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 life comes at you fast most of it is just smoke and mirrors we're here to clear the air whether

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 it's the can't make this up moments or the hard truths hitting our streets in our state

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 we're finding the signal and all that noise no spin no nonsense just the facts the fallout

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 and a little bit and a little bit and a little bit and a little bit and a little bit of humor

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 oh it's like oh it's like oh it's like oh it's like oh it's the middle of the week

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 keep having huh they're fun aren't they yesterday you know looking at the weather map and um we had

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 lunch and then i come out to my office a little before two o'clock and i had previously about 15

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 minutes before that i had pulled up the weather map and i had i was showing my daughter and my wife i

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 was like look at this tiny little thing down here didn't pay any attention to it got out to my office

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 and I started hearing rumbling in the in the distance and then all of a sudden,

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 wham! Out of nowhere, you know, scared the teetotal shit out of me. Then it rained for

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 probably five, ten minutes hard and then that was it. Sun came back out. So we need the rain,

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 but my goodness, whenever that happens, it just it makes the humidity. It's just awful, you know?

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 So, anyway, again, this is Morning Drip. It's Wednesday. Our call-in number phone lines are

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 open 229-520-5957. Hopefully it'll work. I had some technical difficulties this morning that I had

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 to try to overcome and later today I will be doing some further troubleshooting. It has something to do

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 with virtual inputs on this damn mixer. It did work and then it didn't work, so I had to change it over

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 to a different input. It's a different input. It's a different from the way. I had to

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 as I get through this story, you'll understand the reason why I'm like, maybe I won't get myself in

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 trouble. Not legal trouble, but, you know, trouble of the court of public opinion. So we have a former

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 Georgia teacher that is facing an expanding criminal investigation after authorities alleged that she

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 engaged in inappropriate relationships with multiple students. And according to the investigators,

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 25-year-old Maris Nichols, formerly a biology teacher and football operations manager at Alexander High

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 School, I believe this is in Douglas, Douglas County, has been charged with, not Coffey County,

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 Douglas County, has been charged with numerous offenses including child molestation, grooming,

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 and evidence tampering. And authorities now allege that six minors were involved in the case.

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 The investigators say that evidence gathered from social media and messaging platforms, including

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 Snapchat and an OnlyFans account, allegedly operated by Nichols, uncovered additional allegations

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 beyond the original complaint. Court documents reportedly claim that some students who became aware

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 of the OnlyFans account attempted to leverage that information in exchange for better grades.

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 A little bit of an extortion there, eh? It's like, hey, you better give us some better grades or we're

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 going to let everybody know that you got an OnlyFans account. Hot for teacher, am I right?

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 I told you I'm going to get myself in trouble.

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 Authorities also allege that Nichols exchanged sexually explicit messages with students, sent

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 inappropriate images, and instructed at least one student to delete communication shortly before

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 her initial arrest. And these allegations remain accusations. Nichols is presumed innocent unless

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 proven guilty in a court of law. That's the way our legal system is supposed to work. The Douglas

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 County School System said it immediately launched an investigation after learning of the allegations,

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 emphasize that student safety is its top priority. And Nichols, who has worked at the school since

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 2023, was first arrested last month, later re-arrested after additional allegations surfaced,

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 and the case remains under active investigation. And officials have indicated that additional evidence

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 and charges could emerge as investigators continue reviewing digital records and interviewing witnesses.

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 Now, here's the part. Let me preface this by saying this type of behavior from a trusted professional like

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 a teacher is inexcusable. Whether the teacher is male, female, trans, doesn't matter. All right?

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 You're there in a trusted position. You are there trusted by the parents. You are trusted by the school

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 system to do no harm. I mean, you're not a doctor, but you're still, you know, that the welfare and being

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 an education of those students while they are there at that school, you are trusted with that. So this

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 violates all kinds of levels of trust, not, not to mention it's criminal activity pursuant to the laws of our,

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 our land. So I do not condone this type of behavior at all. Uh, the things that I want to bring up is,

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 number one, there's usually a double standard when it's a male teacher having this type of relationship

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 and altercations with female students versus a female teacher. I'm not saying it's right. In either case,

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 it's not. Now, the part that's going to get me in trouble is as a man, we always, come on now, going through

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 high school, I'm pretty sure there were some female teachers that you were hot for, hot for teacher, you know,

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 the song. And from a young adolescent's point of view, 16, 17 years old, I mean, hell, even 15 years old,

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 you think the, you, you, you probably think that you just got the luckiest break in the world. If a 20

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 something year old woman, not even just a teacher, but a woman in general, but this is a teacher decides that

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 she wants to have sex with you from our adolescent brains. We're like hot damn, but it's still not

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 right. You know, it's still not right. And if she is actually accused, if she actually did the things

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 that she's accused of, then she should face the consequences of her actions because all joking aside,

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 as from the way male students will perceive this is, it's not right. And at that age, that can cause some

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 real psychological trauma and damage to a 14, 15, 16 year old boy. You know, some really strange preconceived

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 notions about what love is and sex and all of that. And I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist. I could

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 probably bring on a friend who could talk to some of this, but you know, as, as cool as we, as dudes

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 look at this and go, oh man, that'd be so great. You know, as, as an older adult now, I look back at

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 that going, yeah, I could see where that could, that could really screw you up. That could really screw

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 you up. And I also have, I also have to walk a fine line on my opinion on this. I do not agree

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 with contracts from school systems to teachers that have a morality clause in there. And the reason

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 why I'm not saying that people shouldn't, shouldn't be moral. That's not what I'm saying. My issue

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 is who defines morality, the way you define it. And the way I define it could be completely different,

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 slightly different. So having a morality clause in a contract for a teacher is, is, is just too open

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 to interpretation. If a teacher wants to have an OnlyFans account on the side, she's not bringing

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 this stuff in to the school system. She's not putting it on display during school hours. This

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 is her personal life. You know, just because you become a teacher and you work for a school system,

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 they do not own your life 24 seven. They may think they do, but they don't. And that's where I have

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 a problem with the morality clauses because there's too many people that stick in the mud,

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 you know, Oh my God, you know, she's showing her hoo-ha online and all of that. And Oh, can we think

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 of the children? Oh, shut the fuck up. Whatever that woman wants to do in her spare time that has

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 nothing to do with the school system. And she's not hurting anybody. She's not breaking any laws,

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 more power to her in this particular situation. If all these accusations are true, then she did break

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 the law and she should be held accountable for her actions. So the old adage is don't, don't, let's see,

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 don't dip your pen in company ink. The same thing is, is true when it comes to the school system and

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 teachers and the students. That's just, it's just disgusting. It's wrong. And you could really screw up

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 these kids psyche for years to come that would require some expensive therapy to get past it.

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 But I'd love to know what you think. I think I know the general consensus is going to be

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 that if the accusations are true, then she is definitely in the wrong and should be held accountable. But

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 more to the point, what have you, what do you think of teachers having side gigs,

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 whether that's only fans or there was an instance where this wasn't even an only fans thing, but a

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 teacher went out with some friends to a bar and there were some pictures that started circulating

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 around because she was caught with drinks in her hand. And suddenly the school system was like,

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 oh no, we can't have that. We absolutely can't have that. Our morality calls. And that's where I have an

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 issue with the morality calls. So let me know your thoughts. Phone lines are open 229-520-5957.

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 You can also text if you don't want to speak. Same number 229-520-5957. Or you can shoot us an email

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 follow. Morning drip at WRTO.FM. We're going to take a short break. We'll be back.

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 Your alarm clock is a liar. It says it's time to wake up, but you're still sleepwalking through life.

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 Stop the snooze. Start the brew. It's the morning drip on WRTO.FM. We're serving up unfiltered truth,

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 questionable advice, and enough caffeine-fueled energy to power the entire Piedmont Plateau.

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 The Morning Drip. Because sleeping in is for people with nothing to say. Weekdays only on Radio Free Georgia.

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00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:14,680
 Hey, good morning. Welcome back to The Morning Drip. It's me, Grady D, here with you on a Wednesday. It is

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 June 24, 2026. I hope you're doing well. So moving on to news. And this one, this one got my attention.

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 And I'm glad that things are turning out the way they should be because, well, let's just get into it.

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 More than 600 people were reportedly fired, suspended, investigated, or otherwise punished

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 after making social media posts about the 2025 assassination of conservative activist

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 Charlie Kirk, if I could speak.

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 Now, let me caveat something here. I did not like Charlie Kirk. I despised the man. I despised what he stood for

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 because he was a liar, and he was a cheat, in my opinion, and he was not good for the community

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 conversation of things about our country. Not at all. However, I do not condone the assassination

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 of Charlie Kirk. I do not condone the assassination of anybody, particularly when it's because you

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 disagree with their free speech. All right? Whether that's religious speech, whether that's political

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 speech, it's free speech, which makes the irony of what happened here even more interesting because

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 there were cases, as we're getting into this, a growing number of these cases where people

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 lost jobs because of public pressure, social media pressure. These people have gotten some

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 substantial settlements, and this is involving government employees and public institutions

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 where your First Amendment protections are even stronger. For example, one Iowa public defender,

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 Maria Rutenberg, I guess I said her last name right. If I didn't, my apologies. She made a Facebook

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 comment about Kirk, was fired, but then won reinstatement and $125,000 settlement after she sued for

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 First Amendment retaliation. Several other public employees have received significant payouts after courts or

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 settlements determined that their free speech was protected. More examples. Iowa teacher received $145,000

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 Indiana University employee employee received $225,000. A Florida wildlife biologist received $485,000 and a

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 Tennessee professor received $500,000 settlement and his job back. You have the situation of a retired

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 Tennessee law enforcement officer was jailed for 37 days over a social media meme, later received $835,000

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 in a settlement from, I think it was the local sheriff's department. But basically, if I remember correctly on that one, they arrested him something about terroristic threats or inciting violence. It was bullshit. It really was. It was bullshit. 37 days because of a Facebook post. This isn't Russia. This isn't China. This is the United States of America, where we have the right to speak our minds.

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 And if you are in a government position, that's the reason why these First Amendment protections are even stronger.

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 Because the government cannot pass laws and cannot enforce laws that impede your First Amendment right to free speech, free expression, freedom of religion. That is a very strong amendment. Very strong.

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 So, part of the Bill of Rights, part of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments. You might as well think of them if you want to. I don't view it this way. But those 10 amendments are basically the 10 commandments of the United States of America's Constitution. And so, you know, people can be shitty. You can post something online and go, well, I'm glad so-and-so's dead or whatever. Okay. That's your opinion.

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 That's your opinion. It's your opinion. You expressed it. The First Amendment does not protect you, necessarily, from people pushing back against what you said.

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 It doesn't protect you in private businesses from being fired, necessarily, because private and publicly traded companies do not have to adhere to the First Amendment.

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 This is only government agencies. You know, it's like, when I was working for the city of Tifton, if I had publicly said something, and they decided that they were going to can my ass, I would have a case.

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 Because if I said it outside the responsibilities of my position, then they don't have the right to fire me, because maybe I don't agree with something the city did, or, you know, who knows?

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 You have to walk a fine line here. Now, in 2012, I did have to part ways with a private company because of some things that I said publicly that they did not agree with, and I had no recourse because that speech was not protected under First Amendment because they are not a government body trying to enforce a law.

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 Legal advocates have raised concerns about a heckler's vote, where organized public outrage is used to pressure employees into punishing people for protected speech.

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 Because many of these cases centered on whether employers acted because of public pressure campaigns, media attention, or complaints generated by social media exposure.

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 The internet is one of the best things that's ever happened to us, and it's also one of the worst things that's ever happened to us.

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 In the early days of social media, the social contract and the promise was that it was going to be easier for us to keep up with our friends, you know, see what we're doing on holidays, see, you know, just sharing.

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 Because of people that we may have moved away thousands of miles away, but this was a way to reconnect.

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 Now it's turned into a cesspool.

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 Several plaintiffs ultimately prevailed, but many described lasting personal and professional consequences, including lost jobs, public shaming, anxiety, and even reluctance to discuss politics online.

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 Multiple related First Amendment lawsuits are still active in federal courts.

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 And I think a lot of them are probably going to wind up with settlements because this administration, and this is just indicative of a larger issue with this administration.

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 Trump, anytime a news organization says something that he doesn't like, for example, the New York Times, whether you like them or hate them is irrelevant.

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 But all they did was report on the accurate, true statements of what is happening with that damn reflective pool.

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 That $14 million renovation of Washington's Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where Trump decided that he wanted to paint it American flag blue.

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 Didn't even do a bidded contract.

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 It was a no bid contract to somebody that their business dealings are a little suspect.

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 A friend of Trump's, basically an associate, and they painted it, they filled it with water, and suddenly because, well, that darker color makes the water warmer and algae.

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 And then they got the boneheaded idea.

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 I don't know where this one came from, but they got the boneheaded idea of let's pour hydrogen peroxide into the water.

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 Gallons and gallons and gallons and gallons and gallons to see if we can get it to kill the algae.

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 You know what's in paint thinner?

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 I'll give you a second to think about it.

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 Hydrogen peroxide is in paint thinner.

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 So it's no surprise that if you start dumping a crap ton of hydrogen peroxide into the water that has a surface that is just freshly painted, that it's going to start making the paint peel up.

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 So to bring it back to this freedom of speech, the New York Times is reporting the truth on what's happening with the reflective pool.

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 And so then Trump's like, I'm going to sue fake news.

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 It's not fake news.

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 It's just news that he doesn't like aired.

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 He doesn't want his dirty laundry aired because he's a dumbass.

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 He has no idea what he's doing at any time other than how to make his family richer by cheating people.

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 But beyond that, if you say anything negative, it makes dear leader look bad.

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 It's fake news.

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 He's going to sue you.

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 I don't give a shit what you think of Trump.

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 If you love him, fine.

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 But he's not above the law.

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 And the New York Times is protected by the First Amendment unless they're out there reporting provable lies.

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 That's a completely different story.

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 But they're not.

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 The people that have been arrested, the five people or so that have been arrested, you know, a reporter reached down and was pointing at and touched the paint that was peeling up.

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 A former Olympic athlete wanted to wanted to see what it was all about.

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 He reached down and touched it.

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 They arrested him for vandalism.

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 All he did was touch the fucking rubberized coating.

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 That was it.

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 He didn't rip it up.

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 And so we have an attack on our freedom of speech in this country.

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 Even though this administration claims that they are the most transparent administration in history.

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 They are free speech advocates.

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 They're only free speech advocates until such time as it makes them look bad.

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 And then it's fake news.

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 Fake news.

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 Let me know your thoughts.

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 229-520-5957.

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 Phone lines are open.

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 Or you can text 229-520-5957 24-7.

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 Or send us an email.

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 Morning drip at wrto.fm.

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 All right.

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 We're going to take another short break.

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 We'll be back.

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 Your coffee is weak.

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 Your commute is long.

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 Your boss is, well, you know.

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 It's time to wake up.

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 Join the revolution of the caffeine addicted.

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 Hey, good morning.

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 Welcome back to The Morning Drip.

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 It's me, Grady D, here with you on this Wednesday, the 24th of June.

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 I hope you are doing well.

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 As we go into our last segment, I want to bring your attention to the fact that it is brought to you by

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 Visible.

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 You know, why pay hundreds of dollars of cell phone service when you can cut that bill by 50 to 80 percent?

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 Trust me, I am telling you the truth.

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 I did it.

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 And I'm talking about switching over to Visible.

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 My family and I told you this story time and time again.

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 We were paying over $400 per month for service with Verizon.

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 And now it's just $25 per phone with Visible.

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 And you know what the kicker is?

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 Visible is owned by Verizon.

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 And it uses Verizon's nationwide 5G network.

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 So honestly, that's a win-win.

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 If you are already a satisfied Verizon customer for the service, maybe not the cost, then it's in your best interest to swap over.

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 Come on, guys.

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 You save money and you get $20 for switching.

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00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:03,920
 So if that's something that interests you, then go to morningdrip.show slash Visible.

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00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:09,460
 Again, that's morningdrip.show slash Visible and start saving on that cell phone bill today.

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 There are a limited number of spots for this promotion.

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 So get in there early.

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 I want to thank Visible for being an affiliate for the morning drip and wrto.fm.

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 All right.

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 Our last segment, the conflict in the middle.

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 This is something I did not see coming.

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 But after I saw it, I was like, well, shit, this makes sense.

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 It has now hit drivers closer to home.

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 And it's not just at the gas pump.

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 You know, gas prices went up above $4 a gallon in a lot of places.

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 In California, I think it was like $6 or $7 because, well, they have a hellacious gas tax.

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 But now it's going to hit you at the repair shop as well.

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 Metro Atlanta auto service centers have reported that the cost of motor oil has risen between

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 8 and 15 percent since the start of the war with Iran, which is going to add roughly somewhere

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 between $10 to $15 to the price of a typical oil change.

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 And shop owners say the increases are being passed directly to the consumers as suppliers

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 raise the prices.

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 Experts are saying that the issue actually goes beyond the oil shipments moving through the

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 Strait of Hormuz, a specialized production facility in Qatar or Cater or Cotter.

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 There's like 14 different ways to pronounce it.

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 But here in America, we call it Qatar.

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 The manufacturer's key ingredients used in modern synthetic motor oils was damaged during the

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 conflict and is expected to remain offline for up to a year.

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 And while there is a similar facility in South Korea, it also relies on rollout.

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 All materials that move through the Gulf region, which creates additional supply constraints.

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 Industry analysts are warning that supply disruptions could continue pushing lubricant prices higher

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 in the coming months.

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 Particularly for newer synthetic oil.

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 Yeah, I'm a kid.

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 I'm 14 some days.

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 Particularly for newer synthetic oils used in modern vehicles.

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 Auto repair shops advise drivers to stay current on your maintenance schedules.

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 I need to actually change the oil in my car.

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 I believe it's been bitching at me for months now.

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 It's one of those things, you know, they put the sticker on the on your windshield and it gives

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 you a mileage indicator of when you should bring it back in.

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 Well, the problem is, is my onboard computer apparently doesn't necessarily go by the mileage,

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 but it goes by some kind of time frame.

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 And I don't drive a lot.

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 I drive to a client location, but most of my job is working remotely and handling problems

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 over the phone and remoting into computers and managing things that way.

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 So mine has been complaining to me that I need an oil change for the last two months easily.

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 Motorists should expect oil changes to cost more until this global supply chain stabilizes.

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 You know, guys, we're getting it coming and going, honestly.

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 I mean, memory prices for computers and that's, you know, that's not just affecting computers.

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 That's affecting cell phones.

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 That's affecting anything that uses solid state storage and memory.

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 All due to the fact that these memory producers are looking at big paydays because they can make

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 more money by selling all of their production resources for memory and storage to data centers

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 for AI.

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 And now we've got the same scenario where this illegal war in Iran, and yes, that is my opinion,

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 it is an illegal war, is not only causing us consternation when it comes to gas prices,

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 but anything that touches on petroleum.

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 Plastics are made from petroleum.

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 So it affects every aspect of the supply chain.

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 So if you think you go and you get an oil change and you're like, well, it used to be $60.

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 Now it's $85 or $90.

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 Why are you raising prices?

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 This is why.

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 It's because the oil has gone up because supplies have dwindled.

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 There's not much you can do about that, you know?

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 So, all right, guys.

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 That is going to wrap it up for the show today, Wednesday, 24th of June.

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 I want to thank you for taking the time.

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 If you happen to drive by here and call this broadcast live, well, thank you very much.

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 You had an opportunity to call in 229-520-5957, but phone lines are now closed as we end the

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 show today.

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 But that number, don't you worry.

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 You can still text it 24-7-229-520-5957 or just send us an email, morningdrip at wrto.fm.

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 It's greatly appreciated.

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00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:52,240
 And if you miss the live show, well, these get turned into podcasts over at morningdrip.show

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00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,940
 where they're freely available for the first seven days and then they go behind a paywall.

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 But look, it's only $7 a month to be a member and get access to all of the previous episodes

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 of The Morning Drip.

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 All right.

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 I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful Wednesday.

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 We'll see you tomorrow morning around 7.30 a.m. for another episode, another broadcast of

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 The Morning Drip.

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 Good morning, everybody.

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 Good morning, everybody.