Is War in the Middle East, the revival of an ancient conflict recorded in the Bible of the Israel? The nation of Israel is a resurrected nation.
So, what if there was going to be a resurrection of another people, an enemy people of Israel? Dinesh D'Souza's new film, The Dragon's Prophecy, offers new understanding of October 7th, Israel and radical Islam. We came back to a land that was largely barren and empty, and we brought it back to life, and we're going to keep it. Watch it now or buy the DVD at sademnow.com. From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes.
And good morning, everybody. Happy Monday to you. And What an historic day. First of all, happy Columbus Day. But secondly, and more importantly, we are watching history unfolding at this very hour in the nation of Israel.
President Trump just moments ago addressing the Knesset. And I'm telling you, the people of Israel love our president. And I don't know about you. But it really does my heart good to see the nation of Israel celebrating our president, and they are just lavishing this man with all sorts of honor and glory. And it is all well deserved.
President Trump has done what no other president in American history has done. And it is truly, truly remarkable.
So we're going to be following the developments from Israel as the president continues to meet with Israeli officials. Earlier this morning, he met with every single family of a hostage the president met with. He sat and he listened to their stories, and it was just really a moving experience.
So you should feel proud to be an American today. And we are on the cusp of peace in the Middle East. Right now, we have a ceasefire in the Middle East, which is a glorious thing to celebrate as well. The president then off to Egypt for a meeting with other world leaders, and that will hopefully cement whatever peace deal there is in the Middle East.
Now, keep in mind, and this bears repeating because there are a lot of conservatives out there who are now standing against Israel. And it just seems to me if you're standing against Israel, you're You're standing with Hamas. Because at the end of the day, this all could have been resolved on September the 8th. And if they had just returned the hostages, but they did not do that, rather October the 8th, but they did not do that.
So good for President Trump. He's doing a remarkable job over in Israel right now. Here at home, We cover a lot of local news on this program, and there is a lot to talk about. The National Guard boots on the ground. And before we go to John Covington from the Memphis Police Association.
I want to play some audio here. This is from a lady who lives in Whitehaven. And this lady in Whitehaven has gone a little viral. Over what she had to say about what's been happening here in Memphis over the past two weeks now. And you're not gonna hear this on your local news, you're gonna hear it here on K-WAM.
This is this story actually leading off our conversation today. I want you to listen as this lady from From Whitehaven explains what it's like living in her community now that the National Guard is in town. I'm not into all that extra stuff that people be losing their life over. I ain't into all that. And heal me.
What else? But I will say thank you to Trump. For Reginese National Guards and doing what they're doing down here in Emphasis right now. You know, for the first time in five years. I've been in my home for five years.
And for the first time my kids would be able to play. in the backyard and be able to do it. Comfortable. I haven't heard a gun shot. It's who we I haven't seen these strange people walk up and down the street.
Just a few weeks ago I had somebody walk on the side of my house. None of that action going on. Ever seen no young Why ends if a stove post it? I haven't seen an Infinity fly past me in a week. I'm sitting on my porch right now.
And I'm watching kids outside playing. people outside walking with their kids, stuff I ain't never seen before in my neighborhood. But all because we feel safe. in this environment, unfortunately, because of the things that are happening here in the city. I hate it to be this white boy.
I'm I'm I'm happy. I I I'm happy. Honestly, I truly feel that this is just a bandaid to the problem. I don't think this is gonna completely fix everything. but to have a moment of peace Just like the Jesus.
And thank you, President Trump, too. Yes, ma'am. And she did. And God bless Mr. President for what he's doing in Memphis, Tennessee, bringing peace to our city.
Bringing peace to our region. I mean, we've been living in a war zone. And I was, well, you know what? Let's go to John Covington from the Memphis Police Association, like most of the city, on fall break this week. And, John, we appreciate you calling in because there's just so much going on locally here.
You heard this lady, this resident in Whitehaven, I I suspect you're you guys are hearing more of those stories around the city. Oh, we're hearing most stories. You're exactly right, all over the city. Officers I talk to, the citizens are ecstatic. And they keep talking about how they feel safe.
Her story is so emblematic of all the stories we're hearing. And think about this, Todd. How miraculous. Peace in the Middle East and how peace in Memphis. You can believe in miracles.
Here we are. It it's it's truly remarkable and and yet You know, you don't hear those kinds of voices in the local media here, John. It's like they've either just chosen to put blinders on or they just simply refuse to cover the The hundreds, if not thousands, of people that are celebrating the National Guard being here.
Well that's that's Totally correct. And I you know it A little bit of my spare time, even though I'm on fall break, I couldn't help myself. I went back and looked at the last 30 days and did a comparison. And I was being pretty uh easy on them and Over 60% of the news stories that I looked at of all the major outlets have been negative and biased about. Uh the the Task Force and the National Guard.
And of course, they are not sharing any of these positive stories from the public. And that's all I'm hearing on the street and from officers. Yeah, I think you were rather generous with your observations. You said about sixty percent of the reports were critical or negative. Only forty percent were neutral and factual.
I'm stunned that it's forty percent.
Well, that's the I I gave them a little leeway. But but you know, your typical ones like your the Memphis Fire, the Memphian, you know, they're just really dropping the ball and then a lot of the Fox thirteen, Channel five. You know, the only place you can go to get the real story is KWAM, you know, and I encourage people to go to you guys because you get the unvarnished truth. And here's some of the stories I'm hearing from the streets, Ditch. Uh there's an organization called uh There uh A ministry that goes out and works with exploiting.
People on the street, you know, women usually. And they've been out on Lamar, and here's what they said. Memphis was noticeably different tonight on out your outreach. Thinking more view hotels that are normally full of exploited girls, had no cars, were empty. Lamar was a completely empty, no young girls out.
And we asked bouncers at the club and they said uh there's a Complete difference. One described all the drugs that were being sold by the clothes fence are now quiet and empty. And all of this is a response, a reaction to the task force and being the the National Guard being here. I just thought that was Yeah, I think that is terrific. And there was a gentleman who put Posted something on TikTok, which was a bit more profane than that, but he said that there were no sidewalk sallies, basically, walking the streets of Memphis, Tennessee.
John Covington from the Memphis Police Association joining us also hosts the terrific show Behind the Badge on Saturdays right here on the Mighty 990. John, I'm curious about local law enforcement. What's been their reaction to having the federal help here?
Well, it's been extremely Positive, and here are some of the stories I'm hearing. Uh, and I'll tell you, Todd, this is very uplifting. I had an officer who responded to blue lights and sirens, he got a shooting call. You know, when you get one of those calls, you're going 100 miles, you know, you gotta get there. And he's on his way.
He realized there's a THP car behind him with his lights on. He's like, wait, am I being pulled over? What's going on? And then they get to the scene, and the THP guy says, I saw you pull out of a parking lot going, you know, with your lights inside.
So I just jumped in behind you in case you needed backup. We're here to help you guys. Wow. And the officer was just so tactical. It's, you know, man, thank you.
Uh you know that that is just He really felt that. Uh we had another one. A few hours later, the same day, some guys, officers are chasing some suspects through an apartment complex, and these guys have guns in their hand. Right. Nothing more dangerous than this kind of situation, Todd.
It could go a lot of different ways. And then they look up and they've got a couple of homeland security agents. Running with them. Uh and uh They were just like, hey, it's like, hey, we were passing by. We were looking, we saw you guys, we just jumped in to give you backup.
And so they were right there with them. And once again, they're like, hey, man, thank you guys. And you know what the guy says? Like, we're here to help. That's what we're here.
We're here to give you backup and to help you. And the last one, this one really kind of blew me away. Um an officer got a call for a shooting. And he made the scene in under four minutes, which, you know, When you get a call like that, you're going. As hard as fast as you can.
When he got there, There was an FBI agent who had already made the scene, and she had applied a chest feel. uh to the wound of the person who'd been shot. I mean, she got there quicker than he did and he was just blown away and she had bag of of medical stuff and she was on it. She was and she said the same thing. Eight.
is your scene. I'm here to help you. Let me know what I can do. And he was just so and they were all just they couldn't say enough good things. And that's I'm hearing stories like that over and over and over.
I will say this. We also posted a photograph, and it's gone viral. One of our great K-Wham listeners was out on Beale Street, and there was a gentleman. He had fallen, and he was in need of medical attention. And a couple of FBI agents were there, and they went over and administered first aid to the guy.
And that's really what, you know, again, these are stories that the local media just simply refuses to cover because they have an agenda, John. Oh, completely. And if you read. These headlines uh they're fear-mongering uh they they insinuate innuendo they they try to divide And even the ones that I you know I labeled is uh faxful Well, the factual like basic facts, but none of them, I'll tell you, aside from uh KWAM. It's the only place I'm hearing it.
none of them take a real positive spin and talk about these stories you're talking about. And that picture just sums it up. When I saw that posted, I said, that's exactly right. That's what's happening. And the citizens should be really excited and proud.
And you heard the lady that you played, you heard of this outreach ministry, it's really working. All right. John Covington joining us this morning. John, I want to switch gears real quick. There's been a lot of anger and frustration over Tammy Sawyer and the fact that she was not arrested.
You know, we have seen the full video now, and it's very clear the only, only person who behaved inappropriately in that entire debacle was, in fact, Tammy Sawyer. Why isn't she in jail right now?
Well, that whole situation was disgraceful. I try to focus on the one positive, which was the how the professionalism of the deputies there. I'm so proud of them. They showed you how people are supposed to comport themselves, you know, who represent. out in public.
But you know, Todd, I can't answer that. All I can say is when Lee Harris is out giving a speech, Tammy Sawyer's right there next to him. I would imagine that has something to do with it, and uh it's not right. and it sends a terrible message. And you know, that that it was just hard to watch.
you know, that's the level we've we've come to that our sort of our elected officials can comport themselves and treat these proud men and women out there with such a disdain. And when she was completely in the wrong.
So, you know, Todd. More than the swamp in Washington needs to be drained, I'll tell you that.
Well said. All right, John, we're going to have to leave it there, but we appreciate you joining us this morning and giving us an update on what's happening. John Covington, ladies and gentlemen, with the Memphis Police Association. And also be sure to watch his great show every Saturday here on the Mighty 990. Tired of giving away all your rental profits to a property manager?
You don't have to. Over 800,000 landlords use TurboTenant to find and manage tenants. Keep your 10% and sign up for free at Turbotenant.com. All right, happy Columbus Day, everybody. That means a lot of you folks are not going to be getting mail.
Actually, none of us are. Post office closed today, as are banks across the mid-south.
So enjoy the day off if you have it. By the way, President Trump announcing on Air Force One that he is expecting even more firings as the Schumer shutdown continues. You know what? Over the weekend, we learned what, 40, a little over 4,100 government workers have been permanently fired. Their jobs have been eliminated.
And look, I mean, it's a terrible thing. I mean, you don't want anybody to lose their job, but the reality is your tax dollars are paying for this. And you deserve to make sure that your money is being used in the most efficient way, right? I mean, we've seen this right here in our own backyard in Shelby County. We have one of the worst school systems in America, and yet it is one of the worst.
One of the most well-funded school systems in America. What are they doing with all the money? I mean, this is a question that a lot of people have.
So, again, you're going to hear a lot of narrative shift over the next couple of days. And by the way, we're not anticipating Congress back in session until the 20th.
So it could very well be that the government is shut down until at least October the 20th. But you're going to hear this narrative that Trump is firing people, putting the country in harm's way. Here's all you need to understand. Right now, there are roughly 3 million federal workers. 3 million federal workers.
President Trump has only gotten rid of about 4,000 of them. And I would contend that at the end of the day, we're going to be looking at probably tens of thousands that just did not need to be employed by the federal government in the first place.
So we'll keep you updated on all of that. And as you heard the Republicans say, hey, look. This is gonna get this is gonna get pretty pretty ugly. And it's going to be very painful. Very painful.
I want you to consider this, though, and we have this up on the Mighty Die Nighty Facebook page.
So. Over the weekend, the president saw what was happening on military bases around the country and he said, we got to fix this. It turns out you had a lot of families that were standing in lines for hours waiting to get food, families of our service members. And the president was able to pull some money out of the tariffs, the tariff revenue, and he is funding the U.S. military, so at least they're going to be getting paychecks.
But I want you to understand something. Because the Democrats are out there blaming all of this on Trump. It's not Trump's fault. Right, we have a clean CR. That's what the Democrats wanted initially.
That's what we gave them. And now they have moved the goalpost. But here's what you need to understand about the. The Democrats, because while military families were standing in line at the food bank. Democrats are hosting a two-day leadership retreat at a luxury resort in the Napa Valley in California.
They're all over at a place called Hotel Yountville. It's a five-star resort. We checked this thing out over the weekend. Are you ready for this? The cheapest room.
Over $900 a night. And unlike Hampton Inn, you do not get a free breakfast. It's insane how much it costs. to to stay there.
Now, the Democrats, they're going to have access to the high-end spa. They're going to be able to feast on exclusive gourmet European-inspired cuisine. And they're going to have access to some of the most expensive wines in the nation. How much you want to bet you and I are having to pay for all this nonsense?
Meanwhile, meanwhile, While the Democrats are nothing on caviar, military families are making do with government cheese. And I don't think that's right. And I suspect many of you don't either.
So that's what the Schumer shutdown really looks like. And at least here on this radio station, we're going to keep you updated on this. And we're going to keep everybody honest. Because right now, I literally have both sides enraged. I've got conservatives across the mid-South calling me a rhino.
And I don't mind that because I don't I don't follow anybody else's rules. I don't work off anybody else's talking points. We just tell it like it is here. And if that angers the Republicans, if it angers the Democrats, What do I care? It's my opinion, and I'm sure you have one as well.
All right, our telephone number this morning: 901-260-5926. Again, 901-260-5926. Sterns, a rhino. I never thought I'd hear those words. All right, got to take a quick break, folks.
This is Stern's Country in the principal Toyota Memphis studio. Still managing your rental business like a side hustle? Stop risking your cash flow. Over 800,000 landlords use TurboTenant to streamline their rental operations for free. From finding tenants you trust to collecting rent on time.
We've got you covered at turbotenet.com. And welcome back, everybody. This is Starnes Country. Happy Columbus Day to you. Look, it is fall break.
I think just about everybody has evacuated, except for the what, 200 or so teenagers that were fighting, rioting, rampaging at Winchester and Riverdale. last night and There were apparently, there were some people arrested, there were injuries, but fortunately, there was no gunfire, which we are very, very thankful for. But anyway, this is that's the latest from our friends over at Blackwood News. They were on the scene and caught the aftermath where he had all these officers. And by the way, look, I'm starting to see the reporting now coming out of the media.
That things are getting worse with the National Guard here because there is a lot of crime, and people are still getting shot. People are getting robbed. There was that crazy story last night where the women on Beale Street were robbed and assaulted. The key part of that story is 4 a.m. And the question is: where were the police and where were the National Guard?
Why wasn't somebody on Beale Street patrolling? It's not that large of a street. And that's a fair question to ask. And I'm sure we'll hopefully get an answer from MPD or somebody from the task force. But the reality is, it is still dangerous out there, and you've got to watch your back.
And also, if you're out at 4 o'clock in the morning, nothing good ever happens after midnight. I'm just telling you. Nothing ever good happens after midnight.
So you gotta. You gotta watch out.
So last night, I had a great opportunity. Senator Marshall Blackburn had a big event over at the Country Music Hall of Fame. And she invited me to come and enjoy the concert. And that was very kind. And got to represent Memphis, West Tennessee, and just.
Had a wonderful, wonderful time. Shenandoah, they did a private concert. Remember the guys from the 90s, Shenandoah?
So they're still at it. And uh we just had a blast about 250 people in the the auditorium there uh for um for Marsha. They call it Music City for Marcia, and Shenandoah crushed it. But I gotta tell you, Senator Blackburn, she did a great job and um A lot of support for her effort. to be the next governor of Tennessee and Looked, I...
All of you know that I've, and I've been very public about this. I endorsed Marsha early on. And the reality is, though, we've got other candidates and we still invite them on. We don't do gotcha journalism here. And I think it is important for people to be able to have all the, you need to be equipped with all the information you can so that you can make an informed decision at the ballot box.
And that's why we've got Monty Fritz, he's been on, he'll be back on again. Congressman John Rose, the same situation. But the only person with a ground game right now that I'm seeing across the entire state is Marsha Blackburn. And I have been very impressed. By the work that she is putting into West Tennessee.
Because normally our side of the state, We sort of get overlooked by the Republicans, and I get it. I understand that. Because we're not a Republican area. But it looks like that is changing. And a lot of that has to do with the incredible work of the new leadership over at the Republican Party of Shelby County.
And I just got to say this: all of you folks making the TikTok videos and posting things on X. You need to take a look at your voting record and you need to consider making a change. Because if you like the new normal in Memphis, then you're going to have to change your voting habits. I mean, it really is that simple. 901-260-5926 is our telephone number.
That's 901-260-5926.
So I got to see our good buddy, Congressman Tim Burchett. He was not skateboarding, but he was in a good mood. Got to meet our great Ag Commissioner for the state of Tennessee, who's actually from our neck of the woods. And we had a great, great conversation as well. All right.
Let's go to the phone lines here. We'll go over to Lakeland, and Thomas is on the line. Hi, Thomas. What's going on this morning? I talked to you here.
From you, or good to hear you again.
So, I had this friend who moved here from Alaska. Don't know why she moved to Memphis from Alaska, but she doesn't know any of the sites. here in Memphis.
So if the weather was nice, we loaded up and our winter took her down. the Bosch Pro Shop so she can see the pyramid. Uh we went down to Tom Lee Park. Circled back around, and we hit Bill Street. The only police officers I Saw was the stationary police officer inside the bus prosha, the two stationary.
police officers at Bill Street. No other police officers. The old National Guard. While we were on Bill Street, and I do not know the Bill Street. But She's heard of it and she's never been.
A fight breaks out. A guy gets pushed through a stream. Yeah. There's everywhere screaming and there's only two police officers on Bill Street. And like I said, I never go to Bill Street and this happens.
I've lived here my whole life. Thomas, when was this? When did this happen? This wasn't realming news. I'm going to say they're right before them and right after them.
This past weekend. Is that yesterday? On a Sunday. Uh hill street. Wow.
So, this is good intel because I know, I mean, we know that they're patrolling. Are they patrolling 24-7? I guess is the issue. And you're telling me that you guys just did not see that heavy. military law enforcement presence downtown.
We sat no National Guard. We saw very little police. officers fund expression While driving to downtown, there were plenty of state troopers doing the traffic. I like to see that. But uh Yeah, I'll head back to the Patrol three eight hour shift.
So that would equate to 24 hours. I don't see it. I didn't see anything downtown, not even a strong power. Police presence on Hill Street.
Now granted, it was a Sunday and it wasn't a lot. people there but this happened on the Sunday in the middle of the day. And one of our friends. from outside of the lower 48 gets to see this on her first. Out in downtown.
Yeah, that's not good. That's not good.
Now, MPD did respond. This is from Fox 13's reporting. MPD responded to large disturbances, again, multiple disturbances and violent crimes in downtown, including a robbery and multiple fights. That's just over the past 24 hours.
So, again, it just seems to me. Thomas, if and I'm taking your word for it, and again, that lends credence to the question we posed earlier. When these women were getting robbed, where were the police? Because there are more police per square foot in downtown than any other place in the city. And that's the way it's been for years.
And that's four o'clock in the middle. Morning on an early Monday morning. All right. We're going to check in. We've got some sources.
We have a lot of those business owners are big, big K-Wam fans. And we're going to check in with those guys, Thomas, and we're going to find out what happened over this weekend. I am just so sorry your poor friend had that kind of an experience in Memphis. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for taking my call, Todd.
All right. Thanks, Thomas. All right, Thomas from Lakeland. And I don't know if you, if you were downtown, did you have the same experience that Thomas had? Thomas is saying, yeah, not many, no National Guard, not much law enforcement presence at all.
And with fall break, it sounds like the parents are letting the teenagers out and the young thogs are taken back to the streets. And the National Guard's going to have to crack down on that. Immediately. It could be a wild week here in the Mid-South. And that brings up another issue here before we run to break.
You know, the other part of this is how long is the National Guard going to be here? We heard the Vice President say, Vice President J.D. Vance said it could be as long as a year. And that may be necessary just to change the culture.
So, this is not like a one and done. Boom, they're out of here. That's not going to work. You will not have sustainable change if we don't have law enforcement boots on the ground for a very Very long time. All right, 901-260-5926.
Our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926.
Gotta take a break. This is Starnes Country and the principal to go to Memphis studio. Tired of giving away all your rental profits to a property manager? You don't have to. Over 800,000 landlords use TurboTenant to find and manage tenants.
Keep your 10% and sign up for free at Turbotenant.com. The mighty 990, 1079 FM, 990 AM, KWAM. All right, gonna be a nice week here in the Mid-South, highs in the 80s. This weekend, we've got some stormy weather coming your way. Laura, how can we be along with your complete weather forecast coming up in just a few moments?
By the way, we're getting some blowback on our social media page. Um a guy by the name of Mike says According to friends of mine who are in the military, there are no military families standing in food lines. Because they're paid monthly and unlike you. They don't spend $100 for lunch.
Well, first of all. Don Starnes does not spend a hundred dollars for lunch. I'm usually going to like well, first of all, we don't do lunch here because we're in the middle of a national show, sir. But number two And more importantly, I prefer places like the Chick-fil-A. Or Bojangles.
Thank you very much.
So, you know, if you're going to lie about Kay Wayne, you know, trying to get your facts straight. This is insane. But the idea, by the way, sir. that there are no food banks. For the military, and the military aren't in need.
Let me just run through the headlines: Time magazine. Shutdown caused a spike in military families using food pantries. Yahoo News, a very bad sign. Footage of military troops waiting in food bank lines during the government shutdown going mecha viral. KXXV TV.
Local military families turn to food pantries. WDRB government shutdown strains Louisville, Kentucky families military and food assistance program. CNN, Trump's move to fund military paychecks during shutdown comes as families face strain and uncertainty. Would you like me to go on, Mike? Would you like me to do that for you, sir?
I'm happy to do it. Let's do some more. Lawton Food Bank. This is from KSWO television. Lawson Food Bank aids military families during government shutdown.
San Diego nonprofits ready to help military families during shutdown, KPBS.
So here's the deal. You know, I get it. There are gadflies out there, there are contrarians, and I and that's fine. But if you find fault with every single thing that we say on this radio station, maybe you might feel more comfortable listening to NPR. I'm just saying.
All right, let's go to the phone lines. A great friend of the Mighty 990, one of our great partners and one of the best restaurateurs in the city, Jim Lesapio, joins us. And Jim, I know that you've actually establishments there on Beale Street. What's going on, my friend?
Well, you know, we've seen quite a few federal agents on the street. Patrolling Bill Street. And it's been a huge help. Um we see them walking uh arm in not arm in arm, but side by side walking down the street making an impact. interacting with customers on the street.
You know, we've had issues with miners on the street and when these guys walk down the street and actually patrol. It drives the juveniles off the street and it makes Beale Street a much better and friendly environment. You know, it's, we have a problem on Beale Street right now.
Now, with Memphis police not wanting to actually. They'd rather sit in their cars, sit on the hoods of their vehicles and not walk around. And when these federal agents made it on the street. Have been walking around Bill Street over the past two weekends, it's made a huge impact. You know, I heard you're.
Listener. Talk about National Guard on Bill Street. You know, we hadn't really seen them yet. you know they've only been here since Friday. Yeah.
I think we need to give them a Just to see. What directions they're going to be given, what impact they're going to make on Beale Street. But Beale Street is a much better and safer place. Yeah. Agents walking around.
And Jim, I want to go back to, and this has been a be in my bonnet for a while, even before all the federal troops got here. You had the city spending all of this money to put the police literally there on Beale Street. And there were tons of stories about how this is going to solve all the crime problems. But it seems like since that happened, crime has just gotten worse. Yeah, you know, you've got this the the the I forget the name of it, but the building where they monitored the camera.
is right there next to the Hooters. It's literally a block away from where all these incidents on Bill Street's Are happening and they just can't seem to. Mm-hmm. quick enough. And again, we don't know why.
But um I think the bigger problem in Memphis, and it came up, I think, yesterday. You know The juvenile court We have nowhere to hold these. juveniles when they act the way we do.
So the police are kind of Stuck. And we've got to get the juvenile problem fixed.
Well it got to hold. parents accountable. We've got to figure out how to make that happen. You know, I was encouraged. on 901 day.
When uh you know, the one kid unfortunately pulled out a gun And and shot. The other Minor. that they held the parent accountable. And We've got to figure out how to get the juvenile problem fixed. throughout our city.
a problem late night on Bill Street after two two o'clock in the morning when they take down security. the miners fled the street. The same thing happened. I guess it was Walmart over the weekend where the 100 individuals acted the way they did. It's all related to miners.
And as a city, We got to figure out how to solve it. Problem. You know, the troubling thing I saw about Blackwood News and their coverage of that Walmart, whatever that melee was, and they get all upset with the verbiage. It wasn't a riot.
Okay, you had 200 people there fighting, it's a riot. But regardless, people, the Blackwood News guy was like, There are no parents. Where are the parents? People were actually writing and saying some of the parents were there. They were just in their cars watching.
That's the problem is if you don't have parents out there parenting and jerking a knot in their young people, that's going to continue to happen in the Mid-South. Yeah, you hear the police. You know, the police recognize that a large percentage. of the crime. in Memphis is done by miners.
And you keep hearing politicians recognizing the problem. But nobody's got the Big four. Nobody seems to want to step up. And and fix the Problem, so it's not going to get better. I don't think until We get the minor problem fixed.
downtown and and actually all over Memphis. I think a mom and a dad and a and a belt would uh would go a long way to fixing a lot of that uh problem, Jim, but I'm old school.
So hey, let me ask you, uh because people are writing on our our social our Facebook Live blog asking about a curfew. Is is that something that would that would possibly help out here? Memphis has a care for you. There's a a curfew out there right now for miners. The problem is The police aren't enforcing it because when they get the minor.
There's nothing to do with the minor. other than just sit there and wait for the parent to show up. There's no holding facility. I don't believe. uh juvenile there's a juvenile detention center at all anymore in Memphis.
I could be wrong. But that's the story I'm hearing.
So there's really. There's really no solution. regarding what do you do with the minor once once you have the minor in custody. Were you getting Jim, were you guys getting the reports? Because I mean, the Fox thirteen actually did report multiple large disturbances on Beale.
Were you guys hearing that from your team that was working in there, your staff? Yeah, there were just a couple fights over the weekend. Um and you know and again, it goes back to we've just we've got to have more of a police presence on Phil Street. And it's got to be an engaging police presence. And what I mean by that is They've actually got to patrol the street, walk up and down the street.
Be visible. That's what Beale Street needs right now. And I'm wondering. And I'm wondering if command, if the command force is the one, the command staff, if they're the ones that are putting out those orders, telling those officers what to do. Because rank and file guys, you know, they're they're sort of caught in the middle here.
They are They are. They are. And you know, I don't know. I'll go back to what I started the conversation off with. The last two weekends.
when the federal agents were on Bill Street. I mean it was federal police FBI, I even believe we saw a few VETs that said IRS on them. They were walking up and down the street. engaging and being a visible Police force on Bill Street, and it literally drove off the miners. you would all the weed smoking stops The prop the a lot of the problems that Beale Street had in the past.
disappeared quickly over the course of an hour, by these federal agents just being up and down the street patrolling the streets.
So that's an easy fix. Jim, you've been a great friend to KWAM, and we love hearing the ads for Dale's and Junior's Eating House. But I want you to give your restaurants a shout out because I know that our listeners, they like to eat, and you've got great restaurants. Thank you. Thank you very much, Todd.
You so much. All right, Jim Lesampio, they're one of the great restaurateurs here in the Mid-South, and they sponsor the programs here at the Mighty 990, and we greatly, greatly appreciate that. And if you want the best, seriously, the best country fried steak in the Mid-South, you need to go to Dale's. It is unbelievable in South Haven. Also, Junior's Eaton House, amazing meals there.
And you're going to have a great time, and you're going to get a great meal at a great price as well. And most importantly, you're supporting a business that supports the Mighty 990.
So we certainly, certainly appreciate Jim. He also has a couple of places there on Beale Street. And so they get a front row view of what's really going on here. And again, we support our law enforcement. We have a problem with command staff.
And especially if they're not unleashing these officers to do what needs to be done. And as you just heard from Jim, we've got a juvenile crime problem in this city, and we certainly do. Hey, that music means we've got to scoot out of here. Coming up at 11 o'clock, the Todd Stern Show, right here on the Bighty990, be sure to tune in. Get out there and have a great one.
Happy Columbus Day, America.
