The Rod and Greg Show: Controversial Sculpture Set for Salt Lake City; Tyler Robinson Hearing Updates

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Or number thirteen.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
There's a lot more than there's a top twenty worth thirteen.
But you know, yeah, there's a lot of mid market
in America. Your top thirteen out of like a zillion.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, you just want you wanted to brag a little
bit about that, Sally, didn't you? All Right? How are you? Everybody?
You're lifting to the Rod and Greg Show right here
on Utah's Talk radio one oh five nine canter s
and of course live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm Rod Arquet, I'm citizen Greg Hughes.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
All Right, we have got a lot to get to,
but a breaking news story coming out just a short
time ago from Channel four here in Utah reporting that
there may be some action Monday on Bears, Ears and
Grand Staircase. Greg, I love it.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
This is actually just kind of putting back in place
what President Trump did in his first term, critically and
importantly here in the state of Utah. We had President
Obama right on his way out, just like Bill Clinton
did on his way out, using Utah as a ATM,
giving the environmentalists more encumbered federal land, turning a national monument,
Bear's Ears national mind and just took this massive, massive

(01:02):
area away from San Juan County residents who are good
stewards of the land that they grew up in and
are part of. Well, President Trump gets into office and
and reverses that actually didn't remove the entire monument. Yeah,
in a very significant way. As soon as Biden got
back in office, he reversed that. Now, I thought this

(01:24):
would have happened sooner than later, But finally it looks
like he's going to restore the work that they're for
their first term, the work they did in their first term,
which is good news. It's good news.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, he's apparently, according to Channel four, expected to sign
an executive order on Monday shrinking the side of Grand
Staircase and Bearsier. We aren't sure how much it's going
to shrink, but already the environmentalists in this state are
up in arms.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, that's possitive. How dare he do that that, folks?
That is the best signal that we are on the
side of angels, is that that is positive social proofing.
When the viros are losing their collective minds, then you
know you're doing the right thing. I will point out
that when this was originally reduced, we had we had
Tay I was back when I was speaker and it
was during his first term. We took Secretary of Interior

(02:10):
then uh Zinky uh ryan Zinki around and that you
know the black House helicopters around to show them the area.
They did a study. They they shrunk it that that
ceremony of that executive was signed in our capital rotunda
in December of that was December of sixteenth.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
That was a big, big deal, well a big deal
back then.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Man.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
I got to ride in them. I got to ride
in the mine. I got to go on Air Force one.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
I know.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
I got. I got a lot of cool I looted.
I got im napkins and I got I got, I
got the little the pads, note pads and the pens
I did and I had my hands full. And the
Air Force lady, it was like the door of the
military at the door, like guarding the door, looked at
me because it did look like I was looting the plane. Oh,
I got permission though they gave me for and I

(02:56):
told her I had permission to have all this, OK,
and so I it was. It was a glorious day.
This one will be at the Oval Office restoring it.
I got to tell you, I loved our experience better.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Apparently it is scheduled for two thirty on Monday afternoon,
two thirty hour time, Monday afternoon, and several people from
Utah have been invited to go on back to Washington
and see the signing of this executive order.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I don't. I'll bet you there's some good rural
county commissioners in that in that in that delegation.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
So Grand staircads one point nine million acres right now
and Bear's Ears one point three five.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Folks, do you realize that this is already Bureau of
Land Management land, so it's already restricted to some degree
the FEDS control it. And then they say we're going
to make it a national monument or not whatever it is,
and they put greater restrictions on it. And you know
what else happens when you make it a national monument.
You get more people that know about it because it
has this new distinction. That means more foot traffic, more tourism,

(03:51):
more people that get lost. That poor little San Juan County,
their RESK, their search and rescue went three thousand percent
higher trying to help people find their way out of
there because they got lost. It doesn't make that actually
that area more pristine, more protected. When they make a
national monument, it actually puts more traffic on it and
it creates a bigger hazard because people get lost, they

(04:13):
need to be rescued. It's all. It's not as advertised
as everything that the leftists do it. It's not what it's
not consistent.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Signing and expected to take Monday. Now the other big
story today, and this one is really ticking us off. Oh,
the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of
killing Charlie Kirk, is now over. The judge ruled today
or he said today, Judge Tony Graff that he will
not make a decision whether or not to bind this

(04:46):
over to trial until September. First, are you kidding me?

Speaker 2 (04:54):
It is I can't get my head around it, because,
first off, everyone's been saying it. You had there so
much evidence, and it really isn't the place where the
prosecution lays out its entire case. They're supposed to show
the critical, most important pieces of evidence that would tell
you that there is enough probable cause to proceed there
or guilty. That isn't The decision is is there a

(05:16):
probable cause? And so the prosecution would like to not
lay out every single card it has. It would like
to show enough of the big things that of course
we're going to move forward. This thing got stretched out
all week long, which ridiculous, which there was already commentary
that it never had to be this long. There was
enough evidence to bind this to trial and move forward
on Tuesday. On Wednesday we looked it up. I mean,

(05:39):
a normal one would go that day, thirty minutes, would
go an hour. A couple of days may we went
stretched this out all week. But the only two choices
that Judge Tony Graff has is to proceed with probable
cause or dismiss the entire case. Is he really prepared

(06:00):
DNA with witnesses that he confessed with, with videotape of
him being there, with now video that says that you
can see him actually even shooting. Is he ready to
dismiss this entire case?

Speaker 4 (06:11):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (06:11):
I don't think the answer to that is yes. So
why September one to make that simple decision?

Speaker 1 (06:17):
The only reason I can think of greg the only
reason maybe. Okay, we've talked about Utah and other high
profile cases. Okay, Yes, but as I can recall in this,
I may be off on this. This may be the
only high profile one involving the death penalty.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Maybe, and maybe that's what's holding him up. I don't know.
But for him, the family has a right to a
speedy conclusion of this whatever is going on.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Here's the right to a speedy trial.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, right to a speedy trial, you know. And they're
dragging this and dragging this, and Tony Graff is letting
him do it, and he should say.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
Enough so I, you know, I will admit I don't
know what I don't know. I'm not I'm not an
I don't go through this. We had a great caller
yesterday put some context to some of the things he
thought that the judge was doing in terms of giving
the defense a little bit more latitude than what we
thought was necessary. And that was that he was And
this listener who is a defense attorney, said that, you know,

(07:18):
there's going to be appeals every time the defense loses anything,
they want to appeal, and he was taking a little
bit longer. He was making those appeals less viable by
doing it being as thorough as he was being so
fair enough, there I hope we carry this over this discussion,
because I know we have other things we're going to
talk about this hour, But maybe we go to our
callers and we have some officers of the court, some attorneys,

(07:39):
someone that could tell me why on earth with what
we've seen by way of DNA eyewitnesses, you know, testimony
from those that parents said he confessed his brains, or
his boyfriend he said he confessed, the video of him
on campus, everything that's there, how does this take till
September first? Because you can only say go forward or

(08:00):
dismiss the whole case. How could you ever dismiss this
case based on what we've heard just to go forward.
I'm not saying he's been found guilty right now, but
to not be able to move forward with the kind
of evidence that's been presented, Yeah, I mean, I just
I am just shocked that that it would ever ever
take that long. Same Well, there's people out there that

(08:21):
might know better than us, and so I'd love to
hear it.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, let me tell you what the national media is
going off on Judge graft today. They're saying, what is
he doing? You know, I mean, how much more evidence
needs to be introduced? To convince this judge, yes, bind
it over.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
They're guilty. It's just I think we need to flesh
this out a I mean you're gonna have a court case.
What I mean you have? I will bet you anything
that there are cases with circumstantial evidence or they don't
have a weapon, they don't have the gun, they don't
have they don't have DNA and they get to proceed
to trial. I'm sure that you don't not every case.
How to have the kind of evidence this case has

(09:02):
to be able to go forward, and this case has
that all of that. So I don't know how if
you if you flip the script and say, why is
it taking you so long to decide to proceed? Tell
me how you would tell me why you would say
dismiss the charges, He's free to go. How would you
get there?

Speaker 1 (09:19):
We'll let you hear what the national media is saying
about this and get some of your comments on this
coming up later on here on the Rod and Greg
Show and Utah's Talk Radio one O five nine can
wrestle this week about a sculptor who wants to build
a grand Utah, a grand arch of liberty, I think
is what he's called it. Is that right, Saban? He
wants to build that here in Salt Lake City. We

(09:40):
saw this story and we said we got to find
out what this guy is up to, and we got
to hold him. He already got a hold of him
and he said, I'll come into the studio and talk
about this. So Saban, Howard, how are you? And welcome
to the Rod and Gregg Show.

Speaker 5 (09:50):
Thank him.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
Honored to be here.

Speaker 5 (09:52):
I did the World War One memorial one hundred and
fifty yards with the White House, finished that after nine
year epic story. And I can't out to Utah with
no commissioner, no governing body, just a calling to make
this monument to represent my country. And why because it's
the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of our nation and
I'm going to build something so that we can think

(10:13):
about it moving into the future.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Tell us about the Grand Liberty Archs. What is it exactly?
What are you trying to do?

Speaker 5 (10:19):
It's a symbol for liberty. And so it's a fifty
six figure monument with an arch because an arch is
a paradigm that you pass through and you move forward,
you move through to another vision of what our country is.
It's a redefining moment. We have Lady Liberty in New
York Harbor, but she's static and she was made in

(10:40):
the eighteen sixties. She's amazing.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, that's our hairtage fantastically, But you've.

Speaker 5 (10:44):
Got to redefine it. You got to keep making monuments
when we're fractured, to unify the country and get it
back on track. We got a lot of nonsense going
up going on out there that's about destruction, destroy and protest.
So I'm like, no, I'm a builder artist. I know
it's unusual for an artist to have values and sacred
values at that and so I came up with this

(11:06):
composition over the last year and a half and I
built the model. We unveiled it at the Capitol Building
on Monday night, and now we're going to build it
up at the Capitol Complex to the northwest of the Capitol.
I have a park there one point three side of
an acre site.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
It's a beautiful thing, and there's a north building that's
just been finished. It was the architectural vision of the
Capitol from early nineteen hundreds. It was the first big
building was completed in nineteen sixteen. But then you saw
that it was always supposed to be four buildings, the
north buildings finally complete, beautiful park, a beautiful area there.
This will be adjacent close to that. It's a perfect

(11:42):
place for it. But you said something Saban that I liked.
You want to commemorate as an artist the two hundred
and fifty year anniversary. But and I think we'll get
this in the next segment. But Smithson, not just the Smithsonium,
which didn't really do a whole lot on the two
hundred and fifty year anniversary. Why is it important because
we didn't feel like we felt like we did in

(12:03):
seventy six. Why is it important to really put a
stake in the ground and talk about two hundred and
fifty years that this country has been here? As an artist,
why was that a big moment for you to do
what you're doing right now?

Speaker 5 (12:14):
Look, this is that monument is very close to my heart.
An artist doesn't follow the herd. An artist has a
vision make an Art's not democratic. It's about having a vision.
And I believe art because it comes what we do
comes from a rich tradition. It's Western civilization. Our country

(12:34):
comes from that same civilization of Europe. We didn't start
at zero. So we have great attachments to things that
are sacred God. For example, faith, family, and country are
very strong elements to how our country was first established
by the founding fathers. Seems to me like there's a
lot of diversive activity going on in our country today

(12:57):
that is about destruction. You have a lot of protesting,
but the protesting doesn't give you anything else to do.
It's just a tearing down. So I said, okay, we'll
build this monument and redefine who we are. So it's
not a small sculpture. The figures are twelve and a

(13:18):
half foot in scale. On top of the arch twelve
and a half foot scale, and on the relief panels
are six of them. That goes from the initiation of
freedom in our country to a transitional period in the
eighteen sixties on the side, to then Utah and moving
out west in the twentieth century. Is this an amazing story?

(13:39):
And as an artist, I have a lot of ties
to this. Because we don't know when our next paycheck's coming.
We don't get a paycheck on Friday. You have to
step into the void and you have to have faith
that your foot will hit the ground. What do you
think George Washington. Do you think he had a paycheck
on Friday when it crossed and went to Valley Forged

(14:00):
with his men and spent that brutal winter. No, he
had a vision and courage. And so we should speak
well of our history and we should play it forward.
And if you build something in bronze and granite, people
will come. And if they come to see that monument,
they will be changed because it's an epic bronze movie
for our citizens. We the people like it. Back you

(14:24):
mentioned this minute ago. Greg and I are both from
back east. We have the Statue of Liberty. Back east.
You get to Saint Louis, we have the arch. You
leave Saint Louis, there's nothing out west. Yeah, a huge
symbol about America out west. This is what I think
you're directing it. This is what you're hoping for.

Speaker 1 (14:41):
I believe that I.

Speaker 5 (14:43):
Moved to Utah in Salt Lake because I believe this
is a rising city. The East coast and the West
coast are problematic.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
If you want to take something that is a way
to put it, Savan. This is problematic.

Speaker 6 (14:59):
Here.

Speaker 5 (15:00):
There is it's not yet created. We're not yet crystallized here.
We're very young area eighteen sixties. If you think about it,
there's a lot of opportunity and there's a lot of
building going on here, and the economy here is booming.
It's a red state. We got something here. Yeah, yeah,
we sure do we shure? Do shall we break and
come back? Or do you have the show real quickly?
And then?

Speaker 2 (15:20):
But I'd like you're ready to hang on to the break.
Just you said you're a builder. There's a lot of
destroying going on. I like the idea that you mentioned
that this arch has its history engraved, so no one
can rewrite it, no one can take it away like
you do in schools and curriculum. That's an important aspect
to this, that there is education that won't go away
once it's once it's there.

Speaker 5 (15:39):
On the arch, inscribed and etched in those granite walls,
it says in God we trust and e pluribus unum.
Those are the mottos of our country.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yes are they? Sure?

Speaker 7 (15:50):
Are?

Speaker 1 (15:50):
All right? All right, We've got a you're gonna hang
with us because we've been talking a lot about what's
going on in the Smithsonian, and you have a few
opinions on that as well, like share all right, we'll
talk about that. All right, Moore coming up, It is
the Rod and Greg Show with you on this Friday
afternoon right here on Utah's Talk Radio one oh five
nine kN R S. Let's continue our conversation with Saban. Howard.

(16:12):
Saban is the sculptor of this wonderful idea talking about
a grand liberty arch here in Salt Lake City. But
Saban has had to deal with I guess museum business
back in Washington as well, and there has been a
critical report coming out about what's going on. The Trump
administration very upset with what they see taking place at
the Smithsonian Institute. I know you've read up on this.

(16:34):
What is your reaction to what they're doing to the
our history? Saban?

Speaker 5 (16:38):
Well, first off, I want to say there's something very
positive about this because it's being unearthed. So in the
last few years during the Biden administration, you had this
misdirect where the real history was ignored and history was
seen as basically, let's reject American heritage, reframe history through

(17:02):
a DEEI agenda. And the big fail that we're looking
at right now through this institution is you're not showcasing
America's Founding era except to castigate it and say the
founders were slave owners. Yeah, it's there's a lot more
going on than that. And I if you, if you

(17:25):
look at it, this isn't There is a concerted effort
to destroy our republic by rewriting history. And I believe
that this is this All these narratives that are coming up,
especially with an institution like the this is a huge one.
The Smithsonian is an enormous institution responsible for our history,

(17:49):
the history of our country, and now it's being unearthed,
which is great because the funding is going to go down,
It's going to get chopped. Yeah, and this is going
to We're going to have a house cleaning, which is
very nice, necessary to get us back on track.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
You know, you said something, so you were involved in
the World War One?

Speaker 7 (18:06):
What is it?

Speaker 2 (18:07):
Okay? And you and me knowing nothing about that process,
you described a pretty lengthy process of just the bureaucracy
or the reviews that you have to go through. Maybe
you can share with our listeners that what that kind
of scrutiny looks like and what that type of scrutiny
has been morphed into with the Smithsonian today.

Speaker 5 (18:26):
So you would think Okay, you're going to do I
win this three hundred and sixty Global Design Team competition,
so come out number one after a six month trial,
and then I'm like, yeah, I'm psyched. Well, it doesn't
it's not like that you won the Booby Prize here,
because you know then we just I designed the iteration.

(18:47):
It's a thirty eight figure composition called a Soldier's Journey.
It's about a dad who leaves his family, leaves his daughter,
enters into battle and is forever transformed. He's shell shocked,
and then he returns home and hands his daughter that
helmet again, and she's the next generation. She's World War two. Now,
you would think that that's a pretty good story for kids,

(19:08):
because it's understood by all eighth graders. All these schools
come to.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
These I went the history of our contry in seventh grader, so.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
I had to go through Commission of Fine Arts. Commission
of Fine Arts was made up of seven people that
sat behind an oak desk. They passed judgment on you.
None of them, by the way, it's ever done a monument.
They are all academics or landscape architects, so they know nothing.
They've never been to museums. They know nothing about figurative sculpture,

(19:38):
and this was the focal commemorative element that was supposed
to go in Pershing Park, right outside the Willard Hotel
one hundred and fifty yards in the White House.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
So they kept us spinning our.

Speaker 5 (19:49):
Wheels in the mud, having us come back every month
till we finally figured out how to get through using
a backdoor.

Speaker 1 (19:58):
Everything in DC is a deal.

Speaker 5 (20:01):
I can't talk to you about the deal that was made,
but I'll tell you that I came in after four
and a half years of having my vain throb in
my forehead for my blood pressure through the roof and
being blocked to finally we love your project.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
I didn't change anything. I'm trying to understand, Saban, why
is it that those on the left are those involved
in all of this. First of all, Donald Trump is
not trying to whitewash American history. We need to be
able to look at the good and the bad, and
we understand that. But it seems those on the left
simply want to offer a one sided, negative view of
this country, and I don't think that's what the American

(20:38):
people want.

Speaker 5 (20:39):
It's much bigger than Donald Trump. Donald Trump is our
president in charge right now. This is a global situation.
This is not only happening in America. I think Americans
have a little bit more HUTSPA and they get up
and go and they don't they don't just take it.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
Some of us do.

Speaker 5 (20:55):
But I think it's this erasure really a raising of
values that have been passed down through generations and generations.
And a big element of this is the Internet, because
a lot of people get voices on the Internet that
don't really deserve to speak, and a lot of those
things that they're saying in the Internet are complete trash.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
They're rubbish.

Speaker 5 (21:16):
And so then there are a lot of people who
have not read books, are have not read our history,
and so they listen at face value that even if
somebody is very adamant and very honest and sounds great, it's.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
A load of hooey.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
And so what's happened is if let's say, take this
very simple thing of George Washington is a slaveholder.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
All right, a lot of them were.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
But if you look at it from another perspective, there
were four hundred and fifty thousand slaves in the United States.
There were ten million slaves in Latin America. And then
where is the biggest slave trade. It's not in the
United States. Where are the people that ended it? Because
we lost six hundred and five fifty thousands of people

(22:01):
in the Civil War. Now, these are not figures that
are talked about. Our country has been led by values
that are not state They are God values. Those values
surp any legislation or dictation. You know, tyrants. That's why
we are not a tyranny. We are led by God
and God's values. Those are something that have been thrown out.

(22:24):
So rewrite history so you can put in a new
history and take down the system. That's the game plan.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
That's what they're doing.

Speaker 5 (22:31):
We need to wake up.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
So when you talk about being a builder and you're
an artist, in my mind's I can remember that the
statue is being torn down. So it might it might
seem so obvious, but maybe share with our listeners why
are they trying? What is the end goal in destroying
the history, ripping down the statues of our of these
you know, of our historical figures than the Smithsonian rewriting history.

Speaker 1 (22:55):
To what end?

Speaker 5 (22:56):
It's when you take away history. History is owned by
a culture, It's owned by a people. It's a way
that you unify. You unify your children by teaching them
the history of your country so they can play it
forward and in their lives and be you know, positive
citizens that are productive, that have purpose. But if you

(23:18):
if you take away that story and you replace it,
you all of a sudden have created this fracturing of
all the citizens and placing citizens against each other disempowers them.
So it's a way to actually control us.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Boy, and it's happening today. I believe you're an artist.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
I thought are artists were lefties. You seem way way
too reasonable and smart to be an artist. I am
shocked right now.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
I'm actually a political Yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
Well no, it sounds common sense honestly, truly.

Speaker 5 (23:52):
Look, you're an artist and you don't, like I said,
you don't get a paycheck on Friday, so you really
have to think outside the box. And if you're going
to make your craft as a sculptor, I have to
pay for model studio casting process. How do you make
something turned into bronze? And this is all costs for
a product that is really beautiful. It's museum quality, it

(24:16):
has its traditional values out of Europe, and we need that.
We're a great country. We should have great.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Monuments, Yes, we should, and we should.

Speaker 5 (24:24):
How do you do that? There's no book making monuments
for dumbies.

Speaker 1 (24:29):
So you gotta go. You gotta go.

Speaker 5 (24:30):
Figure it out, and youat to have you come back
occasionally have some fun with this.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
We find something you want to talk about, you call
us up. We want to have you coming into Pine. Yeah,
that is great. What great insight, and thank you for
your work.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
Pleasure and Saban Howard he is the man behind the
Grand Liberty Arch trying to get it built here in
Salt Lake City. It's beautiful. We love it and we'll
keep our eye on all right. More coming up on
the Rod and Great Show and Talk Radio one oh
five Dying Cannaiss So good to be with you on
this Friday afternoon as we head into what is going
to be a hot, hot weekend. I think they're forecasting
one hundred and six on Sunday. What you said, what yeah?

(25:12):
I mean now is can you play? Can you play
golf on on Sundays?

Speaker 2 (25:17):
Is that part that is that? Okay? Church activity?

Speaker 1 (25:19):
No, I don't, I don't know that's your six.

Speaker 2 (25:22):
That would be that would be the opposite of church.

Speaker 1 (25:23):
That would be hades under and eight. All right, Greg,
I love this. This is a bizarre story. You know
you're having a bad day when you almost get sucked
out of an airplane head first.

Speaker 2 (25:39):
Man, that would be terrifying. Can you believe this story?
If he comes out head first?

Speaker 4 (25:44):
Is that?

Speaker 2 (25:45):
Did he live through this experience?

Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yes, he did. Let me share the story. A man's head, okay,
was allegedly sucked out of a cabin window that broke
apart mid flight on a European budget flight while passengers
step forward to hold him in the cabin.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Did you say a budget flight? Okay, I think you
said budget flight.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Budget flight.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, I'm not going on that airline.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
I think it's called Ryanair. Never heard of it. The
flight departed Greece for Germany, then turned back shortly after
takeoff the Irish budget airline. See it's the Irish, You Irish.
I tell you what said A passenger window dislodged in
the plane. The plane landed safely, with travelers returning to
the terminal. But here's what one passenger described. We immediately

(26:31):
realized there had been a decompression. There were screams. For
a moment, I thought someone had accidentally opened up the
emergency door. She said, she went on, she said, the
mask drop, there was a strong smell. The head and
shoulders of one passenger was outside the window. Fortunately he

(26:52):
hadn't taken off his seat belt, and people jumped in
to pull him back.

Speaker 2 (26:57):
I'll bet you he was just having a bad hair
day that day. That outside your shoulders and head, or
outside of a flying plane. Yeah, you need a comb
after that, or a brush get your hair back down
after that. That is just terrifying. And uh, he must
have been discombobulated. It must have been, you know, he
must have looked dishoveled after that.

Speaker 8 (27:17):
He was, he was.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
He's a sixty year old Serbian man, sixty six? Is
that to forget? You even have to fly out the window?
You just die of a heart attack at sixty.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, But apparently the seatbelt held him and there were
pastors who grabbed him and held him in the plane
as best they possibly could until they got to this.

Speaker 2 (27:35):
Does this makes me think when you go to sit
in the plane, go look to see around people around here.
Could they be strong enough to hold me in here?
Because if it's if it's something some little kid or
some skinny guy. You know, I don't want to sit
next to you in the window seat always do you.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
I like the aisle.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
I don't need to use the restroom enough to get that.
I I like to look out the window.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
Okay, yeah, but now I know this happens. I got
to see who are sitting around me.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
If I see a stack of dime look mug next
to me, I'm asked for an owl seat because I
don't want to. I don't want some ski beta mal
trying to hold me. And he won't even try. He'll
just scream, well he'll know who you are, and say
I don't care if he goes out the windows the
rest of the way.

Speaker 1 (28:13):
Can you believe man allegedly sucked out of an airplane window? Midy?

Speaker 2 (28:17):
That is terrible, Yeah, terrible, terrible, It's terrible.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
All right, all right, coming up five o'clock hour, we
want to go into what Judge Tony Graft did today.
We're still trying to figure this out. There's so much
evidence and all he does is have to say go
to trial, and instead he's got to take a month
and a half to think about it.

Speaker 2 (28:42):
So I know, for this is the smartest listening ins
in all the land. There has to be listeners who
have some experience with our judicial system to know what
a preliminary hearing typically takes by way of time, and
what a judge needs to hear and how long it
takes him to decide whether to just throw out all
the charges. Nothing to see here, folks, it's over, or
proceed with a trial. I would think we got there already,

(29:02):
but September one, we need a listener to walk us
through this.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
Apparently no. All right, now, our number two is on
its way. It's the Rod and Greg jone. You'll love this, Greg.
California has been ranked the third worst state in the country,
the third worst state in the country. It's so fun.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
How could anyone be worse?

Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well, apparently, according to Consumer Affairs in their rankings, California
is the third worst. You've got to hear. I love this.
You've got to hear how this television news anchor at
KTLA they're in La, made the announcement and talked about
this today.

Speaker 9 (29:43):
California remains one of the worst states to move to
for the year twenty twenty six, and new Consumer Affairs
areport ranked the Golden State as the third worst state
to move to. This is the third year in a
row California was in the top three. New Mexico, Louisiana
they topped the list. Now they determine the rankings based
on affordability, safety, education, healthcare, and quality of life. California

(30:08):
was dead last and affordability and second to last in safety.
The best states to move to New Hampshire and Utah.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
WHOA, Well, let me just say something. If you if
you told mens like everybody, keep it to it. Let's
keep it to ourselves. Let's set out, especially KTLA, we
don't want people from California here in that. We don't
want that coming here. They helped create the mess they're in.
But if you told me you got to go to

(30:36):
Louisiana or New Mexico or California, and we're talking quality
of life, safety, all that, forget the even the weather
though California's worse than the weather is good. Now I
would pick I would pick either Louisiana or New Mexico
before I would pick California. California, California. I mean, I
guarantee you the gas prices are cheaper in Louisiana than

(30:59):
they are in in California. The cost of living's got
to be lower. Everything's got to be better there.

Speaker 1 (31:04):
And you know what's so sad about it? Greg, In
my opinion, California is a beautiful place. Was was.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
I mean, even where I love to go. It is
a literal time. This isn't even hyperbole. The beach is
a toilet, yes it is. They got fluorescent yellow signs
saying the bacteria from the from Tijuana River into that
and it's raw sewage. It's not safe to enter that water.
That was a surfing location, and that was a it's
a it's a beach resort area and it's been destroyed

(31:31):
and it's been years now.

Speaker 1 (31:32):
Look what happened last week in Newport Beach where we
we have our family used to go there all the
there's a riot. They've got they got police on horseback
running up and down the beaches breaking up fights.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
And and he got these lunatics shooting fireworks at the horses.
I mean, I that there is no They are not
third and worst state. They are the worst state easily
in the in the Union.

Speaker 1 (31:54):
All there was some very revealing video today. Let's talk
about the Tyler Robinson preliminary hearing today because apparently there
was some very revealing video today that was shown at
the end of the hearing today. I would imagine by prosecutors,
but greg from what we're seeing and what we're reading,
we weren't in the court room, we don't know for sure,
but this was extremely disturbing video.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yeah, so there's a very popular if you're on X,
Benny Johnson is. When we did the RNC show, we
were near the Benny The Benny Show, and he's it's
a bit, it's a huge He's got over four million
followers on X and it's as he's just a very
prolific and contributor conservative contributor. Erica Kirk asked him to

(32:37):
join them today in provo, and the reason is the
judge Tony Graff had limited anyone seeing the highly you know,
the defined video that they had as evidence that had
been put in the high definition so that you could
really see what happened. Limited the audience for that. It
wasn't going to be seen by all the media. There

(32:57):
was just a certain group that we'd be able to
see it, and Erica wanted someone that maybe has four
million followers to be able to see it with her.
Benny Johnson reported today that you can see crystal clear
in this video, Tyler Robinson's face, the license plate number
of his vehicle, details on his clothing, and his actions
on the rooftop. You can you can time, you can

(33:20):
time every horrifying detail to the minute. Charlie, Charlie Kirk
was murdered. What the public couldn't see was the emotion
in the courtroom Charlie's family anyway. So there is something
that the public has not been able to see that
a few today were able to witness. That makes it
I don't know what. Again, Candice owns this woman who

(33:42):
said that this is all a stay. She should be humiliated,
This should be the end of her credibility completely. But
this to me, I don't know. I'm starting to wonder
maybe this September first isn't to decide whether to move forward,
because I don't know what you would be deciding. Maybe
it's because they think a plea deal. The guy so guilty,
they don't even want to have the trial at this point.
They just want to try to avoid the death penalty,

(34:03):
and they're giving them time to make that deal. Maybe
I don't know. I would love for someone who understands
this process better than I do. I understand lawmaking, I
understand that part. I don't understand preliminary hearings and probable cause.
This can't be thrown out, so it should be as
easy as saying we're going forward.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
I want to ask you this. If prosecutors come to
Erica Kirk okay and says the defense team has approached us,
they want to make a deal, we take the death
penalty off the table. If you're Erica Kirk, do you
say no. I wouldn't mind it. I'd say let this
go through trial.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
Yeah, because I have overwhelming don't if you don't get
if you don't get the death penalty on this, why
do you have a death penalty? I mean, I don't
know what circumstances that we think a death penalty is appropriate.
If this isn't, isn't exhibit A right here? Yeah, this
is what I don't like about the death penalty is
it's it's so subjective. It's not an objective application. It's

(35:00):
not if you a threshold where if you've committed a crime,
this heinus and the prosecution feels that they can attain
a guilty verdict, they think it deserves a death penalty.
If this doesn't end in the death penalty, I don't
know why you have it.

Speaker 1 (35:13):
Well, my question is, and a lot of people today
are really raising questions about Judge Tony Graff with all
this evidence. Today, greg hearing is over. He says I
will have a decision on September first. That's a month
a half now today. By the way, it is the
tenth anniversary. It was ten months ago that Charlie Kirk
was shot and killed. Today September tenth, so it's been

(35:35):
ten months. Oh yeah, okay, he's been shot. I want
you to listen. This is Kaylee mcananey. She was on
the I think she was on the five today on
Fox News. May have been one of the earlier shows.
But listen to what her thoughts are when it comes
to Judge Tony Graff.

Speaker 10 (35:51):
This is mind blowing. Judge Tony Graff yesterday cited Article one,
section twenty eight of the U Caught Talk Constitution, and
that allows Erica Kirk and the family to be tweeted,
treated with respect, with dignity, to be free from harassment,
to be informed and present at the trial. But I
would love for him to cite UTAH Code seventy seven

(36:12):
thirty eight seven to two. Do you know what that
gives Erica Kirk and her family the right to a
speedy disposition of the charges free from unwarranted delay caused
by or at the behest of the defendant. Where's Judge
Tony's Tony Graff's affinity for that statute, because you are
not giving that to Erica Kirk. You are not giving
that to that family. Yes, the defendant has six Amendment

(36:32):
rights to a speedy trial, litany of other rights. But
the fact that this is not going to be decided
until September, there's no decision on probable cause. Probable cause
is such a low bar. And to your point, there's
ballistic evidence, there's a evidence, there's a texted conviction, there's
the roommate saying he confessed to me. There is a
litany of evidence, and she doesn't get a probable cause

(36:54):
decision until September, nearly a year after Charlie was killed.
You can't make a decision on the plea. Tyler Robinson,
We're not even gonna get his plea until a year
from when Charlie Kirk was assassinated. We're not going to
know if this goes to trial, until a year from
when Charlie was assassinated. This is inexcusable.

Speaker 1 (37:11):
Amen to that. Inexcusable. And that's Kaylee mcannaney from Fox
News and apparently Greg that video you were talking about
today that they showed in the courtroom there, according again
to Bennie Johnson, there was a gasp in the courtroom. Yes,
after that was shown.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
And Bennie Johnson said he looked over at Tyler Robinson.
He's never seen him so white.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
He was just I just I just want to know.
There's only two decisions in front of this. Judge Tony
Graff dismissed the charges and release the suspect. He's done.
I didn't see enough to continue this, yeah, or we're
gonna have a trial. What do you have to wait
till September? First? Is there any scenario, with the type

(37:55):
of evidence and the weight of evidence that's been presented
that you would let that you'd say, you know, I
haven't seen anything that merits a trial. Not, because again,
this isn't a guilty or innocent decision. This is is
there enough to keep going and keep looking into this? Yes?

Speaker 9 (38:09):
Or no?

Speaker 2 (38:10):
If he were how would he say, I don't see
anything here. I don't think there's anything here worth pursuing. Yeah,
you can go release a defendant September one. You almost
wonder with this judiciary. We've got a hard time with
our judiciary in Utah. I mean they are really doing
there's no transparency in the decisions they make. We get
these retention elections that are an insult to the public

(38:30):
because you have to make decisions on fourteen judges without us,
without any information about any of them. They're not accountable.
Who thought, in their random drawing of judges to take
cases that a guy that just started being a judge
five months prior, the newest guy on the block, was
going to take a case of this way. I know
that's how they normally do it, by random draw but

(38:53):
how on earth did the judiciary and their processes think
the newest guy five months into the job should be
taken on this case. I think minimally, his not doing
something like this before is one of the problems that
you're seeing here. I think being very overcautious. Now again,
I am open to a caller telling me that I've
got this wrong, that there's some really smart thing this

(39:13):
judge is doing. Just tell me what it is, because
I would like to know so that I don't assume
it's it's incompetence.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
Eight eight eight five seven eight zero one zero triple
eight five seven eight zero one zero on your cell
phone dial pound two fifty and say hey Rod, or
leave us a message on our talkback line by downloading
the iHeartRadio app. Your calls, your comments coming up on
the Rod and Greg Show. The preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson,
the man accused of killing Charlie kirk back on September tenth,

(39:41):
down a UVU is over. The judge said today he'll
have a decision. You ready for this September one, a
month and a half. What wait?

Speaker 2 (39:50):
And let me ask you this, when's the when's the
trial start? It's not going to be the next day.
Well start a trial a month after that. He'll make
a ruling. They'll probably beat some appeals emotions. We may
not see a try till I wouldn't be surprised we
don't see it un till next year.

Speaker 1 (40:04):
That's ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
Somebody tell me that there is some sane process going
on here, because it sounds wrong. A speedy trial isn't happening.
The weight of evidence is unbelievable. In this I'd venture
to say that the a lot cases that didn't have
a fraction of this kind of evidence had been oh yeah,
had been sent to trial. They've carried it over and

(40:25):
they've not released a suspect. How in the world does
this take this long?

Speaker 1 (40:29):
All right, the preliminary hearing is over. We won't get
a rolling until September. We want to get your reaction.
As you've read and kept up to date on all
the evidence today and apparently there was some very disturbing
video released to the courtroom today tracking every second of
his moves and it really shook up people in the court.
Let's get your reaction to what is going on at

(40:49):
the end of this preliminary hearing in this decision to
wait until September. First we go to Matt in Salt
Lake City and get his reaction. Matt, how are you
welcome to the show.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
On?

Speaker 7 (41:00):
All right? How are you guys today?

Speaker 1 (41:01):
Yeah, we're okay, thank you, okay, okay.

Speaker 7 (41:05):
Now me personally, I'm not going to talk about the
ruling because I think the judges wrong. There should have
been a ruling today. My concern I want to point
out is the death penalty. Now it's not just this case,
but it's the history of the death penalty. Even if
he gets it, he has a ninety nine percent chance
of living life in prison on death row without being

(41:25):
put to death. And he should be put to death
to make a precedence so that we can say, hey,
we are living up to what the death penalty truly means.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
I'm with you, Matt. I think that this death penalty
is in name only. It's it's it's it's not applied evenly.
It's not a consistent application to it. You've seen the
member the Mark hacking where he killed his wife and
his unborn child, put her in a mattress. They found
her out here in Sully. They found her out in
the in the you know, the landfill. He was he

(41:56):
was subject to the death penalty, decided not to do it.
In moments like that or in moments like this, if
there is not a death penalty, or is mad, the
listener pointed out, you get the death penalty, but then
you spend the rest of your life through thirty years
of appeals or longer, then there really isn't one. I
just find it to be an odd sentence that we
care that we think we want to keep the death penal.

(42:17):
I've been in the legislature where you know, I've said
let's get rid of it because we don't use it.
It doesn't it's not real. People get mad, they think
I'm soft on crime. Show me how any of this
makes sense. If this guy does not get the death penalty,
and you don't see this, this justice delivered, then then
we don't have a death penalty, and we just don't
have one.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Yeah. Well, if I'm Erica Kirk, and let's say the
prosecutor comes to me and says they've offered a deal.
He'll plead guilty, He'll plead guilty, but take the death
penalty off the table, you know what I'd say, No, No,
let's go to trial, you guy, I want to go
to trial.

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Old Tony grab he could have he could have ruled,
and I'm told it could have. After day one said
I've seen enough, We're going to trial. That's what I'm told.
They let that that the prosecute should to lay out.
You know, you know, bulletproof, you know, substance of evidence.
Every single day, any one of those days could have

(43:08):
been enough to carry this trial forward and not release
the guy saying there's nothing to see here, but they
put all that out there, I wouldn't make a deal.

Speaker 1 (43:18):
Let's go to our talkback line. We've got on one
of our listeners, listeners who wants to weigh in on this,
Rod Gregg.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
I believe that the judge is taking his time to
make sure that all the evidence is hurt so they
can pursue the death penalty and not take a chance
of them trying to get a plead deal or a
lesser charge, and allowing them both sides to present evidence
of what they have either for or against the trial
and seeking the death penalty. And they don't want to
give the opposing team an opportunity to say, well, you

(43:47):
don't have enough evidence to pursue the death penalty, and
that they want to be able to hear.

Speaker 1 (43:53):
Yeah, I think there's enough evidence to pursue the death.

Speaker 2 (43:59):
I erect that the four days or however many days
we've done presenting of evidence. But why now on July tenth,
do you you does it take the judge till September
first to articulate that he has seen enough? I mean,
I mean, come on, judge, is he gonna carve it
in Stone. I mean, I mean, why would it take
you this long to write the opinion if you're not

(44:22):
just gonna say I've seen enough, let's go, and you
want to be that thorough. I still don't know how
you have to get to September first to do it?

Speaker 1 (44:28):
All right, your calls, your comments coming up eight eight
eight five seven eight zero one zero on your cell
phone dial pound two fifteen, say hey Rod, or leave
us a message on our talk back line by downloading
the iHeartRadio app. Mare coming up on the Rod and
Gregg Show.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
It's one hundred and six and Saint George today, because
it means that on Sunday it'll be the temperature of
Saint George. That's not supposed to happen.

Speaker 1 (44:49):
What's the hottest you've ever been in.

Speaker 2 (44:51):
I've been in one hundred ten or something like that.
Not of humidity at a feels as miserable as a
hundre here.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Yeah, I've been at one sixteen in Vegas one time.

Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, that's all. It is really like opening an oven door. Yeah,
it is blast and it hits you in the face.
That he hits your face.

Speaker 1 (45:10):
Well, the preliminary hearing regarding whether to try Tyler Robinson
for his alleged assassination of Charlie Kirk drew to a close.
The judge Tony Graft today now in the possession of
a wealth of information, but he says he's not going
to make a decision until September one, which we're trying
to figure out right now. Yeah, what more does he need? Right?

Speaker 2 (45:29):
Yeah? And I and I'm just the only thing I
can say is while I'm at a loss and I
can't comprehend all this, I don't know what I don't know.
So I am looking for the collective wisdom of our
great listeners to add some context to this. Is it crazy?
Am I crazy?

Speaker 1 (45:44):
Well?

Speaker 2 (45:44):
I'm crazy. Let's not go there because that could be
on a myriad, a.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
Whole different show. Yes, yeah, let's go to the phones.
Let's go to Utah County and hear what Rochelle says
tonight on the Roden Gregg Show. Hi Rochelle, Hi.

Speaker 11 (45:57):
Yeah, So I use I'm a little bit confused because
I swore they said that it was just being continued
to September first, not that it's been concluded. Because yesterday,
yesterday they talked about a bind over and that they
wanted to be able to brief some of the rules
and things. I know the state had stated that they

(46:20):
were ready to proceed today, but the defense had wanted
to do some briefings. So I think that's why a
ruling had not been issued today, because it really hasn't
concluded that they're planning to conclude it on the first.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
Is so, Rachelle, you know what you said. I could
see the defense wanting to push this forward. Maybe maybe
they want to negotiate something with the weight of evidence
that's coming. Maybe there's a plea deal that they're interested in.
But I don't know enough thought, but I keep reading,
I'm researching preliminary hearings. I don't know if you if
you're an officer of the quarter, if you have any
other experience here, but it seems that the normal course

(46:59):
of these things could be thirty minutes to a few hours,
but the more complicated cases could take a could take
several days. I don't I can't find an example where
they say that a preliminary hearing to decide whether to
let the guy go, because there's just they haven't seen
anything that would bind them over for a trial, or
we've seen enough that we know a trial least at

(47:19):
least needs to go forward. I haven't seen anything that's
been months or six weeks or whatever we're talking here.
Do you do you know is there a precedence for
this that you know of.

Speaker 11 (47:30):
I'm not aware of a precedence, but I do think
because of it being the death penalty that I'm sure
and Judge Graff, I mean, he seems like a very honest.

Speaker 12 (47:42):
Reputable person.

Speaker 11 (47:44):
I know he's a fairly newer judge from what I understand,
but that he's just wanting to be very careful of
both sides.

Speaker 1 (47:55):
But I don't know.

Speaker 13 (47:55):
I just did.

Speaker 11 (47:56):
I wasn't under the impression that it was actually concluded,
which didn't make sense other than maybe for scheduling purposes
and staff that that's why they didn't continue it further
after afternoon.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
All right, yeah, yeah, it's sorry cout you off there
at the end. But uh, maybe they're there. There are
things that took place within this proceeding that we aren't
aware of, uh Greg, But I would I don't. I
just don't know what what what's holding up the decision
to move forward. Remember, this is not a trial. This
is just saying we've got evidence. Let's put it before

(48:31):
of his peers to decide if he's guilty or not guilty.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
And as I've heard the commentary, a judge could hear
the first day and then you could have four more
days worth of stuff. See enough in the first day
to say I've seen enough to move forward. Yeah, let's
just go. I'm not going to release him based on
what I saw, So we're going to move forward.

Speaker 1 (48:49):
Let's go. So I don't know, all right, back to
our talk back line. Here's what a one of our
listeners had to say.

Speaker 3 (48:55):
And as far as the law cames to a speedy trial,
the judge has to make a decision on whether the
trial can proceed forward first. So technically, by law, the
law doesn't apply to the trial yet because there hasn't
been a trial started. So as far as the speedy
trial goes, the trial has to start.

Speaker 5 (49:13):
First, Okay.

Speaker 3 (49:15):
And I do believe they just want to make sure
that there's no chance that they can try and argue
that they can't get a lesser plea or a plea bargain.
They don't want to give them the opportunity and say, well.

Speaker 1 (49:24):
You didn't didn't give it some opportunity that may be true.
Who knows.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
Yeah, I so look if that if that makes sense
to me, because I know that words matter, and I
know that when you say speedy trial, we're talking about
whether this should be bound over for a trial or
he should be released because there's not a sufficient evidence
to have a case. I just can't even say that
out loud without scoffing. Knowing how much information by way
of you know, ballistics in DNA and I guess now

(49:53):
high definition video that that caused audible gasps in that
courtroom today electively and unplanned when they saw that video
play out today. I just don't even I just don't
understand what this judge would have to see or what
he'd have to understand more, even in the case of
a death penalty case, to not see enough to say
we can start a trial here, we can start to invent,

(50:16):
you can start the prosecution is ready to go today,
you can start that. I've seen enough to know there's
something to talk about here. There has to be. Yeah,
I mean, I just don't understand.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Well, and you know, here's I feel so sorry for
Erica Kirk and Charlie Kirk's parents because they were both
in the courtroom today and the description that Bennie Johnson
came gave in his tweet, and he was there today
at the request of Erica. But I want to let
you just think about this, Greg for a minute. Here's
what Bennie Johnson said. What the public couldn't see was

(50:48):
the emotion in the courtroom today, Charlie's family sobbing uncontrollably,
Erica in Missus Kirk's senior's arms, Charlie's father comforting both
of them.

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Yeah, So CBS News is reporting this. They're saying, this
is how they tried to describe what we're talking about.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
We're trying to understand it.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk tried
to cast out on the case Friday as the preliminary
hearing wrapped up. I continued as it wrapped up, at
least is what CBS News is saying, Judge Tony Graff,
it continues. Judge Tony Graff said he will decide if
the case against Tyler Robinson should advance to trial after

(51:32):
hearing again from the two sides on September first.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
What more are they going to present on September first?

Speaker 2 (51:40):
After he hears more from the two sides on September. First,
he is going to take this conundrum he's in, this
this Da Vinci code. He's going to try and crack
of whether there's enough to continue or just set Tyler
Robinson free because you've seen nothing here. There's nothing here
to go try, there's not there's nothing to have case over.

(52:01):
Just just let him go. That's the only two choices
he has. Either bind them and move forward with a case,
or release him for insufficient evidence? Are you kidding me?
Are you kidding me that there's not a sufficient evidence
for a trial, not for guilt, but for a trial
at this point.

Speaker 1 (52:19):
Again, I'm on predict greg this does not get the
trial till next year, early next year. But I don't
think he'll get there one of the sometime next year early.

Speaker 2 (52:30):
And I'll tell you what, if you're a jury on
this trial, man, you could find yourself there for a lot.

Speaker 1 (52:36):
And the page that that that that ton of graft
allows that got take a long time.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
You know, you could talk me out of the death
penalty alone if I have, If everybody has to go
through this nonsense just to get to it, to even
pursue justice, yep, Because to our earlier colors point, whether
you know, you're not even you can live thirty years
on death row never even have to worry about it.
They apply it so unevenly in terms of who gets
it or not or let me just say that that's
my theory. But if if this guy doesn't get it,

(53:05):
then I don't think we have a death penalty. If
he gets it and it doesn't get delivered any time
in our lifetime or my lifetime, then he doesn't, then
it doesn't apply either.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
All right, more coming up, some more of your comments
coming up on the Rod and Greg show right here
on Utah's Talk Radio one oh five nine. Can ARUs
quick follow with Greg on the Tyler Robinson hearing today,
he was asked if he'd like to testify.

Speaker 2 (53:26):
Oh, I know the answer because the moment where you
don't have to incriminate yourself and since he did it again,
I'm just gonna make it very simple. There's two there's
this road. This is there's a fork in the road.
It's easy to find the case over for trial or
dismiss the charges. If we think that what we just
saw over the last five days or what we've heard

(53:47):
about that we didn't get to see. But the courtroom did,
and this judge did, is going to amount to dismiss charges.
Then I guess we wait. But I cannot fathom that
the volume of evidence that's been presented over five days
is going to amount and a dismissal of the charges.
It can I can't even imagine alternative universe where you

(54:09):
can explain this guy's presence at the school, his behavior,
everyone that he confessed to, everything he did, amounts to
minimally forget guilt, minimally not enough evidence to proceed. I
just I just don't buy it. I just I don't
care how little I know about how these preliminary hearings work.
I do know that you only have two choices, bind

(54:32):
it over to or dismiss the charges.

Speaker 1 (54:35):
Hey, one other big story we haven't talked a lot about,
but we mentioned it at the beginning of the show
about an hour ago, two hours ago. President expected to
sign an executive order on Monday reducing the signs of
Grand Staircase and Bear's ears.

Speaker 2 (54:48):
That's a big one.

Speaker 1 (54:50):
Really good you were involved in the first effort. Sure
was on the part of the President.

Speaker 2 (54:54):
A lot of work and we started.

Speaker 1 (54:55):
He came out here didn't.

Speaker 2 (54:56):
You sure, d And we we began we began fighting
this well while Obama was spending his last month in
office when he made it this December, you know, he
used a picture of the Grand Canyon when he announced
the Staircase the Bearsiers Monument. Couldn't even find a picture
of the state. He did this from from Hawaii too.

Speaker 1 (55:13):
And wasn't it wasn't it Clinton who did not even
come here on the Grand Staircase. It was in Arizona. Yeah,
so was it.

Speaker 2 (55:19):
So Obama was in Hawaii, sent a picture of the
Grand Canyon saying, we're going to make Bears Years the
national mine. We're going to encumber this land even more.
In San Juan County, Utah. And then yeah, Clinton didn't
come here, and he did the same thing the stair
to the Grand Staircase, finding that all up and I
mean people lost jobs. I mean these guys, these Democrat
presidents that use Utah as their personal ATM to pay

(55:42):
off these environmentalist people, you know, that donate to their campaigns.
This is their reward they get at the end of
these administrations, both Clinton and Biden, or Clinton and Obama.
And we've just had had to deal with this as
a state. You know, you know that, Why am in
Arizona or not Arizona Wyoming in Alaska?

Speaker 1 (56:03):
You can't you can't do that.

Speaker 2 (56:05):
You can't do it. Any legislature said there's no more,
there's no more monuments allowed.

Speaker 1 (56:10):
Good?

Speaker 2 (56:10):
How come those two get that screaming deal? Utah needs
that screaming deal.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
Yeah, but apparently some local officials who are aware of
the situation are on their way back to Washington for
this signing which I think will take place midday on
Monday by the President new executive orders reducing, not eliminating,
but reducing the size of Grand Staircase and bears.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
That's consistent with what the President President Trump did in
the first administration, which people were happy with. I will
tell you I have a hunch will know some of
the people that will go at the White House. So
maybe you'll probably get a phone call a good interview
on Monday, Monday with them, and get a front row
seat to how that went. It'll be good, it'll be exciting.

Speaker 1 (56:48):
All right. Coming up in our number three at the
Riddy and Greg Show on this Friday afternoon, how many
of you have seen the new movie Young Washington. Well,
we'll be talking with someone who says it leads a
very valuable manage that gen Z should pay attention to.
This that's coming up on the Rodding Greg Show and
Utah's Talk Radio one oh five nine. Or stay with us. Sure,

(57:12):
all right, We've got a busy hour coming your way
here in a little bit our listen back Friday segments
and then coming up at the end of the hour
another feature of our CEOs. You should know, we'll be
talking with the team from Murdoch Automotive Group nice about
how they've run their business and some of the things
they've learned. That's coming up before we wrap up the
show tonight. Now I mentioned already on the air. You

(57:33):
haven't seen this yet, but over the fourth of July weekend,
I went and saw the brand new movie Young Washington.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
I cann't wait to see that movie.

Speaker 4 (57:40):
I want.

Speaker 2 (57:40):
I'm looking forward to seeing it. Premiered on July third,
movies crowded holiday weekend. I couldn't really get there. I
want to see it with my kids too, I'm wan
just the whole family. It seems like a family event.

Speaker 1 (57:49):
Yeah, it's a really a good movie. And you realize
he was a failure.

Speaker 2 (57:54):
You have said that it is hard to digest.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
No, you wape show. You see this movie, he's screwed up.

Speaker 2 (57:59):
I've heard nothing but the best of this man, sounding
present in.

Speaker 1 (58:03):
His earlier years. He's screwed up.

Speaker 2 (58:05):
He chopped down a cherry tree.

Speaker 1 (58:06):
No, we didn't.

Speaker 2 (58:08):
Is that real? Is that what you're talking about? You're
a cherry tree.

Speaker 1 (58:11):
There is not a cherry tree in this movie.

Speaker 2 (58:14):
All right, I cannot tell a lie.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
Well, let's talk more about Young Washington. Joining us on
our any hour Newsmaker line right now is Brooke Branchon.
She's a contributor to the Federalist Brook Thank you very
much for joining us tonight. You talk about the fact
that Young Washington show how failure made America's greatest leader.
What could gen Z learn from this movie called Young Washington.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
Well, George Washington is a human superhero. He is one
of our founding fathers. He is incredibly strong, incredibly faithful,
and the cool thing about this movie is that it
doesn't just show him at his absolute best, you know,
framing the Constitution, founding America, winning the Revolutionary War. It

(58:58):
shows us an earlier picture of Jeorge Washington, when he's
going through his first experiences with war once he's making
some early mistakes when he's trying to figure out what
it means to be a good leader, And so for
young people, it's really encouraging to see how you handled
feet and how defeats can actually lead to victory.

Speaker 2 (59:18):
So it's an interesting take. I have yet to say.
I'm excited to see the movie, but haven't seen it yet,
but Rod has told me that that is kind of
what you learn is that he faced a lot of failure.
I mean, he had a lot of adversity. Maybe I
think people think that adversity is an enemy. I think
adversity is the companion of successful people all the time.

(59:39):
How what does this say about adversity and what kind
of lesson do you think can be taught from someone
we've all just assumed was just wildly successful at everything
he touched, but it turns out there was a deeper
story there.

Speaker 4 (59:51):
Yeah. I think a big part of Washington story is
showing young people that when you go through trials and tribulation,
that there is something to be learned from it. And
I think unfortunately, in the current moment, the Democrat Party
and so many people on the left are trying to
make young people and gen Z feel hopeless and just

(01:00:13):
feel anger and resentment, especially towards their country, towards their government.
And that's a really dangerous place to be in because
it makes you reliance on the government. It makes you
not have the capability to move forward and to build
things and to grow as an individual. So I think
when young people get a chance to see this movie,

(01:00:34):
it's an encouragement and it shows them that you are
not a victim of your circumstances, and that you can
rise up, that you can be stronger, that you can
be courageous involved in the face of fear.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Rok And as we've discussed this year, of course being
two fifty for America and talking about our founders, there's
no doubt that George Washington is lionized as the father
of our country. Did Angel Studios take a risk? Do
you think showing that he wasn't perfect, that in fact,
he did make mistakes, especially in his young military career.
Did they take a bit of a risk in doing this?

Speaker 4 (01:01:07):
Do you feel I think they did take a risk,
because it's very different than the other kinds of stories
that we're seeing right now. One of the other big
movies that came out recently. Supergirl has the total different
approach where it's trying to teach people that you know,
if you're bitter and you're angry and you're resentful and

(01:01:28):
you just grow boss your way to the top, then
everything's perfect and you can win in every single situation.
And I don't think that that's the message people need
right now. I think the message that people, especially young people,
are looking for is if you are in a bad spot,
that you can rise up and that you can rise
past it, and that being smart and being faithful is

(01:01:51):
really going to carry you to victory in the long run.
That's a story that people need to hear because it's
not something that they're finding in other media right now.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
So you point out, you've got mom Donnie the mayor
of New York City just really trying to cash in
on or you know, be politically successful with this victimization
narrative that everything's bad and unique government to save you
because America's mistreated you. A movie like this and the
American Dream and really how it's supposed to play out. Contrast,

(01:02:22):
do you think that that a movie like It's just
Angel Studios isn't the biggest movie you know, producer in
the country. Can something like this become a brush fire
that does capture the minds of young people that will
this message carry the way you see Mom Donnie seeming
to be as influential with young people.

Speaker 4 (01:02:40):
I do think that storytelling always, for all of human history,
has been something that people are drawn to. People love
a good story. People love to see other people win,
especially when it's their ancestors, when it's the founding fathers.
I think if we see socialism grow, a major reason
for that is because Mom Dannie and some of his

(01:03:01):
other socialist cohorts are very charismatic. Well, the alternative to
that is that we do have people on the right
that have great stories that are very charismatic, and that
can offer an alternative through the pitfalls of socialism. I
think we saw that with Spencer Pratt's campaign. Even though
he wasn't successful, he was such a big draw for

(01:03:26):
people online, and he became such a big hit among
young people because he did have a good sense of
humor and he was charming. And so I think that
as we see more young right wing conservative people step
up to the plate and really take on the threat
that socialism poses. Right at the moment that you'll see
so many more movies and pieces of arts and television

(01:03:48):
shows that are leading into this message of hopefulness and
of strength in the face of adversity.

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
Brook.

Speaker 1 (01:03:55):
The final thing I wanted to point out that you
point out as well, the lesson here as well well,
is that no matter what class you're in, no matter
who you are, you can succeed. Because, as you point out,
here's a colonist in George Washington. He didn't have title,
he didn't have land, he didn't own his own fortune,
but he made it. And during those days that was

(01:04:15):
not easy to do, but he did it. What a
great example that is for the rest of the country today.

Speaker 4 (01:04:21):
Absolutely, I mean that is the American dream at its core,
is that regardless of where you come from, where you've
been born, that you can always rise up. And I
think that right now we have a great example of
that in jd. Vance. You know, hill Billy Ellergy has
become such a success and Vanta's story has become so inspiring,
especially for young men, that you can figure out who

(01:04:45):
you are meant to be, that your background does not
define you, but the character of person that you have
the faith that you have the marriage and the career
that you build, that that is up to you, and
that that can be done through faithfulness, through hard work
and excellence for always striving to be better than you
could be.

Speaker 1 (01:05:03):
On our Any Hour Newsmaker line, that is Broke Branston.
She is with the Federalist talking about Young Washington and
go see it and what I loved. At the end
of the movie, people cheered.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
Well, then that's a sign that's it's pretty good. You're
watching a good movie.

Speaker 4 (01:05:16):
Yeh.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
So is it a box office successive?

Speaker 1 (01:05:18):
You've seen that? Yeah, they beat out one my thing,
the other movie that was.

Speaker 2 (01:05:23):
I hope it beats out everything that Disney ever does.
I hope that that's Michael. I just want to see
Disney fail and I want to see Young Washington succeed.

Speaker 1 (01:05:30):
Knowing you instead of going to see Young Washington, you're
going to see the remake of Mulwana over the weekend. Now,
yeah you will.

Speaker 12 (01:05:36):
I won't be that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
I will not be there.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
I don't even I never.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
I don't even know Whomlwana is. I never I never
met Miljuana went til.

Speaker 1 (01:05:43):
The grand kids come along. Someday you'll you'll know all
these movies. All right, We've got more to come. Listen
Back Friday segments coming your way right here on the
Rod and Greg Show and Talk Radio one O five
nine can arrest All right, time now for our Listen
Back Friday segments. Earlier this week, there's a report out.
This is a program that you're actively involved in. You're
helping people out. We're talking about the Utah Fits All
scholarship program.

Speaker 2 (01:06:04):
That's right, education reform, backpack funding, empowering parents and their students,
and education delivery is going on around the country. In Utah,
we have a great program. We actually was the first
veto proof majority school choice build ever pass in America.
So it's off to the races. I think they've been
out there for three years.

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
Well, an audit was released and showing there's some problems,
but those are problems that have been addressed already. Got
a chance earlier this week to talk to state representative
candidates Perucci about this and we wanted to get her
reaction to this report coming out about the school choice
program in Utah.

Speaker 12 (01:06:36):
So this audit is an audit of the first year
of implementation. We are going into the third academic year
of this program, and so we did not wait for
this audit to act. I've been working with education stakeholders
throughout this process, and after our first year, we knew
we needed to come in and make some major reforms,
so we didn't wait for an audit. We in twenty

(01:06:58):
twenty four, twenty twenty five, and again this year past
legislation to put safeguards into the program and try to
make sure we narrowed the scholarship expenses to truly educational purposes.
I can walk through a lot of.

Speaker 4 (01:07:11):
Those reforms with you, but this, to me is a.

Speaker 12 (01:07:14):
Snapshot of something three years ago that we were already
aware of, and it's why we did not wait and
we acted proactively to get this thig.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
Yeah, Representative. One of the I think important details here
is that this isn't a gotcha moment. This isn't a
random audit baked in the cake part of when you
created this reform, or checks and balances where audits would
be performed, where you would learn how water was getting
to the end of the row, how the scholarship would
be appropriated or spent. You needed to know because any

(01:07:43):
new program in government, if you have it you got
to get to work out the wrinkles. What we're reading today,
These were the things that you wanted to make sure
if they existed as you're putting this program into place.
If there were problems, you wanted to be able to
act on it quickly. So the audits are part of
the legislation you passed and part of the checks and

(01:08:04):
balances for the program.

Speaker 12 (01:08:05):
Is that right, Absolutely, It's one of the safeguards we
get in place. And there is no other education program
I ever aware of in the state that's audited annually
and is built in by statue and not based on request.

Speaker 1 (01:08:19):
Representative? Are you disappointed in some of these families, not
all of them, There were just a certain number of
families from one to understand who spent public money on
items that were unrelated to education. Are you disappointed that
some families almost feels like they tried to take advantage
of the program.

Speaker 12 (01:08:38):
So if you look at the bulk of the expenditures,
they still the bulk of the expenses went to tuition
and educational expenses. And yes, it is unfortunate that there
are people who took the scholarship money and maybe didn't
use it on things that we had hoped for, but
I want to make sure it's clear that overwhelmingly the
bulk of the expenses, even in the first year, war

(01:09:00):
going to tuition. And I think, you know, we've learned
a lot about human behavior as we worked through this program.
But truly, since then, we have put in taps on
extracurricular and physical education expenses. We've prohibited the purchase of
music instruments, We've prohibited the purchase of entertainment materials, furniture, food,

(01:09:21):
ski passes, like we went through a full list and
made sure we are being very specific, and I think,
ultimately and overwhelmingly the families who are using this as
in many things, the majority of people are using it
for their children's educational expenses. And we certainly know now
because since the first year, we've changed program managers. So yes,

(01:09:44):
the first year, there were a lot of things we
were working out, and the State Board of Education holds
that contract, and they hired a new program manager who
is exceptional and incredibly committed to making sure there is
not fraud, waste, and abuse happening, which is so important
because we're dealing with taxpayer dollars. And I've honestly I've
heard from more parents now who are frustrated because they

(01:10:06):
feel like it's exceptionally hard.

Speaker 13 (01:10:07):
To get something improved.

Speaker 12 (01:10:08):
So we really have tried to course correct and make
sure these scholarships are.

Speaker 4 (01:10:13):
Going towards educational expenses.

Speaker 2 (01:10:15):
So at the beginning of the auditive preface, the entire
auditt saying that what you're going to read, what we're
going to what you're seeing here have already been addressed.
The legislature has put and put definitions in place that
address what you're reading that some parents may have spent
money on that doesn't resonate with people thinking that that's
where you'd spend educational dollars. So you did it, you
did it ahead of time, but you want this annual

(01:10:36):
lot it to make sure what's going on. Let's talk
about this. Almost twenty thousand students now are able to
access this program that's growing, that's in ninety percent of returning,
and you got a wait list, representative. That means that
you have a lot of parents that are looking for
this unique delivery of public education, and you got more
demand than you have resources for it. So maybe walk

(01:10:59):
through with our list. How are you careful? Because you
do is a periman to grow. Are you making sure
that if people are on a wait list, how is
the highest and best use of those scholarship funds available
for those students that receive them. What are some of
those safeguards going forward?

Speaker 12 (01:11:16):
Yes, so, Greg, the demand is undeniable. We've consistently had
a weight list for this program. One of the unique
things about Utah's program is we have it built and
prioritize based off income level. Because one of the biggest
criticisms and people lob against school choices, well, this is
only going to wealthy kids. That is absolutely not true,

(01:11:38):
especially in Utah's case, because we have it built to
give priority to families. We're in low income brackets, middle
class before even to high income. And so this round
we saw when you look at the income tiers, overwhelmingly
the bulk of the scholarship recipients are in low income,
middle class families, and so we want to make sure
that we're opening up school choice for families who historically.

Speaker 2 (01:12:01):
Haven't had that opportunity.

Speaker 12 (01:12:02):
The one point to your question is there are some
states where they make their program universal right out of
the gate and based off policy. There is universe that firstality,
the UTAs program, but it's contingent on funding, and we
didn't want to grow this program too quickly. We wanted
to make sure we could work out the kinks with
a small enough program before it grew and grew, and

(01:12:24):
that's why that first year we had hiccups and we
were able to come back in with those reforms that
we could continue expanding it and know that tax payer
dollars were being used responsibly. And so as we've been
able to do that and write that ship and hurt
a lot of positive feedback from families on how this
has been really helpful for them. We'll obviously be looking
forward to expanding this program, but it's something we have

(01:12:46):
to come back and appropriate funding from the legislature for.

Speaker 1 (01:12:50):
Che late not bring good. And it is what we're
in your number three and this is your number one.

Speaker 2 (01:12:55):
Well, it's baked in the cake that you're supposed to
have an audit every year. It's required, and it's to
do exactly what this audit didn't, is to find out
if when it was brand new and rolling out, did
it work right. They saw some things they didn't want
and they've made changes, they've fixed.

Speaker 1 (01:13:09):
It all right. More coming up here on the Rotten
Greg Show on This Fun Day Friday and Utah's Talk
Radio one oh five nine. Okay, anterests, that's why we
want to play it back on our Listen Back Friday
segment with Scott McKay. He is a publisher also of
The Hey Ride. But I love the title of this.
Yes they're socialist and yes they're communists.

Speaker 2 (01:13:27):
Yeah. Yeah, they don't want to tell you that that's
but that's exactly what they are. And CNN tells you
that communism and socialism are completely different. You're conflating. No,
you're actually just wrong. It's the speedway to communism. In fact,
a lot of communist countries want to call themselves socialists
even though they're not, just to get away from that,
you know, that term communists.

Speaker 4 (01:13:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:13:48):
Well, we had a chance to talk to Scott about
this because he wrote this terrific article, and we asked Scott,
first of all, all right, they say they're socialist, they
say they're communist. Are they lying? Scott?

Speaker 13 (01:13:58):
Well, they're always lying, but who cares. There's no difference
between socialism and communism. I mean, socialism is like the
baby step stage of communism, right, Like that's the part
where you try things and you know, you make lots
of promises, and when everybody realizes that the promises are lies,

(01:14:19):
that's when you become communists because I think, you know, like,
you either give up power or you do communist things
to keep power, and they always do the communist things.
So anybody that says I'm a democratic socialist, listen to
them for five seconds, then you will realize that they're
a communists.

Speaker 2 (01:14:37):
You know, one hundred percent agreed. But you know, places
like the regime media, places like CNN, they double down
on this difference. They say, no, no, you're lying. You know,
socialists they believe in free and fair elections. That's not communism.
They believe in there is a free market present. They
ignore the entire You're on the bus too, you're on
the way to communism. You are communism, you're communism like

(01:15:00):
And they really try, with a straight face to draw
a stark difference between socialism, which they say is does
not is not communism. How what's the quickest way to
refute someone who wants to really tell you that there's
an oceanal part between a socialist and a communist.

Speaker 13 (01:15:14):
Well, and if you're debating somebody like Bernie Sanders, which, yeah,
like you can use him as a pretty good avatar
for all of these people because he's been doing it
basically longer than anybody else alive. And what he constantly
will tell you is, oh, we want to make this
place Denmark, and it's like, yeah, go talk to the Danes.

(01:15:37):
They will tell you they're not a socialist country. There
is no where a capitalist country. We have a big
welfare state and our taxes are high, but like, Denmark
is a very entrepreneur entrepreneurial. They're more corporate, but like
that's a very private sector oriented place. So is Norway,
which is another one of these places that they use

(01:15:57):
as a as an example of what they want to do.
The people who actually live in those countries will tell you,
I don't know what you're talking about. We don't want
Bernie Sanders style government here. In fact, when people in
Denmark and Norway run on that stuff, they generally get
annihilated in the elections. So like, like they're playing on
the ignorance of people who think that you know, you

(01:16:20):
did that. Not to mention the fact that Denmark and
Norway are very lightly populated countries. The vast majority of
the people in which are the kind of folks that
the DSA communists do not like. Okay, everybody's a white
European that lives in Denmark and Norway. You know, you

(01:16:42):
can't run a melting pot type society like we at
least aspire to and you know, have multi ethnic and
you know, lots of diversity with that kind of governing system.
It doesn't work, especially when you have to defend the
world and do all these other things, like everything about

(01:17:05):
the construct these people will give you, oh it's socialism,
it's not communism. Everything about this is bs okay, And
we've got one hundred and fifty years of history almost
at this point to poke holes in these lives, because
every single time these people have taken power, they've started

(01:17:26):
off saying, oh no, no, it's a socialist thing. The most
obvious example of this is Venezuela. Right, every leftist in
America sung Hugo Chavez's praise is like that guy was
a savior. And I mean they immediately started fixing elections,
so you know, there was yeah, oh yeah, we have

(01:17:46):
free elections, like you can vote in them, but you
certainly aren't going to get a candidate, they don't like
to win them, you know, like in the twentieth century,
the old joke, it wasn't even a joke. They actually
would would say it's seriously, was one man, one vote,
one time, you know, like you and the the The
corollary to that was you could vote yourself into socialism.

(01:18:08):
You have to shoot your way out of it. And
that's how this works. And it's a it's a it's
an obvious thing. When you take a free society which
provides unlimited opportunities and pathways for people to be successful
and prosperous, like in you know, in America, you can

(01:18:30):
if you can if you can shoot under par or
if you can uh you know, uh sing a song,
or if you're great at at numbers or what like.
There's a million different ways you can get rich in America.
When you go to a socialist society, the only way
you can prosper and succeed is through political influence. And

(01:18:50):
when you do that, you invite monsters to take over.
Because what happens in those systems is the guy who's
willing to do this thing is that nobody else is
willing to do. Is the guy who gets to run things.
That's how you get Paul Pott, That's how you get Stalin,
That's how you get Chavez. Okay, and every one of

(01:19:11):
those guys died richer than Mitt Romney. Okay, Like every
bit of this is, you know, is ridiculous, And the
most ridiculous thing about it is every one of these people.
The Bernie Sanders is, the Daria Liza of Vila, Chevalier's,

(01:19:32):
the AOC's of the world. Every one of these people
think that if the America ever got to be a
socialist country along the lines of like Venezuela, that they
would be the ones to run it. Let me tell
you something, They're the people who get shot into the ditch.
They just dug because the useful idiots are always the
first ones they liquidate, even before the Republicans, those people

(01:19:56):
will be the ones gone. They just aren't smart enough
to realize how things a actually work.

Speaker 2 (01:20:01):
So that begs the question. It took seventy seven million people,
that's how many people voted for Trump brought them into office.
Are there seventy seven million Americans that won socialism slash communism?
Where do the old school Democrats go with this lurch
to the left to this communism. Where will is this
a successful formula in any way, shape or form, And
what do these old school Democrats do well?

Speaker 13 (01:20:21):
I think they've already lost their party to the communists.
I mean, it seems pretty obvious every one of these
hardcore Democrat districts is going to the DSA right now.
And part of the problem is the old school Democrats
don't have a message. For the last ten years, their
only message has been Trump derangement syndrome, and eventually you

(01:20:45):
wear people out with that. Like I can't remember which
one of Olenski's rules it is, but says, you know,
a tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
I think it's like rule eleven out of his rules
for radicals, and like they violate their doing nothing but
violating this rule now And so they get in their
own primaries, all of which are really low turnout affairs,

(01:21:07):
and they're getting blown out by the DSA people who
have a really awful message. But at least it's a message.

Speaker 1 (01:21:15):
Scott McKay joining us on our list back Friday segment
talking about yes they're communist. I love he's the entertaining guys.

Speaker 2 (01:21:23):
Yeah, he's great. I love he calls it as he
sees it, and I like that.

Speaker 1 (01:21:27):
Our CEOs you should Know segment coming up next here
on the Rod and Greg Show. CEOs You should Know.
It's a conversation we have with some of the top
business leaders here in Utah as we explore the ups
and downs of creating and running their businesses. And joining
us now from Murdoch Automotive Team are Blake and Ben Murdock. Guys,
how are you welcome to CEOs you should know? We're

(01:21:47):
doing great?

Speaker 8 (01:21:47):
Thank you, thanks for having us.

Speaker 1 (01:21:49):
Well, we love having you here. Now before we start,
we like to have a little fun with you. So
what we do is we call it you in sixty.
Gives us a chance to get to know you. So
I'm gonna put a stopwatch on and We're gonna rapid
fire some questions at you and you can rotate between
each one, all right, so we can have some fun
with this. You're ready to go? Ready? All right, it's
called you n sixty. Let's get it going, all right,

(01:22:10):
Let's begin an introvert or extrovert extrovert beach or mountains, beach,
rock and roller, country country, sleep or work out, workout,
skateboard or snowboard, snowboard, energy drink or soda soda, listening
to music or playing music, listening favorite rock or country artist.

Speaker 6 (01:22:35):
Man, this is supposed to be rapid fire. Now let's
go with Lucomb's.

Speaker 1 (01:22:38):
Okay, first job washing cars, surprise, right, last vacation Mexico,
secret talent, drawing, proudest accomplishment.

Speaker 6 (01:22:56):
College basketball player.

Speaker 1 (01:22:57):
Okay, what is something that you simply cannot live without?
My wife? Pancakes or waffles, pancakes, chess or checkers, checkers?
Childhood here, yeah, times up, childhood hero. Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan.
All right, guys, Well, it's great to have you on CEOs.
You should know the Murdoch Automotive team. Like you guys

(01:23:18):
have been around it seems like forever, and it's pretty
close to it, isn't it Pretty close? Yeah? One hundred
years this year, so August.

Speaker 8 (01:23:25):
Of this year will be our one hundred and first year.
One hundred and first years, so we've been celebrating one
hundred years.

Speaker 1 (01:23:30):
Yeah. What is it about the automotive business, Ben that
you enjoys? What are some of the challenges?

Speaker 6 (01:23:35):
Well, I mean there's never a dull moment between for sure,
selling cars, and that depends on the product that you have. Obviously,
the team the people are the most important, but then
the gas prices and the interest rates. There's lots of things.
But then you have the service side of business too,
which can be really tricky depending on parts of availability
and suppliers and different things like that. So overall, there's

(01:23:56):
a lot of things that maybe you don't control. So
what the things that you can control, that's what you've
got to focus on. And the people are the most important.

Speaker 1 (01:24:03):
So now, I know you aren't one hundred and one
years old. You're kind of a young looking guy, Blake,
But how is the industry changed? Because it has changed
a lot. Ever since cars have been around, it's changed
a lot.

Speaker 8 (01:24:14):
And actually the automotive industry stayed the same for quite
a long time. It's been recently where we've noticed the
most substantial shifts. I think electric vehicles have changed the
way that consumers purchase vehicles, the way they research for vehicles,
and you know, just just how people come to get

(01:24:34):
their information and make those decisions. AI is changing the
automotive industry as we speak, just like it's changing everything,
and so it's changing really drastically, and the focus for
any automotive dealer is the way you stay relevant is
how well you take care of your guest.

Speaker 1 (01:24:51):
And that's really what it's about. How do you stay
on top of the change has been because they are changing.
I mean cars have really changed and the selling of
cars has changed. How do you stay on on top
of it now?

Speaker 6 (01:25:01):
I mean that's the key is you got to make
sure you don't fall behind and that you do business
the way the consumer wants you to do business. And
so through different forums, different we call them twenty groups,
where there's groups of dealers across the country where you
meet and talk about best practices, what's coming down the pipe,
what's not, and then just doing a lot of research

(01:25:21):
yourself and making sure that you stay relevant and that
your knowledge is up to speed. Pretty much with anything
in the industry.

Speaker 1 (01:25:28):
Blake, the consumer has changed. My sense is they come
into a dealership looking for a new car. They're much
more knowledgeable than they used to be because of the
Internet and being able to look at things. How has
that changed things?

Speaker 8 (01:25:40):
It's changed it drastically. From the standpoint when I started
selling cars twenty years ago, customers came in and they
expected you, as the salesperson, to be the expert. You
know everything about the vehicles and the competitors and everything else,
and to some degree we expect out of our sales
team as well. But now the average consumer spends about
twenty hours online before they actually step foot into dealership,

(01:26:04):
and they know everything that they already want to know
about the vehicle before they decide to come drive it.
And now what we're finding is people will come in
and they'll have their phone open and they will ask
chat or some AI forum, is this a good deal?
What car should I buy? And so it has changed substantially.

Speaker 1 (01:26:24):
I would imagine, how does how that change? Does it
make selling a vehicle more difficult?

Speaker 7 (01:26:29):
Then?

Speaker 1 (01:26:30):
Not necessarily different.

Speaker 6 (01:26:31):
Different, not necessarily more difficult. It can It kind of
depends on the consumer, not necessarily more difficult because they
already know what they want. So as long as we
take care of the guests, answer their questions, and be
as efficient as possible, the process is actually more smooth
than it was before. So sometimes it can get a
little tricky with the AI because AI isn't always one

(01:26:52):
hundred percent accurate and things like that, But I wouldn't
say more tricky. It's it's similar. We just have to
do our job to help them and the process be
as efficient as possible.

Speaker 1 (01:27:02):
Like, what's the biggest challenge of leading a team? I
mean you have a lot of dealership. Do you have
a lot of employees? Now, what's the biggest challenge have
you found? Yeah?

Speaker 8 (01:27:09):
With over six hundred employees and lots of leaders, I
think the biggest challenge is there isn't any single person
you can treat the exact same way to get the
most out of them. And so it's really understanding so
many dynamics of what makes people tick, how they're motivated,
and really leading them from a place of genuine concern

(01:27:33):
and care and love for them. I think the biggest
challenge is just connecting with each one, especially as we
get a.

Speaker 1 (01:27:39):
Little bit bigger. You know, as I talk to employers
around the state and you hear this around the country, Ben,
it's hard finding good employees. Do you find the same
challenge here in Utah?

Speaker 6 (01:27:48):
Oh yeah, one hundred percent. I Mean there's lots of
great people out there, but finding the skill set is
one thing, finding the work ethic is another thing, and
then finding people that are motivated to be the best
that they can be all the time, and so finding
that right combination. Yeah, it can be really tricky, and
trying to get people from other industries and helping them

(01:28:08):
find their niche and what they're great at is a challenge,
but it's also one of the most rewarding things when
you help somebody grow in the profession.

Speaker 1 (01:28:15):
Final question for both of you, what do you recommend
for someone who wants to get into the business of
selling cars or taking care of cars? What do you recommend?

Speaker 8 (01:28:22):
I think that is a great question. I think working
in the automotive industry is the best kept secret at
a great life and a great lifestyle. I think sometimes
people fall in the into the industry thinking this will
just be a temporary job until I find something better.
But when they jump in with both feet put forth
their best effort, they find that it is an incredible

(01:28:45):
way to support a family. And it's a really exciting
industry because everybody loves cars. Yeah, everybody needs one, everybody
wants the next one. They can't wait to see what's
coming out next. And because it's always evolving, it's a
really exciting industry. And so the best way to get
in is to just get in, Yeah, come and see us.

Speaker 1 (01:29:02):
Yeah, Ben, would you same thoughts?

Speaker 6 (01:29:04):
Yeah Yeah. When someone's new is what I would tell
them to do is treat it like their own business
is because the best sells people, the best service advisors
or people in that vein of work is as they
treat it like their own business. As this customer is
my customer, this customer is my friend, and they treat
it like that, then they just have a bunch of

(01:29:24):
friends are doing business with and overtime, they don't have
to rely on an Internet lead coming in or somebody
coming in that they don't know. They have a book
of business that's just repeat referral and they and they
absolutely have an amazing life and kill it for them
and their family.

Speaker 1 (01:29:38):
Guy's great, great to spend a few minutes with you today.
Thanks for being with us.

Speaker 8 (01:29:41):
Thank you appreciate the opportunity.

Speaker 1 (01:29:43):
All right. That is a Blake and Ben Murdoch where
they're with the Murdoch Automotive team. We like to bring
you insights from business leaders who are achieving success CEOs
you should know right here on Talk Radio one oh
five nine kN rs.

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