November is National Family Caregivers Month. One in four Americans is stepping up to help older loved ones with everything from meals to bills. Family caregivers spend thousands out of their own pockets each year, and too many have to quit their jobs to keep providing care. Working families can't afford to wait. It's time to care for America's caregivers.
Learn more at aarp.org slash care for caregivers. Paid for by AARP. From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. Has anybody else noticed how quiet it is this morning? It's just so peaceful.
You can hear the birds chirping. You don't even hear gunfire in Memphis these days. It's just so peaceful, not just here in the Mid-South, but really around the world. And one of the reasons why is there are massive, massive Internet outages to report this morning. Many of you tried to get on X and were not able to.
You got error messages. That's because there's been a global cloud fair breakdown. And as a result, a number of your favorite websites and gaming sites, they are all offline this morning. I just checked moments before coming on the program. Twitter is still down.
X is still down. Facebook and many other websites.
However, if you go to komradio.com, our website has been impacted as well as toddstearns.com.
So bear with us. There's literally nothing we can do until Cloudflare gets back up and running. I think Amazon as well reporting problems. And if you know of any other websites that are being impacted, give us a holler this morning. 901-260-5926.
That's 901-260-5926.
Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome to a very busy edition of Stern's Country, broadcasting from the Principal Toyota Memphis Studio. We have a lot happening today. And again, bear with us as we're going through some of these Internet issues. We're just millions and millions of people are dealing with this today.
So you know what? You just got to just kick back, enjoy your coffee, enjoy your iced tea, and have a slower start to the day. look we've got to talk about what happened last night and we're going to get your reaction we're going to be taking your calls as well this chancellor judge in Nashville has decided she's got more power than the president of the United States and the governor of Tennessee Bill Lee and the judge late late yesterday evening officially blocked the National Guard from being deployed here in Memphis, the judge, Patricia Moskal, she was appointed, by the way, by one of our rhino Republican governors, Bill Haslin. And well, what can I tell you? It is what it is.
So anyway, the judge ruled yesterday that the president of the United States and the governor did not demonstrate that there was an immediate danger here in Memphis, enough to actually send in the National Guard.
So the ruling, though, is stayed.
So it's not as if the National Guard has to pack up and leave. And the state has up to five business days to appeal. State Senator Brent Taylor last night posted a message saying he had already been in touch with the attorney general, and that will indeed happen. But right now, it is a mess. And I know that, look, it's a victory for County Mayor Lee Harris and J.B.
Smiley. And I hear, I know they're excited. They're giggling and gushing with glee. Those two men are pro-criminal. And it really pains me to say that because on a personal level, Lee Harris, nice guy, but the reality is he is pro-criminal.
And my question to people like Mayor Lee Harris, and Lee Harris is out there saying there was no need to send the National Guard, there was no need to send in the federal assets, because everything here in Memphis is hunky-dory. Everything is fine.
Well, I would contend that the thousands of people that have been arrested, the people that have been deported, the illegal guns that have been taken off the streets, and the more than 100 missing children that have been found would disagree with the county mayor. As a matter of fact, I believe that the victims of those criminals would disagree with County Mayor Lee Harris. And I would also contend that Mayor Lee Harris is now doing the bidding of the criminal element in the Mid-South and in Shelby County.
Now, my one question to this judge, this radical leftist judge, I actually sent her an email last night, and I hope she responds. I asked if that means that all of the missing children have to be returned to the human traffickers. because, again, if Memphis is safe, I mean, if there's no dire emergency here and the National Guard is not allowed to be a part of the efforts here, then that means that there was no crime.
So anyway, we'll see how all of this plays out. The state argument was that Governor Lee could order the National Guard to Memphis as the commander-in-chief, just like he would in any other scenario. But the judge ruled, and I want to read this from the rule. This is fascinating here. The judge said that there was neither a grave emergency nor disaster that could be construed to include ongoing criminal activity.
So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this, ladies and gentlemen. Do you believe that we need the National Guard here? Do we need the federal assets boots on the ground? And I know the county mayor's all upset at. He was retweeting me last night.
He's fired up over that. And I knew as soon as I wrote that tweet, I knew he was going to be enraged because it's true. If you're going to send home the National Guard, well, do you have to return the missing children back to the human traffickers?
Well, let's go to our newsmaker line. And again, our number this morning, 901-260-5926. Again, that number, 901-260-5926. From the Republican Party of Shelby County, Luke Simbel joining us on the line this morning. Luke, good morning, and your reaction to this judge's ruling?
Totally unacceptable, and it is an example of what we are seeing across the country with activists, lower court judges who are trying to stop the Trump administration's agenda. We have the same thing here in Tennessee. We have a lower court chancellor, not even a trial court judge, but a lower court chancellor who is stopping our attempt to clean up crime in a city that, frankly, for the past two years has been under siege and has been locked up in their homes because of the crime rate. And this is going to be overturned. It's a poor ruling.
It's a bad decision. And it highlights why these judicial appointments are so important. And like you said, Todd, frankly, I don't think Bill Haslam was any bastion of conservative fighting force here. I mean, he you know, he I don't know how closely he looked at this judge, but our chancellor. But these appointments are so incredibly important.
And I'll tell you what, Senator Brent Taylor took some heat. He is on the Senate Judiciary Committee here in the state of Tennessee, and he took some heat for these judicial appointments very seriously. He took heat from the governor's office because he was questioning these appointments. He was looking into their backgrounds. He was asking why some people did not, some judicial appointees did not have the credentials that others who had applied for the job had.
And he took heat for it. And this is why it is so important, because to make Memphis matter, to make Memphis safe again, we have to have good jurists. and this is an activist chancellor, and she's going to be overturned on appeal. Yeah, look, and I see we've got a lot of active commenters on the Facebook page this morning, and someone pointed out, you know, well, what is the role of the National Guard here? I will say this.
I think in some part, aside from patrolling, you know, for example, the tourist areas, but we've seen the National Guard in shopping centers and other places just to be faces. But there's also a PR element to all of this. And first of all, if you're a bad guy and you see all these people in uniforms with weapons patrolling a shopping center, you're more than likely not going to be robbing that shopping center.
So there's that component of it. But also, I love the photographs of the National Guard hanging with the citizens of Memphis and posing for photographs. I find absolutely nothing wrong with that because the way this has been portrayed by the county mayor and others, Luke, is this is some sort of an evil invading force.
Now, these are our fellow countrymen that are coming to our aid, that are coming to help us. You're exactly right. And every single person who is here is part of the Tennessee National Guard. They are our friends in the state of Tennessee. They are our neighbors.
Yes, some of them are from Shelby County. Literally our neighbors who are here attempting to help us clean up crime. And I saw National Tennessee Guard members in East K Shopping Center just this past weekend. And there were families coming out of, I don't know, TJ Maxx or Marshall's or whatever big box store is there. But they were coming out of the store excited to see the National Guard taking pictures, giving high fives, smiling from ear to ear.
every person going into that store that I saw was saying, thank you. We like that you're here. They were excited. And we, our crime crisis had reached such an untenable level that people were literally afraid to go pump gas. Husbands were not letting their wives go to the grocery store after dark It is unacceptable to have to live that way And we know the attorney general had withdrawn an opinion from years ago that stated there was a wrong opinion from the AG office that said you know we don know Essentially, it said we don't know if the National Guard can be deployed by the governor absent a major emergency.
And our current attorney general, well before the Memphis State Task Force ever arrived, this is when he was first appointed and confirmed. He pulled that opinion because he said, no, that's a wrong opinion. It's wrong on the law. The governor can't send in the National Guard. And that is exactly what happened here.
It's a bad opinion by this activist chancellor. And again, this is why these judicial appointments are so important. This chancellor was appointed by a Republican governor, and this should be a wake-up call for anybody running for governor for the state of Tennessee. You have to take these judicial appointments very, very seriously because it has disastrous consequences.
Well, of course.
Well, it does. And look, I mean, this lady is like maybe one step removed from a meter maid.
So, I mean, it's not like she's, you know, a Supreme Court justice. But let me say this. When you read the reading, it's like 37 pages. She was looking for her moment in the spotlight. You know, she's our Judge Boesberg.
And this gal actually points out in her reasoning for issuing this ruling, she actually explains and reveals her political bias because she says, well, there's no evidence that removing the National Guard might harm the task force's job.
So my question to her would be, OK, well, if it would have, would you have ruled differently?
So if I were President Trump, I'd say, fine, no problem. We've got, what, 500, 600? I don't have any National Guard troops we have here. We'll just send 500, 600 additional FBI agents to make up the difference. Exactly.
Look, this is going to be appealed. It's going to be overturned. And she talks about there's no evidence.
Well, frankly, I don't think there's any evidence that she has more than two brain cells to rub together because the opinion was terrible. And you're right. It was like she was salivating, just waiting for the media attention. Finally, her Democrat activist roots could be on full display and she could help the leftist cause. And I think the people of Shelby County and the people of Memphis are they are being shown very, very clearly which side is on the side of restoring law and order to our community.
And that is the Republican Party and which party is on the side of continuing the status quo and being on the side of the criminal over the law abiding. And that is the local Democrat party. Yeah, the party of the thug.
Okay, Luke Semble from the Republican Party of Shelby County. Luke, really appreciate you phoning in this morning. And I know John Covington's coming up at the bottom of the hour. We'll be touching base with him. And we want to hear from you as well, ladies and gentlemen, your reaction to this meter-made, meter-made Moscow out of Nashville, her ruling that will pull the National Guard out of our city.
Are you happy with the way things have been going in our city lately? Have you enjoyed the new vibe? Have you enjoyed the fact that many of you are not waking up to automatic gunfire in your neighborhoods as a result of what President Trump has done here? Our telephone number, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.
All right, let's check in with Commander Chuck. By the way, one of our traffic troopers reporting a crash on I-240 East. That's at Perkins Road, exit 18. That crash has a right lane blocked. I'm sure Commander Chuck will have more info coming right up.
Hi, this is pharmacist Ray Solano with your Healthy Choices Minute, sponsored by PD Labs Pharmacy. Recently, you've heard about the possible dangers of acetaminophen or Tylenol for young children and pregnant mothers.
Social media sites have recommended common-sense remedies for mild fever that include homeopathy and select herbs that work without side effects. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and depletes your most potent antioxidant, glutathione, your force field against invaders. Did you know three or more alcoholic drinks in Tylenol can cause liver damage? Moms have been giving us first aid since the beginning of time, and now an online group called Crunchy Moms are offering simple options for fever that really work. PD Labs Pharmacy has a team of skilled clinical pharmacists trained in natural medicine, as well as traditional pharmaceuticals like Leucovorn for autism and Ivermectin for infections.
Call us today at 888-909-0110 or pdlabsrx.com and experience a new era in healthcare. pdlabsrx.com. Remember, you have a choice in healthcare. Here.
Someone just texted Todd. The reason why it's so peaceful is X is down. People aren't screaming at each other in all camps. And that may be a very good point. Hello, everybody.
Welcome back to Starz Country, broadcasting from the principal Toyota Vipha studio, 63 degrees. And I was looking at Laura Huckabee's seven-day forecast. We have got a chance of thunderstorms all the way through the weekend.
So it's just perfect. It's perfect fall weather. Put on a big old pot of chili and enjoy the quiet and enjoy the rain. Lord knows we need it. All right.
901-260-5926 is our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926.
By the way, Cassie, I know that before you came to work with us at KWIM, you worked at a local juice bar. and a story came across my way last night and I thought I've got to ask Cassie about this.
Okay, hit me. According to new studies, a daily glass of orange juice might do more than just deliver vitamin C. It may actually influence gene activity in a way that supports your heart health.
So they're saying that orange juice, a glass of orange juice every single day is therapeutic. I don't know about that. Have you ever had like the pulpy orange juice? I'm not a pulpy guy. Yeah, that's not pretty theory.
I would, I'd rather do everything but drink that glass of orange juice. I don't want lumps in my gravy or my orange juice. It's just terrible. I agree. I made, this is terrible.
I made country fried steak last night. I cooked for myself last night. Very nice. And I, for some reason I was trying to be heart healthy.
So I, I, you know, poured off, unfortunately too much of the grease to make the gravy. and when someone said this is not healthy at all but anyway my my gravy got lumpy oh lumpy gravy so you couldn't even have it no i did have it yeah i'm just saying it was lumpy that's but you didn't waste it though that's good no but but when you have to pour your orange juice through like a strainer yeah that's terrible it's disgusting i want to add extra steps to my orange you know what's good is the orange mango oh but it has to be pulp free it has to be pulp free I had orange pineapple. That one's really good. Yeah, I'm not a big pineapple guy. Yeesh.
Yeah. All my juices. It makes me sad. It's so good. I have to have the cran apple.
That's my go-to. And then I'm the orange. I'm pulp-free orange juice. Maybe we'll find one we agree on.
So this study from NC State and UC Davis, that's University of California, Davis, they tracked changes of more than 1,700 genes within immune cells. And they found that genetic activity tied to blood pressure, fat metabolism, and inflammation, all key factors in cardiovascular health, heart health.
So they're saying that a daily glass of orange juice has therapeutic potential. By the way, how much do you want to bet that this survey is sponsored by the Orange Growers of Florida? That's what I was thinking. That's what I'm going for. Oh, by the way, I have to ask you this.
You know, Thanksgiving is coming. Do you guys have like a big Thanksgiving feast there in the Cassie household? Yes, we do. Is there like a favorite side dish? Is there something that you guys have to have every single Thanksgiving?
Well, so everybody demands their own side dish.
So my favorite is the green bean casserole, I know. But it's my favorite, and it's been my favorite. And Helen is nodding, too.
So Miss Helen is a big green bean casserole fan, too.
Okay. Yes, yes. And then a sweet potato, the sweet potato with the marshmallow fluff. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You got to have, I got to give you my mom's, we have been making for generations, my mom's a sweet potato casserole.
It's got like the pecan stuff on the top and all that. Oh, it's good. That sounds amazing. It could go as a dessert or it could go as a sign. That's the only way I like it.
So I'm shocked here, ladies.
Southern Living has a new survey out, a brand new survey for Thanksgiving. They say 40% of Americans would prefer to skip the green bean casserole this year. Stop. You ladies are out of style. Stomping on my heart.
God, that is my famous recipe. I have a secret recipe. I will bring it in around Thanksgiving. Really? Yes.
That means we have to bring a turkey. Jeez, that sounds like more work.
So you make your own delicious original green bean casserole recipe. I have a secret recipe hidden away so nobody can find it. And I'm going to bring it. And you can't, like, dissect it or anything and find out what it's made of. I'm very excited about this.
I'm going to bring – so we do have to plan the K-WAM Thanksgiving feast. And I may bring – and I know this sounds disgusting. It is the most delicious casserole you will ever eat. And it's called cabbage casserole. You lost me.
It is insanely good the way I prepare it. I'm just saying. All right. We've got to take a break here. By the way, do you have a must-have side dish on your Thanksgiving table?
Again, this new survey from Southern Living, 40% of Americans say no to the green bean casserole. 901-260-5926, our number, that's 901-260-5926. This is Starts Country. Hi, this is pharmacist Ray Solano with your Healthy Choices Minute, sponsored by PD Labs Pharmacy. Recently, you've heard about the possible dangers of acetaminophen or Tylenol for young children and pregnant mothers.
Social media sites have recommended common-sense remedies for mild fever that include homeopathy and select herbs that work without side effects. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and depletes your most potent antioxidant, glutathione, your force field against invaders. Did you know three or more alcoholic drinks in Tylenol can cause liver damage Moms have been giving us first aid since the beginning of time and now an online group called Crunchy Moms are offering simple options for fever that really work PD Labs Pharmacy has a team of skilled clinical pharmacists trained in natural medicine, as well as traditional pharmaceuticals like Leucovorn for autism and Ivermectin for infections. Call us today at 888-909-0110 or pdlabsrx.com and experience a new era in healthcare. pdlabsrx.com.
Remember, you have a choice in health care.
Well, I have never, I have never. Kristen Hicks, you are dead to me. Do you hear me? Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Starnes Country.
So Kristen Hicks is attacking my cabbage casserole. Says cabbage stinks to high heaven. Come on, Kristen. I'm going to make you By the way, Kristen says, brought to you by the Orange Juice Makers of America. Yes, that survey.
Rose says, green bean casserole is the only reason I show up for Thanksgiving.
So, well, good for you. By the way, my cousin Clint, that guy is a master at the smoker, and we're going to have some pretty incredible smoked turkey over in Lakeland. And Kristen Hicks also writing in, my must-have is jellied canned cranberry sauce, not the chunky one, the smooth gelatinous one.
So delicious. I try not to eat anything that includes the description gelatinous. That's just a general rule of thumb. Welcome back, everybody. I want to go to our newsmaker line, and we're honored to have Rhonda O'Dell with us, who is running for the Shelby County Commission District 1.
Rhonda, before we get into what we're going to talk about, do you have like a must-have on your Thanksgiving table? Todd, my must-have are deviled eggs. Ooh, like old-school southern deviled eggs. Old-school southern deviled eggs with sweet relish. Ooh, that sounds good.
I've never had it with the sweet relish. Mmm, that's the only way to have it. We have deviled egg cook-offs at our house. Let me say this, Rhonda. I was in New York City, and they served me deviled eggs at this fancy restaurant, and it looked like a little tiny bird had pooped on the top of the egg.
And I'm like, what is it? They go, oh, that's caviar. I'm like, get that away from me. That's not a deviled egg. That's an abomination unto our Lord.
Got to stick with the traditions. It's worth it. You got to. Rhonda, a couple of things. Last night, just an incredible scene at the commission meeting.
It was standing room only, and a lot of deputies were there. A lot of Shelby County Sheriff's Office employees were there to support Sergeant Sam Lilly. And we've got some good news. We shared this story yesterday and urged everybody to get out to the commission meeting last night. Tell us what happened.
Well, you know, it started out with a little bit of wrangling because I truly believe our Mayor Lee Harris, he does not support our law enforcement. And I think he was trying to put a little snafu in everything and get a win, but he didn't get that this time. Calmer had prevailed, and the commission decided to go ahead and pass it. And they were talking about the biggest sticking point was the policy.
Now, Todd, they've had an entire year since this incident happened to create a policy, and they wait until the 11th hour to claim we have to have a policy. I just think that was a total disgrace. I am so glad that we passed this. I want all of our law enforcement officers to know that we do care about them, and we're fighting for their benefit. Republicans love our law enforcement, as you can see, and why in the world would anyone stay if you had a catastrophic injury like this while you're on duty, and the county makes you sue them to get your benefits.
That's crazy. That is absolutely crazy. Rhonda, it seems to me that if you're a first responder, you're wearing a uniform, you've got a badge, and I don't care if you're in the U.S. military, if you're serving in the Sheriff's Department, and you are serving us, and you are injured in a very serious way, the only thing that you and your family should be worried about is getting better. Everything else should be taken care of.
100%, Todd. You know, they kept saying over and over again, well, this could open us up to have to do this for anybody else.
Well, if anybody else has this happen, I hope to shout that we take care of them. Absolutely. Absolutely. And by the way, this reminds me, Carnival Memphis is doing a huge fundraiser for the Lilly family. That's going to be in January.
We will post a link to it in our live show blog, so you guys will be able to see how you can get a table. It's going to be a fun, fun night as we celebrate this wonderful Mid-South family and encourage you to do that. Rhonda, you have decided to jump into the political arena and you're running for Commission District 1. What do you see as the most pressing issue facing the commission? What's at the top of your agenda as a candidate?
As a candidate, the first thing is, is our finances. We cannot allow what's going on. I mean, $43 million. But what shocked me, Todd, last night, I almost came out of my seat that the county knew about this in September, the administration, I should say. They never disclosed that to the county commissioners.
That's part of the mayor's responsibility in the charter is to keep them updated and informed on the finances of the county. It just blows my mind. I don't believe, I am so glad that Lee Harris will be gone. I hate to say that, but I really will be. I pray that the next mayor, whoever he or she will be, will at least work with the county commission because we have to work together to be able to get our county to move forward.
So finances, benefits for our law enforcement, and all of the salary restrictions got to go. This is ridiculous. We need our law enforcement to be able to be law enforcement officers and worry about protecting us instead of worrying about where they're going to find the money to buy bullets for training. That's silly. Absolutely.
Rhonda, and we're going to get you back on to talk more about your campaign, but where can people go if they want to get more information about who you are and your platform? Where can people go for that?
so i have a website todd and it's really weird i don't know why my website you have to put www like old school i guess that's strategic tradition um elect ronda odell.com www elect ronda odell.com is the website and you'll be able to get all of her a great information ronda again i thought it was just an incredible scene uh there at the county commission to see so many folks out there supporting the surgeon and his family, and certainly great news coming out of the commission last night. Good luck to you out there on the campaign trail, Rhonda. Thank you, Todd. You have a blessed day, and get those deviled eggs. Oh, yeah, I could go for some deviled eggs right now.
By the way, we do have some breaking news to share. This coming in just from Congressman John Rose. Ben Dieter sending this our way. The congressmen weighing in on this judge's ruling. I am appalled by this rogue judge's reckless ruling.
It's disgraceful, dangerous, and will cost Memphians their lives. Since President Trump sent in the National Guard, they've rescued over 100 missing children and put more than 1,000 criminals behind bars. Yet pro-crime Democrats have fought them at every turn, putting their far-left politics above public safety. This is what's broken in our justice system. Criminals are treated like victims.
Wow. That's a pretty harsh statement coming from Congressman John Rose. The congressman, by the way, has been all over this story. And of course, he's running to be your next governor. Again, the other Republicans in that race, Senator Marshall Blackburn and Monty Fritz.
All right. Our telephone number here, 901-260-5926. Talking about this crazy Southern Living Survey. 40% of Americans want to skip green bean casserole. Let's go to Dean in East Memphis.
Dean, are you a big fan of the green bean casserole? I like the green bean casserole. I like the sweet potatoes that you were talking about, and I love deviled eggs. Man, I'll tell you what, there is nothing better than a deviled egg. If they're done well, there's nothing finer i always get like two or three to start and then end up eating like four or five more i'll have some for dessert exactly i'll skip the i'll skip the uh the pecan pie and go for more devil eggs there you go my my question my my question i asked cassie if john was going to be there live or on the phone or whatever but my question uh i've talked with john about you know Covington about the next county mayor, and he said that the police union was pushing for J.B.
Smiley. And my question to him would be with him jumping on the bandwagon with having this judge, our chancellor, you know, pushing for this stuff for the ruling and everything to have the National Guard pull out. Will they still be supporting J.B. Smiley for county mayor? Dean, that's a great question.
We've got John Covington coming up right after the break, and we will ask him, and again, I'm not sure we call it a police, the Memphis Police Association, but we will, you're right, they did endorse, and we'll ask John about that. He has been a fierce defender of law enforcement here in the Mid-South. Of course, he also hosts our weekend Behind the Badge show.
So, Dean, I'll tell you, I promise you this, we'll ask him right after this break. How's that? thank you sir i appreciate it all right dean be safe out there have a good one dean franklin good man everybody um all right we do have to take a quick break 901 we taking your calls Your must traditional Thanksgiving side Give us a call this morning 901-260-5926. This is Darn's Country in the Principal Toyota Memphis studio. Hi, this is Pharmacist Ray Solano with your Healthy Choices Minute, sponsored by PD Labs Pharmacy.
Recently, you've heard about the possible dangers of acetaminophen or Tylenol for young children and pregnant mothers.
Social media sites have recommended common-sense remedies for mild fever that include homeopathy and select herbs that work without side effects. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and depletes your most potent antioxidant, glutathione, your force field against invaders. Did you know three or more alcoholic drinks in Tylenol can cause liver damage? Moms have been giving us first aid since the beginning of time, and now an online group called Crunchy Moms are offering simple options for fever that really work. PD Labs Pharmacy has a team of skilled clinical pharmacists trained in natural medicine, as well as traditional pharmaceuticals like Leucovorin for autism and Ivermectin for infections.
Call us today at 888-909-0110 or pdlabsrx.com and experience a new era in healthcare. pdlabsrx.com. Remember, you have a choice in healthcare. Apparently, green bean casseroles galore here in the Principal Toyota Memphis studio this morning. Hello, everybody.
I'm Todd Stearns. Welcome back to Stearns Country. Real quick, let's go to the phones. Becky Gallagher, our general manager here at KWAM, wants to weigh in on the green bean casserole controversy. Hi, Becky.
What's going on this morning? Todd, my family expects green bean bundles every year. Imagine the green beans wrapped in bacon, smothered in brown sugar and butter. They are amazing. Oh, you have me at bacon.
Wow. That sounds delicious. We'll have a Friendsgiving at the station, and I'll bring them. I love that.
So you don't pour the gelatinous cream of mushroom soup onto the green beans and then put it in the oven? No. No, no, no. Green bean bundles. They're amazing.
You know, I have never heard of this. We're going to have to do a Thanksgiving. Do you call it a Friendsgiving at the station? Yeah, let's do it.
Okay. It sounds good to me. I'll bring the ham. I'll see you in a little bit. All right.
Becky Gallagher, everybody. And Becky does a great job running the show here at KWAM. Let's go to our Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. John Covington joining us, the host of Behind the Badge every Saturday here on the Mighty 990, also running for the Shelby County Commission in District 1. John, good to have you.
Very busy day in District 1. It is. Great to be on.
Now, let me say my must for the Thanksgiving table is no kids. They've got to be at the kids' table. Oh, so you've got to have grownups?
So your family is grownups at the grownups' table, kids at the kids' table. That's right. I sat at the kids' table for years and finally worked my way up to the adult table. And so they've got to pay their dues, Todd. John, I was well into my 30s before I was allowed to sit at the grownup table in the Stearns household.
It's not easy. These kids have it too easy these days. You've got to earn your stripes. That's right. I love that.
You see, you're a rulemaker and keeper. I love this. John, let's talk real quick about this ruling from the judge in Nashville. We're calling her a meter maid, a meter maid Moscow. Your reaction?
Oh, my God. It's this kind of performative politics BS that I can't stand. It's just such a joke. And, you know, these people are here doing fantastic work and this is just a blip i have no doubt this will be knocked down quickly but it's just a waste of everybody's time to even have to deal with and it's all performative uh you know i was talking to um some officers who went into an apartment complex down in south memphis a really rough area they were doing warrant pickups and guess what all the people were doing they were thanking everybody who was there so you know you can you can play to this little radical group and try to, you know, gin them up, you know, with this lawsuit. But it's just utterly ridiculous.
John, we had some questions on our social, our Facebook live stream, as well as a caller. Dean called in from East Memphis, wondering about this endorsement from the Memphis Police Association of J.B. Smiley. And Smiley clearly is no friend of law enforcement. Can you tell us any chance, are there any rumblings that they may, the NPA may pull that endorsement?
Well, here's where we stand. I'm a candidate for office. I've been completely recused from the process. And so, no, I'm not a fan of that. And me personally, I'm certainly going to be supporting the Republican candidate.
My suggestion, if I was on the board making the decision for the PAC committee, my suggestion is this needs to be revisited. This needs to be talked about. But, again, I don't have control over what the board does, but I will certainly be asking that it be discussed and brought up. Because you make a great point, because this is such a slap in the face to law enforcement. It's extremely frustrating.
You know, I see what's happening in the city. We had Jim Lesapio on – we were broadcasting Friday from his restaurant in South Haven, and he owns a lot of the businesses on Beale Street. And he was talking about how there's been such an incredible vibe. People feel safe now because they are safe, you know, and he says this has been great for business. And a lot of these business owners are concerned that we're going to go right back, revert right back to being a lawless war zone.
Well, exactly right. And, you know, these left-leaning radical, you know, politicians, J.B. in this case, Lee Harris, I think they're playing with fire. Because I think the voters have been fed up with crime. They like this change.
They've gotten a taste of what a safe city can be. And I really think it's going to backfire and hurt them when it comes time for the elections. I certainly hope so. All right. On our Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line, John Covington running for District 1 Shelby County Commission.
And, John, just to be clear, you think the NPA needs to revisit the endorsement of J.B. Smiley, and you personally, Smiley does not have your support. That's correct. I'm going to be supporting the Republican candidate whenever that person steps forward. And certainly it's going to be – I will certainly take to the board and ask that they decide this and debate it.
Again, as I say, I've been removed from the process while I'm a candidate, and I understand, and that's fair. But I just want people to know what my position is. I do not support J.B. Smiley. Certainly, this is really – it pisses me off, Todd.
It's just ridiculous.
Well, it is. And again, this is, you know, shame on this judge. By the way, you're getting accolades now on our live stream. Thank you. This is from Joe.
Thank you, John Covington. The NPA Smiley endorsement needs revisiting. And I think this is all about common sense. Everybody here, everybody in this city knows exactly what's happening. And I don't, you know, aside from these Democrats in office, I don't know if anybody else who's objecting to the fact that our streets are much, much safer now.
Yeah, my God. I mean, it's just lunacy. And again, I think it's just all performative. And, you know, okay, I get it. Politics can be silly, but this is a matter of life and death.
This is making the citizens safer. And it's just to waste everybody's time with this. It's just absolutely ridiculous. And I did want to briefly mention, thank God that the commission stepped forward and support Sergeant Lilly, but I will point out we have a couple of other officers or deputies in the same position. You know, that change was made in 2011, and we got to see a change in the policy.
All right, John, real quick, where is the website if people want to get information about your campaign? Covingtonforone.com or just go on Facebook. You'll see a bunch of stuff out there, but Covingtonforone.com. All right, John, thank you again, and you can always hear John on the weekends, co-host of Behind the Badge right here on the Mighty 990. Thanks a lot, John.
All right, real quick, let's go to Collierville. And Justin joining us, Justin Johnson, host of that incredible gathering for our state Senator Brent Taylor last week. Hey, Justin, don't have a lot of time, but what's going on? Hey, Todd, so I'll just be real quick.
So I've been like searching through Gronk, trying to find the information of who took the medical retirement away for sheriff's deputies. I've heard rumors, people say that Mark Lushville did it under his administration. Grok actually told me that it was a 2022 vote by the Shelby County Commission that removed the benefits. My saying in all this is we create our own problems here. And it's from the same tree, whether it be Democrat or Republican.
and then as soon as they create the problem, then they grandstand on it like they're fixing the problem.
So we need to take a long, hard look at the people. I don't care if they have an R behind their name. Are they principled, conservative people? Are they going to stand on the values that they say they're doing? If they're not going to do that, then we don't need them in office.
Yeah. We're just going to – it's the same rinse, repeat, recycle. this whole cycle we do over and over again where we get these loop warm Republicans that are more or less just rhinos that we put them in office so all right Justin I had to keep it quick my friend computer's going to cut us off but it's a great point to end the show on hey we're going to continue the conversation at 11 o'clock on the Todd Stern show right here on the Mighty 990 again massive cloud fair outage and there's not much we can do about it so just hang tight everybody will be connected again very soon. Get out there and have a great one, everybody. Here for the Lowe's early Black Friday deals?
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