What IS the role of Government in America? Our personal takes
When was the last time you had a real conversation about what the government is actually supposed to do? Not a screaming match about specific policies, but a genuine discussion about the fundamental role of government in America?
I (Nicole) and Jolene have been friends for almost 40 years despite living on opposite sides of the political spectrum, and recently we realized we'd never actually tackled this most basic question: What should our government be doing, and how much should it be involved in our daily lives?
The answer, it turns out, is a lot more complicated than either of us expected. And surprisingly, we found more common ground than we thought possible.
Jolene's conservative view starts with a pretty straightforward premise: the federal government's primary job is to provide order, security, and services that individual states can't manage on their own. She leans heavily toward states' rights, believing that local governments understand local problems better than bureaucrats in Washington. From her perspective, the closer decision-making is to the people affected, the better those decisions will be.
My liberal take is different but not entirely opposite. I see the government as both protector and provider, guaranteeing rights and freedoms while creating equality and opportunity for all Americans. Our federal structure should protect us not just from physical threats but from systemic inequities that states might perpetuate. Sometimes federal oversight is necessary to ensure that all Americans, regardless of where they live, have access to the same basic rights and opportunities.
When we start drilling down into specific issues it gets a little more interesting. Take education, for example. We both agree that every child in America deserves a free, quality education. That's not controversial. But how do we get there? That's where our perspectives were different. Jolene wants decisions made at the state and local level, with communities determining what works best for their kids. She sees the current education system as overly crowded with too much red tape and bureaucracy. Instead of poorly funding public schools, schools may do better as privatised institutions. I want the government to fix the root of the problem and fund public schools and pay teachers a good living wage. To provide free public education to every child and hold the schools to a high standard where communities won’t get left behind, perpetuating inequality across generations.
But here's what surprised us: even in our disagreement, we kept circling back to the same concern. We both want education funding to actually reach classrooms instead of getting lost in bureaucratic mazes. We both want teachers empowered with a proper living wage and students supported. We just disagree on whether state control, private business or federal oversight is more likely to achieve those goals.
The same pattern emerged when we talked about safety and security. Of course, we both want safe borders and safe cities. Of course, we both want law enforcement that protects everyone fairly while respecting human rights. The debate isn't about the goal - it's about whether states or the federal government should take the lead, and how we balance security with civil liberties.
What we both hate, though, is waste. Whether it's federal bureaucracy or state mismanagement, we're both frustrated by systems that spend more on administration than on actually helping people. We might disagree on the solution, but we share the same anger at inefficiency and the same desire to see resources reach the people who need them most.
The conversation about government services, from welfare to infrastructure to education, kept revealing this pattern. We'd start from different philosophical positions, debate the merits of centralized versus decentralized control, and then find ourselves agreeing on the actual problems we're trying to solve. We just can't agree on who should solve them or how.
What struck me most about these discussions was how much they revealed about what we value. Jolene values autonomy, local control, and the freedom for communities to chart their own course. I value equality, protection from discrimination, and ensuring that where you're born doesn't determine your opportunities. Neither of us is wrong; we're just prioritizing different aspects of what makes a good society.
Here's what we both agreed on without reservation: compromise is essential. Whether you're conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between, we all live in this country together. We all want safe communities, good schools, economic opportunity, and the freedom to live our lives as we choose. The question isn't whether the government should exist - it's what the government should do and how it should do it.
Our friendship has survived almost four decades of political disagreement because we've never stopped talking, never stopped listening, and never assumed the other person's position came from a place of malice or stupidity. We genuinely try to understand why the other sees things differently, even when we can't agree.
That's what's missing in American political discourse right now. We've stopped trying to understand each other's perspectives and started assuming the worst about anyone who disagrees with us. Conservatives think liberals want the government controlling every aspect of life. Liberals think conservatives want to abandon vulnerable people entirely. Most of the time, neither is true.
The role of government in America has been debated since the country's founding, and it will continue being debated long after we're gone. The tension between federal power and states' rights, between individual liberty and collective responsibility, between free markets and social safety nets - these tensions are what keep our democracy dynamic and responsive.
But those debates only work if we're actually talking to each other. If we're trying to understand different perspectives instead of just waiting for our turn to talk. If we're looking for common ground instead of just defending our positions.
So what role should the government play in America? We still don't entirely agree, but we're pretty sure the answer lies somewhere between "everything" and "nothing." And we're absolutely certain that we'll only figure it out together, through the kind of messy, frustrating, ultimately productive conversations that democracy requires.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Founding Documents: The U.S. Constitution: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/drafting-table/item/drafting-the-united-states-constitution
The Declaration of Independence: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Political Reference: Mamdani Reference: https://x.com/jimfornyc/status/1972443061021233220?s=46
Good for the Soul Content: Bill Maher:https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPFyqBOjhij/?igsh=Z2k4MG96aW1pMm96
LINKS:
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[00:00:00] Nicole: She's a conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head, but are too scared to say out loud, Hey Jolene.
[00:00:20] Jolene: Hello, Nicole. this topic really kind of happened, um, naturally because we were recording something else and we started talking about, what we thought the government should do. And I said, well, what do you think the government, what role does the government have in this? And you gave your answer.
[00:00:34] Jolene: And I'm like, what? No, that is not absolute. Do you really think that's what the
[00:00:39] Nicole: Not only that, you will never, like, no one will ever see what you did, but your eyes popped out of your head in a way that I laughed out loud.
[00:00:49] Jolene: I'm like, I can't believe we've been talking, what have we done? 35 episodes or something? 40
[00:00:56] Nicole: at least, and you're like, that's what you think the role of [00:01:00] government does, right?
[00:01:01] Jolene: like this is like, and this is kind of fundamental in the difference between Republicans and Democrats. So I'm like, holy cow, this is an episode right here. So Can we tell the rest of the story? The rest of the story is, and I know we're, we're gonna get into it, but the rest of the story is, so we start, I started going, wait a second, the government was about, um, the foundations of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
[00:01:22] Jolene: And you're like, well, that's not the Constitution. I Well, what? Yeah, but isn't that the, I mean, like, and all of a sudden, both of us, 56 year olds were like, damn, we need to go back to fifth grade social studies. 'cause what Wait was
[00:01:35] Nicole: Well, not
[00:01:36] Jolene: bill of
[00:01:36] Nicole: I mean, I studied, right, I studied American history in high school and then I actually studied it in college. I went back and I went, I don't ever remember reading the Constitution or reading the Declaration of Independence, and so what did I do in preparation for this episode?
[00:01:54] Nicole: I read them both. It doesn't mean I necessarily understand them, [00:02:00] but I found it. Very enlightening. Very interesting. And then, you know, it does help to be married to a lawyer who studied American law,
[00:02:12] Jolene: in constitutional law. I mean,
[00:02:14] Nicole: law. And so I've had some, some good conversations with him of like really trying to understand, but just the idea of, well, what do you think the government's role should be? And, and I think it'll be interesting to talk about it today too, because it might not even be a Republican or Democrat thing in some ways.
[00:02:34] Nicole: I felt like as I'm reading the Constitution, as I'm reading the Declaration of Independence, I'm thinking. Well, what do I believe? what do I experience personally? you know, what do I witness? like I might have, um, privileges and rights that other people don't, you know, that kind of thing.
[00:02:55] Nicole: It's just to, to talk about this stuff broadly I think is really important because I [00:03:00] think as everyday people, we don't think about it.
[00:03:03] Jolene: Right.
[00:03:04] Nicole: mean, it's a broad statement, it's a generalization, but,
[00:03:07] Jolene: I think it
[00:03:07] Nicole: for granted too, I think.
[00:03:09] Jolene: yes. And I think it's so interesting too, as, as I was doing my research and looking back and, and like educating myself as a fifth grader and let's be honest, anything I learned in college. I probably didn't remember anything 'cause I, maybe I went to class, maybe I didn't.
[00:03:27] Jolene: So I mean, I'm, I'm relying more on my fifth grade social studies than I would be in any of my college education. Um, but
[00:03:35] Nicole: about the University of Iowa, just of your work ethic in a
[00:03:38] Jolene: 100%, let's be honest, that was completely on me, not, not a reflection of the education I got at the University of Iowa. but I think it's, um, it's interesting to see what the framework of the Constitution was back in, you know, 250 years ago and what it is today, how it's [00:04:00] evolved today, and that there's still the same, you know, the, the Federalists versus the anti-Federalists.
[00:04:06] Jolene: I mean, that's still where we are today, so it's so interesting.
[00:04:10] Nicole: that's right.
[00:04:11] Jolene: So good. Let's get into it.
[00:04:12] Nicole: So, what do you believe is the fundamental role of government?
[00:04:16] Jolene: So as a conservative, I think it is to provide order security and services that the states can't provide on their own.
[00:04:25] Nicole: Okay. That sounded very formal and that you were reading it.
[00:04:30] Jolene: I, I am reading it 'cause I took notes as I was reading. So yes,
[00:04:36] Jolene: I read that
[00:04:36] Nicole: But what do you believe? Because I'm like, that's very fancy, miss. I didn't study in college.
[00:04:42] Jolene: And that was 30 years ago, so 40 years ago.
[00:04:46] Jolene: How many, um, so no, I believe that the, the role of the government is, um, is to provide, because I believe in states' rights and that the role of the federal government needs to be very, [00:05:00] very broad. So that the states, um, can make more of their, decisions, their laws, their statutes, their regulations, to provide for their people in their states.
[00:05:12] Jolene: Because as, as we go back to our founding fathers, it was basically farmers versus the urban, uh, people. I mean, they were two different people and they realized that they were two different people. So as we were starting our government, they had to say, well, what was good for you in Virginia is gonna be a little bit different from you in Pennsylvania. and so that's why they gave states rights so much, um, more, um, leeway. They gave them the ability to make their own laws, but then they realized that the federal government. Still, we still needed a national defense. We still needed, um, taxation for roads and bridges and, um, needed to have a strong, national government, but that most of the decisions need to go to the [00:06:00] state level.
[00:06:00] Jolene: So
[00:06:01] Jolene: the federal government is to, to provide order security and services that the states can't do on their own.
[00:06:07] Nicole: how this all came up is you said to me in the last episode, you said, I believe that the government is there to protect us. And I said, where do you, why, who, like, where do you see that? And your, and your eyes bugged outta your head and you were like, it's in the Constitution.
[00:06:28] Nicole: And, but then you started quoting the, the Declaration of Independence. And I'm just sitting there going, I was just sort of like, I don't think I've ever thought about this ever. Really. and yes, actually in the Constitution, now that I've read it, it does say that it is there, the government is there to protect us. but as personally, I was thinking about, you know, yes, in terms of national defense, if, if [00:07:00] a foreign power tried to attack us, that we would be protected in that way. I think about though, like I remember being interested in politics from the time I was 10 years old. I had a very political family.
[00:07:14] Nicole: My dad had been a Republican and now was actually a Democrat. Um, my mom was a Democrat, and so we would talk politics all the time as, so I was around it as, as a kid. I remember in sixth grade doing a foe election, and it was Reagan, Carter, and Anderson. And Anderson ran as an independent and he won in, in Bel Air class of sixth grade.
[00:07:41] Nicole: Anderson was the president. Um, I, there was an enormous fear that I had about Reagan. Um, I was scared that there was going to be oh, I can't say this word, nuclear war. and so I, I thought, oh, well then I guess I [00:08:00] didn't feel very protected personally as a little 11-year-old kid. so when I think about the day to day, I think about the government similarly to you in that it is there to provide structure so that we aren't constantly in chaos.
[00:08:25] Nicole: Maybe, I don't think of it as, 'cause when I think of the word protection, I think of a more warm and fuzzy word of like, there I feel safe. And I don't necessarily feel safe right now with what's going on in the, in the administration. Now, as a white person of privilege, do I feel safe? Yes. But what I'm seeing in this administration with, some people in this country are. Not having as easy a time as [00:09:00] I am or you are.
[00:09:01] Nicole: one thing that being married to a lawyer who, who loves American history, he, uh, reminded me or explained to me, 'cause I don't remember studying this and I'm sure that this is true, and you, maybe you know this already, so that the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 and then there was a thing called the Articles of Confederation that was for 11 years before the Constitution was written.
[00:09:33] Nicole: And the Articles of Confederation didn't work
[00:09:37] Nicole: and so it made me think about what you had said at the beginning of this conversation that at the time, each state. Had their own militia, like everything was basically autonomous
[00:09:47] Nicole: and it didn't work because like some states had more money than other states and they had to figure out how is this all going [00:10:00] to work together?
[00:10:01] Nicole: And like the Senate now, each state gets two senators because the senators are the ones that are really supposed to do the bulk of the work. And
[00:10:12] Jolene: Mm-hmm.
[00:10:13] Nicole: then you've got the representatives that are based on population.
[00:10:18] Jolene: Right.
[00:10:19] Jolene: So then in 1787, we, they, they go to Philly, they have the constitutional convention, and they come up with the Bill of Rights and they go, oh, yep, okay. We need to, we need to kind of hone in on this. And that's really kind of where it, then we came up with the, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the whole deal.
[00:10:39] Jolene: Okay.
[00:10:39] Nicole: Yes. and they formed a republic, which is a form of democracy, and it was written so that people had to be able to talk to each other, had to be able to debate, and had to be able to compromise.
[00:10:56] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:10:57] Nicole: And I think that we've forgotten that.
[00:10:59] Jolene: [00:11:00] Yeah, yeah. Okay. So do you, okay, so let's talk specifically about the different roles of the government.
[00:11:09] Nicole: Okay.
[00:11:10] Jolene: do you think that, the, the very first one I wrote down here was pro protecting our rights and our freedoms. Number one, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, um, and protect individuals from unfair treatment. To me, I'm going, yep. Freedom of the press and free and free speech. I mean, fundamental obviously we've talked about this in the last episode. That is absolutely the difference between us and Russia, us in China, us, I mean that, there's no getting around it. And both sides need to be okay with that.
[00:11:50] Jolene: And stop and, and stop. I, you
[00:11:53] Jolene: can have
[00:11:54] Nicole: meaning re meaning Republicans and
[00:11:56] Jolene: and Democrats, because it's whoever's in power then [00:12:00] wants to say that, you know, the other doesn't have the right to say that bull. There should be consequences of your actions and consequences of what you say. And if you get taken off of the air because you said something, or if people don't vote for you because you said something that they don't like.
[00:12:18] Jolene: That's the consequences of your, of your language, but you absolutely have the right to say it. And then there's going to be people that agree with you and that's their right to agree with you. So I just, I just don't, I I like
[00:12:30] Nicole: So we both
[00:12:31] Nicole: agree that free speech, no matter if we don't like it or how hateful it is, or we feel it's hateful, we are allowed to say that we, it's a fundamental, right? It's the first. It's the first right of this
[00:12:46] Jolene: Okay. number two, providing security and defense. I think this goes back, you know, they, they realized that they needed a national army to defend ourselves from foreign, um, [00:13:00] threats. but the other thing that I think comes into this is protecting our borders and our national security.
[00:13:05] Jolene: What do you think of that?
[00:13:07] Nicole: I don't disagree with you.
[00:13:08] Nicole: and this is gonna go back into immigration 'cause I think. So many of our episodes sort of, it's obviously an issue on the right and the left. I personally think we've done this wrong, not you and me, but our country. I think that none of us want, a completely open border. as we've talked about so many times, the immigration system is so broken, like they're so backlogged and it's just, it's a complete mess. I've been thinking a lot about what you said the other day about being afraid to go to Chicago and living in New York City, and my heart breaks that You feel that way. I. Making an assumption that you are getting like [00:14:00] really upsetting and scary images fed to you about downtown Chicago. Um, and I would imagine that people are getting, fed very scary, uh, images about all of the cities. and I think one of the things that I've been thinking so much about it, because like I sent you that, video recently of the New York Times, it's a horrific video of a, an ice officer throwing this woman to the ground who's begging him to not take her husband away and her kids are there and you're seeing the press. Taking pictures not helping, which is a really complicated thing. Josh wanted to be a photojournalist and thought, I can't do it because you can't help.
[00:14:58] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:14:59] Nicole: just wi you're a [00:15:00] witness, right? And how just heart wrenching this is. it's gotten so, broken. and the way I feel, and I think I can speak for a lot of liberals the way. The Trump administration is handling the immigration process with ICE and saying they're gonna go after criminals and then they're going to immigration court where people are trying to do it legally and yanking them away is, is not okay. I want to say as a liberal, we need to fix the immigration problem. I don't think it's okay if people come across the border illegally. I don't think it's okay. There's so many people that are doing it legally, respect the process. But we as Americans really need to [00:16:00] clean this up, really need to figure this out.
[00:16:02] Nicole: And so I've been thinking, right, and I've been thinking about when you had mentioned you liked the idea that the National Guard was going into DC and possibly going into Chicago, and that you were feeling afraid of going to Chicago
[00:16:16] Jolene: I think Chicago is a high crime city. didn't think twice about going. I mean, I'm gonna go because I have to for work and I have to be a part of the show, the trade show that we're going to. But I'm going to be really aware of my surroundings. I am not going to, um, as I'm sure you do in New York, I mean, as I would be in Kansas City as I, as we did in New Orleans.
[00:16:42] Jolene: You know, I, I think there are, I'm not gonna be an idiot about it and go out at two in the morning and be stupid. but I think it's such a high crime city that there is a better likelihood of being involved in a crime in Chicago than there is in, you know, I don't know, [00:17:00] name the city,
[00:17:00] Jolene: New York, I mean. Well, I mean for sure Lampe, Missouri. But I mean, so to say I'm afraid to go to Chicago is probably a little overstated, but is there a horrible crime, um, uh, rates in Chicago right now? Yeah.
[00:17:17] Nicole: so I'm not gonna disagree with you here, and I'm thinking, I was thinking, because I've been really thinking about this and living in New York City and New York City. I don't know what the stats are, and I'm not gonna pretend that I know what the stats are and the stats get us into trouble. But what I can say as, as a New Yorker, it feels more unhinged here since the pandemic, and I've been here 34 years, and you do have to walk around the city just hypervigilant anyway.
[00:17:53] Nicole: You just do. Especially as a woman, as a small woman, it just, but I would [00:18:00] say that just me walking around in my life, I, I have to be vigilant about it.
[00:18:05] Nicole: I thinking about, do our cities need help? Yes. And I am going to propose that as a liberal and other liberals, think one of the things that's really hard about Trump saying we're going in, I like, I see this crime city we're going in is if we are a United States and we are more about states' rights, which I am with you on that the governors, we need to respect our governors and they do really good hard work every day.
[00:18:49] Nicole: And what I would like to ask of Trump and his administration, and I think you would get less pushback, less [00:19:00] protest, is that before Trump posts on social media what he's gonna do and doesn't talk to Congress and like he's just doing it. You know, he's just doing his way
[00:19:09] Nicole: have meetings. With Pritzker, with Hoel, with Newsom, with whomever, I don't know, the governor of Tennessee, forgive me Memphis.
[00:19:21] Nicole: Um, but with these governors and say, listen, there's a crime problem here and I wanna help. Do you want my help? If you don't want my help, I would like to encourage you to start working on it, but if you do want my help, let's work together. Then that to me is revolutionary. That how like even a democratic state can go, huh, interesting.
[00:19:50] Nicole: We could use those dollars or that manpower to help us, but the way he's doing it makes us blue [00:20:00] states get our backs up and go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This feels a little tyrannical and we
[00:20:06] Jolene: Right. So I, I agree with you. And there was just a thing on, um, there was just a thing on Instagram that I saw where the governor of Oregon she's a democrat.
[00:20:18] Jolene: And she has said that Trump reached out to her and said, I'm, I wanna send the National Guard. And she said, no, thank you.
[00:20:26] Jolene: Um, we're gonna take care of it. I have, I have, uh, faith in our local and state, enforcement. Agencies that, that we are going to be able to take care of this ourselves. And that Trump said, okay, let's continue to talk. And she said, that was, that was the exchange back and forth. And I went, well, now that's beautiful.
[00:20:46] Jolene: That is a beautiful, to your point, that is exactly
[00:20:49] Nicole: and that works for me, like And I think that's also why that Trump said he'd go into Memphis because Tennessee has a Republican governor, [00:21:00] and so he can, he knew that he would have his, his, um, backing his support, the, the governor would support Trump bringing, um, uh, bringing them in.
[00:21:10] Jolene: Whereas a lot of the blue states, you know, aren't going to, aren't going to do that. But I think we're, it's such a divided time right now too that Oh, I mean, they would, I mean, Gavin Newsom, no way is he going to ask Trump for help. We're
[00:21:26] Nicole: Well, I mean, here's the
[00:21:27] Jolene: they're both gonna run for president and then they look weak.
[00:21:30] Jolene: That they had to rely on the
[00:21:31] Nicole: that's, I, I think that's too bad because Oregon is also blue and she had the guts to say, no, thank you. I mean, maybe, maybe at some point she'll say, actually, I need some help. You know, we can't do this alone. I'm so tired and I think you are too.
[00:21:51] Nicole: But I'll just speak for myself. I am so tired of Democrats just saying no to say no. [00:22:00] Instead of stopping a second saying, Hmm, maybe I could use some help. Maybe it's more important to think about my constituents, how it helps my people than am I, what does this look like? Is this gonna make me look weak or look bad or look, da, da, da.
[00:22:19] Nicole: But I also wish that Trump would knock it off
[00:22:24] Jolene: So at what point though,
[00:22:28] Nicole: keep saying to me that he's, that he says some reasonable things and he could be reasonable. so show me.
[00:22:34] Jolene: okay, so at what point does the Oregon mayor then say, I mean, we've been dealing with Portland, you know, horrible crime in Portland and the, I mean the looting and the riots and all that, and the unrest for five years.
[00:22:50] Jolene: So at what point does she, get some help?
[00:22:54] Nicole: I don't know, I mean, I, I don't live in Portland and I have friends that are in Portland. there was definitely a lot [00:23:00] of, protests obviously during COVID and Black Lives Matter and all of that stuff. I know there's an enormous homeless problem there. but I think, that it's a conversation that we have to honor the governors.
[00:23:15] Nicole: The governors are there for a reason and, and. What I would like of conservatives too, to also speak up and say, wait a second, we believe in state's rights. We need to push back a little bit and say, yo Trump, we're not saying no ' cause he hates no, and then he makes shit worse. But like, let us do our thing.
[00:23:41] Nicole: Or, you know what, we have neglected this part and you're shedding a light on it. And we really have to deal with it I wanna give the governors the benefit of the doubt that this stuff is really hard. And yes, there has been an influx of populations [00:24:00] in these blue cities of immigrants and what do they do?
[00:24:05] Nicole: And because we're so divided, there is no wiggle room in saying, uh, this isn't really working. What do we
[00:24:15] Nicole: do? Right?
[00:24:17] Nicole: It really
[00:24:18] Jolene: that the role of the federal government to go in there then and and say, okay, we've given you five years to figure this out and you can't do it. We're going to help.
[00:24:29] Nicole: he wasn't the president, you know, he was the president at, in 2020 and then he was the president now, so there was all Biden in the in between, right? So we have to, in my opinion, we have to start from January 20th of this year where he's like, this is an issue that's really important to me and I want our cities to feel safe, and I want our citizens to feel [00:25:00] safe. That's, how could that be a bad thing? Then you go
[00:25:06] Nicole: and, and, and, and I just, part of it to me, and we've talked about this before, is that he just wants instant gratification. He just wants it to go so fast. And this stuff you got, you gotta work together. Like, here's the thing, and maybe this is a far reaching thing, but like, yes.
[00:25:24] Nicole: Uh, the Ukraine, Russia war is not an overnight thing. This is really hard and really complicated. The Israeli Gaza situation really hard and really complicated. It doesn't happen overnight. Neither does crime in the States, and, and you've gotta work together. And I think he wants some instant results and unfortunately it's just not how it works, but that's what he's
[00:25:51] Nicole: doing.
[00:25:52] Jolene: I disagree with that because I think you're right. In typical government fashion, everything is so [00:26:00] slow and we've gotta make sure that we, you know, do you, what do you wanna do? Well, I want do we blah, blah, blah. So I think Trump's got in there and went, let's go, let's get some stuff done here.
[00:26:12] Jolene: And he, and he's going like a chicken with his head cut off. But he's getting things done
[00:26:19] Nicole: but it's not the way the Constitution was written. Like we have to respect, I, I am with you girl, that it's too slow, but there has to be a middle ground.
[00:26:30] Jolene: Yes. And that's why when we get down to the balance of power, the legislative, the ju judicial and the executive branch, to make sure that there is not tyranny in our country. That is really, has got to be respected. And so I get, I get why Democrats think that he, you know, acts like a king, but I also have faith in, in our system that the checks and balances will prevent [00:27:00] anything from getting outta hand. I look at the poor people of Portland and go, if you're okay with it, I mean, I wouldn't live there, but I mean, if you all are okay, are okay with your mayor and your governor, um, continuing to, to do business as usual, then that's, I guess that's up for to you guys to figure out.
[00:27:19] Jolene: And if you want change, vote for somebody differently.
[00:27:21] Nicole: absolutely right. I mean, we're doing that in New York City and I just, you know, obviously I think about you all the time and I was walking around last night and I'm like, it's not the same city. And cities change, obviously, and hopefully there'll be a resurgence again, but, I don't know what that looks like. I'm not, like, I'm not happy with the people I'm gonna have to vote for in November. I'm not happy at all. And,
[00:27:52] Nicole: um, I, I think we are suffering here.
[00:27:57] Jolene: Have you made your decision who you're gonna vote [00:28:00] for?
[00:28:00] Nicole: Nope.
[00:28:02] Jolene: Oh gosh.
[00:28:03] Nicole: It's, we were just talking about it. We were just talking about it because, listen, I think it's sort of decided who's gonna win, but it's like, who do you, who can you, how do you sleep at night? I can't not vote. I know a lot of people like Mamdani, he has not. Ever said that he acknowledges that Hamas is a terrorist organization and married to a Jewish person. Having a Jewish father, having that in my family, I have a real problem with that.
[00:28:40] Jolene: Oh God.
[00:28:42] Nicole: problem with that. but I also think that he's young and he is fresh and I don't know, this is a
[00:28:51] Jolene: I wonder how Kathy Holl. Yeah. I wonder how Kathy Hoel, feels,
[00:28:57] Nicole: well, she, she's just endorsed him. Like [00:29:00] that's the,
[00:29:00] Jolene: she's, but will
[00:29:01] Nicole: all these politicians have endorsed them so that they get reelected.
[00:29:07] Nicole: I mean, and that's where I get, you know, and maybe he'll be great, maybe he'll be great. Maybe he will surprise us all and I would be thrilled. 'cause New York needs some love.
[00:29:19] Nicole: It really does.
[00:29:21] Jolene: Is the state then going to have to come in is, is hoel as the governor gonna have to come in when the city can't support all the, the things that he wants to do and, and bail him out. And then the whole state of New York is going, what in the heck did you all do
[00:29:37] Nicole: But I guess, but,
[00:29:38] Jolene: What, what y'all doing in that city?
[00:29:40] Nicole: yeah, but we're also projecting what he's gonna do. We don't know what he is gonna do. And he's gonna have to learn that this is a city and, and it's a big state and a lot of the stuff he's gonna, if he wants it to go through, a lot of it won't. Like how to figure out how to play together.
[00:29:56] Nicole: that's how our government works. If this is what the people want, [00:30:00] I'm, I'm gotta respect that. Just like in 2024 when half, when the country went red and I woke up that next morning and was like, well, this is not what I want.
[00:30:14] Nicole: But clearly a lot of you do. And I gotta call up my friend and we gotta start a podcast 'cause I've gotta acknowledge that this is what's going on. Right? Like, I'm respecting the role of government and here we are. And I do believe that like, when people are like, I don't, I don't vote. 'cause I don't matter.
[00:30:35] Nicole: My vote doesn't count. Your vote matters. That's one thing that I believe in and I trust in this democracy, is that our vote counts. You don't like something, change it. Vote for someone different. And that like right on. That's that I believe in that I trust.
[00:30:55] Jolene: isn't this, and you're going, this is at, at the fundamental like the, your [00:31:00] mayor, the mayor of your city is, and, and whether you're in Lampe, Missouri or, or New York City absolutely. Has the power and your council people or,
[00:31:12]
[00:31:12] Nicole: yeah, I mean I think that's the thing that we also forget 'cause we're so focused, not you and me, but the world or the country. So focused on the national level, but where you get change, really get changes at your local level.
[00:31:26] Nicole: Get involved or pay attention and like those propositions that you go into the voting booth and go, oh my God, what is this? Those are the things that matter the most. Do you want your tax money, your pa, your paying your money to go towards that road? Or don't you
[00:31:43] Nicole: That's where your voice matters.
[00:31:45] Jolene: Okay. Let's move on to, um, maintain law and order. Um, I, I think we've kind of talked about that already, enforcing the laws. Um, I, I've got on here, F-B-I-D-E-A, um, ice, [00:32:00] I mean, I, I mean that is the role of the national government, and you're right, I don't, that video you sent me was, um, was horrific to watch, and the, and the ICE officer was let go,
[00:32:12] Nicole: Yes, he Or they, they said he was suspended. I don't know if he's been fired or not, but he's definitely was suspended. I mean, that
[00:32:21] Jolene: that was, it was disturbing.
[00:32:23] Nicole: was really disturbing
[00:32:26] Jolene: Um, have you heard about the Des Moines in the Des Moines, Iowa School district? Um, the superintendent was arrested by ice.
[00:32:34] Jolene: on Friday, federal immigration authorities arrested the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, uh, Iowa's largest school district. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the superintendent received a removal order from an immigration judge in 2024. And so he was arrested though, um, I, I think Thursday of this week of this last week, um, they came after him.
[00:32:59] Jolene: He had [00:33:00] a loaded gun in his car, $3,000 worth of cash and something else. Oh, a knife. And he fled into the woods, and I mean, the superintendent of the De Moines School district. So then it kind of went back through his, I, I think they looked at his LinkedIn, you know, where he had been. And he had gotten into, into some trouble in some other school districts that were like Pennsylvania and Baltimore and somewhere else.
[00:33:25] Jolene: And you're going, how in the world did the Des Moines school board not vet this guy? How did they not know? So, but the even more disturbing thing then is all of the people protesting in downtown Des Moines on Saturday, in support of him. And I'm going, wait, are you supporting him just because ICE came after him?
[00:33:46] Jolene: Or do you know anything about him? that's the disturbing thing, that it's just automatic. Oh, ICE is after him. He's, we will make him our, our poster child.
[00:33:58] Nicole: Jolene, you're not [00:34:00] wrong. That's what, that's what we're doing. That is what we're doing. We don't investigate. We don't, we look at a snippet, we go totally effing crazy. I said, effing, it's not as satisfying you guys. but we go so crazy and we don't actually stop and go, wait, is this true?
[00:34:21] Nicole: I, is this not true?
[00:34:22] Nicole: Let me look it up. Let me figure out what I need to figure out. What do I think instead of they're just like corporations are pumping out, uh, media to piss us off
[00:34:38] Jolene: yep. We've said it a hundred times.
[00:34:41] Jolene: Okay. can I go to public services because I think this is, um, this is one that I'm gonna have to come over to your side a little bit.
[00:34:51] Nicole: I was gonna say to you, Jolene, you mentioned the FBI thing and I wanna acknowledge that Comey has been indicted and I don't know enough to speak [00:35:00] about it.
[00:35:01] Jolene: Me either.
[00:35:02] Nicole: So I've just, uh, be patient with us. We've got to talkers because we understand that that is a huge issue and we will do our best at some point to discuss it, but we want to be Like informed, right? '
[00:35:18] Jolene: all right. Going then into, into
[00:35:21] Nicole: You were talking about services,
[00:35:22] Jolene: Yes. So, um, funding, obviously public health, um, welfare programs, helping those with the, uh, part of our vulnerable populations, um, that, that is the role of, of the government.
[00:35:36] Jolene: The other one is education. Trump is trying to, is, is really trying to get rid of the Department of Education, and this has been, I think a Republican talking point for 20 years to try to get to decentralize the money that is spent on, on education in America out from
[00:35:55] Jolene: The bureaucracy of the federal government and get it down to where it's, it's really [00:36:00] going to help. I think that's what the Republicans are trying to do. So by eliminating the Department of Education as a cabinet position and that entity trying to, you know, get rid of all the waste that's involved with having a cabinet level position, let's get that money down to the states so that, um, that we can help get, hire more teachers, hire more aides, hire, you know, get the curriculum where it can really help the students.
[00:36:31] Jolene: That's the ideal
[00:36:32] Nicole: you? Yeah. I was like, what do you believe and what does that mean to you?
[00:36:36] Jolene: I know we all have friends who are teachers. I know from the teachers that I talk to, um,
[00:36:42] Nicole: Are they public school teachers? Are they charter? Are they private?
[00:36:45] Jolene: both, um, of them.
[00:36:49] Jolene: uh, yeah, I would say yeah, but probably a majority are public school. But I mean, I got a, I've, I've got a few that are private, but I, I think that the problem is when you, um, start [00:37:00] developing programs then put more, resources into the, the, the hierarchy of the programs. So then you've got a, okay, so you've got a, a, a reading teacher, then you've got the director of curriculum for reading, and then you've got somebody above her on the, uh, county level or the state level.
[00:37:21] Jolene: And, and, and you start building this, um, this vertical, organization for helping the child read. Then I, I think it starts to take away from the resources that could really directly affect the students. And, and I see that, um, from these conversations that they feel like there's so much money being spent, um, on the theoretical, uh, organization of, of helping students that, that they're not getting the money.
[00:37:53] Jolene: So they're hiring people to, uh, organize the programs. I, you know, developing it like a, a business [00:38:00] and it's just too top heavy. And so if you were to give more of that money down to, to where it would help, that would be more effective.
[00:38:07] Nicole: do you think that the Department of Education should be eliminated?
[00:38:10] Jolene: I don't know enough about it to say it should be eliminated, I think there has to be some type of, of governing entity, and whether that's a person or a board or whatever, just to make sure that everything's being done correct. Taking the federal funds that are available and, and distributing them.
[00:38:29] Jolene: Because I think what they're doing right now is making that, I think under the Department of Commerce or the Department of Treasury and saying, you take that money, you, you take the money that get, that we get from, you know, um, federal taxes and you disperse it to the states. I'm not sure. I don't know enough about it.
[00:38:47] Jolene: And I would love to hear from teachers what their perspective is. Um, teachers and administrators, I mean, I'm, I'm, I guess I'm, I am, you know, kind of thrown administrators under the bus here. Um, so I would love to hear from [00:39:00] administrators what their thoughts are on this.
[00:39:01] Nicole: I mean, I, I do believe that the role of government is to provide a free and good education to every child. That might be very different, uh, for conservative Republican, but I think I was a child of a free public school education and I got a really good education and I'm so
[00:39:27] Jolene: But you were in a nice area, right? I mean, you were in a nice area of the country and of your city. You had a really good public school.
[00:39:37] Nicole: it was also the seventies. Like there was better public schools then. I think we have neglected our public schools and, and I'm not gonna say that you're wrong 'cause I don't know, but it makes sense to me that you're, that, that we're getting too caught up in the bureau bureaucratic nonsense.
[00:39:58] Nicole: And we need this consultant and [00:40:00] that consultant and this consultant. And why aren't public schools teachers getting paid a fair wage, a livable wage? Like I have friends that go into public are going to private school education so they can pay their rent that they want to be public school teachers, but they don't make enough money to live where they're supposed to teach.
[00:40:22] Nicole: And I think that that's a shame. And I, and, and is it idealistic? Maybe. But I would like. All of our children to have a good, I want them to be able to read. I want them to be able to write, I want them to be able to do math. I want, you know, I want
[00:40:40] Nicole: them to write, write. I think we do. I think we do. I
[00:40:44] Nicole: I want art, I want arts programs because some, 'cause arts are important and we keep cutting them out and just focusing on stem and I think all of those things help our children.
[00:40:57] Nicole: Um, when, when things go [00:41:00] privatized and become businesses, I think it only helps the people that are running the business and it helps the people that can afford those private schools. And then everything becomes more top heavy. Now I understand that this could be a complete opposite Republican Democrat thing.
[00:41:22] Nicole: Absolutely. I get that
[00:41:23] Nicole: part. I get. But I just would like
[00:41:25] Jolene: okay, so then the Republicans.
[00:41:27] Nicole: public schools.
[00:41:29] Jolene: Yes, I, and I, everybody would agree with that, that the
[00:41:32] Nicole: Because, right. And we have the money. That's my opinion. Federally, I think we have the money and, and I'm not against your idea of, you know, is there a lot of bureaucratic stuff? Is there like way too much nonsense that we don't know You and I like, why is that guy getting, who's that?
[00:41:52] Jolene: it's such a, it's such a Republican. This is where I think we, we really, um, come at each other Democrats and Republicans, that the [00:42:00] Republicans believe in school choice. And if you are an inner city kid who, um, has a crappy school, and that's the public school that you have to go to because that's you, your parents can't afford, a private school.
[00:42:13] Jolene: Then, you know, shouldn't you be allowed to have a voucher from the federal government instead of funding this, this failing school that you have to go to give it to the kid and say, we're gonna give you this money that we would've given you to go to this crappy school, but now you take it and go to this private school or this charter school over here, there, here's a voucher.
[00:42:35] Jolene: I just don't know why that does not make sense. Now I do understand because then it, it doesn't, you're not helping the root, the the root
[00:42:42] Jolene: problem. Right. The on the problem.
[00:42:45] Nicole: but I'm also, just so
[00:42:46] Jolene: You're Jolene, but, I don't think Democrats or liberals are against school choice. Choice. I really don't.
[00:42:55]
[00:42:55] Nicole: I think fundamentally we want good public schools. [00:43:00] How do we do that? We have enough money to put some money into these schools and make these schools delicious. So that what an opportunity, and maybe this is super kumbaya of me, but that this kid is like, oh my gosh, I don't know which to choose because this school's great and this school's great, I feel like when you just go, well, let's, let's give this kid this voucher and we'll put it over here, then what do we do with this dying school?
[00:43:35] Jolene: Right. I just don't want the schools to die that I'm not suggesting that
[00:43:42] Nicole: I'm not suggesting
[00:43:42] Nicole: punishing any kid. Right. and and I think that's where you and I actually come together as we both want our children to have a good education. Because here's the other thing, if your children have good educations, they grow into grownups that are [00:44:00] then there to lead our country. If we have
[00:44:03] Nicole: a, a country filled with people that are not educated, we're. We're in an, there's an issue here or in a country where it's, it's um, really there's a huge discrepancy
[00:44:16] Jolene: I think the thing about this whole conversation is, of course, we all want our public education to be great. I mean, nobody would, nobody would say, no, that's not what we believe. Or, you know, we all want clean air and clean water, and we all want good, um, public health, um, for everybody.
[00:44:32] Jolene: I mean, I think we all agree that we want these things. It's how do we do it best? And I think that where we disagree, um, and, and where there is the, the biggest room for conversations are, you know, is it done by the private sector or is it done by government? Does the government, can the government take your money and use it in the best way possible?
[00:44:56] Jolene: Or do we have to rely on private [00:45:00] institutions and businesses and individuals to make America great again? Sorry, I, I,
[00:45:06] Jolene: know you
[00:45:06] Nicole: money, do you think, do you think that money should go to education?
[00:45:14] Jolene: What, what money? Our
[00:45:16] Nicole: federal
[00:45:16] Nicole: Our federal Yeah, our da, our tax dollars.
[00:45:18] Jolene: Oh, absolutely
[00:45:20] Nicole: and do you think we should use money to make sure that our air is clean and our water is clean?
[00:45:26] Jolene: yep. That is a fundamental right of an American,
[00:45:32] Nicole: Okay. We agree. We agree.
[00:45:36] Jolene: Yes. But the question then is who can do it better? You know?
[00:45:41] Nicole: I don't, but, but is it, is that the question or is it, do we all just get stuck in the fighting
[00:45:48] Jolene: Well,
[00:45:49] Nicole: we could,
[00:45:50] Jolene: there's that.
[00:45:51] Nicole: this is where I find this exciting and frustrating all at the same time, because does this have to be a Democrat or Republican thing? Couldn't this [00:46:00] just be an American thing that we try to figure this out?
[00:46:03] Nicole: And that's where the compromise gets, maybe I'm just making this up. Maybe the liberals are like, I want a, you know, $50 billion to go towards our public schools. And then the Republicans go, whoa, that's a little too much. How about 20 billion? Oh, like, and then you just figure it out and you, and Yes, I
[00:46:29] Nicole: am with you. Cut the red tape. There's, it's too, it's like molasses.
[00:46:35] Jolene: well. It was like, um, Bren, who, who commented on our gun control, uh, podcast and, and her comments on YouTube and listener, if you, um, get a chance to look at her comments. She said, the problem is these laws were written there. They were in front of Congress to say nobody likes bump stocks. Let's get those [00:47:00] outlawed.
[00:47:00] Jolene: And the problem was then you've got, you've got these different, um, congressmen then that put other, the other things in these bills. They, they fill 'em full of pork for their special, for their special interests. And then you gotta vote the whole bill down because there was other crap in there that made it.
[00:47:17] Jolene: And so then that, that made it unpassable. But the narrative that gets pushed out there is, ah, they all voted against the bump stocks
[00:47:27] Nicole: That's right.
[00:47:27] Jolene: allowing
[00:47:28] Jolene: bump stocks, and that wasn't
[00:47:30] Nicole: you.
[00:47:31] Nicole: That's right. I thank you for bringing that up. And Bren, thank you so much. If those of you who haven't had a chance, go to our YouTube page and see our gun control episode and you will see, um, there are a lot of people had a lot of things to say. I'll tell you that on the YouTube.
[00:47:48] Nicole: But Bren, but Bren was like, I did not know that Jolene. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is maddening.
[00:47:57] Nicole: That people like, Write a [00:48:00] bill that's actually about the bill. Like, knock it off. Both of you. Both of you.
[00:48:06] Nicole: Democrats knock it off. Republicans knock it off. If we wanna do write a bill about no more. What's it called? A bum stock bun
[00:48:15] Nicole: Bum. Can you
[00:48:16] Jolene: stock,
[00:48:16] Nicole: stock
[00:48:18] Nicole: then? That's it. That's it. Don't sneaky Pete. No more sneaky peeing. Like just write the bill and pass the bill and done write another
[00:48:29] Jolene: Yeah. And, and, and and that's what we're, and, and this is the problem too with, um, we're getting ready to get into a, a government shutdown because again, they, they said, okay, let's fund the government. Here's the bill. And then everybody else started putting, well, but we want this in there, and this and there, and this and there.
[00:48:48] Jolene: And then you're like, Nope. And now we don't agree anymore.
[00:48:51] Jolene: Ugh.
[00:48:52] Jolene: Congress, get your crap together.
[00:48:55] Nicole: just stop maybe and, and I don't know if they think that it's more work for [00:49:00] them. I don't really understand how this works, but no one's stupid. No one here is stupid. If you write a bill, write the bill about that thing and vote yes.
[00:49:12] Nicole: Vote no. be done with it.
[00:49:14] Jolene: B, but the problem is, the problem is if, if, um, Congressman Billy Joe, Jim Bob had really had a constituent in, in his, um, in his district that really needed some money to fund this bridge and, um, they needed it. He can't, nobody else is going to, in the, in the Congress is gonna vote for it because they don't think that Billy Joe, Jim Bob's constituent needs it.
[00:49:45] Jolene: And so the only way he can get it passed is to put it in this bill and hope that nobody sees it. Don't look at page 862, paragraph seven. And he put it in there. And so then he could say he got it passed. And then when the whole thing goes down, because [00:50:00] somebody else put something in there that was crappy and the whole thing went down, nobody got what they wanted.
[00:50:04] Nicole: That's right. I mean,
[00:50:06] Jolene: Congress, It. fix this,
[00:50:07] Nicole: CI mean, enough, enough Congress, enough. It's, I mean, it happened with the big beautiful bill thing where people, they, these people, the bill was so big they didn't read it, and they just passed it, and then they were like, Ooh, I didn't know that was in there. Here's the deal.
[00:50:24] Nicole: Congress read it, and if you don't read it, don't vote, or don't, or say, I need
[00:50:31] Nicole: more time. It's absurd.
[00:50:34] Jolene: Nancy Pelosi said, uh, about the healthcare bill, about um, Obamacare. And she goes, that's why we need to pass the bill so that we can read to see what's in it. And everybody went, wait, what?
[00:50:47] Nicole: Oh, I don't
[00:50:47] Nicole: remember that.
[00:50:48] Jolene: the truth.
[00:50:49] Jolene: Yeah. packed and it was a meme.
[00:50:53] Nicole: Yeah.
[00:50:54] Nicole: Uh, what else? I mean, this is a huge topic [00:51:00] and we're just like,
[00:51:01] Jolene: What other things do you have? I know, I, I know.
[00:51:04] Nicole: what are, what are the things? Do I have, the only thing that I have that I sort of wanna highlight, because we do talk about religion here on the We've Got To Talk podcast, is that in the Constitution, uh, the First Amendment article six, it says, the Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the state legislature
[00:51:30] Nicole: And all executive and judicial powers officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. And the reason I [00:52:00] bring that up is because, in light of the Charlie Kirk assassination, I think a lot of Christians are feeling, um, very emboldened to, to talk about their Christianity and their faith, which I, I have no problem with it. And that's part of free speech and part of, like reason this country was even founded was to be able to pray the way you want to pray and believe what you want to believe. But I think we get, we forget this and when people start talking about this being a Christian nation, it's not a Christian nation.
[00:52:35] Nicole: It's a nation with lots of Christians in it. It's a nation with lots of Jews in it. It's a nation with lots of Buddhists in it and uh, Muslims in it. And that's the beauty of this country is that especially in cities, we live together amongst each other and allow each other to pray or not [00:53:00] pray. And I think that for me, reading Article six was sort of an important reminder that we all belong here
[00:53:11] Nicole: and that
[00:53:11] Jolene: Very, that's very
[00:53:12] Nicole: right. Uh,
[00:53:13] Jolene: very well said.
[00:53:14] Nicole: right. And that, this, that, that, it's really important to really remember that we are, it is, there's a separation of church and state here, and I really respect the Christians that listen to this podcast and the Christians that don't listen to this podcast. I love that about this country.
[00:53:33] Nicole: I love that we can not only believe what we wanna believe, but we, I think it's really cool that we all have so many faiths and for the most part are peaceful in this country. I think that's a beautiful thing, and that does not happen in other countries,
[00:53:53] Jolene: I just love that we were, um, that we were forced to go back and, and really evaluate what we think. we [00:54:00] can talk about the laws that, that are, you know, affecting us and, and the, and things that the government specifically is doing. But if we don't really go back to the Constitution and take a look at, you know, really understanding why we are the United States of
[00:54:17] Jolene: America, that's, you know, the, that's, that's where we probably need to get back to.
[00:54:23] Jolene: So I, I'm with
[00:54:25] Nicole: you. I'm
[00:54:26] Jolene: it.
[00:54:27] Nicole: Yeah, me too. And, and just a reminder, we are the United States of America and it really doesn't feel like it right now. And we're so good right now of just being mad at each other and fighting with each other. We're all one country, and I, for one, would like to stay that way. And I know you would too.
[00:54:49] Nicole: Jolene
[00:54:51] Nicole: and
[00:54:52] Jolene: Yeah,
[00:54:52] Nicole: I, think we gotta do better. We gotta do better. Do you have a good for the [00:55:00] soul, sweetheart?
[00:55:00] Jolene: I do. Which is so funny because I, I've started following, and I sent this to you. I started following, uh, bill Maher, and I don't know if he's agnostic or if he's an atheist. I think he's Jewish. I think he grew up Jewish. I don't know that he practices. Um, but anyway, and he's not, I think I used to think that he was liberal, but he's, um, and he may still be, I don't know, but he, he just says it like it is.
[00:55:26] Nicole: I think he's an
[00:55:27] Jolene: Um, and I love. Uh, well, I would, I would guess that just by, you know, he's totally
[00:55:34] Jolene: against the, the woke move movement.
[00:55:37] Nicole: He's mad
[00:55:38] Jolene: I mean, yes. I mean, I, I think it's gonna take a long time for him to, to really adhere to some of the things that Republicans are doing, but he is not afraid to call out Democrats and, and be anti woke and saying, you know, this, that the woke movement
[00:55:53] Jolene: is what killed Democrats and blah, blah, blah.
[00:55:57] Jolene: Yes. Both sides a hundred percent. So [00:56:00] anyway, I would just say, um, following him has been, uh, I sent him a, I sent you the, the latest thing that he said where he calls everyone out. So I'm just calling out, I'm giving a shout out to Bill Maher because I think that he, um, kind of says it like it is
[00:56:16] Nicole: Yeah, and I will put that particular video that you sent me. I will put that in the show notes so that you can understand. It's great. It's really great and I love that you sent it to me and
[00:56:27] Nicole: I love that you were like, wow, he's not wrong. And I'm looking at it. I'm like, I totally agree with you. agree with you. And so if you're interested in what
[00:56:37] Nicole: you don't know what we're talking
[00:56:38] Nicole: about, go to the show notes, press on Bill Maher, press on that link and watch it, and then let us know what you think about that, that video for sure.
[00:56:46] Jolene: Bill Maher for President 2028.
[00:56:50] Nicole: Oh geez. I want
[00:56:51] Nicole: Mark Cuban for President 2028.
[00:56:54] Jolene: Oh God. I want Dolly Parton 2028.
[00:56:59] Jolene: We're just [00:57:00] gonna start throwing people
[00:57:01] Nicole: Uh, Dolly
[00:57:03] Nicole: that would just Yes, please.
[00:57:05] Jolene: What do you have? Do you have a good for the
[00:57:07] Nicole: So my good for the soul, I've been thinking about this and my good for the soul, and we've sort of said it before, but I'm gonna give our listener and viewer another exercise as my good for the soul, which would be, and this is a big old challenge, and if you need to change the timing on this, I totally understand.
[00:57:26] Nicole: But my suggestion to you is the next time that you're feeling anxious and you wanna reach for the phone, I'm encouraging you to put your phone down for an hour and walk outside that door and take a walk for an hour.
[00:57:47] Jolene: not if it's three in the morning.
[00:57:48] Nicole: No, no, no, no, no.
[00:57:49] Jolene: A lot of times I wake up at three in the
[00:57:51] Jolene: morning and
[00:57:51] Jolene: Ha. And have
[00:57:52] Nicole: I'm gonna suggest this is an exercise to do in daylight hours. hours, But just starting to [00:58:00] pay attention to not only that need for the dopamine hit that doesn't make you feel very good. But also just for those of you who are young and have no idea what it was like to have life without a phone, use that exercise.
[00:58:19] Nicole: And for those of us that do remember it, just that gentle reminder of, oh my gosh, thank you. We've got the talk that half an hour. That was nice. That made me feel a little bit better.
[00:58:33] Jolene: that is good.
[00:58:39] Nicole: All right. I'm gonna do my, would you rather first because you have been fucking around.
[00:58:44] Nicole: Yes. Linda, fucking around with Ja Chat, GPT. And so I know mine's gonna be lame and yours is gonna be crazy, so I'm gonna go first. Okay? 'cause mine is boring and I don't use AI 'cause I'm a Luddite. All right, here we [00:59:00] go. Where is it? Gimme one second. All right. Would you rather be able to take back anything you say or here any conversation that is about you
[00:59:21] Jolene: Oh my gosh. You know what I'm gonna pick? I need to take back anything that I can say but that's also because I don't want to know, I
[00:59:34] Jolene: want to live in my own little world where I think, yeah. Where I think everybody, um, likes me. And so, um, and I don't wanna know any differently.
[00:59:45] Nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:59:46] Jolene: It's like, I'd like to get a mirror that makes me look 15 pounds thinner and just go, I don't care.
[00:59:52] Jolene: I, I wanna, that's the last look I wanna look at as I walk out of my bedroom and go, this is what everybody else sees all day long. [01:00:00] Not the reality.
[01:00:03] Nicole: The beautiful just want to think that that's what everybody sees. Yeah. That I, this is how I look all the time, even if
[01:00:11] Jolene: it's not true. Okay, here's yours.
[01:00:15] Jolene: Stop it. Thank
[01:00:16] Jolene: you, dear. myself chat. GPT. Be I mean, these are so funny. I'm gonna send them to you.
[01:00:22] Nicole: No, don't just, just tell me them.
[01:00:25] Jolene: would you rather have a government that shows up to every meeting in a clown costume, or one that never shows up at all, leaving you to run the country with a rubber chicken?
[01:00:35] Nicole: I wanna run the country with a rubber chicken. I want to run the country with a rubber chicken. I'm not even sure what that
[01:00:45] Jolene: Okay, wait, here's another one. I know I don't either. Would you rather have a government than insists on rewriting all street signs every week? Or one that thinks stoplights are optional suggestions?
[01:00:57] Nicole: Oh my God. [01:01:00] Definitely not the stop signs or optional suggestions. That's terrifying being in New York City, just walking down the street. You have to really watch where you're going with the, between the cars and the electric bikes and the, and the, which should never be allowed in my opinion. And the bikes and all the things.
[01:01:19] Nicole: You, you want those, you want those traffic lights to work. Alright, what's the last one?
[01:01:26] Jolene: I don't feel like anybody watches them anyway. Are they? Okay. Wait, I've got two more. 'cause these are really good. Would you rather have a government that tries to solve climate change by making everyone wear hats indoors? Or one that says, deal with it while it rains? Cats and dogs.
[01:01:41] Nicole: I'd wear a hat. Indoor. I love a hat. Let's solve climate change. Listen, jet. GBT, I have to say you, but you. Do way better. This is just a testament that you and your brain do way better. Would you rather than chat GBT, which makes me really happy.
[01:01:58] Jolene: you don't like these? [01:02:00] Oh,
[01:02:00] Jolene: okay. Here's the last one. Would you rather have a government? Oh my gosh. Would you rather have a government that emails you 17 times a day about tiny rules or one that only communicates by smoke signals?
[01:02:12] Nicole: Smoke signals, emails, people don't read. Listen. How many times have you sent an email and nobody fucking reads it? Yes, Linda. Linda. Nobody reads it. Smoke signals would absolutely be more effective
[01:02:28] Nicole: All right, girl. Thank you for this conversation.
[01:02:31] Jolene: Thank you, listener. Thank you for listening and, and watching us. Um, we appreciate you. Please let us know what, what you think. We love your feedback. Honestly, good and bad. We love it. You keep us on our toes, you keep, um, you keep us thinking about the things that are important to you. So please, um, listen and watch wherever you get your podcast.
[01:02:54] Nicole: Yes. And please share as well because we are a community where you are all [01:03:00] welcome and we want to be able to challenge ourselves and you on how do we talk to each other and, and listen to each other and be curious and be kind. Be kind and, and figure this out together.
