September 17, 2025 • 51 mins
What's the key to kickstarting the great American revival? A U.S. Navy Veteran and author joins us to discuss what America's founders would do and what they would say about the current state of America today.
Guests:
Michael Bedenbaugh | Veteran, U.S. Navy & Author, 'Revivng Our Republic: 95 Theses for the Future of America'
Rep. Jody Barrett | Dristrict 69, Tennessee
Mandy Gunasekara | Former Chief of Staff, Environmental Protection Agency
Tie Lasater | CEO, KeyCity Capital
Guests:
Michael Bedenbaugh | Veteran, U.S. Navy & Author, 'Revivng Our Republic: 95 Theses for the Future of America'
Rep. Jody Barrett | Dristrict 69, Tennessee
Mandy Gunasekara | Former Chief of Staff, Environmental Protection Agency
Tie Lasater | CEO, KeyCity Capital
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the real story. I'm your host, Riley Lewis.
Thank you for joining us. The first requisite of a
good citizen in this republic of hours is that he
shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
That he shall not be a mere passenger, but shall
do his share in the work that each generation of
us finds ready to hand. And furthermore, that in doing
(00:33):
his work, he shall show not only the capacity for
sturdy self help, but also self respecting regard for the
rights of others. These are the words of America's twenty
sixth President, Theodore Roosevelt, and they really capture his view
of what it means to be an American citizen. His
(00:54):
view interesting as it is encompassed things like active participation
in society, the responsibility of every individual to really contribute
to society, and even the importance of always considering how
one's actions and words impact their fellow citizens. And these
(01:14):
are really just a few of the magic ingredients that
lead to a happy citizen ry and a prosperous republic.
And now is the exact time to revisit these simple
but really powerful ideas, because this is a pivotal moment
for America. America's core principles, from freedom of speech to
individual liberty and mutual respect, seem to be under attack.
(01:38):
The public's trust in America's institutions and the American way
are sinking like a stone. The federal government is deeply
in debt, caught up in this seemingly endless cycle of
reckless printing and spending that is fueling inflation, undermining the
power of the dollar, and leading to historic levels of
economic frustration and pain. Additionally, the country itself seems to
(02:03):
be deeply divided, and the response to the horrific assassination
of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has highlighted this divide,
with some people brazenly and deliberately lying about the things
that Charlie said and did, seemingly to excuse his murder,
all while millions of patriots who really knew him fight
to protect his legacy and set the record straight. On
(02:26):
top of it all, many people from coast to coast,
from sea to Shining Sea feel powerless when it comes
to getting their country back on the right track, something
which the Trump White House has been working toward it
since the first day of President Trump's second term. People
are pessimistic about the future. They feel hopeless and powerless,
(02:49):
and the pole data is there to prove it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
For example, only thirty one percent of Americans.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Who participate participated in a Gallop survey in late August
said they were satisfied with the direction the country is
going in. Meanwhile, Morning Consult polls published this month show
that only thirty eight percent of adults believe the country
is on the right track following the assassination of Charlie Kirk,
and other polls out there show similar results as well,
(03:17):
including one from Ipsos Reuters that was released in February
which shows that nearly half of Americans believe the country
is heading in the wrong direction, with only thirty four
percent of people saying the country is going in the
right direction. And while every poll has its flaws, its issues,
and its caveats for a wide range of reasons that
(03:39):
we've discussed on the show before, they really highlight a
trend here. It's this undeniable pattern of dissatisfaction, a clear
trend showing that many Americans want better for their families,
better for their communities, better for their neighbors, and better
for their country. And frankly, who could blame them. The
(04:01):
people are ready for change, they're ready for the great
American comeback, and they're looking for some sort of sign
to give them hope that things will improve for them
and for future generations. Which brings us to a very
important question. What is the key to America's renewal? How
do we restore accountability in America? How do we restore
(04:24):
justice and peace? And how do we give power back
to the people. In the words of President Trump, this
country doesn't belong to the corporations or the politicians. It
belongs to the American people, and the American people are
the key to ushering in this great comeback. At least
that's what our first guest today argues in his new book,
(04:45):
which is set to be released in one week from today,
and he joins us now to share his roadmap for
citizen driven reform, a plan that is grounded in lessens
from across history and America's founding principles. So here to
join us is the man himself, Michael Beidenbaugh, a US
Navy veteran and the author of Reviving Our Republic ninety
(05:07):
five feces for the Future of America. Michael, thank you
for being here.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Sir, Well, Kevin, thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it. That was a great intro.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I appreciate it very much. I also just want to
say that I appreciate your service to this country. Brave
individuals like yourself, they keep us free and safe. So
I just want to start there. I also want to
ask you about your background first and really what inspired
you to write this book.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Well, I have you know, I grew up in a
rural landscape in South Carolina. My family has been here
since before the Revolution. All my ancestors were and that
doesn't give me more of a right to citizenship, but
it does give a sense of how I was aware
of my responsibility in the story of America and in
(05:54):
the fact that I believe, just as you had mentioned
with Theodore Roosevelt, and engaged citizen is the only way
this nation can exist, in the way the founding fathers
had created something that was absolutely vital that there was
an educated population that would help run the nation. And
(06:18):
so've I served on my city council. I have been
involved in various things with the county. I believe local
service is the is the best service. In the past
several years, I have. I ran for Congress as an independent.
(06:38):
In South Carolina, we have really a since leat Water
created the modern Republican Party here in the state, it's
kind of created a club that though I am a
constitutional conservative and a physical conservative, I don't think it
addresses in a way to represent everyone here in the
state that it needs. So I ran as an independent,
(07:01):
especially with the issues of outside funding that compromises true
representation for the people and just being part of a machine.
And so when I sat there ten years ago and
watched a first debate where Donald Trump was present and
all the Republicans were there to take over from Obama,
(07:22):
I was personally concerned with the vulgar aspect of where
our dialogue was headed. And I said, then I need
to really dig into this. So I picked up Washington's
biography I've always studied him and looked at his farewell address,
(07:42):
and through that farewell address I saw the owner's manual
for our structure of our nation. I considered the founders
not founders, because they really didn't find anything their architects
and they created a structure that and with my background
in preservation, I understand whether historic structure gets dilapidated is
(08:05):
because it wasn't maintained properly. But usually the foundation is
still good. So I basically took his farewell address and
took out of that points that he made that I
saw forty policy points that we could utilize to help
get the ship of state more stable. Right, And I
(08:27):
think all the issues we have now are structural issues
that have guided us this way and something that we
can fix. And I think most people when I ran
for Congress, I had the room filled with as many
Democrats as Republicans because my book is about not policy
but systems to get to policy, and that's I was
(08:52):
very proud of being able to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You know, that's extremely interesting, and I have so many
questions for you, so I know we will jump around
a little bit here, but Michael, here's what I want
to start, just on that really interesting perspective. What do
you think the creators, architects, not founders, would have to
say about the current state of America's national politics.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
They feared it would get to this when when when
Franklin told the lady outside the convention halls after they
were done, and he said, a republic if you could
keep it, he would sit right now and say, y'all
are about to lose it, and and it's it's it's
(09:39):
happened because the demagoguery of politicians, lifetime appointments of politicians
people you know, uh, And a lot of this is
structural because it's rooted in how we represent ourselves. And
but but they would be horrified, and Washington would be
(09:59):
rolling over in.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
The great understood.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So then I think that brings us really the central
question we've been alluding to this, it's what the the
sort of the sort of founders like Washington spoke about
so dearly and so brilliantly. By the way, looking back
at the Declaration of the Constitution, these were obviously very inspired
individuals and very brave ones too. But I want to
get your thoughts then about how we move forward from here,
(10:23):
how we reclaim our power as the citizens, and most importantly,
what does it really take day to day to maintain
and keep this republic.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Well, whenever there's a certain lifestyle that happens, a certain
life cycle that happens in nations, and it's happened ever
since human beings have been on the earth, and when
ever nations become prosperous. Whenever people become prosperous, they become spoiled.
They become folks that could just pay other people to
(10:55):
do their work and and and job out the respons
responsibilities of citizenship. And that is what I believe has happened.
So it's a natural cycle where we are. But what
I try to talk about in the book is that
there are real things that we can do if we
believe we can do them, if we if we know
(11:20):
we're in charge. You know, one of the things when
I was on town council, I got so iritated. People say, well,
you can't fight city Hall, and I immediately told them, well,
that's why you're not, Because if you want to sit
back and be a victim and say, oh, I can't
do anything about it, or even go to the other
route and demonize the person doing something while you're doing
(11:42):
nothing for a solution, then you're just in the way,
and you're in the way of our nation being able
to take on responsible citizenship. And so what I tried
to do in the book is one empower the fact
that it's really not that hard for us to do.
I have forty policy points. The ninety five feasts are
ideas that justify why these forty policy points are I
(12:05):
think vital for us to reset why a federal republic
can exist that elevates individual liberty, no matter what that
liberty is. It's important we understand that ever since we
have been a world power, we have lost the sense
(12:29):
of individual liberty for the power of the state. Yes,
and I normally believe just like Rome couldn't exist as
a republic controlling all of Europe and Asia, we cannot
be a free republic while we are demanding to be
a world power. Okay, I think we can be a
(12:52):
power to protect us. Yeah, I'm sorry, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Please please.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
What you're saying is completely validate resonates with me very
deeply because I think the the crux of the matter
is we're trying to keep this in republic, but in
a lot of functional ways, it's become something of an empire.
And I don't know if the founders foresaw that happening
in their day, but that's basically where we are and
it's created a lot of issues. And so just in
a couple of minutes we have left, i'd like you
(13:16):
to run through your roadmap, your vision. There are people
in this country who care very deeply. They've been here
a long time and they want better. So in the
final minute or so that we have left, please walk
us through this roadmap and give us some of those
concrete policy points that you've been talking about.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Well some of them. Everybody talks about term limits.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Not let be incentivize the professionalism of political life in Washington, DC,
any of those things. One, when our representatives were first
set up to represent us in the Constitution, they only
represented thirty something thousand constituents. Now it's seven hundred and
(13:59):
fifty thousand. That is too big. That it is way
too big. The Senate was meant to be a constituency
of the members of the Republic as a state, not
be not be popularly elected. Our two houses in our
legislature are supposed to work and be in tension with
(14:19):
each other, but now they're not, and the Senate has
turned into a green room for the presidency instead of
a group of people to represent their state, and those
little things. It one thing can't happen because so many
elected people say we need term limits, but they never
impose it on themselves. So it sounds good because people
(14:43):
want to hear that. But what I message I have
is if you know one thing won't fix it, it'll
take ten of these things to happen together.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
But it really can't happen.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
It's not that complicated, and I'm confident we can get
there if we believe it, and if we really sit
down and unify together and get people elected into Congress
that believe it too. Only only five or six people
believing this can't control the House with a fulcrum caucus.
That's what we need, and we need people to believe
(15:14):
that and know that we can be a free republic
again where individuals can thrive and pursue the happiness they
were born to be.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
We're out of time, unfortunately, Michael, But thank you for
your service.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Thank you for the book.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
It is due out next Tuesday, and I really appreciate
your time today very much.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Thank you so much, Kevin. And it is available on
Amazon now. Actually, so thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay, coming up next, well, President Trump send the National
Guard to Memphis, Tennessee as crime continues to surge. Only
time will tell. Plus, a very important special election is
happening in the volunteer state.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
More details after the.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
Break, watch and live on cloudtv Dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Welcome back to the real story. To what extent should
a president be willing to go to protect their country
from danger? Is there a limit, a line that shouldn't
be crossed, and if so, where exactly is it? These
are the questions that come to mind as the National
Guard prepares to march into Memphis, Tennessee. President Trump signed
(16:40):
off on the plan on Monday, creating a federal task
force called the Memphis Safe Task Force, which directs federal
agencies to request Tennessee National Guard units for support in
combating crime. National Guard troops are yet to arrive, and
it's still unclear when they will start arriving. However, the
(17:00):
planet itself has been met with fierce opposition from Memphis
Mayor Paul Young. On Saturday, he even told CNN that
he wasn't happy about a potential deployment to his city,
although at the exact same time he also said that
he's been looking for ways to address crime in Memphis.
So clearly there is a crime problem in the city.
(17:21):
We could all agree about that, but in either case,
his real feelings about the situation aren't so relevant here.
What is relevant is whether or not a US president
has the legal authority to do this, and whether or
not the measure itself is necessary. Keep in mind, Memphis
topped the charts in twenty twenty four for violent crime,
(17:42):
property theft, and even murders, with the third highest homicide
rate in the nation, and even though crime is plummeted
to twenty five year lows this year under Mayor Young, reportedly,
the problem itself still persists. At this While Mayor Young
says that he isn't happy about this looming deployment, he's
(18:05):
also smart enough to eye National Guard help for things
like traffic control at big events, surveillance sweeps, and even
neighborhood cleanups. Most importantly, this whole Memphis mission isn't just
about one troubled American town. It's a warning shot across
the bow to every blue cet he turned disaster zone
in this country, from Baltimore and Chicago to Los Angeles
(18:28):
and Washington, d C. Where National Guard deployments have already
proven the formula works. Now again, it's still a lot
to be decided to hear and unclear, but the deployment
could come as early as today or even later this week.
And in the meantime, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has welcomed
the idea and he's even said that he's communicated with
(18:50):
President Trump about these ongoing plans. So now all eyes
are on Memphis, Tennessee to see what happens next. So
here with reaction is GOP Tennessee State Representative Jody Barrett.
Representative Barrett, thank you for being.
Speaker 6 (19:04):
Here, Thank you for having me on Riley.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
So I want to, you know, answer this question and
get your thoughts about it, because I know there's a
lot of debate about what's going on right now with
the looming deployment, But let's just start here for a minute.
Do you think it's necessary to combat crime in Memphis?
Speaker 6 (19:21):
Oh, one hundred percent. There's clearly a crime epidemic. And
I know that you mentioned in your monologue there crime
statistics that seem to be going down. But I don't
believe those statistics as we all know that they're you know,
their lies, damn wise and statistics, and so those those
in power in Shelby County Memphis that are reporting these
(19:45):
these crime statistics, I think are taking some liberties with
how they're reporting things. The boots on the ground, the
people that live there, the folks that I live here
from and talk to on a daily basis, are absolutely
living in a crime zone and they're crying out for help.
In President Trump, like he always does, here's the people's cries,
and he's doing what he can to help.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
So for people who aren't from Memphis and who've never
been there, I'm hoping you can paint a picture for
us of what's going on, because oftentimes when people think
about crime ridden areas of the country, they picture Chicago,
New York, Seattle, Portland, maybe even a place like Miami
or even Louisville, Kentucky. But Memphis is an interesting one.
So give us a sort of you know, paint us
(20:27):
a picture if you will, sir, about what's really going
on there daily life and why you think it's such
a crime ridden area.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Well, the main reason why it's so crime ridden is
the blue folks, the Blue Democrat folks that have controlled
that county and that city for years decades simply refuse
to do their job to supply the necessary resources and
manpower and take the leash off of the police in
(20:56):
order to enforce the law. There, you've got a bunch
of social the schemers that are have taken over control
of that city. You also have a DA who's not
willing or interested in actually enforcing the law. He's much
more interested in trying to hold hands with these criminals
and sing kumbe bay yah with them and hope that they,
(21:17):
you know, pat him on the on the back of
the hand, and hope they go out and don't do
something else. And the problem is that the people that
live there are getting.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
Caught in the crossfire.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
You know, in a lot of American cities, you can
pick and choose different parts of the city that you
can avoid to try to stay away from from danger,
and you know where the bad parts of town are.
But Memphis is just one of those cities that geographically
there's no rhyme or reads into it. You can be
in a very nice part of town and go through
an intersection in the next two or three blocks or
(21:47):
some of the worst parts in crime written parts of
the city that you can imagine. So it's it's way
out of control. You know, we've We've tried at the
state level to pass some laws. We've got a state
senator down there, Brent Taylor, that has been banging the
drum for a long time now, and so finally I'm
very happy to see the president and the governor put
(22:08):
some attention on this issue.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
So one thing I want to follow up on here.
You're talking about the local DA, a top law enforcement
official in the area, saying that this individual treats criminals
with kid gloves. What do you think is really going
on there, because we've seen this pattern across the country
and I'm just trying to make sense of it.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Oh, look, I think it's very clear he's a Soros
funded dahs who's gotten in office there to try to
put the again, these soft, weak liberal policies in place
where we're not going to have bail, We're gonna we're
gonna let these guys get out for any reason whatsoever,
even though they may have committed three or four or
(22:47):
five crimes, had multiple charges against them. And then he's
just not doing the job that he was elected to do,
and that is to fight crime and put criminals behind bars.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And of course, to your point earlier, it's local residents
who pay the price for it. And we can negotiate
statistics and numbers all day long, but what gets lost
in that conversation is the material quality of life issues
for everyday people living on the ground.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
There, which is what's most important.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And so, like you, I'm happy to see some federal
reinforcements coming in. I think it is long overdue, whether
we're talking about robberies, car jockings, or homicides. But I
do want to pivot them for just a moment because
there is a special election coming up for Congress in
the Volunteer State, and you are gunning for I believe,
the seventh congressional district there. I want to ask you
about how your campaign is going and what you're really
(23:35):
running on, sir.
Speaker 6 (23:37):
Yes, sir, this is the special election to replace Mark Green,
who resigned back in June or announces resignation back in June.
The campaign's going very well. Pulling numbers are looking good
for us. I'm the only rural conservative candidate in this race.
And so there's fourteen counties in this district, eleven of
them are rural counties, and so we have some very
(24:00):
serious concerns in these small towns, and you know, agricultural
and commerce are two big issues that are facing us
out here, and we want to make sure that we
have somebody that goes to DC that understands the effect
of the laws that get passed at the national level
and how that flows downhill to the little towns and
cities across the country, and how we end up sometimes
(24:23):
shoveling the last of the stuff in the trough.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Absolutely, it's interesting you mentioned that because in our previous
segment today we're talking about this problem that so many
Americans just don't feel represented whatsoever. And it's oftentimes the
most hard working people in this country, people whose families
have been here for generations, who are doing everything they
can to serve and they just want to be represented
in Washington. That's all the forgotten men and women of America.
(24:46):
So I want to wish you the best of luck,
truly on that campaign, and just say thank you again
for being here and for highlighting these issues and just
giving us some of your time today.
Speaker 6 (24:56):
Thank you so much for the opportunity to come on
and speak with you.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Coming up next, the EPA looks to end reporting of
greenhouse gas emissions. We've got the former EPA chief of
Staff with us to explain what's really going on here
more details about it right after the.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Break, watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Welcome back to the real story.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Today's next subject brings us to a painful reality, the
scourge of bureaucracy in America. Simply put, I think we
can all agree there is way too much bureaucracy in
this country. What was once the land of the free
is now the land of excess regulation. And one of
the most notorious regulatory bodies and all all of America
(26:00):
today is the Environmental Protection Agency. Established on December second
of nineteen seventy following an executive order by then President
Richard Nixon, the federal watchdog group was created to protect
America's environment, certainly a noble goal in some respects, but
it gradually became this bloated vehicle for control, chipping away
(26:23):
people's individual liberties and drifting further and further and further
away from its original mission. But now picture this for
just a moment, the EPA, under the leadership of Administrator
Lee Zelden, is proposing a new rule to act the
greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, ditching a yearly ritual that forces
(26:45):
thousands of facilities across forty seven different categories to spill
the remission's data like confessional secrets. No more mandatory tallies
from big emitters, fuel suppliers, or even CO two injection
sites except methane from oil and gas ops.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Hit with waste charges.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
And while enviral lobbyists are clutching their pearls and expressing
lots of opposition, let's just pause for a moment to
see how this move could actually be really.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Interesting and good for the country.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
After all, this program has been a one hundred million
dollars sinkhole since the year twenty ten, collecting data that's
just gathered dust without denting a single smog particle. Memphis
steel mills, Texas refineries, Midwest power plants. They've jumped through
hoops for years and years only to see the same
(27:37):
old rags ignored. But now with Zelden scalpel slicing it out,
businesses breathe freer, innovation can surge and guess who's really
poised to win. Here every day Americans as for the
broader blueprint, ending EPA DATABASESAA trackers, and even NASA's emission
(27:58):
satellitesshing billions of dollars in waste while supercharging energy independence.
Oh here with her thoughts, analysis and reaction is former
chief of staff for the EPA, Mandy Gunasakara. Mandy, thank
you for being here today.
Speaker 8 (28:14):
Yeah, good to be with you.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So there are a lot of people who are seeing
the headlines and they say, we're not going to report
on greenhouse gas emissions anymore. You know the horror and
I want to know. I want to have you on
to clarify what's really going on and set the record straight.
So please tell us what does this move really mean.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
Well, this is.
Speaker 8 (28:34):
Really the end of a paperwork filing requirement and as
you pointed out, this costs businesses and covered facilities two
point four billion dollars and so doing a way with
this paperwork requirement will allow them to actually invest in
the latest and greatest technologies or hire more people to
increase productivity here in the United States. And mind you,
(28:54):
Administrator Lee Zelden and his team didn't just make this
decision because they said, So they looked into whether or
not this rule in particular had any impact on public
health and the environment, and it had absolutely none. So
it was a paperwork filing requirement that costs a lot
of money, increased liability, and did nothing to move the
ball in terms of overall environmental progress. So getting rid
(29:18):
of this is actually really good. It saves money, so
businesses aren't sending it to Washington, d C. To grow
the bureaucracy, but again investing it into their businesses and
their local community, which will improve efficiency. It'll improve energy outputs,
and it's part of President Trump's promise to make life
more affordable and reliable.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
Again, So to.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Your point there as well, If I mean, I'm just
thinking about why this program was in place in the
first place. If it's not good for the environment, and
it's not good for the American people, then what was
the logic behind implementing it at all.
Speaker 8 (29:53):
Well, it was largely a fishing expedition really put in
place by the Obama administration, and it was built on
a legal fallacy. Congress appropriated funds in two thousand and
eight for a very specific purpose. That specific purpose continues,
but outside of that expanding this reporting requirement to forty
seven different categories, covering eight thousand different facilities across the
(30:15):
United States. That was the Obama administration and their pin
and phone initiatives to try and push the origination of
the Green new scam, which was putting a price on carbon.
They couldn't get it passed through Congress, and so they
started looking to places like EPA to use the regulatory
power to institute what they couldn't get passed in Congress
because the American people don't support these policies.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
And this was a part of it.
Speaker 8 (30:38):
It was largely a fishing expedition that allowed EPA to
look inside these various agencies and hoping they would get
a gotcha so they could go in and look a
little bit more, create more problems, increase costs, and again
largely focused on your traditional energy resources coal, oil, and
natural gas, which we all know was on the receiving
end of the Obama administration and then the administrations war
(31:01):
against fawful fuels.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
That's really interesting and it brings me to my follow
up question then for you as you see it today,
because the EPA, I think it started with a pretty
noble goal keep Americas rivers and streams, the oceans clean.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
We want to protect this beautiful country.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
We have this massive, continental sized republic that we have here.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Everybody wants clean air, clean water. Absolutely, nobody's against that.
But what's really interesting is what you just said about
the EPA, its functionality today and the way it's really
impacting Americans. So, in your expertise, what do you make
of the EPA as it stands right now, its size,
its scope, its authority, and really what it's doing and
(31:42):
how it's impacting everyday Americans and businesses and workers.
Speaker 8 (31:47):
Look, it got totally out of control in the Biden administration,
basically left wing politicians. They co opted or corrupted the
agency's original mission to protect public health and the environment
and turned it into a political machine. And they did
everything from trying to control what type of stoves you
have in your house, what types of cars you can drive,
(32:09):
to whether or not we could eat meat on a
regular basis. I mean that's where ultimately all of this
was going. So EPA has gotten way too big and
they've really pushed the edges of their authority. They don't
have the authority to do that. Their authority lies within
what Congress explicitly delegated and that is pretty limited. So
fast forward to today Administrator Zelden under the direction of
(32:30):
President Trump, they're very committed to protecting our air water
and addressing legacy pollution that impacts some communities in a
negative way. They are committed to that core mission, but
they are cutting the size and scope of the agency
and they are getting it back to only taking actions
that are tied to explicit legal authority, and largely because
(32:50):
the Supreme Court requires them to do so because of
the Low or Bright decision that did away with Chevron deference.
All that being said, the agency could be much smaller
and can continue to deliver, and we're already seeing that
happen under the leadership of President Trump and Administrator zeld In.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Interesting, so there's a broader concern here too. That doesn't
apply just to the EPA. It applies to so many
other of these federal agencies in Washington, d C. Where
it seems like through regulatory power and enforcement, they basically
become de facto lawmakers. They're not accountable. These aren't elected
people who are running these agencies. In large part, so
(33:26):
I think there are a lot of Americans who who
are concerned because they see this dramatic shift in power,
changing of the balance of power from elected bodies like
Congress and the Senate to these giant federal agencies that
just exist permanently. They just get bigger and bigger. They're
replete with their own staffing, their own funding. To your
point about the Biden administration, their own political agendas.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I think that's really.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
The constitutional crisis we face in this country is sort
of the tyranny of overregulation. So I want to ask you, then,
based on everything we're talking about now, are you hopeful
that we can get back to the original mission here
and maybe some an example for what could be done
with other bloated and tyrannical agencies in Washington.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I think if we can do it
at EPA, you can do it anywhere. Because EPA has
largely been the tip of the spear of this effort
to use regulatory authorities to implement a political agenda. And
we've seen the work of Administrator zeld in his deregulatory
actions refocusing on the agency's core mission, but also in
conjunction with the Department of Government Efficiency and the early
(34:32):
on audit that exposed nefarious actions like a twenty billion
dollar money laundering scheme the Biden administration had tried to
put outside the reach of basic federal oversight, and so
those exposing that with the audit that DOGE did, as
well as refocusing the agency on what it's supposed to do,
and those actions are explicitly tied to the letter of
(34:53):
the law. It can be done, it is being done.
And what's happening at EPA again, where you can protect
the environment and not create unnecessary barriers to economic growth
and do away with the politics of very important policy issues.
If it can be done at EPA, it can be
done anywhere. So I'm very, very hopeful that this good
(35:13):
work will continue not just at EPA, but across the
broad broader administrative state.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I really hope. So.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
I love that term, by the way, administrative state. I
call it permanent Washington.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Other people call it the total state.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Regardless of the nomenclature, it's very clear what's going on.
We're losing control of our own country. The American people
just aren't in the driver's seat anymore, and we've got
to do something about that. I'm really hopeful about this
move I'll wrap with one final question then for you, Mandy,
So should this rule, you know, this rule change go
into effect. What does that mean for businesses for energy production,
(35:48):
you know, people who work in that space. How does
that impact people's daily life from there?
Speaker 8 (35:54):
Yeah, well, it does away with a pretty heavy, burdensome
reporting requirement that it costs a lot of money to
comply with. Most companies they have to hire specialists, either
technical experts or lawyers to file these documents. And also,
if you file them wrong, you're not only opening yourself
up to scrutiny by EPA to come in and apply penalties,
(36:17):
but also third party groups to say you're out of compliance,
you're no longer meeting the EPA regulatory standard. I'm going
to assue you over that, which just creates added costs
to the operations. At the end of the day, what
this means is the businesses, whether it's the refineries or
the steel plans or other industrial actors, they can focus
(36:37):
on what they do best, which is creating industrial styled
actions and building the economy so that it is consistent
with the vision that President Trump painted on the campaign
trail and is already delivering.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Completely understood This is just so important, and you know
it speaks to so many other issues that are all
really deeply connected. So Andandy, thank you for your time
and your expertise today, appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (37:01):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Coming up next, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut
interest rates, but how low will they go? More details
about that and what it means after the.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
Break, watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Welcome back to the real story. Tomorrow, Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell is said to finally lift the crushing yoke
off of America's families a quarter point interest rate cut,
easing the federal funds rate from its suffocating four point
twenty five to four point five percent stranglehold, the first
trim since December twenty twenty four's fleeting mercy. Inflation's creeping
(38:01):
up again to two point nine percent overall for August.
That's the everyday price surge hitting your wallet hard from
July to two point seven, while the core rate, which
pretends food and gas just don't really exist, clocks in
at three point one percent, spitting in the face of
the fed's pie in the sky two percent target that
they've bungled for years, and the job market a disaster
(38:24):
at four point three percent. Unemployment one in every twenty
three working Americans sidelined, the highest since October.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
August limped in with just twenty two thousand new jobs,
a rounding error compared to the boom times, and now
the FED admits they've overhyped last year's gains by nearly
one million jobs, erasing the fairy tale that they sold us.
Now wall streets, soothsayers at Bloomberg and Reuters are calling
(38:55):
for two or three more cuts by December of this year,
lopping off on another half to three quarters of a
percentage point total, which might finally melt the ice blocked
loans keeping families from buying homes and keeping entrepreneurs from
launching businesses. But fat chance on quick relief as mortgage
rates are glued near six point five percent courtesy of
(39:18):
the Fed's foot dragging, still crushing young people shot at
the American dream. But here's the unvarnished truth, as Powell
postures in the Beltwagh. President Trump's tariff thunder has been
demanding this exhale since inauguration, proven right again now calling
for a massive three percent slash to juice the housing
(39:39):
market and crush the ghost of Bidenomics past. And just yesterday,
a federal appeals court blocked Trump's bid to oust FED
Governor Lisa Cook over uncharged allegations of mortgage trad that
she dismisses as being baseless, potentially lifting the Fed's vaunted
veil of independence as an elite protection racket with little
(40:00):
to no interest and really helping everyday Americans.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Here with his reaction is CEO of Key City Capital,
Thai Lasseter Thy.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
Thank you for joining me, Riley.
Speaker 7 (40:11):
It's great to be back on here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So millions of people have been really waiting for some
kind of reprieve and relief. Tell us more about that
and what you think is really going to happen moving
forward with the FED and interest rates.
Speaker 9 (40:24):
Well, Riley, you brought up a lot of really good
points in the onset there, and you know, I think
there's a looming expectation now at this point where the
country that's really left out of the table at this
point on our own, on our own accord, which is
just detrimental. You know, you've got Japan, you've got China,
(40:45):
you've got Switzerland, you've got the UK, you've got Canada,
all having dropped rates, and we haven't done so yet.
And many of those countries that I just named are
the countries that are pouring capital into our real estate market,
making the real estate market unaffordable for those home buyers.
Speaker 7 (41:01):
That you were speaking of.
Speaker 9 (41:02):
Now that being said, we've got local you know, the
black Rocks, black stones of the world that are that
are also buying up real estate here. And I don't
necessarily think that's a bad thing. Is yes, Is it
driving up costs for the homes.
Speaker 7 (41:15):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (41:16):
However, the fastest way to fix that is to bring
interest rates down so that developers develop again. We are
at a huge deficit of supply and demand and developers
aren't developing, and so that's affecting the jobs market. And
if interest rates were brought back down so that developers
could develop again and operators like myself, investors like myself
(41:39):
are buying assets again, then we're creating jobs. And those
jobs when the border is handled appropriately like it's being
handled now. More of those jobs are brought back locally
as well, increasing the pay rate. And we've had look
at the wage discrepancy to inflation is the largest that
(41:59):
it's ever been. And the way to fix that is
addressing the border, which Trump has done, addressing interest rates
so developers develop again, creating more jobs, and ultimately that
starts to address the inflation problem as well.
Speaker 7 (42:15):
I don't necessarily think that the.
Speaker 9 (42:18):
American dream that your parents and my parents had is
the same American dream now for twofold you know, families,
young kids are getting started with families later in life.
They want that flexibility. We've got tenants that rent in
two different states from us. They like that flexibility. And
you've got baby boomers exiting the workforce looking for less
(42:39):
maintenance and they want that rentership. But they need affordable housing.
And it's hard to have affordable housing when interest rates
are skyrocketing, and we've got inflation in insurance and in
utilities and everything.
Speaker 7 (42:52):
Across the board.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Well, and I think one really core issue here for
a lot of Americans, and those really interesting points HI,
is purchasing power, real wages, the value of the dollar,
they look at these people like Jerome Powell, whose job
really he has many things he's overseeing, but the number
one most important thing stabilizing the US economy and protect
the dollar's value. People look at what they're bringing home
(43:17):
and they just understand this fundamental truth that the dollar
is not worth today what it was ten years ago,
twenty years ago, thirty years ago, and they're wondering, how
do we address this problem in a lasting and meaningful way.
I know it's a big picture kind of project, but
I think that's the big concern for a lot of people,
myself included, is looking at inflation, taxes, all the competition
(43:38):
the American workers up against with automation and offshoring, and
they think, how am I going to get ahead? How
am I going to start a family or start a business,
How am I going to create some kind of generational
wealth for me and my loved ones.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
So I want to.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
Get your thoughts about this national debt problem, the printing problem,
and really more specifically your analysis of Jerome Powell's performance
Chairman of the Feed.
Speaker 9 (44:01):
Well, you brought up a couple of really good points there, Riley.
As we go into that and Jerome's handling of the
situation has been absolutely terrible. He's somebody that has ridden
the fence his entire career, doesn't want to take a
stance one way or another. And at the end of
the day, really nobody except for the ice cream man,
sells ice cream. And so you're not going to make
(44:23):
everybody happy. You've got to make a commitment one way
or the other. And you know, I think the thing
that Trump has done with Jay has Trump has brought
his polarizing presence to his stage and put that monkey
on Jay's back and said.
Speaker 7 (44:38):
Okay, here's the ball. You now need to make a
decision one way or another. And so we're going to
doues with that.
Speaker 9 (44:44):
But you know, you bring up a good point, and
what can really Americans do with that purchasing power? Because
one hundred thousand dollars five years ago is worth about
eighty two thousand dollars today.
Speaker 7 (44:56):
Wow, So how do you how do you address that?
Speaker 9 (44:58):
And I go back to and I've got it in
my book back behind me, But really what boils down
to what I call the four Keys to wealth as
it pertains to investing. And you know, no matter what
your income level is, and so we're speaking to all
of your listeners, and I'm sure there's income and wealth
levels of a varying degree. Average median household income across
(45:22):
the United States is sixty four thousand dollars right now.
Many of my clients are high net worth income earners
that earn north of three hundred thousand dollars, and there's
everybody in between.
Speaker 7 (45:34):
But the way that you can do that is you
can start living on less of your income.
Speaker 9 (45:40):
When when Jerome Powell brings interest rates down and we
can address affordable housing, and when you can live on
less of your income. What I did, what I did
when I started my business is I ramin myself and
my family for a long time so that I could
focus on growing a business. And I say that and
that was really in aspects of my life. I drove
(46:01):
a Beater truck with a wife and two kids, and
I ate terribly, and I sacrificed for the short term
so that I could build for the long term. And
what I ultimately did was create a structure where I
could live on half of what I made and the
other half I was able to save and invest and tithe.
And with that, you know what I focused on is
(46:25):
with my investments, I focused on things on investments that
did four things. One they created cash flow. Two, I
could buy the investment at a discount, So I'm not
buying stocks at face value. I'm buying something at a discount.
Typically that's real estate. Number three is I'm buying something
that has known and calculated appreciation over the last hundred years.
Speaker 7 (46:44):
And number four, it creates a tax advantage.
Speaker 9 (46:46):
So that when I do exit it, I'm keeping more
of my hard earned money in my pocket. And and
so that's something that all Americans can do. And you
can do that actively, and you can you know, if
you're if you don't have the income level to invest
in passive private investments like what we offer, you can
do that yourself. If you do have the income level
(47:06):
and the net worth to do that passively, you can
partner with an operator like myself that does the hard
work for you, and you can set back and take
the fruits of the spirit from that. So really that's
the thing that you've what you've got to do in
order to offset inflation, is you've got to make investments
that help you counter correlate that inflation that is taking
(47:27):
an impact on your purchasing power ty.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
Thank you for being here and highlighting this really really
critical issue with us.
Speaker 7 (47:34):
Always great to be on Riddy, Thank you for having
me back.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
Coming up next, a rare surgery involving taking a piece
of a tooth and actually putting into someone's eyeball help
restore a blind man's eyesight after twenty years. More details
after the break.
Speaker 5 (47:55):
Watch OM Live on cloudtv dot com and see what
you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch One
America News Network wherever you go visit klowd tv dot com. Today.
That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Welcome back to the Real Story.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
On today's edition of Real Good News, we have this
amazing story about a man whose vision was restored after
two decades through a wild procedure that most people have
probably never ever heard of. So the man's name Brent Chapman.
He lost his vision when he was only thirteen years
old due to an infection that led to him losing
(48:41):
his left eye completely and most of his vision in
his right one as well. Brent said that over the
last twenty years he's had close to fifty different surgeries
just to try to restore his eyesight, but that most
times it would never heal properly. This time things were different,
(49:02):
as doctor Greg Maloney, a clinical Associate professor of corneal
surgery at the University of British Columbia, was able to
restore his vision by using this very interesting and obscure
procedure called osteo odonto corato prosthesis or simply put tooth
in eye surgery. Now, the procedure is considered an absolute
(49:24):
last resort and it consists of removing a patient's tooth,
filing it down to a rectangle, placing it or placing
a lens then in the tooth, and then sewing it
into the patient's cheek to grow connective tissue before placing
it into their eye. Now, most commonly a canine tooth
is actually used for these since it's the longest in
(49:46):
the human mouth. But doctor Maloney said that the tooth
is the ideal structure for holding a focusing element in
place because it's hard it survives in poor and tough environments.
He also said the body accepts because it's part of
its own matter, which is just fascinating for so many reasons. Now,
Brent was recently fitted for glasses and has twenty thirty vision,
(50:10):
which means he can see details at twenty feet that
a person with perfect vision could see at thirty feet,
and right after Brint surgery, the very first thing he
saw was the skyline from doctor Maloney's sixteenth floor office. However,
his favorite sites are his niece and his nephew. And
that concludes today's broadcast. We truly hope that you enjoyed it,
(50:32):
and remember, we always want to hear from you, so
please email your feedback and any new stories you'd like
us to cover to the Real Story at OAMM dot
com and follow us on social media at the Real
storyn So until we meet again, God bless you, God
bless our troops, and God bless America.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
Watch o AN live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go, visit k l
o w d tv dot com today. That's k l
o w d TV dot com Today.
Welcome to the real story. I'm your host, Riley Lewis.
Thank you for joining us. The first requisite of a
good citizen in this republic of hours is that he
shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
That he shall not be a mere passenger, but shall
do his share in the work that each generation of
us finds ready to hand. And furthermore, that in doing
(00:33):
his work, he shall show not only the capacity for
sturdy self help, but also self respecting regard for the
rights of others. These are the words of America's twenty
sixth President, Theodore Roosevelt, and they really capture his view
of what it means to be an American citizen. His
(00:54):
view interesting as it is encompassed things like active participation
in society, the responsibility of every individual to really contribute
to society, and even the importance of always considering how
one's actions and words impact their fellow citizens. And these
(01:14):
are really just a few of the magic ingredients that
lead to a happy citizen ry and a prosperous republic.
And now is the exact time to revisit these simple
but really powerful ideas, because this is a pivotal moment
for America. America's core principles, from freedom of speech to
individual liberty and mutual respect, seem to be under attack.
(01:38):
The public's trust in America's institutions and the American way
are sinking like a stone. The federal government is deeply
in debt, caught up in this seemingly endless cycle of
reckless printing and spending that is fueling inflation, undermining the
power of the dollar, and leading to historic levels of
economic frustration and pain. Additionally, the country itself seems to
(02:03):
be deeply divided, and the response to the horrific assassination
of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has highlighted this divide,
with some people brazenly and deliberately lying about the things
that Charlie said and did, seemingly to excuse his murder,
all while millions of patriots who really knew him fight
to protect his legacy and set the record straight. On
(02:26):
top of it all, many people from coast to coast,
from sea to Shining Sea feel powerless when it comes
to getting their country back on the right track, something
which the Trump White House has been working toward it
since the first day of President Trump's second term. People
are pessimistic about the future. They feel hopeless and powerless,
(02:49):
and the pole data is there to prove it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
For example, only thirty one percent of Americans.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Who participate participated in a Gallop survey in late August
said they were satisfied with the direction the country is
going in. Meanwhile, Morning Consult polls published this month show
that only thirty eight percent of adults believe the country
is on the right track following the assassination of Charlie Kirk,
and other polls out there show similar results as well,
(03:17):
including one from Ipsos Reuters that was released in February
which shows that nearly half of Americans believe the country
is heading in the wrong direction, with only thirty four
percent of people saying the country is going in the
right direction. And while every poll has its flaws, its issues,
and its caveats for a wide range of reasons that
(03:39):
we've discussed on the show before, they really highlight a
trend here. It's this undeniable pattern of dissatisfaction, a clear
trend showing that many Americans want better for their families,
better for their communities, better for their neighbors, and better
for their country. And frankly, who could blame them. The
(04:01):
people are ready for change, they're ready for the great
American comeback, and they're looking for some sort of sign
to give them hope that things will improve for them
and for future generations. Which brings us to a very
important question. What is the key to America's renewal? How
do we restore accountability in America? How do we restore
(04:24):
justice and peace? And how do we give power back
to the people. In the words of President Trump, this
country doesn't belong to the corporations or the politicians. It
belongs to the American people, and the American people are
the key to ushering in this great comeback. At least
that's what our first guest today argues in his new book,
(04:45):
which is set to be released in one week from today,
and he joins us now to share his roadmap for
citizen driven reform, a plan that is grounded in lessens
from across history and America's founding principles. So here to
join us is the man himself, Michael Beidenbaugh, a US
Navy veteran and the author of Reviving Our Republic ninety
(05:07):
five feces for the Future of America. Michael, thank you
for being here.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Sir, Well, Kevin, thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it. That was a great intro.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I appreciate it very much. I also just want to
say that I appreciate your service to this country. Brave
individuals like yourself, they keep us free and safe. So
I just want to start there. I also want to
ask you about your background first and really what inspired
you to write this book.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Well, I have you know, I grew up in a
rural landscape in South Carolina. My family has been here
since before the Revolution. All my ancestors were and that
doesn't give me more of a right to citizenship, but
it does give a sense of how I was aware
of my responsibility in the story of America and in
(05:54):
the fact that I believe, just as you had mentioned
with Theodore Roosevelt, and engaged citizen is the only way
this nation can exist, in the way the founding fathers
had created something that was absolutely vital that there was
an educated population that would help run the nation. And
(06:18):
so've I served on my city council. I have been
involved in various things with the county. I believe local
service is the is the best service. In the past
several years, I have. I ran for Congress as an independent.
(06:38):
In South Carolina, we have really a since leat Water
created the modern Republican Party here in the state, it's
kind of created a club that though I am a
constitutional conservative and a physical conservative, I don't think it
addresses in a way to represent everyone here in the
state that it needs. So I ran as an independent,
(07:01):
especially with the issues of outside funding that compromises true
representation for the people and just being part of a machine.
And so when I sat there ten years ago and
watched a first debate where Donald Trump was present and
all the Republicans were there to take over from Obama,
(07:22):
I was personally concerned with the vulgar aspect of where
our dialogue was headed. And I said, then I need
to really dig into this. So I picked up Washington's
biography I've always studied him and looked at his farewell address,
(07:42):
and through that farewell address I saw the owner's manual
for our structure of our nation. I considered the founders
not founders, because they really didn't find anything their architects
and they created a structure that and with my background
in preservation, I understand whether historic structure gets dilapidated is
(08:05):
because it wasn't maintained properly. But usually the foundation is
still good. So I basically took his farewell address and
took out of that points that he made that I
saw forty policy points that we could utilize to help
get the ship of state more stable. Right, And I
(08:27):
think all the issues we have now are structural issues
that have guided us this way and something that we
can fix. And I think most people when I ran
for Congress, I had the room filled with as many
Democrats as Republicans because my book is about not policy
but systems to get to policy, and that's I was
(08:52):
very proud of being able to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You know, that's extremely interesting, and I have so many
questions for you, so I know we will jump around
a little bit here, but Michael, here's what I want
to start, just on that really interesting perspective. What do
you think the creators, architects, not founders, would have to
say about the current state of America's national politics.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
They feared it would get to this when when when
Franklin told the lady outside the convention halls after they
were done, and he said, a republic if you could
keep it, he would sit right now and say, y'all
are about to lose it, and and it's it's it's
(09:39):
happened because the demagoguery of politicians, lifetime appointments of politicians
people you know, uh, And a lot of this is
structural because it's rooted in how we represent ourselves. And
but but they would be horrified, and Washington would be
(09:59):
rolling over in.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
The great understood.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So then I think that brings us really the central
question we've been alluding to this, it's what the the
sort of the sort of founders like Washington spoke about
so dearly and so brilliantly. By the way, looking back
at the Declaration of the Constitution, these were obviously very inspired
individuals and very brave ones too. But I want to
get your thoughts then about how we move forward from here,
(10:23):
how we reclaim our power as the citizens, and most importantly,
what does it really take day to day to maintain
and keep this republic.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Well, whenever there's a certain lifestyle that happens, a certain
life cycle that happens in nations, and it's happened ever
since human beings have been on the earth, and when
ever nations become prosperous. Whenever people become prosperous, they become spoiled.
They become folks that could just pay other people to
(10:55):
do their work and and and job out the respons
responsibilities of citizenship. And that is what I believe has happened.
So it's a natural cycle where we are. But what
I try to talk about in the book is that
there are real things that we can do if we
believe we can do them, if we if we know
(11:20):
we're in charge. You know, one of the things when
I was on town council, I got so iritated. People say, well,
you can't fight city Hall, and I immediately told them, well,
that's why you're not, Because if you want to sit
back and be a victim and say, oh, I can't
do anything about it, or even go to the other
route and demonize the person doing something while you're doing
(11:42):
nothing for a solution, then you're just in the way,
and you're in the way of our nation being able
to take on responsible citizenship. And so what I tried
to do in the book is one empower the fact
that it's really not that hard for us to do.
I have forty policy points. The ninety five feasts are
ideas that justify why these forty policy points are I
(12:05):
think vital for us to reset why a federal republic
can exist that elevates individual liberty, no matter what that
liberty is. It's important we understand that ever since we
have been a world power, we have lost the sense
(12:29):
of individual liberty for the power of the state. Yes,
and I normally believe just like Rome couldn't exist as
a republic controlling all of Europe and Asia, we cannot
be a free republic while we are demanding to be
a world power. Okay, I think we can be a
(12:52):
power to protect us. Yeah, I'm sorry, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Please please.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
What you're saying is completely validate resonates with me very
deeply because I think the the crux of the matter
is we're trying to keep this in republic, but in
a lot of functional ways, it's become something of an empire.
And I don't know if the founders foresaw that happening
in their day, but that's basically where we are and
it's created a lot of issues. And so just in
a couple of minutes we have left, i'd like you
(13:16):
to run through your roadmap, your vision. There are people
in this country who care very deeply. They've been here
a long time and they want better. So in the
final minute or so that we have left, please walk
us through this roadmap and give us some of those
concrete policy points that you've been talking about.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Well some of them. Everybody talks about term limits.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Not let be incentivize the professionalism of political life in Washington, DC,
any of those things. One, when our representatives were first
set up to represent us in the Constitution, they only
represented thirty something thousand constituents. Now it's seven hundred and
(13:59):
fifty thousand. That is too big. That it is way
too big. The Senate was meant to be a constituency
of the members of the Republic as a state, not
be not be popularly elected. Our two houses in our
legislature are supposed to work and be in tension with
(14:19):
each other, but now they're not, and the Senate has
turned into a green room for the presidency instead of
a group of people to represent their state, and those
little things. It one thing can't happen because so many
elected people say we need term limits, but they never
impose it on themselves. So it sounds good because people
(14:43):
want to hear that. But what I message I have
is if you know one thing won't fix it, it'll
take ten of these things to happen together.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
But it really can't happen.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
It's not that complicated, and I'm confident we can get
there if we believe it, and if we really sit
down and unify together and get people elected into Congress
that believe it too. Only only five or six people
believing this can't control the House with a fulcrum caucus.
That's what we need, and we need people to believe
(15:14):
that and know that we can be a free republic
again where individuals can thrive and pursue the happiness they
were born to be.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
We're out of time, unfortunately, Michael, But thank you for
your service.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Thank you for the book.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
It is due out next Tuesday, and I really appreciate
your time today very much.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Thank you so much, Kevin. And it is available on
Amazon now. Actually, so thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay, coming up next, well, President Trump send the National
Guard to Memphis, Tennessee as crime continues to surge. Only
time will tell. Plus, a very important special election is
happening in the volunteer state.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
More details after the.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
Break, watch and live on cloudtv Dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Welcome back to the real story. To what extent should
a president be willing to go to protect their country
from danger? Is there a limit, a line that shouldn't
be crossed, and if so, where exactly is it? These
are the questions that come to mind as the National
Guard prepares to march into Memphis, Tennessee. President Trump signed
(16:40):
off on the plan on Monday, creating a federal task
force called the Memphis Safe Task Force, which directs federal
agencies to request Tennessee National Guard units for support in
combating crime. National Guard troops are yet to arrive, and
it's still unclear when they will start arriving. However, the
(17:00):
planet itself has been met with fierce opposition from Memphis
Mayor Paul Young. On Saturday, he even told CNN that
he wasn't happy about a potential deployment to his city,
although at the exact same time he also said that
he's been looking for ways to address crime in Memphis.
So clearly there is a crime problem in the city.
(17:21):
We could all agree about that, but in either case,
his real feelings about the situation aren't so relevant here.
What is relevant is whether or not a US president
has the legal authority to do this, and whether or
not the measure itself is necessary. Keep in mind, Memphis
topped the charts in twenty twenty four for violent crime,
(17:42):
property theft, and even murders, with the third highest homicide
rate in the nation, and even though crime is plummeted
to twenty five year lows this year under Mayor Young, reportedly,
the problem itself still persists. At this While Mayor Young
says that he isn't happy about this looming deployment, he's
(18:05):
also smart enough to eye National Guard help for things
like traffic control at big events, surveillance sweeps, and even
neighborhood cleanups. Most importantly, this whole Memphis mission isn't just
about one troubled American town. It's a warning shot across
the bow to every blue cet he turned disaster zone
in this country, from Baltimore and Chicago to Los Angeles
(18:28):
and Washington, d C. Where National Guard deployments have already
proven the formula works. Now again, it's still a lot
to be decided to hear and unclear, but the deployment
could come as early as today or even later this week.
And in the meantime, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has welcomed
the idea and he's even said that he's communicated with
(18:50):
President Trump about these ongoing plans. So now all eyes
are on Memphis, Tennessee to see what happens next. So
here with reaction is GOP Tennessee State Representative Jody Barrett.
Representative Barrett, thank you for being.
Speaker 6 (19:04):
Here, Thank you for having me on Riley.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
So I want to, you know, answer this question and
get your thoughts about it, because I know there's a
lot of debate about what's going on right now with
the looming deployment, But let's just start here for a minute.
Do you think it's necessary to combat crime in Memphis?
Speaker 6 (19:21):
Oh, one hundred percent. There's clearly a crime epidemic. And
I know that you mentioned in your monologue there crime
statistics that seem to be going down. But I don't
believe those statistics as we all know that they're you know,
their lies, damn wise and statistics, and so those those
in power in Shelby County Memphis that are reporting these
(19:45):
these crime statistics, I think are taking some liberties with
how they're reporting things. The boots on the ground, the
people that live there, the folks that I live here
from and talk to on a daily basis, are absolutely
living in a crime zone and they're crying out for help.
In President Trump, like he always does, here's the people's cries,
and he's doing what he can to help.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
So for people who aren't from Memphis and who've never
been there, I'm hoping you can paint a picture for
us of what's going on, because oftentimes when people think
about crime ridden areas of the country, they picture Chicago,
New York, Seattle, Portland, maybe even a place like Miami
or even Louisville, Kentucky. But Memphis is an interesting one.
So give us a sort of you know, paint us
(20:27):
a picture if you will, sir, about what's really going
on there daily life and why you think it's such
a crime ridden area.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Well, the main reason why it's so crime ridden is
the blue folks, the Blue Democrat folks that have controlled
that county and that city for years decades simply refuse
to do their job to supply the necessary resources and
manpower and take the leash off of the police in
(20:56):
order to enforce the law. There, you've got a bunch
of social the schemers that are have taken over control
of that city. You also have a DA who's not
willing or interested in actually enforcing the law. He's much
more interested in trying to hold hands with these criminals
and sing kumbe bay yah with them and hope that they,
(21:17):
you know, pat him on the on the back of
the hand, and hope they go out and don't do
something else. And the problem is that the people that
live there are getting.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
Caught in the crossfire.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
You know, in a lot of American cities, you can
pick and choose different parts of the city that you
can avoid to try to stay away from from danger,
and you know where the bad parts of town are.
But Memphis is just one of those cities that geographically
there's no rhyme or reads into it. You can be
in a very nice part of town and go through
an intersection in the next two or three blocks or
(21:47):
some of the worst parts in crime written parts of
the city that you can imagine. So it's it's way
out of control. You know, we've We've tried at the
state level to pass some laws. We've got a state
senator down there, Brent Taylor, that has been banging the
drum for a long time now, and so finally I'm
very happy to see the president and the governor put
(22:08):
some attention on this issue.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
So one thing I want to follow up on here.
You're talking about the local DA, a top law enforcement
official in the area, saying that this individual treats criminals
with kid gloves. What do you think is really going
on there, because we've seen this pattern across the country
and I'm just trying to make sense of it.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Oh, look, I think it's very clear he's a Soros
funded dahs who's gotten in office there to try to
put the again, these soft, weak liberal policies in place
where we're not going to have bail, We're gonna we're
gonna let these guys get out for any reason whatsoever,
even though they may have committed three or four or
(22:47):
five crimes, had multiple charges against them. And then he's
just not doing the job that he was elected to do,
and that is to fight crime and put criminals behind bars.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And of course, to your point earlier, it's local residents
who pay the price for it. And we can negotiate
statistics and numbers all day long, but what gets lost
in that conversation is the material quality of life issues
for everyday people living on the ground.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
There, which is what's most important.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And so, like you, I'm happy to see some federal
reinforcements coming in. I think it is long overdue, whether
we're talking about robberies, car jockings, or homicides. But I
do want to pivot them for just a moment because
there is a special election coming up for Congress in
the Volunteer State, and you are gunning for I believe,
the seventh congressional district there. I want to ask you
about how your campaign is going and what you're really
(23:35):
running on, sir.
Speaker 6 (23:37):
Yes, sir, this is the special election to replace Mark Green,
who resigned back in June or announces resignation back in June.
The campaign's going very well. Pulling numbers are looking good
for us. I'm the only rural conservative candidate in this race.
And so there's fourteen counties in this district, eleven of
them are rural counties, and so we have some very
(24:00):
serious concerns in these small towns, and you know, agricultural
and commerce are two big issues that are facing us
out here, and we want to make sure that we
have somebody that goes to DC that understands the effect
of the laws that get passed at the national level
and how that flows downhill to the little towns and
cities across the country, and how we end up sometimes
(24:23):
shoveling the last of the stuff in the trough.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Absolutely, it's interesting you mentioned that because in our previous
segment today we're talking about this problem that so many
Americans just don't feel represented whatsoever. And it's oftentimes the
most hard working people in this country, people whose families
have been here for generations, who are doing everything they
can to serve and they just want to be represented
in Washington. That's all the forgotten men and women of America.
(24:46):
So I want to wish you the best of luck,
truly on that campaign, and just say thank you again
for being here and for highlighting these issues and just
giving us some of your time today.
Speaker 6 (24:56):
Thank you so much for the opportunity to come on
and speak with you.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Coming up next, the EPA looks to end reporting of
greenhouse gas emissions. We've got the former EPA chief of
Staff with us to explain what's really going on here
more details about it right after the.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Break, watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Welcome back to the real story.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Today's next subject brings us to a painful reality, the
scourge of bureaucracy in America. Simply put, I think we
can all agree there is way too much bureaucracy in
this country. What was once the land of the free
is now the land of excess regulation. And one of
the most notorious regulatory bodies and all all of America
(26:00):
today is the Environmental Protection Agency. Established on December second
of nineteen seventy following an executive order by then President
Richard Nixon, the federal watchdog group was created to protect
America's environment, certainly a noble goal in some respects, but
it gradually became this bloated vehicle for control, chipping away
(26:23):
people's individual liberties and drifting further and further and further
away from its original mission. But now picture this for
just a moment, the EPA, under the leadership of Administrator
Lee Zelden, is proposing a new rule to act the
greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, ditching a yearly ritual that forces
(26:45):
thousands of facilities across forty seven different categories to spill
the remission's data like confessional secrets. No more mandatory tallies
from big emitters, fuel suppliers, or even CO two injection
sites except methane from oil and gas ops.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Hit with waste charges.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
And while enviral lobbyists are clutching their pearls and expressing
lots of opposition, let's just pause for a moment to
see how this move could actually be really.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Interesting and good for the country.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
After all, this program has been a one hundred million
dollars sinkhole since the year twenty ten, collecting data that's
just gathered dust without denting a single smog particle. Memphis
steel mills, Texas refineries, Midwest power plants. They've jumped through
hoops for years and years only to see the same
(27:37):
old rags ignored. But now with Zelden scalpel slicing it out,
businesses breathe freer, innovation can surge and guess who's really
poised to win. Here every day Americans as for the
broader blueprint, ending EPA DATABASESAA trackers, and even NASA's emission
(27:58):
satellitesshing billions of dollars in waste while supercharging energy independence.
Oh here with her thoughts, analysis and reaction is former
chief of staff for the EPA, Mandy Gunasakara. Mandy, thank
you for being here today.
Speaker 8 (28:14):
Yeah, good to be with you.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So there are a lot of people who are seeing
the headlines and they say, we're not going to report
on greenhouse gas emissions anymore. You know the horror and
I want to know. I want to have you on
to clarify what's really going on and set the record straight.
So please tell us what does this move really mean.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
Well, this is.
Speaker 8 (28:34):
Really the end of a paperwork filing requirement and as
you pointed out, this costs businesses and covered facilities two
point four billion dollars and so doing a way with
this paperwork requirement will allow them to actually invest in
the latest and greatest technologies or hire more people to
increase productivity here in the United States. And mind you,
(28:54):
Administrator Lee Zelden and his team didn't just make this
decision because they said, So they looked into whether or
not this rule in particular had any impact on public
health and the environment, and it had absolutely none. So
it was a paperwork filing requirement that costs a lot
of money, increased liability, and did nothing to move the
ball in terms of overall environmental progress. So getting rid
(29:18):
of this is actually really good. It saves money, so
businesses aren't sending it to Washington, d C. To grow
the bureaucracy, but again investing it into their businesses and
their local community, which will improve efficiency. It'll improve energy outputs,
and it's part of President Trump's promise to make life
more affordable and reliable.
Speaker 7 (29:37):
Again, So to.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Your point there as well, If I mean, I'm just
thinking about why this program was in place in the
first place. If it's not good for the environment, and
it's not good for the American people, then what was
the logic behind implementing it at all.
Speaker 8 (29:53):
Well, it was largely a fishing expedition really put in
place by the Obama administration, and it was built on
a legal fallacy. Congress appropriated funds in two thousand and
eight for a very specific purpose. That specific purpose continues,
but outside of that expanding this reporting requirement to forty
seven different categories, covering eight thousand different facilities across the
(30:15):
United States. That was the Obama administration and their pin
and phone initiatives to try and push the origination of
the Green new scam, which was putting a price on carbon.
They couldn't get it passed through Congress, and so they
started looking to places like EPA to use the regulatory
power to institute what they couldn't get passed in Congress
because the American people don't support these policies.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
And this was a part of it.
Speaker 8 (30:38):
It was largely a fishing expedition that allowed EPA to
look inside these various agencies and hoping they would get
a gotcha so they could go in and look a
little bit more, create more problems, increase costs, and again
largely focused on your traditional energy resources coal, oil, and
natural gas, which we all know was on the receiving
end of the Obama administration and then the administrations war
(31:01):
against fawful fuels.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
That's really interesting and it brings me to my follow
up question then for you as you see it today,
because the EPA, I think it started with a pretty
noble goal keep Americas rivers and streams, the oceans clean.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
We want to protect this beautiful country.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
We have this massive, continental sized republic that we have here.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Everybody wants clean air, clean water. Absolutely, nobody's against that.
But what's really interesting is what you just said about
the EPA, its functionality today and the way it's really
impacting Americans. So, in your expertise, what do you make
of the EPA as it stands right now, its size,
its scope, its authority, and really what it's doing and
(31:42):
how it's impacting everyday Americans and businesses and workers.
Speaker 8 (31:47):
Look, it got totally out of control in the Biden administration,
basically left wing politicians. They co opted or corrupted the
agency's original mission to protect public health and the environment
and turned it into a political machine. And they did
everything from trying to control what type of stoves you
have in your house, what types of cars you can drive,
(32:09):
to whether or not we could eat meat on a
regular basis. I mean that's where ultimately all of this
was going. So EPA has gotten way too big and
they've really pushed the edges of their authority. They don't
have the authority to do that. Their authority lies within
what Congress explicitly delegated and that is pretty limited. So
fast forward to today Administrator Zelden under the direction of
(32:30):
President Trump, they're very committed to protecting our air water
and addressing legacy pollution that impacts some communities in a
negative way. They are committed to that core mission, but
they are cutting the size and scope of the agency
and they are getting it back to only taking actions
that are tied to explicit legal authority, and largely because
(32:50):
the Supreme Court requires them to do so because of
the Low or Bright decision that did away with Chevron deference.
All that being said, the agency could be much smaller
and can continue to deliver, and we're already seeing that
happen under the leadership of President Trump and Administrator zeld In.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Interesting, so there's a broader concern here too. That doesn't
apply just to the EPA. It applies to so many
other of these federal agencies in Washington, d C. Where
it seems like through regulatory power and enforcement, they basically
become de facto lawmakers. They're not accountable. These aren't elected
people who are running these agencies. In large part, so
(33:26):
I think there are a lot of Americans who who
are concerned because they see this dramatic shift in power,
changing of the balance of power from elected bodies like
Congress and the Senate to these giant federal agencies that
just exist permanently. They just get bigger and bigger. They're
replete with their own staffing, their own funding. To your
point about the Biden administration, their own political agendas.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I think that's really.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
The constitutional crisis we face in this country is sort
of the tyranny of overregulation. So I want to ask you, then,
based on everything we're talking about now, are you hopeful
that we can get back to the original mission here
and maybe some an example for what could be done
with other bloated and tyrannical agencies in Washington.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I think if we can do it
at EPA, you can do it anywhere. Because EPA has
largely been the tip of the spear of this effort
to use regulatory authorities to implement a political agenda. And
we've seen the work of Administrator zeld in his deregulatory
actions refocusing on the agency's core mission, but also in
conjunction with the Department of Government Efficiency and the early
(34:32):
on audit that exposed nefarious actions like a twenty billion
dollar money laundering scheme the Biden administration had tried to
put outside the reach of basic federal oversight, and so
those exposing that with the audit that DOGE did, as
well as refocusing the agency on what it's supposed to do,
and those actions are explicitly tied to the letter of
(34:53):
the law. It can be done, it is being done.
And what's happening at EPA again, where you can protect
the environment and not create unnecessary barriers to economic growth
and do away with the politics of very important policy issues.
If it can be done at EPA, it can be
done anywhere. So I'm very, very hopeful that this good
(35:13):
work will continue not just at EPA, but across the
broad broader administrative state.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I really hope. So.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
I love that term, by the way, administrative state. I
call it permanent Washington.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Other people call it the total state.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Regardless of the nomenclature, it's very clear what's going on.
We're losing control of our own country. The American people
just aren't in the driver's seat anymore, and we've got
to do something about that. I'm really hopeful about this
move I'll wrap with one final question then for you, Mandy,
So should this rule, you know, this rule change go
into effect. What does that mean for businesses for energy production,
(35:48):
you know, people who work in that space. How does
that impact people's daily life from there?
Speaker 8 (35:54):
Yeah, well, it does away with a pretty heavy, burdensome
reporting requirement that it costs a lot of money to
comply with. Most companies they have to hire specialists, either
technical experts or lawyers to file these documents. And also,
if you file them wrong, you're not only opening yourself
up to scrutiny by EPA to come in and apply penalties,
(36:17):
but also third party groups to say you're out of compliance,
you're no longer meeting the EPA regulatory standard. I'm going
to assue you over that, which just creates added costs
to the operations. At the end of the day, what
this means is the businesses, whether it's the refineries or
the steel plans or other industrial actors, they can focus
(36:37):
on what they do best, which is creating industrial styled
actions and building the economy so that it is consistent
with the vision that President Trump painted on the campaign
trail and is already delivering.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Completely understood This is just so important, and you know
it speaks to so many other issues that are all
really deeply connected. So Andandy, thank you for your time
and your expertise today, appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (37:01):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Coming up next, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut
interest rates, but how low will they go? More details
about that and what it means after the.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
Break, watch an live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go. Visit klowd tv
dot com Today. That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Welcome back to the real story. Tomorrow, Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell is said to finally lift the crushing yoke
off of America's families a quarter point interest rate cut,
easing the federal funds rate from its suffocating four point
twenty five to four point five percent stranglehold, the first
trim since December twenty twenty four's fleeting mercy. Inflation's creeping
(38:01):
up again to two point nine percent overall for August.
That's the everyday price surge hitting your wallet hard from
July to two point seven, while the core rate, which
pretends food and gas just don't really exist, clocks in
at three point one percent, spitting in the face of
the fed's pie in the sky two percent target that
they've bungled for years, and the job market a disaster
(38:24):
at four point three percent. Unemployment one in every twenty
three working Americans sidelined, the highest since October.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
August limped in with just twenty two thousand new jobs,
a rounding error compared to the boom times, and now
the FED admits they've overhyped last year's gains by nearly
one million jobs, erasing the fairy tale that they sold us.
Now wall streets, soothsayers at Bloomberg and Reuters are calling
(38:55):
for two or three more cuts by December of this year,
lopping off on another half to three quarters of a
percentage point total, which might finally melt the ice blocked
loans keeping families from buying homes and keeping entrepreneurs from
launching businesses. But fat chance on quick relief as mortgage
rates are glued near six point five percent courtesy of
(39:18):
the Fed's foot dragging, still crushing young people shot at
the American dream. But here's the unvarnished truth, as Powell
postures in the Beltwagh. President Trump's tariff thunder has been
demanding this exhale since inauguration, proven right again now calling
for a massive three percent slash to juice the housing
(39:39):
market and crush the ghost of Bidenomics past. And just yesterday,
a federal appeals court blocked Trump's bid to oust FED
Governor Lisa Cook over uncharged allegations of mortgage trad that
she dismisses as being baseless, potentially lifting the Fed's vaunted
veil of independence as an elite protection racket with little
(40:00):
to no interest and really helping everyday Americans.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Here with his reaction is CEO of Key City Capital,
Thai Lasseter Thy.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
Thank you for joining me, Riley.
Speaker 7 (40:11):
It's great to be back on here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So millions of people have been really waiting for some
kind of reprieve and relief. Tell us more about that
and what you think is really going to happen moving
forward with the FED and interest rates.
Speaker 9 (40:24):
Well, Riley, you brought up a lot of really good
points in the onset there, and you know, I think
there's a looming expectation now at this point where the
country that's really left out of the table at this
point on our own, on our own accord, which is
just detrimental. You know, you've got Japan, you've got China,
(40:45):
you've got Switzerland, you've got the UK, you've got Canada,
all having dropped rates, and we haven't done so yet.
And many of those countries that I just named are
the countries that are pouring capital into our real estate market,
making the real estate market unaffordable for those home buyers.
Speaker 7 (41:01):
That you were speaking of.
Speaker 9 (41:02):
Now that being said, we've got local you know, the
black Rocks, black stones of the world that are that
are also buying up real estate here. And I don't
necessarily think that's a bad thing. Is yes, Is it
driving up costs for the homes.
Speaker 7 (41:15):
Yes.
Speaker 9 (41:16):
However, the fastest way to fix that is to bring
interest rates down so that developers develop again. We are
at a huge deficit of supply and demand and developers
aren't developing, and so that's affecting the jobs market. And
if interest rates were brought back down so that developers
could develop again and operators like myself, investors like myself
(41:39):
are buying assets again, then we're creating jobs. And those
jobs when the border is handled appropriately like it's being
handled now. More of those jobs are brought back locally
as well, increasing the pay rate. And we've had look
at the wage discrepancy to inflation is the largest that
(41:59):
it's ever been. And the way to fix that is
addressing the border, which Trump has done, addressing interest rates
so developers develop again, creating more jobs, and ultimately that
starts to address the inflation problem as well.
Speaker 7 (42:15):
I don't necessarily think that the.
Speaker 9 (42:18):
American dream that your parents and my parents had is
the same American dream now for twofold you know, families,
young kids are getting started with families later in life.
They want that flexibility. We've got tenants that rent in
two different states from us. They like that flexibility. And
you've got baby boomers exiting the workforce looking for less
(42:39):
maintenance and they want that rentership. But they need affordable housing.
And it's hard to have affordable housing when interest rates
are skyrocketing, and we've got inflation in insurance and in
utilities and everything.
Speaker 7 (42:52):
Across the board.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Well, and I think one really core issue here for
a lot of Americans, and those really interesting points HI,
is purchasing power, real wages, the value of the dollar,
they look at these people like Jerome Powell, whose job
really he has many things he's overseeing, but the number
one most important thing stabilizing the US economy and protect
the dollar's value. People look at what they're bringing home
(43:17):
and they just understand this fundamental truth that the dollar
is not worth today what it was ten years ago,
twenty years ago, thirty years ago, and they're wondering, how
do we address this problem in a lasting and meaningful way.
I know it's a big picture kind of project, but
I think that's the big concern for a lot of people,
myself included, is looking at inflation, taxes, all the competition
(43:38):
the American workers up against with automation and offshoring, and
they think, how am I going to get ahead? How
am I going to start a family or start a business,
How am I going to create some kind of generational
wealth for me and my loved ones.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
So I want to.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
Get your thoughts about this national debt problem, the printing problem,
and really more specifically your analysis of Jerome Powell's performance
Chairman of the Feed.
Speaker 9 (44:01):
Well, you brought up a couple of really good points there, Riley.
As we go into that and Jerome's handling of the
situation has been absolutely terrible. He's somebody that has ridden
the fence his entire career, doesn't want to take a
stance one way or another. And at the end of
the day, really nobody except for the ice cream man,
sells ice cream. And so you're not going to make
(44:23):
everybody happy. You've got to make a commitment one way
or the other. And you know, I think the thing
that Trump has done with Jay has Trump has brought
his polarizing presence to his stage and put that monkey
on Jay's back and said.
Speaker 7 (44:38):
Okay, here's the ball. You now need to make a
decision one way or another. And so we're going to
doues with that.
Speaker 9 (44:44):
But you know, you bring up a good point, and
what can really Americans do with that purchasing power? Because
one hundred thousand dollars five years ago is worth about
eighty two thousand dollars today.
Speaker 7 (44:56):
Wow, So how do you how do you address that?
Speaker 9 (44:58):
And I go back to and I've got it in
my book back behind me, But really what boils down
to what I call the four Keys to wealth as
it pertains to investing. And you know, no matter what
your income level is, and so we're speaking to all
of your listeners, and I'm sure there's income and wealth
levels of a varying degree. Average median household income across
(45:22):
the United States is sixty four thousand dollars right now.
Many of my clients are high net worth income earners
that earn north of three hundred thousand dollars, and there's
everybody in between.
Speaker 7 (45:34):
But the way that you can do that is you
can start living on less of your income.
Speaker 9 (45:40):
When when Jerome Powell brings interest rates down and we
can address affordable housing, and when you can live on
less of your income. What I did, what I did
when I started my business is I ramin myself and
my family for a long time so that I could
focus on growing a business. And I say that and
that was really in aspects of my life. I drove
(46:01):
a Beater truck with a wife and two kids, and
I ate terribly, and I sacrificed for the short term
so that I could build for the long term. And
what I ultimately did was create a structure where I
could live on half of what I made and the
other half I was able to save and invest and tithe.
And with that, you know what I focused on is
(46:25):
with my investments, I focused on things on investments that
did four things. One they created cash flow. Two, I
could buy the investment at a discount, So I'm not
buying stocks at face value. I'm buying something at a discount.
Typically that's real estate. Number three is I'm buying something
that has known and calculated appreciation over the last hundred years.
Speaker 7 (46:44):
And number four, it creates a tax advantage.
Speaker 9 (46:46):
So that when I do exit it, I'm keeping more
of my hard earned money in my pocket. And and
so that's something that all Americans can do. And you
can do that actively, and you can you know, if
you're if you don't have the income level to invest
in passive private investments like what we offer, you can
do that yourself. If you do have the income level
(47:06):
and the net worth to do that passively, you can
partner with an operator like myself that does the hard
work for you, and you can set back and take
the fruits of the spirit from that. So really that's
the thing that you've what you've got to do in
order to offset inflation, is you've got to make investments
that help you counter correlate that inflation that is taking
(47:27):
an impact on your purchasing power ty.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
Thank you for being here and highlighting this really really
critical issue with us.
Speaker 7 (47:34):
Always great to be on Riddy, Thank you for having
me back.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
Coming up next, a rare surgery involving taking a piece
of a tooth and actually putting into someone's eyeball help
restore a blind man's eyesight after twenty years. More details
after the break.
Speaker 5 (47:55):
Watch OM Live on cloudtv dot com and see what
you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch One
America News Network wherever you go visit klowd tv dot com. Today.
That's klowd tv dot com Today.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Welcome back to the Real Story.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
On today's edition of Real Good News, we have this
amazing story about a man whose vision was restored after
two decades through a wild procedure that most people have
probably never ever heard of. So the man's name Brent Chapman.
He lost his vision when he was only thirteen years
old due to an infection that led to him losing
(48:41):
his left eye completely and most of his vision in
his right one as well. Brent said that over the
last twenty years he's had close to fifty different surgeries
just to try to restore his eyesight, but that most
times it would never heal properly. This time things were different,
(49:02):
as doctor Greg Maloney, a clinical Associate professor of corneal
surgery at the University of British Columbia, was able to
restore his vision by using this very interesting and obscure
procedure called osteo odonto corato prosthesis or simply put tooth
in eye surgery. Now, the procedure is considered an absolute
(49:24):
last resort and it consists of removing a patient's tooth,
filing it down to a rectangle, placing it or placing
a lens then in the tooth, and then sewing it
into the patient's cheek to grow connective tissue before placing
it into their eye. Now, most commonly a canine tooth
is actually used for these since it's the longest in
(49:46):
the human mouth. But doctor Maloney said that the tooth
is the ideal structure for holding a focusing element in
place because it's hard it survives in poor and tough environments.
He also said the body accepts because it's part of
its own matter, which is just fascinating for so many reasons. Now,
Brent was recently fitted for glasses and has twenty thirty vision,
(50:10):
which means he can see details at twenty feet that
a person with perfect vision could see at thirty feet,
and right after Brint surgery, the very first thing he
saw was the skyline from doctor Maloney's sixteenth floor office. However,
his favorite sites are his niece and his nephew. And
that concludes today's broadcast. We truly hope that you enjoyed it,
(50:32):
and remember, we always want to hear from you, so
please email your feedback and any new stories you'd like
us to cover to the Real Story at OAMM dot
com and follow us on social media at the Real
storyn So until we meet again, God bless you, God
bless our troops, and God bless America.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
Watch o AN live on cloudtv dot com and see
what you're missing. Download the cloud tv app and watch
One America News Network wherever you go, visit k l
o w d tv dot com today. That's k l
o w d TV dot com Today.
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