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Episode 289

Ryan Walters is in Hot Water

Supt. Ryan Walters is facing his third ethics violation in as many years, the future of the Judicial Nominating Commission is again uncertain, and Governor Stitt wants to have a say in federal funding decisions.

Transcript
Andy Moore:

Hello

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and welcome to Let's Pod This.

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My name is Andy Moore.

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It's good to be with you again this week.

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I think every time that I do the

intro, part of me is thinking

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about, I don't know if you're a fan

of Red Dirt Music, the boys from

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Oklahoma and all those bands, right?

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Cross Canadian and Jason Boland

and Stoney and all those guys.

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If you've ever listened to I think it's

Cross Canadians, one of their live albums

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that was recorded at the Wormy Dog.

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The guy starts off and says Hello, and

welcome to the Wormy Dog, and that's

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probably a little bit what I'm channeling.

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Especially on Fridays, especially

when it's beautiful weather.

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Days like today.

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Although, speaking of the weather, it is

a blustery Friday, as I'm sure you already

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know by the time you're listening to this.

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And I honestly don't know when you'll

be listening to this because I arrived

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to the office this morning to discover

that our podcast is inaccessible on the

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backend, either due to a payment from

our host or inappropriate content, which

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I'm not sure what that means but I'm not

the show owner, so I've got to find out.

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So hopefully you get to hear this.

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Before too long.

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Hopefully I can get that sorted out

today and get this episode posted.

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If so, if you're listening to this,

anytime before, I don't know within

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five days, like between the 14th and the

20th or something, that's reasonable.

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Great.

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Great, welcome, we got it sorted out.

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I'm glad you're here.

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I'm glad we got it sorted out.

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Today, like most Fridays, I started

my morning With breakfast, right?

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I had some instant oatmeal, apple

cinnamon flavor, if you're curious.

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It's delicious, and a big scoop of peanut

butter for some protein, a cup of coffee.

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I got ready, got my daughter

ready, my wife got ready.

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We left the house.

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I came to the office, made

another cup of coffee.

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Today, I ate a Miniature Milky

Way bar that was left in the break

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room, which was a welcome surprise.

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A little sugar pick me up this morning

because friends, I'm very excited.

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This weekend is the Mid South

gravel bike race and running races.

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Anyway, Mid South

gravel up in Stillwater.

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It's a fantastic, fun weekend.

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The wind today is a little concerning

because nothing says a good time like

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riding your Bicycle on dirt roads when the

wind is gusting 50 to 60 miles an hour.

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So we'll see how that plays

out for us throughout the day.

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Thanks for all the feedback for last

week's episode with Leslie Osborne.

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She is always a delight and

certainly one of, I think,

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our listeners favorite guests.

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And that means that between her and

Representative Andy Fugate the week

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before, we haven't really discussed what's

been going on at the Capitol lately.

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And so Today I thought we would catch

up a little bit, at least with the

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most recent news from this week.

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Part of the deal with legislative

session, right, is that there is

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news every week for what's happening

with bills, but then at some point,

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like last week, we get to a deadline.

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And a lot of those bills, and thus

a lot of that news, fades away.

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So last Thursday was the first deadline,

which was like the committee deadline,

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for bills in their own chambers.

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And while we started with roughly 3,

000 pieces of possible legislation,

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we're down to just around 1, 000 now.

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So two thirds of them

are dead, or mostly dead.

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Which is good news, I think, by and large.

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It means lots of bad legislation is dead.

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Of course, it also means that a fair

amount of good legislation is also dead.

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Many of those bills were dead on arrival,

to be honest, because they were authored

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by Democrats and the minority party.

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And, well, let's be honest.

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It's real difficult for the minority

party to get anything heard when

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you have a legislature that is as

divided along party lines as ours is.

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Particularly because the Republicans have

that, super majority in both chambers.

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They don't need any Democrats

votes to pass anything.

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Now, this is different than what we

see in Congress right now, where both

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chambers in Congress, right, the U.

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S.

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House and the U.

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S.

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Senate, are very narrowly divided.

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Republicans still have a majority in

both chambers, but not a super majority.

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And so, most recently in fact, right

now, as they are discussing The potential

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government shutdown in this budget deal.

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The House requires only a simple majority,

which they managed to scrape together.

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There's a lot of questions on whether or

not the Republicans would be able to do

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it, even though they do have enough votes.

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But there are some defectors that usually

vote no on some of those budget things.

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And Speaker Johnson, I guess,

was able to get him in line.

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They passed through the House.

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Now it goes to the Senate.

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But remember, the U.

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S.

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Senate.

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And then there's the filibuster, which

means that essentially you have to have

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a 60 vote majority, more than a 60 vote

majority to overcome that filibuster,

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and the Republicans don't, right?

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It's pretty narrow.

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I think it's just a vote or two.

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And so that means they need some

Democrats to vote with them on

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this continuing resolution, right?

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Which is like a kick in the can down

the road with the budget a few months.

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And it seems like they might get it.

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It seems like the Democrats, at

least Chuck Schumer, who's the leader

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of the Democrats in the Senate.

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Is saying like, hey

guys, this is not ideal.

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We didn't get a voice in this

whatsoever, I understand.

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But shutting down the government might

be worse because it might give or cede

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or like allow more power to the president

and to Elon Musk, who nobody elected.

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So we'll see what happens.

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I know that a lot of folks

on the left are upset.

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They want Democrats to take a stand

against the Republicans in Congress

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and say, nope, this is a bad deal.

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And it is, it's not a

good continual resolution,

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but as so often happens, Democrats

get blamed either way, right?

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They would get blamed if the government

shut down because they didn't give the

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votes and they will get blamed if it

stays open because they did vote for it.

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You really can't win.

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It sucks to be in the

minority and then still.

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To lose more because you care about,

people having paychecks and keeping

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the government open, even when that

means you've got to, it's not a poison

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pill, but you really got to vote for

something you don't actually support.

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It's an unwinnable position,

which sucks real bad.

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So.

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Anyway we'll see what happens.

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Hopefully, I think, for me personally,

I don't know, I would like for the

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government to stay open because we need

one less crisis on our plates right now.

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Especially federal employees

who are dealing with an

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immense amount of uncertainty.

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And I do want to just take a moment

to say thank you to all of our federal

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employees and contractors who are

public servants by any definition.

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They are taking jobs that are important

to the health and safety of our nation,

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often making less money than they

could make in the private sector.

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Although there's this misnomer that

they could just like go work and do

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the same job in the private sector.

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And that is not the case, right?

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Like the government is, exists and is

necessary in a lot of these agencies

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because they are the best fit for this.

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We don't want a for profit entity

trying to do some of these same

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services and also turn a profit,

like that defeats the purpose of it.

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And that would mean that our

taxpayer dollars are going elsewhere.

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Like we don't want a for profit fire

department or police department, like

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those, you don't want a for profit.

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Water treatment facility in your town.

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Like there are things that the government

should do the way they're doing.

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So to all my friends in the federal

government, from health and human services

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to the national weather service, to USDA

to any number of things forestry, there's.

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I'm sure like you, we have, you have

tons of friends who work in or around

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or impacted by the federal government.

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They could use a little pat on the back

right now and let them know that you

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value them even if the messages they're

receiving from some of the highest

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offices in the land say otherwise.

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But they're there for the people,

they're there for you and I, and

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I am grateful that they're there.

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Okay, so back to the news this week here

in Oklahoma I think the top news story

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across almost every local news outlet

comes from yesterday, where the Oklahoma

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Ethics Commission had a meeting and they

were in executive session for like three

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out of the four hours and they came

back and voted to pursue Superintendent

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Ryan Walters for some ethics, we'll

say alleged ethics violations.

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This, if you remember, he was

already in, you know what let's

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put on our Ryan Walters music here.

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If you will recall, a couple of years

ago, back in:

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committee he served as like both the

treasurer, um, for his own committee,

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which is somewhat unusual, and the while

the Ethics Commission didn't say exactly

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what specific violation he's alleged to

have committed and they, as of at least

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yesterday afternoon, had not yet filed

anything but that's been going on for

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a while, this happens this news comes

out on the heels of another settlement

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agreement for another complaint against

Walters from last year, from March of

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2024 which dealt with some late campaign

filings and he I think had like, he had

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to pay a fine of like 3, 000 for that.

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And there's another

investigation going in.

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On, around his social media

posts that he made last year,

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in the lead up to the election.

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He made them from his, like,

superintendent Ryan Walter's account,

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which he says is a private account.

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Even though it says

superintendent in the name.

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And given the time that it happened

and all these, like, suspicions, right?

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That he's Basically using state

resources to endorse a a candidate,

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excuse me, or oppose a candidate.

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We did both, right?

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Supported Donald Trump

running for president.

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Opposed Kamala Harris

running for president.

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Had pretty, like, open statements in

support or in opposition to these folks.

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Which is a violation of

campaign finance laws.

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And I, and more importantly, like,

A violation of, I think, state

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laws and administrative rules.

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One of the posts also came from the

State Department of Education's, like,

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official Twitter account, showed, quote,

migrant children climbing over a wall at

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the border, which gives the impression.

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That the State Department of Education

does not support Joe Biden's presidency

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and is advocating in his defeat.

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The parameters for that

social media case are unknown.

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So this case in particular, I

know this is getting confusing

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because there's like three cases.

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This one about the social media posts

has been agreed to in principle.

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Nothing has been signed yet, so we

don't know the terms of that settlement.

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But the Ethics Commission Director Leanne

Bruce Boone said that she will make that

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settlement available once it's signed.

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So maybe today, maybe Monday, we'll see.

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Provided it gets signed by both parties.

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So that means he's paid one

fine, he is now settled.

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Something else.

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We don't know what that looks like.

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And then there is yet a

third investigation that they

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voted to pursue yesterday.

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And so, Walters, like, just perpetually

in hot water with the Ethics Commission.

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Now, the Ethics Commission

is by the important they were

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created in response to a rampant

corruption in our state government.

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They're doing exactly what they should do.

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They don't have enough funding.

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They're very limited.

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I think they've got a staff of like

six or seven people in their job is

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to police all of the statewide elected

officials plus all the state legislature.

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I think maybe the county elected, like

county commissioners and all the other

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county wide elected officials too,

which is a I mean, literally hundreds

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or thousands of elected officials

and then you multiply it in election

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years times all the candidates, it's

a lot of work that they have to do.

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And they don't really have like a

strong enforcement piece, right?

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Like they can pursue, it's not

really charges, but they can, I

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guess they can refer it to a district

court for investigation or for

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charges, but then it's still up to

the discretion of that prosecutor.

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Anyway, I think a lot of people I've

seen online from all sides of the

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political spectrum have been celebrating

this both quietly and sometimes

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loudly because it seems like Walters

has been pretty flagrant in in his.

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Not just his speech, but his actions

running contrary to not just precedent,

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but like, pretty black and white rules of

like, what you should and shouldn't do.

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It is ridiculous to me that the

superintendent of public instruction

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is using his official account or the

department's official account to say

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anything about presidential candidates.

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It's nuts.

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Walters, of course, is perpetually in

the news not just for his own missteps

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or say, allegedly illegal activity.

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But for even the way he does his job.

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So there were some proposed

standards brought to the department

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of education, the board of

education by Ryan Walters and.

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It was, they were quietly added to their

academic standards for social studies.

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And this was like not

widely known ahead of time.

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It happened as the meeting unfolded,

everyone was like, hang on, this

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is a bit of a big deal because it

adds to the standards that like

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basically social studies curricula

in Oklahoma should include quote

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discrepancies in the 2020 elections.

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So the idea is that like, Oh, well,

When high school students are learning

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about history and social studies

and whenever they discuss the:

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election, which is Just one election.

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They should, quote, identify discrepancies

in:

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quote, sudden halting of ballot

counting in select cities and key

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battleground states, such as batch dumps.

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I don't know what that is.

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An unforeseen number of voters, and

the unprecedented contradiction of,

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quote, bellwether county trends.

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A lot of this stuff is, like,

subjective, and it's almost like

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Um, insider terminology, right?

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Like battleground states, I think we

all know what that means, but that's

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also like not exactly a scientific term.

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It is somewhat probably debatable on

which states are battleground states.

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Walter says that the standards are not set

up to either support or negate a specific

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outcome of the presidential election,

which as we all know is done and settled.

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That was four years ago.

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We've already had another

presidential election.

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And a lot of that stuff was really

just accusations and rumors, but

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has been proven to be untrue.

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And so by redesigning our standards

to teach students things that are

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at best contentious and At worst,

or most likely, like, false.

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That is not exactly

the curriculum we need.

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Also, this isn't sowing trust in our

election systems and our children.

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And what's wild to me is that they

are, they, these accusations about

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ballots, as we all know, like,

voter fraud is exceedingly rare.

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Like, one in a billion votes, right,

like, might be, have an error.

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And usually those errors are not

fraudulent, they're just like a mistake.

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Someone who mailed in their ballot, forgot

about it, and then went in person and

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tried to vote again, like those kinds

of things it's not malicious in any way.

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And the thing that gets me time

and time again is that a lot of the

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ballots that they want to throw out,

because they allege that there was

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something Some funny business going

on it's only about one race, right?

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The rest of the ballot somehow was

magically okay And that these members of

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Congress and the Senate who won if you

were to throw out that whole ballot Then

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it would throw the outcome of all these

other elections all the way down to local

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elections would throw those out And no

one is talking about those being wrong.

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Everyone's like, oh no these

ballots They got thrown out and

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yet all these candidates what

just doesn't make any sense That's

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probably because it's not true.

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So we'll see.

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The State Board of Education, of

course, while they have approved

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those new standards, they don't,

that's not the final say, it goes

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to the legislature for approval.

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So they've got 30 days, once they're

submitted to the legislature, to

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adopt a joint resolution on them.

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So they could approve, they

could reject, they could amend.

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If they do nothing Then the proposal

does take effect as it's written.

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And then governor Stitt

would have veto power if the

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resolution ends up on his desk.

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So there's like, I think there's

like workaround where the

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legislature could do nothing.

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And then they just go ahead and take

law without the legislature or the

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governor doing anything about it.

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So we have checks and balances, but those

checks and balances like not participate.

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That seems like an unfair way to do it.

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So we'll.

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See what happens there.

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I'm reading an article on Oklahoma

Voice, and they ask both the pro

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tem Lonnie Paxton and Speaker

Kyle Hilbert, and they both said,

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Well, I haven't even read it yet.

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I don't know what it says.

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Like, well, I'll take a look

at it, but I'm not going to say

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anything until I know what it says.

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Which is like a politically

convenient thing to say.

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They also ask the Democratic

leadership in both chambers, and

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both Senator Kurt and Leader Munson

in the House were both like, Oh, no.

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And like, had a response.

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So they clearly had read, or

at least been briefed on it,

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and felt comfortable speaking.

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And it's just funny when it's like, you

ask the four leaders, from each party

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about this thing, and the two Republicans

are like, I don't know, I haven't read it.

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And the Democrats are like,

oh, we definitely read it,

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and here's our statement.

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That's politics.

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I get it.

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It's just funny when one

side doesn't say anything.

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The other big news story this week

is about the state Supreme Court.

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So, as you may recall last November,

voters in Oklahoma elected to not

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retain a justice Justice Yvonne Cogger.

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This is the first time in state

history that a Supreme Court justice

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has not been retained on the ballot.

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And in doing so, it opens up a

position on the state Supreme Court

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for Governor Stitt to appoint somebody.

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And I think this will be like the fourth

or fifth Supreme Court justice he's

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been able to appoint during his tenure,

which is unusual to say the least.

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The way that Supreme Court justices

end up on the bench is that they have

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to essentially apply to the judicial

nominating commission and Then the JNC

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interviews them and then from that pool

they put forth three Candidates and then

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those three candidates go to the governor

and he can choose one of those three,

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or I think he can decline all of them.

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And the JNC kind of starts over and, comes

up with another three and sends it to him.

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The JNC, I just will say as

a reminder, it was created.

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Back in the 1960s, I think in 1967,

because there was this big Supreme

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Court bribery case, right, where several

justices were implicated in a bribery

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scheme prior to that, most judges were

just elected on partisan ballots, which

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is crazy that you'd elect a justice that's

like Republican or Democrat or whatever.

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So they did away with elections of

justices and created the joint Or the

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Judicial Nominating Commission that

like, provides some space in there.

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And the way that JNC works is that the

Oklahoma Bar Association, they have their

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six members of the JNC that are elected

by the bar association And you have to

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like apply and submit all this stuff,

recommendation letters or nominating

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nominations from 10 other attorneys.

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And then the bar association decides

who's going to be on the JNC.

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Which is a, it's like a

pretty elaborate deal.

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And like many problems, right in

democracy, it's a simple problem,

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corruption that requires a bit

of a complicated solution to

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ensure that it doesn't happen,

just like gerrymandering, right?

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Gerrymandering is a very simple problem.

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Politicians get to draw

their own districts.

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That's clearly problematic.

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But in order to craft a solution

that works well and prevents,

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partisan gerrymandering, you have

to, like, craft a policy that blocks

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different groups in specific ways.

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Politicians, lobbyists, family members.

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You have to make sure that the

people drawing the lines are

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either free from partisan bias.

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bias, at least balanced across the

Venturerous Regential Committee.

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So, sometimes simple problems require

complicated solutions to do them right.

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So the three nominees that were put

forth, by the JNC are Donna Derickson,

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I think I'm pronouncing that right.

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She's a district judge from

Beckham, Custer, Ellis, Roger

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Mills, and Ouachita Counties.

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She was appointed to that position

by Governor Stitt last year.

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She graduated from OCU School of Law

and previously served as a associate

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district judge in Custer County.

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The second one is Travis

Jett, who is a graduate of

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Georgetown University Law Center.

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He's in private practice in Woodward.

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He is the only one of the three who

does not have any judicial experience.

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However, on his website, he lists

several other experiences, including

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representing the Oklahoma Tax Commission,

the Oklahoma Corporation Commission,

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the Ethics Commission, the Department of

Health, and the Department of Education

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in litigation, as well as the Council of,

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, OCPA,

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:

which is a highly partisan, right leaning,

heritage foundation funded entity.

372

:

And then the third potential justice

or nominated justice is John Parsley.

373

:

He's a district judge for Texas, Cimarron,

Beaver, and Harper counties, which is

374

:

Basically the panhandle and out that way.

375

:

He was appointed by former

governor Mary Fallin in:

376

:

And previously he served as the

president for, of the Bar Association.

377

:

Interesting that two of these

are way out, from way out west.

378

:

I guess all three of them are, but I think

that's Maybe that's because of Cogger's

379

:

seat being, anyway so those are the three.

380

:

Also interesting are the ten who were

eliminated during the interview process.

381

:

It was an associate district judge, former

representative Scott Biggs, who if I

382

:

recall was like, when he was in office,

was like the big law and order guy.

383

:

I think he went to work for the.

384

:

Trump administration in the first term.

385

:

I haven't heard that name in a while.

386

:

A couple other judges, attorneys, former

Oklahoma Solicitor General, Mithin

387

:

Mansonhani, friend of the show, he was

on our podcast I forget which episode,

388

:

but a long time ago, before the pandemic.

389

:

And so that's just interesting, I'm

always interested to see who applies.

390

:

If there's any other names

that I recognize, only two.

391

:

Not that I'm gonna know

all these attorneys.

392

:

I've heard from attorney friends

that all of this is a very

393

:

interesting drama in the legal world.

394

:

So, we'll see what happens.

395

:

Again, this goes to the governor.

396

:

He might pick one of these

three, or he might not.

397

:

And this may continue.

398

:

Again, I do think that checks and

balances, this is a great example

399

:

of why we have them in government,

and a structural way to ensure that

400

:

there is less partisanship involved

in selecting Supreme Court justices.

401

:

If all of us, if most people, want

the courts to not be Partisan, right?

402

:

Like, we want the courts to

be fair and impartial and not

403

:

partisan ideologues, then something

like the JNC is very important.

404

:

I will also note that once again, there

are bills in the legislature this very

405

:

session seeking to dismantle the JNC.

406

:

Now, because it's in the Constitution,

they would, those measures would have

407

:

to be referred to a vote of the people.

408

:

And so, friends, it

could be up to us, right?

409

:

If we want to keep the Judicial Nominating

Commission, we may get a vote on it.

410

:

We'll find out over the next

couple of months if they're

411

:

going to refer it out to us.

412

:

Speaking of having a say in how policies

are happening at the federal level,

413

:

there's a lot of conversation around

Budgets and how money flows from the

414

:

federal government into state budgets.

415

:

In particular, how it affects, let's

say Medicaid and like healthcare

416

:

services, but also education,

infrastructural kind of stuff.

417

:

So as I'm sure, right, president Trump

and Elon Musk, like created this doge

418

:

and the governor here created doge.

419

:

Okay.

420

:

And all that uncertainty that has

brought for Oklahoma in particular,

421

:

about 40 percent of our revenue

in:

422

:

So almost half, a ton of money

came from federal grants.

423

:

And when the federal government starts

fiddling with How money is flowing.

424

:

It can have really huge downstream

consequences for states.

425

:

So there's a lot of conversations

around the Department of Education that

426

:

they might do away with the federal

level, the federal department, and

427

:

then just move to like block grants,

which would just be like, here's a big

428

:

chunk of money to each state, and then

let the states decide how to spend it.

429

:

We'll see if and when that happens.

430

:

But one of the things that's happened

is that the governors across the country

431

:

are saying, Hey, we should play a role

in helping the Trump administration

432

:

decide when and how to shut off the

flow of money into the state's budgets.

433

:

Obviously, no state wants to shut it

off entirely because they need it.

434

:

As example, Oklahoma needs it.

435

:

That's like 40 percent of our budget.

436

:

And so Governor Stitt and I think

In like in his role as part of the

437

:

Governor's Association, he's like co

chair or vice chair or something with

438

:

Colorado Governor Jared Polis right now.

439

:

And so they've basically got a sign

on letter that has said that they're

440

:

sending to the President saying,

Hey Listen guys, like, we would like

441

:

a seat at the table to help out.

442

:

And then it's real funny because members

of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation,

443

:

Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, who's chair of

appropriations, have replied, essentially,

444

:

to the governor and said, Well, that makes

sense, but This is not your job, right?

445

:

Frank Lucas said I don't know

that they consult with much of

446

:

anybody before they make decisions,

referring to Doge and the president.

447

:

And then and then

representative Cole said.

448

:

We want your input, but it's

not your money, Cole said.

449

:

And these are federal programs,

and sooner or later, we have to

450

:

right size the federal government.

451

:

It cannot continue to run this way.

452

:

And so, regardless of how you feel

about this, I mean, there's lots

453

:

of discussion of scalpel versus

sledgehammer and that kind of business.

454

:

But I think it is interesting when

the governor, and not just Governor

455

:

Stitt, but a bunch of governors, We'll

talk about our governor for right now.

456

:

Governor Stitt's like, Hey if you're

going to like cut off our allowance,

457

:

can we like have a say in that?

458

:

And essentially Tom Cole, who's

chair of appropriations, in, in the

459

:

house and Frank Lucas are saying

no, son, you don't get a say in

460

:

whether you get an allowance or not.

461

:

And it's just those like little.

462

:

I'm not even subtle.

463

:

It's a pretty clear jab at

the governor about money.

464

:

So we'll see what happens.

465

:

It's really hard to know.

466

:

And then, I guess, friends, I'm

just like you struggling a bit to

467

:

keep my head wrapped around what

exactly is happening each week.

468

:

There's elections coming up on April

1st, Oklahoma City Council, a couple

469

:

of legislative seats, a bunch of

other small towns are having elections

470

:

there's still bills floating around.

471

:

There was a, there's a bill that

would basically ban cell phones.

472

:

During the school day, everywhere

Senator Pugh, Adam Pugh from Edmonds

473

:

said he'd heard from multiple school

officials and teachers that have asked

474

:

the legislature to, quote, take the

hit to implement this policy statewide,

475

:

which is basically Principals saying,

Hey man, we wanna ban phones in our

476

:

schools, but we don't wanna take the

heat from teachers or from parents.

477

:

Can you just do it like

make it a statewide thing?

478

:

And that way we don't have to

be the ones that are to blame.

479

:

Like we can say, oh, well

the legislature did it.

480

:

Our hands are tied.

481

:

Which is, I guess if I was a principal,

I could probably agree with that.

482

:

But I think a lot of.

483

:

Parents I've heard from are also,

everyone's like, yeah, we should not

484

:

have phones in schools except when I

need to get a hold of my child in case

485

:

of emergency or something else, right?

486

:

Like, everyone says, yeah, we don't

need them, but they want exceptions

487

:

that you can't just, like, create.

488

:

So, this was a bill

that came up last year.

489

:

We'll see if it comes

through again this year.

490

:

And then I think the other bill that's

really caught a lot of headlines this

491

:

week is House Bill 1362, which would make

some changes to a bill that went through

492

:

session last year around immigration.

493

:

And essentially what this bill would do

is make it a felony that if someone is

494

:

arrested for so if a person commits any

kind of crime, a traffic, they run a stop

495

:

sign, anything in Oklahoma, and the, our

officer determines in their own way that

496

:

individual is an undocumented immigrant

into the United States, then They would

497

:

be charged with a felony, and they had

the option of either, I think, either

498

:

like serving time or being deported.

499

:

So I'm sure you can see right away,

like, there's lots of problems here.

500

:

Like, there was questions on

the floor of like, well, who

501

:

determines if they're undocumented,

like, if they're here illegally?

502

:

And they're like, oh,

it's up to the officer.

503

:

And

504

:

they had to backtrack and say okay,

but you know, no one's required,

505

:

like every jurisdiction will be,

it'll be up to them to determine if

506

:

they want to enforce this or not.

507

:

I just want to ask, why are we passing

laws to make things a felony with

508

:

the potential for Either prison time

or deportation, but then not also

509

:

expecting law enforcement to enforce it.

510

:

Like, that tells me that you

understand that this might not be

511

:

legal, might not be constitutional,

or might not even be necessary.

512

:

Now this bill passed the House on

party lines, as you might imagine.

513

:

It is stems from President Trump's

policies regarding Immigration,

514

:

the bill last year that went

through did the same thing.

515

:

I think it was just a misdemeanor,

but it referred to, Oh, I forget.

516

:

It was like impermissible

occupation was how they.

517

:

to phrase like someone being here

illegally or without proper documentation.

518

:

But I think what this will do is

will make those individuals, like, I

519

:

would imagine especially like Latino

communities who are here legally, who are

520

:

documented to be legal immigrants, that

they're going to feel like they need to.

521

:

Rightfully so, like, they need to have

their paperwork with them at all times,

522

:

which is like unreasonable, right?

523

:

If you have been here for years and

you are a lawful resident, you're

524

:

doing everything right, there's no

reason, and you want a stop sign,

525

:

there's no reason that you should

fear for your safety in this country.

526

:

I have a friend who immigrated

here from Australia years ago.

527

:

He has a, and I don't, I think, I forget

where he's from originally, or where,

528

:

I mean he's from Australia, I forget

which town, but he has a pretty strong

529

:

Australian accent, and he recently got U.

530

:

S.

531

:

citizenship precisely

because of issues like this.

532

:

He doesn't live in Oklahoma, but

he's worried about the federal

533

:

level in whatever state he lives in,

that while he was here as a legal

534

:

immigrant, he was worried that he

could get arrested for anything, right?

535

:

Making a U turn, an illegal U turn or

something, and that If he didn't have

536

:

his paperwork with him, they would put

him in jail first, and he would have

537

:

to prove that he was a legal resident.

538

:

And if he somehow, like, lost the

paperwork or any of that stuff, that

539

:

he could be deported back to Australia.

540

:

And I know people think that's ridiculous.

541

:

I will add, he is not a white person.

542

:

And so I think he is cognizant,

certainly, that he might be perceived

543

:

differently by law enforcement than

someone who is of, lighter skin.

544

:

And he has a lot of mixed

feelings about becoming a U.

545

:

S.

546

:

citizen, right?

547

:

Now he was perfectly content not being a

citizen, he was, he's been here for years.

548

:

But I think he felt forced into it, right?

549

:

And it reminds me, it's like,

yeah, I was gonna say it reminds

550

:

me of people who get married just

because they got pregnant, right?

551

:

And like, that seems like a big

step that might not necessarily

552

:

be based on the best rationale.

553

:

That's probably, I'm getting

into tricky waters there.

554

:

Okay.

555

:

I will say.

556

:

Since I mentioned this at the top of

the show, I just got a message that

557

:

the show issues with publication

has been due to a billing error and

558

:

not due to inappropriate content.

559

:

So hey, that's exciting.

560

:

Hopefully we'll get it

fixed soon, regardless.

561

:

All right, so friends,

562

:

that's all the news.

563

:

It wasn't that exciting.

564

:

It's important stuff.

565

:

The fact that you listen to

this show and you care about

566

:

what's happening in our state.

567

:

It's important,

568

:

but my guess is

569

:

that most of you wake up each day and

like somewhat anxiously open a news app

570

:

or a social media app on your phone and

like some part of you is bracing for what

571

:

news might have happened overnight, right?

572

:

Or you check your Twitter

feed during the day.

573

:

You listen to NPR on your drive

home, and you're like, oh man,

574

:

did something else bad happen?

575

:

Have we invaded Greenland?

576

:

What's this going on with Canada?

577

:

Why is Russia still fighting?

578

:

Like, is the government

going to shut down?

579

:

Are there going to be mass layoffs?

580

:

In fact, yesterday Reduction in force

plans were due to the federal government.

581

:

And so I expect today we might

hear some news about their plans

582

:

to lay off, tens or hundreds of

thousands of federal employees.

583

:

The stock market has been in a bit

of a spiral for the last couple

584

:

of weeks it's lost all the gains.

585

:

It's down below where it was

on Inauguration Day, I think.

586

:

I don't remember if we're quite down

to where it was on Election Day, but

587

:

there's just a lot of uncertainty.

588

:

Eggs are expensive and

hard to find in many cases.

589

:

New tariffs seem to be

announced almost every day.

590

:

We, President Trump announces

tariffs on some other country.

591

:

Every day.

592

:

Announced.

593

:

Counter tariffs, and now he's

announcing counter tariffs.

594

:

All of this means that stuff

is getting more expensive.

595

:

Trump's apparent like battle with

Europe about booze right now.

596

:

They said they're going to have

tariffs on American whiskey.

597

:

So now Trump is threatening

tariffs on European wine.

598

:

All this stuff just ends up

making things more expensive.

599

:

For all of us, even crypto is down

and I'm not like a big crypto guy.

600

:

But it's something that was,

purported to be like a safe haven.

601

:

That was a, secondary economy is following

exactly along with the main stock market.

602

:

A little more like pronounced.

603

:

So like the stock market

goes down a little bit and

604

:

crypto tends to go down a lot.

605

:

The reverse is also true, but

just a lot of instability.

606

:

I know it, it just

feels like a lot, right?

607

:

Most of us are just trying

to get through the day.

608

:

My wife and I were trying to

plan out like, Hey, what are

609

:

we going to eat next week?

610

:

So we can go grocery shopping or she

can go grocery shopping to be fair.

611

:

And.

612

:

We're trying to like brainstorm and

like, we're starting now to have to like

613

:

think around, well, some of our, routine,

like favorite dishes we might make

614

:

every week or two, we're having to sub.

615

:

ingredients or just not make recipes

because some of the ingredients are

616

:

like prohibitively expensive and it

just doesn't feel like it's worth it.

617

:

And it's, 2 here and 3 there,

but like, it adds up, right?

618

:

When you're trying to feed your family

every week, like, this stuff is expensive.

619

:

It just gets hard.

620

:

I just want you to know you're not alone.

621

:

And I know I say this every few episodes,

and I think it's, I do it on purpose,

622

:

because I think it's important, right?

623

:

This week we've been having

conversations with folks that work.

624

:

with farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma

and because of some of the cuts at

625

:

the federal level that are, and money

that has been eliminated, and then

626

:

the court said, no, you got to pay it.

627

:

And then the federal government

still hasn't paid it.

628

:

It's starting to impact the Pockets of

Oklahoma, like farmers and ranchers,

629

:

many of whom like or are or were

staunch supporters of the president

630

:

And are starting to like realize like

hang on like I didn't I thought you're

631

:

gonna help and like you have actively

Undermined my entire livelihood

632

:

and so we're starting to have

conversations around like how can we

633

:

just like get people together in a room?

634

:

to share information to share Like, how

is this impacting us to share resources

635

:

and make sure everyone is operating the

same page in case there's, access for,

636

:

I mean, honestly, everything from food

pantries to mutual aid to community action

637

:

agencies, but there's a lot of folks who

are going to find them or themselves or

638

:

their families having to access assistance

in ways they never imagined, right?

639

:

And I'm not saying that we're

headed towards like a Great

640

:

Depression like we did in the 30s.

641

:

But I'm, it does seem increasingly

likely like a recession is perhaps in

642

:

store for us and if these trade wars

don't end, then things could get worse.

643

:

That is not, ugh, that's

not a helpful decision.

644

:

I'm an elder millennial, we've

been through recessions before.

645

:

Feels like way too often, we

keep having these things happen.

646

:

Makes it really hard to even imagine

that someday we might be able to retire.

647

:

But is everything from, The

price of eggs to Medicaid and

648

:

Medicare and Social Security are

potentially on the chopping block.

649

:

I think we're going to see more and

more people that are worried or outright

650

:

affected by some of these decisions.

651

:

And I say all this to make a

suggestion, I think, right?

652

:

That I think for a lot of people on

the left, when you see people on the

653

:

right, being negatively impacted by

policies from the administration.

654

:

Maybe they were supporters, right?

655

:

And now they're being impacted.

656

:

There's this like, people

celebrating, being like, ha, like,

657

:

you voted for this, and you think

it's gonna happen, and now it is.

658

:

And I, there's no part of my heart that

feels like that's the right response.

659

:

Right?

660

:

Like, we should not celebrate

the struggle of others.

661

:

I know that this is like a human emotion,

and that we, you love to see your enemies.

662

:

Get hurt, too.

663

:

I just don't think that

spite is a good look.

664

:

Right?

665

:

If nothing else,

666

:

if this happens, when this

happens, it is an opportunity

667

:

for you to align with them, right?

668

:

For one, be a good neighbor.

669

:

If you're aware of resources or

help, or if this is a path you've

670

:

traveled yourself, you can share that

information with them, but also, like,

671

:

showing up and being even a little

bit concerned and, like, interested

672

:

and what's going on with them is

673

:

Very meaningful, right?

674

:

And if you are someone who is quick to

point out how someone else is, a Christian

675

:

is not acting Christ like, this is an

opportunity for you to do the right thing.

676

:

And I know it's hard, especially if it's

someone who's been just hateful, right?

677

:

Like, we all have those people

in our lives or we've seen

678

:

them online or something.

679

:

And when those chickens

come home to roost.

680

:

Even if you feel it inside, there's no

reason you have to say it out loud, right?

681

:

I don't want to see anybody go hungry.

682

:

I don't want to, I don't like to

see other people suffer, right?

683

:

We, as a society, part of living in

society is being in this together.

684

:

And it's hard, and it's messy,

and we disagree on some things,

685

:

sometimes, maybe a lot of the time.

686

:

But at the end of the day, like,

if we are to survive as a country,

687

:

as a community, as a state, we've

got to have each other's back.

688

:

And so my challenge to you, and

to me, honestly, right, is to be

689

:

more loving, I guess.

690

:

I've mentioned before on this show

that I'm a regular listener to

691

:

the Freakonomics radio podcast.

692

:

I think it's a great show.

693

:

Stephen Dubner's insightful

and a good host, and the topics

694

:

are usually very interesting.

695

:

And he ends every show by saying,

Take care of yourself, and if

696

:

you can, Someone else, too.

697

:

And often it has nothing to do

with the content of his show.

698

:

He had a series about whales.

699

:

Like whale oil and whale hunting.

700

:

And he ends the show in the same way.

701

:

And I hear it, every week, and it

makes me think, every week, that is the

702

:

way we should live our lives, right?

703

:

Take care of yourselves, and if you

can, take care of someone else, too.

704

:

Certainly your family and your friends.

705

:

But the openness of someone

else really leaves that.

706

:

Open to your interpretation.

707

:

And I think that's

Intentional and important.

708

:

So, as we wrap up here today,

I'm going to say the same thing.

709

:

Right?

710

:

We say every week that decisions

are made by those who show up.

711

:

It's also how you show up

and for whom you show up.

712

:

Right?

713

:

We fight the good fight for good policy

because it's the right thing to do because

714

:

it's the good thing for the most people.

715

:

We don't celebrate what our enemies lose.

716

:

Well, if it's policy, we might.

717

:

But I'm not viewing my

neighbors as enemies, right?

718

:

If someone is hurting, if someone has

needs, I want us to find ways to meet

719

:

them where they're at and try to help.

720

:

Are you with me?

721

:

Excellent.

722

:

Just a few weeks until

CivicsCon, go to civicscon.

723

:

com, get your tickets, only 25 bucks.

724

:

I'm working on the schedule this morning.

725

:

Should send it out today or Monday.

726

:

It's going to be rad.

727

:

It's going to be so rad.

728

:

It's going to be tons of fun.

729

:

Very interesting, very informative.

730

:

Good kumbaya.

731

:

A great time to learn, to build,

to organize, to fill your cup,

732

:

which is important when everything

else is draining it out.

733

:

All right.

734

:

Well, enjoy the wind today.

735

:

Have a good weekend.

736

:

We'll see you next week.

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About the Podcast

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Andy Moore

Andy is the CEO of Let's Fix This and Let's Fix This Votes.