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- [00:00]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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Steve Gruber
You know what your customers are doing right this second? The exact same thing. You are listening to me. Which, let's be honest, is kind of flattering. But my point Is, ads on iHeartRadio actually get heard in the car, at the gym, on the couch while people are walking their dogs.
- [00:20]
Skip Medell
Who's a good boy?
- [00:21]
Steve Gruber
Who's a good boy? You're a good boy.
- [00:23]
Ralph Norman
That's right, dude.
- [00:23]
Steve Gruber
You're a good. So why not make the next ad about you? Get started today. Call 844-844-IHEART or go to iheartadvertising.com that's 844-8844, iheart or iheartadvertising.com this is America's Voice Live. And welcome to America's Voice Live. I'm Steve, the pulse of the people.
- [00:42]
Brian Gans
We need somebody that's going to hear.
- [00:43]
Steve Gruber
The people's voice, the truth the mainstream won't touch. This guy is by definition a globalist. And the stories that matter. Rav's own Ben Berklam.
- [00:53]
Tommy Aiello
Right up over this hill.
- [00:55]
Brian Gans
Got one cartel.
- [00:56]
Eric Bolling
I see him.
- [00:56]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
I see him.
- [00:56]
Eric Bolling
I see him.
- [01:00]
Steve Gruber
Live. Breaking news right now here on Real America's Voice Filtered. These people are domestic terrorists and unapologetic. We're here to take a stand for God and country. Does feel good. America's Voice Live starts now. Welcome to America's Voice Live. I'm Steve Guru. Today is Thursday the 11th of December, the year of our Lord 2025. Let's get the bidet's top story. As always, thank you for joining us here on rav. We appreciate serious questions being raised about why dangerous repeat offenders keep ending up back on our streets. If you ask me, I'd say it's because of the previous administration, along with other liberal policies that seem to avoid holding accountability for crimes committed. Also, Burna Technologies has filed a lawsuit in the Southern district of California over the state's restrictions on less lethal weapons, alleging the restrictions violate the second Amendment infringing on the right to bear arms. More on that today. Even though they're less lethal. And then later, America's broken health care system is costing American taxpayers billions of of dollars. Republicans have a few great ideas to fix this issue. One, which includes ending the expanded Obamacare subsidies. We'll talk about that. All of that and more coming your way today. First, I do want to mention today that Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, is in a Utah courtroom today. They went into a closed session for a bit. We expect them to return. If they do, we're going to go to Provo, Utah, live to that courtroom so you can see and hear exactly what's happening. It's his first time appearing in person in the courtroom, so it's pretty important. United States Senate set to vote possibly today on the future of health care. And per usual, Democrats are lying through their teeth about what's at stake and who's to blame for the state of American health care. Covid era subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, which will result in even more expensive premiums for many Americans, thanks to the defunct Obamacare machine that serves the interests of insurance companies and not you, the American taxpayer, or the American patient. And instead of acknowledging just how disastrous the Affordable Care act has been for this country, Democrats are of course blaming Donald Trump and MAGA for the health care crisis, though they had nothing to do with it. Listen to this.
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iHeart Advertising Announcer
Republicans can't kick this problem down the road to January. It's not a January problem. It's not a February problem. It's a now problem. So we have once again offered a straightforward solution. Obviously, there's many more things we would to reform our health care system and make it more affordable. But right now, to stem this disaster and crisis that Donald Trump has created by refusing to do anything about extending the tax credits for the Affordable Care act, we are saying right now we can do this.
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Steve Gruber
So Senator Klobuchar just stands there and just lies. Now's a good time to remind you that the expiration of these subsidies was set at the end of 2025 during the inflation Reduction act, solely by Democrats and by design. It got not a single Republican vote, not one. This disaster, this crisis, is completely manufactured by the Democrats. Democrats had 15 years to make Obamacare actually affordable. They repeatedly bragged that millions of people in the exchanges, they'd have massive bargaining power to drive premium dollars. All these people could have strength in numbers. It never happened. Every single year, every single year, premiums went up, sometimes way up. Despite all that supposed leverage, at first, the original subsidies were big enough to paper over the problem. When even those weren't enough to keep plans competitive, they enrolled the enhanced subsidies during COVID which dramatically increased what taxpayers pay, what you push into the system. Those were sold as temporary emergency help. But now that they're expiring, Democrats want to make the higher taxpayer tab permanent and send you the bill. Just to keep masking the fact that the underlying program has never, never been able to stand on its own against private insurance that we normally would use. Obama lied from the beginning. He promised refunds. He promised lower premiums. He promised you'd be able to keep whatever plan you wanted and you'd be able to keep your doctor too. Not true. But here's the rotten fruit from all that ill conceived plan Since Obamacare's big rollout in 2014, the seven largest health care insurers have tripled their revenues from 511 billion to to 1.5 trillion just last year. 1.5 trillion. The same crowd that's cheering Luigi Mangione for murdering a, quote, greedy health insurance CEO is now demanding that taxpayers keep writing bigger and bigger checks to those same greedy insurance companies by making the extension of Obamacare's enhanced subsidies permanent. Obamacare is not only incredibly ineffective, it's also rife with waste, fraud and abuse. Shock, right? The Government Accountability Office warned about this all the way back in 2016. Listen to this. These results, combined with those from our earlier work involving coverage years 2014 and 2015, form a consistent pattern of three principal interrelated frost risk indicators which we're pursuing further during our ongoing ACA related work. First, no year on year, changes in the enrollment processes and controls are readily apparent, suggesting that these remain fundamentally vulnerable to fraud at multiple points along their entire spectrum, front, middle and end, raising the overall program integrity risk for ACA. That was 2016, and guess what? Nothing has changed now. That same office has released a report this week that finds that Obamacare is covering for tens of thousands of fraudulent accounts. Shelling out your taxpayer dollars every month to fake accounts, dead people, or unidentified accounts, the report states. This, quote, preliminary analysis identified over 29,000 Social Security numbers in 2023. Nearly 68,000 Social Security numbers in 2024 used to receive more than one year's worth of insurance coverage in a single plan year. Why? Because the system's basically a free for all. No effective fraud detection systems anywhere to be found. When the GAO wanted to test those systems, it created 20 fake accounts. All right, let's test it. Here's 20 fake accounts to see if Obamacare would catch it. Eighteen of those accounts are still currently receiving insurance coverage, a 90% rate. It's utterly embarrassing, or at least it should be. But Democrat politicians find it easier to just ignore, deflect and deny. That's the Democrat playbook, of course, and they're hoping it works for them again today. I hope it doesn't. Neither does President Trump because he's tired of the insurance companies winning while the American people continue to lose. He made that clear in an interview just this week with Politico, Obamacare was set up for insurance companies to become rich. Okay?
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Ralph Norman
That was why they.
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Steve Gruber
In my opinion, I think the Democrats.
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Ralph Norman
Did it for that reason.
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Steve Gruber
Do you know that insurance company stocks have gone up 16, 17, 1800% over a short period of time?
- [08:09]
Ralph Norman
They've been paid trillions.
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Steve Gruber
Not billions. Trillions of dollars. And what I'm saying is very simple. I don't want to pay them anything. No money for the insurance company. Sorry, fellows, I know them all. No money for the insurance companies. I want to pay the money directly.
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Ralph Norman
To the people and let the people.
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Steve Gruber
Get their own health care. But you know who's fighting me in that? The Democrats. Sorry, fellas. I like that the Democrats are fighting him on it. Even while admitting that the current system is not working, Senator Bernie Sanders is admitting what his colleagues won't. Obamacare is a disaster. Listen to what Bernie says.
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Eric Bolling
The truth of the matter is, before the big, beautiful bill, our health care system was a disaster. It is dysfunctional. And the American people and Democrats have got to deal with the fact. Why are we the richest country on earth, the only major nation not to guarantee health care to all people? Why don't we have enough doctors and nurses and dentists? Why is our life expectancy lower than other countries, especially for working class people? Why do 40% of people who get diagnosed with cancer either go bankrupt or deplete their financial savings? This is an insane, disgraceful health care system.
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Steve Gruber
He was so close and yet still so far away. He understands that Obamacare has failed Americans, even though he pushed it heavily. He just wants to make it even more socialized, even though it fails every step of the way. And he still wants to extend the same problem to. For at least three more years. You know who summed it up best? Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. Here's what he said. Bernie is one of the fathers of Obamacare, which has been an unmitigated disaster. Now he wants to extend it and put more money into it, which will be like just putting a fresh coat of paint on rotten wood. Number two. Look, I really don't hate anybody and I like Senator Sanders, but he's a knight that attracts a lot of strange, strange moths. And one of them just got elected to be mayor of New York. And Bernie is. He is a socialist and. But the socialists and the Democratic Party are in charge. A lot of strange, strange moths. So what's the alternative? Giving the money back to the American people? That's the plan President Trump talked about. It's the plan that Senators Bill Cassidy and Mike Crapo have introduced to the Senate. Bill Cassidy, by the way, is a doctor who treated uninsured patients in Louisiana's charity health care system. He's heard the concerns of uninsured Americans firsthand. He knows he's dealt with the blood, the sweat and the tears like no other politician. And he wants to put them first for once. Here's his plan.
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Ralph Norman
Listen, here is the difference between the two accounts. Who gets the money under their plan? Insurance companies under our plan, patients and families. What can the money be used for? Well, here it's subsidized premiums there, which means that the insurance company gets it and takes 20% for deductible and copay. Under our plan, you can use it for your doctor visit, your X rays to see your dentist, your glasses, your prescriptions. This is real medical care, not something the insurance company permits you to have. Who makes the decision under their plan? The insurance company under our plan. Power to the patient. We want that patient, we want that mama, we want that wife. Because they're the ones who always make the decisions on health care to be the one that has the power contributes to lower cost under their plan. No, because it goes to the insurance company that continues to pay those higher rates to the patient. If you give her this money, you've got $5,000 to spend it wisely. She's going to say, wait a second, the x Ray is $150 here and $500 there. I'm going to where it is cheaper, not more expensive. And I can tell you when that begins to happen, the people who are more expensive begin to lower their price.
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Steve Gruber
Now, I like the sound of that a whole lot better. I bet you do, too. This is the Healthcare Freedom for Patients act, which builds off the one big beautiful bill and its expansion of eligibility for Health Savings Accounts. Let me quickly lay out what could be made available to us next year if the US Senate actually acts and puts America first. The bill has three parts. First, it makes cheaper plans way more attractive. It creates special HSAs for people on bronze or catastrophic plans. And the government will actually put money in them. $1000 a year if you're under 50, 1500 if you're older, as long as your income isn't too high. It also finally pays insurers for the cost sharing discounts they're forced to give, but only if their plans don't cover abortion. That alone drops everyone's benchmark premiums about 11%. Plus starting in 2027, anybody can buy those super low premium copper and catastrophic plans, just not young and hard luck, folks, I guess. Second, it titans Medicaid rules, states that using their own money to cover undocumented immigrants, that's a big cut in federal matching funds from 90% down. And nobody gets Medicaid or CHIP benefits until their citizenship or legal status is fully verified. No more of this. Pay now and we'll check later. No, we're done with that. And third, it bans taxpayer money both in Obamacare plans and Medicaid from paying for gender transition treatments, hormone surgeries, all that except for rare medical conditions. In short, more cash in your pocket, cheaper plans, stricter rules on who gets government coverage and no federal funds for gender affirming care. It puts money back where it belongs. It's time to end the excuses, end the waste and finally put patients first. America deserves health care that works for families, not for bureaucrats, insurers and politicians who, by the way, get plenty of money from those insurance companies. Coming up after the break, I'll bring on Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina to discuss the repeat offender crisis we're seeing because of the previous administration's failure on accountability. That and more coming up on america's Voice live.
- [14:43]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about radio? Think again, because more people are listening to the radio on iHeart today than they were 20 years ago. And only iHeart broadcast radio connects with more Americans than TV, digital, social and any other media, even twice as many teens than TikTok. And that reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for your business. Radio's here now more than ever, and iheart's leading the way. Think radio can help your business? Think iHeart streaming, podcasting and radio where the reach is real. Let us show you@iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844. Iheart one more time. Just call 844-844-Iheart and get radio working for you.
- [15:46]
Steve Gruber
Serious questions are now being raised about why dangerous repeat offenders keep ending up back on our streets over and over again. If you ask me, I'd say it's because of the previous administration along with other liberal policies that seem to avoid holding accountability for the crimes that are committed. Right. You do the crime, you do the time. Well, not really. Apparently in North Carolina, Charlotte police say Kenyon Dobie is lucky to be alive after being Stabbed on the city's blue line, allegedly by Oscar Solazano, a Honduran national. That's right, a guy here. Deported twice, repeatedly arrested for violent crimes. Yet he's back out there. He's not here legally. There he is. Despite that record, he was allowed to freely return to the community because he's such a nice man. This attack comes just months after Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarudska was murdered in a separate stabbing on the same rail just a few months ago. Unwarranted and unjustified, all because she was a white girl. The man said her killer, Decarlos Brown Jr. Was also a repeat offender with a long list of crimes to his name, who was allowed to go free each and every time. Critics, including President Trump, say these cases highlight a failure of leadership and a broken system that continues to release violent offenders, citizens and illegal migrants alike. Back into the public and we have tragic consequences. We can see it. Join me to discuss this. Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina and a candidate for governor in his state. Ralph, nice to see you.
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Ralph Norman
Glad to be with you, Steve.
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Steve Gruber
I mean, how many times do you and I have to read headlines where it says, you know, they were convicted 20 times, 30 times, or arrested and not convicted 40 times? I saw one. That was 72 times here recently. I mean, I don't know what the record is, but it's jaw dropping and it's inexcusable and unacceptable. Your thoughts?
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Ralph Norman
Well, it's not only inexcusable, I mean, the politicians have caused this. Biden, under his four years, allowed 20 plus million to come into this country illegally. President Trump is cleaning it up. But in the case of Charlotte, you know, they're not a sanctuary city as such. But the law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE agents. There are over 1,400 suggested detainees that the police city is not abiding by. And that comes from politicians, from elected officials. The city council just passed the $3.4 million million dollar price tag for publicity, publicizing how good the, how safe the lines are. It's just, it's unbelievable that it's time for the voters of Charlotte to throw them out and to get active and let the police do their job. That money could have been used for police officers. But what happened to, what happened to these poor people, the two victims, not to mention the Frederico case in Columbia, South Carolina. It's horrible. And it's gonna be up to people to change it.
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Steve Gruber
I wonder how many police officers they could have hired for that money. But instead they do an ad campaign. Look how Great. We are, isn't it great and safe. That is infuriating to me. And I don't even live there, Ralph. I mean, that is so inexcusable. Oh, look, it's safe. No, it's not. And the revolving door just keeps going, doesn't it?
- [19:01]
Ralph Norman
Well, it does. I was talking with a police officer, Charles Kabnis, who was a hall of fame police officer in South Carolina. He was just livid about it. But I tell you who ought to be livid are the parents of Ms. Zaruski, the parents of the young man, Mr. Dobie, who was stabbed, the parents of Frederico, who. It's a revolving door with the police officers. They arrest them and the judges turn them loose. And it's time to hold the judges accountable. It's time to let the police do their job and empower them. And the only way you're going to do that is get the city council and the mayor to either resign or beat them in a race and get some law enforcement in there. Charlotte will not recover if it keeps going in the same direction that it has the last couple of years, actually.
- [19:50]
Steve Gruber
Yeah. Speaking of crime, I mentioned this and we're watching for Tyler Robinson to return to the courtroom in Provo, Utah at this hour. He's Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, making his first in person court appearance today. What would you say about this? Could it be used as an example for future people? You want to do something deadly, you're going to end up in court. You're going to face the death penalty, which they offer in Utah. A couple of different ways. Your thoughts?
- [20:18]
Ralph Norman
Not only face the death penalty, but the trial ought to offer transparency. Look at Erica Kirk and her plea. But let's open this thing up. Let's let the public see him as he is and let the trial take place. This business of trying of the defense, trying to keep one, keep him living and two, hide what is obviously a miscarriage of justice with him even being there and been in a position to. To shoot Charlie Kirk. But the death penalty is warranted and hopefully this will not be a long and drawn out case. But I don't have my hopes up for that.
- [20:54]
Steve Gruber
Yeah, neither do I. Let's shift gears a little bit to the healthcare crisis. We talked about it off the top of the program today. Some ideas being put forth by Republicans Health savings accounts. How about health associations where you'd have groups like it's being put by. Rand Paul mentioned that if you had like Costco, for example, 44 million members and they came as A group and said, we want to negotiate with Blue Cross, Blue Shield or UnitedHealth or whomever the big insurance company is they're dealing with. What can you tell us about these bills? Are you at least hopeful that we can fix this disaster known as Obamacare?
- [21:26]
Ralph Norman
Couple of things, Steve. Not only do we have to, we need to. Now most people are re enrolling with their existing plans by January 15th. Obamacare has been a disaster for the last 15 years. You remember when Ms. Pelosi said, you got to read it after you pass it when the statement was made. You can pick your doctor, you pick your plan. None of it is true. It's a lie. And it's time for the Republicans to come up with a plan that is patient centered, that you can shop and have competition among who you choose to go with the fact that they're getting illegals off the rolls and not being able to take part in the government system, it's a first step. I don't expect this to be perfect, but in our caucus meeting, Mike Johnson laid it out. We have to do something to start the ball rolling in the right direction, which is the framework for a plan again, that's affordable, that's patient centered, that takes the health, the insurance companies out of it and do away with these subsidies that have been there for way too long, particularly the COVID subsidies.
- [22:33]
Steve Gruber
You know, one of your colleagues there in Congress, my congressman, Tom Baird, a freshman there, said that all of these people from the healthcare industry, Blue Cross, Blue Shield specifically, that he had known for years, didn't talk to him at all. Totally iced him out until he was elected. Then they call, said, oh, you wanna talk? It's because these insurance companies want these subsidies. It pads their bottom line. I'll leave that there for now and let folks make of it what they will. Before I let you go, tell me how your campaign for governor's going there in South Carolina.
- [23:01]
Ralph Norman
Governor's doing great. I hadn't spent any money. We're anxious to keep it going like it is. And we're very excited about where we are. And the prospects of winning this race. This race are very high.
- [23:12]
Steve Gruber
Ralph, always good to see you, my friend. Merry Christmas.
- [23:15]
Ralph Norman
Merry Christmas, Steve. Thank you.
- [23:17]
Steve Gruber
There you have it. All right, coming up after the break, Burna Technologies, as you've seen on this program, has now filed a lawsuit against California Governor Gavin Newsom over the state's restrictions on its less lethal weapons. It seems Newsom isn't a fan of self defense in any fashion. Details straight ahead.
- [23:37]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
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- [24:42]
Steve Gruber
All right, we're keeping a close eye on that courtroom in Provo, Utah, where Tyler Robinson made his first in Paris appear in person appearance for his alleged assassination of Charlie Kirk. They've gone behind closed doors for a private session for a bit. We are expecting them to come back into the courtroom and if they do, we will go to that and you can see it live. Tyler Robinson there in Provo, Utah. Meanwhile, Burner Technologies that you've seen on this program has filed a lawsuit in the Southern district of California over the state's restrictions on non lethal weapons. You heard me. Non lethal alleging restrictions violate the second amendment infringing on the right to keep and bear arms. The company's product was legal in all 50 states until the California legislation changed that. Burner sells less lethal self defense products which look like handguns and are compared to tasers and stun guns, but shoot chemical irritants instead of lead bullets and can incapacitate somebody for up to 45 minutes, but they don't kill the criminal. Byrne is the leading manufacturer of pepper projectile launchers. More than 750,000 sold in less than six years. It's a great company. Newsom has signed dozens of bills reining in the purchases and possession of weapons, including expanding background checks restricting who can own firearms. But these are not firearms. Here to discuss it, the CEO of Burner Technologies, Brian Gans. Brian, nice to have you back on the program. Tell me about this lawsuit because again, is it that California wants no ability to defend yourself against a criminal? Is that what I should tell you? Take from this.
- [26:14]
Brian Gans
Steve, can you hear me?
- [26:16]
Steve Gruber
I can hear you just fine, Brian. I'm just asking you about this lawsuit. If you can hear me, go ahead and just explain the lawsuit. It seems to me that California wants no ability to defend yourself.
- [26:26]
Brian Gans
Yeah, as you said, we make non lethal weapons. So these are weapons that send out a pepper projectile. It explodes, it incapacitates an assailant. 20 to 30 minutes later, they're fine. Now you can buy a handgun with bullets in California, but they have outlawed the purchase of the non lethal launchers and the pepper projectiles that they fire. So, you know, it's just a violation of common sense. We think it's a violation not only of our second amendment rights, but a violation of the second amendment rights of every person in California. Now I live in Boston. Massachusetts had a similar prohibition against tasers nine years ago and they went and sued Massachusetts and that went all the way up to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court in one of its rare nine to nothing decisions, said that non lethal weapons are covered by the second Amendment. So we think we have a very good chance here of overcoming Gavin Newsom's prohibition against our weapons.
- [27:32]
Steve Gruber
Well, if you have the precedent, a 9, 0 precedent in the Supreme Court, how can California even attempt to pass this? They've done it, but what do they expect to accomplish? They're going to lose.
- [27:44]
Brian Gans
Yeah, they are gonna lose. And I just don't think they felt that anybody would take them up on this. So this law has been in effect for quite some time. I think they just thought there was no constituency. But frankly, we have a constituency on both sides of the aisle because everybody on the right side of the 2A debate, they are offended that the state of California would ban any weapon. And those people on the left side of the 2A debate want to find more non lethal weapons. So California says no, we're in favor of stopping gun violence. But if they're really in favor of stopping gun violence, why are they preventing their citizens from protecting themselves with non lethal we weapons? It's just, it's just bs, Steve.
- [28:30]
Steve Gruber
It's remarkable. They didn't think everybody would take him up on that challenge. Well, they didn't know Brian Gans, did they? You're going to take it up. You're going to take it as far as you can. What court is it going to be heard in first?
- [28:41]
Brian Gans
It's as you said, it's in the Southern district of California. We filed it in San Diego.
- [28:48]
Steve Gruber
All right, so play this out for me. Legal processes usually are time consuming, but in this case, because you have this precedent, there's 9, 0 ruling from the Supreme Court already on tasers. This should be a slam dunk, shouldn't it?
- [29:01]
Brian Gans
Yeah. We don't know what the state of California is going to do, honestly. You know, in the best case scenario, they're going to admit that they made a mistake, that, you know, public sentiment is not on their side and they're not gonna fight this. But my experience, and I'm sure your experience, is that you cannot count on these government officials to do what makes common sen.
- [29:23]
Steve Gruber
Sense. Yeah. Get the government to do the right thing. Yeah. That's an uphill battle each day for people that don't know where to find your products. Tell them where they can find it because it's interesting technology. It's non lethal. Like you said, it's pepper balls that explode on contact and incapacitate somebody for 20, 30 minutes, whatever it may be, and then they go on their way. Right. It doesn't kill them. It's an irritant. It's not lethal, period. Where can people find out more?
- [29:50]
Skip Medell
Yeah.
- [29:51]
Brian Gans
If they go to our website, which is www.byrna by R N A dot com, they can see not only our weapons, but testimonials of people that have used it. You know, hundreds, thousands of videos showing how it's used. So, you know, I would encourage people that are looking for an alternative to lethal force to look at this. And, you know, I've been a gun owner for years. I always carry my firearm, but I also carry my burner because not every situation requires lethal force. Just like the police, I want something lower down on the continuum of force.
- [30:26]
Steve Gruber
There you go. Brian Gans, you come back anytime and keep us updated because it's a fascinating case of overstepping their bounds, but what would you expect? It is California. Thanks for being on.
- [30:38]
Brian Gans
Thanks so much. Steve, you take care of.
- [30:41]
Steve Gruber
Really appreciate it. Burner technologies. Check that out. Coming up after the break, I'll discuss how America's broken healthcare system is costing you billions of dollars. Republicans have some great ideas to fix it, which one includes the things that you want. We'll talk about it coming up here on America's Voice Live.
- [31:02]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about radio, Think again. Because more people are listening to the radio and iHeart today than they were 20 years ago. And only iHeart broadcast radio connects more Americans than TV, digital, social, any other media, even twice as many teens than TikTok. And that reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get Those results growing for your business. Radio's here now more than ever. And iheart's leading the way. Think radio can help your business. Think iheart Streaming, podcasting and radio where the reach is real. Let us show you@iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844. Iheart one more time. Just call 844-844-Iheart and get radio working for you.
- [32:06]
Steve Gruber
As we discussed earlier in the program, Congress facing a critical decision as the expanded Obamacare premium tax credits, part of President Biden's Covid era spending spree, are set to expire at the end of the year. Well, a lot of people scrambling the subsidies, which now cost roughly $30 billion annually and impact more than 9 million Americans, have been criticized for encouraging fraud, which has estimates as high as 5 billion of those dollars, maybe higher. Experts say that continuing these subsidies props up a failing system and does nothing, nothing to lower skyrocketing premiums. In fact, quite the opposite. Instead, Congress should push for reforms that expand choice, reduce government involvement and increase competition, including greater use of health care savings accounts, telemedicine and private insurance options like associations. Joining now to discuss this is the senior director of government affairs at the National Taxpayers Union, Tommy Aiello. Tommy, nice to see you today.
- [33:00]
Tommy Aiello
Good afternoon. Thanks for having me.
- [33:03]
Steve Gruber
I think there's some pretty good ideas out there. I like the idea of health savings accounts, especially for young people. I like the idea that I first heard from Rand Paul about these associations using something like CostCo and using 44 million members to go and negotiate with Blue Cross, Blue Shield or United or whoever. There's some good ideas out there. Look, Obamacare has failed. It's not going to succeed no matter how much money you put in it and paper it over. It's, as they say, dead on arrival. Do you like some of these ideas being put forth by the Republicans?
- [33:31]
Tommy Aiello
You know, I think that's the big difference between what Republicans are offering and what Democrats are offering. We want to change the system so it actually helps patients and consumers and of course, protects taxpayer interests. What Democrats, particularly in the Senate and House, want to do is continue to shovel money at the system and pretend like the system is perfectly fine. The system is broken. Right? I'm paying more in premiums. You probably are as well. I all of your viewers are. And unfortunately, if we continue with the status quo, people are going to continue to be hurt and not well served and not get any healthier. So we really do need to Upend the system. And that starts with repealing and replacing Obamacare and of course not extending these terrible Covid era Biden plus ups to Obamacare.
- [34:15]
Steve Gruber
So clearly, I mean Obamacare, if you continue these subsidies, Democrats want to continue out for three years, let's be honest, Democrats want to continue it on for 300 years. They say three, but they want to continue it on infinitum forever and stick it to the American taxpayer. Even though this year my premiums are going to go up $500 a month. That's just me and my wife and it's not for one of the fancy plans. 500 bucks. Because we're private business owners, we're not in some company and that's what we get because we can't negotiate little fellows like us. That's why I like this Health Care association idea from Rand Paul. If you have strength in numbers, you can negotiate better deals. The health savings account, certainly for young people, man, if you're young and healthy and you put sock that money away, you can really create a nice nest egg. These are good ideas. Do you think they have a chance?
- [35:01]
Tommy Aiello
You know, I think they do have a chance. I think some Democrats recognize that the system is broken. Now of course there's a price in order to advance some of those Republican leaning ideas and that means extending as part of a plan with Republicans these Obamacare subsidies. I think HSAs are such a useful and innovative tool and they've proven to work over the past 20 years since they were introduced. Right. For young people it means putting more money away in a tax advantaged account so it can grow in the market. And if something were to happen in the future, they have quite a bit of money saved up in order to pay for those unexpected medical expenses. Now there needs to be some reforms along the way. You can't use those HSAs to pay for premiums. That should be changed. But again, look, this is the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats want to extend these subsidies. 96% of the applications that the federal government watchdog tested were fake. That means there's such so much fraud happening in these programs. $40 billion a year, these things cost, so much of it is in fraud. And most importantly, they're not lowering premiums for people. It's just shoveling money at these big insurance companies without keeping premiums in check. It's just a disaster.
- [36:13]
Steve Gruber
You know, I tell this story now because it was shared with me by my member of Congress, Tom Barrett, who represents me here in Michigan. And he knew these healthcare, you know, executives for years from Blue Cross Blue Shield. And yet when he ran for Congress here, Most recently in 2024, suddenly his phone didn't work anymore. They wouldn't answer his calls, they wouldn't return his text until he won the election. Suddenly they said, oh, we should talk. The point that I'm making here, Tommy, is that 90% of the money that insurance companies put into campaigns goes where to Democrats and they want that gravy train to continue forever. I'll let you have the last word.
- [36:51]
Tommy Aiello
You know one thing. If Congress were to extend these subsidies, there was a report that came out yesterday that said if you extend these subsidies, you'll have 6 million more people on government exchanges and 2 million fewer people on employer sponsored insurance. That means more people on government insurance, less on private. Taxpayers don't win in that situation. And premiums are going to continue if that happens.
- [37:13]
Steve Gruber
Absolutely true. Tommy, thank you for being here. We'll continue to watch and see what they move through Congress. If anything, hopefully better answers than we've had so far. Thank you.
- [37:22]
Tommy Aiello
Thank you.
- [37:24]
Steve Gruber
All right. So many Americans are struggling quietly with credit card debt. It's stressful, it's overwhelming, and it can feel like there's no way out. But there is. There is. Iconic Debt Relief has helped countless families lower their monthly payments and regain control of their finances. They explain everything clearly and treat you with the respect you deserve. If you're carrying $10,000 or more in credit card debt, call Iconic Debt Relief today and take the first step forward. For Hope, go to iconic debt relief.comrev-tv or you can call 833-408-3828. You can also scan the QR code you see right there on the bottom of your screen. Again, that's iconic debtrelief.com RAV TV or call 833-408-3828. Don't go anywhere. America's Voice Live will continue in a moment.
- [38:21]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers are into, true crime, sports, comedy, culture, they'll hear your message. Plus, only Iheart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. And all this reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for you. Think podcasting can help your business. Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Let us show you at iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844 iHeart. One more time, call 844-844 iHEART and get podcasting working for you.
- [39:25]
Steve Gruber
All right, well, Christmas right around the corner. Now if you're in need of finding a gift for a loved one, friend, neighbor, or even a co worker, then we've got something just for you. Home improvement and lifestyle expert Skip Medell is joining me now to talk about some great holiday gift ideas he's put together for everyone in the family that you can get in time for Christmas. Skip, thanks for being here today. What do you got?
- [39:46]
Skip Medell
Hey, Steve, thanks so much for having me. I'm super excited. And yes, Merry Christmas to you, friend. It is that time of year. I do have some great unique gift ideas. Check this out. Very high demand items. This is for patriots.com. they make these great solar power generators and power packs. Let me show you this one. One of my favorite. This is the Patriot power cell. I love these because I keep it right on the dashboard of my truck. It's a solar powered power bank. It always stays charged up with the sun. It's USB ports. You can charge your phone up to six times on a single charge. This makes a great stocking stuffer. Give them to everybody. They're going to love them. This is the four Patriots Voyager. Check this out, Steve. This is a power bank that's TSA friendly. You can actually take this right on the plane. It's just about the size of a bible. It's lightweight, but it has a household outlet on the front in addition to the USB ports. So you can power up things with a regular plug like your computer or, or whatever it might be. But you can take this right on the plane in the camper. This is a great travel companion to keep all your devices charged up. And right now a really hot topic is how do we keep the lights on? Winter, storm or any type of power outage. Four Patriots makes the best solar power generator. So rather than running on gas and exhaust fumes, you could run these generators right inside your house. Silent. 1200 watts and 2200 watts. These will keep your lights going, even things like your refrigerator and your freezer for for days or even weeks. Both the 1200 and the 2200 solar generators come with free included solar panels. So when you plug in the solar panels, you can keep the generator topped off and you truly have like an off Grid power. So this is a great gift that anybody would like to have.
- [41:27]
Steve Gruber
Let me ask you about those solar panels. What if the Internet goes down enough to power me there?
- [41:33]
Skip Medell
Yes. Yeah, absolutely, yes. You can plug your router into it, your television, plug it in right here so they can continue to get their news, weather, watch the tv, which is important because you want to keep up to date with all that stuff. So whatever you plug into this, it'll keep the power going. Nice thing about this large unit, it's an automatic. So when the power goes off, this is a standby, it automatically kicks on and gives you power. So with a refrigerator or freezer, it's going to keep your food going, keep it good for weeks, even up to a month with this extended battery pack. So you want to check out their products on4patriots.com and speaking of great products for a patriot, I love these, Steve. This is rapid radios. Check this out. You remember, like the old school walkie talkies. Well, this is a walkie talkie, but coast to coast. It's a push button digital communication. Works like a cell phone, but it's a completely encrypted closed network. You can put up to 200 people on it. And it works coast to coast with just a single push of a button. So a great way to stay in communication with the people in your group. And the best part about these is that there's no monthly bills, Steve, no service fees, no contract or anything to upkeep. So really durable, waterproof, and it works coast to coast. I use them from Florida to New York all the time. And just the press of a button and you have instant communications that are reliable even when the cell phones don't work. These will typically work because these use every available cell system in the whole nation as opposed to just your one carrier. So that makes a really great gift for anybody that you want to stay in communication with.
- [43:02]
Steve Gruber
So is that the big difference then from a cell phone is the way that it transmits the signal? I'm trying to. That's a crazy cool idea. I'm just trying to understand how it works.
- [43:12]
Skip Medell
It really is. Yeah. So this works on the cell system, but instead of like your Phone just uses AT&T or Verizon or wherever your carrier is. This uses every available cell signal in the entire nation to complete the call. So they work even when your own carrier doesn't work. This will find a signal. And this also has WI fi backup. So if it can't pick up a cell signal, it'll pick up on the Low, the closest WI FI signal. So this is instant communication. You touch the button instantly communicated with a digital encrypted signal. That's a great gift. They come in a set of two. You can add up to 200 people in your group. The best part is when you purchase it, they come powered up and ready to go right out of the box. And then you only get a bill one time a year for $50 to renew it every year. No monthly bill, no commitment. So check out rapidradios.com it's a great system.
- [44:03]
Steve Gruber
I love that. Tell me about Invisaware. I know you've got some other great things there. I want to make sure we get to all of it. Skip.
- [44:10]
Skip Medell
Yes. So this is invisiware, super cool gift. This is like, imagine like a safety piece of jewelry or like a personal SOS button. So while it looks like a regular little keychain, it has a device inside of here that the recipient can click this twice if they need assistance. Up to five people can be put on their emergency contact list. When you click this twice, it's going to send out a notification to those five people telling them that you need assistance. And it sends a GPS location with their real time location. So if there's a medical emergency or they need some sort of help, it's going to notify everyone that they need assistance. It can even dial 911. But the best part is it comes in all these great, you know, a necklace, bracelet. It even comes in like a sports band or a scrunchie for the ladies. So imagine like the date goes wrong and she needs assistance. She could discreetly reach up and just click that in her hair. Nobody will know. But it sends out a distress signal to five people on your group, lets them know exactly where you are with the GPS location. So I like this. I gave this to like my niece and my, you know, daughter in college. It's a great thing to have. This way they have peace of mind and so do you because you're just one click away. They can always get help. Great gift. It's the perfect.
- [45:20]
Steve Gruber
The panic button.
- [45:21]
Skip Medell
It's a panic button right now. You know what, Steve? They have a, a promo. There's a, there's a 10% off right now with the promo code skip@ Invisible.com. that's a great gift.
- [45:31]
Steve Gruber
All right, we got to get to one more. We only got about a minute left, so let's run through carved. Can you do that for me?
- [45:35]
Skip Medell
I love it. This is carved. Check this out. This is burled. Hardwood and resin epoxy. Let me show you my phone case. This is my personal case. Beautiful sets. You can get matching pocket knives. So you go onto Carv.com you can see the different combinations of resin, epoxy and hardwood and they make all these great sets. Like you can get a wallet, card holder, a keychain, all these beautiful things that come in multiple different colors and wood combinations, even this beautiful warp wall art. But the best part is every one of these cases are all one of a kind. So you go on and pick out the color that you like, they'll make it to your particular phone case and they ship it right to you. And each one is actually a unique work of art. It's really beautiful, really good quality knives, bracelets. If you have someone on your guest list, your gift list rather, that would appreciate really handcrafted, beautiful wood things, this is the way to go. Carve.com right now they have a 25% promo, Steve. So the promo code RAV25, you're going to get 25% off your whole order@carv.com that makes a great gift.
- [46:40]
Steve Gruber
Here's what I want for Christmas, Skip, whatever's in your coffee cup. That's what I watch for Christmas. Whatever's in your coffee cup. All right, here's the deal. Check.
- [46:50]
Skip Medell
I get excited over Christmas.
- [46:52]
Steve Gruber
Why wouldn't you? Skipmodell. Com. All those specials will be there, all those products, Skip, thank you for very much, greatly appreciate it. Yeah, whatever's in this coffee cup. Give me two. Two, please. We'll be right back with what makes America Wonderful.
- [47:09]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting. Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers are into, true crime, sports, comedy, culture, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. And all this reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for you. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Let us show you at iHeartadvertising.com that's iHeartadvertising.com or call 844-844, iHeart. One more time, call 844-844-IHeart and get podcasting working for you.
- [48:14]
Steve Gruber
What makes America wonderful? Well, you do it every day. With the hope of putting a smile on your face. And I think we do a pretty good job. Today's story comes to us from Dearborn, Michigan, where a businessman and a tree farm took matters into their own hands and saved a holiday tradition. Dearborn Heights in Michigan has had a long standing tradition which all are invited to the city hall to come witness the lighting of the giant Christmas tree, an event that represents unity and makes the holidays more official and more special. Really? This year, the event's fate hung in the balance as the mayor of Dearborn Heights had opted to order a fake Christmas Christmas tree. Fake? Yeah, he did that for the lighting, got word that the tree would not arrive in time, leaving him with two options. Either scrap the event completely or find a new tree. Thankfully, a local businessman, Sam Housain, stepped in and worked with Nicholas Huff of Huff's Tree Farm to give the city of Dearborn a 40 foot spruce tree valued at about $10,000. Just in the nick of time, entering the tradition went off without any further delays. Keeping even the smallest traditions alive is important for all of us. And the efforts of Sam Hussein and Nicholas Hough came through in such a big way, reminding us of what makes America wonderful. All right, the question of the day, has your life been affected by the fentanyl crisis? We're asking this serious question because so many people have had such poor outcomes. Chet Coleman writes, so far, I've been fortunate enough to be unaffected by it. I do feel sorry for those who have lost loved ones and applaud President Trump and his efforts to halt the trafficking. Barry Robinson writes, fortunately, not at all, other than the fact that my heart goes out to those who have been affected. Chadwick has this. I lost four friends to fentanyl and I never had a large friend group. I knew three of them since grade school, one since high school. Those are some of the most difficult funerals to attend. I'm betting that's true. John Hogan writes, luckily, I've not been affected. Michael Guste lived with prescription addict for 10 years. Took 32 days of misery to kick it, but she did. Well, that's good news. And Merry Christmas to you and her Billy code. Not at all. I mean, that's on drug users just getting what they deserve. See, I don't agree with that. We can do better. Don't bring the poison in. Gonna leave it there for today. Remember, you can send to me your comments by going to my social media platforms and you can send me an email@stevegruber.com if you don't Want to put it up here? Just send it to me in an email. Stevegruber.com Tell me your story. We're interested. I'm also interested in Bowling's story. He was in the briefing room today in the, in the big boy chair right there on the side. Got the first question of the day, I'm pretty sure, because new media always does. Eric Bolling representing real America's voice with pride. Eric, nice to see you.
- [50:56]
Eric Bolling
Good to see you. Steve, be honest with you. I don't see you right now, but that's all right. I know what you're talking about. I can hear you. More important, I can hear you. Yeah, it was pretty cool. I got all the. Offered the new media seed a couple of days ago and had to jump on it. Love the opportunity to take a shot at the legacy media because my question was. You get the first question. Get two questions. You know, usually my first question was, so this affordability, the word affordability crisis that the left and the legacy media has been peddling. I said, I'm old enough to remember a couple of years ago when inflation was 9%, wages were stagnant or going down, oil was, gas was $5 a gallon, oil was $110 a barrel. Both of those are about half right now. And it would strike me that the new media, these, these legacy fools I'm sitting across from right here never mentioned an affordability crisis under Joe Biden. But now all of a sudden it's a crisis with the prices being about half the price of what they were then. And, and Caroline took it and hit the ball over the fence. And you know, I was very tempted. I saw Kaitlan Collins in the front row and I was, as I was saying, you know, this legacy group over here, right, Caitlin, is attempted, right?
- [52:03]
Steve Gruber
Yeah.
- [52:03]
Eric Bolling
Decided to be a little more composed.
- [52:05]
Steve Gruber
But hey, grouper, I get in that room a fair amount of you go ahead.
- [52:08]
Eric Bolling
Don't get used to the suit. Okay, this is it. This is it.
- [52:11]
Steve Gruber
It looks good, man. You're a sharp dressed man. You know, speaking of the economy, rate cuts Yesterday, markets up 650 points. Right now it was up 3 or 400 points. We're up a thousand points in a couple days. Bowling, that's got to put a smile on your face.
- [52:26]
Eric Bolling
You know, there's a word for us losers that used to work on Wall street for a long time. It's don't fight the Fed. Don't fight the Fed. Meaning they lowered rates and low rates are always, always good for equity markets. Always good by the way good equity markets are always good for reelection campaigns. That's why Trump is so smart to keep pressuring, pressuring, pressuring the folks in the Treasury Department to lower those rates, to keep. Keep things moving, so to speak, in the American economy.
- [52:53]
Steve Gruber
Economy, yeah. Oil the machine. You got it. You got a bowling. Oil that machine.
- [52:58]
Eric Bolling
You really nailed it.
- [52:59]
Steve Gruber
You know what your customers are doing right this second? The exact same thing. You are listening to me. Which, let's be honest, is kind of flattering. But my point Is, ads on iHeartRadio actually get heard in the car, at the gym, on the couch, while people are walking their dogs.
- [53:15]
Skip Medell
Who's a good boy?
- [53:16]
Steve Gruber
Who's a good boy? You're a good boy.
- [53:18]
Ralph Norman
That's right, dude.
- [53:18]
Steve Gruber
You're a good. So why not make the next ad about you? Get started today. Call 844-844-IHEART or go to iheartadvertising.com that's 844-844, iheart or iheartadvertising.com this is an iheart podcast.
- [53:32]
iHeart Advertising Announcer
Guaranteed Human.