Bill Meyer Show Podcast - Sponsored by Clouser Drilling www.ClouserDrilling.com - 02-12-26_THURSDAY_6AM

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

Morning news and commentary and an interesting talk with author and journalist Johanna Neuman. Wrote a piece in the Blaze about the breakdown around us. Darkly comic novel written about the founders comes out in May. Link to that on my show blog!

This hour of the Bill Meyer Show podcast is proudly sponsored by Klauser Drilling. They've been leading the way in Southern Oregon well drilling for more than 50 years. Find out more about them at Klausor drilling.com. Now more with Bill Meyer. 11 minutes after 6 on Conspiracy Theory Thursday. If you've heard a good one, or you want to put some meat on the bone of one that you're specifically fond of, well, that's 7705663. They email, by the way, Bill at Billmyers Show.com.

I was going to, I guess, you know, I could talk about the nonsense. Are we over the Guthrie kidnapping at this point? And why are we still so into the Guthrie kidnapping? I'm not one of those individuals. I hate to say it. I think that Savannah Guthrie's mother is no longer with us somehow. Between her frailty and lack of communication from the alleged kidnapper, I think this is more or less going to be a murder and or a body recovery kind of case.

But, boy, they sure are putting a lot of broadcast time in on that, aren't they? Why do you suppose it is? Why this particular one? And any time I think that we're being persuaded to look at a particular type of news story again and again and again, I start wondering, okay, why aren't we supposed to be paying attention to? I mean, I get into it and look at the headlines every now and then, but that was about the extent of it. I just don't necessarily know where we're going to go on that. But if you have an opinion one way or the other on maybe what it's covering up,

on what kind of attention is it taking away from other issues here? Well, let me know, huh? 7705-633. Some of the headlines we have this morning, Blockbuster Jobs Report, surpassing expectations over 170,000 private sector jobs. This is Treasury Secretary Bessent in the Financial Times, emphasizing the reprivatization of the American economy. And what they're talking about, U.S. economy blowing past Wall Street's expectations,

130,000 jobs in January, signaling that the labor market is healthier than economists had feared. Critics or people who aren't maybe necessarily in Besson's thing are saying that one challenge, those that a lot of this is being created in health care. And I think that's interesting that somebody points out that a lot of the jobs that are being created right now are in the health care industry

because the health care industry is not as much a... And I've made this point in the state of Oregon a long time because they'll talk about, oh, boy, we're going to have... Look at all of these health care jobs that are opening up in Southern Oregon and people are getting a chance to... They're going to work and work and make money and things. It's an expense on... the culture overall. I mean, ideally, we would be wealthier people if we were not paying a lot of

people to fix what shouldn't be broken in the first place. You know what I'm getting at here? That's why I always look at, look at skin, ooh, healthcare costs there. Healthcare spending is going up. Is that a good thing? Yeah, yeah, exactly. But anyway, but still, the markets are, of course, liking that. Now, this is an interesting story. Federal jobs numbers at the lowest level since 1966. You have to figure this is about President Trump's effort to reduce the size and scope

and waste of the government. Ben Smith at Red State writing this morning, federal employment dropped by 2,686 or drop 2,000, $2,686,000 in January of this year. That number has not appeared in federal labor

data since LBJ was in the White House. In other words, the total number of people working for the federal government. 2.6 million, 2.7 million. And that's the lowest it's been in more than 60 years. That's an interesting story, too, in and of itself. The House passes the Save America Act. Now, I guess we're going to be paying attention to the Senate.

The interesting part, though, is that only one Democrat, only one Democrat voted. So this was practically a party-line vote, 2-18. to 213. Totally on the party line, except for Henry Quayr, I think was, he was the,

oh, Quillar. Quaylar, Representative Henry Quaylar of Texas was the only Democrat that voted with Republicans in favor of voter ID, actually having identification, being able to prove your citizenship in order to vote.

I find it fascinating that the Democrats are all talking about, well, you know, listen, it's already against the law for people who aren't eligible to vote to to vote, who aren't supposed to be here. And there's nothing to see here. Okay, well, then why would you be upset about making sure that

everything you say isn't happening isn't happening? What's the problem here, right? Oh, well, that says a lot, right? Front page on the website this morning, RVTimes.com. Yeah, bad snowpack. We know about that. Snowpack low, low, low, historically bad. lowest level on record for this time of year, part of a broader snow drought they're riding,

gripping the Pacific Northwest and raising concerns about water supply, wildfire risk impacts to farms and fishery. Well, we'll see what happens. If we're still talking this way in May, yeah, it's a big deal. But I'm surprised how many times we've had things, you know, bad snow problems bailed out with a few megastorms at the end of winter in an early spring. But we shall see. But we don't really need to worry about the climate. anymore because Jeff Golden's bill is moving forward.

We don't have to worry about the climate because we're going to make the polluters pay. Senate Bill 1541, passing out of committee in the state legislature. Party-line vote yesterday. And the so-called climate superfund bill, polluters pay. Remember when the kids were bleeding, walking out of school? Polluters need to pay.

Polluters need to pay. I would have loved to have gone up to each and every one of those kids. It said, here's a bill for the polluters pay because guess what you're buying everything from the polluters your food your clothing that iPhone in your hand you know all that kind of stuff but uh oh yeah yeah also the shoes your designer fashions your jeans it's it's all it's all part of this it's all going to get more expensive but it's all going to be a big slush fund for uh democratic friends that's really what i think senate bill 1541 is all about but uh you know jeff golden is just

He's just the goodness that just keeps given, just like the wildfire bill. Now, this was technically not his bill, but it became a joint or joint committee bill if there was reintroduced this year. But it's Jeff Golden's bill. Just to remember that, it's always Jeff Golden's bill. If it's a golden pile of poo, it's Jeff Golden's bill. It's 18 after 6. You'll see where this goes. I guess it's going to end up going then to the Senate floor for a full vote and then off to the House.

And the Republicans are still present, still providing quorum and still being humiliated. And they'll be sending us breathless emails. Make your voice be heard. They're trying to stop this. They're being corrupt. Yeah. Why are you there is what I would keep saying back to them. All right.

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Hi, I'm Matt Stone with Stone Heating and Air, and I'm on KMED. 20 minutes after 6 on Conspiracy Theory Thursday. Phil is in Rogue River, a budding member of the early morning commenter club on Conspiracy Theory Thursday. What's on your mind, Phil? Welcome. Well, it's kind of regarding this Guthrie case.

It's becoming a pebble in my shoe because it's been on the TV and radios constantly for 12 days now. And, you know, it's a tragedy, but If this were to happen to you or I, God forbid. It would be a nothing burger, wouldn't it? We'd be lucky to get two cops and a detective, you know? And I just think the FBI and all these resources that we're putting into it,

they're setting themselves up for some, is this going to happen again to just your average Joe? And we're not going to get the response, and we're all going to be upset about it. Why do you suppose President Trump got the, or kind of got the FBI, just like full bore stop into this. I mean, he just threw everything in it and ended up talking about it. It's one thing to say, hey, we're really, you know, sorry about your mother, et cetera, and we'll help where we can. But I think that was certainly part of it that the White House has put a lot of juice on this, wouldn't you agree? Yes, I do. And, you know, I've never heard of Savannah Guthrie before this incident. So she's not that big of a public name. I don't understand the resources being spent on this.

Well, she's reasonably famous to the mainstream media crowd, you know, being on the Today Show. So that's certainly part of it. But, yeah, it is one of those things. But I guess the question I would have is that anytime I see what I call an emu story, you know how the emu's always poke at shiny objects. If you ever hold that up, they'll peck at you through the fence, you know, that kind of thing. So this is an emu story. I mean, it's not a not story.

I mean, it's a tragedy and there's a lot of intrigue in things. But, you know, every day it's like, okay, well, here's the man. Okay, here's the glove. Oh, we found a glove out here. He may have DNA material. Yeah, we get that. But to what end? What do you think is the purpose of all this, your opinion?

I honestly, I don't know. I don't see the intrigue in it. I mean, I hope all the best for the family and everything, but I, unfortunately, don't think it's going to come out very well. No, I would agree with you too. I think that she has probably, I'm talking about Nancy Guthrie, has probably been off this planet for several days now at this point. But I hope not. I would love to be proven wrong. And that would be a great story if that ended up being the case. Yeah, I hope these people that are calling in nefariously about trying to get a Bitcoin,

you know, I hope they get caught and prosecuted. Yeah, I'll give you that. All right. Phil, I appreciate the call. You'd be well. good hearing from you, okay? 7705-633-3-3-7-0-K-M-E-D. And it was a biological boy. You know which story I'm talking about? Yeah. Yeah, you know the one.

That BC school shooting? Masty crime, just horrific crime. It was just... You know when that story came out the other day? we have a girl, a female in a dress, taking a firearm, killed a stepbrother, killed the mother, killed six people at the school, killed herself, and by the way, injuring dozens. The moment I heard that story the other day, I just shut, I wasn't even going to say anything about it because I'm saying, this is not, this is not the truth.

This is not the truth. We're not being told the truth about it. It was not a female. And yeah, we're right. It is yet another one of the poor trans people, the trans people that are saying, everyone's after us. There's a target on our back. And, you know, we're being crushed everywhere we go. And nobody wants us around.

And you cisgendered people, you're coming after us all the time. Yet another one goes to bubble off plum and shoots up a school. It's happened several times. Isn't it fascinating? When they were talking about it being a female shooting up the school, wait a minute, by far, most females don't get involved in that kind of thing. It's not their modus operandi. It's not what they do. It's not what most actual females do.

There are differences between the sexes. There just is, right? Anybody with half a brain understands there are real differences. it's not just a societal, you know, influence. There are real biological differences. And when they talked about all the violence, I'm going, this has to be a guy. This has to be a trans.

And yep, that's exactly what it ends up being. School shooter who killed eight people during the rampage, this on the telegraph in a remote part of Canada, identified transgender teenager, Jesse Ruta Slayer, who was born male but identified as female, shot and killed his mom, brother, killed five students, one teacher, opened fire on police where they arrived, rounds fired in their direction.

And they earlier described it as a gun person, right? Because we couldn't say gunman, that kind of thing. But I got to tell you the nonsense coming out of Canada with this sort of thing. You can get in trouble for misgendering somebody in Canada. You know, big trouble if you end up saying, yeah, a boy ended up shooting up the school. That would be a crime. And so the Royal Mounted Police, the Mounties. You know, we're out there talking about a female, a female, a female, until they finally admitted, yeah, it was a guy.

Yeah, a dude and a, well, like I always say, dude in a dress. Dude and a dress. And then the story comes out, oh, we were dealing with his mental health, mental health problems for all these years. And it's like, wait a minute, guys. You've been dealing with the mental health all these years. The mental health started with the transgender dysphoria, you know, that whole thing from the start. That was where it started. Were they willing?

Well, they probably went along with him, though. They probably went down with the whole transgender situation in which they're saying, gender affirming care will save us all. No, no, it didn't happen. Tragic once again, but something tells me that until the nonsense stops, until we start treating mental illness as truly mental illness and not something to be fixed with surgery. We'll probably see a little bit more of this, just saying, okay? 28 minutes after six, we'll catch up on the rest of the news too here on the Bill of Meyer show.

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This is News Talk 1063, KMED. And you're waking up with the Bill Myers Show. Johanna Newman joins me. Very interesting person. Former president of the White House Correspondents Association covered Reagan. Bush 41 White Houses for USA Today, LA Times, long, long time journalism. Well, I guess, Johanna, you have seen and probably heard it all, right? Isn't that the case, right?

Oh, no, Bill. That's what I love about today. Things are always surprising me. There's still more, yeah. But still, you have seen and probably experienced a lot of weirdness in the news. Would you at least concede that point? Nothing else. You could make an argument, Bill, that the news is based.

based on the unusual. So, yes. Well, anyway, let me explain a little bit more about your bio before we go on, okay? Since this is the first time you and I've had the chance to talk, but she holds a Ph.D. In American History, scholar in residence at American University. And you have a comic novel coming out in this spring.

It's termed a darkly comic novel. What is that? I'm kind of interested in that project before I get into your blaze piece here. Oh, well, I love this book. It's my eighth book and probably my favorite. I am bringing the founding fathers down from heaven and one founding mother to celebrate our 250th birthday. And in this book, there are some wonderful, they have wonderful encounters, funny things happen with a 20-person. Americans, and they also have this long-running debate about whether this is the America they meant to leave us. And I named the book Trump's superpower because I believe that President Trump understands that he,

if he wants to reclaim the country, that the founders are our sovereigns. and that he has to restore this history from the evil talons of the left, it seems to want to tear them down and cancel them. That's interesting. And is that like available for pre-order at this point or not out yet? Yes, it is. It comes out in the spring, but it's up there for pre-order right now on Amazon. And as you know, pre-orders help drive a book.

Yeah, I imagine so. I was told that in one of my notes about you is that in your novel, Ben Franklin gets arrested for misgendering someone, right? Yes, he does. And George Washington gets his teeth sick. And Thomas Jefferson meets one of his Hemings descendants. And it's just wonderful, funny. So you're kind of going into the point of it all, I suppose, too, right?

Of life today. Oh, absolutely. You know the one thing is that, you know, when I look back at the history and what the founders fought and died for, many of them dying for and losing their wealth, all the rest of it is part of building our nation. There's a part of me that thought, if you were to bring George Washington back today, one of the first things he would be saying is looking around and saying, why aren't you shooting them? Have you ever thought about that? I mean, actually think about the government officials and things. I'm not advocating assassination. Don't get me wrong. But remember, this was all about an over-dominating tyrannical government everywhere.

And it's like we're suffocated by it everywhere these days, Johan. Is it just me? Or am I just looking at this the wrong way? No, I think it's true. But to your point about George Washington, there is a scene. I created a White House dinner. So George Washington and Pete Hessexie. have a long conversation about the use of power, to your point.

But these days, it does seem that the blue states in particular are defying, openly defying the federal government. There are Attorney General's in California and Pennsylvania that are, I mean, sorry, DAs that are looking at indicting, bringing criminal charges. charges against ICE agents for doing their job. And I keep thinking, you know, if you don't like the law, then put down your bullhorn and pick up the phone and call Congress. Yeah, and get involved in that process. And you see, and the thing is there is nothing wrong with state resistance to federal overreach. That's something which has been a long part of our federalism,

you know but and you see but the thing is though and i think even conservative sometimes johanna make a mistake when they say well federal law trumps state law that's what is usually talked about they'll just take a look at the supremacy clause and and they're right but there's another aspect of that is that it has to be something that the federal government has jurisdiction over primary jurisdiction and when it comes to immigration enforcement that ain't a state deal that is strictly There's no question about this. The state has nothing to say about this. No thing.

Or am I crazy? I don't know. No, I mean, it seems like 1860 all over again, doesn't it? Yeah, just a little bit. You're writing in the blaze here, reasonably, I was reading your piece here a little earlier. And you're saying, though, that in this 250th anniversary of our nation, yeah, things are looking shaky. But if leftists can't cancel 1776, they'll cancel the family. or is one frame at a time, huh?

One frame, huh? That's all? That's my view, yeah. That, you remember during the BLM riots that I think it was in Oregon that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were toppled literally and smashed on the ground. And that's nothing except, well, I would say it tearing down. of national symbols. I suppose you could say it's a way to debate national symbols, if you were being kind. But I think as long as the left is treating 1776 as some sort of crime scene,

it remains for the rest of us to stand up and hoist our flags high and say, this is country. I'm proud of country. I would agree with you wholeheartedly. Now, here in Southern Oregon, we feel often, Johanna, that we're behind enemy lines because we're in a red area of a predominantly blue state. And I was even talking to my boss this morning. He said, how are you doing? I said, well, I'm looking at the news and the nonsense. And it's just kind of like, you know, every day is yet another outrage against common sense.

Now, as an example, we're going to be saved because polluters are going to pay. You know, we have a state senator that gets all involved in this thing. And all it means is that our taxes are going to go up. That's all it means. It means that Democrat NGOs are going to get more slush fund money to fight climate. And sometimes it gets a little bit discouraging, you know, in this 250th anniversary year of the United States. Do you find yourself ever wondering if we're going to be able to make it through this nonsense? It did cross my mind.

But I also, I wanted to ask you, I forgive my ignorance, but is Medford part of the counties that want to move to Idaho? No, we're not. We're not part of that. But we'll probably get around to that at some point. But those are the eastern. Those are the eastern ones. Okay. But, and, you know, and by the way, I talk to those greater Idaho people quite frequently.

And God bless him. I love that. But even then, the system that we have right now, Johanna, about those people that want to move the borders of Oregon, those eastern Oregon people really do feel more like Idaho. Those people are really more in tune with Idaho and they don't feel represented. The challenge that you run into is that it's still a system where it's mother, may I? Please, Mother, may I leave this brutal bad marriage? You have to beg the state of Oregon that doesn't want to let them go to go. You would then have to beg the people of Oregon to vote to let them go.

And then you would have to beg Congress to let them go. And I don't know. Here it is the 250th anniversary of the founding and the beginning of the American Revolution. And there's a part of me that feels like, you know, are we tiptoeing towards something like that or maybe a different version of that? You know, what is your thought about this? I think we're very lucky that President Trump is sort of resonates to this. And, you know, he has stood up an entire, a separate bureaucracy, a task force, planning the 250th.

There's going to be all those things you would think of, tall ships and stuff. celebrations at Philadelphia Hall. Yeah, and I get that. It's going to be a great unity show, but it's just kind of a show then. What do we really have to coalesce around in this country right now, you think? Well, that's my argument that we have the founders and we have their principles. I mean, Thomas Jefferson, in his Declaration of Independence, the first draft, he wrote in his list of grievances, against King George.

He wrote that one of the greatest sins of the British Empire was to visit on America the scourge of slavery. That was in his first draft. And

the Congress took it out. I think the reasoning was that if they were declaring their independence from Britain, and likely they would soon be in a war, and they would need all of the states, south and north, to win. Well, that was the great compromise of that time, right? Yeah.

But the other things in the Declaration is the idea that all people are created equal and that government is only ordained by the consent of the governed, and that our rights, contrary to what some U.S. senators have said, our rights do not come from man. They come from God. They're in age. And those concepts, those sort of enlightenment-era principles, they're what distinguished the founding fathers and not, you know, this century-old argument that they were. either economically greedy or misogynist or racist. No, they were upholding the greatest values of Western culture.

Let me ask you, this could be an uncomfortable question, Johanna. Johanna Newman with me once again. And is there a possibility that President Trump, and that President Trump is criticized by some mostly from the left, okay? but there are some from the right to. Criticize that he behaves as, you know, the unitary executive, authoritarian, strong man, et cetera, et cetera. You know, not like a banana republic dictator,

but definitely, hey, do what I say, so it is written, so it shall be. You know, that is kind of how. A biblical. Yeah, I'm thinking of the king and I, you know, kind of reference it from that old movie, right? is there a possible is it possible that he's the only one that might be able to whip it in shape for that very reason for his what would otherwise be flaws in a normal time I that's a delicious question I think you might be right um I do note that the Trump Trump 45 was much different in the Matt's him. Yes. By the time Donald Trump becomes president the second time, he has been through tortured. I mean, they tried to kill him. They persecuted him. They tried to bankrupt him.

They harassed his children. And he's mad. I'm going, I mean, this is a theory, just that he, He came back much more resolved to win. And that's what I think he's trying to do. And it's striking to me how silly the press is sometimes. They keep falling into his traps. You know, they don't really, they need to all go read the art of the deal because he spells out his negotiating tactic, which is reach for the stars, then you pull back after you have.

And the press keeps falling for it. They keep, you know. And they'll call it taco. Trump always chickens out, right? That's what they'll always. That's what they'll call it. But that was always the intention in the first place. It's not chickening out.

It's always the process. I've got to the point where I no longer get upset with, oh, he said what? Really? He said that, oh, you've got to be kidding me, right? You know, I've stopped that. I stop it. Because we know by this time, we've seen this railroad run down the track before. It doesn't end that way, usually. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, you say the left-wing media always says taco,

but the right-wing media says T-A-W, which is Trump always wins because he's manipulating these people. He knows them better than they know him. What I'll be really curious to see, though, is how they thread that needle in the midterms. Because this is, I know that I would hear the Sean Hannity's of the world and the liner guys. You know, the big liner voice is the most important election and ever, you know, every two years, it's what you get. That was a good audition, Bill. Very good.

and holding Congress accountable. You know, that's what they, you know, do all the time. But I don't know, this one is looking dicey. It's going to be the 250th anniversary. We're going to have these big celebrations and all the rest of it. But at the same time, I don't think we've ever felt a little more divided. What say you? Because, you know, you think they're going to coalesce

and let President Trump still continue to have Congress to play around with here for the next two years or not? I'll let you have the final work. I don't know. I really, I worry about it. Democrats have been quite outspoken about how if they win the House, they will impeach Trump. And so I think there's some real... I think there's some Republicans who would vote to convict, seriously. Oh, there are, yeah.

So, I mean, I think this is actually true that it's a consequential midterm. and so, you know, I was struck, if I can just take a minute. I, in the Super Bowl and all the uproar about Bad Bunny, it was missed, I think, that what he was really doing in speaking, not just singing in Spanish, but the parade of flags that he showed of, all the nations in America was sort of, I thought, a subtle way of saying, we're all Americans. And I think the 250th anniversary is an occasion to say, no, that's an attempt to erase the United States of America. That's what I, well, that's how I interpreted it.

That's how I did. And I didn't think that was very subtle at all, Johanna. But yeah, I would agree with you. That was the whole thing. And frankly, the performance in Spanish, I think, was also a not so subtle thing of we're going to, to me, I looked at it as kind of a humiliating moment for the United States 250. Well, you know, have you read a translation of what he said? Yeah, I did read a translation to some of it.

And if we, if it had been sung in English, the FCC would be getting involved, okay? Oh, they already are. They're suing him. I mean, or finding him, I guess, is the term of art. I think that's the problem, that they're trying to erase the founders. They're trying to erase the country. Everything's a humiliation exercise. Yeah. And President Trump, I believe, is committed to doing everything he can to rescue it. And I have a feeling of that, even though I might not necessarily agree with the methods or even the intensity, which things get conducted right now. And maybe you even feel that way too. And we sometimes get a little bit comfortable.

Well, you know, this is not part of norms. No, you'll hear that all the time, right? Yeah, I know. It's also not normal times. I don't know. Maybe the strong guy is the one that's going to be able to try to hold it together right now. that's all I could say here, but I think you say it quite nicely over in your blaze piece, and we'll link to that for sure.

And when does that book come out, the one in which you bring back all the founders, and then they get arrested for hate crimes today? Well, when you read the trial, the book comes out in May, in early May, And right now, the hardback is available, Trump's superpower on Amazon, and the other versions, the Kindle and the audiobook will be dropping in before publication. All right, very good. I'm going to get that all up there, Johanna. And on Blaze Media, if leftists can't cancel 1776, they'll cancel the founders one frame at a time.

If we let them, I think if we let them would be an interesting subtitle. That's a wonderful edition. you for that. All right. Johanna, a pleasure talking with you. We'll have you back. Be well. Yes, well, too.

Okay. Take care now. 652 at KMED and 993 KBXG. Appreciate you being here on the Millemeyer show. Hi, this is Megan at Mini Petmart. Together with our amazing customers and vendors, we've raised $436,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over the past nine years, helping to find cures and save children's lives.

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770 KMED to join in. Why aren't they letting us know? What is this about this secret board? Not the secret board, but the board being secret. You know, this temporary board in Josephine County has been all the drama. Over two county commission positions left open, right? We've all known about this.

I've been talking with Herman about this, various other folks over time here. And Chris Bristol writing in The Daily Courier, and I was reading it last night, I'm going through it this morning, 37 applicants vie for spots on the Josephine County Board, but we only get to know the names of a few of them. And I guess we'll get to know the rest of them later.

And that, I'm just scratching my head because I don't think there's anything in open records law that would present. prevent us from knowing who the other people were that applied. That doesn't make sense. But the people who have tossed their head in the ring that they will let us know about, Jennifer Clark, Matthew Idy, James Rafferty, Jonathan Knapp.

Remember him, he's run for sheriff a few times before. David Twitchell, Loma, Jesse, Herman Beartiger. Of course, we knew about that. Herman admitted that. Russell MacGallman, Brittany Doyle, Timothy Arthoff, Jr., Simon Hare. Of course, another former commissioner, Travis Hersha, Darius England, Brendan Kinsel, Robert Ward, and Brian Holesklaught. But the rest of them have not been released. The names are not released. And Wally Hicks, who is the county council, says withholding the names was part of the screening process the temporary board is following, Hicks said.

I'm not convinced this is legal. I know in the story, former commissioner John West, he's running for county courts. Commission, you know, the number one position, but he's doing that for May. In the Daily Courier story, told the county withheld the names of the majority of the applicants. West replied, I don't get that. I don't get the secrecy. And I agree with former Commissioner West on this one. And he emailed me about this because he's all hot and bothered about it. And he gave me a chat GPT thing that's talking about how it's, according to the Oregon law, it would not appear to be legal.

what that temporary board is doing right now. And that's all fine. I think it's true here, but I ended up, well, there's one particular AI that I like to use the Alter Systems AI. I found less bias in that than some of the other chattier ones, you know, that sort of thing. It's not really a chat bot, but...

So, I was researching with its use here. Oregon Public Records Law, open meeting requirements in the ethics of governmental transparency. transparency covered by Oregon Public Records Laws, Oregon Public Meeting Laws, under ORS192-355, certain records are conditionally exempt from disclosure. They could be withheld if releasing them would be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy. So personal addresses, phone numbers, private identifying info,

some employment application materials, especially when applicants are not yet finalists. But, you know, I don't think that the name, qualifies as one of those one of those exemptible aspects. So if Josephine County is filling a vacant county commission seat, an elected position appointed by the remaining board members, the identity of applicants should generally be public, at least for finalists, or once the decision-making process begins. So that's kind of the squishiness. I still don't get that squishiness. I still don't see why Wally would even go there. You just put the names out. These are the names of people who have applied, who have thrown their head in the ring. I do not get it.

Now, I think that's legally questionable. I think the law could end up bearing this out, but if there's ever going to be hinky, there is hinky when it comes to this kind of selection process in this deal. And of course, you have the, you know, the lawsuit going on against the one existing. I know, it's just a big one. Speaking of artificial intelligence, though, most of us, I'm not going to talk about this one in this particular segment, but I am going to say that next hour, when it's an open phone time on conspiracy theory Thursday,

I'm going to dig a little bit more into this. I was reading an article by Matt Schumer. A lot of people sent it to me, but I read it last weekend and was saving it for today. Matt Schumer is a high-tech guy, high-tech guy, and he's an entrepreneur. He's invested in several artificial intelligence. intelligence firms. He's been building one himself. And he says that something big is happening.

That's the title of his Substact article out there that people, a lot of people have been reading, and I've been reading it too, and I've been rereading it too, because he's saying that most of us, when we're using AI, we're just using either the free versions or we're using the very low-level models of it. And that AI is progressing so quickly, so rapidly, so rapidly. and now building itself that most Americans, most people in the world have no clue just how much the world has already been changed. Because the higher echelon of people, higher level tech workers, higher level lawyers, higher level, all sorts of other things, they're using the paid-for versions. And maybe they're paying $100, $200, $300, $300, $500, $500, $500 a month or more. for the best AI models.

And it is scary good. So while we peons are just thinking, oh, I'm never going to replace my job. They're never going to be able to replace my job or my creativity. It's already happening. And maybe we'll talk about what this looks like in society. But I'll share some of Matt's thoughts because he's right within it. He's using it hours a day right now.

And so he's quite the whistleblower. and yet he's in the industry too. So we'll talk about that a little bit later. Meanwhile, though, we're going to be revisiting the porcelain. I guess the porcelain nut house. I'm no longer going to call it the marble nut house, the state legislature. We'll revisit the porcelain legislature, yeah, the porcelain nut house,

and talk with State Representative Dwayne Yonker on the nonsense that's being pushed there. At least get you an update so you know what's going on, okay? Thank you.