Podcast appearances and mentions of jack bergman

Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman join our podcast to discuss how psychedelic policy is actually moving in Washington, DC. Lavasani leads Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, a DC-based advocacy organization focused on educating federal officials and advancing legislation around psychedelic medicine. Kopelman is CEO of Mission Within Foundation, which provides scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy retreats, often outside the United States. The conversation centers on veterans, the VA, and why that system may be the first realistic federal pathway for psychedelic care. Early Themes Lavasani describes PMC's work on Capitol Hill, including hosting events that bring lawmakers, staffers, and advocates into the same room. Her focus is steady engagement. In DC, progress often happens through repeated conversations, not headlines. Kopelman shares his background as a Marine and how his own psychedelic-assisted therapy experience led him to Mission Within. The foundation has funded more than 250 scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking treatment for PTSD, mild traumatic brain injury, depression, and addiction. They connect this work to pending veteran-focused legislation and explain why the VA matters. As a closed health system, the VA can pilot programs, gather data, and refine protocols without the pressures of private healthcare markets. Core Insights A recent Capitol Hill gathering, For Veteran Society, brought together members of Congress and leaders from the psychedelic caucus. Lavasani describes candid feedback from lawmakers. The message was clear: coordinate messaging, avoid fragmentation, and move while bipartisan interest remains. Veteran healthcare is not framed as the final goal. It is a starting point. If psychedelic therapies can demonstrate safety and effectiveness within the VA, broader adoption becomes more plausible. Kopelman raises operational realities that must be addressed: Standardized safety protocols across providers Integration support, not medication alone Clear training pathways for clinicians Real-world data beyond tightly screened clinical trials They also address recent negative headlines involving ibogaine treatment abroad. Kopelman emphasizes the need for shared learning across providers, especially when adverse events occur. Lavasani argues that inconsistency within the ecosystem can slow federal confidence. Later Discussion and Takeaways The discussion widens to federal momentum around addiction and mental health. Lavasani notes that new funding initiatives signal growing openness to innovative treatment models, even if psychedelics are not named explicitly in every announcement. Both guests stress that policy moves slowly by design. Meetings, follow-ups, and relationship building often matter more than public statements. For clinicians, researchers, operators, and advocates, the takeaways are direct: Veterans are likely the first federal pathway Public education remains essential Safety standards must be shared and transparent Integration and workforce development need attention now If psychedelic medicine enters federal systems, infrastructure will determine success. Frequently Asked Questions What do Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman say about VA psychedelic policy? They argue that veteran-focused legislation offers a realistic first federal pathway for psychedelic-assisted care. Is ibogaine currently available through the VA? No. They discuss ibogaine in the context of private retreats and future possibilities, not an existing VA program. Why do Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman emphasize coordination? Lawmakers respond more positively when advocates present aligned messaging and clear priorities. What safety issues are discussed by Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman? They highlight the need for standardized screening, monitoring, integration support, and transparent review of adverse events. Closing Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman provide a grounded look at how psychedelic policy develops inside federal systems. Their message is practical: veterans may be the first lane, but long-term success depends on coordination, safety standards, and sustained engagement. Closing This episode captures a real-time view of how federal policy could shape the next phase of the psychedelic resurgence, especially through veteran-facing legislation and VA infrastructure. Melissa Lavasani & Jay Kopelman argue that coordination, public education, and shared safety standards will shape whether access expands with credibility and care. Transcript Joe Moore: [00:00:00] Hello everybody. Welcome back to Psychedelics Today. Today we have two guests, um, got Melissa Sani from Psychedelic Medicine Coalition. We got Jake Pelman from Mission Within Foundation. We're gonna talk about I bga I became policy on a recent, uh, set of meetings in Washington, DC and, uh, all sorts of other things I'm sure. Joe Moore: But thank you both for joining me. Melissa Lavasani: Thanks for having us. Jay Kopelman: Yeah, it's a pleasure. Thanks. Joe Moore: Yeah. Um, Melissa, I wanna have you, uh, jump in. First. Can you tell us a little bit about, uh, your work and what you do at PMC? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, so Psychedelic Medicine Coalition is, um, the only DC based Washington DC based advocacy organization dedicated to the advancing the issue of psychedelics, um, and making sure the federal government has the education they need, um, and understands the issue inside out so that they can generate good policy around, around psychedelic medicines. Melissa Lavasani: [00:01:00] Uh, we. Host Hill events. We host other convenings. Our big event every year is the Federal Summit on psychedelic medicine. Um, that's going to be May 14th this year. Um, where we talk about kinda the pressing issues that need to be talked about, uh, with government officials in the room, um, so that we can incrementally move this forward. Melissa Lavasani: Um, our presence here in Washington DC is, is really critical for this issue's success because, um, when we're talking about psychedelic medicines, um, from the federal government pers perspective, you know, they are, they are the ones that are going to initiate the policies that create a healthcare system that can properly facilitate these medicines and make sure, um, patient safety is a priority. Melissa Lavasani: And there's guardrails on this. And, um, you know, there, it's, it's really important that we have. A home base for this issue in Washington DC just [00:02:00] because, uh, this is very complicated as a lot of your viewers probably understand, and, you know, this can get lost in the mix of all the other issues that, um, lawmakers in DC are focused on right now. Melissa Lavasani: And we need to keep that consistent presence here so that this continues to be a priority for members of Congress. Joe Moore: Mm. I love this. And Jay, can you tell us a bit about yourself and mission within Foundation? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, sure. Joe, thanks. Uh, I, I am the CEO of Mission within Foundation. Prior to this, most of my adult life was spent in the military as a Marine. Jay Kopelman: And I came to this. Role after having, uh, a psychedelic assisted therapy experience myself at the mission within down in Mexico, which is where pretty much we all go. Um, we are here to help [00:03:00] provide, uh, access for veterans and first responders to be able to attend psychedelic assisted therapy retreats to treat issues like mild TBI, post-traumatic stress disorder, uh, depression, sometimes addiction at, at a very low level. Jay Kopelman: Um, and, and so we've, we've been doing this for a little more than a year now and have provided 250 plus scholarships to veterans and first responders to be able to access. These retreats and these, these lifesaving medicines. Um, we're also partnered, uh, you may or may not know with Melissa at Psychedelic Medicine Coalition to help advance education and policy, specifically the innovative, uh, therapy Centers of Excellence Act [00:04:00] that Melissa has worked for a number of years on now to bring to both Houses of Congress. Joe Moore: Thank you for that. Um, so let's chat a little bit about what this event was that just, uh, went down, uh, what, what was it two weeks ago at this point? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Yeah. It's called For Veteran Society and it's all, um, there's a lot of dialogue on Capitol Hill about veterans healthcare and psychedelics, but where I've been frustrated is that, you know, it was just a lot of. Melissa Lavasani: Talk about what the problems are and not a lot of talk about like how we actually propel things forward. Um, so it, at that event, I thought it was really important and we had three members of Congress there, um, Morgan Latrell, who has been a champion from day one and his time in Congress, um, having gone through the experience himself, um, [00:05:00] at Mission within, um, and then the two chairs of the psychedelic caucus, uh, Lou Correa and Jack Bergman. Melissa Lavasani: And we really got down to the nitty gritty of like w like why this has taken so long and you know, what is actually happening right now? What are the possibilities and what the roadblocks are. And it was, I thought it was a great conversation. Um, we had an interesting kind of dynamic with Latres is like a very passionate about this issue in particular. Melissa Lavasani: Um, I think it was, I think it was really. A great event. And, you know, two days later, Jack Bergman introduced his new bill for the va. Um, so it was kind of like the precursor to that bill getting introduced. And we're just excited for more and more conversations about how the government can gently guide this issue to success. Joe Moore: Hmm. Yeah. [00:06:00] That's fantastic. Um, yeah, I was a little bummed I couldn't make it, but next time, I hope. But I've heard a lot of good things and, um, it's, it sounded like there was some really important messages in, in terms of like feedback from legislators. Yeah. Yeah. Could you speak to that? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, I mean, I think when, uh, representative Latrell was speaking, he really impressed on us a couple things. Melissa Lavasani: Um, first is that, you know, they really kind of need the advocates to. Coordinate, collaborate and come up with like a, a strategic plan, you know, without public education. Um, talking to members of Congress about this issue is, is really difficult. You know, like PMC is just one organization. We're very little mission within, very little, um, you know, we're all like, kind of new in navigating, um, this not so new issue, but new to Washington DC [00:07:00] issue. Melissa Lavasani: Um, without that public education as a baseline, uh, it's, it's, you have to spend a lot of time educating members of Congress. You know, that's like one of our things is, you know, we have to, we don't wanna tell Congress what direction to go to. We wanna provide them the information so they understand it very intimately and know how to navigate through things. Melissa Lavasani: Um, and secondly. Um, he got pretty frank with us and said, you know, we've got one cha one chance at this issue. And it's like, that's, that's kind of been like my talking point since I started. PMC is like, you have a very limited window, um, when these kind of issues pop up and they're new and they're fresh and you have a lot of the veteran community coming out and talking about it. Melissa Lavasani: And there's a lot of energy there. But now is the time to really move forward, um, with some real legislation that can be impactful. Um, but, you know, we've gotta [00:08:00] be careful. We, we forget, I think sometimes those of us who are in the ecosystem forget that our level of knowledge about these medicines and a lot of us have firsthand experience, um, with these drugs and, and our own healing journeys is, um, we forget that there is a public out there that doesn't have the level of knowledge that we all have. Melissa Lavasani: And, um. We gotta make sure that we're sticking to the right elements of, of, of what needs to happen. We need to be sure that our talking points are on track and we're not getting sideways about anything and going down roads that we don't need to talk about. It's why, um, you know, PMC is very focused on, um, moving forward veteran legislation right now. Melissa Lavasani: Not because we're a veteran organization, but because we're, we see this long-term policy track here. Um, we know where we want to get [00:09:00] to, um. Um, and watching other healthcare issues kind of come up and then go through the VA healthcare system, I think it's a really unique opportunity, um, to utilize the VA as this closed system, the biggest healthcare system in the country to evaluate, uh, how psychedelics operate within systems like that. Melissa Lavasani: And, you know, before they get into, um, other healthcare systems. What do we need to fix? What do we need to pay attention to? What's something that we're paying too much attention to that doesn't necessarily need that much attention? So it's, um, it's a real opportunity to look at psychedelic medicines within a healthcare system and obviously continue to gather the data. Melissa Lavasani: Um, Bergman's Bill emerging, uh, expanding veteran access to emerging treatments. Um, not only mandates the research, it gives the VA authority for this, uh, for running trials and, and creating programs around psychedelic medicines. But also, [00:10:00] one of the great things about it, I think, is it provides an on-ramp for veterans that don't necessarily qualify for clinical trials. Melissa Lavasani: You know, I think that's one of the biggest criticisms of clinical trials is like you're cre you're creating a vacuum for people and people don't live in a vacuum. So we don't necessarily know what psychedelics are gonna look like in real life. Um, but with this expanding veteran access bill that Bergman introduced, it provides the VA an opportunity to provide this access under. Melissa Lavasani: Um, in a, in a safe container with medical supervision while collecting data, um, while ensuring that the veteran that is going through this process has the support systems that it needs. So, um, you know, I think that there's a really unique opportunity here, and like Latrell said, like, we've got one shot at this. Melissa Lavasani: We have people's attention in Congress. Um, now's the time to start acting, and let's be really considerate and thoughtful about what we're doing with it. Joe Moore: Thanks for that, Melissa and Jay, how, [00:11:00] anything to add there on kind of your takeaways from the this, uh, last visit in dc? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, I, I think that Melissa highlighted it really well and there, there were a couple other things that I, I think, you know, you could kind of tie it all together with some other issues that we face in this country, uh, and that. Jay Kopelman: Uh, representative Correa brought up as well, but one of the things I wanted to go back and say is that veterans have kind of led this movement already, right? So, so it's a, it's a good jumping off point, right? That it's something people from both sides of the aisle, from any community in America can get behind. Jay Kopelman: You know, if you think about it, uh, in World War ii, you know, we had a million people serving our population was like, not even 200 million, but now [00:12:00] we have a population of 330 million, and at any given time there might be a million people in uniform, including the Reserve and the National Guard. So it's, it, it's an easy thing to get behind this small part of the population that is willing to sign that contract. Jay Kopelman: Where you are saying, yeah, I'm going to defend my country, possibly at the risk of my l my own life. So that's the first thing. The other thing is that the VA being a closed health system, and they don't have shareholders to answer to, they can take some risks, they can be innovative and be forward thinking in the ways that some other healthcare systems can't. Jay Kopelman: And so they have a perfect opportunity to show that they truly care for their veterans, which don't, I'm not saying they don't, but this would be an [00:13:00] opportunity to show that carrot at a whole different level. Uh, it would allow them to innovate and be a leader in something as, uh, as our friend Jim Hancock will say, you know. Jay Kopelman: When he went to the Naval Academy, they had the world's best shipbuilding program. Why doesn't the VA have the world's best care program for things like TBI and PTSD, which affects, you know, 40 something percent of all veterans, right? So, so there's, there's an opportunity here for the VA to lead from the front. Jay Kopelman: Um, the, these medicines provide, you know, reasonably lasting care where it's kind of a one and done. Whereas with the current systems, the, you know, and, and [00:14:00] again, not to denigrate the VA in any way, they're doing the best job they can with the tools in their toolbox, right? But maybe it's time for a trip to Home Depot. Jay Kopelman: Let's get some new tools. And have some new ways of fixing what's broken, which is really the way of doing things. It's not, veterans aren't broken, we are who we are. Um, but it's a, it's a way to fix what isn't working. So I, I think that, you know, given there's tremendous veteran homelessness still, you know, addiction issues, all these things that do translate to the population at large are things that can be worked on in this one system, the va that can then be shown to have efficacy, have good data, have [00:15:00] good outcomes, and, and take it to the population at large. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Brilliant. Thanks for that. And so there was another thing I wanted to pivot to, which is some of the recent press. So we've, um, seen a little bit of press around some, um, in one instance, some bad behavior in Mexico that a FI put out Americans thrive again, put out. And then another case there was a, a recent fatality. Joe Moore: And I think, um, both are tragic. Like we shouldn't be having to deal with this at this point. Um, but there's a lot of things that got us here. Um, it's not necessarily the operator's fault entirely, um, or even at all, honestly, like some medical interventions just carry a lot of risk. Like think, think about like, uh, how risky bypass surgery was in the nineties, right? Joe Moore: Like people were dying a lot from medical interventions and um, you know, this is a major intervention, uh, ibogaine [00:16:00] and also a lot of promise. To help people quite a bit. Um, but as of right now, there's, there's risk. And part of that risk, in my opinion, comes from the inability of organizations to necessarily collaborate. Joe Moore: Like there's no kind of convening body, sitting in the middle, allowing, um, for, and facilitating really good data sharing and learnings. Um, and I don't, I don't necessarily see an organization stepping up and being the, um, the convener for that kind of work. I've heard rumors that something's gonna happen there, and I'm, I'm hopeful I'll always wanna share my opinion on that. Joe Moore: But yeah. I don't know. Jay, from your perspective, is there anything you want to kind of speak to about, uh, these two recent incidents that Americans for Iboga kind of publicized recently? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, so I, I'll echo your sentiment, of course, that these are tragic incidents. Um, and I, [00:17:00] I think that at least in the case of the death at Ambio, AMBIO has done a very good job of talking about it, right? Jay Kopelman: They've been very honest with the information that they have. And like you said, there are risks inherent to these medicines, and it's like anything else in medicine, there are going to be risks. You know, when I went through, uh, when I, when I went through chemo, you know, there were, there are risks. You know, you don't feel well, you get sick. Jay Kopelman: Um, and, and it. There are processes in place to counter that when it happens. And there are processes and, and procedures and safety protocols in place when caring for somebody going through an ibogaine [00:18:00] journey. Uh, when I did it, we had EKG echocardiogram. You're on a heart monitor the entire time they push magnesium via iv. Jay Kopelman: You have to provide a urinalysis sample to make sure that there is nothing in your system that is going to potentially harm you. During the ibogaine, they have, uh, a cardiologist who is monitoring the heart monitors throughout the ibogaine experience. So the, the safety protocols are there. I think it's, I think it's just a matter of. Jay Kopelman: Standardizing them across all, all providers, right? Like, that would be a good thing if people would talk to one another. Um, as, as in any system, right? You've gotta have [00:19:00] some collaboration. You've gotta have standardization, you know, so, you know, they're not called standard operating procedures for nothing. Jay Kopelman: That means that in a, you know, in a given environment, everybody does things the same way. It's true in Navy and Marine Corps, air Force, army Aviation, they have standard operating procedures for every single aircraft. So if you fly, let's say the F 35 now, right? Because it's flown by the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. Jay Kopelman: The, the emergency procedures in that airplane are standardized across all three services, so you should have the same, or, you know, with within a couple of different words, the same procedures and processes [00:20:00] across all the providers, right? Like maybe in one document you're gonna change, happy to glad and small dog to puppy, but it's still pretty much the, the same thing. Jay Kopelman: And as a service that provides scholarships to people to go access these medicines and go to these retreats, you know, my criteria is that the, this provider has to be safe. Number one, safety's paramount. It's always gotta be very safe. It should, it has to be effective. And you know, once you have those two things in place, then I have a comfort level saying, okay, yeah, we'll work with this provider. Jay Kopelman: But until those standardized processes are in place, you'll probably see these one-off things. I mean, some providers have been doing this longer than others and have [00:21:00] really figured out, you know, they've, they've cracked the code and, you know, sharing that across the spectrum would be good. Um, but just when these things happen, having a clearing house, right, where everybody can come together and talk about it, you know, like once the facts are known because. Jay Kopelman: To my knowledge, we still don't know all the facts. Like as, you know, as horrible as this is, you still have to talk about like an, has an autopsy been performed? What was found in the patient's system? You know, there, there are things there that we don't know. So we need to, we need to know that before we can start saying, okay, well this is how we can fix that, because we just don't know. Jay Kopelman: And, you know, to their credit, you know, Amio has always been safe to, to the, to the best of my knowledge. You know, I, [00:22:00] I haven't been to Ambio myself, but people that I have worked with have been there. They have observed, they have seen the process. They believe it's safe, and I trust their opinion because they've seen it elsewhere as well. Jay Kopelman: So yeah, having, having that one place where we can all come together when this happens, it, it's almost like it should be mandatory. In the military when there's a training accident, we, you know, we would have to have what's called a safety standout. And you don't do that again for a little while until you figure out, okay, how are we going to mitigate that happening again? Jay Kopelman: Believe me, you can go overboard and we don't want to do that. Like, we don't wanna just stop all care, but maybe stop detox for a week and then come back to it. [00:23:00] Joe Moore: Yeah. A dream would be, let's get like the, I don't know, 10, 20 most popular, uh, or well-known operators together somewhere and just do like a three day debrief. Joe Moore: Hey, everybody, like, here's what we see. Let's work on this together. You know how normal medicine works. And this is, it's hard because this is not necessarily, um, something people feel safe about in America talking about 'cause it's illicit here. Um, I don't understand necessarily how the operations, uh, relate to each other in Mexico, but I think that's something to like the public should dig into. Joe Moore: Like, what, what is this? And I, I'll start digging into that. Um, I, I asked a question recently of somebody like, is there some sort of like back channel signal everybody's using and there's no clear Yes. You know? Um, I think it would be good. That's just a [00:24:00] start, you know, that's like, okay, we can actually kind of say hi and watch out for this to each other. Jay Kopelman: It's not like we don't all know one another, right? Joe Moore: Yes. Jay Kopelman: Like at least three operators we're represented. At the Aspen Ibogaine meeting. So like that could be, and I think there was a panel kind of loosely related to this during Aspen Ibogaine meeting, but Joe Moore: mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: It, you know, have a breakout where the operators can go sit down and kind of compare notes. Joe Moore: Right. Yeah. Melissa, do you have any, uh, comments on this thread here? And I, I put you on mute if you didn't see that. Um, Melissa Lavasani: all right, I'm off mute. Um, yeah, I think that Jay's hits the nail on the head with the collaboration thing. Um, I think that it's just a [00:25:00] problem across the entire ecosystem, and I think that's just a product of us being relatively new and upcoming field. Melissa Lavasani: Um, uh, it's a product of, you know. Our fundraising community is really small, so organizations feel like they are competing for the same dollars, even though their, their goals are all the same, they have different functions. Um, I think with time, I mean, let's be honest, like if we don't start collaborating and, and the federal government's moving forward, the federal government's gonna coordinate for us. Melissa Lavasani: And not, that might not necessarily be a bad thing, but, you know, we understand this issue to a whole other level that the federal government doesn't, and they're not required to understand it deeply. They just need to know how to really move forward with it the proper way. Um, but I think that it. It's really essential [00:26:00] that we all have this come together moment here so we can avoid things. Melissa Lavasani: Uh, I mean, no one's gonna die from bad advocacy. So like I've, I have a bit of an easier job. Um, but it can a, a absolutely stall efforts, um, to move things forward in Washington DC when, um, one group is saying one thing, another group is saying another thing, like, we're not quite at a point yet where we can have multiple lines of conversation and multiple things moving forward. Melissa Lavasani: Um, you know, for PMC, it's like, just let's get the first thing across the finish line. And we think that is, um, veteran healthcare. And, um, I know there's plenty of other groups out there that, that want the same thing. So, you know, I always, the reason why I put on the Federal Summit last year was I kind of hit my breaking point with a lack of collaboration and I wanted to just bring everyone in the same room and say like, all right, here are the things that we need to talk about. Melissa Lavasani: And I think the goal for this year is, um. To bring people in the same room and say, we talked about [00:27:00] we scratched the surface last year and this is where we need to really put our efforts into. And this is where the opportunities are. Um, I think that is going to, that's going to show the federal government if we can organize ourselves, that they need to take this issue really seriously. Melissa Lavasani: Um, I don't think we've done a great job at that thus far, but I think there's still plenty of time for us to get it together. Um, and I'm hoping with these two, uh, VA bills that are in the house right now and Senate is, is putting together their version of these two bills, um, so that they can move in tandem with each other. Melissa Lavasani: I think that, you know, there's an opportunity here for. Us to show the federal government as an ecosystem, Hey, we, we are so much further ahead and you know, this is what we've organized and here's how we can help you, um, that would make them buy into this issue a bit more and potentially move things forward faster. Melissa Lavasani: Uh, at this point in time, it's, I think that, [00:28:00] you know, psychedelics aren't necessarily the taboo thing that they, they used to be, but there's certainly places that need attention. Um, there's certainly conversations that need to be had, and like I said, like PMC is just one organization that can do this. Um, we can certainly organize and drive forward collaboration, but I, like we alone, cannot cover all this ground and we need the subject matter experts to collaborate with us so we can, you know, once we get in the door, we wanna bring the experts in to talk to these officials about it. Melissa Lavasani: So I. I, I really want listeners to really think about us as a convener of sorts when it comes to federal policy. Um, and you know, I think when, like for example, in the early eighties, a lot of people have made comparisons to the issue of psychedelics to the issue of AIDS research and how you have in a subject matter that's like extremely taboo and a patient population that the government [00:29:00] quite honestly didn't really care about in the early eighties. Melissa Lavasani: But what they did as an ecosystem is really organized themselves, get very clear on what they wanted the federal government to do. And within a matter of a couple years, uh, AIDS research funding was a thing that was happening. And what that, what that did was that ripple effect turned that into basically finding new therapies for something that we thought was a death, death sentence before. Melissa Lavasani: So I think. We just need to look at things in the past that have been really successful, um, and, and try to take the lessons from all of these issues and, and move forward with psychedelics. Joe Moore: Love that. And yes, we always need to be figuring out efficient approaches and where it has been successful in the past is often, um, an opportunity to mimic and, and potentially improve on that. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Jay Kopelman: One, one thing I think it's important to add to this part of the conversation is that, [00:30:00] you know, Melissa pointed out there are a number of organizations that are essentially doing the same thing. Jay Kopelman: Um, you know, I like to think we do things a little bit differently at Mission within Foundation in that we don't target any one specific type of service member. We, we work with all veterans. We work with first responders, but. What that leads to is that there are, as far as I've seen, nothing but good intentioned people in this space. Jay Kopelman: You know, people who really care about their patient population, they care about healing, they are trying to do a good job, and more importantly, they're trying to do good. Right? It, it, I think they all see the benefit down the road that this has, [00:31:00] pardon me, not just for veterans, but for society as a whole. Jay Kopelman: And, and ultimately that's where I would like to see this go. You know, I, I would love to see the VA take this. Take up this mantle and, and run with it and provide great data, great outcomes. You know, we are doing some data collection ourselves at Mission within foundation, albeit anecdotal based on surveys given before and after retreats. Jay Kopelman: But we're also working with, uh, Greg Fonzo down at UT Austin on a brain study he's doing that will have 40 patients in it when it's all said and done. And I think we have two more guys to put through that. Uh, and then we'll hit the 40. So there, there's a lot of good here that's being done by some really, really good people who've been doing this for a long time [00:32:00] and want to want nothing more than to, to see this. Jay Kopelman: Come to, come full circle so that we can take care of many, many, many people. Um, you know, like I say, I, I wanna work myself out of a job here. I, I just, I would love to see this happen and then I, you know, I don't have to send guys to Mexico to do this. They can go to their local VA and get the care that they need. Jay Kopelman: Um, but one thing that I don't think we've touched on yet, or regarding that is that the VA isn't designed for that. So it's gonna be a pretty big lift to get the right types of providers into the va with the knowledge, right, with the institutional knowledge of how this should be done, what is safe, what is effective, um, and then it, it's not just providing these medicines to [00:33:00] people and sending them home. Jay Kopelman: You don't just do that, you've gotta have the right therapists on the backend who can provide the integration coaching to the folks who are receiving these medicines. And I'm not just talking, I bga, even with MDMA and psilocybin, you should have a proper period of integration. It helps you to understand how this is going to affect you, what it, what the experience really meant, you know, because it's very difficult sometimes to just interpret it on your own. Jay Kopelman: And so what the experience was and what it meant to you. And, and so it will take some time to spin all that up. But once it's, once it's in place, you know, the sky's the limit. I think. Joe Moore: Kinda curious Jay, about what's, what's going on with Ibogaine at the federal level. Is there anything at VA right now? [00:34:00] Jay Kopelman: At the va? No, not with ibogaine. And, you know, uh, we, we send people specifically for IBOGAINE and five MEO, right? And, and so that, that doesn't preclude my interest in seeing this legislation passed, right? Jay Kopelman: Because it, it will start with something like MDMA or psilocybin, but ultimately it could grow to iboga, right? It the think about the cost savings at, at the va, even with psilocybin, right? Where you could potentially treat somebody with a very inexpensive dose of psilocybin or, or iboga one time, and then you, you don't have to treat them again. Jay Kopelman: Now, if I were, uh, you know, a VA therapist who's not trained in psychedelic trauma therapy. I might be worried [00:35:00] about job security, but it's like with anything, right? Like ultimately it will open pathways for new people to get that training or the existing people to get that training and, and stay on and do that work. Jay Kopelman: Um, which only adds another arrow to their quiver as far as I'm concerned, because this is coming and we're gonna need the people. It's just like ai, right? Like ai, yeah. Some people are gonna lose some jobs initially, and that's unfortunate. But productivity ultimately across all industries will increase and new jobs will be created as a result of that. Jay Kopelman: I mean, I was watching Squawk Box one morning. They were talking about the AI revolution and how there's gonna be a need for 500,000 electricians to. Build these systems that are going to work with the AI [00:36:00] supercomputers and, and so, Joe Moore: mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: Where, where an opportunity may be lost. I think several more can be gained going forward. Melissa Lavasani: And just to add on what Jay just said there, there's nothing specific going on with Ibogaine at, at the va, but I think this administration is, is taking a real look at addiction in particular. Uh, they just launched, uh, a new initiative, uh, that's really centered on addiction treatments called the Great American Recovery. Melissa Lavasani: And, um, they're dedicating a hundred million dollars towards treating addiction as like a chronic treatable disease and not necessarily a law enforcement issue. So, um, in that initiative there will be federal grant programs for prevention and treatment and recovery. And, um, while this isn't just for psychedelic medicines, uh, I think it's a really great opportunity for the discussion of psychedelics to get elevated to the White House. Melissa Lavasani: Um, [00:37:00] there's also, previous to this announcement last week from the White House, there's been a hundred million dollars that was dedicated at, um, at ARPA h, which is. The advanced research projects, uh, agency for healthcare, um, and that is kind of an agency that's really focused on forward looking, um, treatments and technologies, uh, for, um, a, a whole slew of. Melissa Lavasani: Of issues, but this a hundred million dollars is dedicated to mental health and addiction. So there's a lot of opportunity there as well. So we, while I think, you know, some people are talking about, oh, we need a executive order on Iboga, it's like, well, you know, the, the president is thinking, um, about, you know, what issues can land with his, uh, voting block. Melissa Lavasani: And I think it's, I don't think we necessarily need a specific executive order on Iboga to call this a success. It's like, let's look at what, [00:38:00] um, what's just been announced from the White House. They're, they're all in on. Thinking creatively and finding, uh, new solutions for this. And this is kind of, this aligns with, um, HHS secretaries, uh, Robert F. Melissa Lavasani: Kennedy Junior's goals when he took on this, this role of Health Secretary. Um, addiction has been a discussion that, you know, he has personal, um, a personal tie to from his own experience. And, um, I think when this administration started, there was so much like fervor around the, the dialogue of like, everyone's talking about psychedelics. Melissa Lavasani: It was Secretary Kennedy, it was, uh, secretary Collins at the va. It was FDA Commissioner Marty Macari. And I think that there's like a lot of undue frustration within folks 'cause um, you don't necessarily snap your fingers and change happens in Washington dc This is not the city for that. And it's intentionally designed to move slow so that we can avoid really big mistakes. Melissa Lavasani: Um. [00:39:00] I think we're a year into this administration and these two announcements are, are pretty huge considering, um, you know, the, we, there are known people within domestic policy council that don't, aren't necessarily supportive of psychedelic medicine. So there's a really amazing progress here, and frustrating as it might be to, um, just be waiting for this administration to make some major move. Melissa Lavasani: I think they are making major moves like for Washington, DC These, these are major moves and we just gotta figure out how we can, um, take these initiatives and apply them to the issue of psychedelic medicines. Joe Moore: Thanks, Melissa. Um, yeah, it is, it is interesting like the amount of fervor there was at the beginning. You know, we had, uh. Kind of one of my old lawyers, Matt Zorn, jumped in with the administration. Right. And, um, you know, it was, uh, really cool to [00:40:00] see and hopeful how much energy was going on. It's been a little quiet, kind of feels like a black box a little bit, but I, you know, there was, Melissa Lavasani: that's on me. Melissa Lavasani: Maybe I, we need to be more out in public about like, what's actually happening, because I feel like, like day in and day out, it's just been, you gotta just mm-hmm. Like have that constant beat with the government. Mm-hmm. And, um, it's, it's, it's not the photo ops on the hill, it's the conversations that you have. Melissa Lavasani: It's the dinner parties you go to, it's the fundraisers you attend, you know? Mm-hmm. That's why I, I kind of have to like toot my own horn with PCs. Like, we need to be present here at, at not only on the Hill, not only at the White House, but kind of in the ecosystem of Washington DC itself. There's, it's, there are like power players here. Melissa Lavasani: There are people that are connected that can get things done, like. I mean, the other last week we had a big snow storm. I walked over to my friend's house, um, to have like a little fire sesh with them and our kids, and his next door neighbor came over. He was a member of Congress. I talked about the VA bills, like [00:41:00] we're reaching out to his office now, um, to get them, um, up to speed and hopefully get their co-sponsorship for, uh, the two VA bills. Melissa Lavasani: So, I mean, it, the little conversations you have here are just as important as the big ones with the photo ops. So, um, it, it's, it's really like, you know, building up that momentum and, and finding that time where you can really strike and make something happen. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Jay, anything to add there? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, I was just gonna say that, you know, I, I, I think the fervor is still there, right? Jay Kopelman: But real life happens. Melissa Lavasani: Yes, Jay Kopelman: yes. And gets in the way, right? So, Melissa Lavasani: yeah, Jay Kopelman: I, I can't imagine how many issues. Secretary Kennedy has every day much less the president. Like there's so many things that they are dealing with on a daily basis, right? It, we, we just have to work to be the squeaky wheel in, in the right way, right. Jay Kopelman: [00:42:00] With the, with the right information at the right time. Like just inundating one of these organizations with noise, it's then it be with Informa, it just becomes noise, right? It it, it doesn't help. So when we have things to say that are meaningful and impactful, we do, and Melissa does an amazing job of that. Jay Kopelman: But, you know, it, it takes time. You know, it's, you know, we're not, this is, this is like turning an aircraft carrier, not a ski boat. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, Joe Moore: yeah, absolutely. Um, and. It's, it's understandably frustrating, I think for the public and the psychedelic public in particular because we see all this hope, you know, we continue to get frustrated at politics. It's nothing new, right? Um, and we, we wanna see more people get well immediately. [00:43:00] And I, I kind of, Jay from the veteran perspective, I do love the kind of loud voices like, you're making me go to Mexico for this. Joe Moore: I did that and you're making me leave the country for the thing that's gonna fix me. Like, no way. And barely a recognition that this is a valid treatment. You know, like, you know, that is complicated given how medicine is structured here domestically. But it's also, let's face the facts, like the drug war kind of prevented us from being able to do this research in the first place. Joe Moore: You know? Thanks Nixon. And like, how do we actually kind of correct course and say like, we need to spend appropriately on science here so we can heal our own people, including veterans and everybody really. It's a, it's a dire situation out there. Jay Kopelman: Yeah. It, it really is. Um, you know, we were talking briefly about addicts, right? Jay Kopelman: And you know, it's not sexy. People think of addicts as people who are weak-minded, [00:44:00] right? They don't have any self-control. Um, but, but look at, look at the opioid crisis, right? That Brian Hubbard was fighting against in Kentucky for all those years. That that was something that was given to the patient by a doctor that they then became dependent on, and a lot of people died from that. Jay Kopelman: And, and so you, you know, it's, I I don't think it's fair to just put all addicts in a box. Just like it's not fair to put all veterans in a box. Just like it's not fair for doctors, put all their patients in a box. We're individuals. We, we have individual needs. Our, our health is very individual. Like, I, I don't think I should be put in the same box as every other 66-year-old that my doctor sees. Jay Kopelman: It's not fair. [00:45:00] You know, if you, if you took my high school classmates and put us all in a photo, we're all gonna have different needs, right? Like, some look like they're 76, not 66. Some look like they're 56. Not like they're, we, we do things differently. We live our lives differently. And the same is true of addicts. Jay Kopelman: They come to addiction from different places. Not everybody decides they want to just try heroin at a party, and all of a sudden they're addicted. It happens in, in different ways, you know, and the whole fentanyl thing has been so daggum nefarious, right? You know, pushing fentanyl into marijuana. Jay Kopelman: Somebody's smoking a joint and all of a sudden they're addicted to fentanyl or they die. Melissa Lavasani: I think we're having a, Jay Kopelman: it's, it's just not fair to, to say everybody in this pot is the same, or everybody in this one is the same. We have [00:46:00] to look at it differently. Joe Moore: Yeah. I like to zoom one level out and kind of talk about, um, just how hurt we are as a country, as a world really, but as a country specifically, and how many people are out of work for so many. Joe Moore: Difficult reasons and away from their families for so many kind of tragic reasons. And if we can get people back to their families and back to work, a lot of these things start to self-correct, but we have to like have those interventions where we can heal folks and, and get them back. Um, yeah. And you know, everything from trauma, uh, in childhood, you know, adulthood, combat, whatever it is. Joe Moore: Like these things can put people on the sidelines. And Jay, to your point, like you get knee surgery and all of a sudden you're, you know, two years later you're on the hunt for Fentanyl daily. You know, that's tough. It's really tough. Carl Hart does a good job talking about this kind of addiction pipeline and [00:47:00] a few others do as well. Joe Moore: But it's just, you know, kind of putting it in a moral failure bucket. It's not great. I was chatting with somebody about, um, veterans, it's like you come back and you're like, what's gonna make me feel okay right now? And it's not always alcohol. Um, like this is the first thing that made me feel okay, because there's not great treatments and there's, there's a lot of improvements in this kind of like bringing people back from the field that needs to happen. Joe Moore: In my opinion. I, it seems to be shared by a lot of people, but yeah, there's, it's, it's, IGA is gonna be great. It's gonna be really important. I really can't wait for it to be at scale appropriately, but there's a lot of other things we need to fix too, um, so that we can just, you know, not have so many people we need to, you know, spend so much money healing. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Jay Kopelman: Yeah. You ahead with that. We don't need the president to sign an executive order to automatically legalize Ibogaine. Right. But it would be nice if he would reschedule it so that [00:48:00] then then researchers could do this research on a larger scale. You know, we could, we could now get some real data that would show the efficacy. Jay Kopelman: And it could be done in a safe environment, you know? And, and so that would be, do Joe Moore: you have any kind of figures, like, like, I've been talking about this for a while, Jay. Like, does it drop the cost a lot of doing research when we deschedule things? Jay Kopelman: I, I would imagine so, because it'll drop the cost of accessing the medicines that are being researched. Jay Kopelman: Right? You, you would have buy-in from more organizations. You know, you might even have a pharma company that comes into this, you know, look at j and j with the ketamine, right? They have, they have a nasal spray version of ketamine that's doing very well. I mean, it's probably their, their biggest revenue [00:49:00] provider for them right now. Jay Kopelman: And, and so. You know, you, it would certainly help and I think, I think it would lower costs of research to have something rescheduled rather than being schedule one. You know it, people are afraid to take chances when you're talking about Schedule one Melissa Lavasani: labs or they just don't have the money to research things that are on Schedule one. Melissa Lavasani: 'cause there's so much in an incredible amount of red tape that you have to go through and, and your facility has to be a certain way and how you contain those, uh, medicines. Oh, researching has to be in a specific container and it's just very cumbersome to research schedule one drugs. So absolutely the cost would go down. Melissa Lavasani: Um, but Joe Moore: yeah, absolutely. Less safes. Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. Joe Moore: Yes. Less uh, Melissa Lavasani: right. Joe Moore: Locked. Yeah. Um, it'll be really interesting when that happens. I'm gonna hold out faith. That we can see some [00:50:00] movement here. Um, because yeah, like why make healing more expensive than it needs to be? I think like that's potentially a protectionist move. Joe Moore: Like, I'm not, I'm not here yet, but, um, look at AbbVie's, uh, acquisition of the Gilgamesh ip. Mm-hmm. Like that's a really interesting move. I think it was $1.2 billion. Mm-hmm. So they're gonna wanna protect that investment. Um, and it's likely going to be an approved medication. Like, I don't, I don't see a world in which it's not an approved medication. Joe Moore: Um, you know, I don't know a timeline, I would say Jay Kopelman: yeah. Joe Moore: Less than six years, just given how much cash they've got. But who knows, like, I haven't followed it too closely. So, and that's an I bga derivative to be clear, everybody, um mm-hmm. If you're not, um, in, in the loop on that, which is hopeful, you know? Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. But I don't know what the efficacy is gonna be with that compared to Ibogaine and then we have to talk about the kind of proprietary molecule stuff. Um, there's like a whole bunch of things that are gonna go on here, and this is one of the reasons why I'm excited about. Federal involvement [00:51:00] because we might actually be able to have some sort of centralized manufacturer, um, or at least the VA could license three or four generic manufacturers per for instance, and that way prices aren't gonna be, you know, eight grand a dose or whatever. Joe Moore: You know, it's, Jay Kopelman: well, I think it's a very exciting time in the space. You know, I, I think that there's the opportunity for innovation. There is the opportunity for collaboration. There's the opportunity for, you know, long-term healing at a very low cost. You know, that we, we have the highest healthcare cost per capita in the world right here in the us. Jay Kopelman: And, and yet we are not the number one health system in the world. So to me, that doesn't add up. So we need to figure out a way to start. Bringing costs down for a lot of people and [00:52:00] at the same time increasing, increasing outcomes. Joe Moore: Absolutely. Yeah. There's a lot of possible outcome improvements here and, and you know, everything from relapse rates, like we hear often about people leaving a clinic and they go and overdose when they get home. Tragically, too common. I think there's everything from, you know, I'm Jay, I'm involved in an organization called the Psychedelics and Pain Association. Joe Moore: We look at chronic pain very seriously, and IGA is something we are really interested in. And if. We could have better, you know, research, there better outcome measures there. Um, you know, perhaps we can have less people on opioids to begin with from chronic pain conditions. Um, Jay Kopelman: yeah, I, I might be due for another Ibogaine journey then, because I deal with chronic pain from Jiujitsu, but, Joe Moore: oh gosh, let's Jay Kopelman: talk Joe Moore: later. Jay Kopelman: That's self inflicted. Some people would say take a month off, but Melissa Lavasani: yeah, Jay Kopelman: I'm [00:53:00] not, I'm not that smart. Joe Moore: Yeah. Um, but you know, this, uh, yeah, this whole thing is gonna be really interesting to see how it plays out. I'm endlessly hopeful pull because I'm still here. Right. I, I've been at this for almost 10 years now, very publicly, and I think we are seeing a lot of movement. Joe Moore: It's not always what we actually wanna see, but it is movement nonetheless. You know, how many people are writing on this now than there were before? Right. You know, we, we have people in New York Times writing somewhat regularly about psychedelics and. Even international media is covering it. What do we have legalization in Australia somewhat recently for psilocybin and MDMA, Czech Republic. Joe Moore: I think Germany made some moves recently. Mm-hmm. Um, really interesting to see how this is gonna just keep shifting. Um Jay Kopelman: mm-hmm. Joe Moore: And I think there's no way that we're not gonna have prescription psychedelics in three years in the United States. It pro probably more like a [00:54:00] year and a half. I don't know. Do you, are you all taking odds? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah. I mean, I think Jay Kopelman: I, I gotta check Cal sheet, see what they're saying. Melissa Lavasani: I think it's safe to say, I mean, this could even come potentially the end of this year, I think, but definitely by the end of 2027, there's gonna be at least one psychedelic that's FDA approved. Joe Moore: Yeah. Yeah. Melissa Lavasani: If you're not counting Ketamine. Joe Moore: Right. Jay Kopelman: I, I mean, I mean it mm-hmm. It, it doesn't make sense that it. Shouldn't be or wouldn't be. Right. The, we've seen the benefits. Mm-hmm. We know what they are. It's at a very low cost, but you have to keep in mind that these things, they need to be done with the right set setting and container. Right. And, and gotta be able to provide that environment. Jay Kopelman: So, but I would, I would love, like I said, I'd love to work myself out of a job here and see this happen, not just for our veterans, [00:55:00] but for everybody. Joe Moore: Mm-hmm. Um, so Melissa, is there a way people can get involved or follow PMC or how can they support your work at PMC? Melissa Lavasani: Yeah, I mean, follow us in social media. Melissa Lavasani: Um, our two biggest platforms are LinkedIn and Instagram. Um, I'm bringing my newsletter back because I'm realizing, um, you know, there is a big gap in, in kind of like the knowledge of Washington DC just in general. What's happening here, and I think, you know, part of PC's value is that we're, we are plugged into conversations that are being had, um, here in the city. Melissa Lavasani: And, you know, we do get a little insight. Um, and I think that that would really quiet a lot of, you know, the, a lot of noise that, um, exists in the, our ecosystem. If, if people just had some clarity on like, what's actually happening or happening here and what are the opportunities and, [00:56:00] um, where do we need more reinforcement? Melissa Lavasani: Um, and, and also, you know, as we're putting together public education campaign, you know. My, like, if I could get everything I wanted like that, that campaign would be this like multi-stakeholder collaborative effort, right? Where we're covering all the ground that we need to cover. We're talking to the patient groups, we're talking to traditional mental health organizations, we're talking to the medical community, we're talking to the general population. Melissa Lavasani: I think that's like another area that we, we just seem to be, um, lacking some effort in. And, you know, ultimately the veteran story's always super compelling. It pulls on your heartstrings. These are our heroes, um, of our country. Like that, that is, that is meaningful. But a lot of the veteran population is small and we need the, like a, the just.[00:57:00] Melissa Lavasani: Basic American living in middle America, um, understanding what psychedelics are so that in, in, in presenting to them the stories that they can relate to, um, because that's how you activate the public and you activate the public and you get them to see what's happening in these clinical trials, what the data's been saying, what the opportunities are with psychedelics, and then they start calling their members of Congress and saying, Hey, there is this. Melissa Lavasani: Bill sitting in Congress and why haven't you signed onto it? And that political pressure, uh, when used the right way can be really powerful. So, um, I think, you know, now we're at this really amazing moment where we have a good amount of congressional offices that are familiar enough with psychedelics that they're willing to move on it. Melissa Lavasani: Um, there's another larger group, uh, that is familiar with psychedelics and will assist and co-sponsor legislation, but there's still so many offices that we haven't been able to get to just 'cause like we don't have all the time in the world and all the manpower in the world to [00:58:00] do it. But, you know, that is one avenue is like the advocates can speak to the, the lawmakers, the experts speak to the lawmakers, and we not, we want the public engaged in this, you know, ultimately, like that's. Melissa Lavasani: Like the best form of harm reduction is having an informed public. So we are not, they're not seeing these media headlines of like, oh, this miracle cure that, um, saved my family. It's like, yes, that can happen psychedelics. I mean, person speaking personally, psychedelics did save my family. But what you miss out of that story is the incredible amount of work I put into myself and put into my mental health to this day to maintain, um, like myself, my, my own agency and like be the parent that I wanna be and be the spouse that I wanna be. Melissa Lavasani: So, um, we, we need to continue to share these stories and we need to continue to collaborate to get this message out because we're all, we're all in the same boat right now. We all want the same things. We want patients to have safe and [00:59:00] affordable access to psychedelic assisted care. Um, and, uh. We're just in the beginning here, so, um, sign up for our newsletter and we can sign up on our website and then follow us on social media. Melissa Lavasani: And, um, I anticipate more and more events, um, happening with PMC and hopefully we can scale up some of these events to be much more public facing, um, as this issue grows. So, um, I'm really excited about the future and I'm, I've been enjoying this partnership with Mission Within. Jay is such a professional and, and it really shows up when he needs to show up and, um, I look forward to more of that in the future. Joe Moore: Fantastic. And Jay, how can people follow along and support mission within Foundation? Jay Kopelman: Yeah, again, social media is gonna be a good way to do that. So we, we are also pretty heavily engaged on LinkedIn and on Instagram. Um, I do [01:00:00] share, uh, a bit of my own stuff as well. On social media. So we have social media pages for Mission within Foundation, and we have a LinkedIn page for mission within foundation. Jay Kopelman: I have my own profiles on both of those as well where people can follow along. Um, one of the other things you know that would probably help get more attention for this is if the general public was more aware of the numbers of professional athletes who are also now pursuing. I began specifically to help treat their traumatic brain injuries and the chronic traumatic encephalopathy that they've, uh, suffered as a result of their time in professional sports or even college sports. Jay Kopelman: And, you know. I people worship these athletes, and I [01:01:00] think that if more of them, like Robert Gall, were more outspoken about these treatments and the healing properties that they've provided them, that it would get even more attention. Um, I think though what Melissa said, you know, I don't wanna parrot anything she just said because she said it perfectly Right. Jay Kopelman: And I'd just be speaking to hear myself talk. Um, but being collaborative the way that we are with PMC and with Melissa is I think, the way to move the needle on this overall. And like she said, if she could get more groups involved in, in these discussions, it would, it would do wonders for us. Joe Moore: Well, thank you both so much for your hard work out there. I always appreciate it when people are showing up and doing this important, [01:02:00] sometimes boring and tedious, but nevertheless sometimes, sometimes exciting work. And um, so yeah, just thank you both and thank you both for showing up here to psychedelics today to join us and I hope we can continue to support you all in the future. Jay Kopelman: Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. It's a pleasure being with you today and with Melissa, of course, always Melissa Lavasani: appreciate the time and space. Joe Moore: Thanks.  

#podcast #progressive #politics #Democrats #MAGA #Republicans #Trump #EpsteinFiles #Billionaires #pedophilia #CorporateGreed #CorporateCorruption #WeathInequality #WorkingClass #GovernmentCorruption #Authoritarians #Oligarchy #JeffreyEpstein #LisaMcClain #GordieHoweBridge #Michigan #RickSnyder #Whitmer #Education #Vouchers #BetsyDeVos #PublicEducation #RxKids #Teachers #Maroun #Ambassador Bridge #MattHall #Lutnick #DonorClass #LawandOrder #Fascism #Democracy #LeftofLansingHere's Episode #166 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast!00:00-8:13: MAGA Epstein Pedophile ProtectorsLeft of Lansing's Pat Johnston opens the show by talking about how Michigan MAGA Republicans, like Congresswoman Lisa McClain, or Congressmen John Moolenaar, Tim Walberg, Bill Huizenga, Jack Bergman, and John James, are all protecting the billionaire Epstein Class. They claim to care about the safety of children, but their actions say otherwise.8:14-14:31: Trump Threatens New BridgeDear Leader out of nowhere this week declared he'd delay the opening of the publicly-financed Gordie Howe Bridge as a wink and a nod to the MAGA Michigan billionaire Maroun Family, which owns the Ambassador Bridge. Even though Canada paid for the bridge, and was negotiated by former Republican Governor Rick Snyder, the Marouns want it blocked. Notice how the Trump Regime moves quickly for its Epstein Class base supporters.14:32-42:24: Josh Cowen InterviewPat talks with Dr. Josh Cowen, who is the author of "The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers." Dr. Cowen is a professor of Education Policy at Michigan State University, and has written extensively on the failed billionaire Betsy DeVos' school voucher movement. Well, DeVos and other billionaires are finding ways to decimate public schools. Visit Dr. Josh Cowen's Substack: Josh Cowen's Newsletter.42:25-50:04: Last Call: Trump's Econ Hurts MIIn this week's "Last Call," Pat highlights new data showing how the MAGA Trump Regime's economy is leading to major job losses in Michigan. Tariffs, and continued tax cuts and corporate welfare are leading to expected results. 50:05-52:14: EndingPlease, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can!leftoflansing@gmail.comLeft of Lansing is now on YouTube as well!https://www.patreon.com/cw/LeftofLansingMusic provided by Wanderbeats. To hear the latest project, visit Space Leopard on various streaming sites, or visit: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceLeopardNOTES:"Helping our children live better, more prosperous lives is the most basic, sacred obligation we have." By Dr. Josh Cowen of "Josh Cowen's Newsletter" Substack."Trump's threat to block Gordie Howe bridge is pure oligarchy." By Steve Neavling of The Detroit Metro Times "Moroun cash ties Michigan GOP hopefuls to Trump's Gordie Howe bridge standoff." By Ben Solis of Michigan Advance "Trump cabinet member ensnared in Epstein scandal." By Judd Legam and Rebecca Crosby of Popular Information "High costs, uncertainty among local impacts of Trump tariffs." By Leo Kaplan of The City Pulse "Michigan loses more jobs than all but one other state, report says." By Todd Spangler & Adrienne Roberts of The Detroit Free Press "Mike Duggan ‘studying' Trump school choice program for Michigan." By Simon D. Schuster of Bridge Michigan "Whitmer signs off on school cell phone ban set for next fall." By Kyle Davidson of Michigan Advance "Michigan travel pitch draws Canadian criticism amid Trump trade tensions." By Janelle D. James of Bridge Michigan Gordie Howe Bridge Photo: "Gordie Howe Bridge 2025c2" by Antony-22 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Gordie Howe Bridge & Ambassador Bridge Exits Photo: Valaurian Waller/The Conversation, CC BY-ND (via Michigan Advance)

The Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act aims to give the VA dedicated capacity to research emerging treatments for PTSD and other invisible wounds. We'll hear from Representatives Lou Correa from California and Jack Bergman from Michigan, the lawmakers behind the push, and what it means for veterans and families.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Congressman Jack Bergman, representing Michigan's 1st Congressional District, weighs in on escalating actions against Venezuela's regime, which President Trump has labeled a foreign terrorist organization. Bergman discusses the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan “ghost ship,” strikes against drug-running boats, and the ongoing fight to stop fentanyl and other deadly narcotics from reaching American communities. He pushes back on criticism from the left, noting that U.S. interdiction of drug vessels is nothing new, pointing out that legislation authorizing these actions dates back decades, including measures authored by Democrats like Chuck Schumer. The conversation also turns to issues impacting everyday Americans, including healthcare challenges and gas prices, and why strong leadership matters both at home and abroad.

Steve Gruber discusses news and headlines

In today's Sunday brunch edition, join John Solomon as he welcomes a lineup of insightful guests discussing critical issues from Obamacare subsidies to home title theft. Congressman Jack Bergman, a former Marine general, reveals shocking truths about insurance subsidies that could leave you outraged. Congressman Ralph Norman breaks down the Republican agenda and what may come next after the government reopens. Andy Roth, chairman of the State Freedom Caucus, shares the transformative influence of these groups in Congress. Finally, journalist John Sommer discusses the alarming trend of home title theft and how to safeguard your property.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we unveil shocking new revelations from recently declassified documents regarding the FBI's handling of classified leaks during the Russiagate investigation. Join us as we discuss the implications of these findings, including accusations against former FBI Director James Comey and his team, and the lack of accountability in Washington. We also explore the ongoing issues of drug shortages in America and the government's response, along with insights into the potential risks of central bank digital currencies. Interviews include conversations with Congressman and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general Jack Bergman, John Knox, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Shannon Davis from American Alternative Assets.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Congressman Jack Bergman, retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017. Israel-Iran-US. No Kings Protests. One Big Beautiful Bill.

June 27, 2025 ~ Congressman Jack Bergman, a former 3-star general, joins Lloyd and former Congressman Dave Trott to discuss National PTSD Day, the use of psychedelic therapies, legislation to increase federal funding for research into therapies, and much more.

June 23, 2025 ~ Following the U.S. strike on Iran over the weekend, Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin to react to the President's actions.

June 20, 2025 ~ Full Show: Kevin checks in with Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington after the shelter-in-place in Southgate after 2 officers were shot. Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin to discuss the latest with Israel and Iran. Taylor Vitany checks in about what is going on this weekend.

June 20, 2025 ~ As the President continues to consider what to do with Israel and Iran, Congressman Jack Bergman, retired three-star general in the Marine Corps, joins Kevin to discuss the latest.

On Thursday, the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan group of veterans now serving in Congress, will hand wash the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Congressman Jack Bergman (R-MI), one of the only three Vietnam veterans in Congress, joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss participating in the annual event ahead of Memorial Day. In addition, he reacts to cuts and restructuring at the VA, as well as the reconciliation bill. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#podcast #politics #Michigan #Democrats #progressives #CorporateCorruption #GovernmentCorruption #CorporateWelfare #WorkingClass #Lobbying #DonorBase #CorporateAuthoritarianism #Trump #ElonMusk #Whitmer #MattHall #Republicans #LeftOfLansing Here's Episode 131 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! 00:00-21:41: Trump's Low #'s/Slotkin & Oligarchy The first segment features Pat Johnston detailing how Michiganders, and America, are giving Trump a failing grade after his first 100 days in office. Trump's tariffs are hurting the working class, but he and his regime are doubling-down. Then, Pat breaks-down Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin's new "war plans" for Democrats, and where she says Democrats should stop saying "oligarchy" when attacking Trump. Pat gives examples where he thinks Slotkin's right, and where she's wrong. 22:01-39:00: Interview w/ Paula Gardner Paula Gardner, Business Editor at Bridge Michigan, is our guest this week. Ms. Gardner unveiled a handful of articles detailing how this state's reliance on taxpayer-funded corporate subsidies aren't bringing the jobs and economic growth many promised. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has championed these subsidies during her tenure. But because the near $1Billion in spending hasn't resulted in the jobs supporters said would happen, there seems to be bipartisan agreement that we need new solutions. Check-out Ms. Gardner's article, "WHITMER SUBSIDY RECORD: COMPANIES GET 1-BILLION DOLLARS; JOBS FALL SHORT OF PROMISES.” 39:01-46:00: Last Call-Whitmer & Trump Pat's "Last Call" is on Whitmer joining Trump during his Michigan trip this week, and where she went right and wrong on that visit.  46:01-49:16: Ending Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can! leftoflansing@gmail.com Left of Lansing is now on YouTube as well! leftoflansing.com NOTES: "Whitmer subsidy record: Companies get $1 billion; jobs fall short of promises." By Paula Gardner of Bridge Michigan "After $1B and mixed results, Michigan lawmakers cooling on corporate incentives." By Paula Gardner of Bridge Michigan "Bernie Sanders pushes back against Elissa Slotkin's criticism of using the term ‘oligarchy.'" By Jon King of Michigan Advance "U.S. economy shrinks 0.3% in first quarter as Trump trade wars disrupt businesses." By Paul Wiseman and Christopher Rugaber of Associated Press "UP protesters gather in Marquette before Rep. Jack Bergman speaks at fundraiser." By TV6 WLUC in Marquette "Trump, joined by Whitmer, announces new jets for Selfridge." By Rob French of Bridge Michigan "More give Trump an F than any other grade for first 100 days, poll finds." By Domenico Montanaro of NPR

#podcast #progressive #Michigan #Indivisible #Democrats #MAGA #Republicans #JackBergman #WorkingClass #CorporateCorruption #WealthInequality #Democracy #FreedomOfSpeech #Gaza #Immigration #LeftOfLansing #Trump #Musk Here's Episode 125 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! 00:00-21:30: Democrats Must Learn Offense Pat Johnston opens this week's show opining how ineffective and weak Democrats appear to voters, especially after how U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fell apart and gave into appeasement last week. Pat explains how Democrats must go on offense, and propose a strong, working class agenda to counter the Anti-Working agenda pushed by Elon Musk, Dear Leader Trump, and MAGA Republicans. Pat explains how it doesn't seem like Democrats are getting the message how people need to know they're hearing their worries while the working class is suffering, and democracy is disappearing. 21:31-40:02: Traverse Indivisible John DeSpelder Interview Traverse Indivisible's John DeSpelder joins the show to talk about a town hall meeting in honor of the always-absent MAGA Republican Congressman Jack Bergman. It's taking place on Saturday, March 22nd from 1-2:30pm. Traverse Indivisible And Leelanau Indivisible chapters joined forces to hold a town hall event in Bergman's district since Bergman not only refuses to hold a town hall now, but he hasn't held one since 2017! MAGA Republicans are not for the people, or for the working class as they allow Musk & Trump to dismantle Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, education, science, and democracy. To watch the March 22nd Town Hall from 1-2:30pm, you can sign-up here. The town hall is already sold-out! Click here to learn more about Indivisible.org. 40:03-47:03: Last Call--Arab American Voters Betrayed  In the "Last Call,' Pat implores progressives and Democrats to show empathy and and welcome back Arab American voters, who defected to Trump in the 2024 election.  48:00-50:12: Ending (Tesla) Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can! leftoflansing@gmail.com Left of Lansing is now on YouTube as well! leftoflansing.com NOTES: "Michigan income tax would drop under House-passed bill." By Clara Hendrickson of The Detroit Free Press "Slotkin says she ‘can't just be an activist' and calls on Dems to act." By Alison Main of CNN "Protestors at University of Michigan call for the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil." By Anna Liz Nichols of Michigan Advance "Arab and Muslim voters helped deliver Michigan to Trump. They're not all happy so far." By Sarah McCammon of NPR

February 17, 2025 ~ Over the weekend, Hamas released 3 hostages. Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin to discuss this.

February 17, 2025 ~ Full Show: Kevin reflects on Presidents' Day with Greg Sumner. Congressman Jack Bergman calls in to discuss what happened in Gaza over the weekend. Congresswoman Haley Stevens discusses the latest with DOGE. After Saturday's eventful U.S. vs Canada hockey game, Darren McCarty recaps the game with Kevin.

November 11, 2024 ~ On this Veterans Day, Kevin is joined by Congressman Jack Bergman to celebrate him today and remember our veterans.

October 2, 2024 ~ Yesterday, Iran launches missiles at Israel in retaliation. Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin to discuss the impacts we may expect to see.

October 2, 2024 ~ Full Show: Kevin reacts to last night's Vice Presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz. The Tigers pulled out a win during the first game of the playoffs. Congressman Jack Bergman reacts to Iran's missile strike against Israel.

July 10, 2024 ~ As democrats continue to speak out over concerns over President Biden's health, Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin and Tom to discuss why he thinks he is unfit to lead.

July 10, 2024 ~ Full Show: Kevin and Tom are joined by Congressman Shri Thanedar and Congressman Jack Bergman to discuss President Biden staying in the presidential race. State Rep. Phil Skaggs (D-East Grand Rapids) calls in after he has said it is time for President Biden to step down.

Callie Barr was born and raised in Northern Michigan. Now, she's running for Congress to represent the state's 1st District. The incumbent, Jack Bergman, is a Trump-endorsed retired Marine who tried to overturn the 2020 election. As a military wife who knows the sacrifices American armed forces make to defend democracy, that doesn't sit well with Callie. "When you see a confederate flag in our nation's Capitol, that should strike outrage." She told Steve Schmidt. "And for that not to be the case, to me was against everything that we have fought for." Callie is also a teacher and a lawyer and is advocating for her fellow Michiganders in the Upper Peninsula. Learn more about Callie Barr and donate to her campaign here: https://www.callieforcongress.com/ ** To become a The Warning Premium Member and listen to the show 48 hours early with access to premium content visit: https://thewarning.supercast.com/ Subscribe for more and follow me here: Substack: https://steveschmidt.substack.com/subscribe Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveSchmidtSES/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewarningses Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarningses/

Congressman Jack Bergman is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017.

Feb. 7, 2024 ~ Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin and Tom to discuss the latest with the immigration bill and why he doesn't support it.

Feb. 7, 2024 ~ Full Show: Following the verdict that Jennifer Crumbley is guilty of 4four counts of involuntary manslaughter, Kevin and Tom break down the case with Todd Flood. Tate Myre's father Buck Myre, also joins to express his feelings on the verdict. Congressman Jack Bergman joins Kevin and Tom to talk about the latest immigration bill.

Congressman Jack Bergman is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017. Congressman Bergman Takes Action: Urges Governor Whitmer to Safeguard Great Lakes Fisheries and Anglers

Congressman Jack Bergman is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017. 1.)  The oversight task force - reevaluation of the legality of the Biden Administration's withholding of congressionally appropriated funds for southwest border wall 2.)  appropriations for Michigan

In this enlightening episode of our podcast series, we sit down with Congressman Jack Bergman, a distinguished figure in American politics and the highest-ranking combat veteran in the U.S. House. Hosted by Jeff Crank, this interview delves into the multifaceted career and life experiences of Congressman Bergman, highlighting his journey from a Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps to a respected political leader representing Michigan's 1st Congressional District. Bergman shares insights from his 40 years of military service, his entrepreneurial ventures, and his commitment to serving his constituents and the nation.    Tune in to hear Congressman Bergman's perspectives on leadership, service, and the pressing issues facing America today. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersections of military experience and political leadership, offering a unique window into the life of a man who has dedicated his life to public service.   Check out American Potential here: https://americanpotential.com       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanPotentialPodcast       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanpotentialpodcast/       X: https://twitter.com/AMPotentialPod

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, October 25th, 2023. Page50 ad read concepts: Page50 is a distinctly Christian marketing company striving to help Christian-owned businesses grow and succeed in our digital age. They don’t want to just make a paycheck, they want to change the world, and that means building it alongside you. The mission is bigger than just Sunday. Page50 wants to help Christians recapture the work week, economic and political influence, and the public square. Page50 doesn’t work with just anybody, but if you’re a believer they want to work with you. Visit pagefifty.com (ya gotta spell it out) and see what they can do for you. That’s pagefifty.com. https://dailycaller.com/2023/10/24/tom-emmer-wins-gop-nomination-speaker/ Tom Emmer Wins GOP Nomination For Speaker Of The House On Secret Ballot House Majority Whip Tom Emmer won the nomination for Speaker of the House on Tuesday after five rounds of votes. Republicans were voting by secret ballot until they were able to get to a candidate who received a simple majority of the conference votes. After each round of votes, the member who received the lowest numbers was eliminated. Candidates running had the option to drop out before each round of votes if they felt that they did not have enough support. 109 votes were needed to win. Before the first round, there were seven GOP Republicans running for Speaker. Reps Tom Emmer, Mike Johnson, Byron Donald’s, Kevin Hern, Austin Scott, Jack Bergman and Pete Sessions. Sessions received the lowest amount of votes during the first round of votes and dropped out. Bergman dropped out after the second round of votes, as he received the least amount of votes. After the third round, Scott received the least amount of votes and dropped out of the race. After the fourth vote, Hern dropped out of the race after receiving the least amount of votes. Donalds then voluntarily dropped out of the race. Emmer secured the majority of votes during the fifth vote. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan was voted out of the race for speaker of the House on Friday after failing to receive the necessary votes on three separate ballots. Jordan lost in a secret ballot vote 86-112. https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/nearly-1-million-residents-left-california-2022-fueled-cost-living Nearly 1 million residents left California in 2022 fueled by cost of living The exodus from California accelerated in 2022, with 817,000 residents leaving the state in 2022 for an annual net loss of over three hundred thousand residents to other states, according to new U.S. Census data. Should outmigration continue, California could lose more than the five, already projected, congressional seats it’s expected to shed after the 2030 census. During the COVID-19 pandemic and switch to remote work, California lost population for the first time in its existence as a state, leading to the loss of a single congressional seat in 2021 during the nation’s reapportionment of census-based distribution of the nation’s 435 congressional representatives. With a smaller congressional delegation, the state would have less power to shape federal spending. While California Governor Gavin Newsom has not addressed the new numbers directly, when challenged by Fox News host Sean Hannity on California’s population decline in a June 2023 interview, he said, “.3% [population loss] during COVID. My gosh.” Just before the interview, Newsom’s Department of Finance estimated the state’s population had declined by 138,443 during 2022, making for a .36% population loss in a single year. Also using Department of Finance Data, the Public Policy Institute of California estimated a decline of 211,000 residents in 2022. Meanwhile, the latest Census data cited above, once accounting for a sharp rebound in immigration and decrease in deaths that offset the increase in outward immigration, estimates a population decrease of 113,000 for 2022. While the reason for the differences is not clear — the finance department notes that the discrepancy between its numbers and the Census reporting is due to different time frames being measured — the general trend of data demonstrating the state’s general population decline is consistent. According to PPIC polling, 45% of Californians are considering leaving the state due to the high cost of housing. Will Swaim, founder of the California Policy Center, acknowledges that housing is a major factor but that other costs, the lack of opportunity, and even the poor state of public education are leaving many Californians, especially parents, looking to move elsewhere. “There’s no question that housing costs are huge, but that really ignores the myriad other ways that California has simply destroyed business opportunity, especially for the working class,” said Swaim to The Center Square. “It is a very expensive state to live in and the poorer you are the more that housing cost number hurts. But how about gasoline? Every week people are putting almost double what our fellow Americans in other states are putting in their cars.” Those leaving the state are disproportionately younger and lower income. For many families, buying property and raising children in the state is no longer a viable option. “We are losing younger folks, and I think we will see people continuing to migrate where housing costs are lower,” Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “There are good jobs in California, but housing is incredibly expensive. It hurts young families, and it hurts immigrant families.” Swaim, who raised his children in California, noted that his now-adult children are left looking elsewhere for alternatives. Sharing his children’s thoughts, he said, “We don’t want our children to be educated in California's public schools, but we want them to be educated in private schools that we can’t afford.” The majority of students in California public schools do not meet the state’s moderate standards for math, science, and English. When combining all sources of funding, California public schools spend approximately $27,000 per student. The Education Data Initiative estimates the average K-12 private school tuition in California is $16,337. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2023/10/23/us-border-agents-warned-to-look-out-for-hamas-fighters-n2630232 CBP Agents Receive New Warning in Light of Israel-Hamas Conflict Authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border are being warned by the San Diego Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to keep an eye out for "foreign fighters" connected to the terrorist groups waging war against Israel for the last two-plus weeks, another sign that the border crisis has wide-ranging national security implications. First reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation's Jennie Taer, the "Situational Awareness" bulletin sent Friday is titled "Foreign Fighters of Israel-Hamas Conflict May Potentially be Encountered at Southwest Border" and is marked "unclassified/law enforcement sensitive." The bulletin explains: San Diego Field Office Intelligence Unit (SDFO-FITU) assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt to travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via transit across the Southwest border. Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico. Among the items border agents are advised to watch for are military patches for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hezbollah terrorist organizations — all funded by the regime in Iran. Other possible indicators are military age males, military gear including weapons, camouflage, and the previously mentioned terror group patches, single travelers, and those with undetermined return plans or associations to Israel, the Palestinian territories or regional affiliations. Agents are also given "questions of interest" to ask potential suspects with ties to the terrorist organizations to probe whether individuals have any "association with military or security services or government civilian agencies?" or "personal or familial association with Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) or any other similar groups?" It's unsurprising that there's growing fear that terror-linked individuals may be seeking to take advantage of the border crisis after a record-setting number of apprehensions and "gotaways" have been recorded on the Biden administration's watch, including an alarming number of individuals whose names matched with people listed in U.S. terror watch lists. https://www.foxnews.com/world/iceland-pm-goes-strike-womens-equal-pay-gender-based-violence Iceland PM goes on strike over women's equal pay, gender-based violence The prime minister of Iceland went on strike Tuesday in protest of gender discrimination. Prime Minister Katrin yaker-stoder joined women across the country in a national demonstration against pay discrimination and gendered violence. "We have not yet reached our goals of full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023," Jakobsdóttir told news outlet mbl.is. The nationwide protest, referred to as a "women's strike," is the first full day of widespread female absence from the workforce since 1975. "I will not work this day, as I expect all the women [in cabinet] will do as well," Jakobsdóttir said. The original protest aimed to emphasize the importance of women in the workforce and urge an end to disparate wages between female and male workers. Women in Iceland earn approximately 10% less on average compared to their male counterparts, according to the World Economic Forum. As Icelandic women's rights movements have made greater headway in their campaigns, the scope and meaning of the protests have expanded to include other issues. "We are still tackling gender-based violence, which has been a priority for my government to tackle," yakob-stoder said. Iceland consistently ranks among the most gender-equal countries in the world in terms of education, employment and health care. Jakobsdóttir's cabinet maintains an equal number of men and women and Iceland's national parliament hovers just under 50% female. Past Icelandic women's strikes have sparked similar protests in other European countries. https://thepostmillennial.com/coca-cola-quietly-deletes-mentions-of-hamas-supporting-blm-from-company-website?utm_campaign=64487 Coca-Cola quietly deletes mentions of BLM from company website Coca-Cola has been a financial sponsor of Black Lives Matter for years, however, references to its support of the organization appeared to have vanished from its website in light of recent posts shared by the group siding with Hamas. BLM Chicago and an organizer from Los Angeles are among those associated with the purported civil rights group to have publicly voiced support for the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group following its latest wave of violence. On Friday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) revealed that he had caught the beverage giant "red-handed," posting two screenshots of its website, one of which included references to BLM, and an updated version that does not. Coca-Cola had originally stated on its website that Sprite, which it owns, had donated $500,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network to "support the group's voting education efforts and their February 2021 Black Future Month program." "We're in this for the long haul," brand lead Aaliyah Shafiq noted. "Lasting change will not happen overnight, so we're committed to continuing to amplofy the voices and efforts of our community, to listen and learn, and to actively help create a better shared future for America." In the updated version of their website, Shafiq's quote is still there, however, the entire sentence highlighting the $500,000 contribution has been deleted. "Editing your website is not enough," Cruz said. "Americans DEMAND an apology." The posts in question were shared in the days following Hamas' brutal massacre of civilians in Israel. BLM Chicago featured an image of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag attached to his parachute. "That is all that it is!" was the caption. Before long, users utilized X's Community Notes feature to point out important context. "The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas used armed gun men on Paragliders to enter a rave in Israel to kill over 260 innocent people partying," the note read, adding that, "previous to this incident, Palestinians were not know[n] for paragliding." It was later deleted, though the group did remain steadfast in its support for the Palestinians over Israel. "For every corporate donor who sent millions to BLM—including Amazon, Apple, BlackRock & Bank of America—do you regret supporting such an antisemitic organization?" Cruz asked on his podcast Wednesday, according to Fox News. The organizer from Los Angeles, Dr. Melina Abdullah, said in her post that "we must stand unwaveringly on the side of the oppressed," adding, "when a people have been subject to decades of unimaginable violence, their resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense."

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, October 25th, 2023. Page50 ad read concepts: Page50 is a distinctly Christian marketing company striving to help Christian-owned businesses grow and succeed in our digital age. They don’t want to just make a paycheck, they want to change the world, and that means building it alongside you. The mission is bigger than just Sunday. Page50 wants to help Christians recapture the work week, economic and political influence, and the public square. Page50 doesn’t work with just anybody, but if you’re a believer they want to work with you. Visit pagefifty.com (ya gotta spell it out) and see what they can do for you. That’s pagefifty.com. https://dailycaller.com/2023/10/24/tom-emmer-wins-gop-nomination-speaker/ Tom Emmer Wins GOP Nomination For Speaker Of The House On Secret Ballot House Majority Whip Tom Emmer won the nomination for Speaker of the House on Tuesday after five rounds of votes. Republicans were voting by secret ballot until they were able to get to a candidate who received a simple majority of the conference votes. After each round of votes, the member who received the lowest numbers was eliminated. Candidates running had the option to drop out before each round of votes if they felt that they did not have enough support. 109 votes were needed to win. Before the first round, there were seven GOP Republicans running for Speaker. Reps Tom Emmer, Mike Johnson, Byron Donald’s, Kevin Hern, Austin Scott, Jack Bergman and Pete Sessions. Sessions received the lowest amount of votes during the first round of votes and dropped out. Bergman dropped out after the second round of votes, as he received the least amount of votes. After the third round, Scott received the least amount of votes and dropped out of the race. After the fourth vote, Hern dropped out of the race after receiving the least amount of votes. Donalds then voluntarily dropped out of the race. Emmer secured the majority of votes during the fifth vote. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan was voted out of the race for speaker of the House on Friday after failing to receive the necessary votes on three separate ballots. Jordan lost in a secret ballot vote 86-112. https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/nearly-1-million-residents-left-california-2022-fueled-cost-living Nearly 1 million residents left California in 2022 fueled by cost of living The exodus from California accelerated in 2022, with 817,000 residents leaving the state in 2022 for an annual net loss of over three hundred thousand residents to other states, according to new U.S. Census data. Should outmigration continue, California could lose more than the five, already projected, congressional seats it’s expected to shed after the 2030 census. During the COVID-19 pandemic and switch to remote work, California lost population for the first time in its existence as a state, leading to the loss of a single congressional seat in 2021 during the nation’s reapportionment of census-based distribution of the nation’s 435 congressional representatives. With a smaller congressional delegation, the state would have less power to shape federal spending. While California Governor Gavin Newsom has not addressed the new numbers directly, when challenged by Fox News host Sean Hannity on California’s population decline in a June 2023 interview, he said, “.3% [population loss] during COVID. My gosh.” Just before the interview, Newsom’s Department of Finance estimated the state’s population had declined by 138,443 during 2022, making for a .36% population loss in a single year. Also using Department of Finance Data, the Public Policy Institute of California estimated a decline of 211,000 residents in 2022. Meanwhile, the latest Census data cited above, once accounting for a sharp rebound in immigration and decrease in deaths that offset the increase in outward immigration, estimates a population decrease of 113,000 for 2022. While the reason for the differences is not clear — the finance department notes that the discrepancy between its numbers and the Census reporting is due to different time frames being measured — the general trend of data demonstrating the state’s general population decline is consistent. According to PPIC polling, 45% of Californians are considering leaving the state due to the high cost of housing. Will Swaim, founder of the California Policy Center, acknowledges that housing is a major factor but that other costs, the lack of opportunity, and even the poor state of public education are leaving many Californians, especially parents, looking to move elsewhere. “There’s no question that housing costs are huge, but that really ignores the myriad other ways that California has simply destroyed business opportunity, especially for the working class,” said Swaim to The Center Square. “It is a very expensive state to live in and the poorer you are the more that housing cost number hurts. But how about gasoline? Every week people are putting almost double what our fellow Americans in other states are putting in their cars.” Those leaving the state are disproportionately younger and lower income. For many families, buying property and raising children in the state is no longer a viable option. “We are losing younger folks, and I think we will see people continuing to migrate where housing costs are lower,” Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “There are good jobs in California, but housing is incredibly expensive. It hurts young families, and it hurts immigrant families.” Swaim, who raised his children in California, noted that his now-adult children are left looking elsewhere for alternatives. Sharing his children’s thoughts, he said, “We don’t want our children to be educated in California's public schools, but we want them to be educated in private schools that we can’t afford.” The majority of students in California public schools do not meet the state’s moderate standards for math, science, and English. When combining all sources of funding, California public schools spend approximately $27,000 per student. The Education Data Initiative estimates the average K-12 private school tuition in California is $16,337. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2023/10/23/us-border-agents-warned-to-look-out-for-hamas-fighters-n2630232 CBP Agents Receive New Warning in Light of Israel-Hamas Conflict Authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border are being warned by the San Diego Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to keep an eye out for "foreign fighters" connected to the terrorist groups waging war against Israel for the last two-plus weeks, another sign that the border crisis has wide-ranging national security implications. First reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation's Jennie Taer, the "Situational Awareness" bulletin sent Friday is titled "Foreign Fighters of Israel-Hamas Conflict May Potentially be Encountered at Southwest Border" and is marked "unclassified/law enforcement sensitive." The bulletin explains: San Diego Field Office Intelligence Unit (SDFO-FITU) assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt to travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via transit across the Southwest border. Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico. Among the items border agents are advised to watch for are military patches for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hezbollah terrorist organizations — all funded by the regime in Iran. Other possible indicators are military age males, military gear including weapons, camouflage, and the previously mentioned terror group patches, single travelers, and those with undetermined return plans or associations to Israel, the Palestinian territories or regional affiliations. Agents are also given "questions of interest" to ask potential suspects with ties to the terrorist organizations to probe whether individuals have any "association with military or security services or government civilian agencies?" or "personal or familial association with Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) or any other similar groups?" It's unsurprising that there's growing fear that terror-linked individuals may be seeking to take advantage of the border crisis after a record-setting number of apprehensions and "gotaways" have been recorded on the Biden administration's watch, including an alarming number of individuals whose names matched with people listed in U.S. terror watch lists. https://www.foxnews.com/world/iceland-pm-goes-strike-womens-equal-pay-gender-based-violence Iceland PM goes on strike over women's equal pay, gender-based violence The prime minister of Iceland went on strike Tuesday in protest of gender discrimination. Prime Minister Katrin yaker-stoder joined women across the country in a national demonstration against pay discrimination and gendered violence. "We have not yet reached our goals of full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023," Jakobsdóttir told news outlet mbl.is. The nationwide protest, referred to as a "women's strike," is the first full day of widespread female absence from the workforce since 1975. "I will not work this day, as I expect all the women [in cabinet] will do as well," Jakobsdóttir said. The original protest aimed to emphasize the importance of women in the workforce and urge an end to disparate wages between female and male workers. Women in Iceland earn approximately 10% less on average compared to their male counterparts, according to the World Economic Forum. As Icelandic women's rights movements have made greater headway in their campaigns, the scope and meaning of the protests have expanded to include other issues. "We are still tackling gender-based violence, which has been a priority for my government to tackle," yakob-stoder said. Iceland consistently ranks among the most gender-equal countries in the world in terms of education, employment and health care. Jakobsdóttir's cabinet maintains an equal number of men and women and Iceland's national parliament hovers just under 50% female. Past Icelandic women's strikes have sparked similar protests in other European countries. https://thepostmillennial.com/coca-cola-quietly-deletes-mentions-of-hamas-supporting-blm-from-company-website?utm_campaign=64487 Coca-Cola quietly deletes mentions of BLM from company website Coca-Cola has been a financial sponsor of Black Lives Matter for years, however, references to its support of the organization appeared to have vanished from its website in light of recent posts shared by the group siding with Hamas. BLM Chicago and an organizer from Los Angeles are among those associated with the purported civil rights group to have publicly voiced support for the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group following its latest wave of violence. On Friday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) revealed that he had caught the beverage giant "red-handed," posting two screenshots of its website, one of which included references to BLM, and an updated version that does not. Coca-Cola had originally stated on its website that Sprite, which it owns, had donated $500,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network to "support the group's voting education efforts and their February 2021 Black Future Month program." "We're in this for the long haul," brand lead Aaliyah Shafiq noted. "Lasting change will not happen overnight, so we're committed to continuing to amplofy the voices and efforts of our community, to listen and learn, and to actively help create a better shared future for America." In the updated version of their website, Shafiq's quote is still there, however, the entire sentence highlighting the $500,000 contribution has been deleted. "Editing your website is not enough," Cruz said. "Americans DEMAND an apology." The posts in question were shared in the days following Hamas' brutal massacre of civilians in Israel. BLM Chicago featured an image of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag attached to his parachute. "That is all that it is!" was the caption. Before long, users utilized X's Community Notes feature to point out important context. "The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas used armed gun men on Paragliders to enter a rave in Israel to kill over 260 innocent people partying," the note read, adding that, "previous to this incident, Palestinians were not know[n] for paragliding." It was later deleted, though the group did remain steadfast in its support for the Palestinians over Israel. "For every corporate donor who sent millions to BLM—including Amazon, Apple, BlackRock & Bank of America—do you regret supporting such an antisemitic organization?" Cruz asked on his podcast Wednesday, according to Fox News. The organizer from Los Angeles, Dr. Melina Abdullah, said in her post that "we must stand unwaveringly on the side of the oppressed," adding, "when a people have been subject to decades of unimaginable violence, their resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense."

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: Rich is joined by 1210 WPHT producers Anthony and Dan who are at Citizen Bank Park ahead of tonight's Game 6 playoff matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The series is best of seven. The Phillies currently lead the series 3-2. You can listen to their podcast, The Other Side with Dan and DiRenzo, here: https://www.audacy.com/1210wpht/podcasts/the-otherside-with-dan-and-direnzo-389572 Guy Ciarrocchi— Fellow at The Commonwealth Foundation & Columnist at Broad + Liberty—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his latest article at Real Clear Pennsylvania, “Time for Suburban Democrats to Prove They're Moderates.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.realclearpennsylvania.com/articles/2023/10/20/time_for_suburban_democrats_to_prove_theyre_moderates_987589.html According to The New York Times, there are nine declared Republican candidates for the vacated House speakership: Representatives Tom Emmer, Austin Scott, Byron Donalds, Kevin Hern, Gary Palmer, Jack Bergman, Mike Johnson, Pete Sessions, and Dan Meuser. While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy endorsed House majority whip Emmer. You can read more about the declared candidates here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/us/politics/republican-house-speaker-candidates.html Jennifer Stefano— Executive Vice President of the Commonwealth Foundation & Columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss her latest editorial, “Jewish Donors and Allies' Letters to Penn Expose the Moral Rot in American Higher Education.” You can read the article here: https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/university-pennsylvania-antisemitism-liberal-arts-education-20231023.html

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (10/23/2023): 3:05pm- In a new editorial, center-left writer Matthew Yglesias argues that retail theft has become professionalized. Though progressive Democrats like Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez argue that shoplifting is done by the needy, Yglesias contends that narrative is inaccurate—with most retail theft being the result of criminals simply seeking an expedient way to attain money. The Washington Post notes that many cities are becoming “pharmacy deserts” with drugstore chains closing in major cities as a result of unchecked thefts. You can read Yglesias's full article here: https://www.slowboring.com/p/taking-retail-theft-seriously. And you can read more about pharmacy deserts here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/22/drugstore-close-pharmacy-deserts/ 3:15pm- While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Secretary of State Antony Blinken answered questions about potential Iranian involvement in Israel's fight against Hamas terrorists, explaining: “we expect that there is a likelihood of escalation—escalation by Iran proxies directed at our forces.” 3:30pm- While speaking with Jonathan Karl on ABC News, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned about potential escalation in the Middle East as Iranian-backed proxies begin to involve themselves military—even targeting U.S. forces stationed in the region. 3:45pm- During Monday's White House press briefing, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby was asked how the Biden Administration can guarantee that American aid provided to Gaza won't unintentionally end up in the hands of Hamas. Kirby said he was “not blind to the potential concerns” but did not explain how the administration would guarantee Hamas did not derive financial benefit. 3:50pm- According to investigative reporter Jennie Taer of The Daily Caller, “[f]ederal officials are warning that members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah could be crossing through the southern border.” You can read the full report here: https://dailycaller.com/2023/10/22/hamas-hezbollah-southern-border/ 4:00pm- Rich is joined by 1210 WPHT producers Anthony and Dan who are at Citizen Bank Park ahead of tonight's Game 6 playoff matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The series is best of seven. The Phillies currently lead the series 3-2. You can listen to their podcast, The Other Side with Dan and DiRenzo, here: https://www.audacy.com/1210wpht/podcasts/the-otherside-with-dan-and-direnzo-389572 4:05pm- Guy Ciarrocchi— Fellow at The Commonwealth Foundation & Columnist at Broad + Liberty—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his latest article at Real Clear Pennsylvania, “Time for Suburban Democrats to Prove They're Moderates.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.realclearpennsylvania.com/articles/2023/10/20/time_for_suburban_democrats_to_prove_theyre_moderates_987589.html 4:30pm- According to The New York Times, there are nine declared Republican candidates for the vacated House speakership: Representatives Tom Emmer, Austin Scott, Byron Donalds, Kevin Hern, Gary Palmer, Jack Bergman, Mike Johnson, Pete Sessions, and Dan Meuser. While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy endorsed House majority whip Emmer. You can read more about the declared candidates here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/us/politics/republican-house-speaker-candidates.html 4:40pm- Jennifer Stefano— Executive Vice President of the Commonwealth Foundation & Columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss her latest editorial, “Jewish Donors and Allies' Letters to Penn Expose the Moral Rot in American Higher Education.” You can read the article here: https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/university-pennsylvania-antisemitism-liberal-arts-education-20231023.html 5:05pm- Leaked audio captures Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)—a candidate for Mayor of Houston—berating a staffer in an incredible, profanity filled rant. 5:15pm- During introductions for a press conference touting “Bidenomics,” President Joe Biden accidentally introduced himself to the press instead of allowing a staffer to handle pre-planned introductions. 5:25pm- In an editor's note released on Monday, The New York Times conceded that their reporting on an October 17thexplosion at a hospital in Gaza relied “too heavily on claims made by Hamas.” You can read the editor's note here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/23/pageoneplus/editors-note-gaza-hospital-coverage.html 5:35pm- In a message posted to the social media platform X, James O'Keefe writes: “A school district in New Jersey has been socially transitioning students behind parent's backs, according to email and video obtained exclusively by OMG. Kingsway Regional School District in Kingsway, New Jersey, has adopted a ‘tiered' policy for classifying students who want to transition without their parent's knowledge. ‘I had one of my students reach out to me about their preferred name for next year. Do we know how we can input their name into Genesis without it being visible by families?' states an email from School counselor Fallon Corcoran to counselor Michael Schiff, referencing Genesis, a student database. A source within the school recorded Fallon stating, ‘I am not calling home...everything we talk about stays between us.' According to emails obtained to OMG, Kingsway Regional has developed a tiered ranking system to classify students. Students in the second tier are allowed to use the gender and name of their choice, and that information is kept from parents. In one email we obtained, a teacher or school counselor writes that they ‘heard from [redacted] student over the summer with questions about sharing her preferred name and pronouns with teachers but does not want her family to be aware.' We reached out to Kingsway Regional Superintendent James Lavender, who said the policy was handed down to the district by the New Jersey department of education.” You can watch the video associated with the message here: https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1714443734157316227?s=20 5:50pm- House majority whip Tom Emmer is viewed by many as the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination for speaker. However, a decade ago, Emmer was an advocate for implementing a national popular vote—ostensibly eliminating the electoral college. Does this past advocacy disqualify him from the speakership? 6:05pm- According to The New York Times, there are nine declared Republican candidates for the vacated House speakership: Representatives Tom Emmer, Austin Scott, Byron Donalds, Kevin Hern, Gary Palmer, Jack Bergman, Mike Johnson, Pete Sessions, and Dan Meuser. While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy endorsed House majority whip Emmer. You can read more about the declared candidates here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/us/politics/republican-house-speaker-candidates.html 6:10pm- House majority whip Tom Emmer is viewed by many as the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination for speaker. However, a decade ago, Emmer was an advocate for implementing a national popular vote—ostensibly eliminating the electoral college. Does this past advocacy disqualify him from the speakership? You can watch Emmer advocate for a national popular vote to determine the presidency in an August 2011 interview with Triad Strategies: https://vimeo.com/28012929 6:30pm- Scott Presler—Executive Director of Early Vote Action—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his goal of making Joe Biden a one term president. Presler is traveling across the country to turnout the Republican vote in the most important swing states across the country: Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. You can learn more about Early Vote Action, and find out where Presler will be appearing in Pennsylvania this month, here: https://earlyvoteaction.com/learn/resources/about-us/ 6:50pm- On HBO's Real Time, host Bill Maher slammed woke university students who sided with Hamas following the October 7th terror attack in Israel. Maher argued: “The same students who will tell you that words are violence, and silence is violence, were very supportive when Hamas terrorists went on a rape and murder rampage worthy of the Vikings…If ignorance is a disease, Harvard Yard is the Wuhan wet market.”

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4: According to The New York Times, there are nine declared Republican candidates for the vacated House speakership: Representatives Tom Emmer, Austin Scott, Byron Donalds, Kevin Hern, Gary Palmer, Jack Bergman, Mike Johnson, Pete Sessions, and Dan Meuser. While appearing on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy endorsed House majority whip Emmer. You can read more about the declared candidates here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/us/politics/republican-house-speaker-candidates.html House majority whip Tom Emmer is viewed by many as the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination for speaker. However, a decade ago, Emmer was an advocate for implementing a national popular vote—ostensibly eliminating the electoral college. Does this past advocacy disqualify him from the speakership? You can watch Emmer advocate for a national popular vote to determine the presidency in an August 2011 interview with Triad Strategies: https://vimeo.com/28012929 Scott Presler—Executive Director of Early Vote Action—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his goal of making Joe Biden a one term president. Presler is traveling across the country to turnout the Republican vote in the most important swing states across the country: Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. You can learn more about Early Vote Action, and find out where Presler will be appearing in Pennsylvania this month, here: https://earlyvoteaction.com/learn/resources/about-us/ On HBO's Real Time, host Bill Maher slammed woke university students who sided with Hamas following the October 7th terror attack in Israel. Maher argued: “The same students who will tell you that words are violence, and silence is violence, were very supportive when Hamas terrorists went on a rape and murder rampage worthy of the Vikings…If ignorance is a disease, Harvard Yard is the Wuhan wet market.”

October 10, 2023 ~ Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-1) joins Kevin and Tom to talk about the latest with Israel.

Congressman Jack Bergman is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017. Hamas' attack on Israel

Congressman Jack Bergman is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district since 2017. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces formal impeachment inquiry against President Biden. McCarthy listed allegations of 'abuse of power, obstruction and corruption' by House panels

Board members Col. Valde Garcia (ret.) U.S. Army; Capt. Paul J. Ryan (ret.) U.S. Navy Reserves; and Lt. Bill MacDhubain (ret.) USCG talks about the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor Class of 2023 inductees. These inspirational servicemen and women include Astronaut Roger Chaffee, MG Bill Henderson, Capt. Bob Arvin, MSG Jarion Halbison-Gibbs, Essie Woods, Congressman Jack Bergman, and more. The inductees have received Silver Stars, Distinguished Service Crosses, Purple Hearts, and Congressional Gold Medals. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things in service and in civilian life. The Board members talk to host Jim Fausone.

Steve Gruber discusses news and headlines. 

December 7, 2022 ~ Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), U.S. Congressman in Michigan's 1st District & Retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general, talks with Guy Gordon about House Republicans planning to investigate the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

December 7, 2022 ~ Full Show. Congressman Jack Bergman, Retired US Marine Corps. Lieutenant General discusses the GOP plan to investigate Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Senior News Analyst Chris Renwick on Twitter CEO Elon Musk firing Deputy General Counsel James Baker from Twitter for his role in trying to censor information from "The Twitter Files." Zack Smith from the Heritage Foundation analyzes Supreme Court case Moore vs. Harper that could dramatically increase state legislatures powers over voting issues. Sports Analyst Steve Courtney talks Tigers picking 3rd in the upcoming 2023 draft and Aaron Judge's new contract. Jason Roe, Principal of Roe Strategic and Former Executive Director of the Michigan Republican Party breaks down Senator Raphael Warnock's win over football great Herschel Walker in last night's run off election Georgia. Senior News Analyst Lloyd Jackson has a story of where you can see a rare Pearl Harbor artifact on D-Day. Matthew Schneider, Partner at Honigman Law and Former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan discusses The Jan. 6th committee making criminal referrals to the DOJ and Mitch Albom previews tomorrow's SAY Detroit Radiothon.

June 10, 2022 ~ Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-1) talks with Kevin and Tom about the school safety bill that was introduced in Congress this week.

Today's guests: Former National Security Advisor Robert C O'Brien. Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. Senator Rick Scott from Florida. Rep. Jack Bergman, Congressman from Mi-1. Attorney General of Missouri Eric Schmitt. Liz Sheld, senior news editor, American Greatness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, serves Michigan's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Russia/Ukraine.

Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, serves Michigan's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Live at the border.

Congressman Jack Bergman. Halt the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.

Congressman Jack Bergman represents Michigan's First District covering the Upper Peninsula and most of Northern Lower Michigan.  He is also a retired Marine Corps General with 40 years of service to his country.  Listen as we discuss the value of service and serving the greater good.

President Biden has blood on his hands as American service members have been killed at the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan. Who will be held accountable and what are the next steps? Jesse Kelly reflects on his own military background and experience to help guide you through the chaos. Plus, Tom Armenta, Jim Lamon and Rep. Jack Bergman join the show to each provide their military expertise.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

President Biden has blood on his hands as American service members have been killed at the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan. Who will be held accountable and what are the next steps? Jesse Kelly reflects on his own military background and experience to help guide you through the chaos. Plus, Tom Armenta, Jim Lamon and Rep. Jack Bergman join the show to each provide their military expertise.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

President Biden has blood on his hands as American service members have been killed at the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan. Who will be held accountable and what are the next steps? Jesse Kelly reflects on his own military background and experience to help guide you through the chaos. Plus, Tom Armenta, Jim Lamon and Rep. Jack Bergman join the show to each provide their military expertise.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

August 27, 2021 ~ Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-1) talks with Guy Gordon about the Biden Administration's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

August 27, 2021 ~ Full Show. Retired 4 Star General Jack Keane and Congressman Jack Bergman react to the latest in Afghanistan. Mario Talerico, Paertner at Honigman LLP leading an effort to evacuate Afghans connected to his family's medical center in Kabul. Senior News Analyst Marie Osborne and Greg Brown, National Apartment Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs discuss the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Biden's eviction moratorium. Senior News Analyst Chris Renwick reports on the upcoming end date of federal COVID unemployment benefits. Senior News Analyst Lloyd Jackson updates us on Mayor Mike Duggan's vow to overhaul the city's towing system after the raid on city hall.

On Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla, Jimmy breaks down the major events in Afghanistan, including multiple fatal bombings outside of Kabul International airport. Retired United States Marine and Fox News Contributor Johnny Joey Jones starts off the show with the latest information on the airport bombings and his take on the Humanitarian Crisis unfolding as many remain stranded in the country. PLUS.. Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs discusses the grave situation in Afghanistan and why the Biden Administration needs to change course... AND Michigan Republican Rep. Jack Bergman weighs-in on the Afghanistan failure and discusses why the House's hands are tied.  [00:00:00] Multiple Bombings in Afghanistan [00:13:24] Forget Politics: Admit Failure with Withdrawal [00:18:19] Johnny Joey Jones on Afghanistan Bombings and Humanitarian Crisis [00:32:51] Military Morale Sinking as People Remain Stranded [00:36:40] International Community Reacts to Bombing [00:49:40] Afghanistan: Marines Confirmed Dead in Morning Bombing [00:55:03] Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Afghanistan [01:09:54] Listeners Weigh-In on Afghanistan Tragedy [01:13:26] Why Isn't State Department Speaking Out? [01:27:25] Listeners Weigh-In on Afghanistan Tragedy [01:31:47] Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) on Afghanistan Failure [01:44:12] Pentagon Briefing Finally Announced

Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, serves Michigan's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Biden's administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's take over of the country

Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, serves Michigan's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, serves Michigan's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Israel, Covid 19 restrictions ever coming to an end in Michigan