4.11.2025 -- NLS -- Boise Pride Flag, Pocatello Shooting, and Kamala’s Comeback

On this episode with Neal and Julie…

The duo covers a wide range of topics—starting with the controversial decision by Boise’s mayor to fly the LGBTQ flag in defiance of state law, sparking debate about First Amendment rights and political posturing for 2028. Neal teases a potential "flagpole" segment to open up listener opinions on the issue.

They also dive into the recent officer-involved shooting in Pocatello involving a 17-year-old autistic teen, where Neal urges listeners to lower the temperature, stressing the importance of context, investigation, and fair judgment.

Julie shares a clip about a child disciplined for drawing pictures in class, which leads to a broader conversation on wokeness in education and the overreach of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in schools. Neal's frustration with Daylight Saving Time resurfaces, though he admits liking the longer summer evenings and pokes fun at Arizona for not observing the time change.

There’s also discussion around drug use among high school seniors, which segues into their confusion about modern paraphernalia and concerns about how society handles addiction. On the political front, Neal speculates about Kamala Harris’s chances for a comeback and makes a case for Gavin Newsom as the likely Democratic frontrunner for 2028.

They touch on everything from the purpose of Star Cards and IDs to states' rights, the economy, and even garden prep advice—wrapping up a lively, unpredictable, and thought-provoking hour.

Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms?

You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing.

Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.

Sandhill Media Group
The Sandhill Media Group LLC consists of 7 radio stations in East Idaho

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

You want to show us this guy? More than 15 seconds at the coffee creamer bar. At the coffee shop straight to El Salvador. Two or more walking side by side on a sidewalk. You're gone, El Salvador. Recline your seat on an airplane. El Salvador, Disney adults. You're going to. And finally, pronouns in your email signature. Out of here.

Those are my ears. All right, I'm all on board on the, preferred pronoun thing in the email signature. Good morning. It's Friday. It's the Neal Larson show, and we'll open up the phone lines a little bit later. And I think we're going to do a flagpole today. I'm curious. In fact, I'm. I'm really curious about your your.

Don't take this the wrong way, but when it comes to the law, opinions don't matter all that much. I didn't want to blatantly say your opinion doesn't matter because this is an opinion show and we invite participation on that front. But right now we've got the situation with Boise. We have a rogue mayor openly defying state law, flying the LGBTQ flag, and, someone texted in something very interesting.

Is it illegal to steal a flag that's flying illegally? In other words, it's litter it. It's, You. Maybe that ought to be part of the law. That any flag flying on a municipal flagpole, is determined to be refuse. And, you can get a $10 reward for removing it. And turning it in, like I. I'm thinking we maybe ought to get creative about that.

Also, I'm seeing headlines this morning about a Kamala Harris comeback. Oh, please let it be true for a I mean, I can't stand her. She drives me batty. But I am willing to go through bonkers and batty and irritation in order to have spectacular electoral wins. So I'm like, you know what? That's the price you pay the price you pay for winning at the ballot box is putting up with nearly intolerable Democrats like Kamala Harris.

So we'll get to some of that. And, really look at the whole Democrat field right now. Yet Cory Booker doing his stunt in front of the in front of the Senate with the record long filibuster. And that clearly was the launch of his presidential aspirations for 2028. You got Tim Walz out doing these really weird town halls.

You got Bernie on his oligarchy tour with AOC. You also have Gavin Newsom starting a podcast. I mean, all of this stuff just is very overt. I don't know if they think inside that they're fooling anyone, because what they're doing right now is, is clearly designed to position themselves for 2028. So we can talk about that. Also, the debate underway yesterday in the US Senate over daylight saving time.

So I actually have a smorgasbord of potential flash polls that we could do today. I I'm going to be honest with you, with Daylight Saving Time, number one, I'm kind of tired of talking about it. This is a problem that either solve it or don't solve it. Can we stop it with the years long angsty discussions about it?

I really don't care either way. If I had to make a choice, I'd probably get rid of it because it is a little quirky and clunky every six months to, oh, spring forward and fall back. I like it did. I don't know. I don't know what that's about. But I mean, I do know what it's about and, and and of course, that was implemented at a time when, I think they did it back in the day when we didn't have artificial lighting as much.

I'll just put it that way. Now, it's easy to compensate for whatever your needs are during the day, given the the shifting amount of sunlight that we have through the years. So I just don't think the need for it is there as much. I'm, I'm just I, I, I'm frustrated that all of the crap we have to go to to solve a fairly simple problem in this country.

So I am I guess I'm hopeful this is success ful so we can put this, this, thing to bed, once and for all. I did read, though, this morning and included this in the news read. I'm filling in for Julie because she's out of town today and on Monday. But, that now, like transportation officials are saying, well, daylight saving time can be good because it's safer to drive when you have light.

And so it maximizes that. You could argue the other way to Ted Cruz argued the other way. And he said it has negative health effects. So I don't know. I don't know. I I'm ready to, to have something different going on. Also, this is a story that's been ongoing in the news. And I've got a clip that Julie sent me that I want to play, that I think is just gold.

Apparently a first grader in California. This goes back a little bit. March 2021. This little first grader was punished, couldn't go to recess for a couple of weeks. And there was another one. But it doesn't matter what the, what what it was, but basically they're they had some assignment, and, this first grader, the initials B.B., drew a sketch depicting several individuals of different races representing three classmates and herself holding hands above the drawing.

B.B. wrote, Black Lives Matter won't. And we know black lives Matter with the words any life transcribed below the slogan. Little B.B. then gave the drawing to one of her classmates, who's black, in an attempt, as she later testified, to comfort her classmate, the words any life are, of course, similar to the phrase all lives matter, which became a controversial retort to the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

That similarity, whether the first grader was aware of it or not, its first grade, was soon to land B.B. in hot water. The same day she made the drawing, B.B. was told by the school's principal, Jesus Bezerra, that her drawing was inappropriate and allegedly racist. Although there's some dispute over whether or not haziness said that it was racist.

So that's he said. She said B.B. was forced to apologize to her classmate, prohibited from drawing any more pictures in school, and prevented from going to recess for two weeks. According to court documents reviewed by reason, B.B. and her mom, Chelsea Boyle, filed a series of complaints against the Capistrano Unified School District alleging a First Amendment violation. Anyway, goes to I'm not going to go through all of the legalities.

But the courts decided that students do have a First Amendment right, as long as it's not disruptive to the learning environment, and as long as it's not discriminatory against anyone. So it's now being appealed. And this is, I believe, the lawyer for the school district that you're going to hear. And then the judge with a just a mic drop of a comeback.

We're not dealing with first graders who are engaged in discussions in the marketplace of ideas. First graders are supposed to be learning to tie their shoes. Supposed to be learning can't be. Then you don't give a Black Lives Matter course to a first grader. Maybe you teach tying shoes. Boom. You know what? That's just common sense. And that when we all.

Isn't that what we've been saying all along? I mean, it's the schools that are teaching. We've talked for a long time about teaching transgenderism and all the Dei stuff and the wokeism and the intersectionality and, you know, just teach them to tie their shoes. That would be a great lesson. That would be an amazing lesson. And if you don't want to deal with All Lives Matter, then don't don't present for them Black Lives Matter.

That's that subject matter that is left up to parents and within the home and talking with neighbors. That is not, a place where it belongs, in the school district. So kudos to that appeals judge for asking a question that is deeply rooted in common sense. Then if you if they should be learning to tie their shoes, then why don't you just teach them to tie their shoes?

Why are you teaching about anything about Black Lives Matter? So that was good. Also, we have, I'm just setting the table here. We have the Pocatello situation with the shooting from over the weekend, and I, I'm going to I'm going to be very candid, and I think I'm probably not alone here. I have been hoping and praying for this young man to, to pull through.

And in a developing situation like this, many of you may be like me, that when you check the news headlines for the day, you just don't want to see a headline where it goes south. And so far from what we can tell, he's clinging to life induced coma. He's got an amputated leg. And there, I guess there's a candlelight vigil to tomorrow night.

And Mayor Brian Blad issued a recorded statement, to social media yesterday. And here's what he said. The Pocatello community has experienced a tragic event, and we are all reeling from what happened, especially the Perez family. Please know this incident has my full attention. The City Council and I do not take what happened lightly. We are addressing this matter with the seriousness and the thoroughness it deserves, and with the appropriate respect for the gravity of the situation.

The criminal, external and internal investigations regarding the officer involved shooting are underway, which is why we cannot answer questions out of concern of interfering with or compromising the investigation. What I can't tell you is the four officers were immediately placed on administrative leave following the incident. Per City of Pocatello policy, we expect to release body camera footage in the coming weeks.

We truly recognize the difficulty and pain of this situation. Everyone is looking for answers, including me and the city Council. That is why it is important to get the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force and others complete their investigations. Once the investigation are complete, we will act in accordance with the findings. No determinations will be made until the independent investigators have done their job.

Again, please know this incident is top of mind for me and the City Council right now. Our thoughts are with the Perez family, the neighborhood residents who witnessed the interaction, the entire community and all members of the Pocatello police. It will take a very long time for us to find normalcy, but our hope is we can find a way to move forward and build a stronger community together.

Okay, so all understandable words and kudos to Mayor Blad for issuing the statement. As we have stated before, I think most people think that the mayor probably should have made this statement days earlier Monday would have been an appropriate day. The shooting happened Saturday, and we're just sort of getting our legs underneath us. The police chief late on Monday, I did have that press conference, but you know what?

It is where it is now. And I also think people understand why you're the mayor. You have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure you don't put your city in legal jeopardy. So he has to be incredibly careful. And financial jeopardy, by the way, has to be incredibly careful about what he says. And so will we'll see. And I hope he's right.

I hope we do get the body cam footage so that we can get a broader perspective of what happened here. But I have thought about this shooting. When it's in your own backyard, it's different. I, I am not a big true crime guy and and it usually there's there's always a criminal case that's unfolding in the news cycle.

It's just sort of part of the, the method that we have, the media method that we have where we always have a criminal case under way, and sometimes it's case Casey Anthony, sometimes it's Johnny Depp and his wife who leave souvenirs in the bed. Sometimes it, you know, we always have these criminal cases that, are included.

But when it happens here, when it's a shooting like this one in Pocatello, and it's on social media for all to see when it's the Daybell case. That was an horrific and ongoing saga. It hits different. And so I've thought more about this particular shooting. And you know you I think you can find factors that can alter the the temperature of this a little bit.

I think the police officers went into that situation. Honestly thinking that they had a drunk person with a knife and, you know, so it's understandable that they came in hot. It was very urgent. They thought maybe somebody s life was in imminent danger. The thing that I can't get past, it's understandable that they would think that.

But a scan of the situation for three seconds as they pulled up would have revealed. Okay, that's not the case. Nobody is under imminent danger right now. So maybe our first approach is not draw their weapons and start yelling that that's what I can't I cannot imagine. And I you know, I don't know what the investigation protocols are with this task force and I, I hope it's a very straightforward, independent, transparent as much as possible.

Investigate ation. I really cannot imagine that what we saw in the video from this last weekend is actually traditional police protocol. I. And look, I'm not a cop, never been a cop, probably will never be a cop. But that can't be. Just common sense would dictate that the first pass in any situation for police should be number one assess the situation.

Is anybody under imminent threat? Now the clear answer to this was no. You had a dude kind of casually leaning against a fence. There was no guy standing up going after anyone with a knife like that. That was so clear. And the first interest should be, okay. If there's a problem, let's de-escalate this. And there was there was a problem.

I mean, you had someone with a knife that would not give up the knife, and that family was trying to work it out. And so I, I just it's frustrating and it's hard to. You've probably gone through this, too, because I think most people want to give the police as much benefit of the doubt as they can.

That's where I'm at. Like, I look at it and I the the job that police do is hard. It's really we're asking them the the tall order that we give them is rough that they've got to make decisions in fractions of a second, some time. Sometimes there really was no fractions of a second. In this case. They came up on the scene.

Nobody was in imminent danger. In fact, quite the opposite. There were indications that this was not a volatile scene at all. And it's easy to armchair quarterback. We're all kind of armchair quarterbacking this on social media. So hopefully the body cam footage will shed more light on it. But it, it just to me is is a heartbreaking thing because I love our cops.

I love, the I love the job that they typically do day in and day out. But when you bestow upon them lethal power, the the level of expectation that we have for that has got to be super hot. And that's why we look at this with, scrutinizing eyes. Because in the end, you got a 17 year old autistic kid who's lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life.

And it didn't have to happen this way. And that's what's frustrating. Quick break. It's 826 on Newstalk 179. It's Friday. We have, of course, that story. If you want to talk about it, the Kamala comeback story, the Boise Pride flag story, daylight Saving time. We also have China issuing a threat that ought to make everybody shake in their boots.

They may show US based films less in China. I don't know if I can sleep tonight. We'll have all of this and more coming up.

All right. It's 831 on Newstalk 1079. So we had a cancellation of our studio for coverage this week. Plus, Julie's out of town. That's a recipe for a replay, and we'll do that for you on the other side, a studio for cover replay. I think you're going to like it. And, well, it's sort of a yeah, I'll explain it on the other side, just ahead right here on this Friday on Newstalk 179.

All right. 837 on Newstalk 1079. We're going to we're going to take a little break from the heavy politics of the day. I have received a number of text messages about my monologue. I'll share those with you later in the hour, but right now it's Friday and it's 837 ish, which means studio four covers. Now, we had one scheduled and they weren't able to make it after all.

This morning. And Julie's out of town, so this is a perfect opportunity to do a studio four rerun. And as a proud father, I'm going to exert the host privilege here and replay my daughter, Jesse Larson, performing a few weeks ago. Rascal Flatts, Broken Road Again, Jesse Larson, my daughter in a studio for replay. Today, in the absence of another, studio for artists this morning.

So thank you again to Jesse for performing it. And thanks to many of you, watching the text come in is, very, very gratifying. And I hope you'll forgive me, pulling the dead card on this one. Quick break. It's 842 on Newstalk 179. We'll be back.

It's, 847 on Newstalk 117, the Nielsen show on a Friday. I have received some interesting text since my monologue. Talking at length. It wasn't the only thing I talked about, but talking at length about the shooting in Pocatello. And I want to get to those texts we had, on all sides here. So we'll get to some of those in just a moment.

But I do want to go to the phones really quick because after all, it is Friday. And caller, welcome to the show. How are you? Thank you Neal. You're welcome. Did I want to forgive you for playing your daughter on the air? Well thank you. I appreciate being forgiven for that. A daughter so beautiful. And I have to make a confession.

I played my daughter's on the air every day. Every day. Okay, I haven't done that, but I would forgive you for that. So, yes, it, my. On my show, I play my daughters all the time. Well, good. That's good. As every proud dad should with a show for sure. And in my, My granddaughters too, they're both, you know.

But yeah. Yeah, something about girls is anybody that doesn't have daughters is cursed. Yeah. And if you do have daughters, it's drama. Oh. There's plenty of drama. And they would admit that, like my girls would. It would admit that. True. But I do find it gets better as they get older. They're. It seems like the drama declines as they as they get a little bit older.

Well, in my case, one daughter's 50 and she's starting to get normal now, so no. Okay, okay. 50 there is hope. There is hope. Yeah. For sure. Oh. Well, Carl, I, appreciate you calling. Any other thoughts? Oh, what is this pride flag thing, man? What's that about, anyway? So they made it against the law, and he does it anyway.

Well, she it's, mayor. Mayor McClain in Boise, but, yeah, Boise here. Yeah, yeah. And, Yeah, I mean, she is. She came. She's very, very liberal. I don't know if she's said she's a socialist, but she's right there in that neighborhood. And, she has always kind of been that she's pushed the woke stuff, the DIY stuff and, kind of pulled Boise from what Boise used to be closer to what Portland has become.

And I think that's what she's wanted to do. Well. So Oregon is looking at Disenfranchizing half their state and giving it to Idaho. Now it sounds like it's going the other way. Yeah. No, it's, Well, isn't there like a penalty for breaking the law for the mayor? Well, we're going to find out. I don't know if the law states what the criminal penalty is, but she's in violation of it.

So it may be an issue for the attorney general to take up. I'm not really sure. So, yeah, I mean, it's not like you have to hate these organizations or people that represent certain, political factions. I don't you don't hate them. But the problem is, is they shouldn't be proselyting. Yeah, that's the point, you know? Yeah. No, it's true.

And I think the pendulum is swinging back. A lot of that has to do with Trump. A lot of that has to do with the culture that is simply fed up with all the nonsense that we've had to live with. And with that pendulum swinging back, you've got people who are losing the the political power that they had become accustomed to that always creates connections, especially among the left, because they they worship government power.

And so to relinquish it is just so counter to their nature. Oh, I know, and they've been carrying it all their lives, you know, now I've accumulated some them they can't dare to let go of it. Yeah, yeah for sure. All right, Carl, good to hear from you. Good is nearly on you. Keep up the good work. And I, miss Julie.

I hope she's having a wonderful time. She do it anyway. Well, she's, Well, she's traveled to go see her grandsons this weekend, so that's that's a she. Well, she has a new baby grandson, and they're doing a, baby blessing over the this weekend. So that's part of the reason why she's there. So it. Well, that's a worthwhile cause.

That's good. Yeah. For sure. Keep up the good work, Neal. Thank you. Thank you. Carl, take care. 208542107 no, that, of course, is the stones automotive Group call and text line. So let's go back to my monologue for just a moment because I received several texts from listeners. Some were supportive, some called me to task, and I'm more than open to being called to task here.

Armchair quarterbacking. This situation does nobody any good. Well, true, but isn't having any opinion about any political story or any event in the news after the fact armchair quarterbacking like, I, I understand that, and I've even said, you know, when I armchair quarterback, I'll claim it, but I don't know what else you would call it.

When we sit around and we talk about things that happened that shouldn't have happened and how they should have happened, different. And so I don't know how we're going to, avoid that. Here's another, text. And it's not so much coming at me. But they said everyone critical of Pocatello police is apparently basing their opinions from a three minute video on social media that has indications the situation may not have warranted firing weapons so quickly, but the police didn't have that perspective of when they arrived on the scene.

They likely only had minimal info from the dispatcher, which likely conveyed the most critical info about a knife and threatening behavior by an adult male. And when they arrived, a male ignored their demands and made abrupt, threatening actions with a large knife. I actually really like this text. I think there's more to be said, but I like this text and I've I've made similar points since the shooting last week in an effort to say, let's lower the temperature a little bit, because these officers did not wake up that morning or come into that neighborhood.

And in that situation wanting to shoot someone, certainly not a 17 year old autistic kid. Okay, I don't believe that about really any cop, except maybe the worst. And I don't believe this is the situation in this case. I would ask though, in the spirit of discussion, do you believe because of the nature of 911 calls when people call in, they're not trained professionals.

They're they're very well meaning they're they're trying to do the right thing to bring calm to a situation. But they can be amateurs. And and you're right, the caller thought that, you know, the the kid was a man because he's, he's bigger and that he was drunk, but that he wasn't. There were just some, some challenges. This young man had that made them think that.

So nobody was actually in the wrong. It's just that the situation at turn bad, however. And here's the important question that I would ask. Does that relieve officers then of the duty to assess a situation regardless of what they know about this going it. And I'm not I'm not making an argument by asking that question. So don't don't read into my motive here.

I'm asking you officers get limited information. It's my understanding from dispatch and they pass along. This is what the the nine 111 caller has said, I would imagine, in that profession because how many thousands of 911 calls come in, they would learn that sometimes the information you get from a 911 caller may not always be accurate. They're doing their best, but it's not rock solid journalistic reporting of what's going on.

So therefore, to add the layer you come into a situation. Should cops be expected to assess a situation regardless of what they've learned from A911 call transcript or the notes given to them by the dispatcher? Just just a food for thought question. I won't even answer it. I just want you to think about it. And then, someone else said, this may be the harshest criticism thrown at me.

That was a disappointing monologue on the press shooting. You basically said the officers were guilty of wrongdoing. Well, number one, I didn't say that we're having an investigation to determine what happened. Now, maybe it was implied. Do I believe they could have done better? Yes, I do, and I, I I'm not going to apologize for saying that we all have opinions about this.

That being said, do I think we need to lock them up and convict them of attempted murder? No, I don't believe that either. I think we need to investigate, find out everything that happened and then assess the situation at that point, get as much info as possible and then and then move forward. But I'm not going to apologize and say, do I think the police probably should have taken an extra five seconds and said, okay, is anybody under imminent threat here?

If not, then how do we handle this? I think that's a reasonable expectation on my part. So, and then they said to say the outcome or you make presumptions that you shouldn't be making based on your limited information to say the outcome unequivocally should have been different was premature and presumptuous. You influenced a lot of people and you just planted the wrong seed.

Okay, that's I, I don't agree with that assessment, I really don't. My job is to come here and to talk about the salient news issues of the day. And at times I will say things that you disagree with. It's true. And that's how it's going to be. And there are times when I'll use the word this text or used, I will disappoint you.

Let me. That ought to be my, movie trailer teaser here. At times I will disappoint you. It's it's true. Then I will say they followed it up with this. Generally, I think you're brilliant. But this was not fair criticism. I accept it, but I would, I would say I'm. I'm not sure I see it the same way.

And I don't really think we see my role in the same light either. It's 859 on Newstalk 1079. We'll be back. Our two coming up. Hello and welcome back. It's hour two. By the way, can I just say I really do love my audience or word maybe know some. I've had as many people texting in in agreement with what I've said as there are disagreeing.

This is just a very tense situation. So we are not going to spend all hour on this because it could go back and forth forever, and I don't want to do that. We have other really important things that we need to talk about, like, Kamala Harris waging a comeback. Now, you might think Neil, don't talk about that.

I'm so done with Kamala Harris. You may not be done with Kamala Harris. And that's kind of the point apparently. Now, do I think she's going to ever be a president of the United States, for the love of all that is? Holy heavens, no, she will not be the president of the United States, but Vanity Fair. Listen. Listen to this headline.

Kamala Harris's next moves question mark, a big speech, a bigger book, and perhaps a run for office. And one source they did not name said she's earned the right to put her thumb on the scale. Says one source, with Harris insiders describing the veep's strategy for what comes next. Oh my. I'm not going to talk a lot about Kamala Harris, but I do want to set this up because I think this is a fascinating thing to watch unfold here in the United States of America.

But you have Kamala Harris, who, after licking her wounds and suffering a devastating, humiliating, embarrassing loss to Donald Trump on November 5th, she is crawling back out of the shadows, hoping to reclaim some shred of the influence, clout and political power she once had. So you have that? Yeah. Cory Booker, what, a week or two ago, he did a marathon filibuster, broke the record, actually, the longest filibuster on record now is Cory Booker.

And now Cory Booker's doing a media tour. I should be the president because I stood on the floor for 22.5 hours and change. And however long, I don't know, maybe 23 doesn't matter, I don't care. He too should not be the president of the United States. But you have that stunt. You have Tim Walz out embarrassing himself and saying ridiculously stupid things like cheering for the downfall of an American company, which means people losing their jobs and hurting our economy and all sorts of things.

And then later gaslighting us that it was a joke and we don't know how to take a joke. It's our fault that he was cheering for the downfall of an American company. You have Bernie Sanders on the oligarchy tour, which, by the way, he will be in Idaho on Monday evening, I believe, in Nampa at the Idaho Ford Center.

Now, I say that in hopes that my traditional audience, America loving Trump supporters, will show up in mass not to cause any disruption. No, I take that back. Not to cause any violence or or inflict anything illegal on the Bernie supporters, but rather to simply make their presence known. And of course, Bernie's sidekick is AOC. She's accompanying him on this oligarchy tour.

You you have that. You also have Pete booted judge who's sort of floating seas started something. I don't remember the details, and they don't even really matter. But what I am seeing is lots of different corners of the Democrat Party trying to put some of the pieces back together that Donald Trump shattered them into, and they're doing a very, very clunky job.

I have a premise that I'm operating on and my my premise I don't I'm trying to find the words here. Part of my premise is that the Democrat Party, in some ways, is a zombie party. They're they're kind of dead. They just don't know it. Now, they still have a very sizable minority in the House of represented. It's okay that that didn't change.

It could. But we'll see. But that did not change. And, they got even further away from getting the majority of the Senate. So you have, and that but I would say largely and systemically the Democrat party's in disarray. I don't think anybody really disputes that. So what what does that mean for American politics moving forward? It means that now is the time.

Now is the time for Republicans under the the leadership of Donald Trump, to hit the gas, to put the foot on the accelerator and to facilitate as much policy change, economic change, cultural change as possible. They are weak. They are less capable right now of responding to an aggressive approach by Donald Trump. In other words, we do to them what they have been doing, or at the very least, trying to do, and sometimes very successfully to us for the last few decades, which is throw a flurry of challenges their way, so much so that they can't keep up with it.

And I think that is exactly what Donald Trump is doing. I mean, yeah, some Tesla dealerships have been have been vandalized. Not cool. And those people need to be prosecuted with no negotiation whatsoever. Send them to jail. I like Pam Bondi approach. I love what we're doing with Doge. I love what we're doing with the Panama Canal. I love what we're doing, honestly.

I love what I think we're doing with the tariff approach here, which is a complete realignment and boundary drawing of where America stands in the world and the left has always needed they've had this need to make America weaker. I don't I don't know what that is. I really don't understand the masochistic nature of the left and why they're constant drumbeat effort is to make our nation weaker.

And now they would use different words. We make them better or make us more compassionate. Oh my. Okay. No that's not they're they're they're definitions of things are completely, bogus. So, I, I love it and I think it's great. And I think the fact that we have so many Democrats trying to piece something together for 2020, I forgot Gavin Newsom, Gavin Newsom launched his podcast.

If I were to pick one of these across the entire spectrum of Democrats, when we look at the 2028 presidential aspirations right now, I would have to say it's probably Gavin Newsom that is likely to emerge as the frontrunner. I just think, you know, governor of California, most populous state in the nation, he's got the look, he talks well, he's he's got all the retail politics part of it down.

The problem that he has is a he has a disastrous record as the governor of California. And that probably will be the the the cinder block chain around his neck that's going to sink his political prospects. All the Republican opponent, whoever it may be in 2028, if they're running against Gavin Newsom, needs to do is point out the horrific state of California under the under the tenure of of Gavin Newsom.

It's been a disaster economically, culturally, environmentally, all of it has been a massive mishandling and disaster. But the problem is sometimes if you get a politician gifted enough, they can distract an adoring public from their record with their rhetoric and with their good retail, retail politics. They're they just can't. And I, I would look at Gavin Newsom and think he's probably the most likely to, emerge.

So, we, we have that happening. I just I saw the headline about, Kamala Harris wanting to make a return, and I had to laugh because there you read through this Vanity Fair article. It's the reporter clearly is very favorable to Kamala and deferential, but they're also aware that she's a weakened candidate. And, I mean, they don't say that, but they recognize that she has some liabilities and they kind of try to report around that.

But it's not clear. It it's just this long, vague piece about she's earned her right to put her thumb on the scales. What in the world does that even mean? I don't even know what that means. And the reporter didn't know what it what it means either. So it's actually kind of kind of fun to watch, from that, from that vantage point.

So we have that if you want to comment on that. And I do want to open up the phone lines. (208) 542-1079 and, we are going to do a flagpole on this Boise Pride flag thing. I, I find this kind of fascinating. Here. You have the mayor of Idaho's largest city, basically giving the legislature a big middle finger and he it's it's clearly, clearly in violation.

Yeah. There are only certain flags that cities are now allowed to fly and the city flag, the American flag, the P.O.W. flag. There is a limited number of flags that the legislature deemed appropriate to fly the rainbow LGBTQ flag is not among them. So I, I'm not quite sure how I'll phrase the flagpole, whether what should be done in this case.

Or do you think cities have a First Amendment right now? The answer to that legally is absolutely not okay. The First Amendment is about individuals rights unless explicitly stated otherwise. But you don't have a First Amendment right as a city. That's not a that's not even a thing. That's a that's a fictitious creation. And if you're the mayor, you don't get to take your personal First Amendment right.

And then overlay it into your official capacity as the, as the mayor and say, well, I would fly the the LGBTQ flag in my window at my house. So therefore I can hoist it onto the flagpole down at City Hall. You don't get to do that, and especially when the legislature is in charge. In fact, I saw one.

I'll just say a person. I don't want to say any names. I'm just not in the mood for that fight today. But it was someone who should know better. Somebody with experience, somebody who repeatedly tried to make a comparison that cities are to the state, as the state is to the federal government, that in a very legalistic term, is complete hogwash.

It's complete hogwash. Now, they this person was saying it from the city perspective, that you have the state that is bearing down on the cities. And it's just like the federal government bearing down on the states. No, it is not legally, not in our system. In fact, you want to know, think about this for a minute. This is a civics lesson.

So, I'm sort of saying this to the kids out there, to the kids who go to school four days a week and are home on Fridays. I'm super glad you're listening to the Nielsen show. And you know what? If you are secretly listening to the Nielsen show and you have to put in earbuds because your parents are liberals, I'm even more proud of you.

You are absolutely on the right track. And when you get older and you're 18, I can't wait for you to be voting for good, solid conservative Republicans. And I support and I'm proud of you in that endeavor. All right, so you know what? That might be a new thing. We might start a new segment here where I talk directly to the earbud wearing children of liberal parents.

Listen, these kids are listening to the Neil show because their parents clearly are not going to be raising them to be good, solid, virtuous, patriotic Americans. And if they won't, I will. Just saying. Anyway. So if you're listening, this is a civics moment and I'm going to this is not a trick question, by the way. This is a very good question.

What created both cities and the federal government? Who is the creator? And I'm not talking about capital C creator. That's a religious discussion. But who is the little C creator of the federal government and cities across America? The answer to that is the states. The states are in charge. It's how it is. Read the Constitution. And guess what?

If states want to, implement, regulations on the city, then they absolutely have the right to implement regulations on the city. If they want to say you have to fly the American flag and a Krispy Kreme flag, they could do that. They're your boss. That's how it goes. All right. We're going to take a break. Phone lines are open 285421079.

And I am a little curious what your hot take is on this Boise Pride flag situation. And quite frankly, it's open line Friday. You can call in and talk about anything news related that you would like. We'll be back.

927 On Newstalk 179, the program brought to you by Grand Peak's Prime Meats. Whether it's steaks or ribs or pre-cooked sous vide, crockpot meals or dogs, all the things that you throw on a barbecue grill over the summer, grandpa Peaks Primates is the place to do it. The prices are very competitive, and the quality of meat that they provide is superior.

Do what Julie and I do. Stop off. Actually go online GG Prime meats.com. Look at their packages and their specials. See what they have to, have to offer, find the things that fit your family the best and then stock up on your freezer. They have free delivery for all all orders over $75 in the Idaho Falls area.

And it's a nominal charge beyond that. If it's less than that amount GG primates.com. All right. We have Brady calling from Pocatello. Hi Brady. What's on your mind today. So I just got a quick question. I know the flag thing in Boise. Yeah I mean, I don't I don't fly a flag that I'm straight. Be patriotic.

And I think everybody needs to follow that. Yeah. My, my my question is, how in the heck and gas stations get away from selling meth pipes? They call them oil burners. But we all know what it is. How do they get away with selling, marijuana weeds? I know it's yeah, I know it's regulated. Yeah. How do they do that?

Okay. I'm going to be very upfront with you. I know nothing about this. I, I'm not familiar at all with drug culture and what what things are used. I didn't even know that. And please do not mention any locations at all. Of course, I would never know if I would, but I didn't even know that these things were being sold in in gas stations.

Let me ask you this question. Do these what did you call them? Their oil pipes. That's what that's what they call it. Because I asked them I said, how do you you guys get away from doing this? And they said, oh, they're they're oil burners. I'm like, oh really? Right. Whatever. And I mean, there's, there's bongs and there, there's, there's all kinds of paraphernalia in there.

And I'm going, if I had that in my car and I got pulled over, there's no way in heck that that an officer's going to say, oh, that desire oil burner. You know, there's you. Yeah. That's that's it. And that was going to be my next question is if is if this were found in a car that may have had drugs or traces of drugs, would it, would it be a crime?

So you're going down. Absolutely. Paraphernalia. Yeah. You know I, I was question how do they do that. How do they how do they how do they overstep that. Yeah I don't I don't know I, I don't I have no I have no I'm not equipped to even answer this question or to talk in detail about it. I will say this though, now that you brought it up, we'll likely get texts and maybe some subsequent calls about it.

But I was, you know, I was listening to another talk show yesterday that they think that the number they said was 47% of all graduating or high school seniors are on some sort of substance. Well no wonder. Wow. It's so easy, you know, and they think that that percentage is up 3 or 4% over, over even last year.

And it's so easy for kids to do this. And I mean, back when I was a kid, if you wanted to go do something like you had to go to a scary place not to you're not for gas station. Yeah. I just it just blows my mind how easy it is. And, and there there's a problem and then there's really no help for the kids who do have the problem, you know?

Yeah. You need to be gone. They need to go through the system. They need to be in trouble first. They need to do stuff that there needs to be something put into place to help these kids before it gets that far. So I want to ask you a question. And I don't know how much you know about it.

You. I think you called them a meth pipe that even though they're they're called oil pipes, but they're used. Are there other drugs, though, that are less serious, less harmful than meth, that you could use these pipes for? I mean, but not that I'm not that I'm aware of. I, I'm not I'm not a drug guy either, but but I think the only thing else you could smoke would be crack, which was cocaine.

You know, I mean, either direction, they're, they're they're not good. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. You can melt down and inhale into your lungs. Can't be good. Yeah. No, I, I totally, 100% agree with you. I was just curious in the interest of, of accuracy here, if these pipes are only used for meth, but but I yeah, like I said, I have zero, credibility in talking about this because I just don't even, like, I look at drug paraphernalia, I see pictures of it and I'm like, I have no idea what that would be used for or how it would be used.

Yeah. I just it's just it's just curious to me, you know, and it's like they I asked the guy and he said, oh, it's, it's an oil burner. And I said, you know, bull crap. And he says, well, well, wouldn't you feel better if you're one of your, one of your family members? We're hooked on this. They could come to a place to buy clean glass.

They'll no, no, no. It's like, what if I know I want to get them help, not send them to a place like that, like they're sharing the needle. Nobody's gotten Aids or anything like that from sharing glass. Certain, you know, but they might have it. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. That is crazy. A great question. Thank you so much for having me.

You guys are great. Okay. Appreciate your call. And maybe others know more about this than I do. Let's go to the phones. Hi, caller. It's Friday. How are you? Good. How are you? Is it me? It's you. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, I just one that kind of add to your guys's previous conversation. The glass pipes could be sold legally because your soul was tobacco products or CBD oil products and a glass pipe.

You could do more than just matching those. They're designed for CBD oil and never jarana. Okay, gotcha. And if somebody was rolling in the car and they have one, as long as there is no residues, they're not going to get in trouble. They're okay. Residue. That's a different story. So I want to share okay. Thank you. And you know what?

That's why I open this stuff up I'm leading with my ignorance on this issue. So and and I like the second caller there too, that, CBD is legal in Idaho because it doesn't have THC, at least not enough to matter. And if you can use CBD oil and now it looks a lot like you're, you're, you know, there's a there's a drug stigma to that.

Obviously, but not illegal. And that actually makes sense that this device could be in the car. And as long as they're not detecting drugs like they're drug dog doesn't go off or whatever, then, they probably are legal. So at least that's what would make sense in, in my mind. (208) 542-1079 see, this is why sometime, not always, sometimes on Friday we get these topics out of left field, and I find them fascinating.

And I actually kind of like when I don't know about something that sounds really weird, but it creates in my mind a bunch of questions in curiosity. And I like to learn, learn new thing like about meth pipes and stuff. It's 935 on Newstalk 10792085421079. We are in between calls here, so, let's let's take a quick break.

We may do the flash poll because we've set the table with this issue of the LGBTQ flag in Boise. And, if you want to comment on that, you can I'm curious what the consequence should be of a mayor who openly violates state law. We'll be back. All right. 940 on Newstalk 1079, it's Friday edition of the Neil Larson Show Open Lines.

You want to bring up a topic, bring it out of left field. You want to bring up something that I've already talked about previously. That's why we're here on Friday. (208) 542-1079 that's the stones Automotive Group Colin Text line. And we're going to go to Dan, who's on the road between Idaho Falls and Pocatello this morning. Hi, Dan. How are you doing, sir?

Good, good. Doing well, what's what's on your mind? Well, I was wondering if maybe Almighty Guru, if you could explain to me about the star card, as I know what they are, I know what they're for, and that I'm just confused as to when did your driver's license become an issue? You can't use it as an ID.

I mean, so when a cop says you don't have a star car, the cop says, do you have an ID? And you say, no, I okay, this is the second round of topics that I don't know a lot about. Now, I, I was even unsure. I was talking with Julie a few weeks ago, and she had her driver's license out or something.

We were talking about a topic, and and her driver's license was a star card. And I'm like, I don't even know if mine is, because I know in order to fly, you now have to have your your star card. And I'm like, okay, I'm going to look. And indeed my driver's license has the star on it. So I do have a star card, but I do.

What what is your concern? Let let me, let me actually shift this a little bit. Why are you asking this question? I was just curious as to in this country, when your I.D. card, your, driver's license was always a, thing of ID, right? Yeah. The boat you go to get it, you go to get beer, you go get cigarets where you showed your card, which was usually your driver's license.

It doubled as an ID card. Sure. And, I'm retired military, so I don't really have a problem flying because I have a military ID, but you can also needed a passport or in in place of a star card. Yeah. I always wondered why the big push all of a sudden for a nationwide star card. I was just wondering when your driver's license became inadequate.

I, like I said I could take a stab at a guess, but I don't really want to do that because I'll likely get it wrong. However, I will do a little. I'll do a little research, though, and I'll try to find out the answer for you. I, I think in if I were to just speculate a little bit, I think it might just be for convenience so that Idahoans and this is a great example of the government coming along saying, well, we're going to do this thing that's convenient for you.

And then if enough people do it, they're like, oh, so many people are doing it. We're just going to require it. Like it just migrates from a thing you can do to now a thing that just is in it and it's a mandate. But I, I would think the purpose of it is just more, yeah, I don't know.

I don't have the right words for it. Like when you guys were talking about the, the one incident was, well, if you don't drive and you don't fly, you know, I mean, if you don't fly and you have no reason for a star car is at one point somebody's going to go, you didn't show ID, so, you know, we're going to we're going to give you a ticket for failure to identify yourself.

Yeah. You know, and I again I don't know. But as you were talking something there's a rising suspicion for me is that the federal government incentivized the states to do this with money. And, and we probably get extra federal funding because we've integrated the star card with our driver's license system in, in Idaho. So, yeah. And the other thing was, is that the the question that came up in my mind is that they always tell you, well, if you got a Social Security card, that's a good identification.

It doesn't have a picture on it. That's a good point. That's what I think they ought to do, is they need to put a picture on the social on the Social Security card. Yeah, yeah. Where is the the the link to the, to your actual ID. No. Good question. But you've, prompted me to do a little research, so.

Thank you. Let's go to the phones. Jim is in Idaho Falls. Hi, Jim. Hi. I wanted to bring up a thought I've had about tariffs that I haven't heard anybody speaking about. And it relates to health care. Our health care system is such a mess, I believe, because it's a third party system. People aren't paying directly, and a lot of people who look into it, that's their conclusion.

Also, our third party payment system leads to the problems that we have. I believe it's the initial instigating factor. Then, with all the other layers of government interference piled upon it, have led to the mess that we're in. And tax incentives are what led to the third party payment system. Thus, if tariffs end up replacing the income tax, or to whatever extent they do, if the income tax is diminished to a great extent because much tariff income replaces much of the income tax, then that would remove that tax incentive that led to our health care problems in the first place.

It wouldn't be sufficient to resolve our problems, but it will be essential and fundamental. Yeah, to get in a free market and health care, we would also need to remove a lot of other layers of the system. I wonder if Donald Trump has thought of that. You know, that's a that's just thinking about it. That's a really good point then.

And thank you, Jim, for the call. I, I never I never really thought about that. But you're right. Barack Obama ingrained his health care, his landmark health care, fill in the blank word, whatever you'd like to there into the IRS, like getting into our tax code. And if if we truly abolish the, the personal income tax like Trump would love to and wouldn't we all, what happens to Obamacare that that's a that's an interesting hypothetical here.

If you abolish the IRS and don't think that's not being thought about, and you blow out the tax code, I guess what goes with it? Obamacare. Let's go to the next call. Thank you for waiting, caller. Go ahead. What's on your mind today? I just wanted to pass on that. It's due to a federal law post 911 called the real ID act.

And I sent you a link. Oh. Thank you. I, I will do that. I've actually received several texts about this particular topic, so and I just saw somebody else hung up on my roster of calls. So they're probably thinking along the same lines. All right. We're going to go to our next call. I think this is our good friend Barbie Hart.

How are you, Barb? Hey, Neal. I'm just doing great. You've you're covering quite a variety of items, and I thought I'd weigh in on one of them. Okay. And that's going to be daylight savings. You know, I was, I, I heard what Ted Cruz was saying about it, quoting the often quoted, oh, it's so harmful to our health.

And yada, yada, yada, and just using a little bit of Lincoln-Douglas logic, really these things, it I think it, it, falls apart quickly if we base, the time change on health and, and we use that argument, nobody can travel, because you're always changing time zones constantly changing time zones. And it would purport to say that nobody ever goes to bed late, that we all have to go to bed at the same time to get the exact same amount of sleep.

I mean, personally, I like daylight savings time. I don't mind the time changes. You know, I do notice that President Trump said, hey, if we're going to change it, let's keep the daylight savings. I think too many other people are calling for, you know, just regular, you know, regular time. But I, I love the long summer days, you know, so I, I think it was kind of a genius plan.

I don't think it's that hard, but it's, you know, the other thing on help, you think of our north Idaho legislators that every week go back and forth, the one time zone to the other, they should be dead. Based on the reasoning, and taking time. So I, I want to Barb, I want to clarify that is not a death wish that you're inflicting upon them.

Like sometimes you say they need to be dead. You're just saying that if it was that bad for their health, they would be dead. That's right, that's right. Anyway, just just to sense. We all thought I'd lay in because I think daylight savings is kind of a genius idea, so I don't mind it. And I love the long summer hours.

Okay. Well, okay. All right. Barb, thank you. I appreciate, I appreciate that that's a that's an interesting. Now I'm going to say I led the topic. It's only come up because you had the US Senate taking this up. I think in a committee hearing yesterday. And I know this is really cynical. All right. Let's either do something about it or not.

Let's just stop talking. And then I'm like, let's talk about it. So I know I'm sort of, but I'm only talking about it because they were talking about it. And also, can I add one thing? I'm, I, I want I'm going to ask you a question, okay? Because here in Idaho it's 950. Okay. Now wait for this, and I, I don't want you to Google it.

I don't want you to look at your phone. I don't want you to seek any information at all. If you're not driving. I just want you to close your eyes and answer this question. It's 951 in Idaho right now. Do you know what time it is in Arizona? Right. Okay. Now text me your answer. Do you know what time it is in Arizona right now?

Some of you will, because you might have kids in Arizona or you might do business. There's something there. But I would bet you most of you were like, I don't have any idea what time it is in Arizona because they're just weirdos down there and they're always an hour off or there. Sometimes they're on, sometimes they're off. And, so here's what I would say.

If we're going to act on this, whether we keep it or not. No weirdos. Okay. Well, I, and I know you could say you're. That's a state's rights issue. Okay? There's a 10th Amendment issue. No, I don't think states have a right to be weirdos. So I think Arizona needs to knock off their daylight savings. Weird onus.

And they just need to to be the same time as all the other states in the mountain time zone. And we'll leave it at leave it at that. All right. If you've never heard the show before, that was me being sarcastic, all right? I'm not an authoritarian. You know what? This is hilarious. I ask people, what time is it in Arizona?

I got a bunch of 850 ones or 850 twos, and I got a bunch of 950 ones, and I see point proven. We'll be back after this. On Newstalk 1079. We'll wrap it up. There's.

956 and Newstalk 179. It's the Neil Eisen Show on a Friday. Okay. Do you know what it's going to be today? It's going to be 75 degrees under sunshine and tomorrow more sunshine. A little cooler though. But I have your Saturday all planned for you. I mean, if you had other plans, cancel it because you're doing the four step lawn program tomorrow.

No, not really, but, you can, you can do it on your own time. That's fine. But if you stop by town and country gardens and go with one figure in mind how much lawn you have, okay, just in terms of square feet, you'll need to know that. So you'll know how much product to buy. But if you go in and you, you take that amount of, of square footage, then they'll know how much you makes that you need.

How much, summer lawn food that you'll need a couple of applications. And then of course, the winter or the you lay down in October and November, you get it all. You pile it up in a corner of your garage, and then you set some timers on your phone, as reminders that, oh, this is the day that you need to put down step two or whatever.

Step one is the humane. That is a great first step, and it really gets the I don't know if biome is a word, but it feels like it's the right words. But it gets the biome going for your grass, and, it activates the microbes that are in the soil. And it's just creates a really healthy environment for your grass to take up the fertilizer and the lawn food that you're going to be putting, down.

And it just makes for a beautiful, lush green lawn. You water it like you should, yamo it like you should, and you're going to have a gorgeous lawn that you can be proud of. And you can stop with all the the guessing and the wondering and the watching of the endless YouTube videos and, just trying to figure it out.

The four step lawn program is formulated for this region, and, it's it's the right stuff in for where we live. And that's why they've perfected this thing. So swing by, grab the four step lawn program. Anything else you need for your lawn and garden as well, like seeds or other fertilizer? Maybe it needs some topsoil. Whatever. They can help you out.

Town and Country Garden south of Idaho Falls, across from the malt plant on the Yellowstone Highway. Everyone have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back on Monday. Please be safe. We'll see you on the other side.