12-04-24 FULL SHOW - Deborah Flora Fills in for Mandy

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Mandy Connall Show is sponsored by Belle and Pollock
Accident and injury Lawyers.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
No, it's Mandy connellyn on Koam, got Way, Study Care,
the Nicety Stood Free, Bendy, Donald Keith, really sad bab.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Welcome to the Mandy Connall Show. Well you may have
guessed I am not Mandy Connall, although some days I
wish I was.

Speaker 4 (00:33):
Many of you may feel the same way.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
But this is Deborah Flora and I am so happy
to be sitting in for my friend Mandy Connall today.
Hope that she's having a wonderful time on her trip
that she is having.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
But it is great to be here.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
I've been in the KOI studio numerous times, usually in
the seat opposite here, so it is fun for the
first time to be sitting here in this chair behind
this mic, happy to be here with a rod, and
happy to be talking with you. Love that a Robert.

Speaker 4 (01:02):
I have a lot of fun today. So I want
to just first of all, say good to talk with
you all.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
It is great to be here. There's so much to
talk about. I've had about a year hiatus from being
behind the mic, so I promise you I won't share
with you everything I've been thinking about over the last year,
because this would be a twenty four hour show, but
we'll just kick it off right now. Hope that you
had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
I know that we are past that holiday.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
I don't know how we're already in December, but I
have been thinking a lot about this because having been
involved in the political arena in our state and around
our country and still doing some initiatives on that front,
you know, there is certainly a temperature in our nation
that I think Thanksgiving and the holiday season is the
antidote to possibly so. So just want to give a

(01:47):
really quick little history lesson most of us know of
Thanksgiving being about you know, the Plymouth Rock situation, the Pilgrims.
But what I thought was really telling for the time
that we are in today in our country pretty darn divided,
is that Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday until.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
Right after Gettysburg.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
So picture this one of the most divided times in
our country, absolutely to the point of devastation.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
And it was really right after Gettysburg.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Win that was so costly that President Abraham Lincoln decreed
that he would quote set apart and observe the last
Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving. Why did
he do that because it was two years before the
war was over, But he knew that in a divided
country there had to be something that unites us. I mean,

(02:40):
I was talking with Ross as he was walking out
the door about how football in sports and all that
used to unite us. You used to be able to
cheer for a team no matter what political party you
were a part of, But.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
It seems like that day is gone.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
I've been listening to some of what has been going on,
you know, over the holiday season, and let me just
sum it up by one interview Joy Read on CNN.
I'm going to be kind of picking on CNN a
little bit here today with the end standing for nonsense
at times, which is probably why their ratings have created
fifty percent since the election.

Speaker 4 (03:15):
But she had a quote unquote mental health expert.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Yes you are seeing or hearing I should say my
radio air quotes here and that Yale University Chief Psychiatry
Resident doctor Amanda Calhoun said.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
This in preparation for last week's Thanksgiving. She said, it
is okay and you should.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Feel justified to cut off ties with relatives who voted
for Trump. Well, that's a pretty different situation than when
Thanksgiving was founded.

Speaker 4 (03:44):
So here's my first question for you.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
And please do fill free. I know I'm not Mandy,
BUTULD love to hear from you. Text into five six
six nine zero question for you. Have you had a
family member cut you off because.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Of political ideology?

Speaker 3 (04:00):
I know I have. I have a feeling I am
not alone, so please text me let me know. We'll
read some of those texts when they come in. And
here's what I think is interesting. Joy Reid cited a
recent report that there's been a seven hundred percent increasing
calls from lgbtquth to the Trevor.

Speaker 4 (04:19):
Project since the election.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Now that is a sad thing to think about that
there are that many people that are that afraid that
they are calling in.

Speaker 4 (04:28):
But who's really to blame for that? The reality is
is what's.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
Going on in our culture the sense that if somebody
is on a different side politically, not only are they
perhaps wrong, but they're evil.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
Not only are they perhaps evil, but they're.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Actually out to get you, and that is really unfortunate.
I want to share one story that really hit me,
as Ros shared when we were doing our little transition.
I did run for Congress. But one of the stories
and the only reason why I share that, I had
a woman come up to me once she found out
I was running for Congress as a rep Republican, and
she came up to me.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
She was a member of the LGBTQ.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
Community, and as I was leaving this event, she chased
after me, shaking and in tears, and she looked at
me and she said, I'm so afraid that if Republicans win,
my wife and I will be arrested. Now, she was serious,
She believed it. She literally thought that that was what

(05:28):
was going to happen. Why because she probably listened to
CNN or some of these other organizations that are saying
as recently as today or yesterday that there will be
firing squads, there's going to be tanem and square moments. Now,
the histrionic nature of what's going on has got to
be tamped down, and honestly, we can do it. So

(05:49):
the point about Thanksgiving is we can be the ones
to reach out and say, you know what.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
I know, you've boiled me down to only.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
My viewpoint points politically, but I'm so much more and
I don't want to cut you off, you know, I
want to share a story, and then I'm gonna look
at some of these techs that have been coming in here.
But I want to share a story that.

Speaker 4 (06:11):
That kind of highlights this. I want to start with
a feel good story as.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
We talk about Thanksgiving and moving into the holiday season.
One of the things that I was reading about that
I think personifies how we can turn this around.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Some of you may have heard the Battle of the Robs.

Speaker 3 (06:27):
I don't know if you've heard about this or not,
but there are two Robs that live in Phoenix, Arizona,
and in twenty sixteen, the Trump supporting Rob Rob Vanovich
moved into this neighborhood. The Kamala supporting Rob Rob Anderson
lives across the street from him. It started as a
good natured I would say, you know, almost like smack talking,

(06:50):
like we can do over sports if you you know,
still have that modicum of respect even in the sports world.
They tried to see who could outdo one another with
the aunt of flags they had, the amount of posters,
the amount of signs they had for their prospective candidate.
But what is different about this situation is instead of

(07:10):
looking at their enemy, their neighbor.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
As the enemy.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
They actually this time not only put out their signs,
but they then had Thanksgiving together. I think that is
an amazing story. And there's something I want to read
that Rob Banovich said. He said, they want to show
civility like it used to be. Our vote doesn't define
the person. I don't know about you, but I have

(07:37):
some people that used to be close to me that
had literally boiled me down to one thing, and that
is my political viewpoint.

Speaker 4 (07:47):
And I've said to them, what are you say.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
I'm a mom, I'm an entrepreneur, I run a film
company with my husband. I like to do puzzles, I'm
a big football fan. I'm all of these other things
and all these other experiences. And I think that's something
that we can get back to, and we need to
get back to another story that I want to share
with you, because this is the season where I think

(08:09):
we can make a difference. This is the season where
as we are in the line for getting coffee, or
as we are in the elevator, or as we are
by the football field or whatever we're doing, maybe just
put down our phones and just say hi to somebody.
It's amazing. First of all, you'll get a startled expression
and then you wish them a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,

(08:30):
happy holidays, and suddenly barriers begin to break down.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
Here's a hero story that I want to share.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
And by the way, we're going to get into a
lot of other topics coming up, and we're gonna have
a great show. I do want to let you know
that we're gonna have Rose Piglee, she's the House Minority
leader here in Colorado, with an update on a recall
that is going on a recount, I should say, not
a recall, a recount of a deciding seat for the
state House that will determine whether or not the GOP

(09:01):
stay out of the super minority which they were in.
She's going to come up at twelve thirty after this break,
then we're going to have, by the way, Paula Scanlon.
Paul you may know her name. She was the teammate
on the swim team with Leah Thomas, and she's going
to talk about this fight to protect women and girls'
sports and save spaces.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
This is in the.

Speaker 4 (09:21):
Headlines, obviously because of the San.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Jose State volleyball team that just fell in the tournament
in Las Vegas and who were they beaten by our
very own rams, Colorado State University. But we're going to
talk about that battle. And then in the two o'clock
hour we're going to Rich Socle. He is an amazing
pro Israel activist, an amazing patriotic American talking about what
really is going on Israel. And now that we're entering

(09:45):
over four hundred days of some of these hostages being held,
including seven Americans, they think maybe three or four are
still alive, what's.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
Going on there? So we can really know?

Speaker 3 (09:58):
That gets back by the way to how do we
treat one another? Well, a single act of kindness can
be amazing. And I want to share one other really good,
heartfelt story North Carolina. We all watched the Hurricane Helene
and how devastating that was. Well, one man named David

(10:18):
Burke decided to do something about it. He lived about
six hours away, and he decided that he was going
to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for those who may not even
have electricity. Still, they may not even have the ability
to cook anything or have this meal. They've lost almost everything.
What started as one man deciding to do something good,

(10:41):
he made nearly four thousand Thanksgiving meals. He had over
two hundred volunteers, and he said that he felt God
called him to help lift spirits when he was sitting
in church. That's the kind of thing that each one
of us can do. Maybe not four thousand meals. I
got to tell you, I am not a cook would
want me to cook.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
One meal, let alone four thousand.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
But maybe there are other ways that we can support
one another.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
And I think that that is the key.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
You know, as we go into this season, there is
so much division, and this is exactly the time for
us to recalibrate and see our neighbor not as the enemy,
but as someone that we can remind them that no
matter if there are those trying to drive a wedge
between us, at the end of the day, we're neighbors.

(11:31):
And I think we've got plenty of enemies we can
be looking towards, which are you know, outsider borders trying
to get into our borders, And that is that's an
area that we can, you know, we can really begin
to focus. So we're going to talk about that. We
are going to definitely you know, cover some of the
hot topics of the day as well. You know, I

(11:52):
think one that I want to jump into, and I
will look at these texts in a bit, but one
of the things I want to transfer to is we
are top about this season. I think I'm just going
to bring a Ron on here for a moment, a Rod.
Do you still have leftovers? That's the big question as well.

Speaker 6 (12:08):
Still no, they get devoured very very very quickly.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
Well there you go. My husband was saying earlier, by
the way, that if you do have a relative that
cuts you off because of your you know, thinking about
politics differently, the upside is more leftovers. So you still
have the Oh right, okay, I love it. You just
go right for the jugular.

Speaker 6 (12:28):
There, no, no, you are not getting And again I
am I am the authority. I was born on Thanksgiving.

Speaker 4 (12:33):
Oh yes, happy birthday. That's really why I'm here.

Speaker 3 (12:36):
I'm here to wish you a happy.

Speaker 4 (12:37):
Belated birthday, Cael.

Speaker 6 (12:38):
So with that becomes I am the authority. So what
I say goes in terms of anything Thanksgiving.

Speaker 4 (12:45):
Okay, good, You guys could cut you first.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah you know, and boy, why am I quoting Abraham
Lincoln when I could have just talked to you, you know,
I need to I'm a solid one. A right, you know,
I love it. Well, you know what I found out
a rod. I've been really tired this week. I don't
know how many of you listeners have been exact. I
wanted to blame it on the trip to Fan, and
unfortunately I did a little research. I am not a
doctor hashtag I am not a doctor. But unfortunately the

(13:10):
trip to Fan level in Turkey is no more than
in red meat, chicken, nuts, any high proty items. So
I can't really blame it on that. What are your
thoughts are being the expert in Thanksgiving? Do you agree
with that assessment? Doctor?

Speaker 6 (13:24):
I mean, I kind of want to still say that.
I mean, I don't know, you know what. For me,
it's got to be the amount of turkey I consume
because then that much trip to Fan. I think it
would be the case. Because I'm a I'm a on Thanksgiving,
I'm a too full plate guy. I'm talking. I'm talking
because you know, like a typical paper plate, right, normal circle.

(13:44):
I'm talking those why big turkey big Thanksgiving paper plates.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
Yeah yeah, I'm picturing it.

Speaker 6 (13:51):
On two full plates of that on thingsgising.

Speaker 4 (13:53):
Okay, so here's a question.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
Are you in training to get ready for that, because
don't you kind of have to expand your stomach as
you lead up to it. That's kind of a justification
for about two weeks beforehand.

Speaker 6 (14:02):
For me, because I'm usually I'm usually dieting more often
than not just to keep the weight off, and so
normally I'm gonna be hungry enough. But on Thanksgiving I
do go light breakfast, usually no lunch, no like kind
of snacks. That way, when five o'clock rolls around, this
thing's ready to roll. And then I'm good for after
Thanksgiving dinner and maybe like a slice of py or

(14:24):
to which we did, I'm good for. I'm good for
a while.

Speaker 3 (14:27):
See, you really have this down to a science. You
are like a pro athlete in the Thanksgiving field, you know,
like your prep.

Speaker 6 (14:34):
And Thanksgivings religion. For me, Thanksgiving is religion. So anyone
that doesn't do turkey, that's that's sacrilegious, Okay, anyone that
doesn't like eat a solid Thanksgiving meal, that's sacrilegious. Like
Thanksgiving is one of my religions.

Speaker 3 (14:52):
There you go, Well, you you definitely have taken it
to a whole new level. Arod.

Speaker 4 (14:55):
I cannot say I'm right.

Speaker 3 (14:56):
There with you.

Speaker 4 (14:57):
I do think food is still food, but I do.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
I have to say. One of the things we love
about Thanksgiving is I like a literation. Anyway. People will
probably picked this up on some of the points that
I make. Either way, if you're tuning in, I am
Deborah Flora, sitting in for Mandy Connell. Happy to be there.
And I had to say my name again because I
like a literation with F. So Thanksgiving for us is
about food, family, faith, football, friendship, and Flora family. There

(15:24):
you go, Hey, thank you. So I wasn't born on Thanksgiving,
but hopefully that gives me a little bit of authority
on this topic.

Speaker 4 (15:31):
I would like to think so.

Speaker 3 (15:33):
But well, I'm going to switch it up now because
I want to get prepared for a special guest we
have coming up after this break.

Speaker 4 (15:42):
We are going to be having Rose Piglees joining us.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
As I said, she is the House Republican Minority leader.
She's going to be joining us on the Common Spirit
Health Hotline. And what I want to talk about before
we have her join us here. I grew up in Colorado.
I grew up on Lowry Air Force Base, and I
remember one of the things that my parents always said
was Colorado was the epitome of a balanced state. Meaning

(16:08):
most of the time I was growing up, there was,
you know, the House or the State Senate were in
different hands. The governor would switch over between Republican and Democrat.
I think many of us know that balance has been
gone for quite a while.

Speaker 4 (16:22):
And I won't name any.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
Names, but I have spoken to many Democrats who have
bemoaned the fact that they think there are too many
Democrats under the dome because what happens is then you
don't have representative government. And in the House of Representatives
for the state of Colorado last legislation legislative session, they
had nineteen representatives, meaning they were in the super minority.

(16:45):
Now here's a crazy thing about how areas are you know,
are outlined as far as representation where the lines are drawn.
That nineteen representation number represented almost around forty nine percent of.

Speaker 4 (17:02):
The voters in Colorado, but they were.

Speaker 3 (17:04):
In the super minority. That's what we call a little
bit of the crazy, you know, jerry rigging of the lines.
But that may potentially change. Right now, there is a
recount going on for Rebecca kelt In down in Cholera Springs.
She had a seven vote lead. I think she's about
six now. We're going to get an update on that, which,

(17:25):
by the way, shows how every single vote counts. But
we're gonna have her Rose Paglee join us when we
come back, talk about the hard work that she did,
also because I just want to give her a big
shout out. There's some interesting shifts that are going on
in Colorado, particularly amongst the Hispanic community, which did shift
about four points towards the GOP, which is the CD

(17:47):
eight turnaround.

Speaker 4 (17:47):
So we're going to talk about all that and more
when we come back.

Speaker 3 (17:52):
So glad to be with you all. We'll also as
we return later in the program, we're gonna be looking
at those texts. Please be sure to continue to text
the uh don't go anywhere. I'm Deborah Flora, sitting in
from Mandy Connell on KOA. So happy to be here
with you, happy to have a great conversation, and welcome
a wonderful guest we have joining us today. I was

(18:12):
sharing before the break that while Colorado I.

Speaker 4 (18:16):
Cannot say is completely back.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
To the balance that used to divine it, in fact,
I think we still have a long ways to go.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
My next guest is someone who has really made a
difference on that. And there are a lot of people
that are out there.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
There are a lot of party organizations out there, there
are a lot of individuals out there claiming victory over
the fact that the House of Representatives under the State
House may be moving out of a super minority. But
I got to set the record straight. My next guest here,
Rose Pigliasi. She's a House.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
Republican minority leader.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
She helps lead an effort to raise nearly three million
dollars for this push. We've seen this potential of getting
us out of a super minority, along with some other
coalition partners. But I want to make sure credit is
given where credit is due. And Rose, thank you so
much for joining us, Thank you for all that you're

(19:13):
doing for Colorado and for getting balanced back under the dome.
Welcome to the show.

Speaker 7 (19:19):
Oh, thank you so much, Deborah for all of your
kind words. I'm excited to be here today, and I'm
excited for the future of Colorado House Republicans and Republicans
in general.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yes, indeed, well let's talk about that. Because I always
tell people that when they say their votes don't count,
I use one story. We had a friend who ran
against Adam schiff Boy many years ago, and he lost
in California by less than a thousand votes. And in California,
that's not that many people showing up.

Speaker 4 (19:49):
Every vote counts.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
Well, we're right now in the middle of a recount
for Rebecca Kelty.

Speaker 4 (19:55):
She ran against Stephanie V.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
Hill down in the Colorado springstel Passo count area, and
if she holds on to this win, then the House
Republicans in Colorado will be out of the super minority.
Can you give us an update because at last count,
I think it was about six votes separating them.

Speaker 4 (20:13):
Where do we stand on this recount?

Speaker 7 (20:16):
Yeah, and I'm so proud of Rebecca and the race
that she ran and how hard she works.

Speaker 5 (20:23):
So yes, as of.

Speaker 7 (20:25):
Last count she was up six points or six votes, and.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
The recount is still going on.

Speaker 7 (20:32):
It has to be completed by Friday. Hopefully we'll know
before Friday, but for sure by Friday we will know,
thank goodness. Traditionally in Colorado recounts don't change the outcomes.

Speaker 5 (20:44):
Of elections, so I'm feeling pretty.

Speaker 7 (20:46):
Confident about her race, but you know, you never know.
So we're claiming that we intend to be victorious in
that race. And like I said, Rebecca and her team
and all of the grassroots volunteers and donors, everyone that
helped her and Dan Rug and Ryan and Zalez and
all of our Commons members to help end the super
majority is they're just amazing people. And you know, I

(21:10):
believe in the power of the grassroots and their ability
to continue to win races in Colorado moving forward.

Speaker 4 (21:15):
Yeah, that's incredible.

Speaker 3 (21:16):
And you know, while we're only talking about three votes
going from nineteen to hopefully twenty two GOP members and
the State House of Representatives, that difference is huge. Can
you talk about what it has meant to be in
a super minority and what would change if going into
this next session the GOP is no longer in the

(21:38):
super minority.

Speaker 7 (21:40):
You know, I think the two biggest changes that are
really important for us at the House to Republican caucus
is the majority no longer has the super majority and
they can't just change rules at whim. They need about
a two thirds vote to change rules, and they won't
have that two thirds now assuming Republicans stay united. So

(22:02):
I think that is huge, especially as some of the
challenges we've had being in the minority. I know, Deborah
we have talked about this, and Andy and I have
talked about this.

Speaker 5 (22:11):
You know, we've had.

Speaker 7 (22:14):
We've had some real challenges, especially around herst amendment and
being able to represent the voices of our constituents on
the House floor. I do hope that's going to change,
and I know we're working really hard with the majority.

Speaker 5 (22:26):
To change that.

Speaker 7 (22:28):
But I think, you know, the fact that we've picked
up three seats, especially in a state where we weren't
trending in that direction, is incredibly important. But then, you know,
even the majority's ability to refer ballot measures from the legislature,
you know, they don't have to get signatures, they would
need a two thirds to do that as well. And again,

(22:48):
as long as Republicans stay united, which I believe we
are a very united caucus and will continue to be.
But as long as we stay united.

Speaker 5 (22:55):
They won't have that two thirds vote to refer constitutional amendments.

Speaker 7 (23:00):
We won't have the ability to overturn a veto by
the governor, assuming you know, he beat us right things.
So I think that that's an important power for us,
and I think that's increasing our numbers is just a
really powerful message in the state. Again goes back to
the power of the grassroots and how hard we all work,
but also to the fact that I think people in

(23:23):
Colorado really do want balance, and you touched on this
debrow in your opening. People really do want it and
want the legislature to bring reasonable, responsible legislation moving forward
us around affordability. And so I think picking up three seats,
ending the super majority helps us march towards restoring balance
in Colorado.

Speaker 4 (23:44):
Yeah, I think what was always so surprising to me.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
We know how different districts can kind of get jerrymandered
or drawn in unique ways, and all of that that
even though last session the GOP was in the super
minority with only nineteen seats still represented, those nineteen seats
represented almost half.

Speaker 4 (24:04):
Of Colorado voters.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
So the false perception that the voices the representation of
this superan minority at the time should just be trod
upon that was not representational government. This will help us
speak in that path back. I also think there's been
a ship that a lot of people have talked about
where on the Democrat side, And like I said, I've
spoken to Democrats, We've talked about how they want to

(24:27):
pull back from the extremism. They even want to see
balance because they understand it's better government in some ways.
Two of the most probably well known and more extreme
Democrat representatives were defeated this cycle. That was Elizabeth Epps
who famously or infamously left the floor to join the

(24:48):
Palestinian protesters of the pro Hamas protesters, and the balcony
Tim Hernandez who replaced the I believe it was the
US flag or the Coloria flag. I can't remember which
one with the Palestinian flag. They were not elected, they
were beaten out by more common sense Democrats. Do you
think that trend is going to make the business going

(25:09):
on the people's business? It should be in the State
House a better situation this time around.

Speaker 7 (25:18):
I think on both sides you're seeing maybe more pragmatic
representatives coming in and I'm really really excited to see,
you know again, I go back to I traveled the
state multiple times as the minority leader in this last
summer and into the fall, and it was super honored

(25:39):
to be able to talk to so many constituents from
across the state and really hear what their concerns are
and the.

Speaker 5 (25:45):
Issues that they really care about.

Speaker 7 (25:47):
They don't care if you know, they don't necessarily want
Republicans or Democrats to fix it. They just want us
to fix it together.

Speaker 5 (25:54):
And so I think that's what you're seeing in how.

Speaker 7 (25:57):
The Colorado voters voted in these.

Speaker 5 (26:00):
Different representatives on both sides of the aisle.

Speaker 7 (26:03):
I think that they're looking for more pragmatic Republicans, more
pragmatic Democrats who are here to fix problems and bring
forward solutions that actually affect their pocketbooks, their families. They
just want to live their lives and be able to
provide for their families, and they're looking for legislation that
does that.

Speaker 4 (26:21):
Well, that's exactly right.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
I mean I got asked this question a lot obviously
when I ran. When I ran for office, you know,
what is the role of government. It really is to
address predominantly the eighty percent of things that eighty percent
of the people agree on, you know, securing the border,
keeping our communities safe, making it sure that so that
people can actually afford groceries, and putting their child in

(26:44):
whatever extracurricular activity they're in. Those are the things that
people need to come together on. And I agree with that.
It's kind of the big tent without compromising, and I
think that's very important. I want to give a shout
out again just for anyone who you know is just
joining us, Rose PIGLIESI.

Speaker 4 (26:59):
She is the how minority.

Speaker 3 (27:00):
Leader in your leadership position, Rose, you helped raise three
million dollars to get the GOP out of the minority,
more than any other House minority leader previously.

Speaker 4 (27:13):
And while I said earlier there are a lot of
people that'd like.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
To claim credit for this beginning shift, it really needs
to go where it is due. Let's just talk now
looking forward and hopefully presuming that Rebecca Kelsey, who I
know who's wonderful and she ran a great race.

Speaker 4 (27:30):
Hopefully she you know, comes out still ahead in this recount.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
What are you looking at as the big fights coming
into this next session? And I and with the final
question about what listeners can do about it, but what
do you see coming down the pike?

Speaker 7 (27:44):
Yeah, And I just I want to thank you again
for your CID comment. And I'm so appreciative to all
of our allied partners who all came together and pushed
in the same direction. Because when Conservatives unite.

Speaker 5 (27:57):
On all levels, especially at the grassroots level, we in
and show that we can win.

Speaker 7 (28:02):
So I'm just super proud of the effort that everybody made,
you know, especially surrounding me. I'm I didn't start off
as the minority leader. I took this position on in January,
which is a little unusual, and so I've had a
shortened amount of time to really push the caucus forward.
But I couldn't have done it alone.

Speaker 5 (28:20):
And really disappreciate especially you, Jonathan as well, and just
good people who surrounded me and my caucus in order
to make this happen. So I just wanted to say
that for the.

Speaker 7 (28:30):
Record, but affordability continues to be the number one issue
in Colorado. It is literally I knocked doors all across
the state and people are saying we can no longer
afford to live in the place that we.

Speaker 5 (28:42):
Love, and so please help them.

Speaker 7 (28:44):
And I think that that's incredibly important. I know when
I talked to my caucus, where our caucus about the
issues that are important in their communities, that's what they're
hearing as well, and so looking for by partisan legislation,
because while we're out of the super minority, we are
still a minority in Colorado and the House.

Speaker 5 (29:03):
We need to be pushing.

Speaker 7 (29:04):
Forward some good solutions that really benefit all Colorados from
across the state, and we need to do that in
a very bipartisan way. And like you said, that doesn't
mean compromising values. We're still going to fight for the
values that are so important. But there are so many
things that we do agree on that we can work
across the aisle and get done. Because again, at least

(29:26):
for me, and I know I'm a pragmatist, but being
able to bring forward solutions to my constituents like we
did on property tasks is incredibly important. Helping them to
be able to afford to live here and raise their
families here is why I personally am here.

Speaker 5 (29:43):
So I think that's it's going to be important.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
I so appreciate that. Rich We're going to head to
a break, but I so appreciate it. Thank you so much.
We'll we come back.

Speaker 4 (29:51):
We're gonna talk a little bit.

Speaker 3 (29:53):
I'll chat with folks about what we can do to
make our voices heard. But thank you, Representative po Gleasy
for all you do. And by the way, levels say
your name that we always have to use a hand
gesture pleasy so.

Speaker 4 (30:03):
We can say it the way it deserves. Thank you
so much, Representabile Pleasie. Thank you Rose, have a great day, appreciate.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
Your joining us.

Speaker 8 (30:11):
Okay, bye bye.

Speaker 3 (30:14):
Well, hey, we're going to head to a break, but
when we come back, I'm going to read some of
those texts.

Speaker 4 (30:18):
And remember it is five six six nine zero.

Speaker 3 (30:20):
The questions are, have you ever been cut off by
a family member because of your political views, especially around
the holidays?

Speaker 4 (30:28):
And do you have any leftovers left?

Speaker 3 (30:30):
That we know from a Rod the Expert who was
born on Thanksgiving, that as a big no no, but
we want to know if you have any left don't
go anywhere. I'm Deborah Flora, sitting in from Mandy Connell
on KOA, So happy to be here. Well, we've been
having a good first hour so far, talking about Thanksgiving,
talking about leftovers, talking about family relationships or those that

(30:52):
have come into non existence because of the divisive nature
that we're in. Also, just heard from House Minority leader
Rose Pigley, and we're talking about this move beginning of
a move. We won't know if it's actually a movement
until we get a little bit further down the line
towards perhaps a little bit more balance in Colorado. I
want to share a couple of interesting statistics. In addition

(31:13):
to the fact that the State House might be out
of the super minority, which does allow for those citizens
that these representatives represent their voices to be heard. But
in addition, there are a couple of other interesting shifts
that took a little while to dig into. One of
the biggest ones in Colorado is the shift among Hispanic voters.

(31:37):
And what I find so interesting is when I listen
to some of the other media outlets and.

Speaker 4 (31:42):
They seem dumbfounded.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
In fact, it was on one of the nonsense networks
I call that MSNBC and CNN.

Speaker 4 (31:48):
That's what the end stands for too often.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
One of the commentators was saying, why in Heaven's name
would Hispanic voters vote for the GOP when they want
to secure the bar, or that they're voting against themselves.

Speaker 4 (32:01):
Now, I have to say that collective.

Speaker 3 (32:04):
Judgment of any group of people is really at the
core of so many of our problems. That is, looking
at those of Hispanic descent, perhaps from Mexico, perhaps from
South America, wherever they are from, as so, they are
one thing. These families really have conservative values. They are
driven by family values, wanting a better life for their kids.
Oftentimes they're entrepreneurs and business owners, and they most of

(32:28):
them came here the right way and that's what they
want to see. We saw that shift in Colorado in
the fact that in areas in southern colrad particularly in
Pueblo and San Luis Valley, there was a four percent
shift among Hispanic voters towards Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris.
Not really surprising when you look at the real issues

(32:49):
that people are facing. Nobody wants their infrastructure overwhelmed as
is happening Endeavor. Nobody wants people that they don't know
in their streets, particularly Venezuelan Game and other areas. Not
that everyone that comes across the border fits into that category,
but many do. And where we also saw this shift was.

Speaker 4 (33:08):
In Adams County.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
In Adams County, we flipped CD eight with Gabe Evans
and Yadira kerveyo to the state Board of Education. So
that's exciting. Hey, Before we head to the break, which
is happening you shortly, just want to read a couple
of your comments. Really appreciate One person said, Deborah, we
had no leftover.

Speaker 4 (33:27):
It's got a smoke turkey. It was so good. It
was completely devoured.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Good thing. You did not invite a rod he would
have eaten it ahead of time. Thank you so much
for all the kind comments people saying that they'd voted
for me. Thank you. Good to hear me on the RADO.
Really appreciate it, and I had asked, were you disowned
by anybody? I love this comment. I've not been cut
off or disowned by anyone over politics, and I do
not condone the cutting off of others, even I disagree

(33:52):
with them. That is the holiday spirit that we want
to carry on in to this next holiday season and
can do it. Time to pull back from the precipice earned.
Neighbors are not our enemies and we can be the
ones to overcome that without compromising.

Speaker 4 (34:07):
Well, don't go anywhere. We come back to continue the show.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Deborah Flora sitting in for Mandy Connell on KOA.

Speaker 1 (34:15):
The Mandy Connall Show is sponsored by Belle and Pollock
Accident and Injury Lawyers.

Speaker 2 (34:20):
No, it's Mandy Connelly on KOA.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
N got Way Guy, Kevin nicety Us through Prey Mandy Torontal.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
Keeping sad Babe.

Speaker 3 (34:42):
Welcome to the Mandy Connell Show. This is not Mandy.
I know we sound so much like no.

Speaker 4 (34:47):
This is Deborah Flora sitting in for Mandy. So glad
to be here with you all.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
So glad to be talking to all the great listeners
here on KOA. I really enjoying being in this chair.
I've been in the other chair previously, and happy to
be here.

Speaker 5 (34:59):
Now.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
You know, we are talking about Thanksgiving. We started talking
about that at the beginning of the last hour, and
you know, it brings up all kinds of memories. A
Rod was sharing that he was born on Thanksgiving, so
he is the expert of all things Thanksgiving. If you
were wondering where to go, that's the place to go.
But one of the stories I was sharing over the
break is while I grew up here in Colorado and

(35:23):
Lowery Air Force Base, I went to SMBU as a
president scholar. One of the things I got to do
was studying in Austria. Well, I went to Austria. It
was over the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, they don't have Thanksgiving.
I had only just begun to learn German. I think
my German was.

Speaker 4 (35:41):
At about a two year old grade level, and.

Speaker 3 (35:45):
They asked me they had all of their family over
and tried to have a thanks Saving celebration since they
thought I'd be homesick. It was so kind.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
Frau and hair Lieitselbauer were amazing.

Speaker 3 (35:55):
But suddenly I had about twenty five Austrians looking at me,
and they asked me the question, tell us what Thanksgiving.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
Is all about.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
Now, in the first hour, I got to share a
lot more about, you know, the roots of it. I
got to share about how Abraham Lincoln declared it as
a way to bring our country back together again right
after the Gettysburg just brutal. Although it was a Union
win it it was just a dark day in America.
But I had no vocabulary for that. So here is

(36:26):
how my translation of Thanksgiving in Austria basically sounded. When
I had about a two year old vocabulary at that time,
I had no word for pilgrim. So basically this is
how I mistaught a bunch of Austrians. I said, there
were people, they got on a boat, they crossed the ocean.
Many of them died, and at that point an entire

(36:48):
group of Austrian people just went oh. And I said,
but those who survived had a party and they all
went yay. And that is how I basically explained Thanksgiving
it was. I kind of feel like there's a bunch
of Austrians now that had passed that story on down
in a simplified manner and probably not really an accurate portrayal.

(37:09):
But you know, I also want to bring up that
story because it was when I went to Austria that
two very formative things happened for me, And one of
them is going to be a great setup for this
amazing guest we have that's going to be joining.

Speaker 4 (37:23):
Us in the third hour.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
But I was a young person my senior year in college,
and by going to Austria, I had an opportunity to
go on.

Speaker 4 (37:31):
Two specific trips that forever.

Speaker 3 (37:33):
Changed my life. And our kids are nineteen and twenty.
We're looking for ways to get them to have this
experience also, and I think every young person in America
should have these two experiences. First, we went to Auschwitz,
one of the concentration camps, and I, at a young age,
was so stunned by the ability of dehumanizing other people

(38:01):
to actually get nations to go along with this dehumanization
of anyone based on their background, their ethnicity, their religion,
their skin color, anything, and that always stuck with me
and in the third hour, we're going to have rich
Sokol joining us.

Speaker 4 (38:19):
He is a pro Israel.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Activist, and in the height of this resurgence of anti
Semitism that we are seeing in our country, I think
it's beginning to die down a little bit because people
see it for the hateful nature it is. And by
the way, I think we've also learned that on many
college campuses, it was not the college students. There are
people that were paid to be there that all had
similar tents and similar signs and all of that. But

(38:42):
that will forever stick with me and is one of
the reasons why I am a huge supporter of our
fellow Jewish citizens of Israel and over making sure that
something like that never ever happens again.

Speaker 4 (38:57):
We'll talk about that in the third hour.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
The other opportunity that I had was because we were
in Austria and yes I'm dating myself now, please don't
do the math, but the Berlin Wall was still up
and we were able to go beyond the Berlin Wall.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
We went through Checkpoint Charlie, we.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Went into East Berlin, which at the time the Soviet
Union poured their money into it to make it look good.
Because I understood Westerners would see that. But we went
far beyond. We went into Leipzig and Dresden, and Dresden,
by the way, have not even really been rebuilt. Where

(39:33):
the United States of American the Allies came in and
rebuilt Western Europe, this portion was not even rebuilt.

Speaker 4 (39:41):
It was still just in shambles. But one of the
most interesting experiences was going from SMU.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
And yes, we'll talk about football later, my alma mater
is actually going to come back from the death penalty.
They're now number eight in the college football rankings.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
I called them the Lazarus team.

Speaker 3 (39:57):
But anyway, I went from SMU to KMU Carl Marx University,
and I'll never forget sitting in Carl Marx University with
all of our communist youth handlers around us, sitting at
this long table, looking at this professor, and I just
began to ask all these questions. And the more questions
I asked, the more uncomfortable everyone in that room became. Later,

(40:22):
we went to a pub afterwards, and that teacher who
was in a communist system in East Germany, took me
aside and he looked me in the eye, and he
looked around to make sure nobody was listening, and then
tears broke into his eyes and he said, I'm a
teacher and I'm not allowed to teach. I'm only allowed

(40:44):
to indoctrinate people into what they should think and believe.
He said, I wish I could teach someone like you.

Speaker 4 (40:53):
That wasn't about me.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
It was about the fact that education at that time
in the United States of America was all about free inquery,
asking questions, learning in that capacity, not pushing any ideology
or viewpoint. And I often say when I speak and
I do a lot of activities when it comes to
school choice and advancing that to parential rights around Colorado,

(41:16):
around the country, I often say I never thought I
would see that in the United States of America until
we began to realize that there is too often a
political agenda and a social agenda that's been pushing to
our school So okay, long thing going from Thanksgiving a
bad telling of the Pilgrim story all the way to that.
But I do think it's important that we always have

(41:37):
that larger context. And that's why when I think of
Thanksgiving once again, I understand that our neighbors and our
relatives are not the enemy, and list they are pushing
an ideology that is antitheticulture freedom, and then there's still
not the enemy, but the ideology is. But I understand
clearly who our enemies really are. They are those who

(41:58):
will do humanize others. That's what happened on October seventh,
and that's why I'm happy to have Rich Socle joining
us in the third hour. That's what happens as far
as you know, people dehumanizing one another.

Speaker 4 (42:12):
I think that's something we really need to look at.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
You know, in some of the travels I've been doing
lately for school choice around the country, I was at
a conference and the conference was predominant about school choice
and all the exciting breakthroughs.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
I'm going to tell you we are in a revolution
for school choice right now.

Speaker 3 (42:28):
But at this conference, there was somebody there that was
presenting something called the Dignity Index. And here's my biggest thing,
and I've I've been getting hearing from textures about this question.
Has anyone cut you off just because they've basically reduced you,
like a reduction sauce, just to your political beliefs and
don't see you as an individual human being. This is

(42:50):
something that plagues humanity over and over and over again.
When we dehumanize people, when we make them only one
thing that becomes a foil and the other. It could
be because they are Jewish and someone's anti Semitic. It
could be because of a political ideology or a viewpoint.
It could be because of any number of things. That's

(43:14):
when we are at risk as a society. And I
think where we are right now, there is this Newton's
third law of physics. To every action, there's an equal
and opposite reaction, and basically it talks about how if
there's a movement on one side, there's resistance on another.
What I've seen is a growing polarization of two fringe

(43:36):
elements really on either side. I'll give you one example,
after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, where you know
his ear was pierced, so to speak. Certainly what motivated
that shooter probably because he bought into the media that
said over and over and over again that this one

(43:56):
human being was an existential threat to him and his
way of life. And by the way, whenever anybody says
it's a threat to democracy, I always have to pause
and say, we're not a democracy. We are a representative
constitutional Republic, which is different because we don't believe in
mob rule. Mobs are what we're beginning to see driving
so much of this. But what happened right afterwards, and

(44:19):
I just want to be really frank here because we
need to always examine where are we on this spectrum?
Right after that which was terrible, and think, God, literally
there was not a successful assassination because.

Speaker 4 (44:33):
I don't know where our country would be right now.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
I think it would have really rendered the fabrica of
our society asunder whether you are for Trump or not
for Trump.

Speaker 4 (44:43):
That would have been a dark, dark, dark day.

Speaker 3 (44:45):
But right afterwards, I went on social media and I
saw so much really of people on the right, understandably angry.
But what began a common tagline that I would hear
that I would read on the social media posts. It
started being whether it was talking about the media, I
was talking about the left, whether it was talking about

(45:06):
anyone else, they said, you don't hate these people enough.
That's what I would actually be reading, And I thought, Wow,
we gotten to the point in this Newton's law of
physics where hate brings up hate on the other side,
that we can't find our way back. I mean, I
always think about, obviously, the other divided times in our country.

(45:27):
Abraham Lincoln his second and nogural address two months before
he was going to be.

Speaker 4 (45:33):
Assassinated, the war was still going on.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
What did he say about those who are literally fighting
on the battlefield? He said, with malice towards none and
charity towards all.

Speaker 4 (45:46):
That was his comment, why are we staying for what?
We're staying up?

Speaker 3 (45:50):
Same thing with Martin Luther King Junior before he was assassinated.
He said, hate doesn't drive out hate. Only love can
do that. Now that can sound touchy feely. I am
definitely a constitutionalist through and through. I believe it is
the best document, but I all think it's think it's
the intent.

Speaker 4 (46:06):
So getting back to what I was talking about. This
conference I went.

Speaker 3 (46:09):
To, they had something called the dignity Index, and it
really comes down to this. The minute we stop disagreeing
on policy and we make it personal, we are we
are losing our ability. So anyway, that's our ability to
hold our republic together. So that's just something I wanted

(46:30):
to share. You know, is it making someone vilify because
they disagree or is it just we disagree and then
let's go and have some mashed potatoes and turkey. That
was the battle of the robs. I shared earlier to
two people in Phoenix who disagreed, and then they had
Thanksgiving together. So wanted to share that out of my
experience being in both the Soviet Union and I went

(46:54):
there again into Moscow when the coup happened. But let's
shift gears here and talk about out something a little different.
I want to talk about one of the things that
is driving this and and a lot of it is
the media. I think we have enough time here. I
want to play this clip now. I'm gonna switch a
little bit to this situation going on with ilegal immigration.

(47:16):
We're going to talk about it, but let's figure out
where a little bit of this is coming from.

Speaker 4 (47:20):
So I want to play this clip.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
It is from CNN, and I call that, you know,
the I don't know, Central Nonsense Network, maybe because because
some of what they say.

Speaker 4 (47:31):
Is absolutely nonsense.

Speaker 3 (47:32):
But AERI can you play that clip from the person
who made this comment.

Speaker 9 (47:37):
Promise you with every fiber of my be because I'll
probably be one of those people. But if anybody comes
to these people and tries to drag them out by force,
there will be protests, people like me, American citizens who
are going to stand there and do everything possible to
prevent these women and children, which is all who these
people are.

Speaker 7 (47:54):
About.

Speaker 9 (48:00):
I'm sorry, I lived next to these people. I can
tell you they are women and their children. Are there
a terrorists among them? I don't know, but I can
tell you that. But I can tell you, let me
tell Okay, But what I'm telling you right now, practically speaking,
is that there will be people American citizens who will
prevent these little kids whom being dragged out of these
shelters there are And what's going to happen to these people?

(48:21):
What is going to happen to the military when the
military opens fire on us?

Speaker 6 (48:27):
We're a hole here.

Speaker 3 (48:30):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (48:30):
So that was Julie rugin Skate.

Speaker 3 (48:32):
She was on CNN and she was talking about how
if the deportation begins, which is what Donald Trump is
talking about, and let's keep this in perspective, ten million
people when we were at the border last year, that's
what the border patrols shared, and the Border patrol has
actually shared that that is what they pretty much think
has come across our border in the last three years,

(48:53):
that when deportations start, this woman Julie Rogin.

Speaker 4 (48:58):
Skate says she will be one of the people to
place herself.

Speaker 3 (49:01):
In front of what she is calling almost a Tianeman
Square moment, and she's talking about how she believes that
under this new administration the military will open fire. I
got to tell you that is not helpful to the
narrative of what's going on. And the other point of
what she was saying is she's talking about this completely

(49:22):
in a lack of information.

Speaker 4 (49:24):
She acknowledged she did not know who was there.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
She's talking about the women in show and she sees
next to her that are in her neighborhood. I'm guessing,
but it's time that we keep directing people back to
the facts. We were at the border last year and
we were with John Fabricatory. He ran for the CD
six race. Hopefully he'll be doing work again with ICE

(49:48):
and with a border patrol. And when we went down there,
we heard firsthand from border patrol agents that the vast
majority of people they were seeing come across the border,
they call them the stands Afghanistan, Shizhika, Standhu's Bekistan, Pakistan,
Russia and China. So the reality of this history onics
is really, really you know, not helping the conversation. And

(50:09):
we have it right here in Denver. We have it
with Mike Johnson who literally basically said he was going
to put the police, the Denver police, to face down
any federal law enforcement that would be coming in there.
Now he's backed off. He backed off because even the
Denver Post renounced that. But the reality is, we want

(50:30):
to look at what is really happening here. And by
the way, the new the new incoming or the person
who's been basically suggested it's going to be appointed by
Donald Trump, Tom Homan, he will be the person that's
going to be the borders are. What's interesting about that
is Tom Homan has served in the border patrol under

(50:51):
I believe it's six presidents, and as a border czar.
While I'm not a fan of the word czar, having
been in the Soviet Union, the reality is that means
that he's not just going to be over the southern border.
He's going to be over the northern border. He's going
to be over aviation safety as well as he's going
to be over what's going on, you know, both also
in the ocean systems and our borders in that area.

Speaker 4 (51:14):
What I love about it.

Speaker 3 (51:15):
I have a feeling under Tom Homan, we will not
see a Chinese balloon floating across our northern area over
our sensitive missile bases in Montana. But what Tom Holman
said about people like Mayor Mike Johnson.

Speaker 4 (51:31):
He said, you cannot.

Speaker 3 (51:35):
Basically stand up against federal law enforcement and expect federal
money to come.

Speaker 4 (51:41):
To your city.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
Really, we're going to talk throughout the show a little bit.
Money really does drive so much.

Speaker 4 (51:47):
Of this, and it's time we realize that is one
of the ways to deal with this.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
This is one of the things that he is suggesting.
He's suggesting that states like Colorado, cities like Denver that
don't cooperate with federal law enforcement will lose their federal funding.
And I'm all for that because it's really become a challenge.
And you probably have seen this number. It has now
come out. The Common Sense Institute, based right here in Cholora,

(52:13):
has come out and said that Denver spent three hundred
and fifty six million dollars on illegal immigrants. The reality
is that is overwhelming the system, that is overwhelming the schools.
I heard stories of Denver teachers who are basically saying
that they couldn't even deal with the influx of so

(52:34):
many children coming in that don't speak English. And then
who's really hurting are the other students that are there.
The hospitals are getting overwhelmed, and three hundred and fifty
six million dollars that's on top of the homeless issue there.
So I want to hear from you, what do you
think about this situation? Do you think that cities like
Denver should be defunded on a federal level.

Speaker 4 (52:57):
I think it's one of the solutions.

Speaker 3 (52:58):
And by the way, the history is in twenty nineteen,
that is when Colorado became a sanctuary state. It's listed
that why be in many organizations, although Jared Poulis does
not like to use that term necessarily because that was
when the law was passed that state and local law
officials cannot coordinate with federal law officials. So not only

(53:21):
was Mike Johnson saying he wants to hold that, he
also wants to turn state and local law officials against
the federal law enforcement. That's not going to happen. That
should not happen. So that's kind of the situation there.
But when we hear things like that with CNNN and
we're going to talk about this as well.

Speaker 4 (53:38):
You know, go broke.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
The interesting thing about CNN and MSNBC is after the election,
with comments like that by Julie Rigginsky or on MSNBC
with Joy Reid, when you've got a mental health expert
saying cut your family members off if they voted for Trump,
or someone today saying that people, you know, Hunter Biden

(54:00):
would have faced a firing squad if you'd not been pardoned.
Perhaps that's why MSNBC and CNN have lost pretty much
about fifty percent of their market share. I think it
is a truism, go woke, go broke. It is not
a good business strategy. Well, we're going to go to
a break, but when we come back, I'm going to

(54:21):
be very excited to have our next guest join us.
Paula Scanlon. She was a teammate of Leah Thomas on
the swim team. She is standing up for protecting girls'
sports and safe spaces as well as women's sports. So
I think that that is going to be something interesting
because our very own CSU has played a part in this.

Speaker 4 (54:40):
You'll learn more about that when we come back.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
Don't go anywhere I'm Deborah Flora sitting in for Mandy
Connell on KOA. As I was sharing before the break,
I'm really honored and excited to have Paula Scanlon joining
me today.

Speaker 4 (54:53):
You may have heard Paula's name.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
She was in the news not because of anything other
than being a courageous young woman. She was on the
University of Pennsylvania swim team with Leah Thomas and is
one of the people that has been out there speaking
out boldly about protecting women's in girls' sports as well
as their safe spaces, and she's now working with the

(55:15):
Riley Games Center at the Leadership Institute. Paula, thank you
so much for joining me today.

Speaker 4 (55:20):
I so appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (55:22):
Thank you so much for having me on today. I
really disappreciate you taking the time to even just talk
about this story because there's so many people that I
don't want to touch it because it's too controversial.

Speaker 4 (55:34):
I don't find it controversial at all.

Speaker 3 (55:35):
And the good news is, I think in the court
of public opinion, people are understanding that this is just
common sense.

Speaker 4 (55:41):
You know, we've seen on the Olympics.

Speaker 3 (55:43):
We saw the boxing situation of how just basic biology
out man's literally women in this sport. But let's talk
about your background first, because I first wan want to
thank you for being courageous. It should not have had
to be such a courageous stance that you took. But
for those who don't know your story, you were on
the University penn team. Leah Thomas was your teammate. But

(56:06):
you've courageously shared that even prior to that, having been
the victim of sexual assault, that.

Speaker 4 (56:12):
This just exacerbated it.

Speaker 3 (56:14):
Can you tell us about that time and what led
you to finally speak out about the situation you were
put into.

Speaker 5 (56:22):
Yeah, so my backstory is I was on the University
of Pennsylvania swim team. We actually found out two years
before it happened that this is going to be a reality,
and I immediately tried to follow my friends on different
sports teams, my friends who weren't athletes, and every single
person told me, Paul of that songs crazy, that's never
going to happen. They'll step in and do the right thing.

(56:42):
The NCAA will change the rules, the Ivy League will
change the rules, The University of Pennsylvania will step in
and say no. But of course that did not happen,
and two years later it became a reality. He wasn't
just on our team. This key that I'm referring to
is going by Leah Thomas at this point, and he
was not upon our team practicing with us every single day.

(57:04):
He was in our locker room and had a locker
like everybody else. It was completely crazy. I mean one
of my teammates who was a good friend of mine,
she had the locker next to him, and she was like,
I am not changing next to a fully grown man
every single day, So she took herself out of her
locker and went into the single cell family bathroom in
the hallway and changed every single day for practice to

(57:29):
get away from him. I was really lucky because I
was on the opposite end of the locker room. The
best way to explain it is it shaped like an l.
I was at one end and he was at the other.
So I was able to just really stick my head
in my locker, wrap myself in a towel, cover myself up.
I mean, I stopped showering at the pool. I spent
you know, as little time as possible in that locker room.
It was incredibly uncomfortable. And this is not again something

(57:50):
we had to do once or twice. It was eighteen
times a week we were undressing in the locker room
with this fully ground fully intact mail. And of course
that's nothing even about the fairness and competition. He went
on and won an NCAA Championship in the five hundred
yard freestyle. Our team, you know, usually doesn't even produce
anyone qualifying for the NCAA Championship meet, let alone winning

(58:12):
an event. So he really took our program from again
never having anyone scored points to winning an event outright
made our program top twenty five in the country with
just a singular athlete on the team that was competing there.
So it really just it was it was really heartbreaking
for all the girls who had to compete against him,
but also on our team because every single time he

(58:33):
competed on behalf of us the University of Pennsylvania, someone
was asked to stay home swimming a limited roster score.
And so that's really what the issue is, not even
just about winning and trophies, it's the opportunity to compete altogether.
Was denied of a girl on my team every single
time he competed well.

Speaker 3 (58:50):
And the entire reason for Title nine was the understanding
of what the ability to compete on an even playing
field for girls and women what us for individuals.

Speaker 4 (59:02):
I mean that ability, that confidence.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
That what happens even if it's not for championship, just
the hours that are put in. So you've talked about it,
you know it is a loss of scholarships. We saw
that with Selena Soul and some of the track members
in Connecticut. It was I've spoken with Riley Gaines. She
actually I believe tied Leah Thomas and the race, but
they said, you understand, we have to give the trophy

(59:25):
to Leah Thomas instead.

Speaker 4 (59:28):
And then it is the physical nature.

Speaker 3 (59:30):
I spoke with a fourteen year old girl who in
Vermont was forced to shower next to an anatomical intact
biological mail until she stood up courageously and the school
told her she had to be the one to adjust
and finally got that overturned. Your situation brings it to
an even finer point. Hower, having been the victim of

(59:52):
sexual abuse.

Speaker 4 (59:53):
You've talked to him, wrote this really powerful op.

Speaker 3 (59:55):
Ed about how quickly the me too movement became completely
mute When we're in a world of you know, triggers
and microaggressions and all this, but here you were a
survivor of sexual abuse and you were being told you
had to undress and change next to a biological mail.

Speaker 4 (01:00:14):
Can you talk a little bit about that, the hypocrisy of.

Speaker 3 (01:00:17):
What has happened in the quote unquote feminist movement after
the Me Too push.

Speaker 5 (01:00:23):
Yeah, I mean, so I was an insulted as a teenager,
and actually I saw the hypocrisy of the Me Too
movement before this even happened. There were so many people
that were reposting things online about the Me Too movement.
But then in my personal life, Paul is a liar all.

Speaker 7 (01:00:38):
This stuff, so I dealt with it very instantaneously.

Speaker 5 (01:00:42):
And then I obviously watched the Kavanaugh hearings, happened not
too far after I was assaulted. It was only I think,
maybe two years after it had happened to me, and
I saw the hypocrisy and I said, I don't like
the feeling of this. So it was very interesting because
I already all this kind of all of these experiences
before Thomas even joined my team. And of course, you know,

(01:01:02):
I went on and I intentionally didn't really immediately reveal
having been assaulted when I first started publicly sharing because
I didn't think it was relevant. Then I realized, no,
we have to call them out for their hypocracy. In
after I revealed publicly that I was assaulted as a teenager.
I was sixteen when this happened, and it made it
really uncomfortable for me to be in a locker room
with a man because it really reminded me of my experiences.

(01:01:25):
And I know the dangers of having males in women's
faces and they're vulnerable. And again, you are very vulnerable
when you're changing it and out of a sunsuit because
these racing suits take twenty plus minutes to get on.
It's not a quick in and out changing. You're completely
exposed for a good period of time. And I shared this,
and the TRANSACTI this were so quick to say I'm lying,

(01:01:48):
I'm a liar. And it's so ironic because you go
and look at their pages and they have in their
bio hashtag believe all women are hashtags, and they're tweeting
out at me, calling me a liar, saying that I'm exaggerating,
saying that I've made this up, and calling me names,
and so again, I already knew it was a sham
movement and they're all full of crap, but it's very

(01:02:10):
much proved it publicly where they stood and that it
was never about protecting real women and helping to prevent
women from actually going through harmful situations. It's always about
a political narrative and only believing those that could advance
what they wanted politically.

Speaker 3 (01:02:26):
You know, it's interesting too because the same group that's saying,
you know, believe all women, they're saying believe the science,
et cetera.

Speaker 4 (01:02:32):
You know, and I've done a deep dive in it
is not as much as I'm sure you have.

Speaker 3 (01:02:35):
But the reality is, you know, in you to row,
if you have a Y chromosome outed to your ex
making you a male, you're a doubted with testosterone.

Speaker 4 (01:02:44):
By the age of four. They already see the differences in.

Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
Muscle density, bone density, fast twitch, muscle, cardiovascular ability.

Speaker 4 (01:02:51):
So it is a biological fact.

Speaker 3 (01:02:53):
What do you say out there to people who would say, oh, well,
this is this is necessary to allow transgender athletes and
women's sports, either because of inclusivity or they just plane
ignore the biology. What do you say to those folks?

Speaker 5 (01:03:08):
I mean, if there's just I honestly don't even know
what to say, because it's just so mind boggling that
there's this, this this reality that nobody knows. I mean,
I was talking. I'm sure you saw the Supreme Court
hearing happening.

Speaker 7 (01:03:19):
This month on gender firming care at the State of Tennessee.

Speaker 5 (01:03:22):
And you know, we have a city of Supreme Court
justice that says she doesn't know what a woman is
because she's not a biologist. I mean, what so if
you're telling me you need a biology degree to know
the difference between men and women, well, then how do
you know who's capable of getting pregnant? I mean, it's
like leads to all of these different things that again
we've known as a society for thousands of years. It's
how we all exist, every single person, our listeners listening

(01:03:46):
to our conversation, you and me right now, with the
pull created from.

Speaker 6 (01:03:49):
A man and a woman.

Speaker 5 (01:03:50):
I mean, I just I have no other explanation for
them if they can't see that, and it's just they've
really lost lost it. They've lost their minds, and it's
it's maddening that we magically forgotten what men are and
what women are when everyone's known for so many.

Speaker 8 (01:04:07):
So many money years.

Speaker 3 (01:04:08):
Yeah, and I think it really comes down to courage
because it's kind of like the Emperor's clothes. You know,
we all see, okay, the emperors naked, but who's brave
enough to actually say it? And you know, I'm seeing
tax about, you know, appreciation for your using the terminology
that we need to use.

Speaker 8 (01:04:23):
There.

Speaker 3 (01:04:23):
Men, there are women. You can identify and live your
life how you want to, but that doesn't change the
biology of this situation at all.

Speaker 4 (01:04:31):
Before we before we have to let you go and
head to the break.

Speaker 3 (01:04:34):
There's a great movement going on right now with through
the Rally Game Center of which you are an ambassador,
which is the boycott UH movement project Boycott boy Alla
isn't caps obviously playing on that that uh, you know,
gender terminology. And so there's a lot of amazing young
women and women in college who are standing up for this.

(01:04:56):
What can listeners do to support you and others who
are on their front lines of what really is kind
of the civil rights movement of our day.

Speaker 5 (01:05:05):
Absolutely, I mean there's so many ways to get involved. Obviously,
if you see something, say something, as they say, go
to the Riley Games Center, website Rileygancenter dot com and
if you have stories, submit them to us. But also
there's ways to donate. There's lawsuits going on right now
as well. I mean, there's so many different ways to
get involved. But again, it really is say something. And

(01:05:27):
even this just starts. You don't have to be at
a capacity to donate or anything like that, but just
start having these conversations. If you see it, don't be
afraid to say your opinion on it, because again, the
majority of Americans agree on this. People are just afraid
to say what they really believe. And so I think
it really starts with that. And so again, we are
here to support you, isn't that's the biggest thing. We
now have this center where we're able to support people

(01:05:49):
that are going through this. Why we've been able to
encourage these girls to boycott. We've given them the support
they need, the encouragement that they need, you know, just
just being there for them. And I think that that's
really what I did not have when I went through this. Yeah,
glad to be part of the group. Now, that's fair
to support these girls when they are going through something
as terrible as having to compete.

Speaker 3 (01:06:10):
Yeah, Okay, well paul we have to go to the break,
but thank you so much. Thank you for your courage,
thank you for being willing to do that. And I
think we're turning a corner where more common sense individuals
are not afraid anymore just to speak the truth, and
now is the time.

Speaker 4 (01:06:25):
Thank you so much for joining us, Paula. I really
appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (01:06:29):
Thank you so much for having me on today.

Speaker 3 (01:06:30):
You got it, you got it. Well, we're going to
head to a break. Don't go anywhere. We'll continue this conversation.
I'm going a lot of texts coming in about this topic.
I'm Deborah Flora, sitting in for Mandy Connell on KOA.
Great to be back in the saddle, so to speak.
It's been about a year since I have been in
this part of the chair, but have been in the
other chair in the studio.

Speaker 4 (01:06:49):
So great to be with you all.

Speaker 3 (01:06:51):
We just had an amazing guest. If you missed the
interviews that we've been having so far, I know it's
going to get posted.

Speaker 4 (01:06:57):
You can listen to it.

Speaker 3 (01:06:58):
We just had Paula Scanlin join us. She is a
courageous young woman. She was a teammate of Leah Thomas
at University of Pennsylvania. Her story is particularly poignant because
not only had she been a victim of sexual assault
when she was just sixteen years old, she saw the
Me Too movement kind of for what it was, and

(01:07:19):
then here she was forced to share a locker room
with a intact mail, as she said, and nobody rushed
her defense with any of the words that are so
commonplace today of triggers and microaggressions or any of that. Instead,
when she stood up courageously, she was absolutely excoriated in

(01:07:45):
the mainstream media. We'll call it. You know, I've had
Riley Gaines interviewed her before and spoken with her. She's's
gone to the point where she's had to hide or
be taken away as she was overrun by very aggressive protesters.
I mean, this is what these young women are standing
up and facing, and I think the only thing that
we are called to do. There's many things we can do,

(01:08:07):
but it's time for us just to reclaim basic vocabulary,
not allow those who are pushing this agenda, which is
anti science. Let's just call it what is. It is
anti science, it is anti woman, it is anti Title nine.
The reality is we need to be brave enough just
to use correct terminology. Getting a lot of texts from

(01:08:30):
great listeners about that. Let's not play into the word usage.
This is the United States of America. You are free
as an adult to live however you want to live,
to identify, to dress, to do anything you would like
to do in that way.

Speaker 4 (01:08:44):
You know that's your right.

Speaker 3 (01:08:46):
But when it comes to trying to redefine basic terminology,
it's time we push back against it. So a lot
of textures talking about that, refusing to use terms even
like biological male. They're just males. That's true. You have
an X Y chromosome. You are You cannot change your chromosomes.

(01:09:07):
That's a fact. You can live how you want, and
that is freedom. But the reality is we've got to
stand up against that.

Speaker 4 (01:09:14):
I shared a story earlier in the day, and I
gotta say as.

Speaker 3 (01:09:16):
A mom, as a mom who loves being a mom
who is told I might never be able to be
a mom who dealt with, you know, everything that comes
with puberty, and then dealing with infertility, and then dealing
with thirty one and a half hours of childbirth for
our first child, only four for our second. That was
God's blessing as a Balancing Act. The New York Times

(01:09:38):
has just referred to We know, they refer to people
like myself as birthing people. I am not a birthing person.
I am a mom and I am proud of that terminology.
They actually just had an article where they called women
actual xx chromosome women, non trans women. So now now

(01:10:00):
they are trying to define women by this other group
that do not have those chromosomes. You know, we see
it completely. And where we can win this and the
cultural conversation is in the area of sports. Everybody understands
it's just fundamentally unfair, it's fundamentally unsafe, and it is

(01:10:24):
taking the privacy away save spaces for women and girls.
It's not just in sports. By the way, there are
women's shelters where women have been asked who are battered?

Speaker 4 (01:10:34):
Are there for that reason?

Speaker 3 (01:10:35):
To share a bed next to a male. That's not right,
it's crazy. It's time to say the emperor has no clothes.
And as long as every single one of us is
able to speak up, and it's not a hateful thing
to say that biology is not bigotry. I love that line,
and that is actually true. So we can be the
ones to turn that narrative around because we can't stand

(01:10:58):
for the era of timeline as it's meant to be. Well,
we're head into a break, but when we come back,
don't go anywhere. I'm gonna have rich Socle joining us.
He's a great American. He is also a pro Israel activist,
and we're going to get the real update on what's
going on in Israel, how things may change after this election.
So don't go anywhere. I'm Deborah Flora sitting in for

(01:11:18):
Mandy Connell on KOA.

Speaker 1 (01:11:21):
The Mandy Connell Show is sponsored by Belle and Pollock
Accident and injury Lawyers.

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
No, it's Mandy Connell and Connall on KOA.

Speaker 1 (01:11:34):
Ninety one.

Speaker 5 (01:11:36):
Got ken the Icy through three by Connell.

Speaker 6 (01:11:45):
Really sad bab.

Speaker 3 (01:11:48):
Welcome to the Bandy Connell Show. This is Deborah Flora
sitting in for Mandy. So glad to be with you
all today. Boy, it goes quick A Rod and I
were just talking about that. It's amazing that we're in
our third hour, and it's just because we've been jam
packed with great guests, great texts coming in. Be sure
to text at five, six, six nine zero.

Speaker 4 (01:12:08):
Been reading them over the break.

Speaker 3 (01:12:10):
But I want to get right to our guest today
because we want to make sure we hit on some
of these big topics. And I've Rich Socled joining the
show today. He is a friend, He is a pro
Israel activist. He is a great American patriot. He is
both on the South Metro District Board as a treasurer,
he has been the Rapahoe County goopeach hair and he

(01:12:32):
is joining us on the Common Spirit Health hotline.

Speaker 4 (01:12:36):
Rich, thanks so much for joining us today. I appreciate it.

Speaker 8 (01:12:39):
It's a pleasure to be with you. And you know,
I always laugh every time I hear the many songs.
We're going to have to get a song for you too.

Speaker 3 (01:12:46):
Well, I know I was kind of jazzing with I'm like, oh,
I want my own jingle, but hey, I love it.

Speaker 4 (01:12:50):
Happy to be here for my friend Mandy. It's awesome.

Speaker 3 (01:12:53):
Well, you know, Rich, you and I have been talking
over the years, and especially much more frequently since October,
and it's it's hard to believe that that has now
been four hundred and twenty four days ago. And just
everybody keeps in mind because we can never forget and
never let it happen again. That was the day that
Hamas killed twelve hundred innocent civilians in a violent manner,

(01:13:17):
including over forty Americans.

Speaker 4 (01:13:19):
You know, I've seen the.

Speaker 3 (01:13:20):
Unedited Hamas body cam footage.

Speaker 4 (01:13:22):
There is no other way to describe this other than barbaric.

Speaker 3 (01:13:25):
And we can't forget, but rich a lot's happened in
those four hundred and twenty four days. Since then, Lebanon, Hesbelah,
and Iran even have entered the war.

Speaker 4 (01:13:35):
We had the headline last week that there was a
peace deal between.

Speaker 3 (01:13:38):
Hesbela and Israel, which Hasbelah not surprisingly immediately broke. Can
you get us up to speed on what this situation
is in Israel right now?

Speaker 8 (01:13:48):
Sure? Thanks for asking. Yeah, I would say militarily, the
war's going very very well for Israel. You know, we'll
start with Gaza and Hamas, the terrorist leaders of Gaza. So,
since last time we talked, the head of Hamas, Yahua
sin War, was assassinated by Israel. So a great day

(01:14:09):
for Israel, a great day for America, a great day
for mankind when that happened. So Hamas has really been
decimated in Gaza, so their command and control structure has
been broken, a majority of their fighters have been killed,
so they still exist in pockets, and they still have
their tunnels which they hide in. And when they looted
all the eight trucks that bring food and water to

(01:14:32):
the people of Gaza, Hamas steals most of it. And
you know, they're not hurting for food or water. They
don't give the damn about the people above ground. But
the good news is the war is clearly winding down
in Gaza and Hamas, at least militarily has been defeated.
So there are still active terrorists, there are still Israeli

(01:14:52):
is dying, and we still don't know what will be
the future for that scrip of territory. Yeah, in the
north of Israel. The good news is hes Blah, very
similar to Hamas and Gaza, has been you know, taking
severe blows. The leader of Hezbollah Usralla, was eliminated by Israel,

(01:15:15):
all the top leadership of Hezbolah again another terrorist organization.
And I'll remind your listeners, Hesbala was responsible for the
bombing of the US marine barracks in nineteen eighty two,
killing several hundred US Marines. So these are not good
guys either, right right, But they've been decimated. I'm sure,

(01:15:36):
A lot of your listeners remember the pager operation that
is all carried out.

Speaker 3 (01:15:40):
Now, that was something, by the way, straight out of
mission impossible. I mean, it's I just the idef is amazing.

Speaker 8 (01:15:48):
We prefer the term bad ass, but I know you
will use that.

Speaker 4 (01:15:51):
There you go, you go for it, rich I agree.

Speaker 8 (01:15:56):
So the situation with hes Blaw is now much much better.
And remember has Belah is a very very significant fighting force.
Their army, that has Bela army is much bigger, much stronger,
much more lethal than the Lebanese army, the State of
Lebanon's army, and they would be equivalent to a medium
sized European country's army. Right, So the fact that they're

(01:16:20):
on their heels is great. As Bla, you know, entered
the war on October eighth, twenty twenty three, the day
after the Hamas massacre of Israelis, and has Blah said,
we will never have a cease fire until the fighting
in Gaza stops. Well, the fighting in Gaza hasn't stopped.
That has Blood decided it's time for them to stop
fighting because they can't take much more. Right, So that's

(01:16:44):
good because it makes Hamas isolated and we hope now
that conditions are right for the deal to get the
hostages home.

Speaker 4 (01:16:51):
Yeah, and you you delineated very well.

Speaker 3 (01:16:54):
There's the military battlefield, which you know, obviously Israel is
doing amazingly in the technology and the Iron Dome and
all of that, even stopping you know, Iran's assaults. And Iran,
by the way, obviously is behind all the terrorist finding
forces as well.

Speaker 4 (01:17:09):
We have to be really clear about that.

Speaker 3 (01:17:11):
But there are other battlefields as well, and one of
the biggest ones that listeners can help with is the
bautefield of public opinion. One of the things that just
happened that is outrageous, by the way, is the UN's
International Criminal Court. And by the way, the UN is
the same entity that put Iran on the Women's Rights Counsel,
so we understand what kind of.

Speaker 4 (01:17:32):
Lack of clarity there is there.

Speaker 3 (01:17:34):
But they actually issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyaho
in the same exact edict that they also issued an
arrest warrant for the presumed dead Hamas leader Almasri. And
what's outrageous about that is they had some kind of
moral equivalency that there is some similarity between the atrocities

(01:17:55):
that were perpetrated by Hamas and Israel defending themselves.

Speaker 4 (01:17:59):
Can you just share with our listeners so they can.

Speaker 3 (01:18:01):
Help in the court of public opinion how much Israel
has actually gone out of the way to protect civilians
and where the real attacked and the war crimes are
really occurring.

Speaker 8 (01:18:12):
Sure, thanksteps. So yeah, Remember, the International Criminal Court is
supposed to step in and issue rulings when there's no
functioning judiciary, no functioning legal system in the country where
the crime committed. So, for example, the United States is
not a member of the International Criminal Court or ic C.

(01:18:33):
It is correct, is not a member of the icc
because Israel has a fully functioning justice system. In fact,
one of Israel's past prime ministers and one of Israel's
past presidents served jail time for various mysteries. So it's
impossible to say that Israel doesn't have a well functioning judiciary.
But the hypocrisy of the ruling is just unbelievable. I

(01:18:57):
know your last interviewer are from Parent talked about how
people have lost their minds. Well, in the court of
public opinion, all I could say is people have lost
their minds and the narrative has set in that Israel's
committing genocide and their starvation. First of all, none of
it is true in the slightest. But to your question, Dab,

(01:19:18):
I will say that Israel goes to great, great lens
to try and minimize civilian losses and back to the
point where they put Israeli soldiers at risk the risk
of harm, so it's not the hurt civilians. For example,
when Israel's about to bomb tourist infrastructure, whether it be
a building or whatever it is, Israel generally makes calls,

(01:19:38):
sends tax even drops leaflets in the area warning civilians
to get out. They publish in advance which areas they're
going to be operating in so civilians can get out.
Tell me one other army that does anything like this, and.

Speaker 3 (01:19:54):
That's only done for humanitarian purposes, not for military purposes.
And we unfortuately have a really short time today, Rich,
but I wanted to bring up one other situation, which
is and I'm going to share some of the things
you and I've discussed about the hostages, etc.

Speaker 4 (01:20:11):
After the break, But well, just talking.

Speaker 3 (01:20:14):
To the people listening right now, we've seen the anti
semitism in college campuses.

Speaker 4 (01:20:17):
We've seen all of that. I think it's beginning to turn.

Speaker 3 (01:20:20):
Those who stopped the Macy's Day parade with pro Hamas
protests got booed by everybody.

Speaker 4 (01:20:26):
If you were to speak to.

Speaker 3 (01:20:28):
The listeners right now about what they can do to
make sure the anti Semitism and this war is won
in the court of public opinion. What can everyone do?

Speaker 8 (01:20:37):
So the most important thing people can do is talk
to your neighbors, Engage your neighbors. Don't stand silent, don't
stand idly by while these anti Semitic acts take place.
And you mentioned the macy State parade, but let's bring
it home to here in Denver. Two weekends ago in
Cherry Creek there was a pro Palestinian march with some
of the pro Palestinian protests. There's Americans screaming zion this

(01:21:00):
get off our streets. Just a couple of days ago,
I was downtown. There was a utility box. On the
utility box was written free Palestine and Vionism is a
death cult. Wow, that's here in town.

Speaker 3 (01:21:16):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (01:21:17):
Well, we have we have to make our voices here
and heard here, and I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (01:21:21):
Unfortunately, we're heading to a break, rich definitely going to
have you back on when I'm in this chair again
so we can continue this conversation. And thank you so much.
I know you lived there, I know you have family
in Israel. I know your daughter was there during October seven.
So thank you so much for helping us be aware
so we can continue to stand along side Israel and
all of our Jewish friends and neighbors. So thank you

(01:21:44):
so much for joining us, rich Bet.

Speaker 8 (01:21:46):
Thank you so much, and thank you for being a
voice of reason and a voice for good in the world.

Speaker 3 (01:21:51):
You got it. It's a pleasure to stand alongside you,
my friend. Well, we are heading to a break. When
we come back, we're going to continue to talk about this.
The text line is five six six nine zero. I'm
going to share an update on the hostages four one
hundred and twenty four days later, So don't go anywhere.
I'm Deborah Flora sitting in for Mandy Connell on KOA.
Deborah Flora sitting in for Mandy Connell. Is fun to

(01:22:11):
hear Peyton Manning's voice. We were talking earlier about would
you cut off family members because of political views? One
collar or texture, I should say, said Deborah. No, way
I would ever consider cutting a family member off of
our political views being a Raiders fan. Maybe wow, love
that I grew up with the I'm going to date

(01:22:32):
myself here at the Orange Crush. So yes, I do understand.
I still think though, that goodwill can overcome different football affiliations. Well,
if you missed our last segment, we had a very
powerful interview.

Speaker 4 (01:22:47):
With Rich Sokel, who is a pro Israel activist.

Speaker 3 (01:22:50):
He lived in Israel, also a very proud American, as
many Israeli Americans are, and one of the things we
did not have time to get to that I want
to bring everyone attention to is I just can't imagine.
You know, here we are the holiday season, we miss
those who.

Speaker 4 (01:23:06):
Are not with us.

Speaker 3 (01:23:08):
It's great to pause and take a moment to realize
that on October seventh, Hamas took over two hundred and
fifty hostages, including seven Americans.

Speaker 4 (01:23:20):
There are families.

Speaker 3 (01:23:21):
There are parents who have been wondering, pining, longing, just
grieving over their loved ones who are being held by
a barbaric terrorist force for four hundred and twenty four days.
Think about that.

Speaker 4 (01:23:38):
I remember speaking with one Israeli mom.

Speaker 3 (01:23:40):
Who said she actually wishes that her daughter had instead
been one of those that was murdered at the music
festival innocently there, because you'd rather have that than her
to be in the hands of Hamas for four hundred
and twenty four days. But let's bring this home for
a moment. Because of those hostages, seven that they that
were taken were Americans. Right now, the status is they

(01:24:04):
believe they're ninety seven still in Hamas in the you know,
in the Gaza strip being held by Hamas.

Speaker 4 (01:24:11):
Israel believes thirty five.

Speaker 3 (01:24:13):
Of those are dead, including three Americans. They're actually holding
the body's hostage. If you want to see war crimes,
we need look no further than that. But it recently
got even more in the headlines. And we cannot forget
because just two weeks ago Hamas released a propaganda video
of a twenty year old young man, an American from

(01:24:34):
New York, and you know the whole say his name.
We have to remember who these people are, Eden Alexander
from New York, twenty years old. They had him on
video begging, begging Donald Trump to get his release. Now,
I got to pause for a moment. This hits me
right in my heart. First of all because, as I shared,

(01:24:55):
I've seen the hamas unedited bodycam footage, which is horrific.
Talk about dehumanizing the fact that these people were able
to do what they did. They have been indoctrinated, brainwashed
and become barbaric. And I look at it from being
the position of a mom of a twenty year old
and a nineteen year old. Our son is nineteen years old.

(01:25:15):
I cannot imagine what these families are going through. But
I have to say I also, as an American, consider
it to be outrageous that seven Americans were hostages for
four hundred and twenty four days and we've had a
tepid response. I grew up in the military, and the
mantra in the military and my husband's an eight second
airborne veteran, was you leave no one behind. That's why

(01:25:39):
is behead into the break. I like ending with what
Donald Trump's response was, which was an unequivocal if you
do not release those hostages by the time he takes
office January twentieth, there will be ross said it earlier,
so I can state it as well, there will be
hell to pay. That's the position that American needs to
be in. But just as we're heading in the holidays.

(01:26:01):
Hanukkah especially, be praying for the families and the hostages
because we cannot forget well, don't go anywhere. We've got
a quick break coming up, and then we're gonna wind
up the show. So here's where I'm gonna throw it
down the gauntlet. We're gonna talk about holiday movies and
I'm just gonna kick it off. I do not believe
that Diehard is a Christmas movie. If you disagree, thank you.
A rod agrees with me, I want to hear from

(01:26:22):
you at five six six nine is that we're gonna
end it up in a fun way. Don't go anywhere.
I'm Deborah Flora, sitting in for Mandy Connell on KOA.
It has gone quickly. So enjoyed reading some of the
texts that are coming in. Although you know, on this
next topic, I'm gonna have to you know, I've got
a bone to pick with some of them because we
have rounded Thanksgiving. My family's tradition is we do not

(01:26:45):
do anything Christmas y until the day after. I kind
of avert my eyes when I go into one of
the stores and they're already decorating for Christmas, right after Halloween,
as though there is nothing in between. There to me,
Thanksgiving sets this stage to be thankful before you get
into the Christmas season, so we wait. But Thanksgiving night
it is on. We begin Christmas movies.

Speaker 6 (01:27:08):
And Thanksgiving night.

Speaker 4 (01:27:10):
Yes, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (01:27:11):
Is that too soon?

Speaker 6 (01:27:12):
Way too soon?

Speaker 3 (01:27:13):
Wow, a run I been married twenty four years, We've
had our traditions. Did not know you were born on
that day, so therefore did not consult with you.

Speaker 4 (01:27:22):
I'll be your expert position on that.

Speaker 3 (01:27:24):
However, I would have said the day after thanks even
cannot wait till December first, we decorate the day after Thanksgiving.

Speaker 6 (01:27:29):
Not happy with the day after thanks but you have
haggled your way to success. I will allow it.

Speaker 3 (01:27:34):
Okay, okay, I appreciate that you know, but we do
thanks Giving respect.

Speaker 7 (01:27:38):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:27:38):
I appreciate that I did not feel hostile.

Speaker 3 (01:27:40):
I do not feel like you were dehumanizing me because
of that disagreement, which is something we've been talking about
not to do to one another.

Speaker 4 (01:27:47):
But the reality is we.

Speaker 3 (01:27:49):
Do start it. But it did kick off a topic
which I think usually is one of the most hated
Christmas topics I talked to people about, which is this
question is die Hard a Christmas movie? Thank you, thank you.
It has been settled. I'm sorry for all the textures
who disagree.

Speaker 4 (01:28:08):
We've settled it here and now. Okay, I do have
to read some of.

Speaker 3 (01:28:10):
The text because these are the discussions I hear.

Speaker 4 (01:28:13):
And by the way, I live in a divided family.

Speaker 3 (01:28:15):
I'm not talking Republican Democrat. I'm talking Diehard Christmas movie.
Diehard not Christmas movie. Our daughter and myself do not
think it's a Christmas movie. Our son and my husband do.

Speaker 6 (01:28:27):
So there we go.

Speaker 3 (01:28:28):
But we managed to get along anyway. But here are
some of the comments. First one that came in I
agree with said not, and I say all caps not
a Christmas movie. And then another person said you cannot
believe Home Alone is a Christmas movie while at the
same time believing Diehard is not.

Speaker 4 (01:28:44):
Okay, here's where I beg to differ.

Speaker 3 (01:28:46):
We have to classify what defines a Christmas movie, right,
can just be a scene with Garland in the background.
My argument about that is, if that's the case, then
the Twilight movie where she's MOPy over Christmas would be
a Christmas movie, and it's not. It's a teen inks
romance movie. So it has to be more than just
it takes place at Christmas. If you were to lift

(01:29:07):
Christmas out of the movie, would it still exist?

Speaker 6 (01:29:12):
Now, that argument right there is the one of the best,
not the best, because I'm gonna give you the best reason,
okay in a second, but one of the best of
if you eliminate Christmas, is it still a good movie?
And another and solidly in another category? Yeah, which action movie?
Clearly die Hard.

Speaker 3 (01:29:29):
And I argue he could have been going to see
his wife and the Skyskate scraper because it was their
anniversary and it was just a business party. So there
you go with you remove it, he still is saying,
y yepikaya.

Speaker 5 (01:29:43):
You know what.

Speaker 6 (01:29:44):
One of the other arguments I saw was just because
they mentioned Christmas, I think was I think the numbers
like eighteen times in the movie. Just because you mentioned
something in a movie most of the times doesn't mean
that it's that kind of movie. Any movie, if they
say a certain thing a certain amount of times, it
becomes that kind of movie. There you go.

Speaker 3 (01:30:01):
Well, another example proving our point, listener just texted, so
is the first lethal weapon a Christmas movie? No, there
is a Christmas scene where he's pretty darn morose and
looking to you know, end his suffering. That did not
make it a Christmas movie, because that comes to my
second category Number one. Can you lift Christmas out and

(01:30:21):
it still exists? I think that's the case for Lethal Weapon,
certainly for Twilight and also for die Hard, and does
it have kind of a Christmas field to it. I
would argue that Christmas scene in Lethal Weapon one does
not have the spirit of the season.

Speaker 4 (01:30:36):
So there we go.

Speaker 3 (01:30:37):
But we do have others who argue. One person said,
let me see their argument was if die Hard is
a Christmas movie, then so is the Princess Bride.

Speaker 4 (01:30:48):
Not getting that correlation.

Speaker 3 (01:30:50):
But I think that they're arguing with us a rod,
I think they're on the right side.

Speaker 6 (01:30:56):
If I may before a text or beats me to it,
because I want to make sure I take credit for
this first. Is the number one reason why I say
Diehard is not a Christmas movie. Bruce Willis himself once
said that it is not okay Brustmas movie.

Speaker 3 (01:31:10):
Mike Drop, I think that is pretty much set up it.

Speaker 6 (01:31:13):
I will say, though, in the argument of actor versus
those who put the movie together aka the director. If
I remember correctly. I think this article says it. I
think the director says, not necessarily that it is, but
that it has what's the quote. He says that there's
intentional joy baked into the movie, that it captures a

(01:31:34):
sliver of the spirit of Christmas. So read what you
into that. But for me, the actor who stars in it,
I'm going with the guy that stars in it saying
not a Christmas movie. He says, it's a Bruce Willis movie.

Speaker 4 (01:31:46):
Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 3 (01:31:47):
Well, okay, So, by the way, my husband is arguing
with me by text already said yes it's on.

Speaker 4 (01:31:52):
We're having this conversation again this year.

Speaker 3 (01:31:55):
And in fact, are you know the male members of
our family wanted to watch Heart on Thanksgiving? Which would
it fit your category because it isn't a Christmas serie?

Speaker 4 (01:32:05):
Oh there you go. Well, here's the other question.

Speaker 3 (01:32:07):
I have for listeners because I know this, this this
argument is so substantive to our very fabric of our culture.
It will not be decided here and now. But a rod,
what is your favorite Christmas movie? And I want to
hear from listeners what is your favorite Christmas movie? By
the way, someone just asks Deborah Flora sitting in for
Mandy Connell. Thanks for tuning in and if you missed

(01:32:27):
the rest of the program it will be posted. Had
some great interviews, but a rod, what's your favorite Christmas movie?

Speaker 6 (01:32:34):
I pretty much have a tie for for first place
between two one four, kind of nostalgia growing up with
my family, a year without a Santa Claus, that that
kind of that that style of movie, say, heat Miser,
cold Miser, you know, trying to help out stand and whatnot.
And then I gotta go with with Elf. Oh great, well,

(01:32:55):
Helf is up there. Honorable mention though for specifically Jim
Carrey's Grinch. Oh that's so good.

Speaker 4 (01:33:01):
Yeah, his Grinch is amazing.

Speaker 3 (01:33:03):
We actually quote that, you know, one person's toxic waste
is another person's pot pride. There's a lot of great
I love that one.

Speaker 6 (01:33:10):
Or if you're getting dressed and you can't figure out
what to wear at the end of he goes that's it.
I'm not going that's going to.

Speaker 3 (01:33:15):
Be the excuse of many people, by the way, for
this holiday season. Hey, I have to say that one
of the quotes I have to I have to repeat
here from a texture is Diehard is as much a
Christmas movie as Biden was a good president. Wow, way
to marry culture and politics in one statement. Okay, so

(01:33:38):
there we go. We have definitively proven, whether you agree
or not, that Diehard is not a Christmas movie. I
will say some of my favorite Christmas movies are. You know,
we always save It's a Wonderful Life for Christmas Eve
because it still holds up.

Speaker 4 (01:33:52):
It is still so good.

Speaker 3 (01:33:54):
Elf is what I would consider to be a new classic.
Give it to Jean Favreau and a way that Will
Ferrell played that character. It was one of those that
was absolutely a throwback to innocent yet joyful. Oh somebody
likes Bad Santa. Now Bad sand is kind of like
an the lethal weapon, you know, feel of a Christmas thing.

Speaker 6 (01:34:14):
It's got Santa in the title.

Speaker 2 (01:34:17):
Yes you know.

Speaker 6 (01:34:18):
And then you want to talk about titles, mean die
Hard just a title die Hard.

Speaker 3 (01:34:23):
Thank you to the texture who just made the correlation
between Princess Bride and Christmas, because I had not gotten that.
They said, Princess Bride is the book being read to
the kid on Christmas. But I love it because that's
why this texture said that Princess Bride is as much
a Christmas movie as die Hard, and neither one of.

Speaker 6 (01:34:43):
Them are the other thing here too. It's a perfect
mention of this. My other big reason right behind Bruce
Willis saying it's not. Yes, this is kind of something
that's really hard to judge, and I'm gonna I'm gonna
admit that before I say it. It's just a feel thing. Yeah,
you feel whether a movie is a Christmas movie or not.
You just when someone asked you ban your initial feeling.
And to me, Diehard eight.

Speaker 3 (01:35:04):
Well, the Diehard director who said that he wove joy
into it. The joy in that movie is the killing
of terrorists and bad guys. It's not exactly a Christmas
kind of joy. Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 4 (01:35:15):
Just heard from another another.

Speaker 3 (01:35:18):
Texture and this is a great point once again, definitive
got you've got Bruce Willis saying it wasn't.

Speaker 4 (01:35:23):
Also, Die Hard was released on July fifteen.

Speaker 6 (01:35:26):
Yeah, our boss, Ta Tepper and I never agree on
almost anything when it comes to pop culture, and here
we are agreeing on one of the biggest arguments in
the United States. Love it die Hard not a Christmas movie?

Speaker 4 (01:35:37):
There you go, there you go.

Speaker 8 (01:35:38):
Hey.

Speaker 3 (01:35:38):
I have to say a couple other shout outs, and
one of the Christmas movies I want to share isn't
really a Christmas movie, but it leads into the final
thing I want to talk about. Definitely love.

Speaker 4 (01:35:47):
As I said, it's a wonderful life.

Speaker 3 (01:35:49):
We always have to watch Christmas Story because it's such
a throwback. I also think that's something that my husband's
son get more into because it's truly a boy's story
of you know, what he wanted for Christmas. There's so
many good ones. Another new favorite that we actually like
is Kurt Russell in Santa Chronicles. We call him Salty
Santa because he always talks about how he's more trim.

(01:36:10):
He doesn't actually say ho ho ho. It's a fun
one to check out. But here's a movie I want
to kind of wind the entire show up with. We
started out by talking about Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving is something
that you know, we really came together because it was
declared a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln right after the

(01:36:34):
trauma of the Gettysburg win.

Speaker 4 (01:36:36):
It was brutal and bring people together.

Speaker 3 (01:36:38):
There's a movie that I love that is a hidden gem,
but it has Christmas in it, but actually has every
holiday at it, and I want to bring it home
to something that I want to talk about here at
the very end, and that movie is Rise of the Guardians.

Speaker 4 (01:36:50):
Now I always tell.

Speaker 3 (01:36:51):
People, don't read the book. The book it's a little weird. Sorry,
if you love the book, it's a little weird. But
the movie is amazing. It's an anime movie. And the
reason why I say it's not exactly a Christmas movie.

Speaker 4 (01:37:03):
You have all of the mythical characters.

Speaker 3 (01:37:05):
You have Santa Claus in the form of Nicholas Saint
North and really, you know, just a wonderful character. He's
a big Russian guy.

Speaker 4 (01:37:13):
You have tooth Fairy that represents memories.

Speaker 3 (01:37:16):
Nicholas Saint North represents wonder Sandman represents dreams. The Easter
Money and it actually ends closer to Easter represents hope,
and Jack Frost represents fun. Now, the reason why I
like this movie is and pick you can watch it.

Speaker 4 (01:37:32):
At Christmas time, you can watch it at Easter, you
can watch it.

Speaker 3 (01:37:36):
You know, there's no Tooth Fairy Holiday, but you can
watch it whenever you want to, because it kind of
goes all across that.

Speaker 4 (01:37:42):
But here's why.

Speaker 3 (01:37:44):
It is an important movie that I hope everybody watches
at some point in time. I had the privilege recently
to meet the speaker at an event that was a
school choice event, and it was for a great school
that really is about allowing kids to be kids. It's
one of the things that this holiday season I love
so much is seeing the wonder in kid's eyes. What

(01:38:06):
is Rise of the Guardian actually about. It is about
a scenario where Pitch, who is the Boogeyman, has made.

Speaker 4 (01:38:16):
His entrance back to this worland.

Speaker 3 (01:38:17):
Slowly but surely, he is stamping out the lights of
innocence of children all over the world. And instead of dreams,
the children are having nightmares instead of wonder, They're having
dread instead of hope.

Speaker 4 (01:38:33):
They're feeling defeated.

Speaker 3 (01:38:35):
And it is a scene where the call is to
the Guardians to arise to protect that which is essentially childhood.
I bring this up because it's perfect timing. I'm happy
to be sitting here in this seat, and it worked
out perfectly. I was also asked to speak at the
rally in front of the Supreme Court steps that is

(01:38:56):
happening today. I've led two different allies in front of
the Supreme Court steps when a particular case has been heard,
usually asked by Alliance defending freedom to do that.

Speaker 4 (01:39:08):
The case that is happening today is the.

Speaker 3 (01:39:10):
Case that is hearing whether or not the Tennessee law
that has prohibited permanent gender transitioning treatments hormone surgeries from
young people. Here's the thing about the world that we
put our kids in today. We have to rise up

(01:39:30):
as the guardians to protect childhood. Again.

Speaker 4 (01:39:35):
For those children that.

Speaker 3 (01:39:36):
Actually have gender DYSPHORYA, it's a small number. Now it
has just exponentially skyrocket is that this is being introduced
to children as young as kindergarten. But children who actually
had gender dyspoy it, they deserve all of our help
and our support. But this is being introduced at such
a young age, and we wonder why there is, you know,
a situation of mental health with issues with kids. They're

(01:39:58):
being asked to think about sayings that instead of thinking,
you know, I get to decide if I'm a boy
or girl, they get to decide, Hey, today, I'm a pirate,
tomorrow I'm spider Man, the next day, I'm a puppy.
You know, all of those things in their world of imagination.
And by the way, somebody just texted me, believe it
or not so. To my horror, on the Supreme Court
just compared permanent gender transitioning treatments to aspirin. It is

(01:40:25):
like giving a child aspirint. That's there's no comparison.

Speaker 4 (01:40:30):
That is so absurd.

Speaker 3 (01:40:31):
The gender surgeries and hormones are often irreversible. But here's
the point that I want to leave us with the
idea rise of the guardians. The wonder of this holiday
season is really the wonder of childhood. And we get
to be the ones to say, you know what, hands off,
it's time to protect childhood. It's time to be a guardian.

(01:40:54):
It's time to say, let's get back to children just
being children, being able to learn, how to read and
use their imaginations and sense of wonder. And I believe
that we can do it. That's one of the things
that I want to share some good news with you.
By the way, still.

Speaker 4 (01:41:12):
Getting great, great comments. Love actually.

Speaker 3 (01:41:17):
The Santa Claus with Tim Allen, love that one Family
Man top three Christmas movie. Just we'll continue this list.
It will continue to go on and on. Not getting
a lot to push back now on our definitive answer
that Diehard is not a Christmas movie. But as we
head into this holiday season and we think about the
sense of wonder and being a guardian protecting childhood, we

(01:41:40):
can do it. We talked with Paula Scanlon about protecting
safe spaces for girls in sports. We've talked about not
being afraid to speak up and really push back on
these agendas. And I want to tell you one of
the things that I have done for years now is
worked on the area of parental rights and educational fam
and I want to share some good news you.

Speaker 4 (01:42:00):
There's not enough good news out there.

Speaker 3 (01:42:03):
The good news is we are seeing a revolutionary tectonic
shift happening in the area of educational freedom.

Speaker 4 (01:42:13):
You know, get ready to see what's going to happen.

Speaker 3 (01:42:15):
In January.

Speaker 4 (01:42:16):
There's going to be a federal school choice.

Speaker 3 (01:42:19):
Bill in the form of a national tax credit that
doesn't even need to make it past the filibuster because
it'll be in the reconciliation bill that's coming. There ISA
education savings accounts programs happening all across the country. There
are scholarship organizations like a Scholarships. I'm on the board,
honored to be a part of that group that have

(01:42:39):
given no out over three hundred million dollars worth of
scholarships transforming children's lives. This is a great time to
rise up and to be one of the guardians, one
of the guardians of parental rights, one of the guardians
of educational freedom, one of the guardians of of childhood innocence.

Speaker 4 (01:43:02):
This is our time.

Speaker 3 (01:43:03):
Earlier in the show, I shared about being far beyond
the Wall in East Germany where a teacher said to
me that he's not allowed to teach because he was
in a communist system. I was there as a president
scholar and was able to go over there. It's time
to allow teachers to get back to teaching. It's time
to begin to stir curiosity and imagination once again.

Speaker 4 (01:43:25):
But there's some exciting things happening in this field.

Speaker 1 (01:43:29):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:43:29):
I think a thread of all of our guests today,
you know, particularly Rich Socle, talking about winning this battle
against anti Semitism in the public square. All it takes
is our courage and our voice. Paula Scanlan, who we
had who was a teammate of Thomas in University of Pennsylvania,
she was courageous to speak up. We just have to

(01:43:51):
be willing to do that, and we can be the
ones to turn this around. We can be the ones
to push back the narrative. I'm gonna share with one
last story before we head to this break, because this
has gone so quickly.

Speaker 4 (01:44:05):
I talked about it earlier.

Speaker 3 (01:44:07):
There's a childhood story for Time about movies and stories
and Christmas movies all that.

Speaker 4 (01:44:12):
It's the story of the Emperor's.

Speaker 3 (01:44:15):
Close and an entire culture had felt bullied into not
speaking what they knew to be true, which was the
Emperor was walking down the street without any clothes on.
Everybody had either been bullied into or bombed to the
narrative that they had to go along with the ruse.
But who was the one who spoke of a child

(01:44:37):
who didn't know they weren't supposed to speak the truth
and they just spoke up and said.

Speaker 4 (01:44:41):
I'm sorry, the Emperor has no clothes.

Speaker 3 (01:44:44):
Time for is to reclaim our language and our dialogue,
and to stand up for those who are on the
front end the cutting edge of being courageous, people like
Paula Scanlan and Riley Gaines, people who we were standing
up for the innocence of children, people who are pushing
back on the anti semitism on college campuses. We can

(01:45:06):
be the ones to do that. So that's kind of
my parting word for today. I hope we all find
that moment to do it. And by the way, this
holiday season, as we go out and about, we can
be the ones to brighten things up just a little bit,
whether you take a pie to a firehouse, whether you
buy a cup of coffee for a police officer, whether
you shovel your neighbor's yard, even if they had a

(01:45:27):
different yard signed and from the yard election season, that's
something that each and every one of us can do.
So with that, so glad to be with you today,
Grateful for all the wonderful input and like I said,
grateful that together we did solve the age old mystery.

Speaker 4 (01:45:43):
Diehard is not a Christmas movie.

Speaker 3 (01:45:45):
That's my final worst today, maybe not profound, but thank
you so much for joining me in this conversation.

Speaker 4 (01:45:51):
I greatly appreciate it. Once again, I'm Deborah

Speaker 3 (01:45:54):
Flora and I have been sitting in for Mandy Connell
on KOA