An End Run Around the Supreme Court

On June 19, 2024, Gina Steadman, Greg Walcher, Lorne Levy, and Trent Loos joined the show. Steadman exposes school policies allowing biological males in girls’ locker rooms and sports, rallying support for Protect Kids Colorado ballot initiatives requiring parental notification Walcher explains the EPA’s Waters of the U Levy reports improving mortgage rates as inflation eases, while noting compounding pressures on homeowners from property taxes, inflation,.

Protecting Children from Gender Ideology in Schools

Start listening at 16:11 – Hour 1

Gina Steadman, co-chapter leader of Gays Against Groomers Colorado and member of the Protect Kids Colorado coalition, sounds the alarm on school policies that parents remain unaware of. Steadman, a gay mother of two daughters in Jefferson County Public Schools, discovered that district policies allow biological males who identify as female into girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.

The Colorado High School Activities Association similarly permits boys identifying as girls to compete in girls’ sports. Steadman notes that when she raised these policies at a PTA meeting, not a single parent knew they existed. Her 14-year-old daughter described the prospect of sharing a locker room with a biological male as “terrifying.”

Protect Kids Colorado has launched two ballot initiatives: one to keep biological males out of girls’ sports and another requiring schools to notify parents within 48 hours if their child displays gender incongruence. Despite the PTA officially opposing these measures, Steadman reports overwhelming support from parents she encounters while gathering petition signatures.

“Right now, because of this agenda, this bullying, girls and women are being pulled from the course again. They’re being pulled from the podium positions. They’re being pulled from teams.”

Gina Steadman, Gays Against Groomers Colorado

The Biden Administration’s End Run Around the Supreme Court on Water Rights

Start listening at 31:45 – Hour 1

Greg Walcher, natural resources policy expert and author of Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take It Back, explains how the EPA’s Waters of the United States rule represents one of the largest federal power grabs in history. Walcher insists on using the legally accurate term “Navigable Waters of the United States” because that’s precisely what the Clean Water Act specifies.

The Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA definitively ruled that the EPA overstepped its authority, that Congress never intended to give federal agencies jurisdiction over every stock pond, parking lot runoff, and piece of land that occasionally gets wet. Walcher notes the law uses the phrase “navigable waters” nine times and references barges and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway in three other instances, making congressional intent crystal clear.

Rather than accept this ruling, the White House convened a water summit specifically to determine how to circumvent the Supreme Court. Colorado became the first state to answer that call, creating a new office in the Department of Natural Resources to impose the same dredge and fill permit requirements the federal government was blocked from enforcing. Ten states, eight tribes, and 24 cities have since followed suit.

“The Supreme Court specifically, in the opinion, specifically called it an attempt to impose federal zoning on the United States. They use popular issues like water quality as an excuse or as a label, because they know that Americans support that.”

Greg Walcher, Natural Resources Policy Expert

Mortgage Markets and Economic Pressures on Homeowners

Start listening at 63:51 – Hour 2

Lorne Levy of Polygon Financial Group reports some relief in mortgage rates as inflation data shows improvement. The 10-year Treasury yield has dropped from 4.50% to around 4.20%, bringing mortgage rates back into the upper sixes from the sevens. This increased affordability, combined with improving inventory, creates opportunities for buyers entering the summer buying season.

Levy highlights the compounding pressures on homeowners: property tax increases, persistent inflation despite recent improvements, and credit card rates in the mid-20s for those carrying balances. For homeowners 62 and older feeling pinched, reverse mortgage options exist that can leave existing low-rate first mortgages untouched while accessing home equity through second position products.

“That’s where we’re seeing people 62 years and older calling because you’re right, they may be on fixed income or just have a set amount of money they can afford, and the property taxes really set them back.”

Lorne Levy, Polygon Financial Group

Right-to-Repair Legislation and the Data Mining Threat in Agriculture

Start listening at 73:06 – Hour 2

Trent Loos, sixth-generation farmer and rancher, breaks down Colorado’s new right-to-repair legislation, which prohibits manufacturers of digital electronic equipment from using parts pairing to prevent independent repair. Colorado became the fifth state to enact such protections, joining New York, Minnesota, Oregon, and California.

Loos reveals the deeper threat behind the repair issue: John Deere’s aggressive data collection through precision agriculture systems. A clause in Deere’s agreements allows the company to transfer farmer data outside the country. The largest individual shareholder of John Deere, holding 8.2% of the company through 21 million shares, is Bill Gates, who has simultaneously been acquiring farmland nationwide and investing in the CO2 pipeline.

Loos recounts how John Deere blackballed a Nebraska farmer fighting for right-to-repair, forcing him to purchase equipment out of state. Custom harvesters are beginning to switch from green equipment to red, recognizing that John Deere’s interests no longer align with American agriculture.

“John Deere uses the right to repair as a way to somehow protect the equipment, so that you have to bring it back in and we have to fix it here in the house. The truth of the matter is that John Deere has the most aggressive surveillance system of any farm equipment being sold.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher