught him doing that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. I wonder if he did it alone.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think he was by himself at the time it happened, but whether or not he did everything alone is a good question.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just – that was weird to me that that was treated that way. It's just weird, right? I mean, yeah, that's – because people were saying we watched him literally set with his blowtorch. And I'm all about due diligence and due process. I'm all about those things. But when you see someone use their blowtorch to set it on fire, you're not just in possession of a blowtorch. You're literally using it to set fires. It's arson. So I don't know. This is all – I mean it's just – I don't know. The way in which they're still running things out there, I worry for the people who are going to have to rebuild how long that's going to take. to get that done, how long it's going to take for that to happen, because you have to think of the insurance nightmare that's out there too. That's a huge nightmare.
SPEAKER 06 :
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.
As California battles devastating wildfires, hear firsthand accounts from affected residents and understand the broader implications for communities grappling with loss. This episode also questions narratives around climate change and arson, presenting a compelling discussion on accountability. Insightful and sometimes emotional, our podcast looks at the intersection of justice, natural disasters, and the human spirit.
SPEAKER 04 :
Liberty Nation with Mark Angelides.
SPEAKER 07 :
Can Donald Trump hit the ground running? Will Democrats find a raison d'etre? And is the Never Trump movement a thing of the past? Find out on this week's Liberty Nation Radio.
SPEAKER 04 :
Author, columnist, managing editor of LibertyNation.com. Podcast host and conservative policy advocate. We dismiss history at our peril. Liberty Nation with Mark Angelides.
SPEAKER 21 :
After careful analysis in obedience to governing mandates and pursuant to the rule of law, this court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching upon the highest office in the land is an unconditional discharge. which the New York State Legislature has determined is a lawful and permissible sentence for the crime of falsifying business records in the first degree. Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts, Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office. Thank you.
SPEAKER 14 :
We could talk about probably a dozen different reversible errors in this case, but the jury was not asked to find unanimously the crime that Trump was supposedly covering up when he allegedly falsified his business records. It's a bedrock principle of the criminal law that if it's a fact, that is going to drive the sentence and we're talking now about the fact that turned this what's ordinarily a misdemeanor in New York law into a felony if it's that kind of a fact that's that consequential for sentencing it has to be found unanimously by the jury and this jury didn't and no one in his right mind thinks that you have to give voice to a jury verdict when there's patent constitutional error in the case that's our friend Andy McCarthy who's talking about this
SPEAKER 19 :
This decision, this weird decision that came in from the judge today, this Judge Mertron, and this has to do with this New York case. Look, I know it's important to get into some of the details of it. I hate it. And I have avoided it because I think it's just a performative witch hunt. And I cannot stand giving it any kind of... The credibility of coverage. Does that make sense? Like, it's so infuriating. It's such an infuriating topic. And we have Lorraine that covers it for the newsletter. And she gets into all of the minutia. So if you subscribe over at Chapter and Verse, that's what she does. She gets into all the minutia of it because some of the stuff is so petty. And it just is disheartening to see the state of our judicial system. And I mean, you can hear Andy McCarthy talking about how weird all of this is, but they just all of this is about them being able to say he's a felon. They want to be able to say he's a felon without he didn't have to serve a single sentence, single day. They just want to be able to say he's a felon. That's why you have this this weird, unconditional discharge. And isn't it true that they were just like telling the jury, just go find whatever. Just go find whatever. I mean, it's really difficult to believe in justice. When this is the system and this is the stuff that you're seeing happen, it's really difficult to believe in the concept of justice after this. So welcome to the show, Dana Lash with you. And we've got a number of things to get into, including this. We also have the latest with the fires. And there's a lot of arson. I mean, it's really unbelievable, some of this stuff that we've been able to see. They had a press conference just a little bit ago. And, I mean, listen to this. This is Audio Sunbite 6. This is one resident. Not everybody who lives in Malibu has mansions, by the way. Listen to this resident, Audio Sunbite 6.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I kept spraying all the embers, and then the next thing I know, a 30-foot wall of fire was coming at 60 miles an hour, and I couldn't see, and it was so smoky. And I said, well, it's time to leave. We lost everything we owned, but it doesn't even look like a house anymore.
SPEAKER 19 :
It just looks like something. And they said a lot of that is still smoldering. A lot of the fires that they have, they're still smoldering. So that you have this, you know, this complete devastation. You have people who are absolutely heartbroken and they're looking for, you know, they're trying to go back to their property when the worst of the fires have passed. And they're trying to go back, understandably, and go through, find anything that they can find that they can, you know, keep, that they can have, you know, something from anything. And they have to be careful because you have these, the smoldering that's ongoing. And that's really, obviously it's super dangerous for folks because that, I mean, there's still a fire there and they, and the fire department even said in one of their, uh, one of their pressers that, you know, there's pockets that they haven't checked all the way. There's pockets that they haven't checked all the way. And so they're desperately trying to make sure that they find all this stuff, get it all out. And it's just, you know, it's terrifying. There are a number of people, we had two more friends Well, one more friend who lost their home, another friend that they had extensive fire damage, but the structure was still standing. And they're not millionaires, by the way. They don't have like big bougie houses. They're just like regular average everyday people. And. that's that's you know they they ended up losing you know everything it's it's and not just that the schools too it's the schools it's i think what the high school in pacific palisades is gone is it the high school or junior high i think it was the high school that that people were saying that was um that yeah that had that serious damage serious damage and um I don't know. I'm like looking at some of the pictures. I don't know how the kids go back to school. This is the other thing I was thinking of. The damage to the schools. Wasn't California the state that was locked down the longest with COVID? I think that was the one that was locked down the longest, that state. And the reason I bring this up is because What are they going to do now with their schools? What are they going to do with their schools? If the kids have no schools to go to, what the hell happens? Because now you have a number of schools that have been damaged. You have a number of businesses that have been damaged. People have lost their property. So what do you, what happens in the meantime? I feel so bad for these kids because think about it. A lot of these kids that are in high school now, they were like in junior high, right? When COVID hit. Now think of it. Same generation. They're like, oh my gosh, now our schools are burned down. Because it's not just Pacific Palisades. I think it's... There's a couple of other areas where I think it's been junior highs or elementaries or high schools. I mean, think about that. Think about kids that are... Their schools burned down. Their... I'm thinking their field, the football field, whatever it is, burned down. And what if they were what if they were going on scholarship? What if they were trying to get scholarship? What if they were trying to get anything? It's just it's so heartbreaking. So we're going to have the latest with this. And we have some other pretty interesting developments as it pertains to this. I know that the left is trying to say to not. politicize it, but holding people accountable, Kane, we talked about this yesterday while you were iced in, is not holding them, I mean, critical criticism and expecting accountability is not politicizing it.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, I don't get it. I think it's spelled out in our Constitution that we have the right to actually redress our government. I don't get why all of a sudden people in government feel as though that's un-American or unpatriotic to do and why they would want to avoid it. It's part of the job. Also, with these fires, we know the fire... the structure that they actually have that firemen operate from, that money, the school money, all of that comes from property taxes, property that is now burned down. Are they going to do to North Carolina or do to them what they did to North Carolina?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and that's one of the things we're going to talk about getting into this. So first off, I forgot to even say hello. Dana Lash here with you. We're at the top of this first hour and I've just got a lot of stuff open before me on my four and a half foot wide gaming screen. And I have people who are like, why don't you look into the camera all the time? Because I don't have a teleprompter. All my prep is right here. I've told you this. I've told people this. And some people, I guess, just want me to gaze at them. That's great. But what am I going to refer to when I'm reading and sharing news articles with people? So this... We followed, like I said, we followed some of this over at Substack. I wanted to play... Forgive me, because I've got a million different odds and ends that are open. It's a weird news cycle. This... First off, they've been saying it's climate change. There's all kinds of video. I think, is it three separate videos or is it two firebugs and then just three videos of two firebugs? I want to make sure I'm being accurate because they arrested definitely two people for arson. One of them... was it the Kenneth fire? I think one of the fires was absolutely 100% arson and they arrested a guy and it's on camera. New York Post has one story where citizens swept his, like used a MMA move, swept his legs up from underneath him and took him into custody because they saw him with a blowtorch, literally setting things on fire. There was another guy that we had yesterday He was out in the middle of the road and somebody caught him on camera setting a fire. And so they arrested him there. I believe a lot of this is serial arson. Because, and I mentioned this yesterday, it just is the way that some of the fires have spread. It's just weird to me. I'm not a fire science expert, but I just think it's a little weird if you have fires happening in the Pacific Palisades and then you hop miles and miles and miles away beyond the point of where the wind can take embers. And especially if it's not even in the direction of where the wind is going and you have a whole other problem. wildfire that breaks out you know what i mean it's a little weird i'm just saying especially not like the the one that they just the the arsonist that they arrested that was one of those areas where they actually i mean you can see from the video when they approach him when citizens approach him he's like in the like somebody's driveway and he's there's there's no fire damage there's no fire they're not in a fire zone And they catch him. And I was looking on the map. This actually is an area that is not in the fire zone. So that's what's weird to me. And I just... Because a lot of people have been... Lifelong residents in that area have been saying, how is it that... In some instances when it's not even downwind from the fires, you have a whole, you know, it's just there's a lot of questions. I think that there's a lot of arsonists out for sure. I think that you had natural with wildfire and then I think it was further compounded by arsonists. And so I don't know. They got this guy in custody. But the reason I bring this up is because everybody's been calling it climate change. The media has been insisting that this is climate change. The left has been insisting that this is climate change. And the reason that they're insisting that this arson is climate change is because, again, what I tell you yesterday, they're trying to absolve their elected officials of any kind of culpability with us at all. Any culpability. They're trying to absolve their elected officials of any of it. And I don't know, I'm just saying. I don't think that that's gonna work. This is sort of like what happened with some of the Canadian wildfires. They figured out that a lot of that was arson as well. You guys remember all of that? Yeah, they figured out a lot of that was arson. So just, I've got a lot of questions here. As we move, the folks who helped bring you the program, it's our friends over at All Family Pharmacy. This is such a great service. You need to memorize the website. They make it so easy. All Family Pharmacy helped my family out a lot over Thanksgiving because, you know, right on Thanksgiving when offices are closed and you end up getting sick, it's just, it's a mess and you got to get medicine. All Family Pharmacy made it super easy. And you can visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana. Use code Dana and you'll get 10% off of your entire order. So this is affordable access, easy and cost effective for medicine. You don't have to break the bank to access these medicines. There's no red tape. There's no hassle. Everything's made in the USA. 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SPEAKER 02 :
Superman derives his power from the yellow sun. DC politicians get their power by giving handouts. In 1913, the tax code was 400 pages long. Today, it's 75,000. This is how politicians derive their power. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 18 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
So how much ice did we get here in Texas? I don't know. It's still 35 degrees, and I'm just not feeling that. It's icy. Kane and Juan made it in. How was it out there?
SPEAKER 18 :
The side roads are a little chunky, a little ruddy with ice and stuff. But the main roads are not that bad. You'll see little parts of the main road that are not great. But it was doable. We were brave men this morning.
SPEAKER 19 :
came out dead. I gave them the option. I was like, you guys don't have to try to make it in today. But, I mean, you should have seen it. It was like a cave here yesterday. You guys didn't see it because we didn't have video. I'm going to share a picture with you though on social media. It was pitch dark. It was amazing. But, they said, because it's still kind of What's in out there? I don't know what you would call it. There's like some snow, some ice. It's weird. Still kind of doing it out there. But yeah, we did get a couple of inches, I will say. How apparently we could all soon freeze our bodies and outlive an apocalyptic disaster. First off, who was building it? Secondly, why do I want to? I don't want to do that. I mean, we're having a hard enough time, not even in an apocalypse. I can't imagine being on Earth with some of these insufferable people. And trying to survive in an apocalyptic situation with these insufferable people. Could you? It's called time shift. They want to preserve and prolong your misery here on this rock. By offering the world's first cryopreservation facility. Whatever. I don't know. You can become a human meat sickle. If that's your jam. It's not my jam. I don't want to be a meat sickle. I'm like when I'm done, I'm done. Like I'm going to tell my family. I look at my great grandkids. I'm done with you people. Bye. See you later. Yes, I do view everything that way. It's very, very true. The U.S. warns of risk from the from most of the world's online pharmacies. I think this is a lie, actually, because a lot of them are incredibly reputable. Like all family pharma dot com slash Dana where you can go and use Dana Dana 10 to get 10 percent off. They're saying that some of these online pharmacies, yeah, if you're like buying from an online pharmacy that's like van on the side of the road dot com, that might not be great. But I think it's a lot of it is just people looking for the government wants to regulate it. That's what I look at it. We have a whole bunch more on the way. Stick with us. Imagine a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, feeling alone and unsure of what to do. And she's searching for hope. And that's where Preborn Ministries comes in. You can make a difference for just $28. Your generosity can be the key to a mother choosing life for her baby. And with your gift, you will receive the story of a mom who chose life as well as the ultrasound image of her precious baby. And like the story of Kelsey, who found pre-born and after hearing her baby's heartbeat, she chose life. Consider making a larger, life-changing donation of $5, $10, or $15,000. Maximize your gift that can help women in unplanned pregnancies receive ultrasounds and even help place an ultrasound machine in a women's center. Donate for the gift of life. Just dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY. That's pound or hashtag 250 baby, or visit preborn.com slash Dana to donate online. Every contribution counts. So again, that's pound 250, say the word baby or donate securely at preborn.com slash Dana.
SPEAKER 26 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Superman derives his power from the yellow sun. DC politicians get their power by giving handouts. In 1913, the tax code was 400 pages long. Today, it's 75,000. This is how politicians derive their power. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 05 :
Keep your finger on the pulse with the Dana Show podcast, delivering timely news with insightful analysis. Whenever you want, straight to you on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 25 :
You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call that looks like you. It gives that person a little bit more ease knowing that somebody might understand their situation better. Is she strong enough to do this? Or you couldn't carry my husband out of a fire, which my response is he got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don't believe that she could carry. That's one of the Kristen's. That's one of the fire department Christians. Remember, so Kane missed this yesterday. Welcome back. Dana Lash here with you. Kane, I don't know if you knew this, though, because Kane was iced in. He was literally in his own heat glue.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, you were all trying to stay warm in a heat glue, dude. I love it. He was all iced in. Juan was in a heat glue. They were all iced in yesterday. They couldn't move. They did not, in fact, want to build a snowman. And I found... And a friend told me, you know, there are a lot of Kristen's lesbian Kristen's that work in the fire department. And I'm not I'm not talking about then like, oh, well, why are they lesbian? That's not why are they all named Kristen is my big thing. Number one, I'm going to get to the meat and potatoes of this video. Kane, you missed that, though. They're all named Kristen and they're all old white lesbians, except for that Kristen. And she is an older black woman. They're all literally named Kristen, like all of them.
SPEAKER 18 :
I don't even know how to explain that.
SPEAKER 19 :
It reminded me of that episode of Shorzy. If you haven't seen it, it's hysterical. It's a Canadian. It's very blue humor. It's a Canadian series.
SPEAKER 18 :
That's what your mom said.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sanguinette! But it has this... It's a guy who does Letterkenny too, right? So he does Shorzy. And it's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen in my life. But you've got to like that humor. But it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. And it's this guy, you know, he's going up... What is it? A AAA hockey league? Like somewhere up in Saskatoon or something like that? Anyway, they... Recruit these and one of them apparently is a real hockey other a lot of real hockey players in it but this guy is like apparently a brawler and there's these three dudes and they're all named Jim and I'd play part of the show, but they'll cite us on YouTube So they're they're all named Jim And, you know, you got Shorzy, who's the title, you know, the star of the show, who's trying to figure out how they're going to make that work on the hockey team. He's like, so what, you know, if I call Jim, all three of you can't get up. And they all want to be called Jim because it's their first name. And it just gave me such a Shorzy feel. Like, why in the world are you, they're all Kristen. So what happens? You're at the fire department. Kristen. There's like a million lesbians. And you can't even go, lesbian Kristen. You can't even do that because they're all lesbians too. You can't even go, old lesbian Kristen. Because they're all old lesbians named Kristen. The only thing you can do is go, the black lesbian Kristen. But that might not work very well in Los Angeles, right? I don't think you're supposed to do things like that. But they're all named Kristen. How else do you, literally all of them are Kristen. All of them. I mean, to make it even worse, you can't even go the old blonde lesbian Kristen because they're all old blonde lesbians named Kristen. All of them. I'm not making this up. Literally all of them. Kate, I know you said... What is... That's very diverse. Is it diverse if they're all old white lesbians?
SPEAKER 18 :
I think we should just go with middle initials.
SPEAKER 19 :
See, you have Kristen Crowley. She's the fire chief and they're like, she's the... Gosh, it's Friday. How many of you are really listening today? Everybody. She's the first. Kane, she's the first. Oh, my gosh. She's the first that. She is an alphabet fire chief. I'm totally fine with that. But why are all of you named Kristen? She went to Harvard Business School. Her apparently mission in life is to the creation of systemic equity and inclusion. I don't even know what the hell that means. Then you got Kristen Kempner. She's the chief assistant chief of the fire department, Harvard Kennedy School for Managing Diverse Organizations, WTF that means. Her greatest achievement was she got accused of domestic violence because she whooped on her girlfriend. Then you have Kristen Larson. She's the first lesbian equity bureau. So that's the black lesbian. She's also I don't know. She got her job because everybody's racist. That's why she got her job. And then, oh, and then you got also a lesbian, but her name's not Kristen. The lone exception, Jamie. Her big thing, her claim to fame is she's not named Kristen. So you got Kristen, Kristen, Kristen and Jamie. The three Kristen's and Jamie. Kristen cubed and Jamie.
SPEAKER 18 :
All unable to carry a human male out of a family.
SPEAKER 19 :
Not a damn one of these women could carry a dude. So back to the video. the hell does that mean like she's shaming people for getting caught in fires like how are you drowning you should be drowning in the first place like what the hell kind of video is this how is it not victim blaming how is that not victim blaming should have got raped in the first place you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you're getting raped shouldn't have wore that yeah you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you're drowning you're somewhere you shouldn't be if you got hit or by another automobile I mean, it's like someone's like, I think I'm going to go into that fire over there. That's not what happened. What kind of video is this? I love how she thought she was being super clever. Not how she paused for a beat. This is so Hollywood. She's doing a fire thing. A little fire PSA. But she's like, if I'm there carrying your husband out of your house, he got himself in the wrong place. Yeah, he must be in purgatory if you're carrying him out of the house because no way on God's green earth in this real scape could you do that, Jamie. Or no, wait. She's Kristen. That's right. What are the odds, though? Right?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, that is weird.
SPEAKER 19 :
Like, who's handling HR over there?
SPEAKER 18 :
Kristen? Is there a book of lesbian names?
SPEAKER 19 :
That's like when you're playing Uno and you have all green and you really need the color to be green. So you're encouraging everyone, make the color green. Is that why they're all named Kristen? Because the fire chief is Kristen and she's like, I need some Kristens. Need a whole crew of Kristens over here. The Kristen crew. Hope not. Jiminy. Well... I could go on about this forever. Not a single damn one of them apparently can do my... I think all the... Like, the people who are actually out there fighting fires are the ones, you know, doing everything. And the people who are making the calls are the problem. Kind of like a DOD, right? Same situation like a DOD. You know, these people are the problems. They're the problems. It's wild. I don't know. I mean... For her to say that, well, he shouldn't have got himself in the fire in the first place. Who says something like that? And then when she was going on in the video, you know, yeah, people that look like you rescuing you from a fire. You caught that part, right? You caught that part where she's talking about being rescued and how it must be nice for people who are in fires to be rescued by people who look like them. As opposed to what? Like a dolphin coming up and rescuing you out of the fire? Yeah. As opposed to what? A two-headed Martian? As opposed to what? I don't want anybody that looks like me coming to get me out of fire because they couldn't lift my ass up. I'm a buck 20. I lie a little bit. I'm like, ah, I lie about my height and I try to make myself sound bigger than I am. I'm like, no, I'm really 5'8 and I weigh 145. Yeah, that sounds good. It's not real. It's fake news. I mean, I don't want anybody that my friend Dave Burge says he doesn't want anybody that looks like him because he's an old fat drunk coming and rescuing him from the fire. He's not fat and he's not a drunk.
SPEAKER 18 :
He's old. We're missing the point that everybody, every firefighter would come into a fire completely in gear, helmet, face thing the whole night. No one's looking like anybody.
SPEAKER 19 :
Dude, this is Los Angeles. Their uniforms might say, like, I'm an old white lesbian, or I'm a black lesbian, or I am just black, not a lesbian, so I am lower on the totem pole. They probably can't even say totem pole out there. I'm lower on the ladder than the other people with more identity boxes checked. It's a long tag, but it's on the front.
SPEAKER 18 :
Mental illness aside... No one looks like you.
SPEAKER 19 :
Is it mental illness or do they just have too much damn free time on their hands?
SPEAKER 18 :
I think it's too much free time that led to mental illness.
SPEAKER 19 :
People are sitting around making up problems.
SPEAKER 18 :
Mental illness.
SPEAKER 19 :
Like when you're burning to death in a fire, do you care if it's a white or black lesbian or a lesbian at all?
SPEAKER 18 :
People without mental illness don't think so.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, oh man, it's taken everything I have right now to not go full George Carlin. It's crazy. Oh Lord, put a hand over my mouth. taking everything I have. No one's looking like you when they're coming into a fire. Like you're, you're dying to death in a fire, right? Do you care if it's a, that shows up?
SPEAKER 18 :
I almost had the button done. Did anyone hear that? No, I don't think they did. I heard echoes. That was it. Did you?
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm just saying.
SPEAKER 18 :
Stop.
SPEAKER 19 :
Does it matter?
SPEAKER 18 :
Nobody cares.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm going to be grabbing onto anybody.
SPEAKER 18 :
If I am burning. Martians. Yes, if I'm burning.
SPEAKER 19 :
Dead burnt lesbians. I don't care. I'm going to hold on to you. Give me out.
SPEAKER 18 :
If I'm burning and an alligator walks by and offers the tail.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm grabbing that alligator.
SPEAKER 18 :
I would take it. I would take it.
SPEAKER 19 :
If Bigfoot came in and was like, yes, give me out.
SPEAKER 18 :
Even Littlefoot.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, or Littlefoot. I mean, give me another cryptid. Any cryptid. I don't care. You know, I mean, if Joe Biden came by, I'd accept the help if I'm dying in a fire. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER 18 :
Like, nobody cares. I'd see him.
SPEAKER 19 :
Why is it such a big thing with the left?
SPEAKER 18 :
That I would die.
SPEAKER 19 :
Like someone would go, I was going to allow myself to be rescued out this fire. But then I saw that you don't check enough identity politic boxes for me. So no thanks. I'm going to burn to death. Just snuggle on into the flames. You know, like I said.
SPEAKER 18 :
Hence my diagnosis of mental illness.
SPEAKER 19 :
Or they have way too much free time. No. Some of them I think are mentally ill. Some of them I think are bored. Right? They're bored. Like what else would these women be doing right now? Landscaping? Like what else? They're bored. I just, I don't know, man. All of them. I have never been more fascinated with an aspect of a story than this. And I cannot tell you, by the way, and this is the funniest part of it. So there, you know, we got a lot of, a big coalition that listens to the show. And we have a lot of People who you might say are in the alphabet community. Unwillingly. They don't like the labels. And they're conservative. They just want to, you know, not be taxed to death. And they want to be left the hell alone. Don't we all? It's the new American dream. And I actually had conservative leaning lesbians write in. And go... First off, I had two different listeners who are of that persuasion who said, yeah, there are a lot of lesbians named Kristen. I have never heard this in my life. And I about died reading the email. I just I died. I did die. And I came back to life. It was hysterical. And then some were saying it's what you were saying. That's just the mental illness out in California. I doubt that they were even born with that name. It's like half and half, the community. It's one of the most fascinating things I've ever... I'm just dying laughing over it. I mean, I shouldn't, but if there is any kind of... lightness to the story at all. Maybe it's that. But also, it's bad because this is apparently what they focused on. Look, the right doesn't want to sit here. I mean, some of them do. But we all don't want to sit here and dice up everybody's little identity politic box. I don't care. It's the people in these groups that are trying to make you care. We don't care. In fact, Kane and I were raised in a generation where you were raised to not GAF. And you were encouraged to not GAF. And in fact, you were told in multiple PSAs to stop giving a GAF. And so guess what? We don't care. Leave us alone. When you stop leaving us alone, that's the moment that you cross the line and you make us care. But otherwise, leave us alone. But this is like, it has to, that's like listed on someone's resume as though it's an achievement. Well, I worked really hard and decided to like vagina. Like, you know, how does that, it's not an, they list it on a resume like it's an achievement. It's like they want to other themselves so bad. And I am floored because that's not at all how, you know, we, that's not how society was when we were coming up.
SPEAKER 18 :
Also, not how society was, was our emergency people saying things like, oh, well, if I'm having to come and help you in an emergency, you just found yourself in the wrong place.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, you're in the wrong place. Well, duh, bitch, I'm in a fire. It's not a right place to be at. Just saying. I just, I am... Oh, my gosh. And then Lorraine adds more fuel to the fire. She goes, now, you know, the Kristen's are also all paramedics as well.
SPEAKER 18 :
Wait, is Kristen going to be the new Karen?
SPEAKER 19 :
I don't know.
SPEAKER 18 :
There's a lot of Kristen's and they certainly.
SPEAKER 19 :
I only know one Kristen in my life. I only know one Kristen.
SPEAKER 18 :
She's not lesbian. But I don't know.
SPEAKER 19 :
It's just a fascinating thing to me. I don't know. But I wouldn't want that woman to carry me out. I don't care. I don't think she she don't have the if someone said an actual firefighter told me when it comes to blazes like this, upper body strength matters. Upper body strength is the difference. And they said that's why it's really difficult for women. And that's a great perspective. There's an actual firefighter who works in California up northern California who emailed that. And I thought it was a great point. And that's true. I mean, look, in my mind, I like to pretend that I'm like super hardcore. Maybe, I don't know, maybe, but I'm a buck 20. I lie all the time and I'm like, no, I'm 5'7", 5'8". I'm 5'6". But this doesn't leave us. This is our private discussion, right? And I try to inflate how large I am. And see if, like, you guys don't know, if I can just, if I just sit here and I shrug down and I wear a baggy sweater, I could be. You guys don't know. But I know my limitations physically as well. I know what I can lift. I know what my limit is. And you can't just bend those rules or suspend them altogether because you want to promote a false sense of inclusiveness. And it is a false sense of inclusiveness because it's not about the mission. This is mission creep stuff. Our partners that are bringing the program, it's Tax Network USA. They want to help you out because the government... The government claims that they want to help you out by generously taking some of your money to pay themselves. And it seems to increase every single year. And they are very, very aggressive in getting what they think they're owed. And so Tax Network USA, this is where they come in. It's the top tax relief expert. They have secured over a billion dollars in tax relief for clients. So if you're overwhelmed with back taxes or unfiled returns... I know those pay up notices are going out. That's something that you can immediately get help for help with by going to Tax Network USA. Reduce or eliminate your debt. And they have a track record, a proven track record of handling these matters. They can get it set up whether or not you owe anything at all or whether or not, you know, it's 10,000 or 10 million if it's business or personal. You can call them, schedule a complimentary consultation. They make it easy. The number is 1-800-958-1000. Schedule your free, your complimentary consultation. And you can also visit TNUSA.com slash Dana. Don't let the IRS's aggressive tactics control your life. Call Tax Network USA today. That's TNUSA.com slash Dana, 1-800-958-1000.
SPEAKER 05 :
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 16 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hey, Senator, can we ask you what you hope to get out of your visit to Mar-a-Lago to talk to Donald Trump? What are we talking about here?
SPEAKER 12 :
Is there some news? There's some news. We hear that you're going to be heading down to Mar-a-Lago. Yeah, I've heard that. Yes, I've heard that. Yeah.
SPEAKER 20 :
What will you be discussing with the president?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, yeah, I demand that I need to be made Pope of Greenland. Do you have the resume to be Pope? I'm having a conversation. Like, he's the president. He's going to be... So, you know, I am not the senator for just Democrats in Pennsylvania. I'm everyone's senator in Pennsylvania.
SPEAKER 19 :
The Pope of Greenland. I still... I understand that they've got lots of natural resources. I'm still like, no, can we just focus on what we voted on first, please? And then when we accomplish that, then we can talk about... I'm not talking about expanding government right now. But he is having... Is it lunch or dinner? He's going to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump. And the left does not know what to do. Because remember, the left made it like, oh, he had a stroke, so you can't criticize him on anything ever. Well, now that he's bucking them, what are they going to do? Oh, my gosh, we can't criticize him because he had a stroke. Why did we do that? Second hour on the way. The latest on the fires movement in D.C. So much more. Stick with us. But if I have to go to a gun-free zone, I don't want to necessarily, but sometimes for my job, I have to. I have friends who live in D.C. and New York, and all of them got there very difficult to get licensed to carry. But half the places where they live and work, you know, you can't carry in there. It's crazy. I have a friend whose apartment in Manhattan, they live outside in Westchester, but they work in Manhattan, them and their wife. They can't even bring guns into their apartment building. So they can't even have their firearm in their apartment building in Manhattan. And then they can't drive it because of their stupid laws all the way to where they live out in Westchester. This is a problem. These people don't want to be made. They don't want to be made into victims by these stupid laws. And so as a result, they have decided to diversify. They keep their guns. But when they got to go to certain places, they have the Berna gun. In fact, they went out and got the Berna SD. That's the most popular model. Five round capacity, a lot more than your average one to two round stun gun. And it shoots out chemical irritant projectiles that can stop threats from up to 50 feet away. Now, they've got different models. They have different projectiles, different accessories. But I think it's wise to have diverse options for self-defense in those instances where the state or property owner wants to disarm you. And there's no waiting period, no background check, none of that. Berna SD does not care about stupid gun-free zone signs. And they'll send it right to your door. The only place where you can get a 10% discount is where I'm about to tell you, Burna.com slash Dana. That's the only place to get 10% off your whole purchase. B-Y-R-N-A, Burna.com slash Dana to get 10% off.
SPEAKER 24 :
What we know right now is that the incident occurred, started here, and about 20 minutes, 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over in Woodland Hills area by citizens.
SPEAKER 23 :
So someone purposely set the Kenneth fire? At this time, that's what we believe, yes. Do you know how or why they did that? That I don't know. Is this a crime scene right now? It's being investigated as a crime.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. Unbelievable. Yes, it's being investigated. You know, there were a lot of questions about that. There were a lot of questions about whether or not there was arson that was involved in this. And... Everybody was the media on the left was so quick to climate change, climate change. Is that a new name? Maybe that's all the arsonists. You know how like all the fire people in L.A. are gay lesbians named Kristen. Maybe all the arsonists are named climate change. Clive, for short, you know, could be. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We are at the top of this second hour. There's ice and snow on the ground, and I'm forever wearing turtlenecks on this show. Someone asked me in an email, how many of those do you actually own? An ungodly number. I buy something in black, and I'll buy the same thing three times. Because I don't like to think about what I wear. I am very like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg about that stuff. If I could just wear the same thing every day, I would. It's less energy that you have to exert over that. But it's cold. It's cold. And houses in Texas, building structures in Texas are designed to let the heat out, not keep it in. So it's cold in Texas. So you're lucky that I'm not wearing a scarf and a sock at two all at the same time with mittens. Guys are lucky. Anyway, so welcome, Dana Lash with you. Find us at YouTube and Facebook. Like and subscribe. And you can also find us over at Substack, chapter and verse, the newsletter. And this whole... I was listening to some of the stats for this and, you know, with the arsonists, because there's now two arsonists that have been arrested. I think maybe potentially three. Listen to this extent of the damage. So this is just the Palisades fire. There's several different fires. Audio soundbite 30. Listen to how bad this fire is.
SPEAKER 01 :
Palisades fires. This fire was currently tracked at 20,438 acres with 3,073 personnel assigned. Crews worked very, very hard overnight strengthening our containment lines and addressing multiple spot fires in and around the Topanga Canyon area. Resources responded to the area included our air assets to aid in the containment efforts. Due to the favorable overnight weather conditions and the diligent, and I'll focus on the diligent work and effort and commitment of our first responders, we can report that the Palisades fire is now 8% contained. Wind gusts are expected to increase in daylight hours that will test our containment lines. Our firefighters will continue to respond.
SPEAKER 19 :
So they're saying that it's scorched over 20,000 acres. So it's like basically larger than Manhattan. The Manhattan is 14,600 acres. This is over 20. But they said in this, play this audio soundbite. I know this is brand new. This is from LAPD. This is about one of the arsonists that they caught specifically that had the blowtorch. We had some of that video for you. Listen to what LAPD says here.
SPEAKER 06 :
They responded, they interviewed this suspect. After the interview and additional investigative steps, looking at some additional evidence that was present, they made the determination that there was not enough probable cause to arrest this person on arson or suspicion of arson. And therefore, this person was arrested on a felony probation violation.
SPEAKER 19 :
If you caught him in the act, though, and the video shows that he's literally there with a blowtorch trying to set stuff on fire. It was like one of those ring camera things. How is that not probable cause, right, enough by itself there, Cain? Yes, it is. How is that not?
SPEAKER 18 :
It's plenty. But what they're going to do is they're going to say, well, we've got to do this investigation. Then they'll gather that video evidence, and then they'll go over it, and then they'll change their story later. But this is what they do PR-wise every single time.
SPEAKER 19 :
This is all so goofy. You don't have enough. There's not enough. We don't have enough probable cause to charge him. I mean, yeah, we got him with a... Literally on camera. Trying to set stuff on fire with a blowtorch. Like literally he had a blowtorch and was setting stuff on fire. And he got caught by a ton of passerby. I wonder how long it's going to be before. They had five people that watched him set things on fire. Five people who don't even know each other. Who saw him independently try to set something on fire. And that's why they all intervened and took him down. But they don't have enough probable cause for that charge. So they just got him on felony probation. And his name isn't out there? Really? Oh, I want to know these people's names. Oh, yeah. I want to know their names. If I knew if somebody was a firebug, I would just put their name out there as law enforcement because, man, oh, man, you would watch a community come together to hunt somebody down real quick. I mean, no, it's not illegal to carry a blowtorch at all. It is illegal to take the blowtorch you're carrying and try to set stuff on fire and alleyways. That's illegal. And that's what five people saw him do. And they told this to police. So I don't know what that, you know, can you make a good point? Bring up the point you just put.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. I just wonder how long it'll take before they start demonizing the people that actually caught him doing that.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah. I wonder if he did it alone.
SPEAKER 18 :
I think he was by himself at the time it happened, but whether or not he did everything alone is a good question.
SPEAKER 19 :
I'm just, that was weird to me that that was treated that way. It's just weird, right? I mean, yeah, that's because people were saying we watched him literally set with his blowtorch. On fire. And I'm all about due diligence and due process. I'm all about those things. But when you see someone use their blowtorch to set it on fire, you're not just in possession of a blowtorch. You're literally using it to set fires. It's arson. So I don't know. This is all... I mean, it's just... I don't know. The way in which they're still running things out there. I worry for the people who are going to have to rebuild how long that's going to take. To get that done. How long it's going to take for that to happen. Because you have to think of the insurance nightmare. That's out there too. That's a huge nightmare. You know what I'm going to tell you. DeSantis. He was at Mar-a-Lago with a bunch of Republican governors. This was Sunday evening. And then the video of this is just coming out. And the reporters. It wasn't all just friendlies. Because Trump just lets reporters come in. He's not like Biden. He doesn't terrorize the media. And audio soundbite 13, DeSantis just busted their ass in this. This was epic. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 03 :
for the president-elect or a president to be criticizing.
SPEAKER 15 :
Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create division and to try to create narratives any time these things happen? Now, you're not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would go try that. You would have it nailed to the wall for what they're doing over there. And I know we've dealt with it. We just assume in Florida, anytime something happens, it's going to be politicized by the media. So you guys sitting in judgment of Donald Trump, I mean, excuse me, I think your track record of politicizing these things is very, very bad. OK, last question.
SPEAKER 19 :
You would nail him to a wall. That is such a great response. You could tell he got ticked off. Because they kept asking... The questions that they were asking and the excuses that they seemed to be intimating for Newsom, it made him mad. I watched a long clip of it. That's the important part that we got. But you could see he's just getting madder and madder, standing over there like, uh-uh, I ain't even... He's best when he's allowed to be himself. Because he's really good at handling the media. Here's another example. This was... This is Audio Sunbite 14. It's a little longer. This is a master class and answering a question while neutralizing a fishing expedition for sensational headlines. This reporter wanted a narrative. You got DeSantis there. You had Matt Gaetz who left his Congress. I'm not a Gaetz fan, and I've made that very clear and nothing personal. This is just I just I think that he has no idea about tactics or strategy, and I've never seen anyone so politically toned up in my life. That being said, he left his elected seat and then he's saying that he's thinking about running for governor. DeSantis turns out in 27. He's he would be up against Byron Donald's and a whole bunch of other people, which, you know, and the press immediately wants to use it. They were trying to find some kind of division. Right. The press. What did I what did I say on Jesse Waters earlier this week? And what did I say the other day? that the media wants to find any kind of crack, any kind of division. If they have to play to people's egos or play to tribalism, they will do that. So they were trying to see if they could get DeSantis to, I guess, like stand against Trump over Gates or something. I don't know what they were looking for, but this was a masterclass in how to handle the media. Audio Sunbite 14.
SPEAKER 22 :
Just a reaction to Matt Gates mowing a gubernatorial bit.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't really have a reaction to it. I mean, it's so far away for that race to happen. You know, I think my thing is I had to do a special election to fill that seat because he resigned from the seat. I wish we had full strength in the House to help the president get his agenda done. That's where the fight is right now. Florida, you know, the fight was in 18 here when we were at a crossroads. If you look now at the results across the state, the left is lying in ruins. The Democratic Party is on the mat. So we've got it handled here. I think the people need to be up there fighting for President Trump and to deliver on his mandate. And so any congressman should be wanting to go up there and do that. And we expect all our Florida congressmen to actually deliver on these promises.
SPEAKER 03 :
Governor DeSantis, have you and President Trump spoken about the possibility of you serving as Secretary of Defense?
SPEAKER 15 :
We speak frequently. We haven't really gotten into any particulars on anything. I think we're looking forward to being able to be helpful in any way we can. Clearly, as governor, I think we'll have a better future these next couple years than we've had the last four. Our success in Florida has been in spite of the Biden administration, not because of it. Now I think we're in just a good runway. These are just great answers.
SPEAKER 19 :
Absolutely great answers. He just just neutralized because they were on a fishing expedition. They wanted a sensational headline. They wanted to be able to say, oh, DeSantis goes against whatever Trump favorite Gates or something like that. I don't know if Gates has a shot in hell at, by the way, winning even the nomination for governor's office in Florida. I mean, he's he he got his seat because his dad's been in office for a long time. It's a family that's been in elective office. It's kind of dynastic down there. And I'm immediately I'm just allergic to that kind of stuff. I just just I have visceral reactions to any kind of dynastic anything. I'm so such an American. I can't help it. And but he gave the great answers like I wish we had full strength. And he's right. He's right. He made a really great point on a number of different levels and just, you know, smack their ass and then neutralize their argument. It's great. That's that's how you handle the press. We have more on the way, including this unconditional discharge. This goofy case. They just want to be able to say felon. And a couple of things. Colorado, they're trying to push a gun ban, another gun ban. We've got that. We've got a whole bunch of stuff. As we move, our partners. who helped bring you the program. It's our friends at ReadyWise. ReadyWise is always ready, even if you aren't. And I'm telling you, out of a lot of the companies out there that make claims, ReadyWise really is it. I mean, they are really good, good survival food. Survival food doesn't have to taste horrible. It doesn't have to be low quality either. And ready wise is neither of those things. It's high quality premium survival food. That's not only sustenance when something goes sideways for you and your family, but it's also comfort in a crisis and beyond because it's made so well. These are U.S. ingredients. packed in a U.S. plant, sent to you from that plant by U.S. workers. So you know the chain of command for your food. I don't know of any other company that can say that. You know the chain of command for your food from start to finish. And what's more, they have an in-house team of culinary experts that make sure everything that you buy is meeting your nutritional needs, your caloric needs, the healthy carbs, protein, all of that. And they have an array of product choices to meet every budget, like the emergency one-month bucket supply, the two-bucket bundle, the three-month bucket bundle. Great taste. And like I said, comfort in a crisis and beyond 25-year shelf life. Visit ReadyWise.com. Use promo code Dana20 at checkout for 20% off of your entire purchase. ReadyWise.com. Promo code Dana20 for 20% off.
SPEAKER 18 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
Is When the Levee Breaks by Zeppelin, is that just not one of the best songs ever? I'm just telling you. The TikTok band going to SCOTUS. And they're battling for survival, TikTok, in the United States as the decision over its fate is now underway. I don't know. I just, I don't know why people are defending it so much. It doesn't help when you have politicians who are like, yeah, we got to get rid of TikTok. And then they're like, TikTok's great. I'm not on it. I just don't have time, and also I can only watch so many videos of people looking at the camera. It's an insufferable epidemic.
SPEAKER 18 :
The Supreme Court just came out and said that they're looking to uphold that ban. That's what the SCOTUS just said. I got this one minute ago.
SPEAKER 19 :
They're looking to uphold the ban a minute ago. So they're good. So it's good. And unless they're able to get like a net. Well, you can't. You can't appeal it.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right.
SPEAKER 19 :
So I don't know if you guys saw this. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was reportedly kidnapped by Maduro in Venezuela, you know, because they have free elections and all that good stuff there. Right. In Venezuela. Isn't that how it works? There's a couple of different reports of how it happened, but she was apparently reportedly freed after she was violently intercepted, is how it was described. And she left her hideout to protest Maduro. So that's... You know, if you want to know where free and fair elections don't happen, it's there. Novak Djokovic said he was poisoned by lead in his food after he was detained over COVID during the Australian Open. He had refused to get the experimental injection. And he said he was poisoned by food that he ate while he was detained during that 2022 whole thing. He was in a Melbourne hotel and they said, he goes, I was fed some food that poisoned me. And he monitors his diet pretty strictly. It's like a thing that he's actually pretty famous for. GQ did a whole piece on it once. So he said that he had flu-like symptoms and he had an emergency medical team treat him when he got back to Europe. But he said it was lead. Somebody poisoned him? That's good night. Bank of America is bracing for massive bond losses as yields soar. New headline. The sharp rise in rates since the end of their third quarter has widened losses on bank securities portfolio on their portfolio. And it could become an investor issue again when banks start reporting their fourth quarter results. That's like next week. Excuse me. Beginning of next week. And let's see here. We got a couple of other things as well, which we're going to talk about. The president saying 100 percent help for. people affected by the fires out in California. We're going to have to revisit Hurricane Helene here. And this also happened this morning. Four injured after a Delta flight aborted a takeoff at a snow-covered Atlanta airport because it's been snowing in Atlanta. They said it was about 9 a.m. local time. They told passengers to duck down and evacuate after the plane accelerated to take off. They said they had ongoing severe weather. There were people who were treated on the scene. Everybody's okay now, apparently, but they said it was due to an engine issue. Stick with us. We got more in store next. Pain can really affect your life, so you should consider a New Year's resolution. And it's not about taking it easy or slowing down. It's about making 2025 the year of feeling good again, the year of doing more and living more and waking up excited every day. And you can do it by trying Relief Factor. Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement that helps your body fight pain naturally. Developed by doctors, it works by supporting your body's response to inflammation. And Relief Factor doesn't just mask pain for a short time, it helps to eliminate it. It's like turning back the clock on pain so you can feel like you did years ago. Whether it's neck, back, joint, or muscle pain, Relief Factor can help you feel better. Become one of the over 1 million people that have turned to Relief Factor. Trying Relief Factor is easy. Get their three-week quick start for just $19.95. That's less than a dollar a day. Call 1-800-4-RELIEF. Whether it's neck, back, joint, or muscle pain, Relief Factor can help you feel better. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF or visit relieffactor.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
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 at the bottom of this second hour. And we're following everything with the fires and everything else. And it's I mean, it's the arson now as well, because that's the other thing. Now they're saying that they've arrested a couple of people for arson so far, which you knew that some of this was going to be arson. You just knew it was going to be. One of the guys was even I'm looking at this. finding this video, one of the guys was even caught on video. And you have a blowtorch and you're using it to light stuff on fire. It's kind of a big deal. In the meantime, in New York, the president faced sentencing in this stupid... I hate this stupid story because it's such a fraud. The whole thing is so dumb. It's that Stormy Daniels hush money case. Lorraine's written about it quite a bit over at Substack. And the... decision it's a weird one so the judge had imposed a jail sentence and under new york state law because they were the lowest level of felony jail sentences are not mandatory they wanted to just be able to say he was a felon so remember this is the case where uh he paid money to stormy daniels and i don't care how look there's two things that are happening here yes i understand the people who are arguing about the morality of it okay that's a separate thing set that on one side and then this then i'm going to talk about you can set on the other side regardless of how you want to look at it on paper it's a business arrangement that's just the way it is you there's certain things with regards to morality that are not actionable in the way that Alvin Bragg wants to make them actionable. And so Trump had already said that he had given Stormy Daniels money. He came out about that and had said that, uh, The way that they had logged it in their financial record keeping, that's what New York State wanted to go after. They were saying that it was a bookkeeping error. Regardless, it's your money. You should be able to do whatever the hell you want. So at its core, I reject this whole story. I don't even like talking about it because I think it's stupid. You are making a huge issue out of a non-issue. So they were saying, well, it's a bookkeeping error and you should have stipulated such X, Y, Z at all. the most, at the most, you could maybe, I really don't think you could, but you could make the argument that it was a misdemeanor in the manner by not following precise New York law with regards to keeping records pertaining to this whole thing. You could maybe make that argument. But that's not what Alvin Bragg did. He went beyond that. He was trying to say that there was an additional crime that they would not articulate in any of the charging documents, an additional crime that they weren't actually going to bring a charge for, that they weren't even going to instruct the jury to fully consider, an additional crime that makes this, for the sake of argument... expired misdemeanor, it elevates it to where they can charge it as a felony. And they barely made it an E-level felony charge, which was the lowest level. So he was never going to be up for jail time because the jail sentence by New York law with an E-level felony is not a The judge had to consider the fines and the charges for that. So what Judge Merchan did was give Trump what they call a no penalty sentence. And they call it an unconditional discharge. So there's no jail time. There's no probation. There are no fines. But it goes on his record. They just wanted to be able to say that he was a felon. They, I mean, pun intended, trumped up a charge to say that he's a felon. Let me put this in a different context because they were trying to make this out to be an NDA. I've signed NDAs. NDAs are commonplace. The people who are talking about how sketchy it is to have NDAs have never been in an important enough position to have to sign one. Yes, that is to be mean because I see these people all over social media throwing their weight around going, oh, well, NDAs. No, literally, if you've never had to sign an NDA, you've never had to work at a place that was considered like high risk or anything like that for whatever reason. In fact, low risk, regular everyday businesses have people sign NDAs. It's par for the course. It is not an unusual, exceptional circumstance. Literally, everybody signs NDAs. I sign DAs to work with people I work with. The people who work with me sign NDAs. It's literally boilerplate. So that argument that, oh, Trump had her sign an NDA and all this stuff, that's like sketch. That's actual commonplace. So does that mean you took hush money because you signed an NDA and you get paid for signing an NDA? I have literally entered contract negotiations that have an NDA that goes along with just the negotiation. And I have literally told people that my silence costs. So if you want me to sign an NDA, you got to pay. I have literally told people that at the negotiating table because it's a non-starter for me. And that's not taking hush money. That's a business arrangement. So that's why this is so stupid. So it would be like you say you get a job at some company. I don't know. Pick a pick a vocation and you go through, you know, you sign your paperwork to work for the company, the company, you sign your contract and you sign your NDA and you get, you know, like a signing bonus. Is that hush money? I mean, that's if you were Trump in New York, they were they would say that it's hush money and that because you didn't write hush money in the ledger, that that's somehow a misdemeanor, although it's passed. It's beyond the statute of limitations. So it's kind of moot. But what they'll argue is that, well, you probably didn't report it correctly because you were hiding something else. Now, we're not going to tell you what that something else is. We're not even going to bother mentioning it in the charging docs. And when we instruct the jury to make it during deliberation, we're going to tell them to just bypass whatever they think it is. It exists. And we're just you have to have it exist so we can elevate this to a felony. That's what happened here. Imagine you having to go through that. That's why this is so stupid. I don't even like talking about this dumb story because it is literally a straw man argument that they just they trumped up so that they could call him a felon. That's the only reason. It's the dumbest. Now, there are other cases where you look, you can sit here and be like, well, you shouldn't have done anything with Stormy. You can have that argument all day long. I'm not telling you you're wrong or telling you not to have it. But what's stupid is them weaponizing the justice system to go after him for that. That's how dumb this is. This is lawfare. This isn't justice. This is lawfare. Masquerading as justice and justice for what? Who's heard in this? That's the other thing. It's so stupid. I don't even like talking about it. I get so mad talking about it because it pisses me off because it's a non-story. It is a stupid, fabricated, lawfare situation that you're expected to take seriously by the legacy press. I don't take it seriously. I think it's a joke. It makes a mockery of our justice system. I feel stupid for even talking about it on air because it's such a dumb witch hunt story. Of all the things to get mad at Trump about, this is not one of them. it's not it legitimately isn't and i will i have no qualms in pissing off everybody criticizing someone's precious lawmaker over x y or z i have zero issue this is one of the dumbest things i've ever had to talk about in my entire professional career it's a stupid story it's hard to even explain because there's no legal basis that's why it's so weird Never before has anything like this been done in New York. Never before has anything been cobbled together like this in the justice system. They fabricated it so they could get a conviction and say felon. That's why it's so weird to talk about. Because I've had listeners go, well, what was the other thing that elevated it? I would love to know. I'm sure the jury would too. So it's so dumb about all of it. Kane knows. I get ticked off any time this story comes up because it's stupid.
SPEAKER 18 :
I heard Andy McCarthy saying that they were trying to make the underlying crime the 2016 election that they're claiming Trump stole that.
SPEAKER 19 :
They're saying that he—the argument is that the reason that he paid Stormy Daniels, according to the prosecutor, is that he was—it was— Election interference. I feel you. He was trying to help his own campaign by keeping the Stormy Daniels stuff out of the news. And so that's why. And they're arguing that that's election interference. Did they argue that with John Edwards? No. Because some of that money actually came from assets in New York when Bunny Mellon was giving him cash. Did they argue that with John Edwards? Did they argue that with Anthony Weiner? No. Did they argue it with Bill Clinton? No. I mean, do you want me to sit here and run down the list of all these Democrats who made their side pieces? Sign like NDAs or I mean, we can sit here and do it. The reason it wasn't done with them is because, first off, there was no legal foundation for that to even that case to even be built. Number one. Number two, they didn't do it because those people were Democrats. Look, I get it. There are things I criticize Trump about. You guys know I'm very forthright about it. This is not one of them. And so when I see people that I've always thought previously were smart, pretending that this is a big deal, I lose respect for them because this is a stupid story. There's so many other things to talk about. And this is a headline today. This is a stupid headline. You have people burning to death in California and these jackasses in New York with this stupid fabricated witch hunt. This is what they're pushing today. It's so dumb just so they can say, oh, he's a felon. He can't own a gun. He's a felon. He's not even going to be able to really travel. He's a felon. Well, he's got diplomatic immunity as an elected official. So that's a stupid, you know, but still there's some considerations here for what? No penalty, no probation, no jail time. And they didn't even actually articulate the underlying crime that elevated this to the lowest level classy felony in the state of New York. Now, of course, he's going to appeal the sentencing. He'd be a moron to not appeal the sentencing. Think about it. There are some left-leaning prosecutors in New York, more left-leaning than Alvin Bragg, that did not want to touch this case. And it's not because they're weaker as communists. It's because they're smarter legal strategists. They know at some point, and it's going to take time, but at some point, this is going to get overturned. You just, this is only, this only happens in New York. Outside of New York, this falls apart because you don't have the partisan pettiness as the framework to keep it all together. It's only in New York. So there, for the people who are asking, that's why I don't talk about it because I get mad and it's stupid. It makes me hate the justice system more than I already do. It makes me hate government agencies more than I already do. And I'm trying to be, you know, we're not even a first week in the new year. I'm trying to be lighthearted for everybody. I don't want to talk about this stupid story. It's so dumb. Imagine, and this is with... Somebody who has, you know, all of the name recognition and everything else. Imagine what they're doing to average everyday people. Look at Dexter Taylor, an innocent black man who's sitting in jail because he's black. I've never said anything like that before. That's true in this case. He is a gun owner and he's a conservative and they went after him because he is a black man. gun owner and a black conservative. And that is dangerous to their narrative because the left does not want minorities to leave the party. They have to be Democrats. I've talked about this for years. Democrats think they have a patent on you. If you're a woman, if you're a gay man, if you're a lesbian, if you're Hispanic, if you're black, if you're Asian, they think that that is a tool of political exploitation. And you're not allowed to leave the Democrat Party if you're any one of those things. And if you do, then it's a betrayal so badly. It's a betrayal so bad that they'll throw the full force of their lawfare at you like they did with Dexter Taylor. And with Trump. Imagine a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, feeling alone and unsure of what to do. And she's searching for hope. And that's where Preborn Ministries comes in. You can make a difference for just $28. Your generosity can be the key to a mother choosing life for her baby. And with your gift, you will receive the story of a mom who chose life as well as the ultrasound image of her precious baby. And like the story of Kelsey, who found Preborn and after hearing her baby's heartbeat, she chose life. 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SPEAKER 10 :
Did God bless the United States of America? Pastor Alan Jackson says yes.
SPEAKER 09 :
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. But 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 10 :
Subscribe to Culture and Christianity, an Alan Jackson podcast, on your favorite podcast app.
SPEAKER 18 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 19 :
So I have two. This is crazy. So in this shoplifting scheme, I had a listener that sent this to me, and they got my attention by going, uh-oh, D-Lash, clean up on Isle Brown. It's from the Miami Herald. And there's also a story from Fox 13. They got the... CCTV footage, deputies are searching for a couple that are accused of stealing $500 of items from a dollar store. The suspect, the woman intentionally defecated on the store's floor as a way to distract while the man she was with began to steal everything. Polk County deputies are investigating. They said that Ms. Dookie is on the run after a messy burglary at the Mulberry Family Dollar Store. So they walked in. He walked around the store, gathered $500 worth of products like Gain Tide, Clorox. And while he was getting that, the woman distracted everybody by dousing on the floor. And an employee had to clean up the mess she made. It's a poo and run. I, and they're, they're literally, how do you not find them? How do you, I mean, go into a dollar store. You, okay. Something is wrong with you. If you're like, okay, here's my idea on how to steal from family dollar. I'm going to go and poop on the floor and you can just grab everything, throw in a basket and let's run.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 18 :
That whole last question, that whole last part would have worked fine without the first part. Well, that whole needing to poop on the floor isn't a need, but how do you, okay.
SPEAKER 19 :
How much time do we have here? I don't like public restrooms. I hate them. I'll explode before I have to use them. It's a thing. It might be TMI. But my question is, how does a woman... How do you just do that in public, like theatrically? You just do something on the floor like that. I know it's part of your shoplifting scheme, but how do you get to the point where you're like, okay, I'm saving it up. I'm going to go and dookie on the floor the family dollar.
SPEAKER 18 :
Seems like you have to plan your eating 12 plus hours in advance.
SPEAKER 19 :
That has to be... That's like... That has to be timed out. I don't know. Oh, gosh. A Florida man went on a smash and grab at a St. Pete Publix. Oh, well, at least he didn't dookie in the floor. He went on a string of smash and grab burglaries. Corey Kendrick, 11 vehicles stealing the items inside. They think he's responsible for other other thefts and that more charges could be coming. But apparently he did not care about any of the videos as he's just on camera running through smashing everything like full view. Great CCTV footage of him. And a Florida man suffered severe injury while selling fireworks illegally. He was selling them literally off the side of the road in a U-Haul van, and he blew off two of his fingers. Stick with us. Caltech, longtime friend of the show. I'm a huge fan of what Caltech does. I'm a huge fan of their firearms. Everything's built right here in the US of A in Florida. They have got a great story, great all-American story. And as we head into the later part of January, this is all about the same time every year that Caltech unveils the new things that they've been working on. This year is not going to be any kind of exception for that. George Kellgren, who's the president, founder, designer, mad scientist. He's actually one of the few major firearms designers still alive today leading the way in innovation. You know, they invented the micro compact pistol category. They came out last year with the lightest, thinnest double stack nine millimeter on the market. That's the P-15. Everything they do is quality made right here in America. They got the fold-in half carbine, the sub 2Ks, that whole family, that whole line. They have the KSG shotguns, the RDB bullpup series, and they stand behind everything that they make. Now, they're going to be dropping some new product later this month. I'll be at SHOT Show. broadcasting live for that industry event. So there's going to be some new product and we'll talk all about it when it happens. You can visit Keltechweapons.com, sign up for their newsletter, check out their social media, and you can also get on the inside track so you can be made aware when they drop new stuff. Innovation Performance Keltech, K-E-L-T-E-C, Keltechweapons.com.
SPEAKER 20 :
It was wild. We just started seeing all these cars pull up. and groups of men running off our street, going up to the doors of these houses. And we weren't sure what was going on. I'm thinking, are these people here to help my neighbors? I hope so. And I left and then my husband talked to the police and said, what are those guys doing? These guys don't live here, get them out. My next door neighbor said, his quote, there were like 100 people that came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses on the street.
SPEAKER 19 :
Looting. The looting has begun. And the DA down there now, he ended up beating the source back DA. Was saying, look, we're going to prosecute everybody. We're going to go after everybody. Nobody's going to be... If you're doing this stuff, we're coming to get you. So good on them for laying that out. Because previously... I mean, when people would loot stores, they weren't doing a single thing. This is just, it's, man, it's bad. Like, basically the size of Manhattan has burned. More than. Manhattan was what, 14,600 acres? Over 20,000 has burned. That's just the Palisades fire. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We are at the top of this third hour this Friday. And you've got this. Audio Sunbite 4. Biden was remarking on this. This has to do with the debris and some of the cleanup recovery efforts. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 22 :
This morning, due to the magnitude of the disaster, I was talking with the governor. He requested if I could increase the federal funding that was authorized under this legislation from 75% to 90%. We're increasing it to 100% of all costs to be covered by the federal government. for both the Fire Management Assistance Grants and the elements of what they call the Disaster Declaration. So today I'm announcing that the federal government will cover 100% of the cost for 180 days.
SPEAKER 19 :
So that's, he's covering 100% of recovery costs for six months. They gave all of the people in Appalachia who were dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene, they, uh, They got to check out all their motels. Was it January? Oh, tomorrow. Tonight at midnight. They said FEMA said due to the incoming winter storm, we're extending our transitional sheltering program for just 24 hours to households scheduled to check out if you still need assistance. So that's like about 3,500 families in that area. They're like, okay, go. They said that FEMA tried to evict these hurricane victims hours before the storm went through. they've there have been people on the ground there who have been taking videos of these people working at these shelters and They said it's wild it's wild like they've they they had these people have nowhere to go it's over 3,000 families 3,500 and They were told okay. That's it. That's it. That's all we're gonna do for you. Now. You got to go and Told to get out That's just so that's amazing. How I I am without words, but that's what they're telling everybody. No, no, no, you've got to go. So Los Angeles, they get 100% covered. They were giving them money in North Carolina, but they had to pay it back, right? Isn't that how it went? They would get money, but then they had to pay all of it back.
SPEAKER 18 :
And they had to pay their full property taxes.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER 18 :
On homes that washed away.
SPEAKER 19 :
Was that last week or week before?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, last week.
SPEAKER 19 :
Unbelievable. I know that was right before Christmas. They had to pay all their property tax like that Friday before we were off air. That was the deadline. They had to pay property taxes. They said that they had no catastrophic events that that fall into exclusion. And so they had to pay property taxes based on assessments that are now inapplicable.
SPEAKER 18 :
So officials in California clearly, through neglect and inept activity, have ruined what's going on in California, costing the locals a lot of money. But now they're asking the federal government for more money as well. And we're just going to hand it over to them to the tune of 100% when this was mismanagement. The Helene thing in North Carolina had nothing to do with mismanagement. That was absolutely natural disaster.
SPEAKER 19 :
Although I will say the response was mismanaged because it's Democrat run.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, without a doubt. Horrifically mismanaged.
SPEAKER 19 :
But you're right. Because in California, in fact... It's their mismanagement that caused it in Los Angeles. Let me pull up. Forgive me. I have a million tabs open here. I don't even know how my computer functions, quite honestly. You don't see the tabs I have open. If you're opposed to all the tabs, then you would be having a stroke right now. The... Karen Bass, because I think it came out just last week that she had asked for further cuts. They were already going through the 24-25 fiscal year with a $48.8 million budget reduction. And one week before these fires, she called for an additional $49 million in cuts. And that would have shut down 16 fire stations. Now, keep in mind, this is after Cal water, fire and water, all of that. The state agency said that this they said this back in fall. in I think in September and October, actually, according to my notes, they were warning people all the way back in August, because they had two years of record rain. So they had all of this that contributed to a lot of vegetation overgrowth. And then of course, you know, typically, It starts getting really dry going into December, January. That dries up. You know, everything turns brown again. And then the Santa Ana winds start. And then you just have the perfect recipe for a massive firestorm. Not only were they stopping efforts to clear out underbrush, but literally a week before the fires, after months of being warned that they were going to actually be in a prime wildfire season and that every element of of the perfect storm exists for a major wildfire. She was demanding an additional $49 million in cuts to the fire department. And that would have completely closed, completely closed 16 different fire stations. Oh my gosh. So I had, she gotten those. I mean, it's already bad. They're already they've already had firemen say that they don't have enough firemen. They've already had them say that. I can't even imagine. I'm just like, how else they wouldn't have been able to survive. Now, in addition to that, this is the Los Angeles Times. Hold up. Let me pull this up. they came out and said they had this big story this morning. Pacific Palisades Reservoir was not only empty when the firestorm exploded, but it was also offline. It's the Santa Ynez Reservoir. Now, you actually can see the reservoir when you fly into L.A. When you fly into L.A., depending on the flight path, and I've flown over it, you can see it. It's up in the Santa Ynez Mountains. And it's actually, sometimes the pilot will point it out for you. It's totally empty. Completely, totally empty. They let all of the runoff that they had from the two years of record rain just go right back into the ocean. They didn't do anything to catch, they did nothing. And then they emptied this reservoir. What was left of it. Here's my question. How do these people sit here and go, yes, climate change, it's such an existential threat. Also, we're not going to do anything to we're going to keep the reservoirs empty. We're going to make sure that our hydrants don't work. I mean, the bottom line is they don't have the infrastructure. California doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with it. And it's not an uncommon occurrence for California. You have the winds that were really crazy and that contributed to it. But, you know, the other factor that contributed to it was the horrific land management. There are more stories. I would sit here the rest of the hour and I could just recount all of these different stories that span a three-year period where they are warning California officials, whether it's LA Times, whether it's San Francisco, whether it's local media there or KTLA. They did all of these reports where they were saying that you know, you have officials and people who are into fire science and land management that are warning that these steps need to be taken in order to, you know, do as much as possible to quote unquote fireproof areas or to make it to where any kind of wildfire could at least be contained. And the other problem is, That they have in California is their developments. Everything is so dense. The developments are so dense. The houses are right on top of each other. But what's more, the newer builds have to go along with new regulations, which require like concrete walls, like literal firewalls. There was an architect who was tweeting about his properties. None of his properties burnt. This architect and he builds like exclusively in Southern California. And he was saying that none of his properties burnt, but he also had pretty. What's the word I'm thinking of the land? He had like no greenery in his landscaping. So the landscaping, this architect, and it was all like really modern looking houses. It was stones. It was materials that actually are kind of flame retardant, concrete, brick, stone, things like that. And then anything that had to be wood, because one of the problems with California is that wood is more absorbent when you have shifts in the earth. So it's It's a lot harder for structures that are stone, concrete, and brick to withstand major earthquakes. And so that's why a lot of the frames, a lot of the stuff is wood out there. But what his firm did was they reinforced all of that with concrete, with certain paneling, a bunch of stuff. All I know is that they use materials that are not receptive to flame. And none of his properties were burnt. And he had a picture of one of his houses in the Pacific Palisades where everybody else on either side, front and back, were burnt down to the ground. but they didn't have like the lush garden greenery that you have come to associate with that area. And they think that that saved them. And they also think that having that big concrete, you know, firewall literally between that property and the properties next to them saved it, which then brings up, I know it's really expensive, especially in California for existing properties to, like if you're retrofitting stuff, you know, if you're going out and you're trying to make things more flame retardant, Because newer construction has to go by newer regulation, but a lot of the existing structures there are old and it's very expensive to, or pre the new regulations that I think went into effect in like, what, 21, 22? And so it's really hard for, it's expensive to do that. So what's the solution? What do you do? I mean, if you're not going to have the federal government that's going to properly manage federal lands and you're not going to have the state to properly manage state lands and you're emptying reservoirs and you're making it to where you don't have enough water supply. What the hell else? You know what in the world? It almost doesn't even matter what you do. They got lucky. That architect was like, the only reason it didn't burn is because the two concrete firewalls on either side. That's the only reason they're like, that's how crazy this fire is. And there's only so much individual homeowners can do when the state and the federal government are not being a cooperative partner. What else do you have? I don't even want to know what the insurance nightmare is going to be like for these people. Because think about it. If you're an insurance company, can you cite, well, the federal government didn't do this, so we don't have to pay. Or the state didn't clear it out. Look at all these warnings. Like I just told you, all of the stuff that's in the media, that's all evidence that insurance companies can use to say, well, the state didn't do it, so... That's like a class action lawsuit against the state. Wouldn't there be a class action lawsuit against the federal government if they're not properly managing federal lands and you know that it's absolutely instrumental in creating these fires? I mean, I'm made of questions right now. As this gets going, we may have to have on like insurance experts that specifically deal with this type of stuff because I don't know what recourse they're going to have. It's going to be a mess.
SPEAKER 18 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right. So David Muir, I don't like him. I don't like anybody. But did you guys see this? So he was wearing this. What was it? A fireman's jacket that had the ABC logo on it?
SPEAKER 18 :
It's like the raincoat that emergency people wear.
SPEAKER 19 :
And he had it pinned in the back. Now, did he have it pinned in the back because he was trying to look fit? Or did he have it pinned in the back so it wouldn't blow around and make noise? I don't know. You know what? I feel like we should give them as much benefit of the doubt as they give us. That's my rule. By the way, sidebar. David Muir and George Stephanopoulos hate each other. Hate each other. You think that you have seen inter-workplace drama with chicks before? Apparently, what's going on between Muir and Stephanopoulos is out of control. It is the worst workplace drama ever. Just some fun gossip for you. They both want each other fired. Uh... A pizza chain expansion was their plans to expand with was thwarted by the city council because the town's kids are too fat. The city council is like, we got our all our kids are too fat. We got too many fat kids here. It's in Manchester. The pizza chain wanted to expand and they said, no, it's in Britain. They said, no, all children are too chonky. And they said that they are not allowed to explain it would and it would not do any justice. They said it adds nothing to the food and drink offering of the town. And so they were not going to they nixed it. Imagine that because parents don't monitor what their kids eat. This business can't expand. Luigi Mangione's case was hit by delay as prosecutors reveal when he's going to next. I don't care about this guy. They're trying to make him out to be some kind of folk hero. It's disturbing. Oh, I was reading about this earlier today. So a lot of these muscle building protein powders apparently have lead in them. They're in organic and chocolate-flavored products. They said that there's lead and whatever the hell else this cadmium is. I don't know. Yeah, whatever. I don't know. Does it taste good? I don't know. Yeah, but they said that there's stuff in it. So what are the brands? I don't know. They're not going to actually tell you right outright. You're going to have to sleuth it. But some of them, when they said organic and chocolate, I got some ideas. Stick with us. We've got more in store.
SPEAKER 05 :
Not able to catch all three hours of The Dana Show? Subscribe to the full podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short, easy-to-digest episodes. Ideal for your busy lifestyle on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 08 :
One important topic I want to talk about is that we did have a drone incursion yesterday at the Palisades fire. Unknown exactly what time this small drone hit the wing of our CL-415 Super Scooper aircraft that we currently have on contract from the province of Quebec. The pilots were unaware that they hit the drone. It wasn't until they landed at Van Nuys Airport that the maintenance staff noticed that there was a fist-sized hole in the leading edge of the wing inboard of the landing light. That super scooper will be prioritized for repair 24-7. It should be flying Monday. We only have two of them.
SPEAKER 19 :
You know, I'm listening to everything that he's saying and I am so distracted by the sign language guy. All the sign language interpreters, they got to be theater kids. I mean, he's a good one. I mean, I don't even, if you just like turned off what the guy was saying and I was watching him, I'm like something scooping sad, mad rain and what that is. Don't know. He's writing and flying and what? What is that?
SPEAKER 17 :
It's like jazz hands and sign language together.
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, I feel like I'm watching Rent Part 2. I don't know. He's so expressive. And he spit his tongue out like that at one point. And then the reindeer came down. He's so expressive, his face. I love... I used to know, like, I know the alphabet and sign language, and I only know a couple of things in sign language, but it actually makes me want to learn sign language because that would be so fun to just really get in, you know, like, especially if you go to like concerts and you do the sign language at concerts. Okay. Anyway, let me get away. He was just really distracting this guy. He's really good at his job. He's like, this is his best moment right now. So what they're telling you is that some jack wagon flew a drone up and it hit one of their water support. They only had two of them. What is it, two of them? Or three?
SPEAKER 18 :
That's all they have is two.
SPEAKER 19 :
Two! And it was on loan from, I'm trying to think what province. A Canadian province. Was it British Columbia? It was on loan from a Canadian province. And they had some jack wagons like, well, I'm going to get my drone out. I'm going to go fly my drone, take some drone images of the fire. And he clipped the wing of this thing. I hope that drone was destroyed. They said they're going to find out whose drone it was because now they had to take it out of the air. They had to take one of the two water support that we don't even have. First off, how the hell do you not have that, California? How do you have to get it from Canada? What do you do with all your tax money? What do you do with it? It can't all be for Gavin Newsom's hair gel. Jiminy. So, I... I don't know. I'm amazed at this. But they said that, you know, it's... You know, sorry, we... You know, got to take it out of the air. Got to take it out of the air. And so, you know, tough. We're not going to... We're going to be short one... Super scooper is what they call them. Super scooper aircraft. And the drone... Don't you have to register your, well, if it's a certain size, don't you have to register the flight path and all that stuff? Is that true? I know you've got to register the drone, no matter what size, like if it's like a smallish size and up. And some of the drones, you have to have a pilot's license to operate. I'm just curious. Why are they having to contract stuff out from Canada, though? Why do you not have that? Oh, my gosh. They spent billions upon billions of dollars over two decades for a high speed rail from L.A. to San Francisco that legit never got built. The company was a French company that was going to come over and do it. And they were going to have it done in like three years. And they said that there was so much corruption and so many pigs at the trough that they just said, screw it. They left, and they went over to a nation in Africa, and they did it in three years. Had their high-speed rail very similar to what they wanted in L.A. Done. In the meantime, all they got was 1,600 feet of an unusable rail overpass built. That's it. That's it. That's one-fourth of a mile. That's it. Over $12 billion to build it. 1,600 feet. That's it. I ran that in track when I was in high school. 1,600 meters, not feet. So somebody thought they were going to take their drone out. They hurt the plane. I'm just so goofy. People stop it. Nobody cares about your stupid drone footage. There's enough footage out there. No one needs your, I got to hurry up and provide footage to the tens of people that follow me on social media. Oh my gosh. Oh, if that was my neighbor, I'd be in jail. Can we talk about the sign language guy again real quick? Because he's happy. He makes me happy. Like I'm hearing this stuff and I want to get real mad at the stuff that the fire chief is telling us. And then I see this sign, this like Bradley Cooper looking dude who's like all very expressive. He's so expressive. There's so much joy in this guy's face. He's like, I'm giving you bad news with a whoop. And that is bad. And it's so great.
SPEAKER 17 :
I've heard of bad lip reading, but bad sign language?
SPEAKER 19 :
Bad sign language, I could do that. I could totally do it. Look how, he's so expressive. I would rather, much rather pay attention to what he's telling me than what the fire chief there's telling me. Because he's boring. That guy, making faces, spitting his tongue out. It's great. Like he's disgusted by this story, clearly. So, I love it. That guy's the real MVP right there. It is wild. And then you've got Gavin Newsom begging Joe Biden to dispel wildfire disinformation. Check this out. This is new. This is new coming in. And this was just earlier today. Gavin Newsom in a video call with the vice president and president for the next like week and week or so there. He wants to prioritize dispelling wildfire misinformation. Listen to this.
SPEAKER 07 :
I ask you, we've got to deal with this misinformation. There are hurricane force winds of mis and disinformation lies. People want to divide this country and we're going to have to address that as well. And it breaks my heart as people are suffering and struggling that we're up against those hurricane force. forces as well. And that's just a point of personal privilege that I share that with you because it infects real people that are out there, people I meet every single day, people the mayor's been meeting with. And they're having conversations that are not the typical conversations you'd have at this time. And you wonder where this stuff comes from. And it's very damaging as well. But we're here to get the job done.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, I mean, why don't you just fight the fires, you jack wagon?
SPEAKER 18 :
We're concerned about the theories on how it started as opposed to fighting the actual fires.
SPEAKER 19 :
Fight the fires first. Good grief. Fight the fires first. You know what gets me? When they held their press conference, LAPD was saying there's no probable cause for arson regarding the guy who was arrested. He was arrested in possession of a blowtorch, but what they're not telling you is that there were five witnesses that were independent of each other, and they were the ones that apprehended him because they caught him using the blowtorch to literally try to set fire on things. And Now, all of a sudden, California is acting like it's very concerned about due process. Well, you know, just because you have a just because you have a blowtorch in your possession doesn't mean you're setting fires. But when people catch you using the blowtorch to set fires. Yeah, you got probable cause. They're so they're pretending to care about due process. California, the state, the first state in the nation to enact red flag law. Remember how I warned you a lack of due process was dangerous. OK, OK. Now they're going in full reverse. Oh, no, we got to be careful to process just because, you know, he has a blowtorch, except that's not how they treat anything else. They have red flag law, which would just assume that you're guilty because red flag law. Let's let's put it this way. Say the guy wasn't caught trying to actually set fire to something. Red flag law applied in this situation. Again, remove the variable of a firearm, substitute a blowtorch. They could say, well, if my people said that he's dangerous, we're going to have to come take his property and basically render a penalty against him. He'll have to go clear his name in a court of law after the penalty was rendered. Now you see. But they're pretending to care about due process, which is amazing. Another quick note. So different topic. So John Cornyn's office sent to us Was it yesterday afternoon came? They sent us an email saying that Cornyn is introducing a bill for concealed carry reciprocity nationally. We're like, oh, this is interesting. Because he worked to pass Joe Biden's gun control compromise. So, OK, what's this about? So we asked him to come on air with us next week about it. And what they say, Kane, they're just too busy.
SPEAKER 18 :
i'll quote it here it said next week is slammed with nominee hearings in the senate and his schedule is jam-packed being on five committees so because of that we'll have to uh connect dana and him a little later so or their idea was me just talk to him not even on air which i have no interest in doing right so he's just too busy i'm just curious i'd like to talk about so i followed up and said i'd be very flexible in timing next week and i'll be in touch
SPEAKER 19 :
What is if only there was a way that you could join even, you know, like video on your like your mobile device. It would be great if there was like a way to do that.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah. Make that happen.
SPEAKER 19 :
You know, just a couple of minutes because everybody does interviews all day long up there in the rotunda. Or even just if you if there was a great mobile device that you could even if it's just audio only.
SPEAKER 18 :
That's yeah, they've had those for a while, I think.
SPEAKER 19 :
yeah have they yeah maybe they don't maybe his office is unaware of them they were tied to cords till about the late 80s yeah early 90s and now they're wireless i mean well maybe they just don't have it in dc yet i mean i'm willing to extend the benefit of the doubt you know am i just saying so we'll We'll keep you up to date on that because I would like to talk to him about that, that proposal. That's one of the things that Trump said that, you know, I'm just curious. I'd like to have a conversation about it. So let's we'll keep an eye on that and let you know if he still continues to be too busy. Usually that's how I get. We have lawmakers that always reach out to us that they want to promote a book. if they want to promote whatever. And I'm really weird about lawmakers. If a lawmaker never wants to come on to talk about voter criticism of anything that they've supported, or if they never want to answer difficult questions, but then they want to come on to promote their books, I don't let them on. I'm like, if you can't come on when we need you to come on to answer to voters, don't think that we're going to have you on to sit here and sell something for you or promote something for you. Happy to give you the names of the lawmakers that do that on the regular because we got a list.
SPEAKER 18 :
We have a list of ones that actually their main focus is to communicate with the American people. We have some that are great. We've got the Jim Jordans and the Chip Roy's and the Thomas Massey's. They love coming on because they love communicating with their constituents.
SPEAKER 19 :
And sometimes when they have to reschedule, they can almost be TMI about it. Right. Like, oh, they're sick. It's coming out of both ends. It's so bad. And you're like, okay, I didn't need to know all that. That's great. You just say that they're sick. I understand that you want to make sure that it looks like you're not ditching us. We get it. Some of them are really, really great with communication. But other ones, like we've got some that are like, oh, we got a book out. Or we have an editorial that we want you to share. Or this or that. But we don't want to come on to talk because heaven forbid you might actually ask us a tough question. They're really weird. And so... We match that energy and we're weird back. So there's there's. Yeah, it's fascinating. So we'll see. We'll see if he because that would be, you know, is that something that could pass the Senate? The House, I think it could pass. So we'll see, you know.
SPEAKER 05 :
not able to catch all three hours of the dana show subscribe to the full podcast and get news and laughs delivered in short easy to digest episodes ideal for your busy lifestyle on youtube apple or wherever you get your podcast welcome back to the program dana lash here with you and uh this is we're rolling into friday rolling into the weekend i said conclusion of our first hour before break i thought in my head i said third hour but i didn't uh
SPEAKER 19 :
I mean, some of the stuff that comes out, listen to this, Audio Summit 24. This is a Democratic representative trying to defend why the hydrants were basically empty. Listen.
SPEAKER 13 :
I had a briefing yesterday when I was with the FEMA administrator, and there is enough water, but what there was was a problem that occurred right at the height of the fire. which is that they had to turn down the electricity in order to make sure that the fire wasn't aggravated because of the electricity. They need electricity in order to pump water. So they turned that down, and then at the same time, there were so many hydrants that were being used all at once.
SPEAKER 19 :
So you see, because all the hydrants are being used at once that you couldn't get all the water to those hydrants all at the same time. So see, it's an issue of people all using the hydrants to put out the fire with water, not an issue of water. So she's trying to argue. That's the dumbest thing ever. That's dumb. Stop it. We're not idiots. These people think you're stupid. They think you're absolutely a moron. And then they had another little brush fire that broke out. At some point, like I said, it's arson. Well, we know at least a couple of them. Arson. Do I have time for one more thing? I don't think so. Because we're rolling towards days today in stupidity here. I can't believe this first New Year week back. I mean, it's not even the first full week yet. We've had fires and all kinds of nonsense. And it wasn't even burn loot murder. What in the world? It was just Democrats. Okay, same thing. All right, today in stupidity, Cain.
SPEAKER 18 :
All right, this is out in L.A., the Los Angeles Police Department, believe it or not, caught these five citizens, caught an arsonist in the act, and yet this is what they had to say. Juan, go ahead and play this for us, will you?
SPEAKER 06 :
An additional investigative step. They responded, they interviewed this suspect.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
After the interview and additional investigative steps, looking at some additional evidence that was present, they made the determination that there was not enough probable cause to arrest this person on arson or suspicion of arson.
SPEAKER 19 :
Not even on suspicion of arson? They only pretend to care about due process except for red flag laws. That's as dumb as this guy who showed up, a hot dog vendor, to provide hot dogs and snacks for free. to firefighters who were fighting the fires. He showed up, just started distributing them for free. Somebody snitched on him to the health department and they rolled up to harass him while the neighborhoods burned because he wasn't licensed to sell food. He wasn't selling it. He was giving it away. Morons. We got folks sign up over at Substack chapter and verse. Find us YouTube, Facebook, like and subscribe. Stay warm. Stay safe this weekend. Back with you Monday. God bless.
The ongoing devastation of California wildfires and the community's response takes center stage in today's Washington Watch. Joseph Backholm speaks with Dr. Josh Swanson, a pastor offering updates from the ground, detailing the resilience and solidarity shown by affected communities. The episode not only highlights current events but encourages discussions rooted in biblical worldview, probing into the nature of natural disasters and how faith communities respond. Enhanced by informed interviews and pivotal legal updates, this episode guides listeners to view complex issues through a faith-driven lens, urging unity and prayerful reflection during times of trial.
SPEAKER 02 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Joseph Backholm.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hello and welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I'm Joseph Backholm, a senior fellow for biblical worldview here at Family Research Council. It's my pleasure to be sitting in for Tony and with you this afternoon. Quick news. Note and reminder, as we prepare for the transition of leadership in Washington, we believe this is the season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance and unity. So during this pivotal time from now until January 20th of 2025, we invite you to join us for Operation Prayer Shield, a collective effort in which we'll seek God's divine protection and guidance. So to be part of the effort, text SHIELD, S-H-I-E-L-D, to 67742. You'll receive weekly alerts, daily prayer points, and more. Again, text SHIELD, S-H-I-E-L-D, to 67742. Today on the program, fires continue to devastate California. A local pastor will join us to give a report from the ground and tell us what we can be doing to help. Also, a court ruling out of Kentucky has stopped the Biden administration's efforts to redefine gender. We'll tell you the details of that decision and what it means practically for people's lives coming up as well. Also, in our worldview discussion, is God the one burning California? And what should we think about the fact that the Beatles song Imagine was sung at Jimmy Carter's funeral? We'll discuss all of that coming up in the program. But first, our headlines. Different groups of House Republicans will be meeting this weekend with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago, starting later today with the House Freedom Caucus.
SPEAKER 05 :
I talked to the president about those meetings and his idea. It was his idea to bring in small groups of House Republicans to come together and just have fellowship together and talk about the issues and talk about the vision that we have for the year ahead of us.
SPEAKER 09 :
That was House Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday speaking with reporters. What can we expect from some of the discussions to include, and what are some of the conclusions that Republicans will be hoping for? Here now to discuss this and more is Congressman Russ Fulcher, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He represents the 1st Congressional District of Idaho. Congressman Fulcher, welcome to Washington Watch. Joseph, thank you so much. Appreciate your program. Great to have you. What do you anticipate will be the focus of the meeting with President Trump and the Freedom Caucus?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, first of all, President Trump is a businessman, and he knows the importance of relationships and a positive rapport. And I'm confident that part of the reason that we've been invited is to work on that rapport and build that relationship. And that's a good thing. And I'm very thankful for the opportunity to do it. I know that my colleagues are as well. I'm sure that as we go through these discussions this evening, that it's going to have to do with the debt ceiling. It's going to have to do with the upcoming reconciliation bill or bills and all the budget content that comes along with that. But that's the genesis and I think the baseline for what we're going to be talking about.
SPEAKER 09 :
So do you expect these meetings to be as much relational as they are policy?
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, I really do. And at the same time, it's important for those of us that are on the fiscal conservative side to be able to communicate to the president just how important it is to us that we address some of these debt-related issues, Joe. So if we've got a $36 trillion-plus debt that's just simply unsustainable, and I know that the president has requested a debt ceiling increase. A number of us opposed that. But it wasn't because we were opposing the president. We're simply concerned about the spending that's coming out of Washington, D.C. And so that policy is going to be talked about a lot and the importance of changing the paradigm in Washington, D.C. so that this is not just always growing the spending side of the ledger, but we're also cutting things, too.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, there are very narrow Republican majorities in the House. Do you think that gives the House Freedom Caucus more leverage when it comes to negotiations about things like spending and raising the debt limit?
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, no question. But to be honest, everybody's got leverage when you're when you're this evenly yoked, if you will, Republican Democrat on the House floor. And so I think right now we've got about a one person margin that can go on a swing that will that will potentially change as some of the the the members that got appointed to or potentially appointed to various offices get replaced. However, any way you slice it, it's going to be very, very narrow and everyone's vote, everyone's opinion is going to be very important. It's extremely important that we know where everybody is at before we go out there and cast votes.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
Do you have a sense for the Trump administration's priorities when it comes to spending in the budget?
SPEAKER 01 :
Not by line. Well, I shouldn't say that. Border, of course, first and foremost appears to be on the agenda, and it should be. We've got a lot of damage that we need to try to fix regarding the border. Right on the heels of that is going to be energy-related issues. The United States has tremendous potential to once again embark on more domestic energy production. and energy exports, which also gives you leverage on the foreign policy front. So those are gonna be right up there. Of course, the foreign wars issues and how that gets dealt with is gonna be right there as well. And then just the overall swamp, if you will, and how you deal with these major bureaucracies and the leverage that they have gained over the years. We've got a full plate, Joseph, and I think that that's probably going to be on the discussion roll tonight.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, Congressman, apropos of nothing, probably, why are all these meetings always happening at Mar-a-Lago? Everybody seems to be going to Trump's house to do everything.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, well, I can tell you I left 25 degrees in Washington, D.C. this morning and it's 70 degrees here. So maybe that's part of it. But seriously, I think it's wherever the the incoming president is. I think is where you need to be. And right now, he extended an invitation, and I think it's probably most convenient for him to do it where he lives. And the least we can do is to accommodate that. Once again, this is not only, I think, for rapport building, but it's going to be discussions of the major policies that we're all going to be voting on within a few days. And so if we need to come to Florida, And in order to have those discussions, I am more than happy to do it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. And the weather, of course, is a great bonus. Congressman, we mentioned the very narrow majorities that exist right now and kind of the challenge that presents. What do you get – what's the sense of the mood in Congress? Is there like – A lot of anxiety because of how narrow those majorities are and some of the differences that have flared up in very recent years? Or is there a sense of optimism that we really do have shared goals, we expect to get on the same page, we all want to get on the same page, and we think we can't?
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, that's a great question. I just have to respond by saying since the election, it's like a dark cloud has been lifted over Washington, D.C. Of course, I'm on the conservative Republican side and there's more evidence there of that. However, I would argue, Joseph, that even my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are somewhat encouraged because. They don't have to necessarily defend all the stupid policies that they've had to defend for the last four years. And I apologize about being so blunt, but let's be honest. My friends on the other side of the aisle are very good at towing the party line. They're very good at following and defending what the administration on their side puts out front. And some of those policies, quite frankly, are just plain stupid. And I'll start with electronic vehicle mandates in a very short period of time, transgender issues, open borders, and all the things that come negatively with that. These are policies that my friends on the other side of the aisle have had to defend. And that's why, in my opinion, they lost the election. That's why the Republicans came out on front. And I think that everyone is relieved that we're just not having to defend stupid anymore. And again, I apologize for the bluntness, but that's just the reality as I see it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I think there are a lot of voters who would agree with that. And to that point, the 119th Congress has already been sworn in. You guys are already busy working. A lot of attention given to the reconciliation bill and how we're going to get that passed. There's a debate over whether that should be two bills, one bill. What's your preference and how do you see that going?
SPEAKER 01 :
I don't particularly have a preference, and that's going to be discussed tonight as well. But here's what is important. We need to demonstrate that we are willing to cut spending. And so part of the discussion tonight will include things on the docket that can be done. If we simply put workforce requirements, for example, on some of the Medicaid recipients that are able-bodied, there's over $100 billion there. If we get rid of these electronic vehicle mandates, there's over $100 billion there. If we get rid of this IRS Army funding that the previous or the current administration wanted to do, there's billions and billions of dollars there. How about the Federal Department of Education? These are all things that uh our as far as is i'm concerned and my conservative colleagues this is low-hanging fruit and that's just a start so we intend on communicating that to the president frankly i think that he has already exhibited a willingness to listen to those things but uh more than anything we've got to be able to demonstrate to the american people who put us in charge who gave us this responsibility and this privilege of leading that we're not going to just continually run up the credit card. And so that's going to be a real focus for our discussions.
SPEAKER 09 :
Congressman, are the 80,000 new IRS agents going to survive?
SPEAKER 01 :
I hope not. And I don't think so, to be honest. Because again, I'm going to go back to my blunt comments earlier. I think that falls in the category of stupid when we start looking at doing things like that. And those are some of the policies that just don't need to be there. You know, there is a argument, a fiscal argument for raising the debt ceiling. I did not support it prior. And I know at least I think I know why the president wants to do it. That's to give some fiscal running room for default and the bond markets and all of that. However, when you do that, you send a message to the people of America that you're willing to increase that credit card limit that we don't have backing for and you're willing to spend it. I'm not saying necessarily I wouldn't support it for fiscal reasons, but I would need to see some spending cuts with it. And I think my colleagues are of the same mindset.
SPEAKER 09 :
Programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare are something that a lot of people have come to depend upon and expect kind of the third rail. Is it possible to reduce spending in the way that you would like to see so that we see that $36 trillion debt go down rather than up without touching those kind of programs?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, that's a conversation that's going to take longer than what we have. However, I think the short answer is long-term, no. That's simply too big of a part of the overall budget that is on kind of an autopilot. And it's not been solvent for some time. It does need reform, but it's not a simple one to address. But there are some things we can do in the meantime. And so we want to try to attack first things first. But to your point, I think that will have to be addressed if we're going to solve this problem long term.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. It's easy to blame politicians. But in reality, there's a lot of people in the public who want what comes with that debt. And we're all going to have to take our medicine if we're going to fix this, I think. Congressman Fulcher, thank you so much for your time today.
SPEAKER 01 :
My honor. Thanks for having me on today.
SPEAKER 09 :
Coming up, we'll get an on the ground update from the historic wildfires in Los Angeles from a pastor of one of the oldest churches in the area. Stay with us right here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 10 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we're making an eternal impact. 2024 has been another year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, D.C. This fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC's outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with a community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the national gathering for prayer and repentance, where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God's intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel's peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Launching in January 2025, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us for another year of standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Joseph Backholm sitting in for Tony today. As devastating wildfires ravage Los Angeles County, the toll on the community is staggering. With over 35,000 acres burned and at least 10 lives tragically lost. These fires are among the most destructive natural disasters in California's history. Tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate, and as critical fire conditions persist, the heartbreak and uncertainty weigh heavily on all those affected. Communities hit particularly hard by the Eaton Canyon fire include Pasadena, Altadena, and the town of Sierra Madre. Residents are grappling with immense loss and are searching for hope. Joining me now to provide an on-the-ground update on the latest and what the needs are is Dr. Josh Swanson, senior pastor of one of the oldest churches in the area, Christ Church Sierra Madre. Dr. Swanson, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thanks. It's great to be with you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you for taking some time from I know very important things that you have. Give us an update about how things are in your community.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so it's been really devastating on so many people in our church family. There's been a number of families in our church who have lost literally everything. I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday who had lost his home. He was up in Altadena and he said he drove up the street and he said he just saw person after person standing in front of these empty lots, almost like people at a graveyard. you know, standing over a grave. And so it's really, really devastating. And the loss is immense. And so, you know, we're seeing on the one hand, people grappling with immense loss, but we're also seeing really beautiful ways in which people are stepping up and caring really well for each other. And so we see both a mixture of grief and loss, as well as hope and the love of God kind of emerging in this place right now.
SPEAKER 09 :
We know that fires are constantly moving and understand they're still burning. Is the threat ongoing in your community or has it moved through?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so the threat has moved through for now. They have lifted some of the evacuation mandates in Sierra Madre. And so more of the residents are coming back. Our family was evacuated and we returned home last night and talked to many other families who have kind of had the same thing. So we're not in imminent danger right now. And we're thankful for that. I understand that on Monday, It sounds like winds are supposed to pick back up again. And so they're trying to get a handle on things over the weekend to prevent the communities that are most at risk from being in danger.
SPEAKER 09 :
What you're dealing with is just a husband and a father in your own right, but also as a pastor of a broader conversation, you're going to have church on Sunday. What are you thinking in terms of how are you going to talk about what it is that you're experiencing and what is the way for Christians to navigate this?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so one of the things that we've done as a community last night and then the night before that and then tonight we're going to do it again is we've just had these prayer gatherings where our community gathers together for support and for sharing and just to pray together. And so we've had people who have lost. who have dear friends that have lost everything. There were people at our gathering that I went to a couple nights ago who had themselves lost everything. And so to come together and to be able to share with one another about where we're at, we're feeling disoriented and confused or maybe some people oddly at peace in the midst of the chaos, and then just to pray together. So that's what we've been doing over the last couple days. And as we move into Sunday, we're also going to spend space in our church service in prayer. We're going to have somebody get up and share who's lost. a home. And yeah, and we're just going to lean into God and to him as our great rock in the midst of all of the chaos. So that's the plan moving into Sunday.
SPEAKER 09 :
Amen to that. And I know it's very early in terms of the reaction, but do you expect this to create hostility amongst your community and a closeness to a God who would allow something like this to happen? Or are they going to look for perspective and hope that the gospel might be able to provide?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I don't at all expect hostility. I actually look forward to seeing our community, as they have been over the last couple of days, really unite together. And you see first responders, you see government officials, you see church leaders, you see leaders in the community and teachers and this sort of thing kind of working together toward a common end. And so that's really hopeful for me. And so I... And I do think that in periods of chaos and crisis, oftentimes people do look to God, and so we look forward to that. I had a conversation with a guy the other day who had lost his home, and he just said, you know, I'm recognizing in losing everything – what really matters to me. It's relationships. It's God. And I think that this moment can really provide that for a lot of people, kind of a wake-up call in some respects. But yeah, I haven't experienced anything like hostility, and I wouldn't expect that in the future. I think people will work together and unite together across denominational lines and people who believe, people who don't believe, working together for the common good.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's encouraging to hear and we will pray for more of that. But Josh, last question I think I have time for. A lot of us from around the country are just observing in horror what's happening there in California and our hearts go out. How would you like us to pray? What are the practical things that we may or may not be able to do from our vantage points in Iowa and New Jersey and wherever we are around the country, just being sympathetic? What would you ask us to do?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, thank you for that question. And thank you to everyone who is watching this, who you've been praying for us and we don't know one another, but you love the body of Christ and your heart is broken over what you're seeing. So thank you for your prayers. And there's been a number of people that have given financially to organizations in the area that are working. That's something people can do. Our church is collecting funds and resources to distribute to those who have needs. And people I know are rallying together to support us in that way. And that's really helpful, you know, way to support. And I think one thing that that has just kind of occurred to me over the last few days in watching how people have lost everything has felt like supported during this time is what came to mind is that phrase, think global, but act local. And in many respects, what is carrying people through is the body of Christ being the body of Christ. checking in with each other, caring for each other, loving each other, having each other's lives.
SPEAKER 09 :
I'm gonna have to cut you off right there. Do that. Because we are out of time. We will try to do that, bear one another's burdens. Dr. Swanson, thank you much for joining me today. Godspeed. Yeah, blessings, thanks. We'll be right back here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 04 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord. It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you. I have talked to so many of my friends who have interned other places and they're responding to emails or taking phone calls and doing things like that, but here we get real hands-on experience and get to talk to important people and do important things that we get to see the impact of.
SPEAKER 11 :
The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it's never gonna be on the ballot. He's the King of Kings, and he's the Lord of Lords, and nothing's gonna change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we're to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Joseph Backholm sitting in for Tony today. Yesterday, a federal district court in Kentucky issued a decision blocking the outgoing Biden administration's unlawful attempt to change the meaning of sex in Title IX of the Civil Rights Act to include gender identity. Now, Title IX is a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics. We touched on this briefly yesterday, but we want to get a legal perspective today. So here to discuss the ruling in the state of Tennessee versus Cardona is Matt Sharp. He's a senior counsel and the director of the Center for Public Policy at Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF attorneys represent a West Virginia high school female athlete and the Christian Educators Association International in the lawsuit alongside the state of Tennessee. Matt, welcome back to Washington Watch. Hey, thanks for having me on. Well, give us your rundown of this ruling and what it means.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, this was a colossal ruling. We've had several courts across the country that have issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration's unlawful Title IX rule, this rule that impacts women's privacy, safety, fairness, and sports. But what the Kentucky court did for the first time is actually vacate this rule. That means it's essentially wiped off the books nationwide. So whether you're in a red state, blue state, no matter where you are, The Biden administration and any future administrations cannot use this rule to try and force a school or college to allow men and girls locker rooms, restrooms on women's teams or violate any other rights to free speech or parental rights.
SPEAKER 09 :
How do you expect life to be different now post this decision?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you think back, 2016 is when this whole battle first started. We had the Obama administration issue this dear colleague letter trying to rewrite Title IX to include gender identity. So we've had these ups and downs that all culminated with earlier this year, the Biden administration pushing this Title IX rule. So across the country, we've had parents, female athletes, and others reach out saying, our school's telling us they have to allow a boy in my girl's locker room, in the restroom, on even overnight school trips. And everybody kept pointing to this rule and to what the Biden administration was doing. So this federal court ruling, wiping the rule away, is going to really take the government's boot off the neck of schools across the country and make sure that they're doing good policies that protect privacy, that protect speech and parental rights, rather than undermining those important constitutional rights.
SPEAKER 09 :
I know that's very encouraging news to a lot of people who are watching and listening to our conversation who have been, you know, dazed and confused by the developments over the last four years in particular. But Matt, this is one lawsuit involving Title IX where we got this good decision, but there are many more. How do you expect this decision out of Kentucky to impact all of the other litigation around Title IX?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, as I mentioned, when this rule dropped, Alliance Defending Freedom, we filed five different lawsuits across the country on behalf of students, teachers, even school districts challenging this rule. And so far, every single one of those courts in our cases has issued a preliminary injunction, but it's been limited. It's only applied to the specific states involved, the specific school districts involved. So this ruling, number one, makes a difference because it has that nationwide application. But second, because this is the first time the court has actually said we're going to vacate the rule, we determined that the Biden administration didn't have the authority to do this. that as the court described, it actually flies in the face and turns Title IX on its head to try and say that a man can be a woman and have access to women's spaces and opportunities. So we think this is sound ruling. What we hope to see is that in those other court cases I mentioned, the four other court cases that have been going through the process, that those courts are gonna adopt this same ruling. And so that we end up with court after court after court consistently ruling that this is unlawful, the administration doesn't have the authority to do it. What the next step is though, is while this takes the federal governments out of the role, while it takes it away from the pressure on schools, we still have a lot of states that are adopting bad policies. So you have like the situation in Connecticut where they as a state have adopted a policy saying men should participate in women's sports. So the next step is taking the same reasoning that Title IX doesn't require this and that it could actually violate Title IX to put men on women's teams and take that into states that are adopting bad local or statewide policies. So we've got a big victory at the federal level. We've still got work to do at the state level to go any place where they're trying to undermine privacy, safety or fairness in sports and challenge those policies as well.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's a good reminder. Matt, why is this case different in the ruling? You mentioned the other cases where there were favorable results, but they were limited to the circumstances of that case in a preliminary injunction. But in this case, the judge made a much broader decision. Is that because the facts in this case were different or the judge just saw the situation differently?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it's actually because this is what all of these cases were working towards. Every one of them, we were asking the courts there involved to vacate this rule, to wipe it off the books so that it couldn't be applied anywhere. The court so far had not reached that final determination. So this Kentucky case was the first one to sort of go to the finish line, to look at all of the facts, look at all of the evidence, look at all of the arguments and properly determine that if you look at Title IX and its original intent, that the goal there was to ensure women had equal opportunities in athletics and education, that that original intent was completely undermined by what the Biden administration was doing with this rule. So this is really the culmination of all of those cases. Every one of those other ones, this is what we're asking for as well. And so we hope those courts will follow suit and reach the exact same outcome. But again, the big part of this is it is a nationwide ruling. No matter where you live, the Title IX rule cannot be enforced against you.
SPEAKER 09 :
That is great news. Matt, very quickly in our remaining seconds, because we are seeing a change in administration, do you expect this decision to be appealed?
SPEAKER 08 :
We hope not. You know, we've only got a few days left in the Biden administration. We fully expect and hope the Trump administration will not appeal this and, in fact, start taking steps to enact better rules that protect women's privacy and safety and equal opportunities in sports.
SPEAKER 09 :
Matt Sharpe, thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
When we return, our weekly worldview conversation with David Cross. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn't be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 09 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God's will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn't impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. but you can't do that. It's not that you don't love your neighbor, you do, but you care about God's opinion more than your neighbor's opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that's not all. They're also engaged in our government. They're voters. They're more likely to be involved in their community, and they're making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can't do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That's what we're working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Joseph Backholm sitting in for Tony today. Quick reminder that FRC and Wellverse to the ministry of Jim Garlow are hosting an inauguration praise and prayer convocation on Sunday, January 19th at Greater New Hope Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. If you plan to be in the area, I invite you to join us as we worship the Lord and pray for our nation leading up to the presidential inauguration. Registration is free, but space is limited. So register today. You can do so at frc.org slash prayer. Well, we're now 10 days into the new year, and there has been no shortage of news so far. With so much going on, it can be easy to gloss over the headlines. But as Christians, we want to make sure we analyze every headline through the lens of Scripture. How do we think about these things biblically? That's why we like to conclude the week on Washington Watch with a biblical worldview conversation. So joining me now for that discussion is David Claussen, who is the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at Family Research Council. David, good to see you. Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 07 :
Happy New Year. Great to see you as well, Joseph.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, we're going to cover a couple of stories, and I think we want to start with the fires in California, because that really does have the nation's attention. Our hearts go out, of course, to everybody who is suffering a tremendous loss. Did God do this?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Joseph, this is kind of an age-old question. I think I first, as a young boy, had to think about a question kind of along these lines. It would have been the summer of 2004. I was living in Orlando, Florida, and we had three hurricanes blow through in a series of, I think, four or five weeks. And I think that's where I first started to really think about kind of what you would now call natural evil. And I think it's important for Christians to realize there is a distinction between natural evil, versus moral evil. I think moral evil is a category we're more familiar with. These are sins that are carried out by moral agents, individual people, whereas natural evil is kind of what you just observe, things that take place in the natural order. And I think it's important to note, Joseph, this is part of the consequences of living in a Genesis 3 fallen world. Romans 8, Paul makes this point, actually, that creation itself groans, creation itself longs for redemption. And so we live in a fallen world. Now, you know, we could look at some of the political decisions, Joseph, that have led up to why some of these fires are maybe as big and bad as they are. And maybe there is some moral blame there. But I think in short, this is a good example, such as a hurricane or tsunami of natural evil, the fact that we do live in a fallen world that, again, we see reflected in the headlines.
SPEAKER 09 :
Does that make us feel better about what we're experiencing? I mean, what's the way to process this, whether you live in a hurricane region, and a lot of people do, and they've had their lives ruined in that way, their homes, I would say, ruined in that way, and now you're seeing entire neighborhoods and maybe even towns just obliterated by these fires. Is this just, you know, we just chalk it up to we're unlucky?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I don't know if I would put it like that, Joseph. I think, you know, as a Christian looking at this through the lens of the biblical worldview, even, you know, unimaginable evil, we know, and if you're a regular listener to this program, you've heard me reference Romans 8.28 that says, all things work together for good to those who love God. You know, Christians do have a category that even the worst things that can happen in our lives can be used for good. They can accomplish purposes that we can't see in the midst of it. But, again, some of the images that my wife and I are watching on cable TV last night of people losing their homes and their possessions and just getting out by the skin of their teeth, I think the category that we as Christians have is, again, the category I mentioned earlier of natural evil. The fact that we live in a Genesis 3 fallen world, again— Theology is always just behind the headlines, and I think that is kind of the theological category. But again, as Christians, and praise God for some of the stories we're hearing of churches there in L.A. that are just doing heroic ministry, mercy ministry, and helping folks. Again, we have the category of prayer as well, and I think around the country, we need to be praying for our brothers and sisters who are living through something that, again, is pretty unimaginable.
SPEAKER 09 :
David, one of the things that we've observed from those who are observing this situation is the tendency to blame. And, you know, of course, sadly, we live in a world where everything is the fault of your political opponent. And so that's kind of an instinct that seems to have been hardwired into us. You know, somehow I've seen people blame Trump I don't know what the logical connection is there because he hasn't been president for a while, but certainly they do it. And, you know, oh, it's climate change and it's all you mean, you know, Republicans and conservatives who haven't done enough to stop climate change. And then you've seen from right to left. Well, you didn't capture the water because you cared too much about climate. smelt and so you didn't have any water to fight this thing and you did bad forest management because you worship the forest and you thought it was bad for people to go in there and clear the underbrush, so you've made this much worse than it needs to be. Now, how much logic there is to any of those arguments, you know, we'll debate that for a long time, but there does seem to be in kind of our human nature, this desire to blame someone when something bad happens. But you just kind of described, well, in a fallen world, Things are broken and things decay and there are storms and there are fires. And, you know, our life is just going to be challenging because we live in a world infected by sin. What do you make of the instinct to find someone to blame?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I think that speaks to the human instinct to try to explain our lives. I think all of us are, you know, when something like this happens, you want an explanation. We are rational reasoning creatures and we're trying to explain. And for a secular kind of world that's almost post-christian in many ways i think the only rationale or the only justifications that a lot of people have is well there must be some sort of political problem that look for the political solution again the category that i described earlier of natural evil and of living in a fallen world that is an alien concept to a post-christian world joseph And so, again, I do think, you know, in the months and years to come, I'm sure there's going to be the political blame game. And some of the things that are being suggested by whether it's a CNN anchor or a Fox News anchor, there might be merit to some of these critiques on how the forests are managed and whatnot. But I think right now. As the fires are still raging, I would say that the first impulse of a Christian should just be prayer, praying that people, those who are made in God's image, are safe for wisdom, for the authorities that are on the ground, from President Biden all the way down to the fire chiefs there in L.A. County. I think that needs to be kind of the first impulse, first instinct of a Christian.
SPEAKER 09 :
And there's one other point that I hesitate to make, but I'm gonna make it anyway, because really the harm is ongoing and we are genuinely sympathetic for the loss that people are experiencing moment by moment in California. But Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6 specifically, gave us some wisdom that I think this is a great reminder of, and the fact that we should not store up for ourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy, or fires destroy in this case, where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. where moths and vermin and fires do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. And this seems to be a painful but important reminder of how temporary everything that we have is. And some of the neighborhoods that are being destroyed are some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in America and therefore in the world. And these are people who presumably Five days ago, felt a tremendous sense of security and financial security and that all is well in the world and in many ways. And then in a moment, they've lost so much of what made them secure. And again, while we remain sympathetic for that, it's a reminder of the fact that everything here is temporary. And if we hold too loosely, to material things for our security and for our joy and our satisfaction and our contentment, we may get a very rude reminder and we can't take it with us. And it's a good reminder to really store up our treasures in places where they are eternal and where storms and fires cannot take them from us. But David, let's pivot to the next story, kind of of this week. I think it's got some important worldview implications for us. And that's the funeral of President Jimmy Carter. And we know he died at 100 years of age, lived a long life. By all accounts, a good, honorable man. By many accounts, not our best president. You know, that's debated, of course, but this isn't the time to go over his presidential record. What were your thoughts from a worldview perspective, again, as you observed how our country honored him?
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, a moment ago, Joseph, I used the term post-Christian, this idea that we've kind of moved into an era that is—we've moved beyond supernaturalism. We've moved beyond theism or Christianity. And yet— This week has reminded us that maybe we're not quite as post-Christian, or maybe another way to put this is that when something of the magnitude of a world leader passes from the scene, the only language that really can communicate the moment is language borrowed from the Christian tradition. So even in the cathedral, the National Cathedral built in the late 1800s, it took them over 80 years to build that. Even the architecture of that building, Joseph, is kind of based on the medieval architecture The idea is that when you walk into a cathedral with these huge, lofty ceilings, the impulse is that you look up. Well, Joseph, I'm sure you know this, but that's intentional. That's why cathedrals have been built that way. They're communicating the transcendence of God. And so even you have the kind of the vestiges, investments of Christian worship service yesterday. You had scripture readings. You had hymns, a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. And so, again, it's interesting that a lot of our culture wants to move beyond Christianity, and yet I think we're, I guess, Christian enough that, again, in a state funeral, the Christian vocabulary is really the only thing that communicates kind of the seriousness of the moment, the transitory nature of life. But I'm sure we can talk about other aspects of the survey yesterday, but those are initial thoughts that came to mind.
SPEAKER 09 :
yeah the architecture of a cathedral and indeed is a an exhortation and maybe even a tool to help us do what i think it's colossians to set your mind on things above not the things of earth right and it is an encouragement to look up because that's where we find ultimately our purpose and our meaning and and our creator But despite the, as you described, unambiguously Christian nature of parts of this service, there was another moment that was less Christian, and because The song Imagined by the Beatles was played. And we know that Jimmy Carter was a lifelong Baptist, self-described born-again Christian, an actual Sunday school teacher, not just a proverbial Sunday school teacher. So a committed Christian man. And then, at his service, honoring his life, the song Imagine was sung by the Beatles. Quick reminder of what this song says. Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Now, that is... not a Christian message to imagine there's no heaven and there's no hell, because Jesus exhorts us to live with a constant awareness of the fact that there is a heaven and there is a hell. What do you make of that interjection into this service, David?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, yeah, John Lennon in the lyrics goes on to say also the idea that no religion too, no possessions. And what's interesting, Joseph, is we know that President Carter planned this to the minute. You know, presidents actually, I've been told, weeks into their presidency are asked to plan out their funeral in the case of a national emergency. So we know President Carter's fingerprints were actually all over the service yesterday.
SPEAKER 09 :
So he actually requested Imagine to be part of the service?
SPEAKER 07 :
which would be my understanding, because again, presidents are told that they need to plan this out. So again, a lot of thought went into this, that there wasn't anything that just happened accidentally.
SPEAKER 09 :
That's news to me. It felt like somebody hijacked it and wanted to do kind of what the secularists do whenever they're trying to be like poetic and philosophical, which is play the Beatles song, Imagine, because we've seen that in other contexts. But okay, continue your point.
SPEAKER 07 :
My understanding is, again, every president plans every detail out. But what's so interesting, Joseph, is the juxtaposition of this Christian architecture, Christian hymns, Christian scripture, and then basically a song to secular humanism. John Lennon, by the way, himself admitted that the lyrics sound a whole lot like the Communist Manifesto. Lennon himself recognized that. And I think the point I'll make, Joseph, briefly, is that here in our Center for Biblical Worldview, we talk about a lot how 6% of Americans have a biblical worldview, but 88% have a synchronistic worldview, meaning that most of our friends and neighbors pick and choose ideas and thoughts from this worldview. Then they'll pick some thoughts from this worldview. They put them together. That's their worldview. Now, because they're picking and choosing, almost like you go to a cafeteria, your worldview is going to have ideas, thoughts, thoughts. that really don't cohere. They're not coherent, but again, most people don't realize that or even care. And so I think this is a reflection of the modern age of, again, even a worldview that Jimmy Carter had apparently really influenced by Christianity. Nevertheless, these other ideas, these other thoughts clearly found a resonance in his worldview. So I think it really is in one sense that funeral yesterday is a parable of the modern age that wants to leave Christianity but it maybe isn't ready to make the break cleanly yet.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, it does. It is kind of this syncretistic symbolism of very Christian and then very secular, all kind of compiled into one as if they are consistent. But that does seem to be an explanation of kind of the confusion that our country is experiencing spiritually in many ways. But I saw somebody, I think it was on Twitter, They said that if Imagine was ever played at their funeral, they would jump out of the coffin and make sure it was your funeral as well. I kind of share that sentiment, but hopefully that won't happen. I'm confident it won't be at my funeral, and it definitely won't be at yours. David Claussen, thanks for joining me today. I imagine it won't. God bless, Joseph. Well played on that one there, David Klassen. Thank you for joining us, friends. We'll see you next time here on Washington Watch. Until then, fear God and nothing else.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
The guys discuss the friendly encounter between Donald Trump and Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter's funeral. They also tackle the ongoing Southern California wildfire disaster.
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Join us as we explore the complex relationship between positive economic data and market downturns. Bill Gunderson, accompanied by Barry Kite, delves into the shadow of rising interest rates over a generally healthy economy. Despite strong job numbers, investor fears are magnified by inflation concerns and a volatile bond market. Tune in to gain insights on hedging strategies, emerging opportunities in the nuclear energy sector, and the ongoing challenges posed by natural events like California's wildfires on insurance markets. This episode is a comprehensive guide for understanding the broader financial ramifications tied to everyday news.
SPEAKER 07 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TheStreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gunderson Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gunderson.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome to the Friday. It is the Friday, January the 10th edition of the Best Stocks Now show. After a day off in the market yesterday, this is Bill Gunderson, President of Gunderson Capital Management. I'm here with Barry Kite, our Chartered Financial Analyst. And we've got a good news and a bad news. The good news is the jobs market is still strong. It came in very good, those numbers, on this Friday. The Friday jobs report, the monthly Friday jobs report. The bad news is the bond market doesn't like it. Interest rates don't like it. Fear of inflation comes back into the market. And right now you've got the Dow down 579 points. to 42,056. The NASDAQ, which was bumping up against 20,000, is down almost 1,000 points from there now at 19,057. Remember, my first article of this year was about that NASDAQ valuation, and rising interest rates certainly don't help that situation at all. The S&P is down 1.6% right now, or 95 points. The Russell 2000 down one and three quarters, down 39 points. And it's the bond market, stupid, I guess you could say. The bond market's stupid, not the economy. The economy's good. It's the bond market that is hurting us. The 10-year right now is at 4.74%. which is just above that 52-week high of 4.70. So welcome to today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. And I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. And, of course, that equation for valuation is earnings. multiplied by a multiplier PE ratio equals a target price. Nothing's happened to the earnings at all. They look very rosy for this year. They look very rosy for next year. The problem is the multiplier, the multiple. As interest rates go higher, the multiple shrinks a little bit.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we haven't been this high in the last 12 months. I mean, we're at a... We're at a point right now on the chart that we haven't seen since a level we really haven't seen, I guess, since right about around November of 2023.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and I think I read that since the Fed started cutting rates, we're up 100 basis points.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Isn't that crazy? In other words, the Fed is wrong in the market's opinion about inflation. The market still fears inflation. And just to add a little bit of fuel on the fire here today, oil's hitting $77.07. I don't know what's up there. I heard about a big port in China that's having some issues that's causing a little bit of a clog. But that's 4.3% jump in oil, which is also inflationary, obviously. It's at $77.07.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it's a global jump in yields. I mean, I keep lengthening the chart and still haven't gotten there. I mean, you look at the U.K.' 's in the news today, and they're sitting at 4.85. And I ran the chart back 10 years, and that's the highest in 10 years. Wow. So, you know, it's not just the U.S. 10-year. It's kind of a global increase. Yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, volatility has been the name of the game really since right around Christmas, and that volatility remains. The oil and gas sector, energy sector, is the number one sector so far. in 2025. We ended Thursday or Wednesday, actually. The markets came back. They were down in the morning. They did come back somewhat. Wednesday was the day the quantum stocks sold off after Jensen Wang's comments. I have an update there on the quantum stocks. Some of those quantum stocks, the CEOs are starting to defend the sector And there was news from two of them today. And also there is huge news on the nuclear front here today. We have a huge winner in Constellation Energy. That's Three Mile Island, folks. That's one of the most controversial nuclear incidents. Not quite as bad as Chernobyl, but right up there. And there's really good news. That stock was up 20% the last time I looked at it. So that's helping offset some of the losses. The losses are occurring in big tech, AI. The hottest stocks in the market.
SPEAKER 04 :
What's unique is that Constellation Energy Purchase, usually the acquirer usually goes down. And they went up significantly as the acquirer.
SPEAKER 05 :
I sent out a message this morning. I believe that Constellation is becoming more of a Vistra model where they become a broker in energy. Because that's what the cow pine was. I remember cow pine for many years ago during California wildfires, of all things. And so that's probably what's driving that. So anyways, I didn't expect a good report like this, but we do have non-farm payrolls jumping in. by $256,000 in December. To be honest, Trump is inheriting a bit of a mess in 10 days. With the bond market being so sour and interest rates rising so much, that's hurting the stock market. And all of that Trump rally is long gone. I mean, it's been sold off, and now we're actually probably below where we were in those seven days, six days after the Trump election. So anyways, I would say that he is inheriting a bit of a mess. Then you've got California. Debt ceiling. I mean, debt ceiling coming up. Debt ceiling coming up. But interest rates really are the biggest issue, I think, right now. Fear of inflation. Okay, I grew up in Southern California. I'm a native. I was there for almost 60 years. Jeff Webster, my vice president, native of Southern California. We've been through this many, many times. I've personally been evacuated at least a half a dozen times. I remember as a little kid in kindergarten being evacuated and them telling us, have your mothers come get you. The fire is moving down the mountain. This was while we lived in Burbank and we could see the fire moving closer. And when I got home, my father was up on the roof. He had been sent home from his work. He was watering down the roof, which back then was shake shingles, which didn't take much to ignite those. And we had other many incidents in San Diego, wildfires all the time because, you know, it's a dry, it's a very dry state. You look here in South Carolina and, you know, we have greenery everywhere.
SPEAKER 04 :
You'd run into the marsh at some point.
SPEAKER 05 :
In California, it's very brown in the summer and in the fall, and they have not done a good job in managing... the overgrowth, the brush. They've done a terrible job of that. A lot of it's because of the environmentalists, etc. And the other thing they do a terrible job of, California actually gets quite a bit of snowpack. It gets a lot of rain, and it all runs off into the ocean. All of our rivers... end up basically running off into the ocean because they don't want to build any dams in California. They haven't built a dam in years. And, you know, so a lot of that water just goes to waste as it heads out into the ocean. Now you've got fire hydrants running dry. It looks like the management of the whole thing is totally inept. People are getting evacuation notices that aren't even near the fire. And the people sending out the notices are going, whoops, that was a mistake. They did it yesterday. They did it again today. It's just, you know, inept management and whatever causes that that. Los Angeles is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The San Gabriel Mountains and Pasadena and Arcadia and Malibu and all those beautiful... Topanga Canyon. I've never seen such a fire during the years I lived there. This is the worst I've ever seen. And, you know, I mean, it comes right down to some of the stocks you own. We own Mercury General, which is a property and casualty and automobile insurance stock, and it has a big... uh exposure to california that stock broke below its uh support level just a little bit mcy mcy right and i sold it as a precaution it broke below its support level we sold it for a little bit of a profit i don't know seven percent or something that stock is getting killed today I think it's down 29, let's see, MCY, Mercury General, it's down 17.6% today. That's going to be an insurance nightmare. Imagine all the homes that have to be rebuilt. Think about all of the cars that were lost during this crazy fire. So, you know, right now the damage estimates are up around $135 to $150 billion, making it one of the most expensive natural disasters of all time. And it ain't over yet. More high winds predicted for next week. Okay, how much can Doge really cut from our bull? Are you late? And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Stocks Now show where we've got a sell-off in the market because of good news. Yes, good news. The jobs report came in 265,000. Beat expectations. The bond market selling off. Interest rates going higher. And the market selling off. The Dow down about 600 points right now. As we've opened up 2025, on a very volatile note, do we have any inverse funds in place? Yes. Because of the valuation situation, we have PSQ in place, which is inverse the NASDAQ one time. We have that in place in our large dividend portfolio and in the growth, large growth. In the more aggressive portfolios, we have QID in place. That's two times inverse the NASDAQ. So obviously it's soaring today. No, it's not taking away the losses from big tech. But it is easing it, and I may have to step up my positions there in those. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll be looking at the charts here throughout the day.
SPEAKER 04 :
A sea of red, and in the middle I see some inverse green, and then the constellation energy. The constellation is unbelievable.
SPEAKER 05 :
And then we also, in the trading portfolio, I have a couple. Oh, no, we also, in the emerging growth, we have EPV and QID. Right. EPV is inverse Europe, which is falling apart. I'll tell you what else is falling off a cliff. The emerging markets, VWO. So you have to ask yourself, if you've got a 401k, if you've got an asset allocation, check and see if you've got exposure to the emerging markets, which are basically Asia and Latin America, et cetera.
SPEAKER 04 :
Or pure international funds.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, international. I wouldn't own anything outside of the U.S., And, you know, where the traditional allocation model calls for exposure to these areas. Right. I don't buy into that. There's a lot more than age factors to take into place. There's world factors to take into place.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, in a strong dollar environment, right, it's not good for foreign assets because when you take those stock returns and bring them back, when you do the currency exchange in terms of if the dollar goes up, that's a headwind for international-only funds or emerging market funds. And so if you look at the U.S. dollar, certainly since Trump was elected – It's in a pretty solid uptrend. Well, an America First policy doesn't bode well for international. Well, only strengthen the dollar, right? Exactly. Any tariffs that go in place, that's going to be a little bit more fuel right behind a strong dollar. Just not a good place to be, particularly at the moment. And emerging markets haven't been a good place to be. You've heard that allocation story for years, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, there are three or so emerging market inverse funds, and there's China-specific inverse fund. But the emerging market, EUM, is one time inverse and EEV, I believe, is two times inverse, maybe even three, the emerging markets. And then we also do on DXD in our trading incubator portfolio, which is double short the Dow. And that's doing very well today. That's the green. That's the island of green in the midst of red today. And we are believers in hedging. We've also, you know, I've been trying to diversify away quite a bit from, you know, it's been the tech sector. It's been AI and all of that. And I've been lowering my exposure there.
SPEAKER 04 :
We've had some significant gains there.
SPEAKER 05 :
We've had some significant gains, and I've lowered my exposure because of the valuation of the NASDAQ. which impacts a lot of different things. Now, as I go through the charts, I've got about 600 to look at today. I always note a few that jump off the page at me. USO, that's oil prices. That's a breakout on oil. And I don't know what the driver of that is. There's some kind of clog in the system somewhere. It's not demand coming from China, I don't think. Yeah, I don't think it's demand driven. Cold weather might have something. Then the other one is UNG, which is natural gas, is having a big jump today. So we do have some exposure, a little bit of exposure to energy, mostly in the incubator trading portfolio. But we do have a little bit of exposure in, I think, in the ultra growth or the emerging growth portfolio also. How much can Doge... They're coming to a realization that, you know what, you take a look at a budget of $6.75 trillion, $5.3 trillion is fixed that you can't cut because it's Social Security, health care defense, veterans benefits, and debit and interest payments. That leaves about $1.4 trillion. But Musk thinks that maybe they can get a trillion. Hey, I'd take a trillion, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
And, I mean, that's another thing for today. I'm thinking, you know, obviously we had the good payrolls report. But then when I saw this, right, I'm thinking, okay, well, you know, does that mean that interest rates should be higher for indebted countries? Because, by the way, it's hard to cut that budget, you know. I mean, it's hard to get off the path once you're on it, particularly if things are legislative or built in already.
SPEAKER 05 :
A trillion of that budget is the interest payment. Okay, a trillion. You can't cut that one because that's the interest you're paying on the debt. And the interest rates are going up. Okay, the big winner today. This came out of nowhere, really. We have been an investor in nuclear. And, you know, the two biggest plays in nuclear are Vistra. These are big, giant utilities. And Constellation Energy, which has been around for a long time. You know, it goes back to Three Mile Island. Constellation Energy is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Constellation is a $91 billion company. It pays a dividend of a half a percent, so we own it in our dividend portfolio.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which makes it not the old utilities that you think of in the past that were basically purely yield plays, by the way. So this thing only pays a half a percent. but a forward yield of just under 0.6%, which means they're also reinvesting into the business to grow power.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a growth company, too. I mean, I look at the growth. They're looking for $8 in earnings this year versus $4.50 last year. Now, adding Calpine is going to make them even more of an energy broker, where they kind of control who gets the energy. It's kind of a deregulated market there, and that will be a good spot for them. It will make them more of a Vistra broker. And the Constellation is up 21% right now, which is strange because, like Barry said, usually the buyer gets hit. In this case, they are buying a growth company that's going to add to Constellation's growth over the years. It's going to be accretive, in other words. When we come back, news on the quantum, the beleaguered quantum computing sector. 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. And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Docs Now show. Well, one of the big controversies on Wednesday was Jensen Wang's comments, who carries a lot of weight, that's for sure, as it relates to future technology. And his comments that quantum computing was 20 years off, at least in the future, just was a knife in the heart of the quantum computing stocks, which had made a big, big run. I mean, a lot of them were up 200%, 300%. Well, a few of them are fighting back here today. IonQ.com. Chairman CEO Peter Chapman issued an update on Friday. He said he expects bookings for the quantum computing company to be at the high end of its forecast. That he forecasts revenue could reach $1 billion by 2030. That's five years from now. $1 billion by 2030. Let's see how that stock is behaving in a rough market for tech, especially future tech. IonQ is up 8.8%, so that's actually a good sign. Rigetti, which is also in that same space, which got whacked on Wednesday, is up 5.7% today. QBTS is up 9.7% today. So I would just say don't count them out yet. Oh, and D-Wave would be the other one. Let's see. D-Wave is up 9.8%.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I think that's the CEO who kind of came out first and was saying, basically, we already have some actually generating revenue. Do you think Jensen, after the fact, was like, man, sorry, guys. I didn't mean to take your stock. They asked me a question. I didn't mean to. I don't think he would do it on purpose.
SPEAKER 05 :
It just seemed a little... Yeah, I mean, he really clobbered that sector. And, you know, others in that area of the market are coming back. D-Wave expects fiscal year bookings to top 23 million. Okay. So they are bringing in, I mean, there's a lot of investment going into this area. And maybe there will be some breakthroughs. And maybe there is some use for it now. I mean, the way these stocks are reacting today. That's what I would think, that you can't just count them out and say there's not going to be anything coming from them in 20 years. QBTS up, let's see, 9%. There's one other one, QUBT. QUBT is up 3.6%. So they're all bouncing. And they did come back quite a bit from their lows. But like I say, you know, that's why you own it in an incubator part of your portfolio. It's like a 2% or 3% overall position in our most aggressive portfolio out there. We own two of them, okay? Now, here's another one in the news today. MicroVast Holdings, they're trying to come up with solid state batteries to get around the lithium market. to get around a lot of things. And solid-state batteries would give electric vehicles a lot longer range. And they've been working on it for a while. Last I heard, Toyota was all in on solid-state, with Panasonic and a few others. Well, apparently, microvast has made a big breakthrough through one of the barriers. And that could happen in quantum also. MicroVast is up 40.5% today, MVST, following the company's announcement of a major milestone in the development of its true all-solid-state battery technology. This represents a significant advancement in battery safety, energy density, and efficiency, offering solutions for applications like data center backup, power systems, and electric school buses while also paving the way for innovations in electric vehicles and robotics. So that's one I put on my watch list. It has been moving, by the way. Did I have it? I didn't have it in my database. It's very small. It was 18 cents four months ago. It's in the database now. And I'm sure it will start showing up as an A-plus momentum stock. And we'll put it on our daily watch list. And there may be some opportunities. The thing about MicroVest, too, is they have... about three hundred million in sales right now uh... so this could be something definitely worth looking at into MVST now this wouldn't go into your retirement dividend income portfolio again this is this is outside of the spectrum this is it's just above venture capital really is where i place incubator type stocks i mean it's just above venture capital To get to being a publicly traded stock is a big step. That's a big step, Barry. You know, a lot of these venture capital stocks never make it to that stage. They get bought out or they never make it. So at least with the incubator, you've got a much bigger hit rate.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's like a batting average. Exactly. Yeah, it's a batting average. And a lot of times, too, it's... Sometimes it's just being aware of these stocks, right? I mean, there's so many different symbols and names out there. That's what kind of the app does in terms of sifting through all the needles in the haystack at some point, right? The cream is going to rise to the top, and that's usually where you see it first on the momentum side.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. Okay, now, an IPO coming, and this thing is getting a lot of play, Newsmax. I've seen them advertising during their show where you can get in early and buy private shares. Newsmax has upsized its preferred offering to $175 million. uh and you know they've ex they've exceeded the 150 that they were trying to raise i think newsmax is a pretty good player i listen to newsmax as one of my sources i get more raw news there than from the others i think newsmax could be a significant uh competitor to fox newsmax obviously leans conservative The symbol is going to be NMAX, and we'll add it to the app. It's not a public company yet when it goes public. Okay, let's see. There is a biotech in the news today, Precision Bio, which is D-T-I-L. That's stocked up 22%. It's a gene editing company. A phase 1, 2 trial for ornithine transcarbamylase. Try selling that. Try doing a commercial with all of those disclaimers for that.
SPEAKER 04 :
I'm always glad when you tackle those things.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a rare metabolic disorder. Maybe that's what I've got. I don't know. you know how you always think you got something and you're looking it up on wikipedia oh no i think i got this but anyways dtil now a stock that's not doing well macy's is going to close 66 more store how many will be left i don't know well they have 718 so there's your answer It's now a $4 billion company, and of course we know that Nordstrom's recently, it's going private, will no longer be a publicly traded company, and it will basically be owned by Mexico, Mexican ownership. Liverpool, which is kind of a Nordstrom's of Mexico, bought a big stake or maybe the whole company. Okay, let's see what else we got. Well, we've got some earnings today. Let's begin with Taiwan Semiconductor. It doesn't get much bigger than that. I mean, were it not for Taiwan Semiconductor, they make about 80% of the chips out there. Someone's got to make the chips. You've got to realize that the Qualcoms, the NVIDIAs of the world, design the chips. But it's Taiwan that takes those designs and spits out a product. And also Taiwan is in a very volatile area of the world that we hear about all the time. And he said it again within the last week. Xi said, well, it's just a matter of time before we unify China.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, Elon has made that point. He said the same thing. That's what he said.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's in their charter. You know, Taiwan Semi had a phenomenal quarter. Their sales were up 41%. Their earnings were up 57%. That's got to bode well for NVIDIA, I think.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know it has to bode well, right, for all of the chip makers you would imagine. I mean, it's certainly good news. It kind of gives us a quick peek into what the potential will look like.
SPEAKER 05 :
The strength of AI is still there. It's still the best growth story in the market. There's no question about it. AI is the best growth story in the market.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's just what's the priced-in expectations, right? It's one of those things where, to me, they've got very visible good, go-forward earnings, right? The question is, how much are you paying for a dollar of those earnings? And that's kind of where the story is at.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, TSM is up $1.18 on a day when the NASDAQ is plunging, and the yield on TSM is 1%. We have owned it in the past. I just got a little nervous when China started circling Taiwan with those battleships, you know, and flying over it and all this and that. I just don't want that added risk. But it is a great company. Okay, we'll be right back. We've got some more earnings starting to trickle in here. This is the Best Docs Now show.
SPEAKER 03 :
You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do, and win whoever you wanna be. You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do.
SPEAKER 05 :
And welcome back here to the final segment of today's Best Stocks Now show. And once again, Taiwan Semiconductor saying that it's the growing demand, AI demand, which Taiwan produces chips for Apple, NVIDIA, AMD. It's a very, very important company. And it also produces chips for Google and Microsoft. So it is the picks and shovels company, along with ASM Lithography, that makes the equipment. But Taiwan is the factory that produces the chips. And that stock is having a very good day in a very weak market today. walgreens shares rally as turnaround gains traction okay well you know look there's a there is a big industry in our industry a sub sector of the industry that loves good value turnaround plays that sees assets uh that have value and you know there's a walgreens on every corner practically they're well established across the country uh But, you know, then again, I saw all the false starts. Remember Rite Aid, how many times there was a false start, false start, Rite Aid's coming back, and they just kept getting deeper and deeper and deeper into debt. My issue with Walgreens is it's not a growth company anymore. It becomes really an asset play, a value play, where you go in, And that's the old model, Barry, Mr. Chartered Financial Analyst, of looking at the assets, looking at the intrinsic value of the company. That's a whole different discipline.
SPEAKER 04 :
Book value approach. Yes. Essentially, if you were going to break that thing apart and sell it off piece by piece, what would it be worth?
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, do they own any of the real estate, or do they lease everything? There's all kinds of things that come into play. It is the dominant player in that space. The stock is up 25%. I've got to believe there was a lot of short interest in Walgreens, thinking that it's going the way of Rite Aid. How many, you know, you pass an old Rite Aid store, and it's like a skeleton, right? You can still see the faded.
SPEAKER 04 :
Some of them are, yes. And some of them will turn into, like, something for Halloween with us. So, like, some costume is out of there, and then it goes back to, you know, to empty.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just horrible.
SPEAKER 04 :
Eckerd's. Eckerd's was the other one, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
It was Eckerd's and Rite Aid. If that's not Walgreens destiny someday. I don't know. It just seems like with all the online...
SPEAKER 04 :
competition they have uh for the stuff you get there and well in drug cost right i mean they've been talking about uh you know part of the savings you know potential savings at the budget level right has been uh you know the cost of drugs both sides have talked about that so
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. You know, there's a lot of winners in the market today, despite a down day. I'm not really seeing that many. The sell-off must be very focused and concentrated in just like the big stocks, the big influentials, the Amazons and the NVIDIAs of the world. Delta's having a great day. Delta's up 10%, hitting a new all-time high today. Delta is now a $43.6 billion company. We prefer Delta. I don't know for what it's worth. I've flown American. You kind of have to fly American.
SPEAKER 04 :
But, yeah, those pop-up thunderstorms around Charlotte, man, they'll ruin your whole day.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Delta headquartered in Atlanta where, you know, just north of Atlanta, not too far where our chief operations officer, COO, lives. She sent us a picture of pretty good snow on the ground. I'm guessing six inches or something like that. Just north of Atlanta, which is pretty rare. We could get some here today if it starts raining. I don't know if we'll get it or not. It's pretty rare for us. I remember I think Myrtle Beach and this area got it about ten years ago. okay the other one the first winter when i first moved here yeah it was they didn't know what to do i think the international airport was shut down for like four days yes and you know the fishermen they for years they cried about all the trout the sea trout oh yeah lost exactly in the river that floated to the surface they took a big hit now they've come back pretty nicely but we don't want that to happen again Okay, the one that's getting clobbered today, Constellation Brands. Man, there was a time when that was a great stock. But I just think that you've got a very diluted market now with all of these private brands and homegrown brands and the competition. And now they've got to face possible tariffs on their foreign holdings that will be coming into America, like Corona beer, etc. Constellation is down 12.4% today. That's a big hit. That was one of the great stocks for a long time, but we haven't been in it for years. Very competitive industry. And then the other one that reported earnings or lack thereof, Tilray. Boy, I remember a time when the cannabis stocks were all the rage. Kind of like the quantum stocks have been here this year. Cannabis was all the rage. Everybody wanted in on the cannabis. I remember when Tilray was a $300 stock. Now it's $1.21. And I warned people back then. I said, do not get involved in investing in these stocks. And now I see a lot of these cannabis ETFs are shutting down and liquidating. because the sector has just been absolutely clobbered, absolutely smashed. Well, I'll be working on the newsletter, as always, giving you an update on the valuation situation of the market, the interest rate situation of the market. Believe it or not, I'm seeing a lot of really good charts in the market right now, but I'm seeing sector rotation taking place. away from kind of the high flyers and the winners. Really, the winners have had two years in a row of leading the market, which really makes it ripe for sector rotation. And I'll be pointing that out tomorrow in the newsletter. We've still got the four-week trial going on where you're getting my messages all throughout the day. I've already got a buy lined up here that I'll be sending out here. in a little bit go to gundersoncapital.com gundersoncapital.com it's unprecedented i've never offered a four-week trial of you know getting the whole enchilada the newsletter the alerts the access to the app i just can't tell you how much the app guides me on a daily basis i'm down to just like 300 stocks we were up to 1200 a week after trump was elected That was way too high. It had to come down. That's a pretty good indicator, pretty good market indicator too when the market's overheated. Now I would say the market, there's some opportunity now that we're down to just 250, 300 stocks. That's more normal. If anything, it's oversold here right now. So anyways, if you'd like to set up an appointment with us, GundersenCapital.com. GundersenCapital.com or 855-611-BEST. 855-611-BEST. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 06 :
This show is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Bill Gunderson or clients of Gunderson Capital Management may have long or short positions in stocks mentioned during the show. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Gunderson Capital Management is a fee-based registered investment advisory firm. All accounts are held at Charles Schwab. Schwab is a member of SIPC and FINRA.
As the fires rage in California, Reggie Rocco brings insightful perspectives on the policies and politics shaping the American landscape. From celebrity scandals to discussions on Trump's impact and strategies, the conversation covers how public figures maneuver through controversy. Engage with this thought-provoking dialogue that challenges conventional narratives and seeks justice and common sense in governance.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yeah. Yeah. What's up? What's up? What's up? You tuned in to 560 KLZ. KLZ. I'm a uniter. I'm a uniter. I'm your host, Reggie Rocco. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. KLZ. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. So right about now, we want everybody, I mean everybody, stand up. Stand up. Hold your hands up high. Lock arms. This is about America, baby. We bringing people together. I'm a United.
SPEAKER 04 :
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
SPEAKER 02 :
Woo, 560 KLZ. I'm in your night, Reggie Rocco, of course. The greatest producer on the planet, Lukey Luke. What's up, buddy? Oh, another beautiful day in paradise, Reggie. How's the weather up there in mansion land? Oh, cold and snowy, and it's not a mansion. I know you keep saying it. It's okay, man. It's okay. You're like, you know, nobody's going to come up there. You know, you got too many firearms and all that other kind of stuff. And, you know, you're good. Hey, man, a lot of things going on. And, you know, I love your perspective. You're just a realist, you know, and you say a lot of stuff that makes sense. And even when you talk about doom and gloom, I'm like, man, he's right again. Like, I had a guy email me, like, Reg, you're just right on point and blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, okay, call into the show. Let's talk about it. Let's get your opinion, blah, blah. job, family. There's so many things at risk. And I'm like, wow, why is it that you got to hide it? But I understand because look what he's done to me. All my family. Nope. Democrats. They don't talk to me. The friends that I had that were Democrats, they don't talk to me. When my boy and I, Kaz, is doing I'm a Trumpster, we lost so much money, so much business and deals and everything. We're like, well, hold up. We know Trump is the man. You know he's been in over 200 songs, rap songs and all this stuff. So what's the problem? It's not the actual artists and entertainers. It's the people pushing the buttons in Hollywood. It's the people behind the scenes that are the liberals that own all this stuff. That's what's doing it, Luke. That's what's doing it. And with Puffy, you know how long I've been screaming that? He ain't getting out. May, you know, this trial, he's not getting out. And I guarantee you, he's going to be dropping some serious names. Now you see Jay-Z, you know, they done brought him into the mix. And then there was a recording from Puffy in jail talking to his son. He was telling him, he said, have you heard from Jay? And his son's like, no, blah, blah, blah, no. And he goes, okay, yeah, well, burn the pizzas. Burn the pizzas. Talk it in code and all this other stuff. So we know Jay-Z is... Getting ready to go down. All these people that were, there's a list out. You can go look it up and see all these people that are named in these indictments. It's going to get real, real ugly. It's already ugly. So I can tell you this about Jay-Z. There's a guy that claims to be his son. And Jay-Z, I don't know how they do it, but if it was you or I, Luke, the courts would be dragging us in. You're taking a DNA test. He's been avoiding that for years and pressing charges and all other kind of stuff. And it's just like, yo, dude, if it ain't your son, just take the DNA test and be done. You're going to spend $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 fighting and running and all this kind of stuff when you could just take the DNA test. Well... Didn't know this part the reason why he don't want to take the DNA test Luke. Guess why guess why buddy why? because the age of the kid and the age of his mother when she had the kid Would make him a pedophile. Mmm That would explain it. She was 15 and he was like 22 or 23 23 or 24 now Don't quote me. You know, I'll tell you if I know something, I will tell you. But this is a fact. So we're like wondering what? OK. That's why you're not taking the DNA test. It has to be. It has to be. Now all these other things are coming out. Puffy's dropping the bomb. I'm still waiting on all these people to move the hell up out of America. Can't wait for that. But let's go over here to these dang fires. So I have a video and doing research. My boy... Man, I'm almost going to call him, I might call him my dad, my stepdad. That's how much, I don't even know if I can put step in front of it. He said six years ago about the fires and about how you got to get water down here. Trump is brilliant. He's brilliant. Do you guys understand? He's brilliant. Oh, we got Johnny on the line. Patrick Johnny in. What up, big dog? Hey, Happy New Year. Happy New Year, Doc. Hey, man, listen to me. And I'm glad you called because I have an opinion. So, Trump, did you see the video where Trump is... He's already telling California six years ago about how they need to cut the trees and bring this water through a certain way and turn it... Have you seen that? Yeah, 2018, he was saying that. So, dude... Trump is brilliant. So now this is their liberal policies. And I'm sorry, I told you guys like a couple of weeks ago that I am on another level. I'm a uniter. I'm a divider. You know what I'm saying? I'm telling you right now that I am fed up with all the bull. We need to get all our people in and get all them people out. I mean, common sense. And, you know, once that happens, then we'll be able to take the people back. with common sense, common sense politics, common sense, no greed, no corruption, and get these people together and change the world. And it's happening, man. It's happening everywhere. Trump is so brilliant. How is he going to say we're going to change the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America? Man, the dude is such a negotiator, and he doesn't put his cards on the table. You F around and find out. That's all I got to say about Trump. I've been saying it for years. The first day, the very first day I heard what he said about intellectual properties, I've been with him 100%. I've been... physically in front of him, mentally, financially in front of this man, with this man. So to me, nothing else matters but getting him and his team in there. I trust him 100%. And no, I don't care if he was doing something and he was married or not married and then he had these strippers. Let me tell you about strippers. I know, can't nobody be, hey, y'all tuning in? Let me, hold on, let me get a drink. Let me tell you about them strippers. They will set you up, Johnny. And they're here to get their money. And even if you're paying them the money and you're doing your thing and you're having your private thing, the bigger you are, the more powerful you are, the more innocent they're going to act. And as soon as they get you in a compromising situation, then they go public. That's how they make their money. They're the same type of people, individuals, as in the music industry. And we call them... What do we call them girls, man? That rush to follow groupies. We call them groupies because that's all they do. Their whole agenda is to get with you by any means necessary and get paid. So get in front of the spotlight, embarrass you, blackmail you, the whole nine. That's what this is about. That's unfortunately our culture right now. That's the culture of women that we have. The women of the day, like my mom's generation, they're gone they're gone buddy so i don't care if what he did to say hey man here just pay this trick off and uh let her get up out of here and blah blah i don't care how he did it because i'm looking here i see 21 million illegal immigrants i see you know billions bazillions like 50 60 i don't know somebody somebody fact check but uh billions of dollars to ukraine I see everybody in here hustling and lying and taking advantage of the system in America and people. You can't win. You cannot win a game or a... a match, you know what I'm saying? If somebody else is fighting dirty and by you fighting fair, it's just not going to work. If I go and I got to go face to face and I got to fight somebody, he don't know. I got brass knuckles. I got bear mace. I got somebody else on the side that's going to jump in, you know, you coming in here, but just, you know, let's go man to man and, and you going to get annihilated. So you, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. So I do not care. What he did or what his sexual life is or what. I don't care. The man is the man. And I understand. I understand. I've had people say, man, you're just like Trump. Well, great. Well, let me get some of that Trump money. And then, you know, I'll even show you even more what's going to happen. Because I would tear this city apart with a serious budget. We'd be on the news every freaking day. We'd be on the news every day because I'm not playing with this stuff no more, man. I can't take it no more, Johnny. What's your opinion in reference to Trump and his negotiation policies? Do you believe him? That's how he brings people to the table, talking about the Panama Canal, talking about turning the Gulf to America, talking about Greenland. What is your opinion? And then I'm going to get Luke's opinion because Luke's a gloom and doom. I got to get both of y'all's opinion. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think he throws those things out there, and he knows how to make the news media jump. And the news media, they're so stupid. They'll jump at this, and then they have this kind of bent on it. And he's only saying it to get their attention, and then he's working behind the scenes to say, okay, this is how I'm going to bring it to the table because it's in the news. And I heard the Mexican president, so she made her joke about changing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, America.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and so I think she gets it.
SPEAKER 02 :
But look at Trudeau. Trump sat down with him one time and said, hey, why don't we just make, we're not going to keep giving you $100 billion. Well, we wouldn't survive. Well, okay, I understand that. But we're not going to just keep giving you this stuff. We don't need you. So if you're not needed, why are we doing it? This is why I don't understand why I do it. It goes a couple of levels up of why. But just go one level up. It doesn't make sense for us to be paying all this money to somebody we don't need. And it doesn't make sense for us to be held captive, being the most powerful nation on the planet.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I like to get rid of the money we're giving to these colleges. They have these billion-dollar endowments, and we're giving them hundreds of millions of dollars to teach stupid classes on relationships between lesbians. Who needs that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Dude, it's all a money grab. But it only took one sit-down with Trudeau. Now he quitting. He's quitting. Because he knows. Oh, my golly. Do you all understand the genius behind this, man? The genius behind President Trump? My goodness. Yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
that man is that that man is that they do with the guy in california that you don't natural uh... newsome are getting a little bit okay okay for now the both billionaires uh... or millionaires hollywood people their houses have burnt and and that some of his donors houses have burnt i want to get out there going to come back at him now that You know, he's burning the houses of his people that looked up to him and was on his side.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, but the thing of it is, Johnny, that's because that's that liberal mentality. I say like the Usher song, let it burn, let it burn. I'm telling you, dude, I'm telling you, they're getting what they deserve. Now, I don't want anybody to die. You know me. I'm against that. But I'm also against being pimped. You know what I'm saying? Like Trump's got evidence. eight, six, eight years ago, telling you what to do and what's going to happen. Isn't anybody... Why don't they just stand up? I know Stephen A. Smith is now, he's standing up saying, man, I can't even rock with y'all Democrats no more because every single time, all this stuff you've been talking about, all this slander and propaganda you put on this man, and we come to find out that there was a collusion, Russian collusion. Hunter Biden was stealing money and laundering money with his family and all that. The laptop was loaded with truth. Facebook did bury all these information. The election was rigged. I mean, come on, man. How much more can we take? How much more? I want Trump to I want Trump to. You know, I'm not questioning his process. So I'm just hoping that he's luring them in for the kill. Because I can't stand Zuckerberg. That weirdo thing. He is the worst, dude. Like, do not let him in on nothing. Do not let him in on nothing. Oh, somebody. Hey, Johnny, don't go nowhere. I'm going to patch you in. We're going to have this hoot. Leon, you there? Yes, sir.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, sir. How you doing?
SPEAKER 02 :
What's up? What's up? How you doing?
SPEAKER 06 :
Man, I'm doing good, man. You know, I don't got too much time and I'm just on my way to work. I always like to tap into your show Friday mornings. I just want you to know, man, you are right about everything that you be saying. I've been tapped in for like a month now, man. I just want you to know, man, keep speaking truth because it's almost biblical, man. How you, how you out here, man, giving insight to things and just being able to wake people up, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
We appreciate you. Amen. I appreciate that, man. And, uh, It takes a lot of courage to call in and say that and do that. Keep it up, man, because that's how we grow. You know I'm joking about I'm a divider. This is I'm a uniter, and we have to unite people with the truth. And we're really under a... We're under an onslaught. You know, it's so many things going against the American people. It hurts my heart to even understand how deep this is. So I appreciate that, man. I appreciate you calling in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, man, last thing. Only thing I want to say, I mean, you know, because you make a good point. I think the thing about it is you are inviting in the right way because we do have to make it known who just chooses to be asleep. be ignorant you know whoever has like a malintent so you're able to unite off of first having to divide from the people that want to cause harm to our country so you know how you're doing it is right and i just want you to know i'm tapped in dog appreciate it man appreciate it thanks for calling in of course bye
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, Johnny, that's real, right? Oh, yeah. That's real, buddy. It's a price to pay for this. It's a price to pay, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it, man. Like I said, I'm not going to question Trump's what he does because it's always, it's something more to it. You know, he got everybody up in there, everybody quitting, everybody worried, everybody, you know, oh my God, you know, world leaders coming to the table. It's like now everybody seems to have common sense and, you know, and, and let's do the right thing. Oh, now you got Bill Gates talking about, I want to join the team. No, I hope, I pray that Trump is going to destroy these people. Like, you know, I just want him to, I know as a leader what he's got to do, but we got to understand and never forget what these people have done and how many people have died and suffered because of this. So I want justice. I want justice. But hang on, Johnny, we're going to go to commercial break. 560 KLZ. I'm a uniter, uniter, uniter.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're listening to 560 KLZ, your home station.
SPEAKER 01 :
Freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Ultimately, these are the questions that we should ask when looking at policy decisions facing our communities, our state, and our country today. Kim Munson here. Join me every weekday morning, 6 to 7 a.m., as we look at important issues and how they affect you and your life. Encore broadcasts air from 10 to 11 p.m. every weeknight. Tune in to the conversation with The Kim Munson Show right here on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 02 :
Ooh, you've reached 560 KLC. I'm your host, Reggie Rocco. I got my boy, Johnny, a faithful, faithful listener and who's not afraid to come up and say his name and speak his mind. And of course, Lukey Luke. So Luke and Johnny, so I heard your opinion and I'm going to get both of y'all kind of everybody intertwined to, you know, on this subject. So with these flyers, do you think that they're purposely set or To distract us from something else, like I know them drones got to be China and or alien or both. What's your opinion on that? And I'll go with Luke and then I'll hit back to you, Johnny.
SPEAKER 03 :
My opinion on the L.A. fires?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
L.A. burns down like once every six years. This is nothing new. Nothing impressive.
SPEAKER 02 :
So if that happens and it's burning down and they won't do anything to fix it, and now you have citizens actually lighting fires. They're like the homeless and immigrants. They're just lighting fires everywhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I'm sure you've got people trying to take advantage of it for insurance or just to cause some chaos. But I don't think it's some deep. You don't think it's any deep? No, I don't think it's nothing deeper than that. What do you think, Johnny?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I heard about that one guy was started a fire and they got him. But then the other people that loot the places, I think that's an open invitation for them to loot it because they have so many homeless people up there. And, you know, I look at, remember when that guy in New York, he lit that lady on fire and people just filmed it? And, you know, I didn't hear nothing from the Hollywood, New York Hollywood people. But now it's on them, and you're hearing all kinds of things with them saying, hey, this is not good or whatever. But when the little people are on fire, you don't hear nothing from them. And I thought that was just an interesting, like, dichotomy of, like, What is that?
SPEAKER 02 :
My, I want to say, analogy of this. I don't even want to say analogy. Let me just go to perspective. I've been out in L.A. I remember you. If you guys remember, I was telling you we're out at the BET Awards and I was in this nice hotel. You step right out six feet out there. You're dodging human waste. It's line. People lined up, put needles in their arm right there in public. I mean, lines like rolls. Like if you're standing in line for a concert on both sides of the street. And you got street sweepers coming through and they're literally cleaning the streets from feces and urine. Like this is the hell that is California. And it's all based on their policies. Trust me, it's nothing but the elite and their policies that's doing this. Why do you think Colorado is overran? They legalized marijuana, and then you got all these liberal policies, and you got all these people coming from California here. And that was before the migration. And so I believe that California needs to get what it needs to have. I'm on the loop, doom and gloom. I want to burn it down to the ground. It needs to be start all over. And when you see Trump talking about he's been telling you there's so much water to have it. And some fish just smite or something, whatever. And it's the governor and the people won't work with Trump because they hate conservatives. They hate it. It don't matter if you're smart. It doesn't matter if you know what's going on and you're the greatest leader. They are sick in the head. And they will not do what's right. So, you know, like my mom taught me, hey, don't start none and won't be none, number one. And number two, okay, if I keep telling you, okay, go ahead and do it. Let me just sit back and let it happen. Wait a minute.
SPEAKER 07 :
This might be their ultimate plan because these communists, they have to destroy it and then rebuild it. And here we have the concept of 50-minute cities.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Remember, I told you that in China, smart cities, 15 minute series where you go and there's no cars. They record you. They record your body, your image. They have your name in the computer. You can't you know, you ride this. And if your social score isn't correct, then you have to do then you can't ride the trains. You have to do things and volunteer and do all this kind of stuff. They're under complete control. Remember, I told you my Chinese friend told me about this.
SPEAKER 07 :
So maybe that's their ultimate plan is, hey, I don't care because we're going to burn it down and then we're going to cluster you so we can control you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, okay, but wouldn't the liberals understand, the Hollywood elite, that you have now been tricked? You've been tricked, and now they burnt down because they don't want to give up their stuff, man. They don't want to give up that. Have you ever been to Hollywood? Have you ever been to Bel Air? These people are not the smartest cookies on the wall. Exactly, exactly. So I believe Luke might own some property out there. Yeah?
SPEAKER 03 :
If I owned some property out there, I wouldn't be here, I don't think.
SPEAKER 02 :
I can't stand California, dude. And I've experienced it on the entertainment level. You know, VIP parties, rooftop parties, you know, interviews and all kind of stuff like that. And I'm telling you, it is all fake, dude. And it's very, very dangerous. And I didn't even know that the fire chief was LGBTQ, whatever. And I looked at the mayor and I just by looking at her, I'm like, this is she's got to be one of these two. I mean, did you hear the commercial they put out?
SPEAKER 07 :
It was a commercial where it says. Well, if she has to carry out a guy, it's his problem that he got himself in that situation.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah. I didn't see it. I heard about it. So you're saying that we're electing these idiots. And their whole agenda is promoting the rainbow people. That's their whole agenda. I don't care what it is, where it is, that's all they wanna do. So if they're dumb enough, the people over there are idiotic enough to elect these people in with this mentality, like what you just said, oh, well, no, I get paid, I let my people in, but it's on you if your house is burning and you're 300 pounds and I can't carry you, that's your fault. What, man? What? What do you think about that, Lukey Boo? What do I think about it? Is it right? I don't know. Are they right?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know, dude.
SPEAKER 02 :
Is it your fault that you're 280 pounds and your house catches on fire? And they say, oh, I'm sorry. I'm getting paid and all that. But no, I'm not going to. That's your fault.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think if you're in a position where your job is to save people, then you should make every effort to save a person.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because you know what? That's a scary road. So what stops people from saying, ah, man, you live in the hood. You live in the black neighborhood. It's too dangerous over there. I'm not going over there. And that's your fault that you're over there. Nah, buddy. That's the difference between heroes. And we have to elect people in those type of positions that deserve to be there. They have to be solid mentally and physically. Or they don't need to be there. Or you're just setting yourself up for disaster. And Trump, man, oh my God, he has so much gall. At the Jimmy Carter funeral, He's up in there sitting next to Obama, and Obama's talking to him. I'm like, how do you, Luke, if me and you was going at it for four years, five years, we're calling each other every single thing, everything under the sun you can imagine in public, and then all of a sudden all that is supposed to go away, and I sit down and say, hey, Luke, how you doing? Oh, yeah, how's the family? No. No, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
That's not flying.
SPEAKER 02 :
So if that's the situation, because I've seen the first lady, she was like, I don't even want to be sitting here. You know, it's really messed up. But Trump is so powerful, man. He's so powerful and he's got such a great heart that he's going to sit there and he forgives. But I don't want him to forgive Bill Gates or Zuckerberg or these attorney generals and prosecutors. That's judge up in there. I don't want him to forgive these people. I want him to destroy these people when they get it. I don't care what people say. Oh, he said he wasn't going to go after his political opponent. He said he wasn't. Yeah, yeah. Tricked you. Tricked you. I lied. Just like they do. But see, at least even Trump would admit that he lied. That's how real he is. The Democrats and the liberals, they lie through their teeth. They get caught on audio and video and they just walk around like, wasn't me. Dude, it's like I see you right here. You're sitting right here smoking the joint. Uh, uh, no, wasn't me. Dude, your friend right next to you sniffing cocaine. Right here. Wasn't me. That's their mentality. So when you're dealing with people like that, you got to get more street, man. You got to get more street. It's chess, not checkers. So I want Trump to definitely turn around on all these people, Hillary, everybody. I want him – I hope he does – uh that i hope these advisors i know he's saying let's just be bigger and move forward no dude they try to kill you you took a bullet like there's a there's a point to where you gotta be scoring somewhere i'm pretty sure if i came after luke or i shot him and and i hit his ear i'm sure i wouldn't be showing up to work the next week i know what i'm about to walk into am i wrong
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I think you got it.
SPEAKER 02 :
So I want that type of same energy. I want that type of same energy, yo. I need that same type of energy. I respect Trump so much. I believe that He is definitely the best president we've ever had. And I can't go back to the 1700s because, one, you know how I felt about that. It's a lot of stuff that happened to my people. But I will tell you this. The Republican Party is the one that freed us. The Republican Party is the one that has passed every legislation that helped black people. So, hey. It is what it is. It is what it is. So if Trump wants to take Canada, do it. How do we give away the Panama Canal? Come on, man. I can't even believe this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hold on, pause.
SPEAKER 02 :
You want Trump to take Canada? You want him to do it? Yeah. I want Canada. I want Greenland. I want the Panama Canal. Well, the Chinese are running the Panama Canal. This is why I keep telling you that the Chinese are the most ruthless race on this planet. They are everywhere. And every weakness that you show, they're going to fill them slots. And then I just read that there's like 100 and something military companies from the Chinese that are in America. what moron okay this because i know i've never been to china never gonna go but my friend tells me we don't even they don't even have american companies that can do any of this stuff and everything is monitored by the chinese government do you agree with do you think that's true
SPEAKER 03 :
I think China's got their fingers in a lot of pies. Yeah, I wouldn't.
SPEAKER 02 :
Do you think we could do the same thing in their country that they're doing to us? We probably could. I mean, we probably are. We just don't know it. So do you think it's underground spy stuff? Or could me and you go over there and open up a company and say, we hate China. Y'all some killers and stealers and dealers. And we're going to open up this company and we're going to promote this agenda. We're going to have all our women naked and dancing around. Right. OK, so that's what I'm saying. We need that same energy. Trump has that energy. I hope he gets all these companies and these foreigners up out of here. Is Johnny still there? Yep.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I'm here. Okay, I'm thinking like, okay, but we're looking at the global situation. We have global trade and so forth. I just want, if it's coming in here, I just want it to be good quality stuff and not them spying at the same time as they're making our phones, these communication devices, and then having a backdoor where they can spy on us.
SPEAKER 02 :
That has to be... But you can't trust them, Johnny. You know... You know I'm not a racist. I'm a realist, the other R word. I'm telling you, you cannot trust them, period. You can't. You would be an idiot if you don't think that they're not here to advance their way of life and their country. That country is their God and their country and their people first. And they and they don't you don't have a choice that that dictatorship is that this is what it is. And so America is too free. America is way, way too free in certain things, you know, like burning the flag. It's crazy, you know, having people here that hate your country, but they're making millions and all this stuff off of your country's back. They're taking this money, shipping it back to their country. Are you crazy, dude? There's millionaires in China that they can only use X amount of dollars to go outside of China and make money. Most of that money has to stay there. And I know this for a fact. Who's on the line? Kaz? Yo, what's up? What's happening, brother? Kaz, this is the superstar. What's up, big dog?
SPEAKER 05 :
So you still trying to put... Painting in their head what's going on. Getting some type of light, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Tell me what's on your mind, man. Keep it real. Oh, no, no.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's all good. I'm just here, man. In Atlanta, we got some snow. you know, snowed up. It's like, man, it's a phenomenon. So, you know.
SPEAKER 08 :
So, hold on, hold on, hold on.
SPEAKER 02 :
You're telling me that there's a, that, okay, I heard about the Arctic blast that was taking, going through the United States, but you're saying in my home A1, Is snow on the ground?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, rarely we see it, but it's here. You know what I'm saying? And the whole city is shut down for two inches.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, man, you remember back in the day? When it snowed and the whole city shut down and then they came on with these weather alerts and they were saying stay home because there's no snow plows and all that. And that wasn't even an inch of snow. That was just like cold weather and ice. So you guys still ain't got snow plows?
SPEAKER 05 :
I think we're doing a little better, but it was horrible. I was actually in that. And it's just crazy. A place that took you five minutes to get to down the road. I'm talking about literally five minutes. It took five to six hours to get there. It just was crazy. People just was just stranded, didn't know what to do, sleeping in their cars overnight. I mean, it was just... Driving in the ditches and over a little bit, I was just like, oh, my God, what are we going to do? Maybe they can have a snow attack and stop us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Stop. You know what people don't know, though, Johnny, about Georgia? Like, you have a lot of roads in Georgia that you go in north and then the other side is coming south. So it's right coming at you. So if it's icy and snow, if somebody veers off, they're coming in to head on traffic, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, some worlds are like that. Yeah, definitely. And it's just a cluster, but... Hopefully this time will feel a little bit better. I mean, they're making everybody stay inside unless you got an emergency.
SPEAKER 02 :
But I know you ain't staying inside. Especially, I know Rapstar is just banging. So tell me, what's the updates on that, man? I had seen an article where, and you know, we talk all the time and we got business with Rapstar and everything. But I'm saying, I've seen an article with this map that showed all these stores that Rapstar Drink is in in the South.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're definitely gaining territory, ground, market share. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, it's a game where you have to scale because when you're talking about food and beverage and people and taking a product, you know what I'm saying, to be able to just the blessing to be happy to have something that, you know, like a Coca-Cola Sprite or Red Bull, you got people putting in their systems. It's just a blessing to even have that. And also now that people like it and they're drinking it and they're spreading it. And we had, like I say, a big distribution meeting for covering the nation. So it's just one of those things. But taking our time, you know what I'm saying, making sure we send the message out there to the people about the ultimate performance. A lot of people... meet the ultimate performance in life, mobile hip-hop fans, people that need energy to go to work, to get up every day. And, you know, we're just trying to make a difference and put back into the community. and just help the people that need to be helped, and that's what we're about, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
So with all that love, is it okay? Because you know I gotta do it. I have to do it on this platform, and I'll say it, and you can just say no comment, or I take the fifth. Because I have to say this. Why is it so hard? for a black man or a black company, a minority company, to break through to the masses of millions. Now, when I did my analogy and everything, and you said, hey man, come on here and handle the West and all this, and all this information I'm getting and all these people and distributors, I find out that they're the same people that own everything. It's like the top of the tree. Let's just say Coke, Pepsi. Then they have all these other distributors that they either own or have locked down. And they won't, those shelves, they won't let you in on those shelves because they don't want you to cut into their product. No matter if they're making a zillion dollars, they still don't want you in to get in there and get just a tiny piece of that market share. And then when they find out it's a minority company, it's even 10 times harder. Am I wrong or right?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, you're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. And it's sad that it's like that. But, you know, us being minorities, we've been creators of a lot of things, elevator red lights, and we can go on and on and on how we just create as individuals. But, you know what I'm saying, we're known to be consumers. So they would rather us buy products, you know what I'm saying, instead of being on the other side of it. And you understand those shelves. When I was born, Coca-Cola. When you was born, Coca-Cola Sprite. Fanta was here. When you die, it's going to be here. So to be able to come in and get some of that shelf space. You know, they're making billions and billions of dollars every 365 days. I'm not talking about... Totally. You're talking about every year. Every year. You know what I'm saying? If you go look at Red Bull, when I first got into this business, I studied it. When I first, 2016, Red Bull was made, I was like, let me see what these companies are making. So I looked it up. At that point, Red Bull had made... Red Bull had made $4.9 billion. Then the next year it was $6 billion. Then the next year it was $7.9 billion. Then the next year it was $9.8 billion. And this year, you know what I'm saying, last year, 2023, they made $12 billion. Well, let me say this. They sold 12 billion cans times $3. Do the math. And this was every year. So that's the type of capital that they're making. And, you know, and so... Us coming along, me coming along, having a product. Because I kind of create this project for the culture. It's kind of like for the culture. When I say the culture, the DJing, dancing, graffiti, rapping, fashion. It's a lifestyle type of journey. You know what I'm saying? And it goes directly to that consumer and it talks to that consumer. That's why. And so my whole thing is I'm here. People are liking it. But if you get on that shelf, somebody got to get off that shelf. And so now it goes into war. And, you know, that's kind of like mafia dollars you're talking about, billions and billions. And for you to, you know, try to come in and take some of that money. It's really hard for you to come in and get some of that shelf space. So that's why a lot of times these companies come in, they get the market share just like Rockstar Energy Drink. They came in, they got the market share, and of course they say, okay, here goes $3.85 billion. Let me buy you out. You know what I'm saying? Now they just buy because they want to continue to eat the little man, and they're going to continue to buy you up because they're making like $64 billion a year. God.
SPEAKER 02 :
So let me put it for our listeners. You remember we were both signed with the second biggest in the nation publisher, the Lowry Music Group. Now, you remember when I, you know, the bank right down the street from Lowry Boulevard, you know, the whole street, Jordan Hall of Fame, all that. Right down there was that bank right on the corner. And I would go there to cash my checks or anything in that bank. I'm going in a suit and tie, everything. I'm feeling all good. Got all this, you know, this deal. And I go in there and they wouldn't give a brother no love ever. Had to stand in line, stand in this, do all this other kind of stuff. Then another guy come in, a white guy come in in jeans, holy jeans and all that. And they giving him all the love. And people didn't believe me when I'm telling you this, but this is what black people go through. And so one day the general manager was there and he seen me. I'm all dressed out in a suit and everything. And he's like, go to the manager like, yo. That's one of our clients. And they go, oh yeah, he can wait. I told him to wait in line. He goes, are you crazy? He is a writer with the biggest account that we have in this bank. I think Larry had like 30 million in that bank. You remember that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I remember. Well, unfortunately, I'm going to say this. I'm not calling to hold you wrong, but I want to just say this to the people that's listening to you as well. It's just kind of like this. a lot of the love that I've got, I don't want to get it twisted, a lot of the love that we have gotten has been from Caucasian people. It's just that we have been, since coming up and coming in, all the tragedies that happened with our race and slavery and different things, and now we're free. But at the end of the day, it's a lot of brainwashing. And even your own people, which the people who look like me, it's just kind of like they hate on me they hate to see a person like themselves create a business and start to excel it's just kind of like the jealousy comes in and like who do you think you are and so most of the time we get hated on by our own by our own people and then we're battling with the other you have some then you have the racist side that over there is white so then you're in a middle where it's like because it For me, it's not even color. It's not even color. It's just like everybody is my brother, the white, black man. But at the end of the day, it's just you can't help but notice a lot of things and barriers. But most of the people have helped us. have been Caucasian. So I look at it like this, and there's some people who want to see us win, and there's some people who see. And so we're fortunate to have some of those people on the team saying, hey, this is a good product, it's great, and we're going to try to help you break into that market. But it's some that look at you and like, you know, who do you think you are? You want to come in here, blah, blah. But at the end of the day, it's just one of those things where you just got to have faith, you got to believe, and you just keep pushing because consistency is what... What breaks through the door. And to start this business, it's like a $3 to $5 million it takes to start an energy drink company. But I said, you know what? I believe that I could create something that resonates with the people, and I just started it, and it has, and I have it. We didn't near have as much as that to start it, but I've got the attention of the big boys. So it's a blessing. You know what you just described to me?
SPEAKER 02 :
And it's true. And I've got to break it down a different way. But yeah, exactly. So it's just like... It's just like slavery. You know, white people did this to us that also we couldn't have got free without a certain group of other white people. You see what I'm saying? You know, I understand exactly what you're saying. It's like, God dang. And then when you go down here, we hear about police killing black people and and all this. And we're like, no, no, no. Is black people killing black people? Is black people hating on black people? Yeah. So that is exactly what you saw. You're kind of in a vortex in the middle, like you're just trying to find the right set of people because you can't do it without the good Caucasian people that is about God and love and business. You can't make it without them. But at the same time, you got that little certain percentage that don't like you. And you know that we can't even get our own people to wake up out of being Democrats and and all the stuff that's done to them, you know how many times we've been in situations in Atlanta where it was basically black-on-black crime everywhere. So I understand you being hated on.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just one of those things, man. It's unfortunate. But I do understand how... the world and how United States was building, what it was built on. And I do understand how it's all about the resources. You got to understand we're behind 400 plus years, but at the end of the day where they got all the resources, when it was time to get the resources, all the resources had been got up. So we didn't really have any resources. We had to start 400 years back to try to get something. And it's been a struggle for, And but at the end of the day, you just keep on pushing. So Martin Luther King said we shall overcome one day.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. Right. So let me ask you this. So, you know, just yes or no to this. We I believe I think, you know, and I know I know that Trump was. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, yeah, yeah. Hey, man, listen to me. Trump, I'm just saying, I love Trump. Trump is a businessman. He's blunt. Plus, I love him because he's a Gemini like me, and I understand his mindset. I understand it's like he's about his business, and at the end of the day, he's about America first. Like I say, that's what it's about. So I can't fight against that. Yes, he's blunt, and everybody who's successful out here is a businessman. You have to be blunt because if you're not, you'll be taken advantage of. So is Trump blunt? Yes. Is he about his business? Yes. So at the end of the day, everybody loved, like you say, he was in all rap songs. He was hanging out with all the stars. But it's only when he started to run and get into politics that everybody started to look at him and switch on him. at the end of the day because he was just too blunt yeah i don't care who you were he from both sides if you don't care if it's democrat or politics he don't give it to you 100 you even have people that republican looking at him like he's like i'm just gonna say what it's real and it is what it is okay perfect example with the fire who's the blame of that fire trump say
SPEAKER 02 :
We were talking about that earlier. We were talking about, like, he said it six plus years ago, what was happening and what was going to happen. I mean, come on, man. Come on, man.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, man, just give me some flashbacks. When we had Obama Trump, man, we had going back and forth. It just put me back, you know, right beside you on the radio station, going back. I'm quite sure people are tuning in and listening to us, making all type of faces and looking like a wow. But it's all good, bro. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, man. Hey, love you, man. I'm going to try to get with you, like, this weekend and talk about what's going on down there, our next moves and the other stuff we want to do. But I appreciate you calling in because you always keep it real, and you know we keep it real here. But, yeah, so let's get up, like, you know, in a couple days.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, sounds good. And I'll talk to you all soon. And, yeah, I'll keep trumping on, brother.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, big dog. Woo, Johnny, boy, that's my bro right there. That's my bro. But dang. Go ahead, Johnny.
SPEAKER 07 :
Tell me something. Okay, Snoop Dogg, they were having the same problem with the Snoop Loops. Are they now on the shelves, as you can see, or are they still in the back?
SPEAKER 02 :
They were taking that, and in Walmart and all that, they were putting that stuff on the back shelf in the warehouse, and then when they did put it out, they were making the price like three times of what it was supposed to be. When you go down that rabbit hole, man, it's because there is greed mixed with racism. You see what I'm saying? But it's hard to decipher which is what. You know what I'm saying? But like Luke knows, I say follow the money. Follow the money. The money and the power, that's all I do. You can cut through a bunch of stuff with that. And you're going to have to find somebody that is... not racist, that's greedy, that's like, okay, I see this a way to make money, and they don't care what color you are. But there's other entities, and I'm not saying just based on color alone, but the bottom line is, yeah, man, this is rough. It is very rough. And now since he brought it up, I'm going to get you guys' opinion. And this is what I see. Okay, so Americans, black, white, blue, green, whatever. You know, we've been buying and, you know, Casio, you know, black people are big consumers. We've been buying this stuff as much as we can. But inflation and, you know, no raises at the job, price of rent, everything going up. And we haven't been able to buy or spend as much as we like to spend. So then I put the greedy perspective in. So then I'm like, okay. Why would they let 21 million people here? Just, I mean, okay, I said the vote thing. They wanted to keep Trump out at all costs because he's going to fix stuff. But my thing is... I believe that the elite says we're not making enough money and we can't make Luke go shopping. We can't make Reggie go shopping because they got to take care of their home, their family, their bills, so they can't spend as much money on other stuff that they want to do, but they can't afford it, inflation and all that. So I believe they said, okay, how do we get their money? We let 21 million people come over here, and then we take our citizens' money and give it to them in the name of immigration and helping out this and that. And so I believe that's how they got all these people here. Then they took our money legally but illegally and gave it all to them. And the first thing they do is what? Shop. Shop. That money came from us, taxpayer citizens, and we can barely afford to buy bread and eggs and everything else. And they took all our money and gave it to them. And the first thing they do when they get here, when they get that money, is shop. Like, I'm going to tell you what happened to me yesterday. I'm in, was it King Soopers or what? I was in Walmart. Whole different part of town. I'm up here, and I'm looking in here, and like I always said, I'm here, and I'm like, dang, I got four or five things in my buggy, and I see lines 30 minutes long with all these Hispanics and illegal immigrants in line with carts full to the top. And I'm just like, man. Then I'm looking, and so the cashier looks at me, and she says... I know, I know. And I'm like, what do you mean? And she says, you talking about these lines and all this stuff? Yeah, and I'm also talking about these lines and I'm looking at what I have and what everybody else has. And she said, look, I'm gonna tell you this. And she was an older, middle-aged white lady. She says, I look around and we even talk about it that I see white people and black people with their carts and they barely have food in their carts. But the Hispanic people got loads and loads and loads of groceries. She said, not only that, we have cameras and we do studies and all this kind of stuff about our consumers who are buying and what's going on. She says she sees white people and black people looking at the prices of the products. Like when you go down the aisle, they pick it up, they're looking to see how much it costs, they look what's inside of there, and they're looking for the sale, and then they go ahead and grab something and put it in the cart. But she says the Hispanic people Don't even look at the price. They just go through the aisles and just grabbing everything, just throwing it in their cart. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Because they don't care because they got all this money. And she said, I'm telling you because I'm telling you right here. I know the thousands of dollars in food stamps. I know the thousands of dollars. in cash that they're getting. That's why you see all these people, illegal immigrants, with their baskets filled up to the top. And she said, it's not even a racial thing anymore. It's a have and have not. But she believes the same thing, that these people don't worry about the food, they don't worry about anything because they got all our money, which we should have, and they go there just grabbing stuff off the shelf, and they don't even care how much it costs because it's all free to them anyway. Now, that's a lady that just told me this yesterday, a white lady, and she's combining, like I said, all they did was make white people and black people come closer together because we are the ones suffering. I think the greedy at the top let them hear one of the reasons let them all hear because they weren't their bottom line wasn't being met their bottom line wasn't being met they wanted us to spend more money that we didn't have so what better way to steal our money give it to somebody else and then let them spend it because guess what it comes right back to them and she also confirmed what i said about how is walmart hurting There's no way. I would like somebody to give me their bottom line because every time I go to any store or any, I don't care where it is, every freaking time, it's lines and lines and lines and people buying up everything, tons of product. There's not even product on the shelves. So how is Walmart hurting? They're making a killing. All these companies are making a killing because they took our money, gave it to them, and the only thing they're here to do is shop, and it goes right back to them. Do you understand that, Johnny?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, well, it's almost like Robin Hood, and it's almost like the rich people, let's play a game on the other people. And so since we are considered, the middle class, considered to be the rich to them, we say, okay, we'll steal from them and we'll give to these illegals. And it's almost like, it seems like it's a game they're playing with all of us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, man. I'm so over it, dude. It's greed. It's greed. Black Rock Vanguard, all this. It's greed. And there's nothing like somebody taking money out of my pocket to give to somebody else that'll spend it. See, I might have $100, but I can only spend 10 of it. But you take it from me and you give it to somebody that's here for no other reason but to spend. What have they been doing? What have they been doing but milking and bleeding America dry?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, see, it started small, right? They started taking money out of yours and my pocket. Let's pay for women's abortion. Let's put it through there. And so if we don't say nothing, they look around and say, oh, they're not saying nothing. So let's do some more. And it's just inch by inch. And every time we let them do this to us, they just keep on thinking, like, we could do more. So we've got to rise up and say, hey, you can't do more.
SPEAKER 02 :
Real quick, because I know it's getting time for us to get up out of here. You guys go to weareblacklivesmaga.com. Like I said, we've been looking at properties. I've got in touch with a couple of people in enforcement. They know what we're doing. They agree with what we're doing. And they know we're trying to put this together in reference to the 20th. And today I'm going to be calling some of the people I know high up and say, hey, what's up? What can we do? How can we get this? How can you help us? Because we definitely it's about the beyond when Trump comes and I don't know what's going to be rolling down the streets, tanks or whatever. But I know these people are not going to be trying to leave up out of here. Why would you when you got all Americans money, all this, all everything, health care, houses, food? You know, this is a lotto and they have nothing to do here but spend our money. That's it. And so they're not going to want to leave. Would you want to leave, Luke? No. Okay, so yeah, I feel you. Johnny, you're the same way, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. I can't go to Russia and do the same thing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, so look, man, we're going to count it down, big dog. You ready? Three, two, one, and we out. Yeah. All right, y'all. It's that time. We out of here. But you've been listening to KLC 560 AM. I'm a Unite to Reggie Rocko. Yeah, it's fun. We will tackle the issues. We will unite the country every week, every Friday morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. It's about love, y'all. Have a wonderful morning and a great day.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we're Uniters. Yeah, we're Uniters. Yeah. That's right, Colorado.
Welcome to the Kim Monson Show podcast. Kim Monson is your host. Colorado ranchers are very frustrated with the introduction of wolves. Calves and lambs have been attacked and killed which affects ranchers’ livelihoods and limits everyday Coloradans access to healthy and affordable food at the grocery store. Executive Director with the Colorado Wool Growers Association Bonnie Brown discusses a potential ballot question to repeal the wolf reintroduction. Amber Todoroff, Deputy Policy Director with Open the Books, addresses DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) at public universities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kim Monson Show airs on KLZ 560 AM every Monday thru Friday, 6-8 AM MST. You can listen to the live stream by going to www.klzradio.com
SPEAKER 03 :
It's the Kim Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 15 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
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The latest in politics and world affairs.
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I don't think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can't understand that.
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Today's Current Opinions and Ideas.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's not fair just because you're a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn't.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 15 :
indeed let's have a conversation and welcome to the kim munson 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 theresa all the people here at crawford broadcasting happy friday producer joe happy friday kim We've got a great show planned for you again today, so fasten your seatbelts. Check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com. And when you sign up for that weekly email newsletter, that comes out on Sundays, you will get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. Thank you for all of you who support us. I'm an independent voice. What that means is I buy my airtime. which gives me basically full control of subject selection, guest selection. We're blessed with amazing guests. I am so grateful for that. And do check out our broadcast schedule. It's 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. And this is on all KLZ 560 platforms, which is KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. And then typically within 24 hours, the shows can also be streamed on iTunes, Spotify, and all of those different streaming services. The text line, and I do want to hear from you, is 720-605-0647. And we look at these issues and search for truth and clarity by looking at the issues through these lens, the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You shouldn't have to force people to do it. and is not compassionate to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, their property, freedom, livelihood, opportunities, or lives via force. And force could be a weapon, but policy, unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation the world economic forum's agenda the globalist elites agenda united nations uh colorado state legislature right off the bat gammy has texted me that there's a a second amendment uh bill that is uh being proposed which is trying to take away your right to protect yourself and your family against bad guys and girls So the Colorado governor, the World Health Organization, land use codes, zoning regulations, forest fees, conservation easements, national monument designations. This list has been going on and on and on and growing under the Biden-Harris administration and those before them. And we've got to walk this back. And that's why we engage in this battle of ideas. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And Joe, before we get into this, there was at the top of the hour a public service announcement by the after school program. And just the way it was couched, trying to, it had basically the heartbeat of a baby. And then just kind of trying to shame people into not supporting after school programs. And so I wanted to check this out. And it's called, hold on here. It was the After School Alliance. So I looked at this and And it is focused on social and emotional wellness of children. Those are the big code words for diversity, equity, and inclusion, separating our kids by race. And the social emotional programs have not been good. So anyway, they are focusing on that. It's being sponsored by this Imogen Foundation, I-M-O-G-E-N Foundation. And I went to that, can't quite get a whole, and again, I'm doing this very quickly this morning, but when you go to ImogenFoundation.org, the first thing that you see is a whole bunch of pictures of kids with masks on their faces. So I've got to talk to the station about this because I don't know quite how we get these public service announcements. But, my friends, we need to be really careful because it was this after-school program that happened. Erin and John Lee's daughter was invited to, which ended up being not art club. She was invited to art club. She's like 11 or 12 years old, new in school, coming out of COVID, shy. Says, hey, mom, dad, can I go to art club? And of course, you want your kids and she likes art. Sounds like a great idea, right? Oh, it was a transgender indoctrination. uh session and so these after-school programs you need to be really careful of joe i i know i'm just throwing this at you but this was the first time i heard this at the top of the hour and so i got to get on this it's the first time i heard it too and honestly all of these things with the groupings and whatnot it just sounds like fear-mongering Yeah, I know. So we're going to get on that. So and if any of you have concerns about these public service announcements as well, just let me know. But we're going to be having a I'm going to have a conversation about this. And this is so important that we catch these things because these things fly in under the radar. They get free airtime, I think. And so we will check on that. But I don't get free airtime, and that means I'm an entrepreneur, and that's why I am so grateful for our sponsors. So thank you to LearnMe Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show. It is reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant power from oil, natural gas, and coal that powers our lives and fuels our hopes and dreams. And our word of the day. is repugnant. And you spell that R-E-P-G, repugnant, R-E-P-U-G-N-A-N-T. And at first could be arousing, disgust or aversion, offensive or repulsive. Number two, it could be contradictory or inconsistent. Number three, disposed to fight against, hostile, at war with, being at variance, contrary, inconsistent, refractory, disobedient. I find actually as I'm thinking more and more about this that I find this particular public service announcement repugnant because it's trying to hide and trying to shame people. And I don't like that one little bit. So your challenge is to use the word repugnant in a sentence today. And hopefully you are impressing your friends and family about your vocabulary growing. Our quote of the day is it is Friday and taking the quote for the from the Medal of Honor. a quote book, which is published by the Center for American Values. And it's quotes from many of their Medal of Honor recipients that are in their portraits of valor there at the center. And I always want to, I think we can take such great heart from the actions of these men. These are men that when danger presented itself, They took action to protect those around them. And we need to do the same here. For example, I need to take action on this after school thing because I'm very concerned about what that might be. But anyway, check out the AmericanValueCenter.org. That is their website. They are going to have a very important event on Thursday, January 23rd. And it will be down at the center. And it's regarding the USS Pueblo that during the Vietnam War, it was captured by the North Koreans, was held captive for a year. And Robert Chica, who was a prisoner for that year, is going to be speaking at the center. So this is a really special event, and you can get more information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. Drew and the team there, Drew Dix, who's one of the co-founders, just request that you let them know you're coming. And there is a competing event. I can't go, unfortunately, to the center that night because as president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, we are holding our legislative kickoff meeting, and that is also on the 23rd. And tickets will be going on sale for that this week, and they're only $10. And be sure and join us. For only $25 or $2.08 a month, you will have a great tool in your toolbox, and that is all of the volunteer hours that our team, our board of directors, puts into analyzing legislation. And when you see these folks, my fellow board members, and that would be Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, and Mary Jansen. And on Monday is our board meeting, and Dave Evans and Corey Ornsorg should be joining us as well. Say thank you to these folks. And you can join us by going to coloradotaxpayer.org. But this is our our quote of the day, and I want to set this up. It's by Leo K. Thorsness, United States Air Force Medal of Honor. He was born in 1932. He died in 2017. He was a colonel in the United States Air Force, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War, and he was awarded for an air engagement of April 19, 1967. He was shot down two weeks later and spent almost six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. After his military service, he served in the Washington State Senate, among other things. And this is the citation. It is for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. As a pilot of an F-105 aircraft, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness was on a surface-to-air missile suppression mission over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness and his wingman attacked and silenced a surface-to-air missile site with air-to-ground missiles and then destroyed a second surface-to-air missile site with bombs. In the attack on the second missile site, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness' wingman was shot down by intensive anti-aircraft fire and the two crew members abandoned their aircraft. Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness circled the descending parachutes to keep the crew members in sight and relay their position to the search and rescue center. during this maneuver a make seventeen was sighted in the area lieutenant colonel thorsons immediately initiated an attack and destroyed the mig because his aircraft was low on fuel he was forced to depart the area in search of a tanker Upon being advised that two helicopters were orbiting over the downed crew's position and there were hostile MiGs in the area posing a serious threat to the helicopters, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness, despite his low fuel condition, decided to return alone through a hostile environment of surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft defenses to the downed crew's position. As he approached the area, he spotted four MiG-17 aircraft and immediately initiated an attack on the MiGs, damaging one and driving the others away from the rescue scene. When it became apparent that an aircraft in the area was critically low on fuel and the crew would have to abandon the aircraft unless they could reach a tanker, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness, although critically short on fuel himself... help to avert further possible loss of life in a friendly aircraft by recovering at a forward operating base, thus allowing the aircraft in emergency fuel condition to refuel safely. Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness, extraordinary heroism, self-sacrifice, and personal bravery involving conspicuous risk of life were in the highest traditions of the military service and have reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. My dad served in the Air Force, and he was very proud of his service. And this is the quote of the day from Leo K. Thorsness. He said this, as a six-year prisoner of war, i learned that freedom is our most important commodity we keep it through personal responsibility freedom is the flip side of responsibility and again that is our quote of the day all this happens on the show because of our sponsors and the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team can help you with your insurance coverage. You want to make sure that you understand what you have and obviously at the best price possible and working with a reputable company, a great agent that's been serving his clients for over 48 years. So give the Roger Mangan Team a call at 303-795-8855 for a complimentary appointment. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Team is there.
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SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Munson dot com as well. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And Hooters Restaurants is a great sponsor of the show. In fact, I met Jim May yesterday. We wanted to talk about a few things. And so we met over at Hooters Restaurants. And their queso is so good. Jim had the fish tacos. Delicious. And delicious. They have great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour. They have five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. This is a big football weekend. Great place to watch those games is Hooters Restaurants. And how I got to know them is a really important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism and PBIs trying to exert power that they don't really have that they think they have. And so be sure and check that out. All that whole story is at my website. Joe, you did a little homework after... I talked about this PSA that was at the top of the hour regarding this after-school programs. And it really tweaked my radar that I needed to check that out very quickly. Checked it out. It is being sponsored by this Imogen Foundation, I-M-O-G-E-N Foundation. And the first thing that you see when you go to that website is a bunch of kids with masks on their face. So all this is danger, danger, danger to me. And so I want to find out about PSA. So you did a little homework.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yes, ma'am, I did. It was randomly generated in there, but I thought the same thing. I was very concerned that the way they were putting it out is, do you want to be negligent? That's not a good way to say something like that.
SPEAKER 15 :
I totally agree. So we're going to stay on this. But again, I think it's an example, Joe, of how things in our lives can just sneak in here. And that's why we have to have our radar up. We have to be questioning things all the time and doing research. And so within a few minutes, you and I had quite a bit of information on this. And with as much as we have learned on the show, talking with Lori Gimmelstein, and regarding Colorado Parents Advocacy Network and Aaron Lee and Kevin Lundberg regarding all these programs. We've learned enough that we immediately could see danger, danger, Joe.
SPEAKER 17 :
You're absolutely right. And they just want to scare us into it using your kids might get hurt. Of course, we don't want our kids to get hurt. That's what we're supposed to do.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, but the real after-school program, first of all, parents, is we want to make sure that you know what is going on. So we'll stay on that. Let me get into several other things here. Time just goes by so quickly on the show. We have our quote of the day. This day in history, a few things I wanted to mention. 1776, Common Sense, the pamphlet by Thomas Paine, which really... uh made a difference for our war for independence it was published and again advocating for american independence in 1870 standard oil companies created by john d rockefeller he owned 30 and his brother and other business partners and at that time they controlled about 10 of the world oil in 1901 oil was discovered in spindle top beaumont texas making the start of the texas oil boom In 1949, RCA introduces the 45 RPM record. Of course, now you can listen to music on your phone, Spotify, Pandora, all these different services. Back in 1982, we were concerned that the world was going to get too cold. And 1982, negative 17 degrees Fahrenheit was in Bremer. Grampian was a United Kingdom record. And then the Earth got a little bit warmer, which was better for the Earth. And then they said the Earth was going to get too hot. So they call that global warming. Well, then we had all these different temperatures up and down. Because the climate does always change. But, of course, they're trying to push this man-made climate change narrative. And so they changed the term to climate change. That's why you really should check out the documentary, A Climate Conversation, which is the project of Walt Johnson. You can watch that for free at aclimateconversation.com. And we've got a great set of podcasts as well there. So check that out. And while I'm mentioning going back to this after school thing, check out artclubthemovie.com as well. And that will really inform you why we need to be so cautious about these after school programs. This, I thought, was super interesting. Again, we learned on many of these podcasts that we have recorded for a climate conversation by many of these experts and scientists that many publications, many universities, they receive grant money. Many times this might be government grant money. So our tax dollars are being used through grants to push a narrative. And I would submit to you that's probably what happened here. 2019, the oceans are warming faster than previously thought due to fossil fuel burning, according to data published in the journal Science. And again, just realizing that they're trying to give this um uh significance by saying it was in this journal science you wonder who's behind all of that as well so that is our this day in history uh as far as headlines first of all yesterday was jimmy carter's funeral and all the dignitaries were there and certainly appreciate his service to the country and i think we'll over the next week or so we will talk about those policies that he pushed forward. And many of those policies were pushed forward again by the Biden-Harris administration. But at this point, I just want to show respect for him and his service to the country. Next thing, this is pretty huge, and that is that the Supreme Court ruled regarding this criminal charges, the sentencing for Donald Trump on these charges. And so this is from CBS News. And I wanted to try to remember what these charges were exactly. And so it's former President Donald Trump's conviction in New York stem from this $130,000 hush money payment his attorney Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors said the deal was meant to keep voters in the dark about Daniels allegations. uh and uh that she had sex with him he denies that but the actual charges this goes on this is cbs news uh are actually uh far less salacious and dealt with comparatively mundane paperwork that was generated when he reimbursed cohen for the payment And I went through and did the research on this. And these 34 counts of which there are those that a parrot that, oh, he's been convicted on these 34 counts makes it look trying to make him look like he's a criminal. They were basically bookkeeping entries. And for one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, quite frankly. $130,000 is chump change in this whole thing as well. And this is really lawfare, I think, as we talked yesterday with John Eastman. So it's going to be interesting to see. What happens just a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump to see what the sentencing looks like. And so stay tuned on that. Next thing, big, big news. This is from CNN says, well, again, let's take a look at the headline and break that break that down a little bit. Says this is what the CNN headline says. Judge scraps Biden's Title nine rules reversing expansion of of protections for LGBTQ plus students. Well, let's change that title or that headline to what really it is. It's Judge scraps Biden's Title nine rules, which reverses expansion of boys and girls bathrooms and and protects girls and girls sports. So let's see what it really is. So this is a big deal as well. So that's a really important headline. Next, California and these fires. This particular headline is from only well, many different news organizations have been. reporting this, that the Palisade Palisades wildfire, the L.A. Mayor, Karen Bass, had cut fire department funding by $17.6 million to benefit people that have come here illegally. I'm hearing reports that there were fire hydrants that didn't even have water. And in fact, Mary had sent over, and then I saw another headline on this, that firefighters were using women's handbags to get water and run over and try to put some of these fires out. It's crazy. This is from the Tampa Free Press. It says that California was caught off guard by massive fires after the L.A. Fire Department spent years pushing racial equity. And this has moved us to mediocrity and bad choices because instead of people striving for excellence and competing on striving for excellence, being the best that they can be, just putting people in because of DEI hires, we now see people are losing their homes. And this is going to be very difficult now for people to rebuild. This is going to be a really defining moment. And they talked about this on many of the shows last night. This is going to be a defining moment, just like here in Colorado with the Marshall fires, that when people go to rebuild, that they see the cost to rebuild because of rules and regulations is astronomical. And with Karen Levine, RE-MAX realtor, she and I are both always talking about affordability. And all these rules and regulations make everything more expensive to build. And so one way to reduce the cost of that is to reduce the rules and regulations. Well, these people are going to want to rebuild. here in California are going to see what this radical extreme agenda has done to make our lives less affordable. But this is terrible public policy, and this can be laid at the feet of the radical extremist activist agenda that has been pushed by the Democrat Party. for many years now, and it is so sad. So this is going to be a real day of reckoning, and we need to continue to speak truth into this on a regular basis. 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SPEAKER 18 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Munson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmunson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday, and welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. 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 shouldn't have to force people to do it. And as you know, one of the nonprofits that I highlight on the show on a regular basis is the USMC Memorial Foundation. And Paula Sarles is the president of the foundation. She is a Marine veteran, a Gold Star wife. And the president of the foundation is so focused on raising the money for this remodel. The official Marine Memorial, dedicated in 1977, is right here in Colorado. And one of the things that you should add into your repertoire to support is the USMC Memorial Foundation. Get more information by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I'm pleased to have on the line with me Amber Todorov, and she is the Deputy Policy Policy Director for Open the Books. And Adam Angieski is the founder of Open the Books, and he passed on suddenly. And all of us, it just broke our hearts. So, Amber, first of all, on the website, you said you're continuing the work that Adam started.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, that's right. Adam was not just the leader of Open the Books and a visionary for the transparency revolution, but he was also a friend to all of his colleagues, just a wonderful boss and just a really good person. And we miss him very much, but the work continues and we have a a new CEO that was named back in November named John Hart, and he's doing a great job so far. And we're just really focused on government efficiency, reducing waste and ending corruption, which we're excited to say that seems to be a very popular sentiment with the incoming administration. So looking forward to doing more work and having more impact this year.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, you were doing Doge before Doge became really, really cool, huh? Yes, indeed. So on the website, openthebooks.com, it is so fascinating because it is, in a way, it's kind of scary, but computers can figure out where you are. And so with Open the Books, They figure out what my location is, or maybe I put it in. But now what comes up is all of these different public entities that are on Open the Books. For example, City of Glendale, City of Golden, City of Greenwood Village, City of Lakewood, City of Littleton. You can go in there, City of Lone Tree, which was where I was a city council member 2012 to 2016. And it sheds light on what these salaries are. It is absolutely fascinating, Amber.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, so it's really exciting. You can choose to share your location with Open the Books, and it'll show you your local government salaries and sometimes checkbooks if they're available. It really came in handy with us the past couple of days as we were looking into the Los Angeles area. and found Karen Bass, the mayor, made about $300,000. And more controversially, their fire chief is making over $400,000 while instituting these problematic policies and DEI that kind of reduced the fire department's ability to actually be helpful.
SPEAKER 15 :
Anything else that you found out about L.A.?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Well, you can look it up on our recent substack, but those are our major findings, and we basically just looked into the salaries of the top officials. For instance, the person in charge of the water is making about $750,000. She comes from the private sector, PG&E, their controversial utilities company, and So it's been quite interesting as we learn more and more about the L.A. fires to see who is in charge, who is making the decisions, how much are they being paid, and what decisions did they actually make that could have adversely impacted the response to this disaster.
SPEAKER 15 :
Wow. And again, so that's OpenTheBooksSubstack.com. And again, all kinds of information there. And the first thing on all this is transparency. And so what you are doing is so important. And what we were going to talk about was all of this DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion at public universities. And there is huge money that you have uncovered regarding this, Amber Todorov.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yes, it's been really interesting. We've been investigating DEI spending and federal funding of universities since 2023. And as the universities have been radicalized and it became more and more clear as these campus takeovers happened in the wake of the attack on Israel, And also in general, just how left-wing these universities have become. So our first investigation showed that the Ivy League schools, plus Stanford and Northwestern, got about $33 billion in federal contracts and grant spending over five years. And in general, they collect more in government funds. tax dollars than they do in tuition, which is also government subsidized, the tuition as well. But we didn't get all into that. But that's just another thing to think about. Not only that, but their endowments are multi, multi billions of dollars. Those 10 schools have $240 billion in endowment and almost no tax on those endowments. So more recently, we started looking at public universities, which are in a lot of ways more important because they serve more people, more ordinary, high-achieving local students. So it's a really big problem. Those students are also getting radicalized, and federal tax dollars are going to that as well. For instance, our recent report on Ohio State shows that about $13 million was spent last year, or in 2023, for 201 employees with DEI-related roles. It's the highest amount that we found in our survey of different public universities, and we found a various problematic courses, including one called Sexualities and Citizenship, a survey of cultural, social, and political issues related to historical and contemporary lesbian experiences in the United States. This stuff is just crazy. And lots of these federal grants are also really kooky and really problematic in terms of what the federal government is supporting in our nation's public schools.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and then it isn't just so, first of all, all this money and it's tax dollars. So it's either being taken from us or also they're printing money, which is our children will have to pay off. But then also there's all this foreign influence as well, right?
SPEAKER 13 :
yeah that's true so there's a lot of foreign donations and it's all reported on the department of education website but no one really looks into this too closely it's not well reported but um we did an analysis that showed a 43 billion dollars have gone from to american universities from foreign sources since 1990. um most of that those dollars or or rather plurality of those dollars, about 25%, come from the Gulf states, so Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. And a significant amount as well comes from China, about $2.8 billion.
SPEAKER 15 :
So this money really affects the curriculum, the agenda. And it used to be that getting a college degree would mean that perhaps you'd get a better job, a better lifestyle. I know that through my – I have another show, America's Veterans Stories, where I interview veterans. I've interviewed many, many veterans. World War II veterans. And when they came back from World War II, the GI Bill, many of them went to college, became engineers, doctors, lawyers, and they'd grown up poor in America. And so this had really given them the opportunity for a better life. And I think that that's many times what we have thought as parents and community members regarding university and colleges. But what we're seeing now, I know so many families that have sent their kids off to school and they've said, I don't know what happened. My kids went away and they had an appreciation for my values and the American idea. And they've come back and they hate what I do. And it's really tragic what's happened with this, Amber.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, it's completely heartbreaking, and it's unacceptable, and there needs to be a huge amount of reform at these universities. And the public universities, especially, because they rely on taxpayer dollars, just think – the tragedy of parents paying through their taxes and tuition the radicalization of their own children. It's really mind-boggling, and it's sad. I went to University of Florida maybe like 15 years ago, and I saw this as well and experienced how the pressure of the universities to turn students into left-wing activists works. Luckily, it didn't work on me. But, yeah, it's really, really sad. And we need to stop subsidizing these universities with our tax dollars.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and then and the first thing, again, Amber, is to do the work that you're doing is open the books is to shed light on this. And then, of course, we need to take action. And what would you say the action is? And I think it is, is that we we really need to stop these government grants from the federal government, not only to universities, but also to local government institutions. and school districts, K-12, and counties and states. I really think, and I know that one of our listeners, Jenny, is going to say, it's basically like crack cocaine for, well, these universities and these other public entities is this money. And we got to get off of it, I think.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, you're completely correct. And I'm really excited about the Doge prospect. I think they're really sincere about ending DEI spending. It's ridiculous that even universities like we see the University of Florida system, which DeSantis has done a wonderful job of trying to de-radicalize DEI. that system and, um, reduce DEI across the board. But even so they got a, they get grants, um, from the federal government that are quite left wing. We have one that we found a project for $300,000 to use poetry writing and poetry analysis to enhance student learning and engineering education. What does that even mean? It's so dumb. Um, and, uh, No doubt it's a very left-wing project as well. We found other grants that are directly using Southern Poverty Law Center's teaching tolerance materials to create a, quote, anti-racist student body. So as PLC is a radical left-wing activist organization, why is the federal government funding the promotion of those materials? It's crazy. And it's not just government spending and government waste for its own sake. It would be one thing, I guess, if they were just taking those billions of dollars and setting them on fire. That would be better than spending – that money to actively harm Americans and American students and society more broadly through this spending.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, let's continue the discussion because you've uncovered things at Northwestern University and University of North Carolina. And so we'll talk about that. I'm talking with Amber Todorov, and she is the deputy policy director, editor for Open the Books. And shedding light on all of this is really the first step. And then, of course, we have to take action. We've got to get our brains around what is going on. And that's what we do at the show. And it happens because of sponsors. So for everything mortgages, reach out to Lorne Levy. He can help you in 49 of the 50 states, just not New York.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
All of Kim's sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Munson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmunson.com. That's kimmunson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
Indeed, it is Friday and welcome back to the Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at Kim Munson dot com as well. 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 shouldn't have to force people to do it. The text line is 720-605-0647. And definitely want to hear from you. Fascinating conversation with Amber Todoroff. She is the Deputy Policy Policy Editor for OpenTheBooks.com. Check out their website, OpenTheBooks.com, and also check out their sub stack at OpenTheBooks. Amber, it wasn't just Ohio State that you found information on. You also have a report revealing... Northwestern University and a lot of money that's come in from foreign entities. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER 13 :
So we have... investigated Northwestern as well. It's a major university and it's famously rocked by protests, pro-Hamas protests after the Israeli attack by Hamas on October 7th. And what we found was some pretty interesting things regarding foreign funding. One of the biggest funders is Qatar. And so they got about... $700,000 since 2007. And a lot of these are actually funding for scholarships for Qatari students to attend Northwestern.
SPEAKER 15 :
And how much, again, clarify, how much was that again, Amber?
SPEAKER 13 :
Nearly $700,000.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. That seems like chump change compared to all these bigger numbers that you're talking about.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, of course. I mean, $700,000 is not a lot of money in real terms, but we also have to consider, you know, they're using these as scholarships to take places for students, like American students that could have attended there and also students We have to think about the radicalizing effect of just getting any amount of money from foreign countries that are sometimes adversarial to our interests and how that could affect the administration and the temperature at Northwestern if they want to remain receptive to that sort of funding, which universities always want more funding. So we have to think about their motivations as well.
SPEAKER 15 :
So during break, producer Joe, who's 26, he made the comment when you had mentioned that $43 billion has come in to universities since – and is this public universities since 1999 from the Gulf states and from China? And Joe said – Go ahead.
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, sorry. Go ahead. It's all universities, including private universities.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. So still $43 billion. And Joe said, aren't those, isn't that our enemies? And I thought, well, that's a pretty good point. Right, Amber?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, it is a good point. And they're not just ideological enemies, but it's also a problem in terms of protecting our intellectual property at these universities, especially as we've already discussed, because the federal taxpayers are also funding this research and these universities. So when China... gives money to the universities and expects their scholars to join at the universities or to lead projects or to do, like, joint projects with the universities because of this money, we have to be very careful and think about how this could affect our intellectual property and our own interest in keeping that safe and also, of course, the radicalizing notions of having that influence in our universities. Wow.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, Amber, another thing. In this DEI that we're talking about, diversity, equity, and inclusion, initially it sounds good. We are a diverse nation. And The equity thing, that's a word that we've really unpacked is do you want equity and opportunity or equity and outcomes? And this seems to be equity and outcomes. So what that means is that you have really a race to mediocrity. And inclusion, of course, we all like to be included in things now. We're social animals and we like to be included. It's not fun to be excluded. But as we've really unpacked this word that we've realized, it really is Marxism, quite frankly. And also social emotional learning. That is another... Those are code words we need to be really careful of. And the idea that we are using our own money to... push an ideology that wants to basically destroy America is pretty shocking, quite frankly.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, it's real shocking. And, you know, even the mainstream media is starting to catch on. One of the biggest spenders on DEI in the United States in terms of universities is the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. And there was just a big report in The New York Times, of all places, about how their extreme DEI curriculum and atmosphere is making the campuses less tolerant and students more stressed out because they become hyper-focused. on identifying microaggressions and like supposed racisms and just these oppressor and oppressed narratives makes them very sensitive and very on edge. It's completely unnecessary and it's wrong. And last year, we also published an interesting, very long report on DEI, social emotional learning at the Department of Defense Pentagon Schools. These are K through 12, but it's the same sad story. And And it goes more into the SEL aspect as well and how that can be a vehicle for left wing radicalism.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, Amber, the work that you're doing is making a difference. Yes. And of course, you'd appreciate support from people as well, right?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, that would be great. If you are interested in our work, check us out at OpenTheBooks.com. You can sign up for our sub stack as well. It's free. You'll be the first person to see all of our investigations and also our Twitter account is very active as posting the latest news that we find and the data that we have. And, of course, if you see anything interesting or want us to check out from your own local data, feel free to drop us a line. Our contact information is on our website, OpenTheBooks.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and to that point, Amber, when I was looking at my area, the city of Lone Tree was not on Open the Books. And so I asked you all if you would check into that. And now it is. It took a little bit of time. But you have such a vast... amount of information at Open the Books. And we've got a couple of minutes left. And I'm going to bet you said you went to school 15 years ago, so you're probably in your 30s. And are you encouraged about getting all this turned around?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, I'm 32 years old, and I'm super excited to get this turned around. University of Florida was a wonderful place to learn. It was pretty radical back then, and I'm sure universities have only gotten a lot worse since then. I graduated in 2015. So we need to... make the universities just a learning environment, make it people excited to be Americans and to go out into the American economy and contribute afterwards and be well equipped to do so. And these investigations and transparency from the universities can help Do that by pointing out the problem areas where reform can be taken both at the federal and the state level. So we're super excited for what's to come. And also, I should add, there is going to be a very big report from open the books in the next couple of weeks. looking at a survey of different public universities beyond Ohio State and other things that we've reported and it'll be a really interesting compendium and I hope if you guys subscribe you'll see it and I'm sure you'll find it very interesting.
SPEAKER 15 :
Great. And we have like 13 seconds left, but we have this question and asking if these classes, these wild classes that you're mentioning, are they core classes or were they electives?
SPEAKER 13 :
So that's an interesting question. A lot of them are departmental specific classes, but I agree. It is a huge problem in terms of some of these universities adding core classes that are extremely left-wing in nature that nobody should be taking, but everyone is forced to take no matter their major. But it's something that we should look into more. I agree. It's an interesting question.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, Amber, this has been so great. Thank you so much. We'll stay in touch. We want to get you back on very soon. Thank you. Thanks a lot, Kim. Check out OpenTheBooks.com. The quote for the end of the show is from Thucydides. He said this, The secret to happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage. So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you're not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 11 :
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 Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 15 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 03 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 15 :
I don't think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can't understand that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 15 :
And it's not fair just because you're a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn't.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 15 :
Indeed, let's have a conversation. And welcome to our number two of the Kim Munson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You're each treasured, you're valued, you have purpose. Today's drive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And 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 Friday, Producer Joe. Happy Friday, Kim. And that first hour was super interesting, I thought, with Amber Todorov with the Open the Books and all of this money, just money, money, money that's gone to these universities from taxpayers and also from foreign entities. Many of them are enemies that have been used to indoctrinate our children. We scratch our heads and wonder what has happened. And then, of course, these kids have taken out student loans online. also uh and you can see it's just money money money and then these kids get out of college they're faced with all of these student loans and then and the oh biden harris administration had said that they were going to forgive those loans well they can't do that but this is this is quite the thing producer joe this is i don't even know what to say exactly Whoops, I threw it over to Joe and I bet he's being that happens sometimes when I throw it over. He's being sidetracked on things. So with that, this is it's quite the scheme. I guess I will just say that. So let's go ahead and get into some of these things. First of all, thank you to Laramie Energy and for their gold sponsorship of the show. It's reliable, efficient, affordable and abundant power from oil, natural gas and coal. that powers our lives and fuels our hopes and dreams. That industry has been under attack in the culture, in legislation, rules, and regulations. Ultimately, what that means is our everyday prosperity is under attack. And that's why we do the show, is to... to shed light on this, to think about these issues, kick the tires on these ideas. And so be sure and check out our website. That is kimmunson.com. And again, thank you to all of you. I greatly appreciate you. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at kim at kimmunson.com. The text line is 720-605-0647. And thank you to all of you who support us. And you can hear the show 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon, second hour 10 to 11 at night. And that's on all KLZ platforms, which is KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. And we look at these issues and search for truth and clarity and look at these through this lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Ultimately, socialism is not about free stuff. It ultimately comes down to force because it's a bad idea. If something's a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. Our word of the day and your challenge is to use these words in a sentence. The word is repugnant. It's R-E-P-U-G-N-A-N-T. And the first definition could be arousing disgust or aversion, could be offensive or repulsive. Number two, it could be contradictory or inconsistent. Or number three, disposed to fight against. So it's hostile or at war with. And there's a lot of, well, a couple of things. I will say with the conversation with Amber Totoroff with Open the Books, I find it repugnant. that these universities are taking all of this money to push forward agendas that are really many of them bent on tearing down our country. And she mentioned a number of the students are anxious. And apparently there is a book out called The Anxious Generation. And at church the other day, they said that they're going to address this. They're going to actually have a series on the anxious generation. And I hope I can work it into my schedule to attend that because all of this money has occurred to make many of our young people very anxious. And so we want to stay on top of all that. But your word of the day is repugnant. Try to use that in a sentence today. And then our quote of the day, it's Friday, so it's from the Center for American Values Medal of Honor quote book. Be sure and check out AmericanValuesCenter.org. They are going to have a very important event regarding the USS Pueblo, remembering it, and Bob Chica, who was on that USS Pueblo, which was captured by the North Koreans during the Vietnam War and held for years. as prisoners for over a year. And they're going to tell that story. And Bob Chica will be the presenter at their On Values presentation on January 23rd. So get more information about that by going to AmericanValuesCenter.org. So the quote is from Leo K. Thorsness, United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient. He was born in 1932. He died in 2017. And this was for actions that he took on April 19, 1967. And he was shot down two weeks later and he was in a prison camp for six years. And this was his quote. As a six year prisoner of war, I learned that freedom is our most important commodity. We keep it through personal responsibility. Freedom is the flip side of responsibility. And so great quote there. It's Friday, so what that means is it's a Jim May Friday. You know him, Cattleman. Jim May with Lavaca Meat Company. Jim, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good morning, Kim. It's good to be with you today. Can you hear me all right?
SPEAKER 15 :
I've got you. It sounds loud and clear, which is great, and great to see you yesterday as well.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was a nice visit. I enjoyed the crowd down there at Hooters, and we enjoyed It was good to be with you, and I'm cranked up to go for a new year here, and a lot of good things happening, and I'm excited about 2025.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I am as well, but one of the things that we talked about yesterday is our concern regarding these fires in California. What's your thoughts about that, Jim?
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, your word of the day here is repugnant, and I look at some of the things that have happened with The woke left. You know, I'm not blaming it all on them. I understand. I've been hailed out. I've been blown out by tornadoes and all kinds of things. And I understand that part of it. But, you know, they broke about five or six reservoirs open and let all the water run to the ocean because of a little bitty fish. It's so silly. When they needed the water around them, they didn't have it. And it's just some of these things are just common sense. And Trump identified this way back in 17. You're doing this wrong. You're going to get in trouble. And so many of the things that he's identified have come to pass. You know, we started out with all these things about you're going to let everybody in this country, you're going to get some bad apples. And we've seen what's happened there and on and on and on. And I think the American public, I don't care if you're red, blue or what, but you're recognizing this. And we had a mandate and we had elections. And I just hope Judge Marchand is getting ready to sentence Trump here just in a few minutes. And I guess they just don't listen because all he's doing is making the judicial system look bad. A kangaroo court, I can find 12 people that can vote for something on his books that wasn't right and call it a felony and do that 34 times. And so now the President of the United States, the highest position in our land, is going to be you know, sworn in as a convicted felon. And you've really done a great thing for our country because it's all a joke.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and I checked – yeah, I checked that out, Jim, because I was wondering, because that's the narrative. They want to say 34 counts. He was convicted of 34 counts. But then when I looked at it, what it was is it was a bookkeeping entry to request like an invoice, and then the check was issued, and then the accounting entry. And that's what those 34 counts are. And we are in quite a – quite a dangerous position if the future president of the United States can be convicted of accounting crimes, like accounting alleged crimes, I would say. And so this is going to be a very interesting day, don't you think?
SPEAKER 06 :
It is. And it really is pretty sad for our country. I don't think anybody should be proud of what's happened here. And all I'm saying is there are folks You know, they say nobody's above the law. Well, you know, Hunter Biden must be above the law. I guess George Soros, all those people we hung the medal of the presidential medal of honor around their neck. And now we've pardoned all these, you know, thousands of people that are just criminals to our country. They came in here and and get Mo and they're all off the hook. So there are people in this country that are above the law, unfortunately. What I've seen in the last, like I said, what I've seen here in the last couple months of this administration is repugnant. And I think a lot of people would agree with me.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I think that is true. And I'm excited about 2025. We all have a responsibility that we are engaged in government. And in fact, I had this quote that producer Steve had given me. Let me see if I can find this. Because I think a lot of people in California, these fires are experiencing this. And this was from a... Martha Gellhorn, American novelist, writer, and journalist, born in 1908. She died in 1998. And this is what she said. She said, I think that there are those in California that may have been very supportive of these blue policies, maybe rethinking their non-action in politics with what's happening out there, Jim.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and that's what I like about the Kim Munson show is because you're somebody that stands up, talks about it, does something about it, and that's really the reason I'm on this radio spot. We sell 10,000 times more meat to the public in another way than a little meat store. But it's a chance to voice some of these things. And we need to get out there and talk about it. We need to say some things because, you know, the media is still not learning from what, you know, they need to look at what's happened here and be a little smarter than what they are. And some people are coming around, I think, I think Facebook's coming around. Obviously, Elon with what he did with Twitter. You know, it's getting through. You're getting things done, Kim, in your way, and I hope you keep working at it, and I'll support you in everything you're doing.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, Jim, I so appreciate it. And let's just talk a little bit about the Lavaca meet. And I know one of our listeners gave me a personal testimonial. She typically sends her brother-in-law a different message. meat box during christmas but has gotten to know you through the show and so she got a levaca meat box as fillets that was sent to her brother-in-law and he said it is true it is really the steakhouse experience at home and it is a premium product and it is worth every penny of it And so you're located at Lavaca in Maine, in Old Littleton, and would highly recommend that people, for a real treat, check that out. One other thing, when we met yesterday, you weren't sure you were going to have a cowboy poem today. You thought maybe you might write one last night. Do you have a poem for us today or not?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I've substituted something. I had Imogene pull something off a plaque on my wall in my office that was done a long time ago. And actually, it became a cowboy poem later on, but it's growing up with, we call them dad-isms, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dad-isms are things that my father said, and I know you're from my part of the world and understand simple ranch folk and how they think and talk. So I'm going to do that in just a minute. I appreciate the comments on the Lavaca meat, and I've gotten several of them. And Brad Becker, you had on the other day, just sent me a nice note as well. And I've had, you know, I get a little exposure here. I wish you could see my text line sometime, and I'm very appreciative of. I know we have a product. Our goal here is to give people the very best. It's as simple as that. You cannot hardly buy the steaks that Morton's or Cap Grill or, you know, Shanahan's can buy. That's part of our world. We get paid a lot more for that meat, and we're proud of that. But that's what goes to the steakhouses. And so we put that in our store for you folks to come in and barbecue sometime or throw one on the broiler in your oven. It's going to taste excellent. We keep it frozen and we tell you to let it thaw out at room temperature or use cold water if you need to. But you're going to experience the steakhouse thing. And if you really don't want to go out and do all the other things and you're going to pay for the ambiance and the drinks and all the other things that you do. And I hope you go to a steakhouse too, but there's a chance to go buy a really good piece of meat. It's kind of for the money, and it really is a value when you know what the system is. I hope, and if you come in our store, I hope maybe you just say, hey, I'm listening to the cowboy pull out there and want to buy some meat. And let us know if this is having an effect on you. I hope it is. But I'll tell Harley and Steve and Jerry to monitor this a little bit. We're hoping that this is something that's working. And if you can't come to the store, we can check us out at LavacaMeats.com.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Well, definitely, LavacaMeatCompany.com. And what is your poem today?
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. It's not really a poem. These are the top ten classic quotes of my dad. It's more of a kind of a growing up experience and some of the things said out there in the world and out there in the farm world. So my dad was born in 25, and what brought this about was I was watching Jimmy Carter's funeral, and I realized that he was born in 25 also. My dad would be 100 years old today. Actually, he's been gone since 2013. But proud of the way we grew up. And this little list, this is like the David Letterman show. You remember that, where they had the top ten list? I do. And he started his show. So I pulled out one of those, and it begins and ends on the same thing. For a young man, the best thing, you don't learn anything when you're talking. Listen and listen and think and keep your mouth shut most of the time as you're growing up and try to, and that's what, that's something we, these are things we've lived by. These are the top 10 classic quotes of my dad.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Number 10, if you ain't got something smart to say, shut up. Number nine, 50 years ago, we used to work like hell. Number eight, either stop working and start drinking or Or stop drinking and start working. Don't try to do both. Number seven. The whole family laughed at this. Who stole my jumper cables? Okay. Number six. It's one mile to the feedlot. You guys go full blast halfway and you slam on your brakes the other half. Number five. If I couldn't grow a better beard than that, I don't believe I'd try. Number four, if you never tell a lie, you won't have to try to remember what you said. Number three, it's almost six. What are you guys going to do, sleep all day? Number two, that red sign, don't say slow down. It says stop. And the number one thing, never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut. Oh, my gosh, Jim. The classic sayings of my father in a growing-up world out on the range in eastern Colorado. So I'm sharing that with you today.
SPEAKER 15 :
I love it. So, Jim May, thank you. Lavaca Meat Company, check out lavacameatcompany.com, or lavacameat.com, I think it is. And we'll talk to you next week.
SPEAKER 05 :
Always good to be with you guys. Happy New Year. Let's have a great 2025.
SPEAKER 15 :
I really appreciate that. And yes, 2025, we're looking into 2025 with anticipation and hope. And I know all my sponsors and none of them are DEI sponsors, which is the race to mediocrity, which we're seeing with these DEI hires out in Los Angeles. They all strive for excellence. And one of those great sponsors. sponsors is the roger mangan state farm insurance team and they've been in business for 48 years because they strive for excellence take care of their clients he's taking care of his family and his community so give them a call for a complimentary appointment you might be able to save some money and also understand your insurance coverage 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 Mangin now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 18 :
You'd like to get in touch with one of the sponsors of The Kim Munson Show, but you can't remember their phone contact or website information. Find a full list of advertising partners on Kim's website, kimmunson.com. That's Kim, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's right!
SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMunson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. 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. Pleased to have on the line with me, Bonnie Brown. She is the Executive Director of the Colorado Wool Growers Association and Got to know her during the November election as we were shedding light on just how terrible a couple of these ballot initiatives were in Denver regarding shutting down meat processing in Denver city limits. And Denver... It's been known as a cow town. And then also to try to eliminate the sale of any fur products in Denver. Both of those fortunately were defeated and really learned a lot from the interviews with Bonnie Brown. So, Bonnie, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks, Kim, for having me back. Appreciate the opportunity to be here again.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and we haven't really congratulated each other on the fact that those two really terrible initiatives in Denver were voted down. And I'm so pleased. I was very concerned about those, Bonnie Brown.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, you know, just a lot of hard work from the ag community involved. on that, getting the word out. And really great to see that Denver voters recognized the damage that would have been caused by that and the ulterior motives of the group that was pushing that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and so we have this issue that did get through the ballot box, and that was the reintroduction of wolves on the west side of the Continental Divide. And it was really probably... approved by many of the voters in the urban area of Denver and Boulder. And I've said, if the people of Denver and Boulder wanted wolves in Colorado, then they should have voted to put them in their own backyard instead of somebody else's backyard. But they are in the backyard of our farmers and ranchers on the Western slope. Of course, those wolves are moving around as well, Bonnie.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know, in the, in the time that this has started when they've got paws on the ground, um, Wolves have killed about 30 head of cattle, 12 sheep, three dogs, and one llama. That's just what's confirmed. That's not the livestock that's missing. And, you know, an interesting comparison is we've had more depredation in Colorado in less than one year with the release of 10 wolves than the entire state of Montana has had in the last year with a population of over 1,000 wolves. And that's largely due to the fact that Colorado Parks and Wildlife's brought in wolves from Oregon that already had a history of killing livestock. And that was explicitly stated in the state management plan that they were not supposed to bring in wolves that had a history of depredation. So it's just been basically an unmitigated train wreck. This fiasco has cost about $5 million to date through the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Association. That doesn't include the money spent by the Colorado Department of Agriculture or the money that's been donated by NGOs.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and it looks like, at least from headlines that I'm seeing, that Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which are the appointees on that board that lead that department, are those POLA's appointees or who are they exactly?
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, so the Colorado Parks and Wildlife is our state game agency that manages wildlife. But their regulations have to go through the Wildlife Commission. And that board is really, at this point, unfortunately, heavily influenced by our governor. Those appointees to the Wildlife Commission, they do have to be confirmed by the state senate. But what we've really seen since the Polis administration is him stacking people on that commission that are very, you know, anti-agriculture, anti-traditional hunting. Landowners are a big component of wildlife farming. management in our state because we have so much of the habitat, in particular the crucial winter habitat. So we've always worked closely with what was formerly Colorado Parks and Wildlife. We used to be Colorado Division of Wildlife. It was combined years ago when the Parks Department was in trouble, and now we're all in trouble because the focus has shifted away from traditional management models on game management and really trying to throw the landowners under the bus.
SPEAKER 15 :
So there has been the depredation, you said the confirmed depredation. It's probably a lot more than that, that lambs and calves and cattle, and you said there were dogs and llama, and that's just really more the domesticated animals as well. I imagine there's been a lot of depredation in the deer and elk community area as well, correct? Correct.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and, you know, that was one of the really upsetting things about Prop 114 when it passed in 2020 is in the blue book, voters didn't see any impacts to what would happen to our big game herds. And that was an interesting process to really be invested in trying to get the language in the blue book so it would accurately reflect the impacts of this ballot initiative. And it wasn't. It clearly ignored impacts to our big game herds. Our outfitters out there, you know, they're an important part of Colorado, too, and they were completely ignored during this process.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and this whole Blue Book process, because I've been involved in trying to submit information or copy that's going to be in there, and it is a bit of a political game, just what even gets into the Blue Book, Bonnie Browne.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know what it is. And that's really disappointing to me because prior to being so wrapped around the axle on these issues, you know, I thought that was like the authoritative guide. And so many of our voters just look solely to that. Well, the fiscal note in 2020 in the blue book, I think estimated the cost of Wolf introduction through 2024 would be $1.6 million. We've already exceeded, I think, $5 million cost on this program.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and that is why I decided to start to do my voter's guide back in 2016 or so. And we ended up with our voter's guide because we really try to bring truth to this. I give the actual ballot question. Well, the ballot question and then all of the background on that as well. You're not just voting on what's on that ballot question. There is a lot of other things that you're voting on. You need to know all of that. And then I will give an opinion and my reasoning. And then hopefully people have information and they will make their own decision. And we had, oh, gosh, I think we had over 60,000 page views on the website and over 6,500 downloads on our voters guide, which I think really made a difference regarding these issues, Bonnie Brown.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know, that's such an important tool to be able to fight, you know, the sound bites. in misinformation and outright lies that we see on social media. You know, we, unfortunately, you know, we both know that people get a lot of information off their little Facebook, you know, bites and stuff. And, People really have to do their due diligence. And so, you know, I would just reinforce that with listeners that the Blue Book is a good document, but you have to go beyond that to research these issues to understand the impacts of what you're voting on.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, it is really important that we understand what we are voting on. I'm talking with Bonnie Brown. She is the executive director of the Colorado Wool Growers Association. And we're talking about wolves. There's been many things that are being introduced in our society that ultimately limit our food supply. And we in the urban area have taken for granted abundant and affordable food at the grocery store. And we've got to make sure that we protect those that feed and fuel us. And that's why we have these important discussions. Before we go to break, I did want to mention the Center for American Values. I may have done that already, but check out. They're going to have a really important event on Monday. January 23rd on an On Values presentation regarding the USS Pueblo. And Bob Chica was on the USS Pueblo. They were taken prisoner by the North Koreans. You know what? Maybe I want to make sure that I got that right. It was either the North Vietnamese or the North Koreans. And they were prisoners for over... And you can get the correct information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. And all of this happens because of our sponsors for everything residential real estate. Reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at Kim at KimMunson.com as well. 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 regarding that event at the Center for American Values in Pueblo, on January 23rd. It was the USS Pueblo on January 23, 1968, was captured by the North Koreans. And the crew was held captive for over a year. And one of those crew members will be presenting on January 23rd down at the Center for American Values. And that is Bob Chica. You can get more information by going to AmericanValuesCenter.org. On the line with me is Bonnie Brown. She is the executive director of the Colorado Wool Growers Association. And, Bonnie, we've been talking about this wolf reintroduction. And as I think people are understanding what this is really doing is I think the wolf was romanticized by those that were pushing that wolf. and now I've seen pictures of carcasses of lambs and calves that have been attacked. And so people, I think Coloradans might be up for repealing that. And so there might be some action going on on that, yes?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, there has been a title filed on that, but I would say on that, you know... Beware of unintended consequences. So that would go through in 2026. By that time, we're probably going to have 40 to 50 wolves on the ground already. And so our statutory funding language is also linked to to Prop 114. So if that's repealed, so is your statutory obligation for funding compensation. And they're already going to have wolves on the ground. We're going to have more wolves through migration and more wolves through reproduction. So again, that's one of those things people really need to be educated on. Initially, it sounds really good on the surface, but there needs to be a lot further discussion on that issue.
SPEAKER 15 :
I always hear the term stakeholders. Well, I think the stakeholders in this really are probably the farmers and ranchers. So are the farmers and ranchers, and you mentioned also the outfitters, do they have a seat at the table on this conversation?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, interestingly enough, the... individuals that filed that haven't reached out to any of the major stakeholders on this, which are your big landowner livestock organizations. And I'm not as tied into the sportsman groups, but I think they were taken by surprise on this as well. So again, I think something very well intended. But if you look at the timeframe, if you look at the statutory language, I think there's some concerns there.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 16 :
The other thing about that, I just want to mention quickly, a repeal does not compel CPW to go out and remove those wolves that have already been released. They're still going to be on the landscape.
SPEAKER 15 :
And aren't those wolves also, I think I remember legislation last year that really protected them, protected wolves, I think. Do you remember that?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, there was a lot of things going on, and there still is. But what One thing that got put in place was the federal 10-J designation, which is an ESA designation. That's actually a positive. It declared the Colorado... Wolf population is non-essential experimental, which through the federal ESA process enabled lethal take for depredating wolves. But POLIS got in the middle of that. I mean, POLIS is not going to let CPW go out and depredate. kill depredating wills. We've already seen that with the Copper Creek Pack that should have been clearly eliminated early last year and would have eliminated all this livestock loss that we've not nearly all the livestock loss that got claimed in 2024. But Polis wouldn't let CPW do their job. Wow. So there's a lot of moving parts, both federal and state on this issue.
SPEAKER 15 :
So do you anticipate any changes with the Trump administration coming in?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I know, you know, it's likely that federally wolves will get delisted in the lower 48, which is a good thing because they've been recovered for decades. We will still, if that does happen, we'll still have all the state restrictions here in Colorado and probably litigation ad nauseum on wolves. You know, we've seen that in the other states, just decades of litigation by the pro-wolf groups. And, you know, if it's OK, quickly, I'd like to talk about the non-lethal hoax for a few minutes, because that's something that I think most people clearly don't understand.
SPEAKER 15 :
I remember that piece of legislation. Yes, definitely.
SPEAKER 16 :
So one of the things that's really pitched through CPW and Department of Ag and by the wolf advocates is if you use all these non-lethal methods, wolves won't kill livestock. Well, we've clearly seen that fail already in the first 24 months. But I went to Arizona. to a range rider program about two months ago to go through their range rider program and talk about non-lethals. And one of the things that CPWs, you know, pitched through their workshop is, you know, if you teach cattle to stand quietly, they won't stampede away from the wolves and we can all hold hands and life will be wonderful. Well, Arizona Ranch down there that has incurred a lot of Depredation, clearly told me they've had more mama cows killed by wolves that have stood their ground and fought to protect their calves than any of their cattle that have got spooked and run from wolves. So, you know, the point is with that story is non-lethals, they might have a short timeframe where they work, but wolves quickly get habituated to them. And wolves will come in and kill livestock anyway. But there's really this narrative statewide that, oh, if you just use non-lethal control, we don't have to shoot wolves and they won't kill cattle or sheep. And it's just patently false.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I think there was a piece of legislation last year, because as I'm president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, which is an all-volunteer group, that we watch legislation that is scheduled for hearing for the next week. And I remember a piece of legislation that I think was signed into law by Polis, designating some of these officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife that would go out, and they were like non-lethal officers. officers or something, and I thought, wow, that's almost crazy. Do you remember that one?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, yeah. Both Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Ag, they're working jointly to implement programs where they're going to have range riders and have additional funding for non-lethal animals. And again, it can work for a short time. But one other thing in particular for the sheep ranchers that they're asking is that we night pin our sheep. Well, when you're on a summer allotment in the national forest, I mean, you really have to watch your forage management so you're not trampling down your forage. It's impractical to put up electric fencing every night. Can you imagine trying to string up fencing through the oak brush in Denver? You know, recreationalists get mad if they see you out on a meadow in an open area with, you know, a few head of livestock. But yet now we have government agencies, state agencies saying, trying to dictate to us on federal Forest Service allotments how we manage our livestock, and that's in direct conflicts with these allotment management plans that we do with the Forest Service or BLM that closely monitor forage management so you're not in effect overgrazing. But now the wolf advocates in the state agencies want us to bunch up our livestock, trample forage because there's wolves on the ground.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and one other, forage management done properly, I would think, would help prevent grass fires and forest fires, yes? Yes.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, we've worked for decades on good management programs where you do have your livestock dispersed across the landscape. And we know this from livestock producers in other states. Once you get wolves on the ground, whether it's cattle or sheep, they really want to bunch up. They don't want to move. They don't want to go out and graze. And they stand there and trample the forage. And if you look at, you know, there's been a lot of information released in the media right now about those several big livestock claims that were filed through the Wolf Program, you know, the $580,000 in losses. And when you're looking at loss of weight, which I think is one of the things they filed on, their weaning weights on their calves were a lot lighter. It's because those cattle aren't out. They're not grazing. They're not utilizing that pasture and eating. They're bunched up and scared because they've got wolves in the area.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. So Bonnie Brown, this was from one of our listeners, came in on the text line, says, the wolves they're giving us are northern Canadian timber wolves. They're not the prairie wolf that was indigenous to the United States. So I guess there's different species, I guess, of wolves as well. Wow.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, that's a great comment. I mean, we're getting much larger wolves than we've had here historically. We have less habitat for them. Our guardian dogs that we use, when they come up against wolves, they lose. They're supposed to be out there protecting against bears and lions and coyotes, which they can do quite effectively. But you have these big wolves come in and start to attack livestock, and guardian dogs go out there, and typically they get killed when they're trying to protect their livestock.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, my gosh. This is another thing that came in on the text line. Is it possible to decouple wildlife from the parks?
SPEAKER 16 :
You know what? I wish it was. I was adamantly opposed. I know that the livestock, at least Colorado Wool Growers Association, I believe some of the other livestock associations, we opposed that years ago when parks was put together with wildlife because of budgetary issues. And it's been a terrible, terrible mistake to do that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. Bonnie Brown, it's totally fascinating. Your final thought, and I imagine you're getting very excited about the National Western.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, that's always a great event to have in the state, especially this year after defeating the slaughter ban. So, you know, what we just need on the wolf issue, citizens going to these wildlife commissions and just injecting some common sense into these crazy activist comments that we're hearing on wolves.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay. And where's the place people should do that? Is there a website?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, they can go to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission page on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, great.
SPEAKER 16 :
And I can send you the link for that.
SPEAKER 15 :
That would be great. Bonnie Brown, thank you so much, and thank you for all that you are doing, because we really do, I do appreciate an abundant and affordable food source. So thank you so much. Thanks, Kim. And for everything, if you've ever been injured, be sure and reach out to John Boson and Boson Law.
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SPEAKER 15 :
it is friday welcome back to the kim munson show check out our website that's kim munson m-o-n-s-o-n.com sign up for our weekly email newsletter you can email me at kim kimmunson.com as well thank you to all of you who support us we're an independent voice we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force force versus freedom if something's a good idea you should not have to force people to do it and nonprofit i dearly love is the usmc memorial foundation And they're raising money for the remodel of the Marine Memorial, which is here in Colorado. And so we as Coloradans need to support that. And I would really recommend that you put that on your repertoire to support in 2025. You can get more information by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. Text line 720-605-0647. We're going to try to get through some of these texts here. First one, this is from Susan talking about President Trump, his sentencing today for the criminal actions which are accounting crimes. accounting entries and she said this she said the real issue is it's just shows that they can come after any of us for an accounting entry error and some of that is all how that issue is perceived and so that is very very wise let's see next thing here Holly, if large livestock are afraid of the wolves, what about the rest of wildlife that the wolves are probably also absolutely decimating? Large Canadian wolves are going to completely upset the ecosystem in Colorado, and possibly this is done with intent. I think very, very possibly that they know what the results will be of this. Let's see. Next thing. Okay, here we go. This is from a listener said when the Cameron Peak and Alexander the Storm Mountain fires came close in Larimer County, it was terrifying. And our listener said the first thing that she did was called her elderly neighbors to make sure they knew the fires were moving so fast and asked if they had a place to go. She said, I started packing all of the important documents, family photos and keepsakes. I'm thinking that Roger and I should do something, Roger Mang on emergency situation. I think that is really a good idea. And we talked a little bit about it with Brad Beck yesterday because he'd been in an earthquake in California. And we all need to be prepared. We don't look to the government to save us. because it's just individuals. And we can see what's happening with the mismanagement in California, the blowing up of dams, there's not water available, turning on fire hydrants and there's no water there. And I think people are having their eyes wide open. They're becoming wide open on just how this can be so incompetent. And this whole global warming thing regarding wanting to make sure that we care about our air and our earth. Just think about what is happening to the air in California right now with all of the brush and the trees and the buildings and the homes that are going up in smoke. And just think what that is doing for air quality there. So this is all about control. It's all about anti-human flourishing. And so that's why we need to stay informed on all this. And do check out a climate conversation dot com. because there's a lot of great information there. Let's see if I can get through. Let's see here. Gammy, listen to the governor's State of the Union speech. It was very eye-opening and alarming. And I need to listen to that as well, so I'll need to debrief with her on that. But we really are, we have those in government, PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties that are pushing And people do not do well under Marxism. In fact, people starve. But they're equal in their starvation, which is what the problem is. And of course, the elites then, they want to have everything for themselves. See if I can get any more text messages in here. Hold on just quickly. Colorado, this is from another listener, said that they heard that they're planning on introducing It wolves into Colorado for the next 10 to 15 years. Wow. And then also a listener said, yay for Lavaca Meat Company. She's going to stop by today. So I thank all of you and I wish you a great weekend. Our quote for the end of the show, I was looking for courage quotes, and this is from Thucydides. He said this, the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage. And 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. And we'll talk to you on Monday.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 11 :
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.
God has blessed our nation abundantly. Yet we have turned away from God and divine establishment principles. We’ve taken our eyes off the Giver and are focused on the gifts, and we’ve become an arrogant nation. Our nation is involved in a lot of sin. Dishonesty, hypocrisy, and greed have become the norm. “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord” (Jer 17:5). The Bible warns us we can’t change anyone but ourselves. That’s where it starts. We need to be spiritual influencers if our nation has any chance of recovering.
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/national-arrogance-dc7f09
