Scott Jennings hosts a riveting conversation on the Mike Gallagher Show, tackling the latest in political controversies, from Biden's decision to pardon Hunter Biden to Trump's supposed plans for military action within the states. Delve into the narratives that dominate today's political landscape, and unpack the reality versus fan fiction among left-wing circles. Featuring insights from Congressman James Comer and a focus on the implications of Biden's controversial pardons, this episode sheds light on the political maneuvers at play and what they mean for the future of America.
SPEAKER 07 :
He's the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor studios, sitting in for Mike today, here's Scott Jennings.
SPEAKER 05 :
Scott Jennings in for the great, legendary Mike Gallagher. So glad to be here with you all today. Wasn't it great, by the way, to wake up in the United States of America today, the greatest country on earth? I woke up early today in Manhattan with a full heart because I woke up in a nation that embraces and protects free speech. I woke up in a nation full of free thinkers. I woke up. in a country full of people who love freedom and understand the essential nature of freedom and liberty. Our founding fathers knew it. They devised the greatest system of government ever known to man, codified in our Constitution. It protects our rights, and the first right is freedom of speech. And we have to fight. We have to fight to protect these things. We have to fight against the people who believe that America... And the fundamental way of life here in America is somehow rotten at the core. That Western civilization should be dismantled. And that's what our project here is today. Let's save Western civilization. Let's protect speech. Let's protect freedom. And let's fight for the America that we want. I'm so glad to be in for Mike Gallagher because he's such a warrior. for that viewpoint. I'm Scott Jennings, and I live in Kentucky. Normally, I spend a lot of time in New York. You may know me from my job at CNN, where I am CNN's senior political commentator. I handle the conservative political analysis on the network. I do shows across the network. You see me a lot at 10 o'clock at night on the Abby Phillip Newsnight show. I was there each of the last two nights, which I want to talk about in a second. When I'm not in New York, when I'm not fighting the good fight on CNN, I live in Kentucky with my family. I have four boys, 30 backyard chickens, three dogs, Elvis, Fiona, and Baxter. And like 20 Christmas inflatables. This is the great Scott Jennings trivia for this morning. I have like a Christmas village in my front yard. We have Santa. I have a nine-foot-tall inflatable rooster. True story. It's an homage to the backyard chickens, but it's a nine-foot. I got it at Tractor Supply. It's like a nine-foot Christmas chicken. And I have a great life back in Kentucky, out in middle America. To me, part of my punditry on CNN, it's not just that I'm the conservative voice on CNN, but I feel like I'm trying to represent what's going on outside of the urban core, outside of the Acela Corridor. What are people talking about? How are people feeling about the world in middle America? So as much as I feel like a representative for conservatives, on CNN. I sort of feel like I'm I'm red America. I'm middle America's representative on CNN. And I have to say about my employer, good for CNN for encouraging this debate. We're having real debates. You watch a 10 o'clock show at night with Abby and we've got conservatives and liberals at the table having real debates. Now, as you're going to hear in a minute, sometimes people say objectively crazy things. But but We are having actual debate. And so what I think we're accomplishing. is getting people to listen to things that are outside of their bubble. It's real easy these days to live in a bubble and only hear things that you want to hear that confirm your priors. And I think what we're accomplishing with these debates is introducing people to points of view that maybe, just maybe, they haven't heard or haven't considered just yet. So let's talk about the last couple of nights here. In New York City, boy, it was interesting. One of the things, I mean, I meet some characters and I meet some fun people and I meet some interesting people. But one of the things that I've learned lately, and this is really since the election, it's really amplified. I feel like people on the left are living in a super weird bubble. And I know we joke about it. You call it TDS, Trump derangement syndrome. That may be a mild term. That may not be going far enough. But I have met people and listened to people who have constructed this entire made-up narrative in their mind about what is going to happen under a Donald Trump presidency. Now, never mind the fact that we already had one. And never mind the fact that over half the country, if you look at the polling, believes it was a pretty good presidency. He's got over 50% job approval retrospective to his first presidency. Never mind all that. What people are doing now is sort of projecting what they think the next four years will be. It's this dystopian fan fiction of just how badly Donald Trump is going to change America. Let me play a couple of things for you. Let me start actually with Monday night. The breaking news on Monday, of course, was that Joe Biden had decided to pardon Hunter Biden. Terrible decision, by the way. We've been talking about it in America, obviously, for the last couple of days. But this set off a round of people who were doing a couple of things. Number one, denying that Joe Biden had lied about this when he clearly had. And number two, coming up with reasons about why he needed to do it despite his repeated assertions that he would not. And so on Monday night, I was debating a liberal commentator named Lee McGowan. She's sort of a social media influencer type, calls herself I am politics girl on social media. But she said, and let's listen, that Trump is planning to institute firing squads and therefore Hunter Biden needed a pardon. Let's hear it.
SPEAKER 13 :
I don't want to be bringing back waterboarding. I don't want to be a country that tortures people, especially for the kind of country that's going to be using the military against our own citizens. This kind of thing concerns me.
SPEAKER 04 :
What do you mean use against our own citizens?
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm talking about sending states.
SPEAKER 04 :
What do you mean? What are you talking about?
SPEAKER 13 :
I'm talking about sending the military into blue states to make them behave. Getting Gavin Newsom under control, getting J.P. Pritchard under control.
SPEAKER 05 :
What are you making sure? What are you talking about? Sitting in the state capitol to commandeer the state government?
SPEAKER 13 :
I mean, I hope not, but I'm definitely he's definitely talked about that.
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't know why you're using the military to to suppress in the Black Lives Matter era. Those protests in the street. He he was there.
SPEAKER 05 :
I just make sure I understand your position that you believe Donald Trump is going to use the military. to set up effectively, like, coups in state capitals of states that he didn't win?
SPEAKER 12 :
Scott, I think you're taking it a step or two too far.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, she said make blue states behave, and she also said round up immigrants. That's not true. It's deport illegal immigrants.
SPEAKER 12 :
Scott, Scott, I don't know why you're acting.
SPEAKER 05 :
No. Okay, well, I'm sorry. Hold on. Hold on.
SPEAKER 12 :
I mean, look. Let's I think you're right. Let's be precise. Trump has wanted to use the military to do things domestically that actually the military is not allowed to do. I think that's the point that she's making. Like what? Like deport illegal immigrants. That is actually not a function of the military.
SPEAKER 05 :
The military can absolutely be used to work with local officials. to provide military resources, but working with other parts of the federal government and local officials. We already send the National Guard to the border.
SPEAKER 13 :
But you're not against the will of the local officials or the will of the state government. We have a federalist government here.
SPEAKER 11 :
The military is not supposed to take up arms against American citizens. They're not. You keep saying that.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is about illegal immigration. You all keep saying American citizens. How do we know whether the people are illegal or not? We know after they're shot. We know after they die. We have 1.6 million people in this country who have already received deportation orders from courts.
SPEAKER 11 :
They are here illegally. It's always back to illegal immigration with people who support Donald Trump. It's always back to illegal immigration. But that's not the only thing that we're talking about here. We're talking about the American people. We're talking about taking up arms against them with a military that's supposed to be protecting them.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is not right. You cannot say Donald Trump is sending the military to round up.
SPEAKER 11 :
That's what he said. That is what he is saying, Scott. That's not what I'm saying. Totally false.
SPEAKER 05 :
He said that. Totally false. That's what he said.
SPEAKER 12 :
Scott. Scott. Trump, we're in the fever swamps.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER 12 :
What is your dispute here?
SPEAKER 05 :
I'm not even really because they're saying that he's sending the military to shoot or and or round up American citizens.
SPEAKER 13 :
Not we did not say shoot.
SPEAKER 11 :
I think the issue, the issue, he said, he just said, I said, I mean, I did say take up arms because when you send the army in, that's what they're that's what they're doing.
SPEAKER 05 :
So that was actually Tuesday night. That was last night. And again, constructing this idea that Donald Trump's going to send the military to take over state capitals to shoot American citizens Monday night. Let's hear the debate Monday night about the firing squads. And this is what necessitated the Hunter Biden part. This is give you a little idea of the dystopian fan fiction we're dealing with here.
SPEAKER 12 :
But wasn't, to Scott's point, I mean, wasn't it a lie? I mean, you can defend it, but wasn't it a lie that he was not going to pardon him?
SPEAKER 13 :
No, I believe the circumstances have changed. I think that we now have a president coming into office who's talking about firing squads, who's talking about running people around the country and making sure that everyone who's his enemy is going to be punished. And Hunter Biden lied about his drug use on a government forum when he was buying a gun. And he failed to file and pay taxes when he was a drug addict. He paid back those taxes with interest. Donald Trump himself was indicted for 17 counts of criminal tax fraud, more than Hunter. And he's going to be the president of the United States.
SPEAKER 03 :
11 years. You're missing a few things here. 11 years.
SPEAKER 05 :
This – I just – what I have been thinking about so much over the last couple of days is how is it that these folks became radicalized to the point where they believe in this reality that doesn't exist? And I'm interested to hear from you about it today. This is the Mike Gallagher Show. 1-800-655-MIKE. Mike, 1-800-655-6453. We're going to continue to talk about that. We're also going to talk about a little breaking news today. The Pete Hegseth nomination for Secretary of Defense. His mom was on Fox & Friends this morning. We're going to hear from her. And then... At the bottom of the hour, Congressman James Comer, House Oversight Chairman, is with us. This is The Mike Gallagher Show. I'm Scott Jennings, sitting in. Stay with us.
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SPEAKER 08 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Scott Jennings in for Mike Gallagher today and glad to be here in Manhattan. Before we get to our guest, Congressman James Comer of Kentucky's First District and the chair of the House Oversight Committee. I just read a little breaking news here in New York City today. This is kind of a shocking thing. I'm just seeing it come across. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed. in manhattan this morning by a man in a black mask the fifty-year-old ceo of united health care was outside of the hilton hotel in midtown when a man came up to him and shot him in the chest the mass man this report says head on a gray backpack and fled into a nearby alley thompson was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead united health care group was scheduled to start its annual investor conference at 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning, according to the company. But numerous news outlets are reporting just a terrible situation. The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, shot and killed on the streets of New York City this morning. Sad news, and we'll follow that today. Let's get back to politics here on the Mike Gallagher Show. Scott Jennings sitting in for Mike, and I'm glad to have with me my old friend. And one of the most important Republicans in the country, Congressman James Comer of Kentucky's 1st Congressional District is with me. Jamie, Congressman Comer, the oracle of American politics for all that you brought to light about Hunter Biden and the Biden crime family. Welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me, Scott. You were on top of this before anybody. You got a hold of this chairmanship and you dug in on this. And oh, my goodness. I listen to the media. Poo poo this. There's nothing there. This is all made up. This is all fabricated. Well, Congressman Comer, if it's all made up and there's no there there. Why does Hunter Biden need a blanket pardon going back 11 years to just about the time when he started getting involved in Ukraine? You tell me.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that's the key, Scott. It's a blanket pardon for anything that might arise. Because our investigation started in 2014. That's when we subpoenaed bank records, starting from 2014 all the way to 2020, to the time Joe Biden was elected president. And it's just a coincidence. The pardon goes all the way back to 2014, all the way to December the 1st of this year. So 11 years. At the end of the day, the Bidens have committed so many financial crimes that what he was charged for was just the tip of the iceberg. Right. I would argue 90 percent of the crimes, the money laundering, the violation of Foreign Agents Registration Act, The tax evasion for all this income that that wasn't reported to the IRS, according to the IRS whistleblowers. I mean, that that would account for 90 percent of the other financial crimes. And I'm not even getting into what was on the laptop and the and the, you know, the salacious stuff, because all I investigated was was the money was the money that the Biden took in. And this is the question everyone should ask. What business were the Bidens in? What did they do? to justify depositing $27 million from our enemies around the world.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, you always ask the greatest question here on this. What was the product? What was the product? Why was money changing hands? Why were they hiring Hunter Biden? What was the value of it? What was the product? It's pretty obvious now what the product was, isn't it?
SPEAKER 09 :
The product was Joe Biden, and we had some of the former associates like Devin Archer and Tony Bobulinski. They testified to this under oath. They said the product was the Biden brand. They were buying access to Joe Biden. That's exactly what they were doing. And if you look at Jim Biden, who, by the way, Scott, will get a pardon too, the reason that Joe Biden pardoned Hunter early was because he was fixing to be sentenced to prison next week. He'll pardon Jim Biden on the way out the door. Jim Biden's business – was much like Hunter's, except Jim Biden, the money he took in were from criminals in the United States, domestic criminals who were needing pardons, who were needing government contracts, who were needing casino licenses, some of the most shady of the shady things that government does. That's what Jim Biden's business was entailed. So this is a family that's been influenced peddling for decades. Our investigation proved that. And I think that Joe Biden's pardons validated that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Let me ask you a question about – by the way, you talk to Democrats about Jimmy Biden, Joe Biden's brother. They say things like, oh, you think Hunter Biden was bad? Just wait. I mean they say – you talk to Democrats. They'll tell you. People who know, people in their party who know, they'll tell you. Let me ask you a question about Hunter Biden. So the lawyers tell me that because he got this pardon, which is objectively outrageous, one of the consequences of this is that he can no longer – claim the Fifth Amendment as a defense against testifying, I guess that means to Congress or in a court of law, A, do you believe that? And B, if yes, are we planning to bring Hunter Biden back to answer more questions about the corruption?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, first of all, are we bringing Hunter Biden back? That's going to be left up to Attorney General Bondi. We've completed the investigation. We have all the financial crimes outlined in a very extensive report that we published that very few people in the media read. But obviously, Joe Biden read it or he wouldn't have issued that big blanket pardon. That's right. You know, at the end of the day, you know, it doesn't. matter to me. We'll bring him in if Bondi wants him brought in. But Hunter Biden didn't plead the fifth when we brought him in for deposition. He just lied. And one of the things that we referred to the Department of Justice was charges of perjury because he lied under oath to us. The Bidens are very good at lying. Joe Biden lied during the debate when he said the laptop was Russian disinformation, when he knew it was Hunter Biden's laptop. And he lied when he said he wasn't going to pardon Hunter Biden, when he knew he was going to pardon Hunter Biden. And everything he said about the Biden influence peddling schemes, Joe Biden lied about. So they're very good at lying. And Jim Biden is right in there with them. I mean, he can lie to you and smile and pat you on the back on the way out. I mean, some people are skilled at that. People wonder what Joe Biden's skill is. It's like and Hunter inherited that skill very well, too.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's amazing when you consider how Democrats talk about Donald Trump and talk about and when Joe Biden says the words of a president matter and I'm going to restore the soul of the nation and. so on and so forth. The reporting on this pardon is amazing. NBC News says that Biden and the top White House aides got together over the summer and decided two things. They were going to leave the option of a pardon on the table, but then they were going to simultaneously lie to the American people and say, no, no, no, we weren't going to do that. It's really quite despicable. And I really do hope that Hunter Biden in some venue is forced to answer more questions. Let me ask you one more thing about about Hunter Biden. Is it your belief based on everything you know and all the investigations you've done, that had he not received a pardon, that it was likely he was going to face further possible indictments for some of the issues you mentioned surrounding the corruption, foreign agent stuff, money changing. Do you think it's possible or even likely that he would have faced more prosecutions over the way he had conducted himself in his business?
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. I mean, he was definitely going to be charged with FARA violations. He could have been at any point. In a new Trump administration, that very likely was going to happen. He could have been charged with more tax evasion. Remember, the IRS whistleblowers testified that they let the two things, they let the statute of limitations run out on a lot of the Burisma money that he took in, which was to the tune of $5 million. But then the IRS never received any information about the money we found he took in from Romania, that he took in from Kazakhstan, some of the money that he took in from China. So he still owes the government taxes on that income. Not only did they take the money from our adversaries around the world and lie about it, according to the Irish whistleblowers, they never paid a penny of taxes on it. So Hunter Biden was only charged for tax evasion for about $5 million or $4 million. He could have been charged for tax evasion $27 million in addition to FARA violations, in addition to money laundering. And that's not my word, money laundering. That's six banks. They issued SARS reports on him for money laundering.
SPEAKER 05 :
Romania, Kazakhstan. It's like the plot of a screwball comedy except there's nothing funny about it because we're literally dealing with the president of the United States. Let me twinge topics. You are raising some concerns, and I think a lot of people are going to have concerns. About it sounds like some of the federal government workers unions are cutting deals with the Biden administration on the way out the door here to let all these federal bureaucrats work from home for years and years and years. I think people would be shocked if they went to Washington, D.C. and went into some of these office buildings. People don't come to work. And now they're cutting deals that will let them. What is going on with this and what are we going to do about this? People need to go to work, don't they?
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. The American people may have thought that Joe Biden's pardon to Hunter was the last middle finger from Joe Biden to the American people. But no, the last middle finger happened yesterday when Joe Biden issued an executive order granting more federal employees the right to work from home. And you've already got a majority of the federal workers in Washington, D.C. They don't even come to work. Some of these big buildings in Washington, D.C. are only 8 percent occupied.
SPEAKER 04 :
Unbelievable.
SPEAKER 09 :
If you try to call someone on the phone and get someone on the phone in a D.C. office, it'll be a miracle if that actually happened. No one is coming to work under Joe Biden. So the American taxpayers that work hard every day, many of whom have two jobs, paying taxes to the federal government, the last thing they want to see are more fat cat, big government employees sitting at home in their pajamas all day, sleeping until noon, not providing any service to the American people. And that's what Joe Biden just did. He is doing everything he can to burn it down on the way out. And I think that one of the goals of DOGE is to trim the federal workforce. The first thing we need to do is get the employees back to work, and then we can figure out who's actually working and who needs to be let go. So it's a disaster with the federal workforce right now in Washington, D.C. They're not coming to work. Even the mayor, Muriel Bowser, supports my efforts to bring the federal workforce back to work because all these retail outlets and restaurants have shut down in Washington, D.C. because there are no federal employees going to work.
SPEAKER 05 :
Before we let you go, Congressman, I assume that your engagement with the Doge effort and looking into this federal workers not coming to work, this is going to be at the top of your list when Congress comes back in January. Can you give me a little snapshot? What else is on Jamie Comer's mind when the Republicans come back and you chair the House Oversight Committee? What else can we expect out of you and the Republican majority on the oversight front?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I'm meeting with Elon and Vivek tomorrow, but I can tell you we're going to be working very closely with their efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse in the federal government. That's what our committee is supposed to do. We didn't have a majority of senators willing to go along with many of the good government bills we passed out of the House, and we sure as hell didn't have a White House that wanted to have good government. Now we do. Now the pieces are in place. I love the two-point people on this Doge thing. I think we're going to look at unnecessary government programs, wasteful grants. We're going to look at unneeded federal bureaucrats and just going to start taking the ax out and trying to chop waste, fraud, and abuse at every corner of the federal budget. There's no shortage of opportunities to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and that's what my number one priority is going to be in this next Congress.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's Congressman Jamie Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, the oracle of American politics. He was on to the Bidens before anybody. He has been totally vindicated. And a little news. You're meeting with Elon and Vivek tomorrow about cleaning up and shrinking the federal government. Jamie, thank you for your efforts. Thank you for representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky and my ancestral congressional district, Kentucky One. You do a terrific job for the people of the Commonwealth and the people of the United States of America. Scott Jennings in for Mike Gallagher. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Scott Jennings sitting in for Mike Gallagher. Got a text from my old friend Marty in West Kentucky. I knew when I turned on the Mike Gallagher radio show, I recognized that voice, Marty. I love you. Thank you for the text this morning. And it is fun to be in for the legend Mike Gallagher. And it's really fun to have my friend. My old friend, I've known this man for over 20 years, and he's an American hero. Chris LaCivita, the campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for president 2024. The man, the co-campaign manager, along with Susie Wiles, who led the greatest American political comeback ever in our history. Chris, welcome to the Mike Gallagher Show. Hey, Scott. Man. Great to be here. I tell you, bro. Well, you look good. You look rested. The stress is gone.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I just want to start with one simple question.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, one too many cheeseburgers at 10 o'clock at night on the plane, so I got to work that off.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know how it goes. I know. I've lived that life, and it is hard on the scale. I know. I've been there. Let me ask you a question. How did you do it? I mean, when you look at what happened, 16, he wins a presidency, but doesn't win the popular vote. Biden wins. And you take this thing and win not just the electoral college, but the national popular vote for the first time for Republicans since 04. What is the secret sauce?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I mean, it's it's it's easy. The secret sauce is Donald Trump. I mean, look, you know, when when Susie and I started this. Two years ago, we had a candidate who had at this point – at the starting point was running for president for the third time, had been president. And, you know, you don't go through that process without clearly learning something, which he did. You know, in 2016, he never, you know, had never run for political office before. Of course, 2020 was the incumbent that was completely hijacked by the virus and changed everything. But starting this campaign as we did, the boss was very determined. I mean, I've never seen anybody work as hard As he does. I mean, it's 20 it's 23 hours a day. You know, I have this story of the flight back on the last night or the camp, you know, before Election Day, November 4th. We left Michigan at two thirty in the morning and we're flying to Palm Beach and the entire course, the plane is packed. And the entire time, you know, the boss is up. I mean, he's he's he was up the entire night. I don't think he slept. Yeah. So his energy is determination, his focus. And, you know, and what people didn't see was all the times that. All the rallies and everything that the president had done, what they didn't see was in between all of those rallies, whether he was in the limousine in the Beast or whether he was on the plane, he's doing these teletown hall rallies, which are exhausting. We were always worried about him losing his voice. But, you know, look, we put together a professional operation. The boss wanted a professional operation that was there to support – His candidacy. And, you know, we we were very confident in the people that we had surrounded ourselves with. The boss was very confident. And, you know, we put together a great operation that supported him and gave him the confidence. you know, to, to work those 23, 24 hours a day. So it just, it was, it was just, it was from top to bottom minus a few hiccups, which everyone has. It was really, we're just very well run, very well executed. And we had the confidence of the boss and that's all you need when you have the confidence and he sets the tone, it really makes things a lot easier.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. You you had a hard job, not just because of the normal hiccups of a campaign, but you started running against one person and wound up having to run against somebody totally different. How shocked were you when Joe Biden did drop out of the race? I mean, obviously, the debate was a shock.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Honest. Honestly, I'm not surprised at all. You know, as a matter of fact, you know, the the the debate in June. Tony and I and Susie, Tony Fabrizio, the pollster, and a brilliant guy. And we're literally in the back room, in the green room, watching the debate. And we're five minutes into the debate, and we're like, he's not going to last. And that was the realization that someone was going to try a coup. And, of course, they did. But, no, we weren't the least bit surprised at that. I mean, we just weren't. I mean, it was such – Just horrific, you know, experience to to bear witness to. It was like a slow moving train wreck.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I was sitting I was sitting in the at the debate outside on the CNN panel with David Axelrod and Van Jones and some others. And I mean, it was just universal. It was kind of crazy. They tried to hang on for like three weeks, and it was amazing they tried to hang on. It was amazing how they – ultimately the party bosses and the billionaires sort of defenestrated the president of the United States. But you all transitioned seamlessly into running against Harris. I mean it was really brilliant the way you handled it because no one has ever had to deal with this before. I mean it's totally off the script. And what was it like inside the campaign?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, look, and that would be a great title for a book that I'll never write, but it really is a campaign of firsts, and those firsts are defined by so many – massive events i mean you know first it was it was let's keep him off the ballot through the use of the 14th amendment so we had to put together you know uh campaigns legal campaigns in the states that battled through state supreme courts and battled secretaries of state um who were literally trying to to keep him off the ballot then you know we had the legal battles in new york And the bogus use of the criminal justice system in indictments and convictions and then, of course, assassination attempts too.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, you did have some of the most unusual circumstances, and I'm not done with this conversation, so I'm going to ask you to stick with me through the bottom here. Because it's unprecedented what you did, and you deserve a full chance to explain it. I'm Scott Jennings in for Mike Gallagher. Our guest is Chris LaCivita. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Utah Carol, spill the air and chill.
SPEAKER 06 :
This Christmas blowout sale, there was a big box retailer who canceled MyPillow, a big order. They got thousands of pillows they got to move. And Mike Lindell said, you know what we're going to do? We're going to give you the craziest wholesale price ever on MyPillow. A normal standard classic MyPillow is $49.98, which is still a great price for a pillow. You'll get it for only $14.88 for a limited time.
SPEAKER 1 :
$14.88.
SPEAKER 06 :
You want to get a queen size MyPillow? Just $18.88. That's normally $60.00. And a limit of 10 here. So this is a perfect Christmas opportunity. Get 10 people on your Christmas gift list taken care of. You can get all these pillows up to 10 for a limited time. So go to MyPillow.com. And while you're there, when you go to the Mike Gallagher Special Square, you'll see the MySlippers. You'll see the Giza Dream Sheets. You'll see the Doggy Beds. You can do all your Christmas shopping today and get it over with. Everybody wants a MyPillow. So go to MyPillow.com. Don't forget to enter the promo code MikeG when you order so you can get these pillows for as low as $14.88. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com, promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. Sing along with me.
SPEAKER 13 :
For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, visit MyPillow.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Promo code MikeG.
SPEAKER 07 :
The Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 05 :
I did not expect Hitler to get so many meeting requests, first from Joe Biden, now from Mika and Joe. It's amazing that literal Hitler is getting all these meeting requests. And what it tells me, Professor, is that all the rhetoric that came from the left, from the Democrats, from the White House, from Kamala Harris and everyone else before the election, all of the rhetoric, the fascism, the Hitler, the Nazi rally, it was all a bunch of BS.
SPEAKER 07 :
In the ReliefFactor.com studios, here's Mike.
SPEAKER 05 :
Scott Jennings sitting in for the legend Mike Gallagher today. And boy, isn't it true? They called him Hitler. They said he's having Hitler rallies, fascism. It was all a lie. It was all politics. It was all just made up rhetoric to try to scare the American people into electing Kamala Harris. But the American people were not having it. Donald Trump was elected. And lo and behold, now that the election is over, Donald Trump He's running a transition. He's meeting with the outgoing president. He's getting people all the way from Morning Joe to Justin Trudeau or trekking down to Mar-a-Lago to pay their respects. So just remember, folks, remember who told you what in the run-up to the 2024 election. And also remember this. Remember who led the Republican Party in 2024 to a House majority? None other than the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. And he is our guest this morning on the Mike Gallagher Show. Speaker Johnson, first of all, it's an honor. to have you here. We're very appreciative of your time today. What you're doing is incredible. You're amazing. Everybody likes you. Mitch McConnell likes you. Donald Trump likes you. Everybody in the Republican Party likes you because you're doing a great job. So I just want to congratulate you on you've only been speaker for a little over a year. But boy, what you and the Republicans have accomplished is amazing. And what I really want to ask you this morning is what do we have to expect out of the first hundred days? Because I think it's going to be great.
SPEAKER 02 :
A lot, Scott. Thanks for that very kind intro. Everybody likes you, my friend. I just wanted to say before we get started, you're killing it on CNN. I mean, look, I flip through there on occasion. I want to see what's happening. And I'm so glad you're holding the line for our side. And sometimes you have to do it on your own. And that's not an easy assignment. So I hope everybody doesn't underestimate the job you're doing. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honored to hear that. Thanks for that. Yeah, look, we did achieve a big thing in this election. You know, everybody in the media, the Democrats, they were all mocking us all year. As I was traveling around the country, I wound up going to do campaign events, over 360 campaign events in more than 250 cities across 40 states last year, logged enough miles to circle the globe five and a half times. We left it all on the field, and all of us did. All the House Republicans did the heavy lift, and we got it done. So we kept the House majority. We, of course, got the majority in the Senate. And Donald J. Trump is being returned to the White House. So we will have unified government beginning in January. And my goodness, what a blessing this is for the country, because we got to we got to turn this thing around. We got to save the country and fix everything. So it will begin right out of the gates. That reconciliation process is very important. And people will hear that term a lot in the coming months. But what it means in layman's terms is that there's a there's one mechanism that. in the United States Senate that allows a party to advance its priorities without having to get the 60 vote threshold. That's been a killer for so many things, policy changes that we've wanted over the years. But the budget reconciliation process is the way to do it with a bare majority vote. We have 53 Republicans in the Senate now. We can do it with 51 votes and we should have all of them. So what we do is when you're reconciling a budget that has been passed by Congress and you're working to reduce inflation, or expenses or cut regulations, that kind of thing. So long as it's related to the budget and to that fiscal policy, it can fit through that window. So we've been working on this for about a year, Scott. We've been developing, forgive me, I'm from Louisiana, so I explain everything in a football or a hurricane metaphor. Let me give you the football metaphor. We've been designing the playbook, understanding that we, and believing that we would be given the ball back in January through Congress. And so the playbook is well designed. We're integrating that with the new head coach in this analogy who's been elected, Donald J. Trump. I'm the quarterback in this metaphor, and the team is going to be ready to take the field. And you'll see lots of things right out of the blocks because that first 100 days is going to be critical for us turning the country around.
SPEAKER 05 :
So you've got 220 Republicans, 215 Democrats. You feel unconfident. that the Republicans who've come back to Washington in your conference are going to stick together. I mean, to pull off this plan, we have to have party unity. And I hope what the people in the conference are interpreting the election results as is a mandate from the American people for the Republican Party to be unified and to act on behalf of the American people. Do you feel that spirit? Is that the vibe in the conference right now?
SPEAKER 02 :
It is the vibe. Look, I'm talking to you just about an hour and a half after our weekly gathering of the House Republicans. Yesterday, I spent about an hour with the Senate Republicans. And this is a bipartisan, I'm not a bipartisan, a bicameral effort, right? The House Republicans and the Senate Republicans working together as one team because we have to do that. When we have this moment, this rare moment in history of unified government where we control everything, The White House, the Senate and the House, we have to maximize the opportunity. So to your point, yes, with small margins, we have to keep everybody rowing in the same direction, you know, working off the same sheet of music or running the same plays in my football metaphor. Right. So it requires a lot of teamwork. It requires a lot of preparation to get to that point. where that can be implemented and we've been working on this for like i said almost a year um building up to this anticipation now we'll have 31 new republicans in the house we're excited about the incoming freshman class to we flipped some seats out there and we we got those who retired those seats replaced the republicans And they're being integrated right now into the team as well. So we'll come right out of the blocks and do some big things for the country. I mean, you know, the priorities of the American people in that mandate you talked about are very well defined. The American people demand and deserve border security. So we'll come right out of the blocks to do that. And President Trump, of course, made it a top priority. priority on the campaign trail and we got to deliver on it. We will get right to energy policy. If we can restore American energy dominance again, and we can under President Trump's leadership, that's the key not only to our economy, but to national security as well. We all know the reasons why. And then we'll be reducing inflation and ushering in a pro-growth economy. We've got to make sure that the largest tax increase in U.S. history doesn't happen at the end of next year because that's when the Trump-era tax cuts would expire. So we've got to make sure all that's taken care of. And we unpack it from there. There's lots of... uh big priorities that we have for the people and we'll roll it out methodically a lot of this will happen in the first 100 days as i said with the reconciliation process but we'll have a couple of different uh shots at that and we'll do it throughout the year so expect big changes and i think these cabinet picks by the way are going to be part of that as well
SPEAKER 05 :
So energy, unleashing American energy, extending the tax cuts, getting the border under control. I mean my view is that the Republican Party working with Donald Trump gets all this done. As you all look ahead to the 2026 midterm, I know it's sort of obscene to keep talking about elections all the time. But you're in the House. You're always in cycle. But it strikes me that if the Republican Party can – that's how he won. I mean the stuff you laid out is how he won. If we can deliver on that – The Republicans are going to have no trouble in 2026 because people are crying out for leadership. We've had a weak president and a Democratic Party with priorities that are so far afield from what people are actually worried about. I just – what I love hearing out of you this morning – is the focus, the absolute focus. And so my hat's off to you for focusing the conference. We got about 30 seconds left here, Speaker Johnson. What should we be looking for between now and January 20th? I know the new Congress takes over at the beginning of January, but between now and when Donald Trump comes in, anything people should be looking for out of the House Republicans?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Look, we're going to work hard from the very first day. We begin on January 3rd in the House before the president takes office on the 20th. So we're going to send some things through and have legislation ready for him to sign. And, of course, he'll come in with a flurry of executive orders as well. Lots of stuff on the horizon. We're excited. We've got to also, by the way, restore peace through strength. He's already beginning that before he even takes office. And we've got to slash regulations to get the economy going again. Lots will be happening, Scott. It's going to be an exciting time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mike Johnson hitting the ground running. Mr. Speaker, thanks for being with us. I'm Scott Jennings in for the great Mike Gallagher. Last half of the show, last quarter of the show coming up. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 09 :
We're going to find out.
SPEAKER 01 :
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Join Al Smith in this insightful episode of 'Retirement Unpacked' as he helps listeners navigate the crucial financial moves needed before year-end. With topics ranging from IRA contributions and qualified charitable distributions to Roth conversions, Al provides expert advice to ensure your retirement planning stays on track. The episode also delves into the dos and don'ts of holiday spending, offering strategies to manage gift purchases smartly without falling into debt.
Announcer (Host) :
Welcome to Retirement Unpacked with Al Smith, owner of Golden Eagle Financial. You want a retirement plan that alleviates your fears about the future so you know your money will last. As a chartered financial consultant, Al Smith will help you find a balance between the risk and reward of the market and the safety of your retirement income. And now, here's your host, Al Smith.
Al Smith (Host) :
Welcome to another program of Retirement Unpacked. I want to thank you for tuning in. It's a great day here in Colorado, and I have some good information for you. Before I dive into that, I'm going to be doing these reminders for the next several programs because there are some financial things that we must pay attention to before the end of the year. Now, IRA contributions and Roth contributions, you can wait on those until April 15th or until you do your taxes, assuming if you did your taxes on April 15th. However, there are some things that need to be done by year-end. Those of you who are listening and are over age 73 or age 73 or over, will have required minimum distributions from your IRA. And something you may or may not know about, there's something called a QCD. What that is, That is called a qualified charitable distribution. And what that means is you can move money from your IRA if you have required minimum distributions and they can go directly to your church or to the American Cancer Society, or to the Red Cross, or any 501 nonprofit. It has to go directly from the IRA to the charitable institution, and you do not have to declare that as income. And this isn't a deduction like if you itemize your deduction. This is just money that goes from your retirement account to the nonprofit that you do not have to declare as income. Now, if you take a distribution from your IRA and you put it in your checking account, and then you write a check to that institution, it doesn't work that way. In order to have it go not taxed, it has to go directly from the IRA to the charitable institution, and there is a special form you can use to make that happen. If that's something that your own advisor hasn't guided you toward or explained, give my office a call and I can help you get through that. My number is 303-744-1128. The other big thing that needs to be done before December 31st is Roth conversions. You have the opportunity and the option to convert all or part of your traditional IRA to Roth. Now, when you do that, you pay tax on it at the time that you do it, but all of the growth of that Roth and the future income from it will be tax-free. Now, there's a small caveat. The first five years, if you take money out of the Roth, the growth or the interest would be taxable. After five years, both the amount you convert and the growth or the interest will be tax-free. But that does have to be done before December 31st. And what I usually recommend people do is especially if they come into my office, is bring in, if you're working, bring in the pay stub from your most recent pay stub so we can get a feel for what kind of tax bracket you're going to be in, and we can select an amount to convert. from your traditional IRA that will keep you in the same tax bracket that you are now. So these are some things that need to be done before the end of the year. It's also not a bad idea to do a little bit of planning toward the end of the year because by that time usually you have some idea how well you've done during the year and And any downfalls or pitfalls or praises that you have, things that have gone well, it's a good idea to sort of reflect on those and take a look and see where you are financially. Which brings me to today's topic. It is that time of year that many of you, probably all of you, are going to be doing some Christmas shopping. And it's a time that can be harmful to you financially if you put all of your purchases on a credit card or if you overspend or any one of those things. So although it's a joyous time of year, we're celebrating Christmas. the birth of our Savior, but at the same time, purchasing gifts is traditional. I'm not suggesting you not do that, but there are some ways to make it more or less beneficial, not only to you, but to those for whom you may be purchasing gifts. And some ways to save, it's a little bit like anything else. If you do some planning, And what I suggest is that you create a budget for yourself, a realistic budget. I heard on one of the big national news channels that the average person spends about $600 to $700 on Christmas gifts. And so I'm not telling you how much to spend, but I would create a budget. And then once you've created that budget, think in terms of allocating a particular dollar amount for each person for whom you're making a purchase. And once you do that, it makes shopping a little bit easier when you begin with a plan. I always talk about how important it is to have a retirement plan. And I think having a plan for doing your Christmas shopping also makes some sense. And some things to do I think that are important is allocate a dollar amount for each person for whom you're purchasing a gift, something that is reasonable. And once you have allocated that dollar amount, start thinking in terms of the person for whom you're getting this gift. What kind of things does this person like? And if there's a certain thing a person likes, you can sort of guide your gift in that direction. And you can also be flexible in the amount you spend. Hypothetical example, let's say if you know someone who really loves to play golf. And you know this person already has lots of golf equipment, so you don't necessarily want to get him a particular piece of equipment, a club or something like that, that is necessary. tremendously unique and he or she may or may not like it but it's fairly certain that this person who loves golf is going to need golf balls and you can get those in a sleeve with as few as three and I don't recall the exact dollar amount but I think it's under ten dollars or you can get as many as a dozen and depending on The brand of ball, that can be between $25 and $50. So you can tailor a gift when it's something like that based on the amount of those that you may be looking for. And I think if you're really familiar with the likes and dislikes of the person for whom you're shopping, it certainly makes it easier. And the big question is, should you do your shopping online or should you go to a brick-and-mortar store? Now, online has tremendous advantages. You can sit at your kitchen table or at your desk and peruse Amazon or any other websites that you want. You can find really cool, extravagant gifts at L.L. Bean or Walmart. places like that that have wonderful gifts that are highly priced, or you could find some bargain things through Amazon or many other sites. The disadvantage, obviously, when you're shopping online, you can't touch it, feel it, you can't necessarily ask questions about it, although you could probably get reviews and so forth, but it's extremely efficient. On the other hand, if it's something that you feel that you need to touch and see and ask questions about, then going to a brick and mortar store makes a lot more sense. If you're thinking about a clothing item, a sweater or something like that, you can touch it and feel it and you can actually hold it up to get some idea if it will fit the person for whom you're doing the shopping. One of the other things I highly recommend is shopping early. Some things that make very attractive gifts, when you go online, you will find that they are out of stock. On the other hand, by shopping early, and it's maybe early now, here we are a few weeks before Christmas, but it's certainly not too early to get a lot of your shopping out of the way. There's going to be a greater selection, no questions. Now, some things I would recommend that you don't do are go to a shopping mall without specifics in mind. You can have a good time in Cherry Creek or Park Meadows or whatever with, you know, an unused credit card or a fat amount in your bank. Use your debit card. and end up doing your shopping that way. But if you don't have specifics in mind, you're going to end up getting something that is the shiny object or just something that catches your eye, which may be sort of impulsive rather than something you really haven't thought through. One thing I would not do is purchase a gift for someone that is not returnable. Most gifts are returnable, but some of them aren't. And I think by going with something specific in mind, It's far better, especially if that specific thing is returnable. And if you know exactly what that item is, then I think it's fine to go online to do your shopping. And some other important things, let's say if someone really likes music. Find out exactly what kind of music they like before you get them a CD or a collection or whatever it is. A really cool gift, you may know someone who collects vinyl records. Well, you can find older vinyl records. I think there's a record store or two in Denver and Boulder that have old vinyl records that are in very good condition. That would be extremely unique. And when you're shopping, think in terms not of what you think is cool and what you like, but think about that other party. What does that other party like? What does he or she collect? People who collect certain things are going to be always happy to get one more of whatever it is. I know people who collect mugs. They have a mug from everywhere they have ever been. I know other people collect little shot glasses. Those are pretty insignificant gifts, but there are things that you can purchase for people for Christmas that will enhance what they are already collecting. Art. I wouldn't too much recommend providing art for a gift unless you know very specifically about the taste of the person for whom you're shopping because art is very much in the eye of the beholder. You could show me an item of art that might sell for thousands of dollars and I may not like it and I could also go to a thrift store and find something that's very inexpensive, and I might find that very pleasing to the eye. So unless you know really the kind of art someone likes, I would lean away from that as far as a gift. But there's a lot more to talk about, about purchasing Christmas gifts and minimizing the amount you spend and looking at some original gifts, which we'll talk about after the break.
Al Smith (Host) :
I'll see you next time.
Announcer (Host) :
There are no systematic ways to ensure your dreams come true in retirement. That's why he draws on decades of experience to set you on your path to success. Sure, he'll give you details and charts with analysis and all of the necessary things. But he also knows that you're more than a financial spreadsheet. You're a person with hopes and dreams who has a picture of what you want your retirement to look like. When you're ready to get started creating a strategy that puts you on the right path towards those hopes and dreams. You need to contact Al Smith of Golden Eagle Financial for a free consultation. Just go to klzradio.com and click on Advertisers to get in touch. 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 offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
Al Smith (Host) :
Welcome back to Retirement Unpacked. And we talked a little bit about some of the things that you need to do before the end of the year. And that included required minimum distributions and also possible Roth conversions. And if those are something that you may be looking at, if those transactions are on your mind, give my office a call and we'll make sure that that it gets done right. My number is 303-744-1128. We've been talking about trying to save money during Christmas. Well, the word save money is sort of an acronym because our culture has taught us that you save money by buying something that's discounted 10%. You've saved money. And the reality is of the vocabulary is you save money by not spending money, whether it's at full price or a discount. But that's how our culture has, especially our advertising and marketing culture, has sort of usurped the language. But we're talking about how when you plan work, what you're going to purchase for someone for Christmas, and allocate a dollar amount, you're far better off, and that's much better than going to the mall without some specific things in mind because that can lead you to the shiny object, maybe to some things that are more expensive, and if you end up spending more on a particular individual or couple or something, that leaves less money for everyone else. But let's think about something. that might be more original. Not necessarily an inexpensive item, but I have seen some things that might look like a very attractive gift. I've seen opportunities where you can ride the railway through the Royal Gorge. And they have those, I think they have them throughout the winter, although I'm not absolutely certain. I have not done that, but I have been to the Royal Gorge and seen it, and I can only imagine that riding that train would be a wonderful experience. So that is something you could get a couple. I would certainly enjoy that more going with someone else, someone who enjoys photography like I do. A 23 and me. So I know a lot of people, they think, well, gee, I think I'm English, Irish, a little German or whatever. But when you do one of those DNA tests, if you know someone in particular who has not have that done, they might find it very interesting. They might find some relatives they did not know they had. They may find some genetic links to some parts of the world where they did not know they had any relatives. A lot of things can be original gifts, so to speak. If you know someone truly enjoys a particular activity, and that activity, you have to buy tickets or whatever it is, tickets to a particular event, while they're not inexpensive, that can be a really special gift if you're trying to please someone who likes maybe going to the theater or to plays. or to Nuggets games or Avs games. And if those are beyond the budget, go to a DU hockey game. I've not been to one, but I've heard they're very exciting. And nearly every year, Denver University has a very high quality hockey team. I know they've won the national championships more than once. So some original things. I know people who have gone to visit the four heads in South Dakota, Mount Rushmore. And if you know someone who's already planning to go there, kick in a little bit extra so that they can go on a helicopter ride. because viewing Mount Rushmore as well as Crazy Horse from a helicopter would be, in my thinking, an awesome experience, because I think I've seen pictures of it taken from a helicopter, and that would be tremendous. Another example, I would love to go on a helicopter ride on the 4th of July, At about the same time, fireworks were being shot off in multiple areas throughout the city. If you know someone who really likes to ski but they don't get up too often because of the cost or one thing or another, buy someone some lift tickets. So a lot of different things you can do. And I think I mentioned it earlier, but you may know someone who – you know, collects things. I know someone who collects these nutcrackers and the person already has a pretty good extensive collection of those. So knowing a person really well makes shopping for him or her much, much easier. Some other things. What if you know some young people and you didn't really know what to purchase for them? How about opening up an investment account? Well, you don't necessarily need enormous amounts of money to do that. you can open up an investment account through me for as little as $100. It's a few hoops to jump through with paperwork and so forth, but once the account is open, this young person, and this can be a teenager or somebody in their 20s that does not have an investment account, you can link that account to their bank. So that young person can, in addition to investing in the stock market at a young age, he or she can have automatically moved from their bank account into their investment account a certain amount of money that they want to invest every week, every month, however they want to do that. And establishing that at a young age can have tremendous rewards when they are older and I have met lot of people who are in or near retirement but I have not had anyone that I sat down and said sir or you and your wife have saved too much money I've never had that opportunity arise but I do know that by starting early and having that compound interest work for you, there will be a lot of better choices later in life. And it doesn't, I don't mean just retirement, I mean when people get married and want to buy a house, things like that. Now, what about circumstances where, for whatever reason, you really don't have a lot of money to spend, but you have some time and some imagination? You can provide very, very useful service to people who may really, really enjoy it. For example, If you know a couple with small children, you can provide a certificate for free babysitting for whatever period of time that you want to do that. If you know someone who's a caregiver, offer to do that caregiving yourself so that that person can have a day or a night off or something like that. If you know a couple, perhaps, who really enjoys a particular kind of food, Mexican food, Italian food, whatever it is, offer to make that couple or individual a gourmet meal. Now these are things that you can do without spending a lot of money. Offer to detail someone's car. Offer to clean someone's home or apartment. Pay for a class for someone to take for something they like to do. Photography. kayaking, climbing, offer maybe a one-day bicycle tour or a coupon for an oil change. There's all kinds of things you can do to make your Christmas more joyous and make Christmas joyous for those whom you love. God bless you. Thank you for tuning in. Let's continue to pray for the leaders who will be leading our country in a few months. And also, let's continue to pray for the folks in Israel. Thanks for tuning in. Again, God bless you. Hopefully, you'll be here next week.
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But are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
In this thought-provoking episode of The Crawford Stand, we delve deep into the heart of what it means to live out one's faith boldly in a secular world. With insights from Don Crawford, we explore the challenges faced by Christians when their beliefs are confronted by radical secularism. Does your Christian identity stand up when you are faced with the tough questions? Are you able to express your faith confidently without fear of rejection or ridicule?
SPEAKER 02 :
The Crawford Stand with the president of Crawford Media Group, Don Crawford.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christians believe they should share biblical solutions to America's cultural issues. That's a good thing. And rightly so, for our Lord told us as true believers to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Preach it. Jesus of Nazareth went even further. He said, when you do so, when I give you this opportunity to testify, I will give you the words. I will give you the words. When he said there is that God-given opportunity to profess your faith, don't be afraid, don't be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for that saving gospel is the power of God unto salvation, available to all who call upon the name of our Lord. So be bold, be strong, and do not be afraid. But many of us are afraid. We are easily intimidated, especially when confronted by strong, secular, even anti-Christian personalities. Radical secularists know just what questions to ask, what issues to pose, what statements to make, what buttons to push, for in so many ways they are the same over and again. But no matter when so many of us are confronted, we become insecure and defensive, even ashamed to admit the greatest fact in our life, that we have been saved by grace We have been born again. In those ultimate confrontational moments, we soon forget the promise of our Master. I will give you the words. Do you believe that? Do you believe he will do that? That is, of course, if you are a believer, that is a true believer, and you have, in fact, been saved by grace. If you haven't, all bets are off. But if you have, you can rest assured that your Savior will give you the words. So the question then becomes, what exactly do you believe? Are you a real Christian? A true Christian? A Bible, Jesus Christ believing Christian with a belief from all of your heart? Are you? Or are you an intellectual Christian? You know all about Christianity, and you know all about Jesus, and you have wrestled intellectually, mentally, with Christian propositions, theological propositions. You are probably, therefore, a Christian who can talk the talk, whether or not you walk the walk. Intellectual, philosophic Christianity goes nowhere spiritually. Nowhere, in fact. It's condemned by the Apostle Paul. Therefore, the words that our Lord would give to that person mean nothing, really, spiritually, that is, and in fact are not even heard. The intellectual Christian is only concerned with using his own words, not the words of the Lord. And there are those who are social Christians. They go to church, they attend Christian functions, socialize with Christian people, and purport to live a Christian life. with little or nothing inside. They can be called cultural Christians, but not born-again Christians. In fact, they really don't want to be called born-again, save by grace Christians. They are proud to be called denominational Christians. You know, I am a Baptist, and they have Christian trappings. like the Pharisees of old, but inside they are, as Jesus said, like whited sepulchers, empty and devoid of the truth. They can argue well, but they ignore the words of the Lord. It is really easy to identify those who talk the Christian talk, but do not have within them the heart of love which salvation brings. So when it comes to Christian witness, many of us hold back because of the fear of rejection. Avowed secularists think nothing of ridiculing us and our testimony and our faith. And when that happens, we withdraw. We're intimidated and not wishing to be emotionally hurt. And no witness, no stand for our Lord occurs. They don't know what we believe. Far too many of we the Christians cannot endure ridicule, ridicule of ourselves or our faith. It's really tough to take. Nor can we abide rejection. We wish to be accepted, well thought of, a good person. And to keep that image, we cannot be offensive. Even though we are told from the very beginning that the cross is an offense, and the blood of Jesus Christ is an offense, to be a Christian, to witness in any way by word or deed, is to produce word or action which is offensive. It really is to the natural man. The man ready for verbal battle. It seems that only one out of four of true believers can withstand the verbal assault of the secularists. Are you one of them? Or are you one of the three of the four who is easily intimidated? But, true believers, remember these words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who told us the following, Man or woman who will confess me before men him or her will I also confess as my follower, my true believer. I will confess him before my Father in heaven. But he or she who denies me before men, him or her will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Quite a choice, is it not? The consequences are brutal. So that the ultimate testimony is that of our Lord before the Father in our behalf. That's the ultimate. That will only happen if we confess our faith and stand for our Lord and refuse to be intimidated, ridiculed, or rejected by the aggressive anti-Christian. Can you do that? Do you have the spiritual courage to do that? But, you know, it really should not be that difficult to confess our faith. What is difficult, in fact virtually impossible, is when we try to be something we are not, communicate what we really do not understand, or think that we have a burden, a duty, to hit the spiritual verbal home run every time we speak about our Lord. No way! That's not what God requires. So my fellow Christian, here's the simple answer. Go back. Go back to that time of conversion when you really, truly became a believer. To that time when you really met Jesus Christ. When you gave your life to Him. Go back to your commitment. Whatever that was. However it occurred. Your commitment. Not somebody else's. Your commitment. That life-changing event which meant so much to you. No one, no one can understand that more than you. You're the only one that can. No one. You had that one and only conversion moment. Individual, unique, one of a kind, your very own saving, forgiving encounter with Jesus Christ. Yours and yours alone. You can do that, can't you? And if you really believe, if it was really worthwhile to you, life-changing, an event, an occurrence, an encounter, which had then and still does now life-changing value, that should be easy. Easy to explain. It's real to you and that's all you have to say. And you say it in a grateful, loving way because it changed your life, not somebody else's. yours and yours alone. Ah, my fellow Christian, there is nothing better than the unique, one and only conversion moment of any one individual. And I say to you, they're all different. And that, my fellow Christian, is the most powerful Christian witness you could possibly offer. That is the testimony which our Lord will honor. That is real. It's real. It's loving. It's lasting. And there is no anti-Christian non-believer anywhere in the world who can offer an argument against that. Not one. And that's all you need to say. Nothing more. Nothing more. When you try to say more, that's when you get in trouble. That's when you get ridiculed. That's when you get emotionally involved. And it hurts. You can witness your faith as it has grown and as it occurs in your everyday life. Your faith as it produces the total love of your heart. It is that faith which produces the works, the deeds, you know, by the fruits you shall know them, which clearly display the love of Jesus Christ, which lives within your heart. You don't need to do or say anything else. Nothing. In fact, you really shouldn't because then you are discussing something about which you know little or nothing. Someone else's ideas about conversion or Christianity. Perhaps trying to be more intelligent about your faith than you really are. And it waters down your testimony. There is, for example, no greater testimony against abortion than a father or mother in love with Jesus Christ, testifying of their love for their child, which God has given them, and consequently so happy that that child was never aborted. There's no greater testimony than that. You know, the world hungers for real Christianity, real Christianity, real experience, not intellectual, not cultural, not social, the real deal. There's so much hypocrisy and irrelevancy in the church and in our Christian faith today. It's far better, far more meaningful, more real than anything are the real words and deeds and experiences of a Christian man or woman in love with Jesus Christ. The Apostle John tells us that we will be known, that is, our testimony will be sure, by the love we have for one another, not only for our family and friends, but all humankind, in all of our life's experiences and associations. There is no greater testimony than that of a life of a loving believer who knows that even well beyond faith itself or the hope which Christianity brings is the love The love of God in Jesus Christ. If you have been born again, you are really and truly in love with Jesus Christ. And that should be your testimony. You don't need any more than that. You don't need to say or do anything more. Nothing more. If you never graduated high school, that testimony would be more powerful than any theological treatise. the only real witness you would ever have which is lasting and which is meaningful and again real would be the love and gratitude you profess your way for Jesus Christ and when that opportunity arises don't do any more than that you don't need to stand on a street corner and pass out tracks our Lord will lead you when it is time to witness He will show you. He will give you that opportunity. And He will reveal the opportunity. And when He sends you into battle, in word or deed, to represent Him, remember, He will give you the words. He will give you the words.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I wonder if you would jot down just a few words and send them to Mr. Crawford at stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. He'd love to hear from you this week. Again, the email address is stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you write, be sure to tell Mr. Crawford on what station you hear the stand. When you want to review what you hear, go to our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Media Group and this station, serving God and country. I'm Bill McCormick.
In this episode, we cover the hysterically absurd, yet genuinely outrageous escapades of Florida's eccentric citizens. From a desperate attempt to acquire illicit substances through Craigslist to the questionable choices that lead to extreme consequences, Florida Man's actions never fail to astonish us. Amidst the chaos of these stories, we also touch upon some controversial human rights topics north of the border. Get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and laughs!
SPEAKER 01 :
Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast, sponsored by Kel-Tec.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 04 :
A Florida man trying to buy crack on Craigslist was arrested when an undercover deputy answered the ad. Holmes County Sheriff's Office. Their investigators responded to the ad, posed as a seller, set up a meeting with the individual who had been identified as Anthony Mata. Deputies say that Mata negotiated to buy an eight ball of meth for 80 bucks. After finalizing the deal, the investigator met him at the agreed upon location. They exchanged money. Deputies moved in. Yeah, on Craigslist. That seems so sketchy. That's so sketchy. And meth is bad. And these guys look like they're in an old-timey movie. Just saying. Let's see. I can't read the dog story. Oh, my gosh. I don't know. This guy, a Daytona Beach man, Douglas Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y. Douglas Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y. He looks exactly like a doucher looks. 21 years old. Charged with felony animal cruelty. He's out of the Volusia County Branch Jail and $5,000 bond. He apparently shot a two-year-old black pit bull mix named Zola. And he shot the dog in the right cheek because the dog was aggressive during bath time. And they found the 55-pound dog with a bullet wound to his cheek, and it stopped in his abdomen. And he did not get medical attention for the pet. And the police said that the dog apparently had non-functional back legs and was uncontrollably urinating on itself. It was been a lot of pain in this guy. I want this. I want to scout this dude. I just that's my own personal free speech opinion. I am not. You guys know what I think. Give me five. Oh, my gosh. Give me 60 seconds, please. For the love of all things holy and a locker room with this dude.
SPEAKER 02 :
How's he out on five thousand dollars bond? That was my thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, that's I know exactly. That's just, you know, this guy's. So, yeah, I hope he gets it. It'd be great if he had some prison time and if some prison justice befell him. I'm not saying that money would magically be deposited in the commissary of anybody who was maybe a part of it. But, you know, I'm maybe might be saying that. I don't know. I'm pretty mayor of Kingstown about some of this stuff. So I don't know. Anyway, so that I need a happy story now because that just makes me that makes me mad. That's a horrible story. We could talk about this Florida dude who I don't. Oh, gosh, these people. So this Florida dude, he was denied entry to a USAA building and he put on a helmet and drove his car right into the facility. Robert Beattie, 70, he went to the guard gate at the USAA office and demanded to be let inside. They said, not going to happen. So then he put on a helmet and drove right through the parking garage and through their fences. Two people in a marked security SUV tried to block him in, but then he reversed and struck their vehicle to create some space. He was on the third floor when they found him of the parking garage taken into custody. He got charged with two felony counts, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one felony count of burglary of an occupied structure, felony count of criminal mischief, $1,000 or more. He got some more charges. Thankfully, nobody was injured. But, I mean, the fact that he went and put on a helmet, And then drove his car through. Yeah, I don't know. Let's see this. No, no, not doing that one. We could talk about the teacher from Port St. Lucie found naked N-E-K-K-I-D in an elementary school. Joe Urias faces multiple charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer. Somerset College Preparatory Academy. And apparently, according to Port St. Lucie, the 34-year-old Urias was found after police were dispatched to Windpoint Elementary School for a burglary in progress. When they arrived, they found him naked in the classroom among clothes, food, a laptop, drugs, and some private time accessories. I don't know how else to say it. He reclosed himself and tried to run out of the building once he was discovered. But guess what? They got him. And then the cop that grabbed him was punched in the face. Urias was arrested, taken to St. Lucie County Jail. Wow, he's got a lot of charges. Lewd behavior, burglary, possession of marijuana, battery law enforcement. I mean, he's got a lot. He's got a lot of charges. That's all you need to know. There's too much to read. He's got a lot. And he's going to be in major trouble. Trouble. Major, major trouble. It's our friends over at Caltech, the P-15. It stands for 15 pews. Standard capacity. That might be a little bit more for the people who have weak arm muscles. I don't know. But Kel-Tec is a great company, a Florida-based company, and they have a lifetime warranty on everything that they do. They are the inventors of the micro-compact pistol category. They have two versions, metal frame polymer as well. Metal frame has a gorgeous walnut wood panels, textured grips. You get the polymer gator grip for a true classic look and feel. Just they're great pistols. They come with two magazines. One is the standard 15 round, minimal pinky extension. The other more concealable even. Flesh fit double stack mag that holds 12. It's the lightest, thinnest double stack 9mm on the market. I mean, it's just, you know, there's no bones about it. Quality made right here in the U.S. of A. Innovation, performance, and Kel-Tec. Only at Kel-Tec. Learn more at keltecweapons.com. Ask about the P-15. Again, you got the metal frame in the polymer version. You're going to like it. It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned pro or you're just looking for another EDC. It's the P-15 at Kel-Tec. Kel-TecWeapons.com. That's K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you. I want to come back to the story. We just had a briefly in headlines. And thankfully, this is Canada and not the United States. But the headline is a town was fined because they refused to celebrate Pride Month. It's a town of 1300 people. So it's a small town, the town. Interestingly enough, it is named Emo. It's in Ontario. And they violated the Ontario Human Rights Code that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario established. And they said that their great offense. I mean, when you think that somebody violated, just pause for a minute. When you hear that somebody violated like some kind of human rights code, you think, wow. That sounds pretty serious, right? I mean, human rights? Super serious. What did they do? Oh, it says here that they, in the month of June, did not proclaim that month Pride Month. I'm sorry, what? Oh, and they also were cited because they had failure to fly an LGBTQ2 whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, rainbow flag. It's a $10,000 fine, excuse me, and all of the officials in EMO are required to complete mandatory human rights training. See. Yeah, Cain, what's your question?
SPEAKER 03 :
Who do they pay it to? Like the fine? I don't know, the gays?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don't know. The article doesn't actually say.
SPEAKER 03 :
The city has to pay the city? Like, what?
SPEAKER 04 :
They got a fine. Ontario, maybe? Like the province of Ontario?
SPEAKER 03 :
So they chose not to celebrate.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it's not that they didn't celebrate. They just were like, we're not going to put up these tacky flags. Right. Because they are tacky.
SPEAKER 03 :
But they didn't celebrate to the standard of whoever's criticizing them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I mean, if your question is, did they have a parade and fly the flags and send everyone out in leather dominatrix gear with ball gags, like the gimp from Pulp Fiction, to go out and have like a full-on, you know...
SPEAKER 03 :
Painting pictures.
SPEAKER 04 :
A street festival of sexcapades. Then you're correct. They did not do that. There were no street sexcapades celebrating pride over how you choose to do it behind closed doors.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that costs money.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, where's the, like, you can have pride. Pride is a sin, by the way. So I think it's ironic that they're being fined for not celebrating literal sin, which is pride. But whatever. But why is that a thing? Like, why do you got, oh, if you didn't fly the flag, you didn't affirm how someone has to sex. It's Canada, so they're not going to fight it. They're going to probably apologize and offer some maple syrup. I don't know. The maple leaf people up there. Oh, hey, we're so sorry. We forgot to fly the flag.
SPEAKER 03 :
But are they paying the federal government? Are they paying? Well, I don't know.
SPEAKER 04 :
It's probably Ontario. It's probably I don't know. It's the Ontario people. I don't know. I don't know who these people are. The Canadians up there. They issue fines because somebody didn't fly. The town was asked to fly the alphabet rainbow flag for a week of your choosing.
SPEAKER 03 :
I choose no weeks. There's my choosing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Yeah, you didn't say I had to choose a week. So the language part is on you, Slick.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think there's some legal wiggle room here.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, where are the straight people flags at? Right. Where's that at?
SPEAKER 03 :
What do we get? It's just the Canadian flag.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, I just don't think that you're going to be appropriating the rainbow, first off. That's appropriation, and I was told that was wrong. So you're appropriating the rainbow from the Christians. So let's stop there. Let's stop. That's taken from Noah's time. So come up with your own thing. We've got to have a straight person's flag then. And then do you get like the straight person two, four spirit, whatever? Or what about the straight person flag and then don't you get like an extra buff that goes along with it? Like spaghetti and meatballs, the straight person or this straight person can successfully eat edamame if it's three beans in without having to take two bites. Like how particular does it get?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm a medium rare steak flag.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, like the well-done people?
SPEAKER 03 :
Out.
SPEAKER 04 :
Get out. You can't live in America. I don't care if you were born and raised here six generations. We'll deport you somewhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
Don't bring that well-done flag over here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, no well-done nothing. Well-done is only for jobs, not meat. So, I don't know. Oh, so they said that there's a group called the Borderland Pride Group. Which sounds like a bunch of terrorist twinks. I'm going to be honest with you. So I just love it. They're very upset. They said in a single 12-month period, they did not see a single week where the flag was flown. They said that Emo ignored their repeated requests, so they got mad about it. And they said that they need to take Human Rights 101. I think I'm going to lead a human rights course. I'm going to offer it on the Internet. I'm going to offer a human rights course. So if someone offends you, you punch them. Joking. I just this stuff is so dumb. And then I get mad because I'm like, why didn't I get into this? I would love to just fleece the left. Right. I could I could make it up and make up a company. Right. Go in there and I'm going to offer you human rights courses. Now, here's the just make it ridiculous. And they'll go along with it because they're the left. They're too terrified to be seen as going against the grain. They they the desire to be so homogenous has has killed any desire for individuality at all. So they they are terrified. They're terrified to poke a head up. No, they got to go with it. So I feel like that would, you know, no one would ask anything, King, because then I could be like, are you assuming all of these things about me? What? And then, oh, no, they don't want to be offended. And then we could also form an ancillary like Human Rights Council that we can cite people and then just pay ourselves. from the fines.
SPEAKER 03 :
It sounds like you're trying to make government bigger.
SPEAKER 04 :
It sounds like I just came up with a damn great job, and that's what it sounds like. Look, I'm a capitalist. If I can make money off of somebody's stupidity like that on the left, I'm all for it. High fives. High five and all the angels. If you're looking for a convenient, affordable way to access medications and treatments you can trust, All Family Pharmacy has you covered. Whether it's the flu or parasites, cancer support, or general well-being... All Family Pharmacy's online service makes getting the medications you need hassle-free. With All Family, it's simple. You can choose the individual medications that best suit your needs or opt for one of their comprehensive treatment packages. designed to give you everything that you need in one convenient order. And every order comes with a doctor's prescription included. Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, or any other effective medications, they have it all. And you can get fast shipping with most order shipping in two to three business days. Medications start as low as $3 per capsule, making it really easy to take charge of your health without breaking the bank. No insurance needed. You can skip the paperwork and get the treatments you need directly. Stock up with their emergency preparedness bundles and access over 200 medications online anytime. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana and use code Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order. That's allfamilypharma.com slash Dana, code Dana10.
SPEAKER 03 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 04 :
I would say why yes. It was the Maple Seripians up to the north. The Maple Seripians. It was a rural town on the border of Ontario, Minnesota and Canada. It was fine for refusing to celebrate Pride Month in June. Yeah, you got to go out there and like sling the salami or something like that to celebrate. That's what you got to do. You got to actually celebrate. I mean, how do you celebrate Pride Month? You just like physically have the sex in the streets. Like, what do you do? No, you put up rainbows. Shut up. God help me. You cannot have me in elected office. I would be arrested for assault like instantly. They said that the town of Emo, of course, it's called Emo, Emo, Ontario. It violated the Ontario Human Rights Code. The town has a population of 1300 people, 1300 people, 1300 persons. What does that cost to not celebrate? We're coming back to the story. We're coming back to bookmark this because we are not even begun. Also, we had the story earlier. This UnitedHealthcare CEO, this dude was on his way to a conference. This was on Avenue of the Americas. I swear to you, I've stayed at this Hilton. I think I stayed at this Hilton for a book tour. So it's right there. That's what blows the mind. It's right there in the middle of everything. It's right by Rockefeller. It's across from where Jimmy Fallon does his show. It's a few blocks down from Fox. It's right there in Midtown. And yeah, it's at Hilton. And he apparently this guy 50 years old shot in the chest. It was 646 in the morning. He was arriving for a conference. He's the CEO. So it's like his conference. So he arrived and apparently this guy came up behind him in front of everybody and shot him in the chest. And then he got on one of those e-bikes. And went away. He had on a backpack. And, I mean, he looks like, I don't know, it looks like a professional hit. That's what they were saying. Like, this is like a hit. Like, this was not something that was by chance, like a chance criminal, whatever. So, they said that the Christmas tree lighting and all that stuff is apparently still expected to go on. Just everybody keep your heads on a swivel. Trump is going to visit Paris for the Notre Dame's reopening for his first trip abroad. They're going to be doing different things on different days, and he's attending one of them. So did you hear about, I didn't know that there was luxury cannabis. I mean, I guess you can have artisanal weed. You can have artisanal anything, right? But what makes it artisanal? I mean, it doesn't get much more artisanal than growing in the sequoias with Bigfoots, right? Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Jay-Z had apparently a luxury cannabis company, which is funny to me. And it struggled to sell $50 joints. I'm sorry. Was it? Now, I don't know how. Don't make fun of me. Shut up. Does it come in like a carton like cigarettes? Do you get like a bunch of the joints or is it just like one carton?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I mean, I guess you can buy several, but they don't come in packs like cigarettes. There is a company that does them, and they make them look like cigarettes, but they're actually... Or do people make their own? Yeah, no, people mostly roll their own, but they sell them in pre-roll.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sorry, do you do like a grape leaf, like with cigars, or is it just like cigarette paper? I'm curious. Yeah, it's cigarette paper. Okay, so were these, I guess, pre-rolled? Right. Luxury joints. $50. Again, not knowing. I only know the hysterical stuff that I've ever seen with Cheech and Chong. I mean, I'm assuming they're like that. $50 for one of them? How much does that get you? What are we talking about here?
SPEAKER 03 :
Cheech and Chong is shockingly real life.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's real life.
SPEAKER 04 :
So you get one joint for $50? No. No. That's what it says here. $50 for one of his luxury joints.
SPEAKER 03 :
I get that was their effort, but it didn't work out, obviously.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, they lost half a billion dollars since they launched. How do you lose money on weed? If you do it stupid?
SPEAKER 03 :
Make it really expensive.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is like one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in my life. They act like they're like, oh, Sean Carter's a great businessman. Maybe, but not with this because I'm not even in the pot. And I could have told you you're selling one little joint for $50. Are you stupid? It's the luxury joint. What is it like? Do California condors talon roll it? Like, how does that work? Are there gold flakes that you smoke? What is it? Apparently, California has a tough legal pot market. I didn't know that either. It's wild. I love that everybody has to deal with bureaucracy. Like nobody, even the sin industries. I love it. They said that none of the retailers across California and Arizona, they don't stock Jay-Z's buds or joints on their online menus. Yeah. And they had, oh my gosh, this is Kamala level crazy, $575 million that they launched with. And now they're in trouble. They said that Jay-Z's monogram products are overpriced and underwhelming. Wow. And see, you never really get rid of the criminal element. They said California's legal weed sector has been stymied by complex rules, high taxes, competitions from black market traders, wildfires, sliding prices. A lot of people have been pushed into insolvency. But they said that it was mind-boggling the amount of money that was pushed for this. I could have told you immediately that probably not going to work. You're talking about luxury pot. People are broke. Everybody that is broke and the people who are going to be doing this are probably not going to be like the Jay-Z rich level people. They're going to be people who think that smoking this makes them Jay-Z rich level. And now they can't they can't afford it because everybody's broke because of the president Jay-Z endorsed. And his administration. So I can't say that I feel sorry for him. I don't. I just think it's funny. Like, who thought that? You know what? We're in a time of, it's a lockdown. Let's launch a luxury cannabis company and charge people $50 per joint. What else can you make luxury? Like artisanal weed. Are you going to do artisanal kefir, Cain? It's pretty artisanal.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know how much more artisanal you can make it. It's pretty artisanal on its own. I don't know. Glass bottles preserved from Quaker. I have no idea what you could do with it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that sounds... During a time of inflation, I just don't think that luxury stuff, especially starting any kind of luxury line, is going to make it take off.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Dana Lash's Absurd Truth Podcast. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Join Dana as she dives into today's hottest topics with her signature wit and insight. From breaking down the Supreme Court arguments on transgender healthcare policies to the fallout of Hunter Biden’s controversial pardon, Dana leaves no stone unturned. She takes a closer look at Eric Adams' bold criticism of federal immigration policies, the cultural shifts impacting Christmas traditions, and the hilarious demise of Jay-Z’s luxury cannabis venture. Plus, you won’t want to miss Dana’s take on the ongoing disconnect between local and federal Democrats and what it means for the future of their party. Packed with humor, hard-hitting commentary, and sharp observations, this episode is one you won’t want to miss!
SPEAKER 09 :
Google Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Google what they said about those who commit crimes in our city and what they said in our country. They said those who commit crimes need to get out right away. That was their position. So this is not a new position, you know, because in the era of cancel culture, no one's afraid to be honest about the truth. Well, cancel me. Because I'm going to protect the people of the city. And if you come into this country in this city and think you're going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be in the city under.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think this is I was talking a little bit about this last night, and I think that this is. going to be kind of a turning point for democrats where it concerns policy and then practicality like our policy and ideology rather because you know with this remarks that he gave he's saying well fine cancel me then it's quite different from everything that we've seen As it pertains to talk about bathrooms and all this other stuff and Democrats kind of allowed this this whole issue of immigration to get away from them. And so as a result. You know, that's one of the reasons that they were rejected so harshly during the last elections. And so as a result, now you're seeing, you know, some of these local Democrats like governors and some of these mayors and things of that nature. They're having to go out and say, yeah, OK, we can't do this. I know the National Party says one thing, but this is the reality of the situation. And this is, you know, this is what we're dealing with. There's going to be an impasse between these two entities, you know, the entity of the. federal and D.C. Democrats and then the issue of your state and local, because the policies that the federal Democrats that they're setting in D.C., clearly they're not going over well in any state. They're not going over well in any county. They're not going over well anywhere. It's one of the reasons why Harris didn't flip like insanely well. a single county during this last election and i think that they said they keep revising it it's like super historically insane what she her inability to flip a single or even maintain a single county that they had won so there's a couple things in that it's i mean it's that bad this is this is how bad democrats have foobarred this and i don't think that they've learned I really, I understand you don't want them to learn because then they keep losing. But I also think that having an opposition party also keeps your party kind of honest. And keeps them in check. And so that's, I kind of look at it at that end. Welcome to the program. Dana Lash with you. You can listen coast to coast. We're having some technical issues today. We run a tight ship. We have a nice dedicated crew. But we've got some issues. So we're going to get the live stream up. At some point. Yes, your girl's still sick. So it's like everything. You know what it is? It's the communists, Cain. It's the communists that are doing this to us. Them damn commies. So we're working on that, but right now we don't got it. So you can listen like the olden days, right? Pretend it's like the olden days. So, and yes, I'm still under the weather, but we're here. We're here. Yeah. And a number of other things to touch on the cabinet picks. There's a lot of rumblings. One of the other things I was watching last night and we're going to come we're going to cover the Daniel Penny stuff. And I'm not, you know, breaking news, whatever, breaking news bureau. So we're not going to. Yes, there was the health care executive that was shot. I think I've stayed at that Hilton before, actually, right down Avenue of the Americas. It's like blocks away from Fox. But we'll talk about all of that. I mean, there's nothing else that we can provide at this point that hasn't already been discussed. But one thing that I think hasn't been discussed, and I was watching this with great interest last night, was another, this discussion of who's, it's SecDef, the SecDef discussion. And there seems to be this, I guess they're worried about Pete Hegseth getting through The confirmation? Is that what it seems to you? I mean, I don't dislike him as a pick, but somebody's, I don't know who, but somebody's getting upset. Or if it was involving my dog, I would say pup-set. Someone is getting pup-set about this because apparently they don't believe that he has the ability to, I guess. for whatever reason, they think he doesn't have the ability to make it through confirmation. And so that's an issue that we have to deal with. Because one of the other names that I've seen floated is Ron DeSantis. So I don't know if that's going to be something that happens or not. I'm kind of scratching my head over it. Ron DeSantis, his name has been floated quite a bit, as you know, he's a veteran and was, you know, kind of, I guess, frenemies with Trump. They worked together because, you know, you've got a popular red state governor and you're going to have a popular as well. You have a popular president, red president. His name has been suggested by apparently some people in the group. I don't know. It was a New York Post story. And I've been hearing rumblings. I think that there are some in the camp that don't believe that Pete Hegseth can make it and get through to confirmation. It just doesn't seem like that's something that... They're a little worried about it. And so, as a result... Now they're suggesting maybe DeSantis' name. I don't know how I feel about that, though. He goes all the way up to 27. I think that he's a solid red state governor, and I think that you have to have a solid red state governor with tons of wins in order to counter the narrative that Democrats are preparing for 2028, regardless of—well, you know it's going to be Gavin Newsom. Regardless, you know it's going to be Newsom. So my concern— with that is, who would you get in, even if it were, who would you get in to replace DeSantis? And then would they be a strong, R, red, Republican governor? And then, you know, DeSantis goes in, he's sec-deaf. I mean, he'll get their conference. I just don't know. I just don't know if that's something that he would want to do. It was an odd, out-of-left-field kind of proposition, I thought. But it's gaining some serious steam. I don't know. But I think that there are some people in his camp that are in Trump's camp that are worried that Hegseth can't go through confirmation. And like I said, I've only known him to be super nice. I hear all of the accusations as well. But one of the reasons why that I can't take those accusations seriously is because how many times they've abused them. Think back to Kavanaugh. Hell, go back farther. Go back all the way to Clarence Thomas. You see what I mean? I can't take any of this stuff seriously. Every single time, it's a dude that the left doesn't like. It's rape, rape, rape, sexual assault. Oh, he thinks differently than me. Rape, rape, rape, sexual assault. You know what I'm saying? I can't take it seriously. So even if there was any kind of serious accusation, I can't take it seriously because these people have just made it a joke. They've made serious cases dealing with assault and rape and all this other stuff or any kind of bad behavior. They've made a joke of it. They made a joke of it. And so every single time there's been a hearing, every single time, Any fight has come up. This is what they drag out, the accusations that they drag out every time. We're so used to it now. So I just, I don't know. I just don't take it seriously. I can't take it seriously. I don't take any of the accusations about Hegseth seriously. That's just kind of where we are. I just don't understand why people would... I don't know. We'll see how it plays out. Are they really that worried that he's not going to get through confirmation? I'd be more worried about some of these other folks. I'd be more worried about an RFK Jr. Him getting through with the stuff that he said about stuff that he said about oil and gas companies. I mean, he said some crazy-ass stuff, RFK Jr. I'm not talking about the headworm and all that. I'm talking about putting to death the people who run oil and gas. People who don't believe in climate change should be jailed. I mean, this is stuff he said with his own actual face. The meat around his mouth. He's vocalized this coming out of his mouth. So I'd be more worried about that. So I don't know what this means, you know, if I don't know what this is for Hegseth, but I think there's a difference, too, between somebody being kind of a male whore and also someone being an actual sex predator. And I really need women to understand the difference here, if that is the case here. which I don't know. I just, like I said, I don't believe in any of these accusations because they've been abused so many times. I really don't. I've seen it so many times, I just yawn anymore. Nobody takes it seriously. The left has done so much to undermine justice for women and to set women back where you have actual, of course, they deny it when it's on their own side, whether it's a Teddy Kennedy and a, what is this, Chris Dodd and their secretary sandwiches, whether it's Bill Clinton, Whether it's Anthony Weiner, I mean, John Edwards, I mean, for crying out loud, they've, you know, they've got a list. I mean, they've got a dude who left a chick in a pond. I mean, just say nothing about the guy who got, how do I say this, close but no cigar under the executive desk. Yeah, but there was a cigar. That's the thing. Gosh dang it, that saying doesn't really work totally. So I don't know. I just, I can't take any of this seriously. I can't take it seriously. So we're just, we'll see. But as far as DeSantis, I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know. I mean, do I think DeSantis is capable? Of course I do. It's just I don't know. I feel like there's like a setup, too. Here's my other. I feel like there are some people who would love to keep the division going, the primary division, which, by the way, nothing pisses me off more than people who have a fetish, who like just discovered politics the day that they were born. And they love driving the divide in the primary. I think those people are suspect. I've never met anyone that does half the work that I do that drives that kind of division like that in a primary. I'm just saying. And I hope I sounded as snotty as I deserve to sound when I said that. And a lot of you out there can say similar. I think there are people out there who love driving division because they get a they believe that there's a scarcity of opportunity. So they got to keep and they don't want anyone else at the table, including other politicians, maybe who've done some good stuff in their state. So they drive this division. And I kind of have a sneaking thought that, you know, maybe it's some of the people in that kind of faction that are trying to set up this fight with Hegseth and DeSantis and run division out even more. It's just a thought. It wouldn't be the first time or the last time it happened. We have a lot to hit because we got some breaking news. We're watching that Daniel Penny trial. That judge is a fiend. We're going to discuss all of that. We got some culture issues. I mean, we're going towards Christmas and it's in a post-election cycle. Half of you are going to be drunk on eggnog by the time the week is over. So let's be real about it. All right. Let's just be real about where we are as friends. You know who we are, what we're doing, where we're at. I'm going to tell you, I thought I was going to have to go sit in a corner and eat my ready wise because I was so like under the weather. a couple of days ago and I was like, I don't want anybody to come in here. I'm just going to sit back here and eat my survival food. I don't know. I've actually eaten it. It's good. I've had some really bad survival food before from other companies where I'm like, well, I guess I'll die because this tastes horrible. ReadyWise, though, they actually bring in people who understand nutrition and who are studying the culinary arts to craft these survival meals, which makes sense, right? Because just because you might be in a sideways situation. Doesn't mean that you have to eat dirt, right? And ReadyWise is always ready, even when you're not. And they're incredibly affordable. They have all kinds of product choices to meet every single budget, like their emergency one month supply, two bucket bundle. They have their three month emergency food supply as well. Again, all designed by their team. of in-house culinary experts, and they make sure that you have the calories that you need, the protein, the good carbs to last you through any kind of situation. 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SPEAKER 05 :
The IRS wants to do your tax returns? The IRS now has a $114 million budget to expand their direct file program. Filing with the IRS is like playing poker with mirrored sunglasses. Don't show your cards. Check out the Watchdog on Wall Street podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 03 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's a good thing that you wouldn't miss it because we're insane and we're watching all of it. So there's a town that got fined because it didn't celebrate Pride Month. And if you're like, wait a minute, was this town in Canadia, Dana? I would say why yes. It was the Maple Seripians up to the north. The Maple Seripians. It was a rural town on the border of Ontario, Minnesota and Canada. It was fined for refusing to celebrate Pride Month in June. Yeah, you got to go out there and like sling the salami or something like that to celebrate. That's what you got to do. You got to actually celebrate. I mean, how do you celebrate Pride Month? You just like physically have the sex in the streets. Like, what do you do? No, you put up rainbow. Shut up. God help me. You cannot have me in elected office. I would be arrested for assault like instantly. They said that the town of Emo, of course, it's called Emo, Emo, Ontario. It violated the Ontario Human Rights Code. The town has a population of 1300 people, 1300 people, 1300 persons. emo did not proclaim june as a pride month and they didn't fly the lgbtq whatever the hell numbers why are there numbers now rainbow flag and in addition to the 10 000 fine the people from emo were ordered to complete mandatory human rights training yeah what does that cost to not celebrate We're coming back to the story. We're coming back to bookmark this because we are not even begun. Also, we had the story earlier. This UnitedHealthcare CEO, this dude was on his way to a conference. This was on Avenue of the Americas. I swear to you, I've stayed at this Hilton. I think I stayed at this Hilton for a book tour. So it's right there. That's what blows the mind. It's right there in the middle of everything. It's across, it's like right by Rockefeller. It's across from where Jimmy Fallon does his show. It's like a few blocks down from Fox. It's right there in Midtown. And yeah, it's Ed Hilton. And he apparently, this guy, 50 years old, shot in the chest. It was 6.46 in the morning. He was arriving for a conference. He's the CEO, so it's like his conference. So he arrived and apparently this guy came up behind him in front of everybody and shot him in the chest. And then he got on one of those e-bikes. And went away. He had on a backpack. And, I mean, he looks like, I don't know, it looks like a professional hit. That's what they were saying. Like, this is like a hit. Like, this was not something that was by chance, like a chance criminal, whatever. So, they said that the Christmas tree lighting and all that stuff is apparently still expected to go on. Just everybody keep your heads on a swivel. Trump is going to visit Paris for the Notre Dame's reopening for his first trip abroad. They're going to be doing different things on different days, and he's attending one of them. So coming up, luxury, cannabis, the town of Vimo, and more. If you're looking for a convenient, affordable way to access medications and treatments you can trust, All Family Pharmacy has you covered. Whether it's the flu or parasites, cancer support, or general well-being, All Family Pharmacy's online service makes getting the medications you need hassle-free. With All Family, it's simple. You can choose the individual medications that best suit your needs or opt for one of their comprehensive treatment packages. designed to give you everything that you need in one convenient order. And every order comes with a doctor's prescription included. Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, or any other effective medications, they have it all. And you can get fast shipping with most order shipping in two to three business days. Medications start as low as $3 per capsule, making it really easy to take charge of your health without breaking the bank. No insurance needed. You can skip the paperwork and get the treatments you need directly. Stock up with their emergency preparedness bundles and access over 200 medications online anytime. Visit allfamilypharma.com slash Dana and use code Dana10 for 10% off of your entire order. That's allfamilypharma.com slash Dana, code Dana10.
SPEAKER 08 :
Brighten up your timely news consumption with a Dana show podcast where every update comes with a little dash of not so serious on YouTube, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 02 :
So we're getting it fixed. We're getting the tech issues fixed. Welcome back. I was really upset that you guys were going to miss my need a bigger boat outfit today. Only for a Jaws fan. Are you going to understand that? So welcome back to the program. We are now all, I mean, we're all working. It's like all here. We're all set. So yeah, I'm in my We Need a Bigger Boat outfit. I actually like this outfit. I think I'm going to start dressing up like a boat captain from like an 80s shark movie from now on.
SPEAKER 03 :
The glasses.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the glasses.
SPEAKER 03 :
But you're like the fit. It's the glasses.
SPEAKER 02 :
You say it's the outfit. There's some new specs. They're a little I'm going to break them in like five seconds because I got I can't I got to have them to see this stuff like up close to me because I've spent my whole life staring at stuff up right up by my face. So anyway, but we're back. Dana Lash with you. You're bemused to curmudgeon and we're going to get you set up with everything. But I also want you everybody to relax, unclench your butt because it's, you know, post-election, right? I know we got the trans whatever thing in SCOTUS. We got the Daniel Penny case. I'm going to get you all that stuff. But we're going to keep you chill as we deliver it. Because you've been through the ringer. I'm recovering from being sick. You've been through the ringer before the election. Let's just do it nice and easy, right? We're going to do it nice and easy. That's how we're going to do it. So welcome back. We're over at Substack. You can find us there. You can find us at X. You can also find us at Rumble everywhere else. We get to chat at Rumble. I guess they're all back in it now. Lorraine's like, oh, what's up? Like, oh, hell broke loose. That's what's up. So we've been talking about these cabinet picks recently. things of that nature. And I got to tell you, and I kept thinking about this, and I'm trying to figure out, I got a piece coming out for you on Pam Bondi. I got another piece that I'm working on. Where's the other draft that I was working on? I had like a couple of drafts that I was working on. One of them was in a cold medicine haze. I'm not going to lie. So we don't know what that was going to be like. Good luck with that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The other pick that Trump made, he took himself out of contention last night. I don't know if y'all saw this. The lockdown sheriff, that Chad Chronister, He he's now out of the running. He's he's not going to be he's not going to be running in running for this anymore. He's he's saying that he's doesn't want to be considered for head of the DEA. Right. You guys know what DEA stands for, right? It's the Drug Edible Agency Enforcement Agency. Elephants. The drug elephant ass. I don't know. It's like one of those. I'm not Pig Bird. Don't expect me to be like Aldora the Explorer PBS here with your kids. Not going to happen. So he stepped down. Like I said, I thought it was a bad pick no matter what. Do you know, can I just tell you, and I'm not going to spend a ton of time on Chronister because I'm glad that he pulled himself out of contention. Do you know all the stuff that this guy did? So we focused really yesterday only on the fact that he was arresting pastors because they were having their church services. And, you know, worshiping the Lord is reckless and stuff like y'all could be killing people by loving Jesus. Right. I mean, that was kind of like the prevailing thought in Hillsborough County where science didn't exist in 2020. That was the county in Florida where science didn't exist. Natural immunity wasn't a thing. I bet they still like threw virgins and volcanoes and bled everybody with leachate. I'm just saying. So anyway, that wasn't the only thing that he did. So they deleted their crowing about the arrest of that pastor. They deleted it from their website. Do you know that this dude was also a major trans advocate? Yeah, big time. He also apparently donated to Barack Obama. Like a pretty sizable chunk of money. He expanded his office's DEI programs. He did all of that. He based hiring and promotion on DEI. And they also promoted the transgender participation in the Tampa Pride event. And they created a literal liaison office for transgender activists. That's what this guy did. Wow. And then he also fought against ICE. He would not collaborate with ICE per reports. So he considered himself a Democratic Republican. Do you know what a Democratic Republican is? Nothing. It's amazing. It's like when someone says I'm a Democratic socialist. You know what that means? A socialist. Imagine putting glitter on a turd. That's it. That's it. The Democratic part is the glitter. Same thing. So he did the drag queen shows while he was sheriff's office, all that. He would not collaborate with ICE and work with them on detaining and deporting illegal aliens. I mean, I've got news articles and I've linked all the receipts for you over at Substack. You've got receipts for days. You got them all up there. He also was a big red flag backer as well. He worked with Rick Scott on that when Rick Scott was governor and passed it. So this guy is really problematic. By the way, you know how I was talking about how the Hillsborough County there in Florida, they were pretty much like science didn't exist there. Kane, how long do you think they had these regulations in place? Oh, boy. About the lockdown stuff. How long do you think those regulations were in place?
SPEAKER 03 :
Probably just temporary. They said two weeks to slow the spread.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, they said two weeks to slow the spread, did they?
SPEAKER 03 :
So probably maybe three weeks. They said that, huh? So another week. So three weeks?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, sure, if it means two years.
SPEAKER 03 :
The hell?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for real. The first local emergency that they did in Hillsborough County. This is one of the counties that DeSantis had to wrestle with. Which, by the way, I would be like, you know what, blank this. And I would just be going in, kicking desks over, ripping out light fixtures. I'd be done. I'd be like messing stuff up. Sitting there defying the state order. Because he had said, you're not going to lock down anymore. Knock it off. And Hillsborough County is like, but we love hating science. And they wanted to stay locked down. Two years, dude. Two years. Two years. Wow. Two years. Yeah. And that's, they're not, I guess they're not big science folks.
SPEAKER 03 :
So local businesses and citizens had to suffer for two years.
SPEAKER 02 :
Two years. That's wild.
SPEAKER 03 :
For a seasonal virus.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. I mean, I told y'all if you're not, if you're just joining me, so I just to let you guys know, I mean, I'm not, I'm apparently pat. I like, I give her a test. I'm apparently a past the, the contagiousness part, but they told me I had COVID. They did a sneaky swab on me. You know how they did it. I went in. Cause I, cause one of my kids had a throat infection. I was like, I'm pretty sure I'm getting the same thing. Just go ahead. I'm like, this is what I need. Give me a, give me 500 milligrams of azithromycin. You know, I can do too. I was like telling him, I'm like, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job. I'm going to tell you how to do it. I'm like, I'm basically a doctor. So I'm telling him all this. And they're real cool because the doctor's looking at me like, that's great. That's great that you're thinking that. That's not what I'm doing. But, you know, Augmentin is where we're going. And also, let's just do a quick swab. And when they said, do you want to do the swabs? I said, yeah. And I didn't stop to think. And then they swabbed the throat and then legit right after me. And that woman had one of them long Q-tips up my nose. I'm like, I did not consent, but okay. And then they came back and they said, oh, you got the COVID. Well, they didn't say it like that. I say it for some reason. I got to put the in front of stuff. It's an Ozark thing like the COVID. I don't know. And I said, blank that. You go run it back. Right. That's what I said. Like that's we're not doing this. But there and I told the dude I was and I and I as I mentioned this to you yesterday, just touching on this Hillsborough County thing. And how they're trying to get everybody to wear masks and all this stuff now going into the holiday season. I said, it's a cold. I get it. I said, I'm not stupid. But you realize that this has a stigma compared to like regular colds, right? And he's like, I get it. I get it. He's like, it's not even remotely the same. He's like, your symptoms is the worst it's going to get. It's like three days, five days tops, you're done. He's like, you know, and says like the contagiousness period was over, et cetera, et cetera. Because I already had somebody who emailed me yesterday. It was like, you're putting people's lives in danger. And I was like, I'm going to put your life in danger if you send me one more stupid email. That's what's going to happen to you. I'm on Augmentin and I'm a breathable steroid. Don't mess with me. It's a mom. So anyway, they did this for two years. And after the Rona went through all of the What do you want to like the changes and all that stuff and became pretty much nothing but the sniffles. And they still had the stupid stuff in place. So some of the dumbest stuff I've ever heard. So I'm glad this guy took himself out of the running. I'm glad for it. But this party, I'm telling you. With. as we're dealing with our cabinet nominees, I think it makes it even more important to have nominees that don't just look the part and don't just fit a narrative, but actually will put on steel-toed boots and go in there and get it done. Imagine if all the people who came to vote the way they did this last election watched all of the stuff that they voted for actually come to fruition in D.C. So, The generational change hasn't actually totally happened yet. That's going to happen with action in D.C. So if he gets really good people in there that can actually get the job done, then you're going to cement a generational change and shift in the parties. But I'm warning you, if you do not. If he picks weak nominees. If he picks people that are more interested in clout chasing and getting a Fox contributor deal and a book deal with Regnery or something after all this, if he doesn't have people in these positions that are going to deliver, you are going to build resentment in these new voters unlike anything you've ever seen. They're going to feel like they were had and you're not going to get them back. So you got to be real careful with this stuff. That's one of the reasons why I'm so hardcore on these nominees. And it doesn't matter to me who's in the office. It doesn't matter if I like people or not. I actually and I can say I personally know the president of the United States and I have for over a decade. I know his whole family. I just don't crow about it. And I don't like put photos out everywhere because I'm not a kisser. I've never been. And he's always been very kind. And I don't agree with him on everything, but he's always been very kind. That said, I don't care who's in the office, and you can't either. You can't afford to be so invested in who's in the office that you will not say, wait a minute, this isn't what I voted for. You have to be willing to say that, not just for your own benefit, but for the success of the administration, too. Think about the damage you could do to the left by cementing this generational change, by delivering on all of these campaign issues. Holy cow. They're not the party of the working class anymore. Now think about it. You grew up, I grew up hearing that. Like the Democrats were the working class party, right? Can you say that anymore? When I say Democrat to you, when I say, oh, who's the typical Democrat voter? Who do you think of? Honestly, stop yourself for a moment. I know it flashed in your head. You think of the humanities college professor, right? That wears Birkenstocks and drives an old Volvo. I swear to you, you did. You that popped into your head. You did not think of nobody even thinks of union workers first anymore. You think of the freaks. You don't think of like the regular average everyday people. You think of the freaks first. That's who you think of. You think of the pink haired jiggly poops that are out there screaming about, you know, their abortions and all that. That's who you think of when you when I say Democrat. That party's branding now. They are so far removed from what we grew up knowing them as. It's wild. How do you get that back? You can't unless you pretty much abandon your original entity. Republicans are now the working class. Not only are they the working class party, but they... How do I say this? And this is another thing I'm working out in a piece. Does it seem like they got a glow up? Democrats, the relationship that they had with the working class was almost one of tolerance. Whereas the way that it's approached, discussed and marketed by the right, it is almost it's like reverence. Right. Think about the dirty jobs, the micro stuff. And then when you hear them, when you hear people on the right, not even hardcore Republicans, just people like. who for practical reasons and common sense reasons, they tended to vote Republican. Think about how they view and talk about working class. And then when you hear people like Jerry Nadler talk about, well, we got to have somebody pick our fruit and all this stuff. They it's almost like they don't bestow upon the practice of work the full dignity it deserves on the left. And I've noticed that there has been a huge shift in the in the in the. perspective of work it is celebrated it is given dignity on the right and it's it's cool whereas the left treated it like european nobles oh my gosh you have to work that's so dirty you're supposed to be part of the leisure class and live off of uh your rent from your from your land and our feudalism that's how they viewed it It's way different. There's a huge psychological change here that all plays into this. I'm telling you, you made good on these promises. Man, Democrats won't. You will not see Democrats with major wins like that in our lifetime. Again, you won't. So that's why it's important to make sure that these picks are good. Preborn is a great organization and they help women who are facing a difficult time. situation. Maybe it's an unplanned pregnancy. Well, it's an unplanned pregnancy. That's the 99.9% are as a result of sexual recreation. And what preborn does, though, is they they meet these women where they are, and they offer them free ultrasound so that they can go and hear their baby's heartbeat and see what you know, just kind of get an idea what their babies looks like. And when that happens, a baby's chance at life doubles. This has actually been studied. But they can't do this without you. And this is what Preborn does. 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Get the lowdown on the latest news with a side of laughs whenever you want. Subscribe to the Dana Show podcast on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 03 :
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the United States.
SPEAKER 10 :
Questions? Yes.
SPEAKER 11 :
Do you agree with some of your Democrat colleagues to see that President Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong or unwise? It's personal interest ahead of duty.
SPEAKER 10 :
I got nothing for you on that.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't got nothing for you on that. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
He was asked like several different ways and his answer was the same. I got nothing for you on that.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's like one of my favorite things that reporters do when they, especially if it's like Peter Doocy doing it, because it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. They'll be like, yeah, so tell us, why is the president not going to be here today? It's like random question. Why is he not going to be here today? Oh, well, you know, he's doing some things and makes him. So why is it that he is not physically present? Walking around here hanging out? Well, Peter, because like a million different ways. I do like it. It is kind of funny. So I saw a thing. Josh Hawley was saying that his meeting with Pete Hegseth was canceled. It's a CNN reporter who said it, but it wasn't one of the bad CNN reporters. Right. He's kind of middle of the road. So just going to put that out there. I thought that was an interesting marker. That's one of the things that we're going to watch here coming up. Because I feel like if there's going to be something that happens, if there's going to be a change or something, that it would happen. I think today is kind of, you know, what I'm getting out of it. But we'll see. There's also, I think Trump also picked, what, a pro-crypto guy, Paul Atkins, to replace Gary Gensler's SEC chair. So that kind of gets into the weeds a little bit. But yeah. Some movement happening. We have our second hour on the way. The latest with the Supreme Court case, the arguments over trans issues. Stick with us. It's our friends over at Caltech, the P15. It stands for 15 pews. Standard capacity. That might be a little bit more for the people who have weak arm muscles. I don't know. But Caltech is a great company, a Florida-based company. And they have a lifetime warranty on everything that they do. They are the inventors of the microcompact pistol category. They have two versions, metal frame polymer as well. Metal frame has a gorgeous walnut wood panels, textured grips. You get the polymer gator grip for a true classic look and feel. Just they're great pistols. They come with two magazines. One is the standard 15 round, minimal pinky extension. The other more concealable even. Flesh fit double stack mag that holds 12. It's the lightest, thinnest double stack 9mm on the market. I mean, it's just, you know, there's no bones about it. Quality made right here in the U.S. of A. Innovation, performance, and Kel-Tec. Only at Kel-Tec. Learn more at keltecweapons.com. Ask about the P-15. Again, you've got the metal frame and the polymer version. You're going to like it. It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned pro or you're just looking for another EDC. It's the P-15 at Kel-Tec. Kel-TecWeapons.com. That's K-E-L-T-E-C-Weapons.com. Tell them Dana sent you. Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash with you. We're at the top of the second hour. on this beautiful December Wednesday. And of course, you can follow along over at Substack, chapter and verse. You can find us at Rumble where the chat happens. You can also find us on X, etc. I'm still under the weather. I'm recovering. So if I'm like sniffly or whatever, just go along with it. I have nowhere else to go. It's me and you right here. No prompter, no nothing for three hours. Actually now two because we went through one. So kind of scares Cain sometimes. We've been talking about a lot of the cabinet picks, which we're going to get back to, but they're having right now, Supreme Court, these arguments. The Supreme Court's hearing these arguments on trans issues. It's already gone up this much. It's already already made it up to SCOTUS. And I mean, I've just been kind of looking at some of the Some of the arguments that they've been... Because right now it's just you're hearing oral arguments and that's pretty much kind of it. They are... It's this challenge to the state of Tennessee, their ban on treatments for transgender youth. I'm trying to get the correct... It's about the trans treatments, trying to get the correct statements out. And the thing is, is that the... The divide, at least initially, and again, you can only get what court reporters publish because you're not, you know, you don't have cameras in there. But it seems to hinge on how the more conservative members of the court do not believe that denying someone or telling a child that they cannot get this irreversible surgery, etc., that they don't believe it's a form of sex discrimination, whereas the more progressive justices on the court do. So we will see where this goes and how these arguments end up playing out because that's something that SCOTUS, they're weighing this. They're weighing these treatments and the youth and all of that right now. Of course, we're also watching the Biden administration whittle down to nothing. As they get ready for this January transfer of power, we were talking about some of the cabinet selections from POTUS. There was this thing going around where they're suggesting that Pete Hegseth—and I've been hearing this rumor from some pretty well-placed folks— I don't know if I necessarily believe it or not. And I don't know what I think of it. Having Hegseth be the Trump administration considering swapping him out with DeSantis. Now, I'm of a couple of different minds on it. I don't know if I like it. And I actually like DeSantis. I think DeSantis is a more steady hand with executive leadership, obviously, than Hegseth. Not to say that Hegs doesn't have his own qualities, but in terms of leadership and running things at this executive level, my gosh, it's seen us all day long. But why for this? Right. Why? Why now? It's kind of weird. I don't know what I'm always suspicious of everybody and everything. So I don't know if this is people that are continuing the primary division and they're trying to get people angry at DeSantis over something. Or maybe the people in the Trump camp are trying to set him up. I don't know. I have no idea. Maybe he doesn't even want it. Who? I don't know. But it just seems weird. I think maybe let the Hegseth stuff play out. He says he's not going to step down. They're going to shred him in confirmation hearings, just like they do with anybody. But they're going to really shred him because it's a DOD. And they were using this example of his mom sending him an email, which I think is crappy to do, by the way. His mom sent him an email reading him the riot act because of the way he treated a girl. And they tried to use that in the court of public opinion against him. I think that when you have to go and use people's family and you try to point them against each other, that is so lame. And that speaks more volumes about the people using such a tactic than the people against which they are using the tactic. That's lame to try to pit families against each other. I mean, if you can't make your argument against his confirmation or nomination better than that, then STFU, sit down, do the world a favor. Do not pollute general discourse with your fecal opinion. Nobody needs to hear it. Nobody wants to hear it. I get so aggravated over this stuff. Even if I dislike the person that they're doing it to, I get mad because it's just such a lame tactic to use. Oh, his mom sent him an email. What mom has not dressed down her son at one point in his life? One mom has not dressed down her son at one point in his life. That's like a thing, right? It's like what mom hasn't had it out with her teenage daughter. Same thing. Stop it. This is so dumb to try to say, well, look at this, his own mom. You're misrepresenting it. You're making it personal. And you lost the argument at that point. I don't know. But we'll see. But I saw that it was apparently CNN was saying that Josh Hawley told them that his meeting with Hegseth tomorrow had been canceled, but he didn't know why. It would have been Hawley that canceled it. That would have been somebody else. So I don't know. There are a lot of people that are getting picked from Florida, which shows you the significance of Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, Trump's chief of staff, her influence in his orbit, because she's going with what she knows. And so she's picking tons of people from Florida because she came up in Florida. So that's kind of interesting. But the Hegseth thing, I don't know. We'll wait and see. But he would have to go through the confirmation process. And I can't imagine. I just think this is why if there's any hesitation about somebody getting through the process because of things that they did. And I'm not saying this about Hegseth. More really along the lines of Gates. Because of something they did and not something that's reflective upon you. I just maybe think that you should make a better pick. But as far as Hexeth goes, this seems to be again, it seems like even if it's true, I don't believe it because I've been duped by the left. They try to do not. I haven't. But they've lied to you a million times. They've lied to me a million times. They try to me, too. They've tried to all of that stuff. And after the way that they went on about Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings, none of us are ever. That was a that was a transformational moment for a lot of people in politics. For some, it was the Clarence Thomas 2.0 moment. A lot of people, particularly young men back in, what, the 80s, were really not radicalized, but they had their suspicions confirmed after they saw the way that the left, led by Joe Biden at the time, in the Senate, by the way. He was one of the biggest jerks about it. The way that they went after Clarence Thomas and they tried to discredit him, it was pretty wild. So this is, you know, we'll see, you know, how this goes. But, you know, the Kavanaugh thing was pretty transformational. And I don't think that the left wants to set itself up with another similar situation where the guy is wholly vindicated because they are so nuts. But we'll see. But the DeSantis thing, it looks like there might be some chess at work here. And I don't know. I just I'm of a lot of thoughts about it. So we'll see. So some of the other things, too, I want to make sure that we're touching on. We've got, like I said, the SCOTUS, they're looking at the ban on the sex reassignment stuff. That was a Tennessee law for that. I want to come back to the story. We just had a briefly in headlines. And thankfully, this is Canada and not the United States. But the headline is the town was fined because they refused to celebrate Pride Month. It's a town of 1300 people. So it's a small town, the town. Interestingly enough, it is named Emo. It's in Ontario. And they violated the Ontario Human Rights Code that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario established. And they said that their great offense. I mean, when you think that somebody violated just pause for a minute. When you hear that somebody violated like some kind of human rights code, you think, wow. That sounds pretty serious, right? I mean, human rights? Super serious. What did they do? Oh, it says here that they, in the month of June, did not proclaim that month Pride Month. I'm sorry, what? Oh, and they also were cited because they did not, they had failure to fly an LGBTQ2 whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, rainbow flag. It's a $10,000 fine, excuse me, and all of the officials in EMO are required to complete mandatory human rights training. See. Yeah, Cain, what's your question?
SPEAKER 03 :
Who do they pay it to? Like the fine? I don't know, the gays?
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't know. The article doesn't actually say.
SPEAKER 03 :
The city has to pay the city? Like, what?
SPEAKER 02 :
They got a fine. Ontario, maybe? Like the province of Ontario?
SPEAKER 03 :
So they chose not to celebrate.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it's not that they didn't celebrate. They just were like, we're not going to put up these tacky flags. Right. Because they are tacky.
SPEAKER 03 :
But they didn't celebrate to the standard of whoever's criticizing them.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I mean, if your question is, did they have a parade and fly the flags and send everyone out in leather dominatrix gear with ball gags, like the gimp from Pulp Fiction, to go out and have like a full-on, you know... painting pictures a street festival of sexcapades then you're correct they did not do that there were no street sexcapades celebrating pride over how you choose to do it behind closed doors and that costs money I mean, where's the, like, you can have pride. Pride is a sin, by the way. So I think it's ironic that they're being fined for not celebrating literal sin, which is pride. But whatever. But why is that a thing? Like, why do you got, oh, if you didn't fly the flag, you didn't affirm how someone has to sex. It's Canada, so they're not going to fight it. They're going to probably apologize and offer some maple syrup. I don't know. The maple leaf people up there. Oh, hey, we're so sorry. We forgot to fly the flag.
SPEAKER 03 :
But are they paying the federal government? Are they paying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I don't know. It's probably Ontario. It's probably I don't know. It's the Ontario people. I don't know. I don't know who these people are. The Canadians up there. They issue fines because somebody didn't fly. The town was asked to fly the alphabet rainbow flag for a week of your choosing.
SPEAKER 03 :
I choose no weeks. There's my choosing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Yeah, you didn't say I had to choose a week. So the language part is on you, Slick.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think there's some legal wiggle room here.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, where are the straight people flags at? Right. Where's that at? What do we get?
SPEAKER 03 :
It's just the Canadian flag.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, I just don't think that you're going to be appropriating the rainbow, first off. That's appropriation, and I was told that was wrong. So you're appropriating the rainbow from the Christians. So let's stop there. Let's stop. That's taken from Noah's time. So come up with your own thing. We got to have a straight person's flag then. And then do you get like the straight person two, four spirit, whatever? Or what about the straight person flag? And then don't you get like an extra buff that goes along with it? Like spaghetti and meatballs, the straight person or this straight person can successfully eat edamame if it's three beans in without having to take two bites. Like how particular does it get?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm a medium rare steak flag.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, like the well-done people? Out. Get out. You can't live in America. I don't care if you were born and raised here six generations. We'll deport you somewhere.
SPEAKER 03 :
Don't bring that well-done flag over here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, no well-done nothing. Well-done is only for jobs, not meat. So, I don't know. Oh, so they said that there's a group called the Borderland Pride Group. Which sounds like a bunch of terrorist twinks. I'm going to be honest with you. So I just love it. They're very upset. They said in a single 12-month period, they did not see a single week where the flag was flown. They said that Emo ignored their repeated requests, so they got mad about it. And they said that they need to take Human Rights 101. I think I'm going to lead a human rights course. I'm going to offer it on the Internet. I'm going to offer a human rights course. So if someone offends you, you punch them. Joking. I just this stuff is so dumb. And then I get mad because I'm like, why didn't I get into this? I would love to just fleece the left. Right. I could I could make it up and make up a company. Right. Go in there and I'm going to offer you human rights courses. Now, here's the just make it ridiculous. And they'll go along with it because they're the left. They're too terrified to be seen as going against the grain. The desire to be so homogenous has killed any desire for individuality at all. So they are terrified. They're terrified to poke a head up. No, they got to go with it. So I feel like that would, you know, no one would ask anything, Cain, because then I could be like, are you assuming all of these things about me? What? And then, oh, no, they don't want to be offended. And then we could also form an ancillary like Human Rights Council that we can cite people and then just pay ourselves. Yeah. from the fines.
SPEAKER 03 :
It sounds like you're trying to make government bigger.
SPEAKER 02 :
It sounds like I just came up with a damn great job and that's what it sounds like. Look, I'm a capitalist. If I can make money off of somebody's stupidity like that on the left, I'm all for it. High fives. High five and all the angels. If your approach to everyday aches and pains is to mask them, you know, Feel better for a few hours or only have the pain return and then repeat the cycle all over again. It's time to try Relief Factor. And the good news is that Relief Factor makes that easy. Their three-week quick start is just $19.95, less than a dollar a day. Instead of masking pain, Relief Factor helps eliminate it. It's a unique formula of ingredients that helps support your body's response to inflammation. And Relief Factor was developed by doctors. It's 100% drug-free. And for so many people, the results are game-changing, even life-changing. Chris, my husband raves about Relief Factor. So whether you're a cyclist, a hiker, you know, an athlete from your college days or high school, maybe you're just active now. Relief Factor supports inflammation reduction and joint health. Try it today. Visit relieffactor.com or call 1-800-4-RELIEF. That's 1-800-4-RELIEF. See in how just a few weeks or even days Relief Factor can reduce your pain and then you feel better and then life is just better. So don't mask pain. Fight it naturally with Relief Factor.
SPEAKER 03 :
And now, all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
So the house where JonBenet Ramsey was murdered still can't sell after 16 years on and off the market. It's a creepy little gingerbread-looking house. They said that it's the sprawling Tudor mansion, and it's become a real estate pariah. And, I mean, it's $6.9 million. And they dropped it by almost $1 million seven months later, and still nobody was coming to buy it. And they keep having to... they keep having to take it off the market i mean yeah that's kind of they found remember they found her body and went in the basement a rarely used room down in the basement so i don't know it's just i wouldn't i don't think i'd want right i don't think i'd want to no um a man's male copulatory organ was completely ruined after a doctor gave him an unnecessary injection for erectile dysfunction. He's now going to get over $400,000 for his trouble. No, $412,000. Sorry. Yes, that's right. $412 million for his trouble. Is it worth it? $412 million. Yes, you're correct. Is that really worth the cost? Is it, though? Who's paying that money? The hospital? Yeah. That's a lot. Stick with us. We've got more in store. It's the folks over, it's new to the program, Burn a Gun. That's the non-firearm firearm. And Burn a Gun is a good option to have to diversify what you use for self-defense. And it's ideal for environments where guns are banned. I mean, think about it. I mean, there's, I would love to, I always tell people to carry, I have no problem using lethal force, but At the same time, because of the nature of my work, I sometimes have to go to places where I'm not allowed to by the property or the municipality to carry there. But, you know, I can have my burn a gun, my non-firearm firearm. No waiting periods, no background checks. It's legal in all 50 states and it shoots chemical irritant projectiles that can disable threats. from up to 50 feet away and it has a five round capacity and that's when you compare that to stun guns where you got one or two shots you have a lot more options for self-defense it's quick deployment easy target acquisition no recoil and so if you're prevented from carrying always have some kind of option as a backup and this is where burn a gun comes in legal in all 50 states and it's an effective deterrent. Check it out online, byrna.com slash Dana, where you'll get 10% off your purchase. That's byrna.com slash Dana for 10% off.
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SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash here with you at the bottom of this second hour. And the Supreme Court looks like they're leaning towards upholding those restrictions that the state of Tennessee has as it pertains to. the trans surgeries and things. I'm not calling it gender-affirming care because it's a stupid, made-up phrase that is used by people to mislead others on the true issue at being debated. So I don't know. It just looks... Looks like that's the way that they're leaning, according to a lot of the court reporters and people that watch SCOTUS. And in addition, I guess they asked Hegseth once again whether or not he's going to or he would withdraw from SecDef consideration, and he said no. So, interesting. That's why I'm just sitting back watching all these people talk and... You know, just a little interesting, just a little odd, just saying, just watching all the rumors come out about this. But the Supreme Court, though, that's good news, indeed, that at least is where they're leaning. I mean, the idea that you're going to sterilize someone, especially if they're minors, before they've even fully matured, before their brains have even fully developed, that you are going to sterilize them. make them live in a way that requires medication for life and call that quote unquote gender affirming care is one of the most evil things I can think of. It's truly evil. And that's what's, that's what's being done. So I just, you know, That's what they've been in Tennessee, wanted to pass restrictions against it. And that's what they're fighting about right now. That's what they're hearing these arguments for in Supreme Court right now as it pertains to Tennessee. And I mean, I don't know how you can have people like Ketanji Brown Jackson be on the court and adjudicate this. Because she can't even define what a woman is. And if you're not able to define what a woman is, how are you able to then present a decision on this issue? This is where the ideology meets practicality. How do you then determine that you're going to adjudicate an issue and you can't even define the terms involved in it? You see how dumb this is? Like, sorry, ma'am, but you can't define what a woman is. How are you, I'm just going to say, how are you going to, how are you going to do this? So a few other things. The, I mentioned Hegs, that's just a bit ago. There's a piece that came up on NBC. And they're, they tried to hit him with an email with his mom. Now they're saying that 10 current and former Fox employees say that he drank in ways that concerned his coworkers. Other people said it was false. They said that there were a dozen occasions during his time when he co-hosted Fox and Friends Weekend, which people would smell alcohol on him before he went on air. And they would say that he'd talk about being hungover as he was getting ready on set, etc. How old is he? He's like 40-something years old. I don't know. And also, yeah, I don't believe any of these people. I don't believe any of these people. They said that he was intoxicated acting in his official capacity report while he was president of Concerned Veterans from America to the point of needing to be carried out of organizations events. And this was what the New Yorker wrote. If you want to believe the New Yorker, the New Yorker is pretty left leaning. And so if you're a left leaning entity and you're trying to dig up dirt on somebody, who are you going to talk to? Are you going to talk to conservative people? Are you going to talk to left leaning people? It's like a game of confirmation bias. So that's who they were. They were in this. And then in addition to this, they're also they're trying to argue about his drinking. They also had this thing that said this is a concern veterans for America where they said that he they're denying this is the trustee of the group. was denied in 2016 that the current defense secretary designee was forced out of the position to do drinking and other misconduct, directly contradicting whistleblowers who spoke with the New Yorker. So this is one of the reporters in the New York Post. So this trustee, Randy Lair, who is a trustee for Concerned Veterans for America, said that, in this, talked about his departure in this letter. And they said that they normally don't respond to this type of stuff, but they felt that it was important to do so. It was a very personal attack. They said he resigned his position as a result of difference of opinion to the future of the organization. This is from the letter. So that he could focus on other endeavors, including his relationship with Fox. He was not terminated. They said that they work with him through this decision. They agreed that it was the best timing for both parties, etc. So this absolutely contradicts the New Yorker piece. That contradicts that piece. So far, it just doesn't seem as though the detractors have a lot. Am I right? So I'm just curious as to why there's all of this effort to these rumors about the DeSantis factor stepping in. Because so far it doesn't look, Trump hasn't said anything about Hegseth. I mean, it seems like they've emptied everything at him at this point, right? I mean, what else is there? Did he run over kittens or something? Like, what else? What else do we have? Did he put onions in his macaroni and cheese? Did he put nuts and cookies? Like, what else? Like, tell me. Because those right there, disqualifying. Yeah. First of all, nuts don't belong in cookies. They don't belong in chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. That's for chocolate chips. If you want nut cookies, make your trash nut cookies and keep them out of the chocolate chip cookies. I don't want it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oatmeal raisin, though, is way better.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's disgusting. What? I think they're nasty. Oatmeal raisin cookies are punishment. You know why? It's crappy breakfast and here's some dried grapes. Why do you... I didn't do that.
SPEAKER 03 :
I like chocolate chip a lot, but I just happen to like oatmeal raisin a little bit better.
SPEAKER 02 :
Why?
SPEAKER 03 :
Why do you have to completely hate oatmeal raisin?
SPEAKER 02 :
Because I do. Because it's nasty. It's like the nastiest dessert ever conceived. I'm insulted. If someone's like, here's some oatmeal raisin. No thanks. I'm not going to eat them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Just imagine it from my perspective. You like candy corn. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. So. Yeah. But when it comes to cookies.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because candy corn doesn't look like boogers. Raisins do. And I don't want it in my oatmeal cookies. The end. Not going to lie. Let's move on. We've established this, why it's nasty, right? Okay. All right. Because it's gross. Okay. That's the important thing. So, like, if he liked oatmeal raisin cookies, sorry, but I can't support it. He resigned from his difference of opinion because he likes trash cookies is why. Immediately disqualified. It's got to tell you. Immediately. Is that fair? It's totally fair in my world. I can't. Yeah. I will never trust anybody that likes an oatmeal raisin cookie more than a chocolate chip cookie. What? I can't do it. But it means. No.
SPEAKER 07 :
It means.
SPEAKER 02 :
No. You better reevaluate your life's choices, Cain. No. What is the matter with you? Why do you hate America?
SPEAKER 03 :
I like oatmeal raisin cookies. What's wrong with that? It's not that I hate. It's like if I say I like waffles and you're like, well, I ate pancakes for it.
SPEAKER 02 :
The sentence was specifically like them more than chocolate chip cookies.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I do like them.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, now we're back to the original spot. What? That's the point. No, you can't be sucked up. Sorry.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't want to be sick, Def.
SPEAKER 02 :
Pull in your nomination now.
SPEAKER 03 :
If there was a plate of cookies on the left that were chocolate chip, cookies on the right were oatmeal raisin, I would first go to the oatmeal raisin one. And you're saying you'd throw the oatmeal raisin ones on the floor is what you'd say.
SPEAKER 02 :
Throw them on the floor. Okay. And anyone who tried eating them, throw them on the floor too.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because I'm a live and let live kind of guy.
SPEAKER 02 :
There you go. Yeah. So I got to share with you, this is the solicitor general that's arguing the trains case before SCOTUS. You want to hear this? This is apparently what she wrote in a brief submitted to the court. Quote. Oh, come here. An adolescent assigned female at birth cannot receive puberty blockers or testosterone to live and present as a male, but an adolescent assigned male at birth can, and vice versa. An adolescent assigned male at birth cannot receive puberty blockers or estrogen to live and present as a female, but an adolescent assigned female at birth can. That is sex discrimination. First off, the Solicitor General's Elizabeth Prelogar. Who assigns them the sex? A signed female. It's not a sign. Like there's a giant pre-earth waiting room where angels walk around and be like, that one's a girl. Let's assign male to that one. That one is. And then they get their genitals upon entering into the world.
SPEAKER 03 :
But no one's assigning anything.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, she very clearly believes that there is assignments that go out.
SPEAKER 03 :
And she is believing something incorrect because it's just people observing. It's just nobody's assigning anything. You're observing. Well, the Lord assigned it. Well, yeah. But no one here on Earth is assigning it. We're just observing and then noting it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's it.
SPEAKER 02 :
I hate the language of this stuff. I mean, this is the dumbest thing ever. There are... Excuse me. She's arguing... that there are certain drugs and things that are available only to men or certain drugs and things available only to women because one drug can hurt men, another drug can hurt women, and that that's somehow sex discrimination. We don't make the laws of reality, you dumb broad. This is just the way of the world. There's going to be stuff that men can take that women can't take. There's going to be stuff that women can take that men can't take. Oh my gosh. I feel like we're dealing with some of the stupidest people on God's green earth. You have to explain it like this to these people. And so elementary a term, this is so stupid. I mean, that's like saying, well, why can't I, a man get a hysterectomy? Well, I don't know. Take it up with the Lord. Don't know why you can't. Well, Why can't I get a prostate check? Take it up with the Lord. Good night. Nothing was assigned. Like you just have like a Barbie mound area and then you don't get genitals until you're in the world. Or you don't get your chromosomes until you're in the world. It's just so goofy. These people, this is anti-science. It really is. You have to be anti-science to argue the stuff that they're arguing before SCOTUS. You absolutely have to be. As we move, our partners over at Hillsdale College are doing their job educating the dumb people of America. I mean, you know, I'm talking about the people who think that they're liberal. I had a friend whose kid went to Hillsdale, just found this out, and they were kind of liberal, right? Grew up in a conservative household. This kid goes to Hillsdale, actually is educated, comes back smarter than the parents ever thought the kid could be. I say kid, they were like 19 years old, but you know what I mean? And they were actually employing critical thinking. And the parents were like, they're saying it's their Christmas miracle this year. All I'm saying is that Hillsdale actually focuses on academic excellence, which is weird to say because you think that most colleges would do it. But apparently Hillsdale is a diamond in the rough and they have the type of education that is required to protect students. The values of liberty. So this is what's important. They go about it the founders way. The founders understood classical education is incredibly important because you have to be educated in order to preserve your rights and to fight for your rights. And that's what Hillsdale teaches. It's part of their mission since their founding in 1844. And they don't you don't have to just go to their campus in Michigan. They have all kinds of free resources for you online. where they have educational podcasts. They have their free speech digest and premise. They have all kinds of stuff. You can check out everything that they have to offer and learn more about Hillsdale at Dana for Hillsdale.com. Take some time, learn what makes them so special and learn why so many people are so satisfied with the education that they're receiving at Hillsdale college. Dana for F O R Hillsdale.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's his life mission to make bad decisions. It's time for Florida Man.
SPEAKER 02 :
A Florida man trying to buy crack on Craigslist was arrested when an undercover deputy answered the ad. Holmes County Sheriff's Office. Their investigators responded to the ad, posed as a seller, set up a meeting with the individual who had been identified as Anthony Mata. Deputies say that Mata negotiated to buy an eight ball of meth for 80 bucks. After finalizing the deal, the investigator met him at the agreed upon location. They exchanged money. Deputies moved in. yeah they on craigslist it just seems that seems so sketchy that's so sketchy and meth is bad and these guys look like they're in an old-timey movie i'm just saying just uh let's see uh i i can't read the dog story oh my gosh This guy, a Daytona Beach man, Douglas Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y. Douglas Matney, M-A-T-N-E-Y. He looks exactly like a doucher looks. 21 years old. Charged with felony animal cruelty. He's out of the Volusia County Branch Jail and $5,000 bond. He apparently shot a two-year-old black pit bull mix named Zola. And he shot the dog in the right cheek because the dog was aggressive during bath time. And they found the 55-pound dog with a bullet wound to his cheek. And it stopped in his abdomen. And he did not get medical attention for the pet. And the police said that the dog apparently had non-functional back legs and was uncontrollably urinating on itself. It was been a lot of pain in this guy. I want this. I want to scalp this dude. I just, that's my own personal free speech opinion. I am not, you guys know what I think. Give me five, oh my gosh, give me 60 seconds, please, for the love of all things holy, in a locker room with this dude.
SPEAKER 03 :
How's he out on $5,000, Bob? That was my thing.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, that's I know exactly. That's just, you know, this guy's. So, yeah, I hope he gets it. It'd be great if he had some prison time and if some prison justice befell him. I'm not saying that money would magically be deposited in the commissary of anybody who was maybe a part of it. But, you know, I'm maybe might be saying that. I don't know. I'm pretty mayor of Kingstown about some of this stuff. So I don't know. Anyway, so that, oh, I need a happy story now because that just makes me, that makes me mad. That's a horrible story. We could talk about this Florida dude who I don't, oh gosh, these people. So this Florida dude, he was denied entry to a USAA building and he put on a helmet and drove his car right into the facility. Oh, good. Robert Beattie, 70, he went to the guard gate at the USAA office and demanded to be let inside. They said, not going to happen. So then he put on a helmet and drove right through the parking garage and through their fences. Two people in a marked security SUV tried to block him in, but then he reversed and struck their vehicle to create some space. He was on the third floor when they found him of the parking garage taken into custody. He got charged with two felony counts, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one felony count of burglary of an occupied structure, felony count of criminal mischief, $1,000 or more. He got some more charges. Thankfully, nobody was injured. But, I mean, the fact that he went and put on a helmet... And then drove his car through. Yeah, I don't I don't know this. Let's see this. No, no, not doing that one. We could talk about the teacher from Port St. Lucie found naked any KKID in an elementary school. Joe Urias faces multiple charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer. Somerset College Preparatory Academy. And apparently, according to Port St. Lucie, the 34-year-old Urias was found after police were dispatched to Windpoint Elementary School for a burglary in progress. When they arrived, they found him naked in the classroom among clothes, food, a laptop, drugs, and some private time accessories. I don't know how else to say it. He reclosed himself and tried to run out of the building once he was discovered. But guess what? They got him. And then the cop that grabbed him was punched in the face. Urias was arrested, taken to St. Lucie County Jail. Wow, he's got a lot of charges. Lewd behavior, burglary, possession of marijuana, battery law enforcement. I mean, he's got a lot. He's got a lot of charges. That's all you need to know. There's too much to read. He's got a lot. And he's going to be in major trouble. Major, major trouble. We have more on the way. The latest, the Supreme Court. the arguments facing the court today we got the cabinet stuff all kinds stick with us our partners they help bring you free radio it's our friends over at patriot mobile uh the only christian conservative cell phone service in the nation and patriot mobile wants to save you money i mean it's been a tough year forever it's been a tough couple of years for everybody and right now you can get their every friday matters special they're giving away a brand new smartphone when you make the switch It's so easy to do. PatriotMobile.com slash Dana or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code FRIDAY. Friday is what gets you that Every Friday Matters special. So you can get a brand new smartphone when you switch your service. And then you also are working with a company that aligns with your values. They have plans tailor-made for everyone. Seamless switching with 100% U.S.-based customer service team. It has never been simpler to switch. Now, the offer is eligible only with promo code FRIDAY. It's a free smartphone for their Every Friday Matters special. Make the switch today. Limited time or until supplies run out. Terms and conditions apply. That's patriotmobile.com slash Dana 972 Patriot. Is that really fact?
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, with you in Angola, the vibrant city, and I look not the city, the city I know is not Angola, but in Angola in a vibrant city.
SPEAKER 02 :
Boy, oh boy. Oh, my gosh. So that's Joe Biden when he was in Africa. I saw a video of him yesterday where he was just what was he doing? He just was wandering around again. He had to be guided by one of the leaders there to like walk down this like carpeted path towards a dais. And he was just kind of all over. It was weird. There was one little step and the other leader had to help. It would look bad. It looked bad. Notice you don't see Harris anywhere anymore either. Nowhere. Nowhere. Where is she at? Welcome back to the program. Again, Dana Lash, with you. We're at the top of this third hour. Still under the weather. We're making it through. We're making it through. And we're getting you set up with all the news through the week. We're also watching the arguments before the Supreme Court about this ban in Tennessee on... experimental surgery, sex changes for minors. And what, three hours of arguments so far? And the Biden administration keeps saying that they have an overwhelming amount of evidence of the benefits of giving people hormonal castration, et cetera, et cetera. It's a wild argument to make before someone's even reached the age of consent legally. You're going to allow them to. Yeah, let's go ahead and get chemically castrated or, you know, surgically. It's just unbelievable that this is the argument before the court today. But it looks like the courts are leaning towards common sense and erring on the side of caution, particularly as it relates to minors, our kids. So, you know, we'll see with that. They were trying to figure out because the other argument that was in this is whether or not it's constitutional or unconstitutional, rather, for states to protect minors. minors from harmful and unnecessary elective medical procedures, which seems, you know, I'm not trying to beg the question with the way that I'm phrasing it, but that, I mean, that's the reality of the question and how it's this idea of transitioning is an ideological, not a medical discussion, right? So I will see because this is something that you're talking about minors everywhere and the right to happiness or certain things that you think that extend beyond the jurisdiction of states. So we don't have any decisions, but where the judge that's in this or that started the judge, the attorney, one of the attorneys in this case. The lawyer with the ACLU who's arguing about it. This is Chase, Audio Summit 19, Strangio. Strangio? Right. This is the trans lawyer with the ACLU who is making these arguments before SCOTUS. Listen.
SPEAKER 01 :
to a law that is banning this care for minors. So if Tennessee is successful, if the Supreme Court, in essence, sides with the government of Tennessee, I think that will open the door to the types of federal bans on this care, not only for minors, but for adults, too.
SPEAKER 03 :
For adults, too, you think?
SPEAKER 01 :
I do. I do. And I think that's one of the things we should be really concerned about. We're hearing a lot about young people can't consent to this care, but it is their parents consenting to this care.
SPEAKER 02 :
What do you think that Chase Strangio was assigned at birth?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't think she was assigned anything. I think the doctor observed the lack of male genitalia and put down the only other option, which was female.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, that's... How do you grow facial hair like that, but your voice still sounds like Mickey Mouse?
SPEAKER 02 :
Dude, I don't know. This... she's the deputy director for transgender justice and a staff attorney with the ACLU. And she's being celebrated as the first person cosplaying as a man to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court. So she decided to do this of her own free will and make the determination you know i guess after becoming of age and this person i mean she's in previous arguments she's even acknowledged that the kids aren't actually the ones giving consent to do this which i would think that would undermine your entire argument right if you're saying that the kids aren't aren't actually giving consent to do this well then how is this you're not You're not providing consent. This is wild. But that's the attorney that's arguing this before SCOTUS. And it looks as though SCOTUS is leaning towards some common sense. I mean, at least initially, that's what it looks like. I mean, we'll see. We'll watch all that for you. But they I mean, it's been from the notes that I've seen, it's been pretty crazy thus far. And it got kind of because they were saying that even they tried to compare. So one of the reporters was saying that they were trying to compare, quote unquote, I hate this phrase, gender affirming care. It's experimental surgery that every medical treatment has risk. Even taking aspirin was one of the remarks. OK, the risks for the experimental surgeries that they call gender affirming care are sterilization. hormonal problems for life, hormonal abuse, mental, physical. I mean, it's, oh my gosh, this is not, you can't just diminish this with a comparison to getting your weenus chopped off, inverted into a frankengina is the exact same as, you know, the risks associated with popping an aspirin. It's not even remotely similar. The fact that people make this argument that immediately get out of my courtroom. Get out. You're too stupid to argue. But that was pretty much like within the first 20 minutes that that was done. So that gives you an immediate insight into how wild this is. They think it's just, oh, well, you know, I mean, it's just there's risks with everything like popping aspirin. That's like saying there's a risk of stepping on a Lego in your house and a risk of driving off a bridge when you're on the freeway. I mean, you know, they're the same. It's the exact same thing. It's just wild. And then you had Ketanji Brown Jackson, you know, the judge who doesn't know what a woman is, who was trying to argue that somehow it's, if you're banning the experimental surgery for minors, that that's somehow the same as banning interracial marriage. Yeah. What, how is chopping off boobs and trying to say that you're a dude now unnecessarily in any way, like two people entering into a covenant with the Lord in marriage, what in the world?
SPEAKER 03 :
These comparisons are getting crazier than the standard conflation of like, you know, oh, you're against immigration because you don't like illegal immigration. That used to be the main conflation. Now it's just so ridiculous. January 20th couldn't come fast enough.
SPEAKER 02 :
She actually had said, according to Leo Sapir, who's another reporter in the courtroom, Kentonji Brown Jackson gave a hypothetical, a boy who identifies as a boy but takes puberty blockers because he wants to lower his voice rather than change his, they're talking about, you know, in instances, I guess, that the medicine, whatever, can be used for. what a boy who identifies as a boy would not have to have their voice lowered by taking puberty blockers. That is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. How in the hell are these people in the position to adjudicate this? How? And apparently Alito, he noted that the cast report found found no evidence that gender affirmative treatments reduce suicide. He said he says accurately, he says that there's zero evidence in any of these studies. There are multiple studies that do show that there is a reduction in suicidality. So we admit that it does nothing to reduce any suicide rate, any mental health catastrophe, nothing. We admit that it's not actual consent. We admit that. OK, so what is the argument for this? You're pumping kids full of hormones that you don't know the long-term effects to. You're mutilating them before they're even of age with experimental surgeries. I mean, Europe has banned this. Of all the times that the United States doesn't want to copy Europe, why is it over this? I mean, they copy them over everything else. Makes zero sense. It's just asinine. But this is where we're at. Where we're at. Where we are at. Now... A couple other things to touch on. As we were saying, I watched the SecDef pick because apparently there's a lot of movement on the Hegseth thing. I don't know what's going to happen. I just think it's all, I don't know. I feel like that there's two different camps. in the Trump transition group. And it seems that one camp has been making some not so stellar recommendations. And then the other camp has been putting forward some pretty solid recommendations. And I feel like the latter camp probably needs to rule from here on out. I mean, I think it's great to get people who like whack the libs on X. But what does that translate to practical, like actual meat space effects? You need to have someone who's going to be able to make those kind of make the kind of changes that you need. So we'll see. In the meantime, where's Biden? Is he going to the Notre Dame thing to the Notre Dame reopening? The I think. I was looking, because Trump is going, I think he's going like, apparently it was reported that Macron was begging Trump to visit the Notre Dame reopening. And apparently it's going to be, they're opening the doors to the public. They had the fire in 2019, so they had to do a lot of work. And I guess that they are, I mean, I don't know if Trump was already going before Macron tried to convince him, but they're doing the opening. It's going to be on the 8th. So it's going to be actually really shortly. I mean, you're looking at what, four days time? So I think that he's, I would, is Biden going to go? I mean, he was in Africa and then in Brazil. Not doing so well. Did he fall asleep? Wait, we have audio of him actually falling asleep. Audio of somebody 20. He's trying to keep his eyes open. This is how bad it is. Watch this and then you determine whether you think he's going to go to Paris.
SPEAKER 10 :
With the U.S. in support of the development of the Robito Corridor. Tanzania views the Robito Corridor as an integral part of a broader strategy to enhance connectivity in Africa. We also appreciate the fact that the implementation of the project will provide important opportunities for Africa's development in sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know what your parents would tell you when you were young? I'm going to close my eyes for a minute. That meant nap. We all know that. I'm just going to close my eyes. Did your parents ever say that to you? And you're like, wait a minute. Are you napping? No, I'm just closing my eyes. OK, good, because I thought you were napping. Right. So Biden has no idea what's happening. I don't. He'd fall asleep at that, too. No one knows.
SPEAKER 03 :
And now all of the news you would probably miss. It's time for Dana's Quick Five.
SPEAKER 02 :
So Britney Spears says that she's really five years old and moving to Mexico. Yeah, it was a footage via TMZ that was posted to her Instagram account. She says that paparazzi put her on a plane with a mask over her face while carrying a torch. And then she just said that she was turned 42 when she's actually 43, but then said, really, she actually meant she's turned five and she is moving to Mexico and going to kindergarten because the paparazzi are cruel. This chick really needed her conservatorship. I mean, it's not right. So, man. So, I'm just saying. That's kind of sad. Felony charge over dipping sauce dispute via smoking gun. The, uh... This is in Florida. It could have been a Florida story. 31-year-old woman was arrested for strong-arm robbery because fast food workers failed to include her sauces in her mobile pickup order. Her name is Kinsey Keeling. She's got blue and pink hair. She got her grub from her raising canes in Clearwater. She was missing eight packs of cane sauce. You've got to have that cane special sauce. She said that she wanted those more extra sauces in return for wasting time and gas. Her extra sauce bid was refused. And then she began yelling and she was physical and blah, blah, blah. And so she was released on a $2,500 bond. You know, you could just go in and be like, hey, you forgot my sauces. It's nothing I'm going to get a felony charge over, but I would like my sauces, right? I mean, it's super easy to keep yourself out of certain situations. Hackers are leaning into total destruction. It's not just about getting data anymore. I mean, they want to destroy everything, according to this piece from MSN. And they said that it's becoming more and more commonplace. damaging. I mean, destroying entire networks, not just hits here and there or getting information. A man was tasered by police after he tried to carjack an Uber while naked. Activities you don't do naked. Crouching, carjacking, things like that. A man was tasered while he was buck naked in front of shocked onlookers in Perth, Australia. His name, Pui Clark, of course it is, running naked from police down busy James Street, Northbridge. He tried to carjack an Uber. It didn't work out very well for him. It's all on camera, too, none of which we can show for obvious reasons. Stay with us. We've got a lot more on the way.
SPEAKER 08 :
Keep your finger on the pulse with the Dana Show podcast, delivering timely news with insightful analysis. Whenever you want, straight to you on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome back to the program. Dana Lash here with you, and we are... Of course, you know, here discussing all of the latest cabinet picks, everything else with POTUS and POTUS elect. And then we were kind of questioning where POTATUS is. Not quite sure where he went. I don't know what's happening there. We'll see. A couple of things. I got some audio I wanted to put out here. This is wild. Audio soundbite 15. Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, he says, well, he's been very, very critical over the illegal alien crisis in New York. And he had some things to say about it. He dared the left even to cancel him yesterday. He also added this, audio soundbite 15.
SPEAKER 09 :
The long-term impact of what we did to this city is going to, you're going to see it materialize in administrations in the future. They hurt the future of New York City. And when people hear me say $6.4 billion, they may say, okay, it's just a billion here, a billion there. No, we didn't invest in seniors the way we should have and young people the way we should have. We're not going out to get these chronic absentee students the way we should have. The crimes that we witnessed, this impacted our city and people don't seem to understand why were you fighting so hard for this? Because I reflected on that 11-year-old boy that was denied and I went into government to stop these 11-year-old boys and I came up with a plan to do so and the federal government made me take $6.4 billion out of providing these services that we should, we all should be angry at what happened to our city. under this administration.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, it was that last point there. They're going to get him. He's not going to be invited for any more Democrat fundraisers after that. I don't see how that happens. But he's not wrong. Here's the thing. And I keep seeing this because I'm just, you know, sort of watching some of the stuff at play and looking at things like, you know, like Democrats going into 28 and all this stuff. They there's going to be a huge problem. They still have a big problem. They haven't done like a proper actual post-mortem of why they lost. It's obvious to us why they lost. It's not obvious to the left why they lost. Now, by the left, I mean people in D.C. Because Eric Adams seems to kind of get it. And I don't agree with him on hardly anything. But on this, you know, it's not incorrect. That's not what you're hearing from Democrats in D.C. Democrats in D.C. don't think that anything's wrong. They think the economy's great. If you listen to their soundbites. that uh economy's great there's no issue at the border what what they're i guess living or experiencing is miles wide inches deep uh in terms of the depth that they're willing to explore it it's so different from what we're living but then you've got governors and you've got mayors like eric adams who are saying things that he's not what he's saying isn't republican stuff I mean, what he's saying is what anybody would say if they had a brain and eyes. They can see exactly what's happening. They know what's going on here. They can see the crime. They can see the unfettered thousands that are being brought illegally across the border and being sent to New York because it's a sanctuary city. They see the crimes committed illegally. by unvetted individuals who were just allowed to enter. No way of checking any kind of criminal record. People are done with it. They're fed up. This is reflected in the language and the positions of local and state lawmakers. But then it seems to end there. Nationally, federally, in D.C., totally different story. They're not going to be able to... win another election until they fix that schism. It's a difference of, and I said this earlier, when your ideology meets reality. Reality requires sober observance. Reality requires practicality. Reality requires patience. Policy like actual workable policy, not just simply denial. Until they figure this out, this is going to be a problem that they have for quite some time. We may never see another Democrat victory in our generation again. They're saying two different things. They're saying two different things. It's why in some states you had like in blue wall states. If you went back and looked, some of the state lawmakers who were running for reelection were Democrats and they did well. But then the people voted for Trump for president. Don't you think that's interesting? You had Democrats that didn't turn out. The turnout for us this last election was actually pretty much almost the same as it was in 2020. Republicans didn't have a banger year for turnout. There wasn't any kind of exorbitant record-setting turnout because Republicans are good like that. But what you did have was record-setting lack of turnout for Democrats. No enthusiasm. They were giving nothing concrete to rally around. And a lot of them, a lot of Democrats that did turn out, they changed their affiliation and they voted for Republicans because they felt that the messaging that they were hearing, the policy proposals that they were reading were more in line with what they wanted and what they needed to happen than what they had previously believed with Democrats. This is going to be a problem for Democrats until they can get this. They've got to figure out how to reconcile these two very different things here. So did you hear about, I didn't know that there was luxury cannabis. I mean, I guess you can have artisanal weed. You can have artisanal anything, right? But what makes it artisanal? I mean, it doesn't get much more artisanal than growing in the sequoias with Bigfoots, right? I mean, I don't know. Jay-Z had apparently a luxury cannabis company, which is funny to me. And it struggled to sell $50 joints. I'm sorry. Was it? Now, I don't know how. Don't make fun of me. Shut up. Does it come in like a carton like cigarettes? Do you get like a bunch of the joints or is it just like one carton?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, I mean, I guess you can buy several, but they don't come in packs like cigarettes. There is a company that does them, and they make them look like cigarettes, but they're actually... Or do people make their own? Yeah, no, people mostly roll their own, but they sell them in pre-roll.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sorry, do you do like a grape leaf, like with cigars, or is it just like cigarette paper? I'm curious. Yeah, it's cigarette paper. Okay, so were these, I guess, pre-rolled luxury joints? $50. Again, not knowing. I only know the hysterical stuff that I've ever seen with Cheech and Chong. I mean, I'm assuming they're like that. $50 for one of them? How much does that get you? What are we talking about here?
SPEAKER 03 :
Cheech and Chong is shockingly real life.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's real life.
SPEAKER 02 :
So you get one joint for $50? No. No. That's what it says here. $50 for one of his luxury joints.
SPEAKER 03 :
I get that was their effort, but it didn't work out, obviously.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, they lost half a billion dollars since they launched. How do you lose money on weed? If you do it stupid?
SPEAKER 03 :
Make it really expensive.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is like one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in my life. They act like they're like, oh, Sean Carter's a great businessman. Maybe, but not with this because I'm not even in the pot. And I could have told you you're selling one little joint for $50. Are you stupid? It's the luxury joint. What is it like? Do California condors talon roll it? Like, how does that work? Are there gold flakes that you smoke? What is it? Apparently, California has a tough legal pot market. I didn't know that either. It's wild. I love that everybody has to deal with bureaucracy. Like nobody, even the sin industries. I love it. They said that none of the retailers across California and Arizona, they don't stock Jay-Z's buds or joints on their online menus. Yeah. And they had, oh my gosh, this is Kamala level crazy, $575 million that they launched with. And now they're in trouble. They said that Jay-Z's monogram products are overpriced and underwhelming. Wow. And see, you never really get rid of the criminal element. They say California's legal weed sector has been stymied by complex rules, high taxes, competitions from black market traders, wildfires, sliding prices. A lot of people have been pushed into insolvency. But they said that it was mind-boggling the amount of money that was pushed for this. I could have told you immediately that probably not going to work. You're talking about luxury pot. People are broke. Everybody that is broke and the people who are going to be doing this are probably not going to be like the Jay-Z rich level people. They're going to be people who think that smoking this makes them Jay-Z rich level. And now they can't they can't afford it because everybody's broke because of the president Jay-Z endorsed. And his administration. So I can't say that I feel sorry for him. I don't. I just think it's funny. Like who thought that, you know what? We're in a time of, it's a lockdown. Let's launch a luxury cannabis company and charge people $50 per joint. What else can you make luxury? Like artisanal weed. Are you going to do artisanal kefir, Cain? It's pretty artisanal. I don't know how much more artisanal you can make it.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's pretty artisanal on its own. I don't know. Glass bottles preserved from Quaker. I have no idea what you could do with it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that sounds... During a time of inflation, I just don't think that luxury stuff, especially starting any kind of luxury line, is going to make it take off. Gen Z, here's a story. Gen Z is killing the Christmas party. People are sober curious. Band aid is banned. And everybody goes home early. Golly, this generation sucks. This is horrible. I don't want to party with these people. Yeah, I know, right? Who dukeyed in their Wheaties? Jiminy. They even know what those are. They said mistletoe is a firm no-no. Apparently mistletoe sales have plummeted. I didn't even know.
SPEAKER 03 :
I've seen that.
SPEAKER 02 :
So stupid. They said that going to bed early is in. Gifting olive oil instead of alcohol. Shut up. Hot chocolate. And then out, band-aid, mistletoe, and alcohol. I mean... I don't know. I just don't know. Christmas parties, I don't care if somebody drinks or not. But if you're gifting, if you're giving olive oil, man, you better be knowing you're cooking. Don't just grab some cheap old olive oil because it's just stupid. Cain just gave me a serious look. That's a real thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
No plastic bottles. No plastic bottles.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you don't keep it on a plastic bottle either. I don't know. Isn't this the generation or is it millennials that got upset over baby, it's cold outside?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it was millennials.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, they ruin everything. These people ruin everything. Yeah, now they're like, oh, here we are hanging out and just, you know, no mistletoe. Band-Aid's part of it. You got to make fun of Band-Aid. That's the whole point of it. You play it and you make fun of the fact that all these celebrities got together and apparently Michael Jackson was weirded out. It's weird. It's funny. You make fun of it. Jiminy. Everybody stop being so serious.
SPEAKER 08 :
On the go and need a quick news fix with a fun twist? Follow Dana's Absurd Truth podcast for bite-sized informative episodes, perfect for your busy schedule on Apple or wherever you get your podcast.
SPEAKER 02 :
I read this story about how Hunter Biden apparently, isn't that interesting? He celebrated Trump. The pardon, his dad's pardon of himself. He celebrated it by watching a movie of himself. Well, what? So this is New York Post. He celebrated this unprecedented pardon from Daddy Joe by watching a movie about himself. Okay, what? It was a private screening of a documentary. Remember the sugar brother, Kevin Morris, the guy who facilitated everything by buying his horrible paintings? So he was the guy who apparently financed this documentary about him. And I guess he was at watching a screener of that documentary. the day that the pardon came out. So, and he was very, he was very happy. Apparently, a source said he's had, a huge weight was lifted off that he's had to carry since his dad got elected. I mean, his dad wasn't the one making you do all the gross things that you were doing, but okay. I mean, can you imagine being his kids and seeing this stuff about your dad in the press? It's just heinous, heinous. So, yeah, they said that, you know, people were attacking me and they were attacking me because of my father. Or because you were a deadbeat nepo. I mean, that's kind of like, you know, really what we're looking at, but whatever. So, he... I guess that... I don't know if it's ever going to be released, but... I don't know. So we'll, but yeah, that's how he spent, that's how he celebrated.
SPEAKER 03 :
So in 2020, Biden was adamant that Hunter's laptop was misinformation, wasn't real, and then recently now has pardoned him for all the crimes listed in the laptop.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah. So the laptop isn't real, but he got a pardon for all the stuff. In the laptop. That he did in the laptop. So that's... D different. Yeah, it's D different. There you are. That does it for us, at least for that portion. Of course, we're going to watch everything with the Penny case, and then there's the Supreme Court as well. Any kind of cabinet changes, we'll have that covered tomorrow. Make sure you catch us at Substack, chapter and verse as well. To date in stupidity, Cain.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, looks like the medical treatment for transgenders conversation was happening with SCOTUS. And Sotomayor had a response to a question when it was asked, how many minors have to have their bodies irreparably harmed for unproven benefits? And I don't know about you, Dana. When I've taken aspirin, I don't have irreparable harm. But this is what her response was. Let's listen.
SPEAKER 04 :
cannot eliminate the risk of detransitioners. So it becomes a pure exercise of weighing benefits versus risk. And the question of how many minors have to have their bodies irreparably harmed for unproven benefits is one that is best left... I'm sorry, Counselor.
SPEAKER 07 :
Every medical treatment has a risk. Even taking aspirin. Oh, my Lord. Okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Just like the transfer. Just like lopping off your schlong.
SPEAKER 07 :
Same thing, Dana.
SPEAKER 02 :
Just like it. Yeah, it's just like it. You guys didn't know that. All right, that does it for us today. I hope you all have a great rest of your evening. Make sure you find us on Substack, Chapter and Verse, as well as Facebook, YouTube, like and subscribe. I'll be back behind the mic with you tomorrow.
Join Michael Bailey, the Mobile Estate Planner, as he delves into the complex world of probate and estate planning. In this episode, learn the importance of having a proper end-of-life plan and how avoiding probate isn't always necessary. Michael highlights the common misconceptions about the probate process and provides insights into whether it's the right option for you. Whether it’s a trust or a will, he helps unravel the pros and cons, guiding you to make informed decisions tailored to your unique situation.
Intro (Host) :
Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey. Over a decade ago, attorney Michael Bailey turned his attention to estate law after he recognized the unacceptable number of adults without proper end of life planning. Michael recognizes that many of his clients have difficulty finding the time for making a proper estate plan. That's why he became the Mobile Estate Planner. He will go to wherever you are to assist you with your estate planning, including writing wills, trusts, and giving you the information you need to avoid probate. Now, ATX, Ask the Experts, presents Mobile Estate Planning with your host, Michael Bailey.
Michael Bailey (Host) :
Good afternoon. Welcome to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ AM. Also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. So many different ways. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. Again, that's 720-394-6887. So, I... I had planned to be here last week, you know, two weeks ago. I was like, hey, I'm totally going to be here. I'm totally going to make it right on time. And then I wasn't working the rest of the day and life got in the way. And so I'm sure that Luke, were you here? Was that Charlie that was probably scrambling to get me out on the air?
Producer Luke (Host) :
Last week?
Michael Bailey (Host) :
Yes, last week.
Producer Luke (Host) :
Then that was Charlie scrambling. Okay. I was in sunny Los Angeles. Oh, nice.
Michael Bailey (Host) :
So it's probably Charlie scrambling. So my apologies to Charlie for scrambling. He probably could pull up one of my shows and just run it. But I'm glad to be back now. So my intro says I can give you the information to avoid probate. And so the question becomes, is that something that we want to do or need to do? You know, people get concerned about probate and, you know, well, we need to, do we need to avoid probate? Do we need to, you know, what's wrong with probate? What is probate? You know, all of those things go into it. And the answer is there's not one right answer. Um, people get concerned about, uh, People get concerned about whether or not they're like, oh, you know, we need to try to avoid probate. And I'm like, well, do we though? I don't know that we – because avoiding probate sometimes is a goal that you want to do, but sometimes it doesn't have to be. It's not the only goal that's involved because sometimes – because when you're setting up your estate plan, probate isn't necessarily the – Probate isn't necessarily the enemy. Probate is simply the legal process of getting assets from the deceased individuals to the named beneficiaries or the heirs. But it's not necessarily, it doesn't have to be a liability. terrible, horrible thing. And there are some really good reasons why you may want to go through probate. And so the thing is that people sometimes misunderstand that if you have a will, people are like, oh, I have a will that I don't have to go through probate. I'm like, well, actually you do because a will goes through the probate process. And the probate process is just the process of getting assets from the deceased individual to the named beneficiaries of the heirs. But that's what happens with a will. Now, a will guides probate. A will says what is supposed to happen in probate and who's supposed to get what. So that's what we do. is we say, okay, we've got, you know, is the probate process say, okay, well, what does the will say? What are we supposed to do? Oh, we can do that. So that's what, that's what happens with the will is that you go through, is it, so that's, you know, so we get probate with a will. Now, of course, the You know, there are many people who don't want to go through probate, don't like probate, don't want to have anything to do with the government or have to have the government be involved at all. You know, they just they just they don't really want to have anything to do with probate. And I'm like, okay, that's fine. But if you're trying to avoid probate, then often you have to use a different type of vehicle or different type of estate planning product than a will, whether you use a trust or you have a beneficiary's deed or you have any number of other things And when you have that, when you're trying to set things up, you can't, you need to decide which way is the way to go. You know, a trust is an alternative to a will, and a trust becomes a private document so that your assets can pass through the trust instead of through the probate process. Now, lots of people say, well, which one's better? Which ones do I need to do? And I'm like, well, it's not that simple of a question because probate itself is just a process. It's not a scary thing. It's not a horrible thing. It's not a big court hearing where you have to go and have attorneys and prove things and so on and so forth. It's just kind of what it is. And And sometimes people, you know, sometimes probate is a really good idea for people. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes people want to go through probate and sometimes they don't. So, you know, why would you not want to go through probate? Well, you don't want to deal with the government. You don't want the government involved in things. You don't want to deal with the courts. Those type of reasons come up fairly often. And so, you know, people don't necessarily, I mean, nobody, okay. I have some friends who are litigation attorneys, and that's what they do for a living is they go to court and they litigate things and they do trial work. And, you know, they may be the kind of people who enjoy going to court. Or... If you're like the judge that I worked for, or I actually have a law school classmate who just got nominated to become a trial judge, and I have another law school classmate who's a magistrate judge down in Douglas County, they're judges, and so they go to court, and that's what they do. And so they're probably excited to go to court on a regular basis. Unless there's reasons why they're not excited. But most of the rest of us, myself included, even as an attorney, we tend to want to avoid going to court. The judge that I worked for, he seemed to enjoy what he did. And he called us in one day and he said, you know, guys, this is amazing. They pay me a lot of money. And I don't do anything. I just kind of react to what other people do. This is great. This is cool. Cool. Sorry. I was just excited about that. Now you guys go back and do work so that I can sit here and do nothing. He was funny. He wasn't, yeah, he does plenty. He did plenty of work. We're not, it's not like he was a slacker or something like that, but it was just kind of funny to hear him talk about that. Actually, later, after I'd worked for him, I worked for the DA's office. And I quoted him. I had a very upset mother. I was working the juvenile court and had a very upset mother who was confronting me and screaming at me in the hallways of the courthouse about why I hated her son and so on and so forth. And I looked at her and I said, ma'am, I didn't do anything. I just reacted to what your son did. So maybe you should talk to him. And I hope you have a great day. And I just kind of walked around her and went on my way. So it was a useful, helpful thing that the judge had taught me. But not everybody wants to go to court. So if you don't want to go to court or you don't want your heirs or your beneficiaries to have to go to court, after you've passed away, then a will may not be the way to go. You need to do something else, like have a trust. But trusts are more intense and more work on the front end to set up, and therefore they're a little bit more expensive, because instead of putting the work off on your representative on the back end and making them do all the work, you're doing the work on the front end to kind of make things easier for them. So it's a matter of do we do the work on the front end or do we do the work on the back end? On the front end in a trust, okay, we can do that. Back end with a will, we can do that too. You just have to choose which one makes the most sense. And sometimes people will be like, oh, well, my kids can handle everything. They're going to get the money, so we'll make them do the work. So we'll just do wills that they can do on the back end. Okay, cool. Sounds good. Other times people are like, well, you know, we have young kids, and if we turn this over to a brother or a sister, we don't want them to have to do things, so we're going to set up a trust to make it easier for them. And, you know, either approach is fine. It just depends on what you want to do. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ AM, also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Um, but those who are trying to, and so when someone says, well, is it better? Is it worse? I'm like, it's really dependent on your situation. So, you know, a trust is a private document and people wonder, well, you know, who's going to make the trustee do what they're supposed to do? And the correct answer is there's not an active body out there that's supervising a trust. They just, it doesn't exist because the trustee A trust is a private document by very definition. Now, the beneficiaries of the trust, if they think the trustee is doing something wrong, they can petition the court to look into it or to have a trustee removed if they're doing something wrong. But there's not an active body out there supervising things. And so a trust... does have the ability and the possibility of lending itself to a trustee doing things in an improper manner and running amok. Now you can, you can put, uh, someone who's like a trust protector who can come in and enforce the provisions of the trust. Um, you can put that into a trust or, uh, well, um, And so it's just one of those things that you can have. So you can create somebody who's actively monitoring things, but that's not necessarily going to always be the case. And there's not a government entity out there monitoring trust because that's kind of the point of a trust is to try to keep the government out of it. So some people get very concerned about that and they're like, oh, well, you know, we don't want somebody to not have anybody looking over, you know, keeping track of things and making sure they're doing things the right way. And that's where having a will or having probate could be a really good thing, because when you have a will and it goes through the probate court in order to do things you have in probate, you have to have a. you have the court supervising things and the court is you have to so the personal representative who's in charge of the will has to give an inventory of assets to the court and then once they've inventoried the assets then they have to give, you know, pay off creditors and give notice to unknown creditors, and they have to inform the beneficiaries of what they're supposed to receive, and they have to give a final accounting of here's what we, here's what was in the estate, here's what has been paid out, and now we're ready to disperse things, and the court The court isn't necessarily watching every step of the way. Well, it might be because there's different levels of probate. But if you're concerned that the person's not going to be doing things the right way or there's the possibility that somebody could do something untoward, then having the court be there supervising is a desirable thing. Now, there are different levels of probate. There's informal probate, which is where the personal representative mostly acts independently and just checks in with the court every once in a while. There's formal administration, which is exactly what it sounds like, much more formal. There's much more interaction between the personal representative of the court. And then there's court supervised administration. And court supervised administration usually is there because something has gone wrong. You know, informal is, okay, we'll do this. We'll do this right. We're good. Formal is, hey, you know, we, there wasn't a will or we were concerned about, you know, person X acting correctly as opposed to person Y. So we want formal administration, court supervised administration. A lot of times is, hey, you know what? The first personal representative tried to take the money and run. And then the second one got in a fistfight with the kids of the deceased. And the third one was, you know, thinking that this was kind of like it was Perry Mason and trying to do something. all this intrigue. So we're just going to go ahead. This fourth person who's involved, we're going to be like, okay, you have to check in with the court. You need the court's permission to do all of these things. You know, we need somebody really standing there looking over your shoulder, pretty much everything you do. So most people may not need court supervised administration. Most people don't even need formal administration. They can be on the informal side, but the informal side is where people can, um, check in, um, so people can check in with the court and make sure they're doing things the right way and not just be left to their own devices. So someone who has that particular set of circumstances where they're like, yeah, we don't 100% trust everybody, along the way, so we're not sure that we really want to just let this person do anything and everything. So instead, we'd rather have somebody who can somebody who can have a, you know, just look over their shoulder, make sure they're doing things. And if something starts to go off the correct path, be like, Hey, you know, you need to kind of, they can reign them in sooner than what might happen with the trust. You know, with a trustee, you'd say you have a trustee who's in charge of a trust that has $3 million for three kids. So that's what, so it would be for my kids because if I die, I'm insured for a couple million. My wife's is insured for a million. So, if we die there's three million in life insurance so each of the kids could be a millionaire you know the the problem there is that i and my wife are dead which you know there there are probably days that my kids would be like yeah i don't know that i really want my parents i mean most teenagers probably feel like that every once in a while hopefully mine don't feel like that all the time but still um so we uh so if there's three a trustee has got three million dollars for three kids The trustee is like, OK, I'm going along. I'm using this money to take care of the kids. And then the trustee happens to fall on hard times. Maybe they get laid off and they're out of work for two years and they're still taking care of kids. And they're like, well, wait a minute. I've been out of work for two years. Now I'm six months behind on my mortgage and I'm about to lose my house. And I have access to this three million dollars. And, you know, I can just kind of borrow twenty five thousand dollars and to make sure that I can stay in my house and I'll pay the trust back. I promise, I'm sure of it. So then that $25,000, the trustee takes out and uses to pay their own expenses, which is not what they're supposed to do, by the way, but it happens. There's a temptation there. And the kids, if you're taking care of younger kids, say the kids were eight, six, and three, and you're like, well, the eight, six, and three-year-old aren't going to know or care how much money is in their trust because they're trusting the trustee. And so this trustee is like, oh, we'll take $25,000 out there. Okay, cool. And then five years, they're like, oh, I just haven't been able to repay it. It's been hard times. And then, oh, well, you know, now... now the, I had a new job and then I got laid off again. And now I only need 15,000 this time. Okay. So there's $40,000. And then the kids get to college and they graduate and they're like, cool. And then, Oh, Hey, here's the rest of your money. And they're going, wait a minute. I had a scholarship. I was frugal. So why am I only getting $60,000? Shouldn't there be $600,000? And the trustee says, well, you know, just the trust didn't do as well as we thought. And then so then the new college graduate starts to delve into things and says, wait a minute. You ended up taking a couple, two, three, $400,000 for yourself out of here that you weren't supposed to do. So we need that money back. And the trustee says, well, wait a minute. You know, I just, I used it to pay for my house. What am I supposed to do? Sell my house so I can pay you back? And the kids say, yep. well, now you're going to need to go to the court and have the court order that the house be sold so they can be paid back. But sometimes the house may not be what they spent it on. Say they went on a vacation to Hawaii and spent $20,000 on a Hawaiian vacation. Well, you can't just go to Hawaii and say, hey, Hawaii, can I have $20,000 back? And Hawaii will be like, oh, sure. We have this magical money tree that grows in the middle of the volcano. So We'll just pull $20,000 off and give it back to you. It doesn't work that way. So there is a possibility with a trust that you could have improper acting. People are like, oh, they can't do that. It's illegal. I'm like, well, I'd like to believe what you say, but if you say you can't do something because it's illegal, let's talk about some other illegal things. It's illegal to speed. It's illegal to turn left on a red arrow. It's illegal to steal things. It's illegal to steal soda when you didn't buy a soda and just got a water cup. It's illegal to steal somebody's car. Technically, murder is illegal too, but people get killed all the time. So just because something is illegal doesn't mean it can't happen. It means it shouldn't happen, but there is the possibility that it could happen. So as wonderful as trusts are, they are not a foolproof, everything is going to work out perfectly all the time method. So while a trust may be superior in a lot of respects, it's not the perfect thing that could work in every single situation. So you have to think about it and pick what's best for you. So you are listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on KLZ 560 AM or also heard on 100.7 FM or the KLZ 560 radio app. Phone number to talk to me on the air is 303-477-5600. And again, that's 303-477-5600. And my direct line is 720-394-6887. And once again, that's 720-394-6887. So you've got, and probate, a lot of times people will be like, they're like, oh, well, do we need to go through probate? They're like, well, let's talk about probate. Probate is, at least in Colorado, probate isn't that bad. You can find the forms that you need to file for probate online. The Colorado Judiciary publishes those. So there's a form that you can fill out to apply for probate. And then there's a form you can fill out to be for a letter of testamentary or a letter of administration, which is where the court gives you, gives the representative legal permission to access your assets and to get them and transfer them where they're supposed to go. There's a form for who's going to be appointed as the personal representative. There's a form for who can, you know, if there's a couple of kids and one's like, no, I don't want to act as a personal representative, they can turn down that. So there's just different, there's different, so all the necessary forms to fill out complete and then take to the court to file, you can find them online. And I mean, I've had many clients who I've explained that to them and they can go find the forms and they fill them out and go through the process and they're fine. Others are like, oh, well, you know, we were doing fine, but then suddenly we got a notice from Medicaid that they had paid $75,000 on my dad's behalf, so we're not quite sure what to do with that. I'm like, well, is there enough in the estate to pay it off? Well, yeah, okay, then just go ahead and pay it off and then move on. Well, no, there's not enough, so what do we do? I'm like, well, you really want to talk to an attorney who handles... uh, probate administration, because one of the nice things about how things go in probate is that if there are more debts than there are assets in a state in an estate, then, uh, the excess debts can be dismissed through the probate process because, um, basically your debts kind of die with you, but they could be collected against your assets. So let's say that you have a house and you've, You buy this house and you're living in the house and it's all good. And then you're like, oh, well, you know, I need to refinance the house and we're going to refinance the house to pay for medical bills or to pay for a car or something like that. So you're like, OK, now we refinance the house and then we do live in Colorado and there's going to be the problem of land subsiding. So let's say that your house starts sinking. You're like, oh, well, now the house is sinking. The foundation is starting to crack. It needs $100,000 worth of repairs. So now if you had a house, it was worth $500,000, but it needs $100,000 of repairs, so it's only worth $400,000. And your loan balance is $450,000. So now you're $50,000 upside down in your house. You go, ooh, this is a problem. What do I do now? Well, if you're alive, you keep paying on it, and hopefully that will do that, and you can pay somebody to come in and hopefully kind of shore up your house and stop it from sinking and fix the foundation. There are construction companies who do things like that. I'm not one of them, but there are people who do that. And so we go, okay, well, we'll try to do that. We'll try to fix it. We'll try to make sure that things are good. That'll be good. And so let's say that that happens to be the moment at which you happen to die. And you're like, oh, so you die. House is worth only $400,000 because of the necessary repairs. You owe $450,000. Well, you go in and you're like, okay, well, you sell the house. So you sell the house and you're still $50,000 upside down. But through the probate process, you're like, look, we've paid off all we can. There's no more money left. Sorry, creditor. You're not going to be able to recover that extra $50,000. And the creditor is going to have really no choice or recourse but say, No, but wait, isn't there more assets? You're like, well, let's see here. Where there was the house, the car was worth $250 because it was a 1993 Honda Prelude that was still running with 580,000 miles on it, but just not worth anything. There wasn't any money left in the bank account. The furniture and stuff was... vintage purchased in the fifties and not replaced since. So it's good for taking out to the dump. So there's, there's nothing left and the cutter goes, oh, okay. Well, I guess there's no, so they're kind of out of luck at that point. Now, this is part of why creditors and lenders are very careful because they don't want to be put in that situation. I mean, I've had many clients be like, well, when they die, how do we set it up so that the loan then just disappears? And I'm like, that would be great. That would be awesome if I could figure out how. that when you die, the loan just disappears and the house goes to your kids. That would be awesome. Could you imagine how rich I would be? I'm like, yes, I will put you in this loan. You'll have all of this money. And then when you die, the house passes to your kids, but the loan just goes away. I don't think that the banks and other lenders would be cool with that. What do you think, Luke? You're cool with the banks and lenders just being like, yep, we'll just forgive all loans forever?
Producer Luke (Host) :
Oh, they're famously very generous like that.
Michael Bailey (Host) :
Yeah, in a not at all sort of way?
Producer Luke (Host) :
In a not at all sort of way.
Michael Bailey (Host) :
Right, exactly. At least we're on the same page here, or at least the same, you know, set of microphones. But, you know, I mean, that would be great for, you know, kids and things like that. But that's not how it works because banks tend to not, you know, make bad loans. And they tend to make loans where they're going to make money and they're going to recoup their money. So, you know, but if you had same situation, say the house is, you know, worth, $400,000, you owe $350,000. So okay, we got $50,000 of extra money. Sweet. Except that when the person dies, they had $75,000 in credit card debt. Well, that $75,000 in credit card debt is going to come and try to take what they can get of the other $50,000 in equity. But then the remaining $25,000 can be discharged in probate. So, again, there might be really good reasons to go through probate. Not everybody needs to avoid probate. If you want to avoid probate, there are ways to do it. And I'm certainly well versed in those. But we want to evaluate what your situation is like before we just go trying to say, yes, we need to avoid probate as a blanket statement. It doesn't work. So thanks so much for listening to Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey here on 560 KLZ AM. I will be back next week, but John Rush is coming up next, so stay tuned. Thanks and bye.
Intro (Host) :
Mobile Estate Planning with Michael Bailey will return to ATX next Wednesday at 2.30 here on KLZ 560, AM 560, FM 100.7, and online at klzradio.com.
Join us on this eye-opening journey through the geopolitical landscape as we discuss the impact of strong words versus decisive actions. From the tri-national hostages in Gaza to the wider implications for US foreign policy, this episode highlights the pressing need for actionable strategies. Gain perspective on the situation in Israel and insights into the leadership dynamics as we approach a new presidential term. Don't miss out on this informative and engaging discussion.
SPEAKER 05 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 04 :
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 05 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 04 :
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 08 :
Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 04 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 13 :
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 06 :
All right, we're back. Hour number three, Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, Charlie Grimes, of course, and Virginia Allen joining us now. As I said a few minutes ago, she would. She is senior news producer for the Daily Signal, host of the Daily Signal podcast, and Problematic Women. Virginia, welcome back.
SPEAKER 10 :
great to be with you.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's always a joy. Thank you so much for joining us. Talk to us about this Israeli-American hostage situation that's going on, as we have all now been watching for well over a year now. Donald Trump has even chimed in, and reality is, and I've said this many times on the program, had I been in charge, this wouldn't be going on.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and I think that that is President-elect Donald Trump's attitude. I mean, the news This week is heartbreaking every time we learn of another hostage who has died. You just think of their families, and specifically in the case of Omar Nutra, we've learned now new intelligence from the Israeli Defense Forces has confirmed that he was actually killed on October 7th. But his parents, God bless them, they have spent the last 14 months traveling across America, the world, advocating for their son, speaking with leaders, asking, you know, do anything you can to try and release him. I had the privilege of hearing them speak at the Republican National Convention on the main stage, and they delivered a press conference. with Concerned Women for America at the RNC. Just sweet, sweet people. Their names are Ronan and Orna Nutra. And just, you know, for them to have held out hope for 14 months that just maybe their son was still alive. How heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking.
SPEAKER 14 :
How heartbreaking. Hey, Virginia, what role has American weakness in the form of Joe Biden played in exacerbating the situation?
SPEAKER 10 :
That's the question that I think you are so not alone in asking, right? As Americans kind of scratch their heads as to why are there still U.S. citizens who are hostage in Gaza? And right now there are still three individuals, three men who are believed to be still alive who are dual U.S.-Israeli citizens being held by Hamas in Gaza. And, you know, I think we are going to, it remains to be seen what action we're going to see from President-elect Donald Trump. But from his post on True Social yesterday, shortly after the news broke of the confirmation of Omar Nutra's death, that what we're going to see from a Trump administration is likely going to be very different from what we've seen from a Biden administration. You know, the Biden administration, I want to be clear, they've been they've been very clear in their verbiage about, you know, we stand with Israel, we are for Israel. But what President-elect Trump pointed out in his post yesterday, he said there's been a lot of talk and there's not been a lot of action. And I think it remains to be seen what that action is going to look like. But the fact that he essentially threatened Hamas, he said if all of the hostages are not released by the time I'm sworn into office. His exact words were, there will be hell to pay. We don't know what that hell was going to look like.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I can only imagine, but yeah, I think knowing Donald Trump the way we've known him from his previous time in office, he means business, and I would hope and pray that Hamas is listening. It's in their best interest to.
SPEAKER 14 :
They have to. Yeah, I mean, Virginia, I mean, if for any extended period of time, and it's not just foreign relations, it's at any business, it's at a church, it's in a family, it doesn't matter. If you have an extended period of time where you're all words and no action, the words are going to lose their meaning and they're going to lose their impact.
SPEAKER 06 :
There's no force there.
SPEAKER 10 :
That's right. That's right. Well, and that's where we get into situations where our enemies take advantage of us and they push a little further and a little further and they take advantage of our friends overseas. And Israel has, for a small country, they do just a phenomenal job defending themselves, protecting their people, guarding their borders. And I think it's critical that the United States recognizes, and they do, but again, we can't just be worried. They have the action to back that up. Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, and so we need to make sure that we are maintaining that relationship. really well and of course always wherever american citizens are making sure that they are protected where wherever they may be and that includes these three hostages that are still sitting in gaza bottom line we've allowed this we and i say that we as united states of america we have allowed this to go on far too long we have spent literally you know over a billion dollars plus
SPEAKER 06 :
to a country called Ukraine and not going down that path. But my point is we have supported one while, yeah, I know we support Israel in some ways, but the reality is this thing over there has gone on way, way, way, way, way too long, and we should have put a stop to it months, you know, we should have put a stop to it about 14 months ago.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and it was great to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Today he responded to Trump's comments, and he said those comments are in the right place in relating to Trump saying there would be hell today. And he said, you know, President Trump has his emphasis in the right place focusing on Hamas and he kind of inferred instead of some other people who maybe haven't quite had that same focus at the end of the day that that's The point to me is if Hamas wanted this to end, they could end it.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. Well, and just so you know where we come from as a show, that very next day or two after that particular incident happened, you know, I went on air publicly basically saying that if I were in charge, I would drop leaflets and get the word out that you've got seven days to vacate. Because anybody left here after seven days, we are going to carpet bomb the crap out of this place. We're going to turn it to glass. We're going to then start over. And the reality is no one's welcome here besides folks from the country of Israel. Bottom line is you're not going to be welcome anymore because of what just happened. And I would have just leveled the place.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, I think for so many, they think we wanted to see way more aggressive action. And there's, of course, factors that we have to make sure that even being conscientious of where attacks are launched in order to hopefully protect the lives of the hostages as well that are still being killed.
SPEAKER 06 :
I get that. I get that. And that's true. And that'd be one of those things during those seven days that you're working on and getting handled and so on. But and again, I'm by no means a strategist and I'm not president of the United States. But trust me, Virginia, if I'd have been in charge, we would have been done with this thing a long time.
SPEAKER 14 :
long long time ago when it comes to even you know those folks that would come out and say well how do you protect the people that actually live there well no offense they voted these knuckleheads in to lead them that's their problem not mine well yeah as a people they are harboring terrorists correct they created this who just went and slaughtered neighbors right okay i mean how do you defend that virginia how can we not simply tell them look clear the area we're done We're going to give you some time, clear the area, but we are not going to sit there and try to go door to door and risk our young soldiers' lives going door to door and allow you to stay. You harbored people who went and slaughtered people in Israel.
SPEAKER 06 :
Literally slaughtered people. On October 7th. That's right.
SPEAKER 14 :
And by the way, when your people who you harbor went in and did that, they were not looking at just military targets. They were going after civilians.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, women, children, everything.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Well, you know, and just looking at this and addressing those points, of course there are people living in Gaza who want peace, who respect Israel, but we know from interviews that have taken place with those that were in those kibbutzes by the border that there was for many such a sense of betrayal because they allowed Palestinians to into Israel to work on their farms, to harvest crops, and they really felt that we're friends, we're community, we're building bridges, we're building that connection, and we know that some of that intel then was used by the terrorists on October 7th. against the people of Israel. So while there certainly are wonderful people who desire peace living in Gaza, the roots of terrorism go very, very deep.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I don't want to sound hard in Virginia, but I would tell those same people, and again, maybe this is me and it's probably why I'm not president, but I would tell those same people that I get where you're coming from, I understand you want peace, but here's the reality. How can you live in a place that fosters this type of hatred toward your neighbor? At the end of the day, if you really want peace, move out, because at the end of the day, you're not accomplishing anything. So if you really want peace and mean it, you should move.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I think many of those people do want to move, especially after the last 14 months. I think they are eager to have, for one, to have fresh leadership that is real leadership, but also just to get away from the corruption that is embedded so deeply.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, elections have consequences, okay? If you vote in terrorist leadership that outwardly says, we want the removal of Israel from the planet, from the river to the sea, if you vote in leadership that wants that, then how can you complain about anything that comes down on you?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Well, and I think probably for many, especially maybe for young people, right, like this is a pulling back of the curtain of really seeing, oh, this is the reality. You know, it's not just words. They put real action. And, you know, of course, unfortunately, in the United States, we've seen a lot of young people who have further pulled the wool over their eyes around the situation. It was a whole other conversation about protests on college campuses.
SPEAKER 06 :
I've got about 48 days, in my opinion, to figure this out, because then, as Trump said, all holy hell will break loose.
SPEAKER 14 :
What would Americans want if Canada voted in leadership that committed all forces of Canada to the removal of America from the planet?
SPEAKER 10 :
Hmm. It's frightening, right, when you put it in those terms, and you realize that's the reality that the Israeli people face every day. It hits home at a different level. Okay, wow. And it would really be like the United States. It would be like Canada and Mexico and every nation that's around us. And, of course, over Israel, they're so small, and you have all these large nations that are against them.
SPEAKER 06 :
A better comparison would be Colorado is surrounded by... Exactly. Seven states, and we're not, you know, actually we're larger than the state of Israel. But just think if we as a state had all other seven states wanting to annihilate every single one of us in Colorado. That's the comparison.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I'm a little worried about Wyoming.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, for people, though, Virginia, you've got to put this into context, because when I said it the way I just said it, for the average person that really doesn't understand geographically what it's even like over there in Israel, and again, it's not even the same comparison, because we as a state are much larger than Israel itself. I mean, you've got to take just one end of Colorado and shave that off, and that's what you've got in Israel.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, well, Israel's about the size of the state of New Jersey. Correct. It is small. It looks like New Jersey. Yeah, it does. It really does. I mean, the only reason why they're able to defend themselves so effectively is because they realize, for one, as a nation, they can. So they put a lot of resources, a lot of financial resources, time resources and people resources into defending their country. It's a full united front for every Israeli to be a part of that defense effort. because it's their reality day in and day out.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I also think, personally speaking, that they also have the hand of God upon them that helps them out on a routine basis that allows some of these things to take place the way they do, otherwise they wouldn't exist.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, no, you cannot debate with that. I think, biblically, we see that very, very clearly.
SPEAKER 06 :
Virginia, thanks for all that you do. Daily Signal, we appreciate it. I read you guys' stuff on a regular basis, and thanks for all that you're doing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Absolutely. Have a great night.
SPEAKER 06 :
Will do it. Virginia, take care. Appreciate you joining us on a routine basis. And she's always a joy to have. And I encourage all of you do subscribe to The Daily Signal. Watch what they put out on a daily basis. They have everything from print articles to videos and so on. So go ahead and subscribe if you can. And you'll get a lot of great information from doing so. Flesh Law is up next. Kevin Flesh, civil, criminal, you name it. Kevin's there to represent you. 303-806-8886.
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SPEAKER 05 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And yes, if I'm not in charge, probably a good thing because things would be different, maybe better in some ways, maybe worse in some ways. But when it comes to this whole nonsense going on over in Israel with Hamas, yeah, I literally would have wiped Hamas off the map by now. Done. Gone. You're out of here, guys. See ya.
SPEAKER 14 :
If you were in charge, I think a lot of countries would go missing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I would have even gone as far as to say, you know what, here's how this is going to work, Hamas. You've got seven days. And, oh, by the way, Iran, if you want to get involved, be my guest, because I'll do the same thing to you when this is all said and done. So I would suggest that you guys just stand down and let me handle what's going to happen in that particular area, because when we're done, it'll be over with, and things will go back to normal when it's all said and done. But if you want to get involved, you'll have the same thing.
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, John, I don't think there's any nation on the planet that's going to go through a bigger change going from Biden to Trump than Iran. Except maybe China. I think China, it's going to be devastating.
SPEAKER 06 :
Ukraine's going to have a little bit of adjustment as well. They are, although— Not like what you just said, though.
SPEAKER 14 :
Although Ukraine, let's face it, their war is going to come to an end.
SPEAKER 06 :
What's my mean? So their money flow is going to stop. Right. This last payment today of the $750 million, I doubt highly they get any more of that.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, but so much of that money is going to the elites.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know.
SPEAKER 14 :
The people of Ukraine, I don't see where it's going to be that huge of a difference for them. They're going to have a war end.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it'll be better for them when it's all said and done, because as I've told you before— They're going to lose territory, because it's not—look, the borders are not going to be where they were before. I would highly doubt they will be, Andy.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
There will be some give and take on some of that, because that's the only way you're going to get the thing ended.
SPEAKER 14 :
Is it really going to be that big? Look, I'm not saying, gee, it was okay for Russia to invade a country.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, no, no.
SPEAKER 14 :
I've never said that.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's never okay.
SPEAKER 14 :
But the bottom line is, eastern Ukraine, most of the people in that region were very pro-Russian.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's very Russian, yes. OK, you know, I don't know. I mean, like I told you, the last vacation this summer at one point was talking to some folks that were there. And they and I happen to be talking through interpreters because there was two different sets of individuals, which I found ironic that were one couple was from Ukraine and one couple was from Russia. And so I just went ahead and started asking some questions. You know, the more I got to know him and we, you know, started having some, you know, conversations on some banter back and forth and so on. You know how it is. I just finally said, OK, so what do you guys all think about the war? You know, from me, from either side. Yeah. Almost in unison, because they almost knew what I said, even though I don't speak their language. They knew enough English where they both almost in unison came back and said, it's just politics. In other words, the people are done. They're ready for this thing to be over, whether you're on the Ukraine side or the Russian side. They know this is all about payola and politics when it's all said and done. They want the thing done and over with as much as we do, Andy.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, you know, one other thing, John, I don't think either country right now looks at their leadership and says, gee, these are good, honest people.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, they don't. You're 100 percent. That's exactly what these people were saying, Andy. These are the people that live there. and said that.
SPEAKER 14 :
Putin is a strong man. Let's face it. He is a strong man. He is not somebody who's a good guy who inspires the people, who wins an election sweeping in like Trump did. Look, there's none of that going on in Russia. And by the way, the people running Ukraine are just tied in with the oligarchs. They don't care.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. That's right. You're 100% correct. And that's exactly how the people feel, Andy.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. As always, the people really suffering are the people, not those that are in charge.
SPEAKER 14 :
And the war.
SPEAKER 06 :
That's right. And the war. Well, never should have started, in my opinion. But we, Joe Biden, not we, Joe Biden and his regime that we talked about earlier, he started that one.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
Those of you that are on the left, you may disagree with me, but he started it.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, 100%. He did it twofold. Number one, he's weak so that Putin felt there's no real opposition because there's weak leadership over America. And number two, he made them rich by driving up their number one product, that is oil, and they used oil wealth to fund their war machine. Otherwise, they couldn't have done it.
SPEAKER 06 :
There's no doubt.
SPEAKER 14 :
And I'm just talking Russia there. Then he turns around and he has been by far and away the main supplier and financer of Ukraine. He has made both sides of this war able to fight it.
SPEAKER 06 :
He's made both sides wealthier than they were when they started.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
Despite what anybody might think, the amount of money that has flowed into both countries is enormous.
SPEAKER 14 :
This is Biden's war.
SPEAKER 06 :
Billions upon billions upon billions. He left behind billions in Afghanistan. He's doing it again over there.
SPEAKER 14 :
Without Joe Biden, neither side could have fought this war.
SPEAKER 06 :
And keep in mind, he's also made the coffers of Iran even richer and China's coffers richer and so on. It's why those countries didn't want to see him leave office.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, they're in trouble now. And I'm not even talking war. I'm talking finances.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, no. They're in trouble. It'll be interesting to listen to the Jordan Goodmans of the world, America's Money Answer Man, to see what his thoughts are on some of that because there's going to be, to your point a moment ago, Andy, a lot of countries worldwide that are now looking at what's going to happen in the U.S. thinking, oh, crap. Now what?
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 06 :
Literally, that's what's going to happen.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. Hey, John, when we come back from break, can we pivot? Because you had a great talk yesterday with a caller, and it had to do with the disciplining of kids.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Myself, Andy Pate, Charlie Grimes. All right, Andy, you want to shift gears here just for a minute?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, let's shift gears. John, you had a great call. Really, I thought a very interesting caller yesterday. I forget his name. But he wanted to call in and say that he had some concerns. about corporal punishment with kids. And clearly he was against it. He wanted it ended. And I think he was going a little far. And the reason I felt that way is, as you know, my degree is in the ministry. And at one point he brought up the passage from the 23rd Psalm, Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. And he said, you know, a lot of Christians use this and to say it is good to discipline kids physically, and they said the rod of discipline. And he says, look, it's not referring to the rod of discipline there in the 23rd Psalm. And he's right, by the way. Rod and staff there is talking about what a shepherd uses.
SPEAKER 06 :
And he also was talking about spare the rod, spoil the child.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right, but that is not, that's, yeah. Right. The problem is, is he generalized that and said, because of that, it's never good to use a rod. And he said at one point, you know, when you physically discipline a child, that's an act of violence. And that shows the kid what you're really teaching the kid is that might makes right and that violence is the answer and so forth.
SPEAKER 06 :
Which I disagree with, by the way.
SPEAKER 14 :
I strongly disagree.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because I've raised enough kids to know that. I strongly disagree with that. Let's just say that. And really quick, for those of you who didn't get a chance to listen yesterday, where this all came from was I talked about on vacation. Charlie always asks me what are some of the highlights from vacation. One of the things I mentioned was I just see more and more out-of-control kids because of this whole gentle parenting approach that literally lets the kid run wild because we're just going to – You know, talk softly and let the kid do whatever they want to. And, you know, what are your feelings like and so on and so forth when, in fact, some of these kids need a nice paddling, in my opinion.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right. You know, and spanking kids and so forth. Look, first of all, John. Let's get back on the right track with discipline. Okay, that was, you know, he was talking, he was basically equating all physical discipline with beating kids and with abuse.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I was very clear on that yesterday that that's not what I meant.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right, I know it wasn't. Let's get back on the right track. First of all, he was taking one passage, which he had the correct interpretation of, by the way.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I agreed with him on that, absolutely. Right.
SPEAKER 14 :
But then he was extending that throughout the whole Bible. You see the Bible isn't for physical punishment of kids. Okay, let's look at Proverbs really quick here, and just a few. They're very brief. Go ahead. Proverbs 23, 13. Do not hold back discipline from the child. Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. Let's take a look at 2215. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
SPEAKER 1 :
2915.
SPEAKER 14 :
The rod and reproof give wisdom. But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. And there are several more that say the same thing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, we can keep going. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER 14 :
So physical discipline of the child is not bad. It is necessary.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and I would say, Dan, hang tight really quick. You know, he was using the example of the sheep, that the rod was there to protect the sheep. We should be doing it with our kids, which, by the way, I fully agree with on the same token. I also know from being around not only kids, but animals, they're not all equal. And I said this yesterday. In some cases, you can just look at a kid and that's enough discipline to where they're going to be back in line and things go. There's animals, by the way, that are that way. I happen to own a dog right now. Currently, Andy, that's very much that way. You can just kind of look at him at times and he'll be like, oh, geez, I screwed up, didn't I? It's different personalities in not only animals but kids. And in some cases, you don't need to do much more than that. On the same token, Andy, I've raised animals and kids that needed that rod of correction at times.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, yes. And you're not being loving when you withhold that.
SPEAKER 06 :
No. In fact, I'm going to let them go to their own demise. Right. Correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER 06 :
If I don't correct them, I'm going to let them go to their own demise is what I meant to say there. Dan and Blackhawk, go ahead.
SPEAKER 12 :
It's also consistency on the discipline.
SPEAKER 06 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
So I'll have a little story I'll tell. And we used corporal punishment. We used a spoon. We never used our hands because the hands show love.
SPEAKER 06 :
Use an item.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. The item was the item of discipline. Right. And so what my wife at the time did is she would let me— discipline the kids when I got home, I'd give her a cooling off period. And I don't know if, if there's times that she showed mercy to our kids, but you know, they didn't want dad to discipline them because I, you know, I played baseball, so I'd have a nice little flick of the wrist right when I'd hit their box and it stung, but it never bruised them. If you bruise the kid, it's too much discipline. You should, you should never bruise the kid because, The reason why I'm saying is discipline is I think my youngest son was like three or four at the time, and we had a family gathering, and my brother-in-laws were standing around, and my son was at the bottom of the stairs being defiant towards me. So I said, you have to count to three to get upstairs, to get up to the top of the stairs to come up here, and he was going to be defiant. I counted. I didn't even get to two, and he's at the top of the stairs. And the reason why is because he knew if I got to three, I was going to go down there and I would discipline him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 12 :
And, and my brother-in-law's looked at me and they're like, Ooh, they're like, wow. And I'm like, that's because if I said I was going to fall, he knew he knew the consequences.
SPEAKER 14 :
Dan, did you do it really quick here? Did you do it like Hans and die hard? Did you say, I'm going to count to three. There will not be a four.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, no, I did not do that. I just, he was just being defiant and it's, And there was no corporal punishment in that incident. That's right.
SPEAKER 06 :
And the reason is because you were consistent with what that punishment on the front side was, and he knew that if he continued down that path, that's what was going to happen, which, by the way, is how discipline should work. It's the way the Lord disciplines us.
SPEAKER 14 :
Not only is he learning good and evil, he's actually learning consistency. Correct. Which is a good thing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Consistency and consequences to your actions.
SPEAKER 06 :
The problem, and my point yesterday was, you know, this whole gentle parenting, and I just call it that, it's utter nonsense. It is. This whole gentle parenting thing, I just don't know where we're going to be 20, 30 years from now when these kids are adults and they've never had any.
SPEAKER 12 :
It all started with Dr. Spock.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, what's it going to be like then, Dan?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I mean, but it started back in the 60s with Dr. Spock.
SPEAKER 06 :
And it's gotten to the point where just as a side note, I didn't say this yesterday, but this whole gentle parenting thing has even got people on social media running skits on social media making fun of these people or running skits on, I should say, on social media about the gentle parenting. There's skits out there that are making fun of gentle parenting because of how outlandish it is.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, those are funny. But here's something that's totally ironic in this. The people who are suffering the most from undisciplined kids are school teachers, and yet the school teachers teach against physically disciplining kids.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great point.
SPEAKER 12 :
It just makes no sense.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great point, Andy.
SPEAKER 12 :
And when you're out in public, you know, and if your kid is throwing a temper tantrum, you don't discipline them in public. You remove them from the situation, and you take them privately, and that's when you discipline them. And if you do it in the home privately, and I'm not saying that you're beating your kids, because you, what does it say in Scripture, and I don't know the reference, what father doesn't discipline his kid because he doesn't love him?
SPEAKER 06 :
And basically the Lord disciplines us just like our fathers discipline us, and they discipline us because they love us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes, and that's because they know, because if we don't, let's go back to your dog example. I had a yellow lab retriever, and we'd go duck hunting. I was out on the river one time, and the river was iced over. And unfortunately, I wounded a duck, and she went out to get it, but the duck went under some ice.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you don't want her going out there.
SPEAKER 12 :
She was going to go after the duck in the ice. But because I had trained her, I said, no, she stopped and swam back to me. If I hadn't had trained her and I, you know, I had to. She may have drowned. She may have gone under the ice. That's right. I would have lost my dog. But because I disciplined her. Great point. And taught her, she knew to respond to my commands and it saved her life. Great point.
SPEAKER 06 :
And again, and I want to make sure I'm clear on this. When I was talking yesterday, there is not, and I will be the first to say it, there's not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to raising kids. Every child is different, and I'm not one that says you need to do equal punishment to each kid because some kids need different type of punishment than others, and you need to know your kids to know exactly what to do, just like Dan when it comes to even raising. And I'm not trying to say kids are dogs, but the comparisons are still there. Some dogs need different discipline than others because their temperament is different. Correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes. You just have to be careful because the kids are watching.
SPEAKER 12 :
We got to go.
SPEAKER 14 :
Geez, you never do that with my brother.
SPEAKER 06 :
They are. But, you know, I use some of those, Andy, I use some of those raising kids as a teachable moment saying, well, you know why? It's because X, Y, Z. You do this, your brother does that. much better to what i'm telling her to do when i ask her to do something you don't so yeah when you continue to act the way you do you're going to get a stiffer punishment than she gets because she responds and you don't right because look with every kid do you ever do you go straight to corporal punishment no you try not to because you don't want to you first tell them don't do this correct because nobody wants to do that right off the bat yeah secondly you you're right yeah secondly you do you use some lesser discipline and then finally you go to spanking
SPEAKER 14 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, guess what?
SPEAKER 14 :
Your sister responds to the first two. You don't.
SPEAKER 12 :
Go ahead, Dan. The liberals misinterpret the, you know, I saw a bumper sticker many years ago about how an eye for an eye and a tooth for the tooth. They don't understand what that scripture means. What it means is the consequences or the punishment fit the crime, is basically what the Lord was saying. And it's not, he didn't say that if somebody plucks out an eye, you pluck out their eye. it's the punishment has to fit the crime. Correct. And they, they misinterpret that. And they're like, we'll see how, how vindictive God is. And it's like, no, he's not vindictive. What he was saying is that the, the punishment for the crime should be, should fit. Oh, well, let's go to the pardon of a certain individual whose dad is the president of the United States. The, that is not justice that should have been followed through. Um, He was pardoned for some laws that he broke, gun control laws for one thing. If I lied on the return, I'd be thrown in jail, and I wouldn't ever have a chance of being pardoned. Correct. You know, so was the punishment, does that fit his crime?
SPEAKER 06 :
Let's just say this, Dan. There's people right now in jail for things they did at J6 that are far less than what Hunter Biden did.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and they're still in jail.
SPEAKER 06 :
Correct. Correct.
SPEAKER 14 :
Which is ridiculous. Well, here in a moment, when we have another moment here, I want to give the clear difference between discipline and abuse.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, we'll do that. Dan, I'll let you go, and we'll come back and do that. Appreciate it very much. Thanks for your comments, Dan. Golden Eagle Financial coming up next. Al Smith, if you need help when it comes to your future financial plans, getting there, staying there, having a plan, sticking to the plan, talk to Al today. Find him at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
It's time to leave your safe space. This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us today, by the way. We appreciate it very much. This last about half hour or so we've been talking about a topic I got into briefly in the 3 o'clock hour. Then we had a follow-up phone call in the 5 o'clock hour talking about, you know, the rod and the staff and so on and so forth and discipline with kids. And you've heard some of our last segments there with Dan and Andy and I as well. And, yes, as somebody that raised seven kids. Do I believe in corporal punishment? Yes, and nobody's going to convince me otherwise. Now, with all that being said, does it need to be done correctly, not in anger, making sure that the child understands exactly what's going on and so on? And was I a perfect parent? No. Did my kids all grow up to understand what all of this means, and have they become very productive citizens? Yes.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, Richard is not a Packer fan, so I think you were an awful parent.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, there we go.
SPEAKER 14 :
I mean, you obviously blew it from the start.
SPEAKER 06 :
I taught him right. He's not a Packer fan.
SPEAKER 14 :
I mean, my goodness. Okay, really quick here. One of the things... That was mentioned by the caller yesterday was this, said, if you strike your child, you are basically conveying that might makes right and violence is the answer. And that is completely incorrect. Here's the thing. You can abuse power without using any physical nature. What if you ground your kid for a year over a minor offense? Aren't you then abusing power? Yes, you are. What if you're the president and you have your political enemy, you raid Mar-a-Lago with Same example. Physicality is not abuse of power. Abuse of power is abuse of power.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. You can do that physically, mentally, all sorts of ways.
SPEAKER 14 :
Exactly. You can over discipline in any number of ways, including physically. And here's what I think is a really good rule of thumb, no matter what discipline you use. And you just alluded to it. You nailed it. Doing it in anger. Okay, here it is. If you do it, as a rule of thumb, it's not perfect, we aren't perfect, but if you do it for their good, for their benefit, then it's discipline. That's right. If you do it for your benefit, out of your anger, because you feel insulted because they're not respecting your...
SPEAKER 06 :
Your authority.
SPEAKER 14 :
Your authority. My gosh, I work all week to try to put food on the table and hear the kid X this way toward me when I, you know, and shows this disrespect in front of other people at that party or at the mall. Whatever it is. I am so angry. If you do it out of anger... Then it is abuse. Correct. It's usually going to be abusive, and it's going to lead to more abuse because it's going to feel good. And then you're going to want that feeling more. I feel good because I got it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Really quick, too. I also know when it comes to kids, because, again, I raised enough kids to know this, there becomes a time, Andy, where you also have to determine where's the pain point with that child. Let me explain. Oh, yeah. As children get older and a little tougher, boys especially— they may just as soon have the corporal punishment as opposed to the removal of an item in their life. Oh, yeah. Or grounding or something along those lines. So you also have to know where is that pinch point, that pain point with said child, and know that sometimes corporal punishment might actually be their easy way out. And taking away the PlayStation for a week, by the way, might be a bigger punishment than actual having some corporal punishment.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, let's get even more cruel. The phone.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, my goodness. There are a lot of kids. They'll look at you like, yeah, you spanked me. No, no, no, no. It's not going to be that easy.
SPEAKER 06 :
I'm taking the phone for a week. Yeah. Or two days or whatever it is.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right. The guy yesterday, and by the way, he seemed like a really good guy. But he clearly was an activist against corporal punishment. And it's like, look, first of all, you start to misuse scripture. You start to take one scripture. He got one right and then expanded beyond that. And you ignore a lot of other scriptures. You always got to take the whole balance of scripture. But secondly, you have to take into account what is your motivation as a parent? And by the way, set aside parenting for a second. What is your motivation as a boss? Why do you discipline this employee? Do you do it out of anger? We can do that as bosses.
SPEAKER 06 :
True.
SPEAKER 14 :
We can do it out of anger because they disrespected me and they didn't or they're lazy here. I work so hard as a boss. I put in 60 hours. I come in and they're sitting on their, you know.
SPEAKER 06 :
Their duff's doing nothing.
SPEAKER 14 :
sitting on their duffs doing nothing when I hardly ever do that. And I have to constantly ride them just to get them to do their job. And you find yourself not disciplining them to help them become better. You're not thinking about their career path. You're thinking about your anger. When we act out of anger, In all of life, when we act out of emotion in all of life, how good are our decisions?
SPEAKER 06 :
Not very.
SPEAKER 14 :
Not very.
SPEAKER 06 :
Been there, done that, by the way, so not very.
SPEAKER 14 :
And the same is true of discipline.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, again, was I perfect as a father? Was I perfect as an owner and as a boss? No, Andy, I've made all sorts of mistakes, and everything you just said is exactly correct. When you do it out of anger, when you're hot, you don't make the right decisions, you don't do things correctly, you say things that you shouldn't, and at the end of the day, it never works out well.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right. Right. You know, when I look at all these people who voted for Kamala, and you see all these people enraged online, you know, screaming in their cars.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because they lost?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah. Notice the only reasons they blame are racism and sexism. Why? Misogyny.
SPEAKER 06 :
Misogyny. Misogyny, Andy. Come on now.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah. It has nothing to do with the price of groceries.
SPEAKER 06 :
No.
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, and... But look what they're screaming out, and they're screaming out in anger, in emotion. If your decisions are pure emotion, what are the odds that you make good voting decisions?
SPEAKER 06 :
You don't. Not very good. You don't. In fact, to your point, I had this in my notes for today. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, but there's an article in The Atlantic, that nice right-leaning publication. The Atlantic. Misogyny comes roaring back. So to your point, there's an article written about the very thing that you're talking about. Once again, the left, the Atlantic is the left. They're blaming misogyny for the reason why Donald Trump won and she lost.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, they can't look at the quality of the candidate. And her plan, which, by the way, she refused to offer one. Even the media on their side of the aisle, left-wing media, were infuriated with the fact that she wouldn't, as one put it, answer the blankety-blank question. They couldn't take it anymore. She won't answer the questions. She diverts. Donald Trump just says flat out, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. Bang.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, by the way, this is how far off they are. Yeah. So Donald Trump, perhaps the most famous misogynist ever to reach the highest office. But in 2020 for 2024, it was even more alarming than in 2016 was how Trump's campaign seemed to be promoting. And I don't know where this is coming from because I didn't see any of this. Maybe maybe I'm blind, Andy, but they seem to be promoting a version of the country in which men dominate public life. while women are mostly confined to the home, deprived of a voice, and neutralized as a threat to men's status and ambitions. Where is that coming from?
SPEAKER 14 :
I don't know. Somebody should ask Tulsi. I'm just confused, Andy. Trump surrounds himself with all these highly accomplished, brilliant women. Okay, he does. When you look at the women in Trump's orbit, they're the Pambandis. They're brilliant. This, by the way, was written by a woman, but just so you know. Well, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But this is why Mark Cuban's comments were such wonderful fodder for the Trump campaign.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, it helped us win.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, it did help us win. Thank you, Mark. Because Trump women just rose up. What about Lara Trump, who's probably going to be the next senator from Florida? She's brilliant. Okay. Yeah, she's last name Trump. Yeah, she got where she was because of who she knows. But she would have risen up any organization. It just happened to be this one. Look. Brilliance is brilliance. It doesn't matter. But these people were acting out of rage. They're acting out of bitterness. And they're not taking a step back and examining what was wrong with what we did. And this gets us back once again to discipline of kids. Are you acting out of rage? When in the moment of disciplining the kid, are you thinking ahead? How is this going to make them a better person? Or are you thinking now behind? How did they offend me? How did they disrespect me? How did they embarrass me at that party, at the mall, at that restaurant, at wherever, everywhere? How did they make me feel? Or are you thinking about how are they going to turn out? Why are you doing it? And if you think about that, not just in parenting, but in business and everywhere else, you're probably going to make better decisions.
SPEAKER 06 :
Frankly, even in voting, are you looking out for what's best for the country or what's best for you?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, is it America first or just you first?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think with these people, Andy, it's definitely just you first. Oh, yeah. It isn't what's best for the country. It's what's best for you. Because, again, to your point, she had no plan as to even how to make the country better. She was asked point blank numerous times. And the answer you got back was, well, yeah, I was raised in a middle class home. Well, first of all, what's that got to do with helping the economy and the price of groceries? It doesn't. But that was her answer, Andy. I grew up in a middle-class home, which, by the way, she didn't.
SPEAKER 14 :
What has that got to do with guys going into the ring and beating up women? Okay? There are real issues here.
SPEAKER 06 :
It doesn't.
SPEAKER 14 :
We don't want men and women sports. It doesn't.
SPEAKER 06 :
We don't want green energy.
SPEAKER 14 :
We want oil and gas. We don't want war in Ukraine. Get it through your skull.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
We don't yell at you, we inform you. Now, back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, that's wrapping things up for today. About a minute left is all Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush. By the way, just as a reminder, you can always find our past shows and the different things that we talk about on the website. Just go to RushToReason.com and click under the show notes section, and you can find all of those things there. But, yeah, Andy, there's still a lot of folks out there. And I know I had to ask you earlier. We didn't get a chance to talk about it, so maybe we'll do it a little bit. We can do this again next week on next Tuesday, which is have they learned anything from the recent loss? I don't think some of them have. There's some higher-ups that most likely have learned, and they will make some different strategy adjustments and so on. But the average liberal has learned nothing, Andy. They're just mad.
SPEAKER 14 :
And the proof of that is that they're blaming misogyny.
SPEAKER 06 :
They're blaming sexism and racism. That article I just read. Right. Prime example. That's the proof they're not learning. They have not learned. Now, yes, a lot of the strategists and the higher-ups and so on, they will get it. They will have different strategies. Trust me, we cannot just sit back on our laurels in 2026. We're going to have to come out strong again because, believe me, they will adjust accordingly. They will. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. Have a great night. Be safe out there, I should say. Health and wellness tomorrow. This is Rush to Reason, Denver's Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
Explore the ongoing efforts of the American Center for Law and Justice as they engage in pivotal battles to uphold faith and freedom across the nation. This episode highlights the importance of supporting key initiatives that defend constitutional rights, offering a detailed account of past victories and the ongoing need for resources to ensure victories in battles yet to come. Join the conversation and discover how your support makes a difference.
SPEAKER 03 :
We've got the latest updates on the fight to confirm Trump's cabinet picks. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome to Seculo, everyone. This is Will Haines, executive producer. Logan's joining me. As you can imagine, it's a very busy time with everything going on in Washington, D.C., and Jordan will be joining us shortly. He, as you can imagine, we're all working very hard around the clock, even as we head into the holiday season, but he will be on momentarily.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Jordan will be on in just a second. I just swung in here. Today was my off day. But you know, it happens sometimes. It is a very busy time. And we'll be back, obviously, continuing our live coverage of everything that's going on. But it's a very important time right now as we are in the middle of our Faith and Freedom year-end drive. Thank you, I have to say, to everyone who gave yesterday on Giving Tuesday. It was an amazing amount of you that really supported our work. When I looked at the numbers at the end of the day, it was pretty mind-blowing. So again, thank you so much if you did that. If you haven't yet, still a great time. To support the work of the ACLJ. And you can do it right now. You can also give us a call. Our phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. 1-800-684-3110. And Jordan's coming in now.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I was just going to go ahead and get into what the news we're covering today is. As kind of a surprise exclusive came out of the Wall Street Journal this morning. And that was that President Trump is considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth. Now, what we've seen over these last few days is that the media, which originally turned their ire against Matt Gaetz, Representative Matt Gaetz for his pick on Attorney General, it seems like they smell blood. They see the opportunity to try and use something and go loaded for bear against a nominee and And aren't letting necessarily the senators do their job, which is to vet and discuss advice and consent that's in the Constitution of these nominees. And so the report that's out, we'll see what happens. But Jordan's joining me. What was your take when you first saw this this morning?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think you look back at Matt Gaetz. and you remember the dump that was about to occur and they were they're still fighting for it to this day but he he removed himself from congress to try and prevent the house committee from legally under their rules actually releasing the report this doesn't apply to pete so uh this information that's been this drip drip drip these are in you know settlements and discussions like that ultimately you go to the u.s senators and after you've done those meetings you have a count You have a count that says, I've got this many who are yes votes, this many who probably want a follow-up meeting. And after we followed up with some that were a little bit more, maybe not hostile, but had a little more difficult questions, if you will, that those folks, again, you kind of put in a no column for right now. You put too many in a no column and a maybe column, and you're, of course, going to make President Trump nervous and the transition team nervous because learning how to run the Department of Defense, even if you come from a military background like Pete does. And let me say one thing about all these departments. The truth is many of them, unfortunately right now, could probably run themselves because of the amount of bureaucracy. The question is you need to put someone in there who is able to bust up that level of bureaucracy. So it's not the concern that, listen, you have to know everything about what it's like to run an agency. Talk to anybody from a cabinet position who had never served in one and ask them in honesty if they were ready to go on day one to walk in and manage everything. thousands of people in his case over millions of people right and gigantic budgets so there's always a learning ground but your first job is when you're a cabinet level nominee is to convince enough senators on your side of the aisle to support you in those hearings, both through the committee level, where you're getting beat up, and on the floor, where you're going to get beat up. But, you know, we're still, we're not, we're kind of like that, I feel like we're that day away, maybe, or evening away. But at any moment, we can see this on Truth Social. The last time this happened with Matt Gaetz, we were live on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, there it goes, Will. That's right. And I also want to remind everyone, we are in the middle of our Faith and Freedom year-end drive. It's one of the most important times of the year for us here at the ACLJ, so we can plan out how we can continue this fight into 2025. Have your donation doubled today at ACLJ.org. Donate today.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, welcome back to Secular. We are taking your calls. 1-800-684-3110. So let's make a couple points real clear here as we hear the Pete Hegsteth news. until President Trump makes a different decision and that is something no one can predict I don't think anyone at this moment even exactly knows it sounds like this was just kind of again you've got to have a list because there are people we saw that with the DEA yesterday there's not a lot of story yet behind that sheriff right he didn't seem like it was any kind of scandalous background because he said I look forward to running again as sheriff. I feel like my family's here and my job is here. Listen, moving up to Washington, D.C. to run the DEA is a huge shift in life, whoever you are, but especially if you've been a county sheriff that's been engaged in a drug war. So, I mean, those kind of events, it's not unusual for people to take themselves out of consideration even earlier in the process when they first said yes because of the excitement level. I mean, it's hard to get that call and say no, And then you start rethinking things. You're like, can I afford this? Can my family get through this? Is this the right decision for me in my life right now? Of course, it's always a great honor. So then you look at something like Department of Defense. I think it's 3 million troops. I think 1.5 maybe are active duty and another 1.5 that are reserve or somewhere around that number. I may be a little off.
SPEAKER 04 :
So there's 1.4 million active duty service members, and then there's almost another million of reserves. So you're about two and a half million. And then there's another 750,000 civilian employees. So it's a very large department. And that's where when you start to... See a name like Ron DeSantis floated as a potential replacement. Now, we've also been through this game before where the media reports something and sometimes it's the transition team that likes to really mess with the media and make them look foolish because of how hard they're going against a nominee. But it wouldn't be unheard of, even in this administration, that someone declines their nomination after going through the Senate process and then ends up being replaced by someone else. Ron DeSantis obviously has executive experience as a governor. Now he's in his second term as governor of one of the largest states in the country. And so managing that kind of personnel is something that's within his CV, his skill set. But I did want to read a quote that was really interesting from a Republican senator that is Senator Loomis. And she had this to say about Pete Hegseth as he's going through a firestorm of the media trying to tear him down. And she said, it's very clear that this guy is the guy who at the time when Americans are losing their confidence in their own military and our ability to project strength around the world, that Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern. So there are US senators that are very firmly in the Pete Hegseth camp and that understand that he's going to get in there. And when you have a Department of Defense that has failed seven audits in a row and Can't account for hundreds of billions of dollars. That's what happens to us. If you failed seven audits in a row... You couldn't get to seven audits failed in a row because you'd be in federal prison if you're failing that many audits.
SPEAKER 06 :
That would be one of the highest level non-violent sentencings in probably U.S. history. I mean, you're not necessarily taking other people's money like a Bernie Madoff situation, but you are certainly defrauding the federal government. I think again when you go back to a Pete Hegseth or a Ron DeSantis okay it makes sense one for both and here's why they both have military experience they both think the DoD is bloated not because we have enough soldiers which we don't but because we have too many bureaucrats we have too many people in a lot of these office cash patel talked about this at fbi that are stuck in washington dc yes there's an element of course of cyber crime and we know a lot of dod is moving that way to cyber as well so you're going to have more people in buildings than you necessarily maybe used to have but we also know in so many of these departments that people aren't even showing up still it's only what 17 percent right who work from an office exclusively in office yeah So think about that at the Department of Defense. When I imagine the Pentagon, I imagine a place that has got action going almost like an ER 24-7 on a big scale. All those rooms tracking everything in the world. You hope that that is how it's running. So I think both with their military experiences make sense. Is Ron DeSantis an easier confirmation? Maybe. But remember, he went to war with the left on some of their top issues, like the one after Disney, the LGBT issue, some of those issues that, again, even on the moderate Republicans may think, is that a distraction? Now, what we've seen from President Trump in the past. I think we saw this with Pam Bondi at Attorney General is you've always got picks ready to go and people that were just as qualified so if you feel like your first pick is already at a point where they can't dig themselves out of the hole then you want to give them a way out to preserve their honor to protect their family that's the kind of discussions going on right now it's not Does Donald Trump not have faith that Pete Hexeth can do this job? It's Donald Trump and his team making sure that they're not going to put up nominees for the six or seven or eight most important cabinet positions that they know some information is out there about, they know is going to be nasty, and they don't have full confidence at this point in time that they have enough Republican votes to get him across the line.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and there's also the converse of that too, Jordan, that sometimes the easy nominee, because they're known, maybe they're a senator. I think back to Attorney General Sessions, which was, in my opinion, for Attorney General at the time, was a rock star pick. But what happens is that you get into the situation where they haven't necessarily been vetted on a national scale. Ron DeSantis has been. He's run for president. He's gone through a lot of that media vetting before where they would have found things to go after him.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
But you think back to that Attorney General Sessions. He had good colleagues in the Senate. He went through. He didn't have to go through the trial by fire that you have to go through many times in the Senate confirmation process. So then he gets in there and the deep state turns on you. Part of the Senate. They did try him pretty hard.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean Sessions you know they made him out to be a racist they tried that line of attack and so on the left he still made it through but he was so damaged by the time he made it through he felt that pressure which set off all the bad events in the first four years of the Trump administration which was to bow out and recuse himself because he had literally phone calls with a Russian ambassador during a transition or meetings during a transition into office. Even with the current situation with Ukraine, I don't think there should be anything wrong with an official who's a U.S. senator coming in his cabinet, talking to people who may be adversaries at this point, but you also have a relationship with so that you can improve that relationship the day after. Your administration takes office. But we saw how he was seized upon by that. Listen, if you go to someone like if you go from a Matt Gaetz to a Pam Bondi, you're going from warrior to warrior. So, you know, I think that's why you didn't see a lot of people so upset. once they got to learn who Pam was more than just the Florida Attorney General and how hard she has been working to get President Trump re-elected through the PACs and things like that. DeSantis it's another interesting move one it would make out Florida to be the Republican state of the country I mean of the country and it's also the one of the more diverse states that's gone Republican it's a great model to take out west where you've got some of the similar demographics that you can play. They did that this election campaign. So would Ron DeSantis be somewhat easier to confirm? Or do you want Donald Trump to stick with Pete Hegseth? That's not all up to Donald Trump, by the way. Pete, Hegseth could decide on his own that hey Mr. President I'd love that you'd stand with me on this but I think it's going to be really painful really tough it's going to end up reflecting not just on me but on you we're not there we're not at that point yet we might be in 15 minutes we might be tomorrow but but it really boils down to is we've got to have fighters So as long as we're talking about fighters, I think the base and the mandate that President Trump was given by the voters, as long as you're someone who will go in there and has the ability to clean up shop and make real change, that going from a Hegseth to a DeSantis is not a huge jump when you think about their goals in the department are to drain the swamp. They are very lockstep DeSantis with most MAGA policies. He just kind of got out of touch because he was the highest level contender left in that race in the primary. It also repairs that relationship and changes it very differently so that Donald Trump knows he has four years and he's going to be leaving a stable of seriously qualified candidates to be president of the United States, including his own vice president, which we'll learn a lot more about as he begins to govern at that level, the executive level, J.D.
SPEAKER 04 :
Vance. That's right, Jordan. And as you mentioned, the important thing here is that President Trump has gone through this before. He learned his lessons from the very first time. And he knows what he's doing and has a very competent team around him that we're going to end up with a great cabinet that is going to lead forward in that agenda. But as we look to 2025 and how we are going to engage in the fights ahead, we talked yesterday about a court case protecting a student in Nevada and her family when she was forced to read an explicit monologue. And we got a victory, but it took two and a half years almost. We need to have the resources available that when that student comes, our next student could be calling in today needing a two and a half year fight. We have the resources ready and available to get on the ground and fight. Go to ACLJ.org today and donate.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, welcome back to Sekulow. We are taking your calls to 1-800-684-3110. Unless Pete Hagseth takes himself out of consideration, sometimes it's tough to know if that's truly the case because usually this early in a process, the incoming president is going to let you handle that in the nicest way possible. You haven't gone through confirmation. You haven't been beat up. You haven't beat them up. But again it's a big question mark and right now well we've got breaking news on Capitol Hill because a good friend of ours and not to be controversial because I know people had different picks but this is someone we've worked with since their time in the House of Representatives John Thune who is the incoming majority leader. of the U.S. Senate is being reportedly is meeting with Pete Hegseth right now and Will the significance of that meeting is that John Thune is the one U.S. Senator on track right now who can probably give him a direct read on where Republicans are and if you get past the committee level vote but because you don't even have to you don't technically have to even win the committee vote to get to the floor but where Republicans are so it could be a real truth moment for Pete to kind of take it and say those that I met with that still feel like I'm on this list is there anything I can do left to convince them or is it just they don't like my personal record which again has the American people have put a lot less influence on in the past I'd say see Donald Trump for that about you know marriages and things like that it seems to more are you confident to fight for the good fight for the American people and we're going to watch all of this you know we have a huge team obviously in Washington DC well it's going to you know always be following these stories and follow them as closely as possible this we're not talking about this to hurt Pete Hegseth by the way you need bold new leadership in Washington and I know a lot of you think of us sometimes you see us you say oh you guys would be too young for this or that you have to realize these are people now in their 40s with families it's kind of the it's actually the age where if you look in the past that's where cabinet officials come came from they didn't come from 75 and up now we're a different time you know people stay healthier longer we have presidents who are older but Uh, some of that I think is kind of age discrimination. Right. Some of it is Fox news discrimination that he's been on Fox and some is that he's just a bold speaker. Well, I mean, you could say Ron DeSantis also. presidential candidate certainly a bold speaker tough personality tough guy has showed his ability to work across the aisle though in Florida and would probably be comparatively a very smooth confirmation comparatively to Pete Hegseth because he is not an unknown to Capitol Hill does that mean he's going to get a ton of Democrat votes probably not but is it going to drag on for weeks and we're not going to have a DOD secretary I don't think so and by the way I don't just assume that it's definitely him right don't you know I kind of that's the name that popped up but there could be others as well and the calls I really want to get to are you know you've gone through this nomination process at this point to our listeners do you just trust President Trump to be making the right decisions here and he's trying to put people in he thinks can be the most disruptive if they believe that they are not able to get in you know you've got number two and three on that list that you believe could be just as disruptive and I think that's why the conservative movement and the MAGA movement slowed down a lot after Matt Gaetz pulled out because when Pam Boddy was announced they said wait okay this is one of us and we had all those sound bites from MSNBC saying she's our worst nightmare because she has the same ideology as Matt Gaetz but she's run departments like this she's run these big organizations successfully so now you're going to get someone who has the ideology plus the experience so again some of these it's tough to know of course until it happens but it's why we do our work here at the ACLJ on that government affairs side as well during our Faith and Freedom Year in Drive. We want to make sure that government affairs office is ready to go, whoever the nominee may be. We put together our own internal folders ready to go on nominees, especially as they get closer to confirmation battles. And that is a resource, Will. That is something people are donating to as well so that our team is prepared to inform you about why this is a good pick what to watch for the hearings we're still we're not we're not far away from those but at the same time I just want to let let everyone know out there it's not like we just sit here and talk about these either we are heavily involved we work closely with members of congress we work closely both with the house and the senate and we're getting as much intel as we can that we can share with you on the broadcast about some of these nominations that of course are leading the front pages and leading the headlines.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right. And I actually have a question for Secretary Mike Pompeo, who's joining us, Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, because the Department of Defense is kind of in the spotlight today. We're talking about the nomination of Pete Hegseth and then the Wall Street Journal report today that it may be Governor DeSantis if Hegseth is pulled his nomination. But, you know, we've talked about the Department of Defense failing seven audits in a row, and there's a new... report out from the GAO that says that half the Navy's amphibious fleet is in poor condition and it's not on track to meet their expected service lives. Secretary Pompeo, you've pushed back for years against the Biden administration's DEI initiatives in our military, warning about how it makes America less safe instead of focusing on things like, I don't know, maybe making sure the amphibious fleet is not in poor condition. But regardless of who the Secretary of Defense is, What do you think the Trump administration needs to do to right the ship, so to speak, and ensure our national security?
SPEAKER 01 :
That's the exact right question. I'm confident whoever President Trump picks and get confirmed will deliver against the following mission set, which is to return the military to its core focus. That report about the condition of the equipment mirrors the condition of the recruitment process right there. Military is missing its recruitment goals by staggering amounts, leaving the military too small, undermanned, unprepared for the next generation of leaders as well. And so whoever comes in to be the next secretary of defense has got a management people issue. And that is returning to mission, not talking about climate change, not talking about DEI, talking about war fighting skills and how to deliver a military capable of deterring our adversaries. So the president Trump is in position to know that he's got a strong military backing up the agenda that he is laying out for our partners and our adversaries all across the world. Secretary.
SPEAKER 06 :
We're already running out of time on this segment but I did want to ask you this because President Biden had that very nice sit down with President Trump about a smooth transition of power but now he's putting in a new ban on mining leases across the United States. The Trump mandate from the American people to achieve energy independence once again was very clear but it appears that that honeymoon in the transition is over. Your thoughts?
SPEAKER 01 :
No doubt. President Biden and his team, his entire political team is going to do everything they can the next 40 days, whatever, 45 days to deliver on the promises that they made. They think they made. They don't care what the American people said in November. They're going to drive this process. low carbon climate change agenda and destroying the capacity for America to be energy dominant and to use that not only for the American people, but for our national security as well. The good news is on January 20th, all this changes, Jordan.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I mean, exactly right. And I think. More than a new sheriff comes to town, but a new administration and a lot of allies like you and us that can be speaking to these decisions as well. We appreciate always your time. Our Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who's going to have a lot to help us weigh in on through those tough confirmation battles because he's been at the highest level of confirmation through being CIA Director and Secretary of State. And there's not too many people who you can hear from directly who have gone through that process recently, especially with the Trump administration. We'll take your calls. Support the work of the ACLJ. A critical time for us. ACLJ.org. Donate today. Make sure we're financially ready to fight every battle.
SPEAKER 03 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Sekulow. I want to make this very clear. Our faith and freedom year in drive is really important. And, you know, we don't fundraise a ton on this broadcast. Usually we get right to the news. But on this segment, I want to get right to why it's important for you to financially support the American Center for Law and Justice. Because if you're listening to the broadcast, if you're watching the broadcast, that does not come for free. This is not just me, Will, or Logan and some of our guests like Secretary Pompeo who are on the team or Tulsi Gabbards and Rick Grinnell who will be on later in the broadcast. This is an entire team I can't even show you right now just getting this show on the air, making sure it's produced with a multi-camera shot, clipping it out later, working on the news clips we play during the show, making sure we're all well briefed and that if breaking news occurs, we're ready to go with it so that's one reason to support the ACLJ that doesn't even include all the legal work which also includes winning that major case after a parent their teen daughter remember that forced to read that horrible script to their class pornographic script we got a victory there for that family and for students rights we stick with these battles whether you are a concerned mom or high school student or you are someone who is on the way to becoming a member of the U.S. Cabinet, U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives, we treat them all the same with the best quality attorneys and the best resources available. We can only do that because of your financial support to the American Center for Law and Justice. And during the Faith and Freedom Drive this month, your donation is doubled. We had an awesome Giving Tuesday. I was out of the office yesterday, but I saw all the reports, and I want to say thank you for those who used Giving Tuesday. to support the work of the ACLJ, but we have to continue that work. It is that vital because we get closer to nomination and swearing-in day, and we start working on these nomination battles, which we do at the ACLJ, weighing in, working with those congressional staff, making sure the best people are going to be put in place who can get confirmed and also come in to their departments with a mandate. Because, Will, that's clear too. The reason how you can help us, if you're financially able, is you make a donation today at ACLJ.org. Your gift will be doubled. The match continues. ACLJ.org. Let's make sure that ACLJ has a bigger presence in Washington, D.C. the moment President Trump is taking the oath of office than we do even today. right now and we have announcements about that you know coming up the future about how we are expanding our efforts inside Washington DC.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right Jordan and as we mentioned on the broadcast yesterday even Secretary Pompeo talked about his time at the State Department when the work of the ACLJ helped the government do the right thing that many times you you think about the organization especially over the last four years about us fighting back But now the battle almost gets more tough because you're fighting the onslaught of attacks from the media, from the left, in court. The lawsuits are going to start getting filed on January 1st as soon as the first executive order is published. That's how quick the left is going to be attacking the moves that the United States people voted for, the mandate they gave to the new administration and the new Congress. to move forward. They are going to start filing lawsuits as soon as the first executive order on January 20th or 21st, whenever President Trump issues those, goes into effect. They're going to try to stop everything that America voted for. So whether it's that, where we're fighting filing in court to protect the rights of Americans, what they voted for moving forward, those agenda items, or whether it is individuals who are not making the news, but the the left and those that want to silence the first amendment rights of americans we're fighting for that too and you may never hear about it on the news but many times we're fighting for years at the aclj attorneys working tirelessly filing in court flying across the country doing depositions that work doesn't end no matter who's in the white house and so we have to be prepared to fight those battles as well Join us at ACLJ.org. We're in the Faith and Freedom Drive. Have your gift doubled by making a donation. And if you can, become a champion. Become a recurring donor to help us ensure that fight continues.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know we've got some callers hanging on the line. We'll get to your calls. 1-800-684-3110. In fact, this is a great time to call if you want to be on the air today as we bring in a Rick Ronell to the discussion. Again, a team member here at the American Surfer Law and Justice. And Rick, I want to go right to you on Cash Patel because I don't think there's anyone in American politics who knows Cash better because he served as your deputy at ODNI and he's also worked with you even before that. So, Tell the American people who are hearing that, you know, Kash Patel is too radical to be the FBI director, why the news is wrong.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, first of all, only the people who would call Washington, D.C., a place that's always right, would say that Kash Patel is wrong. Because Kash Patel is somebody who is fighting for the American people, not for the Washington powerful. The Washington elite definitely are freaking out over Cash because look, Cash is somebody, and I know him very well, Cash is somebody who was a public defender when he came out of law school. He then became a government prosecutor. Tell me who in the world right now has been both a public defender, a government prosecutor, and somebody who's worked on Capitol Hill to uncover so much of what the government craziness and political prosecutions have been doing to the American people. Kash Patel as FBI director couldn't make me more excited. He literally is the perfect pick. And what we need to do is demand that the Washington DC types and US senators who have to sign off on him, understand that the American people want cash to clean up the FBI and help clean up the DOJ because we don't trust it. He is going to restore the FBI to its glory days of working on behalf of the American people, not on behalf of the powerful in Washington.
SPEAKER 04 :
Rick, when you look at Kash Patel's resume, you would think if the left were ideologically honest, he would be someone they are celebrating everywhere in America. First-generation American, served as both a prosecutor and, as you mentioned, a public defender, something the left is always concerned we don't have enough of representative in our law enforcement agencies, people that can empathize and understand the side of the public defender. And yet you would think with that resume just on paper, he would be the most celebrated pick of all time and would be sailing through confirmation with a hundred senators. But because his ideology is wrong and because he wants less government corruption and control of American lives, He's the enemy, and they make him out to be whatever they want to project on him. Crazy, radical, any pejorative ad hominem attack you can come up with, they're going to throw at him because he doesn't share their ideology.
SPEAKER 02 :
Look, what we know is the Washington types love to throw around these charges that someone is racist, sexist, homophobe. or the new one, a Russian agent. We know that this is the playbook. And what we really have to demand of our leaders, of our Republican senators, is to look at the facts and to understand that the American people don't want more power for Washington DC types. We want people who are skeptical of the power We have seen Hunger Games. We're very afraid of a capital that's too powerful. We need to have somebody who brings the American values to Washington, and that is Kash Patel, first-generation American who absolutely looks at all different types of people and says, I want to fight for the people, not for the powerful. He was my deputy. I know him extremely well. And I can't tell you, Will, how many times people would say to me, When I brought him in at DMV, wow, I really like Kash. He's such a thoughtful guy and his media reputation is nothing like what he is in person. I know that the Washington DC types try to malign people with this media narrative. I'm one person who's gonna fight really hard on the front lines. I'm gonna risk my own political capital to make sure that Kash Patel is the FBI director. We deserve him. He deserves to have the job. President Trump has recognized that. And I'm going to do everything I can to fight for his nomination. I'm going to be in the front row when he's there for confirmations. I'm going all in and I'm going to be asking the public to call their senators and say, we want cash. We want Kash Patel.
SPEAKER 04 :
Rick, also something that's maybe not making as many headlines as it should right now, but just for people that don't necessarily know Kash Patel's background as much, he did work as a national security prosecutor at the DOJ under the Obama administration, successfully. prosecuting criminals that were Al Qaeda, ISIS and other terror groups, you know, things that the American people want the FBI to actually be going after, not parents at school board meetings or Catholics that they think are too conservative. But the Iranians, there's news out that they have targeted Kash Patel in a hack already. to me, this once again tells us that, uh, if the Iranians are concerned and feel like they need to target the American, it's probably the right pick from president Trump. But it also tells me that, uh, the DOJ better clean house very quickly so that they can continue to protect Americans from cyber attacks from the Iranians.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let me give you a little quick story about cash Patel. Cash Patel was told by, uh, Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense, Esper, a whole bunch of other people in different agencies, that he should not be negotiating for Americans held hostage in Syria. They told him to mind his own business, that they had it going. And Cash became very frustrated that not enough was being done. Cash went into Syria when everyone told him not to do it. And he went into Syria to negotiate for American hostages because no one else was doing it. And he was running the portfolio at the White House, was very frustrated with the agencies. And he decided to go in directly on his own, risk his life. And he helped make a ton of progress in getting out hostages. He's returned so many of our hostages. I have seen him go to the mat, talking to hostages' families. By the way, This is one angle that we need to be highlighting. The families of American hostages, they want Kash Patel as FBI director, because they know his work ethic, they know what he'll do. He is a total patriot, and the American people need to fight for him. And I'm gonna be leading the charge right here at ACLJ, right in front of all of the media that I can get in front of to make sure people understand who Cash is.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, Rick, I think that's why it was awesome to get you on today because there's been so much talk about him, but we know because of your relationship with Cash, you could share that kind of information, those kind of stories behind the scenes. that maybe don't get reported don't make it into the news and of course the Washington you know the establishment media is going to try and demonize every single one of these appointments it seems like they what they do is they start target one then they have target two then they have target three and that's because they know if one of these gets through like Kash Patel he can make good because he's got a president that supports him and a Congress right now that at least says they support the idea of making serious cuts to the size of the federal government and to remake these agencies so that they actually do their job, which is not sending spies into Catholic churches, but instead is breaking up, uh, illegal cartels that we're seeing operating all over the U.S. protecting us from terrorists who may already be inside the country helping to secure the border as that is also a major security concern really just getting back to the job of what the FBI was all about and Rick when you have that kind of law enforcement power People have to have faith and trust that you are using it in an honest and balanced way, that you're not just going to target, quote, enemies of the administration or government.
SPEAKER 02 :
Look, Cass Patel has already proven that he's a patriot. He is somebody who is hell-bent on reform, but not just to... do reform just to do it. He is somebody who's very, very balanced when it comes to thoughtful maneuvering. When we were at DNI, for instance, he was the one that was leading a lot of the reform efforts to make sure that we were focused on the terrorists, that we were cutting the extra, but always making sure that the agency and all of the intelligence were focused on the right priorities, not the wrong stuff.
SPEAKER 06 :
We appreciate your insight because I think people wanted to have the ability. They like Kash Patel, right? They like that he's a fighter, but they needed that, you know, that extra information. So I want to make sure we clip that out for folks so they can hear directly from someone who served with Kash as their deputy. So putting their trust. in a deputy to help carry out the mission that rick was put in as a cabinet member to carry out for the president so rick as always we appreciate all of your insight into these uh issues and your help in preparing people uh to defend these nominees they really like they just want to know more about and some of that's that personal side of the story Folks, we've got people like Rick Grinnell on our team to get you that information because we've got financial supporters like you who make those contributions, especially when we need it the most, like this month. And you can become an ACLJ champion. What that means is you pick a number to donate. Maybe that's $25 or $100, and it donates automatically until you feel like maybe you want to up the number or that you can't make it anymore. Do that at ACLJ.org slash champions today. All right, welcome back to Sekiro Now. If you watch the broadcast, you just saw some of these media reports about various positions to the cabinet. And they were talking about, well, what if it ended up being DeSantis and FBI? Which right now, the Trump transition team, of course, that can change in a minute. And Kash Patel has a very close relationship with President Trump. So they're talking through this as he's going through the process as well. But DeSantis' name has emerged. And you know what? It's very similar to what they said about Pam Bondi. uh which you wonder that this time around then do they maybe pull back a little on this Kash Patel uh you know attack line and maybe they pull back a little on this Hegseth line because when you start doing these attacks you you end up with people who again similar ideology right but very tough to vote against in fact if you vote against them it's just going to be a partisan vote it won't be based on actual you know are they competent enough because what they're saying about all these folks including DeSantis is well the thing is with DeSantis that you might get with him that you might not have gotten with a Hegseth is listen he's run one of the biggest states of the country and they try to use this as a negative but certainly if you're someone who supports your governor like DeSantis you don't see this as a negative you see as a positive so they start using words Will like he's very stubborn so when he sets his mind to something he gets it done to me that's like the definition you'd want for any member of the cabinet any government official and unfortunately the bureaucrats in Washington don't share that same stubborn commitment to carry out the policies of the president what they do is they've got a stubborn commitment to carry out their own policies and that's why we have to drain the swamp and figure out a way to be able to remove federal employees who are bad actors but instead will what we're seeing is a move for federal employees to stay and we talk a lot of this about people who are here illegally who cross the border that may not be criminals so other than that criminal act so they end up living in the shadows of America which creates a human rights issue and lots of lots of humanitarian issues because of the you know there's the the resources they they take from communities I kind of see this the same way I mean I think about that I think you know when you when you talk about getting these things done and who you're going to get it done with the fact that the federal government when you want to drain it it almost is draining itself and I wonder if we could take advantage of the fact that only 17% of federal government employees are showing up to an actual workplace if that's the truth doesn't it make it that much easier to say you know what we can cut 50% of the staff
SPEAKER 04 :
well and that's exactly what vivek ramaswamy and elon musk have mentioned in their proposal for doge for the department of government efficiency they pointed out how many people are remote working uh hybrid work and and things of that nature that was a continuation of the uh the policies that were put forward in 2020 during the pandemic But now government has taken advantage of and said, hey, we're not going to go in ever. And what we're seeing now is a Biden administration trying to get ahead of the Department of Government Efficiency and try to block some of the easier ways that it could be allowing laying off or saying, hey, you got to come back or else. And then people leave on their own accord because. The Social Security Administration just reached an agreement with the labor union over their employees. So one of these public unions that the American Federation of Government Employees that allows for 42,000 government employees in the Social Security Administration to stay as hybrid workers until 2029. Nine years after the pandemic, when these things were put in place to try and keep the government functioning, when they had restrictive workplace policies, they're trying to allow people to stay out of the office until 2029.
SPEAKER 1 :
42,000.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, You and I are not at the age of Social Security yet, but we have family members that are. And I know for a fact how difficult it is to get things like updating your bank account with a Social Security office. It takes two months. Two months. Two months to update your bank account to get your direct deposit shifted.
SPEAKER 06 :
You can change it on your phone to use for your Apple card in about a second, then go up and scan it, and you've got a new card or new bank account being utilized for that. But the federal government takes two months.
SPEAKER 04 :
So target number one of the Department of Government Efficiency should be looking at things like that. How is our federal government... In 2024, unable to do basic services efficiently for the American people. They're wasting taxpayer money across the board. Department of Defense is failing audits. All of these things... play into the fact of what the American people voted for in 2024. They want the efficiency to come back. They want the government to work for the people, not work against the people as we've been seeing for the past four years under this administration. The bureaucracy and deep state are so entrenched, they're signing contracts at the very end of a term of President Biden to make sure that 42,000 people for another five years. can work from home. It makes no sense. It should infuriate the American people, and I think it did. I think that's why Americans went to the polls and wanted something different than this, because it's the bureaucrats that are getting to stay at home, continue to collect paychecks, be unfireable in many cases because of the way that they've set these bureaucracies up, that it's so hard to get fired from a government job. because of these protections set up under the guise of not being politically retributed against and i think we're fed up with it now is the time to change things like this but the biden administration is not going quietly
SPEAKER 06 :
No, they're not. And we've told you that these final days of these administrations is when they start putting in actions that then you've got to work very hard to reverse. So like this idea that you could just thousands of government employees have now landed a deal. With their labor union, which you think about that for a moment, the federal government, which has paid for all these employees with your taxpayer dollars, has its own union to take more of your taxpayer dollars and make their life easier to do less work, but get paid more and get benefits that probably very few of us have even anything close to when it comes to what these federal employees have. And now they've got this negotiation done where they could keep this work from home deal to continue. The Biden administration, of course, they use climate concern issues. You know what's been the difference, though, in what we've heard from these nominees like Kash Patel, like Hegseth, like others is. We need to take all these great minds that are supposed to be in Washington, DC and send them out into the country to do the work for the American people. If we've really got, why are there that many people inside these agencies with the power of computers to track cyber crime? Do you still need thousands of people? We know a lot of these departments though, they're so outdated, two months to get anything done. So some of it is what Elon Musk is best at, which is providing the technology to make it easier for you, the taxpayer, whether that's filing your taxes, making it easy so that you don't file the wrong way, making sure you get your return quickly, but also that the government that we're all paying for does the services that we all need, and that's it. They provide those services at a great level, and that's where it stops. And then you rely on your state for more. And we're going to be working on that at the American Center for Law and Justice. We've got an incoming Congress that we can work with so closely, but we want to add members to that team. So we need your financial support. Donate today at ACLJ.org. Become a champion. Make a monthly contribution automatically. We need it today. ACLJ.org.
In this thought-provoking episode, the hosts examine the intricate dance of political power with a focus on the transition between elections and inaugurations. They highlight the controversial decision of Hunter Biden’s pardon and discuss its broader implications on leadership and governance. Tackling issues of perceived presidential strength and the political strategies behind pardons, this episode provides an engaging analysis of current affairs, shedding light on the complexities of international policies and their intersection with domestic politics.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of culture, current events, and politics through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, President Joe Biden promised there would be no pardon for his son, Hunter. That didn't happen, and we're going to talk about that along with a variety of other issues here on today's edition of the National Crawford Roundtable. My name is Neil Boron, host of Neil Boron Live in Buffalo, New York. Joining me as well at the other end of Lake Erie, Bob Duco, host of the Bob Duco Show on WMUZ in Detroit, and John Rush, host of Rush to Reason in Denver, Colorado. Guys, good to be back with you. and have another week together as we cruise towards Christmas. Man, I can't believe we're at the end of the year already. This is crazy. And here we are between the election and the inauguration, this weird kind of downtime. But there's a lot of stuff happening. You know, before we even get started, Bob, I just want to ask you real quick. You were saying some things before the podcast about Trump almost in a sense governing, though he's not been inaugurated yet. Can you share some of what you were saying earlier? Because it's really kind of interesting to observe.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I've been noticing here a huge display of contrast between Donald Trump and Joe Biden as far as operating from a position of strength versus a position of weakness. There's been one of the big criticisms of Joe Biden and justifiably. is that he's been very weak on the world stage. And so consequently, the US has been disrespected and been treated like a pinata around the world. We know this. I don't believe that Russia would have invaded Ukraine if Trump were in the White House. I don't believe Hamas would have attacked Israel on October 7th of over a year ago if Trump were still in the White House. So this weakness has caused these kinds of problems that we see in tensions. Trump, he's not even in office yet. And we still have 101 hostages, Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas. A few of them are US citizens. Well, just a few days ago, one of those US citizens died. And so what Hamas did was they tried to play tough with Donald Trump, and they actually posted a message to Trump with a photograph of a living U.S. hostage still being held over there. And basically, Hamas said to Trump, you know what, you see this? One person died, okay, and here's a picture of a living person, American citizen. It's important that you pressure Israel to meet our demands and concessions. So basically trying to use that living hostage as leverage to force Trump. How does Trump respond? He posts on Truth Social. He said, you know, if every hostage is not released by January 20th, 2025, there will be all hell to pay and more so than anything in the history of the United States. And he says, and for those in charge, which is a subtle way of saying, Iran, I'm talking to you too. So my best guess is what Trump is already doing right now is setting up to create sanctions against Iran. He did this before. When he was president before, he went after Iran by not just having U.S. sanctions on Iran increased. He went to other nations around the world and pressured them to join in in sanctions against Iran and said, don't do business with Iran. And if you do... then you're not doing business with the United States. Do you want us to give you sanctions? Okay, we want you to join. And he successfully got a whole bunch of nations to issue sanctions on Iran. And it was financially crippling Iran, which was hurting Vladimir Putin because Iran is a big customer for Putin's arms. My guess is that Trump is doing that right now, but he publicly gave that threat to Hamas. And then even with our friends who are supposed to be nice to us, Canada has a $100 billion trade surplus over the United States. We have a deficit with them, not to mention the open borders on Mexico, but it's also in Canada. So Trump says, hey, 25% tariff for both of you guys, unless you do what you can to close up the borders from your side. And Canada, you need to even out the $100 billion trade balance. Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, hops on a plane, flies down to Florida, meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and talks about it. And according to witnesses in the room at the table, they said that Trudeau said to Trump when Trump reiterated, look, I'm serious about the 25% tariff. You can't have a $100 billion trade deficit that we're going to have with you and your open borders. And that Trudeau said, you can't do that because that'll wreck our economy. And apparently Trump's response was, also, your economy can't survive unless you rip us off of $100 billion. And then Trump made a joke, well, then just become the 51st state of the United States. And there was nervous laughter in the room is what they said. But this is Trump basically saying to our friends, look, we can be friends, but if you take advantage of us, I'm not going to let you get away with that. And to our enemies, there will be hell to pay. You got until Inauguration Day. You better have those hostages released. So this is a position of strength. And Trump is not a bluffer. We know that about him. So this is what I think the United States needs to be sending as a message on the world stage.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, well, and our Canadian listeners are telling us that Trudeau is virtually gone, that he's on a really short leash. So I don't know if that was an effort to save his own hide or not, or if he was just merely reacting to what Trump said. But either way, Canada and the U.S. need to continue to get along. We've been friendly partners for years, but definitely not at $100 billion trade deficit. Something's got to get fixed there. Real quick, Bob, just curious, but the whole thing with Iran, I mean— On the one hand, you would think Iran wants nothing to do with the United States. You sort of understand that. But on the other hand, there's always been the concern that maybe they're trying to lure the U.S. into a wider Middle East conflict. Is there any chance Trump talking tough actually sort of plays into their hand on that?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't think so. I really don't. Because really what Trump is saying to Iran – is you better keep your dogs in Hamas and Hezbollah on a leash you better do that for the next four years you better not have any kind of Hamas attacks in Israel and by the way those hostages better be released and it's up to you Iran to tell your dog Hamas to release those hostages otherwise you're going to pay a very serious price economically I'll make it worse than it was last time I don't see that really playing into Iran's hands. I see this – I mean I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Iran didn't go ahead and tell Hamas, all right, make a deal. Let's just go ahead and I want them released before the inauguration. Remember, Iran did that when Ronald Reagan came into office. The Iran hostage crisis – we're old enough to remember this – He had 444 days where American citizens from the U.S. embassy were being held hostage in Iran. Jimmy Carter was very weak on the foreign stage, just like Joe Biden is. And Ronald Reagan is coming in. And if you remember, it was on Inauguration Day. that Ronald Reagan said, you know, well, I do, you know, that, what do you know, Iran released those hostages. So I think it's very possible that they will cave in this, but they'll try to do it in a way that saves them face. So I think it'll be a good thing overall.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER 02 :
John, any response to what Bob's saying? No, I agree a lot with what Bob's saying, and Trump's doing a really good job of actually governing things now, and he's not even in office. I mean, we're seeing things even happen, you know, economically speaking, and just, you know, just the thought of what's going on and what he's getting set up and some of his appointees and so on, you know, reality is, you know, he's already governing. I guess you could say he's governing from the back, even though he's not the front man at this point, I mean, he is, you know, quasi, but he, you know, he's not in the position. He hasn't been, you know, sworn in yet. I mean, Joe Biden, you know, right now today on Wednesday, December the 4th is still, you know, sort of the president, I guess you could say, you kind of wonder, we'll get into some of that in a moment, uh, with some of the things that he's doing, because I don't think he's doing things very well, even for his own legacy, but regardless, he's still the president. And yet, yet the country and the world is being more affected by Donald Trump today than it is by Joe Biden.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think you're right. However, Biden did make news headlines when he did the exact thing he promised not to do, and that was to pardon his son, Hunter. We're going to talk about that in a minute. But first, I want to welcome a brand new partner here to NCR, new sponsor of the National Crawford Roundtable, SunPower LED. Now, let me tell you, back in January of 2001, was having trouble breathing i could take a deep breath but i wasn't getting anything anything out of it my blood oxygen content was like at life-threatening levels and i was going to need to go in the hospital go on a ventilator but because of sun power led which is essentially red light therapy it's using the very light god himself created to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in the human body that situation turned around in a matter of about seven to ten days all of a sudden i was back to 98 99 oxygen content and all of it simply using the very light God himself created. It's incredible stuff, and you need to check it out. Our newest sponsor is SunPowerLED. You can find them on the website page, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on SunPowerLED. and get information about how to utilize that to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in your body without drugs, without surgery, et cetera. And so they're our newest partner. Welcome, Bob. Obviously, we couldn't have done this all along without the help of our friends at Preborn.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, so true. And by the way, I know this photobiomodulation works. I mean, it's worked on me as well as many other people that I know. So it's very, very real technology. And you're so right about pre-born too. Remember, pre-born is the main pro-life group that shows ultrasound images of unborn babies to expectant moms in pro-life centers all around the country. And those moms choose life when they see a picture of their baby. It's so important, though, that we show these ultrasound images to the moms to save these babies' lives, but it takes money, okay? $28 is the average ultrasound expense to save one baby's life. So we're asking everybody in the audience right now, will you pay? for a specific number of babies' lives to be saved. Take $28 times fill in the blank, whatever that number is, $28 times fill in the blank, and that's your gift to preborn, and 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds, nothing for overhead, okay? Also, if you can, buy an ultrasound machine. They're $15,000 a piece. And your forever legacy will be you stopped thousands of abortions. So here's what you do. Either way, go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. You can give right there or just give over the phone, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. The answer to the phone is 24-7. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call, Neal.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. That's where you want to go to learn about any one of our sponsors. All right, so the Hunter Biden pardon. Wow. Just a couple weeks ago, he was saying, absolutely not going to pardon my son. Now, this huge, unconditional kind of pardon. I'll start with you on this, John. First of all, maybe the shock value, but secondly, anything that you read into this? I mean, are you surprised? What are we looking at here?
SPEAKER 02 :
I wasn't surprised. In fact, kind of predicted on my show kind of from day one that this would actually happen. I know that he said he wouldn't. Media said he wouldn't. But the handwriting was on the wall. There was no way that Joe was going to leave office. And by the way, part of why Joe is still in office goes back to some of what we predicted in regards to the deal made. The backroom deals made in regards to Joe stepping out, Kamala stepping in, and so on. And there was a lot of talk about, well, they'll make her president before the end of the term and this, that, and the other. No, no, not going to happen. Joe and Jill. Jill is in power right now when it comes to the Biden regime. and that whole empire that they have, and there was a lot of payola and things going on behind the scenes. And frankly, I think this was part of that deal as well. It might have been a side deal, but part of this whole deal was, I'm going to stay in office all the way through, no matter who becomes president, who wins the election, I'm going to stay in all the way until January 20th, and towards the end, I'm going to pardon my son Hunter. So this, to me, was already, you know, handwriting was on the wall.
SPEAKER 03 :
And by the way, I don't think he's just going to stop at Hunter.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't either. It'll be Joe too, or it'll be Jim too.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it'll be his brother, Jim. And you want to hear something crazy? I wouldn't put it past him.
SPEAKER 02 :
To do Jill?
SPEAKER 03 :
No, to do himself. Oh. Oh, I hadn't thought about that one. To just say, I'm not only pardoning James. but I'm issuing a self-pardon, and he'll word it in a way, for any of these kind of frivolous, baseless attacks or whatever, I'm going to eliminate the possibility of an attempt to weaponize the government against me by issuing a self-pardon for anything that I may have been accused of doing for the last 10 years also or whatever. I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
SPEAKER 05 :
Sorry, but it's kind of funny when you think about it because if he issues a pardon for Hunter, of course he did, his brother Jim and himself but not Jill. What does that say? See you later, Jill.
SPEAKER 03 :
Sorry. No, there is one thing, though, legally, and I'm not a – a legal expert here but uh by him pardoning hunter if he doesn't pardon james and doesn't pardon himself he actually created a sense of vulnerability for himself and his brother james because now what happens is uh the senate and the house they can call hunter biden he can still be subpoenaed to testify and he can say whatever he wants to because there's no repercussions for him Not only can he, he has to. He's not allowed to claim the Fifth Amendment because self-incrimination is no longer a possibility. So therefore, Congress can say you're not entitled to the Fifth because there's nothing to self-incriminate. You have immunity. Since you have immunity, you're required to testify. And he could be held in contempt of Congress if he doesn't testify against his dad and his uncle.
SPEAKER 05 :
The tangled web we weave, I mean, it just gets deeper and deeper the further you look at it. That would be a fascinating scenario.
SPEAKER 02 :
Really quick, the more you said that a moment ago, Bob, I think now at this point, yeah, I think I could see him doing the rest of the family before he leaves office. His brother, himself, and his wife.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep. All of them.
SPEAKER 05 :
What is that message in and of itself? What does that say to the American people, though, about his time of governance?
SPEAKER 03 :
He's corrupt. It exposes the corruption machine that he really – yes. That's right. He ran a criminal enterprise starting with his time as vice president. Who knows even before that? But certainly for the last 10 years, starting in 2013, 2014 – He started using the office of the vice president to line the pockets of him and his family, selling access to foreigners across the country and even selling U.S. policy for money. Let's face it, he threatened to withhold the billion dollars in loan guarantees to Ukraine unless Poroshenko fired the prosecutor that was investigating Burisma that was paying a million dollars a year to Hunter Biden to sit on their board of directors. They ran a criminal enterprise. They really did use the government to do it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay, really quick to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. What does Trump do in regards to his impeachment in the House, which, by the way, was over the very thing that Hunter just got pardoned for? How do you handle that, and can you undo an impeachment from years past?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't think so. I have no idea.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because let's face it. He was impeached over what he just got pardoned for. Let's face it. That's really what it was all about, correct? Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
More or less. I mean, you're raising a really good point, and it's something we should probably look at further on another podcast. But what I'm looking at in a bigger sense is really, again, the impact on the American people, because like everyone's saying, well, Biden is trying to, you know, button up his legacy here. What's he want to leave? What's the impression he wants to leave? If it's like, hey, the crime family gets off scoffery and, you know, we're out and we're not going to let the door hit us on the way out. We're gone and you can't do anything about it. Really? That's the legacy? Like that they were a crime family and they were corrupt and that's what they're leaving the American people. But then on the other hand. Okay, you may have something to say about that. Let me also mention we had conversations here about the possibility that if Trump got in office, and he is now in office, that he might pardon himself with regard to the documents case on January 6th, whatever he would have jurisdiction over. I think the thing in Manhattan he doesn't because that's more of a state crime. But if Trump had done it, how would the American people have viewed Trump? As president of the United States.
SPEAKER 02 :
And what just happened, there would be no reason why Trump couldn't because what would the other side even have to say at this point?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And by the way, can I just say something about Biden's pardon of his son Hunter? We got to remember, not only did he lie about this repeatedly, him and Karine Jean-Pierre, they knew they were going to. NBC News themselves reported that back in June they were talking about this. So, but he didn't offer... a pardon for the two specific crimes that hunter biden was found guilty of the tax fraud crime and the the falsifying records on a gun purchase crime he didn't say okay you're found guilty of those and i'm pardoning you for those he gave a blanket pardon for anything and everything any crime any federal crime that he may have committed whether he's been accused of it or not so theoretically He could, new evidence could come out that he actually was taking real bribes from other countries. Evidence could come out that he, whatever, committed any kind of federal crime. It's irrelevant. It's a blanket. It's a blanket pardon for anything that hasn't even been uncovered that he might have done over the last 11 years. That is insane.
SPEAKER 05 :
Kind of hard to wrap your brain around that.
SPEAKER 02 :
It's unbelievable. It really, I mean, this is an overarching, Bob, is what you just said a moment ago. This is an overarching pardon of past, current, and future sins.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yep, I know. And again, I'm just going to say it one last time. What does that say to the American people? Because like, hey, the people that are in office, we want to believe they're okay. The media tells us they're okay. Then they pardon themselves for crimes we think we know about that maybe they've not yet been convicted of. Or they have been and they get pardoned. But anything else they may have been doing because they probably were doing other things, you're just pardoned for all of it. And that's what we're going to do because that's what America is. I don't think the American people are really actually comfortable with that. But that's what's happening.
SPEAKER 02 :
What's interesting is what, as usual, what one side has been saying about Donald Trump for the past four years, they're now doing. Right, and they've been doing it all along. Yep, they've been doing it. That's right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Actually, one of the things that I – I mean my listeners here in Michigan know that they've heard me say this countless times. What Democrats accuse Republicans of are what the Democrats are actually the most guilty of. That's right. And it happens all – it doesn't mean Republicans are perfect. They're not. But I'm just saying that –
SPEAKER 02 :
Bob, it even happens with the liberal callers that call into the shows and say the things that they say. They are just as guilty of that as the politicians are.
SPEAKER 03 :
And by the way, can I say also one of the things that have been exposed from the liberal left in this country is that the things that they claim that they value – Trump actually is outweighed by their hatred for Donald Trump and conservative policies. And a perfect example of this, this is kind of off the beaten path, but I just want to throw it out there. Melania Trump, if you think about it, Melania, and I'm not a huge Melania fan. She's pro-abortion. I don't like that. Okay. But Melania Trump represents everything that the liberal left shows. should celebrate. The gals on The View should love her. Vogue magazine should have her on the cover every other week, okay? Because she is, first of all, she's a fashion model. She's beautiful. She's intelligent. She speaks five languages fluently. How many people can do that? And she's a foreigner. She's an immigrant. She brings multiculturalism to the White House. She's everything the left should celebrate, yet all they do is at best ignore her, at worst demonize her and make fun of her. That's right. And so that tells me that their hatred for Donald Trump is stronger than their love for multiculturalism, strong, intelligent women, things like that, who also have the number one New York Times bestseller in the country. So they just they're full of hate more than anything else. And they accuse us of being about hate. And these are the ones who have coexist bumper stickers on their car next to the bumper sticker that says hate is not a family value.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, they also all said that no one was above the law, right? And there's every one of them, you know, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, right on down the line, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer, everybody. No one's above the law. Well, except Joe Biden and his son Hunter and the entire Biden crime family. That's pretty amazing. um one of the things that we want to do today is welcome a brand new uh sponsor to the national crawford roundtable and let me mention since the american people have become somewhat distrusting since covid and with all that's happened you know the attacks on donald trump russia collusion all the the The lies that the mainstream media puts out about so many things, a lot of excitement about RFK Jr. being nominated for secretary of health and human services. And so we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that, perhaps in the second half of the roundtable, because he's one of the nominees that Senator Ted Cruz says he predicts every Trump appointee is going to be officially confirmed. But why are people skeptical? Because they don't believe the big pharma has their best interest in mind. And the bottom line is if you see people taking pills for one thing and then having to take more pills to counteract those pills and nobody ever seems to be getting better, you have to ask the question, why? Well, one thing that we do know works is light therapy. Why is that? Because red light therapy is a certain wavelength of light that gets to the mitochondria in the cell, wakes it up, and causes the cell to do exactly what the cell was supposed to do. It energizes the cell to help heal the human body. So you literally can reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in your body with the help of the light God himself created. How can you learn about that? By going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and clicking on Sun Power LED. Literally, handheld device. They have other panel-sized devices that can be used to help you heal from surgical wounds, inflammation, migraines, any kind of pain or swelling in your body. Learn about it by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on sun, like S-U-N in the sky, sun power LED. Bob, our other sponsor, Preborn, thank God for the work they're doing to save lives.
SPEAKER 03 :
Ah, saving babies' lives all across the country. And, you know, we're coming up on the end of the year right now. And if some of you are thinking about, hey, it'd be nice to have a tax write-off and save some babies' lives at the same time, you know what we'd love for you to do? Buy an ultrasound machine for pre-born. They're $15,000 a piece. Your forever legacy will be that you stopped thousands and thousands of abortions. Think about that year after year. Wouldn't it be great to do? Because remember, pre-born shows these ultrasound images in pro-life centers across the country. And moms choose life when they see a picture of their baby. Problem is we don't have enough ultrasound machines out there and there's not enough ultrasound images being shown. So If you can buy one, it'd be a nice tax write-off for you, and 100% goes to pre-born. Nothing for overhead, okay? 100% goes to the ultrasound. Now, if you can't afford to buy a machine, pay for individual ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of babies' lives you'll save. Take $28 times, fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, that's your gift to pre-born. That's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you stopped. And again, 100% goes to the ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. You can give two ways, online or on the phone. Online, just go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. And if you want to give over the phone, you can talk to a real-life person 24-7. Just call 833-850-BABY, 833-850-BABY, and mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call, Neal.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, guys, we've got a minute or two here just before we go and end this half and start up the second half of the podcast. So I want to ask you a quick question, just in your estimation, based on maybe what you're hearing from your own callers on your radio shows in Denver or in Detroit. John, what about you? On a scale of 1 to 10, how trusting are the American people right now of things like the media, the government, big pharma, et cetera? What are you sensing?
SPEAKER 02 :
They're not. They're zero out of 10. I mean, my listeners now, if I go to the left side of the aisle, of course, that number increases. But when it comes to my core listeners that really are a lot like the three of us, yeah, zero. I mean, these guys have absolute no trust in what government says, and it's why they voted for Donald Trump and why we need a complete revamp of the system.
SPEAKER 05 :
yeah well the reason i'm asking is because donald trump's appointees you know for his cabinet a lot of these people have nothing to do with the swamp they were never in the swamp so he doesn't have to drain them from the swamp bob what are your thoughts about how trusting the american people are on media government big government and big pharma oh i'm with john on this my listeners don't trust them at all and they shouldn't absolutely uh but this is where as far as draining the swamp goes
SPEAKER 03 :
One of the ways that Trump can drain the swamp is by bringing in a bunch of MAGA loyalists to replace a bunch of the people in the head of the swamp. And then I think each one of these people are going to start doing some swamp draining individually themselves in each of these departments. And I think this is a good and necessary thing. There's no doubt that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is going to. He's going to inject a whole new way of looking at health care in this country to go outside of just the traditional establishment, which is in bed with big pharma anyway. So I think that whole relationship between the medical establishment community and big pharma needs a sledgehammer taken to it. I think he's the guy to do it. I wish he was pro-life, but he's the guy to do it. So I think... I think Trump is going to be more aggressive about restructuring the swamp of Washington, D.C. in his next four years than he was in his first four.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we can pray that God would bring RFK Jr. to faith in Christ and he'd maybe perhaps radically be transformed on all of his views, including the life issue. But bottom line is these guys are going to blow up the establishment and it needs to be blown up in that sense. And we need new faces in Washington. I think the American people are going to be very happy. with the Trump appointments, even though some of these people are ones they've not really ever heard of before. But we're going to talk about some of this as we continue the National Crawford Roundtable podcast. If you don't get the second half on your terrestrial broadcast station where you're listening right now, you can listen online to the complete podcast. We'll be back with more of the National Crawford Roundtable in just a moment. Well, back again with today's edition of the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast Part 2. I've got Bob Duco with me. He's the host of the Bob Duco Show on WMUZ in Detroit, Michigan. John Rush is the host of Rush to Reason in Denver, Colorado. He's the most sensible man in the state of Colorado, and we happen to have him as part of our podcast. Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. Which, by the way, Neil, I will have a question for John in just a moment as we get into this, specifically about Denver.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. All right. My name's Neil Boron, host of Neil Boron Live on WDCX Radio in Buffalo, New York. But anyway, we make up the National Crawford Roundtable podcast team. We're going to be talking about a lot of things related to what's happening in Washington, D.C. We already touched on the Hunter Biden pardon issue. But, Bob, what were you going to say about John and his work there?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm just kind of curious, John, what is going on with your mayor there in Denver? Oh, what a clown. This guy, what a clown. Okay, first of all, and by the way, this is what I really like about Tom Homan, who is Trump's pick to be the border czar, that the Denver mayor says, no, we're going to go ahead and keep on housing illegal aliens and not cooperating and trying to hide them from deportation. And Tom Holman says, I'm willing to go to jail. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Your mayor says I'm willing to go to jail. Right. And then Tom Holman says, well, guess what? There's one thing we agree on. I'm willing to put you in jail. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love, but it's like, What in the world is going on with your... I mean, I know Denver's liberal left wing, but are they that liberal left wing that he's being a hero to them?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, in fact, there's a lot of uproar, even from the left, on what Mike's doing and what the mayor of Denver's doing in regards to that. I mean, there's figures that just came out here this past week. $358 million he has spent on these illegals, about $7,000 a person. There are people struggling to buy groceries that are looking at that saying, wait a minute, time out. This insanity... has got to stop. So even from his own party, he is not doing well. And he backtracked some of that, of course, because of that fact that even his own party doesn't approve of some of what he's doing. So he backtracked on some of that. But the problem is, as we all know, you can backtrack anything, but it doesn't take away from what you said. how does a guy like that get re-elected and let me before you answer that question let me let me give you a little scenario well really quick neil let me answer it really fast because in denver he didn't come in with that he kind of came in as going to be a guy that was going to cure homelessness and do this and do that all he did was actually create more of it with all of this immigration nonsense he's gotten involved in
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the scenario that comes to mind, living in Buffalo, New York, we get blizzards all the time. In fact, it was pretty snowy at the last Buffalo Bills game.
SPEAKER 02 :
I was thinking of you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, thank you. Areas south of the city, not so much where I live, but they got hit three, four feet of snow, whatever. When that happens, you go to the local grocery store, you can't find toilet paper, you can't find water. There's certain things that are just gone. They just clean out the shelves. Why? Because people want to take care of their own. So then you look at these sanctuary cities, Democratic cities primarily, And you wonder how in the world are these voters tolerating a system that we should care for the homeless and the hurting. It's a Christian value to have concerns about that. But to set aside everyone else's concern in light of putting people up in hotels and giving them vast sums of money, even though they're not legal American citizens, etc., I don't understand that mentality and then how the elected officials that are supporting this can get reelected. I mean, we get a lot of stuff going on in New York State where they're shipping people to other parts of the state and whatever, and people are starting to get frustrated. But why there hasn't been more backlash? Like, wait a second, what are you going to take care of us? We're the ones who pay the taxes. Is this guy up for reelection in Denver anytime soon?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, in fact, he was just elected not that long ago. So the reality is he's got some more time. And I will say this, you know, hardcore lefties, They believe in all of this. They would give every immigrant double that amount of money, a true hardcore lefty. The problem is, though, even in Colorado and Denver, you've got a lot of folks that aren't that hardcore on the left. And I think this is starting to wane on a lot of those individuals. Frankly, this is probably a podcast in and of itself. There's a huge opportunity right now with what Trump just did to win the election. There's a huge opportunity in a lot of local elections that will, in some cases, come up on an annual basis. The reality is I think the Republican Party conservatives have a grand opportunity to take advantage of some of these things that are going on. If they will. And one of the things Bob and I complain about a lot is just the whole marketing messaging strategy of the Republican Party. We have a grand gift sitting in front of us. Are we going to take advantage of it or not?
SPEAKER 03 :
I sure hope so, because you're right. This is a golden opportunity. Momentum is actually in our favor. A lot of people in America are saying, you know something, maybe just maybe this wokeness and DEI and everything else, maybe this isn't the way to go. Some big companies like John Deere, Walmart are scaling back their DEI initiatives as well. And so it does seem like, and by the way, and a lot of Americans are saying, hey, let's tighten up the borders. Let's, you know, and we do need to have mass deportations and such. So right now, momentum's on the side of the Republicans. Somehow, some way, they have to make this generational and not just make this for the next four years. And the Democrat Party is going to figure out over the next couple of years how to rebrand themselves in time for the mid
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, the leaders, you know, the hardcore lefties that are in the party, they won't. You can still continue to hear their, you know, the AOC's mantra, nothing has changed since Trump won. But the leaders of and those that will be the strategists of, you know, the upcoming elections, Bob, to your point. Yeah. If you think that it's going to be the same the next time around, Republicans, think again. They will come back hard and they will learn from the mistakes that were made this last election.
SPEAKER 05 :
100%. There was a major knee-jerk reaction in the midterms right after, two years after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and we're likely to see the same kind of thing this time. But just last thing, and I'll get off the subject, but on the day that it comes home to roost, in other words, on the day that metaphorically people are told, look, there's only one package of ground beef left and two rolls of toilet paper, and we're giving them to those guys over there, not you, even though you live here and you pay taxes and you're a legal citizen of the United States, That's when public opinion will shift dramatically in such a way that these people won't be able to be reelected. I think we're starting to see it in the polls right now, but I think it's going to become a much bigger issue because it's human nature to look out for your own. And I think that on that front, Republicans definitely clearly have the momentum.
SPEAKER 03 :
Although, you know what? AOC keeps getting reelected. Alvin Bragg gets elected. I mean, when you have hardcore lefty areas, they're going to keep on – here in my own backyard, Rashida Tlaib, who is nuts, okay? She keeps getting reelected. So –
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there were some experts here in New York State saying that in two more election cycles, it's possible New York could go red, which would be astounding. But I think it's for the very reasons we're describing. I think that there's a loss of sanity and people want the sanity back, which is, I think, played into why Trump was elected. RFK, you mentioned he's pro-abortion. I'm not sure it's going to affect us much with him being the Secretary of Health and Human Services, should he be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. But we do have something we can do about the abortion issue, tangible things, every single day.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, there sure is. I mean, we can save babies' lives by paying for ultrasound images for those moms to see pictures of their babies. Preborn shows these ultrasound images all over the country in pro-life centers. But it does take money to do this. And that's why we're asking you folks to provide the ultrasound images. Now, there's two ways you can do this. You can buy an ultrasound machine. Or for a lesser cost, you can pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. If you buy an ultrasound machine, they're $15,000 a piece. It's a nice tax write-off for you. But your forever legacy is that you stopped literally thousands and thousands of abortions. Now, the lesser version is pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So how many babies lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. And that's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you stopped. Either side, 100% goes to the ultrasounds, nothing for overhead. So go right now to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. You can give right there, or you can give over the phone, 833-850-BABY, and they answer 24-7, 833-850-BABY. Neil?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, thank God for Preborn. And we've got a brand new sponsor for the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast. It's SunPowerLED. And I want to talk to you for one second about SunPowerLED. Something you've probably all seen before. Everyone's seen the opera singer who hits a particular note and when that note begins to resonate, the champagne glass explodes. Why is that? Because the right audio wavelength was able to blow up the champagne glass. Well, there are light waves as well and the correct wavelength of red light therapy can be used to excite the mitochondria in the cell, bring that cell to life, or at least energize the cell to do what the cells in our body were created to do, and that's to promote healing. And we're not talking about using drugs. We're not talking about surgical intervention. I'm talking about people with joint pain and people that are trying to recover with wound care and stuff. How do you reduce pain and swelling and promote healing in your body? How do you deal with stuff like migraines without surgical intervention, without big pharma getting involved? Well, you use light therapy from SunPowerLED, and you can learn all about it by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on SunPowerLED. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on SunPowerLED. All right, so we're talking about things related to the election, and we're headed towards the inauguration. There's a lot of questioning a lot of analysis going on during this period and i just want to this came up earlier the whole is woke broke question campuses college campuses seem to be backing off on dei big business is backing off on the whole diversity equity inclusion thing jaguar What about that? That's a podcast in and of itself.
SPEAKER 03 :
Did you guys see that commercial?
SPEAKER 05 :
I did not, but I saw the photo of the commercial. Good Lord. What is that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Insane. Not a single car shown in there either. Nope. Total wokeness.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think it's going to be Dylan Mulvaney all over again. I think that's a huge mistake on their part. We'll see. Yes, it is. Okay, so... With this sentiment, with this idea that the world was kind of going crazy and like we need our sanity back. I want to ask about the mainstream media or what's now referred to, I guess, is the legacy media. Is there going to be any reform whatsoever? Are the people... in Washington or in New York City that run ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, those groups, are they going to go, okay, you know what? I think shoving a narrative down the throats of people who can see through what we're doing is not going to be a good strategy anymore. Bob, I'll start with you. What do you think? I think that for their survival, they're going to have to make some changes. Will they ever reform entirely? No, I don't think so. But I think that we're gonna see some different things because people are moving away from all of that and getting into podcasts and other alternative forms of media. What do you think?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I do believe that certainly momentum is trending in the right direction right now. But I hate to sound like a wet blanket and sound like a defeatist, but I tend to think it's temporary, that there's a cyclical nature to this. And then before you know it, we're going to have a thing where the Republicans are on the defensive and the Democrats and the liberals and the wokesters are suddenly gaining more momentum and they get back again. And I only say that because as a Christian, I recognize that things are going to get more and more ungodly in culture and society. We're moving farther and farther away from God. So I do see the overall, the chart, I see the line going downhill, but it's going downhill in a roller coaster kind of way. So there's going to be temporary reversals. My best guess is, I hate to say it, I think we're probably in a temporary reversal right now to temporarily slow the decline, but there's no change in the fact that the decline is going to continue to happen. I'd say it. I think a few years from now, if not even a couple years from now, momentum has shifted back the other way. I could be wrong. I hope I am.
SPEAKER 02 :
And, Bob, I think that goes back to what we were talking about in the first half, and that is how well do conservatives, Christians, evangelicals, the party, how well do we do at responding to some of these things? And one of the podcasts I'd like to do in the not-too-distant future is just how does the church handle a lot of these things? They've got a grand opportunity to step in and do some things that, frankly, they haven't done in decades. If we respond well, I think we can keep some of this reversal headed in that direction. But if we just go about our business as usual, Bob, you're correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and unfortunately, I anticipate us for the most part going about our business as usual, because Trump, there's no doubt he's leading the Republican Party movement and direction right now. But you have we know this. You have a few House members and senators who will strongly get behind him. And then you have a bunch of others that support him, but they're afraid to stick their necks out because of their constituents and the media. And then you have some that are just outright against him. So as he did his first time around, he may not have to fight alone quite as much this time around, but I don't think he's going to get the kind of wall of support, firewall of support that any Democrat will get from a unified Democrat party. I hate to say it.
SPEAKER 05 :
But like, how do you how do you what I'm looking for? What argument would you make then to say that that guys like Joe Rogan are just a flash in the pan? Because I don't think the Joe Rogans or Ben Shapiro's are going away. Even Elon Musk and the influence he's had on X, you know, formerly known as Twitter. I think that there's a hunger for like we don't think we're being told the truth and we're going to look for other forms of media. That whole in fact, the younger generation that largely went for Trump or at least. unexplainably went for Trump. There's a lot of people who were really shocked that young voters, in the numbers they did, went for Donald Trump. I think they do represent something for the future, which is why I think, I don't believe, you're right, Bob, things are cyclical, and who knows how long all of this is gonna last, but at least for now, I find real hope in that reality.
SPEAKER 03 :
I just think that- Yeah, I just think it's temporary. Look, I agree with you. I just tend to think that it's temporary.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. What about and Bob, we touched on this, I think, when you and I did the podcast last week. But I just wonder if you have any new thoughts or John, if you want to weigh in on this, if we're going to see any kind of pushback from, you know, the liberals, from the people that may, you know, in the privacy of their own homes, be hugging teddy bears right now about the fact that Donald Trump was so resoundingly elected and that Kamala Harris was, you know, pushed aside, like, no, we don't want her. We want Donald Trump. He wins the popular vote, the whole thing. Are we going to see any attempts to deny the election outright or to refuse to certify the election in any way? I don't think so. Okay, because Joe Biden really seems like he's making a big effort to emphasize peaceful transition of power as if they're noble and look at how wonderful we are.
SPEAKER 02 :
I still think, and I said this a while back even to you guys, I still think there was a certain amount of Democrat elites that realized they had made a huge mistake with Joe initially made a huge, but he's got all the power, by the way, in the Democrat Party, which has been shown over and over again, which again, we talked about on this program when nobody else was, give ourselves a little bit of credit there. On the same token, I think there's some elites that realized that he was a mistake. Kamala was even a bigger mistake and then allowing her to actually run was probably the biggest mistake they've ever made and i'm not joking when i say that and i think some of these elites realize that you know what we need to lick our wounds go back to the drawing board figure out something better that we can handle for the midterms and again in 2028 and let's come back stronger than ever because i think some of them have just resigned to the fact that yep trump's going to be our guy for four years we'll make it work it won't be as bad as everybody thinks and we'll regroup for 2028 that's my thought
SPEAKER 05 :
I mentioned earlier Senator Ted Cruz predicts that every Trump appointee will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Of course, that would not include Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his own name from the hat.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank God.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, well, I mean, it was all baggage, man.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know, Bob, you and I will disagree on that one, but thank God. I'm with you, John.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's me and you against Bob. We win, two to one.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, well, you know, look, I've surrounded myself with wrong people before, and I'm happy to do it now.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's a good one.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, I get what you're saying about the baggage that comes with them. I get that, okay? And the votes weren't going to be there, and so it just wasn't going to happen. But will Pam Bondi take as big of a sledgehammer to the DOJ as Matt Gaetz would have? I don't know. I hope so. I really hope so.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think Pam's a lot more calculated than he is, and I think she will do just as well. Calculated but effective.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think she'll do a great job.
SPEAKER 03 :
Pete Hegseth is on shaky ground.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's the name I wanted to bring up. All right, so what about Pete Hegseth? Everyone's after him. Not just for the womanizing stuff, and there's some pretty serious allegations there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Allegations.
SPEAKER 05 :
Allegations. Allegations about his – well, okay, but he's got a baby from his mistress and that stuff. That's not an allegation. That's a baby. It's a human being. The point is he has been accused of womanizing to a great deal, and some of it might just be speculation, but also alleged to have a drinking problem. And so now you're right. He's on shaky ground, or at least it looks like he is. So what about Pete Hegseth, Bob?
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. My guess is that behind the scenes, look, this is about vote counting. It really is. And so what's happening behind the scenes is they're talking to the weak links of the incoming senators who might be no votes. Right now, I guarantee you they're counting the yes votes for Hegseth. And if they can get at least 50 for Hegseth, that would be enough with the new Congress, with the new Senate, because J.D. Vance would be the tie vote. So they can really afford to lose three Republican votes coming in. And they're talking and they're finding out right now.
SPEAKER 02 :
And if it turns out that the votes are going to be critical on that, Bob.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And if it turns out that that they're not able to retain those votes, then they're going to go to Hegseth and say, look, we don't want to embarrass you by withdrawing your name. So you need to do basically the same thing that Gates did and just bow out yourself is DeSantis is next in line. I know. And you know what? That might not be a bad idea. DeSantis is Secretary of Defense. I mean, we'll see.
SPEAKER 02 :
DeSantis in front of the camera. Not that Pete's not good in front of the camera, because he's been in front of the camera a ton. And Trump, by the way, has a fondness for those folks that are in front of the camera. I'm not sure quite why, but he loves TV personalities, because some of his picks, by the way, I wouldn't have picked, but he did, I think, just because of that. But Yeah, all in all, can DeSantis do just as good a job as Pete can do? Yeah, I believe so. The question is, you know, what does that do for DeSantis' future down the road? And I did not look to see how many years he's got left in his term as governor of Florida.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the other thing is what kind of military background does he have? I'm unfamiliar with that. Does he have anywhere near the kind of military experience that Pete Hegseth does? And people are arguing that he doesn't have enough, but he certainly served.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't know. He was in the Navy, I believe, back in the day, was promoted to lieutenant. He was a legal advisor to the SEAL team. So he's probably got on the admin end of things probably more experience than Pete has.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and he did serve in the Iraq War.
SPEAKER 02 :
Correct. So, yeah, so he's got – He was in Guantanamo and some things along those lines as well. So he's got probably more history that way than some of – well, than what Pete has as far as that goes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. He just – I'm looking up here. He won in 2018 the governorship. And so since he won in 2018, I think there are six-year terms –
SPEAKER 02 :
No, governors are four.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are they four?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, okay, if they're four... So he's getting close to the end then. If they're four, then he would have had to run again then in 22.
SPEAKER 02 :
He did. And he won handily in 22, so he's got two years left.
SPEAKER 03 :
He'd be up in 26, yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
His victory speech after his victory in 22 caused me to think he might be the next Donald Trump or somebody that could step in and take the reins and... He's for whatever reason, I mean, he's got great policies. He's just not super charismatic, not popular.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and we've talked about this, you know, again on this podcast as well. Had he handled some of his campaign better early on, he took some really bad advice, I believe, in his campaign. He's liable to be the guy that Donald Trump is right now. And I say that really with a lot of enthusiasm because he was really, even polling-wise, trajectory was even better than Donald Trump at that time. And then his campaign just blew it.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Literally blew it.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don't have a lot to base this on, but my guess is Pete Hegseth will withdraw or that they'll rescind the nomination or something. But I don't see him making it. Do you guys think he's going to make it through?
SPEAKER 03 :
I lean toward no.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Because he drops out or is voted down or what? Well, they know they're not going to vote.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's not going to go to a vote if there's a question about him being voted down. He would drop out because the vote counting would not be there. That's what I think is probably going to happen.
SPEAKER 05 :
Really interesting to watch what happens with that whole thing because his hope was to get in there and blow up the way the military has been handled lately with all of the wokeism in the military and get back to having a strong military presence across the world. So we'll see. Bob, pre-born, making it all possible for us to have these conversations but also saving thousands of babies' lives every single year.
SPEAKER 03 :
They sure do. And we're asking you folks to join us on this because Preborn shows ultrasound images of unborn babies in pro-life centers across the country. But it takes money to do this. And when mom sees a picture of her baby, she chooses life. She doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood. She chooses life and she usually accepts the Lord too. So here's how you pay for these ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion to save one baby's life. So pray about a number of baby's lives that you'll save. Take $28 times fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, That's your forever legacy of the amount of abortions that you actually stopped in your family. Maybe it's a nice tax write-off for you too this year. So pray about a number. Now, for those of you who can afford it, we need some of you to buy ultrasound machines. They're $15,000 a piece. Your forever legacy will be stopping thousands and thousands of abortions over the years. And either way, 100% of what you give to Preborn goes to ultrasounds, nothing for overhead. So here's how you give on either side. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or just give over the phone. They answer the phones 24-7, 833-850-BABY, 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call, Neil.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and welcome again to our newest sponsor of the National Crawford Roundtable. It's SunPower LED. And you might say, well, tell me more about that. Well, you can learn all about it by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED tab there. It'll take you to the website. You can see demonstrations of how red light therapy is being used to penetrate the human body, get to the joints, get to the swelling, the inflammation, and reduce it so that healing can occur. I mean, this stuff is great when it comes to wound care, post-surgical healing. All kinds of knee and joint pain. I use it on my right arthritic knee all the time and it's fantastic. My wife sleeps funny on her right arm and her shoulder has bothered her. The pain was taken away. I mentioned earlier that I recovered from COVID in 2001 with the help of light therapy. And SunPower LED is something you need to learn about. By the way, they have a free webinar every Tuesday. You can listen in to conversations about how this is being used to really transform people's health. And there's Q&A sessions. It's a free webinar. You can learn all about it by clicking the SunPower LED tab at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. That's CrawfordMediaGroup.net. All right, so we've got about a minute and a half left here. Guys, anything else you want to bring up? I mean, there's a lot happening in the news.
SPEAKER 03 :
I actually do have something, okay? Next Sunday, the 25th, is when the Lions are playing the Bills. Here we go. And I'm just saying, Neal, this would be a horrible, horrible thing if you guys ruined it for the Lions because we seem to have the inside track. But you guys have a great chance of making it to the Super Bowl as well. So I'm kind of wondering if we're maybe seeing a Super Bowl preview coming up next Sunday.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, let me just say this. John Rush plays into this because I think the Broncos play the Chiefs one more time. We do. We need somebody to beat the Kansas City— The Broncos, are they still a team?
SPEAKER 03 :
Are they still a team?
SPEAKER 02 :
We need someone. Actually doing very well, and if they play correctly, you know, the Chiefs are beatable. I mean, that's been shown time and time again. Yeah, you've got to beat the 13th or, you know, the 12th man, I should say. 12th and 13th and 14th and 15th probably when it's all said and done with the refs, but—
SPEAKER 05 :
reality is can denver beat them yes if they play right i think nobody beats the lions except the bills so what my point is i think we're gonna win that game but that's not gonna hurt you the lions are gonna be the nfc champ can the bills make it through the afc championship and they need home field advantage against the chiefs we always lose to them in the playoffs in kansas city so we just need denver to beat kansas city i think it's the final game of the year And if we finish with even records, we've got the upper hand because we beat Kansas City during the regular season. So that could get the Bills into the Super Bowl. And then then you got a guaranteed first time winner because the Lions have never been there. Bills have been there four times, lost every time. And Bob, I would I would die for that kind of scenario. I would drive to Detroit to watch the game with you. I'm serious.
SPEAKER 03 :
I'll tell you what. Well, you know what? Here's the only thing, okay? If the Lions – which, by the way, with conferences, I'm not sure how this works exactly. Could the Lions and the Bills be in the Super Bowl against each other? Or would they be in the – Yeah, absolutely. NFC, AFC. Yeah, you're right. You're right. You're right. You're right. Okay. Absolutely. Got to go, though. Got to go.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Yeah. We'll talk about it again. We will. We'll talk about it. We'll see. All right. Thanks for joining us, everybody. Next week, join us again, National Crawford Roundtable Podcast. Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER 01 :
You've been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast, a view of today's culture through a biblical lens, brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group stations website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
Join Tony Perkins and his guests as they explore the intersection of faith, law, and medical ethics in the current socio-political landscape. With contributions from advocates and experts like Chloe Cole and Dr. Jennifer Bowens, uncover the profound implications of laws designed to safeguard minors against radical medical procedures. This episode not only highlights the legal strategies but also sheds light on the emotional and psychological dimensions of gender dysphoria conversations, fostering a holistic understanding of the ongoing cultural debate.
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 sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 16 :
Just as using morphine to manage pain differs from using it to assist suicide, using hormones and puberty blockers to address a physical condition is far different from using it to address psychological distress associated with one's body. The Equal Protection Clause does not require the states to blind themselves to medical reality or to treat unlike things the same. And it does not constitutionalize one side's view of a disputed medical question.
SPEAKER 12 :
That was the voice of the Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice defending a Tennessee law that protects minors from experimental drugs and surgeries related to gender dysphoria before the United States Supreme Court this morning. Welcome to Washington Watch. I'm your host, Tony Perkins. Here's what's coming up on today's program. So a majority of the Supreme Court appear to be reluctant to strike down the Tennessee law based upon their questions and comments. We're going to speak with the Alabama Attorney General, Steve Marshall, who has been leading a multi-state coalition in opposition to the Biden administration's push to transgender our children. Outside the courtroom, voices were raised in defense of these protections for children.
SPEAKER 18 :
The solution to the stress of our children. is not lying to them. It's not taking away parts of their bodies or unsuitable parts of their development. It doesn't take a degree in biology to understand that a drug cocktail and a scalpel do not make a child the opposite sex.
SPEAKER 12 :
That was Chloe Cole, a detransitioner and a powerful advocate, warning the public about the dangers of radical transgender ideology. FRC's Dr. Jennifer Bowens was at the court, and she'll join us with her insights later here on Washington Watch. And turning to international news in South Korea.
SPEAKER 20 :
We welcome President Yoon's statement, withdrawing the martial order. And there was a unanimous vote in the National Assembly to reject the decision and He followed up on that. In our judgment, any political disagreements need to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.
SPEAKER 12 :
That was U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commenting on the escalating political crisis in South Korea. After President Moon withdrew the martial law order, the opposition party announced plans to impeach him. We'll get the expert analysis from Asian specialist Gordon Chang later on Washington Watch. In Europe, French lawmakers have made history by ousting the prime minister, Michel Barnier, in a no-confidence vote. Now, this is the first time in 60 years that a government has been toppled in this way. What does this mean for Europe's political future? We'll discuss it with Peter McElvenna, who's the co-founder of Hearts of Oak in the U.K., And closer to home, the final U.S. Congress House race was called yesterday, nearly a month after the November election. So what does this mean for the 119th Congress? Well, FRC Action's Matt Carpenter will provide us with an update. And finally, a big thank you to everyone who partnered with us on Giving Tuesday. We are deeply grateful for your generous support in helping us stand for faith, family, and freedom here at the Family Research Council and on Washington Watch. And by the way, I want to invite you to join FRC in our Study of God's Word in 2025 with the second volume of the Stand on the Word Journal. This new spiral-bound journal accompanies our chronological Stand on the Word Bible reading plan and covers Isaiah through Revelation. This resource will help you as you grow in your understanding of God's Word. It also makes a great gift for loved ones this Christmas season. To order your copy, go to TonyPerkins.com or simply text the word JOURNAL to 67742. That's JOURNAL to 67742. As I mentioned this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether or not Tennessee's Senate Bill 1 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment. The law, which protects minors from so-called gender transition procedures, is similar to those passed in nearly half the states in the nation. And by most accounts, the Supreme Court's conservative justices appear likely to side with the state of Tennessee. Joining me now to discuss this is the Attorney General of Alabama, Steve Marshall, who is among those leading the charge against the Biden administration's push for irreversible mutilation of children. He filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case and was at the court today in support of Tennessee's law.
SPEAKER 06 :
General Marshall, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Good to be here, Tony. It seems like we continue to talk about this issue, but it gets better every time.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, finally, it appears that the tide is turning as the facts are coming out. But I want to first get your thoughts, your general thoughts on how the arguments went today and where the justices may be leaning.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I think the Solicitor General for Tennessee did an outstanding job in being able to truly eviscerate the argument that was being made by both the Department of Justice and the ACLU that this was somehow or another a law passed by the state of Tennessee that dealt with gender and that discriminated based upon one sex. And that's not at all what Tennessee has done. What they've done is be able to outlaw a procedure that creates experimental treatment on kids with tremendously adverse effects. And so I was very pleased by the question that we saw from the court, particularly the aggressive pushback from Justice Alito when the Department of Justice truly misstated the facts as it relates to how accepted this type of treatment is and what the potential consequences are for kids long term. So I feel confident that Tennessee will prevail and gives an opportunity not only for Tennessee to be able to continue this protection, but also the countless other states across the country that likewise want to be able to protect our kids.
SPEAKER 12 :
So speaking of that, General Marshall, will this case have implications for these other states? I mean, I think in total we have 26 states that have similar laws.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think it will, only as it relates to the legal standard that will be used to evaluate the particular state statutes. For example, when the court rules in this case, we'll have an opportunity to be able to present what the court has done to our district judge to be able to establish why Alabama clearly has a rational basis to be able to protect our children and to use that from the court's perspective to determine whether or not the statute itself is lawful. But Tony, I would say that even if the court were to rule with the plaintiffs and to say that there's a higher level of scrutiny that needs to occur, I believe the medical evidence is so strong that states are going to be able to meet that standard as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Did that come forth in today's hearing?
SPEAKER 06 :
Sadly not, only because the Tennessee case is relatively new from a litigation side, whereas Alabama's, we have a much more robust development of the underlying facts. And you and I have discussed previously about the absolute fraud that's taking place on parents and children across the country as we see this coalition of social justice lawyers, the Biden administration through Admiral Levine, influencing medical professionals and developing standards of care, not for what's best for kids, but instead to advance their own political agenda.
SPEAKER 01 :
And clearly that's not right.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't think anybody can accept this idea that medical practice ought to be dictated by your political philosophy and not what's in the best interest of children. So very comfortable that we're going to be able to develop that for all the states to be able to use. I think when judges have an opportunity to hear it, as recently they did in the state of Missouri, that we're going to find compelling orders supporting this idea of protecting our children.
SPEAKER 12 :
It would appear, General Marshall, that as the facts have been coming out, and not just in the courtroom, but in dialogues like this one, and as you've had to defend the law there in Alabama, and as legislators have taken up this issue, taken testimony, and what we see internationally, as many foreign countries are backing away from these radical positions. It appears that the public opinion on this has shifted quite significantly in the last five years.
SPEAKER 06 :
No, I think absolutely. When Alabama first passed its law, it was only one of three states to have done so. And candidly, it was with great opposition from many that felt like we were not doing what we needed to do to be able to help kids deal with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. But yet what we've learned, and particularly with the development in Europe, and who would have thought that we'd be looking to Europe to be able to support these ideas? but when they engaged in that systemic review of the literature they found little to no evidence that these treatments in fact helped kids and saw significant risks both short-term and long-term when kids undergo puberty blockers cross-sex hormones and more particularly surgeries and all we've seen from over these last five years is a continued push from the literature and others that have had a chance to view this in an unbiased way, is to say this is not the direction that we need to be teaching kids or at least treating kids that suffer from these conditions.
SPEAKER 12 :
General Marshall, you have tracked the court for some time. And the court has a propensity to surprise in its opinions that it releases. So while the questioning and the comments may be leading toward a support of the Tennessee law in this case, what are some of the possible outcomes? Because sometimes they can sidestep some of the issues. What might be some of the possible outcomes when the court rules on this probably near the end of June this next summer?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, one thing that Justice Alito did, I think, a fabulous job today was to really push back on the remedy that was being sought by the petitioners in this case so that they very much narrowed the scope of what they were asking. So to the extent that you were looking for worst-case scenarios, it would be that this court would come down and accept this idea that there is a heightened level – of scrutiny that needs to be placed on laws of this type. They wouldn't be deciding whether or not Tennessee's law was in fact valid or invalid, but instead would simply say that we will embrace this idea that this is a gender-specific law for which the state has to meet a higher burden of proof. But as we were able to establish in our 11th Circuit in a concurring opinion issued by Judge Brasher,
SPEAKER 05 :
He believes that even if it's a heightened level of scrutiny, the evidence is so compelling, the facts are so strong, and that we would be able to meet that burden as well. So I remain confident, regardless of the result of this decision, that the states will be in a good position.
SPEAKER 06 :
But I truly believe that we'll have a 6-3 or 5-4 decision supporting the efforts of Tennessee and validating the ruling they received from the 6th Circuit.
SPEAKER 12 :
In your opinion, did the opponents of this law, did they establish anything in today's oral arguments?
SPEAKER 06 :
I don't think they did. In fact, their greatest advocates were coming from the men's, whether it be Justice Sotomayor or Justice Jackson. They advanced more of the argument than we heard from either of the two advocates. But that shouldn't surprise us, correct? I mean, those are individuals we did not expect necessarily to be in favor of the Tennessee law. In fact, They dissented when the court had on its shadow docket a question involving Idaho for reasons very similar to what they expressed today. But I think the law itself, as Tennessee was able to present today, is very compelling for the court to be able to use a rational basis review. And I think that's the conclusion the court's going to ultimately reach.
SPEAKER 12 :
If I read this correctly, one of the attorneys that was opposing the law for the ACLU was a transgender attorney, setting kind of a historical record being the first transgender to argue before the Supreme Court. Is this more of the identity politics that they were hoping to use to bolster their case?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think absolutely. This is an advocate that went on a TV interview the day before his argument and said that a two-year-old can make a decision about whether or not to change their gender. Obviously, that's not what Americans believe. It shows that this is more political than it is legal, and we need to do right by our kids to make sure that those who are suffering from gender dysphoria have the right type of treatment, but we don't want them to be experiments that harm them for the rest of their lives.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, this is something that we will look back on, I think, in years from now. Hopefully, we'll look back knowing we got it right.
SPEAKER 01 :
General Marshall, always great to see you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks so much for stopping in today and joining us. Thank you. Folks, this is an issue we need to continue to pray. Because these are individuals, these young people, they have some really significant issues that they need to be able to work through, but work through correctly. So after the break, we're going to be talking with Dr. Jennifer Valens about this a little bit more. So don't go away.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you. The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it's never going to be on the ballot. He's the King of Kings, and he's the Lord of Lords, and nothing's going to change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we're to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
SPEAKER 12 :
I don't hear it in my earpiece. I don't know if I did something wrong or... in 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.
SPEAKER 21 :
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 03 :
The American Republic has a freedom like no other. It has roots in the scriptures far more than any other. And if we as followers of Jesus and conservatives don't defend it, who will?
SPEAKER 13 :
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. Okay, can you hear me okay? Because what they want from us is not our silence.
SPEAKER 09 :
If I tilt it down too much more, I'm not going to be able to see well.
SPEAKER 08 :
Part of the dilemma of Christianity in our generation is that we've relied a little too much on human wisdom and human reason, 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 couldn't even hope to begin to do.
SPEAKER 15 :
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 12 :
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. Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. And by the way, let me remind you once again, you can get a copy of the Stand on the Word Journal Part 2. It comes out. It's out. It's ready. It starts in January. So you can order your copy if you're on this journey. You'll need the second part. So text JOURNAL to 67742. That's JOURNAL to 67742. In the last segment, I was discussing with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall the legal arguments in the case that was before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Tennessee's law that protects minors from so-called gender transition procedures, which are both experimental and they're surgical and they're irreversible. Now I want to turn a little bit to the scientific aspects of this issue, as well as really the emotional issues, the psychological issues. So joining me now to discuss this is Dr. Jennifer Ballins, Director of the Center for Family Studies here at the Family Research Council. Dr. Ballins has worked extensively as a researcher and a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children in foster care and behavioral health settings, and also to adults who've experienced interpersonal traumas.
SPEAKER 09 :
Dr. Bowens, thanks for joining us today. Good to be with you, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
You spoke at the rally there on the steps of the Supreme Court in support of Tennessee's law earlier today. Give us a sense of what the environment was like there.
SPEAKER 09 :
It was a wild scene, Tony. You know, it's always interesting when the only arguments people have are to get very angry and emotional. And of course, we had emotion on our side, too. I mean, this issue is very, it's a lightning rod, for sure. But, you know, we had people coming over from the other side with horns while we're talking and blaring them. That's typical. That's typical.
SPEAKER 12 :
I've been there many times and they try to shout you down because they really can't defend the position that they're holding. Therefore, they want to silence the opposition. And that's really what we're seeing in this cancel culture. But inside the courtroom, the facts were talked about. Now, we were talking about this with Attorney General Steve Marshall, that it was focused more on the legal, not so much the scientific. They didn't get into that. That obviously is disappointing because that's one of the areas that you focused on.
SPEAKER 09 :
yeah and you know some of the things that should be brought out which i've mentioned in testimonies before which is we don't have any research that shows you know you let's just for a minute play that this is a real idea um you know we don't have any research that says who's gonna you know enjoy gender affirming care over time um you know there's such thing as non-binary and fluid gender that you who's going to stay the opposite sex for how long and so then you remove their body parts and then they decided a year from now that they're actually you know swashing back to a different gender and you know ideally in the scientific world you'd have instruments that you would develop that would predict those types of things But we're just going in like the Wild West, just performing all kinds of crazy experiments on children without any sense of real grounding in the scientific method. And that's why I said in my speech today, these procedures should have never been performed on a single child.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, I think in years from now, we'll look back on this as we have on other things that have been done in this country where you know that people have been sterilized and other actions have been taken even you look to what the nazis did in their medical experimentation that they did on human beings now i know they did i don't want to do total comparison but the fact is we look back on that and we're we're shocked that we allowed that to happen And I think this is one of those moments. But that said, Dr. Bounds, these things are real, the emotions that these individuals, the gender dysphoria. But what's been missing, and you and I have talked about this before, is to go to the source of the issue that's driving the dysphoria, the fact they're uncomfortable, they don't feel like they're in the right sex. Usually this is attached to some form of trauma.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that's right. And a lot of the think tanks on the other side who are in support of this issue, their own research has shown that a number of people who are trans-identified have big, huge trauma histories. I mean, we're talking a significant portion of people and those are just the ones who know enough to claim that. So we're not even talking about the people who don't even have a sense of what trauma is, which you might think that that seems illogical, but it's true. Doing trauma work, a lot of times people are so accustomed to living a certain way and experiencing horrific things that they don't identify that.
SPEAKER 12 :
When we say trauma, give us some, our viewers and listeners, some sense of the type of trauma we're talking about.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, sexual abuse, physical abuse, some forms of emotional abuse. You know, when someone is calling you names and degrading your personhood or withholding basic... care from your life, especially as a child. These are forms of abuse that many of the trans-identified people have gone through. And again, maybe it's not to that level, but usually you can, if you work with someone, you can find a source of where this idea came from. And that's what's not happening in the mental health profession.
SPEAKER 12 :
And that becomes, it can become kind of a defense mechanism. as well to keep this trauma from occurring again. So as we debate this public policy, and we're firmly, you know, we stand on the truth, man and woman, God created male and female, but we need to approach it with compassion and understanding that these are people that are often hurting.
SPEAKER 09 :
and they need help it's just not through a scalpel or through drugs experimental drugs it's something else that they're in search of and they need help with yeah yeah and we're actually uh our society has been making it worse for these folks because now they have trauma upon trauma to deal with The very people that they went to for help are inflicting more trauma through the very supposed answer that they are giving them. We're going to have a lot of people who've been affected by this, not only that have to deal with the root cause, but now they have to deal with forgiving a whole profession that has led them astray. Blind leading the blind.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and it is something we absolutely need to be praying about and praying for these individuals. It's real for them, and we need to help them find a way out that is right and will lead to a fulfilling life for them. Dr. Balance, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. All right, folks, don't go away. It begins here. and here and here every day before you stand you need solid ground standing in a culture that wants you to surrender the truth won't work unless you have a firm foundation At Family Research Council, we have that firm foundation, and you can find us standing. We stand for the value of all human life. We stand for the right of families to flourish. Every day, we stand for your freedom to believe and to live out those beliefs, both at home and abroad. We work with government officials, educating them on the issues from a biblical worldview, and when necessary, we hold them accountable. We equip Christians across America to be informed and to take action in their communities. With our daily radio program, television appearances, and vast online presence, we reach people where they are. We envision an America where all human life is valued, families flourish, and religious liberty thrives. That won't be realized if we're not standing. Stand for faith. Stand for family. Stand for freedom. Stand with us at FRC.
SPEAKER 01 :
Did you know there are many faithful Christians on Capitol Hill fighting alongside Family Research Council for Faith and Family and Freedom? Download the StandFirm app today to view the latest video series from FRC, Defending the Faith, Profiles in Leadership. The series features exclusive sit-down interviews with our nation's leaders that go beyond the policies and politics to the events that brought them to Washington, D.C. Download the StandFirm app today.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. And I do want to encourage you to pray into these situations. That's what's different about Washington Watch. We're not only giving you the news, but from a biblical perspective and giving you something to pray about. And we need to pray for these young people that have been led down this path of confusion. And there's a lot of contributing factors, but we know what the source of help is for them. We need to pray for them. In fact, Operation Prayer Shield, as we're praying for our country right now in this interim period between administrations, this is our prayer point for today. You can join us in Operation Prayer Shield. Simply text SHIELD, that's S-H-I-E-L-D to 67742 and join us in praying for our nation. And our allies as well. And here's something else to pray about. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yool is facing an impeachment vote later this week following his declaration of martial law yesterday. He was forced to lift it six hours later when the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn it. Now, the last time martial law was imposed in South Korea was in 1980. seven years before the country transitioned from a military dictatorship to a democracy now considering how south korea has been hailed as a success story in democracy building and also you know you look back the church has grown significantly in south korea christianity What's happening over there? Where did these events come from? And what does this tell us about the future? Joining me now to discuss this is Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang. He's a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and author of several books, including his latest, Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America. You can follow him on X under the handle at Gordon G. Chang. Gordon, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thanks so much, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, so where did this come from? Give us a little background on what's been taking place there in South Korea. This was a conservative president. What's happening?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, Yusuf Yul was extremely unpopular for his domestic affairs, and clearly there were so many issues, including, for instance, one that has attracted a lot of attention, his wife getting photographed accepting a very expensive culture handbag. But it was just one disaster after another. Now, this is the same Yoon Suk-yeol who has been a hero of freedom in North Asia.
SPEAKER 10 :
He very bravely, to his great detriment in terms of popularity in South Korea,
SPEAKER 11 :
But this was a profile-encouraged moment. He started coordinating with Japan at the insistence of the United States. Now, previous South Korean presidents had refused to do that because they realized how unpopular it was, but Yoon put himself on the line.
SPEAKER 01 :
And that helped to build a coalition to contain a very aggressive North Korea and a very aggressive China.
SPEAKER 11 :
But Yoon decided that he was going to do something which was unimaginable, which is declare martial law.
SPEAKER 10 :
He did it incompetently. He rescinded it, as you pointed out, after six hours. And he is going to have to resign. If he's not going to resign, he's probably going to be impeached on Friday or Saturday.
SPEAKER 11 :
And that will cause a crisis in South Korea.
SPEAKER 12 :
What might that mean for the United States as we have a transition of administrations here, Donald Trump coming in, a conservative? What does the future look like there?
SPEAKER 11 :
It doesn't look good, Tony. And the reason is that the conservative forces have always been very pro-America. The progressive or the leftist camp has been very anti-America. And for instance, Yoon's immediate predecessor, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea, a leftist, was essentially governing like a North Korean. And he did all as possible to undermine the alliance with the United States. So for instance, when President Trump visited Seoul during his first term, Moon did all he could to disrespect not only President Trump, but the United States of America. This could go back to a very difficult time, because this will embolden the North Koreans and the Chinese. And we know that with a weakened president or prime minister who will become president, then you have a point where the North Koreans may think they can use their leverage in South Korean society through the unions to try to change the form of governance in South Korea.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, Yoon had said that he was taking these actions of martial law in part because of the influence of North Korean communists. Is there evidence that there has been infiltration?
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, yes. I mean, it's clear.
SPEAKER 10 :
And everyone knows it.
SPEAKER 11 :
The Democratic Party of Korea is heavily infiltrated by North Koreans. And as I mentioned, Moon Jae-in, the leftist president, governed as if he were a North Korean asset. But that doesn't mean that Yoon should have done what he did, which was to declare martial law, because that was going to be always extremely unpopular. You know, there had been talk about martial law in the months leading up to this, but nobody thought that it would actually occur because it was just inconceivable. Yoon made it inconceivable, and he's going to pay the price for it.
SPEAKER 12 :
We only got about 45 seconds left, Gordon, but the church has grown significantly and been a major factor in South Korea. What has happened there? Has something happened with the church-state relationship or the influence of the church?
SPEAKER 11 :
The church is still very strong in Korea. And it was not only just South Korea. The church was strong in North Korea as well before the Kim regime.
SPEAKER 19 :
And there are still Christian communities in North Korea.
SPEAKER 11 :
In South Korea, the church is doing fine, and I think it will prosper. And this is a good story for Christianity in Asia.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right.
SPEAKER 11 :
Gordon Chang, always great to talk with you.
SPEAKER 12 :
I always appreciate your insights on what's happening.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you so much, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, Gordon G. Chang, if you want to keep up with him on X. He's the one I go to when I'm trying to figure out what's happening in Asia. But another prayer item. As he said, this could complicate the U.S. relationship with South Korea, emboldening that axis of evil. All right, when we come back, we're going to get a view on updates. The latest congressional race has been called. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. I can't hear you. 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 the 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 17 :
Oh, okay. It's true that all ideas have consequences, but we're less aware that all consequences are the fruit of ideas. Before there was murder, there was hate. Before there was a Holocaust, there was the belief by some people that other people are undesirable. Our beliefs determine our behavior, and our beliefs about life's biggest questions determine our world view. Where did I come from? Who decides what is right and wrong? What happens when I die? Our answers to these questions explain why people see the world so differently. Debates about abortion are really disagreements about where life gets its value. Debates over sexuality and gender and marriage are really disagreements about whether the rules are made by us or for us. What we think of as political debates are often much more than that. They're disagreements about the purpose of our lives and the source of truth. As Christians, our goal must be to think biblically about everything. Our goal is to help you see beyond red and blue, left and right, to see the battle of ideas at the root of it all. Our goal is to equip Christians with a biblical worldview and help them advance and defend the faith in their families, communities, and the public square. Cultural renewal doesn't begin with campaigns and elections. It begins with individuals turning from lies to truth. But that won't happen if people can't recognize a lie and don't believe truth exists. We want to help you see the spiritual war behind the political war, the truth claims behind the press release, and the forest and the trees.
SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch, the website TonyPerkins.com. All right, our word for today comes from Isaiah chapter 22. You looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest. You also saw the damage to the city of David, that it was great. And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. See, King Hezekiah took significant steps to protect Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat. Archaeologists have even uncovered some of the preparations mentioned by Isaiah gathering water, fortifying walls, and building reservoirs. Yet Isaiah points out to the core problem. Quote, "...you did not look to its maker, nor did you have respect for him who fashioned it long ago." You see, these preparations, though practical, lacked reliance on God. Action is important, but it must be grounded in faith and submission to God's will. Let us remember to act, but always begin by seeking Him. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, go to frc.org or text BIBLE to 67742. That's BIBLE to 67742. Before I go to my next guest, I want to provide a quick election update. Now, tomorrow will mark one month since Election Day, and believe it or not, there was still one race that remained uncalled until yesterday, the one for California's 13th congressional district. Now, here with a quick update on where things stand is Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action. Matt, thanks for stopping by.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, so it took a month, but we have finally gotten all of the results. Give us the results of California's 13th congressional district.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Tony, election season is over. I don't know if a little extra turkey slowed down the vote there at the end in California, but we have the results for California's 13th congressional district. As you pointed out, this is the last race from an election that we were tracking and trying to get results on. And Democrat Adam Gray prevailed over Republican incumbent John Dewar in that race by, I mean, almost a breathtakingly 187 votes. Tony, you and I both
SPEAKER 11 :
I've seen some close races over the years.
SPEAKER 14 :
I think this beats the record in the last election when Warren Buffett won by just over 200 votes. So races seem to be getting closer and closer nowadays.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that's amazing. Less than 200 votes. I mean, that's the size of, you know, that's smaller than the average church size. Especially in California, they've got these big churches. But a church, think about that for just a moment, one church, a couple families could actually make the difference in the outcome of one of these congressional races.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, that's exactly right. And I know there's a lot of great folks on the ground in California who are working in churches, taking advantage of some of the ballot-chasing laws there in California, getting the word out and educating voters. And it's just more evidence that all that work is needed. There's more of it that needs to be done. As we look at the 2026 midterms already, it's election season. It never ends, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, Matt, so the last seat, last race is decided, California's 13th. What does that leave in terms of the balance in the U.S. House of Representatives now that these races have all been called?
SPEAKER 14 :
So right now there's 220 Republicans for the 119 Congress, 215 Democrats. That's just a two-seat majority for Speaker Johnson with a 435-member body and 218 for a majority. So any additional drop-offs at this point is going to be problematic. It's going to make the operations of the House that much more difficult. And as we already know, Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress, and we'll have a special election to fill his seat. We also know Elise DeVonick, a New York Republican, is going to go on to be potentially the U.N. ambassador under the Trump administration. And then, obviously, Michael Walz, who's in the 4-6th congressional district, looks to have a national security advisor under the Trump administration. We'll have some special elections in the spring.
SPEAKER 12 :
Where does that leave them beginning in January if we have those three members that won't be there?
SPEAKER 14 :
They'll be down to 218 members, Tony, and that's the exact number you need for a majority. So, I mean, you can't have a 6-8, you can't have a member miss their flight.
SPEAKER 11 :
Things get really hairy at that point.
SPEAKER 14 :
So, you know, we'll see how these special elections pan out. All three Republicans will be leaving Congress.
SPEAKER 11 :
are running in safe districts, or they ran actually in safe districts.
SPEAKER 14 :
And you've got to figure, you'll probably have a Republican win those special elections, but you still have to run an election to see how that pans out.
SPEAKER 11 :
In Florida, we know January 28th is going to kick off.
SPEAKER 14 :
a special primary here in Florida. And then April 1st, we'll have the results of those special elections in Florida. We have yet to get word on what's going to happen in New York, the timing there. But I think it's safe to say, you know, it'll be a temporary 218-member conference for the House Republicans, probably around May or June. And I say, hey, you'll get back to 220, but we'll see.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, here's a prediction for you, Matt. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of money spent in those three special elections. I think you can count on that. Matt Carpenter, thanks so much for taking time to give us an update today.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. That was actually talking with the House Speaker about that over the weekend, that he's going to have almost zero margins to work with when it comes to moving forward. President Trump, President-elect Trump's 100-day agenda. So another prayer item, folks, and we're going to have more on that as we get into the new Congress. This weekend, speaking of President-elect Trump, he will be making his first, I guess you would say, appearance on the global stage as president-elect by attending the reopening of the newly restored cathedral in the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, which was nearly destroyed in 2019 by a devastating fire. Now, Trump was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to join him for this. And, of course, that country's in the middle of a political crisis that deepened earlier today with the ousting of the French prime minister. Now, is there something happening in Europe that we need to be watching? And if so, what are the implications for us, just as we were talking about what's happening in South Korea? Joining me now live from London to discuss this is Peter McElvenna. He's the co-founder of Hearts of Oak, a freedom of speech alliance, and he works in the office of UK's House of Lords. Peter, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 07 :
Great to be with you, Tony. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 12 :
And thank you for staying up late. I know it's late there in the UK. So let's start with the news that broke just a few hours ago today. Today, a historic no confidence vote by the French Parliament. Tell us what's happening there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, Tony, it's never too late to join you. But in France, we had the French Prime Minister, Michel Pion-Bornier, who's known to British viewers because he was the one that basically headed up the Brexit negotiations on behalf of the EU. Very influential figure. He was put in by Emmanuel Macron after Macron's big defeat, basically, in the last elections when Reem Le Pen came first. Got the biggest share of the vote. And instead of Marine Le Pen forming the government as the largest grouping, the two smaller groupings on the left came together. And that has not lasted. Michel Barnier, obviously the Prime Minister, appointed by the President. Similar, I guess, in Russia, we're putting a point, the Prime Minister, similar in France. So the Prime Minister, the President Macron, appointed Barnier, who he thought would be a pick that everyone would accept. Now, he forced through a budget bill two days ago, I think, without a vote of Parliament, which is very strange. I'm not obviously upset. not only Marine Le Pen's party, the largest party, but the far-left party. So left and right came together and said, we're not having this. And they devoted no confidence. And Michel Barnier lost that by 330 to 280. So he will have to resign.
SPEAKER 12 :
So Peter, he's a conservative. This was what he was pushing through in terms of the budget, as I understand it, was to address the out-of-control spending there in France. So what does this tell us about? Is there a political shift that's taking place there in Europe?
SPEAKER 07 :
There is a big political shift, and this is what's exciting to the FRC viewers, to the American audience, that this is Europe becoming open to President Trump stepping back into the White House. This is why I'm really excited what's happened. We've seen changes in Austria, in the election in Austria. The German government have collapsed, and they're going to have elections with a turner for Deutschland holding at 20%. We've got Macron being very weakened. You've always had that Franco-German alliance in the EU.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's been Germany and France, the two big powers in Europe.
SPEAKER 07 :
Germany, very weak politically after Merkel left, and she has not been replaced. And in France, Macron's become weaker and weaker. And that means, into that gap is... The populist parties that have done hugely well across Europe, whether it's Viktor Orban in Hungary, whether it's Maloney in Italy, whether it's the Swedish Democrats doing exceptionally well up in Sweden, whether it's the Freedom Party pulling extremely well in Austria.
SPEAKER 01 :
And on and on.
SPEAKER 07 :
In Spain, the populist party came second, and in Portugal came third. So there's a resurgence of the nation-state, putting the nation above the EU. And that's what really has put fear into the heart of Europe, the establishment. because they want the European Union project to continue, in which it's telling those small states what they must do, and Germany and France telling them. But with that vacuum in Germany and France, with Marine Le Pen doing exceptionally well in the last election, I saw a poll, and she's polling at 39% in an election that happened two days ago in France, so doing even better and better. And that means you've got a lot of parties actually in power or holding the reins of power because of coalitions who are very friendly and very open and very welcoming to President Trump. So I think instead of 2016 where there was a clash, now we could see an arrest, and I think that's an extremely positive thing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Is that a part of Macron's invitation to Trump to come there to Notre Dame this weekend?
SPEAKER 07 :
Macron will do whatever he has to do to survive. He is a survivor. He's not a conviction politician. He will feel the public opinion and he will go with it. I don't know what he really believes as a politician. Senator Keir Starmer in the UK, devoid of convictions. So it's curious, when I saw President Trump had been invited, I saw that at the beginning of today, I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised.
SPEAKER 01 :
Maybe Biden can't take international trips any longer. Maybe he's not trusted outside the White House. I don't know.
SPEAKER 07 :
But obviously Macron is trying to reach out, trying to position himself. And Macron and Keir Starmer in the UK, they've tried to position themselves as the new rulers, the new kings of Europe. But they're both very weak in terms of many areas. So I think this is Macron trying to save his skin, reach out to President Trump. But President Trump remembers and knows how some of the European leaders treated him in the past and has a long memory. So I think that he will be able to bypass Macron, really, and go to other governments and leaders that are much more positive and embracing of America, revitalising itself and reaching out to the world and beginning to address some of the issues we face worldwide.
SPEAKER 12 :
Peter, we just have a few minutes left, but I want to transition to a topic you and I have talked about as it pertains to the UK, but it applies to all of Europe, and that is the presence of Christianity and Orthodox religion as it pertains to the Christian faith. The President going there for the rededication or the unveiling of the rebuilt cathedral. That's a centerpiece. I mean, that's an iconic place there in France, but it no longer represents what it once did. Give us the state of play from a standpoint of the influence of Orthodox Christianity in Europe and what that means for the future.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I was in Paris.
SPEAKER 12 :
I think we lost it. Right when I was getting to the heart of what we wanted to talk about. Well, maybe we'll get him back. I don't know. Somewhere between here and the UK, we lost the signal.
SPEAKER 07 :
I'm back, yeah? There he is. All right. Go right ahead. I don't know what happened across the water, but I was in Paris just four weeks ago outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, just obviously before it opened.
SPEAKER 01 :
And it's a glorious building, over 800 years old.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I would lose some of the statistics. I mean, the spire was built of oak, burned down, obviously, in that fire five years ago. But it was 750 tonnes of oak lined with lead. And those oak trees were cut down in 1160.
SPEAKER 01 :
That shows the history and heritage.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, that has changed.
SPEAKER 01 :
I know in the UK, in the last five years, we have seen 200 churches affected by arson.
SPEAKER 07 :
And about a year ago, in 2022, in the European Parliament, an MEP talked about attacks on 613 churches across Europe.
SPEAKER 01 :
So we are seeing...
SPEAKER 07 :
That is an attack on that, but then also we are seeing nations of collapsing Christianity in the UK, which has had an assisted suicide bill, assisted dying bill passed, where you can help someone end their life.
SPEAKER 01 :
And that's been hotly debated for 30 years in the UK, and that has now getting pushed through. And a bishop yesterday was saying that
SPEAKER 07 :
that the UK has lost its Christian ethos, its Christian basis, whenever it thinks actually the killing of those who are no longer beneficial to society is a positive thing. And we've seen that happen across Europe and Belgium, and you can now have children killing themselves if they're depressed.
SPEAKER 01 :
So we are seeing a change in what it means for life.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because churches are not there shining brightly, teaching people, teaching school children what life is all about. We're all made in the image of God. And you take away that, then anything fills into that vacuum. And we are seeing a culture of death across Europe.
SPEAKER 12 :
Very quickly, I've got 30 seconds left, but Peter, as American politics influence Europe through Trump, could also we see the church of the United States impact Europe as well?
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, big time. I think many European churches are looking to this day to look at that confidence of actually what it means to have a Christian worldview, a Christian ethos. And when Trump goes back into the White House and speaks truth, then Europe will be watching and I think we'll see churches excited, growing and embracing their heritage once again.
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. Well, we look forward to being a part of that conversation with you as that time comes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 12 :
And folks, thank you for joining us as well.
SPEAKER 02 :
We're out of time. Until next time, keep standing. 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.