The Rod and Greg Show: Cops Are Cool Again; California's Anti-Nick Shirley Act

Tyler Reddick 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. Boyd were prohibited by law. CTNCs, 21 Plus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. We have got a lot to get to today, a new development in the crazy story behind the creation of the new first district, the Dirty Diana district, here in the state of Utah, the congressional district. There we go. Thank you very much. We'll dig into that in a second. We also have got a lot of other news to get to. I want to switch over, though, real quick. The president is speaking right now at a Turning Point USA event down in Phoenix. He was in Vegas yesterday. He's now in Phoenix's afternoon. Let's listen in to hear what President Trump has to say right now. Military excursion. This isn't the big, this isn't the big time. You know, we built a military so great. I'm so proud of it. It's one of the, including Space Force. You know, you see all of that. When you see those rockets go one, look up there, this Space Force. We all created Space Force didn't exist. We were losing to China and to Russia in space, and now we're so far ahead of them both. You wouldn't believe it. But yesterday, on top of it all, we achieved what everyone said was impossible, an unprecedented ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. And that hasn't taken place in 78 years. 78 years. Our deal with Iran is not in any way tied to Lebanon, but we will make Lebanon great again. I mean, it's about time we... It's that we've we've sort of the world has forgotten them and they're good people who have lived like hell for a long period of time and hopefully the situation with Hezbollah will get straightened out quickly But I want to thank The country of Pakistan, and its great prime minister, and it's great, great field marshal. He's a great field marshal. Two fantastic people for helping. They really are terrific people. And I also want to thank Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. They've been amazing. They've all helped tremendously, tremendously.

And it took courage for them. Not easy. Not easy. They were living with what they called the bully of the Middle East. Iran was the bully of the Middle East. They're not the bully anymore. With the help of everyone here today, this has been by far the most successful first year of any administration in the history of our country, acknowledged by everybody. You've been listening to just a few minutes of President Trump speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix. Of course, as I mentioned, he was in Nevada yesterday talking about the tax plan. I've got a story a little bit later on as to how the tax plan, the big beautiful tax bill, has really benefited a lot of the American people. The administration was really hoping to sell that this spring. in an effort to, you know, in getting ready, ramping up for the battle over the midterms. Of course, the decision to go after Iran has kind of gotten in the way a little bit, but they are out today talking about not only the Israeli Lebanon ceasefire. It looks like the Strait of Hormuz is open, at least for now, and they're talking about that. An interesting thing. I think we all need to keep our eye on over the next several days and into next week. The price of a barrel of oil dropped to around $80 today. Let's see how long it takes for your local gas station, wherever you go get your gasoline, to lower their prices. Now, Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said yesterday that he predicted sometime in June or in July that we would see $3 a gallon gasoline. Let's see how fast it drops now because it just skyrocketed upward. Remember when the whole Strait of Hormuz thing started happening. Now that Iran and the U.S. both announced, the president announced it, Iran announced it today, that the strait is open to commercial traffic. Let's see how long it takes. for the price of gasoline to come down. We'll get into that. So we've got a lot to get to today. Always great to be with you. Coming up a little bit later on, we're on talking about the Nick Shirley Act. You'll wear this act in California. What a crazy joke this is. But the California legislature is already moving on this bill today. We'll get to the very latest. Apparently, being a police officer is cool again. Remember after George Floyd, you know, the reputation, police everywhere, law enforcement everywhere was being attacked. Their ability to recruit was really being harmed. But now we're starting to see a resurgence of law enforcement in this country. We'll be talking about that. I don't know if you caught this yesterday. If you haven't, I would strongly urge you to do so. The Justice is the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, who is absolutely brilliant.

spoke yesterday at the University of Texas down in Austin and talked about the fight against progressives in this country today and what they're doing. And he eloquently described the battle that we face in this country today because you've got an effort underway in the Democratic Party, the Progressive Democratic Party, to totally ignore the U.S. Constitution and to give up anybody's individual rights. God-given rights, in my opinion, in favor of the government giving you rights. We'll let you hear some of its comments. We've got a guest coming on to talk about that as well, plus we'll open up the phones to you. So we've got a lot to get to today. The big local story, of course, is the story that broke in the local media yesterday announcing that Utah legislative leaders. including the governor, the Senate president, Stuart Adams, who we had on yesterday. Speaker of the House, Mike Schultz, announced that they will move forward now with an independent investigation into allegations against Justice, Utah Supreme Court Justice, Diana Hagan. Dirty Diana. Yeah, we got a new one. Good for you, Ray. They say the initial review by the Judicial Conduct Commission left important questions unresolved. Now the Democratic Party has come out. in support of the Judicial Conduct Commission, but the lawmakers want to take a look at. Here's what broke last night. A complaint was filed last year, alleging that Justice Hagan had an inappropriate relationship with attorney David Raymond, who argued a major redistricting case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The major redistricting case is the battle over District 1, the district created by Dirty Diana. The ex-husband of Justice Hagan admits he had no direct evidence, only circumstantial beliefs. Justin Hagan has strongly denied all the allegations. She says the idea she was ethically compromised is patently false. But there is that perception, right? She says her last involvement, as a matter of fact, in the redistricting case, was back in October of 2024. Well before any alleged misconduct took place. She voluntarily recused herself from any cases involving Raymond. Now, the Judicial Commission. who oversees these people, I guess, has already reviewed and dismissed this complaint. Okay, they looked at it, said there's nothing here. We're going to dismiss it. They conducted a preliminary investigation and ultimately dismissed the complaint. And then the Utah Supreme Court reaffirmed the allegations post-dated her involvement in the case. Folks, they protect each other. Let's be real honest here. Now, state policymakers and lawmakers, including the governor and President Adams and Speaker Schultz, Say the transparency is essential.

And they want an investigation. They say allegations involving a public official must be examined with transparency and accountability to maintain public confidence in the court. So this just adds another really bizarre wrinkle to this whole story of the battle over District 1, the creation of that district. Everett's on the part of lawmakers to go to court and to get Judge Gibson's decision overturned. But now you have questions being raised. about the case that went before the Supreme Court and a member of the Supreme Court having a relationship with an attorney who's arguing for the redistricting plan. Just raises all kinds of questions. You can go back further than that, you know, where the judge come up with her plan on District 1. You know, she went to the League of Women Voters, went to the Mormon women for ethical government. They didn't design it. It was designed by somebody else, probably in connection with Eric Holder or with... Barack Obama. So another twist and a really bizarre story today where you've got a member of the Supreme Court now being called into question for her relationship with an attorney who argued in favor of the redistricting idea. Just the world turns, right? All right, we've got a lot to get to today. Great to be with you on this Friday afternoon. I'm Rod Arquette. As I mentioned, Greg is off today. He'll be back with us on Monday. Coming up next here on Utah's Talk Radio, 1059, K&RS, California Legislature, moving quickly on what is being called the Stop Nick Shirley Act. What a joke this is turning out to be, and we'll talk about it. Coming up next, great to have you with us. Along for the ride on this Friday afternoon. If you want to be a part of the program, 888-5708010 on your cell phone, dial pound 250 and say, hey, Rod, or leave us a talkback message on our talkback line by downloading the iHeart radio app and look in our website, the upper right-hand corner for the little red microphone, and you can leave a comment there. A lot to get to today. Great to have you along for the ride on Talk Radio 105-9, KNRS. We're going to get you a chance to put a grand in your hand. That's right. We're talking about 1,000. thousand dollars starting on monday and every hour between nine a m and five p m at about five past the hour we'll tell you the winning keyword when you hear that all you do is have to go to canter s dot com enter that word and you could win one thousand dollars and spend it however you like we'll do that for the next several weeks are it's our grand in your hand one thousand dollar Cash giveaway. 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 chumbacino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. Group. Boy, prohibited by law. See terms and conditions. 21 plus. We had Nick Shirley on the show earlier this week or late last week, I think. He was here last week, yeah, speaking to an event up at the University of Utah. And then we saw this story coming across about this, Everton, California. It's being called the Stop Nick Shirley Act. And what a joke this thing is. Joining us on our any hour newsmaker line to talk about it is our good friend Chris Bray. Chris, how are you? Welcome back to The Rod and Greg Show.

I'm doing good even though I live in California. Okay, Chris, explain this. What is the Stop Nick Shirley Act? Because this just sounds like such a joke. It is a joke and they're idiots. And it's important to know that California legislature, they just keep going a little bit crazier and I talk about Jonestown all the time when I watch them. They are trying. When they say that when we talk about the Nick Shirley Act, they are trying to stop Nick Shirley. Their intention is. to pass a bill that will make the Nick Shirley's of the world think that they can't or that they shouldn't come to California and do what Nick Shirley does. They shouldn't do independent journalism. They shouldn't do whistleblowing. They shouldn't ask people who are wasting government money what they're doing. That's what they're trying to do. But the problem when they try to do that is they run into the First Amendment and so they have to write the bill in a way that... that tries to make it past constitutional muster, and that's when it becomes a joke. How do they differentiate, Chris, between what Nick Shirley is doing? And, you know, the Los Angeles market is a very big television market, and I know they have investigative units down there. Are those shut down as well? Nobody's shut down. Nobody's going to be shut down. They're not going to succeed. The California legislature tried a few years ago. During the pandemic, people were really angry at school boards in California. I remember that. We had the longest school shutdowns. And people were saying, like, just open the schools, folks. We were shut down for like 15 months. We had doctors going to school board meetings and saying, I'm a doctor. I treat sick people in my office. I've been open throughout the pandemic and you can't open a school. And so the state legislature passed a bill that says it shall be a misdemeanor to threaten or harass a member of a school board or a school official. And they tried to make, in the original version of the bill, they tried to make threats or harassment, things like going to a school board meeting and yelling at a school board. Wow. But it didn't work. It didn't pass constitutional muster, didn't get passed the First Amendment, so they kept amending it and amending it and amending it to finally make it say, to try to make it something that they could pass without violating the First Amendment. Is this a... Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry. You can't, if you see him on the street, you can't say, I'm going to kill you. They said you can't personally threaten or attack school board numbers. And when the governor vetoed it, he said, you all know that that's already illegal, right? Like, you've made something that's illegal. You've, you've tried to criminalize crime, and that's exactly what the next Shirley bill does. Do they smoke something there in the California legislature or drink something, some like crazy juice? How do they come up with these ideas, Chris?

I don't know. I don't know if you have to be an idiot to be a legislator in California or if you get there and maybe they lobotomize you as they enter the building. This is the thing I say to people. When you hear about something like this, I say this over and over and over again. When you hear in the news, there's going to be a stop Nick Shirley bill and it's going to make what he does illegal. There's no legislature in the country now that doesn't post all the text of their bills on one. You can just go look at it. You can just go read the thing. And what this bill says is it will be, you may not post the image of someone who works in a service that provides service to immigrants. They say immigrants. They don't say illegal immigrants. They don't, they don't differentiate. We know that that's the old rhetorical game they play. You can't post the image of someone who works in immigrant services with the intention. of deliberately inciting someone to imminently cause them death or serious bodily harm. So if you take, if you're Nick Shirley and you take a picture of someone who works in a center that supports illegal immigrants. And you post it on the internet and you say, this is Jane Smith. She provides services to illegal immigrants at 42 Maple Lane in this city. I hope, and I call for someone to go murder her right now. That's going to be illegal, and it's exactly the same problem that happened with the legislature trying to make it illegal to harass school board members. they've written the law so poorly and so stupidly that they've made crime illegal. It's already illegal to do that. Chris, isn't there a connection on this bill to the Attorney General of California? Isn't his wife a state lawmaker and she was behind this or was involved in this? Am I reading that right? They are, I don't know what to call them. The Ferdinand and Meldo Marcos in California, they are the power idiot couple. Two of the dumbest people who've ever lived, they have no idea what they're doing. They scrub everything they touch. And I cover the California legislature. I write news about the California legislature all the time. I watch Mia Banta, the wife of our attorney general, Al Banta. I watch her question witnesses and I watch her make arguments in the legislature. And it just hurts. You cannot believe if you don't see it with your own eyes how stupid these people are. So they're threatening. They want to hurt you. They want to hurt people like Nick Shirley. But the good news is they're too stupid to pull it off. Now, I want to ask you another question on another topic, because you wrote another story this week, and we talked about this on the show this week as well, this effort to condemn the Texas Rangers for putting a statue of a Texas Ranger inside that baseball stadium. How dare they, Chris? How dare they? But they presented it as a mystery. They said, you know.

questions where there's a mystery as the Texas Rangers baseball team has put a statue of a Texas Ranger inside their stadium and they won't answer questions about why they've done it. Oh, no. Like bum, pump, bum. And a bunch of people replied to them on the internet and said, it's a statue of a ranger at the Rangers Stadium. Does that help? Does that help at all? Geez. Oh, the world goes round and round and round, Chris. I love it. You know, we were, we sat. We sat here and went through every baseball team if they could have a statue of a pirate or something like that, and how many teams wouldn't be allowed to do that because a lot of those names are not politically correct? Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. Living in, I think. So the angels. I live near the angels. I think I can get away with it. You sure? There's a religious connotation there. You better be careful. You'd be in trouble. The Rockies. Yeah, you get away with the Rockies. Well, it could be an environmental issue. It's just so sad. The Dodgers, I think you just have like a picture of like a kid trying to dodge cars and not get it by traffic. Or dodge a war ball, whatever the case may be if they play that anymore. Whatever. Yeah, Chris always great chatting with you. Stay safe there in California, would you? I'm doing my best. All right. Chris Bray, former infantry and the infantry sergeant, I should say, in the U.S. Army, also a contributor to the federalist talking about the silliness. of the stop nick shirley law more coming up on the rotting gregg show here on utahs talk radio 1059 knRS remember the the attitude towards some americans not all americans after the whole george floyd thing several years ago now and being a police officer had to be it still is i think one of the toughest jobs in the country today but during that period of time You know, people were throwing things at him. There was a guy who threw a subway sandwich when he got off in D.C., by the way. But this whole idea of being a police officer, a lot of people were deciding that's not a career I won, some were retiring earlier. Early. But apparently, the idea of becoming a police officer is yet popular again. Let's find out why. Let's find out what's going on. Joining us on our any hour newsmaker line is Yael Barter. She is a contributor at City Journal, also a social media consultant. Yeah, Al, thank you very much for joining us. Tell us what's going on with police officers and all of a sudden being popular again. Well, what's interesting is support for police has always been relatively high. You know, even in 2021, and I mentioned this, there was a poll that said 74% of all Americans report the confidence in their local police.

So the support has always been there, but I think what's kind of shifted is, are two things. A, the culture. And, you know, there's been a bit of fatigue from activism and a bit of, I guess, people pushing back on what celebrities or Instagram influencers are trying to tell them it's cool. Plus, we see all of a sudden cops pop up in the culture. You know, policing shows have always been popular. Just today in New York City, there's a viral video, if you can believe it, in the middle of the upper west side of a mounted officer on forceback making an arrest. So all these positive, yeah, it's pretty cool. All these positive petitions are releasing it kind of creeping back in. And then another thing that's happening around the country that we can only see is people, like I said in my article, people have eyes, right? So they see kind of decline in quality of life. They see increase in crime, at least in New York City and some of the worst neighborhoods that are primarily African American and Hispanic people are reporting. you know huge dissatisfaction with their neighborhoods in terms of public safety. So there is more support for law enforcement for more proactive law enforcement, let's say. So here's, I think this is national, but I know in Utah, a couple variables on public safety and careers in law enforcement that have raised the concern for law enforcement agencies. We're not, we're seeing retirements happen a little sooner than later. After 20 years, it's a highly dangerous job. You can retire. A lot of times these officers are still in their 40s and could remain. But you're seeing the retirement rate of stepping away from the career sooner than later happening more frequently. And also you saw multi-generational, you know, if you had a grandfather and a father, maybe a son gets into law enforcement, you're not seeing that continuation of generations. In some cases, we're just seeing those moments I just described a little bit happening more frequently. Have you seen that? Have you seen a turnaround in that? I haven't looked into those lately, but those would be indicators for me that there's kind of a turnaround in terms of the profession itself. Yeah, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I do think that recruiting and retention are better than they were in 2020. In 2020, there is kind of a mass exodus. at least in New York from the profession. And some of that had to do with COVID. Some of that had to do with criminal justice reform. And then a lot of cops say, and I don't know how many cops you talk to, but a lot of times when you're going to retire, they'll tell you when it's not fun anymore. So for a lot of people, it just the risks outweighed the benefits. And at least in New York, and again, this is just anecdotal. I don't have data on it.

Step into the world of power, loyalty, and luck. I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. With family, canoles, and spins mean everything. Now, you want to get mixed up in the family business? Introducing the godfather at chumpacasino.com. Test your luck in the shadowy world of the godfather's slot. Someday, I will call upon you to do a service for me. Play the godfather. Now at chumpacasino.com. Welcome to the family. I'm hearing just the other day I heard from a police officer whose third generation New York City police officer said that he would never recommend his son to go into police in New York, a different state perhaps. Yeah, yeah. How big of a hill did law enforcement have to climb after the whole George Floyd thing and that Black Lives Matter summer that we dealt with? That had to be a huge hill for them to climb. Are they going back up in the public's mind, do you feel? Yeah, I think so. I mean, it was a pretty tough time. It was pretty, you know, I don't want to speak for police officers. But, you know, I heard from people who are pretty, pretty hardened and, you know, they've seen a thing or two saying that it was incredibly stressful and, you know, very, very dangerous when you're faced with, you know, there's small group of cops and you're faced with a mob that's sort of proven that, you know, respect for police officers is not their top priority. So I think there is still some of that and maybe some of it is generational, maybe some of it is New York. There's less of a, you know, the way people perhaps used to revere, be a little cautious of police officers. I think that that ship has sailed a little bit. But I do think right now, just from police officers I talk to, that they seem to feel like they're writing a bit of a better wave in the public eye. So let's talk about blue cities. Okay, we have one here in Utah. Salt Lake City is a Democrat-run city. They went through that whole phase of defund the police. They went through that whole phase of demonizing the police, frankly. We had riots in Salt Lake City in May of 2020, and officers were told to stand down and watch. They were hit with, they were hurt and harmed. We had the National Guard had to be called in. And I'll tell you, Salt Lake City's Police Department, the numbers depleted massively. But you're seeing a comeback. I mean, public safety, what everybody seemed to learn, even in this blue city of Salt Lake City is, I think we like public safety. I think that's actually something that we should probably really invest in and really commit ourselves to. And so you're seeing the pendulum swing back here. What about these other blue cities across America and New York City where you're talking about? But are we seeing that same trend where people are all sudden appreciating public safety in a way they had not before? It depends. You know, San Francisco seems to be coming through a bit of a turnaround here in New York City. We just elected a mayor who public safety is not, I guess, the top priority or perhaps we think there's a better way to deal with it, even though those ways have been tried and tested and haven't really worked out. But I think if you look at public opinion polls and if you look at people's behavior, the thing with...

with crime and what we call here in New York quality of life crime. So people sleeping on the subway, public urination, bikes on sidewalks, they affect every single New Yorker. Rich, poor, Upper East Side, Brownfield, no matter where you live, as opposed to, you know, more violent crimes that sometimes affect. you know, like smaller parts of the population of different localized neighborhoods. So I think what you're seeing here is something that every single New Yorker understands. And if it's true in New York, it's true in other cities too where people are seeing issues like homelessness, uh, drug abuse, mental illness. And we're coming up on the summer here. And, you know, those things just tend to go up. So I think people are sick and tired of it, frankly. On our newsmaker line, a conversation that Greg and I had with Al Bartur. She is a contributor at the City Journal talking about cops being cool again. More coming up on this Friday edition of the Rod and Greg show right here on Utah's Talk Radio 1059 K&RS. Remember the story. Let me bring up a name to you. His name is Matt Hauk. He was a pro-life father. He was father of seven. May I recall this story, whose home in Pennsylvania was raided, I mean, raided at gunpoint by the FBI under Merrick Garland and the Biden administration. Well, Matt Hauke has now been awarded a seven-figure settlement from the Department of Justice. Fox News has learned that Halk, who is a devout Catholic and pro-life activist, sentenced in 2023 by the FBI. He was prosecuted, as you recall, for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act. The charges stem from something that happened back in, it was October of 2021, as I recall. There was an incident that took place outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, where Hauk and his young son were accosted by a pro-abortion volunteer. who harassed and yelled at the boy until Hauk pushed the volunteer away. A jury acquitted Hauk in 2023. He and his wife then filed a lawsuit later that year alleging that the Biden DOJ had engaged in malicious and retaliatory prosecution, abuse of false arrest and assault. His attorney specifically accused the DOJ of what he called a faulty investigation and use of successive force. Now, I want to take you back, while all this has been going on, I want to take you back to 2023. This is Republican Senator Josh Hawley. had sharp, really sharp questions in a Senate hearing for then Attorney General, Merrick Garland, about the FBI's show of force in this case. Let's do this exchange. The jury in this case acquitted Mr. Howeck, as I'm sure you're aware. Do you know how long it took him? I am aware, and we respect the decision of the jury. Do you know how long it took him? I don't know. One hour. One hour.

Philadelphia district attorney declines to prosecute. The private suits dismissed. You use an unbelievable show of force with guns that I just note liberals usually decry. We're supposed to hate long guns and assault-style weapons. You're happy to deploy them against Catholics and innocent children. Happy to. And then you haul them into court and a jury acquits him in one hour. I just suggest to you that that is a disgraceful performance by your Justice Department and a disgraceful use of resources. Josh Hawley, reading Merrick Garland, the Riot Act back in 2023. In this story, you know, there's a pro-life dad, imminent son, we're outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia, staying within the law, doing everything that they could, but voicing their objections to abortion. A pro-abortion volunteer comes up and shoves the boy. I can't remember what age he was. I think he was only 12 or 13. May have been a little bit older than that. And his dad, Matt Hout, steps in and says, uh-uh, and shoved him. And he was arrested for defending his son outside an abortion clinic. He then, the charges were even elevated, and that's when basically a SWAT team showed up at his home in Pennsylvania and took him into custody. And as Josh Holly pointed out, every step in the legal process acquitted him of doing anything wrong. And he and his wife decided to take the Justice Department to court. They did, and they won in the lawsuit, was awarded to them. The Justice Department ordered to pay out, I don't think there's a figure in this story that I've seen, but ordered to pay out a very large, a multi-million dollar settlement over that FBI raid. Get used to getting, or get used to more of this happening. And if the Democrats take control. of Washington, and that could happen down the road. One other note, a lot of people have expressed concern about what's going on at Disneyland. Things have changed there at Disneyland. I know a lot of people here in Utah love to go to Disneyland. Our family was there earlier this year. The kids enjoy it, but apparently now a former Walt Disney company employee says he's cautiously optimistic now, and I hope so, about the company's direction even when it comes to progressive ideology. Josh Dawes, he's a software engineer, There at Disney, he's been there for about 12 and a half years, says he was laid off as part of the restructuring of 1,000 people at Disney. But he says things are starting to change. This all effort promoting DEI, matter of fact, one of the trains now says ladies and gentlemen, at one time. you'd enter Disneyland. I think it was Walt Disney. His voice himself would say, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the happiest place on there, something like that. But they wanted to be politically correct.

So they just said, welcome all you dreamers to Disneyland, something like that. That is starting to change. And apparently there were a couple of employees who have been laid off and they aren't saying anything mean against Disney. They're just coming across and saying this effort on the part of Disney to DEI, the entire park still exists. And you can see it. You can pick up on little things if you go to the park these days. But apparently some of that is being taken away. We can only hope. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has some very enlightening words about progressives and their movement in America. We'll let you hear what he had to say. And more coming up in our number two of the Rotting Reg Show. Stay with us. My next guest, I want to read what he wrote because I think he really touched on what happened. And he talks about the fact that this year being our 250th birthday, you're going to hear a lot of speeches about the Declaration of Independence, all kinds of things dealing with the founding of this great country. But as he points out, it's hard to imagine anyone topping. what Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered at the University of Texas in Austin yesterday. Listen to what he had to say about where America and the battle is going on right now. Hey, it is Ryan Seacrest here. If you love great games and a little extra excitement to your day, I got something fun for you. Chumba Casino and I have teamed up to create an exclusive online social casino game. It's called Ryan Seacrest 10K ways. It's fun and free to play, just like all your favorites from Chumba Casino. And every spin. and brings 10,000 ways to keep the good times going. Check it out and play for free today at chumba casino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law. CTs and Cs, 21 plus sponsored by Chumba Casino. Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence, and hence our form of government. It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government. It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a Constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights. Boy, quite a comment, and joining us on our newsmaker line to talk more about this is Cully Stimson. He is a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Cully, how are you? Welcome back to the show. Great to be with you, Rod. Thanks for having me. What is your reaction to what Thomas said? Well, I wrote about the Fox News.com opinion. I mean, I think it's one of the magisterial missives that it's going to be said about the anniversary, this 250th anniversary. And, you know, it was 30 minutes into his hour-long speech. where he touched on progressivism or page. That's it. And all the progressives out there are denouncing it as something that was horrific. When in fact, if you read the full page and a half of what he talked about, he actually quotes Woodrow Wilson. He actually quotes the progressives who say that the power should lie with the government and the people are essentially servile. So Thomas is not saying anything new that he hasn't said in...

in my grandfather's son or in his other books that he's written. But the left jumps on it because, God forbid, a Supreme Court justice would quote a progressive president when they're describing their own movement. Cully, with the state that the country is in right now, why is it important that people listen or read this speech? I think it's a trumpet to patriotism. I mean, here's a... Here's a guy whose parents essentially abandoned him, and his grandparents raised him in the Catholic faith. And he talks about – and I know Clarence Thomas. I've known it for a long time. I've known Ginny. In the interest of full disclosure, Jenny was the head of executive branch relations at Heritage a long time ago and I've known her forever. But he talks about – he talks about his childhood, growing up with his grandparents. And when he went to St. Benedict's. the Catholic nuns raised him. And I could tell he was on the verge of having a lump in his throat because he said, quote, this is at the 16 minute and 25 second mark of his speech. We started each day by lining up two by two, class by class in the school yard to watch the raising of our flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance before silently marching to our respective classrooms. Even as so much of our God-given and constitutional rights were denied to us, we still faithfully said the Pledge of Allegiance. memorized the preamble to the Constitution, and yearn for the fulfillment of its promised ideals. Sadly, these sentiments are not as widely shared among our fellow citizens today. And so I think he's reminding us that here is a black boy who's talking about himself in the segregated South whose grandfather... whose grandfather and the nun said, all men are created equal, and you are to believe that to the core of your being. And he did, despite being in the segregated South. And I think he can speak uniquely to this, that if somebody like him can come from nothing, uh, But just the grace of God being given to his grandparents and the nuns forcing him to be on the straight and narrow and elevate all the way to the Supreme Court. And then he spent, what, 10, 15 minutes before he gets to the progressive period talking about the sacrifices that other Americans gave. for our liberty it was really really patriotic and that's why people should read it cully his reverence yeah or watch it that's true because you can see it his reverence for the declaration of independence is absolutely amazing i mean he looks at this document and can find different meanings behind it approaches behind it like no one i've ever been able ever seen or heard from and his approach to the declaration of of independence and the reverence that he has for this document Yeah, and he said that about the 26th, 27 minute of his speech, he said, it all began with our founding declaring in 1776 that, quote, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. And he, you're right, he has a certain genuineness to him. Yeah. In talking about the original public meaning of the words of the declaration, which was a battle cry.

and divorce document from the king. And it laid out the bill of complaints against the king and why we had to set a separate country. And he has he has a granularity and a fidelity of of realness to him when he speaks. And he's just an amazing American. And when he talks about, and he's so darn humble, it's hard not to like him unless you just have Thomas derangement syndrome and you don't like him because of his opinions. But he praises the soldiers in the battlefields of the Civil War. He praises the folks. on, you know, who, who, quote, carried us from Independence Hall to Flandersfield to the beaches of Normandy. And then I love this part. Think of the memorable scene in Band of Brothers when the American soldiers arrived at the concentration camp, saw the suffering, emaciated, desperate prisoners, unlocked the Bill Gates and gave them food and blankets and warm embraces. The soldiers looked around and knew in their hearts, this is why we fight. Wow. It was. It sent a chill down my spine as I listened to him to talk about it. That's why I wrote about it. As he talks about it as well, Cully, you really get a sense that he's concerned about the future of the country. He doesn't come right out and say it, but in a way he does that he's concerned about the direction the country may be headed. Yeah, he is. But I think people are always worried. I mean, my dad worried about, my dad was a World War II vet fought in the Pacific. He worried about the turn the way the country was going. He thought that Bush, George W. Bush's excursion into Iraq was wrong. I think the older you get, the more you have to look back on life and worry that the next generation isn't going to step up. I mean, he asks in a rhetorical way, and he knows the answer, how many of us? if called to do what the folks did in World War II would have the courage and the grit to do it. And a lot of people, we know that 75% of age-eligible men are too fat, obese, to join the military. We know that. We know that most people in the military are there because it's part of a family legacy. We know people in this country don't even, there are people out there in the country who've never even met somebody in the military. So I think he's right to be concerned, but he was really there, and this is why I wrote about it.

with an optimistic ending. Yeah. Because he believes that you've got to get off the sidelines. You've got to get engaged. And whether it's joining your school board or coaching the soccer team or whatever type of civic participation, don't sit there in the bleachers and yell at the ref. Get on the court. Get on the court and be a player in this great. country of ours. And I think, you know, he was there ostensibly to obviously talk about the 250th and the declaration, but he was really there to champion the new school for civic. civic virtues. Yeah, yeah. And that's at University of Texas, and they're popping up all over the place. And I think this is a great sign, and I think Thomas was the perfect speaker. Yeah, and I think, Kelly, a final question or a final thought from you on this. I think, like you were just saying, he's telling the American people, hey, if you want to save this country, you've got to get involved, you've got to get engaged, because I fear that a lot of people don't realize. that progressivism is incompatible with our founding values. I don't know if people really understand that. Well, they are, and he quotes the lions of the progressive era. when they're describing the role of the government overlords of the people and your individual freedom. And so his clarion call is to have courage, quote, you need a greater sort of strength than yourselves. You need to rely on your faith to guide, sustain you through it all. But if you stand, you will find courage like cowardice. It can be habit forming. And so by all means celebrate the Declaration of Independence. And that's his message. And I think it's a great message. It is. Cully, we appreciate your time on a late Friday afternoon for you. We appreciate it. And thanks for joining us. Always a pleasure. Thanks. All right. Culley Stimson, Senior Legal Counsel at the Heritage Foundation, talking about the address made by Clarence Thomas at the University of Texas in Austin yesterday. When we come back, I've got a little bit longer sound bite. I want you to hear on this. And I would really encourage you. If you're concerned, if you want to hear. what Clarence Thomas's thoughts are on progressivism, the God-given rights that we all enjoy that are being threatened by all of this. I would encourage you to take a look at it. You can find it on the internet. Either read it or listen to it. He really is a very humble man. but also very concerned about the future of this country. You can see it, read it between the lines. All right, we'll have more on that coming up, and we'll talk about many other things with you as you work your way home on this Friday afternoon with Utah's talk radio 1059, K&RS. I thought I'd take a minute, let you hear a little bit more about what Clarence Thomas said yesterday, about what is taking place in this country and his concern about the fact that progressives seek to replace the basic premise of the Declaration of Independence, which is that all...

men are created equal and that the rights that we have, the self-evident rights that we have are given to us by God, not by government. Here's a little bit longer message that he shared at UT and Austin yesterday. I think if we don't stand up and take ownership of our country and take responsible for it, we are slowly letting others control how we think and what we think. I think the beauty of going to school. is that you learn how to think for yourselves. You develop the discipline to think things through. If you think it's losing confidence, then you get up and you participate. You don't sit on the sidelines. You think that the state is being run inconsistent with how you feel, then you get up and you participate. You prepare yourself. If you think that the medical profession is not right, when you become a doctor or a medical person, and you deal with that. I think we need to take ownership of our country. It's our country. He's so right. It is our country. Now, let me share with you a couple of thoughts I had as I listened to more this night. I spent a little bit of time this morning in prepping for this show. I didn't hear all of it, but heard a good portion of it. What he is saying is, I think, the same thing that Donald Trump is worried about. And I've spoken about this to various groups that I speak to. Everything that he is doing. I think, is an effort to save Western civilization. I think Donald Trump and others in this country see a decline in Western civilization or Western values. And that's what Donald Trump is fighting against. He's fighting for the Western values that have held this country together now for what, 250 years as of July. So Clarence Thomas, in a way, is saying basically the same thing. We have got to fight. Hey guys, it is Ryan. For years, Chumba's been set in the bar for online social casino fun, and it just keeps getting better. With new games released every week and daily bonuses to collect, the fun never stops. So claim your welcome bonus now at chumba casino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. Boy, we're prohibited by law. See terms and conditions, 21 plus. For the values and the rights that we hold near and dear. Because if not, the progressives in this country don't believe in those rights. They want to take away those rights. You had James Carville the other day. And they're already, you know, giving us their game plan if they ever get control of all three branches of government, which they could down the road. But he's talked about, yeah, he's talked about making Puerto Rico and D.C. a state. Now, you know why they want to do that. They want more Democratic senators. He's talking about expanding the Supreme Court maybe to 13 justices. You know, there are so many things that are going on. Look what Abigail Spanberger, who is the newly elected, quote, moderate governor of Virginia did just the other day. She signed a law into, or signed a bill into law. Basically, what happens with this bill is, in Virginia, let's say you have a presidential election, and let's say the Republican won that and would get those electoral votes. And it's all comes down to the 270 electoral votes that you need to win.

But he announced earlier today, of course, Iran and the U.S. both announcing that the Strait of Hormuz is now open. And they're saying with a ceasefire in line in Lebanon, the passage of all commercial transportation through the Strait of Hormuz will proceed without any impediment whatsoever. The president saying today that he expects a deal with Iran in the next day or two. uh many of the major issues from what i've been able to read have been ironed out but you've now he the president said today that iran is conceding on many of the main issues that he was worried about one of them of course the number one he did not want them to have the ability to manufacture and make nuclear weapons and uh he says that um that they have given in on some of those now what exactly that means what that's going to mean in the future we do not know yet but we know that the straight of Hormuz is open now we did see the market bounce around near 50,000 today on several occasions came back down a little bit and you see the price of oil which i think most people are concerned about has now fallen to right around $80 a barrel. It was as high at one time up to $110 or $120 a barrel, but it's back down to $80, which it'd be interesting, and I said this is the start of the show. One of the things to watch in the coming days is going to be how long it takes for the price of gasoline to come down. I want to see how long it takes because we all assumed. Well, prices are going up because we know that oil is a worldwide commodity traded on the worldwide markets. And when about 20% of the world's oil is shut off because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, we all kind of figured, okay, prices are going to go up. But once they get that open, it appears that is the case now that the price of gasoline would come down. We'll wait and see, won't we? Because I think that is a key issue to see if it in fact come down. Now, another big issue this week has been the whole UVU commencement ceremony and the selection of a speaker named is Sharon Linda McMahon to come to the university. Now, it was interesting yesterday that in its decision, the university said due to safety concerns. And we all took issue with that. We went, come on. You know, what they were doing, it was a distraction, taking it away from their very dumb decision in my part and putting it on the shoulders of conservatives who have spoken out and who may commit a violent act if she shows up. That's what they're saying between the lines. They really are. That's what they were saying. And a lot of us took issue. Now, some on social media today checked with the Utah County Sheriff's Office, I think also the Provo Orum Police Department, and found out they are not aware of any threats of violence against the university when she shows up.

So obviously the university is trying to create a distraction. So we can talk about that. There's one other thing I want to talk about, but we've got a call coming in and want to get to that. 8885701-10, AAA 5701-10 on your cell phone, dial pound 250 and say, hey, Rod, or leave us a message on our talkback line. Let's go to the phones. Let's talk with Mark tonight in Centerville. Mark, how are you? Welcome to the Rod and Greg Show. Hey, glad to call in. I just wanted to say I'm happy with the outcome so far, and I ran. A lot of us voted for Trump so we could have mean tweets and world peace, and it's panning out. Mark, were you a little nervous? I mean, was your patience starting to wear a little bit thin, or did you realize it's going to take a little bit of time? We have enough faith in Donald Trump that we'll ride with him for a little bit longer. Where were you as far as the patience level was concerned, Mark? It was definitely wearing thin, especially everyone was saying it was because of Epstein. But I've just seen again and again, like with the Russia Gate and other stuff that my friends and family are really down on Trump. You just kind of have to wait, and it tends to work out. If he comes through with everything here, how big of a deal is this going to be for Donald Trump and the people who supported him? Like yourself, Mark.

I think it's a pretty big deal. I think, like, there's been some tough spots so far in the second term of his. I think that there's enough time that people could come around potentially and have, you know, public opinion bounce back a bit by November. Yeah, yeah. I'm with you on that, Mark. Thank you for your phone calls. As a matter of fact, it was kind of different today. I think what was going on last week with the Iranians announcing they're going to shut down the straighter Hormuz, there was some nervousness in the administration and at the White House. You could... There are people saying you could kind of get that sense. And even conservative commentators were saying they're a bit nervous. And then the president made the decision to blockade the straight. And everything seemed to change there because a lot of people were saying, even a few on the left, not many, were saying that was a good move on his part. He basically called their bluff. They were bluffing. We're going to shut it down. He says, oh, yeah, well, we're going to put a blockade on it. And that's exactly what he did. No ships got through. And they confronted, I think they said they turned around 10 or 12 ships who were trying to get through it and they turned them around, the U.S. military. Hey, this is Ryan Sechrest here. And if you're looking for some serious fun, head over to chumbac casino.com. At Chumba Casino, you can play all your favorite social casino style games for free anytime, anywhere. It's the most fun you can have on your phone or computer. No purchase necessary. VGW. Boy, we're prohibited by law. See, terms and conditions, 21 plus. How good is the U.S. military? If you think about that, these are really good. But I think there is a much bigger feeling of optimism. And let me tell you what, folks, if Donald Trump does something here that no other president has ever attempted to do in getting the Iranians to back down from their desire to have nuclear weapons to getting them to back down from supporting terrorists in the Mideast region and really around the world. to getting Lebanon and Israel sitting down for peace talks and maybe come to some agreement. And to get the economy going again, I think if we can get through and if we get a deal with Iran, I think the focus needs to turn toward the economy and getting prices down. I mean, if I have time, I'll share with you a breakdown of what the big, beautiful tax bill has meant for people out there. How many of you have felt it? I mean, you know, I saw a little bit of savings in taxes this year. Not a lot, but a little bit. But for the people out there who work in the service industry here in Utah or get a lot of overtime in. Have you seen it? Has it benefited you? And I think if more of those stories come out and the Trump administration from here on out for the, you know, get Iran settled, get it going, wherever it's going.

His next big challenge is going to be, of course, the economy. It's the economy stupid. Hey, to quote Carville, but it is. And if he can focus on that in the five or six or seven months away from the election, he will prepare the Republicans for what is truly going to be a battle because those on the left are so passionate. about their hatred of Donald Trump and everything that he has done, calling him every name in the book. I mean, you even have people like Thomas Friedman, who one time was a very respected columnist within The New York Times, who's now saying, well, I really hate to see Iran lose because it make Donald Trump look good. Are you kidding me? But that's what we're all facing. And it's going to be an interesting midterm election. All right, your calls, your comments. 888-5708010 on your cell phone, dial pound 250 and say, hey, Rod, leave us a message on our talkback line as well. More coming up on the Rod and Greg Show and Utah's talk radio 1059 KNRS. It was 20 years ago this month that the documentary by Al Gore called an inconvenient truth was unleashed upon America. And boy, did it change. He won an Oscar for this thing for crying out loud. And we're going to be talking about the impact and the damage that Al Gore has done. He's basically created. And everybody you talk to when it comes to this issue, those who are so amped up about climate change. It is a religion to them. He created with this documentary. He took the science and made it a political weapon. And we're talking about that coming up in the 6 o'clock hour tonight here on the Rodding Greg Show. All right. When it comes to Hollywood, we know that, you know, they say some outlandish things. People in Hollywood, they always do. They hate Donald Trump because we realize they do not live in real America. I mean, their job is make-believe. Right? I mean, they act. They, you know, they, they live in a make-believe world. They're actors, they're actresses. And they create roles that they assume and they, you know, they do. But they don't live in the real world, the world that we live in each and every day. And then challenges that we have. Well, along comes this, this actress. Her name is Elizabeth Banks. Many of you may know who she is. She was in, she's been in several movies. Oh, I'm just, you would recognize her if you saw her. But she was being interviewed the other day, talking about her new role. I think it's in one of the Hunger Games things. I've never gotten into those. I know a lot of people have. But she basically said this. She said she said she is disappointed in white women. Disappointed at least in the ones who didn't vote the way. She thinks they should. That's what she said. She said, quote, I don't understand the 53% of white women that didn't vote for Kamala Harris. What were you thinking? Let my wife come on and explain what she was thinking, but I don't think we'd get abast the FCC. But this whole, she's shocked about white women.

who would align their views with those of Donald Trump. And she couldn't understand it. Let me tell you what. I mean, Donald Trump, now, you know, to some people, he may come across his crass and his language sometimes, you know, his battle with the Pope that may turn off some people. But if you look at what Clarence Thomas spoke about down in Austin, about progressives. and how they think the answer to every problem is government. Not in your faith. You understand why people win for Donald Trump. I had mentioned earlier that Donald Trump, in his presidency and why he wants America to succeed is because he is very concerned about the decline of Western civilization. Kamala Harris. was leading that charge and as a matter of fact could be leading that charge again in 2028 we don't know yet we're a long way away from there but she is leading that charge so when you have this actress elizabeth banks and you'd recognize her if you see her and i've liked some of the roles she's played before but she's she's uber liberal i've heard of Oh, that's right. She does. She hosts a game show called Press Your Luck. I forgot about that. Thank you, E. Ray. But she's been in a lot of movies. Again, you would recognize her. And I've always liked her personality. But for him to come out, for her to come out on this podcast and just, you know, basically saying she doesn't understand why, what was the number? 53% of white women in this country didn't vote for Kamala Harris. I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty plain as the nose on your face. She's a horrible candidate. We may have her again in 2028. We'll have to wait and see. But Elizabeth thinks, and people don't understand what life in real America is like right now. They do not get it. They do not understand it. Their only mission. And everyone, I mean, we sound like a broken record, Greg and I do on this show sometimes. But the Democratic Party right now offers no suggestions about addressing the issues in this country today. Oh, they'll address them. Here's how they'll do it. They'll open up the borders. They'll make people in this country, the 1% who are already paying 46% of the taxes pay even more. And the 10% who pay 70% of the taxes pay more. And we're going to give that money to them. and really have faith that they'll use that money to solve any of our issues, any of the problems that we have in the country? Ah, that's not going to happen, folks. So for her to say she doesn't understand why all white women didn't vote for Kamala Harris. Pretty obvious, isn't it? All right, more coming up. Hour number three of the Rotting Greg Show. Right here on Utah's Talk Radio 105.9. KNRS. Stay with us.

This year, matter of fact, I believe it is this month, marks the 20th anniversary. of an inconvenient truth. Remember that documentary by Al Gore talking about climate change and how the world is coming to an end? Well, joining us on our newsmaker line to talk about that right now is Roger Pelke. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute about this and the legacy of the inconvenient truth. Great to be with you. Let's talk about the legacy of the inconvenient truth. Has anyone ever really assessed the impact that Al Gore's documentary has had on the American taxpayer? the American way of life to begin with. Yes, there are countless studies out there that look at the impact of climate change. And to be honest, the most serious impacts are projected far into the future. And there's enough plasticity in the science that if you tell me what result you want, I can probably find you that study. Roger, what about the inconvenient truth? You write about the political impact, and it created this political machine. Share with our listeners more about your thoughts on that. Yeah, so, you know, I lived through this experienced as an academic, and climate change became more than just a scientific topic. Climate change is real. It's important. We should be paying attention to it and responding to it. But one of the legacies of Al Gore's movie that I wrote about was how the academic and scientific community... took on climate change not just as a topic to study, but as something to be activists about and calling for profound changes in our energy system. And also kind of separating the world into good guys and bad guys, including us in academia. What about the political movement? I've heard some people refer to this as almost a religion for many people. Would you agree? Yeah, I would agree. I mean, if you take a look 20 years later, I can't believe it's 20 years in Al Gore's movie. It started out as a PowerPoint presentation, which, you know, ostensibly is scientific. But if you take a look at the movie, it's a sermon. Al Gore went to divinity school. He's not a scientist. And it was very much a story of sinning, of retribution, of salvation with good guys and bad guys. And the global energy system serves everybody. You know, I understand politicians being politicians, but it really doesn't serve any of us to try to moralize about a topic like climate change. It's an issue. We should deal with it. And we're all in this together. Roger, why was he so successful in being able to sell this and convince people that they've got some real issues here that they need to address? Hey guys, it is Ryan. For years, Chumba's been set in the bar for online social casino fun, and it just keeps getting better. With new games released every week and daily bonuses to collect, the fun never stops. So claim your welcome bonus now at chumbacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. We're prohibited by law. See terms and conditions. 21 plus.

Yeah, there's a long arc here. You go back to the 1970s, Al Gore was holding hearings on climate change. He had learned from his mentor, Roger Ravelle, at Harvard, about the importance of population growth and effects on the environment. In 1992, he had a book, Earth and the Balance that got a lot of attention and became his issue. But what really launched Al Gore into the popular discourse on climate was the 2000 election. and the Supreme Court decision that went against him and in favor of George Bush. And Al Gore took upon himself to kind of be an advocate for climate. And this is part of the politicization of the issue. Al Gore, Democratic politician, very polarizing himself, kind of wrapped himself in that issue. And so that kind of was all mixed up together with the early 2000s. And I know young people today probably can't imagine that context. But that's a big part of the story of how climate change became so polarized. Once he won an Oscar, or I guess he won two Oscars. or something like that. And Hollywood got behind this big time. How important was that in this movement that he was trying to convince the American people to get serious about? It was very important. It was a part of the bigger story of academia and science, but that climate change became a left-wing cause. And again, that's probably not what you want for an issue. It's great for politics. It's bad for policy. Al Gore, you know, he's kind of faded from view since then, but it's hard to imagine back to the late aughts. And, you know, the movie came out in 2006. And, you know, for the next five to ten years, climate change was a sharp partisan issue. Has anybody in science or academia that you're aware of, Roger, including yourself, you may have said things along this line as well, but pointing out that, yes, we have to deal with climate change, but we may be going a little too far or we may be going in the wrong direction. Has anyone said anything like that, Roger? Yeah, there's been that discussion for a long time. And, you know, I can remember back in 2009, the Copenhagen Climate Conference collapsed. And that was really the first time that there was a crack in kind of this unified armor of climate change.

Really, in the last couple years, it's not just in the United States globally. Climate change discussion has been much more realistic, much more pragmatic. A big factor is energy prices, energy security. Decarbonizing the global economy is important, but I think policymakers all around the world are starting to recognize that we have to balance a lot of objectives in energy policy. Carbon is one of them, but it's not the only one. Yeah, and has common sense come back into the discussion about all of this, do you think, Roger? Well, when the Chancellor of Germany says that phasing out nuclear power was a mistake, I think that's a pretty good indication. There's a lot of common sense. Another example, Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, was a huge climate champion when he was a central banker. Now he's talking about making Canada an energy superpower. So there's a lot of common sense that's broken out. Not everywhere, but I'm hopeful that there's going to be a more productive discussion of this topic going forward. How about nuclear in this discussion? Is it starting to come back into the discussion? at this point, Roger. Yeah, absolutely. Nuclear is having a moment unlike any in recent history. And, you know, for better or worse, the situation with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz is forcing a lot of countries to realize that they need to up their game on energy security. Just two examples. South Korea and Japan have realized that their import dependence is a problem. And so they've limited their capacity restrictions on coal-fired power plants. but they still have to import coal. So they're talking about accelerating, in Japan's case, the restart of their nuclear power plants and South Korea expanding their reliance on nuclear power. Nuclear power, if it's done well, provides enormous energy security. All right, I'm going to put you on the spot. Let's say we're having a conversation 20 years from now. Where are we going to stand when it comes to the inconvenient truth and energy in general? Well, I'll be standing by the shuffleboard table at the old folks home. The world needs more energy, vastly more energy. There are five, six billion people who don't enjoy the energy services that most of us take for granted every day. So hopefully we're talking about how successful we were over the last few decades in building out the energy infrastructure all around the world. in Africa, Southeast Asia. At the same time, we were able to reduce the amount of air pollution that we see, for example, in India, also decarbonizing the economy while at the same time growing it. And so that's the ambition and moving forward on all of those things at once is what makes energy policy so tricky. Roger Pelke with the American Enterprise Institute talking about Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and the legacy it is left behind. More coming up on the Rod and Greg Show in Utah's talk radio, 1059, can't arrest. A lot has been said about where the young men who make up Generation Z are going. How about young women? Well, there was a real interesting article about how Gen Z women.

Need to find the courage to connect with each other. And if they do, they could make history and rebuild a community. Joining us on our newsmaker line to talk about that is Isabella Ritter. She is a rising leaders academy coordinator. She also works for the Institute for Women's Health. Isabella, thank you very much for joining us. Let's talk about this article and how Gen Z women can connect and make their communities better. What needs to happen? So in my article, I talk about the challenges that Gen Z women are facing, where we're living through a paradox. You see that we're more connected digitally, and we do have more opportunities professionally to advance than any generation before us. We are also among the loneliest. Statistics show that 80% of Gen Z have reported feelings of loneliness in the past year alone, which tells me that the problem isn't necessarily a lack of opportunity for us. It is a lack of meaningful connection with community and relationships. And so in my piece, I discussed that success without community, it's not enough for true human flourishing. And so I think the opportunity before us lies in really cultivating relationships and getting back to in-person community and social clubs and outings and really embracing the distinct instincts that women have to cultivate community. You know, Asabel, I looked up that what years are we talking about with Gen Z? 1997 to 2012 is what I was able to look up. That would include my children. My daughter is in this group. Has it been, I sense in my daughter that she hears from myself and her mother how we grew up or how we've socialized or how we got to meet people or how we met each other. And there's a formula to that, which I don't know that is available for my daughter. She constantly says to me, dad, it's not the same as well as when you grew up. It's very different now. What would I tell my daughter in terms of how does she, does she look for opportunities that are the ones being described to her from her parents? Is there? something in this age that is different but the same? What do you tell a daughter that's in this age group that she can feel that things are very different for her than what it was for her parents? Right. Yeah, I mean, I definitely agree. There is a shift. There's been something different. And I think that's the introduction of technology and just the mass connection through media. And so there is something different. But I think, honestly, the formula lies the same where meaningful connection and lasting community, it does lie in taking that extra step, in risking, you know, discomfort and risking even potentially rejection if it's, you know, asking. somebody on a date or something like that. I think the formula is the same, you know? What I think is different for our generation is the shift of, you know, being uncomfortable.

avoid it at all costs right because we've become so isolated um because uh of media and because of that the the natural way to connect with people hasn't been completely apparent where um meeting in person it's not it doesn't seem as available and i think we've become really comfortable in uh remote relationships and so i would just encourage your daughter and those of my generation as well to just take that extra step to seek out those opportunities in person truly because I think when we when we risk discomfort I think meaningful relationships can thrive. Isabella you know we've got to bring up social media have they got lost in the social media wilderness out there where they don't actually meet face to face they're just texting communicating that's got to be a part of it is it not? I would say so. I agree. I think there are pros and cons to... social media. I think it can be a way of connecting, but I don't think it should be the only way of connecting. And I think that's been the wrong route, the wrong path that Gen Z has been led down, unfortunately. And I think it's up to us now as we step into professional spaces as we grow. I think it's up to us to take the extra step to risk discomfort, like I said, and get back to kind of the the natural relationships with people where you meet somebody a stranger perhaps in those third spaces like I talk about in my article and I think that that does promote connection and relationship when people see that you're willing to take that extra step rather than just resorting to digital connections Looking for a little Hollywood-style fun? Check out Ryan Seacrest 10K Ways exclusively at Chumba Casino. There's 10,000 ways to play. Get spending for free at chumpacino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law. CTs and Cs, 21 Plus, sponsored by Chumba Casino. So third spaces, I like your third spaces. You're talking, you know, coffee shops, libraries, dance halls, civic squares, maybe church. You know, go to church. I see, I hear there's a movement and we're finding faith and younger people are looking to that more than they were in the past. I guess my question is, it's one thing for the ladies to do this. Guys as well, are they going to be in these spaces, these third spaces that you describe, looking for those personal connections versus what they've. are more comfortable with, and that's maybe the digital connections. Right. Yeah, I agree. I think men and women should be present in these kind of spaces. I mentioned in my article that women tend to have that natural instinct to cultivate and connect, but that doesn't mean that men can't as well. You're saying we are Neanderthals and we still are Neanderthals. It is actually true. I would confirm that. It's okay. I can say it. No. I think.

I think I have three older brothers, and so I can definitely see, I understand the male line of thinking a little bit more. But I do think men and women, they both bring something special to community, and they're both vital parts of community. I just mentioned Gen Z women specifically because, you know, women have been historical parts of relationship building. I mean, like I said, you can see how women have been leaders in voluntary associations. They've been builders of community and bringing their neighbors food and being the leaders in that way. And I think what's changed in society is the fact that that instinct has been belittled. It's become seemed, it's become almost naive to think that that can be a strength. And I think that that's been a faulty line of thinking. And it's really impacting my generation. And so what I'm arguing and encouraging my generation is to get back to community, really get back to friendships and investing in that. Because while we do have an abundance of opportunities before us, we shouldn't neglect relationships. And that's the core of what I do in my work at. the Institute for Women's Health is we really believe that when women thrive, society does as well. And so encouraging women to get back to being pillars of community, embracing that instinct that we have, I think that that will just promote community and impact generations to come as well. Isabella Ritter with the Institute for Women's Health talking about how feminism can lead not only to loneliness, but it also can lead to a community coming. together. More coming up on the Rotting Greg Show and Utah's Talk Radio 105-9, KNRS. We understand you can't catch it all, and that's why we do this. We look for a couple that we talked to this week, that we think you would find very, very interesting and play them back for you, and that's why we call it Listen Back Friday. Interesting conversation we had earlier this week talking about the American dream. So many people talk about the American dream. The American dream is in danger now because of the rising cost of buying a home. Can you? make enough money, the cost of raising a family. I mean, a child now has studied out earlier this week said it would cost about $300,000 to raise a child anymore. Well, are there places in the country where it's better to chase the American dream? Red States is one of them. We had a chance to talk with David Mahan, Policy Director, the Center for Christian Virtue about this. We asked him about Red State, Blue State, and which states are better when it comes to finding the American dream. Well, the family structure index is basically a composite measure that tracks changing fortunes of our states across three critical areas. And so what we're doing is looking at... You know, across all the states, you know, what is the share of married adults, you know, prime age married adults, which is right around 25 to 54? What's the share of teens living in married parent with married parents? And what's the total fertility rate in these states? And we take all of those factors and we produce an index value of all the states to see what is the health of that state based on the family structure there.

I love it. I think it all starts with the family, and that's not a trite saying. Maybe share with our listeners. When you've measured some of those statistics, but what do those statistics tell us on a deeper level? Well, when you look at states and crime, incarceration, academic achievement, all of these factors increase, right, are positive, the more that percentage of children being raised in a two-parent home increases. You know, every state, you know, you look at a state level, you look at, you know, federal government. We spend the bulk of our budgets in three key areas, right? Education, we educate, we medicate. and we incarcerate, and all of those three areas increase, those expenditures increase as the percentage of children in two-parent homes decreases. And, you know, scripturally, you know, this is Center for Christian Virtue. It says if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? And that word foundations means, you know, societal order, societal structure. And every strong society is built on the backs. of strong families, right? If the economy is strong, it's because we have strong families. If the education system is strong, we see, you know, because we have two current homes and strong families. You know, and that's what we're seeing also in terms of red state versus blue states. The states that have the lowest index numbers are fleeing. People are fleeing those states to the states that have the higher family index. numbers. Surprise, surprise, right, David? Utah, I understand, comes out. Our state comes out number one. You've got other Rocky Mountain region states as well. Doing very, very well. What is it, do you think, David, about the Rocky Mountain region? Is it the water? Is it the water? What are we doing right, David? What are we doing right? I knew you guys would be gloating about that. You are number one, right? Thanks for noticing.

on the Family Structure Index, just to kind of break it down, you all are about 66% in terms of prime age adults who are married, right? So you're doing well in that area. You're 77% in terms of teens with married parents, right? Kids growing up in two-parent homes. Phenomenal. But the third area. you are kind of struggling just like every other state in the union, and that is the fertility rate. Yeah, yeah. There's not a single state in the union that is producing enough children to reproduce itself. And what we're seeing there, while you've got some amazing things going on in Utah, more so than anybody else in the nation, you know, we're kind of seeing a problem with housing, right? So the cost of housing is a huge indicator. on the family structure index, especially as it pertains to fertility rate. Yeah, so looking forward because, you know, Utah loves being number one. But we know nothing is static. So David, tell what are the things that our listeners, what should we be staring at? What do we have to stay on guard about? What should we be aspiring to do? You're right about the fertility rate. And we used to grow. We had more kids in education. Population growth internally has always been one of the big things about Utah. And we're now below that replacement rate. But outside of that. What are the swing thoughts? What are the things that listeners ought to be thinking about to keep the state of Utah strong and American Dream alive? Well, you know, folks are looking at a few areas. You know, when they're looking at where do I want to live and raise a family and pursue the American dream? One of those areas is affordability, right? So we were talking with the housing rate. We got to make sure that housing is affordable for young families that are just getting started off. The benefits clip, right? You know, if you've got two people who are kind of struggling and they get married, are they going to lose? their benefits. That's a key area. Cultural supports. Um, you know, is, is, uh, am I moving to a place where my child's going to be indoctrinated, uh, you know, by the alphabet mafia? Um, you know, am I going to be worried about my child, my daughter, um, having males walk into her, uh, restrooms and locker rooms, right? So the cultural areas and, and the foundation, um, you know, lower taxes, um, you know, a greater, a greater emphasis on, on, um, you know, not just.

funding schools, but funding successful schools. You know, so many blue states across the country and including red states like Ohio, you know, you have a lower and lower percentage of young people that can read proficiently by third grade and do math proficiently by by third, fourth grade. These are all factors that folks are looking at. We were just in a hearing. and it was a gender-related issue a couple weeks ago. And we had drag, literally, we had drag performers show up and threaten, you know, everybody that was in the hearing that folks were going to be leaving the state if we continue passing bills like, you know, the Safe Act that says, you know, you can't just transform boys to little girls and girls to little boys by cutting things off and injecting things. But what they didn't understand was is that most of the states that are doing those activities are at the bottom of the index, and those are at the states that are at the top where people are fleeing. So like New York and Illinois and California, they want us to become more like that, but these are the top states that people are fleeing to your Florida's and some of your Utah's, right, and Texas. So as you look at all these numbers, I want to ask you about your organization, David, the Center for Christian Values, Christian Virtue. Are you optimistic about the future of the family after you look at all these numbers still? I am, you know, and I'm going to give you a couple, you know, if somebody was, you know, looking, you've got folks, you've got states that are struggling, right? Like South Carolina. South Carolina is lower on the index than Hawaii. Right, I think Hawaii is ranked. 26, South Carolina is ranked 28. But if you look at the trend, I believe the bleeding has begun to stop. Drew McIntyre here from WWE. Weilding the Claymore can be a life of chaos. When I'm not dominating in the ring, Chumba Casino is how this warrior takes a wee break. With hundreds of online social games and new weekly releases, there's always something fresh to try. And those daily boosts, next level. Even my free time feels like Valhalla. So when life feels like a battle, kick up your feet, have some fun, and let's Chumba! No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law, CTs and Cs, 21 Plus, sponsored by Chumba Casino. And, you know, now that we're seeing, you know, some of the red states getting a little bit more influence and power in the country in this particular season. But I think the bleeding has stopped, and we're starting to see trends going back in the other direction. And that is what we're seeing in states like South Carolina, who, even though they're lower on the index in Hawaii. Hawaii is trending almost completely in all three categories, south, you know, down, where the South Carolina is trending up. And so, yeah, I am encouraged, even by what I see in Ohio, you know, in terms of, you know, a return to sanity and people immigrating, voting with their feet as to the values that they hold true and dear.

David Mayhan, policy director at the Center for Christian Virtue, talking about red states being better to chase the American dream. Another segment of Listenback Friday coming up on the Rod and Greg Show, the battle between Pope Leo and President Donald Trump. And some of the comments that the Pope made about the president, of course, he is a counterpuncher, so he fired right back. What we found interesting about these comments being made by the Pope, and then we had these three archbishops being interviewed on 60 minutes, is that this all happened. after former Obama advisor David Axelrod paid a visit to Rome. What's behind that? We had a chance to talk with Peter Laughan. He's the senior editor at the Washington Examiner and asked him if he found that coincidental that you'd have Axelrod meeting with the Pope, then the Pope and these Cardinals coming out and making statements against the President. Well, there's a lot of unprecedented things happening, but there's also a lot of predictable things happening. And one predictable thing happening is David Axelrod went somewhere and all of a sudden things became really political. I know that's hard for people to believe. But I think that's what happened here. Now, I just want to say off the top, I wasn't in the room, I don't have a recording, but if you look at the evidence of what happened, it's hard to come to any other conclusion. Now, here's the timeline of events as I see it. Donald Trump made his tweet about ending Iranian civilization, and that was the threat. And in my mind, he was doing the madman theory thing, trying to scare the Iranians. But it elicited a response from Pope Leo, which I think is normal, by the way. I think it's normal for a Pope to say something in regards to somebody making a threat over civilization. And what the Pope said was very clear. That's unacceptable. We shouldn't talk like that, and then everybody moved on. However, the next day, David Axelrod showed up at the Vatican. apparently with an entourage of his political people. And immediately following that conversation that he had with Pope Leo, both of them are from Chicago, both of them appear to not like the Trump administration. Immediately following that meeting, Pope Leo's rhetoric changed completely. It became very sharp, very direct, very severe. That has touched off this entire wave of back and forth from the White House and the Vatican. And I don't think it's a coincidence.

So, you know, there were times where you had some criticism of Joe Biden, his stance on abortion. There were some, I believe, some Catholic, at least priests, I don't know if it rose to the level of a cardinal, but there was some criticism or some concern about Joe Biden's political advocacy and how it conflicted with his faith. But it seemed to be on a lower level. Three cardinals speaking on 60 minutes is, I mean, how. How extraordinary and different and worrisome is that moment? Because like you said, the Pope should say, you know, we're not, I'm not foreending civilization. I would think any ecclesiastical leader would be well within their right to say that. Very popish. Very popish. But the three Cardinals on 60 minutes, that's a different ballgame, is it not? Yeah, so that was troubling for a number of reasons. But I think what troubled me the most, I'm a Catholic, and I got my start in Catholic media. The three bishops who were picked for 60 minutes are the three most liberal bishops in America. They do not represent the United States Catholic bishops. And you can see this play out in a number of ways. Consider, I think it was only four years ago, Archbishop Salvatore Corleone in San Francisco denied Nancy Pelosi communion over abortion. There are a number of very conservative bishops in America. And so for 60 minutes to take these three bishops as if they're representative of the entire American Catholic Church, it's just very dishonest. These are, these three, Supich, McElroy and the others escape my mind at the moment are always siding with the Democratic cause, no matter what it is in the moment. And they come out and say it in the press very openly. So I think it's just very, it's dishonest framing. And I would have loved to have seen 60 Minutes do something a bit more honest and bring on a few conservative bishops and see what they would have to say. But we know 60 Minutes has an agenda and they're not going to do that. Peter, in your opinion, obviously this, I'm thinking this is geared toward the midterm elections, get the Catholics upset on Donald Trump and it may help the Democrats gain even more seats. How important is the Catholic vote to both the Republicans and the Democrats as we head into the midterms? The truth is enormously important. And that's why I think this is such an enormous political story as much as it's a different kind of story, as much as it's a regular new story. In terms of politics, the Catholic vote is America's swing vote right now. And I'm not just saying that as a Catholic hoping to aggrandize my own people. In the Midwest, in the swing states, Donald Trump's victory was delivered.

by swing state Catholics, mostly Hispanic swing state Catholics. You can see in the data, in the last few weeks the election, swing state, Hispanic Catholics swung heavily toward Trump. And there are a lot of reasons for that. We've talked a lot in the past about why those voters found a home with Trump. But they are not solid Trump conservative voters. They will swing back. And if the impression that is made by the White House, if they make the impression that we are against the Pope, it's not a good political position for the president to be in with these specific voters. Now, there doesn't need to be a mass exodus of Catholic voters away from Trump for it to make a huge difference. Trump likes to talk about his landslide victory in 2024, and it was a very big electoral victory. But in these swing states, it wasn't a landslide. If you lost 5 or 10% of these swing Catholic voters, that could doom you. And I see it in JD Vance's face the last few days in his interviews, he seems grimly aware of this fact that he needs these voters who maybe don't pay attention to the news as much as everyone else and who, you know, maybe are just working on impressions. They see Trump. calling out the Pope, they see Trump saying the Pope is weak and they don't like that. And there's no way they can like that. So politically, it just feels like a loser. So touching on that, so enormously important, they are the swing boat. You've convinced me. So you quote Sun Su in here and I'll paraphrase. If someone's got a bad temper, you know, poke them. Make them mad. Okay. And so that would be a David Axelrod strategy of which they have done and Trump has responded. So my question is, do you think it's working? Do you think that there is a swing vote of an enormously important swing vote of faithful Catholics that Trump has lost? Or do you think they're still in play for the president? Right now, you know, a year in politics is a very long time. We're seven months away from the midterms. It's a very long time. But I would be hard-pressed to think of a worse medium moment right now for Trump for those particular voters. who maybe weren't sold on the maggot agenda, but saw him as the better alternative to Kamala Harris, who was abysmal on every level. And they found a home with Trump, but maybe we're a bit uncomfortable with some of the rhetoric. It's hard to think of a worse political moment for him with those voters. And that's what made me think Axelrod had something to do with this. David Axelrod is a genius at framing the narrative. I mentioned in the piece he probably cut out the clipping of Trump's true social post against the Pope and put it in a frame and hung it on the wall right next to the Bain Capital opposition research that he came up with against Mitt Romney that got Mitt Romney to say, no, corporations are people too, my friend. He has this way of putting his opponents on their back foot. And if David Axelrod got him to the popes here and said, you know, if you just come at him a little harder, maybe we can get him launching missiles at you, and that's not going to go well for him. And man, it looks like that's exactly what's happened. And I hope for the president's sake and for the Republicans' sake that we get past this episode of back and forth with the Vatican as quickly as possible. Because it's just, it's hard to see how Trump wins this.

It's hard to see how this does anything but damage to him. As part of our Listenback Friday segments, conversation we had earlier this week with Peter Laughan, senior editor at the Washington Examiner. Well, that does it for us on this Friday evening. We like to wish you all a great, great weekend. Head up, shoulders back. May God bless you and your family, this great concert of ours. Be safe out there this weekend. Greg and I will be back on Monday. We'll talk to you then. Bubba Wallace here from 2311 racing. On the track, my car's look is everything, but today I'm talking about more than just paint schemes. I'm talking about my favorite games at Chumba Casino. Check out exclusives like Stampede Fury and my own King Crock Theory. It's just as wild as my car looked in Texas. With over 200 games and new ones weekly, play for free at chumbacasino.com. Let's Chumba. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law, 21 plus, terms and conditions apply.