In this episode of the Kim Monson Show, embark on a journey to unravel the complexities of government regulations and personal freedoms. Kim invites listeners to see beyond the clamor and focus on the foundational principles of freedom vs. force—a theme resonated throughout the discussion. With real-world examples and expert insights, this episode is a must-listen for those seeking clarity and truth in a world of overwhelming information.
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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.
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The latest in politics and world affairs.
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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.
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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.
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Happy Thursday, Kim.
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And boy, there is a lot going on in our world, and we want to look at these issues and search 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, childhoods, or lives via force. Of course, it can obviously be a weapon, but it can also be policy unpredictable in excess of taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, the agenda pushed by the World Economic Forum and globalist elites. And you see that playing out with the United Nations, this Colorado State Legislature. which will be going into a special session here next week. And this Colorado governor. But land use codes and zoning regulations and forced fees and all these things. Zoning is a big deal. And we’ll talk a little bit more about that. Remember, if something’s a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And we on the show focus on the issues. We’ll mention the people behind those issues first. But we’re really working to stay out of all of this personality stuff. And I talked with her yesterday. That’s my friend Susan Harris. And she’s down in Arizona. It’s a little warm down there. But I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Greatly appreciate them. And as I mentioned, there will be a special session next week. And my fellow board members… of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers is ready. And also we will have our Cut Engaged system up. That is where you will be able to make your voice heard to the major sponsors of the bills, as well as your legislator and your senator. But this is an amazing group of volunteers, and I want to say thank you to them. That’s Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, Corey Onozorg, Paula Beard, and Ray Beard. When you see these folks out there, be sure and say thank you, because they are putting a lot of time in to protect the taxpayers of Colorado. If you live here, you’re a taxpayer. For sure, sales tax and all these fees. And so they’re representing you as volunteers and doing a great job doing so. Also wanted to say thank you to Hooters Restaurants. They have locations in Westminster, Loveland, and on Parker Road here in Aurora. And great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour. And we’re getting into football season. So great place to watch the games is Hooters Restaurants. Let’s see. Our word of the day is penumbra. It’s spelled P-E-N-U-M-B-R-A. And it could be, number one, a partial shadow as in an eclipse between regions of complete shadow and complete illumination. Number two, it could be the diffuse outer part of a sunspot. And number three, an area in which something exists to a lesser or uncertain degree. And I’ve got to think how I’m going to use that in a sentence today. The word is penumbra. P-E-N-U-M-B-R-A. And our quote of the day, since second hour, we’ll be having Rob Nadelson in studio. He’s a constitutional expert and also the author of the book, The Real Constitution, What It Actually Said and Met. Wynton James Madison, who’s known as our father of the Constitution, was born in 1750, died in 1836. He was an American statesman diplomat. and founding father. He was the fourth president of the United States, and he’s been popularly acclaimed as the father of the Constitution for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. And he said this, He said, if Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money and will promote the general welfare, the government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers but indefinite ones. And he said that, and my gosh, we’re there. And so, again, that is James Madison for our quote of the day. And zoning is a big deal. I have a couple of headlines I wanted to mention to you. Under the guise of affordable housing, governments made housing unaffordable. And then under the guise of helping people, which would be putting them into government housing, we’re seeing headlines that are very troubling. This is from the Daily Caller. It says town tries to seize 175-year-old farmland from family for affordable housing. And this is in New Jersey. And it says, in this case, it’s garnering national attention. The Cranberry Township Committee told Andy Henry, through a lawyer in April, that he must surrender his family farm or face legal consequences. And the property owner and former Cranberry Township Mayor, Jay Taylor, alleged that there may be deeper issues with the Township Committee in this case. Regardless of what those issues are, this is not okay. Next thing, this is from Money Wise. Colorado woman is locked in a zoning war with county over a $150,000 greenhouse and accuses the planning department of overreach and the planning and the zoning department. People on the zoning commission or zoning board have an enormous amount of power over how we use our land. And certainly we’re supposed to be good neighbors to each other. But if you can’t do with your property what you want to do with your property, you don’t own your property. And on the line with me is Karen Gorday. She is a great sponsor of the show. She’s an entrepreneur and owner of Radiant Painting and Lighting. She’s also thrown her hat in the ring to run for Lakewood City Council. So we’ll talk about both those things. Karen, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. Thank you for having me. Seems like I just saw you last night. The girls were over and you presented. But let’s talk a little bit, first of all, about Radiant Painting and Lighting. And your website is just beautiful. And it really is a shot in the arm. It can really update people, make them feel better about their home with a, you know, paint in a new room, in an indoor or outdoor. Yes? Yes. Yes, 100%. And you can help them with that.
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Yes, and so painting is a good way to refresh your space and make everything look new again. The downfall, though, is that after you get that fresh coat of paint, then you look at, oh, I need to get new curtains, or my couch looks faded now. Because everything is so bright and new. But it really freshens up the space, whether it’s indoor or outdoor. But it will show flaws and other things. And it happens all the time. But it makes people so happy when their space gets refreshed.
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Yes, and most definitely. And it’s important to be good stewards of the things that we have, and certainly taking care of your home is a really good idea, and painting is important to stay on top of that. Karen, you presented last night as well to the girls regarding you have thrown your hat in the ring for Lakewood City Council, and this zoning thing is one of the big reasons. And when I look at these headlines… that they’re taking property for affordable housing or whatever. It’s very troubling. So you found that the case as well, and you’re doing something about it.
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Yes, absolutely. Lakewood is is rezoning the entire city all in the name of an affordability crisis. And as you know, we have we’re getting feed to death because of the state legislature Property taxes are sky high. Last year, Lakewood and Jesco essentially de-tabored. And so now the city and county get to keep the excess taber amount, which really, really scares me because they could raise the mill levy again if they so choose because they get to keep the excess money.
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So let’s connect that dot. They say they want to help people because life is unaffordable. But yet if government is taking more money out of your pocket, government is making things less affordable because you have less money to do what you want to. And so there’s that. And then there’s also changing the zoning, changing really your property rights and maybe what you can do with your property. And that’s a real problem.
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That’s a huge problem. And in this zoning code, it’s 398 pages. And it’s got what I call poison pills all through it. And probably one of the biggest is if your house is destroyed, then you have 18 months to start the rebuild process, which is nearly impossible if your house is destroyed. And then if you don’t start the rebuild process within 18 months, then you have to conform to all the new zoning, which limits the size of your house, which tells you how big your front porch can be, how tall your flagpole can be, the size of your planter. I mean, there’s all these little hidden things in there about your property. And so it is a point blank assault on property rights. And it’s also not the proper role of government.
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Wow.
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The size of your planter. Unbelievable. Correct. Karen, this is America. You were just back in Virginia, Washington, D.C. area, places of our founding. And the founders really stood up against just this kind of stuff. And I know that gave you some real inspiration as you are the next. This is a November election. So you’ve got a lot going on and you’ve you’re up against the machine, aren’t you, Karen?
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I am running against an incumbent, against the Democrat money machine. I’ve got an uphill battle. However, I have the citizens’ voices, and I think that’s going to get stronger as we’re moving through the zoning process. Because Monday night, Lakewood City Council decided to split the one zoning ordinance into four. And through the – starting August 25th through October 13th, they’re going to tackle four different sections of zoning. So they have just made that the number one talking point through October 13th.
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And – Well, and Karen, this is a strategy is that it will make it more difficult for citizens to get their brains to get to four different meetings and they may table things. And so it wears the citizen down. And I think it’s a strategy.
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I do, too. I know you probably didn’t watch the meeting on Monday, but there was. I’m going to say 30 to 45 minutes of discussion on even splitting this out and what the dates will be. And it was very, very clear they want to get this done before the election because they do not know what city council will look like after November.
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Okay. So, Karen Gorday, the other thing we talked about is that you’re up against the Democrat money machine. And this Democrat Party is not the Democrat Party of your grandpa and grandma or JFK. This Democrat Party is radical activists that want to take away your property and your rights. And money, $10, $20, $25, I think you said the limit is how much can people give you? $10,000.
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400. And that’s all municipalities for any city race across the state is 400 per person.
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However, the Democrat machines figured out ways to get a lot more money to their candidates. But so every little bit helps. How can people contribute to your campaign, Karen?
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They can go out to Karen4, that’s spelled out F-O-R, Karen4Lakewood.com. That is for the campaign. There is a donate button. And to your point, Kim, $10, $20, any bit helps.
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And now it’s really important so that you can get signs out, do social media. And if people wait until November, you love having that. But now is the time that candidates need the money.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. And that’s not just me. That’s any candidate needs the money now versus later.
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Okay. Karen Gorday, thank you so much. And what is that website for radiant painting and lighting?
SPEAKER 07 :
It is www.paintwithradiant.com or you can reach out at 720-940-3887.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Karen Gorday, thank you so much. We’ll talk next week. Thank you, Kim. And the sponsors of our show and all of your support is why we have these important discussions. We have discussions here that you’re not going to hear almost anyplace else. And one of those great sponsors is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And they know life can be challenging, but they are there 24 hours. You can call or text them if something happens. And it really helps you sleep a little bit better at night. And so for a complimentary appointment to go over your insurance coverage, their phone number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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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.com. 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.
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All of 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 kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
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And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That’s kimmonson.com. On the line with me is Dave Evans. He is one of my fellow board members on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers board. That’s known as CUT. Dave Evans, welcome.
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Well, thank you, Kim, and good morning to you.
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Well, good morning to you as well. And Dave, we’re gearing up. There’s going to be a special session. And at our board meeting the other night, we had a discussion that probably Tabor, our Tabor refunds, and that is money, excess money. that the government has collected from us and should return to us. They’re going to probably keep it. And we may see other assaults upon Tabor, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights. And I know you’ve delved into Tabor a little bit. So what should people know?
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Well, thanks, Kim. Yeah, I spent a little time looking back into Tabor. And my source for this, I want to put in a plug for this, is a book written by local attorney David Koppel, I hope I’m pronouncing that right, entitled Colorado Constitutional Law and History, second edition. It’s actually very readable. I think I found this through the Independence Institute website. There might have been a link there anyway. I got it through Amazon. But TABOR, Taxpayer Bill of Rights, was enacted December 31, 1992. It was passed by voter referendum. This was almost 33 years ago by a vote of 53.7 to 46.3. So it passed by a margin of 7.4%. And I wanted to just give a little outline of TABOR. I thought that might be useful to some of our listeners. It’s found in Article 10, Taxes and Revenue, Section 20 under the Colorado State Constitution. It includes several sections in it. The first one is called General Provisions and starts off with its preferred interpretation. is that it shall reasonably restrain most the growth of government. Keep that in mind. That’s the preferred interpretation written into the amendment. It allows individual and class action lawsuits against government for violations. It requires that illegally kept or spent revenue is required to be refunded plus 10% simple interest to the taxpayers. Refunds are allowed are either temporary tax credits or tax rate reductions. The election provisions that include for when governmental agencies want to exceed TABOR, the elections have to align with state general elections, in other words, in even-numbered years. It requires voter information booklet to include the statement. Notice of any election to increase taxes or increase debt or citizen petition or referred measure to be prominently displayed as the title. Required statement of total spending and percentage and dollar change amount proposed. First year maximum dollar increase comparison to spending without the increase. For proposed debt, it requires a statement of the principal and the maximum annual repayment costs at present. Or rather, for the proposed change, it requires a statement of the principal balance of the current debt and its maximum annual and total repayment cost. And it requires two summaries, one written for and one written against the proposal. Each of those can be up to 500 words. Voter approval is required for new taxes, tax rate increase, mill levy increase, tax policy change that would cause revenue increase. TABOR includes emergency provisions. And I think this is really wise of the writers of this to include this. It requires that these government agencies hold emergency reserves of 3% or more of total spending minus debt service. Emergency property taxes, though, are prohibited. Emergency tax revenue is excluded from baseline of tax or spending. In other words, a governmental entity can try to set an emergency tax if they get into trouble for some reason. But this requires a two-thirds majority vote of both houses of the State General Assembly or the district board. Emergency tax revenue may be spent only after the reserves that they have have been depleted. Unspent emergency funds must be refunded to the taxpayers within 180 days after the emergency. And so the general provisions under TABOR include spending limits of inflation plus change of population from prior years adjusted every 10 year by the census. Revenues limited limits include property taxes are the same as the spending limits, so, in other words they’re they’re allowed inflation plus change of population. refunds of excess revenue must occur in the next fiscal year. Retiring bonded debt decreases the basis amount of debt service. The revenue limits include new or increased rates on transfer taxes of real estate are prohibited. Tax law changes require all taxable net income to be taxed at one rate. Uniform exemptions and credits to reduce business personal property taxes are permitted. Annual property valuation notices are required the annual repeal appeal is permitted sales prices are required to be reported in public records, so this is for real estate transactions. Property taxes property tax bills are required to state the actual property value based solely on market approach to appraisal. Unfortunately, over the years, there’s been a steady erosion of Tabor. And I hope I’m using this word right, Kim. These are some of the penumbras that have been put over Tabor.
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Well done.
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There have been several statewide efforts to eliminate Tabor. None have been successful. There have been many successful local Tabor overrides. Most recently, unfortunately, in my own dear Arapahoe County, In 2021, there were increases in gasoline and tax on delivery services of about $200 million. And of that amount, less than half was spent on roads. In 2021, there was elimination of some tax deductions that netted $372 million. I think that same year, the school districts were all required to implement the largest property tax increase in state history. Taxes, really called fees in the bill when it was passed, were placed on hospital stays. But our legislature prohibited those from disclosure on hospital bills by state law.
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Isn’t that unbelievable? Yes.
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It totally is. There’s transparency for you. Vehicle registration fees were placed in lieu of raising gasoline taxes. Fees on grocery bags, of course. There have been numerous enterprises instituted, a bunch of them in 2025. Some of them use fees, gifts, grants, and donations to get around Tabor. um these have these will affect property insurance communication service disability and enterprise region there will be a regional planning roundtable commission set up a task force for rural hospitals support for health centers treasury office and and what this means is a so-called urgent building infrastructure authority stabilization payments safety net providers, workforce capacity center. There were also revenue classification changes to TABOR enacted and population growth calculation all in this last session. We can look forward to more in this coming emergency session. Court rulings have also severely eroded TABOR. they actually nullified the Tabor rule of interpretation. They said that the words restrain most can only be allowed to favor government. Is that not unbelievable?
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It is unbelievable.
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They rejected the automatic award of cost and attorney fees to successful plaintiffs against government agencies. Fees are excluded from TABOR even when they’re really taxes under constitutional definitions, and we’ve experienced many instances of that. fee terminology permitted for involuntary payment by taxpayers without provision of any services to taxpayers.
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Wow. So, Dave, how would you just wrap this up as we’re preparing for this special legislative session? And I’m talking with Dave Evans, fellow board member on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. How would you like to wrap this up, Dave?
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Well, sure, and we don’t know what we’re going to face yet in that emergency session, but I’d like to wrap up with throwing some things out there that are maybe a little bit off the track that I’ve been following, but I think that there are two big weak spots in TABOR. Number one, the term tax is needs to be defined and it needs to include fees and other such weasel word synonyms. Number two, commissions, boards, and enterprises, I think, have acquired way too much power and have become, to use the Democrats term, a threat to democracy. The problem, of course, is human nature. I think amending the state constitution may be the only way to strengthen TABOR adequately. It would be a heavy lift, perhaps not possible until citizens have had a change of heart about government. But it may be worth pursuing. Okay. Concerning unelected boards, my position is that the legislation should only be made by elected representatives, not appointees, as they are presently. My suggestion for an amendment, the legislative authority of commissions, boards, enterprises whose membership is appointed and not elected by the general population is hereby revoked. Legislative authority means the power to set regulations, fees, taxes, or penalties on citizens or businesses.
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Okay. Dave, I think that that’s a great idea. And Dave Evans, my fellow board member… on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, also known as CUT. Thank you so much. You do such great work, and we are so delighted to have you as a member of the board. And it is an all-volunteer board. You can join us. It’s only $25 a year by going to coloradotaxpayer.org. Dave, have a great day. Thanks, Kim. You as well. And we have these discussions because of our sponsors. For everything residential real estate, talk to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 01 :
Award-winning realtor Karen Levine with RE-MAX Alliance understands the importance of home ownership. Karen Levine works diligently at the local, county, state, and national levels to protect your private property rights. With over 30 years experience as a Colorado realtor, Karen Levine will help you navigate the complicated metro real estate market, whether you are buying your home, selling your home, considering a new build, or exploring investment properties. Kim Monson highly recommends Karen Levine call Karen Levine at 303-877-7516 that’s 303-877-7516 for answers to all your real estate needs
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SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back. And we talk about taxes and fees all the time. And when government takes more of your money, it makes it more difficult for you to get your financial freedom aligned around. But Mint Financial Strategies can help you. 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. Their strategy-first approach is all about helping you live life on your terms. with clarity, confidence, and control. Call Mint Financial Strategies today. That number is 303-285-3080. They are your path to independent financial confidence. And please dab on the line with me, Jeremy Portnoy. And he is a senior investigative reporter, journalist with Open the Books, which they do amazing work. Jeremy, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 15 :
How are you, Kim? Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 04 :
Good to have you. And Open the Books, explain to people what Open the Books is if they don’t know, but what an amazing tool it is. And you’ve updated your website, so it took me a little while to re-navigate it. When I was talking with Tamara, I said it’s like going to the grocery store, and they moved everything around to different aisles. So it took me just a minute to get my bearings on the website.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes, we’ve got a new look, but our mission is still the same, and that’s to post every dime of government spending online in real time. To accomplish that, we file about 60,000 open records requests every single year. So we get every salary that’s paid out and every vendor payment paid out from local, state, and the federal governments all across the country. We have a huge database, millions and millions of rows of government spending, so you can track where every cent is spent.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and it’s really simple. If you scroll down on the website and you get down to the the interactive map, you can then look at whatever state that you want. So, for example, I can look at Colorado and then it’ll bring up. many of the records. You just click then on whatever you’re looking for and it’ll bring up salary information, a lot of great information. Now, Jeremy, if for some reason somebody is looking on that and their community is not on the website, I know that I just let you guys know and you go to work on it.
SPEAKER 15 :
Absolutely. We’ve got pretty much everything there, but if there’s something you can’t find, you can definitely shoot us an email and we can do our best to locate that for you.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that website is OpenTheBooks.com. And, of course, you would appreciate people supporting your great work as well. But you are doing something that is being published over at Real Clear Investigations, and that is Waste of the Day. And so are you having any trouble finding anything to highlight in Waste of the Day?
SPEAKER 15 :
I’m sure you already know that’s a rhetorical question. I’ve been doing this column for five years now. I took over about two years ago. We’ve published one article every single day for all those years, and there’s never any difficulty finding ideas.
SPEAKER 04 :
And so your most recent one, waste of the day, Medicaid millionaire bought a Lamborghini. So tell us about this.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right, so that was a story you probably saw in the New York Post and Fox News. This woman in Louisiana who’s been on Medicaid for a few years. She’s accused by federal authorities, nothing’s proven, but the accusation is that she underreported her income to qualify for Medicaid. And then while she was receiving government assistance, she used some of that money to buy a Lamborghini, to own a business that was bringing in millions of dollars in revenue over just a few years, all the while taking money from people who likely actually needed it to be able to afford health care.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I have to ask why. If she’s bringing in all that kind of money, I find it somewhat astounding that she would do that.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right? That’s what I was thinking. According to federal prosecutors, her business has brought in $10 million of revenue just from 2020 to 2024. So she supposedly had more than enough money to pay her own way. But this isn’t unheard of, right? If you look at centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, Over the last decade, they’ve made about a trillion dollars in improper payments. Some of that’s fraud. Some of that’s just mistaken payments that the people working in the government accidentally wrote the wrong name on the check for the wrong amount. There’s tons of money that gets lost this way every single year.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jeremy Portnoy, as you’ve been doing this column, is there one thing that you’ve uncovered that you’re like, this is so egregious, this is so unbelievable? Is there like a top waste of the day that you just couldn’t believe was going on?
SPEAKER 15 :
Let’s see. There’s one we published about a month ago now about the flooding in Texas. That shocked me personally. You probably heard in Kerr County where the flooding in Texas is the worst. They have been trying for years to get $1 million of funding for a new flood warning system. But the state consistently told them that there wasn’t enough funding for it. They didn’t have enough money to pay for that flood warning system. But somehow last year, the same state agency that told them there wasn’t enough money had enough cash to bump up their own payroll by $10 million, had themselves a bunch of pay raises, hire a bunch of part-time employees that are already gone for the payroll. All the while, Kerr County didn’t have the flood warning system that potentially could have been life-saving during those floods.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. And what should people, what can we do as everyday people? You probably heard we were talking with Dave Evans, who is on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers Board. We’re an all-volunteer board, so we’re not bureaucrats or lobbyists getting a bunch of money. We’re just watching what’s happening from a legislative standpoint and also different initiatives. What can we do? It seems like we are on this freight train that bureaucrats are making big salaries, pushing, and interested parties as well, and they’re pushing more and more control of our lives, taking more and more of our money, and they figured out a way to be paid pretty handsomely to do so.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, every year we see salaries across the country rise, and I would say the number one thing to do is just keep yourself informed, right? That’s why we do what we do. Our belief is that transparency changes everything. So we post every dime online so that people can understand where that money’s going. And then, you know, make a call to action. Get in contact with your Congress people. Make sure that you’re informed when you do so, right? There’s a lot of noise that comes from both sides of the aisle, a lot of misleading claims. So it’s important that you keep yourself informed and understand where that money really is flowing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I think that’s why what you’ve done with your website is important. You’ve really streamlined it. So it’s pretty easy. We’re just taking a few minutes to learn how to navigate it. It’s pretty easy. You also include headlines, which we’ll talk about some of those. But knowledge really is power. And when you understand just the machine that’s out there, at least, first of all, understanding it is, as you say, that’s the first step to starting to dismantle the machine and get the power and the money back to the people that are producing and earning it. And we’ve gotten things pretty upside down here in America right now, Jeremy.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Even with all the information we’re able to capture and post online online, there’s still so much we don’t have access to. We’ve been fighting all year for what we’re calling America’s checkbook. We’re lobbying the federal government to begin publishing all of its checkbook spending online as soon as it happens. Right now, we have access to usaspending.gov, which updates one to three months after that money’s paid out. So then we can write articles about it and tell you when it was misspent, but there’s not much we can do to prevent it from being spent in the first place. So it’s the same way you have access to your own private banking account. You can see what’s been spent. We believe you should be able to see how your tax dollars are being spent as soon as that money is paid out.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And are you getting cooperation or pushback? Is it different now under the Trump administration? What are you seeing, Jeremy?
SPEAKER 15 :
We’ve been discussing it with a bunch of Congress people. Chip Roy introduced the bill. It won’t do that quite exactly for the public, but it will at least let senators and representatives see how that money is spent in real time. If you think about it, it’s a bit absurd that they can’t. They’re elected to Congress, and even they don’t have access to executive branches’ payment systems to see how that money gets spent in real time. These are the people that are responsible for oversight and for making sure this money is spent properly. They don’t even have access to all the information they need to accomplish that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, that’s really somewhat troubling. So let’s continue the discussion with Jeremy Portnoy. But I did want to mention the USMC Memorial Foundation and their upcoming event to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the Marine Memorial, the official anniversary. Memorial is right here in Colorado in Golden, and that event is on the 23rd. I will be out there. I’d love to have you join us. David Bray will be performing, and he is a Marine, served in the Marines, and also a great entertainer. So join us. More tickets, you can find those at usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That’s usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And then for everything mortgages, you’ll want to talk to Lauren Levy.
SPEAKER 23 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. And do check out the website for the Center for American Values. Drew Dix, co-founder of the Center, a Medal of Honor recipient for actions he took during the Vietnam War, has started this great new podcast series. And his perspective is so important. And you can find that new podcast series at AmericanValueCenter.org. That’s AmericanValueCenter.org. And he’s tackling – the Center is nonpartisan and nonpolitical. However, Drew is tackling some of the really important issues out there, and he publishes his podcast every Wednesday. And his most recent podcast is a recap of season number one, so be sure and check that out. Talking with Jeremy Portnoy, he is a senior investigative journalist at Open the Books, and you can find his waste of the day at RealClearInvestigations.com. But Jeremy, at the website of OpenTheBooks.com, there’s a really important piece that you have done at Open the Books regarding UCLA. And first of all, I had no idea how much… federal money is going to universities and colleges. And we’ve seen, and I’ve talked to parents, their kids go off to college and they come back indoctrinated. And it’s crazy to me that we’re using our money to make that happen. But you’ve uncovered something super interesting at UCLA.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. The money is shocking. I remember being very surprised when I first saw those numbers. UCLA is going to $4.3 billion of federal money in grants and contracts flowing into the university in the West since 2020. And that’s not unusual. A lot of times we think public schools are funded with public money and private schools are not. But that’s not the case. I mean, look at all these elite private colleges. They accept billions and billions of dollars of federal funding, meaning that they have an obligation to be responsible to taxpayers and reflect American interests. If they’re working with private money, they can push any idea of the least they want. But when tax dollars come into play, that’s a neighbor’s responsibility to act in American interest.
SPEAKER 04 :
So you uncovered this at UCLA regarding DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. And President Trump has said that we want to dismantle those programs because, well, it’s because they’re divisive and they put people into different groups and then are trying to pit these different groups against each other. But what we’re seeing is the policies are still there, but the names are just being changed.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. Obviously, everyone has a different opinion on DEI, regardless of how you feel. We’re seeing that all over the country, where universities are responding to this order to reduce these DEI programs by shifting employees around, changing their job titles, changing the names of certain classes. So at UCLA, that’s not the case, right? They still have an Office of Inclusive Excellence that they took diversity out of the name, but it’s still pushing similar values. They still have lots of professors on the payroll pushing those ideas. That’s something we see all across the country. I’ve done a lot of investigations into the University of Texas system where that was happening. Definitely not unusual.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And UCLA, after the October 7th, 2023 attack upon Jews, something which is unbelievable happened at UCLA, which you mentioned in this, open the books mentions in this article.
SPEAKER 15 :
Right. That’s something, again, that unfortunately we’re seeing all across the country. A lot of professors on university payrolls that, again, work with taxpayer money are pushing a lot of these ideas. They’re just incredibly hateful towards Jews. At some other colleges, some were celebrating the attack, calling it a stunning victory, one professor at Columbia. And then at UCLA, professors that are comparing Israel to the Nazis, claiming that they’re animals. spreading conspiracy theories against Israel, supporting the BDS movement, which wants to deduct all funds from Israel. A lot of anti-Semitism, unfortunately, funded by that public money.
SPEAKER 04 :
And what’s the chances of us getting this turned around, of all of this money going to these colleges and universities that are indoctrinating students to, well, in this case, anti-Israel, anti-Jew, but also to hate America? It’s crazy to me that we are using our own money to teach kids to hate our country. It’s crazy to me.
SPEAKER 15 :
You’re definitely seeing a shift under the current administration, right? You’re seeing some colleges start to align with Trump’s views. Whether you support that or not, it is beginning to happen. But there’s still a lot of work to be done, right? Which is why we’re all about transparency and publishing this information.
SPEAKER 04 :
And so these articles are so important. And we’ve got just a couple of minutes left. What is one other thing that Open the Books has uncovered that you think is really important for people to know?
SPEAKER 15 :
Let’s see. We’re working right now pushing for more transparency in royalty payments to government scientists. That’s a battle we’ve been fighting for about six or seven years now. But Congress right now is pushing a bill that we’ve contributed to to try and make it illegal for government scientists to hide which private companies are funding them with the royalty payments. A lot of scientists in the NIH are able to accept payments from private companies At the same time that they’re making recommendations about which vaccines and medications Americans should use, passing different laws about which medications are legal and which are not, it’s a huge conflict of interest where the information has been redacted from us for years. We’ve been fighting in court for a long time to uncover that info. Right now we’re closer than ever.
SPEAKER 04 :
And how long, Adam Andrzejewski, who founded Open the Books, passed on unexpectedly, but you all are continuing his great work. How long has Open the Books been doing this work?
SPEAKER 15 :
We’ve been around since 2012, 2013. Started at a kitchen table in Illinois. Adam and our chairman, Craig Majaris, founded the company together just by filing some basic record requests right around their hometown. That rapidly expanded to other states and eventually the entire country. And now we’re operating on a scale that has never been seen in human history. As far as we’re aware, nobody’s ever put together a database this large of government spending.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, really important. And again, what’s the best way for people to find you, Jeremy Portnoy?
SPEAKER 15 :
You can go right to our website, OpenTheBooks.com. Our longer reports like that UCLA article are at OpenTheBooks.substack.com. You can find me personally on Twitter at Jeremy Portnoy, Instagram at Jeremy Portnoy. Always happy to connect.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Jeremy, thank you for the great work that you’re doing and continue on. And it’s really been great to talk with you and we’ll get you on the show again very soon.
SPEAKER 15 :
I would love that. Thanks for having me, Kim.
SPEAKER 04 :
And again, that is OpenTheBooks.com, so check that out. And I went to James Madison for our quote for the end of the show, and it’s very appropriate, I think, for Open the Books. He said this. He said, of every other right and james madison nails it and open the books is doing that particular work 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 and god bless america
SPEAKER 08 :
Talking about freedom I’m talking about freedom I will fight
SPEAKER 26 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
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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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SPEAKER 04 :
Indeed. Let’s have a conversation, and welcome to our number two of 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 day in history. Thank you to the team, Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Thursday, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 28 :
Happy Thursday, Kim.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we have a treat in studio with me is Rob Nadelson. You know him. He is an expert on the Constitution. And he has a book, The Original Constitution, What It Actually Said and Meant. It’s now in its fourth edition. And I’m holding this book. I’m so thrilled. Thank you for bringing this.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thank you, Kim. And thank you for inviting me. You know, It’s great to be in studio with you rather than just in the telephone line. And one of the real treats here, besides seeing you in person, is the fact that unlike most studios, which look something like dungeons, you have this magnificent view of the front range of the Rockies that I get to look at while talking to you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I know that traffic was a little interesting. Oh, give me a break. At this time of day to get here. I know that we get frustrated with traffic, but I remember during COVID coming over to the studio, which I thought this was, it was crazy that there were some things that people that were essential, there were some that weren’t. I had to have a little piece of paper that said I was essential. I’m thinking, there’s something wrong with this picture. And I remember there were times I felt like I was the only person on the road. So the fact that there’s traffic. People being able to go, try to go where they want to, when they want to. I still kind of like that.
SPEAKER 14 :
But, you know, the good side of it during COVID, and there wasn’t much good about COVID, but the good side was the fact that there weren’t that many people on the road. I remember having the feeling, wow, this is Colorado 25 years ago. Let’s go. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
I know. Yeah, it was crazy. But it’s great to have you here. So I know that we won’t get to have you every time we do this. So you reached out and you said, Kim, I’m doing this thing in Montana because you were a law professor in Montana. And I hosted my own show for three years there. Okay. Yeah. So you know how this works. And so you’ve been doing this in Montana. And I affectionately called it when we were at the meeting the other day, Stump Rob Nadelson.
SPEAKER 14 :
And I think it rejoined that you’re going to have to choose another topic because that’s been done so many times before.
SPEAKER 04 :
But we’re going to do this once a month. And it will start to be the second Tuesday of each month, correct?
SPEAKER 14 :
Right, second Tuesday. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
And people can call in, beginning in the second segment, with questions, comments about the Constitution to get your perspective. The Supreme Court, the courts, all that. It’s going to be really great. And we had lots of participation in our inaugural.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I mean, callers shouldn’t be at all hesitant about calling in. If I can’t answer a question, I’ll just say I can’t answer the question. And by the way, it should be related to the Constitution, at least in some distant way. Don’t ask me about the latest action of the Denver City Council or something. Well, I could say it’s probably unconstitutional. Well, yeah, by mere fact that the city council passed it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, exactly. But getting prepared, that number is 303-477-5600. So our word of the day, Rob, is penumbra. And it’s spelled P-E-N-U-M-B-R-A. It could be a partial shadow, as in an eclipse between regions of complete shadow and complete illumination. Number two… Excuse me. It could be the diffuse outer part of a sunspot. Or number three, an area in which something exists to a lesser or uncertain degree. So the challenge is to use the word penumbra in a sentence.
SPEAKER 14 :
And one way to do that is to think about its etymology, where it came from. It comes from two Latin words. Umbra means shadow, and prae, in this case, would mean almost. So prae, umbra, or penumbra is something that’s not entirely in shadow, but it’s partially in shadow. Okay. Of course you would know that.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s awesome. And I quoted the day I went to James Madison, which he’s known as the father of the Constitution. And he was born in 1750, well, probably 1751, died in 1836. He was our fourth president. And he said this, if Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money and will promote the general welfare, the government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Alexander Hamilton had come up with this cockamamie theory that the federal government could spend anything it wanted on anything it deemed appropriate for the general welfare. And that’s what Madison was reacting to. Unfortunately, in 1936, the Supreme Court adopted that cockamamie theory, which is why we are $37 trillion in debt today.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mm-hmm. And Madison, he could see the writing on the wall. Yeah, he could. And so we have these discussions because, as you know, we’re an independent voice on an independent station because of the support of all of our listeners and great sponsors. And all of our sponsors strive for excellence. I know each and every one of them personally. I’ve known this sponsor for a long, long time. And we’re not going to say for how long because then people will start to guess how old we are. Karen Levine is on the line. She is a realtor with Remax Alliance and definitely strives for excellence. And Karen, welcome. Good morning. And you are traveling right now.
SPEAKER 06 :
I am. I am in Leeds, Massachusetts.
SPEAKER 04 :
And gosh, are you going to do any historical things or just what are you doing?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, apparently we’re taking the granddaughters shopping today because we’re here to celebrate their birthdays. And mom and dad have gotten up and gone to work, and so that is the plan. So we’re taking a soon-to-be 10-year-old and a 13-year-old.
SPEAKER 04 :
girls so it’s going to be a day it’s going to be a day karen levine so but let’s talk about colorado and the front range there is opportunity uh for people that want to buy a home uh interest rates uh i i saw it looks like inflation was up a little more than anticipated we’ve been hoping interest rates would come down what’s your read on everything right now karen
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, interest rates improved. Well, now it’s been, what, about 10 days ago, a week ago. And that created a little bit more affordability than we’ve seen in, I think they quoted, 24 months. So improvement is a good thing. There are great homes coming on the market or are on the market, which creates opportunity for buyers because they have choice. And they haven’t seen this type of choice So I encourage people who have thought about either making a change in their housing or get into the housing market, there is opportunity and there is an opportunity for negotiating more than we’ve seen in the recent past. So I’m excited to get out with several of my buyers and take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. Also, I think we’re going to see a bit more inventory come on the market, as typically happens after the Labor Day weekend. So then there will be more choice.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And what’s that number for people to reach you, Karen Levine?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, the best way to reach me is call or text 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Karen Levine, have a great day. Those are special things to get to do with your granddaughters today. So have a great day. Again, that number is 303-877-7516. We’ll talk with you next week.
SPEAKER 06 :
That sounds great. You have a good day as well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And today, Rob Nadelson is in studio. We already have some questions coming in on the text line. That number is 720-605-0647. If you want to call in, and don’t be shy, that number is 303-477-5600. And I need to give Roger Mangan and his team a call. I got my renewal information on my car and my home. and I want to make sure I have the coverage that I need to have, and so I will be giving them a call. And Roger and his team have a great state farm agency. They can create personalized insurance plans to cover all your needs from protection for your cars to your home, condo, boat, motorcycle, business, and renter’s coverage. Give them a call. That number is 303-795-8855 for a complimentary appointment. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan team is there.
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SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back. Are you ready for financial freedom? Well, call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. As an independent firm and an accredited investment fiduciary, they always put your interests first. Mint means more than money. It stands for meaningful relationship, information sharing, a network of smart strategies, and a thoughtful advisor who puts you in control. No cookie cutter plans. Everything is tailored to you. So call Mint Financial Strategies today. That number is 303-285-3080. That’s 303-285-3080. And Rob Nadelson is in studio with me. He is an expert on the Constitution. And in fact, I had some really nice things I wanted to say about you. He is a nationally known constitutional scholar. He’s an author. And your research has been cited repeatedly by justices and parties at the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as federal appeals courts and at least 16 state Supreme Courts. That’s pretty amazing. Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 14 :
It just shows you if you hang around long enough, eventually somebody will notice you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, right. Maybe it’s because you know what you’re talking about. And your book, The Original Constitution, The Historical Meaning of America’s Supreme Law, you’re in your fourth edition on this. And so tell us a little bit about the book.
SPEAKER 14 :
It is a book written for the layperson, it’s not for the specialist, and it basically is designed to tell you what the Constitution meant right after the adoption of the Bill of Rights. You know, most of what we see today in writing on the Constitution is really somebody trying to make a political point. You know, a lot of people out there seem to think that the Constitution mandates everything they like and prohibits everything they don’t like. And the fact is that there are things to like and things not to like in the Constitution. I mostly like it, but not invariably so. This book basically lays out in ordinary English what the different clauses of the Constitution mean. how they would have been applied in 1791 right after the Bill of Rights was adopted. So I wrote it because there was no book like it at all.
SPEAKER 04 :
What we’ve seen is, now you said the original Constitution. There are those that I think want to look at the Constitution and have it say what they want it to say. You said that it’s a living document. What do you say to that, Rob Needleson?
SPEAKER 14 :
There are some parts of the Constitution that are designed to be living clauses. For example, if you read the Fourth Amendment or the clause dealing with habeas corpus, which is called the suspension clause, they’re highly flexible. On the other hand, there are parts of the Constitution that are designed to be rigid and unchanging, four-year term for the president. And then there are a lot of clauses in between. Mostly, though, the people who say they want a living constitution don’t really take that into account because they really don’t want a living constitution. They want a dead constitution. That is to say, they don’t really want the constitution around to inconvenience themselves. They want to be able to promote their agenda irrespective of what the constitution says. That’s the case in probably 90 percent of those folks. And so the fact is it’s a complex and very well-drafted document. It’s the supreme law of the land, and it’s the supreme law of the land irrespective of whether those particular folks like it or not.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And people can call in 303-477-5600, or if you’re shy, you can text me at 720-605-0647. The drafters of the Constitution are founders. Many people have said that they’re just old white guys that were trying to put in place documents to protect them, their property. What do you say to that?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s nonsense. The only part of that is that they were white guys. That is to say the framers were. On the other hand, the fact is that the electorate consisted of a wide range of people, including women in at least one state, New Jersey. The electorate also included free African Americans in at least five states. It included non-tribal Indians in some states. And the electorate, in turn, chose the delegates to the various ratifying conventions, of which there were over 1,600. And they were the ones who actually put the Constitution into effect, not the 55 framers. The other thing that has struck me about the framers and the ratifiers is that while self-interest always has a way of inserting itself into human affairs, is the amazing extent to which self-interest was set aside, at least short-term, self-interest was set aside in order to create a more perfect union, which, by the way, means in 18th century English, a more complete union. Okay. And the book, where can people buy this book, the original Constitution? You can pick it up at Amazon. It may be on, the third edition I know is on barnesandnoble.com. I don’t know what the fourth edition is yet, but you could get it on Amazon. And why should people have the fourth edition? Because there are a certain number of changes. The Constitution, of course, hasn’t changed. But the controversies that we deal with have changed. In the 10 years since the third edition, for example, we’ve had two presidential impeachments. And we’ve had new scholarships, some of it by myself, as to what actually are the proper and improper grounds for impeachment. The section on the First Amendment has been completely rewritten, which is of great importance in view of the Biden administration’s savage attacks on the First Amendment, something which was really unprecedented in American peacetime history. And there have been all sorts of changes like that throughout the book. So the First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and so forth. Religion, of course. All of those things. Yeah. It was after that. Six different rights, plus one not mentioned, freedom of association, which is implied.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And again, 720-605-0647. We’ll get to your text messages here in just a little bit. You brought this book in. You have another book that you brought in.
SPEAKER 14 :
I have another book with me. You know, one of our greatest constitutional historians, a fellow by the name of Forrest McDonald, said that there was one guy who was the most underestimated founder of all. that his contributions were enormous, but not that many people know that much about him. He was John Dickinson. John Dickinson, whose home was in Delaware at times and in Pennsylvania at times, played a major role in developing the colonial cause, the argument for the colonial cause against Great Britain, played a major role in the First and Second Continental Congresses, played an extraordinary role in the Constitutional Convention, was the only member of the founding generation that I’m aware of to be the president which is what they called their governor, the president of two states. He was the president of Delaware and he was the president of Pennsylvania. And in fact, for about three months, he was the president of both simultaneously. And he also wrote an extraordinary series of essays urging the adoption of the Constitution, something like the Federalist Papers, but a little easier to read and shorter. Unfortunately, John Dickinson’s papers have been largely unsorted, unstudied, which is extraordinarily amazing, I find. But they’ve been unstudied until fairly recently, when the John Dickinson Project, headed by a woman named Jane Calvert, started to catalog them and to organize them. Jane Calvert has now written a biography. It’s called Penman, Penman as in a writer, Penman of the Founding, a biography of John Dickinson. I’m about three quarters of the way through it. And I’m actually, I contacted her to tell her I liked the book, indicated a few areas where I thought some changes might be appropriate. I’m about three quarters of the way through it. I strongly recommend it to anybody who’s sort of a constitutional wonk and wants to know more about the founding of America. Okay, and that’s Jane Calvert. Jane Calvert, Penman of the Revolution, a biography of John Dickinson.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, and let’s see. Let’s go ahead and jump in here, I think, with our first question. And this came in on the text line. Hold on here. gosh um several things oh my we’ve got a lot here okay okay let’s go ask rob about the constitutionality of land use regulations specifically regarding the 5th and 14th amendments yeah um well i will tell you the law of the supreme court and then i will tell you my view uh
SPEAKER 14 :
There is a clause in the Fifth Amendment which is called the Takings Clause, which prohibits the taking of property without due compensation. The Fifth Amendment applied originally only to the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has said that because of certain language in the 14th Amendment, it also applies to the states. In other words, this rule that property cannot be taken without due compensation applies not just to the federal government, but also to the states, and it applies to local governments as well. The Supreme Court has also said that local governments, state governments, are free to regulate land But if they go too far by wiping out all of somebody’s economic value, that is effectively a taking. It’s called a regulatory taking, and the government owes compensation. The government can go very far in regulating. You could reduce the value of your land from, say, $10 million to $3 million, but it couldn’t completely wipe out the value without ordering compensation. Beyond that, the cases get very, very complicated. But what I’m trying to say here is that government has a great deal of flexibility in regulating land. There are some limits, however. Now, my own view, and I don’t like this answer, but my own view is I don’t really think that the Fifth Amendment-taking clause applies to the states or applies to local government. But that’s a matter of my constitutional interpretation. The Supreme Court doesn’t agree with me, and perhaps they’re right. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, we’re going to continue on. We’ve got Mark on the line, so hold on the line there. Other questions coming in, so you can give us a call, 303-477-5600, 303-477-5600. The text line is 720-605-0647. And these discussions are, they’re fun. We learn a lot, and they happen because of our sponsors. And Regarding the Second Amendment, the Second Syndicate is doing great work bringing together different organizations to make sure that we can protect our Second Amendment rights here in Colorado and nationally.
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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. online. 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 29 :
All of 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 kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out the website for the USMC Memorial Foundation. They are hosting an event to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the Marine Memorial, which is located out in Golden at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Colfax. And Paula Sarles is doing great work. We’ll talk with her tomorrow. She’s the president of the foundation. She’s a Marine veteran as well as she is a Gold Star wife. and she’s just doing great work with her team. It’s going to be a wonderful evening. I’ll be out there. You can get tickets by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org, usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And I think we asked Mark’s question, so he jumped off the line there. But if he has something else, give us a call, 303-477-5600, 303-477-5600. Rob Nadelson? I know where you are going to be on Monday, September 15th at 5 o’clock.
SPEAKER 14 :
I’ve been outed. Yes, you have been.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Grand Lakes U.S. Constitution Week will begin. And you have been at every one of them, yes? Yes.
SPEAKER 14 :
I missed one year. I missed COVID. Okay. But it started, I think, in 2012. And I was involved with the origin of it. I served as kind of an unpaid consultant for it. And I’ve spoken at every single one of them except for the COVID year. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
And so you will be kicking everything off Monday, September 15th, 5 o’clock. I’d recommend that people go to work and get their reservations so that they have places to stay up there. What are you going to talk about?
SPEAKER 14 :
That hasn’t been worked out yet. It always is a topic which is of current interest, although one year I did speak about John Dickinson and his extraordinary contributions. So I’m going to be talking to the chief organizer very shortly, and we’ll work out a topic that will interest everyone.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. So you kick it off as a keynote, and Jonathan Turley will be the keynote on Saturday the 20th. That’s right. We are bookends. You are bookends. And so that’s going to be super interesting as well. And Sandra, one of our listeners said, looking forward to hearing you speak at Constitution Week in September. Oh, great. So that’ll be great. So next question. When a government representative is sworn into public office to take an oath to uphold the United States Constitution, she would appreciate your perspective on why some do not uphold their oaths and why they’re not held accountable by we the people.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, boy, that’s a big one. Large amount on that particular plate. There are several reasons. One is, of course, there are different interpretations of the Constitution. Some interpretations are better than others. But a lot of people convince themselves that their own interpretation is what’s important. I mentioned, you and I earlier talked about the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court in 1936 had lifted all of the constitutional restrictions on what the federal government could spend. And so somebody who votes for a spending program that appears to be unconstitutional can say, well, you know, the Supreme Court said it was okay, so I didn’t violate my oath. Then there are a certain number of people for whom it’s just not important. You know, it’s just another hurdle that they go through. I used to be involved, besides in scholarship, I was involved in politics, as you know. And there are a lot of people in politics who were there for the game. I mean, they really don’t care about the, and this is both parties, they really don’t care about the ultimate result, or if they do care, they don’t care that much. It’s really the excitement of the game. And so for them, the oath just isn’t that serious. As to why the people don’t hold them accountable, that depends upon looking into the head of each person. Some people do hold them accountable. Some people say, I’m going to vote against that SOB because he violated his oath to the Constitution. But there is a certain amount of constitutional illiteracy in the United States. I think the public school system is largely responsible for that. The college system may be as responsible for reasons I can answer if you’re curious. And so people just don’t know. When I was teaching law at the University of Montana, I was teaching rather intelligent graduate level students. And it was really hard for them to grasp the concept that the federal government was a government of limited powers, not unlimited powers. They’d never been taught that. It was entirely new. So if you can’t expect that of graduate-level students, it’s hard to expect that of most other people. And so they often don’t know that their elected representatives have violated their oaths.
SPEAKER 04 :
You said something, if you’re curious, that you would explain that. What was that exactly? It’s already slipped out. Okay. Well, then, next thing is, and as Sandra said, electeds from city council all the way up take an oath to uphold the Constitution. So is that a way that you could connect elections? The Constitution to local government, because they say, I’m going to uphold it. Well, if you uphold it here, you have to uphold it here. And I’m connecting that back with the Constitution.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, they have to obey the Constitution. But the Constitution is primarily a document that deals with the federal government. Right. It has some restrictions on state and local government, but it doesn’t have as many restrictions as it has on the federal government. So someone can simply take the position this is not an area in which the Constitution restricts local government. If local government tried to pass a bill of attainder, a law saying that somebody is retroactively guilty of a crime, that would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. But if the local government passes a zoning regulation, that may or may not be a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. We have on the line with us Ben Williams. He is owner of Ben’s Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling and a sponsor of the show. Ben Williams, welcome. And what’s your question for Rob Nadelson?
SPEAKER 14 :
Hi, Ben.
SPEAKER 19 :
Hello, Rob. We spoke last month when you were on, and I want to revisit a question about elections. If I recall right, you said if there was some fraud involved in elections, you, I believe, said that injury would have to be proved to revisit something. Kim has had a couple of people on her show that have definitively proved that injury has occurred to the people of Colorado regarding Tabor. And this information has been passed on, as I understand it, to Donald Trump and the DOJ. being looked into.
SPEAKER 04 :
So regarding Tabor… Not regarding Tabor, but regarding… That’s not getting kicked up because of Tabor. It’s being kicked up because… Or trying to be kicked up because Colorado is not meeting the minimum standards as set forth by Congress for federal elections. So that’s the one that they’re trying to get action on.
SPEAKER 19 :
Okay, thank you. And then, am I wrong on Tabor or was it the other… the other one that has affected our taxes that were basically people
SPEAKER 04 :
The Gallagher Amendment. The Gallagher Amendment, thank you. Right, which that was a protection for residential property.
SPEAKER 14 :
But that would be a state issue, though, not a federal. An election on Tabor or election on the Gallagher Amendment would not be subject to federal law because it is not a federal election.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 14 :
The scope of Congress’s power to deal with federal elections basically deals with members of Congress. Okay. The Supreme Court has also allowed Congress to regulate presidential elections, although I think that’s unconstitutional. Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
So, Ben, we got into a lot of different subjects there. So another question?
SPEAKER 19 :
uh… not this moment but but but thank you yeah i think the differentiation between the state and federal that that kind of answers my question yeah and there’s also been there’s a differentiation between an action say by the u.s.
SPEAKER 14 :
justice department and a lawsuit if the justice department is proceeding i think it’s got more advantages in court than say some individual defeated candidate has in trying to overturn an election It’s extraordinarily difficult for a private citizen or a defeated candidate to convince a court to overturn an election. It’s somewhat easier, I think, for the U.S. Department of Justice.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Thank you, Ben Williams. And we’ve got Ron on the line. Ron, what is your question for Rob Nadelson as we’re doing stump Rob Nadelson here?
SPEAKER 16 :
Hey, Rob. I spoke to you last time you were here, and I said the problem with America is our legal system. And I believe that’s so because the Constitution was set there to give rules to lawyers and judges and stuff like that, and they don’t like the rules. And I’ve talked to a few lawyers just conversing, and it seems that they want to disband the Constitution. And I think basically because it’s the rules and because it keeps them
SPEAKER 14 :
um within boundaries am i incorrect um i might not state it quietly quite the way you did but you’re on to something a bit of historical explanation you may recall that all the the american colonists and the newly freed united states didn’t think much of the british king And they didn’t think much of the British Parliament. But they greatly respected the professionalism and the independence of the English court system. And they expected that the court system in the United States would be governed by the same level of professional and ethical standards. in fact the integrity of the legal system the integrity of the constitution in particular depends upon maintaining those legal standards i agree with you that in many respects those legal standards have deteriorated and frankly i would put the blame squarely at the law schools the law schools have been largely hijacked by left-wing activists and they’re not giving the kinds of messages to students that need to be given to students. I recently was reminded of this when I submitted an article, which we can talk about if you like. It’s on the influence of the Roman poet Virgil on the Constitution. And I was going through the law reviews, and I see all these law reviews that apply racial and ethnic and other criteria to their articles. I see entire law reviews… devoted to subjects such as, quote, social justice, by which I mean injustice, and to other left-wing causes. This is not true of all law schools, of course, but to a disproportionate degree, they’ve been hijacked by the left. And as a result, the level of professionalism and the level of respect for our institution falls.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, thank you, Ron. And again, give us a call, 303-477-5600. We’re talking with constitutional expert Rob Nadelson. He has written a book, The Original Constitution, The Historical Meaning of America’s Supreme Law. It used to say what it actually said and meant, so you changed that little byline, right?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I changed the subtitle. You know, I just want to make one other point about the law schools. You would think that a professional school is going to be training people to do something, right? would have teachers that have done those things themselves. In other words, if you’re training students to practice law, you would expect the professors to be expert practitioners. One would think so. One would think so. But that doesn’t happen. What they do is they hire professors, often left-wing professors, right out of you know, Harvard and Yale and other law schools who have never practiced law at all. And they’re supposed to teach students how to practice law. Well, of course, they don’t know how to practice law. And they have no resonance with the kind of work that these students are going to be doing. And so what they do is they promote their favorite jurisprudential or political agenda instead. Again, I’m generalizing. It’s not true everywhere. It’s not true of all law professors, but it’s true to a disproportionate degree.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. And give us a call, 303-477-5600. Text line is 720-605-0647. These are important discussions. If you’ve been injured, reach out to John Bozen and Bozen Law.
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SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back. I have Rob Nadelson in studio with me. I did want to mention the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo, and highlight Drew Dix’s New Words from the Silo podcast, which you can find there. And the center is nonpolitical, it’s nonpartisan, but focuses on these foundational principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. Rob Nadelson, tremendous interest here. 720-605-0647. Question from the text line. If a person is sworn in, but then… election integrity finds that they did not win, what happens?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, it probably is going to require a lawsuit from the losing candidate, which, as I mentioned earlier, is a very heavy burden to bear. If it is demonstrated that there was fraud or serious irregularities such that the right of people to vote was significantly infringed and those irregularities actually changed the result of the election, then that person can be ousted and the defeated candidate eliminated. put in. But of course, you have to move fairly quickly to do that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Okay. Next on the line is VK. VK, what’s your question for Rob Nadelson?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, this is difficult. Thanks for taking the call. My question is regarding constitutional protections for people that are considered listed or targeted due to… bad interactions with courts or such things as you know section 702 of the defense authorization or these kinds of matters okay well um
SPEAKER 14 :
The only way somebody should be targeted by a court would be if the court issues a specific order against that person for specific reasons. So, for example, if the person has engaged in violence, violent activity, then the court could issue an injunction against that person. If you feel that you’ve been officially targeted or rather unofficially targeted by a court or any other official, there is a federal lawsuit which allows you to sue for violation of civil rights. And you’d have to talk to a lawyer about that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Thank you, VK. Mark in Black Forest, what is your question?
SPEAKER 18 :
Hi, Mark. Good morning. Hi. Hi. Thanks. Your example, this is about regulatory takings again. Your example of an individual or landowner whose property has been diminished from $10 million to $3 million piqued my interest. You said there’s pretty much nothing that could be done.
SPEAKER 14 :
about that um mark um there are a whole lot of refinements here which i didn’t want to get into for obvious reasons but if someone’s property has been diminished say from 10 million to 3 million as a result of a of a regulation there may be other ways of demonstrating that it’s an improper taking for example There is a Supreme Court doctrine to the effect that the damage to the property owner has to be somewhat proportional maybe to the impact that the property owner has on the community. So if the reduction in the value of the property is for total willful reasons, there’s no real public purpose to it, or the damage inflicted on the property owner is far, far greater out of proportion to the impact that the property owner has on the public, that might be an alternative way to handle it. Takings Law, as it is developed in the Supreme Court, is extraordinarily complicated. And so you basically have to take any one particular example to a lawyer and have them work through all the prongs of Takings Law to figure out whether you have a case.
SPEAKER 18 :
Right. It does seem to be connected with the regulators’ desire for public benefit. They’re doing this in large measure for open space, which they say open space is a public benefit.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right. And a court is going to agree with them on that. On the other hand, if they were determined that public benefit is served simply by, you know, enriching the pocket of one particular regulator, the courts are not going to agree on that. And you can imagine there are a lot of cases in between. So, Rob, who defines public benefit? Ultimately, the courts.
SPEAKER 04 :
Huh. Okay. Because Mark and I, he was on the show.
SPEAKER 14 :
Here’s the deal. The Fifth Amendment, which is applied to the states we mentioned, says that property should not be taken for public use without due compensation. Public use… has been held by the U.S. Supreme Court to mean some public benefit, not a mere transfer that enriches some private party, but one that actually has a wider public benefit. And generally speaking, policymakers get a lot of discretion as to what they think public benefit is.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we’re seeing, I think, a real usurpation of that, but I don’t think we have time to really ask all those questions because I really appreciate all these questions. 720-605-0647. Next question is, ask Squire Nadelson if he thinks enough good people will still work hard enough to reclaim America’s lost liberty from our government.
SPEAKER 14 :
What did the caller call me?
SPEAKER 04 :
Squire.
SPEAKER 14 :
Squire. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Isn’t that what they would call attorneys in the old days?
SPEAKER 14 :
In the old days, the landed gentry usually had the word Esquire put after their name. And lawyers, for some reason, also got that Esquire stuck after their name. But not Squire. Okay, okay. And not as an introduction. Like, you know, you wouldn’t say Squire Natelson the way you might say Mr. Natelson. Okay, okay. Okay, the question has suddenly been lost. Go ahead, ask it again.
SPEAKER 04 :
Are we going to work hard enough to reclaim our liberty from this government that we have that’s overreaching on the local, county, state, and national level?
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, that’s a political and a sociological question rather than a constitutional question. It lies outside my area of expertise, so of course I’ll answer it.
SPEAKER 1 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 14 :
Years ago, people used to believe that the future of the world was centralization from some common entity. There would be world government, and world government would manage everything. You saw some of this worldview in the movie 2001, A Space Odyssey. And because it’s 2001, a space odyssey, and in other science fiction books, you had like one computer controlling everything. The way things have developed have been quite different. Internationally, there has been a tendency rather toward decentralization. symbolized by the internet, which is not one computer controlling everything, but zillions of computers informally cooperating with each other. And again, you see that in international trends. Therefore, I think that the days of centralized government are limited. I don’t think that people ultimately are going to stand for it. If it is imposed on them, they will walk away from it the way people have been walking away from blue states and into red states. But it’s going to be a long and uneven process. But I think ultimately, yes, freedom will prevail here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, we’re basically out of time. But we’ve got so many other questions. Todd has a great question. I think we’ll leave this hanging out there maybe for next month. And that is, why do you think Article 5 has never been used? And I know you know a lot about Article 5 in the Constitution.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, that’s the provision for amendment of the Constitution.
SPEAKER 04 :
We’ll address that next time. Sounds great. Rob Nadelson, thanks for being here. Thank you, Kim. And it’s always fun. The book is the original Constitution. And the fourth edition says it’s the historical meaning of America’s supreme law. So thank you for writing this. And thank you for this book as well. And our quote for the end of the show is James Madison. And he said, the right of freely examining public characters and measures and a free communication among the people thereon have ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right. And you would agree with that, right? You betcha. And 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. So, my friends, Rob Nadelson will be on the second Tuesday of each month to do this. So, we’ll do this again very soon.
SPEAKER 1 :
Good.
SPEAKER 04 :
And, my friends, you’re not alone. God bless you. And God bless America. We’ll talk again tomorrow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Talking about freedom Talking about freedom I will fight
SPEAKER 26 :
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.
