1 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough. You're 2 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: listening to Software Radio Special Operations, military news and straight 3 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 1: talk with the guys and the community. Everyone. Welcome back 4 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: to Software Pritty Software. Pretty long time on talk to 5 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: we bring you the best of the cover an event, 6 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: issues that's going on in the world, as well as 7 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: the world of the military and military affairs. This afternoon, 8 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: we're drawing right reach Colonel Mo Davis, who's running for 9 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: Congress in North Carolina's Loving District. Colonel Davis has joining 10 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: us today and we're gonna talk a little bit about 11 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: his military career and some of the issues that uh 12 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: he's running for in the state of North Carolina. Sout 13 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: further Ado. I want to welcome the colonel to the podcast. 14 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: And we had a few u technical difficulties there, but 15 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: hopefully we're beyond them. We'll get this thing going. Sounds kid, 16 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 1: I appreciate it. So are you originally from the state 17 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: of North Carolina? I am. I was born in Shelby, 18 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: North Carolina, which is uh if you look on a map, 19 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: about halfway between Charlotte Nashville. I was born and born 20 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: and raised there. I went to first grade through high 21 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: school there in the public school system and my dad, 22 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: my dad was disabled veteran of World War Two and 23 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: he was the commander of the American lead and post 24 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: there in Shelby. And that that was back in the 25 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: sixties when I was growing up, and that was when 26 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: the Legion was really you know, the post World War 27 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: two era was really a dynamic organization, and so that 28 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: was my earliest memories are growing up in the Legion 29 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: hall there. Yeah, I think all of us, you know, uh, 30 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: probably we're probably pretty close to the same age, and 31 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: I think a lot of us remember stuff. Then my 32 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: dad was a World War Two bead as well, and 33 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:31,119 Speaker 1: he was much involved again with the Legion and one 34 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: of the local Italian American clubs. So you know, some 35 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: of my earliest memories are doing the same thing. Shelby 36 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: is a beautiful area. I didn't realize you were you 37 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: were you had grown up there because I remember going 38 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: up to Asheville. I was stationed at foot Brag. Yeah, 39 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: you know, I never spent any time there, but you know, 40 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: you passed right through their own way up to Asheville. Yeah, 41 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: and you passed right by the the world's best barbecue 42 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,239 Speaker 1: because you you're on Highway seventy four and there's Red 43 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: Bridges Barbecue Lodge, which, at least my argument is it's 44 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: the best barbecue in the world. We'll see I missed that. 45 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: I was stationing there all them years, you know. Yeah, 46 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: I love good barbecue. I mean that was one of 47 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: the things growing up in Massachusetts. We didn't have great 48 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: barbecue up there, and then being stationed down the South 49 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: all those years, I got quite a taste for it. 50 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: In North Carolina is different than some of the other states. Yeah, 51 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: but I really like it. Well, that's what I've had 52 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: a running, a good natured running feud on on Twitter. 53 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: Daniel Vaughan is an editor at Texas Monthly and on Twitter. 54 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: His Twitter handle is BBQ Snob. We've had this running battle. 55 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: I keep telling him that, you know, here in North Carolina, 56 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: when somebody says we're having barbecue, you know what you're 57 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: getting here. Barb Beque is a now and and in 58 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: Texas it's a burb because it's what they did to 59 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: a piece of chicken or some brisket or a sausage 60 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: or in North Carolina, Texas barbecue confused, in my opinion. 61 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: And we'll get it figured out here Yeah, there you go. 62 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, Texas has some good too. I 63 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: have family out there. But you know, like I said, 64 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: living so many years at and know that acquired club 65 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,840 Speaker 1: to taste for that. Yeah. So you grew up in 66 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: Shelby and um you went to school in uh was 67 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: it n C Central? Well, at first, I went to 68 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: Appalachian State Undergraduate up in Moonoon, North Carolina, and I 69 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: was a criminal justice major up there. And there's a 70 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,840 Speaker 1: part time job. That was back in the day when 71 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: a lot of our counties in North Carolina were dry counties, 72 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 1: and the county were the college is located was a 73 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: dry county, And that was back in the day too, 74 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: when you could drink at the age of a team. 75 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: And uh so a lot of college kids are drive 76 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: to the next county over to drink and then come 77 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 1: back to the campus and a lot of the would 78 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: get pulled over and there was no bail bondsman in town. 79 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: So I became a bail bondsman as my part time 80 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: job in in college. And then I worked worked in 81 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: law enforcement training for the state in North Carolina for 82 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: a bit and then went to law school in North 83 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: Carolina Central down in Durham mhm. And that's around the 84 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: time you joined the Air Force and you served twenty 85 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: five years at the rank of colonel. So I did 86 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,239 Speaker 1: joined in three and UH, intending to do four years. 87 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: I said, I had worked in state government and my 88 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: plan had been to go to law school and go 89 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: back to state government. But then I thought I'd do 90 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: four years in the Air Force and get some experience. 91 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: And you do, you get really good litigation experience. Were 92 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: in court soon after getting out of basic training and 93 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: said the first trial I ever did was in the 94 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: spring of ur and my opponent was a young Air 95 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 1: Force captain from South Carolina named Lindsey Graham, and I 96 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: have known him for quite a while. Now. That's amazing. 97 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: It's a small world, isn't it. And you know, Um, 98 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: I was reading over some of your bio on your 99 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: website and one of the things that UH struck me 100 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: right off the bat. In two thousand seven, you served 101 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: as the chief prosecutor for Terrorism trans Atleetano Obey and 102 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: that had to been a really interesting time. Um, is 103 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: there anything you can talk about. I don't know if 104 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: anything still classified with that, but our listeners, I know, 105 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: would be very interested in hearing some of that. Yeah, 106 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: it really was a an interesting experience. I did it 107 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: for a little over two years, and I've said that, 108 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: you know, for a I can't say that so once 109 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: in a lifetime opportunity, because most attorneys go a lifetime 110 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: and never get the opportunities. You know, we hadn't done 111 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: military commissions since World War Two, and to have the 112 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: opportunity to lead that effort was a real, uh, you know, 113 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: a real privilege. It was a great team of folks 114 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: that I led. By the time I quit in October 115 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: two thousand and seven, I think the team was over 116 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: a hundred people, you know, jags from the different military 117 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: services and military law enforcement folks and folks from the 118 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: FBI and ci A and d o J and just 119 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: about every organization that had had an interest had folks 120 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: on the team. And um, you know, the unfortunate part 121 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: is that the process became politicized. And when I first 122 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: got there, the question was what President Bush was going 123 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: to do with the high value detainees College Shake Mohammed 124 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 1: and those guys. And at that time they were in 125 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: the CIA black sites, and the CIA felt that they 126 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: had gotten all the information they were going to get, 127 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: and they didn't want to keep holding them, and so 128 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: for the first several months, the big debate was whether 129 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: to take them into the federal court system here in 130 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: the US or whether to send them to Guantanamo and 131 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: put him in the military commission system. So the spring 132 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: of two thousand six is when the President Bush made 133 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: the decision, and then in September of two thousand and 134 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: six is when the plane landed in the fourteen guys 135 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: got off the airplane that day. And you know, it's 136 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: unfortunately now it's you know, it's fourteen years later and 137 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: college Shake Mohammed still hadn't been tried. It's just I 138 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: feel bad. You haven't lost any sleep for him, But 139 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: I did feel bad for the nine eleven victim families 140 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: that have been denied justice and maybe some closure for 141 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: all these years. The only detainee that got off the 142 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: plane that day that's been tried, convicted, sentenced, and the 143 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:12,679 Speaker 1: case has been all the way through the U s 144 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: Supreme Court and is over and done was Ahmed Galani, 145 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,599 Speaker 1: who was involved in the East Africa Embassy bombings. And 146 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: Galani is the only detainee that was ever brought to 147 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: the US and he was tried in federal court back 148 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: in two thousand and ten and got a life sentence. 149 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: He's got in a super max in Colorado, and you know, 150 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: a decade after he was convicted, you know, the other 151 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: guys are still sitting at one time a floundering in 152 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: this process that we just bungled. And it's it's really 153 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: unfortunate that we really did a lot of damage to 154 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: our credibility at Guantanamo. And you know, I've read that 155 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: you know, you took on the administration, you know about 156 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: the use of have been some paints you taunted and 157 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: you talk about battle. Yeah. When I when I came 158 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: into the job, I was the third chief prosecutor. I 159 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: think to the think the fifth chief prosecutor is still there. Well, 160 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 1: when I came on board, the person that had been 161 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: there before me, there had been some of the folks 162 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: on the prosecution team felt that they were being pushed 163 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: to step over the ethical bounds. And so when I 164 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: came in, there's concern on what's the new guy gonna 165 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 1: expect of us? And so I told him that I'm 166 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: sixty two years old and I can remember, you know, 167 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: for my generation, and we look back at Nuremberg with 168 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: with Pride at the end of the war. You know, 169 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 1: we didn't take the Nazis out and shoot him. We 170 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: had trials and some were convicted and executed, but others 171 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: were acquitted. And if you remember, Robert Jackson stepped down 172 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,719 Speaker 1: from the U. S. Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg 173 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: and be the chief prosecutor. And I think we're rightfully 174 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: proud of the way we handle that. And so I said, look, 175 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 1: I want us to do Guantanamo in a way that 176 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: our kids and grandkids will look back at it the 177 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: way we look back at Nuremberg. So we're not going 178 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: to use evidence it was obtained by torture. Of course, 179 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: back in those days, I couldn't say torture. I had 180 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: to say enhanced interrogation techniques because it sounds NICER's like 181 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: when I went through school rights laboratory, they called it 182 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,439 Speaker 1: the enhanced laboratory. Well, I was down there when I 183 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: when there were three of the detainees tried to kill 184 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: themselves and you couldn't use the word suicide. It was 185 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: self injurious behavior. So we had all these terms to 186 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: make things sound more palatable than they really were. But 187 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: but the folks in the chain of command above me 188 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: supported my decision not to use evidence obtained by torture, 189 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: and to be quite honest, like Kalichek Mohammed, there's ample 190 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: evidence of his guilt without using anything he ever said 191 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: in our custody, which you didn't really excuse what we 192 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: did to him, but it makes it irrelevant in his 193 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: criminal trial if we're not going to use that that evidence. YEA. 194 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: So over time, the focus above me and the chain 195 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: of command of her career uniform military retired and they 196 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: were replaced by political appointees. So the person that took 197 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: over was a lady named Susan Crawford who never served 198 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: one day in uniform, but she did serve as Dick 199 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: Cheney's inspector general when Dick Cheney was Secretary of Defense, 200 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:23,199 Speaker 1: and that's when things began to change. And by the 201 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: summer of two thousand and seven, I was being told 202 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: that President Bush said, we don't torture, so who are 203 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: you to say that we do, And all that evidence 204 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: that you're not using, you need to get into court 205 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 1: and use it. These guys convicted. And that was when 206 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: I said, you know, you need to find somebody else 207 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: to do this job. I quit and you know, like 208 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: I said, unfortunately was two. That was October of two 209 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, So we're coming up on thirteen years 210 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: later and very little has happened since then. Wow, that's amazing. 211 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,760 Speaker 1: I mean when you think about that, it doesn't seem 212 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: like that long ago. You know, I remember reading about 213 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: all the detainees time there at Guantanamo and I was, 214 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: you know, I know they let a lot of both 215 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: PEO will go um, but there's still people down there. Yeah. Yeah. 216 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 1: There were a total of seven hundred and seventy nine 217 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: men that were sent to Guantanamo. And if you remember, 218 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,719 Speaker 1: we were told that they were all the worst of 219 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: the worst, you know, the kind of men that would 220 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: they chew through the hydraulic lines on the airplane flying 221 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: to Guantanamo just to kill America. And uh, those seven 222 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy nine, there's still forty that are there, 223 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: and you know, the vast majority turned out to be 224 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: and you know they weren't. And I went into the 225 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:45,839 Speaker 1: job believing the narrative that they were all the worst 226 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: of the worst, and you get there and it's like, 227 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: you got to be kidding me. This is you know, 228 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: some of these guys I mean, you do have folks 229 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: like Kali check Mohammed. I'm certainly not going to argue 230 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: that he didn't fit that description. But for every one 231 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: of those, there were, you know, dozens of others that 232 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: never should have been there to begin with, and they 233 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: eventually got cleared and released to be sent back home. 234 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 1: You know, we we've spent billions of dollars on the 235 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:18,959 Speaker 1: Guantanamo and squandered our credibility around the world, and it's 236 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: unfortunate that in still an ongoing chapter. Mhm. That's uh, 237 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: that's amazing. And then, uh, I know later in your 238 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: career you went on to become a law professor at 239 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: Howard and you served as a judge of the Department 240 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: of Labor as is that correct? Well, yeah, I was 241 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: a judge for the Department of Labor up in Washington, 242 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: and I finished up by the end of I finished 243 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: up my trials, I still had decisions right, and I 244 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: could do that by teleworking. So my wife and I 245 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: we bought property down in Nashville and we're planning to 246 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: build a retirement house, and so we moved down here 247 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: in of nineteen as our house was being built, and 248 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: I telework from here and last September, September nine, I finished, 249 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: you know, all the cases I had, and packed up 250 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: my laptop and my credentials and set them back to Washington. 251 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: And I thought I had retired at that point. And 252 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: November of last year, our state court here in North 253 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: Carolina told our legislature, because there's several congressional districts here 254 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: that were heavily gerrymanager, this one was one of the 255 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: works here in the eleventh district, and our legislature or 256 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: our courts told the legislator, either you're going to redraw 257 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: the boundaries or we're going to do it for you. 258 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: And that's where aren't you've been here to Asheville. But 259 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: for folks that haven't, it's I've described Ashville the folks 260 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: that have never been here is the Berkeley of the 261 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: Blue Ridge, because it's a very progressive, very accepting, very 262 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: a lot of arts, and it's it's just a wonderful place. 263 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: And so too, it's also very blue. And so to 264 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: dilute the effect, the Republican legislature had split Ashville and 265 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: half and put half in the eleventh Congressional district. That's 266 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: that's the district Mark Meadows represented. But the other half 267 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: in the district of Patrick mckinnry represents. And so where 268 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: I'm standing right now where we built our house, I'm 269 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: literally in the tenth Congressional district as we're speaking. That 270 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: the legislature in the new boundaries put Asheville and Buncombe 271 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: County back together because you couldn't explain splitting it down 272 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: the middle by any reason other than cheating. And so 273 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: when they did that, that's when I mean this, This 274 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: district was a mathematical impossibility for a Democrat to win. 275 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: I mean, for Mark Meadows, all he get his name 276 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: on the ballot, and you know, he won between twenty 277 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: to thirty points every time he ran because of the math. 278 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: And so the new boundaries, it's still a Republican leaning district, 279 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: but it's more like x or seven points and that's doable. 280 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: That's when I decided to get into the race. And 281 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,639 Speaker 1: you know, my plan was to retire. But then I 282 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,360 Speaker 1: sat here and thought, I've got too many years invested 283 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: in defending the country and defending democracy to watch it 284 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: go down the drain. And in my view, you know 285 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,920 Speaker 1: the path we're on, you know, we're not gonna have 286 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: a country left and so I figured if I wasn't 287 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,680 Speaker 1: going to do it, who was, and got in And 288 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: here we are coming into the home stretch with the 289 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 1: eight weeks to election day, I know, and it seems 290 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: like sneaking up on this. I mean, we were talking 291 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,719 Speaker 1: about elections in November, you know, back in the spring, 292 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: and it's a blink. Now we're like sixty days away. 293 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: It's it's amazing. I mean, this year is flying by. 294 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: So with that, I mean, I wanted to ask you 295 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: about some of the issues. And I know a lot 296 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: of our readers and listeners are very interested in social 297 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,719 Speaker 1: Security because we're doing so much what's going on with 298 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: social Security? Excuse me? And I wanted to ask you, 299 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: you know, what what your plan is and what your 300 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: goal is for that. Yeah, that's and you know, there's 301 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 1: seventy million Americans that depend on Social Security, and I 302 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:26,880 Speaker 1: want to fight to preserve what, you know, what they're 303 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: entitled to. You know, it bothers me that, you know, 304 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: the word entitlement is used like a dirty word by 305 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 1: folks on the other side. And I've tried to explain 306 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: it's called an entitlement because you worked for it and 307 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: earned it, and you're entitled to what you you know, 308 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: the benefit of your bargain, and so a Social Security 309 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: it's you know, it was projected to have enough money 310 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: to continue until about and then you know, the president 311 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: now wants to suspend the payroll tax, which is the 312 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: primary means of funding both Medicare and Social Security. And 313 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: it's kind of like, you know, not far from here 314 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: is Lake Lure. That's the lake where Dirty Dancing this film. 315 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: But the river that feeds that if you cut the 316 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: water off from the river, eventually the lake goes dry. 317 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: And it's the same with Social Security. If you take 318 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: away the payroll tax, you know, the fund's gonna go dry, 319 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: and it's gonna go dry a lot faster. And you know, 320 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: Mitch McConnell has never made any secret to the fact 321 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: that Social Security was in his crosshairs. And Trump has said, 322 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: if reelected, he wants to make the you know, the 323 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: suspension of the payroll attacks permanent. And if we do that, it's, uh, 324 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: you know, the system can't stand up. But you know, 325 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 1: the current system is there's some minor tweaks that could 326 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: be made, like raising the income cap. I remember, you know, 327 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 1: before I retired from the Department of labor. About this 328 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: time of year, my check got bigger. My paycheck because 329 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: the cap is a hundred and thirty seven thousand, seven hundreds. 330 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: So up to that limit, every paycheck they took out 331 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: payroll tax. But once you hit that a hundred and 332 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: thirty seven thousand, seven hundred level, they stopped taking it out. 333 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: So the last couple of months of the year, you know, 334 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: my paycheck always got bigger because I was over the cap. 335 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,880 Speaker 1: So if you increase that cap, you know, you bring 336 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: in more revenue. Um. You know, if you over time 337 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: increase the age where you get full benefits. You know, 338 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 1: when when Social Security started, people didn't live as long 339 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: as they do now, and I certainly wouldn't I wouldn't 340 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: support any change is going to have a material impact 341 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: on folks that have depended on it. But if you 342 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: start far enough out you know where folks can plan 343 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 1: their life and you know they've changed it a little bit. Now. 344 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: I think I'm in the transition group, which for me 345 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 1: to get full benefits, I think it's like sixty six 346 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: years and two months or something. We're used to a 347 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: sixty five if we you know, there there are a 348 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: number of things that could be done with Social Security. 349 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: That wouldn't have a significant impact on anybody. I could 350 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: keep it solvent for decades, but we need to We 351 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: need to do that rather than kicking the can down 352 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: the road until it's a crisis. Let's let's fix it 353 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 1: and preserve it and you folks the benefit of the 354 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: bargain that was made. And I think we can do 355 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: it without, you know, without too much pain for anybody exactly, 356 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 1: And so many people paid into that, I mean their 357 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: whole lives, and you know, and uh, to pull the 358 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: rug off from under him at this point, I don't 359 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: agree with that. What's the lover? So you've got me 360 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: on that when I'm on there with you, you know instead, 361 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: because you know, I'm also at bad age where I'm 362 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: almost at that same threshold. So it's something that I 363 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 1: paid into my whole life, and I don't want to 364 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: read some of that benefit as well. Yeah, and there's 365 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: no reason can there You know that we can. We 366 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: can fix this. It's just a matter of having the 367 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,920 Speaker 1: world to do it. Yeah, absolutely, and I think hopefully 368 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: it will get done. Another issue with our readers and 369 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: listeners is the Second Amendment. And you know, I know 370 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 1: when people are running under the Democratic ticket. Everyone always 371 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:24,360 Speaker 1: assumes that their anti gun and their anti Second Amendment, 372 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: and uh, I know that. You know, being from North Carolina, 373 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 1: you're you're neither one of those, but you had some 374 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: common sense. Uh you know, Uh, I want to say 375 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: feelings on the Second Amendment and gun sense, and I 376 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: would like to ask you about that as well. Sure. Yeah, 377 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: And I was surprised recently to say that I got 378 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: an F rating from the from the n r AN 379 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: you just can't win. Uh. Yeah, Like you said, I 380 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 1: grew up here in North Carolina. I was I was 381 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: probably like seven years old when my dad got me 382 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,439 Speaker 1: a four ten shotgun, and so I grew up hunting. 383 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: And like I said, when I was in college, I 384 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: worked as a bail bonds at night a gun and 385 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: then twenty five years in the military and I'm still 386 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: a multi gun owner. So you know, the other side 387 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: tries to portray it as you know, the Democrats are 388 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:23,159 Speaker 1: going to come and take your guns away, And my 389 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 1: argument is I don't need to come and take years. 390 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: I got my own. And uh but what I what 391 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: I had proposed, And like I said, I got an 392 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: F rating from the n r A, which it's the 393 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: same rating the people that just want to ban guns 394 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: entirely get. But what I've proposed is, I mean, I 395 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 1: think guns and common sense aren't mutually exclusive terms. And 396 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: so what I proposed is that you know, with a 397 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: with a thorough background check and stringent red flag laws, 398 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: that you know you have a second Amendment right to 399 00:23:55,280 --> 00:24:00,119 Speaker 1: a pistol, rifle, a shotgun, or any combination there of. 400 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: But I think for anything above and beyond that, like 401 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: a military style weapon, if you want an enhanced weapon 402 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: like that that's capable of mass destruction, what I've proposed 403 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,399 Speaker 1: is here in North Carolina, we have a concealed carry 404 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 1: permit process. If you want to conceal carry, you have 405 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: to follow an application and pay a fee. There's a 406 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 1: check of your criminal record and your mental health record. 407 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: You have to pay to attend an eight hour guns 408 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: safety course and pass the test at the end of 409 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: the course, and you have to sign saying that if 410 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: you're arrested for an act of violence or hospitalized with 411 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: a mental issue, that is reported to the authorities. And 412 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: so what I've proposed is less use that as a 413 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,920 Speaker 1: framework for a nationwide standard. If you want a more 414 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:51,360 Speaker 1: enhanced weapon than a process similar to that. I think 415 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: it will do two things. One is, I think some 416 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: people end up buying military style weapons just for the 417 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: the macho factor, and I think if we make it 418 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,239 Speaker 1: a little more difficult that maybe some of them will 419 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: be deterred from doing it. And then I think it 420 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: also can weed out some of those folks that haven't 421 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: demonstrated the responsibility to have a weapon of mass destruction. 422 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 1: And I know for some folks that's not a perfect solution. 423 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: I mean, you know a lot of folks want to 424 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 1: just outright banned military style weapons. And I understand that, 425 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: and I think in a perfect world, I mean, I agree. 426 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:30,720 Speaker 1: I think if you want to carry a military style 427 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: weapon to get down to the recruiting station, and yeah, 428 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: the opportunity to carry one every day, but you could 429 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: carry some pool and sure, yeah I know, but but yeah, 430 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: I think you ought to. You know, I think what 431 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: I'm proposing is reasony. And most of the gun owners 432 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: I've talked to agree that they are not opposed to. 433 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: You know, they think there ought to be some common 434 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 1: sense applied. So you know, as I said it, I 435 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: know for my opponent, you know, is brought up that 436 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,640 Speaker 1: you know some of the events I've been to, I said, look, 437 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: I'd like to ban assault weapons, but I can't get 438 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 1: elected running on that, so I'm proposing this alternative. And 439 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: that's true. But you know, when you run for office, 440 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,400 Speaker 1: you don't run to implement your own views. You run 441 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: to represent the district. And I know in this district 442 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: a ban on assault weapons is not what the people want. 443 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:27,080 Speaker 1: So I've tried to come up with something that I 444 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: think strikes a reasonable balance. Um, you know that accommodates 445 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: everybody's interests. You saw the right to have have your weapons, 446 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: but if you want something that's capable of mass destruction, 447 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 1: then holding you to a little higher standard, I don't 448 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: think it is unreasonable. Well, uh, you know that we 449 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: don't have enough of that right now. Is you know, 450 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: being able to talk with people on the other side 451 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: of the aisle as it may be, and king and 452 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:04,880 Speaker 1: that's uh, that's common sense. And so I could think 453 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: it's you know, for some groups, that's a deal breaker. 454 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 1: I had talked last week with a national group of 455 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: a progressive national group that I would love to have 456 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: their support and endorsement that for them, assault weapons is 457 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: a is a deal breaker, and I'm just not gonna 458 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: do something. It's right to tell people that I'm going 459 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,719 Speaker 1: to do something that i've you know, I don't believe. 460 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: And so I lost their endorsement because I won't commit 461 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: to a ban on assault weapons. But I still get 462 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: an ask from the n R. You can't losing their 463 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: two other things that are always on everyone's mind, education 464 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: and health care. Will start with education. I know that, 465 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,840 Speaker 1: you know when I lived in North Carolina, and that 466 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,440 Speaker 1: was a few years ago, but you know they're there. 467 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,639 Speaker 1: Early areas are not good when it came to local 468 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: spending on you know, students, And I saw on your 469 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 1: website that there's still kind of in the bottom third 470 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: of the nation um in math and reading skills, and 471 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: you know that that's always a it's a hot Bunton 472 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: issue with everyone. And you know, how how can we 473 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: make education better in this country? Well, you know, education 474 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: is primarily a state and local issue, and it's really 475 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: disappointing for me, I said, I When I grew up here, 476 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: I went through first grade through twelve in the public 477 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: school system down in Shelby, and then I went to 478 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: Appalachian State in North Carolina Central, which are both part 479 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 1: of the u NC system. So I've got nineteen years 480 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: of my life was spent in public education here in 481 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: North Carolina. And back then, we prided ourselves on good 482 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:54,479 Speaker 1: schools and good roads, and you know, we had Research 483 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: Triangle Park for anybody ever heard of Silicon Valley. And 484 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: back then we were a proud, progressive, forward leaning southern state. 485 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: And I think we were the envy of the Southeast 486 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: back when I was growing up. But it seems like 487 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: we're the last decade or so that their folks are 488 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: trying to turn the clock back, and one of the 489 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: things they've attacked is public education and by starving off funds. 490 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: I was. I was out in Cherokee County, which is 491 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: the furthest west county in North Carolina, and there was 492 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,240 Speaker 1: a woman I was talking to There is a school teacher, 493 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: but she's teaching in Georgia, which is only about fifteen 494 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,200 Speaker 1: miles away. Because the pay in Georgia's ten thousand dollars 495 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: a year more than in North Carolina. So it's sad. 496 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: Like you said, you know, our kids and are rural 497 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: schools here in North Carolina rank in the bottom third 498 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 1: of the country and math and reading skill, so I'm 499 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: hoping that that's what I've tried to stress the folks, 500 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: you got to vote blue all the way up and 501 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: down the ballot, because we need to put some Democrats 502 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 1: back into in charge of our state legislature and take 503 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: care of public education. And the one thing I can 504 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: do from a federal level is with Title one. Title 505 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: ones a program has been around for a long time 506 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:06,560 Speaker 1: that provides federal funding for counties that are high in 507 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: poverty to attract and retain top notch educators. Fourteen of 508 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: our seventeen counties that make up this district in fourteen 509 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: of the seventeen or or above the national average and poverty. 510 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: So I'd like to Title one has never gotten the 511 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: funding that it that it needs, So I'd like to 512 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: fight for more funding for Title one because we have schools. 513 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 1: There's an article not too long ago in our paper 514 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: here saying that the average local support for public education 515 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: averages about sixteen hundred dollars per pupil. The high water 516 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: mark is down in Orange County. That's the Durham you know, 517 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 1: the Research Triangle area, and that's apparently a very affluent 518 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: part of the state, and the kids down there, it's 519 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 1: over ten thousand dollars a year per pupil that's spent 520 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: on their education. Out Here in the West, we have 521 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: Slain County and the average there is four hundred and 522 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: fifty dollars per pupil. And it's not you know, it's 523 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 1: just not rocket science that you know, a kid that's 524 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: got four hundred and fifty bucks spent on in versus 525 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 1: one it's got ten thousand. That's not you know, they're 526 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: not playing on the same field. And I don't think 527 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: there's any way to the equalize where everybody gets the same. 528 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: But you know, the quality of your education shouldn't be 529 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: determined by your zip CoA. So we've got to do 530 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: better to UH to support public education. And my opponent 531 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: UH says public public universities and public schools are liberal 532 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: indoctrination centers, so he wants to abolish the Department of 533 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: the Education. And of course he was homeschooled and has 534 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: never spent one day of his life in a public school. 535 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 1: But he's the authority now on on public education. But 536 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: we can do better. That's an area where I view 537 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: education as an investment, not an expense, because those are 538 00:31:56,040 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: the those children will be the ones running our country 539 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: and you know, in a generation or two right now. 540 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: And the fact show that you know, the more education, 541 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 1: the higher your income. That's just a fact. And when 542 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: you earn more, you pay more in taxes and you 543 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 1: spend more in your community. So it's to me it's 544 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 1: a win win, and rather than treating it as an expense, 545 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:21,440 Speaker 1: I think we've got to be looking at it as 546 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: an investment. Absolutely. And I also liked your one of 547 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,959 Speaker 1: the points you've made on your website about supporting the 548 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:38,880 Speaker 1: expansion broadband broadband internet through about your rural district because again, 549 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,680 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I think so much learning goes 550 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: on today through the Internet, especially now of course this 551 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 1: year with the pandemic that we're all you know, hopefully 552 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 1: we'll all get through this in the very new but 553 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 1: you know we've seeing that now. They were lying on that. Yeah. Yeah, 554 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: broadband is an issue that I'm right. I think it 555 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: is a non partisan issue here in western North Carolina 556 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 1: because it if you don't have it, it doesn't matter 557 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: if you're a Democrat or Republican or an independent. I mean, 558 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,040 Speaker 1: if you don't have it, you're behind. And COVID nineteen 559 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,880 Speaker 1: has really shown why it's an at issue I've been 560 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 1: talking about, you know, way before COVID nineteen. The COVID 561 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,600 Speaker 1: nineteen you really put a spotlight on it because you know, 562 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:26,480 Speaker 1: when it hit, a lot of our schools sent kids 563 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:29,080 Speaker 1: home with laptops. But if you're in one of our 564 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:35,200 Speaker 1: nationwide of Americans have access to broadband, and North Carolina 565 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 1: as a whole is a little ahead of that we're about, 566 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: but we've got counties out here where it's less than 567 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 1: fifty percent. So when those kids took the laptop home, 568 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,080 Speaker 1: it was a paperweight. You know, they didn't have internet, 569 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 1: and a lot of folks have never heard of telemedicine 570 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,960 Speaker 1: until COVID nineteen hit. But if you're in Upon Upon, 571 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: you know, one of the hollis where they don't have broadband, 572 00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: you can't use it. And I mentioned that, you know, 573 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,719 Speaker 1: fourteen of our seventeen counties are above the national average 574 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,840 Speaker 1: and poverty. You can't recruit industry now, you can't bring 575 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,359 Speaker 1: in good paying jobs if you don't have broadband, because 576 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: isn't essential utility today like water and electricity. If you 577 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: don't have it, they're not coming. And then I'm a 578 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: disciple of that. I used to be a hospital. We 579 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 1: got one of either the best or one of the 580 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: best the best VA hospitals here in Nashville, and that's 581 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: where I go. And in our newsletter a couple of 582 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,360 Speaker 1: weeks ago had said that since March the first, the 583 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:33,719 Speaker 1: number of telemedicine appointments the v A or up a 584 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,880 Speaker 1: thousand percent. But if there's sixty five thousand veterans in 585 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: this district, and if you're eligible for v A and 586 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 1: Europe in one of those areas that didn't have broadband, 587 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,960 Speaker 1: you can't use that benefit. This week I got I've 588 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: got my first telemedicine appointment with the VA coming up. 589 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: So the lack of broadband is hurting us across healthcare, education, economically. 590 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 1: It's just we're behind. Do we need to catch up? 591 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: And there's a bill Jim Clyburn from South Carolina has 592 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: a billy introduced in the House that would treat this 593 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:09,799 Speaker 1: like we did back in the nineteen thirties and they 594 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,759 Speaker 1: had rural electrification, and it would treat broadband the same 595 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,200 Speaker 1: way to bring broadband to those rural counties the way 596 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:21,760 Speaker 1: we brought electricity to it ninety years ago. Yeah, and 597 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: and again you're talking about the feet I had a 598 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,080 Speaker 1: VA appointment this morning at eight o'clock. And you know, 599 00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: now a lot of my therapy appointments are done virtually, 600 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,440 Speaker 1: you know, over the internet, and luckily and the internet 601 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:39,840 Speaker 1: didn't go out, I mean this morning during my appointment. 602 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:44,919 Speaker 1: But that's also things will have to deal with. But yeah, 603 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:51,200 Speaker 1: I mean, I think better than of my appointments, I 604 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:53,440 Speaker 1: don't have to go actually see a doctor. I can 605 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:58,799 Speaker 1: do it over the broadband, and it's it's much more convenient. 606 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:02,880 Speaker 1: It's you know, I think it saves time and saves expense. 607 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 1: You don't have to drive all the way to the hospital, 608 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:09,640 Speaker 1: you know, and especially a lot of our events are 609 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:11,879 Speaker 1: getting up there in age and they have a hard 610 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:15,000 Speaker 1: time getting to it from so I think, you know, 611 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 1: and I know I'm getting away from the education aspect, 612 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: but that's where, you know, I'm all for that as well. 613 00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: And while we're on the subject, you know, I know 614 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,880 Speaker 1: v A is they've gone through quite a few changes. 615 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 1: I think that turned the corner. I think they're doing 616 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 1: a lot better than they were a few years ago. 617 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 1: But they still have a long way to go, don't 618 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:42,760 Speaker 1: they do. And that's uh, you know, I feel really 619 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,719 Speaker 1: fortunate that you know. About a mile from where I'm 620 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:49,360 Speaker 1: city is the the A Hospital, and it's a great hospital. 621 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 1: That's from my dad. I mentioned my dad was disabled 622 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,919 Speaker 1: veteran from World War Two and I can remember over 623 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 1: half a century ago coming up here with him to 624 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,399 Speaker 1: go to the v A Hospital and they've taken great 625 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,799 Speaker 1: care of me. So one of the things I want 626 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: to do is I'm hoping to get a seat on 627 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: the Veterans Affairs Committee so I can make sure that 628 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: we take care of the v A. That's a big 629 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: issue around here. I know, whether Democrat, Republican or independent, 630 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,360 Speaker 1: if you're a veteran that uses the VA the vast majority, 631 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,160 Speaker 1: you want to keep it and not privatize it. So 632 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:24,960 Speaker 1: that's something I want to I want to try to 633 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:29,799 Speaker 1: make sure we do. Yeah, absolutely, because I think when 634 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:34,200 Speaker 1: you privatize it, I don't know, maybe I'm speaking out attorney, 635 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 1: but I feel like when it gets privatized that the 636 00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 1: care level is going to go down. Yeah. The doctor 637 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: and the doctor, I see the v A was in practice, 638 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:50,720 Speaker 1: excuse me, in practice here in Ashville for a long time, 639 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:55,319 Speaker 1: and is the practice got bought out by a corporation 640 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:57,920 Speaker 1: and he said he stayed on for about a year, 641 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,440 Speaker 1: but it became very clear that it was about profit 642 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:04,200 Speaker 1: and not fatient care. And that's when he left the 643 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,000 Speaker 1: practice and went to the v A, where he said, 644 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:10,360 Speaker 1: now here, it's not about billable hours and profit margins, 645 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,080 Speaker 1: is about taking care of people. And that's why I 646 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:16,000 Speaker 1: went to medical school. So I agree. I mean, there's 647 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 1: some things that you know, the other side wants to 648 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,359 Speaker 1: try to find a profit margin and everything, whether it's 649 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 1: education or prisons or veterans healthcare and I guess now 650 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:29,320 Speaker 1: the post office. But there's some things that you know, 651 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,520 Speaker 1: veterans are entitled to the promise that was made, and 652 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,000 Speaker 1: that's they can go to the v A and the 653 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: v as going to take care of their medical needs. 654 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:42,640 Speaker 1: And they do, like to said a great job. A 655 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:46,280 Speaker 1: few years ago, I wouldn't have told you that, because 656 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,320 Speaker 1: you know where I was calling that I stopped calling 657 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:53,240 Speaker 1: actually because I didn't like the way to treating veterans 658 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 1: at the time. But that's that's really really changed, and 659 00:38:56,719 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 1: I think they're doing a great job, and I and 660 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:03,920 Speaker 1: I think it's getting better, I'm sure, you know, like 661 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:07,719 Speaker 1: anyone anyone else, I think it can be better. But 662 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:11,400 Speaker 1: at the same time, I'm pretty place with what they're 663 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,839 Speaker 1: doing from especially for myself, I can only speak for 664 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,400 Speaker 1: this guy is standing here, But I think the v 665 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,240 Speaker 1: A is doing really well. In fact, I just moved 666 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:25,160 Speaker 1: to the state of Florida and the clinic that I'm 667 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 1: going to Cape Coral is really really good and I'm 668 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: very happy with it. So let's hope that we can 669 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 1: keep that ball rolling in the right direction. So especially 670 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:41,160 Speaker 1: with the suicide issues, it's almost an epidemic right now 671 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:46,640 Speaker 1: amongst veterans, and you know, that's one area that I 672 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:51,520 Speaker 1: think the entire country is struggling with. I know the 673 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:55,480 Speaker 1: v A is looking for starting a new program, but 674 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:59,400 Speaker 1: it's it's far too high. I mean they're talking between 675 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:05,560 Speaker 1: seven two a day, and how can we do You 676 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:09,239 Speaker 1: do you have a plan on how we can help that? Well, 677 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:13,520 Speaker 1: I think we've we've got to continue to focus on it. 678 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 1: Did not ignore it. I went out. You know, we've 679 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,800 Speaker 1: been really limited to what we've done with COVID nineteen 680 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,360 Speaker 1: on public events. But when I went to a couple 681 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 1: of months back, was out in Cherokee County as a 682 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:30,120 Speaker 1: group of veterans did a twenty two mile walk to 683 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:34,399 Speaker 1: mark the Veteran suicides per day to try to call 684 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:37,239 Speaker 1: attention to it, but I think it's it's it's got 685 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 1: to be part of a comprehensive another issue we didn't 686 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:43,239 Speaker 1: really have gotten into his healthcare and I think our 687 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:47,360 Speaker 1: our entire health care system, we maybe COVID nineteen is 688 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:51,520 Speaker 1: the impetus to to finally address it. That we've got 689 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:55,120 Speaker 1: a decouple your ability to get healthcare from your employment, 690 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:56,880 Speaker 1: where if you lose your job, you don't lose your 691 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: ability to get to the doctor because being able to 692 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,800 Speaker 1: get treatment because you have for a lot of veterans 693 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,719 Speaker 1: that they're not near to be a hospital, they're just 694 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,319 Speaker 1: out in the community. They need to be able to 695 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:15,399 Speaker 1: get get treatment. And we're just done a poor job 696 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,319 Speaker 1: with healthcare in this country in general. We spend more 697 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,200 Speaker 1: money on it than any other country in the world, 698 00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:23,320 Speaker 1: but we don't have the best outcomes. So I'm hoping 699 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:28,400 Speaker 1: that this will maybe be h yeah, the the catalyst 700 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:30,960 Speaker 1: for for for change in healthcare, because I think we 701 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,440 Speaker 1: can do a better job across the board. I mean 702 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:38,120 Speaker 1: not just for veterans, but for for everyone. It's a 703 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:41,000 Speaker 1: big issue right now. You know, if a lot of 704 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 1: people can afford the premiums that they have to pay, 705 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 1: and you know, as you said, I think I think 706 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 1: it's what one ten presented the people in America now 707 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,239 Speaker 1: and don't have any whatsoever. Yeah, No, you're exactly right. 708 00:41:57,239 --> 00:42:00,520 Speaker 1: It's a you know, we spend over eleven thousand dollars 709 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 1: a year per person on healthcare and we had over 710 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,160 Speaker 1: thirty million people that don't have coverage. Were other countries 711 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:09,560 Speaker 1: that we consider to be our peers and our allies, 712 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:14,319 Speaker 1: like you know, England, France, Germany, Canada on average spend 713 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:19,160 Speaker 1: about half what we spend and everybody's covered. So you know, 714 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,480 Speaker 1: we can do a much better job, I think, more 715 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 1: efficiently and make sure we cover everybody. I mean, you 716 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,680 Speaker 1: shouldn't have to. It's not just there. There are people 717 00:42:27,719 --> 00:42:32,040 Speaker 1: that have coverage that are underinsured. I was talking to 718 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:33,800 Speaker 1: my the other day is a family of four. I 719 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,600 Speaker 1: think they said they were paying eight thousand dollars a 720 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:39,520 Speaker 1: year in premium and they had a four thousand dollars deductible. 721 00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:42,840 Speaker 1: So you know, I'm sure you've known people do that. 722 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:44,680 Speaker 1: You know, when they something happens, it's like, well do 723 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:46,680 Speaker 1: to us. So I just try to tough it out 724 00:42:46,719 --> 00:42:48,319 Speaker 1: and see if it goes away, or do I send 725 00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 1: them money. I'm guilty of that. We should we shouldn't 726 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:56,359 Speaker 1: be doing that. We had to we had to be 727 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,319 Speaker 1: if we can cover every And what I'm supporting advocated 728 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:02,560 Speaker 1: for is that govern the funded public option. Say that 729 00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:04,480 Speaker 1: cradle to grade, you have the ability to go to 730 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:07,359 Speaker 1: the doctor and you don't go bankrupt. You know, if 731 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 1: you have a serious illness or an accident. Six out 732 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:14,640 Speaker 1: of ten personal bankruptcies in this country, six out of 733 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:17,320 Speaker 1: ten are based on medical debt. And I've met a 734 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:19,279 Speaker 1: number of folks around here that have said, look, I 735 00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: thought I had a good job, and I thought I 736 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:24,239 Speaker 1: had good insurance, and then I got cancer and I 737 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:28,120 Speaker 1: maxed out my policy and ended up filing for bankruptcy, 738 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:35,719 Speaker 1: and you know, we can do better. Well, Um, I 739 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:40,960 Speaker 1: think that's always a big issue with with our listeners 740 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:43,360 Speaker 1: and readers. I mean, because it goes with what what I 741 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:47,240 Speaker 1: was saying. You know, ask me, especially as we age, 742 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,200 Speaker 1: we need better healthcare and you know, there's too many 743 00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 1: people in this contry that they're going without it. So 744 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:58,160 Speaker 1: hopefully we can we can all work together and get 745 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:02,040 Speaker 1: that squared away. I mean in the future. Yeah, I 746 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,120 Speaker 1: hope so, because our system is really geared on fixing 747 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 1: problems after they occur, rather than preventing problems from occurring 748 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,759 Speaker 1: to begin with. So I'd love to see us be 749 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:15,360 Speaker 1: able to make sure everybody's covered and focus on preventative 750 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,719 Speaker 1: health rather than waiting until the problem happens and then 751 00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:23,840 Speaker 1: try to try to treat well. And then one of 752 00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:27,320 Speaker 1: the other things I found very interesting on your website 753 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:32,480 Speaker 1: was North Carolina is second in the country and solar 754 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:36,200 Speaker 1: energy production, and that, you know, when you're talking about 755 00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:43,200 Speaker 1: jobs the economy, and that's an area where I think unemployment, 756 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:46,520 Speaker 1: you know, we can kind of nip that in the 757 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:49,719 Speaker 1: bud and uh, you know, can you talk a little 758 00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:55,080 Speaker 1: bit about your jobs? Yeah, yeah, I was, I'll be honestly, 759 00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:57,440 Speaker 1: I was surprised too to find out the North Carolina 760 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:01,799 Speaker 1: ranked second behind California and solar energy production. And I 761 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:05,759 Speaker 1: mentioned my wife and I built the house and we've 762 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:09,080 Speaker 1: been here ten weeks now, but we put in solar 763 00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:14,840 Speaker 1: and this power we've got power built today and the 764 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:17,800 Speaker 1: first one we've gotten since our solar has been fully 765 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:22,440 Speaker 1: up and running. And our bill last month was over 766 00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:25,640 Speaker 1: a hundred and sixty dollars and this month is sixteen dollars, 767 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:29,960 Speaker 1: which is the monthly search. It's actually the monthly surcharge. 768 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:34,240 Speaker 1: There's we had no We actually put more energy electricity 769 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,759 Speaker 1: into the into the grid than we and we took out, 770 00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:41,040 Speaker 1: So we've got a credit for where we can pull 771 00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:44,200 Speaker 1: power back out of the system. But I think green 772 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:48,040 Speaker 1: technology is the way forward for western North Carolina. And 773 00:45:48,239 --> 00:45:50,799 Speaker 1: I mentioned we've got a high rate of poverty here. 774 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,560 Speaker 1: Back before COVID nineteen, the unemployment rate around the district 775 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:56,560 Speaker 1: was about three and a half percent, which is pretty 776 00:45:56,560 --> 00:45:59,600 Speaker 1: close to the national average. We had counties for the 777 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:04,319 Speaker 1: poverty rate was tells me that people were working, but 778 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,799 Speaker 1: they weren't earning a living. And so I think green 779 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:12,680 Speaker 1: technology is a win win. I mean, those are good jobs, 780 00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:18,120 Speaker 1: both manufacturing the equipment and installing the equipment, and it's 781 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:20,600 Speaker 1: a good deal for the consumer. And I think some 782 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,480 Speaker 1: of the folks that if you go out and it's 783 00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:23,960 Speaker 1: kind of like Obamacare, you know, there's some of the 784 00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:27,720 Speaker 1: rural counties going talked about Obamacare, then they immediately accused 785 00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:30,480 Speaker 1: you of being a socialist. But if you said, well, 786 00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:32,480 Speaker 1: what do you think about letting people with pre existing 787 00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:35,359 Speaker 1: conditions get coverage? They like that, or if you said, 788 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:37,000 Speaker 1: what do you think about letting your kids stay until 789 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,600 Speaker 1: their twenty six so they can get through school and 790 00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:41,960 Speaker 1: get up and running before they get They like that, 791 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:43,719 Speaker 1: but it was the label they hated. And I think 792 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:45,480 Speaker 1: the Green New Deal is kind of the same way, 793 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:48,120 Speaker 1: where you know, if you talk about the Green New Deal, 794 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,040 Speaker 1: they say you're a socialist. But if you if you 795 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:52,359 Speaker 1: talk to about how would you like not to write 796 00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:55,759 Speaker 1: a check to the power company every month? They like that. 797 00:46:56,600 --> 00:46:58,960 Speaker 1: And for what you're what you're paying for your power 798 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:02,000 Speaker 1: bill with the Fed a tax credit which the Republicans 799 00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:06,520 Speaker 1: are continuing to erode. With the tax credit and the 800 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:09,279 Speaker 1: rebate from our power company, it made it economical for 801 00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:12,080 Speaker 1: us to put in solar. And they can plot out, 802 00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,280 Speaker 1: you know, how long it takes to recoup your investment. 803 00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:17,120 Speaker 1: For us, it's like ten or twelve years. But for 804 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 1: what you're paying for power, you can put in solar 805 00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:22,440 Speaker 1: and after a period of time, you're making money. And 806 00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:24,440 Speaker 1: I think you can also appeal with some of those 807 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,200 Speaker 1: folks on national security grounds, because if we're making electricity 808 00:47:28,239 --> 00:47:29,920 Speaker 1: up on the roof of the house, you know, we 809 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:32,080 Speaker 1: don't need to be garden pipelines in the Middle East 810 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:34,600 Speaker 1: and shipping lanes if we can make it right here 811 00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:39,040 Speaker 1: at home. So I think there's an opportunity two, you know, 812 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:41,319 Speaker 1: to get folks on board to do something that's you know, 813 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:43,040 Speaker 1: it's good for the economy, but it's good for the 814 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:48,120 Speaker 1: environment too, absolutely, And that's a that's a great one, 815 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:52,319 Speaker 1: you know, when you're talking about green energy. I mean, 816 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:56,160 Speaker 1: I know the town that I just moved from up 817 00:47:56,160 --> 00:48:00,319 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts, they went on this big, you know, see kick, 818 00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:04,520 Speaker 1: and people were vastly against it when they first heard 819 00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:07,400 Speaker 1: about it, and then more and more people started getting 820 00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:11,359 Speaker 1: on board because you talked to your neighbors and you know, 821 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,920 Speaker 1: I'm not paying an electric bill anymore, and especially out 822 00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:18,720 Speaker 1: there in the winter, your your electric bill get high 823 00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:21,680 Speaker 1: during the lip of time, I mean, you know, because 824 00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:24,000 Speaker 1: you're running everything and you're trying to keep your house 825 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:27,799 Speaker 1: warm in the lit and people were saying, you know, hey, 826 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:33,160 Speaker 1: I'm not paying anything anymore. And uh so it became 827 00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:36,480 Speaker 1: a thing up there. And now I'm in my old town, 828 00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:40,400 Speaker 1: solar is like, I'm probably a third of the homes 829 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:43,080 Speaker 1: out there in that one little time. But it's starting 830 00:48:43,120 --> 00:48:46,279 Speaker 1: to grow, and I think again, it's something you know 831 00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:50,040 Speaker 1: we can cut down our national energy costs in our 832 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,839 Speaker 1: reliance on for and of oil, which we don't know 833 00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:59,279 Speaker 1: it's the cause of many of our country's skills right now. Yeah, 834 00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:02,759 Speaker 1: I think it's it's a great opportunity. And uh, like 835 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:05,560 Speaker 1: I said, you know, it's it's good economically, and it's 836 00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:09,160 Speaker 1: it's good environmentally. It's a it's a win win, and 837 00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:11,560 Speaker 1: you know, we have the technologies, no matter having the 838 00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:15,000 Speaker 1: will to do it. And I think like you're saying, 839 00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:17,759 Speaker 1: there are we have a couple of towns here that 840 00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:21,040 Speaker 1: public buildings they put in. You know, the community is 841 00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:23,600 Speaker 1: no longer playing a power bill. They're making their own electricity. 842 00:49:23,640 --> 00:49:26,720 Speaker 1: So it's it's an exciting opportunity. And there's some stuff 843 00:49:26,760 --> 00:49:30,120 Speaker 1: coming down the road. There's uh it's called V two 844 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:33,600 Speaker 1: eight something from me with it's vehicle. The home. We're 845 00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:35,879 Speaker 1: like my house here, we put in a tin kill 846 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:38,319 Speaker 1: a lot battery, so if our power goes out, I've 847 00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:41,120 Speaker 1: got ten killer lots of power to keep it running 848 00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:44,400 Speaker 1: for a while. But if you have a tesla, the 849 00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:47,600 Speaker 1: battery in your tesla is probably somewhere between eight and 850 00:49:48,239 --> 00:49:51,080 Speaker 1: a lot eight to twelve times bigger than the battery 851 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:54,040 Speaker 1: I've got here in my house, and with the two 852 00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,760 Speaker 1: H technology, when you pull into your garage, you plug 853 00:49:56,760 --> 00:50:00,760 Speaker 1: in your car, and right now your house then powers 854 00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:05,000 Speaker 1: up your car. But with V too H technology, when 855 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:07,319 Speaker 1: your house needs power, it pulls it from your car 856 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:11,080 Speaker 1: back to the house, and a battery that size would 857 00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:14,960 Speaker 1: run a normal size house for assuming there was no 858 00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:18,000 Speaker 1: sunlight at all, you could keep your house powered with 859 00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:22,080 Speaker 1: your car for three or four days. So there's a 860 00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:26,160 Speaker 1: lot of promises. Yeah, they're actually the nie the Nissan 861 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:30,960 Speaker 1: Leaf is available now is the first car here in 862 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:34,400 Speaker 1: this country that has V too H technology. So and 863 00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:37,680 Speaker 1: for hours we had the folks that's it's pre wired 864 00:50:37,719 --> 00:50:40,960 Speaker 1: for it because we're not there yet. But yeah, it's 865 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:44,399 Speaker 1: it's really some exciting stuff out there that, like I said, 866 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:49,480 Speaker 1: could be good economically and good environmentally. Yeah, and uh 867 00:50:49,719 --> 00:50:55,000 Speaker 1: let's move on. Um. Obviously, with everything that's going on 868 00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:58,360 Speaker 1: in the country right now, you know, a big things 869 00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:05,000 Speaker 1: poet reform and UM protests and violence going across the country. 870 00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:06,840 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's just not everyone. I don't know 871 00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:10,319 Speaker 1: if you've had any issues in North Carolina as we've 872 00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:16,120 Speaker 1: seen now father, you know, Um, it's something that people 873 00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:20,719 Speaker 1: are really for or really against it. It doesn't seem 874 00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:24,160 Speaker 1: to have anything you know, where people are split down 875 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:28,919 Speaker 1: the mental of this, and I know North Carolina isn't. 876 00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:32,400 Speaker 1: It's really a law and order state. So I was 877 00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:35,600 Speaker 1: curious of your tay on all this. You know, what's 878 00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:41,280 Speaker 1: going on with racial injustice and police reform. Yeah, it's uh, 879 00:51:41,360 --> 00:51:44,640 Speaker 1: you know, we haven't had you know, the you know, 880 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:49,040 Speaker 1: the major eventsit you've seen some other places. But you know, 881 00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:52,920 Speaker 1: my background, like I said, my background was in law enforcement. 882 00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:55,000 Speaker 1: You know, I was a criminal justice major. I worked 883 00:51:55,000 --> 00:52:00,799 Speaker 1: in law enforcement training. Um. I one thing I really 884 00:52:00,840 --> 00:52:03,720 Speaker 1: regret is whoever came up with the term defund the police. 885 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:09,200 Speaker 1: It was a horrible label. I wish they did. I 886 00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:13,000 Speaker 1: wish they that. I wish it had been reimagining policing 887 00:52:13,600 --> 00:52:15,040 Speaker 1: because I think, you know, one of the things I 888 00:52:15,040 --> 00:52:17,120 Speaker 1: found frustrating in the military is when you move from 889 00:52:17,120 --> 00:52:19,239 Speaker 1: assignment to assignment, you get to a new place and 890 00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:21,880 Speaker 1: you see how they're doing things, and you ask, well, 891 00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:24,239 Speaker 1: why are we doing it that way? And usually the 892 00:52:24,239 --> 00:52:27,360 Speaker 1: answer was, We've always done it that way. And I 893 00:52:27,440 --> 00:52:31,000 Speaker 1: think we've we've done that with with policing, where you know, 894 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:33,080 Speaker 1: we've kind of gotten into this is the way we've 895 00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:36,000 Speaker 1: always done it, and I think maybe there's some things 896 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:39,080 Speaker 1: that we've we've dumped on the law enforcement that maybe 897 00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:42,480 Speaker 1: belongs somewhere else, for instance, dealing with mental health issues 898 00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:47,000 Speaker 1: and dealing with alcoholism and dealing with drug addiction, and 899 00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:48,799 Speaker 1: in my view, those are to be treated as health 900 00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:52,800 Speaker 1: care problems, not criminal justice problems. So I wish we 901 00:52:52,840 --> 00:52:56,719 Speaker 1: could use this as an opportunity to to look at, 902 00:52:56,760 --> 00:52:58,640 Speaker 1: you know, what are the roles and missions that we 903 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:02,080 Speaker 1: want our law enforcement for estionals to carry out, and 904 00:53:02,160 --> 00:53:06,120 Speaker 1: which ones belonged somewhere else. So I've gotten criticized here. 905 00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:09,680 Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned went to North Carolina Central, which 906 00:53:09,719 --> 00:53:12,799 Speaker 1: is a historically black college, to law school, and then 907 00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:15,400 Speaker 1: I taught at Howard University, which is also a historically 908 00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:18,040 Speaker 1: black college. So I have seven years you know, in 909 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:22,280 Speaker 1: the HDCU community, which again that doesn't mean I've walked 910 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:24,279 Speaker 1: in those shoes, but I've walked with the people that 911 00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:27,640 Speaker 1: are in those shoes, and you know, to pretend that 912 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:31,839 Speaker 1: they're a racial problem is burying your head in the sand. 913 00:53:31,880 --> 00:53:36,520 Speaker 1: I mean, my opponents argued that racism ended in eighteen sixty. 914 00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:39,560 Speaker 1: You know, with the Civil War. He made the argument 915 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:42,280 Speaker 1: that the six hundred thousand Americans died to end slavery, 916 00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:45,279 Speaker 1: and some my pointed out one half of them. We're 917 00:53:45,520 --> 00:53:50,840 Speaker 1: trying to keep slavery, not end it. But it's an opportunity. 918 00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:53,920 Speaker 1: I got criticized from folks on the right for attending 919 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,880 Speaker 1: Black Lives Matter marches in the district, and then I 920 00:53:57,880 --> 00:53:59,920 Speaker 1: got criticized by folks on the left for at ten 921 00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:04,040 Speaker 1: being back the Blue marches. And and my answer is, 922 00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:06,960 Speaker 1: if you're going to Congress to represent the district, you're 923 00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:09,640 Speaker 1: you go to represent everybody, not just the people that 924 00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:13,279 Speaker 1: vote for you and like you. And I think you know, 925 00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:16,480 Speaker 1: both of those movements are those those are folks in 926 00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:20,080 Speaker 1: the community. You know, they're your family, your friends, or neighbors. 927 00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:24,040 Speaker 1: And you know we need to get folks together and 928 00:54:24,160 --> 00:54:28,720 Speaker 1: talk about quit pulling apart less road together for a change. 929 00:54:29,719 --> 00:54:35,799 Speaker 1: And yeah, I'm sorry to interrupted, I totally agree with that, 930 00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,040 Speaker 1: because you know, I think when you look at it, 931 00:54:38,239 --> 00:54:42,200 Speaker 1: a lot of gets lost. I think in the translation, 932 00:54:42,920 --> 00:54:48,160 Speaker 1: the vast majority of our law enforcement officers very very 933 00:54:48,239 --> 00:54:52,160 Speaker 1: good people, and they do their jobs quite well. We 934 00:54:52,280 --> 00:54:55,720 Speaker 1: only hear about those few bad apples when things happen, 935 00:54:56,560 --> 00:54:59,840 Speaker 1: and you know, I think to lump the entire police, 936 00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:04,680 Speaker 1: you know forces to you know, where they're all bad 937 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:10,560 Speaker 1: and they're all racially and just I don't think that's 938 00:55:10,560 --> 00:55:15,200 Speaker 1: doing them any kind of justice there. Yeah, I agree 939 00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:18,080 Speaker 1: that I've analogized it to be in the military that 940 00:55:18,520 --> 00:55:20,640 Speaker 1: I think if you served in the military or you 941 00:55:20,719 --> 00:55:24,040 Speaker 1: served in law enforcement, that you have a presumption of 942 00:55:24,200 --> 00:55:28,840 Speaker 1: honor and integrity. But it's a rebuttable presumption. And you know, 943 00:55:28,880 --> 00:55:31,600 Speaker 1: in the military, we had folks that we had bad apples, 944 00:55:31,600 --> 00:55:33,200 Speaker 1: and you have to get rid of the bad apples, 945 00:55:34,120 --> 00:55:36,520 Speaker 1: and law enforcements the same way. I think there's a 946 00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:40,960 Speaker 1: presumption that they're honorable folks of integrity, and a lot 947 00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:42,600 Speaker 1: like the military. I mean, you're not going to get 948 00:55:42,680 --> 00:55:44,960 Speaker 1: rich being in the military. You're not going to get 949 00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:48,760 Speaker 1: rich stirring in law enforcement, but you're doing something that matters. 950 00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:52,480 Speaker 1: And so I totally agree with that. Most of the 951 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:55,839 Speaker 1: folks that I've known in law enforcement have been good, 952 00:55:55,920 --> 00:55:58,360 Speaker 1: dedicated people that were trying to make a difference for 953 00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:02,480 Speaker 1: their for their community. And but you know, we've seen 954 00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:05,120 Speaker 1: examples of the bad apples and those have to go. 955 00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:08,840 Speaker 1: But I also I don't. I don't support violence on 956 00:56:08,880 --> 00:56:11,080 Speaker 1: the other side either, And I've been really pleased that 957 00:56:12,120 --> 00:56:16,200 Speaker 1: some of the folks here that are activists have said 958 00:56:16,239 --> 00:56:20,040 Speaker 1: that some of the events when they've seen you know, 959 00:56:20,719 --> 00:56:23,160 Speaker 1: folks getting violent, and they've tried to point them out 960 00:56:23,200 --> 00:56:25,600 Speaker 1: to the to the police and say, look, those are 961 00:56:25,640 --> 00:56:28,919 Speaker 1: not our folks. You know, we don't condone this. So 962 00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:31,680 Speaker 1: there's really you know, here in Nashville, this this area 963 00:56:31,760 --> 00:56:35,200 Speaker 1: is heavily dependent on tourism, and so when COVID nineteen 964 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:38,840 Speaker 1: had our you know, restaurants and hotels and those things 965 00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:42,480 Speaker 1: were really really hurting. And then after George Floyd we 966 00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:46,239 Speaker 1: had some marches here there's vandalism, which is just you know, 967 00:56:46,480 --> 00:56:50,600 Speaker 1: I totally rejected. We've got merchants here that we're struggling 968 00:56:50,600 --> 00:56:52,680 Speaker 1: to get by to begin with, and then to vandalize 969 00:56:52,719 --> 00:56:57,680 Speaker 1: their property is inexcusable. But I'd like to see the 970 00:56:57,680 --> 00:57:00,719 Speaker 1: good folks on both sides get together and let's figure 971 00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:02,799 Speaker 1: out how to address this as a community, to do 972 00:57:02,880 --> 00:57:07,879 Speaker 1: better for for all of us. Absolutely, And as you said, 973 00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:11,879 Speaker 1: you know, the the police officers that do suffering from 974 00:57:11,880 --> 00:57:17,200 Speaker 1: his conductor, you know, the use of well not use 975 00:57:17,240 --> 00:57:21,040 Speaker 1: of forces misuse of force. Those have to be weeded 976 00:57:21,040 --> 00:57:25,040 Speaker 1: out and treated them. And and you know, one of 977 00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:28,560 Speaker 1: my other jobs that I do is I cover the NFL, 978 00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:32,720 Speaker 1: so you know where the vast majority of the players 979 00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:38,240 Speaker 1: from the African American community. And again, as you said, 980 00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:42,120 Speaker 1: I haven't watching issues, but you know, talking with some 981 00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:47,040 Speaker 1: of those people, their perceptions of how they stand in 982 00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:50,840 Speaker 1: the law enforcement community are vastly different than some of us. 983 00:57:51,240 --> 00:57:54,960 Speaker 1: And you know, and if if they feel that there's 984 00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:58,000 Speaker 1: an issue there, then we need to change that feeling. 985 00:57:58,520 --> 00:58:04,840 Speaker 1: Doesn't they feel like you there as protected as divers 986 00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:08,760 Speaker 1: of us are, and it is that issue, then we 987 00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:13,280 Speaker 1: need to change that. Yeah, I agree. I was talking 988 00:58:13,280 --> 00:58:16,200 Speaker 1: with the gentleman, African American gentleman. It's a little bit, 989 00:58:16,240 --> 00:58:17,920 Speaker 1: a little bit older than I am, not much, but 990 00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:21,680 Speaker 1: he was an educator. He lives in a nice neighborhood 991 00:58:21,680 --> 00:58:25,480 Speaker 1: as a nice car and uh, we were talking about, 992 00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:28,240 Speaker 1: you know, this very issue, and he was saying that, 993 00:58:28,840 --> 00:58:31,400 Speaker 1: you know, over the last five or five or ten years, 994 00:58:31,400 --> 00:58:33,880 Speaker 1: he's gotten pulled over a half a dozen times driving 995 00:58:33,920 --> 00:58:36,920 Speaker 1: home in the afternoon. You know, he wasn't speeding, he 996 00:58:36,960 --> 00:58:40,320 Speaker 1: didn't cross the yellow line. His tag wasn't expired, but 997 00:58:40,360 --> 00:58:43,960 Speaker 1: he got pulled over, and I haven't gotten pulled over 998 00:58:43,960 --> 00:58:51,280 Speaker 1: in forty years, so you know, it's it's there's definitely 999 00:58:51,320 --> 00:58:53,920 Speaker 1: an issue there that you know, one of the one 1000 00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:55,920 Speaker 1: of the last decisions I wrote as a judge at 1001 00:58:55,920 --> 00:58:59,240 Speaker 1: the Department of Labor was the largest racial discrimination verdict 1002 00:58:59,240 --> 00:59:02,040 Speaker 1: in Department of her history, and it was a case 1003 00:59:02,120 --> 00:59:06,360 Speaker 1: involving an enterprise rental Car of Baltimore. We're in their 1004 00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:11,240 Speaker 1: hiring they were discriminating against African American applicants, and both 1005 00:59:11,240 --> 00:59:15,000 Speaker 1: the government expert and the company's expert agreed that if 1006 00:59:15,040 --> 00:59:17,320 Speaker 1: you look at the hiring pattern, that the odds of 1007 00:59:17,360 --> 00:59:22,560 Speaker 1: it happening by chance, we're a million times less than 1008 00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:25,720 Speaker 1: if you bought a single lottery ticket in one In 1009 00:59:25,760 --> 00:59:27,600 Speaker 1: other words, you buying a lottery ticket to remain I 1010 00:59:27,680 --> 00:59:30,120 Speaker 1: was more likely to win the lottery with one set 1011 00:59:30,120 --> 00:59:33,800 Speaker 1: of numbers. This hiring pattern just happened by a chance. 1012 00:59:34,640 --> 00:59:39,560 Speaker 1: So you know, the notion that all is good on 1013 00:59:39,800 --> 00:59:47,200 Speaker 1: race is ignoring reality. Absolutely, So, sir, how difficult is it? 1014 00:59:47,880 --> 00:59:50,680 Speaker 1: I mean with all the COVID going on and you know, 1015 00:59:50,680 --> 00:59:54,120 Speaker 1: we we we're not being able to congregate like we 1016 00:59:54,240 --> 00:59:58,200 Speaker 1: normally do I know. I'm missing my college football right now, 1017 00:59:58,520 --> 01:00:01,760 Speaker 1: although some of the teams are getting back to playing, 1018 01:00:02,240 --> 01:00:05,080 Speaker 1: but I'm getting off attention. How difficult is it to 1019 01:00:05,200 --> 01:00:08,560 Speaker 1: run a campaign and getting out to meet people when 1020 01:00:08,560 --> 01:00:11,880 Speaker 1: it's really difficult to get out and meet people right now? Yeah, 1021 01:00:12,080 --> 01:00:14,320 Speaker 1: it's a I've never run before, so I mean, just 1022 01:00:14,440 --> 01:00:18,360 Speaker 1: a campaigning in general was a new experience, and then 1023 01:00:18,400 --> 01:00:20,560 Speaker 1: you throw a pandemic on top of it, and it's 1024 01:00:20,560 --> 01:00:24,720 Speaker 1: made it a real, a real challenge except for my opponent. 1025 01:00:24,720 --> 01:00:27,160 Speaker 1: My opponent just pretends like there's nothing going on and 1026 01:00:27,600 --> 01:00:30,080 Speaker 1: is still having big events with no mask and hugging 1027 01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:33,720 Speaker 1: and kissing and doing all that. And my view is, 1028 01:00:33,720 --> 01:00:35,360 Speaker 1: if you want to be in public service and your 1029 01:00:35,440 --> 01:00:37,440 Speaker 1: job one is not put in the public at risk. 1030 01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:43,040 Speaker 1: And so we've been doing events that comply with the 1031 01:00:43,200 --> 01:00:47,040 Speaker 1: with the guidelines, you know, with social distancing and face 1032 01:00:47,120 --> 01:00:51,600 Speaker 1: mask and limiting crowd size, and you know, it's made it, 1033 01:00:51,600 --> 01:00:56,480 Speaker 1: it's made it difficult. But yeah, I look quite literally, 1034 01:00:55,920 --> 01:00:59,280 Speaker 1: prior to COVID nineteen, I had used zoom one time 1035 01:00:59,320 --> 01:01:02,360 Speaker 1: in my life, and now I spent half my day 1036 01:01:02,840 --> 01:01:05,240 Speaker 1: it seems like sitting in front of a camera on zoom, 1037 01:01:05,240 --> 01:01:08,640 Speaker 1: which has been a good tool to uh, you know, 1038 01:01:08,800 --> 01:01:11,040 Speaker 1: in this in this time that we're in. But again, 1039 01:01:11,120 --> 01:01:13,919 Speaker 1: you know, I gues said, we've got counties were people 1040 01:01:13,960 --> 01:01:17,360 Speaker 1: don't have broadband, so I can't reach a m So 1041 01:01:17,600 --> 01:01:19,720 Speaker 1: it really is a challenge to try to how do 1042 01:01:19,720 --> 01:01:22,680 Speaker 1: you connect with those folks when it's it's not safe 1043 01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:24,120 Speaker 1: to go out and have a big event and you 1044 01:01:24,160 --> 01:01:25,960 Speaker 1: don't have internet where you can talk to him on 1045 01:01:26,040 --> 01:01:30,480 Speaker 1: zoom And so we're grappling like a lot of other 1046 01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:32,840 Speaker 1: campaigns and trying to figure out how you adapt to 1047 01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:39,160 Speaker 1: this environment we're living in. Yeah, it's it's very difficult. 1048 01:01:39,480 --> 01:01:44,000 Speaker 1: I know, everyone's getting frustrated, you know, as time goes 1049 01:01:44,040 --> 01:01:47,520 Speaker 1: on and we're all I mean, we would all love 1050 01:01:47,560 --> 01:01:50,800 Speaker 1: to get back to where we're where we were maybe 1051 01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:53,880 Speaker 1: seven eight months ago, but I don't see that happening 1052 01:01:53,920 --> 01:01:56,400 Speaker 1: anytime soon. But with that being said, you don't have 1053 01:01:56,440 --> 01:01:59,760 Speaker 1: a debate coming up from our night, Um now that's 1054 01:01:59,800 --> 01:02:02,400 Speaker 1: got to be a virtual debate. And will there actually 1055 01:02:02,440 --> 01:02:06,040 Speaker 1: be people in attendance there? Yeah, this will be This 1056 01:02:06,160 --> 01:02:09,200 Speaker 1: is our third we had to we had last Friday 1057 01:02:09,240 --> 01:02:11,640 Speaker 1: and last Sturday night. We've got one tomorrow night and 1058 01:02:11,640 --> 01:02:15,120 Speaker 1: another one the end of the month, and it's a 1059 01:02:16,120 --> 01:02:18,000 Speaker 1: we're both you know, my my opponent and I are 1060 01:02:18,080 --> 01:02:21,720 Speaker 1: both there together, and the moderator and the panelist and 1061 01:02:22,960 --> 01:02:26,920 Speaker 1: a few other folks. But it's not your traditional debate 1062 01:02:26,920 --> 01:02:30,080 Speaker 1: where there's a big room full of people. So uh, 1063 01:02:30,320 --> 01:02:34,320 Speaker 1: for the public, you know, it's it's available, it's webcast 1064 01:02:34,440 --> 01:02:37,240 Speaker 1: and folks can can tune in and watch it, but 1065 01:02:37,240 --> 01:02:39,640 Speaker 1: it would be a very small I think we've had 1066 01:02:39,680 --> 01:02:42,680 Speaker 1: ten ten people are less in the rooms the last 1067 01:02:42,680 --> 01:02:44,120 Speaker 1: couple of debates, and I think that will be the 1068 01:02:44,160 --> 01:02:50,840 Speaker 1: case again tomorrow. Okay, well, um, is there anything you'd 1069 01:02:50,880 --> 01:02:54,320 Speaker 1: like to add to our listeners and especially we have 1070 01:02:54,400 --> 01:02:57,640 Speaker 1: a lot of readers and listeners from North Carolina, so 1071 01:02:58,440 --> 01:03:01,560 Speaker 1: you know, to the voter. So there is there any 1072 01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:05,200 Speaker 1: life final message you'd like to put out before we 1073 01:03:05,320 --> 01:03:08,840 Speaker 1: wrap this up? It's afternoon. Yeah, I just I'd like 1074 01:03:08,920 --> 01:03:12,640 Speaker 1: to say, you know, it's here in western North Carolina 1075 01:03:12,680 --> 01:03:16,680 Speaker 1: we're behind you by any objective measure, whether it's education 1076 01:03:16,800 --> 01:03:20,400 Speaker 1: or broadband, or healthcare or poverty. You know, we're we're 1077 01:03:20,880 --> 01:03:24,000 Speaker 1: we've got work to do. And the argument I've made 1078 01:03:24,040 --> 01:03:28,440 Speaker 1: that folks here gave Mark metas four terms, and I've asked, 1079 01:03:28,440 --> 01:03:30,760 Speaker 1: when I'm out around the district, you know, what can 1080 01:03:30,800 --> 01:03:32,560 Speaker 1: you point to that he did to make your life 1081 01:03:32,560 --> 01:03:36,120 Speaker 1: better or your kid's future brighter? And folks really struggle 1082 01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:39,120 Speaker 1: to try to come up with something. So the argument 1083 01:03:39,160 --> 01:03:41,040 Speaker 1: I've made is give me twenty two months and I'll 1084 01:03:41,040 --> 01:03:43,640 Speaker 1: get sworn in on January three and face the voters 1085 01:03:43,640 --> 01:03:47,920 Speaker 1: again in November. Give me twenty two months, and if 1086 01:03:47,920 --> 01:03:49,720 Speaker 1: I don't keep my word and if you don't see 1087 01:03:49,760 --> 01:03:53,480 Speaker 1: things getting better, than fire me. But we can't. You know, 1088 01:03:54,400 --> 01:03:56,520 Speaker 1: we're slipping behind and we need to catch up. And 1089 01:03:57,200 --> 01:03:59,280 Speaker 1: so my commitment is to work for everybody in this 1090 01:03:59,320 --> 01:04:03,120 Speaker 1: district Demo, crap, Republican and unaffiliated, that we're all in 1091 01:04:03,160 --> 01:04:05,360 Speaker 1: this together and we can all we can all move 1092 01:04:05,400 --> 01:04:10,439 Speaker 1: forward together. All right, Well, sir, we want to thank 1093 01:04:10,480 --> 01:04:14,440 Speaker 1: you for joining us here and Software Radio today, for 1094 01:04:14,520 --> 01:04:17,680 Speaker 1: taking the time and talking to us. And you know 1095 01:04:17,880 --> 01:04:21,560 Speaker 1: you've had a very interesting life and now you're running 1096 01:04:21,560 --> 01:04:27,280 Speaker 1: for you know, for office, so you know you're career 1097 01:04:27,360 --> 01:04:30,800 Speaker 1: of public service continues, and well, all the best with that, 1098 01:04:31,760 --> 01:04:34,680 Speaker 1: and uh I once again thanks for taking this time. 1099 01:04:34,680 --> 01:04:38,400 Speaker 1: And Joyce, well, thank you. I really appreciate you taking 1100 01:04:38,440 --> 01:04:41,120 Speaker 1: time to talk with me, and I hope you stay 1101 01:04:41,160 --> 01:04:43,000 Speaker 1: safe and we're gonna have some better days ahead of us. 1102 01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:51,040 Speaker 1: Let's all hopefull we can, you know for anybody. So 1103 01:04:52,040 --> 01:04:54,040 Speaker 1: that said, you know, we wish you all the best, 1104 01:04:54,200 --> 01:04:57,800 Speaker 1: and uh again, sir, stay safe, thank you for your service, 1105 01:04:58,440 --> 01:05:01,960 Speaker 1: and uh you know, uh we wish you all the 1106 01:05:02,040 --> 01:05:06,600 Speaker 1: success in the upcoming election. Really being said, well yes, 1107 01:05:07,040 --> 01:05:12,920 Speaker 1: uh again we appreciate him and and uh patients answered 1108 01:05:13,000 --> 01:05:16,600 Speaker 1: all our questions. But that right up here after this 1109 01:05:16,760 --> 01:05:20,200 Speaker 1: is Software Radio on Time, on target Steve Ballistro Here. 1110 01:05:20,240 --> 01:05:22,720 Speaker 1: We'll be back with another podcast for little soon. We 1111 01:05:22,800 --> 01:05:25,120 Speaker 1: want to thank our guest, Colonel Will Davis, who's running 1112 01:05:25,200 --> 01:05:28,560 Speaker 1: office uh and for joining us here this afternoon, and 1113 01:05:28,560 --> 01:05:47,120 Speaker 1: we'll be back with another show. Love been listening to 1114 01:05:47,360 --> 01:05:49,240 Speaker 1: self reply m