Join Kim Monson as she delves into the intricate world of state politics and governance, highlighting the role of citizens in engaging with legislation that impacts their lives. Kim emphasizes the importance of analyzing issues through the lens of freedom versus force and the implications of giving bureaucrats power over personal choices. In this episode, she also discusses the global influence on local governance and shares insights on how changes in fuel standards can lead to significant economic savings.
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It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
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I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
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The latest in politics and world affairs.
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With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
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Today’s current opinions and ideas.
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I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
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Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
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Indeed. Let’s have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you’re valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That’s Producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda, and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Happy Thursday, Producer Joe.
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Happy Thursday, Kim.
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And thank you for going the extra mile on this very snowy day. I really do appreciate that, Producer Joe, and I appreciate you being behind the boards there. So thank you.
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It’s my pleasure, Kim. It’s fun.
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And be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. Make sure you’re signed up for our weekly email newsletter that goes out on Sundays, highlighting our upcoming guests as well as our most recent essays. You can email me at Kim at Kim Monson dot com. The text line is 720-605-0647. I do want to hear from you and really appreciate you all sharing your perspective on all of these things. And thank you for all of you who support us. We are an independent voice on an independent station, and we’re searching for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. If something’s a good idea, you should not have to force people to do it. And it’s never compassionate nor altruistic to take other people’s stuff, whether or not it’s their rights, their property, freedom, livelihood, opportunity, childhoods, or lives. via force, and force can be a weapon, but it can be policy and unpredictable and excessive taxation, fear, coercion, government-induced inflation, the agenda of the World Economic Forum, and the globalist elites that we are seeing played out all the way down into municipal government, saying no more than a road diet. I was out and about yesterday, and I have This one particular street over in Centennial that has the barriers and the little turtles and the paint and a bike lane that I’ve never seen anybody in. And then they did… I always wondered what was going to happen during… A snow removal, and they did do snow removal on the road diet part of the road. And then also they did clean the bike lanes yesterday as well. So there’s all kinds of money that goes to that. And let’s just think about it. If you didn’t have the road diet, you could have the… snow removal come in and just do the whole street all at once instead of two different sets of people having to come in and be hired to do that. Just think about how much money all of that costs on a local level, and that’s actually related to everything that the globalist elites are trying to do. And one of those is to get us out of our cars and take away our freedom of mobility. So this first headline that yesterday… That Trump rolls back the Biden era fuel efficiency standards for vehicles is huge. And he said he was going to do it. And it was signed into law in 1975. It was the cafe standards, the corporate average fuel economy standards regulate how far vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel. And it says the National Highway Traffic Administration expected to propose reducing the fuel economy requirements from model years 2022 to 2031, a move that will save Americans $109 billion, a White House official told USA Today. And this article is from USA Today. So when we talk about affordability, just think about how saving Americans $109 billion, makes life more affordable. And we’re going to connect a dot here in just a minute to something that Jared Polis had said. But before we do that, I did want to mention Hooters Restaurants. They have locations in Loveland, Westminster, and in Aurora. And they do have delicious nachos. Highly recommend you check out their nacho specials Monday through Friday. Great place to get together to watch all sporting events. And it’s kind of fun because the Denver teams are doing well So that’s always fun to watch the games. But I do appreciate Hooter’s sponsorship of both the Kim Monson Show and America’s Veterans Stories, how I got to know them. It is a very important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism and those pesky PBIs that want to control our lives, those politicians, bureaucrats and interested parties. Our word of the day is affable. And it’s A-F-F-A-B-L-E. And it could be being pleasant and at ease and talking to others. Or number two, characterized by ease and friendliness. And I have to think that we all have someone in our lives that we consider very affable. So it should be easy to use that word in a sentence today. Our quote of the day, I went to Alexander Pope, and he was born in 1688. He died in 1744. He was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era, who’s considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, Pope is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and an essay on criticism and for his translations of Homer. And I was looking for mercy quotes on this because there seems to be no mercy whatsoever for Tina Peters. And we’re really going to address this tomorrow. She’s the Mesa County clerk who she was really in a tough spot because Colorado law puts it put put in place a really a choice whether or not to follow Colorado law, which really prevents preserving federal records, which is federal law regarding our elections. And we must have free, fair, honest and transparent elections or we don’t have a country. And so anyway, she and we’re going to have her attorney on tomorrow as well as the paralegal to talk about this because the County Clerks Association sent a letter saying that Trump had requested that she move from state custody to federal custody, and Polis is saying no. The County Clerks Association sent a letter requesting her to stay in state custody. And I did invite the executive director, Matt Crane, on the show tomorrow as well. He has declined. And I’ll read his statement tomorrow on that. But I’m thinking, where’s the mercy on this? She she wants to appeal the case and she’s never had any criminal behavior ever before. And I’m thinking, where where’s mercy? Where where is that? And I’m just not seeing it. And so I found this quote from Alexander Pope because I was looking for mercy. And he said this, he said, teach me to feel another’s woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I do others show, that mercy show to me. And apparently Tina Peters is asked to be released because her 97-year-old mother is in the hospital in ICU. and it surely seems to me like it would be a merciful thing to do to let her go see her mother so we’re going to continue to talk about this because as gammy has texted me we let out murderers and rapists and pedophiles but we can’t let out a woman who you know probably hardly ever had a traffic ticket something is is odd with all this and so we’re going to continue to to talk about this a bit we have these important discussions because we have amazing sponsors people that really strive for excellence and i’ve got one of those people on the line with me right now and that is karen gorday with radiant painting and lighting karen welcome to the show
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Good morning, Kim. Nice to be here.
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It’s good to have you, and I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving.
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Yes, we sure did. It was quiet, and quiet is good.
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Yeah. You know what? Your life hasn’t been very quiet lately, because you ran for Lakewood City Council and all that you’re doing to be really a citizen advocate. An engaged citizen, I’ll just put it that way. But I can’t believe we’re into December right now. And I had people over, and we’re talking about my kitchen. You’ve been to my house. You know my kitchen. And at some point in time, I need to do an update on it. And they said something. They said, you should just paint and maybe get some new… new doors and things, but cabinets are so expensive. And so I thought I’m going to ask you, because you’ve mentioned this once before about your own personal cabinets, some tips on updating your kitchen, keeping it, you know, kind of spiffy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, yes. And to your point, cabinets are super expensive. And if you want to replace them, I don’t even want to know the cost that it will cost you to replace your cabinets, Kim, because you’ve got a few more than I do. And so you’re looking at, you know, over, you know, on an average kitchen, you know, $50,000 plus. So there’s some things that… that you can do even on your current cabinets, whether you decide to keep them, whether you decide to paint them, because obviously painting them, it’s still going to be several thousand, but it’s not going to be in the tens of thousands. And this is actually right on time because I actually received a call last weekend from a gentleman who had used a magic eraser on his cabinet. And I’m going to say right now, don’t ever – Ever use a magic eraser on your factory finished cabinets, on your painted walls. Just don’t do it. Because magic erasers are actually very, very fine sandpaper. And so you’re going to take the finish off. And so, you know, some common sense things, if something spills on those, clean it up immediately, preferably with a soft, wet microfiber type towel. Or if you don’t have microfiber, then a terrycloth, you know, something soft and just some warm water, but you don’t want to over wet that. And if it’s like a tough, tough stain, or something spilled, you know, it’s just not coming off, you can use a few drops of dish soap with a teaspoon of vinegar in a cup of warm water. And that would typically take those off or, believe it or not, if you don’t have any vinegar, But what most people have in their kitchen is olive oil, and you can use a dab of olive oil for those stubborn things as well. I would test it, you know, in some place where you can’t see it first, but I have found that Most people have olive oil, and believe it or not, it will take off a tough stain. But some things not to ever use, just like a magic eraser, any abrasive powders, scrubbing pads, cleaners with abrasive particles, and then any polishes that have silicone, petroleum, wax citrus, or orange cleaners, those all take the sheen off of… your painted surfaces, um, and, you know, factory finished surfaces. And a lot of people don’t know that. Um, and so it doesn’t take much to, to clean them, but you, there’s certain things you just don’t want to use.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Well, that is good to know. Now, if people were getting in the end of the year, it springs around the corner. Uh, what about planning for painting outside? Are you doing any specials at this time yet? Or what, what does that look like?
SPEAKER 06 :
Not yet. Um, Probably later, after the first of the year, we’ll probably do a small discount, getting ready for spring, probably starting in January. Right now, though, it’s super cold, and I’m just not going to go out in six inches of snow and take a look at someone’s house. I’m just not going to do it.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think that is just fine, Karen Gorday. How can people get more information about you? What is your website?
SPEAKER 06 :
It is www.paintwithradiant.com. And there’s a form that you can fill out. Now come right to us and we can schedule the estimate. Or you can reach out, call or text to 720-940-3887.
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Well, Karen Gorday with Radiant Painting and Lighting, we will talk again next week. Have a great day and stay warm.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Same to you, Kim. Thanks for having me.
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There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
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And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. They’ve been great sponsors of the show for many years. We will be beginning our eighth year of solo broadcasting on the 1st of January. So thank you to the Harris family for all of their great support. On the line with me is my friend and colleague on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, the CUT board, and that is Ramey Johnson. She’s a former state legislator, a former city councilwoman in Lakewood, and really cares deeply about her fellow man. And that is Ramey Johnson. Welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. Good morning. Well, it is good to have you. And one of the things that we focus on at CUT, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, is protecting the taxpayer, protecting property rights, protecting TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, and really parental rights. And many of our board members live in the Lakewood area. And from a property rights standpoint, individual citizens have stepped forward and realized that this agenda that is being played out by the Lakewood City Council and mayor and city manager and staff could be very antithetical to property rights. So set this up for us, Ramey Johnson.
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I’d be happy to. Last summer, the Lakewood City Council passed four different ordinances regarding the zoning. And collectively, they created the entire city to be multi-use, which basically eliminates single family housing. and so there were there have been a group of a very very dedicated folks here in lakewood that have probably spent 20 000 hours getting signatures on petitions let me just back up you can change a zoning ordinance one of two ways you can either add amendments to the current piece of legislature to the current ordinance and vote on it as one whole or you can break it up and and vote on each individually. And that’s what Lakewood City Council did. They broke up our zoning ordinance into four sections which required four petitions in order to address what they had done. Now three of these have been validated and that we have enough signatures to go to a vote of the people. The fourth petition is due a little later this week. And then out of the blue, of course, came a protest was filed on petitions one and two. And we’re expecting it likely on petitions three and four. They are challenging the signatures that we don’t have enough good signatures, if you will. Now, I want to say that the city has validated these. In addition, the people that were gathering signatures went to extraordinary lengths, really, to make sure that our signatures would be complied with by the Secretary of State. In other words, making sure that people spelled out Lakewood, not just put LW. We even went to the extraordinary link. If people did not know how their name was listed with the Secretary of State, we went into the site and showed them the way that she had it listed. So a lot of work was done to make sure that these signatures were accurate. Now, Kim, we know that some of them are going to be thrown out, but… There is a gentleman, Kip Kochmeyer, he’s an attorney, and he has filed a protest on behalf of two registered voters here in Lakewood. And one is the pastor of Lakewood United Methodist, saying that single family housing is racist. And I know. And Kip Kochmeyer is an attorney. He is doing this pro bono for those two individuals. He also filed that we did not have an issues committee early on. An issues committee is needed if you are getting donations. And he stated, we have the emails from the city clerk, Jay Robb, answered that that we did not need to have an issues committee because it was not on the ballot yet. So people have been using their own private money, if you will, to buy the signs to pay for the printing of the petitions. And at one point, there was an office space that was rented out of one gentleman’s pocket so that we had a single place to get signatures. And it did. It went to a hearing that happened two weeks ago. We still have not heard. The hearing officer has got two weeks to let us know. The interesting thing about this is that Jay Robb, who is the city clerk, answered us. that we did not need a ballot, or we did not need to have that issues committee. And when he received the complaint from Kip Kochmeyer, He should have just told them that they don’t need this at this point. But instead, he raised it to a hearing officer, which just muddies the water and makes it harder and more expensive for the people that are trying to do this. So there was a hearing. We haven’t heard yet. It stalls the whole process, Kim. of getting this to the ballot.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and that’s really the strategy of what they’re trying to do, because it seems like if the city clerk had approved, whatever the word is, those petitions, then that seems like that should stand. So what we’re seeing is a political strategy. to really, I think, prevent the voice of the people to be heard and to actually send these questions to a ballot, right? That’s ultimately what it is, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. They don’t want it to go to a vote of the people. And interesting, too, the hearing was there in the city council chambers and in the same building just right around the corner from the city clerk’s He and the city manager, neither one bothered to come to that hearing, and nothing in this city happens without our city manager’s stamp of appeal. Or stamp of approval. Yeah, stamp of approval. So J. Rob heightened this to a hearing officer with the approval of the city manager, and neither one of them would even come to the hearing, which was…
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. So so the strategy is to try to delay this and to try to make it expensive. So you’ve got here over here on the other side, you’ve got the city, which lives off of the taxpayer saying that, hey, taxpayer, we don’t want to hear your voice. And we want to make it more expensive for you, the taxpayer, who’s already paying taxes, that you will have to have attorneys and a variety of things for these hearings. And this is really, it’s a travesty. But this is playing out throughout our country. But I think Lakewood is really a flashpoint on all of this. And the fact that you have people that have stepped forward as citizens saying, wait a minute, we would like to hear from the people, just to have an election and hear from the people. And you see staff and electeds, and I have that in air quotes, that say, that are saying no and so this is so important what the people of lakewood are doing out there ramey and so this last petition um how can people if they live in lakewood they have to be a registered voter uh how can they sign that oh that’s a good that’s a really good question i’ll tell you what just have them contact me at
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303-887-9649, and I will get them to the right person to do that. And also, Kim, the irony of this is that we are paying the salaries of these people that are fighting us. When we went to the hearing, there was an attorney there from the city. He wanted to know who was waiting in the atrium, and I introduced myself, and he says, well, I’m on the other side. And I looked at him and I said, I thought we’re all on the same side, really. He said, well, I’m with the city. And we are paying them to fight us to have our opportunity to redress our own government. It’s crazy, really.
SPEAKER 04 :
It really is, and it’s constitutional. The founders knew how important it was that we be able to redress our government to address these things, and we’re seeing the voice of the people being stifled, particularly right here. So, Rami, thank you for the update on this. We need to, and the Colorado Union of Taxpayers is nonpartisan, and I think it’s important that we say that. We look at these issues from foundational principles standpoints, and it really is an amazing group that we get to work with, Ramey, and I want to give a shout-out to them, and that’s our fellow volunteer board members, Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knup, Sean Nelson, Winnie Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, you guys, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, Corey Onozorg, Paula Beard, and Ray Beard. We really are blessed to work with an amazing group of people, Rami.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, we are, and I have the greatest respect for each and every one of them. Everybody brings a different strength and understanding to the table. And they’re a delight to be with. I’m actually very proud to be part of CUT.
SPEAKER 04 :
I am as well. And we would love to have people join us as we are ramping up for this next legislative session. And we have our ratings report that is being distributed as we speak for the 2025. legislature, which we’ve done great work on that. You can join us by going to coloradotaxpayer.org. Ramey, thank you for this update. Kudos to you and your other citizen activists that are stepping forward, being engaged, because this is how we reclaim our communities and our state and our country. So Ramey, thank you so much. Thank you, Kim. Bye-bye. Yes, and these discussions happen because of our sponsors. And another great sponsor is Karen Levine with REMAX Alliance.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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All Kim’s sponsors are in inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Financial freedom starts with the right guy. We talk about freedom all the time. Mint Financial Strategies is here to help. They’re an independent firm with over 25 years of experience in the credentials of an accredited investment fiduciary. They offer advice that’s focused on you, not a sales quota. Their strategy-first approach is all about helping you live life on your terms with clarity, confidence, and control. so call mint financial strategies today that number is 303-285-3080 they are your path to independent financial confidence and i’m very pleased to have on the line with me john zahler he is the executive producer of exhibition hub a curator and distributor of world-renowned immersive exhibitions he’s honed his unique skills of production visual art and set design for more than 25 years while working in the museums, entertainment, retail, and attractions, theme parks, industries, through his own immersive design firm, KRE8360. It specializes in creating story-driven, traveling immersion experiences, and he’s contributed to creating and overseeing multiple immersive experimental environments, including Titanic. Jurassic World, Bodies, the exhibition, Star Trek, and so many things. But right now, what has stomped into Denver is Dinos Alive. And I wanted to talk with John about that. John, welcome.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thank you, Kim. Great to be back on the show. Always love getting a chance to talk to you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Same here. And, John, I had the great delight to go to Dino’s Alive over the Thanksgiving holiday. And it was great. And it was just really fun for all ages. I know that the little ones… could be a little bit scared. But in fact, I heard a three-year-old say, I was a little scared, but I was brave. But it was just absolutely a delight to step out of all of the hustle and bustle of holidays and all of the stuff in the political climate. And it was really a delight. So tell us the inspiration for Dinos Alive.
SPEAKER 18 :
So, you know, you mentioned I created the Jurassic World experience that’s been traveling. I’ve actually created quite a few dinosaur shows. And I always felt one of the things that it needed more of was that level of immersion that’s so central to what I do. And with Dinos Alive, what we wanted to do was we wanted to take you back in time and both with the scenery and with the lighting. So you really felt like you were immersed in the Mesozoic jungle. But we wanted to overlay, as we always do, those great technological elements. So it came from all this research and time I spent working with paleontologists, but also the more recent work I’ve done with advanced technology, saying, how do we bring these two worlds together together? And I think Dinos Alive really does that. And you’re right, it is such a great way during the holidays to get away from it all, let the kids get their zoomies out too, have some fun and excitement, but also a lot of scientific learning.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I, because we had all age groups, that meant that I couldn’t really stop and read everything the way I would like to. So the time frame can be shorter for, depending on the children’s ages. But yet I, there was someone there with, it appeared to me to be, it would have been probably a middle-aged person with diabetes. with their parent who was in a wheelchair. And they were so enjoying the whole thing as well. And I just stepped back and I thought, it’s pretty remarkable, John, when you can put something in place that you can have a two-year-old enjoy it, and yet you can have someone in their 80s enjoy it. That’s a pretty amazing feat to make something like that happen, John Soller.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, well, thanks so much, Kim. I mean, we did Create Down as Alive with the intention of it being for all ages. I do see, you know, I see a lot of 20-something couples in there who might be on a date, which is pretty fun. You definitely see your families with parents and children. And you do see a lot of grandparents and grandchildren as well. So it really does appeal across the ages. And I think that is a testament also to the fact that No matter what we think about it, you know, we all love dinosaurs. They’re the most incredible creatures that ever lived on the planet. And they seem like mythological beasts, but they actually were real and actually were here for almost 200 million years. So it really is something that kind of takes your breath away. And we do try to communicate that through Dinos Alive. both with that intro video where you meet Professor Eppock, who brings you into the scene, as you go through and you get to dive to the undersea ocean and swim with the plesiosaurs. And then the walking VR at the end is a really nice journey through all the eras of the Mesozoic, all the periods of the Mesozoic, where you encounter dinosaurs really up close and personal in a very powerful way. The animatronic dinosaurs are certainly exciting, and there’s so much movement. But that virtual reality element takes it to another level.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it really does. And there’s a lot going on with the whole exhibit. So when you walk in, there’s a couple of different, I guess there’s like a dinosaur slide. So there’s all kinds of little kids that’s going up and down that.
SPEAKER 18 :
It’s really fun. You slide down the tail of a sauropod or out of the T-Rex’s mouth. It’s really fun.
SPEAKER 04 :
And so that’s great. And then I love the excavation, little excavation boxes. I saw all kinds of kids around that, and that’s really a great idea. So tell us just a little bit more about that.
SPEAKER 18 :
Sure. So, you know, it’s based on a fossil, a Velociraptor fossil that was discovered. And it’s essentially… layer of sand and we give we give the kids of any age that little little tools and instruct them to you know how you would clean up a day how you would do your own excavation of the dig site and in that way you get that that little experience of being a mini paleontologist and also having that feeling of discovery as you discover the the fossil underneath the the dig pit
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I saw parents having to pull their kids away from that saying, hey, it’s time to go. And the kids wanted to stay. Now, another thing that just cracked me up, and that is you can buy tickets to ride the dinosaurs. And that’s pretty cool. So tell us a little bit. I think there’s three different dinosaurs that little kids could ride.
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, you know, it’s funny when you were saying at the beginning that you heard somebody say, The three-year-old was saying, you know, I was scared, but I was brave. I thought he was going to say, I was scared, but then I got to ride a dinosaur. Because I’ll tell you, having done this for a long time, if you want to know what the definition of happiness or bliss is, it’s seeing a child’s face when they’re riding a dinosaur. And it’s kind of a lot to put these rides together and get them in place. And it’s something that other dinosaur experiences don’t always do. But it’s something I always want to include because it’s kind of like a payoff where you’ve been encountering these creatures throughout the time you’ve been there. Giant dinosaurs, small dinosaurs, you get to know them a little bit. And then you get to tame one or you get to make one your pet. And it’s this really cool connection that kids have with dinosaurs already gets amplified. because of that ability to sit on this dinosaur that you’re in control of that’s riding around.
SPEAKER 04 :
And yeah, it’s pretty cool as well. So I think one of the things that’s so important about the exhibit is you combine education and fun. And another fun thing, and kids were lined up and did it several times, was this race against a dinosaur. So tell us a little bit about that.
SPEAKER 18 :
So that is a really fun element. And we… All these experiences we do try to create, I try to make it so that you’re immersed and you’re totally focused on this experience. So all that other science info and all other info that we want the kids to learn pours into them in sort of this effortless way. But with the race, the dinosaur, you get to line up, you hit the button, and you – Run as a dinosaur runs next to you. You can pick three levels, beginning, intermediate, and expert. And then you can see if you can beat the dinosaur. Some of these dinosaurs, like the velociraptors, could run at over 35 miles an hour. So it would be hard for us to actually beat a velociraptor. But if you set it at the intermediate setting… and you beat the dinosaur, it comes back. It’s projection-based, so the dinosaur then comes back with its head hung low, and it’s all sad that you won. But when the dinosaur beats you, it’s also celebrating as it’s coming back. It is a lot of fun, and it’s just a great way to have that physical interactivity in a space when you’re creating exhibits. But you have to be indoors. You want to get out of the weather warm. or just give the kids a chance to, all that excitement around dinosaurs, get it out some way in the exhibit. It’s a great place to do it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it really is, and kids have a lot of energy, and to do something like this, it’s really important. So I know that you have exhibits all over the country, if not all over the world. Is there other Dinos Alive exhibits, or is this the only one?
SPEAKER 18 :
So we’ve got our exhibit in Denver. We also are currently about to open in San Diego. And we have a dinosaur exhibit in Montreal right now. So plus others, if I think about it, we’ve got a couple in Europe, and we’re also in Perth, Australia. So dinosaurs did roam the planet when they were around. And thanks to Dinos Alive, they’re continuing to roam the planet.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we’re going to continue the discussion with John Zoller, who is the executive producer of Exhibition Hub and Dinos Alive, which has stumped into Denver at the beginning of November. And we get to have these conversations because of our sponsors. And another great sponsor is Lorne Levy for Everything Mortgages.
SPEAKER 20 :
many seniors are feeling squeezed because of inflation higher property taxes and increasing costs of living if you’re 62 or older a reverse mortgage may be the solution reverse mortgages can be complicated so it’s important that you understand the process and work with a trusted professional mortgage expert lauren levy will help you craft solutions for your unique circumstances whether a reverse mortgage first mortgage or a second mortgage If you’d like to explore how a reverse mortgage might help you, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. That’s 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 12 :
April 26th, 1777. Colonel, the British are raiding Danbury and burning the town. I’ll go tell them. 16-year-old Sybil Ludington mounted her horse and rode 40 miles through night and pouring rain. That’s twice the distance of Paul Revere to sound the alarm.
SPEAKER 02 :
Quickly, assemble at my father’s house.
SPEAKER 12 :
The Kim Monson Show is our modern-day Sybil Ludington, bringing us the latest breaking news in the battle for truth and freedom. Ben’s Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling is proud to stand with Kim. Will you stand with us? Get engaged with the issue. We’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 01 :
Do you strive for excellence as you work with your clients and customers? Does it make sense for you to add a unique and focused branding opportunity to your marketing portfolio? Would you like to access a broad customer base that loves our country and wants to make life better for ourselves, our neighbors, our colleagues, our children, and our grandchildren? Then you may be a perfect fit as a sponsor slash partner of The Kim Monson Show. To learn more, reach out to Teresa at 520-631-9243. Teresa would love to talk with you again. That number is 520-631-9243.
SPEAKER 04 :
and welcome back to the kim monson show be sure and check out our website that is kim monson m-o-n-s-o-n dot com and i did want to mention a couple of non-profits that i really love and support and one is the usmc memorial foundation we have the official marine memorial right here in Golden at 6th and Colfax. And a great gift this Christmas, Hanukkah season, would be to buy a brick that will be on one of their pathways of service to honor your military or your loved one’s military service. You can do that by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. You will receive a certificate for that brick, and that will occur then when they do get the remodel done. But the certificate can be wrapped. It’s delightful and a great gift. And then also the Center for American Values, has a great Medal of Honor quote book from Medal of Honor recipients. The center is located in Pueblo, which is known as the home of heroes because there’s four Medal of Honor recipients that grew up in Pueblo, Colorado. And so the Center for American Values is nonpartisan and nonpolitical, just focused on foundational principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. And the Medal of Honor quote book is a great gift as well for Christmas or Hanukkah. And you can order that by going to AmericanValuesCenter.org. I’m talking with John Zoller. He’s the executive producer of Exhibition Hub. He’s a curator and distributor of world-renowned immersive exhibitions. And in early November, Dinos Alive stomped into Denver. And John Zoller, how long do you plan on having the exhibit here in Denver?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, I hope we’re there. We’re definitely there through Christmas. And There’s a lot of interest, and so I’m hoping we’re going to stay probably until the spring, I hope.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 18 :
It really depends, but there has been incredible turnout in Denver. The community has been really supportive of the experience.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I would highly recommend, again, coming into Christmas, having family in, get your tickets. Because explain this, and I think this is also very smart. You sell tickets at certain times so that people don’t just come in and they’re totally on top of each other. So explain that, and how can people get tickets?
SPEAKER 18 :
So dinosaliveexhibit.com, that’s the place to go for tickets. And you pick your city and then you pick a day. We’re open every day except for Tuesday and a time slot. And the time slot, I’m glad you mentioned that, Kim, because the time slot is something we thought a lot about back in the day, you know, way back when we were first doing exhibits. You might sell 500 tickets in a day, and everybody would come between 1 and 2 o’clock because that’s when everybody – it was the weekend, and it was right after lunch or right before the evening. And what you found is everybody loved the exhibit, but there was a challenge because it was so crowded. So what we do is we space it out in increments of about 90 to 100 people per half hour. And then that allows you to go through with your family, your loved ones, your date, your partner, and enjoy the exhibit without it being completely mobbed. I mean, it does get crowded in there, especially if you were there over Thanksgiving weekend, Kim. But this gives it a little bit more breathing room, a little bit more space so people can take that time, enjoy the experience without kind of feeling pushed through by the throng behind them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I really think that makes a lot of sense. Now, the time that we went was 11 o’clock, which was pretty busy at 11 a.m. When we were leaving around noonish during lunch, I thought, gosh, this is probably a really good time to go at noon because there was not quite as many people. And so that’s a way you can think about things. I remember going to, when I would take my kids to the zoo, if I’d go late afternoon, by that time, most everybody had been to the zoo when they wanted to be there, and so there wasn’t as many people, which I kind of like that, to not have quite as many people on top of each other. So A, what you’ve done with the exhibit is you’ve tried to address that with these different time slots, But also I think people, if they kind of think about when maybe kids are taking naps or whatever, that they go during those times and they’ll have maybe not quite as many people at that time. But how people can get tickets is go to dinosaliveexhibit.com and then it’ll say choose your city. And it is pretty amazing. You’ve got Dinos Alive in Denver and Montreal. You said San Diego soon, Sao Paulo in Brazil, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, Ottawa, Quebec. My gosh, I can’t believe this, all these different exhibits where it’s either been or is currently at.
SPEAKER 18 :
And it doesn’t even scratch the surface of how many dinosaurs roam the planet for how long. I mean, that’s just a testament to the enduring fascination we have with dinosaurs today. It’s a subject that makes me feel like a kid again, makes me feel like a scientist, makes me proud of all the work that all the great paleontologists have done. I just love being able to share with everybody around the world.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think it truly is a gift. Again, you can get your tickets by going to dinosaliveexhibit.com. John Zoller, what happened to the dinosaurs?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, Kim, it’s a gruesome, it’s a somewhat grim story, but it’s a great story to tell. About 65 million years ago, an asteroid that was around six miles wide made an impact into the Earth right where the Yucatan is in Mexico. And so in the Gulf, there’s a depression from this impact. This impact… rain pushed billions of tons of material into the atmosphere and it used to be thought that that material all created a haze around the earth that kind of slowly killed the dinosaurs but What later research has posited is that that impact impacted the Earth so hard that there were tidal waves, there were earthquakes, there were volcanoes, like everything that was underneath the surface of the Earth came pouring out. All of that material that was up in the atmosphere came raining back down in a rain of fire. And it’s very likely that the majority, up to 80% of the dinosaurs that were on the planet died that day that that impact was was made, which is a horrifying way to go. And I mean, just such a dramatic ending kind of fitting to how dramatic the reign of the dinosaurs was. And then there’s some, there’s some debate. It’s not settled yet. It might’ve been a couple dozen years. It might’ve been a few hundred years. It might’ve been a few thousand years that the rest of the dinosaurs died out as all their other food sources died. died off because of the kind of global winter that was created. But what did come out of that were small mammals. And those small mammals ended up turning into big mammals like us. And had the dinosaurs not been wiped off the earth in this incredible fashion, we humans may well not have ever made it onto the planet because one of the dinosaurs’ favorite small snacks was small mammals.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I did notice that some of those dinosaurs have rather big teeth, John Zoller. So a couple of questions. I want to make sure before we get to the end of the show is that people can get tickets by going to dinosaliveexhibit.com and click on Denver, the city. The location is 3900 Elati Street, which is basically 38th and I-25. So very easy to get to, and parking is free. That’s another thing is that people, many times you may buy tickets to go take your family somewhere, and you get there and you have to then pay parking as well. So that was a really nice feature also regarding that. What would you say, John Zoller, is your favorite part of the Dinos Alive immersive experiment? Or experience, I should say.
SPEAKER 18 :
I mean, my favorite part is seeing the… that look on the kids’ faces when they encounter these massive creatures, life-size dinosaurs, animatronic moving dinosaurs. And it’s just so satisfying every time because they’ve read about them, they’ve dreamed about them, they’ve thought about them, and then there they are right in front of them. It’s a great payoff, and I think the environment that we’ve put these dinosaurs in makes that engagement that much more powerful for them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and saying that, John Zoller, we’ve got just a couple of minutes left. I think that this would be a great field trip for a teacher to take their kids on a field trip that these kids will remember it for their lifetimes. So, again, people or teachers can get more information by just going to the website, dinosaliveexhibit.com.
SPEAKER 18 :
And we’ve got great, yes, and we have great educational materials, too, that we’ve created that take you through the whole STEM curriculum. different ways to engage with whatever you’re teaching in your class. There’s definitely a module in our educator’s guide for that. So I’m glad you mentioned that, Kim, and birthday parties. We have a party room. And it’s great. There’s no better birthday party than a dinosaur birthday party.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think that is probably true. So, again, the place to get tickets is dinosaliveexhibit.com, and then just click on Denver. And, John Zoller, your final thought.
SPEAKER 18 :
Dinosaurs are worth revisiting again and again. because of just their incredible power as creatures and that they have in our imagination. They help us understand how old the Earth is and how wild it was and can be.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, well, John Zoller, executive producer of Dinos Alive, again, at ticketsdinosaliveexhibit.com. We’ll talk again. We’re going to have to have another update, John Zoller.
SPEAKER 18 :
Always great to talk to you, Kim. It’s one of my favorite calls when I get a chance, so I really appreciate it, and thanks so much for all you’re doing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thank you, and have a great day. Now, our quote for the end of the show is from Alexander Pope. He said this, “‘What reason weaves by passion is undone.'” So today, be grateful, read great books, think good thoughts, listen to beautiful music, communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically, strive for high ideals, and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. Stay tuned for hour number two.
SPEAKER 17 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show. Analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 04 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 14 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 04 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
SPEAKER 14 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 04 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 14 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 04 :
indeed let’s have a conversation and welcome to our number two of the kim monson show thank you so much for joining us you’re each treasured you’re valued you have purpose today strive for excellence take care of your heart your soul your mind and your body my friends we were made for this moment in history thank you to the team that’s producer joe luke rachel zach echo charlie mike theresa amanda and all the people here at crawford broadcasting happy thursday producer joe happy thursday kim And, gosh, I love all the conversations that we have with so many knowledgeable people, creative people. It was fun to talk with John Zoller about Dinos Alive and Hour Number One. If you missed that, you can hear that in the 1 to 2 o’clock hour. That’s rebroadcast. And then this hour will be rebroadcast 10 to 11 p.m., and that’s on all KLZ 560 platforms. And then after that, the podcast will be on my website or you can listen to them via Spotify or iTunes. So be sure and check that out. I do have people say that that 6 a.m. is early for many of them to hear the show. And I’m like, never fear. You can listen to it at 1. So check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com. And make sure you’re signed up for our weekly email newsletter so that you know what’s coming up. And thank you to all of you who support us. We’re an independent voice and we search for truth and clarity by looking at these issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Something’s a good idea. You should not have to force people to do it. And the text line is 720-605-0647. It’s very busy. I’m doing my best to try to stay on top of that. You guys are all so smart and keep those cards and letters coming. I really do appreciate it. On the show, we focus on the issues. We’ll mention the people involved in those issues, but we really work to stay out of the personality fighting. And case in point, there’s been a lot of emotion around Tina Peters and her case. And I am going to have her attorney on tomorrow, John Case, and his paralegal. Linda Good, and then had invited the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association to join us as well because he, well, the County Clerks Association had sent a letter to Governor Polis stating to keep Tina Peters in custody here in Colorado instead of federal custody. She has been sentenced to nine years In prison. And I really wondered, where is the mercy on this? She was really caught in a tough spot from a federal standpoint in our federal elections. Election records are supposed to be kept for, I think it’s 20, 20 some months. And Colorado’s right around there as well as 22, 27 months. 24, right around there. It’s different for the two of them, but they’re close. And so what happened is the Colorado Secretary of State had dictated a, I have this in air quotes, a trusted build. And my understanding, and we’ll learn more about this tomorrow, is that Tina was concerned that election records might be overridden or destroyed. And it was her job from a federal standpoint to keep those records. And so that’s really what this whole thing stems from. And so I went to… I was looking for quotes about Mercy because she’s been in prison for a year. She’s waiting for her appeal, and she had wanted to be out while this appeal was in process, and that’s been denied, and the federal custody looks like that’s being denied at this time. But Tina is asked to be able to get out because her mother is 97 years old and isn’t in the hospital. And I was just thinking about mercy. Where are we with mercy and grace? But that seems to be one of the things with the radical left, and there are Republicans on that side as well, quite frankly, if you look at all of the different county clerks, that they didn’t sign this letter personally, but there’s only one county clerk that pushed back on this letter. So I want to say to all of these people, where’s the mercy? Where’s the grace on this? And we had stories about people getting out of jail. There was a new law that was passed in Colorado if they were deemed incompetent. And it’s putting criminals back on the street because they’re saying they’re not competent for trial. But yet we’ve got Tina Peters languishing in prison over here. So I was looking for quotes about mercy. This is from Alexander Pope. He was born in 1688, died in 1744. He was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era. He said this, “‘Teach me to feel another’s woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy shown to me.'” And I thought that was pretty beautiful. Our quote of the day is affable, A-F-F-A-B-L-E. And it could be one, being pleasant and at ease and talking to others. Or number two, characterized by ease and friendliness. And I would say my next sponsor is very affable. And we’ve been friends for many years, so I know that. And that is Karen Levine with REMAX Alliance. Welcome, Karen.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good morning, Kim. And I would agree, you are also affable. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
How’d you like the way we worked that in? That’s great, Karen. That was great.
SPEAKER 07 :
The fabulous word of the day.
SPEAKER 04 :
It is, and it’s A-F-F-A-B-L-E. So, Karen, I can’t believe that we’re into December. And when we were texting back and forth, I said, what should we talk about? And you said, well, you know, it’s not too soon to start thinking about 2026. So what should people be doing?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I got to thinking that… In business, we start business planning mid-November, early December. And in school, whatever, we’re goal setting, all those type of things. And so I think it’s important that your listeners, if they’re thinking about changing their address in 2026, whether that is to become a homeowner, whether that’s to move up to a bigger home because their family is growing and they need more space or they want more elbow room or they’re looking to move down and make things simpler. Now’s a great time to start having those conversations with someone like myself to get yourself planned for achieving that goal with ease. And I have a seller that I started helping prepare to make a move almost two years ago. And that time has been spent very, very well getting their home prepared, getting them mentally in the right place. And so we started that conversation, and I thought it would be prudent and also helpful to listeners who are thinking about real estate opportunities. Now is a good time to have that conversation.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and what would that conversation look like? So let’s say that it’s a young person. There seems to be some opportunity. There’s opportunity, I think, for parents possibly to use some of the equity in their homes to help their children get that down payment. So let’s say a young person calls. What does that process look like?
SPEAKER 07 :
Typically what I like to do and what I would ask of the prospective buyer is that we set aside about an hour and a half for a buyer consultation. And we can do that in person, which is my preference, but we can also do it over Zoom. And we go through what does the process of buying a home look like and what are the things you as the buyer need to be thinking about and getting prepared in your financial world so that you can make that move that you’re desiring, make that purchase. And I have a client right now who has gotten some financing, and Lorne wasn’t able to provide this. He does have some programs that also are pretty amazing. But there are homes in our marketplace that, and it’s the home, but it allows the home buyer to take advantage of this opportunity. It was the Reinvestment Act in the 1970s. But anyway, banks are offering up to $7,000 in closing costs towards these properties, which I think is pretty awesome.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. Okay. And you’ve got your finger on that. And I know Lauren is able to help with many, many things, and that’s Lauren Levy regarding mortgages. But you and Lauren work together, and you both have the client’s best interests in mind. How can people reach you, Karen, if they’re thinking about changing their address in 2026? Sure.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the best way to reach me is give me a call at 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 04 :
And again, that’s Karen Levine for Everything Residential Real Estate. That would be new construction. It could be a new home, selling your home. That number is 303-877-7516. Karen, we will talk with you next week.
SPEAKER 07 :
Sounds great, Kim. Have a good day.
SPEAKER 04 :
And, again, I’m blessed to work with amazing people. And another group is Roger Mangan’s State Farm Insurance Team. He’s been in business over 50 years, serving his customers, providing for his family, and giving back to the community. And he can help you with all of your insurance needs. Give them a call. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Insurance Team is there.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 21 :
The Second Amendment is in our Constitution to protect your right to resist oppression and protect your right to protect yourself, your family, and your freedom from out-of-control PBIs, politicians, bureaucrats, and interested parties. Those rights are under attack. Colorado’s premier grassroots Second Amendment organization, the Second Syndicate, is fighting to preserve and protect your constitutional rights. The Second Syndicate exposes the most pressing threats to the Second Amendment by providing education, resources, and tools to help you stay informed empowered, and prepared. Join the movement. Check out thesecondsyndicate.com, where the second is first. That’s thesecondsyndicate.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Do you have big dreams for your future, but you’re not quite sure how to get there? Call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. They know your financial life is unique, and as an independent firm and accredited investment fiduciary, they build personalized strategies that put your freedom and goals first. No sales pressure, no one-size-fits-all approach, just thoughtful guidance built around you. So take that first step toward your future. Call Mint Financial Strategies. That number is 303-285-3080. 303-285-3080. And also wanted to say thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. We will begin our eighth year of solo broadcasting on January 1 of 2026. And the Harris family has been a sponsor of all this for a long time. We are an independent voice on an independent station, and so I appreciate all of our sponsors immensely. Pleased to have on the line with me a fan favorite, and that is Colonel Bill Rutledge. He’s retired United States Air Force. He’s 97 years young, and Colonel Rutledge, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 10 :
Good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 04 :
It is good to have you, and we will tease America’s Veterans Stories for this week as well. We’re going to record this a little bit later today, but this Sunday is the anniversary of the attack upon Pearl Harbor in 1941. And you said, Kim, we should do a show on this because you knew people who were there, and we thought that would be very appropriate. So I’m excited to record that a little bit later today, Colonel Rutledge.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, one other thing about December 7th, and it was 10 years later, I married my wife on December 7, 1951.
SPEAKER 04 :
And you were together until she passed on because of complications from COVID, correct?
SPEAKER 10 :
Correct. We were together for 69 years married and 76 total, counting all of our high school and college days.
SPEAKER 04 :
Virginia sounds like a wonderful woman. So let’s get over here. We’re going to talk about, and this is what I had in the newsletter, the Colorado Representative Jason Crow and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and they took part in a video encouraging our military to not follow illegal orders. And so that’s what we talked about, but we’re moving the show around just a little bit because your good friend General Bob Beckel recently passed on and you said, Kim, we really should talk a bit about him. In fact, I think some of his services are today, correct, Colonel Rutledge?
SPEAKER 10 :
That’s correct. The original plan was to have a memorial service outside at the Air Force Academy at 1.30 today. And I received correspondence from his son, who’s also an academy graduate, inviting me down. But I told him I just didn’t have the stamina to go down there. And I would be there if I could. Bob Beckel was one of the greatest graduates of the Air Force Academy. I had just returned from Greenland and was at Lowry Air Force Base in the summer of 1957. And I first met him when he came to my office to have my secretary prepare minutes, or actually records, of an honor court operation which he had presided over as the first cadet wing commander. And we talked, and I was interested because I had been on many military court marshals, which is relevant to our next subject, under the UCMJ. And I was interested to find out how the Cadet Honor Code related to the overall military legal system under the UCMJ. So I read what he had prepared in writing before Donna typed it up. And I looked at it, and I said, Bob, I’ve been on a lot of courts, and as I’ve looked through this, we would not prosecute this individual because of reasonable doubt. And he said, well, this is not under the UCMJ. This is under our rules, and that’s the way it goes. And I never questioned it again, and I don’t even know what the results were.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. But he was just a really amazing individual. Yesterday when we were talking, you were going through many of the things that he accomplished. And so we want to honor him. So what do you want people to know about him?
SPEAKER 10 :
We’ll just sort of go through it sequentially. As a cadet, he was in the first class. He was offered the opportunity to go to West Point the year before he entered the Air Force Academy. He’d only finished his 11th year in high school, but he was also a great student and a talented basketball player. So they looked at it, and he said, no, I’m going to wait, and I’m going to go and be in the first class at the new United States Air Force Academy. And so he did. He was living in his home where he’d grown up. in Walla Walla, Washington. He and Donna both grew up there.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I think you might want to admit or explain that he ended up marrying Donna, your secretary.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, he did. Matter of fact, there was a rather strange situation. I didn’t even know they were engaged. He came over and asked, would it be possible for her to do this for him? And I said, of course. I did not know that he was already selected by the AOCs to be the first wing commander of the first graduating class. So he was just a young man who was starting his junior academic year, and it was a pleasure to meet him. But that was the beginning of over six decades that we have kept in touch and communicated with on many, many subjects. But while he was at the academy, he was the first and only to this very day All-American basketball player. And in addition to that, what most people never knew, he actually played shortstop in the baseball team and batted over 400. He was just a very versatile individual. He is the only person who ever would be the cadet commander in two consecutive years because there was no first class when he was appointed as a junior, and they call that the second class. And he also then was selected for the following year. This decision was made by the commissioned officers who were there for the first— And they still have AOCs. This is Air Officer Commander. Air Officer Commander. These are all commissioned officers who are stationed with various squadrons within the Cadet Corps. And they picked Beckel as the best leader as a junior, and then they picked him again as the best leader. So he had a good record already as a junior. And so they recognized they should continue with him. So the first three years, they were at Lowry. They did not move to the permanent site at the academy until the fall of 1958. And what they did, they bused all of them down to the north entrance in September of 1958 and let them all get out, and they formed up into their squadrons and they all marched up to their new home. It was a very impressive situation. And at the time, I was living in the Colorado Springs and I was a part of the staff. So that’s why I was so close on it. But the thing about he and Donna, she didn’t have on any kind of an engagement ring. She had never mentioned him. And it only occurred after he had come and gone that I learned that there was this informal engagement, and that’s why she had come to work at the academy as a secretary. She had just finished two years at Washington State University. But they were like a lot of people of that generation. That was my generation. Right. where they were high school sweethearts. He was 15 and she was 14, and this continued for a lifetime. And so he graduated in June 1959, and it was very customary in that era for a lot of the graduates who were romantically connected with others, and most often from their hometown. So they had their weddings that day. There was no cadet chapel there. So what they used, they had the superintendent, which is equivalent to like a president of the university. The superintendent’s quarters was used as the site for the weddings. Bob and Donna were the first couple married at the Air Force Academy. Oh, my gosh. And they had a traditional wedding. walk out where we’ve seen pictures where many of his classmates formed a line for them to walk under with their drawn swords held elevated, which was sort of a traditional ceremony from many militaries. But it was to honor this new couple. And so that was our beginning ceremony. And so they began, and he was assigned to flight training in 59 and 60. There were several flight training programs at that time all over the country. Bob Beckel was number one in his class at his base, but he was also number one in every single base in America where they did averaging of their points and scores regularly. in their proficiency in flying. And he had one advantage. Bob had learned and had obtained a pilot’s license when he was a high school student. And for those listening who are familiar with airplanes, vintage airplanes, I spoke to him once and said, well, it’s too bad that you came along when you did and you missed the opportunity to fly some of the earth. planes from the early 30s. And I said, they actually used the Piper Cubs for reconnaissance over France after we’d already made the invasion in 1944. And he said, oh, but I did. I learned to fly in a Piper Cub. Wow.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, let’s quickly go through his accomplishments.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Because they’re extensive.
SPEAKER 10 :
After he finished the program, he went into the fighter training program. And then once he finished that at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, he was transferred to Germany. I was in Germany at that time, so he went to Spangdahlem, and it was a fighter base right near Bitburg also. And President Reagan went over there once and spoke to the people at Bitburg. And so… What they would do, they would go to North Africa to do their training with gunnery and also with flying patterns and other things. That’s long since been gone because it was a change. They still had a king down there at that time, but he didn’t last much longer. So the Beckel went from there, and within a few short years after that, Well, almost immediately, I should say. He went to fly with the Thunderbirds. He was not the first cadet to go to Thunderbirds because he was already in the fighter planes and was doing the things. So he flew with the Thunderbirds for three years, and he had one of the very difficult situations in that he and his wingman were flying, and they were doing a practice mission. And this is out at Las Vegas, just north of the Air Base. And there was a collision, I think wingtip to wingtip. And unfortunately, both planes lost a lot of control. Beckel was able to gain sufficient control to get back safely. His wingman crashed. We never talked about it. I never, never once asked him anything. I felt it would be too emotional.
SPEAKER 04 :
And his wingman did not survive that crash.
SPEAKER 10 :
No, no. There was an experience later where there were five Thunderbirds, and they were all flying together in a training mission, and they always followed the lead. The lead man made a mistake, and all five of the planes crashed in the bottom. And there was a lot of talk about just continuing the program, but they realized that it was a very important program, not only for training but also for going around the country and showing people. some of the capabilities of the aircraft.
SPEAKER 04 :
So he went from there. So Colonel Rutledge, we’re getting short on time. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, let me cover some of the things very quickly. Okay. He then went to Washington, and he was a legislative liaison man between the Department of the Air Force and Congress. Then shortly thereafter, he became the personal Air Force aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And from there, he just moved in all directions. And he was always promoted what we call below the zone. He was promoted ahead of his contemporaries because he was the best. And this continued all the way through his career. He ended up as a commander of the 15th Air Force. in March Air Force Base in California where he was now in his 50s. It was his last major command. And I stopped by there once to visit and I looked. I went over to the golf course and looked at the awards and things. And I saw a big trophy that was for the local tournament that was held at the base. It’s one of the largest bases in America. And the most recent winner was General Beckel, and he was in his 50s. So he was a person of many talents. And from there, of course, after he retired, he went to New Mexico Military Institute as their superintendent slash captain. I mean, president. So he was there for eight years. After that, he retired, he thought, and then he was asked to go to the Emirates over in the Middle East and to establish a military training program for them and something on a similar basis as the Air Force Academy. And in recent years, he’d been living in Texas.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, and that’s where he passed on from his obituary.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I talked with him on the phone two weeks before he left, and I had no idea that he was near Terminal.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Well, and General Beckel logged 313 combat missions to Vietnam, was honored with the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. And it’s an amazing career. Good friend of Colonel Rutledge. We wanted to honor him because today is General Beckel’s services at the Air Force Academy. We will be right back with Colonel Bill Rutledge as we’re going to talk about some contemporary events that have been happening. So stay tuned.
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SPEAKER 02 :
All Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And if you’re craving real New York style pizza and pasta, Little Richie’s and Parker and Golden have you covered. Authentic New York flavor with Colorado roots. They have daily specials, weekday lunch deals, and a happy hour worth planning around. They are your neighborhood favorite. They’re always serving up something worth stopping for. One of our listeners texted me and said that they stopped by the Golden Little Richies last week and they were able to get four meals out of their calzone. They are big. and they are delicious. So again, that is Little Richie’s in Parker and in Golden. We are talking with a fan favorite, and that is 97-year-young Colonel Bill Rutledge, retired United States Air Force. This came in on the text line, civilian salute to Colonel Rutledge. Colonel Rutledge, let’s get to this subject, and that is that there was a video that was made by some Democrats, and two of those Democrats was a Colorado representative, Congressman Jason Crow, and then Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who both are retired military. And so just walk us through this, Colonel Rutledge.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, first of all, I heard some follow-on information on the news, and that was in an inquiry as to how this presentation was prepared, how it was financed. because there were additional people. In addition to the two commissioned officers, there were at least three and maybe four people who had been in other branches that were subject to a different approach. In other words, the CIA was one. But after listening to those gentlemen, and I watched it very closely, I heard these comments about, well, they could be called back on active duty, and then they could be court-martialed. This is true. And there was always some speculation by some listeners about, well, this was just being done because they were Democrats or because they were opposed to the president’s position. It was a political move. There was no question about that. I never encountered… a general officer or any senior officer in my military career of 26 years who would have the audacity to do what they did. I thought it was unethical, absolutely inappropriate, and it was demeaning even to the 18-year-olds who were young. Now, I… Because I was familiar with the oath of office that the airmen take, or the soldiers or sailors, I contacted the office and I got the exact oath of office that they take. And I’d like to read just a very short portion because it’s short.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, and is this the officers or is this for?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, this would be the enlisted men.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
Enlisted men and women. And it goes, I and, say, Mary Smith, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic. That applies in both officers and the enlisted. That I bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And the reason these last two statements are significant is that the Uniform Code of Military Justice is the legal system that is separate from the normal U.S. Code and civilian life. They have a distinct disciplinary program. It has to be because of the worldwide law deployment of military personnel. So the UCMJ is very significant. It does cover court marshals, but it covers many other things also. And I had the, I’d say good fortune in looking backwards, being on military courts for over two years, where I was a member of a special court, a summary court, in the general court. So I was very conversant in this. Also, I had an experience in Illinois where my base commander was a two-star general. He retired, and then because, again, of politics, he was called back on active duty because a representative in Illinois did not like the fact that Senator Dirksen, who was a Republican, was a good friend of my general. So they contacted the commanding officer of the Air Training Command, who happened to be a good friend of the general, of our commander. And so he had to go through the procedures. There is something in the UCMJ which authorizes some minor administrative procedure. where there is no court, and that’s called Article 15. And Article 15 is considered administrative punishment or administrative review. There may or may not be any kind of punishment with it. So that was done, and this was on a two-star. So these people, one being a retired captain and one being a retired major, absolutely are susceptible to being called back, as are any people in the military who are retired or are in the reserve and are actively involved in any activity that would relate to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. And I did want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. Also, two gift ideas for this Christmas Hanukkah season. One is the Medal of Honor quote book that you can order from the Center for American Values. That website is AmericanValuesCenter.org. It is a lovely gift. And also to honor your loved one’s military service, buy a brick that will be on the pathways of service at the USMC Memorial Center. as they are doing the remodel, you will receive a beautiful certificate that you can wrap up and give for Christmas or Hanukkah, and it is a lovely gift as well. And to do that, you can go to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I’m talking with Colonel Bill Rutledge, and I realize that I think we’re going to need to do a part two on this because there’s so much on this that I’m not sure we can compress this into the time that we have left right now.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, we can’t cover everything. But let me give you a subjective comment. I’ve just written it to bother him. And I said subjectively, I do not believe that any 18-year-old enlisted person is qualified to discern whether an order is lawful or unlawful. It is my opinion that the televised statements made by retired military officers were intended to create discord and undermine the legal authority of the president in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the military. I do not believe that they will be recalled. The reason I feel that way is because they would then assume the role of being a political martyr, and they, instead of recognizing any kind of shame or malice fact that they were unethical, then they would be praised for being called back to active duty. They wouldn’t send them to court anyhow. They would probably do an administrative procedure, but it’s all a political operation, period. This is not typical of military operations.
SPEAKER 04 :
So, Colonel Rutledge, the talking points is pretty brilliant, I think, as far as in the video they said that they would encourage our military to not follow illegal orders, and that is something that seems to resonate with the people of America. Now, my understanding is when Congressman Jason Crow was on one of the Sunday talk shows and was even pressed by Someone from the left, a host from the left, saying, well, exactly which illegal orders are you talking about? He couldn’t name them. But from a political standpoint.
SPEAKER 10 :
Not one of the five or six people could name one occasion. Not one. It’s all generalities.
SPEAKER 04 :
So this could be considered, I know this is a strong word, but sedition, yes?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, it could be. Sedition is a law and a term used for those who are trying to undermine proper authority of any governmental agency and especially of the military.
SPEAKER 04 :
So what would happen, though, if we had a president that was issuing a bunch of illegal orders? What should happen?
SPEAKER 10 :
You know, this is hard to talk about because I have read the biographies in great detail of just about every president. And I’ve done so much study in American history. I don’t know of anything. occasion wherein a president has exceeded his prerogatives, his constitutional authority to that extreme. Matter of fact, in contrast, our first president actually took the field as a commander in chief and went to Pennsylvania to stop the whiskey rebellion during his first administration. We haven’t had any other presidents who did anything like that. Andrew Jackson would if he could, if he had a reason. But the role of the president in his capacity as commander-in-chief has to be powerful, and it has to be preeminent whenever there’s a threat to the security of the country.
SPEAKER 04 :
And he’s to stay within the constitutional limits. That’s our litmus test, right?
SPEAKER 10 :
That’s okay to everything, absolutely. And every person who’s commissioned or who enlists in any branch of the service takes an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. Therefore, we must always go back to the printed word of the Constitution. There are too many people who keep thinking, oh, well, Constitution is just a living, moving thing, and it changes. It should be varied. No, it does not. The interpretations may vary from time to time, and that’s one of the, excuse me, that’s the principal job of the Supreme Court.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, so to set this up again so that I understand this, because you really had drilled down on this in one of our conversations, phone conversations, is Six Democrats who had been involved maybe in national security or in this case, Congressman Jason Crow and Arizona State or Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, both of them veterans, retired military veterans. made a video encouraging our military to not follow President Trump if he issued illegal orders. But yet they couldn’t identify any illegal orders that Trump had put in place, right?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, they very carefully did not mention the president by title or name. They just… put general comments to the effect of don’t follow an illegal order. They did not mention the president’s name. They did not mention any officer. They did not mention any occasion that they could even conceive of that has occurred during this administration. And that’s a fact. And when they were, almost every one of them were followed up on other television interviews and things, no one of them, one-on-one with a program, ever came up with a particular example that they could give to the public. So it was all political. It’s a situation where you ask somebody, well, what would you do that’s positive? They haven’t got any kind of an agenda for something that’s positive. They’re great captains of negativity.
SPEAKER 04 :
Important point. So as we’re having this conversation, I’m thinking about it. Ideally, what should have been said, if they were really concerned, was we encourage all of our military personnel to support, let’s see what it is, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
SPEAKER 10 :
Against all enemies, foreign or domestic enemies.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think that that’s probably what the video should have said, correct?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. So we are in – but, man, this has been getting a lot of play on the mainstream media and that whole illegal orders thing. And the other thing that I’ll mention regarding illegal orders, though, is we have – times that there are laws and ordinances and rules and regulations that are put in place that are not constitutional. And so we always must hang our hat on the Constitution. That’s the place to do it. And so I think that that’s an important distinction to be made. Your final thought on all this, Colonel Rutledge, and thank you, and thank you again for honoring General Bob Beckel as well, who recently passed on and services are today.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 04 :
So in your final thought, Colonel Rutledge?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, my final thoughts is that we don’t need to have retired military officers trying to preempt the authority that the president alone has.
SPEAKER 04 :
And when that is occurring, we have to ask, as you have, what are their motivations to do so?
SPEAKER 10 :
Their motivation is purely political.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s purely political.
SPEAKER 10 :
It is to undermine the authority of the president.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that is not defending or upholding the Constitution in doing so. Colonel Rutledge, I thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us and your perspective. And we will be recording later today for our America’s Veterans Stories show for this coming Sunday. So have a wonderful day, Colonel Rutledge, and we’ll talk to you soon.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 04 :
And our quote for the end of the show is from Alexander Pope. He said, what reason weaves by passion is undone. And that is one of the things about the radical activist left is they are always trying to get people ginned up and work on passion instead of looking at things from reason. So, again, that’s why we do the show is to try to keep the emotion out of these issues. So, my friends, today be grateful. Read great books. Think good thoughts. Listen to beautiful music. Communicate and listen well, live honestly and authentically. Strive for high ideals and like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you and God bless America.
SPEAKER 17 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
