Election Security Concerns and Food Supply Disruptions Threaten American Independence

On October 20, 2022, Kim Monson examines critical threats to American self-governance and food independence with researcher Lisa Bennett, rural issues expert Trent Loos, Weld County Council candidate Jillian Smith, and realtor Karen Levine.

Weld County Government Accountability

Start listening at 17:30 – Hour 1

Jillian Smith explains the rarely-known Weld County Council, a separate governmental entity from the Board of Commissioners charged with reviewing all facets of county government and reporting back to the people. The Council sets salaries for elected officials, fills commissioner vacancies, can suspend officials for criminal misconduct, reviews conflicts of interest, and considers mill levy increases. Smith, president of Women of Weld, decided to run for the at-large position after being encouraged by community members who recognized her accounting background as a natural fit for the oversight role.

Smith emphasizes that Weld County remains one of Colorado’s strongest counties with its oil, gas, and agricultural resources, though she expresses concern about Denver’s deteriorating safety conditions. The unpaid, nonpartisan position requires working cooperatively with the partisan Board of Commissioners while maintaining independent oversight.

“I don’t want to be an apathetic person. I’m not going to sit on my couch and yell at things. I’m going to go out and do what I can do.”

Jillian Smith, Weld County Council Candidate

Real Estate Market Adjustments and Housing Policy

Start listening at 26:21 – Hour 1

Karen Levine, an award-winning REMAX Alliance realtor, reports that rapidly rising interest rates are changing the metro real estate market, but the American spirit is responding with creative solutions like 2-1 and 3-2-1 buy-downs that lower interest rates in the first years of a mortgage. While there is downward pressure on home values, it is not approaching Great Recession levels.

Levine warns about Proposition 123, which would dedicate state income tax revenue for subsidized housing programs. Though supported by the National Association of Realtors through the Colorado Association of Realtors, she cautions that the proposition has significant flaws and unintended consequences that could accelerate housing costs beyond the reach of the middle class, pushing more Americans toward renting rather than homeownership.

“Ultimately, it is going to hurt people. It is going to cause the cost of housing to accelerate beyond means of the middle class. And we will find that many of us will be renters and tenants and not homeowners if we’re not careful.”

Karen Levine, REMAX Alliance Realtor

Election Software Security and Chinese Connections

Start listening at 36:11 – Hour 1

Lisa Bennett breaks down the arrest of Konnech CEO Eugene Yu over alleged data theft. True the Vote discovered that poll worker data from Yu’s software ended up on servers in China, breaching contracts that required U.S.-based data storage. Bennett raises concerns that the indictment came from Los Angeles DA Gascon, questioning whether a fair trial is possible and whether double jeopardy could prevent other jurisdictions from pursuing charges.

More alarming than the poll watcher software is Yu’s mobile voting platform used by military and diplomatic personnel overseas. This software tracks IP addresses, potentially compromising the locations of CIA agents, military brass, and other sensitive personnel. Bennett notes that while Konnech claims to have sold the software to Vodum, Eugene Yu remains on Vodum’s board and Konnech still provides software support, maintaining their influence over election systems used in approximately 38 states.

“For all of our diplomats and military overseas, and think about CIA agents, think about top military brass where you wouldn’t want your enemies to know where in the world you have them located, all of them can vote through his software platform, and it actually tracks your IP address.”

Lisa Bennett, Researcher

Avian Flu and Food Supply Disruptions

Start listening at 47:18 – Hour 1

Bennett shifts to food supply concerns, reporting that 47 million birds have been culled due to avian flu since January, affecting 42 of 50 states. Unlike the 2015 outbreak that was contained within a month, this outbreak returned in August and September. Poultry farms require six months of quarantine after culling before they can resume production, meaning turkey prices will remain elevated through at least Thanksgiving 2023.

She connects these disruptions to broader agendas, noting that Smithfield Foods, now Chinese-owned, exports approximately 80% of its pork products to China while the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s freezer reserves are nearly empty. Meanwhile, China is building massive pork storage facilities. Bennett suggests these food supply disruptions may not be coincidental but could be designed to force Americans toward alternative protein sources like Bill Gates’ plant-based meat and insect consumption.

“They can’t force us to do something that we don’t want to do if the products that we do want, like chicken and pork and beef, are affordable. They have to get rid of the supply in order to increase the price, in order to decrease the demand.”

Lisa Bennett, Researcher

Global Food Security Threats

Start listening at 72:15 – Hour 2

Trent Loos expands on the food supply crisis, confirming the 47 million bird culling and adding that the UK has also identified avian influenza in 12 flocks. He reports the sudden disappearance of one billion snow crabs off Alaska’s shores since 2018, resulting in fishery shutdowns. African swine fever, while not yet in the United States, has appeared in Latin America close to Florida, prompting USDA warnings.

Loos reveals that 65 grain ships are lined up in the Black Sea to transport Ukrainian and Russian wheat, which represents one-third of world wheat production. Reports suggest a White House meeting this week discussed potential threats to these cargo ships. Additionally, 82% of the United States experienced record low moisture this year, and the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barge traffic, the lifeblood of American food distribution, is threatened.

“We have allowed ourselves in the United States, an abundant, resource-rich nation, we’ve allowed ourselves to be dependent upon other countries for so many things, and now we’re sitting here saying, why did we do this?”

Trent Loos, Rural Issues Expert

Local Engagement and Constitutional Solutions

Start listening at 85:58 – Hour 2

Loos argues that solutions must come from local communities, not Washington D.C. He notes that Americans have exported labor and become dependent on China for 80% of pharmaceuticals, 95% of rare earth minerals for energy production, and Asian countries for 87% of the world’s textiles. The United States possesses every resource needed but has abandoned the Constitutional principle that the most important governance occurs locally.

Loos draws parallels between current events and the lead-up to the 1915 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, where food supply disruption preceded government control of farmers as peasants working for the state. He emphasizes that Americans have stopped attending school board meetings and county commissioner sessions, allowing indoctrination to replace education and drag queen events at public fairgrounds to become normalized.

“What your school board just did, or what your county commissioners did in their last budget meeting, that you didn’t attend or even knew happened, is going to have a greater impact in your sustainability and your profitability than anything that happens in Washington D.C.”

Trent Loos, Rural Issues Expert