Show Rewind 04-17-2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right, Jesus right, he saves America.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
And Jery for one nation.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Yes, is from.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher
Thompson on one O three point five FM and five
sixty AM w VOC.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
And we wish you a very good morning for Thursday,
April seventeenth. Welcome to it. It's fifteen minutes after six o'clock.
Back at it again, Columbia's Morning News in the air
everywhere on the absolutely free iHeartRadio app as well, take
us wherever you go. I'm Gary David. Good to have
you with us. Christopher Thompson, good morning to you, sir.

(00:51):
Good to have you with us too, Thank you much.
Monday Thursday, heading for Easter Sunday, which is almost a
month later than it was last year Easter. You know,
I finally why this is this is about. I think,
let's see here, the latest Easter could ever fall is

(01:13):
April twenty fifth.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
I didn't know that.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yes, okay, it's you know, this has confused me all
these years, and I finally read something the other day
about this. It has to do with when there's the
Camember what they what moon they call it. But the
first it's it's like a full moon, but a paschal moon.
I think it is after the spring equinox, and then

(01:39):
it's a certain number of days after that, and it's
all determined by the Catholic Church. Actually it's crazy, I know.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
But anyway, we're just about there first Sunday that falls
after the first full moon, which occurs following the March equinox.
You had it right, yeah, yeah, but it is. It's
it's the Catholic Church who determines.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Something. They get some roller on the two I guess,
so they just messing. What is just mis messing? What is? Well,
good morning, tell you it's uh, it's it's a few
things to get into here this morning. So let's jump
right in. Let's dive in with both feet. Shall we
run down big stories, hot topics. Will we actually have

(02:21):
a university in this state? Shutter its doors? It looks
like that's going to happen Limestone University. At the end
of the semester, we'll close its campus unless unless they
somebody decides to give about what six million dollars They
are thirty million dollars in debt. This will have an

(02:46):
impact on about a thousand students.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Including some kids who are playing baseball right now?

Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, exactly, yes, yes, and I think they just they
cranked up a couple of sports pro at least in
the last couple of years they've cranked but no, I
don't know anyway. Yeah, thousand students, three hundred employees. They'll
sell off the campus. They say they'll continue as an

(03:10):
online institution, but that'll be it. Wow, this is crazy.
So unless they get six billion dollars in immediate funding,
they're going to cease operations again. They've plan to be
purely online, but even that may be in question. They
may just shut down totally. Cannes six. Wow. Okay. As

(03:33):
the State House winds down its session, May eighth is
the last day of the official session. Of course, they'll
be back in special session to deal with the budget
and maybe a few other things. Where do things stand
with a vout your program? It's been radio silence for
the last couple of weeks on this one, right, Well,
we know that both chambers have passed their own versions

(03:54):
of this thing. The Senate wants to use lottery funds
to fund these these vouchers. The House, on the other hand,
they just basically won't go back and do what they
did last time around, even though the State Supreme Court
shut that down and said you can't do it like that,
do it like this. The House has snubbed their nose
and said we're going to try it this way again

(04:15):
for all intents and purposes. So where is it, Well,
Republicans now proposing a compromise when it comes to this,
what compromise we're talking about, we'll get into it a
little bit later on.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
They've got an awful lot to work out before the
end of the session.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
They got that, they got the liquor Liability Bill, as
we talked about yesterday, where the Senate has just gone
and said, you know what, we're going to put the
whole tort reform thing back in there, and so you know,
you got to try to work all that out. Time
is short, burning the midnight all over there if they

(04:52):
get things done. The man who was charged with torching
that Tesla station in North Charleston appeared in court on
new charges. Daniel Brendan Clark Pounder. No, I don't want
to just you know, paying with tupar of a brush.

(05:13):
But usually anytime you see somebody with that many names
they're a liberal, you start to get all hyphenated names
and all. Well, anyway, he's scheduled for arraignment next week.
He's facing charges under the National Firearms Act and arson
of property used in interstate commerce and well three charges

(05:35):
total evandalism as well. Be following that one. The Trump
administration is looking to crack down hard on people who
engage in the activities that this guy has very hard. Meantime,
the Democrats continue to fight for an alleged MS thirteen
gang member who was deported from this country. Okay, what

(05:55):
was the mistake in the deportation. Well, there had been
a judge and immigration judge a couple of years ago
who ruled this guy could stay here because you know,
he has feared for his life and all from rival
gangs back at home. Well, so he was deported. As
you know, this is the story of Abrego Garcia, and

(06:17):
it is sucking up a lot of news at the
time right now.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
This is a bizarre story. And you know what, I
was praising Jim James Carville yesterday saying that he seemed
to have his head on when it came to what
the Democrats need to do and what hill they need
to fight on. And now he's gone all in for
the Democrats bringing this guy back.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Looks like Carville and the Democrats are trying to make
this a case of you know what, if they can
do it to this guy, they can do it to
you two.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Right, Only this guy is an illegal uh huh, a
gang member, and we've learned more about his serial abuser,
wife beater and maybe even maybe even was involved at
one point in human trafficking possibly. How is this any
better for the Democrat party?

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Then?

Speaker 1 (07:01):
You know the pronoun fight or the you know who's
what gender is using what restroom fight, or it's a
head scratcher and male's competing in female sports. And this
doesn't make any sense. How are you connecting with the
American people this way?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
It really makes no sense at all. Uh well, we've
got a lot of talk about on that front today,
a lot of news made yesterday. Uh so, Oh, by
the way, Chris van Holland's trip down to El salad
Or was not fruitful. He didn't get a meeting, he
didn't get a phone call, he got nothing. So he
wasted some tax payer money to go down there. And
now you've got a continue of Democrats want to do

(07:37):
the same thing. So that party is all in on
this thing. Man, You're right, it's it's.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
This bizarre warm up the plane for EOC and burning.
Oh yes, maybe they're next. No, I wouldn't be surprised
at all.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
That's a judge of that judge, that judge Bosberg, James Bosberg,
who is hopping mad that the Trump administration didn't listen
to him when they started sending these gang members down
to l Salvador. Yesterday found probable cause to hold the
White House in criminal contempt. What do you call wilful

(08:11):
disregard of his order? I mean this guy's then got
his feathers ruffled. Man. Okay, this is gonna be good.
Stocks took ahead yesterday because well, Jerome Powell spoke the
FED chairman, saying that they'll stand down now at any
rate moves because in their view, the Trump tariffs are

(08:35):
larger than expected at one time. Powell even channeling Ferris Bueller.
He said, life moves pretty fast. So for the time being,
they're just gonna sit still on all this. Okay, we
got a couple of dims. Could be some hot water.

(08:55):
We haven't really talked much about it, but Latitia James
the New York Attorney General who made it a goal
and it was a campaign problem to hers to get Trump. Well,
the intrigue around her now is deepening the allegations of
financial fraud when it comes to home purchases. The wild
turn here apparently she listed her father as her husband

(09:17):
on one of these mortgage documents. Uh huh. And Jasmine Crockett,
the very outspoken Texas Democrat, now is back in the headlines,
apparently under investigation by the Federal Election Commission for money
laundering through that Democrat donation site Act Blue, an alleged
voter intimidation. Oh do tell, while we're in Texas, we'll

(09:42):
mention this Carmelo Anthony. This is that a high schooler
who stabbed another high schooler at a track meet over
on not sticking in the right place. We mentioned the
other day. His bond was cut from a million bucks
down to two hundred and fifty thous out of jail
on home arrest and in a pretty sweet home too.
Apparently his family is moved into a million dollar home

(10:02):
in a gated Texas community. They've written this for thirty
five hundred bucks a month, even though they told the
court that well, you know, they didn't really have the
money to do much, certainly not to pay that bond, but.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
They've built up quite a go fund meetday.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
And that's what people are wondering, What are you doing
with that money? Huh? All right, we'll get to that.
More come up on this the Thursday morning edition of
Columbia's Morning News, and it's good to have you with us.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
I won't live up the ship.

Speaker 3 (10:27):
Talking about what matters.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
This country is too great to throw over to communism.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
I love it. One O three point five FM and
five sixty am w VOC. This is Columbia's Morning News
with Gary David and Christopher Thompson on one on three
point five FM and five sixty am w VOC.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
The six forty two Good Morning, and they get to
have you on board for Thursday, April seventeenth. Who'd a
thought just a few years ago we'd have to be
talking about a story like this. Britain's top court, the
UK Supreme Court ruling yesterday that only individuals born female

(11:11):
can be considered women. Stunning news. Right, you'd have to
get a country's high court to issue a ruling that
says only people born female can be considered women. So
this landmark ruling now excludes transgender women from legal definition

(11:36):
and also opens up tighter limits on female only spaces
and services. You gotta be a born female to be
a female. This is the culmination of what's been a
year long battle over the definition of a woman. This

(11:57):
all stems out of a twenty ten e quality law.
So fifteen years later they finally made this determination. We
could have stayed them a lot of time and money.
This was a unanimous decision by UK's High Court. Wow. Well,

(12:22):
good for them, all right. So that's across the pond.
Now on this side of the Atlantic, Aaron fry who
is the Democrat Attorney General in Maine. By the way,
Maine is they seem to be manly, a concerted effort
to become the most liberal place in America, the most
woke state of these fifty states. The Attorney general there,

(12:48):
Aaron Frye, said yesterday that there are no concerns of
safety when it comes to males competing against women, none whatsoever.
He says. Apparently he's just missed out on well a
couple of examples like Peyton Knab, who you might recall,

(13:09):
was that the President's that joint addressed to Congress back
in February the nineteen year old volleyball player who suffered
a brain bleed in a traumatic brain injury, along with
partial paralysis and loss of peripheral vision after being hit
in the head with a ball spike by a male

(13:30):
back in twenty twenty three. Maybe old Aaron missed that story,
Or maybe he missed the one about the six foot
tall basketball player with facial hair who injured several females
just down the road from Maine to Little Massachusetts. He

(13:52):
must have missed that one. Or maybe the three players
on a rugby team, a high school rugby team injured
after being slammed by a male in twenty twenty two
must have missed that one too. Yeah, he was on
seeing in New Central. So the state of Maine has
found no reasons to be concerned about men who say

(14:14):
they're women entering women's sports competitions, no concerns of safety. Well,
this battle continues between the Trump White House and these
and in the state of Maine, which, oh, by the way,
I mean, you just can't make this stuff up. The

(14:42):
Miss Main USA beauty pageant is coming up next month.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, Bill Belichick's girlfriend is taking part.

Speaker 3 (14:49):
Bill Belichick's twenty four year old girlfriend, Jordan Hudson, because
she loves her man.

Speaker 1 (14:55):
And she loves her main.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
Yeah, she'll she'll be competing and amongst those, she'll be
competing against Isabelle Saint cyr. I guess I'm saying that right.
See why are seer sire whatever? Who will be the
first openly trans contestant in Maine's paget history. Okay, this

(15:24):
is just.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
It's a little weird.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
It's just a little weird.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
But this, you know, we talk about all the advantages
that men have in sports, you know, athletically. I gotta
think the women have an advantage here in a beauty
pageant over the men.

Speaker 3 (15:40):
Except for apparently in Monson, Maine, where all the women
must be ugly, because that's that's where this guy won.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
Okay, Okay, Well did he win or was it a
political statement?

Speaker 3 (15:52):
Yes, it's probably the latter, And well he won because
it was a political statement, I would imagine, Yeah, that
are all the girls were ugly? I don't know, let's
face it, I mean, girls up north, they're not as
cute as the girls down here in the South. It's
just a fact. It's just a fact. Anyway. So, yeah,

(16:14):
how old is Bill Belichick. He's in his seventies, right, Yeah,
there's a huge age difference. Oh yeah, and I see
the other day where now he's of course he's, you know,
now coaching college football UNC. Apparently he's had some discussions
with UNC officials there about well some of the mean
things said about his relationship with a twenty.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Four year old Well, and she's actively taking part, apparently
in policing their some of their social media pages to
make sure those things don't get said.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
Yeah, and showed up at a couple of practices. Wonder why
scouting out some anyway, I'm getting all off track here, sorry,
So there you go. UK rules a woman can only
be defined as a woman if she was born a woman.

(17:03):
Mains ag says, we don't see these safety issues and
you know, big hulking men competing against women, and who's
gonna who's gonna prevail here Belichick's twenty four year old
squeeze or a guy in the Miss Main competition.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
His birthday, by the way, was yesterday, seventy three.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
Seventy three. Oh, so it's not just a forty nine
year age difference. I was thinking it was more like fifty. Okay,
that's acceptable. Then I suppose.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
You're listening to Columbia's Morning News on one oh three
point five FM on five sixty AM w VOC. Once again,
here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
Fifteen minutes after seven o'clock, and it is our pleasure
to have you ad join us this morning. Thank you
so much. I am Gary David, he is Christopher Thompson.
Mm hmm. This uh an, this story about Kilmargo Garcia.
This is craziness now, and this is becoming more and

(18:06):
more with each passing day, more a story about the
Democrat Party than anything else.

Speaker 1 (18:13):
It is really difficult to understand why they think this
is a winning issue. I mean, I don't know why.
I mean, especially with what's going on with the tariffs,
and I mean there was obviously an economic weakness there
for Trump. I don't know why they suddenly pivoted and thought, well,
this is the one that's going to gain us favor

(18:34):
with the voters again, this will.

Speaker 3 (18:37):
Get us back the center of the house. Yeah, come
twenty twenty six, Yeah, this is the way to do it.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
Here's our role model. Who would love this guy?

Speaker 3 (18:46):
All right? So a Brigo Garcia. You know, you know
the story here. Now, why was it that the Department
of Justice said, yeah, he was wrongfully you know, it
was a mist that he was deported. Well, I guess
it was an immigration judge several years ago who granted
this guy, you know, some sort of protected status here

(19:08):
and didn't send him back because he feared for his
life from rival gangs. Typically an indication that you're probably
a member of a gang if you fear for retaliation
from rival gangs. Okay, just I mean, this is the
way I see it. So regardless, the administration says, you know,

(19:35):
he's not coming back. You know, he's in a prison
El Salvador. Now if l Salvador, you know, it's this
is their decision. All Salvador's president said, no, nothing, I
canna do so. Then Chris van Holland Democrat, Maryland Senator,
at taxpayer expense, hops on a plane, takes an entourage

(19:58):
down to El Salvador as we say he would, and
of course, uh, nothing came out of that. Uh he
was able to speak to the Wow, the vice president,
Felix Augusta Antonio Ulero Garret. That's a bunch of names.

(20:19):
Why did he give him the time of day. What
right didn't speak to the president of El Salvador was
not able to make contact with the Brigo Garcia put
out a video on x I've been a l Salvador
all day fighting for the return of mister a Brigo Garcia.

Speaker 1 (20:39):
And now more Democrats say they're going to join the costs.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Yes, yes, Delier Ramirez, Democratic Illinois requesting a congressional delegation
to visit that prison taxpayer expense, at taxpayer expense, yes, okay,
now alright, so so who this guy? What the Department

(21:03):
of Justice is giving his more information about him, released
more documents demonstrating that this guy is a member of
the of the m S thirteen. His police interview, immigration
court rulings, the hs deportable in admissible alien record highlights

(21:24):
his membership of the gang, which he is disputed, of course.
In a December twenty nineteen decision, the Board of Immigration
Appeals dismissed his challenge to an immigrants judge an imigrant
judge's factual finding that Yeah, Abrigo Garcia is a verified
member of m S thirteen. The board found that the

(21:48):
immigration judge appropriately considered allegations of gang allegations and determining
that he has not demonstrated he is not a day
injured a property of persons. Officers found up Brego garcia
lloitering at a home depot parking lot in March of
twenty nineteen. According to the interview sheet stating wearing a

(22:13):
Chicago bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money
covering the eyes, ears, and mouth of the president on
separate denominations, Wearing the bulls hat represents that they are
a member in good standing with the MS thirteen. The
document states, Okay, what it goes on and on and on.
So the DJ is rolling out information again from past

(22:37):
rulings and past judges that demonstrate this guy's a member
of MS thirteen.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
This is a bad dude.

Speaker 3 (22:43):
Yeah, this is a guy again whose wife had called
authorities on a couple of occasions on domestic violence issues,
and that this guy has a record of being a violent,
repeat wife beater. This according to court documents in Maryland.
She's trying to backtrack on that. She's trying to backtrack now. Yeah,
but it's too late. The reports are out there. Yes,

(23:06):
she wasn't the only one in the filing in which
it written in her own handwriting. She alleged that Abrigo
Garcia repeatedly beat her. At this point, she says, I'm
afraid to be close to him.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
Okay, so he's not a poster child, obviously. So so
now the Democrats who are are still hanging on, they're clinging,
but they're starting to move away from him personally. You know,
he was this great guy. Now they're saying and they've
gone from well, it's not him, it's his situation, right,

(23:43):
it's the situation. And now you've got James Carvell, who
seemed to be one of the few level headed Democrats, HM,
must be off his meds now.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
Yesterday Carvel urging Democrats too strongly, strongly prioritize efforts to
get that Brego Garcia back home.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Now Carvill is the one who's attacked his own party
for the whole pronoun fight, for the fight over genders
in the restroom, for the fight over men and women's sports.
He says, that is those are not winning issues with
most Americans. Yet Carvill thinks this is a winning issue.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
Carvil thinks that bringing back as someone who entered this
country illegally and is alleged and we're seeing more and
more proof coming out of you know, past statements and
court rulings that he's an MS thirteen gang member allegedly. Yeah,
Carvil wants to wants to die on that hill. So
here's what he says. People say, well, we should really

(24:47):
fight on this turf or should we fight more on
ordinary people? He says, and this we should fight on.
You can't pivot to an economic issue. Wait a minute,
he says, this is where we think we're a country.
And if we do this to him, it's an old saying.
Carbo says, first they came for the you know whatever.

Speaker 1 (25:07):
Well that's a Holocaust poem, m hm.

Speaker 3 (25:09):
And then whatever, and then they came for me.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
So so this which he doesn't know obviously, but right, yeah, yeah,
it's it's talking about staying silent when they came for
others and the right eventually it's you came for me.

Speaker 3 (25:24):
So so car the Democrat, parent of the Democrats are.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
This is so he wants them to identify with this
person who's now back in El Salvador.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
I don't know about him specifically, but the whole, like
I said, the problem, the whole situation. Right, they're they're
trying to paint Trump as being someone who will willing
nearly just take anybody and everybody and ruin their lives,
send them off to some president El Salvador or whatever.
They're trying to get some kind of bigger play here

(25:56):
that this is a police state, and it's like, you know,
I can't. We're just waiting now for somebody to bring
up a whole Nazi reference. Again. It's coming, you know,
it is.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
That argument doesn't hold water. I don't think you have
a whole lot to fear if you're in this country legally,
if you don't beat your significant other, if you're not
a violent defender.

Speaker 3 (26:16):
If you're a member of a violent gang. But yeah,
it's it's it's really, this story is becoming less and
less about a Braio Garcia and more and more about, Wow,
this is the Democrats are going here now. Really, you
can take us on the go.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
Or doings with the iHeartRadio app one O three point
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Speaker 3 (26:38):
AM w VOC.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher
Thompson on one O three point five FM and five
sixty am w VOC.

Speaker 3 (26:52):
All right, yeah, seven forty three, So the stunning news
that a university in our state is is we gonna
down Limestone University over and Gaffneing, which has been around
for what close to one hundred and eighty years, I guess,
But a private universe, A private university, yes, not getting

(27:15):
state funds. Not big school. You know, about a thousand students.

Speaker 1 (27:22):
That's why I'm not stunned.

Speaker 3 (27:24):
Well, that's true, about one thousand students, about three hundred
staff members and deepen the hole, how deep? About thirty
million dollars? Deep? Okay, So again you talk about you know,
universities and such, you know they're thirty million in the whole,

(27:47):
and you've got, you know, publicly supported institutions at least
to something to be publicly supported. Thirty million dollars they
spend that in a day if they wanted to. Right,
it's the haves and the have nots. But certainly stunting
to the one thousand students on the campus that were
told that after this spring semester that's it. They're going

(28:11):
to shut it down, sell off their assets, buildings, everything
else if they can, and some three hundred employees will
lose their job. Not to mention the the economic impact
for the surrounding community said to be about one hundred
and fifty million dollars. Wow. Okay. Now their goal is

(28:34):
to continue as an online only institution, but even that
may be in some question. Now they could avoid this,
they say.

Speaker 1 (28:43):
If they get a major donation.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
Yeah, got a Limestone grat out there with a bunch
of money, like six million dollars worth.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
Gaylord Perry coached there, did he really?

Speaker 3 (28:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (28:55):
I mean he's no longer, he's no longer with us,
But I think it was their first baseball code.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
I did not realize that.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
I don't know. As far as famous alums, I don't
know who else that would include.

Speaker 3 (29:06):
I don't know. And that seems to be part of
the problem. The endowment for Limestone, which even during the
middle of the pandemic. You can't blame this on the pandemic, Okay.
In July twenty twenty one, there's things were starting to
ram down with the pandemic. Certainly, their endowments sat at
thirty one and a half million dollars. Well by June

(29:30):
of twenty twenty three, it was down to twelve point
seven million dollars. Yeah, it's bidonomics. I say that loosely.
I don't know, but that was a pretty big hit. U.
Matter of fact, that thirty one point five million dollars

(29:53):
they used to have in their endowment is about them,
the kind of money they're they're in the hole right now.
So yeah, they say, if a White Night were to
come forward with a six million dollar donation, they could
keep your doors open. Now this is and again I
don't know that this we'll come into play at all,
but keep this in mind. The Limestone Charter Association sponsors

(30:19):
thirteen different K through twelve public charter schools. Now, who
is the guy's name that came forward last year when
the State Supreme Court ruled that we couldn't be funding
these private school vouchers the way the State House had
voted to fund them, And you had a guy who

(30:42):
is all about private schools in charter schools, and he
stepped up and said, I'll pay the tuition for them all.
I can't think of his name right now. What if
they called him just on that, you know, hey, listen,
well you know we're sponsoring thirteen different charter schools around here.

(31:05):
That might be a lifeline for him. Possibly now they'll
be able to continue to do that. If they continue
as an online institution.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
But still, if you're online only, that's going to kill
some jobs.

Speaker 3 (31:17):
About three hundred.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
Yeah, that's gonna kill you know, a lot of economic
activity around that campus. Yeah, I mean, we know, kids
eat and drink and party. Yeah, one hundred and fifty
million dollar economic impact on the community. They buy books,
they were in apartments, et cetera.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
Yeah, well it's uh again, didn't they just start a
football program there a couple of seasons ago at Limestone football?

Speaker 1 (31:45):
I mean, I know they're playing baseball, yeah, playing, but
maybe maybe not, maybe not. There was a smaller school
that started a football program, and they took me by surprise.

Speaker 3 (31:52):
I thought, wow, they're not that big to have a
football program. They do have football, okay, all right? Yeah,
and you know, and again this may be one of
this is you know, I know, our oldest son years
ago played some baseball at Newberry and you know, another
private school. And at the time, I remember being told
that it was at least fifty of not sixty percent

(32:14):
of the students on campus there were involved in a
like programs in varsity sports. So for some of these schools,
that's the way to get them in there.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
You know, they have a lot of teams.

Speaker 3 (32:24):
Yeah, and as a result, you got a lot of
kids on scholarships and all, and well they're not paying
the full load. So it's yeah, it's tough. It's not
just business small businesses going out of business, a small
universities like Limestone too.

Speaker 2 (32:43):
You're listening to Columbia's Morning News on one oh three
point five FM and five sixty am WVOC. Once again,
here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.

Speaker 3 (32:54):
It's sixteen minutes after eight o'clock in the morning. It's Thursday,
April seventeenth. Appreciate you being here into the final hour already.
I wanted to flying on by here. Also flying on
by is the number of weeks left here in this
legislative session. Signee die, it's the Latin lingo for you
right there. Last day of the session is May eighth,
and there are still some big topics to be resolved. Now.

(33:18):
One of them and this going into the session was
the big topic, and that was a private school vouchers.
As you will recall, last year of the State House
passed a piece of legislation, the governor signed it, and
then the State Supreme Court shot it down said it

(33:38):
was unconstitutional to do it the way they did it,
and even when as far as saying, you know, if
you do it this way, basically we'd be okay with it.
So this was the big deal going into this session,
and it looks like right now as it stands, they're
looking at a vote in about two weeks so toward

(34:00):
the end of the session to try to make this
thing happen.

Speaker 1 (34:02):
So, so the priorities were that bill energy, Energy, which
we've not heard a lot about it here recently have
and what else I'm trying to remember, Oh, well, the
liability Well, I don't know that was initially on their menu.
I think that secondary or tertiary when I get popped up. Yeah,
but I mean it's we're coming towards the finish line

(34:25):
and it just doesn't feel like what tax reform.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
Yes, So, so.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
There were three main things, Energy, the voucher program, and
tax reform. And where are we on all three of those?

Speaker 3 (34:39):
Well, let's see here. Energy, I don't I don't know,
I mean, we we've we've got some legislation that would
I'm trying to remember what it was now, oh oh
oh yeah, it would uh kind of speed up the
timeline the regulatory process. You know, when environmental groups have

(35:02):
issues with you know, this being built of that being built,
and you know, up until now it could take years
to try to resolve these things or to file complaints,
and they want to speed that timeline up to not
slow things down. Okay, got that. There was talk about
restarting construction at the VC Summer Nuclear Expansion site. Of
course that would require finding a private company to come

(35:24):
in and foot the bill. Although remember they did work
on some legislation that would not to the degree of
the original Baseload Act. Is that what it's called Bayes? Yeah,
but kind of giving a pass to utilities when it
comes to, you know, taking on new ventures kind of.

(35:51):
So that was the energy and we still have an
ever burgeoning demand on energy and no solutions yet the
voucher program. Okay, So where we were here recently was
that the Senate had decided they wanted to fund this
from a lottery funds. The House said, for all intents

(36:12):
and purposes, we want to do it like we did
it last time, and you know, we we will tweak
this or tweak that, but basically we feel like, well,
you know, we got a new Chief Justice over there
in John Kittridge, and he was kind of in favor
of us last time, so we think it'll get through. Well,
So there's been a compromise here. Has the sausage been

(36:33):
made and is it good enough to pass Supreme court
muster Here.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
That's a heck of a gamble.

Speaker 2 (36:39):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 1 (36:40):
If you're wrong, yeah, and if you're right, it almost
looks like you like you were counting votes at a time.

Speaker 3 (36:47):
Yeah, I'm sure they have been. So this compromise now
is that this plan should be funded. However the state
House chooses from year to year. This is rich. So
you know, one United State House may say we're got

(37:09):
to fund it with lottery funds or next year the
general fund.

Speaker 1 (37:14):
We'll make it up as we go. Yeah, But then
if they did use lottery money again, I mean, they
would get challenged in court again.

Speaker 3 (37:23):
Lottery money or little fun money.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
If they used I mean, they're going to be challenges
to everything they do. So just tossing it out there
and saying we're going to do it however we decide
this particular year, that's not going to solve any issues.
As soon as they say, well, this year we're doing this,
they're going to get challenged and it's going to be
taken to court.

Speaker 3 (37:41):
Yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
So they're not avoiding the court fight by saying we'll
decide from year to year, so you can't challenge us.
Yet you're just kicking the can down the road and.

Speaker 3 (37:54):
You're setting up for annual annual challenges. That's it's kind
of weird.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
And here's what I would worry about. I mean, there
are egos at play here. I would worry if I'm
the legislature and especially the House, and I am essentially
telegraphing that I think I've got the Supreme Court's vote
in the bag, I would worry about the Court voting
the other way, just to prove that the House was wrong,

(38:25):
that you can't count on our votes and you can't
know what we're going to say ahead of time. I mean,
I think that's a very realistic possibility.

Speaker 3 (38:35):
And so you're a parent who wants to put your
kid through a you're done with the public school thing.
You want your child to go the private route, and
you're depending and again, you know, people think, oh, this
is for private schools and those rich kids and the doctors.
Why no, this is the original goal was to provide
mental and even lower income families maybe more focused on that,

(38:57):
the opportunity to enrich their child's education by having these vouchers.
I mean, there is a set limit as to how
much income you can make in order to be eligible.
So what about these parents who have their child enrolled in? Now,
from year to year you gotta wonder, well, Okay, I

(39:18):
got a voucher this year, but they got you know, three, four, five, six,
seven more years to get through this. And every year
I'm gonna have to wonder, will this will the method
they choose next time around survive a legal challenge that's
not going to make the parents feel very good. So
there's that, and then of course the uh, the negotiations

(39:39):
on the liquor liability law is that's that's that's hit
a roadblock.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
Well, I mean, the restaurants and bars are are deeply upset.
They thought there was a resolution here. The House had
come up with it. You know, the House had waived
the white flag and said, all right, if we can't
figure out what to do about tort reform, the huge
issue of tort reform, we can at least pass something
right to make you know, to to ease the situation

(40:07):
regarding bars and restaurants and the liquor liability insurance they pay.
And then the Senate said, Nope, we're going to tackle
it all. It's all or nothing.

Speaker 3 (40:16):
We're doing the whole thing.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
And there's already a lot of controversy about the all.
You know, as we've pointed out there, there are a
lot of special interests at play here.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
Yes there are.

Speaker 1 (40:28):
But they could have fixed it very narrowly, and they
decided or the Senate decided against it.

Speaker 3 (40:33):
Yeah, just to put the entire whole total port reform
package back in there. And I don't know how you
reconcile those two.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
I don't know that you do.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
I know that ain't trying to make the sausage. That's
trying to make something. I don't know what it is
man that that's that's that's like the process.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
One on three point five FM and five six am.

Speaker 3 (40:53):
No fuff us fair the information I need that gets
me through the day.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
W VOC. This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David
and Christopher Thompson on one O three point five FM
and five sixty am w VOC.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Sometime for final thoughts here on a Thursday morning. Let's
start with uh again, the deportation of gang members. We
talked to earlier this morning about the Democrats have rallied
around an alleged MS thirteen gang member who's, aside from
the being an alleged MS thirteen gang members, apparently just

(41:33):
not a good person to begin with, the violent individual.

Speaker 1 (41:37):
Which they've somewhat realized that now because now they've switched
from you know, that's a poor Maryland man who's being mistreated,
and now it's well, even Van Holland mistakenly called him
a US citizen yesterday. Now it's become well, it's it's
not just him, it's it's anyone could be in that situation.
It could be you or me.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
You could find yourself in an El Salvadoran prison just
because Trump doesn't like you. Yeah, that's the message they're
trying to send right now. Well, this judge James Boseburg,
the Obama appointee who got all hot and bothered because
he didn't get to the bench quick enough to prevent
the Trump administration from deporting what one hundred and some

(42:19):
odd alleged gang members down to El Salvador several weeks back.
Now he's issued a rule, he's found probable cause now
to hold Trump administration officials. He doesn't specify which ones
in criminal contempt, saying he might refer them for criminal prosecution. Yes,

(42:43):
he called it a willful disregard of his order. Okay,
well we'll see where this one goes. The Supreme Court
is already ruled yes, the Alien Enemies Act can be used.
But but but what a total win because you got
to have, uh, you know, a certain ability as a

(43:09):
as an alleged gang member to challenge that before you're
shipped off to L Salvador. But this this judge Boseburg,
he's uh, he continues to press the issue here. He says, uh,
there is a cure for this, though, maybe uh the

(43:32):
administration can arrange your way for these deportees to use
US courts to challenge their detention.

Speaker 1 (43:40):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
I assume that means while they're still detaining El Salvador
and not bring them back here. But you know what,
it seems like that's what the Democrats light to do.
Just bring them all back because you know why you
could be next. Stocks took ahead yesterday because you know that, uh,
that's your own power. Guy talks the head of Fed.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
Not exactly a positive spin for mister Powell either.

Speaker 3 (44:03):
No, it wasn't. Basically, the Fed's gonna not make any
changes to interesting even though even though remember the inflation
number for March was two point four percent, right, we
hadn't been close to the FED stated goal in a long, long,
long long time. It had been coming down. I get it,

(44:26):
but it took Trump to get an office to get
it almost to their benchmark two point zero percent. So
two point four but still, yeah, Powell is, you know,
saying these tariffs were bigger than expected, so they're gonna
sit tight for now. And and even in channels Interferris Bueller,
life moves pretty fast. I think it's I think the

(44:47):
actual line is life comes at you fast. Life moves
pretty fast, he says. So they're gonna they're gonna wait
and see where things go here, all right, now, more
intrigues swirling about Letitia James. This is the New York
Attorney General who, just like the DA Alvin Bragg in
New York City, ran on a campaign of getting Trump,

(45:09):
and they tried their dead level best. Well, now she's
got issues too. The Trump administration says that she not
only falsified records in connections with multiple properties er fraud,
but that she even previously listed her father as her
husband in order to secure a mortgage. The last couple

(45:34):
of weeks of the n allegations that James and a
relative purchased the home in Norfolk back in twenty twenty three,
and the documents tied to the purchase, James pledged to
use the home as her principal residence. She's she's up
in Albany, New York. Right, that's the seat of government
for Albany. But she was going to use Norfolk as

(45:56):
her principal residence working from home. I guess I don't know.
This is an apparent violation of a New York statute
that requires all state white office holders who actually live
in New York, falsification of records, all sorts of things.
She's got issues now down in Texas. Jasmine Crockett, who's

(46:17):
always in the news for all the wrong reasons, the
very outspoken and offer rocker Democrat, now apparently under investigation
by the FEC, the Federal Election Commission for money laundering.
That sounds serious laundry money through Act Blue, which is

(46:38):
that Democrat donation site. Oh and also alleged voter intimidation.
Humh a donor report who have given fifty three separate
donations to her campaign? What a lot of money five
hundred andiney five bucks made through the Act Blue Donations portal.
But the donations are tied to a seventy three year

(46:59):
old in Texas named Randy Best. Best wife says, I'm
no knowledge of these donations.

Speaker 1 (47:09):
Well that's not necessarily illegal, but.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Right, but did he did Randy Best actually make these
donations or ah, that's the that's the question. Also questioning
in Texas, where did this money come from? Carmelo Anthony,
the high schooler who was arrested in charge with stabbing
to death another high schooler over you know that's not

(47:32):
your seat who told you yesterday, had his bond reduced
from a million dollars to a quarter of a million
and was allowed to go home on a house attention
while he awaits trial. Is well moving into a pretty
cushy place now. His family reportedly moving into a nine
hundred thousand dollars home in a gated community. They didn't

(47:56):
buy it, they're apparently renting it about thirty five hundred
a month. According to Zilla, was what it what it cost,
and oh and somebody got a new car too. How
much money did about four hundred and fifty thousand dollars
in a well well I want to go fund me
but a give send go account. Apparently the money the

(48:17):
feminine had access to it. Yet, but people are wondering,
where'd you come up with this dough because in court
that first bomb was issued, they said, well, we don't
have that kind of money.

Speaker 1 (48:26):
We you know, we talked a lot this morning about
the right and wrong hill to die on, and we
talked about the Democrats and this this particular issue. You know,
a high school kid who kills another high school kid,
apparently just from being in the wrong place at the
wrong time, and and and maybe there was some you
know that attract me, yeah yeah, and touching and you know,

(48:49):
you touch me again and I'll kill you. And and
yet you see people on social media and they're giving
this kid money the killer and saying he was.

Speaker 3 (48:59):
In he did missus. Louis Luigi MANNGI only.

Speaker 1 (49:05):
Like, it's the wrong fight. You're on the wrong side
of that fight.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
And I don't know what this means. But Michael Crest,
I don't know. Some guy named Michael who is the
White House Director of Science and Technology, making comments about
the technology in the United States, said this, our technologies
permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated,

(49:40):
cause things to grow and improve productivity. Wait a minute,
dude just said we have the technology to manipulate time
and space. Really, I don't know what do we really, well,
let's use some of that, right. Come on, I go

(50:02):
back about forty years, start all over again.