AI Surveillance, Convention of States, and Housing Market Volatility

On the Easter Monday broadcast of April 21, 2025, Kim Monson welcomed Mike Rawluk to sound the alarm on AI-powered surveillance cameras proposed under Senate Bill 25-011, Todd Reed to champion the Article 5 Convention of States movement, and Lorne Levy and Karen Levine to break down how tariff-driven market volatility is reshaping the mortgage and real estate landscape in Colorado.

AI Wildfire Cameras and the Erosion of Fourth Amendment Protections

Start listening at 13:09 – Hour 1

Mike Rawluk warns that Senate Bill 25-011, scheduled for the Appropriations Committee the following day, would authorize deployment of Pano AI-style 360-degree panoramic cameras that sweep every minute, upload footage to a private deep-learning AI in the cloud, and analyze it for smoke signals. The bill earmarks up to one million dollars in state funding for the first year and two million the following year, with unlimited gifts, grants, and donations on top of that. One legislator even testified that donors could direct camera placement toward their own neighborhoods, raising questions about equitable allocation of state resources.

Rawluk draws a direct parallel to automatic license plate readers already spreading across Colorado municipalities including Arvada, Longmont, and Firestone HOAs. He points to a February 2025 ruling in Norfolk, Virginia, where a judge allowed a constitutional challenge against always-on surveillance to proceed, citing the landmark Carpenter v. United States precedent on warrantless data collection. The Colorado Union of Taxpayers took a skeptical position on the bill, arguing that spending seven million dollars clearing underbrush would deliver guaranteed wildfire reduction rather than speculative technology with serious privacy trade-offs.

“The basic concern is the idea that this camera technology is always on, doing the 360-degree panoramic sweep every minute, and then recording that, putting it to a private AI, it’s a deep learning AI in the cloud, and then trying to figure out if there is a signal for smoke or not and then passing it on to relevant authorities.”

Mike Rawluk, Privacy and Policy Researcher

Article 5 and the Push to Rein In Federal Power

Start listening at 29:05 – Hour 1

Todd Reed, District 10 captain for Convention of States, traces the Article 5 amendment process back to Virginia delegate George Mason, who insisted two days before the Constitution’s signing that self-governing citizens must retain the power to amend their founding document should the federal government ever abuse its authority. Reed outlines the three pillars of a potential convention: term limits for Congress, a balanced budget amendment to address 36 trillion dollars in national debt, and constraints on federal overreach into local governance through grants and coercive incentive structures.

Nineteen state legislatures have passed the Convention of States resolution, with 31 total either passed or actively considering the measure. Kim presses Reed on whether congressional term limits might inadvertently strengthen unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state, and the two arrive at the conclusion that fresh faces beholden to constituents rather than lobbyists could actually rein in bureaucratic power. Reed announces a Wednesday rally at 11 a.m. on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol, featuring Convention of States co-founder Mark Meckler as keynote speaker, and urges the 55,000 Colorado supporters to push for the remaining 15 state approvals needed to trigger the historic convention.

“Just two days before the signing of the Constitution, the delegate from the state of Virginia by the name of George Mason realized that there might come a time when the federal government abused its power.”

Todd Reed, District 10 Captain, Convention of States

Tariff Uncertainty Rattles Mortgage Rates and the Spring Housing Market

Start listening at 55:39 – Hour 2

Lorne Levy describes a mortgage market whipsawed by tariff uncertainty, where the 10-year Treasury note swings from 4.35 to 4.41 and back to 4.38 within 20 minutes. He recalls the day President Trump announced a 90-day tariff reprieve and the stock market surged 2,000 points, rendering rate quotes issued just 30 minutes earlier instantly obsolete. Levy advises buyers that locking in a loan establishes their ceiling rate and that refinancing remains a worst-case safety net if rates improve later.

Karen Levine reports that the spring selling season is showing uneven activity across the Denver metro area, with northwest suburbs generating multiple offers while south metro communities like Parker, Centennial, and Lone Tree see less traffic. She emphasizes that pricing strategy is critical, noting that slight underpricing creates perceived value and attracts stronger initial offers. The two join Kim in a broader discussion about government incentives distorting the housing market, the proliferation of apartment buildings along transit corridors with empty trains, and the World Economic Forum’s 2030 vision of an ownership-free society colliding with Americans’ enduring desire for homeownership and property rights.

“And when you’re trying to price loans for people and you have a day like that, you’re like whoa, that rate I just gave does not apply as opposed to 30 minutes ago.”

Lorne Levy, Mortgage Specialist, Polygon Financial Group

“As a seller you need to be very, very sensitive to your pricing strategy and make sure that you’re getting good professional advice about pricing your home, because overpricing can be very, very harmful.”

Karen Levine, Realtor, RE/MAX Alliance