Have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower? Like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed?
Well, it turns out someone actually did, and it starts with a melon. Yep, a melon. There's a rare French melon that stays fresh four times longer than the fruit you and I buy at the store. Scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called SOD, the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging. And get this: Meaningful Beauty partnered with world-renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr.
Jean-Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth-preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day.
So, if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different because it starts with something nature designed to stay young. Subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just $49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com. You'll also get two free gifts: free shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Visit meaningfulbeauty.com. and order today.
From the principal Toyota Studios, it's morning in Memphis with Todd Starr. All right, I've been waiting to say this for months now. You might want to grab a sweater if you're going to be out tonight. Hello, everybody. Hope you're having a great start to your Wednesday.
It is hump day. The great is beautiful outside, folks. 65 degrees right now at the Memphis Zoo. And it is going to get up into the 80s today before dropping back into the 60s tonight. I'm just going to go ahead and say now: if you're going to go out to Shelby Farms and do the loop around the Baptist Promenade, you better get there early to get a parking spot because there are going to be a lot of people outdoors this evening enjoying this incredible weather after your Wednesday night church services.
We have a great show for you today, everybody. And again, one of the things that we've committed to do here at the Mighty 990 is provide you with direct access to all of The candidates running for office. And yesterday, we did a great interview, a sit-down interview with Charlie Hatcher, who wants to be the next congressman from the 5th congressional district, made a couple of headlines. First of all, he said, if elected, he plans on creating a redneck caucus. And, well, he also had some things to say about you people complaining about the price of beef.
We'll get to that in just a moment. But today, we have David Hatley joining us in just a little while. He's going to be on for an entire half hour of the morning show. David Hatley is really causing a lot of chaos right now within Tennessee politics. And we're going to sit down with him, get to know David, get to know his position on some of the big issues.
We're also going to be taking your calls as well. Or maybe you have a question that you would like us to pose to Mr. Hatley, and we'll be happy to do that. I want you to write down our number, 901-260. 5926.
That's 901-260-5926. But again, we want K-WAM to be the place where you can get the exclusive conversations with all of the candidates, Republican and Democrat, who are running for office. And again, it's about part of part of this is all about having a conversation. By the way, a couple of big stories brewing locally. You folks in Collierville, my word, Bravo just needs to set up a shop in the town square.
The amount of drama involving Collierville politics right now is off the charts. The headline in this morning's Daily Memphia: most Collierville aldermen say they would not have fired Selberg. Pardon me, but that is a load of grade A fertilizer, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that, I say that because they could have stood up and put a stop to this nonsense from day one. And if, in fact, that's the case, hire the guy back.
That's what they, I mean, again, if that's if this headline is, in fact, accurate. But anyway, what a mess there. And I suspect one of the reasons for this story is there are a lot of very angry townsfolk, and many of them have pulled petitions. They're going to run, they're going to challenge the current lineup of elected leaders there in Collierville. They've got the mayor and the board of aldermen.
And of course, the town administrator, Molly Maynard, is out.
So, and it looks like you good people, the taxpayers of Collierville, are picking up the tab on all of that as well. What a mess in Coggerville. Come on, folks. You guys can do better. 901-260-5926, our telephone number.
Another story we're following, and this is really fascinating. Um Enrollment numbers and universities here in Memphis are not looking good. And we decided to do a little deep dive and to see how other states were dealing with their enrollment numbers. We're going to share that in just a moment. But what's really interesting are the University of Memphis numbers and University of Memphis and Christian Brothers.
Christian Brothers. In between 2025 and 2026, they lost nearly a third of its student population. They were hoping for a big surge and influx of students in the fall. That did not happen. According to the numbers, they only added seven students.
So they've got about 1,039 students there on campus.
Now, the University of Memphis, and the big question is, why aren't kids going back to college? And when because we did a deep dive on community colleges and we also took a look at trade schools. And let me just say this: in West Tennessee, trade school enrollment numbers are through the roof. I mean, near record numbers.
So you're seeing a lot of a lot of kids graduating high school and they're realizing, you know what? I'm not going to be able to m make a living or have a family if I have a degree in, I don't know, a lesbian lesbian macromig. I think that's a degree program at the University of Memphis.
So anyway, Southwest Community College over right off of I forty there, a 10% jump in enrollment. That's a huge number. But again, the University of Memphis enrollment declined this fall by about 3.4 percent.
However, It's a lot worse than that, ladies and gentlemen. We went back and we actually looked at the enrollment numbers at the University of Memphis for the past decade. And there has been a free fall in enrollment there. Dual enrollment has exploded, no doubt about that. But actual enrollment numbers down 11.5% from the peak back in 2020.
So, for whatever reason, people are not enrolling at the University of Memphis. not looking good. You say, Todd, what about other schools?
Well, University of Tennessee, Knoxville looks great. They've had an uptick in numbers. Union University went down a little bit as well.
So the private schools, the pricey schools, not doing too well. As far as trade schools, this is just insane. They have not published their fall numbers just yet, but they're anticipating perhaps a 14% increase and a 38% year-over-year increase.
So there you go.
Well done. The good news is we're going to have some very well-qualified welders and plumbers and electricians here in the Mid-South, and I love that. 901-260-5926 is our telephone number. I want to play some audio from this interview we did, and we're going to air the entire interview with Charlie Hatcher on tomorrow's morning show. We're just too slammed today, but I did want to get this bit in here.
Charlie Hatcher, the first. Former agriculture commissioner going up against Chas Moeller, the Democrat, who quite frankly is, well, he's billing himself as a conservative Democrat. I'll let you be the judge of that. His campaign ads are insanely well done, but so are Charlie Hatcher's. And Charlie Hatcher is very well known in the farm and ag community.
Of course, the Mighty 990 is a farm and ag radio station. We're proud to be the sponsors of the Farm Bureau here locally. But here's what Charlie Hatcher had to say when I asked him about these rising beef prices. And we're hearing it from you guys. You guys are really frustrated at how much things are costing down at the supermarket.
Take a listen. This is from the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. She was on a podcast yesterday, and a lot of people have really been concerned about the price of food, and especially beef. And I've got a couple of beef questions, Charlie, and I suspect you may have a beef with the beef. But this is the Secretary explaining what Americans should do if they can't afford to buy a pound of ground beef.
Cut 23, please. But if it is too expensive, unlike fuel binny, you can eat. chicken, pork, salmon, eggs. There are other sources of really good protein. And all of those prices are coming down as well.
So it isn't necessarily breaking out there. And listen, I'm a mom of four. I'm still feeding a whole bunch of kids, very hungry kids. We realize the price of groceries are too high. We're doing everything we can to bring them down after the Biden years of crazy, crazy inflation.
All right, so I did a little bit of research. It turns out the price of chicken is higher today than it was under the Biden administration, as was the cost of pork. And I'm not sh I you think you think that explanation is going to go over well with moms who want to feed their kids a hamburger? No, probably not, but she's right about different forms of protein.
So I was at the grocery store yesterday. I got two pounds of turkey, ground turkey, for $8.
So that's $4 a pound.
So I think there's things that they can do, but yeah, you know, the price of meat across the board is increased. The president saying one solution is to bring in beef from other countries. How do you feel about that?
Well, I've released a statement on social media about it. I didn't like it. You know, one of the bright spots in agriculture is the beef cattle business. And a lot of the dairy business is dependent on what we're calling beef on dairy. And that's helping us.
So when the President announced that, and some of it was in the messaging, we import a lot of beef anyhow, but it's just the way that it was rolled out. Uh probably wouldn't have had that big an impact, but The market went down almost immediately and kind of knocked the legs out of some of the cattlemen.
So a lot of cattle farmers here. What exactly are you hearing from them and what are they concerned about? The price of diesel I mean, it's it's a record high. They've got to put it in their tractor, their grain trucks, their combines, their pickup trucks. And so that's that's that's uh they feel that every day.
All right, there you have it. Charlie Hatcher, we'll play the full interview. But Charlie, saying, All you folks complaining about the price of beef, let them eat turkey. I'm going to take a pass on the turkey burgers if it's okay with you. Coming up, we're going to be talking to our good friend Adam Martin.
Great financial, big financial news coming out. Also, District Attorney Steve Mulroy, you're not going to believe who the number three now is over at the District Attorney's Office, and some exciting news about a wonderful tribute in Millington. We're going to get to all of that plus your calls: 901-260-5926. Let's check in with Commander Chuck standing by with a look at your traffic. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower?
Like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed?
Well, it turns out someone actually did. And it starts with a melon. Yep, a melon. There's a rare French melon that stays fresh four times longer than the fruit you and I buy at the store. Scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called SOD, the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging.
And get this, Meaningful Beauty partnered with world-renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr. Jean-Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth-preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day.
So if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different because it starts with something nature designed to stay young. Subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just $49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com. You'll also get two free gifts, free shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Visit meaningfulbeauty.com and order today. Uh All right, welcome back, everybody.
It is a very busy morning here at the Principal Toyota Memphis studio, and we do have some breaking news to share with you. Breaking news now on the mighty 990 a.m. K-Win. And for that news, we go directly to our Patriot mobile newsmaker line and say good morning to Lance Walker, host of Walker Auction. It's time to sell every Saturday here on the Mighty 990.
Lance, good morning. And I understand we do have some breaking news to share with the Mid-South today. Yes, it's time to have a baby, Todd. We are the proud grandparents of Clement Lee Walker. That's Eric's third child.
Wow. Born by natural birth, with the Midwife in their home. Is that right?
So they went they d they went old school. They have done that three times, Todd, and uh She's a little woman, but very, very strong. Wow, this is exciting.
Now, I'm just curious, Lance and Terry, do you guys have a grandparent? I know you obviously have grandparent names. Do you want to share what your grandparent names are? Gary is lolly. And I am Pop.
Lolly and Pop oh, Lolly Pop. By the way, Lance, I've got Adam Martin here with Bluff City Advisory, and we're going to be talking Lance, Adam, any advice here for the newborn? Do we need to start a Trump baby account? Definitely, and then set something aside for some college. Oh, I like that's great advice.
That's great advice. I love that.
Well, Lance, congratulations, and no doubt a huge celebration in the Walker family this morning. Very big celebration, and a new auctioneer is born. And a new K-Wham listener, too.
So we appreciate that. We'll have them on the show as soon as possible. I I love it. I love it. Give the family our very best, and I know we'll all be praying for Eric and Amber and the the newborn.
And God bless you guys, Lance. Thank you, Todd. Appreciate you. All right. Lance Walker, and you can hear his show every Saturday.
It's one of my favorite weekend shows. We have some great local shows. Adam Martin, Bluff CityAdvisory.com. Good to see you, my friends. Good to see you.
The weather feels great out. Holy cow, it was just.
So refreshing. We were sitting outside last night, and my wife was like, I think I need a jacket. And I looked at the temperature, and it's 72 degrees. And I'm like, isn't that crazy? It's nuts.
It's nuts. Of course, you know, we were talking about this. You know what's coming. Oh, yeah. The crazy winter is coming fast.
Yeah, they're saying we're going to have like a huge bad winter this year. Yeah, I hope not. But I do have the generator ready.
So if that happens. Bring it on. I don't know if you heard Charlie Hatcher just a little while ago running for Congress talking about diesel prices way too high. You know, we've got to do something about the price of groceries. We understand Federal Reserve, what just raised interest rates.
So what does this all mean for the average investor in their portfolio right now? You know, the last time that we talked, this is kind of leading up to this, and you'd mentioned something about Wall Street versus Main Street.
So I like to take this opportunity to, you know, Main Street, obviously we're filling it at the gas pump. We're filling it at the grocery stores. But on the Wall Street side of things, the average investors is looking at things like, okay, if you were in a bond fund a year ago. Um with the raise of interest rates, the bond market has an inverse relationship to interest rates. When interest rates go up, bond prices go down.
So your average investor may have seen the price of their bond decrease. And then what that means is that these companies are issuing new debt at higher interest rates.
So that could be an opportunity for them to sit down and reevaluate, do I need to reallocate? Do I need to maybe move out of this longer duration bond and buy into a shorter duration bond with a higher yield? Adam Martin joining us from BluffCityAdvisory.com. Every Wednesday, Adam is on air answering your questions about finances, about investing. I know some people are already starting to think about retirement, or some may already be living in retirement.
Any kind of how does the rate increase change their strategies?
Well, just like I was just mentioning, when you're in retirement, you're obviously on a fixed income. You're no longer collecting a paycheck.
So it's important to really look and sit down with your advisor and think, okay, Prices of goods are up because of inflation. Do I need to look at reallocating to get more yield off of my portfolio so I can keep up with the cost of goods? And that kind of goes right back into what I was saying with: okay, they're issuing new debt, they're going to pay higher yields.
So, is this now an opportunity to get out of the one that wasn't paying as much and reallocate into something that pays you more? Let's so some people may not be close to retirement, but they do have credit cards. They do have a mortgage. Is that going to at that higher rate, is that going to have any sort of an impact there? Absolutely, it is.
I mean, and you know, just like stock market, we have a real estate market.
So, we start to see is this a buyer's market, is this a seller's market? And right now, with the higher interest rate, it's actually going into a buyer's market because people, the inventory is sitting longer.
So, the prices that you were seeing six months ago are going to naturally come down because not a lot of people qualify for the new interest rates, and so the demand's not there. All right, again, Adam Martin, BluffCityAdvisory.com is the website.
Somebody listening today, get a little bit nervous, you know, the market volatility, all that crazy stuff with Iran. What should they be thinking about right now before making any changes to their portfolio? Because we don't want people to make decisions panicked. You know, knee-jerk reactions are never a good thing in the market. I think a calculated.
Proactive planning is the way to go.
So, this is an opportunity to sit back and go, okay, do I have an advisor? If I don't, kind of reach out to one and let's talk about it. And really, what we're going to talk about is what opportunities are in the market. You know, we don't want you just panic selling and going nuts because this is going to be bad long term. You know, kind of going back to the real estate thing, is that if you.
Want a house, go buy the house.
Okay, we always say marry the house, date the rate. We can always refinance. You know, interest rates go up, they come down, and really what they're trying to do is get the core inflation numbers back to as close as they can to 2%.
So, with these hikes and kind of a Just a string hold on monetary policy for a little bit. It's going to be. A better situation for me. Adam Martin, financial advisor, BluffCityAdvisory.com is number 901-365-3447. Adam, good to see you this morning.
Good to see you, Doug. All right, hang tight. David Hatley coming up next. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower? Like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed?
Well, it turns out someone actually did, and it starts with a melon. Yep, a melon. There's a rare French melon that stays fresh four times longer than the fruit you and I buy at the store. Scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called SOD, the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging. And get this: Meaningful Beauty partnered with world-renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr.
Jean-Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth-preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day.
So, if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different because it starts with something nature-designed to stay young. Subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just $49.95 at Meaningful Beauty.com. You'll also get two free gifts: free shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Visit meaningfulbeauty.com and order today. And welcome back, everybody.
What a beautiful day. It's hump day here in West Tennessee, and you're going to need a jacket tonight. Finally, the cooler weather has arrived.
So, if you're heading out to church this evening, better grab a jacket. Also, I want to give a huge shout out to our friends in Millington this morning and Patriot Bank gearing up for what is going to be an incredible monument plaza called the Lone Sailor Monument Plaza Project in Millington. And this is a big project sponsored by the City of Millington, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, the Navy League Memphis, all partnering together. And we'll be telling you more about that in the coming days.
But well done, our good friends in Millington. All right, our telephone number: 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5525-2595-2656. 5926. We are honored to have in studio from East Tennessee, and I mean the eastern part of the state, David Hatley, an independent running for governor.
David, first, welcome to West Tennessee. Oh, beautiful. I'm so happy to be here.
Well, we're glad to have you here. And it seems like, you know, especially the Memphis area has become ground zero for a lot of politics this election cycle. Yeah, I agree. I think it's an interesting and very diverse area to go and campaign in, and a lot of things going on here. And by the way, folks, if you have a question, give us a call, and we'll be happy to have that conversation as we talk to David here.
I don't want to necessarily alarm you, but I don't think Marsha Blackburn likes you very much. Have you picked up on that? I have picked up on that. I saw, I think, a $2.3 million buy on TV over the next few weeks.
So, yeah, I think. I think I think it's either Marsha or her pack, maybe.
Okay.
Well, yeah, and then the website, um, you know, it's uh they're coming after you and I I mean, you're the independent candidate, uh, and they're treating you like you are the front runner here. Yeah, I think that comes from, you know, Todd, our polls, you know, we're still six weeks out, so people have to remember we're six weeks out from the election here. Lots of things change fast in the election world.
So we've increased in the polls for six straight weeks now on our internal polls, and I think Marcia's team's seen that. She's been to all of our events. They've sent people to all of our events. They've picketed some of our events. I mean, it's been a weird deal.
It's a little unexpected, but, you know, welcome to the world of politics. I'm curious about the negative ads because they've been running here in Memphis as well. And we'll talk about the backstory there in a minute. But is that having the impact that you think the campaign thought it was going to have?
Well, you know, they just started in the last week, so that's tough to say. I think they started Saturday, so it's too early for us to know from an internal poll on that. You were in Jackson. What was the reaction from you? You had a huge crowd turnout in Jackson.
What was their reaction to those ads? You know, we had at least two people that I shook hands with and took questions in line. At the end of the conversation, that said they originally found me from those ads, and they figured that if I'm drawing the ire of Marsha Blackburn, I must be doing something right. You know, it is interesting because in politics, and this aggravates me and a lot of other interviewers, because the rule of thumb is you never mention your opponent. They have decided not only to mention you, but go directly after you.
And now I think they're looking at Jerry Green as well, but they're really coming after you. They see you as a threat. How do you react to that? You know, I thought this would happen a little closer to the election as we got higher in the polls. I'm surprised, you know, that it's happening this early.
But ultimately, I knew that was part of this game, this political game. And, you know, when me and my wife prayed and made the decision to run for governor, we knew we're putting a platform out there. It's going to get attacked. I mean, that's how the world of politics works.
Well, let's talk about that because you're a businessman. You're not a politician. Have you ever run for office before? I have not. I've never even considered running for office.
All right, what is wrong with you? Why are you doing this? I mean, you're putting your everything's out there. Yeah, I just love this state, Todd. I mean, this state has done everything.
The guy sitting in this chair is the most appreciative guy you'll ever have in this room for this state. And I think that's where I came from. That's my background. That's my struggle. That's my failure to start over, to rebuild, to work side by side by Tennesseans every single day.
You have a lot of appreciation for this state. I mean, you did have some struggles growing up. You made some bad decisions. You paid for those decisions. And And again, I guess people, if they want to, they can focus on who you were 30 years ago, or they can look and see what kind of a man you became as you came out of all of that.
Agreed. You know, things happen in life, and you don't question why they happen, but it's what results from those, I think, that matters. It's not when you get knocked down. It's how you get back up.
So, you know, in 1998, when I did that, trying to keep my first business afloat, I was floating bad checks, got charged, served three and a half weeks in a county jail, and I had a decision to make. In those three and a half weeks, I could turn my life around or I could blame it on my poverty and my upbringing and my parents. And I took my life in my own hands at that point and walked out there and have never been back since. What was it about the governor's office that was important to you? You clearly think that there are things that need to be changed here in Tennessee.
What are those things? The reason I chose governor, you know, I get this question a lot, is I believe you have the most impact on your state from that level. A governor has a lot of power. He's got 12 appointees. You know, there's not a lot of laws that I can pass.
I mean, I got to go through the House for those things, but there's a 40,000-plus employee base and departments that run that people depend on every day for a service. And that's what I've done my whole entire life. 33 years I've been fixing problems. And you've got a lot of employees and they've been very supportive. I mean, we've seen the stories and we've seen the coverage.
And you're self-funding this, right? That's mind-boggling, I think, of the world of politics. You know, it's not that I wanted to self-fund Todd, to be honest. I'd love to have someone else's money like my opponents, but I believe it's a huge problem in politics. I believe that whether it comes from a $5,000 donation from an individual or a PAC, you're going to walk in on day one and you're going to have meetings lined up with people that supported your campaign.
That's not what's going to happen with this guy right here. It is kind of concerning, and I know this because it's happening. You've got Democrats here in Tennessee that are fundraising and holding big parties in Shindigs and Los Angeles. You've got Republicans in T.C. and New York City with their handout.
And, you know, you have to imagine if those people get elected, they're going to be beholden to out-of-state donors. Out-of-state donors is a real problem. That's a whole other issue. I mean, agreed. I mean, I don't know, Todd.
I think it's one of the, if you look at my platform, it's one of the things I want to ban. We call it pay-for-play, and it's donating to politicians who have control over your contract. It's got to stop. There are many states that it's not allowed in. Tennessee's got to give with a program.
This is why things happen that aren't good for Tennessee. And when you have politicians making decisions that are best for them instead of the people, that's what happens. A lot of people looking at you and they see independent things you've never run before.
So we're having to take really step out on faith, I guess. You know, if voters are going to have to step out in faith, why not run? Run as a Republican.
Well, one, I didn't qualify for the bona fide rule, hadn't voted throughout the last four elections. But two, I want to be independent. Todd, I think it's important that to reach across both sides of the aisle, someone needs to pull these people together because they're clearly on two different sides of the fence right now. I believe it's a lot easier for somebody in the middle to listen to both sides. That's what I've done my whole life.
David Hatley joining us in studio, Hatley4Governor.com. We're going to say that website over and over again before the end of this segment. Hatleyforgovernor.com. Memphis is always treated as the, you know, the blue butt of Tennessee, for lack of a better term. And we feel that way.
Even I think Republicans feel that way, that Nashville ignores us, that Nashville is, you know, that Nashville is not, meaning the state capitol and the Assembly, General Assembly, are not doing what they need to do here in the Mid-South. You've traveled here. You've met the people. What concerns you, and what do you want to fix that's broken here in Memphis? One of the more frustrating things is I feel like the state blames a lot of its problems, its rankings on Memphis, and it's not true.
We want to talk about violent crime. Sure, we have a violent crime issue in Memphis. It's getting better. It's gotten a lot better in the last few years. But we also have violent crime problems in Knoxville.
We also have them in Chattanooga, in Nashville. We're above average.
So I want to treat Memphis like the rest of the state and stop blaming and reach out my hand and offer support. That's what Memphis needs. It needs more support from the state level. Let's stop talking about. How bad things are, and let's get together and fix these problems.
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools, right now, the issue is being re-litigated in the courts with the state takeover. Do you think that was a good idea? Do you think the state should step in and take over a failing school district? Yeah, I don't ever like when a state takes over anything. I like that being in the municipality's hands because those are the people that know their education system, know their children, know their teachers.
That being said, I don't have enough details to tell you if that's a good idea, how I know all the fraud and the waste and all the stuff that was accused, but I'd have to see that to make a final determinant. I don't normally like that, though. I like leaving that in their hands. But if you're elected, that's going to fall right in your lap there. Sure, and I'll make a decision on it when I learn all the facts.
There are a couple of other issues that have been impacting a lot of folks out here. Of course, Elon Musk building all of the Colossus, the data centers. And depending on who you talk to, there are a lot of opinions. And some Republicans and Democrats agree or even disagree on the issue. Where do you stand on these data centers?
They terrify me, to be honest. I think there's so many unknowns at these data centers. I mean, it's sickening to know that we've been giving these 20-year tax abatements to Google and people that have a decimal point where our property taxes are the fastest growing in the country.
So I think we've got to have real guidelines here, like a complete stop on these, go back to the drawing board, really bring some professionals in that can tell us all the effects of these. It's a little more to me than extra power and extra property taxes and extra water. There are environmental things that I worry about. There are noise. They're disrupting farmlands.
There's a lot of issues here that need to be cleared up before. We allow that. Do you believe? Because there are residents who live nearby that say the sound issues are pretty significant. And even though Elon Musk hasn't come out and said as much, the work they're trying to do to soundproof tells me they do recognize that that's a problem.
Are you hearing that as well? I am hearing that. And I'm also hearing that they're having a hard time. This is one thing that's been. Great to see how people have stepped up and came out and really got against these data centers.
And now these guys are looking at paying their property taxes or looking at paying their electric bills.
So I think we've turned the corner on these from governors across the state. You're seeing governor after governor put moratoriums on these and pause them.
So yes, I do believe the sound is a problem, and they know that. All right, we've got to take a break. You've agreed to stick around for a few more minutes. I want to ask you about flock cameras. Also, we're going to be taking your call.
So if you have a question for David Hatley, give us a call, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. The website, hatleyforgovernor.com. We'll be right back. All right, welcome back, everybody.
Great to have you with us. And big event tomorrow night. An opportunity for you, all of our K-Wham listeners, to meet David Hatley. He's the independent running for governor. There's a big event tomorrow night.
Write this down: old Dominic's at 6 o'clock tomorrow night. We understand what? Several hundred people have already RSVP. That's right. It's going to be a big event.
Wow, what does that tell you? Aside from people of bourbon here, but I mean, you know, they want to know about you. I think people are looking for something different right now. I think the same old stuff's not working very well anymore. Tell me about the flock cameras.
I'm very against flock cameras. You know, I started out in this kind of neutral because I want to fight crime. I want to definitely be the governor that finally takes our crime off and gets it cleaned up across the state. That's one of my agendas. But these flock cameras are not the way to solve crimes.
They're too expensive. I can tell you back home, we've solved 70 crimes and spent a million five.
So you do quick math on that. $20,000, I believe we could slap detectives in there. We got detectives here in Memphis that have caseloads that are way too heavy. I'd rather invest in our detectives and not invade people's privacy. And again, you know, we are not, you know, one of the reasons for the task force, we were not at our full complement of police officers.
You know, what we were trying, what, 500, 600 officers. That's right. Yeah. And again, that's what I want to do from the state level. We have to really give Memphis support.
We can't look at Memphis and blame things on Memphis and separate Memphis from Nashville. We're one state here. You also want to take a look at the bank accounts. You want an audit. Why is that, and what are you concerned about?
I'm concerned about the third fastest growing budget in the country right now. The budget that's almost twice as much as inflation is growing. Where's the money going? You know, I want to see we don't have a real audit system right now, Todd. I mean, we have the politicians that are picking the guy that audits them.
I mean, think about that. The politicians are picking the guy that audits them. We're one of two states that do that. I want to see an elected auditor. On day one, I want to make sure we have an auditor, an inspector general, but we need an elected auditor, which will take four to six years to get.
I look back as I'm listening to you talk, and I'm just sensing the spirit of Monty Fritz, who ran a really solid campaign. And again, I think there was a lot of division within the Republican Party in that primary with John Rose as well. But again, Monty launching this really grassroots campaign sort of sounds like what you're trying to do. It is. You know, I think that's what me and Monty have in common: we're both more blue-collar.
You know, I've grown my business. I've been in every Tennessee and almost every Tennessee in shoes at some point in my life. You don't lose that. And this is a job. I look at this job, Todd, as going in and rolling up your sleeves and putting on your boots and punching in early and staying late.
Like, there's a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of people hurting in Tennessee right now. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. We need to be putting money in the right places and knowing where it's all going. Senator Blackburn's campaign, their argument is that you're not qualified.
You don't have the experience of decades of service in the State House or in Congress. How do you respond to that?
Well, all I've done my whole life is sign the front of a paycheck, not the back. I've employed people. I've created thousands of jobs. I've fixed problems. I'm an innovator.
I think outside the box. It's absurd that we have a senator that goes on TV and says that we have a payroll tax to pay back the $30 million from Starbuck her administration gave when we don't even have a payroll tax. I mean, that's somebody you're looking at running a $59 billion budget, doesn't even know how the tax system works.
So I'm by far the most qualified candidate. I believe I'm the only qualified candidate in this race. She says Jerry Green, the Democrat, is a socialist. Would you agree with that assessment of Jerry Green? You know, I think we see some of these Democrats, like the one in Virginia right now, that we thought were something.
Spanberger. Spinberger, and we thought were something to get elected and there's something else. And that's what concerns me about Jerry. She seems like a nice enough lady. I don't know her.
Her policies don't seem too socialist to me. But is that Jerry? Is that how she's going to run the government? You know, that's the part that I'm not sure of. And I think, you know, again, veering just slightly, Chas Mulder, his campaign video, which was pretty brilliant.
I thought he was the Republican running, sitting around the dinner table with his family, a wife, a traditional family, nuclear family, praying. Nobody was wearing a nose ring. Nobody was burning anything down. They were just regular folks. But the problem is that's.
That's what they say they are, but as we saw in Virginia, that is not the reality. That is not the reality, and that's what we got to remember. I mean, they still are running on that party platform.
So, you know, a lot of people, what I've found, Todd, is a lot of these people, they poll and they do things to get elected. They run on positions to get elected. And then when they get into office, they run on what they believe in. That's a fair point. A fair point.
All right. The big event tomorrow night. What's going to happen at the end? What do you do at a David Hadley event? I talk about all the things that we're going to change, you know, when I'm in the governor's office, you know, how we're going to clean up this system.
We're going to be transparent. We're going to ban this pay-for-play stuff and get Tennessee going in the right direction. And you're going to answer people's questions. I answer every question. I stand up there and shake every hand until the last person leaves.
It usually takes a little while, as long as there's not an event after, but I'm usually there for a few hours. You'd be surprised at how rare that is in Tennessee politics. Yeah, I'm finding that out. And I think that's the sad part of the politics world. How it works.
The attacks, the way we run, when we get in office, we don't do anything. I feel like Nashville Todd, I feel like everyone has a position and no one has a plan. You know, and that's that's why I come from a world where you better have a plan. I know Jerry Greene wants to debate, Marshall Blackmun does not, and Laura Pinkston wants to debate. Would you be open to a debate with three of them?
I don't know if you saw, but I challenged them yesterday. I offered to donate a million dollars to charity if Marsha would show up at a debate. A million dollars to charity, ladies and gentlemen. All right, we'll see how that goes. We'll reach out to the Blackburn campaign.
That music means we've got us cooted out of here. David Hatley, good luck to you. Thank you, Con. Again, tomorrow, 6 o'clock, old Dominics, Hatleyforgovernor.com. Folks, get out there.
Have a great day. We'll see you back here at 11 o'clock here on the Mighty 990.
