Snow... and renaming all the things is bad now (02-19-2025--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalinershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] I do need to get to some other topics, but I do have some field reporters still. So just to reset with Operation Storm Panic, Snowmageddon 2025 Part 2, Snowman on the Street, because you can never brand these storms enough, right? You got to have a lot of branding to separate yourself from all of the other media outlets that are branding their coverage.

[00:00:56] So we're just like branding it in the most over-the-top way. Operation Storm Panic, Snowmageddon 2025 Part 2. Because I believe the last one was like in January where we had to activate Operation Snowman on the Street. And Snowman on the Street is where we would, you know, in the old days you would go out, you know, reporters would walk out onto the street.

[00:01:23] And they would go someplace and stick a mic in some random person's face, ask them a question, get the soundbite, and then file a report and say, you know, people are saying blah, blah, blah. And it's just one person, maybe two. And like, what do they know about anything? But, you know, you ask them some random questions, some random person gives you the random answer and, you know, fills the news hole. So, that's all that you need to do.

[00:01:46] So, rather than hire a bunch of temps to go out onto the street and file these reports, I figured let's save some money and let's just have you do it for free. And so, I call this Snowman on the Street. And so, I'm going to throw it to you. I'm going to ask you with the toss, I'm going to ask you, what's the mood?

[00:02:12] Because that is the question that the anchors always ask is, what's the mood? When they don't know what to ask, they ask, what's the mood there? And however you answer is up to you. Reporters sometimes don't even answer the question because it's not really about the question. It's just the anchor trying to find some question to toss it to the anchor or to the reporter. So, I'm going to throw it to you and I'm going to say, what's the mood? And then, again, I cannot stress this enough. You have to lock out your reports.

[00:02:41] If you don't lock it out, I'm not going to know that you're done. And also, I'm not going to pay you. Although, truth be told, I'm not paying you anyway. So, lock out the report. If you can work in some Nat Sound, that works as well. Now, I do have some reports. I've got a tweet here from Melissa who shows me a video that I cannot play on the radio, but reporting whiteout conditions in Rock Hill.

[00:03:06] Although, the video, it just seems like nothing's happening, like no snow or precipitation. So, just be safe down there in Rock Hill. CZen001 says, I want to play the snowman on the street game with Pete Callender now if we just get some snow. Yes. Back to you, Pete.

[00:03:34] And the urn reports, send help. There is a flake outside somewhere. I have to stop online work. It's too dangerous. Right. Well, you got to stay safe in these types of situations. Right. So, if you can't work remotely during these conditions, we all understand. You know, safety first. All right.

[00:03:58] So, let's go now to Sun City in Indian Land and get the update now from Mary. Mary in Sun City. Mary, what's the mood? Oh, the mood is panic. There is not a golf cart to be seen out on the thoroughfares of Sun City. Back to you, Pete. Thank you, Mary, for the update from Sun City. That really is, you know it's bad when they're not even running the golf carts in Sun City.

[00:04:25] That's, I think that isn't that like an HOA or citywide ordinance that you have to be driving at all times? I don't remember. Next up is Joe in Pineville. Joe, what's the mood in Pineville? Pete, I drove there from, definitely drove there from Morrisville. Morrisville to play hockey.

[00:04:49] On the way there, I saw at the 77 and 485 Auto Changers, three trucks idling, sand truck and plow together, all ready to go. But they're still there as I just passed back there. But when I got to the Pineville, there was two waiting to get on the 485. And there was at least about a three-foot pile of sand behind one of them. I know when they leave, I'm going over there with buckets because it's free sand.

[00:05:18] Free salt, sorry. But, yeah, we've got some flurries actually right now. Northbound 77 coming up on Gilead. And a few little wisps on the freeway here. Back to you, Pete. Compelling and rich. Thank you, Joe. I appreciate the report. Stay safe out there. Try not to, you know, engage in any theft of salt. Next up, we have Joanne. Joanne from an undisclosed location.

[00:05:49] Joanne, what's the mood? The mood is panic if you're from this area. If you're from the north, it's nothing. However, it's a whiteout in Monroe. And it's actually sticking to the cards. It's fun. But I'm from up north. If I were from down south, I'd be panicking right now. But I'm not. So have a good day. And back to you, Pete. All right. Thank you, Joanne. I appreciate the report as well as the slam on Southerners.

[00:06:18] Always good to insult the new homeland. Makes the report compelling and rich. I think next we are. I don't know where these reports are going. This is from who's up next here. Sorry, we have a lot of callers calling in here with their report. So I want to make sure I get to everybody in the order in which they have dialed in. This appears next to be Dave from an undisclosed location. Dave, what's the mood? Where are you?

[00:06:48] Good afternoon, Pete. Pete, I am up north of Huntersville. And the mood out here is very ho-hum. A few snowflakes flying around, flurries. But I think most people are making it. And I'm on my way back to Rock Hill. So back to you, Pete. All right. Well, stay safe out there, Dave. Thank you for the update. We appreciate the report. Compelling and rich. Ned!

[00:07:18] Ned, are you calling with a snowman on the street report? Ned, I don't think Ned is hearing us. We seem to be having some technical difficulty, probably due to all of the wispy flurries in the area, I can only assume. We're going to need some locations for these folks. I don't know if I've already taken this, Dave, or not. Let me see here. We have another Dave. Is this Dave number two?

[00:07:49] Dave? Yes. Dave, where are you and what's the mood? Pete, this is Dave in Concord. And I have a report from the city fathers that they are in the process of buying two rotary snow plows so that they can plow the school bus routes so the children can get to school. That's my report. Thanks to you. Back to you. So, Dave, do we know how they are going to fund the purchase of these plows?

[00:08:15] And will the plows be delivered timely enough for school tomorrow? No. The snow plows will be delivered in May. And they're going to do it by selling those chocolate bars that the kids take around to their neighbors and friends and people at work. That's for a good cause, too, Dave. That's for a good cause. Thank you, Dave. We appreciate the report. Stay safe out there. Next up is Ned. Oh, sorry. Neil.

[00:08:45] Neil, where are you and what's the mood? Hi, Pete. I'm headed from Charlotte back into Gaston County. And I want to report that the Belmont Tunnel is backed up and at a complete standstill. So use I-D5 or Wilkinson Boulevard. That's vital information. Isn't the tunnel to Belmont, isn't that always backed up, though? Yes. Okay. Neil, thank you. Stay safe out there.

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[00:10:40] I do apologize if we cannot get to everybody. I'm going to try my best, so keep your reports tight, as we say in the biz, tight, so we can get to as many intrepid field reporters as we can. I do have some communiques that came over the transom. I will get to those if I can as well. Let us start off with first Matt in Derida. Matt, what's the mood? And we're back.

[00:11:07] This portion of the Pete Calendar Weather Freak Out Show is sponsored by Hillbilly Motors. Do you need a 600-horsepower jacked-up four-wheel drive to haul those heavy groceries home from the store? Well, then call us up. Back to you, Pete. Okay, I don't believe that reporters are permitted to get endorsements, Matt, but thank you for the report. Compelling and rich. Robin Davidson. Rob, what's the mood?

[00:11:35] Pete, I am here at the Harris Teeter store, and it's a combination of just chaos and panic. You know, when I got here, I encountered quite a few snowflakes, and I found a lady who said she was a native Davisonian, and she was telling me that she was going to make snow cream with her eight gallons of milk. And just as we started talking, the gentleman came over to tell her not only how to make the snow cream, but also how to drive home.

[00:12:02] He said he was from Michigan, and we were talking, and then just panic broke out. Pete, we realized he'd left his keys in his car, and so he went running out. And after she and I wrapped up the conversation, I walked out, and a buddy of his had rolled up, and so they were trying to jimmy the trunk. I walked over to give them some advice, and the buddy said, No, no, no, I'm a union guy. I built these cars. And so they continued to try to jimmy the door and try to get into the trunk.

[00:12:30] And my concern is the top's down on that car, and it's snowing, and you're just going to have all kinds of damage. But maybe they'll get in. Maybe they'll figure this out. So back to you, Pete. Gosh, that's a harrowing tale, Rob. I'm glad you made it out okay. Compelling and rich account. We now go live to David in Matthews. David, what's the mood? It's pandemonium out here.

[00:12:59] I'm in Matthews at the big gig, Pete, where Weddington Road is being built as an exit from 485. They started this when Moses crossed the Sinai, and the locals here are finally getting a reason for the snow stopping workage about four days ago on the intersection. Back to you, Pete. The detail there. A vivid picture you paint, David. Stay safe. We now go to Vail, North Carolina. Taylor is live on the scene.

[00:13:28] Taylor, what's the mood in Vail? Pete, currently flurries and wet roads. We have zero traffic. The cows are active. The goats are not. And moo! Cow tipping conditions are just right. Back to you, Pete. Gosh, compelling and rich. That's Taylor in Vail. Sounds like he's got everything utterly under control. We go to Jerry now in Mint Hill. Jerry? Jerry, what's the mood?

[00:13:58] And the mood is outrage. This is not my fault. There are so many white flakes out there, I feel like I'm at a promotion board at the sheriff's office. And just the mention of ice makes me completely fluster-regated. Back to you, Pete. I have a feeling that this is not Jerry, this is Gary. Is this Gary in Mint Hill? This is Jerry McFakin. Sheriff Jerry McFakin. My mistake. Jerry, thank you for the report. Stay safe out there.

[00:14:28] I think we have time for a final report. I have never heard of this location. Betty in Rough Edge. This is Betty from Rough Edge, North Carolina. It's west of Monroe. Betty, can you spell that? R-O-U-G-H-E-D-G-E. I would spell it T-H-A-T because I said spell that.

[00:14:58] No, never mind. Betty, what's the mood in Rough Edge? It's excitement. It is pouring down snow. We got big flakes, little flakes, and it is just pouring down. And it is mounding up around the trees. So we're all excited. And? And back to you, Pete. Thank you, Betty. Compelling and rich.

[00:15:24] Thank you, everybody, for participating in Operation Storm Panic, Snowmageddon 2025, Part 2, Snowman on the Street. I feel like we really did a public service today, people. Up next, Stacey Matthews from RedState.com. We're going to talk about renaming stuff. You know me. I'm all about the branding. All right.

[00:15:51] If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app, and it's a website, and it combines news from around the world in one place, so you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news.pete.

[00:16:19] I put the link in the podcast description, too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check.ground.news.pete. Subscribe through that link, and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:16:48] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. I appreciate all of the reports, the field reports on snowman on the street for this snowmageddon, but I want to talk right now with Stacey Matthews. She is a writer over at redstate.com, and you may know her by the handle Sister Told Ya. That was Stacey. Welcome.

[00:17:13] If I remember correctly, wasn't that your blog that you started like a million years ago or something when the blogosphere started up? Well, it was, Pete, back in 2003. I've been around a long time. That's crazy, 2003. I guess I didn't even think about it that long. But that does make sense because I remember when here they were like, hey, we want everybody to try their hand at writing this thing called a blog.

[00:17:38] Yeah, and Instapundent and all those were, I mean, that was back in the heyday. The Wild West. Yeah, and it's a Wild West in a different way now, but I think kind of in a good way. Yeah. So, all right, so let's talk about names. What's in a name?

[00:17:53] So, for people who may not be aware, tell us what the deal is with this hullabaloo over naming the Gulf of Mexico Gulf of America and how it relates to the Associated Press being able to attend White House press briefings or something.

[00:18:15] Well, about two weeks before he was inaugurated, Pete, President Trump or then-President-elect Trump, he expressed a desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico Gulf of America in his own Trumpian way. And when he wrote an executive order, he signed an executive order the very first day he was back in office. And the reason he cited was in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our economy.

[00:18:44] I'm directing that it officially be renamed Gulf of America. And two weeks later, he had what was called a Gulf of America Day. And I think he visited the region around the time that he did that. But what's interesting about this is that the Associated Press, unlike other media outlets and even Google Maps, who has updated their information accordingly, the Associated Press has not played along. They are continuing to refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico.

[00:19:11] And they say they have to do that because they serve not just a primarily American audience, but an international audience, because their reports are picked up by, you know, news outlets overseas and whatnot. So they have to, in their explanation, they have to use it because international audiences understand it more as the Gulf of Mexico. Couldn't they, I don't know, maybe do a report that tells people that it's now the Gulf of America?

[00:19:42] You would think so. But what's happened from all this, Pete, is that it's irritated Trump. And he has said, well, you know, we're going to restrict their access to the Oval Office and Air Force One going forward until they start referring to it as the Gulf of America.

[00:20:03] And it's kind of sort of this media war with Trump saying, you know, they can't, you know, the administration can't dictate terms that news outlets can use to in their coverage and whatnot. And while in some ways that's a fair point, I think there's a bigger point that's being made by Trump in his own unique way.

[00:20:24] And this was, I think, kind of done to expose the bias of the press, not just over about Gulf of America, as his people and his administrative staff say. The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. But this is not just about the Gulf of America. And this is according to Taylor Butterwitch, who is the White House deputy chief of staff.

[00:20:48] He says, this is about AP weaponizing language through their style book to push a partisan worldview in contrast with the traditional and deeply held beliefs of many Americans and many people around the world. But that's what this is really about is not just Gulf of America, but the Associated Press basically cow-cowing to the leftist agenda and updating their terminology based on how it would help the left in their arguments. And that's what they're fighting against.

[00:21:16] Right. And so you mentioned the AP style book. And for people who are unaware, the AP style book is sort of the Bible for all newsrooms where and in journalism school as well. There's another one I forget, but I think it's like the Chicago style book or something like that. And so the AP and they say, like, this is how, you know, we are going to, for example, punctuate. We're going to, you know, Oxford comma, no Oxford comma. Like they make a standard rule.

[00:21:44] So everybody around the world filing stories for the AP all follow a similar thing. And so when they drop their guidance on certain things, everybody kind of falls in line. All these news operations fall in line. And so when they start saying, you know, from now on, we're going to capitalize the word black when referring to black people. But we're not going to capitalize white. Right. Everybody falls in line. So they obviously they they they do know how to rename things. I'm thinking also, remember, was it Turkey?

[00:22:14] And now they're like, no, no, no. We're going to spell it and pronounce it differently. It's now Turkey or something. And they added some little two dots or something on the and they threw an E at the end of their name. And AP followed along with that. So they obviously don't have a problem with governments saying to them, this is how we want this, you know, this geographical area to be named from now on. Right. And it's not just that, Pete.

[00:22:37] Again, it goes back to them kind of changing their terminology to accommodate leftist viewpoint and group think, which they did during the George Floyd riots. George Floyd riots when they actually put out a direct or not a directive, but guidance that suggested that riots should not be called riots. Right. Right. Because because in their view, sometimes a riot could have a legitimate grievance.

[00:23:06] And so they didn't want to. Riots had a negative connotation, a negative racial connotation, I believe, was one of their rationales. And another when the any time the illegal immigration debate heats up, they always put out new guidance about how to refer to illegal immigrants. They do not refer to illegal immigrants as illegal immigrants. They are undocumented citizens. Yeah. Or illegal aliens, which is like that's the legal definition. They don't use that.

[00:23:34] They change the terms for gender. Like you read some of these stories and I can't figure out who they're talking about in some cases because, you know, somebody is identifying as they them. And the man is a she and the woman is a he. And it's like, I don't I can't even follow the story. So they are willing yet to only, it seems, go one direction with these types of preferences.

[00:23:55] Yet when a government entity or in this case, the president who is empowered to literally do this, then they don't want to go along with it, even though any other country wants to change its name or change the name of a body of water or something. They do that, too. They don't call it the yellow river in China anymore. Right. China didn't want to call that. They call it something else now. Right. Right. And, you know, Pete, the funny thing about this is, you know, and I think you probably would agree with me on this.

[00:24:24] This is not the hill that most conservatives would die on. You know, I mean, like if the AP is going to call them Gulf of Mexico, that's fine. But I think, again, in Trump's own way, this was his way of once again exposing the bias of the media. I mean, you know, there's a larger point beyond Gulf of America is that the Associated Press, whenever it comes to leftist dogma, they are perfectly willing to comply.

[00:24:50] But when the president of the United States is a Republican and he takes an official action to rename something, then all of a sudden, not so fast. Yeah. That's not allowed. And I don't even, this is probably going to go to a judge, as I wrote in a piece for redstate.com. It's probably going to go to a judge.

[00:25:09] But again, the larger point here, beyond whatever a judge or courtroom decides, is that the Associated Press is biased and people should read their stories with that thought in mind. Right. No, you're exactly right. Stacey Matthews, the name of the piece, by the way, that she wrote over at redstate.com is, isn't just about Gulf of America. Trump White House elaborates on dispute with the AP and it makes perfect sense. Redstate.com. Stacey, thanks so much for your time today. Good to talk with you.

[00:25:38] I appreciate it. Hey, thank you. Be careful out there in the snowstorm. Oh, my gosh. Yes. Stay safe. You too. Bye-bye. That's Stacey Matthews. All right. I hope you had a happy holiday season. But tell me if something like this happened at your house. Your family and friends are gathered around. Maybe y'all are in the living room. You're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing. And then somebody says, hey, Dad, remember those old VHS tapes? Did you ever get them transferred? And then the room gets all quiet.

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[00:26:33] And next year, instead of talking about those memories, imagine gathering the family to watch them together. Talk about a memorable gift. So do what I did. Trust the experts at Create-A-Video, conveniently located in Mint Hill, right off I-485, and online at createavideo.com. Yeah. So about the renaming of things, I saw a post over here. Yeah. David Harsanyi from the Washington Examiner.

[00:27:02] He points out the fact that the AP, the Associated Press, is taking a First Amendment free speech stand on the Gulf of America, a completely innocuous and legal name change. Right? That this is rich considering it took editorial notes from Hamas. Right? Which they did.

[00:27:28] AP had a bureau over there, and the only way they were able to get stories out is if Hamas cleared them. So I don't know if we should be taking our lead from the Associated Press. And I also happen to be watching the Megyn Kelly show on YouTube, and she and Michael Knowles were talking about this, I think. Michael Knowles from Daily Wire.

[00:27:57] I think this was in their discussion. And she pointed out, made a very good point, I thought, that the AP had a front row seat, literally, in the White House press briefing room, to the declining cognitive abilities of our president. For all the good that did the American people, right? Truth to power and all of that.

[00:28:23] You had a front row seat, and you saw this man's performance, and you never thought to inform the citizenry that their president was in mental decline. Is that because you didn't notice it? Or is it because you did notice it, and you were hoping that we did not? Either way, either way, I don't think you have the credentials, let's say.

[00:28:50] You don't have the gravitas any longer. You don't. You don't have the reputation that people are going to go to the mat to defend you on this stuff because you have so besmirched yourself. Besmirched, I say. I mentioned a couple other examples with Stacey, the rewriting of the language for gender identity stuff, right?

[00:29:14] The rewriting of the language and the redefinition of illegal alien to undocumented immigrant to all the various permutations. Now, migrants, asylum seekers, like all these other words, right? Because they make some editorial determination, and when you hear editorial, that means opinion. Right?

[00:29:34] It is in their opinion, and they want you to believe them and go along with them because of a reputational credit that they've got. Like, they've built up this balance of reputation in their account, and they think that it's all still there. But it's not anymore. Right? You're using – and this happens so often. I forget who it is that said it.

[00:30:02] It might have been David Berg, but I forget. But what the left does is they get into these institutions, they hollow them out, and then they walk around in a skin suit, basically, of the institution and demand the respect that the institution and the people that built it had required. Right?

[00:30:25] They demand you pay fealty to this institutional reputation that no longer exists because it's been hollowed out. The people that gave it that reputation are no longer there. Right? The ethos that guided the institution is no longer applied. It's all been hollowed out, and you're walking around in its skin suit, and you're like, I have respect. Respect me. Look at my history. We have a long tradition of blah, blah, blah. Yeah, but you ruined it.

[00:30:55] You hollowed it out. Right? With the wolf in sheep's clothing, the wolf has to kill the sheep in order to get the clothing. Right? They don't just sell sheep clothing at the wolf store down there. I guess it might be the sheep store, actually. And now that I think about it, they do sell wool clothing, but... Or maybe the wolf goes to, like, one of those pop-up Halloween stores. I don't know. I'm just saying, usually there's some killing of a sheep involved, and that's what this is. And that's what the people at the AP are doing.

[00:31:21] And it's sad, because we used to be able to rely on the Associated Press. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them, too, and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.