The opinions expressed on this show are those of the host and not of iHeartMedia or its employees. Thank you for listening to NewsRadio 650 KENI. Amy Demboski. The show starts now. Our lines are open at 907-522-0650. This is The Morning Drive on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Good morning. It is finally Friday, current time 6.06 a.m. I don't know about you, Daryl, but I came home yesterday and had a lick of snow in my yard.
Gone. You can come to my yard. There's lots to lick still. It's mostly icy snow, but it's definitely still popsicle. My whole front lawn. is beautifully brown yeah and we're back to icing here again because it of course froze overnight um yeah but they say we're going to get today and for the rest of the weekend maybe into next week they're talking up in the 40s so
Well, I will tell you, the temperatures are looking pretty good right now. As I was looking around the state, yeah, it's below 30. It's very close. Palmer's 29.2. 25 here in Anchorage. Okay, that's not bad. Kenai is 23, Big Lake is 25, Fairbanks is 7. So, you know, it's definitely warmed up, that's for sure. I mean, it doesn't show that it's going to be as...
as warm as it was yesterday afternoon. But not too bad. I'm looking at Kenai's daily high today. It's supposed to be 43. Well, I was going to say, I mean, it is clear skies out there, so... You've got to figure we'll lose some heat, do that overnight. But, I mean, lots of stars. And, of course, I waved to Starlink. I'm now figuring out which of the little lights above me are Starlink. So I waved to Elon and thanked him, seeing how the rest of the liberal side of the world is.
hating on him. Oh, man. Well, I will tell you, I laughed because in the middle of the night, I got up and I looked out the window and I saw these blinky blinkies and I was like, I have no idea which ones are stars and which ones are satellites.
They all look the same to me. So the easy way to find the Starlink satellites, like I said, I finally figured this out actually a couple of weeks ago. But when you look up at the sky and you're looking at all those beautiful stars up there, you'll notice that several of them are a specific brightness. and then they follow almost in a perfect line you can literally go from one of the brightness to the next to the next and literally all of a sudden you realize like oh
There's actually a ring of these things. So once you start looking up there, it'll make sense to you. I'll give it a go. You know, I got to tell you, I did fine in astronomy class, but it's because I'm a good book learner. It's not because I could apply it. Generally, when I take a class, I try to apply. I have always not, but I have just not been great.
At astronomy. Like, I look up there, I'm like, yeah, I have no idea which ones they are. You know, I did a lot of sky watching when I was young, you know, mostly because I was drunk late at night, fall down in a snowbank and be looking up. Oh, goodness. And it'd be a while to get back up. So, you know, you've got to watch the stars for a while.
Oh, goodness. I've given up that type of a lifestyle. But, you know, there was a time when, yeah, that was stargazing. Yeah, well, I was going to say, you probably are better at it than I. uh i will tell you so well we shall see we shall see All right, well, I'm looking at the Alaska Volcanic Observatory's website. And what does it say? Here we go. Here we go. Unrest continues at Mount Spur.
Seismicity remains elevated with numerous small shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day. Satellite and webcam views were cloudy over the past day. AVO continues monitoring. activity at Mount Spur for signals indicating that the volcano is moving closer to eruption based on previous eruption changes from current activity in the earthquakes, ground deformation, summit lake conditions, and
Other activity would be expected if magma began to move closer to the surface. Therefore, if an eruption occurred, it would be preceded by additional signals allowing warning. So we're not there yet.
um and actually so we're still at the yellow level so there you have it yesterday i was talking to a geologist, and he said that, I don't know where he got his information, but he was saying that one of the inner magma chambers did collapse yesterday, which is a good thing, because that means the likelihood of a really big one. eruption
is diminished because of that. So that's good news. That doesn't say it on their website, but that's good news. So we will continue to watch it. They are still advising people to be prepared in case Mount Spur does erupt. And if that happens, of course, we potentially, depending on wind, we might get asphalt here in Anchorage. So that's something we're going to continue to monitor and keep you updated on.
As time goes by. All right, you know what? I'm just going to go ahead and take Gary's call now because I've already checked all of the websites and there are no public announcements today for meetings. Can you believe it? Nowhere. I didn't see one meeting. I know. I didn't see one meeting anywhere. So that's good. That's good. Everybody's taking a day off. All right. Let's go to Gary. Good morning, sir. Good morning. You know, I'd like to talk about...
Lisa Murkowski. And this is what I'm starting to understand about her. I think she's more concerned about the federal employees. She's more concerned about her role as a senator protecting those federal employees when in all actuality the feds have alaska locked down we can't mine we can't fish we can't develop our resources in any way. We can't build roads because of that democratic side of Lisa Murkowski. And she says nothing about any of these things.
I think it's time good Alaskans ought to seriously think about getting rid of Lisa McHousey because she does not really care about Alaska. Well, I will tell you, I don't know if you saw the article. I think you probably did. But earlier this week, Lisa Murkowski came out and she basically said that, you know, she's prepared to take the criticism over Doge pushback because.
You know, there are a lot of other Republican senators that are just afraid of Elon Musk. And, you know, they're afraid of criticizing. And so she's going to be the one who's, you know, she's going to lead the charge. I personally think she has Trump arrangement syndrome. That's me. Senator Mike Lee came out later. He's from Utah. And he basically said he doesn't agree with Lisa Murkowski at all. He says, he wrote on X. I don't know a single Republican senator who feels that way, not even one.
So Mike Lee is basically waving the Bravo Sierra flag at Lisa Murkowski. Again, she's trying to be a martyr. I'm going to buck the party and I'm not afraid. The reality is everything Trump does for Lisa Murkowski is, you know, ripe for criticism. Let's put it that way. Right. I mean, she's.
You have to realize, you know, that Lisa Murkowski, how she got appointed, it was more of an appointment, not an election. Oh, it was an appointment. By her daddy. Right. Right. Dad, dad, I'm making a senator. you know that's how it went down but then after she got in there she made promises and she didn't keep those promises she manipulated the voting system to where
she would automatically win with rank choice voting. And I'd like to say one more thing about Lisa. You know, when you look at what she does, and what she says, she leaves Alaska behind. I mean, she absolutely leaves Alaska behind. But how she treats the natives? She treats the natives as a voting block. You know, I belong to the Chalista Native Corporation, and I grew up in Bethel.
What I see is happening is because of that federal income going into Bethel, they have no economic value except for the federal take. So everybody's on welfare. And when you're on welfare, you don't have dreams or desires. You get pigeonholed into a box. And what can I get free? Because, you know, they have no resources to make an economy out there.
And people ought to realize this. The problem with Lisa is, I'll tell you this story. I was up at First Strike Auction, and I was talking to the owner up there. And he says, you know what, a friend of mine came over and says, you got $15,000 cash? He says, yep, go get it and I'll pick you up. So they flew a fancy airplane out to this fancy lodge out there by Bristol Bay.
And they landed, and he says there were so many airplanes there. We walked into that lodge, and here's Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski. And the reason I bring this up, because if you try calling her office, and I've tried both, Dan Sullivan and over this fishing thing, they will not return your calls. They will not anything. So I think...
The way these senators are acting, they're infringing on my freedom of speech because they don't represent me. They don't represent me. I can't call them. I can't talk to them. They respond with a forum letter. They don't care about me because I'm only $500 to them, not $15,000.
Well, I will tell you, I have tried over the years many times to call Lisa Murkowski's office and have been unsuccessful in getting through or getting a return call. I've had the opposite experience with Senator Sullivan's office. Every time I've called, I've been able to get through to a person or get a phone call back. And I've referred a number of people for different issues to Senator Sullivan's office. I had a girl who got out of the military.
And her disability payments, basically, for three, four years, she couldn't get them. And she was entitled to them. And Senator Sullivan's office, I think in a week and a half, fixed her issue and got her all suspended. So I do think I've had different experiences with both, but I will tell you, I have been very unsuccessful getting through this over the years. You know, it's not like I've done it recently, but over the years.
Senator Murkowski's office, I've had a lot of difficulty getting through or getting anybody to even answer a phone. So I mean, that has definitely been my experience. But, you know, Gary, I got to tell you, I think you're right on target with Lisa Murkowski. I think what she does effectively, anytime Donald Trump, you know,
Goes for anything. I think she's gonna come out and criticize him. I mean look she voted to impeach him like let's not forget that Over nothing a big nothing burger. I mean at the end of the day. I think she genuinely
genuinely despises Donald Trump. And I think it's pretty evident. And I don't think that's going to serve Alaskans well. I think that's exactly true. All right. Well, I do have to take a break. I'm a little past my break. Thank you so much for your call this morning. We're going to go ahead and take a quick break. break if you'd like to call in, be part of the show. The number to call, 522-0650. We'll be right back.
628 Mornings on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Call now, 907-522-0650. Well, you know, I think... There's a couple different key differences between Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan. And I'll just say it. One's an actual Republican. and one pretends in name only to be a Republican. Senator Sullivan, I will say, this week was interesting, and I didn't watch the whole thing of both of them, but I read the transcripts of the...
the delivery of Senator Sullivan to the legislature this week. Both of them addressed the legislature in joint sessions. And Murkowski's response was very tepid. By the legislature, they were quiet mostly. They gave some polite claps at times. But it was very, very quiet. And Sullivan came in, and the House Republicans were definitely very... Excited to see him. They were excited about his message. And I will say, maybe not so much from the House Democrats, but Sullivan.
According to Must Read Alaska, there's a couple stories about it today. But the first one is we have a president who listens to us. Speech gets positive response from the legislature. He says basically there's two competing visions for Alaska's future. One is a dependence on a distant federal government that restricts development and treats Alaska as a beautiful snow globe.
The other vision is one of self-reliance, opportunity, and economic growth driven by unlocking the state's natural resources and private sector potential. So as you see, I mean... Sullivan is clearly a Trump supporter. He's clearly in line with the president when it comes to resource development and unlocking the resources of alaska i mean sullivan was like a dog on a bone going after all the executive orders that biden had targeted alaska with to shut our state down
Clearly, he has been successful and the governor has been very successful in highlighting Alaska for the president. And the president just yesterday. tonight two more EOs you know talking specifically about energy issues here in Alaska so he has been very he has been very open I you know I I think
I think there's just no comparison in my mind. And I'll just use this as an example. Today is going to be no example. Senator Sullivan's office reached out to us yesterday and said the senator would like to come on the radio and talk directly to Alaska. Imagine that.
Lisa Murkowski would never come on the show. Like, I'm sure of it. To be honest with you, Amy, I've been doing this now for, Katie and I, like, three and a half years, almost four years. I have not heard from Murkowski's office once. Yeah, and so there you have it. So, I mean, to me there's a big difference. And so Senator Sullivan will be calling into the show at 7.30 this morning. So we'll do some magic shifting around. as far as our seven o'clock breaks.
And we will accommodate that schedule because, you know, look, when I have, you know, somebody from the national level who wants to come on, whether it's Murkowski or if she wants to come on or if it's Sullivan or Begich, I do the best. I can to accommodate their schedule because I think it's important you hear directly from him so I won't go through and read everything about what he said because he's going to be with us and in about an hour and we will let him talk about
whatever he wants to talk about. But I'm sure he's going to talk about many of these type of things. But House Republicans... yesterday sent a letter of apology to Senator Sullivan, according to Mustard Alaska, for the Democrats' obnoxious behavior while he was there.
According to this article, Democrats rudely addressed the senator in a display that appeared to be coordinated attack with Speaker Bryce Edgeman. The Democrats did not treat Senator Lisa Murkowski in the same way when she spoke to the body on Tuesday.
They mainly gave her a pass, clapping softly while Republicans sat quiet during Murkowski's speech. For Sullivan, though, Democrats took a card from the deck of the ever-shrill... aoc making wild claims filled with misinformation as they peppered sullivan well who took it all in stride according to the article um they said it didn't face sullivan at all it doesn't surprise me look
He was attorney general. He was DNR commissioner here before he was at the state level. He's used, I mean, before he was at the federal level. He's used to dealing with Alaska legislature. He's been in front of hostile audiences before. House Republican Caucus sent a letter to Senator Sullivan and says, on behalf of House Republican Caucus of the Alaska State Legislature, we wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your compelling and insightful speech delivered to our body today.
Your address was both impactful and informative, shining a much-needed spotlight on the pressing issues facing Alaska. We deeply appreciate the dedication you and your staff have shown in tackling these challenges head-on. crashing through that proverbial brick wall, as it were. Thanks to your efforts, we are finally witnessing tangible progress for Alaska. We join together in celebrating this momentum. It's nothing short of fantastic.
And then it goes on to say beyond our appreciation, however, we feel compelled to address a matter of significant concern and disappointment. It is with sincere regret that we write to apologize for the discourteous treatment you endured from some of our colleagues during the question and answer session following your remarks. The tone and manner of certain inquiries preceded by what can only be described as unnecessary grilling and regrettable rhetoric
fell far short of the respect and decorum you deserve as a United States Senator who graciously accepted our invitation to speak. To say that we are merely disappointed would understate the depth of our dismay. Alaska legislative body is better than this and most of us recognize that such conduct does not reflect our values in a scheme in which we hold you end quote so obviously
The House Republicans are apologizing for the Democrats' rudeness. But you have to remember when... a legislator goes to the leg for example when sullivan or murkowski or baggage go and address the con you know the legislature it's by invitation And I guess to their point, when somebody comes by invitation,
Even if you disagree with them, you should be respectful. Well, how would those legislators like it if they were invited to Congress and Congress booed them? Congress did that to them when they were standing there. A, it's an embarrassment to the citizens of Alaska. These are our respects. people.
And they're not even acting like children. They're acting like toddlers up there. Lisa Murkowski, honestly, Lisa Murkowski voted on almost all of the appointees and other stuff, the same as Sullivan, except for a couple of them. There was a couple of important ones that she didn't.
They didn't dog her once on any of that. As you said, they literally gave her a pass, sweet waving at her, all that kind of stuff. Let her talk her speech. Let her rail against Donald Trump, our elected official and a Republican, which she is. You want unfair treatment? This is literally them showing their exact colors on how they treat not just our elected officials, but us. Think about it. If they're willing to treat Sullivan that way, do you think they really have any respect for us? Oh no.
No, no, no. And you're going to hear the same. Look, these people are unhinged oftentimes. I mean, they've got to step back and take a breath. I mean, it comes to a point where, you know, again, if you don't, like, for example, it would be very tough for me to sit there and listen. Lisa Murkowski, to be honest with you. But if I can't behave myself, if I don't think I can control myself, I probably just wouldn't go, to be honest with you. I just wouldn't go.
But otherwise, I think I could control myself. I would just go and you just respectfully sit there quietly. If it's in the legislative chambers. Like I said, again, there's a whole thing called decorum when you're representing a body. There were many times. Look, I've got to be honest with you. When I was on the assembly, oh, help me.
I had to sit there and listen to Governor Walker right after he cut the PFD for the first time. I had to sit there and listen to Governor Walker. He made his little circuit around all these assemblies to basically tell people we just need more money. And I had to sit there, politely listen, which I did. And then we had an opportunity to ask him questions, which I addressed him as governor. And I was polite but direct.
and i asked his questions i asked my question and he answered and i that was basically it right so i you know when you represent people you represent people so that's what you do you show up
You behave yourself. You don't boo. You don't hiss. If you have nothing nice to say, as your grandma used to tell you, say nothing at all. Bingo. That's a really important one. And also another one with it. And asking questions is important. They have the question and answer thing. The problem is nowadays, the problem is. is nowadays they don't ask a question. They couch a statement that they want to put out there and then at the end of it they put a question mark.
Well, we grandstand. Like, when did you stop kicking those puppies? Exactly. You know what I mean? So that's what you see a lot. You'll see a lot of fake news weaved into some of their stories. But, you know, again, you know. It's fine. Senator Sullivan, I have no doubt, didn't have her feelings. I have no doubt he took it. He was like, here we go. He's a mallard. He's a total mallard. He's a duck. It all just rolled right off him.
Yep, yep. So he will be with us later in the show. Okay, we're going to go ahead and take a quick break. When we come back, we will take your calls, 522-0650. This is NewsRadio 650, KE&I, Anchorage. Reach out to Amy now. 907-522-0650. That's 907-522-0650. It's Amy Demfoski on NewsRadio 650. KENI.
All right, welcome back. We're going to go straight to the phones. We're going to start with Warren. Good morning, sir. Hey, good morning, Amy, and happy Friday to you. Yes, same to you. What's on your mind this glorious Friday? Well, we're going to have a change in the downtown district finally. Oh, I hope so. I hope so.
All right, Warren, you've got to tell me. So District 1, North Anchorage, your choices are Daniel Volan, Nick Danger, or Daniel George. I know who my favorite is in this race. Who's your favorite? I haven't a clue at the moment. Oh, this is an easy one. This is a very easy one. This is a very easy one for me. I've known Daniel George for many, many years. Heads and shoulders.
above everybody in that race, got to be honest with you. Daniel George is fantastic. He used to be the president of the Mountain View Community Council, very involved in the community, great guy. I've said this before, and very rarely will I write a letter like this, but he was nominated for Top 40 Under 40 a few years ago, and I wrote a letter to support him because he's that good. Just being honest. Yeah, he's a good guy. I hope that was helpful. Extremely. I know all the rest.
And just finally somebody turned out, and we have some choices this year. Yeah, yeah, no doubt about it. Well, I hope you have an awesome weekend. You too. And I was going to say, for all you do for others, I wish for you is for you to go out and have some fun yourself this weekend. Oh, thank you.
I will. I will. You know, I'm actually helping a friend with their APOC reports. That's what I'm doing this weekend, to be honest with you. But that's okay. I enjoy it. So thank you, Warren. Have a great weekend. All right, you have a great weekend. All right. All right, let's go to Don. Good morning, sir. Good morning. So on the illegal immigration, I think it would be good to make a national-wide leader program, say.
Come and get a number, and you've got until July 4th to leave America. And then we'll take people in as their number, you know, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. then you can come in. If we have to come and get you, you will not enter America again. Yeah, you sound a little like Kristi Noem. You know, she has a video.
or a commercial that I've seen playing that says kind of the same thing, basically self-deport now because if we have to come and get you, you'll never get back in. You need to come into America the right way. So our DHS secretary. Terry is kind of saying the same thing. You know, the reality is, you know, it is a huge operation to try to deport 20 million illegals. And I will tell you, though.
And the Trump administration is fighting the courts every step of the way. Well, you've got to find them first. This way, if you have to take a number, and there's a closing date, people will be kind of in a hurry to get a number. The lower number, the sooner you get in. Yeah, I was going to say that's not a bad idea. I don't know how they're going to do it, but thank you so much for your recommendation, Dawn. Thanks for sharing.
All right, we're going to go to Larry next. I think you already hung up. All right, good morning, Larry. Hey, Amy. According to Dan Fagan, Senator Sullivan is siding with Lisa Murkowski on fighting the shutting down of these USAID contracts and that.
I know you've been real good with Sullivan, and I understand the need for decorum and so forth, but there's a certain point when the decorum becomes... you know, kind of mollifying people that shouldn't be mollified and talked kindly of, you know, even Trump will talk kindly of, you know, Kim Jong-il or whatever from... Korea or Putin or President Xi in China. And I understand that. It's just...
Sullivan tends to play the middle of the road in my mind, and I'd like you to ask him about that USAID and what he's... not liking about shutting that down because USAID is just one of many organizations that are obviously money laundering, money dispersal departments. to pay people off.
and keep the deep state going. So if you'd ask him about that, I'll be listening. I will ask. You know, he'll be here. You know, look, this is what I'll say about Dan. Dan tends to get really far, and it's either all or nothing with Dan. He goes after the governor all the time. He goes after Dan Sullivan all the time. Look, in my mind, I try to be as objective as I can, and I try to sit back and say, I watched Dan Sullivan in action. He is not Lisa Murkowski.
Dan Sullivan did not vote for the impeachment of Donald Trump. Dan Sullivan voted for... all of trump's appointments to the cabinet dan sullivan has been staunch on resource development and putting alaska first in our military dan sullivan voted for the continuing resolution to get the budget going and
And that's what Trump asked for. So in my mind, they are not equal, no matter how many times certain people want to try to make them seem equal. I just don't think they are. But, you know, I can only imagine, look, Dan Sullivan had his hands full.
go around with Congress, he had Mary Peltola and Lisa Murkowski in his caucus, basically. Our congressional delegate. I mean, he's outnumbered two to one there, right? And there's no doubt in my mind, I do not believe Lisa Murkowski should be registered as Republican I think she should be registered as a Democrat because I think that would more accurately reflect her political leanings that's my mind
Yeah, I take your word on that. And please ask them about USAID. We just don't need people that have baseless, you know, foundations that just go with the way the wind blows. I do understand about being... you know, up against Murkowski and Peltola, but yeah. Yeah, good question. It's a great question.
When we elect Senator Domboski, then we'll have a strong conservative team. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much, Larry. I appreciate your call. All right. You know, Joe, go ahead. I just want to comment in on this. the way lisa is putting it about talking i've been looking at some of her comments that she made them and why she's against this usaid because you know it's going to hurt people and you know she talked to alaskans who work with usaid those alaskans actually work with
South African or African relief programs in southern Sudan. Okay, so they're not really, you know, Alaskans that are affected by it. They are.
through the the chain of what they do but but literally they make it sound like a lot of these articles that alaskans are losing stuff you know it's directly affecting the people well there are couple of people who manage things that that it's affecting but you know lisa really it's not that she's not a republican it's that she's an undocumented democrat that's what bothers me you know i i will tell you you know look there are
where I haven't agreed 100% with Senator Sullivan's votes. There's no question. I remember when Obama was in office, this whole... I ran a nuclear deal. In my view, that was a treaty, and it should have been treated as a treaty. You can call a carrot a potato. It doesn't make it a potato. And I was incensed.
over this whole Iranian nuclear deal and basically they reversed it where usually when there's a treaty it has to be approved by Congress and in the way they presented it they had to get their affirmative votes to disapprove it and they didn't treat it as a treaty at all. And so it was, just because you call it a deal doesn't make it not a treaty. And I was just, that whole thing irritated me. So that was like the one vote I can remember that I was just like, what are they doing?
um but over the years i will tell you like i have i have no no heartburn whatsoever about overwhelmingly the overall job Senator Dan Sullivan has done. In fact, I think he's done a good job for Alaska. And I don't have any problem saying that, and I'm not going to hide that. It doesn't mean I agree with everything now. But do I recognize the world that he's working in?
let's say politically challenging, yes, but look, we've got to have people that will stand firm with President Trump. Because if we don't, we're not going to ever have the opportunity to unlock Alaska's resources. We're going to get into that in just a second. Let's go ahead and take a quick break if you'd like to call in. 522-0650. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Friday morning. Now back to the boss, Amy Demboski.
Call 907-522-0650 and be a part of the show on NewsRadio 650. KENI. Welcome back. Well, what do we have? Donald Trump signs an order to increase American mining, according to Must Over Read Alaska. His order intends to boost domestic output of such minerals as cobalt, copper, reducing reliance on imports amid tensions with China. Governor wrote on, it looks like, social media.
More great news coming out of the White House. Alaska stands ready to lead the way in revitalizing America's mineral supply chain. We look forward to working with the administration to accelerate permitting. unleash investment, and make the United States the global leader in critical mineral production, end quote.
Congressman Begich wrote, quote, today's executive order to increase mineral production in the United States is yet another major victory for America's energy and national security. The war on mining that we saw waged under the Biden administration is over. Thank you. Thank you. our alliance on China for critical minerals while also strengthening our own supply chains, end quote. So as we start to look at this,
Like I said, Donald Trump is very focused on resource development. There's another one. In must read, Trump administration unleashes Alaska energy potential, boosting jobs and dominance. So Interior Secretary Burgum. yesterday announced immediate steps to unlock Alaska's vast, untapped natural resources. His actions supported President Trump's vision of American energy dominance and aims to revitalize energy exploration. and infrastructure in our state.
According to this, the Bureau of Land Management will take immediate steps to expand oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the 1002 coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Also, BLM works towards partially revoking public land withdrawals by the Biden administration to advance critical infrastructure projects such as the Ambler Road and the Alaska liquefied natural gas pipeline.
The governor issued an immediate statement, which came just before Senator Sullivan's address to the legislature yesterday. It says, quote, the announcement today from the Department of Interior is more great news for Alaska. I want to thank President Trump and the Interior Secretary Burgum for their commitment to work on behalf of Alaska to ensure that our great state and its resources can continue to be a solution for many American challenges.
The news today will provide more investment opportunities, more jobs, and a better future for Alaska as we look forward to continued work with President Trump. and his administration to move Alaska and our country forward, end quote. So as you see this, I mean, this is a huge, I mean, yesterday was a huge energy news day for Alaska. When you start looking at the Trump administration,
very aggressive approach to Alaska being able to develop our own resources. I mean, this is just a win-win. And, again, It's not because of Senator Lisa Murkowski, I'll tell you that. It's not because of her efforts to work with the Trump administration. It's because of the governor's efforts, and it's because of Senator Sullivan's efforts. And it's because of Nick Begich's efforts.
efforts. I know Nick Begich has been very aggressive. He introduced right away Alaska's Right to Produce Act. He signed on to that right away. And he's been very focused on it. But I know from friends in the know, Sullivan and the governor have been like dogs on a bone with the Trump administration pushing Alaska to the forefront. And, you know, again, we have to have. advocates in the room
If you're going to take advantage of this Republican administration in the White House. Well, this is the most you've actually heard Alaska be spoken of in Congress in the White House since ANSLA and the Alaska Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Other than that. The only time you ever heard about us was turning us into a park. Turning us into a park. I will tell you, there's aggressive moves being made right now on the federal level towards Alaska in the positive.
And anytime we can unleash jobs in Alaska, we can unleash our own energy development and production. It's good for Alaska. It's good for our country. It's a win-win all the way around. We will get into all those topics and so much more. All right, we're going to take a quick break. If you'd like to call in, 522-0650. Payton on it. The opinions expressed on this show are those of the host and not of iHeart Media or its employees. Thank you for listening to News Radio 650 KENR.
Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back to Hour 2 of the Amy Dobosky Show, broadcasting live and local every weekday morning from 6 to 8 a.m. right here on 650 a.m. You can catch us. On the web as well, if you want to go to our website, it's 650keni.iheart.com. That's where you can stream us live or you can find our podcast. You can also download the iHeart Media app.
It helps if I open my buttons over here. And on that iHeartMedia app, you will be able to find buttons that you get a push that make listening to your favorite programs super easy. They're called the preset buttons, just like on the radio in your car. You get a load in to those presets.
your favorite podcast, your favorite radio stations, whatever they may be. And then it's one click, no longer searching for it by name or any of them things. It's just right there. You click on it and it'll automatically bring you either to the station you want or to the latest podcast that you want.
Give it a try. Oh, I love it. I love it. Daryl's really good at pushing buttons. I am. He pushes mine every day. All right, let's go to the phones. And Bruce is with us. Good morning, sir. Hey, morning, Amy. Morning, Daryl. Before I get into what I talk about, my son told me a joke yesterday that I got to tell you guys. I love it. All right. So, do you know why?
Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You've got to start again because you've got your phone cut out. Start one more time. Do you know why scientists never, ever trust atoms? Oh, I don't know why. Because they make up everything. Cute. I was thinking everything, everything, but I couldn't figure out how to make it the punchline.
tell you i have to tell everybody this so the other day okay this is hilarious so the other day i go to the borough assembly meeting and bruce is on one side of me and cj cone the arp region rep is on the other side of me Bruce shows me this picture and it says federal judge directs prices of eggs to go back up.
And then on the other side of me, CJ goes, yeah, well, I also heard that there was a federal judge that ordered the astronauts to go back to space. I mean, I was cracking up. You guys are killing me. They were hilarious. Okay, anyways. Graspers, please, what is on your mind today? You kind of hit on it, that executive order that President Trump signed about the minerals and the mining and all that stuff.
And the thing that I've been thinking about is that we have President Trump and Representative Nick Begish. Like you said, they're really putting Alaska on the map, but they understand military strategic importance, the future of a Northwest Passage, all our rights. minerals and all that stuff they understand and they're really trying to open it up and create success for Alaska but then I look to our local politicians in Juneau
It seems like they just want Alaska on a path of failure. All they want to do is spend money. They're not looking at this stuff that the federal government's looking at. It's just like they're not on the same planet. And we got the federal government, which is weird. They want us to succeed. And it seems like our local elected leaders want us to fail.
And I just can't wrap my head around it. I get it. I get it. And this is when one of my concerns this whole session is that we are going to, yet again, Let an opportunity slip through our fingers when I watch what's happening on the federal level And then I see what's happening on a state level. Here we go again. Here we have this huge opportunity served up to us on a silver platter with the Trump administration doing what? Nothing but talking about Alaska.
Alaska's resources, Alaska's ability to develop, Alaska's opportunities. And I look at that, and I'm like, man, this is the time you seize the moment, right? You pile on because you may not get another opportunity like this for another 50 years, and yet what are they doing down in Juneau? They're down in Juneau talking about raising taxes.
on the oil and gas industry. They're talking about fighting Trump. They're talking about the resistance. It's insane to me. And just spending money we do not have. Even I've written in, people have called in. And when you ask a simple question, even when you watch the last, the House bill was at 69, the BSA increase, forget the fact that we already spend one of the highest on students with the poorest results. When people simply ask, where is this money coming from?
There's no answer. And I saw one of them. I can't remember. They just said, well, we'll pass it, and then we'll figure out where the money comes from. Oh, that reminds me. Yep. That reminds me of an Obamacare. Yep, yep. Pass it so we can see what's in it. It's really disheartening. And I'm going to say it again. President Trump.
And Representative Nick Bagish, they understand. I keep telling people, Alaska first, America wins. And I wish our state legislators would understand that concept and put forth and marry up with the federal government so we can put Alaska on a path of success. and not failure i just had to get off my chest nope you're 100 you're 100 on track i gotta tell you you're exactly right and look
At the end of the day, if Alaska wins, America wins, right? If we are able to bring our critical minerals to bear, if we're able to bring more oil and gas to bear, if we're able to bring more beautiful coal, to the market, it's good for everybody. It's going to not only lower energy costs, but it's going to attract business to Alaska, and we're going to have more jobs in Alaska. So I think it's good for every Alaskan, and at the end of the day,
it's good for every American if we're able to unleash the potential that is Alaska. I agree with you. 100%. 100%. You guys have a great weekend. All right, my friend. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you so much for calling in.
All right, Daryl, are we ready? Can we go ahead and take a break now? You know, we can take that break right now. All right, we're going to go ahead and we're going to shift our breaks just a little bit because we do expect a phone call from Senator Dan Sullivan at 730. So let's go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back.
Looking at your Alaska Total Traffic cameras on this Friday morning. You're listening to live, local, and always insightful Morning Drive Radio with Amy Demboski on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Join the show now by calling 907-522-0650. Welcome back, Current Time 717. Joining the show now, Senator Shelley Hughes. Well, she was down in Juneau.
when we had a visit this week from some members of our congressional delegation. Senator Hughes, what did you think of the speeches by Senator Sullivan and Senator Murkowski? Well, I didn't get a chance to talk to Dan after his speech, but I talked to his lovely wife and to his chief of staff, and I said he hit it out of the park. And where I was sitting, I could watch the applauses, Amy.
And there were hesitations from the Democrats, but some of the things that he was saying, they couldn't resist but laugh. We had claps and standing ovations at different points. He did a great job. I think he did the best of what we've heard. It's not just about promises, but it's about real action items that are helping and moving things forward.
And I 100% agree with you and with Bruce. What's happening in Juneau is troubling. But I also want to encourage you because I think as we hear more about the potential... and the cooperation of the Trump administration, it's pretty hard for the naysayers to push back because... One of the items, you know, when we produce our natural resources, it provides revenue. And, of course, the Democrats are really interested in revenue.
And, you know, there's a point. I was reading some of what U.S. Secretary Chris Wright said at a recent energy conference. And the growth of renewables... is only, as far as the amount that puts into the energy that we concern, the growth of that is only about 0.3% to 0.6% per year. So it's going to take, I don't know, another 100 years or something.
So the demand for hydrocarbons is immense. And here's a few numbers that really try to stay with me for a second. There are 8 billion people on the planet, 1 billion of us. enjoy the comforts, conveniences, the efficiencies that hydrocarbons bring us. And mining brings us, too, as far as our devices and all these things. One billion out of eight billion.
For that $1 billion to enjoy these things, it takes 13 barrels of oil per year. The other 7 billion people on the planet, they want to be where we are. It is moving that direction. More are moving from the rural areas into the urban areas, and they're going to have those same demands. That's happening in India. It's happening in China.
It's happening in Africa. Well, right now, that's $7 billion. They only require one to three barrels of oil a year. So as more of those move into the urban areas and have the demand... They're going to need that 13 barrels per year as well. And we're talking, when you talk about per barrel, you're talking per person, right? Per person, per 13 barrels per person per year.
So the demand is going up. The demand for coal is going up. So, you know, it's a day of reckoning, and Alaska has to realize, we want to be part of this. Or do we want to resist? And I think I'm counting noses right now on SB 112, which is Willikowski's bill.
to raise oil taxes on the oil companies. And on SB 92, which is now a Senate resources bill, I'm so glad that Senator Yunt pulled his name off of that. So both of those bills are basically... saying no. I was meeting with Armstrong Oil the other day, and I learned that in listing off a bunch of other states, and I actually want it on a document, so I
I'm not just passing out hearsay, but the gist of it was rattling off a bunch of states that have not changed their tax policies, their tax regimes. regimes for 30, 40, 50 years. And here we do it every few years. You're hitting on a very important point that we've talked about here. When we're investing in oil and gas, coal, mining, any type of a big, large scale, that takes a lot of capital to invest.
When they're projecting out, they're looking at a 30, 40-year investment. And when the tax regime changes every couple years, it brings in a massive instability. And frankly, those... investors are more than likely going to go somewhere else where they know the tax regime is stable. I mean, it's common sense. Yeah, one of the exciting things, and the vision's being cast, and can we do it?
But there's a new development, sockeye, which is similar in size to willow, but it's on state land, Amy. That means willow is the borough and federal land primarily. And so the revenue from that is only going to be about 3%. But this new sockeye discovery is all state land. It would be about 16% as far as the revenues and royalties for the state. And the vision being cast right now, instead of taking 10 or 12 years to bring that production to production like we've seen with other projects,
is to do it in just a few years, three or four years, because it's state land. If we can get cooperation from the state, we could move that forward much more quickly. And that would really, if we can do that, that would really encourage other companies and investors to say, wow, you don't have to put your capital up front and wait a decade or more until you get a return on investment.
So I'm excited about the sockeye. I'm hoping we can make that happen more quickly instead of dragging out. And as far as the EO, as far as critical minerals and mining, here's... Hold on to your seat because this about blew me away when I learned it. It takes an average of 29 years to get the permitting process through from a discovery.
for mining to actually mining production. That is inexcusable. And in many cases, it's as many as 40 years. And I think that is one of the things that will be tremendous about the federal administration. They know that's too long, and I think you're going to see that timeframe tighten up and more mining opportunities in our state.
You know, the left that wants to push away the hydrocarbon production, wants to push away the mining. What do you just ask them? It's okay. You know, if we push it away here, they'll do it somewhere else. Yeah, they will. Well, look. or is that really what you want?
You made a good point early in the conversation. They really like that spending that comes along with it. They like the money that comes along with the development that happens here in Alaska. So maybe that will be the hook to bring them along with us. But I think I joined many Alaskans in saying, legislature, please don't mess up this opportunity for us. Because I think it's a once in a 50-year opportunity where you have such alignment with things that could be so beneficial.
to Alaska. Senator Hughes, thank you so much for your call this morning. I truly appreciate it. Yeah, and you'll enjoy hearing from U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan. He's got a great message. Very encouraging. And at the state level, couldn't be a worse time to try to stymie any of this. So we're working hard to change minds and hearts down here.
Well, we certainly appreciate it. As always, Senator Hughes, it was great seeing you over the weekend, and I look forward to your successful legislative session this year. So keep us updated. as this legislative season goes on, would you? Will do, and we had a great hearing on the Sunset Commission, and I'll let you go. Thanks.
All right. Thank you so much. All right, folks, we're going to do things a little bit differently today because we have to shift around our schedule a little bit because we are anticipating a call from Senator Dan Sullivan at 730 this morning. So we're going to go ahead and take our call. commercial break just a tiny bit early. And then when we come back, we should have Senator Sullivan on the phone with us. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
628 Mornings on News Radio 650 KENI. Call now. 907-522-0650. Welcome back. Joining us now is none other than our favorite U.S. Senator from Alaska, Senator Dan Sullivan. Good morning, sir. Hey, Amy, great to be on the show. Great to be back home. How are you doing? I'm fantastic. Oh, I can't even imagine. You know, Senator Sullivan, we've been prepping everybody, telling them you were going to call in this morning, and I know we have a lot to talk about.
but I promised one of our callers I would start with getting your perspective on DOGE and the cuts to USAID and Social Security. And we all know Donald Trump is not cutting Social Security. But some of the fraud, waste, and abuse that's been uncovered, as you see kind of the Trump administration, kind of enlighten us to some of the things that are going on. What are your thoughts and have you taken any position on this whole?
crackdown by the Trump administration to try to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse? Oh, yeah. Look, I mean, I talked about it in my speech to the legislature yesterday that what they're doing... is really, really needed. I mean, we are at this precarious level in our country, in our history right now. Last year we paid more on the debt in terms of interest.
about $950 billion, than we did to fund the Department of Defense. That is an inflection point when countries hit that. Think about it. More to... service the debt, that's just money goes out to bondholders, a lot of them are Chinese, than to defend our country. There's a really good Wall Street Journal piece about three weeks ago that said, when countries hit this inflection point...
It's actually when empires start to crash. And it's just not sustainable. I mean, it is not sustainable. So, you know, I think they're making really good... successes on a whole host of things but we got to make the doge group i've been working very closely with them including with elon musk but we gotta um we have to make some hard
Now, they've also said, look, not every decision we make is going to be correct. They've made some mistakes in Alaska. From my perspective, we've actually worked with them to reverse those. But the overall... The goal of making our government live within its means and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse is absolutely essential. And it's not a discretionary operation in my view right now, Amy.
and i you know in my speech yesterday i talked about and it's got a historical precedent i don't normally cite bill clinton but if you remember came into office they undertook this um They called it reinventing government. They ended up saving about $108 billion, and they got rid of over 420,000 federal jobs. That's Bill Clinton and what happened.
In 1998, they balanced the budget. That was the last time that our government balanced the budget through that effort. So, look, the other thing in my discussion with a lot of these guys, and I've been meeting with them a lot. is the other thing that's happened when the Biden administration went on its spending binge with no Republican support. Remember the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the American Recovery Act?
Those were trillion-dollar bills that not one Republican in the Senate supported. But there's no doubt, what did that do? That fueled inflation. The debt levels and the debt spending and the interest on the debt is fueling... this massive inflation. And that remains the number one issue, high cost of living and inflation of working families in Alaska. So we have to start undertaking it. Again, think about it.
We spent more on servicing our debt. I think it's $950 billion last year than we did to defend our country with paying for our military. So that's my view on this. I explained it in detail to the legislature yesterday. But, look, I want to address one issue that I know has come up on the show because it's a really important one and I want all your listeners to hear.
Last week, we were voting to fund the government, a continuing resolution. And you may have seen, we had a really good week last week relative to the National Democrats. Democrats, the progressive far left, are attacking Schumer. They're asking him to step down. They're protesting Chuck Schumer at all his events. He was going to have a book tour.
He had to cancel his book tour because the far left, AOC, Bernie Sanders, they're still going after Schumer. What happened? Well, we Republicans stuck together in the House. Everybody stuck together on this continuum resolution. It had more for our military. It had a huge pay raise for our troops. When that bill came over to the Senate, our...
Senate leadership said we can't let any amendments pass because the Dems are going to put all these amendments on it. If an amendment passes, we'll have to send that back to the House, the House had already left, and the government will shut down in... We will be blamed for it, right? So we had a bunch of amendments, including this one from Senator Paul that dealt with the USAID cuts from Doge. Well, look, I've been a longtime proponent of shutting down USAID.
putting it under the State Department. It's this weird independent agency. So the Paul Amendment was about USAID. But had the Paul Amendment passed, Amy, guess what would have happened? Schumer would have had a great week. None of this chaos that the Democrats would have, that they're doing against each other would have passed. The government would have shut down, and guess who would have been blamed? Donald Trump, Senate Republicans, the Speaker of the House.
And so our leadership said we've got to make sure no amendments pass, including. That makes sense. Even maybe some that you would have supported. Yeah, you know, and I think that's the part a lot of people don't understand is maybe the process. because you don't want to cut off your nose to spite your face. At the end of the day, this isn't the end of the discussion about some of these other spending cuts that might happen in the future, I think. No, no, the substance of that Paul amendment...
from my perspective, was no problem. The issue was timing. Had that passed, all the chaos that you're seeing on the far left with people calling for Schumer to step down and everything. Still happening, by the way. Just read the paper. Oh, I watched it this morning. Yeah, for sure. None of that would be happening right now. The government would be shut down. The pay rates for our troops.
would not have happened, and Schumer and the far left would be celebrating, and the Republicans would be blamed. That would be the top news story. So every now and then, in our leadership said, hey, we've got to defeat all amendments, including this Paul amendment, which, by the way, was the only Republican amendment. Because, again, had any amendment passed, the bill would have changed. It would have gone back to the House.
the House is out of session, the government would have shut down, and all the chaos against Schumer and the far left, their civil war, we wouldn't see it. So, look, substance is fine, but sometimes the timing of these and... That amendment passing would have given the far left a giant pass, a sigh of relief.
That makes a lot of sense. You know, Senator Sullivan, one of the things I've been thinking about as you address the legislature, you were, like, absolutely tenacious about going after the Biden administration and all their... executive orders targeting Alaska. It must be such a huge relief and feeling of satisfaction for you to see the Trump administration so bullish in supporting Alaska.
opportunities. I know you had a great message. Senator Shelley Hughes called in and she was listening to your legislative address this week and she said your message was really actually warmly received and You must be feeling like we really have some great opportunities. What a difference a president makes. Am I right here? Oh, Amy, 100%. You know, I laid out what I call the two visions for Alaska, and I said it. Look, the National Dems and their radical far-left allies have a...
have a much different vision for Alaska than we Republicans do. And by the way, I don't think all even Democrats in Alaska agree with Carter, Obama. and biden but what i did i laid out hey here's what carter said with the nilka By the way, I had some, I can't remember which state rep he got up and said, Anilka was great. Jimmy Carter was great. I was like, man, you and I just disappeared. But, you know, go figure. I can't remember who that was. But it was.
I laid out what Carter did, what Obama did. You might remember at the end of the Obama administration, he said, look, Alaska, you've got to get off your reliance on your economy and energy and oil and gas. You've got to rely on more things like, and he said this, quote, philanthropy. Philanthropy? Charity? Are you kidding me? Only a far-left liberal Dem leader can tell a state that has more resources than most countries, don't go for that. Let us give you scraps from the federal table.
I finally held up the Biden 70 executive orders that you and I have talked about a lot. 70 that they issued exclusively and singularly focused on Alaska. And I tore it up. I tore it up from the dais in front of all the legislators. And I will tell you, the Republicans in that gave me a nice standing O when I tore that up. And then... I said, this is our future, and I held up Trump's executive order from day one called Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential. And I said...
Doesn't matter whether you voted for the president, President Trump or not. This thing is an unmitigated good. And if you don't agree, well, geez, Louise, we have some real differences. But our future is. private sector-led growth, wealth creation, private sector-led jobs, not having an arrogant, faraway federal government as our landlord that, you know, every now and then... throws us scraps.
Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, you know, you've talked very openly. You've always been very strong on national defense and Alaska's potential to play on a national level. And I think as we talk about our strategic location,
obviously, I think our resource potential would obviously be a strategic advantage to the whole nation, not just Alaskans. Yeah, you're so right, Amy. And, you know, when we got this... executive order done i mean look to be honest my office wrote a lot of this we were working directly with the president and his team before he um
was inaugurated. I will say as well, Governor Dunleavy and his team have been working closely with us and the Trump administration and their team. So we all worked on this before. the inauguration. And again, I would really strongly encourage all your listeners to just take a look at this document. I've been doing press all over the state saying, hey, we don't have to...
Think about Alaska as, hey, it's going to take 10 years to permit a hydro project, 20 years to permit a mine, 30 years to permit a Cooper Landing bypass on the Kenai Peninsula. should stop thinking like that. We now have a federal government that wants to help us. And to your point, our strength as a nation, Alaska represents a lot of it. Of course, our military, our strategic location.
But our energy and natural resources, our critical minerals, those are the strength of America. And we have them here. And now we have a president who wants to unleash them. By the way, we're the only state that has our own executive order. saying we want to get this done. It's on everything from mining to oil and gas to the Alaska Energy Project.
And yesterday, right before my speech to the legislature, the Secretary of Interior, Doug Bergram, he and I had been trading phone calls. He was leaving me a message, Senator, I got some great news for Alaska. I want to make sure you have it. They put a press release out. We had it. saying that they're going to make sure almost 85% of NPRA is open. That's huge because Biden shut it all down. They're going to reinstate the leasing program from the Trump administration for ANWR.
And this one sounds really technical, Amy, but there's a public land order called 5150, and it's essentially the ownership of the land under the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. And right now that has been owned by the feds forever. We have been trying since the 70s, the 1970s, to get that land back under the state's control.
And this executive order yesterday started the process for Alaska to get that land back, which just provides so much more opportunity. I announced this at my... alleged speech yesterday in juno and i got another standing ovation and i think even some democrats realized like man if i sit on my uh haunches After this announcement, I'm really going to look like a far lefty eco-colonialist who wants to crush our economy the way Biden and Obama and Carter. And by the way, Chuck Schumer.
You know, that guy, worst guy ever for Alaska. And I'm so glad he's having a really, really bad week. All these far left guys come out and say he needs to go. It's great. I'd love for him to go, too. You know, the Dems are so far left on Alaska that they'll get rid of Schumer and they'll probably put Bernie Sanders as the minority leader. Yep.
They're not our friends in Alaska. No, not at all. It's entertaining to watch this last week for sure. I have my popcorn now, but I will tell you, as I look at the efforts, and I've been trying to tell people, I know for a fact behind the scenes.
scenes, you and the governor have been working really tight with the Trump administration to bring Alaska to the forefront. And I think when you see the number of times Alaska is mentioned by Donald Trump and the different orders and the different focus, especially You know, Doug Burgum coming out yesterday with him actually executing on that EO that came out on day one. I think what you're seeing is a real strategic position here. And one of my concerns, I've expressed this to many legislators.
here in Alaska, is I don't want them to mess it up for us on a state level. I mean, we need to be working in coordination. Do you have that concern, or are you seeing the momentum start to kind of shift and everybody get on the same page?
Well, it's such a good question. And that was the point of my speech to the legislature yesterday, which was the president, he is so... motivated to help is i said look we're pushing on an open door with these guys um and by the way he listened right biden never listened to us and And this was Democrats and Republicans from Alaska going to the Biden administration. Please don't lock us up anymore. They didn't listen to us at all. This president and his team are not only listening, they're...
highlighting and prioritizing what we need for our state. Again, a vision of a state that's not reliant on an arrogant, faraway federal government. but a federal government that wants to help us unleash our own private sector opportunities, private sector jobs. So my point of highlighting the executive order yesterday, and I looked at a lot of the Democrats in the legislature, and again, I said,
Read this thing. Use it. We have to put pedal to the metal. It's exactly your point. We have to work together. You know, I kind of talked a lot about the gas line. I know there's a lot of skepticism. on that still but when the president of the united states highlights a big project in your state in his state of the union address and says
This is one of my top priorities. That's not only good for Alaska. The whole world watches that address. And I will also tell you, again, working with Governor Dunleavy, It's not easy to get the president to highlight one of your things. Everybody in D.C. and around the country wants him to highlight one of their big topics in his State of the Union. But he did it for us. You guys are getting it done. You guys are getting it done. It's so exciting to see.
Well, Senator Sullivan, I always feel like our time together, it goes by so fast. But we so appreciate you taking the time out this morning. We can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve next because you and the governor. and Congressman Begich and the whole delegation as we push towards bringing Alaska to the forefront. We're excited to see what the future holds. Sir, thank you for your time this morning.
Yeah, Amy, thank you. You're doing a great job. Keep it up. And by the way, everybody should take a look. Read this very long executive order on Alaska. And if there's any project or anything that you're working on, Let's accelerate it. Let's put pedal to the metal for the future of our state and our kids and our grandkids. It's a really exciting time.
Absolutely. Senator Sullivan, until next time, we will talk to you soon. Thank you again for your call this morning, sir. Okay. Thanks. All right. Bye-bye. We're going to go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Friday morning. Traffic's now picked up around the Anchorage Bowl. Looks like Hillside Drive's got a bit of a slowdown backup. Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on NewsRadio.
650-KENI. Welcome back. Well, Daryl, I... I don't know about you, but Senator Sullivan very directly answered our caller's question about USAID and it doesn't sound like he was defending it at all. Sounded to me like he knew there was some issues there and they're addressing it. And he seems like he's working hand-in-hand with Doge to kind of bring in. I didn't realize the number was so staggering. Can you imagine? We paid $950.
billion dollars on the interest on our debt more than is spending on the military that's insane I don't even know what to say about it. Under control. This is the whole reason. And this isn't a what we need to do a little bit here, a little bit there. We can't take a pruning shears to the forest. We need to take the chainsaw. And if we do cut out a couple of things that are important.
we can plant them again. That's a good analogy. All right, we're going to see if we can squeeze Craig in here. He's been waiting. Good morning, Craig. Hey, good morning. I really wish I would have turned on the radio earlier this morning. I enjoyed... what little bit I got from Senator Hughes, I wish and really hopefully pray that she can take this junior senator.
and under her wing and educate him a little bit and try to prevent him from getting to fight the hand that feeds us with his tax plan. Oh, you're talking about Rob Yunt. Yeah, yeah. I'm not a fan of Rob Yunt, even when he was here in Wasilla, for a couple of various reasons. He's a very polished speaker. And I say that he doesn't have a silver tongue, but a platinum tongue. And anyway, I wish that more people out here in the Valley would call and let him know that...
that he's definitely going in the wrong direction. And if he wants to do some good, he needs to get himself a doge hat and try to do some sniffing. and try to find out where some money is being used in wrong, bad ways and fraud, waste, and abuse. and try to find money to where we can fund some of this education stuff that they're looking at spending because we don't have money for that anyway.
Well, you make an excellent point, sir. I'm sorry to have to cut you off here. We're hitting the end of the show, so the computer's about to cut me off. So thank you so much for your weighing in. But to your point. Maybe looking for new revenue isn't the issue. Maybe it's prioritizing the spending you're doing now. I think that's words of wisdom for sure.
Well, I want to thank Senator Dan Sullivan for calling in this morning and giving us an update from D.C. Of course, we really appreciate those firsthand accounts, and we are grateful for that conversation. That does it for Daryl and I for today. We will be back with you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Monday morning at 6 a.m. Until then, stay safe. God bless.