In this episode of the Kim Monson Show, explore the intricacies of political engagement and why dissecting legislation is no longer above anyone’s pay grade. Join Kim as she dives into the latest news headlines, offering her unique insights into the issues that shape our world today. With a particular focus on the concept of tyranny and how it manifests in current events, Kim challenges listeners to think critically about power, force, and freedom.
SPEAKER 16 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
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I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 16 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 14 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
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Today’s current opinions and ideas.
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I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
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Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 14 :
Indeed, let’s have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you’re valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That’s Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Thursday, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 12 :
Happy Thursday, Kim.
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And we’ve got a jam-packed show planned for you today, so fasten your seatbelts. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Make sure that you are signed up for our weekly email newsletter that goes out on Sundays. And that way you will get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at Kim at KimMonson.com. And also my text line is 720-605-0647. And we’re going to be moving, changing things just a little bit. We’re going to be moving more towards text messages versus call-ins. And this is still a work in progress as we’re trying to figure that out. But that text line. It is super important. And again, that is 720-605-0647. And let’s get into it. Our word of the day, I chose this because I am absolutely heartbroken at what happened out at the Jefferson County Board of Adjustments yesterday. The FWLA bakery was denied the adjustments so that they could keep their tiny homes on the property where their business is and this is i don’t know what the next step is uh we were on text messages i don’t know what that means if they’ll be able to stay open what does that mean exactly but here you’ve got different governments that are with with all the zoning zoning can protect but zoning can harm as well And their American dream, they immigrated from France. They are U.S. citizens now. Their American dream just got a big breaks on it, we’ll put it that way. And I think it’s tyranny. And tyranny is spelled T-Y-R-A-N-N-Y. And it could be unjust or oppressive governmental power. And we all agree that there is a proper role of government. But government in Colorado at the local, county, state, and, of course, at the federal level as well, is out of control. Our government, our U.S. Constitution government was put in place to protect our rights, our property rights, our intellectual property rights. That is so under attack. And the fact that there was no leeway that was given any common sense by Jefferson County and the Jefferson County Board of Adjustments is just heartbreaking. But so again, tyranny could be unjust or oppressive governmental power. Number two, it could be a government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. Or it could be the office or authority or jurisdiction, a group of people that are an absolute ruler. And that is the definition of tyranny. So our quote of the day, I went to Montesquieu. for this, and he was born in 1689. He died in 1755. He’s generally referred to simply as Montesquieu. He was a French judge, intellectual, historian, and political philosopher. and he is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He’s also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon. His anonymously published The Spirit of Law, first translated into English in the 1750 edition, was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, and it influenced the founding fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution. And he said this, there is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. And that is Montesquieu. And so yesterday, my heart was just hurting because of this, because this American dream, certainly the brakes are being put on it by Jefferson County. That’s just the bottom line. So we will continue to keep you informed about what is happening with all of that. Next thing, regarding our headlines, trying to delve into these a bit more. And I’ve chosen six, and we’ll get through them eventually by the end of the day. But the first one is Trump says, and this is from the Epoch Times, Trump says that Raytheon could lose business over their stock buybacks. And this is a quote from Trump. He says, if Raytheon wants further business with the United States government, under no circumstances will they be allowed to do any additional stock buybacks where they have spent tens of billions of dollars until they are able to get their act together. Our country comes first and they’re going to have to learn that the hard way. And my commentary is this is the right move by President Trump. The American people should not be funding stock buybacks and exorbitant executive salaries and bonuses for defense contractors. Defense contractors are contracted to build products for our national defense, not stock buybacks and not exorbitant salaries and benefits and bonuses. So that’s the first thing. The next thing is Kennedy. And this is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is the director of Health and Human Services. And we talked about this yesterday with Trent Luce, that they unveil the new pyramid, the new food pyramid. And Trent said there were a few minor changes. And there were more changes that he would like to see. But there’s other news sources that have said that he turns it upside down. And the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine criticized the new guidelines as having clear evidence of industry influence, particularly when it came to meat and dairy. Well, meat and dairy, we are realizing, are great protein sources. And so my commentary is different news outlets are interpreting the new guidelines in a variety of ways. Bottom line is meat, whole milk, dairy, cheese, butter are good for you. And we have these important discussions because of our sponsors. And we’ve got one of them on the line right now, and that is Karen Gorday with Radiant Painting and Lighting. Karen, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good morning, Kim. Glad to be here.
SPEAKER 14 :
So let’s talk about business first and that wintertime is a good time to get the inside of your house spruced up, yes?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely, especially January and February. Typically, we would have had a lot of snow on the ground. It’s coming, supposedly. And a lot of people kind of go in their house in the winter and don’t come out and do a lot of things and are not even thinking about interior painting. But the truth is, January, February are some of the slowest times. And so you can usually get a really good deal on painting the inside of your house. Maybe not so much like if you’re just painting one room, but if you have, let’s say, a whole level you need painted, then you’ll typically get a discount. And if you’re painting your entire house, you’ll get a bigger discount. And that’s a little secret of the painting industry. but it really is the best time to paint from a cost perspective. And I’m saying that because the cost of everything is rising.
SPEAKER 14 :
That it is. So question, does it matter for inside painting what the outside temperature is? And that may be just a real naive question.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, as long as the house is warm, so 60 degrees or higher, we can paint. If it is… So I’ve painted vacant houses and like maybe the customers moved out of town, for example, and they turned the heat all the way down. We have to end up turning the heat up because it needs to be at least 60 degrees inside the house for the paint to dry properly. If it’s colder than 60, it just takes forever for the paint to dry properly.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, next question. And if you have an older home, and remember when they used to do all that bubble stuff on the ceiling, which that is no longer in vogue, can you take that off and redo the ceiling? Or what does that look like exactly, Karen Gorday?
SPEAKER 05 :
Sometimes. Sometimes. The first thing we need to do on those older homes is test for asbestos. If there is asbestos in the ceiling, and a lot of times with popcorn ceiling, believe it or not, it’s mixed on the older homes, it’s mixed with horse hair, and that could contain asbestos. And so if there’s asbestos, you have to bring an asbestos mitigation company in. Or… It’s actually cheaper to encapsulate it with a thin piece of drywall, like a quarter-inch piece of drywall, and re-texture it back to, let’s say, if you want it just flat with no texture. It’s going to be more cost-effective to encapsulate it with a fresh sheet of drywall. Yes, you lose a quarter-inch when you have eight-foot ceilings. There’s a quarter-inch ceiling.
SPEAKER 14 :
that much probably not and you’re not spending tens of thousands of dollars on excessive mitigation okay well that’s good to know and let’s move over to the other thing that you’ve been doing with you and a number of residents there in lakewood and that’s regarding getting these referendums on um onto a ballot and what so what does that look like give us an update so um
SPEAKER 05 :
As you know, the first three referendums were protested. We won the protest hearing. So on each referendum, the opposing side challenged just over 1,500 signatures on each of those. We got word late last week that we won the hearing, and they had a total between the three referendums, Nine signatures were thrown out. Nine. And we had over 4,000 or close to 4,000 on all of them. So we have sufficiency on the first three. When a referendum is turned in, a protest has to be filed within 30 days. There was no protest filed on the fourth referendum. And so the city clerk… is presenting final sufficiency to the lakewood city council on monday january 12th at 7 p.m and city council per the charter has a decision to make they can repeal it in in its entirety and or rather not and or set a date for a special election And so what we’d like everybody to do is show up at the city council meeting in Lakewood. It’s at the city council chambers on South Allison Street. It’s a 7 o’clock meeting. They don’t necessarily need to speak, but we want everybody to show up to say, essentially, we want a special election. And then the fun begins. because we have to message out, and there will be more information about fundraising, because this is truly David versus Goliath.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, so that’s this upcoming Monday. And ideally, the great success would be for them to repeal. Is it a rezoning or define exactly what it is?
SPEAKER 05 :
So we want them to send us to a special election. We do not want them to repeal it. We want the people to have their voice and vote yay or nay on the ordinances they passed. If they repeal it without a special election, they can make minor changes and reintroduce it right away. So we want a special election. And if they lose the election, then they cannot pass the same type of ordinance for at least six months. and then there will be additional work that needs to be done, but one step at a time.
SPEAKER 14 :
Boy, I know, and this is really labor-intensive for the citizens, and we are busy with our lives and our businesses and our families, but this is so important. Our CUT board meeting is on Monday night, and I know so many of our CUT board members have, because on CUT we are nonpartisan, But what we are focused on is protecting the taxpayer, protecting TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, property rights, and parental choice in education. And so I know many of our members are going to be really involved in this. Would emails be a good idea if people have a conflict?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely, 100%. Their emails are out on the Lakewood City website, which is lakewood.org. I know I did talk with one of your CUT board members. I won’t tell you who, and it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of. And they were conflicted. I was like, go to CUT because that is so important too. You have to understand, I know many of your CUT board members. So they are torn, but CUT is such an important organization. thing for the state of Colorado.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, that it is. And we’re kicking off the legislative session. And so we will powwow. And because this is so important for Lakewood, this boots on the ground, what you’re doing is so great. But let’s get back over to your business. If people would like to talk with you about getting some interior paint done right now, what’s the best way for them to reach you, Karen Gorday?
SPEAKER 05 :
Our website is www.paintwithradiant.com. That’s going to be the best way.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. And again, that’s Karen Gorday with paintwithradiant.com. We will talk next week. Keep up the great work.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Thank you, Kim. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. And all these shows happen because we are independent, and that is really important to be able to be shining a light and transparency on these different issues. And it all happens because of our sponsors, and another great sponsor is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And they know that life can be challenging, and it’s their mission to maximize your financial security as you manage the risks of everyday life. So give them a call. That number is 303-795-7000. 8855 for more information. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 14 :
Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. And as you know, we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something’s a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. On the line with me is the vice president of CUT, Colorado’s Union of Taxpayers, and that is Rob Knuth. Rob, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good morning, Kim. Thanks for having us on.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, absolutely, and the legislature convenes this next Wednesday, and in some ways I’m like, ugh, because it is so much work that we put in as a board to watch the legislation, take positions on it, but it’s right around the corner, and the work that our team does is just amazing, Rob Knuth.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I have to give kudos to the rest of the team. I haven’t felt like I’ve pulled my fair share of the load a lot of the time, but we all do what we can in our particular areas of talent. So thankfully, we’ve assembled a strong team. And thanks in no small part to your efforts with your listeners and getting some of our friends involved that we didn’t know necessarily had an interest. But they’re certainly part of a strong team, and we’re appreciative to have them.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, we are a great team, and I want to say thank you to them. And that’s Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, you, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, Corey Onizorg, Paula Beard, and Ray Beard. And we are getting ready for this. I actually was on a 4.30 a.m. call with Karen Sahuka with Biltrack 50, getting everything ready for us. And so I feel very confident that we’ve got things in place that we’re going to be able to do a good job again this year, Rob. And we just have been distributing our ratings report from the 2025 legislature. This year we hope to have it out before the primaries. But it is a monumental piece of work, and there were some new things that needed to happen and some cleanup on mailing lists that delayed it a bit. But it is a really excellent tool, Rob, for people to be informed and to shed light and transparency on the different legislators and what they actually really are doing down at the legislature versus what they might be saying. But we are nonpartisan on this as well. We look at this from these foundational principles, Rob.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, we pretty much try to keep everybody in line and hold their feet to the fire, even those that we might be more aligned with politically. You know, we try to be faithful to keep the best interest of the taxpayer out there. I think I sent you a text yesterday about being in a meeting in the morning and and happened to sit next to a gentleman that he saw my name tag for CUT. And he said, wow, he said, that’s like the oldest, best organization in the state, you know, on the side of the citizen and the taxpayer. And he just went on and on about his interaction with people over the years and how He had used CUT as a standard to help people hone their messaging in campaigning or to do the right thing and standing on principle. And then at the end of the meeting, I talked to another person who’s a former legislator. And his wife was telling me that said, you know, he had like the best rating with cut. And they’re very proud of that because he was a tenacious fighter on the side of the taxpayer protecting people. taxpayers from increased budget expenditures and trying to keep things in line, which we look back at the last couple years and we can see how important that task is, but we see where we’re at now and the ominous budget issues that we’re going to be dealing with this year.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, and Jared Polish just announced that with Colorado expecting less revenue, instead of them cutting spending, what he’s going to do is we are not going to get our… Tabor, our Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights refunds that are really due to us because of overcollection by the state government of our money in our pocket. And instead, he’s going to use that. And they’ve got all kinds of pet projects that they’re spending money on at the state level and other local levels and county levels as well. But I think it’s important that people understand that instead of returning that to the people, they’re going to be picking our pockets on that, Rob Knuth.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and it’s important that we stop and think about it. Okay, and maybe once it’s brought to people’s attention more, it takes a while with everybody being busy and things going on in everyday life, but once they realize they’re not going to get their refunds, That’s an issue, but then even more odious is the fact that all the fees and other assessments that government is doing, you can see how they’ve been picking our pockets over the years and the way they sell it. is very, it’s really rather insidious the way they do it. I was in a meeting yesterday at the county headquarters, Jefferson County government headquarters, the Taj Mahal, and sitting next to the county clerk and recorder in our meeting, and The facilitator in the meeting was going on about how difficult it is in the state right now and the budget issues and how they’re not sure what’s going to happen in the upcoming legislature, but they’re going to have to deal with this. And they really paint a rather bleak picture, but I’m hoping with this bleak picture that people kind of get the point that, hey, you know, government is not a – omniscient source of governance when it comes to revenues. There are limitations that need to be put in place, and we have to rigidly fight for the principles of protection of the taxpayer.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, absolutely. And this is something with Tabor, which is Colorado’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights. It’s an amendment that the people of Colorado voted on to put into the Constitution in 1992. And the ink wasn’t even dry before PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties were trying to figure out how to get around it. And there was a loophole, if you will, and that was that if these PBIs want to raise taxes, incur debt, or keep excess revenue that’s been collected by government, not revenue, excess tax money from us, They just have to ask us. But the determination was made that they didn’t have to ask us regarding fees. So, for example, if a library wanted to increase the library fee, they said, oh, we don’t want to have to go to the taxpayer and ask that. And that seemed reasonable. But then what has happened is these they’ve created enterprise zones that are funded by fees. And this is millions and millions and millions of dollars that then that fee revenue doesn’t go into the Tabor calculation. And unfortunately, Rob, it’s been people on both sides of the aisle that’s been doing this. So now that whole thing is they’re driving a truck through this whole fee revenue. Whether or not it’s called a fee or a tax, the money is still going out of the taxpayer’s pocket.
SPEAKER 04 :
Indeed, indeed. And it’s not that we’re ogres and we don’t want the government, state government, to have any access to revenue to take care of things, but really we need to distill it down to what are the important concerns. for the government to deal with. And I think the primary thing that comes to mind is our roads and highways. And we’ve not dealt with that and it creates all kinds of additional expense for the taxpayer with the destruction to the automobile or their trucks or vehicles that they’re driving. with the damage that’s caused by the poor condition of our roadways. That’s something I think we need to really kind of hammer off for people. That’s a visual that people deal with every day, those that drive and get out and about. They definitely can relate to the poor condition of roads, and we’re not addressing that. We address all these other peripheral things that are really not important in the grand scheme of things.
SPEAKER 14 :
And much of that may not be the proper role of government as well as what they’re spending money on. So we’re getting ready. Our cut board meeting is this Monday evening. We would really encourage people to join us. It’s only $25 a year. And then also, quickly, I forgot, we need to mention that we are going to have a legislative kickoff. and award our awardees, our cut awardees, our taxpayers’ protectors, on the 29th of January, and people will be able to buy tickets. We’ll have those probably up on the website after our meeting on Monday night because we want to, I mean, just to confirm with all of you what you want to have that ticket price to be, but it will be very reasonable. For sure.
SPEAKER 04 :
Go ahead, Kim. I was just going to say it’s a neat evening for people of like minds to get together and commiserate and to meet some of your state legislators.
SPEAKER 14 :
And we already have RSVPs from a number of our state legislators, and so this is a great opportunity to get to talk with them.
SPEAKER 04 :
So that will be great. Yes, ma’am, we’ll sit down. Thanks, Kim. You have a great day.
SPEAKER 14 :
Rob, you do as well. I really appreciate it. And again, that’s Rob Knuth. He is the vice president of CUT, the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. And these discussions happen because of our sponsors. And regarding everything residential real estate, you’ll want to make sure that you have Karen Levine on your side of the table.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
All Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 14 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. And if you have big dreams for your future, but you’re not quite sure how to get there, call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. They know your financial life is unique. And as an independent firm and accredited investment fiduciary, they build personalized strategies that put your freedom first. No sales pressure and no one size fits all. approach, just thoughtful guidance built around you. So take that first step towards your financial freedom and call Mint Financial Strategies. That number is 303-285-3080, 303-285-3080. And pleased to have on the line with me Greg Walcher. He is one of the most recognized and respected national leaders in natural resources policy. In addition to his popular blog, Resources and Reality, which he writes for a monthly newspaper column on the Western resources issues, he’s also the author of Smoking Them Out, The Theft of the Environment, and how to take it back, and it’s in its second printing. He’s a frequent and popular speaker at conferences in the state and around the country, and he’s president of Natural Resources Group, a member of several other firms as well. Greg Walter, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks, Kim. Good morning.
SPEAKER 14 :
I love your – good morning to you as well. And I love your perspective. And you write weekly, which that is a real commitment to do that. But you have recently published a piece, finally, A Definition of Taking. And this is so important because right here in Colorado and Chafee County, we’ve seen Chafee County – change how people can – or trying to control how people can use their property, which is affecting the value of the property. So this is an important piece. So let’s talk about this. Finally, a taking. Where should we start?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, let’s start with the basic, I guess, that taking – for a government to take property – um from a private owner for public purposes they have to pay for it that’s in the united states constitution it’s in the colorado constitution public uh private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation part of the question has always been what if government doesn’t actually take the title uh to to land as they do when they’re building a highway for example or other public infrastructure but what if they just make rules that change your ability to use your land or take away your ability to use the land, or in any other way diminish the value of that land, which is much more common in this country, as you just alluded to, isn’t that a taking as well? They haven’t taken the entire value of the land, but they’ve taken some of it, and they have to pay for that as well. So there are a number of court rulings in the last 30 years or so They’re kind of all over the map. The Supreme Court has required what we call regulatory takings to be compensated in some cases and not in other cases. And so it’s a little bit of a murky area at the federal level. In Colorado, I think it’s a lot less murky. The Colorado Constitution provision is even stronger than the federal provision. That’s part of the Fifth Amendment at the federal level. But in Colorado, there’s not a lot of breathing room. And voters in this state have been very clear that if a government’s going to take away some of the value of the land, it has to pay for it. And so that’s what the issue, I guess, comes down to.
SPEAKER 14 :
So this example, and it’s interesting that one of our listeners has reached out to me and said that they’ve not been making much progress for this land grab in Chaffey County. It says one by one, people are going before the planning commission with the plans they had for their land, sometimes plans they’ve had in their heads for decades, only to be denied because there’s been new regulations put on that. And they’re told that that would not be allowed under new regulations. And so the value of their property is going down significantly. So these rulings should be helpful for them, yes?
SPEAKER 03 :
They should be. And in Colorado in particular, Local governments continue to sort of push the envelope, though. Every time we turn around, it seems like some city or county is adopting rules that will make it harder for people to use their land. It’s a difficult and kind of touchy area, as you know, because there’s zoning laws in almost every county. And in many cases, it would prohibit you from building something on a piece of land that you own. But there is a difference if you move into an area and the zoning laws are already in place. That’s different than if you buy a piece of property and then afterwards they change the rules. And in some cases in this country, they’ve changed rules even after something was already built that changed its value. And that isn’t fair. If you make an investment in a piece of property or in some kind of development – Governments shouldn’t have the ability to come along later and change rules that prohibit you from using that. And that has happened in various places as well.
SPEAKER 14 :
So this Supreme Court ruling that you had referenced is giving clarity to this issue, yes?
SPEAKER 03 :
It is for the first time. And it’s important because the Supreme Court itself had made different rulings and there were appellate courts around the country that had made different rulings. There’s a guy in the Carolinas named Lucas who bought a piece of beachfront property so that he could build a couple of beachfront houses, which are quite valuable in that area. And then after he did that, afterwards, the locals changed the rules and prohibited the construction of beachfront properties. And in that case, the Supreme Court had ruled that that’s a taking, and they had to pay him for the lost value of that land. Similar guy named Wickstrom in Michigan, almost the exact same situation on the beachfront or lakefront in that case. And the Supreme Court in that case ruled that the value taken wasn’t quite enough to require compensation. And so there was a lack of clarity on it before. But the current Supreme Court has, as you said, has added quite a bit more clarity to it and has said, There is a distinction that if you take away the value of somebody’s land, you have to pay for that. Whether you’ve taken the deed to it in the traditional sense of taking or not, that regulatory takings also require compensation. And so my hope is that that will become the precedent that will rule in cases like that all over the country. Because it has become enormously common. And there is a reach, there is a line beyond which people shouldn’t be pushed.
SPEAKER 14 :
And we, I really do think, Greg, that we’re up against that line right now. So regarding, when I was on city council, we had a couple of eminent domain presentations by public works, and I had asked for all of the communication between the city and public works and the owner of the property. when it was presented that they wanted to use eminent domain one was for a turn lane and one was for a landing pad for a pedestrian bridge and we were told that they were having difficulty talking with the owners and I said well I’d really as and I felt as the representative of the people that I needed to know what was going on on that so I asked for all of the communication regarding back and forth on this and it was very interesting once I asked for the communication between Public Works and the owner somehow they were able to figure out a way to come up with something an agreement that worked for both of them and we did not have to use eminent domain and I really think it’s important that elected representatives realize that we’re here
SPEAKER 03 :
really to protect people’s property and there’s a proper role of government but eminent domain can get way out of the lane and it can get way out of the lanes really really fast yes where where i think it really gets out of out of the lane as you put it uh is when government is is taking property not not for a public infrastructure as in the case you just mentioned widening a highway is one thing. But there are governments all over America that have taken private property from one individual in order to give it to another. And that’s not, in my mind, has nothing to do with what the founders envisioned in the Fifth Amendment, taking private property for public purposes. Local governments will simply assert that it’s in the public interest for somebody else to own that property because they’re going to build something bigger and better that will generate a lot more tax revenue than which is in the public interest. So they’ll condemn land under the eminent domain doctrine to take it from one party and then sell it to a different party that’s going to build, instead of a house, build a mall on it or something. And the Supreme Court has ruled that that’s okay, which I think is a complete misinterpretation of the law. I think it’s one of the worst rulings the Supreme Court ever made.
SPEAKER 14 :
I totally agree with you on that, Greg Walcher. And it’s not the role of government and elected representatives to try to figure out how to get more revenue for the entity. The important thing is to responsibly be a representative of the people. The job is not to drive revenue for whatever the entity is, whether or not it’s the city or the county, because what that means is then it’s trying to expand government programs, and that’s not the proper role of government, Greg Walcher.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it certainly isn’t as far as I’m concerned. The founders did not have something like the scenario I just mentioned in mind, certainly when they wrote the Fifth Amendment. And this is a matter of common law going back a thousand years before them even. There is an understanding of, at the time, what was meant by public purposes. But that definition has gotten so blurry over the years that local governments now take property away for a huge variety of reasons. In the District of Columbia, for example, in the southwest quadrant where so many of the giant department buildings are, and now the old HUD building and the Department of Education and HHS and transportation, those are all built where there were several square miles of townhouses and homes, and they weren’t very nice. And at the turn of the century, they had deteriorated. By the 1950s, they had gotten to where they were just plain slums, And the D.C. government decided that they didn’t want them there anymore. And so they didn’t buy them from all those people one by one. They just displaced all those people under eminent domain. They took all of the land. And I don’t know whether other people think so, but I know that Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe and all of them would not have thought that it was a proper use of eminent domain to simply displace people. In that case, 100,000 people in order to build something nicer there. But that’s what they’ve done, and it has become actually, as we’re saying, quite common around the country.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, and that’s why this Supreme Court ruling is so important. So people can find this article at gregwalcher.com. It’s titled, Finally, A Definition of Taking. It was published in December. And you have everything so well organized of all of the articles that you’ve written. And so, again, you can get that at gregwalcher.com. And we’re going to continue the discussion with another piece that Greg Walter has written when we come back from break. And these discussions happen because of our sponsors for Everything Mortgages. You’ll want to talk with Lauren Levy.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
April 26th, 1777. Colonel, the British are raiding Danbury and burning the town. I’ll go tell them. 16-year-old Sybil Ludington mounted her horse and rode 40 miles through night and pouring rain. That’s twice the distance of Paul Revere to sound the alarm.
SPEAKER 10 :
Quickly.
SPEAKER 17 :
assemble at my father’s house the kim monson show is our modern day sybil luddington bringing us the latest breaking news in the battle for truth and freedom ben’s plumbing heating and cooling is proud to stand with kim will you stand with us get engaged with the issue that keeps you up at night so that you can influence your school and community with truth and justice And for quality craftsmanship at a fair price, call or text Ben’s Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling at 303-995-1636. That number again is 303-995-1636.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
and welcome back to the kim monson show be sure and check out our website that is kim monson m-o-n-s-o-n.com and i wanted to mention the center for american values located in pueblo and they do wonderful work in honoring our medal of honor recipients with their portraits of valor it’s something you really should go view and they also have put together great educational programs for kids k through 12 and educators to help them focus on these foundational principles of honor integrity and patriotism You can get more information about all their great work by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. And then, of course, the USMC Memorial Foundation. I would recommend that you consider buying a brick that will be on one of their pathways of service. You’ll receive a beautiful certificate, but this would be to honor your military service or your loved one’s military service. And so for their Buy a Brick program, you can get more information by going to USMCMemorialFoundation.org. That is USMCMemorialFoundation.org. We’re talking with Greg Walcher, and he’s one of the most recognized and respected national leaders in natural resources policy. And he has a very important book, Smoking Them Out, The Theft of the Environment and How to Take It Back. It’s in its second printing. And Greg, before we get into your article in our next subject, just tell us a little bit more about the book, because it is a very important book. I have it here at my home.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you for that. My attempt was to give people better talking points about the environment in general. I think people, well, first of all, I know that people everywhere care about the environment, and yet it seems like there’s this constant us-against-them kind of attitude on all kinds of debates about every environmental issue you can think of. It seems like we’ve become angry and bitter and nasty and contentious and litigious. There’s Three or four lawsuits every week filed on these issues all over America. It’s just become a very contentious kind of subject matter, even though there isn’t anybody in the country that doesn’t care about the environment, at least not somebody that I’ve ever met. And so it just occurred to me after a lifetime of work on endangered species and forest health and public lands and energy and water and so on, that there is a huge industry of organizations out there whose real agenda isn’t the environment. They use it because it’s popular, but the real agenda is money and power and control, especially money. So for people who actually care about the environment, to be accused of hating Bambi because they want gasoline for their car, I just wanted to provide better talking points. And so… Part of the book is to expose the hypocrisy and hidden agendas of some of the environmental movement leaders. But way beyond that, poking fun at people is fun. But beyond that, I wanted to give people on our side, I guess, a better way to talk about the issues, a better way to make sure that everybody’s on the same agenda. Because I find that if you do the right thing for the environment, the public is on your side, and it sort of smokes out the agenda of people who are trying to accomplish something else, which is very common.
SPEAKER 14 :
It is very common. And regarding the environment, climate, you were one of our guests in a Climate Conversation podcast, which there’s a really great podcast there at aclimateconversation.com. People can watch the documentary there for free as well. And Walt Johnson just wanted to put together a conversation about climate with experts. And that’s been on Newsmax a bunch of times, shown throughout the country. And Greg, Walt is getting organized to film a sequel to that. So we’ll have to have you. We’ll stay tuned on all that because I think it’s going to be really important. But people can watch that at ClimateConversation.com. Let’s go to this other article. Sorry, I didn’t give you an opportunity to respond. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was just going to say, great. I look forward to it.
SPEAKER 14 :
And I think it’s going to be great as well. So then let’s get over here again at Greg Walcher. That’s G-R-E-G-W-A-L-C-H-E-R.com. Really great piece. And the articles are not so long that you look at it and you think, oh, I don’t know if I have time. They’re very well written and concise. And this is a piece that was published on January 6th. It says, if others make laws, what does Congress do? And This is such an important piece because I’ve been back to Washington, D.C., and I wonder what they do sometimes. And then it seems like we always get to a point where they have not passed the budget, and all of a sudden everything’s an emergency. So what’s this about other making laws, though?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, the U.S. Constitution vests all government power. in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. And so why would they have done that if they intended somebody else to exercise legislative, executive, or judicial power? And it’s a big issue, and it’s been a growing issue all over the country about whether or not Congress has the legal authority or constitutional authority to delegate its legislative power to somebody else. There’s a lot of cases people know about where Congress has created regulatory agencies, for example, and given them the authority to make law. So when agencies promulgate regulations, as with a wide range of federal agencies, from the Federal Trade Commission to the EPA to OSHA, they’re exercising legislative authority, and that’s been controversial for a long time, although they do so with sort of a grant of that power from Congress. Lots of people question whether or not Congress has the ability to do that. But there’s other ways they’ve done it as well. The column that you mentioned specifically talks, for example, about the Clean Water Act, in which Congress explicitly granted to any citizen in America the right to go to federal court to enforce the law. And that’s been called into question now because those are called citizen lawsuits. And they have become so common, as we mentioned in the last segment, those kind of lawsuits are being filed literally every three or four days in America. And so now there’s sort of a growing question about citizen suits and whether Congress should do something to rein that in, because it has become such a huge part of government now that an agency like, let’s say, the Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the Endangered Species Act, literally has virtually no control over its own budget because every nickel of its budget is obligated by court orders around the country generated from citizen lawsuits. And so as a practical matter, even though they have lots of authority to do lots of things, their hands are kind of tied because the money is all being spent on things that judges ordered them to do because of citizen lawsuits. So in my mind, Congress needs to do something to rein that in, at least to some degree, and there’s an effort in Congress to do that. There are other examples as well. I mentioned what they call the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority, which is a private body, but Congress created it. That’s who sets uniform racetrack rules in horse racing around the country, and they adopt rules. safety and medication and anti-doping rules and so on, they have the authority to issue binding rules, to impose civil fines, to prosecute people in federal court, to seek permanent injunctions and establish safety standards and rules and so on, and even to ban people from the sport for life. And so people assume it was created by Congress, and so it sounds like a government body, but it isn’t. In fact, it is a private nonprofit corporation run by private individuals None of them are appointed by the president or any other executive official. And no government official can remove them. So from that moment on, they reelect each other. They reelect their friends. They completely control the industry. And it raises a question in a lot of people’s minds. Did Congress have the power to give punitive, not just regulatory power, but the power to fine people and so on? to a private entity. I know people who question, in fact, the Supreme Court has questioned several times whether Congress has the right to give certain kinds of authority even to a federal agency like the EPA, much less to a private organization like the horse racing group, or to private citizens who can file lawsuits in the courts of friendly judges and thereby dictate the the activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
SPEAKER 14 :
Wow. This is such an important piece, and I would say that, no, this is not what the founders envisioned. Greg Walcher, we’re out of time, but I would highly recommend that people get to your website and get on your mailing list or your email list because you’re doing such great work. So, Greg Walcher, thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you. Always good to be with you.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s always great to have you as well. And our quote for the end of the show is from Montesquieu. He said that anyone who possesses power has a tendency to abuse it is an eternal truth. They tend to go as far as the barriers will allow. So my friends today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. And stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 11 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 16 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 14 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 16 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 14 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
SPEAKER 16 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 14 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 16 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 14 :
Indeed, let’s have a conversation, and welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured and valued. You have purpose. Today, strive for excellence. Take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That’s Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Thursday, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 12 :
Happy Thursday, Kim.
SPEAKER 14 :
Great information in our number one with Greg Walcher. He’s a natural resources expert, but also just lots of great articles that he writes. You can find those at gregwalcher.com, and I’d highly recommend that you check that out. Check out our website as well, and that is kimmonson.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter that goes out on Sundays. You will get first look at our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at kim at kimmonson.com. The text line is 720-605-0647, and I do want to hear from you, so be sure and… use that text line. And thank you to all of you who support us. We are an independent voice on an independent station searching for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something’s a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And it’s never compassionate nor altruistic to take other people’s stuff, whether or not it’s their rights, property, freedom, livelihood, opportunity, childhood, or lives via force. Force can be a weapon, but policy, unpredictable and excessive taxation, fees, forced fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, the World Economic Forum’s agenda and Globalist Elite’s agenda that we’re seeing play out, not only at the United Nations, but all the way down to municipal governments. And remember, if something’s a good idea, you should not have to use any of these force things up there to implement it. On the show, we focus on the issues. We’ll talk about the people pushing those issues, but we stay out of the personality name-calling stuff that can happen in politics. And so let’s continue on here. Did want to mention Hooters restaurants. They have locations in Loveland, Westminster, and in Aurora. And I think they have some of the best nachos out there. And so be sure and meet some friends there. Watch the games. It’s just a fun place to get together with friends. And they’re great sponsors of both the Kim Monson Show and America’s Veterans Stories. And how I got to know them is a really important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism and the proper role of government. And you can find that story at my website. That’s at kimmonson.com. Let’s see. Oh, America’s Veterans Stories. I did want to mention, of course, this last week we had Dennis Bush on who has written a trilogy regarding Omaha Beach and D-Day. And he is so articulate. And if you missed that, that will rebroadcast this Sunday night, 10 to 11 p.m. But at 3 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, we will be rebroadcasting an interview with Colonel Bill Rutledge, who is 97 years young, and he said, Kim, the Battle of New Orleans is one of the most important battles in our history, and people don’t realize that. So we did a great program for America’s Veterans Stories, which we’ll broadcast this Sunday, 3 to 4 p.m., but as Bill Fetter mentioned in between the hours, today was the Battle of New Orleans, which was pivotal. regarding our history. So you should check that out on Sunday afternoon with Colonel Bill Rutledge. I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show and really appreciate all these people that support us and all of you that support us to keep us on the air. Our word of the day is tyranny. It’s T-Y-R-A-N-N-Y. And first definition, it could be unjust or oppressive governmental power. Number two, a government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. Or number three, the office, authority, or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler. And I chose the word tyranny because it breaks my heart, but in front of the Board of Adjustments, The Etoile French Bakery up on Lookout Mountain was denied the request to have an adjustment or a permission to have their tiny homes on the property. They put those there because in the whole process, there were verbal requests. that said, oh, yeah, that’s okay. And so they went ahead in good faith on those verbal approvals. And Jefferson County say, well, the zoning says X, and you’re not within that zoning, and we’re not going to give any adjustment. And so I don’t know what the next steps are for Rachel and Eric Dufour, but this is government that’s out of their proper role. and this is really clamping down on the Dufour’s American dream. They are originally French. They are now U.S. American citizens, and this just absolutely breaks my heart. So tyranny is our word of the day, T-Y-R-A-N-N-Y, and you should be able to use that in a sentence. Our quote of the day is from Montesquieu. He was born in 1689, died in 1755. He was a French judge, intellectual historian, and political philosopher. And he’s the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He’s also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon. His anonymously published The Spirit of Law, first translated into English in a 1750 edition, was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, and it totally influenced the founding fathers of the United States as they were drafting the U.S. Constitution. And Montesquieu said this, “…there is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law.” and in the name of justice. Of course, he wrote that all those years ago, which he knew that, the founders knew it. We need to understand that human nature does not change. And that is why adherence to the U.S. Constitution is so important. And I also wanted to mention Little Richie’s Pizza and Pasta. They have locations in… Parker and in Golden. And it’s authentic New York flavor with Colorado roots. And actually, I guess most of us won’t be going back to New York for any of that great New York flavor with what we’re seeing with Mondani and Kaisch racist policies and close to communist or communistic policies in New York, this beautiful city. And there we have the Statue of Liberty in the harbor and I was looking at quotes and somebody said, there’s a reason it’s called the Statue of Liberty, not the Statue of Equity. The Statue of Equity would be really, would not be pretty because equity is a race to the bottom. People do not thrive and flourish under that. And so… Anyway, let me continue on talking about Little Richie’s because you can get that great New York flavor right here in Colorado. And they have daily specials and weekday lunch deals and a great happy hour. So they are your neighborhood favorite. They have great calzones, great pizza. So be sure and check out Little Richie’s in Parker and in Golden. Next headline that I wanted to hit, and we’ll talk more regarding headlines in the last segment of this hour, and also text me with your questions and comments, 720-605-0647. But this is from Axios. It says, Republicans defend ICE as Democrats rage over a Minneapolis shooting. And this happened yesterday. It’s a tragic event. But we must return to a country of legal immigration. And those that are attacking ICE are individuals who are supporting illegal immigration, and those people are misguided. Questions for them would be, do you lock your door at night? Do you lock your car when you go out? Do you take your own money out of your own pocket to give to illegal criminals are here? And I would say most people would say, no, I’m not for that. So this whole thing in Minneapolis is heartbreaking. But for these people to put themselves in confrontations with ICE and where violence is encouraged even from elected representatives, and it’s happening all over the country, it’s foolish and they are escalating the temperature of everyone involved. So for those that have come here and are hurting people, they must be returned to their country. and for those that are here for free stuff they must be returned to their country for those that are coming to america to be free we must make the immigration process easier and more affordable and so that’s again my comments on that uh i saw a headline that just recently said that the girl that was killed or woman that was killed was there to be helping neighbors. I think that that is a blatant mistruth on that headline, but that is being fed to people. If they’re not looking outside of those headlines, it’s really ramping up the temperature. And it’s important that we uncover these things and that it be transparent. And we are able to do that because we are independent. We’re independent, again, because of your support. Thank you and our great sponsors. And the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team wants you to feel safe and well-served and to understand your insurance coverage. Their office will respond to your caller text 24 hours a day. So for that 24-hour peace of mind, call Roger Mangan at 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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SPEAKER 02 :
There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. the KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 14 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And financial freedom starts with the right guide. Mint Financial Strategies is here to help. They’re an independent firm with over 25 years of experience and the credentials of an accredited investment fiduciary. They offer advice that’s focused on you, not a sales quota. And their strategy first approach is all about helping you live life on your terms. with clarity, confidence, and control. Give them a call. That number is 303-285-3080. They are your path to independent financial confidence. Again, that number is 303-285-3080. And so pleased to have on the line with me, Daniel Turner. He’s the founder and executive director of Power the Future. and he started Power of the Future to advocate for rural energy communities in the power center of Washington, D.C., which makes those policy decisions which impact energy workers. He’s an expert in energy and environmental issues as they pertain to jobs, rural communities, the U.S. economy, international affairs, and our national security. Daniel Turner, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 18 :
Kim, thank you so much for having me on. You know, I woke up this morning excited to be on with you, and I thought… Boy, what are we going to talk about? Nothing’s really going on in the news right now.
SPEAKER 14 :
Exactly. Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. But let’s get to a piece that was published in the Washington Reporter on the 23rd. And then also people can find a synopsis at your website at PowerTheFuture.com regarding your predictions for American energy in 2026.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you giving my op-ed a shout-out. So I listed three that I think we should keep our eye on in this year. And one of them is artificial intelligence. And we’ve talked about this before. We’ve talked about data centers, how much electricity they consume. There is a huge conflict between politicians who love ribbon-cutting ceremonies and they love to stand next to Mark Zuckerberg and say – historic investment in our community, et cetera, et cetera. But then people who are stuck with 30, 40% increases in their electricity because we’re not producing anymore. We’re not building coal plants. We’re not building natural gas plants and wind and solar don’t work. And I think this is going to be an ongoing issue for 2026. We’re building these centers nonstop. There’s no plans to slow them down, but we are not producing enough electricity to keep up. And that can only mean one thing, higher prices.
SPEAKER 14 :
A couple of things conceptually regarding artificial intelligence. The president said that this is important for national security, that we want to stay ahead of the game, and I’m paraphrasing the way I understand it. But I’m realizing that these data centers aren’t necessarily about staying ahead of the game, but also it is collecting all kinds of data on the American public. And the other thing, these data centers, my understanding, they may be receiving benefits to be building them, maybe permitting or economic benefits. And that’s not the way that’s supposed to work. So how do you match up these data centers that’s collecting data on American people, our citizens, but then also the need to stay ahead of the game from a national security standpoint?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, absolutely. The privacy concerns are real. And AI itself is something we should be paying attention to. I’m not petrified of it. I think, you know, I was born way before the Internet age. So I remember the fear of the 90s of people saying the Internet’s going to, et cetera, et cetera. So I understand the concerns of privacy, the concerns of what it will do to the economy. I am also concerned that if China beats us in this race, That is bad for the world. Part of the reason why the Internet has been a boon for the American economy and just our way of life is that it was created and started and expanded in America. If China gets their hands on AI faster than we do, that is just bad news for freedom and bad news for America as well. I understand those concerns without a doubt. The other thing, which is the building part, the tax incentives, that’s a huge conflict in our economy writ large, right? Politicians love ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The governor of New York, my home state, is excited that the taxpayers are footing the bill for the Buffalo Bills to get a new stadium. You could scratch your head and say, why does the NFL need $2 billion to build a stadium? But the taxpayers often get stuck with plans of politicians to pay for certain industries. And that is a huge problem overall. That is part of that ongoing conflict of ribbon-cutting excitement and politicians looking like they’re doing things and we’re building and we’re etc. But the cost actually being laid on the shoulders of the taxpayers.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes. And I was talking with Virginia Maka and Stanford Land, Kansas, and that scenario is being proposed with the Kansas City Chiefs as well regarding a new stadium. And of course, out here in Colorado, the Broncos are… I think they’re getting a new stadium. And the headline had been that they were not going to be receiving any tax dollars to build a stadium. But that’s the other thing with politicians and bureaucrats and interested parties, those PBIs. is language is really important because my understanding is the taxpayer is going to be on the hook for much of the infrastructure around the facility. So it’s important that we really be paying attention. And I love sports. I think the Broncos are great, but I’m not sure that when they say that there’s all this economic development and benefit because of that – I can’t tell you that that’s coming directly into my pocket for sure. So I don’t think that everybody should be paying for that, Daniel Turner.
SPEAKER 18 :
No, no, 100%. And it’s the same with the data centers. I know construction unions are very excited about it. electrician unions welders and I get it right these are a lot of a lot of construction projects it’s jobs for them and for their employees I understand that they’re excited about building these things in their neighborhood but but if you live in the community and I think I’ve mentioned this before in your program I live in rural Virginia and when I drive the two hours to DC I pass a third of our nation’s data centers are located in Virginia and And I see more and more of them being built every single time I am on the road. They’re popping up left and right. I haven’t seen the benefit. And I like our current or our former governor, Glenn Youngkin. He was very pro data center. I haven’t seen the benefit of them. We talk about, well, they’ve generated so much tax revenue. Well, my tax burden hasn’t decreased. Right. They’ve generated so much opportunity for I haven’t noticed anything. So so but I have noticed my electricity bill go up exponentially, 30 percent more or 40 percent in Virginia. so when does the good part of these data centers kick in for me not you the state uh and then you know and this is they do this on climate too they talk about well the money for the children right think of all the things we can do for the children with all this tax revenue we’re going to put it to education that’s what we said about marijuana that’s what we say about online gambling they talk about this in my home city of new york for sex workers Right. We can legalize it and the benefits and we’ll go to vital programs for the children. And yet our children seem to continue to be poorly educated, poorly nutrition, malnourished, fat. So so I don’t know when this is a good part of any of this kick in.
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s so important. So let’s continue on regarding your piece at The Washington Reporter. And I thought this was important. One of the first headlines was that there’s going to be blue state troubles regarding energy. We’re seeing it here in Colorado where Xcel Energy actually said because of wind, and we’ve always had wind here, that because of wind that they were going to do planned power outages. Gosh, Daniel, for people that are working from their home or working remotely and you all of a sudden don’t have power, this is a problem. And this starts to affect the economy of a state. And so tell us a little bit more about these blue state troubles.
SPEAKER 18 :
Even the Washington Post wrote an editorial on this not long ago that I nearly fell out of my chair when I read where they acknowledge that blue states have the most stringent climate mandates and green mandates. And by the year 2030, X percent of our electricity must come from blue. Well, all of those laws and regulations and mandates eventually catch up to you. And it is blue states that are suffering the most when it comes to unreliable electricity, a lack of affordability. They have the perfect foil, though, in President Trump. You just point to him and you blame him. And blue states continue to push these mandates forward. And they are not realistic. The problem with wind, and this is a problem, you know, a simple problem of math I tell people all the time. One times zero is zero. One hundred million times zero is zero. It is not a more noble zero. It is not a more impressive zero. That hundred million is what people feel. Look at a hundred million. Compare that to wind. One wind turbine when the wind doesn’t blow is no electricity. 500,000 wind turbines when the wind doesn’t blow is no electricity. And politicians will point to the wind turbines and say, look at the historic investment we’ve made. created but there is no wind and if you are a utility company and you have to project into the future you have no idea what the wind is going to do in five minutes let alone in five years so there’s no way for you to produce electricity when you have this variable over or hanging over your head and the same goes with the sun we can say well the sun rise and the sun will set but it could be very very cloudy and you have no idea how to predict that And if you are the utility company, your whole job is to predict how much electricity you need in the future. And if you cannot quantify what you are able to produce, all you create is havoc. And that’s what we have done with wind and solar is we’ve created havoc.
SPEAKER 14 :
It has. And it’s made it more expensive for everyday people and families to live their lives, to go after their American dream, to thrive and flourish. And it doesn’t have to be this way. But again, as Daniel’s mentioned, it’s these policies that have been put in place in these blue states. for quite some time, but now they want to blame President Trump. That’s why what Daniel Turner and his team at Power of the Future is doing is so important. So we’re going to continue the discussion, and we have all these important discussions because of our sponsors. And we talked with her in the first hour, and that’s Karen Gorday with Radiant Painting and Lighting. She said you might be able to get a great deal on interior painting during January and February. Just reach out to her to find out.
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SPEAKER 10 :
All Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 14 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Text line is 720-605-0647. That’s 720-605-0647. And on the line with me is Daniel Turner. He is the founder and executive director of Power to Future. And he started Power the Future to advocate for rural energy communities and advocate there in the power center of Washington, D.C., which makes these policy decisions that impact energy workers. And he’s an expert in energy and environmental issues as they pertain to jobs, rural communities, the U.S. economy, international affairs, and our national security. And we talked a little bit about data centers. This was an interesting question that came in. And these data centers, as you mentioned, we’re seeing our electricity bill go up because probably two things, data centers and the amount of electricity that they require. But secondly, here in Colorado, Governor Polis and his agenda to push towards wind and solar and have us totally on that by 2030. And so this question came in, it says, how do we know that data centers aren’t benefiting foreigners? Why should American taxpayers be funding anything that benefits foreigners? Do you have any knowledge on that, Daniel Turner?
SPEAKER 18 :
Um, that’s a it’s a good question. It’s a tough question. I guess my my response would be these are American companies and our national security team, particularly this administration, is pretty good about vetting a foreign investment in something like this. I mean, these data centers are horrible. flagged for their security implications. And so I guess I have no 100% guarantee, but at least I will say this, I’m happier knowing that it’s the Trump administration in charge at this time.
SPEAKER 14 :
I agree. So the next thing, and as I’m working through this conversation with you, is from a national security standpoint, I do understand it. But I think we’ve got to really address this, I would say, surveillance of everyday Americans. And it’s under the guise of people that want to market different products to you. It seems like sometimes I might just say a word, and then the next thing I know, that product is popping up on my screen, and that’s a little scary to me, Daniel Turner.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, that is very scary.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, we lost Daniel for just a minute. We don’t know what happened, but we’re going to get him back on that. So let me go through some of these questions while we’re getting him back on the line. And this is what one of our listeners said, is this is what happens when you put government in charge of energy. And this is what happens when you put government in charge of anything. Milton Friedman had said, if you put the government in charge of the Sahara Desert within five years, there will be no sand. And Jill Vecchio has said that if you put government in charge of something, the quality goes down, the price goes up, and the supply becomes limited. And, my gosh, you can see that with what’s happening right here in Colorado with Xcel Energy and the PUC, the Public Utilities Commission, as well as the governor. Daniel Turner, we lost you for just a moment. Sorry about that. You were commenting on our concern about the surveillance state on these data centers. So it’s really two issues. There’s the national security component, but then there’s this, just all of this data that’s being collected on We the People and then being sold. We don’t know who has our data. And so I think there are two different things that we need to be addressing, Daniel Turner.
SPEAKER 18 :
Definitely, and I found it pretty comical that as I was about to talk about my concern over corporations listening to our conversations, my phone died. Maybe that was just a funny coincidence.
SPEAKER 14 :
I know, I know. So I had just commented, one of our listeners said, this is what happens when you put government in charge of energy. And this is what happens when you put government in charge of anything. And it’s true. And we see it playing out right here in Colorado. And I connected an important dot. Daniel Turner, with these, and I call them these industrial transmission lines. There is a, Xcel Energy is using, or the threat, using eminent domain or the threat of eminent domain. And I have to really question, how is it that a uh a monopoly could have imminent domain that’s a whole nother question but for a industrial transmission line across el paso county and albert county and the albert county and el paso county commissioners both denied that and so so excel is going to the puc the public utilities commission which they have enormous power And I went out to Elbert County to testify at that hearing with the PUC, and there were three members there. And I thought, huh, I wonder if that’s just a small amount of the people on the commission or what. And then did some more research, and there’s only those three commissioners that are making these decisions. They’re not elected. They’re not accountable to we the people. But the governor appoints them. So the dot to connect there is all the stuff they’re doing is basically Governor Polis’ agenda. And what that is doing is making the price go up, the supply become limited, and the quality is going down. But I was surprised when I connected the dot that these three people had so much power. And it’s putting Colorado in a very difficult place, Daniel Turner.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and the use of imminent domain is barbaric and abused, completely abused. And we see that here in Virginia as well. These data centers I mentioned, we have a third of them in Virginia. These data centers have required transmission lines from West Virginia because West Virginia has a lot of coal and a lot of coal-powered electricity. And they have used them in a domain to cut across people’s farms, to cut across people’s land, to put up these transmission lines. And it’s not just the enormous steel structure of the transmission line, but you have to build a road so that they can access it. And now parts of your land are no longer yours. And I’ve seen people’s cattle farms… cut up into little tiny pieces as they’ve put in these lines and put in utility roads for workers to access them, etc. That’s not freedom, and that’s the heart of your show, force versus freedom. And when you have politicians who make these types of decisions on electricity, on energy, or on anything, these are the consequences, and they don’t stop with… Everyone loves to say here in Colorado, we’ve passed a law that by 2030 X and they pat themselves on the back. Well, now that law has to get put into effect. And there are ugly, ugly consequences of implementing outrageous laws. And this is one of the ugly consequences.
SPEAKER 14 :
Good point, Daniel Turner. Excellent point. Let’s go to another segue over to another point that you make in your article, and that is climate litigation galore. And in the first hour, we talked with Greg Walcher, who’s a natural resources expert, regarding this, that Congress has given the authority to… bureaucracies to to make law in essence but he said something and I think this might be what you’re referring to is that we’re citizens can file lawsuit regarding I think climate and so that’s happening a lot and I think that probably connects with what you’re talking about here regarding climate litigation
SPEAKER 18 :
Yes, and the climate movement is in bad shape, right? They’ve lost a lot of their state-sponsored funding. Look at something like the closing of USAID and how many millions and billions funneled its way back to climate groups. Look at the number of grants that this current administration has clawed back from the Inflation Reduction Act. People like Stacey Abrams, who received $2 billion for climate change in Georgia. Of course, that was all going to be used for political purposes. And funny enough, Stacey Abrams just today announced she is not going to seek election funding. Again, for governor of Georgia. And, of course, she’s not going to. She doesn’t have her $2 billion slush fund anymore. So if you’re in the climate movement, the only thing you have left is litigation. You don’t even have a hurricane to point to, right? You know, there hasn’t been anything in their movement to get people excited. All the enthusiasm is anti-ICE, anti-Trump movement. So what is left for them is litigation and lawsuits. And they do have a lot of lawyers and they love to litigate. And that is how they will try to stop every single agenda of this administration is just ceaseless lawsuits. Back in the day, you know, for those of us who remember the Clinton years, we talked a lot about tort reform. No one ever passed tort reform because most of our politicians are former trial lawyers. But this is an example of tort reform. And if you are doing something, at what point can any single person just step up and say, no, I’m going to sue you. I don’t think you should be able to do that. And now I have to drop what I’m doing and go spend millions of dollars to defend my legal right. Now we talk about impeaching judges, which I totally support. Because at a certain point, we need our judiciary to say, yeah, I’m sorry. Like Daniel Turner, you can’t sue Kim Monson because you don’t like what she’s doing. She’s not breaking any laws. So we’re not even going to entertain this lawsuit. But we don’t do that, right? We have a lot of activist judges who say, well, let’s let the case proceed. And we waste time and resources in endless litigation. And so I’d love to see the tort reform conversation resurrected.
SPEAKER 14 :
And you are in Washington, D.C. on a regular basis. Are you running into anybody that has the political will to talk about tort reform?
SPEAKER 18 :
No, I would think this administration would, but they have their hands full. One more thing for you to take care of, President Trump. But, you know, I want to think it’s one of those issues that when When times are good, it’s one of those things we can focus on. And right now, times aren’t good yet. We’re headed there. But, you know, I’m hoping a great year, a great economy, stability in prices, lowered prices. Maybe it’s a midterm conversation. Maybe it’s 2027. I would love to do it now, of course. But, you know, we all laughed back in the day when the person, the guy spilled water coffee on himself in the McDonald’s drive-thru and sued and won $4 million. And we all said, how ridiculous. But we’ve magnified that over 35 years. And now every single industry that does anything is sued relentlessly because people profit off of it. And we see it on the ads on TV. Did you fall down? Sue, right? Did you do anything? Sue. Suing people is a business. And that’s not the proper use of the judiciary or the courts. And so I would love to see the tort reform conversation, particularly to protect energy workers in the energy industry.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I think that is really important. So we will support you when you find that person that has the political will to do that. And so Daniel’s going to be able to stay on for another segment, which is great. And before we go to break, I wanted to mention the Center for American Values located in Pueblo. And it was co-founded by Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient, and Brad Padula. And they honor our Medal of Honor recipients with their beautiful portraits of valor and their Medal of Honor quote book, and also great educational programs focused on honor, integrity, and patriotism. Great group to support and make sure that you have it on your bucket list to visit the center. And that website is AmericanValueCenter.org, AmericanValueCenter.org. And If you have been injured, you will reach out to John Bozen and Bozen Law. They strive for excellence. They’re very reputable, and they are just a great sponsor of the show.
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SPEAKER 14 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And I mentioned it in the first hour with the USMC Memorial Foundation, but their Buy a Brick program is really a great way to honor your military service or your loved one’s military service. You’ll receive a beautiful certificate, and then that brick will be on one of their pathways of service when the remodel is complete. and get more information regarding that at usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And we are talking with Daniel Turner. He’s the founder and executive director of Power the Future, and he’s an advocate for rural energy communities. And he goes into Washington, D.C. to advocate for them, because that’s where a lot of policy is made regarding our energy workers. But, of course, at the state level as well, we see that here in Colorado. But Daniel Turner, A remarkable thing happened this last weekend regarding the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Remarkable, the operation to extract him from Venezuela. But I continue to see these headlines regarding tankers and, of course, the oil production in Venezuela. What’s your thoughts on all this, Daniel Turner?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and it is definitely… Quite a development. And I think the first takeaway I saw, I was anxious to see oil markets open on Sunday. They open worldwide Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern. And there was really no movement in oil. And that shows a tremendous resilience of American energy markets and energy dominance. Five years ago, 10 years ago, an action like this. We would have seen a $15 spike in oil overnight. You know, every time, remember the headlines, tensions in the Straits of Hormuz, and oil would be back to $90 a barrel. That’s not happening now because of American energy dominance, and there’s a calm in energy markets and worldwide oil markets, and that’s good. That’s good for stability. That’s good for prices. That’s just good for geopolitics. I am very hawkish on oil, and I defend it thusly. Go back almost 10 years ago when President Trump told the Europeans, stop buying Russian oil, buy American oil. You’re making this guy rich. And they all laughed at him. Right. There’s that famous photo of all of the European leaders on one side of the table and Trump seated on the other with his arms crossed. And Angela Merkel and Macron are all leaning over the table and screaming at him. Well, what happened? They bought Russian oil and gas for many, many more years. And then he had enough money and he raised his army and he invaded Ukraine. And then what does Europe do? They come to America and they say, help, bail us out. NATO, start building an army, send more money. The word preemption has been ruined from the poorly orchestrated Gulf Wars of the past. So I don’t want preemptive military strike. But I want preemptive oil. Right. And imagine if we had just used oil as a weapon to not let Russia get rich. Imagine if we had used oil as a weapon to not let Iran get rich. Right. If Israel had the clout America did and they told the world, stop buying Iranian oil. Well, thousands of Israelites would not have been slaughtered on October 7th. I want to use oil preemptively to say let’s stop bad guys from getting their hands on oil, building economies, building armies, invading, creating chaos in the world. you’re gonna come to us as america and say fix it i’m tired of fixing the world’s mess ups and the world is lazy and stupid and and selfish because they always know daddy america is going to come to the rescue so when people say this is hostility this is aggression i could care less what the heck the world has to say because you are going to ask us to bail out your mess use oil preemptively control the oil control the world for good and america is a force for good
SPEAKER 14 :
So, I saw a headline yesterday called Ghost Tankers, that we had captured a couple, like a ghost tanker. What is that exactly, and is this a good idea?
SPEAKER 18 :
These are unmarked oil vessels that don’t fly the flag of any country. They’re almost like pirate tankers. And this is how Russia has been avoiding sanctioned Iranian oil is using these types of vessels. And we have a strong blockade now in Venezuela to say, nope, you’re not allowed to take this oil. You’re not allowed to send it to Russia. What is Russia going to do with that crew? They’re going to refine it and they’re going to put it into their tanks and they’re going to put it into their military and they’re going to continue their war in Ukraine. Or they’re going to sell it to the South Koreans, to the Turks, to the Indians, and then take that money and pay more people to join their army to… And then what’s Europe going to do? America, help. Russia is bad. Putin is bad. Come to our aid. So I think it is a strategic understanding that oil makes the world go round. There are the Jared Polises of the world who say, I wish it were not thus. There’s a lot of things I wish for in this world, but that’s not reality. Reality is oil makes the world go round. It runs the world’s economy and it runs the world’s military. Control the oil, control the world. America is a force for good, and I want American control.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, and next question then, changing subjects a little bit. This came in on the text line. Do you know if it’s true that the Craig, Colorado plant has, I think that’s a coal plant, has gotten a reprieve from being closed? I know that President Trump did an order saying that I think it was a different plant that should not be closed. But where are we at on that, Daniel Turner? Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
That’s a huge that’s going to be a huge fight of federalism because there is a moratorium on closing any fossil fuel electricity production plants, coal, natural gas. Biden closed over 100 of them during the course of his administration. We never voted on that once. Right. There was no hearing in Congress, but they used the EPA. They use the power of the federal government to go in and close coal and natural gas plants more than 100 nationwide. And we replaced them with nothing. We replaced them with the promise that one day we will build a solar plant, a wind plant. There is a moratorium in place that prohibits any of them closing. But people love to pick a fight with President Trump. And I wouldn’t be surprised if your governor is like, no, he can’t tell us what to do in Colorado. We’re going to close it. And what will he do? He will promise to build a wind farm. And that’s what they do all the time. We’re going to close this. Because we’re going to transition to green, clean energy. And your bill just continues to go up and go up and go up. And then you get these emails, like you mentioned earlier, saying, hey, we may have to have some scheduled blackouts. So that’s the reality of the climate agenda hitting the reality of science.
SPEAKER 14 :
And I think during the Biden administration, I think that there was a coal plant that was closed and then they destroyed it. They took it down. And that was clearly an agenda so that it couldn’t be reopened.
SPEAKER 18 :
Exactly. They dismantled them very, very quickly so that you could never reopen them because they do not care about you. They don’t care about your family. They don’t care about. And that’s why you I my rage sometimes I said I wasn’t going to have so much anger in 2026. Kim, I’m trying. I really am. I know God wants me to have a bigger, a better heart. But this is where my rage goes through the roof because then they have the gall to talk about affordability. Well, why do you think things are expensive? Look at what you did. Look at what your energy policy did to the price of oil. And then it took a couple of years, but everything that’s made with oil got really expensive. And what do they do? They point the fingers at Republicans, at Trump, at MAGA and say, it’s your fault. Look at what they did with electricity. It’s your fault. So you get a little tired of Democrats saying affordability, affordability, when your policies for four years made life unaffordable.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. I don’t know if we have time to really address this. It came in from a listener. It says, what are we talking about, Russia, that they don’t need anybody else’s oil? They have plenty. So what would you say to that?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yes, but they also refine. And don’t forget, what you bring out of the ground is only valuable if you’re able to refine it. And Russia has a lot of crude oil, but they also have a lot of refining capacity. That’s why America buys the world’s oil, quote unquote, buys it. because we’re the world’s largest refiner so we buy mexican oil we buy canadian oil that was the purpose of the keystone pipeline because we refine it here and then we sell it back to them as different petrochemical products and so crude is one thing but what you do with it is very different and russia has a lot of refining capacity and with that they make a lot of money
SPEAKER 14 :
So bringing in Venezuelan oil, that gives them more oil to refine that they can sell. Is that right? Exactly.
SPEAKER 18 :
Because Venezuela has no refining capacity, really, or very, very limited. And it’s so antiquated at this point that it’s almost non-existent. So refining capacity is key. We’re the world’s largest refiner. China is catching up to us very, very quickly. Imagine if China surpasses America in refining oil. Well, just like they control pharmaceuticals, just like they control rare earths, and just like we don’t want them to control artificial intelligence, imagine if they start controlling petrochemical products. Something to be very alarmed about. I am.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay, Daniel Turner with Power of the Future, and that’s powerofthefuture.com. We’re out of time. Great conversation. Thank you. Keep up the great work. And I will just say that your anger is because you care about everyday people, and I understand that big time.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 14 :
Okay. And our quote for the end of the show is from Montesquieu. He said that anyone who possesses power has a tendency to abuse it is an eternal truth. They tend to go as far as the barriers will allow. So, my friends, have a great day. We’re out of time for the rest of the close. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER 11 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
