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This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher Thompson on one O three point five FM and five sixty AM w VOC.
And morning till you and welcome into a Thursday. It is the twentieth of February. Time now approaching six sixteen. Let's get up and get going here, let's get rolling. A couple advisories that effect this morning from the National Weather Service uh NOW concerns for potential for black ice as the temperatures well hovering around that freezing mark this morning. But I guess luckily for us, we didn't get a whole lot of precipitation, least not for most of the
Midlands yesterday, so that was a plus. I don't The only back roads I have to traverse in the morning are just getting out of my neighborhood. After that, it's all the main stuff, so I had no issues at all. It was the roads were were pretty much dry. May not be the case in all places, so there is
that special weather statement for all of the Midlands. Patchy black ice is potential for the for the drive in this morning, so just be aware and and certainly look for those dry patches, stay off any kind of wet stuff, you know. At a cold weather advisory has been issued because well, not so much this morning or today. I mean, we're temperatures again, I'll bringing right around that freezing mark.
But boy, it's gonna get really we've got a hard freeze coming tonight Tomorrow morning loads low twenties, windshiels and the teens. Yeah, hey, just hang out a little bit. And by the time we hit say, next Tuesday, I had temperatures back into the low seventies. So just just hanging there for that.
See, I could do without the swings. I can. I can handle the cold weather. If it's going to stay cold, I mean consistently, you get used to it. Well, yeah, that's right. It's the back and forth that drives me crazy. But okay, a few days of seventies and then and then who.
Knows, there it is now again. This morning we could see you may see a slight you know about of flurries as the system wraps back around here.
Tyler's gonna it sounds pretty skeptical.
Yeah, it's it's gonna be really really hit and mess again. If if anything happens, it'll be oh look there's a flurry. Oh it's it's done with, It's over. That was it, hey, Kershawk County is on a two hour lay this morning. Schools haven't heard of any others. Of course, they were under that winter weather advisory as of yesterday. So that's that's pretty much going to be it for our our third bout of winter weather for what it was worth.
All right, the rundown, the big stories, the hot topics for this Thursday morning, well more news to pass along, and well a governor's race here in South Carolina that so far has no one saying the running for governor. Well, we did have I guess tea rad there for about four days, Thomas Ravenel, but that ended quickly. But so far all the focus has been on Alan Wilson. Nancy mace Be, in particular, after her her speech that she gave on the House floor a couple of weeks back.
I saw something online yesterday that suggested that she might forego the governor's race and challenge Lindsey Graham instead. Oh really, I don't know, I don't know if there's any truth to that, but well it was on the internet. It's got to be true exactly. I mean, everyone's speculating about her political future right now.
That wouldn't surprise me. I don't know how well that would go for her. That'd be interesting, there, wouldn't it. Well, Pamela Evatt doesn't get a whole lot of discussion. Really Again, lieutenant governor is kind of a position here in this state where with the maybe a few exceptions, I'm thinking of Andrea Bowen particular. You know, most a lot of
people could even name who the lieutenant governor is. But posted Courier reporting there's a network of advisors to Trump, a network of Trump advisor's staff and political consultants that are lining up behind the lieutenant governor and they're launching a new super pack.
Think about it. And as among the Republicans, who's most like Donald Trump?
Well, and this is their point, as far as she is a member, and a lot of people don't really know this, Pamela Evian a very successful businesswoman. That's her background. Her background's not in politics, it's in business. And that's what they're pointing out. This group patriots for South Carolina. They say they've already got some five million dollars in donor commitments. Okay, all right over the State House, well
this is okay, go figure. Some Republicans over there on the House side moving forward with a bill that was going to be one of the priorities when they got together last month, and that hadn't made it happen yet, but that is to reinstate the private school voucher program. However, at least House Republicans are looking to get rid of the plan that the Senate has approved that would fundel with lorry revenues. Okay, we'll have to maybe delve into that a little bit deeper. Why they are not enamored
with that concept. We may see more teachers in the classroom who aren't teachers. Of the Senate advancing a bill that would allow a non certified teacher program to help out with teacher shortages across the state. I think they would cap this at like maybe ten percent of the teaching staff could be individuals who don't have any kind
of degree or certification to be a teacher. Okay, and speaking of teachers, they had hoped for starting pay at least fifty thousand dollars, but looks like that's not going to happen this year, at least the House. The budget writers there are proposing starting teacher pay between forty seven thousand and forty eight to five, so less than fifty thousand teachers had wanted. And there are several House Democrats who are launching a bill to well remove any efforts
to ban books in our stage, the Freedom to Read bill. Okay, it's a Democrat bill. This one won't last long. The Treasurer's office under fire, continuing to be because of that missing one point eight billion dollars. It never existed anyway. Now out of Well Committee hearings, word that the Measure's office spending some forty seven thousand dollars plus on crisis communications in twenty twenty four.
That's going to rub people the wrong way.
Yeah, it is now. This according to testimony from Clarissa Adams, chief of staff at the Treasurer's office. She was testifying the Treasurer Curtis Loftus, was not there. He had apparently
a previously scheduled camping trip. According to the state newspaper, there you go, now, uh, Trump ratcheting things up and uh, well, going after Vladimir's Zelensky yesterday, calling Zelensky a dictator, refusing to have elections very low in the Ukrainian polls test Trump saying the only thing he was good at was playing Biden like a fiddle. Okay, well, this is getting
interesting to say the least, think of it. Trump says, I modestly say successful comedian talk to the US into spending three hundred and fifty billion dollars to go to a war that he couldn't win. All right, Well, there's a lot of blowback to this, not just from European allies, but from some Republicans here inside the Beltway as well, Zelenski responding and lashing out. We'll get into more of this a little bit later on this morning.
I think Putin's going to balance all this out, because Putin took several shots at Trump yesterday, and I think Trump is going to probably swing back toward Ukraine at this point.
Okay, this is yeah. I'm having issues with this right now. I gotta be honest, I'm having issues with it. I am. I get the whole money thing. I get that part of it. But well, we'll see how it plays out. The White House weighing Doge proposal. I think we mentioned this yesterday, may have proposed at least for rebate checks. Could you be getting a check for about maybe five thousand dollars because of the savings that Doze is coming
up with? Well like that, I think, wouldn't we? Yes, A new poll reveals it, by and large, Americans are supporting the Doje effort, which shouldn't be a big surprise.
I'd love some money back, but I want to see some of that deficit whittled away too.
That would be nice. Meantime, Trump laying out a plan to work with Republicans in Congress too, as he calls it, dramatically cut taxes here here to that, and again, a whole lot of stuff going on here. Republicans considering cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, as this AP article says, jeopardizing care for millions. Well, there's a way around that. Go get a job, or at least trying to get a job or volunteer. Well, we've been down this road before.
Pentagon budget cuts are they coming? Looks like they are. And the President's signing an order ending federal benefits for illegal immigrants here here to that. All right, we'll get to that. Well, a Yale scientist and we'll talk about this in a few minutes. Who is raising the red flag over these COVID vaccines and well what this may be doing to us? And NASA? How about this for a headline on Fox News. NASA looking for ways to destroy asteroid that could strike Earth and kill a city.
This is that one that we've been talking about here recently that's supposed to well, it's got a small, small probability of actually hitting Earth, but.
It keeps going up.
Actually, well I think it went down a little bit actually.
Okay, uh l again, who knows, right?
Who knows?
Two days ago it was a two percent.
Yeah, I think it's down to one point five now, Okay, great, Okay, I feel better. But just the simple idea they're looking a way to kill this thing kind of raise us if you conserves, doesn't it? That and more coming up on this the Thursday morning edition of Columbia's Morning News. Always fabulous to have you with us.
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All three point five MMn five sixty am w VOC. This is Columbia's Morning Use with Gary David and Christopher Thompson on one O three point five FM and five sixty am w VOC.
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It is six forty three all right again, let me let me disclaim this before we get into it, because you know, yeah, I you know, I like Curtis Loftus, I really do. But and this is again this is not unfortunately, highly unusual. We see it at all levels of government, from I guess state all the way down to the county where counties or state agencies or spending tax payer dollars to get outside consultants to advise them on this and that and so on and so forth.
It's it seems tawdry to many people. Yeah, I get it, but this is Yeah, this is not gonna sit well. Yesterday, actually Tuesday, Clarissa Adams, who's the chief of staff for the Treasurer's office, testifying that the office has spent an excess of forty seven thousand dollars on crisis communications all in the last calendar year in twenty twenty four, and most of this money and being spent as this forensic god, it was going on over the missing that never existed
one point eight billion dollars. Okay, we all know that story. So an outfit out of Greenville, Infinity Marketing, that provides crisis communications services. They were brought on board back in March, back last fall winter. In November December, a consultant from
the University of Southern California was hired. He was paid close to fifteen thousand dollars, Adams testifying, saying it would not be unusual to ask for guidance on communications, on cash position, on various things they said a Finance Committee hearing. As a matter of fact, Adam says that she got coaching herself from this Greenville based firm, Infinity Marketing, before she testified in front of this panel on Tuesday. Now, again, truth of the matter is, this happens a lot and
most people don't don't realize it. But where you're taking taxpayer dollars to maybe in this case defend a position or get help crisis communications help here to try to defend a position, it just it just won't sit well with a bunch of people. Marjorie Bright Adams, Democrat, saying you had to go to Infinity to coach you to come and tell the truth. There's a problem there. Well, I don't know how all this ends. Now again, Loftus has been defiant and he's not going to step down.
But it doesn't seem as though, and we were ranting to the other day, I mean there's still hearings and investigations go going on. Okay, we know about we know from the forensic GodIt his outside order from the DC firm. What is that Alex Partners, I think of the Alex Partners. We know the story now, but still there's the the need to assign more blame. Well, again, this is already I guess what. You had the the Comptroller General's office, so Richard Exhban has been out now for a while.
You had the Treasurer's office, and you had the what was the other the auditor or the The only one left standing right now is Curtis Lofts when all this originally took place.
Yeah, there was a non elected an elected position. Yes, that he wound up resigning to.
Right, So all of Loft is the only one left standing here, so all the focus in the spotlight is going to be on him now. In her testimony, Adams is, well, it's not the point fingers at all. But she pointed fingers, she blamed well everybody else. We know the story here. This wasn't real money. It was a quote unquote conversion error.
Okay, we get that, which is going to drive people even more crazy that they spent real money to defend what happened to fake money, right, or defend what happened to mystery money that didn't exist.
So there's you know, again closing in on fifty thousand dollars. And these services, these crisis communications services used as recently as well, the last few days before Adam's testified in front of this committee. So yeah, yeah, there's this.
And it also it also makes it sound like you're spinning instead of telling the truth.
Right, I gets trying to hide some right, that's what makes it feel like.
You're listening to Columbia's morning news on one oh three point five FM and five am w VOC. Once again, here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.
It's snowing slightly in northeast Columbia up in your life in seventy seven.
Well, and and I just got a's got a note for my buddy John saying his wife said there's florries in bythewood right now too.
So there that's where our particular talkback a person listener was located. Okay, so didn't give us his name, but thank you very much.
Well, the northeast side of town. You little snow fur reaction for you here on a Thursday, seven sixty. Don't get too excited about it, though, it's it's not gonna last long apparently, but we could all see a florry or two before it's all all sudden and done. But that's it. But that's it, gonna be it. But this
is still note worthy. I mean, if you get just a flurry, even one florry constitutes we got snow, right, Okay, there'll be with a third time this year we've got something, something frozen fall out of the sky around here.
I think most people consider snow is when you actually see something on the ground.
Yeah, well you could actually put a put a measuring I can get a ruler out and say, look, honey, we got x amount.
Yeah that's not happening.
No, that's not happening. But now it's gonna get again started mentioning it's gonna get brutally cold tonight. Luckily for us, we didn't get it. I don't know about you and your neck of the woods, but on my side of town, very very A few sprinkles yesterday was just about it. A little light rain of times. But I mean that is enough to where at least on the major roads that they're dry this morning. So you know, there were concerns about black I still are you still gotta be
careful out there? But not a whole lot happening with that, So.
There was much more downtown and you can see it in our parking lot. I mean that's it's still wet this morning.
Yeah. So but the major I mean the major roads, the heavily traveled roads, are there really no issues to speak up, but still just use caution, be on the safe side. But yeah, twenty one tonight a winch on the teens. Yikes. Okay, it's February twentieth. We're a long way away from going and voting in a governor's race here in South Carolina. But you wouldn't know it by the news that has come out over the last couple
of weeks. Right. Oh and by the way, there's not a single individual to this point who has said they are running for governor in South Carolina. I don't know when that happens, but well, there was one, but it didn't last long.
I don't know if Thomas Ravenel even counts support he would have gotten. I don't think many people view him as a politician anymore. I think he's viewed more as a reality show guy. Yeah, and that's his own fault. So yes, the short lived t Rav candidacy. But we've there's been plenty of noise regardless, as you know now the news in the Posting Courier yesterday that a network of Trump's advisors, staff and consultants are lining up behind
the lieutenant governor Pamela Eviott. They're launching a new super pack hoping to boost her prospects. Well, this is I mean for Pamela Eviott, this is this is big news because, let's face it again, unless your name is Andre Bauer, I would challenge you to name a lieutenant governor in this state in the last twenty years. Most people can name Andre Bauer, even if you don't really pay attention.
But for other reasons, of course. Well remember back in the day, you didn't even have to be It wasn't it wasn't a running mate situation, right, No, you could have a Democrats as governor and a Republican as lieutenant governor and vice versa.
Yeah, but with a Pamela Abbott whoretty much the only time you see her is when she's standing off kind of just slightly behind the shoulder of governorment master at a press conference, right, this would be big news. I mean,
no other reason than just name recognition. It's patriots for South Conde of the group say they've already gotten more than five million dollars in donor commitments, and one of the talking points they have for her is that there is no would be candidate in this race here in South Carolina that more is more trump Like than Pamela.
Ebbott resume yes, personality.
No exactly, and so because you know, a lot of folks don't even realize what her background is. She's a very successful businesswoman.
I mean, there's a reason McMaster picked her, yeah, and then stuck with her.
So yes, and that in that respect, she is the most Trumpion of any presumed candidate who will announce. But it kind of stops right there, doesn't It Not to say that her ideology may not be in line with most Trump views, but yeah, aside from that, she's not somebod who's gonna, you know, Nancy Mace like make a bunch of noise or Alan Wilson like really line up
ideologically politically with Trump. It would it would take I mean, I think for Pamela Eva to actually be successful in becoming governor, it would it would take one thing, the one thing that everybody wants right one thing everybody's gunning for, and that is the Trump endorsement. We said this at the time, you know, when Nancy Mace went off Scorched Earth a couple of weeks ago, that was all designed to do one thing, to get the attention of Donald J. Trump,
and the timing seemed really weird. Well, this far away from you know, anybody even really announcing, although she had said several weeks back that she would probably make an announcement, make a decision the next month or so. But still, Yeah, it's Donald Trump's a little busy right now.
It's way early and he's just days weeks into his presidency. It's got a lot of plates up in the air right now. He's probably not paying attention to the South Carolina governor's race now that he is, and doesn't need to, no, because it's still over a year away.
Yeah, now, and if history is any guide, kind of like the Lindsey Graham relationship with Donald Trump, you know, Nancy Mays's relationship is on again, off again. There's plenty of time for her to be off again before Trump may consider an endorsement. But again, interesting that exactly. Trump's got a lot of advisor's, a lot of staffer's, a lot of consultants. This isn't as though the entire Trump team is lining up behind Pamelaviott here, but regardless, it's
goods good news for Abbott. Uh you know, we're hearing a few other names, you know, being bandied about. Oh gosh, what's what's the guy's name up in the Upstate? The businessman who John Moore, John Warren? Y know it?
You know, a couple of years ago it looked like he might have a serious candidacy, true, but he would have to sell himself again. I mean I think, yeah, I think people. I think a lot of people like you have forgotten his name. Who yeh, look at me. Yeah, okay, I think it's obvious that Nancy Mace and Alan Wilson are going to be at least this early. Yeah, the top two candidates, with the Lieutenant Governor Pam Eviott not too terribly far away but a distant third.
Well, if nothing else, what Aott has to do between now and it's well, we were a year away from actually filing for this race. But uh, you know Razor profile.
Yeah, yeah, And I mentioned I saw yesterday on x at least one person had suggested, and I don't think this was any reporting. I think it was a suggestion that Nancy Mace challenged Lindsey Graham instead, Oh that was what that was the sentence raised. But he made it sound as if he was reporting on something he had heard.
And that may have been part of what she was doing when she made that scorched Darth speech is testing the waters, seeing what her support looks like in the state, and with an eye toward one of the two.
And do you get the feeling though that, yes, in the in the in the moment, and a couple of days afterwards, I mean that was that was a big deal, that had gone on a lot of attention, but that almost people have moved on from that now. I mean there was Okay, we're over it, and that that speech will get forgotten pretty quickly by the by your average voter, sure if they made attention to it to begin.
With, unless it was again just to simply gauge interest and see where she stood.
I like keeping up with local news and I'm.
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Seven forty three. Good morning, It's Thursday, February twentieth. You might see a flori or two. We've got some reports from Blythwood this morning of a few florries. But that's all. It's going to be just a couple florries there, you go, all right? Who knows how long it's going to be before we uh or if we'll ever really be able to definitively say what's of side effects people have suffered
as a result of the covid vaccine. But scientists at Yale University, not one, but a number of them studying this reporting an alarming syndrome linked to m r NA covid vaccines. They say that the lead author of the study, an immunologist doctor at Kiko Osaki at Yale, says it's still in its early stages this work. They need to validate the findings. But what they say they're seeing right now is a previously unknown condition that they are calling
post vaccination syndrome PVS. Are you suffering from any of these things? They say, a PVS appears to cause brain fog, dizziness, tenatus or I always thought it was tenidis, but it's actually tenatus and exercise intolerance. Okay, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna I'm gonna take that fourth one and say, yes, it's because of COVID. I don't want to exercise anymore. I'm going with that. Some sufferers, they say, are also showing distinct biological changes. These include differences and immune cells
and the presence of coronavirus proteins in their blood. And this is years after taking the shot. But it doesn't stop there. This post vaccination syndrome also appears to reawaken a dormant virus in the body called you have heard of this one epstein bar that can cause food like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes, and nerve tissues. Part of the problem, they say, is again because in the further we get away from it, it's it's hard to say is this
link back to the vaccine or not? I guess, But the larger studies have failed to separate the symptoms suffered after COVID vaccinations from unrelated illnesses that would have occurred regardless, so that that's a problem.
Or what about COVID itself. I mean we heard all that time, you know, people were suffering from long what did they call it, long term long COVID. Yeah, long COVID, which is still an issue for some people.
Okay, I wonder sometimes if I don't have long COVID, say the truth, my wife does too.
Oh well, could any of these things be related not to the vaccine but to the virus itself?
I guess that's sorely a possibility. And again they say these these these studies are kind of in their early stages, so there's no definitive answers yet. But h and you know the rush, I mean the operation of warp speed, you know, the rush to get these thing things out there, you know. And and remember you couldn't say anything bad about it then you could not. Man if you if you even uttered any sort of a negative thought about
the vaccine, man, you were blackballed. And how ironic is it that one of the biggest voices out there against this is now the head of Healthy Human Surfaces in RFK Junior Ome.
Wow, Okay, I'm fine with questioning that a vaccine that we still don't know that much about then we're still waiting to see the effects. It's when it starts questioning measles and mumps and all those vaccines.
That is it Texas where they got a big measles outbreak, right, it is, yeah, it is Well, they'll continue to study, and you know it's well, if there's damage done, the damage has been done already. You're taking that back. But if yeah, if if you just I'm on that, I well, part of me wants to say, well, I'm just getting older, right, you know, I'm just getting older. But then in the back of your mind, I still wonder if it's yeah,
I took that vaccine. We all did well, not all of us, but well, I mean most of most, most of us.
Most of us were told if you want to go to work, if you want to be around your family, you owe it to yourself and to your loved ones to get the vaccine.
That's what they told us.
You're listening to Columbia's Morning News on one oh three point five FM and five sixty am WVOC. Once again, here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.
Under consideration a new concept where we give twenty percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens and twenty percent goes to paying down debt.
Because the numbers are incredible. Well, this is brilliant. Good morning. It is sixteen after eight, it is Thursday, February twentieth. And when I spending too much time talking about it? When a weather this morning, because there's just not that much of it out there at all? If any couple of florries, that's about it. So there, that's that Trump talking about giving money back. Does this put the Democrats in a trick bag here?
Well, they've been in a trick back.
Well they have been, But is the news tightening?
I mean, what can they possibly say to returning taxpayers they're harder money which is being wasted at the government level right now. And on top of all that, being incredibly smart and forward thinking and saying okay, let's take some of this extra money and pay down the deficit.
Yes exactly, thank you. So again, how do you argue with that? How do you? Or you don't? And before you start thinking well, yeah, this is what Democrats, you will give money. This is money that was ours to begin with, and these are savings that doges is finding taxpayer dollars, your dollars, my dollars that don't need to be spent, so give it back, unlike the Democrats who just you're because you're well, you you're breathing, so we're
going to give you a check. So this, this is, this is if you're if you're a Democrat, how can you complain about Doge? If? If, if again? And there are no guarantees that happens, but if you know, if they start cutting checks back to us and again. Initial reports suggesting that the potential Doge driven stimulus could return up to four hundred billion dollars the taxpayers. Politico estimates that would be five thousand dollars per household for some
seventy eight million households that pay federal income tax. In other news, how many households do we have in this country? A lot more than seventy eight million? Okay, so you know, five grand per household that is paying federal taxes. Wow. Is in particular for Democrats and Democrat constituents, Democrat voters who were used to this sort of thing from their party and suddenly they get a check in the mail from a Trump Elon Musk inspired Department of Government Efficiency
for five thousand dollars. Wow. Some are speculating we can get as much as eight thousand dollars. Well, the initial reports are about five thousand per household that is currently paying federal taxes. So there's that. There's a new poll out that shows that we Americans support the DOCHT But of course we do. How could you not? The only way you you you don't support this is if you're just such a diet and listen, they're focused on both sides,
doesn't I don't care, Republican, Democrat, whichever. Yeah, there are some folks that are so firmly intringed and they're ideological, thinking that that anything the other party does, they're gonna they're going to have just you know, all over it doesn't matter.
Well, I mean, this is going to wind up being a non partisan commission though. Wait, and they're already starting on the Pentagon now, yes, and that's where you're going to see some Republicans all of a sudden say, wait just a minute, we're not cutting that. Better be careful, Yeah, better be careful. So it's it's going to cut both ways.
It will. Republicans will be very smart not to make too much of a ruckus over it when it gets to the Pentagon.
Well, there are too many pet projects, and in particular there that it just seems like, I mean, everybody's got a military base that they want to stay alive in their district, even if it's not as efficient and as strategic as it should be as it used to be.
I'm fine with him cutting military installations as long as they're not named Fort Jackson, Sharwrefforce based in McIntire. I hear you. We've given We've already given up. You know, we gave up the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. We give up a Charlese and Naval Yard, right, Okay, you know we we kept the Marine Corps depot in Beauford. So we've we've given our fair share. Okay, yeah, just not in my backyard, thank you. That's the argument, right, that's going to be the not in my backyard, that's
going to be the argument. Well, aside from that and then the potential, the potential of a five thousand dollars payout to each and every household who pays federal taxes, Trump has also announced plans to work with Republicans in Congress too, in his words, dramatically cut taxes for individuals
and companies. He announced plans yesterday for the largest tax cuts in American history, saying we're going to dramatically cut taxes for families, for workers, for companies, including He says, no tax on tips, and hopefully no tax on social security, and no tax on overtime. Okay, as somebody who's uh, just a few years away from collecting solid security benefits. That would be nice.
That sounds great, doesn't it.
It does. All this sounds great now Again, the devil's in the details, right, and how you pay for it? Yeah, and being the details and well, I mean, I think some of these cuts are geared toward that. You would hope if our government's smaller and more efficient, then we can cover the costs of or the loss of expenses like we used to have. You know this. Trump has
brought this up too, you know. And here in our state, the governor's brought this up, the idea again of eliminating income tax in favor of a obviously you just can't do that and function, but in favor of a national sales tax, at least at the federal level. You know me, I'm all for that. Man.
I don't know if you can sell that in the four years that Trump has that would be very difficult today. I mean, that's going to be a shock to the system. It's absolutely it's going to be hard enough to push through all the changes he's already recommending and suggesting.
So, but could you imagine for a moment, if you have somebody who they're not friendless inner spending, right, you know, you make your paycheck and you get it all well, at least you get no federal income to is taken out of it, or maybe even no stated in come back to student maybe one of these days. But you're you know, you're somewhat frugal in your spending, You're gonna be able to, you know, salt that money away. You know,
Trump's talking about businesses cutting it. Imagine the potential windfall from that from businesses. And I know the big ones right now are finding ways out of doing it anyway. I get that, But imagine a small business owner who's able to you know, the whole run of that money, and imagine how that could potentially just blossom into to
more employment, to more business, to a better economy. If you want to go spend your money, fine, pay your taxes, and you got to spend some of it, of course, But if you want to spend priversly, fine, that's that's that's that's your prerogative. It kind of puts it right back on you now, you know it's, hey, I don't have to spend this money other than for certain things if I don't want to. I'm all for that idea. But yeah, that that's something that can't happen between you know,
now and twenty twenty nine. Probably not, I wouldn't think, but the conversation started again. It's got to if it's gonna happen, it has to start somewhere, right.
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Now More of Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher Thompson right here on one O three point five FM and five sixty AM w VOC.
Thank you, Sean say forty one and our final thoughts here on a Thursday morning. I actually had intended to get to this story earlier. I don't know what happened. I just didn't. So we're gonna spend a little time on this one. You know, this was heading into this legislative session. Funding uh, the these private school vouchers was was like the the hot topic that that was. Then we're gonna get this done. You know, we did it last year. Supreme Court struck it down. We're gonna we're
gonna take care of this thing right away. The Supreme Court literally wrote, here's how it was. Okay, here's how you do it, dummies. Well it's February twenty, it's almost March, and this still isn't done yet. Now the Senate they fast tracked it and uh still on a fast track track. It took about two weeks of debate before they came up with a plan that was was was approved basically a party line vote. And remember the Senate's idea is to take money from the lottery and use it to
UH to fund these private school vountures. Again, I'll be it as we we know that this is always the case. It's case in every state in the country that has a lottery that over time the lottery proceeds start to diminish, fewer people play, and YadA, YadA, YadA. But that's the Senate idea take it from the lottery. The House, though, is still you would expect if if it was a piece of legislator was gonna be fast tracked, it'd be the House that speeds through it, and the Senate, you know,
the more deliberate ability, would take their sweet time. This is just the opposite. Uh. The House Education and Public Gross Committee heard testimony yesterday, which was the first time that folks, you know, members of the public had a chance to actually you know, talk about this with with the lawmakers. First time it's almost March. But apparently Republicans on the House side don't agree with getting this money from the lottery. Okay, well, then the question becomes, where do you get it?
When did they start backpedaling on this? I thought this was the plan.
I thought this was the plan. They their idea is, uh to pay for pay for A with tax payer money from the States General Fund.
I wait a minute, thought they already tried that in the state Supreme Court said that's unconstitutional.
Uh huh, they did, and they did. Okay, it seems as though now no, I guess one of the things they're talking about doing is not specifying a funding sports for a funding source for the program to leave it up to each year to budget writing committees as to where the money comes from. But oh again, okay, but this what what it seems like is happening here is they are counting on the fact that the Supreme Court now has a different makeup. Chief Justice Baby who retired
John kent Ridge now the chief. They're they're, they're, they're cat their dice on the fact that we have a different makeup on the court now and this court will not look at this the same way the last court did, and we're gonna do it the same way. And they're gonna say, yeah, fine, it's constitutional. Okay, Okay, they're they're they're taking that chance. I guess.
I mean, you can't write a bill that requires state money and not say where the money is coming from.
I would think not. So the Senators had their fix, and now at least for now, you gut, some House Republicans are saying, and we don't like it. We're gonna we're gonna take our chances with the Supreme Court again by do we get the same way we did it last year for all intensive purposes. So let's see where that goes.
It doesn't make much sense and you know. I don't know why it took them to late February to get to this point. I don't know.
Your guess is as good as mine. Trump signing an order this news coming out overnight, to end federal benefits for people in this country illegally. This is just basic logic, right, You're here illegally, broke the law to enter this country, and why would we taxpayer dollars and just give it to you as a benefit. The Order of the White House says, seeking to end all taxpayer funded benefits for illegal aliens. Not necessarily clear which benefits will be targeted,
but I don't know. It says all taxpayer funded benefits. I guess it would mean what all. I suppose That's what the order says. The order noting that in nineteen ninety six welfare overhauled denies most public benefits to people in the country illegally, but saying the law has been gradually underminded, And yes it has, and in particular over the last four years. So this is the latest there. Meantime, Republicans up on Capitol Hill weighing cutting Medicare benefits, well,
not cutting you gotta love the Associated Press. Republic plans consider cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, jeopardizing care for millions. Work requirements. Again, this is pure logic. Why spend tax payer money for benefits for somebody who's just sitting on their butt. You don't even have to get a job. You could just volunteer. And this is not for everybody those of working age ages sixteen through fifty nine. You've
got to work or volunteer. And guess what, not even forty hours a week, just twenty hours a week, at least eighty hours a month. And that's if you're not in school, that's if you're not caring for somebody under six, that's if you're not disabled or pregnant or homeless.
Yeah, they carved out all these exceptions.
Yeah, so you're just somebody that's sitting on your butt, doesn't want to work, and living off the federal the federal dole. By the way, these conditions before the Left gets all upset about it and the associated press gets ah in if there's a panties on water over this, these are pretty much the same conditions that you have to abide by in order to get food stamps. Why would medicaid be any different? Well, it is, but it
shouldn't be and should we be concerned? Well, now NASA tells us the chances of a giant space where I hitting us have actually decreased slightly. That to asteroid twenty twenty four. Why are four previously reported to have a two point six percent chance of hitting Mother Earth now is down to one point five percent chance. That's the good news. But yet NASA is looking for ways to try to, you know, do their best to destroy this
thing before it might hit us. Should we be concerned that NASA is that's taking this thing seriously apparently.
If they're concerned, but telling us they're not concerned, And yeah, we should be.
We should be concerned, right exactly? Okay, remember the timeline on this one December, right around Christmas of twenty thirty two, and one hundred and ten million of US Earthlings would be at risk if that were to happen. It's a city killer. But they's nothing to see here. We're just gonna try to take it out. But don't you be worried about it?
All?
Right? Time to drop the bucket list