You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for February 17, 2026.
0:30 We dig into anti-ICE activists who’ve taken their protest tactics into America’s checkout lines. Instead of lobbying Congress, demonstrators are swarming Target stores in Minnesota and beyond—buying bags of salt only to immediately return them—in an effort to jam registers, disrupt workers, and economically punish a private business. It's performative outrage aimed at minimum-wage employees, not policy change. From immigration enforcement to law and order, corporate disruption, and the real-world consequences for local jobs, harassing cashiers won’t change federal law—or stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement from doing its job.
9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know.
- Capital Police arrested a man today as he was running towards the Capital Building wearing a tactical vest and gloves and carrying a shotgun.
- Former Democrat Presidential Candidate Jesse Jackson passed away this week at the age of 84.
- A man who claimed to be a woman shot and killed two people at a high school ice hockey game in Rhode Island on Monday.
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 break down the selective reporting by The New York Times following a fatal ice hockey rink shooting in Rhode Island. The Times carefully sidestepped the suspect’s transgender identity—despite reporting a birth name change—while routinely highlighting other details, like firearms, when they fit a preferred narrative. With another recent fatal shooting involving a transgender suspect in British Columbia, we have to ask why certain facts are deemed “irrelevant” only when they’re politically inconvenient. The message is simple and sharp: report the facts, all of them, without fear or favor.
16:00 We ask American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson : Have you noticed how much stuff the Left says is "toxic" is actually just normal life?
The Mamas push back on how the left labels everyday behavior as “toxic”—from toxic masculinity to churchgoing, parenting, and even harmless relationship moments. They share real-life examples of social media outrage, including a viral Ring camera clip that sparked cries of “dump him” over a roly-poly bug, and online harassment aimed at public figures connected to Cheer. The conversation turns serious as the mamas argue that anonymous online attacks, political name-calling, and cultural shaming are the real toxicity—while common sense, family values, and disagreeing respectfully are just normal life.
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 A New York–based Muslim activist suggested that pet dogs—especially indoor dogs—don’t belong in an “Islamic” vision of New York City, following the election of Mayor Zoran Mamdani. Rep. Randy Fine says Americans would choose their dogs over appeasing religious demands—prompting outrage and calls for his resignation. This isn’t Islamophobia but a free-speech question about criticizing religious beliefs, cultural pressure, and whether everyday Americans should ever be asked to give up “man’s best friend” to satisfy ideology. Who’s really barking up the wrong tree?
26:30 We Dig Deep into a new 2028 presidential race poll that shows just how early—and how awkward—the next election cycle already is. On the Democratic side, Kamala Harris leads the field, while Gavin Newsom trails far behind despite acting like a full-time candidate, from foreign speeches to social-media theatrics. Progressive darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barely registers, raisi
