Lincoln’s Political Rise and the Fight Against 15-Minute Cities

On this Monday broadcast, Kim Monson examines the parallels between Lincoln’s tumultuous era and today’s challenges, featuring historian Ben Martin on Lincoln’s political development, State Farm agent Roger Mangan on Colorado’s car theft epidemic, and urban policy expert Randall O’Toole exposing the true agenda behind 15-minute cities.

Lincoln’s Rise from Militia Captain to Political Leader

Start listening at 17:52 – Hour 1

In this segment, Ben Martin continues his series on Mr. Lincoln, His Life and Sword, tracing Lincoln’s journey from store clerk to lawyer to state legislator. Martin explains how Lincoln’s service as captain of a militia company during the Black Hawk War of 1832 became his most cherished election victory, earning him lifelong friends who would later support his political career.

Martin reveals how Lincoln joined the Whig party, embracing Henry Clay’s vision of government-supported commerce, transportation projects, and a national bank. Lincoln saw these as essential for American competitiveness against European powers, particularly after the near-disaster of the War of 1812. By his third term in the Illinois legislature, Lincoln had become the acknowledged leader of the Illinois Whigs.

The discussion draws powerful parallels to modern America, with Lincoln’s 1838 Lyceum speech warning that if America ever falls, it will come from within, not from foreign invasion. Martin emphasizes Lincoln’s call for strict devotion to the Constitution as America’s political religion, a message urgently needed today.

“Washington is the mightiest name of earth, long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name a eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible.”

Ben Martin, quoting Lincoln’s 1842 Temperance Address

Colorado’s Car Theft Epidemic and Insurance Implications

Start listening at 61:07 – Hour 2

In studio, Roger Mangan of State Farm Insurance addresses the alarming rise in vehicle thefts targeting Kia and Hyundai models. Mangan explains that vehicles with traditional key ignition starts are particularly vulnerable because thieves can easily cross wires, while push-button start vehicles contain computer chips that make theft much more difficult.

Colorado ranked first or second nationally in car thefts in 2021, with approximately 75,000 vehicles stolen. Mangan warns that airport parking lots are prime targets for thieves who follow travelers and know their cars will sit unattended for days. He recommends having someone drive you to the airport rather than risking the expensive parking garages or vulnerable outlying lots.

“The predictability of theft is so rampant and so predictable that it’s almost a guaranteed loss for us.”

Roger Mangan, State Farm Insurance

The Truth Behind 15-Minute Cities

Start listening at 67:22 – Hour 2

Urban policy expert Randall O’Toole exposes the 15-minute city concept as the latest rebranding of urban planners’ longstanding agenda to force Americans into high-density housing. O’Toole explains that a proponent recently admitted 15-minute cities are simply every city built before automobiles, but with a catchy new name, meaning crowded, noisy, tiny apartments with limited mobility for everyone except the wealthy.

O’Toole traces this ideology to the Congress for the New Urbanism, formed in 1993, which declared all development should be compact and walkable neighborhoods. He reveals that California and Oregon have abolished single-family zoning entirely, and these ideas even echo a 1965 Soviet book called The Ideal Communist City that prescribed 800 square foot apartments in five-story buildings for all citizens.

The discussion highlights how single-family zoning actually enabled American homeownership to rise from 17% in 1890 to 60% by 1960. O’Toole urges citizens to defend single-family zoning before Colorado legislators attempt to abolish it, explaining that urban planners create housing unaffordability through growth boundaries, then blame homeowners to justify their densification agenda.

“This is really a constitutional issue, because we all know that the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution says that government cannot take people’s property for public purposes without compensation.”

Randall O’Toole, Transportation Policy Expert