The conversation returns to its roots: one man at a microphone, facing a community wrestling with the cost of control. Peter walks listeners through a country where promises of “affordability” quietly harden into systems of dependency, where citizens are reminded that freedom fades fastest when government insists it can live life for you.
He exposes how expanding bureaucracy fails veterans, families, and taxpayers alike. The bitter reality confronts listeners: men and women who served return to red tape instead of gratitude, homelessness instead of honor, and a benefits system that moves slower than despair. Racial statistics surface, not as political weapons, but as evidence of operational collapse that demands accountability.
Callers push the conversation deeper, raising immigration pressures, youth disillusionment, collapsing urban promises, and a culture that teaches young adults to see themselves only as victims. One caller asks why God allows good people to die, and Peter answers from a place of faith, pointing toward a larger plan that human eyes cannot fully grasp.
What emerges is the portrait of a nation at a crossroads, spiritually strained and economically suffocated, yet still filled with citizens capable of reclaiming self-reliance, demanding election integrity, and restoring the dignity of personal responsibility. Peter closes with a charge anchored in discernment, courage, and an unyielding commitment to remain a voice for liberty.
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Mira la izquierda, mira la derecha. ¿Qué ves? ¿Dónde estás? In a world that seems to change daily, what will you do next? Welcome to the Next Steps Show with Peter Vazquez, a starting point for discussion y un poco de dirección.
Buenas tardes, ladies and gentlemen. It is Wednesday, the middle of the week. Soy yo, Peter Vazquez, and I am honored to spend my lunchtime with you today. It has been a while since we have spoken directly—just you and I. The old “Gabbing Tuesdays” and “Chattering Fridays” disappeared for a bit because we have been packed with guests. I want you to understand that your voice matters. Your dialogue conmigo matters. When you dial 346-3000 or 866-552-1009 from those rural areas, I love hearing from you.
Different perspectives keep these politicians—these individuals constantly feeding us nonsense—aware that we are paying attention. We sure are. We hear a lot of promises from the same people we elected, yet so many go unfulfilled, or they appear in the form of new mandates. That is what I want to talk about today.
Every promise of affordability has become a trap of control. Tell me I am wrong. We had “Hocus Pocus” here in Monroe County bragging that crime is down because of their efforts. Caramba, all I hear is more government control—another layer, another restriction. When government replaces responsibility with codependency, prices rise, freedom fades, and dignity becomes a trade for comfort. That is not a deal Americans want.
People want things to return to a normal level—something to stabilize and build on. Not a deal where we give up liberty for some unquantifiable improvement. Government has pushed so hard that people are exhausted, and meanwhile we have extremists running the largest city in our state and country. But the real revolution is not rebellion—it is reclaiming self-reliance. Government cannot take self-reliance from you when you do not depend on it.
My father always said, “He who pays owns.” He worked multiple jobs to lift our family so we did not need government programs. If you earn it, it is yours. If government gives it, it is not. That is the pattern we must break. We cannot fix problems created by government with more government. We cannot keep layering bureaucracy and pretending it is a solution.
Government always wants to parachute in and say, “We have the solution.” That mentality is why we are in this jackpot. That is the Vanboolzalness—the lie we are sold every day.
But here is the tricky part: government threatens pain when you refuse its “solutions.” They say, “If you do not want what we offer, we will make it hurt.” That tactic is cruel, and we must not fall for it.
Restoring a representative republic—where power flows upward from the people—requires you. It requires engagement, involvement, and information. Casting a vote requires care for your country that is deeper than “give me, give me, give me.” Caring for the needy does not mean abandoning responsibility. That is why organizations like the one I run, or the one Mike Hennessy runs, exist—to serve without dependency.
Trump is squeezing out comfortable positions funded by taxpayers that produce nothing. We talk about veterans constantly. Funding is based on enrollment numbers, not outcomes. Politicians preach equity, yet the one equity they refuse to measure is what is produced for people—especially veterans.
True gratitude means more than flags and fanfare. Politicians forget that fanfare equals responsibility. Across New York, more than 1,180 veterans remain without stable homes; 36 of them are unsheltered. They call that success. These are people who signed a contract to put their lives on the line, yet they still cannot find homes.
One unsheltered veteran is too many. The military must guarantee lifelong care. You serve, you fight, you risk everything—the nation must take care of you, not pass the burden to charities. Charities do great work, but they should not be the safety net for veterans.
Peter shifts to race. Black veterans make up 30 to 53 percent of homeless veterans, despite being only 11 percent of the veteran population. VA data shows lower approval rates for claims and higher misdiagnosis. But correlation is not causation. This is not a race conspiracy—it is system failure.
Peter emphasizes that racism exists in individuals, but the numbers here reflect operational breakdown, not racism from the system.
BREAK.
Returning from break, Peter thanks sponsors: Flower City Collision, Tom Wahl’s, and Youth for Christ Rochester. Music plays briefly—“Suavemente”—and Bob jokes he cannot translate the lyrics. Peter explains it is a popular song from Christmas celebrations at St. Michael’s, St. Francis of Assisi, and Holy Redeemer when he was young.
Peter reads a comment from Fred: “The government almost seems like it does not want to take care of the service members who served with honor.” Peter agrees. Politicians claim they love veterans, but reality says otherwise. Claims take 125 days. Suicides hit 17 per day. That tells veterans, “You are not important enough.” Afghanistan is raised as an example of political failure.
Another break.
Peter introduces Sarge Mitchell from Combat News, an Iraq War veteran running a platform by veterans for veterans. He urges listeners to attend the Veterans Open Forum on Wednesdays at 7 PM and visit CombatNews.com. He tells listeners to check in with vulnerable veterans—because 17 suicides a day must stop.
The show shifts to cultural decline. Government came for the kids long ago through schools. COVID opened eyes to indoctrination. Young people today have no memory of a prosperous, independent America. They see hardship and propaganda, making socialism appear attractive.
Surveys show young adults increasingly believe political violence is justified. Cultural manipulation, identity-based narratives, and suppression create rebellion. Republicans have little time to turn this around.
Peter brings up Mandami—calling his ideas unrealistic, his promises mathematically impossible. The “free buses” plan collapses under real fiscal scrutiny. Mandami’s donations plea after winning exposed more contradictions. The MTA states they must operate fiscally responsibly by law. Free buses are a fantasy—costing closer to $1.4 billion.
Young people may wake up to Mandami’s hypocrisy, but that will not automatically lead them toward responsible governance.
Next caller: Mike. He says youth feel hopeless as illegals receive housing and support while young Americans drown in student debt and cannot find jobs. Veterans are homeless while hotels house illegal immigrants. Mike says Americans who study coding outperform foreign workers, yet H-1B visas replace them with cheaper labor.
Peter responds that outsourcing and H-1B exploitation were fueled by left-leaning policies that demanded better working conditions at home while outsourcing labor abroad.
Peter quotes Galatians 5:13. “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Next caller: Keith. He asks why God allows good people to die, referencing a father and daughter doing relief work who were killed in a plane crash. Peter answers that death in Christian faith is rebirth. God does not kill; He brings home those whose purpose has been fulfilled. Jeremiah 1:5 shows God’s purpose exists before birth.
Bob adds that God does not intervene like Santa Claus. Churches burn, disasters happen. Life and death fit within God’s plan, not ours. Faith, not institutional religion, helps believers understand suffering.
Next caller: Gary. He shares his journey of faith after being cheated financially. He describes writing pages of poetry in the style of Psalms, feeling God speaking through him during hardship. He cites “chance encounters” that led him into activism and information-sharing. He believes nothing is coincidence—God placed him where he needed to be.
Peter agrees. Statistically, he says, he should never have ended up hosting a show on a major radio station. But faith, family, and God brought him here. Free will shapes decisions, but God shapes purpose.
Another caller, Lorraine, is introduced but time runs short.
Peter announces it is also National Fancy Rat and Mouse Day, created by the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association. Gary jokes about “elected rats” being everywhere. Laughter breaks the tension.
As the show closes, Peter asks why life has become so unaffordable. Governor Hochul pushes full SNAP benefits instead of addressing why enrollment has exploded. Rochester Regional Health premiums rise nearly 200 percent. Obamacare’s hidden costs show themselves. Even WXXI now says we must “reinvent the wheel”—echoing conservative calls to return to foundational principles.
With Elise Stefanik announcing her run for governor, Peter ends with a challenge:
Be a leader. Be informed. Be engaged. Be a voice for liberty.
God bless the United States of America.