HR1 Encore Presentation of December 12, 2024 (1-2-25) by John Rush
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 03 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, sir. You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 09 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 15 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 14 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Happy Thursday, everybody. Welcome Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Hope you guys have all had a great week up to this point. Dr. Kelly Victory joining us now. Let me bring her up as well as Steve House. But Dr. Kelly, how are you to start off with?
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm doing great. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'm skating right into the big holiday season.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, man, it is coming fast. Steve House as well. Welcome, sir.
SPEAKER 15 :
I'm doing well, too, except for I kind of threw up on my mouth a little bit a little bit ago when Biden gave the mRNA vaccine manufacturers liability protection until 2029 today. Some of my Thanksgiving dinner came back. Otherwise, it was pretty good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Until 2029. In other words, I guess what he's planning on is somebody else besides a Republican winning in 2028, therefore never having any issues there. Is that what his thought process is?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, when you really think about this, I don't know if this was on our agenda, but we saw two things this week. That happened, and then the PBM legislation to try to, you know, de-link it from drug pricing, which would have done so much for the American people. And that bill basically is dead at the moment, even though it has bipartisan support. It's never going to make it through the process, and that's... Because the pharma industry is so damn strong, and $29 million of the lobbying effort, and they've slowed it to the point where it's just not going to make it, and that's insane based on what it does for us.
SPEAKER 03 :
And for those that maybe are tuning in for the first time, Dr. Kelly Victory, she's been with us for a very, very long time over. I guess we're going on five years now since COVID. Steve House has been with us for much longer than I've been talking to Steve on air for 10 years plus. And Steve was instrumental in having Dr. Kelly join us on a weekly basis long ago. Dr. Kelly, really quick, though, for folks that maybe don't understand all of the acronyms and things that Steve just mentioned to go explain that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, with regard to giving liability protection to the mRNA vaccines, I think that that is absolute insanity. First of all, you're giving a pardon or giving liability protection to something. That hasn't been charged yet. We've been seeing a lot of that lately. I'm hopeful that we will sidestep around that particular, quote, liability protection by eliminating mRNA technology entirely or taking it off the market until it's ready for primetime, which it's not at this point. And I think that that's my biggest takeaway from all of this. I think we are seeing a doubling down of the Biden administration trying to hand out passes to everybody and their brother. And it's happening certainly very much with those people who are involved in the COVID debacle. It remains to be seen whether or not any of this actually holds up or is deemed to be even constitutional.
SPEAKER 03 :
Makes total sense. No, go ahead, Steve. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 13 :
Jump in. I'm sorry. You were also asking about the PBM issue. Yes. Yes. The PBM, a pharmacy benefit manager, is what we refer to colloquially as, quote, the middleman. They are the people who sort of broker the deals, if you will, between the pharmaceutical companies and those agencies that actually sell or provide the drugs, whether it's a doctor's office or a hospital or the government. They are a middleman. They are a broker. It would be known in any other industry as racketeering. The middlemen essentially take a piece of the action. It's a pay-to-play scheme. They say to the pharmaceutical companies, if you give us a kickback, we'll get you the big juicy contract at UnitedHealthcare or at Hospital ABC or for the Department of Defense. It is racketeering by any other name, and it's something that I'm hoping that Bobby Kennedy Jr. will absolutely eradicate, ultimately, because, as Steve said, it is the single biggest cost driver for pharmaceuticals.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, let's talk about that for just one moment. Sorry, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
Go ahead. Just one comment, and that is, I really believe that Biden did this pardon because, you know, the pharma industry is a huge donor. But I think the other reason why he did it is they're afraid that Kennedy is going to release all of the information from the trials. And you know what? They can't stop him from doing this just by this. What they can do, though, is they're going to be dealing with an American public that's going to hear more and more and more about how bad this was and how much they cheated. And yet they're going to want to sue, but they're just going to stop their ability to sue. So that's why they're doing this. And then lastly, I was at the American Society of Healthcare Pharmacists meeting this week in New Orleans. And the one thing I will say, Kelly, is almost all of them struggle with PBMs themselves. And they're sitting there looking at this and high-cost drugs, and they're saying to themselves, how could we possibly be allowing this to happen? And then what you get is a hospital system signs with Mark Cuban to get 100 drugs from Mark Cuban that is going to reduce their cost. which would theoretically be passed on to the patient, but then they send out a note publicly in a news release saying it won't necessarily impact the patient's payment amount because that is really dependent upon the agreement they have with their health insurance company. So what's going to happen is they're going to take the profit at the hospital level rather than the PBM level, and they're not going to give it to the patient, and that has to be stopped by Bobby Kennedy Jr. as well.
SPEAKER 13 :
Correct. These things that have been called for years, John, rebates. The rebates should be going to the patient, but the rebates end up getting scooped up by the hospital system or the doctor's office or whoever else takes it back and puts it in their coffers. So the patient is constantly on the losing end of this. It's really a complete racket. And we've got to get this exposed. It's part of the fraud, corruption, deception and graft that's gone on for decades. It's perhaps come to light more recently during everything we saw because of COVID. But this has been going on for decades.
SPEAKER 03 :
So a question, I'll start with you, Dr. Kelly. With the changes in the administration, granted we're not quite a little under 40 days out roughly. We're counting down. We keep getting closer and closer to the time where the Trump administration will come in. We'll then have to, of course, go through some confirmations and things along those lines. But once everything is in place, I mean – I'm very hopeful, I hope that I'm hopeful in the right way, that the team, not just RFK Jr., but a lot of others that will be involved with different things that will be happening there, DOJ, etc., do you feel like this new team can tackle some of the things you and Steve just got done talking about?
SPEAKER 13 :
I certainly think that they can. That said, I am... realistic with regard to how Washington works. It would never fly in the private sector. They are so slow to act. And I guarantee you that although you and I would like to believe that this stuff is going to get addressed day one, it won't. It takes months and months and months to even get up to speed. So everybody's going to be new. Everybody's going to be feeling their way around. Everybody Everybody's jockeying per position.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 13 :
And the wheels turn so slowly in Washington that I think we will be lucky if they get a fraction of the things done that they've talked about. The most I think we can hope for is that Bobby Kennedy and the rest of his team at each of the independent agencies, whether it's the FDA, NIH, CDC, whatever it is, HHS, in general, that they will address and expose some of these conflicts of interest and start right now eradicating those things, teasing them out. And I think rather than focusing on any one initiative, like decreasing the amount of fluoride or regulating the amount of fluoride in water or making ivermectin over-the-counter, We need to really expose the rampant fraud and corruption. So, yes, I do think they'll be able to do it. But I have been reminded very recently in some communications I've had with people in Washington just how slowly and frankly how disorganized the whole thing is. You have to remember, you know, most of these people who are going to be stepping into new roles come January, you know, moving to Bethesda or moving to D.C. or moving to Atlanta to work at the CDC. This is, you know, not only are they moving themselves and their families, but it's a brand-new job, a brand-new day, and it takes, you know, when you start a new job, you don't just hit the ground running. It takes months to learn all the players and to figure out what it is you're supposed to be doing. So I think, you know, people should just sort of prepare themselves that it's not going to happen overnight.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Steve, I'm going to ask you a question as soon as we come back, which is, you know, what can executively Donald Trump and his team do in some of these areas or not? I'm going to ask you that as soon as we come back. Affordable interest mortgages next, folks. Kurt Rogers, remember to call him any mortgage question. And as we go through this holiday season, there may be some things that you want to avoid debt-wise when it comes to a mortgage in 2025. 720-895-0500.
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SPEAKER 08 :
No liberal media bias here.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Rush to Reason. And we are back, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Dr. Kelly Victory with us today, as well as Steve House. And Steve, I asked you before we went to break, what can Donald Trump, the executive committee, and I get it, there's, as Dr. Kelly said, lots of facets to this, and yes, things move slowly. Is there anything, though, that Donald Trump himself could fast-track?
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, John, if it were me and I had the ability, and I have to talk to a constitutional lawyer about this, but I would write an executive order on day one that would drop a small grenade into health care by ordering the delinking of pricing for PBMs so that PBMs could not link their cost or their price, their rebate structure to the price of the drug. They would have to become a service-oriented scenario where what they did was what they got paid for, not just, you know, if a drug cost, if it was an oncology drug and cost $30,000, what they get for that versus metformin at $80, it's not fair to pay them on the price of the drug because the work involved, the process involved is fundamentally not any different. So I would do that right off the bat, and that would drive people crazy, but it would sure break up the industry a bit.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, so an analogy that people might understand better, because I think you're exactly right, Steve. The analogy might be if you tip, there's a reason why you don't tip, for example, at a restaurant on a bottle of wine, because it doesn't take the waiter. It's no more difficult to open a $100 bottle of wine than a $20 bottle of wine. And why should they make five times more in terms of the tip? And that's what the PBMs are doing. They charge a percentage. Now, the other thing that people don't know, and Steve and I are well aware of this, is that the way the law was written, PBMs are allowed to charge a fee for the work that they do, for being that middleman, for brokering the deal, if you will, the same way that a realtor does.
SPEAKER 03 :
I got to start for just one second, Dr. Kelly. Why do we need them at all? Can you tell me why? You know, is there a justification? Is there a real solid reason we should have them? I mean, does it benefit anybody at the end of the day? Or is it just, frankly, there's a middleman there and there always has been?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, they do provide a service in the way, for example, that a realtor does. They do the paperwork. They do a lot of the stuff that you and I don't know the intricacies of the legalities of the paperwork, so they provide a service. But they were supposed to do that for a determined fee, and it was 2.3% that they were allowed to charge. by law, but nobody in Congress has ever paid any attention to it, and many of them now are charging 100%. So it would be as if your realtor, rather than making a 5% or 6% commission on the sale of the house, instead was making an 80% commission on the sale of the house. Can you imagine what the house would cost?
SPEAKER 03 :
And really quick, make sure that I'm also explaining this correctly. The difference between what we're talking about in a house is the house is your money that you're spending and paying the realtor and so on. In the case of what, Stephen, you were talking about, in a lot of cases, it's tax dollars that are paying for that or your health insurance dollars that you're paying for that's paying for that. Am I correct?
SPEAKER 13 :
Exactly, and you end up paying more for the house because the person selling the house is saying, well, I'm not going to take it on the chin that the realtor is charging 80%. I'll just jack the price of my house up. Well, when you're buying a house, you have the choice not to buy the house if it's too expensive. If it's a drug that your child needs for his or her cancer or a medication that you need to treat your diabetes, you don't have the choice. to not buy that drug necessarily. And so you are being fundamentally squeezed by the people who are trying to pass the cost on. So yes, the PBMs did provide a service, but the service was, number one, supposed to be capped in what they could charge for it, And number two, as Steve rightly points out, the percentage should not be directly linked to the cost of the medication because some medications are wildly more expensive than others and there's no more work for the PBM to broker the deal.
SPEAKER 03 :
Steve, as a moment ago, I just gave a commercial little ad for affordable interest mortgage. And I know in the mortgage brokerage end of things, there were some rules that came out, laws that came out not long ago to where they could no longer charge percentages. They make flat fees, I believe, in most cases, and they are limited to what that fee can be. So if we're doing that, Steve, for mortgage brokers, why can't we do the same here?
SPEAKER 15 :
We should do it here. In fact, if you see a couple of things, I'll add it to Kelly's comment. Sometimes the fee from the PBM is 3000 percent. So it's not always under 100 percent. And then on top of that, you're right. It should be a flat fee of some nature. However, most of the PBMs now are stock market listed there. You know, they've got investors in Wall Street and, you know, they've purchased the health insurance.
SPEAKER 03 :
All the more reason why we know it's wrong.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. So here's an example that was kind of a turning point beyond. By the way, all American diabetics should gather together in a class action lawsuit, sue the Health and Human Services and the federal government against the safe harbor law that set a 2.3 percent fee and that was never enforced. That means diabetics have been paying more. boatloads more money than they should have for all these years because the federal government failed to enforce their own laws. But here's the deal. Gleevec, and I know that Kelly knows this drug really well, in theory was the first $100,000 drug to come to the market. And people thought they were crazy, right? So PBMs come in and they thump their chest. They say, we're going to get discounts of, you know, 80% off the drug. But they took the $80,000 discount and they gave it to your health insurance company who never lowered your premium ever. So it became racketeering. She described it perfectly right. So I'm going to say, well, all right, insurance car pharma, why don't you make a drug that costs, you know, $80,000 like Harvoni and I'm going to buy it from you, put it on formulary by you giving it to me for a 55% or 60% discount, but I'm going to take a portion of that money and keep it for myself, make my investors happy. I'm going to give the rest back to the insurance companies because they're asking me to allow it. And by the way, the only person who loses is the patient.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 15 :
The patient loses big every time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. Okay. I want to shift gears for just one second because you guys have some inside knowledge. And feel free to share as much or as little as you feel you can. But we've got cabinet picks that have come out. Of course, RFK Jr., we've talked about that. And there's been many others as well. But then we also have Surgeon General, which right now the pick that Donald Trump has thrown out at least, I am not a huge fan of. I don't think either one of you are as well. Why are we headed in a direction that I don't feel we should be, Dr. Kelly?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I will refrain from saying too much about any individual candidates prior to their upcoming election. confirmation hearings, I agree with you. There are some choices that have been, let's use the word, perplexing to me in terms of what their histories are when there are a few of us. And, you know, here Steve and I are just bantering around. I would guarantee you that Steve and I know more about the issues related to PDMs and the impact that they have had on drug pricing that any of the current cabinet nominees have.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm not so sure that after listening to you guys as long as I have, I don't have that much experience. I have more than they do, Dr. Kelly.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, and so I think that as all things in politics, they're political. So many of these nominations are political nominations. And I think that President Trump would do well to stop making purely political nominations and appointees because there are people who have been deep in the trenches and certainly those of us who got it right during COVID, rather than people who clearly got it wrong. And he has nominated quite a few of those people to high positions. when they were people who were on the wrong side of history for the better part of the pandemic. So much of many of these appointees are political and are paybacks for things that they've done to support the president. And I don't think that that puts us necessarily in the best position. All that said, I think that Bobby Kennedy Jr., who is going to be clearly the leader and setting the leadership on HHS and on the health care side in general, I think that he is an excellent pick, and although I don't agree with every single one of his policies or initiatives, I think that directionally he is correct, and he will drive the bus, I think, in the right direction.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Steve, you want to comment on that as well?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and I just add one more piece to it. Kelly's right, but the other piece I would add to it is you stand up in a campaign, and I think Donald Trump is a unique and amazing individual with a lot of opportunity to do things, but he stands up in a campaign and talks a lot about the deep state. Well, part of the deep state has always existed because political graft, you know, someone gets elected, I helped you get elected, and I put you in a position to give you back the favor of you helping me. That's part of why the deep state exists. And I really wish, as Kelly said, he would look at people for their skill set and see what they're talking about. I mean, quite frankly, I want the Surgeon General to be somebody who understands, you know, COVID-like events. major catastrophes and things that are happening because in Australia somehow we've lost 383 viruses over a hundred of them in the hantavirus and other categories this week I mean I don't I don't want to I mean well don't do respect to primary care I just don't want I want somebody who understands catastrophes and somebody who understands health well enough to teach I don't want a surgeon general that looks like our last one that's for sure because they're not a good example in any respect
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. And I, so I would say the current, just so that in case people who are listening, don't know the current nominee and she has not been confirmed is Dr. Jeanette Nashwa. She's a family practitioner. She went to a foreign medical school. She went to medical school in the Caribbean. Um, she, uh, worked at an urgent care center in New York city, uh, and was very much on the record for the duration of the pandemic. praising not only the vaccines and recommending that people continue to get the boosters, but praising censorship. She said that she applauded Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook for censoring people like me who spread, quote, disinformation. And she, quote, prayed to God that other social media platforms would do the same. She supported not only wearing one mask, but thought the two was better, agreed with the lockdown and the closure of schools. and strongly promoted things like social distancing. She now has done a 180 very, very late, just very recently, on a number of these issues. And I understand that she says that she was bamboozled, quote unquote, her word, not mine, that she was bamboozled and bought into it, and now she sees the light. I would like To say that that's fine, I'm glad that she sees the light now, but I think we should be rewarding the people who got it right the first time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 13 :
Who got it right at the beginning.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. Yeah, because that shows discernment on the front side, not the back side. Okay, really quick, because I know we're going to have to take another break here shortly. Somebody texted again, and I know we've already explained this, but listeners are asking, would you please, Steve, again, explain what a PBM is?
SPEAKER 15 :
I think essentially what Kelly said was right. It's like a real estate broker. So you have drug manufacturers who come out with new drugs constantly. It was 12 new Alzheimer's drugs last month, for example. So the hospitals and pharmacies themselves do not have time. to figure out and negotiate directly with pharma companies like Pfizer and J&J. They don't have the time to negotiate with them on pricing and distribution of the drug. So they hire a middleman, in this case called a pharmacy benefit manager. They literally manage how pharmacy benefits are playing out. And they set up a price structure. They are the ones who provide the rebates back. to the health insurance companies on the negotiated discounts. They get paid that way, but they also do a lot of the paperwork to bill for that drug. So they'll help hospitals get the billing right so that they bill the insurance company who has agreed to pay for it. Quite frankly, if you have a high deductible, the insurance company is getting the rebate back. You're paying for the cost of the drug anyway because your deductible is too high, and they're not paying anything for it anyway. But that's a side note. That's basically how they do it, yeah.
SPEAKER 13 :
Another thing that they do, and people may be familiar with this, hearing that a particular drug, quote, isn't on the formulary. It either is or isn't on the hospital's formulary. So hospitals set up a formulary, meaning what are the things that they stock in their pharmacy at the hospital? No hospital, no doctor's office, no pharmacy stocks that. 100% of drugs that are available. They make a decision. So if a hospital needs to have a drug, for example, to treat influenza or a drug to treat whatever it is, the pharmacy, the PBM, is the one who goes and says, well, we're going to stock this drug and this drug and this drug and not these other three. And a big part of the way they make those decisions is they say to drug company A, how much are you going to give me? I'll put your antibiotic on the formulary, depending on how much you pay me.
SPEAKER 03 :
So in a lot of ways, Dr. Kelly, really quick, in a lot of ways, this isn't much different than Kroger wanting to stock certain things, and even the shelf position of is a lot of times dictated by who's kicking in the most for that shelf space and so on. As far as inventory control goes, it's not much different is what you're telling me.
SPEAKER 13 :
Correct. And if you go back to the time of the big racketeering scandals in New York City, it was because they were, quote, contrary to the people working for the city, you know, and said, well, I'll give you the contract to do the roofing or the plumbing or the electricity city buildings. it depending on how much you pay me under the is a back alley deal you know how much you're going to give me in the back alley because this other electrician company they're going to give me you know 10 and you're going you give me 12 great when you go back and see if i can get 13 they're negotiating a kickback it's called racketeering and that's exactly what the pbms do they get kickbacks and that's how they decide what drug they're going to contract for a particular hospital or for a particular pharmacy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Makes total sense. And, again, whoever texted that, thank you. I hope I explained or we explained that well enough. I think we have. I mean, I've got a really good understanding of what happens here as far as that goes. And mainly, I guess, guys, because of my background even in the automotive side, there's a lot of things that happen even internally with – different, you know, parts distributors and so on and so forth. And it's really, I hate to say this, Dr. Kelly, it's not a lot different in a lot of other worlds, although I will tell you that the markups and the money side of it is far different.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. And you're right, though. It happens in many, many industries that how something gets priced. But generally what happens is when one side has to pay more, when the hospital has to pay more because the PBM, the middleman, is taking a cut, and so all of a sudden the The prices on that drug are more because God knows a big pharmaceutical company is going to pass it on. They're not going to take it on the chin. They're going to say, fine, I'll jack the cost of the drug up so that I can cover what I need to pay this extortionist called a middleman. I'll jack up the price of my drug to cover that. And then it gets passed on to the hospital. The hospital says, well, I'm not taking it on the chin either. It's going to roll downhill. I'll pass it on to the patient. So the patient's the one who's always stuck holding the bag.
SPEAKER 03 :
Steve, it sounds like your idea, number one, of executive orders to get the process started, which I'm not in opposition of. I think that's a great idea. Although to keep this moving forward in that direction, in other words, if he gets that done, let's say, still we need some... congressional support and a law, I guess you could say, that becomes permanent that would then have to be changed on down the road if another administration came in. Because as you know, the next president, if they don't like what Donald Trump did in this particular area with a stroke of a pen, all of that could be reversed and we're right back to square one. So I see this as, you know, to part one, get the problem immediately fixed if you can through executive action. And then after that, we need Congress to go to work and get this set in stone for good. Am I right, Steve?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and the whole set in stone for good thing is kind of mushy these days, right? Because you can wipe something out with an executive order. I mean, I think what happens is, I mean, truly, if you do this right, if you de-link it, if you peel it back to that 2.3% number or something rational like that, what happens is the industry is going to change. And it's more than just Congress being lobbied to change it back. I mean, people are going to start to see the real value of, you know, this change in what's going on because literally drug pricing should go down if you do it right. I mean, it has a huge impact on drug pricing. I think, you know, A, it starts out with a change because structurally you'll make a change, and B, I think the industry will get used to it being done a new way, and then it'll probably fight it itself. If you're a hospital or if you're, you know, a patient advocate, you'll fight changing back yourself. So I'm not as worried about Congress. I just want to have enough time for people to see what happens when you do it.
SPEAKER 03 :
So in other words, once they start seeing the results, that will become permanent in and of itself.
SPEAKER 15 :
I think because it'll become industry standard. I mean, it's industry standard now at 100%, and people expect it. I don't want them to expect it anymore.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Great segue. We'll stop there. We'll come back, guys. I've got more questions. If you have a question, by the way, specifically, please let me know. 307-200-8222. Hi-Fi Plumbing is next. And again, if you've got electrical needs or plumbing needs, Hi-Fi Plumbing will take care of you. 877-WE-HI-5.
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SPEAKER 14 :
Now, back to Rush to Reason, presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we are back, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Dr. Kelly Victory and Steve House with us. And Steve, we've got a question that came in. I'll direct this to you first, and Dr. Kelly, you can chime in afterwards. If people... want to help or want to have a voice, want to chime in on some of the cabinet picks, for example. In this case, let's talk, you know, Surgeon General. Is there any kind of a platform or a way for people to, you know, tastefully either oppose and or, you know, give kudos to somebody that's been recommended already? Stephen, do we have anything in place like that at all?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I mean, the simple answer is yes. And there's two things I would do. One is I would write a letter to my congressman. I mean, or to all four of the GOP congressmen in Colorado would take a letter from any of the listeners there. And you could send them a letter, tell them what their concern is and send it on to them. Now, do congressmen read every letter? They don't. But it would be worthy. of the process. And the second thing is, if you know somebody on the Trump transition team, send them a note and tell them what their concerns are. Now, by doing so, you're ultimately opposing Donald Trump. So I would rather than sending him a letter saying this person is not not capable or whatever, talk to them about what you're looking for and what you might what you believe the skill set of someone is who would be a better choice rather than tearing down the other person.
SPEAKER 13 :
I agree with both those things. I would absolutely, however, put out, if you have specific people in mind, give those names. Don't just say, I would like somebody who has these qualities. State the person's name. The other thing is, do not overlook the power of social media. People like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and, God knows, Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump spend a lot of their day and their teams spend a lot of their days scouring social media correct so put those names out there tag you know somebody that you think is worthy and say this person please you know donald trump bobby kennedy jr whoever it is you know elon musk please consider this person as you know a uh a pick for your team this person would be an excellent choice for x y and z reasons i think social media i would never have said this obviously 10 years ago but in today's world It's far more important than you might realize.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, no, thank you, Dr. Kelly, for saying that. For all of you listening, your voice and some of the things that you put out there, and, you know, we see this all the time, Dr. Kelly and Steve, when somebody has a problem, for example, with an airline, and they'll go to X and they'll post something about it. In a lot of cases, you'll get a faster response in doing that than by actually calling their 1-800 number. So, yes, it's very powerful.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, we have teams that look at these.
SPEAKER 15 :
I would add something else to this equation, which is now is not the time for incremental change. And the Surgeon General is one example. I think the Department of Transportation is another. But let's just focus on Surgeon General for a minute. We have wasted Surgeon General's power for several decades, right? Because this is a person that should be saying what Bobby Kennedy himself is saying about health care. Right. So Bobby's talking about health, not health care. I mean, he's talking about processed foods, fluoride, all this other stuff. Right. So we've had this bully pulpit with a person who has a title that could get into any room anywhere in the country and talk to credible people who are in the ag business, in the food business, in health care, et cetera. And we're wasting the opportunity. The same is true. Right. You would approach it from the point of view of someone who's in a car, who deals with cars, who deals with congestion and traffic. Most of the time the Secretary of Transportation is being driven in a black SUV somewhere. They don't know what it's like. So we don't need incremental change. I want a pit bull in that job who can call people out and say, you know what, I work for the American people. I don't work for the system. I don't work for the soft-hearted people who are working there who don't want to hear the criticism. I want a pit bull. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 13 :
And that is exactly what I told the team. You know I've been discussing this. With them for some time, I was disappointed with the choice that was made, but I would absolutely revolutionize and completely reform that wasted position because the average American cannot tell you who the Surgeon General was after C. Everett Koop. I believe that it's a position that could be very meaningful if you had someone whose skill set was in communication and teaching and had the ability to take complex subjects and to break them down into lay terms, to have the ability to walk the walk and talk the talk and live the lifestyle that we want all Americans to do with regard to health and wellness. somebody who's not afraid to push back on big pharma, not afraid to push back on big ag, to say we have got to do things differently and be willing to shake it up and risk the things that it takes to actually be a mover and a shaker. And I think that making a safe choice is not the way to go. As Steve said, this is not the time for incremental change. We need somebody who's going to go in there and be a heat-seeking missile.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. And really quick in the past, Dr. Kelly, I mean, you're right. In fact, I had to even go look up our current Surgeon General, because you just don't hear much from Mr. Vivek. And it's not Vivek Ramaswamy, by the way. It's Murthy. I mean, honestly, Dr. Kelly, I couldn't have named that person. I had to go look it up because you're exactly right. We don't hear much from them.
SPEAKER 13 :
So think about this. The Americans just survived four-plus years ago. of the worst health care crisis, largely because of the way it was managed. Absolutely. But the reality is we just lived through a pandemic, and you can't tell me the name of the surgeon general?
SPEAKER 03 :
And I'm on radio watching this stuff daily, by the way, so I'm even different than the average American, Dr. Kelly.
SPEAKER 13 :
what the heck was the guy doing for the last four and a half years?
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. Exactly. No, Steve, I mean, I can't disagree with Dr. Kelly at all. I mean, it is a position that, again, I mean, I watch this stuff, you know, politically speaking and so on, on a routine basis, and I couldn't tell you who it was before now.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, and think about this. If you got the bully pulpit and you're the Surgeon General, you should be the one telling me that American women, 40% of American women are an antidepressant, 79% of You know, young people, the cancer rate is increased by 79%. You know, yada, yada, yada. There's five or six major statistics that are an indication that our health is degrading very rapidly right now. The Surgeon General should be standing in the pulpit every single week somewhere calling out, why do we have this metabolic problem that's causing all these issues and no one's addressing it whatsoever.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, you guys are spot on. I mean, this is a very important position.
SPEAKER 13 :
I can give you Donald Trump's number.
SPEAKER 03 :
If I thought he would listen to me, I would call him. Trust me. Trust me. And there's been several text messages that have come in that have agreed, Steve, with you and Dr. Kelly on, yes, contact your local representative, your senator. Senators do the confirmations, of course. And by the way, in this particular case with Surgeon General on the pick, there is a ton of... of conservative, not just regular media, but conservative media, I'll just say backlash. I don't know any other way to say it, guys. There's a ton of backlash with conservative media. So trust me, this particular pick is getting a lot of heat on it because of not only, Dr. Kelly, some of the things that you have stated, but there's even some stories going around right now to where this particular nominee had some issues with guns going off in the past and, and, and. I mean, it's not looking very good. Let's just say that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Go ahead, Steve.
SPEAKER 15 :
Go ahead, Steve. unfortunately I think we've treated the Surgeon General's job that way as well yeah and it's just like give it to somebody for because they're connected to a friend of yours which indeed which really is demeaning to the job and it delegitimizes the job agree it's and we have the worst health status metabolic health status in we've ever had, probably worse than any nation in the world, we cannot delegitimize this job.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, before I let you guys go, Steve, I'll start with you. Dr. Kelly, I want you to chime in on this as well. Doge, we've got Vivek, we've got Elon, they're going to do their best to go in and cut supposedly $2 trillion out of what we've got going on in Washington. Steve, when it comes to this topic, we talk a lot about health care between the three of us. What can they do in that area to actually save the country money? It costs us
SPEAKER 15 :
20 percent, 19, 20 percent to do billing and collection in health care. So 20 cents of every dollar for billing and collection. And in a restaurant, it's three percent, four percent. Those guys need to go in and completely restructure how billing and collection works because it's a trillion dollars. Imagine what you could do with a trillion dollars if you gave it to, you know, people who are focused on health like Bobby Kennedy, the surgeon general and others, instead of spending it just on moving money around and fighting payments.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's ridiculous. So in other words, let's get some more efficiencies in the way that we do billing, the computerization, the way things talk to one another and so on. I assume that's what you're talking about in and of itself, Steve.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. So here's what I mean. I had a CT scan. You guys all had a CT scan, which didn't get billed to my insurance company for six weeks after I had it done. But they gave prior approval for me to have the CT scan after it was done and the bill was sent. They denied payment. That should be against the damn law. Because doctors spend 45 minutes getting prior approval, and then they get denied payment for it. It's ridiculous.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I agree. And that's some of the stuff that could be cleaned up. Dr. Kelly got a couple of minutes, and you're in that world very much as a doctor. What else could they do to clean things up and make things more efficient?
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I think one of the things that the statistics that came out just this past week about the number, it's only 6% of total federal employees actually work on site. 94% are working remotely. 12% total of federal buildings are currently occupied. OK, 88 percent of the buildings we're spending 15 billion dollars on real estate, air conditioning, heating, janitorial services for buildings that are not inhabited where people aren't working. That is insane. Every single congressperson should be held to account for this, Republican or Democrat. The idea that they are spending our tax dollars. to allow this to happen, you have got to be kidding me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 13 :
I mean, this is absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I agree.
SPEAKER 13 :
So that alone is just so, it is so egregious. And if I could walk into Congress, I would let them all have it with both barrels because I'm telling you, that is such a slap in the face for the American taxpayer.
SPEAKER 03 :
I agree. All right, guys, an hour goes by so fast. We'll do part two next week because we've got a lot more to cover as well. Dr. Kelly, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you, as always. See you next week.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're very welcome. And Steve House, you as well. Thanks for setting all this up years ago.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, everybody write to Jim Jordan and tell him he spent $50 million investigating Biden and nothing happened. He should probably pay that back.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, amen. Great to be with you. Amen. Steve, I appreciate you very much. Have a great rest of your day. Veteran Windows and Doors is next. 40% off entry doors with free labor. Call Dave today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
It's time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that is it for this first hour. We've got more hours coming your way, so please don't turn the dial. Stay tuned, and we'll be back here in just a moment. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 04 :
sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home and may you grow to be proud dignified and true and do unto others as you have done to God bless you.
In this episode of Rush to Reason, John Rush dives into a heated discussion about the gun policies currently shaping Canada and their reverberations in the United States. Joining the conversation is Leighton Gray, host of the Gray Matter podcast, who illustrates how Canada's historical and present gun laws echo tactics from totalitarian regimes. The discussion reveals startling statistics on increased gun violence despite restrictive laws and delves into the broader implications on private property rights.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Rush to Reason. You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk! You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 13 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 04 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 08 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for listening today. And I didn't get a chance at the top of the hour, 3 o'clock hour, to do this. I'll do the question of the day here momentarily. But don't forget, we are looking for Christmas Day. We will play Christmas songs on Christmas Day. Another thing we're looking for, nominations of, you can send us either email, email them to me, or you can text me, either one, doesn't matter. On Christmas Eve, Charlie and I have decided that we're going to play a compilation of musings or stories, things like maybe Paul Harvey have done or things along those lines. So in other words, we want to keep them within about four to five minutes long at most. But maybe some things that you've seen on the Internet, YouTube, whatever, places where you're like, hey, yeah, that would be a fun thing to have, you know, to listen to along with some other things. And it could be serious, could be heartwarming, could be funny. You name it. We'll put a compilation of those things together. We need a couple of hours worth of that. So the way this would work is because we do things kind of in, you know, 13 to 15 minute segments. If you can come up with a few of those, we really need about, let's see, roughly 3, 6, 9, 12. So we need about 24 of those. A little more, a little less, doesn't matter. We can always make that work. But if you have one of those that's a favorite and you'd like to hear it played on Christmas Eve, please let us know and we'll add it to the list for that particular day. And again, text line 307. Or you can send me an email. And I'll get those to Charlie, and we'll make that happen for Christmas Eve. Leighton Gray joining us now. Leighton, welcome. How are you? I should say welcome back, Leighton. Always a joy having you, a host of the Gray Matter podcast, Europe and Canada. And what I'm reading in front of me is, and I knew this, Canada bans more types of firearms than probably, well, definitely than what the U.S. does. But yet, you guys are going to donate a bunch of guns to Ukraine. How ironic.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it really is insanity. I think after the United States, Canada has donated more per capita to the Ukraine war in any other country. And our government has been very interested in gun confiscation going all the way back to 1977 when our current prime minister's father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who's sort of like Canada's Woodrow Wilson, he's a rank communist, club of Rome guy, really started a lot of the problems that we're experiencing today. And this gun confiscation has just got more and more serious. And, of course, anybody who's studied the history of gun confiscation, as I have, knows that gun confiscation is right out of the totalitarian government playbook. That's right. All the totalitarian governments of the 20th century, from the Soviet Union to Maoist China to Nazi Germany to Castro's Cuba, all of them have made gun confiscation fundamental to and disarmament of the citizenry, you know, fundamental to to their plans to really deny human rights and to abuse their citizens. That's what's going on in Canada right now. But what's really idiotic about this, Ted, These are guns that people would use to shoot at ducks and moose.
SPEAKER 15 :
Thank you for kind of switching out. I wanted to ask you, because it's been a while since I've had much affiliation with Canada. I had a son-in-law that was up there for a long time. So I, years ago, knew a little bit about the types of guns that Canadians could actually own and a little bit about how all of that worked. But what you're saying is this... ban, I guess you could say, is going even farther than what it's been before. Because in the past, they had to have a specific use, like hunting and things like that. Am I right?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and these guns right now, the ones that they're talking about setting up a use rate, are not weapons of war. In fact, our government talks about something called an assault-style rifle. Well, that actually doesn't exist. There's no such thing as an assault-style rifle. No. But these guns actually are useless in terms of being things that could be used to fight the Russians. Trying to use a duck gun or a .22 caliber or something like that in wartime is ludicrous. And, of course, anybody who knows anything about guns knows this. But the deeper problem that we're experiencing in Canada is, is that we are, and I think Mr. Trump and his new administration realize this, we're descending into communism. We're being made into a CCP client state. And what this is really about, when you look deeper, is really destruction of the concept of private property. And of course, as you know, or you probably do realize, One of the genius things about the Second Amendment in your country is that implicitly it guarantees the right to keep and hold private property. Because what is a gun? A gun is nothing other than a species of private property. And so in guaranteeing the right to keep and bear arms in the United States, it guarantees the right to hold private property because we know that everywhere private property exists, so does freedom.
SPEAKER 15 :
So when you talk the additional 324 varieties of firearms, and make sure that I'm following this correct, in Canada, if you already owned one of these, do you have to now give it up? Do you turn it into the government? How is that going to work?
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a mandatory slash voluntary buyback program. In other words, they expect you to turn in your gun. They price them out at what they think they're worth. and then you have to turn them in. The problem is, there hasn't been a single gun turned in in all of Canada. Nobody's doing it. The province I live in, Alberta, the provincial government, which operates much like state governments do in the United States, has no constitutional authority. One of the things it doesn't have to do is to enforce federal law. Same thing is true in the United States. And so our province has told the federal government, Trudeau, Go pound sand. We're not going to enforce these laws. But really, you know, what we're dealing with, unfortunately, is a deep level of virtue signaling. Canada wants to appear virtuous in the eyes of the world. And they're also really interested in disarming the populace. The problem, though, in Canada is that we have 160% hike in gun violence in the past nine years. And there's actually no connection. I'm sure you realize this. There's no connection between restricting the ability of lawful gun holders to hold firearms and reduction of crime.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, actually, it's typically the opposite, as you know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. And the thing is, Canada, the United States, actually are... for children for responsible gun ownership because when you consider how many guns, there's millions of guns just in Canada, I'm sure, probably hundreds of millions of guns in the United States.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, yeah. Actually, I believe last figures, and this is where it's always a debate as to, you know, how many do we actually have? Because a lot of folks, you know, myself included, nobody knows what I actually have. I mean, I guess they could go back and see how many have been produced and so on. But it's a very vague number, but it's more than our population. Let's just say that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sure. And so if responses to lawful gun violence really were dangerous,
SPEAKER 1 :
these countries would be unlivable.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. If what you're saying or what Canada is saying is true or what the liberals say is true, you shouldn't be able to walk anywhere in the U.S. safely.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, absolutely not. The irony is, as gun complication has gained steam in Canada, we've had an influx of guns from the United States And most of them are illegal. And then, of course, Canada reciprocates by being a net exporter of fentanyl to the United States. And that's why Mr. Trump is saying to Mr. Trudeau, hey, you've got to do something about this border. or we're going to impose 25 tariffs on you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Yeah, no, you and I talked about that here, I believe, last week, or maybe it was a couple of weeks ago. Reality is, and I think a lot of that is saber-rattling from Donald Trump. Will those tariffs actually go in? I highly doubt it. But what he's trying to get done is for you guys and Mexico both to pay more attention to what's happening at the border, which can be very, as you know, can be very lax. Although I will say this when it comes to Canada. It might be lax coming our way, but it's not lax going the other way, is it?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it isn't. I think you're right about the border, but I think it's deeper than that. The reality is Canada poses a geopolitical threat to the safety and security of the United States for the first time maybe since 1812 because of the kind of control and infiltration that the CCP has, and not only in our government, but in all of our systems. And I think when Mr. Trudeau was summoned down to Mar-a-Lago recently, I think he got told that. I think he got told that the Communist Party in Canada is over, and you're seeing this from other members of Mr. Trump's cabinet, J.D. Vance, um rf key jr tulsi gabbard that elon musk they're all i mean the level of trolling that donald trump has done with our prime ministers just it's hilarious but it's got people up here you know especially in government are really really concerned because for the first time in a long time the united states is going to pay a lot of attention to the domestic politics of canada i think it's out of necessity
SPEAKER 15 :
I can't disagree with that at all. Okay, how do folks follow you, Leighton? How do they listen to the podcast and follow you?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, the podcast is everywhere you'll find podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, Apple. But the best way to find us and follow our content is on our X page, at graymatterconvo. That's the only platform that Trudeau has not been able to successfully censor in our country yet. So we're going to keep plugging away. But, you know, my next interview with you might be from jail.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Well, let's hope not.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER 15 :
Oh, you're very welcome, and we will follow you. In fact, I'm clicking that right now to make that happen, and we'll get other folks to do the same. Leighton, it's always a joy having you. Appreciate you very much. Happy Christmas. You bet. Happy Christmas to you as well. Have a great rest of your day. Hi-Fi Plumbing and Electrical is next. And again, you may want something upgraded. You want to make a change. Maybe you've got a leak or you've got a drain that's not doing what it needs to. And as we head into the holiday season, make sure that you're all dialed in across the board. Hi-Fi Plumbing and Electrical, 877-WE-HI-5.
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SPEAKER 16 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive, this is John Rush.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, question of the day from yesterday. Who made this statement? I came in with Haley's Comet, and I expect to go out with it. That would be Mark Twain. Today's impossible question of the day. Why do books smell? Why do books smell? Any ideas, Charlie? Good answer. So Charlie just got it right. So those of you that can't hear Charlie, you'll have to answer that on your own. Go to the Facebook page and answer it there. And again, I want to remind everybody, please, for Christmas Day and for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, we're looking for just your favorite Christmas songs. We'll put a compilation of those together and we'll play those during this three to six. Actually, let's see, that's a Wednesday. So, yeah, the three to six hour that day will actually do that. Now, Christmas Eve. We are looking for just a compilation of things. You could have a short story. It could be something you've heard from Paul Harvey. It could be something you've seen on YouTube or something that somebody sent you. It can be serious. It can be funny. It can be heartwarming. It doesn't matter, but if you've got a three- to five-minute little video that we can – understand by listening to sometimes videos need all of the video to understand what's going on in other cases it doesn't so make it where it can be radio playable as what i should say understandable on the radio i should say and give us what those requests are and i'll get them into charlie and we'll put that together for christmas eve and christmas day okay The shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, and I'm not going to say his name because I don't like giving people that do these things any more credit than what they're already getting or any more publicity, which, side note, there's so many whack jobs out there that are siding with this guy that it's just mind-boggling to me. But we've got individuals like... the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, saying, I have no tolerance, nor should anyone, for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most. He said that at a press conference on Monday. So I have a few answers to Josh Shapiro. This person could have legally bought a gun. Why they chose to make their own, I have no idea. But this particular individual didn't have any kind of a record prior and could have easily bought a gun. OK, so let's just make sure we get that out there. Because, again, Josh is criticizing, quote unquote, ghost guns. And there's now all sorts of press about them. I can get into more of that maybe in the next particular segment. But reality is they're getting a lot of bad press right now. And I'll explain some of what that even means. I think there's a lot of misconceptions when it comes to ghost guns. But he could have legally bought one. The suppressor that he had even on the ghost gun is heavily regulated. you have to, A, they're not cheap, B, you have to have what they call a tax stamp to own one, and the background check to go through is arduous at best. So it takes a lot to make that happen. So my point is, if he legally owned the suppressor, he could have easily owned a gun. So the ghost gun part of this is, frankly, irrelevant. This shows, number one, that gun laws don't work, by the way. And I think the biggest part that the left misses, like Josh, is unless something has changed, and Charlie, correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not illegal in every state in the United States of America to take someone's life? Last I checked, that's kind of one of the number one rules, don't murder someone. This guy did it in cold blood. So regardless of the gun conversation, he did. So as always, the left wants to blame the item rather than the person. Typical. Never fails. Now, I also will go out on a limb, and I think I'm fair to say it this way. If this young man were any other race or was transgender or was probably even a female, would this be getting as much press as it's getting? And would you even be hearing about the quote unquote ghost gun? My gut feeling is probably not. For example, if a young black male had done this, this story is already dead. It's gone. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that. It's because it was a young white male from a wealthy family, by the way. In fact, in fact, a wealthy conservative family doesn't mean he was because he was a raging liberal. But it's because of that, I believe he's getting more press than you would otherwise see. Anybody else does this, you know, literally anybody else. In fact, make this a white transgender female or male. I always get mixed up which is which, by the way. Yeah, they. If it was a they-them, you know, transgender female being a man wanting to be a woman and a transgender male that's a female wanting to be a man. If it had been that, this story is done, gone. Overnight, it's gone. They bury it. But because it wasn't, and it's a fairly normal-looking young white male, it's not normal to kill someone, so I'm not going to go that far to say this guy was normal because he's a wackadoodle. He's not normal. You don't take someone else's life and claim to be normal. Ever. Ever. no matter how much of the left is praising this guy for this, it shows you, by the way, the mental illness on the left. I keep saying that because liberalism is a mental illness, and I mean that wholeheartedly. And the proof this week has really come out because the majority of people that are behind this young man and what he did, supporting him in what he did, accusing McDonald's and the workers there of being traitors, yes, they have, for calling the police and outing this guy, shows you the mental illness on the left. And I'm not saying that lightly. I mean that sincerely. There is a deep mental illness on the left because you can't do the things I just said and not be mentally ill, not have a screw loose. Don't tell me it's because of your conviction or it's because of this or it's because of that hogwash. You have a screw loose. I, as a conservative older male, would not be supporting anyone, anywhere, anytime, anyplace that takes someone else's life. Period. As much as there are people I don't like and I don't care for and I may disagree with a thousand percent. It's not OK to take their life. Ever. Now, maybe there is some exceptions. We talked about this a little bit on the podcast where you take a guy like Osama bin Laden. who we took out, okay, there might be some exceptions to what I just said in that regard, where that guy is a mass murderer and killed thousands of Americans and who knows how many else around the world because of the terrorist activities he was in charge of. That's different. You take a lead of one of the cartels in Mexico and all of a sudden that guy is off. Am I going to lose any sleep or shed a tear for that? That's a different situation. And I know some on the left would say, well, that's no different than the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Yeah, there's a huge difference. Huge difference. You cannot put a cartel leader and the head of UnitedHealthcare in the same sentence. I'm sorry. If you do that, you're mentally ill because there is not a comparison there at all. And if you try to make a comparison there, you're mentally ill. You're not thinking straight. You have a screw loose. So those of you that are on that side of the aisle that are thinking what this young man did was OK and you're somehow justifying it because of the way health care in the country works. And we spend an entire hour from three to four with Dr. Kelly Victory and Steve House talking about some of those things. And yes, does the health care industry in America need a complete revamp? Absolutely. But keep in mind, those of you that are on the left, Obamacare made it worse, not better, worse. frankly, a lot worse. Look at your premiums. And no, you can't keep your doctor and choose your plan, and it's all hogwash. It was a lie. Obama lied through his teeth. And it's been one of the worst things, in my opinion, outside of legalizing marijuana, it's been one of the worst things to ever happen to America, was Obamacare. did nothing but create more problems in health care than what they were trying to solve. So those of you that are on the left, if you really want to get down to the core of what's wrong with health care, it started with Obamacare. I mean, it started before that, but Obamacare just fueled the fire. Did not help it at all. So please, if you're somebody out there that thinks what this young man did was great, you need a self-check big time because you have a screw loose if you think that's the case. All right, we'll be right back. Golden Eagle Financial is up next. And Al Smith wants to help you with all of your financial needs as we close out 2024 and head into 2025. Give Al a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial is your key to ending the year on track. You need to take your required minimum distributions from your IRA investments before the end of the year. And if you have more than one, Al will help you figure out the smartest way to do that. Also, if you plan to convert all or part to Roth, it must be done by December 31st. Al can work with you to determine the ideal amount to convert tax-wise. We'll be right back. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Now, back to Rush to Reason, presented by Hi-5 Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And I said during the last segment I would explain what a ghost gun is because I think there's a lot of misconceptions, number one, around them. Some know exactly what they are. Some just hear the term, and I think they think, wrong about what one actually is. So I'll do my best to explain this. And yes, I'm very knowledgeable when it comes to guns and the like, and I've been around them since I was a wee boy, I guess would be the way to say that. Literally, I've been shooting a firearm since I was... Six, seven years of age, and yeah, before all of you on the left say that was child abuse, no, it wasn't. My dad taught me properly how to handle, use, respect a firearm all through my not only childhood, teen years, and now my adult life as well. And he did a very good job of teaching myself and my brother exactly all of that. So just a side note, no, that wasn't child abuse. In fact, I think a lot of kids would benefit from what I learned as a kid, and you'd have a lot less accidents. if they actually were taught the way I was growing up. So I have very good familiarity, very familiar, I should say, with guns in general. So the other thing you're going to see before I explain what a ghost gun is, is lots of data in the news media as far as how many have been confiscated, how many ghost guns have been confiscated. Now, what I've learned and I believe to be true from what I've read, is the authorities will consider a ghost gun anything without a serial number. So be careful when you see them talk about all these confiscated ghost guns because serial numbers can be removed from production firearms also. It's called a grinder. And some would say, well, why doesn't everybody do that? Well, because nobody wants to ruin their gun. And sometimes you may need that for other things, getting parts and so on. And reality is you don't want to. We're law-abiding gun owners. We don't need to. So also be careful when you look at the data on confiscated ghost guns because they consider a ghost gun an untraceable gun. Everything I've read when it comes to the authorities, FBI and so on, that's kind of their definition. It doesn't necessarily have to be homemade. and you're going to see all sorts of things about homemade, printed, this, that, and the other. I'm going to explain to you the ways that you can actually have a ghost gun. So my point is you're going to see a lot of things in the media and a lot of gun control advocates pushing now this whole ghost gun narrative, and we've got to stop this, we have to end this tomorrow, that sort of stuff. Remember that not every ghost gun is either a printed gun, quote-unquote, or one that's even been assembled by their owner. These again could be firearms where they just shaved off. ground off basically the serial number so i want to make sure that i'm very clear on that because uh they'll call these ghost guns you know they put a wide label i guess what i'm trying to say when it comes to ghost guns and the reality is in a lot of cases those labels these this data is not exact so real quick before i go to joe there's several ways to do this In some cases, you can buy a quote-unquote kit, which will give you pieces of said gun, pistol or rifle, and then you do the rest of the assembly. And a lot of guys, by the way, some would say, well, why would you ever do this? Well, because a lot of guys do things custom because it's a hobby. They enjoy it. It's fun. And by the way, by the time they're done, typically speaking, it will cost far more than if they just went and bought a production gun. And most people aren't doing it so they can run under the radar. They're doing it for the reasons I just stated. They want to build something custom for themselves that's different than what somebody else has. And it's not because they're going to go use it nefariously. It's because they want something different, unique, special to them. That's why people do that. Now, you're also going to hear a lot about printed guns. Yes, you can print one. There's these at-home printers now even where you can print all sorts of different things, parts, components, and so on. And what I will tell you is especially with printed guns, even more so than what I just explained a moment ago, their reliability, which you saw even with this particular shooter, is not very high. The possibility of them jamming, per se, is very high because they're not done to the same specifications you would get done with a production-type firearm out of all of the major production companies that are out there, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Glock, etc., So don't kid yourself. The news media is going to make it sound like this is some, you know, everybody's out there in their backyard or, you know, sorry, in their basement or their garage making guns. That is not the case at all. If you look at the amount of firearms we actually have nationwide and even the amount that they have, quote unquote, confiscated is still a very, very, very small number all in all. And again, don't be misled by the data is my point. Joe, go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
John, a couple of things. And you touched on one of them first with regard to printed guns. If anybody looks closely at the video of the shooting, you can see the guy, the gun wouldn't function, it wouldn't cycle. He had to manually pull back the slide to eject the shell. In fact, he had to eject three unspent rounds on the pavement because the gun just wouldn't cycle. Which is not unusual. And you can't print a barrel.
SPEAKER 15 :
No, still got to buy that from somebody. I guess, you know, you could if you're really, really sharp and know how to do it. Could you make your own? Yeah, you could. You need a machine shop and some tooling and things, you know, Joe, at your disposal to do that. But the average person can't do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, the pressure from a fired bullet is around 60,000 PSI. So you need a steel barrel, and you can't, with a 3D plastic printer, you can't print a steel barrel for your gun. So you have to have a steel component. And then ghost guns. In New York City, John, that's a cottage industry. About twice a month in New York City, they show a raid where they've broken into some place, and there's 15 or 20 ghost guns. There are people literally who are doing this as an industry. Now, do we need a law? No, it's already highly illegal. But I think, by the way, last year, if you look at the video clips, the news clips of the press conferences, behind one of the people from the New York City Police Department, on the left, you'll see 19,000 guns confiscated so far this year. And most of these, John, are stolen guns or guns that have been bought out of state and illegally brought into New York State.
SPEAKER 15 :
Used in crimes, things along those lines, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Used in crimes. By the way, there are more than 250,000 guns stolen in this country per year, and the inventory of illegal guns on the street is estimated to be about 10 million. You know, if there are 100 or 200 ghost guns being used, you know, it's, as my father used to say, a fart and a gala win. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, big deal. I mean, no offense. If that's what the feds, the ATF, and so on are going to go after, that is chump change.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is chump change. You know, if New York City—and trust me, I would be stunned if out of the 19,000 guns New York City police have taken off the street in the past year— I would be stunned if more than 50 were ghost guns. So in my mind, what they ought to be doing is focusing on where did the other 18,000, 950 come from.
SPEAKER 15 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
And if they can trace them back, you know, people are buying these in Virginia or Ohio and bringing them into New York. In terms of your bang for the buck, I think that's where they need to be spending their efforts, tracing them. Where do these guns originate and how did they get into New York City?
SPEAKER 15 :
Joe, if they were really concerned, and I say this all the time, if they were really concerned about fighting crime and deterring the things that they constantly go after regular citizens like yourself and I, you would concentrate more on these illegals that have come in, the cartels and what they're doing, you know, the coyote movement and all the different things that are happening there. I mean, the reality, Joe, is you could spend your time in a lot of other places and have a lot more bang for the buck than worrying about some, you know, Joe Schmoe owning a ghost gun.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. And to that point, John, yesterday, New York, maybe it was the day before yesterday, because I get up in the morning, Western New York City News. They had a gang, a mini gang war. They had a Haitian gang shooting it out, three Haitian gang members having a shootout with three Venezuelan gang members. Right on the sidewalk streets in New York, you know, and they all had guns. Now, if you're a Venezuelan Haitian gang member, you can't legally acquire or even possess a gun in New York City. Correct. Yet all six of these thugs had guns. What's wrong with that picture? Yeah, I guarantee you they weren't ghost guns, John. These were not ghost guns. They were all functioning perfectly.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, and Joe, I go back to even this particular young man. Again, I'm not using his name because I don't want to give credit anywhere where it's not due and it's not due. But this particular individual had a silencer, which as we've talked about before, even you and I, that's a tax-stamped item. There's a lot of scrutiny that goes in. They're very expensive to buy in the first place, and you don't get delivery of it same day.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's correct. You've got background check, fingerprints. It's a federal. So I think there's an outfit out there that might be able to get you one in 10 days if you've got a squeaky clean background.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that's really fast because in not the too distant past, that was a 90-day process.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely correct. But even then, it has to be shipped. You have to sign for it. You just can't go to the store and pick it up.
SPEAKER 15 :
And for all of you listening, some of you maybe that are on the left that don't know as much about guns as we do, not every gun store, Joe, in fact, it's a small percentage of gun stores that even do what you just said. In other words, most gun stores don't sell silencers, don't sell suppressors, we call them.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, in fact, I've never seen a gun store ever. And I've been in a lot of gun stores. I've never seen a gun store that sells.
SPEAKER 15 :
Very, very, very few do because, Joe, number one, there's not super popular. There probably isn't a lot of markup in it when it's all said and done. And the hassle factor is huge.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it's not a it's not an over the counter item. No, no. If you want to buy one, it's OK. We'll set it aside for you here. Fill out this paperwork and we'll hold it for you for a month.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, because they can't give it to you until you've passed all of the checks and you're paying up front for it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right, you're going to pay them up front to hold it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Meaning felons and bad guys aren't buying them that way, Joe. That's my other point.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's correct.
SPEAKER 15 :
So this guy, I don't know, they haven't told us whether he acquired that legally, illegally, did he buy it off the street, whatever. I mean, my gut feeling is, Joe, knowing that this kid probably had a squeaky clean record, he might very well have bought that legally.
SPEAKER 05 :
You mean that gun that he used?
SPEAKER 15 :
No, the suppressor.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, the suppressor. He might have bought the suppressor legally.
SPEAKER 15 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
But if you're going to take it with you after you shoot somebody... Oh, jeez.
SPEAKER 15 :
What a knucklehead, by the way.
SPEAKER 05 :
But if I was going to take it with me, I'm going to dispose of it, which is never going to be found, by the way.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. I mean, again, what a knucklehead. Why would that thing still be in your backpack, Joe?
SPEAKER 05 :
Knucklehead, John. I mean, you got it. For some people...
SPEAKER 15 :
This kid was obviously, I mean, he was valedictorian of his class, so on paper... He wasn't stupid, but he was definitely... He had a mental screw loose, mentally ill, as I said earlier, Joe, or you wouldn't do the things he did.
SPEAKER 05 :
100% correct. 100% correct. It's that simple.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, even after the shooting effect of things and what we're talking about right now, a sane person wouldn't do.
SPEAKER 05 :
He kept the... In fact, he kept the... fake New Jersey driver's license that he used to check into the hostel in New York City. You know, he checked in under an assumed name. Right. And he used a fake New Jersey driver's license when he checked into the hostel where he was staying in Manhattan. Well, he kept that fake driver's license, which ties him directly to that city on those dates.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, not smart. Not smart. Not smart. Anyways, Joe, appreciate you as always.
SPEAKER 05 :
You're welcome, John.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, have a great night. And Joe's always got great insight, and I appreciate that very much. We'll take a break. We'll come back. American National Insurance is next. Paul Leuenberger, my good friend, he's a broker. He'll broker whatever's best for you when it comes to insurance. Give Paul a call today. And again, he's able to help you out in multiple ways. It doesn't have to be just the home. It could be home, auto, you name it, business. You give him a call. 303-662-0789.
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SPEAKER 16 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us. John and Cheyenne, go ahead, sir.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, John, listening to you and Joe talk about it and following a little bit of the news, I think this guy wanted to get caught.
SPEAKER 15 :
Possible.
SPEAKER 06 :
And hear me out. He made it from the shooting spot into Central Park. If you've never been to New York, Central Park is huge.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Yep, have been.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. Very wooded. They got lakes. They got sewers everywhere. If he didn't want to get caught, he could have walked through the park because he headed all the way up to 178th Street, what they call the George Washington Bridge bus terminal, to get out of the city. That was probably 100 blocks where he could have dropped the gun, the jacket, the backpack. He could have got rid of all that and they would have never found it. But he kept it all. What does that tell you?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, one of two things. Either, to your point, he wanted to be caught or he's got a screw loose. One of the two.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I'm thinking of, well, if he wanted to be caught, that definitely means he's a nut.
SPEAKER 15 :
On the same token, if you wanted to be, you know, just devil's advocate, if you wanted to be caught, why didn't you just stand there after you killed him?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep, if you wanted to be a martyr about it. I just think, you know, this guy, they say he's got a master's degree in computer science. Yeah, he's book smart. But does he have the common sense that... God gave a five-year-old? It doesn't seem like it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, probably not.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know what I'm saying? There's street smarts and then there's book smarts. Absolutely. He might have gotten all the book smarts and none of the street smarts.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, again, to your point, something is awry with this guy. I mean, either A, he wanted to be caught, and I don't know what his thought process was because there was even better ways to make that happen when it was all said and done, unless he just wanted to be dramatic about it, which maybe that was part of it as well. I don't know. On the same token, he could have just gotten caught because he's a nut job and
SPEAKER 06 :
you know again john who knows i mean again all i know is the left is is fond you know is is so fond of this guy and are and are just gloating over this guy it's ridiculous well what would it be you know you if you take it a step further one of those lefties that wrote an article from i think she got fired from uh the washington post or one of those and she's now on her own she's a you know, she writes online. What if somebody walked up to her and put a bullet in her head and said, well, she wrote things out I didn't like, so I just killed her. Would anybody defend that?
SPEAKER 15 :
No. Well, and even in that case, again, John, as you know, I mean, I would be upset, period, on any level along those lines, because you don't take someone else's life. No matter how much you disagree with them, you don't take their life.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, you don't. But what I'm saying is it's acceptable to they dislike. So, and here's the other question I had on this. Do you notice how his, what they call the manifesto that he had in his backpack has already been released?
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
And everybody knows it's We still haven't seen the national trans shooters.
SPEAKER 15 :
Nope.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, that's my, where is it?
SPEAKER 15 :
That's a great question. No, you are correct. And I had a couple of different text messages along those lines as well. It's like, yeah, there's such a lack of consistency, it's ridiculous.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, hopefully that Kash Patel will release all that stuff.
SPEAKER 15 :
I think he will, by the way.
SPEAKER 06 :
One other thing.
SPEAKER 15 :
Real quick, I got 20 seconds. Go for it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Shout out to Paul. I got my first rebate check on my home car insurance.
SPEAKER 15 :
Nice. Good job. All right. Appreciate you, John. Nope. Thank you very much. And that's it for this second hour. We've got another full hour, of course, coming your way. Linda Hanson, she's been with us before. She'll be joining us, Prosperity 101. We're going to talk about companies that are going from woke to what. We'll do that next hour. Don't go anywhere. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you.
In this episode of Rush to Reason, host John Rush dives deep into the evolving landscape of remote work and the pressures facing corporate America. As Linda Hanson joins as a guest, they explore how woke initiatives are shifting and what this means for companies today. From the struggles of returning to office environments to the impact of public policies on everyday workers and employers, John and Linda navigate these pressing topics with insight and foresight. Discover the direct links between economic policies and personal income, and how the lack of understanding in these fundamental areas can lead to broader societal issues.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Rush to Reason. You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you're scared. And you're scared because if you try and fail, there's only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk!
SPEAKER 16 :
You haven't made everybody equal. You've made them the same, and there's a big difference.
SPEAKER 11 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 10 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 16 :
It's Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And we're waiting for Linda. And again, she's very busy and could very well have gotten tied up. We were waiting for her to call us. But you know what? As I always say, the show goes on. I got plenty of cover anyway, so not a huge issue there whatsoever. So let me do this. Linda was going to talk about, you know, the wokeness in corporate America, what's happening there and so on. And I... Well, yeah, you know what? I'm going to move this up. I had this in my notes for a little bit later this hour, so I'm going to move this up. I'll talk about this now. If Linda calls in, we can still kind of coincide this into this particular topic anyways. And that is remote work. And I read several different articles today about – and one of them is in the Wall Street Journal – regarding remote workers in the fact that they are now starting to be terminated for not showing up to work. In other words, in some of these cases, people moved across the country and thought i guess that this is going to be some sort of a permanent thing so remember all the way back in covid andy and i even talked about this numerous times you know people were being you know because of covid they were allowed to work remotely and it was going to be the new trend and it even affected commercial office space and the vacancy rate and on and on and on we go andy and i at the time said this won't last now i will be the first to admit it lasted longer than i thought by about two years. I really felt like by now even, there'd be a lot more people back at work, but that's not the way it turned out. And at any rate, A lot of those people now have refused to come back and are now, let's just say this, they're going to be looking for other work. I've got some examples of that I will talk to you about in this particular article as well. But I believe Charlie's getting Linda for us as we speak. So we'll shift gears here and I can come back to that. But there's some things in that I want to talk about as well. So we'll come back to that here in just a few minutes. And real quick, we'll switch gears. Let's go to Linda real quick. Linda Hanson, how are you?
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm just great. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 12 :
You're very welcome. Welcome back. Prosperity 101. Let's talk about from woke to what. In other words, and I've read it. We talk about this on the program quite often. A lot of these companies that literally were on the DEI train have either shifted gears. The train's not even on the track any longer. I mean, they're going completely. different direction. Some of that, I believe, Linda, because of public outcry. But in other cases, I think they're finally figuring out this isn't working.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would say, yes, it's not working. You know, we really don't need to judge surgeons and pilots and plumbers by the color of their skin or their gender. You know, we need people who are skilled at the work that they do. And I think that the American public has awakened to to this incredible lack of common sense, and companies are being forced to wake up as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and I had said this one as well. I was talking a moment ago about the people coming back or supposed to be coming back to work that aren't, that are now losing their jobs. The return to work thing has gotten to be a big deal. And folks, I guess, finally have, you know, folks that moved even some cases across either state lines or multiple states to work remotely are now figuring out that, oh, they want me back in the office. I mean, once again, the bottom line profit, Linda, as you know, when it comes to companies is, That has a lot to do with what they do day to day, especially companies that, for lack of better words, I guess I should say, Linda, have to answer to the public, the stakeholders, and so on. When they start to not have very good returns, people get antsy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, they do. And one of the problems that we have in America is that people don't really understand how much policy affects their paycheck. And consumers don't understand how much policy affects the final price of their product, that their product or service they're buying. And so, you know, we can see these changes, but unless we absolutely educate people in the workforce now, I think it can be kind of a flash in the pan that we have this opportunity to really drill in and help people understand the greatness of our system of government, the greatness of our Constitution. the greatness of our opportunity to create prosperity, which is human flourishing and freedom. But unless we help them truly make the connection between these things, we could end up in another wave of these crazy policies that make no sense.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, I agree. I said this. It's funny. I was talking about this a couple of days ago that there's this window that we have right now whereby we can do some of the things you just mentioned. We can train not only the employees but the customers and so on and really take this opportunity and do something with it. And my fear is if we don't, we'll be right back where we started from.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I have seen the effects of working in the workplace to help employees understand how basic policy affects their paycheck. One time I was doing a workshop at a company where they did Prosperity 101 days across their company throughout every facility. I trained the managers, sent them out, right? And then I was at like the home office or one near there with the owner. And some union employees were part of this presentation. And there was one person in particular who didn't want to be there. He was very intimidating. He kind of, you know, made me, like I said, intimidated a little when he walked in the door. And I just said a silent prayer, Lord, I want that one. Right. And throughout the conversation and the presentation, his body language opened up and he got more curious. And at the end, he raised his hand and said, let me get this straight. If those policies up there make it hard for Jim over here to pay my paycheck and my benefits, why do I want to vote for someone who supports those policies? Which I wanted to jump up and down and say, yes, that's why I'm here. You're getting it. Yes, and one of the posters I have on my website that I offer for... people to use in their workplace is simply the Bill of Rights. And underneath it says, are you voting for a person who will protect your rights? So many people have come through the public education system these years. They're in their 20s, 30s, 40s. Like you were talking about, they're being entitled, you know, they have to go back to work. Right.
SPEAKER 12 :
I got to go back to the office? How dare you?
SPEAKER 06 :
I can't go in my pajamas? Yeah, anyway. But they're in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and they really don't understand that it takes healthy businesses to drive the economy. The government has nothing until we give it to them first. They don't understand how it all works, and they're in the workforce now. They're through their school. They're done, and they have come through, and they've been taught to hate America, and to hate capitalism while they hold their Starbucks and their laptops. And so I say if employers don't help educate them with some basic civics and basic information, who will? And we'll be right back in that section.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and I really appreciate having you on, because I believe wholeheartedly in what you're saying. The education part of it is huge, because you are correct. Most, I mean, there are some rare exceptions of kids that go to, you know, private school, Catholic school, Christian school, homeschooled, where they may be getting some of these civic things, and it's different on their level. But generally speaking, and some of this... Linda, I know because, A, I'm an employer, and, B, I talk to a lot of young people. And I will, on purpose even sometimes, get into some of these questions and answers, if you would, on some of the things you and I are talking about just to see what level are they at and what have they been taught. And I'll just say it straight up. I can tell where these kids have gone to school. Let me just say that. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. And so that's why I love what I do with Prosperity 101, because I really want to empower employers to be able to get these people reeducated. And it's not telling them who to vote for or what party or anything. It's reintroducing them to the documents that protect our God-given rights. reintroducing them to that, reintroducing them to, well, or introducing them for the first time to the policies that drive our economic system and allow for us to have, you know, that capitalism and the free enterprise and the opportunity to build and create wealth. and then how to protect that by becoming informed, involved, and impactful. So what I want to encourage every employer to do is just join the movement and help re-educate or educate for the first time some of that basic civics, basic economic policy that all of these people should have learned in fifth grade because they didn't. We've had these years of absolute chaos and confusion. And I think that if we just begin the conversation and then also when employers do that in such a way that it lets the employee know they're mentioning these things because they care about them, they really want them to have. Yeah. You know, Linda, really quick.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, I've always wanted as an employer to see my employees be as successful and as prosperous as possible, because when they are, they become a lot more, you know, loyal to me. And we're all in this together. You know, if they win, I win. And so I've always told them, you know, if you guys are winning as employees, that means I am as well. And together we keep building what we're doing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, that kind of communication builds that loyalty, engagement, retention. That helps an employer's bottom line. That helps everybody's bottom line. You know, all the ships rise when the water rises, right? And so this is why this is so important. And like I said, I have seen this change constantly. perspectives and change lives. And that's why I love what I do. So if people, you know, obviously they can contact me at prosperity101.com and learn more. I even have just a free ebook people can get with ideas of how to even start a conversation in the workplace. But I truly believe that employers are like a last frontier for educating these people to understand how policy affects their paycheck.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yep, and really quick, just in closing, for those of you that are listening, employers, one of the things that I've always done is when especially a a mistake has been made. So maybe it was costly, maybe it's not so costly. What I mean by that, Linda, is maybe something didn't make it to an invoice that should have, or maybe there was a slight accident and now the company's got to pay out some money to handle said accident. I've always gone and said, okay, and I know it varies from company to company and what your bottom line is, but truly what is that mistake going to cost the company? In other words, how many sales, how many dollars do we now have to have come in to make up for what just happened? And sometimes, not always, but in most cases with employees, when you start saying, okay, that $100 mistake now means we have to do X We'll be right back.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right, exactly. And this is just such good information for employers to share with their employees because, you know, in our personal lives, we can't live with the kind of deficit that the government has. No. In business, we can't do that. Not for very long.
SPEAKER 12 :
Ask Stellantis Motor Company right now how that's working out for them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And, you know, but we could see it in nations as well. And so... When we can give these people the common sense, basic civics, basic economics, and it comes from I care about you so you can learn about this, It's so powerful. I've seen it time and time again, and it's so powerful. And, you know, we can really take our country back. I mean, we have, in a sense, with the election, we have a window of time. And unless we think like statesmen, you know, politicians think like the next election, but statesmen think like the next generation. And unless we really, as activists, as employers... As voters, as citizens, unless we start thinking like statesmen, we are not going to be able to preserve that freedom for our children and grandchildren moving forward.
SPEAKER 12 :
That's right. Linda Hanson, again, appreciate you very much. Prosperity 101, what's the website folks need to go to?
SPEAKER 06 :
Prosperity101.com.
SPEAKER 12 :
Awesome. I appreciate it. You're welcome back anytime, Linda.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you so much. You're very welcome.
SPEAKER 12 :
Have a great evening. I'll come back, by the way, to that work from home, remote work. We've got a short segment. I'll do that in just one moment. Geno's Auto Service, though, is up next. And as you head down this stretch into Christmas, if you need something done to your vehicle, they'll get you taken care of. Geno'sautoservice.com. And Geno starts with a J.
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, return to work. And I started the top of the hour that way, and then we had Linda call in, which I appreciate very much. Very gracious of her, by the way. There was a little miscommunication between her and her person that does the bookings and so on. But I appreciate Linda. Second time I've had her on, and I enjoy having her. So we'll have her back in the future. But there was an article in the Wall Street Journal talking about this whole return to work. And one story that just caught my eye, there was a few, but there was one that caught my eye. And this is in the article, so I can say it without defaming anybody. This is just a story in the Wall Street Journal. Stephanie Pittman says she lost her remote job as a director of vendor management. She's a lawyer, by the way, for a building maintenance company last month. She had worked from her home in Wichita, Kansas, since joining the California-based business last year. The company started calling employees back to its headquarters and hiring people who could work in person. Pittman, who is 51 and again, an attorney, had taken the job to escape a previous employer's back to the office push and is anchored to Wichita by four children, her husband, who is a judge and aging parents who live only a mile away. Now, while I'm sympathetic to her situation. I understand what it's like to have aging parents and all of that. I'm there right now. I get it. I'm very sympathetic to what her situation is. But I think her expectations of working remotely for someone are, frankly, too high. And being an attorney, I would think that her common sense would tell her so. Because she's... This article goes on to say, her old job is now posted on an on-site position, or as an on-site position, with part-time legal work as a contractor. Pittman has maintained her income in the months since, but the outlook for another high-paying remote job is discouraging. She has gotten little traction on more than 100 applications so far, and she goes on to quote, saying, it's just so frustrating, so demoralizing. Now... I know she's an attorney, but Stephanie, I could have told you this was coming, and I did several years ago. It lasted longer than I thought, but I'm not sure why this is frustrating and demoralizing to you. You're an attorney. You should have seen the handwriting on the wall. Remote work. I don't want to say it's completely dead, but for a lot of jobs and a lot of companies, it will be. And here's why. And Andy and I have explained this many times. You don't get the same production as a company out of remote workers you would if they were in the office. You don't get the same collaboration. as if they were in the office. You don't get the same ability to monitor what they're doing when they're not in the office. And there's only but probably, I don't think I'm exaggerating, one, maybe two percent of all workers, and I know that sounds like a low number, but bear with me, one to two percent that can work remotely and be just as effective and productive and make the company the same money as if they went into the office. I mean that sincerely. And the reason is the majority of workers are not that disciplined enough to do that. Most workers from home. will take whatever advantage they can of doing so. The distractions will come. They don't have the same routine. I go down the list of things that most remote workers won't do to make them less productive and effective at home as if they were in the office. Now, some would say, well, yeah, but I get distracted in the office. I'm way more productive at home. You might be. And you might be. You might be one of those one or two percenters I was just talking about. But you're the exception. Far too many say that, and yet the numbers would say that they're very sorely mistaken because, no, they're not as productive at home as they would be in the office. I'll go one step further. Most people that can work effective remotely... and stay on top of things and make their company the same amount of money, could probably run their own business. Because that's what it takes, by the way. You have to be working almost 24-7 when you run your own business. You really never stop. You're doing something constantly. Your brain never shuts off. You're always figuring out what's the next thing that we as a company need to be doing to move things along. And if your mindset is such that you can do that from home versus being in the office, you're a good candidate to own your own business. And again, that's a rarity because most can't. Most can't. Most don't have the drive, the wherewithal, the ability to work as many hours as I just said, and so on. And I'm not saying everybody that works remotely has to put in 60, 70, 80 hours. That's not what I'm saying. But the reality is most that have even a 40 or 50-hour job that work from home probably aren't working half that, actually working half that. Again, distractions come along. Oh, I got to go do a load of laundry. Oh, I need to go mow the grass. Oh, I need to go do X, Y, Z. Or I think I'll do this or I'll do that or I can go down the list. And those distractions are there. And trust me, I know I work from home. I've worked from home now since about 2010 or so. So 15 years almost. And started working from home as I had more businesses and locations and so on. I figured out that I could actually be more effective going to my home office and getting done what I needed to do and so on. And I will tell you that even that for me, and you guys all know how hard I work and what I do on a daily basis. And even for me, that was a shift. A, because you're not around people. You don't have the social aspect of it because you're no longer around people in the office, so you're doing it without all of that, which, again, sometimes that can be a distraction. Sometimes, though, it can be a help. Sometimes that can even be a motivator. So you're at home working alone. You're trying to make sure you put all these distractions aside so you can concentrate on the things that you need to get done, and yet you also know that, oh, man, I didn't get this done yesterday, and I didn't get that done this weekend, and I still need to get this done because you're seeing all these things around the house that you know you need to get done, and they're barking at you. And you're thinking, well, I'm here. I could just take a half an hour and go do that really quick. Well, a half an hour turns into an hour and a half. And pretty soon you've not done any work because you've been over here doing this. And far too often on remote workers, what I just said happens. And it's finally caught up. And companies are realizing that, wow, our numbers aren't what they used to be. We've got all these remote workers. And, yeah, we know we saved a lot of money on office space and so on. But at the end of the day, we're worse off than we were before. Even paying for all of that. So, again, the remote office thing is changing dramatically. People are refusing, in some cases, to not go back because they've made huge lifestyle changes, which, again, good for them, I guess, if that's what they wanted to do. But I think some of these people really have this pie-in-the-sky feeling that, oh, this is just the way it's going to be from this point forward. They had no backup plan. One of the stories talks about a guy that lived somewhere in California that moved to Oregon or Washington. I can't remember exactly where it was because the cost of living was cheaper and he liked the climate better and blah, blah, blah. Well, now he's being called back to work and he owns two different homes because he kept the one that he owned initially, rented it, and now has a second home that he paid for, you know, is paying for with a mortgage. And now he doesn't know what to do because he's got two homes, basically. And if he doesn't return to work, we'll be out of a job. I mean, he really bit off a lot. And my point is, is didn't these people think that down the road this might change? I mean, did they think that just because of COVID and you're working from home now that that's never going to end? and a lot of them either got filled up with a bill of goods or something, but somehow, someway, they lost sight of reality. All right, Hi-Fi Plumbing is next. Hi-Fi Plumbing and electrical, I should say. 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SPEAKER 08 :
No need.
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SPEAKER 16 :
Now, back to Rush to Reason, presented by High Five Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, where every call ends with a high five.
SPEAKER 12 :
And we are back, Rush to Reason. Dan, what's going on, sir?
SPEAKER 07 :
So, interesting you're talking about working from home. I read an article today, or this week, where, you know, Doge, Musk, and... So... They're looking at government remote workers, and I guess there was some person that was working two six-figure jobs for the government, and they were full-time jobs. Both of them were.
SPEAKER 12 :
Which means he's not doing, and my guess is he's doing neither probably, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
I don't know. That was just interesting that, mean that's it's good that we got the whatever doge or whatever it's called because i wonder how many other remote positions in government are the same way so good question and then and then i'm wondering like i i don't i know you go up to the mountain some but all these uh high occupancy apartments like they're popping up in silverthorne right i'm like well how can people afford to live in silverthorne i mean where's all the jobs and it's probably because People are working remote jobs, and they're able to live wherever they want to live. So if it starts changing, I wonder if people are going to have to start leaving Colorado.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, that is a really great question. I would not be, well, let's just say this, Dan. I think there's going to be a lot of shifting around of the workforce as time goes by. To your point a moment ago, because people did exactly what you said. In fact, I will tell you that a lot of the mountain towns, I know this firsthand, a lot of the mountain towns saw significant growth in their populations, Grand County being one of them, because of remote workers. And to your point, will they stay or will they be putting their homes up for sale and going somewhere else?
SPEAKER 07 :
I don't know cause I don't think Colorado has, well, we need to have a government regime change, right? Um, because they're not doing anything to create jobs. They're just taking more money from us and, and you've met on illegals and what, what not. So I guess we got a new something starting January 1st. I imagine you talked about it about, I don't know what healthcare or something that Colorado is doing now. Um, I can't remember. I read it. Where did I read it? I don't remember. All I could think was, oh, here's another government agency that we don't need. Yeah, you know what?
SPEAKER 12 :
I have talked about that. I'm going to have to go look that one up. Top of my head, I can't remember the exact name of that. But, yes, we have a new agency in Colorado for health care, basically.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and it's like, I don't understand why. the mentality of the liberal mindset, I don't have a hard time trying to understand, well, let's just keep taxing ourselves and we'll create more government agencies and more inefficiencies because there is no profit motivation for a government agency at all. And so because there's no profit motive, there's no reason for them to be efficient and effective.
SPEAKER 12 :
You are correct. That's why government doesn't do anything well at all, Dan, because to your point, there is no incentive to.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. And another question, I'm just all over the place. How did Joe Biden make all his millions of dollars?
SPEAKER 12 :
Uh-huh. So...
SPEAKER 07 :
And I'm wondering if the funding of the Ukrainian war, if he hasn't made money through it.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, guaranteed he has. I mean, I can't say that with valid proof that I could show anybody. But, Dan, I mean, you'd have to be an ostrich with your head buried in the sand to think that Joe Biden isn't profiting off of Ukraine.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, he is. He is. So...
SPEAKER 12 :
Given the history that Hunter had and Burisma and, and, and, and, and, you know, to sit out there, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, if you think for one second Joe Biden hasn't profited from that, you have a screw loose.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 12 :
You're in denial. I mean, Dan, literally, you have a screw loose because you're in total denial of reality, meaning you have a screw loose.
SPEAKER 07 :
I agree. And so... Did Biden allow the war in Ukraine to happen so that he could line his pockets with money? I think he did.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 07 :
And think about all the young men who have lost their lives.
SPEAKER 12 :
That and the citizenry of both countries that have gone through some of those things as well. Shows you, Dan, I say it all the time and I'll continue to say it because I mean it, the left, the Marxists, don't care about people at all. I might have lost you, Dan, but living proof that they don't care because if they did, Dan, I think I lost you. You must have gone into a bad spot on the cell. Regardless, yeah, no, they don't care about people because if they did, you'd see things being done differently along those lines. We'll take a break. Flesh loss coming up next. Civil, criminal, you need representation. Kevin is there for you. 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 04 :
It's time to leave your safe space.
SPEAKER 12 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560. All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And Dan, again, thank you for calling in. I had a video I was going to play today from John Stossel. I think Joe sent me this, but I've seen it as well. Why government can't build anything. And I don't have the time now. We're getting short here as we get towards the end of the hour. I'll probably do that either Monday or Tuesday because it's really solid. In fact, it talks about some of the things that I believe and don't know for sure because I'm not them, but I believe that Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk will do their best to help fix because I'm sure it's frustrating. And any of you that haven't. done this should. Elon Musk has all sorts of different videos out there, YouTube and so on, on X, where he talks about the inefficiencies of government, some of the things that he has experienced with SpaceX, for example, and just different things along those lines, building his data centers and all these different things that he has to go through and all the hoops he has to jump through regulatory-wise. It's worth watching. You know, I think one of the things that a lot of folks don't give him enough credit for is the fact that he's been through some of these things. He knows firsthand how difficult some things can be because government says so. Even though there's no rhyme or reason for it, it's just because government says so. So he's looking at this thinking, well, wait a minute, we're trying to do all sorts of things, technologically speaking, and advance the world and be the superpower that we are, and yet we've got government coming in and getting involved and basically hamstringing that, making it difficult for that to happen, which isn't the way it's supposed to work. Government should be there to aid in that and make that stuff jettison forward, not the opposite. Unfortunately, when government gets involved, they slow everything down. And much to what Dan was saying a moment ago, it's because the majority, not all, but the majority of government workers have no incentive to do otherwise. If you know, and this is human nature, by the way, if you know that your job is secure tomorrow, having nothing to do with how well you perform today, where's the incentive to get more done today so that you've got less to do tomorrow? As you can tell, there isn't any. And human nature is if you can put that off and procrastinate and not deal with it, you will. And this is not being, you know, judgy towards anyone. It's just human behavior. If you don't have to do it, you won't. So when it comes to government, and I get it, there is some accountability in some agencies and so on, and there are some things that have to be done and goals have to be met and so on, but not often. In most cases, that's not how it works. You show up, put in your time, fill out your time card or punch the clock or do whatever you need to do. As long as you're there and you're getting a quasi-fair amount of work done, you'll have that job for life. You don't have to perform like in the private sector. at all to keep your job. And guys, I'm not saying anything that people don't know. I mean, there used to be an old joke, Charlie, where people would talk about a government job, or there was some slang that went along with that to where everybody knew that if you worked for the government, you didn't have to work as hard. And frankly, that's gotten worse, not better. We have less accountability in that now than we've ever had. Not more accountability, less accountability. And again, I'm not trying to pick on government workers. We have some that listen to this program. And by the way, some government workers I don't think get near enough credit. I think that exists as well. I think some people might even carry their whole office because they feel like they should be doing what they need to be doing. And they are doing it. And yet most of their coworkers aren't. And for those of you that are listening to me that fit into that description, congratulations. Thank you. I appreciate it. And you probably don't get enough of that. In fact, you may be one of those people that you do all the work and watch your boss in government get all the credit. And I feel for you. And yet you don't want to rock the boat because you enjoy your job and your paycheck and your pension and so on. And you don't want to screw that up. And I can't blame you. And again, thank you for what you do. But you probably are, in some cases, carrying the whole office. Which, like I said, you don't get enough credit for. So I'm sure there's both in government. I'm not saying that every government worker is a slouch, but there's far too many. And part of that is because we make government jobs unaccountable. We, we as, in other words, the people. And remember, there's a lot of appointed bureaucrats that never get elected. that once they get into quote-unquote power, they can write their own ticket. They'll be there forever. There literally is no accountability. If they chair jockey correctly, that's what I call it. In other words, you jockey from this chair to the next chair to the next chair. If you're a good chair jockey and you know how to move up the ladder, you could very easily do so and have a job for life. And a lot of people play that game. And, again, I'm not criticizing. It's just what they do. It happens in the private sector as well. I get that. There's some chair jockeys and big corporations that do the same thing, and I understand that. But trust me, by and large, it happens way more in government than it does private sector. And when I say government, I mean everything from local towns all the way to the feds. And everything in between. And some of you are going to say, well, John, how do you know this? I mean, you don't have any proof of this. Well, actually, yeah, I do. You know, at times I think people forget all of what I've done in my career. When you grow up in the automotive world, and I started out in a car dealership and then had my own shops and so on, and I was around a lot of different people throughout the years. A lot of different people. And still am. But in that realm, I was around a ton of people. where I had my facilities, people that were professors at the college, people that worked for Ball Aerospace, folks that started Level 3, people that started Crocs. I mean, I can go down the list of the different people I've known over the years that have done a lot of high-end things, including a lot of people that work in government. And I can tell you straight up some of the stories, some of the people that I knew that could verify everything I've just said. I've watched some of them do that. And it was very frustrating for me, being an owner, knowing how many hours I had to work to make things work and know that my tax dollars were supporting a lot of these things, whereby people weren't putting in a full day's work for a full day's pay. So some would say, John, you have no idea. Well, actually, I do, because I've been around that stuff probably more than I would have cared to and saw more of it than I wanted to. And it really shed a light on what happens in a lot of those agencies. And yes, I have firsthand knowledge of a lot of those things that I just got done talking about. about. So Golden Eagle Financial coming up next. Again, I keep talking about the end of the year finances, where you're at, what you need to do, taxes, and so on. Make sure you've got your financial future set. Talk to Al Smith today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
Stay up to date with Rush to Reason after the show on Twitter at Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
We are back. Just a few seconds left of this particular hour. Tomorrow, movie reviews. Andy will have Kraven the Hunter and Lord of the Rings, The War of the... Rorim? Am I saying that right, Charlie? Rorim? I can't say it right. And then we're going to continue on with last week's loony lefties movies. So those of you that have actors and actresses that are loony on the left and you'd like to add that into our list, please, you can text me and do that. And we'll talk about that tomorrow during our Friday edition. Have a great night, folks. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
In this episode, professional money manager Bill Gundersen discusses the recent spikes in market volatility and how investors can navigate these choppy waters. With insights from chartered financial analyst Barry Kite, they explore the shifts in market trends and the impact of political events on trading opportunities, particularly in the weeks flowing into the new administration. Discover how the surge in volatility can create both risks and unique chances for investors to capitalize on shorter-term trades. The discussion also delves into the booming sectors of quantum computing and AI, highlighting emerging leaders like Rigetti and potential opportunities in both micro-cap and large-cap stocks. With the market in flux, understanding these dynamic sectors can provide a critical edge to investors looking to position themselves strategically for upcoming shifts. Moreover, the episode offers analysis on financial strategies and the significance of the latest market developments, providing listeners with key information to make informed investment decisions. Gundersen shares his thoughts on managing investments through tumultuous periods, stressing the importance of adapting to ever-changing conditions and maximizing portfolio performance in 2025.
SPEAKER 04 :
He's been seen on CNBC, the Fox News Channel, and the Fox Business Channel. His articles can be found on MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, thestreet.com, and many other places. He's the author of the weekly Best Stocks Now newsletter and the inventor of the Best Stocks Now app. He's president of Gundersen Capital Management. Here is professional money manager Bill Gundersen.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome to the Friday. It is the Friday, January 3rd, the live edition of the Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson, president of Gunderson Capital Management. I'm here with Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst. And what in the name of the VIX is going on in the market these days? Over the last week, the VIX, which is the volatility index, has just been all over the map. The market was all over the map yesterday. We are off to a very strong start here this morning. With the Dow up 183, it's at 42,575. The NASDAQ is up 230 right now. After a pretty weak day yesterday, Tesla kind of dragged on the NASDAQ a little bit, but it did finish in the positive. NASDAQ is at 19,487. The S&P 500 is up 47 right now to 5,915. Small caps are up about a half of a percent. The last time I looked at the 10-year, it was steady. The 10-year is steady at 4.55%. It's actually down just a little bit. 4.55% is where the 10-year is. Crude oil has got a little bit of life under it. I don't know how sustainable it is with the weakness in China. Crude is at 73.50%. That's the highest we've seen it for a while. And last but not least, Bitcoin is up 513 to 97,016. 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 so far, Barry, the end of the year, the last few days, this entire week actually, including last Friday, is when things started to get really volatile. And all of a sudden, the volatility has kind of taken over the market, the VIX, the volatility index, the VXX. But in the meantime, it's a good VIX. It's a good kind of volatility today. It's driving the market to the upside. I don't really see any catalyst out there. It's a steady uptrend.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's kind of interesting looking at that chart. You're always going to get these spikes, but you can draw a line underneath the end of December and you've got kind of an upward sloping trend to the VIX here.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, the VIX has definitely gotten wild. Well, you know what? I mean, look, you have tax selling, you have tax buying, you have all kinds of different factors coming into the market this time of year on light volume so that's going to increase the volatility yesterday the dow was down 150 the dow is now in a secondary downtrend the primary Trend is still an uptrend, okay? And if you're an investor, that's the one that you're most concerned with. And we're looking for record earnings. I heard somebody come out with $282 per share this year, 2025. $270 around in there is the consensus. And that would be a record haul for earnings once again. And this all began back in 2009 when we were at $60 per share. And nothing explains this bull market since 2009 better than rising earnings every year since then, except for the COVID year and except for, you know, I think there was a couple of years where we were flat to just slightly down. The NASDAQ yesterday was down 235. Actually, it didn't have a very good day, and then it's gaining that back today. All right, so that's why we call it volatility. That's where the volatility is coming from when you're down 250 one day and up 250 the next day. Overall, the charts of the Dow I sent out this morning and the NASDAQ and the S&P showing that they've clearly broken the trend line that they set. They went on a torrid run, including Election Day and the days thereafter. Now they've broken that trend line, and now we're in a little secondary downtrend within a primary uptrend, meaning that that's a very volatile kind of trend. And there's some shorter-term trading opportunities in here for sure right now with the volatility in the market. Wall Street extended its losing streak to five days yesterday. Maybe we'll end that here today. But we've had intraday volatility all week, too. Or yesterday. we were way up in the morning uh barry and uh i don't know what happened uh you know i went outside got some fresh air came back in and i what the heck happened to the market i'm not going outside anymore that that's not a good omen uh it was all over it was very very choppy yesterday and who knows you know today's not over we got a lot of trading ahead of us we've got uh Six hours to try to hold on to these gains. We could see some volatility. Today's a big day in the new administration wherein they vote for the Speaker of the House, Johnson, Mike Johnson, whether or not they'll support him. Trump has endorsed him. Without that Speaker of the House elected, you can't certify the election on January the 20th. So we could get some volatility coming from there. We've had some volatility coming from internal. Some terrorism is back. When's the last time we had a terrorist attack? We've got to go way back. And all of a sudden that's back into the mix with two. Whether they're connected or not, I don't know. It's very strange. But the one in New Orleans was definitely terror-connected. Georgia Bulldog fans a little under the weather here today. Notre Dame handled them. I don't like the playoff structure.
SPEAKER 07 :
It almost drags it out too much. I thought it was great when it got to four. I thought four teams is plenty. I thought they did that well. But when you keep going, I don't even know. I can't even tell you the four. I could tell you three out of the four teams maybe left.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's watered down. At this point in time, we should be down to the two teams. I think after New Year's Day and all the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl and all that, we should be down to the two teams. I don't like this still having four teams left. And these poor college football players, I mean, they're not exactly getting paid the millions of dollars a year. It's got to beat them up. Now, I know there's a lot of money in it for the networks. And for the NCAA and for, I guess, the schools involved and for the gamblers and gambling. But I am not a fan at all of this current format that they have.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and I don't think we get the champion until the 20th of January now. So I believe that's when the final is going to be.
SPEAKER 06 :
For me, Oregon and I think Ohio State are probably the two best teams there. And, of course, Oregon is eliminated. Penn State snuck in and somebody else.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, we've got Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, and Notre Dame. So those are the four. I mean, they've got some pedigree in there, certainly with the names, right? They ended up in a place I think that they're probably happy with in terms of ratings and things of that nature. But it's, I don't know, it's kind of a slow slog to get here, I think.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Well, choppy is the name of the game in the market right now. Definitely choppy. The oil stocks have started off on the right foot here. BP has eight straight sessions of gains. If I were to mention the charts right now, the best charts in the market, the best sector in the market right now was the worst sector last year. That's the oil and gas sector. You've had a huge jump in natural gas prices. You've had a shutting down of the pipeline finally from Russia to Europe. And you've got a very cold winter with the end of next week looking like, you know, we're 28 degrees I see here in the, In Charleston, so it's going to get really, really cold. That's driving natural gas prices higher.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, that's that forecast that drove them up 22% on Tuesday morning. And, you know, I was talking about this on that show is that I think, you know, in terms of, you know, quote-unquote Trump trade, to me, the one that's the cleanest in terms of, you know, in terms of you can get to a – A positive move for the underlying stocks is really kind of natural gas, right? Yes. Liquefying natural gas.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, there's a moratorium right now on us exporting it, and they've just shut down the pipeline. That makes no sense whatsoever, so I'm sure Trump will get rid of the moratorium on us exporting our liquid natural gas, which we have just an almost unlimited supply of natural gas, and we convert the liquid and help Europe out. And make some bucks, make some money for America at the same time.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and Chenier just had a news story, I think, on Tuesday that they opened up a new facility.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, it cranked out its first batch of liquid natural gas coming to a bar near Houston. No, I'm just kidding. But anyways, LNG had a big day yesterday. The stock, Chenier Energy. and a next decade, and a few others. I don't know how sustainable the energy thing is, though, with China, China's weakness, especially for the oil and gas. I like the gas. Are you a diehard? And welcome back here to the second quarter of today's Best Docs Now show. Well, the Surgeon General pushes for cancer warning labels for alcoholic drinks. Alcohol usage was cited by the U.S. Surgeon General as the third leading preventable cause of cancer. in the U.S. after tobacco, number one, obesity, number two, alcohol, number three. And, of course, tobacco we've known about for quite some time. The obesity, we do have help for that now with the weight loss drugs and the alcoholic drinks. I'm not a drinker myself, but obviously the Surgeon General says that alcohol contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths every year. So will we see warnings? Not only the, you know, the foreign, the booze from outside of the U.S. going to be hit with tariffs. Now it could be that they'll have warning labels on them. about cancer. Surgeon General's warning. S&P 500's returns on the first trading day of year. Poor barometer for annual performance. Okay. Well, you know what? I mean, I just don't think that you can take any barometer and say, well, okay. I do think there is a barometer, though, that we had yesterday, and that was the VIX. I do think we'll see a lot of volatility this year.
SPEAKER 07 :
Particularly in the first three months of the year. I mean, you've got a new administration coming in. You're going to have lots of stories about who's getting in the cabinet, who's not going to make it with votes, right? What's going on? First 100 days, what's the real focus of it going to be? What's it going to look like, right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Doge. Doge.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and there's going to be pluses. I mean, you're going to be making along the way, right, winners and losers in the market. And so it'll be, I think we will have a little bump in the road.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, absolutely. It's going to be choppy. And I just think. I guess the word that came to me yesterday is I have to manage a little bit tighter this year and not let things get away. Not that I did last year, but I just think I have to be even tighter this year because of the volatility and some of the wild swings that we could get here in 2025. So it's time-consuming. It takes vigilance, but that's what we're all about here. So anyways, very choppy start to the market. Biden blocks the U.S. steel sale to Japan. You know, he's making a lot of really big decisions with just 17 days left.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right before, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, you had four years to do all this. He wants to shut down through an executive order. Much of the oil and gas areas that are very lucrative with lots of oil and gas in them, he wants to do an executive order which would be very hard to reverse. In his last days in office, you know, this is kind of, I don't know. I'm not a fan, obviously. Blocking U.S. deals. Well, Trump wants to block the sale. I mean, look how times have changed. You go back to World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor and all this and that. One of the reasons that, you know, we came out on top is we were able, we had the natural resources, the oil and gas, the steel, et cetera, that Japan didn't have. to sustain a long war so i mean there's some of that you know do you want to of course we've been they've been our one of our closest allies now times have changed a lot so anyways uh under uh america first policy i think you would block that uh u.s steel uh going to japan uh so anyways and like i say biden is poised to block more offshore oil drilling before trump takes over And I don't think Biden is done yet. I mean, I think he's going to do more things before his time is up, which is, you know, his days are numbered here, 17 days left. I guess that's when he actually has to move out and turn over the keys to the White House. It was a huge monster day for the nuclear stocks yesterday. Holy cow. vistra and constellation energy our uh dividend portfolio had a very good day yesterday and both are following up today's yes constellation made a big deal with the government uh so now microsoft has a big deal with constellation the government everybody's Staking out of position so they don't run out of energy, except for the consumer, I guess, the little guys.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, maybe our air conditions.
SPEAKER 06 :
They've got themselves taken care of. Constellation wins a $1 billion federal government clean energy contract. Shares rise. So anyways, Constellation will supply more than 13 government agencies and perform energy savings and... So, you know, there's just more proof that the nuclear has moved from the bad side of the ledger to the good side, the clean, renewable energy side of the ledger. Constellation is sitting in a very good spot. We've owned Constellation and Vistra. That's what we like in dividend-paying stocks. We don't like 13%, 14%, 15% dividends that come with extremely high risk and probably are not going to deliver that dividend when it comes to total return. Total return is what it's all about. Give me a smaller dividend yield. Constellation's dividend yield is a half a percent. Vistra's dividend. But it's a dividend. But look at the capital appreciation. Over the years, the stock market, 90% of your returns have come from capital appreciation. And these people that are trying to get those returns through dividends only... That's a fool's game. Vistra is breaking out today. Constellation is breaking out. And I saw a lot of those small nuclear stocks like SMR, Oklo, etc. They're having a good day also, and I think that's going to continue to be a playable, viable sector in the market this year, nuclear, not only for investing like we have in Vistra and like we have in Constellation. We also have some small in the emerging growth portfolio, some of the smaller nuclear, but trading also. the nuclear sector is going to present some very good trading opportunities along the way also. These are very small, some of them very, very small companies, but they're signing deals with big technology companies. The other sector that had a very good day yesterday, and when we come back I want to talk about it, there's definitely one leader emerging in that quantum space. and several good runner-ups, too, in that quantum space. It had a big day. We'll check in on it, see if it's following through today. This is the Best Stocks Now show. We'll be right back. This is Bill Gunderson. Thank you for tuning in to today's Best Stocks Now, Best Inverse Funds Now show. I put several hours of research in during the wee hours of the morning each day to bring you the very best cutting edge stories that I can. To get two free weeks of my newsletter, go to GundersonCapital.com. To talk to us about our fee-based only money management services, call us at 855-611-BEST. Now, back to the second half of the show. Music
SPEAKER 02 :
The Instigator Because there's something in the air
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back here to the second half of today's Best Stocks Now show with professional money manager Bill Gunderson and Barry Kite, our chartered financial analyst at Gunderson Capital Management. The quantum sector kind of came out of nowhere. in the fall of last year, maybe even the winter, I think. And it started really with Amazon announcing that they would be investing heavily in quantum computing and uh... i have now created uh... i have a little watch list of uh... i want to say eleven ten ten or eleven uh... quantum related stocks there it is right there and uh... i think the the leader right now is rigetti even though talk about volatility oh man it's like up 10 one day down 12 the next day up nine but i think righetti has definitely uh kind of stamped itself as the leader but Here's the 10 stocks that I watch on a daily basis in that quantum computing. There's also an ETF that is quantum. Okay, number one is ARQQ. I'm just going to do them in alphabetical order here. ARQQ is Arquit Quantum. It is a $266 million company. So I just want to put that in perspective. That's a micro cap. So these really... Are they investable for the long term right now? Maybe there's a few, but in the interim, I think this whole sector is kind of being sorted out right now. You know, the winners will start to rise up. The cream rises to the top, so to speak, because they don't have any sales or earnings yet. I mean, these companies are just really laboratories and, you know, that are hoping that someone will come along and use their services. Our kit is one of those. It's out of the UK. Now, the second one here, Coherent, is definitely... That's an established company. That's a $16.1 billion company out of Pennsylvania, and it definitely is an investable company, C-O-H-R. They've been around for a long time, kind of in the electronic parts business, but they're also part of that quantum computing sector right now as far as kind of the picks and shovels. And that one there is definitely more investable than just trading. IonQ has also kind of emerged here as a leader. It actually has sales, and those sales are starting to take off. They developed trapped ion quantum computers for the purpose of commercial, industrial, and academic applications. They have sales over the last four quarters, sales up 60%, sales up 77%, sales up 106%, sales up 102%. I'd put that right up there with Rigetti. And that stock's trading at 45. This is almost a, this is a $9.7 billion company already. This would fit down in that emerging growth category, you know, if you were looking for, you know, where it fits. This is not a dividend payer. This is not a large cap growth company. This is not even a triple A. This is way down there at single A, kind of. I-O-N-Q. But one of the best ones right now in that sector. Marvell is a big one. That's a large cap. hundred billion dollar company they are part of this uh quantum move they design microprocessors semiconductors for data centers networking telecom consumer markets That's where some of that quantum fits. Then there's D-Wave, QBTS. That's a $1.6 billion company. It's down there at the smaller end. It's highly volatile. They do have some sales, very little, but it's definitely emerged. Then there's a stock just called Quantum, QMCO. They're more in the storage of the Quantum, on the Quantum side. This is a little one, micro cap, $250 million in market cap. Then there's the Defiance Quantum ETF, where this would contain all of these stocks in it. And its symbol is QTUM, Quantum ETF. Okay, then the next one I have is Quantum Computing, QUBT. That's a $2 billion company, no sales, no earnings whatsoever yet. It's still out there on the horizon. This is the one out of Hoboken, New Jersey, home of Frank Sinatra. Quantum Computing. Then there's Radnet, which is out of Israel. No, it's out of Los Angeles. Actually, RadNet is kind of on the medical side of quantum computing. And then you've got Rigetti. Rigetti is now a $3.6 billion company. They do have some sales, very little in the way of sales. And those are the 10 right now that I'm tracking. Talk about if they had a VIX on the quantum computing. Well, in individual stocks, you call that beta. You can look up the beta of any stock. If a stock has a beta of 2.0, that means it's two times as volatile. As the S&P 500. So if we look up the beta right now on Rigetti, which I get. The beta is 3.36.
SPEAKER 07 :
There you go, yeah. 3.36 times.
SPEAKER 06 :
So that means keep a bottle of Tums, Rolaids, whatever your favorite antacid is.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, the average standard deviation or volatility for the S&P is 15. So that would be, what, times 3, close to 45? Yes. Meaning 68% of the outcomes will end up between 45% and negative 45%.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that was part of my continuing education, and I know beta very well. So there's all kinds of angles at investing. There's an ETF out there, Hibs, H-I-B-S, which, believe it or not, is inverse the high beta stocks. So you get into any kind of a correction in the market, guess who's going to get hit the hardest? The high beta stocks. And so I have Hibs.
SPEAKER 07 :
Ask Kathy Wood.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, I have Hibs, and Sark would be another one. Although she's lowered. I've noticed the beta on her fund has come down. I think she's gotten a little religion or something in that high beta area. the gospel of high beta.
SPEAKER 07 :
I've got to look at the makeup of her 8% return. I think you said yesterday it was around 8%. It would have to be. I'm thinking, given last year, I would have expected, particularly towards the end of the year, with some of those quantum names, I would have expected a bigger pop there.
SPEAKER 06 :
You'll have to look up her top 10 holdings these days. I know Roku is still there. Roku actually did okay. last year now the other one is ai all right and i have uh my ai stocks here separated off into a chart category and there's quite a few there's more ai stocks than there are quantum stocks by quite a long shot and there's a new one that's a new shooter entering the the field today uh there's my ai sector how many do i have i have 20 stocks in ai I'm not going to go through those today. We'll do that another day. A lot of the AI stocks are big ones. Microsoft, obviously, is not a startup. But there's a little one here today called Serence, C-R-N-C. We actually had somebody transfer this stock in. I've kept it. for them because i said this is interesting serence is uh very much related to autonomous driving robo taxis uh which i think is going to be you know another theme maybe we'll get the breakthrough this year in robo taxis like we got i mean they're already they're running around san francisco and phoenix and other cities we just haven't made that breakthrough yet But Sarens develops automotive software. And it's definitely now in the AI. It's up 63% today. Wow. CRNC. CRNC.
SPEAKER 07 :
That whole AI rally is on today. I mean, I was looking down the list of names that we own that were, you know.
SPEAKER 06 :
On fire.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you've got NVIDIA up. You've got Palantir up. You've got Constellation Energy and Vistra up.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, the nuclear stocks.
SPEAKER 07 :
The whole theme up. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
And the smaller nuclear stocks, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
And quantum.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes. Okay, when we come back, the most successful hedge fund out there, I would say, the most well-known one, how did it do last year? We'll use that as kind of a benchmark as to how you did last year. Kind of an interesting number. And then we'll get into Hindenburg's latest shot across the bow. We'll be right back. You've got to go where you want to go.
SPEAKER 03 :
Do what you want as long as you've been in the weather.
SPEAKER 06 :
And welcome back here to the final segment of today's Best Docs Now show. Well, Ken Griffin Citadel, his flagship fund, he's probably the most successful hedge fund manager out there today. He moved his base of operations out of New York to Florida, along with the rest of Wall Street, just about. His flagship fund was up 15% last year. So, you know, look, they do a lot of hedging. They do a lot of high-frequency trading. They do a little bit of everything. I mean, hedge funds really aren't out to beat the market. I mean, they would love to beat the market, yes. But I think they're probably more to give you a good, steady return over the years and lower the risk a lot. I think that's probably a better way to describe a hedge fund. So 15% is what he did last year. Now I'm finalizing our returns for last year. Our Ultra Growth Fund did extremely well. It's going to end up somewhere in the 35% to 36% area for the year. The S&P was up 23.3% somewhere in there. Now, I'm also adding a column. That's the gross return. That's if you were managing it by yourself without management fees and doing all your own trading and following along and everything like that. But I also have the column net returns. which would be after our heaviest fee, which is what, Barry? Under a certain amount, you pay 2%. Yeah, 2%.
SPEAKER 07 :
And most hedge funds are going to have what they call 2 and 20, which means they're going to charge 2%. It doesn't matter how much money you have with them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly.
SPEAKER 07 :
And they're going to take 20% of the profit. Of the profits, which that's a big hit.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's a huge hit.
SPEAKER 07 :
It could be very big, right?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, well, if I took 20% of the profits, that's 7%. That would take your return down to 28%. And then minus 2% fees, 26%. I'm giving folks hedge fund-like protection, exposure, for better or worse. On one hand, it can dilute your returns. On the other hand, it can enhance your returns. But overall, you're trying to provide a bit of a safety net.
SPEAKER 07 :
in vigilance and i was probably a little more cautious around the election which i felt was warranted i really did okay so well and you're in a good place to be cautious because we i mean we came out of the gate screaming i think the portfolios as a whole were up you know closer to you know almost to that uh close to that 20 percent range in the first three months of the year oh man yeah you had some uh you had some ability to coast and and and you know raise some cash and be a little bit more cautious going into what was an epic election.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes. So, yeah, so net return would be, now, our average fee, you know, is not 2%. That's our stiffest fee. That's for people that have under $250,000 with us. And we have a scale that goes down to, you know, 1%, even a half a percent at a certain level. Okay, our little emerging growth portfolio had a fantastic year. I mean, it's going to come in somewhere around 47%, 48%. That's gross. And then we'll include the net in there over the years. And then the dividend portfolio did pretty well. I think it's going to come in around 21%, somewhere in there. And the large cap is going to come in around 20%, large cap growth. uh and there was a lot of protection put in there along the way we don't want to see that 53 percent drop to your portfolio now if it happens overnight you know there's nothing we can do about that but you know if the economy starts to weaken if the if earnings start to weaken we're going to take defensive action against things occurrences like that so anyways the newsletter's The newsletter this Saturday will have the final results. I have a lot. I have a lot. Oh, Lord, I better have a sharp mind here this weekend, today, tomorrow. Now, I did freeze everything on Wednesday on 12-31, all of the final prices. I set that aside, and that's what I'll be using is showing where we ended for the year. Unfortunately, we ended kind of on the low because of those few days right before the market. That took about three or four percent right in the last few days of the year, which is And now we're back up. We've regained those points. But December 31st, when the bell rings, that's what we use. That's what we use in everybody, the mutual funds, the ETFs, et cetera, for your year-to-date performance. Unfortunately, it did end on a low note and doesn't really kind of reflect that. What a good year we really did. It does. I mean, we had a good year, but it was even better. Now we're back to where we were before this sell-off right going into the holidays. Well, anyways, we're having a lot of fun over here. I've sent out several messages here this morning, updates on the charts, updates on the volatility. I'll be sending out a lot of updates throughout the day on my observations. I did a little bit of buying and selling, quite a bit actually yesterday. And I just think that things have to be managed a little tighter this year. Don't go to sleep. Don't be asleep at the wheel in a passive portfolio. I think that could be very tough this year. You know, things can happen very quickly. And you could say, oh, I wish I would have listened to Gunnarsson and managed my portfolio a little bit tighter this in 2025 last year you know we pretty much had our pedal to the metal and then we kind of took it off uh the accelerator as we headed into what i consider to be a very volatile period of time leading up to that election you could see how razor thin you could see how different outcomes you could see how a tie or a big controversy could have created a lot of volatility
SPEAKER 07 :
And the market had already hit 50 all-time highs at that point, right, in 2024, even leading up to that.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we enter this year with the P.E. ratio of the NASDAQ that's gone from 20 to 37. So I have all of that to take into consideration. But at the end of the day, I'm just going to give you the simple formula. It comes down to one stock at a time. i enter i i i make a lot of little small decisions instead of one big massive decision which a lot of people out there call and sell everything and then they're out and then they're in no you know it's a market of stocks and you have to man just like patients if you're a doctor You manage every patient individually because they all have different characteristics, different needs, different risk tolerances, etc. So that's how I do it. One day, one stock at a time, knowing what the backdrop is behind me. Okay, to get four free weeks of the trial, join in on the fun. Go to GundersenCapital.com to set up an appointment with us. This is very time-consuming stuff. Set up an appointment at 855-611-BEST. 855-611-BEST. Have a great day, everybody.
SPEAKER 05 :
Transcription by CastingWords
Join Mike Gallagher and Mark Davis as they delve into the intricacies of societal shifts with a focus on the abbreviation 'Xmas' and its impact on traditional celebrations. Set against the backdrop of Trump’s influence on cultural sentiments, the episode navigates the delicate balance between historical accuracy and modern interpretations. They then transition to the intense discussion on security and public safety, with New Orleans serving as a focal point amidst growing concerns surrounding high-profile events.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis, morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here's today's M&M experience.
SPEAKER 02 :
You do this thing where you get into the weeds and people are going to immediately rush to your defense. Oh, it's true. It comes from the 16th century, the Catholic Church. You can't have that accuracy. You can't have that. I get it. It's not accuracy. What's accurate? I don't know that we ever anticipated watching Christ get stripped out of Christmas.
SPEAKER 01 :
Are you going to Home Depot and seeing holiday trees? What? Listen, you and I were warriors locked in arms. I know. And we always will be. Stay in the fight. I would ask you this. What is an example? Find me. Here's homework. Find me an example of anybody who you think in their use of that abbreviation is being dismissive toward Christmas. I mean, just find it. It's a total straw man. Find it. You won't find it. You won't find it. It's a tempest in a teapot. Let me speak.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let me speak, Chatty Cathy. I don't think you're intentionally being dismissive of Christmas. You're as fine a Christian man as I know. You're you're inadvertently stripping out what Christmas means. Xmas may have some historical significance, but in the culture we're in today that that and look, it's getting better. I mean, this I think I think Trump has brought Merry Christmas back.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, 27 things to talk about. I'm going to make a buddy out of you again. If your point is and it's a good point. even as historically accurate as I always am, if your point is don't ever miss an opportunity, even if it varies you, don't ever miss an opportunity to type C-H-R-I-S-T. Don't ever miss an opportunity.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. And look, and I'll stipulate, you're probably right historically or whatever, but that's so kind of, I don't know.
SPEAKER 01 :
Arcane. Arcane.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't know. Let's just agree that Merry Christmas is back. It's great to celebrate the season. And like you said, any chance you get. Now, let's get down to business. First of all, with Granny Clampett there in New Orleans. And you know that her big thing when she's not... standing there not even acknowledging that she knew they had sidewalk barriers available in New Orleans. This is how incompetent she is. But her big thing, she teaches DEI to fellow officers. That's her big thing. I mean, this is what happened. This is a product of diversity, equity, and inclusion. You know, you mentioned that the FBI assistant guy that they brought in, he's right out of central casting. They took one look at nose ring and they said, get her out of there. I mean, and put in the guy, the big, burly, bald guy that can talk like an FBI agent.
SPEAKER 01 :
Period.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
We found multiple devices.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I mean, my goodness. And the nose ring. I mean, and the nose ring gets to me only because somebody sent me. I had an FBI agent, an active FBI agent send me their policy. They prohibit it. So what do they do? Wave it for her because they don't want to make the young woman mad? It would be racist. Don't be racist. Don't be racist. So it just frustrates the heck out of me. Every time something like this happens, you know what cities do? They start putting up, like, barricades everywhere. They start putting up. And, you know, you can't prevent evildoers from committing acts of evil.
SPEAKER 01 :
I think. Bush 43 used this about terrorism. He said, we have to be successful in stopping it 100% of the time. All they have to do is be successful once.
SPEAKER 02 :
And the one time they get through, then we say, oh, it's a massive failure on our part. Except I think this one kind of was. Well, especially because there's reporting that there were already briefings a year or two ago that Bourbon Street was particularly vulnerable. Yes.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you know what the thing was on the calendar, the glowing thing on the calendar they were looking at at the Superdome coming up in a couple of months? Super Bowl. Next month, Super Bowl. It's like, but somehow the same number of people in the same stadium yesterday did not warrant a beefing up of security in time for that, which is also attached to what's that little holiday? Oh, yeah. New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah. And look, there's also reporting now that Axios is reporting on concerns about the inauguration. There's a part of me that wishes Trump did the inauguration inside somewhere, safe.
SPEAKER 01 :
Don't the terrorists win?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we already changed the date of the Sugar Bowl. I mean, you know, like you said. And by the way, the timing, I know you were frustrated by why they played it yesterday at 4 Eastern, 3 Central. I think it wasn't because of the second game. There was another game last night.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, yeah, which is stupid because you had to have Duke and Ole Miss. How about you make everybody in Jacksonville move their schedules rather than people who are coming to a game with the national impact? Okay, so the inauguration will be on the west front of the Capitol. I'd say that's a deeply, deeply secure area. Every rooftop, unlike Butler, PA, I don't think anybody's going to take Trump out as his hand is on the Bible. And funny, funny. And, you know, you can can Monday. Can you and I talk about Jimmy Carter? Because I'm going to spend some time, which we did not get a chance to do. He passed away while we were both away. A legacy of a man of much personal virtue. Wrong. Virtually every policy and both can be true at the same time. Anyway, though, Carter, I believe, was the first to get out of the limo and walk Pennsylvania Avenue and everybody went. Wow, man of the people, that's awesome. I said that, and I just finished voting against him in my first election ever. I think Trump did it in 2017, right? He did it. Okay, so I'm here to tell you, Pennsylvania Avenue locked down hard. I would love to think there is no way anybody can squeeze off a shot at Trump or Melania walking that mile and a half of Pennsylvania Avenue, but are we confident enough to We are not. So, no, let's not move the inauguration indoors. No, but don't be walking down Pennsylvania. See, I want him. I want it to be the most Trumpian thing in the world to walk it again. Walk it again.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I don't want to put anything bad out of the universe.
SPEAKER 01 :
I know.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let me end with a cool story about the intimacy of what we do. So I'm in L.A., and I'm flying back after visiting with Dennis in the hospital, and I'm in the lounge at LAX. And a guy comes up to me. I'm sitting there minding my own business. I talk to the people working in the lounge a little bit. And a guy comes up to me and says, pardon me, I don't mean to bother you, but are you Mike Gallagher? I said, yeah. Hi, how are you? He goes, I knew it was you. And it was the coolest thing. He said, I had no idea what you looked like. I've never seen you before. I recognized your voice. Mm-hmm. And I thought, that's like the third or fourth time. Has that ever happened to you before? All the time.
SPEAKER 01 :
You bet.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's the strangest thing to me. I don't think I'd recognize anybody by their voice. Just their voice? Sure, unless it's somebody you listen to on the radio every day. Well, and he did. Well, anyhow, so we talked for 15 minutes. Great guy. Nice guy. He's off to Cabo, you know, with his fiance. And I asked him in the course of the conversation, what do you do? He goes, I work in the film business. I thought, well, sure, it's Hollywood, Los Angeles, whatever he works at. So then I get back to that five minutes into the conversation. Mark, he is the co-chairman and co-founder of one of the biggest movie studios in the world. Wow. I almost, and like a schoolboy, I'm like Googling him after the. Oh, yeah. That's wonderful. It was the coolest thing, and I was telling Hewitt about it a couple weeks ago. He says, yeah, you forget that, like, famous people do listen to us. Absolutely. He told the story of Clint Eastwood being a fan of Hugh's, you know? And so it's the – Kelsey Grammer I met once and said, oh, Mike, I listen to you. It's neat to neat. But this guy is, like, a big deal. So anyway, it's kind of neat. It's a sidebar that he's famous in the movie industry. But what I think is really special is that somebody can recognize you by your voice. Absolutely. We just forget how intimate our medium is and how people relate. And, of course, now with Salem News Channel, our faces are plastered everywhere.
SPEAKER 01 :
I was going to say, how does somebody not know what you look like? He didn't. He said, I've never.
SPEAKER 02 :
He was in L.A. And, you know, it's though it was the funniest story because he said, I've never I've never seen you before. OK, well, great. And but that was just the coolest thing. I just wanted to share a little bit of that with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
In this thought-provoking installment, Kim Munson engages with historical milestones and their bearing on modern governance, from the Brooklyn Bridge's construction to the evolution of global climate narratives. Special guest John Reed Austin shares his journey of creating a unifying anthem, 'One Nation Under God,' encapsulating the spirit of patriotism and unity. Don't miss this chapter as Kim navigates the delicate balance between tradition, policy-making, and societal progress.
SPEAKER 05 :
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.
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.
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Today's current opinions and ideas.
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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.
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Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
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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, Teresa, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. It is Friday. Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thank goodness it's Friday.
SPEAKER 16 :
And yes, we got a big show planned for you again today, so stay tuned. Check out the 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. The text line is 720-605-0647. 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. And we are live. Well, unless we are in holiday seasons and prerecorded, we're live 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. on all KLZ 560 platforms. The first hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. The second hour is rebroadcast 10 to 11 at night. Those platforms are KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, and the KLZ app. And as I mentioned, we look at these issues, we search for truth and clarity, and we look at them as freedom versus force, force versus freedom. And it's never compassionate, my friends, to take other people's stuff, whether or not it's their rights, their property, freedom, livelihood, opportunities, or life. And forest can be a weapon, policy, unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation. This agenda of the World Economic Forum and the globalist elites, the United Nations, Colorado State Legislature, the Colorado Governor, World Health Organization, land use codes, zoning regulations, forest fees, conservation easements, the list goes on and on. But I think we're starting to maybe see a crack in some of this. And there's this headline that I wanted to share with you. And this is from, let's see, I think it's the Wall Street Journal. It says, big banks are fleeing the climate coalition formed to reduce carbon emissions. And this goes on to say that Morgan Stanley, Citicorp and Bank of America this week withdrew from an ambitious pandemic era climate coalition designed to help drive a shift to reduce carbon emissions and I have that in air quotes by businesses that followed withdrawals over the past month by Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs from the United Nations. There you go. Backed coalition known as the Net Zero Banking Alliance. It says J.P. Morgan Chase is the largest bank in the nation. by assets and the only major U.S. bank left in the coalition is considering withdrawing from it, a person familiar with the matter said. A J.P. Morgan spokeswoman, I wish they would give their names, that would be good journalism, said the bank regularly evaluates memberships to ensure that they further its client and business interests. And back in 2021, the members vowed to align lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. So what they were trying to do is use the banking industry to squeeze out capital to prevent the exploration and development, the capital necessary for oil, natural gas and coal. So this is really huge that this is happening. And this is this recent exodus from the coalition reflects a broad pullback by companies ahead of the second Trump administration from environmental, social and corporate governance areas. So ESG and they became a craze on Wall Street years ago, but have since been maligned by says conservative groups. It might be groups that want to make sure that we maintain our individual freedom. So this is really huge. And that's why my hat is off to Walt Johnson. for him and his wife, Remy, stepping forward and financing a climate conversation. He wanted to have just an honest conversation with scientists and experts about this whole climate question. And so we'd really recommend that you check out the website. It's a climate conversation dot com. You can watch the documentary there for free. We've created a very informative set of podcasts with experts and scientists as well. And so I would recommend that you check all that out. But this is a really a huge development. And sometimes when we think things are impossible, they're not. We just have to continue to put one foot in front of the other. So my father used to always say is one foot in front of the other. And that's what we need to do. And that's what we will be doing in 2025 on the show. So our word of the day, I use this because it's used to describe Benjamin Franklin, and he was our inspiration for the quote of the day the other day. And the word is polymath, and it's spelled P-O-L-Y-M-A-T-H. And it's a person of great or varied learning, or it could be number two, a person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge. And those are really the two words. definitions on that. And we wonder who would be polymath of this generation. I think probably one of the first people might be Victor Davis Hanson that comes to mind. But again, polymath, P-O-L-Y-M-A-T-H, you're challenged to use that in a sentence today. Our quote of the day, I went to Eli, I think it's Wiesel, and he was born in 1928, died in 2016. He was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, mostly in French and English, including Night, which is a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. And I chose this because our featured guest this hour is John Eastman, who he has been so attacked by lawfare. And he is a constitutional expert, well-respected expert. And there's a documentary that is going to be screened tomorrow in Mar-a-Lago. It will be released on Monday. And we wanted to get him on the show to talk about that. And then we'll do a follow-up next week as well. So I was thinking about justice, I was looking for quotes about justice, and this came up by Eli Wiesel. Or it's Ely, maybe it's Ely Wiesel, there we go. He says, there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice. And we felt that over the last few years. But he goes on to say, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest or to shed light on it. I'm gonna add that on there. Because that's what we do on a regular basis on the show. I want to get through some other headlines before we do that, though. Several things on this day in history. In 1431, the Joan of Arc or Joan of Arc is handed over to Bishop Pierre Cachon. Ultimately, she was burned at the stake. In 1521, again, big religious thing happening, Martin Luther is excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church for failing to recant parts of his 95 thesis, which started the Protestant Reformation. Big deal. The day after, well, it was on Christmas Day Eve, was when there was the Battle of Trenton in 1775. George Washington prevailed there. He let his troops rest, and then they decided to fight the Battle of Princeton. And they defeat the... Excuse me, that was 1776. So this was 1777 then. Battle of Trenton, 1776. Then they rest. 1777, George Washington's Revolutionary Army defeat the British forces at the Battle of Princeton in New Jersey. I don't really know the history of Texas, so many of you Texans out there do, but I thought this was interesting. 1823, Stephen Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico. Eleven years later, the government of Mexico imprisons Stephen Austin in Mexico City. And so I need to do some history work on that. I know there's those of you out there that know that. I thought that was quite a change of events. 1870, the construction begins on the New York's Brooklyn Bridge. It was completed in 1883. These days, it would probably take forever to get the permits to do that, and it would take forever to complete that. But they did that in 13 years. 1925, all this is happening in Europe leading up to World War II. But 1925, Benito Mussolini dissolves the Italian parliament and proclaims himself dictator of Italy, taking the title of il duce, the leader. In 1944, World War II, top U.S. flying ace Major Pappy Boynton is shot down in his Corsair by Japanese Captain Kawato flying a zero. And then Pappy Boynton survives as a POW. Then the last probably big battle of World War II, the U.S. aircraft carriers attack Okinawa. And 1977, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs incorporate Apple Computer. It kind of changed our world. And then, again, a climate event, 2024. And this is why they changed the narrative from global warming to climate change. The lowest January temperature of negative 43 degrees point six Celsius or 46. six and a half degrees Fahrenheit, was recorded in Sweden in the Swedish Lapland. It was a very cold spell across Scandinavia. So the climate is always changing, and there is also weather. And again, that's why I would recommend you check out A Climate Conversation. Another sponsor of the show is Hooters Restaurants. And how I got to know them, it's a very important story. When I was on city council 2012 to 2016, it's a story about freedom, free markets, capitalism competing in the free market versus PBIs trying to exert control. And so I would really recommend that you check out my website for that story. But Hooters Restaurants has five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster, and Colorado Springs. Great lunch specials. Try out their fish and chips. And again, I thank them for their partnership of both sides. The Kim Munson Show and America's Veterans Stories. Headlines I wanted to get to today at noon Eastern time. There will be the first vote to for the to choose the next speaker of the House. And so Mike Johnson is the favorite on that. And so it will be interesting to see what happens. That's highly political and very important. So that will happen today at noon Eastern time. Colorado Public Radio reports that Attorney General Phil Weiser is the first big name to declare for the 2026 Colorado governor's race. So that is right around the corner. He is a Democrat and had some conversations yesterday about those that might be throwing their hat in the ring on that. And the 2026 election is right around the corner. The next headline, I just have a question on this, and this is from The Daily Caller. And it says that the FBI does another 180 and claims that the New Orleans attacker worked alone day after conducting manhunt for accomplices. I am not an expert in solving crimes, but it sure seems to me like they would need to take a little bit more time before they could come out and definitively say that this attacker worked alone. And so I think this is a stay tuned. Let me know what you think. 720-605-0647 is the text. Next headline is we had talked about this quite a bit yesterday in our educational system. Our kids are not learning how to read and write and do arithmetic. But by gosh, they're being pushed on this whole DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion thing. nonsense, if you will, and that is putting kids in different groups, trying to divide them via race and via sex, their gender, pushing this agenda that girls can be boys, boys can be girls, that kids can use different pronouns at school, their parents don't know. You say, how can this happen? Well, there's a lot of money that's gone to that. This is from the Washington Examiner. It says the Biden Justice Department spent over $100 million on DEI-related grants for K through 12. So these grants then go into consultants that will then come in and push this agenda. And as Laurie Gimmelstein said yesterday, I didn't realize this, and I think this was in the Cherry Creek School District, is there are so many teachers, public school teachers, that have gotten into the profession because they love children, they want to teach, but yet they're being pushed to push this agenda. And I said, how is this happening? Well, there are she said there's now in Cherry Creek paid staff in each school that is pushed. It's the I don't have the exact term she used, but like the DEI compliance officer that these teachers have to be taking the training and pushing this agenda. and so they they are being paid to do that how are they being paid well 100 million dollars from the biden justice department uh for dei related grants for k through 12. that will do it uh next thing uh just uh i wanted to mention starbucks this is again from the daily caller is closing one of its flagship locations as crime overtakes the founding city of Seattle. And they're closing that at the corner of First and Pike across the street from the popular Pike Place Market. And the reason is because of crime. And so, again, we see all of these policies, these bad policies, how they're working out. And that's why we have to have to shed light on this and get this turned around. So we have these discussions because of our sponsors. So I thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Susan Harris was our featured guest in our one on New Year's Day, which was just great. And, of course, really appreciate the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance team as well. And they are available for their clients, their customers, 24 hours a day via either phone or text, which is really, really great knowing that you can get a hold of your insurance agent if something happens. So give them a call, 303-795-8855 for a complimentary appointment. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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So I switched my insurance to the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Agency. Get this, I actually talked to Roger Mangin, who has been helping people with their insurance coverage in our community for 47 years. He helped me create a State Farm personalized price insurance plan for my home and auto and explained affordable options. For personalized service and peace of mind that you are working with a team that cares about you and your family, call Roger Mangin now at 303-795-8855. Kim highly recommends the Roger Mangin State Farm Insurance Team. Again, that number is 303-795-8855.
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Focused and wise marketing is essential for your success, especially during tough economic times. If you love The Kim Munson Show, strive for excellence and understand the importance of engaging in the battle of ideas that is raging in America. Then talk with Kim about partnership, sponsorship opportunities. Email Kim at KimMunson.com. Kim focuses on creating relationships with individuals and businesses that are tops in their fields. So they are the trusted experts listeners turn to when looking for products or services. Kim personally endorses each of her sponsors. Again, reach out to Kim at KimMunson.com.
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Indeed, it is Friday, and welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and 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. Thank you to all of you who support us. We are 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 had a great Christmas season, great Christmas parties. And I met our next guest at a Christmas party, Rachel, who is the producer of one of the other Crawford stations here, had just a delightful event. And I met John Reed Austin there. He's an artist, a And he has written a song, and he said, this is really important. We're going to try to get this out here right after Christmas, before the inauguration, and would love to be a guest on the show. So here he is. John Reed Austin, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 21 :
Thank you very much, Kim, for inviting me. I really appreciate it. Good morning to you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, good to have you. Tell us a little bit about you, John Reed Austin.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, I'm a father of two, grandfather of two, just celebrated 20-year anniversary last month, and I'm a graduate of Colorado Christian University with a music degree, saxophone solo artist for 18 years doing nursing homes mostly, and also have a nonprofit organization for Guatemala and Mexico and We hope to expand eventually. We've been doing that since COVID started. That's pretty much the nutshell.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. And you've written this song, and this is really important to you, and you really are trying to get ears on this. So tell us a little bit about the song.
SPEAKER 21 :
Okay. Well, so thank you. It was less than 23 years ago, I woke up from a dream actually singing the Pledge of Allegiance. And I was living in Lake Providence, Louisiana, way up in the northeastern part of the boot next to the Mississippi River at the time. And immediately I realized that I don't think this song even exists. So I got out of bed and I sat down at the desk and started writing the Pledge of Allegiance. And then within 30 minutes, I had two verses and a chorus with the core message of the song. And, you know, this came during the time when California passed a law to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. And we were also during the Second Gulf War. So patriotism was really at its height at that time. And so I felt a sense of urgency and got with a guitar friend of mine. And he and I put together the chords. And then I went back home and And I'd say probably a few days later, I had a second dream. And this time, I actually heard God's voice speak to me. And this only happened a couple times in my life. And he said something quite humorous, musically speaking. He just says, you know, one of the lyrics in your verse is redundant. You need to remove that, and it will clean it up. So I looked, and sure enough, there was a word that was used more than once. And I took it out, and sure enough, it kind of cleaned up the whole song, made it flow better. So then I realized that this was a song from him, and I just felt a sense of urgency even more. So I went to the local recording studio, and we put together a dry recording. And then I met a friend who knew of a man who had contacts to executives in Nashville. which was only about a seven-hour drive from where I was at. So we drove out there to Music Row and met with the execs, and they liked the song. But then came the sobering words, Nashville is not ready for another God and country song. So I was really crushed. I thought, how could this be? God gave me the song, and there's a height of patriotism. Why wouldn't they have room for another song? And so it ended up sitting on the shelf for 22 years, and I nearly forgot about the song altogether until last year. My wife was sitting on the couch listening to the song, original recording on her hard drive, and she goes, why haven't you done anything with the song? And I said, because it's not to industry standards yet. She says, well, get it to standard, because we have an election coming up. And then I had this renewed sense of urgency, and I thought, Okay, we've got elections. We just had three eclipses in America, which is kind of a metaphor of our nation being sliced and diced politically and religiously. So I felt like, you know, maybe we need a song that could help heal this nation. And if Trump could possibly hear this song, you know, this could be the ticket. So I went to the studio last September, and on the 1st of January, it just happened that way. that the song was completed. And so that's it, pretty much.
SPEAKER 16 :
And what's the name of the song?
SPEAKER 21 :
It's called One Nation Under God.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, let's hear it, and then we'll have just a little bit of commentary after. So go, Joe, hit it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, say, can you see flying up so high that banner yet weighs up in the sky? It's the stars and stripes, red, white, and blue, a symbol for me and for you. Those who bled and died to let our freedom ring, we will never forget. So let this anthem sing. What so proudly we hail, this flag to us we haven't failed, the one nation that stands under God. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. We are one nation that stands under God. And home of the brave Colors for heroes whose lives they gave From sea to shining sea Purple mountains majesty Old glory stands tall For those who sacrificed it all For this grand old flag I will take a stand With my heart placed firmly under hand We must fight the victory For this land of liberty allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands we are a nation that stands under God, woe, woe, one nation under God. Lord, we humble ourselves to seek your face, and God, we trust and give thanks to your amazing grace. We the people proclaim through the power of your name, to the many one nation under Oh, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. We are one nation that stands under God. One nation under God.
SPEAKER 07 :
One nation under God.
SPEAKER 16 :
So, John Reed Austin, a beautiful song and very pleased to be one of the first, at least, to broadcast the song, John Reed Austin.
SPEAKER 21 :
You are the first.
SPEAKER 16 :
Aha. OK, well, thank you for sharing this. And just a quick we have about a minute left. Next steps. What do you want to have happen?
SPEAKER 21 :
I would like to see if somebody got a way to get an ear to Trump and have this song to be put back into schools, you know, to help renew the Pledge of Allegiance across the nation.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, John Reed Austin, thank you so much. And thank you for we break lots of things sometimes first time here. So very excited about that. And let's stay in touch again. That is John Reed Austin, One Nation Under God. Thank you for sharing it. It was very fortuitous that we met at Rachel's Christmas party. So thank you.
SPEAKER 21 :
You're welcome.
SPEAKER 16 :
And all these things happen on the show. And, in fact, I had dinner with her last night, my dear friend Karen Levine, Remax Realtor. She was on yesterday. And I re-mentioned it. I think it was Susan that had texted me after that Susan said she would never buy or sell a property without using a good realtor. And that's why knowing Karen Levine is so important. She can help you with anything residential real estate here in the metro market.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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 16 :
It is Friday, and welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and 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. 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 after hearing John Reed Austin's new song, One Nation... It makes me think about the USMC Memorial Foundation, which I so totally support. They are raising the money for the remodel of the Marine Memorial, which is here in Colorado in Golden. And it is so important that we understand our history, understand our pledge, understand this amazing gift of America that has been given to us. It's certainly not perfect. We understand that. There are those that like to focus on the imperfections. But what we want to do is continue to strive towards that ideal and certainly want to honor those that have given their lives, have been willing to give their lives for us, for our liberty. And so a great way to support them is to make a contribution to the USMC Memorial Foundation. I am so pleased to have on the line with me John Eastman. He is one of the... an expert on the Constitution here in America. Also, Trump's attorney. He has been on a journey that is absolutely unbelievable that this would happen in America. It's lawfare. But there's a documentary that's going to be screened tomorrow at Mar-a-Lago and released on Monday. And we wanted to talk with him about that. And John Eastman, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's so nice to be back on your program, and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I thank you. I did. And you as well. And first thing I just want to mention is you and I saw each other back in February. And you had said that one of the papers in California had reached out to you to do a story on how depressed you are with all of these attacks that you've had to go through. And you said, well, I'm not really depressed. So tell us just a little bit about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, yeah, they wanted to do a human interest story on me and my family and how devastated we were. And I said, where are you getting that? Our country is on the precipice of losing precious freedoms that we inherited from our forebears. And for whatever reason, I've been cast into a leading role on the front lines of that battle. I'm well armed for it. I'm well credentialed. I've got the tenacity and spirit to fight it. I can't think of a more important place to be to protecting the freedoms of this country and our constitutional rights than like the right to speech and the right to petition your government for redress of grievances and the right to counsel. You know, to protect those rights for my kids and grandkids, I can't imagine a more important thing to be doing. So not depressed at all. I'm sorry that our country has degenerated into such a situation that lawyers giving legal advice on open questions of constitutional law would be criminally indicted and subject to the longest and most expensive bar disciplinary proceeding in history. I regret that we've degenerated into that, but I don't regret at all the things I'm doing to protect freedoms for my kids and grandkids.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and so did they do the story or not?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, they didn't. That was not the story they wanted to carry.
SPEAKER 16 :
And I find that fascinating. So this documentary, The Eastman Dilemma, Lawfare or Justice, is going to be screened tomorrow in Mar-a-Lago. So how did this happen? Tell us about this new documentary.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you know, there was a film producer in Colorado who said, we need to tell your story, but I don't have any money. And then a Hollywood group that raises money for conservative films because Hollywood won't do them themselves approached me and said, we'd like to do a film, but we've got money, but we don't have a producer. So I put the two together, and then the next thing I know, they've They've got this film coming out that tells two stories simultaneously. It tells the story of the election illegality that I witnessed and was trying to deal with in 2020 and the legal strategy that I developed and the historical foundation and support for that. But it also then tells the story of the lawfare that has resulted ever since then, not just against me, but against the president of the United States, against many of his top advisers and against many of his supporters. And that lawfare, I think, is even the more important story, because what they're trying to do is scare lawyers into taking on. causes or clients that the elite governing class of this country doesn't like. And we cannot survive as a country with a rule of law that has such a thumb on the scale where only one side is able to get representation and the other side is not because people are afraid of losing their careers, their finances, you know, threats against their families and those sorts of things. And I probably, as well as most, am in a position to fight it, and that's what we've been doing. And this documentary tells that story, and I think in a very compelling way. People should watch it. It premieres at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow, which is going to be great fun. But then it goes available on streaming at MadisonMediaFund.org beginning on Monday, January 6th. And people need to watch it. They can organize small groups and watch it in their homes. They can organize larger groups and rent out local theaters. And then I will come and the producers will come and we'll do an event out of it all over the country. We're going to spend the next three months organizing. traveling around the country playing this and talking about it to groups that are organized. So people should go to MadisonMediaFund.org and they can stream it, but then they can also contact us and say, look, we'd like to rent the local theater out and get 100 people or 200 people or whatever it is and watch this because everybody needs to see this. They need to understand what's been going on the last four years and because shining a light on it is the only way we're going to protect ourselves from it ever happening again.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, it's hard to believe that this has happened in the United States of America, but it has, and that's why this documentary is so important. I was just thinking, I know different people that actually have home theaters as well, and what a great event to just get some friends together for that. So you've got me thinking, John, on how this whole thing should come down. Absolutely. Right after, this is so interesting what had happened. So January 6th, you were there, you were on the stage with Donald Trump. And that, I think, is one of the reasons why they really went after you. But then at the time, you were the professor up at CU of conservative thought and policy, so the visiting professor. And all kinds of stuff happened after that January 6th. And I considered you that you were canceled at CU. Would you say that's accurate or not?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, yeah. I think I'm the only person that was canceled from two universities within a few days. The night before my classes were to begin in the spring semester, they were canceled. And I was prohibited from coming back on campus. And I'm prohibited from using my title when I spoke publicly out in the community as my job description required that I do. And, yeah, so no question I was canceled. And then also from my main university where I was a tenured professor and former dean at Chapman University in Southern California. The faculty threw a fit. Not the law faculty. I give them credit. They did not sign on to this, but there was a petition to have me removed from my endowed professorship and terminated from my employment. So we reached a settlement, and I retired early. So, yeah, no, this is the anti-Trump, Trump derangement syndrome thing is real. People just could not tolerate being in the presence of anybody that In their mind, how could you possibly support Orange Man bad? You know, it didn't get any more sophisticated than that. And happily, the American people resoundingly rejected and repudiated that position in November. So I like to say I'm looking forward to a future unburdened by what has been in the recent past, to paraphrase our former losing candidate for president there.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, so coming in on the text line, 720-605-0647, one of our listeners, Holly, said, could Susan Kochivar do a showing of this at 88 Drive-In Theater? And we'll have to talk with her about that to see. I know that they're closed for winter right now, but that would be pretty fun to do something like that. We'll have to see if we can make something like that happen. Now, again, the Web site is Madison Media Fund dot org. And it says the Eastman dilemma, lawfare or justice. And it has where to stream. So we're certainly going to go to work on that. So, John, after this all happened, again, the world was, it was surreal. Of course, we were going through, there was COVID. There was so much going on. But you were back in Boulder. And you've got such an amazing group of the Boulder Topics and Topics girls. that support you as well, and we all do. So I said, how about if you and I do a podcast? I'll come up to Boulder with my rig. And you explained what really had happened on January 6th. And actually, previous to that, you talked about the meeting I think it was on January 4th, where it was you and Trump in the room with Mike Pence and his attorney and his chief of staff, if I remember right. And you were talking about what could be done, electoral college certification via the Constitution. Am I remembering that correctly?
SPEAKER 03 :
You're remembering that absolutely right. And there have been a lot of people over the months, both leading up to the election and in the month after the election saying, that it suggested Vice President Pence would simply accept Trump electors instead of Biden electors in the states that Biden had been certified. And I said, no, that would be foolish. But the Trump electors have incredible arguments on why the elections were illegally conducted. And but for that illegality, likely won. And the legislators from those states are advising Pence that their election was not properly certified. And they were asking for more time to assess the impact of that illegality. So my recommendation, my request, my petitioning of Vice President Pence as the president of the Senate was to accept those requests to delay a little bit so that the state legislatures could look at this in a way that they had been blocked from doing because their governors refused to call them into special session. That's what we asked for in that meeting on January 4th in the Oval Office. And, you know, Pence said, oh, that's very interesting. We'll take it under advisement and my team will talk with John a little bit more tomorrow. He has subsequently said he was adamant that he had no such authority. That's just a lie. He did not want to confront President Trump in person. And it was always, oh, that's interesting. And what about this? Anyway, so that was the recommendation. And in constitutional terms, it's called petitioning the government for redress of grievances. There were grievances aplenty. And, you know, the documentary goes through what those grievances were, what the illegalities were, whether eliminating signature verification or ballot harvesting in heavily Democrat parts of town with monies donated from Mark Zuckerberg that far exceeded the campaign finance limitations by just a little bit. You know, quarter, nearly half a billion dollars is a little bit more than the $3,200 campaign finance limitation. And I think... So these were the things that we were looking at, the illegalities. that intruded on the state legislator's authority, sole authority, to direct the manner of choosing presidential electors. And when non-legislative officials in the executive branch, whether secretaries of state or county clerks or even state court judges, alter the rules of the game without legislative approval, that made it unconstitutional. And that's what we were trying to address and also assess whether that unconstitutionality affected the outcome of the election, as we think it clearly did.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. John Eastman, we're going to continue this discussion. And we have these amazing discussions because of our sponsors. And one of those is Lorne Levy for Everything Mortgages.
SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
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 20 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Check out our website. That is kimmunson.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. You can email me at kim at kimmunson.com as well. As you all know, I really love the Center for American Values located in Pueblo. Pueblo is known as the home of heroes because there are four Medal of Honor recipients that grew up there. And the Medal of Honor is the highest military award that is awarded And it is awarded because when danger and the situation presented itself, these men took action to protect those around them. And we have now this big ideological battle that we're in. And we have to take action. And so first of all, check out the Center for American Values. That website is AmericanValueCenter.org. They are nonpartisan, nonpolitical, focusing on these foundational principles of America of honor, integrity and patriotism. But a man that has taken action, he was kind of thrown into it, is John Eastman. And tomorrow at Mar-a-Lago will be the screening of his documentary, The Eastman Dilemma, Lawfare or Justice. And one of our listeners said, how about if Susan Kochevar has the film at the 88 Drive-In Theater? And Susan said, we could probably do that in April. So we're going to go to work on that, John Eastman.
SPEAKER 03 :
That would be great fun. And give me as much advance notice as you can. I'll try and get up there. That would be great fun.
SPEAKER 16 :
Wouldn't that be great? That would be great. And, again, this is from hats off to John Eastman and Perspectives 101 can host us. We've got a lot coming in here on the text line 720605. Thank you, Yvonne, for that. So we will go to work. We're going to get this all organized. So the – how do you say that? It's illegal, the illegality. I can't say that word today, John. But that's one of the things focused on this, right? Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
And –
SPEAKER 16 :
You mentioned Mark Zuckerberg, and I have really researched this. Colorado seems to be kind of at a tip of the spear on a lot of this stuff, because the Center for Tech and Civic Life is an Obama group, people that supported Obama, and they started this, and this is the nonprofit that received the over... Four hundred and seventy million dollars from Mark Zuckerberg to help with elections in some of the key areas. And interestingly enough, Pam Anderson, who ran for secretary of state on the Republican side here in Colorado in that election, is on that board. So there's a lot of really weird stuff going on, John Eastman.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you know, we often think of this as a two-party country with Republicans versus Democrats. What we really have is a uniparty that is Democrats and the establishment wing of the Republican Party and the outsider party. They make America first great movement, the populist uprising, the Tea Party movement, those things, that people that are tired of our elected officials running us into bankruptcy. I mean, right now our national debt is $36 trillion. Nobody even knows what that number means. So if you break it down per person, that's $100,000 of debt for every single man, woman, and child and baby in the country. My three-month-old grandson is born into $100,000 share of that debt. And this is insane. And instead of tackling the problem, they just keep doubling down on it. You know, in COVID, they spent massive amounts of money. I won't get into whether I thought that was appropriate or not. But that set the new baseline. They didn't roll it back after the COVID emergency ended. They just took that as a new baseline and are funding, you know, at those levels now. for nonsensical stuff. And we've got to get a handle on this. So the Uniparty has been handed a resounding defeat in November. And then the question is, will the people that work for the elected officials that were brought in to change this actually take orders and do what they're supposed to do, or will they become obstructionists and try and block what the American people directed their government to do? And I think that remains an open question, that deep state, that uniparty, that unelected and permanent bureaucracy is extremely powerful. And we'll see whether the election momentum is enough to tackle it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and the other thing I was concerned about, though, is many of the down-ballot races. I think it was such a resounding victory for Donald Trump. But I'm concerned about the down-ballot races. And, John, you and I haven't talked about this, but back in the summer, just looking at things happening in Colorado, I thought we need to do something about this. So I created the Colorado 2024 Election Project and raised money for two different lawsuits together. that we have out there regarding one was with united sovereign americans and their legal team that and both these are out there in in the legal ping pong back and forth that colorado is not meeting the minimum standards as set forth for our elections by congress and so that lawsuit's been filed there was one that was filed in nine different states And because we raised the money here in Colorado, they added us in to the battleground states. And then the other is through the Wisconsin Center for Election Justice, that basically our voter rolls are not clean. And we raised the money for that. So we're working and we're going to work on, I think, a couple of new things here in 2025. But I think Colorado is really a place that we really need to take a look at these elections, John.
SPEAKER 03 :
I do, too. And there's another aspect of this that the Uniparty has backed. in order to block out from election principled conservative, constitutional conservatives. And that's the open primary movement that lets independent voters weigh in in Republican primaries primarily to elect the more moderate people that are going to support the status quo and the uniparty. And we've got a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the open primary right now. And it needs funding as well because it's, you know, Colorado's campaign finance rules are very stringent and it's hard to raise money through the party for that. But it's the Colorado Republican Party versus Griswold. And people can donate to that to the Claremont Institute because they've deemed that this freedom of speech and association issue is within their mission. And they're supporting the litigation. So people can go to Claremont.org. litigation.claremont.org. I think it's the site directly and, and support that effort as well, because that's important. If you want, if you want freedom caucus type people elected to your state legislatures or to the Congress and you can't get them through a primary because independent or, you know, crossover Democrats who register temporarily as independent to skew the election results in favor of, of, you know, pro-big government Republicans, then we're never going to win this battle long term.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and so we are in this battle of ideas. It's exciting, and it's a big battle. And, John Eastman, you are on the forefront. And I take such just hope from your attitude of taking this all on. We've got two minutes left. And, again, what do you want people to know? And that is MediaMatters.org, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
MadisonMediaFund.org is where they can stream it beginning January 6th. If they want to keep up with what we're dealing with on the law fair, they can visit my Legal Defense Fund website, givesendgo.com. They can donate to help. They can send prayers. But as importantly, they can read the updates there. I encourage people in this first week of our new year to dig back down into update number 43 and read the wonderful article my children wrote today. when the bar decision came down last Easter time. It'll bring tears to your eyes, and you'll see how committed my family is to seeing this fight through.
SPEAKER 16 :
You have an amazing family. And again, I want to get that right. It's madisonmediafund.org. And John, we're going to have you on next week again with an update after everything has been released. We'll go to work here in Colorado for screenings on this. This is so exciting. And I thank you for breaking this. I know you've done some other media on this as well, but I'm so excited to have you on The Kim Munson Show regarding this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it's so nice to be back on your show. I love doing your show every time we do it and look forward to seeing you next time I'm in Colorado. And happy new year to your whole audience. And I hope it's a prosperous and very healthy new year and that we've seen the tide turn and we're getting our country back on track.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and John, I really think that we are in the third founding of our country. And it's exciting to be in this battle of ideas. And so many people are stepping forward. But you really are at the forefront. And again, this came in on the text line. Hats off to John Eastman. Courage, tenacity, fight the good fight. And thank you. So, John Eastman, thank you. Good luck on the screening tomorrow. And we will talk to you next week. And again, let me get this right. MadisonMediaFund.org. You can watch the trailer there and then it has where you can stream it as well. So we'll talk next week, John Eastman.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. Thank you, Ken. Take care.
SPEAKER 16 :
And our quote for the end of the show is Elie Wiesel says this. The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness. It's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy. It's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death. It's indifference. So my friends today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for our number two of the Kim Munson Show.
SPEAKER 12 :
And I don't want no one to cry But tell them if I don't survive I was born
SPEAKER 02 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's the Kim Munson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 15 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 05 :
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 05 :
Today's current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 16 :
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 05 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let's have a conversation.
SPEAKER 16 :
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. Thank you to the team. That's Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Boy, what a first hour we had, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 12 :
Such good information. I really liked it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and the show is broadcast Monday through Friday, 6 to 8 a.m. First hour is rebroadcast 1 to 2 in the afternoon. Second hour, 10 to 11 at night. And that is on all KLZ platforms. That's KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM, the KLZ website, the KLZ app, and then the streaming services, typically within about 24 hours, such as iTunes and Spotify. And check out the website. That is Kim Munson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. All of our show summaries are there. Just click on the image and it'll bring up the written summary as well as a link to the podcast. You can sign up at my website for our weekly email newsletter that goes out on Sundays, highlights our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at Kim at Kim Munson dot com. 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. Socialism is not about free stuff. And remember, government cannot give to someone what they've not first taken away from someone else. And the key then is the word is force. And so ultimately socialism comes down to force. And that's why it has failed every time it has been tried. On the show, we focus on the issues and we'll talk about the people pushing those issues, but really try to stay out of the personalities. And of course, John Eastman in the first hour mentioned the Uniparty. And they really are, they work to, and they're really trying to keep, they're working to try to divide everyday people that are stepping forward that care about this country. And we need to make sure that we stay disciplined and stay focused on what we need to do to reclaim our state and our country. And so that's why we're focusing on the issues and talk about the people pushing them, but trying to stay out of all the personality stuff that is happening. Let's see here. Our word of the day. is polymath. And I chose this because I talked about Benjamin Franklin. He was one of our quotes of the day earlier this week. And polymath is spelled P-O-L-Y-M-A-T-H. And first definition is a person of great or varied learning. Or number two, a person with extraordinary broad and comprehensive knowledge. And so certainly Benjamin Franklin was a polymath of his era. and trying to think of who might be a polymath of our era. I mentioned in the first hour Victor Davis Hanson, of course, Jordan Peterson, maybe even Joe Rogan. He has so many different guests that he's become an expert, or maybe not an expert, but has broad learning. And so your challenge today is to use the word polymath in a sentence and impress your friends and family. Thank you. Our quote of the day is Eli, I should know that, Eli Wiesel. And he was born in 1928, died in 2016, Romanian-born, American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books. One of the most famous was Night, which is a book that was based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps in He said this, there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. And again, I took that quote. I was looking for justice quotes because of our guest, John Eastman, in the first hour and hearing from many of you. saying that take great heart from how positive he is to be in this battle. And really excited about his documentary that is going to be screened at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow. And he actually invited me down if I wanted to go to the screening, which I would have loved to have gone. But just we have so much going on. Time, money, energy decided not to do that. But that's going to be screened tomorrow at Mar-a-Lago and then released on Monday. And then we are going to go to work to get some screenings here in Colorado. I think Susan Kochavar is already working on that as well. So that is very, very exciting. So let's see. Several things I wanted to... Just get into this was earlier when we were talking about our kids' educations and this $100 million that the Biden administration has pushed out for DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion. our kids are not learning how to read and write they're mixing their minds up it's this whole boy can be girl girl can be boy that's not possible it's against nature's law but holly said this if kids are not learning cursive writing how are they going to be able to read the declaration of independence and the constitution she has an excellent point And that is why I really think that paper is important. Books, actual books are important because things can be changed on the Internet. And so if you're only getting reading your books and getting your information on the Internet, you can see how they could make changes to the Declaration of Independence. if you don't have a hard copy, but also if kids can't read it, they don't know it. And, uh, and again, cursive, just the hand eye coordination, just the development of the brain and learning how to do that, uh, dumbing our children down and using all this money to do so is unconscionable. We've got to get this turned around. So, uh, several things, um, Says again, John Eastman is so upbeat. You could hear it in his voice. He's been remarkably stalwart through this last several years. Totally agree on that. Oh, I love this. And this is Colonel Rutledge is going to be our next guest. He's 96 years young. And Jenny said Colonel Rutledge is a polymath. And I think she's absolutely right. correct on that. So let's see. There were a few other things that I wanted to hit because we're not going to be able to do call-ins today because we are talking about having different guests regarding this vacancy committee that is meeting in Douglas County tomorrow for a to fill the vacancy of Kevin Van Winkle was elected as Douglas County Commissioner creating a vacancy in his Colorado State Senate seat. So we'll talk with Priscilla Ronn A little bit later today, we talked with Kim Ransom, who is sitting for that vacancy committee, as well as John Carson yesterday as well. And so there was a couple of things I wanted to mention yesterday. from our text line and I thought I had this right here at my fingertips and I don't so with that though let's continue on to just talk about how important Colorado is right now these two lawsuits that we that we have filed and it's because all of you has stepped forward to raise money for that those are in the legal ping-pong back and forth but they are there which is so important And I've got two things that I think we're going to work on here in 2025. So stay tuned on all that. This happens because of our sponsors. And I thank the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. They've been great sponsors of the show. We are starting our seventh year of solo broadcasting. And it is because of all of you that we are making all of this happen. And, Joe, I did, as I'm looking at all this, I did give all of these. I want to make sure. Okay, I want to make sure I'm going to say this one more time. The quote of the day is from Elie Wiesel. He said, there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. And that protest may just be in a conversation saying, you know what, I see that differently. We have had many of our family members, colleagues, that if they only watch the mainstream media, all they know is this whole Trump hatred. And I can't believe the number of people that I have have heard of. And I had a personal experience. Nice people, well-meaning people, but totally indoctrinated that say, I hate Donald Trump. And I first of all, I can't believe that there's any room in their hearts for hate. But that's been fomented by the mainstream media, although I think all of that is changing. We talked about it earlier in this week that two of the hosts on I think it's MSNBC read and rule are being asked to take pay cuts because their viewership is going down. So. Right after 2020, January 6, COVID, all that going on, we didn't really understand what was happening. But the beauty of all of this is patriots have stood forward to search for truth and have continued to shed light on truth. George Washington said truth will prevail if there are pains taken to bring it forward. I'm paraphrasing. And that is what we're doing. And it's encouraging. So we're in this big battle of ideas. Colorado's at the tip of the spear. We're all engaging in this. And I so appreciate each and every one of you on doing so. Now, I talk a lot about the USMC Memorial Foundation. And the Marines have so many different battles that they have fought throughout our wars and conflicts. And, of course, during World War II, the Pacific, taking those islands was so important. But Vietnam, we are having more and more guests that are writing books. We're learning more and more about Vietnam. And it's important because our Vietnam veterans were not really welcomed home. And that's why I'm so pleased on America's Veterans Stories to highlight many of these stories. And one of those is Doyle Glass has written a very important book called And throughout the month of December, and we're finishing up today promoting the book, and it is Swift Sword and very honored to have been featuring this book.
SPEAKER 14 :
Eyes peeled and moving quickly, Lance Corporal Jack Swan led 164 of his fellow U.S. Marines from Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines over the face of a bare, rocky knoll to rescue an isolated company of fellow Leathernecks besieged by the Communist North Vietnamese Army. Then, all hell broke loose. Instead of rescuing their fellow comrades, the Marines now faced complete annihilation. Author Doyle Glass tells their story in Swift Sword, a true Vietnam War story of epic courage and brotherhood in the face of insurmountable odds. Order Swift Sword by Doyle Glass now. They never gave up. We should never forget.
SPEAKER 05 :
There are always opportunities in changing markets, and the metro real estate market is no exception. That is why you need to work with seasoned RE-MAX Alliance realtor Karen Levine when you buy your home, sell your home, consider the opportunities of a new build, or explore investment properties. Rising interest rates are spurring creativity, innovation, and opportunity in the real estate and mortgage markets. Kim Munson highly recommends award-winning REMAX realtor Karen Levine. Call Karen Levine today at 303-877-7516 for answers to all your real estate questions. That's 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 04 :
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. It's right!
SPEAKER 16 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to The Kim Munson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMunson.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. Before we get to Colonel Rutledge, who is our featured guest in hour number two, two things. One of our listeners was asking about the two lawsuits that we raise the money for that is in the legal system right now. Can they overturn the Any local Colorado elections? I don't know the answer to that yet. We'll see how this all plays out. Very good question. And then from Holly, she said, Elie Wiesel also wrote Man's Search for Meaning, which is an important book for framing life differently when we're going through a very difficult period. And thank you, Holly, for saying that. In our education system, we need to be reading these books and learning about this, teaching our kids how important it is about resiliency. We go through adversity, and we need to be able to go through that and be resilient. And so thank you for that as well. So excited, though, to have our modern day polymath, as Jenny says, Colonel Bill Rutledge, retired United States Air Force. And he is 96 years young and he just has this curiosity about people and life and and places. And we're so honored that he shares so much of his knowledge with us. Colonel Rutledge, welcome.
SPEAKER 18 :
Good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 16 :
And after we had had a discussion on the show, I think early December, regarding budgeting and the federal government, well, all governments, budgeting and this, if you don't use it, you lose it, which has led to spending on things that make no sense. And we now are in significant debt as a nation. And you said, you know what, Kim, I was in that whole budgeting arena for many years, would be happy to talk about it. So, Colonel Rutledge, tell us a little bit about this.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, first of all, I hadn't had to do any budgeting until I got called into the Air Force. And at that time, I was 25, I was married, we had a child, and I was given a job, and The job had to do with monies that were appropriated by the federal government and some that were not. We had a board meeting with the general who was a commander, and I was representing my department. And he was talking about the general budget for the air base. And then he turned to me and asked me about the budget for my department. Well, no one had given me a budget, no one had briefed me on it, and I didn't have a budget. And so he said, Lieutenant, at the next meeting you will have a budget, and you will bring it, and we will discuss what's going to be happening in your department and what can be afforded. So this was really an introduction right out of the cold. And what's so amazing is that I'd gone to graduate school because I needed more courses in business, and I took a broad curriculum, but I did not have a course in budget and finance. So I was not prepared, so I was starting right from the bottom. And that was my introduction, and I started learning from others. And one thing became apparent is that If you don't have any money, you don't have to worry about a budget, and that's what it was like in my own life. But when I was given a responsibility for a lot of people, a lot of facilities that had to be operated, then I needed money to do it. And one of the big shocks came within the same month that I was told by the general to start doing a budget. I received a call, and I was told that we had about 30 days more in the fiscal year, which, as you know, doesn't coincide with the calendar year. In those days, it would be 1st of September, and then it was in 1st of October and some other times. In other places, it's 1 July, like it was at Colorado State University for many years. So they told me that, well, because we're nearing the end of the budget year, we have to spend all of this money. And I said, well, why do I need to do that? And he said, well, if we don't spend the money, then the government won't give us as much money next year because they would say you didn't need it. So within the next 30 days, I want you to, you meaning me, I want you to obligate several thousand dollars within your work department." So I immediately had to go and make contact with the people that I supervised and find out what their needs might be so that I could spend the money even though we may or may not need something right now. And this is a technique that is it's everywhere within the governmental structures, especially in the federal government. But I feel it is also true in most levels of government, federal, state, county, city, even in the school districts. And it's crazy because if you did it in the business world, you could go broke fast because you have to have a plan. And it's based upon the needs to support the program that you have decided to do or the business that you're going to operate. And you have to know, first of all, how much money is coming in so that you can make an obligation by preparing your expense budget based upon your essential needs. I refer to this as a line item budget. It's not like the federal budget. The federal budget isn't crazy. They just do what they call continued resolutions in which they just continue what you had for last year and then often say, but well, we'll give you 5% for inflation. Things like this are just bizarre because last year the budget may not have been good. The federal government is built too much on pork barrel. Pork barrel, of course, is where members of Congress, especially members of the House who are going to be reelected or maybe not within two years, whether they're trying to provide some service or some construction or some project that's going to enhance their district. And then they're going to fall back and show and appeal to their voters to say, see what I did for you? It's very important that you elect me again, and I will continue to meet your needs. Well, some of those needs are bizarre. And it's just a continuation of poor management. That's what it really comes down to. And it just, it varies from place to place. And I've worked in situations where I would do my budget for my department, and I could come in within 1% at the end of the fiscal year. On other occasions, I've had budget situations where I was forced to so-called get well because other people had spent way too much money, and then I was consulted and told, you have six months to get well. They were talking about financial aid. One situation when I was stationed in Japan, I came back to the States on leave, and while I was gone, only a month, I went back and I found out that the preceding month that many of the clubs, officers clubs, NCO clubs, other facilities like this, had lost $500,000 collectively that one month. And the reason they did it is because one of the generals had refused to recognize that we were losing the principal source of our income, which were slot machines. And someone had made a mandate in Congress that they were all to be taken out of everywhere in the Pacific, And this was during the war in Vietnam. And that money was essential to support the various clubs and to provide entertainment and help maintain the facilities and pay the salaries of the people there. But it was someone from Congress who'd gone out and visited in Vietnam, and he was a gambler, and he lost a lot of money. So he went back, and when he went to Congress, He said, the reason I lost all that money was all those machines and things and taking money from the soldiers. And this is not right. We must eliminate those gambling devices. So they did. And when they eliminated it, it just hurt everybody at the working level because that was a part of the budget process. It was the biggest single source of income. And when your income goes down, everything else is going to go down. You're going to have to cut people. You're going to cut programs. And one of the first things we had to do, we had to cut contracts for people who were coming from America to the war zone to entertain the troops. Those contracts sometimes were many thousands of dollars, but they had to be cut off just immediately. So there's all sorts of correlation between your income and your expense. But basically the key is the objective should be that you prepare a budget and you have it approved before a fiscal year starts. Your budget should be balanced, which means it's going to show your income and your expenses, and they're going to be hopefully the same.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay, so Colonel Rutledge, we're talking about government budgeting. And this use it or lose it, I think, is how we've gotten into this difficult situation where we are from a financial standpoint. So we want to continue the discussion. And these important discussions happen because of our sponsors. And I was talking with... One of our other sponsors who had ordered some Lavaca meat for a family member as a gift for Christmas and her family member said it was exceptional and special. It is true. Lavaca meat company is that steakhouse experience at a home.
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SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
indeed it is friday and welcome back to the kim munson show be sure and check out our website that is kim munson monson.com sign up for our weekly email newsletter and you can email me at kim 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 And the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team is a great sponsor of the show. And you may be able to save money if you bundle all of your insurance coverage together. You won't know unless you make a complimentary appointment with the Roger Mangan Insurance Team. That number is 303-795-8855. Talking with our modern-day polymath, and that is Colonel Bill Rutledge. He is 96 years young, retired United States Air Force officer. Colonel Rutledge, this came in from Mark, one of our listeners, and he said this use it or lose it target for Doge, this Department of Government Efficiency of which Donald Trump has put Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of. What's your thoughts about Doge?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, I think, first of all, that they are going to do a great service. When they made a comment to the effect that they could save between $1 and $2 billion off of the coming fiscal year. I believe them absolutely, and they have several techniques. And one, which is going to happen in the Washington, D.C. area, is making people go back to work. And people, when they have to go back to their office, they're going to find a drastic change from when we had shutdowns two years ago, almost three, and they were permitted to work at home. Well, we don't know whether they're working at home. We don't know what they're doing. Some will be when they'll just refuse to go back. And therefore, that will be an obvious reduction in force. But there's also the option of doing a reduction in force by changing the mission of their department and that is something that can be done and I think it will be. My experience was that I worked all around the world within the Air Force system but then I also worked at Colorado State University and I found that in a large organization there is some flexibility. It's like this year for example when we had these terrible storms in the southeast, and especially the western part of North Carolina, the Homeland Security people had a big, massive, huge budget. But when it came to providing money for FEMA for the emergencies, they had diverted money that originally had been justified on the basis of FEMA's service to the public, and diverted it to use, and to the tune of millions and millions of dollars for illegal aliens who would come across the border. So that's a classic example of how not to divert your money within a large department. Now, at Colorado State University, I had an experience. It was very positive. We would do a budget, and when I prepared the budget for the athletic department, where I worked for seven, no, nine years, I always insisted upon doing a lion-eye budget, which means I had to know exactly what all the salaries are going to be, exactly where the income was coming from, from various athletic events, from contracts with different universities. And it had to work. It had to balance. Well, on some occasions, it was necessary to have what was called a reduction in force, which means you had to... reduce your expenses on salaries, which meant some positions had to be eliminated. Now, because of civil service, the person doesn't necessarily lose an occupation. I mean, because of seniority, they could be transferred somewhere else. But one of the first things I did when I got there was, first of all, I found out there was no budget, and I reported on the first day of the fiscal year, 1 July. And I said, I'd like to see the budget for this coming year. And they said, well, we don't have the budget. And I said, well, how do you obligate money? And they said, well, we just have an understanding. And I said, well, when do you finally come to the conclusion of what the budget is to be? And they said, well, usually in October. So that was an eye-opener to me. It was a new environment. It was completely different from the federal system now but it was still a large system. I learned very quickly, though, that there were some ways to get around things like that which had not been properly prepared, and that is by working with the vice president for finance for the university. Now, he had the prerogative of moving money from one department to another department based upon the monies that were needed or use that year. Now, for example, there might be some academic department at CSU that say had budgeted $5 million. And it turned out when we got close to the closeout at the end of June, the following year, um, they'd only use four, 4 million of these dollars and, uh, So consequently, there was a million dollars there that could be diverted and used other places around the campus. So there were a number of times when you would have a contract with someone and they didn't come forward with it in a timely manner or there could be emergency things which arise. So you have to have some flexibility in there like a contingency fund should be built into your budget. So nevertheless, I would consult with the university budget manager and he would let me know if there were funds available that could be diverted if needed. Now, conversely, if we had gotten more money, let's say if we had a contract with a university in football and they said, okay, we're going to pay you 50% of the gate. Well, that might be that that was a lot more money coming in than we had anticipated. Therefore, we were in good position so that the manager for the university could divert some money from our department over to another department. So this is some of the flexibility that's built in to some of the structures and budgeting. But In all cases, as far as I'm concerned, there must be line item budgets, which means you must justify every bit of the money you're going to use. You talk about the expenses for salaries above all, the benefits, the travel costs, costs for expansion of their program or their funds. Everything that they feel is necessary must be presented. Then if you're acting as a budget officer, you have to challenge that and be sure that it is essential to the operation of your program. And so it's an ongoing thing. Budgets are plans that hardly ever work out exactly like you plan them. But you have to do the best you can to try to keep it in the black. which means you've got more money than you have expenses. But when you get into the red, the trouble gets bad because that means you're short on money.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and this came in on the text line. When you mentioned Doge, actually, I think you said $2 billion, but they think they might be able to save $2 trillion, which would be significant.
SPEAKER 18 :
I wouldn't doubt it. I wouldn't doubt it at all. Well, there are several ways. One thing I think that they need to, first of all, look at eliminating some of the government departments and agencies. I think they also need to relocate. And by relocating out of the District of Columbia, they will have the opportunity to shape what they need as far as mission and by moving some of the departments closer. The best example that always comes to mind to me is is the Department of the Interior. Department of the Interior absolutely should be somewhere in the Mountain States because almost all of the territory, which we're talking really about government lands, that are supervised by the Department of the Interior are in the Rocky Mountain area and out to the west coast. So the idea of getting out of Washington That action alone will eliminate a lot of positions. Plus, the good part is as it comes, let's say if it came to Denver or Cheyenne or maybe Salt Lake City, it will bring with it an income source for a lot of job opportunities here because some of the people working back in Washington will quit because of family reasons or others because they don't want to move. sometimes they can't move. Or maybe there's a husband and wife and they're both working, so the department that moves out here may be where the husband works. Well, the wife has another good job in the D.C. area and says, we're going to stay here. So that right away, you start by movement alone. You give yourself greater flexibility in your working force. And the workforce is usually one of your largest expenses. But for sure, relocating those would be good. Now, there are those who claim, oh, you can't do that. You have to have them in proximity to the federal government in Washington. That's not true. In my experience in the Air Force, the Department for Personnel, which handles all assignments, it is the master planner for where all the soldiers and sailors and airmen but especially the airmen in this case, go. It was in the Pentagon. It was too crowded. They moved it from the Pentagon to San Antonio, Texas, put it on a military base, Randolph Air Force Base, because they had ample space there. They moved that over 50 years ago. It works great. It's super. And it moved thousands of of families, jobs, and positions out of the D.C. area to San Antonio area. And there are many opportunities to do that all over the country. Plus, too many of the departments have just deviated from what their basic mission is. And in so doing, they've perpetuated this problem and then they just keep growing and expanding. which is not necessary. So the idea of Elon looking at these things and making significant cuts, I think it's marvelous. Okay. Especially from the business standpoint.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and yeah, because this is not sustainable. When we talk about sustainability, this is the spending is not sustainable. A couple of text messages and then we'll wrap this up. Dave said that he was told to spend all of his remaining funds to use it or lose it next year on furniture and decor. That was when he was based in Sicily. and it says the air base was scheduled to close the following year. So really, buy all this furniture and decor, and they're going to close the air base? That makes no sense. And then this is from another listener who said, excess money could be diverted to an emergency fund instead of being spent for... Fire in Colorado, for example. We should not be dependent on FEMA. So, again, great comments there. One of our listeners said that you are one of our modern-day polymaths, Colonel Rutledge, and I have to agree. How would you like to button this up?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, first of all, I fully support the whole concept of having Musk and his associates involved. being an outside agency. They're not employees of the government. They're people who have been highly successful in their own light. But they can take an independent view on where cuts can be made, where all sorts of adjustments can be done, where positions that are not needed can be reduced and eliminated. I think it's the first good, sound budgetary action that I've heard in a long time.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, that is very exciting. Colonel Rutledge, thank you so much. And we've done some great interviews. And we're going to rebroadcast on America's Veterans Stories this Sunday, the interview that we did last year regarding the Battle of New Orleans. You said, Kim, this is so important. Let's just let's rebroadcast that. So that's going to happen this Sunday. Gosh, now 3 to 4 p.m., I think.
SPEAKER 18 :
Okay, remember the coincidence of what's been going on in New Orleans this past week and how it seems to be timely, at least for the name, identity of New Orleans.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes. I so appreciate you sharing your experiences and all of your knowledge with us, Colonel Rutledge, and we will talk again soon. Thank you again. That's Colonel Bill Rutledge, retired United States Air Force. Thank you.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thank you, Jane.
SPEAKER 16 :
And these are great discussions. They happen because of our sponsors. If you've been injured, reach out to John Bosen at Bosen Law.
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SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
Indeed, it is Friday. 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. Thank you to all of you who support us. We're an independent voice. We search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something's a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And check out the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo, Colorado. They are doing amazing work honoring our Medal of Honor recipients and also putting together great educational programs for our kids, K through 12, with just great civics education and continuing to reclaim these principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. Check out their website. That is AmericanValueCenter.org. And tomorrow, Saturday, there will be a vacancy committee that will convene in Douglas County to fill the vacancy that was created when Senator Kevin Van Winkle vacated that seat because he is a new county commissioner. And one of the people that will be sitting for that vacancy committee is Priscilla Rahn. And we have her on the line. Priscilla, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. Happy New Year. Well, Happy New Year. And tomorrow, this vacancy committee will convene regarding Senate District 30 seats. So tell us a little bit about why you have decided to sit for this vacancy committee that will select the next senator for Senate District 30.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I love engaging in the community. I love Douglas County. I'm so activated because the more I talk to people, the more I have hope and want to be an agent of change in our state and move us back to red because we have so many folks who are feeling the pressure of taxes, not being able to afford groceries. They don't feel safe in the communities. They're seeing the influx of illegal immigrants coming in and taking over apartment complexes in Aurora. People just aren't happy with the forces that have come upon us during COVID. Folks are not happy with the changes in our Constitution most recently, the abortion codification in our Constitution. There are just so many things that people are not happy about in our states. And I've watched the numbers decline. We all have. We've watched our numbers down at the House and the Senate decline. And we need to be able to start doing things differently. So we are at a pivotal point right now. We have our preferred president, President Trump, who's going to be sworn in shortly. I'm so hopeful that this is an opportunity for all of us to learn from the things that he did, what he said, how he campaigned, and start making those same types of changes in Colorado.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and I think, Priscilla, Colorado is at the tip of the spear of so many things that are going on. And so it is important that we work to hold the line and that we need to start to reclaim ground in this battle of ideas that is occurring in our country and particularly here in Colorado, Priscilla.
SPEAKER 17 :
I agree 100%. You know, it's going to take more than just going down to the Capitol with this sentiment of, well, we're in the minority because, you know, with 12 votes, you can't get anything passed. You need 18 votes to get something passed through the floor. So that requires someone to go down there and get at least six Democrats to vote for your bill. And that takes a lot of persuasion. So we need someone with fresh energy, someone who wants to be down at the Capitol, who'll go down there and filibuster at the well till midnight, one o'clock in the morning, if necessary. But not only that, help fundraise for the caucus and support other Republican candidates to get elected and be out in the community and increase the groundswell. Because we've seen what happens when we have citizens initiatives take place and we get signatures on ballots. We start to get things done. I think that's a critical combination of what we need going forward.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and what about repealing? In fact, I think I've heard that there may be some bills to repeal some things. I don't know that we need any new laws in Colorado. If you were going to repeal something, what would be one of the first things that you'd start with?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, I think you need to go look through – there's an audit committee and sit down and see what are some of the draconian laws because you're 100 percent right. We don't need 700 new bills. I don't think as a Republican that's an impressive campaign strategy. I'm going to go down and pass more laws. But we can look at some things that are outdated in the rules that are costing money because – The Democrats keep saying, we don't have any money. Well, first of all, it's not their money. It's our money. But there's plenty of money. They've just decided already how they're going to use it. And so if I'm going to present a new bill idea with a fiscal note, that's going to be really, really challenging. So my goal is to go down there and work with the caucus to see what types of bills we can impact and eliminate from the books. I'm excited to do that sort of research. And then also be prepared for any type of educational changes that could be coming our way when President Trump is successful in eliminating the Federal Department of Education. There are three teachers in the Senate who are Democrat. We don't have any teachers in the Republican Senate. And I think we have an opportunity here to have a voice in the education space.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I think education is so important. We've got a couple of minutes left. And that is your profession, Priscilla Rahn. And we've talked a lot about what's happening in our education system. Kids are not being able to read and write and do arithmetic. And I think a lot of people don't know that. So will that be one of your focuses?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, specifically one of my focuses is to have a better assessment system to know where our students are in Colorado because we're not competitive globally or nationally for that matter. And so if we're going to really, truly prepare kids for college and career, then we need to know where they are. And the current assessment system isn't doing a great job of just giving us that basic information. In addition, I want to make sure parents know what's going on with their kids at school. I want to make it easier for charters to have their applications approved. There's just a lot of bureaucracy right now in that process. And just give power back to parents and make sure that kids have choice.
SPEAKER 16 :
Okay. And so this is occurring tomorrow, right? Saturday the 4th. What time and where?
SPEAKER 17 :
It's credentialing starts at noon, the meeting starts at 1, and it's at South Ridge Rec Center in Highlands Ranch.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the public is welcome to attend?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I think visitors and guests can be there.
SPEAKER 16 :
And media needs to get credentialing, though. Okay. Well, Priscilla, Ron, thank you so much for joining us. I wish you all kinds of luck tomorrow. Thank you so much, Kim. Have a great day. Okay, you too. And our quote for the end of the show, I went to Elie Wiesel, and he said this, the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. And Holly had said that his book, Man's Search for Meaning, was about his time in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. So we can take great heart from his wisdom. So, my friends, today be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't want no one to cry, but tell them if I don't survive, I was born.
SPEAKER 02 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
In a politically charged segment, we scrutinize Joe Biden's recent action of awarding a medal to a controversial figure, raising questions about political motivation and legacy restoration. Furthermore, we delve into the Mexican government's new app designed to aid illegal immigrants amidst Trump's expected policies. As we wrap up, we pay homage to the enduring influence of AM radio, a medium that has brought communities together through shared experiences and historic moments.
SPEAKER 09 :
Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. It's Friday, January 3rd, 2025. I'm Eric Hansen. This week, we ring in the new year with a fight in Congress, the passing of a president and a ridiculous reward. But we begin with a terrible terror attack in New Orleans.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here we go, back to work, rolling up our sleeves, because we've got a lot ahead of us. 2025 is going to be a big, big year. There's an expression they use on social media a lot that I see. You don't hate the media, the mainstream media, enough. You don't despise the mainstream media enough. And when I see the cover of today's Washington Post, this is the Bible for the left, You know, the New York Times, the Washington Post, they have their bellwethers. They have their go-to publications. And the Washington Post is one of them. Now, you want to know what it says on the cover, but the big headline is about the New Orleans terror attack that killed at least 15, dozens more injured. If you've seen the surveillance video of the vehicle... plowing down Bourbon Street. It's horrifying. Bodies being scattered like, you know, bowling pins. The monster was evidently a veteran. Clearly radicalized. The guy that blew himself up outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas was also an Army vet. This guy was described as a A Master Sergeant Green Beret. So I guess he was radicalized too. Here's the cover of the Washington Post. I kid you not. Truck rams New Orleans crowd. That's the headline. Truck rams New Orleans crowd. The truck did it. It wasn't the terrorist. It was the truck. It's what leftists do with guns. They like to use the phrase gun violence. What the heck is gun violence? Well, the guns do it. It's a gun's fault. So it stands to reason that if a terrorist gets behind the wheel of a car and plows into a crowd of people killing at least 15, the truck did it. It's not the guy driving the car. That is the honest-to-goodness headline statement. Above the fold, Washington Post, truck rams New Orleans crowd. Now, I promise you that's not an accident. I guarantee you that is not a mistake. That's not something that they accident. You know that they're sitting there saying, well, we're going to get some pushback for this. Because, you know, it looks kind of stupid to say the truck rams the crowd. But this is the way the left sees the world. They blame inanimate objects for evil acts. It's not the fault of the person pulling the trigger.
SPEAKER 09 :
It's the gun. President Jimmy Carter passed away over the weekend at 100 years old. Guest host Joey Hudson remembers the man from Plains, Georgia.
SPEAKER 01 :
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia yesterday. At the age of 100, Carter was the longest living U.S. president in history. The thing to remember about Jimmy Carter, and I've got to be honest... I don't think of him necessarily as a great president, but I think of him as a great man, as a Christian man, as a man of faith, as a man who loved to serve others. He probably accomplished more when he left the Oval Office than while serving as president, as he was a very active person. with various charities. Of course, he started the Carter Center upon leaving the White House and was able to accomplish a lot. Jimmy Carter was not one of those presidents who just shied away from doing service, from helping others after he left the presidency. He didn't sit back and just write books and build his library. He actually did things to help people, and I really believe that will be his legacy. He'll be remembered as just a good, decent person who maybe got in over his head a little as president. If you lived during those times, you remember a lot of similarities of what we have been going through. High inflation, interest rates were in the double digits. People today, I tell younger people that interest rates reached 16%, 17%, 18%. Imagine paying that on a mortgage today. People just don't believe me unless you were there. People don't believe the fuel shortages where you sat in line for literally hours for gasoline that was at record highs for that time. Jimmy Carter. loved people, though. He loved serving. He taught his Bible study in his Sunday school at his Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains up until his 90s. And again, he loved Habitat for Humanity. Don't know how many homes he helped build, but a lot. And he wasn't there just greeting people. He was there with his tool belt on, his hammer in hand, and actually doing some of the work. So I think that's And, of course, he was a Nobel Peace winner in 2002. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work between Egypt and Israel, bringing peace. There's a lot of good things that you can say about Jimmy Carter in addition to the fact that he was just a good, decent person. Joe Biden and many others yesterday were responding to Carter's death. Carter, of course, has not been in good health for some time now. Joe Biden talked about Carter. He said, with his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights, human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He said he saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe. Of course, Biden couldn't resist. Like always, he had to get a dig in on Donald Trump as he's praising Jimmy Carter. Now, I don't know what Donald Trump has to do with Jimmy Carter, but I noticed this in several different Democrats' assessments of Jimmy Carter's life. Yesterday, when praising Jimmy Carter, he also, Joe Biden, lobbed one at Donald Trump in cut number seven when asked about what Carter or what Trump could learn from Carter.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Decency. Decency. Decency. Everybody deserves a shot. Everybody. Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needs something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk? I can't.
SPEAKER 01 :
I can't. As if Donald Trump would do those things. I have some words for you, Joe Biden. What about honesty? Honesty. Honesty. Honesty.
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As President Biden prepares to leave office this month, he's decided to bestow a medal on one American that is, well, hard to fathom.
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Look, I'm going to say two things about, or two things can be true at the same time. Number one, the Republicans ought to be unified right now. We are up against a formidable opponent. Democrats who seem to think it's okay to let millions of people stream across our border and destroy our country. We're up against a Democrat president who's about to finally be replaced, thank the Lord, who's giving an award to Liz Cheney. That's right. Joe Biden, a world-class jerk, wants to stick it to Trump on the way out by giving Liz Cheney one of the highest civilian awards you can get. What, for what? For her January 6th debacle? For getting walloped by her constituents and fired overwhelmingly because people were so disgusted with her? You give her an award for what? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The witch hunt against Donald Trump. That's why Joe Biden is doing what he's doing. What a disgrace to give that woman an award. The Presidential Citizens Medal. What an absolute creep. And the other one, Betty Thompson. He's going to get an award. You know, Betty Thompson, the co-chair of that select witch hunt committee. That's the guy that wanted to strip Trump of his Secret Service protection in order to get Trump harmed. And you give him an award for that? Is that what you're doing, Grandpa Joe? So this is our political opponent. These are our political adversaries. This is what has to change. And it's why Trump won. It's why Trump won. So two things can be true at the same time. Number one, this is not a time for us to have these inter-intra-party battles. We don't need to have another coup of the House Speaker. I don't agree with everything that Mike Johnson's been doing. But I strongly believe that this is not the time to overturn the House leadership. We have to be unified. And there's been all this battling about Elon and Vivek and how they talked about the American work ethic isn't as strong as people from India and all. That's fine. But here's the second part that I think is true. And I feel very strongly about this. I felt the same way about Matt Gaetz leading the uprising against Kevin McCarthy. You know, I wasn't a big fan of that. But those voices need to be heard, too. The Marjorie Taylor Greene's and the Thomas Massey's and the Andy Biggs, these sharp elbowed red meat conservatives represent a voice in this country that has been ignored for far too long. Portions of our show are brought to you by MyPillow. And for a lot of people, it was a MyPillow Christmas. Now that we're in the first of the year, if things are calming down a little bit and you're ready for whatever lies ahead, go to the MyPillow site. If you haven't been there for a while, you're going to save a ton of money on the pillow that started the whole Mike Lindell empire, the MyPillow empire. And look, Mike's been through the ringer. You know what he's been up against. So support a great American company. Support a patriot like Mike Lindell. Support MyPillow. Get the pillow for as low as $14.98. The pillow that never goes flat, stays nice and cool through the night. You can throw it in the washer and the dryer as often as you want. $14.98 a pillow. Limit of $10, please. The flannel sheets are the best flannel sheets you'll ever sleep in. Up to 50% off. And it's winter and it's cold in lots of parts of the country. So go to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher specials. Click on that box. And then when you place your order for anything... Anything, make sure you enter the promo code MikeG so you'll save big. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG or call 800-928-6034 if you just want a phone in your order. And thanks for continuing to support MyPillow. And I can happily report that our show outperforms just about everybody in America because you are engaged, you're informed. You're active, and you want the best night's sleep of your life. And you're going to get it from MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG, guaranteed. Promo code MikeG, MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
Promo code MikeG. This is the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast. I'm Eric Hansen. As the incoming Trump administration gears up, the Mexican government published a new app to help illegals avoid deportation.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is from townhall.com. appears that they're trying to, the Mexican government, trying to counter President-elect Donald Trump's immigration policies before he even takes office. According to Town Hall, Mexico has launched a brand new mobile app designed to assist illegal immigrants in the U.S. The app is dubbed the Alert Button. It aims to provide immediate alerts to family members, consulates, or legal representatives when someone believes they're about to be detained by ICE. Here's how it's going to work. Users will press a tab on the app. It sends an alert to a pre-selected relative and the nearest Mexican consulate. Foreign Minister Juan Ramon Lafuente described it as a panic button, saying the app is meant to ensure Mexicans in the U.S. have rapid access to assistance. The app's just one part of Mexico's efforts to gear up what they're calling an imminent crackdown on illegal immigration and deportation. Now, last week, they announced that they were building like 25 shelters to help these people as they're sent back by Trump. The Mexican foreign ministry has bolstered its consular staff, hiring 329 additional lawyers to help Mexican nationals navigate deportation cases and ensure that, quote, their rights are respected. What rights do they have if they entered our country illegally? De La Fuente also emphasized Mexico's Know Your Rights program, which will assist individuals facing deportation scenarios. He urged Mexicans with children born in the U.S. to register them with consulates, highlighting concerns about the potential for mass deportation to separate families. I don't think there's going to be any families separated. Tom Holman has made it pretty clear. that he's not going to separate children from their families. He's going to send them all back. But this doesn't help. And I hope that Donald Trump will let the Mexican government know up front, we're not playing with this.
SPEAKER 09 :
According to the New York Post, President Biden told friends privately that he could have beaten Donald Trump if he hadn't dropped out of the race. Yeah, sure, Joe. Keep thinking that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Joe Biden. Is he just delusional, do you think? Because according to the New York Post, Biden privately is telling his friends and confidants that he regrets dropping out of the race. He literally has told several people who have, of course, anonymously said to the New York Post that he could have beaten Donald Trump. Does anyone think Joe Biden could have done better than Kamala Harris? It just wasn't in the cards. Biden and some of his friends in recent days, according to the Post and the Washington Post reported on this, too, cited multiple anonymous sources, said that instead the 82-year-old buckled up to pressure by Democrat Party elites to drop out of the race. He wishes he had stayed in the race. Of course, Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden. It happened very quickly. He did horribly in the one and only debate with Donald Trump, and it became very evident that he was struggling. I'd say the president has been careful not to place blame on Harris and her campaign. However, the president all but admitted during a CBS News Sunday morning interview in August that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the charge to remove him from the ticket. In September, he told The View that he was confident he would have defeated Trump in November. If we doubted that Joe Biden was having mental issues. This is like an old man reliving his life. This is an old man thinking of a fight he won years ago. He's living back in 2020, if you believe he received the millions of votes that he claimed he did. Joe Biden, this in itself just shows how delusional this man is. They want to point the finger at everyone but themselves. Democrats do not want to accept the responsibility that, hey, we just govern lousy. We tried to push our woke left agenda on the American people, and they pushed back in a big way. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told the Washington Post, Biden ran on the promise that he was going to be a transitional president and, in fact, have one term before handing it off to another generation. Blumenthal says, I think his running again broke that concept, the conceptual underpinning of the theory that he would end the Trump appeal. He would defeat Trumpism and enable a new era. He did not enable a new era, for sure.
SPEAKER 09 :
And finally, we are longtime believers in the power of AM radio. And CBS News had some nice words for the venerable medium as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
I saw a piece over the weekend on CBS by reporter Scott McFarlane. You know, there's a lot of changes coming and good things coming for our company. You may have heard the news. There's been some movement in terms of investors, and we're divesting some of our radio stations. There's going to be a big emphasis on news talk in our company for 2025 and beyond. And AM radio, of course, is the lifeblood of so many of talk shows around the country. We've become sort of ubiquitous, obviously. We're trying to be everywhere. But this report on CBS from reporter Scott McFarlane, and he is... He's terrific. He's just a great reporter. I know he covers a lot of the January 6th stuff, and he's part of the CBS team, naturally, but I just think he's a great reporter, and I've always followed him, and I've talked to him a little bit over the years, but I want you to hear and see the report that he did on AM radio and what AM radio means to communities around the country. And there's a reason for this when it comes to some legislative efforts. But here's the report from Scott McFarlane on CBS that I wanted to share with you.
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The Friday night lights are on in Frederick, Maryland. The students jammed the front rows, but Paul Dumars and Steve Nibbs took seats in the very back.
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We're about ready to start tonight's contest between the Titans and the Railroaders.
SPEAKER 08 :
Dumars and Nibbs are broadcasting the game countywide on AM radio station WFMD.
SPEAKER 10 :
Roaders will start first and 10 at their own 21-yard line.
SPEAKER 08 :
A fall tradition that dates back decades. And the pistol fakes it, looking to throw. You were surprised. How many people still listen to this? Yeah, I truly was. In communities nationwide, AM radio remained the voice of high school sports.
SPEAKER 10 :
I've had fathers that are in the service, one was stationed in North Carolina, and he said, I don't miss a game.
SPEAKER 08 :
These games still draw an audience and advertisements at a moment in which the competition for audiences has never been so fierce.
SPEAKER 10 :
Touchdown, and the Titans now have tied the game. The way our technology is these days and how people connect, this is starting to die away a little bit, and that concerns me, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Federal Communications Commission reports more than 4,000 AM radio stations remain nationwide. But in an indication the industry is under pressure, Congress considered legislation last year to mandate new cars continue to install AM radios as listeners shift to podcasts and streams.
SPEAKER 06 :
For several generations of Americans, everyone knew that you had to find your favorite station.
SPEAKER 08 :
Ron Simon is a historian at the Paley Center for Media in New York.
SPEAKER 06 :
A lot of kids don't even know how to tune a radio.
SPEAKER 08 :
They don't know how to identify a radio. Yes. In September, one of the largest AM radio news operations in America, WCBS 880, an Odyssey-owned station, folded its operation.
SPEAKER 07 :
And for the final time, this is WCBS New York.
SPEAKER 08 :
A shock to one of the most storied forms of mass media in U.S. history.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Bob Trout speaking. Allied troops began landing on the northern coast of France this morning. Radio was launched more than 100 years ago.
SPEAKER 08 :
This is Edward Murrow speaking from Vienna. Cemented as a part of the fabric of America by Edward R. Murrow with CBS Radio in the first half of the 20th century.
SPEAKER 06 :
From the 1920s on, America participated in history through radio. In fact, the two defining crises, the Depression and World War II, were experienced by Americans through radio. The major artists, certainly of the 20th century, began on radio. The first generations of rock and roll. The last days of disco.
SPEAKER 08 :
The collapse of the Berlin Wall.
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We are just currently getting a look at the World Trade Center.
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Some of the first alerts about 9-11.
SPEAKER 05 :
We noticed flame and an awful lot of smoke from one of the towers.
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It was that local radio station in town. It brought the world to people.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that is so true, the ability to bring the world to people. And kudos to Scott McFarlane and CBS for doing a great job in spotlighting the need for AM radio. Sadly, the AM in Every Vehicle Act was excluded from the continuing resolution bill to fund the federal government. Let's hope they go back to work in 2025 because it needs to pass.
SPEAKER 09 :
And that wraps up the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast for Friday, January 3rd, 2025. I'm Eric Hansen. Be sure to subscribe to all of the podcasts and never miss a second of the shows. We'll see you back here next week on the Mike Gallagher Show Week in Review podcast.
You were bought and paid for by means of the spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He took your place. He took your sin and God the Father gave you His righteousness at the moment of salvation. God the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. “The Helper the Holy Spirit home the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). He gives us supernatural spiritual strength to survive the assaults we face each day. The Holy Spirit is your energy, your power. He enlightened you and encourages you in your spiritual journey. The claim of ownership by Jesus Christ is the basis for eternal appreciation and for eternal worship. “He set the seal of ownership upon us.” (2 Col 1:22).
Click for Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/christs-claim-a5be02
Amidst a backdrop of grim realities and media scrutiny, Mike Gallagher brings his characteristic optimism and critique along with tales from his travels. Hear his first-hand recounting of cultural wonders from London, from Ballet to the jaw-dropping ABBA Voyage experience that blends nostalgia with futuristic technology. As Mike paints a vivid picture of cultural shifts both abroad and at home, listeners will come away with a better understanding of the shifts in societal narratives and a glimpse at an uncertain future.
SPEAKER 08 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Geller.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's always good to get away, but it's even better to get back to work. the nation watched in horror as an illegal immigrant burned a woman alive on a New York City subway. And then, of course, in the last 24 hours, we saw a monster mow down a bunch of innocent people celebrating New Year's in New Orleans. We watched another monster blow up a cyber truck. outside of Trump Tower in Las Vegas, killing himself. Thankfully, nobody else killed. And President Trump took to social media today in a fiery post, ripping the United States as a disaster and a global laughingstock. in the wake of these attacks and the conditions that the country is in. You know, I've been thinking a lot about something today with all that's happening in our country right now. Can you imagine the mental state we would all be in if this was happening on the eve of a Kamala Harris inauguration? Let that sink in for just a moment. I try to be an optimist. I try to be positive. And here's a positive thought for you today. We could be getting ready for her inauguration. What do you think would be happening with terrorism and crime and illegal immigration under a Kamala Harris, Tim Walz administration? Boy, we got real lucky today. We are blessed. We're fortunate. We should be grateful that there's going to be a new sheriff in town. And the new sheriff in a truth social platform posted just moments ago, our country is a disaster, a laughingstock all over the world. The DOJ, the FBI, and the Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. Well, if this is today's FBI, we understand why he said what he said. Let me give you Althea Duncan. She is described as the number two in the New Orleans FBI department. All right? The FBI office in New Orleans is evidently run, number two in charge, by a young woman named Althea Duncan. Here's what she said. Now, you've got to remember this. Everybody knew this was a terror attack. Everybody saw that the guy had an ISIS flag. If you mow down a bunch of people on Bourbon Street with an ISIS flag, you don't exactly have to be Scotland Yard to figure out that it's a terror attack. But not to today's FBI.
SPEAKER 02 :
We'll be taking over the investigative lead for this event. This is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is their improvised explosive devices that was found. And we are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not.
SPEAKER 04 :
If she was giving a class, if that was a presentation in a high school class, she'd get an F for her lousy grammar. You can't help but notice the nose ring she's got. even though the FBI prohibits nose rings. Now, later in the day, she finally took the nose ring out of her nose. I'm not kidding you. She's number two in the FBI, Althea Duncan. And I am mesmerized by the insistence of our government, at least the woke government, to refuse to concede that a terror attack is a terror attack. For the life of me, I don't get it. My friend Mark Davis says, well, it's part of the woke mind virus. I don't even understand what that means. Mark's argument is that people on the left are worried that if we call a terrorist attack a terrorist attack, people will be accused of being Islamophobic. That, to me, is a very hard case to make. So I want to start right there with that. As we kick things off here in the Relief Factor studios, big thanks to Joey Hudson, Lee Elsie, filling in for me over the holidays. And I am just raring and ready to go, and I hope you are too. I've got the batteries recharged. I had a great, great amount of time spent in reflection and relaxation, a lot of sleep. A little bit too much food, but that's why I've got Ph.D. weight loss to come to my rescue. But as I open up the phone lines at 1-800-655-MIKE, and I want you to join me, start with that question. Why would this FBI official think it would be important to say that it was not a terrorist event? Why? Why do they do this? The whole world, again, ISIS flag? But there's got to be a reason behind it. What do you think it is? Let me turn it over to the smartest audience in the world and also the most generous. I've got to give you an update on our Prison Fellowship Angel Tree campaign. Holy cow. You talk about blessing us with a Merry Christmas. And most importantly, you blessed a whole bunch of children, thousands of kids, with your donations to our Angel Tree campaign. I'll give you the total on that in a moment. But first, I want to open up our phone lines. 1-800-655-MIKE. 13 past the hour. Tell me why you think FBI official Althea Duncan found it necessary to deny that the terror attack was a terror attack. Why do they do this? It's driving me crazy, but I'll bet you've got some good answers. 1-800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Dillon.
SPEAKER 04 :
We're in for a wild ride in 2025, and I am thrilled to be back to work after the holiday break. although I share the apprehension and the anxiety and the dread that many Americans have been experiencing over the last few weeks, maybe beginning with the woman being burned alive on a subway in New York City while everybody, including what appeared to be a police officer, walked by. This poor woman standing there on fire, apparently... ignited by an illegal immigrant, a guy who was not supposed to be in this country, which is of course the whole point behind The presence of a guy named Donald J. Trump. Welcome in. Happy New Year. I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I had a roller coaster of a ride beginning with my trip to Los Angeles to visit my friend and colleague Dennis Prager at the hospital. I had a chance to visit with Dennis, and he is just as inspiring as you would expect he would be, despite the real catastrophic nature of his injury from a fall at his home. He is in good spirits, smiling, just amazing. He's an amazing guy. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised. And I left L.A. and I went out in the morning and I flew back that day because I had to get ready to go to London for my Christmas vacation over in the U.K., which was extraordinary. I had a fantastic time. You know, I'm such a geek. I'm such a technical and entertainment geek. that despite the incredible events that I took part in, the ceremony of the keys at London Tower, that's something my Denise and I did years ago, and I got to do that again, where you watch the beef eaters hand over the keys and formally lock the Tower of London, saw the English National Ballet production of the Nutcracker, which was, all of that was nothing compared to seeing Abba Voyage. Yeah. It was the wildest thing I've ever seen. I don't want to get bogged down on it, but let me just tell you something. This industrial lights and magic company put together a production where I was convinced that the four people on the stage were the original members of ABBA from the 1970s. And it was all... A virtual avatar. None of it was live. The band was live, but they aren't live. I don't know how they did it. Because if you put me on a witness stand and I had to swear on a stack of Bibles that those were four people up there, I would have told you those were four people up there. That technology is extraordinary. And so that was my highlight, frankly, of the trip to London, even though that's not the right reasons you should be celebrating Christmas. But I did get to have a chance to recharge the batteries and refuel. I'm at a point right now where I think we need to hold on for dear life for the next 18 days. At least 15 people were killed on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The victims are now being identified. They almost all are young people, young college kids, fresh-faced young people with their whole lives ahead of them. And some monster gets in his truck with an ISIS flag in the back and was a veteran. as was the guy that blew himself up in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas. They both allegedly served together at Fort Bragg. There's a connection there. I don't think there's a coincidence here. There's something happening that it almost feels like the bad guys are taking one last crack at the U.S. before Trump gets inaugurated on January 20th because there's a new sheriff in town in 18 days. And he ain't putting up with any of this. He's fired up. What do you hear about his truth social post today? over the New Orleans terror attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas. I'm just astounded at the leadership, the law enforcement leadership in New Orleans. I'm watching this press conference last night thinking this has got to be a joke. The New Orleans police chief I don't think that's her exact title. They do weird things in Louisiana. I think it's a different title. Isn't it superintendent, I think? But she's essentially the police chief of New Orleans. Her name is Ann Kirkpatrick. She's got quite the history. She apparently ran people over herself with a car. Accidentally, of course. She was fired from a job in Oakland. She sued. She got a million and a half dollars. So she's got quite the colorful story. Then she hands the press conference over to FBI Special Agent Althea Duncan. A woman, I kid you not, with a nose ring who looks all of about 21 years old. Now, maybe she's older. I'm sure she is. She's the number two in charge of the FBI office in New Orleans. You can't make this up. You can't believe this. When all hell is breaking loose and you've got to turn to law enforcement in a city like New Orleans, this is who they've got. The FBI, first the New Orleans police superintendent, and then the FBI number two in charge, Althea Duncan. This is extraordinary. Buckle up. Gird your loins.
SPEAKER 01 :
In order to conduct this, he was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did. Because of the nature and the indices that we have on the scene and enough information that the FBI will be taking over this investigation. And with that, I am going to be asking, this is the assistant agent in charge, this is Agent Duncan, Special Agent Duncan, and she has taken over this case on behalf of us and the FBI. As always, we will be in partnership with all of our partners, but Agent Duncan, if you want to have a few words for everyone.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, ma'am. Good morning. My name is Alethea Duncan. I'm the assistant special agent in charge for FBI New Orleans. As Chief Kirkpatrick said, we'll be taking over the investigative lead for this event. This is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is they're improvised explosive devices that was found, and we are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not. Wow.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so it's not a terrorist event. It's an improvised... explosive device event, says the lady with the nose ring. I'm glad she took the nose ring out later in the day. She must only do the nose ring when she first gives a press conference initially, and then after the public gets a belly full, then she takes the nose ring out. So an FBI official with a nose ring, who you could hear grammatically can barely speak, you know, coherently, tells the media that a terrorist driving a truck with a big black ISIS flag killing at least 15 Americans is not a terrorist attack. Wow. Kash Patel, please get confirmed ASAP. Somebody sent me a text message on the MyPillow text line about the police superintendent. Grandma has no clue. The press conference is horrible, full of mixed messages, but don't worry. The FBI is now in charge. Look, I'm sure that our enemies overseas are terrified of FBI agent Nose Ring and Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies. I'm sure that they're not at all inclined to do any more attacks on American soil, knowing that's the best and the brightest. You know what President Trump had to say about it all? He's livid. He's livid. And believe me, you want some balm, some soothing oil for the soul? I'll share with you President Trump's message today. Just today on Truth Social. Welcome in. It is Thursday, January 2nd, the first episode of the Mike Gallagher Show in the Relief Factor Studios for 2025. It's going to be a big year for us, too. We've got some big things planned for you, including plunging headfirst into the digital era. Oh, yeah. We're doing TikTok. We're doing Facebook. We're all over X. We're doing Truth Social. We, of course, got the Salem News Channel where you can watch the show from the comfort of your home 24-7. And, of course, hundreds of radio stations all over the country that air our show. I'm honored and blessed and privileged to get to do this with you every single day. So welcome aboard. Don't forget the MyPillow text line, 800-655-MIKE. President Trump's response to the carnage in New Orleans and the terror in Las Vegas. And your calls at 800-655-MIKE. Coming up. There's no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I've kept it off. We all have different reasons for starting. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here's Mike Gellerman.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's so great to be back to work again after a nice, long, relaxing holiday break. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year's. And here we go, back to work, rolling up our sleeves because we've got a lot ahead of us. 2025 is going to be a big, big year. There's an expression they use on social media a lot. that I see, you don't hate the media, the mainstream media enough. You don't despise the mainstream media enough. And when I see the cover of today's Washington Post, this is the Bible for the left. You know, the New York Times, the Washington Post, they have their bellwethers. They have their go-to publications. And the Washington Post is one of them. Now, you want to know what it says on the cover, but the big headline is about the New Orleans terror attack that killed at least 15, dozens more injured. If you've seen the surveillance video of the vehicle plowing down Bourbon Street, it's horrifying. Bodies being scattered like bowling pins. The monster was evidently a veteran. clearly radicalized. The guy that blew himself up outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas was also an Army vet. This guy was described as a Master Sergeant Green Beret. So I guess he was radicalized too. Here's the cover of the Washington Post. I kid you not. Truck rams New Orleans crowd. That's the headline. Truck rams New Orleans crowd. The truck did it. It wasn't the terrorist. It was the truck. It's what leftists do with guns. They like to use the phrase gun violence. What the heck is gun violence? Well, the guns do it. It's the gun's fault. So it stands to reason that if a terrorist gets behind the wheel of a car and plows into a crowd of people killing at least 15, the truck did it. It's not the guy driving the car. That is the honest-to-goodness headline, above the fold, Washington Post, truck rams New Orleans crowd. Now, I promise you that's not an accident. I guarantee you that is not a mistake. That's not something that they accident. You know that they're sitting there saying, well, we're going to get some pushback for this. Because, you know, it looks kind of stupid to say the truck rams the crowd. But this is the way the left sees the world. They blame inanimate objects for evil acts. It's not the fault of the person pulling the trigger. It's the gun. Now, they don't seem to do this... If you notice, the one category that is exempt from this madness are knives. They never talk about knife violence. They only talk about gun violence. And now they're talking about truck violence. The Washington Post blames the truck for the deaths of 15 people. Meanwhile, this guy, Army veteran, sources tell... The Washington Times that the 37-year-old Colorado Springs guy rented the truck in his home state and drove to Nevada to carry out the explosion that only killed himself and injured seven bystanders. None of them expected to die from their injuries. He served, according to the Washington Times, at the same Army base as the 42-year-old Texan who killed at least 15 when he drove his truck through the New Orleans crowd early Wednesday. In case you didn't know it, the guy in New Orleans was killed in a shootout with police, and kudos to the police for proactively neutralizing the bad guy. Our number is 800-655-MIKE. We have a lot to keep up. And by the way, it was the Washington Post, just to clarify, somebody just texted, it was the Washington Times, not the Post. No, it was the Washington Post with the headline, Truck Rams New Orleans Crowd. I've got a copy of it right in front of me. It's not the Times. The Washington Times, Texas, is writing about... the revelation that it was a Master Sergeant Army veteran who blew himself up in Las Vegas. So keep up, keep up. I know we got a lot coming at you, and I sometimes stay glued to the text line. which is to my detriment. But I appreciate the MyPillow text line. And as 2025 gets underway, I want to give you a heads up that some of our goals for 2025 are all over connecting you with us and us with you. We'll be all over social media. We've finally taken the plunge into the world of TikTok. We'll have the Mike Gallagher Show TikTok account. We'll be all over Facebook and X, social media. Brace yourself. Gird your loins. And I love the text line because it does give me instant feedback even when somebody like Texas has it wrong and thinks that I was citing the wrong newspaper because I happened to be, this time at least, completely correct. So the MyPillow text line. 800-655-MIKE. Please never text and drive. Standard text messaging rates may apply. But, hey, however you get here, call or text us. It's the same number. Same way, 800-655-MIKE. And incidentally, as Katie wrote from Morton Grove, Illinois, truck, rams, crowd. Truck rams New Orleans crowd. Katie writes, this is why they lost in 2024 and will continue to lose. We've got 18 days to go before Donald Trump gets inaugurated. I hope we make it that long. I hope we can last for the next 18 days before the new sheriff comes to town. Like somebody on social media put it, daddy's coming home from work and daddy isn't happy. 800-655-MIKE. Welcome in to the first edition of the Mike Gallagher Show in 2025. Glad to have you with us.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared. It's going to be bright, bright, bright, bright sunshine in bed.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Christmas means giving, and for my money, Christmas means MyPillow. Make it a MyPillow Christmas for somebody on your list because the Christmas extravaganza is well underway. Because a big box retailer canceled an order, Mike Lindell has thousands of MyPillows to move. Well, he wants to pass the savings on to you, so check out this offer. You can order a standard classic MyPillow, and it's normally $49.98 for just $45. $14.88 with promo code MikeG. Limit of 10. This is the pillow that started it all, the pillow that never goes flat, stays nice and cool all through the night. You can throw it in the washer and the dryer as often as you want. You can get a classic standard MyPillow for $14.88 with promo code MikeG. A queen size, normally $69.98. You'll get it for just $18.88 with promo code MikeG. Or a king size, normally $79.98. You can order it for $19.88 apiece. Limit $10, please, during Mike's incredible Christmas extravaganza from MyPillow.com. Look, if you haven't been to the site in a while, you can get all your Christmas shopping done by going to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box, and then with any order you place, enter the promo code MikeG, and you'll save big. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. or call 800-928-6034, 800-928-6034. It's the Christmas extravaganza sale going on right now at MyPillow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, ho, ho, it's Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 04 :
It was magic, all right, that ABBA Voyage thing. This will be the future. You'll see that. That's going to happen in the United States, I would hope, because it's so cool. Think about all the artists who have passed who could recreate concerts. Elvis. I kept thinking there could be an Elvis Presley concert, and you'd swear Elvis is up on the stage. Or the Beatles. Luciano Pavarotti. I mean, if you held a gun to my head and said, were those four people on that stage, I'd say absolutely. And the whole thing was done like virtually. It was all like they were all, I don't know, AI. We're in big trouble. We're in big, big trouble. Twelve minutes before the hour. Got a lot to digest. The governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, is saying we cannot live in fear. You know, it's an interesting idea that we let terrorists change our lives. They moved the entire Sugar Bowl from yesterday to today. I guess they just wanted to make sure there wasn't any more, there wasn't a threat to people going to the game. And now I guess one day is what they needed. And of course, you never can trust the first 24 hours of reporting. First they said, oh, we believe that the terrorist worked with other assailants and co-conspirators. Now they're saying they believe he acted alone. Well, if he acted alone, what happened to all the supposed IEDs that were found around the rest of New Orleans? Trust nobody. Trust nothing you hear. Roberts in Michigan. Robert, you're on the Mike Gallagher Show. Hello.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, how are you doing?
SPEAKER 04 :
Good. How are you? Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Happy New Year to you, too.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thanks.
SPEAKER 03 :
As for those first few hours of reporting, there are blurbs in there that are going to be consistently true if you study it. But I'd like to point out that I do not think that the attack in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas were terrorist-related. I think they were intelligence operations.
SPEAKER 04 :
Which intelligence?
SPEAKER 03 :
Ours? Ours. Why? Ours. Because it was directed at Trump, because it was one of his buildings, and it should tell him, don't push us too hard.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, look, there's going to be a lot of theories and a lot of suspicions, and you can go down a rabbit hole. There's a lot of weird coincidences to have both of them having served at Fort Bragg. One of them, the guy at Trump Tower, apparently a Master Sergeant Green Beret. What happened to him? What caused him to go off the deep end? And incidentally, are we going to know all about him? Because we know everything about all the people on January 6th, right? We know their occupation. We know where they live. What are we going to learn about this guy, if anything? You know, there's an idea, too, and I didn't get to this. There's so much breaking news today, and I've done my best to keep up, and it feels great to get back to work. We didn't have a chance to cover the squabbling between some of the feisty House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson. That vote's tomorrow, right, guys? I think that's tomorrow. And look, I'm going to say two things about or two things can be true at the same time. Number one, the Republicans ought to be unified right now. We are up against a formidable opponent. Democrats who seem to think it's OK. To let millions of people stream across our border. and destroy our country. We're up against a Democrat president who's about to finally be replaced, thank the Lord, who's giving an award to Liz Cheney. That's right. Joe Biden, a world-class jerk, wants to stick it to Trump on the way out by giving Liz Cheney one of the highest civilian awards you can get. What, for what? For her January 6th debacle? For getting walloped by her constituents and fired overwhelmingly because people were so disgusted with her? You give her an award for what? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The witch hunt against Donald Trump. That's why Joe Biden is doing what he's doing. What a disgrace to give that woman an award. The Presidential Citizens Medal award. What an absolute creep. And the other one, Betty Thompson. He's going to get an award. You know, Betty Thompson, the co-chair of that select witch hunt committee. That's the guy that wanted to strip Trump of his Secret Service protection in order to get Trump harmed. And you give him an award for that? Is that what you're doing, Grandpa Joe? So this is our political opponent. These are our political adversaries. This is what has to change. And it's why Trump won. It's why Trump won. So two things can be true at the same time. Number one, this is not a time for us to have these intra-party battles. We don't need to have another coup of the House Speaker. I don't agree with everything that Mike Johnson's been doing. But I strongly believe that this is not the time to overturn the House leadership. We have to be unified. And there's been all this battling about Elon and Vivek and how they talked about, you know, the American work ethic isn't as strong as people from India and all. That's fine. But here's the second part that I think is true. And I always feel very strongly about this. I felt the same way about Matt Gaetz leading the uprising against Kevin McCarthy. You know, I wasn't a big fan of that. But those voices need to be heard, too. The Marjorie Taylor Greene's and the Thomas Massey's and the Andy Biggs, these sharp elbowed red meat conservatives represent a voice in this country that has been ignored for far too long. So while I don't like the idea of a battle over Mike Johnson, while I believe strongly that the timing of this is awful, In fact, I was listening a little bit to Joey when he was filling in for me this past week point out that if we don't get our act together as Republicans, Trump might not get inaugurated. You've got to have a speaker in place, and it could completely disrupt President Trump's actual inauguration, which, incidentally, we'll be at. We'll be broadcasting from D.C. Joey Hudson's going to be there in the crowd with our reporting, and I'll be at the anchor seat, and we're going to go to some balls, and I'll tell you some of the inaugural balls, and I'll be giving you all kinds of updates from Washington, D.C. So, again, I don't like... this squabbling. Let the Democrats eat each other alive. But on the other hand, don't ignore their voices and appreciate the fact that some debate and some disagreement is fine. It's not the end of the world. We're probably not going to be marching in lockstep on everything. It's okay. Let Marjorie Taylor Greene or Massey or whoever's voices, let them be heard. And consider their arguments over why Mike Johnson hasn't been as effective as he could have been, as he should be. And then let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. And let's accomplish what Donald Trump is going to set out to accomplish with the mandate that he received, with his landslide victory over these dumb Democrats and their failed policies. Let's take our country back and make it great again. It is great to be back to work again. Thanks for joining us. Great job to the team, Teresa and Eric and Christian and Tracy and Joey. Thank you for joining us. We'll do it again tomorrow. Have a great day. Be safe. Keep fighting the good fight. I'm Mike Gallagher. God bless America. 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. 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SPEAKER 08 :
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 07 :
We have, boy, do we have stuff to unpack. Welcome back. And we've been talking during the holidays, as I knew we would. But listen, even without New Orleans, there's a ton to talk about in the new year. And I so look forward to a year filled with 735 chats with you. And just, it's my, my life is complete again. And back with my buddy.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look, Mark, we got a big year ahead of us. There's no question. There's a lot of stuff that's going to be happening. And we have, like you said, a lot of things to unpack. First of all, though, can we stipulate, was this the longest break you and I have ever taken together? I mean, because I went a few days before Christmas. And I went out to see Dennis Prager in Los Angeles in the hospital, which was actually a very inspiring way to start the holiday because this is a man who has strength, who has courage, who is of good cheer despite what has happened to him. People know he had a terrible fall. And he suffered a very, very serious injury. I think it's out publicly that he is paralyzed and is breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. You know, all of us are a little uncomfortable with getting too detailed because that's that's really Sue's prerogative, his wife and the family. But look, he is a fighter. And he's beloved and he knows the prayers that he's getting from all over the world. And it was a joy for me to just be there and see his face light up when I walked in the hospital room. He's, of course, still in ICU in the Los Angeles area. He always loves a joke that I tell, that Dennis could take a cruise to the black hole of Calcutta and get 900 people to sign up. Every time. And he always loved that. So I walked into the hospital room and I said, all right, he wants to go to the black hole of Calcutta. And we got 900 people signed up and he just his face lit up. He said, wow, wow, wow. He couldn't believe that I slept out there from from Florida. And Sue was amazed because she said, this isn't exactly on the way to London, but it was the opposite direction. I racked up those frequent flyer miles and spent some good time with him and then back home and then packed up and then headed out to London. And like you said, we, you and I stayed connected a little bit during the holidays.
SPEAKER 07 :
To answer your question, it has to be because my last show was the 17th and you were going to ride out the rest of that week. Mike texts me on the way home the 17th and said, look, I'm in tomorrow, but then I'm out of here. So I spent.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that's because of you.
SPEAKER 07 :
And that's because of you.
SPEAKER 04 :
I thought, well, if you can do it, why can't I do it? Why am I working this week? I thought, I've got the days. And, of course, I noticed on X, and incidentally, 2025, heads up, it's going to be a year of digital for the Mike Gallagher show. We're going to embrace digital. Good for you. developing our TikTok presence today. I'm going to reinstitute our Facebook page. I'm all over X. I'm all over, you know, truth socials. We're going to be digital out the ears.
SPEAKER 07 :
More Mike. I've always advocated for more Mike.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good for you. Brace yourself because we'll be doing a lot of digital stuff. But somebody on X last night took a pot shot at both of us saying, well, I'm glad you're going to be both back from your paid lengthy vacations. And I couldn't help myself. I wrote the guy back. What are we supposed to pay the company to go on vacation? You want us to pay Salem? Maybe we can pay them. I mean, you know, you've got some years together. You get a little bit of equity. You get a little vacation time. Exactly right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And who knew that we would come back to this?
SPEAKER 04 :
And forget, oh, I know, we've got a lot to talk about what we came back to, but before we get back to what we returned to here in the United States, quick note about London and about going overseas. Forget the Tower of London and the Ceremony of the Keys that I saw. Forget that. Forget the Nutcracker from the English National Ballet, which I saw and I loved it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Forget Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey.
SPEAKER 04 :
Forget high tea at the Cafe Royal like I got to enjoy. Forget any of that. No. Abba Voyage is a life changing experience. And let me tell you why. You tell me to go see Abba Voyage when I go to London.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because a friend of mine, a friend of mine is in sort of the music production and licensing biz, was over there for a conference. He went and saw it. Couldn't shut up about it to me. When I hear you're going, I say, well, let me pass that recommendation on. You got to go see that sort of live action. You tell everybody what Abba Voyage is because I still don't totally get it.
SPEAKER 04 :
I know it's hard to explain it, but see, I don't have a clue going in what it is. I just know my friend Mark Davis, my buddy, says go see ABBA Voyage. I get tickets. I'm sitting there. It's a concert theater. It's the ABBA Theater. They've built an entire theater just for this production.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it's outside of London, just about a 20-minute Uber ride. Uber, by the way, is fantastic over there. When you do Uber like black in Dallas or New York, Uber black is like a suburban. Over there, it's a Mercedes S-Class stretch, brand new. It's the greatest thing they've got. They got Uber down to a science over there. Anyway, I don't know what I'm going to get. I know the show starts and up from on an elevator come four people that get risen up to the stage. Crowd goes nuts. Everybody's cheering and I'm watching them. And there's four. These are four people on stage. I'm convinced. They're on stage as a band off to the side. They're playing. I'm going crazy because that's the soundtrack of my youth, as it is everybody else's. We love the music. And I'm thinking as they're singing and talking to the audience, they look like ABBA of the 70s.
SPEAKER 07 :
It's Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anifred right there from the mid-70s.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it looks like them. So I figured, okay, then it's impersonators. It's people that look like them. And there may be lip syncing because it sounds just like ABBA's original music. And I'm watching this and then I'm noticing it seems a little bit off, but not much. And I'm staring at them. If you had to put me on a witness stand and hold a gun to my head and say, were those four live people up there? I would say yes. Yeah. Show goes through. They do the whole performance. Then they take their curtain call. They walk off. And then out comes four of the four ABBA members in their 70s and 80s. They're a little older than us now, but that's how old they'd be. And they're taking a curtain call, and they're waving. I thought, how do they do that? Do they come every night for every performance and just do a quick bow? No. So then I get in the Uber at the ABBA Arena to go home. The whole thing is virtual. Everything I saw was what's called a virtual, not the band, but the four performers are virtual avatars. And Mark, I'm not talking hologram like I've seen in Vegas with Michael Jackson.
SPEAKER 07 :
And you know it's a hologram.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know right away it's a hologram. It's blurry. Yeah, it's out of focus. It's kind of two-dimensional. Mark. These are four people. If I had to go on the witness stand, I would have said those are four live people. They were not. And then I read about it. The four original band members in their 70s and 80s did the live motion with one of those suits, those goofy suits you wear.
SPEAKER 07 :
The motion capture thing with all the dots. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Because it was done by, what's it called? Industrial Light and Magic. Industrial Light and Magic. They did this, right? So they created the movements, but it's with their younger selves. Man. Think about this, Mark. Look what you could do. Elvis? The Beatles. Beatles in their prime. Luciano Pavarotti. I mean, you could go on. Tom Petty. All of them. You could do all of them in their prime. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Yeah. And you do not. Now, then I felt stupid because I thought, well, I'm clapping for a movie. I was clapping and cheering. There's no one on stage. And there wasn't anyone. Yeah, they weren't even hearing me. So then I felt stupid. It was the most amazing, extraordinary thing. And I bet we'll see more of that, I hope, in the United States. I bet so. Because they've got it down in the UK. All right. So we come back to the United States. I'm following over in England people getting burned alive on a subway car. People getting pushed onto train tracks. Terrorists mowing down civilians in New Orleans. I think a terror attack in Las Vegas. Chaos is the new normal here, Mark. And we got how many days to go? 18 before? 18, yep. I mean, because we got to hold on for dear life. Let's start here. Did you see the press conference from New Orleans and the police chief and the FBI spokeswoman? Yeah. The two women. Yep. First of all, the police chief. Look, I'm going to this is my 2025 is my year of Medicare. It's my 65th year. I want I want to be 100. I don't want to. I'm not going to disparage old people. But this woman, she must be 80.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, this is Ann Kirkpatrick, the New Orleans police chief.
SPEAKER 04 :
She is an elderly woman who evidently was fired from another police department. Great. And she ran over two people with her car. sued, I think, the Oakland Police Department and got a big settlement. Anyway, she's the police chief, like Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies, with the oversized police hat on. Then she hands off to the FBI agent.
SPEAKER 07 :
Althea Duncan. Yeah. With the nose ring. The assistant special agent in charge.
SPEAKER 04 :
Got the nose ring in her nose, which is a direct violation of FBI standards and guidelines. And talks like a sixth grader. I mean, even the diction. Have you heard the clip? Do we have one?
SPEAKER 07 :
There's subject-verb agreement problems, and it's enormously problematic.
SPEAKER 04 :
Let's listen. Let's listen together. This is quick. What's your name again?
SPEAKER 07 :
Althea Duncan.
SPEAKER 04 :
I give you Althea Duncan.
SPEAKER 02 :
We'll be taking over the investigative lead for this event. This is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is their improvised explosive devices that was found. And we are working on confirming if this is a viable device or not.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so grammatical disasters aside.
SPEAKER 07 :
Devices that was found.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was found, uh-huh, with the nose ring in the nose. But help me with, and of course, you know right away people go, oh, Mike Gallagher, Mark Davis, they're racist, you know, she's a young black woman. Well, I don't care what her skin color is. I don't care about her race. I want to know why she would immediately say it wasn't a terrorist attack.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because it is systemic. It is baked in. That is what the current culture of law enforcement, the current FBI culture says. Make sure nobody nobody says it's terror, even if we've unfolded an ISIS flag on the street and we know it's the guy.
SPEAKER 04 :
It had an ISIS flag in the back of his truck that was laying there that people were taking pictures of. And she goes to the podium and says, this is not a terrorist attack. But when you say it's baked in, Mark, will you expand upon that? What do you mean by that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Why is that? Because the woke mind virus tells us that before we are honest with the American people, before we tell them, hey, listen, I don't need her to say. Clear terrorism. This investigation is over. Just come out and say, look, we're gathering evidence. We're not concluding that it's anything right now, but we'll let you know when we have a conclusion. And of course, wound up being hours later. But don't come out right out of the box and tell us that it's not because that is because oversensitivity and woke ism and political correctness. She didn't. I don't blame her for this at all. This came from the top. You do not get out there and tell people it's terrorism, even if we know that it's terrorism.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I and I really don't fully get that. I don't know what what's the what are you say it's the woke mind virus. Yes. What's the downside to calling a terror attack a terror attack?
SPEAKER 07 :
Because Islamophobia will spread across the land, which it didn't even do after 9-11. They don't trust us. They don't trust us. And the close cousin to that is when we learn more about this monster. Look for us to learn that the military absolutely had reason to say this guy is a seething jihadist lunatic. And they were restrained from saying anything about it because of the fear of allegations of racism or Islamophobia.
SPEAKER 04 :
And speaking of the military, you've seen the connection that has already been made between the Las Vegas bomber, who incidentally blew up a cyber truck. And it didn't really work because it didn't even the windows weren't even shattered. That's a tough truck, man. It's a tough truck. But that guy blew himself up inside. But they both both served. at Fort Bragg, reportedly. Now, this is all coming out now. Look, we got a big problem on our hands. We got a big, big problem. And I'm on the hunt for a woman that I've seen on social media, speaking of the new digital era of 2025, and make sure you follow me on X, at Gallagher Show. I don't even know what we're going to be on TikTok, maybe at Gallagher Show. I don't know what they call it. Of course, the Chinese now will be spying on me, but that's okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let's deal with that. I'll become a Chinese spy. Listen, Trump's on TikTok. It's everywhere. I mean, I don't want to be numb to the fact that everybody knows where I am and who I am and stuff like that. But the world's on TikTok. And so you might as well be too. More Mike, more Mike, more Mike.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and more all of us, and we'll be connecting, but I've been following a woman named Sarah Adams. Have you heard of her? She's a former CIA operative, and she has been sounding the alarm about this. And a year ago, she called it. She said 2025 is going to be a year because we haven't had a lot of these truck bombings and suicide bombings in the United States. And look at what we just got in the last 24 to 48 hours. So, look, we've got big challenges. We're headed to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration. We'll be covering that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Fly in early because the inauguration is what, a Monday, right? Yeah, Monday the 20th. And I know you'll be in the previous weekend. Keep your Sunday night open because there's a massive downtown Washington Trump victory rally on the evening of the 19th.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I got my tux polished off because I'm going to be hitting some balls. We're going to go to the South Carolina ball. And it looks like we're going to the Turning Point USA Bowl featuring Don Jr. and maybe the president himself and the great Charlie Kirk, who I am thrilled to announce we just renewed for another term with Salem. A lot of changes for Salem, too. Tell me about it. And we're thinking about and praying for the people who are experiencing some of those changes for the negative because of some divestitures we did. But we also have new investors. And it's going to be a whole new day for Salem Media Group. And we're excited about that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark's conversations at MikeOnline.com for the M&M experience.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't really like working. I'm going to need a priority parking space. I only work remotely. How are your safe spaces? Can I bring my dog to work? Will your company protect me against microaggressions? You're triggering me. Is this interview almost over?
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SPEAKER 06 :
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 09 :
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As the House of Representatives prepares for a pivotal vote on the Speaker's position, Congresswoman Stephanie Bice joins to discuss the dynamics and potential obstacles that may arise. Meanwhile, FRC's enduring commitment to promoting faith, family, and freedom shines through with their latest initiatives. The episode also sees Carolyn Glick providing crucial updates from Israel, as the nation navigates complex geopolitical challenges. Listeners are called to unite in prayer as the nation faces uncertain times, highlighting the power of faith in fostering hope and healing.
SPEAKER 02 :
from the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome to this Thursday edition of Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heiss, the Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. An honor to be filling in today for Tony. But let me take this opportunity real quickly to be the first, at least from my side, to say Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and so far off to a great new year. We've got a lot coming your way today on Washington Watch. Let me give you some of the highlights. To begin with, what started as a New Year's Day celebration on New Orleans' Bourbon Street became a horrible scene yesterday.
SPEAKER 15 :
Today at approximately 3.15 a.m. Central Standard Time, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 individuals and injuring dozens more.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that was FBI Assistant Special Agent Alethea Duncan speaking yesterday to the press. And since then, there have been four more deaths reported and more details have emerged, including the suspect's ties to ISIS.
SPEAKER 19 :
First and foremost, let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act. He originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, war between the believers and the disbelievers, end quote. Additionally, he stated he had joined ISIS before this summer
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that was FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Rea earlier today. I'll be joined here in just a couple of moments by former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam to discuss what else has emerged from the investigation into yesterday's attack. And later in the program, Tony will also be sharing some of his thoughts on the response to yesterday morning's attack. And he was also in the studio earlier this afternoon, and we'll be bringing that to you. He is now, by the way, just for you to know, headed to an inaugural ceremony in Baton Rouge, and he is involved in leading prayer and so forth in that. So he and I will be going back a little bit today as I'll be bringing a portion of the program, and then he'll be bringing some that he recorded a little bit earlier today. And he also interviewed Carolyn Glick on some reports that Iran is now preparing to spend millions of dollars and send millions of dollars to Hezbollah in order to bolster that terrorist organization. Folks, the saga in Israel just continues to unfold, and you'll be hearing more about that a little later on in the program. And then tomorrow at noon, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote for who is going to be the speaker in the 119th Congress. Well... We already have at least one Republican House member who is saying he is not going to be voting for current House Speaker Mike Johnson. That means it's only going to take one more person in the GOP to potentially throw a wrench in the plans to quickly deliver the America First agenda to the American people.
SPEAKER 04 :
We can't get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump's election on January 6th. So to waste time over a nonsensical intramural food fight is a joke. And I think my colleagues, if they didn't learn anything from the 118th Congress, it should be that we absolutely do not need a fight over the speakership.
SPEAKER 05 :
That was Congressman Mike Lawler of New York this past Sunday on ABC's This Week. So much at stake as they come into tomorrow's vote. And I'll be joined a little bit later in the program with Congresswoman Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma. to discuss that vote and what the obstacles may be. So as usual, we've got a lot to come your way. If you happen to miss any portion of it, the website, of course, is TonyPerkins.com. And let me just say this, as we enter into this special pivotal, pivotal year for our country, Family Resource Council invites you to join our New Year's resolution to stand. with us for faith, family, and freedom. All of this is inspired by Ephesians 6.13, but we commit to continue shining the light of Christ and defending biblical truth across our nation, and we invite you to join us in that task. You can do so by simply texting the word SHINE, S-H-I-N-E, text the word SHINE, to 67742, and then join us and pledge to pray for our nation, for our leaders, and for the restoration of godly values that we so desperately need to return to. All right, so from there, let's see if we can move into our first topic for today. We had a number of people who were killed, now 14 is the number, and dozens of others when the driver of the pickup truck plowed through a crowd in New Orleans celebration, what was to be a New Year's celebration. It all happened Wednesday morning. The suspect has been identified as Shamsa Din Jabbar. Jabbar is a 42-year-old Army veteran from Texas who reportedly joined ISIS sometime before the summer of last year. What else do we know about this individual and this whole scenario that's being considered now an act of terrorism? Well, joining me now to discuss this to begin with is Jay Johnson. He is our pastor, if you will. That's what we all call him at Family Research Council, and he's right in the hub of things there in Louisiana. Jay, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thanks, Jody. And thanks for remembering the people of New Orleans.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so let's go down this path from a more spiritual perspective, which is the perspective that you are holding up for all of us. First of all, is there any more details that you have from the ground that you can share with us? And then beyond that, what is the spiritual climate from people that you've been talking to there?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, as far as information, I'm not aware of any of it. You know, I serve as a volunteer chaplain with the Louisiana State Police, and the state police have been on the ground as well as all other law enforcement agencies. And, you know, I think the thing that's needed right now is a lot of prayer for them, a lot of encouragement. You know, just... bringing in and just encouraging the people. A lot of folks are just in shock. Those that were down in the quarter area, I visited with a lady a little while ago that her 21-year-old had just left that part of Canal Street, and she was just thanking the Lord, and we just had a moment of prayer together, and You know, there's a ministry in Louisiana, Texas area called Oilfield Christian Fellowship. I have some really close friends that are part of that because they're in the oil industry. I've had the opportunity to minister with different ones of them. And, you know, the people, one of the men, faithful man, his grandson was one of those killed, a bright young student who was a... Princeton graduate. New Orleans is a small town that's really highly connected. It's my hometown. It's a place where I was born and raised. We're not that far separated from people. There's been a lot of services because of the strong influence of the Catholic community. community, so there's been a lot of services. A young man that went to Archbishop Hannon High School, you know, they were having a service for him today because, you know, he was one of those killed.
SPEAKER 05 :
Jay, let me stop you if I can. Sure. We've only got a few moments. If I can, thank you for that. Just hang on, but I want to bring in Joel Pollack with Breitbart News. He's Joel, thank you for joining us. We appreciate you coming on here.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thank you, and thank you for your words as well, Pastor.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, let me toss it back over to you. We were just talking with Jay Johnston, but do you have any further information as this investigation is continuing to unfold?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, The question everybody is asking is whether it is connected to the explosion outside the Trump Tower in Las Vegas, which happened later that same morning. And there is some breaking news there, which is that local law enforcement officials in Las Vegas have said that the driver shot himself in the head before the explosions happened in the Cybertruck. That is what they are saying from their forensic analysis. So it does look like a suicide attempt, and that rules out the possibility that he was a victim of an accident or perhaps lured to the hotel by somebody who detonated what was in the back of the truck. It does look like a deliberate, planned, dramatic suicide. We don't know if it had a political motive, although obviously the symbolism of the Trump Tower and Elon Musk's Cybertruck is hard to look away from, but that's the latest that we know.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. That is indeed breaking news. Now, my understanding, Joel, is this individual also was an active duty member of the U.S. Army Elite Special Forces. Is that accurate information?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes. He is a Green Beret, won two bronze stars, served multiple tours overseas, highly decorated. There was no reason that we know of any way to suspect that he might do something like this.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, so there's a potential connect between New Orleans and what happened there in Las Vegas. Is anything yet to be uncovered that would suggest that there were other targets?
SPEAKER 12 :
That's a great question. We don't know. And we also, again, don't know if there's a connection. But the fear is, I think, among a lot of people that as we get closer to Inauguration Day, with President Trump already having been the target of an attempted assassination twice, really, and one that nearly ended his life, there's a fear that we could see more of these types of events leading up to the inauguration. So I do think we will see tighter security around public events, tighter security around the president-elect, probably tighter security around Elon Musk and other people close to Trump.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean... I think you hit it right on. So with that, obviously with the two attempted assassination attempts against the former president, some are already saying this is yet another example of federal authorities taking their eye off the ball. Is this yet another wake-up call that we better get our act together when it comes to securing these individuals?
SPEAKER 12 :
It really is. And also, there will be questions about why the FBI said that the New Orleans attack was not a terrorist attack in the hours after it happened. And of course, it turned out to be. And there's been a lot of criticism of President-elect Trump's nominee to leave the FBI, Kash Patel, because he has stated that he wants to pursue dramatic reforms at the FBI. This is going to make his case stronger. Because it's one thing if the question is really about ideology and whether the FBI is simply going after particular political targets and so forth. But if the FBI is not showing the ordinary competence that we expect of the agency— Real quickly, Joel, just a matter of seconds here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, he's going to have a— Listen, Joel Pollack with Breitbart News. Thank you so much for joining us. Friends, after the break, we're going to be talking about tomorrow's vote for the Speaker of the House. Stay tuned. More Washington Watch ahead.
SPEAKER 16 :
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 10 :
Looking to grow closer to God in the new year? FRC's Stand on the Word spiral-bound journal is here to help. Dive deeper into Scripture with thought-provoking questions, note-taking space, and context for each book and author. This second edition, covering Isaiah 2 Revelation, will guide you in tracking your journey through God's Word while deepening your faith in Christ. Order now at frc.org slash store or text journal to 67742. Perfect for you and your loved ones.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you joining us today. And happy, happy New Year to you. All right, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote tomorrow at noon for who is going to hold the Speaker's gavel in this upcoming 119th Congress. And while President-elect Trump has endorsed current Speaker Mike Johnson for that position, not all Republicans have expressed support for him. and in fact there's one congressman thomas massey of kentucky has already said that he will not be voting for the speaker so what that means as i count is all 218 remaining republicans are required if the entire house of 434 members vote so what's the likelihood of that happening And what are the obstacles to overcome to get to that magic number of 218? Well, with me now to discuss this and more is Congresswoman Stephanie Bice. She serves on three different House committees, including the Appropriations Committee, as well as the House Administration Committee. She represents the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma. Congresswoman Bice, welcome to Washington Watch. Great to have you with us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you so much, Shodi. It's great to see you and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 05 :
Happy New Year to you as well, and great to see you again. All right, so, boy, a lot of plates spinning. A lot's going on right now. What have you been hearing from Capitol Hill regarding the vote tomorrow?
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, I think first and foremost, it's really important to recognize that Mike Johnson was chosen for this role. He was chosen in November by acclamation in our conference meeting then, and the vast majority of the conference continues to support him. As was mentioned, there are certainly a couple of holdouts here, but I think the reality is we have a very small majority. You know, as we've looking at three seats right now, and that does pose a challenge. But Mike Johnson has done really yeoman's work to try to make sure that he is listening to the conference, hearing their concerns, and trying to move forward. We have to remember that the American people gave us a mandate in November, and that is to change the direction of this country. And so to elect a speaker is our first responsibility so that we can get on with it. President-elect Donald Trump's agenda, which is getting this country back on track. And I'm looking forward to getting that done tomorrow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. And when you take into consideration, I was just pondering this earlier with what's happened in Louisiana and the terrorist attacks there, as well as just Congress in general to carry out the agenda that you just described. There's some potential enormous risk of Congress is not being able to actively engage if something worse were to happen. So give me your take on that. What is it going to take for Speaker Johnson to get reelected?
SPEAKER 06 :
Look, I think that he has made an effort to talk to every member that has concerns. Many of them over the last couple of days have come out in support of the speaker, including Warren Davidson, who I think was maybe considering not supporting him last month. So I think that it's just incremental progress, listening to their concerns, addressing some of the issues, And I think that President-elect Trump is also part of this conversation, having him reach out to the members that may have concerns and getting them to a point that they can be supportive. But I go back to, we have a small majority, and we have to get started with this new administration on day one. We cannot drag this out. It's not good for the country. It's not good for the institution. And it really puts us behind when we're trying to get this America First agenda started.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. And speaking of dragging this, the country through this, I mean, we all watched as this similar thing transpired with previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Does this in any way now compare with what happened to Speaker McCarthy, in your opinion?
SPEAKER 06 :
No, it really doesn't, Jody. I think that was a very unique situation. There was one individual in particular that I think wanted to see Kevin McCarthy removed from the speakership and ended up convincing other folks that it was the right decision to remove him. But I really don't think that this compares. It is not a removal of a speaker necessarily. It's an election of a speaker. And although I feel confident that we're going to get this done tomorrow, It wouldn't surprise me if it maybe takes a round or two of votes to get there. But again, I think that we can't delay this. There is a lot of important work that needs to be done, and it's going to be incumbent upon us to make sure we get it done quickly.
SPEAKER 05 :
So your take is that it will happen, though? You're going into this feeling pretty optimistic that Speaker Johnson will be reelected?
SPEAKER 06 :
Like, this is bigger than Mike Johnson. This is about the country. And certainly I know that the speaker has done all he can do and continues to work on those members that may be questioning whether or not he's the right choice. But he was chosen for this. I mean, if you think back to the removal of Kevin McCarthy in September of last year, you know, we went through several rounds of other candidates for Speaker. And Mike Johnson came out ahead. He prevailed. And I think it's because people recognized he has a faith that I don't think anybody in Congress would question. He didn't ask for this job. In many ways, I think he was anointed to be the one to try to bring this conference together, to move us in the right direction, and to get important work done. And certainly there are differences of opinion on how certain processes have played out, and I respect and appreciate that. But in the end, we have to make sure that we're doing what we can to secure the border, to get our economy back on track, and to make sure that the American people recognize we're there to work. not to fight amongst ourselves.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well said. Congresswoman Bice, let me ask you one more question. We've only got about a minute or so. But as we speak right now, the White House is actually hosting a ceremony for recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medals, which is the second highest civilian medal in the U.S. But among those receiving the awards are members of the January 6th committee, including Chairman Bernie Sanders or Thompson, I mean, and Liz Cheney.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think it's odd, and it's also unacceptable, frankly. That committee was a sham committee, in my opinion. It was politically motivated. I mean, I don't know that I've ever seen a committee have a hearing during prime time. It was more theater, and really... more than anything, trying to disparage President Trump. And I think the American people saw through that with this election. They recognize that President Biden is not doing what he should be doing to keep this country moving forward. And they rejected that. And so to see this continued partisanship is pretty disappointing, maybe not surprising, but disappointing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Congresswoman Stephanie Bice from Oklahoma, thank you so much. You got a lot going on in Washington. We're deeply appreciative of you joining us on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thanks, Jody. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 05 :
You too. All right, friends, coming up here in just a moment after the break, Tony Perkins is going to be bringing some more Washington Watch your way. Stay tuned. We'll be back.
SPEAKER 08 :
So if you like to think and you like to pray, FRC is the place for you.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think it is the best program out there.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I've absolutely loved my experience interning at FRC.
SPEAKER 07 :
They really are making waves out in the political world and doing it from the light of the Lord.
SPEAKER 08 :
It's really humbling for me as a college student who has been involved in the life movement for only a couple of years to be able to witness it alongside of some of the people who have spent their entire lives fighting. A huge thing that sets FRC's internship apart from others is they are looking for what they can pour into you instead of what they can get out of you.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 20 :
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 03 :
America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10-week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, and prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You'll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls, text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Thursday. I'm Tony Perkins. Good to see you. All right. Earlier today, officials held a press conference in New Orleans with an update on the investigation into yesterday's terrorist attack. FBI Director, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Rea was very succinct in how he described yesterday's attack.
SPEAKER 19 :
First and foremost, let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, there is evil in this world, a form of evil that, quite frankly, we're unable to contain. And I know there's a lot of information out there. In fact, there's going to continue to be information coming forward in the coming days that might connect this with the events in Las Vegas. You know, a lot of it's speculation at this point. So let's just look at some of the facts. Shamsuddin Jabbar. This is the guy who perpetrated, the 42-year-old man who perpetrated the terrorist attack in New Orleans. He was born in Texas. He didn't come from another country. He was born in Texas. He was an army veteran. He didn't come across the border. And so while we still need to close the border, that would not have stopped him. He converted to Islam and was radicalized by ISIS. So, so far, no evidence that he traveled outside the country for this radicalization. Now, he did have weapons, but the instrument of mass destruction was a rented truck. So more gun control laws would not have helped in this situation. So maybe we should ask them other questions. What is allowing Americans to be radicalized by this religious ideology? Now, could it be that there is a vacuum that we've created in our society that's being filled by this radical ideology of Islam? Have we driven Christianity with its morality from our nation, paving the way for heinous acts like this? Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry called me in the wake of this tragic event and asked me to initiate a prayer effort. And so we put out a call to pastors and to others to be praying. In fact, I would invite you to join. We're just expanding our Operation Prayer Shield. And if you'd like to join us in this effort, we've got prayer points specifically targeted for this. Text PRAY, P-R-A-Y, to 67742. And it's not just for Louisiana. It's for the nation. And as I think about this, I think of Psalm 127.1. It says, unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain. Those who build it, labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. You know, we need the hand of God's protection on our cities and on our state. And that only comes when we pray and we seek God, we turn to him, we obey his word. Now, someone say, well, you know, that's nice. You know, that's what you religious people talk about. Let me just, for those that might just be listening for the first time, let me give you a little bit of my background. I was a police officer in Louisiana. I was, I'm a Marine veteran. I also worked in anti-terrorism. And so I know a little bit about the terrorist, about the mindset, what they do and how they do it. And I also know that those who are intent on attacking and killing in a free society, it's very difficult to stop them. In fact, if we want total security, we've got a couple of choices here. Either we can turn to God and seek his hand of protection, or we can turn over to the government our freedoms and our rights, because that's what it would take. when you look at situations like what happened in New Orleans. And the governor, Governor Jeff Landrieu, rightfully called for prayer. And so we're joining in a joint effort to pray for Louisiana, for the victims, for the law enforcement. In fact, this evening, the Sugar Bowl will be taking place, and we want to pray over the protection of New Orleans and those that are gathered for that event. But There are days ahead where there are going to be challenges as the next administration comes in. This nation is going to continue to be a target for evil and for acts like this. And so we need to pray. We need to pray that the Lord would have his hand of protection upon this country once again. So I want to invite you to join us. Join the governor and I in this joint effort to pray. Text the word pray to 67742. And we're planning to have a special event Sunday evening. We're still working out the details on that. But if you text PRAY to 67742, I will send you that information when that is all finalized. But here are the prayer points. We need to pray for the families and the victims. Pray for healing and comfort and support for all of those who were directly affected by this attack. And there are many. Pray for law enforcement and first responders. It's very stressful to deal with what they are dealing with. And pray for wisdom and protection and success in preventing further acts of terror. Pray for our state and our national leaders. Pray that God would guide them to make wise decisions to ensure peace and security and not push out the very thing we need, and that is God. And that's what we need to pray for, spiritual renewal. Pray for hearts to turn toward the Lord, seeking his guidance and his presence in our communities and therefore his protection. And pray for unity and healing. Pray for the nation to stand together against evil, finding hope and solidarity through faith in God and compassion for others. You know, we can sit back and we can watch the news and we can become anxious. And fearful, we can pray and we can turn to God. Yes, we need law enforcement. I'm all about law enforcement. But ultimately, it's going to take the hand of God protecting this nation. So join us in this prayer effort. Text PRAY, P-R-A-Y, to 67742. And join us in praying for our nation, praying for Louisiana, praying for the future. All right, after the break, I'm going to be joined by Carolyn Glick from the Jewish News Syndicate to talk about the latest news coming out of the Middle East. This is another issue that's going to be affected by the incoming administration, something we need to be praying into. So stick around. On the other side of the break, Carolyn joins me from Israel with more on what is happening in the Middle East. So don't go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead. 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 18 :
Let's not be discouraged. Don't lose heart. Don't lose the faith. Stand now strong because the Lord has given us the great privilege of living in a time when our choices matter, when our lives matter, when our courage matters. So let's stand together and save this great country. God bless the United States of America.
SPEAKER 13 :
The American Republic has a freedom like no other. It has roots in the scriptures far more than any other heritage. And if we as followers of Jesus and conservatives don't defend it, who will?
SPEAKER 14 :
Neutrality is not an option. There are many Christians who believe that if we just keep our heads down, if we just don't say the wrong thing, that somehow we will come out of this unscathed. You're naive if you think that, because what they want from us is not our silence. What they want from us is our submission.
SPEAKER 17 :
Part of the dilemma of Christianity in our generation is that we've relied a little too much on human wisdom and human reasoning, human strength, human resource, and we've relied too little on the power of God and God's ability to open doors that we can't open and do things that we can't even hope to begin to do.
SPEAKER 09 :
This may not be an easy task, But we are living in a moment of challenge, but also a great opportunity. And we know always that we are not alone, that His Spirit empowers us and protects us, and that He can do the unimaginable. Dobbs, after all, was never supposed to happen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Father, we thank you. You have entrusted us with this moment in history, and I pray that we would be found faithful, and that as a result of our faithfulness to you, that thousands, millions would come into the kingdom as they would experience the forgiveness of sin and the new life that is found only in Jesus Christ. Amen. This is Washington Watch, and I am Tony Perkins. Good to have you with us on this Thursday. Our word for today comes from Isaiah 46. Bell bows down, Nebo stoops. Their idols were on their beast and on their cattle. The carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down. Together they could not deliver the burden, but they themselves have gone into captivity." As the Babylonians were conquered, their idols, far from providing protection, had to be carried away by the people into captivity. Rather than being a refuge, these false gods became an additional burden. In contrast, the Lord upholds and carries his people. Verse 3 says, Listen to me, O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by me from birth, who have been carried from the womb." Even to your old age, I am he. And even to gray hairs, I will carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver you. Instead of us carrying lifeless idols, the living God carries us. Let go of the idols of this world. Anything we lean on instead of God and let the God of creation carry us. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. That's BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday, day 453 of the Israeli Hamas war, Israel's defense minister said Israel's defense forces will intensify its activities against the terrorist nest in Gaza until the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas. Now, his remarks come as senior Israeli officials say additional actions in Gaza will be possible starting on January the 20th when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will take office. And on Tuesday night, New Year's Eve, President-elect Trump reiterated his warning to Hamas, saying they better let the hostages come back soon. We'll this month see some major developments in the Middle East on top of what we've already seen. Joining me now to discuss this and more is Carolyn Glick. She's a senior contributing editor at the Jewish News Syndicate and host of Carolyn Glick Show on JNS. Carolyn, thanks so much for joining us and Happy New Year.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks. Happy New Year to you, too.
SPEAKER 03 :
So Israel has been making significant gains despite the Biden administration's efforts. We talked about this when I was over in Israel just a couple of weeks ago, how the tables have turned in the last eight months. And it seems to be even building more as we see President-elect Donald Trump pledging that on the first day of office, he will release all the weapons shipments currently delayed under Biden. So is Israel in a much stronger position? Do they feel emboldened as we look at the incoming administration?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, we do have 18 days left with Biden, and we are under an effective arms embargo for the next 18 days. So that's one aspect of it. There's also a fear that was reported this evening that Biden is intending to have a third country produce New Zealand, apparently, or Slovenia. put forward an anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council that will demand that Israel remove its forces from the buffer zone in Syria or Lebanon or both and end its combat operations in Gaza. And that would tie the hands of the Trump administration, much as the Obama administration did with a similar resolution or anti-Israel resolution that it passed in December of 2016 before its first term in office began. So what we're looking at here is fear that they'll use these 18 days to undermine Trump and his ability to move forward with his own Middle East policy and to further damage Israel's standing in the international arena. But other than that, Israel is moving forward because we are at war and we can't just put it aside because we have 18 days left of Biden.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it appears that Israel is doing just that, making additional moves both to the north and to the south, moving on Hezbollah, moving in areas of Syria as well as Hamas. What are the latest in terms of the reports that we're getting from the IDF?
SPEAKER 01 :
Israel today operated in Lebanon during the ceasefire, taking out Hezbollah missile launchers. And what Israel's found is that neither the Lebanese armed forces, which is supposed to deploy in Hezbollah's positions and push Hezbollah forces out of south Lebanon, they're not doing it. And the people who are supposed to be adjudicating the implementation of the ceasefire, namely the United States and France, first and foremost, are not doing it. doing anything. When Israel submits complaints to them, they're supposed to pass them on to the Lebanese government for handling, and the Lebanese government manifestly is doing nothing. So the ceasefire is basically broken down already, and Israel is assessing now that it's not going to be able to remove its forces from Lebanon in a month when the temporary 60-day ceasefire is over. And in Syria, Israel is building fortifications on the peak of the Hermon mountain ridge, that Israel was able to take control over. with the fall of the Assad regime and in other areas that are athwart the border with Israel to protect Israeli border towns in the Golan Heights and other installations in the Golan Heights. So these are the things that Israel is doing now. And in Gaza, they're expanding their operations from the town of Jabalia in northern Gaza into Gaza City to flush out and destroy the Hamas fighters that are still operating in those areas. So, yeah, Israel continues to fight on three fronts right now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, as they continue this fight and they're fighting proxies for Iran, Iran reports were Iran was shipping millions of dollars to Hezbollah this week. What do we know about that?
SPEAKER 01 :
So we know right now that there is a civilian aircraft that has landed at Beirut International Airport. That's an area, by the way, the target, the international airport in Beirut. that the Biden administration prohibited Israel from taking action against, even though it's the chief, aside from Syria under Assad, it's the chief supply line for Hezbollah from Iran. And so Iran, again, is trying to supply Hezbollah, this time with money. And Israel warned... about it. And right now, the latest report that came out was that the Lebanese authorities are saying that they're not going to be able to remove their cargo from the airplane. We'll see how long that lasts, probably until they think that people's backs are turned. But we'll have to see.
SPEAKER 03 :
So leading into the holidays, in fact, I mentioned earlier when I was over there a couple of weeks ago and you joined me, there was a lot of buzz over a hostage deal that it was very close. There was an anticipation. Pretty much everyone was tight lipped. Where's that stand? What's happening?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, it looks like people weren't tight lipped enough. And Hamas decided that it was Israel that was most keen to get the deal closed. And the Biden administration was putting a lot of pressure on Israel, both through internal political pressure on the government and also otherwise. And so they just said, never mind, you know, we want a complete cessation of the war. And they reneged on their promise to hand over 32 live hostages. They said that 12 of them would be dead. And then they said that they don't even know where all the hostages are. So that whole negotiation, it's still sort of going on. Prime Minister Netanyahu sent lower working teams to Doha from the Mossad and the Shin Bet and from the IDF. But the talk has sort of dissipated about an imminent deal, and now the sense is that nothing is going to happen until after Trump is in office.
SPEAKER 03 :
President Trump has said the hostages better be released. I mean, that's a pretty strong statement. I mean, it's if, this, or. What possibly could President Trump do in terms of bringing about the release of those hostages from the Israeli perspective?
SPEAKER 01 :
I don't think anybody anticipates a Delta force to be operating in Gaza. They certainly can't do work that's any better than the IDF can do in that theater of war. But I think it's more a concept of Trump applying serious pressure and taking direct action against Hamas's state sponsors, whether it's Iran or Qatar or or Egypt that are all in their own way sponsoring Hamas and enabling them to continue to hold the hostages. So I think that what we'd be looking here at, the sort of thing that Trump would be very helpful in doing in terms of the hostages and their plight, is to demand that Egypt open up the international border, that they've been blocking Gazans from leaving through the terminal into Egypt. And that would be one way of alleviating some of the suffering of civilians that aren't involved in the fighting. But beyond that, I think that he could put a lot of pressure on them in terms of IMF loans. to put more pressure on Hamas. I think Qatar is the main Arab state sponsor of Hamas, and they can have a lot of pressure be put on them, including by threatening to remove or actually removing Al Udeid air base from Doha. And I think Iran, most importantly, which is the main sponsor of Hamas in Gaza, that the Biden administration, I mean, sorry, the Trump administration can work with Israel in destroying Iran's nuclear installations and in overthrowing the regime.
SPEAKER 03 :
Could it also be that the Trump administration, unlike the Biden administration, is not going to coddle Hamas as they're complaining about humanitarian supplies and stuff coming in? That they're going to say, look, that's your problem. You're the one that started this and you could solve it overnight.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I think thanks for reminding me of that because that's really the most direct way that they can do it is because the reason that Hamas has survived so long is because the Biden administration has insisted all along that Israel feed and water them, that Israel provide unlimited basically food and water and medicines to Hamas to control, which they sell and they obviously give it first to themselves and their supporters and they sell at outrageous fees. to everybody in Gaza that they want to. And that's how they've maintained their control over the Gaza population and the areas that they are present in and throughout Gaza. It's all because of the United States. It's entirely Biden administration's doing that Hamas remains a force in Gaza. They would have been destroyed long ago if the Biden administration hadn't blocked Israel from doing what it had initially intended to do, which was place a total siege on Gaza, nothing in, nothing out, which is what Israel's announced policy was on October 7th.
SPEAKER 03 :
Not to get too far off track, but just from a standpoint of a historical perspective, and correct me if I'm wrong, but Allied forces did not feed the German public when Germany was on the ropes and they were trying to destroy the Nazi regime.
SPEAKER 01 :
No, they didn't. You're absolutely right. And in fact, what President Biden said to Prime Minister Netanyahu outrageously at the outset of the war is you shouldn't take an example from what we did in World War II. We were wrong. And that was a pretty outrageous statement for him to make, both in terms of the way that he described disrespected all of the brave men who fought in World War Two but also and won it, but also because it was bad advice, which is mainly what Biden has provided with Israel with for the past year and three months. So, yes, it's the way of war. It's the best way of war. It's the safest way of war. It causes the least suffering because it causes the early capitulation of the enemy. and releases the people who live around the enemy from harm, because once he capitulates, then their suffering will be over. But that isn't what happened. And today, when you look at the destruction that is Gaza, which is just one big demolition site, you have to realize that this is because entirely or very largely as a consequence of the fact that the Biden administration required Israel to maintain Hamas's regime through the unlimited supply of food and water and medicines and other things to Gaza for the past year and three months.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I'm a student of history and warfare. In fact, that policy that Biden talks about is what pretty much the United States has adopted since the Korean War. We fought containment wars, not wars to win. Israel, the IDF, remains the one really Western power, if you will, that that fights to win. because they have to win in that neighborhood. And I think we could stand to learn a lot from Israel. Speaking of the prime minister, you mentioned the prime minister had been tracking his health situation. How is he doing?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you very much for asking. So Prime Minister Netanyahu had prostate surgery on Sunday, and he was hospitalized until this evening. It's 10 at night in Israel. And so he was released to go home this evening, finally. And his doctors say that he's doing very well, and his prognosis is very positive. So it means that our prayers have been answered. So far, so good, thank God.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we are praying for him. I pray for him daily. I admire his leadership, and I pray for his leadership there in Israel. I did notice that he got out of his hospital bed to go to the Knesset to vote on a budget measure that passed by one vote.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, it was a boss move. But it was against the expressed orders or positions of his doctors. But he is prime minister and duty comes first. And so he did, in fact, leave the hospital to go to the Knesset and vote and went back to the hospital afterwards. So it was a big deal in Israel that that happened. But yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm sure he didn't go back for the hospital food. Final question for you. We've got about 30 seconds left, Carolyn. How can our viewers and listeners here in the United States be praying for Israel right now?
SPEAKER 01 :
I think that we have to pray for victory in Israel and for the protection of our soldiers and, of course, for the rescue of our hostages. and the full recovery of our wounded warriors and solace and consolation for the families of the fallen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Carolyn, always great to see you. Thanks so much for taking time to join us tonight.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you very much. God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Carolyn Glick from Israel. And I would encourage you to pray for Israel and pray for all the people of that region, even the Palestinians, the innocent ones. Look, we want this issue to come to a conclusion rapidly. Everyone will benefit from that, the entire world. And it requires leadership. And we need it here in the United States. And we pray for the leadership there in Israel under the prime minister. All right, out of time for today. Thanks so much for joining us. Text PRAYER to 67742 and join us in our prayer effort. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6. You know what it says, just keep standing.
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.
