Potholes With Zip Codes: Why Louisiana’s Gas Tax Matters

WEBVTT
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Because of you american ground radio is hurting more markets
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than you can shake a stick at which in california
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is now considered a micro aggression against.
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Trees wire up the chainsaw fellas.
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We choose to go to the moon and do the
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other things Not.
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Because they are easy, but because they are hard.
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It is time for us to realize that we are
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too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.
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I have a dream that one day.
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This nation will rise up and live out the true
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meaning of its creed.
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American Ground Radio.
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With Louis R.
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Avalone and Stephen Farr. 3, 2, 1.
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This is American Ground Radio. I'm Stephen Farr with Louis R.
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Avalone.
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You know, I know everybody hates paying the gas tax.
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I mean, you almost don't think about it.
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I just hate paying taxes.
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All taxes.
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I don't care what you call it. I'm ready to
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dump some tea in the harbor.
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I mean, I know, but I understand. I mean, gasoline
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taxes in many places across the country is extremely high,
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far higher than it is here in Louisiana.
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The state of California makes more money on the gas
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tax than the oil companies make off of selling the gas.
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But these politicians, they know you're angry. And here we
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are a month before Election Day. And it seems like,
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I don't know. I mean, I'm not. I don't want
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it to sound like I'm for higher taxes or I'm
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not in favor of reducing taxes, but here we are
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a month before Election Day, and all these politicians across
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the country have discovered this amazing new idea. Let's suspend
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the gas tax because Georgia's doing it, Indiana's doing it,
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Ohio approved a 90-day gas tax holiday. Utah, temporarily, has
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reduced its gas tax. Other states are looking at similar ideas.
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And President Trump, of course, has taken action nationally on
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something slightly different, and that's that red-dyed diesel. So let's
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separate those two things because they're getting lumped together. Red
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diesel is essentially diesel fuel that isn't subject to the
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normal highway traffic. fuel taxes because traditionally it's used off-road. Agriculture, construction,
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industrial equipment, etc.
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Right?
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That's why it's dyed red. The dye basically tells the
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government this fuel wasn't taxed for highway use.
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Right.
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And diesel prices are soaring even though the Strait of
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Hormuz is operating at generally ordinary levels at this point.
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But I know there's a lot of concern that obviously
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that could change at a moment's notice, right? So I
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think the market has built up this increase in costs
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for diesel and for refined crude, for gasoline, for that reason.
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But nevertheless, Louisiana is among the states that has taken
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emergency action involving red diesel, right? And now President Trump,
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he's wanting to expand access to tax-free gas. I understand that.
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Because you've got this extraordinary spike in fuel prices that
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has been caused by this extraordinary international situation. So these
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temporary emergency measures can make sense. But there's a second
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issue that is being floated now in the state of
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Louisiana as well. Suspending the regular gasoline tax for everybody.
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And I think this is where we need to be careful.
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Because it sounds wonderful, and politically it's almost irresistible. What
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politician wants to stand up a month before an election
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and say, no, I don't want to lower the price
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of gasoline? Nobody. And I think that's why it's happening
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right now. Ohio's gas tax holiday only lasts 90 days.
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90 days, not even one year. And conveniently, Election Day
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falls right in the middle of all this.
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There you go. Which 90 days is it? That's the thing.
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Yeah, absolutely. And look, voters like lower prices. We all do, right?
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So give everybody a temporary tax cut at the gas
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pump right before they vote. But that's why I call
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this a gimmick. I mean, now understand what I'm saying.
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I'm not arguing that taxes should never be cut. I'm
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a conservative. You cut taxes wherever you can. You cut
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spending wherever you can. But if Louisiana discovers we're collecting
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a tax that we don't need, that we don't need it,
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I mean, then repeal it. I mean, if government is
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wasting money, stop wasting it and give that money back
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to the taxpayers, right? But there's a fundamental difference between
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eliminating an unnecessary tax and then temporarily eliminating the revenue source,
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paying for something that we're still going to have to
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pay for. And that's the problem with this gas tax.
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So here's one of the things that I, when it
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comes to taxation, with every political issue, I always say
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you got to take it back to the second sentence
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of the Declaration of Independence, right? It doesn't matter what
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it is. If there's a political argument, you've got to
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go look at what the Second Sense of the Declaration
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of Independence says, and it will tell you the right answer.
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So the Declaration says that every one of us is
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given the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
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happiness in that order for that reason.
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Amen.
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And that government's job is to secure those rights.
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Yes, it is.
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Now, whenever you are taxing something, you are going to
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be taking something away from the people.
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All right? You're confiscating something. Their wealth. Okay.
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So that would seem to go against what your job
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is to secure the people's rights, not to take the
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people's rights. But you have to come up with the
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money somewhere. Does that make sense?
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For roads and bridges. There is infrastructure.
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There's stuff that's got to be done. There's stuff that
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only government can be done. Policing, defense, these types of things, right?
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Only the government can do it. We got to fund
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it somehow. How are you going to fund it? Well,
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it is better to fund it by taxing someone's pursuit
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of happiness than than it is by taxing someone's liberty.
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So you're taxing the consumption of gasoline because for many folks,
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you know, that may be a misnomer. Is it a choice?
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Because you got to drive to go to work.
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It's absolutely a choice. You could ride the bus. You
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could e-bike, which is free as they're doing. It's free
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right now. In New Orleans, they're giving out e-bikes. You
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could take an e-bike. You could ride a horse to work.
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There are other things you could do.
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I'm just saying, having a horse and a stable, that's
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very expensive, by the way.
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A horse will eat you out of home and house.
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But that is something technically you could do. Does that
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make sense?
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Sure.
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Okay. Is it convenience? Maybe not. Will I spend more
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time traveling to work than actually doing work if I
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use a bicycle?
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If you're riding a horse, you definitely will.
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But these are all choices that individuals get to make,
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which is better than taxing income. Because I have to
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make income. You're taxing my liberty when you tax income
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because you're taking my money away before I even get it.
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I don't have a choice in whether you tax my income,
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and I have to make money.
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But at the same time, if you're here in Louisiana,
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you do away with the gas tax, which, by the way,
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is supposed to be going toward roads and bridges and
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our infrastructure.
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Which we already have a problem with.
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And if you've driven on our roads, you'll know that
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Louisiana does not have.
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Or it's not spending too much money on fixing our
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roads in the first place. We've got potholes that practically
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need zip codes.
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Here, have a chunk of my tire.
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And we've got bridges that need repair. We've got congestion,
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et cetera. But my point is, if you're doing away
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with the gas tax as a gimmick right before election day,
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that money still has to come from somewhere.
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We've got to make it up. And if you just
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as a politician go, well, it's not all that much money, well, then.
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why are we paying it in the first place? Why
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aren't our roads perfect?
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Exactly. Okay. Exactly. So maybe, you know.
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I'm with you on it. It is a bit of
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a gimmick. I would rather pay a tax on gasoline
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because I am using public roads than you take that
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money out of my income to pay for other people's roads.
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I think that's a much more fair way of doing things.
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I think it's a, look, I don't like paying any
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taxes on, But a tax on gasoline is a lot
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better than a tax on income.
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And by the way, Louisiana State or the state gasoline
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tax is 20 cents per gallon.
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It's a lot lower than most of the states.
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It is a lot lower, actually. I don't know that
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we need to permanently do away with our gasoline tax
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unless we can find another revenue stream to pay for
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what the gasoline tax was intended to pay for, which
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was improving our roads.
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Without infringing upon my search and seizure rights by tracking
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every move I make and without taxing my income. You
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can find a better way of doing that. Maybe we'll talk.
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Let's get to the top of things you need to know.
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First thing you need to know, the Louisiana Supreme Court
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handed former Mayor LaToya Cantrell another loss in court by
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refusing to hear her appeal in a lawsuit with the
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New Orleans City Council. The lawsuit deals with land donation
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made to the city more than a century ago by
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Edward Weisner, who died in 1915. The heirs to the
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Weisner estate made a revenue-sharing agreement with the city for
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oil and gas revenues on the property that was donated.
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That deal expired in 2014. That's when Mayor Cantrell made
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a side deal with the heirs of the estate to
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keep paying them the majority of the royalties from the property.
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City Council objected and said the mayor didn't have the
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authorization to make the deal without the council's approval. Two
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lower courts agreed with the council and the state Supreme
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Court is refusing to hear the case on appeal. The
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result is a potential for an extra $ 12 million in
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oil and gas revenue for the city per year.
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You know what? I hate to ask the question. I
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don't hate to ask the question. What did she get
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out of this? If this family's deal ended in 2014
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and now they collected an additional $ 12 million beyond the
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term of the agreement, what was in it for Cantrell?
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Second thing you need to know, the city of Baton
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Rouge demolished a hotel this week. Mayor Sid Edwards ordered
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the demolition of the OYO Hotel as part of his
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anti-blight campaign. At a press conference, Edwards said, We are
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sending a clear and visible message that blight in East
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Baton Rouge Parish and the city of Baton Rouge will
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not be tolerated. The OYO Hotel has been empty for
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at least two years. It's become a hotspot for squatters, graffiti,
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and other criminal activity, including sexual assault. Edwards' administration has
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highlighted at least 10 other properties in the city that
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have been abandoned and are now scheduled for demolition.
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Well, you know, this is part of the broken windows
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theory of crime, right? Giuliani in New York City. That
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was the theory. You clean up an area and crime
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diminishes and investment returns.
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And the third thing you need to know, two Louisiana
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corrections officers have been arrested in unrelated events. One was
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in Orleans Parish. The other was in East Baton Rouge.
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Raysheet McDowell was arrested for third degree rape. McDowell had
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worked for Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office in the corrections department
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since 2018. And in New Orleans, Brittany Dupree was arrested
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on misdemeanor simple battery after being accused of hitting another
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person in the head. Dupree is the 10th corrections officer
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in Orleans Parish arrested this year alone.
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You know, there's always a bad apple in the bunch.
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You know what I'm saying?
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Yeah, but we have a lot. It's like right now
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we're on pace for one arrest a month from a
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corrections officer in Orleans.
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And by the way, as the older proverb says, one
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bad apple spoils the barrel.
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You're listening to American Ground Radio.
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Welcome back to American Grand Radio. I'm Steve Paul with
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Louis R. Avalone. So apparently this week 67,000 Louisiana voters
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were changed to inactive status.
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Now you hear that headline.
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And your first reaction is, what in the world is
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going on with our elections? Because, you know, everybody's going
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to say conspiracy, you know, just the Democrats that were
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listed as inactive overnight. Well, the Louisiana Secretary of State's
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office said they were performing routine maintenance on Monday night
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of this week when, according to their office, somebody made
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a mistake. They didn't name who that was. Uh-oh. It
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was human error, and 67,000 registered voters across Louisiana were
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accidentally switched to inactive status. Now, that's a big mistake.
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There's certainly no reason to sugarcoat it. When you're dealing
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with voter records, accuracy is a big deal. People have
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to trust the system. Agreed. And if you've lived at
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the same address for 10 years and you've regularly voted—
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and suddenly you pull up your registration and you see
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you're inactive, I mean, you're going to have some questions,
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and a lot of people did. Now, just because you're
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listed as inactive doesn't mean you're prohibited from voting, though.
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Under Louisiana law, an inactive voter can still vote. So
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inactive generally means there's a question about the voter's address
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that needs to be confirmed. It isn't the same thing
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as having your registration canceled. And in this particular case,
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the Secretary of State's office says the designation was simply wrong.
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They discovered the error. They are correcting the records. And
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that's how mistakes are supposed to be handled. Government is
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run by human beings. Businesses are run by human beings.
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Radio stations are run by human beings. And whenever there
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are human beings, eventually somebody is going to hit the
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wrong button or enter the wrong information or make the
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wrong decision. The standard can't be nobody ever makes a mistake.
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That's impossible.
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It is.
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But the question is, how quickly did you discover it?
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How quickly did you admit it? How quickly did you
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fix it? And what did you change so it doesn't
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happen again? And I think in almost all of those instances,
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the Secretary of State's office has answered that other than,
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what they changed so that it doesn't happen again. They
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discovered it within 24 hours. We're talking about it here
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within 48 hours.
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Right.
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They have fixed the inactive, the 67,000 voters that were
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switched to inactive already.
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So it's not going to affect what's going on.
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No, and you could still vote, by the way. All right.
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You know what I'm saying? So I think there's an
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equally important lesson here is that, you know, Don't turn
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every mistake into a conspiracy before you know the facts. Now,
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you may say, Stephen Parr, as you look over at me, oh,
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that's rich coming from you. Because sometimes I will speculate
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about things, but it's just speculation. And a lot of
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times I will have a certain set of facts and
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I would say, you know what? I wonder if this
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might be the case or if this might be the case.
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But it's just a discussion. And I think it's important
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to sometimes speculate when you're talking among friends. And sometimes
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it's just, you know, it's being creative in your imagination
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about what actually might be going on. Because most things
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in life... No, no, no. Most... You're laughing.
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I am because you're talking yourself into a circle.
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No, I'm not. No, I absolutely am not. All right.
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Because there are times in life where things... just aren't
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what they seem to be.
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Yeah, but in order to figure out what they are,
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you've got to be looking at what the facts actually are.
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And if you have the facts.
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And if you don't have the facts, then don't jump
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to a conclusion, because what you look for is what
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you will find. And if you are looking for conspiracy,
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you're going to find it.
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But again, the fact of the matter is that when
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government or when business leaders or pastors, when they deal
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with the facts, when they are transparent... That is how
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a leader deals with an issue.
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I agree.
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Because otherwise, it does fuel speculation and conspiracy and all
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of these things. And so, kudos to the Secretary of State,
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to their office. I know they made the mistake.
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But they seem to have gotten a click.
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I think, yes, absolutely. All right. Let's dig deep.
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Working in a coal mine, going down, down, down. Working
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in a coal mine, whoop.
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Well, here we go again. The redistricting saga in DeSoto
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Parish continues. I really thought we were just about done
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with this. So this has been going on now for
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six years. It's going to be seven. Back after the
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2020 census, DeSoto had to redraw its districts for the
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police jury. But the map they drew was heavily gerrymandered
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along racial lines. They had five different districts that grabbed
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a piece of the city of Mansfield and then sneaked
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out into the rural areas. Okay. They created a single
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large district in the northern section of the parish. Now,
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All of the growth in DeSoto Parish over the last
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20 years is coming in the northern section, primarily Stonewall.
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It's got good schools in the North DeSoto School District.
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It's got good neighborhoods. People are fleeing Shreveport. They're going
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to Stonewall. That's where your growth is, right? But they
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packed all of those people into just one district, and
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then they split Mansfield up into five districts so they
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could get more power in Mansfield.
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Sure.
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All right.
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Now, Mansfield is 85% black. Now, North DeSoto is majority white,
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not 85, but it's majority white. The parish has long
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been dominated by Mansfield and the Democrat Party, so the
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individuals that were in power wanted to keep their power,
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and they shoved nearly all the white population in northern
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DeSoto into one large district with a larger population than
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the rest of the parish. And this was challenging court,
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and the parish lost, and they were ordered, you gots
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to redraw the district, okay? So the parish goes, okay, fine.
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We'll redraw it, and they have. And you're like, great,
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the story's now done, right?
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Well, hold on. Did they redraw these districts based on
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skin color or based on politics? Because the Supreme Court
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has recognized, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that
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gerrymandering or the drawing of districts, voter districts, as long
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as it's for political purposes, it's perfectly fine because it's
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a political process.
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There are a couple things going on. One, the districts
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have to be roughly the same size. You can't take
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where all your growth is and shove that into one
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district when it's got a larger population than the other
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districts that you're splitting the city up. The city of
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Mansfield's got about 4,500 residents. people. Stonewall's at 2,700. Mansfield's shrinking,
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Stonewall's growing, and North DeSoto's growing, okay? So Mansfield shouldn't
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have five districts when North Stonewall's only got one.
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Okay. All right? Okay.
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That was the first part. The other part was they
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specifically divided it up based on race.
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Well, yeah, that's not constitutional.
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Right, so that's why they had to redraw it. Now,
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the mayor of Mansfield, they've redrawn the district, okay? The
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mayor of Mansfield is now suing the parish, saying the
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new map was rushed. By the way, they've been fighting
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this since 2020, but he says this map was rushed.
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And he complains the new map only puts three districts
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in Mansfield, not five. Again, 4,500 people in Mansfield, population shrinking, 2,700
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people in Stonewall, population's increasing. Mansfield should not have five
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districts with Stonewall only getting one. Well, Mansfield Mayor Thomas
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Jones Jr. spoke to KSLA. I want you to listen
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to this quote. What we're attempting to say is, hey, look,
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the plan that was in place was a good plan.
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We're going to submit a new plan similar to the
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same plan, and it covers all the bases. It's not
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drawn on racial lines. It does consider the benchmark of
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having five minority districts. You can't have it both ways.
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If it's not drawn on racial lines, then how does
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it have a benchmark of having five minority districts? That is,
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by definition, drawing things on the basis of race.
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Right, absolutely. And again, I guess they would do much
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better by drawing it on the basis of politics or
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political parties.
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It should be drawn based upon community and geography. not
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skin tone, and frankly, not even party. It should be
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drawn on where do you live, what's the geography, what's
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the neighborhood, boom. Okay, this neighborhood, this zip code, this
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zip code, this code, let's put it all, compactness.
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But if it's legislators drawing the district, how do you
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pull or extract politics out of the process?
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You tell them to grow up and act like decent people.
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You're listening to American Ground Radio. Because of you, American
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ground radio is heard in more markets than you can
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shake a stick at, which in California is now considered
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a microaggression against trees. It's outrageous.
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Grab the hatchet, fellas.
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Welcome back to American Ground Radio. I'm Stephen Park with
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Louis R. Avalone.
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You know, this isn't merely an insult to Donald Trump.
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It's an insult to the office of the President of
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the United States.
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And for this, I.
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Mean, this is a disgusting sculpture of President Trump. Very,
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very disrespectful. And it is being displayed inside the European Parliament. What? Oh, yeah.
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This is a eight-foot statue. gilded statue that is titled
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the orange plague and it is president trump i won't
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say that he's naked in this picture but he is
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naked or parts of his body are exposed basically on
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the back of a a man of some sort and
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i guess it is intended It's just a grotesque sculpture,
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and it's a caricature, obviously, of the United States President
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Donald Trump. So it pretty much is a naked Trump
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holding a golf club and the scales of justice while
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riding on the shoulders of another man. And you know what?
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You don't have to like Trump, but of all places
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on this planet, Europe ought to remember that what that office,
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the office of the presidency of the United States of
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America and the country behind it, has meant to Europe.
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Twice in the last century, Americans crossed an ocean to
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fight wars in Europe. American boys and girls are buried
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beneath white crosses in Normandy because the United States helped
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liberate a continent from Nazi tyranny. And for them to
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to play such a grotesque, naked caricature of a sitting
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American president displayed inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It's disgusting.
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And again, you don't have to like Donald Trump to
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recognize how beneath the dignity of a major governmental institution
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this is. And, you know, now... There's an important distinction.
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The European Parliament itself did not collectively commission this statue
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or formally declare its position. There was some artist, some
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Danish artist, but a member of the European Parliament did
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invite him to temporarily exhibit this grotesque sculpture of President
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Trump in the Parliament building. And I'm just saying, why
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is it there at all? I mean, if it is
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a piece of art, put it in an art gallery.
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Put it outside. Put it in the artist's backyard. I mean,
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the artist has every right to make it. That's freedom
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of expression. Right. But there's a difference between protecting somebody's
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right to insult an American president.
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Which he has the right to do.
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And providing space inside one of Europe's principal governmental institutions
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to showcase the insult.
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So the thing is, is that, look, you can put
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this statue together and all that. That doesn't actually say
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anything about Donald Trump. This is one of the things
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that's interesting about art. You can try and say with
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your art, I'm putting a message out about somebody else.
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And ultimately, no, you're not. Every piece of artwork is
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actually reflection upon the artists themselves. that you may be saying, look,
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I'm going to put out a piece and I'm going
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to make a statement about society, or I'm going to
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make a statement about Donald Trump. Ultimately, what you're doing
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with your art is you are making a statement about
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yourself and only you. You are the only person responsible
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for what comes out of your mouth or what you
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make with your hands or what you create. You are
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the only person responsible for it. And so whatever it
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is you create and you're thinking, hey, I'm going to
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use this to go up to somebody else, ultimately you're
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just betraying your own heart. That's it.
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Well, I don't really– I'm not really thinking about the
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artist in this case.
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We should. That's the only person we should be thinking about.
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No, what I'm thinking about is the European Parliament.
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Oh, yeah, because they're displaying it. They're the ones displaying it. Exactly.
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And so that actually now speaks about the heart of
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the people in the European Parliament.
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It's an official– right.
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And that's fine. If they don't like who the American
483
00:27:09.910 --> 00:27:12.039
people have elected for president, that's fine. But at the
484
00:27:12.059 --> 00:27:13.259
same– We don't have to defend them anymore.
485
00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:16.660
But at the same time– You have these European political
486
00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:21.859
leaders who frequently lecture us as Americans about civility and
487
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:26.809
diplomacy and international cooperation and respect for institutions. Well, you
488
00:27:26.829 --> 00:27:30.930
know what? Damn it. Respect for institutions work both ways.
489
00:27:30.970 --> 00:27:33.150
How's that respect for institutions going on the streets of
490
00:27:33.190 --> 00:27:35.809
Paris right now? Pretty good. You guys doing good with that?
491
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.779
Let's say what.
492
00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:50.299
Okay, so there's a new controversy in the Michigan Senate race.
493
00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:56.259
There's video that's come out of the Democrat nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, saying, hey,
494
00:27:56.319 --> 00:28:00.799
I got dual citizenship. Take a listen. That question comes
495
00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:06.640
in three parts. First is that I carry dual citizenship, right?
496
00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:10.099
And I grew up spending most of my summers in another.
497
00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:12.400
Country where I understood what.
498
00:28:12.369 --> 00:28:14.589
It meant not to have.
499
00:28:14.329 --> 00:28:17.569
The right to self-government. So it's a little hard to say,
500
00:28:17.589 --> 00:28:19.690
a little hard to hear, but he said, I have
501
00:28:19.769 --> 00:28:23.150
dual citizenship. I spent my summers in a country where
502
00:28:23.289 --> 00:28:26.849
you don't have the right to self-determination. He was talking
503
00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:30.519
about Egypt. So he says he has citizenship in both
504
00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:32.140
the U.S. and in Egypt.
505
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:32.279
Mm-hmm.
506
00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:35.079
This was from a conference in 2016, long before he
507
00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:38.079
began his running for Senate. He also has a resume
508
00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:42.740
from 2014 that claims dual citizenship with Egypt. Here's the
509
00:28:42.779 --> 00:28:47.430
problem with all this. His campaign today says no, he
510
00:28:47.529 --> 00:28:53.410
doesn't have dual citizenship. Quote, El-Sayed's campaign spokeswoman, Roxy Richner,
511
00:28:53.490 --> 00:28:56.769
told the Free Beacon, Abdul is not a dual citizen
512
00:28:56.809 --> 00:29:01.519
by any verifiable metric and never has been. So the
513
00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:05.529
campaign comes out like, you guys are spreading fake news. Well, okay,
514
00:29:05.549 --> 00:29:09.009
but it was his speech and his resume where we
515
00:29:09.049 --> 00:29:09.910
got this information.
516
00:29:09.990 --> 00:29:10.569
Right, right.
517
00:29:10.990 --> 00:29:14.029
So here's my question. Why do Democrats have such a
518
00:29:14.069 --> 00:29:17.849
problem telling their own origin stories? Why do so many
519
00:29:17.910 --> 00:29:22.460
Democrats not know what their actual truth of their actual
520
00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:24.519
origin story is? Let me just give you a couple examples.
521
00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:26.819
Elizabeth Warren. Remember Elizabeth Warren?
522
00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:27.880
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
523
00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:32.890
Focahontas. She said for decades... I'm part Cherokee. She got
524
00:29:32.970 --> 00:29:36.390
jobs because she was part Cherokee. She got government contracts
525
00:29:36.450 --> 00:29:39.079
because she was part Cherokee. Turns out she's not any
526
00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:43.460
part Cherokee. She's not. This week in California, Xavier Becerra,
527
00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:46.779
who's running for governor, said during a debate with Republican
528
00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:50.160
Steve Hilton that his father came to America with just
529
00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:53.849
$ 12 in his pockets. That's his origin story. Becerra's father
530
00:29:53.930 --> 00:29:55.509
came to the United States. He just had $ 12 in
531
00:29:55.529 --> 00:29:56.349
his pocket.
532
00:29:56.430 --> 00:29:56.769
Sure, sure.
533
00:29:57.069 --> 00:29:57.470
Not true.
534
00:29:58.130 --> 00:30:04.390
Becerra's father was born in California. He was born in California.
535
00:30:04.430 --> 00:30:07.170
You're lying on national television. You're certainly lying on state
536
00:30:07.210 --> 00:30:10.140
television saying your father came to this country as an
537
00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:13.900
immigrant with just $ 12 in his pocket and built himself up. No,
538
00:30:14.059 --> 00:30:15.660
he was born in California.
539
00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:19.119
Well, maybe it's the same. It's what's going on on
540
00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:23.279
social media. It's the same, I guess, principle that folks
541
00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:28.589
generally only share what makes them look good. And so
542
00:30:28.690 --> 00:30:30.750
for Democrats, and look, I think.
543
00:30:30.769 --> 00:30:32.750
So why does lying about who you are make you
544
00:30:32.769 --> 00:30:33.690
feel like you look good?
545
00:30:34.609 --> 00:30:37.339
Because you get to choose your own narrative. You get
546
00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:42.140
to write your own story. Even though the reality may
547
00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:45.579
not match up, it's easier to sell.
548
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.380
The 0.2% of the population that's whiter than me was
549
00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:51.119
trying to convince people she's Cherokee?
550
00:30:51.769 --> 00:30:52.829
Yeah, why not?
551
00:30:53.569 --> 00:30:54.000
I mean....
552
00:30:56.380 --> 00:31:00.980
But that's how Democrats think, right? They try to pander
553
00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:05.920
to certain political or ethnic groups and put everybody in
554
00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:06.559
a box.
555
00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:11.279
And at this point, I'm not sure what's worse, why
556
00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:13.319
so many Democrats feel like they have to lie about
557
00:31:13.339 --> 00:31:16.549
their origin stories in order to get elected, or the
558
00:31:16.609 --> 00:31:18.380
fact that so many Americans.
559
00:31:18.150 --> 00:31:18.829
Fall for it.
560
00:31:20.329 --> 00:31:23.170
And vote for them anyway, even after the truth comes out.
561
00:31:25.569 --> 00:31:28.869
You're listening to American Ground Radio.
562
00:31:29.950 --> 00:31:32.450
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Protovite Plus. Go to vni.life slash AGR and use the
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code AGR20 to save 20%. Welcome back to American Girl Radio.
570
00:32:02.630 --> 00:32:07.470
I'm Steve Parvath. Louis R. Avalone. You know, President Trump
571
00:32:07.509 --> 00:32:10.789
said there's only about 30, what, 30, 35 races in
572
00:32:10.869 --> 00:32:12.430
the midterms that really....
573
00:32:22.930 --> 00:32:25.750
Matter. And I say really matter that are going to
574
00:32:25.789 --> 00:32:26.369
be close.
575
00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:26.769
Okay.
576
00:32:26.890 --> 00:32:29.890
That are ones that he is focused on. And, and
577
00:32:29.910 --> 00:32:32.559
he mentioned, you know, he said, if you're someone like
578
00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:36.200
a speaker, Mike Johnson and his district, you know, he's
579
00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:38.759
so far ahead, you know, he's, I'm not going to
580
00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:40.839
go to Louisiana. I'm not going to go to Louisiana
581
00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:44.119
campaign for the speaker. Uh, but if you're someone like
582
00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:49.140
Ken Paxton, uh, yeah, he president Trump might, and he is,
583
00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:52.380
and he has, yeah. And he's doubling down on Ken
584
00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:56.289
Paxton in Texas. And to understand what's happening in Texas,
585
00:32:56.329 --> 00:32:59.170
you really need to understand only one thing. Trump has
586
00:32:59.210 --> 00:33:05.109
apparently decided that election is more important than his ego
587
00:33:05.490 --> 00:33:12.099
because Ken Paxton was speaking privately with donors. Ken Paxton
588
00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:14.940
is a Republican nominee for the United States Senate in Texas.
589
00:33:15.339 --> 00:33:18.160
And he was speaking privately with donors and lobbyists when
590
00:33:18.220 --> 00:33:24.480
somebody recorded him And in that leaked audio, Paxton said
591
00:33:24.539 --> 00:33:30.599
that after Trump's big Republican midterm convention in Dallas, everybody's
592
00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:35.079
numbers dropped. Now, that's not exactly what you want your
593
00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:40.390
endorsed candidate saying privately after you just held a giant
594
00:33:40.450 --> 00:33:43.329
political event designed to help Republican candidates.
595
00:33:43.369 --> 00:33:44.269
Right. You don't want to do that.
596
00:33:44.369 --> 00:33:46.309
And this wasn't supposed to be public. It was a
597
00:33:46.369 --> 00:33:51.220
private fundraiser. Somebody recorded it and leaked it. but Trump
598
00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:53.799
is not dumping Paxton at all.
599
00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:58.000
He can't. And see, this is one of the things.
600
00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.279
Paxton's problematic, and that's part of the problem in Texas,
601
00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:05.099
is that Paxton is not a good candidate.
602
00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:06.019
Extra flawed.
603
00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:09.139
He's been impeached by the Texas House, which was controlled
604
00:34:09.159 --> 00:34:11.710
by Republicans, and people say, hey, that was corrupt. Okay,
605
00:34:11.730 --> 00:34:14.409
but it still happened. After he announced he was running
606
00:34:14.510 --> 00:34:19.750
for Senate, for U.S. Senate, His wife, a Texas state senator,
607
00:34:19.809 --> 00:34:24.989
filed for divorce citing biblical reasons. Now, she has also said,
608
00:34:25.030 --> 00:34:26.989
you may not like him, but you got to vote
609
00:34:27.050 --> 00:34:29.389
for him. And if the Democrats at least had a
610
00:34:29.570 --> 00:34:33.920
decent candidate, the Democrats would win in Texas. They've got Tallarico,
611
00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:37.199
who is not popular with Hispanics. He is not popular
612
00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:39.260
with black voters in the state of Texas. He's not
613
00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:42.960
even popular with anybody who's remotely evangelical in.
614
00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:43.340
The state of Texas.
615
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:43.659
Christian.
616
00:34:44.070 --> 00:34:45.190
Or Christian whatsoever.
617
00:34:45.409 --> 00:34:49.170
And yet all the polls say this race is tied.
618
00:34:49.809 --> 00:34:52.820
Imagine if the Democrats in Texas had been able to
619
00:34:52.889 --> 00:34:57.219
find at least a decent candidate. Ken Paxton, there's no
620
00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:00.300
way he would win. He's offended too many people.
621
00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:02.059
And I think maybe the way Trump is looking at
622
00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:05.440
this is basically saying, I'm not going to allow somebody
623
00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:09.940
with a cell phone recording a private fundraiser to decide
624
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:10.840
who I support.
625
00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:14.900
Well, Trump can't afford to lose Texas. A senator from Texas.
626
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:17.659
He just can't. It's too important.
627
00:35:18.019 --> 00:35:19.849
No, and I think that's why you see him. He's
628
00:35:19.909 --> 00:35:21.250
doubling down on Paxton.
629
00:35:21.909 --> 00:35:32.469
Let's play a game. So we were just talking about
630
00:35:33.570 --> 00:35:37.239
Al Sayed who said he had dual citizenship and maybe
631
00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.639
he doesn't have dual citizenship. Who really knows if he's
632
00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:44.079
got dual citizenship. There are 32 members of Congress who
633
00:35:44.260 --> 00:35:46.980
were born in another country. Not all of them have
634
00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:49.900
dual citizenship still. Some of them never did. Some of
635
00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:52.679
them did. But what are the most common countries for
636
00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:54.030
members of Congress to be born in?
637
00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:56.300
Oh my goodness. Where's the Tylenol?
638
00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:56.880
What?
639
00:35:57.780 --> 00:35:58.920
We've got some in the studio.
640
00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:01.940
Okay, I'm going to need some. All right. Ask the
641
00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:02.559
question again.
642
00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:05.579
All right. There are 32 members of Congress who have
643
00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:07.480
born in another country.
644
00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:11.159
That are foreign born, but members of Congress.
645
00:36:11.179 --> 00:36:14.469
Yes. So what countries are most common for members of
646
00:36:14.530 --> 00:36:16.849
Congress to be born in, other than the United States?
647
00:36:19.230 --> 00:36:19.590
Germany.
648
00:36:20.269 --> 00:36:24.150
West Germany. Number three on the list. We've had three
649
00:36:24.190 --> 00:36:28.190
members of Congress born in West Germany. Spain. None in Spain.
650
00:36:28.530 --> 00:36:28.989
Mexico.
651
00:36:29.530 --> 00:36:32.610
Mexico. Tied for number one. There are four members of
652
00:36:32.650 --> 00:36:34.809
Congress that were born in Mexico.
653
00:36:35.820 --> 00:36:36.280
Japan.
654
00:36:36.610 --> 00:36:39.079
Japan. There's one. There's one in Japan.
655
00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:40.380
India.
656
00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:42.579
That's the number one tied with Mexico.
657
00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:44.079
Four from India.
658
00:36:44.099 --> 00:36:45.000
Africa.
659
00:36:45.019 --> 00:36:46.179
One senator, three members of Congress.
660
00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:46.719
Africa.
661
00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:47.659
That's a continent.
662
00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:50.139
Oh, I'm sorry. Nigeria.
663
00:36:50.340 --> 00:36:51.920
Nigeria. None from Nigeria.
664
00:36:53.489 --> 00:36:54.030
South Korea.
665
00:36:54.670 --> 00:36:58.190
Numbers tied for number four. South Korea. We had two
666
00:36:58.289 --> 00:36:58.989
from South Korea.
667
00:37:00.289 --> 00:37:00.730
Canada.
668
00:37:01.250 --> 00:37:04.210
Tied for number four as well. Two from Canada, including
669
00:37:04.269 --> 00:37:04.849
Ted Cruz.
670
00:37:05.349 --> 00:37:05.949
The Philippines.
671
00:37:06.469 --> 00:37:08.719
The Philippines. That's a really good guess since they used
672
00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:11.860
to be a U.S. territory, but no, none from the Philippines.
673
00:37:12.199 --> 00:37:13.059
That's a really good guess.
674
00:37:13.900 --> 00:37:14.300
Cuba.
675
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:15.119
Yes.
676
00:37:15.380 --> 00:37:16.019
One from Cuba.
677
00:37:18.460 --> 00:37:23.780
Who am I living out here? Colombia. Colombia.
678
00:37:24.210 --> 00:37:25.429
Colombia, one from Colombia.
679
00:37:27.070 --> 00:37:27.510
Brazil.
680
00:37:28.090 --> 00:37:28.849
None from Brazil.
681
00:37:33.489 --> 00:37:37.510
Italy. None from Italy. No Italians in the members of Congress.
682
00:37:37.610 --> 00:37:39.710
Now, we've got some whose parents and grandparents were born
683
00:37:39.750 --> 00:37:43.530
in Italy, but no member of the U.S. Congress or Senate.
684
00:37:43.809 --> 00:37:44.230
France.
685
00:37:44.730 --> 00:37:45.530
None from France.
686
00:37:46.909 --> 00:37:51.889
Oh, man. Yeah, that's interesting. Okay, India. Greece.
687
00:37:52.469 --> 00:37:52.860
Greece.
688
00:37:53.329 --> 00:37:53.849
Greece.
689
00:37:54.289 --> 00:37:55.360
None from Greece either.
690
00:37:56.760 --> 00:37:57.380
Great Britain.
691
00:37:57.820 --> 00:38:01.519
I would think so, but no, none from Great Britain.
692
00:38:01.940 --> 00:38:02.320
You know what?
693
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:03.320
I'm done. All right.
694
00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:06.619
So here's the top ones. India and Mexico both had four.
695
00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:09.800
West Germany had three. That should tell you something because
696
00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:13.139
it's West Germany, not Germany, right? And most of those
697
00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:17.139
were born to service members who were stationed overseas. So
698
00:38:17.159 --> 00:38:18.349
they were Naturalized.
699
00:38:18.590 --> 00:38:20.469
They were born in West Germany.
700
00:38:20.489 --> 00:38:21.829
They happen to be born in West Germany, but they're
701
00:38:21.849 --> 00:38:22.469
American citizens.
702
00:38:22.489 --> 00:38:23.929
Before the unification.
703
00:38:24.369 --> 00:38:28.239
Canada, two. Peru, South Korea, and Ukraine, two.
704
00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:29.059
Ukraine.
705
00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.820
Although one of the members of Congress from Ukraine is
706
00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:42.110
not going to be there anymore. And then you've got Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Pakistan, Scotland, Somalia, Taiwan, Thailand.
707
00:38:42.130 --> 00:38:42.889
Somalia.
708
00:38:43.110 --> 00:38:46.579
And Trieste. All of them won. All of us. And
709
00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:49.400
I had never heard of Treece, but apparently it used
710
00:38:49.420 --> 00:38:51.000
to be an independent part of Italy.
711
00:38:51.059 --> 00:38:53.760
Hey, we're one great big melting pot, right?
712
00:38:54.070 --> 00:38:55.619
As long as you still want to be an American.
713
00:38:57.050 --> 00:39:00.269
You're listening to American Ground Radio.
714
00:39:12.929 --> 00:39:13.849
Welcome back to American Girl Radio.
715
00:39:13.869 --> 00:39:14.789
I'm Steve Park with Louis R.
716
00:39:14.829 --> 00:39:18.989
Avalone. You know, October 7th is the anniversary of the
717
00:39:19.130 --> 00:39:22.880
worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
718
00:39:22.909 --> 00:39:23.139
Yeah.
719
00:39:23.659 --> 00:39:26.099
And perhaps the mayor of New York City could spend
720
00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:32.980
one day just principally... remembering the people who were murdered
721
00:39:33.159 --> 00:39:38.059
and kidnapped on that day. And that's why Zoran Mamdani,
722
00:39:38.099 --> 00:39:40.800
the mayor of New York City, I mean, he is
723
00:39:40.940 --> 00:39:42.619
so tone deaf.
724
00:39:43.030 --> 00:39:46.389
No, no, no, no. He's hateful. This is not tone deaf.
725
00:39:46.590 --> 00:39:47.469
This was intentional.
726
00:39:47.630 --> 00:39:53.670
Okay, so three years ago, Hamas-led militants poured into Israel. 1,200
727
00:39:53.670 --> 00:39:58.610
people were killed. 251 were taken hostage. Families were slaughtered.
728
00:39:58.670 --> 00:40:02.360
Communities were devastated. More than 350 people were killed at
729
00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:08.019
that music festival alone. And October 7 is the anniversary
730
00:40:08.059 --> 00:40:14.489
of that attack. Mamdani's statement that he posted... is basically
731
00:40:14.530 --> 00:40:21.469
he calls Hamas, basically he calls out Israel. And it
732
00:40:21.570 --> 00:40:26.949
says that basically that Israeli government, the Israeli government is
733
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guilty of genocide, of occupation, of apartheid, of war crimes.
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And then he talks about American weapons and American tax dollars.
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Yeah, he blames the United States for being involved. in
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what he calls a genocide.
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And look, yeah, no, I was going to say the
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humanitarian devastation in Gaza is real and enormous.
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Absolutely. But what we're talking about is about 2% of
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the population of Gaza. That's 74,000, about 2%. It's a
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lot of people, I'll give you that. That's not a genocide.
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In Europe, we were talking about 65% of the population
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of Jews, not 2%. You're using the word genocide, and
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either you don't know what it means or you do
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know what it means. And what you're trying to do
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is stir up hatred against Jews. You're trying to create
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a genocide against Jews again.
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But just imagine, you know, somebody issuing a statement on
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September the 11th and beginning that statement by basically discussing
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everything that America did In the world. Yeah, afterward. Exactly.
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That sounds like something the Democrat Party would do. We'll
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be back.
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The second hour of American Ground Radio is coming up next.