Welcome to another episode of the Kim Monson Show, where we explore the delicate balance of freedom versus force in contemporary politics. As we approach election season, we dissect why saying no to new taxation could be a stand for liberty. Additionally, celebrate American values with us during the Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week, featuring influential speakers and events honoring our nation’s foundational principles.
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 23 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 10 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 23 :
I don’t think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can’t understand that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Today’s Current Opinions and Ideas.
SPEAKER 23 :
And it’s not fair just because you’re a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn’t.
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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’re each 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 I get to work with. That’s Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Friday, Producer Joe.
SPEAKER 20 :
Happy Friday, Kim.
SPEAKER 23 :
And we’ve got a great show planned for you, so fasten your seatbelts. As you know, we search for truth and clarity by examining these issues through this 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 to take other people’s stuff, whether or not it’s their rights, their property, freedom, livelihood, opportunity, childhoods, or lives via force. And force can obviously be a weapon, but it can be policy and unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, and this agenda by the World Economic Forum and the globalist elites playing out at the United Nations, the Colorado State Legislature, the Colorado governor. through land use codes and zoning regulations, just very onerous in flexible zoning regulations sometimes, just as we’ve continued to watch the issue with Effola French Bakery up on Lookout Mountain, requesting a variance so that they can continue to have their tiny homes nearby so that they can run their business. And the other thing is, is we’re coming into… Election season and there are going to be a number of different questions on the ballot regarding higher taxes. I really think the answer should be no. While we are have focused at the out of control spending at the federal level. We’re seeing out-of-control spending at the state level here in Colorado. But then you’re going to have fire districts, just different questions regarding higher taxes. I think the answer should be no because people are being squeezed, and we’ve got to get government spending at the local, the county, the state, and the national level under control. Government has a limited role. And one of the ways to make sure that we continue keeping it in a limited role is to to hold on to the purse strings because people are really being squeezed. And so that’s why we need to continue to shed light on all of this. Remember, if something is a good idea. You should not need to use force to implement it. And on the show, we focus on the issues and we’ll talk about the people pushing the issues, but really try to stay out of all the personality stuff that’s going on out there in our country. So first thing, as you all know, I like to try to challenge myself on word of the day. And if I think I’m challenging myself, I try to practice the word. And then sometimes I realize that what I think I’m saying in my brain and what actually comes out when I’m speaking the word can be two different things. And yesterday was a perfect example. which the word was pusillanimity. And it has that extra syllable in there, is pusillanimity. And it’s the quality of being weak and cowardly or being frightened or taking tasks. And so I thought, well, today maybe I’ll just do a really easy word like dog or cat. But instead, thank you to Rosie for her suggestion on this. And that is acquiesce. And that is spelled A-C-Q-U-I-E-S-C-E. And it’s acquiesce. And it’s to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively. And Many times right now we are acquiescing to the narrative out there by PBIs just because there is so much coming at us. And we can’t passively continue to accept what is happening at our government level. Now, I know that life is busy. And the PBIs are really betting on that. But we must pay attention. That’s why we do the show, is to help you get your brain around these issues and then engage in conversations with others. Now, I was in a conversation yesterday. Regarding it’ll be referred to the ballot and we will be talking with Douglas Bruce, who is the author of Tabor in the second hour. But there will be two statewide questions. And one of those is to. create a progressive, a graduated tax for healthy meals for all children. I was talking to a young parent yesterday and they said, I love the idea of a school providing free meals for kids. And I like the idea of us paying taxes for that so that we know that kids that may not be getting good meals regularly from their parents are at least getting these good meals. And I thought, boy, we have a very difficult issue here when that is the case, when that is the narrative out there. And because what happens then is that issue was approved by the voters a few years ago. I think it was Proposition FF. And this will be, I think it’s either LL or MM. And I’m trying to find out from the Secretary of State. They don’t have those exactly named on the Secretary of State’s website yet, which I think they should. But um this is what the the pbs pis do is they come up it’s for the children so that was passed now here they are a few years later saying that they want more money and uh and uh they want to do a graduated income tax just to just to try to tax the higher earners Well, when we start to treat people differently, people start to make different choices at the voting booth. And so we’ve got to make the case for all of us being treated equally and for the proper role of government. And I don’t think it’s the proper role of government to provide food, meals for kids. When I was a kid, if you wanted to have school lunch, you had to buy school lunch. So anyway, we don’t want to acquiesce to these narratives, and we’ve got to engage in those, and I’ve got to work diligently to try to come up with a convincing, persuasive argument on why not to pass this particular graduated income tax policy. So that is our word of the day is acquiesce. Our quote of the day comes from the Center for American Values and their quote book. And this is from their Medal of Honor recipients. And you can buy the book by going to their website, which is AmericanValueCenter.org. And this is the citation for Santiago J. Arrivia. United States Army Medal of Honor recipient born in 1945. This is actions taken on May 21st, 1969. And a specialist for Santiago J. Arrivia distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a radio telephone operator in Company C, 1st Battalion, Air Mobile, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division during a search and clear mission near Tam Cai, Republic of Vietnam, on May 21, 1969. After breaching an insurgent perimeter, Specialist 4, Arivia, was designated by his platoon leader to render first aid to several casualties, and the rest of the platoon moved forward. As he was doing so, he came under intense hostile fire from four bunkers to his left front. Although he could have taken cover with the rest of the element, he chose a retaliatory course of action. enemy fire directed at him, he moved in full view of the hostile gunners as he proceeded to crawl from one wounded man to another, gathering ammunition. Armed with two M16 rifles and several hand grenades, he charged toward the enemy positions behind the suppressive fire of the two rifles. Under very intense fire, he continued to advance on the insurgents until he was near the first bunker. Disregarding the enemy fire, he pulled the pin from a hand grenade and advanced on the bunker, leveling suppressive fire until he could drop the grenade into the bunker, mortally wounding the insurgent and destroying the fortification. Without hesitation, he employed identical tactics as he proceeded to eliminate the next two enemy positions. With the destruction of the third bunker, Specialist 4 Arivia had exhausted his supply of hand grenades. Still under intense fire from the fourth position, he courageously charged forward behind the fire emitted by his M16 rifles. Arriving at the very edge of the bunker, he silenced the occupant within the fortification at point-blank range. Through his heroic actions, the lives of the wounded were saved and the members of the company command post were relieved from a very precarious situation. His exemplary performance in the face of overwhelming danger was an inspiration to his entire company and contributed immeasurably to the success of the mission. Specialist for Arivia’s conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army. And this is his quotation that is with his portrait of Valor. and at the Center for American Values in Pueblo, he said, Young Americans give 100% to your family, career, and especially to those who dedicate their lives to preserve our freedoms and keep our country safe. And that is why I so support the Center for American Values. which is located in Pueblo. That website is AmericanValueCenter.org. And then also the USMC Memorial Foundation, as they take care of the Marine Memorial out at 6th and Colfax and are raising money for the remodel as well. And to help them to make a contribution, go to USMCMemorialFoundation.org. And we have all of these important discussions because of our sponsors. And one of those sponsors is Hooters Restaurants. They have locations in Loveland, Aurora, and Westminster. And great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour. And how I got to know him is a really important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism and PBIs that try to control our everyday lives. And so I really appreciate that. And then the Roger Ming at State Farm Insurance team. Roger’s been in business for 50 years, serving his clients, taking care of his family, giving back to the community. And they can create a personalized insurance plan for you. If you bundle things together, you might be able to save some money. The way to find out is to give them a call. That 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 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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Grand Lake, September, watch the leaves turn gold. Constitution Week, come on, let’s go.
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And welcome back. Yes, Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week is right around the corner. And pleased to have on the line with me, Mark Oville. He is the president of the committee that is organizing Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. And Katie Ellis, who is very involved in their youth activity that will be on Friday afternoon. So, Mark Oville, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good morning, Kim. Thank you for having us on your show. We appreciate your support.
SPEAKER 23 :
Absolutely. And Katie Ellis, welcome. Thank you so much for having us, Kim. So the events begin on Monday, September 15th, kicking off with Professor Rob Nadelson regarding ancient Rome and the Constitution. Mark, this is the 14th annual U.S. Constitution Week. And Rob has been, I think, at all of them, but maybe one, correct? Yes.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s correct. He’s been at 13, will be 13 now of the 14 years of Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. And so we’re very honored to have him. He is a constitutional scholar and a crowd pleaser when he comes to Grand Lake as part of our event.
SPEAKER 23 :
OK, and we haven’t talked about it yet, but on Wednesday at 3 p.m. is a trivia contest and people compete in that from all over the country. Right, Mark?
SPEAKER 09 :
We used to do it remotely. Now we’re just doing it at Rocky’s, the restaurant Rocky’s, and it’s just a local event. We have some complications with doing it remotely.
SPEAKER 23 :
Oh, okay. So that is at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. And then I think the event or the speaker at 5 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Dr. William Morrissey, Professor Emeritus of Politics at Hillsdale College, talking about the separation of powers. I think that is going to be such a great discussion because we have so much right now. There’s a lot of discussion in our country about separation of powers. So, Mark, I think that’s going to be super interesting.
SPEAKER 09 :
This is a perfect topic, Kim, as you mentioned. And we have a lot of topics that are really important for our audience and for ourselves to hear from our speakers this week. But, yeah, separation of powers, when he mentioned that that could be his topic, I said that’s perfect. This is what we need to talk about. It is perfect.
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Now, Katie Ellis, you’re very involved with the youth event, which is on Friday afternoon. So tell us about that.
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Yeah, we are so excited this year to welcome the Sons of the American Revolution to facilitate our Youth Day. They’re going to take us back into the past and come and, you know, describe the living conditions back in the colonial days. They’re kicking the day off with something really exciting. They’re going to load and fire their muskets and teach us all about their muskets, which ties into the Second Amendment, of course, and then present to the kids a variety of different experiences about colonial days and what it was like to live back then and how that ties into the reasons behind the founders writing the Constitution.
SPEAKER 23 :
I love that. And then you have some really fun things after that as well, right, Katie?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, thanks to all of our great sponsors in town. The kids who participate in the Youth Day educational portion actually get a wristband, and they can go for a free go-kart ride. This year we added pedal boats, so they get to go on the lake. And it’s the most beautiful time of year, by the way, to be in Grand Lake with the leaves changing. So it’s something definitely not to miss. It’s a great experience for homeschoolers, too. The fire department does an open house for us, and we have putt-putt golf and free ice cream. We also have a donation of free pizza. So, yeah, the day is kind of complete. Just bring your kids and enjoy the experience.
SPEAKER 23 :
And that begins at 11 o’clock. And will that be in the park, or where should people meet you or meet for that event?
SPEAKER 07 :
That event is at the Grand Lake Center. That’s where all of our events are, except our keynote event on Saturday, the 20th, that is in the town square.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. Okay. Very good. Now, Mark Auvil, tell us about Saturday. I always love Saturday. And I think one of my most favorite things is the parade.
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Saturday is a true throwback to Americana, and we really encourage all your listeners to come out and join us for the celebration, especially the Saturday events. Yes, we kick it off with a… A parade down Grand Lake. We close down the road and have a great parade. And then we are scheduled. We are approved by the FAA and the Pentagon for a flyover, but that is tentative. It depends on weather and national security issues. But we would hope that we can get the flyover. It’s been a couple of years. And then we are going to continue the theme of going back in time from the Revolution to the Constitution, and we have… Kim, as the emcee, we’ll be introducing Mile High Fife and Drum, and we’ll be going back, and they’ll be teaching us about the commands that the Fife and Drum bands would have during various battles and commands at the camp. And so it’ll be very educational, and they’ll be dressed up in their revolutionary garb.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, and then the keynote speaker is Jonathan Turley, and I’ve gotten several texts from people saying, Jonathan Turley, wow, what a great get.
SPEAKER 09 :
We keep getting blessed with these amazing speakers. Last year was Ron Paul, the year before, Dr. Carol Swain. And when this came together, we were ecstatic that Jonathan’s willing to come out, Professor Turley, and be our keynote speaker. And we may have a few surprises with him on that day later in the afternoon. We’re trying to work out some details of some other activities with him. So he seems to be wanting to embrace our event. He wants to be in the parade. And we’re really excited and honored to have him as part of our event this year.
SPEAKER 23 :
And then there will be an outdoor concert with Steve Watts, saxophonist with Dot Sero, who’s a personal friend of yours, Mark. And that’s great. And then fireworks over the Grand Lake on Saturday night. But people can get information about all of the events and all of the speakers by going to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. And, Mark and Katie, we wanted to give a shout-out to some of your big, big sponsors. And do you want to do that, or do you want me to do that, Mark?
SPEAKER 09 :
I’ll let Katie do it. She helped to organize our sponsorship program.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, Katie, so you’ve got some sponsors that you want to make sure get some additional recognition. So who are they?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, sure. We want to thank the Gateway Inn. It’s a hotel here in Grand Lake. Sun Outdoors, which is an awesome outdoor resort with all kinds of lodging and activity options. Hydrotech Plumbing, Rocky High Speedway, and Grand Spirits.
SPEAKER 23 :
Great. And then also Rick and Cindy Johnson, right? Rick and Cindy Johnson. So it’s amazing how this little community comes together to celebrate our Constitution and really amazing speakers as well. Let’s see, it’s on Thursday that Dr. Thomas Cranawitter will be speaking regarding Dred Scott, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, lies that stick. That looks pretty interesting as well, Mark Oville.
SPEAKER 09 :
Again, Dr. Thomas Cranawitter, this will be his 13th of the 14 years of speaking at grand lake u.s constitution week and when i was talking to him he wants to tie in the declaration of independence to the constitution because as we know uh we are approaching the 250 year anniversary of the declaration of the u.s constitution uh next year in 2026 but uh we are going to be part of this is exciting news the america 250 Colorado 150 celebration in Colorado. We are now officially one of the events for that celebration, and so it’s going to be great for him to tie in the Declaration into the Constitution as we approach the 250-year celebration of our Declaration of Independence.
SPEAKER 23 :
And there was a lot that was happening 250 years ago in 1775, and there’s a lot happening here 250 years later in 2025. What you are doing, though, is so important. And again, this is all volunteers, isn’t it, Katie?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, it is. It takes an incredible amount of work to put this event on. And I want to thank all of our volunteers, too, but we couldn’t do it without everybody. And we just work year-round to put this thing on.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, it is very special. And Grand Lake is, I think, one of the most beautiful places in the country. And so it’s a very special, special event. So, Mark Auvil, your final thought, and we’ll talk with you again next week.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I really encourage your listeners to come out and be part of the celebration of the U.S. Constitution. Grand Lake does it like no other celebration in America. And it’s a beautiful, like Katie was saying, a beautiful time of the year. The leaves, the aspens will be turning gold. Rocky Mountain National Park is right there. And we encourage people to come up, have a fun weekend, take a boat ride, make sure that – You shop at our various businesses and restaurants that have been supporting us. So it’s really important for us to put this event on, especially during the issues of today, the current events. And Jonathan Turley just going to hit it out of the park with free speech in an age of rage.
SPEAKER 23 :
All right. So more information, GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. Mark Auville, Katie Ellis, we will talk again next week. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 23 :
And speaking of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it is so important the work that the second syndicate is doing. And join them. They are going on offense. They will be down at the Statehouse regarding legislation this next time around. that will be attempting to take even more of our Second Amendment rights. And so it’s important that we are on offense instead of defense. And the Second Syndicate is going to be doing that. So be sure and contribute, support them. I’m so pleased to have them as sponsors as well.
SPEAKER 20 :
The Second Amendment was established to ensure that all individuals have the right to resist oppression, stand firm against government overreach, and protect our ability to defend ourselves, our families, and our freedoms. Today, that right is under relentless attack in Colorado. Colorado’s premier grassroots Second Amendment organization, the Second Syndicate, is on the front lines fighting to preserve and protect your constitutional rights. We expose the most pressing threats to the Second Amendment and provide the education, resources, and tools to stay informed, empowered and prepared join the movement protect your rights visit thesecondsyndicate.com that’s thesecondsyndicate.com where the second is first
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Do you strive for excellence as you work with your clients and customers? Does it make sense for you to add a unique and focused branding opportunity to your marketing portfolio? Would you like to access a broad customer base that loves our country and wants to make life better for ourselves, our neighbors, our colleagues, our children, and our grandchildren? Then you may be a perfect fit as a sponsor or partner of The Kim Monson Show. To learn more, reach out to Teresa at 520-631-9243. Teresa would love to talk with you. Again, that number is 520-631-9243. Thank God it’s…
SPEAKER 23 :
It is Friday. Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. I wanted to say thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show because it’s reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant power from oil, natural gas, and coal, those natural occurring hydrocarbons that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and empowers us to change our own personal climate to be warm in the winter and cool in the summers. And so thank you to Laramie Energy for their sponsorship of the show. I’m so pleased to have on the line with me Josh Finlay. And he is, let me get the exact title, he’s with the Texas Public Policy Institute. Here we go, Josh, I got it all right here. And you are the Director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s National Election Protection Project and the former National Director of Election Integrity for the Republican National Committee. And you have written a piece that was at The Federalist, Mail-in Voting as a Recipe for Election Disasters. Josh Finlay, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thanks for having me, Kim. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER 23 :
And this is a very important piece. Now, President Trump has said I don’t think he’s issued it yet, but he’s going to issue an executive order to ban mail in voting or mail in ballots. This is bold. I think it’s necessary. Can he do it? And why are mail-in ballots a disaster, a recipe for disaster? So I know that’s a lot to ask, but where do you want to start?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, let’s start with why mail-in ballots are a recipe for disaster. I know they’re big in Colorado and a lot of neighboring states out there. The thing is, Kim, if you really think about it, most of the issues, most of the causes for doubt and concern in our election process stem from mail-in voting. When people go and show up and vote in person with a proper ID and they can see, you know, a printed copy of their election in the way they voted, people have a lot of confidence. But if you look at things like the voter ID issues that we have. That stems from mail-in voting. When you’re mailing ballots out to people, you don’t know who is casting those ballots, actually. You don’t know if they’re being delivered to the right place. You don’t know who is turning those ballots in. I mean, we’ve seen major issues with ballot collection, like ballot harvesting and drop boxes. The Department of Justice is doing a big push with voter rolls because states have been mailing ballots to non-citizens, to people that have passed away, to people that have moved. All of these things in the process from voter ID to cleaning the voter rolls to ballot collection stem from mail-in balloting. The truth is it’s just the least secure way of voting that we have in this country.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, and Colorado was one of the first to institute mail-in ballots, and it was the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act in 2013, and it was signed by, at the time, Governor Hickenlooper, so it was signed into law. And from that, we have… We have mail-in ballots being mailed out all over the state. And in Colorado, you’re supposed to show ID if you’re going to get your ballot, but we now have automatic registration as well. A problem that I see with that, so anytime somebody has an interaction with a government entity, they are automatically registered to vote. So for example, if they go get a driver’s license. Well, people that are in our state illegally can get a driver’s license here in Colorado. And so they’re supposed to say that, I guess I should say that, people that are not citizens can get a driver’s license in Colorado. And they’re supposed to say, oh, I’m not a citizen. But who’s checking that? So that can very possibly generate a mail-in ballot at that particular point in time to somebody that’s a non-citizen here in Colorado, Josh Findlay.
SPEAKER 08 :
So that’s exactly right, Kim. I mean, the problem with that is, you know, there have been court rulings that say that states have to accept under the Voting Rights Act that The EAC’s federal voter registration form. And that voter registration form only requires a checkbox for people to attest that they are a U.S. citizen to say, yes, I am a U.S. citizen. First of all, it seems kind of crazy to me that, you know, this is. The United States is supposed to be a city on a hill, a shining democracy, and we’re using the honor system to let people register to vote in our elections. But the second thing is, like you said, just so many states now have an automatic voter registration, motor voter, things like that. In fact, I just registered, renewed my driver’s license online in a red state. And the voter registration portion of the application seemed just like it was part of the driver’s license renewal process. I mean, there was no difference in in font, no difference in the questions, no nothing. And so you can see how many people would accidentally use that process to sign up to register to vote, even though, like you said, they’re not citizens and they just want a driver’s license. So it’s a big loophole that really needs to get fixed.
SPEAKER 23 :
And Josh Finley, it seems like everyone would want to make sure that we fixed this issue. But here in Colorado, what happens is the Secretary of State tells voters that we have the gold standard. And as I’ve learned more and more about elections, I think that we have the fool’s gold standard here in Colorado. And in fact, our listeners came together last year to fund two different lawsuits regarding our concerns about these elections and and one was through unite for freedom formerly united sovereign americans that basically says that colorado’s not meaning the minimum standards is set forth by congress for our elections and the other is with through the Peter Brunegger and the Wisconsin Center for Election Justice, where the basis of that lawsuit, and it was very targeted, 14,500 people voted in the 2022 election that should not have gotten ballots. So we don’t have the gold standard. And I’ve never done a whole bunch, Josh, with legal stuff. It takes a while for these cases to work their way through the courts. And it’s not a fast process.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s exactly right, Kim. That’s exactly right. Well, and I think we need to even back up before we talk about kind of the legal mechanisms here. You know, it’s interesting. There’s a lot of disinformation that is put out by liberal kind of leftist secretaries of state across the country. The truth of the matter is, when you look at polling. Voter I.D., only citizens voting, secure elections, those are 80% issues across the board, Republican, Democrat, for everybody. It doesn’t matter who they’re polling on that. So it’s not just a feeling that you and I have that this is common sense. This is common sense to most of the people in the country. It’s just not common sense to a lot of these leftist election officials. And the interesting thing is, People agree with this, not just when they’re answering polls, but when they actually go to vote to the ballot box. You may remember that earlier this year, Wisconsin had a big Supreme Court race. that revolved around election integrity. It was a statewide race. It got heavily politicized for various reasons. And if you remember, that’s a very activist Supreme Court in Wisconsin. The leftists won that race in a statewide race. What’s interesting and the thing that nobody talks about, though, is that on that exact same ballot, there was a citizen initiative. And that’s where the citizens vote directly on policy that passed for voter ID, putting voter ID requirements in place. And so, yes, when you politicize some of these issues, people decide they like or don’t like the policy of a certain party or a certain candidate. But when it’s just the issue on the ballot by itself, people overwhelmingly support election integrity issues. There were eight different states this past fall that passed either voter ID or only citizen vote requirements through citizen initiatives. So across the board, this is a popular issue among all citizens of the United States.
SPEAKER 23 :
So Josh Finley, from a political standpoint, then I would say that the radical activists that have taken over, for example, the Democrat Party here in Colorado, if they are looking at the tea leaves, they’re hearing that that in election integrity is important to people. And as you say, 80 percent. So this is the big, broad middle of America. This is This would be moderate Democrats, conservatives, Republicans, unaffiliateds, libertarians, that big broad middle. They say they want election integrity. So that is why then you see a narrative coming out from a secretary of state like Jenna Griswold saying, we have the gold standard. And people like to hear that. They take comfort in that. And so I’m connecting that dot between their narrative and what’s really important to people.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, that’s exactly right. I mean, they’re using the bully pulpit to spread misinformation about their election process. And, you know, there are states. First of all, let’s let’s get this out of the way that there are certain people that should be voting by mail. You know, severely disabled people, military veterans that are overseas and states that have small numbers of mail and ballots can process this pretty well. But overwhelmingly, large states with massive amounts of mail-in voting, there’s two things to look at with this. One is, has the process gone smoothly? And you can look at states like California, right? It took 38 days to resolve the last congressional race. after Election Day to process all of those mail ballots. You look at your neighboring state there in Nevada that still accepts ballots after Election Day. It’s just a cause for concern. That raises doubt in the process. But the other thing, Kim, is even if your state has not had huge election integrity issues previously, Why open it up? Why open your state’s voting process up to questions? Why open it up to vulnerabilities when there is clearly a better way to vote? And that is as much as possible in person with voter ID.
SPEAKER 23 :
So, Josh Finley, we’re going to continue this discussion. And it is so important that we really examine this because we’re a constitutional republic, democratically elected representatives. And we need to know that our elections are safe and secure and honest and transparent. and the big, broad middle of America. Josh said it’s 80%. It seems like it should be 100% that would want that. But these discussions happen because of our sponsors. And for everything mortgages, reach out to Lauren Levy.
SPEAKER 15 :
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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 Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com.
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SPEAKER 23 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Do you want more financial freedom and confidence with your money? Mint Financial Strategies can help. They’re an independent firm with over 25 years of experience and is an accredited investment fiduciary. They put your best interests first, always. With a strategy-first approach, they’ll help you build a plan that fits your life. Call Mint Financial Strategies today. That number is 303-285-3080. 303-285-3080. And we’re talking with Josh Finley. He is the director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s National Election Protection Project and the former national director of the election integrity of election integrity for the Republican National Committee. He had a very important piece at The Federalist, mail-in voting is a recipe for election disasters. And Josh Finlay here in Colorado, we were one of the first to institute mail-in voting. We have, and one of the problems is, is that it’s very difficult to stop a county clerk from mailing out ballots unless my understanding is that ballot has to be, if that person’s moved or no longer in Colorado, that that has to be returned via the U.S. mail service back to the county clerk. Instead, I think a lot of these, like at apartment buildings or maybe at dormitories, they don’t get sent back to the Secretary of State. So we’ve got mail-in ballots flying all over the state at great expense. And the president is concerned about that. And so what’s the story regarding an executive order to stop mail-in ballots going out?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, so, Kim, a couple of weeks ago, the president put out a statement highlighting the insecurity of mail-in ballots and that these need to be fixed before the midterms in 2026. He has floated the idea of putting an executive order out there banning mail-in ballots. And, of course, the left right away said we would challenge this in court. You know, it’s unconstitutional. And, you know, the thing that they’re citing here is the U.S. Constitution that says that states have the ability to regulate the time, place, and manner of elections, but they can be preempted by Congress. You know, Congress can pass a bill to add regulations, you know, for, so for example, the national voter rights act or the help America vote act has been done in the past. So the president can put out an executive order. We know it’s immediately going to be challenged in court and that’s fine. I think this executive order has a couple of major purposes, you know, and we don’t know what it’s going to look like yet, but first of all, the fact that he’s highlighting the importance of mail-in voting is tremendously important. Second of all, it should spur action in the states among secretaries of state, among legislatures, to put more security and transparency in the mail-in voting process in their own states, and hopefully to limit it significantly. You know, we just saw this massive expansion after COVID in 2020, and so many states have just kind of accepted it as facts now. But That does not have to be the case. And the third thing is, and this is where the executive order could really have some power, depending on how it’s drafted, is, you know, he has already put out an executive order to the Election Assistance Commission that puts out a lot of standards for elections. It could affect that. It could affect the post office in the way that it works. the way that the post office delivers ballots. It could have to do with the Department of Justice and their efforts to clean voter rolls, the Department of Homeland Security and their examinations into election security in the process there. So it can take a lot of different roles. I think one thing that we need to be very excited about and hopeful for is in the White House, you know, in the White House Counsel’s Office. There are actually election integrity lawyers there now who are aggressive that we should have confidence in. And whatever form this executive order takes, I’m very hopeful that it’s going to address this problem at its root.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, and this needs to be done in time for the 2026 election. So time is of the essence on this. The fact that the president is talking about this and shedding light on this is really the first step. But what can we do as regular people regarding these mail-in ballots?
SPEAKER 08 :
So I think there’s three levels that everybody needs to get involved when it comes to combating this. And first and foremost, get involved with the elections at the local level, whether it’s the county level, you know, the town level, it’s your local jurisdiction, whatever it is. The funny thing is, you know, a lot of people think we run one big national election, and that’s not true. It’s not even true that we run 50 different elections because every state has its own rules. The truth is, is that for the most part, our elections are run at the most local level. So get involved there. Find out what your county is doing about transparency and security when it comes to mail-in voting. Ask what they’re doing about cleaning the voter rolls. And like you said, mailing ballots to people that may not live there anymore or have passed away or whatever it is. One thing we always say is be right. And be polite when you’re going to talk to these local election officials because, for the most part, they’re trying to do a good job. But there are still serious questions that need to be asked. The second thing is approach your legislature about this. There are a lot of changes that need to be made in states to tighten up the election process. And a lot of that can only be done by the legislature. I mean, Colorado is a great example of it. They passed that act that approved a massive expansion in mail-in voting. And if that needs to be reined in, we need to work to rein it in. And then third, the Secretary of State, just keeping an eye on the regulations that they are putting out. But the biggest thing I always say is get involved in the election process. For years now, I’ve had a saying on my board that says you can find a conspiracy anywhere if you don’t understand how things work. Find out how things are working with the elections in your local level.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, it’s been a real process for me, Josh Finlay, to connect the dots. I was serving on city council 2012 to 2016 when that law was signed into or that legislation was signed into law. It was on May 10th, 2013 by, at the time, Governor John Hickenlooper, who is now a senator from Colorado. And I remember thinking at the time, I thought, huh, I think that this could be a problem. And what’s happened here in Colorado in our elections is that we now have very radical activists at the legislature and in the governor’s mansion. And that’s why elections really do matter. And so while I’d like to see this legislature doing something about the elections, I don’t see them doing a whole bunch of right here in Colorado right now because they are in power, and I think they kind of like the power, Josh Finley.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they do. And one problem with this scenario is across the board, Republican, Democrat, whatever party, election officials tend to like the system that they got elected under, which is why even in red states a lot of time we see election integrity bills moving slowly. But like you said, elections matter and legislators have to listen to the people. And so we can’t give up this fight. And it is a fight. It is a constant fight to improve election integrity. And and like I said, it doesn’t. Elections don’t just happen at the state level with the legislature. Also get involved at the local level and highlight election administrators that are doing a good job in cleaning voter rolls and things like that. But then also highlight those that need to improve the process, because like you said, there are a lot of radical election administrators out there that are weaponizing the election process for the gain of one party.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, so at this particular point in time on the federal level, I guess we’re going to wait and see what happens with President Trump. And even though the Constitution says that states have the – that they’re supposed to administer elections, under NIVRA, the National Voting Rights Act, is we have to hit these at least minimum standards because those elections, those federal elections – affect our representatives and also the electoral college. And so I think Congress does have a role in assuring that those federal elections are meeting at least the minimum standards. And Congress passed that law. Gosh, I don’t remember what year was that.
SPEAKER 08 :
The National Voting Rights Act has been around for a long time. There have been several versions of its past. The first one was in the 1960s, I believe.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, so we’ve got a lot going on here. What’s your final thought you’d like to leave with our listeners, Josh Finley?
SPEAKER 08 :
Final thought, you’re exactly right. We need to let Washington know that this is an issue that Congress needs to get behind. The president can put out the executive order. Congress needs to support it because they definitely have authority to regulate elections. And then people need to get involved at the local level and see what’s happening in mail-in voting. For too long, the left has tried to hide. They have done everything they can to reduce transparency and security in our election process. And we just have to be involved to shed light on what they’re doing. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. And so look at what’s happening in your local jurisdiction about mail-in voting. And we need to do everything we can to put in safeguards.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, Josh Finlay, thank you for the great work that you are doing with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Election Integrity. And let’s stay in touch.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thanks, Kim. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER 23 :
And our quote for the end of the show is from George Washington, which I thought was very appropriate. He said, this government is not reason. It is not eloquent. It is force like fire. It is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have gotten possession. And when the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent, we may be led like sheep to the slaughter. 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. Stay tuned for hour number two.
SPEAKER 05 :
But tell them if I don’t survive.
SPEAKER 04 :
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 10 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 23 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 10 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 23 :
I don’t think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can’t understand that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 23 :
And it’s not fair just because you’re a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn’t.
SPEAKER 10 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 23 :
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’re each 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. 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 Friday, Producer Joe. Happy Friday, Kim. And we work diligently to get great guests, important information to you. And all of this happens because of sponsors. I wanted to say thank you to Laramie Energy for their gold sponsorship of the show because it is reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant power from naturally occurring hydrocarbons such as oil, natural gas, and coal that powers our lives, fuels our hopes and dreams, and empowers us to change our own personal climate to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Let’s get over here. Our word of the day is acquiesce. And thank you to Rosie for her suggestion of this word. And it is spelled A-C-Q-U-I-E-S-C-E. It could be to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively. And I think that we… Here in America, we have acquiesced our rights away from us because we have not been paying attention. And I think people are paying attention now. As we are looking at new tax questions that are going to be on our ballots, I would recommend that we say no on all of these new taxes, no new debt. I think we need to say no on that. One of the first things is to control the purse strings. And we, the people, need to do so instead of acquiescing to electeds who are very influenced now by PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties. Our quote of the day is from Santiago J. Arribia, a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient born in 1945. And this is for actions he took on May 21, 1969. And he said this, He said young Americans give 100 percent to your family career and especially to those who dedicate their lives to preserve our freedoms and keep our country safe. And that is one of the reasons why the nonprofits that I highlight on a regular basis on the show, the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo, focused on honoring our Medal of Honor recipients and continuing to educational programs. There’s going to be one for secondary educators later in the month that focuses on these principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. And so more information about them, you can go to AmericanValueCenter.org and then, of course, the USMC Memorial Foundation, which I totally support as well. And Information on how to support them and basically say thank you by supporting them is going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And there’s a lot happening out there in our world. We’re going to be talking with Douglas Bruce as our featured guest in this particular hour. And Douglas is the author of, and he had help with it, and of course a lot of people worked to get this passed, the TABOR, which is Colorado’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights. And it was put in place by the people of Colorado, voted as an amendment in 1992. And what we see is PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties that would just love to get rid of Tabor. And so that’s why we the people need to be watching what is happening at the local, the county, and the state level regarding taxes and fees and spending. So there will be two issues, I think, statewide on our ballot. And we’re going to be watching that at the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. And I just about have the finishing touches on the ratings report to go to the the printer. And we would really encourage that you join us. And that is at coloradotaxpayer.org, coloradotaxpayer.org. And it’s only $25. And that way you will, we will have it on the website, the ratings report, but we would really appreciate your support as well. And we had talked a little bit about a Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week, which will begin a week from Monday. And And it is the premier celebration of our Constitution in all of America. And the Constitution was passed September 17th, 1787, and then it took a few years to get it ratified. But it is an amazing document and it’s put in place to keep constraints on government and to keep it in its proper role. And the quote that we have for the end of the show from George Washington is so important. He said, government is like fire. So when it’s under control, it can be very useful. When it’s out of control, it’s very destructive. And so that’s why we need to continue to shed light, understand it. There’s been such an assault in our education systems regarding trying to uh, not understand so that our kids don’t understand the constitution, why it’s there. And, uh, that’s why we continue to highlight it on a regular basis. I’m hoping Joe that we have Alicia and or Teddy from the second syndicate. Okay. Uh, so we don’t have them yet. So I, I will just talk about the second syndicate and the second syndicate is, uh, it’s the second syndicate.com and, um, Alicia Garcia has, um, her own concealed carry training company. And hold on, I think that I had all the notes here on that. Hang with me just a second and I’ll get that for you. And she also is with the Spartan Defense, which is Teddy’s company, which is located in Colorado Springs. It’s a very important firearm store there. So you can get more information at SpartanDefense.com. But they’ve come together because they want to go on offense regarding what’s happening down at the state legislature instead of defense. Now, I’m very pleased that the Colorado State Shooting Association has filed a lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of Senate Bill 003. uh but and it’s so important to do that defensive work but for the offensive work uh support the second syndicate and you can do that by going to thesecondsyndicate.com and you can see the great work that they’re doing but they are going on offense to protect our second amendment rights and bringing all these different voices together unfortunately in politics people can have the the same goal but ultimately they can get get into, well, we’re seeing that with the Republican Party here in Colorado, into infighting. And so Alicia and Teddy wanted to create TheSecondSyndicate.com to help us protect our Second Amendment rights. And so you can support them by going to TheSecondSyndicate.com. That’s TheSecondSyndicate.com. And these discussions happen because of our sponsors. And the Roger Megan State Farm Insurance team can create a personalized plan for you, for your house, your boat, your condo, if you’re renter’s coverage, all that stuff. And to find out how you can put together a package and maybe save some money, give them a call. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Megan team is there.
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Do you strive for excellence as you work with your clients and customers? Does it make sense for you to add a unique and focused branding opportunity to your marketing portfolio? Would you like to access a broad customer base that loves our country and wants to make life better for ourselves, our neighbors, our colleagues, our children, and our grandchildren? Then you may be a perfect fit as a sponsor or partner of The Kim Monson Show. To learn more, reach out to Teresa at 520-631-9243. Teresa would love to talk with you. Again, that number is 520-631-9243. It’s right!
SPEAKER 23 :
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 sign up for our weekly email newsletter while you are there. A question. Are you ready for financial freedom? 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 a 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 at 303-285-3080. Again, 303-285-3080. Mint Financial Strategies is your path to financial freedom. And also wanted to mention the USMC Memorial Foundation. They will be hosting a 5K run on September 20th. And you can get more information by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. The money that they raise helps maintain the official Marine Memorial, which is located at 6th and Colfax, and also raising the money for the remodel. So make that a reality. and go to usmcmemorialfoundation.org pleased to have on the line with me douglas bruce he is the author of tabor colorado’s taxpayers bill of rights which was passed in 1992 douglas bruce welcome to the show thank you kim i’m pleased to be here Douglas, for those that may not know and may not understand TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, I call them PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties from both sides of the aisle. They started to try to chink away at TABOR before the ink was even dry on this because one of the main things about TABOR is it limits the size of government. So tell us about the process. Give us a little history.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, the Tabor Amendment limits the growth of government. It doesn’t shrink government. It doesn’t cut taxes. But it has two major features, one of which is it before the government increases the share of money that it takes from citizens, called a tax increase, it has to get voter approval. And specific requirements for how they… go about doing that. It’s a page and a half long. It’s not hundreds of pages or anything complicated. It isn’t anything written by uh tax lawyers to complicate the process it’s really very simple should we have a bigger share of our money going to government and the other major feature of the proposal is it regulates the growth rate of state and local government local government meaning school districts cities counties special districts and the state government as well. It does nothing about federal taxes, but it does say if we want, again, a bigger share going to government, we want to be able to vote on that.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, it seems like that’s just common sense. Why do PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties hate Tabor so much?
SPEAKER 21 :
because it limits their power to take and spend our money. These are people who want bigger government. It’s a very simple issue. It’s a battle between the people that want bigger government, which is not necessarily better government. Usually bigger government is worse government. And the other source is the taxpayers, the ordinary citizens, the people who want to have some control over government.
SPEAKER 23 :
And so that’s why protecting TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, is so important. You watch these tax issues closely. And there’s a couple of questions that are going to be on the ballot this November 2025 that you wanted to talk about a little bit. And that is, is it Proposition LL and Proposition MM? Got to get to that exactly.
SPEAKER 21 :
LL and MM means lots of money, lots of money. That’s what the way is to remember it. A very simple proposition. If it comes from the government, it’s probably a bad idea. The government is not on your side. The government is not trying to be helpful. The government is trying to be self-interested and expand the amount of money it gets for It’s members who are the people that are paid for by government bureaucrats, the special interests who get money from bureaucrats via the political system. And I’m not going to give you a complicated explanation of LL and MM, but I will just say that the Tabor Amendment has, in one sentence, says that there is a requirement that they tell us the truth about how much money they’re asking for. It’s a very simple proposition. How much do you want in additional revenue? And they’re held to that requirement by Tabor. They have to tell the truth. What a shocking concept. And So they’ve done this before, and there’s a provision that says that if they raise more money than they say that they’re going to raise, they have to refund that money and lower the tax rate or whatever it is that they’re trying to increase to get back to the amount of money they asked for. In the case of LL and MM, They asked for $100 million. $100 million. I think that’s a lot of money. But they have to limit their revenue on an annual basis to an increase of $100 million. in this case it went up roughly 112 million dollars so they didn’t tell us the truth they low-balled it to get us to vote for it and they said that oh it’s only 100 million and it’s for a good cause and Frankly, it wasn’t for a good cause. People should have voted against it just because they came up with the old scam saying, oh, it’s for the children. It’s for school lunch programs, so forth. And it doesn’t matter what it’s for. They said they only needed $100 million. So they were forced, when they raised $112 million, to lower the tax rate and refund the excess money so that they only increase the state annual spending limit $100 million. And so they didn’t tell the truth. It’s called lowballing. They said, oh, it’s only $100 million and it’s such a good cause. So we need to… enforce the Tabor Amendment, and make the government tell the truth. This is a radical concept, that the government should have to tell the truth. If they say we need 100 million, to vote yes or no based upon 100 million. But when they take 112 million, they have to return the 12 million access and lower the rate and the formula to get back to what it should be. It’s called telling the truth. What a radical concept.
SPEAKER 23 :
It is a radical concept. And so these two things, and I’m trying to find the exact language on these two questions that will be on the ballot, and I’m not finding it quickly.
SPEAKER 21 :
Believe it or not, I had difficulty, and I’ve been in communication with the staff, and they said… It’s in the text. Well, it’s not the text. The text of the measure is the actual wording of what’s on the ballot. And what we are both looking for is what’s called the ballot title, which is a short one-sentence summary of what the measure is supposed to do. And they mislabeled it, misused it. And I finally found out, it finally ended up that they got what is a ballot title that complies with the Tabor law and says what people are familiar with for the past 30 years. Shall state taxes be increased X dollars annually? And they should be required to put that in the ballot language and you were going to see it and the other issue doesn’t even though it’s a tax increase and it’s required to say it’s a tax increase in the opening words of the ballot title it does not do that so they’re admitting that they are not obeying the constitution that’s the reason to vote against it right there They were required by the Constitution past 30 plus years ago to tell us how much extra money they want, and they aren’t doing it.
SPEAKER 23 :
So this LL and MM, I think they’re saying it’s about food. So it’s expanding the SNAP program, I think, is MM and LL is, I think, for school lunches. One has to ask if that is the proper role of government. But Douglas Bruce, author of Tabor, you hit on something. And that is that TABOR, if they’re going to ask to increase taxes, they are supposed to say, shall taxes be increased? But we’re seeing another little game, I would say, with language, and that is without increasing taxes. And this is when the jurisdictions want to extend the debt so a bond would be paid off, debt would be paid off, and they want to then keep your tax level the same and and incur new debt. I think it’s disingenuous, but what’s your thoughts when the ballot question begins without increasing taxes?
SPEAKER 21 :
It’s a lie. I’m used to government lying. They’ve been lying to me my entire life and you and everybody else and our parents and our grandparents. And we need to force them to tell the truth. And the only way to do it is to vote no. When something says without increasing taxes and it’s a tax increase, you vote no. You do not reward liars.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, and if it’s a ballot question that is on the ballot, it is a Tabor question. It is increasing taxes because otherwise they would not have to have the ballot question, right? Right.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, when I wrote Tabor very carefully, and it took three times to pass it, I said in the language that they had to begin with those words. Shall state taxes be increased $100 million, or whatever the amount is, annually. Annually means year by year, each year. It’s a fixed dollar amount. And they’re saying that, well, that only applies to the first year. No, it applies annually. People understand in plain English what annually means. That means when you vote for it, next year your taxes will go up $100 million. The year after, it’ll go up $100 million. The year after, $100 million. Not $100 plus $200 plus $300, just a fixed dollar amount. And they aren’t doing it because they don’t want to be limited to the language there, which is, shall state taxes be increased to $100 million annually? That means five years from now, the increase over what it would be if the issue had failed would be $100 million. Every year, $100 million fixed annually. And the exact language is in the Constitution that we approved 30-plus years ago.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, that is amazing. We’re going to go to break. These discussions happen because of our sponsors. For everything regarding residential real estate, be sure and reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 02 :
We’ll be right back. Realtor Karen Levine. You want her on your side of the table. Call Karen at 303-877-7516. That’s 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 20 :
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SPEAKER 18 :
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 Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 23 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And from Parker to Golden, Little Richie’s Pizza and Pasta is your go-to for real New York-style pizza, hearty pastas, and that unbeatable local vibe. Little Richie’s is serving up daily specials, quick and tasty weekday lunch deals, and a happy hour the locals actually build their plans around. Whether you’re bringing the crew, catching up with friends, or flying solo for a hot slice, Little Richie’s is your neighborhood hangout. And then I also wanted to mention the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo on the beautiful Riverwalk. They have a lot of things that are happening both here in September and October. They will be recognizing 9-11 with a very important recognition. And then also later in the month, they’re doing some great training for secondary educators. And based on these foundational principles of honor, integrity and patriotism. So for more information, go to AmericanValueCenter.org. I’m talking with the author of Tabor, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which is an amendment to the Constitution. that was passed in 1992. And Douglas Bruce, we recently had a special legislative session with this Colorado State Legislature, which was called by the governor, because apparently we do not have a balanced budget and we are supposed to in Colorado. And somebody said to me that this special session was really about picking the pockets of Coloradans. What’s your thoughts about the special session?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, it’s a violation of the Tabor Amendment, which is the people’s law passed by 812,308 people over 30 years ago. And they were trying to figure out some way they could get around Tabor. And they didn’t end up putting any additional language on the ballot. When they say they have a deficit, they don’t have a deficit. They’ve got billions of dollars in the bank. Billions. Billions with a B as in bankruptcy. And they want to take more because it’s a spending problem. It’s not a revenue problem. But they want more of our money taken from us because they can’t limit their greed for spending other people’s money. Money is a source of political power. They have passed the illegal laws in this special session, but they didn’t add anything to the ballot. So again, the old rule applies. If it comes from the government, vote no.
SPEAKER 23 :
So what did you say? Oh, money is the source of political power. That is why we as citizens, as voters, need to be saying no to additional debt. And in fact, the city of Denver is going to be asking for a big bond approval, which the people of Denver would have to pay off. And that’s why Jason Bailey and his group, Citizens for No Due Debt, is doing such great work. We need to start to say no to all of this debt and this spending because you really nailed it. Money is the source of all political power, Douglas.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, their power, their access to our money, that’s why it’s called the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights because we have the right to say no. It’s silly to say that they have put an issue on the ballot, but we have to vote yes. We don’t want a growth of government. More power for the government is less power for us. And that’s what… When we talk at the start of your program about freedom, that’s what is involved in political freedom is the ability to say no to big government. And one of the things that people don’t understand. Tabor was, frankly, very generous. It didn’t freeze government spending. Government spending grows by inflation plus population combined. It’s the increase above that. So if inflation is 3% and population increase is 2%, 3 plus 2 is 5, their revenues increase. from year to year can grow 5%. But the trouble is the growth in the economy is more like 6, 7, 8, 9%. So in the 30 years since Tabor passed, roughly, State revenue, spendable revenue, has gone from $9 billion, N-I-N-E, $9 billion, to $45 billion, five times as much as it was. So it didn’t freeze the dollar amount of revenue. It just tried to regulate the growth on an annual basis of government revenue. Five-fold increase, I think that’s more than… More than generous. But they’re never satisfied. So that’s why when they ask for more, the answer is always no.
SPEAKER 23 :
So, Douglas, it took me a while to understand this. And it was one of the first times that I actually read the complete ballot question for a South Suburban Parks and Recreation bond question. And in it, I noticed reference to, I think it was Title IX, excuse me, Title X in the Constitution, the Colorado Constitution, which is TABOR, right?
SPEAKER 21 :
That’s right. The TABOR amendment is Article 10, Section 20. Article 10, Section 20 is not all of Article 10. Article 10 is about revenue in general. That’s the title of Article 10 is revenue.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay, so if you see Article 10, Section 20 referenced in a ballot question, that probably means that they are trying to get around TABOR. And what I hadn’t realized is on that particular bond question, hopefully I have this right, I’m sure you can help me on this, that the revenue that would be collected to pay off that bond, if you had Title 10, Article 20 in the ballot question, if they collected revenue above that, then the entity could keep that. Am I correct on that?
SPEAKER 21 :
When you look for the ballot title language, it’s going to say Article X. X is Latin for 10. Number 10 in Latin is X. So Article 10, Section 20 is a reference to the Tabor Amendment. If they’re asking for money, it’s only because they’re required to. And if they want more money, the answer is always no, no, no. If they think it’s such a good program, they can take that money from some other source, income tax, property tax, sales tax. And they can spend that money on this new program. But there’s never a need to increase government. You can redirect spending from program A to program B. But they don’t need more money. And if they do need more money, there’s a natural growth from inflation plus population combined. There’s a basis for them to have a new program. But they don’t need more money. If they do need it, it should come from the natural growth in the economy.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s a really good point. So, Douglas Bruce, let’s change gears because we’re getting closer to our time on this. And that is something that you’ve talked with me about before. It’s very important to you. And that is the Petition Rights Amendment. So tell us a little bit about that.
SPEAKER 21 :
well people can go to their browser and look up petition rights r-i-g-h-t-s petition rights one word merged dot com petition rights dot com and they can read the text and it’s a simplification and strengthening and resurrection and restoration of the right to petition, which the Founding Fathers put in the original Constitution in the US in 200 plus years ago. And that’s part of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, right after freedom of speech, freedom of press, religion, assembly, is the right to petition. And the government in Colorado hates Tabor so much that they are willing to destroy our right to petition. And we’re trying to bring back the right to petition. And people can see where it does it. It’s very short and simple. I’m not going to tell you all the shocking things that they’ve done, but you can read them for yourself. There’s an essay on the homepage called 15 Facts, F-A-C-T-S, 15 Facts, that describes what they have done. It’s unbelievable what they’ve done. You probably don’t.
SPEAKER 23 :
And when you respond to they, who would you define as they?
SPEAKER 21 :
The people that love big government, that want government expansion. It’s a group of bureaucrats and interest groups that you talked about. They want more government power. That’s what any ballot issue is about. Basically, do you want more government power or not? More than they already have, which is too much.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, and it really is the question of freedom, more freedom or less freedom.
SPEAKER 21 :
Every election, every ballot issue, we don’t care strongly about whether they introduce wolves or spring hunting of bears or other silly issues. What we care about is are they going to take a bigger share of our money, less money for us to spend on our families. And so the Petition Rights Amendment is important. And I say as the author of Tabor that it’s at least ten times more powerful to our freedom than the Tabor Amendment was because Tabor at bottom is only about money. Money is important, but money isn’t everything. There’s all kinds of issues that we need to have. And we need to have people get involved in putting this Petition Rights Amendment on the ballot for next year and passing it. Because it’s about your ability to have school choice, your ability to have other restrictions on government. I would personally like to see a reduction in the exploitation of the citizens through vehicle taxes, car taxes, registration. When you go to register your car, you see 25 fees that they put on there because they call it a fee to avoid the requirement of having to vote on taxes. So we want to deal with that.
SPEAKER 23 :
Douglas Bruce, the people of Colorado owe you a thank you for you and others that helped you get TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, approved. We need to reclaim that. And this petition, rights.com, is important as well. Your final thought, Douglas Bruce.
SPEAKER 21 :
I want people to get involved. It can happen. You can make it happen. They have done some things that are just totally shocking. The Constitution in 1910, our founding fathers in Colorado in 1910 said it took what is effectively today 125,000 signatures to put it on the ballot. But they passed a statute, a statute which is a lower, lesser law than the state constitution itself. And they passed a statute saying, no, you actually have to get 190,000 signatures to put it on the ballot, 50% more than the law requires. And that’s just a power grab. So we need to get together. If anybody listening knows of an attorney who has the courage to sue the state of Colorado in federal court, We need to have him challenge that illegal law statute that says you have to get 50% more signatures than the Constitution says. They can’t pass the law. That’s why it’s in the Constitution, because that is the number. This year is $125,000. So people can reach out through the Petition Rights Amendment and reach me or call you. You can give them my phone number and they can get involved in bringing back our right to… petition of the government, which was one of the fundamental rights in the First Amendment of the U.S.
SPEAKER 23 :
Constitution. And text me at 720-605-0647 if you want to get connected with Douglas. And we’ve been talking with Douglas Bruce. He is the author of Tabor. Douglas, thank you so much.
SPEAKER 21 :
Thanks for the opportunity to talk to the citizens.
SPEAKER 23 :
And all this happens because of all of our sponsors. And if you’ve been injured, reach out to John Bozen and Bozen Law.
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SPEAKER 13 :
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 24 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
special guests next week as well. So be sure that you are at our website, kimmonson.com, and have signed up for our weekly email newsletter that goes out. We typically only send out one email each week on Sundays. Every once in a while, we’ll do a second one for something. But be sure and make sure that you are signed up for that. And of course, we’ve been talking a lot about Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week, which will begin a week from Monday. And it is a week-long event. You can get the list of all the speakers by going to grandlakeusconstitutionweek.com. And you can reach out, I think, to the Chamber of Commerce, if need be, for rooms. Although, certainly, you might give the Gateway Inn a call. They’re a great sponsor of the whole event. And they might still have some rooms available. But you want to do that sooner versus later. And to get that list of all those speakers is grandlakeusconstitutionweek.com. And let’s see, I want to make sure a couple of things. And if you want to call in, I will take a couple of calls. The line is 303-477-5600. In particular, if you want to respond to the mail-in ballot question or regarding Douglas Spruce, And the petition rights amendment that he referenced at the end of the interview, that website is petitionrights.com, petitionrights.com. And there’s a lot of important information there as well. And… one of our questions that had come in, and the text line I do want to hear from you is 720-605-0647. And this, oh, somebody just texted me, makes me wonder what these politicians, their own finances are like. And there was, and I did not get to this headline this week, but it says, let me get to the actual title of it. And it says that, And filings show that Ilhan Omar’s net worth is up by millions of dollars. And as you know, she is a congresswoman from, I believe, Minnesota. Minnesota is out of its mind. And it’s very curious how, as a congresswoman, that she had noted, and this is from the Washington Examiner, It says Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat from Minnesota, her net worth is anywhere from six million to 30 million dollars, despite her claims that she’s barely worth thousands. In her latest financial disclosure that was filed on May 14 and first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Omar disclosed assets valued in the millions of dollars with most of the wealth coming from her husband’s winery and venture capital management company. The two were listed as partnership income with her making $5,000 to $15,000 in direct income from the winery. And I find that just quite curious, as I think all of you might as well. And it says the disclosure showed an explosion in value from Omar’s assets. Her husband, Tim Minette’s net worth skyrocketed from 51,000 at the end of 2023 to anywhere from, and I can’t understand why there’s this big of a range on this, from 6 million to 30 million in 2024. And one has to kind of question. And she’s carrying the water for the radical activists that have taken over the Democrat Party. So I guess she, boy, it looks like, never mind. I’ll be careful about what I’m going to say exactly on that. One other thing that I had wanted to mention to all of you, it’s been on my list and I had not gotten to it. And that is regarding the smart meters from Excel. And I arrived home a week or so ago and there was an Excel truck in my driveway. And I said, Oh, what are you doing? They said, we’re here to read the meter. And so I talked a little bit more with the person that had come out to read the meter and, And I’m connecting the dots. I’ve said, I don’t want a smart meter. And the smart meter will upload your usage information directly. She said, well, it sounds like via satellite or electronics. It will upload all of your usage to Excel and your time of use. Now, you’re supposedly supposed to be able to opt out of that time of use. And I said, well, I don’t have a smart meter, so I don’t have the time of use. And she said, oh, yes, you do. So what she does is that, and I don’t know when this meter was installed on my phone, house, but it says no communications. But they come out and they read that meter and just take all that data, just like if it was uploaded, they take it, it’s stored in that particular meter, and then they take that back and they put that into their data with Excel. And so I need to reach out to Excel and say, I don’t want to be… uh that i don’t want to have the time of use uh tracking on on this meter so i i thought this was interesting i thought that in opting out they came out and changed my meter anyway and i don’t know when that happened so we’ve got just about a minute left gammy is on the line gammy what is on your radar
SPEAKER 22 :
Good morning and thanks to everybody for what you’re doing. You know, we wrote on the bills at the special session begging them to stop this sham. This was not a special session to cut money. It was to take the money they have squandered and wasted and find it in our pockets in new fees and regulations. Totally unconstitutional and wrong. The food one, the lunches for school. I wrote, let them eat. Peanut butter and jelly, organic, of course. What they’re doing is feeding the kids horrible food and making us fund kids who don’t need the lunches, including all the illegals. What was it, 400 million? We’re giving to people who are here illegally, who do not deserve or belong to be here. The state is doing all of this on purpose. And we have to hold every single one of them accountable. The legislature, the liberal left that is cramming down all this higher taxing. It’s illegal. All of it is illegal. Taxation without representation and then trying to mask it as, well, we’re helping you. No, they’re helping destroy a state. We are going to be the gulag banana republic of all times. And we’re mutilating our money, our children.
SPEAKER 23 :
And Gammy, excellent point. The other thing is, though, is we and we’re just about out of time, is that we are voting on many of these tax increases. And on the local level, we get talked into it on a new school bond. Of course, the city of Denver has they’re calling it Vibrant Denver, which is going to be, I think, close to. Well, let me get the numbers on that. Exactly. But we are when we vote and approve it. It’s not illegal. And so so we’ve got to make sure that we have free, fair and transparent and honest elections, because I just I find it hard to believe that we’re all voting for all of this stuff. So, Gammy, thank you. I wish all of you a very safe. Weekend our quote for the end of the show is George Washington who said this government is not reason it is not eloquent It is force like fire. It is a dangerous servant and a fearful master Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession and when the freedom of speech is is taken away, then dumb and silent, we may be led like sheep to the slaughter. So 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 05 :
But tell them if I don’t survive
SPEAKER 04 :
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.
