The Rod and Greg Show: Is AI Turning Students into Dishonest People? Plus, Senator Mike Lee.

Ready to put a little spin on your day? Then check out Chumba Casino's new online social casino game, Ryan Seacrest 10K Ways. It's free and packed with 10,000 ways to play. Only at Chombacasino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, void, where prohibited by law. CTs and Cs, is 21 plus sponsored by Chumpa Casino. No, no. I thought you were like picking up what I'm putting down. Remember, we're having a bonding moment right here. It is manned month, not Pride Month. Oh, that's right. Yeah, I love our member. Got some good. got some good feedback on man month so you know i had one critic that said and it was a female she said every month is man months and it wasn't queen b no it was someone it was another was it your daughter no but it was just someone that said every month is man month well my wife saying it like we don't have good months yeah my wife told me last night that we'll offend people if we call a man month I said, I don't care. That's what I said, right? We like Mn Month. I think it's the greatest idea we've ever come up with. I actually hope we start a campaign to make June Man Month, at least in Utah. If the country doesn't want to follow our lead. We don't care. Utah is used to leading out. It's the Utah Way. Yeah, it's the Utah Way. That's the Utah Way. That's the new thing. It's the Utah Way to call June Man Month. That is the Utah Way. That's the Utah Way. Everybody talks about the Utah Way. We're incorporating it into man month. In a state where we have a child per, what is it, the per capita per children is higher here than other states. And I think that makes it man month, maybe man year. I don't know. It's good to be with you today. We've got a lot to talk about. Mike Lee will be joining us shortly. We'll talk about that. We'll talk about the impact that AI is having on schools around the country. Then I see today. The State Board of Education is working with Google to introduce AI into all Utah classrooms. Huh? No, that's not a good idea. You and I are fans of classical education. That's correct. Yeah, pen, paper, pencil. That's what we want. You got to learn how to learn. And this will be a good discussion that we're going to have during the show. And in fact, in this first hour about this, but I will tell you this, if it isn't the goal of kids K through 12 getting through school, learning how to learn, getting new information, first you've got to learn how to read. You get K through 3 to do that. Once you learn how to read. proficiently, then you can read the learn. But once you hit that starting Bill Gates, come out the Bill Gates at third grade, it's all about learning how to learn and year-over-year progress, proficiency, all of that. And if that's not your goal when you're sending kids to school, you got the wrong goals. Because that has been the basic premise that nobody argued for the longest time. And now we're just in some kind of, oh, we'll just have AI fill out. So they'll get good grades. Yeah. That's what we care. They'll get good grades. They won't know anything, but they'll get good grades. That's all the matters. Good grades. You don't need to know anything, but that's all that matters. I think I figured out, Greg. You know, you and I think a lot of people in the media, have always been critical of the state of Utah because it takes so long to get election results. Yes. Right? Yes. I mean, we're going, come on. I mean, Florida, population about three times what we have here in Utah, if not larger, have it that night. I think if you blink.

you're behind in terms of reading the results as soon as the polls close. Florida just has it all done. They have it. They're done. So I think Utah got the idea from California. I think they did because they're voting today in the governor's race, the L.A. mayor's race down there, but we may not know the results for weeks. It is pathetic. And you know what? That is where I think voter confidence is eroded because the longer it takes, the chain of custody becomes questionable. You don't know what, if you don't have transparency in that process and you don't understand the chain of custody of why it takes so long how it takes. That all under, I think it undermines our election process. Yeah. And of course, California is going to do it that way. Yeah. Well, we'll talk about that a little bit later on. But we want to start off the show today. We love when people stand up for what they believe in. And it's not easy to do in today's world because if you do, you're going to be attacked, right? Yeah, it's a bit of profile and courage nowadays to just talk. It's common sense, but it's just staying up for what you believe. It is. Well, I saw this story coming across, I think it was in the New York Post this morning. Black Crows, I don't know a lot of their music. I do. They're a 90s band. Are they a 90s band? I don't know a lot about Black Crows, but apparently their singer, Chris Robinson, was booed over the weekend for mocking fans for a USA chant during a show in Florida. He then doubled down. This was not real bright. And ask what they had to be so proud of to be an American. And then people started walking out. Yeah, good. I would too. Yeah. The trouble apparently... The story goes began Sunday night in Tampa on their southern hospitality tour when an image of the group's black crow mascot dressed as Uncle Sam, appeared on the big screen behind him. The fans went crazy. They started, you know, USA, USA. Well, Robinson was booed after mocking fans for chanting USA. and then said, what are you so proud of? And they all started getting up and walked out. I'm glad they left. I mean, I wish more would do that sometimes. Yeah, me too. Me too. Look, those are those moments. They're unscripted. You don't know when they're coming. But if you just have your rudder in the water, you kind of know where you're at. And you're not falling prey to the noise out there that's trying to make us. destroy everything hate our country hate our foundation foundational institutions you're not that you love you love this country you want to protect it promote it build it yeah when you hear something that says otherwise speak up yeah the southern hospital hospitality tour not very hospitable was he nope nope no you know that's that's the thing about these leftists you know they're there they're he still likes their band he's just gonna yeah i

Yeah, I understand. And their music's not bad. But the thing is, I just love how left is just they give no room in their worldview for anyone else's. To say anything. Yeah, opinion. It's only, they're the ones that are open-minded. They're the ones that are virtuous. They're the ones. And anyone that falls outside of their worldview is the problem. What are you, what are you booing about? You, you're an intolerant SOB. That's right there. Now, another thing. Now, we've been talking about Man Month. June is Pride Month. We've decided we're doing it the Utah way and calling it Man Month instead of Pride Month, right? Chick-fil-A. Remember years ago people were saying boycott Chick-fil-A because the owner said they do not believe in same-sex marriage? Yeah. And remember, I remember that day, Greg, and it was during that conference, this was years ago where everybody, there was a call to action to go buy something at Chick-fil-A. And I remember going to one close by where our studios are here. Yeah. The line went around and around and around the building because people support Chick-fil-A. Well, this being Pride Month, apparently, they had to, you know, restate what they believe in. Here's what they said. We are proud to protect our values and stay grounded in what we believe. Respect for others does not require us to celebrate or endorse every message of movement. We will not change. who we are to appeal to the crowd and we will not compromise our beliefs for approval. Our position is simple. We will remain respectful, but we will also remain true to our principles. That's the statement they made yesterday. I love it. I do too. You know, when Chick-fil-A has done this, including staying closed on Sundays and just following kind of their family traditional approach, they have been rewarded commercially for it. Yeah. They've stood out from other fast food. you know, franchises out there or companies out there. And I think it's, I think, again, that's another moment. You just got to start speaking up and you just got to start, you know, not letting the other side. The other side is not afraid to speak up. No, they'll pummel you. They will pummel you with what they believe. And I've never seen this, but apparently in and out burger. I don't eat there a lot, but they do a good burger, right? Apparently they put biblical phrases. on either their wrappings or their their cups or something. I've never noticed, but apparently they do. They're getting the heat for doing that. The owner said today, shove it. Yeah. We ain't changing. And they don't have to. It's a very popular place. Enden out Burger is very popular. So I, and again, I just think that you just take a stand over. These are things that, again, it's so funny how times have changed where these were not political issues. These were just, this was the common threat of. Everyday, normal, you know, everyday people with common sense. And then politics took on more specificity in different areas. Now, if you want to celebrate the flag. Looking for excitement, Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train. Play at the store. Play at home. Play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win. And get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, slingo, and more. Live the Chumba Life at Chumbacasino.com.

it's the left is angry yeah they're mad if you want to i mean just anything heaven forbid you have a biblical saying on a on a on a rapper oh i just can't believe how how bad you are and how terrible that is that's awful I just, you know, I just think it's, if we don't, we'll just get more of what we put up with. I think we just start taking the stands and speaking up. Stand for what you believe. You can be nice about it. You can be affable. And respectful. You're crazy. Just smile when you say it. You're just crazy. Your cuckoo for Cocoa pops. Isn't it cute? But I'm smiling. Yes, I'm smiling at you, but you are loony tunes. There's cartoons about you. There's rubber rooms for you. Have fun. When we come back, we'll talk to Utah sender Mike Lee back in Washington. That's coming up. Tuesday afternoon edition of the Rotting Greg Show and Utah's Talk Radio 105.9 K&R.S. Marco Rubio appeared before the, I think it was the Foreign Affairs Committee, I believe, but they were talking about updates on Iran. Dr. Mehmet Oz. Well, it's the spokesperson at the White House briefing today. You know, he's kind of rotating the... I love how they're having cabinet members and these agencies heads come up and talk to the press. I mean, you have to have a talented administration to be able to do that. And again, today was another classic. Yeah, he was asked today as a doctor how he would treat Trump derangement syndrome gave a great answer. We'll play that a little bit later on in the show. Very honest answer. Utah Senator Mike Lee is joining us now. That's right. That's right. Sorry, Senator, to keep you on. I was not thinking straight. Okay. Senator Lee, thank you for joining us on the program. You know, we had the election. We have the, you know, the Republican primaries in America. They're out. They're live. They're happening right now. You saw it in Louisiana. Senator Bill Cassidy, he lost. It made the Senate kind of salty. They left for late for Memorial Day. Then you saw the big voter turnout with the Republicans in Texas. And you saw Ken Paxton win. What is the mood in the U.S. Senate right now? I know you've got a lot of things to do. Are there things that we can get? What's the mood? And are there things that the Senate can get accomplished before the midterms? Yeah, you know, there have to be. Sure, there were some moments of somberness after Bill Cassidy lost, and now after John Cornyn has lost his primary. Some of my colleagues were a little upset, and I think that's part of why the reconciliation package to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, which has been... partially defunded for months now. That's why it failed to go through a week before last. We got to get this thing done. We're refocusing on that. My hope is that by the end of this week or in the worst case scenario, early next week, we'll get that bill done. But yeah, you put a little speed bump in there with some people expressing dissatisfaction with President Trump's involvement in that. But regardless, we've got to look forward. We've got to move forward toward November with an eye toward winning.

elections around the country and important Senate races so that we can keep the Senate. under Republican control. I'm guardably optimistic we can do that, but we do have to put points on the board, starting with passing this bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security in full, and including achieving significant reform on FISA, and also passing the Save America Act. We've got to get those done. If we get those done, I think we'll be rewarded by voters. If we don't, we're going to be in tough shape because voters, even if we could pull that one off, it's going to be a lot harder. then it will be if we get our work done. Senator, what is the status? You mentioned the Save America Act. Most Americans want this. What is the status of it right now? As I explained last night in a video I posted on X, there is an interesting dynamic where we've been stuck for a long time trying to figure out how to fund the Department of Homeland Security. That has been an enemy toward returning to consideration of the State of America Act because of the pressing need to do this. That coupled with other incidental votes that come up with what we call privileged motions on war powers resolution measures and. congressional review act resolutions of disapproval that have privileged status come to the floor and we have to consider them that has delayed save America and it's especially important to have larger blocks of more or less uninterrupted time on save America in order to push it so we're probably at least a couple of weeks away from being able to do that or just the same the clock's ticking we got to get this done this summer So I want to go back to these primaries. A good friend of yours that we actually, Rod and I met at your debate against Evan McMuffin back when you had a debate back in your election season. We had, we had Chip Roy. Chip Roy. Chip Roy's, I'm sorry. Congressman Chip Roy was in attendance at Utah Valley University, spoke on our program as a dear friend of yours. I was surprised, Senator, that he lost his bid to become the Attorney General in Texas. Maybe some insight there. I thought that, what's the voters saying? Because you think you know what the voters are saying when they vote for Ken Paxton. But I was surprised to see that Chip Roy didn't win election statewide in Texas. Yeah, I was saddened by that as well. Chip is a dear friend. I've known them for 16 years.

Um, since before I even, uh, was a U.S. Senator. He is, um, a very decent man. He's a good lawmaker. He's a great lawyer would have been a fantastic Texas attorney general. The voters in Texas decided to go a different route. I'm not sure I understand entirely the dynamics at play there. I know that he was running against a wealthy self-funder who had more or less unlimited funds. And he ran with this series of accusations against Chip Roy is somehow not being faithful to the MAGA agenda. I don't know anyone whose voting record is more conservative or more consistent with the... fundamental precepts of conservatism and of those who want to make America great again. In this instance, I think it's unfortunate, but again, the voters in Texas made their decision and I wish his opponent well. I think they could have done better and would have done better by electing Chip Roy. Senator, let's talk about an issue here at home that's grabbing a lot of headlines of late, and that's, of course, the proposal for a very large data center up there in Boxelter County. I know you're aware of this. Where, you know, where do you stand on these issues? Because Greg and I both agree, we've got to stay ahead of the game here, but we also understand the concerns of local residents. Where do you stand on the data center issue right now? Yeah, of course. Well, look, first of all, I don't believe data centers ought to. come in and then create higher electricity rates for other customers. I think when they come in, if they want to connect to the grid, which many of them do, and in the long run, it's probably better for them and everybody else if they do, especially because that can tend to lead to more base load power generating capacity, which in the long run is better for everybody. But they should not require other rate payers to make up the difference. In many instances, and I know many have argued that in this instance, it is the plan for the data center in question to pay a significant premium so as to hold harmless the other ratepayers. And so I think that can be a good thing. Now, it's noteworthy here that the Stratus project up there does not require any approvals from the federal government. There isn't any federal issues that I'm aware of. And so as of the wisdom of it, this is up to state and local elected officials that have to weigh in there and trust that they will do their job in doing that. And I do believe also that the United States is in a significant high-stakes AI arms race with China. And that that really does have with it a lot of national security implications. If we don't play on this, if we can't make ourselves competitive, by among other things, increasing our generating capacity and our ability to get base load power to residential users, to other industrial users, including those who operate data centers, we're going to be in a world of hurt because we'll get behind China and won't be able to catch up.

But look, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. It's one of the reasons why I'm focused as the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate. on figuring out how we can bring most more base load power onto the grid so that everyone benefits. Utah sender Mike Lee joining us on our any hour newsmaker line talking about all the events that are going in Washington. You know, Greg, you asked him about getting things done. I mean, if they don't do a thing between now and, you know, the Republicans have no right to brag. I mean, they don't. Get something done. They do not know how to leave. You said it the other day. They prefer to be in the minority. and moaning complain about everything instead of leading. And then they can try and slip in whatever spending pork bill they want for whoever they want. But it takes responsibility to lead. And a lot of these characters, they would rather be in the minority and maneuver within the Democrat majority. And I just think they're on the clock. And how that manifests itself is it's not that Republicans because it's not that Republican voters would vote for a Democrat because these senators. or do nothing or even the house that they're doing nothing it's the turn out to vote they don't bother coming yeah so they're not going to get out to vote they're not going to go vote for a democrat but they're just not going to bother because they just can't really see the difference and so there has to be a difference to get out the vote to actually you know to break the trend of the precedent of you know the party that's not in the White House usually loses in the midterms. If you want to break that precedent, you better give people reasons to come to the polls. Yeah, that's for sure. All right, more coming up as the Rod and Greg show roll along on this Tuesday afternoon and talk radio, 105-9, KNRS. Looking for a little Hollywood-style fun? Check out Ryan Seacrest's 10K Ways exclusively at Chumba Casino. There's 10,000 ways to play. Get spinning for free at chumpacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Voidware prohibited by law. CTs and Cs 21 Plus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. Schools have been closed here in Utah for a couple of weeks now. The state announced today, the Utah Board of Education, Greg, announced today that they will partner with Google now to provide students and teachers with what the department calls secure, responsible AI tools. Yeah. Or technology in the classroom. I think, yeah, I think this is worth discussing. I bet I got a take, but I think let's get the big brains on this. Yeah, well, on our any hour newsmaker line right now is our good friend, Aguist Mayrah, he is a senior contributor of the Federalist. He is a high school teacher, I believe, down in the Dallas area, and he says AI is rewarding high school grads for being dishonest frauds. Agust, welcome to the show. What do you mean by that? Well, AI has made cheating a lot easier.

So this is a problem, obviously, because this means more kids are cheating. And instead of trying to catch them or trying to stop this, schools have kind of implemented policies and incentives to keep it going. I mean, they're even awarding college credit to kids that are likely cheating on all their assignments. And everything's on the computer now because schools have gone to one-to-one kind of distributing technology of the kids. No, there are a lot of problems with this. In the past, we've had cheating, but we usually had measures to prevent it. It was hard to cheat. You had to copy off someone, look over their shoulder, or do something like that. Now it's just, you get CHAPTPT to do your work, and it does it. And there's no way to check it. There's no way to catch it. And we just kind of create these opportunities for kids to just kind of lie through their whole academic careers. So let me ask you that I can see why assignments, the paper's written, all those things that kids can lean on AI. But isn't there a moment where they're tested on whatever curriculum or whatever paper subject matter that they're asked to write about? And whether that test could be administered in real time to the student or even an oral exam, isn't there ways that testing the student could kind of find out who's really producing their homework assignment versus who's using AI? Yeah, but the problem is, is that testing has become less popular. So, exactly. Why couldn't that have happened when I was in school of goose? I really hated tests, okay? I could have used that, you know, that would have helped me. So, okay, so normally you would say here to a test on paper, you know, Scantron. And that was a lot easier to monitor, but now tests are done on the computer. But even then, the tests aren't even being done. They're doing projects. They're doing a lot of stuff that's very subjective and stuff that's easy to cheat on. Even if you give like homework, like on math homework or social studies, like the kids can just get, again, an AI to complete it. So there's not a lot of opportunities, you know, a lot of instances where kids are being assessed in an objective way that prevents kind of using AI. Or like, again, they can even pull AI on the computer. Let's say they are doing a test, but they have their computer up for notes or whatever. And instead of notes, they're just getting answers from, you know, an LLM, a chat GPT thing. August, I know this is a relatively new challenge for teachers, but teacher intuition, how does it play into this? I mean, some teachers can tell right away. I mean, how did teachers, you know, are they trained to protect themselves or to look out for this? What kind of training is there to help teachers try and figure out what's going on here?

Well, right now, it's still early, so teachers are encouraged to try to incorporate it in the classroom. Here are some AI tools you can use with your kids, or here's the way you can get AI to help the kids learn how to write. And it's all kind of silly, because, again, if you've taught long enough as I have... You realize, no, AI is just going to be a tool for cheating. It's going to be a tool to make things easier. Kids are not going to use it in a constructive way. So, I mean, what I learn about AI is how to prevent it, you know, how to close any opportunity to use it. Because kids need to learn how to think. So that means, and again, keeping things in class. So that's a problem. It's that AI, anything that goes outside the classroom where you can't monitor it, it's going to be done by AI. It's going to be cheating. So, I mean, I don't know how colleges are going to handle that when you have to start writing kind of five-page papers or whatever for your class or you're doing that kind of work. Again, the moment of truth comes when you're tested, but then when everybody's failing to test because they've never learned, then you know, you're going to get pressured not to give tests anymore. And so it's bad. I mean, it's a truly bad situation and very few people are talking about it because it's going to totally undermine the legitimacy of any education. So, you know, we're talking about, you know. students succeeding in school and being able to pass to the next grade or to graduate. And I could see why testing would be frowned upon if that's your measure. But isn't the measure supposed to be year-over-year proficiency? Isn't that supposed to measure? And even year-over-year progress, if you were a C student, you became a B student, things like that. Those measures, are they not? Because I would say the AI, I would even say that. typing instead of writing can we go back to paper and writing there's there's studies out there that show that writing things down your retention is better than when you're typing there's so much out there that would would move a student away from technology if you want to see proficiency in year over your progress why aren't are those measures do those measures even exist in our schools anymore It's far and few between. I mean, again, you have standardized tests that are super easy. And that's what I was saying. The SAT used to kind of show some stuff. And now the SAT gets watered down and it gets changed all the time. That's never very clear how things are being measured. And the AP exam has gotten watered down even. And now kids can kind of bypass all of that and take classes that don't have actual assessments that measure their aptitude and their competency. So that's the problem. And again, kids are going to want to take those classes where there are fewer ways of showing that they're growing and showing proficiency. They're going to take the classes that are easier because schools and school districts are awarding like college credit and GPA boosts to all these things.

How about the, you know, you have the really bright students who probably, you know, AI is easy for them, but they really don't need it. They can crank out things. They're really bright students. But how about the mediocre students? The students who struggle, yet they go to AI, they get maybe a great paper, when in fact they didn't do the work and they still don't have a grasp of what's going on. Aren't the mediocre students hurt more than anybody else in this situation? Of course. I mean, yeah, they're always, you know, the poor and the ignorant and the weaker students are always hit hardest. But, I mean, the smart students are too. It's a great equalizer. Everybody is just equally, you know, uneducated about this stuff. So, yeah, the poor kids are never going to be able to improve because they can always use this crutch. But even the smart kids are going to lose what they have. If you don't use it, you lose it. And so now AI is just proven too tempting. And again, there's no real repercussion except down the road when you realize, oh, I really don't think I learned anything in my K-12 education or even in college. Once you get past third grade and you're reading to learn, you're not learning to read any longer. I was under the impression that learning how to learn was the key to it all. But it doesn't sound like what you're talking about with AI or anything else or measuring proficiency or year over your progress. We're learning. we even care or prioritize learning how to learn. Do we get back to that? Are there consequences to how this is going on that we get back to the basic hope that every student learns how to learn? Well, I think for any school that kind of understands what you're talking about, learning to learn and reading to learn, they're going to start seeing a lot more enrollment because I think families and parents are going to realize that their kid is not really growing. And they're deficient in a lot of skills that they should have at the time. So, I mean, you know, I'm a big advocate for classical learning. And the biggest, you know, biggest virtue of classical learning is that they don't have technology at schools, you know. And so my kids attend a classical school here in this area. So I think public schools and private schools that are still doing the technology thing and giving their kids computers. they're going to start seeing kids pull out, especially with families that actually care about their kids actually learning something. So, no, I mean, it's up to the school. It's up to the school district. And they need to kind of feel the pressure to actually start delivering a better product and not just enabling this mass cheating, which is what is happening right now. Oh, that's too bad. A goose may, I mean, there's always been cheating in school, but I think the game's been up to a little bit. Thanks to AI. Agoose Mayra, joining us on our any hour newsmaker line. It's the Rod and Greg Show. A follow-up, an education-related story. I think that's just great. But apparently, the Maryland school districts will now require teachers to potty train as pre-K for all expands.

So teachers are going to have to teach kids. They'll have to potty train them, the toddlers, as they now enter a pre-K for all in the state of Maryland. I think that should be a requisite to go to school. You don't want these teachers taking your kid to the bathroom. I bet you had no experience in potting, trading your children. I was a cheerleader. Neither did I. Actually, if I made the kid, I would change the diaper of the kid that made the mess if I made the kid. Really? Yeah, so my own kids, I changed diapers. But that's it. That's it. All right. Hour number two coming up. Well, first of all, Stanley Cup starts tonight. Yes. Championship finals. Yeah. Get underway tonight. Carolina and Las Vegas. Yep, the Golden Knights. I'm actually going to go east. You are? The Eastern Conference. I want to see the Carolina. Trader. Trader. Trader. Trader. I'm not a traitor. It's Vegas. And they beat Armammoth. Wouldn't you want to cheer for the team that beat our guys? Nope. They're not them. They're nobs to the whole NHL. And then they get what? They get to go to that. I swear they're in the Stanley Cup every other year or something. I don't know. They've been in the league for nine years. And they've been to the finals, three of those nine. That's pretty successful franchise. Western Conference finals, like seven of the nine. I swear. But it's an embarrassment of riches and they're brand new fans. They don't deserve such a thing. Maybe it's envy on my part. I don't know. I think it is. Because your little penguins can make it to the tournament. But that's why my pen was a bunch of old guys, Sid Crosby and Malkin coming back. Still the best players. Still coming back. They're old. Sidney Crosby's the greatest player. Yeah. Yeah, right. Makes Wayne Gresky look like a scrub. Wow. Yeah. No, but you know what? I like the Carolina Pan. Or no, the Carolina Panthers. I like them. I do. I think they can win it, too. I think they. I do. I think they're favored. Are they? I think so. It's an evenly matched deal, that's for sure. Yeah. I think they're favored. Yeah. I like the old school. All the old school teams are from the Eastern Conference. You're stupid. Well, we're on the original six. Yeah. So, you know, I like it. Yeah. Boy, what do we, I mean, we got a couple, there are a couple things out there to talk about today. Ready to put a little spin on your day? Then check out Chumba Casino's new online social casino game, Ryan Seacrest 10K ways. It's free and packed with 10,000 ways to play. Only at Chamba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW group, void where prohibited by law. CTs and Cs, 21 plus, sponsored by Chumpa Casino. Uh, that, the, the, the vote in California today. but we won't know the outcome for several days, if not several weeks. According to your buddy, you hear talking about this campaign today. Well, here's an interesting point because this Nate Silver guy, he used to do this for New York Times, what was it, the 437, whatever the blog was, where he, 458, whatever it is. So it's the number that you... electoral votes or something. But here's the thing about Nate Silver. He's analytics. He does polling. He does the modeling. And he was pretty accurate for a while. But he could the Trump broke him. He couldn't figure out a Trump vote to save his life. And it kind of ate at him. But Nate Silver still, he's left in New York Times. He has his silver bullet substack column. And he's still doing his thing. But this guy is definitely.

left of center. There's no question about it. He doesn't hide the fact that he is. So I think it colors a lot of his predictions, but he said something interesting about California elections. He said this. He said the fact, this was a post on X. The fact that California elections often can't be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world. Now, I want you to think about that. Nate Silver, left of center, saying it's kind of insane and it is not. the norm around the world for elections to take so long this is not right he's saying that it is not right um i i think that admission from someone who's left of center who i would tell you that the that this lack of chain the chain of custody being hard to spot everything being hard to spot because of the lack of transparency in our elections process, I think has benefited the Democrats mightily. I think it absolutely do. And the fact that everybody wants you to have an ID to vote except Democrats, to me says that the Democrats want people that shouldn't be able to vote to be able to vote. And that would track well with how many millions of people they allowed illegally across the border during Biden's term. So I point that out because I think that. If Nate Silver saying this is out of the ordinary, we shouldn't be doing this and this isn't the practice for elections. when even he is saying this, I think at some point, because this used to be an election denier. Remember, if you said this, the left would demonize you as an election denier. You were in the cuckoo world. If you said what Nate Silver just said right here, if Nate Silver saying it, maybe there's some space that the left will now give a right, normal people, the right to have the conversation that these elections taking this long is unacceptable. Well, I don't think anything's going to change. I think as long as the Democrats are in power, nothing's going to change there. I want to know how many Utah, two questions. How many Utahans know? I think our listeners know this better than everyday Utah, but how many Utahans know that if you go to Beaver County and South, all the way down to Washington County to, you know, south? The mail-in thing. That everything you mail, even when you attempt to mail something within your own county, within your own town, it all goes down to Las Vegas, gets processed, delivered all the way back up. So it's leading. Yes, it's leaving the state. So when you get to vote by mail, you are admitting, and we are somehow comfortable with the idea that our election ballots will leave the state of Utah, be handled by postal workers from a different state, and who, by the way, get political, endorse Democrat candidates, which they do, and then delivered back up here to this. to Utah. How many people are, A, aware of that? And then if they are aware of that, how many people think that's just fine? Just send your ballots out of state. Let them come on back in, hopefully in time. Yep.

I mean, I don't know how that's okay. And that has to be something in Utah that changes. Yeah, it has to be. Well, in California, I don't know what changes it. But my question, I'm thinking about Los Angeles. I haven't been to L.A. for a long. Well, I was down the south but didn't get anywhere near downtown L.A. a few months ago. But taking a look at what they showed, that place is a mess. It is. It is a pit. It's indefensible. And how do you vote for a woman who is mayor? okay who who has allowed that city to just fall i mean really hard it's just it's just crap it is that's all there is there and then how do you allow a mayor in palisades where they had the fires water you were ago in january what were there 1100 homes destroyed yep as of today only 160 are being built back. Yeah. And many of them may never come back in California. And I would like to know how they resolved because at some point they were not going to allow those people homeowners whose homes were burned down to be able to vote in those respective districts or precincts because you know they aren't going to vote for this mayor. So amazingly, they were going to not be able to vote at all because they didn't have a residence. And that's wrong. I mean, that's... That's avoiding accountability from the people if there ever was. An example. Then you look at the state. I mean, Gavin Newsom has, gruesome Gavin Newsom has just ruined California. I mean, it's been being ruined for quite some time. He didn't start it, but he's not doing anything about it. No. You've got Steve Hilton, who, you listen to Hilton's interviews. He had some really good ideas. He does. And common sense ones, too. And common sense ones, but you've got Tom Steyer, who's a billionaire, big environmentalist, who we... played an audio soundbite yesterday praising the trans athlete who won the state high school championship. You know, he's a boy who pretends he's a girl and wins championship, calling him brave, saying he wants to support him or her, whatever he wants to do. Then you've got Xavier Becerra, who was the head of HHS under Biden, did absolutely nothing. And didn't interview the other day and said, I'm not doing this interview because you're setting me up. And let me define setting out, holding him to his record. He was going to hold, ask some questions. Yeah, there's some migrant children that were unaccompanied minors that have now gone missing. You were secretary, you were on the clock. This was under your leadership. What do you have to say about that? That was a set-up question. He didn't want to have to answer it. Well, I guess if you've lost the number of unaccompanied minors that came across the border illegally and you have no idea where there, you don't want to answer that question, call it whatever you want. But it's an uncomfortable truth that he was that bad of a leader. And, you know, the American people in real time, we were not, I think, absorbing this hundreds of thousands of kids that were just, no one could account for. It was terrible. You know, there are some politicals out there today, Greg, who are analyzing this, saying this vote in California may give us an indication where the country is. I don't agree with that. California is a different land. And they used to say if it happens in California, it will happen around the country. I don't believe that anymore. I think California has fallen so far off the cliff that the American people don't even consider the state. So the last, the last census, the 2020 census is the first census since California became a state where their number of population had shrunk. It had grown. Every single census, their population of that state had grown until 2020.

They saw the number shrink, and I'm going to tell you, you're going to see in the 2030 census a lot more migration out of California. I mean, it's going to be a much smaller state. And if they don't get to count illegals, which they do right now, at least for apportionment of congressional seats, if they were not allowed to do that, they're going to lose a lot of seats. What other predictions? They expect to lose at least four seats after the 2030 census. That's right. And that's under, I think that's conservative because if they don't, if they don't. have people that aren't here legally counted, I think that will be more than four. Yeah. By a lot. Yeah, we may pick up one. Yes. Utah. That would be exciting. Yeah. Then you can finally give the Democrats one and keep four. We've done with them forever. Have your little island over there. We thought about that before when we went to four districts. Should we just give them one and just never have to hear it again? Yeah. And we said, I think everyone should have an urban, suburban, rural constituency, which is still the case. If you get five, I'd say just. Let them have it. Yeah. All right. More coming up, Rod and Greg with you on this Tuesday afternoon right here on Utah's Talk Radio 105-9 K&RS. I've said this before, and I don't know if you agree with me on this one or not. But I'll be honest, my patience is wearing kind of thin on Iran. Well, we said this. I think you and I both expressed this. Now, you know, you have the president says they have no Navy, okay? Then how are they shutting down the Strait of Hormuz? They have no Navy. How are they doing that? mines, but we have ships that can take care of mines, okay? So how are they doing that? Yeah. Yeah, they have no air force. Well, missiles are going after, they went after Kuwait the other night. You know, so, you know, and I want to bring this up because I was driving home last night after the show, listening to Jesse Kelly. Jesse had an interesting take on this that I want to share and get your thoughts on it, Greg, and our audience as well. He said, you have to understand there are three factions who are dealing with Iran right now. Two of them do not want peace. Okay? Okay. You have the U.S., Donald Trump, who does one peace. Okay. You have Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who doesn't want peace. And I'll explain that here in just a minute. And then you have the Iranian leaders. They do not want peace. Now, Donald Trump wants peace. I mean, he did this to rid the world of Iran's threat of nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism around the world. So he wants peace. Benjamin Netanyahu and Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, this was Jesse takes on this last night. But he says, Benjamin Netanyahu sees an opportunity to get rid of Hezbollah once and for all. Yep. By attacking Lebanon. And to get rid of Iran, who is their arch enemy.

So does he want Pete's? No, that's why apparently the president had a pretty frank conversation with him yesterday and asked him, what the F are you doing in Lebanon? Now, the president has denied that, but that's what I have. And then the third character here is Iran. They do not want peace, and they will drag things out, Greg, as long as they possibly can. So here you have three of the main forces involved in what is going on in Iran right now. One wants peace, the two others don't. That's the conundrum facing Donald Trump. You know what that sounds like? That sounds like every American president dealing with the Middle East for all the time. I mean, you have a unique president with President Trump where I think he's probably done a greater job of getting Arab states who actually see the economic prosperity and the upside of peace. And so the Abraham Accords, you're seeing, and that's one simple example of what's in the Abraham Accords is that the Israeli... commercial airlines could fly over their airspace and that's just one little thing but there's there's this cooperative you know agreement that's supposed to happen in the middle east and is happening with a lot of the countries with it you know with the that america has put together But you have, but so I think that this president has that chance. I mean, he's got a lot of those, but at the end of the day, here we are. It's not happening. And I am, I feel like Charlie Brown kicking the foot, trying to kick the football, and the president comes up and says their navies, just everything you said, the Navy's gone, they've been decimated. We're just talking terms of surrender here. We're not talking if, we're just talking how. But here we are, how many weeks, a month later, two months later, there's, there's a point where. It's not consistent. And I got, you know, one of our listeners called me out and said that I'm being too nice. I'm not calling balls and strikes if I don't say that the message out of the White House is dishonest. I have not used the term dishonest. I don't know because I wouldn't put him in the same category as I would the Biden administration, who I did think purposely misled. But I do think that President Trump gets optimistic. I do think he likes to will things into existence. I think he has good negotiations. So he's pointing to, he's signaling towards. resolution and peace, which is what he wants. Because the alternative is you've got to put troops on the ground. If anyone thinks this thing's ending and you're getting rid of their nuclear material without boots on the ground, it's probably going to take that. Nobody wants that as a country, and the president doesn't want that. So I think he keeps holding out for this pathway to peace. But like you say, Israel doesn't want that because they don't trust Iran to hold to anything. I don't know that I trust them either. So it is... It is a, he has the strength of will, but if even, even Donald Trump cannot find his way through this and to be successful, you can give it up, man. We can just forget this, that whole area and just, even thinking we're going to do anything about it. Then what have we, what have we accomplished?

Well, we have set their nuclear program back to some degree. I don't know how much. But I know they aren't where they were before we got involved in Operation, what was the Hammer, whatever it was? Epic Fury. Yeah, whatever that was. So I think we've had some success. But a lot of people have defined success is if they still have uranium, the refined uranium or they have nuclear material. then we have we have not accomplished what we set out to do i you know i i don't think the president has time with the american people and with our and maybe we're just too soft but we can't put up with it any longer but the cost of gasoline the cost of everything you don't want to sound like the by administration where you're saying everything's fine look at how great the economy is no it's it's tough and that i that conflict in iran has got to be resolved and it's starting to look A little silly that he keeps saying, we've resolved it, and then it doesn't get resolved. Well, Marco Rubio, didn't Marco Rubio say today, the war is over? Yes, it's the craziest thing. Marco Rubio, the war is over. No, it's not. The war in Iran is over. I think he's trying to do is get around the whole, it requires the Senate's approval or whatever. I think he's trying to say they're blockades or not an act of war. But the ceasefire has been violated. Many people can document how Iran is violated the ceasefire. And I don't know that the blockades, if that was supposed to starve them out, we were told days. They had days. Well, that was weeks ago. Something's got to happen here because I think, I think the, at least for me, patience is starting to wear thin. And I'm a big supporter of the president. I supported what he's trying to do here. But how long? And I would just, if I could, who am I? But I would say stop talking about it until you've done what you've set out to do and you know it's done. Everything they've projected is coming or that they will do. It doesn't happen. So stop projecting it, stop talking about it. And look, if you've got Israel, it's kind of baiting, I ran along and stirring it all up, it makes it even that much harder. So. You and I've been saying for a while, some of that might need to just be an ashtray. They might need to just take that island, Kirk Island, and just end it. Just take it out. And not that we're experts. We understand how complicated this is, but I, you know, we had that comment yesterday. A big MAGA supporter. begging the president, pleading with the president to do something and to help the American people who are suffering. $4.89 the other day for gas. Yeah. I've looked at my AAA website that I was looking at before. And, you know, Utah's always been on the lag with the rest of the country for reasons we shouldn't be. But everybody's paying north of $4 into $5 a gallon for gas. And that's just, that's not a sustainable place. Because remember, folks, when that happens, That's on top of what Biden did to this country. When you see inflation that's not as high, it didn't mean it went down. It just means it's climbing at a slower rate. That 9% that Biden, that 9% is still there. We're just seeing inflation of 3% and 4% now on top.

collectively we need a transportation infrastructure there is a role for government yeah yeah but so you need some of that and i don't mind that's you know necessities of mother invention give them less and make them do more with it that's great but if you're taking property taxes away for homes 250,000 and less, where does that money get made up? Is it raised on those that have bigger homes? No, they're talking about it. Is it a surplus somewhere else? I will find out for you since you're such a sketching of cutting tax. I just want to know how. No, I'm not a skeptic, but you're, you know, you have an opportunity here right now in Florida with Ron DeSantis and you're being critical. No. You sound like a Democrat. I'm just saying. Where's the money coming from? I want to, well, I want to know where the money is coming from that's going to make sure that the. They're not, I mean, I don't know how you balance a budget because you can't print money in a state. So how do you balance your budget with revenue coming in? There's sources and uses for everything, whether it's a business, even government gets tax revenue in. States do not like the federal government print money. So you can only spend what you get. Well, if they're going to take a lot off the table that they're not going to receive anymore, just show me where in surplus they're receiving it that makes up that difference. I just want, I would just. On behalf of the taxpayer, I want to know where that, where those, how those dollars line up. Let me ask you this. Do you think Ron DeSantis is a smart man? I do. Okay. Don't you think he thought of all of this before you propose this? So then make, so my, so my question doesn't have to be negative. It just shows me the template, this great idea. Show me how he's balanced on that budget so that. We could do the same here. But you don't live in Florida. You don't benefit. No, I want to. We have an income. I'll be at 4% of income tax. It's been lower. I mean, when I got in the legislature, it's like seven points something are income taxes. It's down under five now. Yeah, that's good. And so it's been lowered every year. But we still have an income tax. What about property tax you wanted to take, eliminate the property tax? I would just want to know how all the revenues are still. I just bring this up because I you know, the more taxes we get rid of, the happier I am. Yes, but I'm telling you what I like, if you see some states, their property tax is enormous because they don't have other revenue sources. We have a three-legged stool. We have an income tax. We have a sales tax and we have a property tax. And those three mean that all of them should stay relatively low because you have three of them. You take one away. You tend to wait or governments tend to wait at the other ones. So if you go back to Pennsylvania where I'm from, property taxes are like twice what we pay here. I mean, I think it's the same in New York. Yeah, my brother lives in New York and he told me once what he pays. Yes, it's a fortune. Go look at our institutions of higher learning and state institutions of higher learning and how expensive tuition is outside of Utah versus our colleges or universities here in Utah. There are ours or less our taxpayer dollars. I hear what you're saying. But for anybody who's willing to start cutting taxes, wherever you can. I'm with you. I'm with you. I just want to see the, I just want to see the math. So I know how we're doing. So it's not just.

pageantry. And I don't think Ron DeSantis is, but just show me how that math was. Yeah, well, I imagine he thought about it before he proposes. What I would think. Well, you think he just does this. He wakes up one morning and says, hey, let's go home property taxes. Well, when you're not coming back, you're term limiting it out, you could go ahead and do something like that and say, let's see these guys deal with this one. All right. When we come back, a new development, yet another new development tonight in the debate over that Box Elder County Data Center. Yeah, that took a turn for me on the worst yesterday. I thought Kevin O'Leary's comments were outrageous. Wait to hear what he says now. That's coming up next on the Rod and Greg show and Utah's Talk Radio 105-9, KNRS. Let's go to the phones. Talk with Steve and Holiday here on the Rod and Greg show. Steve, how are you? Welcome to the show. Thanks. It's great to listen to you guys. Thank you. I do have a question for you. Sure, sure. With the... Elimination of the property tax in Florida for homes $250,000 or less. How many homes are there for $250,000 or less? And where are they? Yeah. Good point. Good question. I was actually thinking that we were talking about. I'm thinking are these condos, you know, that would be $250,000? I do know, I agree with you. That would be, it would be difficult to find. Five people in Florida, they're not have to pay property tax anymore. Yeah. Well, good point. Yeah. Having been to Florida in some very nice areas down there. It'd be tough to find a home under $250,000. Well, I'm on Zillow. And I just put up Miami. I'm just scrolling and scrolling. 337 is the lowest I've found so far. And I'm going 385. I'm looking at the lowest ones. There's a ton of them north of a mill. But three, I haven't seen anything lower than 300 yet. And I'm scrolling through a lot of properties here. Okay. I did look at Miami. Yeah, don't knock the guy. Okay. He's trying. Who? Oh, Ron DeSantis? Yeah. Yeah, well, he is trying. But I think our caller is spot on. I think maybe that doesn't, that doesn't hit as many people. It sounds. Oh, here's a 21-15. Let's see. It's a one-bedroom, two-bath, 930-square-foot condo. Okay. Okay. Okay. So it's a condo. Apartment 24. Or 214. Do you not see? They'll get a property. Hey, real quick, yesterday, we had the president of the Utah Senate on Stuart Adams talking about a letter. that he had sent to Kevin O'Leary saying, you need to scale back the B data center. And remember yesterday, O'Leary's reaction was outrageous. Yeah, he was mad. Isn't it funny how you can change your tune? Yeah, I was really struck by how hostile he was. This state is putting up with a lot of incoming fire over that data center. And I think that what President Stuart Adams was saying is, look, you got a 30-year plan. Let's just pump the brakes a bit. You can reduce that plan, 30-year plan, to a plan that's within five years, even less than 10. And you're not talking, you know.

as large of a footprint. If you want to grow into that at 30 years, okay, if data centers and AI are still the thing in 30 years from now. But let's talk practically what your first phase, second phase, what that project looks like and let's plan for that. That would be a reduction in scope and size. O'Leary acted like the man had a ski mask on the gun in his hand trying to rob him. He was so outraged by it. And I... take offense to that because i think that all you've heard from speaker shultz even governor cox and now steward adams are ways for in the absence of information from him to the public they are putting parameters they continue to put parameters around that project and i think they're not new i think they're parameters that they believe They've agreed upon, or they've, but he is failing to make this case himself. And so they have to step forward, not speak for the developer, but say, okay, in the absence of any clarity here, we're going to tell you where our limits are. And you will not take the water from us, and you won't take power and charge the residents of Utah. And then O'Leary got hostile about it yesterday. Well, he did yesterday, but a different tune today. Oh, really? Apparently in an interview with ABC Channel 4, okay. Yes. He said he is, quote, willing to work on reducing the strato's project area size after getting a letter from steward adams so apparently he's now willing to work with the state and says what can we do here instead of his statement he received that letter when he when he popped off yesterday about nine and nine o'clock in the morning he said he got the letter and that's what ticked him off yeah my inside sources say that they they knew that letter was coming and he knew the concerns that were out there he's they're well aware of it i don't know why their communication outreach is not better. I do not understand why. I do think there are answers to data centers generally. Sure. You can produce your own power. Build a power plant first, so you don't touch our power. Water, use less water than whatever the water use is for the land you're buying. If it's agriculture and they're using a ton for alfalfa, you're going to use less for a data center than that farmer was going to use. Make sure the public knows that. But they're not doing it. I do not understand why they are not making the cases that are out there to be made. Do you even think a reduced size data center will win the approval of people up in Bachtelter County? At this point, I think that the cynicism is so high that I think it's going to be hard to earn the trust of the public. And look, the blooms off the rows with me. I do not want to see these outsource to other countries, but I don't think the public process has been followed in this case at all. All right, another hour coming up, the Rod and Greg show. On Talk Radio 105.9, K&RS. Hey, guys, it's Ryan. I want to tell you about my new pastime, Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has been around for over a decade delivering the most fun you can have online. Play social casino-style games for free, anytime, anywhere. So sign up at chumbac casino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. Group. Boy, prohibited by law. See, terms and conditions, 21 plus. A lot going on today. You've got a primary election, I think, in six or seven states, some very key votes. But I think much of the attention is focused on California and what's going on in Los Angeles with the mayor's race and around the state with the governor's race. But before we get to that topic, and we'll talk with our next guest about that, we first of all want to talk about Ken Paxton facing Telerico.

in Texas and how he should handle all of this. Joining us on our any hour newsmaker line is Laura Hollis. She is an educator, a contributor to Newsmax. Always great to have Laura on the show. It's been a while, Laura, welcome back. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Be here. Laura, tell us about how does Ken Paxton handle a guy like Telerico in the upcoming election. Right. So it's been very interesting to watch this because at least recently, the Democratic Party has been, you know, I think pretty consistently, actively hostile to Christian values. And so now they're running a candidate down in Texas who's purporting to be a Christian, but his definition of Christianity is such that he's saying, oh, you know, Christianity is all about supporting abortion and transgender children and all. And so I think one of the things that I wrote about in my column last week is I said, you cannot let those kinds of accusations go unaddressed. And so my suggestion is that even though it's a little bit unorthodox from a campaign strategy standpoint, I think Paxson really has to tackle those head on and say, hey, this is not what, you know, Christianity is all about because what James Talarico is trying to do is kind of wrap himself in that, you know, Christianity mantle so that his policy prescriptions are, you know, beyond reproach. So you're exactly right. And I, you know, Beto O'Rourke was this guy, and he at least had some runway of where people thought, this might be actually a viable candidate. I think out the gate, Tlerico, I heard a nickname Loti James Talarico. I mean, this guy is kind of a joke from the beginning, but there's a lot you could go after. But I think you're right. His mantra, him being an ecclesiastical leader, but how he views biblical doctrine is, I think, critical. What do you find the most offensive? Is it God that is non-binary? Is that Mary had the option to have an abortion? I mean, there's so much he has said. Is there something out there that you've spotted that you think is maybe what you should lead with and let people know? This is what he thinks of when he says Christianity. Yes. Boy, there's a bunch of them. I'd say it's probably the one that jumps out at me. You know, the God is non-binary thing. I think, okay, well, you know, he's not a human being, so, okay, I'll give you a little bit of, cut you a little bit of slack for that. But, you know, this idea that, you know, Mary's acceptance of being the mother of God is the justification for abortion. You know, Ali Beth Stuckey, I think, has done a fantastic job of challenging a lot of these positions sort of point by point. But in this instance, he's saying, well, because God asked her if she was willing to do it, that's a justification for abortion. And if anything, I'd say, well, no, actually what it's saying is the time to say yes or no is before conception, not afterward. Yeah. You know, so that one I think is deeply offensive. And then there's some that are just patronizing. He was asked on a recent, you know, oh, besides your family and friends, you know, what do you love? And he thinks, oh, I love trans children. Come on.

You know, that's just ridiculous. Nobody believes that. Totally false. Yeah. Laura, I mean, take a look at the Democratic Party right now. You've got Telerico in Texas. Now you got this nut job up in Maine. And we're trying to. A full-flesh Nazi. Where does this leave the Democratic Party when you have two people like that on the ballot? Well, I think grand honor is a culmination of what's been going on with the Democratic Party since at least in 1990s. And I say that because I remember when, you know, Gloria Steinem had come out and supported Bill Clinton, notwithstanding the fact that he had a reputation for being a serious womanizer. But, you know, what you said is, hey, as long as he backs our positions, we don't really care what he's done. And that's really kind of been their M.O. ever since. There was a long write-up in the free press, and I apologize, I don't remember the name of the author. But yesterday, who was talking about the fact that, hey, Graham Platner is resonating with Democratic voters because he's relatable and working class, whatever. I'm like, no, no. The message here really is we don't care what he is or does as long as he'll vote our way. That's really it in a nutshell. And they think he will. And so they're going to ignore the sexual, you know, allegations and the Nazi tattoos and all the other things he said. And because I think, and they've been doing it for 30 years. So I think that's kind of a shock. It's one of the reasons why, you know, nobody really took them seriously when they said to, you know, MAGA and Trump supporters, oh my gosh, where are your values? This guy's been married three times. We're like, dude, that ship has sailed. You guys got rid of those rules 30 years ago. So, you know, I find it, I mean, if you go back and you just look, even the governor, what's, who is, who was, Kamala Harris is running mate. The governor of Minnesota is Walls. Oh, Tim Walz. So Tim Walz. They put a flannel shirt on him and they give him a shotgun to hold for the first time in his life. They want him to really come off as the man's man. Everything feels performative. I mean, that's what's happening in Maine with that candidate. That's what feels like was happening with James Talarico in Texas is it all feels performative. Hey, our focus group says that people are religious and they want to back someone that's religious. So they find some leftist who just completely contorts and has nothing, doesn't resonate on the very issues that we would consider important. Do the American people, forget party, do the American people watch these candidates and does it just wreak of being performative and phony? Or is it, or are they successful selling it? Yeah, I think it does. And one of the reasons I think, particularly with candidates like James Talarico, Graham Platner, Tim Walz, is because the left has spent the last 20, 25 years denouncing, you know, maleness and masculinity is toxic. I don't think they have the foggish idea what real masculinity is. Oh, here, this will look right. Let's prop him up. You know, but I think most of us know real men. They don't have to be perfect. But we understand the difference between authentic masculinity and the kinds of men that for all of their faults are going to.

you know, protect women, protect children, wants streets to be safe, etc. I think Spencer Pratt is doing a great job with this kind of message exactly in Los Angeles. He's like, yeah, I understand that I was a reality TV star in my 20s. And you may not have liked the character that I played, but at least I wasn't in Cuba calling for the downfall of the United States, which is what Karen Bass was doing in her 20s. Well, let's talk about this for just a second, Laura, before we let you go. Let's talk about what's going on in California today. You have the vote for mayor, some predicting a very close race there. Of course, you've got the vote for the governor there. But then we're hearing, we won't know the results for several days, if not several weeks. What is going on in California with a vote counting? Hey, it's Bubba Wallace from 2311 racing. You know what feels like forever? Sitting on a plane waiting for takeoff. Good thing, I've got Jumba Casino. With daily boost and social casino games on tap, this is a kind of fun that makes time fly. Why not turbocharge your downtime? Play now at Jumbacasino.com. Let's Jumba. Sponsored by Chumpa Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group Voidware prohibited by law. 21 plus. Terms and conditions apply. Yes. Third, even Nate Silver was saying something on X earlier today where he's like, you know, come on. You know, you've got third world countries that have paper ballots and they're able to get millions of votes counted in, you know, within 24 hours. And, you know, what it looks like is with, you know, California's ballot harvesting and all these rules they have where they can continue to take ballots, even without postmarks up for days or even weeks after election day per se. You know, what it just looks like is we're going to look and see what the results on our election day and then we'll confect as many fictitious ballots as we need to change the result. That's what it looks like. That's probably what it is in many cases. It's one of the reasons why we need the Save Act. But, you know, Trump was able to win, I think, in 2024 because people understood this is what we're up against in a lot of states. It's got to be too big to rig. And that's, I think, what I'm hearing people say in Los Angeles for the mayoral race and then in the state of California, that there has to be a real ground skull of Republican, conservative, libertarian, independent, whatever support for people like Steve Hilton, for governor and Spencer Pratt for mayor of Los Angeles to kind of overwhelm the funny business that goes on, I think, every election in California. Turning back to the Texas race real quickly, James Talarico, do you think that Ken Paxton will do, as you're saying, are you seeing any signs out of the Ken Paxton campaign that they are going to go after these, his version of Christianity and how wrong it is? That's really the question. I don't have any contact.

with anyone in the Paxson campaign, so I really can't speak to that. But I am seeing a lot of what I would describe as surrogates, people that I know on, you know, social media, who are definitely supporting Ken Paxton, who are getting out there and getting the message out there. So if they take a front role on that, and that enables Ken to come in and echo what they've said. I think that's important. The other thing is that what I had suggested in my column, you know, Ken can come out and say, look, you know, I don't profess to be a perfect person. I've made my mistakes, but I'm not twisting the word of God so that you'll vote for me. That, I think, is an important distinction to me. Yeah, sure is. Laura, always great to have me on the show. We appreciate a few minutes to your time. Thank you. My pleasure. Thanks so much. Thank you. Laura Hollis, she is an educator. Also, we've had her on the show before. Also a contributor to news banks, great comments. Yeah, I'm a law professor too, I believe. So, I mean, yes, super smart. And I think she's right. I think that's what you, in Texas, in this election, you need to go after how phony this guy is on the very so-called qualities he's supposed to really carry the vote on. The issues of God. Yeah. Very important down there in Texas. And you just... The Father in Heaven is not non-binary. I just, I think that and that Mary, you know... Yeah, and the Bible supports abortion. Mary has a choice. Is proof that abortion is biblical? Come on. It just has to offend people without regard to party. It just has to be offensive. Yeah, we'll have to see how this one goes. We're here in a few minutes. We'll be talking more about what's going on in California and try and get the vibe that's going on in that state. That's coming up here on the Roder & Greg Show and Utah's Talk Radio, 105-9, KNS, already Tuesday, already into the month of June, second day of June. Man Month. Man month. Yeah, not Pride Month on this show. Coronated by the Rod and Greg show. It is June is man month. Man month. We are advocating for cheaper green fees, discounts on steak. More steak. More steak. More bacon. Triple, double the cost for greens and triple the cost if you order a salad. Double the cost. You mean green vegetables. I thought you were talking. No, I'm talking on a golf course. No, no, no. Green's like no broccoli. No, no, no, we don't, we don't need vegetables on our plate. We, if you eat it, you get charged double on manned mouth. Only if they're fried. Only if they're fried. You don't, I don't want any other kind. Yeah. I want fried. Yeah. French fries, that's it. Yeah. Or a tater tots. I like those two. But yeah, we got, we got big plans for Man Month and we're just looking for, you know, validation from our listeners. Yeah. We are on to something here. Yeah. Well, I, I like the idea of Man Month. Yeah, I, it had me at hello. I had, you know, I think it's a great idea. One of the bigger issues in the race for the mayor of L.A., and we'll talk about that a little bit more here in a few minutes, but apparently homelessness.

Now, didn't you say you were down there one time and toured that area? How bad was it back then? So this would, no, yeah, this is probably about 2019. So the LA Times came up to Utah when we did Operation Rio Grande to see some of the things that we had done working with. Actually, imagine this. You want to fight lawlessness first and foremost. That's a law enforcement presence and you start to, you know, the cartels that are running the place start to flee and it starts to get a little more sane. Anyway, we were invited by the mayor. Merrick Garcetti to come to the team that we had. We had people from the governor's office as well as myself, others, to go down there and see what was happening there. And we got a pretty good tour. And it was, it was, we were at Skid Row. We talked to the LAPD that had been down there forever and they've been stationed down there for quite some time. And it was draining on them. And it's, and it has the, the homeless population in L.A. is larger than the population of Taylor'sville, Utah, if you wanted, if you wanted to get a kind of a. So that would be what about 40 to 70,000? 70 plus thousand, maybe 90,000, yeah. 70,000 to 90,000 homeless in there. And to the point where people were putting plywood on their, on their tires of their cars, it would cover the whole wheel well so that people would stop slashing their tires and damaging their cars. I saw a number the other day, speaking of homelessness there in L.A., that most of them are from out of state. They don't even live in California. Well, yes, it's because of the weather. It's because the weather there. They can live outside all year long, drugs, everything. Yeah. Well, there's a story out today, and this good news, as a matter of fact, Greg, homelessness has dropped 3% last year compared to 2024. That's according to the HUD Secretary Turner. Where are there? Yeah, around the country. They're just saying a survey around the country says that homelessness has, in fact, dropped. Well, if you quit incentivizing homelessness, and by that, I mean, if you keep paying people for taking care of people that are homeless and they're going to want more people to take care of. Yeah. If you're incentivizing the right things, and that is being self-support, self-sufficient, getting a job, getting on your feet, if you're incentivizing those things, it's amazing what you can do. by the number of homelessness. It'll shrink if people are getting on their feet and moving forward. A report found that 745,745,000 in this country are considered homeless. Yeah. That's a disgrace. Well, and I'll tell you, it's a, it's not, people lump this population all into one category. No, you cannot do that. You cannot do it. Every individual has a story, but what you're really finding is you're finding people that are either in the criminal drug cartel world where they're, they are making a lot, a lot of money on human trafficking as well as drug trafficking, but then you have people that whatever, whatever circumstances found, they have found themselves in. self-medicating, and then that is preyed upon by these criminals where they'll give them free drugs. And in Salt Lake City's case, it was bags of heroin to sell bags of heroin. So it's just a loop and it's terrible. But if you just look at the entire population and think that they're all the same story, you'd be wrong. And that is, I think that's what multiplies the ranks is that you're just seeing people categorize. And they're just warehousing them. They're just warehousing human beings in a most inhumane way. And when I say they, I mean.

like California. Yeah, that's too bad. Oh, before we go to our next interview and before we get you a news update, I wanted to play this somebody today from Dr. Mehmet Oz. Now, he was selected today to handle the press at the Daily White House briefing, okay? Yeah, I know. I love this. Let's see, Marco Rubio has done it. JD Vance has done it. So this time, it was Dr. Oz's decision. Well, one of the reporters said... Well, good doctor. If you're a good doctor, what is your prescription for getting rid of Trump derangement syndrome? Listen to what he said. What's your question? Thank you. Do you have any medical advice with the Americans out there that are suffering from a very serious ailment called Trump derangement syndrome? I am concerned about folks who have focused their entire life energy on dislike of the president. It's disheartening to see people lost in that way. But, you know, it's treating stupid is really hard. treating stupid. It's really hard. I love it. I love it, too. Dr. Oz. All right, more coming up, Rod and Greg, with you on this Tuesday and talk radio 1059, KNRS. All right, a lot of talk, of course, about what's going on in California today. You've got the two big races, one for governor, one for mayor of Los Angeles. It's going to be interesting to see what happens when we find out next year. They're a little delayed in their vote counting. But someone who has... Her finger on the pulse of California is our next guest because she can tell us what the vibe is down there. Her name is Susan Shelley. Always great to have Susan on the show. Susan, how are you? And welcome back to the Rod and Greg Show. How are you, Susan? I'm great. And thank you so much for having me. All right. Give us the vibe on a late Tuesday afternoon as people are going to the polls. What are you hearing right now? Well, I'm hearing that the Spencer Pratt campaign has set this city, pardon the pun, on fire. People are very excited. I know, I'm sorry. People are very excited because he is. making it clear that he sees the problems, he hears the people complaining, whereas the mayor and the other major candidate in the race are just like, everything's fine, we're just keeping on with what we're doing because everything's fine, and everything is not fine in Los Angeles, as anyone who's been here can tell you. I think the reason why all of America, myself, everyone, we're just cheering for this guy, is that you couldn't have a case study for a worse leader than Karen Bass and a greater disaster than Los Angeles City. So you hear his parodies are all true. They're parodies, but yet they strike a chord. The big fear is that the elections are delayed in terms of outcome. That doesn't make us feel good. You're hearing ballot boxes that catch on fire. That doesn't make us feel good. Is there a way that he might be the most popular candidate in this race but not find himself moving on to a runoff or to an election in November?

Looking for excitement, Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train, play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win. And get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, slingo, and more. Live the Chumba Life at Chumbacasino.com. Well, I think he gets into the runoff. I think he's strong enough there. But there's always a question when you run against a Democratic incumbent in Los Angeles, even if everything was as clean as can be, the voter registration is heavily Democrat, something like 60, 80 percent with some independence. But it's like this crazy number of outnumbered for people who are not Democrats. And it's quite a machine. That runs here. And many people who have run against Democrats before find that it's a terrifying experience, that people are afraid to donate to them, afraid to endorse them, afraid to be photographed with them, afraid to sit next to them at a banquet. Because that's how hostile the Democratic machine is to anyone who backs the opposition. Spencer Pratt doesn't care. He came into this with tremendous skills for social media and communication, but I have to say he has worked so hard. on the basics of politics he's been out there talking to people he went to washington to advocate for the community in terms of fire recovery and investigating the causes and the cover-up he's done tremendous work as a reporter as an advocate That's all real. None of that is AI. That's all real. And he's really very serious and he's done a great job. Susan, we do not see television ads that are airing in Los Angeles concerning the mayor's race, but we do see the ads on social media. And for Spencer Pratt, they are brilliant. I don't know who's behind all of this, but let me tell you what, they are effective. He really, he's creative, but they do grab people's attention. And I think that's what's propelled him to be in this race to begin with. Susan, would you agree? I would agree. And the reason they're so effective is because they're telling the truth. Yeah. And the people who run this city have been hiding the truth. They've been saying there's no drug problem. There's no mental health problem. It's just that housing's too expensive. And, you know, you drive through anywhere in laws. It used to be just Skid Row. Now it's every community. You're not going to look at these tent encampments and say, ah, the only problem is this person was priced out of an apartment. You're looking at people who cannot use... bathroom facilities they are so messed up and they're gravely disabled by drug addiction or mental illness and they're being exploited by the city and by these non-governmental organizations that get huge contracts to, quote, provide services to them, and that's got to stop. You know, what you're describing doesn't fall into a political party's platform. You're talking about just humanity. You're talking about just how we treat one another and graft and, you know, unethical conduct. So it seems like this should cross over and party affiliation.

might not or shouldn't matter as much because the issues you're bringing up are just ones that I think are common sense. My question is, are there any prominent Democrats in Los Angeles that are stepping forward? Because you mentioned the fear to say, hey, I endorse this guy. I know, I'm done with the crime and the vandalism and the homelessness and, you know, warehousing human beings and all the rest. Is there any Democrats that are coming forward and endorsing and supporting Spencer Pratt? Well, I wouldn't say endorsements. He's not prominently featuring endorsements, but if you look at his fundraising, in the last period, the month from mid-April to mid-May, he raised something like $3 million to the mayor's $275 or $280,000, just in that one month. And so that is a lot of support, and people have to put their name and address and occupation on that information when they... when they make a donation like that. So the fear has been overcome by the desperate need for change in Los Angeles. Susan, how much are the fires last January there in Palisades playing into this? I mean, is this a major issue in this campaign? You know, the Palisades is a major issue. because it is an exemplar of what's been going on. There was a disaster. It was in January 2025. It should not have happened because the utility that is owned by the city failed to fill the reservoirs that are designed for fire protection for that area specifically. So the failures and also the budgeting that cut short what was needed at the fire department. That's all before the fires. That's on the mayor, both of those things. And then afterwards, the rebuilding process has been tucked off by bureaucracy, by a desire to build affordable housing in this luxury area by the beach. But all of these political... political goals which have nothing to do with helping the people who lost everything recover their lives. So I think that is just resonating with people because everyone who's ever tried to build a gazebo in the backyard has a story about how the city stopped them from doing it. You know, a lot of what Spencer Pratt is campaigning on is common sense and it's exciting to think if there was a mayor elected that they would have that kind of rudder in the water just to do common sense things. I worry if I look at the polling that they're going to try and elbow him out of that race. And I worry that he won't be in that November race. But I'm going to take your optimism and just run with it because I want this man to be in and continue this campaign. But if I were to think ahead and say, let's say caught lightning in a bottle and he wins. Is he, is a leader that's the mayor, can he actually do the things he's campaigning to do, given the machine that is the city of Los Angeles and all the cronyism that's gone on up till now, could he actually live up to some of these campaign promises?

I think he could because one of the things he's campaigning on is to shut down the corruption. And he has talked about bringing in the IRS criminal division. He has met with people from the IRS criminal division. If you get the Treasury Department involved and they start tracking the money in and out of these non-governmental organizations, hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars, if they track that down and handcuffs come out. Absolutely, things will get better in this city. That's going to be interesting. All right, here's the $64,000 question. When are we going to see any results? When does it become official? Will we be alive? Will this be another generation to find out? You know, the state law in California allows ballots to come in for seven days after election day, even without a postmark and be accepted. And then... If people send in a ballot without a signature or the signature doesn't match, they have up to 22 days after election day to submit what's called a curing form where they cure their signature. 22 days after election day. So if it's close, it could be 22 days after election. Do they have at least poll watchers on this? Do you get to watch them count ballots at least in this 22 days window? You know, you can watch, but you can't see anything because where the mischief happens is how those ballots get in the trays in the first place. Yeah. Well, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. Susan, as always great chatting with you. Thank you for your insight and enjoy the rest of this election day down in Southern California. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. On our any hour newsmaker line, Susan Shelley, she lives there in Southern California. Great to have her on the show talking about what's going on in that vote. 22 days? That sounds like Utah. Yeah. And she's very calm. Like she's very calm. I was really stressed for Spencer Prep, but I feel a little more confident. Yeah. She thinks he'll make it at least of the runoff. At least. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. We just told. All right. More coming up. Rod and Greg with you on this Tuesday and Utah's Talk Radio 105-9, KNRS. We are everywhere on the IHeartRadio app, and I am Citizen Hughes. And I'm Roder Ket. Jesse Kelly, of course, coming your way following the update of the news at the top of the hour. Jesse will be with you until 10 o'clock tonight. Update on the hockey game. Should I give a score? Absolutely. It's a good score. Good. For you. Let's see. Less than seven minutes to go, first period. Carolina, two, the Vegas Knights, nothing. And they scored a goal. What was it, E. Ray, about 35 seconds in. 25 seconds in. One shot, one goal. Wow. That's the way this series needs to go. I just hope Carolina just does great. Anti-Westerner. Well, yeah. Yeah. Okay, this story will interest you, I know, because now fortunately, you're on the kind of the right end of this wedding. You're the groom's parents. Yeah, I guess that would be the right. Yeah, so the cost probably is going to be, you know, as prohibitive for me as it would be the bride. The bride. But, you know, hey, look, but I will say, you know, the Hughes family is happy.

to participate. We're marrying this kid off. We'll just pay anything. I'll just say that right now. We'll fork out whatever we need. This kid's punching up. He's marrying up and we know it. So we don't want to mess up a good thing. If it takes a little, you know, a little tip here or there, we're ready to pay. Well, Utah no longer lives up to the reputation for inexpensive mince and lemonade church hall weddings. You're ready for this? If you want to get married, the average cost of a wedding, according to the wedding report in this state, $38,000. Yeah. Really? That doesn't even shock me. Boy, did it make $38,000? Yeah. Man, have you seen Honeymoons? No, that's true. Grooms in church is honeymoons. So I'm just telling you, this is a little bit of money, okay? You know, I know some couples, friends of ours, who instead of spending all that money on a wedding, just gave the couple, they had a nice little reception and gave the couple $10,000, $20,000 to get started. Yeah, you know what my strategy is for my daughter when she gets married? What's that? I want to pay so much money. that she would never get divorced because she knows I'd die of a heart attack if I wasted all that money on that wedding. So I just want, if that's the only reason they hold it on, hold on and don't get, you know, I just, I want to put that pressure into the whole equation. Sof, do you hear that? Spends as much money as you want. No, well, within reasons. She hasn't listened to the show, so. Yeah. She doesn't listen? I don't think so. Shame on her. Yeah. $78,000 in Salt Lake, it's even higher. I love surveys, and I use them a lot on the show because I think they're funny. But apparently a study is now suggesting using research from chat, GBT, okay, it may stereotype you on a number of things. They have discovered the states with the stupidest people. Yeah, well, here's what I know about. Maybe the next generations have gotten better. But if I ever used AI, Chad, GBT, or GROC for things I already knew the answer to, I can't tell you how many times it got it wrong. They really did get it wrong. It didn't understand our gas tax. Yeah, it explained it incorrectly. It didn't know how many refineries were in this state. That's true. I mean, everything that I knew about it. Yes, and I kept saying, you're wrong. And it immediately goes, correct, you were right. And it would just, it has no shame. Yeah, AI has no shame. When you prove it dead wrong, it just moves on and says, yeah, you're right. Well, according to this model that they've set up, AI has considered Massachusetts to be the smartest state. Does they use it the least? I don't know. I don't know what it's based on. Louisiana was the smelliest. I guess you would determine that by searches for hygiene products. Deodorant? You have cart, whatever you call them. I love this one. Ohio the ugliest.

Yeah, it's actually true. It's an ugly state. I think I've been to Ohio once. Yeah, at least in Pennsylvania, you've got the Appalachian Mountains in Ohio. It gets flat and it's ugly. Is it ugly? I never spend much time there. You're not missing anything. You'll love this one. North Dakota has the least sexy people. I haven't been in North Dakota, but maybe there's a reason none of us have been to North Dakota. Maybe there's a bunch of inbreeds in that state. They don't have sexy people. West Virginia doesn't either, so they should be up there in that list. The top three states when it comes to really stupid people. We mentioned one before. California's got to be up there. Kentucky, West Virginia, and Mississippi. Well, West Virginia for sure. I know that one. Because that's hillbilly land. That's, you know, they literally drink moonshine up there in those hills. But that's the rest of Kentucky now. Yeah. And the least stupid people were in Hawaii, Colorado, and New Hampshire. Nope, I reject those three. Those are all blue states and therefore they cannot be the smartest. Yeah, all right. One final story before we wrap things up. Summertime. A lot of people like to go to Yellowstone. Take pictures of the wild, you know, the buffalo and the elk. Well, we have the first case of someone being stupid getting simply too close to a bison. Bison didn't like it. I saw a video of this. Started charging and the woman did a face plant. right into the pavement. Yep. I am very lucky in my young days when I first moved to Utah as a young 21-year-old. I, for some reason, thought I could throw snowballs at the bison and Yellowstone, the Buffalo, and I threw, I would hit them, and they would just look at, they turned their head really slow at me and look at me. They didn't charge me. They didn't charge you. Do you honestly think of Snowball would hurt her bison? I don't think it hurt it, but it would destroy. I mean, why did they go after that? I watched they go after that woman in that video. Just taking this picture. I know. I threw a snowball. I would think that would be more aggressive. I did not get chased. I'm very lucky. I wouldn't do it now. I'm Renaissance Greg. Hopefully you're a little smarter. Yes, I am. All right. That doesn't have for us tonight. Head off shoulders back. May God bless you and your family. And this great country of ours. We'll talk to you tomorrow. Tyler Redick here from 2311 racing. Another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chumba. Jump in at Chumbacasino.com. Let's Chumba. No purchase necessary. VTW Group. Void were prohibited by law. CTNCs, 21 Plus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino.