The Lars Larson Show

Honestly Provocative Talk

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Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday at the age of 95. We've been told the tales of all the good he did for South Africa, and we've heard the President put his own spin on how Mandela changed the world and his life. But a lot of people forget that Mandela was on a terrorist watch list until 2008 (Coincidence?) Investigative Journalist Rich Miniter joined me on the program tonight to tell you some things about Mandela that you're unlikely to hear anywhere else in the media...

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Dr. Ben Carson is one of the smartest, most humble men on the planet. But he's got a lot to say when it comes to how to fix the issues in our country. He joined me tonight on the program to talk about some of his ideas for repairing America...

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The latest international education rankings were released today, and America is lagging behind. Just how bad is it? Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at the Hoover Institution and co-author of ”Endangering Prosperity: A Global View of the American School,” joined me tonight to explain...

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I think we've been had. America has signed a deal with the devil...Iran, with regard to their nuclear program. The deal is entirely one sided, and it's not on America's side. Frank Gaffney has been talking about the dangers of a deal like this with the Mullahs, and he joined me today on the program to talk about the dangers we now face...

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Governor Scott Walker is one of my favorite politicians. He's the only Governor to successfully survive a recall effort, and one of the leaders in the clubhouse to earn a presidential nomination in 2016. He joined me on the program to talk about the hopes for the GOP going forward, ObamaCare, the newly inked deal with Iran on their nuclear program, and his new book: "Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge"

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If you've watched television in the last 30 years, you've more than likely heard of R. Lee Ermey. He's probably best known for a couple of different pieces of work, but in both of them he played the same roll: a drill instructor. 

If you're still confused about who this man is, here are a couple of videos to jog your memory:

WARNING: VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC LANGUAGE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN OR THE WORKPLACE!

  Full Metal Jacket

  Geico Commercial

R. Lee Ermey joined me on the program today to talk about life in the military, how he landed his role in Full Metal Jacket after it had already been filled by someone else, as well as his new book " Gunny's Rules: How to Get Squared Away Like a Marine"...

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I had the honor of introducing Daniel Hannan a few years ago. He is one of the smartest guys on the planet, and is a well known voice in politics. Today, he joined me on the show to talk about the state of America, and his new book, "Inventing Freedom."

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Anyone who listens to this show knows I'm not a fan of unions. The Portland Association of Teachers is threatening a strike if they don't get what they want. Here is a quick breakdown of where things stand: Pay: Portland Public Schools: The district is offering a 5-percent cost-of-living increase spread over a three-year contract. Portland Assn. of Teachers: The union wants more: an 8.55-percent increase over two years Benefits: Portland Public Schools: The district would cap monthly health-insurance contributions at $1,431 a month, with inflation adjustments over the next two school years; and it would eliminate early retirement incentives for employees retiring after June 30, 2014. Portland Assn. of Teachers: The union wants to maintain current provisions, with 93 percent of teachers’ health insurance covered by the district, and they early retirement package that bridges the gap between Social Security and Medicare. We got a call from a Naysayer named Becky. She's a teacher (of course), and she had some thoughts on what's fair for teachers...

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The union has submitted a ballot measure that would change a lot of things about the way hospitals do business. One of those things would be capping the pay of the CEOs of those hospitals. I think it's a bad idea. How rare are individuals that possess the skill set required to run a hospital? You shouldn't cap the pay of anyone. You should pay them what the market deems to be fair. While talking about this on today's show, I got a call from a naysayer named Amy. She disagrees...

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Comrade Juan Williams is one of my favorite guests. He's always fun to debate, and I love correcting his confusion. Tonight, he joined me on the program and said that there was no cause to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder. He also said that this is part of a bigger plot by the GOP to make it impossible for the President to lead the government...

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Naysayers are an every day part of the program. People call in because they disagree with me, and they want to change my mind. Today, we ended up talking about medical marijuana, and whenever the subject comes up, the 420 crowd takes a break from toking on their bongs to try and change mind. Among all the naysayers that called me on the subject, a gentleman named Steve stands above them all. Not for his prowess on the subject, but for proving my point...

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We've been telling you about the government manufactured crisis over the desk toy Buckyballs for more than a year. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has put Maxfield & Oberton, the company who manufactures Buckyballs and Buckycubes, out of business, and now they're going after founder Craig Zucker...to the tune of $57,000,000. This is a prime example of government overreach, and it's been amplified by a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece in which former CSPC Commissioner, Nancy Nord, said the commission has over stepped their authority. Craig Zucker joined me on the program tonight to give us an update on the suit. If you want to help fund the fight against government overreach you can go to UnitedWeBall.org pick up a set of Liberty Balls, or any of the other great products on the site. 100% of the proceeds go to fighting this baseless lawsuit!

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The negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program broke down over the weekend, but there was one resounding message: America is not driving a hard enough bargain. Peter Brookes, Heritage Foundation senior fellow and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, wrote about it in a great piece for the Boston Herald: As finger-pointing begins and details slowly emerge from last week’s failed nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva, one can’t help but feel that we dodged a highly-enriched uranium bullet. Hungry for a foreign policy victory in the form of a long-elusive nuclear agreement with Iran, from reports it doesn’t appear the United States was driving that hard of a bargain. For example, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, in attendance at the talks, basically said Paris would be a “sucker” if it took the deal on the table. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was equally “complimentary.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the closed-door meetings. The point is that cutting any deal isn’t necessarily a good deal. Any agreement with Iran must be comprehensive of all the ayatollah’s atomic activities and fully verifiable, replete with intrusive inspections of known and suspect facilities. Dismantlement is an even better option. Peter joined me tonight on the program to go into further detail...

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Football is the most popular game in America. It draws huge crowds on Saturdays and Sundays, and the Super Bowl may be the most watched event on the planet. Football is a rough sport. The men who compete know that, and they're greatly compensated for it. There is a war being waged on football, mostly by the media, and it surrounds what is know as chronic traumatic encephalopathy(CTE). There have been some very well publicized suicides involving former professional football players, most notably Hall of Famer Junior Seau. One of the common threads is that these players chose to shoot themselves, but not in the head. They wanted their brains studied. A lot of these autopsies have come back positive for CTE, and thereby created the stigma that the majority of football players, young and old, will end up with this illness. That's just not the case. Daniel Flynn, author of “The War on Football: Saving America’s Game,” found a glaring example of the media fueling the flames of fear related to CTE, and wrote about it in a fantastic column for Breitbart Sports: ESPN got punked. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, The Sporting News’s David Steele, The New York Times’s Frank Bruni, and The Atlantic’s Ta-Nahisi Coates fell for the hoax. So did ABC, NBC, and CBS News, for that matter. No, Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett did not test positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). By reporting that Dorsett, fellow Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, and six other players had been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease, sports scribes sprinted ahead of the science, which is currently incapable of determining whether a living person suffers from CTE. These false reports are extremely troubling considering major news outlets are reporting them as fact. This is another case of the media getting far out in front of science and creating a panic. Supporting their drive to politicize sports and drive a progressive agenda- the ‘Football is dangerous’ narrative is yet another way for the Left to push its agenda on middle America. Daniel joined me on the program tonight to talk about this latest media hoax, and to give you the real facts on whether playing football is as risky as it seems...

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You could say that we saw the failures of ObamaCare coming... The failures could be seen not only by the media, but also by the representatives in local and national government. Former Oregon State Rep. Patrick Sheehan tried to warn Governor John Kitzhaber about the impending failure of the technology behind Cover Oregon, Oregon's state exchange. Unfortunately for the taxpayers, Dr. Death didn't listen. Patrick joined me today on the program to talk about what actually transpired...

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Today is Veterans Day. This is the day that we've set aside to say thank you to the men and women who have made the sacrifices that allow us to enjoy the freedoms of the USA. Hap Arnold had a great role in the history of our military. Here's more about Hap from author Bill Yenne: General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold is widely considered the father of the United States Air Force. But his long list of accomplishments doesn’t begin or end there. He was also the first and only five-star general of the US Air Force; one of the first US military aviators; the first American to carry air mail; and the architect of the war-winning air strategy of World War II. In this new biography of one of the American military’s most towering figures, author Bill Yenne weaves the story of Hap Arnold’s life, from his youthful days as a cunning prankster to his sunset career as an elder statesman. All along, Yenne unfolds General Arnold’s life like the adventure story it is. A bold advocate for technological advancement, Hap Arnold was a powerful character in the golden age of aviation, an innovative warrior in the conflict that defined the modern era, and the creator of an entirely new branch of the US military.Hap Arnold: The General Who Invented the US Air Force is a page-turning adventure biography for history buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the events that shaped America and the world in the first half of the twentieth century. Mr. Yenne joined me on the program tonight to talk about Gen. Arnold, and the creation of the Air Force.

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The typhoon in the Philippines has devastated thousands of people. The damage is horrific, and there is a great need for help with the relief effort. Tonight, we got an update from the Philippines with Debbie Toribio, Country Director for FH(Food for the Hungry) Philippines. She told us how the people of the Philippines are being affected, and how you can help!