From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. And good morning, everybody. Hello, Memphis. Hope you're doing well today. What a great start to the day.
As you just heard Laura Huckabee tell us, it's going to be a beautiful, sunny day here in the Mid-South. And what better way to start your day than hanging out with us here on the Mighty 990? And we are broadcasting today in the Principal Toyota Memphis studio. By the way, if you're looking for a great, great car, you need to go check out our good buddy Todd Lochner over at Principal Toyota Memphis. And be sure to thank him as well for sponsoring all the great work here at the Mighty 990.
kwamradio.com by the way is our website that's kwamradio.com and i just have to say you guys are just tearing it up on the social media pages we have the number one social media platform in the mid-south when it comes to radio stations and we actually compete with traffic for the with the tv stations so that's all because of you your great comments many of you are pretty darn funny uh many of Things we can't even repeat on the radio, but that's okay. All right, we've got to start here with, and by the way, we've got a great show. Today is the opening of the General Assembly in Tennessee, here in Tennessee, in Nashville. Hold on to your wallets, ladies and gentlemen. Pamela Furr will be joining us live from Nashville with the report.
Also, Joe Garner from Real Estate Mortgage Shop will be here, and our Senate Majority Leader, Genik Johnson, is going to be phoning in just in a few moments, giving us an update on what's happening there at the State House. In the meantime, there is still a lot of fallout from what happened over the weekend when you had this massive mob of gals of girth, the purple-haired, weathered women of the Mid-South. They were out there blocking roads and causing all sorts of mayhem. And now, State Representative Justin Pearson is getting his power throw involved in all of this, and the senator is. Is now accusing the Tennessee Highway Patrol of basically of attacking protesters that were out there blocking law-abiding drivers from getting to from point A to point B.
So a lot of people are upset about this. The group Indivisible Memphis, which was behind the protest, they're raising all sorts of cane about it. And they're alleging that the Tennessee Highway Patrol actually Used one of their one of their March marshals as a battering ram.
So, I just have a couple of questions here, and I'm curious, and I want to hear from you as well. Do you stand with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, or do you stand with this mob? I mean, you've got one of two choices here. And Mr. Pearson, Is saying that the raming.
I want to read this to you: the raming of a marshal in a peaceful protest in Memphis by the Tennessee Highway Patrol is disturbing, dangerous, and troubling. Especially in these times. I've seen enough videos and heard from enough attendees from the Ice Outmarch to believe there needs to be an investigation done by the TBI of the Tennessee Highway Patrol's officers.
So, anyway, Justin Pearson is going to be writing some sort of a nasty letter to the TBI. I've seen the same videos, and here's the deal: I mean, if you're going to run out into the street and start slamming your fist into a THB cruiser, then Sorry, you kind of get what's coming at you at that point. I mean, you're going to be attacking law enforcement and you don't expect them to respond. I don't understand that concept here. But there's a broader issue.
Number one, did this group have a permit? Because in Tennessee, you don't need a permit to protest, but you do need a permit if you're going to march in a roadway or block off a roadway. You also have to have insurance. You also have to have blockades, barriers so that cars can't enter. There are a lot of things that you have to do.
Did this group do any of those things? And if they didn't, well, every single one of them ought to at least, at the very least, face some sort of a ticket because they obstructed roadways and caused a lot of problems on Summer Avenue over the weekend. You know, the other issue here, and this is just a life lesson, it's a pro tip. By the way, the woman who was arrested did, in fact, have purple hair, so I'm not trying to, no, I'm not stereotyping. I'm just telling you, the woman was weathered and had purple hair, and she tried to use the bathroom on a law enforcement officer.
That is not normal behavior.
So here's the deal, and this is a pro tip. You can take it, you can leave it, but that's what we do here: we offer advice here on the body of 990. If you don't want to get hit by a THP cruiser, Don't run into the middle of the road. That's just a pro tip for life. All right, 901-260-5926.
Where do you stand on this, ladies and gentlemen? Do you stand with the THP or do you stand with the anti-cop, pro-criminal, illegal alien mob? 901-260-5926, our number. We're going to be taking your calls. I do want to go right away to our Patriot Mobile newsmaker line and say good morning to Senator Jack Johnson.
Senator, hope you're doing well today. Hey, good morning, Todd. Great to be with you.
Well, it's a busy day for you guys, and I just want you to know we're sending our delegation to you on I-40, so you're going to have to deal with Senator Brent Taylor for the next little while. Good luck, too. I was actually with Senator Taylor last night, and we had a wonderful dinner with our Republican caucus. And as you know, Brent is a very, very highly respected member of our body. He is doing wonderful things to make Memphis matter.
And I know he's got a long list of things he wants to get accomplished for West Tennessee, more specifically Memphis and Shelby County, and we're going to help him do it. And of course, one of those big things for us, Senator, and I've got a list of things I want to talk with you about, but it's the schools and the school takeover. And we just had State Representative Mark White and Senator Taylor on the show in studio, and they say they've sort of had a meeting of the minds. Do you believe that we are this session going to see the state step in and finally take over the schools here? In Memphis, Shelby County.
I hope so, Todd. I am very supportive of that effort and really, really appreciate Senator Taylor and Representative White sitting down, working out. There were some differences, I think, in the approach between the House and the Senate versions of the bill last year. And as our process works, you've got to walk camera legislature, so we've got to work those differences out. And Senator Taylor and Representative White have done so.
And what I want Your listeners, and many of them already understand this concept. I know you do as well, Todd. You know, a school system is a political subdivision of the state. It is created by and accountable to the state. The Constitution of the state of Tennessee gives sovereign power to the General Assembly to create those types of political subdivisions because we believe in local control.
But if that local entity is not doing the job that it was created to do in an effective manner, it's not only should we, it's our responsibility, we have an obligation to step in and rectify things. And I think we would all agree that the Memphis Chovet County school system is failing the kids. No doubt about it. 70% of the kids aren't at reading level. That's it for me as a taxpayer.
I'm like, we've got to do something about that. And I'm glad to see you guys doing it. And again, even on the state level, you look at what's happening in Congress right now. The House is doing all this great legislation. And, you know, there's a backup in the Senate.
I think it's reverse here in Tennessee, but we certainly appreciate you taking a ferocious interest in what's happening here in West Tennessee, and especially with our schools, because great schools mean a great community, Senator. They absolutely do. I represent Williamson County, and I use the phrase frequently, we stand on the shoulders of giants. And Williamson County has two school systems. They're among the best in the state, even best in the nation.
And that's because some folks long before I came around, back in the 70s and 80s, made some deliberate decisions to invest in and create a great school system. As a result, Williamson County is the wealthiest county and dare I say the most prosperous county in the state. There's no reason every other county, including Shelby County, can't do the same thing. But you've got to have that solid foundation of a great school system. Senator, let's talk immigration.
And of course, the Memphis Safe Task Force has really done some jaw-dropping work here. I think a lot of people were surprised at the number of illegals that were here in West Tennessee. But this is a statewide problem going all the way back to when Joe Biden was flying in illegals to the airport there in Chattanooga in the dark of night, which was uncovered by, I believe, Senator Bill Haggerty and his team originally. Yes, it absolutely is. And let me say this.
In these few days leading up to the beginning of our legislative session, today at twelve noon, the gavels will fall in the State House and the State Senate, and we will officially commence. But we have been busy for the last several weeks getting ready. That's the way it is every year. And a common theme of most every conversation is the tremendous success we've seen in Memphis in getting criminals off the street. And nothing makes us happier than to be able to see that.
And a lot of reasons for that, but certainly we thank President Trump for having the and Governor Bill Lee for having the intestinal fortitude to send in those guard troops, the TBI, the FBI, all the folks that are making that work. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity here under the leadership of President Donald Trump. To attack this illegal immigration issue, it's been something that's been a problem for a decade, and we just haven't had the leadership that was willing to come in and seriously attack it. We have that leadership now, and I'm proud to say that Tennessee is not only welcoming those efforts from the federal government, we are cooperating and doing everything we can to help make them successful to get these violent illegal aliens off of our streets. We're sort of playing volleyball here back and forth, or ping pong or pickleball.
We'll try to be culturally relevant here, Senator. Let's go back to schools and school choice. There is a new survey that just came out showing that. Tennessee Republicans actually want school choice. Where are we at?
What can we expect this legislative session?
Well, I'm very, very excited. We passed a universal school choice program back last session in early 2025. It has been a tremendous success, Todd. We created 20,000 school choice. scholarships that can be used by families all across Tennessee.
To pick a different educational alternative for their child if they feel like the public school down the street is not meeting their needs. And many of those scholarships have been utilized by families in Shelby County, and it's been a tremendous success. We weren't sure what the utilization rate would be. In the first 24 hours of the applications being available last year, Todd, there were 38,000 applications for 20,000 scholarships. That indicates the demand, the level of demand.
And so the conversation as we convene today. For this legislative session, is obviously we would like to expand that program, make it available to more families. But we're a very fiscally conservative state. And if we're going to create those scholarships, we have to pay for them. I don't think there's any question we'd, like the survey you've cited, we absolutely support parental choice in education and we want to expand that program, but we're going to do so in a fiscally responsible manner.
And I think more to come on that based on how our revenue situation looks.
Now, that makes perfect. It really does make perfect sense. And again, I think parents need to be able to make those choices. And especially when you look at what's happening here in West Tennessee with the school system, again, getting back to the reality, we are paying for something as taxpayers, and a lot of money we're paying. And we're not getting any bang for the buck.
I mean, that's, you know, and when that happens in private business, you fix what's broken. Yeah. You couldn't be more correct. And here's the thing, and it's a great illustration of the conversation. We believe in parental choice.
If you think that the private Christian school down the street would be a better fit for your child, you should be able to choose that alternative. You should be able to use the tax dollars that we would otherwise spend to educate your child in the form of a scholarship to send your child to the school you think is best. The vast, vast majority of our kids are going to go to the public school that they're zoned for. And even with a robust school choice program, which we hope to have in Tennessee, that's still going to be the case, which means we are still fully committed to making our public schools the best that they can be. And obviously, they're in Shelby County.
We've got a serious problem with the school system, and it's going to be a top priority for us to figure out how to fix that because every child, whether you're in Shelby County, Williamson County, Sullivan County, and Upper East Tennessee, doesn't matter. You should have access to a great education. Before we let you go, Senator, in addition to being a great lawmaker, you're also a great. Musician. You're a good church-going man.
But in politics, the messaging is: the theology is: do unto them before they do it to you. And I want to ask you: this is the first time I've been able to ask you this question. We've got one Democrat congressional district. Is there any thought to redistricting to give Republicans that edge that we may need as a result of what's been happening in places like California and Texas?
Well, as you know, there is litigation that is pending that informs us on that decision and that process. that has been on the books for many, many years. We got to see how that litigation plays out. If that longstanding precedent relative to racial considerations, minority representation considerations, if that case were to be overturned or that legal precedent to be overturned, then it would open the door for us to take a look at that. We've got, as you know, nine congressional districts, and I'm proud to say that eight of those nine are held by good, solid conservative Republicans.
I think Tennessee is doing its part to make sure we have good representation at the federal level, but we've got to wait and see what happens in the court. And one final question, and this is from one of our K-WAM listeners. They just wrote this, and I've got about 45 seconds here. Talking about the school vouchers, they're saying, will these vouchers be funding schools that are teaching Sharia law? Can there be any sort of a carve-out?
Well, we do have a couple of schools that are Muslim based on Muslim faith. We passed legislation several years ago, Todd, to say that any school in the state of Tennessee that is teaching Sharia law over American law, basic civics, that Sharia law surpasses American law based on our Constitution, that they are ineligible for funding.
So any school that is teaching that is, number one, will not be accredited in the state of Tennessee with or without a school choice program. And certainly, if they're not accredited, then they're ineligible to receive those scholarships. All right.
Well said. Senator. Wow, we covered a lot. We're going to get you back on. And we just, and we got to get your band out here to play one of these days here in West Tennessee.
Would love to do it. Love to do it sometime. All right, Senator. All right.
Have a great day out there. Good luck with this year's assembly. Thanks, Scott. Great talking to you. All right, Senator Jack Johnson, everybody, we've got to take a quick break.
901-260-5926. Your call is coming up next. Health insurance rates in America are surging, leaving millions without affordable options. But Christians don't need to waste money on a broken system. Christian Healthcare Ministries is an alternative to health insurance at half the cost.
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We appreciate the Senate Majority Leader coming on KWAM this morning. It is going to be a jam-packed legislative session. And also, we're very happy to ask your questions as well.
So keep those coming over on our Facebook live stream. Let's go to the phones. And by the way, our telephone number, do you stand with the cops or the mob? 901-260-5926. Let's say good morning to our good buddy Dean in Memphis.
Dean, what's going on? Not much. How you doing today, Todd? I'm well. Thank you for asking, Dean.
A good deal. I appreciate your daily show. That was just right around the corner from us over there on Summer Avenue. And I was watching it happening live from Uh Blackwood News. Uh I I stand with law enforcement.
On this, on this, on these issues. I mean, I don't care if they protest on the sides of the streets or whatever, on the sidewalks and parking lots and things like that. But when you move out into the street, then you're obstructing traffic, and Senator Taylor's already written. Uh, bills or laws or whatever to keep that from happening, and they should have arrested a ton of people. Of course, I don't know where they're going to put them.
But I watched the video Put out this morning on Facebook by THP. about a guy that they said that they hit, he walks up to the cruiser. Grabs the push buffer. The car the car moves just a hair. And he flails over, still holding on to the bumper, because I thought it was AI at first.
and then pulls himself back up and walks off. Yeah, Dean, I've seen a lot. And look, this is something we've seen over and over and over again. And it's worse than, I'll tell you what, it's worse than college football, and it's worse than the NBA. Right, where they get bumped, or they don't get bumped, and then you see them splayed out all over the floor.
That's exactly what's going on in the middle of Summer Avenue. Exactly, exactly. It's it's the post that I made on THP was it's you know, it's it's asinine and hilarious at the same time.
So, yeah, Senator Senator or State Representative Pearson Powerfro, we're going to call him Rep Powerfro from now on. Rep Powerfro is demanding an investigation when you can literally see the video. There's a separate video that Dean's talking about where some guy literally steps in front of a moving cruiser. The cruiser stops. I don't know.
God bless the driver because they didn't hit the guy. But then the guy, as soon as it stops, the guy drops. And then gets up and walks away. And they're saying, oh, he was run over. Yeah, if you look closely at the video, because I had to watch it like two or three times.
He holds on to the push bar. And you see his hands there the entire time. And like I said, I thought it was AI at first because. It's like he falls. completely backwards and then all of a sudden he stands back up like it's like it's a like a moving target or whatever, you know, that that shoot and it falls and then it pops back up.
Dean, we're going to post the video over on K-Wham, and folks, you'll be able to weigh in here in just a few moments. Dean, get out there and have a great day, my friend. You're a great American patriot, Dean Franklin, everybody, one of our K-Wham loyal listeners. 901-260-5926. Dean picked up the phone.
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Getting a little jiggy this morning. Welcome back, everybody. This is Starge Country. We are broadcasting in the Principal Toyota Memphis studio. Go visit my good buddy Todd Lochner if you're going to go buy a car.
By the way, we have posted the video from the Tennessee Highway Patrol on the Mighty 990 Facebook page.
So I want you to go and look at that video for yourself, and you'll be able to determine whether or not the THP ran over that pedestrian. Let's go to Linda in Germantown. Linda has something to say about that. Hey, Linda, what's going on? Hey, good morning.
I shouldn't be giving tips to these people, but if somebody's bursitis is acting up or they're bunions, I have a great idea for them. They should just go get some purple wigs and a bunch of feigning goats. And just, you know, put the wigs on the goats and let the goats do the job, you know, if it's cold or if it's raining. I think that would be very funny to watch. I love this idea.
I love this idea, Linda. I've actually seen the goats, and they call them, what, fainting goats, right? They just keel right over. Right. They I guess they get scared and just put 'em in front of a bumper and, you know It it it would be a s a great show.
Linda, this is brilliant. And folks, I do want you to go. Linda, God bless you, and thank you for that call. Folks, I want you to go to our Facebook page. We have just posted the video, and you'll be able to see it for yourself.
I want you to watch that video, and then you give us a call. Do you believe the THB actually ran over that guy? 901-260-5926 is our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926. I want to go to our Patriot mobile newsmaker line and say good morning to our good friend Joe Garner, host of Real Estate Mortgage Shop.
You can watch it every Saturday, right here, exclusively, on the Mighty Die 90 at 11 o'clock. Joe, good morning. Good morning, Todd. Good morning. Joe, we're going to take a break from talking about feigning goats just a moment to talk about some great news about mortgage rates because they are now at a three-year low.
Is that right? Thanks for let's write down. La uh late last week, Todd, you know, when the uh when uh the White House came out and said that uh Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is going to be Using the two hundred billion dollars they have in surplus to start buying. treasuries.
Now they're not buying tenure Treasury, so it's not going to sink the rates as the forecast, but they are going to cause rates to slip down. even more of it. They started doing that just on the news. Of these big mortgage giants buying all these bonds late last week. This is, and the headline is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would start buying some of the treasuries with their $200 billion.
Surplus, and I know on your show you make this analogy. It's sort of like an airline ticket. Yes, that's a great analogy, yes. It is. And you know, the housing and the uh mortgage market right now, Todd, It's exactly as you said.
It's as if um you're trying to time your vacation so that you get the best price On your airline ticket. And when the airline ticket prices drop, of course, the more people travel, right? And but the more people who book, the faster the seats sell out and the price does what? It starts climbing. up again.
And mortgage rates dropping is like these cheaper flights. It increases the demand for people buying homes, refinancing. And these rising home prices are like those airline tickets getting more expensive. as the plane gets full. Joe Garner joining us here on Starnes Country this morning, host of Real Estate Mortgage Shop on Saturdays.
By the way, her email, or her website rather, joegarner.com. That's JoeWithoutTheE. JoeGarner.com, full of all sorts of great information. Let's talk about homebuyers locking in the price of their home. Oh, you know, that's the people who are really happy.
And back to that airline ticket, I just want to say, if you're out there and you're thinking about buying a home or refinancing, don't miss the best deal. trying to bottom fish for the lowest rate. And the people right now who have gone ahead and said, hey, this work this rate today works for me. They're the ones who have been very happy. Like, let me use an example.
These aren't their real name, of course, but Gaynor and Grace. Let's say, and then they're moving to Memphis, the Memphis area, from a high-cost housing state.
So how a state where housing is just too high to report. Grace can work remotely and her husband's retired. But at some point, Todd, Grace wants to retire too. And without Grace's income, they would have never been able to afford to own their own home in the state, this high housing cost state where they were living.
So they bought a home here in the Mid South with a mortgage rate low enough To make the payment manageable even after Grace retires. And by the way, Tennessee is one of the top states that California Californians are moving to, Florida being number two on Gen C and the latter millennials. But Grace told me, she said, we're going to buy now so we don't have to worry about the prices of homes. Continuing to go up. And if the mortgage rates drop enough, she said, we can always refinance to a lower rate later.
I I think that's really why.
So let's talk about a homeowner who refinances Adds another high interest credit card into a much lower rate. Oh, pardon. I'm so glad you mentioned that. That's one of the most common refinances right now. And just to give our listeners an example, let's say, I'm a homeowner, of course, by the real name.
She had paid her mortgage down to where she only owed, you know, less than half of her what her house was worth. And she had, you know, she was happy about that. But She had had some financial emergencies with her family and over the last few years. Had accrued fifty thousand dollars approximately in credit card debt.
Well, a few years ago, Credit card debt, you were only paying, what, twelve percent or something on your credit card debt? But I don't know if you've looked at your credit card lately. that this lady and a lot of the rest of us are paying like twenty eight to twenty nine percent. interest compounded upon itself. on credit cards.
Well, this is what was happening The Hill and homeowner.
So what we did for her, which I can do for any of our listeners, Is we get a comparison. of what he would pay and the remaining debt she would have over the next five years if she just kept paying her bills the way she was doing it. Then we did a comparison of How much debt would she have and how much would she pay? over the next five years if we did a cash out recommend. And I want to tell you the clear winner was the cash out refinance five.
because she would go down to a single digit interest rate somewhere in the sixes. And be able to take save money on her, what she was paying out each month by a few hundred dollars. then she could turn around and start paying that mortgage off early again. A clear winner doing that. Wow.
That's uh yeah, that's uh that is incredibly impressive. And especially when you've got homeowners out there sitting on a mortgage, you know, they got back, what, in in twenty twenty three in the low to mid sevens. You know, actually in October, you're right on that, Todd, but in October of twenty three, rates actually went up to eight and a quarter on a thirty year. And so there are people out there that are paying in the mid to high seven Low AIDS. If that's you, please contact me today.
Don't waste a minute. I mean, these rates right now are really good for Reef and Manson just to lower your rate and your payment. All right, Joe Garner, again, host of Real Estate Mortgage Shop right here on the Mighty 990. That's coming up on Saturday at 11 o'clock. Let's talk about the big show.
Oh, yes. Right here on the Mighty 990. I'm in the mortgage business, of course, and I'm going to be talking with Kim Sullivan, who is a federally Enrolled tax agents, and we're talking about. How to clear the tax debt and claim the dream of home ownership. It's going to be an awesome show, Todd.
All right.
And Joe, again, folks can watch your program right here. Listen to the program on the Mighty 990. And for your home purchase or refinance, Joe Garner can assist you with the right mortgage program and make the mortgage process easy. You can do that by contacting JoeGarner at JoeGarner.com. That's Joe Without the E.
All right, Joe.
Well, good stuff. And we look forward to Saturday's show. Thank you, Code. All right, folks, Joe Garner. And again, it is: if you don't listen to K-Wham on the weekends, what is wrong with you?
Number one. But number two, you're missing some incredible all-local programming starting the day with Mid-South Gardening, Walker Auction, all sorts of wonderful shows. And of course, Joe Garner as well, real estate mortgage shop. We've got to take a quick break here. Again, during the break, go to our Facebook page and check out this video from the Tennessee.
Highway Patrol. And then I want you to call us and let us know what you think about this. Do you believe that they actually, they actually ran over that guy? Got to take a break. We'll be right back.
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Stardust Country in the principal I'll tell you at a Memphis studio. Go visit my co-buddy Todd Lochner. Get yourself a great deal on a car. Real quick, I want to go to Lisa in downtown. And Lisa, I know that you and I chatted over the weekend.
You were actually caught up in that chaos over on Summer Avenue. Yes, I was. Um, you know, I I lived over in that neighborhood in the Berkeley area. And my dog Stella, just so everybody knows, Stella is doing better. But Stella had gotten sick Saturday evening, Saturday night.
I just kept watching her, and Sunday afternoon, I'm like, I need to take her to the emergency animal hospital. And as I pulled out on Summer Avenue, I forgot all about the protest but the people were The protesters were on the sidewalk, but they had gotten so thick that they had started spilling into the right lane on each side of the street.
So it made the traffic go down to one line. And then they were crossing wearing, and then in front of like the Kroger parking lot, all that. I couldn't even turn right into. on wearing or into any of the parking lots to cut through to a back street to get around.
So That's where my problem came in where I couldn't get down Summer Avenue, which is normally less than five minutes from my house. on any other day.
So that's what I was getting upset about. And Lisa, again, the rule here is: you can protest, but you can't block streets. That's against the law. Correct. Correct.
You have to get permits. That's right. That's right. You sure do. And in Memphis specifically.
So that's the law. But more importantly, your dog is doing okay. Yes, she's doing good. She's on the men, $1,000 later, but she's good.
Well, you know, Lisa, I am glad to hear this. Stella, good, tell her, get well for all of us here at Kate William. All right, Todd, good talking to you. All right, thanks. That's our good friend Lisa Arnold downtown and caught up one of the many, many people caught up in that mess.
So, again, folks are saying the protester could teach LeBron James a thing or two. Go and watch the video on our Facebook page and give us a call. Do you think this guy was run over? 901-260-5926. Let's go to our Patriot mobile newsmaker line this morning.
Say hello to our good friend, Pamela Fur, who just got finished moving. Unfortunately, not to the right place in Tennessee, which is Memphis. I I don't know if it's the right place yet, Dodd. You know, I mean, give the National Guard for me, give them another two months. All right, another two months.
Let me tell you something. There's no difference between Germantown and Williamson County.
So except we're friendlier over here and we have better food. Oh, no, you do have some amazing food. That is very true. I will go with you on that for sure. Good to be with you this morning.
Yeah, Pamela Fur is with Americans for Prosperity Tennessee. And Pamela, we had Senator Jack Johnson on the first segment of the show talking about the legislative agenda. And I know you guys are going to be neck deep in politics over the next couple of months as well. Yeah, absolutely. And it's interesting that you had State Senator Jack Johnson on today because he is actually one of the sponsors of our number one priority for 2026, and that's passing the Regulatory Freedom Act.
It makes it easier to repeal red tape and bureaucracy that strain the economy here in the state of Tennessee. And it also provides more legislative oversight. to the most expensive burdensome regulations. I don't know if you know this. But there are like 121,000 Individual rules and regulations that unelected bureaucrats have created in state government.
And we want to put an end to that. You may remember this, Todd. There was a time that the Democrats had the rule in the state of Tennessee. And so over the years, it's just the rules and regulations have accumulated. We've done a tour across the state with volumes of books of regulations, like 32 volumes of those things.
And so we want to cut that in half. And so state senator Jack Johnson in the Senate is going to be leading that bill. And Clark Boyd, Representative Clark Boyd out of Middle Tennessee, will be leading that and sponsoring that in the House. And we're excited about that. We want more freedom in Tennessee.
And unelected bureaucrats should not have that kind of control there at the state capitol. No, look, anytime, and I know there was a lot of hullabaloo about, oh, the Republicans in Congress, this is the least number of laws that have been passed in decades. And I'm like, that's a great thing, actually. We don't need more laws on the books. We need to start enforcing the ones that are already there.
Enforce what we have and get rid of the rules that people who we didn't elect who are making decisions for us that stifle growth, stifle economy, stifle small businesses. And so we want to put a stop to that.
So that's our number one priority in 2026. We also want to cap property taxes, local property taxes for crying out loud. There are some. uh areas in the state Javidson County. In Nashville, who keep raising property taxes by huge percentages.
That's one of the reasons why I moved out of the Nashville area and further south because they raised my property taxes more than 30% twice in the last five years. That's ridiculous. And so we're looking to put a cap on that. We're working with our friends at Beacon Center, who they're kind of the lead on that. But we want to do that, expand school choice and repeal certificate of need, which has to do with hospitals and permissions that some counties try to give or don't give to the medical field to be competitive in those rural counties across Tennessee.
Pamela Furrow is working on it. Yeah, Pamela Furr from Americans for Prosperity joining us. Americans for Prosperity Tennessee joining us today from Middle Tennessee. By the way, you folks in Tipton County, some exciting news. Trey Cleek, who is the engagement director for Americans for Prosperity in West Tennessee, is going to be speaking at the monthly Republican meeting there.
That's going to be at City Hall in Otoka coming up on January 27th. Again, that information coming to us from the Tipton County Republican Party. Pamela? He's great. Pamela, we've got another about 90 seconds or so.
What else is on the radar of Americans for Prosperity?
Well, that's really our focus, what I just said to you just a moment ago there at the Capitol. And if anybody has anything that they would like to bring to our attention where your county government or your local government are trying to raise taxes or pass some sort of rule or regulation that hinders you from doing business or growing your business, get in touch with us. Let us help you fight that at the legislative level. We'll be happy to do that. You can reach me or Trey.
Click there in West Tennessee. Just go to our website and you can find us, afptn.org, afptn.org. You can find the information about the volunteer way for 2026, and you can find out how to reach all of us. All right.
I love that. Fantastic. Pamela Fur, we got to get you back over here in West Tennessee. Yep, I got to come for a visit. It's been too long, and I got to eat some more food in Germantown.
I'm going to introduce you to Vicki Gandy. She's our official realtor here at the Mighty 990.
So we'll. All right.
Pamela, have fun up on Capitol Hill today up in Nashville. Yes, sir. Talk to you soon. All right.
The great Pamela Fur, everybody, on the Mind and Is. I told you it was going to be a very busy day here on the radio station. By the way, 11 o'clock today, the Todd Sterns show. And many of you say, Todd, I can't listen. I'm at work.
It's okay because we have a podcast and you can download our podcast and you can listen to us at your leisure wherever you are. And you could do all of that by going to toddstearns.com. That's toddstearns.com. And also check out all of our original reporting. We have some really great journalism over on the website.
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Also, be sure to sign up for the Mighty 990 Breaking News Alert email. You'll be able to do that and you'll be informed. All right, we got to scoot out of here. It's been a great morning. We're going to continue all the fun next.
Armstrong and Getty, then the Todd Stern Show at 11 o'clock, right here on the Mighty 990. Have a great day, everybody. This episode was brought to you by Alianz Travel Insurance. Your European bike tour is planned to perfection. Then, your bag, with all your bike shorts, takes a detour.
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