You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for December 12, 2025. 

0:30 We dig into new FBI data showing that California led the nation in active shooter incidents from 2020 to 2024 — 25 incidents, more than any other state — and the irony is impossible to ignore. This is the same state with the most aggressive gun control regime in the country: assault weapon bans, magazine limits, waiting periods, registration, red flag laws, ammo restrictions, carry permit mandates — layers upon layers of regulation. If gun control worked the way it’s sold emotionally and rhetorically, California should be the safest state in America. It’s not.

That’s the core question they keep coming back to: why doesn’t gun control work where it exists the most? The answer is uncomfortable for the left. Laws don’t stop criminals. They only restrict law-abiding citizens. Shooters don’t follow magazine limits, don’t wait ten days, don’t register firearms, and don’t ask permission. California’s system controls one group of people — responsible citizens — while leaving violent criminals untouched.

9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. 

• The US trade deficit dropped to the lowest level in five years.That's according to data released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
• Half of the commercial drivers licenses issued in the state of New York to foreign workers were issued illegally.
• The Leader of Black Lives Matter in Oklahoma has been arrested for embezzling $3.15 million.

12:30 Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

13:00 We step back from politics and wrestle with one of the oldest and hardest questions there is: why God allows suffering. We reflect on how some tragedies are so overwhelming, so senseless, that the only human response is to ask “why.” And they point to the assassination of Charlie Kirk as one of those moments — a young man devoted to ideas, speech, and persuasion, taken suddenly, leaving behind a family and a nation trying to make sense of it.

15:00 American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson tackle a listener question that hits a nerve for a lot of people: what do you do when you’re in your late 50s, you know you still have something to offer — but you don’t feel a clear passion anymore?

The Mamas talk about how passion isn’t always something you “figure out” in advance. Sometimes it finds you. Sometimes it only makes sense in hindsight. They reflect on how certain seasons — raising children, leading nonprofits, stepping into unexpected roles — demand everything you have, and when they end, it can feel disorienting. But that doesn’t mean you’re empty. It means you’re available.

If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button.

23:00 After revisiting the debate over gun laws and crime, we dig into a case out of Atlanta where a homeowner shot two juveniles allegedly stealing packages off his porch.

While no one defends theft, the discussion makes a clear distinction between protecting property and using deadly force. Gun rights come with limits, and firing at someone who is fleeing raises serious legal and moral questions. Exercising a right irresponsibly only undermines the right itself.

26:30 We move on to Maryland, where lawmakers are considering a $25-an-hour minimum wage — a move activists are calling “survival,” not radical. But survival for whom? We break down what a $25 minimum wage actually means for employers, especially small businesses, and why economists warn it could lock people out of the workforce entirely. When the first rung on the ladder costs $52,000 a year, employers stop taking chances — and the people shut out first are young workers with no experience.

California is a real-time case study: higher mandated wages, fewer jobs, more automation, and young people locked out of entry-level work altogether. The conclusion is blunt — every time government raises the minimum wage, someone becomes unemployable by law.

32:00 Get TrimROX from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

32:30 President Trump signed legislation this week honoring the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team — and on the surface, it’s exactly what you’d expect: a celebration of grit, teamwork, patriotism, and one of the greatest upsets in sports history. But this is also vintage Trump.

Because this isn’t just about hockey — it’s about symbolism. Forty-five years later, Trump is reminding the world, and especially Moscow, of what happened at Lake Placid. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union rolled out a fully funded, state-run, professional team designed to showcase the superiority of communism. And they lost — on live television — to a bunch of American college kids playing for pride.

35:30 Plus, it's Fake News Friday! We're putting you to the test with our weekly game of headlines—are they real news, fake news, or really fake news? From death threats against Marjorie Taylor Greene and suspected terrorists, to tech company taxes, Nigerian prince scams, and even criminals "too handsome" to stand trial, can you spot the fake news? Play along, keep score, and share your results with us on Facebook page: facebook.com/AmericanGroundRadio. 

39:30 We reacted to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signing legislation legalizing assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, making Illinois the 12th state to do so. While supporters frame it as “compassion,” this argument has already played out elsewhere — most notably in Canada — and the results are chilling.

41:30 And we end today's show with some words of wisdom about work. 

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