Ep. 5542: Save Act Update.

Hey everybody, Lady Luck here, and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now, all summer long, I'm going to be celebrating by playing on SpinQuest.com, which is an American-owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to SpinQuest.com. Get yourself a $30 coin pack for just $10.00. SpendQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpenQuest.com for more details. You know what your customers are doing right this second? The exact same thing you are, listening to me, which, let's be honest, is kind of flattering. But my point is, ads on IHeart Radio actually get heard. In the car, at the gym, on the couch, while people are walking their dogs. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You're a good boy, that's right, you're a good boy. So why not make the next ad about you? Get started today. Call 844-844-Ehart or go to IHeartadvertising.com. That's 844-844-Ehart or IHeartadvertising.com. Another game day. But while he's glued to the TV, I'm winning my own way with Mistplay. Let's go! Mistplay rewards me just for playing free mobile games. I earn points and swap them for gift cards to Amazon, Uber Eats, and Sephora. Yeah, we won! And I just redeemed a Target gift card. Woo! Download Mistplay today and turn your downtime into rewards.

friends good morning and welcome to the morning show with me Preston Scott Jose running the program as always we've got some guests lined up for the third hour between now and then we've got lots to talk about a lot of very interesting stories some sound for you to hear I will ask a question a bit of a rhetorical question maybe but not really I mean It kind of, it'll hug the curve between rhetorical and not. But at any rate, let's start where we like to start. God's word. 2 Corinthians 9, verse 8 says this, and God is able to make all grace abound to you. So that having all sufficiency In all things, at all times, you may abound in every good work. You know what that is? That's a multivitamin of God's word. That's like one of those, you take that one, digest that scripture, embrace it. And it does so much. Let's take it apart. God is able. First of all, do you doubt that statement? The core of your faith is really based on the affirmative on that. Is God able blank? Fill in the blank. Is God able?

That is the resounding, yes, of anything that I know. God is able to do anything except sin. Sin is not in God's capacity. But God is able to make grace abound to you. How does grace abound to? How does grace abound to you? In my mind, one of the many things that God is saying through that is that his grace applies to everything in your life. so that having all sufficiency and all things at all times so that grace then is measured in sufficiency in everything you know when i i sometimes will pray the lord's prayer as part of my prayer time on my way into work And I kind of, I rework some of it. Instead of saying, give us this day, our daily bread, I thank God for the provision that he's already provided. And I know that for some, that prayer, please God, give us what we need today, is coming from a heartfelt earnest place because they don't have. They need God to supply. They need God to work. I'm grateful. And so I approach it from the perspective of, I know I have food for today. I know that, and I'm grateful. And I thank you for that provision. I have sufficiency in that. God is saying that he's able to give you. grace in every area of your life measure it however you want it's sufficient why so that no matter what happens at what point of the day week month year part of season of your life you may abound you may you may you may prosper in how god measures prosperity in every good work Those things ordained by God for you to do. We're just getting started, friends. Good morning. Welcome to the morning show with Preston Scott. This is the morning show with Preston Scott.

11 past the hour. February the 11th, running out of time. Fellas. And yeah, I'm being a little sexist here because I don't necessarily think guys get all upset if they don't get a Valentine's card. I don't. And I'm not necessarily saying that women get upset. Some probably do. But I think the, I think hurt. Disappointed. And as I said, I think it was last week. I don't care if you think, well, it's just created by the greeting card industry. So what? It's so what? It's Valentine's Day. It's a day of hearts and smooches. and affection and expressions of that to people that you love. And I think it's, for example, I don't do valentines for my sons. They're men. I don't need to do that. Now, my wife might. I don't. My daughter, absolutely. My daughter will be reminded that her daddy loves her every day and on Valentine's Day every year. It's just going to happen. Just going to happen. And so I don't care what the little missus says. You don't need to spend any money on me. Spend $350, $5, $7, $7, get a card, and a piece of chocolate, get a flower, something that says, I remember you on this day, and I want to express that I love you. You're welcome, fellas. You're welcome. Because some guys are out there going, man, now I got to get something. Yes, you do. You can thank me later. You're welcome. You're running out of time. That's my point. 1752, Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States opens in Philadelphia. Robert Fulton patents his steamboat in 1809. In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Jerry signs a law that redraws district lines in his party's favor, thus giving us the term, gerrymandering. That's where Jerrymandering comes from, that guy. 1861, President-elected Abraham Lincoln leave Springfield for Washington, D.C. saying, quote, I leave now, not knowing when or whether ever I may return. He never did, except to be buried. Hey everybody, Lady Luck here, and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now, all summer long, I'm going to be celebrating by playing on SpinQuest.com, which is an American-owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to SpinQuest.com. Get yourself a $30 coin pack for just $10.00.

SpenQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpenQuest.com for more details. And in 1933, President Hoover designates Death Valley as a National Monument. To death. It's a national monument to death. I've been in Death Valley. It's, I'll tell you what, you drive through Death Valley, it's like, okay, okay, yeah. It just, it's just got kind of a freaky vibe to it. At least it did back in the day. What else do we have here real quickly? It's National Latte Day, National Guitar Day, National Inventors Day, National Peppermint Patty Day. George Pearson, one of my dad's golf buddies, who I played more than, more than a few rounds of golf with. Pearson's peppermint patty. I think it might have preceded York. I don't know. National Shut-in Visitation Day. National White Shirt Day. National Don't Cry Over spilled Milk Day. National Make a Friend Day. I want to circle back to National Latte Day. I've never understood what a latte is compared to something else. But I figured it out. It's espresso. with with a cream some kind of cream mixed into it right and oftentimes that cream has a little design twirled into it maybe um no i've never had one um i i'll take your word for it if you think they're awesome but i will have a latte well today is it today's your day it's a national latte day so Better latte than never. 16 past the hour. Come back. Talk for a moment about Olympics. Dr. Bob McClure.

In the final hour of the program from the James Madison Institute, also Rich Mariano's. Formerly with ATF, he's now co-founder of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, talk about illegal Chinese vapes that are coming into the country and the risk that that presents. So we'll get a few minutes with him as well. We've got no way, Jose next hour. I'm there are sports that I'm not going to watch like I'm not going to watch women's figure skating because I don't want to see the little twit for the United States who hates our country because she thinks that that you know Trump and and anyone who supports Trump is intolerant no the intolerance it's on your side little girl um Not interested in the freestyle American skiers because they too decided to open their mouth about things they don't understand. That's the error of youth. But in this day and age, there is no excuse to not be better informed. There just isn't. So I just, why expose myself to it? But there are things I am watching. I'm watching U.S. women's hockey. And they put a beat down on Canada yesterday. Take that socialist. I mean, they're bitter rivals. Canadian women's hockey, it's their sport. And the U.S., which kind of become our sport, you know, we've gotten the better of it. And we've certainly gotten the better of it this last year or so. And they just smoked Canada 5-0. First time Canada's ever been shut out in the Olympics. That was fun. As an event, I love watching because I'm fascinated by it, curling. I don't, I, I had the, I looked up the scoring and I finally understand some of it, though the strategy behind it is still evading me. It's like I don't understand cricket to save my life. Cricket, I don't get it. I just don't get it. I've watched it sometimes just to just to watch it. But curling is just, it's a whole other story. And I finally came to understand a little bit. U.S. mixed doubles team, guy and a gal, won the silver, almost won gold yesterday. It would have been amazing. But they won silver and that's still amazing. They did great. It was fun to watch because curling's weird. It just is. The stones. And each set of stones is different. And actually, each set of stones is literally judged from competition to competition. So they know what they're getting. They scout the stones. allegedly in these Olympics the stones had never been used before so it was really you were adjusting on the fly and so it was really interesting but the scoring and curling is just like but like you know I love skiing events and it took me a while to figure out okay the downhill I knew what the downhill was the downhill is the bad boy of skiing what the downhill is men and women

Like Lindsey Vaughn snapped her leg in the downhill, probably because she didn't have an ACL in her, maybe her left leg. And so it just, that was it. She was wearing a brace, thought she'd go for it. But she was doing the downhill. And the downhill is light your hair on fire and then jump out of the gate. And the idea is to go as fast as you can to extinguish the flames in your hair. Because that's really what it is. Minimal turns, long, fast, dangerous. All right? Today they're doing the Super G. The Super G is like the downhill, but with more turns. So it's not quite as fast. It's a little more technical. But it's still a butt kicking. You're getting after it. Then there's the giant slalom. It's a shorter course, but when you insert the word slalom, that means a lot of turns. And then there's the slalom, which is a whole lot of turns. And I remember Jean-Claude Keely, the French skier, was just brilliant. He did the longer events, I'm pretty sure, but I remember him in the slalom. And then there's the alpine combined, which is both. It took me a while to figure it out. Okay, what's the different? What's the super G? The super G is a faster version of the giant slalom. A little longer, a little faster, but more turns than the downhill. So there's your guide to skiing at the Olympics, and I am just down for it. I watch this, the luge. The luge is crazy, the bobsled. That's crazy stuff. Speed skating. One little girl from the US, she fell in her first race four years ago. And that's it. In that particular race, if you fall in the qualifier, you're out, you're done. There are no do-overs. So you spend all that time training. Well, guess what? Four years later, she did it again and fell in the first race. Same little girl. And then in the team event, a little later, she knocked out everybody else. and disqualified the U.S. She, she, bless her little hard. She, I didn't even, no one fouled her. She just tripped. Unbelievable. Anyway, 28 past the hour. There's my Olympic update for the day.

What's going on, everyone? It's Bluff here, and we're driving through the States in the BluffMobile, and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino-style games on SpinQuest. They have over a thousand games, including Live Dealer Blackjack and Crops, with tons of slots and unlimited options. You can get a $30 coin pack for just $10 for new users. Sign up today. Go to SpinQuest.com right now. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visitspinquest.com for more details. Well, yeah, let's look into the big stories in the press box this morning. Here on the morning show, if you have not seen, have you seen the video of the dude walking up to Nancy Guthrie's house in the mask and carrying the gun? Yeah, I've seen it. When you first looked at it, what went through your mind or what did you feel? Oh. Man, I can't tell you to be honest. It's still very odd. I felt like, you know, staged maybe. Staged? Staged? Yeah, I don't know. It just seemed funny. It just seemed very, I don't know. He thought it's natural. Well, I, okay. All right. Well, I asked. I found it incredibly creepy. The guy had a gun in his waistband. That's not a burglary. I mean, it really likely isn't. Most burglars. that are just looking to break in and take stuff, they're not looking to commit a crime with a gun. But be that as it may, I guess he thought that snatching the camera and taking it was going to stop something from being recorded. It obviously didn't work. But he's wearing a mask.

What's interesting to me is they arrested a guy last night. They've released him. Not arrested. Sorry. They detained. That arrested is not accurate. They detained somebody at a traffic stop that they had been following and looked at, grabbed his phone. Don't know if they kept his phone, but he's, you know, he was real close to the Mexican border when they stopped him. But they released him. That doesn't mean that he's not a suspect. That just means that they did not have reason to arrest him at this time. But what I find interesting is they're going back to Annie Guthrie's home a lot. That's Savannah's sister. That's weird to me. That's really weird to me. So we still don't know. I'll be honest with you. I kind of have trust in the FBI in a case like this. Where I don't have trust is the Epstein case. Because I don't know if you've seen. They have concluded that Jeffrey Epstein did not run a sex trafficking ring for powerful people. And I don't buy it. I don't buy it.

They believe that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are the only ones that were involved in anything illegal. What's interesting as well is they seem to be lining up with Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen James Comey, the daughter of disgraced FBI director James Comey, who is no longer there. She's been let go. But that was her report. They seem to be standing by it. Are you? Are you standing by that? I know. It's easy to say, nah. But that's really what I'm thinking. 40 minutes after. Let's give you an update on the Save Act. Voter ID next. Came across a report on the Save Act, the Federalist, and just a little bit of a snapshot here. Existing Senate rules allow for the talking filibuster. Now, here's how they break that down. Senate Democrats would be forced to keep debating talking to stall a vote. Eventually, though, Democrats who hate the idea of voter ID would run out of things to say or talk as long as the rules allow. Each Democrat would have two opportunities to filibuster, to talk. Once they're done, they're done, though. There are no timeouts, no dinner breaks, no bathroom breaks. Think about that. You're going to drink water or something to keep... your voice from breaking down, but then that drink of water or whatever is going to eventually lead to the need to head to the restroom. But once you head to the restroom, you're done. Your filibuster's over. Straight debate to explain to the 80% plus of Americans who support voter ID. See, Democrats aren't going to say what they really want. They want non-citizens, other ineligible voters to cast ballots. They need them. That is a bottom-line numerical fact. Now, Chuck Schumer said every single Democrat will vote against any bill that comes to the Senate. Well, he's wrong. John Fetterman is voting for voter ID. Senate? Democrat from Pennsylvania. He said it makes sense. It's not radical. So we get to a different problem, though, Republicans, rhinos, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and a few other interesting names that did not find themselves supporting this bill or being a co-sponsor of it. Like Mitch McConnell, isn't that interesting? Mitch McConnell, the former Senate minority leader, and maybe at one time, majority leader, I don't know. I'm struggling here with the idea that Mitch McConnell is not among the many Republicans co-sponsoring this legislation. There's only 49 of them co-sponsoring it, but he's not mentioned, and that interesting.

So they've got to survive. They just, they've got to do it. There are people, though, that are rumored to not want it to be brought up for a vote. Why? It's pretty remarkable. But there are other members of the U.S. Senate, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Senator Rick Scott, Mike Lee of Utah. They want to go further. They don't want to just stop at voter ID. They want to tighten the laws on mail-in ballots. Good. They're like, look, if we're going to have to do this, if we're going to have to just ram this thing through, let's go big. Let's get a lot done. And I agree. Get it all done. Not just voter ID. But there's plenty of opportunity to vote. Mail-in ballots by law have to be in, in possession by the end of election day, period end. No one, no later ballots. Oh, but the mail service, oh, well, too bad. Vote in person. Put your ballot out there earlier. Whatever.

Anyway, that's the update right there. It's still, it, Rhino senators could, could derail this. Come back. Got to hear what I'm about about to share. All right, you need to listen real, real carefully to what I'm about to play for you. This is getting some run, even though the event was in June of 2024. And as somebody commented about this, and I think this comment is really good. The most evil stuff I hear. Set in a calm voice by wannabe despots happens in front of this logo. The logo is the World Economic Forum. And in this case, the voice is Lindsay Hooper. She is the CEO for Institute for Sustainable Leadership. Just listen carefully. When we talk about capital, we tend to think only about financial capital, about cash, financial assets, but we know. Let me let you, I'm going to reboot. Now you know the type of voice you need to hear. She's talking about air and water and the prospect of taxing you for breathing it or drinking it. Just listen. When we talk about capital, we tend to think only about financial capital, about cash, financial assets, but we know that's not the only value on which our economies depend. We know that every aspect of, every part of the economy is fundamentally dependent on nature, as you highlighted. The air that we breathe, the water we drink, the soil, the oceans that we need for the food that we need to consume, the minerals that we need as inputs to technology and to infrastructure. And without these forms of value, these forms of natural capital, we won't have economies. They are the fundamental building blocks of our economies. But the ways, as you said, the ways in which we have grown our economies, our models of economic development, have been incredibly successful for global prosperity. I mean that the unintended consequences of current models of growth are simply not sustainable on a finite planet. The amount of resource that we are drawing in to our economies, Earth's resources, and the amount of pollution and waste that we're pumping out, whether that's through greenhouse gas emissions, whether that's sewage into our water, whether it's plastics into the ocean, is beyond the Earth's carrying capacity. And we know that that's leading, as you said, to very significant direct impacts for society, but very significant financial costs for the economy. You can look at that as you have and calculate that at a macro level. Nature is treated within the economy. as though it's unlimited and predominantly as though it's free. And the risks and harms are simply not costed in financial terms. We can cost them at a macro level. They're not cost it into day-to-day decision-making. And the result is, as a consequence, we've put all of our economies at fundamental risk. We can't do business on a dead planet.

If we're going to protect natural systems, one of the solutions is to bring nature onto the balance sheet, to bring nature into the ways that decisions are made within business, to allocate a value to it and to bring it into accounting and financial mechanisms. These people actually believe it's theirs to own control and tax. They will tax everything they can. And this is why God and the belief in God is a direct threat to them and their power. If you drive a car, I'll tax the street. If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat. If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet. That's what one poster wrote on this. This is evil to the core. And this is where the global warming fanaticism has led us. And this is why I keep talking about it. Because while it is not on the radar most people, it's not in the top 20 of things people care about. The people like Justin Haskins talked about that actually you don't own your own investments, these are the same people that want to take control of the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the soil that you use. Just remember that. Second Hour of the Morning Show with Preston Scott is on deck. All right, Gruminators. Welcome to the second hour of the second hour of the morning show. It is good to be with you. We are off on Monday next week for President's Day. Hey, I didn't pick it. I'm going to accept the day off, though, because if I showed up, I wouldn't be able to broadcast. Because everything else would be shut down. They'd be moved into syndicated programming, and I couldn't do a thing. So, I'll just stay home.

I want you to listen to this. This was compiled by Megyn Kelly. And it is two perspectives. One of the former first lady Michelle Obama, the other of current vice president, JD Vance. Hang on. I made a critical error there. Here we go. There are certainly sacrifices that come along with this life. Our kids are little. We're going to have to move. There are also a lot of good things. It's expensive to live in the White House. What a blessing it is to be here. There were moments when I didn't feel like I got enough attention. We live in this beautiful, very protected mansion that the American people have gifted us. People don't know. I mean, much is not covered. Most of our meals are prepared for us, so we don't have to worry as much about cooking. You're paying for every food, every bit of food that you eat. There are a lot of things that in some ways make having a baby easier. How do you raise kids in the White House? It's dangerous. You don't have to worry about TSA lines when you're the Vice President. Air Force 2 makes transportation pretty easy. We had to pay for their travel to be on the plane. My attitude towards kids. They're a hassle. What the hell? We got ourselves into no more kids. They mess you up. Then we had a second. Then we had a third. Now both of us are just like, what's one more? Whatever. Talk about two totally different perspectives. One, the voice of entitlement. The other, the voice of appreciation. And gratitude.

I mean, could there be a better just snapshot? And yeah, if you're bringing your kids and flying them across Air Force One, using Air Force One and flying to Hawaii and all that, yeah, yeah, you got to fit the bill. If that's what you want to do, I mean, you have a pretty good home to live in. But if you want a vacation, wherever, I just, I thought that was a remarkably good view of two different perspectives. But on the subject of JD Vance, did I say J.D. Johnson? I don't, I don't think so. I think I said JD Vance. But J.D. J. J. I mean, I have known J.D. Johnson for a long time. unbelievably, a New York Times columnist, Jamel Bowie, and I guess it's not Jamel as in the Jamel that used to work at ESPN that's just vile. This is a dude. And he apparently did not like the answer that JD Vance gave when someone tried to Hit him with a gotcha question. The question with the Daily Mail, reporter from the Daily Mail, asked him if he was going to apologize for the shooting of Alex Pretty.

who was the activist obstructing law enforcement efforts, carrying a firearm. No penalty in that, but it became one when he engaged in a felony, multiple felonies on multiple occasions. He should have been stripped of his ability to carry a firearm after the first time he spit on an agent and kicked out a taillight. He committed felonies. Have you apologized? Do you plan to apologize to the family of Alex Pretty? JD Vance. For what? It was an example of not accepting the premise of the question. So if this hypothetical leads to that hypothetical leads to another hypothetical, will I do a thing? That's what JD Vance said to the reporter. First of all, it is a perfectly appropriate response to that type of question. So you mean if this, if that, and if another thing happened, then will I hypothetically do this? That exchange and his refusal to pander to the reporter apparently triggered the columnist for the Times. We're going to get to what he wrote and what has been a response by Jonathan Turley next here on the morning show with Preston Scott.

Hey guys, Lady Luck here. Are you going on any road trips this summer? I know I'm going to be going on a bunch of road trips. And being that I'm going to be passenger princess, I love playing on SpinQuest.com. SpinQuest has all of my favorite slot games, live blackjack, live craps. Head on over to SpinQuest right now and get yourself a $30 coin pack for just 10 bucks. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. So this columnist for the Times joked about how JD Vance's mother should have sold him to feed her drug addiction, which she admitted she had to fight in the midst of her drug addiction. He suggested that she was in fact right to have attempted to do such a thing. And, of course, he posts this on Blue Sky where that kind of commentary is commonplace, accepted, and celebrated. So Jonathan Turley, who, um, bright guy, legal mind, has replied.

He said, at Bowie, by the way, wrote this wicked man who knows he is being wicked and does it anyway. So Bowie thinks he's the good guy. Turley said, of course, he made these comments on blue sky, a safe space for the viewpoint of the intolerant left. Part of the dehumanizing of others as fascists and Nazis is that there is nothing that is considered indecent or excessive in attacks. In an age of rage, it is often difficult to stand out in the mob as so many pander to the perpetually irate. However, the New York Times columnist has found a way to win the race to the bottom. JD Vance wrote a celebrated bestseller, Hillbilly Elegie, about his difficult childhood with a mother who became addicted to pain medication and eventually found herself stealing drugs from her patients. It was a tragic account. of how addiction tore their family apart, but also a tale of redemption. I knew that a mother could love her son despite the grip of addiction. I knew that my family loved me, even when they struggled to take care of themselves. Turley writes in April of last year, JD Vance celebrated his mother's decade of sobriety. As I discuss in my new book, Rage and the Republic, a common element. to past radical movements has been the dehumanization of political opponents. In calling others Gestapo, Nazis, and fascists, you achieve a certain license to say and do things that you would ordinarily never say or do. By stripping them of any humanity or right to empathy, you are free to discard the limitations of decency and civility.

So the left calls you and I Nazis and fascists so they can justify any act or actions they take against us. The rage that the left is living in is in itself a type of addiction, writes Turley. It is just like drugs. JD Vance's response to the reporter is something that Republicans ought to take note of when they deal with the media. But sadly, most do not have the savvy to do that. Marco Rubio does. Chady JD Vance does. Trump, in his own way, just kind of drops Molotov cocktails on them. Caused them horrible. You know, he just really unbelievable. I mean, it's just. I can't do Trump justice, so I should stop trying. But the lesson here is the overarching issue of the attacks to justify the acts. The verbal dehumanization to justify the actions taken. I consider some people on the left to be vile human beings, but in no way, shape, or form do I, or would I or have I ever condoned any type of violence against them? They will face a judge one day. I take solace in that, and that judge isn't me. It's like the old line from Rudy, the movie Rudy. There are two incontrovertible facts that I know. Young Rudy, there is a God, and I'm not him. And that's the bottom line. When we come back, how'd you like to win the Super Bowl, get a bonus, and end up owing money?

22 past the hour. Seattle Seahawks, just using Sam Darnold as the example, they win the Super Bowl. He gets a $178,000 little bonus for winning the Super Bowl, right? Winners share type thing. He owes California $249,000. Because of California's tax law, he has a net loss of $71,000. It's called the Jock Tax. And it impacts non-resident athletes earning money at major events in California. So because California hosted the Super Bowl outside San Francisco, And it's not like Darnold can't afford it, right? But that's not the point, is it? California has the highest income tax of any state, and the Super Bowl means eight duty days in California. According to a reporter that looked into all of this stuff.

The eight duty days in California, taxes hit your annual compensation. Super Bowl winner bonus and his estimated taxes. It's incredible. Duty days. Stanford professor Joshua Rua or Rao. If his team wins, Darnold receives $178,000, pays $249 in taxes, losing 71. If his team loses, he gets $103,000 and still pays over $235,000, he would lose even more money. He would have lost $135,000. The jock tax is for athletes who don't live in the state but play games there. The tax is based on the number of work days called duty days they spend in California. For the Super Bowl alone, that adds up to eight duty days. It doesn't count any games played against the San Francisco 49ers, the Los Angeles Rams, or the Los Angeles Chargers. They also have to pay a 1.3% disability insurance tax. You know what the solution is, right? The NFL Players Association needs to demand that the NFL never play a Super Bowl in California ever again. This is ridiculous. And I'm going to, I'm just, I want you to just kind of put a pin in this, all right? Now, totally different, different kind of story, but still related to the Super Bowl winner, the Seattle Seahawks. I now have a new coach that I can say, yeah, I'm good with him winning some games. Mike McDonald, the head coach of the Super Bowl winning Seahawks. You know what he gave his players for Christmas? He gave every player on his team a gift. When asked about the gift, he said, well, you want to give something to guys that play for you to let him know you love them. So I gave them each a Bible. I gave each one a personalized Bible. Adding, what could be a better gift than that? Come on. Come on. There you go. Look, I got a bitter memory attached to Seattle with my Green Bay Packers. But that was then. This is now, and I can respect the coach that. Yeah. That's well done. All right. Let's come back and do the big stories in the press box. And still to come. No way, Jose. What's up, everybody? It's Bretzky, and America is turning 250. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American-owned social casino, SpinQuest.com. With all of your favorite games, live craps, bubble craps, live blackjack, there's no better place to play for free and win real cash prizes. SpinQuest.com.

SpendQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Boydware prohibited, visit SpenQuest.com for more details. It's the morning show with Preston Scott. About a half hour from now, Dr. Bob McClure, the James Madison Institute. We'll get Bob's take on what's going on in the session. Also, what's happening in the blue states. Just kind of juxtaposing. And that's going to actually tie into what I want to talk about in just a couple minutes. But first, big stories in the press box. Do you buy the FBI's conclusion that Jeffrey Epstein did not run a sex trafficking ring? Here's my question for you. And, of course, I completely think that's ridiculous. Of course he did. If he didn't, why in the world is everybody whose name appears next to his in complete and total failure control? I mean, they are doing all they can to distance themselves to say, No, that was a... That's AI. Or, I just met him once. I never went to the island. Why the panic? You could argue, well, that's because of what people have turned this into. Okay. FBI saying that there are no photos or videos showing Epstein victims being sexually abused or any males with any nude females, no evidence implicating anyone other than Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell who sits in a prison here in Tallahassee. Ironic. Maybe not ironic, but interesting.

Of course, they're relying on the report of Maureen James Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey. But I just, for one, this is where the FBI, you know, there's just been, it's as if when you take office, you make these bold proclamations, you're going to do this, you're going to get to bottom of that, and then all of a sudden you're in there and things change. It makes me wonder if Kash Patel regrets becoming the FBI director. There are people that it's made for. I mean, this is a job made for people that are, you know. And then, of course, the Nancy Guthrie case, what do you think of the video that's floating around out there? Jose thinks it's a setup maybe. But that's, that it just looks too staged to him. I don't necessarily share that. The dude's there with a gun in his waistband. It's holstered in the front. Not exactly the way I would holster one, but he's got a backpack. He recognizes that he's on camera, pulls a plant out of the ground in the front yard and tries to cover the camera, and then the video goes out. I guess he snatched the camera off the mount and somehow gained entry to the house. Apparently there was sign of forced entry. Was he there to burglarize? I theorized that, though not completely out of bounds, it would seem odd to me for a guy who's looking to burglarize to be carrying a firearm. Now, this is just so weird. I keep using that expression. It is. This kidnapping is not following any of the protocols of a kidnapping. And then there's why our authorities routinely going back to the home of Savannah Guthrie's sister, Annie. That just seems strange to me. She lives in the area. I guess. I don't know how close. Are they, you know, are they just simply looking for anybody, for example, are they trying to get fingerprints of somebody who works at Annie Guthrie's house and might have left fingerprints that also did work at Nancy Guthrie's house? That's not out of the realm of possibility. You know, hey. Mom, I've got a maintenance worker that does this, this, or this. We trust them. I don't know. I'm trying to come up with reasons why that are perfectly legitimate why FBI might be hanging out around Andy Guthrie's house and inside that home so much. But anyway. Bottom line is still no Annie Guthrie or no Nancy Guthrie. There was allegedly some activity in the Bitcoin account. So everyone can follow anyone's Bitcoin account? It just seems weird too. It's all weird. 40 minutes passed.

Love getting your email, Preston at iHeartRadio.com. That's the address. A lot of people send me links to stories. I will not generally respond to those other than maybe an emoji thumb up or a shocked emoji face. Now and then I'll exchange a thought or two with those of you who choose to write, sometimes a little more. And I had a gentleman write me back a few weeks ago, and he describes himself as an independent. And that perhaps is where some of you are. I would love to know. And this is a thought exercise for you. You don't have to write me. You can. And I may respond, but I may not, because I just, I get a lot of email. Why would you? What's going on, everyone? It's Bluff here, and we're driving through the States in the BluffMobile, and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino-style games on SpinQuest. They have over 1,000 games, including Live Dealer Blackjack and Crops, with tons of slots and unlimited. You can get a $30 coin pack for just $10 for new users. Sign up today. Go to SpinQuest.com right now. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. Could be an independent and not a conservative. When conservatism is always right. And I'm not trying to be clever with, you know, right versus left. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about conservatism is always correct. Conservatism is always the right answer. It isn't wrong. Now, is conservatism properly practiced? No. But unlike socialism, socialism always fails. You can look at history and see it. The lessons are all over. An independent suggests that you agree with the left on some things and the right on others. Well, what would you agree with on the left? Where is the left correct about anything? And I've had people push back on that. The Democrat platform is wrong. It just is. I mean, we talk about example over and over and over. Examples of... Okay, the cities with the worst crime rates, Democrat. The cities with the worst economies, Democrat. Cities that are run by conservative principles are always in a good place. Unless they're being ruined by liberals. Look at business. Businesses run.

With liberal economics fail. Even businesses run by liberals are run by conservative economic principles. You cannot spend more than you take in. Or they fail. Successful businesses run by conservative economic principles. It just, it causes me to scratch my head. Why would anyone think that anything the left has to offer is worth considering? I believe that in my heart when I was a kid. When I was a kid, they're just, they're nuts. But now I know they're nuts. Now I understand why they're nuts. Now I understand the godlessness of it all. And it's why I can say with great clarity, you cannot be a Christian and a Democrat. You can't. Because you are aligning yourself with a platform that is anti-God.

It just is. You can't reconcile that. Now, that doesn't mean you have to be a Republican. I don't take great joy in being a registered Republican at this point. They embarrass me. But they're more closely aligned with conservative principles and, more importantly, their platform isn't anti-God. There are aspects of a Republican platform that I think are weak. But they're not anti-God, and there's a difference. So, just something to think on. Be a great discussion to have around a dinner table sometime. Buenos Dias. Uh-oh. Who let me do this? Press one for English. Two for Spanish. I'm pressing one. Okay, we'll go English for now. Okay. Well, I come bearing good news and not, this time not for the sinners. It's for people who drink coffee and tea. Okay. So I'm always trying to say, oh, you know, I'm trying to quit the stuff because I drink so much coffee. But apparently, drinking a lot of coffee is good for you and or tea. Well, not a lot, you know, two to three cups of coffee and maybe one to two cups of tea on account of a long-term study of nearly 132,000 adults. Has shown that it lowers the risk of dementia. slower cognitive decline and it gives you a better cognitive performance so um so yeah so you're going to boost your coffee intake absolutely i'm i'm going to drink one to two cups of tea as well as two to three cups of coffee. Because I was trying to lay off the coffee and move towards the tea. Now, do both. Might change your mind on this, huh? Absolutely. Okay. Yeah, but on the experts, they emphasize that coffee and tea isn't the only thing that I save you. You know, you need exercise, good sleep, avoiding smoking, and staying mentally engaged. So that helps too. Okay. So if you do all that and drink coffee and tea, you're good to go. My second story is it reminded me of you when I was reading this on the account of you mentioned I-Robot last time. So this is interesting. Fawn Robotics has introduced Sprout. It's a small safety-focused humanoid robot designed to work directly around people in everyday environments like homes, schools, offices, and retail spaces.

Unlike the robots in iRobot, these are only 3.5 feet tall and they only weigh 50 pounds. So if it tries to, you know, imprison us, we can fight these guys off. Easy. There it is. Meet Sprout. Yeah. Fauna Robotics. Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so they're going to be first rolling this out for, you know... We believe the robots belong in the real world. Interesting stuff, right? So we've done things a little differently. It's from the website. Sprout is a robot you actually want to be around. One that's expressive. Yeah, he has a cute little digital face. White. Durable. Oh, yeah, this is just what we need, a robot to play with your kids because you won't do it. Well, Japan's actually been doing that for a while with the older folks. They have in the old folks homes. Would you trust one in your home? It seems cool. I might give it a shot. I mean, I have a Roomba. I've had a Roomba since shortly after those things came out, the robotic vacuum. They're genius. But I don't know that I would, I don't know that I'd go this route. I mean, I just, I don't, boy, I don't know about that. What's the price is what I'm saying. Okay, at what price would you be a buyer? That's a good question. For a full, you know, this guy right here. I'd say about 5,000. You'd be spending that money? Well, I mean, I figure it wouldn't be any less than that, so. Okay. Dr. Bob McClure is standing by next here on the morning show with Preston Scott.

You know what? It sucks to be bored. But when I get on my phone and play real casino games on SpinQuest.com, the time flies by. That two-hour wait at the DMV seems like 10 minutes. Play your favorite slots. Live blackjack, live craps with a live dealer. New players, $30 coin packs are on sale for $10.00. Play SpinQuest.com and you'll never be bored again. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spendquest.com for more details. And it's the third hour of the radio program, affectionately known as Common Sense Amplified. It's the morning show with Preston Scott. He's Jose. I'm Preston. And this is our friend, Dr. Bob McClure, president of the James Madison Institute. You might have listened to my monologue about why in the world would anyone not want to be a conservative. Not a Republican, a conservative. Big difference. Yeah, there is a big difference. But I've, I mean, I've always used the kind of a joking expression. Conservatism is always right. It is. It's a philosophy that doesn't have any chinks in the armor when you do it right. When you do it right. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what's fascinating about that. And is that everybody's a conservative in their private lives, even the most left-wing liberal person in the universe. They're not going to send their kids to lousy schools if they can't. They're not going to live in a crappy neighborhood if they can't. They're going to do what's best for them, right? And so even the most left-wing person in their private lives, they don't do social experiments on their own family. They, yes for thee, but not for me, right? Yeah. And so everybody's a conservative. Some just won't admit it. And that's the truth. That's the way life is conservative. Margaret Thatcher said that. Life is conservative. And she's right. Boy, she write about a lot of stuff. You've got a piece written for Fox. Tell us about it. I do. I have a piece today on foxnews.com. And it is about the exodus from blue states to red states. And how by every single index that we have, Americans are choosing to vote with their feet. So there's been a lot of conversation about the next census coming up in 2030. California is slated to lose four congressional seats, which also means four electoral votes. They're trying to make up for that with redistricting. Well, no, they're trying to make up with that illegal immigration. Well, they're trying to make up for that by... redistricting Republicans out of existence. That's true. Right. But they're also trying to make up for that by illegal immigration. Most Americans don't know that illegal, you don't have to be a citizen to be counted in the census. Yeah. And so California is slated to lose four. Illinois and New York slated to lose two to four.

California has not picked up a congressional seat since 2000. Illinois and New York have not picked up a congressional seat since last century. Do you have an estimate on what would happen if illegals were not counted in some of these states? Oh my gosh. I haven't seen, I've seen, you know, numbers thrown around, but I'd be, you know. remiss to say for sure. But I mean, if they're losing four now. Yeah. And I mean, I would say, you know, six, seven. Florida and Texas are slated to pick up four each. So my article essentially says that takes a line from an old Ernest Hemingway novel. I'm a former English teacher. So I'm always going back to literature. And it's about. a character in there who goes bankrupt. And his friend says, you know, how did this happen? And Mike's response is, um, is got him Mike Campbell from the Sun also rises. He said, I did it two ways, gradually and then suddenly. And so what's happened, what we've seen in these blue states as they move towards financial ruin is gradually they began to lose population. Illinois, New York have been losing population, have not picked up a congressional seat since last century, California since 2000. And now all of a sudden there is a mass exodus. And they are looking for ways to make up for that in their budget. Zohran Mamdani wants to raise taxes, right? Oh, that'll help. Right. California wants the wealth tax. And we're seeing companies finally saying, you know what? I'm finished. Meta's left. Mark Zuckerberg's buying in South Florida. Elon Musk's gone to Texas. Wells Fargo is moving its headquarters to Palm Beach. Quantum is moving down to South Florida. Ken Griffin, the head of the largest hedge fund, most successful hedge fund in the country, left Chicago. And of course, we know about the exodus from New York. And so the whole point of the article is Americans are value freedom and capital and markets and opportunity in their chance, the American dream. And they're choosing quietly just to leave states that refuse. to allow them to do that. We've got more to talk about this with Dr. Bob McClure. He's president of the James Madison Institute. But as far as we're concerned, more importantly, he's our guest here on the morning show with Preston Scott.

Back with Dr. Bob McClure, the James Madison Institute. We're talking about a piece that is live right now on Fox News. The title of the piece, people want to look it up is... Gradually and then suddenly. It's... Gradually, then suddenly, Blue State America is heading for financial disaster. Yeah, you'll find that if you Google that real quickly on the Fox News site. Don't trust the Fox News search engine, by the way. Just Google it, and you'll find it a lot faster. Do lawmakers in Florida fully embrace and understand this reality? They have for a very long time. You and I, at the beginning of this conversation, we're talking about conservatism, which is not the Republican Party, right? Correct. For many years, we have been very fortunate in Florida because we've had what I call movement conservative leaders at the state level. Now, we don't always agree with everything that they do all the time. But we have, we started with Jeb. who was considered radical when he was governor like crazy radical because he wanted a tiny little school choice program and he was trying to eliminate the intangible tax see and remember the palm beach post the old st pete times which is now Tampa bay times my that was when newspapers mattered yeah um And it was, I mean, they just drove, I mean, we had Jeb for eight years. Great. We did the state government. We had Rick Scott for eight years. We have had Ron DeSantis for eight years. And we had Charlie Chris as a blip on the screen, right? A wind sock. Right. We've had a legislature that understood the times, by and large, not always, but, or they, you know, 80% my friend is not 20% my enemy, as Reagan said, right? So we've had leaders like Alan Bentz and Paul Renner and all kinds of great leaders at the legislative level. And we have become a movement conservative state. And what do we see? We see people moving here by the thousands. Right. Now, do we have issues? Of course we do. Is affordability an issue? Yes. Is housing an issue? Yes. All of those things are true. And the legislature has for years understood this. We've gotten tort reform, universal school choice, tax reduction. The governor is now driving the debate on property taxes. Where that goes, nobody knows. Right. But he is, he's got big ideas, right? Rick Scott had big ideas about, remember, he took over during the 08 meltdown and it was just complete jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. It was, you know, remember Governor Scott, how are your kids? Well, let's talk about jobs in Florida. Hey, Governor Scott, I heard you just had a grandbaby. Well, let's talk about jobs and flying. He's great, right? Tunnel visioned. Right. So you had Jeb, Rick Scott, Rhonda Sanchez. They've all done great things. And what do we see? We see Americans move into states that, that are moving to a state like Florida. Yeah.

The legislature has understood that. My concern is, right, as you know, Preston, iron sharpens iron. And they have supermajorities in the legislature. Some of them, as I think it was Coach Bowden or Urban Meyer, somebody once said that they were born on third base and they think they hit a triple. Okay, some of the legislators are benefiting from what has come before them. So my hope. Without fully understanding how we got there. Correct. So my hope is. And that's our role at the James Madison Institute. Good policy is good politics. Right. Okay. So we have to continue to focus on the principled policies of lower taxes, fewer regulations, supporting small business, allowing Floridians to choose their version of the American dream. And hopefully this legislature will continue to understand. how we got here and why we need to stay here. Perfect example. Last year, trial lawyers tried to really claw back all the reforms that we had in place to beat down all those billboard trial lawyers. Fortunately, we held them off, but, you know, success is never final. So we have work to do always every year. More to come with Dr. Bob McClure of the James Madison Institute here on the morning. What's going on, everyone? It's Bluff here, and we're driving through the States in the BluffMobile, and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino-style games on SpinQuest. They have over 1,000 games, including Live Dealer, Blackjack, and Crops, with tons of slots and unlimited. You can get a $30 coin pack for just $10 for new users. Sign up today. Go to SpinQuest.com right now. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spendquest.com for more details. Show with Preston Scott. Back with Dr. Bob McClure, the James Madison Institute. Time flies when you're talking good policy. Love it. Love it. We've talked about the piece you've got in the Fox News website. Let's circle back to the legislative session, and I know that we've talked at some point about property tax. It looks as though it's stalling. Well, the governor has said early on that he wanted to have a special session that focuses solely on property taxes. Right. Because, and there's a point. I mean, the Florida legislature meets nine weeks a year. So it is a, it is a bum rush to get everything done. And his philosophy is, let's set that aside for a special session. Okay.

I'm sure there's no intent that it also increases the amount of pressure on these folks to pass some meaningful property. I'm sure that has nothing to do with a special session. And they want to go home in politic, right? Because this is an election year. So the governor's smart. I mean, we all know that. There are some things in the legislature now that are going through, but there's so many of them. It's still too early to know. Does the number endanger the whole idea because so much muddies the whole thing and causes people to just tune it out? You can. You can. I mean, obviously there are very smart legislators that can kind of. move things along and tack this to that bill and, you know, the sausage making that nobody likes about politics. But I do believe something meaningful is going to get done. I mean, we have seen the CFO travel to state and highlight in red counties and in blue counties at numerous press conferences. Full disclosure, JMI has spoken at almost all of his press conferences. waste, you know, spending money on things that maybe government, not maybe, government should not be spending their money on, right? So there is. To justify the increased amount of revenue that they're taking in. That's right. That's right. So there is opportunity for waste to be cut out, you know. Obviously, so I, the, the question though, back to your question is where do we go from here? And I don't know. They could raise the homestead exemption to, I don't know, let's just pick a number, a million dollars. I don't know. It's kind of like when Trump raised the standard deduction massively in the big beautiful bill, right? Or actually in 2016, but renewed it in the big beautiful bill. Simplifies things. People under a million get, you know, their taxes. What I don't want to happen, Preston, and this makes me nervous is. We give people over 65 this tax break and we give veterans this tax break and first responders this tax break. I'm four. The people over 65 veterans and first responders getting tax breaks. But it should be everybody. Absolutely. It should be, no. It should be simple. Yep. It should be easy. That's the definition of fairness, isn't it? That's right. That's right. Because think about it. If you, I mean, if they put something for someone over 65 on the ballot. How many 30-year-olds are going to vote for that? I even bother to think about it. They're 35 years away. My children are going to eventually move back to Tallahassee. They're going to want to buy a home. They're not thinking about that. Only if they like their parents or in-laws are they going to think about that. Right. Right. Right. So it needs to be simple. It needs to be broad. And it needs to be significant, like massively significant. So.

For us at JMI, I'll say real quick, we think the simplest thing is to have a levy cap where you tell local municipalities. This is how much you can spend. Not what you can spend it on, but this is how much you can spend. So since pre-COVID, you know, the money at the local level spending has gone up nuts. It's exploded. Some of it's COVID money. Some of it's just the way local municipality spend money. So let's roll it back. Roll it back. I don't know, 2020 spending, 2023. Some people think 2019. I think that's too far back. Okay. Because there has been massive inflation and population growth. So let's say you roll it back to 2022. You cap it. at the local level and you say you can spend what you spent in 2022, make it work. We all have to deal with our budget, but then index it to population growth and inflation. CPI. That simplifies things because that catches fast-growing counties like Collier County in Naples and... Palm Beach County and Palm Beach and Orange County in Orlando, but it also protects rural counties like Madison County and Gadsden County, where if you just, if you just, you know, put on a million dollar homestead exemption, and those counties are going to get hammered. But if you roll back, they're spending to say 2022 and you say index to population and inflation, they have room to maneuver. And then you're not telling them. how to spend, you're telling them how much they can spend. There's a big difference. Yeah, it inevitably comes back to, we wish, informed voters then deciding based on the priorities that local elected officials make on spending, whether they like it or not. Correct. Correct. The whole discussion right now at the Leon County School Board and where the money and whether to close schools, let them have it out. That's between them. State needs to stay out of that. But here's how much you can spend because you guys, everybody, not just Leon County, have been spending like drunken sailors, right? And they're looking to tax us by 30 million more. Right, right. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me, my man. Dr. Bob McClure with the James Madison Institute. Remember, look up the article on foxnews.com, the website. All right, 27 passed.

What's going on, everyone? It's Bluff here, and you know what's more American than America's 250th birthday? Supporting American-owned companies like SpinQuest, America's number one social casino with over 1,000 games like Live Dealer Blackjack and Craps. They're offering new users a $30 coin package for just $10. Go to SpinQuest.com and sign up today. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spendquest.com for more details. a little bit of breaking news here. At least it's something that just came across my desk. FAA closing the El Paso airport for 10 days. Closing the airport. They've grounded all commercial flights in and out of El Paso for some form of military concern. Don't know what that's about. They've also authorized deadly force against any plane violating the airspace that poses an imminent national security threat. Okay. We'll see what we can find out about that. In the meantime, please have with us, Rich Mariano's. He's a former ATF assistant director. He's co-founder of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network. Rich, welcome to the show. How are you, sir? Preston, thank you so much for having me. Doing great, and I appreciate your time. You know, earlier this week, we had the Attorney General for the state of Florida, James Uthmeier, talking about medical devices primarily. But the broad topic, of course, is China and its interventions into the American economic marketplace in unsanctioned ways. Is that sort of the point of your organization? Are you looking at what China is doing inside the vaping world? Well, that and several other things. China is the spearhead of our biggest problem here. Not only are the number one threat to national security, but they are producing the majority, almost 90% of the vape products that are getting into the hands of our kids. These are all contraband. They're all illegal. They're all dangerous. And they're getting into the United States through illegal means and then being found in possession in our schools and throughout our communities, which is creating the biggest problem that we've seen. And I call the new face of organized crime. How are you able to quantify what is out there and how it's getting there? Well, we have several people we work in conjunction with, convenience store associations, different store owners, different people in industry, different law enforcement organizations, articles in the newspaper in terms of seizures and law enforcement events. So we're able to quantify this fairly accurately to depict what the crime, you know, excuse me, the crime picture is.

Okay, your phone's breaking up on us a little bit, Rich. So let me ask this now. Do legal vape shops, are they aware of these contraband products? Are they rooting them out of their own supply chains? How are they involved in trying to help solve the problem? Well. Defying legal is the first thing we need to do, and there is between 30 and 40 different approved vapes, not so much approved, I should say, registered vapes, allowed for tobacco harm reduction. Okay. Everything else that's not on that list is criminal contraband by federal law. So if you want to discuss a legal shop, it has to be someone that is following those directions and following federal law. And the FDA has done a decent job of sending out letters to all these different locations advising them of the law. Some are thumbing their nose and they're involved in more than just selling vapes. If you go on our website to Tobacco Law Enforcement Network.com, you'll see some analysis we did of all the other crimes or unintended crimes that are surrounding these vape shops. I call it almost a licensed crack corner because they're involved in trade-based money laundering. There's been over 500 arrests surrounding these illegal shops. Hundreds of guns, tens of thousands of illegal narcotics, synthetic narcotics, hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal, not-tax payable monies. So there's a bigger picture to play with some of these shops, and that's what we're trying to do is engage law enforcement, engage law enforcement, work with law enforcement like they're doing in Florida, which, by the way, is one of the best jobs in the country, but to go after these locations. You know, just recently, in the last two weeks, you've had two of the largest seizures in the state history because their law enforcement and the Attorney General supports it is to go after these jobs. to identify the problem ones and to take them out of commerce. So they cannot put these products on the street. They cannot longer money. They cannot sell synthetic narcotics. Rich, stand by. We got more to come with Rich Mariano's. He is co-founder of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, formerly with ATF, and our guest here on the morning show with Preston Scott.

Rich Mariano's co-founder, Tobacco Law Enforcement Network.com. You can go to the dot-com website to learn more. Rich, we've talked on the program in recent weeks about legalized marijuana and how Chinese nationals immediately seize on the opportunities in states, even if it's legalizing medical marijuana only and start setting up criminal networks, they undercut the marketplace and begin operating these black market operations. I'm assuming we're talking about a similar type thing. Are these all connected? Is the vaping industry and what the Chinese are doing and I guess others, does it connect to a broader criminal network? Oh, absolutely. And I'm glad you brought that up because some of these factories that are in China are connected to a huge organized crime network. That to include. manufacturing the precursors for fentanyl that's being sent out of China to some of these super labs around the world, bringing it into the United States. They're connecting in ways that organized crime only dreamed of. Just in this criminal vape industry that they're involved in, they're reaming the... amounts of money that we never even thought of. $300 billion. It was our last estimate in terms of how much money there are taking from the United States and destroying our children and destroying our communities. Rich, I've never been a smoker. I've never smoked a cigarette. I certainly am not into vaping or any of that stuff either. So I'm a little ignorant on some of this. What would you say to a parent out there right now or to a young person that has some kind of connection to vaping? What should people know about what we're talking about and what should they do? I'm not a smoker, neither. I'm not an advocate whatsoever. But what they need to know is what is regulated by the FDA, even if they're the parents that are vaping. Because if it's not on the list and it's not been granted authorization to be sold in the United States, it's dangerous. And it can cause... extreme problems in terms of where they buy it from, who they're associated with. And some of these vape shops that I said are just dens of problems are my friends and the people in the organization. We've called dens of deceit in which there's firearms violence, robberies, narcotic sales, gang members. Everything that is evil right now in the United States is being associated around these criminal vape shops. And again, I want to characterize them is criminal. Because if you're abiding by the rules and following FDA guidelines and selling the products that are authorized for tobacco harm reduction, you're not going to see a law enforcement officer coming to take a look at your license or what's in there. It is the other ones that we need to put a full court press on. Jail works in this case, and we need to put these people out of business, these criminal organizations, and send a message across the bow to China that you have nowhere to sell these.

Okay? It's not that easy. Okay? We're going to do something about it and disrupt the marketplace. With the children and the parents, it's just demand reduction. It's constantly having that message with them and let them understand who's behind it. We have been putting warnings on packs of cigarettes for years and people still smoke. We have a list that the FDA says, okay, these are the products that are allowed to be sold in shops. Is there a tell? Is there something that when someone walks into that vape shop, they know that they're selling legal products? Because I just have this sneaky feeling. People aren't going to go to that list and then do an inventory. You're absolutely right, but there's some that you can tell that are just, you know, some watermelon ice, fruity-to-D, Captain Crunch, those that have the Simpsons on there or the minions that are designated and designed through social media to kids with outlandish flavors, outlandish amounts of puffs on them, like one I'm holding right here that has 7,000 puffs. That's like taking in a carton of cigarettes. It's just dangerous. And we don't even know ramifications because it's only been in the last five years that these Chinese products of hit commerce. But we have no idea the ramifications in the next five to ten years of what these young adults are going to consume. Is there a way to know that the shop that someone's shopping at, the vape shop, is legal?

The best advice I can give is go on the FDA site and do not buy the products that aren't listed there and you're not going to have a problem or don't shop at a certain location in which they're selling unregulated devices. Gotcha. That's the best way because, you know, if you're following the law... These aren't going to be in your store. If you're following the law, they're not going to be hidden in secret rooms. Nice. If you're following the law, you're not going to have issues of dangerous clientele spending their time there pushing these things on children. Good stuff, Rich. Thanks for what you're doing. I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much, Preston. Let's stay in touch, okay, buddy. Thank you. Rich Mariano's formerly with the ATF, now with the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network. And the dangers of vapes coming from sketchy places. What a shock. China. 48 minutes passed. I had the funniest story to close the show ever. But instead, I've got the breaking news that I have to reset. I'm just kidding. I don't want you to feel like you lost anything. I have nothing funny to say. FAA has grounded. Again, this is now a big story. All flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days. That is unprecedented.

U.S. government may use deadly force, that is a quote, against an aircraft in violation if it is deemed to pose an imminent security threat. All flights to and from El Paso grounded, including commercial, cargo, and general. Restriction effective last night until the 20th of February. F.A. citing special security reasons for the closure did not elaborate. It's airspace over El Paso as well as nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico. They're telling travelers, contact your airline, make other arrangements. You're going to have to drive somewhere else if you won't fly. It should be noted Fort Bliss is there. It is nearby. It should be noted. It is virtually on the border with Mexico. It makes me wonder if they've got some intelligence about cartels, maybe taking on posing a threat with drones or something to commercial airlines. I don't know. I don't have the answers. We'll hopefully learn more in the coming hours. Brought to you by Baranow Heating and Air. It's the Morning Show 180 on WFLA. My goodness gracious, it's always something. Started the program with God's Word, and that's something we can always turn to, not fall back on. No, that's what you have in your hand as a sword to begin with. We started with 2nd Corinthians 9, verse 8. Talked about the Nancy Guthrie case. They've got some video. Don't know what it means yet other than there's a bad guy. We know that. Even if it was staged, that's a bad guy because he's taking part in it. But the person that they had detained, not arrested, detained, released, FBI says there's nothing to it. The Epstein thing, it's just Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. No sex trafficking. Okay. Whatever you say? Tomorrow, Steve Stewart, Dr. David Hartz. Jerome Hudson joins us. We're going to let you listen to Sean Foresh, the Trump impersonator, and a road trip suggestion. Until then, have an awesome day. I have had no luck lately. Wait, lady luck? Brett Ski, I got you. I've had so much luck on SpinQuest.com. They have all of my favorite games, slot games, live blackjack craps, and bubble craps. You can even get a $30 coin pack for just $10.10 for 30. I'm headed over to SpinQuest.com right now. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit spendquest.com for more details. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real?

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