The Rod and Greg Show: America's Division Deeper than Politics; Affordability Crisis is Reshaping the Middle Class

There's a great basketball game, by the way, going on down where you are. Utah State involved in the NCAA tournament playing Villanova right now, 6665 Utah State. Good game. Speaking of basketball, how excited were you that your Longhorns beat BYU? That was like a, that was a... two for you because you're a Utah fan, so you must have loved that. That must have been heaven. You know, and an alum from, you know, Texas. I wonder if people realize that that's probably the last game, AJ DePonza is going to play for the Cougars. Yeah. Yeah, probably. He'll turn pro. He's a heck of a player. Well, he's going to make a lot of money, I think. You think? Yeah, probably so. Yeah. It's going to be good for him. We have got a lot to get to today coming up. We're going to be talking about how, you know, what the media is doing in its coverage of the war with Iran. I mean, it's quite an amazing story. A little bit later on, remember Doge? Remember when Donald Trump came into office for a second time, introduced Elon Musk and Doge, and they were sharing with the American people the waste and, you know, the abuse that was taking place in the government and everybody, you know, Doge led almost every newscast for several weeks, right? What's happened to it? Yeah, what's happened to it? Yeah, there is a rest of the story, almost a Paul Harvey rest of the story to be told there. It'll be good. Yeah, and there's a survey out that we can talk about today as well, Greg, showing that it's done by Pew and it shows that many Americans think their neighbors are morally bad. I always thought we were a good country. Yeah, I was really surprised by this poll that more than half of America deems Americans to be immoral. It's very judgy or things are getting ugly out there and people are kind of pointing everywhere. But I think it's an immoral or evil minority that's pushing a loud agenda. I think I have all the confidence in the world and the American people. I think America is still... sea to shining sea full of good people. Yeah, I agree with you. I think there's still a lot of goodness in America, and it will be a great country as long as that goodness persists. I want to start off the show today. I got the news early this morning that Chuck Norris passed away at his home in Hawaii at the age of 86 today. I know you're a big, a lot of people out there, including yourself, Craig. Big Chuck Norris fans. Oh, am I ever? I loved the movies. I was a kid. I shouldn't be watching those movies when I was a kid. But my grandma, she took me to Chuck Norris movies. I watched all of them. He was, you know, he was Walker, Texas Ranger as well. I don't know. It might be news to people that when Chuck Norris does pushups, he really doesn't push his body up. He just pushes the earth down. I don't know if you know that. I did not know that. He also, he can kill two stones with a bird.

Have you known that about Chuck Norris and killed two stones with a bird? I did not know that. And he is the only guy I know that can slam a revolving door. That's it. That takes skill to slam a revolving door. Passed away. Yeah, that's Chuck Norris for you. Yeah. Passed away today at the age of 86 years old. The president issued a statement in a real good relationship with Donald Trump. I can see that. I think that, you know, President Trump loves combat sports, always has. You know, he was a big fight promoter, you know, in his casinos back in the 80s. And that's how I got to know Mike Tyson. But Chuck Norris was a accomplished martial artist in competition as well before his movie star days. So. I think he was even in some of the Bruce Lee movies. Yeah, I think he was. I think he fought Bruce Lee, as a matter of fact. So, Chuck Norris, passing along today at the age of 86 today. One other note before we talk about this story involving poor Sarah Bernie Sanders. It was announced today. Changes are taking place in the news landscape, Greg. And it was announced today that CBS is shutting down CBS News Radio. Which have been, you know, I mean, think about Edward R. Murrow, Charlie Osgood, Dave Ross, Walter Cronkite, all these great journalists who used to work for CBS News Radio, no more. They're shutting it down after, I think it's 100 years. It's pretty amazing. Yeah, I actually, I knew there was, I saw the headline where there was going to be 15% cuts across the board in their newsrooms, but I did not know that CBS Radio. Yep. gone, I was going to be discontinued. Gone. Pretty amazing. All right, let's start off. This poor lady, Greg, and I really like her. I've never met her. I don't know if you have. We're talking about Sarah Mike Huckabee Bernie Sanders. Of course, she is the daughter of the former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee. She is now the governor of Arkansas, served in the president's first term as his press secretary, I think, did a great job. And now this story coming out of Arkansas, where for a second time, this is the second time this has happened to her. She's in having a, I guess, a lunch or a dinner with a couple of friends. And the restaurant asked her to leave because she was making some of their employees uncomfortable because of her conservative policies. You know, this is, this is, you know, remember the left always preach tolerance. You need to be tolerant of people and, you know, lifestyles that you don't subscribe to tolerance, tolerance, tolerance. And now I think there is no greater collection of intolerant, hateful people than those on the left that are on the far left. I mean, it is unbelievable that this, she is the governor of the state of Arkansas and she is. treated this way and asked to leave the restaurant because of her politics. She's the governor. I don't know how you can escape having a political rudder in the water. And you got elected by the people of Arkansas. So how on earth in Little Rock, Arkansas, they could treat their governor that way. You've got to be, again, I just think that derangement syndrome has just run so deep.

And I don't think it's the majority or a large swath of America, but boy, the ones it hits, they are just nasty people. Well, this is what she said. This, she described Greg what happened. She said last week, I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the state police executive protection detail and said that my president, my presence, made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave. She went on to say, Arkansasans are known for their warm hospitality. And while that restaurant certainly does meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansas up, not tearing others down with discrimination and in hate. And her office has confirmed it. As a matter of fact, they had lunch. Apparently. We're into a lunch about an hour, hour and a half. We're nearing the completion of the lunch. That's when the owner of the restaurant went up to the state police detail and asked if they, in fact, could leave. Now, the restaurant itself basically put out a statement today, Greg, saying when they first, when she first arrived with her other friends. people, they were surprised and uncertain as to how to best respond. How do you best tell somebody get out of your establishment? And he went on to say by the time we entered the dining room, she was already seated and eating. At that point, we chose not to interrupt, expecting that the party would complete their meal and depart without issue. The restaurant says at the time went on, the governor's security tale became more widely noticed by both employees and questions. And apparently, as they were leaving the restaurant, Greg, One of the employees shouted an obscenity toward the governor and made an obscene gesture. I tell you what, people in Arkansas should never go to that restaurant again. Well, look, man, you've got to be able to treat people like human beings. I mean, it is just so beyond the pale that it's down to this. And I think that, again, this is not both sides of them, okay? Don't tell me that this is happening on the right. Don't tell me that we haven't had that we go and kick. politicians out of, you know, restaurants we don't like. And it just doesn't happen. It is, this is a unique, you know, mind virus that the left has, the far left has. And it is why I think they are alienating themselves from every normal person who wouldn't even have subscribed or thought they were a Republican, but have just basically been set aside or jettisoned from the Democrat party or even wanting to vote for a Democrat because, because of this type of behavior. It's just so. It's mean. It's, it's, it's, they, they bully you. They, if you don't subscribe to their worldview, you're the one with the moral failing or the intellectual failing. It's a. You know, it is, when you talk about how far the left is gone, it makes sense why they don't want the Save America Act to pass and why they want the illegals to vote because they got to go get a voting base because they've alienated this country. I don't think they have the math to win if they keep digging that hole they're in. So they have to try and usher in a voting block that can keep them in some version of power. And I just think, I don't understand it. I've seen campaigns elections my whole life, this whole.

politics by subtraction just it doesn't make sense to me yeah neither and this the second time it's happened to her isn't it i mean when she served as press secretary her and her family were having uh dinner at a i think the place was called the red hen in a suburb of washington and they asked her to leave what is she done to them i know and she's and she's a public servant she's you know she was press secretary for trump in his first term but she's she's the governor of arkansas i mean are you kidding me I don't know what kind of clientele they have at that restaurant that the governor of Arkansas eating at their place was so offensive to them. But yeah, I'm with you. Oh, is it? If I live in Little Rock, I leave. E. Ray just told me he dug into this restaurant. I think it's called the Croissantier or something like that owned by two lesbians. Well, you know what? It sounds French. Always French. All you have to tell me is it's French. Case closed. You know, those French tanks, they only go in reverse. Yeah, I know. That's the only direction you go. You'd love to make fun of the French. Oh, my goodness. I wouldn't even go. You know, Shaman's governor Bernie Sanders, we've been going to a French restaurant. I don't know what she was thinking. I could have called that one. All right. We've got a lot to get to today. Later on, Greg, wait to you hear. what a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for president had to say about his own party. You will laugh at this one. That's coming up a little bit later on in the show. Great to be with you on this Friday afternoon, Rod and Greg on Utah's Talk Radio 1059. KNRS. Saudi Arabia says it may step in if Iran continues to attack the various oil and gas refineries there in the in the Strait of Hormuz. Others are stepping up now, Greg. There appears to be some growing support that, you know, the Iranians are not going to give up. So, you know, I'm thinking about that. We're just going to have to take it out. I don't know what that means, but they aren't going to give up anytime soon. You know, and look, I think this is a great segue into our next interview because you listen to the regime media. They think that Iran somehow had us on the run, that they are somehow putting up some kind of big fight. I don't think it's, it comports with reality. I think that if you were in a fight and you got your nose a little bit bloody, but you beat the guy unconscious, the little bit of blood on your nose is a small price compared to. the whooping you just gave. And I think that that's what America looks like right now with Iran. I don't think Iran's doing all that great. So, you know, I think that you've got to finish that job and not leave them in a position where they could recover. Well, joining us on our newsmaker line to talk about how the media and the Democrats are treating this story is Chris Tremalia, Christopher Tremalia. He is a commentary writer at the Washington Examiner. We've had Chris on before. Always a great guest. Chris, how are you? Welcome back to the Rod and Greg Show. Hey guys, how's it going? Thanks for having me. Going well. You report on a new study, I guess what was done by the Institute for the Study of War, taking a look at this conflict right now. What are you seeing or what is it saying, Chris? So the Institute of Study of War does, you know, foreign policy analyses on different events, geopolitical events going through the country. It's done a lot of analysis for the Russia-Ukraine War. I wouldn't even say it's a...

think tank that's very sympathetic to President Trump. It pretty much is a nonpartisan. It gives its objective opinion. And as we've all witnessed for the past few weeks, the Democrats and legacy media have basically been ripping the Operation Epic Fury and criticizing it and kind of positioning it as if not just outright saying it hasn't been successful. Senator Chris Murphy has been a big opponent and critic of the war and blasted President Trump in the war efforts. And their rhetoric and their ideas don't match reality. And the Institute of the study of war does a study which showing that and they specifically say that their war efforts has been, you know. positive and we're not getting an accurate representation from the left on what's going on in a war. And it's just, I mean, it's typical as part of the course for anything that President Trump seems to do these days or has ever done, you know, during either of his terms in his political career. But it's just doing a complete disservice to the American people and not giving them that they're doing like this negative. rabid toxic propaganda against the war efforts. And it's like they're almost rooting against America to succeed here for their own radical political agenda. And it's just, it's bad. It's hard. And then people need to get against it. You know, it seems so obvious to me because there's not a single moment of that since this Iran engagement began that they haven't had some interpretation of the glass half half empty or worse. But what would they want to see that they would think would be a resounding success? Their Navy's gone. I mean, their missile silos. I mean, I just, everything that I'm seeing would sound like success to me in terms of this engagement. But what would ever make a Democrat have satisfied in a Trump administration in terms of victory? Is there such a definition that exists? That would be the most impossible question to ask. I was waiting. I thought it was tough. You mentioned the glass being half full. I don't think they, I think they like swatted the glance off the table and shattered it. I mean, you know, no matter what Trump does here. I mean, if you're listening to all the reports, you know, you could have your reservations about going into Iran and the Middle East and the war, and people have made that. But if you're looking at the efficiency so far as we stand today. from when the war began to now, I mean, we're doing a, the military is doing a wonderful job and an efficient job. And the thing that the Institute for Study War notes is that as of today, you know, as this was actually a few days ago, was the March 15th that came out. So it's about five days old now. But during the report, they were like counting that things can change, but objectively you can't say that things are going bad, as Democrats have been saying. I mean, this is the, it's like, you know, they'll knock out their, There are drone launchers, their ballistic missile capabilities, Navy military, and Democrats say, oh, this is going terribly. There's no plan. And everything you find out that Democrats have been saying, I've not necessarily been the truth. They're putting out this stuff. They're getting their accomplices in the legacy media to broadcast this, and they're basically brainwashing and indoctrinating the American public to try to get them to believe that this is being a failed operation. And as of right now,

It's not, and there's no way you can actually say that. Yeah, Chris, it's been... I don't want to chat at that glass, no, that half class myself after all this. You know, because it's blind. Chris, you've heard it said before you can't unsee what you've seen. You can't unhear what you've heard. Are the American people seeing the success we have, or is it being shaded by the reports of the legacy media is saying it's not going as well as the administration is saying? Um, I think it's honestly, and objectively, I would say probably a little bit of both. Um, and my, my concern is that it shouldn't even be that way. It should be just so like, hey, you could be not be in favor of this if you're talking to like a critic or opponent or detractor, but you can't acknowledge the reality of the facts of the success that it has so far. And that's my main thing with this is you want to criticize should we be doing it? Okay, that's fine. You're bright as American. But when you're misrepresenting facts and the data and trying to influence the public to persuade them to vote for your beliefs by lying, that's a huge red flag and that shouldn't happen. And it goes to show when President Trump called legacy media the enemy of the people, it's because of things just like this. They're not being honest. Like, be honest. Tell the American people what's going on. Tell them the success. Let them decide for themselves. Don't try to brainwash them as if this is like, you know, the Stalin network from the 1950s Soviet Union. Yeah, yeah. Chris, as always, great chatting with you. Appreciate your work on this. And I know we'll be speaking again. Have a nice weekend. Thank you. Take care. Take care, guys. All right. Thanks. All right. That's Christopher Tramalia. He is a commentator-writer at the Washington Examiner talking about the legacy media and the Democrats line to the American people about progress in Iran. More coming up with Rod and Greg on Talk Radio 105-9, KNRS. Correct and accurate in our commentary. At least we try. We have a great listener who reached out and kind of corrected me. I had my facts wrong. Oh, oh. What did you do now? What'd you do? The French tanks, they only have one gear. It's reverse. It turns out that they actually have, these French tanks have five gears. One through four go in reverse. And in case, they're attacked from the rear, they have one gear that will actually go forward. I was wrong. I correct the record. officially you know we have this we have the smartest most intelligent listeners out there don't yeah i that that whole forward gear in case you get attacked from behind i didn't i didn't realize but it makes perfect sense i of course you know that's maybe that was a newer version maybe the old versions just went reverse and once they realize they could get beat from all angles they actually did throw a forward gear in there in case you know they can run the other direction yeah yeah interesting all right um There was a report. We talked about this earlier this week on the show that Donald Trump has now reduced the federal workforce by 10%. I think his goal was much larger than that. Remember when Doge came on, the second time he came president of the United States, story after story about the abuse and the fraud and the money that the American people are wasting or our government is wasting. You know, and you think, what if Doge and Elon Musk, and you brought this up before, wouldn't have been attacked?

the way they were. And we're allowed. And we're allowed to go out, go about doing what they were trying to do in reducing the size of government. I mean, what might have been, Greg, if they were allowed to continue to doing the great work that I thought they were doing? Well, and you had Congress that had a Doge committee. They were all excited about it. And all of a sudden, you saw that nobody wanted, they like printing money. Yep. They like how that money gets washed. I think the USAID has been diminished. in a serious way, I know they're trying to litigate it, but I think that was a nightmare that was exposed. But, you know, I do think that we lost some momentum there, but it is still, Doge still does exist. It does, it does. Well, joining us on our newsmaker line, let's find out how expensive Doge is right now. Mark Hemingway is the senior writer for real clear investigations, have been taking a look at this. Mark, thanks for joining us. What, in fact, has happened to Doge? Well, there's a couple of things. I mean, one is that, you know, I think honestly for an agency that just started, they imbued it with almost too much power. At one point, like almost every bit of government spending was actually supposed to be filtered through Doge, and they just didn't have the capability of handling that. But the other thing was simply that the left turned it into such a massive target. The New York Times ran a story last summer. It was just unbelievable. They literally published the picture of every person working at Doge. It's just impossible to imagine, like, the New York Times running a story saying that, you know, a huge percentage of American students can't read a grade level. Here's a picture of everyone in the Department of Education. So, you know, they painted a big target on their back. But the thing is, you know, as I learned from talking to people, those didn't go away. A lot of those people working for Doge just got scattered at different agencies, and they've been doing really good work ever since. You know, here's something that you, I was glad to see in the article that you wrote that Doge has not disappeared. They maybe, they don't have the same profile or maybe even the same responsibility of making sure the money is delivered, but they are still looking at the receipts. They're still looking at things and identifying fraud or waste or abuse. It says, they asked, did you use technical AI or is there some building, some tool that you use to be able to trace it? And he's like, now so much of what needs fixing is simply just a matter of accountability. and common sense here's an innovative approach if someone's entitled to something based on a status like income check that income to see if that's what they actually make you could save a hundred billion dollars a year just doing that it's really sounds like nobody's watching the till out there at all is that what is that what we can safely conclude That's exactly right. You know, when I talked to Sam Corkos for this story, he is the CIO chief information officer at Treasury. And he started out at Doge, and now that he's at Treasury, I mean, obviously the Treasury Department oversees a huge amount of government spending us where all the payments are funneled through. And he told, you know, he's a, you know, a really interesting guy. And he has real serious business experience in Silicon Valley. You know, and that's exactly what he told me. He's like, you know, look, no, I'm not using machine learning or. AI to root out this fraud. It's like basic business sense. And that's the thing is, you know, he comes from a world of business where, you know, he had to make, you know, numbers add up when he was running companies in Silicon Valley. It's not necessarily a high-tech operation. Although there is some of that going on. You know, a lot of what's going on is there are modernizing payment systems and things like that to make them harder to gain in the first place.

But, yeah, he told me, he's like, look, you know, very often what it is, is, you know, I've got two numbers in front of me, and one is ten times larger than the other, so it's probably fraud. Mark, Mark, at the height of Doge, everybody was talking about it. But now you hear very little about it, especially in the legacy media. Is that an indication that legacy media feels, and the establishment feels they've defeated Doge, so we don't have to talk about it anymore? I think that's part of it. The other thing, though, is simply that that's by design. You know, like I said, they had such a target on their backs that they, you know, deliberately made the choice to kind of go underground, you know, different Doge employees got embedded at, you know, different cabinet agencies and things like that, rather than having all of these people centralized in one place that could be scrutinized. Instead, you have, you know, like the chief technology officer at the Health and Human Services. is a former Doge employee, and he's the guy that released all of the Medicaid data publicly about Medicaid spending. After we kept seeing all these fraud numbers coming out of Minnesota, and there was now a congressional investigation in Medicaid spending in Oregon, and these other places where public scrutiny of this information would be really helpful. And it's a Doge guy that was able to very quickly gather that information and release it publicly. And now we see the Wall Street Journal's done some investigations in the Medicaid fraud based on this data. in addition to a lot of online sluice, and it's having a real impact. And I'm not sure any conventional government employee, you know, civil servant, let alone political appointee, you know, in previous administrations, would have been capable of saying, oh, well, here's a story in the news. I'm going to get out this data, and we're going to have some transparency about it and do it really quickly and efficiently and the way that everybody could use. That is someone who was working with, who previously started at Doge, who understood the mission. So here's my question. So we're 36, was it, 36 trillion in debt? You know, trillion here, a trillion there. I can't keep track. But whatever it is, it's unsustainable. There's nothing in human history that signals you can keep printing money at the rate the United States is at the moment, and it ever ends well. If everyone is married to what they appropriate and they don't want to cut a dime, I would think that waste, fraud, and abuse would be maybe the lowest hanging fruit where it would be bipartisan. It is not. Does that mean that people are profiting wrongly because they can't even get to the waste or the fraud of what is being spent, but we don't want to, you know, do anything about the deficit either? I think that's exactly right. You know, blue cities and states, it's become pretty clear, for instance, part of the reason why we have a homeless problem and it keeps getting worse in a lot of places is because there's this homeless industrial complex in places like, you know, California and Oregon and, you know, lots of very prominent, progressive, you know, governed places. You know, there's literally, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars going at the door to fund, you know, those people are supposedly solving. the crisis and cutting off that funds, cutting off those funds would reduce the kickbacks that are coming in to elect the same people that are handing out the money to solve homelessness. And you see this in Medicaid, you see this in all kinds of issues now where we've just created this sort of, you know, federal leviathan that is funding a lot of this stuff that's happening at the local level. And I think that cutting it off at the federal level, um,

so that states don't have, you know, all kinds of Medicaid money and federal funds that are being, you know, cycled into these local programs would do a lot to reduce corruption. Unfortunately, the biggest driver of government spending is entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. And there seems to be a bipartisan consensus that is politically toxic to cut those. And so in terms of reducing the deficit, I don't know how that's going to be fixed. But in terms of fraud, waste, and abuse. I do think that cutting off the spending at the federal level, like we look at how autism clinics, for instance, have been popped up out of nowhere in the last five years. You know, if we can cut that off at the federal source, that it's going to reduce a lot of local and state corruption that will make our politics much, much better because it's corrupting the democratic process itself. Mark, thank you. What might have been, Greg, if Doge would have been allowed to do its job. Interesting to see today, wouldn't it? Well, I'm still burning a candle for those guys. I think they still have, they're still identifying fraud. There's still things they're doing. But I do think that there's a lot, there's more low hanging fruit to grab, but I do think that they're still up and running, which is better than not. Yeah, that's true. A brand new Cadillac from Jerry Siner Cadillac for a couple months now. What one Democratic candidate, or possible candidate, I should say, for the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party in 28. What he has to say about his own party, you wait till you hear, and it's not John Fetterman, by the way, even though I would imagine John Fetterman would agree with this guy, but wait until you hear what he has to say. We'll talk about that and get some of your thoughts on that coming up following our news update at the top of the hour. The annual well-being research centers report on world happiness is out, Greg. What does it say? All right. You ready for this one? Who do you think is the happiest country in the world? Man, I would like it to be our country. Nah, Switzerland. We're 23rd. Yeah, Switzerland. Yeah, no, Finland. Well, what's Finland got? It sounds cold. It looks cold up there. Why are they so great? Sweden and Norway also rank in the top 10. Those Nordic countries. Yeah, what's that about? Maybe they stay inside a lot, you know? Got to keep warm. Maybe so. I mean, it is cold up there. Yeah, the United States ranks 23rd. We have the best quality of life in the world. It just goes to show. It doesn't, you know, it doesn't buy happiness, does it? Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have dropped significantly over the past several years. And I don't even recognize that country. I lived in that country of Australia. I don't even know what that thing looks like China now. Oh, Canada. All right. All right. What Democrats are saying about each other, you wait to hear this. Coming up next on the Roder & Great Show.

I just got a text from a junior who said that I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time that I should be in San Diego watching the big Cinderella story about these USU Aggies that just won't. Yeah, they beat Billanova. Yeah. Yeah. And they get to play Arizona. That won't be a treat. That'll be easy. That'll be an easy one down there. But the story right now, Greg, is after the game, you know, they always interview the coaches for some of the players. Oh, was this during the game? Apparently this was during the game, sometime during the game. And the coach of Villanova was interviewed by CBS News for his thoughts on the game so far. Listen to what he had to say. Coach, 16 paid points for Utah State. How do you keep him out? I'm going to fire my staff because we've given up eight points on underneath that of balance defense. So the only thing I'm going to do is father them and get a new staff. All right. Go do that now. Bye, Coach. This was a sideline interview during the game. They had really, I mean, Utah State had wiped out a big lead for Villanova. He was asked, what are you going to do, coach? He goes, I'm going to fire my staff. Well, it didn't get better from there. So I guess there's some pink slips getting delivered. Maybe some people are not allowed on the plane home. Villanova's outside of Philadelphia, so they got a long flight back home. Uh-oh. That's awkward. I've never heard a coach say that. Now, we'll see if he does it, but the beer of fact is he answers the question, what are you going to do? I'm going to fire my staff. Never heard that one before. That's a riot. Hey, you know, Variety Magazine, they just put out a post, you know, of course they would. Chuck Norris was a great action star, but politics may overshadow his legacy. This was posted on XX community note says Chuck Norris killed his shadow while shadow boxing. That's why you don't, you never see his shadow when he comes up behind you. Chuck Norris can never be overshadowed. I thought that's a very good community note. Appreciate the insight, the fact-checking. Yep, Chuck Norris didn't have a shadow, so you can't overshadow him. He killed his shadow when he was shadow boxing. And our good friend, Liz Peek, we love Liz. She's on the show quite often. She's awesome. I love Liz. Put out a post today. Apparently, Maisie Hirona, who is the senator from the great state of Hawaii, in hearings today about the funding. for the Department of Homeland Security because it shut down. I guess they're just having major problems at the various airports. Have you heard of any here, Greg? I mean, you've got to go through San Diego tomorrow. Have you heard of any here? No, and, you know, the problems began when I left in Salt Lake City. I got out without a hitch. I'm hoping tomorrow is going to be okay, but I've seen a lot of carnage going on around the country, so we'll see. Well, here's what's interesting about it. Herona basically said, we're all in favor of TSA and these other agencies. We just are not in favor of funding ICE. We don't want to give ICE a blank check. Yeah, we only give them a blame check. Well, guess what, Maisie? You already have.

ICE is funded. And as Lizzie, maybe you should do your homework. Yeah, do your job, get it done. They're funded until 2029, old ICE is. So we're not going to fund anything. We want to fund it all except for ICE. No, you already funded ICE. Like, this is where I worry that, you know, you have majority John Thune, who was quoted today saying that he believes that the Democrats, if they take control the Senate, will nuke the filibuster. And then you have this Democrat, Macy, who has no idea that ICE has been funded through 29. And our own Senator, Utah Senator John Curtis, told us last week when we spoke to him about the filibuster and about the Save America Act. I've gotten to know my Democrat colleagues and said they're very deliberative behind closed doors. And I really don't believe they're ever going to get rid of the filibuster. Has he met Senator Mazie? Have they had a conversation? I don't know that that's as deliberative of a body as he is saying it is when you hear comments like that made on the record. I think it's... I think it's an absolute guarantee that there is no filibuster that will exist if and when Democrats take power in the Senate. Yeah. Well, speaking of the Senate. Democrat Ruben Gallego. Okay, he's a Democrat from state of Arizona. Isn't he, Greg? I think so. I think so. He's been thinking about running for president. Well, apparently, he sat down and had a conversation with a good friend of his. They've known each other for a long, long time. And he said some amazing things that now his friend is sharing with people. Are you ready for these? He basically said that the Democratic Party today is the no fun party. Yeah. He trashed his own party as preachy scolds who don't let men be men. It's 100% true. I mean, is he just figuring this out now? I guess so. He said he was heartbroken that the exchange he had with a friend over the two decades was made public. Also lamented, I love this, Greg, that Democrats are no longer the party of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Yeah, I know. They're just, yeah, they're a party of something, but it's a family show, so I really won't elaborate. And he went on to say, now dem women look like them men, and them men look like them women. Jeez. This guy's having a field day. And my favorite, my favorite comment from this, apparently, he says, you know, we don't have any men in this party before. And I've been yelling at him all this time to get some men back into the Democratic Party. And he ended this, apparently. There was a meme that was texted about Representative Rosa DeLora. I think she's a Democrat out of Connecticut. Is she the one with a purple hair? I can't remember. But she's a top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. And the caption on it says, if erectile dysfunction had a face, this would be it. Ouch. Oh. Oh. No, he just goes on. It's Irma Gallego. Gallego, he's, I'm telling you right now, he's, he's correct, but you can't say that. I mean, I just, it doesn't, isn't there a Harrington poll that says that, that, and we heard this from Guy Sharaki, one of our, one of our, the columnist from Pennsylvania who said, he doesn't think that there's a pathway for John Fetterman to get the Democrat nomination in Pennsylvania, even though he's so wildly popular across the state, and even amongst Republicans by a large majority. The Democrat base and the Democrats, they don't support John Fetterman at all. And I think the Harry Enton poll showed that he's dropped like from a plus 60 to minus 40 or something like that. It's a 1008 point swing. against John Fetterman after his election. Here's Harry Anthony. I would just say that John Fetterman is doing as well with Pennsylvania Democrats as the New York Giants are as like in the state of Pennsylvania or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I mean, just look at this among Pennsylvania Democrats and that approval of John Fetterman. Back in 2023, he was a Democrat liberal darling. He was at plus 68 points. Look at how low he has fallen down to negative 40 points. He's down there with the Titanic among Democrats. in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And you know, put a comparison point on, you know, we always talk about how Chuck Schumer is not well liked by the Democratic base nationwide. Chuck Schumer has a net popularity rating of about minus two points. He is 38 points more popular than John Fetterman is with Pennsylvania Democrats. And I was also looking at Kristen Sinema, who of course ended up leaving the Democratic Party in Arizona. She was considerably more popular just before she shifted over than John Fetterman is at minus 40 points. John Fetterman lower than the Titanic. Now, you know, and it's crazy because he votes like a Democrat. Yeah, I mean, if he switched parties, if he switched parties, he'd be like a Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski on the Republican side if he were to, if he were to become a Republican, because he's, he really does vote like a Democrat, but the left is so insane about not being able to celebrate any American victory without regard to whether Trump was involved or not that his party does not like him. He can't secure.

The Democrat nomination, even though he votes over 90% of the time with Chuck Schumer, has 100% rating with AFL-CIO, one of our largest union organizations in America, and Planned Parenthood gives him 100%. The guy is at minus 40% approval amongst Democrats. Why? It's all style points. It's all style points. It's not the way he votes. It's that he's not harsh enough, mad enough. uh, a hostile enough for those Democrats. He shook the president's hand, uh, President Trump's hand at the State of the Union. That's how dare you do something like that? Shook a president's hand. Yeah. Imagine that. How dare. I just think it's crazy. Yeah. All right. We've got a lot more to get to when we come back. We'll talk about, uh, you know, apparently we are a morally bad people. According to a new survey, Greg, and we'll get into that coming up right here on the Rod and Greg show and Utah's Talk Radio 1059, KNRS. I want to open up the phones to you. We typically do on a Friday like this to let you weigh in on any of the big news of the week. 888-57080-1080-80-80 on your cell phone, dial pound 250 and say, hey, Rod, or leave us a message on our talkback line by downloading the I-Hart Radio app. And Greg, we wanted to discuss this because... You and I both believe, I think, in the goodness of Americans, right? You see it so often. You know, you see people contributing to charities. You see neighbors pitching in when another neighbors. I mean, there are dozens, if not more than that, of stories every day that come across our desks with great acts, people helping out each other, celebrating their success. That's why when we saw this survey, Greg, and we'll talk about it in the 6 o'clock hour as well with one of our guests. But apparently this new Pew Research survey, first time they've ever done this, found that American adults, Greg, are more likely than others to view their fellow citizens as morally bad with more than half agreeing the sentiment in the new survey. More than half of the American people view other Americans as being morally bad? I was very surprised by it. I think we give, I think we're pretty gracious. I think we give people the benefit of the doubt. We assume people are being honest when they speak. We don't assume everyone's a liar. That's how liars get away with lying is that everyone does assume you're being truthful. That's how it works. So I think the GoFundMe moments that you see some terrible tragedy that is shared and when people are made aware. There's some effort to try and help those that have been impacted, and you see those GoFundMe accounts move. And maybe that's in a large country like this anecdotal, but I don't think so. I think we are still a country of good, God-fearing, you know. conscientious people. I think the regular middle America is, is the great, it's, we are this great lone superpower in the world. It isn't because you just have the biggest guns. It's that this country is, is unbelievably good. And it gives everyone this, the opportunities and those opportunities bear fruit. And you have a country like ours. So I actually do believe in the everyday American, uh, more than I do. Certainly people in Washington and Congress, but even other countries around the world. I put my.

faith in and Americans, everyday Americans, all day. Well, here's some of the comments people are making about this survey, Greg, because I was bothered with it too. I still feel there is goodness in America. You may have to get out of some of the urban areas, but even in the urban areas, you'll find some goodness. And one of the analysts talking about this says, what we're seeing is really an increase in the lack of social trust. That's more frequently, Americans are living in communities where there's high levels of Americans who say they simply do not trust people around them. Yeah, again, I'm surprised by that. I think that if you live in a community, you live in a neighborhood, I would imagine we know our neighbors. We know, I mean, look, we're not doing the dinner parties every weekend or every night, but we know our neighbors. I mean, we, I quite enjoy my neighborhood. I, I am. I'm surprised by things like that. I'm surprised to hear that there's a general distrust going on amongst Americans. Now, I will say that the far, far left are a hateful bunch, really are. And I have avoided, you know, descriptions of evil and more, because it's always bothered me that Democrats leftists will always say, if you don't agree with their worldview, then you're the one with moral failing or intellectual failing. But, man, the things we're watching happen right now. I mean, I'm just looking at an article. Majority John Thune says that the Democrats don't want to open up Department of Homeland Security. Why? Because their base will get mad at them. And they would rather be unsafe. And they'd rather TSA airports be ground to a halt. And they want to raise the human misery, the misery index. And that's not moral. That's not good. That's bad. But that's not America. That is a far left fringe. movement that is just very loud and makes itself and then scares the Democrat politicians in the behaving the way they are. Well, a lot of people will think, Greg, that this is all the result of our political divide in this country today. And that's why we think, you know, those on the left think those of us on the right are bad and those of us on the right think those on the left are bad. You know, I wrestle with things sometimes, Greg. And I wonder how many people do because I know some very good people. They lean left, right. But when they come on, they say, we're in favor of abortion or we're in favor of boys going into a girl's bathroom. I'm going, I don't know how to judge that. I don't know. You run into that, probably more than I do. I don't know how to judge people based on their beliefs like that. Because I want to stand up and say, you're wrong. You know, I want to almost say you're morally wrong. I don't have a right to do that. But those are the things that really get to me sometimes. So when they talk about morally bad, I'm thinking, well, those people out there who are believing in things that I just feel are not right. The fiber in me says this is not right. I think that the, I think this leftist, elitist, far left, you know, base of the Democrat Party, but this movement of leftists and elitists and their and their regime media have left Americans with the impression that they're bigger and they're larger in number than they are. I think that the people you're describing are not the everyday people of America. I think that their agenda, the way they want to chemically and physically castrate children, the way they want to sexualize children, the way.

uh just the way they want to see america lose in a conflict uh against iran the way they don't want to see department of homeland security uh funded to protect uh people that live here and uh i i i don't think that is the everyday person i think it's the opposite i think they've just they have such a loud voice they have led us to believe maybe they're bigger than they are but they are an outlier They are certainly not the norm. And I think it's going to take some election cycles to prove that to be the case before these scared Democrats actually depart from the base. The base is, it wants to harm this country and tear down its institutions. And you don't have any Democrats in Congress other than save maybe John Fetterman. that is willing to push back against that. Yeah, yeah. Well, here, here, you could loosely tie that. Well, I think politics does play a role in this, Greg. But here we have, in this country today, we have Democrat after Democrat out there, right, Greg? Telling lie after lie after lie. Even like, even on the Save Act that married women. won't be able to register to vote. And on and on with lie after lie after lie. And that's where we're starting to say, can you not tell the truth? Are you so afraid to tell the truth that you lead me to believe because you don't? You are therefore morally a bad person. Well, like I said, I've resisted the term evil in the past, but I do think this movement is evil. And I don't think it's both sides-isom. But I don't, again, I think that they are not playing a game of addition. And I think anything in public policy or politics is an effort of addition. They're playing a game of subtraction. And I just have to believe that that's going to become pretty evident. Unless, again, the laws are shaped in a way where they can just go in. allow people to enter the country illegally to create, artificially create a voting block that they currently don't have. Yeah, yeah. Well, I want to ask that question, Greg. Let's open up the phones. 888-5708-0-10-10-on-your-all-pound-pound-250. Say, hey, Rod, or leave us a message on our talkback line by downloading the IHeart Radio app. Very simple question. Are the American people a morally bad people? Yeah, I again, defer to the collective wisdom of our listening audience. I'd like to hear what you say. The poll looks like that more Americans think that than not. What say you folks? I'd be curious to know if you think that if asked the question, are Americans morally bad? Would you say yes? More your calls are your calls and comments coming up on the Rod and Greg Show and Utah's Talk Radio 105.9, K&RS. I'm Roder K. And I'm Citizen Hughes. Question. laid before you, before the break was, are Americans morally bad? Yes or no? Curious to see what you, our listeners, think. Let's go to the phones. Let's go to Diane, who's been waiting in Riverton. Diane, thank you for holding, and welcome to the Rod and Greg Show. Thank you. I just wanted to say that I think there, I think we still have.

a large majority of very moral people in our country. You know, this trend from about being spiritual rather than being religious became popular and being popular is a little too important for a lot of people. And but I think that people do have most of them a good heart. And I see that around the world. I think most Russians are good. and would not like to live in such tyranny under such tyranny. And we see that in Iran, or 80% of the people or more would love to have freedom. Yeah. So you think, you think, Diane, we're a morally good people for the most part. I mean, there are a few stinkers out there, but for the most part, we're morally good. I think Americans are for the most part morally good. I do think that they are easily deceived and that we have deception going on just, you know, all over the place. It's hard to find a place where you can hear the straight up truth. That's true. But they're out there. They're out there. Look for it. You have to look for it. You're right, Diane. They are out there. I'm with Diane. I'm with Diane on that. You have to look for it sometimes. But there are people out there. You know, we live in a great state here, and a lot of people step up and help their neighbors. But we're not the only state where it happens. I've seen it in other states as well. People will help each other out. Yep, let's keep going on the phones here. Let's go to John and Murray. John, welcome to the Rod and Greg Show. Hey, how are you guys doing? We're doing well. Thank you, John. Thanks for asking. Yeah, I just think that, I mean, there's a lot of, quote, obvious evidence out there. Like, what country adopts more kids from other countries than the U.S.? That's a huge statement. Yeah. And then also what should be donates more money to other countries when they have fall on hard times. Yeah. So I think there's evidence there. And if you go look at. activities. I've never seen a more generous population than I've seen in different countries. I've even got a 35-year-old son-in-law that I told him I can teach him how to do commercial real estate, make more money than he would ever make as a doctor. But he told me that he wanted to go come a doctor, and so he joined the Navy, and he's in Okinawa. And now he's getting ready to go to Spain for three years. Wow. So, and after that, he wants to go. Good for him. Good for him. John, thank you. Thank you for sharing that story. I mean, you know, there are some really impressive young people out there. And I hope they don't get jaded and, you know, run out of town, so to speak, because of their beliefs. But they do step up and they do go after things. Well, I think that was a great example. A young man that can make a lot of money and do very well monetarily, but has that desire to serve, serve others, help people.

I don't think it'd be fun to be in Okinawa. I don't think it'd be fun to live overseas necessarily, but it's part of his journey that he wants to serve. And he ultimately would like to be a public servant. That's a good son-in-law, if that's what he's saying. Good for him. I do. I don't think that's anecdotal. I actually think that's America that we're talking about. Yeah. You know, years ago, Greg, and you were, you were just a young pup when they put out, but I remember this. There was a Canadian broadcaster. I can't remember his name, Gordon something. And he put a, he wrote a letter to America. And really a letter to the rest of the world that was very popular. I mean, he made like the top 40, right? But it talked about the goodness of America. America at that time was going through some very difficult things. We had Vietnam. We had, you know, monetarily, the economy wasn't looking very good. I mean, things were looking. pretty tough here in America. And he penned this open letter not only to America to the rest of the world. I think he just called it the Americans. And he talked about some of the things that our last caller just mentioned. You know, when it comes to a worldwide disaster, which country is the first one to usually step up? It's us, right? That's right. And, you know, he went down list after list of how the American people. have, you know, ever since we've been around, which will be 250 years here in July, how we have stepped up and helped people out. How often, when we've had a major disaster here, a hurricane, an earthquake, have you heard other countries come in and say, what can we do for you America? You don't hear very often. So is there goodness here? You bet there is. Yeah, I heard a comedian once talk about the most humbling moment. It was a serious story, but he had a funny way to describe it. These communities in Oklahoma are a place where you're susceptible to tornadoes. And these tornadoes just rip through. And they go to the person, and their home is in rubble. And they say, the camera crews come, and they're just picking up literal pieces of what used to be their home. And they say, what are you going to do? And they look at the camera and they go, we're going to rebuild. We're going to rebuild. I mean, they're just right. They're ready to go. Right then and there. And that's a, that is the American might. I think it's a, it's a grit and I think it's real. And I do. I would not discount or let the leftists who want to degrade this country and attack it. And so on so many fronts, allow us to believe that we are not a good people that genuinely want to do right by each other, our families. Our God, I just think, I think that is America. I really do. Yeah, I do too. All right. And we'll talk a lot about it in the coming months as we get ready to celebrate 250. More coming up on the Rod and Greg show in Utah's Talk Radio 1059, KNRS. The March Madness Tournament is underway, so I think of people heading home trying to get a little more basketball in tonight. So I'll be home tomorrow. ERA. Is the weather going to be good? Yeah, ERA is here. I'm here. Abby is here.

And I think that's about it. No, we may have an engineer or two around. Yes. So. Well, the office is empty. I hope the weather holds this weekend. Oh, it will. I hope it is. Yeah, it will. Because I've been spoiled all week long with beautiful weather. You have been. And I've given you all these great places to eat and you don't eat at them. Man, I'm like rain man. Have you seen the movie? I got certain things. I got certain routines. I got places I go. I don't go outside of that. I just like to stay right there, right in that lane. Good for you. Well, here's a comment. One of the stories we've talked about today, if you aren't aware of it, is that the governor of Arkansas, Sarah Mike Huckabee Bernie Sanders, yet again was kicked out of a restaurant. This time in her home state of Arkansas. The owner of the restaurant went up to her and said, our employees are uncomfortable with you being here. Would you mind leaving? This is after she had lunch and paid for it and gave the employees a tip, but they still asked her to leave. Well, remember it happened a couple years ago in Washington, D.C. Here's a follow-up on it. Hey, guys. I believe if you look. That first restaurant she went to and there was that whole toss-up. I believe that restaurant went out of business now. So. You know, in the end, they paid the ultimate price. Yeah, we'll have to see what happens in Arkansas. I think that place was called like the Red Hand or something like that back in Washington. Wasn't it great? That's a dead hen now, sounds like. That place is history. Let me tell you, this is French restaurant. I don't even know how you get a French restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. You've got to kick that place to the curb. Of course, it's some she-she think they're more important than they are types. tell the governor of your own state to leave your premise i can't i hope that there is a a consumer consequence for that kind of behavior and i i'm not kidding if it were a democrat governor i'd still find it to be completely over the top yeah yeah well but a business doesn't have a right to serve who they want to serve do please over politics go ahead go down that road i guess i'm just bringing this up but they do no shoes no shirts no service no republicans Yeah, no shoes, no shirt, no Republicans. No service, no conservatives. Try that out. See how that works. Yeah, that's what working is kind of crazy. All right, we've been talking this past hour about the survey, which finds out the people in America are morally bad, or that's what they think of each other. We're going to be talking with somebody who has analyzed that and share more information on that coming up. And don't forget, our Listenback Friday segment is coming your way in our number three as well, right here on the Rod and Greg Show in Utah's Talk Radio. 1059, the NRS. It's been fun. It's been fun to be on the road. I haven't done this before, you know, to be here at the IHeart Station here in San Diego, but it's been a good week. Yeah. And you survive California.

The left coast, yeah, the gas is trying to rob me so I can't even afford to get home. I might have to hitchhike back to Utah because the gas prices here. They're just breaking the bank. Yeah. Well, hopefully you can get to the airport tomorrow to catch a flight back. Hopefully you've got enough fuel to do that. Yeah, and I hope that the TSA, I hope I have happy TSA people. Oh, that's right. That's right. Yeah, you've got to deal with TSA. That could be joyous. All right, final hour of the show. We were talking before this hour, Greg, about this Pew Research Survey, about Americans we likely see each other as morally bad. I've got some issues with that, Greg, because I think for the most part there are a lot of good American people out there. shocked by this poll is what I was. I mean, look, I mean, I know there's a minority of people that are pretty radical, but I was very surprised by the poll. I think the saying that America is great because America is good. And if she ceases to be good, she'll cease to be great. I think we're still a good people and a good nation. So I look forward to this discussion. Well, let's talk about this discussion as a result of a new survey done by Pew Research about morally bad Americans. Joining us on our any-hour newsmaker line right now is J.P. DeGans, he is founder and president of Communio joining us? Let's talk about this, JP. I mean, is it more than just politics? Because I understand the political issue here, but it's more than just politics. Yeah, there's a lot more going on than politics alone, I think. Now, you're referencing this Pew, this really stunning Pew research that showed that 25 nations were surveyed. The United States was the only one where a majority of the respondents. felt that their fellow countrymen had bad morals. Now, so I think some of that, there might be some gap in self-reflection on some of those countries, but I think there's obviously a huge, huge element of truth to this. And fundamentally, morals are formed in the home, right? And so we've had a, gosh, last 60 years, a major decoupling of sex from marriage, marriage from parenting, parenting from partnering. And the United States now leads... Planet Earth, it leads the developed world in the highest number of single-parent-headed households, right? And the reality is, is we are formed in our, morally, we're formed by mom and dad. And on average, you know, a dad who's not married to the mother of his children is unlikely to be resident and less likely to be involved. And there's something kids lose there. They lose. uh... the complimentary uh... blessing that comes from having a both mom and dad forming them in different ways and that that undermines faith practice we know we published it our own study nationwide study in faith and relationships you the practice of going to church regularly is heavily tied your family of origin eighty percent of everybody sitting in the pews under the age of sixty in america

grew up in an intact home, and that holds regardless of age. And so as the families become unwound, we've become less connected to our houses of worship. And it was the church that would come alongside the family to form our morals as well. And that's become far less common. So on both levels, that's also fueling, of course, what you noted, our political discourse, right? Our politics is heavily sorted by marriage, family of origin. In church practice, it's now been talked about what they call the God gap in voters. And you can sort heavily based on it. So you're seeing that. We're becoming a lower and lower trust society as a result. So everything you said is intuitive. It looks familiar, sounds familiar to me. But I go back to Doakville, it said, you know, America is great because America is good. And if she ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. And then I look at maybe it's too anecdotal, but you look at these GoFundMe accounts that if some tragic. tragic story happens or plays out, people donate and they want to help people. And you see this generosity that seems to surface when there's a sad or some tragedy that struck. And then you see the, I feel like since Charlie Kirk's terrible assassination in Utah, there's been almost a revival, especially amongst young people, about evoking the Savior or God and maybe a resurgence of church attendance. Am I seeing that correctly? Is that just what I want to see? Because I'm very surprised by this. No, no. Look, I think both things can be true, right? Both things can be true at the same time. The reality is, is there's a lot of good about our country still. And I still think fundamentally the greatest nation on earth, we're the most charitable, right? We remain the most charitable nation in our private giving. Amongst the developed world, we were near the top in terms of regular church attendance. We're much higher rates of church attendance than anywhere else in Western Europe except maybe Ireland. And certainly, I think Poland is also a bit ahead on average. So there's a lot of good going on here. Tocqueville, I think it's good that you brought up democracy in America. our unique commitment to marriage as a huge part of what made us different. That he saw in the European home a source of strife. And that strife, actually, there's a lot of evidence that the French family became unwound and that fueled the French Revolution. And I reference Mary Eversat's work on that. The U.S. had really strong homes. And as a consequence, we learned how to self-govern. You know, no government fashioned a civilization in the Americas. Settlers came, pilgrims came, built and crafted civilization out of wilderness. And you could only get there through strong moral commitments and self-discipline.

And so that's still there in a lot of ways. It's just become significantly undermined, right? So we can say we can simultaneously recognize what's still good about our country, but then be concerned about a lot of what's happened. I think there's reason to be, you know, not a doomer on a lot of levels, one of which is religious non-affiliation. grew consistently for about 40 years, starting in the late 80s, and mid 80s. And it is, over the last four years, stopped growing. And that is itself, like, really significant, right? This is a trend. And so that's leveled. I think those who are in church, who are young, are showing up. on average, more frequently to their houses of worship than older generations? It is kind of a key nuance. It doesn't mean there are more young people in church than older people. It means those who are young and who are in church are showing up more frequently, on average, more frequently each month than their old, than Gen X. And so there's a lot of, I think, some seeds that you can see starting to... to grow to see that there might be a revival in the future. I don't, I think we should be cautious. We shouldn't spike the football and say, there's a revival happening. And that may, look, that's up to God. And he can, he can, he can raise believers up from stones. But right now, there's a lot of good, there's still a lot of a good here. And I want to say that survey, you know, Mexico, if you look at Mexicans. on that survey, very many, a vast majority felt that their co-fellow countrymen had good morals. There's widespread public corruption there. There's widespread violence through the cartel wars. And so you have to, that's why I also say there should be a grain of salt in how any country is self-reflecting. On our newsmaker line, J.P. Gansp. Founder and president of Communio talking about morally bad people. Some interesting numbers in there, Greg, but maybe we shouldn't be surprised. I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't. And look, JP put a positive trajectory on it. Yes, he said, you know, he did point out the things that we also believe about this country. So I think that the poll's surprising, but I do think we've got of any country. Yeah. the foundation to keep the dream alive. We've got good people in this country for sure. All right, more coming up. It is the Friday edition of The Rodding Greg Show right here on Utah's Talk Radio, 1059 CanterS. I think we mentioned this on the air yesterday, maybe not, but I saw this huge line of cars trying to get into a local dairy queen that we have there in Caysville and late. I'm going, what on earth is going on? And then I realized it was free vanilla ice cream cone day yesterday. Dairy Queen. You know, you mentioned that. Yeah, and the cars were a country mile long just trying to get a free ice cream cone.

I love dairy queen. I know you do. There's just not enough dairy queens. Like I'm on I 15 and I'm traveling and there's a dairy queen. I see the exit. I'm taking it. You're taking it. I love dairy queen. What a line yesterday. Well, let's talk about affordability. That certainly is going to be an issue coming up in this election. Greg, the president and Republicans have some real challenges when it comes to that affordability issue right now. Wouldn't you agree? I would. And part of that affordability is just what is the role of government? It looks like they're printing a lot of money. There's a lot of entitlement spending. There's a lot of fraud, as Doge has shown. But at the end of the day, we've got young people that need to make their way in this country and have a shot. And I think that that discussion is worthy of having. And I think Cameron Crane is the exact person to discuss this. She is with the Independent Women's Forum. They put together a new report on affordability and what needs to be done. Cameron, thanks for joining us tonight. Let's talk about this new report you've put out. Give us some of the highlights. Well, first of all, we wanted to, as the report in the title, says, reclaim affordability. We've seen over the last several years. As the left has repeatedly said, we have affordable policies, and yet health care has gotten more expensive. Gas is getting more expensive. It's been harder to find work. It's been harder to run a small business. And so the policies that we... that we are describing and the issues that we describe in this report are really showing how free enterprise and free market system can reclaim affordability and it doesn't include all of the government subsidies that are making life so much more unaffordable. So Cameron, here's my question. I'm a father of young adults in their early 20s. And so they're starting out in life. And I'm watching the rise. The cost of living is going up. Quality of life is arguably going down in terms of just the circumstances, what you can pay for, what you can't. I think you're pointing out the right things. What's it look like for that younger generation? I'm hearing 40 years old before you can buy a home as a first home buyer. I'm hearing statistics that are really worrying me for our younger upcoming generation. What's your prognosis for our young ones? Well, I am also a young one as well in my mid-20s. And so it is really concerning to see housing going. Through the roof, prices, I don't see a way that single people would be able to afford a house now. But there's ways that policy can especially shape this area. For one, we have the More Homes on the Market Act, which would double the current exclusion levels for capital gains tax, which would allow more homes on the market for people who are afraid to set their homes because of a huge tax burden they face when they sell it. And then there's things.

Go ahead. No, go ahead. Finish your thought. Yeah, and then there's the making accessory dwelling units more accessible so that people can actually rent out their homes so people who own homes can partner with those who want cheaper rent in the first place. So, yeah. Cameron, are the, you focus on a number of areas in your report from, you know, housing to health care to a number of issues here. Sometimes people say the answers to these issues are very complex, but are there some simple solutions that could be taken, simple steps that could be taken to address some of the issues that you raise? Absolutely. Embracing free market. There's states that are trying to lower taxes, and that's one of them that's complicated, but it's also one that we have going around that we've been working on is the portable benefits, making work more accessible for people so that we're not trapped in one single way of working, but allowing people to pursue their dreams and work in a way that works for them. without making healthcare more expensive, without taking time off more expensive, making work available for people so that they can start earning that money that they need. So, Utah is a red state. And I think that your report draws a distinction between blue states and their future prospects and red states. Maybe share with our listeners, what is the difference? What is the trajectory if you live in a red state or it's currently a Republican state versus if you live in a predominantly Democrat-controlled state? Yeah, absolutely. We saw the U-Haul company that tracks. It's one-way moving trucks. They saw the highest migration to red states. In fact, in the last five years, there have been a net loss of 2.8 million residents from high-tax states, so those unaffordable states to low-tax states. So the big difference is the states that don't have an income tax or are working steadily. to get rid of their income tax are seeing huge growth. And we also see that the most unaffordable states are most reliably the blue ones. We have California, Hawaii, DC, New Jersey, and New York. Those are all far above the average for cost of living. And then the red states are far more affordable. They're way below the cost of living. And so, of course, if you want to make life more affordable for yourself, you can go and move to a state that does embrace those free enterprise, those market principles that allow people to work without hampering their...

their decision to create business or even be an independent contractor or have multiple jobs. Cameron, you, of course, are with the Independent Women's Forum. You authored this report, and you point out interesting. I don't think people realize that women are disproportionately affected by the affordability challenge because they make the lion's share of spending decisions in most households. I know in my household they do. I'm not sure about Greg's, but in my household they do. They do. So how can you help women? What could be done to help women? Well, especially on the childcare front, it's making it more, making it easier, one for that flexible work, so women who want to stay home and care for their children can do that and also bring in an income. But it's also, all of these areas make it possible for. us to go back to that. If we can live on one income, that's great. And if we want women to be able to choose whether to stay home and care for their families or pursue a career, we want them to be able to do both. And so anything that makes work more flexible that brings down their tax burden so that they don't have to work so hard, things that allow them to choose their child care, their method of child care, whether that's... making it easier for them to have family watch them or places that they trust watch their children and care for them. There's specific things that we can do to lower child care costs because right now it is also way out of affordability. So a lot of women are choosing between working and trying to balance child care costs with whether it's even... whether they would even break even with working or daycare costs. And so because daycare costs are so high, women are also stopping working. And so if we bring those down by getting rid of the deregulating that sector quite a bit, will be able to allow women to have that choice. Cameron Crane from the Independent Women's Forum talking about a new report on the rising cost of living, and it certainly is. All right. More coming up. It is The Rod and Greg Show, the Friday afternoon edition right here on Utah's Talk Radio 1059, KNRS. What does that mean? Do you mean it's going to get colder? Temperatures in the 60s instead of the 80s. Well, 80s is a little warm for spring. Yeah, this time of year. 60s, I like 70s. Yeah, personally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, we've got a great half hour coming your way as we have you listen to what we call our Listenback Friday segments, Greg. I love doing this because we do so many interesting interviews throughout the week with newsmakers. And I know our listeners are busy. They can't hear everyone. So we select a couple and bring them back. I always think it's fun to let people give a listen to them if they've never heard them before.

It's been an all-star lineup this week. We've covered a lot of different topics and we've had some great interviews. So listen back Friday, this Friday especially. I think these are great ones to revisit. Well, one of the interviews we did was about Cuba, and a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen to Cuba. They had blackouts this week. There's word that Russia is now trying to get them oil since we've cut the pipeline, the shipments of oil from Venezuela to Cuba right now. Had a chance to talk with a great cast. He joined us on our newsmaker line, Stefano Ridendale. He's a chief intelligence officer at Arturias about Cuban. We asked him first of all to give us an update as to what he sees going on in Cuba right now. Yeah, so the situation in Cuba, I think just a quick summary for everybody to understand, this is obviously the worst economic and energy crisis that Cuba has seen since the 90s at the collapse of the Soviet Union. And so that's what we're seeing right now. And we're seeing kind of the initial recording for the last couple of days of protests really starting to pick up inside of Cuba. Basically, a lot of the people inside of Cuba are just sick and tired. of the energy crisis and the economic crisis and the government mismanagement that have ravaged Cuba for decades now in the communist government. But all of this is occurring because of a deliberate policy by the Trump administration that really wants to ensure that the communist government no longer have chokehold over the Cleveland population, right? And the way that this happened really started, you have to go back into January of this year with the capture of Nicholas McBrill, the former Venezuelan dictator. And now with the appointment of Vincilla Rodriguez, the acting president, Venezuela has basically agreed that they are no longer going to provide oil shipment to Cuba, that Cuba really required and needed to support their energy grid. And since the Trump administration is putting a significant amount of pressure across the region, we're also seeing the COVID. a major oil exporter to Cuba also stopped sending oil. And so what that has caused within the last couple of days is the total actually, quote, collapse, unquote, of the Cuban electric grid as stated by the Cuban government themselves. And that is why we're seeing protests. And obviously the Trump administration is kind of leveraging this to tell the Cuban, you know, communist dictator and regime. your time is up you need to kind of move on we're trying to have negotiations with you and they're leveraging the collapse of the electric grid the protests that are kind of just show up to see if we can start seeing a change in a littleization of the communist country in the Caribbean You know, so it's being reported, I think today that the, they call him the figurehead president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz Canal. He is talking pretty tough. He's saying, a saber rattling. He's saying that any external aggressor of the Cuban regime will be met with unbreakable resistance. Is this Baghdad Bob we're listening to right now, Stefano? Or do they have a little more SWAT than we thought they did?

You know, I'm old enough, even though it was young, to remember the famous quotes of that guy. But, yes, exactly. I mean, the irony, I would say is he made that account on X, formerly known as Twitter. And guess who does not have access to X? You know, it's obviously, right? So it's very interesting that he's using this. And again, it is geared towards why did he release this specifically also on X? This is clearly geared towards the international community and specifically to the United States. You know, Mirias Canel. He is the president of Cuba. And I would even say, like, he does have a lot of control. Obviously, Raul Castro, who is 94. He, you know, he resigned. He's no longer the president. He's a very old age. But he still has obviously that Castro name. But right now, a lot of the powers held with Miguel Diazcané, the reporting from the Trump administration saying he has to go. And I think the comparison, not from a military operation perspective, but just how I think the Trump administration is trying to move forward with kind of changing the leadership instead of Cuba is they're using the Venezuela model, right? But instead of right now, we're not really seeing a buildup of military forces in the Caribbean or anything like that, obviously the focus is in Iran, but they're leveraging this oil embargo that is being enforced by the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard, it's important to note. They're leveraging that crisis to basically tell, you know, Garnel, you don't have a choice. It's time for you to go. What is very interesting is since last year around the fall and even winter of 2025, The reporting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others within the Trump administration are actually taking an interest within one of the family members of the Castro-specific one of the grandsons and saying, okay, this is we can work with in this idea of a liberalization or democratization of Cuba? And I think that's the Venezuela example. And I'll be honest, if you would have told me, you know, four months ago, five months ago, that a very, of a partner of the U.S. could. would have been Delci Rodriguez, who was the vice president, who is a Chavista through and through, that she would have been a reliable partner of the United States. You know, I wouldn't have believed it worked, and it clearly shows that the administration took its time to figure out within the constructs of the Venezuelan power structure. Who do they want to pick that we believe can work with the most? And we've got a lot of interest in reporting subsequently that indicated that a lot of elements of CIA and assets and human sources that we had pointed to Delci Rodriguez. And I think that's what the administration is trying to figure out now, or maybe they already have figured this out and said,

Clearly, it's not Miguel Giacane. They've already said he needs to go. He came out recently and said, hey, we'll allow, you know, foreigners and Cuban expats to maybe purchase property inside of Cuba, this liberalization. But clearly, the administration, Howard said, and Marco Rubio basically paraphrase this, too little, too late. And you need to go. And I think that's what we're seeing. So Canel is obviously going to do this Baghdad Bob, as you said, very tough rhetoric. But to be frank, Cuba has nothing really to hold against the United States. At least Venezuela had the oil. Cuba has nothing. They're isolated internationally. The Russians are going to save them. The Chinese who even have spy bases inside of Cuba, they love to release the press statements, but they're not going to come and save Cuba. So Garnel is on his own right now. Yeah. Stefano, final question for you. Can we get the transition or the change that, you know, the Trump administration wants in Cuba without dropping a bomb or firing a bullet? Can we do that? I mean, it is possible. And I think, again, it is important to note that this oil embargo is being enforced by the U.S. military. I think it is possible. And I think that's what the administration is looking at. And obviously right now there's a lot of focus inside of Iran. But even if there was a necessity to do military operations, right now it doesn't seem likely that that's what's going on because we're doing a lot. It probably wouldn't take a lot of military force. And a lot of it is, you know, we've had the U.S. tubas right there from a logistical military standpoint. It's a significant easier problem set that not only just Iran, but even Venezuela. There's a lot of assets we can leverage. Obviously, Cuban military has been hollowed out for decades of corruption and mismanagement. So if it's a requirement, it wouldn't be something we're seeing like we're seeing right now in Iran. But right now, we're not seeing that. And I think the economic and energy crisis is so significant that you'll probably see protests pick up. And that's going to put a lot of strain and challenges to kind of specifically. Good interview, Greg. He was a sharp guy and really gave us some insight into Cuba, didn't he? he sure did i like to be bullish about that as well i like to see that i think that that country's once a jewel and successful and profitable and prosperous people They've been through very, very hard times. It's exciting to think that there's an opportunity for the people to thrive once again and prosper. Another segment of our Listenback Friday presentation coming your way next right here on Utah's Talk Radio, 1059, KNRS. What's happening in Wyoming? Now, Wyoming bears all the hallmarks of a red state, very similar to Utah. But some changes are taking place where apparently Greg gets become ground zero for rhinos and their war against conservatives. We've been watching this closely over the last year or two. surprised by what's going on there, are we? No. It sounds like you could take the word Wyoming, the state Wyoming, and put Utah in a lot of these stories. They sound kind of similar. I don't know what's going on. There seems to be a pattern. Yeah. Well, we had a chance to talk with Sean Fleetwood. He is a staff writer of the Federalist. He's been looking into Wyoming and what he sees going on. And as we began our conversation with Sean, we asked him exactly to explain what is going on in Wyoming right now.

Yeah, so when you think of a state like Wyoming, right, you think it is this super red state. It went for Donald Trump over 40 points in the last two presidential elections. It's dominated by Republicans top to bottom. And yet when you look at the legislature in a lot of these so-called Republicans in elected office, you realize that the state of Wyoming, not unlike many red states in America, it's sort of a mirage. You look at some of these actions that they've been taking in the legislature, particularly these past few years. and it's not exactly reflective of the conservative will of their voters. So the way that it works in Wyoming is they have an odd numbered years, a traditional legislative session where you can introduce normal bills and on various topics and things like that. But in even numbered years, they have budget-related sessions. And so in budget-related sessions, it takes two-thirds majority to introduce any non-budget-related legislation into the session for it to be considered. And you think, oh, well, Wyoming, they only have like six Democrats in the House, two Democrats in the Senate must be super easy for Republicans to get these priorities through. But that's not exactly the case. So this most recent budget session, you had roughly half a dozen election integrity bills that would have done things like prohibit ballot drop boxes, which became popular in the 2020 election, restricted ballot harvesting, widely supported policies among conservatives. These bills died because you had a cabal of House Republicans. that sided with the Democrats in deciding to vote against their introduction. And so those bills ultimately weren't considered. So what's going on in Wyoming, I think, is a microcosm of what's playing out in so-called red states across America where so-called Republicans repeat the talking points that we want to hear. But when it comes to actually fulfilling the pledges that they made on the campaign trail, they're not following through with that. Sean, we have had our general session in the state of Utah has just concluded, and we have supermajorities in the House and Senate and a Republican governor, kind of the description that you shared about Wyoming. It's a political profile. We had the same thing happen. We saw bills go to the Senate that would have improved chain of custody for election ballots, would have just chain of custody as well as transparency. Those bills died for the most part. What we found, what we observed is it wasn't the Democrats had a stronger sway on the Republicans and our legislative body. It was that the county clerks didn't really want to go to the trouble of some of the things that you listed in Wyoming, the people that would be manning the boxes or the paper ballots or the hand-counting auditing of ballots. There seems to be a bureaucratic pushback. that's almost just bureaucratic without regard to political persuasion. Do you see that as a trend outside of Utah in a state like Wyoming are people that are Democrats just running as Republicans in Wyoming? So I think it's a combination of both. You mentioned the kind of bureaucracy aspect of that, and I think that that's really key because, you know, when we talk about the swamp, it's not just, you know, the elected officials. It's all of these other various institutions that kind of commingle into this giant blob of corruption and impropriety. And I think in Wyoming, that's very evident. One of the things that I reported in the article is this meeting that took place earlier this year that was hosted by the Wyoming.

trial lawyers association in the host of that meeting. At one point, he had kind of offered praise and, you know, said basically we're thinking of our friends in Minnesota, you know, kind of referencing the anti-ice demonstrations going on there. And he also noted at one point the deadline by which voters in Wyoming can change their party affiliation. And the reason that that's so important, kind of tying it back into the elected official aspect of it. is that in recent years, what you've seen in Wyoming is this effort among kind of the GOP Rhino establishment to encourage more Democrats, a left-leaning independence to vote in the GOP primaries. Because in so-called reds, basically to back establishment candidates, because in states like Wyoming that are super red, super Republican, the primary basically acts as the general election, right? Like you have a Democrat and Republican running in a super conservative district. know, barring some major scandal or anything, that the Republican is going to win. So the primary is extremely important. And so... Ultimately, the legislature passed a law in 2023, restricting this so-called crossover voting, saying that you have to change your party affiliation months before the primary can take place. That came after Liz Cheney, reportedly encouraged Democrats to vote for her. It didn't really work out. But that's kind of what you're seeing now in Wyoming, is you see some of these establishment GOP legislators and officials within the bureaucracy, kind of giving a wink, wink, and a nod, saying, hey, Democrats in Independence, If you want to vote in the primaries this summer, you're going to have to change your party affiliation by May. And so that's what's going on here in Wyoming. And I have no doubt that it's probably happening in other red states across America. Sean, let me ask you, we know a lot of this cannot happen. These rhinos cannot make this all happen without party leadership or at least leadership in both their House and the Senate. Where do the leaders of the party in the Senate and House stand on some of the issues? They must be encouraging it or at least supporting it on the rhinos who are trying to make some changes or saying no. to conservatives, are they? Right. So that's what's really interesting about Wyoming is that in 2024, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus secured a majority in the state house. So the House is actually pretty good in terms of getting legislation through. making conservative priorities a priority. And the Senate is presenting itself to be more of the problem. And the reason that's interesting is because you go back a few years and the reverse was true. Before the Freedom Caucus had a governing majority in the House, the House was the problem and the Senate was seen as the better of the two. But now that the Freedom Caucus has gotten a majority, the establishment in the Senate is really rearing its ugly head. But I think that that shows that what you have to have is political will and political capital. that you have to have that sort of leadership that is driving this agenda forward so it's happening in the house thanks to the freedom caucus it's happening in places like florida because you have a governor like Ron DeSantis who is pushing those policies but when you don't have that leadership when you don't have that unifying force that is driving conservative principles then the establishment is allowed to flounder and that's what you're seeing in the wyoming senate and that's what you're seeing in some of these other red states as well

On our Newsmaker line or Listenback Friday line, Sean Fleetwood from the Federalist talking about Wyoming, becoming ground zero for a flight between the rhinos and conservatives in that state right next to us. Greg, safe travels. You're on your way back tomorrow. Safe travels to you. Yes, thank you, sir. Look forward to be back, back in the saddle, back in the studio. You know, as your wingman. It'll be good. It's been a great week. Thanks, everybody, for listening. As we say, each and every night, head up, shoulders back. May God bless you and your family, this great community in which we live in this great country. Have a safe, fun weekend. Greg and I will be back on Monday at 4. Have a good weekend.