Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael Watson

National Public Radio is adamant: Nobody is going to make you eat the bugs. In fact, NPR says that believing governments and environmentalist activists want to make you eat the bugs is a conspiracy theory! Oh, and if you don't want to eat the bugs, you're little different than Europeans who would not eat indigenous American foods during the period of colonization. But is that really the case? Do major advocacy groups like the World Economic Forum and the broader environmentalist movement in fact want to change what we eat? Joining us to discuss all this is Jim Lakely, vice president and director of communications for the Heartland Institute. Links: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/31/1166649732/conspiracy-theory-eating-bugs-4chan https://capitalresearch.org/article/they-really-believe-youll-be-happy/ https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/05/supervillains-gather-in-davos/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-great-reset-and-its-critics-part-5/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

This week, a spree shooter killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee; our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the others affected. Now, even as they have campaigned to take away gun rights in response to similar spree shootings, left-wing interest groups have pushed to remove school resource officers—cops who work directly with the school community—from public schools. Joining me to discuss this anti-police campaign is CRC Senior Fellow Kali Fontanilla, a former teacher in California. Links: https://dcist.com/story/23/02/10/dc-debates-police-in-schools/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

What connects the disruptive protests against a conservative judge's speech to Stanford Law and the arrests of over two dozen demonstrators outside Atlanta? Both involved people aligned with the National Lawyers Guild, a radical-left association of attorneys, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers. Joining me to discuss the NLG is our colleague Robert Stilson, who has written and researched extensively on the history of the Guild. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/national-lawyers-guild-part-1/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-lawyers-guild/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-lawyers-guild-foundation/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/atlanta-cop-city-attacks-georgia-police-training-site-63c4cf40 https://www.wsj.com/articles/struggle-session-at-stanford-law-school-federalist-society-kyle-duncan-circuit-court-judge-steinbach-4f8da19e?mod=article_inline Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

To readers of the Capital Research Center or InfluenceWatch, none of the findings reported by New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz and stay-at-home mother, children's book editor, and political commentator Bethany Mandel in their book Stolen Youth: How Radicals are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation will be that surprising; capture of institutions ranging from school boards to the American Academy of Pediatrics by left-of-center interests will be familiar. But the details and personal accounts Mandel and Markowicz summon to warn parents about the direct challenges by left-wing interests to their children's well-being are alarming. Joining me to discuss the book is co-author Bethany Mandel. Links: Link to Book: https://store.dailywire.com/products/stolen-youth-by-bethany-mandel-and-karol-markowicz Stolen Youth and the Power of the Powerless: https://capitalresearch.org/article/stolen-youth-and-the-power-of-the-powerless/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

In late 2021, following a class action suit in which the Supreme Court decided some college athletes should be allowed to earn money off their image and likeness, a Biden administration lawyer with the National Labor Relations Board named Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo clarifying that some college athletes could now be considered employees of state universities.This memo led to breathless articles from well-known, hard left outlets like In These Times arguing that employees of the state designation meant potential unionization of college athletes and, as In These Times said, “a new progressive institution powerful enough to bend the South to its will.”This idea gained traction in December of last year when the NLRB determined that the Pac 12 Conference and the University of Southern California were indeed employers of athletes at the school and were violating the law by failing to treat student basketball and football players as employees.Joining me today to discuss sports unions and the possibility of collective bargaining at the collegiate level is my colleague Mike Watson. Links: https://inthesetimes.com/article/nlrb-college-football-union-labor-ncaa-abruzzo https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/ncaa-violated-athletes-labor-rights-us-labor-officials-say https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/minor-league-baseball-players-unionize-minor-leaguers-officially-join-mlbpa-after-authorization/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2022/02/12/players-union-unimpressed-with-mlbs-new-proposal-lockout/6767700001/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Thirty years ago, Al Gore took office as Vice President of the United States. Over the intervening period, he has lost a campaign for President and reinvented himself as the Nobel Peace Laureate-branded conscience of the climate movement. But years removed from his film An Inconvenient Truth and with countries like Germany following his environmentalist policy prescriptions, has Gore's vision borne out? Joining me to assess are my colleagues Ken Braun and Parker Thayer. Links: Al Gore's 30 Years of Climate Errors Part 1: https://capitalresearch.org/article/al-gores-30-years-of-climate-errors-part-1/ Al Gore's 30 Years of Climate Errors Part 6: https://capitalresearch.org/article/al-gores-30-years-of-climate-errors-part-6/ Al Gore's 30 Years of Clmate Errors Part 7: https://capitalresearch.org/article/al-gores-30-years-of-climate-errors-part-7/ Al Gore - InfluenceWatch: https://www.influencewatch.org/person/al-gore/ They Really Believe You'll Be Happy: https://capitalresearch.org/article/they-really-believe-youll-be-happy/ Soup Throwing Aside, Environmental Activists Are Still Ruining People's Lives: https://capitalresearch.org/article/soup-throwing-aside-environmental-activists-are-still-ruining-peoples-lives/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Are America and broader Western Civilization in crisis? Today's guest, author Spencer Klavan, says yes, and he has written How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises to outline the problems facing the West and the philosophical resources that its defenders have to fall back on in its defense. Links: Making Meta Mandatory: https://capitalresearch.org/article/making-meta-mandatory/ How to Save the West: https://www.regnery.com/9781684513451/how-to-save-the-west/ Federalist Radio Hour: https://ricochet.com/podcast/federalist-radio-hour/spencer-klavan-on-how-to-save-the-west/ Soul Dysphoria: https://ricochet.com/podcast/federalist-radio-hour/spencer-klavan-on-how-to-save-the-west/ Judith Butler - Influence Watch: https://www.influencewatch.org/person/judith-butler/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

We're doing something a little different this week: We are joined by Rusty Brown of the Freedom Foundation for a bit of government-worker union wonkery. Brown and his colleagues have been researching certain financial products that the National Education Association markets to its members, and they have many questions about how it all works and whether members are being taken for a ride. Links: Fighting for Workers' Rights: https://www.freedomfoundation.com/ Influence Watch: National Education Association (NEA): https://www.influencewatch.org/labor-union/national-education-association-nea/ Government Unions After Wisconsin: https://capitalresearch.org/article/government-unions-after-wisconsin/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

The recent Supreme Court case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that curtailed a state's ability to infringe on Americans' right to carry publicly for their own self defense has brought the 2nd Amendment fight back to the headlines as defenders celebrate and gun control activists plan to counter the ruling. Larry Correia, a firearms expert and successful novelist, chose this time to write a nonfiction book called "In Defense of the Second Amendment," to both explain why winning this particular culture war is necessary and to dismantle arguments from the left about gun control. He addresses everything from the importance of self defense as a core tenet of free societies, to the statistics about gun crime and gun ownership, to the benefit of getting trained and involved in the fight against mass shooters and tyranny. Mr. Correia joins the Influence Watch podcast this week to discuss his book.  Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Equal treatment under the law, regardless of race: One would think that all could agree on that principle, but in states and localities across the country—even in Republican-controlled states—that principle is giving way to programs that restrict eligibility based on skin color. Joining my colleague Sarah Lee and I to discuss these programs and how to challenge them legally is Glenn Roper, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation. Links: https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/3778095-are-georgia-and-oklahoma-racially-discriminating-in-a-homeowners-covid-relief-program/ https://pacificlegal.org/the-washington-examiner-agricultural-programs-should-focus-on-opportunity-not-equity/ Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

The guys chat with the Summit League's 3rd All-Time leading Scorer and Kansas City Roos Analyst Michael Watson. Also, talk Trenton Massner huge week and player of the year chances. What to make of the logjam from 2-7 in the standings, and by request Omaha basketball. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/todd-buckingham4/support

In 2022, Arizona passed one of the most comprehensive school-choice programs in the nation. But later that year, the state elected Katie Hobbs a governor who is backed by the teachers' unions, and she has targeted that program for elimination, even as other states like Iowa and Texas consider similar expansions to school choice programs. Joining my colleague Hayden Ludwig and I to discuss Arizona's proposed retreat as other states advance school choice is Jason Bedrick, research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Links: Education Freedom Report Card: https://www.heritage.org/educationreportcard/ Katie Hobbs Wants to Turn Back the Clock on School Choice: https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizona-gov-katie-hobbs-wants-to-turn-back-the-clock-on-school-choice-esas-budget-children-11673896303 Iowa and Utah Lead States on School Choice Progress: https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/iowa-and-utah-lead-states-school-choice-progress-the-new-year Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Michael Watson and James Ryan are starting the year off in Rumble Country! It's 1998, and the entire WWF roster wants to eliminate Stone Cold Steve Austin, or do they? The roster is bare, so it's up to Vince to make some new stars! FU Goldust, the Three Faces of Foley, IC Champ "The Rock" Rocky Maivia, Uncle Ahmed Johnson, a gaggle of midgets, the rise of the New Age Outlaws, and the fall of Shawn Michaels. This Pre-Attitude Era ppv is the cure for your holiday blues!

It is well known that George Soros and his Open Society Foundations are major funders of left-wing advocacy, but a new report from Media Research Center shines the light on one facet of that advocacy. According to MRC's research, Soros and his associated philanthropies have funded 253 organizations involved in activist media worldwide. Joining me and my colleague Sarah Lee to discuss Soros's funding of left-wing media, the broader universe of foundation-funded journalism, and what it all means is Media Research Center associate editor Joseph Vazquez. Links: George Soros: Philosophy - https://capitalresearch.org/article/george-soros-part-1/ Propaganda Powerhouse - https://cdn.mrc.org/static/pdfuploads/PropagandaPowerhousePart1FINAL.pdf-1670340182273.pdf Propaganda Czar - https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2022/12/06/propaganda-czar-soros-bankrolls-253-groups-influence Follow us on Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

If you believe Axios and the Washington Post, this is just the latest GOP and conservative culture war: A ban on gas stoves proposed by the Biden administration-controlled Consumer Product Safety Commission. But like so many things that the media tells us aren't happening, until they are, and then you're a bigot for opposing them, the Left is coming for gas stoves—and all gas appliances, if not convenience itself. Joining me to discuss the proposed ban on gas stoves, the publishers of the shoddy “science” behind it, and the far-reaching desires of the Left to reduce Americans' standard of living are my colleagues Ken Braun and Parker Thayer. Links: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/the-only-proper-response-to-a-national-gas-stove-ban/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/rocky-mountain-institute/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/anti-humanist-environmentalism-part-1/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/anti-humanist-environmentalism-people-as-pollution/ Follow us on Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich claimed that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over” and that mass starvation was imminent. He was completely, utterly, and totally wrong. But because Ehrlich is a leader of the environmentalist movement, just last week, “60 Minutes” brought him back to make more predictions of imminent doom unless we vastly reduce our quality of life. Joining me and my colleague Sarah Lee to discuss Ehrlich's life, work, and revival to aid the green agenda is Steve Milloy, Senior Legal Fellow at Energy and Environment Legal Institute. Links: The Books That Begat ‘Big Green': https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/GW1508-final-draft-150810.pdf A Darker Shade of Green: Apocalypse...Now?: https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-darker-shade-of-green-apocalypse-now/ WATCH: ‘60 Minutes' Gives Airtime to ‘Population Bomb' Fanatic to Prophesy Mass Extinction: https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2023/01/03/watch-60-minutes-gives-airtime-population-bomb-fanatic Follow us on our socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

The Near East is the place of origin of the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Unfortunately, political developments in that region have led to declines in inter-religious pluralism in much of the region, and the Christian communities that have lived in the region since the origins of the Christian religion have dwindled. Joining us to discuss the prospects for Christian communities in the Near East is Robert Nicholson, president of the Philos Project. Links: https://philosproject.org/about/ About Philos Project | Christian Advocacy & Leadership Program Learn about what The Philos Project does and how we impact the Near East.

Hello, I'm Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. Few professions have earned as low approval ratings as lawyers—in Gallup polling on the public's perceptions of professions' ethics, lawyers are underwater, alongside journalists, business executives, and non-federal politicians. But despite the public's relatively low opinion of the profession, the trial bar maintains a massive “lawsuit lobby” that supports the vast infrastructure of litigation—and lawyers' fees—that is a part of American life. Joining me to discuss the lawsuit lobby are my colleague and today's co-host Sarah Lee and my colleague Robert Stilson, whose four-part series on the “lawsuit lobby” is available at CapitalResearch.org. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-little-known-lawsuit-lobby/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-1/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-association-for-justice/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-2/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-3/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-4/

    Danielle (00:00:37):Welcome to the Arise Podcast, conversations on faith, race, healing, and justice. And I wanna welcome you to this panel conversation. I'm about to have, uh, just stunning women doing wonderful work in this community and in the areas of justice in government. Listen in,Kali (00:01:07):All right. I am Kali Jensen. I am a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Washington. Grew up in Washington. Um, I am obvious I'm a white American. I am German, native American, and French Canadian. And, and yeah, coming to you on the land of the Suquamish as we enter today.(00:01:33):My name is Jessica Guidry. I'm the Equity Program manager at the Kids at Public Health District. I also like Kaylee, um, joined this meeting from the land of the Suquamish. I actually live, um, and what was, which is still the, the Port Madison Reservation. So closer to Indianola. Um, and I, I guess ethnic ethnically I am, um, Asian, English, scotch Irish, and maybe some other British isles there. But, uh, um, I actually grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, and I've been in the US though for a long time. And I was born in the States(00:02:08):Next, um, Maria Fergus. I'm the community en Engagement specialist at, uh, Kita Public Health District. I've been in this role for, um, a little bit over a month. And one of the reasons why I applied for this job is because I, uh, I know that last year the Kita Public Health District declared racism at public health crisis. Um, and I wanted to be part of what they were doing. I, my pronouns are her, and she, I was born in Mexico, but I grew up in California. English is my second language, and I've been in Washington state for about seven years and working with our communities, um, our Spanish speaking communities as a volunteer for different organizations since the end of 2015.Well, good morning everyone. Um, I stepped away cause you know what I was doing, but, um, , uh, just bring, kinda bring me up to speed. We just doing our introductions.Just so you are, where you're located, um, what you're up to, and, um, yeah. And then we'll jump in.(00:03:34):Okay. Well, good morning everyone. Good afternoon now. Um, my name is Karen Vargas and, um, I am on Bainbridge Island, um, working with our kids across Kitsap County. I am, um, one of, uh, the co-founders, um, for Latch, uh, living Life Leadership and Kitsap Black Student Union. Um, we have been working over 30 plus years with our school districts, um, with our multicultural advisory council here on Bainbridge Island, working on equity issues, uh, really since I, um, moved here from the East Coast. So, um, what we're working on now with Kitsap Race Coalition is to, um, to have our, our county have a commission on Truth and Reconciliation that would, uh, actually deal with some of the issues that we see manifesting here in our county, um, with our bipo communities and with our students of color, uh, within the school districts and in the community.Um, and, and hoping that we, we would be able to, um, move our communities forward in a healthier way, to be able to address some of the, the issues that have been, um, you know, uh, showing up, whether it's in our churches or whether it's in our, our communities or on our jobs or, or in our school districts, even in our health districts. You know, how do we move forward when there has been, um, these type of, of issues that continue to manifest, you know? And I think that when we can move forward doing intervention and prevention, um, to address these issues, it would help us to reconcile them more in, in a healthy way. Um, and so, um, that's kind of the work that we've been working on. And so,Danielle (00:05:49):Thanks. Um, well, welcome everybody. I, I know we kind of all have connected and collaborated around, um, what is happening in Kitsap County. And perhaps if you're listening, you're not in Kitsap County, but you are in a county or a, a town or a section of a town, even a larger town. We, we all have these, like, there's like the 30,000 foot view of like the larger area where we're at. And we have these smaller cultural microcosms I think that happen in the areas where we actually physically root our bodies in housing and, um, business and life and school and our raise our children. And so we're coming to you from one location. Um, it's not, it's not gonna be the same as every location, but hopefully what we talk about can be something that we can, we can learn from you if you reach out and we hope you can learn just from us as we have a conversation.But Kaylee and I, like, we've been really close since the pandemic. She helped me survive the pandemic. She had her office next to mine and we would yell at each other down the hall or, um, check in, especially when all of our clients were online. And we had started these groups. One of the first groups we ever started, um, I think it was like the second or third group right after the murder of George, George Floyd, to engage white people that identify as white or in a white body, um, and what that means to their racial identity. And so Kaylee and I started these groups and we jumped in cuz I said, Hey Kaylee, do you wanna do this? And she's like, yeah, sure. And we jumped in, we're like, whoa, we don't know if we know what we're doing. And then pretty soon we're like, actually, I think we don't know what we're doing, but we do know what we're doing in some ways.So offering good care, listening, um, reflecting stories, being witness to stories, engaging, uh, the traumas that have been that turn into weapons against bodies of color. So those, some of the ways Kayleigh and I have talked about things and, you know, we both Kayleigh and I both have students in the local school system and have had kids that are, uh, part of marginalized communities or adjacent to marginalized communities. And it's, we've also noticed the mental health of our students and our families and, you know, become more and more passionate about it because obviously why it might not be obvious, but it's something we deal with in our everyday real life and, and we care deeply for, I think I can say that on behalf of both of us. But Kayleigh, you can speak for yourself obviously, but that's how I come to the conversation as a, a Mexican woman in the town of Poulsbo, Washington on Suquamish land, married to an immigrant, and, um, we speak Spanish and English at home. And so just, you know, just curious to hear, you know, how that intersects with your different areas of work and, and your passions here in Kitsap County.Kali (00:08:59):Well, I guess I can go first just cuz Danielle was just talking a lot about me, . Uh, but yes, uh, Danielle did invite me into starting groups and I went with her with fear and trembling. Um, had done some work on my own, around my own racism for a while. My graduate program, this at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology really, um, helped me to begin that work at a deeper level. And so then I did some work on my own, but had a real awareness when I started groups around racism that I definitely have racism still a part of my world as I grew up in a very white, uh, community and Spokane. And, um, as we began those groups, we did predominantly reach out to other white people or people in white passing bodies and, um, have found some like goodness in diving deeper into people's stories around racism.And that's kind of where we started, um, wondering with people around like, when did you notice your own racial identity? When, when did you become aware of racism? Um, kind of going all the way back to the beginning to help people make connections to like, what is still going on inside their bodies when they try to have these hard conversations with people in the community. Um, so I have learned a lot. I still have a lot to learn. Um, and along with what Danielle said, I also am a mental health therapist and work with a lot of teenagers in our community here in Kitsap County from different school districts. Plus like she said, I have some teenage children. All of my children are white, um, and, and have diverse friend groups. But I have become increasingly, well, I've always been concerned about the issues of racism in our community.I, I remember as a young little girl calling it out in my own parents, and that didn't always go well. Um, but then it was very under the surface as a white person, uh, you didn't see it as overtly as it has become now in 2020 since the election of Donald Trump, the, like, overt, blatant racism has, uh, been shocking. And yet it's always been there. So, um, but as I work with my own children and then work with students in my practice, I'm just, I am deeply concerned about the mental health of our kids. I think it's hard enough as an adult to go through these past few years, but I am concerned about our teens and what they are facing, um, of all races. I I think even my white daughter is very disturbed by the racial slurs that she constantly hear in the hallway and doesn't really know how to even go about addressing it or feel safe enough to even say anything. Um, so that's part of why I'm here today. And, um, had the privilege of going to a meeting, uh, last weekend with Kitsap Race. And so, yeah, I, I just, I hope for continued leadership amongst adults to like help our students and help our communities, even our adults in our communities, especially. I have a passion for the white people in our community. I help them be able to take steps forwards to be able to sit in these conversations and, and be productive and not as harmful. So that's how I enter this work.Speaker 5 (00:12:34):So I entered this work, um, because I grew up in California and it was very diverse. Um, and when I moved up here to Washington, uh, there just wasn't as much diversity, especially in the PAL area. And my daughter, um, who was a sophomore at the time, was invited to join the North Kids Up Equity Council. And so I started participating in that and started hearing stories, and I started working with the parents and children that are Spanish speaking. And, well, I kept hearing more stories and, uh, realized that I needed to be a little bit more proactive. And so I, I joined, um, stand up for racial justice search and I attended some other meetings, got some training, realized that I have a lot of internalized racism and racist behaviors myself and what ency ideology that, uh, I hadn't been aware of. Um, that was part of my thinking.And so, um, over time I continued to stay involved. At the beginning of this year, I heard about the student direct equity campaign under a base and became a adult, um, volunteer to support the, the students that were in the campaign and have been doing that since then. Um, also participated in the race forward, uh, healing together, meeting that we had this last, um, two weekends ago with, uh, with the race and try and stay as active as I can in the community to to hear, um, hear the stories. So I, I know what's going on and just stay updated and what's going on in my community.Jessica (00:14:41):Years, you know, the health district was, you were very, you were very light can Oh, okay. Is this better? Yeah, sorry about that. That, um, so how I got started in this work, so for 13 and a half years at the, you know, at the health district, I was their public health emergency preparedness and response program manager. And to be honest, I didn't really address equity head-on, um, in the emergency management field. Um, we, instead of using the term, you know, equity injustice, we used terms like access and functional needs, which to me doesn't really get to the core of the issue, but that was kind of the verbiage. But first it was vulnerable population then at risk and things like that. But it wasn't until, you know, the pandemic, um, that my role was able to switch a little. Um, I supervised initially our Covid vaccine equity liaison, and that was the first time at the health district that we had somebody with the word equity in their title.And she was specifically hired, her name was, but this was the first time we hired someone to specifically look at differences and, and how we can address those differences and outcomes and access. And, and so it was really exciting to have Holly on board. And as Holly was doing outreach with the community, um, and she built this Vaccine Equity collaborative, she started hearing from folks, you know, you know, this is great that the health district, you know, wants to address equity and vaccine, but what are you going to do about racism? And before the pandemic? Well, um, you know, we, we've talked about it and in public health circles, racism as a public health issue was kind of c was circulating, right? But I think it wasn't until the pandemic when we saw the differences in, um, who was getting hospitalized.You know, the covid who was getting sick because of covid and who, um, didn't get vaccinated because of access issues to stress of government and, you know, rightful distress of government, um, where all this came about. So when Holly heard this feedback and heard, you know, are, you know, is, is public health going to claim, um, racism as a public health crisis? You know, she came to me and some other folks and asked about this and we said, you know, yes, let's talk about this as an agency. And our leadership was very supportive and wanted to know more about declaring racism as a public health crisis. So, you know, at that point I was more of a cheerleader more than anything else. You know, I was involved in some groups kite race or you know, that, um, which Aku helped found, um, you know, equity, um, race and community engagement coalition kind of, you know, here and there.But when the Public Health Board declared racism a public health crisis, that was in response to community demand or a request, if you will. Um, and I could talk more about how that process came about, but as a result of that resolution, the health district actually allocated resources to equity. Before equity was more of, you know, if, if certain programs were, sorry, I use the word program. If certain teams within the health district were passionate about equity, they would incorporate it, but it was not, um, universal within the health district. And we didn't have like a, a, a shared terminology, things like that, or shared expectation even that we would address equity. Um, but with the, the, the resolution, it has several commitments in it. And one of them has to do with actually having staff. And this is really important because other resolutions across the country don't have commitments.They don't allocate resources. And just telling a government agency, oh yes, you'll handle equity without putting a budget line item means that it'll be kind of an afterthought, right? Or it's kind of like another layer among other layers. So this resolution said that, you know, you'll hire a community liaison and what our leadership ended up doing is say, no, this needs to be a separate program. We're going to hire a program manager first. So that was really important with that resolution. Another thing, another component of that resolution is that the health district will have, and I think the, um, certain training, and I believe the topics were, um, cultural competency, anti-racism and health literacy plus other topics. But those are the three topics, if I remember correctly, that were called out in the resolution. And the, and then one of the other commitments was that we would co-create solutions to systemic inequities with our community partners.And the reason why I said this is pretty huge for us is because, you know, often we look at health topics like health, excuse me, like healthy eating, active living, smoking cessation, or food safety, but actually dealing with poverty, racism, you know, I don't think we've, no, no, I might not be being, I might be unfair about this, but I don't think we've necessarily ha handled its head on, right? We've maybe gone to some housing meetings, but really more like in our limited public health capacity. So to me, this co-creation of solutions with community partners is huge. And I, and I do believe that often in government, we think we know best, right? And so we're like, oh, well, we're gonna do our research and we're gonna find best practices. But instead, you know, our community often has the answers to our, to our, to the issues that we have.It's just bringing them to the table, giving them equal voice and you know, honestly compensating them and treating them like consultants and, you know, a as equals, not just, oh, we're gonna, you know, get community input and then we're done, kind of thing. But that, that continued partnership. So anyway, um, so when this resolution passed, um, then my position was, was created. I applied for it and I was very lucky to get it. Um, and I, I started in this position full-time about last October or so, the resolution declaring racism of public health crisis start, um, it, that, that passed in May, 2021. So it's been about a almost a year and a half now. And to my knowledge, we're still the only governmental entity in Kitsap that's really addressed this and has staffing for it. Now, this might change because I, I, I'm not saying that the health district started anything, and I think really it's more the advocacy of folks like [inaudible] and, and Kitsap Race and all these other organizations that are pushing government.But I think we, we may start to see city governments actually investing in hiring and equity, uh, either race equity or all equity consultants or, or, um, staff member to really push that issue forward in their org organization. Um, so in this past year, um, there have been a couple things that I've been working on. So one is looking at our internal structure and our internal culture. Um, we don't talk about, you know, a year ago we didn't talk about equity as much. Um, so it was doing, you know, as, as designing employee training, meeting with all our different, prog all of our different teams. So talk about equity because, uh, oh, is Jessica, you know, the politically correct police, is she going to white shame me? So it's really the, the first year I had to really build those relationships. And luckily, because I've been at the health district so darn long, people knew, oh, you know, they, they were familiar with me.They, they knew that I wasn't just gonna shut them down. And then, and, and just being present, and as I talked with different teams, I realized, you know, they, they do have equity mindsets, but they just don't call it equity. But we have some teams who are really focused on poverty, but they might have actually had the conversation about how does racism affect poverty? How is that a driver for poverty? So, you know, anyway, so, so with this, so we have this internal bucket of work. So looking at training and, and right now our, our first training with the employees is gonna deal with identity and power. We're calling it positionality training. And the idea is that our, our training has to deal with the individual, the organization, the community, and the society. So that's, so we're building a training program based on that. We did do an internal equity assessment to figure out what we can do better.And, and I don't if I had to do about this Maria, but honestly, one of the biggest takeaways from that assessment was our staff doesn't know how we react to community input related to our priorities. So that needs to change, you know, either it's, it's a lack of awareness in our agency, or maybe we don't do it enough. So there, there's that piece. And then with, with community partnerships, you know, really trying to look at how we engage with community and how we see them as partners differently. Um, so the fact, like one thing I I also encourage, like me and Marina do, is just to be at community events without an agenda. It's not a grant deliverable. And actually, Aku really, um, helped bring this light for me. And I, and I should have realized this years ago, but you know, when, when Holly, the Vaccine Equity Collaborative, um, excuse me, the Vaccine Equity Liaison.So her position was eliminated due to, you know, that, that that phase of work was done. But I think what was missed was the community impact, because she built such amazing relationships in the thick of the pandemic where people were really looking for someone to trust in government. And I remember in Aku, I I, I think about this a lot, um, when we had our, her, um, goodbye party, I had one person, a community leader who was angry about it. Yes. And rightfully so. And, and you know, one of the things I've had to learn about in, in this position is not to be defensive and not to be like, well, our leadership didn't see enough work for a person. And just to be like, you know what? It is okay to be angry. I'm angry. I don't want her to leave. This was not my decision.I was not consulted about this. And, and, and that's, and, and, and I think what, what I'm, what I'm hoping to build and, and, and, and get some feed, you know, and, and, and, and build my own muscle and getting community feedback without having to be like, well, our agency policy exist. So at that meeting, not only was I not chewed out, I should say, but, um, I had someone speak very passionate to me, and he's said, Jessica, this is not about you. I'm like, no, I, I see that. And I said, you know, so acknowledging that hurt and letting my agency know also, hey, it hurts when your, when your main contact an organization leaves, you can't just replace that. So there's that piece. But then even a Kue telling me, you know, Jessica, you know, with, and, and I'm paraphrasing cuz a a kue says so much more eloquently than I do, you know, in government you have these grant deliverables and you go to community and you ask community to help and community will do the labor for you, you know, doing outreach, looking for places, for example, to do vaccine clinics and other stuff.But then when your grant deliverables are done and the grant funding's over, you leave. So that really stuck with me. And, um, one of the great things about how our equity program is funded is not funded by grants. And so one of the big things, you know, for us to build relationships is to go to meetings that are not just grant driven. Um, just to listen. So for example, Marie and I are gonna be going to the com, the, the community and police policing together, you know, the PACT meeting that, um, uh, pastor Richmond Johnson and, and, uh, partnering for Youth Achievement and others are having this, this, this, um, this week. I don't know if the health district has ever participated in that, but in order for us to know what's important to the community, we actually have to be there in meetings. So that's, and, and I'm so sorry to be taking up so much time, but this is trying some of the ways I'm trying to change how we do things at the health district.The funny thing is, and I get asked, well, Jessica, can you send this to so-and-so? And it's like, you know, yes, but do you know how much we invest in going to meetings and building those relationships? But we're, we're seeing re returns. But another thing that we're doing is we are launching what we call the Health Equity Collaborative. So I mentioned that during the pandemic we had the Vaccine Equity Collaborative. It was very limited though. Cause it was just looking at vaccine with the Health Equity Collaborative, there is no deadline for this because health inequities exist and they will continue to exist until we really address those hard issues. Right. So I'm really excited about the Self Equity collaborative because the collaborative will decide what topic we talk about. And that's that piece I was talking about, about co-creating solutions. Um, it's not the Health District saying, oh, we need to focus on someone that's public healthy.No, we're gonna, um, in, in January come together, you know, we'll look at data, we'll, we'll listen to stories, we'll listen to input from the collaborative members and then figure out we wanna address. And then, you know, I I, I've also committed to Maria in my time to actually address and, and support the work that the collaborative will eventually think of. Um, but what's different about that collaborative also is that we're paying people who participate and are not being paid there by their organizations. That is not something that we typically do in government. But, um, some of you may know that the Public Health Board expanded last year. No, actually it was earlier this year, excuse me, due to a state law that passed last year. And we now have non-elected members, which is huge because across the country you saw politics getting involved in public health.Now we have, um, now we actually have five, I think, new members. And it's amazing. So we now have a member, so we have a member on, on our board from each of our neighboring tribes. We only had to have one per law, but our board decided that they wanted to have a spot for the Suquamish tribe and the Port Gamble ALM tribe. I just found out today that our Port Gamble ALM tribe position is filled. And the person's gonna be Jolene Sullivan, who's a health services director with the Port Gamble Skm tribe from the Squamish tribe. And, and, and she's sorry. And Jolene is a tribal member of the Port Gamble Skm tribe, with the Squamish tribe. We're gonna have the health services director there. His name is, um, Steven Kutz, and he's a member of the Cowlitz Tribe. So he is originally from, you know, southwest Washington.And then we have, um, Drayton Jackson and who's really ex and that's really exciting. He's on our board. We also have Dr, um, Michael Watson. He's with, uh, Virginia Mason, Franciscan Health. And then we have, um, Dr. Um, Taras, oh my gosh. Kirk sells who's, I believe, a public health research researcher. So we have this expanded board, and our board members who are not elected are also being compensated. So we followed off that model because, you know, sometimes it's kind of a wait and see. But that was precedent setting for us. And I think because we are compensating our board members, were non-elected, we have this, I was able to, to, to propose to our leadership, Hey, if we're gonna be doing this health equity collaborative, we need to pay our, you know, our, our folks who are not being paid by their organizations. There's national precedent for this.You're seeing that more national, you know, nationally with governments paying their consultants, right? We pay our d e i consultants, we pay strategic planning consultants. You know, Akua is a huge, um, community consultant and we need to start paying folks like that. But like her, like, you know, um, all the other folks are giving us input. So anyways, so we have this collaborative, we had our first meeting earlier this month, and we're having our, our visioning meeting in January. And Aya, I remember, you know, earlier this year you talked about how as a community we need to have this visioning process. And one piece of feedback I got from the collaborative meeting that we had earlier this month was, well, Jessica, we need to also include Citi and county officials. Cuz the only government officials at that meeting we're public health folks. So in the future, you know, also bringing other governmental folks.So there, there's a, there's a lot going on. Um, and, and I think another thing, and, and I promise I'll, I'll stop is, um, is elevating the concerns of our community within the health district. So, for example, and I really wanna give Maria credit for this because of her passion on working with youth. I, I, you know, I, I, I don't mentor youth. I have my two kiddos, and that's kind of the, the, the extent of, of, of my impact on youth. But, um, you know, it was through conversations with her, you know, meeting you Danielle, and, and hearing about other community meetings, you know, concerned about mental health, especially of our Bipo youth. Um, you know, elevating that to our leadership, letting our leadership know, hey, this is an a concern. And what's exciting is, um, when I mentioned this to our community health director, Yolanda Fox, she's like, well, you know, this other department, you know, our chronic disease prevention team, they may have funds to help with these kind of initiatives.So it's also networking within my own agency and Maria and my agency to see who can help with these, with these issues and figuring out, okay, well how can this also fit? Because the health district is also doing strategic planning, um, starting early next year. We're also participating in Kitsap community resources, um, community needs assessment. Ray and I both have been note takers and, um, contributors to their focus groups, for example. But then also I've been doing some keen form of interviews for Virginia Mason, Franciscan Health, um, community assessment. So we're hearing from community leaders, but then also going to community meetings about their needs. And we're trying to elevate that as well to our, to our leadership. And that's, so there's a lot going on from the health district, I think. Kuya, you're up.Akuyea (00:30:32):Yes. Oh my God. Go Jessica, go run, girl, run you and Maria, this is how we elevate, this is how we transform. This is how we begin to shift the paradigm for the opportunity to be heard. Oh, cross, we are gonna level the playing field for leveling. When I say level, I mean our young people, our parents, our community, our school districts, our, you know, health districts, our government. How do we do this collective work? Especially when you're dealing with historical institutionalized racism that we know is a crisis across the line. I don't care. It's a, not just in the health district, it's in our community, it's in our school, it's in our families, it's in our history. It's in the d n a of this country. So how do we begin to address that and move that where we can begin to reconcile, we know the history is there for us to sit here and, and, and act as if that this has not been a problem in an issue in our nation for hundreds.And it is not just that, it's in our nation, it our, our institutions. Were built on it. We, we, we have these systemic pieces that we have to deal with. That's why it was important when we started Kitsap e rates that we said, we gotta look at our schools, we gotta look at our health districts. We gotta look at our city government. We gotta look at our faith-based organizations, which Danielle, you know, that it exists within all of these institutions. We gotta look at our businesses that say, and I said, you know, when you come in and, and you try to do this type of work, and especially these organizations have in their mission statement that we're undoing racism, or we got, we're gonna be looking at equity, inclusion, diversity, multicultural. And they say that this is all within their mission and they check the box, but there's no accountability.There is no moving these, these issues to a place. If it's not in there, where is their, uh, district improvement plan? If it's not written in there, where is there, where is it in their budget? It's not in there. It, it doesn't exist. It's just they check the box to say they're doing this, but they're not the, the, the, the organization is not being held accountable for what they say is in their goals. Cuz they wrote 'em in their goals. They, they, they, they've got it language in their goals, but then how do you begin to hold them accountable to say they are? And so I was so, I was like, yes, Jessica, because if it's not in the budget, if they're not intentional, if they're not moving equity and inclusion and diversity forward in these institutionalized policy practice and procedures, then it, it really, you know, it doesn't exist.You know, it is that thing that's out there in la la land. So when you file, how do we begin to, to look at that, the training? Where is the training? Because you gotta shift the mindset. You've gotta begin to transform how people are going to step into this work of equity and inclusion. And you gotta give them tools. You gotta be able to say, look, you need training. What is cultural competency training? What is the gear training? What are these trainings that are available? Where is the training from the People's Institute? Where is the training for? Because actually, if you look in our history, we've got a lot of history that have the Freedom schools and all of them, they were doing this work back in the day, but there was a shift back in the day where they stopped when they started killing off the leaders and started, you know, manipulating city governments and working in legislation and all of these things.You know, we, there was a halt during that period, period when they were doing all the civil rights and trying, you'd think of it, all those leaders that they, they really assassinated that was moving race equity and, and inclusion forward. You know, our presidents, our our black leaders, all of those leaders that they were taking out, you know, look at that history, look at what was being done in legislature, what was being done, set in place. So we have to look at the systems that continue to hold these inequities in place so that we can't move forward. And then there was a point in time, you know, during, um, this last couple of years that just really highlighted all the inequities, all the disparities, all of the, the racist, you know, uh, uh, practices and policies that was in place that really hindered us. And we said we needed to look at these things.Um, you know, with the killing of George Floyd and the murders that was going on with the pandemic, the pandemic really set it off because we could see if it was actual, we could see how disconnected and how, how all of these disparities were, were being, you know, manifest showing. They would just, they were just in your face. How you gonna not address stuff that's in your face and then all of the racial, you know, um, one of the things that we started when I think it was even before Pandemic, before George Floyd was all of the, um, things that was being manifested during the, the, uh, during the presidency of, of our wonderful President , we won't say his name, we won't say his name, you know, and that's the thing. We won't say his name, but we know who, who, who that was, that perpetuated a lot of racial tension in our nation and begin to cultivate it, to begin to really nurture all of that unhealthy, you know, behavior and mindset.And, and, and when, when we look at the history and we understand that racism has always been a crisis in our nation. And if we just looked at it and looked at the concerns of racial diverse communities and understand that it, it hasn't, it, it has never been a healthy, uh, history, but when we tuck it away and sweep it under the ground as if it doesn't exist, we do ourself a harm. And then when we look at how education plays a role, when we look at how health plays a role, you know, health and education are interdisciplinaries, and if we not looking at how all of these systems are connected that continue to perpetuate all of these internalized structures that perpetuate these disparities, then I think we're not doing, uh, a good job at being able to undo the institutionalized pieces of, of racism and how we we begin to, to break down those barriers and begin to level the playing field and begin to get services, you know, and begin to get opportunities and the financing.You know, um, racism has played a key in poverty. It's play a key role in health disparities. It's played a key role in education. If you guys think about it, you know, back in the day when they were building all these institutions, you know, um, we weren't a la even allowed to read or write in the sixties when they wanted, you know, when they were talking all about let's integrate these schools and everything, oh, you know, look at the racial tension there was just from us to be able to go to school with one another. And that's not been that long. That's been in our lifetime, it hasn't been hundreds of years ago. Oh, little Rock nine and all of that unrest and all that has not civil rights and all that. That's, that's not been long at all. We've not come that far. And there was a halt to all of that work on undoing all of those institution life pieces. And, and when, and I can say it, when, when those assassinations begin to happen, there was a shift where everybody was pulling back from trying to do that work, but yet it didn't go away. It still needs to be done. So as we move forward, we talk about how do we, how do we begin to look at models and, and the work, the foundation of that work that was laid prior to us, even now, if you go back in, in the sixties, you'll see boy, they had it going on.Those models, those sit-ins and all those things that they were doing to change policy, to change institutional practices. You know, there's no need for us to reinvent the wheel. We've just gotta begin to, to pick up the work and, and start doing the work again. There was a definite fear that came, uh, into our communities and our nations when they begin to kill our leaders for standing for what was right. The murders of Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, and all of them, you know, you look back at that time, the, those ones that, even the Black Panthers, they exterminated those young people and they, and, and they put 'em in jail.There was two options. You, they were either exterminated or they were incarcerated, but they were definitely gonna dismantle those disruptors that was calling for equity. So, yeah. And, and when you have all kinds of hate mail and hate literature that's being flooded across our nation. Um, and I could tell you, um, back in 2018 when, when we started the Race equity Network, it was because there was hate literature being flooded across Kitsap County. Our churches was being people who are being attacked, racially slurred, and all kinds of things happening in the community. That community members went to our city council and said, what y'all gonna do about this stuff? Y'all see it's all coming up. You mean the government? Y'all gonna do nothing. Not gonna say nothing. What's up? So they decided they were going to, to at least have a race equity advisory council to the city council members that would deal with all these disparities and all these racial incidents that was popping off.But then, you know, they get in there and they wanna be political and tie their hands and say what they can and can't do, and don't even wanna take the training. I mean, by now, that was 2018, here we are going into 2023, our pobo still ain't got one South kit still ain't got one. We still don't got our commission on troop and reconciling. We, it's, it's still being pushed back. The pushback on moving equity, race equity forward, it's still, that's live and well. And for us to understand what we really are up against, you have to transform minds. And one of the things with, you know, with the education system banning books and all of these things, I said, what is that all about? You better know what that's all about. You have to have a greater understanding. Because my, my thinking is, if we don't even wanna be truthful about our history and teach true history and teach our young people in the schools, I said, that's dangerous ground. We're walk, walking on.But that's something that needs to be looked at very carefully because it starts in the educational system. If you're not even gonna teach to it, if you are not even going to give our young people true information, you know, when you're talking about, oh, these books can't be read, I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. A red flag should be going up for all of us in our communities and all of us in the nation. What is that? Yeah, you better find out what's the, at the root of all of that. So we do have a lot of work to do. Did this, this, I mean, the work is plenties, the laborers are few.And then how do we that are doing the work, how do we come together and work in a collective collaborative way that can help us move these things forward in, in, uh, a healthy way? Many hands make light work. Many of us, you know, yes. My my area of of concentration might be education. Mine might be health, mine might be city government. Mine might be the, the faith community. Mine might be just community members. But what happens when we begin to cultivate unified work to address these issues across those barriers? Because we all have the same goal, but look at how we work in silos. What can we do to break down barriers and really build community between the community of those that are doing the work?You know, do we lay aside our own agendas? Just like Jessica was saying, we just wanna go to li How do we come alongside and support? How do we come alongside and just listen? How do we come in and hear what the community needs are and all of those things. But sometime we gotta set our own egos aside for the greater work because the work is bigger than we are. You know, it took back in the day, when I think about all of those civil rights leaders and, and it, and, and believe you me, the environment was more hostile to make that change back then. You know, you, you had people gunning, people holding people. Come on now the history's there, but yet we wanna erase some of that history and to say, no, this is the only part we wanna teach of that, that history. You know, we talk about our, our native, uh, and our indigenous communities that was here. And understand, and I'll keep saying it, as long as I have breath in my body, I come from a stolen people brought to a stolen land where they exterminated the indigenous tribes that was here to be able to capitalize on their land and everything else. And that history, you know, it's like, oh, we don't wanna talk about that.But when you don't address the atrocities that have happened, it will keep coming up because you never went back and never healed that land. You never healed all of that, uh, trauma and all those things. You know, one of the things that I always look at, I do look at, I do look at what happened over in Germany. That entire nation had to deal with the atrocities that Hitler committed. And it wasn't until they had to deal with their own atrocities that healing began to, to, to move those communities forward in a way where they could, you'll never be able to erase what happened. But they have to be able to heal those family, heal, move towards healing, move towards reconciling those things. But when you just step over all the atrocities you've committed and, and, and say, oh, oh, they ain't this and that ain't that. That is a shipwreck. That's a a, that's a recipe for destruction.And so how do we begin to do the work of healing? Because the health district, and I say this to Jessica and to the health district, y'all are supposed to be in the healing business. I mean, that's what you say. And then I say to the education people, y'all supposed to be in education. What are y'all doing? Health, health and education for some and not for all. And justice. Justice for who? Justice for some are justice for whom. See, we got to get, we, we have to understand that we have to begin to shift the mindsets of those that can't see these things.You know, we have to begin to say, how do we take the scales off of people's eyes so they can see clearly that these are things that we, we definitely have to, to work towards? How do we unstop the ears so that they can hear the voices and hear, um, the things that need to be heard? Because some people, you know, some, and I can say this cause one of my young people said to me, she said, you know, what do you do with people that just wanna fight? They don't, they, they're not trying to heal. They're not trying to, they just wanna fight.I said, so how do you become peacemakers in the fight? How do you, how do we step into that role that we can at least be able to, to speak words that can, um, prick hearts and minds and transform, uh, the communities that we're serving? Because we're all serving, we're all serving our communities in a way, you know? And I, you know, it, it, it's hard when you always gotta walk through dodoo. I don't know. You know, I'm just throwing it out there like that. You know, when you gotta crawl through feces every day, that's, you know, those that are in plumbing and stuff like that. I don't know how they do it, but is it needed? Definitely.So we, we do, we, we, we can look at that. We can do some collective visioning that can help our communities to move forward in a way that can really meet the needs. You know, because I, I always have said our county isn't so large that we can address this issue and that we can do this work and we can do this work. Well, we're not a King County, we're not a Pierce County. We're a Kitsap County. And collectively, we should be able to move things forward in a healthier way. That guess what could be a model, not just for our state, but for the nation. Uh, you know, a little Kitsap County has changed the way that they address inequities. The way that they, with racism, the way that they deal with disparities, the way that they deal with all of these unhealthy things that continue to hinder us all. I don't care what color you are. Hate comes in all colors. Mm-hmm. , white, black, yellow, green, whatever way. But if we can deal with some of those issues, the bitterness and those roots of bitterness, why are our communities so bitter? What's going on that we can't come together and talk about it? If you are mad, I'm, I'm cool with you being mad, but can we talk about it? Can, can we reason together in the multitude of council, there can be some safety. If we come in, in a collective way and deal with it, there can be some safety in that.Danielle (00:54:27):The, uh, I was just, and I see your hand, Jessica, I, I was like thinking so much. And Maria, I know you were there with me of our meeting last week with these families that, you know, they came out almost 50 families, you know, 50 people show up to a meeting Thanksgiving week.Maria (00:54:47):And, and I thought, there's so much hope. And just showing up and, and in the showing up, you know, the meeting was advertised. I saw some for like six 15, some for six 30. I got there at six because my phone rang and someone said, Hey, where are you? I said, well, I'm not there yet. They said, well, hurry up. We're here,Oh, it's like six o'clock. So I pulled up, you know, and I got there and the principal was opening the door. And I had emailed early in the day and I said, well, you know, I don't know who's gonna show up because this thing went out over Instagram. It went out, you know, word of mouth.Danielle (00:55:29):And when people got there, y you know, they, the setup was to share stories and then to work towards solutions. But you could see when the invitation was to work towards solutions, people just stayed quiet. Cuz they were like, no, we have more stories to share. And, and let me tell you, we we had to cut it off at like eight 15. Eight. Yeah. Because people were not done and not everybody got a chance to share there. But I think about those families ended, and Maria, you can speak to this too, like, they were like, when is the next meeting? And we had, you know, one of the main leaders from the Latina community was, was speaking and saying like, Hey, like we have problem, you know, we've had problems with the African American community and we, where are they? Like, we know they're suffering.Like, she didn't say it like that, but basically like, we are not the only people of color here that are experiencing this. So, um, that gave me a lot of hope. The ability to show up and the stories they shared, I think are compounded, like what you say, the history, when you name the history, I'm like, oh crap, we're repeating all of this right now in live time. Like, it's happened yesterday. It happened, probably happened today, probably happened tomorrow. Like, we actually haven't, like slowed it down. It doesn't feel like, but Maria, Jessica, like, feel free to jump in. That's kind of where I was at.Jessica (00:56:59):So Danielle, I guess I wanted to jump in. I guess a couple things, especially, you know, after hearing, you know, Aku talk, you know, one of the things I think government should be doing is, you know, addressing, you know, inequities head on. And, um, some of you might follow, uh, the health district on, on social media. But, um, two weeks ago, um, the health district did a Facebook post recognizing transgender Awareness week. Now, this is the first time the health district has ever done a post like that. And you wouldn't believe, well, actually you would believe the amount of hate that we got. But I have to tell you though, before we declared racism a public health crisis and really got deep into this work, I don't know if we would've ever done a post like that. Um, but you know, it was a conversation between the equity program and our communications program.Our, our communications folks were all on board. They even bumped this, this idea for this post up to our administrator who was supportive of it. He goes, Hey, just make sure that you include our mission statement that, you know, our job is to promote the health of all people in Kitsap County. And, and I was really proud of the agency because I, you know, as government, sometimes we have to be careful about how we speak and sometimes it's hard to be the first. But to be honest, I didn't see any other governmental entity. And you all can check, please check me on this. But I didn't see any other governmental entity make that comment, you know, make that statement that we support our lgbtq plus and our transgender neighbors, loved ones, community members. Um, and so this was a small thing, but this is where, you know, um, you know, there, there are these huge changes that we need to make as a culture, right?And, and, and government structures. But even if it's just the acknowledgement of the suffering of people and the fact that we are, we see them, we honor them, and we're there with them is huge. Um, and, and, you know, and I give kudos to, to, to to you Danielle and, and Aku. Cause I know y'all have been having these community conversations. So having, giving people a space to share their truth and their experiences is huge. And when you can bring government officials there to hear it, because often, and, and I, and I'm speaking broadly, I mean, I I I've been in government for almost 15 years, so I, not an expert, but I've been in it long enough. You know, we tend to like the quantitative data, right? The numbers. And I think as an public health in general, there's been this big movement about, and I'm gonna use my my nerd term, but disaggregating data.So looking at the numbers, but saying, oh, well, let's see, can we break this down? What is our Asian community experiencing? Or Pacific Islander? And that gives some depth to it. But then also realizing that there are sub-communities within this community. And, you know, um, Maria and I were talking about, um, VN Voices of the Pacific Island network. They had an event earlier this year, and they had some data that showed that not all Pacific Islanders have the same educational experiences and this educational outcomes. So on, on the one hand, you know, government, we love numbers. Well, we need to dig deeper into those numbers, right? Break things down and really figure out what our community's experiencing. And sometimes in public health, we're like, oh, if the community's too small, then the analysis might not be enough. Who cares? Just still bring that data up.And that's where you compliment it with the stories, right? The qualitative data. And this is something where I think when you think of governments as white supremacists, right? You know, there's this need for productivity. And you have to, for every media you go to, you have to show what specific outcomes you have. Well, that's also something I'm hoping to change slowly at the, at the agency too. But, um, but also with data and, and the, the importance of storytelling and catching these stories and elevating them. And one of the things that, um, and you know, Kang Marie can talk about this. When we had our first health equity collaborative meeting, I got a question by a community member who was skeptical, right? Because their experience was when they've worked with government, they have gotten roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. And having to be honest and be like, look, here's what I can do as a manager of a program of two people.But at that meeting, we had a, the health officer there, and he is one of our highest officials at the health district. He's like our Spock, um, if you're a Star Trek nerd, but, um, which Memorial Star Wars. But, um, you know, our chief science officer was there. My supervisor who was a director was there. So, I mean, one thing I'm also hoping with, with these collaborative meetings, if, if they're meeting community meetings, also just throw that out there where you think having the health district be present is important and you want somebody with a director or administrator in their title. That's also something that, um, you know, I can also, I can also help facilitate. But something also, Danielle or maybe actually, um, Kayleigh, to your point, you know, we talk about this work, but how do we support each other? So we support each other in terms of, um, you know, bring cross-disciplinary, but then also really elevating the fact that we need that self-care and that connection and the fact that this is such heavy work.Um, you know, Maria and I have mentioned, we, we, we've helped with some of these, uh, focus groups for the kids at community resources. The stories are, are just heartbreaking. Um, and whether it's our youth and how they experience bullying, our elders who are experiencing lack of care, you know, lack of resources, and they just need some additional help. And you don't have that necessarily multi-generational household like you did before. So they don't have the supports that they had in the past. There's so much going on. But I think also all of us doing this kind of work, taking care of each other as well, and then also letting people know it's, it's okay to not be okay. Um, so anyway, I just, I just wanted to throw that out there too.Maria (01:02:33):So I've been pondering Akuyea, uh, question towards the end and she said, how do we do this work? How do we, um, collaborate and, um, bring about solutions? And something that, uh, Jessica mentioned fairly early on when she spoke, she said, the importance of letting go of ego, right? Leaving our ego at the door and, uh, working collaborative with one each other o one another as we do this work. And then the second thing is listening. And that's the one thing I've really learned as, um, uh, community engagement specialists, uh, working with Jessica, is that when I bring concerns to her or other community members, bring concerns to her, she listens, and then she acts, she does, whether it's something that, it's a long-term thing that will take a while to address or something that we can address quickly. Uh, she keeps this wonderful worksheets and she keeps track of where she's at on different projects. And so I think being able to be transparent, because since she shares that information, she shared some of that information at the health equity, um, collaborative meeting that we had. Um, I think that's how we build trust with our community members, that when they come, uh, to our organization, that we will not just listen, but we will act now. It might not be immediate, but we will be taken action. Um, and so, um, that's something that I've learned just in my one month at the public health district with Jessica.Jump in. Thank you, Jessica. Thank you for that. One of the things that, you know, I was talking with one of my, um, equity sisters, Carrie Augusta, and as we were reading through the newspaper and stuff, you know, she said, you know, we need to be looking at patterns of oppression. Are we doing that in a collective way? Just looking at the patterns, those patterns keep manifesting. It doesn't matter if it's manifesting with the African American community, the Hispanic community, the Pacific Islander community, whatever community is, are we looking, are we looking at those patterns of oppression? That's key for us to move forward as we do the work. Because in order for us to address, uh, and undo some of these things, we gotta identify 'em. We've gotta take time to sit down and identify these patterns that keep, you know, go. You know, that just like when we were, were dealing with, you know, with, uh, the racism on Bainbridge Island, you know, uh, it manifests itself back in the nineties and then again in the two early 2000. But I said, look at the, they go on ground for a little while and then they come back out.But look at the patterns of how they begin to, to do that work, uh, of, of, um, you know, racism. Look at the pattern of it. Look at how it shows up. Look at how it, it manifests itself in our institutions, in our workplaces, you know, in those areas that we are in on a daily basis. Don't matter in the schools. Look, they've been dealing with racism in the schools forever. Ever since Little Rock nine, they've been dealing with racism in the schools. And that was because why? Because racism was alive and well, and LA racism is still alive and well. So how do we begin to move these things and begin to address these things in a way that's gonna shift the policy and procedures? It should not be allowed in the institutional, shouldn't be allowed in the schools, shouldn't be allowed in our city governments, if you're serving all of us, if you are serving every one of those students, why are we dealing with what's happening at North Kitsap School District? And, and there's some questions I think that we need to be asking to administration and to those superintendents and to those staff members, because they're the ones that hold those practices in place, whether they're just or unjust. Who are the gatekeepers?Yeah. You gotta see who's gatekeeping and who's gatekeeping what, and, and really doing the, that type of visioning to be able to address these disparities or, or address the racism or address all of these inequities. Because if you got a principal that's gate keeping it, why do you think it keeps coming up?Danielle (01:08:20):Because it's us who hold these things in, in place. Human beings hold these practices in place. None of us get away. All of us are accountable. Mm-hmm. , it's, it's not just, that's when that one, that one, no, it's us. It's all of us who hold these practices and these policies in place. It's whether you will or whether you won't.So tho those are the things I think when we can get down to those foundational principles on how to address, and really, are we asking the right questions? Because they'll have us running off on a, a wild goose chase on something that, that , I'm just saying that don't even that, that is totally gonna miss the mark. You know, because if we, if we just keep pruning this thing, pruning it, pruning it, and never getting down to the root of it, we ain't plucking up nothing. We, we, we, all we doing is making it flourish and thrive. Because why do we prune? We prune things so it can come back healthier and stronger. I'm just, I'm just using these parables so we can see what we doing. Are we just pruning this thing? Are we getting to the root of it so we can pluck it up? Because if we're not, I think we're missing, we need to go back and revision and revisit and re-question and ask those. What's the, because you all know what's the root causeWhat's the root cause to the disparities that's happening, Jessica, in your departments or at the health district? What's the root cause when you are up in these schools and these things keep on, um, coming up and manifesting? What's the root causeDanielle (01:10:43):Go back. Do, do that questioning, just ponder. Just look at it. But let's, let's get our chart out. Let's see what's happening, and then, then we can have a real good conversation about next steps and how we can move forward and what we gonna do.Danielle (01:11:07):Kaylee, I saw your hand raised. Um, and, and I just wanted to say, like briefly after that meeting, I had a post up on Instagram, uh, highlighting the article, and I had over 400 likes, but 300 of them were from local students. And I had over a hundred private messages to me, and I screenshot them. And, and it wasn't just Latino students, it was black students, it was white students, it was, you know, L G B T Q community. Like they're ba I, what I understood from that is like, come on, get to work. Like, and I've, I've sent the screenshots, you know, to Maria and a few to Kali and some toku, you know, um, because they're important. The messages they give were important. Um, but yeah. Kaylee, jump in.Kalie (01:12:00):Yeah, I just, I mean, I love the questions that are being asked and Aku, some of your metaphors are like so amazingly helpful. Um, the pruning, uh, like I, yes, like I, I think that that is part of it is not getting to the root. And I think one of the things that Danielle and I have been trying to work on in our groups is also what you mentioned Maria, is like, we have to be able to listen to each other. And I think like from a mental health standpoint and the impact of racism, like there is so much shame, so people cannot listen. I mean, especially speaking from a white person, my own racism, having to work through that and, and then when I, like me as a white person in these conversations, right? So many people cannot hear like, we're never getting down to that.And like that is part of what I think we're trying to address in those small group settings is like, how to teach people to dig down deep and actually, like, what is happening in your body in these conversations. And I think, like, I feel like this like top like both and like the accountability you're talking about a kue, like, has to be, because some people will never, ever be able to get to what is deep down and actually deal with it. And if there isn't accountability, I don't, we're not, we're not gonna cut any of that rot out . But I think like, yeah, like trying to continue to figure out how to get down to that root and deal with people's shame and the fear that like racism has taught you so that you can actually listen so that we can actually collaborate. Um, and I mean, I obviously am speaking to my white, uh, community members that it's like, that is our work as white people that we have to work down to, like what prevents us from listening and hearing and changing and holding other white people accountable. Um, so that's where that was taking me.Jessica (01:14:07):So Kue, you asked about, you know, the root cause of inequities. And I don't necessarily have the answer, but I wanna to share. Um, I, I've seen a growing conversation, um, kinda in public health circles about power as a social determinant of health. So when public health people use the term social determinants of health, they're looking at what social factors affect health. Um, there are different models out there, but most public health experts agree that more affects health besides what you eat and how much you exercise. It's the social and cultural factors. It's, it's, it's, um, the economy, it's your built environment like, you know, access to sidewalks, parks and things like that, racism, discrimination, so many things impact health. And what i, I appreciate about power as a factor in health is because that's where you see governments needing to stop holding onto power so much, right?And so there are some, um, agencies that are starting to dismantle that a bit. So I, I wanna elevate, for example, um, our, our colleagues in, so our public health colleagues in Tacoma Pierce County. So they have a budgeting process where they allow the community to help them set budget priorities. We're not there yet as a health district, I hope someday to actually advocate for that as well. But it's looking at how do we share power with our community and how do we also foster community building as well? So like, in, and, and you know, you'll probably know the Square than I do, but just as, as, as an observer, I've noticed like an increase in the number of nonprofits and people wanting to do really amazing work. Um, you know, um, helping other people. But there's that lack of capacity. Oh, you know, people might start nonprofit, but they might not have all the training that they need.Um, so as, as a community looking at power and how do we shift that and doing a power analysis, and I, I think you've talked to me about this, you know, really looking at who holds power in Kitsap County and how do we work together to, to to share that power. Um, so, so there, there, there's that piece. But then also, um, you know, Kuya talked about training, right? And so for me, a lo

Over the past week, new Twitter CEO Elon Musk has directed the release of “The Twitter Files,” internal documents detailing controversial decisions made by senior Twitter staff before Musk's takeover. The first batch, reviewed and released on Twitter by independent left-leaning journalist Matt Taibbi, concerned the previous Twitter management's most controversial decision: The suppression of reporting by the New York Post on the contents of a laptop computer left at a repair shop by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's son Hunter. Joining me to discuss Musk's approach, Taibbi's reporting, and the fallout from both are my colleagues Sarah Lee and Ken Braun.

This month, three African-American writers/activists with widely different political views published a book together entitled "Crisis in the Classroom" (Skyhorse Publishing). Despite their many differences, the authors teamed up to insist that the civil rights issue of today is the failure to educate young Americans. The three authors are Benjamin Crump, Esq., a prominent civil rights attorney whose clients have included George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, and who is sometimes called “Black America's Attorney General”; Dr. Benjamin Carson, who rose from poverty to head pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and later ran for President; and Armstrong Williams, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of three earlier books who hosts “The Armstrong Williams Show,” which airs on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations across America. Williams joins Capital Research Center's Scott Walter to discuss the book and the crisis. This is part one in a two-part series. Links: Crisis in the Classroom: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885 (https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885) How Government Worker Unions Manipulate Municipal Elections: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-government-worker-unions-manipulate-municipal-elections/ Criticizing Teacher Union Allies? You Might Be A Domestic Terrorist: https://capitalresearch.org/article/criticizing-teachers-union-allies-you-might-be-a-domestic-terrorist/

This month, three African-American writers/activists with widely different political views published a book together entitled "Crisis in the Classroom" (Skyhorse Publishing). Despite their many differences, the authors teamed up to insist that the civil rights issue of today is the failure to educate young Americans. The three authors are Benjamin Crump, Esq., a prominent civil rights attorney whose clients have included George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, and who is sometimes called “Black America's Attorney General”; Dr. Benjamin Carson, who rose from poverty to head pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and later ran for President; and Armstrong Williams, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of three earlier books who hosts “The Armstrong Williams Show,” which airs on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations across America. Williams joins Capital Research Center's Scott Walter to discuss the book and the crisis. This is part one in a two-part series. Links: Crisis in the Classroom: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885 (https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885) How Government Worker Unions Manipulate Municipal Elections: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-government-worker-unions-manipulate-municipal-elections/ Criticizing Teacher Union Allies? You Might Be A Domestic Terrorist: https://capitalresearch.org/article/criticizing-teachers-union-allies-you-might-be-a-domestic-terrorist/

The End is here! No, not the end for your daring hosts Michael Watson and James Ryan, but the end is here tonight for either the WWF or The Alliance! Time Limit Draw presents Survivor Series 2001! We've got two title unification matches, one Immunity Battle Royale, and Women's 6 pack challenge for the title, and quite possibly the greatest, most star studded Survivor Series main event elimination match of all time! Vince's team of Jericho, Big Show, Kane, Undertaker and the Rock take on The Alliance's team of Booker T, RVD, Shane O'Mac, Kurt Angle, and Stone Cold Steve Austin! It's winner takes all because after tonight there will be only one! To the victor goes the spoils! Pucker up, bitch!

Time Limit Draw welcomes you all to the 6th Annual WWF Survivor Series! Our hosts Michael Watson & James Ryan travel back to 1992 to witness the fallout of the Ultimate Warrior leaving the WWF! “Executive Consultant” Mr. Perfect comes out of retirement to join the Macho Man Randy Savage in taking on Razor Ramon and Ric Flair! That's got to be the Main Event of the show, right? It's not? You'll see what is soon enough. First we have the Nightstick on a Pole Match as “Innocent Man” NAILZ looks to exact revenge on his former jailor, The Big Boss Man! Rick Martel appropriated Tatanka's Ceremonial Eagle Feathers and turned them into a fashion accessory, but Tatanka ain't having that! Future WWF Champion Yokozuna has his pay-per-view debut against a guy who used to be yoked, and is about to be flattened. The Undertaker went to the literal wood shed as he painstakingly crafted a beautiful looking cedar Casket in order to deposit a very scared Kamala inside. Seriously, Bob Villa and Sara's daddy would've been proud of that craftsmanship! Then in the Main Event, it's the OTHER Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels Survivor Series match. WWF Champion vs Intercontinental Champion, with only Bret's title on the line! Come load up your plate with some last minute Survivor Series 1992 leftovers!

Hello, I'm Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. A few months ago, President Joe Biden announced that the government would “forgive” up to $10,000 per borrower in federal student loan debt with at best dubious legal justification, with a cost to the Treasury estimated at $300 billion if it were to go into effect. Lawsuits immediately flew. One such lawsuit was filed in Texas with the support of the Job Creators Network Foundation, challenging the action as unconstitutional. Last week, the program was struck down at the trial court level; joining us to discuss the litigation is JCN Foundation's Chief Legal Officer Karen Harned. Links: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/federal-judge-strikes-down-biden-student-loan-forgiveness/

Hello, I'm Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. Like the 2020 elections, which saw then-President Trump's coalition prove unexpectedly resilient amid a horrible national environment dominated by COVID despite his loss to Joe Biden, the 2022 elections did not go as expected…but this time the other way, with Biden's Democrats defying the apparent “fundamentals.” While others will discuss candidates, issues, and swings, I'm joined by Capital Research Center president Scott Walter to discuss some of the institutional structures that might have contributed to the midterms results.

Following the 2020 election, and one very strange Time Magazine article detailing a “shadow” campaign of left-leaning operatives that “saved” the 2020 election by “fortifying” it, conservative groups began to get serious about election integrity. Some efforts to re-instill faith in American elections had pre-existed 2020, but news reports of poll watchers being barred from carrying out their duties, concerns over near-ubiquitous ballot drop-boxes, and the heavy promotion of mail-in ballots as an answer to keeping people safe during COVID, had conservative groups taking a more active approach to making sure American elections could be trusted for all participants on all sides of the political divide. One of the groups that got to work was Tea Party Patriots Action, who've spent the last year planning, preparing, and training to assure honest and fair oversight of elections. Joining the podcast today is Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman of TPPA, to discuss those efforts, why conservative groups felt a coordinated effort to focus on these things was necessary, and how they've done in their efforts. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-groups-and-persons-mentioned-in-times-shadow-campaign-article/ https://www.teapartypatriots.org/ https://pennsylvaniadailystar.com/2022/03/09/tea-party-patriots-action-tours-pennsylvania-to-champion-election-integrity/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/leftist-dark-money-groups-tilting-the-2020-election-for-democrats/

Michael Watson & James Ryan return for one more WCW Halloween Havoc, this time the 1991 offering. The infamous Chamber of Horrors match! Sting, the Steiners, & El Gigante battle Cactus Jack, Abdullah the Butcher, The Diamond Studd, & Big Van Vader. No pinfalls or submission, but one man must get electrocuted! Bobby Eaton takes on "The Computerized Man of the 1990s", Terrance Taylor in a solid bout. The Enforcers mop the mat with the jobber team WCW Special Forces. Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes fight for the TV Title. Lex Luger and Ron Simmons battle for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a 2 out of 3 Falls match! All that and (takes deep breath) The York Foundation, Oz, "Heavy Metal" Van Hammer, P.N. News, The Creatures. Oh, and the WCW Halloween Phantom! I wonder who's under the mask??

Today, we meet ERIC—the Electronic Registration Information Center. Created with the aid of the left-of-center Pew Charitable Trusts to help states maintain their voter rolls, recent years have seen it expand into voter registration drives. With those drives comes concern about ERIC's connections to left-wing figures. Joining me to discuss ERIC and its ties to the political left is my Capital Research Center colleague Hayden Ludwig, who wrote about the group for The American Conservative. Links: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-lefts-taxpayer-funded-voter-registration-machine/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/electronic-registration-information-center-eric/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/dark-money-on-the-left/

Reminding you why the Mississippi Gulf Coast is such a great place to live, work, and play

For the past several weeks, Iranians—especially Iranian women—have taken bold stands against the nation's theocratic government, discarding compulsory headscarves and cutting their hair. This isn't the first time that mass demonstrations have contested the control of the Iranian regime; can they succeed this time? Joining me to discuss the situation in Iran and its relation to American policy is Gabriel Noronha, a former State Department advisor on Iran under Secretary Mike Pompeo and current fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). Links: https://jinsa.org/ https://jinsa.org/person/gabriel-noronha/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63240911

Since the Supreme Court decided the Janus v. AFSCME case and held that forcing government workers to pay union fees was an unconstitutional infringement of their free speech rights, union-aligned governments have come up with some creative approaches to supporting their government worker union allies. California hasn't even bothered with creativity: The state's ruling Democrats enacted legislation to simply pay unions directly with $400 million in taxpayer money. Joining me to discuss this latest case of California becoming what I've called Big Labor's Golden State is Rachel Greszler, research fellow in economics, budget, and entitlements at the Heritage Foundation. Links: https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/10/07/new-california-law-forces-taxpayers-to-pay-for-union-members-dues/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/big-labors-golden-state-part-3/ https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/cecily-myart-cruz-teachers-union/

Expanding access to high-speed internet: It's a trendy cause that the COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures made urgent. And when government acts with urgency, bad ideas proliferate; in broadband, the bad idea is municipal government control of the broadband network. Joining me to discuss the drawbacks and problems with this approach are my colleague Parker Thayer and Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

The power of the ESG—environmental, social, and corporate governance—investing movement is propelled by powerful allies among funds managers, perhaps none more prominent than BlackRock, which manages over eight trillion dollars in assets. But is Blackrock's advancement of the environmentalist agenda a sincere commitment or cynical “greenwashing” seeking public relations advantage? Joining me to discuss the question is my Capital Research Center colleague Ken Braun. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-1/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-2/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-3/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-threat-goes-beyond-blackrock-larry-fink-united-nations-pri-oil-gas-capital-flows-climate-disclosure-fiduciary-11664297704?mod=opinionleadpos7 https://www.influencewatch.org/person/larry-fink/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

     Slam the Gavel welcomes Michael Watson, Director at Family Court Coaching from South Croydon, England to the show.  Michael is a professionally qualified social worker and author of two books.  With over thirty-three years experience of working with children and families. He worked as a self-employed Children's Guardian for eighteen years and for over twenty years as an Independent Social Worker.     Michael is an expert in the family court at assessing parenting, relationships and the various needs of children. Due to his own personal experiences and his unique position as a child care and parenting expert within the family court, Michael is in a key position to assist, advise, support and coach parents through their private law family proceedings and provide them with the information and skills to represent themselves successfully at court.    In 2014, Michael wrote his book, "How to Represent Yourself In Family Court," available on Amazon, provides invaluable insight, information, education support and guidance to assist parents in navigating their way through the court process. He also informs parent/readers in an honest, open, conversational style about how vital it is for parents to learn the parenting skills they need not only for court but for the rest of their lives. Offering parents relevant knowledge of the Children Act legislation; practical examples of what "good parenting" entails, including how to present or give evidence, dress and behave while in court and throughout the proceedings.    Michael has finished his second book, "FAMILY COURT: Giving Evidence in Family Court," available on Amazon. This book identifies how difficult it is to try to compete with advocates, lawyers and barristers without receiving a considerable amount of support and training centered on giving evidence and managing cross-examination and focuses on the knowledge, skills, insights, strategies and tips needed to be perceived as a credible witness.    Excellent conversation on being put on the witness stand and how to behave and answer questions with evidence to back up all statements made. Michael will soon be starting his own podcast, "Incredible Witness Podcast," very soon.To reach Michael  Watson: familycourtcoaching@gmail.comhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Represent-Yourself-Family-Court-step-/dp/1909229520/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365680980&sr=1-1-spell&keywords_howto+representyourself+in+family+courtSupportshow(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri)http://beentheregotout.com/http://www.dismantlingfamilycourtcorruption.com/Music by: mictechmusic@yahoo.comBustin' Chops & Callin' ShotsEach week Josh and Jon sit down to give their take on travel sports and everything in...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

“Who decides? Congress or the executive?” is a key question underlying many prominent legal interpretation disputes. One such dispute, over defining “waters of the United States,” has trapped one family that sought to build a home on their Idaho property in limbo for over a decade—and two trips to the Supreme Court. Joining me to discuss Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency and the other work performed by his firm is Pacific Legal Foundation Vice President for Legal Affairs James S. Burling. Link: https://pacificlegal.org/case/sackett-v-environmental-protection-agency/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

Former European super-middleweight champion and two-time British champion James Cook is one of the most-respected figures in British boxing. He was the first man to defeat the excellent Michael Watson, lost to Herol Graham, wanted to fight Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn and he had one tough assignment after another on the road, almost always in the away corner. He worked with Mickey Duff, Harry Holland, Frank Warren and others, talks about moving to the UK from Jamaica, racism in England and, in his decorated role as a youth worker, crime and poverty in London and in the UK. Cook is the conscience of British boxing and universally loved, known as The Guardian of the Streets.

These days, amid debates over critical race theory and radical gender theory in school curriculums as early as elementary school, parents might be wondering what alternative resources might be available to them. Joining me is Jill Simonian, Director of Outreach for PragerU Resources for Educators & Parents and PragerU Kids, to discuss some of PragerU's resources. Action Gudie: https://assets.ctfassets.net/qnesrjodfi80/18WDTi8qlqc5FZMBMchXQy/d63107b3afeb4c3015c397d4b6f5d40d/PREP2022ParentActionGuideFINAL_1.pdf

In this episode, LSM CEO Trevor Emerson speaks with Caring Senior Service's Scott Suryan, Director of Franchise Development, and Michael Watson, Regional Sales Director.   12,000 people a day in the United States turn 65 years old and many of them require senior care and at-home care.   Michael and Scott consider Caring Senior Service's in-house technology innovations to be the best in the industry; it's the only tablet-based homecare company in the senior care niche.   Today, Michael and Scott discuss how they leverage that proprietary technology to ensure that both customers and franchisees alike have a great experience.   Highlights include: How Caring Senior Service differentiates itself from competitors in a large pool of clientele. Leveraging Caring Senior Service's proprietary Tendio software to create success across franchises and improved senior care. How Caring Senior Service plans to double its growth in just four years. The role leadership plays in building up the franchise community and fostering the culture of caring.   Connect with Scott Suryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-suryan-cfe-42837b85/   Connect with Michael Watson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-watson-cfe-81240963 Learn more about Caring Senior Service at https://www.caringseniorservice.com/   This episode is brought to you by LSM.   At LSM, we understand the needs of business owners, and facilitating those needs is our top priority. More than just a digital marketing agency, LSM is a true partner, and we consider ourselves to be an extension of your team.   With LSM by your side, you can trust that our dedicated team of specialists will be bold in the strategies we employ, always consider industry best practices, and take pride in the results we produce. Why? Because your goals are our goals, and your success is our success.   Find out how you can take your business' online marketing to the next level at https://lsm.works/

In 2002, President George W. Bush stood astride the post–September 11 political world and Republicans looked poised to do the unthinkable and strengthen their positions in Congress in a midterm year. Yet liberal scholars John Judis and Ruy Teixeira published a provocative thesis: A new Democratic majority would “emerge” by the end of the decade. Traditional middle-class and working-class Democrats would be joined by growing ethnic minority populations, especially Asians and Hispanics; by working, single, and highly educated women voters; and by a growing share of the professional class, paving the way for a new majority. After President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012, the thesis seemed airtight and its guidance likely to live long after the decadal horizon its authors had adopted. Except, just after the majority “emerged,” it started to crack. Then came Donald Trump. Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

This is why we do the MentalEdge Podcast. We sat down to interview an Amazing Christian Rap Artist, “Butta the Preacher” AKA Michael Watson and what does he do right after we hit record. Butta bowed his head and said a thankful prayer to the one true King. He didn't waste time asking if we wanted to pray. We just got to pray'nWhy, because he knows every day is a gift. He knows that every opportunity to shine for the father should not be dismissed as coincidence. Each and every moment we are chosen to represent the Lord is an honor a privilege and a blessingButta the Preacher has a lot to be thankful for. In this interview you will get a glimpse of his amazing story. We thank we captured it all but don't worry if we missed a detail or two..why?...because the movie, yes I said the movie for realz is in pre-production right now. The Movie is scheduled for release in February of 2023 but you can stream his amazing music right now. In fact, his newest single “Crazy About God” CAG is storming up the charts as we speak. There is so much more to this interview so don't wast another minute, just click that link to tune inDon't forget to like and share. 

Today's guest is not the only person to have left California for Florida in the past few years. Kali Fontanilla left her teaching job in Monterey County after her school district pushed critical race theory and aligned ideologies and now runs the Exodus Institute, a homeschooling group based in Florida. She joins us to tell her story and discuss how education got to the present moment.

Mississippi's Secretary of State, Michael Watson, weighs in on his concerns about federal efforts to register people to vote and Senator John Horhn discusses Jackson's on-going water crisis. 

This week, the New York Times reported that a “little-known donor” — industrialist Barre Seid — had given a $1.6 billion “windfall” to a new conservative group known as Marble Freedom Trust in the network of Leonard Leo, the conservative activist most notable for his involvement in the Federalist Society and support for the judicial selections of former President Donald Trump. The Times made much of the fact that the gift exceeded the combined spending of 15 “politically active nonprofit organizations that generally align with Democrats” in 2020 while Leo asserted that “It's high time for the conservative movement to be among the ranks of George Soros, Hansjorg Wyss, Arabella Advisors, and other left-wing philanthropists, going toe-to-toe in the fight to defend our constitution and its ideals.” So what does this contribution actually portend? Joining me to disscuss that question is Capital Research Center president Scott Walter. Links: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/us/politics/republican-dark-money.html https://www.philanthropydaily.com/two-cheers-for-barre-seid/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/federalist-society-for-law-and-public-policy-studies/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

We've discussed government worker unions and their left-wing politics on the podcast before, but what can workers do to protect themselves against union activities they disagree with? Americans for Fair Treatment is helping educate public sector employees about their constitutional rights around union membership. Joining me to discuss some recent government worker union abuses and Americans for Fair Treatment's work is AFFT's CEO, David Osborne. Links: https://americansforfairtreatment.org/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/americans-for-fair-treatment/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

This week, FBI agents conducted a search at the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump. We'll leave it to others to speculate on the justifications, causes, and ramifications of the unprecedented law enforcement action, but should the historical record of the FBI itself provide a cause for increased scrutiny or increased trust in the propriety of the search? Joining me to discuss the FBI's complicated history is my colleague Ken Braun, who recently wrote a history of the “G-Men” for InfluenceWatch and CapitalResearch.org. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-1/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-2/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-3/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-4/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-5/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-fbis-bad-apples-part-6/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

We've discussed “woke capital” on the podcast before with author Stephen Soukup and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. But now we turn to a related topic: Environmental, Social, and Governance — "ESG” – investing. ESG strategies adopted by fund managers—perhaps most notably BlackRock—can place left-of-center social policy goals as equal considerations with investors' returns in investing decisions. Making matters worse, some state pension funds are following ESG strategies that would leave taxpayers on the hook if trendy liberal activism cost the funds the returns they need to pay their obligations. Other states—most notably West Virginia and Florida—are taking action to prevent their state funds from engaging in ESG investing. Joining me to make sense of it all and to explore what can be done about it is Lee Schalk, Vice President of Policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council. Links: https://alec.org/model-policy/state-government-employee-retirement-protection-act/ https://alec.org/publication/keeping-the-promise-state-solutions-for-government-pension-reform/ https://www.influencewatch.org/hub/esg-activism/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/influencewatch-podcast-187-the-business-of-woke/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/influencewatch-podcast-220-the-dictatorship-of-woke-capital-revisited/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

We've heard a great deal lately about education in America, from discussions about school choice post-COVID restrictions to whether or not curriculum is being developed that helps children learn to succeed at something more than simply activism. Our guest today has a keen interest in all these issues and has written a book called, “Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for All Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power” (Templeton Press, 2022). The book lays out strategies to help children learn more about what they accomplish rather than what holds them back. Please welcome to the Influence Watch podcast Ian V. Rowe, Senior Fellow at AEI and Senor Visiting Fellow at The Woodson Center, as well as founder and CEO of Vertex Partnership Academies, a nonprofit charter school management organization. Links: Ian Rowe bio: https://www.aei.org/profile/ian-rowe/ Vertex Partnership Academies: https://www.vertexacademies.org/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Agency-F-R-Children-Victimhood-Narrative/dp/1599475839/ref=ascdf1599475839/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=509159799352&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3031156760453569912&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010800&hvtargid=pla-1224410820858&psc=1 Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

Who are the “Legal Observers” in green caps and vests who appear whenever the Left is engaged in a public demonstration? They are probably members of the National Lawyers Guild, a radical-left association of attorneys, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers. Joining me to discuss the NLG is my colleague Robert Stilson, who recently wrote an in-depth history of the group for InfluenceWatch and CapitalResearch.org. Links: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-lawyers-guild/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-lawyers-guild-foundation/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

Were any liberal organization not to weigh in on a Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that invented a nationwide right to abortion, one might expect organized labor—ostensibly dedicated to improving workers' wages and working conditions—to be that abstaining faction. If one expected that, one would have been wrong; Big Labor, in keeping with a longstanding practice of “social justice unionism” that sees it advocating not only for abortion access but for a broad left-wing social agenda, condemned the Dobbs ruling, placing it in an incongruous alliance with “woke” corporations now vowing that they will offer access to abortions as employment benefits. Joining me to discuss organized labor's relationship with woke capitalism and social justice unionism is James Sherk, the director of the Center for American Freedom at the America First Policy Institute. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/social-justice-unionism-means-pro-abortion-big-labor/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/uaw-fails-at-volkswagen-again/ https://americafirstpolicy.com/latest/big-government-reconciliation-bills-labor-provisions-undermine-workers-freedom Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch