The Vince Coakley Radio Program | Economic Headlines | Fauci held in contempt

What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on Tacoma, Tundra, and Forerunner with the space and features for any adventure. It means driving for less, with available hybrid options, delivering great MPGs without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your truck will hold its value for years to come. Shop Toyota.com to find out more. Toyota. Let's go places. Yes, yes. It's Friday. Welcome to the Vince Coakley Radio program. Glad you're here. Lots to talk about over the next couple of hours. And your interaction, involvement is certainly welcome as we discuss a number of things going on. We will talk about the economy, some... Disappointing news on the labor front. We'll talk about the jobs lost in the month of July. Also a little bit more about what's going on in many households right now. As people deal with inflation, rising costs, how many people are actually affected? And what are their lives looking like right now? You heard in the news about... Donald Trump's executive action dealing with birthright citizenship. He's taking another bite of the apple here. Will the Supreme Court intervene in some way to shoot this down? Well, we will have to see. We'll talk about that coming up. Anthony Fauci on the pathway as we mentioned to a possibility of criminal contempt. All the pins on what the Justice Department decides to do. You'll hear from Rand Paul on why he is recommending that action. We have got to talk about the Panthers. It was quite a game. Although I have to admit, I did not watch the game. All I needed to see was one play. And I have to tell you, I was absolutely blown away. I hope it's a preview of coming attractions for the upcoming season. The Carolina Panthers will talk about that coming up. Mitch McConnell out of rehab. Yay! I'm sure you're cheering. You know, this is one of those stories. Have you seen all the memes, the Mitch McConnell memes? I saw one this morning. Someone it created with AI. A video of his wife, Elaine Chow, pushing him out of the hospital. And the guy looked dead. I mean, it was bad. It was just like people are just, they are rough. It's a very rough crowd out there. Also coming up, we'll talk about the midterms. You heard yesterday our conversation about the possibility of a third party, the Tucker Carlson group with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie, all of those people. Now you've got some people out there talking about something else different, and that is how about doing something to support the independence? You're going to hear one man who...

talks about this particular concern. I think that's probably all I should attempt to take a bite at today during the course of the broadcast. I want to begin with some positive news. We all value safety, right? So to get characterized as one of the safest cities in America, that's certainly a good thing. Now, we can't say that for the city of Charlotte. The good news is a couple of cities in the Charlotte area actually made the list. The Observer has this story about how North Carolina is home to four the safest cities in America, four of them, four mid-sized North Carolina cities on smart assets, 26 list of the safest mid-sized cities in America. They reviewed more than 300 cities to come up with this list. It's quite a few. Here are the key takeaways. Chapel Hill, Kerry, Concord, and Moorsville earned spots on the top 75 list. It's pretty impressive. These are cities with populations between 65,000 and 250,000. These scores based on violent crime rate, property crime rate, auto fatality rate, natural disaster risk. Safety and security are major determinants of quality of life. They wrote in this survey, knowing that some mid-sized cities offer residents a stronger sense of everyday security than others. Chapel Hill drawn recent recognition beyond safety, including Forbes, naming UNC Healthcare, one of America's dream employers in 2025. North Carolina Department of Public Safety says keen awareness and basic safety practices are key to reducing the risk of becoming a crime victim. The summary points above compiled with help of AI tools and edited by journalists. So this list, as we mentioned, are fine cities of Concord and Moresville making the list. And to those folks we offer, congratulations. I think that's very much something to be proud of. Still, to come in the broadcast, we're going to talk about an interesting initiative, an effort by a parent's group to make a very important change when it comes to technology. We will address that and we'll talk about the economy. What is happening there?

Back on the broadcast, 20 minutes at 10 o'clock. On that WBT text line, driven by Liberty Buick GMC, Dean writing, and Vince, stay focused. It's Friday. I'm not saying our government is not dead on with issues involving numbers. Keep in mind, it's a lot easier to interpret new job gains than it is to cover up actual job losses. Look around. I don't see any of my friends who are very happy about the current labor market. Kind of a challenging environment right now. We will talk about that coming up in just a bit. An interesting story in the observer about something that's really become a trend, not just here, but around the world. I think there's a growing awareness that something has to be done about our connection to screens. and especially younger people. CMS parent group pushing for K2 student device ban and five other tech changes. This is part of that trend. Technology reforms. They want to get rid of student device use in grades K through two. Parents started a Charlotte chapter of Schools Beyond Screens. An organization originally founded 2025 to limit screen use in Los Angeles Unified School District. CMS parents have created a list of six changes. They're calling for CMS to enact before school starts, August 25th. They're calling this the essential six. Ali Call. A CMS parent, former educator, telling the observer the group model the list after actions that LA took, as well as feedback they got in a survey of over 180 CMS parents, students, and teachers. They want to protect children's early education in elementary school and protect critical thinking. That early time period meant for connection and interaction with your peers and with your teachers. And it's really hard for us to make that a constant in the classroom with the distractions of technology. The essential six. Blocking YouTube on student devices. Boy, that is huge. This would not include teachers' devices in case educators want to use content available on YouTube for instructional purposes. No student technology use in kindergarten through second grade. This would not include required state testing or accommodations for students with disabilities. Prohibiting student technology use during indoor recess. Eliminating requirements students use iReady, an online tool for assessments and lessons for a minimum amount of time each day or week. Enacting a bell to bell ban on personal technology devices. State law requires public school districts, have cell phone use rules, as it is. CMS current policy prohibits use during instructional time, but not in hallways or between classes. Parents are calling for those restrictions to cover the entire school day. Wow, talk about withdrawal, huh? CMS board?

Committing to review the district's technology policies during the 26-27 school year. Parents are calling for the board to make sure existing policies align with evidence-based practices. In the spring, the same group of parents called on the board to reconsider the district's use of eye-ready altogether. CMS has used the platform, which has digital reading and math assessments and lessons for the past two. And students spend about 90 minutes a week using that. What do you think about these ideas? Would you like to see these implemented in the school system? There's no question that there is a trend of recognizing, more and more people are recognizing we've got to get our children away from these screens. And it's especially of concern how early. So many of these children are getting, children are getting introduced to screens, and the addiction is starting very early. Is this a good move to go in this particular direction? Love to get your thoughts, 704570179, if you would like to weigh in on that particular issue. By the way, I don't think I have anything in my collection. to address this today. But we've been talking periodically this week about the nomination for Attorney General Todd Blanche. And I believe now there are two senators, Republicans, who are definite knows on his nomination. So the president cannot afford to lose one more. One person who is unknown. on this particular issue is supposed to announce his position today. So if anything happens with that, we will certainly let you know. I think the latest person, I think it may have been Susan Collins. I think it's Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, both of them have announced they are not supporting Todd Blanche. So we'll keep you posted if there's any news on that front during the course of the day. Let's talk about the economy. CNBC reporting the economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July, 23,000. The hope was, by the way, that there would be a gain, but there was a decline. Non-farm payrolls fell by a seasonably adjusted 23,000 for the month compared to a downwardly revised 20,000 for June. The Dow Jay Jones Consensus forecast had been looking for a gain of 83,000. So this is a definite letdown. Here's another interesting factoid. The same time, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%. But here's the... Other part of this, the labor force participation rate fell further. 61.4%. That's the lowest in more than five years. It's not good. And as if that wasn't bad enough, they've gotten back and revised the past. What will you mean by this? Well, in addition to the weak numbers for June and July, the final count for May revised down to 63,000.

which is 66,000 lower than the prior estimate. The revised numbers brought the 12-month average down to just 34,000. That's pretty paltry. The drop led by 50,000 decline in local government education, a loss of 19,000 retail jobs, financial activities, posting a 14,000 person decline, health care, A leading sector for job creation up by 22,000. That's a good thing. While jobs held flat, worker pay also saw virtually no gain. Average hourly earnings increased by just two cents. The 12-month average down to 3.2% below the forecast increase of 3.5. So the question now, before the Federal Reserve, what do they do? They're kind of split on what to do about interest rates where the labor market have been improving. Inflation has remained well above the central bank's 2% target. Several Fed officials are spoken in favor of raising rates as soon as September. If the pace of price increases doesn't ease. The Federal Open Market Committee last week voted 9 to 3 to hold its benchmark rate in place. After the jobs report, traders shifted their bets on when the feds might hike. Odds for a move in September fell to 44% to 58% for October. So this certainly figures into expectations and plans of the Federal Reserve as they try to navigate. the management of the money supply under these current conditions. Still to come, how are you faring in this current economy? An interesting survey that tells us one thing, and I'm very curious about those of you within the sound of my voice, how you are doing? Are you a confirmation of this survey or are you an exception? We'll talk about this and more as we continue the broadcast. What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on Tacoma, Tundra, and Forerunner with the space and features for any adventure. It means driving for less with available hybrid options delivering great MPGs without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your truck will hold its value for years to come. ShopToyota.com to find out more. Toyota, let's go places. 38 minutes after 10 o'clock on that WBT text line. Stanley writes in years ago in one of his shows, George Carlin said, we vote for people, complain about the job they do, and vote them in again. Why do we do this? Because the problem isn't them. It's us. Apparently we think they're the best among us. And this is the best we can do until we expect less from government.

Except responsibility for our own lives and other parties selling us the same lives that we can keep our freedoms relaxed and they'll take care of everything for us. It isn't going to fix the problems. Spoiler alert. We do get fooled again. That's kind of sad, isn't it? Gabby writes in about the economic conditions, doing well. Cook at home, stay around the home you're paying for if you still have a mortgage. Why do people want to get away from their biggest expense? Should I buy a new car and then say I want to get away from my car? Let me call an Uber. That is an interesting perspective, isn't it? I continue to see things like this. And this, it's interesting because there are two surveys that are pretty much saying the same thing. Lending Club. A survey finding 63% of Americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck. 90% report having less than $500 remaining each month after paying bills. Rising, housing costs, inflation, debt payments, everyday living expenses, leaving many households with little financial flexibility. Financial experts recommend building an emergency fund, reducing high interest debt, creating a monthly budget where possible. The findings reflect the ongoing financial pressure facing millions of Americans, millions of them, despite a relatively strong job market. This from CNBC, reporting the same thing, talking about this same set of figures, the financial strain. Anywhere from roughly half to two-thirds of Americans, depending on how the question is asked, nearly all point the same direction, little to no financial cushion for a majority of households. Rising housing, childcare costs, hitting even six-figure earners, with nearly 40% of households making $100,000 or more, still reporting they live paycheck to paycheck. I told you there's something going on. We've been talking about this for a while. And it's kind of like the unaddressed issue. The elephant in the room, there's a sense of denial here. And I think it's a potential for Democrats to steal an opportunity to seize voters. That's their goal this election season. There is absolutely no question about that. Love to get your thoughts on this issue. Donald Trump taking another bite of the apple on birthright citizenship. This is likely to face a legal challenge, but... What is he doing now? A pair of executive orders, limiting who qualifies for automatic citizenship and cracking down on so-called birth tourism. Trump's new push to deny citizenship to some children born in the U.S. more narrowly tailored and would impact fewer people. It's focused on children who do not fall within the rule of birthright citizenship as announced by the Supreme Court. The first order.

Declare certain individuals are ineligible for birthright citizenship when neither of their parents are a citizen, including the child of an alien enemy or foreign government employee. It also targets the children of parents who engage in a commercial transaction to access birthright citizenship, including paying to ensure the person's mother is present in the U.S. or a territory of the United States to give birth. I think we mentioned this on this program. Do you remember? I think it was a hospital. They were offering some sort of deal, encouraging people to cross the border in order to give birth. I mean, it's a racket. And this isn't new folks. It's been going on for years. And unfortunately, we've not had administration until this one that's really paid attention to it. It's really insane. In the second order, Trump asked the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, They've tasked them with stopping individuals from entering the country for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism. Again, this is, it's really despicable. We've got industries, basically, that have been cultivating this for quite some time. And they've been doing it with impunity because there's been nobody trying to stop them. Why wouldn't they continue if they're making money off of it? It's profitable and certainly the people who want the access. Why wouldn't they do it? Love to get your thoughts on these matters as well. On the Vince Coakley radio program still to come, we are going to talk about that incredible Panthers game yesterday evening.

10 minutes before 11 o'clock to the Vince Coakley radio program. I want to quickly are we able to listen in on a very important speech that is taking place on the Senate floor. This is from Senator Bill Cassidy, who is basically the one person who can make or break this nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General. Let's listen in a little bit. And to make the right decision. With that, I yield. Ah, he's finished talking. I am waiting to find out what this decision actually is. Because as I said, what he decides to do here on this Todd Blanche nomination will determine whether Republicans have the votes or not. So, yes, he is voting. for Todd Blanche. We just missed him saying that by seconds, but he is affirmed that he's going to vote for Todd Blanche, which means that it looks certain now that Todd Blanche will become the next Attorney General that confirmation vote could take place today. I want to take you back to last night in case you weren't watching. And I have to acknowledge, I did not see. I mean, I saw parts of the game, but I did not see all of the game. But I had fun playing this part over and over and over again. This was the Panthers winning play yesterday evening. Set the stage for you. Imagine this. Two seconds left. Just two seconds. And the Panthers are down. I think the score is 30 to 27. And then this happens. Listen up. If you take the preseason and the regular season and all the way to the Super Bowl, there are 334 NFL games. Good omen to the season that game one comes down to the final snap. It is indeed. Why not, right? Wait in 179 days for this. Give us good ball. Here we go. Off box. Quarterback throw. Another chance. Game on the line. King, he's going to step up. Pumps, runs. Go line. Is he in? Yes. Carolina wins. King's King. King of the night. That's like Adam. Whole teams out there mopping them. It's party time in Canton, Ohio.

last night and wow was that absolutely crazy the call there on NBC and what a what an ending what an absolutely awesome ending which we hope is a preview of coming attractions for the panther season once it gets started joining us to provide some perspective on all of this a guy who's got to be in a great mood mac is back with us good morning sir Vince, what's up, man? I got goosebumps. I'm telling you right now, it might have been the greatest preseason game I have ever watched. These things are usually snoozers, usually the offenses and the quarterbacks look terrible. Both these teams were out there scoring points. putting up, you know, big pass plays. It was beautiful last. That was fun. That was legit fun last night, Vince. It certainly was. And I think especially for so many of us who have waited for this team to come through, now it's kind of given a sense here before the start of the season. You know, maybe there is hope for this team. Tell me about some of the good things you saw last night that... You think would vote well for the Panthers season. Well, I wouldn't start reserving, you know, hotel rooms for Super Bowl week just yet. I wouldn't do that. The Panthers didn't play. I mean... basically every starter. I mean, outside of maybe one or two last night. So this was a chance kind of for the depth guys to play. And don't get me wrong, there were things that were bad. Some of the young cornerbacks that are buying for playing time like Cory Thornton and Rookie Will Lee, they had rough nights. Offensive line early, I think, had a rough time when Kenny Pickett. The backup was in there. But this game was all about Haynes King, who ran the ball in on that clip you played. for the game-winning touchdown as the clock hit zero. This kid's a rookie out of Georgia Tech. He was the ACC player of the year last year, a quarterback, and he was undrafted. And the Panthers who have been very good under Dan Morgan, the GM, with some undrafted free agent pickups. This might be the latest gem because he played a great game last night. He's great at running around and making plays, but he really threw the ball well from the pocket, and that's probably why he didn't get drafted. He didn't do a lot of that at Georgia Tech. At Georgia Tech, it was a lot of running around making plays that way. Last night, he made some real legit NFL throws, and he led that game-winning drive and made the big play late that they needed. So Haynes King, that was a, you know, the Panthers have been looking for a young developmental quarterback to kind of develop behind Bryce Young. And he might be that guy. That was a heck of a start by him last night. I certainly was. You know, one of the things that I think so many people have been concerned about is the fact that this is a team that's kind of in a rebuilding stage. What did you see in terms of the...

the team and it's, I guess, cohesiveness and the leadership out there on the field. What did you see that, I guess, gives you a sense of how far along they are in this rebuilding process? I will say this. I do think that we have a season where there are legit expectations. I mean, this team won the division. I know they had an 8-9 record. I know they needed help to get in through the back door to the playoffs at the last game last year. But I would say it's safe to say if this team does not win the division, the NFC South, if this team isn't in the playoffs, it's going to be a disappointment. I mean, it's not the first two years under Dave Canales. They improved by three wins each year, and I think we were, hey, that's good. We're making progress. I think there are definite expectations, and there should be. Bryce Young's had an amazing training camp. He has really throwing the ball well. The defense added two big money stars in the offseason, and Jalen Phillips on the D-line, Devin Lloyd at linebacker. I think this defense is going to make another jump. The injuries have been the problem this so far. It has been a rough. early season of camp in terms of injuries. But I do think, like, we talked, Vince, about all the depth guys that were playing last night. Some of them played really well. Some of the depth-wide receivers like Jimmy Horn and John Metchie played really well. I think Dan Morgan's improved the depth of this team where they can better handle those injuries. But, yeah, I mean, expectations are here, and I expect the bank to be rocking this season, man. I think, you know, I think they, hopefully they are at the point, like, past the building it up. And they're ready to start, you know, taking it to another level. You know, I think that's the expectation. Hey, I absolutely hope that you're right, and they come through this time around after a spectacular performance yesterday evening. Mack from the Mac and Bone Show, WF&Z. Thanks a lot for join us on the broadcast to have an awesome weekend, man. Thank you, brother. Be good, Vince. On the Vince Coakley Radio program, hour number two, straight ahead. What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on RAV-4, Grand Highlander, Camry, and Corolla, with the features and style you deserve. It means driving for less, with hybrid and plug-in hybrid options across the lineup, delivering great MPGs. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your car will hold its value for years to come. Shop Toyota.com to find out more. Toyota, let's go places. Welcome to our number two, the Vince Coakley Radio program on this Friday. What do you think about Panthers? Were you pleased with what you saw yesterday evening? If you'd like to weigh in on that, 7045-701.079, you can call. You can also text to register your approval or disapproval or sense of optimism about the upcoming season, whatever it is, that might be on your heart in that regard.

We haven't discussed it on this program, but it was mentioned in the news. Marsha Blackburn is the new nominee for governor in the state of Tennessee. And she is probably well in her way to becoming the governor now that she has that nomination. A text her mark writing in Blackburn for president. And you have to suspect that those kind of ambitions are probably right around the corner if she is able to secure this office in January of 2007. Also on the text line about the Panthers. I like Bryce. Very skeptical. We get any further than the previous two seasons because he's a small... NFL quarterback. However, the coach is supposed to know and understand what we don't. Time will tell whether they are correct or not. Mike writes in, Vince, I owned and operated an auto repair shop for over 20 years. I was shocked by the cars, people from all walks of life who drove fancy cars yet lacked the ability to pay to fix their fancy car. Excessive consumerism. Keep up with the Jay Jones's mentality of the culprit. No government program can fix this for people. Living within one's means simply cannot be mandated. You just can't do that, can you? This is where my mother's expression that we heard over and over as children comes into the picture, a hard head makes for a soft behind.

Ah, what do you do? Jeff, writing in, I don't put much stock in these preseason games, even when it comes to my team. Most of the guys you saw last night will be playing minimal time or holding clipboards and others will be selling insurance or cars, bagging groceries, teaching, and coaching. Maybe even competing with you for a radio talk show slot. Also, if you don't read anything else I write, today is the last day for early voting in South Carolina. Vote Ralph Norman. He is the best chance to chop block the liberal uniparty machine. Mm-hmm. Dana writing in, in defense, Drew Brees was undersized as well. but still won the Super Bowl. So the question, does size really matter? It's a fair question, isn't it? Quite a fair question. As we continue our broadcast, some days ago, we had a conversation about Anthony Fauci and the fact that he... was determined not to answer any questions because he's concerned about the possibility of getting nailed for perjury. Well, now, the committee has decided to call upon the Attorney General's office to pursue contempt of Congress charge. That is the direction that they are going now. Contempt. He refused to answer questions. You heard the over a hundred times invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Now, the Justice Department will decide whether to pursue prosecution here. Is this something that they want to touch to address this issue of Anthony Fauci's refusal to provide answers to the committee? That was the whole purpose, to get some answers. Now, the truth of the matter is, a lot of these answers have been discovered. And there are contradictions of what Anthony Fauci has testified to in the past. This guy is pretty much dead in the water, which is why he had to be pardoned. Joe Biden is no fool. He knew that this guy needed protection, and this goes years back. As for the Republican position on this in calling for... The prosecution by the Justice Department, let's hear what Rand Paul had to say about this yesterday.

Eight days ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci sat before this committee in the witness chair under subpoena. For conduct covered by the President Biden's full and unconditional pardon, reaching back to 2014, Dr. Anthony Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution. All he had to do is tell the truth. More than 100 times, though, he refused. The chair ruled that Dr. Anthony Fauci's assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege was unsupported in light of the pardon and the testimony he offered in his opening statement. The chair directed Anthony Fauci to answer. He refused again. That is what we were voting on today. Not his opinions, not his policies. Not anything he said from a podium six years ago. We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence. Yep. You know, it is crazy to just watch this guy right out in the sunset with his wonderful pension. After. I mean, can we really describe the depths of what this man has done to this country? The deaths, the economic ruin, the educational ruin. It's a trail of destruction. And this man just basically has flipped the bird, not just to this committee and to Republicans. This man has flipped the bird to you and to me, to every single American. It's really a picture of profound arrogance. So stay tuned. We will see what happens here in terms of Justice Department proceedings against this man. By the way, another developing story that we are watching. We have a court ruling about the ballroom. You know, the one that the president has decided to undertake? We will talk about what the court has decided on this coming up after the break. Before we get there, you heard Rand Paul, the good senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, my former home state. Then there is Mitch McConnell. After weeks of speculation, questions about... How this man is really doing. We got a statement from Mitch McConnell yesterday. Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehab center to continue my recovery at home. Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff. On the advice of my doctors, I will maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during... the state work period, and I'll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business. So again, a statement from Mitch McConnell, who is now officially out of the rehab center.

Back on the broadcast, 20 minutes after 11 o'clock told you about the developing story on White House Ballroom. Here is what has happened just minutes ago. This is something that's going to continue in litigation, I'm sure. Federal Appeals Court. has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to stop construction on that $400 million ballroom on the side of the White House's demolished East Wing. They're calling this a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority. The Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a divided two-to-one order upheld a preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. That organization sued last year after the administration tore down the East Wing and started building a 90,000 square foot ballroom without seeking authorization from Congress. Here's what the court said. Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide. It's not a matter for executive self-help. Ooh. Congress has not ceded unfettered authority to the executive branch to dramatically redesign, reshape, and reconstruct the White House, the People's House, to fit a particular president's desires. Ooh. The appeals court placed its ruling on hold for 14 days to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. At this point, no response out of the White House or of the Justice Department. So there you go. We'll see how long it takes to get some sort of response out of the White House and what course of action they pursue.

On the text line, the WBT text line driven by Liberty View GMC. Jamie says, Vince, love your show. I find people don't cook at home to save money anymore. Drive by any restaurant or cafe in the parking lot is full. People out spending money they don't have and then panic at the end of the month when their money is gone. Sean on the subject of athletes, especially in the NFL. The size matter? I don't know. Ask Mugsy Bogues. Yeah? Fair question. Charles on Anthony Fauci. Pardoned by a senile old fool to cover up one of the biggest crimes of the century. Yep. Very effective, huh? Chuck says they should hold him, as in Anthony Fauci in contempt. This will start a great precedent. We can make sure any time the NSA director or the CIA director or any member of any presidential cabinet, Congress, or whatever, who fails to answer questions should expect the same. I've watched many hearings where the witness fails to answer the American people and the silence needs to stop. Dana would like to know what's the difference between his refusal and President Trump's refusal to answer questions. Uh-huh. Alan Congress needs to be very concerned about getting nuclear capabilities away from Iran instead of focusing on Anthony Fauci. Will we be in an all-out assault against Iran next week sometime? I don't believe Trump lets Iran manipulate him further. We shall see, Alan. Dennis, writing in, I find it ironic. Obama and Biden and Clinton could do any addition to the White House without issues. It's probably a partisan element to this, you think? Let's go out to a call here from Rob wanting to comment on this. Good morning and welcome, Rob. Yeah, good morning, Vince. Thank you so very much for inviting me on to your show. I appreciate it, and I listen to you as often as I can. Quick comment. Obviously, another prime example of our liberal judiciary gone hog wild. So many people... Forget the judges don't make laws, okay? They enforce the law, okay? It's already written. So what do they expect President Trump to do? Rebuild the oldies wing? What are they going to do? I mean, you know, a darn thing is almost halfway complete. So no common sense here at all. And it's obviously going to be overturned, you know, at SCOTUS. But we have to go through this. And we see the partisanship. of our judiciary, that's what's so concerning to me as an American. You know, these are just unelected legislators in black robes, and it doesn't bode well for our country. Thank you very much for letting me comment, Vince. I appreciate it. Hey, I have to ask you a question, though, Rob. Aside from this court adventure, how many Americans do you think are concerned about a ballroom?

I know I'm not. I know. I know I'm definitely not. I mean, as long as they don't tear down the White House, I'm good to go. I hear you. Yeah, you're putting a new helipad in. needed to be done, protect the grass, and that's as far as my environmentalist leanings go. But, yeah, he's upgrading things. He's refurbishing things. And you don't have any problem with that at all. And there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. I do want to ask you, what's in the forefront of your mind? You've got midterms coming up here. What's the most important issue for you right now? The most important issue for me, Vince, is retaining control of Congress. and the Senate. We've got to elect and re-elect people that allow us to maintain our majorities in both houses. Otherwise, you're going to have a lame duck presidency, and Donald Trump might as well go ahead and pull out that fancy pen of his, because he's going to be using it a lot to veto bills. Nothing is going to get done for the last two years of his presidency, and so it's very, very important that we elect conservative Republicans back to the time. I'm going to put you on the spot. Can you identify for me anything that's been done by the Republican House Senate and presidency just over the past year? Identify something. It's gridlock. And, you know, I'm as angry and frustrated as anybody else. Nothing seems to get done of any consequence. They couldn't even pass a daggone voter registration bill events. I mean, for crying out loud, I was in the library the other day, and the librarian there, she was looking up some books for me, and she asked to see my driver's license. And that's something that I pay for out of my tax dollars libraries. And I had to show her my driver's license. And so the idea that you can't even pass a law that says you need to show your daggone driver's license when you go and get to vote, that's right there the apex of what's so wrong in this country. Hey, I hear you, man. And, hey, I appreciate your passion. Thanks very much for your call, Rob. Very passionate voter. Isn't it funny? And again, I'm not trying to trip Rob up. I was just getting to that question, you know, we've got to make sure we hold on to the House and the Senate. For what purpose? I'm not even necessarily disagreeing. Are they going to give us more of what they gave us this year? It's just mind-boggling. And this is where I have to agree again with my good friend Thomas Massie in saying that they have squandered. They're controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House. They've squandered it. It's poor leadership is what it all comes down to. So the question is, and I think this will be a question for January, if Republicans hold on, you need to ask the question, should the people who have basically done nothing of consequence for the past year, should they be given a chance to do it again? And the answer is hell no.

But what do I know? As we continue our broadcast, the Vince Coakley radio program, phone number 704570179 on 107.9 FM, WBT Charlotte's FM News Talk. Still to come, we will talk a little bit more about the midterms. And what about the independence? I know there are a lot of you out there. What kind of choices do you have? Do you guys kind of get the shaft when it comes to opportunities for voting and representation? And that text line is just scrolling away in addition to the phone lines. Let's go out to a few calls here, beginning with Todd. Good morning. Welcome, Todd. Going once? Going twice? We'll see if Todd can reach back out again. Amy, good morning and welcome Amy. Good morning. How are you? Doing well. I just wanted to ask a question. I'm an independent, and I agree that the Republicans have done pretty much nothing, and I'm very disappointed in that, but I'm also a Christian, and I've seen the uprising of Islam in our government. And I believe, according to my readings in Revelation, that the United States will not be a nation in the end. And I believe that it's going to be the Muslims that infiltrate and take down our country. And they've already extremely infiltrated the Democrat.

side of things so what's what's your opinion on that with the muslims infiltrating the democrats and them possibly getting back power i think the best way to describe it actually amy is to say it's a team effort because if you think about it their objectives are very much the same and they've been doing this at least the radical left they've been working on this objective for decades this It didn't just happen overnight. So the best way to characterize this would be to say that, yeah, it's a team effort. And we've reached a point where... I think it's reached a point of critical mass in certain places, certain parts of our country, just from population. And I think if there's not significant efforts underway to address issues of education and immigration, I think we're just a few years behind Europe in their demise. I'm just being honest about that. So go out to a call from Stan. Good morning and welcome, Stan. Okay, Ben, I had a question that I wanted to ask, and here it was, with how much of a home, and basically it's just through for almost every good or product of this service, how much of a home percentage of a home do we actually end up paying for the actual home itself? So I'll look this up. And that's what I want to tell you. In terms of regulations, this is an average, the average cost of a home around the country is almost basically $499,500. And here's what, if you look at up AI, and this is from the Homeowners Association, the Home Builders Association of America. Out of that price, we pay $131,734 in regulations. $40,000 for building code changes over the last decade. Post-lot purchase fees are $20,000. Extra architecture rules are 16. Land given to the government is $593. Studies and compliance fees are $10,000 plus. Extra landscaping mandates are $10,000 plus. OSHA labor rules are $8,000 and zoning approvals are $7,000. So 26.4% of what you pay for a home is in regulations. And by the way, when you pay for the home, you finance this part into the purchase price, so you're paying interest for these regulations on top of that. Average percentage of the home paid for in property taxes is 12.5%. Then you add in the interest cost over the life of the loan, and that's average about 42.5%. So you end up paying about 81.4% in government added costs on the home, and only the rest of it to actually buy the home itself. It's pretty crazy, isn't it, Stan? We've gotten to this point. So this is how communist. The tax private property rights. They don't outlaw it or forbid it or prepossess it. They don't do it openly. What they do is they make it so expensive for you to afford it. Eventually, future generations can't accumulate any. And you do know that there is a very aggressive effort underway for people like us to own less. And this certainly fits right into that objective. Stan, very much appreciate your call. And again, the question becomes,

Who is going to stand up and reverse all of this nonsense? Because that's the real issue. What's going to be done about it? I don't need politicians flapping their gums. We need people going to go and just bring out the hatchet. That's what needs to happen. What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on Tacoma, Tundra, and Forerunner with the space and features for any adventure. It means driving for less, with available hybrid options, delivering great MPGs without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your truck will hold its value for years to come. Shop Toyota.com to find out more. Toyota, let's go places. Final stretch to the broadcast on this Friday. Let's go out to a call here from Kim. Good morning and welcome, Kim. Hey, how are you this morning? Hey, doing well. You're the man of the people and level-headed and all that. And I'm just a little bit angry right now, so I appreciate you giving me some airtime. All these administrative people up in our government saying that people don't mind paying extra for gas, haven't been going to 7-Eleven today. It is packed out for people trying to say 50 cent a gallon. And so I thought it was a good day to be talking about it because this place is crazy. Really? Now, where, it's kind of dangerous to say this, to ask this question, but where is this happening? In Denver, North Carolina. Ah, so is it one gas station in particular offering 50 cents off and people are going crazy? Well, they are packed out and they've got several of the pumps closed. So 7-Eleven is making the business, and we are benefiting from it if you get to get up to the place because it is packed out. You can't move hardly. That's pretty incredible. My main goal is saying is we appreciate 7-Eleven for doing that, and these people up in the higher-up say that we don't mind paying extra for gas are not at the 7-Eleven. Yep, they are certainly far removed from having to pay for it is... what's generally happening here. Before we go to more of your texts and calls, I promised, and I definitely want to get to this because I think there's an increasing desire for representation by people who don't want to be categorized as Republican or Democrat. Before I get to that, I also want to share another social media post from... Steve Dase, who's very concerned about the midterms. He posted this today. Rich Barris of Big Data polling is as MAGA as it gets. His latest generic ballot polling for the midterms. Democrats plus 11. In other words, yikes. We have to stop spinning our wheels yet again in the Middle East. There's not a war happening. We're just kind of hanging out.

for reasons waiting to negotiate with demoniacs. You can't negotiate with anyway. So if you're not going to vaporize them, come home, fight for the American people for it's too late. And this is pretty much what Steve was saying on this program, I think on Thursday. Wednesday or Thursday, actually, when he came on this broadcast and said, you just got to do it. And get out of there. So let's talk about this matter of independence. And some of these figures, this figure was surprising to me. The majority of American voters identify as independent, 47%. Did you realize that? America's never elected a true independent to Congress. And this posting... indicating this is evidence of a broken system, a system that's been rigged by the two major political parties to make elections uncompetitive. So Americans from across the political spectrum, they're kind of tired of this, looking for real solutions. And they wonder, what would happen if you had real independents who were in office? It's the same question posed by Joe Manchin. who was very independently minded. Here's what Joe Manchin had to say. We just found that there's no structured support for somebody just remaining independent. Can you imagine if they don't caucus with either one? What's going to happen? They wouldn't get any committee position. Is the committee doing anything anyway? No. You liked your committee position. I liked my committee position. I lied you do it a lot for West Virginia. Yeah, but the bottom line is that bills didn't come to the floor. We passed things in a bipartisan way, and it was always controlled by the majority leader. But they're going to have to vote. They can't deny them to vote, and I'll guarantee you. They can go to any committee meeting they want to. And there's going to be time going to say, boy, if you were just caucus with us today, we'd get this past or that. They can moderate an awful lot. We think it's a way to start bringing the parties. I believe the Republican Party wants to be the grand old party again, and I believe GOP, but I believe the Democrats would like to be responsible. They've got nowhere to go and they've been pulled to the left and the right. Something's got to change. They open the primaries up. Let's have competition. But now what we can do is get a couple people elected that can sit there and say, listen, this doesn't make any sense at all. It's not the oath I took to defend and protect the Constitution. It doesn't make sense for my country, and it's not a way to get things done for my state. We give them to support once they get there and we'll change things. Yeah, just imagine if they had to work with just a handful of independence, what would this look like? I just think that would be kind of fun, too, and certainly less predictable. Break up that uniparty. Any case, I hope you have an awesome weekend. God bless you. Adios.

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