Podcasts about political action committees

We are back and doing what we do best. Houndsman XP is the leader in keeping you informed of what threats we, as Houndsmen, face. We are not afraid to take on the tough issues and give you the straight talk that you deserve.Chuck Podolak joins Chris on this episode to talk about an outstanding organization that isn't afraid to take the fight to those who stand against us. Conserve and Protect Arizona is a 5009(c)3, 501(c)4 and has their own PAC (political action committee).Conserve and Protect Arizona is leading the charge to ensure that Arizona residents have a future of hunting with hounds and all sporting dogs. Arizona Game and Fish recently had a petition filed by anti hunting groups to ban all hunting of mammals with dogs. We will break it all down for you on this episode of the Houndsman XP Podcast.conserveandprotectaz.org  ►Get Your Houndsman XP Info, Gear & More Here!www.HoundsmanXP.com►Become a Patron of Houndsman XP! Check out our Tailgate Talks.|

The Music Room.Based on a post by FinalStand, in 13 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.  ‘My, oh my,' Taliyah murmured. She had felt the two Samsonov boys pressing in on her, Mikhail behind her and Vlad to the front. She hoped she had them right. With her heart racing and her fervor rising, she wasn't 100% sure. ‘Mikhail,' she looked over her shoulder as she moved her ass up and down his crotch, ‘this is only for you.' Her declaration was in a throaty moan.‘That's unfair,' I chuckled to Taliyah.‘Don't worry,' her head tilted up, ‘I know some tricks Brandy doesn't know.' I didn't know if that was true, or not. Finding out would be fun. I kissed her on the lips. At the same time, my brother nipped down on her shirt-covered shoulder.‘Don't be cruel,' he teased her. ‘You know he was sneaking peeks at the lodge.'‘My body; my rules,' Taliyah insisted somewhat breathlessly.‘Okay. I'll work on changing your mind,' I growled before diving in for another kiss. Our tongues battled. Taliyah placed her hands on either side of my chin, taking control of our passion. In doing so, I sensed her reticence quickly passing.‘Y'alls first time with one girl?' she purred when we came up for air. She knew it was, so I was left trying to figure out her game.For Taliyah this was a totally new experience too. The sense she had such a level of control over the masculine power encompassing her was dizzying. She hated to admit it, but looking into Vlad's eyes felt nice. His gaze was focused on her. His perceptions were seeking out her reactions and her responses, not still hooked on Brandy.In the back of her mind had been the gnawing fear she was a substitute fuck; a Brandy-surrogate in Vlad's mind. She saw none of that. His attention was eating her up and it made her so fucking hot. Even more thrilling: she was soaked, breathing heavy and trembling; and they all three still had their damn clothes on!Taliyah's fingers began fumbling with my belt.‘We've got time,' I stroked her cheek. I caught a quick signal from Mikhail. We both dove down for opposite sides of her neck, suckling, licking and nibbling on her tense muscles from collar to ear lobe. In the process, I managed to pull her shirt out of her skirt; she got my belt buckle undone. Synching our oral attacks with working our shoes off with foot-action alone, we then went straight to loosening our belts and; front first (aka me); yanked off our jeans and underwear in one brutal maneuver.‘Ah,' Taliyah gasped as my lips and tongue played along the crux of her windpipe and chin, ‘you two practice that much?'‘Yeah,' Mikhail chortled. ‘We do.'Taliyah's hand on my shoulders caused me to bring about a pause in our actions.‘Seriously?' she looked over her shoulder at my vigorous triplet.‘Why would I make up something so bizarre?' was his take on things. I could tell Taliyah 'wanted' to know more. But she simply wanted more of us both right now and figured she could interrogate us about our unusual sexual indoctrination later; post-coitus. They began kissing and their kisses became an oral battle replete with growls, rumbles and other hungry sounds.I took the distraction to rapidly unbutton Taliyah's shirt, pull it open and; Lord Hallelujah!; she had on a front-opening bra; and unleash her 'puppies'. I had talked about her preferences with neither Mikhail nor Brandy, but I'd witnessed and rewound (hey, I'm 18 years old) the footage of the lakeside orgy enough times to know she liked her nipples played with.‘Uh; uh; uh; ah; ‘ the dark-skinned beauty moaned. ‘Are you two telepathic?' she said in response to our hands reaching inside her panties and moving along her vulva and perineum, coming at her from different directions at the same time. I wasn't quite sure what inspired us; I put my thumb upon her aroused clit; it felt almost the size of the first digit of my pinkie; and reached around to insert my ring finger against her sphincter.At the same time, Mikhail was working his thumb up her bunghole and rubbing his forefinger into her vagina. She was already wet and getting wetter by the second. By the oily texture of my brother's digits, he'd somehow snuck some lubricant on them while our partner was distracted.The combination of our height differentials, our ministrations and her obvious pleasure forced my brother and I to go to our knees.‘Oh God! I need a picture of this,' Taliyah exulted. ‘Both of you on your knees around me.'‘I promise,' I looked up, ‘we'll do this again.'‘You'd better,' she beamed, looking down at me, wreathed in a cocktail of majesty and carnality. She added to that image by cupping her left breast into a mouth-watering mound. No words were necessary. I licked the rich, dark brown areola before latching onto her stubby, darker nipple. My thumb and finger were working in tandem with Mikhail's over her cunt and anus to bring her to fruition.Taliyah was struggling to keep it together. She fed her other breast to Vlad who attentively latched on and began applying a tantalizing level of suction which was driving her wild.‘Cut loose, Babe,' Mikhail whispered into her ear. He was rising back to his feet at the same time his right hand began to furiously frig her.She shot him a foul look over her shoulder.'As if he can tell me what and when I can; ' she thought to herself.‘We are in a soundproof room for a reason,' he grinned. She sensed the connection. He wasn't out to steal anything from her. Her lover was famished for even more of her sensuality and that desire was showing through. Taliyah looked heavenward; and then Howled!Emptiness Fourth Period Bell.Sultana Berry stumbled into the front of the room first. We were on our knees; Mikhail had his back to the newcomers, Taliyah was on all-fours with Mikhail doing her cunt from behind while she was giving me yet another blowjob. I was looking right at Sultana and the other cheerleaders as they entered.‘I hope this doesn't take too long,' Sultana got out, ‘because I'd; ‘ and her head turned from looking over her shoulder at her fellow cheerleaders in the hallway to the three of us a dozen feet away.‘Holy Shit!' she exclaimed.‘What?' wondered Randi Leigh who was right behind Sultana. Before she could comment, Alondra Lamb, stumbled in, with Brandy herding her and Betty Jo Starling ahead of her. ‘Oh fuck,' gasped Randi Leigh, her surprise turning quickly vindictive, ‘Brandy, your guy seems to be fucking your best friend.'Alondra scanned around seeking direction. Sultana's eyes flicked to Brandy before latching back onto my 'midsection' as Taliyah unleashed my cock from her lips allowing it to sort of sway there; hypnotically.‘'Bout time you got here,' Taliyah slurred happily to Brandy. ‘I'm tapping out.'With that, she slouched down on her left side, head resting on her biceps, serene smile on her face. Earlier we'd spread out the piano cover so we didn't have to deal with the much colder floor. Even as Mikhail let her down gently, his tool came free with a loud 'plop!', revealing its rock-hard, 'full mast' status.‘Hey Brandy, what is Randi Leigh doing here?' I beamed lust-filled affection at my girlfriend. ‘I thought you said she wasn't invited.' According to my Mother (the Evil Psychic Mistress of Misdirection), insinuating to one girl another woman didn't want you close by 'her man' made her want to get close to you. It didn't make much sense to me, but then what did I know about women? Sure enough, Randi Leigh shot Brandy an evil look.Mikhail extended his sweaty body over Taliyah, planted a few feather-light kisses on her shoulder and ear then rose up, right leg first. He quarter-turned their way.‘Alondra,' he emoted wolfishly. The smoky hot young lady blinked in surprise then pointed to herself as if to affirm she was the one he was talking to; as if there was another Alondra in this High School. There wasn't.‘Come here,' he beckoned her with a finger.‘Me?' she gulped.‘I've wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you,' Mikhail rumbled.‘Me?' she repeated. Alondra wasn't going to win any debates with that level of verbal repertoire.‘Hold on now,' Sultana interposed herself, facing her ladies. Her mistake was taking her eyes off my brother.‘But I think he needs help getting dressed,' Alondra tried to explain. How cute.‘Brandy, what's going on here?' Sultana was looking past Alondra to the Team Co-Captain. Mikhail snuck up on Sultana quickly and quietly. I was right behind him. Randi Leigh was trying to get Sultana's attention. Too late. He moved straight into Sultana's back, driving her face to face with Alondra.‘So you think you are better than Taliyah, do you?' he breathed into Sultana's ear. She recoiled as much as she could, putting a weak elbow into his ribs. She was only partially effective in turning around. For my part, I slipped around them and went directly into Randi Leigh's personal space. Take into account both my brother and I were naked, glistening with sweat, and highly aroused;‘Randi Leigh (apparently middle names were important in cases such as this), why doesn't Brandy want you and I hanging out?' I lied.‘I never said that,' Brandy protested. If someone I had known for more than half my life told me one thing and a near-stranger told me the opposite, I would believe the person I knew well. Mom insisted Randi wouldn't believe Brandy;‘Sure you didn't,' Randi Leigh simmered while reaching down and wrapping a hand around my cock. She gave me a little yank. ‘Not bad.'‘Get off me!' Sultana demanded of Mikhail. She got her wish. Mikhail moved her aside and went after Alondra. He astonished everyone by cupping the chestnut-complexioned girl's jaw romantically in both hands and placing a kiss on her lips.‘Fucking fantastic,' he purred, then went in pursuit of a far more brutal and demanding lip-lock which took hostage the air from deep within Alondra's lungs.‘Hey,' Sultana protested. ‘Stop that.' She tried to separate my brother from his prey. Alondra complicated the issue by entwining one arm behind his head and the other around his waist, keeping him close. Wanton moans echoed from her unfathomed sensual core.Randi Leigh drank in the scene.‘I'm Rashaan's girl now,' she grinned up at me, hand still on my rod.‘I'm not going to tell him a damn thing,' I looked down at her. My left hand went along her right elbow to her shoulder all friendly-like. When Randi Leigh didn't resist, I moved my right from her hip to her ass and began bringing her close.‘I'm not going to fuck you,' her lips insisted at the same time her hand began jacking me off. ‘I don't do White guys.'‘Does cunnilingus count?' I whispered into her ear.‘Ah; ‘ she murmured. ‘Maybe not,' she finished off with a foxy grin of her own.I could begin to see the calculations going off behind those eyes. Perhaps; just perhaps; there was a reason Brandy had risked Darius' wrath to fuck me; on multiple occasions. I let my hand on her ass creep to her cleft.‘Clothes,' I teased her; as she had me on too many occasions. Meanwhile;‘Brandy?' Sultana looked to the functioning Co-Captain for intervention. Brandy had already kicked off her tennis shoes and was currently stripping down out of her jeans and panties. She was also still by the door. Only later would I realize it was because she'd sent Misty Dawn and Betty Jo Starling to escort a semi-crippled Alexander here and the door was locked, so they would need to be let in; thus necessitating her remaining close to the door.Brandy's allies on the squad, Noémie and Amber Lee, were keeping three 'opposing' cheerleaders (Vantrice, Mia and Pearl) preoccupied this lunch period. Dealing with five new cheerleaders would be stressing the three of us guys to our limits. In theory, I guessed that meant we'd pick those other five off later in the week, or on Saturday at Brandy's house.‘Taliyah and I can't keep up with these three,' Brandy exaggerated. ‘I was hoping y'all could help out this one time. Please?'‘But; ‘ Sultana sputtered. I was willing to bet 'they're White' almost spilled forth. But she spared another look to the sexually sated Taliyah instead.‘By all means, leave my Man alone,' Taliyah threatened, then yawned, stretching out like a savannah lioness. ‘I'll leave you Rashaan.'According to Mom, that wasn't an offer, it was a challenge; for Sultana to go after Mikhail. To my naïve way of thinking, he could have made it easier by switching his attention from Alondra to Sultana, who was the more dominant woman anyway. Not only was that 'not' Mikhail, it wasn't what a man did if he wanted a woman's interest. We; the men; had to play hard to get.I'd told Mom I preferred honesty. She'd told me to keep my preferences to myself and do what I was told; and I would somehow end up happier. I truly believe my Mom loves me, so I went along with her madcap advice. It worked gang-busters. The more Mikhail persisted in focusing on Alondra, the harder Sultana worked on enticing and seducing him; because he was a bastard?In comparison, I had it easier. Brandy was clearly horny for me and Randi Leigh got off on thwarting Brandy's lusts by corralling my attentions with her body motions. The more frustrated Brandy became, the more Randi Leigh's inhibitions flew out the window. She had me on my back, hand still on my cock as she guided it into her steamy folds in under two minutes. Putting on a condom? 'No time for that,' or so she claimed. Funny. I thought we had fifty minutes.Here I was feeling bad about leaving Brandy out and here she was with her triumphant smile from over Randi Leigh's shoulder. She had totally suckered Randi Leigh and me with her passionate resistance. She mouthed 'I love you' before scampering off to get the door. Alexander, Misty Dawn and Betty Jo had arrived.Under anything approaching normal group dynamics, at least one of the young ladies could have been expected to bolt this unusual erotic encounter; however the Cheer Squad was used to their Lunch Time and post-Practice orgies. In the immediate post-Darius Era, they hadn't been getting any and suddenly they had three hunky, hot and ready (even if White) guys in front of them, willing to perform.Alexander had it the easiest. He was 'infirm', so Misty Dawn decided to transfer all the gratitude she had for me not getting into a slugfest with Cousin Buck in the Parking Lot this morning to him, thus lavishing him with some intense, solo loving care. Betty Jo, momentarily at loose ends, was called over to Mikhail by Alondra, who insisted she was still trying to get him dressed;If Mikhail felt any reticence over reliving the sexual exploits of his Varangian ancestors, he didn't show it in the slightest. He soon had Alondra and Betty Jo kneeling with their haunches on their heels, licking his balls and cock-shaft while Sultana stood by his side, kissing him longingly as he massaged her pubic mound; no penetration yet. It took me a few seconds to realize he was teasing her; plus, he was able to pat the kneeling lasses on their heads when they particularly pleased him. What a fortuitous pig.I didn't have the time to verbally chastise him. As I began to work in and out of Randi Leigh's love box, twisting my hips during every intrusion, looking to increase her stimulations, she began to get really responsive and incredibly vocal. The combination of the 'aphrodisiacs' Mom had given us, plus my interrupted blowjob with Taliyah, prompted me to begin ejaculating into her womb. Whoops!‘Ugh; ugh; ugh; ugh; ugh; ugh --ugh-ugh-uh-uh-ug!' escaped from her lips and then she went off like no woman I'd ever seen before. Randi Leigh was acting as if she was having a seizure. Her long, brunette hair, normally in a ponytail, but worn loose today, whipped around her head as she thrashed and jerked atop of me. Fingernails drew bloody rivets across my pectorals as her hands scarred me from collar to mid-stomach.Her mahogany skin (she was White, but well-tanned) was more flushed than normal, her small nipples were a bright crimson within her rich reddish-brown half-dollar-sized areolas equally blood-flushed and puff. Her breathing came in staggered gasps. Then she completely locked up perpendicular to my waist, back bowed and her face finally ending up staring down at me in disbelief.All I could think of, looking back up at her, trying to make sense of the electricity spreading like fire through her veins was; 'if you figure out what I just did to you, please let me know what it was; because I may want to be more careful who I do it to in the future'.‘Uwee; ‘ escaped from her tightly constricted airways right before Randi Leigh's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed on my chest, utterly spent.‘Brandy?' I looked past the unconscious woman on my chest toward my vastly more experienced lover. She looked stunned. The rest of the room was quiet.‘I think; that was Randi Leigh; having an orgasm,' Brandy gasped.‘You go, Bro!' Mikhail saluted me, slamming his closed-fist over his heart; twice. With the way the three women were looking at him, he should have been more careful. I suspected they were expecting the same treatment.‘Are you sure you are okay with having sex?' Misty Dawn inquired of Alexander, even as she started yanking his pants down.‘For you; sure. I'll get my belt,' he gently caressed her cheek, ‘if you could get my shoes?'I had to push Randi Leigh up, then maneuver us around so I could carry the still blissfully unaware Randi Leigh to the piano cover to be lain beside Taliyah before returning my attentions to Brandy. I caught sight of some worry in her eyes until she realized my eyes were nearly bugged out of my head and my cock was throbbing upright and returning to duty; her completely naked body had that effect on me.‘Oh,' she giggled. ‘You're hurt.'‘It'll heal,' I ignored the pain. We met halfway. My hands went to her right breast and left face cheek to steer her head up to a kiss. Hers went to my cock; still no condom. So much for 'safe' sex.‘Ladies, Sultana's going to ruin our fun, so I gotta take care of her first before I can get back to the both of you,' Mikhail boasted.‘You think so?' Sultana Berry put forth with provocative bravado.‘Yeah,' Mikhail snorted. ‘Alondra and Betty Jo like me, so I'd like to spend some quality time with them. You'd like to think you are better than me, but we both know you aren't. So I'm about to prove it to you.'Seriously? Isn't this the moment the woman slaps the man in the face, throws a drink at him, calls him an 'asshole' (or something even less flattering), then storms out?‘I'm going to ruin you for every other women you ever try to get with,' Sultana rose to the challenge.Okay then;‘If she wasn't such a bitch,' Brandy whispered to me as she followed me to the floor, her riding me cowgirl, ‘I'd warn her.'All I could do was grunt.‘What was that?' Brandy's brow furrowed and her cute nose twitched.Had my Mother not told me this would happen; scary and far beyond weird; I would have thought I was doing something wrong. This was Brandy seeking affirmation.‘You; above me; every time it is so wonderful and new, Brandy Crystal Carson,' I replied in a soft, rich romantic voice. Just because I knew the question was coming, didn't mean I'd rehearsed a response. I went with my gut and by Brandy's near-tearful reaction, I was right on the money. Brandy leaned in, squishing her breasts against me and gave me a famished kiss.‘I feel the same way,' she murmured.‘You like blonde-haired girls with big boobs sitting on top of you too?' I joked.‘Oh,' she sat up, feigning indignation well, ‘Poo!' then she smacked my chest. Then, to further punish me, she flexed her thighs; going up and down; and undulated her vaginal walls; to give my cock a very friendly 'welcome back'.'Yikes!' Man, but that felt really good. Brandy clued in to my pleasure and was looking a bit too pleased with herself, so I pushed up with one arm and went like a lamprey for her right breast.‘Hey!' she gasped. ‘Not so rough.' Which meant 'keep at it'. ‘I said not so rough, Vlad. I'm a bit tender,' she sighed happily, reinforcing her misdirection by placing a hand on the back of my head, keeping my lips and teeth tight to her tit.'Nom-nom-nom-nom,' I happily suckled along for six, or seven minutes until;‘Hey y'all,' Alondra appeared above me/us. ‘Can I join in?'Reluctantly I released Brandy's mammary to get a quick peek at what Mikhail was up to.He was going for some hot-muff action on Sultana where she lay on top of the piano, which was, in turn, on the elevated stage. Her legs were upraised in a 'V' with her hands holding the back of each knee to hold the pose. My brother was alternating between kisses to her clit and slit and teasing her labia with his tongue and teeth; gentle-like for now. When he figured out her sensitive spots, he'd be doubling down on them rapid-fire soon enough.‘Unless my Princess claws me like a scratching post; Hell ya!' I grinned. That was a concession to my Lady's #1 status without making me sound cunt-whipped. Brandy gave a playful harrumph married to her own saucy smile. The problem was;‘Princess? Who is that?' Alondra struggled to concentrate.‘Me,' Brandy seductively wiggled off my cock. ‘He's my Prince, so I'm his Princess.'‘Oh! Like Disney?' Alondra beamed innocent understanding. ‘That's so cool.'‘Yeah,' Brandy shot me a wink. ‘Like Disney. Here, have a seat and share in the 'magic'.'‘Oh goodie!' the tawny athlete mounted my cock which Brandy was 'kind' enough to hold erect for her. She wasn't tight, but, to be honest, Alondra was snugger than my first time with Brandy; which was a thought I'd take to my grave. Her toes were on the floor, knees off the ground, gymnast's thighs like coiled springs and hands splayed on my chest; she got to bounding up and down.‘Yay!' At least I was making someone definitely happy. When I made eye contact; I; felt for Alondra. She had one; no; two marketable commodities; her exotic good looks and a willingness to work hard. Cheerleading was as much of a demanding sport as basketball. She knew the Cheer Squad's routines, and with her limited intellect, that had to mean she truly applied herself when given the chance.What Alondra needed was good friends; and someone, right now, to fuck her.‘I've never fucked a White guy before,' she blithely informed me. ‘I thought you'd be; smaller.'‘Vlad is full of surprises,' Brandy moved to my side, still smiling.‘Don't let me neglect you, Babe,' I offered. She knew what I was saying and took me up on the suggesting.She made a production of standing over my head, facing Alondra then slowly lowering herself down to my waiting mouth.‘How's he going to breath?' Alondra inquired.‘He's got great lungs,' Brandy answered. My tongue was busy sculpting out her vulva and penetrating her labia.My right hand went around the back to massage a luscious ass cheek and tickler her along her tailbone. Then the left went up and rediscovered her breasts. I could almost hate my Mother for keeping us from sex for so long; almost. To be fair, she'd also helped train us to be aggressive, appreciative and attentive lovers.It wasn't like the BBC Masters didn't do cunnilingus. Some did. The difference was we approached it as a facet of a full-on orgasmic orchestra. It wasn't just licking and sucking that clit, or labia pulling. Depending on the partner, it was spreading your attention along the upper thighs, pubic mound perineum and buttocks.Fingers, lips, tongue, nose and even whiskers could be parts of our arsenals. Keep all your senses focused on your lover as well. A twinge, chance in scent, or a stifled gasp could all be clues to what secretly turned them on. Thankfully for this encounter, I already knew Brandy pretty well and Alondra wasn't overly demanding. She wanted a nice, stiff cock and I gave her that in spades; no pun intended.‘Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,' Sultana began hissing. Taliyah had done wonders for Mikhail's confidence which rebounded into this pattern of quickly overwhelming whatever mental defenses she tried to put up between him and the climax he wished to tear from her.‘Oh Fuck!' she screamed. Yep. Mom's choice of the sound-proof Music Room was prescient.‘Oh; ‘ she moaned. ‘Wait; ‘‘No way,' Mikhail taunted her. ‘I'm not going to stop until you say you'll only do White boys.' Pretty much a complete race reversal, and cruelly pointless.‘Not going to; Oh Fuck!' she began to caterwaul again. I couldn't see what he was doing, but by the sound of moist slapping, I figured he had advanced to screwing her face-to-face and furiously hard.‘What's going on?' Randi Leigh finally rejoined the gathering.‘He fucked you into transcendence, you silly Cunt,' Taliyah mocked the girl.‘I; ah; it wasn't; ‘ Randi Leigh blathered.‘Don't even try,' Taliyah chuckled.‘By all means,' I could feel Brandy twist her upper body around, ‘if you never want to fuck my guy ever again; ‘‘Or mine,' Taliyah tacked on.‘Any of the Samsonov boys ever again,' Brandy dictated, ‘that's fine by me; us.'‘That's damn right,' Taliyah added.‘Oh; I'm getting all tingly,' Alondra sang out.‘When is it going to be my turn?' I had no doubt Betty Jo was pouting over her exclusion by Mikhail's devotion to Sultana.‘Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,' became a familiar refrain. ‘Oh Fuck!' and Sultana surrendered another orgasm to my bratty younger triplet. ‘No; ‘ she panted.‘Don't break her,' Taliyah sounded a tad jealous as well as cautionary.‘Say it,' he growled.‘Ah; ‘ was all Sultana could emote.‘Say it,' he remained ferocious. I felt obliged to tap Brandy's thigh. She was closing on her own fruition, but I wasn't sure Sultana had the time.‘Give it a rest,' Alexander protested.Brandy dismounted. Mikhail hadn't relented yet.‘Bro, Alondra's over here; dying for a three-way,' I tried a different approach. I wasn't going to swap out Alondra for Betty Jo; that would be treating the ladies like mix-and-match Legos. Betty Jo was still the only girl-neglected, but I knew from our earlier conversation Mikhail had a special hankering for Alondra; which I couldn't bring up directly without being cruel to Taliyah.Mikhail looked over his shoulder, his body still hovering over the slack form of a sated Sultana. His look was volcanic; primal, fiery;‘We aren't done,' was his parting shot to Sultana. Betty Jo was still on her knees where he'd left her. Mikhail didn't spare her a glance, advancing swiftly to us.Meanwhile;‘I do? I am?' Alondra hiccupped both surprised and happy with 'her' suggestion.For a second I was afraid Mikhail would go directly for a face-fuck. Alondra was certainly set up for it. Instead, at the last second he went in for a deep French kiss full of tongue, mutual nose-breathing and finishing with his teeth pulling playfully on her upper lip.‘I'm bouncing on your brother,' Alondra gleefully, breathlessly and pointlessly related.‘I can see,' he chuckled. My youngest triplet didn't have to be an asshole. ‘I think I'm going to be pouncing on you.'Alondra had no comeback. My bet was she didn't know what 'pounce' meant. Mikhail moved behind the medium-brown beauty. It occurred to me the deeply-tanned Brandy and natural-complexioned Alondra were virtually the same skin color.Otherwise they were different enough. Brandy was a natural blonde. Alondra had kinky, black hair with blonde highlights. One with dark-blue eyes and the other hazel. Alondra was taller by a few inches. Brandy had the larger bust and hips. Alondra's buttocks were accentuated to the top while Brandy's were more balanced hemispheres. I couldn't tell whose smile I liked more.‘I like White boys,' she huffed as a way of greeting Mikhail's transition from 'kisser' to man-boy pressing in behind her. There was no way he was going for her ass without causing her a great deal of pain. He had another idea.‘Seesaw?' he looked over her shoulder. Oh!I put my hands under each of her thighs and lifted her up and forward.‘Eep!' she squeaked followed by ‘Hey; No,' when my cock popped out.‘Here you go,' Mikhail soothed her. In his cock went.‘Oh yeah,' she was immediately mollified.‘Why does she get two of them?' Betty Jo complained.‘Yeah,' Randi Leigh grumbled. ‘Why does she get both of them?'‘Because she asked really, really nice,' Mikhail addressed the others. Brandy shot me a curious look. Since she had her back to the others I felt it was safe to share my own confusion.‘When did that happen?' Taliyah pseudo-teased 'us'.At the same time, Alondra rocked forward. When she settled back, it was my cock inside her once more. Taliyah had gotten dual-vaginal and anal after we had 'prepped' her.‘We're telepathic,' Mikhail responded. Alondra didn't care.‘You'd better not be,' Taliyah muttered.Yeah, we had to do something about this. The next time we switched back, I pulled myself further up and away from Alondra. Mikhail picked up on my clues and went to regular doggy-style, his back pressing on hers, his left arm supporting his weight while his right reached under and began to manipulate her clit between two of his fingers in a tender, circular motion.‘Ah-ah-ah Shit!,' Misty Dawn announced her own eruption to all of us. It turned out she and Alexander shared their 'moment'; their synergy further multiplying their sensory overload.I had barely moved into a kneeling position in front of Alondra. We kissed which left me rather unprepared for;‘Now it's my turn,' Betty Jo pushed Brandy aside in her rush to grapple with me. Oh Joy!Mom and Dominique.‘Ms. Malik, there is a Mrs. Samsonov here to see you,' Riley buzzed Madam Mayor. Dominique bit down on her anger; and fear. Chinedu had been so plastered, he couldn't properly remember the events of the previous evening clearly and Taliyah hadn't felt the need to remind him. None of that erased the feel of the middle Samsonov boy's; everything, or the wrongness of those actions.Chief of Police Quinterre had yet to slither through her doorway, though that was something she had to prepare for. The beating Alexander (she wasn't fooled by whatever deception Gayle Fonteneau/Samsonov had perpetrated) took at school had been both troubling and welcome; since it served as a major distraction to 'that night'.Darius'; destruction had been a peal of thunder after Alexander's beating. Now the Arkansas State Police were nosing around and her 'mole' inside the Davis County Sheriff's Department had become reticent to supply her with useful information.‘Tell Mrs. Samsonov I don't have room in my schedule today. Perhaps she can avail herself of our city's website, or attempt an e-mail,' Dom answered.‘She says she'll wait,' Riley replied.'Ah shit; that bitch'; ‘Fine. I will give her five minutes in; thirty.'‘Yes Ma'am,' Riley sang out.Dominique frowned. Riley appeared 'upbeat'. Which black snake was pounding her fat ass and cunt now? Damn it; one more unexpected headache. Thirty minutes rolled around and Gayle hadn't departed like any sane individual would, so Riley showed her in.‘Riley, you can go,' Dom dismissed her White 'Political Assistant'.Riley kept smiling like a fool.‘Yes Ms. Malik,' the girl nodded.‘See you this evening, Riley,' Gayle smiled. Riley's smile deepened into something definitely sensual. Dominique was going to have to school her Jew Ass again. Spending time with Gayle Fonteneau was the opposite of helping out.‘Hi Dom,' Gayle settled into the seat across from Dominique.‘Call me Madam Mayor,' Dom bit back. ‘What do you want?' Gayle's grin turned into a vicious leer. ‘And leave Riley alone, damn you.'‘I was curious if Chinedu's sagging black ball sack has become a suitably dark shade of blue; I see from the look of his two main whores, they have,' Gayle chuckled.‘Bitch,' Dom seethed. ‘What do you; think you have on me?'‘Not a damn thing,' Gayle kept chortling. Dom was more convinced than ever the evil harlot had lost her damn mind. ‘Welcome to dealing with decent human beings, Dom. My boys didn't tell me a fucking thing. They certainly didn't gather any footage of supposed misdeeds.'Dom processed what she was and wasn't being told.<

Friday, November 29th, 2024Today, a special edition of the Daily Beans. I'll be going over David Corn's investigative reporting on Tulsi Gabbard, and a brief history of the Equal Rights Amendment from American Progress.Thank you BeamDreamThere's never been a better time to finally try Dream! Shop their Black Friday sale and get up to 50% off when you visit ShopBeam.com/DAILYBEANS and use the code DAILYBEANS at checkout! Stories:Tulsi Gabbard Keeps Starting Up PACs. Where Is the Money Going? (David Corn | Mother Jones)What Comes Next for the Equal Rights Amendment? (Isabela Salas-Betsch and Kate Kelly | The Center for American Progress)Guest: John Fugelsanghttps://www.johnfugelsang.com/tmehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-fugelsang-podcast/id1464094232The Sexy Liberal Save The World Comedy Tourhttps://sexyliberal.com Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote, Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewroteDana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.comHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

Tuesday, November 5th, 2024Today, it's election day in America so make sure you get your ballot in the box; NBC aired Trump "equal time" message during NASCAR coverage after Harris' "SNL" appearance because he's a whiny baby; Trump Media outsourced jobs to Mexico even as Trump pushed “America First”; Elon Musk's lawyer argued in a Philly courtroom that his illegal million dollar giveaways aren't a lottery because they're fraud; and a Trump supporter has been arrested after punching a 70 year old woman in the stomach at a Harris rally; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News. Thank you, AG1Every week of November, AG1 will be running a special Black Friday offer for a free gift with your first subscription, in addition to the Welcome Kit with Vitamin D3K2. So make sure to check out drinkAG1.com/dailybeans to see what gift you can get this week!Events, Petitions, and Volunteer Opportunities | Mobilize.usEasily Migrate Your Daily Beans Patreon Support To SupercastThe Daily Beans on SupercastGuestStories:Elon Musk's $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can proceed, Pa. judge says (AP|Spotlight PA )Teenager wearing Trump shirt charged with punching Harris supporter, 70 (Treasure Coast Newspapers)Trump Media Outsourced Jobs to Mexico Even as Trump Pushes “America First” (Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski | Propublica)NBC airs Trump "equal time" message during NASCAR coverage after Harris' "SNL" appearance (CNNHarris Social Media Toolkit Harris Campaign Social Media Toolkit (kamalaharris.com) See What's On Your Ballot, Check Your Voter Registration, Find Your Polling Place, Discover Upcoming Debates In Your Area, And Much More! Vote411.orgCheck Your Voter Registration! Vote.org Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comCheck out all 11 episodes of Trump's Project 2025https://trumpsproject2025pod.com/Here is my new ad for #HarrisWalz. My story never gets easier to tell, but everything is on the line this election. Please watch and share - x.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1847296099398361455Have some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/From The Good NewsPennsylvania Voting & Elections (PA.gov)Roberto Clemente (National Baseball Hall of Fame)Hank, a Cattle Dog & Basset Hound Mix in Laurel, MS | PetfinderConfused about Issue 1? Here it is in plain English (WTOL11) Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill https://muellershewrote.substack.comhttps://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrotehttps://www.threads.net/@muellershewrotehttps://www.tiktok.com/@muellershewrotehttps://instagram.com/muellershewroteDana Goldberghttps://twitter.com/DGComedyhttps://www.instagram.com/dgcomedyhttps://www.facebook.com/dgcomedyhttps://danagoldberg.comHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

AMPAC: What is a Political Action Committee? What political party does the American Medical Association support? Does the AMA lobby? How is AMPAC funded? Rob Jordan, vice president of political affairs at the American Medical Association, answers the most common questions about the AMA's bipartisan political action committee, AMPAC contribution criteria and political education, as well as AMPAC's role in political and medical advocacy. AMA CXO Todd Unger hosts.

What makes up a good “ground game” when it comes to turning out voters? Republicans use Political Action Committees while Democrats rely on volunteers. Which is best? Monday Eight o'Clock Buzz host Brian Standing spoke with two local political activists for their insights into the question. The post The Science of How To Get Out The Vote appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

In this conversation, Olivia speaks with Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of Vote Mama, about the importance of having mothers in political positions. They discuss Liuba's journey as a political mom, the challenges faced by women running for office, and the structural barriers that need to be addressed to empower more women to participate in politics. Vote Mama aims to support and endorse women candidates, particularly mothers, to create a more inclusive political landscape. The conversation emphasizes the need for policy changes that reflect the realities of motherhood and the importance of community support for women in politics.Liuba Grechen Shirley is the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama, an interconnected trio of organizations dedicated to electing mothers, transforming the political system, and advancing family-friendly policies. These organizations include Vote Mama PAC, the nation's first Political Action Committee focused on electing Democratic moms across the ballot; Vote Mama Foundation, the leading source of research and analysis on the political participation of mothers in the United States; and Vote Mama Lobby, which collaborates with elected officials from both parties to support policies that benefit families and children. These organizations aim to elect mothers, transform the political system, dismantle barriers for mothers running for office, normalize candidacies of mothers with young children, and promote family-friendly legislation.Liuba's career highlights include her historic congressional campaign for New York's 2nd District, where she achieved the highest vote share of any Democrat against the incumbent in 25 years and raised over $2 million without corporate PAC money. She made history as the first woman to receive federal approval to spend campaign funds on childcare. Previously she worked in international development in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, with a focus on women's economic empowerment. Liuba has been recognized as one of Long Island's 100 Most Powerful People and has been featured in major media outlets like CNN, The Today Show, and TIME Magazine. Her academic background includes an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA in Politics and Russian from NYU. Liuba resides on Long Island with her husband and three children.Check out Vote Mama: https://www.votemamapac.org/Vote Mama on InstagramLiuba Grechen Shirley on InstagramMentioned in this episode:Are you ready to vote?Are you ready to use your vote? Whether it's your first time or you've done it before, *Vote Without Fear* is here to help you feel prepared and safe every step of the way. From understanding how to vote securely, to knowing where your nearest polling location is, this platform has all the information you need. Don't let uncertainty hold you back—your voice matters. Head to votewithoutfear.com and make sure you're ready to vote with confidence and peace of mind. Remember, it's your vote and you deserve to Vote Without Fear. That's VoteWithoutFear.com Vote Without FearLearn More About Vote Without FearIt's no secret our right to vote is the foundation of our American democracy, but sometimes the process can feel overwhelming or unsafe. That's where Vote Without Fear comes in. Whether you're voting for the first time or the tenth, this platform has everything you need to feel confident and informed—from where to vote, how to vote safely, and...

The airwaves are being flooded with political ads, but many of them are not from the candidates or their campaigns. Michael Pope tells us about outside spending from political action committees.

Wealthy Americans have always found ways of spending money on political campaigns in the presumed expectation of a return on their investment. But in 2010, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ruled that legislation that restricted how much money could be spent on influencing elections was unconstitutional, opening up vast new possibilities for wealthy individuals and corporations to support candidates. The Court's argument was that to stop someone spending as much as they liked to push an agenda or a candidate was a violation of the first amendment right to free speech. The official campaigns still have to be transparent about how much money they're raising and from whom, but there are now effectively no limits at all on what people can spend trying to influence the outcome of an election in indirect ways. That's where so-called “Super PACs” come in (the PACs is an acronym standing for Political Action Committee). It turns out that it's really easy to hide a political donation by giving it a Super PAC rather than directly to a candidate. So the problem today – in the post-Citizens United world -- is not only the amount of money being spent but that we no longer know who's spending it.Presenter: Adam Smith, Orsborn Professor of US Political History at Oxford and Director of the Rothermere American Institute.Guests:Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a Brennan Center fellow and professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, where she teaches courses in election law. Her book Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians Hardcover – published by NYU Press- is out in November.Brody Mullins, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. He spent nearly two decades covering the intersection of business and politics for The Wall Street Journal. He's the co-author of The Wolves of K Street The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big GovernmentThe Last Best Hope? is a podcast of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford. For details of our programming go to rai.ox.ac.ukProducer: Emily Williams. Presenter: Adam Smith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. JJ Whicker is a pediatric audiologist, clinical researcher, chief operating officer and co-owner at Little Heroes Pediatric Hearing Clinic. As a clinician, JJ works with children who are cochlear implanted and completes diagnostic testing for infants who refer on their newborn hearing screen. Dr. Whicker also runs the Central Auditory Processing Disorders program. As a researcher, JJ is interested in understanding the unique challenges posed to parents of children who are Deaf or Hard-of-hearing (DHH) with other disabilities, and how those challenges shift parents' priority for their children's hearing-related needs. He is also interested in understanding the challenges faced by adolescents who are DHH as they prepare to transition to post-secondary opportunities. Links: www.asha.org/pac email: drjj@littleheroeshearingclinic.com __________________________ You can listen to this episode wherever you stream podcasts and at www.3cdigitalmedianetwork.com/telepractice-today-podcast  

George Carrillo is the President of Progreso Latino, a Political Action Committee. George is a Democrat who ran for governor of Oregon in the 2022 election. Progreso Latino is hosting a mayoral debate on September 11, 2024, with candidates Rene Gonzalez, Carmen Rubio, and Keith Wilson. Tickets are sold out, but you can tune in on YouTube.https://progresoac.orghttps://x.com/pro_latino_pac?s=21https://www.thelundreport.org/content/george-carrillo-health-carehttps://www.wweek.com/news/city/2024/01/25/portland-police-bureau-faces-wave-of-retirements/https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2021/08/11/black-portlanders-are-more-likely-to-be-murdered-than-their-peers-in-cities-better-known-for-crime/https://www.youtube.com/live/YRIU3rN6yms?si=jfS55nc6jcAjhhAyhttps://www.wweek.com/news/2023/02/01/they-left-portland-is-losing-some-of-its-biggest-fans/https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/10/05/we-tried-to-imagine-how-voting-would-work-under-portlands-proposed-charter-reforms/

IHA Political Action Committee with David Stark and Bob Ritz by Iowa Hospital Association

Intro Question of the Week Ayyyye yuuung Roflation AMAZON makes ALL the MONEY Chipotle more chicken Medicine marked up 38,000% Crowdstrike Disaster $10 gift card Impact on the world Project 2025 Get rid of department of Education 100,000 federal jobs out of DC Deport 20 million people Wellington Park - Joey Mandarin Wrap Up

Quick recap The team discussed the upcoming elections, focusing on the need for secure voting methods, fairness in ballot counting, and the role of activists in ensuring a fair election. They also introduced notable figures, including Christian and Dennis Bernstein, who shared their views on women's rights, voter education, and the importance of poetry in times of uncertainty. Lastly, they engaged in discussions about potential running mates for Kamala Harris, the interconnectedness of all work, and the historic nature of Harris becoming the first woman of color to hold the presidency. Next steps Karen Greenberg and Julian Zelitzer to continue promoting their book "Our Nation at Risk: Election Integrity as a National Security Issue Christian Nunez and NOW to continue get-out-the-vote efforts and voter education initiatives Dennis Bernstein to follow up on discussing Diablo Canyon on his radio show Harvey Wasserman to connect Karen Greenberg and Julian Zelitzer with Dennis Bernstein for a potential radio interview Harvey Wasserman to reach out to Barbara Koppel about obtaining video footage from Woodstock '94 Myla Reson to monitor astrological aspects related to upcoming political events Harvey Wasserman to write a letter to the current Mayor of Chicago regarding protest permits for the upcoming Democratic Convention Mike Hirsch to prepare audio recording of his composition for next week's call Harvey Wasserman to invite Mimi Gurman back next week to read her poetry Call participants to continue discussing and analyzing potential VP picks for Kamala Harris Call participants to monitor and support Cori Bush's primary campaign in the coming days Harvey Wasserman and Myla Reson to host their radio show on Wednesday at 3:05 PM Pacific time on KPFK.org Summary Automatic Meeting Summary and LSD Discussion Gree-Gree introduced an automatic meeting summary feature, which could simplify the work of the station board secretaries. myla and Mike discussed the potential benefits and issues, including name recognition accuracy. Meanwhile, karen presented while Win led a discussion on LSD legalization and the Fermi nuclear plant incident. The group also discussed a book by karen and julian about a potential "armed coup," with Win praising their credentials. Lastly, Linda Foley, a Maryland representative, joined as a guest, and plans were made to feature poetry readings by Dennis Bernstein in the following hour. Election Security and Voting Rights Discussion Win initiated a discussion about the security of the upcoming elections and the nation, with karen and julian sharing their concerns. karen emphasized the importance of viewing elections as a national security issue, given the various vulnerabilities and threats. julian discussed the relevance of the issues surrounding voting rights and election administration in the current political climate, highlighting the potential for increased political support to tackle these problems. The discussion also touched on the origins of these issues in the 21st century, with Win citing examples of voter roll purges and alleged electoral fraud in several states. The conversation concluded with the importance of election security and the potential threats to the upcoming presidential election being emphasized, with julian suggesting the reintroduction of measures to restore the Voting Rights Act. Introducing Notable Figures and Endorsing Kamala Harris Win introduced several notable figures including Delegate Foley, a journalist and former president of the newspaper guild, and Christian, a social worker and women's rights advocate. Christian, representing the National Organization for Women, emphasized the importance of fighting for women's civil, voting, and reproductive rights, and the need to combat disinformation and oppression in the upcoming presidential election. He also announced their Political Action Committee's official endorsement of Kamala Harris as the Presidential nominee, made the day after Joe Biden endorsed Harris. Securing Elections and Protecting Democracy The team discussed concerns about the integrity of the US election process, focusing on the need for secure voting methods, such as hand-marked paper ballots, and the importance of fairness in the selection of those who count the ballots. They also highlighted the role of activists and grassroots movements in ensuring a fair election, and the potential impact of high volunteer rates for campaigns. The discussion touched on the upcoming election in North Carolina, the need for voter education, and the potential challenges and vulnerabilities in the election process. The team also emphasized the importance of unity and solidarity in protecting democracy, and the need to prevent a regression to pre-Civil Rights era conditions if Donald Trump is re-elected. Dennis Bernstein's Poetry and Election Discussion Win introduced Christian, who had to leave early, and then invited Dennis Bernstein, a poet and talk show host, to share his work. Dennis read two poems: one in memory of his brother who was a skilled mechanic, and another in honor of his father, a war hero who often spoke of a bee that saved his life. The meeting also included an open forum discussion about the upcoming election, but no official endorsements were made. Poetry Sharing and Resilience Discussion Dennis shared a poem about resilience and hope, emphasizing the importance of living fully despite difficult circumstances. Tatanka thanked Dennis for his poetry and encouraged others to continue sending letters to Biden and Harris. Win then shared a poem about his experience at Woodstock, reflecting on the loss of his parents and the spiritual connection he felt at the event. The conversation ended with Win sharing another poem titled "Shoshi and Daddy," which he dedicated to his mother. Sharing Personal Poetry and Emily Dickinson Win shared a personal and touching experience with his daughter on Mother's Day, which was followed by Tatanka's drum song "2 Hearts, one drum," emphasizing the power of love and the importance of being present in the moment. Dennis shared a personal anecdote about his mother's poem and encouraged others to share their own poetic works, with myla affirming that everyone in the Zoom call likely had a poem to share. The group also discussed the life and work of Emily Dickinson, highlighting her impact and influence, and mentioned an ongoing exhibition in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a yearly gathering of her fans to read her poetry. Woodstock Memories and Regrets Ron and Win reminisced about their experiences at Woodstock in 1994 and 1969. Win recounted being asked to give a speech criticizing Pepsi and other bottlers at Woodstock '94, though Pepsi threatened to withhold sponsorship if he did so. Ron shared an anecdote about interacting with Country Joe of Country Joe and the Fish. Win discussed the chaos of being introduced by Graham while Crosby, Stills & Nash were playing during his 1969 Woodstock speech. He also mentioned a premonition about his mother's death while dancing to Tatanka's music. Both speakers lamented their inability to obtain a video of the events to show their grandchildren. Hope, Diablo Canyon, and Songwriting Discussion Dennis shared a poem about hope, which led to a discussion about Diablo Canyon and a promise to provide more information. myla then shared her nostalgic experience selling the Berkeley Barb during the war and the group discussed the upcoming primary election for Cori Bush, a Democratic Squad member. The group considered endorsing candidates and supporting Bush's campaign through the Progressive Democrats of America. Towards the end, the group engaged in a light-hearted discussion about singing and songwriting, with a focus on the Scalia and Thomas themes. The possibility of future discussions with songwriter Steven Seinheim was also suggested. Discussing Potential Running Mates for Kamala Harris Win suggested several potential running mates for Kamala Harris, including Josh Shapiro, Roy Cooper, and Mark Kelly. Win believed that Mark Kelly would be a strong candidate due to his impressive resume and potential to deliver Arizona and Nevada. However, Steve disagreed, suggesting that Roy Cooper would be a better choice due to his experience and ability to attack the Republicans. myla also expressed her preference for Cooper and Tim Walts, highlighting their progressive values and leadership qualities. The group also discussed potential drawbacks of having two women on the ticket and expressed uncertainty about the progressive credentials of Roy Cooper. Ancestors, VP Candidates, and Elections Tatanka initiated a discussion about the interconnectedness of all work and the significance of acknowledging ancestors. The group then engaged in a lively conversation about potential vice presidential candidates, with suggestions ranging from Muhammad Ali to Eleanor Roosevelt. The historic nature of Kamala Harris becoming the first woman of color to hold the presidency was also discussed, with references to Gracie Allen's 1941 presidential campaign. The participants also discussed the possibility of international observers for the upcoming US election, the influence of big tech money on Kamala's campaign, and the upcoming Democratic Convention. Personal anecdotes and memories were shared, and the importance of remembering names correctly was emphasized.

Alan Fredendall // #LeadershipThursday // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, ICE Chief Operating Officer Alan Fredendall discusses the current state of healthcare & rehab as an industry, who the big players are, what (if anything) is being done to change things, and how individual therapists can begin to affect meaningful change Take a listen to the podcast episode or check out the full show notes on our blog at www.ptonice.com/blog. If you're looking to learn more about courses designed to start your own practice, check out our Brick by Brick practice management course or our online physical therapy courses, check out our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION ALAN FREDENDALLGood morning, everybody. Welcome to the PT on ICE Daily Show. Happy Thursday morning. We hope your day is off to a great start. My name is Alan, the pleasure of being our Chief Operating Officer here at ICE and a faculty member in our Fitness Athlete and Practice Management Divisions. It is Leadership Thursday. We talk all things practice, ownership, business management. Leadership Thursday also means it is Gut Check Thursday. This week's Gut Check Thursday comes directly from ICE's CEO, Jeff Moore. sent this to me last week said hey I was just goofing off in the gym trying to get some lifting and cardio in together and so he sent me a workout of 100 bench press with the weights on the barbell 135 for guys 95 for ladies and a hundred calories on a fan bike for guys 80 for ladies with the caveat that you can break up that work however you like you can Do 100 bench press straight through, 100 calories on the bike straight through. You can break it up into 10 rounds of 10 and 10, 20 rounds of 5, 5, 5. Whatever rep scheme suits your fancy, you are allowed to do that as long as you get all of those bench press and all of those calories done. that bench press weight should be light to moderate for you enough that you could potentially do five to ten reps unbroken. If it's so heavy that you could only do maybe singles or doubles or triples it's going to take you a long time to work through a hundred so keep that in mind. Other than that just pace yourself on the bike. There is no use racing that bike to finish a couple seconds maybe faster than normal only to lay on that bench for 30 seconds before you feel like getting some reps in. So just treat it a moderate approach on that bike and hammer out that bench press as able. So that is Gut Check Thursday. Today we're talking about changing the status quo. What does that mean? We're talking about the status quo as it is across healthcare in general, but of course specifically to rehab today on PT on ICE. So we're gonna talk about what is business as usual in rehab, who are the major players, We're going to talk about what is currently being done to address some of the issues across the rehab professions and again in particular physical therapy. And then are there more effective ways to try to change things. WHAT IS BUSINESS AS USUAL IN REHAB? So let's get started first by talking about what is business as usual. And in the rehab industry, the healthcare industry in general, we have what is really going on across pretty much every industry in the country of a slow merger acquisition consolidation of small to moderate companies being bought out by larger companies and slowly paring down the amount of organizations who really offer the same or similar service. A good representation of this is the airline industry. We only have four major airlines left. Southwest, Delta, American, and United. 20 or 30 years ago, there were over a dozen. And in the wake of some of the IT issues we had last week, we may even see that Delta and American could be going away soon if they don't fix their IT infrastructure and get their feet back on board. And so we see that there are just a handful of major players in the industry. And we would label those too big to fail kind of organizations. We have the same phenomenon going on in physical therapy and again in healthcare in general. When we look at healthcare, when we look in particular at rehab, we really have four major players. We have health insurance companies that control the care that patients are able to receive. and the amount of time providers have to spend paperwork wise on providing that care and also the amount of money that providers get. We know that almost every American has health insurance and so that health insurance for the foreseeable future is going to be part of the equation and therefore these health insurance companies are a big player in this industry. We have just a handful of health insurance companies, about 10, that generate $1.3 trillion collectively and employ over half a million people, with an average profit increase every year of about 9% year over year. And these 10 companies insure about three-fourths of Americans. So again, a very consolidated, condensed industry. where if any of those companies were to go out of business or something, it would have a lot of ramifications for the economy, for patients, and for providers. And so health insurance companies stand as one of those too big to fail type of organizations in this equation. Right after health insurance companies are health care companies. Large, national, across state lines, corporate, health care clinics, whether they are primary care clinics, dental clinics, urgent cares, physical therapy clinics, whatever, we see the same issue across all health care professions is that over time we are slowly paring down that the vast majority of clinics are owned by a large corporation and that usually as we get near the top of these organizations, Nobody involved in the leadership or management of the company is actually a healthcare provider. And so these are large, for-profit clinics that provide some sort of healthcare treatment. In the rehab industry and physical therapy in specific, just eight companies are closing in on owning 75% of all outpatient physical therapy clinics. And so that's very similar to health insurance, right? A small amount of companies own the vast majority the organizations and clinics within the industry. We have universities as our third player in the equation. They are responsible for educating entry-level students and getting them prepared to become new clinicians. They certainly have a stake in the equation here. And then finally we have the government itself. That can be kind of vague when we say the United States government. We're kind of really referring to enforcement organizations, Medicare, IRS, who are trying their darndest to try to regulate the other three organizations, big players in the industry. And what we find when we look at the intersection of all these giant, large, too-big-to-fail organizations is that we find that Over time, they have become intertwined. They have developed a symbiotic relationship with each other such that it would be really hard to affect significant change on one piece of the puzzle without it affecting everything else downstream. We see that universities have grown their cohort sizes so much that they are now graduating hundreds. Hybrid programs with multiple cohorts starting per year are getting close to graduating thousands of physical therapists per year. And all of those students need clinical placements. Those large corporate health care clinics are happy to take those students and put them to work for some free labor. I think we've probably all experienced that. at one point or another in our student career. And when those universities grow these cohort sizes, they begin to need those large clinics to have places to send their students to. And those clinics rely on those students, again, as part of their labor force alongside their staff therapists as well. We see that health insurance companies need, at some level, some providers to take their insurance so that they can offer to their customers, our patients, that there are some providers who take your insurance. If we get to a level where no one is taking insurance, health insurance companies are gonna be in a lot of trouble, and so we see that they are trying to hang on and kind of fight back against a shift across healthcare towards cash-based physical therapy and trying to go around the insurance system. And then finally we see that the United States government hasn't necessarily quit trying to enforce curb all the fraud waste and abuse in Rehab in health care in general what we see is they've kind of changed their policy over the years instead of throwing people in jail or busting up companies or that sort of thing that they have shifted their strategy to just collect fines right if they can't and stop it, then they will collect a piece of the revenue that all these different organizations are making. And so you see that fines are becoming much more popular than actual legal action when the government tries to get involved in significant issues with fraud, waste, and abuse in healthcare. So that's business as usual currently. Universities pumping out students, big corporate clinics taking students, offering students a job, health insurance companies playing both sides against the middle and then the government just trying to come in and take a little bit off the top at the end of the day. And really what we see happening is at the end of the day, there's really no impetus to change business as usual, the status quo among those four groups. It is working well enough that there is no significant push to really change things. WHAT IS BEING DONE TO CHANGE THINGS? What is being done to change things? You may have noticed what we did not mention in one of those big players was an organization like the American Physical Therapy Association. Not much is being done here because not much can be done. If we take a second, and please don't hear that this episode is just an episode designed to dump on the American Physical Therapy Association, but structurally it is not designed to hang on and try to enforce or weigh in or make any sort of decisions or affect really a lot of long-term change on any of the issues we see among the big players in our industry. That when we look at what is the APTA, really it is a non-profit member organization. It's not a charity. It's not a church. It's a member organization, it's a non-profit, it doesn't pay taxes, and so at the national level it really can't affect change. Nothing about our profession is regulated on the national level, it is all regulated on the state level. Your scope of practice, whether you can manipulate the spine, dry needle, whether who can prescribe exercise, who can do cupping, who can do blood flow restriction, all those different scope of practice issues are all handled by individual state legislations. And because of that, the APTA cannot really weigh in. They can also not weigh in because they can't legally weigh in. When we look at how the APTA is structured, it's structured as a non-profit corporation. It is forbidden by law, as is every non-profit company, every church, every anything, from engaging in political activities. So what the APTA has is a secondary organization called the PT PAC, the Political Action Committee. That is an entirely different organization. It's an entirely different pool of money. And that is the group that can try to lobby for things like mitigating Medicare reimbursement cuts. But that in general, on the national level, by design, it can't be effective. And just being an APTA member without donating any extra money to the PT PAC itself doesn't really allow us as individual clinicians to help the APTA effect change either. HOW DO THINGS ACTUALLY GET DONE? So, how do things actually get done then? Things really get done in our profession at the state level. State legislation, changing scope of practice, doing things like expanding direct access, opening up the ability to dry needle. We saw Washington just get access to dry needling a couple months ago. That was a state-led initiative from the clinicians in that state, from the state physical therapy chapter, and from the state legislature in Washington. That is how things actually begin to move around in our profession. And the unfortunate thing is you cannot join, just join your state chapter. You have to join the APTA and then also join your state chapter at the same time. So you can't be a part of just your state without being a part of the national organization, which I personally believe is a little bit unfortunate because I'd rather see my time and money go towards the organization that's going to affect the most change, which is going to be my state chapter. A really good example right now, we're close to completely removing direct access restrictions here in Michigan, and that is led on the state level. A guy over on the west side of the state, Dustin Karlich, he is pushing that initiative with the Michigan State Physical Therapy Association through the Michigan State Legislature, and we're hoping that that gets heard in the fall meeting of the state legislature. and that we have direct access restrictions completely removed here in Michigan. And again, that is all done at the state level, not at the national level. So what can we do? What can be done? If that is the status quo, if that is what is currently being done, and most of it is being done at the state level, What can we do to try to change the status quo? We hear a lot here at ICE, you know, what is being done about this issue? What is being done about that issue? And the truth is, not a lot, right? We're not expecting to see reimbursement probably go up ever again. We've talked about why that is. The math just doesn't math with that. And so if we can't meaningfully affect the change that we want to see, especially at the level that we want to see it, what can we do as individuals and what can be done to try to change things in our profession? The first is to recognize, like, hey, we're in a Cold War event, kind of, right? These big organizations that don't really want to change things are pitting themselves against each other, and again, they don't really have an impetus to change. We see a lot of proxy fighting going on, arguing back and forth about who and who cannot dry needle or use cupping or blood flow restriction or whatever. We kind of have these proxy fights across the country. We go back and forth constantly. And the truth is, we need to recognize, hey, how did we actually win the real Cold War? We've significantly changed our strategy, right? How did we do that? We stopped expecting that doing the same thing over and over again would create meaningful change, right? We stopped going into small countries and propping up a government to fight against the Soviet Union. We recognized after 50 years of that, that that wouldn't work. What we did instead was we shifted to focus on our economy, we shifted to focus on being self-sufficient with natural resources, and we went an economy-driven strategy instead of a military-driven strategy, and that's what actually ended the Cold War. We see a very similar recommendation here inside the PT profession. What is the strategy? Literally anything except what we're trying to do, which has not worked in decades. This is one of my favorite books of all time. This is a hefty book. None of you are probably going to read this. That's okay. This is Army FM 7-8, Field Manual 7-8. It is infantry tactics. What I love about this book is probably a thousand pages of how to fight a war. What I love is that almost every section starts with, if what you're currently doing is not working, stop trying to expect a lot of change by doing the same exact thing over and over again. Change your strategy, right? Do the unexpected. There is a whole page in here on how to react to an ambush and the first sentence is, if ambushed, attack back immediately. Why? It is the unexpected thing to do. We have to do the same thing in physical therapy. Do the unexpected strategy because the expected strategy, the thing we've been trying, for the past 50 years or so has not really changed anything and we should not expect that doing the same thing over and over again will affect any sort of meaningful change. If we just stick our head in the sand and say, certainly someone is going to fix all of these issues soon, we should not expect that those issues will be fixed anytime soon. So, what are our recommendations? Support your local state PT association. You can't join it directly, but you can support your state PT PAC, your political action committee, which means that you can give money to your state physical therapy association that they can use to pass meaningful legislation in your state. So if you're in a state and you want access to dry needling, you want access to spinal manipulation, cupping, blood flow restriction, you want better direct access, you want whatever, it's going to change most likely at the state level and so support your state level association. As an industry, as a profession, we need to recognize that slowly over time, we're moving towards a state where it is not going to be possible to accept every single insurance and run a sustainable and profitable practice that lets us pay our therapists what they need to make to make a decent living while working at a reasonable volume, right? We have moved over the years from 40 patients a week to 60 patients a week to 80 to the average now is climbing towards a hundred patients a week that is Unsustainable and the again the idea that we can just do the same thing over and over again and expect change is not going to happen we're not going to to really make any meaningful change by trying to see a hundred patients a week or 120 patients a week and to try to generate more money to be able to pay more people. There are limits to how much you can get, how much you can work, and we need to recognize that over time, if things don't change with insurance, we need to let that ship sail. That is a tough transition, that is a hard transition, but it is a transition that is going to have to happen to some degree at some point in time for almost every physical therapy clinic in the country. unless things meaningfully change. How can those things change? There are systems in place for us to report our outcomes and increase our reimbursement from insurance. Almost nobody does that because it takes time, but it is possible. We're going to see our reimbursement here at our clinic here in Michigan go up 20% in 2025 because we are reporting our outcomes and And we are getting rewarded with more reimbursement. So there are systems in place, but if you don't want to use those systems or do those tasks, you need to recognize that you need to let that insurance ship sail. And it means that you're not going to be on it. And then over time, we'll need to probably pare down our insurances and potentially be cash only across the majority of the profession. And then as individuals, what can we do? Yes, we can support our state physical therapy association and state PT pack, but we can also stick up for ourselves. Every time you go to work for somebody that overworks you and underpays you, you confirm to the leadership of that organization that there is another sucker out there who is willing to accept that, right? And we just perpetuate the cycle that we have been trapped in for many decades. And again, what is the best strategy? Anything different than what we're already doing. So when you are given that quote unquote opportunity from that organization, and it looks terrible, don't take it. There are 34,000 physical therapy clinics across the country. Find a different one. There is a clinic for you that is going to pay you well and respect your time and autonomy. I guarantee it. It just might not be three minutes from your house, right? We sometimes need to choose a little bit of discomfort to make a meaningful bump in our own individual practice and our own individual work inside of the bigger profession. SUMMARY So changing the status quo, recognizing we're kind of stuck in a cold war with several organizations that are too big to fail, that don't really have an impetus to change what they're doing because it's working well enough for all of them. What is being done currently? Not a lot on the national level because it can't. We have to stop expecting that black helicopters with agents in suits from the American Physical Therapy Association are going to drop out of helicopters and just fix things. There are only 160 people that work at the APTA. Almost all of them are administrative roles. There are very few people there that are doing a lot of of groundwork because the groundwork of our profession happens at the state level. So what can we do to support that? Support your state physical therapy association. If you're like me and you don't want to join the American Physical Therapy Association just to support your state association, you can still support your state's physical therapy political action committee PAC PAC by donating money. If you go to that website I think you'll be surprised by how few people donate and in reality how much gets done at the state level with a relatively small amount of manpower and money and that if we all just gave a hundred bucks to those organizations I think we'd be really surprised at how much more change we see affected if only in our individual states, but how effective and how large that change could be across our profession. So, when in doubt, if your courage strategy is not working, literally do anything else, right? Write from the Army Field Manual. If you are being ambushed, attack back because that is the strategy that is least expected. Do something different. Go around insurance companies, support your state political action committee, and stop working for employers who don't respect your autonomy and who don't respect your livelihood, who are trying to overwork you and underpay you. That's all we have for today's episode. I hope you found this helpful. I'd love to hear any discussion you all have about this. You can leave a comment here. I'll be back tomorrow. We're gonna talk about Fitness Athlete Friday, how to develop really brutal strength in a way that translates to improvements in your Olympic weightlifting. So we'll see you again tomorrow morning. Have a great Thursday. Have fun with Gut Check Thursday. Bye, everybody. OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning in to the PT on Ice daily show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review, and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ice content on a weekly basis while earning CEUs from home, check out our virtual ice online mentorship program at ptonice.com. While you're there, sign up for our Hump Day Hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to ptonice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.  

It's Monday, July 22nd, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Nigerian Fulani Muslims killed 12 Christians Tragedy struck in Nigeria on Sunday, July 14th as Fulani Muslim terrorists continued their reign of terror in a Christian community in the Benue State, murdering 12 people and wounding another 11, reports TruthNigeria.com. Andy Itodo, an eyewitness, said, “The terrorists, up to 20 in number, appeared from the forests of Egwuma on motorbikes, wielding automatic rifles, and started shooting indiscriminately. The carnage lasted for over 1 hour and 30 minutes. He added, “The worst part was that we were in our churches when the terrorists attacked us. We were not prepared.” Gideon Ehoda, another eyewitness, said, “They showed no mercy as they gunned down seven of our youths before they retreated to the bush.” Mary Otache, a 36-year-old eyewitness, said, “Even as they were shooting into the churches and people were running away, they were chanting Allahu Akbar and speaking in Fulani.” Augustus Adaji, age 28, said, “When they thought they had gotten the upper hand, we shot at them, and I know that I personally hit two of the terrorists. My colleagues shot many. Initially, they tried to resist us, but they broke up, and some fled on foot, leaving their bikes and guns.” Please pray that Amos 5:24 would come true in Nigeria. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” According to Open Doors, Nigeria is the sixth most dangerous country worldwide in which to live for Christians. Biden withdraws and endorses Kamala Harris After nearly 31 House Democrats and five Democratic senators publicly called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, he withdrew on Sunday. In an open letter addressed to “My Fellow Americans,” he wrote, “While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of the party and my country to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” In a subsequent post, President Biden wrote, “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala [Harris] to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this.” Democrat senator cried over Biden's withdrawal Appearing on CBS News, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware – the co-chair of the Biden for President campaign, cried about Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race. COONS: “Joe Biden is grounded. He's grounded in his faith, in his family, and in our state. (Coons gets choked up and pauses) Excuse me. I'm sorry. This was a very difficult decision. And one that I think reflects the very best of who Joe Biden is. Someone who, as you put it Bob, comes home -- comes home because it's where his strength is. His strength is in his family. His strength is in our community. His strength is in his faith.” Democrat elite pushed Biden out Appearing with talk show host Charlie Kirk on Sunday,  "Just The News" founder John Solomon took issue with how the Democrat elite powerbrokers ran roughshod over the 14.5 million Democrat primary voters who selected Joe Biden to be the party's presidential nominee. SOLOMON: “We're back to the days of Tammany Hall. The Democrats no longer regard the 14.5 million people that voted for Joe Biden -- the power brokers, the Barack Obamas and the Nancy Pelosis and Chuck Schumers. They've decided who's going to be their nominee by forcing Joe Biden out. That is not going to play well in a party that often claims that ‘democracy' is being ruined. Well, they may have just contributed to that.” Kamala Harris funded bail for BLM rioters, a failure as Border Czar Solomon responded to the coronation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the replacement presidential nominee, saying she is further left politically than Biden. SOLOMON: “As for Kamala Harris, if she is the ‘Anointed One,' because it saves them $200 million in the bank that they don't have to fundraise, there is a lot of research that the American people need to become familiar with, with Kamala Harris. “What she did in California, the fact that her [Political Action Committee] bailed out [Black Lives Matter] rioters from prison in jail, the fact that she had only one job in the Biden administration to secure the border, and she failed miserably at that. It's going to be very easy to link Kamala Harris to all of the deaths, all of the mayhem, all of the frustration that Americans have with the border because that was her one job that Joe Biden gave her. “And Biden endorsed her today quickly, because he knew that there is not unanimity in the party for her being the nominee. So, he tried to force that unanimity with his endorsement.” Trump campaign released anti-Kamala Harris ad The Trump campaign released this anti-Kamala Harris ad. NARRATOR: “Kamala was in on it. She covered up Joe's obvious mental decline.” HARRIS: “Our president is in good shape, in good health, tireless, vibrant, and I have no doubt about the strength. of the work that we have done.” NARRATOR: “But Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job. So, she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American Dream dead. They created this mess. They know Kamala owns this failed record." Trump: “How did somebody get on that roof?” In their first joint interview, Donald Trump and his VP pick, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, talked to FOX News host Jesse Watters about the security breach that led to the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. WATERS:  “They were monitoring this guy for an hour beforehand.” TRUMP: “Yeah.” WATTERS: “No one told you not to take the stage?” TRUMP: “No, nobody mentioned it. Nobody said there was a problem. I would have waited for 15 [minutes]. They could have said, ‘Let's wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 5 minutes, something.  I think that was a mistake. “How did somebody get on that roof? And why wasn't he reported? Because people saw that he was on the roof. I mean you had Trumpers screaming, the woman in the red shirt, she was screaming, ‘There's a man on the roof!' And then other people, ‘There's is a man on the roof who's got a gun!' And that was quite a bit before I walked onto the stage. So, you would have thought somebody would have done something about it.” Pro-abort Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee died  Democrat Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, has died at the age of 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, reports NBC News. Born in Queens, New York, she first won election to Congress from Houston, Texas in 1995.  She was known for her rabid support of abortion. Most recently, Congresswoman Lee: opposed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act to protect babies who are born alive after a botched abortion. opposed Rep. Chip Roy's amendment that prohibited Department of Defense funding for soldiers to travel to get an abortion. and opposed a resolution that condemned the violent attacks on pro-life groups. The life of the late Congresswoman Lee embodied Isaiah 59:7. It says, “Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.” Global computer systems outage caused chaos here in America And finally, services from airlines to healthcare, shipping and finance were coming back online on Friday after a mistake in a security software update sparked hours-long global computer systems outages, reports Reuters. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of the world's interconnected technologies. More than 2,200 flights were canceled across the U.S., with nearly 7,000 delayed, as of 1:23 pm ET on Friday, according to data tracker FlightAware. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 377 points, the S&P 500 lost 39 points, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 144 points. George Kurtz, the founder and CEO of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, explained on NBC's "Today Show" how their company took down millions of computers --including air travel, banks, and more -- around the world with a single faulty software update. KURTZ: “The system was sent an update. That update had a software bug in it and caused an issue with the Microsoft operating system.” Businesses face questions about how to avoid future blackouts triggered by technology meant to safeguard their systems. Close And that's The Worldview on this Monday, July 22nd, in the year of our Lord 2024. Join me Adam McManus, and my two sons, Honor and Valor, at the Colorado Father-Son retreat Thursday, August 15th through Sunday, August 18th. Go to ColoradoFatherSon.com. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Shortly after 6pm on Saturday, a would-be assassin took aim at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.Trump and two others were injured and one person was killed before the Secret Service shot and killed the alleged gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.Crooks was a registered Republican but gave $15 to a progressive Political Action Committee in 2021. Law enforcement has yet to identify a motive or an ideology. For the first time in decades, a presidential candidate has been the target of an assassination plot. How might Saturday's events affect an already divided America?Author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses what history can teach us about this moment.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hill Harper "thrilled to announce that my campaign has been officially endorsed by the American Muslim Political Action Committee (AMPAC)! This endorsement is a testament to our shared values and commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable Michigan". Together, we can make a difference.

The US Democratic Party in disarray over Joe Biden's future as its presidential nominee. After his debate performance, some want him out of the race, but the president is digging in his heels. So, will he stay or will he go? And who could replace Biden if he were to step aside? In this episode: A Scott Bolden, Chairperson of the U.S. National Bar Association's Political Action Committee. Kristin Wolfe, Chairperson of Democrats Abroad UK. Rania Batrice, Veteran Democratic Party strategist.  Host: Folly Bah Thibault  Connect with us:@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Cinthia Flores '10 is a Board Member of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Prior to her appointment, she practiced immigration law with a focus on removal defense defending individuals from deportation. Cinthia has a background in labor law having previously represented public and private sector unions.   Currently, Cinthia serves as Vice President of Latinas Lead California, a Political Action Committee dedicated to electing Latinas. Cinthia is Past President of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Latinas in the legal profession. In 2022, the Hispanic National Bar Association recognized Cinthia as a “Top Lawyer Under 40.” Cinthia also serves on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors.   Cinthia is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. During law school, Cinthia served as a Regent on the University of California Board of Regent. In recognition of her academic record and public service, Cinthia was awarded numerous scholarships, including: the California Bar Foundation Diversity Scholarship, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund's Earl Warren Scholarship, and the Mexican American Bar Foundation Law School Scholarship. Cinthia is a graduate of UCLA, where she served as the first Latina Student Body President in UCLA history. The Bruin Success Podcast is hosted and produced by Sara Mosgrove and Kelsey Beisecker. Thank you to our sustaining donors.

Join us as we delve into the latest Supreme Court ruling on abortion pills with Sue Swayze Liebel, Director of State Affairs and Midwest Regional Director for the Susan B. Anthony List. Hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, Sue brings over 25 years of experience in policy development, lobbying, and political strategy to our discussion. In this episode, we explore the implications of the Court's decision, focusing on state sovereignty, health and safety regulations, and ethical considerations. Tune in to understand the nuanced arguments and strategic responses needed to navigate this complex issue.Sue Swayze Liebel hails from Indianapolis, Indiana where she has worked for over 25 years in policy development, program design and implementation, lobbying and political strategy.Sue currently serves as the Director of State Affairs and Midwest Regional Director for the Susan B. Anthony List in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for implementing the program's mission of advancing women lawmakers who are dedicated to ending abortion by passing laws that save lives. This involves expanding the caucus' membership of state elected women across the country and equipping them with policy, legal and communications tools. In her home state of Indiana, Sue is also the Vice President for Public Affairs for Indiana Right to Life, a statewide pro-life advocacy organization, where she assists in developing policy and lobbying strategies and serves as its media spokesperson on issues of human life.Previously, Sue served the Communications Director for the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. She also served the family policy council in Indiana, the Indiana Family Institute, by overseeing the Hoosier Congressional Policy Leadership Series, a leadership program specifically aimed at training conservatives for community service and policy leadership initiatives. She also coordinated its initiative to provide marriage and relationship enhancement programs, for which she is also a certified facilitator, primarily in jails and prisons.Sue is a former Vice President with the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, where she represented the business community, working with local and state officials to advocate for business-friendly regulations and legislation on tax and fiscal issues, infrastructure, environmental and local and government consolidation.  She also staffed that chamber's Political Action Committee. She was also the first Executive Director for the Indiana Christian Chamber of Commerce.Prior to her years at the chamber, Sue was Policy Director at the United Way of Central Indiana and was active in such issues as child abuse, senior citizen's services and welfare reform.  She founded the Children's Coalition of Indiana, a statewide children's advocacy group which played a key role in the creation of Indiana's “Kids First” license plate.Specializing in planning and management, Sue has a master's degree in Social Work from Indiana University.Most importantly, Sue is a daughter of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom she has pledged her life's work.  She now approaches the political arena as a mission field for her Christian faith and strives to impact the lives of children and families by promoting life, marriage, and family issues. She is married to David.https://sbaprolife.org/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.

A Political Action Committee says it will spend millions in Georgia for television ads in support of former President Donald Trump; A new state effort to address gaps in Georgia's healthcare system is moving forward; The Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta has named Jai Ferrel as its new CEO, the first woman of color to hold the position.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this day in 1982, American actress Jane Fonda released her first exercise video, “Jane Fonda's Workout.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2E23 4 Easter (Year B) 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Eucharist Sunday 21 April 2024 Good Shepherd Sunday   Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23).   When I was at Harvard, on the advice of a friend who is a nun, I decided to take a leadership course at the Kennedy School of Government. My fellow classmates came from twenty-six countries and included CEO's, a judge, a District Attorney, an army general, a state senator, the founder of an investment bank, the co-founder of a Political Action Committee, an ambassador, a university dean, the head administrator for airports in Israel, etc. Our teacher Ronald Heifetz changed who I am. He spoke with uncanny and absolutely non-defensive frankness. He had an MD, practiced as a surgeon, and had previously taught at Harvard Medical School. He was a cello virtuoso who had studied under Gregor Piatagorsky and music was central to his understanding of leadership. [i]   This week I read all my class notes – everything from doodles that spelled my wife's Hawaiian name in Greek letters to quotes with three stars in the margin (such as, “in disagreements the first value we lose sight of is the ability to be curious”). [ii] The syllabus says directly that the course's goal is, “to increase one's capacity to sustain the demands of leadership.” It was perfect preparation for the rest of my life.   On the first day Heifetz said, “if you are going through a difficult time I strongly urge you not to take this course.” He was right. This was not an ordinary lecture class but a seemingly entirely improvised discussion. Heifetz would start by saying something like, “What do we want to address today?” It felt strangely dangerous. Nothing was going to come easy or be handed to us on a silver platter. We talked about the feeling in class and agreed it was tense.   At one point in the early lectures Heifetz just stopped being an authority figure for a while. In the resulting chaos we learned how much we all crave authority and guiding norms. It felt more like a Werner Erhard seminar than a Harvard lecture. Heifetz might not always say it directly but he regards leadership above all as a spiritual practice. The motivations for good leadership are spiritual. The character and the skills that we need to develop for leadership are spiritual. To be effective we have to recognize forces that were previously invisible to us and experience the world with intuition and based on a real understanding of ourselves. Leadership success requires curiosity, compassion, wisdom, honesty, courage, humility, self-knowledge and the right balance between detachment and passion.   Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus faces accusers who seek to kill him. He uses the metaphor of a leader as a good shepherd. This idea was already ancient in his time and mentioned in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Psalms. You might be thinking, “No one listens to me since I retired,” or, “I'm at the lowest level in my company, or I'm just a kid, what could leadership possibly have to do with me?”   Heifetz makes a central distinction between authority and leadership. Authority comes from one's institutional standing and involves managing people's expectations. [iii] Jesus was not the Roman governor or the high priest. He did not have this authority.   Leadership on the other hand means mobilizing resources to make progress on difficult problems. [iv] In many instances people exercise more powerful leadership without having formal authority than with it. Jesus did. And make no mistake Jesus expects each of us to act as leaders regardless of our formal or informal authority. We exist to glorify God and to help solve the problems we encounter. For homework I invite you this week to consciously exercise leadership that is inspired by Jesus.   1. Adaptive Challenges. This morning I am going to do the opposite of what my teacher did, I am going to speak directly and briefly about three of his observations concerning leadership. [v] One of Heifetz's primary ideas concerns the difference between a technical problem and an adaptive challenge. A technical problem is one that we already know how to respond to; best practices, if you will, already exist. It may be simple like setting a broken bone or incredibly complicated like putting a person on the moon, but an expert, a mechanic, surgeon or rocket scientist, already knows how to handle it. [vi]   An adaptive challenge is different. No adequate response has been developed for it. I have in mind our terrible problem of people without housing, racial prejudice, addiction, education, misinformation, poverty, war, white Christian nationalism, election denial, despair, isolation, etc. It is tempting to treat an adaptive challenge as if it were a technical problem, to look to an authority to solve that problem for us. But problems like this require cooperation among groups of people who are seeking solutions, not pretending to already know all the answers.   What was Jesus' adaptive challenge? His disciples thought it was overthrowing the Roman Empire or enthroning a king who shared their identity. But this was not it. Instead Jesus was what the theologian Paul Tillich calls “the New Being.” Jesus inaugurated a new way of being human which he called “the realm of God” in which all people would be healed, cared for and treated with dignity. It is a realm of spiritual well-being in which we experience God as a kind of loving father such as the father in the Prodigal Son story. This is what Jesus means when he says, “the Father knows me and I know the Father” (Jn. 10).   As a spiritual community Grace Cathedral shares this adaptive challenge of working for the realm of God. And in a society where Christianity is justifiably associated with misogyny, homophobia and unkindness we offer a vision of community in which anyone can belong before they believe. On the basis of our conviction that every person without exception is beloved by God we have taken on the adaptive challenge of transforming Christianity, of reimagining church with courage, joy and wonder. [vii]   2. Strategic Principles. Heifetz speaks a great deal about the practical work of leadership. He describes this as creating a kind of holding container for people working on the problem and then paying attention to one's own feelings to understand the mind of the group.   Leadership involves uncovering and articulating the adaptive challenge. A leader also needs to manage the anxiety of the group. People have to be concerned enough to want to act but not so afraid that they will give up in hopelessness. Because human beings tend to avoid hard challenges, a leader needs to keep the group focused on the problem not just on trying to relieve the stress the group is feeling. This involves giving the work back to people at a rate they can assimilate. He also points out how important it is to protect leaders who do not have authority so that they can contribute to the solution. [viii]   3. Values. Heifetz taught us that the best leaders have such a deep feeling for their mission they will, if necessary, sacrifice themselves for the higher purpose. Heifetz refers to the leaders getting (metaphorically, mostly I hope) assassinated. This happens when the stress a leader generates in order to solve a problem becomes so great that the leader gets expelled. This is how I understand Jesus' life. Jesus talks about this.   In today's gospel the Greek the word kalos which we translate as good, as in Good Shepherd, probably means something more like real or genuine. Jesus says that the hired hand is there for the transaction, for the payment, but the real shepherd has the power (ezousian often translated as authority) to lay down his life (the Greek word is psuxēn or soul) for the sake of the sheep. Many leaders at some point have to decide whether to keep pushing for uncomfortable change even when they know it might mean they will be forced to leave.   Before closing I want to briefly tell you about a leader who shaped us, our first dean, J. Wilmer Gresham. Dean Gresham moved to San Jose California for health reasons. In 1910 at the age of 39 when he was asked to become the first Dean of Grace Cathedral he hesitated wondering if the damp cold of San Francisco would kill him. Almost immediately after moving here to this block, he discerned his adaptive challenges: to build this Cathedral and to begin a ministry of healing that involved organizing groups to gather for prayer that gradually became an national movement. He helped so many people privately, financially. Trusting God he gave all of himself. [ix]   After serving almost 30 years Dean Gresham retired and a year later his wife Emily Cooke Graham died. Many evenings he would stand on the sidewalk in front of their old home weeping for her. He found so much comfort in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, that he gave a stained glass window in the South Transept in her memory. He did this so that we would know that like the sheep in the arms of Jesus we are loved by God.   At the end of our leadership course Ronald Heifetz reminded us that he had told us at the beginning that he would disappoint us. He talked about how at times the teaching staff too had felt that we were wandering in the desert, that some students might have felt hurt or misrepresented. But most of all he taught us how to say goodbye.   Heifetz promised that we could shed light in our life even when there is no light around us. He said that the God of the Greek philosopher Archimedes was called “the unmoved mover.” But Heifetz said that he believed much more in Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's idea of God as “the most moved mover.”   My dear ones, we are all called to lay down our lives for the sake of God's realm. But we are not left without comfort. We have each other and we always have the Good Shepherd. Jesus teaches that God loves us the way that a faithful teacher loves her students or a father treasures his lost child.

Everyone relax. Liesl is back home. After what seemed like a way-too-long hiatus, Liesl Hays rejoins Nick Parker for the latest episode of the Lee's Summit Town Hall podcast just in time to preview some weekend activities and discuss a recent guest column in Link 2 Lee's Summit discussing the role Political Action Committees are playing in our local elections and governance. Both Nick and Liesl are curious how others in the community feel about partisan political groups inserting themselves into local politics.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas investigates whether Donald Trump's Political Action Committee payments for his personal benefit constitutes valid political exemptions or unreported imputed income to a massive shocking sum. Visit https://HensonShaving.com/MEIDAS to pick the razor for you and use code MEIDAS for 2 years worth of free blades! Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is Healani Sonoda-Pale, a Kanaka Maoli Human Rights advocate for Self-Determination and a Water Protector who has been organizing at the intersection of the indigenous struggle for liberation and environmental protection in Hawai'i. She is a member of the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative and the spokesperson of the Ka Lahui Hawaii Political Action Committee. Healani was born and raised on the island of O'ahu where she resides with her family.Show Notes:The Beauty of the Pandemic Shutdown in Hawai'iThe Fallout of the Lahaina Fires in West MauiNo ControlsManufacturing the AuthenticReopening for Tourism in the Midst of CatastropheLocal Schism: Those in Favour and Those AgainstThe Tourism at the Heart of the Housing CrisisKa Lahui Hawai'i Political Action CommitteeThe Water Crisis in OahuDecolonizing Tourism is an OxymoronSolidarity with Kanaka MaoliHomework:Healani Sonoda-Pale InstagramKa Lahui Hawai'i | TwitterOahu Water Protectors | Red Hill Community Representation InitiativeTranscript:Chris: [00:00:00] In the first season of the podcast I spoke to Hokulani Aikau and Vernadette Gonzalez about the attempts to decolonize tourism in the Hawaiian islands. And following that Kaleo Patterson. Who offered a deeper historical and cultural background into the ongoing us occupation of Hawaii. The military industrial tourism complex, and some of the traditional forms of hospitality that Hawaiians have engaged in. Since then, and especially because of the wildfires that spread through west Maui this past summer. Listeners have asked again and again, to return to the islands, to host the voices of those. They're now struggling with another catastrophe. Who are offering resilience and resistance. In the face of these enduring consequences. And as such, I welcome.Healani Sonoda-Pale to the pod. Thank you for joining me today, Healani.Healani: It's my pleasure to be joining this podcast and to help [00:01:00] spread the message about tourism in Hawai'i. Chris: Healani, could you do us the favor of elaborating a bit on where you're speaking from today and how the world looks like for you?Healani: Okay. So I'm a Kanaka Maoli woman, born and raised in Hawai'i on the island of O'ahu. I have been in the Hawaiian movement for liberation and self determination for nearly 30 years. I am a student of Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask, and I am on the front lines of many, many issues. The issues that we face today are, many of them are a consequence of tourism.The desecration of cultural sites. The degradation of our beautiful beaches pollution, traffic, overcrowding, the high cost of living in Hawai'i, the extremely high cost of housing in Hawai'i. These are all because of tourism. This is happening to Hawai'i. [00:02:00] As a result, direct result of the tourist industry, which Hawaii relies on.And in Hawaii, we have two businesses. We have the military industrial complex and the tourist industry. Those are the two worst industries to rely on, number one. And they are the most exploitive and extractive industries to have. They do not enhance our way of life here on, on these islands in Hawaii.They do the opposite. They have brought many of us to the brink where we are now, most of us living paycheck to paycheck. The average cost of a house in Hawaii is a million dollars.I believe Honolulu is the number one or at least the top three most expensive cities in the United States to live in. So tourism is a plague in Hawaii. It is a plague upon this place and it has caused us to [00:03:00] struggle on a daily basis, not just financially and not just socially, mentally as well. Having to deal with tourists on a daily basis in Hawaii is frustrating, so that's kind of like the space I'm coming from. I am involved with the water issue, protecting our water, which is now something that is a huge issue. I'm very much involved in the Red Hill issue. I'm involved with protecting Iwi Kūpuna, which is our traditional Hawaiian burials. I'm involved with the repatriation of our land. Again, another big issue. It never ends because the, the economic, social pressure to take and take and take until there's nothing left is relentless. So that's the space we're coming from. So you talked about COVID, right? You started this podcast in the beginning of COVID and COVID was an eye opener for a lot of people in Hawai'i. When COVID happened, [00:04:00] the state of Hawai'i shut down and tourists weren't allowed here during our shutdown.I believe it was like a year and a half. It was beautiful. Even though we were living in the middle of a pandemic, our beaches were empty. There were no lines at the stores. There was no traffic. Even the air we breathed seemed cleaner. The water we swam in, in the ocean, didn't have this sliminess on it, from tourists with suntan lotion swimming in it all day, right?So the fish came back. Even the plants and the land was happy. I mean, it was a beautiful time. Even though it was sad because we were living through a pandemic, it was a beautiful time for us as Kanaka because we got to see Hawai'i without tourists. And that really opened the eyes for people who usually are not as [00:05:00] critical of tourism, as many of us have been so more people in Hawaii started saying, especially Kanaka Mali, well, how do we move forward without tourism?But when the state opened up again, tourism came back and it came back with a vengeance.When you look at what was happening on social media and, you know, what people were posting and across all the islands, we saw some frustration. We saw people posting about interactions they were having with tourists at sacred sites and beaches. People were more aware that tourists were there after COVID because we were able to enjoy our beaches, enjoy our islands without them.And then when they came back, it was not only dangerous because we live 2, 000 miles away from the nearest continent. So, they were bringing in the COVID. I mean, from the time of [00:06:00] Captain Cook, tourists, visitors, explorers, missionaries, they have been bringing in diseases when, when Captain Coke arrived in 1778. We didn't have any immunity to these diseases, and so now, I think for a lot of residents here in Hawai'i, our eyes have been opened on what we have to give up for tourism.We have to sacrifice not only our beautiful island life, but a way forward that doesn't include commodifying who we are as a people, our culture, everything. The state's been talking about diversifying the industry here in Hawai'i, right? They wanted to look into agriculture was one. They've never seriously taken that up. And they always fall back on tourism.Chris: And why do you think that is? Because it's just so easy.Healani: Because they've invested. It's a multi billion dollar business. There's hotels. Waikiki [00:07:00] is loaded with hotels. It's business interests. It's those that have been in control of the tourist industry, wanting to keep control of that and wanting to keep their financial interests protected and keep going.So that is, that has been a problem. And of course we have strong lobbyists here in Hawai'i for the tourist industry. It is an industry that is supported by taxpayer dollars. It's one of the few industries we give millions of dollars of our money. It's a private industry supported by taxpayer dollars.So it's a private industry that we support that exploits not just our resources, our culture, but they have really degraded our way of life here. They've made everything so expensive that most of our people, most of the indigenous people of Hawai'i have moved away because they can't afford to live here.Chris: And you know, I'm curious [00:08:00] in this regard, to what extent do you think that this Government money and government decisions played a part in these wildfires that passed through West Maui in August, you know, like reading and researching for this interview and seeing what's been shared online and social media, the term management and mismanagement continues to arise in and among social movement activists.And I'm curious to what extent you think that either government action or inaction or the tourism industry had a part to play in what happened this past summer.Healani: The Lahaina Fires. was so tragic and the tragedy continues months after. The suicide rates are on the rise in Lahaina. Families are still displaced, thousands of them. They were just [00:09:00] a few days ago, I had posted about it. They were just given again, eviction letters. The last time I was in Maui was there.The first set of eviction letters that went out. So they're being housed in hotels, 7,00-8,000 of them; families that have lost everything, in hotels. And now they're being told to leave to make way for tourism, to make way for tourists. That's the enormity of the pressure that tourists, tourism brings with it. The pressure to a piece and to serve and to put tourism first.Just going back to my childhood in school. We were basically brainwashed into thinking we need tourism. Without tourism, we wouldn't have jobs. There would be no money, you know? So it's been kind of ingrained in us. And that's why I think COVID was super important because it was an eye opener for a lot of us.Because they saw really [00:10:00] what was possible, a world without tourism. And so the pressure to support, to push tourism, to... "they always say, we want to support small businesses," but it's really not about small businesses. It's about those huge, multinational corporations that have invested millions.into this industry and have supported and lobbied for their industry, for the tourist industry. That's what it's really about, to a point where they really don't care about the people, the residents of Lahaina. They're literally traumatizing these families again and pushing them around to make room for an industry that we all pay to support.And the Lahaina fires is a result of corporations, land grabbing by corporations of [00:11:00] tourism gone wild, literally. The whole culture of Hawaii is about making sure tourism is going to be okay in the future. We're one big resort. That's what we are.Hawaii is one big resort. Everything is catered for tourists first. It's always tourists first, residents last. And kanaka maoli not even considered, like we're not even in the equation, except when they want us to dance hula, and when they want us to chant, and when they want us to teach tourists how to make leis. So the whole Lahaina situation is very complicated.Tragic, and it continues to be tragic. Over a hundred people died in those fires. And Lahaina is like a real big hub for tourists, and has been. It's like the Waikiki of Maui. So having that burned down, I think, was a big loss for the tourist industry on Maui. [00:12:00] So they are trying every which way to bring that back. In fact, today they're going to unveil the strategic plan for the next few years for Maui, which again, is just a slap in the face. It's insulting to the people of Lahaina. They're actually having it in West Maui. It's insulting to the people of Lahaina to have now a discussion about how to move forward with tourism while they're still displaced. There's thousands of families that don't know where they're going to be next month.There are thousands more that don't have access to clean water, don't have jobs, that have multiple families living in their homes and they're going to have a big presentation on tourism today. That's what we have to deal with.There is a mythology that's been built around the tourist industry that basically tells us, you know, [00:13:00] we need tourism. We need tourism. For some reason, we won't be able to survive without tourism. So that's the culture of Hawaii. And that's what I've grown up in. One of the things that is concerning about tourism is the fact that there's never been an environmental assessment or environmental impact study done on the effects tourism has on Hawaii .There are no controls. There's no control of how many people will be allowed in, how many people will be allowed at a certain beach, how many people will be allowed to swim and hike up to a sacred pond.There's nothing like that. It's like a free for all here in Hawaii when it comes to tourism.With tourism comes a thriving sex trade. So we have a number of brothels that, of course, are illegal, here in O'ahu. And a real epidemic with a [00:14:00] high number of missing and murdered Native Hawaiian women and girls. Hmm. This is the average characteristics of a victim of a missing girl is 15 years old native Hawaiian.And that's you know, that's the reality here in in Hawaii. So tourism is one of those industries that has a lot of low paying jobs. People have to work two to three, sometimes four jobs to survive here in Hawaii because Hawaii has the highest cost of living and one of the highest in the United States and it's really a struggle to make a living off of the tourist industry.Once tourism gets a foothold in your community, then it's very difficult to get tourism out. And right now, I'm in the midst of a struggle with keeping tourism out of East Maui.[00:15:00] They're expanding tourism into rural areas because they want to make these real authentic experiences for tourists.And they want to provide cultural experiences for tourists now. And the last couple years, the Hawaii Tourism Authority has done something called destination management, which is where they give money to non profits to host tourists in these real authentic settings, where they get to work in the taro patch or they get real cultural experience hiking or storytelling or something like that and in exchange these non profits get paid.The reality of this Destination Management Program that they always give Hawaiian names to -Aloha Aina, Kahu Aina -the reality of these programs [00:16:00] is that they're actually community bribes.Residents are less tolerant of tourism these days, especially post COVID. And so these programs, like the Destination Management Programs that they're now doing, and have been doing for a couple years are community bribes that help residents swallow the bitter pill of tourism. And that is pretty much how this whole thing kind of plays out.Whatever financial benefits we get out of tourism, they're short lived and they aren't sustainable. And in fact, they threaten a sustainable and livable future for residents here, especially Kanaka Maoli.Chris: Do you see any parallels between the quote return of tourism following the COVID-19 lockdowns and later after the fires? Was anything learned by the inundation of [00:17:00] COVID carrying tourists?Healani: Yeah, so I see parallels between what's happening with tourism post COVID and what's happening with tourism post-Lahaina fires. And what's very clear with the government here, the local government has made very clear is that tourism, no matter the cost, in terms of our health and safety, comes first.And that has been shown over and over. While, when they opened up tourism, the COVID numbers went up. And because, of course, people are bringing COVID in. And that put the numbers of people in the emergency rooms and in our hospitals that went way up. We don't have the capacity and we still don't have the capacity to serve thousands and thousands of residents and tourists at the same time.In terms [00:18:00] of medical health care. And so we, you know, we're in a really tight spot for that, you know. So we were really struggling because our hospital and our medical system was overrun.We had sick tourists and we had sick residents. And when you look at the numbers, it was the Native Hawaiians and the Pacific Islanders who were not just catching COVID more, but also dying from COVID more often than others. And with Lahaina, same thing. Instead of waiting, holding off on reopening Lahaina and Maui for tourists, they opened it up super early.In fact, they opened it up a month ago, for tourism. They opened up line up for tourism and families are still suffering. Families don't know what's going to happen next month, where they're going to be living next week. There's [00:19:00] thousands of displaced families still in Lahaina, yet the pressure to open up to tourism is so immense that they did it anyway. So what happened with COVID and the Lahaina fires is that they really show that what they're prioritizing.They're not prioritizing the health and safety of, of the residents, let alone Kanaka Maoli residents. They're prioritizing business interest.Chris: Mm. Hmm. Really just showing the true face, the true nature of the industry. Right. And then not in any way surprising why locals, both residents and Kanaka Maoli would be so upset and so angry, not just with the industry, but with tourists as well when they arrive having no understanding of this. Right. And so my next question kind of centers around locals there, workers, especially. And in this particular article, It says that, "as tourists returned to the [00:20:00] island, displaced residents are still in need of long-term solutions for their future, most notably in terms of long-term affordable housing. Currently. Quote, "a coalition of 28 community groups have staged what's being called a 'fish-in' on Kaanapali beach to help raise awareness of the ongoing impacts of the Malai wildfires. Wearing bright red and yellow shirts, the protesters have pledged to fish along kind of poly beach. An area usually crowded with sunbathers in swimmers, around the clock 24 7, in order to bring awareness to these issues. And so in terms of strategy and solidarity, How have local people and organizations responded in the context of these last few months.Healani: Yeah. Many locals work in tourism. So a lot of people in Hawaii felt that the reopening was too fast, too early. There were other ways they could have dealt with. They always use the term 'affordable housing,' they always use that to [00:21:00] develop. Here they use small businesses to justify prioritizing tourism. So, their whole justification for opening up to tourism early, in Lahaina, was to support small businesses. But there are other solutions. We all know that. They give billions of dollars to Israel and to Ukraine for a war that has nothing to do with us, to other countries who are doing whatever they want with it. But when it comes to this whole issue of tourism and the displaced families, they could have supported these families and for at least a year supported these small businesses like they did during the pandemic, but they chose not to.There's other solutions they could've used, but for them, opening it up was more important than making sure families were okay.So, there is a split between some residents who feel they need tourism and some [00:22:00] who don't. And it's usually, again, business owners who rely on tourists for their livelihood. And like I said before, any kind of benefit we get from tourism is really short lived and the effects of tourism, not just on our environment, but on our society and on our economic system is more detrimental than beneficial.I'll give you an example tourism fuels people from other places wanting to buy a second home here. Tourists come to Hawaii, they see how beautiful it is, they love the beaches, of course. We have like really good weather on a daily basis. So when they come here to visit, they wanna buy a second home here.⌘ Chris Christou ⌘ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Right now we have a housing crisis in Hawaii, and the reason for this housing crisis is because we have [00:23:00] tens of thousands of empty homes. In fact, we could put all the houseless people that are in Hawaii right now into these empty homes. And we would still have thousands of homes left over. And that is one of the reasons why number one, we have one of the, like the highest housing costs. The average house right now sells for a million dollars.It could literally be a shack on a piece of land. It'll sell for a million dollars in Hawaii. It's because of the demand for housing here in Hawaii. And it's because of the fact that a lot of the housing that we do have are usually second homes. And lots of times they use it for short term housing rentals as well. And I just want to clarify the numbers for the short term housing rentals. There's about 30, 000 residential housing units that are being rented to tourists, instead of residents, instead of locals, instead [00:24:00] of Kanaka Maoli, so that's part of the problem here. We don't have a housing shortage.We have a shortage of housing rentals or landlords that want to rent to residents.So, what we gain from tourism doesn't even come close to what we are losing from tourism, from the tourist industry.Chris: Uh, Wow. . It's just a. It's incredible. How so much of this, this desire to vacation, escape, have fun, rest, make money "passive income" lead so much to the detriment of neighbors, of what might otherwise be neighbors in our midst. And I know that, I think I've read the other day that there's this group Lahaina Strong, that was asking for government intervention. Is that right? Healani: Yeah. So they've asked. Yeah, that's a, that's a good point. [00:25:00] Lahaina Strong, one of the lead groups in Lahaina, have asked for the mayor and the governor to intervene and to ask short term housing rental owners to provide long term housing solutions for those, the displaced families. And that hasn't happened yet.It's been months. It's been September, October, November, over three months. And these families, their future is still up in the air. They don't even have reliable housing. So again, it just tells you what the priorities of the state is. Honestly, I don't think they're going to get what they want.Chris: Thank you, Healani and for being a witness to all this and proceeding accordingly. I'd like to, if I can ask you a little bit more about your political work. If I'm not mistaken you're a spokesperson for Ka Lahui Hawai'i Political Action Committee. Could you explain a little bit about [00:26:00] this organization? What the name means, how it was formed its principles, goals, and actions, perhaps. Healani: Okay, so yes, I am the spokesperson for Ka Lahui Hawai'i, and I am part of the Komike Kalai'aina Political Action Committee, which is a national committee of Ka Lahui Hawai'i, which means the Hawaiian Nation.We are a native initiative for self determination and self governance. We were formed in 1987 by Kanaka Maoli, Indigenous Peoples of Hawaii, as a response to the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and as a way forward for our people to seek out justice and to create our own way forward by creating our own nation.I have been with Kalahui Hawaii since 1993. And I [00:27:00] joined after watching Dr. Haulani-Kay Trask do her speech on the grounds of Iolani Palace, where she proclaimed that we are not American. And that was an eye opener to me. And I joined Ka Lahui and I transferred to the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, became her student. A lot of the work that we've done has been nation building. We are a nation in exile, literally. We take stances on issues a lot of times. And the issues we've been doing has been from water issues to intellectual property rights, to land rights, to tourism. The issues we cover is literally anything that affects us as a, as a people and as a nation. So we cover a wide [00:28:00] spread of issues. Most recently it's been the water issue that we've been really focused on. And when you look at the water issue, again, you see the disparity there. We are in a water crisis on the island of Oahu. We are encouraged to practice conservation measures. However, the tourist industry, hotels with pools and fountains and large golf courses, which have to be watered daily, are not being told the same thing. They are the exception. They continue to waste water while on O ahu are concerned about the future.Of our children and grandchildren because we're not sure if number one, there will be clean water and number two, if there is clean water, there'll be enough clean water for everyone in the future, but the hotels in the tourist industry, they don't care. They have swimming pools and[00:29:00] golf courses.Tourists are not told to come here and conserve water. You know, in fact, they waste water in the tourist industry and you can see it. Are you seeing how they waste it? It's pretty visual and obvious. So Ka Lahui Hawaii has been active On the front lines with Mauna Kea issue, and we have treaties with other Native American nations. We've gone to the U. N., our past Keaāina, our governor, Merilani Trask helped to draft UNDRIP, which is the U. N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is one of the most important documents that have come out from the U. N. for Indigenous Peoples and has reasserted all of our rights to self determination.There's about 400 million indigenous peoples around the world, and UNDRIP [00:30:00] is important to every single one of us.Chris: Well, thank you for, for that and the work that you do with Ka Lahui, Healani. I'll make sure that the requisite websites and links are up on the homework section and the end of tourism podcasts for our listeners. Now, in my interview withHokulani Aikau and Vernadette Gonzalez, they spoke of various projects within the tourism sector, undertaken by indigenous Hawaiians to uncover and share with tourists or visitors, the histories of the people and place so often ignored by the industry. Now in order to do this, to educate, many people work within the confines of the structures and the systems we already have, that is to decolonize tourism, for example. Now if we weren't limited by those current structures and systems. How would you personally want to proceed hosting the other, the foreigner? How would you want them [00:31:00] to proceed towards you and your people? How might you imagine such relationship to unfold? Healani: Yeah. Yeah. Decolonize tourism. That's an oxymoron. I don't believe in decolonizing tourism. The nature of tourism, it's like colonization. The nature of tourism is to exploit, is to extract everything it can from a place and from a people and it commodifies, things that to us are spiritual, to us are sacred, tourism commodifies it all. To decolonize something that was not created from indigenous peoples is impossible.We can decolonize our world. But we cannot decolonize systems of [00:32:00] oppression because they're set up to oppress us. And so that is, I don't know what to say. It's like I said before. You know, they keep changing the name, you know, Hawai'i Tourism Authority even though they have leadership that is Kanaka and they're trying to be culturally sensitive and they are doing, you know, destination management practices kind of thing and working with nonprofits and cultural groups.It's still tourism. It's still a business that wants to benefit from our land, from our water, from our culture, from our people. And when we talk about decolonization, when we talk about working against systems of oppression, it's really about us rebuilding our own systems that counter their systems.So it's all systemic, right? It's like a system of power that benefits one group [00:33:00] over the other. It stems from colonization, which is a system of power that is working against us. So to counter that, we have to create our own systems. We actually have to reconnect and recreate our old systems. So Franz Fanon talks about this. When colonization happens, what they do is they compartmentalize our world.So, you know, where we see the world as living, as where we see ourselves as part of nature, and part of this living system where there's balance. We give and take from the land. We take care of the land, the land takes care of us. In our cosmogonic genealogies as Kanaka, it tells us basically our universal perspective on all life, which is basically we are related to all the animals and plants and to the islands itself, because what it does is it recites the birth of every [00:34:00] living thing in Hawaii that was here during the time we were here, before Captain Cook arrived, but it connects us to this world and it tells us our place in it. And when colonization came, what they did was they ripped our world apart.And they separated us from nature. They separated us from our ancient beliefs. They separated us even from our belief in ourself. And many Native people, I'm sure can relate to this, but it's like living in two worlds. We live in a Hawaiian world, and we live in the Western world. We act a certain way in the Western world because of the way it's organized. And in our world, it's different. So, it's important to understand that we cannot infiltrate a system. Without the system infiltrating us. We're going to change before the system changes because these systems have been in place [00:35:00] for centuries.So I don't even want to answer the question about hosting foreigners or others because that's not even something that's on my radar. I don't imagine tourism in my future or in the future of our Lāhui, or in the future of our people. Kalahui, Hawai'i has taken stances against tourists and tourism. It's not worth what we have to give up to host foreigners. And I could go on for hours with stories of our people, putting themselves at risk, saving tourists in the ocean, and not even getting a word of thanks. Having tourists pee on our sacred sites, having tourists throw rubbish on our beaches. It never ends. So I think it's cute that they want to decolonize tourism. It's a multi billion dollar business. You cannot decolonize tourism unless you take [00:36:00] the aspect of capitalism out of it. It's like decolonizing money. How are you going to do that? It's like you need to build systems where you can sustain yourself and your people outside of these capitalist and outside of these corporate systems of power. Healani: Yeah, so what I would want to say to those who want to stand in solidarity with Kanaka Maoli, with the Native people of Hawai'i, I would say stay home. Help us spread the message that we do not want or need visitors to come to our islands. As the Native people of Hawai'i we're building our own food systems, we're bartering. We're trying to move forward as a people away from these other systems, away from tourism, away and out from under military occupation.It's a struggle that we're in. I think for those that are listening, it's important for you to[00:37:00] spread the word about the struggle that Native Hawaiians are going through in our own homeland and our struggle for liberation and to support us in whatever way you can. So I think it's important to support us from afar, I would say.And if you're here anyway, like if you end up coming anyway, then support. Don't just come here. Give back. Help out a Hawaiian organization. Help out a Hawaiian on the street. 40 percent of all houseless in Hawaii are Indigenous Hawaiians. And we only make up 20 percent of the population in our own homeland. 50 percent of the population in Hawaii's prisons and jails are Hawaiians.We have low educational attainment. We die from diseases that other people usually don't die from. We have probably the highest suicide rates in Hawaii. High infant mortality rates. So this isn't our paradise. But we have to make it a paradise for tourists. And that's something we can't continue to do.The reality of the [00:38:00] situation is that it's destroying our future right now. And you look at what happened to Lahaina, and that's all because of unsustainable development, high cost of living, corporations running amok, diverting the rivers, water being diverted to hotels and golf courses, instead of letting water just flow freely from the ocean, from the mountains to the sea.So that's what we're dealing with, and if you are thinking about coming to Hawaii, please, please think again and just support a Hawaiian organization in their struggle to reclaim what we lost. We did something around tourism. It's a survey that we gave to tourists who are here anyway, right? So that is our pledge for tourists if they are gonna come here. And we've had it out for a few years. We've tried to get like the airlines to push it out and stuff like that to raise awareness. Now they're doing more of that, which is good. [00:39:00] And I appreciate that. But ultimately, we don't want people to come here.Healani: That would be the end goal because Hawai'ians are displaced on our own land.This is our mutual aid that we set up to help families of Red Hill who still don't have clean drinking water, which is nuts. And this is two years after, right? So if they want to help with that, we appreciate that. Chris: I'll make sure that our listeners have all of those available to them when the episode launches.Healani: Because we're basically providing services to the residents, but Yeah, that's pretty much it. I can't believe people think they can decolonize tourism. It's freaking nuts.Chris: Yeah. I keep coming back to this notion that, you know, [00:40:00] part of colonization of our minds and the wars against us tend to stem from a war against the imagination and a war against us being able to imagine other worlds and just things completely differently. And I also think that when people don't have examples to follow of what that might be like to, to imagine things differently, and then also to not have the time to do that.You know, people tend to fall back on kind of simple alternatives, I guess.Healani: I think it could be useful for a little while, but it's like, we've got to work towards not sustaining it, but dismantling it, somehow getting rid of it.I mean, look at what everything that's happened to Hawaii, COVID, Lahaina fires. Our wildfires are like happening more and more. We have more on this island now than we've had before. It's just a matter of time before we have our own huge fire that's going to be devastating on this island.Chris: [00:41:00] I'm very grateful for your time, and I can tell very clearly that you're one of those people that's offering an example for younger people on how things might be different. So, I'd like to thank you for your time, your consideration. And I'll make sure, as I said, that all of these links are up on the End of Tourism website when the episode launches and and on social media as well.Healani: Awesome. Thank you so much. You have a good day. Get full access to ⌘ Chris Christou ⌘ at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe

Wisconsin's Ethics Commission referred former President Trump's joint fundraising committee, GOP legislator Janel Brandtjen and other Republicans to local district attorneys for potential felony charges involving fundraising during the 2022 midterm elections.

The group trying to replace San Diego Gas and Electric with a municipal utility spoke out Tuesday. Power San Diego says they don't appreciate SDG&E's moves to stop their ballot initiative. In other news, San Diego's underwater kelp forests are a natural wonder that are under threat from climate change. That wonderful and troubling story is being told at the Birch Aquarium in a new exhibit called Hold Fast. Plus, love is in the air and sprouting in North County. While many flowers sold this holiday are imported, it's also a big day for locally grown flowers, and an even greater sea of color is just around the corner.

Tezlyn breaks down why you need to use your social media skills to organize a PAC!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

January 17, 2024 is the 131st anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Each year, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi Political Action Committee and the Queen's Court convene the ʻOnipaʻa Peace March and Rally to make sure the overthrow is never forgotten. In this podcast short, Healani Sonoda-Pale from Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi shares about the importance of this event. To learn more about how to participate in the 2024 ʻOnipaʻa Peace March from Maunaʻala Royal Mausoleum to ʻIolani Palace, visit kalahuihawaii.net/onipaa. To listen to the full interview with Healani from 2022, see episode 34 in our feed. Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark discusses various issues, ranging from the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to the misuse of funds by Kevin McCarthy. Clarke questions why only Israel is being pressured to implement a ceasefire, arguing that Hamas should be called to surrender instead. He also expresses his discontent towards Kevin McCarthy's alleged misuse of Political Action Committee funds for personal indulgence, arguing that such behavior fuels the inhabitants' discontent towards DC elites. In the latter part of the podcast, Sheriff Clarke discusses legislative efforts to extend Section 702 of the FISA Act. Section 702 is a law that enables the government to monitor non-U.S. citizens who are located outside of the United States for the purpose of ensuring national security. He is advocating for the repeal of this law as well as other laws that permit the surveillance of American citizens without the need for a warrant. Sheriff Clarke contends that the laws that are currently in place are being violated, which leads to widespread violations of civil liberties but does not significantly improve the state of national security.SUPPORT PODCAST:  Straight Talk With America's Sheriff David Clarke | podcast | Patreon SPONSORS: Blue Line Roasting Co. - We Are the Thin Blue Line CLARKE (mypillow.com) ------------------------------------------ Purchase COP Under Fire Book by Sheriff David Clarke Amazon:   https://a.co/d/2jPJXV0JOIN OUR STRAIGHT SHOOTER'S VIP CLUB:  Receive special gift and invitations to Private Podcast Events  Straight Talk With America's Sheriff David Clarke | podcast | Patreon-------------------------------------------------------For Podcast Sponsorship, Partnership, And Endorsement Opportunities, Please Submit Form: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6370448/podcast-sponsor-form -----------------------------------------------------Website: https://americassheriff.comHost: Sheriff David Clarke, America's SheriffExecutive Producer: Judy L. Wilkinson, JL Wilkinson Consulting, LLC Producer: Josh Wentz | wentzjosh93@gmail.comCopyright 2023   Straight Talk Podcast With America's Sheriff David Clarke     All Rights ReservedSupport the showFollow Sheriff Clarke: https://twitter.com/SheriffClarke https://truthsocial.com/@sheriffdavidclarke https://www.facebook.com/sheriffdavidaclarke For Booking Information Or Media Requests: Judy L Wilkinson - JLWilkinsonConsulting@gmail.com (706) 518-2116

Guest Host: Marty Carpenter Former candidate for Congress, Becky Edwards, is starting a new Political Action Committee that aims to support candidates who lean away from partisan fights focus more on governing and solutions. She joins Marty in studio to discuss why it's important to change the incentives for political candidates if we want better leadership. 

Dean's Chat host, Dr. Jeffrey Jensen, is joined by Dr. Eric Jaakola, a successful podiatric physician from Evergreen, Colorado. Dr. Jaakola graduated from the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine and completed his medical and surgical residency training at the North Colorado Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency in Greeley, Colorado. His passion for education is evident as he is now the Clerkship Director for the program, he graduated from.....the North Colorado Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency in Greeley, Colorado.  Tune in for a fun discussion with a successful podiatrist who has experience in clinical trials, National Institutes of Health (NIH) research, Department of Defense research, product development, and reviewer for NIH grant funding. We also discuss work-life balance and how podiatric medicine affords this opportunity as Dr. Jaakola is an avid skier, scuba diver, and biker. Dr. Jaakola also highlights his involvement in the American Podiatric Medical Association both as a Political Action Committee leader and as a delegate for the Colorado Foot and Ankle Society.  This episode highlights how podiatric medicine offers a diverse range of career paths for practitioners. In the episode, Dr. Jensen, and Dr. Jaakola discuss several options within the field, including wound care, research, trauma, and hospitalist-based podiatry. These specialized career paths allow podiatrists to provide a variety of services to patients.  Overall, the field of podiatric medicine offers a range of career paths that allow practitioners to specialize in specific areas and provide specialized care to patients. Whether it's wound care, trauma, hospitalist-based podiatry, or other options, podiatrists have the opportunity to pursue their interests and make a significant impact in the field. Dr. Jaakola shares his journey in the field of podiatric medicine, from his undergraduate studies to his residency and current role as the owner of the Foot and Ankle Center at the Rockies. They reminisce about their early days working together and discuss the importance of wound care in podiatry. Tune in to hear their insightful conversation. In this episode, Dr. Jaakola discusses the qualities he looks for in residents who join his program. Trust is one of the key qualities he values. Dr. Jaakola emphasizes the importance of being able to trust residents to handle patient care independently, particularly in his private office.  Dr. Jensen and Dr. Jaakola highlight teachability as an important quality in residents. Dr. Jaakola mentions that residents need to be open to accepting criticism and feedback, as it is an integral part of the learning process. If residents are unable to handle criticism or accept teaching points, they are not considered teachable.  Furthermore, the episode delves into the importance of work-life balance for doctors. Dr. Jensen mentions that during interviews with students or current students, he often inquires about what the practice will be like.  Dr. Jaakola shares that he has chosen to work four days a week to achieve a better work-life balance. He explains that this allows him to spend more quality time with his family and engage in biking, mountain biking, hiking, and traveling. Dr. Jaakola emphasizes that maintaining a good work-life balance is crucial because it enables him to effectively treat his patients.  https://explorepodmed.org/ Dean's Chat Website Dean's Chat Episodes Dean's Chat Blog Why Podiatric Medicine?  Become a Podiatric Physician  

Advance HSE is the Political Action Committee advocating for the passage of the school funding referendum on the November ballot. Matt Kegley and Laura Smoots join Larry to talk about it.

Conservatives are gaining power in Grapevine, fueled by a once-fringe movement that calls on evangelicals to control the seven key “mountains” of American society — including education. A cellphone company with a Christian nationalist agenda heeds that call and sets its sights on winning school board seats in Grapevine, following an example set a year earlier in the neighboring city of Southlake.CORRECTION (Oct. 4, 2023, 08:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this episode misstated the amount of money Patriot Mobile Action spent in school board elections in North Texas in spring 2022. It was nearly $500,000, not $600,000.

Presenting, the very first guest to the Ambition Liberated podcast - a powerhouse pediatrician, politician, nonprofit CEO - and, yes, a powerhouse mom - Dr. Annie Andrews.  In this conversation, Dr. Andrews shares stories from her first-time run to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District in 2022, the path that put a never-talk-politics pediatrician on the campaign trail, and the greater sense of personal power, purpose, and responsibility that followed. Annie is a true advocate for families, and has THE vision we've all been waiting for to get Washington to start protecting and prioritizing our kids.  This is a must-listen. Thank you, Annie! Please follow Dr. Annie Andrews and Their Future. Our Vote. at @annieandrewsmd and @theirfutureourvote on instagram. Visit https://www.theirfutureourvote.org/ to learn more about the KIDS FIRST D.C. Agenda and Political Action Committee that is already making headlines and progress toward being a true catalyst for change.  -- More about Annie: Dr. Annie Andrews is a pediatrician and mom, who has dedicated her career to fighting for a brighter future for all children. After working as a pediatrician at children's hospitals for 15 years, she decided to run for Congress to give children a voice in Washington, D.C.. She was the Democratic nominee in South Carolina's first congressional district in 2022.  She is a gun violence prevention researcher and community advocate working to reduce the frequency of pediatric firearm injuries with a focus on secure storage counseling. Annie is a frequent invited speaker at children's hospitals and medical schools across the country on topics related to child health advocacy and gun violence prevention.  She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is a 2022 graduate of Furman University Riley Institute's Diversity Leaders Initiative.  Annie received her MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and went on to complete her residency training in Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She is currently a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she cares for children and adolescents at Children's National Hospital. She is the CEO & Founder of Their Future. Our Vote. and Their Future PAC, organizations that aim to give children a voice in Washington, D.C.. She is also a Senior Advisor to Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. 

Let's be honest: political groups don't have a great success rate when it comes to their strategic communication tactics. Every election cycle, American voters are bombarded with mailers, emails and text messages that mostly just get trashed or deleted. And when a Political Action Committee like NextGen America is charged with reaching out to younger voters, they face an even more substantial task in motivating the perennially under-performing youth vote to make their voices heard. But this year, NextGen America made headlines nationwide when it leveraged a new, unconventional tactic in its get-out-the-vote efforts for a Wisconsin State Supreme Court race. Using a small team of staff volunteers, the group reached out to young people on the dating app Hinge, urging them to register and pledge their vote on an app that's typically reserved for romance and relationship seekers. And, with success in that race, the PAC is now looking to scale up its tactic for the nationwide presidential election next year. So in this episode, we talk to NextGen America's National Press Secretary Kristi Johnston. She not only pioneered the idea, but led from the front by reaching out to voters on Hinge herself, and she'll share what she learned, how her tactic is different from other forms of youth outreach, and why authenticity is key. Plus, we meet, Noah Turecek, a young man from Wisconsin who matched with Kristi on Hinge, to get his view. Visit podcampmedia.com/survey to give some feedback about the future of the Lead Balloon Podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melissa Lavasani is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Washington, DC-based Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, a national association committed to creating and protecting access to psychedelic medicines through advocacy and education on a federal level. Melissa is also President of Psychedelic Medicine Advocacy and its Political Action Committee which is dedicated to ensuring Americans are empowered to elect lawmakers that support safe, equitable access to these life-changing treatments. Prior to that, Melissa proposed Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, the largest ballot initiative win in Washington DC's history with 76% approval. Inspired by her own experience as a professional, working mother using psychedelic medicines to overcome severe postpartum depression when the healthcare system failed her, Melissa is one of the leading voices for policy, politics, and advocacy in the psychedelic space. She is also a Founding Board Member of the Psychedelics and Healing Initiative at the Global Wellness Institute, and on the Advisory Boards of Drugs over Dinner and Universal Ibogaine. Melissa has a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Macalester College, a Masters degree in Management from the University of Denver, and a Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University. Born in Washington, DC to Iranian immigrants, Melissa currently lives in Northeast DC with her husband Daniel, daughter Lola (9), son Ramsey (6), and their two rescue dogs, Gus and Daisy. https://www.psychedelicmedicineadvocacy.com https://www.psychedelicmedicinecoalition.org http://www.directimpact.com/

Governor Glenn Youngkin's political action committee borrowed Altria's corporate jet on a recent trip; The father of a Virginia student who was sexually assaulted in her high school bathroom has been pardoned after being arrested two years ago for disrupting a school board meeting; A new transfer bus station in Downtown Richmond officially opened Monday.

ALPA's responds to the adverse effects of deregulation, recession, and the Lorenzo wars by forming a Political Action Committee. 

Dr. Sabrina J. Ellis is a proven organizational development and leadership transformation change agent for corporations and not-for-profit organizations, as well as individuals who desire personal growth coaching.  Dr. Ellis has a niche in forming efficient teams with complementing team members and moving people from potential to promise to position.  Dr. Ellis, a John Maxwell certified coach, is a highly regarded organizational facilitator, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and author who focuses on helping each organization and/or participant reach goals.  After receiving the prestigious 2016 President Barack Obama's Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Ellis became the Chief Visionary Officer of Free to Thrive, which was developed to “challenge the leader within for positive transformations without”.  Free to Thrive focuses on guiding organizations through meaningful change for the greatest impact to employee satisfaction, improved leadership, better resource, and financial management, and heightened awareness for the best customer service.  As part of this initiative, she established Recherché Mentoring Program to influence the lives of adolescent females to reach their potential through philosophical approaches to mental, physical, and spiritual change.  Dr. Sabrina Ellis is a native of Ohio and a product of the Akron Public School System. As a graduate of Notre Dame College of Cleveland, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Dr. Ellis graduated in May of 2005 with a Master of Divinity degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in Clinical Pastoral Counseling.  Dr. Ellis subsequently continued and earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Transformational Leadership in June of 2011.  Having served as an Executive Pastor and a Senior Pastor, inclusive of more than 20 years, Dr. Ellis has invaluable experience in management, facilitation, teaching, conflict resolution, team building, and interpersonal communication.  She has served as Chaplain for the Western Reserve Section of the National Council of Negro Women and the Cleveland Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction.  These experiences led her to form Living in Victory Ministries, Inc., to impart this knowledge to women to enhance their emotional development through spiritual awakening and recognizing their purpose through identity awareness.  Dr. Ellis is the author of three books:  And the Women Came First, The Advancement of Renewal in the African American Pentecostal Church, and Wife Life: Securing Your Future.  She is also the editor of a book of women's testimonies entitled And They Overcame.  She has served as the keynote speaker for several conferences and organizations, including The Black Women's Political Action Committee's 31st Annual Fundraiser in Cleveland, Ohio, and has served as host on Total Christian Television (TCT), a network with over 70 million viewers worldwide.     Dr. Sabrina Ellis has broadened her mission to affect those in need of relationship strengthening, finding purpose in identity formation, and encouraging burgeoning leaders.  She looks forward to helping organizations that struggle with a culture of lethargy and detached leadership as she provides internal processes for positive transformation. Sabrina's Website

Mo & Mel enjoy a good show with the help from the Co-Executive Directors from Nevada NOW, the Nevada chapter of National Organization for Women, Jeri Burton and Sue Burtch.  Jeri & Sue join the ladies about half 1/3 into the show and share with the listners just what Nevada Now does here, their core values and the Political Action Committee they have.  They also share the details about their upcoming fundraiser to celebrate Women's Equality Day on Saturday August 26th, here in Las Vegas.  From guest speakers, awards, food, raffles, photo booth, DJ and emcee's of Mo & Mel, it will be a great time. Tickets are still being sold and donations accepted at NevadaNOW.org.  The group then discusses the recently WNBA Commissioner's Cup loss by the Aces to the Liberty, the thoughts on the loss and what may need to change for the final leg of the season and for the next game vs the Liberty Thursday!  Each of the ladies gives there take/comments on what may need to be done.  And the ladies all share in the congratulatory message to the new Hall of Fame Becky Hammon.  Plus Mel talks more on her enjoyment of the newest episode of HBO's Hard Knocks, which has been surprisingly good.  Of course #HotTopcs like #BlindSide #VegasSports and #GirlPower #SneakerDrops  We are #LIVE on Facebook LIVE each Wednesday through the GirlChatSports YouTube & Facebook & Twitter pages.  Miss the LIVE show? Don't worry, #Subscribe to our YouTube or we can also be found on your favorite podcast app through our LinkTree link https://linktr.ee/girlchatsports. GirlChatSports is always looking for businesses or products to partner up with, send us an email, let's connect! We can't wait to hear from you!  #Subscribe #Listen #Follow #Like & #Share Reach out to us on Social Media (Instagram & Twitter) or email GirlChatSports@gmail.com to give us your feedback and any topics you would like to have addressed.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/girlchatsports/support

Today could be charging decision day for former President Trump in the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, with the grand jury meeting just hours from now. Plus, Trump's Political Action Committee is almost out of cash. It began last year with more than $100 million. Now it has less than $4 million after paying legal fees. And, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer expected in court this morning, marking his first hearing since he initially pleaded not guilty to the murders of three women dating back to 2010. Also this morning: France denies it's planning a military operation in Niger, House Republicans announce a probe into Hunter Biden's DOJ plea deal, and Pee-Wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode we welcome Daniela Silva with Political Action Committee, Equity Action. Equity Action is spearheading the campaign in support Community Investment Budget (CIB) ahead of the Austin Council's vote on the FY24 budget, set next month. Daniela and A.J. discuss the 35 item budget package covering a range diversity of community needs including Early Childhood Education and Development, Climate Equity, Park Maintenance and much more. Note: Bingham Group has no contractual affiliations with Equity Action and/or work related to the CIB. EPISODE 203 LINKS: • City of Austin Budget Timeline -> bit.ly/3JHevpd • Equity Action -> https://equityactionatx.org • The Community Investment Budget -> bit.ly/3NZVG1Z • Connect with Daniela on LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-m-silva/ ABOUT THE BINGHAM GROUP, LLC Bingham Group works to advance the interests of businesses, nonprofits, and associations at the municipal and state level. Follow Bingham Group on LinkedIn at: bit.ly/3WIN4yT Connect with A.J. on LinkedIn at: bit.ly/3DlFiUK Contact us at: info@binghamgp.com We are a HUB/MBE-certified Austin lobbying firm. www.binghamgp.com

Today, Hunter spoke with Elbert Aull, a Public Defender from King County Washington and chairman of the Public Defender Union's Political Action Committee to discuss the vital role the union played in bringing attention to the horrid conditions of jails in King County. As with many of our unionization episodes, this episode highlights the type of political and media engagement that are not normally available to Public Defenders, whether they be non-unionized or contract. Most importantly, Elbert's work on the Political Action Committee demonstrates the potential for Public Defenders to become trusted members of the labor force and how they can leverage that trust to shape criminal legal discourse across a politically diverse state like Washington.     Guest: Elbert Aull, Public Defender, King County, Washington   Resources PAC comments on the jail crisis https://www.kuow.org/stories/king-county-public-defenders-corrections-officers-see-eye-to-eye-on-covid-crisis-in-jails   https://www.thestranger.com/news/2022/09/08/78447742/how-can-we-fix-the-king-county-jail-crisis   https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/king-county-jails-consider-releasing-non-violent-suspects-due-to-staffing-shortages-inhumane-conditions   https://www.thestranger.com/news/2023/04/05/78935744/king-county-commits-millions-to-make-jail-slightly-less-crowded ACLU Lawsuit that lead to restricting of Public Defense https://sixthamendment.org/independence-threatened-as-public-defenders-strive-for-parity-in-king-county-washington/   Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com    

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Kyle is back in Colorado and in-person with Joe, and they discuss what stood out to them in the news this week: -A New York Times interview with Roland Griffths, where he talks about his cancer diagnosis and how meditation and psychedelics have helped him prepare for the inevitable end; -An article on the rising popularity of psychedelics among mothers, and the benefits and risks of moms rejecting alcohol culture in favor of something new (and largely illegal); -The NBA removing cannabis from its list of banned substances and allowing players to invest in cannabis companies, which follows years of other sports slowly accepting that cannabis is a part of our culture and there's no need to play the part of “big brother” anymore; and an article looking at legalization from the perspectives of people who were against recent measures like Prop 122, and how some towns in Colorado and Oregon are looking for ways to prevent the creation of psilocybin service centers from being built in their backyards. They also go further into the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition's recently created Political Action Committee and the work they're doing to educate lawmakers; Harvard Law School hosting webinars comparing psychedelic legislation and the role of psychedelics in Indigenous groups in Europe, Australia, and North America; Arizona's HB-2486, which would give $30 million in grants to universities and non-profit organizations to conduct psilocybin research; and Rick Doblin's recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. www.psychedelicstoday.com

Our headline roundup includes Actors' Equity's new political action committee, Tyra Banks' exit from "Dancing with the Stars," and a Smash musical aiming for Broadway. Two recent articles consider how we're collecting bodily movement data—and how that data can and should be used.A transcript of this episode is available here: thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-153Visit/add to the Dance Media Events Calendar: dancemediacalendar.comPodcast listeners can save $5 on a Dance Magazine subscription. Claim the offer here: dancemagazine.com/offerLinks referenced in/relevant to episode 153:-Dance Magazine piece on the International Association of Blacks in Dance receiving a National Medal of Arts: dancemagazine.com/national-medal-of-arts-2021-international-association-of-blacks-in-dance-Pointe story on Erik Bruhn Prize winners: pointemagazine.com/mackenzie-brown-daichi-ikarashi-win-2023-erik-bruhn-prize-The Conversation feature on the emerging field of kinesemiotics: theconversation.com/ballet-dancers-in-sensor-suits-new-research-explores-how-dance-is-used-as-a-form-of-communication-200870-Oregon ArtsWatch essay on how AI is mining our bodily creativity: orartswatch.org/ai-wants-your-art-do-you-have-a-say

Throughout history, whenever there has been a major shift in the world, it has usually been accompanied by a single iconic event that is associated with that change. For example, historians often point to 476 AD as the year that the Western Roman Empire fell, when Odoacer and his barbarians forced the abdication of the Emperor Romulus Augustus— even though it was obvious that Rome was in decline way before 476. People also often associate the start of the Great Depression with the stock market crash of 1929 (even though there were many signs of economic distress well in advance of that). But these clean, precise dates are only chosen in retrospect. People experiencing the events at the time rarely understand their significance. I think it's possible that future historians may look back at Silicon Valley Bank's collapse as one of those iconic events that signals a major shift... potentially the end of American geopolitical and economic dominance. I'm not making this assertion to be dramatic; rather I think that anyone who takes an objective look at the facts— the appalling $31+ trillion national debt the government's addiction to spending and multi-trillion dollar deficits social dysfunction and “mostly peaceful” protests the decline in military strength rampant inflation and central bank folly extreme government incompetence insolvency in major programs like Social Security — will reach the same conclusion that the United States is past its peak and in decline. Now on top of everything else we can add a loss of confidence in the US banking system. Obviously I take no pleasure in acknowledging the US is in decline. But that doesn't make it any less true. And this has been Sovereign Man's core ethos since inception back in 2009. Back when I started this company it was considered extremely controversial when I said the US was in decline, or that there would be larger problems in the banking system, or that the breakdown of social cohesion would only get worse. But today these challenges are so obvious that they're impossible to deny. You can never solve a problem until you first admit you have one. And most of the corrupt sycophants masquerading as political leadership are incapable of admitting problems, nor discussing them rationally, let alone solving them. But you and I do not have that disability. We are free to exercise the full range of human ingenuity and creativity with which we have been fortunately endowed. So while the people in charge continue to never miss an opportunity to demonstrate their uselessness, we have a whole world of freedom and opportunity at our disposal. This is the topic of today's podcast. First I review the huge issues with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Honestly when you look at it from a big picture perspective, it's littered with mind-numbing incompetence. The politicians who received donations from SVB's Political Action Committee missed it. The Wall Street hot shots missed it. The credit ratings agencies missed it. The regulators missed it. The Federal Reserve missed it. But now the Federal Reserve has launched a new program that exposes the US dollar— and everyone who uses it— to significant risk. Think about this from the perspective of foreign governments and central banks. Foreigners bought boatloads of US government debt over the past few years, especially in the early days of the pandemic. In fact foreign ownership of US government debt has increased by $1 trillion since the start of the pandemic, and now amounts to more than $7.6 trillion. But thanks to Fed policy, these foreign institutions are in the same boat as Silicon Valley Bank— they're sitting on huge losses in their bond portfolios. They've also suffered from pitiful returns, high inflation, AND exchange rate losses. In short, any foreign institution that bought US government bonds over the past few years is sitting on huge losses....

Throughout history, whenever there has been a major shift in the world, it has usually been accompanied by a single iconic event that is associated with that change. For example, historians often point to 476 AD as the year that the Western Roman Empire fell, when Odoacer and his barbarians forced the abdication of the Emperor Romulus Augustus— even though it was obvious that Rome was in decline way before 476. People also often associate the start of the Great Depression with the stock market crash of 1929 (even though there were many signs of economic distress well in advance of that). But these clean, precise dates are only chosen in retrospect. People experiencing the events at the time rarely understand their significance. I think it's possible that future historians may look back at Silicon Valley Bank's collapse as one of those iconic events that signals a major shift... potentially the end of American geopolitical and economic dominance. I'm not making this assertion to be dramatic; rather I think that anyone who takes an objective look at the facts— the appalling $31+ trillion national debt the government's addiction to spending and multi-trillion dollar deficits social dysfunction and “mostly peaceful” protests the decline in military strength rampant inflation and central bank folly extreme government incompetence insolvency in major programs like Social Security — will reach the same conclusion that the United States is past its peak and in decline. Now on top of everything else we can add a loss of confidence in the US banking system. Obviously I take no pleasure in acknowledging the US is in decline. But that doesn't make it any less true. And this has been Sovereign Man's core ethos since inception back in 2009. Back when I started this company it was considered extremely controversial when I said the US was in decline, or that there would be larger problems in the banking system, or that the breakdown of social cohesion would only get worse. But today these challenges are so obvious that they're impossible to deny. You can never solve a problem until you first admit you have one. And most of the corrupt sycophants masquerading as political leadership are incapable of admitting problems, nor discussing them rationally, let alone solving them. But you and I do not have that disability. We are free to exercise the full range of human ingenuity and creativity with which we have been fortunately endowed. So while the people in charge continue to never miss an opportunity to demonstrate their uselessness, we have a whole world of freedom and opportunity at our disposal. This is the topic of today's podcast. First I review the huge issues with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Honestly when you look at it from a big picture perspective, it's littered with mind-numbing incompetence. The politicians who received donations from SVB's Political Action Committee missed it. The Wall Street hot shots missed it. The credit ratings agencies missed it. The regulators missed it. The Federal Reserve missed it. But now the Federal Reserve has launched a new program that exposes the US dollar— and everyone who uses it— to significant risk. Think about this from the perspective of foreign governments and central banks. Foreigners bought boatloads of US government debt over the past few years, especially in the early days of the pandemic. In fact foreign ownership of US government debt has increased by $1 trillion since the start of the pandemic, and now amounts to more than $7.6 trillion. But thanks to Fed policy, these foreign institutions are in the same boat as Silicon Valley Bank— they're sitting on huge losses in their bond portfolios. They've also suffered from pitiful returns, high inflation, AND exchange rate losses. In short, any foreign institution that bought US government bonds over the past few years is sitting on huge losses....