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From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. Good morning, Memphis and Mid-South. Woo! It is a chilly, chilly morning out there. This is Luke Symbol on Starns Country.
I'm filling in for Todd, who was supposed to be traveling, doing one of his many, many speaking engagements. And I don't know if he made it out of the city. This weather is. Crazy, it is freezing outside, and the roads are, I mean, nearly impassable. I saw one lane going each way on Poplar, those were the only clear roads that I saw on my way into the studio this morning, the principal to it in a Memphis studio.
And I picked up Helen. On the way, the car my car barely started. It's really struggling in the cold despite driving around yesterday. And Helen, your car would not start this morning. I was so determined to get there early.
I got up at 5:30 and I was like, You're leaving. And it's going to start. And I think you called me about 5:45 and you said, Luke. We're not going to be able to do the show today. Don't come in.
I'm so sorry. My car won't start. And. You know, folks, you may not know. I grew up most of my childhood in Rochester, New York, which some say it's between Syracuse and Rochester, the snowiest city in America.
Literally, we get more snow in upstate New York than Alaska, most parts of Alaska. And I picked you up, Helen. Yes, well, and I definitely understand the stuff in New York because you guys are prepared. We are prepared. We have snow plows.
We have lots and lots of salt, which means we also have lots and lots of rust on our cars. But you're right. That you know, I was driving yesterday and I saw a a snow plow in East Memphis trying to clear the roads and they weren't putting down any salt. You know, you have the plow on the front and the salt dispenser on the back. That's how it's supposed to work, folks.
And maybe we're out of salt. Maybe we're out of whatever I was seeing. They were putting down like potato flakes, supposedly melted the snow. If you don't put anything down after you scrape off that first layer of snow, the roads will just re-ice over. It doesn't work.
Well, Helen and I trekked in. I live a couple miles from Helen, and the GPS said it would take six to seven minutes. It took like 20 minutes, just to give you all an idea. And this is coming from, you know, I took my driving exam when I was 16 years old in a foot and a half of snow. Like, I know how to drive in snow.
I have a four-wheel drive vehicle. These roads are probably the worst I have ever driven on. There is still so much ice packed on these roads. Barely anybody is out. And honestly, I'm going to.
Tell you all something, and Helen. Helen experienced this. I was concerned if I was stopping at red lights that somebody would slide into the back of me, and there was nobody on the road.
So we broke a couple traffic laws this morning. It's kind of like the Wild West, but with ice. Helen. I don't know. But we made it in.
We had seat warmers. Helen did not act afraid at all while the car was slipping and sliding.
So, Helen, you are a real trooper out there. But the moral of the story is that if you don't have to get out, do not get out. It is not safe. The roads are not good. I did see a couple restaurants had opened.
TJ Mulligan's on Kirby Road was packed yesterday and the day before.
So apparently they're still open. That's great if you need a whiskey or a beer to warm up. TJ Mulligan's Bog and Barley was open very much like family style. I think these parents are going crazy with the, you can only do so much sledding. Before your fingers are frost bit.
So stay warm out there, folks. Run the water. And the cold front, it it's gonna get colder. I think by Saturday, The overnight's like seven to eight degrees. The high is 20 degrees.
So we are buckling down. It's supposed to get barely above freezing today and tomorrow, which means that the ice will start to melt and then refreeze overnight, and the roads will get even worse, especially, like I said, if these snowplows are not. Are not putting down salt to melt the snow and ice. What are you all seeing? Are you all the for those folks driving this morning?
Maybe pull over and call, but what are you seeing? 901-260-5926. There was supposed to be an ice protest yesterday here in Memphis. And w they weren't protesting the snow and ice. They weren't protesting Nicole.
They were protesting our federal law enforcement. And there was supposed to be a protest yesterday, but they got. iced out. You know, ICE had The last laugh. They were supposed to protest ice and ice The weather and the ice got the best of them.
Which is fun. And uh You know, because we don't have any snowplows. I think, like, Memphis has one or two. Germantown, this is interesting. I saw some chatter on Facebook.
You know, everybody's just stuck at home, and Facebook is where everybody is going.
So you're seeing a lot of arguments about what's happening in Minnesota. We'll get to that later. But I did see a controversy on Facebook regarding a full-time mayor in Germantown. A lot of folks don't know, but there is currently on the ballot in May, which is typically just a local primary. It's the primary for Republicans and Democrats to say who they want in the local general elections in August.
So in May, the vote is typically just a local primary. It has very low turnout. A lot of people don't know about it. And. Germantown has if you live in the city of Germantown You are supposed to be voting on whether you want a full-time mayor.
in Germantown. And I saw some controversy on Facebook yesterday. You know, Germantown elections are really, really intense. They're very, very intense. And I live right on the border of Germantown.
I don't live in Germantown, but those local elections can get kind of nasty. And what's interesting is there's this debate right now about a full time mayor. And so the citizens of Germantown and May are supposed to vote on whether they would like a full time mayor in Germantown. And I saw some folks yesterday mentioning that that Germantown does not even have from my understanding, like a full-size snowplow. Like one of One of those big one of those big trucks that is supposed to be pushing the snow that and then drops the ice.
And these are the, you know, the big trucks. And supposedly Germantown only has A couple of like pickup trucks that they put a plow on the front of, and maybe some kind of disbursement of salt or potato flakes or whatever they're putting down afterwards, but they don't have the big trucks that you really need to push a significant amount of snow. And So the question that I was seeing a lot of people raise was, look, if we don't even have a big snowplow, do we want to spend money on a full-time mayor? Do we want to, you know, is that money better allocated elsewhere? And you may not know, but typically small cities, small communities like a Germantown, Collierville, you know, Franklin, Tennessee, they typically have a full-time administrator that has, it's basically a professional person that has been trained on how to run a town.
And then you have a part-time mayor that kind of oversees, you know, run is the chair of the board of mayor and aldermen. And so a lot of folks were saying, look, we don't want that money being allocated to a full-time mayor when we have a full-time administrator. Is that money better used like investing in a big snowplow when you have snow Mageddon, like we've been having the past few days, and it's supposed to get even colder? Do we need that money going towards research?
So, what say you? That on our Facebook page, the K-Wham, the Mighty 990 Facebook page, there's a question. Do you think that that full-time mayor position is worth it? Or do you think we need to invest in a snowplow? These are the conversations that you need to be having in Germantown.
And I'm not, you know, I'm not sitting here taking a position on it. I just think it's an interesting, it's something interesting to talk about. And it was something that folks in Germantown were discussing, and it was all over social media yesterday. But do we need more snowplows in the mid-South? I think the answer is probably yes.
And even when you only have a couple weeks usually of snow mageddon, when nobody can leave their homes. When you're trapped at home, you can't even get to the grocery store. You got to rely on the neighbor who has the land cruiser with the four-wheel drive who's willing to maybe take a Kroger run for the four hours they're open. They're literally Kroger literally closed at five yesterday. Um You know, do we need to invest in more snowplows?
I think we do need more snowplows. But what say you, Mid-South? We have a fun show today. We're going to be talking about what's happening in Minnesota, some developments yesterday between the President, Governor Waltz, about these protesters that, again, we're going to talk about First Amendment stuff and whether or not. Protests, you're allowed to, what you're allowed to do during a protest, what falls under the First Amendment, and kind of the right to assemble and the right to protest, and what does not fall under the right to protest.
We're also going to be talking about MSCS, some developments with the legislature. Commercial Appeal had an article yesterday that kind of walked through what was going to be happening with some legislation. We have some callers that have called in. But first, before we do that, We have Todd calling from Germantown to discuss road conditions. Todd, how are the road conditions in Germantown?
Luke, I mean, you know, God bless all of our guys and gals that are out there, you know, working and trying to get the roads cleared. I've just been really surprised at the lack of resources that are available in Germantown of all places. The city of Memphis seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping the roadways clear.
So you can only work with the equipment you have.
So again, I completely agree with the idea that we need to really think about do we have the resources? You know, we're looking at these massive developments along the Poplar Corridor in Germantown when traffic is already backed up out the wazoo during rush hour. Do we have the adequate resources already necessary and in place, the infrastructure to accommodate all this growth that City Hall is waiting for the city?
Well, Todd, it's a good question. And That's what I was seeing on Facebook yesterday. It was just the citizens of Germantown having a dialogue on some of the Facebook pages about are we investing our money in the right areas? Is it wise to have a full-time mayor to be investing more money in administration when there is already a city administrator and then two full-time assistants?
So, really, you're paying three full-time administrators for the city of Germantown. Is it wise to also have a full-time mayor on top of that? I think it's a fair question. And again, I did not see nastiness directed towards anybody when this was being discussed yesterday on Facebook. It's just an honest discussion that the citizens of Germantown are having.
Also, and I know it would be great for people to phone in and let us know what road conditions are like out there. Just got a note from North Mississippi, and a lot of folks there are really frustrated with the lack of movement on clearing the ice and snow. And yeah, I know you said snowmaguetta. We didn't get all that much. I mean, all things considered.
So that's what concerns me: you know, this little amount actually shut down, you know, the entire region. I mean, we're looking at schools maybe not going back to school until February. This is a big deal, Luke. I totally agree. We have another caller calling in about the mayoral, the full-time mayor issue in Germantown.
John, let's talk to you this morning. What say you about the full-time mayor in Germantown? Good morning. Thank you for having me. I'm totally against it.
I mean, I've been a resident here. almost my entire life and I have I see no reason to have a full-time mayor. We've had full part-time mayors. ever since I can remember. And Why is there what's the agenda?
Why all of a sudden uh the the mayor and board of aldermen have decided to Uh push forward. to have a full-time mayor. I understand that there was uh some There were a couple of aldermen who were voted against it back when they had the vote. in December of twenty twenty four. But now it's been pushed through and the the charter is been changed in Nashville.
in order to facilitate a referendum. which was going to take place on may the fifth, And con and frankly, that referendum will be uh on the ballot with the Shelby County Uh Right. It's on the primary ballot. It's typically a low turnout election in May. And you're right, John.
I think you're raising fair points. And that's the discussion that I was seeing yesterday: is this something that we really need right now? Thank you. Thank you for calling in, John. This is a discussion we're going to continue to have this morning: 901-260-5926.
Do you think a full-time mayor in Germantown is a good idea? If you're for it, call in. If you're against it, call in. We want to hear from you. But before we do that, we're going to take a quick break, get some weather updates, get some traffic updates, and we'll talk to you on the other side.
Hi, Kevin McCullough. Think fossil fuels are climate villains that the legacy media and establishment politicos ask us to believe that they are? Think again. Did you know that fossil fuels power the systems that keep us safe? From air conditioning that prevents heat stroke to heating systems that protect against extreme cold.
They also provide low-cost power for our storm warning systems, giving us time to evacuate and save lives. Forget being a villain. Fossil fuels have literally been the hero in the prevention of billions of deaths and the extension of life. In fact, over the past century, deaths from climate-related disasters like extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires have declined by 98% thanks to fossil-fueled infrastructure and technology. I'm Calvin McCullough, and I just want you to know the facts.
Don't be fossil-fooled. Get the full picture at oilfacts.com. Brought to you by NASDAQ Listed Prairie Operating Group, a high-growth, low-cost producer of safe and responsible American energy. That's oilfacts.com. Oilfacts.com.
Helen, I like that music. That's, you know. The little music at the beginning of each of the segments just motivates, you know? I grew up in a musical family. The music gets me going.
But, guys, Luke Symbol filling in for Todd Starnes this morning on Starnes Country. I'm here in the principal to at a Memphis studio where it is warm inside but cold outside. And we have a guest this morning. I'm really excited to introduce the KWAM audience to. It's Andrea Bell, who is a local kind of education activist.
She's really active on this MSCS issue and the low reading proficiency locally. Good morning, Ms. Bell. How are you? Good morning.
I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing great. Thank you so much for calling in this morning. We have a few minutes to talk about MSCS.
There was this article in the Commercial Appeal by Bree Hatcher the past, I think it was a couple of days ago they published it, but talking about the Houston-style takeover and what Houston did, which has a very similar school. It was a big school system, very expensive, and they did a state takeover because of the bad scores coming out of that school district, very similar to MSCS. Do you support a state takeover of MSCS or what's your position on that?
Okay, so my position is very simple and very easy. Because I grew up in South Memphis, I'm one of 11 children. I graduated at Kirby High School. I'm a product of Memphis City School System. I have fought for us to, you know, help.
Our children learn above reading level. What I believe is, and this is my opinion, I believe that we should. first have the opportunity to turn our school system around. I mean, look, we have over one hundred and twenty-three petitions that's pulled. People are ready.
The citizens are engaged. And I've seen the model, and I've seen everything that it has promised. But for me as a citizen here in Memphis, I feel as if we should let democracy take place. And then if Things are not turned around. The state.
Of course. No, that's interesting. And I appreciate all the work that you've done on this. And I've been down to the county commission meetings with you and spoke alongside of you at some of those meetings. And again, I appreciate all that you do.
But, Andrea, we have about a minute and a half to discuss this. But what to me, this has been going on for so long, and we've let the democratic process play out with these school board members. What more is it going to take, though, before the state comes in and says this is not about school board members, this is about Our children. What more do you want to see before how much worse does it have to get before we do have a takeover, in your opinion? For me, in my opinion, I feel as if Luke, you know.
I understand the long decline of the school system. I am a parent. I'm a worker here in, you know, Memphis. Uh I was not engaged. Let's be honest, I was not engaged.
Many, many people were not engaged in this process because we're working, we have things to do. Right. You're taking care of a family or you have a job. You're exactly right. And so we weren't engaged, you know, like we are now.
As a parent, I'm more engaged in the education system than I was a year ago, or two years ago. Absolutely. Yeah, we have a heartbreak coming up. But Andrea, I just want to. It's Andrea Bell, folks.
She's been active with this school issue, and we really appreciate all that you've done, Andrea. And, folks, stay tuned. Weather traffic coming up, and we have some more callers coming in, so stay in the line. Hi, Calvin McCullough. Think fossil fuels are climate villains that the legacy media and establishment politicos ask us to believe that they are?
Think again. Did you know that fossil fuels power the systems that keep us safe? From air conditioning that prevents heat stroke to heating systems that protect against extreme cold. They also provide low-cost power for our storm warning systems, giving us time to evacuate and save lives. Forget being a villain.
Fossil fuels have literally been the hero in the prevention of billions of deaths and the extension of life. In fact, over the past century, deaths from climate-related disasters like extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires have declined by 98% thanks to fossil-fueled infrastructure and technology. I'm Calvin McCullough, and I just want you to know the facts. Don't be fossil-fooled. Get the full picture at oilfacts.com.
Brought to you by NASDAQ Listed Prairie Operating Group, a high-growth, low-cost producer of safe and responsible American energy. That's oilfacts.com. Oilfacts.com. Mm. Hey, folks, Luke Simbel here, filling in for Todd Starnes on Starnes Country.
I'm here in the principal Toyota Memphis studio. We have a lot of engagement today. We have a lot of callers. Stay on the line. We are going to get to you.
901-260-5926. What are you seeing out on the roads? I don't know. If you missed the first part of the show, you would know that I had to pick up Helen because her car would not start. This cold is draining the car batteries.
My car barely started, and I made the trek over the icy roads. And I'm not kidding, folks. The roads are really slippery, really treacherous. They are re-icing overnight, and it's bad. It is not good out there.
Commander Chuck has been giving us the traffic updates, and he is telling us the roads are not good. There's about one lane each on Poplar. I think there's one lane on 240. And other than that the roads are really Really icy. And that's why, if you are watching on Facebook or X on the live stream, that is why I look how I look.
I had to leave about 45 minutes earlier than I expected to pick up Helen so we could do the show for you today. And typically, You know, for those of you who have been following me for a little while now, I try to, you know, look my best. You know, at least wear a collared shirt, comb the hair, you know, powder the face. Maybe not powder the face, but you know what I'm saying. I try to look presentable.
This morning, it was all about warmth. It was all about trekking across town to pick up Helen, but we made it. We are here, so you will have to live with me and my beanie. I never wear a beanie, but it's because I did not comb my hair this morning. I am being honest.
You all know me. I am being honest. That's why I'm wearing a beanie if you're watching the live stream. You know, the K-Wham app is a great way to listen to. When I'm driving across the state, heading to Nashville or something, I listen on the K-Wham app.
I encourage you to download it. It's really easy to use. You can listen to us here on K-Wham anywhere in the world using. The KWAM app. Uh, this morning.
I am going to play, it's about a minute and a half long, so bear with me, but a message from Mayor Young yesterday that he released. And we are going to get the reaction from Melanie Mosley, who is president of the White Haven Republican Club. We are going to get her reaction to this message from Mayor Young. That is Helen that's sat number two. Hey, Memphis Mayor Paul Young here.
Just want to give a check-in for our community. I know we've had some tough weather over the past few days. I want to give a shout out to Doug McGowan and the team over at MLGW. Done incredible work, not just over the past week, but really over the past couple of years. They expedited their tree trimming schedule.
So instead of doing it over three years, they finished it in two years, which allowed them to cover more ground and keep our power solid during this time period. I also want to shout out the crews from the city of Memphis that have been out clearing the roads all over this community. I know that there's still a little bit of work to do, but they've been working really, really hard for our residents. I'd like to ask that we continue. You to stay at home if you can.
If you don't have to be out on the streets, please do give it another couple of days. I also want to address something that came up over the weekend with the Secretary of Homeland Security made a comment that they have been working with the city of Memphis, and I want to clarify. Yes, they have worked with the city of Memphis on addressing violent crime through the Memphis Safe Task Force, but I want to be very clear: there has been no collaboration with ICE on immigration. We know that our Hispanic brothers and sisters of this community have been working really hard. They make up about 9% of our population, the fastest-growing population in our community.
We want to make sure that as they move about in this community, that they feel safe. And so, we have been very clear to have that line in the sand where our officers do not assist on immigration in any way. All right. Ms. Melanie Moseley calling in President of the White Haven Republican Club.
Melanie, what say you about Mayor Young's message yesterday?
Well, first of all, good morning, Luke and Helen, and thank you for allowing the show to go on. When I saw that yesterday, I was like, okay, you know, he's congratulating and thanking everybody, which you know, we all thank the citizens of Memphis, those that are out there working. But he wanted to get a jump on that part about what the Secretary Well, she has said um Christian Noam has said about Memphis working with ICE. I mean, he couldn't wait to dump on that part. But what he left out was: thank you to the Memphis Task Force for making Memphis safe, for helping out.
Thank you to the first responders. He should have thanked those doctors and nurses. But no, he wanted to jump to that part and let the people know that: hey, we're not working with ICE immigration. We have illegal immigrants in our community. They need to be removed because they are illegally here.
when you don't you know, I don't I that's the part I don't understand when it comes to from Democrats is that If you're illegal, then that's acquired. And they should be removed out of our communities and deported back to their country.
Well, Melanie, you make a great point. And what people forget is that when somebody comes illegally into the country, our most vulnerable populations, our poorest populations, have to compete against these illegal aliens for jobs and for housing.
So not only are Memphis is poor and vulnerable, having to compete against illegal aliens for wages, right? It decreases wages because you have an influx of labor, so they're making less, but then it increases housing costs. And Melanie, you may you're exactly right. And what are your thoughts? Why would Mayor Young begin his message talking about the weather and then end it with a different kind of ice?
Like, what? I don't even know why he would feel the need to comment on it. He was getting praised for the reduction in crime. Why do you think he felt the need to comment on it? Election year next year.
So he wants to let his face and the people know. that um he does not support that. because Secretary Nguam was saying. But the thing that I want to comment him about is that we don't that he's not whistling for all this and violence and chaos in Memphis.
So Ice being here has been very calm and peaceful, if you ask me. And we look like a calm city versus what's going on in Minneapolis. And I think he should have kept it. I mean, I thought the message started out good until he ended it with that. But again, he did that.
But I don't think now me personally, I don't think that's going to help him next year because You have some people who did not want MetroSafe Task Force here. And you have others like us of common sense. Who does? We know that we need it. Common sense.
We need them. Yeah. You are a community leader in Whitehaven, folks. We're talking to Melanie Mosley, president of the White Haven Republican Club. You're a community leader there.
What are you hearing on the ground? What are folks saying about the Memphis Safe Task Force and the drop in crime? Are you hearing positive things, or are you hearing the activist crowd in Whitehaven? No, we hear positive things in Whitehaven. As a matter of fact, you can see the National Guard, they have been over by The Krogo shall be drive.
Um, you can see the uh THP Tennessee Highway Patrol up and down sheriff.
So we're having we're hearing positive things. I think people are more out, more and about, enjoying themselves because of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
So, no, I think I can speak for the people of Whitehaven. We are very happy that they are here. We thank President Trump for saving our city because it was him. That allows extra enforcement, law enforcement, to come here and to take care of the crime.
So you don't hear. The bleeding news stories on these local stations, like we were doing in the past.
So, great reduction in crime. And thank Senator Brent Taylor for. Starting to make Memphis matter because if it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for Republicans, we'd still be in the Wild West and we'd probably be on a new. Just like Minneapolis. Yeah, well, Melanie, folks, we're talking to Melanie Mosley.
Melanie, I think you're right. And you're spreading that message across your community in Whitehaven that folks Republicans are the ones cleaning up our crime and thanking them. And so, Melanie, thank you for calling in this morning. You are always a voice of reason, full of common sense there in Whitehaven. Thank you for what you're doing.
And quickly, before you go, yes or no, can we expect, oh, actually, she's dropped. I want to know if Melanie Mosley's going to run for office. She is a leader there in Whitehaven. I would love to see her run for something and carry the mantle there across her community. She's active there, carrying a message.
And so, next time we talk to Melanie Mosley, we're going to ask her, Are you going to run for office? We have another caller, Mike in Memphis. You have some tips for us for a car in this cold weather. What is your tip for us and K-Wham listeners? Greetings, good morning.
Well, actually, it's a solution for Germantown. Instead of getting a full time mayor, they need to mandate full time four wheel drive and quarter inch tread on all tires in the city. All right. There you go, Mike. Folks, Mike says that instead of having a full-time mayor in Germantown, they need to change some of their regs for four-wheel drive and tire tread.
I agree with you on the tire tread. That's important. You need good tire tread. I doubt that they can pass an ordinance requiring four-wheel drive, but we were talking about that earlier, folks. What say you about the full-time mayor?
It's going to be on the ballot in May in Germantown, and there was a lot of chatter yesterday online about whether or not Germantown needs a full-time mayor.
So, what say you? 901-260-5926. We've had a lot of callers today. It's been a fun show. You get your word in.
What say you about full-time mayor, the weather, or whatever else you want to talk about? Luke Simbel here filling in for Todd. Let's get a weather and traffic update and call in, and we'll talk to you on the other side. Hi, Kevin McCullough. Think fossil fuels are climate villains that the legacy media and establishment politicos ask us to believe that they are?
Again, did you know that fossil fuels power the systems that keep us safe? From air conditioning that prevents heat stroke to heating systems that protect against extreme cold, they also provide low-cost power for our storm warning systems, giving us time to evacuate and save lives. Forget being a villain, fossil fuels have literally been the hero in the prevention of billions of deaths and the extension of life. In fact, over the past century, deaths from climate-related disasters like extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires have declined by 98% thanks to fossil-fueled infrastructure and technology. I'm Calvin McCullough, and I just want you to know the facts.
Don't be fossil-fooled. Get the full picture at oilfacts.com. Brought to you by NASDAQ-listed Prairie Operating Group, a high-growth, low-cost producer of safe and responsible American energy. That's oilfacts.com. Oilfacts.com.
Well, it's been a morning, folks. Lots of comments coming in on our live stream on Facebook. I had mentioned that. I had to pick up Helen on the way into so that we could bring the show to you. Helen's car wouldn't start in the cold.
I picked her up on the way. It took us about four times as long to get into the studio. Principal to at a Memphis studio, Luke Symbol here filling in for Todd Starnes. And so I don't look my best.
So if you're watching on the live stream, I'm wearing a beanie. It actually says Make America Great Again. It's the only warm hat that I own. And I have my Memphis law review from law school, this sweatshirt on.
So I am warm and toasty. And Linda on the live stream commented and said, You don't want to know what the listeners look like this morning.
So great point, Linda. I hope that you are enjoying the show in your pajamas, drinking some coffee, staying warm, maybe a toasty fire at your feet. That's kind of a great when we have a snow apocalypse like we have now. That's a great way to listen. to the show.
I don't know if you all noticed over the weekend, but we had a little bit of a controversy with the shooting that occurred in Minnesota. Ice shot and killed a protester. There are the White House saying that the protester was impeding law enforcement. He was carrying a firearm and rounds. But I was a little frustrated over the weekend because it was like, where is the White House?
Like, where is the press secretary? Where is there? There seems to be no control of the narrative. Christy Noam made a couple statements, but it was like the White House was off in la-la land, couldn't find him anywhere. And finally, yesterday afternoon, we get a statement from Caroline Levitt.
Let's go ahead and listen to that.
Sot number seven. Unlawfully obstruct lawful immigration enforcement in this country. And these agitators are making it nearly impossible for ICE to do their jobs and for federal law enforcement to carry out the will of the American people to deport the worst of the worst. I would just encourage everyone to please imagine in this room, all of you come to the White House every day to report on the President of the United States and the administration. You come into this briefing room, you walk through the gates of the White House.
Just imagine if there were left-wing agitators or agitators of any kind who were in your face, who were doxing you, who were harassing you, who were physically threatening you, who were biting off your fingers in the case of two Border Patrol agents we saw this past weekend in Minneapolis. That would make it very difficult for you to show up and do your job here at the White House every single day. That's what these officers in Minneapolis are facing. That's why the President is calling on Governor Walson Mayer Fry for these three very simple and common sense points.
So, this controversy now is coming to Tennessee. There was a store, a furniture store owner in Clarksville, Tennessee, whose wife basically said that she had enough. And these quote-unquote protesters, she said, deserve to get shot. She used inflammatory language, but I think her point was that if you are impeding law enforcement, if you are bringing weapons to a protest and getting up in law enforcement's face while they're trying to arrest criminals, that. She says You deserve to be shot.
I don't know if I would go that far, but certainly if it's between the life of law enforcement. Or the life of a protester, and law, you know, who gets to go home at night? Does law enforcement get to go back to their kids when they're following the law? It's a question, but this owner, this furniture store owner, Decided to do something that we saw in 2020, and he literally disavows his wife in a place sat number one. Hi, I'm Dave Bergen, owner and president of Furniture Connection.
Today a comment was made on social media by my wife Joy regarding the protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is not involved in furniture connection, but I understand her words reflected on me and our company. What was said was wrong, and it does not represent my beliefs or the values of furniture connection. We do not support violence, hate. hate or harm towards anyone.
Ever. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity, and no one deserves to be harmed. While the individual who made the post is not involved in our business, I take responsibility for clearly stating where we stand as a company. I understand why people are upset, and I am truly sorry for the hurt and concern this has caused. Furniture Connection has been a part of the Clarksville community for twenty six years.
Our employees show up every day to serve customers with respect and care. and they should not be targeted for something they did not say or support. I ask that our team be given the opportunity to continue serving this community with integrity. This is not who we are and this is not how we operate. Can you believe That Dave, the owner of Furniture Connection in Clarksville, Tennessee, he disavowed his own wife.
I mean, can you Can you believe that? He says Quote No one deserves to be harmed. Number one. If you are driving your vehicle into law enforcement. You probably do deserve to be harmed if that law enforcement officer is having to defend his life.
If if he is legally Arresting criminals. Under the law, doing nothing wrong, and you try to drive your car into him. If he is defending his life, you probably deserve to be harmed. If that is the only way for that law enforcement officer to defend his life. Then you probably deserve to be harmed.
Folks We do not need to back down on this. Yes, every single person has dignity, and it is sad when somebody loses his or her life. It is. But what is especially sad is the idea that we have local officials in Minnesota. Unlike in Tennessee, you notice you don't have that controversy here.
You have local officials in Minnesota that are the mayor. Spurring on agitators, seemingly Um, you know, if you look at his language, in my opinion, It is almost encouraging. a lot of these protesters to get involved and to and to stand against law enforcement. And It is okay to speak out against that. And Dave of Furniture Connection in Clarksville, Tennessee, I think it is really disgusting.
That if you had employees that were upset about your wife's statement, if you had investors that were upset about your wife's statement, I think you should have said, this is my wife and I stand behind her. And by the way, I do think it is wrong for people to drive their cars into law enforcement. I do think that person that that was a justified killing in defense of law enforcement's life. But to disavow your wife. Folks.
This is not 2020 anymore. We don't have to back down. We can support law enforcement. We can support getting illegal aliens out of our communities and cleaning up crime in our communities, regardless of where they are in the country. That is why Donald Trump won in a landslide, won every single swing state, won the popular vote.
Despite everything that the media threw against him, every institution threw against him. He won in a landslide because the American people have had enough. And we don't have to back down anymore. And that, I think, is the message that we need to share: we are not backing down anymore. We support law enforcement.
We've seen what the Memphis Safe Task Force, which includes ICE, has done in our own community in Memphis, where you have certain violent crimes down 70%, overall crime down 47 to 50%. Our community is getting cleaned up thanks to the efforts of President Trump, Governor Bill Lee. Senator Brent Taylor, Representative John Gillespie, our Republican legislators, we're cleaning up crime in our community and we are telling the criminals that you no longer dictate how we live. It is a positive message, folks. Stay warm out there.
We will see you tomorrow morning. We have a good show. We'll go through the SOT list we didn't get to today. Love the callers. Talk to you soon.
Bluke Symbol filling in for Todd Starnes. See you tomorrow.
